Factory Girl [[OPEN]]

Dammit! They had almost had the bastard! Vincent poked his head out from behind the wall gingerly and when he didn't see anyone, he stepped out, his wand at the ready. He didn't want to take any more chances. They had been following this Death Eater for weeks now, and when they were this close, someone had to squeal that there were Aurors in Knockturn Alley! A battle had ensued and now they were short two of their team, leaving only three to take down this lunatic.

Vincent told the others to stay put and take care of their injured team mates. He crept up the abandoned section of the Alley, loooking carefully in every direction before he moved each step. He was not going to be taken by surprise again, not if he could help it.

He made it back to the main populated area of Knockturn Alley without seeing or hearing a sign of the maniac killer. He was starting to think that he'd lost the Death Eater when he saw him almost at the enterance to Diagon Alley. He picked up his pace, not enough for anyone to find suspicious, but enough so that he'd be able to see where the man was heading next.

SHIT! He'd gotten to the exit of Diagon Alley, and they'd lost him again! He had to get back to his team and help them back to the Ministry. They had reports to file, and if they were lucky, their injuries wouldn't be bad enough to keep them off the field. To him that would be the end of his job. He didn't know if he could take working at a desk for a career.

He hurried along the Alley to where his team was holed up and realized that he'd not been looking where he was going when he ran smack into somone coming from the opposite direction. He felt the person fall back away from him and heard them land on the ground. It was a woman's voice that scolded him to watch where he was going, and he looked up to see that it was Echo Salander. He'd been part of the team to deliver her to the custody of Armistad Xandex just a few short weeks earlier. She was supposed to be getting clean, not skulking around Knocturn Alley, looking to get hooked up. It looked as if Armistad wasn't keeping as close an eye on her as he was supposed to be. Maybe it was time to do an evaluation of the situation.

"Well, well! Miss Salander! And why are you in Knockturn Alley today?"

Vincent

Vincent crossed his arms as he listened to Echo's explanation of why she was in Knockturn Alley that day. Looking for a gift? Why would she be looking for a gift in the dark art centered section of the Wizarding shopping area? He had the feeling that she was looking for her dealer more than anything else, but he thought he would let her dangle a little bit before he gave her the news. Dexter wasn't going to be around to help her again. He and a few of his fellow Aurors had seen to that. Especially when he'd learned it was Vlad that had destroyed his home, and nearly cost him his wife and unborn child.

He looked her over and saw that she had to be feeling pretty desperate. He knew that it wasn't easy for anyone to get clean, but she was going to have to do it this time, or she was going to be in an institution, with no access to her money until she was thirty, at the absolute earliest, and then only a set amount, much less than she was reportedly getting from Xandex on a monthly basis. The remainder of her expenses would be coming from the account directly.

Vincent knew that he didn't have a real reason to interogate Echo, other than the fact that she was in Knockturn Alley at all. She really had no reason other than Dexter really. He was glad that there would be no more trouble from the man. He'd caused more than enough trouble in the time that the Ministry had been hunting him down.

"Actually, I do have something else. Where is Armistad? He isn't supposed to be letting you out on your own just yet."

Vincent looked Echo over once more and raised an eyebrow. So, she didn't think that he would call Armistad? He pulled out his phone and dialled the number that he'd been given when Xandex had agreed to take Echo in. After a short conversation, he closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. Xandex had been wondering where she was at that moment. It seemed that he'd not been told where she was going.

"How is it that Armistad didn't know where you were? If I remember correctly, he has the house charmed so that no one could get out without him knowing?" He leaned against a wall. "He's coming here, just to make sure that you are in one piece, since he doesn't seem to believe me. He sounded pretty worried about you being missing. More than he should have. Care to explain that?"

He'd been surprised that Armistad had sounded as concerned as he'd been on the phone. This seemed very curious to him, since it was the first time that he'd heard someone be as worried about their charge as Xandex had been. To Vincent, it seemed like the man had been afraid that the woman he loved had left him. It was very curious to Vincent, since he'd not had the instance of any of Echo's previous trustees had had this reaction to her being gone from their charge. They had seemed to be relieved.

Vincent looked at the blonde girl in front of him. Could it be possible? Xandex didn't seem the sort to fall for someone that he had been put in charge of, but stranger things had happened. The Auror didn't hold it against him, in fact, he felt he should commend the other man. Maybe this was what Echo needed. Someone to care for her, and get her through the long process of her rehabilitation.

"You don't want to do this, Echo. Whatever it is that you came here for, you don't want to do it." He hoped that he was wrong in thinking that she was there for drugs, but somehow, he doubted that very much.