"Fuck," Buffy cursed. The situation she was currently in didn't appeal to her very much. She was running through one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. That alone wouldn't be that bad, if not for dozen vampires chased the blonde slayer.
Buffy quickly leaped over a small wall and immediately took cover behind it. The vampires stopped and opened fire, tearing chunks of stone out of the wall, showering her with the debris.
When the vampire's guns ran dry Buffy looked over her cover and fired at the vampires. Like Xander had taught her, two quick shots to centre mass. Two of the vampire went down, the blessed bullets immediately kicking in, leaving the vampires moaning in pain on the ground.
The vampires finished reloading and again fired at her position, Buffy taking immediately cover.
"Xander," Buffy spoke into her throat mic. "Where are you?"
"I'm here Buff," came the reply back. "Just run down that path. I've already prepared everything."
"Great idea," Buffy muttered and took quick peek over the wall and hastily crouched right back into her cover. "How am I supposed to do that? These guys are keeping me real busy here."
"Do you need help?" Xander asked worried.
"Nope," Buffy said and took a flash bang out of her pocket. "I'm good."
Buffy threw the grenade over the wall. It landed only a few feet away from the vampires. Unfortunately they were not ass dumb as the normal vampires in Sunnydale. They quickly ran for cover.
The basic idea of blinding the enemy didn't work this time. The grenade exploded, but the vampires were already on the ground. But the bright flash gave Buffy enough time to leave her cover, running down the path as Xander instructed her.
The distraction didn't last long and the vampire immediately gave chase, firing while they ran after her. One of them was able to hit the fleeing Slayer with a grazing shot to her left shoulder.
Buffy stumbled and fell down, rolling with the motion and landed behind a tree. She was however surprised to find Xander here.
"Hey darling," Xander greeted her with a smile. "Hard day at the office?"
"Oh, shut up," Buffy said annoyed. "Just push the damn button."
"As you wish," Xander said and pushed the button on the detonator. Behind them the four claymore mines detonated in a deafening explosion, sending their deadly contents into the advancing vampires. The vamps were literally ripped into pieces, the razor sharp shrapnel tearing through them like through tissue paper. None of them survived the thunderstorm that rained down on them and they quickly vanished into a big cloud of dust.
"Whoa that's a lot of dust," Buffy exclaimed as she looked out of her cover.
"Yep," Xander said, but spotted the six more vampire that ran into the clearing. "And it's getting more."
The vamps immediately opened fire at their position. Xander returned the attack with his USP while Buffy fired some random shots with her Baretta.
"Man, I hate it when that happens," Buffy said as she reloaded her pistol.
"Don't worry," Xander told her with a knowing smile. "It will soon be over."
"Huh," Buffy asked confused. But before she could ask him what he meant she could already hear the shots of various guns echoing behind the group of vampires. And another sound she couldn't place.
When she looked again out of her cover, only two of the vampires were still there, both lying obviously unconscious on the ground. The rest of swirled as dust through the air.
"Wow, that's surprising," Buffy exclaimed.
"Not that much," Xander said and stood up. "Nice job Riley. You can come out know."
Right on that mark the five initiative soldiers appeared from the same path Buffy and the vampires had taken.
Xander could immediately tell the difference between the amateur demon hunters he had met a few month earlier and the team that stood now in front of him. Stakes have found their permanent way into the Initiatives arsenal, each one of the team member had three strapped to his leg. The now also carried sidearms, a mix between the Baretta 92 and the old Colt Government. But gone were the electrical tazers as the standard weapons, only two of the soldiers still had them. The rest of them, including Riley, carried Daewoo full automatic shotguns with a 20 round drum magazine.
Xander walked up to the team and shook Riley's hand.
"It' been a while Xander," Riley said and looked over at Buffy, who had finally lost the initial confusion and walked over to Xander's side. "Your friend over here seemed liked she needed help, so we followed her and her friends."
"I see," Xander said and nodded. "Well at least your equipment has improved," he said and motioned for the self loading shotgun.
"Yeah," Riley said with a chuckle. "You should see what else we have in our armoury."
"Ah, Riley this is Buffy Summers," Xander introduced his friend. Both shook hands."Buffy, Riley Finn."
"I know you," Riley said as he inspected her more closely. "You are in Professor Walsh's psychology class."
"That's right," she told him with a smile.
"So, you are helping Xander out with the vampire hunting?" Riley asked. Xander immediately noticed Buff's shocked look and her growing anger. So he quickly interrupted the conversation.
"Yeah, you could say that," he said, but that only earned him another glare from Buffy.
"Well alt least we got two more hostiles for research," Riley said and motioned at the two vampires.
"Whoa, not that fast," Xander said. "Remember. You owe me at vampire. For the one you dusted two months ago"
"Huh," Riley asked confused. "What do you want with a vampire?"
"My business," Xander said.
"I think I don't want to know," Riley said. "Anything we can help you with?"
"No," Xander said. "Everything is under control."
"Yeah. Look, I talked with the higher ups in our base. They would really like to meet you sometime," Riley explained.
"Well, at the moment I have all my hands full," Xander responded. "I'll give you a call once I have some time left."
"Good enough for me," Riley said as his men carried the still unconscious vampire out of the cemetery. "Good luck Xander," Riley called as he followed his men.
"You too," Xander called back.
When the five men team was out of sight Buffy finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Can you believe this?" Buffy screamed outraged. "He thought I was helping you out? Who does he think he is? I could kick his ass through the whole graveyard without breaking sweat and he talks to me like I'm a little schoolgirl."
Xander looked at his friend and smiled at her reaction. "Well, you did help me out. You lured the vampires in our trap,"
"And don't get me started on you Harris," Buffy told him menacingly and poked him with her index finger in he chest. "You still owe me for the 'race' joke you pulled on me."
"Hey, that was months ago. No use whining over spilled milk,okay?" Xander tried to calm her down. "What do you want to do? You want to tell him that you are a mystical warrior that fights evil? As far as we know you could join the fangfaces they capture."
"Okay, I get what you are saying," Buffy said in defeat."No mentioning our supernatural abilities until we know what's the deal iswith them. By the way, how did you know that they were there?"
"Smelled them," Xander said and tapped his nose "The smell of gun oil is pretty easily to detect."
"And what are you doing now with this one?" Buffy asked and motioned for the vampire on the ground.
"The little bastard will help us," he said and took a small electronic device out of his pocket. He kneeled down and placed the small bug under the collar of the vampire's leather jacket. "That will help us to find Sanchez's headquarter."
"I hope," Buffy said as they both walked in the direction of Xander's parked SUV, leaving the vampire on the ground. "We have been playing hit and run too long with these guys. It's time we put an end to the whole thing."
"Hope it really ends with Sanchez," Xander said and sighed "I still expect that Carver will stab us in the back as soon as we kill his enemy."
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "But let's deal with Sanchez first. We still can worry about Carver after we finished him off."
Xander nodded, but smelled something odd about Buffy.
"You are hurt," he stated and looked at Buffy.
Buffy looked at her shoulder and just now noted the wound.
"Yeah," she admitted. "One of he vamps hit me."
Xander stopped and examined the wound more closely. "Nothing real bad. But it needs some stitching"
"Great. Another trip to the hospital," Buffy muttered.
"Not necessary, "Xander said and lead her to the SUV. "I can patch you up at my apartment."
"My big hero," Buffy said mock admiring. "What would I do without you."
"You don't want to know;" Xander said as they steeppd in to the car.
"That's absolutely unacceptable" Sanchez shouted and looked at the assembled vampires in his office. Those were his leaders, each one of them controlling a group of vampires, "We lost more than forty vampires in the last week. I want to know exactly what happened out there."
"They took us by surprise," one of the leaders finally spoke up. "They hit us hard and disappeared immediately afterwards."
Sanchez took a pistol from under his desk and shot the vampire in to the head. The rest of the vampires could only watch as the body of their comrade turned into dust.
Sanchez waited a few more minutes, to let the example sink in.
"The next on who loses men with share his fate," he declared and pointed at the dustpile. "Now go and kill that slayer."
When all the vampires left, Michael spoke up.
"Boss, even killing your men won't change the situation," Michael told him
"I know that," Sanchez admitted angrily. "But I have a reputation to keep."
"The problem with the slayer has to be solved," he continued. "Another week like that and Carver might overpower us here."
"Which brings us to our next topic," Sanchez declared and stood up. "How is our little project going?"
"I just got a new update," Michael told him with a smile and handed him a folder. "The leader of the group reports that they found something.
"Really," Sanchez exclaimed with an evil smile and went through the folder.
"Yes," Michael said. "And we also have the reports from the researcher."
"And?" Sanchez asked with anticipation.
"It's the artifact," Michael finally declared.
The vampire leader immediately stood up and rushed for the exit. "I want inspect the site immediately," he told Michael on their way. "Soon the slayer will be dead."
"Sit down," Xander ordered once they were in his apartment. "I will go and get one of my first aid kits."
"Okay," Buffy said and walked to one of the seats. She took her jacket off and sat down, waiting for Xander.
After a minute Xander returned from the bathroom with the first aid box.
He knelled down behind Buffy and pulled her sweatshirt a bit away so the wound was uncovered. He took a piece cloth from the box and a small bottle of alcohol.
"Ah," Buffy winced, as Xander cleaned the wound.
"That bad?" he asked
"No it's okay," she reassured him.
Xander finished cleaning her wound. He placed the bottle and the cloth back into the box and took a needle out of it.
"Okay. Now come the stitching part," he said and placed the needle at the upper beginning of the wound.
"No problem here," Buffy said, but still she winced when the needle entered her flesh for the first time.
"So Buffy," Xander started in order to distract her. "How are you felling after your first bullet wound?"
"Not much different than from other wounds," Buffy told him through clenched teeth
"If you think so," Xander said.
"So" Buffy started. "When did you get your first one?"
"When I was in New York," Xander told her with a chuckle. "A couple of gang members though it was really funny to rob me. After I was finished with them, one of them shot me in the arm. Luckily it was only a .22. But it still hurt like hell."
"One day you have to tell us all the little adventures on you road trip," Buffy told him.
"Promise," Xander said, but went silent again. The rest of the procedure was doww in silence. Xander finished stitching her up and covered her wound with a bandage.
Xander just wanted to put all things back in the first aid box when Buffy turned around.
"Xander," Buffy said a bit shy. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything Buffy," Xander answered, without stopping his work.
Buffy took a few seconds to gather her thoughts before she began. "You see, Willow and Oz wanted to celebrate a bit once our newest crisis on the hellmouth is over. You know, going to see a movie, then into a fine restaurant," Buffy told him, waiting another second to calm down enough for her to continue. "I wanted to ask you I would like to join them…. with me."
