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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 11:59:22 GMT -5
After a long day, Wizards and Witches need to just get away from it all... well welcome home! Take it easy, you're safe now.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 12:17:58 GMT -5
Maxwell regarded her for a moment. I knew I shouldn't have left her alone in this place! "You're safe now, Alice. I promise." His sharp gaze went back to the men. "You people are disgusting! Not only did you break in and violate Alice's apartment, but I heard that little curse you were going to fire." He gripped his wand tightly. "You're lucky I stopped you when I did, otherwise all of you would be dead."
"You don't scare me, old man!" Mitch snarled, still angry about the way he'd been defeated. "That bitch owes us money, and we're going to collect it!"
Maxwell stared icily at him. "So that's what this is about. I think I understand now..."
And with that, Maxwell started his attack. Mitch went down in an instant - having already been wounded before. That just left the other two to deal with. It was quite a challenge, keeping up with two people at once.
"Crucio!"
"Avada Kedarva!"
Maxwell quickly dodged the two curses and countered with a non-verbal Blasting Curse. The curse hit one of the men and knocked them back into a wall. He took a spare moment to move the couch in front of her, so that she wouldn't be hit directly by a spell."Get out when you can and go for help!" He commanded. "I don't know if I'll be able to defeat them by myself."
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 12:31:37 GMT -5
Alice hid behind the couch, taking deep breaths. She was terrified, but she wiped her tears, and placed the brave face back on. She needed to get out. Without a wand, she was simply a liability. She knew none of the neighbors would come to help. It wasn't uncommon for loan sharks and gang members to turn up and leave threats in homes. And it wasn't uncommon for things to get physical or violent. No one bothered beyond checking in to make sure the person was alive afterwards. Why become a target or get injured?
She steadied her breaths, and crawled towards the end of the couch. She peeked to see Maxwell exchanging blows with the sadistic one. The leader was knocked out by a wall. The other beat up guy was struggling to get free from the bonds Maxwell had tied on him, and to Alice's fears, he looked like he was succeeding. She had two options, go through the fight, or through the beat up leader and his injured follower.
Taking the easier route, she crawled slowly, ducking and dodging stray spells. She watched her clothes be torn to shreds and books explode. The Obliviators would have a field day covering up the damage. She then saw the leader's wand, lying a few feet away from his hand. If she just got by the leader, than she'd be able to help. Determinedly, she began moving, not concentrating on anything else. She was almost there, until-
SMACK!
A hand struck down her face and she felt her ears ring of the smack sound.
"Not today bitch," said the injured fellow, who'd gotten his arms free. He grabbed the wand and then wrapped his arm around Alice's neck after pulling her up, wand pointed at her face.
"I think it's in your best interest to stop now," yelled the man, "Or your whore gets it."
Alice however, could only notice the man's veins. If she used her nails and pressed in the right spot... She could get free, and cause the man some pain. She didn't want Maxwell to get hurt for her. She began pulling at his arm, causing him to tighten it around her neck. He wasn't inconvenienced at all, and she'd bet anything that he wanted to make Maxwell think she was desperate.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 12:43:45 GMT -5
At once, Maxwell stopped what he was doing, not wanting to risk Alice's life. "Using her life as a threat against me is something a coward would do." he said frigidly. "Then again, why am I not surprised?"
"That's enough out of you, bastard!" growled Mitch. "On your knees, or I'll break her pretty little arm off!" To prove his point, he got rougher with her.
Maxwell weighed his options. The easiest thing to do would be Apparating away, but that risked Alice's death. Fighting anyway would also have the same result. They were less skilled, but a lot more dangerous because they were aiming to kill. Seeing that he had no other choice, he did as he was told.
At once, Vance charged at him, landing a solid kick to his cheek. "Not so tough now, huh?"
Maxwell responded by spitting at the man's foot. Luckily, his teeth hadn't been knocked out. "An old woman can kick harder than that." he sneered.
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 13:02:49 GMT -5
Alice stared in horror, pausing her struggles to watch the sadist kick Maxwell's face. She began struggling twice as hard, only to have the man holding her squeeze her throat until she couldn't breathe. She thought he might kill her, until he let go. She had been so close to blacking out. He then lowered his arm across her breasts, trapping her elbows and deliberately making her feel violated. Never had Alice hated her parents throughout this experience, but right here, right now, she could feel hate for them.
"Looks like you and your sugar daddy are doomed to have the unhappy ending after all," mocked the man into her ear.
Weakened, she used less strength to claw at him, watching the sadist circle Maxwell. In a panic, she used the little mobility she had to pinch the man's vein with her nails, effectively causing the man to cry out and let her go.
