A New Reason to Hate Paris

"One of these days, I'll just unleash you on him, Jack," Robert said, still working. "You find him in a dark alley, where it won't blow up the rest of what we're working for, then be my guest. He's been a thorn in our fannies just about long enough."

Kate had not heard a word of what they were saying. She'd found that part of Brian that was still wanting to be hypervigilant and self protective, and she wanted to know why it was there. He was not capable of giving her resistance against it, but the energies there were dark and ugly.

She tapped into his thoughts, and they were alive with fresh memories of what he'd been through. She saw his capture, and she saw him fighting with Burke and two of his men. Then she felt his pain and knew that was when he'd been hit the first time. He'd awakened later in chains, and then she saw a flood of his memories rushing at her, unspeakable things that frightened her, revolted her, and put her in line to understand his torment.

She woke with a jolt, finding she needed a couple of deep breaths to steady herself again. She glanced at Khaat, who seemed to not have suspected anything. Good. Fine. She said nothing, and she got up and decided to go to the kitchen She needed a very healthy glass of firewhiskey.

Jack smiled a toothy wicked grin as he looked at Kate as Robert finished, “ Going for my work out.” He said and Apparated away. Jess looked at Robert and sighed as she felt him leave “You know he will be like the cat that got the cream after that.” She said and smiled at Robert knowing his intent. But she shook her head leaving Burke to Jack.

Jack apparated to their last known location a dark smelly alley, his eyes scanning for Burke “You still here, Burke?” He called out “Times up Burke.” His voice was low as if in a growl as he half crouched waiting for some movement to tell him where the scum was if he was even there. His ears twitched and his muscles tensed ready for the fight.

Jess continued to do her job she looked at Kate and shook her head knowing she was in his head. She didn't like it but she had to let her so they would know what had happened. Her hands moved up and down Brian's battered body but never interfering with Roberts work as she healed several smaller wounds. Now she felt a warmth in her mind and looked to Robert wondering if he felt it too. A connection that was different to there's a rush of energy and healing seem to fill her as if bathed in a pool of energy her eyes closed passing it to Brian.

“Some one on the other side wants to help.” She said softly feeling the energy move between the two of them.

“Couldn't leave you to drain all your energy's, now could I.” Came Brant's voice as if carried on a breeze to both of them. Jess looked back to Brian then to Robert knowing it could be dangerous to drain to much of Brant energy as he'd need it to return to his own body.

"I didn't mean for him to go now," Robert shook his head. "He's probably still hanging in the garage where Belby left him."

Robert recognized an energy signature of someone else involving themselves, but he was so focused on Brian he did not immediately recognize who it was. Jess was not distressed so he allowed it. He didn't usually hear things, but he was finally able to identify it as Brant's signature.

Michael saw Kate go to the kitchen, and he foll.owed her. She had gotten a whiskey glass out of the cabinet and was trying to uncork a firewhiskey bottle but her hands were shaking.

"Here. Let me," he said to her, taking the bottle and pouring her a double. "Kate, what did you see?" She didn't look at him, stared at the floor, facing the counter. He turned her around and wrapped her in a hug. Brian had spent part of his childhood in her house, and she'd been the only mother figure Brian had had since his own mother had died. Whatever she'd seen was more than she could cope with. Kate was the strongest woman Michael knew, and she was hiding her face in his chest. That said volumes.

"Kate," Michael said softly, "you've raised him to survive anything. He's trained continuously just about his entire life. He's got the best chance of surviving of any of us. Why did he go there, and why alone?"

"He didn't believe there was a choice," Kate managed. "He'd been over it and over it. He didn't tell Robert everything because he knew Robert would not have let him go. Brian told him what he wanted Robert to hear because he knew there wasn't any coming back this time."

"Clearly, he was wrong because he's still with us," Michael said, picking up her whiskey glass and handing it to her. "Here, it'll help."

"We need to stop," Robert said to Jess after a long moment. "We've done all we can do for the moment. He needs to rest. Thank Brant for me." He opened his eyes and looked at Marcus and Angus. Help me get him upstairs so Jess and I can bandage him up and then quit fussing with him so he can sleep, would you? Jess, do you have enough energy left to help me get him settled?"

"Fine," Angus said, "but is he going to be alright?"

"I think we can be cautiously optomistic, but I certainly don't want him left alone for awhile until we're sure," Robert told them.