That sentence stopped Xander dead in tracks. A few million thoughts ran at the same time through his head, all trying to decide how he should answer her. Finally he looked up a t Buffy with a big plastered all over his face.
"Well Miss Summers," he started in a taunting tone. "Are you asking me out on a date?"
"No," Buffy interjected, but added 'maybe' in her head. "Just a couple of friends that go out and have some fun," she explained, while trying to look as serious as possible. She waited a few seconds to let everything sink in. "So? What do you say?"
Xander sighed and closed the firs aid kit before he slowly stood up. He rounded the seat Buffy was sitting on and sat down on the table in front of it.
During all that that Buffy had followed his every move, getting a bit frightened that he might say no.
But finally Xander met her eyes and smiled at her. "Buffy," he said in his most sincere tone. "I would absolutely love to go out with you."
Even if she tried it, Buffy couldn't hide the smile that crept over her face. Both sat in silence for a few more seconds, before Buffy finally stood up.
"I should leave now," she announced and took her jacket and slowly walked in the direction of the door, Xander following her. "We have Professor Walsh tomorrow morning in first period. And for once I want to make a good expression on her."
"Well, good luck then," Xander said and opened the door for her. "Oh, and before I forget it. Come to the warehouse once you and Willow are finished with your classes. I might have the results from the bug up to then."
"Okay," Buffy said and walked over the threshold. "Well, good night then."
"Good night Buffy," Xander said. The slayer took a few steps down the corridor, before she was interrupted.
"And Buffy," Xander said.
Buffy immediately turned around and looked at him. "Yeah?"
"You just gave another good reason to kill Sanchez as soon as possible," Xander told her with a smile.
Buffy smiled back and turned around again, continuing walking down the corridor. Behind her Xander slowly closed the door, waiting until the slayer was out of sight.
"Willow wake up," Buffy said and shook her friend.
"Sleepy now Buffy," Willow mumbled and threw the pillow over her head to block out the annoying light.
"Come on," Buffy said more urgent and grabbed the pillow. "Wake up."
Without the pillow to cover her Willow peered with one eye at her friend. Finally she yawned and sat up, stretching herself while doing it.
"What's so important?" she asked sleepily. "Is the world ending again?"
"No nothing like that. Quite the opposite," Buffy said and sat down her own bed. "I just come from Xander."
"Oh," Willow exclaimed, now wide awake. "Did you have another encounter with Sanchez goons?"
"Yeah, but nothing major. We spotted a group of them during our patrol. Xander planted a trap for them and I lured them into it," Buffy summed the night's events up. "I got a bit injured, so we went back to his apartment where he stitched me up. And I made him our 'offer'."
"And?" Willow said excited "Did he say yes?"
Buffy couldn't help but smile when she nodded, answering he red head's question.
"See I told you," Willow told her with a smile. "I knew Xander would jump on the opportunity to go out with you."
"Yeah," Buffy said and shook her head. "It's just I want to take the whole thing slow. I mean, what would happen if he and I get together and we won't work? I don't think I could take it to lose Xander."
"You don't have to be afraid of that," Willow assured here. "Xander would still be your friend. Believe me."
"I think you are right," Buffy admitted. "Still, slow is good."
"Slow is very good," Willow agreed with a straight face.
Suddenly Buffy laughed and buried her face in her hands for a second. "This whole thing is just so weird. I have faced vampires, demons and God know what else."
"Don't forget Snyder," Willow added with a smirk.
"How could I forget him," Buffy exclaimed with a frown. "It's just that I faced all that and here I am. Having certain feelings for my best male friend and I'm too frightened to just go to him and tell him how I'm feeling," Buffy summed the situation up. "The whole thing is just so ….."
"Normal?" Willow proposed with a smile.
"Yes," Buffy admitted with her own smile. "It's nothing hellmouthy or has something to do with me being the slayer. I'm just a normal 18 year old that is falling for her best friend. It's so weird that's already normal again."
"Normal is very good," Willow agreed.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "Let's try to get some sleep. I want to be well rested for Professor Walsh tomorrow," Buffy said and walked into the bathroom.
"With your track record: Only a divine intervention could help you to not piss her off," Willow taunted her friend.
"Hello?" Faith answered her cell phone with her left hand while she busy with her right one. She repeatedly slammed the face of the vampire into the brick wall in front of her, until the vamp was barely conscious.
"Oh Xander, hi," she said and threw the vampire on the ground. "You know I'm a bit busy at the moment."
During all that, the vamp tried desperately to stand up. But a quick kick from Faith send him back on the ground.
"She did what?" she exclaimed surprised, while she took a stake out of her waistband.
"See I told you," she announced and kneeled sown beside the vampire. She quickly staked the undead and he immediately vanished in a cloud of dust. "Buffy had the hots for you. All she needed was a push in the right direction."
While Xander talked to her Faith observed the situation. Angel was still fighting with his two vampires. But one them seemed to be a clever one. He left his partner with the souled vampire and ran in the direction of the alley's exit.
Unfortunately he ran also directly into Faith, spread the right arm out and clothlined the vampire.
"Me? I had nothing to do with it," Faith stated while the vampire crashed to the ground. "Ask Red. She wanted to set something in motion."
Faith listened again to something Xander said, without loosing her concentration.
"Well, good luck Xandman, you need it," she said and staked the vampire beneath her. "A slayer is hard to handle."
With these words the connection ended and Faith put the phone back into the pocket of her jacket. Angel, who had in the meantime finished his last vampire, came up to Faith.
"Who was that," Angel asked interested. Both walked out of the alley and up to Angel's car.
"Xander," Faith calmly stated on their way. "He and B are going out on a date."
"Oh great," Angel muttered, never losing the calm look in his face.
"Don't be that negative Deadboy," Faith told him with a grin, while the two stepped into the car. "I will ask Xander if you can his best man at their weeding."
"Faith?" Angel asked without looking at his companion.
"Yeah," the slayer replied in an equal fashion.
"Shut up."
Sanchez and Michael carefully entered the cave, followed by the six body guards that protected their boss at any time of the day. They followed the tunnel that lead to the dig site, still careful not to slip on the wet ground.
After about twenty meters they could see a light at the end of the tunnel. They continued their path and entered the cave that was illuminated by several transportable spotlights. The five man team that formed the archaeological team was sitting around, chatting about nothing important. But with the arrival of their leader they all stood up and looked with anticipation at newcomers.
"So gentleman," Sanchez exclaimed with an evil grin. "Where is it?"
The leader of the group, a middle aged man with grey hair who was a professor in his former life, stepped forward and presented a small box. He slowly opened the box, which revealed a shining ring in the middle of the satin clad interior.
Sanchez carefully reached and finally took the ring out of the box and held it between his thumb and his index finger.
"Are you that this is the right one?" Sanchez asked and eyed the ring closer. "I've seen a lot fake ones during my life."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure that this is the right one," the researcher declared with confidence.
"Well, we are going to see," Sanchez said and slipped the ring on. He slowly walked to the back of the cave, the remaining researchers stepping out of his way. Sanchez headed straight to the small altar and stopped in front of it.
Taking a deep breath he reached out an grabbed one of the golden crosses. He waited some seconds, but when it came apparant that the cross didn't burn his skin an evil grin spread across his face.
He it the cross fall back to the floor and headed back to the entrance of the cave.
"You did and excellent work," Sanchez addressed the researchers. "And I will make sure that you all are getting your reward."
The eyes of the scientist all lit up by the last word. They were shaking each others hand, congratulating each other for their success.
Sanchez however turned his attention to the leader of his body guards. "None of them come out here alive, understood?" he whispered into the leader's ear.
The vampire nodded and waved for his remaining comrades, who immediately understood the sign. The vampires took their Mp5s from the sling that held them around their shoulders and began ,one after another preparing, their weapons.
Sanchez and Michael were already on their way out of the cave when the body guards began their work.
"This item will prove very helpful against the slayer," Sanchez said over the sound of the gun shots. Michael was currently busy reading a text message he received a minute ago. "Now I only have to find her."
"I might have something on that," Michael said and put the cell phone back into his pocket "One of our groups that was attacked tonight. Only one of the vampires survived. When he came back we ran him through the normal security check."
"And?" Sanchez asked curious.
"It seems that we underestimated the slayer," Michael told him. "The vampire had a bug under the collar of his jacket. The slayer might know now where we are hiding."
"Is the bug already destroyed," Sanchez asked with a evil gleam in his eyes.
"No," Michael admitted. "I thought you might want to order this."
"There is no need for that;" Sanchez said as they stepped out of the tunnel. "So, the slayer wants so desperately find out where we are hiding. Well let's do her a favour," Sanchez said with a smile.
Once all their classes were over, Buffy, Willow headed straight to the warehouse. The werewolf parked his van nearby and the little group quickly walked up to the front door.
"Do you know why Xander wants to see us," Willow asked, while Buffy tapped the security code into the num-pad. A second later the light at the door turned from red to green and Buffy pushed the handle down.
"I have no idea," she admitted while the Scoobies entered the warehouse. "Xander?" Buffy called out.
"I'm here guys," Xander called out, stepping out from the door that lead to the armoury while he arried a heavy box. Seconds later Giles followed him, carrying a equal box in his hands.
"What are you doing there?" Buffy asked confused as the two loaded the boxes into the trunk of the Hummer.
"Remember the vampire we bugged last night?" Xander asked. Buffy nodded at that. "We have a steady signal and definite location," he said and produced a city map from his pocket. One area of the map was marked in a red circle.
"You sure," Oz asked, when the group had taken a closer look at the map. "It might be just another normal safe-house."
"That might be the case," Xander admitted. "But it's been our best lead up to now. And it wouldn't be such a bad thing to take out one of Sanchez's safe-houses."
Buffy again looked at the various boxes strapped in the Hummer's trunk. "I guess you have already prepared our attack."
"Yes indeed," Giles spoke up. "Xander and I thought it would be in everyone's interest to attack this important target during daylight. It will give us an extra advantage."
"That," Xander continued "and they won't be able to call in reinforcements."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Buffy declared and pratically jumped into the passenger's seat of the army jeep. A moment later the rest of the Scoobies followed her.
Sanchez currently stood on top of the warehouse he had chosen for his headquarter. The unusual thing was, that he stood in broad daylight. But the normally so deadly rays of the sun did nothing more to create a warm feeling on his skin. A feeling he hadn't felt in over one hundred years.
"That a very interesting experience," he said and turned to Michael, who prefered the security of the dark staircase. "Is everything prepared?"
"Yes sir," Michael told him with a smile. "None of our men knows about their attack."
"Good," Sanchez said with an equal smile. "With the lack of resistance the slayer will underestimate me. And that will give me the chance to personally kill her."
"Understood sir," Michael said.
