Wes waited for it, waaaaaaited for Izzy to snap, just waiiited.... but then she was grinning and settling down in the chair opposite his desk. Well that had been easy. His shoulders relaxed a bit and he titled his head toward the wall.

"Like the décor, Izzy? Decorated it meself." He winked toward Van, though his cheeky little attitude faded somewhat at the intonation behind her question. "Er... Van, you can answer that one." He was the one who'd punched Izzy's ex-boyfriend, after all. Well that ex-boyfriend.

He nodded at his fiancée. "Thanks." Yeah that simple congrats would do.

"What makes you think its human, Iz? Reeks of Squid to me." Van answered. No. Really. That was the answer. She knew what the YATI called Recard, surely?

He pushed off the desk.

"You know... I should be getting home to Lily."

Did she like the décor? It was exactly the same. Isobel just eyed him. "You've worked very hard on it..." Clearly. But Wesley did have more important things that decorating to do, so she would let him off the hook for this. Just for that though. Wesley was not off the hook for not telling him. Oh. He was in big trouble regarding that. She was just waiting for her former boss to depart before she told Wesley exactly how she felt about that.

Oh. Squid? Izzy frowned for a second, trying to figure it out. Oooh. Squid. "You made Recard bleed...." She paused, grinning at both men in turn. "And I missed it?" Oh. She was very disappointed now. Did this mean she could hex the guy now?

you know....seeing as she still hadn't got pay back for what he did to her.

"I know. I did." Glad she'd noticed. Wes smirked to himself, realizing he was probably digging his grave a little deeper, but not really caring right now. He was still elated from kicking Armen out of his office, EEEOOOORRRRRRRKKKKK! and all.

Wes knew Izzy wanted revenge on her ex just as much as he did, if not more so. But her time would come. "I don't think that will be the end of him, sweetheart, you'll get your chance. And if you'd really like, I'll show you the memory later." He chuckled a bit and nodded to Van.

Wellp. So much for the others getting to say bye... eh... "I'll owl you those portraits," Wes promised, turning his head to eye the covered paintings. Evander was NOT walking away without 'em. Ugly thangs.

After a few moments of just catching her breath at her desk, Alysson decided that Van wasn't here. Or not at her desk anyway or anywhere in this room. So she should probably start looking for him elsewhere. Because he couldn't just leave without giving her the chance to say goodbye. Hopefully she wasn't too late and he was gone already.

The only place he could still be was his office...or well, Wesley's office now actually. So after walking up to the door, she knocked once and without waiting for a reply just opened the door. What if he was going to just floo right out of there after all. So no time for formalities. She could apologize to Wesley later. Plus he couldn't be too upset with her...you weren't allowed to be upset at all before your wedding. At least not in Alysson's opinion. It was a mortal sin.

She didn't walk into the office any further but instead just stopped at the threshold, letting her hazel eyes wander around the room for a moment, taking in everybody currently inside. Oh, good, Izzy was there too...and Evander. "You didn't think about leaving without saying goodbye, did you?" She addressed him with a small smile. It wasn't like they were really really close or anything, but they had been working together for a while now and she liked him.

So there, he couldn't just leave like that.

Shrug.

Van grinned back. It had felt DAMNED good.

"Good idea. I think that memory ought to be distributed wholesale." Brows. A lot of people would want to see that, he was sure of it.

"They're ministry property. Don't be ridiculous. Besides, you ain't going to spy on me that easily, Wes." We're ON to you.

He turned at the sound of Alysson's voice and grinned sheepishly. "N'aw."

Alright. Maybe.

His version of goodbye, as exhibited with Wes a little earlier, consisted of manly grunts. So really, nobody was missing out too much on a lack of those, and he'd done enough damned pep talks and speeches when they were standing against the cult and such, so those weren't required either.

But still.

"I suppose I will miss you, Alysson. You're a good sort." Grunt. He turned to Wes. "Keep her. She knows what she's about, and not likely to turn up dead at an inopportune moment."

"Oh...I will get my chance." Isobel smirked darkly. Oh. She was no way at all done with Armen Recard at all. Sure they had been split up for getting on for two years, and she was engaged to another man, but she still wanted to get her revenge. "But...showing me the memory will work too" Because Evander seemed pretty impressed with himself, and she wanted to see just why he was.

Oh. Evander was going now. Isobel was about to say something, when her best friend decided to interupt things. Alysson sure knew how to make an entrance. But Aly was kind of saying that Isobel had wanted to say, but had known it would make things so awkward. She knew Evander wasn't going too far away, but her telling him that she would miss him wouldn't really help.

