A Birth day

Aria looked around and then saw Fabian walk to a door and saw the lock bow of " wow " she said kicking part of it as he opened it she looked up and froze in her spot " oh I know that , Angus was buried alive in it, Priscilla did that, now he has a fear of being buried or even going underground" she told him " if I had my way I'd blow it to matchsticks, see those larks , he did that before we could get to him" she walked over and touched the wood feeling it and imagining how Angus much have felt being inside " that's his blood ." she said shivering a she turned and walked back out of the room " its how I met them in fact, I helped get him out, should have blown it up back then" she added then looked to Fabian " its like an Angus horror museum, can we get some place less... this?" she said motioning around her " I'm not usually so squeamish but he is my friend and best friend to my man, if that's everything" she said glancing at the door with the stairs back up. Aria paused as she looked at the coffin " that puts Priscilla into the picture, she was there and the only other person who knew where that.. coffin was." she looked at Fabian.

"Yeah. I'll have my team get everything out of here. You realize this is all circumstantial unless we can tie it all together. There's no law against owning these 'devices' or that casket. We know what she's planning to do, but we have to be able to get some solid, hard evidence about what she intended, otherwise, we can't convict her. Let's go." He turned and looked at the ghost. "Thank you. Did you show us this to help him?" The ghost nodded slowly and then faded.

"He's gone," he told Aria. "I'll see you home, and then I'll come back and help them wind this up. I'd like to see Angus anyway. I presume you have a portkey? Take me with you so I can see some of my friends."

Aria looked to Fabien and nodded " I realize that, they kept proper evidence well hidden , and that was probably Suzzanne's first husband Reginald, she kind of got him killed by going after Angus by lying to him about why she was going after him so Angus defended himself." she said " which ended in Reginald's death, good to know he's not holding it against Angus" It was now she took out a key she had in her pocket and showed him walking over to him she took his hand in hers and ported them both to the estate.

" welcome to the Lupin estate" she said smiling as she motioned to the duplex" forgive me if I don't hang around after seeing what I have I really need a shower and change, but I will introduce you" She saw Jack walking over to wards them and waved him over. " Jack this is Fabian he's from the French ministry of magic." she said.

Jack saw Aria and a strange man appear and headed over to them. " ah good to meet you, Jack Black Heart" he said and held out his hand to shake.

"He hates Suzanne far more. That much I felt from him from the outset he showed himself," Fabian replied to her.

"Nice to meet you," Fabian shook hands with Jack. So this was James Blood's brother. This was the one that Robert employed and trusted. "I've heard good things about you. This place is incredible. Aria and Lucian partnered with my team to execute a search warrant on the Gelding estate. I was hoping to have a word with Angus. He needs to think about taking some time away so he can maybe arrange a holiday in someplace with some good protection spells because he is absolutely not safe in the least, certainly not from Mrs. Gelding or from Miss Priscilla Jeanmard either one. Do you know where I can find him?"

Jack shook Fabians hand and listened " ah her " he said " come with me " he said and lead them to the duplex " Angus some one's here to see you" he said and opened the duplex door " Fabian this is Marcus , Angus right hand man, bodyguard and best friend" he said " she tries anything , he and I will be there like a wall" he said as Aria slipped away to shower and clean up feeling she would fill Marcus in about what they had found. But before she left she slipped of he lapel pin and gave it back to Fabien.

" you might want what's on this" she said then disappeared up the stairs . Ruby was still sat by Angus and saw the look on Arias face before she disappeared.

"its good to meet you Fabien, I assume your with Daniella?" she asked but paused knowing there was more pressing things to talk about.

"You'd better stay at the ready, then," Fabian said. He took the pin from Aria. "Thank you. And thanks again for your help."

"Fabian," Angus smiled. He got up and went over, and they gave each other a hug. "Good to see you. Fabian is a friend, Ruby. He is the head of the espionage unit for the French Ministry of Magic. That makes him one of her cabinet ministers."

"Nice to meet you, Ruby," Fabian said. He shook hands with Marcus too. "So you're the bodyguard. Any experience?"

"A little," Marcus laughed, sensing Fabian did honestly care about Angus and wanted him safe.

"It's nothing to play with," Fabian told Angus and Marcus. "This is serious."

"Come sit," Angus invited Fabian. "So you led the search of the house?"

"I did."

"Anything interesting?"

"Much," Fabian said. "You aren't going to like it but it is what it is."

"Just tell us."

"In a nutshell, we have Suzanne Gelding and Priscilla Jeanmard under arrest, but Suzanne is in the hospital. Long story short, the ghost of her ex husband tossed a wolfsbane plant at her, and she damn near died from it. She's in St. Mungos right now."

"You mean..." Angus frowned.

"So it would appear," Fabian nodded. "And by the log books we found, it seems James Blood turned her just very shortly after her baby was born. Near as we can figure, that's probably why the baby got neglected."

"Damn," Angus sighed, trying to absorb it.

"But that's not even the tip of the iceberg. Let me show you." He took his lapel pin and Aria's, and started looking for someplace to show the pictures. Marcus accio'd a plain white sheet and levitated it in the air for a temporary screen.

"Thanks," Fabian said. He went through the pictures, starting with the dressing room with all the pictures of Angus that were defiled all over the walls. And then, going through them until he got to the pictures in the basement of the torture chamber and the casket. Angus stood up, grabbed his cigarettes and went outside, not wanting to see any more.

