(Please read plot development thread before posting)


Aileen Reid stood in her professor's robes amongst the Ministry workers, waiting for the lift to descend a few flights from the Atrium. Back straight, eyes forward, she gave off the impression that nothing in the world could touch her.

But someone who knew her well might have noticed the stiffness to her shoulders and the worry in her eyes as she stopped off on the fifth floor and walked briskly towards Trevor Reid's office.

"Ma'am. Ma'am!" The annoying fly of the office assistant buzzed around her, impeding her progress. Aileen paused to give her a withering look. "Do you have an appoint-"

An employee who recognized her waved the assistant off and gave her a nod. Aileen reached her brother's office and glanced through the glass pane, noticing with relief that he was there, and alone. It was 4:30 on a Friday and she'd been counting on his tendency to work until 5:00, if not later.

Without knocking, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

At the sudden sound, surprise and annoyance flickered on Trevor's face. He was already smoothing it out as he glanced up and saw her. His expression darkened.

Aileen slowly walked forward, taking in his appearance. His hair looked like he'd just run his fingers through it, and there were bags underneath his eyes. His robes were still as perfectly creased as ever, but Aileen knew his house elf took care of that. She'd never seen him look so tired. For a moment, she felt guilty, interrupting his day.

She felt guilty until he waved his hand in a shooing gesture at her and glanced down at his papers.

"Trevor-"

"Get out. I don't have time for your problems."

She sucked in a breath and bit back an angry retort. They'd grown up together, and even been close when they were children. They could see through each other's acts, so Trevor had dropped the charming facade around her long ago. Still. Still, she would have appreciated just a bit of respect and consideration.

"Trevor," she repeated, glancing at the door and casting Muffliato on it. Then she pulled the curtains closed when a young, spotty-faced intern tried to peer in. She would have preferred to speak to Trevor outside of work, but he'd been impossible to reach, and his wife had been impossibly snooty when she'd dropped by his house. The woman's snide comments about how busy she was with her children only caused Aileen to be grateful she didn't have to raise two spoiled, utterly selfish brats.

No, she just had an emotional teenage sister on her hands.

Brushing those thoughts away, Aileen perched on the seat in front of his desk. "This won't take long," she lied, smoothing out her hair in a nervous gesture. "I'm in a spot of trouble," she began, trying to catch his eye. He was still looking at his papers. "As you've probably guessed, I've been keeping a few of the Egyptian artifacts from the expedition over the summer. One of them in particular has been causing me a great deal of strife," she paused. "And now, someone knows I have it, and she's trying to blackmail me into..."

He hadn't glanced up at her once.

"Trevor! Will you please look at me."

Trevor finally gave her such a venomous glare that she drew back in her seat.

"What exactly do you expect me to do." It was not a question, but a statement. She'd heard this tone of voice from him before, and yet she held onto hope.

"I know you have connections," she hissed at him, leaning forward again. "You're the only one who could make her leave me alone! If you'd just-"

He let out a short, bitter laugh. "Why would I do that? Why should I care? I thought you were 'completely capable of handling yourself'," he mimicked one of the things she'd told him when he'd tried to meddle in her life a few years ago. "Didn't you tell me to leave you alone? To stop interfering in your affairs?" Trevor smirked and shook his head, continuing on when she opened her mouth.

"It's no concern of mine if your own stupidity causes you problems. I heard about the mummy outbreak, Aileen. One of your shining moments, I'm sure. Why don't you ask that Trevelyan fellow you've been spending so much time with?" He paused when he saw the enraged look on her face. "What's wrong. He won't help you?"

With a mocking look in his eyes, Trevor stood up and gathered his papers.

"Solve it on your own, and don't drag me through the muck in the process," he glanced at her coldly, stepping towards the door.

Aileen felt her throat close up as she stared at him. Slowly, she stood, blocking him from heading out.

"What is wrong with you?" She crossed her arms and glared up at him. "You're holed up in your office all the time, doing Merlin knows what lately. You don't have time for our parents anymore." He was the golden child. He had no reason to hide from them. "What about your wife? Does she know what you've-"

"I told you. I don't have time to fix your mistakes, and I don't have time for you," he finished in a snarl.

