Marriage is Murder

Khaat went down to the study and found the door locked. She wasnt' taking that from her father. She raised her bandaged hand and fired. The wounded hand overshot the spell and almost blew the study door off the hinges. It threw her backwards to the floor, and when Brian saw her falling, he deliberately fell with her, drawing her into himself to keep her from being harmed even further when she hit the floor. Dust and debris fell in the echoing silence in the house.

Her father looked up from his desk. "Don't do that again," he said dryly. "I used to like that door." Michael got up and went out into the hallway, as Angus and Kate came running at the sound of another explosion.

"Khaat," Michael said, reaching down to her with both hands. "let me help you up. Are either of you hurt?"

"No," Brian said. He looked at Enzo. He seemed unphased. "Your owner must have really been something else."

"He was an alchemist," Angus said. "Enzo is used to things going 'boom.' "

"Well, that makes one of us," Brian said, getting up, as Michael helped Khaat up. He looked up and noticed something odd. Robert was dressed all in black. His mission wear. And so was Michael. "What are you doing?" Brian asked, his tone becoming serious.

"He's being stupid!" Khaat charged. Robert looked up from the desk drawer he was looking in and scowled at her.

"Did she just use that word in connection with me?" Robert asked Michael.

"Sounded like it to me," Michael said. "Child, when has your father ever, in his entire life, been stupid?"

"Stay with Khaat," Robert told them, flicking his wand to repair the door. He watched the pieces reassemble and repair the study door. "Michael is going along. It won't take long."

"You are NOT going to go there for me!" she said angrily. He walked around the desk, and laid his hands very gently on both her shoulders, looking into her bandaged face. "With all due respect, I don't see how you can stop me, my dear," his voice was soft and quiet.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked.

"I'm making a short outing," Robert said. "I have a new piece of intelligence that gives Tom Gelding every single reason in the world to hate James even more than we do. I'm just planting a seed, that's all. I'll have Michael with me. It isn't as dangerous as it seems. I had planned to go alone, but Michael, it seems, wants to watch my back. So I'll take him with me. What I want you lot to do is to decide if any of you are going to have enough energy to take night watch tonight."

"I'll do it," Brian said. "I'l take the night watch."

"No. You wont. You're on leave until I say otherwise," Robert said, doing his best to reel in his own stress and show nothing but calm and solid leadership to his family. "You nearly died a few hours ago. You'll good night's sleep tonight because I say so. And you'll stay beside my daughter--where you belong." Brian sighed. He knew Robert had his mind made up.

"We've done this mission before, and you all know it," Robert said. "It would not be the first time we deliberately gave information to Gelding. We've done it and survived. This is not James. Its just Gelding. Stop the unnecessary worrying."

"What is it you know?" Brian said.

"Not tonight," Robert said, looking at Khaat's eyes that were blindfolded with bandages and gauze. Sometimes enough was enough. Sometimes they did need to trust his judgement. "Maybe in the morning when we're all a bit more rested. Michael and I can shoulder this for now."

"How long have you had this information?"

"About 2 minutes," he said. "Long enough to know what I have to do." Brian looked at them both. Michael had always been more than willing to die to protect Robert. He trusted Michael to watch Robert's back.

"Will it be enough? Just the two of you?" Brian asked. Robert nodded, tucking a dagger into his belt and laying a second on the desk--one Michael picked up and tucked into his own belt--just in case. Neither expected to use it.

"I'll help with the night watch when I get back," Michael said. "I'm a night owl. Just an occupational hazard. You've all had a tough day. If you need a night to rest, I do understand. I could manage by myself...."

"I would prefer you had a back up, Michael," Robert said. "Do you lot think you can be without me for one hour?"

"You are NOT throwing yourself to Tom Gelding!" Khaat protested.

"Were you honestly listening, my dear?" he asked her softly. He understood that she'd been through so much today that it was nearly impossible for her to get a grip on her nerves. He didn't blame her for that. She had a right. "I am not throwing myself to Gelding. I'm purposely setting him on James. In this case, the old saying is true. The enemy of our enemy is our friend. At least about this."

"This sounds a little dangerous," Brian said.

"The danger will not come until James finds out what I've done," Robert said. "And I intend to be home by then. In the meantime, it is critical that you lot will scour this property and be absolutely sure James has no markers here. I do not have any reason to believe he does. My property's location is not even on file at the ministry--on purpose. There is nothing to enable him to find this place unless someone I trust has betrayed me. And I find that highly unlikely. I trust you can deal with keeping the farm safe for just an hour."

"I'm going along. I can be great bait," Khaat said. She felt Brian's grip on her automatically tighten out of his own raw nerves and fear.

"Khaat," Michael said, coming over and brushing a soft kiss across her cheek. "You do 'bait' better than anybody else I know."

"That's because so many people already think of her as bait," Robert said dryly.

Michael ignored him and continued talking with Khaat. "We need speed and stealth tonight," he told her. He looked up at the rest of him but continued speaking to her. He wanted them to pick up the hint he was giving them as well. "I brought you a box of the finest chocolate truffles in the world. Enough for you all to make yourselves sick on them. I brought you some Greek baklava, and I also brought you some lovely Southern Pecan flavored French Roast beans for some of the best coffee you'll ever sip in your life. I expect you to enjoy a lovely 5 star snack with your friends and hold dinner for us. Its only an hour. Khaat, I need you to trust me. Even if you think your father is overreacting. I need you to trust me. I'll bring him home. I swear." She didn't speak. He wrapped her in a loving hug. "I know you're frightened. You've all had a day straight out of hell itself. But I would never let anything happen to your father. You know that. I need you to just trust me for one hour." She hesitated and then slowly nodded. "Good girl," he said.

