Sky looked over at Dacs as she mentioned potatoes. "I don't think it would have been something popular...Not enough people got infected. And mostly everyone eats potatoes. I think it would be a food that was less likely to be eaten. Something not everybody likes." She couldn't think of any at the moment though... She nodded over at Tyler great idea. She could help with that or with anything else that needed to be done, Dacs, or Tyler...Or were they working on the samething...It sounded different but whichever was fine.

Honestly, Dorian was a bit out of his element in the meeting. He didn't act as such, however, outwardly listening to all the theories that had been tossed around, both likely and unlikely, and Wes hadn't singled him out for anything yet either. It had been the introduction of the fern theory that had really brought home his illness-adjacent feeling. Ferns weren't counterfeit magic or equipment, and while he knew Aron worked with plants, it wasn't specific to his division and therefore he knew essentially as much as he had remembered from long-ago Herbology lessons and exams. The announcement of the interloper with the note-taking had made his grey gaze turn to the woman as she 'd made her dramatic exit, flickering alittle at the vague idea of recognition. Not only due to the knowledge she'd been Dacs' sister or another relation, but that there seemed to be something else going on. Something that might end up backfiring on Wes, but they had better things to consider. Namely, curing all the infected employees currently quarantined nearby, aside from the one who still seemed to be on the loose. That should neutralize most other problems they might encounter.

Simon's introduction of the possibility that the culprit had been a hot drink had brought his gaze back to his coffee cup. Only to land on the slip of paper that had been slid across the table and lay next to it.



"Do we have any information stating that any of the others might have drank either hot chocolate or cider before they started showing symptoms?," he asked, sliding the note nearer to himself as he'd spoken and discreetly opening it. The question was a logical one, especially coming off the idea that the fern infection could be activated by temperature. He vaguely remembered reading somewhere that bacteria and/or viruses might feed off of warm locations, and moisture. Therefore, if they knew that others had also drank any of the hot beverages, that could help direct the evidence analysis. He knew his own espresso was clear, as it hadn't come from the Ministry at all, but he also knew they were readily available down at the food court.

Tilting his gaze to the short message, he looked up again and gave the slightest of nods to Roxanne. He could accompany her and Saul on the search for Mr. Burton, provided Wes had nothing he would rather he apply his time to. That was the least he could do, although he wasn't entirely looking forward to the apology that had also been inferred. As far as he was concerned, it was unnecessary. Finding the rogue infected employee and curing all of them took precedence to personal matters.

Saul was now just sitting idely by taking in information on these infected peple, and it's possible cause when he found a note sitting underneath him. Sliding it down to his notepad he read it to himself. Scanning it with his eyes. He igured the worst has come to pass for him. He should have figured out a way to bring up that he knew where Dmitri was, and say he was busy so he could help with it.
He gave who he believed was Roxanne was a quick nod, pushed his glasses down to his face and slumped further into his chair.

GROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

Bloodshot eyes, sharpened teeth, very pale compexion, well Dimitri really looked like a.. Monster (maybe.) He completely lost his mind and lost his ability to speak now. He couldn’t say anything beside groaning like a mad people now.

GROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

He didn’t have any idea what whould he do right now and where did he walk. Suddenly he just walked to the Level 2 where Magical Law Enforcement office located. They said people there has nice wands. WANDS! Dimitri loved wands nowadays, didn’t know why but he thought that the taste was nice but by the way.. WHERE DID THEY PUT THE WANDS? Losing his mind, he didn’t know that he had arrived at the Conference room where MLE people were having a meeting there.

Well, I hope you didn’t mind that this zombie interupt your meeting

No sooner than she had gotten 'yeses' from both Dorian and Saul, her barely formed plan had been scuppered by the arrival of who, she guessed, was the zombie in question. Did they purposely do this to her?! Because it was like they were reading her mind.

So, needless to say, it was a not too pleased Roxanne that had quickly jumped up (overturning her coffee while she was at it) and run over to the meeting invading zombie, calling out "On it!" on her way. She whipped out her wand, grabbed each off the man's arms, pulling them together behind his back as she'd seen cops do several times. Then she aimed her wand. "Incarcious!"

It was then that she turned to Saul and asked him point blank, "Is this Mr. Burton?" Because obviously he wasn't going to be able to answer her himself.

His sulking into his chair took a sudden change when Dmitri up and walked right into the middle of their meeting! His glasses fell from his face, but he grabbed them before they hit the table. Saul sat straight up in his chair as Roxanne questioned him if that was indeed Dmitri.
"Yeah that's him, that Dmi...Mr.Burton." Just look at that goofy nose, and curly hair. Aside from all the zombie stuff going on with his face, that was without a doubt him.

