Undercover

The silence was unnerving. Silence meant peace. Peace meant that there was nothing wrong. Except there was. Regulus was standing in an alley with his back pressed against the wall of a shop, waiting for Dorcas’ orders. Dorcas was probably in a building somewhere, gun at ready, pointed towards a nearby alley. Where their target was going to be. 

Regulus reached for the dagger hidden in a secret pocket. Pandora had designed their clothes, and it proved extremely practical. Hand wrapping around the dagger, Regulus prepared to take it out should there be any sort of disturbance. 

Right then, his earpiece crackled to life. “Alright, everyone in position. Dora on lookout.” Dorcas said. Silence again. Regulus adjusted his mask with his free hand. “Target spotted. Dora, proceed with step 1 of the plan.” With bated breath, Regulus caught sight of Pandora walking down the dimly lit street, dressed to attract attention. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk, purse swinging on her arm. She stopped right in front of the alley Regulus was hiding in without a glance at him, rummaging through her purse, the sharp glint of a deadly stiletto catching the light. It was vital that Pandora acted out her role well and didn’t give a single thing away. 

There. The target was rushing down the street in an attempt to catch up to Pandora. Regulus drew out his dagger, ready to attack. “Why hello dear,” the target said, leering at Pandora and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Pandora turned to look at him, all smiles. “Looking to have some fun?” the target asked, and Regulus fought down the urge to throw up at how shameless he was being. 

Pandora however, continued playing the part. “Oh, I don’t see why not-” she broke off as the target leaned forward nearer to Pandora's face, seeming to make an attempt to kiss her. Instantly, she whirled around to stab the target in the arm with the stiletto. The target yelled out, but was instantly muffled by Pandora slapping a gloved hand over his mouth, panic obvious in both their eyes. Regulus groaned inwardly. Their entire plan was messed up. He darted out, dagger at the target’s throat. Narcissa had said to bring him back alive as much as possible, but the corpse worked just fine. 

“Leo, gag and tie him up. Dora, prepare a distraction. The Valkyries and Marauders are on site,” Dorcas’ voice dripped with venom even as she issued them orders through their earpieces. “Bat, Rosie, prepare for attack.” Regulus followed her orders, cuffing the target as Pandora tied a handkerchief around his mouth. The handkerchief must have been laced with some sort of poison, as the target fainted a few seconds after. Pandora whipped out a few glitter balls, turning around as she did so. 

“We got company, Dora,” Regulus sighed, keeping a hold on the target. Turning, there was a masked person sitting crossed-leg on the hood of a car. Regulus fully faced them, ready to attack. There was a resounding crack before Regulus was surrounded in a cloud of glitter. Working fast, he handed off the target to Pandora, who had to get both herself and the target out of here fast. If Pandora was caught, there was no saying the consequences, especially since she’d already been publicly identified as Pandora Rosier. 

Regulus sprinted off, clouds of glitter exploding everywhere around him. Reaching the car, he noiselessly leaped onto the trunk of it, immediately falling into an attacking position, hackles raised as the glitter cleared off. 

“Aw, that’s no fun, Little Leo,” the masked figure sighed, which the voice changer just distorted. They dropped their head back to smile at Regulus. Both of them were using masks that only covered their eyes, but distorted their entire face, yet Regulus could still see the infuriating smirk on his face. Prongs. That’s who he was. And Regulus hated him with all 206 bones in his body. His stupid smile, his idiotic taunts, the way the deer-like antlers stuck out of his mask like real antlers. And Little Leo was the nickname Prongs had given him after commenting on his height. 

Regulus glared at him. They had been in this position countless times, facing each other off. “Your ears are as cute as ever, Little Leo,” Prongs laughed, clearly wanting to annoy Regulus. Regulus cursed Pandora for the thousandth time for giving him a cat mask. Regulus refused to engage in verbal fights with Prongs, for he was even more annoying than his brother, which was saying a lot. 

Regulus startled, falling slightly off balance before catching himself as the car shook, announcing a new person. Well, that was obvious enough by the way they cried out in pain before falling off the car. Regulus sighed, staring daggers at the person who had fallen. Padfoot, the idiotic dog of the Marauders who seemed to find himself extremely funny. He got up and clambered onto the front of the car. “Prongs! Just checking to make sure you aren’t flirting with Leo again,” Padfoot said, and Regulus spluttered at his words. 