"Good," Sanchez said and again looked over the sun flooded landscape that was Sunnydale. "With killing the most successful slayer in history I will get back a lot of the reputation I lost in the last few months."
"Sir," Michael interrupted the vampire leader. "I just got a message from one of our check points," he said and deactivated the radio he had with him. "An unidentified vehicle just entered the area around the warehouse. It might be the slayer and her friends."
"Excellent," Sanchez exclaimed and turned around. "Everything is falling into place."
"Oh man," Xander said as he climbed out of the sewer entrance. "The smell down there is horrible."
Giles reached out with his hand and pulled him out of the manhole. "I think when you are wandering around in the sewers below a vampire lair the smell should be the least of your worries."
"That's you opinion Giles," Buffy exclaimed, while Xander now helped her out of the sewer. "I'll get this smell never out of my hair."
"Well," Giles asked a bit annoyed. "Did you two at least finish your work?"
"Yeah G-Man," Xander exclaimed and walked up to the open trunk of the Hummer. "We placed all the mines in the tunnels that lead to the warehouse and away from it. If one of the vamps decides to run away and steps in front of one of the motion detectors," Xander said and clapped his hands in a fast motion.
"Very good," Giles exclaimed. "When you two are finished we can start."
Xander nodded and quickly reached inside the Hummer's trunk and handed Buffy her Baretta and her sword. Oz, Willow and Giles were already fully prepared. The werewolf and the watcher wore again the Mp5s and the Barettas they had already used during their mission a month ago and also during the various raids against Sanchez.
Willow instead only wore the bullet proof vest all the Scoobies wore. The only difference with hers was, that a great amount of stakes were strapped to hers.
Xander quickly put the USP in the holster on his vest and pulled a big box out of the trunk. The rest of the Scoobies were a bit shocked when he pulled a machine-gun out of it.
"What the hell is that?" Buffy asked bewildered.
"Let me introduce my little friend. That's the M-249 SAW," Xander said and loaded the gun with its ammo belt, the tips of the bullets marked with red and blue paint. "Shoots about one thousand rounds per minute. I've loaded it with a mix of tracer rounds and blessed bullets. Should be enough for any vamp we encounter."
"Don't you think that's a bit of a overkill?" Willow asked.
"Maybe," he said with a shrug. "But that doesn't have to be bad thing."
After a finally look at his friends and their equipment, Xander decided that they should start.
"Okay, I think we are ready to rock and roll," he said and stepped into the Hummer. But he didn't choose the drivers seat. Xander stepped into the backseat of the car and sat down between Willow and Oz. Giles instead took the wheel with Buffy at his side.
"Okay Giles," Xander told the watcher. "Let's go."
And with this command Giles stepped on the gas pedal, accelerating the car as fast as he could. He turned around the other abandoned warehouse they hid the car behind and drove directly up to Sanchez's headquaters. Giles didn't stop, he merely redirected the direction and drove at the gate that lead to the interior.
The Hummer had little trouble crashing through the old and rusty gate. Right after they had passed this first barrier Giles stepped on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt. Unfortunately for the vamp that stood guard on the opposite side of the gate he didn't stop fast enough. The Hummer drove over his fallen body and smashed his head under his heavy tires.
The remaining three vampire that were present in the main hall were momentary shocked, but quickly came out of their daze and started firing at the big car. But even if most of the bullets hit the car, none of them were able to penetrate the shell of the hummer.
"You just gotta love bullet proof glass," Xander exclaimed with a smile. He waited until the vampire's weapons ran dry, he then stood up and opened the sunroof. He placed the SAW on top of the Hummer's roof and aimed it at the next vampire. He immediately opened fire, taking the vampires by surprise and dusting one of them before the rest of them decided that taking cover was probably a good idea.
But the boxes and crates provided very little cover for bullets that were able to penetrate nearly everything they encountered. After a few controlled bursts the two remaining vampires shared the fate of their partner.
The sudden noise and activity in the main hall alarmed the rest of the vampires in the warehouse. About a dozen of them stormed into the entrance hall and fired at the Hummer. Xander spun around and opened fire at the new group, taking down three of them before forcing them into cover.
"Okay, get out," he shouted over the noise and instantly the Scoobies left the security the Hummer provided and joined into the fight.
While Xander held the vampires busy, Oz and Giles took cover behind some Boxes that stood besides the left side of the vehicle, Willow and Buffy did the same on the right side of the Hummer.
The werewolf and the watcher immediately joined Xander's fire on the vampires and were able to hit one of them behind his cover.
Buffy meanwhile hit two of the approaching vampires with her Baretta. One of them fell to the floor once the blessed bullet kicked in, the other one's head simply exploded and turned him into dust.
Even if Willow didn't have any firearm with her, she was far from helpless. She took one of the stakes from her vest and threw it in the direction of one of the vampires. That the stake would never hit its marks was a given. But Willow concentrated on the flying piece of wood and redirected its path into the heart of the vampire. Even before the stake had hit its mark Willow had already drawn another one and aimed at her next victim.
Xander continued firing and was able to kill two more vampires, while Oz smashed the head of another one with a three round burst from his Mp5. The last vampire tried to escape the massacre, but Buffy simply shot him twice in the back, separating his spinal cord and leaving the helpless vampire on the ground.
"Do you think that was all of them?" Buffy asked in the direction of her friends.
"What?" Xander shouted while trying to get the ringing out of his ears.
"I asked if we got them all," Buffy tried again, louder this time.
"Oh," Xander said sheepishly. "Don't think so. We haven't even encountered Sanchez yet," he said and reloaded the SAW with thirty round magazine.
"Oh, I think I can help with that," came the voice of the vampire leader from the other side of the warehouse. The Scoobies all turned their eyes in the direction of the voice and immediately spotted the thirty men vampire group that accompanied their leader.
The Scoobies instantly raised their weapons, the vampires doing the same on the other side of the room.
"So, you are the slayer that caused me so much trouble during the last few months," Sanchez exclaimed casually and took some steps forward.
"Yep, that's me. Trouble maker," Buffy replied warily at the approaching vampire. "So you are Sanchez. You are not that impressive."
"Watch it girl," Sanchez said angrily and pointed with his finger at her, " You will speak with respect from me after I'm finished with you, "he said and turned around. "You," he addressed his vampires. " All out here. I will deal with the slayer."
The vampires first looked confused at each other, but after a moment and encouraging motions from Michael, they turned around searching the nearest sewer entrance.
Sanchez meanwhile continued walking up to the scoobies. He casually drew a sword from under his coat and pointed it at Buffy. "This is something between you and me,"
Buffy looked back at the Scoobies and Xander nodded encouragingly at her. "Okay let's get it on," she finally said and drew her own sword.
While Buffy approached the vampire, Giles walked up to Xander.
"Are you insane Xander," Giles asked irritated "We could have taken him out without problems. Without risking Buffy's life."
"I have confidence in Buffy," Xander said without looking up from the fight. "She will take him out."
"And what if not?" Giles asked.
"Then we still have this," Xander said and tapped the SAW in his hands.
While they spoke, the fight between Buffy and Sanchez came to sudden halt. Neither the slayer, nor the vampire leader had been able to gain any advantage in the fight. But now Sanchez had been able to trap both his and Buffy's sword on the ground, using his foot to hold them there.
"You are good," the vampire admitted. "It will be a pleasure killing you."
"Always the same dumb speeches," Buffy exclaimed annoyed. Before the vampire could react, she had already let loose the handle of the sword and punched the surprised vampire in the face. Sanchez also lost hold on his sword, so none of the combatants now had a weapon to their disposal.
Unfortunately Buffy always kept a stake at hand, for this kind of emergencies. Before Sanchez could regain his composure, Buffy had already slammed the stake into the vampire's chest.
She was however surprised when the vampire didn't turn into dust, so where the rest of the Scoobies. Sanchez used her momentary distraction and slugged her hard, sending Buffy to the ground.
Buffy still couldn't understand what was happening in front her. She just stared open mouthed as the vampire leader removed the stake from his chest.
"You think you can kill me that easily," Sanchez said with an amused expression and retrieved his fallen sword from the ground.
Xander was the first of the Scoobies to come out of the shock. He immediately lifted the SAW and opened fire at the vampire leader. The staccato of the machine-gun brought also Giles and Oz out of their trance and they joined into the attack.
But even their combined fire had little effect on Sanchez. The bullets that didn't go right through his body, merely threw him back a few meters. But once the vampire brought his whole supernatural strength in the direction of the attack, the bullets did nothing more than annoy him.
Giles' and Oz' guns were the first to run dry, Xander followed shortly after.
"Shit," Xander cursed and took another magazine out of his pockets."The fucker should be on his knees know. I don't understand that."
Meanwhile Sanchez had approached Buffy and pointed the tip of his sword directly at the fallen slayer.
"My first slayer," he exclaimed and prepared to bring the blade down.
Just as Sanchez prepared his final strike, the ground below them started to rumble and shake. Both the vampire leader and the Scoobies staggered as they tried to stay on their feet. Finally a large explosion rocked the ground directly under Sanchez and threw the vampire off his feet.
Xander didn't wait a second and ran up to Buffy.
"Get in the Hummer," he shouted over the sound of the explosion. The Scoobies rushed to the vehicle while Xander pulled the still shocked Buffy up to the car.
"You okay?" he asked worried as he helped her onto the passengers seat and Buffy numbly nodded.
Xander rushed to the other side of the car and jumped in the driver's seat. He shifted the car into gear and drove it out of the warehouse.
Behind them Sanchez was finally able to come back to his feet. He rushed after the departing vehicle, but even with his vampire speed he wasn't able to match the Hummers speed.
He could only watch as the car rounded the next corner and vanished behind another warehouse.
Sanchez cursed in Spanish while he walked back into the warehouse. But his anger quickly vanished when he spotted a small object on the ground.
While he inspected the wallet, Michael came out of one of the sewer entrances. His suit was almost ripped to shreds and he had various burn marks on face.
"Michael," the vampire leader greeted his assistant casually. "What happened down there?"
"The slayer's groups must have placed some mines down there," he responded. "One of our men triggered one and they all blew up."
The vampire leader simply nodded at that. "Make the limousine ready," he said while he walked past Michael.
"May I ask why?" he said, while he followed his boss.
"The slayer. Her name is Buffy Summers," Sanchez said and showed him the small card he had taken from Buffy's wallet. "And she is studying at UC Sunnydale."
The vampire leader sighed and picked up both his and Buffy's sword. "Guess it's time to pay Miss Summers a visit."
The drive back to the warehouse was completed in silence. None of the Scoobies spoke about what happened back at the vampire lair. Xander parked the Hummer besides the SUV and one after another they left the car.
"Oh man," Xander exclaimed, breaking the icy silence.
