San Francisco - SIU Headquarters
Nash Bridges gets out of his vintage Barracuda and approaches his three partners, Joe Domingeuz, Evan Cortez and Harvey Leek. All three men are standing, waiting for Nash to come in before they begin the trip south to Sunnydale. As Nash approaches, he asks Harvey. "Did you get everything we need?"
"Yeah, six 308 caliber assault rifles with an additional ten magazines per. The armory guy was curious why we needed such heavy firepower, but I told him we wanted to get in some practice."
"Good. Joe are we clear for today?"
"Yeah, except for one little problem."
"What's the problem Joe?" As soon as the question is asked it is answered.
"Yo, Nash, over here." Rick Bettina calls out, closely followed by two men.
"Listen Rick, I'm really busy here. So, this had better be important."
"Nash, let me introduce you to Detectives Peter Caine and Kenneth Griffin of the Toronto Police Dept. They'll be working with you for the next couple of days. Studying your methods and stuff like that."
Nash pulls Rick over to the side and quietly tells him. "Listen Rick, you remember those things that we had to take out a few months ago?"
Rick's eyes widen as he asks. "Are they back?"
"No, but they're in LA and Scarlet called me early this morning asking for backup. The four of us and Scarlet's brothers are going down there to help fight those things."
"Correction, the five of us."
"Rick, you don't have to come."
"Wrong, those things almost killed me and my family. I'm going to help. Besides, it's the only way you're going to be able to get out showing Caine and Griffin around."
"That's blackmail, Rick."
"Blackmail is such an ugly phrase, Nash. I prefer opportunity enhancer." Rick replies with a grin.
Nash cracks a smile as he replies. "Rick, you keep on having this type of attitude and I might just start liking you." "Thanks Nash, nice to know I'm appreciated. But.." Before Rick can continue two Explorers pull up next to Nash and Rick. Both Nash and Rick go for their guns, but, as the front passenger gets out, both men relax.
Sean O'Hara grins as he greets two good friends. "Hello Nash, Rick are you both ready to leave? Or is there a problem?"
"No problems Sean. We're ready to go in a couple of minutes."
"Not a problem Nash. But I have a little puzzle for you, before we get on the road."
"What's the puzzle Sean?"
"Last night, me and the boys were out hunting in Oakland and found a strange sight. Four people taking on a dozen of the toothy bastards and winning hands down. After they took their leave, we got the drop on them. We brought them back to our place and started to ask questions. None of them wanted to talk. But, after Scarlet called and asked us to go down to Sunnydale for the meet today, all four started to talk. Turns out they were part of the group that help out Scarlet and Snake Eyes last time they were down there. Interesting, isn't it?"
"Very interesting. Care to introduce me to the person in charge? I'm very curious about Scarlet's friends from Sunnydale."
"Be my pleasure Nash." Sean replies as he opens the rear passenger door. "Allow me to introduce you to Miss Kyra Adams. Miss Adams, Inspector Nash Bridges, Captain of the SFPD Special Investigations Unit."
Nash looks over the lady in question and thinks to himself. < Man, this is one fine lady. What the hell is she doing hunting vampires? >
Kyra looks over Nash in turn and thinks to herself. < Cute, not as cute as Duncan, but he'll do in a pinch. >
Peter Caine looks over the meeting between Rick Bettina and Nash Bridges and quietly tells his friend and partner, Kermit. "Looks like we're going to get dumped Kermit. How much do you want to bet that's want's going to happen?"
"I never take sucker bets Pete. But I'd lay on odds that something strange is going on." Kermit replies as he watches the two detectives talk to the large red haired man. < God, he's a big one. > Then he notices the face of the woman getting out o f the back of the sport utility vehicle. < Shit, she's dead. It can't be Kyra. > "Pete, that woman, she's supposed to be dead. I saw her die ten years ago."
"You sure it's her? It could someone that looks like her, Kermit."
"No, the mannerisms, the way she's speaking, it's Kyra." Kermit then turns to Pete. "I've got to talk to her. Peter, I never got a chance to tell her that I loved her."
New York City - LaGuardia Airport
Connor reaches the American Airlines terminal and feels the 'Buzz' of an approaching Immortal. As he turns around, he spots two people, a man and a woman, slowly approaching him. As they draw near, Connor tells them. "I'm not interested in playing any 'Games' today. So, if you don't mind, we can discuss this after I get back."
"Buddy, I really don't care shit about the 'Game'. We've got some important business to get to in California and I don't need some idiot getting the way." Mike testily replies.
"May this business be in Sunnydale?" Connor asks, realizing that these two could be friends.
"Yeah, it is. How do you know?"
"A lovely lady named Dana called and asked for help. You two?"
"I know the lady in question. Nice to meet you. The name's Hammer, Mike Hammer. This," Hammer points to the lady next to him. "Is my student Velda Thomas. And you are?"
"Connor MacLeod, of the Clan MacLeod."
"Any relation to Duncan of the same clan?"
"Same clan, different vintage. I'm the better looking one." Connor replies with a roguish grin.
Velda smiles and Mike chuckles. "All you Highlanders are the same."
As they approach the American Airlines counter, Connor asks. "Can you tell me what the situation is like, in more detail?"
"Sure, not a problem. But let's get on the plane first."
At the counter all three present their tickets and the woman behind the counter smiles at Connor's first class ticket and immediately processes it. As she looks at Mike's and Velda's coach tickets, she frowns and tells them. "I'm sorry, sir, miss. But it appears as though the flight's been over booked and we're going to have to give you a later flight. The next flight leaves in three hours."
"We can't wait. We have to be in Los Angeles by four o'clock for an important meeting." Mike angrily states.
Before the woman can protest. Connor raises his hand and asks. "Is there room for them in first class?"
"Yes, sir, but they'll have to buy the first class tickets. My manager won't allow me to move them up to first class, without paying for it."
"Please tell the manager that Mr. Connor MacLeod is here. He'll recognize the name."
"May I ask why?" The woman's ire starts to show. < Who the hell was this guy to butt his nose in? >
"My cousin and I own a large block of voting stock in American Airlines. The manager knows me from the last stock holder's meeting."
< Right, I'm sure. > The woman thinks snidely as she reaches for the phone. < Let's see how this guy likes to have his lies thrown back into his face. > "Mr. Raines, there's a Connor MacLeod out here and he wishes to see you."
"I'll be right out." Mr. Raines replies crisply.
The woman smiles smugly < He's going to get his ass chewed out in front of his friends. And I thought it was going to be a bad day. >
Mr. Raines approaches the counter and he immediately recognizes Connor. "Mr. MacLeod, always a pleasure to see you. May I ask what is the difficulty?"
"Certainly," A smiling Connor replies. "Flight 544 has been over booked and my two friends have tickets for it, but the lady won't move them up to first class, without charging them for the additional fare. I don't think this is fair, do you?"
"It isn't. Miss Henderson, please issue Mr. MacLeod's two associates first class tickets for Flight 544. Do you want them together?"
"Yes that would be most accommodating, we have quite a bit to discuss on the flight over."
"Thank you Mr. MacLeod, and you sir, miss for flying American." Mr. Raines replies as he leaves.
Connor turns back to the woman and asks. "Are those tickets ready?"
"Yes sir, here they are." < Shit, Raines just folded up. Who the hell is this guy? >
As they leave to board the plane, Mike turns to Connor. "Thanks for the help, Connor. Let me know if I can ever return the favor."
"Knowing what we're getting into will be favor enough Mike. Duncan told me what happened five months ago, but I find it hard to believe."
"Believe me Connor, if I hadn't been there, done what I'd done, I won't either."
Somewhere in Virginia - Stony Man Farm - The War Room
The men of Phoenix Force have gathered in the War Room of the Stony Man Complex. Seated around the table were the five commandos compromising the elite anti terrorist unit, Jack Grimaldi, their pilot, Yakov 'Katz' Katzenbergen, the team strategist and Cowboy Kissinger, the unit armorer. As the men assemble, they look at each other and wonder what the emergency was.
"Gary did Mack mention anything?" David McCarter asks the unit leader.
"No David, he didn't. I'm as much in the dark as you are." Gary then turns to Yakov Katzenbergen, the unit's field strategist and former Phoenix Force team leader. "Katz, did Mack mention what all the uproar is about?"
"Not yet, but here comes Mack and Barbara."
Mack Bolan and Barbara Price enter the War Room and sit down in their respective seats. Mack begins the meeting with. "I take it all of you have heard about the raids on the vampire cult being conducted by the LAPD?"
Everyone looks at each other, wondering where this was leading to. Gary Manning asks. "What do those raids have to do with us?"
"Able Team has been participating in the raids and Carl called in a few minutes ago and gave a rather grim status report. As well as a request for backup."
"So what's the situation? The news reports have been sketchy at best."
"The news is grim and we're going to have to react quickly." Mack replies, then gives the Stony Man warriors a run down of the previous night's events.
"Mack, that is the craziest story that I have ever heard. And I've listened to McCarter's stories for the last eight years." Calvin James comments with a grin.
Mack picks up a VHS tape and puts it into the VCR. "This tape was made five months ago, in a small town in California. Watch it and tell me what you think." The group watches the tape unfold in the Sunnydale High School gym. As the tape zooms in on Mack and the two people standing on one side of the gym. David McCarter spits out his Coke. T.J. Hawkins drops his coffee mug. Mack stops the tape and asks. "David, TJ, what is it? You two look like you've seen a ghost."
"That bloke standing next to you and the girl. Who is he?" David asks in a hushed whisper.
"Yeah, that guy." T.J. mutters.
"A friend by the name of Steve St. Wolf, why?"
"That's not his name, Mack. That guy was supposed to have died fifteen years ago. Shit, he hasn't changed one bit." David McCarter replies.
"Who is he David?" Calvin James asks.
"Carson 'Cherokee' Jamieson. One of the toughest bastards that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."
"How'd you meet him?" Mack asks.
"In 1980, he was part of the SAS/Green Beret exchange program. During his stint in the SAS, he was assigned to my unit. Naturally, we treated him like the delicate flower, that we knew all Green Berets were." McCarter replies with a grin, then continues, more seriously, "One night, on a patrol, our unit was ambushed by the IRA and two of us were wounded. The rest of the team was forced back and the IRA was pressing it's advantage when Jamieson grabbed up an extra rifle and went back for the wounded. That madman waded through the fire fight and carried out both men on his shoulders, firing all the way. Naturally my unit commander ordered that he be given cover fire while he carried our team mates out. After that, we retreated back and got some backup.
"By the time the Marines made it in, the IRAs were gone, leaving thirty dead behind. Our commanding officer, Brigadier McPherson, came down personally for a status report. After Captain Sinclair informed him of Jamieson's bravery, McPherson, read Jamieson the riot act about only being an observer and not participating in any action. Jamieson told the old man off and told him if the situation repeated itself, he wouldn't hesitate to do it again. McPherson ordered our unit to stand down and return to base. Three days later we were ordered to muster out in our dress uniforms. Brigadier McPherson then showed up and walked up to Jamieson and presented him a Victoria Cross. He was transferred back to the States shortly after that. In 1983, Jamieson, supposedly died, saving a group of kids from a nutcase armed with an AK-47. When we heard what happened, my unit lifted a glass to him, in memory, at the Lion's Pride Pub. That's the last we heard of him, until now."
Mack turns to T.J. and asks. "T.J., where do you know Steve from?"
"When I first joined the Rangers, he was the base martial arts champion. Being a smart ass, I tried to take him on in hand to hand. After he beat the crap out of me, he set me straight and took me under his wing. About two months later, he left, his enlistment was up. But, in that time he taught me a lot." . Mack turns to Aaron 'Bear' Kurtzman, Stony Man's computer expert. "Bear, can you pull up Jamieson's file?"
"Already done it. Do you want the gist of it or everything?"
"Give us a run down. Start with his commendations."
"Two silver stars, three bronze, two purple hearts, the Victoria Cross and he was nominated for the Medal of Honor."
"Why was he nominated for the Medal?" Calvin James asks.
"According to his file, he carried one of his wounded team mates through eight miles of jungle to their landing zone, after completing their mission. After he reached the LZ, he left his team mates and went back to recover the body of their commanding officer, a first lieutenant Joshua Henderson, who was fresh out of training and on his first classified mission. He brought the lieutenant's body back and Captured one of the leaders of the Columbian drug gang they were taking out. In his report, Jamieson gave the lieutenant all of the credit for the successful mission. Jamieson's team mates reported his valor and courage. Their commanding officer, a Captain Ritter, nominated him for the Medal. The lieutenant's father, a Colonel Henderson, co-sponsored the nomination. It was shot down by some CIA big shot, due to the classified nature of the mission." Bear continues to scan the text, then he lets out a low whistle. "Mack, this guy completed one hundred and thirty one missions, no failures. And he always brought his men back, wounded or dead."
The War Room is silent as Bear finishes. Mack clears his throat and continues the video tape. The group watches as almost two hundred vampires enter the gym and face the trio. They watch in awe as the battle starts and how quickly it's fought. Near the end of the battle, Calvin James asks. "What's happening to them? How come there are no bodies?"
Mack pauses the tape and explains. "When a vampire is made, the human being is killed. A demon then takes over the body and basically animates the corpse. When the demon is destroyed, the body immediately breaks down."
"How do you destroy the demon?" Raphael Encizno asks.
