Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2009 20:31:59 GMT -5
A vein pulsed prominently on Commander Wyatt’s forehead, as it often did when he dealt with the wizard seated in front of him. “So you want your job back, Hawkins?” the commander asked gruffly. He had suddenly gotten an owl from him this morning asking to be reinstated as an Auror, and here they were now. Then, the commander was seriously tempted to ignore the owl completely and hope he was a no-show, but he knew Hawkins better than that. He was the kind of man who was thorough, always making sure to follow through, and bull-headed to boot. Hawkins would show when he said he would show, invited or not. So the commander reluctantly told his secretary to send him up when she saw him. And here he was.
“I deserve a second chance, sir,” Hawkins replied steadily.
“A second chance?” Wyatt’s temper flared. “We would have given you your goddamned second chance if you hadn’t caused such a row about it! Merlin’s beard, did you have to make an enemy of the Chief Auror?”
Hawkins glowered at the mention of Chief Auror Cunningham. “Look Wyatt,” he snapped, dropping formalities. “If he felt the need to fling around unwarranted accusations because of his own impotence, I don’t see why I should suffer for it.”
“This is why you were fired Anil,” Wyatt said, exasperated. “You couldn’t just resolve it reasonably. You just had to rise to the bait—”
“So Chief Auror Cunningham gets off scot free and I’m fired? If that idiot hadn’t gone and picked a fight—”
“You got fired because you mouthed off to a superior officer!” Wyatt roared, his face beginning to turn a pleasant violet shade. He sucked in a breath and continued, slightly more calmly. “Now listen here. You can’t keep running about like a loose cannon. You blatantly disobey orders, continuously show absolutely no respect for authority, it was a fucking miracle we held on to you for so long, get it? Do you even realize how many times I had to cover your sorry ass just to keep you on the job for one more day?”
Anil was itching to give his own response, but managed to hold his flaring temper and barbed tongue in check. Though his pride and anger fought hard against the realization, he knew Commander Wyatt was right. The sort of reputation that he’d allowed to follow him had made him an easy scapegoat. It had really only been a matter of time. Not only that, Anil knew he owed the commander a few good ones, specifically a cover-up incident involving his Animagus form. Though the two had gotten along like snakes and hawks, Commander Wyatt had always been the type to watch out for the men under his care. Of course, the debt he owed him made him resent him all the more, but it was the reason he had come to Wyatt in the first place. Hawkins kept his mouth shut.
Wyatt eyed his former subordinate intently, then heaved a sigh. He had always known Anil’s people skills were rough. However, out in the field, his quick-thinking and natural talent with magic rapidly made themselves apparent. Still, those weren’t going to do him any good in the politically driven environment of the Ministry. He shook his head, contemplating his next move. “Okay, listen, here’s the situation.” There wasn’t much he could say to sway the Chief Auror. Hawkins’ departure had circled the office gossip several weeks after the fact. It had only stopped when Wyatt finally lost patience and implemented severe penalties if he caught any of his squadron speaking of it. The other commanders had followed suit, to his satisfaction. However, with Hawkins’ return, he doubted these measures would serve for much longer. “You could have waited for it all to be sorted out before storming off like you did. If you did, you might still have had a job. But because you did, it was good as a confession, understand?”
“I didn’t come here to be lectured,” Hawkins said irritably. “In any case, I had some urgent family business—”
“I really don’t give a damn, Hawkins,” Wyatt said flatly. “Whether or not you were guilty, you sure acted guilty. And no one who was here is gonna forget that, get it?”
Anil angrily forced himself to bite his tongue again. Wyatt continued, “So your chances of getting reinstated are slim to none. Don’t get your hopes up, kid.”
Anil quickly became impatient with his commander’s pussy-footing. “Are you going to do this for me or not?” Commander Wyatt leaned back, brow furrowed. The vein was pulsing again.
“I’ll see what I can do. No guarantees, Hawkins,” he said finally.
Anil waited a moment, but apparently, Commander Wyatt considered the conversation over. “Thanks,” he said, standing.
“Yep,” was the commander’s response, and Anil left the office.
