"A Friday night in Sunnydale and here I am patrolling the grave yard, what
a way spend my time, yippee!" Buffy looks to the star light sky wishing
that she was not alone tonight.
"Hey, what are you up to?" A familiar voice called out, which brought to mind the pain and comfort of the past. As Buffy look from the sky she comes face to face with Angel, standing tall and the same as the last time she had seen him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Angel, bringing a smile upon his face, "I was a little lonely and thought I would come and visit you." Feeling a little comfort from seeing Angel's smile, she replied, "Well, that's nice. Where have you be." Buffy was interrupted by the scream of a woman. Looking across the graveyard, she notices a woman running away from a vampire. "Hold that thought Angel," and she ran off after the fleeing woman with Angel following closely behind.
The vampire that was on his pursuit of his evening meal noticed that the slayer is not hot on his tail, so he changed his direction and proceeded out of the graveyard towards his haven across the road. Now with Buffy almost directly on him, the vampire makes it a to the road and jumps on the hood of a passing car and Buffy had done the same. After clearing the street, Buffy tackles the vampire and commenced to her usual kicking of ass, but the driver of the car had stepped out to confront the two.
"Sir, you might want to get back into your vehicle," Angel insisted to the driver. The driver was quit a tall man, long black hair, glasses, gray trench coat with quite a disgruntled look upon his face. "Mind your own business, boy," replied the driver. Angel did not know what to say to this man. Who does he think he is calling a boy, Angel thought, but before Angel could say anything back to the driver, the man was already upon Buffy and the vampire.
As Buffy is beating around this vampire, the driver calls out, "Hey, what the hell do you think you were doing, kid!" Both Buffy and the vampire stop fighting for a moment as an angry person called out. "Come here, son!" the driver said in a very commanding voice. The vampire proceeded near the man, thinking to himself that this is going to be a very easy kill, and Buffy yelling behind him to back off.
When the vampire came upon the man, he bore his fangs. "Boy, you better put those away", stated the driver. Buffy and Angel were now in aw that this man was showing no fear towards this vampire. "Look at what you did to my car, who do you think you are to go stomping around on a persons vehicle?" The vampire proceeded to attempt to drain the driver of his blood, but before he could come three feet from the driver, the driver flipped open his coat, drew a katana, decapitated the vampire, and sheathed the sword back in one move. "Damn kids, they never learn."
Buffy did not know what to think as she just witnessed this event. Who is this man, I have never seen him here before, what is he, all these thoughts arose in her mind and she did not know which to ask first. "Alright, missy, what is your excuse for this?" inquired the driver. Snapping out of her thoughts, Buffy answered, "Oh, I'm sorry. My excuse about what?"
The driver looked at Buffy standing there with a wooden stake in her hand and a puzzled look on her face. "What's your name girl?" the driver asked while calming himself down. Angel decides to stick his nose into this little charade, "Who the hell are
you and who are you to ask questions?" The driver looks at Angel and
smirks, "You should really learn to respect your elders boy." Angel and Buffy looked at each other and knew that they were thinking the same thing, "who the hell is this guy?"
"Well, since you two are at a loss of words, I will strike up this conversation. For starters, my name is Jerry Brine. Come over here by the car, I want to sit." Buffy commenced to walk towards Jerry's car. Angel grabbed her arm and gave a look that of course meant disapproval. Buffy looked up into his eyes and shrugged, and continued to walk to the car.
Jerry is standing over the hood of his car looking at the damage that has been done to it, "Man, I can't believe this. Fifteen minutes in town and already running into crap." Buffy walks up behind Jerry, "So, your new here?" "Well, isn't that obvious?" Jerry said with sarcasm in his voice. Buffy said very quietly under her breath, "Well, aren't you just the nice guy. "Well, actually I can be nice if you aren't damaging my things." Jerry replied to her silent statement. "How did you hear me?" Buffy asked in shock. "I have good hearing."
Angel came upon the two, "Do I know you from somewhere?" Jerry turns to him, "What's your name slick so I don't have to keep calling you 'Boy'?" "I'm Angel and this is Buffy." "Now, I didn't ask her name, did I?" Jerry shakes his head from side to side, "Forget it, is there somewhere that we can get a drink and talk?" Buffy said with a little perk, "There's the Bronze." Jerry walks to the driver side of the car "Lets go, get in."
Buffy, Angel and Jerry get into the car and Buffy starts giving directions. On their way there, Buffy asks Jerry, "So, what kind of car is this?" Jerry looks over at her, looks back to the road, "The kind you drive." Buffy looks to Angel for some support. "Hey, I am just kidding, don't you two have a since of humor or something?" Buffy fakes a chuckle as they pull into the parking lot of the Bronze. Buffy can not help but think after what just happened, this man has no care in the world, except for the damage to his car.