"Various ways. But as the video tape shows, we initially used fire to kill about a third of them, then, we moved in with swords and wooden stakes. We killed them by beheading them with the swords or stabbing them in the heart with wooden stakes."
"Damn, talk about up close and personal." David McCarter cracks. "Are we going to have to go toe to toe as well?"
"No, Steve and his people have come up with a wooden bullet. It has to be fired into the heart of the vampire for it to be effective, but I don't think that you'll have a problem with that. Effective range is approximately 100 yards and it breaks up after it hits the vampires, so no collateral damage will be done."
"Mack, who are those other people there? Especially the girl who was standing next to you and St. Wolf.? She couldn't be over eighteen years old. < Damn, it couldn't happen again. I hope to God that girl is not a Slayer. > What is that child doing there?" Barbara Price asks, angry that someone so young should be exposed to such violence..
Mack looks over the room and lets out a low sigh. "They're friends of Steve St. Wolf. I was at Casey Romaine's place with three other friends, when he got the call from St. Wolf. After St. Wolf convinced Casey to come and help, Casey convinced us to lend a hand. The rest were called in by St. Wolf. The girl is Buffy Summers and she's what's called a Slayer. And before you ask, she was fighting vampires for two years, before Steve came into the picture."
Barbara shudders as she looks at Mack's cavalier attitude about the Slayer. < Two years? How could that child fight vampires for two years and live. My aunt barely lasted four months. What is so special about this girl? >
"Slayers are myths." Yakov Katzenbergen replies, unconvinced at his own statement.
"What are they, Katz?" Gary Manning asks.
"They're supposedly girls given the strength, speed and skill to hunt and kill vampires. Hebrew legends talk about them. But I never believed the myths, until now."
"Believe them Katz. She's the real thing." Mack replies to a silent room. "Now, we've got to get to the Sunnydale Motor Lodge by 1600 PST to rendevous with the rest of the people and Able Team. Cowboy, break out extra weapons in 9mm, 45 cal. and 308, plus extra magazines."
"Are we going to be fighting with the people on the tape?" Cowboy asks.
"Probably, but Steve has more access to assets this time and so far we have the following people involved. Two LAPD SWAT teams, respectively the Rangers and Zombies, about fifty uniformed LAPD officers. A ninja clan called the Storm Shadows, a half dozen FBI agents and thirty members of a Black Ops Group called Section Seven called in by St. Wolf, as well as Steve's group, of about a dozen."
"Mack, that's a small army. Are we really needed?" Katz asks.
"Yes, at best estimates they'll be facing about three hundred vampires. And this time the vampires will be expecting them. So we are going. Any questions?"
"Yeah, is it all right if we call in John Trent? After all, they have their ninjas, so why can't we have our own?" Gary Manning replies with a grin.
"All right, but tell him only to meet us at the Motor Lodge. We'll tell him everything there. Am I clear?"
"You got it, Mack." Gary replies as the meeting breaks up.
Barbara and Mack hang back and talk. "I'm going with you, Mack."
"Barbara, this is going to be one of the most dangerous mission that we've ever undertaken. Please stay behind."
"Mack, I just saw a seventeen year old girl fight a large number of vampires. If she can do it, then I can as well."
"Barbara, Buffy has been hunting and killing vampires and demons since she was fifteen. I have no control over that, but I do have some control over this mission, and I want you to stay behind."
Barbara's eye flash as she angrily tells him. "Mack, I'm no child and I was a top operative for the CIA, before I met you. And this is something that I want to do. I owe it to my aunt."
"What does your aunt have to do with this?" Mack asks, curious.
"She was a Slayer, Mack. Some vampires butchered her four months after she became the Slayer. Her Watcher, that conceited French bastard, told us that she died well. I don't want the same thing happening to this girl."
"Of that you have nothing to worry about." Mack replies with a mischievous grin. < God, if she only knew Buffy was an Immortal, she'd kill me. >
San Francisco - Apartment of John Trent
John walks over to his telephone and quietly asks. "Hello, who is this?"
"John, Calvin James here. We need you for another mission. You available?"
John takes a deep breath and looks over his apartment/Dojo, still empty of students and replies. "Yes Calvin, I'm available. Where do I meet you?"
"The Sunnydale Motor Lodge. Can you make it by 1400 hours?"
"I can make it two hours. Do you want me to leave now?"
"Sure, and get us five double rooms."
'Why five double rooms?"
"Because Mack, Barbara, Cowboy and Grimaldi are joining us on this mission."
"That's a lot of people and fire power James, can I ask what the mission is?"
"We'll tell you when we get there. Then you can make up your mind."
"All right James, I'll be there. Bye."
Casey Romaine's Montana Ranch
The six men spread across the living room in various stages of a drunken stupor are suddenly awakened by the loudest noise that any of them has ever heard. Casey's extra large air horn. Gus Beiderman reaches for an empty holster to shoot the individual responsible for the unwelcome noise. After finding his holster empty, Gus opens his eyes and asks in a German accented voice. "Casey, my friend, please stop with the noise. I'm too old to be woken up this early, yes?"
Casey grins as the rest of his house guests slowly wake up. He watches as Glam, his oldest friend, looks dazedly around himself. < Probably looking for another beer. >
Hurvolf and Richard Blade look up from a drunken stupor and Richard asks. "What's the problem Casey? Why are you waking us up this early for?"
Casey grins as he tells them. "I just had a phone call." Richard Blade blanches.
"Not from Steve St. Wolf, I hope." Richard asks, remembering the last time that Casey started out like that.
Casey's grin spreads as tells Richard. "God Richard, you must be psychic. That's exactly who called and asked for some help. You interested?"
Richard looks at Casey and evenly replies. "You should know, by now, Casey that I'm always interested in protecting the innocent. So what's the mission this time? More vampires?"
Casey nods and grins as he turns on the television to CNN. The top story is the raids on the vampire cult in Los Angeles. The men watch in horror as the number of dead innocents is read off by the news caster.
Ex-Green Beret, Jim Gilbride watches in horror and asks. "What the fuck happened in LA?"
Casey then gives them the situation report given to him by Steve St. Wolf. After he finishes, Hurvolf asks. "Are we going to help, then?"
"Only if you want to. Understand that there will be above fifty Immortals there and they've all agreed not to play in the 'Game'. So you won't have to worry about your heads. And you'll be expected to honor their wishes in that regard as well."
"Casey, I think that I speak for all of us here, when I say that none of us ever wanted to play the 'Game'. And after I received that manuscript and it's translation, I've had even less of an appetite for it." Teacher replies as suddenly every Immortal in the room stiffens and moves to their swords.
"Hello, my love. I'm back." A voice replies from behind Casey.
Casey turns to one of the most beautiful sights in his long life. His wife, Lida was back from Europe. "When did you get back?" His friends relax and stop reaching for their swords.
"Just a couple of minutes ago. And I brought a pair of old friends." Lida replies with a smile as two women enter the room.
The look they give the men, in various stages of sobriety, causes them much discomfort. Finally the red head comments. "I see that your parties haven't changed much in the last fifteen hundred years. And you taste in friends hasn't improved, either." She replies, noticing Glam and Hurvolf.
"Hello Sonja, Gabrielle, where have the two of you been for the last twenty years?" Casey asks with a grin. < God, these two haven't changed one bit. They could still strip a man's hide off with just a glare. >
"Trapped by a rock slide in the Himalayas. We were searching for a manuscript which told of the secret to the 'Game'. We were just freed by another rockslide about a year ago and went to Paris to recover and catch up on what's happened while we were out." Sonja replies.
"Would this happen to be the manuscript that you were searching for?" Teacher asks, handing them a photo copy of the Krevar manuscript.
Both women look over the photo copy and then Gabrielle asks. "Where did you get this copy from? And where is the original? Who provided this to you?"
"I don't know. It was overnighted to me about five months ago. Who ever sent it, sent a translation as well." Teacher hands over the translation. "Along with a note saying that I have to make up my own mind about it's veracity. For some reason, I believe that it's the real thing."
Sonja and Gabrielle shake their heads and mutter. "Who could have translated this? It's in Hyborean. No one but you or me even knows that language existed. And who found it? The temple was supposed to be a death trap for anyone who entered it. Mortal or Immortal."
While the Sonja and Gabrielle are discussing the manuscript, Casey is looking at the wall and grins. < Should I tell them or better yet, let them stew for a while? The right thing to do would be to tell them, but then where would the fun be? >
Lida, standing off to the side notices her husband's grin. < Damn, Casca knows something. And he's going let Sonja and Gabrielle suffer. Not this time my husband. These two are my oldest and dearest friends. > "Sonja, I think maybe Casca knows something."
Casey's head snaps back to his wife, with a pleading look in his eyes. "Lida, how would I know anything about that manuscript. You know that I've never interfered in the affairs of the Immortals." The three women walk deliberately toward Casey and he backs up against a wall. He calls over to his friends. "Are you going let them do this to me? What sort of friends are you?"
"The kind who know when not to interfere in a situation." Teacher replies with a lop sided grin attached to his face, enjoying Casey's discomfort, immensely.
"And the kind who know that if we do, we won't have our balls, shortly there after." Hurvolf replies with a grin.
Richard, Glam, Jim and Gus, meanwhile are falling over in spasms of laughter. Gus gets enough wind back to tell Casey. "Oh my dear friend, I'm sorry that this is happening to you. But never worry, I will sing of your bravery to the world." Gus then turns to the other Immortals. "Now, any of you care to bet how long Casey can take it?"
Casey's back hits the wall and he finds himself surrounded by his wife and her two friends. Lida leans in and sweetly asks. "Now Casca, please tell our friends who found the manuscript and where they can find this person or," Lida reaches down and caresses Casey in a very sensitive spot. "You will never share my bed again."
"But Lida, my love. We've been married for fifteen centuries. Can't I have a little fun at Sonja's and Gabrielle's expense? After all, they've constantly pulled shit like this on me."
"No, my husband, you may not, this time. They've been through a lot and they need to finish this quest. So tell them or else." Lida's hand stops caressing and suddenly squeezes.
Casey gasps out an. "Ompf," then Lida stops squeezing. Casey looks into her eyes and sees no mercy there, then he looks at Sonja and Gabrielle and finds no relief there either. He, then looks over to his so-called 'friends' and watches as they bet on how long it'll take Lida to crack his resolve. < Screw it. Lida's right, they should meet Steve St. Wolf. After all, what are friends for? And Wanderer should be cursed with this precious pair. > Casey's mouth splits into an evil grin as he tells his wife and her two friends. "The man's name is Steve St. Wolf."
Hurvolf screams out, "Pay me suckers, I knew Lida would get it out of him in no time." The rest of Casey's friends grumble, but fork over the money.
Gus looks over to Casey as he pays Hurvolf and yells out, in disgusted tone of voice. "Some man you are Casey. You couldn't even hold out for ten minutes, so I could win the bet."
Lida and her two friends don't pay any attention to Hurvolf and the rest of Casey's friends, as a shocked and disbelieving Lida asks. "Not the same Steve St. Wolf that you curse so much about? The same man who dragged you to Libya? And who you swore to kill the next time you saw him?"
Casey nods his head in agreement. "Yes, that Steve St. Wolf. But I never said I'd kill him. Just beat the hell out of him."
Sonja and Gabrielle share a grin and a thought. < Anyone who pisses Casca off this much, we've got to meet. If only to compare notes and methods. >
"Where do we find him?" Sonja asks.
"You don't. We're going to join him."
"May I ask what are you going to be doing with Mr. St. Wolf." Lida asks, suddenly suspicious.
"Since you flew in from Europe, I take it you haven't had a chance to see the news yet?"
"No, we haven't. Why?"
Casey turns on the TV to CNN again. "Take a look at what's happening in Los Angeles. While my so-called friends gather together the weapons that we'll need for the mission."
The three women watch the news reports for several minutes and Lida is in shock at the carnage caused by these so-called cultists. Sonja and Gabrielle are more reserved and ask. "What or who could have caused these mass murders?"
"Vampires trying to raise the Aztec God of War." Casey replies, then explains the situation to the three women, including the plans for that night and the rendevous. Then Casey calls the airport and makes arrangements to fly out to Sunnydale on his private Lear Jet.
Kyra and Nash are discussing the trip to Sunnydale, when Nash feels a hand on his shoulder and someone mutters. "Excuse me, but I have to talk to the lady."
Nash turns and sees that it's one of the Toronto detectives. The one with the sun glasses, asking him to move away from Kyra. Nash looks over to Kyra and she quietly nods her head and Nash, Rick and Sean move away, leaving them alone. Kyra looks over Kermit and asks. "So, Kermit, what brings you to San Francisco?"
"An exchange program, between the SF PD and the Toronto PD. But enough about me. How in the hell did you survive? When I last saw you, you were shot at least a dozen times."
"Would you believe good living and a little bit of luck?"
"No."
"Then, you don't need to know." Kyra replies in a cold tone as she turns around and tells Nash. "Inspector Bridges, we're leaving now. We'll meet you at the rendevous."
"You got it sister." Nash replies, then he turns to Rick Bettina. "Listen Rick, these two are your responsibility, so keep a rein on them. We'll see you tomorrow and give you a run down on what happened."
Rick relents. "All right Nash, I'll keep an eye on our two guests. But I don't like being left out of the fight like this."
"Sorry Rick, but we need some one here to handle any emergencies that come up and you're it."
