FIC: MC 33 Feb ’01 A Stab In The Back (1/?)
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Alexis Sutherland watched with interest as his protégée trained, blow after blow creasing the training bag as she moved flawlessly through the forms, hair swinging. She was the one, he was sure of it, it was just a case of creating an opening.
But he was sure that either his organisation or the law of averages would attend
to that little problem in prompt fashion.
But whenever it happened, he was sure she’d make a fine job in her position, far superior to her unruly and undisciplined predecessor. Either of them. After all, she had him to guide her.
“My dear,” he cleared his throat. The brunette beauty instantly jumped backwards, the acres of tanned flesh left uncovered on her shorts and tank-topped clothed body glistening. Such obedience, she was a real credit to him. “I feel sure that bag gave up several minutes ago. Have a heart and take its surrender for what it is. Now,” he glanced at his watch, “I have a car booked to take us to the airport in an hour. I’m certainly not going to spend several hours in a plane sat next to you smelling like that.” He sniffed at the very idea. “So go up and get changed.”
The teen beauty nodded. “Yes, Mr. Sutherland.” The girl wriggled gracefully past him and raced into the bathroom.
He shook his head. Such a dutiful, respectful girl. How she wasn’t the one before the last three disasters he had no idea.
Someone had no bloody idea what they were playing at, that was for sure.
* * *
“Uncle Case,” Casey looked up as his niece entered his office, a folder in her hands. “More reports on that rumoured demon.”
“Oh yes?” Casey smiled as the young woman passed him the papers. He’d initially had great reservations as to how his niece would fit in with a bunch of tough demon hunters but to her credit she’d managed it seamlessly, gaining everyone’s respect and becoming their favourite little sister.
Although having an uncle who was an ex-Navy SEAL with two Congressional Medals probably helped too.
After a minute, he looked up. “It seems as if Colorado Springs is the nexus of whatever is happening,” he declared. “Concentrate our patrols there for the next few nights and put all our sources in the area on high alert.”
“I’ll send the messages,” Sara nodded.
* * *
“Come dear!” he rapped impatiently on his charge’s hotel room door. “The cab will be here in just a few minutes.” Shaking his head, he stepped back as the door swung open and the young lady in question stepped out. She might be well-trained, but she was still only a woman and getting ready in a timely fashion was therefore biologically impossible. “Have you your bags?”
The teen nodded before reaching back into the room and coming out with two stuffed to capacity sports bags. “Yes.”
“Splendid,” he picked up his own rather more traditional and far classier brown leather suitcase. Far classier but showing more than a little wear on the edges. Not unlike its owner. “Then -.”
Suddenly the door crashed open and half a dozen figures swarmed into it. Cursing, he flung his suitcase at the first man. The man caught the suitcase full in the face and crashed soundlessly to the ground. The moment the luggage left his hand, he reached into his jacket to pull out the automatic his very special passport allowed him to carry. Before he’d had chance to pull back his safety, one of them was on him. “Damn blighter!” he swung his arm back, pistol-whipping the man, blood spilling satisfactorily from his face.
A third man crashed into him, the force of the impact knocking him to the ground. He gasped as the wind exploded from his body. The last thing he saw was a fist swinging down at him.
* * *
Patrolman Ray Marlowe swallowed nervously as he knocked on the door of the Ryback house. What he was doing broke countless rules, he’d be lucky if he was just thrown off the force and not imprisoned. But some things were important than rules, like right and wrong, good and evil.
Four months ago, he’d been working the streets when he’d seen what appeared to be a woman covered in blood. When he’d approached her to see if she was alright, she’d attacked him, her face changing into something nightmarish.
And then one of Casey’s patrols had arrived and saved him, dusting the demon.
Since then he’d been a contact for the Brotherhood in the Colorado Springs area,
reporting any ‘strange’ activity to them. As a three year patrolman, he didn’t
have access to anything like all the information that came into his station, but
tonight he’d struck lucky. He’d been called to a kidnapping just like the sort
of thing Casey had asked him to pass on.
His heart fluttered as the door swung open to reveal Casey’s niece. “Hey,” she dazzled him with a smile. “My uncle’s in his office, he’s expecting you.” The blonde led him through the halls of the sprawling mansion before stopping and knocking on a walnut-coloured door.
”Come in.”
Sara smiled at him at her uncle’s grunt. “Good luck.”
Opening the door, he walked in. “Hello, sir.”
”I told you, son,” Casey grunted again as he looked up from behind his desk.
“We’re not in the military, Casey or Mr. Ryback is fine. And Mr. makes me feel
old. Sit down.”
“Yes, si-, Casey,” he amended as he sat down and pushed the file across the organised with military efficiency desk. “Here’s a copy of the incident report.”
”Thanks.” The older man picked up the file and began reading. Then stopped and
flipped back, a furrow developing on his brow. “A man and a girl.” The
middle-aged man looked at him, the intensity in his gaze hollowing his stomach.
“You’re certain about the diplomatic passport?”