"What?" Giles asked confused.
Xander simply motioned at the various bullet holes that covered the side of the car. "I can't drive anywhere without attracting the attention of the police."
"Maybe I can help you with it," Willow said. She muttered a few word and pointed her hand at the car. Almost instantly the holes disappeared, like they have never existed in the first place.
"Neat trick," Xander said and inspected the Hummer more closely. "How long will the illusion last?"
"Three or four days," Willow said.
Xander nodded at that and walked in the direction of the office. "That should be enough time for me to repair the damage with the parts I have," he said while the walked up the stairs.
"Okay Giles," Xander said and opend the door. "Any idea what happened back there?"
"None," the watcher admitted and sat down on one of the chairs, the rest of the Scoobies following his example. "I've never heard of an invincible vampire before."
"Maybe he used some kind of spell," Willow threw in.
"No, I would have heard of something like that," Giles said with a shake of his head.
"Giles," Xander interuppted. "You ever heard of the gem of Amara?"
"I think I remember something about it," he admitted and looked over at the slayerette that sat in front of the computer. "Why?"
"Because it's the only match I get when I search for 'vampire' and 'invincible'," Xander said with a shrug of his shoulder. He took the remote besides the keyboard and almost instantly the big screen on the opposite side of the wall, which till now had only shown the images of the various surveillance cameras, showed the search results from the digital version of Giles's library.
Giles was the first to finish reading the paragraph. "Now I remember," Giles admitted. "The gem is encased in a ring. It's is supposed to make any vampire who wears it invulnerable to anything that might kill him. Stakes, holy water, crosses, sunlight, fire."
"Why haven't you mentioned it before?" Willow asked confused.
"Because it's a myth. Like Atlantis or the holy grail," Giles explained. "It's a fairy tale. No sane vampire would believe in it."
"Nonetheless," Xander threw in. "It seems like its neither a myth nor a fairy tale. Somehow Sanchez found the ring and its working pretty good."
"So," Oz spoke up. "How are we supposed to kill him?"
"If the ring gives him these special powers," Xander started. "Why don't we simply cut his hand off."
"That might even work," Giles agreed. "Vampires can't replace lost limbs. And the gem can't change that fact."
"So it's agreed," Xander stated. "The next time we find him we chop him into so many pieces that there is no place large enough put a ring on."
"The problem is to find him," Willow said with a sigh. "It won't be that easy the next time. He wanted to personally kill Buffy today. It would have been harder if his vampires had also joined into the attack."
Xander nodded at that and looked at the blonde slayer, who had been awfully quiet during the conversation. He practically could see that something was bothering her.
"Buffy?" he asked carefully, trying to get her attention.
"Guys, I need some air," she announced without looking up. Before any of them could react , she had already left the office.
"She is taking that pretty hard," Giles stated with worry.
"Yeah. An invincible vampire is probably every slayer's worst nightmare," Xander agreed and stood up. "I'm going to check on her."
"Boss," Michael said, trying to get his boss' attention. "I tried my hardest to discover the slayer's identity. But there are more than a handful blond girls in this town. Even the sleazebag that runs the local demon bar didn't know her name."
"We're going to talk about this later," Sanchez said without looking at him. Instead he looked through the tinted windows of the limousine, watching the various students at the campus. "Sooner or later she is going to come back. And then I'm going to kill her."
Xander found Buffy outside the warehouse, a trashcan lying in front of her. Xander looked closer at the trashcan and noted the various dents that covered it.
Buffy still paced around in the alley, her thirst for destruction still not satisfied. Finally she swung and connected her fist with the wall of the warehouse.
"You know," Xander interrupted her. "The building cost me a lot of money. It would be nice if you wouldn't tear it down so soon."
Buffy took a deep breath and visible calmed down.
"Sorry," she said, staring at the fist shaped hole on the wall.
"Here," he said and handed her a hankerchief. Buffy nodded and draped the fabric around her bloody knuckles.
"Are you okay?" he finally asked after a long minute.
"I'm getting there," she said with a slight smile. "I guess I'm still a bit freaked about what happened back at the warehouse. And my reaction to it. Or rather the lack of it."
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Xander told her. "It's not like the rest of us did any better. All we had in mind was to get out of there as soon as possible."
"Well, at least you did something," Buffy said angrily. "I was that shocked that I couldn't even move a single finger." She took a moment to collect her thoughts before she continued. "The only time I was that scared was when the Master was supposed to kill me."
Xander sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, but Sanchez is neither the Master nor is there any prophecy about you death. He's dangerous. But we have faced worse than him in the past. He just had an ace up his sleeve and caught us off guard with it. The next time he won't catch us with our pants down."
"But what if I won't be able to beat him?" Buffy asked. "What if I don't manage to get this damn ring off his finger?"
"Then you still have the rest of us to help," Xander told her with a smile. "That's what friends are there for."
Buffy shook her head, but couldn't stop the smile that crept over her face.
"Come on," Xander said and lead her back to the entrance of the warehouse. "I'm dropping you guys off at the campus."
While Xander drove Buffy and Willow back to the campus, Oz had taken Giles with him and dropped him off at his apartment before he headed back to the house he and his band lived in.
"And what are you gonna do now Xander?" Willow asked as she stepped out of the car.
Xander shrugged. "I'm going to check if Willy knows anything. He wasn't very useful when it came to Sanchez, but even a small clue is a clue."
"Okay," Buffy said. "And thanks for back there."
"You're welcome," Xander told her with a smile before he pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street.
"What was that about?" Willow asked interested as the two walked in the direction of the dorms.
Buffy just wanted to answer her red headed friend, when they suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind them.
"Profesor Walsh?" came the voice of the communications officer through the speaker of her phone.
"Yes," she answered while she finished her next report for headquarters.
"General Wilson wants to speak with you," the officer said. "He's on line two."
"Put him through," she ordered and instantly the big screen on the opposite wall went to life, presenting the image of the older man, dressed in his standard Army uniform.
"Maggie," General Wilson greeted her with a warm smile. "Good to see you."
"Same here General," Walsh responded, trying her hardest to match his smile. "What can I do for you."
"I just wanted to hear you status report," the general stated and looked expectantly at her. "How is our project going?"
"Everything is proceding as expected," she said, calming down now that she was in a field she knew like no one else. "We finished phase one and all the HSTs are in good condition."
"That are great news," he agreed with a nod.
"Then you won't object if we continue with phase two."
"Woah. Slow down a bit Maggie," the general said with a laugh. "I admit that you have made an impressive progress. But I think it's still too soon to start with phase two."
"But sir…" Professor Walsh objected.
"Maggie," he said more serious this time. "It has already been decided. Go on with your experiments on the HSTs and perfect your technique. And maybe in a few months we can go on with phase two."
"Yes sir," Walsh mumbled disappointed.
"Okay," Wilson said. "Keep up the good work and send your regular reports. That's all for now."
The professor had trouble keeping her anger in check when the image of the general disappeared
"Professor Walsh," came the voice of the communications officer once gain through the speaker of the phone.
"What?" she snapped at him.
"Intel division called," the young officer replied. "They have a HST sighting here on campus. It sounds pretty important."
Walsh rubbed her temples, trying to stop the already growing headache. "I'll be there in a minute," she finally said.
"Miss Summers," Sanchez addressed the blonde slayer. Both turned around, seeing the vampire leader standing in broad daylight with his game face on. "We still have something to finish," Sanchez said and threw Buffy's sword in front of her.
"Willow," Buffy said, while she picked the sword up. "Call Xander. Tell him to come over here."
Willow nodded and ran away, while Buffy attacked the vampire leader.
Xander had just left the campus area and was on his way to Willy's when his cell phone rang. But before he even had the chance utter a single word, Willow's frantic voice came over the speaker.
"Xander," Willow almost screamed. "Sanchez is here at the campus and he's fighting with Buffy."
Xander immediately stepped on the gas, turning the Hummer in 180 degree spin and drove in the same direction he just came from.
"I'm on my way," he muttered into the phone.
Buffy jumped back, avoiding a swipe form Sanchez sword, which left his defence wide open. Buffy lunged forward, but the vampire reacted fast enough and deflected the blade. Instead of piercing his chest, it went right through his shoulder.
"Nice move," he said through gritted teeth and punched her with his other hand. Buffy lost the grip on her sword and fell to the ground.
Meanwhile Sanchez gripped her sword and ripped it out of his shoulder, the wound closing almost instantly.
"Now you are helpless," the vampire declared with a smile and threw the sword over his head.
Buffy stood up and faced the vampire . When he finally tried to stab her, she somersaulted over him. She landed behind him and kicked him in the back. Sanchez fell forward, but rolled with the motion and quickly jumped back to his feet. During all this, Buffy had grabbed her discarded sword and faced the vampire once again.
"I really am impressed," Sanchez said, while both circled each other. "But you are only delaying the inevitable. You're slowing down, whereas I'm still at my top. And this time none of your friends is going to rescue you."
But Buffy simply smiled, as she saw something behind him.
"Don't think so," she said and jumped out of the way. Sanchez slowing at that action, but finally he also picked up the sound of the powerful engine behind him.
Professor Walsh stood behind the two soldiers Intel division consisted of. Her previous anger was forgotten once she saw what one of the university's surveillance camera's had detected.
"That unbelievable," one of soldiers exclaimed as he watched the scenes on the screen. Two people were fighting on the university ground. Whereas the man was clearly visible as a vampire, the girl seemed normal. "Vampires can't walk in the sun."
"That's right," Walsh agreed from behind him. She intensively watched as the girl and the man continued to fight. "But the girl can't be normal either. She is matching this vamp in speed, strength and agility. Get me a close up of her and run her through the computer. I wanto know everything about her.
The soldier's fingers danced over the keyboard. A large shot of Buffy appeared and was compared to photos from SPD, the hospital records and various other networks the Initiative had access to.
"The computer found a match," he finally and began reading from the file. "Elisabeth Anne Summers. Whoa that's quite a file. Her file at the SPD is as thick as a phone book."
"Summers?" Walsh asked and looked closer at the picture. "I know her. She's in my psychology course."
Walsh contemplated how she was going to proceed with this information. "Transfer all her data to my office," she finally ordered. "And I want a copy of from the video of the surveillance camera once their fight is finished."
"Yes ma'am," the soldier exclaimed. Both watched with surprise as a new player joined into the fight.
Sanchez was just able to turn around, but didn't do him any good. The Hummer slammed at top speed into him, sending the body of the vampire through the air. Xander watched with satisfaction as he crashed into the wall of a nearby building.
"Hey Buffy," Xander called out and walked up to the slayer's side. "You okay?"
"I am now," she replied, as he helped her back on her feet. Disappointed she noted that Sanchez was also coming back to his feet. "Too bad he's also."
