Dinner: Interrupted

"I do," Robert said. "He's sick. He's dangerous, but he's sick. I'd like not to kill.  And, staff needs to see we're capable of dealing.  Let's go."


"You lot keep an eye on him that he doesn't just end up on the floor someplace," Kate was already ordering Steven and Jack, and she was sure they knew better than to cross her. That, she was sure they knew, was far worse than crossing Robert.


"Katherine," Robert scowled, calling her by her full name as a reprimand.


"Robert Thomas," she called back, including his middle name to up the ante.  Robert rolled his eyes, drew his wand, motioned to Jack and Steven, and ported out to St. Mungos.

Steven looked at Kate and nodded " yes Ma'am" he told her then looked to Jack who also nodded. Seeing Robert port both did the same apearing in the lobby of st Mungos. Both Jack and Steven drew there wands Steven using his gun only as a last resort.

Each looked around Jack listening for any sounds but the echos made it dificult to pick up on anything. "Do you hear anything?" Steven asked and he shook his head.

"Damn this echo." He cursed " where was he last?" Jack asked Robert " might be a good place to start searching." Steven moved to the other side of Robert and waitied knowing if let even one hair on Roberts head get hurt it was more than his life was worth.

"I don't know," Robert said, his own wand drawn. "I got my information from Belby.  He looked around at the staff, looking at their eyes.  One of the smallest nurses seemed to be frozen in her tracks, as she looked down one of the hallway.  


Robert decided that must be the right direction. He took confident strides down the hallway.  When he reached the little nurse, he looked where she'd been looking and saw nothing. 


"Where is he?" he whispered?


"In the nursery with the newborns," she whispered back, terrified.


"Don't worry," he whispered, "Go back to the nursing station and stay there."  He motioned to Jack and Steven.  "He's in the nursery. We don't dare let him hurt the children or frighten them or their mothers.  This must be silent, if we can manage. Do you think you can do that?"

Li sat watching what was going on he saw three men appear in the lobby one larger than the other two but he took orders from one. Li watched and listened he heard the nurse say the man they hunted was in the nursary and silently cursed. He noted as the larger headed down to wards the very room and stood up motioning to the nurses to get out.

"Please take those you can and leave the building" He said without loking away from his objective. He took off his long thick jacket placing it down on the chair he ahd sat at and placed his bag once more over his shoulder so it sat on his hip. With his arms behind his back he walked calmy to folow the men down the corridor.

He paused and focused on one spot noting a diferance in the air he ran as fast as he could jumping he lept over the taller man using his shoulder to vault in front of the older man his hand resting on the mans chest. " do not take anothr step." he said camly as he raised his hand to point at the floor infront of them.

"it is a Area charm, an omnidirectional shockwave charm that stuns all opponents in its area." He told him. "Go right."

Robert had been prepared for chaos, and when he saw someone leaping out at him, he was ready to level his wand. For some reason, he hesitated at the last second. In another day and time, he might have fried first and asked questions later.  


The man did not appear to be armed with a wand, not in a firing position anyway, so he merely listened, not used to having strangers so close and actually touching him without warning.  


An area charm? How had someone been able to get into his hospital and cast such a spell? That, frankly, pissed him off. He fired his wand at the floor.


"Reveal yourself!" he fired.  The area glowed in front of him.  


"Thank you. I appreciate it." he looked at the man in front of him. "Steven, stay behind and make sure this sort of nonsense..." he pointed at the spell area, "gets out of my hospital. And see if you can make sure there are no more booby traps. Then see if you can make sure that the staff and patients are unharmed so far. I can't afford to have people hurt. Jack, you're with me. We have no time to waste."

Li bowed in respect and stepped away as the charm was reveled. He noted the two other men and their names.