As he made a move to step around her, the Muffliato charm wore off and the faint buzz fell away. But instead of hearing the usual bustle and noise from beyond Trevor's office, the workplace was completely silent. Aileen frowned. It couldn't be 5:00 already. People had to still be here.

Then the door flew open.

"The benefit," Adon had told Samuel Harcroft that morning by way of recruiting him for the arrest, "is that it only requires a quick visit to Level Five."

It was quite a big, quite a loaded "only." The arrest of a Ministry official was going to make headlines. It could make enemies (or at the very best, suspicions) amongst the workplace. Its effects were always felt much more intimately.

But Adon had requested Samuel Harcroft because he didn't seem the sort to be off-put by such small, such "only" things as these. And so, Adon, upon good faith, had disclosed the extent of what they had found on Reid. Harcroft didn't disappoint. The man was a damn good auror. A bit paranoid, but Adon knew paranoid. In a way, he loved paraonid. He had Dreogan as a brother, after all. Harcroft worked hard. He had a bit of a reputation for being a bit, well, Fox had called it "creative," but Adon knew not only how to toe the line but how to hold it, if necessary. But, Adon realised as he crossed through the parted cubicles of Level Two, he had no idea who was "good cop" and who was "bad cop" on this one. He supposed it would be instinctual.

Dreogan's coworkers watched in silence as they passed. Adon, for one, walked with precise movements, a grim expression on his face. Entries were important, and this way, they would not have pesky loiterers. Like that pimple-faced intern they had on Level Two, or the hot receptionist they had on Level . . .well, this level. As they made their way, wands drawn and badges prominent, it was quiet.

But it was nothing to the hush once they arrived at Trevor's door. It was pin-drop silent. Now, Trevor didn't seem to be a sociable sort -- in fact, from the character study his Level Two associates had made of him when he was first hired on as a diplomat, Adon strongly suspected the man bribed people to sit to lunch with him. Judging from the frequency that the man sat alone, it didn't seem as though he had had much success. Especially once one considered the large amounts of money the man had at hand in his bank account at Gringott's, a fact made available to him through Aileen Reid. Though she didn't exactly know it at the time. However, even if he were alone, he'd hear the scrape of a nib. The creak of a chair. An occasional sigh. Adon had noted with initial satisfaction, then mounting anxiety, that the man looked like hell. That he suspected, Adon had no doubt. Thus, when he leaned in to the door, glancing back at Harcroft, and heard the soft, almost indiscernible white knows of the Muffliato, he nodded. He had company. If it was someone of interest, well, that would be all be better.

A flick of the wrist did not open the door. Another glance back at Harcroft. Now, Harcroft had a reptuation for being creative. Adon had his own reputations. It was best not to disappoint Level Two on either count. He mouthed as he counted. "One. Two." Bam.

The door burst open in a brief flash of white.

Reid's sister and his own somehow-cousin's ex-milf-worthy-wife sat before Reid's desk, gaping like a fish. Reid, on the other hand, stood worthy of his name: reed-like, stock-still. His tips were compressed into a tight, white line. Adon smiled in a affable manner, though he didn't lower his wand as he crossed the threshold. "Sorry. Door was locked."

There was a momentary pause. Adon half hoped that Reid would say something; he could get more on the guy that way. "So, you are under arrest," he added. He glanced pointedly to Aileen. "I'll have some questions for you as well."

Samuel had agreed to come on the arrest for one main reason. It was a Ministry Official. He personally was wondering why the Head of the DoIC wasn't coming along, but that was unimportant. Following Elor with his wand out and badge clear on his chest, they made their way to their target's ofice. Trevor Reid had apparently been facilitating the runespoor smuggling. He glanced at Elor when the door wouldn't open, and nodded. They both had reputations to uphold. On Elor's cue, the door was blasted into splinters. Sam followed Elor and immediately moved to block the doorway. He was somewhat surprised to see Aileen Reid there, but you couldn't tell.