It really helped when people listened to her. Really, some people had no idea. Even if she wasn't hot on the idea of people from other departments in her lab, Elinor did a brief ego check.

Seriously, girl. Keep it together.

Better.

She flipped over the top sheet of paper and scribbled down a couple of notes on the back as more theories and more instructions were tossed around. Although she didn't agree with the idea that the virus had been injested, it seemed that a good part of the room did. Even though she didn't like spending more time 'testing' than she needed to, she could always be wrong. Aaron would probably be the one who would continue with the plant while she kept an eye on the theories brewing about the cafeteria.

For a brief moment, Elinor was very glad she didn't eat the cafeteria food.

When the door burst open, and it was apparent what was happening, the lab supervisor abandoned her folder and sprinted around the table, where Roxy had already pounced on the man. Elinor did not withdraw her wand right away, because she knew, in the next instant, there would probably be a dozen wands on him. On that same train of thought...

"Watch your wand, Roxanne," she mumbled cautiously. "Can we get a muzzle on this man?"

Elinor was only asking because she wasn't sure if it was a violation of rights somewhere, but knowing how the... affected patients could react and be violent, she would feel a LOT better if those teeth weren't snapping about. So, as carefully as she could, the woman restrained his jaw firmly with one hand, and with the other, gently pulled aside the skin around his eye, getting a closer look. His eyes were red and runny. Very red.

"I think it is," she answered Roxanne's question, even though she knew it was not directed at herself.

"How did someone not see him before this? This man has been afflicted for quite some time," she pointed out, to no one in particular. His symptoms were quite advanced, although she could not be certain to how he compared with the other subjects at the moment.

Dacs turned a bored look at Sky and said "I appreciate your input." in a less than appreciative tone. Before she could do anything, there was a surprise invasion of the meeting.

Roxanne had jumped up like an excited puppy and grabbed the man. 'Does she think this is some muggle movie?' Dacs thought as she palmed her wand. Walking briskly toward Roxanne and the man, she aimed at them. At the last second she turned the wand on him and said,"Petrificus totalus." as she aimed her wand directly at his chest. She was far enough that he could not grab her wand or else it would seriously be on.

Passing a withering look at Roxanne."Trying to change divisions Carter?" she asked. It's not usually a good idea to try to grab a 'semi- hostile' person. Keeping distance and using your brain is usually th e best thing to do. You don't know their strength, speed and what they are thinking. Dacs learned that the hard way back in her younger days. The last time she tried something that rookie- like she was thrown to the pavement.....hard."But I do appreciate apprehending first and asking questions later."

Turning to Wes, she said,"We need to get this sorted. Drool is one thing but wand snatching and snacking is another. I'll take on interrogation of the Speciality Department. Is there any objection to that."

Dacs was a woman of action and not so much words. That's why she loved and doted on this department so much. She personified her belief and meaning of MLE.

Melissa had been taking notes as the others tried to narrow down what type of food could have been infected, when someone walked...or rather stumbled into the room.

It was Dimitri. The guy she had seen at the Meet and Greet Buffet Luncheon. 'Whoa he looks a lot worse than he did when I saw him.' she thought to herself.

The moment she saw him she kicked back from her chair, pulling out her wand at the same time and was about the zap the him, when Roxanne reacted faster and had him in ropes before anyone else could blink.

'Well done, Roxanne.' Melissa wanted to clap her hands but figured that it would be inappropriate to do so.

Then she heard Elinor ask why no one had noticed his symptoms. Melissa scratched her head before raising her hand....was she supposed to raise her hand?....not sure about that....she quickly pulled it down.

"Uh Elinor. I did point him out to Mr. Ferguson when we were at the buffet luncheon during the Meet and Greet Orientaton. But I guess he must have given the officers a slip and sneaked out before anyone could apprehend and bring him in for testing." Did she sound like she was apologizing? Melissa hoped not. She HAD pointed him out when she had first seen him. 'Oh well we've got him now. That's more important.' she thought to herself. One less infected person roaming the halls.

She watched as Elinor examined Dimitri. "Elinor do you think his DNA might have regressed more than the others who have been infected?" Melissa asked Elinor. She wasn't the expert on things like these.

And that was all the conformation she needed. Though Saul seemed a little shaken by his friend's appearance. But, she had to agree that it was a pretty freaky sight. Luckily for her, she'd been dealing with these zombies for awhile now and had somewhat gotten used to the creepy looks.

