Ray made it to the MLES office. He got to the middle of the office pointed his wand to his throat and started talking in a loud voice.
"Hello everyone one that is an MLES" Forrester said as he looked at everyone. "I need to say a couple of words before I get going... As you all know by now that your both Mr. Nicoli is absent for a whole week I have been asked by Mr. Syd to tell you about a mission involving all of the departments of law enforcement... The mission is the following: It's a convention here at the Ministry. World convention at that. We need to provide security and give a few presentations, but there's also a few... problems. Namely a few purses in a muggle shop have started stealing money out of themselves, Gingotts has a case of counterfeit coins, and a dang international jewel thief is out there... Concentrate now on finding searching for the thief... Your head division will tell you of everything later any questions send them to me or Syd which ever is good for you... And thank you"

J. J. Starr comes to the office. "I need to talk to someone in here, it is very important" Joe Jon Montcenaggio said with urgency.

Forrester looked up at J.J. Starr as he came to the office.
"Yes can I help?" Forrester said as he walked towards him..

All the bad guys are at the "Nothing Lacks Cafe"J. J. Starr told him. Here is a tape they thought they destroyed and it has damaging evidence" J. J. Starr told the officer. " Claxton, Romulus and Xzavior Black who kidnapped Monica, killed Monica's and Excelsciors parents, Barry's mother who was murdered by them" J. J. Starr kept playing the tape with all those joking about it. Then there was the kidnapping of Jamie's sister Tiana, but she escaped and Delilah's father who was killed by them and DeathEaters" Joe Jon Momtcenaggio told the officer.
There is fights between the good guys and bad guys there" J. J. Starr told the officer. "Can we get officers there?" j. J. Starr told the officer. "Children are there too" J. J. Starr told the officer.

"Well that's not my department but I have an auror that is undercover there she will help and I will go along" Forrester added as he turned around and created his phoenix patronus that he knew it will fly to Beth to notify her that he was on his way
"Okey guide the way and my auror is already there"

"Great, it is just past HogWarts" J. J. Starr told the officer. "It looks like a cafe but it is a hideout and they have hurt a lot of people in there, too" Joe Jon Montcenaggio told the officer.
ooc- Nothing Lacks Cafe- Knockturn Alley

Gosh, she felt so new.

Maria sashayed into the office, feeling a little nervous, but too proud to let it show on her face. The man who seemed to be in charge ad just walked past her, and she was left standing there... Feeling a bit stupid.
Oh my gosh. There was actually a desk with her name on it.

Tentitavely she sat down on the chair behind it and placed the few paperwork files that she had down on it. It was a mighty fine desk.

A small paper plane flew into the room and unfolded itself beside the poster board. With a small jerk it tacked itself to the board. Nicoli had just managed to remember to put it up for any stragglers that came by.

Quote:

All MLES staff should report to the Auror Office for a discussion and briefing on the International Jewel Thief case.

Nicoli Vanhatck

Looking up from the endless nerve-racking paperwork, Maria noticed a small ickle paper plane fly itself in. She took one look at it, and bolted from her chair.
Whoops.

If you wanted to look for Nicoli, this would be the best place to start, Apha reasoned, as she entered the office. Cracking her neck softly to ease out the stiffness she could feel, she glanced around once. Being unable to spot him in her quick scan, she sighed softly.

Making use of her time here, she made her way to her desk and grabbed the cold tea she'd left out. Tapping it once with her wand, she warmed it once more and took a sip. It wasn't the best taste, but it did revive her some.

Leaning back against the wood, she decided she'd finish her drink before she continued looking for Nicoli. If she didn't, she knew she was likely to end up embarassing herself in her tired state.

Something she really wanted to avoid to keep face in front of her colleagues.

Isabella knocked on the Magical Law Enforcement office door, quite nervously. She opened the door and walked in slowly ''Hello guys, My name is Isabella, im in the Obliviators office, just wondering if anyone here has ever had scarlet fever?My boss, Ivan has asked to ask ministry empolyees as a kind of survey for muggle excuses for seeing dragons and centaurs, Scarlet Fever anyone...''

