Dark are the Shadows – master 004
Ms Hunter Ash
Pairings: Xander/Anya, Willow/Tara, Giles/Angelique, Buffy/Quentin
Rating: PG13
# $ $$ ## #
Buffy took another sip of a Coke classic and looked around the tomb.
“We should bring more furniture or something, this is becoming Scooby Central,” she complained.
“More like Hanoi Hilton,” Xander muttered. He held up a hand and everyone went quiet. He grabbed a crossbow and trotted up the stairs quickly and opened the inner door slightly and aimed the weapon.
“It's Giles and my father,” a voice said at the outer door.
“Who got eaten by a huge snake?” Xander called back.
“A disgusting little troll of a man.”
“Giles,” Xander said with a laugh and opened the door wider. His eyes widened as Rupert and Robert Giles stepped into the dim light of a military flashlight. “You're bleeding.”
“I noticed,” Giles responded.
“What?” Buffy demanded from behind Xander causing the young man to jump.
“Geez! Give a clue!” he squeaked.
“Sorry, Xan,” Buffy responded. “You okay, Giles?”
“I will be,” Giles said as the small group went down the stairs and Xander locked both doors and then joined them. “The Initiative tried to grab me.”
“Giles, sit down, let's tend to that,” Tara urged. “I, uh... hi.”
“Everyone, this is my father, Robert Giles,” the young Giles told everyone.
“Buff was telling us about the older version of you visiting,” Xander said. “I'm Xander, that's my girl Anya. The redhead is Willow and Tara is her girlfriend.”
“Pleasure to meet all of you,” Robert said.
“You brought your dad?” Willow asked Giles.
“He saved me,” Giles responded. “He left four Initiative soldiers lying on the ground with cracked skulls or broken jaws.”
“What, are you 007?” Xander asked as Giles pulled out the first aid kit from the backpack.
“If I were in the 000 section my number would probably be a bit higher,” Robert said with a hint of a smile.
“Don't believe him,” Giles muttered. “His would probably be around the 004 range. What's happened?”
“Let's exchange stories, I'll start,” Buffy suggested.
Fifteen minutes later Giles' head was bandaged and everyone was silent for several moments.
“Well, obviously the Initiative has decided to ignore your agreement with the locals or your government has decided to ignore the demand from the Council to give you free reign in Sunnydale,” Robert said. “I'll go upstairs and make some calls near the door and get things rolling with my government and the Council and they'll demand answers.”
“Around 8 am I'm going to pay my former professor a visit,” Buffy said. “They have Quentin and I want him back. Giles, are you sure they know something is weird with you?”
“Yes, he bit one of them and his fangs still haven't gone back to normal,” Robert informed them.
“You bit a soldier?” Willow asked, her eyes widening.
“And shot one of them but his vest protected him somewhat,” Giles answered. “He probably has a painful bruise right over his heart. I bit an arm that was attempting to choke me. Do we have that handcuff key here?”
“Yeah, over in the box of miscellaneous stuff,” Xander replied. “An, grab the key, it should be in the small tool box.”
“Until we're sure the Initiative isn't going to grab or shoot Giles on the spot we need to keep him out of sight and safe. They know the mansion and my house and probably Giles' condo,” Buffy said. “We can't allow any of them to follow us here. I'm not losing my dad along with Quentin.”
“Tara and Giles can stay here until we know what's happening,” Willow suggested.
“I would suggest that you keep vehicles away from here and, if you are out anywhere you might run into an undercover agent, you change clothes and backpacks before coming here,” Robert added. “Trackers can be very, very small these days.”
“And no cellphone calls if any of them had access to Riley's phone, meaning your number, Buffy,” Giles added.
“Giles... will the Council go to bat for you or drag their heels and ignore the danger to you?” Buffy asked as she pulled up a camp chair across from him.
“Dad?”
“I truthfully don't know,” Robert answered. “You have the longest living Slayer in history but you've also proven the Council wrong in their judgment about you and how they view and treat Slayers many times. They may decide that your disappearance wouldn't be a bad thing especially if their hands are clean about it.”
“If they grab Giles the Initiative can make him disappear and they can deny all responsibility,” Willow said and bit her lip.
“And the Council won't go to bat for Quentin,” Xander commented.
“So we have to find him ourselves or make them demand Quentin back,” Buffy said firmly. “Giles....”
