There were many tasks and meetings to take up Minister of Magic Rostron's day, but always at his elbow was his aide, bringing him reports from the current operation in Italy. The first couple of days, the reports had been regular as clockwork. McKlellan and/or Deckard had sent back progress reports and details of anything that had been observed. He'd reviewed these as soon as they came in with all senior staff. Even Hugh Kenrick and Aurelia Murdir had been called in once, although it was only to double check their contributions. No sign of Asimov for the first two days, and then they had found a broom that might have been used. The big map that he and other Directors were staring at lit up at once with the little 'Asimov' icon they used.

Then, the reports became slower and more sporadic. This was often the case as the team was obviously focused on tracking and observing. He'd done the same thing himself when he'd been and Auror: No time to update the chiefs. He looked at the hands on the clock and waited for something to come in. There ws nothing for a long time, until his aide handed him a message sent by IMMF liaison officer Carlton:

Spotted

For the next half-hour the room was filled with hope, but as the details of the operation began to filter in, it was clear that Asimov had eluded them yet again. Carlton had no details this time, so Rostron signaled McKellan and Chase Lang for a debriefing as soon as they could make it back. The floo network had been set up for a quick return path. They came soon enough, in ones and twos at first, and then the whole team was waiting in his outer office. With one or two glaring omissions.

Deckard came in with his team, and Carlton had the summary. They had hardly started on this when Deckard observed that Chase Lang hadn't returned.

"She might have taken the zeppelin back, sir," said Carlton, but she didn't seem so sure.

McKlellan looked around, and whsipered something to Cavanaugh, who exited the room.

"All, right, while we wait, let's go over everything."

It was only the second time in her life that Jenn had been inside the Minister of Magic's confernece room, and it was such a contrast from a week ago. The chiefs of the operation gave their assessments one by one. No one asked for her opinion, although she had a thick stack of ppapers neatly tucked into a leather briefcase she held on her lap. Clad once more in a pinstripe suit and white blouse, Jenn waited with Preston and other members of the Auror and IMMF team. She looked around several times for Chase Lang, but saw nothing of her or Darren Liten.

Strange. She was late to the other briefing, but...

Then suddenly she heard McKlellan asking for each to give their account of the operation from the moment that Asimov had been sighted. Jenn spoke in a clear voice exactly what she'd seen of him, and when she got to the end, she saw her father looking at her with a slight smile on his face.

"Minister, I -- it was my wand that tipped him off. I never ought to have had it with my things."

While Rostron had held high hopes for the mission in Italy; he was realistic about its chances of actually capturing Asimov. The man had escaped from Azkaban, and he was a master of moving about unnoticed. That the whole operation had failed in its objective wasn't the key issue. Many things had worked. The Aurors had done their job and minimized the dangers to the guests, while the IMMF team had proved effective in its role. It just hadn't worked. If bad luck had tipped off Asimov, that was all part of the law of averages. Sooner or later, Asimov would do something that tipped the law in their favor, and if they executed as well as they had in Italy, they'd have him.

"It wasn't any single person's fault he eluded us. In fact, in some ways, the operation was very successful. He didn't kill anyone, or destroy property or steal anything valuable or magical."

He wanted to clear the air as quickly as possible.

"Now, let's go back a moment. Verona is the direction he was headed. It makes sense, because it's a transport hub, with many mthods of getting in and out of the area. But trains and boats and planes have schedules; so unless he had some personal transport arranged beforehand, we might be able to track him via commercial routes. As soon as I heard, I contacted the muggle Prime Minister of Italy, and he assured me full cooperation. One of their Transportation Ministers is supposed to meet my aide today to get a full rundown of everything out of the area, and where it goes. So, the muggles will do their part. So let's hear from the departments what we did learn about our fugitive."