“Does it count as flirting if he doesn’t get all flustered?” Prongs asked casually. Regulus gritted his teeth, raising his dagger threateningly. Prongs held up his hands in mock surrender, smiling. And one of his hands held a loaded gun. Regulus tracked the gun as Prongs tipped it back almost carelessly. “Aw, scared Little Leo? That’s almost cute,” Prongs teased. Padfoot rolled his eyes, just as there was a deafening explosion. All of them turned to see smoke rising not far away. Padfoot jumped off the car, disappearing almost immediately. 

Regulus grasped at the chance, leaping onto the hood of the car, right behind Prongs, as light as a cat. Almost. He could almost grab the gun…

Bang. Regulus’ instincts kicked in at once, and he fell to the left, tumbling off the car. He glanced up in utter disbelief at the smoking gun in Prongs’ hand. He had barely dodged the bullet. Looking behind him cautiously, Regulus realised it wasn’t a bullet. It was a fucking tranquilizer. Not once in their face-offs had Prongs used his gun, using knives and other random weapons instead. This was the first. 

“Fun. Almost getting shot with a tranquilizer,” Regulus deadpanned, voice slightly raspy from disuse, which the voice changer accentuated. But he was truly hiding how shaken up he was. Almost getting shot by Prongs? He didn’t know why it was such a big deal. Maybe because Prongs rarely ever shot anyone. The Marauders and Valkyries barely shot anyone, especially Prongs. 

“You’re talking!” Prongs said, lighting up comically. Regulus glowered at him in annoyance, picking up his dagger, standing up and brushing the dust off him. 

A crackle drew his attention. It was from his earpiece. Regulus froze, blood draining from his face when he heard screams and crashing. Only Dorcas’ earpiece was on at all times, the others’ had to be activated first. Which meant it was Dorcas being attacked. But Dorcas was in the tall building. Unless someone broke in. Damn it, he had to go get her. But first…he shot a dirty look at Prongs, who was wiping down his gun with a piece of cloth, and it infuriated Regulus even more. 

Activating a button on his belt, three stilettos fell from a hidden area in his sleeve into his hand. Flinging two of them, he ensured that they were narrowly-missed shots, and it caused Prongs to startle. Drawing another dagger from its sheath in a hidden pocket, Regulus spun both the daggers between his fingers. Prongs smiled smugly, hopping off the hood of the car easily, pulling out another gun from who-knew-where. 

A dance. A fight was like a dance. Bellatrix’s lessons slowly flowed to Regulus’ mind. When Regulus was younger, she had given him a real sword, and used a dummy sword for herself. However, before the whistle to begin the battle was blown, Bellatrix had knocked Regulus to the ground. “Always catch your enemies off guard,” she’d cooed, looking down at him. The moment Regulus had gotten up, she’d swung again. “Always be on your toes.” Bellatrix put down the dummy sword, inviting Regulus to attack her freely. Regulus had rushed to attack her. In a flash, Bellatrix had picked up the sword and aimed at an unprotected area. “Always trust no one.” 

The three phrases might mean little to others, but it had been ingrained in Regulus’ mind since then.  

Now, Regulus threw the last stiletto, and it pierced the car, just above Prongs’ ear. “Your aim is a bit off, isn’t it-” Regulus sliced clean through his sleeve, drawing a bit of blood. Another sudden crash came through the earpiece. He didn’t control this. Time did, and that was scarier than anything. Spinning on one heel, he sent a blow to the side of Prongs’ head with the handle of one dagger. Prongs stumbled, falling forward. Regulus backed up slightly. Prongs lifted one gun and shot. 

Regulus didn’t have time to dodge this one. The first thing that came to mind was to slice through it. He raised his dagger, preparing to do just that. 

A blaze streaked past, burning the tranquilizer. A fire-tipped spear, on closer inspection. When it hit the ground, it sizzled out. Turning, Regulus spotted Barty, holding a flaming spear. He had long given up using the bow after it had broken or burned, sticking to wooden spears with metal ends, which made the fire burn out. Regulus darted forward, slicing at Prongs’ arm mercilessly. The screams had increased, and it was throwing him off. It drew blood, and Regulus threw down a smoke bomb to cover his escape.