Just as she was about to haul him off to quarantine, Elinor came up and started giving him a good look over. Which she figured was okay, at least until Wes said otherwise. And watching her wand, right. The zombies just loved them some wood. So after conjuring a muzzle on Dimtri's mouth, she quickly stuffed her wand into her boot. "Really have no idea. The thing that really worries me though is: What if they did notice and just didn't bother to say anything?" It was then that she felt extra glad that she worked in this department. If anything like this had happened to her, it was sure to be noticed.

And then Dacs happened. "You know, she may actually have a point there. Don't just dismiss something because it doesn't jive with you think happened." And really? Just..... really?! She herself had been the one rounding up the infecteds, with the help of Jade and, once, Wes. So, in her mind, Dacs really had nothing useful to add to the way the zombies were caught. In fact.......nope not going there. But she couldn't resist one last jab. "Pretty sure he knows that, Dacs. Unless you're implying that our department head is stupid?"

Anyway, moving on. "Are you sure?" she asked Melissa. Not that she was doubting her, just that she was amazed that she could remember that back. She could hardly remember what she had for breakfast!

Melissa was surprised when Roxanne asked "Are you sure?" She looked around to see who Roxanne was addressing her question to. Then she realized that Roxanne was looking at get. She pointed to herself. "Oh you were asking me. Yes I'm remember it clearly. I was sitting at the same table with Emily, when I noticed him bumping into the wall. Then of course I got distracted when Kensi pulled out her wand and I had to disarm her."

She then recalled who had come to help her. "Mr. Ferguson came to help him and after we had subdued her, he asked whether I had seen anyone acting strangely and I pointed out Dimitri to him. Dimitri was sitting at a table with some other staff. I'm not sure which Department."

ooc:She remembers the incident clearly, but it's me who may be getting the names wrong. Maybe case of getting charries mixed up. xD

Saul knocked his chair back as he stood up! "Muzzle?!" He gave the girl who recomended the option an intense glare, pushed his glasses up from his face and continued his glare on her. "He's not trying to bite us, he's looking for wood to gnaw on" That's one of the things they said in this meeting yeah, he took a quick glance at his notes. Yup Wood-Eating Zombies Saul wrote it down near the bottom of his notes. "The poor guy's already petrified too, just let Roxanne take him to the Quarantine room." They don't need to incapacitate Dmitri anymore than he already is. He may be a threat right now, but Saul just felt anymore done to his friend would be adding insult to injury. The Infected were the victims here.

''Seriously?''

His arms folded, Josh had been watching what was going on, leaving the task of dealing with that was going to his superiors in the department but with the way things had turned out he could not remain any silent.

The guy who just protested the muzzle (SAUL) was right. What did they think they were doing? The poor man was infected. He was the victim here. He did not deserve to be treated like that. Even though he knew she was his superior, Josh glared at that Dacs when she simply petrified the man without a warning, then, of course, to the lady who suggested the muzzle.

''Right.'' he said out loud agreeing with the man (Saul) ''The man is infected. He needs help not...this. It is not like an angry dragon just burned the door and walked inside, is it?''

"No, of course," she said to Roxxanne, who had misinterpreted her question. "What I meant was-- How could he have been wandering around since then, and not been spotted." She cast a glance over to her before returning her gaze to the man, giving him a close looking-over.

"It's hard to tell, but... Yes. My initial theory is that Mr. Burton, here, might be... patient zero..." No, that couldn't be. Could it? Before she could continue trying to work that theory out, he had been petrified. She blinked at her now still subject. Granted, the conference room wasn't the best place to be conducting examinations, but it did tend to hinder the investigative process.

Unfortunately, Elinor had to round on the quiet fellow who interjected. It wasn't so much what he said, but how he said it. And Elinor was not fond of being glared at. She had to do her best to not glare back.

"Thank you, sir, for that observation. As you can see, though, Mr. Burton is not himself. These infected patients are dangerous, are aggressive." The woman glanced between him and the other gentleman who had spoken up. She had never had the pleasure of meeting either of them, but knew that the first impressions probably wouldn't be that great.

"Believe it or not, gentlemen, this is help. Although I don't condone petrification as a means of restraint, Mr. Burton does need restraint. Because, at the moment, this is not Mr. Burton, for the sake of argument. He is a very sick man. And when we cure him of this, he'll be happy to hear he did not injure anyone."

That was about the most polite Elinor could be at the moment. And with one final look of 'Don't tell me how to do my job', she turned from the two gentlemen and collected her folder from the other end of the table, hoping that Mr. Ferguson would then call the meeting to an end so that she could get back to her job. She had an infection to cure. And after that was all said and done, she would have to offer those two gentlemen an apology as well.

