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A Spy's Fate by debjunk [Reviews - 2]

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Chapter 22: Dangerous Partners

Severus Snape, master spy, had an incredibly hard time finding Brianna Corwin’s whereabouts. He had gone to the Ministry, but had been sent on the runaround. It seemed that the International Affairs office kept a low profile, and one needed an appointment to be seen by anyone within its office. Severus had stood and argued with the receptionist, telling her that his question would only take a minute of the Director’s time. She had told him in no uncertain terms that he needed an appointment. Severus had ultimately made the appointment, figuring that a trip to Azkaban because he had murdered a lowly Ministry employee would not help his cause in finding Brianna. Unfortunately, the appointment was set for two weeks later.

He had tried to do some digging on his own but had come up with nothing. Kingsley Shackelbolt was out of the country. Severus had tried contacting the American Ministry, but they were very closemouthed about the location of their agents. In any other circumstance, Severus would have admired their protection, but he was anxious to find Brianna, and this was just another obstacle in attaining that goal.

Finally the day of the appointment came. He entered the Director’s office and stood at the head of his desk. He spoke with Jason for a few minutes and soon had Brianna’s address scrawled on a piece of parchment which he held tightly in his hands. It certainly had paid to be a war hero. The argument he had envisioned with the Director had never materialized.

oooOOOooo


Bree threw herself onto her sofa. What a day! She thought that since the Minister had left, things would calm down some, but no. It had been busier than ever. She had been going non-stop for three weeks now. First, there had been all the security detail that needed to be put into place before Kingsley Shackelbolt had come to town. Then, when he’d arrived, she had been glued to his side, making sure no one had gotten within ten feet of him.

The visit had been beneficial to both sides and was looked upon as a great success, but it had worn her out considerably. Her neglect of her magical draining had taken a toll too, and she’d known she was more exhausted than usual because of it. Thankfully, she hadn’t become bedridden, nor had she suffered any type of relapse, but she’d been more run-down than usual. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had a choice… she had needed to be everywhere at the same time. She’d had to protect the Minister. Now with him gone for almost a week, she was still busy.

The American Ministry had decided to implement some of the new initiatives that Shackelbolt was doing in the British Ministry. She had been back to England twice to get details on all of the new Auror procedures and had returned only to spend hours training the American Aurors in new defensive moves and better ways of gathering evidence and solving crimes.

And to top it off, she was working with an American Auror on a murder case. She had been asked to help after the Minister had left because she’d supposedly had time to spare. The case was awful. There had been a series of murders that had gone unexplained. They all involved witches between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five. The murders had been going on for about six weeks. Each of the bodies had no marks or signs of struggle. The assumed cause of death had been the Killing Curse.

There had been a murder the week before, and her partner, Robert Godfrey, had not found any clues as to the murderer’s identity. He had been investigating the case for the full six weeks and had been amazed at the thoroughness of the murderer. There had never been even a hair present at any of the murder scenes.

Coming into the investigation late, Bree hadn’t had an opportunity to see any of the murder scenes yet, but she had seen the bodies. Each woman had been very pretty. There had been no signs of assault on any of them, and of course, no trace of the murderer’s identity. She had pored over the little evidence they had and come up with nothing but questions. The case was extremely frustrating. She hoped that something would crack soon. It was incredibly frustrating to see innocent people being cut down for no reason.

As she mused, a green glow appeared in her fireplace. She looked over to see Robert’s head there.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Bree. I know you just got off work, but there’s been another murder,” Robert said.

Bree frowned. “Where?” she asked.

“It’s in an alley off of Forty-second Street and Ninth. Could you meet me there?” Robert asked.

She nodded. “That’s not too far from where I live. I’ll be there shortly.”

His head disappeared, and Bree quickly got up and headed out the door. A minute later, she appeared at the murder scene. Robert had not yet arrived, but the medical examiners were levitating the body, in preparation for transport. She went over and looked at the victim.

She was a woman of about 30 with sleek blonde hair and blue eyes. The victim had a shocked look on her face, which marred her good looks. Bree quickly waved her wand over the body, looking for some piece of evidence. The body was clean. She turned to one of the examiners.

“Was it the Killing Curse?” she asked.

The man nodded and then continued. “There was no sign of a struggle, no marks on the body. It was just like all of the others.”

Bree nodded. “Has anyone else been on the scene?”

“No, M’am, you are the first to arrive.”