"Understood Nash. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good trip." Rick replies as Nash gets into his car and the convoy leaves, headed south. As they leave, Rick mutters under his breath, "I'll see you as soon as I lose these two."
"You won't loose us that easily." Kermit replies, standing just behind Rick.
Rick jumps, turns and sputters. "How the hell did you sneak up behind me?"
"I was a mercenary soldier for ten years, and before that, I was Special Operations." Kermit replies. "Now, do you know where are those people going?"
"Yeah, I know where they're going, but I can't tell you."
"All right then, you can take us." Peter Caine replies.
Rick thinks about it for a minute. < Well, Nash never told me not to go to Sunnydale. Why not? > "All right, but I drive."
Kermit looks at Peter and smiles. "All right, you can drive."
"Good, then let's go. We have to be at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge by four o'clock." Rick replies as he heads to his car, followed by the two Toronto detectives.
Frank Parker wakes up from his latest trip and takes off his helmet. He quickly gets up and leaves the sphere and strips off his flight suit. He looks around and finds himself in Kansas City, Kansas. He spots a pay phone and calls in. "This is Conundrum. I'm presently in Kansas City, Kansas. Have a recovery team get the sphere."
The operator puts him through to Talmadge and the rest of the mission teams as she replies. "Understood Conundrum."
In the mission office the team gathers around a speaker phone and a gray haired project director named Talmadge asks. "All right Frank. Can you tell us the nature of the emergency?"
"We have a code red. Have Donovan get together as many SEALs as he can and meet me in Los Angeles. I can't explain it now. The clock is ticking and we have to be in Los Angeles before six o'clock today to stop a major disaster."
"Understood Frank. Do you need anything else?"
"Yeah, keep everybody else away. If this goes bad, we might have to nuke Los Angeles."
"Frank, you can't be serious."
"Yes Sir, I am. If this situation goes south then have the President drop a bomb on Los Angeles. I'll call back with the coordinates later." Frank replies, then hangs up and flags down a cab.
Jarod looks at the wall and asks himself for the thousandth time. < Since when am I able to kill a man without a second thought, to protect a man I hardly know. This is most puzzling. I hardly know Steve St. Wolf and I want to follow where he leads. > Then Jarod makes a decision, < I need to talk to Sidney. > Jarod then dials Sidney's cell phone. He hears Sidney pick it up.
"Sidney here."
"Hello Sidney. This is Jarod."
Sidney immediately waves over to Broots and points to his phone. "Jarod, are you all right? Have you been hurt?" Broots starts to trace the call.
"No Sidney, I'm fine. I just called to talk. Got a few minutes?"
"For you Jarod? Of course. What do you want to talk about?"
"Have you seen the news?"
"You mean those four raids last night on the vampire cult? Yes, I have. How were you involved in them?"
"I was part of the team doing the raids."
"My God Jarod, the news said that none of the cultists were captured alive. Your team killed all of them. Please tell me you didn't participate in such butchery."
"I'm afraid that I did. I killed five, maybe as many as eight vampires last night."
"Jarod, I can't believe that you are capable of killing one, let alone eight human beings. What has become of you?"
"Sidney, the cultists are not human beings, they're real vampires. The government sent in a Black Operations group to kill them off."
Sidney sits down at this revelation and asks, < That explains Jamieson's people out in the motel. > "Jarod, you can't be serious. There is no such thing as vampires. Those people were just some deluded individuals who believed they were vampires. And what is this about a Black Operations group?"
"Sidney, those things had real fangs. Also, their faces turned into some kind of monsters when they attacked us. And when we shot them, they turned to dust. Real bullets wouldn't kill them, so the Black Operations people gave us a special ammunition to use on them."
"Then the ammunition somehow turned them into dust. Maybe it has special properties that they didn't tell you about."
"I examined one of the rounds. It's a regular bullet, except it's not made of lead, but condensed wood."
Sidney sits quietly and contemplates the information just provided by Jarod. < That would explain the attack last night at the airport. Real vampires wouldn't have been stopped by the sweeper's bullets. God, this is too much. > "Jarod, what are your plans now?"
"There's to be at least one more raid tonight. The Black Operations group has called in reinforcements and they're going to take out the rest of the vampires."
"How many will you be facing?" < Reinforcements? Damn how many of them will be coming here? >
"Best estimate is about three hundred. We'll be out numbered three to one and we've lost the element of surprise."
"Sweet Lord in Heaven. Jarod are you insane? Why are you doing this?"
"That's the reason I called you. The man leading the operation is the vigilante who rescued those people at the Burger-to-Go. And, this may sound strange, but I'm willing to follow that man, even if it means my death. Why is that?"
Sidney wonders as well. "What do you like about this man Jarod?"
"Well, his first name is Steve and he's resourceful, kind, caring and is willing to risk his own life for others. He doesn't sit back and orders people around. He leads them. When we attacked the supermarket on Piedmont and the Regal Tower hotel, he led the main assault. He planned both attacks to first rescue the hostages being held there and then to exterminate the vampires. Both times we were able to get the innocents out without any loss of life."
"In other words, this man, Steve, sets the example of that which you want to be. A man who defends those less able to defend themselves and rights wrongs."
"When you put it that way, Sidney. Yes, that's the basic essence of it. But there's something else."
"What?"
"On the last raid, we were joined by a man called Arthur and a gargoyle called Grif. They both fought well and none of us much cared who they were, just that they had joined in the fight and helped us."
"A real gargoyle? Jarod, the Centre has attempted to capture one of those creatures for the last year. But they've never been able to."
"Some friendly advice Sid. Don't. I've seen Grif up close and he is impressive. Any sweepers that get close to him wouldn't last more than a couple of seconds. But let me get back to the reason that I called you. After we cleared out the first to twelfth floors of the Regal Tower and got the hostages safely out, Steve was giving us our orders for cleaning out the basement, when Arthur demanded that he be allowed to lead the fight. Steve told Arthur that he wouldn't risk anyone for the sake of glory. Because that's what Arthur wanted, the glory of leading the final sortie against the vampires in the basement. Steve told him that he didn't care about glory, just getting the job done, with the least amount of casualties possible. Arthur got angry about Steve's attitude and went for his weapon. But as Arthur was reaching, every gun in the room was lifted and pointed at him and no one was going to hesitate in shooting him if he tried something, including myself. That's the reason I'm calling. Why did I want to shoot Arthur?"
"Because Arthur was threatening your leader Jarod. This man, Steve, had already proven himself to you and everyone else there that he was a competent leader and strategist. While, Arthur, an unknown individual, had demanded to lead the attack and Steve had ordered him else where. Jarod, you did nothing wrong. Protecting a good and competent leader is a necessary survival trait for any good soldier."
"Thanks Sid, that explains a lot."
"Jarod, one question."
"Sure Sid, what is it?"
"This man Steve, you mentioned that he was the man who rescued those people at the Burger-to-Go. How old is he?"
"Well Sid, he looks like he's twenty five, but I think he's older, more like thirty five, forty. One of the hostages we rescued said that he and one of the other people there rescued her twelve years before, in Paris."
"So, it is him then."
"It's who, Sid?"
"The man you know as Steve is known to the Centre. He has had dealings with Miss Parker's father and Mr. Raines."
A cold lump forms in Jarod's chest and he suddenly feels fear. "What sort of dealings?"
"In September 1982, the Centre attempted to procure a child and the man you know as Steve stopped them."
"How did he stop them?" Jarod's fear starts to evaporate.
"He killed three cleaners and their entire sweeper teams, as well as three of Mr. Raines' 'specialists'."
Jarod is silent as he digests the information. The cold lump in his chest is gone and the fear turns to respect. "What name do you know him by Sid?"
"His real name is Carson 'Cherokee' Jamieson. He was a private detective in Dallas when he stopped the Centre. His military background is most impressive, do you want me to tell you about it?"
"Yes, please do." Jarod asks, curious about the man.
"All right Jarod," Sidney replies, then gives Jarod a complete run down on Jamieson's military record.
After Sidney finishes, Jarod leans back and whistles. "Sidney, I'm surprised the Centre didn't grab him up when he was a child."
"According to his file, he was raised in a Catholic orphanage, in Texas. I did some checking and found out that the place has a private school on the premises and never allowed their children to be tested. So, he slipped through the cracks that way. Jarod, may I ask another question?"
"Sure Sid, what is it?"
"You mentioned a Black Operations group earlier. Who are they?"
"The group's name is Section Seven. Steve is obviously the field commander. I think that they only hunt the paranormal threats to humanity. Anything else is pure guesswork."
"Paranormal threats? What on earth could those be?" < Damn, this might be too much for us to handle. >
"Well, the girl who recognized Steve from Paris, mentioned that he and his partner were fighting 'demon dogs'. Later I asked her about it and she told me that an evil sorcerer had taken her and six other children to use as a sacrifice to raise a major demon. Steve and his partner had rescued them and took them to a church for safety, while they went and killed the sorcerer."
"My God Jarod, this sounds like the plot line for a Spielberg film." < So, Mr. Jamieson is still capable of coldly killing someone. Good thing to know. >
"Doesn't it? Oh Sid, thanks for talking to me." Jarod replies with a grin as he hangs up.
Sidney looks at the phone in his hand as he replies. "I hope it was enough."
"Yep Sid, I got a lock on him. Thanks for calling us in." Broots replies from across the room.
Miss Parker, standing by the window asks. "So what was Ratboy talking about Sid?"
"He told me that he's working with Carson Jamieson. But the main reason for his call was to ask why he was suddenly capable of killing a man in cold blood."
Miss Parker's back stiffens and she turns around and looks Sidney directly in the eye. "I didn't hear you correctly. Did you say Ratboy was willing to kill someone in cold blood?"
"Yes, I did. Also, he admits to participating in the raids last night and confirms that he killed at least five, possibly eight of the cultists."
Miss Parker turns around and looks out the window as a tear rolls down her face. < My poor, innocent Jarod has become a killer. I can't believe it, but it's obvious that Sidney does. Damn you father, for what you and that corpse have done to him. > She turns to Gar, who's standing by the door with Willie. "This changes things, he's probably heavily armed and dangerous, plus he's associating with a what appears to be a black operations group that has massive federal and local law enforcement backing. We're going to sit this one out gentlemen. There is no way we could get Jarod with all of those people watching. And since they consider him one of their own. They'll protect him and we'll definitely loose if we wind up in a gun fight with these people. Order your men to only observe and not to take any action. Even if Jarod walks by our door, we are to do nothing. Am I clear?"
Gar and Willie exchange grins as they reply. "Yes Miss Parker. We understand."
Parker looks at her two subordinates and growls lowly. "If you two even think about setting him up, I'll kill you both myself. Am I clear?"
"What about if he sees us?" One of the sweepers ask.
"Do nothing and hopefully Jarod will do nothing." Miss Parker replies.
Agent Daniels, rolls over in bed and mutters. "Who the hell is calling me at 7:00 am? If it's Kowalski, I'll fire her." He reaches over and picks up the phone. "This had better be very important."
"Daniels, shut up and tell me what the hell is going on over there." The voice of Assistant Director Skinner barks out.
Daniels awakens instantly. "What do you mean sir? Nothing is happening. Mulder and Scully went over to the LAPD and were going over incident reports last night and interviewing the police officers involved. It should have been a quiet night."
"You call four raids on the vampire cult, a quiet night?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, sir."
"Agent Daniels, I don't know if you're just stupid or grossly incompetent. But the LAPD with your agents, have, according to the national news, completed four raids against the cult, rescued 163 hostages and found at least four hundred murdered victims."
"Any prisoners?" Daniels squeaks out.
"Not according to the LAPD press releases. The Commissioner and Mayor are giving a press conference at this time on CNN. And there is no Bureau representative there. Though they are speaking highly of the 'specialists' that Washington sent in to help." Skinner replies with a grin.
< Oh shit!! This could have made my career. > Daniels thinks to himself. < And I'm missing it. > "I'm leaving now, sir." Daniels replies as he gets up from bed.
"Don't bother getting up. The Bureau will take a back seat on this. For now. Now, tell me how to get in touch with Mulder and Scully, I tried their phones, but they turned them off."
"Sir, I'll call you back in a minute. I need to get the phone number from my secretary."
"Daniels, you are sorely trying my patience. You should have their local numbers with you at all times." Then Skinner takes a deep breathe. "Call me back at my office." Then he hangs up.
Daniels immediately calls his secretary and gets Mulder and Scully's local number and immediately calls Skinner back. "Sir, I have their number. Do you want me to call them and get a status report?"
"No, I do not want you to call them. I will do so myself." Skinner replies and hangs up the phone.
Skinner dials the number given to him by Daniels and a voice answers. "St. Wolf residence, can I help you?"
Skinner frowns at the familiar voice. "Yes, this is Assistant Director Skinner of the FBI. I need to speak with Agents Mulder and Scully."
"Skinner, this is Frohike."
"Frohike, what the hell are you doing in California and with Mulder and Scully?"
"Lending them a hand with the cult murders. What else?"
"Let me speak with Mulder and Scully."
"Can it wait? They've only been asleep for an hour and they were exhausted when they came back from LA. They practically went straight to bed."
"Can you give me the low down on what's going on?"
"Some of it." Then Frohike gives Skinner the non-paranormal story given to the press and police.
"Damn, how did they find the cultists so fast?"