Welp, taking him to the quarantine room seemed to be a moot point now. But instead of pointing it out, she settled the now petrified Dimtri on the floor to make it easier for Elinor to continue her investigation. "Does anyone have a calming potion on them?" 'Cause it looked like Saul was going to need it.

Then the other Carter spoke up. Big mistake on his part because Roxanne had just been waiting on someone else to snap at and he had provided an excellent opportunity. "Hey, if you've not been dealing DIRECTLY with the zombies and their samples, you don't get to have an opinion, okay?" That he and the other members of that office had originally supposed to have been helping with the round up, plus her barely formed plan having been ruined only added fuel to her fire. So, if he wanted to argue about it, that's what was going to happen, mmmmhmmm.

In the meantime, she charmed her pants clean (since the zombie had drooled on her a little before being unceremoniously stunned) and walked back to her seat. And that was when she noticed her spilled coffee. She charmed the table dry mumbling an "Oi." and sat down, looking over at Wes with a 'Could you please just end this meeting now, before punches are thrown?' look. Because she was pretty sure it was going to come to that if this thing went on any longer.

Dacs rolled her eyes."We don't know what this is. We knows symptoms so far and have an idea of where it may have originated. For all we know seeing that he may have been one of the earlier ones, it could alter certain things. It could affect them all slightly different from one another based on their genetic make up seeing that it is an infection." she said calmy, turning to Roxanne she said,"Don't go getting sanctimonious on everyone in here because you have chased a few zombies and brought them in. Carter and Saul have a point. No need to string him up. He is still your co-worker. Let's get him some help." She decided to be the bigger person and ignore Roxanne's jibe at her.

Rubbing at the spot above her left eye where an ache was gathering, forcefully, Dacs looked at Wes and said,"What say you Mr. Ferguson?"

As she moved by Roxanne to take her seat she paused and dropped her voice in low deadly tone, that only she would hear her,"Wrong move Roxy.".

She moved swiftly and took her seat and turned fully to Wes, waiting for him to say something.

Sanctimonious my butt! Just, really?!? There was no way that that could be construed as sanctimonious. Maybe losing control of her temper, but not sanctimonious. But if Dacs wanted to see it that way, then she could be her guest. Oh, and that little 'warning'? If it was supposed to scare her, well it didn't. Roxanne had seen much scarier things in her life time. Like the Dark Wizard who guarded Knockturn Alley. So, the only reaction that that little threat earned her was an eye roll. Okay, and maybe a small scoff.

"We've almost determined the cause of the zombie problem and caught Burton. Can you please just end this meeting?" she asked, turning her attention back to the Bossman. Which may have been a mistake, but she just wanted out of there!

Merlin's Spotted Underpants! All he was against was the muzzle, how the hell did his one outburst cause everyone to turn on each other! What kind of MLE was Mr.Ferguson running? "I don't need to be calmed." He pushed his glassed up off his face. "I'm sorry for showing concern." He scoffed and looked to the Boss. He would blow a fuse if this was his wife that this all just happened to. Lucky him she was safe in the Quarantine Room.

He nodded to the two who agreed with him about him not being a threat, and needed more help than incapacitation. He's should really figure out everyone here. They were Carter, and Dacs yeah?

"Don't lay him on the ground!" Saul rushed over to where Roxanne put Dmitri down and propped his petrified friend up against the wall. "he's not a log, he's a person."

Sky nodded at Dacs. Just as the meeting was interrupted by the Dimitri zombie guy...Wasn't that the guy Roxanne and some others were supposed to go find? And it looks like there was an argument over...A muzzle? She resisted to roll her eyes over such a stupid thing. The guy was already petrified...Why would he need a muzzle? She just sat...She wouldn't add anything onto this argument.

After Roxanne said an outburst and Dacs told her something, she really couldn't hear and it wasn't any of her business anyways. Wow..The blonde raised an eyebrow as she heard what Roxanne asked the bossman...Well this would be curious how this came out. She turned her seat as she heard Saul...Who had set him on the ground? Even if he was 'ill' that didn't mean he deserved being on the ground...So she agreed with Saul.

Melissa just sat in her chair and observed the others argue among themselves. She had to admit that no matter what condition Dimitri was in, he still deserved to be treated like a regular human being. It wasn't his fault that he got sick.

Melissa hoped that Mr. Ferguson would take control of the situation soon right now before things got out of control.