Bree nodded to him and let the examiners finish their work. They Dissaparated as she turned to the alley and extended her wand, sending spells to uncover clues. There wasn’t much to find. She went closer to where the body was found and waved her wand around the spot. Suddenly something glowed on the ground. Bree bent down to get a closer look. It was a coat button. She waved her wand over it and found it had some magical residue on it and a fingerprint. Waving some more, she suddenly stopped and could only stare at the button. She knew exactly who this button belonged to.

She frowned angrily. Waving her wand once again, the button began to float a few inches off the ground. She was about to create an evidence container when her wand shot out of her hand. She was thrown against the wall by a curse and hit her head. She struggled to stay conscious as she looked up and saw Robert frowning at her.

“I told them not to give me a partner,” he said as his blue eyes blazed. “Now you have found out my little secret.”

Bree looked up at him groggily. “You’re the murderer…” she observed weakly.

“Oh, yes. I killed them all, and they deserved it. They were all so lovely. I would see them walking down the street and know that we were perfect for each other, so, I would follow them. I would ask them out, knowing that we would be perfect together.” He now looked at her angrily. “But they would always turn me down!”

Bree grimaced at the madman before her. She was slowly getting her wits back and needed to keep him talking.

“Why would you kill them if they were perfect for you?” she asked.

“Because they wouldn’t have me! And if they wouldn’t have me, they would have no one. But of course, I had them before I killed them.” He smiled evilly at her.

She stared at him in horror. “What do you mean? There were never any traces of assault on any of those women. How could you say that you had them?”

Robert took his wand and tapped his forehead.

“Legilimency,” he whispered. Then he grinned evilly. “It’s amazing what the mind can do to another mind. It was all very pleasurable indeed.”

Bree stared in horror as his words sunk into her mind. “You pig! You raped them!” Bree spat out at him.

Robert’s grin grew wider. “Are you sorry you missed the fun? No need to worry. I shall give you the same treatment as the others.”

He glared into her eyes, and she felt him enter her head. No! she cried to herself, but found that she was quite frozen in place and could not even get her mind to work. Bree felt him… doing things… and that’s when she snapped. She forced him out of her mind so strongly that he physically staggered away from her. Seeing her chance, she got up and jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. He struggled with her for a minute, but she was too quick for him. Wrenching her wand and his from his hands, she cried “Petrificus Totalus!” Robert became still as stone.

She quickly got off his petrified body and looked down at him in fury. She sent off her Patronus to alert the other Aurors to her predicament. Looking back down at Robert again, her fists clenched, and she screamed as she kicked him in the side.

“You monster!” she cried as she kicked him again. “Murderer! Violator!” She kicked with each word she uttered, wanting to destroy the thing that was lying on the ground. She was so absorbed in her fury that she didn’t notice the dark figure come up to her as she placed another kick into Robert’s side.

Two hands went around her arms. Bree stiffened and in an instant had turned around and smashed the other person’s body against the wall. She had him pinned with her arm, and her wand was digging into his cheek. It took a moment for her to recognize who it was. She slackened her stance and gazed at the man incredulously.

“Severus?” she murmured, finally dropping her wand to her side and stepping back. “What are you doing here?”

Looking a little wild eyed, Severus brushed himself off before responding. “I was looking for you. Your boss told me I would find you in this alleyway.”

She eyed him curiously. “Don’t move from this spot until I tell you that you can,” she advised him.

She turned and walked over to where the button lay. Bending over, she levitated it and had it place itself into an evidence container. She took another minute to peruse the scene, but there were no other tell-tale clues, so she lowered her wand and went back to Severus. He was watching her as she did all of this, looking very worried.

“What happened?” he asked as she approached.

At that minute there was a loud clap, and Brian appeared at the mouth of the alley. She motioned for Severus to follow her and walked over to him.

“Merlin, Bree! What happened here?” he cried as he looked at her disheveled form and then over to Robert who was still as a stone on the ground.

She glanced at Robert too and looked back at Brian. “He’s the murderer,” she stated plainly.

She levitated the evidence container and floated it over to Brian. He grasped it and looked at it curiously.

“That button has his fingerprint and magical imprint on it. I got here first and discovered it. He came upon me and disarmed me before I knew he was here. He slammed me against the wall and confessed everything. I suppose he knew he was going to kill me, so he decided to let me know the reason why.”

Brian and Severus stared at Bree as she calmly divulged all that had happened to her.

“He’s insane, Brian. He thinks these women are attracted to him and that they will have some sort of relationship. He follows them and asks them out. Then when they refuse him, he…” she choked on her words. Looking back up at Brian, she continued, “He mentally rapes them and then kills them to hide his secret.”

