RP: Use the Force
Date: June 22 2003
Character(s): Angelina Johnson, Marcus Flint
Location: The Mansion
Status: Private
Summary: Angelina finally starts the self-assigned undercover assignment
Completion: Incomplete
( Use the force )
Character(s): Angelina Johnson, Marcus Flint
Location: The Mansion
Status: Private
Summary: Angelina finally starts the self-assigned undercover assignment
Completion: Incomplete
( Use the force )
The other man who had been in the room with them had tossed aside the folders he'd been looking through and left, perhaps heading for the loo, and Angelina accepted she was at least stuck with Marcus' company until somebody else returned. Not really asking permission, she chose a chair near the desk he sat at, sliding into it - taking the opportunity to look around. Not that superficially there was much to see.
It was odd, that in terms of an actual job this would be near equivalent to a demotion - on par with being stuck working as a hit wizard. Not that she had anything against them, but well, there was a reason she'd gone in for an auror instead. Puzzles, and well, she loved the greater picture. It wasn't a job though, it was undercover. And fuck, her role during Voldemort's reign had been similar in it's essence. You weren't strictly catching dark wizards when you were essentially working for them. And it was a role she understood. In some ways it had been harder on another undercover mission she'd went on, impersonating a bloody maid. Subservience she didn't do well, and though it was expected in any kind of law enforcement, that took it to a whole new level. She liked to take it as a testament to skill that mission had been successful.
"They didn't tell me much," Angelina snapped her attention more on the man in front of her then, continuing civilly, "just rather unceremoniously dropped me off in this room after informing me I was being taken on. Do you get to shuffle me through the mundane details or is that honour reserved for somebody else?" It seemed odd, but this was a job like no other, with payroll and schedules, contracts - and if it was anything like the outside world, agreements about liability and hazard with the job. She assumed there was a higher up, but they didn't usually bother with that sort of thing, or maybe not even at all with her at first.
"Explain duties for a newbie?" She added, almost as an afterthought, because it was neccessary information and he was ideal to provide it. Preferably more subtleties than the bloody 'brochure' type overview too.
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He smiled as McDougal left and then turned to Angelina. “See he’s a desk jockey, a damn good one though. Keeps all you new recruits organized but in the end, he’s like the rest of us, bored and that’s a dangerous thing. In fact, I can’t figure out why the boss keeps bringing on new staff when we have more than enough to get the job done around here.” Marcus frowned as Angelina sat before he said, “Make yourself at home. I see that proper manners still aren’t quite your thing, eh?”
Marcus leaned back in his chair, shooting her a quick smile to show her he didn’t really care. He folded his hands across his flat stomach and said, “See, that’s the problem around here. You can sit around at a damn fountain or tip toe through the tulips and you’ll still be perfectly well off. The town provides and in the end, its boring around here.” Marcus sat up again and then added. “From a paradise perspective, it’s perfect but for those on the force, it can get boring.”
He didn’t understand why the hell he was having a conversation with Johnson. After all, she wasn’t on his favorite person list which actually just numbered one person and Marcus was perfectly fine with that. But he was bored and if nothing else, Angelina Johnson was spirited conversation and if he was lucky, a fight might just break out.
Marcus did remember that Padma mentioned seeing her at one time and he was going to mention something but it seemed that Angelina had that far off gaze. He decided to drop into silence then and wait for her to speak because he just didn’t have much to say.
“I don’t even belong in this office. I was tasked to do undercover work until I made an error and didn’t accept a promotion. I’m here looking at cold cases because records is that way.” He pointed toward the far door and chuckled a bit bitterly. “This is what I do now which is look up old cases and try to see if I can drum up any leads.” Marcus listened to her question and then said, “No, I’ll tell you what to do though.” He leaned on his arms and said, “The force is laid back and as long as you do your job, you’re fine.” Marcus sat up again. “It doesn’t seem like there is anyone really in charge here but in the three years I’ve been here, things have been run efficiently and they seem to know everything that’s going on.”
“You’ll be processed here and done by the end of the day. Then you’ll be assigned to a Watch Commander.” He reached over to McDougal’s desk and picked up her file. “You’re assigned to undercover which means you’ll be in my department although not my section. You’re in Suppression which means one thing now.” Marcus did know a lot about the force and he leaned closer to Angelina and said, “It looks like you’ll be helping out with the Resistance." He shook his head and laughed. "Ironic, isn't it?"
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It was off, in that at least initially, they weren't snapping each other's heads off, or coming to blows. Angelina was tempted to make an antagonistic comment just to perhaps return to old ways. But age for one thing had brought maturity, and for another they weren't facing off over a Quidditch pitch, or talking about Quidditch, or talking about anything they could take exception over. At least not at that very moment. It was odd that she didn't have that urge to ram her fist into his bloody leering face like she used to have to restrain herself from doing.