The Englishman sighed and rubbed his temples. “I know, I know. Do you think they'd look for me in L.A., at Angel's place, I mean? Or should I call Circe?”
Buffy glanced around at everyone. “Thoughts?”
“If Giles can tolerate being around Angel it should be okay there,” Xander said.
“Riley tangled with Angel though and had him checked out,” Willow commented.
“yeah, there is that,” Xander agreed. “Damn.”
“I take it your girlfriend can get you somewhere safe with no records? What if the Council is cooperating with the Initiative?” Robert asked.
“The Council doesn't know her name or location either,” Giles said with a smile. “I learned some paranoia from you.”
“We'll find answers as soon as possible,” Buffy promised. She hesitated when she saw his eyes narrow. “What?”
“We know they have Quentin,” Giles said and stared at nothing as he frowned. “Dad, you've just grabbed a high ranked, powerful enemy in hostile territory without permission from their government. They know you've grabbed him, what do you do?”
“If he or she was taken alive and it's decided they should remain that way we'd hustle them out of the country as fast as possible,” Robert answered. “What are you thinking?”
“That they may not keep Quentin in Sunnydale, especially if they don't have permission from the Council to grab him or me,” Giles said. “Dad, make calls, its daylight in England. Buffy, you confront Walsh in the morning and take Willow and Xander with you.”
“Why take them?”
“So you don't disappear from her office,” Robert suggested.
“Anya and I will guard over Tara and myself,” Giles added. “Depending on your answers and ones Dad might get tonight, we'll know where and how to respond.”
“I'll make some calls and pull the motorbike inside,” Robert said with a nod.
# # # #
Professor Maggie Walsh looked up as her door slammed open and her expression didn't change.
Graham jumped to his feet and Buffy held up a finger at him.
“Don't even think about it, you know I can break your arm and nose without breaking a sweat,” she warned and looked at Walsh.
“I'm sorry, you aren't one of my students and my office hours aren't until 2pm today, come back then with whatever you want to discuss,” she told Buffy.
“I'm not here as a student and you're not going to answer me like a professor,” Buffy said firmly. “Oh, by the way, I'm wired for sight and sound so I don't go missing and you don't try to twist things later.”
“Wired?” Graham demanded. “We can remove any recording devices.”
“I'm broadcasting to someone close by,” Buffy said with a smile. “Someone who is a lot better at the spy business than you has been advising us. Now, you have one of my team and I want him back and I want you to stop trying to kidnap my stepfather. We had a deal, Graham.”
“Your unofficial deal with some of our members was that they would let any vampire you vouched for walk away that one night, we don't have any of your vampires,” Maggie said easily.
“My organization outranks yours and you were instructed not to mess with me and my team, that includes my stepfather and the man you grabbed last night,” Buffy snapped.
“Does it?” Walsh asked with a slight smirk. “I'll check about your stepfather's status. As for anyone else, we didn't grab anyone human or any vampires last night. We have only other hostiles in custody.”
“I want my friend released and lay off my father!” Buffy yelled and slammed her hands down on Walsh's desk. She threw off Graham's hand as he touched her shoulder and spun him into a bookcase.
Maggie Walsh stopped halfway out of her chair at the sight of a dagger in Buffy's hand.
“You think pulling a weapon on me will change anything?”
“It got your attention,” Buffy said and drew back and flung it above Walsh's head, embedding the knife into a bookcase. “Now listen closely, my group has been calling our government which has probably been calling your little black ops bunch starting around 7 am. I want my team member back and you to stay far away from me and my group. You'll probably also be ordered to get out of Sunnydale soon.”
“Until then, get out of my office,” Walsh said as she stood up. “It's not like you can go to the news with any of this.”
“No, the general public wouldn't believe me but there are thousands of people that would,” Buffy responded. “Conspiracy types from both ends of the political spectrum, people who believe in vampires and UFOs and the government cover ups that take place every day. Those who think the government is bugging every phone in the country. Many may not believe one part of the story but they'll believe other parts and you'll have believers camped on your doorstep and raiding the frat house before the end of tomorrow. Isn't the internet great?”
“Your organization wouldn't approve,” Walsh countered.
Buffy laughed softly. “Ask them how well I take orders. Why are you doing this, anyway? My team isn't interfering with yours.”
“I hold you responsible for Riley Finn's death,” Walsh said with a flash of anger in her eyes. “He was distracted by you instead of his uncover duties and was killed. All of your team which included vampires and werewolves made it out fine.”
