"So...I was torturing one of the new prisoners, as you suggested, Bro, and there's a bit of a problem," Rabastan said.
Rodolphus sighed, and gestured to the Aurors who now guarded the Ministry to pause in the defense drill they were running.
Bellatrix opened her mouth to tell Roddy she had it, and that he could go and talk to Rabastan but then she closed it. When it came down to it, she'd rather hear what Rabastan had to say than watch the Aurors hammer at one another.
"Did you kill it," Rodolphus asked about the prisoner. "Because I can explain away one or two, but you get too kill-happy, and the Minister will be upset with us. I see no reason to have her upset with us now."
Rodolphus was using his overly calm and reasonable tone, which meant he was about to royally fuck it up if Rabastan had done something stupid. Bellatrix smiled in eager anticipation. Roddy was always so very attractive when he blew his top.
"No," Rabastan said, giving Rodolphus an affronted glare. "It's just that he was saying some things that worry me."
"Interesting," Rodolphus said, gesturing for Rabastan to continue.
Rabastan hesitated, glancing at the gathered Aurors. "Perhaps in private, in our office or something?" he suggested.
If Rabastan wanted privacy, this was good, Bellatrix thought, feeling a surge of adrenaline at the prospect of a little excitement.
"Alright, you lot. Continue your practice, and don't kill one another," Rodolphus said, then turned and headed toward the small administration office with Bellatrix and Rabastan following.
When they were inside with the door firmly closed, Rodolphus turned to his brother. "Very well, then. Let's have it."
"The bloke on whom I was releasing my frustrations says he was working for Shadow Ops…you know, like we were," Rabastan said. "He claims to have been imprisoned wrongly for carrying out an order."
That wasn't difficult to believe. The Lestranges wouldn't have known anyone else who worked for Shadow Ops. If they had, how would it be a secret organization? The Ministry placed their Shadow Ops members in teams of two or three, the Lestranges were told when they first began working Shadow Ops themselves.
"What was the order," Rod asked.
"Well, it's like this," Rabastan began. "He was ordered to kill an owner of a Murtlap supply company and his colleague was commanded to kill the owner of the Fire Crab supply company. No reasons were given to either of them and after that, the third member of his group got his orders in complete secrecy. The person giving them the orders had the identifying number of a senior official, but they never got to see what this official looked like, because they were completely covered head to toe."
Bellatrix and Rodolphus were silent for several seconds after Rabastan finished speaking, taking it all in and sorting through what each element could indicate in itself.
"How did things go from you torturing the fuck out of him to him sharing Shadow Ops information with you," Rodolphus asked.
Of course, the prisoner could not have known that the three Lestranges were Shadow Ops as well…because secret organization.
Rabastan shrugged. "He thought I was torturing him for information so he spilled like a tipped cup of tea so I'd stop."
"The new Ministry likely doesn't have all the old Shadow Ops files, as most of them were kept solely in the heads of those former officials," Bellatrix murmured.
On certain matters, paper trails were never wise, even for the Ministry.
"So it's no wonder if he was wrongly imprisoned for a killing. I shall write the Minister about it now. She will likely send over some Veritaserum or if she wants a mind probing on an even deeper level, a vampire once the sun sets, Regulus likely as not. We'll get all the information he has, including that which he may not be aware of having, and if he is innocent we'll let him go." She smiled. "And if he is not, we will make him pay for wasting our time and having us on."
Both men chuckled eagerly. "I almost hope he was lying because if not..." Rabastan trailed off.
"Because if not, we have to wonder if this so called official was Delphini, and what the fuck she wants with seemingly trifling magical creatures," Rodolphus suggested and Rabastan nodded.
"Fuck yeah! And that's a puzzle rather than something we can attack."
"You used to like puzzles," Rodolphus said and his brother made a face.
"Yeah, when they weren't crazy-bitch Delphini shaped, they were great."
Bellatrix moved to the desk to write the Minister. Soon, before lunch, they had a reply in the Minister's own hand. They paused their combat drills for the second time that day, the three Lestranges retreating to their office. Opening the letter hurriedly, Bellatrix read aloud.
