Who: Alice & Alecto Where: Carrow Greenhouse When: Tuesday, Sept. 1st What: Alice slips Alecto an eavesdropping charm Rating: PG Status: Completed!
Working with a broken heart was bloody torture. Alecto had been forced to play nice, when really all she wanted to do was strangle someone or blow something up. She was half tempted to randomly set fire to various buildings ever since Saturday night, but she wasn't about to act without orders. So instead, she kept herself busy at work, then went home to get drunk with Amycus and listen to the WWN until she fell asleep.
Today there had been a steady stream of customers, which was always welcome, even to a very upset Alecto. So the young woman had plastered a fake, customer service smile on her face, and had done her job through gritted teeth, trying her best not to snap at customers. She had just finished packaging up a carton of destroying-angel mushrooms for an elderly Irish woman, when another woman walked in the door. The fake smile returned as she said, "How can I help you?"
Alice had spent the past twenty-four hours working out this plan, making sure it would go as smoothly as possible. She had two of the Order's eavesdropping marbles in the pockets of her robes, and a cover story worked out so that she wouldn't draw any undue attention. Maybe this wouldn't help them find Al, but they could do with keeping an eye on a few more of the known Death Eaters. And she needed something to do that wasn't worrying and watching Frank worry about Neville's godfather.
She walked into the Carrow's greenhouse, very far from resembling her usual self. Hair and eyes a dark brown, a slightly foreign accent, and more jewelry and makeup than she was used to, though certainly not an excessive amount. "Hello," she greeted with a small smile. "I find myself in need of a supplier."
Alecto wasn't really paying attention to who the woman was. She wasn't anyone that Alecto recognized, so she thought nothing of it. "A supplier? We can help you with that," she said, keeping up with that fake smile, which had turned slightly more genuine. This woman looked like she had a bit of money with all the jewelry she was wearing. Good, Alecto thought. They always needed business. She returned to the task at hand. "So what are you looking for? I mean, specifically. We have wholesale plants for gardens and greenhouses, as well as plants for potion ingredients. Are you looking big or small?" She pulled out a clipboard and laid it on the counter. "Whatever you need, I'm sure we can help you with it."
"A large batch of potions ingredients," Alice replied smoothly, feigning a complete lack of interest in the paperwork as she looked around. Her main goal was to place a marble where they had the greatest chance of overhearing pertinent information. If she was lucky, she hoped to get one on Alecto's person, and while she was looking for the opportunity, she was hardly expecting it to arise. "The demand for calming draughts and luck potions is much higher than I expected. I've exhausted my personal garden."
Alecto shrugged. "We can help you with that." Quickly, she checked a few items off her list, and shook her head. She was distracted and needed to get her head into the game. Without paying too much attention, Alecto started towards the greenhouse. "This way," she said as she mentally checked off each plant that the woman would need, as well as each plant's location in the greenhouse. They had all the necessary plant-based ingredients for both potions in the greenhouse. "So you need all these ingredients yes?" Alecto asked with her back to the woman. She wasn't paying attention to the woman or waiting for her to answer, but rather set about the business of collecting all the ingredients anyway, hoping that she would need to purchase it all.
Alice followed the younger woman back to the greenhouse, and was ultimately surprised that an opportunity presented itself so quickly. Dealing with customers or not, she'd expected the Death Eater to be far more wary. If she wanted to, she could accomplish so much more than merely eavesdropping. "Yes," she replied, pulling one of the marbles from her pocket and, as quickly and as carefully as possibly, slipped it into a pocket of Alecto's robes. With any luck, she wouldn't notice.
Alecto had about four different clippings in her arms, as well as the clipboard. She was too busy cutting the fifth clipping when Alice must have slipped her something, because the young Death Eater did not notice. Her mind was half paying attention to her work, and half trying desperately not to think about Danny. The timing was perfect for Alice, even if Alice didn't realize it. Finally, Alecto had collected all the clippings. She swiftly moved back out into the main shop area. "I'll go cut these and bottle them up for you. Should take me maybe five, ten minutes. Wait here," she said, sternly.
Alice waited patiently for Alecto to disappear from sight after they'd returned to the main shop, running her plan through her mind. The other woman hadn't noticed, or at least shown any outward sign, and that gave her hope. There weren't any other customers in the shop at the moment. She could easily set the eavesdropping charm in this room, but they'd be lucky to overhear anything more than the daily business transactions that occurred. Once she was sure that Alecto was gone, Alice walked swiftly back to the greenhouse, her wand in one hand, the second marble in the other. She headed straight for a table that was near a window, and affixed the marble underneath it. Alice waited a few moments to be sure it would stick well, then hurried back to the main shop.
Alecto ground, bottled, and labeled each clipping quickly enough, but she wasn't in any real hurry. In fact, she took a bit of her time, knowing that sometimes you have the let the customer look around a bit more in case they want to buy something else. It was a testament to how desperate they were for money that the young woman's radar never even spiked considering this customer. But Alecto tried her hardest to keep the two parts of her life separate, mainly for her parents' sake. So without even thinking anything of it, she returned to the front of the shop with five bottles all bagged up nicely. "That'll be seven galleons. Unless there's anything else I can help you with," she said calmly as she handed the other woman a receipt.
Alice drew a handful of coins from her pocket and separated out the seven galleons. "Not today," she smiled, accepting the bag and the receipt as she gave Alecto the coins. "Pleasure doing business with you." Her smile broadened as she turned to leave, glad that her plan had gone so well up to this point. Now, it was just a matter of getting to the safehouse and making sure the receivers were working. It was time for the other side to get a taste of what it felt like, knowing that they weren't as safe as they thought they were.