Brian’s eyes grew wide. “All of these women have been raped in their minds?” he shockingly asked.

She nodded.

Brian put two and two together. “Bree, are you alright?” he asked nervously.

She gave him a wan smile. “I don’t think he’s ever tried to rape an Occlumens before. Throwing him out of my mind gave me the opportunity to attack and subdue him.”

She looked over at Robert again and grimaced.

“The Dementor’s kiss is not a cruel enough punishment for that beast,” she said.

Brian rubbed her arm. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt. I’ll take over here. Why don’t you go home? Take tomorrow off, too. I just need you to send in a report of this.”

Bree nodded and walked away, not really in tune with anything that was going on around her. Brian looked to Severus, whom he had just met a little while ago when the wizard had appeared in front of his desk, demanding to know where Bree was.

“See that she gets home alright,” he advised Severus.

Severus nodded and hurried off after Bree, who had completely forgotten that Severus had been by her side until he bounded up next to her.

“Brianna, are you alright?” he asked.

She continued to stare straight ahead and put her hand up.

“Not here. Wait until we get home. It’s just a few blocks from here, and I want to walk.”

They walked in complete silence. Severus watched her the entire time. She was disheveled from the fight she’d had, but there was something more. She seemed to be empty somehow. She had not told the whole story to her boss, and Severus was determined to get it all out of her. She needed to get it off her chest and begin to heal.

Soon they were standing in front of a large high-rise. She stopped and looked up, pointing with her wand.

“I live up there,” she said absently and then headed for the door.

Severus followed her. They waited in silence for the elevator. They entered, and she pressed the button for the top floor. They sped up to the 54th floor, and soon the elevator doors opened. As they stepped out, Severus noticed a small alcove with only one door. Bree waved her wand over the doorknob, and the wards unlocked. She entered and placed her wand on the table. Severus closed the door behind them as she wandered over to the couch and sat down, placing her head in her hands.

Severus didn’t know whether to go to her or to let her be for a minute. He stood awkwardly, and finally decided to sit beside her and try to get her to talk of the incident. Sitting right next to her, he put his arm around her.

“Tell me what happened,” he urged.

She lifted her head and looked straight ahead. “It wasn’t any big deal,” she said bitterly. “He’s done much worse to all of those other women.”

Severus reached over and guided her chin so that her face turned and was looking at him.

“That may be, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he violated you,” he said softly.

She grimaced and pulled her face away from his fingers. She looked straight ahead again and shuddered.

“His hands were all over me,” she murmured finally. “They were everywhere. I was frozen. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. I could just feel his hands… groping me… everywhere.”

She looked down, and Severus took both of her hands in his.

“Finally, when he was forcing his tongue down my throat, I was able to get control of my mind, and I cast him out.”

oooOOOooo


Severus pulled her to him and enveloped her in his arms. Bree struggled to get free, but he held her strongly. Finally, she gave up and relaxed and let him hold her. She tried to hold back the tears. She wasn’t weak… she didn’t need to cry. Robert had just manhandled her. There was nothing to cry about. The tears fell, against her wishes. She sunk into Severus and let them come.

Here she was with the man she loved—who hated her—crying about being assaulted by some thug. Her tears came harder. She pushed herself away from Severus and stood. She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see the derision in his eyes. She made her way to the balcony doors, threw them open and stumbled outside. She leaned against the rail and let the tears come.

Glancing out into the city, she noticed that it was already dark, and the lights of the skyscrapers had lit. This was her favorite part of the day, but even the beauty of the city at night did not lighten her mood. Her life was a mess.

She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and turned her head away so Severus wouldn’t see her tears. She knew he had anyway. She wanted to be brave in front of him, but that just wasn’t to be.

“Please go,” she said hoarsely.

Severus stood there for a while silently, staring at Brianna. He finally said, “I will come back tomorrow.”

“No, just go back to England, and leave me alone,” she muttered. Her voice sounded dead.

He squeezed her shoulder gently. “I can’t,” he whispered. “You’re a part of me, and I won’t let you go.”

Without another word, he turned and glided back into the apartment and left. She watched him go, his cape billowing behind him, and felt a small glimmer of hope in her heart.


A/N: Next up: Our couple finally talk.

Thanks to Lilith Kayden for her beta work. I hope you all enjoyed this installment. Well, given the subject matter, maybe enjoy isn’t the right word. ;)




A Spy's Fate by debjunk [Reviews - 2]

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