Babysnatchers

After quickly downing the rest of her Firewhisky, Jen slammed the glass on the table and shot up out of her chair and began to follow Robert through the house. She kept one eye on the Minister; she wasn’t quite sure whether she could trust his word. Would he seriously let her go free just because she was going to save his goddaughter? She highly doubted it but if Rob didn’t have anyone going against him in the bid then he’d have already bought them by now. If Rob wasn’t able to buy them then it was Robert’s fault. Pinching Rob’s money was probably the worst move he would have ever made if some sicko made off with the girls just because Rob didn’t have the money to continue going against his opponent. Jen shook her head. That wouldn’t happen. He’d sort it out. He’d fix it. He was good at fixing things. He had to fix it. Damn it! He had to!

Thankfully, Jen’s internal worries didn’t appear on her face and she remained impassive as she followed Robert through the house, memorising the path he took. She was worried though. Her brother might have been an idiot, too much of one to understand how he good he had it with Khaat, but he knew what he had to do. He still loved Khaat...somewhere. He loved Abbey though, Jen was sure of it. You couldn’t not love your own child. Then again, Charlotte had made a good job of it for a while. Stupid cow. Jen sucked in shallow breaths and desperately tried to change the subject her mind was delving into. She didn’t want to think about now. She could break down somewhere later; she had other things to be worrying about – her niece for example and her brother.

Unseeingly, she continued to follow Robert. She felt quite ill actually but it wasn’t something she couldn’t get over. It was probably hunger pangs coupled with the acute pain that was attacking each and every muscle in her body. It still hurt to move but slowly she was getting over it. That didn’t mean she’d ever forgive Jess or that dumb Order member that thought he could torture her. No, his head would be mounted on her wall soon enough. She just had to meet him again. That would be an interesting encounter to say the least. Rubbing her temple with her right hand, Jen sighed and closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened them she was glad she did because it was a sight to see.

Weapons from every time and of every calibre lined the walls. Of course she bypassed all of the ones she deemed useless and headed over to her favourite – guns. They were beautiful. If machines of death could be beautiful that is. Jen thought they were. She missed her ones though. It was odd really, how close you could get to something. She wanted her babies back, not something else. She knew those things inside out and they were probably sitting in storage somewhere collecting dust. She let out a small growl at the thought and reached up to grab a pair of semi-automatic handguns off of the shelf. They were silver, much like her old ones, but they missed the snakes that wound around the handles and the barrel. Jen thought about getting Rob a pair but knowing him he’d probably go old-fashioned Muggle and just pound seven barrels of sh*t out of the bastard that stole his daughter.

Jen found herself a couple of holsters and attached them to the belt around her waist. She took some ammunition and loaded the guns before putting them in the holsters. She moved across the room to where the knives and swords were. Looking at them, she could see her reflection, pale and slightly gaunt. Thank you, Azkaban. She thought angrily. And thank-you Potter.. Yeah, he didn’t help much either. Jen ran her finger along the tip of the longest blade, her eyes following the little trickle of blood that dribbled onto her hand. Her pupils dilated and she nibbled on her bottom lip. Rob would want something. He didn’t load himself up like a pack mule as she did but he’d need something other than his sodding wand which he’d probably end up breaking in a scuffle. She grabbed two pairs of twin blades and found something to place them in before strapping it to herself. She missed playing with knives and cleaning her guns. She was most definitely deranged but it was...calming.

Well, shall we go, then?" Robert asked. He led the way back out of the collections room and waiting. "Paris, then," he said to his companions. "We're looking for Thomas Gelding. Average height and build, curly short brown hair. If you get close enough to him to recognize him, he has brown eyes, but one is a different shade of brown than the other. He wears only Italian handtailored clothing. He prefers dark chocolate brown slacks, a plain white shirt. Odd brown shoes. He has an odd little wand that he uses when he does not want to be seen. It switches out with a slight slide of his thumb, a lot like a switchblade. His full power wand he keeps in a leather ankle wand holster that his strapped to his ankle. I know it sounds like an odd arrangement, but don't underestimate that. He is as fast as lightning in drawing it. Gelding heads a large scale operation. He is only motivated by cash. He hates me and he hates Brian Quinn with a passion. He will be doing the sale of my children as a very exclusive, very elite event. And it could be anywhere in Paris. Finding it will be our biggest problem."

"We can find him..." Matt said confidently. He pulled a long black coat over himself so his daggers and gun would not be seen. "I just might need to pick one last thing up at home before we go." he told them. "A special momento of mine, dangerous but special." he told them grinning. "Well, if he's selling children he wouldn't want to draw attention to himself correct? He'd most likely be staying in a small scale hotel or motel and not doing much." he said.

After kitting herself out with things she didn’t need, Jen summoned her coat back to her and slipped it on. The warm material was giving her a source of comfort and was easing her aching joints. She felt better but the good feeling would probably still be temporary. Pain returns, there is no sure way of ridding your body of it without taking some sort of pain medicine. Jen wasn’t a fan of healers or anything anymore. Anything to do with the disastrous battle she took part in, as far as she was concerned she might as well suffer the pain for she knew she should have had no part in it.

“Yah,” Jen scoffed. “I’m sure he’s really hiding underground with two kids who aren’t even old enough to understand where they are. He wants to sell them Matt. He’s not going to piss about like some of these other whack jobs. You delay the inevitable and someone catches up with you before the job gets done. If they’re sold on within the next hour and a half then they’ll go through at least four different people – maybe more. Or perhaps they’ll get lucky.” Jen shrugged non-committed and picked a knife up off of the shelf. She turned it over in her hands and absentmindedly began to play with it as she would have done with her own.

"Ok, so we're armed, then," Robert said. "Do you still need to stop at home for something, Matt? I know where Brian has told me some of the past auctions have taken place in Paris, but you're right, Jen. We may be seriously limited as to how much time we have to get to the girls. If I were him, I would not risk Brian or me coming after him and I would 'unload' my merchandise immediately. I am quite sure he expects to get either my attention or Brian's or both, but I am also equally sure that he expects to win at this. " Robert accio'd a scratchpad and wrote down three addresses on a sheet of paper and copied them. He handed a copy to each of his companions. "These are the last 3 addresses where auctions were held. These locations have been the most frequently used over the last 2 years. I suggest we check them out first to see if there is an auction in process at any of them. Shall we go together or check the locations separately?"

"No, I think I have everything I need Robert...said item can stay after ll" he told him. He turned around and looked at Robert, he was giving detailed information. He had either done is homework, or knew too much...but he was head of Aurors so he guessed he needed this kind of knowledge. He was right though they needed to get this finished with quickly. He waved his wand and his coat came flying towards him. He put it on and covered himself well to hide everything. He tucked his wand in his sleeve, it would be safe there.

It would also be good for easy access just in case he needed to quick draw. He hoped nothing bad would happen. He didn't want anymore injuries, he was already buggered with his left arm being still unavailable to him.