WHO: Owen Dearborn and Madeline Savage WHAT: Bugging the boss's office WHEN: Backdated to a bit after the most recent Order meeting WHERE: The DMLE - Yaxley's Office WARNINGS: Noms
“The coast is clear.” Maddie glanced back over to her co-conspirator before slipping into Yaxley’s office. For a brief moment of perfect timing neither their boss or their co-workers were around or paying enough attention to what they were doing. She closed the door behind him, before starting to do a check for further security measures.
“I don’t think we’ll have much time.”
Owen scanned every object in Yaxley’s office before daring to touch it, convinced the place had to be fully warded and full of traps that would have him and Maddie knocked out in an instant. It seemed clear, but there was every possibility that the ease with which they’d gotten in was a trap to lure them into a false sense of security. If they got sloppy for a moment, it could all be over.
“Where are you thinking would be a good spot for the bugs? We should make sure to get at least two, in case one fails. Or so we have a heads up if he finds one of them.”
"Under his desk is probably the best place for the first one?" Maddie eyed the desk, doing yet another sweep just in case there was something they'd missed so far. This did seem far easier than she'd expected it to be. Did he really just rely on wards?
"That would give us the clearest sound, I think. And maybe one hidden on one of the cabinets? Like in a light shade or something like that."
“I’ll get under the desk,” Owen replied with a nod, approaching the desk and using his wand to cast a spell that gently guided the chair out from under it. Every step he took and every bit of furniture that was moved felt like a potential trap. “It’s probably fine. Maybe it’s just warded to like… give anyone who tries getting into his things a man bun.”
"Let's avoid tripping that one," Maddie winced. "I'm really not prepared to see either of us with a man bun. Or deal with Jasper's reaction." She scanned the walls of the office, selecting one of the cabinets and moving in to examine it more carefully.
"Hopefully it won't be some sort of belated curse where instead it gives everyone but us a man bun. I don't think Jasper would be able to cope w-" Owen laughed, only to have his amusement cut off as he opened one of the desk drawers. As he attempted to pull a thick file folder from the drawer, a strong force yanked his arm down into the desk all the way up through his shoulder. (It was clearly spelled to be much deeper than the actual drawer appeared to be.)
"Madd-- uh Maddie, help please!" Owen called over to the other Auror as the ward in the desk continued pulling him inside, his voice tinged with panic as his feet scraped across the floor, unable to gain enough purchase to stop his descent into the too-small cabinet's opening.
"Wha-- " Maddie had just finished hiding the bug under a lampshade when Owen cried out and she spun immediately, wand back in hand. Within a couple of hurried steps she was at his side, rapidly running through all of the counter-curses she could think of to halt the desk from chopping down on Owen's arm. Or swallowing him whole.
After a moment of all of her counter-spells failing Maddie called over a desk chair, shoving it between Owen and drawer to try and slow down the curse for a few moments.
"Hold onto that!"
Owen gripped onto the chair with his legs, using the back of the chair as a brace while trying to use his free arm to steady himself in front of the desk. "I think I have an idea!" he called back to Maddie as the drawer yanked roughly at his sleeve again, his grip starting to slip. "I'm going to let it think that it won. Pull the chair back on three, okay?".
Maddie stopped. And turned. And looked at Owen for a moment, and the drawer pulling at his sleeve. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, and she really didn't like it it.
"Owen." She let out a heavy breath, grabbing a hold of the chair and bracing herself to yank it out. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"It's the best out of the five ideas I've got," Owen replied, his voice much more confident than he felt. Making sure his feet were hooked tight onto the chair, he let go of the grip he had on the desk with his free hand and untucked his shirt from his jeans. In one fluid motion on the count of three, he let the force from inside the drawer take hold of his sleeve, yanking the shirt off his body and down his arm into it. With Maddie yanking the chair behind him, Owen flew backwards just as the drawer snapped shut, taking his shirt with it.
"I'm glad that worked. My next plan was to chop my arm off."
“Well, raiding the emergency shirt stash is better than hauling ass to Mungos.” Maddie eyed the drawer, weighing the likelihood of Yaxley actually checking the drawer with the risk of trying to retrieve it.
“Please tell me you’ve managed to plant your bug.” They could risk it. She couldn’t imagine Yaxley doing enough work to require him to open any of his drawers.
"The bug is planted and in place and ready and turned on," Owen replied with a satisfied grin, using his hand that hadn't just nearly been mauled by furniture to massage his other wrist. They'd be fine. It wasn't like Owen walking around the office shirtless was an unusual occurrence. "The Yax Man is going down."