A Hostile Work Environment (Riley, Angelique)

[Riley Neves]

Riley sighed inwardly. This was ridiculous. There was so much testosterone going back and forth between them that she thought she might choke on it.

"Augustus," she said, cutting in slightly. "We have spoken with other staff members and no one seems to know that she is your intern. Could you explain that for us, please?"

Augustus' eyes moved slowly to her, and Riley had never felt so small in her entire life. She didn't like it, and she bristled slightly.

[Augustus Rookwood]

Augustus kept his eyes on her for a moment, then said, "Mr. Rookwood, if you wouldn't mind." She would be easier to intimidate than Roland, he thought, watching her reactions to him, though he imagined she would only get angry and flustered. Oh well. It would reflect poorly on her, not him.

"And no, I can't, as it pertains to her assignment."

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland had held Rookwood's gaze until Riley interrupted with her question. He had already planned to ask that same question next, and so he was slightly annoyed by her intrusion. But his annoyance faded when he saw the way Rookwood looked at her, and the way she responded. His protective instincts kicked into gear, and he was almost tempted to stand in front of her, shielding her from the heat of the older man's gaze.

Instead, he cleared his throat in an attempt to draw attention back to him. "You're saying that you assigned her to work as a teaching assistant as part of her training to be an Unspeakable? Is this so that you can keep an eye on her while you're judging the tournament?"

[Augustus Rookwood]

Augustus' gaze stayed on Riley for a moment longer, almost as if he didn't hear Roland's question. He was purposefully trying to get her to break, to know that he was appraising her and forming a very low opinion of her.

He let his eyes move back to Roland, though his body barely moved at all as he shifted his focus.

"Technically speaking, I don't have to answer that question either, but if it will put you at ease, I will. Yes, she is at the school so that I can watch her with her assignments without having to step in. When it's my employees jobs to keep secrets, I have to know I can trust them without babysitting them. Her assignment her is among others that she has. She is earning her trust while under my supervision."

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland narrowed his eyes. He didn't care for Rookwood's superior attitude, or the way he seemed to hide behind the secretive nature of his job to avoid answering questions.

"Technically," he said, adopting a superior tone of his own, "you are required to answer questions to the Auror department, in cases where such secrecy could perhaps point to a coverup within the Ministry. I should warn you that your steadfast refusal to answer our questions could be seen as... suspicious."

He knew that he was going out on a limb here, and possibly taking it too far. There was a very good chance that Rookwood would become even more tight-lipped... or he could get angry and throw them out. Roland wanted to see if he could get the man to break.

[Augustus Rookwood]

"I'm the head of the Department of Mysteries," Augustus reminded Roland. "I know exactly what I can tell you to answers your questions, and exactly what I am well within my boundaies keeping a mystery." It wasn't going to be that easy to intimidate Augustus into giving away his employees, or anything of the sort.

"Lable me as a suspect. I have a feeling it would raise suspicions of it's own, considering your department was wrong the last time they tried." He leaned back in his seat, showing that he was comfortable even in this situation. "Shall we continue talking about my intern?"

[Roland Ferrera]

He had known that wouldn't induce Rookwood to answer the questions. Rather, the tactic had been a test, to see just how unflappable he really was. Roland hated to admit it, but had he been confronted in such a manner, he probably would have lashed out. When he was backed into a corner, he would come out swinging. Not Rookwood. If anything, he was even more calm and arrogant than before.

Roland despised him.

"Yes... your intern," he said mildly, almost bored. "Are you aware of her friendship with Bellatrix Black?"

[Augustus Rookwood]

"I am," Augustus replied, and that was all he gave. He certainly wasn't going to make this easy on them. He was going to answer just their questions... well, the ones he wanted to, and give them nothing more past that. It would teach Roland to phrase his questions better so that Augustus couldn't get away with a simple yes or no answer. He was certain the yes and no answers irritated Roland.

He could tell they irritated Riley, but he was less concerned with her. She could do no harm, not that Roland could either.

[Roland Ferrera]

It took an enormous amount of control for Roland not to leap across the desk and choke the bastard. But he was able to keep his reaction down to just the tiniest frown. He could play Rookwood's game. They would see who would break first.

"How much time do they spend together? I would hope it doesn't interfere with Ms. Weaver's job performance."

[Augustus Rookwood]

There was no harm in that question, and he was fine answering it.

"I believe they see each other at meals. They've gone out for drinks before."

He leaned forward, his hands clasped on top of his desk as he eyes Roland. "Why don't you do your job and ask the questions, and let me worry about my intern's job performance. That's the second time you've presumed to tell me how to do my job. You can leave after the third."