"Do you need help?" Xander asked. "Or do you want to finish him off on your own?"
"Nah," Buffy replied with a shake of her head. "Let's tag-team his ass."
"As you wish," Xander said and drew his black Katana from its sheath.
"Its not looking to good for the boss," one of Sanchez's bodyguards exclaimed from the interior of the limousine. "Maybe we should help him?"
"What are we supposed to do," Michael asked annoyed. "Do you want to turn to dust? It's still day out there."
"But he paying us for this job," he objected. "We could at least shoot the other fucker down, so he can kill the slayer on his own."
Michael finally had enough. He grabbed the vampire by the lapels of his jacket, opened the door and threw him out of it. The rest of the bodyguards watched with horror as the body of the comrade first caught fire before he finally turned into dust.
"Anyone else who want to join him?" Michael asked the rest of the vampires. When none objected he turned around and looked at the driver. "Get us out of here. Sanchez's time is over."
And with these words the limousine drove down the street, leaving the campus.
"Two against one," the vampire leader exclaimed with disgust, as he approached the two fighters. "That's not honourable."
"Well, live with it," Buffy said.
"If it has to be that way," Sanchez said and pointed the tip of his sword at the slayer. Both, Buffy and Xander, were however surprised when the whole blade burst into flames. He drew a line into the ground in front of him, igniting the grass with his flaming sword. "That's my part for evening the odds," he said with a cruel smile. "How do you kids say it? Let's dance."
"That's surprising," Xander exclaimed with wide eyes.
"No shit," Buffy agreed besides him, her eyes still glued to Sanchez sword. Both backed away a few steps when the vampire master walked up to them.
"Come on children," Sanchez told them with a cruel smile. "I have a very tight schedule."
"You take the front," Xander told Buffy. "I'll take his back."
"Okay," the slayer said, while Xander moved behind the vampire. "Come on Sanchez. Let's get over with it."
The vampire meanwhile tried to keep both his opponents in his field of vision. "As you wish my dear little slayer," Sanchez exclaimed and leaped forward. But Buffy already counted on this move and lifted her sword to parry the strike. Unfortunately Sanchez's sword cut right through her blade, leaving with nothing more than the handle.
Sanchez meanwhile had turned around to block Xander attack. But this time the vampire leader was surprised when the boy's sword resisted his burning blade.
"I'm impressed," the vampire exclaimed and took some steps backwards to get out of Xander's range. "Normally no blade is able to withstand my sword."
"Glad to be of assistance," Xander muttered and walked up to Buffy's side. "You okay?"
"Only my pride has taken some damage," the slayer responded and threw the now useless handle of her sword to the ground.
"That leaves me and you fangface," Xander told the vampire and moved into a fighting stance. "Give me your best shot."
"As you wish," the vampire exclaimed and leaped forward, letting loose a series of strikes with his sword, which were all blocked by Xander.
"Nice," Sanchez admitted and took some steps back. "You have some skill with the sword. Now let's see how good you are when you have to attack."
Xander didn't wait another second. He attacked the vampire leader with a combination of furious swings, but Sanchez parried them with ease of someone who had spent decades fighting with a sword.
The counter attack followed almost instantly and Xander was barely able to duck under the powerful swing Sanchez had aimed at his head. He even could feel the heat as the sword passed.
The vampire continued his attack, driving his opponent further backwards. Xander groaned under the force of the attacks. If he had realised something in the last few minutes, then that he even with his sword skill was no match for the vampire leader. He had to end the fight as soon as possible.
Turning around, he ran up to nearby tree, Sanchez in hot pursuit. When he reached the tree, he brought his black blade down, cutting right through the trunk. The tree instantly collapsed and nearly buried Snachez under it, but the vampire had the reflexes to jump out of the way at the last second.
"That was a nice trick," Sanchez admitted as he stepped over the tree. "But it won't save you. I will still win."
"Maybe. But I'm making it as hard as possible for you," Xander said and waited for the inevitable attack. He didn't have to wait long. Xander tried his hardest to block all of attacks Sanchez threw at him, waiting for his chance to strike back.
Suddenly, just for once second, a hole appeared in Xander's defence. Sanchez instantly spotted the opportunity and struck. Xander noticed his mistake and reacted immediately. He was just able to deflect the blade, but it still graced his right shoulder.
Xander rolled backwards and was just able to get out of Sanchez reach when the vampire brought his sword down.
Xander stumbled a few steps backwards, trying to get as much distance between him and the vampire as possible. He tried to move his arm, but a searing pain told him that it was useless for the next few minutes. He quickly passed his sword from his right to his left hand and prepared to face the vampire for a final time.
"That's ridiculous," Sanchez exclaimed and walked slowly up to him. "Admit that you lost the fight and I'll make your death painless."
"Yeah," Xander agreed with a smile. "I've lost the fight. But we haven't," he said. But before Sanchez could dwell on the meaning on this words, Xander had already thrown the black Katana in the air and over the confused vampire.
Sanchez followed the high arc the blade made through the air, when it landed in the outstretched hand of the blonde slayer. He had completely forgotten about her as he had focused only on the boy.
Buffy didn't lose a second and brought the blade down, cutting with ease through the vampire's left arm.
"What?.," the Sanchez exclaimed surprised when he looked at the stump of his left arm and then at his separated hand, the ring shining in the evening sun.
"Bye-bye sucker," Buffy told him with an evil smile. Before Sanchez could answer her, the rays of the sun had already begun to burn themselves through his body. The powerful vampire quickly turned exploded in ashes, leaving nothing than a small dust pile behind.
"God Xander," Buffy called out and rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm good," Xander told her with forced smile. "Just a bit of pain in the right arm. But despite that I'm good," he reassure her and walked up to the remains of the vampire.
He shortly kneeled to retrieve the ring from the ashes, while Buffy picked Sanchez's sword up. The blade now was in its previous state.
"I wonder how that thing worked," Buffy asked theoretically.
"We'll give it the Giles to research it," Xander said with a shrug, careful not to use his right shoulder. "He'll figure it out."
But before they could dwell much on that thought, they heard the sound of sirens in the distance.
"Damn," Xander exclaimed and rushed in the direction of the Humer, Buffy following close behind. "Someone must have called the cops."
"You sure you can drive with your shoulder," Buffy asked worried.
"No, I'm not sure," Xander said and headed for the passenger seat. "That's why you're driving."
"Me?" the blonde slayer retorted surprised. "You let me drive one of your cars? Even after I flattened a mailbox the last time you gave it to me?"
"God what is the problem with you women?" Xander exclaimed frustrated and sat down. "When I don't let you drive you are moody all day and when I allow it you can't believe it," He said and closed the door behind him. "Drive Buffy. Or do you want to continue this conversation from the inside of a prison cell?"
"Alright," the slayer exclaimed cheerfully. She quickly tossed the two swords on the backseat and sat down on the driver's seat. A few seconds later, the car drove down the street, evading the arrival of the police.
Across town, Carver listened interested to report his assistant Paul had for him.
"So she killed him," Carver summed everything up he just heard. Paul nodded. "Alright. No need to stay here any longer. Prepare the equipment and personal to be transported back to LA"
"Yes sir," Paul nodded and left the room. Carver now turned his attention to the person that sat across the room.
"I have to thank you," Carver admitted. "Without your help this operation might have been a lot more difficult."
"No problem," the man responded and took a drag of his cigarette. "I owe you my life after all."
"I've already arranged that a bonus is added to your payment," Carver said and stood up from his office chair. "Have you considered my other offer?"
"Working for you?" the man said and Carver nodded. "I still haven't decided. But I'll give you the answer before you leave Sunnydale."
"I could really need a man with your qualifications in my organisation," Carver said and walked to the door. "Think about it. Now, if you will excuse me. We still have some work to do before we can leave this town."
Meanwhile Xander and Buffy had retreated to the security of a parking lot near the park. Xander sat on the hood of the Hummer, while Buffy was talking with Willow over her cell phone.
"So," Xander started and flexed his right shoulder. The pain had finally subsided into a dull throb. "What did Willow tell you?"
"She just gave me the summary of what happened after we left the campus," Buffy said and joined him on the hood of the car. "Police turned up and left. The usual."
Xander nodded. "Still," he said and produced the ring with the Gem of Amara out of his pocket. "We haven't decided what to do with this little gimmick."
Both stared at the magical item for a few seconds.
"Well," Buffy started. "We could give it Angel. But that way we would also send each power hungry vampire after them once they find out that he has the ring," she mused.
"What," she asked confused, when she saw the amused expression on Xander's face.
"Nothing," Xander told her with a slight smile. "But a few years ago you would have fought tooth and nails to get this thing for him, not matter the consequences."
"Yeah, but a lot has happened since then," Buffy said and looked again at the ring. "Well, can't keep it, can't give it Angel. That leaves us with only one choice."
"Destroy it," both said at the same time. Xander jumped down the hood and dropped the ring on the ground. Using his USP like a hammer, he smashed the gem, leaving only a few small pieces behind.
"One less thing we have to worry about," Xander said after a moment.
"Which brings us to our next topic," Buffy said. "Willow wanted to know if we were still up for the celebrating we had planned."
"Oh right," Xander exclaimed and smacked his forehead. "With all the stuff that had been going on, I totally forgotten about that."
"Don't feel bad," Buffy reassured him. "It kinda also slipped my mind.
"Okay, then we should hurry," Xander said after a look on his watch. "I'll drop you off at the campus and go home to take a quick shower. Then I come back in one hour to pick you guys up. Sounds good?"
"Perfect," Buffy said. Xander however became confused when the blonde slayer kept staring at his head.
"What?" asked after a few seconds.
"Xander," Buffy started. "You really need a haircut," Buffy said and jumped onto the passenger's seat
"What?" Xander exclaimed confused. "What's wrong with my hair?..," he started, but stopped once he had touched the item in question with his hand. Most of the hairs on his had melted, leaving him in less than presentable state.
"Damn flaming sword," he muttered under his breath.
"Vampire can't walk in direct sunlight," was the only thing a shocked Riley said after Walsh had shown him the footage of the fight that had taken place earlier at the campus.
"It's a disturbing development, isn't it?" the professor agreed. "I've already assigned a research team on that topic. We'll have to see what they can dig up. But maybe it isn't necessary."
"What do you mean?" Riley asked confused. "Shouldn't it be our main priority to solve this problem?"
But the professor simply ignored his question and handed him the printouts of both Buffy's and Xander's face. "The girl's name is Elisabeth Summers, also known as Buffy. She is a student here a UC Sunnydale and also in my psychology course. The boy's identity is however a mystery."
"I know him," Riley said and tapped at Xander's photo. "That's Xander. He's the guy that helped us out a couple of times."
