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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 13, 2009 22:44:02 GMT -5
Roland was still feeling twitchy by the time he left the Christmas party. Ever since his Uncle Blake had arrived at the party, Roland's mind had been working double time, and by now he had worked himself up into quite a lather. He was in deep trouble now; he knew it. And things were about to get worse.
He was quiet as he led Riley out of his parents' house. Before she could apparate, he turned to her. "When we get back there, would you come into my apartment for a few minutes? I need to talk to you about something. It's very important."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 13, 2009 22:50:25 GMT -5
Roland had been acting strange ever since his uncle showed up. He was like a tightly coiled spring, ready to burst at any second. She couldn't figure it out. No one really liked Blake, but she didn't think the man's slimey charm was the reason for Roland's behavior, and the rest of the family was rather nice.
So when he pulled her back and said he needed to talk to her, she immidiately nodded. What else could she do? "Yes, of course, Roland."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 13, 2009 22:59:24 GMT -5
Roland nodded. "OK, good. I'll meet you there, OK?"
He was still beyond tense, and at this point wasn't even thinking about the fact that he had just invited Riley into his apartment. He'd been in hers, but she hadn't been inside his apartment yet, had she? It was a lucky thing that he always kept it neat, because after seeing how hard she had worked to clean her apartment, he was sure she'd judge him if the place was messy.
His eyes were still worried as he looked at her one last time, then he apparated to the hallway outside his apartment. He leaned against the door and waited for her to arrive.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 13, 2009 23:02:35 GMT -5
Riley took one last look at the Ferrera home. Some Christmas, she thought.
She apparated the next moment, joining Roland in the hallway. Only this time, she apparated to his door instead of her own.
"All right. Are you going to tell me what's wrong? Do you know how difficult it was to keep your mother distracted enough that she didn't keep asking you about it?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 13, 2009 23:12:00 GMT -5
He had known, and he appreciated it more than he could say. But he simply nodded and opened the door to his apartment. "Yes, I'll tell you. Please come inside."
He was still jittery as he moved into his apartment, turning on the lights. He didn't wait for her to come inside before he went into the kitchen to get a bottle of firewhiskey. "Do you want anything to drink?" he called belatedly over his shoulder.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 13, 2009 23:18:17 GMT -5
Riley was left to close the door, and she did so gently, looking around the apartment while Roland disappeared. It was like a quietter version of her own, and more manly, obviously. And effortlessly clean, which kind of irritated her.
"No, thank you," she said, stepping more into the room, her eyes looking over everything. She made no judgements about him, actually, but was comparing her apartment to his. She wondered what he thought of her.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 13, 2009 23:28:46 GMT -5
He returned a moment later with two glasses of firewhiskey. He shrugged and gave her a half-smile. "In case you change your mind when I tell you what I have to say," he said.
He saw her checking out his apartment and, if he'd been in a better mood, he might have teased her about it. "Please. Sit down." He nodded toward the couch and set the extra glass on the table next to her.
He did not sit down. Instead, he stood, facing her and began to drink down the contents of his glass almost desperately.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 14, 2009 8:18:14 GMT -5
Riley raised an eyebrow when he brought her a drink anyway, and she watched as he set it down. She was hesitant to sit down, not while he was still standing anyway.
But when he downed the contents of his glass, Riley kind of sank to the couch. She reached for the second glass and held it out to him. It looked like he needed it more than she did, anyway.
"You're really worrying me, Roland."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 14, 2009 10:05:38 GMT -5
He finished the first glass alarmingly fast, and looked over to see that she was holding the second one out to him. He took it, but didn't drink. Instead, his eyes locked onto her for the first time since they had left his parents' house. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm a little freaked out right now."
Sighing, he sank down into a chair that was across from the couch. "My uncle Blake. He's one of them. One of the death eaters from my last case. He's probably the one sending me the notes. I didn't realize it... I hadn't seen him since I was 8 years old. I knew he looked familiar, but I couldn't place him."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 14, 2009 13:19:55 GMT -5
"What?"
For a moment, she just eyed him, unsure if she even believed him. Finally, she shook her head. "No, you must be mistaken, Roland. That doesn't make sense."
But he did see the death eaters without their masks, so he would know, wouldn't he? She took a deep breath. "That doesn't make sense," she repeated. "If he's been threatening your family, why didn't he do anything tonight? He had all of them in one room. And more than that... Lina and Mara and Scarlette were there... he could have done anything to your family or the people they care about."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 14, 2009 16:51:05 GMT -5
Roland sighed and began to rub his head. "I'm positive, Riley. He even confirmed it to me. When he pulled me into that hug, he whispered something in my ear. He told me not to say a word if I didn't want anyone to get hurt."
