LONDON CALLING

Ruby took another deep breath in and wiped her tear from her cheek as Angus spoke to Robert motioning to the bag she held. " I hate to leave a job half done but..." she looked up at Angus "oh heck lets keep going, I want my pound of flesh and Im not talking about his head for all this." she said now some what pissed at the man who'd hurt Khaat and Marcus. She wasn't going to back down now.

Jessie walked in and stopped not batting an eye he looked at Robert "We found an office I think it was his, theres filing cabinets we can't open, yeah him again." he said to Robert . " she doing okay?" he asked  noting her slightly pale but angry face as she stood facing Angus.

"Alright. The lady says we stay," he told Robert. "So we'll stay awhile longer." He looked at Jessie. "She's fine. Don't go in there. That explains a lot." He pointed to the chamber behind him, feeling though that since he had said for Jessie not to go in there, that was just about going to be the first thing Jessie wanted to do.

"File cabinets?" Angus frowned. "Would he be stupid enough...Wait. Maybe they're not his file cabinets Remember what I said that I don't think he's masterminded this? Maybe there's something there that will point us towards finding out who designed this. Let's check it out. Where are they, Jessie?"

"But they're locked," Sadou said, trying to catch her breath.

"Not for long," Angus said. Robert glanced at Angus, purely amused.

"You've been spending entirely too much time with Michael," Robert laughed.

"Michael?" Sardou asked. Now she brightened significantly. "How is my dear old friend? I expected to see him here with you today."

"Ah, I have him recuperating from a minor injury at my place. He'll be right as rain soon now."

"Oh, dear. That's unusual for him. Maybe I'll send him a little something," she said.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that," he smiled. Clearly, Angus thought, there's a story there. He wanted to know what the relationship was between Daphne Sardou and Michael Tremaine.

"Jessie--let's check out that office," Angus said, ready to move on.

Jessie looked at Angus and smiled he heard him speak about the chamber and nodded his head " I had no intenshions, I can smell whats inside from here." Jessie told him. Ruby on the other hand still held his hand and nodded " yep" she said as they then moved down a corridor and into a lush office.

"Hum, typical not Geldins style." she said as she watched the french man try and pick the lock on the cabinets. " oh boy dosn't he ever learn" she said then whistled using her fingers loudly. " Hey let the sexy expert have ago." she then froze at her words and looked at Angus her cheeks pink. " um..mouth, before brain?" she said sheepishly and quickly moved to look around the room the one thing that caught her eye was a large ornate desk that sat in the middle of it.

Angus had noticed the lush office amongst a building full of squalor and death, like an oasis in a desert. It was out of place, and it didn't fit with Gelding. Gelding wouldn't have ever come here in the first place. He'd send his 'trolls' here to do his bidding. He crossed the room, his eyes scanning across the desk, and his eyes lighted on one small item--a little pot of lip gloss. He took a tissue from a tissue box and while the incompetent French auror was struggling with a simple muggle file cabinet lock, Angus pocketed the little pot of lip gloss. He followed that by immediately getting out his lockpicks.

"Please, let me do it," Angus said. The auror moved aside, with a bit of a sarcastic gesture, as if to silently challenge him to it. Angus moved in and didn't spend more than a few seconds at best before he popped the lock and pulled open the file drawers."

"Who are you, a burglar?" The auror asked him in broken English.

"No, but my Sioux chef is," Angus said in a teasing way, knowing the auror wouldn't take him seriously anyway. "Alright, Ruby, let's see what's in here, shall we? He took a cursory look and found mostly files of paperwork of some sort, but at the back was an old leather bound book. He reached for the book straight off and opened it and found it was all written in archaic runes--the sort that older wizards like Gabe and Edward and Robert liked to research on long, dark wintery nights. This was not Angus's cup of tea, but even in runes, he believed it was some sort of old spell book.

The auror asked Angus what he had found, and Angus showed him.

"What do you think it says?" Angus asked.

"I don't know and I don't care," the auror said. "We don't have time for moldy old books." He tossed it carelessly on the desk, and Angus picked it up again.

"Then you don't mind then?"

"Just toss it out when you're done," he told Angus. Angus looked at Ruby, finding it hard to believe this man was such a fool, but as he saw it, it wasn't his job to educate the man.

Ruby was glad he'd not noticed her slip of the tounge and moved to the desk she tugged at several draws but found them locked. It wasn't till Angus spoke next to her she realized he'd opened the cabonets. Now she watched as he opened the draw in front of her she watched him take out the leather bound book and was about to speack when the idiot of an Auror walked over and began throwing the book around.

Once Angus held it again she moved clsoer to him to look at the pages " these are lder Futhark runes there thought to be the oldest version of the Runic alphabet." she said " why would they...oh a code" she said softly " hes using it to hide whats written." she paused and looked at the page closer. " okay I can make out that one is a W it looks like a flag on a pole ,this one she piinted to another that looked like a crossed gate with long legs " that is an M..." she quickly closed it holding his hands around it " we have to get this back its an account of movements " she told him " I'll explain how I can read...well partly read it later if you want to know." she told him as she moved the book to slide it into his shirt her hand brushing against his skin as she did so.

"Then I need to keep looking," Angus sighed, highly frustrated. "We've got log books up the arse. That's not what I'm looking for, damnit. Yeah, we'd best take it with us." He took a big armful of the files out of the cabinet, and sat down at the ornate desk and began looking through the paperwork, setting aside which papers were helpful and which were not. This was going to take awhile. And even then, it still wasn't going to give him what he wanted.