"Bitch!" he cried, but she hit a bruise on his collarbone as hard as she possibly could, causing him to fall and drop the wand. This time, Alice grabbed it and pointed it at him.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 13:11:57 GMT -5
Seeing that she was out of harms way, Maxwell found himself smirking. "Very nicely done, Alice. I'm rather impressed." he then turned to Vance. "I think it's time you learned how to treat your betters."
As expected, the overgrown lummox acted on impulse. "Crucio!" But Maxwell was ready. He dodged the curse, which hit the wall behind him, and used the short window of seconds to close in on his target. He towered over Vance and pointed his wand at his throat.
"Now you're the one that needs to surrender. But first..." Maxwell was far better at Occlumency than Legilimency, but there was something he had to know. Without care or compassion, he ruthlessly tore into Vance's mind and pounced on the information he required. When Vance blacked out, he turned to face Alice and Mitch.
"Alice, will you be so kind as to send for an auror? I have something I want to say to this man."
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 13:25:21 GMT -5
Alice hadn't watched the exchange between Maxwell and the sadist as she had stunned and bound the man who grabbed her., and the injured one. When she turned, she saw the sadist fall, seeming passed out.
"Alice, will you be so kind as to send for an auror? I have something I want to say to this man," said Maxwell, looking uncharacteristically grave.
Alice would have stayed any other time, but she didn't want to be in the room. She nodded, holding back tears. Everything had just fallen apart. It would take her forever to patch the apartment together and earn money for Vladmir. Not to mention all the things that needed to be replaced. Maxwell probably had reaalized that her family was not the respectable people she'd thought they were, and thought she was more trouble than help.
"Accio wand. I'll send a Patronus," said Alice, a sob catching in the back of her throat. Without a second glance, she fled from the room, desperate to ignore the damage.
Once she reached a secluded area outside the building by the side. She sent a quick Patronus to the auror office. Her gazelle leaped from her wand and off to the ministry. Once it was gone, Alice collapsed to the ground and broke into sobs.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 13:36:42 GMT -5
Maxwell heard her sobbing, and decided that enough was enough. He punched Mitch in the face with enough force to injure his hand. Mitch let out a muffled yelp. "Now listen here, you little shit. I know all about Vladmir Vosnick and his black market, and the crime syndicate you work for. I gained enough information off of Vance to shut down Vladmir's whole operation."
He hit Mitch again. "I'll be having a chat with your boss soon enough. Just know that I am close enough to the Head of Law Enforcement and Head Auror to make your lives a living hell. Who knows, maybe I'll even push for death."
Mitch's eyes widened in horror.
And with that, he cast a sleep spell on all three of the men - to ensure that none would wake up - and followed the sounds of Alice's sobs.
"Alice? Are you alright?" he asked timidly, walking into the room.
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 13:54:56 GMT -5
Alice heard Maxwell approaching. She wiped her tears and tried to put on her brave face again. She turned to face him, as he walked into the room. She must look like a mess.
"Alice? Are you alright?" he asked timidly.
"I-I'm fine," she tried to say, but looking at his worried eyes, she broke down into sobs, her brave face exhausted for the day.
"No, e-everything is all w-wrong! The h-house is tr-trashed, I c-can't p-pay the m-money, I c-can't af-afford n-new things, my face st-stings, th-that man ca-called me a wh-whore and he t-tou-touched me w-with his arm o-on my br-bre-breasts! Un-until you sh-showed u-up I was conv-convinced I w-was g-going to d-d-die or be t-to-tortured. A-and th-then you c-came and g-got h-hurt for me, I-I'm so so sor-sorry. It w-was-wasn't su-supposed to b-be like this! A-and its all my p-parents fau-faults!"
The rest of her words were drowned by her sobs. Her entire body shook as she cried. She slid to the ground, unable to hold herself up even anymore.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 14:03:18 GMT -5
At once, he was down on his knees at her side. He then hugged her close to him - an action he hadn't done with anyone since the death of his parents years ago. "Shhh... it's okay. I'm just fine, and you will be too." He wasn't sure what to do. "I saw into the mind of that thug, and there's enough information to bury Vladmir six feet under. He won't get away with what he's done, this I promise. And so will those men."
He forced back his urge to rage and kill, allowing only compassion and understanding to show through his Occlumency walls. By just spending a little time with her, he'd come to value her beyond the knowledge she had on magical creatures. At the moment, comforting her was all that mattered.
