Thwarted (Jake) (PG-13, Violence)

Kenneth smiled behind the scarf tied over his face and his eyes glittered under the hood shading them from view. He'd missed this while abroad. Even the danger of cursebreaking couldn't match the adrenaline of lying in wait during a Hunt.

Joined by his second in command, Brianna Griffin, and a dozen of his trusted Basilisks, they lay in wait at the top of a hill, surrounding a small clearing. Brianna wiggled over to lay next to him, keeping her rifle trained on the clearing, and Ken could tell that she was excited by the Hunt too.

"Bastards should be here any second," she whispered. "Our tip told us that there are five Aurors, plus the target. One of the Aurors is Pureblood scum as well." Though Ken couldn't see her face, he knew that her lip was curled in disgust. Though Brianna was a Muggle, her older brother had been Muggleborn, killed in the Second Wizarding War.

"As long as Cooke switched the Portkeys, we'll be fine," he whispered in return. "Now focus. Like you said, they'll be here any second. Try not to kill anyone but the Purebloods, though. Not yet."

Spoiler:

Kenneth held up his hand to forestall his people when they would have fired as soon as the Aurors appeared in the clearing. Let them get comfortable first, think they were alone, safe...

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, focusing on the man in the middle of the squad. Ken had grown used to spotting glamours and coverups during his years abroad as a cursebreaker. There was nothing more common than making a doorway look like a wall or a pit of spikes look like a perfectly normal floor. Only a truly experienced cursebreaker would have spotted the spell work, but to Kenneth, it seemed glaringly obvious.

Ken's temper flared white hot. How dare they swap his target, depriving him of the chance to rid the world of another piece of Pureblood scum? He dropped his hand in the signal to attack and immediately shouted "Avada Kedavra!" aiming his wand at the only Pureblooded member of the Auror squad. Hell, he might even kill the decoy for even pretending to be a Pureblood.

Kenneth was not happy, and somebody was sure as hell going to know it.

Kenneth grinned wildly as the Pureblood went down in a flash of green light. Spells from his hidden soldiers rained down on the Aurors and Brianna's gunfire only served to confuse and panic them further. It was something that he had noticed quite frequently; witches and wizards had no idea how to cope with Muggle technology. It was the influence of the Purebloods, he was sure, that led even half bloods and Muggleborns to shirk their heritage for the siren's call of magic

A blasting charm rocked the ground beneath them and Ken swayed, tumbling onto his side as chunks of tree bark rained down on him. He zeroed in on the Auror who'd shot the spell. He was one of the youngest, and the most junior member of the group, if Ken was remembering the Auror protocol correctly. Yet he appeared to be keeping his head the best. Signaling Briana and the witch who laid to his other side, he instructed them to focus on the only wizard on the field who appeared to still have a brain.

Ken could recognize prowess in another, even an enemy, and he respected the young Auror's skill. That would just make it all the more rewarding when he beat the group to a pulp for denying him his chance at the Pureblood target the attack was intended for.

As it stood, it didn't appear that the small group would last much longer. Outnumbered and scattered as they were, two of the other members and the decoy had already fallen to the Basilisks. Unconscious, not dead. Ken wanted to wipe put Purebloods, not the entirety of Wizarding kind. Waving his arm in a circle to get the attention of his men and women, he gave the order to advance, closing the circle on the two remaining Aurors.

Ken had to give it to the young Auror, he had guts. Even as his last conscious compatriot fled with a loud crack, the man stood his ground, seeming determined to protect his fallen comrades.

Idiot.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brianna duck and roll as a curse shot towards her, but she wasn't quite fast enough and she crumpled to the ground. He would check on her later; it wasn't likely the goody goody Aurors had used lethal force.

Striding forward confidently, Kenneth himself didn't bother wasting the energy maintaining a shield, he only deflected the hex sent toward him at the last minute, sending it ricocheting skyward. In return, he disarmed the man, catching his wand neatly and snapping it in half.

"You," he said to the man in a low rasp, disguising the honey baritone of his normal voice, "Have been very irritating." He dropped the pieces of the broken wand to the ground. "We were hoping to take out two pieces of Pureblood scum today, and instead, we only got one, and one of little consequence at that." He kicked some dirt over the dead Auror.

"You got in my way." Kenneth turned back to the disarmed man. "I hate people who get in my way." Stepping within arm's reach at last, Ken drew back his arm and sent his fist into the other man's face in a lighting fast strike he had no hopes of intercepting. The Auror crumpled to the ground and Ken looked down at him dispassionately, drawing back his leg to kick the man in the ribs, repeatedly, before stepping back and allowing his Basilisks to finish the job.

Turning back to Brianna, he set about reviving her, ignoring the frenzy of his people beating the remaining Aurors senseless. His mission was a failure, but maybe not a complete one. One thing was certain; the Ministry would know to fear them when they were done.

((GM with permission))