“We’re still tracking it down,” he replied, wondering about the older man’s reaction. “But it seems legit.”
“Oh hell,” Casey groaned. “I’m going to have to see those damn kids again.”
“Sir?” confused, he forgot the older man’s earlier admonishment.
“Don’t worry,” the former soldier shook his head. “If you knew them you’d understand.”
* * *
Colorado Springs Airport
“There she is!” Faith let out a whoop as they started through the moderately-busy airport. “Yo, Sara! Lookin’ good!” In seconds they’d made their way through the people to the willowy blonde who eagerly hugged Faith and Tara in turn.
Xander raised a hand as Sara approached him, a grin on her face. “I appreciate the thought,” he said. “But Faith breaks my arm if I hug another woman. And my arm’s only just out of plaster.” Faith stared daggers at him as Sara shot the Slayer a disconcerted look. “Just kidding.” He hugged the tall blonde. “Good to see you, Sara.”
Minutes later and they were driving through the busy town. “How’s your uncle doing?” Xander asked, more to make conversation than anything.
“Things were rough for the first few weeks,” Sara replied, eyes fixed on the road as she drove at a sedate pace that proved not all woman drove with the same haphazard care of Slayers. “But once Uncle Case got the locals convinced of the benefits of working for us, we were in. Got a base sorted out, five cells of six throughout the state, teaming up for anything major. It’s cool, demonic-related deaths are down 15%.”
”If everything so rosy why are we here?” the ever sceptical Faith asked. “I get
why you’d wanna see me, who wouldn’t? But these two mooks-. Owww, get off my
ear, sis!”
“Are they always like this?” Sara asked.
”Sometimes Faith’s even worse,” Xander candidly replied. “But she did raise an
interesting point.”
”Uncle Case will explain.”
A few minutes later and they were pulling up outside a sprawling, multi-storey hotel. “Nice place,” Xander commented. “But Faith’s personal hygiene isn’t that bad. Can’t we,” he hurriedly stepped to the other side of the car as his girl-friend turned to him, “stay with you?”
“This is why I called you here.”
Xander turned to his right, chagrined that even a former special forces operative had managed to sneak up on him. “Oh,” he allowed the middle-aged man to lead them into the hotel bar, “do tell?”
* * *
“Two nights ago, two people were kidnapped from here,” Casey announced as they sat down at a booth towards the back of the bar. “We believe the kidnaps are demon related in some way.”
“Why? Demonic evidence left?” Tara asked.
“No,” Casey shook his head. “A certain prophecy was made that indicated two people were going to be kidnapped. When these two people were snatched at once, one of our contacts in the police force called us. When I discovered who exactly the two people appeared to be, I figured you’d want to be on this.”
“Do we know them?” Xander asked.
“Not as such,” Casey replied.
Faith stared at him, chocolate-brown orbs growing impatient. “Enough with the hints. Who are they?”
“He’s a man aged in his early forties, travelling under an English diplomatic passport. His companion is an unrelated American teen female. What does that say to you?”
”She’s really unlucky in her choice of men?” Faith guessed. “English and old,
what sort of combination is that?”
Casey sighed as the two teens stared back blankly at him. Nice kids, real brave, not too bright though. He opened his mouth to explain.
“He thinks,” he looked towards the suddenly pale-faced Tara, ah the brains of the outfit, “that it’s a Watcher and his potential.”
FIC: MC 33 Feb ’01 A Stab In The Back (2/?)
“Okaaaay,” Xander stared sceptically across the table. “That’s a little bit of a reach isn’t it?”
“Is it?” Casey queried. “First off, why is a middle-aged Englishman staying in a hotel room with an unrelated teenage girl?”
“I can think of some really nasty answers to that one,” Faith responded.
“Okay, but under a diplomatic passport? What would a diplomat be doing in Colorado Springs? There’s no embassy here,” Casey pointed out.
Xander sat back in his seat, brow creasing in thought. “He is the right age for a Watcher. And she certainly could be a potential.”
”Xander, stop leering at her photo before I break something.”
“Ah dear,” Xander smiled at her girl-friend. “You know I like hot brunettes.”
“I know how we can find out if he is a Watcher,” Tara interrupted before Faith could respond. “Let me get Angela to run the passport id through the computer.”
“To see if it’s legitimate?” Xander asked.
“No,” Tara shook her head as she took the papers and rang Angela. “Hi, Ang. Yeah,” Tara nodded, “it’s me. I was wondering if you could run a diplomatic passport for me. Firstly to see if it’s legitimate. But also,” Tara looked at them all in turn, “to see which embassy it’s attached to. Yeah, it’s English. Here’s the number.” A couple of minutes later and the witch nodded. “Thanks.” Hanging up, Tara looked at them, eyes troubled. “The passport is legitimate, but its holder isn’t attached to any embassy in America or indeed any other country.”
“So?” Faith queried. “What does that mean?”
“So, whoever he is, he’s got diplomatic immunity but probably actually isn’t a diplomat. Whoever organised this would have to have major pull with the English government, which sounds more and more like the Council.” Xander nodded at Tara. “Good thinking.”
