The Time Has Come...

[Avory Brandt]

[adminapproval=11243228]It had been a while since the elections and Avory had been in hiding ever since. She felt embarrassed and knew that nearing the end she was starting to gain unwanted attention and that was worrying to her. She had taken a huge risk in been so exposed to the public eye, especially with people in the Ministry. Sure she had disguised herself but it seems as if it hadn't worked on everyone quite as well as she had hoped. She had taken to hiding in a place that wasn't quite what she was used to living in but she didn't stay there for much more than a few days at a time so it would have to do. Even though it was an old dilapidated house she took to putting protection spells around it so no one would be able to enter it. For while it was an old house with little value to Avory she did have some precious cargo within the four walls. The only reminisce of her time as a candidate as the Minister for Magic; her family. Yes the young boy and his father that Avory had kidnapped what seems like ages ago by this point still remained with her. She couldn't very well let them go free into the world as it was pose too much risk for it coming back to her. Also, she felt that it would be too messy to just out right kill them, there would be the disposing of the bodies which ago would pose as a threat for her identity and location been found by the wrong people. Sure life wasn't great for Avory at the moment, but it was it was her life and she was still able to live it so made the best out of a bad situation.

It was over a year and a half now since Avory had been publicly embarrassed and lost her Ministerial election and had gone into hiding. It had taken her sometime to gain the forgiveness of her superiors and comrades and allowed to return to the fold. She took to her duties like a house on fire and dived into her work and put her past behind her. She had bought a house elf to make sure that her hostages didn't die while she was out on her missions and such so she could focus on her work one hundred percent. She didn't actually return to New Zealand much anymore, especially with all the trials that were happening at present, the new Minister was definitely making his mark. After a particularly long mission, however, it was time for her to return momentarily.

Apparating into the top floor of her her house she dropped her bags and new supplies that she gathered into the far master bedroom before making her way to the other end of the corridor to a small back room when she kept her hostages. As the floorboards creaked under her feet she had a odd feeling come upon her. It took her until she was passing the second room to realise that her house elf had yet to great her. It was a stupid little shy thing but it would usually appear just moments after she arrived home. Slightly confused she grew worried as something was clearly not right here. Quickening her pace she headed straight to the hostages room. Rushing in she saw an empty room, her heart started to race. Had she been found her? Her instinctive reaction was to run and never return to this place but before her brain could pull all of her thoughts together the noise of multiple loud cracks in the air fulled the room and she was surrounded.

 

[Alexia Mckenna]

Alexia's coat shimmered slightly as she made another round of the old house. She had been awake for nearly twenty four hours just watching the house. Though they would be alerted to what was happening and Mason would be sure to give them notice, Alexia had wanted to make sure they were right here the moment it all went down. She'd made sure that Samual and Sara were on standby and Jesse had been with her for a while, but she had sent him away for now. He could not be this close to the house without being spotted. Alexia, as an animagus, had the advantage of being mistaken for a small dog in silhouette. Despite being a lynx, she was not the smallness of a cat and so was careful to always remain in the shadows. She blinked as she made her way back to the predetermined meet up point and shifted back to her human form, a couple of the aurors looking to her expectantly for an update. "Nothing yet. I'm sure we're close. Just a but longer." She immediately headed over to another auror who handed her a coffee. If something didn't happen soon, Alexia was going to have to send these guys home too and probably head home herself. She wasn't non functional yet, but she would be at that point in a couple more hours, she could tell. "I'll just go do another sweep of the house, call the others, I want to make sure they're here when that b!tch gets back."

Alexia shifted again and bounded out of the shadows and headed back around the house, however this time, she noted that something was off. She immediately turned back to the group who were beckoning to her. "She's here!" One shouted. Alexia nodded and immediately shifted human and gestured to everyone. "Calm down! I don't want this operation to go wrong. Notify the other aurors, we'll need back up. Jesse and I are taking a team into the house, the rest of you wait for back up and hang out around the house. I don't want there to be any chance of escape. And for Merlin's sake, DON'T GET KILLED!" She looked at Jesse and immediately took off into the house, appearing with the others in the house, surrounding Avory. "You had a good run, Scit, but its over now. You lost."
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[Sara Moon]

Sara was just stepping out of the shower when the call came. Today had been her day off, and she'd spent the day re-organising the house, and had visited with her parents. Brandt was always in the back of her mind, and her Mother had noticed she was on edge. It was important to her though. She knew this case was important, and she didn't want to mess anything up. It was her first big assignment. She had others of course; she was still working with Andy and Leonzio, but this was different. This waiting was unbearable. When she heard a a sound in the room with her, she whirled around, realising it was her key going off; telling her that she was needed. In moments she was in her room, pulling on socks and boots, falling over her own feet and somehow struggling with a t-shirt. This was not ideal timing, but then what was? Grabbing her wand, she turned on her heel and found herself outside of the property. The sound of apparation could be quite startling, so she guessed it would be better to do it from a bit of a distance.