"Hey! You! Whatever your name is!" Angus called to the French auror and he asked him to look for any more books or scrolls. The auror didn't seem to entirely get what Angus was asking so Angus asked him again, in French this time. The auror began searching the room, and Angus went back to looking through files. It seemed to be largely paperwork on how the technology had been created. He wasn't sure this was going to help him either, so he set the paperwork aside and decided to go through the desk, and as he opened the very narrow center drawer, he felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hand and saw a very long thin dart, the kind that reminded him of a blow gun dart, sticking in the palm of his hand. Well, shit. The drawer had been booby trapped.

"Jessie," Angus was calm, and he deliberately used a normal tone so as to not alarm the auror or Ruby either one, "pop back to the guard room and ask Robert to come here straight off, would you? The sooner the better, please. Thanks so much."

Jessie loked at Angus as he had spoke he could smell fresh blood and frowned. Glancing at Ruby who stood with her back to them both he nodded and moved out the door once out of eye sight he ran for the guard room " Robert ,Angus needs you, now" he said his tone saying it was urgent.

Ruby moved around the room looking at the pictures on the wall. she paused as she looked at a spasific one, it creeped her out. Raising her hand she ran it around the edge of the painting and sighed feeling yet another breeze coming from behing it. Turning to face Angus she saw him sat at the desk and no sign of her brother. Seeing the others searching for all the paperwork they could find she decided to look for herself. running her hand over one side of the painting she felt a button and pushed it the painting swung open reveling a set of stairs. " this place is just one big fun house." she said poking her head in but going no further into the opening.

Robert and Brian both heard Jessie say Robert was needed quickly, so they left Daphne and her aurors in the guard room and hurried into the file room where Angus was seated at the desk. Brian saw the open passage to the stairs, and Angus motioned Brian to Ruby.

"What'd you find, Ruby?" Brian walked over to her. "Hm. Well, shall we go check them out together and see if they show us any more secrets? Wand at the ready. Let's go." He stepped through to the stairs in the lead, wanting anything dangerous to have to get through him first before he got to her.

"And what did you find?" Robert asked Angus.

"This," Angus showed him his hand with the dart in it.

"Well, damnit," Robert sighed. He went over to Angus and removed the dart and tucked it into his handkerchief. He laid his hand on the wound and then on Angus's forehead.

"Of course its poison, isn't it?" Angus asked.

"Of course," Robert said, working calmly and methodically. "Unfortunately for Gelding, you'll live. I can neutralize most of it. You might have some residual symptoms for a few hours, but compared to what you would have had, they're minor. Probably quite a foul headache, a touch of fever perhaps, lack of appetite. Maybe a couple other things, but that should be the worst of it. By morning, you'll be right as rain." He took out one of the pocket sized patch kits and added a healing potion to a plaster and put it over the dart wound. "That will continue to draw out the poison. If that gauze patch on the plaster gets soaked, we'll change it. We'll just keep an eye on it."

"Question. None of my business, but I am curious. Daphne knows you pretty well, but she seems to know Michael a little better. I am a bit surprised. She doesn't seem his type. How does she know him?" Angus asked.

"Oh. That," Robert said. "They have been an...item for several years. Michael has had two women that had as much affection as he could give. He had Alete until she went bananas. Remember her?"

"Oh yes. I almost forgot about her."

"Yes, well, Alete started out as a colleague. She was in the same business as Michael. Daphne, on the other hand, is a different matter entirely. She and Michael have been meeting fairly frequently for years."

"Meeting?" Angus frowned.

"Sex," Robert spoke it plainly, as he continued to work to neutralize the poison. "They are each other's preferred sex partner. It is a very non-commitment sort of relationship. They treat each other exceptionally well, but neither of them want anything more than someone to ...what's the current phrase...hook up with."

"Now, why didn't I expect you to tell me that?" Angus frowned. "I did not see that coming."

"Michael can be very charming when he has the mind, and he does know about the finer things in life and can hold his own in highly intellectual conversations. And some women enjoy that. Alright. I've done as much as I can. You need to head home within the next hour at the latest."

"Ruby doesn't know," Angus said.

"Obviously not," Robert said. He went over to the passage opening and called for Brian.

"Yes?" Brian shouted back up.

"Could you and Ruby come back for a moment, please?" Robert called.

"Certainly," Brian called back.

Jessie followed Robert and Brian back to the office room and saw Angus cradling his hand but Ruby still looking at an now open passage. He watched as Brian walked over to her and spoke.

"oh sure" she wanted to look back at Angus but knew better, heading in she found a set of stone stairs but before they could go up them Roberts voice caled out for them to return. Heading back in she looked at Robert his face telling her something wasn't right. " everything all...shit Angus your hand." she moved over to stand next to him. " blasted booby traps, How bad is it?" she asked knowing that if gelding or this unknown cohort had set it it would have a leathal intent.

"Your boyfriend was clumsy," Robert said to her. "Blowgun dart, and of course it was poisoned. The wound itself is just a simple stick, and I've neutralized the worst of the toxin. He is likely to have a fierce headache today, and maybe a touch of fever. Still, I'd like one of you to carefully take the dart to Edward and Gabe. I'd like them to double check my assessment of the poison to make sure I didn't misread it." Robert knew it was very unlikely that he had misread it, but still, Angus was one of his team, and he was taking more chance.

"I think if he doesn't overdo his activity today, he'll be right as rain," he told her. "The headache is likely to be the real nuisance. Edward or Jess either one can handle it with a pain potion if need be. Do warn them to, obviously, not stick themselves with the dart, won't you? Can you take his portkey and take him home, Ruby? Can you manage it?"

"I'm not incapacitated," Angus said.

"Go home, Angus," Robert said. "That's not a question. Did you hear a question or a choice in it? It was a direct instruction."