Who: Kimiko Proudfoot and Fitz Proudfoot What: Not-really-baby sister bails out big brother When: Mid-February 2019 Where: Greece Warnings: Language! Monthly Challenge: Provoke
It might've looked a little better than your typical non-magical jail but the distinction was a slim one. Either way Fitz proudfoot certainly was wishing he was elsewhere. Especially when he was informed that of all the family that could be visiting it was his sister coming to bail him out. Well, that's what he was hoping for but he wasn't so sure he'd be getting it without the disapproving stare and stern lecture about doing the right thing.
Not that he was all that sure that being bailed out by his dad would've gone any better.
It was all completely stupid anyway. All just because he was trying to rescue a griffin that some fuckwit of a wizard was keeping as a 'pet', and for illegally crossing international borders. In his defence it wasn't like he exactly had time to fill out all the necessary, though completely unnecessary in some cases in his opinion, paperwork before crossing through mainland Europe to reach Ios.
But apparently, according to the Greek wizarding government, that wasn't considered a good enough reason. So there he was sitting in some dingy jail for magical folk on reasonably legit charge and one stupidly ridiculous charge of theft.
Fitz tilted his head back, letting out a hard breath through his nose, and muttered more or less to himself. "This fucking blows."
Kimiko could think of many things she'd rather be doing with her day, too, but she didn't let a frown cross her face. Appearances mattered, after all. She'd already paid Fitz's bail, had spoken with the American consulate about which Greek and international authorities to deal with in order to settle this quickly and quietly, made an appointment with a lawyer to represent them in the process, and all without raising her voice.
The Greek hitwizard led her to the holding cell, and glanced between her and Fitz doubtfully. "Αυτός είναι ο αδερφός σου?" he asked, with both eyebrows raised.
She glanced down at her tablet for the translation, and her own eyebrow quirked, but her voice was still even as she answered, "Yes, this is my brother. Adoptive." The man's surprise was easy to understand: Fitz and Kimiko had not even a passing resemblance to one another, he being tall and dark, she being short and pale. They were very obviously not biological siblings. The guard shrugged and undid the protective charms on the cell door, swinging it open.
"Thank you." Kimiko nodded at her brother, stone-faced. "Fitz. You can come out now."
Fitz's knowledge of the Greek language was negligible at best but as he casually watched the guard and his sister even he could figure out the gist of what was being said by the looks passed between the two, and was proven right by his sister's response. Though there was no visible reaction from him he was plenty familiar with the look on his sister's face at that moment. Things definitely did bode well. "Miko," he greeted as he stood up and exited the cell.
It wasn't until they were outside of the building that he finally spoke up. "Soooo... now what?"
Kimiko kept pace with his longer legs, nodding to the sergeant on duty as they passed the desk, and stayed quiet as long as Fitz did. She didn't even pause in her quick steps. "Now we're going to the American consulate in Athens. I've arranged to meet with a lawyer there who can negotiate a settlement with the International Commission Against Magical Beast Trafficking so we can have the charges dropped and avoid a trial. Then the Greek Ministry would like you to leave the country and not return. I've already agreed to that stipulation on your behalf. I think after that, it's best that you come home for a while. Joe has his hands full with everything that's happened with Thorne, and we would all prefer to have you close to home for a while. I'm not sure what your employment status with UU will be after this fiasco, but you will certainly be hearing from your superiors there regarding your actions. If they fire you, I think you'll be able to find work at Brightstar, though Mrs. Constantine and the board of directors may feel differently, and if that happens we'll have to figure out something else."
She hadn't looked at her brother the entire time she was laying out the facts of the situation, and her face hadn't changed in expression, either.
It somehow seemed completely unfair that he, the one who'd been trying to do the right thing, was the one potentially facing a trial. It was the next condition, and the fact that Kimiko had already agreed to it for him, that had him frowning more than the thought of having to work with a lawyer or going to court. "What? Like ever-ever or just for a while?" He'd visited the country in the past back when UU and the reserve on Ios were collaborating on a project - though apparently that didn't count for much with his current predicament. Fitz wasn't stupid, he knew what she wasn't saying - which was that he ought to come home so as not to cause or get into any trouble.