She looked around waiting a response... ''All in need is symptoms and reactions to the fever.'' She put her pen in her mouth and the scrap piece of paper held tight in her hand felt like her only friend at this point in time...

OOC: I will come back and check for responses but feel free to PM me with your response. MANY THANKS EVERYONE

Nathan returned to the Level two slightly relieved to be going back to his own office and not the Auror HQ. The MLES offices were comfier and... quieter. It was a mystery where Nicoli and Clarissa had got to. He would have to ask them where their secret hiding place was for future reference.

He slunk back into the office and went to sit at his own desk, sinking into his comfy chair. Maybe he could have a quick nap while there was no one else around. Merlin's pants, it seemed like weeks since he was last in here.

He jumped and sat up straight in his seat when he noticed Apha for the first time. He could have sworn there was no one in here when he entered. “Hello love.” he said friendlily. “No luck finding the boss then?” he asked with a smirk.

He looked towards the door as another woman came in asking about Scarlet Fever. Looked like no nap for Nate.


He shook his head not really understanding why she was asking. “I've never had it.” Thank Merlin. “But my brother has... many moons ago.” he replied. “Nasty thing it is. Came out all in a rash. Gave him a bright red tongue.” He stuck his tongue out and pointed to it just in case the woman didn't know what he was on about. He frowned slightly not sure why he was telling a complete stranger this. “What's scarlet fever got to do with dragons and muggles, love?” ...Two of his favourite things. Weird.

Looking up from her drink, slightly put out at being disturbed from her small break - even if she'd been somewhat hoping in the back of her mind that it had been Nicoli who'd entered - Apha frowned, thinking.

'Sorry, no one I know has had scarlet fever,' she explained, before glancing at the door again as another person entered.

She choked back a laugh when Nathan entered; obviously he hadn't realised that he wasn't the only one in here. Deciding to leave him to it until he noticed, she took another sip of her drink.

Which he did, a few moments later. Grinning at him, she shook her head. 'None. Any luck finding zis Clarissa woman?' she asked in return. Hopefully she wouldn't have been the only one failing . . . but Nathan didn't need to know she'd come here straight away to find Nicoli before finding a cup of tea a lot more alluring than searching.

She cocked her head at his story. His brother had had scarlet fever? Nasty. She knew that it wasn't a particularly nice thing to have, even if nobody she knew had had it. Suddenly feeling sorry for Nathan's brother (even if she didn't know which one), she winced and took a sip of of drink in her hands.

He shook his head and leaned forward in his chair. “But between you and me... I didn't look very hard.” he tapped the side of his oddly shaped nose. “I got to level eight and somehow found myself in the cafeteria.” He smirked and sat back again.

“I thought it was a bit insensitive of them actually.” Them, meaning the Aurors. “Going off to France and leaving you behind. You would have been an asset to the team with your obvious..er.. French, er... assets?” Wait. That wasn't meant to come out like that. Wanna try that again, Nate? .... “What I mean is, you could have helped with translation and navigation... that sort of thing.” Much better, lad.

Nicoli strode into the MLES office slightly out of breath, having searched the whole department and read a few of Forrester's reports that he'd filed. It seemed the others had gone to France on a tip off on the thief. The Louvre, he thought it was called. Nicoli stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of people still in the department, in the division even! Nathan, Apha-why was Apha here? She was French! Didn't Forrester think that'd come in handy? He'd have to ask her about it. There was one more person in the room that he hadn't met yet, she didn't seem to be one of the department.

"Hello," he said to her, "I'm the head of MLES, may I help you?" he asked her, smiling. He then moved across the room towards his employees, a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eye. "I apologize," he said bowing slightly to them both, "For my absence. I got a hint from a rather hurried house elf, whisked me away to a home supposedly belonging to the thief's relative." He paused looking at the state of his usually disorganised office, wondering how close he was to getting fired. "Obviously that didn't go well. Belonged to no one at all, actually. Even after investigating throughly-I came out empty handed."

She had to laugh at that. It was no wonder he'd made his way to the cafeteria - how long exactly had they been in the Auror HQ? She knew that she, personally, was exhausted after that, and probably would have done the same thing if it was her looking for Clarissa.

