The Best Offense

The silence after their head left was amusing to Caleb, somehow, as it immediately gave him a feel for his coworker. She was going to be all business, wasn't she? He knew her record, of course, as that wasn't exactly private intel. He knew she had been wrapped up in bad dealings time and time again, what with the connected to Yewbeam and whatnot. Something about her attracted trouble and she seemed keen to avoid it now. That would prove to be fun.

She finally broke the silence, confirming much of his internal analysis. The first words out of her mouth were about business, despite the fact that they were going to be in close proximity for the next few days, weeks, maybe months. Oh boy, if she thought he wasn't going to try to steer her into personal conversations...

He yawned. "I've been on footwork, mostly," he said. "Leave the research up the Department of Mysteries. Bishop is all about that division of labor. I was apart of the crew to travel the tracks, feeling for magical rifts or some sign of... whatever it is we're looking for," he said. "Transportation's a good start. But from what I've heard, they're just as baffled as the rest of us. I want to know what Rookwood said," he said, leaning in towards her, as though it were a secret. "Guy's in charge of the whole school. He has to have something. Right?"

A twang of sudden yearning and disappointment rippled across Hallie as Caleb told her the kind of work that he'd been doing. The practical work, being the field, working directly with magic was one of the things Hallie enjoyed most about the role, something that had attracted her to become an auror. She was a practical girl who lived in the moment and madness of it all. She was the sun and chaos orbited around her, giving her more life. However, as of late, in an attempt to bookmark any drama she'd tried to keep her head down and focus on her work, especially as her love life was currently inexistent.

Hearing Caleb talk with such a casual tone made Hallie realised what she'd been missing out on. Instead she had been interviewing ministry experts gathering data on what they believed could be the problem, looking at things from a completely theoretical standpoint. Naturally this was a part of their job but the practical side was where Hallie really thrived.

Then there was the mention of her ex husband...

'I'm not sure he'd have much to say.' He's probably too wrapped up in his personal life to have any input.... Although the last part Hallie simply thought to herself as an image of Theodore's child and new family formed in her head. It was funny what time could do. A year ago this simple snippet would have played on the aurors mind for weeks but now, she blinked and the moment was gone. Of course she still knew him, she'd loved him in a way that she hadn't anybody else, but over time the emotions sink deeper into the back of ones mind until they're nothing but blue.

'Besides, it wasn't like he was at the scene so unless he's got some dark skeletons in his closet I can't imagine why he'd be considered a suspect.'

Caleb knew what he was doing. It didn't take an Auror to know that Rookwood and Cooper had a past. Hell, it was apart of the marriage law fiasco, something he had only escaped as a fluke with his partner refusing to show up. Camila had gone the high road and managed to argue the law long enough to delay a match, also pulling the fact that as a diplomat she was granted certain rights, blah, blah, blah. But he had kept up, because, after all, it was interesting. Especially Rookwood. He was an institution, and he had half of the Gringotts gold in his name. Caleb was curious as to why he let the charade play out at all.

And now he was curious to know where Hallie stood on that, with Theodore on his way to becoming Mr Family all over again. How she handled that spoke volumes about her.

"Not much to say?" he parroted. "He's in charge of it all, surely he would have an opinion?"

She continued on and he tilted his head. "You didn't hear? He was on the scene. Left right when the Minister did though. Not the act of an innocent man, in my books."

He was glad the door opened there, leaving Hallie with that heavy thought. Caleb didn't suspect Rookwood at all. It would be he had gone rogue from the Death Eaters, and Caleb didn't see insubordination in a man who would marry someone because the government told him to. But it wasn't about making Hallie believe him. It was seeing how she reacted to such a charge. And how it affected her perception of him.

Claire opened the door, beckoning them in with that ever-present aura of professionalism. He stood and waved a hand politely, allowing Hallie to step in first, following behind as he stood next to the two blondes.

"Hallie Cooper and Caleb Flint," Claire said, by means of greeting, having closed the door behind them. "Top of their classes in training, pristine records, both have a balance in theory and field work. Both agreed to the terms. They don't interfere unless there is a safety threat, and they don't make their presence known. There's two not just for you, Minister, but because I'd rather not lose either of them. Best to have them watch out for each other too."

Hallie's lips briefly pressed into a thoughtful pout at the news that Theodore had actually been on the scene. The day of the incident she'd been busy assisting the French Ministry capture a fugitive who'd travelled the channel into Britain and so had been caught up to speed by one of the auror offices' secretaries. It appeared Yvonne had accidentally spared Hallie such a detail.