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 14:20:13 GMT -5
Three times today Alice had ended up unwittingly in the arms of Maxwell, and it wasn't until the third time that she allowed herself to stay. She hadn't cried in so long, and now everything seemed to pour out into Maxwell's shoulder. Her parents betrayal, their debts, her living situation, being unable to heal, being confronted, her wrecked home, her fears and her physical pain, everything seemed to unload at that moment.
She barely heard Maxwell's words as she cried. Her body moved automatically to return the hug, clinging on to Maxwell for support. Just the warm feelings of comfort and safety were enough to help her calm down. Slowly her wails turned to sobs, and her hitched breathing slowed down. Finally she found herself calm. Large tear stains covered Maxwell's shoulder. She knew she should move, but she only let go of him.
She turned her head slightly, ever so grateful that Maxwell had been here tonight. Her head was close to his ear as she croaked out, "Thank you."
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 14:25:03 GMT -5
"You're welcome, Alice." he whispered wearily, as the series of events started to affect him. His jaw throbbed painfully, but he barely noticed it. "I'm just glad you're alright."
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 14:43:25 GMT -5
Christopher McKoy sat at his desk, late into the night. A bottle of gin sat at the front of the desk, half-opened. Tonight was probably going to be another boring night. He had a war to prepare for and nothing interesting to work with. He knew that a launch for the Forbidden Forest was definitely the first move. It was the largest hub for the magical creatures of course. However, he yearned to move from his desk. Do something exciting for once.
And that was when the gazelle appeared. He stared at the silver patronus, unfazed. It exuded an air of innocence and trust, obviously the patronus of someone who wasn't a fighter.
"Attack at Cooper Road, men detained, house trashed. Please send help," said the gazelle, the voice sounding shaky and scared, "Mr. Rosebane and I need help."
The last part caught Christopher's attention. What was Maxwell Rosebane doing in a lower-class muggle area? He'd been attacked. Christopher grinned a sly grin. Well, things had gotten interesting now.
He quickly got up from his office and surveyed the Aurors, all obviously having seen the gazelle, and wondering which of them would be sent.
"Bellard, you know Cooper Road right, in London? Whatever, I don't care, you had better know it anyways," barked Christopher, "Your coming with me to investigate an attack, hurry it up."
And with that, Christopher began walking to the apparition point, not waiting for Bellard. Truth was he could handle the thugs or assassins or what not, tears he couldn't. Bellard had a knack for that. Now, to see what Rosebane was up to.
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Post by Nahara46 on Jul 23, 2012 14:47:10 GMT -5
Eleazar had been preparing to leave, so when Christopher called for him he sighed. Of course he would be unable to leave so peacefully. He strectched out his arms and called back tiredly,
"Yes I know vaguely where it is." Eleazar quickly caught up to the head at the apparition point and he closed his eyes, ready for whatever mayhem they may encounter.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 14:54:31 GMT -5
Eventually, he had to let go of her, deciding that he needed to be out when the aurors came." Alice, since your bed is left untouched, why don't you lay down for a while?" he suggested mildly. "I'm going out to meet the aurors, and handle all the tedious things that are about to happen. If you need me, don't hesitate to ask." And with that, he walked out the door, both physically and emotionally drained.
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 15:03:11 GMT -5
Alice nodded uneasily. A part of her was afraid to be in the same room as those men, but she trusted Maxwell. Quietly, she followed Maxwell up to her room. At the door, she froze at the sight of the three men laying a sleep in her living room. The ruins surrounding them.
"I'll be in my bedroom, I think I need to lie down," said Alice, stumbling to her room and falling onto her bed. She left the door open accidentally.
Christopher arrived on scene, delighted. He heard the pop of Bellard apparating behind him. He looked at the building and saw a light on in the third floor. Pink curtains seemed scissored by some kind of spell.
"Let's check the third floor out," said Chris, moving into the building at top speed. Once outside the most likely room, he knocked, putting on his professional face. Bellard was at his heels.
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Post by Nahara46 on Jul 23, 2012 15:05:40 GMT -5
Eleazar didn't like the sight of it- he had a horrible feeling. In all honesty, it didn't make sense, he didn't know this place. Why should he be nervous? Though judging by the state of the curtains probably said that it wasn't very pleasant inside. The younger Auror followed Christopher and tried to look professional as he waited just behind Chris as the door.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 15:07:06 GMT -5
Maxwell opened the door, and was greeted by two familiar faces - Christopher and Eleazar. While Christopher was a surprise, Eleazar was someone he would have chosen. "Good evening and thank you for coming. Please, do come in." He moved out of the way so that they could come in.