She did raise her eyebrows at his comment however, "From a Paradise perspective it's perfect? Where have you been living Flint? Oh, I'll agree it is boring even for those not in law enforcement, never having to lift a finger, but nothing about this place is perfect. Even that oh so lovely side of things isn't exactly untainted."
And while if it had been anybody else more a stranger she might have worked around to the question, Angelina decided to address the matter directly. "What kind of promotion didn't you accept? And, why not?" The 'why' they were so upset over that was implied in bringing the topic up.
Angelina had given up speaking in vague terms after Marcus has phrased his last comments the way he had, obviously there was no point in pretending she was doing anything other than she was doing. "It rather defeats the purpose of doing things undercover," she said with a smile this time that had practically no humour, "if you talk about being bloody undercover in the organization you're infiltrating right out, talking about looking to do more than serve than unquestioningly - like you said, they seem to know everything that's going on, don't they? I don't care how safe you think this room is, or how nobody gives a fuck. And honestly, I don't fucking care about being just fine, I feel like getting into a position where I can learn as much as possible. Staying under the radar only goes so far."
If she was honest, she didn't exactly understand Marcus. What he was doing here exactly. If she was going down his road already travelled, and he was indeed passing on whatever he knew and had seen or if the files had anything useful, the advantage to be gained was minimal. Of course it didn't defeat the purpose. Information gathering was a matter of circumstance - proactive circumstance as she counted on taking advantage of, and she planned on utilizing that rather than being rather complacent, so it wasn't like this wouldn't serve a purpose even if she never ascended in position.
Still, she'd rather be asking these questions of him as it seemed in that moment. "What do they have you do undercover?" Angelina asked, thinking about serving three 'masters' all at once if that was going to be her role initially. "At least in your previous experience? And Suppression, what does that mean exactly? I figure I'll get a more straightforward answer from you than MacDougal over there when he gets back."
"And so I don't entirely misunderstand you," she continued, "you're going to have perhaps clarify your remark about irony, since I see a lot of different types inherent in this situation."
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He really didn't care to keep secrets and even if he detested the woman in the past, he had changed and now he could see that even through the fine edge of tension that permeated the room, he and Angelina did have a few things in common and he was good with that. "Why, I was supposed to be head of a group called the Hunters who bring the wayward children back to town if they're gone for too long." He sat back up again. "Off the record, they don't exist and honestly, I don't think they're used much since no one seems to leave." Marcus smiled and then added. "They didn't even tell me what I was to be doing really when they offered the promotion but I figured it out." He snorted, then shook his head. "The funny part about it is that since then I've gotten all the shite work and you know who's in charge of them." He leaned across the desk again. "Fenrir Greyback. Off the record, of course."
He gave her a snide, sideways smile at her response, then said, "People who obey move up. Obstinate pricks like me go to Cold Case. Take Turner here." Marcus patted the desk he was sitting at. "The man he replaced was named Sparrow who ran afoul of a supervisor named Barbossa. They made Sparrow walk the plank for just standing up to someone above him. There's something wrong there." He looked at Angelina and said, "I'm just saying to be careful. But it's your life, love."
Marcus shrugged again. "I worked the Market area, searching for signs of any type of outside influence in Annwn exploiting the vendors there." He picked up a pencil and began to twirl it between his forefinger and thumb. "In other words, I made sure there wasn't anyone being strong armed down there and that there wasn't any type of black market goods going on sale there."
"I was good at it too. I had connections built for the past three years but one denial of promotion and I'm here working four year old cases and trying to solve them." Marcus put the pencil down and replied. "It means that if there is a group of let's say, people who disagree with the people in power in this town and decide to actively protest, it'll be your job to root them out." He leaned back again and smiled. "The irony of it all is that I know you're one of those types who would actively oppose the leadership here because I believe you were doing the same against the Dark Lord. So then I have to ask, why are you here, Johnson?"
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"Yes, of course I wouldn't offer the fact you might have given me any information I shouldn't know on my own," Angelina murmured, lost in thought for a moment. "But, a bloody fucking sadistic werewolf?" She bit her tongue, shaking her head, because that same werewolf was now in essence one of her bosses in this endeavour wasn't he? And she had started letting her gaurd down too much with Marcus as it was, even in those few minutes.
Even more than the news Greyback was involved, she blanched at the idea of hunting down children. Not just the idea of having to actually do something like that, but the idea that anyone would. There was no mention of hurting them, but still, you put the wolf that gave all werewolves a bad name in charge of them, and it wasn't like they were going to be brought dociley back. She couldn't help but be confused at Marcus' comment about them however. Either they existed or they didn't, and he was implying both. But children aside, there were hunters like that, they'd heard about them from Harry at the meeting of the resistance. Maybe Marcus was right and nobody tried to leave, but that was because they knew the threat of what was out there and simply didn't try anymore.