A shout alerted her to the aurors who were gathered, and she jogged over, taking her place among them. She was strangely calm, and so Alexia's warning was unneeded on her part. Brandt was there. Somehow she felt both ready and unprepared at the same time. She'd known the scitorari would return at some point, but why today? Why now? Pushing such intrusive thoughts to the back of her mind, she assembled outside the front door with the rest of the team. It made sense that they wouldn't be facing Brandt; they were the less experienced ones. The thought of the woman made Sara angry. Brandt was exactly the type of person she abhorred. Her anti-muggleborn stance during the elections had felt like a personal attack. The fact that she was a scitorari hadn't really come as a surprise.

 

[Jesiah Howell]

Unlike Alexia, Jesse was lacking when it came to special abilities that allowed him to blend in and prowl around undetected. Sure, there were cloaks of invisibility woven from Demiguise hair, or disillusionment charms, but neither were quite the same as changing into an inconspicuous animal. Of course, a lynx wasn't exactly one to blend in well in any neighbourhood, but under the cover of darkness it didn't attract much attention. As such, the man took a break to return home while his colleague prowled around the property. He showered and changed into a fresh pair of clothes, discarding the old ones in a wash basket. The man had spent too many hours off and on with Alexia, waiting for one particular Scitorari member to return home. It had been a while since the group of aurors had been informed of their mission, and it had gotten to the point where he thought that perhaps she wouldn't be returning at all. But then, why leave behind two witnesses with knowledge that could easily be used against her? The auror wished he knew just what she was up to.

Still towel-drying his hair, Howell exited the bathroom and entered his apartment's small living space. Myra, his non-magical sister, handed him a fresh cup of coffee and he took a seat, getting barely a mouthful before a sudden sound rang out through the room. It resonated from his pocket, similar to an alarm. And it only meant one thing. Avory had returned home. The wizard leapt to his feet, half-spilling his coffee in his haste to put it down. Myra stood too, the squib having pulled a revolver out of her purse. He shook his head. Not this again. "For the last time, you can't just tag along, weapon or not. It's not safe." He muttered, disapparating on the spot before she could try argue further. When he reappeared, he could see the all-too familiar house where Brandt resided, and Alexia heading back to regroup with he and the others. Wand in hand, he listened as she spoke, before barking orders himself. "Remember, once we're inside we'll need Anti-Disapparation immediately cast over the plot. If she gets away, that's it. Finding her again will be near impossible. Let's go!" They could not risk her disapparating before they reached her. He glanced at Alexia and gave her a short nod, before turning on the spot with a crack and reappearing alongside her and the other few aurors tasked with taking her down inside the house. He held his wand at the ready as he faced Avory. It was finally happening. "Don't make this difficult for yourself. Give up and come quietly. There's no point in fighting."​

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[Avory Brandt]

Avory whipped round as soon as the first Auror spoke and then another. She scoffed to herself and rolled her eyes. What was it with Aurors that they felt that they had to make some sort of speech before they attempted to make a capture. It's not like there was anyone else around to hear them and that could quote their last heroic words when they were dead, because if Avory had her way none of them would be alive at the end of any duel. While she relished in the idea of riding the world of a few more Aurors she really didn't feel like fighting right now, in all honesty she was exhausted right now after only just returning home after a few grueling weeks on her last mission and she wanted nothing more than to lay low for a bit before jumping right back into the game. So not wanting to give them the satisfaction of even attempting to capture she tried to disapparate. "Oh I don't think I've lost honey!" she said to the female Auror, just as she was about to disapparate. As soon as she did she felt a rush of fear run over her when she realised she couldn't. Of course, the Aurors weren't dumb enough to not put some spells over the house once they found her. She glared at the Aurors, knowing this was their idea and knowing they must be feeling smug now knowing that she had fallen into their trap.

She quickly came to the conclusion that she was going to have to fight her way out and while that wasn't exactly how she would have liked this to go down she wasn't going to give up the opportunity to kill a few Aurors in her way. "Come quietly?" She scoffed at the male. "When does that ever actually work?" she asked rhetorically. Taking out her wand in then blink of an eye she pointed it directly at the two Aurors. "If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to fight." she said with a smirk on her face, glancing slightly at the male Auror, seeing as he was the one who mentioned that there was no point in fighting. When would Aurors ever learn that their goody goody approach was never going to work?

