LONDON CALLING

Michael, Khaat, Marcus, Gabe, and Mira stepped in straight away to get statements from the parents of the children. Those statements were critical to help them with any additional information they might have on what Gelding's agents looked like, anything they might have said, what the children looked like, what they were wearing.

Robert asked Edward for photos of the children, and Edward came up with them quickly. Kate talked with Owens about any information from the Paris agents about Gelding's movements. So far as Kate knew, Gelding was still in prison. So they needed to know who was commanding Gelding's operations now and where they were hiding.

Michael heard Jess say she thought she found a point of entry. Michael went over to the cellar door, and he agreed with her, but he wasn't certain how they had gotten in the cellar. He went downstairs alone, his wand lit, to try to find out how they'd gotten in.

A moment later, there was loud, violent, and rapid wandfire. It alerted Robert and Edward and Angus straight off, and Angus made a mad dash downstairs into the cellar. Then, Kate distinctly heard both Angus and Michael firing their wands in what sounded like fierce combat, but only for a moment. And then it was gone, fallen to silence. Edward ran downstairs himself, afraid he would find both of them perhaps dead.

"Robert!" Edward used a sonorus spell to call him. "You're going to want to see this."

Ruby wanted to go and help but she held Abby against her. Jess waited to move down her wand drawn at the ready should it be needed on hearing the ruckus she took one step before it ended and she stood confused then she ehard Edward and moved down the steps into the basement. Jessie moved quickly too stand at her side waiting. He been walking the opasite way around the house when he'd heard the noises from with in.

Jack looked at Brain " if you want to go, go , i'll keep checking" he said then back to looking at where he was going and checking the upstairs. He opened room after room and found nothing and no one.

Robert went downstairs, uncertain of what he would find, but Michael and Angus appeared to be fine. Michael, however, was beyond livid. He was raging angry, and that was rare. It was something Robert didn't see very often.

"Bloody big effing snake!" Michael raged. "Who does that? Who brings in an effing big snake in a houseful of people!" Robert went around a large stack of crates that held some of Edward's wine and olive oil to see the remains of the biggest snake Robert had ever seen.

"Is that a basilisk?" Angus asked Robert.

"Looks like it, doesn't it?" Robert said, looking carefully. "Nope. Don't think so. I think this is just some unfortunate snake that was enchanted by one of Gelding's crackpots to look like a basilisk. Still, I'm glad you both got rid of it. We'll have to be a lot more careful. To me, this is starting to look like they're tossing out anything they can think of to get us to make a misstep. So stay on your guard." Robert went back upstairs.

He motioned Jess and Ruby to follow him away from where Angus's family would perhaps overhear.

"Everyone's fine. Gelding's men enchanted a snake to look like a basilisk and then got it all pissed off and left it for us to deal with. Angus and Michael are fine and the snake is dead. But--be on your guard. You could find all sorts of illusions and tricks, and you might not readily be able to tell what's real and what is not," Robert told them. "All the more reason to not go off on your own if you can help it."

Michael went back upstairs and, uncertain where Jack and Brian was, he simply went outside and whistled for them. It made Brian laugh.

"Thats' what I like about Michael. He's subtle," Brian told Jack sarcastically. "I think we're being paged."

Jack laughed and nodded " oh yep" he said and ehaded down to Michael " you know Im a were wolf not a wolf, we don't awnser to a whistle...or I don't think we do." then he realised what he;d done and chuckled " okay I take that back guess I do," he smiled seeing Jess and faced Michael " okay so whats up?" he asked his arms folded across his chest as he waitied.

Ruby relaxed a little knowing what had happened she saw Micahel motion for them to go to him and away from the family and motioned to Jess. Hearing him she spoke softly "guess we'd best watch where we go then" she said shifting Abby on her hip. " but I have to find some place to set her down for now, shes getting restless."

"We answer to anything. Don't lie," Brian laughed, teasing Jack.

"Want the surprise of the evening? Come see this," Michael said, motioning to them. He led them down to the cellar, and Brian found himself instinctively leveling his wand at what, at first glance looked like a blooming basilisk--the first one Brian had actually seen and not in some bestiary.

"Down, Lad," Robert said. "Not a basilisk. Just a bloody big snake made to look like a basilisk, and now a very dead one."

"Judas priest! Nearly gave me a heart attack!" Brian was pissed off now.

"Yeah, and it was me and him," Michael said, "until One Arm there decided to back me up."

"But, hey, we got him, didn't we?" Angus said.

"There could be something significant with that snake, though," Edward said. "We have a lot of those buggars--when they're normal sized--in the irrigation ditches in the vineyards. They like hanging around where there is water because of the sorts of small animals and birds that go there to drink. Maybe whoever is running Gelding's show is living somewhere agricultural, near a farm or a vineyard."

"And that would line up with some of our intel we had that said that Gelding's operation bought some property in Alsace, France--in the wine region," Michael said.

"It certainly would," Robert said. He looked at Brian and Jack. "You boys feel like running about in Alsace in the dark?"

"Why not?" Brian shrugged.