The door burst off its hinges. Aileen and Trevor jumped. In the moments after, dead quiet settled in the office as the two Aurors entered the room. Silence stretched beyond the office, and Aileen could hear the faint squeak of Auror Eleor's shoes.

She froze and stared at the pair of Aurors, heart racing. This was worse than the mummies. She would have preferred mummies!

Casually, almost flippantly, Auror Eleor spoke first, informing Trevor that he was under arrest. He then glanced at her and warned her that they'd be questioning her later.

Her brother reacted faster than she did, smoothing over his shock and anger with one of his impenetrable masks. It looked less effective with the bags under his eyes and the mussed hair, but he was still a Reid, and everything in his bearing screamed 'privileged pureblood'.

"For what, exactly?" His tone was clipped, quiet, cold. "This is a poor idea of a joke."

Level Two was well known for their pranks within their own department (she'd heard rumors about disappearing desks) and sometimes with Level Four. But they didn't joke around about arrests, obviously. Trevor had to realize this. What had he done? He'd involved her! That was unacceptable.

Her face paled. If she hadn't casted a muffling charm, they could have overheard her conversation. How much did they know? Did they knew about her? And who would help her now. Certainly not Jonas after she'd left him at the museum.

Aileen was wrapped up in thoughts of herself as Trevor, surely, was running through an escape in his mind. Neither of them had moved an inch since the door had burst open, so Aileen was still slightly in front of her brother, unaware that he was very slowly reaching for his wand...

Adon kept his smile rigidly affixed onto his face. “I suspect you don’t really know what ‘poor’ is, Mister Reid,” he responded smoothly before proceeding. That he didn't know what a joke was went unsaid. Because this was a really good one.

“You are under arrest for suspected collusion and involvement in illegal trade, money laundering, abuse of office, and treason.” He raised his eyebrows, biting back the question “anything else?” He glanced over at Harcroft, the smirk still apparent.

Edging round Aileen Reid, the sister, Adon proceeded in the next steps making the arrest; as it was, he couldn't very well restrain the man with the woman blocking them. Blighter was still hiding behind his sister, and Adon had learned from Maggie’s abduction that this was not necessarily the behaviour of a coward. It was the conduct of a snake in the grass. He glanced back a moment to Harcroft, hoping he would secure the door to prevent escape, particularly from the sister.

“You’ve the right to remain silent,” he stated, taking a breath. “But anything you do say will be taken down and may be used in evidence. But please," he added candidly, "I won’t stop you from making a mess of yourself. You’re pretty nearly there, anyhow.” He lifted his wand. “Step away from the desk, if you will.” Adon said, not quite satisfied at the fact that he could not see the Ministry official’s hands. “Hands up. Now.”

" This is no joke, Trevor Reid,and Adon, you forgot Corruption." Sam said, stepping fully inside the room and closing the door behind hm. However, he was still blocking the way out of the room. " I would advise you come quietly, Trevor Reid. Aileen Reid, you may want to step out of the way, since at the moment, you are in the way if spellfire breaks out." Sam added, face grim.

Certainly hopes this doesn’t cause a sense of godmoding that she is able to get pass Samuel since she’s the Head?
WARNING: a little bit of language!

---

Gabrielle had been out of her very department pretty much the duration of the day when she had arrived back to the office. The secretary was rattling on that there were Aurors in the office, wands out to arrest Trevor Reid  –  a  sudden flashback to the second go around with Voldemort came to mind, most especially the arrest of Simmons while Gabrielle stood there in a dumbfounded stupor. Not this time, not on her watch. “That’ll be all, dear. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to attend to,” she mustered out, her eyes narrowing as if what she would be expecting was a basilisk or something of that dangerous nature. Alas, that was hardly the case when she overheard Adon’s words on treason, conspiracy… Oh, Godric, what the devil had Reid put himself into that would cause such an uproar and abrupt walk-in of Aurors? She was almost afraid to find out all the nitty gritty details, but for now, she had to be boss, not inquisitor.