"You know Mulder and Scully, they could pick a pattern in a hay stack. After going over the incident reports, they pinpointed six possible sites, four of which turned out to be the cult's hideouts by the number of victims in the general areas. After that, the LAPD went in, in force, and raided the target sites. After the first two came up good, the cops stopped bitching about 'know-it-all-FBI-types' and started to be really helpful."
"Tell them to call in with me as soon as they wake up." Skinner tells Frohike and hangs up.
As Skinner hangs up the phone, he smells the unmistakable odor of cigarettes. He looks up and finds the one person he doesn't want to see standing there. "What do you want?"
Cancer Man smiles as tells Skinner. "Mulder and Scully are in way over their heads. I've sent in a detachment of 'specialists' to help them."
Shocked, Skinner can only ask. "Why?"
"Because this time, we're on the same side. What they're doing in Los Angeles helps me."
"Can you tell me what's really going on in LA?"
"No Walter, just know this. Mulder and Scully are playing the game by the right rules. And I will help them in any way that I can." And with that, Cancer Man walks out of the office, trailing his cigarette smoke. Skinner, just looks at his retreating back and shudders. < What could he offer Mulder and Scully to make them willing work with him and by his rules? >
Mr. Parker puts down his paper as he reaches for his cell phone. < Who would be calling me on a Saturday? > He thinks to himself as he answers. "Parker here."
"Daddy, it's me." Miss Parker tells him.
"Pumpkin, why are you calling me? Did you catch Jarod?" Mr. Parker asks.
"We have a problem Daddy. A serious one."
"What is it?"
"We have a location on Jarod, but we can't retrieve him. He's taken up with a Black Operations group called Section Seven and I'm afraid that we can't get him out."
Mr. Parker listens to his daughter and quietly replies. "How deep is he in?"
"I don't know how deep Daddy. This Section Seven group has been responsible for the raids on the vampire cult plaguing Los Angeles. Jarod has been a participate in those raids and. . . " Miss Parker's voice breaks up. "He's admitted to killing at least five people last night."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Daddy. Sidney talked to him and Jarod admitted to the killings. That scared Sidney. But what really scared Sidney was the question Jarod asked."
"What was the question?"
"Jarod wanted to know why he was suddenly capable of wanting to kill a man in cold blood."
"Jarod capable of killing in cold blood? I find it hard to believe. Is Sidney sure?"
"Yes he is Daddy. I've never seen him this scared before."
"This changes things. I'll make some phone calls and have whoever's in charge of Section Seven deliver Jarod to you."
Miss Parker gives off a laugh. "Daddy, some friendly advice, don't try it."
"Pumpkin, our friends in the Belt Way will make sure Jarod is given over to us. Why shouldn't they?"
"Daddy, the leader of Section Seven is an old acquaintance of yours and Mr. Raines'."
"Oh, who is it?" Mr. Parker asks, feeling confident that his connections could do the job. He reaches for his coffee cup to take a sip.
"Do you remember a man by the name of Carson Jamieson?"
Mr. Parker drops his coffee cup and screams as the hot coffee scalds him. He quickly gets control of himself and he asks in voice tinged with pain. "It can't be him. He's dead."
Miss Parker smiles as she tells her father. "It's him. There's no doubt about it."
"All right Pumpkin. Don't do anything and only observe. I have to make a phone call and I'll get back to you."
"That's what I was planning on doing, Daddy." Miss Parker replies as her father hangs up.
Mr. Parker dials a memorized phone number and waits for it to be picked up. After several rings, a raspy voice answers. "This had better be important."
"This is Parker from the Centre. I need to know something."
"And what makes you think that I'll tell you?"
"Because you owe me. And I'm calling in my favors, right now."
The raspy voice sighs, but relents. "All right, go ahead and ask."
"I need to know. Do you control a Black Operations group called Section Seven."
"Why?"
"Because they have my property. The Pretender called Jarod."
The raspy voice chuckles. "And you want me to help you retrieve him?"
"Yes."
"I can't do it. Section Seven is an autonomous unit. It's field commander makes all of his own decisions. I can only 'suggest' things to him. And," The raspy voice chuckles again. "If I know the commander, his reply, if his previous history with you bears any weight, would probably be several dozen anti-tank rockets fired into the Tower."
"So my people are right. Carson Jamieson is still alive." Parker snarls out.
"Quite alive and even deadlier than the last time you saw him." The raspy voice chuckles as he lights up a cigarette. "Now, you've used up all of your favors. So, good bye Parker. And I hope you don't try to do anything too stupid." Then the line goes dead. Cancer man puts the phone down and leans back in his chair and takes a drag from his cigarette. < Oh my yes. That felt exceptionally good. > And he laughs out loud for the first time in years. Feeling good, he turns to the old typewriter sitting by his desk and he begins to write.
Parker stares at the phone in his hand, and with a primal scream throws it into the wall, breaking it into a hundred pieces. He looks around him and suddenly it dawns on him. < What if Jarod gets to Jamieson and tells him about the Centre? > He reaches for his other phone and calls another cell phone.
The cell phone rings and after three rings, it's picked up. "Gar here."
"Gar, this is Parker. Are you alone?"
"Yes Sir. I am."
"Good, then here are your orders. Kill Jarod by any means possible."
"And if your daughter gets in the way?"
Mr. Parker looks at his hand. It's steady as a rock. "Kill them both." Then he hangs up the phone.
Gar smiles an evil smile. < I'm going to make sure that both of them go down. And hopefully that other brunette bitch as well. >
Mr. Parker calls back his daughter. Miss Parker answers. "Parker here."
"Pumpkin, don't worry about Jarod. It's all been taken care of. You can leave if you want to. But I would like to have a threat assessment done on Jamieson's people. In case they become a threat to the Centre or our interests."
"Of course Daddy. I would be my pleasure." < Plus Sidney and I can keep an eye on Jarod as well. >
Angelus watches the news from his basement apartment in New York and silently seethes. < It has to be Buffy and her friends. It can't be anyone else. Damn it, I should have killed that bitch first, then her friends. >
Drusilla, quietly hums behind him singing the same song. "The Slayer is running around and killing, the Slayer is running around and killing."
Spike is off to the side, quietly talking on the phone with Willy from Sunnydale. "Willy, you wanker. You should know what the hell is going on. So either tell me or I'll come back and kill you."
"Spike, I don't know what the hell is going on."
"Willy, you shit. You know what color underwear I'm wearing, so either spill or else."
"All right Spike, but you're going to owe me."
"So, I'll owe you. Now give!"
"You're wearing black boxers with white strips?"
"Funny, ha, ha, Willy. Now give me the skinny or I'll cut your head off and take a shit down your throat."
"Okay, here's what I know. A vampire queen named Katherine moved into Los Angeles a month ago with six hundred vampires and she's been planning on something big. Angel's ex and her new boyfriend have been busy putting the kibosh on everything, as usual."
"You mean to tell me that only two people have been responsible for all of this mayhem?" Spike replies, respect shading his voice.
"Ahh, no. They called in a few friends, again. And they've upgraded their weapons quite a bit."
"Upgraded their weapons? What the hell does that mean?"
"Angel's ex is now carrying a sword."
"So what, she was carrying a sword five months ago. Why should that worry me?"
"Her new boyfriend gave her a new sword. The one they call 'Vampire Slayer'."
Spike is silent as he digest this news. "Willy, that blade is only a legend. It doesn't exist."
"Au Contraire, Spike, her boyfriend got it for her from a friend of his."
"What kind of idiot gives up a mystical sword? Let alone one of the Nine Swords of Destiny?"
Willy pauses, as though he's looking around to make sure no one's listening. "A dragon by the name of Smaug."
Spike goes silent as the shock kicks in. < A dragon? Bloody hell, this Wanderer guy is full of surprises. > "Did he kill the dragon to get the sword?" Spike asks, hopefully. < Maybe the dragons will do him in. I hope. >
"Not the way I heard it. Smaug just gave her the sword. No questions asked or guns fired. Then Smaug taught Buffy how to use it."
Spike puts his head down and counts to ten, before he replies. "Bloody fuck Willy. Just who the hell is this Wanderer bastard? Merlin in disguise?"
Willy snickers and the sound infuriates Spike. "Cough it up Willy, you know something."
"Well Spike, Wanderer is definitely not Merlin." Spike breaths a sigh of relief. "He works for Merlin, as his chief enforcer."
Spike's mind registers the words but still can't believe them. "Oh hell. I don't believe this. Is there any way to take this guy out?"
"Not and live a long life. His friends, and believe me when I say this, would hunt that person down and do him most messily and anyone helping them."
"Fucking hell. Thanks Willy. I'll send you some money, by mail. I'm not going anywhere near Sunnydale."
"Thought you might. I'll see you around Spike, give Angel and Drusilla my regards." Then Willy hangs up.
Home of Templeton Peck - Los Angeles 9:00 am
Amy Allen stands on the front porch of a modest split level in a good neighborhood of LA. She looks down at the address, checking it again, before she rings the doorbell. After she rings the doorbell, she patiently waits for the door to open. While she waits, she takes in her surroundings. < Faceman, I would never have figured you to live in this neighborhood. > The door quietly opens and a man of early middle years stands there with a wide smile on his face. As he opens the door, he asks. "Amy, what brings you here?"
"I need to talk to you and the guys Face. Are they all here?"
"You're in luck. We were having a reunion last night and they spent the night. What's wrong?" Face asks as he leads her into the living room. In the living room the other members of the team are sitting around having coffee. As Amy enters all of them rise to greet her.
"Amy, it's good to see you." Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith comments.
"Yeah, it's good to see you Amy." B.A. Baracus comments.
"How are things going, Amy?" H.M. Murdock asks.
Amy takes a seat as she replies. "Things are not good guys. A friend of mine is in trouble and he needs help, but doesn't want it."
Hannibal leans forward and asks. "Can you tell us about it?"
"It all started about five years ago. I was covering a story in Bosnia when I saw something really strange happen. I spoke with a reporter friend of mine who was covering a different story and he asked me not to tell anyone about it. I agreed that the story was too unbelievable and no paper would print it. Later on he came to me and told me a story of a Society of Watchers who record such events for history's sake and he asked if I wanted to join the Society and become a Watcher. I was curious and agreed to join." Amy then holds up her left forearm and the team sees the tattoo there. "I received this tattoo the day that I became a Watcher. My first job as a Watcher was under this guy who's in trouble. He taught me a lot and showed me that he cared. Now, the Society wants to try him and probably kill him because he got involved."
"What did his getting involved do?" Hannibal asks.
"It saved a lot of innocent lives. By his involvement, he was able to prevent several terrorist acts from occurring that could have murdered thousands of innocent people."
The four men look at each other and silently agree to help. "All right Amy. We'll help. But you have to tell us more." Hannibal tells her.
"What do you need to know?"
"What do you Watch?" Face asks.
Amy takes a deep breathe and sits back in her chair. "I don't think you'll believe me if I tell you."
"Try us. You'd be surprised at what some of us would believe." Murdock comments with a sly grin.
"Believe it or not, but the Society of Watchers, watches a group of people who are Immortal. People who cannot be killed." Amy tells her four friends. She watches each face for the sign of disbelief and could find none.
"How long has this Society of Watchers been doing this?" Hannibal asks.
"For about four thousand years." Amy looks at her friends and asks in disbelief. "You guys believe me?"
"Yeah, in Vietnam, there were several stories of guys who should have been dead, getting up and coming back to help their friends. I once heard a story of a guy who got part of his head caved in. He recovered in less than 24 hours and left the hospital. There were several stories going around about a guy called Casey Romaine who could heal almost instantly. Is he one of these Immortals?"
"I don't know Hannibal. There are about ten thousand of them world wide, so I can't tell you."
"So what did your friend do to get himself into this situation?" Face asks.
"He found out the secret to the 'Game', and he shared it with the Immortals."
"What is this 'Game'?" B.A. asks.
Amy then tells them what the 'Game' was and how it got started and what Joe did to end it. The four men exchange grim looks and Hannibal angrily asks. "So, this Joe Dawson guy, sent out copies of this journal and it's translation to every known Immortal in the world with the message that it was up to them to believe that the Game was a joke started to relieve the boredom of an old Immortal? The Watchers are going to kill him because he chose to do the right thing and save the lives of the Immortals?"
Amy sadly nods her head and tearfully replies. "The Society feels that Joe has interfered too much over the years and that he should be made an example of."
Hannibal looks over his three friends and feels pride at the resolve showing in their faces. "All right Amy. We're in. Do you know where they're holding him?"
"They're holding him at the Forum."
"Why the Forum?" B.A. asks.
"Because it's closed right now and with the owner's talking Lockout, no one is using it." Face explains. "It's the perfect place for a secret society to meet. No one would notice the cars since their using it as a shuttle parking lot."
"Where in the Forum is this Dawson guy being held?" Hannibal asks.
"In one of the top luxury boxes. They're holding him there until the trial." Amy replies.
Hannibal sits back and pulls out Face's phone book. He turns the pages and finds what he wants. A diagram of the Great Western Forum, including the layout of the luxury boxes. He looks over the diagram and asks Amy. "Which box is he being held in?" Amy points to one of the boxes and Hannibal comments. "Okay, I think I know how to get to him then." The rest of the team waits for him to lay out the plan. "Okay I've figured out a plan. Face, get the weapons out of the truck with B.A. and check them out. Murdock, can you get us a helicopter?"
"Not a problem Hannibal."