"I'm sure you were just brilliant," Angelina said. She wasn't exactly exuding sarcasm, for all she knew he was the best little employee around. What she found amusing was his need to point it out. Though she could understand the frustration in being bumped back down to relative desky duty, when at least according to him it was done for the wrong reasons. She took it into account though that this was about the good as well as the bad - stopping black market trade and preserving the good part of things here.
And when he finished, she gave up trying to understand him with the way he kept fluctuating, and stopped making the assumptions that she'd made before, which was the smarter way to play things anyway. "Well, that is the job of law enforcement isn't it?" She remarked mildly, "Protect country, protect the town as the case may be here, protect those in power. I didn't doubt it was much different in Annwn. We wouldn't want anybody making trouble now, would we? And you kept tabs on what I was doing during Voldemort's reign, how sweet. But like you said, different overlord."
"I'm here for a job," she shrugged, "like I said. Some people aren't made for living their life idly." It was true, but for her personally she wasn't just talking about a life without labour. "I need the kick of this kind of work, and this is as close as I'm going to get to the kind of job I love to do. The paycheck is just a nice side benefit."
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"Brilliant? No but good at what I did." Marcus snickered and scratched at the stubble on his cheek. "Brilliant would describe my play on the Pitch and how we drummed your arses for all those years when we played." He chuckled at his own words and then his features turned serious as he said, "I didn't do anything to get bumped down other than not do what they wanted. But that's the way things operate around here."
"I didn't need to keep tabs." Marcus countered, his eyes flashing as he spoke. "The heroes of the war and all. You were in the papers." He chuckled, knowing he wasn't cut out for those types of heroics. After all, he'd stayed out of the war because he knew he'd end up dead somehow and he couldn't bring himself to support that prick Voldemort. The Dark Lord had been a guest of his parents several times and had enjoyed their hospitality to the utmost. Marcus had been oblivious though, the firt few visits by the Dark Lord, he'd been too young and the last few, he'd been off playing Quidditch which was all that really mattered to him.
But he wouldn't have supported the megalomaniac anyway because Marcus didn't support a loser and he had it in his mind that Voldemort's dreams of world conquest would come to a bitter end, much like the hundred other Voldemort's throughout history who'd failed just the same. His parents though stuck it out with the Dark Lord until the very end and ended up dead near the Forbidden Forest.
He really didn't feel any compassion for them.
"Of course it is." He responded with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Marcus knew she didn't believe that anymore than he believed all law enforcement people were clean. He shook his head again. "No, I do have to agree with the idea of a new overlord though, even when other won't admit it." He looked around the deserted office, then shrugged. "It keeps me occupied and pays the bills." Marcus smiled at her comment again, knowing she was just spewing more bullshit but he didn't feel like arguing, so he said, "Good luck with that then."
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"And, don't worry Marcus, I wasn't casting aspersions onto your ability to do the job such as it is, or saying you'd done anything else to piss them off other than refuse the promotion. Touchy, aren't we? Apparently skipping the genuflection was a mistake on my part - god, if we could stop with you pointing out repeatedly how you are the shit around here who was fucked career wise by actually doing the somewhat 'right' thing for once in his life it would be much appreciated." It had toned down at least this time, but it was driving her fucking nutters.
Apparently her comment about keeping tabs had annoyed him more - but apparently he must have kept a very fucking close eyes on the papers then, not that she really had any belief he had ever really kept tabs on her or any other individuals specifically. Her name was hardly mentioned; junior auror #4 didn't really warrant a mention usually, especially given the more marketable names that had been part of the effort, and had been there that last night specifically.
Apparently he had no problems with the werewolf, and that wasn't a topic Angelina would touch with him then. Werewolves, she had no issue with, Fenrir Greyback in particular she did. Apparently not as much had changed in regards to Marcus' personality, or morals for that matter, as she might have thought initially. There was actually a common point between them, needing excitement, needing a rush of adrenaline - but for her, there was just a bit more of a line between acceptable ways of getting that and not.
"Well, I'm glad you're happy with the idea of being ruled with an iron fist then," she continued, at his comment the idea of a new overlord was welcome, "imagine other people, wanting a say in things, how very and utterly wrong of them." In a more antagonistic time, she would have commented on his own need to be bossed around and incapability of independent thought, but she had to bite her tongue against it now. Being successful didn't mean sucking up to everybody, but that didn't mean she wanted to get to a point where she was going to knock his teeth down his throat either when he started to repond in kind.
Her eyes wanted to slide down to his wrist, to see if there was any lingering mark there, but for all a shirt covered it, Angelina wasn't going to give into that temptation anyway. Past allegiences didn't matter really anyway, had no bearing, only current ones did - and though she liked to think they were the be all and end all in determining character, they weren't. There were some nice examples of people who'd made the right choices the first time, and were making some horrible ones now.
"So, Greyback is leading these hunters," Angelina remarked, "is Sir Herbert Varney in charge of the nightwatch tnen?"
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