"And when do you think the attacks will become a problem?" Jane asked, keeping pace with the other man, as the sun started to dip below the horizon. She had started to get an excellent intreview from this guy about the Dementors, and she was going to wrap it up soon. This was such a good interview, it would lead her entire story! Here was a man who wasn't afraid of anything, admitting that he had had a total run in with a dementor! She didn't exactly know if it was truthful, but that was what secondary sources were for, right?

"Well, I think when more people start having their run in's. I hope some big wig in the ministry has a run in. Then they'll take this seriously, as serious as it truly is," They turned a corner into an alley, not that Jane was even really paying attention. She was trying to take down the notes, get the quote, and jot down the thoughts that were wizzing in her head.

When she looked up, and found that they were now walking down an alley, she turned to him. "Hey, there's not enough light in here," she started. "Think we can continue this interivew elsewhere? Maybe grab a coffee or something?" She said, but his expression turned darker.

"I like the dark though. No one comes looking for people in the dark," Jane looked up, as her face fell, but before she could even say anything, he had her against a wall, his forearm digging into her throat. "Now, why don't you start emptying your pockets, and give me that purse?"

Jane quietly reached for her wand, in the holster by her belt, but his other hand stopped her, wrapping around her wrist, making her drop it. He quickly dropped a knife out of his pocket of the arm that was against her throat, lined the blade with her cheek, so close, she felt like it was going to split the skin. "Now, your pockets? or should I just start going through them?" Jane kept her eyes closed, as she felt his hand start rifling through her bag.  Silently, she prayed.

Zeke wondered if it was going to rain this evening. The seasons quickly decided to intertwine, causing a rather chilly August evening. Ezekiel pulled his crimson hood over his blond head and wrapped his cloak just a bit tighter around him. His wand dangled from it's strap, hung from his wrist, and he was a humming a tuneless song. He itched the back of his neck where a few old scars from a shattered jar of snails had hit him. It's not that he didn't enjoy patrolling Knockturn, there was always some sort of action to be had and some dirt-bag to bust. It was just the smell. Zeke thought himself a clean man, and the scents that polluted the air in Knockturn Alley were sometimes too much.

How much bat guano and pond scum could accumulate in front of a potion shop? Zeke stopped b a few local businesses to check on a few ex-azzies before continuing his beat. He briefly looked down at his boots, he'd need a new pair soon. The toes of these chestnut, knee-high jack boots were dented in and the balls of his feet could feel every stray pebble littering the cobblestone streets of Knockturn. He sighed, he'd rather liked this pair.

Zeke was coming up on his least favorite part of the Alley. It was the smelliest and seediest alley-ridden stretch of street. It was much too dark for the Auror's liking, and he gripped his wand tightly. Unsavory characters parted the way when they saw him approach, and he gave them a nod, as he did to all of the people he saw on the street, and grunted a polite, "Evening" as he passed. It was always too quiet. Zeke listened carefully for anything out of the ordinary, and he picked up an aggressive, hissing voice.

"Now, your pockets? or should I just start going through them?"

Zeke picked up his pace, silently making his way towards the voices. He was six for six in foot chases this week, and if lucky number seven decided to run, he'd be ready. He peered into the alley were the voice seemed to be getting more desperate. There was a rather weedy looking wizard pressing a knife against a young woman's throat and groping through her handbag and pockets.

Zeke raised his wand, "Put the knife down!" He ordered.

Out of the corner of her eye, her prayers were answered, and the auror approached. Thank God. "What, you think you can tell me what to do?" The knife sliced through her cheek, and she shrieked, keeping her eyes tigher still. "Why don't you drop your wand, you redcoat?" He barked, looking back at Zeke. Jane looked back to the auror, her chin quivering. Jane was so not okay, this was so not okay, like, really not okay! This was not going to end okay!

The crazed man moved her, her back to his front, holding her hostage, and keeping the knife to her cheek. "Now, will we hear this young girl scream again, or are you going to drop your damn wand?" He shouted, her eyes starting to plead with Zeke. Part of her wanted him to take out this guy, while the other part of her wanted him to put down the wand, and at least leave her be. Her cheek was stinging, she was paniking, and she needed to get this creep off her, now.

"Maybe you didn't hear me!" He shouted again, pulling her throat back again, tightening it, and stopping her breath. "You've got a couple of seconds, redcoat, to make your decision. Tick tock, before she goes down," Jane swallowed hard, holding tight to the guy's arm, trying to suck down any air she could. Please. she thought. Please, make a good decision.

Zeke pulled his hood off his head, revealing his face. He needed to make himself appear more human, that normally gave some small sort of reaction. Not this time. The man flicked his wrist and sliced through the reporter's skin. Zeke shouted, but the man was barking over him and he couldn't be heard. This was going to be very risky. He needed to be delicate. Be patient. The man turned himself and his victim against the side of the alley so Zeke could see both of them. He was calculating, looking at the materials of the walls and wondering what hexes wouldn't rebound to him or Jane.

