Ulysses Burke; world class buffoon. (vets) wrote in cultureic, @ 2016-06-14 23:14:00 |
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Entry tags: | rabastan lestrange, ulysses burke |
WHO: Ulysses Burke and Rabastan Lestrange
WHAT: Rab comes out of hiding to ask for some help.
WHEN: Late night, June 14th
WHERE: Knockturn Alley, London
WARNINGS: Discussion of murder and reference to drug/alcohol abuse but nothing explicit.
Devon was a fine enough place to be, tucked safely away in Diana Selwyn's secret location, but Barty Crouch's announcement had made Rabastan Lestrange significantly restless. And when Rabastan Lestrange was restless, he couldn't stay put. It wasn't safe for him to go home. Technically, it wasn't safe to go anywhere, when the DMLE had people looking for him and the entirety of wizarding Britain knew he had killed somebody. He hadn't planned on getting unmasked, he hadn't planned on getting identified as the suspect in a murder investigation. But he needed to get in contact with somebody who he thought could help him figure out what to do from here, because hiding in silence and secrecy was already unbearable. He needed help. It was late at night when he found himself in Knockturn Alley, arguably one of the safest places for a criminal to be. There was a certain code among the dishonest, the depraved, and the deadly, and who upheld that code any better than Ulysses Burke? Rabastan was hard-pressed to find someone who understood his current position better and was also in possession of a very creative mind. There was also the fact that Ulysses had supported his ideas in the past with not even the tiniest inkling of doubt. He needed certainty here. Rab knocked on the door and waited. Winnifred Burke appeared at the door in a nightgown, blinking sleep from her eyes. At first, she looked a bit confused by her surprise visitor. “Oh hello, can I help you with something?” she asked. Generally, there was only reason why acquaintances appeared on her doorstep in the middle of the night, and she knew better than to ask too many questions. “Ulysses!” she called, opening to door to Rabastan and checking that he had not been followed before shutting it behind him. "Sorry I woke you up," said Rab, addressing the woman who had ushered him through the door into her home. When Ulysses stumbled into view, Rab neared him. "Sorry, but… I need help." "The DMLE's looking for me. I don't know what to do." Ulysses looked neither surprised nor irritated; it wasn’t as though he generally kept regular hours. “You came to the right place, my boy,” he said with a smile. Winnifred - who was well-practiced from years ignoring things - feigned a yawn and headed back in the direction of the bedroom. “Have a good night.” she said with a sleepy smile. "'Night," said Rabastan automatically, looking rather dejected. She waved at the nearby house elf. “Mittens, go get them some tea and refreshments, will you?” Then, she left. Ulysses gestured for Rabastan to join him in the living room. “Now - what’s happened?” he asked. "I killed Andromeda Tonks," he said in a flat voice, completely devoid of emotions. He wouldn't permit himself to think about it because Rabastan knew himself and knew he would spiral into an unbreakable pattern of criticism and self-loathing as he examined every moment in critical detail and wondered what he could have done differently. "She knew it was me, and her husband was there, too. Only— he got away, I'm sure he told the DMLE everything. They're looking for me, they know I did it. Crouch made a public statement, so there's a warrant for me. They've got everything they need to put me away." Ulysses listened, his expression contemplative, but calm. Mittens returned shortly with the requested tea, but also a bottle of bourbon. She poured Ulysses a glass, then offered either drink to their guest as Ulysses spoke. He sipped the liquor, then continued unfazed, “Pity you couldn’t have offed them both, but congratulations on the one. This is only a minor hiccup - I think you have a couple of options. One: I’ve got a cousin in Aberdeen who’s sympathetic to the cause. He’ll give you refuge, if you so choose. Two - and hear me out here - you can let yourself be caught, bring a bug in, and we’ll break you out in a matter of days.” Rabastan's immediate instinct was to go for door number one. He didn't want to go to prison, even if it was for a matter of days. No matter how cavalier he had seemed with his proposal to infiltrate Azkaban, the thought of mingling with Death Eaters sent a cold chill up his back. And he didn't like it. But he glimpsed familiar faces, the faces of his captured comrades, in his mind, and knew he couldn't just run and hide. Even hiding for a day had driven him to a restless frenzy and brought him out despite all of its risks. "Do you have a bug?" He asked Ulysses, his voice quiet. “Not yet, but it couldn’t be that hard to make one if we put our heads together?” He shrugged nonchalantly and sipped his bourbon. “Up to you, really. Either way, your situation’s only temporary. You’ll be fine, lad.” The older man's composure, be it natural or manufactured by drugs and alcohol, had a calming effect on Rabastan, who found himself listening to Ulysses with more rapt attention than he'd ever afforded any of his professors in school. He downed the drink Mittens had given him, emptying it within seconds, and palmed the glass between his hands. Rolling it gently gave him some metrical way to control his breathing, to slow the beat of his rapidly-pounding heart. It helped. He drew a deep breath. "If I get arrested, and if they don't kill me on sight, you'd have to move up all of our plans for Azkaban, because this would only be a once-in-a-lifetime chance." “You could turn yourself in? Say you’re stricken with guilt, etcetera. It would be unsportsmanlike to kill someone who’s surrendering,” Ulysses suggested as Rabastan snorted in a most undignified manner. “I think it would be worth moving it all up if we got this chance to have a man on the inside, you know? It would be a few days, that’s all. An unpleasant waiting game, to be sure, but I’m sure everyone would appreciate your noble sacrifice for the Cause.” Rabastan drew another breath and exhaled deeply. "Okay," he said. "All right, let's do it. Aye, let's do it." He placed his glass down and leaned forward, forearms pressed against his knees. Bellatrix was going to kill him. "So let's get started." Ulysses grinned widely and clapped his hands together. “Brilliant, let’s! Mittens, pour us another drink, will you? We’ve got a long night ahead of us.” |