Closed Deals in the Dark

[Lawrence Irvine]

Lawrence stood in the shadow of a grim statue, casting shadows even darker still onto the wall behind him. The moonlight, such as it was, straining through the thick gloom that hung over bleak street, did not so much illuminate his face as faintly disturb it, but it was enough for an observant passer-by to see that he had recently sustained injuries to his cheek and chin. But passers-by did not observe him. He had mastered the art of vanishing into his surroundings, so that only someone who knew where to look, and what to look for, would realise he was there at all.

He waited.

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy’s face ached still. Who knew wizards liked hand to hand combat sometimes. She’d been out making. Wand deal yesterday, only for it to go a little sideways when they tried to cheat her out of some o her galleons, and of course she called them on it. Then they started swinging. Eventually she cast stupefy and left them to thaw on the ground while she went to ice her bruised eye. Of course it didn’t help when she went home and her son was up in arms about her having a black eye in the first place.

It wasn’t as if Lexi could tell Sera the truth. She swore when she became a single mother that she would protect her son at all costs. So she told him some lame excuse but assured him she’d be more careful. Now though, heading for another shady trade, she felt guilty that was in a way breaking that promise. She could never be sure that she was safe. As she arrived she adjusted her ponytail, straightening her leather jacket Which hid the wands she had brought. “OI.” She said to the man in the shadows. “You look like sh!t.” She said.

 

[Lawrence Irvine]

The darkness shifted around Lawrence's brow. "Ever heard of a mirror?" he asked, inclining his head. Lexy (if that was her real name) had been in better shape. Lawrence wondered, but he knew better than to ask. In his line of work, ignorance was the difference between walking over the stones in Bleak Street and being buried under them. Better for both parties to get straight down to business. Keep it professional. "What have you got?"

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy rolled her eyes, a gesture that was actually slightly irritating to the bruise itself. The person that had hit her definitely got her good. The brunette retorted. "Yeah, but my black eye will fade, your sh!t looks..." Then she opened her jacket to retrieve the wands she had brought with her. They were a few simple looking wands, but the wood and core combinations made them very stable and powerful. "Do you have aesthetic preferences, I can never remember." She inquired, before she would even tell him about the wands. No point in wasting words on them if he wasn't going to like how they looked.

 

[Lawrence Irvine]

Interesting... Lawrence didn't have to wonder too hard how Lexy had sustained her injuries. He nearly asked if she made a habit of insulting dangerous criminals in dark alleyways, but firstly, he'd side-stepped around a snail on his way here because he'd felt sorry for it, and secondly, Lexy's complete lack of caution pointed to two men standing around the corner who were much bigger than him and had crowbars, probably. This was not a woman to be crossed. "No, as long as they do the job," he replied, surveying the darkness over her shoulder. "I need three. One that's good for charms, one that can counter curses, and one for... emergencies."

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy looked over her shoulder, and then back at him. There was nothing in the darkness but his look made her suspicious. The brunette raised an eyebrow. "They'll do the job no problem." She said confidently as she sorted for him what he was going to need. "These three should do you nicely. This one is for the charms, this is for countering, and for emergencies..." The last wand was much nicer looking than the other two as she explained the wood and core to him. "Feel free to test, but remember spells are traceable to the wand." She warned, a pretty typical spiel for her. "You looked over my shoulder like you were waiting for something, but I want to assure you I work alone. And if you brought others, I'll have them down before you can blink, got it?"

 

[Lawrence Irvine]

"Well, if I took everybody at their word, I'd be dead," Lawrence said, flexing the wands and inspecting them for damage. He'd never bought a bad wand from Lexy, nor did he expect her to knowingly sell him one, but the process bought him a sense of security that if anything was going to let him down, it would be his skills, not his equipment. He held them up to the moonlight for a better view. "And telling me you work alone only deepens my suspicion that you don't. Although... you are an odd one. I wouldn't put it past you." Satisfied that the wands were up to the job, Lawrence lowered his chin. "How much?"

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy nodded nonchalantly at the way he spoke about how he'd be dead if he trusted everyone. She could relate to that. It felt nice a bit, to relate to someone. She hadn't been able to in a while. She wasn't going soft, she didn't think, but she did know what she liked in a business partner! With what he said she laughed softly. "I mean I don't make the wands, but the girl who does has no idea who these are sold to. She'd have a heart attack if she did. She's too soft for this business." Lexy wouldn't reveal much more about Zero out of protection for her. "100 for the lot, unless you've got a better deal. I'm kinda short for school supplies so I might be willing to haggle." She admitted, accidentally admitting to having a child.

 

[Lawrence Irvine]

"She sounds sensible," Lawrence said, referring to Lexy's soft friend. No mentally sound person got into this business. Only the insane, or the very desperate. Lawrence liked to think he fell into the latter category, although he had made some questionable choices over the last two years, so he couldn't be entirely sure.

He raised an eyebrow. School supplies? Lexy had a child. Perhaps children. Lawrence reached back into his internal jacket and pulled out a bag of coins. "There's a hundred," he said. "If you're interested, I might need a couple of duelling wands in about a week. Maybe we could discuss it somewhere that smells less like wet dog - over dinner tomorrow evening, perhaps?" Yes, he was quite possibly insane after all.

 

[Lexy Fletcher]

Lexy raised a brow, Zero, sensible? She couldn't see her soft puff friend as sensible. She was a bit of a bubbly baby in her opinion, in the best way possible. As he pulled out some coins she jingled the bag a little but did not count it in front of him. That was a show of poor faith after all. She put it in her little backpack and handed everything she still had over to him. She was content to leave until he asked for another deal.

"I suppose I can have more..." She said trailing off. Over dinner? "Erm, just don't expect me to dress up fancy for you, this is strictly business." She said, awkward feelings in her stomach. She shifted uncomfortably. "So. See you around. You know how to contact me."

 

[Lawrence Irvine]

Lawrence nodded, exhaling silently. His stoic expression revealed nothing of the sudden flood of anxiety from his brain. "Of course," he said. Was it a trick of the moonlight, or did Lexy look uncomfortable? It was only dinner - strictly business. Although admittedly, business meetings didn't usually give him butterflies. "Pleasure, as always. Good night." Another nod, a glance to make sure nobody was watching, and Lawrence turned and walked into the darkness.