 

[Samual Kaster]

Once his key went off, Samual left the left as quickly as possible, with a rather distracted goodbye to his niece, Nadia. He had been waiting for this moment anxiously, and appeared at the location with a 'pop'. He knew his role, as it had been described to him in detail. As one of the younger, less experienced aurors on hand, the young man was with the outside group, applying an anti-apparition spell over the plot to keep Avory from escaping. If such a thing happened, all of their work would be for nothing, and the night (and days of surveillance and planning) would be an utter waste. As the outside aurors positioned themselves in strategic locations around the area, Samual himself towards the front of the property. He assisted in the placing of the wards with his fellow aurors and kept his eyes on his assigned exit. He hoped he wouldn't need to fight today, otherwise that would mean that something went wrong within the house. All he had to do was guard his position, and not let her past should she come. He gripped his wand in anticipation, and waited in silence, eating a chocolate frog for comfort and energy food.
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[Alexia Mckenna]

Alexia had to wonder why nothing could ever just go to plan. She looked at the auror's around her, seven in total including Jesse. It should have been an easy grab, clearly this was over, but obviously Miss Brandt was not seeing that way. The fact that she couldn't apparate only served to make Alexia smirk. Her wand was already in her hand, pointed at the woman as she came to the realisation that she no longer had the ability to apparate. Alexia may have been enjoying the look on her face a little, but there was nothing in the rules expressly forbidding her to do so. "Galleon for the thoughts there, Brandt." Not that Alexia actually cared. They would be taking her in, whether Alexia had to die to do it, they would be taking her in. She glared at the woman however when she noticed that Avory was simply not going to just give up. She had been afraid of this. She subtly nodded in the direction of one of the aurors, calling for them to take the advantage when they had it. "Come on, Brandt, don't be stupid. This won't end well. We have you out numbered more than ten to one." What was she thinking, what was she even going to do. Admittedly Alexia felt uneasy with a wand pointed at her and she stepped a little closer to Jesse, ready to throw up a protego should she need one. She wasn't having anyone die on her watch. Alexia held her wand at the former candidate, spell on her lips. "Don't make me do it, Brandt, we will do this the hard way if necessary."
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[Sara Moon]

It was strange, standing outside when she knew a dangerous criminal was being apprehended metres away from her. She could hear muffled voices, and gripped her wand tightly. She wished she could do something, but knew it was impossible. Her job was to stay out here and be ready. She gripped her wand tightly, and said a little prayer. Please let us catch her. She knew many magical people didn't believe in a God, but she'd grown up with one, and it wasn't a habit she was inclined to break. She had her wand in her hand, and gripped it tight until her knuckles turned white. She hoped they were all okay inside. What if? No, nobody was going to be hurt. It would be fine. She wouldn't allow herself to be distracted by such intrusive thoughts. They would be fine. She could see Sammy eating a chocolate frog and smiled to herself. She'd always liked Star's friend. At least she knew he was relatively out of danger. Those of them who were outside were fairly safe. It was the ones confronting Brandt that they had to worry about. Sara hadn't worked on the preliminary team who'd trailed the woman, and as such she hadn't much idea of exactly how dangerous Brandt was. She'd looked at the file when she'd been put on this squad, but still; one could never be sure.

 

[Jesiah Howell]

Despite the situation, Howell couldn't help but feel a small sense of amusement as the Scitorari member attempted to disapparate away from them. What did she expect? Her home had been under surveillance for quite some time now, they weren't going to let her slip right through their fingers the moment they had finally caught her. Here was hoping her trial didn't take as long as the previous Scitorari's had. The Aria case had taken far too long to be put into motion. The sooner these criminals were locked away in Azkaban, the better. His main concern was the size of the group. Just how many members did it have? How many people held sympathies for this dark group? It could very well be a handful, or even hundreds. It was hard to tell until they could interrogate more. Perhaps Brandt could be persuaded to loosen her tongue once she was secured behind bars, trapped in the middle of the ocean with nothing but four walls to keep her company.

"It works more often than you might think, Miss Brandt. The smart ones know when they've lost. They also know better than to even bother attempting an escape. Don't start something you won't be able to finish. You're severely outnumbered." His expression remained austere as he spoke, even as she withdrew a wand. In the corner of his eye he could see Alexia get closer to him. He was confident in the woman's abilities and hoped she could cover him if things went any further south. Avory did not want to turn herself over to easily. "I'm going to have to decline your request to fight. The only person you'll end up hurting is yourself." The man stated, immediately whipping his wand toward the former candidate's hand. "Expelliarmus!"​

 

[Avory Brandt]

Avory decided to ignore the female aurors comment about wanting to know what was on her mind. She obviously knew that Avory discovered the ability to apparate had been cut and she wanted to be smug about it. Why did these silly little aurors think that something as trivial as taking away her plan A escape route would make them think they had won? Oh they had far from won. Avory wouldn't be half off a target as she was if she didn't know how to get herself out of a few sticky situations. She had been in a fair few in her years on the run while undertaking some missions that didn't always go as the blonde Scitorari would have liked but the thrill of thinking that she might not make it out alive gave her a strange rush of adrenaline. This was one of those situations where she was pumped and not knowing exactly what her next step was only making her feel more invincible.