Walsh nodded at that. "Yes, I already suspected that," she admitted. "Riley, I think it would help us a great deal if you contacted this Xander person."
"Why?" the confused soldier asked.
"Think about it. Those two seemed to know how to handle that particular vampire. Which means that they probably knew about his special ability. That would also mean that they have access to information and resources we don't have," Walsh explained. "And the girl ,Buffy, seems to be a formidable fighter herself. Which indicates that your friend is running an entire operation in this town. And that could also prove to be very useful in the near future."
"What do you have in mind," Riley asked. "A kind of exchange of information between our two operations?"
"Or more," Walsh continued. "Our soldiers are not trained to fight vampires and demons. But if we could persuade this Xander to share his knowledge and experience with us could easily drop the casualty rate on our missions."
"That's sounds promising," Riley agreed. "But it won't be easy to talk him into that. He already mentioned that doesn't trust us exactly."
"Well, make him trust us," Walsh told him sharply. "From now on you're dismissed from your regular duties. Your new assignment is to contact this Xander, gain his trust and offer him to work with the Initiative."
"But my squad Ma'am," Riley objected.
"I think Forrest can handle them for a few days without you," she said. "Is there anything else?"
"No Ma'm," Riley said.
"Good," the professor said. "You're dismissed soldier."
As soon as Riley left the room, Walsh took the phone and dialled quickly a familiar number.
"Dr. Angleman," she said even before the person on the other side of the line was able to answer. "I think we should have a little talk."
Xander practically jumped out of the shower when heard his cell phone ring. After he arrived home he had bandaged his wounded shoulder. The heat of the blade had already sealed the wound and his hyena abilities had taken care of the rest.
His hair however was a completely other matter. The only way he was bale to save some of it was to cut it as short as possible.
"At least Riley and his squad will probably like my haircut," he muttered and retrieved the cellphone from the table. "Hello?"
"Ah, hello Mr. Harris," came Carver's voice over the line. "How are you? I hope the shoulder is not seriously injured?"
"Carver," Xander said emotionlessly. "What do you want?"
"No need to be rude," the vampire leader responded. "I just wanted to let you and your girlfriend know that I'm leaving the city. There is no need to stay any longer, now that Sanchez is dead."
"Good to hear that," Xander said, ignoring the part about Buffy being his girlfriend. "The less vampires in the town, the better."
"It's sad that you have to think this negative about my species," Carver answered amused. "Well, goodbye Mr. Harris. And I wish you good luck on you date tonight."
After Carver had left the room, the man that had advised in the last months, quickly left the office building and made his way across town. Finally he reached and abandoned warehouse at the docks and waited in front of it.
After a few minutes a black limousine arrived, followed by two jeeps.
"You sure no one followed you?" Michael asked, once he stepped out of the limousine.
"No one followed me," the man confirmed and looked at the armed vampires that had left the cars. "These my men?"
"These were some of Sanchez finest mercenaries," Michael said and motioned for the vampires. "As agreed they are now yours. Their services are paid in advance for the next six months. That's my part of the deal."
"And I did mine," the man said. "Sanchez is dust and now you can start to take over his organisation. We're done here."
"Good," Michael said and turned around. "I hate it to leave loose ends behind."
"Just like me," the man said and drew unseen from the new vampire leader a gun out of his jacket. He quickly connected the sight with the back of Michael's head and pressed the trigger. The bullet smashed the vampire's head and almost instantly the rest of his body turned into dust.
"You got any problems with that?" the man asked the vampires that had watched all that.
The leader shrugged. "Don't care who pays us," he said. "As long as we're paid."
"Like your attitude," the man said and walked up to the leader "Were you already instructed?"
The vampire nodded at that.
"Good," the man said and took some magazines out of his jacket and handed them to the leader. "Take these. They should improve the success rate of your mission."
The vampire again just nodded and turned around, walking up to one of the jeeps with three of his companions. The remaining vampires remained where they stood and waited for further orders.
The man meanwhile just watched after the departing vehicle. "You'll need every advantage you can get," he muttered under his breath. "You're going up against a slayer after all."
"Hey guys," Xander greeted Willow and Oz as he walked up to the dorm's entrance.
"Hey yourself," Willow replied, but cringed when he stood next to them. "What happened to your hair?"
"Oh, that," Xander said and touched his head. "Had a nasty meeting with a flaming sword," he explained. "Where's Buffy?"
"Still in our room," Willow told him and motioned with her thumb in the direction of the dorms. "She couldn't decide what to wear. Well, we two decided. Decided to get out of there and let you deal with her. " "Ah, come one," Xander said with a smile. "It can't be that bad."
"Bad enough for us," she replied and walked arm in arm with Oz down the path. "We'll meet you at the cinema."
"Okay. See ya later," Xander tossed over his shoulder an opened the dorm's door. "Can't be that a hard job to get the slayer out of there. "
"Come on Buffy," Xander called out for the umpteenth time since he arrived at their dorm room fifteen minutes ago. The slayer simply refused to let him inside, so he had so wait in corridor for her. "We're more than late."
"Don't be in such a hurry," came Buffy's muffled reply. "We still got fifteen minutes left before the movie starts."
"But I don't want to miss the trailers," Xander whined in a child like manner and leaned against the wall beside the door.
"Oh, poor Xander. I bet Willow will let you watch some on her laptop."
"That's not the same," he declared. "You should hurry or you're gonna have to walk to the cinema."
"Don't you dare," Buffy tossed back. "I had enough of that from Willow. I think she said something about being sick waiting for me before the two of them left."
"Being sick waiting for you," Xander repeated under his breath. "I'm getting there."
"Did you say something?"
"Noooo," Xander replied and continued waiting. Finally the Buffy opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.
"It's about damn time," Xander started and turned around, getting his first look at Buffy. The blonde slayer had really dressed to kill. She wore a pair of skintight, black leather pants with a matching leather jacket and a low cut dark, blue top.
"What's up Xander?" Buffy asked with an amused grin. "Like what you see?"
Xander was finally able to get back his composure. "Faith?" he asked with a grin. "Why did you swap bodies with Buffy?"
Buffy's eyes widened at that. "Oh, you," she exclaimed and hit Xander slightly on the shoulder
"Ouch," he replied and rubbed the sore spot. "Slayer strength, remember?"
"Don't be such a sissy," Buffy told him with a roll of her eyes "You can take harder knocks and still walk away."
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Xander said. "Truth to be told: For someone who defeated a vampire master only a couple of hours ago you look absolutely breathtaking."
"Thank you," Buffy replied with smile and interlocked arms with him.
"Hey. I thought this wasn't a date," Xander exclaimed as they walked arm in arm down the corridor.
"Xander," Buffy told him. "You have a beautiful blonde hanging on your arm and you're complaining?"
"Yeah," Xander said after realising this himself. "Stupid me."
"Damn," one of the vampires in the black jeep cursed. "We just missed them," he said and pointed at the BMW that just drove out of the dorm's parking lot.
"Calm down," their leader told him from the passenger's seat. "These were only two of them. But we need all four to accomplish our mission. " "And what do we do now?" the vampire asked and drove after the other vehicle.
"We continue as planned," the leader ordered. "The boss said that all of them wanted to meet somewhere. We just follow them and wait until we have them all in one spot."
"Okay, we're here," Xander said and killed the engine. Both stepped out of the BMW and walked out of the parking lot. "Let's find Oz and Willow. And then we'll enjoy this evening."
"Sounds like a plan," Buffy told him with a happy smile.
"Okay, the slayer and the boy are here," the vampire leader exclaimed. "But where are the other two?"
"I got them," the vampire on the driver's seat exclaimed with an evil smile and pointed in the direction of the cinema's entrance. "Seems like the party is complete."
"Alright," the leader said and took his Mp5 out from under his coat. Behind him the remaining two vampires did the same and cocked their guns. They lowered the windows of the cars and peered outside.
"Step on the gas," he ordered.
Buffy and Xander were still on their way to the cinema, when a distinctive sound caught his attention. The sound of a car accelerating. He turned his head and was just able to see something that resulted in sudden action from him. What he saw was a jeep with lowered windows and the muzzles of guns sticking out of them.
He didn't have the time to warn Buffy. He simply jumped forward and pulled the blonde slayer with him to the ground.
The vampires choose that exact moment to open fire. Most of their shots missed, but three of them were lucky enough to hit Xander in the back. He and Buffy hit the ground hard, while another burst of bullets riddled the hood of the car behind them. Satisfied that they had accomplished their mission, the vampires drove down the street and away from the scene of their crime.
It took Buffy only a few seconds to realise what had happened. She instantly crawled out from under Xander and turned him on his back, trying to determine how bad he was hurt.
"Xander," the slayer called afraid out and shook him, only to get no response. Then she realised something. Or better, she noticed the lack of blood. "Xander? She asked again.
"Fuck," Xander suddenly cursed and startled the slayer with his action. He slowly sat up and rubbed his sore back. "That hurt."
Buffy slowly crawled up to him and touched his back where one of the bullets had hid him. "How..." she started when she felt something solid under his shirt. She grabbed the front of the shirt and tore it open only to reveal the bullet proof vest underneath.
"Never leave the house without one," he told her with a slight grin. "But I wouldn't have thought that you would rip my clothes off on the first date."
"You....," Buffy started menacingly, but was interuppted by the scream of a girl. Both stood up an looked over the hood of the car the had landed behind and noticed with shock the other two prone forms that laid a few meters from them.
"Shit," Xander cursed and jumped up, Buffy close behind him. Both had already realised that the two bodies belonged to Willow and Oz.
Xander ran up to Oz, while Buffy checked up on Willow. The witch was unconscious and, as far as the slayer could see, one of bullets had gone straight through her shoulder. She dropped her jacked and ripped of the sleeve of her blouse and used it to stop the bleeding.
"How's Oz?" Buffy called over to Xander.
"Two hits to the chest," he replied and used his own shirt to stop any bleeding. "Maybe the lung," he said and focused his attention back on the barely conscious werewolf. "Don't worry Oz. Everything will be alright," he tried to reassure his friend, trying his hardest to keep him awake. He only briefly looked up when he saw the ambulance at the corner of the street.
The jeep with the four vampires drove all the way back to the docks, where they were already expected by the second vampire team and their new boss.
"So," the man asked after a drag of his cigarette. "How did it go?"
"We hit them," the leader reported. "We aimed high, so they had a chance of survival."
"Good," the man said. "I trust the boy and the slayer to get out of this mess. Its important is that we pissed them off enough."
"What now?" the leader asked.
"You two," the man said and motioned for two vampires. "Take one of the cars and drive to the hospital. They're most likely to be there. I want to know if one of them leaves."
The two vampires nodded and walked in the direction of the second jeep.
