A Birth day

Ruby heard Marcus and stopped returning to sit with them as he continued "All right, I want to sit in on this meeting " she said " I'll ask Simone to mind Caprice for a while" She looked at Marcus as he said he just wanted some fruit "there's some fruit salad left in the fridge if you want some, just help your self" she said then chuckled hearing Abby talking about keeping the bug jar in her room and that Pip loves to eat bugs.

Jack chuckled too as he listened " Im sure Pip is well-behaved and won't eat bug Angus" he chuckled "Makes you think what kind of bug he'd be, stink bug or scarab beetle." he said and caught the look Ruby gave him " I'll go and see if Jess has anything for me to do" he said and turned to leave.

"I know if you were a bug you'd be a stink bug" Ruby called after him making him laugh and Ruby chuckled knowing Jack could take a ribbing.

"Thanks, Jack. I'm glad you were there," Angus said. "I'm sure Robert wasn't really supposed to be up, given his fractured skull, but I'm glad he had you with him."

Marcus dished up two bowls of fruit salad and took one to Angus.

"Here," Marcus said. "This will hold us til lunch, I'm sure. I know I'm wasting my breath but if you still are uncomfortable, you really could sit this meeting out."

"You're right--you're wasting your breath. I'm the bait, remember? I have to go," Angus replied.

"You are only hypothetical bait. Nobody has signed onto that plan of yours."

"No, but in Suzanne's case, even if she's onto us, it'll still get a response from her."

"Look. A dragon will respond just about every time if you poke it, but that doesn't mean you should actually do it," Marcus said. "And you're not trying to get Suzanne's attention. We're trying to catch this huckster who is impersonating Marie Laveau."

"Yes, but Suzanne is apparently paying her for her work, and I'm what motivates her right now."

"I know, but we need to consider some other ideas too. That's all I'm saying," Marcus said. "Suzanne reacts to hunting games like that, but this woman may not. The fact remains that if we disconnect this creole woman from Suzanne, Suzanne becomes powerless again for awhile, and that looks like at least a partial win in my book. We need to consider all kinds of ideas, and I think that's what this is about at noon."

Ruby smiled when Marcus gave Angus a bowl of the fruit salad and spoke to Jack who just shrugged "It's what friends do for each other" he said making Ruby smile at him Listening to Marcus and Angus she spoke again "If money is all this Marie Laveau impersonater is after why not offer her something she can't say no to stop her?" she said as she popped a strawberry into her mouth " if you can find out what it is she treasures the most, got to be something she wants abouve all else." she added " oh and Marcus is right, theoretical bait." she smirked at him

"Well, we could, and I'm sure that idea will be one that we'll discuss. I missed most of the meeting," Marcus said, "but, there's a right way and a wrong way to do that. If we just offer it to her like a payoff, then, in my experience, that becomes blackmail because she'll just keep coming back again and again for more, expecting us to pay her every time she comes back around. That, clearly, would be the wrong way to do it. If, however, we were to do some sort of elaborate sting operation and use the money as bait, that might work--if we can find out enough about her to make an operation like that work. We need to be very careful, though, because Lee has had three--I believe--of his best operatives killed by this woman, and Lee knows there have been others, between muggles and wizarding civilians, that have also been killed. We do not have a total number on how many people she's killed, but it's fair to say that we're treading into very dark waters here. I think it sounds like we're about to team up with the aurors from the states in a cooperative venture, so I wouldn't discount the fact that some of us could well be sent to New Orleans for a few days or so."

"If that's where it takes us, then we go," Angus said simply.

"And we probably will," Marcus said, "but perhaps we need to see where this meeting goes first." Angus set his empty bowl aside.

"I think I'm going to go shower," he said, getting up.

"By the looks of you, I don't think you should make it a long shower until Robert gets the other batch of potion to you. I would imagine he's probably working on that, getting some breakfast and maybe getting a shower himself. so I suggest you not overdo your activity until you get the new bottle of potion."

"Yeah, I'll be careful," Angus said, going upstairs.

"I just honestly don't want to see his pain escalating again if he can avoid it by simply just not overdoing his activity for a little," Marcus told Ruby.

Ruby listened to Marus again and nodded she agreed with him "Yeah , that won't do" she said then saw the empty bowl of Angus's standing as Marcus spoke she couldn't argue with his logic about the woman pretending to be Marie Laveau. Hearing Angus say he wanted to go shower she smiled at him then looked at Marcus " you know you could go and wait for him to make sure all goes well and I'll send Robert up when he returns" she said picking up the empty plates and moving them to the sink to be washed.

Jack finished his bowl and moved to wash it placing his clean bowl in the drainer before retuning to Marcus " yeah just go change yourself and keep an ear out for him." Jack said

"Yeah, I think I should," Marcus said. He went upstairs, and while Angus was showering, Nigel arrived. He knocked on the door and let himself in.