“And there’s more,” Casey added. “For the past few weeks we’ve had rumours about a demon rising, but haven’t been able to track anything past a few rumours about needing ‘the power’ and ‘the mind’.”
“Don’t you have anything else?” Faith asked.
Casey scowled. “The local information-broker is a N’Torath by the name of Wayne.”
”Seriously?” Faith snorted. “Wayne?”
“But he’s too well protected for us to get to,” Casey finished.
“Could it be something to do with this Wayne?” Xander asked.
“No, he’s just a middle-man.” Sara replied. “Sells, buys information, drugs, people, arms, whatever a mage or demon wants, but isn’t into power for himself, just money. We can’t get to him though, he’s too heavily protected. It would be a blood-bath.”
“I like them,” Faith commented.
“She does too. It’s rather worrying.” Xander rose, the makings of a plan whirling in his head. “Okay, let’s head back to your base.”
“You don’t want to see the crime scene?” Casey asked as he stood. “I thought you’d want to.”
“I’m not Quincy,” Xander shook his head. “I wouldn’t know what I was looking for. Let’s go.”
“Okay,” Casey shrugged. As they reached the doors the special operative spoke. “How are we going to play this?”
“I figure that you, me, Faith, and your best men go shake down this Wayne character,” Xander glanced at Tara and Sara. “And while we’re doing this, the brains trust can research to see what sort of demon needs a Watcher and potential sacrificed to rise. Oh,” Xander winced as he thought of something else. “The local airports, I want people on them, watching for any suspicious Englishmen coming into the area.”
“Council hit-teams looking for their missing crew?” Xander nodded at Faith’s guess. “Just swell.”
“Is that okay?” Xander glanced towards Casey for confirmation.
* * *
“Sounds fine, Xander,” he nodded. He smiled inwardly at the growth he saw in the youth since he’d last seen him. He was growing into his role, still a little awkward, but getting there.
He supposed it was just a case of the boy living long enough to get all the way. Something that was always the trick in their line of work.
* * *
“A penthouse?” Faith shook her head in disgust as she craned her beck to stare up at the glass-walled building looming up over them. “Why do all the bad guys get places that would give Donald Trump building-envy?”
“Who’s saying Trump isn’t a bad guy?” Xander murmured. “Besides I expect we’re supposed to believe there’s some sort of cosmic balancing act. They get good in this life, the good guys in the next. Blah, blah.”
“Blah, blah, is right,” Faith scoffed as she looked towards her boyfriend. “Each day ya sound more like a damn fortune cookie.” She jerked her head to one side, hair swinging impatiently. “We gonna kick some demon ass?”
Xander nodded. “Yeah.” Her man looked towards Casey. “Are your men in position?”
Casey nodded. “Two at the back, two at the front, three in the basement garage. If he makes a break for it, we’ll scoop him up.”
Xander nodded and looked at her. “Great. Let’s go.”
* * *
“Anything yet?”
“N…no,” Tara started as Sara sat beside her, the blonde’s presence unnerving her. She didn’t fancy the blonde, not exactly, but there was no denying her attractiveness. And whenever she was near another beautiful woman, she couldn’t help but be reminded how lonely she was.
“We’ll get there soon,” Sara’s smile slipped slightly. “Tara, have I done something to upset you?”
Tara blushed. “N…no, just-,” her eyes widened as she started to read the next entry on her search through the ‘Banished Demons’ disc. “Oh no, Griseus Mono.”
* * *
“Ahhhh,” Alexis groaned as he awoke. The first thing he noticed was the pain. Both shoulders felt like they’d been dislocated, his head thumped with a roaring headache, and the left side of his face was swollen. The second thing was his charge hanging limply from ceiling-attached chains at the opposite side of the room. He called to her, voice hoarse with fear and every shout sending pain shooting through both his head and his mouth, but she refused to waken. The third thing he noticed that his suit and his girl’s casual clothing had both been replaced by grey robes decorated with some sort of blood-red pentagram.
Bile rose from his throat as he discovered the source of the blood by looking down to see the naked body of a teenage girl lying in the centre of the pentagram on the floor, her viscera likewise used to draw the occult symbol. Alexis peered around the dimly-lit room, the only illumination coming from flickering candles set around the edge of the pentagram, to find every last drop of the girl’s life-blood had been used to likewise decorate the walls, the cruel designs making his stomach hollow and his heart thump in primeval terror.
He didn’t know what was coming, but he knew it was bad.
And that neither he nor his charge were going to survive it.
FIC: MC 33 Feb ’01 A Stab In The Back (3/?)
Bill Standish took a second to admire the leather-clad brunette stalking seductively across the foyer before rising from behind his desk. He noted her companion, a surprisingly purposeful-looking teen, and stepped in front of them. “Sorry, kids. This building is-.”
* * *
Faith blew on her knuckles as the security guard pitched to the floor, a straight right to the jaw putting him out easy. “As always I’m awed by your negotiation skills.”