"If you're dashing about in the dark, I'm going along," Michael said. "I like the dark."

"Wait. There could be more snakes. Does your boggart look like a snake?"

"No, it does not," Robert laughed. "Bring the kiddies home and I'll tell you what his boggart is."

"Why do I think the reason we can't know now is that we'd laugh our arses off for days?" Brian looked at Jack amused.

"Because that's precisely what you'd both do," Edward said with a mischievous grin on his face. Robert went upstairs and found Jess and Ruby and Mira.

"The boys are going to be going to Alsace to try to find that farm that we were told Gelding's operation bought. You're welcome to go along, or stay here in case we get a secondary lead."

"I'm going with the boys!" Mira said, not wanting to miss any chance to go on a mission.

Ruby looked up as Robert spoke to them Jess spoke first " I'll stay and look after here with Kate. Ruby looked to Jess who smiled "You go, I'll look after Abby." she said and Ruby stood up.

"Im going." she said as she walked down the stairs to find the others. Entering the basment she looked at the now dead snake and shrugged her shoulders at it unimpressed at it even thou it was bigger than normal. "Huh, The black mamba is almost as big as that." she said " Jess is looking after Abby so I'll be coming with." she said then looked to Angus " and no stopping me." she said as Jack nodded and looked to the others.

Angus merely looked at Ruby when she saw the basilisk sized snake. It wasn't every day they saw a 50 foot snake, but if she thought it was the size of a black mamba, then maybe she saw some enchanted black mambas or something. Who was he to say? He simply let the discussion happen of who was going to Alsace, and he really expect to be kept from going. That didn't seem to happen, though. He wasn't surprised Ruby wanted to go, and he had no real misgivings about it, not because he didn't care but because there were plenty of team members going.

"Why would I stop you?" Angus looked at her. "You know the risks by now. You're able to decide for yourself if you think you can deal or not."

"Angus, are you sure you're up to it?" Robert asked.

"I'll be fine," Angus said.

"They're my grandchildren. Of course I'm going," Edward said. "Any idea where in Alsace we're going?"

"Come upstairs. I'll ask Owens," Robert said. "He was on that, I believe." He led them to the office where Owens was collecting messages from Paris. "Owens, any idea where Gelding has that property in Alsace."

"Yes," Owens said, pleased that he really could tell them that now. "We just got confirmation of that location. It's right here." He went the map of France. "Look here, you lot. Right here on the banks of the Rhine, on the eastern border of France. It's about ten miles south of Strasbourg." He pinpointed it with as much precision as he could muster. "I'll write down the coordinates, shall I?"

"Yes, please," Angus said. Owens wrote it down and used a spell to duplicate several copies. He distributed them to the team. "That helps," Angus said. "We should be able to port to Paris and then apparate right to those coordinates. That would be the most accurate way to go."

"Yes. It would, but since I don't have a portkey to your Paris digs, I'll have to tag with one of you," Edward said.

"Come along then," Angus told him. "Let's go."

Ruby looked at Angus and nodded at his words " yes I do" she said to him taking his hand in her own "and I acept the risks, all of them" she listened to Edward talk and took the map, slipping it into her pocket and continued to listen to Edward. " what sort of resistance can we expect, the usual?" she asked as she took hold of Edwards hand. " just want to be prepared for what's ahead, I guess they will have more enchanted animals I guess." she told him as she felt Angus port them both away together.

"We don't have any idea," Angus said. "I always go in alone and scout these locations out in advance, but obviously I didn't have a chance to do that this time, so we're going in blind. It could be nothing or it could be an ambush."

"We'll deal with it," Edward said. When they landed, they were standing in the dark on a dirt road with a field on one side and a thick woods on the other.

"I'll be you a galleon we're going through the creepy woods," Brian teased Jack. "We never get to through any place well mapped or well lit."

"The better to sneak up on them with, Youngster," Michael teased Brian. "It's hard to sneak when there's no cover and everybody can see you coming."

"Well, there is that, I'll grant you," Brian laughed.

"Oh, look. A lane up there on the right--and, yes, it goes through the woods--towards the river. I'll wager the farm is that way, and I'll bet you it's a vineyard."

"Well, let's go then," Angus said.

"I'm not doing any more snakes tonight. Just so you all know that. One giant snake is enough for one night, thank you very much," Michael said.

"Afraid of snakes now?" Angus asked.

"No, it wasn't 'Eek, a scary snake.' It was more like 'Ewww, a freaking big ugly snake," Michael replied. Angus laughed out loud.

"Alright, if we see any more, I'll get them for you," Angus laughed.

Ruby listened and nodded " all right" she said as they landed she looked around her wand down at thigh level ready to bring up should anything attack them. Jack landed and heard Brain " oh yeah" he said chukaling with Brian " give me a warm cosy cafe we have to search or a nice well kept pathway." he laughed at it.

Ruby heard Angus start to move them along and she followed listening to their banter as they moved down the path. she chuckled as Angus told Michael he'd take care of them if they went for him. " they might have other things in there." she said watching the path ahead of them as they moved she could feel the wind on her skin but her gut said to slow down.