"Good, the plan is as follows. We'll use the helicopter to get to the roof of the building and then sneak in through an access door. Once we sneak in, we take out any guards there, grab Dawson and be out of there before anyone knows it."
"Sounds good to be me Hannibal." Amy replies. "When are we going to do it?"
"I can get the helicopter at 3:00 pm. Any sooner and we'll have problems." Murdock replies.
"No, the trial doesn't start until 5:00 pm. So there's plenty of time." Amy replies.
"Good, no let's get our weapons cleaned and ready and then we'll do a quick reconnaissance of the area surrounding the Forum." Hannibal replies as he gets up.
Sunnydale Motor Lodge - 9:00 am.
The yellow Barracuda pulls up to the office. Two Explorers and a Dodge Ram pull up next to it. Nash and Joe get out and wait for the rest of their friends. Kyra steps up to Nash and tells him. "I'll get the rooms."
"Hold on sister. Why are you getting rooms?"
"Because we'll need to get some sleep for tonight. My friends, the O'Hara brothers and I are tired. If you want to be up all day and all night, then feel free, but we're getting some sleep."
"Good point. Let's go." Nash replies as they walk into the office.
George and Frank are sitting behind the counter and notice the man and woman coming in. George recognizes Kyra from last time and promptly walks over to her and asks. "Miss Adams, always a pleasure. How many in your party?"
"Hello, George, Frank. There's twelve of us, give us six rooms. Any of Steve's other friends make it in?"
"Yes, Ma'am, there's thirty of them here now. Most of them are asleep and resting from last night. I heard that they had a busy night."
"Anybody, I'd know?"
"I didn't see who came in this morning. Miss Chase took the keys and gave them to Mr. St. Wolf's guests as they came in. From what I saw, they all looked very tired."
"Thanks George. I'll see you later."
Nash, standing off to the side asks. "Aren't you going to sign in or give him a credit card?"
"No, Steve's taking care of the rooms. Let's get settled in."
"The whole hotel?" Nash asks in surprise.
"Mr. St. Wolf has always been a proper host to his 'friends', sir. He already paid in advance for almost every room in the lodge. So, please enjoy." George replies to Nash.
"Thanks Bubba. I can hardly wait to meet this guy." Nash comments as he steps outside.
Outside, Kyra hands out the keys, keeping one for herself and Regan Cole. The entire group moves their cars over to where the block of rooms are and they get settled in for the day.
Broots watches the new group settle in and calls over Miss Parker. "Miss Parker, another group of people has come in."
"Let me see Broots." Miss Parker replies as she comes to the window. Broots hands her a pair of binoculars and she watches the group break up and enter their rooms. "Broots, can you trace their license plates?"
"Already on it. Give me a couple of minutes." Broots replies.
A few minutes later, Broots whistles from his laptop. Miss Parker looks over and asks. "What did you find out?"
"The yellow car belongs to Inspector Nash Bridges, Captain of the SF PD Special Investigations Unit. The truck belongs to Inspector Evan Cortez, also SF PD SIU. The two sports utility vehicles belong to Sean and Ben O'Hara, respectively. Both of them are Marine Force Recon."
"It looks like Mr. Jamieson's reinforcements are starting to arrive." Sidney comments.
Sunnydale Motor Lodge - 10:00 am
John Trent pulls up to the office and gets out of his car. As he makes his way to the office, he notices the cars parked in the lot and gazes lovingly at the mint condition Barracuda. < Damn, I wish I could own a car like that. > As he enters the office, George comes up to the counter and asks. "Can I help you, sir?"
"Yes, I'm supposed to meet some friends here for a meeting at four o'clock. They would like me to reserve five double rooms for them and myself."
"Not a problem sir. Would it be all right if they're all together on the second floor?"
"Yes it would. Thanks." John Trent replies as he hands over his credit card.
George waves it off. "That won't be necessary sir, the rooms are already taken care of by your host."
"Thank you." John Trent replies as he leaves to put his case away in one of the rooms. < Calvin must have already called in and paid for the rooms. >
Broots calls up John Trent's license plate and his personal history. He gives a low whistle and Miss Parker asks. "What is this guy? DEA, CIA, NSA?"
"No, a real ninja." Broots replies to a disbelieving Parker. "He's a Ningitsu instructor from San Francisco."
< Shit, where the hell are these people coming from? > Miss Parker asks herself. She turns to Sidney. "Sidney, this can't be happening, why are these people coming here?"
"It's simple Parker. Jamieson has a wide pool of contacts and these people are coming to help him. I'm quite surprised at the lack of inter-department rivalry."
California - Arizona Border 10:30 am
Wally kicks his car for the hundredth time and curses. "How the hell could you die on me when I need you the most. You stupid machine."
As he's kicking it again, a car pulls up to him and the driver asks. "Spot of trouble friend?"
Walter turns and looks at the driver and tells him. "Yeah, this stupid piece of foreign crap dies on me when I have attend an important meeting."
"Where's your meeting at? Maybe I can give you a lift?" The driver asks.
"Sunnydale California. Are you passing near it?" Wally asks hopefully.
"You've got luck friend. I'm going to see a friend who lives just north of it. Where in Sunnydale is the meeting?"
"The Motor Lodge, right off the highway." Wally replies.
"Not a problem friend. Hop in."
"All right! Let me get my bag from the trunk." Wally goes to the back of his car and pulls out his duffle bag and rifle bag and tosses them in the back seat of the car. As he gets in he introduces himself. "My names Walter Simmons. Most people call me Wally."
The driver extends his hand and replies. "Nice meeting you Wally. The name's Jake Carter. I run a road house in Montana. And you?"
"I'm the bartender at the Coyote Bar & Grill in Tucson." Wally replies with a grin.
Sunnydale Motel - 11:00 am
The hover craft moves in swiftly and locates the motel. It's pilot quickly lands the craft behind the motor lodge, in the enclosed lot. The craft's owner gives a light grunt as the craft lands. He turns to his mercenary soldiers. "I'll get us some rooms. While I'm doing that, you cover up the ship. If I know my old friend, they'll be more people coming in." His crew silently nods and start to cover the ship with camouflage netting as their boss leaves.
The man publicly known as Lennox MacDuff silently walks to the office to arrange the rooms he and his people would need for the next couple of days. He as he walks by a truck, he notices the vintage Barracuda parked next to it. Two men are sitting next to it, sipping coffee. He stops for a moment and asks. "May I ask who owns this car?"
Nash looks up from the local news paper he's reading and looks over the man asking about his Barracuda. He immediately recognizes the man from a newspaper article about the twenty richest men in the world. "I own it Mr. MacDuff. And no, I'm not interested in selling it."
"I can offer you a decent price for it." Macbeth replies, surprised that the man recognizes him.
"Sorry, it's the last thing my brother left me, before he was listed MIA in Vietnam."
Macbeth looks at the man and nods his head in understanding. "Understood, Mr...?"
Nash holds out his hand as he introduces himself. "Inspector Nash Bridges, SF PD. This is my partner, Joe Domingeuz. I take it you're here for the meeting?"
Macbeth replies neutrally. "I might, but what time is your meeting?"
"Four o'clock. We're meeting up with Steve St. Wolf. Would he be a friend?"
Macbeth grins. "Yes he would. I take it that you're here for the coming battle as well?"
"That we are. So why are you here? You're one of the richest men in the world. What's your stake in this?"
"Honor and friendship. Steve St. Wolf has helped me in the past when I've asked and I'll help him when he asks." Macbeth replies in a level voice.
Nash looks into Macbeth's eye and he sees a man who would, for a friend, risk everything, including his life and fortune. < Not many men like that left. > Nash thinks to himself as he replies. "Can you tell me anything about Mr. St. Wolf. We've never met."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because he's doing a job that needs to be done and some of my friends are working with him. They called and asked me to come down. They've been working with St. Wolf and they trust him and I trust them."
Macbeth looks over the inspector and immediately likes what he sees. "Inspector, if you ever get tired of working for the SF PD, give me a call. I could use a man like you." Macbeth hands over a card and then turns around. "Now, I must secure some rooms for my men." And with that Macbeth turns around and heads to the office.
Joe turns to Nash and asks. "That guys one of the richest men in the world?"
"Yeah, so."
"Then, how did he get here? I don't see a car."
"Good question Joe. Why don't we ask him when he comes back?"
They both watch the office as Macbeth walks back out of the office. Nash notices that Macbeth constantly scans his surroundings. < The man's like a hunter, always checking his surroundings. > Nash then notices as a dark haired and bearded man exits the coffee shop with a cup of coffee. The man also checks out his surroundings and then notices Macbeth, walking away from him. The man picks up his pace and approaches Macbeth from behind. As his hand reaches out, Macbeth spins around and pulls out a futuristic looking pistol and points it at the man, ready to fire.
Inside the coffee shop a few minutes ago. Arthur had just finished eating a decent meal and was on the way back to his room. < I must thank Sir Robert for the loan of these clothes and the money. > He thinks to himself as he sips his tea. < Ahh, what a fine morning. > He looks around, wondering when the rest of the war party would gather for the coming battle. < I've been away for too long. > He watches as a familiar figure exits the Inn Keeper's office and he smiles. < Another friend come to help. This St. Wolf has excellent taste in friends. > His step picks up and he approaches Macbeth from the rear. His hand reaches up to grasp his shoulder when suddenly, Macbeth spins around and draws his gun.
Macbeth feels the presence coming up behind him. < I don't have any enemies here. Who? > He moves quickly and turns around, drawing his laser pistol at the same time. As he finishes turning around, he recognizes the man. < Arthur Pendragon? > He immediately holsters the gun and grabs up Arthur in hug and asks. "Arthur, what are you doing here?"
"Probably the same thing you are my friend. Fighting vampires."
"How did you get involved in this?"
"A portal opened up and deposited Sir Grif and myself at the last battle. We fought beside a group of warriors, putting paid to a large group of vampires. We decided to stay and help in the fight. So what brings you here?"
"A friend by the name of Steve St. Wolf. He asked for help and I came."
"Couldn't resist the call of battle, could you?"
"Not this one my friend, not this one." Macbeth replies and pushes Arthur back for a second, noticing his clothes. "I almost didn't recognize you. Your taste in clothing has changed my friend."
Arthur grins sheepishly. "I borrowed these clothes from another friend. Few people now stare at me."
"You look good. Now who else is here?"
"Thirty of the warriors I fought beside sleep here now. They are resting for the coming battle tonight. I was hungry and decided to eat something before I went back to sleep."
Nash and Joe watch the two friends talk. Nash turns to Joe and asks. "Do you think they know each other?"
"Kind of obvious Nash. Think it's St. Wolf?"
"Don't know, maybe he'll introduce us." Nash remarks as the pair draw near.
Macbeth, noticing the two police inspectors watching them, introduces Arthur. "Inspector Bridges, Domingeuz, allow me to introduce a good friend, Arthur. Arthur was fighting last night and he could give us a run down on what's been happening." Just then, Macbeth's mercenaries walk up.
The leader of the group, a man named Carmichael, asks. "Is everything all right, Mr. MacDuff? If these men are giving you a problem, just say the word."
"No, Ian, these are friends. Allow me to introduce you to my good friend Arthur and Inspectors Bridges and Domingeuz of the SF PD. They're here to help as well. In fact, Arthur was about to tell us of the last battle."
Willie looks out the window and notices the gathering by the yellow convertible. He calls over Miss Parker. "Miss Parker, a group of them have gotten together. Do you want us to listen in?"
"Yes, do it." Miss Parker replies as a shotgun microphone is put up to the window. She, Sidney and Broots gather around the speaker and listen to the man called Arthur details the battle at the Regal Tower. Miss Parker turns white as Arthur describes the remains found in the basement. Sidney also looks uneasy. Broots rushes to the bathroom and the sound of running water is heard.
Several of the sweepers grin and laugh at Broots' reaction. Miss Parker looks up and tells them. "I wouldn't laugh, if I were you. What Broots just heard is making me and Sidney sick as well."
The sweepers immediately loose their grins and look at each other and silently ask, "What the hell could make Miss Parker sick?"
Sunnydale Motor Lodge - 11:30 am
Sin Jin Hawke looks over the enclosed field and lands the helicopter known as Airwolf in the enclosed field behind the Motor Lodge. Sitting beside him is his brother and co-pilot, String Fellow. Manning the computers and navigation is String's wife Caitlin. As they land, they notice the large, camouflaged airship, off to one side. Sin Jin turns to his brother and asks. "Think Steve called in more people to help?"
"Wouldn't doubt it. I hope they're the friendly types." String comments as he notices the two guards, armed with laser rifles.
As they exit Airwolf, one of them approaches and asks. "Are you here for the meeting?"
"Yeah, we got here early. Who are you with?" String replies.
"Our boss is Lennox MacDuff, he's here to help a friend of his. And you?"
"Same friend. He called and asked and we came."
"Can I ask a question?"
"Sure."
"Who the hell is this guy?" The guard asks nervously, looking around. "Mr. MacDuff is one the richest men in the world and this guy calls and he drops everything to come and help. What does this guy have on you people, that you come when he calls?"
"Simple, my friend. He'd do the exact same thing for us. And my brother's and my case, he has. Does that help you?"
The guard looks nervously around and nods, comprehension finally sinking in. "This St. Wolf guy must be one hell of a friend."
"You don't know the half of it." String replies with a secretive smile.
"Damn." The guard mutters, then he asks. "Want us to keep an eye on your bird?"