Roxanne just had to roll her eyes at Saul's reaction. "He's not going to stay like that, you know. He's been knocked out, which means he has no way of keeping his balance. Therefore he's going to fall over. So, in that case, you can explain to him once he's cured why exactly he has a black eye." Had he not taken a basic health class? Or a science class even? Learned about gravity all that?

And yes, she was aware of the looks she was getting and didn't care. It had become a zoo in here, and her job was done. Time to get back to the much tamer de Talone case. She wasn't without sympathy, but she was sick of this entire situation already!

Wes nodded curtly as Legend led the woman/spy/whatever she was out of the room. He waited for the door to close behind them before speaking again, seemingly picking up where he had left off.

"Right then, about Burt----" he started to say, only to be interrupted once AGAIN. This interruption, though, couldn't have been ironically timed if he had planned it himself. And the interruption, of course, was Dmitri Burton, International Cooperation employee.

Wes pushed back his chair and leaped to his feet, his wand nearly in his hand. Roxanne seemed to pounce on the guy though, and then there was a... catfight? Argument? An altercation regarding the altercation. Well well, Wes thought, let's see who remembers their training... and who does not.

He folded his arms and remained standing at the head of the table, his eyes flicking from one employee to the other as they stood around yapping and shifting Burton around. "No muzzle," he growled, in a low, dark tone that would shut any room up. "He's human. Treat him as such."

Wes moved around to where Burton was slumped on the ground and finally flicked his wand into his hand, levitating the man so he was comfortably situated in midair. "I think we're done here," he grunted. "Carter and Carter," yeah, you two, "take Mr. Burton to the quarantine room AS HUMANELY AS POSSIBLE." He shot Roxanne a glare and gave Elinor a bit of stink eye as well. She was the who had first suggested a muzzle. Rude. It was a good thing some of these people didn't know everything about him...

Then he focused on the others in the room. "Tyler, Emily, take the YATI and start reviewing anything you can find in the Security Office in the atrium. Anyone else looking for something to do - find a team and join it. I want the lab people in a lab - even the one on level 3, wherever - working on a cure. I also need someone to watch De Talone."

Wes headed for the door and paused when he remembered Dacs' question. "No objection to your interrogation plan, Dacs, just to how you treat your coworkers." His tone toward her was half-loathing and half-disappointment. "I'll catch up with you all later. Elinor, come with me to level 4. We have a cure to find."

And with that, the bossman swept out of the office. Meeting adjourned.

Okay, that went over better then she was expecting. Well, except for the glare. But she could handle that. Just as long as he wasn't making dents in tables again. "Come on, Josh. You heard the Bossman. Grab his feet and and we'll carry him between us," Roxanne said calmly, almost nicely, gently twinning each of her arms under each of Dimitri's arms, wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him out of the air. She didn't think humanely included magic, well, beyond what had already been cast on him, anyway. And this was the best way she could think of, because she didn't think either one of them were strong enough to bare his weight alone. In fact, she knew she wasn't.

While waiting for Josh, she caught what had been said to Dacs and the way it had been said, and raised a brow. Seemed that someone was on his 'list'. Though she herself was probably on it as well. But, she hadn't received near the reaction that the other woman had.

Good riddance.

Dacs stood up and began leaving when Wes answered her. Catching his tone and his words, Dacs couldn't help but roll her eyes and smirk at him.
"Always a pleasure to be your bane, sir." she said to him.

She brushed off his tone and started to leave the room with a few things in mind. She would have her one on one with Roxanne.

She cared about the job. Dacs had a bit more backbone than to just wither under the scrutiny of her boss or anyone not even the likes of Roxanne. She still had a job to do. If she sat around worrying what everyone thought of her, she would never had made it to where she is now.

Dacosta is her last name and that meant that she walked her own path to the beat of her own drummer.

"Anyone want to do interrogations, meet me in the MLES office in a few." she said in a raised voice.

Finally.. orders. Things she could do without having to deal with petty 'adults' making a joke of themselves. This meeting.. not what she had expected. Disappointing really, hence her silence.

With a nod to the Bossman before he departed, she then swiveled in her seat so she was facing the direction of this Tyler bloke.
"Meet you there," she said, simply. She needed to gather her team.

"Simon and C--"... Carter wasn't going to be with them.. "err... you're with me." Wand flicking to her palm with ease, she shot off a patronus. Chosen ought to be there now that the trash was taken out.

As for De Talone... there were other people, and her people had been watching her for too long now, they needed to move and do other stuff.

Without a second thought, Emily rose from her seat and strode out. The YATI could keep up, yes?