"Hi Aly." The blonde nodded, giving her friend a wave. It was a nice party that they were having here. A leaving party maybe? Izzy laughed at what Evander said. "Like I'm going to let him get rid of her..."

"I think I need to cast a fidelius charm on my office," Wes remarked as the second woman in five minutes showed up to his door. He did smile at Alysson though, because she was a 'good sort,' as Evander put it. "Suppose you can come in then, Zookara."

Chuckling at Van, Wes had to agree with his idear. "I think we might've found a new way to raise money for promotions." No need to worry about budget cuts from the top down anymore. They'd just market the fail that was Armen Recard's face. Easy money.

Dammit. He was stuck with the portraits. Fine. Giving up on that discussion, Wes turned his gaze back to his woman. "Like I was PLANNING on getting rid of her in the first place." Geez, Izzy and Van. He wasn't that incompetent, honestly.

Vicky, decided she wanted to pay a visit to the new Department Head of Magical Law Enforcement. She made her way to Level 2 and headed to the office.

Stopping at the door, she could hear more than one voices which made her re think the visit but remembered she had other places to go after and decided to forge ahead.

She knocked on the door and waited. She didn't like when other barged in on her so she would give anyone with an office door the same courtesy. Vicky stepped back and waited for a response as she glanced around a bit.

Alysson bit her lip to hide her grin at Wesley's words but didn't quite succeed. "As long as you make me Secret Keeper I'm okay with that." She joked but bowed her head in thanks when he invited her in. Because, see, she did have manners and only came into the office now that she had permission to.

Closing the door behind her, she smiled at Izzy before resting her eyes on Evander again. Who looked...rather sheepish somehow. So he WAS going to just leave like that. Alysson felt the urge to tsk him for that but refrained when she listened to his words. It was her turn to "N'aw" now before going on. "I will definitely miss you." No 'supposing' about that.

Wesley wasn't going to take that personally, was he?

Speaking of...at her new Department Head's reply to Van's compliment, Alysson folded her hands behind her back and straightened up a little. That was REALLY nice to hear. "And I promise I'll try to avoid dying...until it's convenient anyway." She grinned at Evander at this, seeing as he'd been the one to bring up dying at 'inopportune moments' and all. Heh.

Oh, there was A LOT going on today, wasn't there? She raised her eyebrows in surprise and glanced over her shoulder at the door upon hearing somebody knock. "Maybe that Fidelius charm would be a good idea..." Also she should probably get back.

Having just stopped Emily from taking out her frustrations on the poor rubbish bin that sat at by her desk, the tall American moved over to Van's... no. Wesley's... office door. Woah. That was a weird thought. He laughed softly at himself and rolled his eyes as he looked at the younger YATI's who couldn't seem to decide if this was a bad thing or not that was happening.

They didn't know Evander like he did. They didn't know what the Department was loosing.

They also didn't know Wesley like he did. They also didn't know what the Department was gaining from his experience.

Sighing, Jaxton ran his hand through his hair. He really needed to get his hair cut. Hmm. Later. Before he met Ali for dinner... She'd been getting on at him ever since he'd gotten back from his last mission. Bloody cultists. He couldn't wait to make sure they were all behind bars...

Finally noticing a female standing at the office door, Jaxton smiled slightly (who the heck was she?) and rap-a-tap-taped on the door. What? He wasn't childish... He just liked Van to know it was him. He wondered if Wesley would find that amusing, annoying or handy. Hmm. He'd need to check.

After Wesley told her that Evander was leaving, which wasnt very good on her part since she didnt read the board, why hadnt she read the board! That was so not responsible. She decided she would go say goodbye to Evander and Congrats to Wesley or did she have to call them by their last names...

As she reached the entrance she gave a knock and waited patient as a bumble bee.

"Apparently its a party in here." Van commented, resigned. He had HOPED to go without too much fanfare, he'd never been the type who REQUIRED attention... but apparently that wasn't meant to be.

He limped forward with his cane and pulled the door open.

Yeah yeah. Come inside. Etcetera Etcetera.

He waved them all in and then looked back at Aly and grinned. Yeah. He'd miss her too. For real.

"Y'all aren't gonna just let me leave are ya?"

She'd taken her time to get here, letting her feet drag a little in an attempt to cool down. Stupid-SENIOR-auror-people-that-need-glasses should get out of her way. Mmmhhmm.