"Thanks, that'll be great." String replies with a grin.
"Won't be a problem, just a little extra walking." The guard replies and returns to his post.
The three make their way to the Motor Lodge proper and walk towards the office. As they near it, they see a group of men standing around talking. String looks at the group and they head over to it. As they draw near, a man in sport jacket asks. "I take you're here for the party as well?"
"Yes, we are. I'm String Fellow Hawke, this is my brother Sin Jin and my wife Caitlin. And you are?"
The man in the sports coat introduces himself. "I'm Nash Bridges, SFPD, this is my partner Joe Domingeuz," then Nash introduces the rest. String, Sin Jin and Caitlin, shake hands all the way around.
Miss Parker and Sidney listen to the group greet the newcomers. Her mouth turns into a sour expression and she remarks. "Sidney, these people can't be real. No group of professionals this diverse, can be this friendly to obvious strangers."
"Simple Parker, they all share a common thread amongst themselves. They all know Steve St. Wolf and consider themselves to be his friends and in so doing, they recognize that his other friends, should be considered friends as well."
"Who the hell is this St. Wolf guy everyone is talking about?" Broots asks as he walks out the bathroom.
"Why it's our old friend Mr. Jamieson, of course." Sidney replies with a smile.
A Hidden Temple in Sunnydale
Location Unknown
12:00pm
A scream breaks the silence as a 12 year old girl's body is ripped open by the Demon devouring it. As the girl's life force is absorbed by the Demon KLLKLJ, he raises his head to the mortal who had summoned it. It growls out in a low voice. "Ask your questions mortal. I will answer them."
The man called Williamson moves forward and asks in a strong voice. "Who are the people at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge?"
"Which group mortal? The one that searches for one or the Warriors of the Light?"
"The Warriors of the Light. Who are they?"
"They are Immortal, mortal and Gargoyle. They have banded together to fight the darkness caused by the vampire queen Katherine in her attempt to raise the Demon Throlog. They are lead by two of the Nine."
"Two of the Nine? What are they?"
"They are two of the bearers of the Nine Swords of Destiny. A third bearer is also there, but he doesn't lead, only follows. For now."
"Will there be more of these Warriors coming in?"
"Their numbers already swell with the arrival of more mortals and Immortals alike."
"Will Katherine be able to raise the Demon Throlog?"
"I do not know. The mists are thick and only time will tell. That is all." The Demon tells Williamson and disappears.
Williamson looks at the circle and the body laying there and shudders. < I have to tell him this news. I hope my death is painless. > He then turns to the others. "Let's clean this place up and dispose of the body." As he watches the other apostles, he wonders what this information foretells.
Chicago 1300 CST
"I don't care if you have a hot lead Detective. The FBI said they wanted my best and you and the Constable are my best. So quit bitching about it and make nice with the Febbies."
"Look Lt., we had a lead on the nut jobs that grabbed the Sanderson twins. We need to get on this fast, or those girls could be hurt." Det. Ray Kowalski angrily replies.
"I agree with Ray, Lieutenant Walsh. Those two girls should be a priority, not some FBI agents who need help with one of their cases."
"We might be looking for the same people Detective." A voice comments from behind the three.
Dallas 1300 CST
Walker and Trivette arrive at CD's bar and sit down at the counter. CD hands each of them a cup of coffee and asks. "What's up boys? You two look pissed off about something."
"We are CD, some FBI moron pulled us off the Vasquez kidnaping and told us to work with a team of FBI specialists. We're here to meet them." Jimmy angrily replies. "They're probably a bunch of pencil pushing idiots out of DC."
"Well Sugar, I hope we don't disappoint you." A voice replies from behind Jimmy.
Ray angrily turns to the voice behind him and shoots off his mouth, again. "So you bastards want to steal our case? Take all of the credit for yourselves? While me and Fraser do all of the scut work? Hey, it's a free ..." The sarcastic comment dies on his lips as he mutters. "Who the hell are you people?" Upon seeing the seven agents clustered in the doorway. < No way these people are FBI > Ray thinks to himself.
Fast Eddie Alvarez pulls out his identification and replies. "FBI, Bureau 13. Are you two the lead investigators on the Sanderson case?"
"Yeah, we are. Wanna make something of it?" Ray asks.
"Since when is a Mountie regular Chicago PD issue?" A short oriental woman asks.
"He's not. Constable Fraser lends a hand on cases, from time to time. Otherwise, he's the chief of security at the Canadian Consult on Michigan Avenue. He's been helping Det. Kowalski on the Sanderson case." Lt. Walsh explains.
"Not a problem." Fast Eddie replies smoothly. "We need to locate the people who've taken the Sanderson kids as quickly as possible. When we entered you commented that you had a hot lead. Care to share?" // Jess, I hope you've already got the info we need. //
// Certainly honey. But these two worked hard and they deserve the bust. // Jessica thinks back to her husband. // Plus, they would get in the way, if we left them out. //
// I wouldn't mind the Mountie getting in my way. // Tina thinks back. George Renault growls softly next to her. Tina gives him a dazzling smile and he settles back down.
Mindy quietly adds. // I wonder how he is at hand to hand? //
Raul Horta, standing next to her quietly adds //I could turn him into an octopus?//
/ /Down boy // Mindy mischievously thinks back to the wizard.
Ray quickly sizes up the seven, so-called, FBI agents and shrugs his shoulders. Fraser gives a quick nod. They both agree. < Let's see what these Feds are made of. >
Jimmy Trivette turns to look into the most beautiful pair of sky blue eyes he has ever seen. < Oh Shit, I'm in love. > He thinks to himself. And Jimmy Trivette suddenly finds himself tongue tied.
Walker just grins as he watches his partner's antics. Finally, he decides to put him out of his misery. "Jimmy, meet Jesse, Becky, Monica, Heather and Janice of the FBI." He then turns to Jesse, the team leader. "Jesse, so what dire threat brings the Thunder Bunnies to Dallas?"
"The Vasquez kidnaping. We're here to help."
"Can I ask what a simple kidnaping has to do with Bureau 13?" Walker asks.
"Because of the people who did it. And what they're planning on doing with the girls." Jesse replies as she takes out her pistol and starts to clean it at the table. CD looks over and tosses Walker a rag. Walker catches it and hands it over to Jesse. She gives them both a dazzling smile. "Thanks, CD, Cordell, the waiting always gets to me."
"What are you waiting for?" Walker asks as the door to CD's bar opens.
The sound of CD cocking back both hammers of his double barreled shotgun is heard and everyone turns to face the door. A man in a black duster walks in and gives CD a sly smile. CD raises the shotgun to his shoulder and tells the man. "Ratcher, I don't know what you want here, but I'm going to shoot you, just on principle."
"Not before I talk to the ladies sitting with Walker and Trivette." The dark man replies with a grin as he pulls up a chair to the table, turning his back to CD. He inclines his head to the Thunder Bunnies. "Hello Jesse, been a while, ladies. I found out where the girls are being held."
Jesse breathes a sigh of relief and asks. "Thank God, Mike. Is your cover still good?"
The dark man shakes his head. "No, I blew it getting the info you needed."
"Jesse, what the hell is this snake talking about?" CD asks while standing behind the man called Ratcher with his shotgun.
"CD, Cordell, Jimmy, meet Mike Slodanski, FBI. He's been undercover for the last four years."
"What about all of the people who you made to disappear?" Walker asks.
"They were put into the witness protection program and are safe. Sorry about all of the headaches Walker, but we had to make it look good. Now CD, if it isn't too much trouble, could you please remove that shotgun from behind my neck and have one of your waitresses bring me a cup of coffee?"
CD sheepishly grins and apologizes. "I'm sorry Ratcher, we didn't know."
"You weren't supposed to CD, that's why they call it undercover. And please, call me Mike. As of one hour ago, Joshua Ratcher died in a car explosion with four of Texas' most wanted but untouchable criminals."
Walker's eyebrows raise in surprise and he asks. "Who died with you?"
"John Hardin, Louis Vega and the Garcia brothers, Hector and Jose and some poor stiff from the St. Louis morgue. Harden, Vega and the Garcia's died for real."
Walker looks at the man he thought was a cold blooded killer and realizes that the man known as Ratcher really was a cold blooded killer. "Why'd you kill them?"
"Because those four bastards sold those Vasquez kids, plus a dozen more, to the people who are going to kill them." Mike replies in a tight, controlled voice. "I hope you don't mind if I tag along. I want to see this to the end." He asks Jesse. She silently nods her head in agreement, deep in thought.
Walker also nods his head in agreement. This was a man who took the killing of children very personally. He would follow no matter what. Walker could respect that. "All right, so where are the kids?"
"They're being held in different locations in Dallas and the surrounding area. The best way to get them is to wait until night fall and get them when they're all brought together. The cultists will come together in one spot to do their ceremony. And that's when we take them out." Mike explains.
"Where is this place?" Trivette asks.
"Ever heard of a place the Cowboy's called 'The Devil's Mound'?"
Walker looks at Mike with narrowed eyes and asks. "What are they going to be doing there?"
"The children will be sacrificed to open a gateway to let through one of the Old Ones."
"What's an Old One?" Trivette asks.
"Something that I don't want to face." Walker replies with a trace of fear. He looks around the table and sees the same fear in the Thunder Bunnies, CD and Mike. < They know what it is and they believe. > Walker thinks to himself. < Good, then they understand what has to be done. >
Ray and Fraser lead the strange Febbies to a conference room and Ray tries to lay down his own brand of Machismo on the Agents. After a few minutes, it's obvious that none of them was buying it. Fraser decides to put an end to it and breaks in. "Ray, we don't have time for your machismo. The Sanderson children need our help now. So, just tell them what we know."
Ray gives Fraser a dirty look, but relents and finally gives them the bottom line. "All right Fraser. You're right. One of my sources confirmed that members of the street gang called the Diablos De Inferno (Devils of Hell) kidnaped the kids. And Fraser and me just got through questioning one of their members and the kid rolled over on the rest."
"Is the kid still here? Can we question him?" Ed asks.
Ray and Fraser look at each other and Fraser turns to the Feds and tells them. "I'm sorry, but that would be impossible to do."
"Why? The safety of the city is at stake and I'm empowered to use any means necessary to preserve it's safety."
"Because, after he told us, he choked to death on his own tongue. He had some kind of seizure that killed him on the spot. Benny and I tried everything, CPR, sticking a tube in his mouth, mouth to mouth, nothing worked."
The members of Tunafish look at each other and shudder. // Death Geas // Raul Horta thinks aloud. // The Diablos must have a sorcerer working for them. // The balance of his team nods their heads in agreement. This was going to be a bad one.
"So, when are we going?" Eddie asks, already knowing the answer.
"As soon as we can shake loose a SWAT Team." Ray replies. "Which could be any time."
"Don't worry about it." Eddie replies. He looks over to the short oriental woman and asks. "Are those Green Berets ready to move out?"
The woman's eyes glaze for a second before she replies. "Major Ritter and his men are ready."
Ray looks at Fraser, then back to the FBI agents and asks. "Who the hell is Major Ritter?"
George Renault chuckles grimly, then explains. "Our boss sent some backup with us. Three Green Beret A-Teams armed to the teeth. Hope that's enough for this rescue mission."
Ray and Fraser look at each other and then turn to the FBI agents. "Sir, one of those teams carries enough fire power to take out most of Chicago. Isn't using three of them a bit of overkill?" Fraser asks.
"No. In fact it might not be enough." Eddie Alvarez replies grimly.
Ray and Fraser look at the grim, resolved faces of the seven FBI agents and ask themselves. < What the hell is going on here? >
LAX - American Airlines Terminal
1300
PST
Connor MacLeod and his two new friends exit the American Airlines Terminal and try to hail a cab. As they look around, no cabs are to be found. "Where the hell are all of the cabs?" Mike Hammer asks.
A passenger, standing nearby, tells him. "All of the cabs are in downtown Los Angeles. There are several major conventions in town and everything from rental cars to hotel rooms is booked solid."
"Damn it! We have to get to Sunnydale by four o'clock. Is anything available?" Connor comments.
Mike Night Wolf and his daughter hear this man's comment and approach the threesome. As they draw near, all three people stiffen, like they're getting ready to fight. Mike, seeing this, holds up both hands with the palms open. The three relax, slightly. As he walks up to them, he asks Connor. "I couldn't help but overhear. Are you three going to the Motor Lodge to meet with a mutual friend by the name of Steve?"
All three of the people relax even further. Connor holds out his hand and replies. "I see that Mr. St. Wolf has called in quite a few friends." Mike Night Wolf nods his head and grins. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Connor MacLeod, my two friends are Mike Hammer and Velda Thomas. And, you are?"
"I'm Mike Night Wolf. This is my daughter Heather. He called me in to help with the situation. I take it you three are here for the same reason?"
"Yeah, we are. Now if we can get a ride, we can all get to the meeting." Hammer replies.
Mike Night Wolf looks at the passing traffic and grins. "That's not a problem. Our ride is here." He points to a rusty cargo van headed to the passenger terminal.
Heather looks at where her father is pointing and lets out a curse. "Dad, you didn't?"
"We needed a ride honey and he was more than willing to come out and give it to us." Mike replies with an evil grin.
"But he's such a moron. Couldn't you get anyone else?" Heather complains.
"Don't worry honey. He's only giving us a lift. He's not going to be staying."