The door opened with a slight bang as Gabrielle stood in the doorway, noticing that Samuel was keeping guard. She was in charge of this place, after all . . . “Aileen. . .” she remarked curtly as she looked to the gentlemen, seeing the look of disappointment emitting from Trevor’s entire body, especially those eyes were particularly in distress. “Adon, Samuel, what exactly is going on here? I clearly see an arrest, but I’d like to be cued in a little bit. It’s not too much to ask, now is it?” she remarked, her sudden icy gaze closely fixated upon Trevor Reid’s face as if to say ‘you rotten bastard, what did you do in my department?’ The stare remained there until she looked over to Aileen, realizing fully well what it was like to be a sibling that caused issues, but then again, Quincy wasn’t one to get into illegal activities (unless he hid his tracks very well).

Gabrielle was uncertain now what to do – she was in charge of this department and hell be damned if they’d keep her in a ‘let’s keep quiet about it, ayuh?’ scenario. Answers would be found out, by hook or by crook and well, she knew that she’d rather be kept in the light rather than to expose a nasty persona in this situation.

Aileen wasn't sure why she hadn't moved. She doubted it was out of some lingering sense of sisterly concern (most of which was reserved for Abby). More than likely, she was so stunned by the Aurors' arrival and their words that she hadn't thought about it. Money laundering, abuse of office, treason? Merlin, he was in deep. All the signs became clearer now - Trevor's distant behavior, and the odd withdrawals and deposits to their joint family account in Gringotts. She questioned how she could have overlooked those things as the Aurors listed off the 'right to remain silent' spiel and advised her to move aside. Eleor was edging around them while Harcroft blocked the door. Escape didn't even cross her mind.

Aileen chanced a glance back at Trevor. Their eyes met for a second. You're on your own, her look told him, and as she started to take a step sideways the door burst open to reveal Gabrielle Murray-Harker. Aileen shot her a glare. This was bad enough without her barging in and-

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her shoulder, pulling her back, and for a second she was indignant. She was moving, wasn't she! How dare they...

Then she realized it wasn't one of the Aurors who had grabbed her, but her own brother. Her own brother pointing his wand at her neck.

He'd started to say something, but his words were drowned out in a flurry of action from the others in the room.


(Chatted with Melissa and decided to cut out the dialogue to give everyone enough time to react!)

Warning: Even more language. Lol.

Adon might have expected it to go like this. The criminal was protesting with proper aloofness, the self-interested bystander . . . standing by, the partner making nominal input from time to time. . .

" This is no joke, Trevor Reid,and Adon, you forgot Corruption."

Adon’s expression flickered from smug to irascible at this correction.  While Inner Dree would have told him to be more charitable towards Harcroft in his thoughts, Adon found himself more inclined to listen to the Inner Jonas urging him to at least sacrifice his comebacks for the greater good of getting Reid behind bars. Adon was fast gaining the opinion that consciences and inner monitors were not only treasonous, they were spoilsports. The comeback of ”I also forgot being a crotchety, snot-nosed purist and a bad dresser” was so good!

Sacrifice. Greater good.

At least he had to give Sam the proper credit for his good sense in perceiving a potential hostage situation. Giving the man a nod in acknowledgement -- the man clearly had things under control -- he shifted forward, wand raised. “Reid.”

"Aileen."

Adon found he had an inaccurate echo.

"Adon, Samuel, what exactly is going on here? I clearly see an arrest, but I’d like to be cued in a little bit. It’s not too much to ask, now is it?”

He grit his teeth angrily, wondering exactly how many times an unhinged door could be entered. “Harcroft!” he growled, knowing, however, that while the imperious intrusion was not the Auror’s fault, precisely, yelling at him about it would make him feel a bit better.

A whole lot of good Harcroft’s sense did in the light of Murray-Harker’s -- her . . .  -- there were no words for this. At least not in the first two seconds. Adon found them very quickly. Still facing Reid, he glanced back over his shoulder to tell the Head of this department just what, exactly, cuing in looked like.  “It is abso-fucking-loutely too much to ask right now! L'azazel Harker, you will be informed when there is something to inform on!” Like once Reid was cont--Adon noted, as he looked back at Reid, the wand poised at his sister's throat--ained.

Moloch.