Faith winked at her man. “It worked,” she replied before crouching by her kayoed victim and pulling out his elevator security card. She glanced up meaningfully at the security camera.
“Don’t worry about that,” Xander said. “We’ll be out of the state by the time an ID’s done.”
“If everything goes right,” she rose.
“Gee, optimistic, much?” Xander joined her in hurrying to the mahogany doored elevator. She plugged the elevator card in. After a second it opened. They stepped inside the glass-interiored elevator, annoying mood-music playing. “So far so good,” Xander commented.
“Remember this Wayne dude’s got his own security, that’s the problem, remember.”
“Yeah,” Xander nodded. “Six Drak, four-armed insectoids with long, poisonous tongues that can burn through most things, and are covered in scales. The only way to kill them is-.”
“Behead them, I was there for the briefing,” Faith interrupted.
“Yeah, but the question is were you listening?”
“Funny fucker.” Faith took a breath as the elevator came to a stop on the top floor, the floor exclusively rented out by Wayne. “Six, right?”
“Yeah.” The moment the doors opened, Xander flung a pair of concussion grenades into the corridor.
BOOOOM! BOOOM!
Flames erupted and plaster shook loose from the corridors’ walls. “Or you can just blow them up,” Xander added as they stepped over the two dismembered Draks who’d been running towards the opening elevator.
”Yeah,” Faith winced as she stood in a puddle of green glunk that she guessed
had to be blood. The place was complete carnage, a reception desk to the left
of the elevator had been turned to firewood and the walls were covered in scorch
marks. Her man knew how to make an entrance. “That works-.”
The door to her right splintered open. She had a half-glimpse of an six-foot something scaled thing with yellow, staring eyes, and forked tongue flicking at her, and she was reacting. Swaying away from the tongue, which was maybe the first time in her life she’d done that, Faith swung up her sword. Her blade sliced through the demon’s spindly neck, blood flying up.
”Yep,” she muttered as the gunk showered her, “definitely blood.”
* * *
Xander shot Faith an amused glance. At the same moment the door beside him exploded. “Damn!” Cursing himself for being distracted he threw himself backwards, twisting at the waist to face the demon even as he fell. His automatic fired two, three times, the ammo smashing into the demon’s head, blowing the top of it clean off, blood showering the room behind him.
“Oh yeah,” Faith moaned as she grabbed his arm and yanked him upright. “I get fuckin’ covered in the shit. You, not so much.”
“You will fight old fashioned. Owww!” he gasped as Faith released her grip and he fell to the ground. “That hurt.”
“You hurt my feelings,” Faith pouted.
”Didn’t think that was possible,” he muttered as he climbed to his feet, hand
rubbing his now doubly-hurting butt.
“Smart-ass,” Faith grunted.
”Yeah,” he winced. “That’s part of the problem.”
“Which room, doofus?”
“The far one.” Xander nodded.
”The one with the five hundred pound steroid freak stood in front of the door?”
“Oh yeah,” Xander gulped. “Hadn’t seen him.”
* * *
“How the fuck do you miss him?” Faith asked as she stared at the hulking bastard. He was bald, close to seven foot with a bullet-shaped head that was a hell of a lot closer to the ceiling than her head with a goatee and cold grey eyes. But that wasn’t what worried her, it was the way his muscles almost seemed to rip through his suit. “Ah well,” Faith smiled, “I love a challenge.”
“Faith…”
“Relax X, you got my back.” She sprinted forward, a grin fixed firmly in place. The behemoth swung a left. Faith crouched in mid-run, shooting out a heel that hammered into the giant’s knee. The gargantuan gasped before trying with a backhand. Again she ducked only for her to totally miss the massive right that smashed into her face.
”Shit!” She crashed into the wall. Seeing X moving forward, she shook her head
as she wiped the blood away from her mouth. “Don’t you dare!” This was wicked
fun.
The guard charged her. Faith waited until the last second before launching herself into a leaping thrust kick at his bank-vault chest. She grunted as the impact jarred through her, but the force of her blow flung the guard into the wall. Her eyes widened as she landed, noting the plaster cracking behind him. Guy was hardcore.
The guard charged her again. This time, she went for avoidance rather than confrontation. Sidestepping to the right, she shot out a heel kick. Bone crunched as her kick slammed into her rival’s meaty thigh. “AhhhhH!” he screamed as his knee flipped inwards, breaking or dislocating the bone. Faith caught the man with a backhand fist to the back of the head as he fell forward, his head crashing on the far wall. Faith stared at the unconscious body. “Winner and still champion.”
”Great,” Xander looked at the door ahead. “Now you’ve finished playing, shall
we?”
“Yeah,” Faith smirked. “Let’s see what’s behind door number 1.”
* * *
“Tara are you alright?” Sara asked, concern about her relationship with the timid witch receding in the wake of her terror.