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Post by Nahara46 on Jul 23, 2012 15:12:29 GMT -5
Eleazar took one look and saw Maxwell- his mouth visibly fell open. Why was he here? Wasn't he with... Alice? He didn't say anything, hoping Christopher would take over long enough to Eleazar to come out of the shock.
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 15:13:27 GMT -5
Christopher looked back at Bellard. He didn't need Bellard to interview Rosebane, rhat was his job. He looked at the disheveled apartment with disgust. Obviously an altercation had taken place. He couldn't help but smirk inwardly at the sign of the bruise on Rosebane's face. Glancing around, he saw a bedroom door opened, and what looked like a girl lying down. Maxell was visiting a woman? Here?
"Bellard, we need witness statements, go check on the lady in the bedroom, I'll have these three sent to the office via portkey," said Christopher, already grabbing a torn cloth to use as the portkey.
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Post by Nahara46 on Jul 23, 2012 15:16:06 GMT -5
At the mention of a lady in the bedroom, Eleazar felt a bit queasy, he looked over and was horrified to recognize her as Alice. Pulling himself together, he nodded and quickly went around his boss and Maxwell, going straight to sit on the edge of Alice's bed.
"Alice?" He said, managing to keep his voice down, "What that bloody hell happened here?"
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 15:29:31 GMT -5
Alice jumped at the sound of someone walking in. She looked up to see Eleazar walking in. She felt relief flood her. She had almost thought those three had woken up.
"Alice, what the bloody hell happened here?" he asked.
Alice didn't know what to say. She sat up so that she wasn't lying down while they talked. Several times her mouth opened and closed. Until finally, her story poured out.
"I was being dropped home, everything was going alright, and I walked straight in to find debt collectors waiting for me. They-they were angry, I hadn't p-paid th-them, and th-they tried to to-torture me, b-b-but then Ma-Maxwell arr-arrived and-
At this point, Alice started crying again. The memories she had been trying to erase flooding back. She poured out her story to Eleazar while sobbing. She told him about her parents debt, the loan sharks, how she'd gone out tonight and everything had been wonderful as Maxwell treated her with such care and importance, only to come home and find herself attacked by the loan sharks. Maxwell had been almost attacked by his limo, and came up to rescue her.
She told him about how she'd tried to escape, only to be grabbed by the horrible man, who'd called her all those nasty things and purposely violated her. How she almost blacked out as he choked her. And how she had no where left to go.
Telling Eleazar was so much easier than telling Maxwell. With Eleazar she felt like she wasn't confessing a sin. It felt more equal. Telling Maxwell about her problems had made her feel so unequal. He was such a good man and person, and she had such dirty secrets destroying her life. Telling Eleazar was like confessing to a friend. She shared alll this with Eleazar as well.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 15:33:53 GMT -5
Maxwell sat on the tattered couch. "Forgive me for not standing up, but I'm rather tired. It's been a very long evening." He stifled a yawn. "Alright, Christopher, shall we begin?"
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 15:37:46 GMT -5
"Your face is bruised. She must be some lady," said Chris with a raised eyebrow, taking a seat on the couch. He couldn't help but notice that Maxwell's position gave him a direct view into the bedroom where the girl seemed to have broken down. He wondered how much of it was coincidence on Maxwell's part.
"Mind telling me why exactly you're in Cooper road, a low-class muggle area, with a girl almost half your age?" asked Christopher, as he spelled the three dimwits away to the Auror office.
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Post by Nahara46 on Jul 23, 2012 15:38:24 GMT -5
Eleazar decided that the best thing to do was to stay quiet and listen. His face became darker and darker as she went on- How dare they attack her? The mention of how Maxwell protected her, softened his expression just a bit. Maybe he wasn't so heartless... Eleazar still didn't trust him, but at least he didn't hate the other man as much.
When Alice went on to how it was like talking to Eleazar compared to Maxwell, he managed to put away his anger, to instead jump in and put in his few words of comfort,
"Alice, don't think that all of this is some dirty secret of yours. You can always come to me about anything and I'll listen, and help if I can. I'm not about to say I know exactly how you feel right now, but I know how I feel. I'm angry at those men for even considering harming you, frankly I want to return the favor to them. I'm thankful that Maxwell saved you- I guess I'll have to be a bit nicer to the guy... And I'm grateful that your all right." He hesitated before continuing, "I have a sister- Rosemarie. She's your age and you remind me of how I feel about her. If someone hurt her, I'd hurt those bastards- and I know I'd do the same for you."
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 15:46:55 GMT -5
"Th-thank you," said Alice through her sobs. "I re-really do-don't des-deserve th-this. I put pe-people in d-danger. I-I ha-haven't said this to a-any-anyone and n-now I t-told two peo-people in one n-night. Is it al-always so re-relieving?"