Michael looked at Steven with one slightly raised eyebrow. "I beg your pardon? No offense?" Michael asked. "Look, Tex, I've been going on these little errands with Robert since before you were born. What makes you think you're so much more experienced than I am?"

"Enough," Robert said, his decision already made, cutting the discussion short before it got started. "I don't have time for this. I'm making a social call on Tom Gelding. We've done it for years, and no doubt, we'll be doing it for several more years. As I said, I was going alone, but I changed my mind and Michael is coming along. I'm not looking for a skirmish. I'm giving him some news I'm sure he'll want to know. The more people we take, the more of a fight we'd be inviting when, in fact, I'm asking for his help before he's too clever to figure it out. He is a bit thickheaded, and I plan on using that to my own advantage. Now--you have your assignments. Scour the grounds. Straight away. I want to be sure that this farm is as secure as I think it is. Michael, are you coming?"

"I wouldn't miss a chance to 'socialize' with Gelding again for all the money in the world," Michael smiled. Michael walked over and stood beside Robert, and they apparated out.

"They're gone," Brian told Khaat. "They'll be alright. I know your dad. He''s probably going to just drop off an owl or a message and come right back. If he's going to do this in an hour, he's not planning on conversation. They'll be right back, and they'll be alright."

"They'd better be," she said, "Or I'll hunt down Gelding myself. Brian--look on Daddy's desk. Anything there that tells us what this new information is?"

"You want me to spy?" he asked, only the slightest tip of a grin on his face.

"Yes," she said. He stifled a need to laugh and looked around on the desk. He saw nothing.

"Nope. As usual, he's a step ahead of us and he's hidden it." He looked at the others. "I guess we're going to be sure James has no markers here. Who's with me?"

"Brian," Angus said gently. "He asked you to stay with his daughter. You do as he says. There are enough of us to search the grounds. We could stay with her, but we won't be the support to her that you are. I'll take your place on the search."

Khaat suddenly felt even more like an invalid. A vegetable. Useless. An anchor around Brian that he would have been well to do without. She clutched tight Enzo's harness and turned around sharply. "Forward," she ordered the dog with as much strength in her voice as she could manage. Enzo led her out of the study. She was angry. Frustrated. And she wanted out. She wanted to just run.

"Hard for a seer to be blind, isn't it?" her mother's voice said softly in her ear in the hallway.

"You have no idea," Khaat replied.

"No, but your great grandmother was a seer, and she went blind before she died. I remember what that was like for her. I do have a vague idea. Come sit down," her mother's voice was always the voice of reason in a world that seemed to have none left. Kate took her daughter's elbow and led her gently to the living room and accio'd in a couple of mugs of tea. She put a tea mug into Khaat's hands and folded her hands around the mug.

Khaat had heard them. She had heard Steven's temper. He either couldnt take an order any more or was sick of having to stoop so low as to protect her. Jack and Jess had abandoned the orders as well and had gone into the village. She could take no more.

"Sod you all!" she stood up, snatched up Enzo's harness, and before Kate could get to her feet, Khaat had taken her wand and apparated out entirely.

"Brian!" Kate shouted. "She's gone!"

"What!" Brian had heard Kate's shouting and came running. "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know," Kate sighed. "She heard Steven and Jess and Jack, and she just left."

He groaned, frustrated. "Kate," he ordered, "Call in men from Paris to do the jobs that Jack and Steven clearly do not want to do. Angus can't do it by himself. I'm going to try to find her."

"I'll go help him," she said.

"After you call for some additional help," Brian said. He was, personally, getting sick of them choosing when they wanted to follow Robert's orders and when they did not. He knew Robert would give them yet another chance, but Brian, at that moment, was in the mood to fire them. Flat out. He looked outside and saw it was beginning to rain. "Great. Just great," he sighed. Kate accio'd a spare wand from Robert's study and pressed it into his hand

"It might not be the best fit but it will do until we replace yours," she said.

"Thank you," he said, apparating out.

ooc: brian is gone. he apparated out. i will presume you mean angus.

"We need to look for markers here," Angus said quietly. "I dont' think James has ever penetrated Robert's defenses here, but we need to be certain." Kate pushed past them angrily and put on a long heavy rain cloak and pulled up the hood and went outside. Immediately things were pushed about and blown apart. Flowerpots blown to pieces as she walked past them. Patio furnture thrown. Flowers rooted out of their best and hurled across the yard, Paving stones tossed into the distance. "Oh hell," Angus said softly, seeing Kate's unintentional magic making a path of destruction in her wake as she started to walk the yard in the rain. Thunder rolled overhead, and a bolt of lightning lit the sky as the wind began to kick up fast and hard. "I don't know where Mother Nature stops and Hurricane Kate begins. I suggest we just stay out of her way unless our shields are in place. I've never seen her do this before. I think I will go help her. Quickly. Before she decides to take out that anger on me too." Personally, he was hoping Steven would have enough sense to stay well out of her way.