[Roland Ferrera]

He'd gotten him just a little angry, and that made Roland absurdly happy. The corner of his lip quirked up on one side in response. "You're quite right," he said reasonably. "My apologies. Clearly you have full control over your employees."

He was tempted to mention Fiona, but he didn't want to invite any trouble on the girl. Instead, he continued to discuss the connection between Bellatrix and Arachne.

"As I understand it, the two of them went out for drinks on the evening Katie was killed. Where was Ms. Weaver before that?"

[Augustus Rookwood]

Whatever Roland was implying, he was wrong. He probably had better control over his employees than anyone else in the entire Ministry, and he liked it that way.

"I don't know where she was prior to," he answered. "And I'll answer your next question, too... that was my first day at the school. She came to check in with me, and I spend the evening in my room."

This was half true, but he had also witnessed Katie's murder. He had no idea what lie Arachne or Bellatrix had told the Aurors, so it was best if he just claimed ignorance.

[Roland Ferrera]

Actually, what Roland had been implying was exactly that. He knew just how well Rookwood controlled his employees, particularly poor Fiona. But it wasn't a line of questioning that was of any use to the situation at hand, so he didn't pursue it.

In fact, they weren't going to get anything at all useful out of Rookwood. He'd known it from the first question, but he had been obliged to see it through. So he looked at Riley at last, then back at Rookwood. "Well, if you only got there that night, I don't imagine you had any encounters with Katie, or that you know whether Ms. Weaver did. I won't waste any more of your time, then."

He stood up, enjoying the moment of being able to tower over Rookwood. "Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us." There was just a tiny hint of sarcasm in his tone.

[Augustus Rookwood]

Augustus stood just a second after Roland, nodding once and never breaking the facade. They were giving up awfully easy, he thought, but he wouldn't complain. Aurors just weren't used to hearing "no" from anyone, and they obviosly didn't know how to handle it when they did. One more secret to keep, and he didn't mind it at all.

"You have a good day," he said.

[Riley Neves]

Riley didn't even bother to thank Augustus. She disliked him quite a bit, and she did not appreciate the way he looked at her and talked down to her. It was rude and uncalled for, and she didn't rush, but she was out the door ahead of Roland.

Outside his room, the air didn't seem as thick and suffocating.

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland saw the way she high-tailed it out of the room, and a frown creased his brow. After the fights he had with her, it unnerved him to see her upset. He had expected her to fight back, the way she did with him. So to see her running away bothered him greatly.

"Thank you, you do the same," he replied. "If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to contact you." He smiled ever so slightly at this. "Good day."

Then he turned on his heel and walked briskly from the room, closing Rookwood's door behind him. Walking up to Riley, he said in a gentle tone, "Are you OK?"

[Riley Neves]

"I'm fine," Riley said tersely, her arms crossed over her chest. "I had to get out of there before I bit his head off. I really wanted to." She hated being talked down to more than anything, and Rookwood, with one look and one sentence, had effectively put her in her place. What an arse.

Had it been a casual meeting with someone, she would have gone off on him, but she refused to in a professional setting. Aside from that, Roland probably would have never let it go.

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland smiled at her tone. That was more what he expected from her. He was used to her anger; it was the thought that she might actually be hurt or upset that bothered him. "If it makes you feel any better, I was sorely tempted to strangle him myself," he said. "He was trying to break us. I wasn't going to let him break me... I'm sorry he thought he could do it to you. I didn't appreciate the way he looked at you, either. Honestly, after meeting him, I'm not entirely sure Fiona isn't under the Imperious Curse. I don't know what she sees in the guy."

[Riley Neves]

Riley shook her head. "I don't think she is, actually. I get the feeling that Rookwood understands people a little too well. He knows how to get what he wants from them and acts accordingly. He wants her to feel appreciated, so he puts her in charge, and she's loyal to the core. He wanted me to feel small... it worked, and I'd like to kick his arse for it."

She was blowing off a little steam, and she figured at this point, she was allowed. "But I don't think he had anything to do with Katie's death."

[Roland Ferrera]

"Get in line," he said, flashing his crooked grin at her. "He's really quite a smug bastard, isn't he?"

He sighed and looked at her appraisingly. This was the first time he'd seen her get angry or frustrated at someone that wasn't him, and he sort of liked it. There was a fire in her eyes that he understood. "I think you're right... he definitely didn't do it. But he might know something. I can't be sure... the guy is so vague and he has absolutely no qualms about lying. At any rate, there wasn't any point in continuing to talk with him. He wasn't even going to give us anything remotely useful."