"Maybe you didn't hear me!" Zeke resisted the urge to run at the lunatic when he tightened his grip on the witch's throat. She was desperately trying to breathe.

"Yeah, I heard you." Zeke set his jaw forward. He'd made a plan. "Alright-"

"You've got a couple of seconds, redcoat, to make your decision. Tick tock, before she goes down,"

"Alright!" Zeke roared, "I'm putting it down!" Zeke slowly pulled the strap off his wrist and started to crouch down. The wand was still pointed at the criminal, and Zeke quickly shot a silent Petrificus Totalus at the man. The man froze and fell back, his head hitting the opposite wall of the alley.

Zeke was very lukcy that worked. It was a little unorthodox, but hey, another day saved, right?

"Are you alright, Miss?" Zeke slid his wand back onto his wrist and cautiously approached the young woman. He planted a foot on the assailant's chest, making sure he stayed down.

"Miss?"

In the blink of an eye, right when she started getting dizzy, the creep was down, and she tumbled back as well. Jane sat with her back to the wall, holding her head in her hands, refusing to believe that what just happened actually happened. Her hands were shaking, she was shaking, what had just happened refused to actually resonate in her mind. Someone had tried to kill her. Someone had actually tried to kill her. She would have been dead, totally dead, or worse, if that auror hadn't come along. Good God.

He was asking her questions that still weren't registering with her mind. She wasn't even there, she wasn't present at all. Her heart rate hadn't gone down yet, and she still couldn't believe that what happened had happened. She sat there for a few minutes, until Zeke had the guy fully restrained, and he had come closer to her, crouching down to her level. "It, It was a mistake, I- I wasn't paying attention, I should have known something was up! I just, I should have known, and I'm sorry, and thank you, God, thank you so much."

Jane threw arms around Zeke, and held him close, trying to let him ground her. "I'm, I'm Jane Hunter, reporter for the Daily Prophet. I was getting an interview, and he, um, he thought it would be a good time to steal from me. I, I dont know what would have happened if you didn't show up. It's a miricle you did."

"How can I, um, how can I make it up to you?" She asked quietly, searching for his gorgeous eyes.

Jane wasn't responding initially. Zeke quickly made sure the perp was secure, sent a patronus to the department and then turned back to her. She seemed to snap back into reality and started rambling, rapidly explaining what had put her in the position Zeke had found her in. She seemed to be going into shock. Jane launched herself at him, and he let himself be an anchor. Shock was a cruel and vile mistress, and Zeke knew that if he didn't provide support, she could relapse. He'd seen it before. He didn't like being a distant officer. He liked to be more personal.

He liked giving people the emotional mainstay for people. She introduced herself. "I recognize your name from the paper. You're a very talented writer." Zeke had her at an arms-length. "I'm just doing my job Ms. Hunter." He always liked to use "Ms." he didn't like to make assumptions. She was talking about retribution. The left side of his lips quirked upwards.

"How can I, um, how can I make it up to you?"

"Well, you can start by holding still while I clean you up." Zeke cast a healing spell on Jane's cheek, cradling the back of her head with his other hand and the laceration cleared up to nothing more than a petite, white line, "What should clear up in a bit." Zeke stood, still keeping a steady arm on Jane's wrist, "Next, you can come with me to the DMLE so we can file a report against this guy." Zeke nudged the perp with his wearing boots.

"Then you can go home, how does that sound?"

The auror was so gentle, so sweet, just letting her use him to ground herself. He was sweet, quiet, he knew exactly what she needed, excatly what she wanted, and in that moment, no one could have been more perfect. Blame it on the adrenaline, or something similar, but Jane felt something twitch in her chest, a butterfly, and no less, from a sweetheart dressed in red. Maybe it was the hero complex that made her melt, or it was those eyes that sucked her in, but Jane was having a serious issue keeping her cool.

A soft hand went around the back of her neck to hold her still as he heeled her face. It still stung a little, but it felt nice to at least have it taken care of. "Th-Thanks," she stuttered out, at a complete loss of words. As she stood up from her seated position, she wiped at the tears in her eyes, trying to clear them before they smudged anymore make up. After this meeting at the DOMLE, she would for sure go home and crash. Maybe call in sick tomorrow, take some time off. After the fiasco that she had just been in, Jane wanted nothing but a few days of laziness. She had had enough excitement for a while.

With one last look down at the perp, Jane felt her heart start to race, and she looked away. Just thinking about it caused panic to rise up like bile in her system. Tightly, Jane held the auror's hand back. She had no problem pressing charges. She wanted this guy off the street, especially now that she knew how dangerous he was. "Let's go," She said, now making it her personal mission to pay this guy back, as they aparated away.

--End--