Thanks all of you for being so on things. It is truly a treasure in these trying times to know that we can count on you. I am sending an Auror with a bottle of Veritaserum as soon as possible. Not only do I want to know if he is telling the truth, I also wish to see if he has had any unknown magic performed upon his person, so Regulus will be around after sunset to check him over. Gellert will come with him. I would like the three of you to be present in case they require assistance, so please wait for them. You will be paid overtime.
Sincerely,
Kereston Boxwood,
Minister for Magic
"Well, that appears to indicate she didn't know about at least some of the other members of Shadow Ops," Rabastan observed drily.
"With no paper trail, there would be no way to know," Rodolphus said.
"She only knew of us because of Regulus and Kreacher," Bellatrix added. "I'm sure we had no paper trail either."
"I honestly didn't think there were that many of us," Rabastan said. "I wonder how many Shadow Ops are left floating around out there."
Bellatrix smirked. "We'll find out if they turn up here."
They returned to the Aurors who were still performing the combat drill Rod had set them to practicing. Bored with watching from the side, the Lestranges began training each one on one while the others watched.
Bellatrix discovered she most enjoyed dueling one of the goblins in particular. The elves were strong and learned fast, but one of the goblins was particularly and pleasingly vicious. To her most goblins looked alike, but this one had a hard set to his jaw, and she thought she'd probably recognize him in a crowd of his fellows. The wizarding Aurors were, surprisingly, the least interesting of the lot. Due to Rod's persistence, their skills had improved, but they had no particular style or flair.
Less than an hour after they received the Minister's letter, an Auror showed up with a bottle of Veritaserum. Bellatrix presented it to the prisoner in question whose name turned out to be Alec Aetos. He downed the potion willingly, and the Lestranges began to question him, this time with no torture. He repeated the story he'd initially told Rabastan earlier that morning. As Bellatrix suspected, he had no other information. At least none that he was aware of.
When Regulus arrived nearly two hours later, Grindelwald and Zabini were with him. Both looked as if they felt the very air of Azkaban could dirty them. Bellatrix arched her brows at them as Regulus moved in to give her a hug.
After what they'd all experienced at Voldemort's hands, Regulus was far less restrained with his affection when it came to her. "Hi, Reg," she said, embracing her cousin in return.
Silly though it may be, having a close family meant even more after all she'd remembered. Unlike with Sirius or Andi, they'd always been close, but believing him dead while being locked away made time spent together matter all the more. Comfort as well as strength could be drawn from mutual shared knowledge of a fucked up past.
"Don't call me Reg," he chastised. Regulus had always been too dignified to tolerate any shortening of his precious name. That was probably the reason Bellatrix found it so very natural to call him Reg or Regi… It just rolled off the bloody tongue so well!
"No hugs," Rabastan drawled, backing away, and Regulus laughed, before saying, "I wasn't going to hug you."
Turning to Rodolphus, Regulus smiled, clapping him on the shoulder. "Hi, Roddy," he said fondly, and Rodolphus grinned and nodded. "Hi, prat."
With the greetings out of the way, Regulus turned his mind to the task at hand. "Lead the way to this prisoner, and we'll check him over."
Once at the prisoner's cell, Regulus greeted him politely, explaining that they were going to give him one final check over before releasing him.
"We apologize for the...inconvenience that you have obviously suffered, Mr. Aetos," Grindelwald added, stepping forward to give the prisoner a warm, engaging smile. "The Ministry has recently undergone many changes due to a plague that has struck much of wizarding society, leaving many without their magic," he explained. "As a result, we were unfortunately unaware of the delicate nature of your work. I can assure you that you shall be compensated."
As the three Lestranges watched, Regulus locked eyes with Alec Aetos to delve into his mind while Zabini and Grindelwald passed their hands in front of the prisoner without touching him, murmuring words together under their breath. The spell was wandless, and perhaps linked to the magic used by Healers, Bellatrix guessed. If they were making sure nothing had been buried in the man's consciousness, it was likely linked to the mental healing arts.
After around four minutes, Regulus stepped back. "Nothing."
"Same for us," Grindelwald said. "I am almost relieved, because the girl is causing enough trouble, but now we need to discover the bloody import of Murtlaps and Fire Crabs."