“Undercover.... wow,” Buffy said softly. “I cared for Riley a lot. He died helping save others including the world from another gate from opening. Get out of my town, Walsh, or find yourself under siege by humans in the daytime and not-so-human types at night. I bet word will spread in those communities as well once everyone who believes in Area 51 descends on this place and I'll just grab a box of popcorn and watch the show as your photo is splashed all over the weird trash papers.”
Buffy slammed the door as she left.
Graham walked around the professor's desk and reached up and tried to pull the knife out of the hardwood. “It's stuck.”
“Leave it for now,” Walsh ordered. “Get everyone assembled in one hour down below. I'm going to make some phone calls. Has that hostile started talking yet?”
“The one with her?” Graham asked. “No and the science types can't figure out his readings. We know he's a werewolf but the readings are all over the place and they can't do some of their tests.”
“Why? What's wrong?”
“He has an accelerated rate of healing, it's making some tests difficult,” Graham reported.
“What? What is he? Some comicbook superhero?”
“They don't know.”
“I'll supervise the tests after the meeting,” Walsh said. “We may need to move him to the more secure base outside of Barstow.”
“Not Groom Lake?”
“Not yet.”
# # # # #
Buffy knocked on the back of a van 20 minutes later. She and Xander jumped in the barely open door and it slammed behind them. Buffy glanced at a row of monitors and screens in a wall of electronics.
“Your placement of the knife was perfect,” Robert commented. “This is Tripp, he's on loan to us.”
Buffy looked at the man using a joystick to adjust the zoom on a screen while his other hand typed one handed on a keyboard.
“We can see her screen?” she asked.
“Her keyboard and computer screen,” Robert said with a smile. “The small camera in the pommel of the dagger is picking up everything. We can't hear but we can see and he should have total access to her computer shortly and we will relay that to Willow.”
“That'll be great,” Xander said. “I didn't even have to threaten anyone, just stand in the doorway and watch Buffy be awesome.”
“Any word from England?” Buffy asked as she watched Tripp watching Walsh.
“Yes, I was told they're working on it,” Robert said. “Travers is supposed to call me back soon. Let's leave Tripp to his electronics, get some food and return to base, shall we? I'm sure Willow and Robert need more than the snack bars that Mrs. Summers packed last night.”
“I'm game. Thanks for the help, Tripp.”
The man absently waved a hand at them.
# # #
COLLINSPORT, MAINE
“Carolyn, what is it?” Amy asked as she walked into the parlor at Collinwood. “You look worried.”
“I am,” Carolyn Stoddard-Hawkes said. “I keep getting flashes of Quentin in pain and growling and he's not answering his phone. I keep getting Buffy's voice mail.”
“What about Giles?”
“Voice mail,” Carolyn answered.
“Someone will call soon.”
“I hope so,” Carolyn said softly.
# # # #
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA
Giles smiled when he opened the door for Buffy. “Where's Dad and Xander?”
“Working their way here from different directions,” she answered and quickly told him about her interaction with Walsh.
"That's disturbing," he commented.
"Yeah, how's the head?"
"The headache is almost gone," he said and they both moved to opposites of the door and he clicked off the flashlight.
The door opened and Buffy leaned around the door and grabbed whoever it was by a wrist and threw them into the tomb and into the far wall. Giles moved quickly and had a knife at someone's throat before the man could move.
"Well, it is reassuring to see that you're feeling better, son."
Buffy closed the door and picked up the flashlight.
"Dad? What the bloody hell, you should have known someone would be on the door," Giles grumbled and helped his father sit up. "Have you heard anything?"
"Yes, the Council says they will insist that the Initiative stop trying to capture you and will consider demanding Quentin's release but it will take time."
"Damn," Giles said softly and looked down.
Buffy gently touched his arm. "Call Circe. Once we have this settled you return as my Watcher and father."
"I know," Giles said softly. "I won't even be able to see Joyce or Dawn before leaving."
"No," Buffy agreed as tears filled her eyes. "I would almost guarantee they're being watched. Call her and I'll call Angel."
"Angel?" Giles questioned.
"I need someone damned strong and hard to kill other than your dad to make sure you make it to a plane, Tomorrow night I'll be seen around town and pretend to try and lose anyone following me and lead them on a wild goose chase while you get out of town," Buffy explained.
"And I'll stay here to force the Council's hand and help keep Dawn and Joyce from being bothered by anyone," Robert added. "You may need someone who is very experienced and paranoid to help get Quentin back."