'I did ze same zing; I got here zen stopped for a drink.' Apha placed the now-empty cup back on her desk, leaning back against the wood slightly. She frowned at his next words.

'Insensitive?' She hadn't thought of it that way. Now that she did, she still couldn't think of why . . . until she let out a fresh laugh at Nathan's use of the word "assets". 'I suppose, when you put it zat way . . .' She trailed off, thinking. She was put out she'd missed the trip back to France, but she reasoned that they were meeting a French auror and her "assets", as Nathan had put it, weren't necassarily needed. 'Besides, I don't mind finding Ni-'

In the middle of her sentence, in walked the man himself. '-coli,' she finished, surprise showing in her face. Lord, she knew she and Nathan were meant to be looking for him, not waiting for him to walk in on them!

She shook her head; his absence hadn't been a problem to her. She hadn't even noticed him gone, with not being in the office. 'Forrester took anozer lead to France on a clue from ze zief himself.' She frowned. 'Maybe he wanted to take you off his trail by sending you to an empty house?' she wondered aloud. 'Lesson our defence on ze brooch he's after.' It was possible. She wouldn't put anything past the thief.

He smirked at Apha pleased that he hadn't been the only one skiving off work. It seemed a little ridiculous to Nathan that two qualified MLES staff members had to stay behind to look for missing members of the team. But nevermind. He wasn't going to dwell on it. When Forrester first mentioned France he hadn't wanted to go... but then the prospect of partying... Parisian style crossed his simple mind and it seemed like the best idea in the world.

He chuckled at her response to his blunder. “I have a real way with words.” he teased. “It's just a shame is all. You could have used the opportunity to visit your family.. or friends when you got a free moment.”

He looked towards the door as Apha paused mid sentence only to see the very man they had been searching for. Excellento. Now they only needed to trace Clarissa.


He watched as the man addressed Scarlet Fever Woman. He smiled at him as he approached he and Apha. “Nice of you to join us mate.” he teased. He shook his head slightly as the man apologised. There was really no need for an apology.

He looked over at Apha as she explained where Forrester was and her theory on the wild goose chase Nicoli had been sent on. Seemed logical to Nate.

“So have you just got back then, mate?” he asked. Poor old Nicoli – he'd been gone for ages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DominaFortuna

'Besides, I don't mind finding Ni-'

In the middle of her sentence, in walked the man himself. '-coli,' she finished, surprise showing in her face. Lord, she knew she and Nathan were meant to be looking for him, not waiting for him to walk in on them!

She shook her head; his absence hadn't been a problem to her. She hadn't even noticed him gone, with not being in the office. 'Forrester took anozer lead to France on a clue from ze zief himself.' She frowned. 'Maybe he wanted to take you off his trail by sending you to an empty house?' she wondered aloud. 'Lesson our defence on ze brooch he's after.' It was possible. She wouldn't put anything past the thief.

Nicoli smiled honestly, grateful for Apha's kind heart after he'd left them with not a clue at all. "It's possible of course," he said, "Unfortunately, he did manage that." Nicoli looked at them both, a little unsure of how to ask without arousing any particular emotions. Might as well just spit it out. "Did...did Forrester give any reason for the both of you having to stay behind?" he asked. "Or was the team all-aurors?"
That would have been very much what he'd expect from Forrester, putting his team on the front line. This was an important mission, but surely, MLES has had more experience in the way of theft and robbers. He even left out Apha! She's FRENCH! He cried almost intensely in his mind, a slight rage showing in his blue eyes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amelie

He looked towards the door as Apha paused mid sentence only to see the very man they had been searching for. Excellento. Now they only needed to trace Clarissa.

He watched as the man addressed Scarlet Fever Woman. He smiled at him as he approached he and Apha. “Nice of you to join us mate.” he teased. He shook his head slightly as the man apologised. There was really no need for an apology.

He looked over at Apha as she explained where Forrester was and her theory on the wild goose chase Nicoli had been sent on. Seemed logical to Nate.

“So have you just got back then, mate?” he asked. Poor old Nicoli – he'd been gone for ages.