“I’ve found out who it is, who’s behind the kidnapping. In the last years of the Egyptian empire, a very powerful demon was imprisoned by the sacrifice of a Watcher and his Slayer in a spell. The demon’s followers must be hoping that sacrificing the Watcher and the potential now will result in a reversal of the spell.”
Tara grimaced. “But at least we know who it is. That’s good right?”
”No, it’s not good at all.” Tara shook her head. “It’s not good at all,
Griseus Mono was one of the Chaos Lords, servants to
the one true Chaos God. It says here he caused the fall of the Assyrian and
Sumerian empires.”
”He’s major league?” Sara asked for clarification.
”Major league?” Tara shuddered. “He could start world war three as a practical
joke.”
FIC: MC 33 Feb ’01 A Stab In The Back (4/6)
Sweat poured into his eyes as he jabbed furiously at his private elevator’s button, but to no avail, the gleaming golden doors stayed stubbornly closed. He sobbed deep in his throat as the doors to his apartment didn’t share the same resolve as the invaders blew them open. He looked over his shoulder, hoping against hope that the last of his very expensive bodyguards were taking care of the intruders.
Instead he saw the decapitated demons hitting the floor, his Persian rugs quickly soaking with blood, and a beautiful brunette and a muscular young man striding into his apartment. “Hey, Wayne,” rasped the brunette.
Heart racing, he leapt for the pistols mounted on the wall. “Ahhhh!” He screamed as the brunette flung a knife through his right palm, impaling it to the wall’s wood panels. ”You’re Mithras,” he sobbed as the two approached.
”Mithras?” The brunette looked over her shoulder. “Why does ever no-one
recognise me?” Shaking her head, the raven-haired beauty strode over to him.
”Sorry about the elevator, Wayne, but it’s all hooked up to the same building
network, so we had it taken out of commission, same thing with your land-line,”
Faith, because that’s who she must be, smirked, “as for your cell, according to
the company’s records ya ain’t paid your bill in like six months, so no phone
calls for ya.”
“W…what do you want?”
“We know you’re the state’s go-to-guy for demons. Now, the question is, are you going to answer our questions? Or is Faith,” the man pulled out half a dozen knives and passed them to the beauty, “going to have some target practice?”
“Sometimes I miss,” the teen tilted her head to one side. “Not often, but sometimes.”
“W…what do you want to know?” he gasped, conscious of the dripping sound his blood made as it fell to the ground, his eyes fixed on the knives the Slayer had carefully arrayed on the lounge table, the girl sat on the couch and filing her nails with one of the weapons.
“What do you know about the kidnapping of a Watcher and a potential?” Xander asked.
“A W…Watcher?” Wayne shook his head.
“I….I don’t know anything.”
”And I thought you were a smart man,” Faith shook her head disapprovingly.
”WAIT!” He squealed. “A gang of guys, new guys I hadn’t seen around here
before came to me, saying they needed somewhere discreet to keep a package. But
they said this package need careful looking after, needed somewhere where they
could come and check on it until they were ready to use it, that sounds like a
person, right?”
“Yeah,” Xander announced. “How about an address?”
“It’s in my personal organiser, the entry under 22nd January.”
The man reached onto the table, took the black leather-bound book, and flipped it open. After a few seconds he ripped out a page and nodded. “Thanks. Did you get them anything else?”
“No,” he swallowed as pain shot through his impaled hand. “I offered, but they said they had everything they needed.”
“Right.” Xander nodded. “By the way, we don’t much like humans who make it easy for demons to prey on us. Liquidate your assets and leave town. This is an one-time only warning. Find another line of work.” The young man looked down at his companion. “We’re finished here, Faith.”
“Five by five,” the Slayer nodded and fluidly rose. “Keep the knife,” Faith said as she turned to leave. “Maybe you can sell it on DBay. Tell them it was one of mine, you’ll get a wicked price. I’m a celebrity don’t ya know?”
* * *
Xander turned to Faith as they waited for the elevator to open. “DBay?”
“Website Tara showed me,” Faith explained. “Demonic auction site. You buy and sell goods on it. Magical artefacts, spell ingredients, enchanted weapons, spellbooks, that sorta thing. She’s real into it.”
”Ah,” Xander nodded.
”Yeah,” Faith continued. “Sis is turning into a real geek, she’s gonna have to
get laid and fast.”
* * *
“The Grey One?” Faith wrinkled her nose as Tara finished her explanation. “That didn’t sound exactly dangerous. “Al Gore’s a demon, who’d have guessed it?”
“This isn’t funny, Faith,” her best friend shook her head. “Even after Mithras freed us from slavery to demons, demons remained. Some hunted us for food or for the thrill of the kill, some wanted to turn earth into a hell, some fed off our emotions rather than our flesh, others wanted to rule, others just wanted to wipe us. But there’s another group who don’t want to do anything like that, they want us to cause us pain, they want humans to destroy humans thanks to their machinations. They’re known by a collection of names – The Bedlam Brethren, Carnage Celebrants, Creators of the Great Noise, Drinkers of The Riot. But they’re all names for the same thing – The Chaos Lords who serve the one true Chaos God, Erebus.”
