Chapter 36: Roy's Journey
Walter O'Shaunessy was a muggleborn. He was the weakest wizard on the team, His strength was he knew muggle mechanics and technology. He was unusual because unlike most wizards that touched a computer or other higher tech type equipment and shorted it, he usually managed not to short it out.
Excelling at Runes and alchemy, he dreamed of finding a long term solution to the tech problem but he had been stymied in the research and development department by jealous co-workers.
The team had nicknamed him "Radar" after Walter "Radar"O'Riley on M*A*S*H* because being mildly precognitive he anticipated their demands just like the character on the show. He kept a computer at home in his muggle apartment and usually did at least a few hours of work there using the resources it provided.
Winry Rockbell was the teams healer. She was also a champion duelist, she gave new meaning to the phrase don't piss off your healer because she knows the best way to take you apart. Roy had laughed when he found out she was able to pick locks and pockets. He suspected it had to do with her pre-magic school history as a runaway, but didn't ask as he feared her reaction. The muggleborn healer had a short fuse about some things.
Rachel Luttrell was an enigma. On the surface she was gentle and kind. But the twenty-seven year old muggleborn had a will of iron. She was a transfiguration mistress and could work through an arithmancy equation faster than anyone else he knew. He also knew she held black belts in six disciplines of martial arts. She had advocated certain advanced trainings with the Muggle FBI and secret service that they incorporated into their group training. How she knew about them was anyone's guess.
Roy himself was half blood. His wizard father had his mom as a mistress for two years before Roy came along as such acknowledged him privately as his son paid for his clothes, schooling and so on. He did it on the condition that Roy never force him to acknowledge him publicly. Roy had graduated top of his class, and had joined WIS as soon as he qualified.
What he hadn't realized when he joined was just how bigoted his boss was. Roy got the rude awakening at his one year review when he had voiced his dream of taking over for the Director when the man retired. Director Chambers told him that he had as much likely hood of making the presidential detail as he did of ever becoming Director. That he'd hired Roy to fill his mandatory half blood hire requirement then he stuck him in a seemingly dead end job. Roy had gotten the last laugh about that though.
Stubbornly refusing to quit because of his boss' attitude, six years later when President Stevens was elected he had looked at his security detail and insisted he needed at least one half blood, as the highest tenure half blood, Roy made the President's detail much to the Director's chagrin.
Roy genuinely liked President Stevens. Roy had first met him as a trainee with the WIS. President Stevens had been vice president then so Roy had been surprised when his first day on the detail the President had greeted him by name. Over the next couple years Roy had met and taken to socializing with Winry, and then George, finally Riza had joined them.
Riza had made him aware of the plight of most of the requisite hire half blood and muggleborn hires with WIS and encouraged Roy's dream of changing WIS. After that Roy had made it a point to get to know all the muggleborn and half blood hires. He worked with them on developing trainings that combined the best of both worlds and since the trainings were voluntary and the people that lead them were volunteers Director Chambers couldn't stop them.
He'd tried; not hard after all it was the useless half bloods and the even more useless muggleborns, let them do their useless trainings. Roy had been pleased to observe in his time on duty with the President that Chambers' attitude was the exception not the rule in most of the government.
Roy had been delighted when the President had been elected for a second six year term. Of course when the Presidents daughter ran away a month ago, he had shook his head. He had met the girl a few times he had observed she had always seemed so biddable and pleasant, not his type he preferred spitfires, so he'd been as surprised as most other people when she ran away instead of going on the prescribed trip.
Then the opportunity for himself and the rest of the half bloods and muggleborns had happened. He had been with the President and about to go off duty a week ago when they heard Rodney Pedersen speaking in a very derogatory way about his wayward charge with one of the other guards of the President's detail.
The Presidents jaw had tightened and Roy suddenly could feel magical currents whipping around the man. It had been all he could do not to pull his wand in self defense. Then as suddenly as it started it stopped. Stepping into the room the President spoke "Rodney you'll be pleased to hear that "that useless squib" is no longer your problem.
You and Dickson may go and tell Chambers he needs to find you something else to do outside the castle that goes for the rest of Beth's detail as well. Oh and Rodney you will keep yourself available so you can introduce Beth to her new security team."
A minute later after the disgraced hit wizards left, The President turned to Roy and said, "Roy I want you to be the lead for Beth's new detail it needs to be people that a very comfortable in muggle surroundings, I found out last week her team has caused problems for her at work. I realize that being on my detail has a certain prestige but I've read your file and know you eventually want to be Director of WIS, being in charge of a detail is a step that direction. Are you willing?"
"Of course sir."
"Excellent. Now perhaps you can recommend a few people to replace yourself, Dickson, Mahler, and Ferguson." naming the worst of the pureblood bigots on his personal detail. Roy had pulled the best and the brightest that he knew would work well with the rest for the President's detail, there were two muggleborn, a half blood, and the one pureblood that had participated in the trainings he had organized. He then stocked his detail with the best of what was left.
Roy shook himself from his reflections and made a list of questions he needed answers to. He was hoping that he could work with Beth but with a potential threat like this his job took the lead.
Unbeknownst to Roy, while getting her shoes and coat Beth had called Sirius.
"I told my new detail and they freaked. You warned me but I thought..."
"It's all right Beth. We knew this would happen or at least I did. Maybe we can use this in our favor... I want you to recount every detail you possibly can. They'll doubtlessly find enough there that they can find some leads to more information and the sentence from England will make less and less sense. Is this a good time to call or could we go a little earlier I know Harry will want a chance to say hi but he's already in bed."
"A little earlier is fine the number to the castle is area code 410-555-1234 my suite is extension twenty-three. You know how to do an international call right?"
"0010081 then your number to call from Indonesia to the U.S.. Beth your team is likely to be harsh as they get information from you. Don't take it personally, they assume I am a threat. Either to you or to your father, they will be focused on trying to determine the level of threat I pose. It is their job, and they deal with life and death decisions so make it easy for them okay. What's life without a few bumps in the road? That's all this is you know, a few bumps. So how do you like the new detail?"
"They're nicer than my old one."
"Well that's good."
"What are you doing?"
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