How did they end up here, again? Both he and Harcroft had seen it coming. Harcroft even warned the woman. And now this office was getting cramped with backseat enforcers, hostages, doormats, and Aurors. In fact, the only person in the entire DIMC that he’d want here right now was not. Because Adon had had the sense to tell him to call in sick today.

Moloch, Dree!

Eyes furious, face livid, Adon stepped towards Reid. His eyes flickered away for only a moment, looking behind Reid, seeing what his options were of a retreat. No window -- thank the cavernous gothic architecture for that. Only a fireplace, with flames already ignited. Reid could floo out of here, if he got back to the flames in time.

Unless Adon brought the flames to him.

“Look,” Adon said, evenly, putting on what he thought was a rather Jonas-ish sort of voice. “Reid. Meet me halfway, here.” The wand, which had been pointed directly at Reid’s chest, which was now pointed towards at the sister, was slowly dragged backwards and lifted ceilingwards in a slow, deliberate action of surrender.* He noticed a slight shift of light cast by the flames; it grew more vibrant, throwing dancing shadows along the back of Reid's desk and the sleeves of his robes. There were faint, black curls of smoke. Adon surmised that the flames from the fireplace must now have crawled across the floor and closed the mere metre to the hem of Reid’s robes. Adon tucked the wand back into the waistband of his pants, showing his bare hands.

At this point, he didn't need wands, anyhow. Murray-Harker could get her show, Adon and Samuel could get their man, Reid his monologue, and Aileen -- well, he didn't really care what she wanted. She'd need to be mollified with her own life.

*which also, not-so-coincidentally, was a deliberate gesture of summoning.

Sam ignored Elor's snapping at him in favour of wathcing the unfurling disaster. " Elor, Department Head Murray-harker has every right to question why she was not informed. You.Always.Inform.The.Department.Head.Before.You.Arrest.A.Ministry.Official." Sam said tersely. thne he kept an eye on what was happening. " Harker, get behind me. we don't need two hostages." he said, still teresly. He was still letting Elor run thigns, but was ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Especially since he hadn't the first clue what in the name of Merlin Elor was Doing now. Taking his wand off the suspect Sam instantly brought his own wand to pint at Trevor Reid, albeit he didn't cast a  spell yet, although relashio was at the tip of his tongue.

Ignoring Harcroft's misplaced churlishness was easy. Adon was annoyed-as-hell at both him and Harker, and they'd know it soon enough. When he was sure no one was going to die. Now, ignoring the fact that he was about to get Aileen Reid killed was not. Glancing back at his ersatz partner to make sure Harker was at the very least bridled, if not contained, he bared his teeth as he saw the wand pointed to Trevor Reid.

"What the hell--get that thing off him; you want to get her killed?" he hissed. "Reid," he addressed again, turning back to listen to him. The man probably had some imperious address prepared, because Adon didn't doubt that a man who spent that much time alone working shady, self-aggrandising deals had several on hand. He probably practised his speeches in the mirror as he combed his eyebrows and brushed his tongue in the mornings. "We just need to talk to you, yeh? No need to involve anyone else in this. So hand her over, and we'll talk. Right here." He waited a moment before adding, with a glimmer of a smile, "I'll even let you go first."

It was no surprise no one was pleased with what was going on, but a witness to a hostage situation in her department just made it *all* the better. Oh, suuuure - she was completely willing to be a hostage just as much as she was to see fire illuminating on wizarding robes. If only she could headdesk at the moment, but alas, no.

Gabrielle disregarded Samuel's request & took her guard instead behind the elder Eleor, fuming so angrily, it was a surprise that steam had yet to come billowing out from her ears. "I expect a full report from you, sir, when this is all over," she clipped in a hushed tone for his ears as she continued to watch the scenario unfold.

Something within her kept on repeating  that this was not happening again, that surely whatever Trevor had done wasn't all that terrible. However, in the same regard, there was a voice saying Trevor was a fool for what ever had occurred, endangering himself & countless other, but mainly that this department's reputation was about to be on the investigating side.... Gabrielle groaned inwardly about it. Why, of all times, for this now to happen?