Huh? Waiting at the door? BARGE IIINNNN!!!! She'd happily hex it down if the older auror couldn't.

It really was a party in here. Maybe Isobel was going to have to wait till they got home tonight before she could actually tell Wes how displeaseds she was for not knowing about his promotion. Maybe that was a good idea really. It would be a bit unprofessional of them to have a lovers tiff in his office, in the midle of work. Isobel was not going to forget though. She had a memory like an elephant. Wesley wouldn't know what had hit him, not that she intended on hitting him. But you know. She would go with the flow.

Oh. He wasn't intending on letting Alysson go. "Just checking darling." She grinned at him. Mmm. Maybe she should stop the darling talk now that there were more people in the office. It was okay when around their friends were around, but not when there we quite a lot of people here. And was that the senior undersecetary? Interesting. Wesley certainly had lots of friends in high places now.

The only part of Isobel that didn't like the fact that lots of the people being here was that Evander would probably disappear before she really got to tell him anything. She didn't really feel like saying the stuff in front of all these people, especially considering everything that gone on between her and Evander in the past. Maybe another time eh?

"Had I known I was going to inspire this many people to come say bye to you," Wesley remarked toward the retiree with an amused smirk, "I would have purchased refreshments beforehand."

Heh. As it were... they'd just have to make do with mobbing Evander. Wes was going to greet the senior undersecretary, since she was a busy person and an important one too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSnitch

Vicky, decided she wanted to pay a visit to the new Department Head of Magical Law Enforcement. She made her way to Level 2 and headed to the office.

Stopping at the door, she could hear more than one voices which made her re think the visit but remembered she had other places to go after and decided to forge ahead.

She knocked on the door and waited. She didn't like when other barged in on her so she would give anyone with an office door the same courtesy. Vicky stepped back and waited for a response as she glanced around a bit.

"Hello, Ms. Undersecretary," he called out very politely, weaving his way through the aurors and hit wizards to catch her at the door. Wes held out his hand and motioned for her to come in. "I apologize for the madness. You caught us in the midst of a transition."

But still, her visit was not unwelcome. Not unless she brought bad news with her...

Or you know, not. Because it seemed like suddenly everybody else was trying to get in here too. So she hadn't been the only one who had taken Wesley's brief update on what was going on as an invitation to come say goodbye to Van. Not at all. It really looked like the whole office was at the door now. Or almost anyway.

Oh and somebody else. The...Senior Undersecretary was it?

Catching Evander's grin when he went to open the door, Alysson smiled back before giggling a little at his words. "We might just keep you...as a mascot or something." Yes, Van could just walk around the office and...well, be there. It was bound to make an impression if anybody came to visit their department. There was no other department that could claim they had an Evander Bole, after all.

When more and more people came in, Alysson moved to stand next to Izzy. Poking the blonde's arm softly to get her attention she leaned over towards her a little and whispered, "Why didn't you tell me about this?" This being Evander leaving and Wesley taking over for him. She would have known about this beforehand, right?

Smiling politely, Vicky said,"You can call me Ms. Daniels or in informal settings Victoria." She took his hand and shook as she also shook her head and said,"It's fine. I can appreciate such togetherness. I'm actually glad to see it."

She glanced around at the others a bit before turning back to Wesley and said,"I came to congratulate you on the promotion. I know it's not going to be a walk in the park but you must know that my doors are always open, unless I'm not there." as she eased into a sweet smile.

This was the biggest department in the ministry and would be the one to ensure everything was good.

She looked at the outgoing MLE Department Head and smiled. He earned all the goodness, he has received, is receiving and will be receiving.

Emily stepped into the office, still unsure about everything. But as soon as she saw Van, things started falling into place. Well, as much as it could, given the circumstances. Emily didn't say anything. What could she say? What did she want to say? Obviously she wasn't about to pour her heart out, cry or hug the man. Unless he asked for it. In which case she would oblige. Was she supposed to crack a joke? Comment on the level of awkward tension in the room? The sadness?

BAH!

Deciding words were too hard at a time like this, she ended up settling for a nod and a small girlish grunt.

Things were really busy in here now. Maybe she could just disappear and go back to the offices? It wasn't as if she was going to say goodbye to Evander now, not properly anyway. But she had a feeling Wesley wouldn't like her just disappearing like that. So she decided to stay, especially considering that Aly was coming over now. That was better. She smiled at her friends. She looked happy right? Her husband-to-be was department head, she was happy, just not exactly happy at him.