"May I ask who you two are talking about?" Connor asks.
"Sorry Connor. The person driving that rust bucket is my nephew, Terry Black Thorn Him and Heather don't get along very well."
"Will he mind giving us a lift as well?" Velda asks.
"He better not." Mike Night Wolf replies in a voice that would brook no such rudeness.
As the van pulls up, a young man of American Indian descent gets out and rushes over to Mike. "Uncle Mike. I got here as fast as I could. Where am I taking you and Heather?"
"Hello Terry. The five of us are going to Sunnydale." Mike tells him.
"Five? Uncle Mike who are these people?" Terry asks, curious about the three strangers.
"Friends of a friend. That's all you need to know. Anything else?"
"Yeah, why are you going to Sunnydale? That place has a bad vibe to it. I try to avoid it as much as possible."
"So, you inherited your mother's abilities to see the beyond?" Mike asks as he stows his suitcase.
"Yeah and sometimes the things that I see scare me. Like your three 'friends of a friend'. They're more than what they seem." Terry quietly replies.
Mike looks curiously at the three people that he's just meet. He turns back to his nephew and asks. "They look pretty normal to me. What's so special about them?"
"I can't explain it. It's like they have this energy in them. I've only seen it once before."
"Where?"
"A few weeks ago I was out late and I was attacked. Two people saved my butt. They had this same type of energy in them."
"What attacked you?"
"A group of vampires. As they were about to kill me. These two people came out of no where and saved me."
"Can you describe these two people?"
"Better yet. I can show you. Hold on a sec." Terry replies as he reaches in the van and gets out his sketch pad. He looks through it and folds over the pages and shows Mike a drawing of a man and a woman.
Mike takes one look at the man in the drawing and whispers out a curse. "I can't believe it. It's Cherokee."
Terry looks at his uncle and asks. "You know this guy?"
"Yeah, he's supposed to be dead."
"He looks pretty lively for a dead man." Terry replies with a grin.
Connor, Mike and Velda watch as Mike Night Wolf talks to his nephew in private. As Terry pulls out a sketch pad, all three suddenly feel a 'Buzz'. They look around and stare in disbelief as a strange Immortal approaches them. He looks around at the crowded pickup area as he approaches Connor MacLeod. As he nears, he holds up his hand and asks. "Hi there. I'm Justin. You may not know me Connor, but I know you."
"If you're looking for a private match. Forget it. I don't play the Game." Connor replies coldly in a low voice.
Justin smiles as he replies. "I'm not here for that. I'm Adam Pierson's student. We're here with Duncan, Amanda and Richie. They sent me out to try and find a ride to Sunnydale."
Connor's mouth spreads into a grin at the mention of his kinsman's name. "There's a problem with transportation. All of the cabs are in downtown LA for the convention traffic." He then turns to Mike Night Wolf and asks. "Mike, can your nephew take another five in that van of his?"
Mike looks at Terry, who shrugs. "Hope you guys don't mind sitting on the floor."
"Not a problem." Connor replies. "Most of us have sat on harder surfaces in the past."
As they wait for the rest of Justin's party, Mike Night Wolf asks Connor. "So how long have you known Steve?"
"About eight years. I met him when he shanghaied my kinsman Duncan into a crazy mission to rescue a large group of kids that were kidnaped by a group of Libyan slavers. Naturally Duncan brought me along to save everybody." Conner comments with a grin.
"Oh, and who saved your ass when that slaver was about cut you apart?" An accented voice replies from behind Connor.
Connor turns around and hugs his kinsman Duncan. "Duncan, why do always have to spoil my stories?"
"Who's spoiling them? I'm only adding in the parts that you conveniently forget to include." Duncan replies with a grin. Then Duncan stands back and introduces everyone. "Connor, you already know Amanda Richie and Adam." Connor nods his head in agreement. "And you met Adam's student Justin. We already know Mike, but who are these other people?"
"Allow me to introduce you to Velda. She's Mike Hammer's student. The others are old friends of Steve's. Mike Night Wolf, his daughter Heather and his nephew Terry Black Thorn." Connor replies. "Terry's providing us a ride up to Sunnydale.
Terry looks at the new group and wonders. < Who the hell are these people? I can sense that weird energy in all of them. What does it do? > "Okay folks everyone mount up. We've got about an hour's drive ahead of us, so anybody who's got to go better do it now."
"You people have room for one more?" A man asks from the side.
As everyone turns to face the stranger, Mike Hammer let's out a yell. "Remo! Get your lazy ass over here." Mike then turns to Terry and asks. "Sorry Terry, but can we drag Remo's lazy ass with us?"
"Hey, you people are sitting in the back, it's up to you how comfortable you make it." Terry replies with a grin.
"All right then, if that's everybody?" Mike Night Wolf asks. No one else comes forward and they all get in the van, on their way to Sunnydale.
Sunnydale Airport 1330 PST
Mack Bolan steps off the private plan and feels a 'Buzz'. He looks around the air field and notices a private Lear Jet taxi up to his private jet. As the taxing plan stops, the staircase on it's side opens and drops. A man familiar to Mack is the first to step down. Both look at each other and exchange grins. Mack turns back to his team and tells them. "Looks like some more friends are making it to the party."
"Who are they Mack?" Barbara Price asks.
"Casey Romaine and his bunch are here." Mack tells her as Casey walks up to the plane and yells out. "Mack, get your lazy ass down here and help me unload the party favors."
"Can't do it Casey. I brought my own." Mack replies with a grin as he watches Casey walk over from the Lear Jet.
Casey grins evilly as he asks. "Are you here alone?"
"Nope brought a few friends along. How about you?"
"Had one of my yearly get together's when Steve called and invited me to the party. He did say I could bring guests." Casey replies with a grin as his friends leave the Lear.
"Have you got transport to the Motor Lodge?"
Casey looks out over the tarmac and notices two Ford Explorers approaching. "Yeah, it'll be here in a couple of minutes." Casey tells him as one of the Explorers pulls up next to his plane. As the rental clerk gets out, Casey asks. "Can you send out two more Explorers for my friends over there?"
"Certainly Mr. Romaine. If one of your people could give us a lift back to the office and the gentlemen could have someone accompany us. We'll get them the cars in about ten minutes." The rental clerk replies.
Mack turns around and orders. "Barbara, Hawk, go with the clerk. The rest of us will unload the plane and wait for you here."
Casey calls back to the plane. "Lida, can you go and take the clerks back to their office?"
"Certainly Casey. No trouble at all." Lida replies as she walks over and greets Barbara, Mack and Hawk. "Hello Mack. It's nice to see you again."
"Same here Lida." Mack replies as he introduces Barbara and Hawk. "Barbara, Hawk, this is Casey's wife Lida. She'll take you to get the cars while the rest of us unload the planes."
Sunnydale - 1330 PST
Major Gerber looks at the house at 317 Brandt Terrace and mumbles. "This is quite a step up from the flea bags they usually stay at."
Sgt. Chavez grins. "Remember that place in Dallas? God, what a pest hole that was."
Maj. Gerber grins as he sits in his command HUMVEE. "Yeah, I almost choked on my pizza slice when Mulder commented that the bugs should have classified as EBE's." Gerber turns to his computer hacker and asks. "Johnson, do have anything on the owner?"
"Yes Sir. His name is Steve St. Wolf. According to his tax records, he's an antiques dealer. If you want to see what he looks like, I have a copy of his California DMV photo on my computer."
"Good work Johnson. Let's take a look." Gerber replies as he looks back. Johnson tilts his laptop so he can see the picture. Gerber takes one look and softly hisses. "Chavez, take a look and tell me if that's who I think it is."
Sgt. Chavez turns around and Johnson tilts the screen, so he can see it as well. Chavez takes a good long look and crosses himself. "Is that Cherokee?"
"Yeah, the old man himself told me he was still alive before we left. But I didn't believe him. Now I do."
"Sir, who's Cherokee?" Sgt. Johnson asks.
"Someone you don't want pissed off at you Sergeant." Major Gerber replies. Then he releases his seat belt and opens his door. "Let's go Chavez. Hopefully Mulder and Scully won't shoot us on sight."
"Maybe they forgot about Puerto Rico." Chavez mumbles as they walk up to the front door.
When the pair reach the front door, it opens as a young man, neither of them have ever seen before, stands there with a gun in his hand and orders them. "Gentlemen, please keep your hands in plain sight and calmly walk into the house. If you make any sudden moves, I will kill you both on the spot."
Gerber turns to Chavez and mutters sarcastically. "Oh they forgot about us, all right." Then they both walk into the house.
Langley is calmly sitting down at his computer terminal and chuckles ruefully. < God, this system is a dream. > A beeping sound suddenly comes from one of the stand by programs. Langley looks it over and asks Willow. "Willow, why is that program beeping?"
A sleepy Willow immediately wakes up. She reaches over and accesses the program. She whistles softly. "Some one is trying to access Steve's personal records." She touches some keys and she mutters under her breath. "This guy is good. He's got a bunch of cut outs and multiple satellite feeds. I wonder who he is?"
As the group tries to trace the hacker's signal, Brian Jessup walks in. "Hey guys. There's a cool HUMVEE parked out front and a couple of soldiers are getting out of it. Are they friends of your's?"
Willow stops what she's doing and quickly accesses the exterior video cameras. Everyone crowds the screen and looks at the pair coming to the front door. Byers, Langley and Frohike hiss out a curse. Jenny quickly asks. "Who are they?"
"Blue Beret Alien Retrieval team. Those bastards tried to kill Mulder and Scully in Puerto Rico. What the fuck are they doing here?" Frohike angrily states.
"Well, we're going to find out. Those two are coming to our front door." Jenny replies, then turns to Robert. "Robert, can you get them in here?"
Robert gives her a grin as he turns to the front door, gun in hand. "I'll invite them in. You and Willow provide some cover from the office as they walk in. After that, I'll sit them down and Mr. Frohike can ask them some questions." Robert then turns to Brian. "Brian, you go behind the counter in the kitchen and don't come out unless we tell you to. Am I understood?"
"Yes Robert." Brian replies as he heads to the kitchen.
Robert turns and watches as Willow and Jenny change their pistol's magazines. "What kind of ammunition are you changing to?" Robert asks.
"Steel Jacketed Armor piercing hollow points." Willow replies as she racks her slide back, chambering a round. Jenny quickly follows suit and adds. "With a liquid metal explosive center. Think that will cut through any body armor they might have on?"
Robert grins evilly as he walks to the door. < Damn, Quinn had it right when he said this group was something else. Too bad both Willow and Jenny are spoken for. > Robert wistfully muses as he watches as the two fatigue clad men walk up to the front door. < God, they're cocky aren't they? > Robert thinks to himself as he watches one of the men reach for the door bell. Before he can press the button, Robert opens the door and calmly orders both men inside. "Gentlemen, please keep your hands in plain sight and calmly walk into the house. If you make any sudden moves, I will kill you both on the spot."
Both men look at Robert and one replies sarcastically to the other. "Oh they forgot about us, all right." Then both enter the house and are promptly covered by Willow and Jenny, from the office. Robert immediately closes the door and follows both men into the living room. Robert points to one of the couches and both men sit down.
Frohike and his two partners then walk out of the office and face the two Blue Berets. Major Gerber starts when he recognizes the three. "What the hell are you three doing here? Last time I checked you Lone Gunmen were in D.C."
"None of your business. What do you want here?" Frohike asks.
"We came to talk to Mulder and Scully. When they get here we'll tell them everything. No one else." Gerber replies.
Jenny then moves in and takes control of the situation. "If you're here to see them, then why did you try to kill them in Puerto Rico?"
"How did you know about that?" Gerber asks.
Jenny nods toward the Lone Gunmen and Gerber understands. < Those three have got to go. Definitely, when this mission is over, they go. > "We were ordered to report to Mulder and Scully and assist them in their mission."
"What mission?" Frohike asks.
"My orders call for me to assist Mulder and Scully, plus various non-standard assets in destroying a large number of vampires and possibly several demons." Gerber replies straight faced.
"How the Hell do you know about that?" Jenny asks.
"My superior had this house under observation for the last 24 hours. When he found out that you were calling additional assets, he felt that the mission was of such import that you needed more assets than what you had at present and on the way, that he sent us to help."
"Who is your superior?" Frohike asks, dreading the answer.
"A certain cigarette smoking man. I believe he favors Morley's." Gerber replies with a grin as all three Lone Gunmen blanche.
Frohike turns to Jenny and tells her. "Jenny, this is bad. Very bad. Get Mulder and Scully down here."
"Don't forget to get Cherokee's lazy ass out bed as well. He still owes me ten dollars." Sgt. Chavez replies with a grin.
"Who's Cherokee?" A thoroughly confused Willow asks.
"Sorry, you know him as Steve St. Wolf. But to me and Jack, he'll always be Cherokee." Chavez explains.
Willow looks to Jenny and she nods. Willow immediately goes to Mulder and Scully's bed room and knocks on the door. Mulder opens the door and asks quietly. "Is it important?"
"Look down stairs on the couch." Willow replies.
Mulder looks down stairs and recognizes the uniforms of the two strange men. His face loses it's color and he asks. "Why are they here?"
"Would you believe it if they said they were here to help?" Willow asks.
"No. I wouldn't." Mulder coldly replies. "We'll be down in a couple of minutes. Wake up Steve, Frank and Buffy."
"All right Mulder, but hurry up. Those guys give me the Wiggins."