“What do these Chaos Lords do, Tara?” Xander asked.
“It varies, each has their own speciality. Spreading plagues, causing revolts, corrupting honest men, assassinations, helping tyrants to rise. The Gray One’s was something else entirely. He would manipulate a good ruler, play on their fears and desires, turning them this way and that until they were utterly insane, and their kingdom would either fall to an invader, a rival, or better yet into anarchy.”
“Nice,” Faith shuddered. “But his power is like his smarts, right? Physically he ain’t shit?”
“No,” Tara shook her head. “He always chose not to use his physical powers, preferring to spend his time playing his games. But in his true form, he’s a demon of amazing strength, perhaps the match of the wolf-god you fought in Canada.”
Faith shot Xander a look. “Nice.”
“The thing is,” Xander spoke, “from what
Tara,” Xander smiled at the witch, “says, the summonsing ceremony can’t take
place until tonight. Something about the 13th of a month. So, we’re
going to attack the factory tonight. As you can see there’s three entrance
points. One team will take out the back entrance and the left one, but will
then stay in position to take out any cultists who make a break for it. Two
teams will come with me and hit the front entrance. One will stay outside, the
other team will come in with me. Once inside, we’ll let Tara’s nose lead us-.”
“Sis is like a bloodhound,” Faith commented. She smirked unrepentantly at Tara’s glower. “Sorry, sis.”
“To the magic. Then, while we deal with the cultists, Casey and his group will grab the hostages and get out.” Xander paused and sighed. “Now, remember these cultists are humans. But they’re not especially sane, and we’re uncertain if they carry any guns or weaponry at all. Just assume they do. It’s much better if it’s them on the slab than you.”
”And what if we’re too late?” Casey asked. “Too late to stop this demon from
rising?”
“I’ve got plenty of explosives.”
FIC: MC 33 Feb ’01 A Stab In The Back (5/6)
Xander looked around and chuckled. “What’s so funny?” Faith asked in a whisper.
“Look around you,” he replied as he peered towards the hulking grey building. “Even when we’re battling humans we have to fight in the dark. I’m never going to get a tan if this carries on.”
“You’re a strange bunny,” Faith muttered.
”I know,” Xander winked at his girl-friend, “I’m dating you aren’t I?”
Expression sobering, he spoke into his mouthpiece. “Alpha to Beta Team, what is
your position?”
“Beta Team is secure.”
“Roger that.” He nodded. “Alpha to Delta Team, what is your position?”
“Delta Team is secure.”
“Roger that.” Xander sucked in his cheeks, taking a calming breath. Because of their haste in setting up base, the cultists had been forced to forgo electronic security. A fact which made things simpler, but also messier. Biting back a sigh, turned to Casey and the other two men laid ready, eyes fixed through the sights of their sniper rifles on the trio of unsuspecting guards patrolling the front of the building. “Snipers, ready?” Casey and the other two marksmen nodded. “On my mark fire, three, two, one, mark.”
Because the rifles were silenced he heard only a ‘phuft’ come from the guns of the snipers stood to his left but through his infra-red binoculars saw the heads of the men guarding the target explode in a vomit-inducing bloody mist, followed a split-second later by their bodies dropping to the ground. Ignoring his queasiness, Xander nodded. “Let’s hustle.”
Faith was predictably the first to the sliding door. “Wait!” Xander hissed as she reached for it. The busty Bostonian turned to him with eyebrow raised. “Best spray the roller with this,” he pulled out a can of WD-40, “to make sure it doesn’t squeak while it opens. Casey,” he looked towards the special forces operative, “pick two men to come with us, leave the rest on the gate.”
* * *
“It’s done,” Xander announced as he finished spraying the roller.
“Wicked,” Faith took a breath, uncertain as to what they’d find at the other side of the door. Telling herself the only way to find out was to open the door, she slid it soundlessly open to find nothing but an empty room and dusty floor. “Well that’s sort of disappointing.”
“They’re downstairs,” Tara whispered. “I can feel the magic.”
Xander nodded. “Casey, you and your men bring up the rear. Once we’re in there grab the sacrifices.”
“And if they’re dead?” Casey asked.
“If they’re dead, guard Tara while she casts the binding spell.”
Faith grimaced at Xander’s words. From what Tar had said, as long as the demon wasn’t fully in this dimension, the dimensional tear could be closed without loss of life, but it was a hell of a spell.
“And if he’s out?” the soldier pressed.
“Slice and dice all the way.”
* * *
Alexis’ eyes drooped, a combination of his head injury and the essences from the yellow fumes coming up from the smoking brazier that the cowled figures had set up over the dead girl’s body making him nauseous. He stared desperately at the cultists circling the pentagram, their chants filling the air together with the foul air. He’d threatened them with the Council, tried to bribe them, begged, but to no avail. It was all over.
Just as he passed out, he heard the doors crash open and the thump of boots.