The woman was old, reaching sixty, and had become somewhat of a work-Mother to Hallie. She'd seen the aurors marriage to Theodore play out before her, heard of the trials and tribulations the pair had endured and felt their loss herself as she'd become a figure of confidence to Hallie as well. A barely audible laugh escaped Hallie as she thought about Yvonne purposely keeping that slight detail from her. That woman really did worry when it wasn't needed.

However just as Hallie was about to reply shrugging off Flint's remark the door had opened, giving the auror her cue to enter. A smirk curling from the corner of her lip as Caleb waited for her to enter first. Ever the gentleman. He obviously knew about her history with Theodore, was purposely bringing him up and now he was showing a sign of chivalry with the whole ladies first... Their time together was certainly going to be interesting.

'Minister.' Hallie acknowledge, bowing her head slightly as she entered the familiar room.

Robert was quick to pick up the names. Cooper, he knew. He liked her. She was capable and had a lot of potential to continue to grow and develop her skills. He could see her, clearly, as becoming indispensable to the aurors in the years to come if she continued to do as well as she was doing now.

Flint he did not know, but he did read the dossiers and the progress evaluations of all the aurors. Flints scores were very good. Comparatively, it appeared that Bishop had made the calls that he might have made himself, based on what he'd read in the paper files.

"Good morning, Hallie," Robert smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Flint. So, you're both to be my shadows for the next few days or so. Come in and sit down. If we're to be together for a few days, perhaps we ought to know a bit about each other. Why don't you each tell me about your strongest skills and anything in particular you're going to find you need over the next few days? I'm generally a no-maintenance sort of a guy, except when I've got a lot on my schedule. Even so, generally either Liz takes care of those things, and I believe you met her. And you might see my wife from time to time, bringing me fresh clothes or something.  So, tell me about you. I hope we don't have to make this a stodgy formal arrangement, do we?"

(OOC: I'm not jumping the gun, Jackles messaged saying to skip Caleb)

The warm smile of Robert Lupin eased Hallie, bringing her back into a comfort zone that she'd started to tread away from in her conversation with Caleb outside the office door. Moreover the fact that the Minister had addressed the blonde by her first name made her feel more relaxed. She had a relationship with the man, of course Hallie would be professional, but it was always receive a similar level of respect to that she gave. And respect towards Hallie was treating her just as an ordinary person, as you would a friend.

'Seeing as we're going to be spending so much time together it makes sense to drop a few formalities.' Hallie replied politely as she took her seat.

'Well. Should I go first or-?' Hallie asked turning her head towards Caleb. It wasn't that she expected to be the star of the show, although Hallie figured after the whole 'ladies first' ritual at the door her fellow auror would probably have insisted she go first anyway.

'I'm more practical minded, good with a wand and respond well to surprise situations. Obviously it's important to have a plan in place but you don't know what you're going to get thrown at in any situation so being able to think on your feet is kind of important.'

And didn't Hallie know it having found herself caught up in winds of trouble too many times to count.

'I'm also in the process of learning to become an animagus.' Hallie quickly added, raising her hand as she did so. 'Transfiguration has always been my strongest area of magic, so hopefully I'll be registered soon and that'll come in handy.'

Becoming an animagus was something Hallie had always longed to achieve since the first time they covered the topic in their third year at Hogwarts. Once her auror training was completed the blonde had intended to start, however owing to the fact that she'd lost a leg it became an issue but after a year long treatment at St Mungo's her leg had been fully restored and Hallie had began her training. Another year had passed and Hallie was reaching the final stages of her animagi qualification.

"You're selling yourself a bit short, aren't you?" he laughed. "You're a good fighter. I've fought with you before." He was surprised that she was even interested in becoming an animagus. "Really? Wonderful. Good for you."

"Let's see. What do you need to know to keep up with me? I haven't honestly been home in several days. I spend all my time pretty much between here and St. Mungos. So, I suggest you consider dividing yourselves somehow every so often for some shut eye. Right now, if I can keep well stocked on French Roast coffee, I'm fairly low maintenance."

Okay, so that wasn't entirely true. He had a mammoth, weighty sense of responsibility. He had too many hot and burning issues that had to be dealt with right now. Crises that had to be handled. He could not afford sleep. He was pouring energy potion into his coffee to keep alert and functioning. He had been now, for days. He didn't need either of these two finding that out.

They were going to know, whenever he would decide to get up from the desk, that he was already wounded--unless Bishop had read them in on it. It was pointless to hide that.

There were, though, things that he dealt with that had such a high security level that he couldn't even take them on those things. He would have to find a way, if those issues came up, to ditch them.