"And we," the man exclaimed after a moment. "We drive to a completely different location."
Buffy sat at Willow's bedside and held the wicca's hand. Luckily an ambulance had been in the area and had been there only two minutes after the shots had been fired. They had been able to stabilize Oz and stop the bleeding in Willow's shoulder.
They had followed the ambulance to the hospital, but they were separated shortly after their arrival. Xander had left his blood soaked shirt behind and the bullet proof vest was the only the thing he wore. And since the hits on the vest were clearly visible, it took only a few seconds before nurse caught him, to make sure nothing was wrong with him.
She looked up when she heard the sudden sound of Xander knocking softly on the doorframe. The slayer instantly jumped to her feet and enveloped her friend her arms, trying to get as much comfort out of his embrace as possible.
"How is she?" Xander asked a couple of minutes later.
"She's fine, all things considered." She took his hand and lead him to the Wicca's bedside. "The bullet went right through her shoulder without damaging anything important. The doctor gave her something so she could sleep," she explained. "And how are you?"
"I'll have a couple of bruises, but nothing else. But they took their time to check me through. I had a hard time explaining them, why I wore a bullet proof vest," he told her with a weak smile, that vanished almost instantly. "And Oz?"
"Worse," Buffy said with a shake of her head. "Two bullets went straight through his right lung. He's still in surgery. The doc's been here and said that he'll be okay. But it'll take a lot of time for him to recover completely." The slayer sat down with a heavy sigh and buried her face in hands. "Damn, why didn't his werewolf healing kick in?"
Xander didn't answer. He simply took a small gleaming object out of his pocket and held it up for Buffy to see. "Silver?" Buffy asked with wide eyes and took the plated bullet in her out of his hand.
Xander nodded. "Those guys sure did their homework. They made sure that they could get all of us."
"But who's behind the attack," the blonde slayer asked. "Some of Sanchez's men?"
"No," Xander shook his head. "They are too busy killing each other for the leadership in his organisation. Its doubtful that they could have pulled something like this off," he declared and paused for a second. "That leaves only Carver."
"Shit," Buffy cursed under her breath. "That damn bastard."
"With us dead there would be no one to stop him from controlling the Hellmouth," Xander agreed. "We should have never trusted a vampire."
"And now?" Buffy asked after a silent moment.
"Well, I called Willow's and Oz's parents. And I called your mom and Giles," Xander said and noted at Buffy's surprised look, that the slayer had obviously forgotten about the two. "They should be here in a few minutes."Xander looked over at Buffy, a grim look on his face. "And then I'll take care of Carver. No one attacks us and gets away with it."
"Good," Buffy agreed and stood up. "I'll come with you."
"Nope Buff, not this time," Xander told her with shake of his head. "You stay here and make sure that no one gets to Willow and Oz." Xander instantly lifted his hands, stopping any protest from Buffy beforehand. "If I'm good at something, than it's kicking people in the ass when they don't expect it. And this one of the times where I have to use that particular skill. But that also means that I have to do it alone."
Buffy finally nodded. "Just be careful, okay?" She told him, the concern audible in her voice. "This evening was already bad enough. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."
"Don't worry," Xander told her with a grin before he turned in the direction of the room's door. "That bastard won't know what hit him."
Outside the hospital, a jeep with two observers watched as the black BMW pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street.
One of the two vampires instantly took his radio. "Group one, this is group three," he spoke into the receiver. "Boss, Harris has just left the hospital."
"Perfect," came the instant reply. "The kid's doing exactly what I wanted."
"Ah, Paul," Carver greeted his assistant at the top of the stairs that lead to office building's rooftop. "Is everything going as planned?"
"Yes Sir," the vampire said with a nod and followed his boss outside. "It'll take a few days, but by then all of our personnel should be back in LA."
"Excellent," Carver said and watched as his men prepared the helicopter for the start "Any message from our friend?"
"No sir," Paul admitted with shake of his head. "I wasn't able to contact him."
"Well, if you do, tell him that the offer still stands," Carver told him and took a deep breath. He took a final look at the small town of Sunnydale, before he looked back at Paul. "I have neglected the business in LA fro too long. It time to go back home," the vampire master declared and walked in the direction of the helicopter.
"Yes sir," Paul said and disappeared back into the building.
"Good evening Steve," Carver greeted his pilot on his way to the chopper. "How are you?"
"I'm fine Mr. Carver," the pilot responded with a smile and opened the helicopter's door for his boss. "It'll take a few more minutes for the final checks on the helicopter. I hope that's not a problem."
"That's okay," Carver told him and climbed inside. "I'm not in a hurry."
The vampire had just sat down, when his cell phone started ringing.
"Hello?" he said, when he had finally fished it out of his pocket
"Hey Carver," greeted him a distinctive familiar voice."You still remember me?"
"Of course Mr. Harris," Carver answered with a slight smile. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Xander gave back with a snort. "But not thanks to you."
The vampire frowned at that. "I don't understand what you mean."
"Oh, come on. Cut the bullshit," Xander growled over the line. "You send a group of your goons to kill us. Oh, just in case you don't know: They failed."
Carve rubbed his temples with his free hand and tried to make any kind of sense of what the young man had just told him. "Mr. Harris, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Carver tried to reassure him. "I didn't order any kind of attack against you or any of your friends. I'm a man that keeps his word."
"Yeah right," Xander replied with a snort. "Tell that my two friends who are currently in the hospital."
"I'm very sorry for what has happened to you friends," Carver told him sincerely. "But again, I didn't have anything to do with that."
"You know what? I won't listen to this crap anymore," Xander said. He waited for a few seconds before he continued. "Do you know what I'm going to do? I am going to kill you."
"A shallow threat Mr.Harris," Carver replied confidently and watched his pilot stepped inside the helicopter. A few seconds later the rotors started turning. "I'm already on way back to Los Angeles. You might have a chance of getting me here, but LA is my turf. You should cool down young man and clear your head before you do anything stupid. " "My head is pretty clear," Xander told him calmly. "But why are you telling me that you're already on your way to LA? You chopper hasn't even left the building."
If it was even possible, the blood in Carver's veins became even colder. "What?" he finally asked confused.
"Just look over your left shoulder," Xander told him. Carver immediately turned his head. It took him a few seconds, but finally he could spot a single figure standing on one of the nearby buildings rooftops, pointing a tube shaped object in the direction of the helicopter. Carver instantly recognized the weapon. After all he had sold quite a few AT-4s to South America. "Say goodnight sucker," came Xander's voice of over the cell phone's speaker.
Carve didn't move. He knew that it was useless. Even with his vampiric abilities he wouldn't be able to escape the explosion the rocket would produce. So he sat calmly in his seat and waited for the inevitable.
"Damn," he cursed a millisecond before the rocker hit the helicopter.
As soon as the explosion shook the building, Paul jumped up from his office chair and hurried together with a group of Carver's men to the building's roof.
"Oh shit," one of the guards exclaimed, as he saw the burning inferno that contained the remains of the LA's most powerful vampire leader.
Paul instead quickly regained his composure and rushed back into his office. He was getting paid for this kind of situation after all. He grabbed his phone and dialled a number he knew by heart.
"The boss is so not going to like this," he muttered while he waited for someone to answer his call at the end of the line.
"Lindsey McDonald," came finally the voice through the speaker. "How can I help you?"
Xander waited few seconds, just to make sure that Carver hadn't survived his attack. When he was satisfied with his work, he quickly climbed down the fire escape of the house and hurried to his SUV.
He quickly loaded the AT-4 into the trunk and climbed into the driver's seat. Seconds later his car had left the alley and drove down the street.
On the opposite side of Carver's office building, a black jeep parked in the darkness of another alley, completely hidden by the shadows. The vehicle's occupants had witnessed the explosion of the helicopter first hand.
"I knew I could trust the kid to do the job," Carver's former advisor smiled and watched through his pair of binoculars as some of his former boss's men tried to extinguish the fire.
"What now sir?" the vampire on the driver's seat. "Do we leave for LA? " "Not right now," the man exclaimed and lowered the binoculars. "We still got a few hours before the news of Mr. Carver's demise will spread. Time enough to visit an old friend of mine," he said and took his radio. "Group three, this is group one. Continue monitoring the hospital. I want to know when Harris returns."
After the confirmation from the other group, the man looked over at the vampire and shrugged. "Like I told Michael, I just hate loose ends."
Buffy quietly pushed open the cafeteria's door's and peered inside. She instantly spotted Xander's slumped form at on of the tables. Silently she walked up to him, which only confirmed her suspicion. She carefully took the now empty Styrofoam cup in front of her and noticed that despite the lack of coffee in it, Xander was snoring.
"He's kinda cute when he's sleeping," she thought, but quickly remembered why she was here. "Hey Xander," she said softly and shook him.
Xander instantly jumped up which startled the blonde slayer. "Buffy?" he exclaimed surprised.
"Yeah, it's me?" the slayer replied and sat down on another chair. "Who did you expect? Santa Claus?"
"No, definitely not Santa," Xander said with a soft smile and rubbed his tired eyes. "Sorry. I just wanted to get a coffee and think about a few things before I joined you guys." He quickly checked his watch. "Well, at least I didn't sleep through the rest of the night."
"Hey, no problem. I mean, you've been up for nearly two days. No wonder you're so exhausted," Buffy told him with a warm smile. "I saw you car in the parking lot a couple of minutes ago and one of the nurses told me where I could find you."
Xander nodded at that. "Carver is dust."
"Yeah?" Buffy asked with relief in her voice. But almost instantly something came to her mind and she frowned. "What did you do this time. Do we have to worry about more 'acts of terrorism' here in Sunnydale?"
Xander rolled his eyes at that. "As far as I know the Highschool and City Hall were explained as gas leaks. And the freighter.....Okay, I don't know how they explained that, but surely not acts of terrorism. I would've read it in the news."
"Yeah right," Buffy nodded, but remained unconvinced. "And the fact that you exposed the Mayor as one of the big criminal masterminds on the west coast did nothing to support this version. Now conspiracy theorist all over the world think that the CIA killed Wilkins, in order to get to his money so they could finance some of their illegal activities. Which is also convenient, since a certain someone raided all of his bank accounts."
Xander pointed his finger at her. "Okay. That's it. You're spending way too much time with Willow and her computer," he told her seriously. "And by the way, I donated nearly half of the money to a good cause."
"Oh, yeah?" Buffy asked with an evil grin. "You think that'll spare you your punishment."
"Punishment?" Xander replied with a leer. "I can already imagine it my mind. You in a skintight leather outfit with the matching whip in you hand." At Xander's description Buffy began blushing furiously. She took the Styrofoam cup again and threw it at Xander's head. "Dominatrix Buffy," he continued, obviously not affected by the attack. "You think you can take this as your major at college?"