* * *
The moment they crashed through the doors, the chaos acolytes turned and charged them. “Oh please,” Faith glided underneath a wild knife-swing to grab hold of a worshipper by the front of his robe and fling him into the ceiling. “I broke my milk-teeth on tougher hombres than you.”
A second demon follower attempted a football tackle, Faith leapt into the air, her foot crashing into the man’s face, sending teeth and blood splattering as he flew backwards. “Shit,” Faith dropped into the splits as another follower leapt at her. Reaching up, she took two handfuls of robe and threw the man headfirst into the far wall. “I feel like an extra in a bad Jackie Chan film.” Another demon worshipper had the stupidity to try a face kick. She grabbed his foot and shook her head. “Naughty, naughty,” Faith scolded as she yanked and twisted his foot, wincing slightly at the simultaneous knee dislocation and ankle break. Man, that had to hurt.
“Ahhhhhhh” the man let out a screech before falling onto his back.
Moving with the sinuous grace of a natural predator, Faith caught a right hook just inches from her face and twisted against the grain while at the same time administering a palm strike to her would-be attacker’s chest. The demon follower grunted and fell to his knees. Faith faked a yawn. “Candy. Taking. From. Babies.”
Yet another worshipper ran screaming at her. Damn, if following demons didn’t make you retarded, these bozos’ tactics sure as hell did. Shaking her head, Faith shot out a foot, catching the worshipper full in his chest. The man let out a wail before flying backwards. Bored, she looked around to see how X and the others were doing.
* * *
The moment they were through the doors, the cultists were on them. The first to reach Xander grabbed him by his left shoulder. Xander responded with a smooth side-step into the man, an elbow to his throat, before twisting around to knee him in the crotch, and then the head as he doubled up.
Another cultist grabbed him by his shoulders from behind, a simple back-step and back headbutt. The moment the acolyte released his grip, Xander grabbed one of his attacker’s wrists, bent forward at the waist and flung him to the ground, stamping on his head before he had time to react.
A punch to the head rocked him back a step, turning he saw another left hurtling towards him, and swayed away at the last second. Snatching at his attacker’s outstretched arm, he twisted away from the blow, allowing his own body-weight to knock his would-be assailant off balance. Twisting back to face his opponent, Xander kicked him in the knee.
The demon worshipper fell onto his side. Before he had chance to recover, Xander dropped onto one knee beside him and drove a fist into his head, bouncing the cultist’s head off the concrete. Looking around, he realised the demon summonsers had been thoroughly routed and were either lying unconscious or groaning on the ground. “Case-.”
“The girl in the middle of the ground’s dead,” the Navy SEAL retorted. “We’ll get the local authorities to hold them on that at least.”
”They’re still alive,” reported one of the men unchaining the Watcher. “Both
out, but breathing.”
“Great,” Xander exchanged worried glances with Faith and Tara. A Watcher and a potential. Why did he think their problems were only just beginning?
A/N: Oh boy , oh boy.
FIC: MC 33 Feb ’01 A Stab In The Back (6/6)
Faith grinned as she looked around the milling conference hall back at Ryback’s place. Everything had gone great. Cultists had their asses handed to them with no casualties or serious injuries on their side, the summonsing had been stopped, and saved the two prisoners. ‘Course one of those saved was a Watcher, but was that saying about omlettes and eggs again?
Looking around, she saw X was busy jawing with Ryback. “Oh fuck,” Faith muttered as she noticed the potential staring at her like she was eyeing a wicked juicy steak. Faith supposed she was hot enough, nice athletic body, long black hair, god knows she knew how guys went for that, and come to bed eyes. But she didn’t swing that way. Deciding to take the bull by the horns, she stepped forward. “Hey, hon, I’m wicked flattered by the interest, but I only drive stick. If I didn’t, I’d give ya a call for sure.” There she’d done it, and without insulting the chick, she could be a considerate person.
”What?” The girl shook herself as if coming out of a trance. “No,” the girl
half-smiled. “You thought I was looking at you?” she shook her head. “Sorry,
but you’re not my type.” Faith’s eyes widened, she was every body’s type, she’d
turned gay guys hetero and straight women gay. “I was looking at her.” The
other brunette walked past her.
Faith looked over her shoulder and watched as the younger girl sashayed over to Tara sat alone on a couch. “Yeah, that wasn’t embarrassing,” she shook her head, “no, not at all.”
* * *
“Hey.”
Tara looked up, startled. She’d been so lost in thought she hadn’t registered the younger girl’s approach. Despite her recent ordeal, the brunette looked very good, so good in fact she found herself blushing. “H….hi,” she looked down then up, forcing herself to meet the other teen’s amused eyes. Oh god, she’d realised why Tara was blushing and was going to make fun of her. Desperate to change the subject, she looked towards Faith. “I saw you talking to Faith, anything interesting?”
“What?” the other girl snorted. “Nah, she thought I wanted to make a pass at her,” Tara nodded. Everyone liked Faith, she wasn’t a wallflower, not like her. “I set her straight though. She’s hot I suppose, but I’m way more interested in you.“ Tara’s mouth dropped open. The other girl stuck her hand. “Hey, I’m Kennedy, you’re Tara, right?”