Jess heard Robert and pulled her energy back ever so slowly so not to make any mistakes soon she was completely separate once more from him. Now she felt Brant leave pulling his own energy away made her feel a little weak but nothing a good nights sleep wouldn't cure, or a glass of fire whisky. He looked over at Robert and nodded. “ Yes.” she said simply and stood slowly up as Jack came back grumpy.

“His lackeys must have been close behind and released him, he wasn't there when I got there.” Jack said moving to the kitchen but he paused looking down at Brian then to Robert as Marcus asked if he would be alright, at the answer he breathed out relaxing as he too pored a fire whisky and downed it without a single cough, then he pored a second and walked over to Jess. His arm wrapping around her waist. “ Here, drink” he said as she took it and downed it only giving a slight cough at the potent liquid.

“I'll sit with Brian tonight” Jack said looking over at Robert “Any signs of anything wrong I'll send for you or Jess immediately.” He said as he lead Jess to a chair and sat her down before returning to pick Brian up carefully. Walking up to Brian's room he gently placed him down on the bed.

“You'd better get well, I need my sparing partner and..” he paused taking a deep breath in as he continued. “ I need my friend.” He placed his hand gently on Brian's shoulder before taking off his shoes and pulling up the covers over Brian.

Jess looked to Kate knowing she'd seen something when she looked at Brian now she was curios as to what she'd seen. “Kate was there anything you saw that might help us?” She asked feeling her energy returning.

"Alright?" Michael asked her quietly. Kate nodded gratefully, trying to pull herself together. She heard them making arrangements to take Brian upstairs. That always meant Robert believed he had done nearly all he could do for awhile. Perhaps that was good news, then.

Angus picked up his supplies and took them to the kitchen where everyone was starting to gather to get a bit of fortifying firewhiskey. He was thinking of the children. They were going to know the house was in crisis again--especially Abbey. Abbey was too much like her mother and her grandmother. She would surely know. Distraction, he decided, was the key. He had mixed a batch of sugar cookie dough, and it was chilling in the fridge. He got out a quart of raspberries, chopped them, used a freezing charm to help them keep their shape during mixing and mixed them into the dough. Berry cookies--her two most essential food groups combined. That would do the trick for little Miss Abbey.

"Next time, Jack," Robert said. "You'll get Burke next time, and maybe Brian will be able to get Gelding finally. And thanks for staying with Brian. I'm sure I won't be far." He looked at Khaat who had simply sat silently, and as he looked at her now, she looked completely lost without Brian. "Khaat, look at me. He's been though tough things before. He's strong and he's healthy. There's no reason to think he won't be alright."

"I can't reach him at all," she said softly.

"That disconnect isn't him, my dear. It's you. I know his energies aren't that far gone, so if it isn't him, it has to be you."

"Of course," she said with in a quiet voice that had a bitter edge to it. She got up and went outside. Marcus glanced at Robert and then followed Khaat silently. Robert got up and went into the kitchen in time to hear Jess ask Kate what she saw.

"He'll never tell us what happened there," Kate said. "And I don't blame him, but know this--if I get the chance to kill Luther Burke or Tom Gelding, I will kill them myself."

"Kate," Robert looked at her.

"You want to know what I saw? He didn't tell you everything," her anger took over now. "And some of what he told you was only what he knew you wanted to hear. He went in to get some bloody book. Some stupid, asinine bloody book, but he wasn't going to bring it back and hand to you.  That was never his plan because he was afraid to let you have it because of what he knew was in it. He had arranged to meet someone, I didn't see who. Someone in Paris, and he was going to give that damned thing to them."

"That makes no sense," Robert sighed in frustration. "I already knew what was in the book."

"No. You don't. Apparently you don't. That's not the book he was after. There's another. And, for whatever reason, when he was caught, Gelding was positive Brian had essential information. Everything he did was to try to convince Brian to give it to him."

"Why wouldn't Burke just imperious him?"

"Brian had himself imperioused by someone you both know in order to lock that so far away in his brain that it could not possibly be unlocked by the wrong people. If Gelding or his men asked the usual interrogation questions or tried to cast a spell on him, Brian could not give him the answers Gelding wanted to know."

"But that wouldn't ever work," Robert frowned. "What kind of twisted salespitch was that? Who did he talk to that convinced him of that?"

"I don't know," Kate shook her head, looking to make sure Khaat was nowhere around. She wasn't ready to hear what Kate had to say.