"You're not the only one Willow." Mulder replies as he closes his door and Willow moves on to Steve's door to wake him up.
Mulder moves to Scully and gently wakes her up. Scully looks at Mulder through sleepy eyes and asks. "What's wrong Fox?"
"We've got two Blue Berets sitting downstairs. They want to talk to us."
Scully quickly loses any semblance of fatigue at the mention of the Blue Berets. "About what?"
"They said they're here to help."
"I don't believe it. First King Arthur, now the Blue Berets. What the hell is going on here?"
"I know. King Arthur I can understand, but the Blue Berets? Something is definitely fishy here."
Willow continues onto Steve's room and knocks on the door. She hears a noise coming from inside and thinking that Steve's telling her to come in. She does and the sight before almost makes her wish she didn't.
"Oh my." Willows calls out at seeing Buffy sleeping naked in Steve's arms. The sound of her voice wakes up both of them.
"Willow, usually people wait until they're called before they enter a room." Steve replies in a slightly pissed off voice.
Willow turns around and blushes brightly. "I'm sorry Steve, Buffy. But there's a major situation happening downstairs."
"What is it Willow?" Buffy asks.
"There's two guys down there who Frohike calls Blue Berets. Mulder looked scared when he saw them. He told me to wake you two and Frank up as well."
"Anything else?" Steve asks.
"Yes, both men say they know you. One of them called you Cherokee. Are they lying?"
< Damn, who the hell could they be? > A worried Steve thinks to himself. "They might know me Willow. Until I see who they are, I can't tell whether or not they're lying." Steve then turns to Buffy. "Let's get dressed. We're not going to get anymore sleep today as is."
Buffy nods her head, worried about Steve and who these men were and what they had to do with him and his past life. She turns to Willow. "Willow can you get me some clothes out of my room? I didn't bring anything with me earlier."
"When I came in it looked like you didn't need any." Willow replies with a giggle as she's hit with a pillow. She turns, to see who hit her with the pillow but quickly turns back as she sees that Steve's about to get out of the bed. She opens the door and replies as she leaves. "I'll leave now."
As the door closes behind Willow, Buffy turns to Steve and asks. "Who could these men be? Could they take you away?"
"I don't know who they are, yet. But I'm sure as hell not leaving you Buffy. At least not without a major fight." Steve relies with a grin and Buffy hugs him
:"That's good to know Steve. I couldn't bear to lose you so soon, like I did Angel."
"I know." Steve replies as he strokes her hair. "Now, if we remain in this position any longer, I'm not going to very threatening with a hard-on sticking out of my pants."
"Oh, why do you have a hard-on?" Buffy asks between giggles.
"Because I'm holding a very sexy, naked woman in my arms." Steve replies with a grin.
Willow moves onto Frank's and Cassandra's room and quietly knocks. A few seconds later, Frank answers the door and asks. "What is it Willow?"
"We have some visitors and Mulder wants you downstairs with him, Dana, Steve and Buffy."
"Who are they?"
"Frohike calls them Blue Berets. And says that they're trouble. They say they're here to help."
"All right, we'll be done in five minutes."
Willow nods her head and moves on to Buffy's room and quietly enters. She looks over Randi and Nakao, asleep on the bed and quietly removes some clothing for Buffy. Then she exits the room just as quietly and goes back to Steve's room and knocks on the door. A fully clothed Steve answers and takes the clothes from Willow and closes the door. Willow turns from the door and grins slyly, thinking < About damn time. > as she heads back to the living room.
Willow calmly walks up to Jenny and tells her. "Everybody will be done in about five minutes."
"Good. Now please keep an eye on our 'guests' while I go make some coffee." Jenny replies.
As Jenny leaves to go to the kitchen, Robert adds. "Jenny, have Brian go upstairs to his sister's room. He shouldn't listen to this."
"Good idea Robert." Jenny replies as she goes to the kitchen and finds Brian behind the island. She kneels down and tells him. "Brian, go up to the room that Randi and Nakao are sharing with Buffy and wait there."
"Can't I stay and watch?" Brian asks.
"No Brian, you can't this is going to be some very secret things said here and you can't listen to them. I'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be." Jenny tells Brian in a soothing voice.
Brian sullenly nods his head and goes, passing the two strangers on his way to his sister's room. Both men exchange looks and Gerber asks. "Is he Cherokee's?"
"No, Brian and his sister are guests of Steve's." Robert replies and does not explain any further.
Steve and Buffy walk out of his bedroom together. At the same time, Mulder, Scully, Frank and Cassandra walk out of theirs. The six walk down together and approach the two strangers as a group.
Gerber looks at the approaching group and notices that his old friend Cherokee was holding hands with a young girl. < Damn, she couldn't be over eighteen. What the hell is Cherokee thinking? What would Kathy think of her husband shacking up with this child? >
As Steve approaches the pair sitting on the couch, his memories flashback to his last years in the 5th Special Forces group and recognition dawns on him. <Damn, what the hell are Gerber and Chavez doing here? >
Chavez looks at his old comrade and grins. < Damn. Cherokee got himself another hot one. >
Steve and Mulder sit down across from Gerber and Chavez. Steve begins the questioning by asking. "What are you and Chavez doing here Jack?"
"Straight to the point Cherokee. I always liked that about you." Gerber replies with a grin. The grin disappears as he leans forward and asks. "So how come your shacking up with a teenager? Doesn't Kathy's memory mean anything to you?"
"Jack, this is not the time or the place for this conversation." Steve replies as he thinks. < Shit. Jack was in love with Kathy. No wonder he's acting like this. He thinks I betrayed her. >
"Yes it is. I want to know that the man that I'm going into battle with is the same man that I served with. If you've changed this much I don't want to expose my men to you or your plans."
"Jack things have changed for me. A lot of things, but I'm still the same man. In a sense." Steve calmly replies.
Jack's eye's narrow and he asks. "What do you mean in a sense?"
Steve sighs and gets up. He turns to Buffy and tells her. "Buffy pull out your sword." And with that, he pulls out his sword. Gerber and Chavez watch in fascination as the two blades appear out of no where, their blades glowing a bright blue.
"What the hell are those?" Chavez asks in awe.
"The blade I carry is called Demon Slayer. The blade that Buffy carries is called Vampire Slayer. They're a matched set of mystical swords."
"You mean to tell me that those swords are magic?" A doubtful Gerber asks.
"Yes, they are. One more thing, they give the bearer an extended life span and enhanced healing ability." Steve explains.
"What do you mean by an extended life span?" Chavez asks.
"The last bearers of the Slayer swords carried them for three hundred years before they retired. Buffy and I were chosen to be the next bearers and Guardians." Steve replies.
"Why did they retire?" Gerber asks.
"They got tired of the constant fighting and killing. When they found me in Prague fighting a demon, they chose me to take on Demon Slayer. They found Buffy in Los Angeles fighting vampires and they chose her to bear Vampire Slayer. About six months ago they simply gave us the swords and went on their way. After they gave up the swords, they resumed aging normally. I think they have a ranch somewhere in Australia or New Zealand. Both places are low on the monster scale of things."
Both Gerber and Chavez are stunned at the story they have just heard. Gerber looks at the sword and feels the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. "Shit, Cherokee. That's one of the craziest stories I've ever heard. But I have to believe it, seeing how my superior sent me here to fight real vampires. What do you need us to do?"
"Well first of all. Carson 'Cherokee' Jamieson died in Dearborn. I'm now Steve St. Wolf, so please call me by that name."
"You got it Steve. What else?"
"Mulder has a few questions, so please answer them." Steve replies.
Gerber nods his agreement as Mulder begins. "Maj. Gerber, who ordered you to help us?"
"My superior ordered me here. Both you and Scully know him."
"Who is he?"
"I don't know his name. Just that he likes to smoke Morley cigarettes."
Both Mulder and Scully turn white. And Scully mutters out. "Why would *HE* want to help us? We've been trying to bring him down for the last five years."
"Because what you're doing helps him. I don't think that his superiors would like it if downtown LA became a 'vampires only' zone."
"Yes, I can see where that would make it inconvenient for him and his cronies. So what are we to do with you?"
"Our orders were to help you and your friends Mulder. Nothing else. Cherokee can tell that I'm a man of my word and I don't back stab people. I'll tell you right now that I'm going to work with you. No secrets. But once this mission is over, we can go back to wanting to take each other out."
"Just one more question. Were you and your unit the ones who tried to kill me and Scully in Puerto Rico?"
"Yes, we were." Gerber replies flatly with no hint of evasion. "We were ordered to sanitize the area and you two were there."
"Thank you for being straight about it." Mulder comments, his eyes hard.
"Mulder don't take it personally. I've had to clean up a lot of areas where aliens have been and none of them have been pretty. Most aliens that land on earth are threats to humanity in general and they have to be dealt with. Any people who see or are contacted by the aliens become threats, either by the information that they have gained or diseases that might have been transmitted. I have no regrets about what I've had to do over the last ten years."
"Thank you Maj. Gerber. That's all of the questions that I have. It'll be a pleasure to work with you. This one time." Mulder replies.
"Jack, we'll met you and your group in an hour by the Sunnydale Motor Lodge. That's where the rest of our people are meeting." Steve tells his old friend.
"It's good to see you again Cherokee. Just one question before we go. How did you fake you death in 1983?" Gerber asks offhandedly.
"While I was living in Dearborn, I was recruited by a black operations group called Section Seven to work for them. Since Kathy was dead and I had nothing to go back to, I joined up. In fact, most of the people here are members of that group. When I told my superiors what I had been chosen for. They agreed that I would continue to be an asset and they continue to support me and Buffy and provide us help in our fight."
"I find it hard to believe that a government agency would believe in vampires and demons."
"Oh they didn't believe me, at first." Steve replies with an evil grin. "They believed me when I brought in a real vampire for the specialists to examine and take apart. My bosses suddenly felt that having a demon hunter and a vampire slayer on the payroll was a plus. And so, here we are."
"How the hell did Mulder and Scully get involved with you?" Chavez asks.
"Mulder and Scully were searching for what they thought was a blue skinned man that looked like a demon. And our paths crossed. They helped me and Buffy fight off and destroy two hundred vampires five months ago. Since then, we've been friends." Steve replies.
"Was the blue skinned man a demon?" Gerber asks, curious.
"Yeah, he was. Mulder and Scully got their hands on a video tape of me taking out the demon with a Strella." Buffy replies, slightly embarrassed being the center of attention.
"You took out a demon with an anti-tank rocket? I thought you were a vampire hunter?" Gerber asks.
"Well, vampires were helping the Judge." Gerber and Chavez look confused. Buffy explains. "That was the demon's name. Well since the vamps were helping, he was fair game. And besides, Steve often goes vampire hunting with me, so it all evens out in the end." Buffy replies with a shy grin.
Gerber looks at this small girl and mutters to himself. < This sweet kid took out a demon with an anti-tank rocket. God, no wonder Cherokee likes her. She's exactly like him and plays by the same rules. > Then he turns to Steve and Mulder. "All right, we'll meet you at the Motor Lodge at 1500 hours. Anything else?"
"Yes Jack. I have some specialized ammunition for your troops. Limit your men to weapons in 9 mm, 45 cal., and 308 Winchester." Jack nods and gets up to leave, but Steve has one more question. "Jack is Bushido with you?"
"Yes he is. Why?"
"Does he still carry his family swords?"
"Yes he does. Why? Do you want me to tell him not to bring them?"
"No. Let him. He'll feel right at home at the rendezvous." Steve replies with a grin.
"May I ask why?"
"Because swords are standard issue in Section Seven." Steve tells him as Jack exits out the front door.
Maj. Gerber and Sgt. Chavez leave the house and enter their HUMVEE. When Gerber buckles up, he orders. "Mick, take us to the men. We've been handed a hot one." Then he turns to Johnson. "Johnson, can you use your computer to look something up for me?"
"Certainly Sir. What is it?"
"I want you to look up information on a pair of swords for me. The swords are called Demon Slayer and Vampire Slayer. They are also rumored to be magic."
"Sir, did I hear you correctly? Magic swords?"
"Yes Sergeant you did. Now run that search for me."
"Yes Sir, but it might take a while."
"You have an hour." Gerber replies and Johnson bends to his laptop and search engines.
"Jack, you don't trust Cherokee?" Chavez asks.
"Have you ever played poker with him Tony?"
"No I never did. Why?"
"Well, back in 81, Randy Thomas was playing in that huge card game on base. He lost his entire savings because a few of the men cheated him out it. Cherokee found out and got it back for him."
"How'd he get Thomas' money back. By threatening them?" Chavez asks with a grin.
"No, he got it back by beating every card shark on the base. They could never figure whether he was bluffing or holding a winning hand. Plus he knew every dirty trick those guys tried to pull on him and they wound up losing every cent they had."
"What'd he do with the money?" Johnson asks.
"He gave Thomas back his and donated the rest to the Widows and Orphans fund. I asked him why he didn't keep any of it and he said that he had cheated them out their money so it wasn't his fairly. But since they had cheated to get the money, it wasn't theirs either."
"Then why are you running this check?" Chavez asks.
"Because I feel that I've just been bluffed." Gerber replies with a grin.
Steve and Mulder watch as Gerber drives away. They both head back to the living room for a meeting. Before they start talking Steve holds up his hand for silence and quietly asks Willow. "Willow, go into the office and run the computer p