"Robert finished the potion, and I told him I'd bring it and see how Angus is doing while Robert rests a bit. Traveling to Paris in the middle of the night is not something I would put on his list of activities with a fractured skull." He looked and didn't see Angus or Marcus either one. "I am presuming that those two lads aren't out misbehaving somewhere already, are they?"

"They inna baffroom," Abbey told Nigel.

"Together?" Nigel frowned.

"Noooo," Abbey scowled at Nigel as if she thought he was stupid.

Marcus refreshed in the other bathroom and got fresh clothes while Angus was showering and shaving and dressing.

Ruby heard Nigel and saw him walk in she could not help but chuckle at Abby " Hey Nigel, Marcus went up to keep an eye on Angus while he showered they should be down soon, unless you wan to go up to them?" she asked while she was washing the dishes ready to put threw the washer. Jack chukled at Abbys words and nodded " shes right" he said and looked over at him then the clock " oops I got a patrol I'll be back intime for the meeting" he said and haded out the door leaving Ruby with Abby and Caprice.

She moved to Caprice and lay her on the couch to change her dyper and outfit into something comfortable for the evening.

"I will. Thanks," Nigel said, going upstairs. He just reached the top of the stairs as Angus came out of the bathroom in fresh clothes.

"I've got the potion for you," Nigel told him handing him the potion. "Take that. How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine," Angus said, as Nigel did a very brief check on Angus.

"You've taken some really heavy hits lately, Lad," Nigel said. "I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but you know I'm going to give it to you anyway. I think you seriously need to get this barmy old bat off your backside and then take a holiday somewhere where she won't think to look for you."

"Like maybe the Himalayan hinterlands?" Angus asked dryly. He took the potion, and it made his head spin. Nigel led him in and had him sit on the bed.

"If that's what it takes to lose her for a bit, then yes," Nigel replied. "Robert tinkered with the formula. Not sure what he did to it, but he said he improved it. Give yourself a moment, and I bet it'll clear."

"Well, its starting to sound like we're going to get a few days in New Orleans," Angus said.

"Oh goodie. So you can chase 2 barmy old bats. That sounds relaxing," Nigel said sarcastically. "You do realize that puts you on my turf, don't you?"

"Yes, but you do realize that Robert won't be left behind on a major mission like this one, skull fracture or not, don't you?"

"Yes, well, he's going to find out that I'd rather he not."

"Well, that should be fun," Angus said sarcastically. "We should be able to see the fireworks from here."

"I am not afraid of Robert Lupin," Nigel said.

"Good, because I'm quite certain he isn't afraid of you either. Sounds like we're in for quite a show, then, when you try to tell him you don't want him commanding this one."

"How's the spinning? Better?"

"Yeah."

"And the pain?"

"Easing up."

"Good. So, whether you like it or not, I expect you to just take it easy til lunch time, and then, since I'm sure you missed breakfast, I expect you to get lunch, whether your here or over there. I don't want you going all day til supper tonight. That's hours away. Eat something before then. I'm going to go, but you need to follow instructions for once." He turned and went downstairs.

"Shall I take Abbey with me back next door?" Nigel asked Ruby.

"No. I no go," Abbey said, determined she wasn't leaving. "I stay with Roobee and Aggie."

Ruby finished the dishes and loked up to Nigel who asked about Abby but before she could say anything Abby spoke first " there you have it, shes ine to stay " she sid and smiled " she can help me fix dinner" she finished with Caprice and lay her down on her play mat to play with her toys hile she walked over to Nigel " Im guessing Angus will be going to find the woman whose working with my mother?" she said " I had a feeling he would even with his shoulder." she looked at Nigel.

"how is his shoulder?" she asked " and I know Roberts condition but knowing how he is he'll be along for the hunt too." she said softly and folded her arms as she waited for him to talk.

"His shoulder is mending nicely," Nigel said. "He may always have a bit of a weak shoulder, even with some physical therapy, just because of how much we had to rebuild when we operated on it. But I'd still like to see him work with Andrew to see what he can do to strengthen it and increased movement in it.

"He's had the potion to get rid of the rest of the pain from that hussy's spell. I didn't discuss it with him, but I'm sure he had to have been damn scared when that spell hit him. As much as we can find out about how it works, it was designed to be an exact mimic of a lethal heart attack. He actually probably thought he was dying in that moment, and I'll wager he's the sort that isn't going to be open to talking about it--which is why I didn't try to discuss the experience with him. I'm sure, at some point, Robert may want to reassure him a little or maybe someone that he isn't so closed with. Angus is fine, but that was still a bit of a jolt to his system. I'd prefer he just not dive into something else until his body catches up a little. Do see what you can do to not encourage him to go globe trotting today to New Orleans or back to Paris, would you?