“R…right?”
Kennedy threw her head back and laughed. “It is or it isn’t.” The potential knelt on the sofa beside her. “So, being a wicca, that must be really cool.”
“Isn’t your Watcher trained in magic?” Tara was immeasurably pleased when she managed a sentence that was almost coherent in its brilliance.
“Yeah, but all he ever wants to talk is training and demons, he’s a real bore.” Kennedy looked around, drownable eyes filling with puzzlement. “Where is he anyway?”
* * *
“Yes hello, I’m aware I’m late getting in contact, but I have news. I’m in the same building as the renegade and Mithras right now. Yes, they don’t believe I’d call in on them, they saved my life, but that is unimportant next to serving the Council.”
Sara’s stomach hollowed as she heard the phone call through a crack in the door. All at once she was grateful she’d needed to get some fresh air. Uncle Case had to hear this and fast.
* * *
Faith glanced around, something in the air setting off her radar. She saw Sara hurrying across to her uncle, brow furrowed with worry. Faith hurried over, there in time to hear the older woman tell them that the Watcher had called them in to Travers. “Son of a bitch!” Faith cursed.
Xander looked towards Tara. “Tar, we’re leaving!”
“B…but.” Tara looked at the potential.
Faith shook her head. ”Look, we’ll make a detour at Heff’s, I’ll steal you a
centrefold-.”
“You never offered to do that for me,” Xander muttered.
Faith took the high road and ignored that. Xander had her, what the fuck did he
need with a centrefold? They were all plastic anyhow. “So come on!”
“I want to come with you,” Kennedy interrupted, face pale.
“Do we look stupid?” Faith looked at Xander. “Okay, do I look stupid? First chance you get you’ll call the Council on our asses, drug our food or some shit.”
”I won’t!” Kennedy’s eyes spat fire at her. “You saved my life, all the stuff
I’ve been told about you, it’s wrong. The Council have been brain-washing me, I
see that now.”
Tara’s head was bobbing from her to Ken’s like an umpire at a tennis match.
”S…she’s telling the truth, she won’t betray us.”
“Oh yeah,” Faith scoffed. “And you wouldn’t be saying that ‘cause you wanna get into her pants?”
“And you’re only saying I can’t come because you’re embarrassed that you thought I was making a pass at you but I wasn’t!”
Faith’s mouth opened and shut, for once completely and utterly lost for words. And she thought before was embarrassing. Conscious of every eye turning to her and seeing Xander’s mouth open, she glared at her man before returning her eyes towards the pouting potential. Girl had balls, gotta hand that to her. “Fine,” Xander spoke before she had chance, “ we don’t have time to argue. You can come.” Xander looked towards Ryback. “What about Sutherland?”
Mount Rushmore was less stony than the look on the former Navy SEAL’s face. “Leave him to us.”
` * * *
Sutherland smirked as he finished his call. With this little coup he didn’t have to worry about his Potential being chosen to ensure his chapter in Council history, hell he’d probably be re-assigned direct to the ruling body, not have to worry about the dangers of active duty anymore. Bringing down the rogue Slayer, the only Slayer to evade the Council’s justice for more than a few months, and Mithras to boot.
His smile faded as he exited the room to find the Navy SEAL lent against the door, an icy look in his eyes. “Your phone call sounded important, I didn’t want to interrupt you.” The man chuckled. “Besides all the time you were talking, Xander, Faith, Tara, oh and your potential were getting further and further away.”
Sutherland’s stomach hollowed at the man’s words. And Travers had just ordered him to play along with Harris in an effort to ingratiate himself. “You dare interfere with the Council!”
“Haven’t you been keeping up?” The American soldier’s smile could slice flesh. “The Brotherhood doesn’t recognise the Council. After all, why would we recognise an organisation where grown men hide behind a young girl? Where they let this girl do all the fighting for them while keeping their resources for themselves? Where this bunch of cowards feed this girl to a monster on her 18th birthday?”
“You impudent bastard.” Blood pounding, he threw a left.
The soldier swayed backwards at the waist, his punch pummelling thin air. “Owww!” he screamed as the point of the SEAL’s boot smashed into his knee.
Leg buckling, he attempted to stumble towards his adversary, but the damn yank just sidestepped and drove an elbow into the side of his head. His balance completely shattered, he crashed face first to the ground. Head ringing, he tried to rise only to gasp when the soldier grabbed his right arm at the wrist and forced it straight, knee pressing into his elbow and wrist bent painfully back. “I suspect it’ll be only a few hours until whatever Council hit-team you’ve sent for gets here. But that time won’t be wasted. I’m going to teach you about consequences. The consequences of stabbing people in the back. The consequences of having no honour. Unfortunately for you,” he howled as the older man twisted his arm back, snapping his wrist and dislocating his shoulder. “I can’t guarantee you’ll learn much, on account of the fact you won’t be awake for much of your lesson.”