"It is my honer Minister, I mearly am doing my duty." He told him as his meallion slipped from his shirt as he stood in front of him." I have took the liberty in requesting the nurses evacuate this floor allready." He looked to the man called Stephen then to the larger called Jack. "The man you seek is tricky, but even a tricky foe has his weakness." He spoke softly.

Jack frowned and shook his head as he looked at Robert. " who is this guy?" He asked as he saw the man move to dispell the charm to give them a clear path.

"One of us," Robert replied to Jack, knowing very little more than the obvious. He hadn't missed the man's style of movement, though. As he thought about it now, he would be well matched with Steven, at least for the moment.  Introductions could wait. 


"Accompany Steven, then, and give him a hand. Quietly and quickly, both of you.  The hospital is a big place, and there's a lot of ground to cover. The psych unit is as escape proof as any place in our world.  Its unlikely he did this completely unaided. That's what's on my mind. We might well not just be looking for an escaped patient with a shank."


He headed quickly on down the hallway in order to reach the nursery and make sure the staff and the children were safe. He wanted this to come to a swift and quiet end.

Li nodded and moved to follow the other man down the corridor. Both mobed to make sure all areas and rooms were empty. Once done they headed back to Robert.

"All rooms empty " Steven reported as Li walked up beside him. He walked around him and up to Robert.

"Minister, I found this in the empty cell it must have fallen off when the broke out." He held up an id card with a name on. "Also found scrubs dumped in the courner, he would be long gone by now." He handed the ID over to him then turned to the one called Jack and spoke.

"My name is LI" He said simply and moved back to look down the corridor.  "It seemed who ever it was that helpped him used a Blocked Barrier spell from the out side to enter and leave " he then darted his head to the left.

" Minister hes moving." he said as teh nursary door opened.

Robert and Jack had reached the nursery when Steven and Li returned to them.  He listened and saw the nursery door open.  He saw a nurse who had been hurt. She'd taken a stab wound to her torso and had evidently slid down a wall into a slump on the floor.  He could see she was still alive.  


There was little noise, so the babies were largely quiet.  He wanted to keep it that way. He looked at Jack and glanced at the children.  His nonverbal instruction was quick but clear.  Protect the children at every cost.  Flat out, he wanted him to put the children ahead of protecting him.


"Minister!" the nurse from the floor cried out sharply, a shout of warning. Their escaped patient was shapeshifting, making a leap, as a gray wolf--teeth bared, straight for Robert, heading for Robert's throat.

Robert suddenly felt anger, indignation.  A dog, for pete's sakes? That's what he thought to bring into this as a challenge?  No. Thats what someone who underestimated Robert brought to a challenge.  He took a stand and brought his stronger leg around in a wide roundhouse kick making direct contact with the side of the wolf, causing the wolf to fall onto the floor, winded.  


The nurse in the corner looked wide eyed, never apparently having dreamed of seeing that "the old man" could fight.

He was ready to tell Jack to restrain him but the man shapeshifted again, into a bird, hoping to fly away.  


"Really?" Robert rolled his eyes, unsure why this man didn't have better than that either.  "Enough." He fired his wand on the man, changing the bird into a slug. The slug dropped helplessly to the nursery floor.


"Bug jar, Jack," he said, quietly.  "I'm tired of playing with him. He gets a bug jar."

Jack stood watching as did li and Steven. Li moved to the nurse while Robert delt with the man. He tended her wound then reatching into his bag tossed Jack a jar with a lid with holes in. Once he was sure she was stable he stood up.

"She will make it minister, I stopped the bleeding and with the healers attenshion she will have little more than a scar." He watched Jack scoop up the slug and place it in the jar making sure the lid was on tight. "An intresting use of the Transfiguration Spell, Minister." He said moving to one side as healers quickly flooded the room.

Jack held the bug jar out and pulled a face "yuck hate slugs." he said and heard Steven chuckle next to him.

"Here let me take it, since the big bad wolf is scared of a green slimy slug." He said and took the jar from him shrinking it and placing it in his pocket.