"I've got it," Marcus said to Ruby. "Fabian, Robert needs to see those immediately. Ruby, when you get done seeing the pictures, could you make sure he gets to the main house, please?" Marcus scooped up Angus's coat and his own and hurried outside after Angus. Fabian sighed. This honestly had gotten to him. Suzanne had actually damaged him, hadn't she?

Ruby smiled at Fabian " then its a pleasure to meet you too" she said and sat back down next to Angus but when the pictures started she didn't stop Angus taking his cigarettes and heading out nodding to Marcus as he followed Angus making Ruby sign and look ay Fabian as he spoke to her " yes she has were all tired of it, I'm glad my dad helped you" she said " what he couldn't do in life he's making up for in death" she said softly she made the sheet fold away so the pictures were not visible.

Aria stood under the shower as the images she had seen didn't seem to want to leave her mind , she now understood why Angus wanted Suzzanne to just stop, all the pain he had been threw and all the suffering she wanted to still put him threw. Once the water turned cold she stepped out dried off and dressed in slacks and a warm jumper. Walking down she accioed three glasses of fire whiskey and carried them out side . Now she handed one to Marcus and one to Angus and the third she downed herself but never said a word to ether of them only gently lay her head against Marcus wanting his contact.

"I'm a medium, Ruby," Fabian said. "Don't actually get to use it much in my line of work, but I got the feeling your dad has far more hatred towards Suzanne than he ever had towards Angus. In fact, he's actually becoming fond of him, I think. Didn't actually have a conversation with him. But he really does not like the damage she's inflicted on him. And here's what's in the last few pictures you didn't see. She has a tentative date on the calendar--two months from now. My guess is it's her baby's birthday. She has a tenative celebration planned that she has logged on her calendar as a Turning Celebration with JB. I believe she's planning on having James turn her baby, never mind that the baby is just plain too young and probably entirely too small for it. I'm hoping I can use that information to try to keep diamond from ever going back to Tom Gelding. I can't promise, though. Suzanne intends to kill Angus and bury him in that casket she has for him. But if we get permanent custody of that baby, Angus's life might not be worth a single farthing. The only person that I would trust this to now would be Robert."

Angus was just walking through the snow covered garden, between the plant rows, and Marcus was sitting on the steps of the deck where he's brushed off the snow. He noticed Aria come and sit with him.

"That was a rough one, wasn't it?" Marcus asked her softly, keeping an eye on Angus. "Saw too much. Its why he doesn't talk about it. I think when he walks like this, he's thinking, working to put it all in perspective that his life is here and now with his family. He's trying not to let the demons back in his head, but I'm sure that's damned hard. She's not going to win. She might be able to hire strangers that she can pay to try to do her bidding, but he's got far better. He's got us, and we're his family. That's worth far more than all the paid thugs on the planet. In sports they talk about how important the home advantage is. Seems to me that family is the most powerful home advantage of all, and one she will never have."

Ruby listened to Fabian and looked at the book and the notation within it. she frowned and looked to him " she's not going to get her for that, she tried to do that with my younger brothers , she succeeded with my other brother Jessie , if we can stop her from doing it to this innocent child, then we will protect her with all our might" she said softly a she knew both babies were sleeping now with their grandmothers.

Aria looked up at Marcus as he started to talk and she nodded " it was..bad." she said drinking some of the whiskey " she had these wax figures in Angus like and had been doing ...well torturing them in horrendous ways" she said and downed the last of the whiskey then looked at him as he finished talking saying family was the most powerful home advantage and she nodded. " well he has the biggest home advantage, you know they had the coffin he was buried in, blood and scratches and all, that" she paused and took hold of Marcus hand in her own " seeing it reminded me of that day and how he was barely alive when we found him, the look in his eyes after, no man should go threw that or have to relive it, I do wish we'd blown that coffin to splinters.

"That was a damned ugly night, wasn't it? When we found him. I remember how hard Robert worked to restart his heart and bring him back. It sticks with me too. Aria," Marcus said to her quietly, "he swore me to never tell Ruby, but I will tell you if you don't pass it on. It helps no one to pass it on further. It isn't just the casket. Every one of those devices he has already experienced. Before we knew you, we found a sub basement under Suzanne's house--the one that Jessie and Ruby and the rest of them grew up in. And those are the devices that she kept down there and used--on him. I think she can't get done wanting to see him hurt because of how he's ended up with her entire family, one by one, even though he never asked for it. She wants him to hurt. And if she can repeat what she's done before, she inflicts new pain and makes him relive the old. And that's horrendous. I'm the only one he's ever told. He hasn't even told Edward or Robert. But that's why he's out here walking in the snow, making circles in the garden and smoking one cigarette after another. He's trying to shove all his inner demons back in their box. As his bodyguard, I see my job is to keep him safe and alive. As his friend, I see my job is to help him heal, if I can. I've had one or two incidents like he's had, but certainly not to the extreme he has--just enough to understand it all. And I think that's why Robert assigned me to him instead of David. Angus hired David, but David wasn't the right fit. I was, and Robert knew it. So here we are.

"Angus," Marcus called. Angus looked at Marcus and Marcus showed him the glass of whiskey. Angus came over and took the glass from Marcus.

"Don't keep that in your head if you can help it," Angus told Aria. "Does you no good, you know.' He drank the whiskey in one gulp and set the glass back down.