Nicoli smirked at Nate's reply, the flicker of rage disappearing instantly. How he managed to put a smile on his face, Nicoli was never sure. But Nathan is a good man, despite his love of the "night life", and alcohol. "Yes, actually...Just a few minutes ago," he replied smiling. "I expect Forrester worked you guys like crazy?" he asked hoping to get his jump on things soon. But for that he would need first hand experiences from them both. The reports weren't enough. He needed opinions. Nicoli knew Forrester didn't take into account his subordinates thoughts-except Edward-that in his opinion, that was he greatest downfall.

'I can tell.' A way with words . . . she laughed again.

'It's no big deal.' Apha's friends wouldn't mind - after all, she hadn't seen them since she left France in the first place, so they probably wouldn't even recognise her. 'But you missed out on a good party.' She chuckled softly.

The sooner this thief was caught, the better. He was toying with them, and Apha was getting annoyed again at the mere thought of it. She choked back a laugh for the second time when Nicoli asked about Forrester.

'We were asked to look for you and a woman called Clarissa,' she explained. 'Ze rest of ze team was made up of aurors.' Her gaze had turned downwards in an attempt to keep calm, and after a moment she looked back up at Nicoli's reply to Nathan's question.

She shrugged; truth be told, she hadn't really paid that much attention to Forrester or the goings on in the other office, once it became clear Forrester valued the aurors' opinion more than the opinions of those in the MLES. 'He had all of us try to decode a postcard clue.' That was pratically it, as far as she was concerned. It had been that then the weird chocolate thing she hadn't paid any attention to other than initial curiousity . . . maybe Nathan had paid more attention?

She turned to glance at him quickly, wondering.

He smirked and winked at her. His colleagues, it seemed, knew him very well.


He listened to the exchange between Nicoli and Apha. Nicoli didn't seem terribly pleased that his team had been left out of the mission to the Louvre. He sighed involuntarily when he directed a question to the two of them. “It was pretty much Team Auror. We were left behind to search for you and Clarissa while the Aurors went off to... (have fun in) ...France.” he replied parroting what Apha basically just said.


Nathan sat back in his chair and grinned at Nicoli when he smiled, the hint of anger gone. It was nice to have him back. He was like a breath of fresh air after dealing with Forrester and the Auror's serious approach to work for the last few days. Not that there was anything wrong with that. But for Nate to work well, it was essential to be to have a laugh with your colleagues... especially your boss. He had a tendency to feed off vibes and atmosphere and after a while it would start to drag him down.

“You much be exhausted mate.” Nathan commented when he said he'd only just got back! Poor sod. He should be at home resting... not here. Well... that was commitment for you Nate supposed.

“We did accompany the Aurors to Gringotts... (and that went well... not) ...where I had my watch stolen by an old woman.” Yep. Nate was an idiot.. it was now officially official. “She left the postcard clue Apha mentioned in my pocket. Then we went back to the Auror HQ and tried to decipher it.” He shrugged. “That's what we've been doing while you've been gone.”

Nicoli smiled, small wrinkles of stress this job was giving him framing the corners of his eyes. "I'll survive!" he said lightly, after all, he'd put the MLES through a couple of pretty tough days himself. It was his turn, he supposed. But, what about the Hit Wizards? They'd need him too. But, seeing as their mission was the same as MLES, it would be best if they'd join them. The more brains, the more ideas-and the less work on each individual.


A rather dark look came upon Nicoli's face as Apha and Nathan told him what had been taking place. Surely, surely Forrester wasn't that ignorant! Really, to leave the two of them to search for him while they went on a mission? Simply because they are MLES? Nicoli was seething, but he knew that this could only be dealt with once Forrester was back in his office. In the meantime, they'd have to show them how it gets done. "We'd better find out who the thief is then," Nicoli said in a deeper voice, "While the aurors attempt to stop him."

Nicoli very nearly sat on the floor. His chair was a little farther back than he'd remembered. Apart from being slightly embarrassed, this new piece of information brought some excitement-and color to his face. "An old woman?" he asked, finding his chair and leaning back in it. "Polyjuice potion? I thought Gringotts had protection against that. Did Forrester volunteer anything about the old woman?" Nicoli asked, tapping his fingers against the table-top.