"And why didn't he tell me the bloody truth?"

"Because, for some reason, he believed if he did not, you--not us--you were going to die. I don't know how or why. I do know he was completely certain. He tossed himself to them to protect you. He was convinced he had an absolute zero chance of coming back, and he said nothing to any of us."

Robert went over to the firewhiskey bottle and poured himself a drink.

"I'm gonna kill him myself," Robert said, in a rare display of quiet rage.

Standing up Jess moved to the kitchen listening to what Kate had to say and also watching Angus make the cookies for Abby. “ You'd best hide those from Jack.” She joked and smiled but it soon disappeared the more she heard from Kate to Robert about why Brian had done what he'd done and why. “ He is an idiot and you'll have to stand in line for that.” She said softly as she walked over to them and watched as Robert took a drink of fire whiskey.

She sat on a stool and shook her head at what she'd just heard “What's so damned important about this book anyway?” She asked Robert but glancing over as she saw Angus cast a spell on the fruit to keep its shape while it cooked in the oven.

Now Brant reappeared in the door way walking to pore two cups of French roast coffee which one he gave to Khaat with a smile before walking over sipping his own.

“I'm guessing it has vital information in it about the organisation, be it his or ours, that nobody needs or should know, for it could be used against that person as leverage, am I right?” He said looking at Robert. “A pure guess.” He brought the mug to his lips and blew softly over the hot liquid then took a sip smiling at its unique flavour “ Marcus was right, it is a good blend.” He said trying to change and lighten the mood.

“Oh , how did it go with your lady friend Brant?” Jess asked seeing the blush suddenly flush over Brant's face it must have gone well.” will we meet her?”

“It went well..I think.” He said with a smile then shook his head “ like Robert I keep my personal life separate to work, its , lets say better for both parties.” He slowly took a small sip of the coffee again. Jess chuckled and nodded knowing he might be right with everything that was going on around them at the moment.

Jess stood and moved to Khaat placing her hand on her shoulder she smiled at Khaat “ He's strong Khaat.” She said before heading up to Brian's room to check on him once more.

"First of all, none of it makes any bloody sense," Robert said. "The more I hear, the more it sounds like someone just spun the whole yarn as they went along. You can't imperious an imperious. That doesn't even fit with basic physics of magic."

"More importantly," Michael frowned, "who the devil got to Brian? He doesn't do this sort of thing--ever. This is completely out of character for him. He would never, never simply toss away Khaat or his children. Not ever."

"He didn't," Kate said. "He saw it as the only way to keep them safe."

"Michael's right. It doesn't add up."

"It does," Marcus said, leaning on the counter, "if--and it is a big if..if someone he already trusted immensely was giving him the information."

"Well, that might not be good," Michael said. "If the friend is not truly your friend."

"Or--what if that friend is a coworker or employee," Marcus said.

"As in, a mole within our own organization," Robert groaned. That instantly made perfect sense. It all fit. Michael and Kate and Marcus all looked at Robert with a sense of dread.

"Damn," Michael said. "Kate, was there any chance he knew that was what he was onto?"

"Not that I got any sense of," Kate shook her head. "If he did, I didn't see it."

"He'd have had no reason to keep that from us if he knew that," Robert said.

"And there's something else," Michael said. "That key card Jack lifted. It goes to a muggle museum here--to one of the safes in their secure storage areas. It would be a perfect place for a book. Or books. I'm willing to wager anything that if there is a book, it's not at Gelding's place. It's in the safe. That book might very well have budgets, account numbers, a list of the middle men Gelding traffics to, or a list of the buyers, anything."

"Or," Marcus said cautiously, "It could have critical information to the organization or to this family."

"This just gets better and better," Robert sighed sarcastically.

Brant sighed and shook his head slowly then looked to Robert as he spoke again about there might be a mole in the organisation. Now his mind spun as to who it could be and why they would go to so much trouble to lure Brian out there alone. “So how we going to ferret out this mole?” He asked still holding the cup in the palm of his hand as if a china cup. He watched the swirling of the brown liquid inside as he waited for them to answer. He listened again as Michael and Robert talked more about the key card they'd found. “So whose going to the museum to retrieve what ever is in that safe.” He paused taking a sip of the coffee then continued “ I vote for cat man for sure, he knows how to get in and out without being seen or tripping alarms, the lest were noticed the better.”