A few days later, the ministry sent an owl to Anil Hawkins, informing him that he’d been relocated to the Spanish foreign branch of the British Ministry, a small out-of-the-way office in Drakborough meant to further Magical Relations between Spain and Great Britain. However, the Spanish Ministry was loathe to rely on foreign wizards, as any country with a perfectly upstanding law enforcement agency would be, and being sent to such a place was the equivalent of sweeping the unfortunate Auror under a rug. Thus, Anil Hawkins found himself returning to Spain with his ornery disposition intact. And within a week, was bored out of his bloody mind.
“I deserve a second chance, sir,” Hawkins replied steadily.
“A second chance?” Wyatt’s temper flared. “We would have given you your goddamned second chance if you hadn’t caused such a row about it! Merlin’s beard, did you have to make an enemy of the Chief Auror?”
Hawkins glowered at the mention of Chief Auror Cunningham. “Look Wyatt,” he snapped, dropping formalities. “If he felt the need to fling around unwarranted accusations because of his own impotence, I don’t see why I should suffer for it.”
“This is why you were fired Anil,” Wyatt said, exasperated. “You couldn’t just resolve it reasonably. You just had to rise to the bait—”
“So Chief Auror Cunningham gets off scot free and I’m fired? If that idiot hadn’t gone and picked a fight—”
“You got fired because you mouthed off to a superior officer!” Wyatt roared, his face beginning to turn a pleasant violet shade. He sucked in a breath and continued, slightly more calmly. “Now listen here. You can’t keep running about like a loose cannon. You blatantly disobey orders, continuously show absolutely no respect for authority, it was a fucking miracle we held on to you for so long, get it? Do you even realize how many times I had to cover your sorry ass just to keep you on the job for one more day?”
Anil was itching to give his own response, but managed to hold his flaring temper and barbed tongue in check. Though his pride and anger fought hard against the realization, he knew Commander Wyatt was right. The sort of reputation that he’d allowed to follow him had made him an easy scapegoat. It had really only been a matter of time. Not only that, Anil knew he owed the commander a few good ones, specifically a cover-up incident involving his Animagus form. Though the two had gotten along like snakes and hawks, Commander Wyatt had always been the type to watch out for the men under his care. Of course, the debt he owed him made him resent him all the more, but it was the reason he had come to Wyatt in the first place. Hawkins kept his mouth shut.
Wyatt eyed his former subordinate intently, then heaved a sigh. He had always known Anil’s people skills were rough. However, out in the field, his quick-thinking and natural talent with magic rapidly made themselves apparent. Still, those weren’t going to do him any good in the politically driven environment of the Ministry. He shook his head, contemplating his next move. “Okay, listen, here’s the situation.” There wasn’t much he could say to sway the Chief Auror. Hawkins’ departure had circled the office gossip several weeks after the fact. It had only stopped when Wyatt finally lost patience and implemented severe penalties if he caught any of his squadron speaking of it. The other commanders had followed suit, to his satisfaction. However, with Hawkins’ return, he doubted these measures would serve for much longer. “You could have waited for it all to be sorted out before storming off like you did. If you did, you might still have had a job. But because you did, it was good as a confession, understand?”
“I didn’t come here to be lectured,” Hawkins said irritably. “In any case, I had some urgent family business—”
“I really don’t give a damn, Hawkins,” Wyatt said flatly. “Whether or not you were guilty, you sure acted guilty. And no one who was here is gonna forget that, get it?”
Anil angrily forced himself to bite his tongue again. Wyatt continued, “So your chances of getting reinstated are slim to none. Don’t get your hopes up, kid.”
Anil quickly became impatient with his commander’s pussy-footing. “Are you going to do this for me or not?” Commander Wyatt leaned back, brow furrowed. The vein was pulsing again.
“I’ll see what I can do. No guarantees, Hawkins,” he said finally.
Anil waited a moment, but apparently, Commander Wyatt considered the conversation over. “Thanks,” he said, standing.
“Yep,” was the commander’s response, and Anil left the office.
A few days later, the ministry sent an owl to Anil Hawkins, informing him that he’d been relocated to the Spanish foreign branch of the British Ministry, a small out-of-the-way office in Drakborough meant to further Magical Relations between Spain and Great Britain. However, the Spanish Ministry was loathe to rely on foreign wizards, as any country with a perfectly upstanding law enforcement agency would be, and being sent to such a place was the equivalent of sweeping the unfortunate Auror under a rug. Thus, Anil Hawkins found himself returning to Spain with his ornery disposition intact. And within a week, was bored out of his bloody mind.