She tried wiping away her tears, but it didn't seem to work. She had no idea what her tears were for anymore, relief, hurt, fear. She couldn't help but feel relieved at Eleazar's presence. Though she didn't feel like she deserved his confidence or care, look where it had gotten Maxwell after all.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 15:48:40 GMT -5
"Your face is bruised. She must be some lady," said Chris with a raised eyebrow, taking a seat on the couch. He couldn't help but notice that Maxwell's position gave him a direct view into the bedroom where the girl seemed to have broken down. He wondered how much of it was coincidence on Maxwell's part.
"Mind telling me why exactly you're in Cooper road, a low-class muggle area, with a girl almost half your age?" asked Christopher, as he spelled the three dimwits away to the Auror office.
"It started off rather simply, to be honest." Maxwell sighed, closing his eyes, which were feeling heavier and heavier each second. "I met Alice at the Ministry for the first time yesterday, and then we started talking more the next day." He was making sure to be careful with his words. For the most part, Christopher was in on his plans, only the darker aspects of them remained hidden. He then explained about her not having enough money for lunch, the way she agreed to go on a friendly date with him - which is what it was, so that wasn't a lie.
"The more we talked, the more I came to value her as a friend. She's a good woman - far better than many her age I've met." he paused. "After our friendly dinner date ended, I dropped her off at the apartment. I didn't feel comfortable leaving her there, but it was outside of my control..." he then went into detail about being jumped by three of the men at once, the fight that had taken place and the fact that he'd brutally ripped into Vance's mind.
"Do you know anyone by the name of Vladmir Vosnick, or anything about the organization he works for?" |
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Post by Nahara46 on Jul 23, 2012 15:56:59 GMT -5
"You deserve this and more." Eleazar replied firmly, reaching over to give her a one-armed hug. "Well, minus the bad guys really. But you definitely deserve good people in your life, your a good person yourself." Honestly, it hurt him to see Alice cry. It was odd, how fast he was growing protective of her. It must be the similarities between her and Rosemarie, both were similar in age and both were all around happy and friendly people. Eleazar remembered when he first met his little sister, he had been just a kid but he had told his mother firmly 'I'm going to protect my little sister.' His father had laughed and replied, 'And keep the boys away from her too!' Mother had playfully swatted Father on the shoulder as Eleazar just looked at the little girl in wonder.
Similarly, Eleazars eyes were filled with wonder and surprise as he looked at Alice- she was such an innocent girl, why were horrible things always happening to good people?
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Post by G. Novella on Jul 23, 2012 16:05:02 GMT -5
Chris listened to Rosebane with a blank face. He looked at the frail woman in the room. Who knew Maxwell Rosebane, the charmer and schemer, was interested in the delicate kind of girl? However, his curiosity rose ten-fold at the last question. He lost his air of indifference for surprise. What was a frail thing like the girl doing involved with a group like that?
"Vladmir Vosnik?! What on earth is she doing involved with that group?!" asked Christopher, before smoothing his features to explain.
"We've been after Vosnik for a few years. He's a liar, cheat, murderer, you name it, and he's done it. His men are mostly efficient. He can wager a person's ability and have them hunted by his men of slightly higher ability. He doesn't waste resources. We discovered that he has a habit of loaning large sums of money illegally to groups. The groups tend to borrow the money for illegal doings. Considering the men he sent after her, I'd assume he believes that many resources, not just money was involved. He's probably desperate for an answer or to keep her under his thumb. He loans men out too, poison, assassin, he used to run a nasty group of snatchers. They kidnapped magical creatures, but it stopped recently. The people normally caught involved with him are never on the right side of the law," added Chris.
He was stressing the last part. If Rosebane wanted to keep her from jail, well, he knew the drill. There were ways to keep things from reaching the courts after all.
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Post by kumainpink on Jul 23, 2012 16:15:00 GMT -5
The mention of Vosnick's dirty work troubled him deeply. Poor Alice, being put through so much... Maxwell considered Christopher's words. Oh, he knew the proper procedure for all this, alright. Loyalty didn't come cheap, after all. But he had to play this just right.
"I don't know most of the details. All I do know is that Vosnick has a debt on her that comes from someone in her family - her deceased parents, I suspect." he whispered the last part, not wanting to alarm Alice. "Alice is completely innocent, and she has my complete and total support." He emphasized the words barely, but just enough for Christopher to pick up on. They'd been doing this sort of thing for years now. "And if there is any way to shut down that monster, I'll be more than happy to assist. His current hide out is in Grottosburg, Norway."
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