“That leaves me out then” came Jacks voice as he came down the stairs “Too big and awkward in that situation, why don't you go Brant?” He said with a smirk but that dropped looking at Robert “ Brian's sleeping and Jess is sat with him now, oh nice cookies?” He asked Marcus smiling as he saw the berries with in the golden dough. Brant shrugged and looked to Robert waiting for his next words.

“I don't have a problem with going, besides it would be a privilege to watch a master cat burglar at work. “ He said and gave a slight bow to Michael his eyes sparkling with the idea of causing a little mayhem for a while. It was out of his comfort zone but hey how was he to grow and learn if he didn't step out once in a while. He also thought he could use some of what Michael could show him in his gathering of rare artefacts that were some what locked behind doors and security he could learn to over come.

"Good question," Robert said in response to Brant's question of ferreting out the mole. "Tricky business, that. I think you're all correct in that we have to go for the book first. That might help us, depending on what's in it."

"If we knew a potions maker, I think a couple of us ought to find a reason to go there and find a way to use a tad of veritaserum," Michael said. "Sometimes simplicity has an advantage."

"Hold on, Slick. Not so fast. If there's a mole, we have no way to be assured that our mole is consistently there, though," Marcus replied. "We could blow it all to hell doing that and still not be any closer."

"Perhaps," Robert said, "we still have information missing. Kate, so far as you know, his memory is intact?"

"Yes," Kate replied, "he's distressed but he remembers."

"Then, for now, let's table this, get the book and give Brian some time to wake up and talk to us," Robert said.

"You can't begin to determine when that will be," Khaat said quietly, looking at the floor.

"I have more control of that than you think," Robert said. "There is a spell to awaken an unconscious person, but just because the spell exists doesn't mean I should use it. I will if I have to, but it is far better for us if he comes around on his own because it is a true sign of improvement. If I wake him up with a spell, I mask any sign of whether he's getting better or not. And, whether you know it or not, not every spell is pain free. And given the energies I felt from him, there was definitely pain when we first started to check him. Jess made him comfortable and he's truly resting now."

"No, he isn't," Kate said.

"What do you mean, he isn't?" Robert sighed.

"He's dreaming, and it's not relaxing. I keep seeing it."

"What are you seeing?" Khaat asked her.

"Nothing helpful," Kate looked at her, not wanting to discuss it.

"I'll go up and just check in with Jess," Angus said quietly. "I'm sure she'll not miss it, but all the same..."

"Thank you," Robert said as Angus headed out of the room.

"Now," Michael said, "can we get back to the book?" He looked at Brant. "I don't mind having a partner, but how prepared do you think you are for the fine art of breaking and entering without getting caught?"

"Well, now, that might be catburglary, but we presumed you wouldn't bet getting caught. Breaking and entering and getting caught isn't the fine art of catburglary--its merely stupidity," Robert said.

Brant looked at Michael and smiled “ I am use to gaining entry by.. unconventional means , I was an archaeologist and lets say some times to gain the rarest herbs I needed to improvise/” he said softly still sipping the coffee in the mug he held in his hand. Jack stood close by chuckled and shook his head.

“Yeah, that's an understatement.” He said and looked at Michael “If any one could be a cat burglar it would be Brant, he made me jump at his sudden appearance as if out of the blue more than once.” He chuckled again and then folded his arms as he sighed “ he'd do it, even has his own set of lock picks.” at those words Brant looked up and raised an eye brow at Jack “ I saw them in your pocket when we were in the garage.” Brant just shrugged and looked to Michael waiting for his answer.

“I, so far haven't in all the years have been a potioneer been caught, yet” He added the yet knowing it was inevitable that one day some one would be quicker or smarter than he and catch him, he was no fool.

Jess sat at the side of Brian's bed her eyes watching him as she noticed the slight changes of his energy's and facial expressions as if he was dreaming and the dreams were not good ones. Reaching out her hand she rested it over his wishing she could block those dreams and give him a restful night as he badly needed. Hearing foot steps she smiled knowing it was Angus coming to check on Brian.

“Step quietly Angus, his dreams aren't good tonight.” her voice soft as she moved her hand back and looked to the semi open door. “ I have heard what had been said below” she gave a sigh “ I wish nobody had to get hurt, but such is the nature of our work.” She turned to look back at Brian noticing his eyes under his lids flick back and forth and again wished she could still them for one night.