"Oh I haven't lost, my dear." she informed the male auror in a sickeningly sweet voice, at least he had the sense to call her smart. Avory let a laugh leave her lips, full of venom, ten to one, Avory highly doubted that but she was flattered that she must have been just that important to the Ministry. "The hard way is the only way I do things." she said with a sly smirk as she glanced over to the female auror. She pondered for a moment what spell she would use first on the female auror but the male auror was particularly wordy tonight, but she let him have his fun, after all, she intended to make this his last mission. She rolled her eyes at his words. Sweet Merlin these aurors was so self righteous and made her feel sick. She saw a bright flash of red emit from his wand before she could retort to his comment and her instincts came into action and she quickly dodged the spell and let it his and old bookcase behind her, causing it to fall on the floor and cover the room on dust. She used this to make her quick escape to the landing so she could head toward the stairs. "
Nice shot!" she said, laughing as she cast her own spell to cause part of the floor to fall through at the top of the stairs. True it was only a small jump and easy for the aurors to still make their way down the stairs but it was still enough for her to get an advance on them.

 

[Alexia Mckenna]

The fight started and Alexia groaned in annoyance. She should've seen this coming. Her abilities were useless to her though when she wasn't paying attention. That'd teach her to assume things when she wasn't a hundred percent sure of the outcome. She jumped after the woman, and had to jump out of the way of the falling debris. She looked around at her aurors and shouted to them. "We can't let her escape! Half of you go this way, I want the other half of you to get back to the others and bring them up to speed! I don't want her getting the jump on them!" Why couldn't anything ever go to plan. Alexia whipped around to face Jesse and nodded to him. "I think we should split up. I'll follow her and you see if you can go the other way and cut her off?" She asked, though she wasn't really giving him time to reply before she was leaping over the fallen debris and chasing after the fugitive. They were just behind her and knowing that she would be impossible to catch up to on two legs, that woman was fast, Alexia quickly shifted into her lynx form and charged after her, having her aurors throwing spells in any and all directions.
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[Sara Moon]

A large crash and shots from inside alerted Sara to the fact that all was not well inside the house. She gripped her wand tightly, breathing deeply and hoping nobody was going to be hurt. There was still more shouting, and she could hear movement. Someone was coming her way, she could hear another crash: closer this time. Footsteps on the stairs. A moment of inner turmoil prompted her to stand back from the door; wand at the ready. She would've been safer had she backed herself against the wall, but less likely to be of any use. In that second she made her choice, painfully aware that she might regret it. A spell was already forming in her mind, but she was hesitant. What if it were one of the team? Did she have the time to check? She looked around at her colleagues. Strangely, she wasn't afraid for herself, but she was very aware of the others. Samual Kaster; who in her kind was still the little boy who'd been such a good friend to Star. They had to trust each other, and hurting another auror would be a nightmare. Her heat beat like a pounding drum in her chest as she waited, but whether she waited for friend or foe, she didn't know.

 

[Samual Kaster]

Whilst still outside, the young auror could easily hear the commotion from within. His chocolate was immediately put away and he put his game-face on. It seemed that the chase was on, and he was rather disappointed that this couldn't just go smoothly - but what else would he expect? He doubted that anyone wanted to face the sort of consequences Ms. Brandt would be getting. With his wand at the ready, he stood firm in his place and nodded his head to Sara, attempting to reassure her, and by extension himself. They both had their orders - do not let her go - and he was prepared to offer support to his fellow auror. He had his possible exit in sight, and waited with a beating heart.
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[Jesiah Howell]

Howell cursed inwardly as Brandt dodged his disarming spell in time, instead having it fire straight into a bookcase behind her. It fell, and the dust loosened into a thick cloud, through which the man could just barely make out Brandt's retreating form. Damnit. She had a lucky break, that was all. They hadn't lost her yet. "Incarcerous!" He shouted, attempting to bind the woman before she could reach the door, but the distraction had given her the head start she needed and the ropes instead bounced harmlessly against the wall, falling to the floor with a heavy thump.

Coughing through the dust, the auror charged out of the room and onto the landing, stopping as Brandt took out the floor in front of him. It impended their pursuit, but not by much. Alexia was already jumping across the crumbling gap and shifting into her much more agile lynx form, whereas Howell took hold of the banister at his side and vaulted over it, his wand whipping through the air and casting a cushioning charm at his feet to greatly soften the fall. He bent his knees slightly as he landed, then immediately took off to try prevent the woman making an escape. He waved his wand once more, feeling like it hadn't ceased moving since she dodged his first spell. "Stupefy!" The auror sent out an arc of red light in Avory's direction, joining the many attempts of the other aurors to stop her. Even with their numbers, he knew it wouldn't be an easy fight.
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