"Right, so basically I'm being punished for having tried to do the right thing? Sure, that completely makes sense." His annoyance at the situation getting the better of him; even with the logical part of his brain having tried to shout at him to not antagonise the sister that had just bailed him out of jail when she didn't actually have to.
Kimiko did turn to face him then, stopping in front of him so he had to stop, too. The only outward sign of her frustration was a slightly lowered brow, and she kept her voice quiet and even so as not to attract stares on the street. "You knowingly stole very valuable private property from another wizard. You illegally trafficked an XXXX-rated beast across international borders, in contravention of many international statutes. You risked the safety of others and yourself by transporting a dangerous creature alone, without proper controls or backup. That's not 'trying to do the right thing.' That's criminal activity, for which you'll be lucky to avoid being thrown into a foreign prison for years. And being asked not to come back to one country where you're now known as a dangerous-beast smuggler, out of the hundreds in the world you can still visit freely, is hardly a punishment."
She breathed in through her nose, sharply, which from Kimiko was the equivalent of a frustrated yell. "We have laws and regulations for a reason, Fitz. You can't just break them because you feel like it and expect not to face consequences. The world doesn't work that way."
Fitz clenched his fists as he took a slow calming breath. Just because he was angry at the situation was no reason to to take it out on Kimiko - especially since she'd just bailed him out. "It wasn't like I was the only one actually involved! Not to mention that guy is part of some illegal beast fighting circle. Yeah, and if I'd taken the time - of which there was none - to fill out the paperwork involved that griffin probably wouldn't be around for much longer; never mind the other beasts he's probably got." The implication that he'd risked the safety of everyone and himself really irked him though. "Look I get that I screwed up, alright? But I knew what was doing and I absolutely had things under control with the griffin."
He scuffed his shoes against the street, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah... I suppose..."
Kimiko gave him one long look for a moment, keeping her lips pressed together. Then she turned and started walking again. "Come on. The apparation point is this way."
She was quiet for a moment, putting her thoughts in order before she spoke again. "I understand you want to right wrongs," she told her brother after a minute of silent walking. "That's admirable, as far as it goes. But you have to go about it in the right way. You are not the Lone Ranger, and you can't swoop in to save any mistreated beast on your own. There are legal entities and task forces in place to ensure that everyone involved is safe and that those who abuse creatures can be prosecuted, and this kind of vigilantism endangers that goal." She looked up at Fitz. "If taking creatures out of harmful captivity is the kind of thing you want to do, join a law enforcement agency that deals with that. I'm sure Joe would be more than willing to help you get your foot in the door. But you cannot break the law to do it."
For a brief moment he honestly thought she'd stop pursing her lips and start lecturing him again about how irresponsible he'd been. Only that didn't happen, and he simply nodded and followed his sister along to wherever it was the apparation point was.
Fitz was grateful Kimiko could see the merit in what he was trying to do - even if she was pretty adamant, and unfortunately more than likely correct, about him going about it in the completely wrong manner. Not that he was exactly willing right now to admit to that last point. "Yeah, I get that. Really. Except I wasn't - I was just the only one who got caught. I get that all that stuff is put in place for a reason but it's not always to the benefit of the beasts - at least the part in how long it takes anyone to actually get around to giving them the help they need."
It wasn't something that annoyed him, or ever made him feel inadequate, but the fact that his siblings - even Thorne - knew what they wanted to do or at least certainly held no doubts about what field they were interested in. On the other hand he never really had that direction, and while he absolutely believes in protecting creatures there was never any epiphany or moment where he just knew with absolute certainty that this was what he was meant to do. It was also pretty much what he'd grown up surrounded by and hadn't ever really thought or considered doing something not in any way creature related. "Maybe," he finally replied, even if there wasn't much feeling to it. "We'll see. I mean, you know I've never really been like you or Ethan and known exactly what I want to do. Suppose I've got nothing but time to figure all that out now..."
"I suppose you will," Kimiko answered, absolutely expressionless. "But first we're going to Athens to resolve this matter. For expediency's sake, I ask that you stay quiet and let me deal with the lawyer. I'd like to get your situation cleared up today so that you can come home with me, and I can get back to work." She ducked into the sheltered alleyway that was the apparation point, safe from prying no-maj eyes. "Come along, Fitz."