"Thanks," Buffy said. "Giles, try and keep Collins bunch back there. They hear Quentin is missing and Barnabas would likely take off Walsh's head before we get answers."
"Or his....." Giles blinked. "I have an idea that might work. Listen...."
# # #
COLLINSPORT, MAINE
Amy smiled as she opened the door and Angelique walked in. "Hi, here to see Barnabas?"
"Barnabas and anyone who is around," Angelique responded. "I'm finding the island is lonely right now."
"No problem, most everyone except Maggie and Joe are in the parlor," Amy said, motioning the vampire across the foyer.
Everyone looked up as Amy and Angelique entered.
“Hello, everyone. I hope you don't mind me dropping in unannounced,” Angelique said. “I'm flying up to Boston tonight to spend a few evenings and wanted spend a few minutes here. If it's all right.”
“Of course it is,” Carolyn said with a smile. “You'll have someone watching over you in the daytime?”
“Yes, she's down at the Blue Whale,” Angelique said. She glanced at Roxanne and Barnabas and almost smiled.
“Angelique, what....”
Angelique frowned as a chirping sound from her cellphone interrupted Julia's question. She pulled it out of a pocket. “Hello, Rupert? One moment. All right, we're on speaker. I take it my butler told you where I was.”
“Yes,” Giles acknowledged.
“Why on speakerphone?” Angelique asked. “Is...everyone all right out there?”
“No one is dead,” Giles said and sighed. “I'm in trouble. The Initiative is trying to grab me and I need to disappear.”
“I can be there before noon, my aide can get you on the plane and heading this way while I sleep,” Angelique said. “I thought they weren't allowed to touch any of you.”
“The little tin goddess scientist here is ignoring those rules,” Giles answered. “We think they're hoping to get me deep into a research center and deny they have me before the Council can force their hand. The Council is dragging its feet concerning me.”
“Damn them!” Barnabas grumbled.
“Everyone....” Giles hesitated. “They have Quentin. They tranquilized Buffy and took Quentin last night and are denying they have him.”
The room erupted in angry voices as emotions were slammed into overdrive in an instant.
“Quiet!” Angelique yelled. “Rupert, how do we get him back, especially if you're here?”
“We have some ideas and we're insisting that the Council recognize that he's part of the team,” Giles said. “Angel and crew are going to lend a hand along with my secret weapon, my father is here. He has contacts extremely high up in the British government.”
“I remember you telling me that,” Angelique said. “What are your ideas.”
“I don't want to say over a phone,” Giles said. “Barnabas, Julia, please stay there. They are likely to stake any vampire near Buffy without asking questions. Angel is going to keep a low profile even in L.A.”
“What about Tara?” Barnabas asked.
“She needs to be here in case they need her magic but she's also going to stay hidden,” Giles explained. “Please, I don't want any of you captured by them. They almost grabbed you twice.”
“I'm going,” Thomas said.
“Tommy?” Julia asked.
“He's...it's Quentin, I'm going,” Thomas said firmly. “I can help keep Tara safe. She's family.”
“All right,” Julia said and kissed his cheek.
“Do you think the Council is behind this? They know about all of us except Angelique,” Barnabas asked the phone.
“I don't think so,” Giles responded. “Getting Quentin or me back would likely get Buffy killed and they need her in the field.”
“All right, we'll stay here,” Barnabas said as he glanced at Roxanne and Julia and they nodded.
“If anything looks out of the ordinary they can retreat to the island,” Angelique suggestion. “Thomas, go pack somethings. Rupert, we'll be leaving shortly, the plane is already waiting. I was heading up to Boston so we can be in the air very shortly.”
“All right, have Thomas call me when you land,” Giles said. “Someone will get me to the plane. I'm...I can't stand this, I'm not handling running away well.”
Angelique clicked the speaker off and held the phone to her ear as she stood up and went into the foyer. “I know, Rupert, we'll get through it. We need to keep you safe so you can help save the world later.”
“My father saved me when I was jumped, he saw me bite one of them!” Giles said, his voice a hiss. “He saw my fangs, even now they won't recede.”
“Shhh,” Angelique said softly. “It'll be all right. Just try and relax. We'll be there in a few hours. I love you.”
“I love you,” Giles said. “Thank you. Keep an eye out for anyone following you.”
“We will. See you soon.”
# # # #
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