"Ah!" He sat up suddenly, opening one of the many drawers in his desk. Nicoli pulled out a file, and tapping it with his wand, the file magically opened to the reference he was looking for. "Glad I still have this around!" he said brightly, "Probity Probes are used at Gringotts to detect magical concealments. The old woman can't have been someone else. She couldn't use a polyjuice potion to hide in Gringotts!"
This was very interesting indeed! If Nathan could remember what she looked like...

He nodded. Yes. Outwitted by a little old lady. “That's exactly what I thought...” Nathan replied when Nicoli mentioned polyjuice. He had said something along those lines at the time but nobody had appeared to have heard him... so he thought he was saying something stupid as usual and promptly zipped it. Polyjuice just wasn't possible. He did have a brain after all... even if he did keep this fact well hidden a lot of the time.

“No. As far as I can recall, Forrester didn't say much about it.” Although Nathan had to admit, like Apha, he hadn't been taking much notice of what was going on in the Auror HQ.

“I was taken aback (or rather highly amused) by how an old woman managed to escape the clutches of a large group of Aurors and MLES so easily.” he said unable to hide a small boyish smirk. “She disappeared into the crowds on Diagon Alley before any of us had a chance to react.” Gone in a flash... like Speedy Gonzales.... though she didn't look mexican. Or like a mouse for that matter. Nor did she utter a witty catchphrase involving underlay before scarpering at lightening speed.

He thought for a moment, glancing over at Apha before looking back at Nicoli. “All I can remember is she wore glasses ...was virtually blind without them.” He said remembering the carry on when she couldn't find her glasses which had been on her head the whole time. “She had a rinse.... a pink rinse.” ....And she smelled of peppermint and cloves just like his grandmother did.

“I think she was wearing a purple dress and a light coloured coat.” Other than that, Nate just couldn't bring to mind what her features were like. The lenses in her glasses were so thick you could barely see her eyes through them... though he probably wouldn't have recalled such details anyway.

Nicoli's eyes twinkled brightly, if this had been followed up earlier, they might have been able to get a little closer to the thief's targets. For all Nicoli knew, the thief could be that old woman. Though, of course, she could have just been under the Imperious Curse to carry out the task. This thief really had the Law Enforcement in the palm of his-or her- hand. Forrester seemed to be completely dependent on the clues the thief was sending them, which could lead them anywhere at all. Nicoli would leave Forrester to chasing geese while he looked into the deeper meaning of all of this.

"If we can maybe find this old lady...we might come a little closer to the thief," Nicoli mumbled out loud. He grinned widely, allowing himself to imagine this pink-haired creature scrambling out the door. "Nevertheless, she sounds like a perfect grandmother..." Nicoli replied, smiling. Which makes it that much more unlikely that she is the thief. How would they find her anyway? It was likely that she lived in London...or said something or another that would give them a clue.

Seemed like trying to find a needle in a haystack to Nathan. How many peppermint and clove scented old women with pink hair were there out there? Millions. That's how many. “Surely the goblins at Gringotts would be able to give us some information.” he commented. “Forrester questioned them at the time... but... “ he shrugged. “...I'm afraid I have no idea what came of that.”

He pondered for a moment, trying to recall exactly what the old woman had said to him that may have been of importance. Something about whelps and good Samaritans. No good. But.... maybe? “She mentioned she had been all around the world...” Nathan ventured. “All and around the world and still going strong she said.” he shrugged again. They really didn't have much information to be going on here. He wished he'd taken a little more notice at the time.

Nicoli tapped his fingers on his desk a few more times, trying to think of a way to find more information. "Goblins tend to not be very cooperative. Nevertheless, I'll follow it up as soon as Forrester returns," he replied still thinking deeply. He knew that there was only one way that they could really know what happened, and for that he needed a pensive. But where would he find that?

"All around the world?" Nicoli leaned forwards, nearly colliding with his desk. "She said all around the world?" Nicoli's blue eyes clouded over with thought. That was a significant piece of information. "The thief has been all over the world, now hasn't she?" he said more to himself than to the others. "I'll be right back!" Nicoli said striding out of the room. Now he was sure he had to get the pensive.