"Xander!" Buffy called out with a look of outrage, but the victim of that look simply couldn't take it any more and started snickering at the blonde slayer. A few seconds later Buffy joined into his, which resulted into a full blown laughter from both of them.
Meanwhile a group of five vampires wandered down the corridors of Sunnydale hospital. The stopped at an intersection and four of them waited for further orders.
"You know what you have to do?" Carver's ex-employee asked.
All four vamps nodded and moved in pairs down the corridor, each group heading for another section of the hospital.
Their leader waited a few more seconds before he also moved, following the signs that pointed in the direction of the cafeteria.
"God, I needed that," Xander said and wiped a tear of his eyes. "Life's been a bit too serious the last few months."
"Yeah," Buffy said with a smile, until she realised that she had totally forgotten the purpose for finding her best male friend. "Shit, "Buffy cursed and pulled him up from his chair. "Come on. Willow wanted to see you."
"She's awake?" Xander asked surprised, as he was pulled by the slayer in the direction of the doors.
Buffy nodded "She woke up twenty minutes ago," she said. "And I promised her to find you."
"Then let's hurry," Xander agreed with a nod.
They were about five meters away from the exit, when suddenly the Cafeteria's doors were swung open from the other side. Both stopped in mid-step and looked with a mix of surprise, fear and awe at the man in front of them.
He looked different. His hair was now a light brown and he wore an expensive business suit with a matching coat to complete the look, a complete opposite to the more street like clothes he had worn when they had last seen him. But despite all the changes, there was no doubt about the newcomer's identity.
"Hello whelp," Spike finally said with a wide smile, breaking the silence that hung in the room. "Miss me?"
I took Xander only a second to respond to the presence of the supposed to be dead vampire. He instantly drew his USP from under his jacket while Buffy moved in a fighting stance. The vampire however looked amused at the gun that was pointed at him.
"You're dead," Xander finally brought out. "I killed you with my own hands."
"Oh," Spike replied with a cringe. "Dead is such an ugly and especially final word. Let's say that you put me out of business for a while. Now why don't you lower that gun of yours so we can talk like civilized people."
"Not going to happen," Xander said. "I don't know what's going on here, but I'll make sure that you leave this building in a dustbuster. " "Same goes for me," Buffy agreed.
Spike nodded at that. "Fine, go along with this plan if you want to responsible for the deaths of numerous innocent people." At Xander's and Buffy's confused looks he continued. "I have a few of my men here at the hospital. They're ordered to kill everyone here if something happens to me," he explained which resulted in a shocked look from his two enemies. "Now, I'm not going to repeat myself: Lower that damn gun. I'm here to talk not to fight."
Xander hesitated for another second, but finally put the gun down, but not out of his hands.
"That's a good boy," Spike said with a smile and walked past the two. He sat down at one of the cafeteria's tables and pulled pack of cigarettes out of his coat. "You want one? I heard that you picked up this filthy habit while I was away."
"What do you want?" Xander asked, completely ignoring the vampire's question.
"Isn't it obvious," Spike said with a smile and lighted one of the cigarettes. "I want to thank you. You did me great favour after all."
Buffy and Xander looked at each other, getting more confused with each passing second. Finally Spike sighed and put his leg on the table. "Looks liked I have to start at the beginning," the vampire exclaimed. "Okay, it all started when you guys took care of the Mayor and pretty much turned this lovely town into a war zone between Carver and Sanchez. Now, Carver is a pretty careful man. He was worried about the possible danger from you guys. That's why he wanted someone who had experienced you guys first hand." Spike pointed his two thumbs at himself. "And that's me."
He shrugged "The only problem was, that I was pretty much dead at that time. But Carver has, or rather I should say had a pretty good connection with the lawyers at Wolfram and Hart and they had the resources bring me back to life."
"So I agreed to work for Carver as an advisor. I told him everything I knew about your group. Strengths, weaknesses, the whole package," He told the two with an evil smile. "And I came up with the plan to use you guys to get rid of Sanchez. The only thing he had to do was to threaten the population of Sunnydale for you guys to cave in."
Spike took a long drag from his cigarette before he continued. "Now, I realised something very important while I was working for Carver. Mainly that I was pretty much blind before my sudden death in Sunnydale. I mean, money rules the world. It's that simple. And the easiest way for me to get as much money and power as possible was to take over Carver's organisation. I would have been pretty hard to do that in LA, where his security is the hardest to break. But I had a pretty good chance while he was here in Sunnydale."
"So I made and arrangement with Michael, one of Sanchez's higher ups. He was unloyal little bastard, just like me and also had other plans for his bosses organisation. So we made a pact. I would make sure that your group took care of Sanchez and he would provide me with some of Sanchez's finest mercenaries under my command. Of course I had to kill Michael once I got my troops. Less competition from his organisation from now on."
"And you Xander my man," Spike exclaimed with a wide smile. "You were the last piece in the puzzle in Carver's downfall. You took care of him for me."
"I did nothing like that," Xander stated, still trying to absorb all the information he had just received. "I killed Carver because he attacked us."
Spike smiled at that. "You really think that? Why should Carver have attacked you? He had no interest on the Hellmouth and he was already on his way out of the city." Spike waited a few seconds before he continued. "No. The truth is: I ordered the attack on your group."
"What?" Xander exclaimed with wide eyes. Faster than the vampire could react, Xander jumped over the table and pinned Spike down on the floor. He punched him several times in the face, taking the vampire totally by surprise. Finally Spike countered his move and headbutted the Scooby in the face. Spike took is chance and pushed the dazed Xander off him, the two enemies now separated by several feet.
"Stay where you are blondie," Spike warned the advancing slayer and licked the blood from his split lip. "Or you two'll have more blood on your hands than even I could drink." The vampire slowly stood up and straightened his coat. "Tell me what hurts more? That I was the one who nearly killed your two friends and you can't to a damn about it right now? Or that I played you like a fiddle to achieve my goals?"
"You're lying," Xander replied with a shake of his head. "I was also shot. If I was dead, who would have taken care of Carver for you?"
"Ah, come one," Spike told him with a smile "I'm not that stupid. I had observed you and your friends for weeks. I knew that you always wore a bullet proof vest. But that made the show even more convincing. " "Face it whelp. I was the one who pulled your strings the whole time from the background," Spike said and walked in the direction of the cafeteria's doors. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to return to LA to and take over the business there," he tossed over his shoulder, leaving two still totally stunned scoobies behind. "Oh, and tell Angelus that have some scores to settle with him. He should better prepare for me."
"That damn bastard," Xander shouted after the vampire had left the room and kicked the fallen table, sending it flying through the room. "That little coward. He can't even do something on his own. He always manipulates other people to do his work."
Buffy tried her hardest to calm her friend down, with little success. Suddenly Xander's cell phone began ringing.
"What?" he angrily answered the phone.
"Why Mr. Harris?" came the almost amused response from the other side of the line. "Did I catch you at bad moment?"
I took Xander fully five seconds to identify the voice. "Carver?"
In LA Dean Carver stood in on the top floor of one of the many office buildings, wearing nothing but a bathrobe and holding a cigar in his left hand.
"Nice to know that you haven't forgotten me," Carver said and took a drag from his cigar.
"How? I mean your helicopter...." came Xander's voice over the line "And Spike told us....."
"Ah, I gather that he visited you," Carver interrupted him. "Well, much to my shame I have admit that Mr. Spike totally surprised me with his attack. I knew that he planned something against me, but I would've never expected something this..........creative."
"But how did you survive the explosion?" Xander asked.
"Well, I didn't," Carver replied with a smile. "Please Mr. Harris. If I had the resources to resurrect such a worthless vampire, don't you think that I took preparations for the possibility of my sudden death? "he asked theoretically "Luckily I'm the only one who has access to this service, since I was the one who provided Wolfram and Hart with the remaining items for the ritual. Yes, lawyers sure are a useful institution these days," he mused.
"So, what now?" Xander finally asked after a few silent seconds.
"Well, don't worry about our...little disagreement," Craver exclaimed and took another drag from the cigar. "I don't hold a grudge against you. You were fooled just like me and that happens to the best of us. As a matter of fact, I should thank you."
"Thank me?"
"Yes. After all I will I have the moment of surprise on my side, since Mr. Spike assumes that I'm dead," Carver explained. "But his open rebellion will also give me the chance to take care of some other rather ... disloyal employees that , without a doubt, will join him as soon as the news of my death will spread in LA."
"Ah....," Xander stammered out. "You're welcome."
"Well, have my number in case you ever have a problem I can solve," Carver said and dropped the cigar in an nearby ashtray. "If you would excuse me Mr. Harris. I have a little war to plan."
Carver had just ended the connection, when the door on the other side of the room opened.
"Mr. Carver," a smiling lawyer greeted him. "I'm Lindsey McDonald. I was the one that received the message from your assistant and prepared everything for the ritual."
"Ah yes," Carver replied and shook the other man's hand. "Paul. The good boy definitely earned a raise to his payment."
"If you would follow me? Lindsey asked and motioned in the direction of the door. "We've already prepared everything to turn you back into a vampire."
Carver nodded and followed the young lawyer through the door.
Xander slowly put the cellphone back into his jacket and looked at Buffy.
"You're not going to believe this," he finally started.
Currently Professor Walsh and her assistant Dr. Angelman were facing a rather diffrent problem. The had spent the whole evening analizing the footage from the fight at the campus. At the end of their discussion both came to the same conclusions.
"And what are we going to do about it?" Angelman asked after a moment of silence.
"I've already assigned Riley to contact this Xander," Professor Walsh explained. "I told him something about reducing our casualty rate. And the stupid boy actually bought it."
Angelman nodded at that. "You know that we're playing a dangerous game here."
"I know. That's why I need your help," Walsh said and took a folder from her desk. "You've read General William's orders regarding phase two?" she asked and motioned for the folder. Angelman nodded. "I say we ignore him and initiate it right now," she said and dropped the folder into the nearby paper basket.
"Do you know what you want there Maggie?" the doctor asked with fear in his voice. "We're as good as dead if someone finds out about it."
Walsh nodded at that. "Therefore phase two. That will limit the risk that any news will reach the higher ups. And they will overlook our 'methods' once we achieve the first results," she explained, but she could see she still hadn't completely convinced the other scientist. "It's like the saying: It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
Angelman sighed and again went through everthing Margaret Walsh had just suggested. "Like I said, a dangerous game," Angelman finally said. "But I'll support you."
"Excellent," Walsh exclaimed with a smile and stood up. "We will start the procedure tomorrow. You should better get some sleep. We have a lot work do," she said and left the room, leaving a ,despite his earlier statement, still not fully convinced Dr. Angelman behind.