Room for Improvement

"Miss O'Neill. You worried your father."

Beth frowned, "Is my father available?"

"No, he's speaking with the ambassador of the Wizarding Emirates at the moment."

"Of course mustn't let concern, overcome the business of being a mover and shaker after all... Gees did I just sound as bratty as I think I just did? Wait don't answer that, I think I'm more tired than I thought. New plan, I'm going to my room to sleep off my jet lag. When I wake up I would like to have a discussion with everyone who wants to complain about me or to me about my vacation. I might as well get it all over and done with at once. If you'll excuse me I'm going to bed." When she got to her room she called Sirius' cell phone.

"Black."

"Hi love, I made it."

"How were your flights?"

"Long."

"And everyone waiting for you?"

"Annoying. Tell Harry thank you for that wrist lock throw he taught me."

"You had to use it?" Sirius' voice was heavy with protective aggression.

"My old detail's head took exception to my independence. I showed him I wouldn't let him bully me anymore. I think I impressed my new detail."

"That's good, I suppose. Just don't give them a horrible time alright, they're there to keep you safe."

"Give my love to Harry, I'm hanging up now and going to bed."

"Love you, call when you wake up."

"Love you too."

Riza "Hawkeye" Pierce made sure to allow the room door to click shut the same time as the phone hit the cradle. Mustang had signaled the team to meet as soon as Beth was safely ensconced in her room. Riza had followed her to be sure she went where she was supposed to, and when she realized Beth was on the phone she took the opportunity to gain some intelligence. Five minutes later she joined the rest of the team in one of the Castle's many conference rooms.

Roy was seated at the far side of the room. Everyone else found a seat at the table. "Who wants to start?"

George took the profile they had been given three days earlier and chucked it into the fire place.

"The profile her last team did for us isn't worth the paper it's printed on. It goes on about how incompetent she is. You don't graduate at twenty two with dual master's in political science and linguistics and be incompetent. She's an empath and she's been controlled by her parents practically her whole life. "

Winry grimaced. "I have verified the castle healer basically ordered she be given a real vacation. She was starting to develop ulcers. I have also talked with her boss at the State Department. He said as useful as her skills at reading people are, he warned her before she went on vacation if her security detail created another incident she would lose her job. Officially she has two more weeks before she's due back at work."

"What kind of incidents are we talking about?"

Winry flipped through the notebook in front of her. "Mostly stuff that happens from wizarding ignorance of the muggle world."

"Well that's one problem we can spare her." Walter commented.

"Radar what have you found?"

"I've found out how she gave her detail the slip." Everyone perked up. "She apparently got a credit card from the bank where she keeps the money her real father left her. Anyway she used the card to buy a plane ticket the day she was to leave for Whistler B.C., that ticket took her to SFO airport. Where the card was used again to buy a ticket to Palau via Guam. She took nothing with her but her purse and her passport. She stayed at Palau Pacific Resort. The rest of the charges are a luggage store, some clothing shops, trips to the spa at the resort, restaurants, a couple of other shops, the aquarium; basically what you'd expect for a vacation. The sad part is her detail could have found her easily weeks ago if they had a clue about the muggle world."

Rachel spoke, "Where is Palau?"

Riza spoke up, "Someplace in the Pacific obviously. She met someone. She called whoever it is to let him/them know she got here safe. I got the number from the switchboard. Apparently her new skills are courtesy of someone called Harry. I asked Bess the house elf in charge of Beth's room, bring the case here so we can look in it before putting the contents in her room. Speak of the devil," she said as the case appeared.

They opened the case, there was: a nightshirt, two t-shirts, three short sleeve camp shirts, four pairs of shorts, a solumbra skirt, a solumbra sun hat, a solumbra big shirt, a solumbra beach cover up, two one piece swimsuits, a bikini, two pareaus. a pair of sandals, and a weeks worth of underwear. There were various small gift type items, a camera, lots of pictures some rolls if undeveloped film, a large lead crystal vase, a ziplock baggie with several dozen seashells.

The last few items were puzzling there was a small box that held what looked like a Barbie doll dress but there was also a strapless bra and a petticoat for it, a box containing a tiara and twenty small hair clips, the last was a ziplock baggie with rose petals. Riza looked at the dress for a minute then she tapped that box with her wand it immediately grew. "Shrinking charm. Whoever he is, he's a wizard. He's got excellent taste but except for the pictures I don't think anything here will tell us much. Bess!"

"Yes ma'am."

"You may take everything but the pictures and undeveloped film up to Beth's room You should probably clean the clothes first though."

"Yes ma'am."

"So where do we go from here?" Roy asked.

"If Rodney's attitude today is indicative of the way her last detail treated her. In her shoes I would ditch them too, especially since they've created problems for her with her job." George spoke up.

Rachel spoke next. "She has apparently taken an interest in her own defense, I could help her develop her skills further."

Winry spoke next. "She is a squib no two ways about it, but being a squib doesn't invalidate her as a person anymore than being muggleborn does us. No offense to you halfbloods, Roy, Walter, Hawkeye, George."

"None taken." they all assured her.

"That's why I put this team together. The President approached me because he knew I was half-blood. I think he overheard one to many of the last detail's rants about 'who did that squib think she was anyway disappearing like that.' I know that the powers that be in the service have shuffled all of you into dead end positions despite you being the best of the best in your fields of expertise. All of you have always looked at people for who they were rather than... other reasons. I think if we work together and get Beth to work with us that it will be good for all of us. Let's get through these pictures then we'll talk with her once she's up."

.....

Want to read ahead. Then You can dive right in!

Head over to my P*atreon right now and enjoy a combo of more than 60 advanced chapters from my two novels.

FREE members can access up to 2 chapters for FREE.

Join now!

Link:

p*atreon.com/Divine_Quill (Remove the *)