His hand was shaking slightly as he raised the glass to his lips. "I'm not even sure I should be telling you right now, but I have to tell someone. I think... honestly, I think his whole purpose in coming tonight was to mess with me. As long as I stayed quiet, he wasn't going to try anything in front of his wife and kids. He just wanted to scare me."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 14, 2009 17:06:53 GMT -5
Riley nodded, but she didn't say anything. What was the point in letting Roland know who he was, though? Wouldn't it make it that much easier to capture him?
"Well, he made a mistake tonight, then. We'll go into Angelique tomorrow, tell her who he is, and the MLE or we will have him in Azkaban before he even knows you told anyone." That was a solid, by the book plan. She liked those. And if they captured Blake Malfoy before he had a chance to hurt anyone else, all the better.
Her eyes met Roland's. "We're going to do this by the book, Roland. It's simple from here."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 14, 2009 17:13:29 GMT -5
Roland sighed and shook his head. "I wish it were that easy, Riley. But the other two are still out there. If we make a move on him, the other two could go after my family. And I don't even know who they are or how to find them--just what they look like. Besides... he works at the Ministry. Angelique has had my description of him for weeks. He should have been arrested by now. I don't think anyone is taking this case seriously... all they have to go on is my word."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 14, 2009 17:23:47 GMT -5
"You're an Auror, Roland. Your word is enough." Riley sighed as well. She didn't like where this was headed.
"What are we supposed to do, then? Just let him get away with threatening you and your family and being a Death Eater? It's not like this is going to go away if you ignore him. We can bring Malfoy in and then protect your family until we find the other two."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 14, 2009 17:31:53 GMT -5
"I didn't say I was going to let him get away with it," Roland said. He took another long drink from his glass. "But I also know he's not going to make it that easy to catch him. He would not have showed up tonight unless he had some kind of plan, and I don't know if I can make a move without knowing what it is."
But Riley was right... he had to at least take the information to Angelique, and let her decide what to do. Still... Blake had been far too self-assured tonight. He had something up his sleeve, and the very thought of it made Roland's hair stand on end.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 14, 2009 17:52:16 GMT -5
"And meanwhile, while you try and figure out what this plan is, he could be acting on it."
He was being hard headed about this, not that she expected any different. Still, he chose to tell her, and that meant something. He could have told Cyrus, his parents, his aunt and uncle... all of whom were Aurors. But he told her, and she saw it as he was reaching out for help. She wanted to help.
She sighed. "What do you want to do?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 14, 2009 18:19:56 GMT -5
Right now, the shock of seeing his attacker and learning that it was his own uncle was still weighing heavily on him, and he was having trouble thinking clearly. He really needed her logic right now. That was the reason he'd chosen her. Well, that and the fact that he'd never told anyone in his family about the threats. Now he was beginning to wonder if that had been a mistake. They could have been targeted all along and they never would have known it.
He set down the glass he was holding and rubbed his head with both hands. "I guess... I guess you're right. I'll talk to Angelique first thing tomorrow. We'll probably have to put my entire family in protective custody..."
Now completely distraught, he stood up and began to pace. "Damn it... I should have been handling this all along! I don't blame Angelique, but she was too busy to give it her full attention. He should already be in Azkaban!"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 14, 2009 18:28:00 GMT -5
"Roland, stop for a second," Riley said, watching him get frustrated. She could understand that. In fact, she understood it really well, and she couldn't blame him. But it wasn't going to help.
She got back to her feet and crossed the short distance to him, standing in front of him. "No one's been hurt. We know who he is now, and we can take action. There's nothing we can do about what's already been done, okay? It's not going to help if you're stressed about it." She kept her voice calm, and just quiet enough that he would have to focus on her to hear it. She did that on purpose to try and get his frustration in check.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 14, 2009 18:45:14 GMT -5
Roland stopped short and looked at her. "I can't let anything happen to them," he said, his voice desperate. "But they shouldn't all have to go into hiding because of me. Maybe... maybe if I can lure all three of them out in the open... I could catch them. I don't want to leave any of them out there. And how do I know that they haven't brought the rest of them in on it? Riley... do you realize that even you'll have to go into protective custody? You were there tonight... you're just as much at risk as anyone else who was there."
This realization had just occurred to him, and it scared him. Everyone who knew him was probably in danger. Including her. What would Blake do if he knew about Roland's feelings for her?
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 14, 2009 18:53:15 GMT -5
"No," Riley said. "No to all of it. I need you calm down and think rationally for a moment, okay?" What else could she say? He was right.
"The only way you're going to be able to lure any of them out is by being somewhere alone, and you cannot fight three of them by yourself. Now, most of your family, and myself, are Aurors. We don't have to go into protective custody. We should... but we don't have to. We'll just be on guard for a while. Because if we're going into protective custody... you should too. And I know you won't."
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