Claire had taken a seat on the side of the wall, leaving the two in front of the desk for the pair of them. Hallie was quick to seat, but he stood behind his chair, a hand in his pocket and leaning ever so slightly. It was for no reason other than to stay on his feet, as he got a little bored sitting for too long, and he thought it might be nice to really highlight the variety between him and Cooper.

She spoke and his eyebrow lifted at the animagus line, something he had not read in her file. He supposed there had to be some holes. Eyes shifted to him and he smiled. "Suppose it's my turn. Beyond the usual qualifications it takes to be an Auror, I have a pretty good clue about international relations - sister's a diplomat - and my spells are rather high-intensity. I like to think I think fast," he grinned, "though sounds like I may have to prove my mettle here."

The comment about sleeping caused Claire to lean forward. "Yes, I've actually set them up with a car, a nice SUV that has room in the back for sleeping and surveillance. It runs on magic so it'll naturally stick near you as long as either of them insert their wand and hit cruise control. And if they leave it, there's a dummy driver that gets it to wherever they need to get. They're being trained on it right after this meeting." She particularly liked the car idea. She might look into getting a government pattern. She frowned. That meant crediting Fred Weasley with the help he had provided. Unpleasant thought.

He hadn't missed that Flint had ambitious energy. It was written all over him. He was sharp, attentive, unable to sit long, observant--missing not a single detail. Good. That was good. Family from the diplomatic corp. That might be good, maybe. He at least would have a rudimentary understanding then of what Robert dealt with daily. Hallie knew from just knowing him. Flint would be a quick study.

He caught that Flint mentioned that his spells were intense. Nice. He liked that sort of auror. It usually spelled drive. Intention, purpose. It was the sort of auror he liked to spar with. He doubted he'd actually get much of a chance for fun, though.

At the moment, his idea of fun sounded a lot more like just sitting with Kate outside in front of the firepit, with Kate curled tight against him as they watched the fire and looked up at the stars. He wasn't going to get that either, though.

He listened to Bishop talk about the magically powered SUV. Well, that gave an entirely new definition to a stick shift, didn't it? Still, it didn't sound very comfortable, all in all. Then again, he hadn't seen it, either.

"Well, it sounds like its set, then," Robert said. "As far as my schedule goes this morning, I'm set to be here. I'm up to my eyeteeth in a hundred different things, so I can't promise you anything exciting this morning, I'm afraid. This afternoon, I need to put in some time at St. Mungos, and then I'll need to return here this evening. If all goes well, things will be a little quieter tonight." He looked at Bishop. "I guess, perhaps, we're set then, for now? I presume you'll drop by to check on them whenever you see fit? That's fine with me."

"If you two get bored," he said to his new guards, "there's a chess board in the closet, but I don't keep it there for fun. It's excellent strategy training. Keeps the mind sharp. If you want tea, there's a teakettle you can put on the hearth. It sings when the tea is ready, but you have to watch. If it gets too hot, the pot gets quite offended about bad tea, and then it bites. The pot was a gift from a friend who has a bit of an odd sense of humor and didn't expect me to use it, but it really does make good tea. You'll have to make yourselves at home today. If there's something else you need, ask me or ask Liz. We'll work it out."

((I missed the PM from RJ asking me to go next. XP I'm the worst))

Claire nodded at Lupin's words, tilting her head towards her two employees, tacking on a, "It's okay if things don't get too exciting. That'd be preferable." From what she had ascertained of Robert, he often found his own excitement, so she didn't doubt that the pair would have a bit of work ahead of them. But she truly hoped these measures proved unnecessary, that no one was after Robert, that when they sorted this whole train business, all would be well and the Aurors would be reassigned, eager to work on something that promised more effort. Unfortunately, the Lupins were trouble-magnets, and she feared the two were going to have to be alert.

Of course, she expected nothing less.

Claire offered Robert a smile, quelling her worries that he was planning on refusing. She didn't want to tarnish what she considered to be a fairly decent relationship with her Minister. She wondered, in amusement, how difficult he would be for Caleb and Hallie once he decided he was tired of a tail, but she figured it could be good practical training for them. "I'll leave you to it, then," she said, casting her eye around before rising. On her way out, in a rare moment that extended beyond professional civility, her hands alighted on the shoulders of her two finest, a small smile.

And then she was gone.

Robert began speaking and Caleb felt the realization sink in that the job was all set. He would be spending the indefinite future with Hallie Cooper and Robert Lupin.

He grinned at Robert. "I'm sure we can find ways to make sure we stay entertained. Eh, Cooper?"