Oh. Why didn't she tell Alysson? Isobel gave her a look, and shot a look at Wesley. Yes. She wasn't pleased. "He didn't tell me." Lot of trust they had in their relationship. Clearly. Isobel shrugged though. It had been up to Wesley if he had told her, so nothing she could've done then.

It was that time again. New boss. Which one was this one...?

Warren... That other guy... Evander...

Four.

Ohhhhhhhkay then.

Well, introductions were always one of Ben Amsten's many... many... many specialties. Unfortunately, Benjamin was at the disadvantage of already being familiar and friendly with his new head. This means he couldn't make his first impression of himself to be ten times better than he actually was. Ah well. The Director of the MMAO has to be briefed on what's new.

Ben was in his full suit and tie, like always. But instead of going to his desk, Ben decided to visit the new head first. So the New Yorker was also wearing his Fedora and carrying his briefcase. Ben knocked on the door.

Alysson raised her eyebrows a little in surprise. What was that look for? Then she followed Izzy's glance towards Wesley which left her completely puzzled. HUH?! What was her friend trying to tell her? Yes, she was talking about Wesley. That had been obvious from her question, right? So what was she-

Oh.

If anybody asked her why she thought this was somewhat amusing, Alysson wouldn't even have a good answer. Somehow she suddenly had to try really hard to hide a smile though. "Oh...I'm sorry." Sorry for bringing it up. Not that she'd had any way of knowing about this obviously. Still, now that she got to think of it, it WAS actually quite weird. "D'you think he wanted to surprise you?" That was the only logical explanation really.

Or the only one that wouldn't result in Wesley having to face a REALLY angry Izzy at home.

Grunt. Yes Wes. Refreshments. Sure. Van DID crack a grin though. It wasn't that he was enjoying this.... sudden desire that his people had for wishing him well and/or chastising him for quitting without warning them, but he was impatient to get going.

It wasn't as if he wasn't going to see them all again, though he could understand why Izzy might have suspected something along those lines, for old times sake.

Van's attention was caught by Alysson next and he raised one eyebrow. "A mascot? Going to rename yourselves the fighting Evanders? Or maybe, the Squidpunchers." That would be fitting.

He caught the Undersecretary's smile, and her 'friendly' offer to Wes and could barely hide his amusement, though Van did nod his head in polite greeting. Heh. Funny.

And of everything? It was Emily's little grunt that got him.

Tugged on the ol' heartstrings. She was a keeper.

And more bloody knocking.

"I'm gonna get while the getting is good. I'll be sure to pop in, and you lot know how to reach me. Perhaps shrunken-head bowling and a few drinks might be in order? Lily's expecting me though. And she has food. And I like food."

So. Grunt.

"So long, for now." He was proud of them all. If they couldn't pick that up from his grunts then they hadn't learned a thing.

Van hotfooted it through the floo, turning and saluting as he and his cane disappeared through the flames.

Emily was cut... emotionally devastated. BUT... Van had said so long, for now. For now, those two words were uber significant, and they meant everything to her. Now she could get back to work and focus, knowing she would see her Boss Man again. Happy days.

With another brief nod as Van disappeared in the flames... darn it, she then scanned her orb-like eyes around at the people in her New Boss Man's office. It was too crowded in here... too many people, and she didn't really like people. Only the cool people. Emily retraced her steps, backing out of the office. Mmhhmm... that was all, she was gone.

Isobel shrugged at her friend, his eyes glancing down to the enagement ring on her finger. She wasn't sure what to think about it really. It was probably a security thing. Them being law enforcement, but it would have been nice for her fiancé to inform her of his change in employment status. "I don't know..." She didn't know if it was a nice surprise either. Sure she was happy for Wesley, but it had been a shock too. They were clearly about to get a bit better of financially, but Isobel still would've liked to have known about it. She would be making that very clearly to Wesley later on. Most likely at home now, because she didn't really want to ruin his day. She wasn't that mean.

And. Evander was going now. Isobel didn't say anything, and just sat watching. To be honest, although she did actually want to say something to her, she wasn't sure if she would've been able to find the proper words. So maybe it was best that nothing had been said. And then Emily kind of happened. Isobel watched her friend with worry in her eyes. Was the girl okay? Izzy had learnt though that maybe it was best not to go after her. Not straight away anyway. Emily was a little firecracker. Isobel made note to after her later.

And she didn't know if she quite wanted to leave the party that was occuring in Wesley's office. Hmmm. Maybe he'd introduce her to the undersecetary. That'd be nice.