They get out and Jerry walks to his trunk, opens it, removes his sword and grabs a small bottle. Closing the trunk, Jerry looks at them both, "Lets go." They get into the club, which is pretty busy on Fridays. Buffy sees Willow and Xander sitting at a table, "Hey guys, lets go over here, I see my friends." Jerry looks over at the bar, "I will meet you there. I am going to grab a drink." Buffy and Angel make their way over to her friends' table. Willow is the first to see Buffy, "Hey Buffy, how was patrol? Oh, and there's Angel, uh. how you doing Angel?" Angel smiles and nods. Xander nods, "Hey, Angel." Buffy fixes her self upon the stool and Angel sits beside her, "Kind of weird night, just met an interesting person. Oh, here he comes."
Walking up to the table, Jerry looks to Angel, "Quite the motley crew you have with here." Buffy speaks up, "Jerry, these are my friends, Willow and Xander." Willow says her usual shy hello and Xander reaches out to shake his hand. As Jerry reaches to shake Xander's hand, Willow notices a tattoo of a black hand on Jerry's right hand. "How you guys doing?" Jerry takes a seat near Willow.
Jerry places his drink on the table and pulls out a bottle of red liquid from his coat pocket. Willow asks Jerry, "So, where you from, Jerry?" Jerry pops the cork from the bottle and pours the liquid into his drink, replaces the cork, and commences to stir his mixture. Angel leans over to Buffy and whispers into her ear, "That's blood he had in that bottle." Jerry, bringing his drink to his lips, "Wow, can pull anything over you, Slick." Angel over at Jerry, "What?"
"Like I couldn't hear ya, Slick", Jerry smiles and turns his attention to Willow. "To answer your question, I am from New York." Willow gives Jerry a smile, "Wow, uh. what are you doing all the way in Sunnydale?" Jerry takes another sip from his drink, "Well, I have been meaning to move over around here for sometime. I heard that it was a quiet place, but found out other wise when I ran into your friend, Buffy, here." "So, Buffy, what are we gonna do about the damage you and your dead friend did to my car?" Willow and Xander looked at each other wondering what Jerry was talking about.
Angel is beginning to be come irritated with Jerry, "There is nothing that she can do about it, so just forget about it." Jerry lost his smile as he spoke to Angel, "Fair warning, Slick. Don't put your nose in business that I don't want it in, got it?" Angel, now angry, growls at Jerry, "Hey, let me tell you something." Buffy interrupted, "Angel, calm it! I don't need all this testosterone flying around." Jerry chuckles, "Yeah, like she said, Slick."
"You, Mr. Brine, I need some answers." Jerry smiles, "What am I going to get out of all this questioning?" Buffy is not getting to happy with Jerry now, "I will let you continue to walk, How's that?" Jerry nods and takes another sip from his drink, "Look, I know what you are, and I am nothing like you have faced before, so I have a better proposition. How about you get my hood fixed and I will answer your questions?" Buffy thought about it for a second, and didn't since that he was going to cause any trouble at the moment, "Alright, that sounds fair enough. For starters, I know you are a vampire." Jerry smirks, "Wow, I'm that obvious." Buffy scoffs "Don't interrupt. Now then, why are you here? What do you do you exactly?" Jerry finishes off his drink, "Well, I already told you why I am here, looking for a place to relax, and I am what some call an Assamite." Angel got a shocked look on while Jerry mentioned what he is. Willow saw Angel's expression, "What's the matter Angel?" Angel shakes his head, "Oh, uh.nothing. Hey Buffy, I have a few things to take care of, I will meet you at Giles' place later."
Buffy watched as Angel rushed out of the club, "Oh well, he always just shows up for just a moment, then gone." Turning her attention back to Jerry, "What is an." Jerry was no longer in his seat, Willow and Xander just noticed as well. They looked about the club and Xander noticed Jerry walking back from the bar. "Sorry for my slight absence, needed a refill. So, what were you going to say Buffy?"
Buffy shook her head, "How did you get over there that fast? Know what, that doesn't matter. What is an Assamite?" Sitting down and smiling at Willow, "Oh, your boyfriend knows?" Buffy quickly replies, "NO! Angel is not my boyfriend, anymore." Buffy looks down at the table remembering how Angel last hurt her.
Jerry takes his finger and raises Buffy's head, "Hey, I don't care about that, I care about the damage you did to my car. But, there is something I want to know. You are not sent over here by the government or have anything to do with it?" Buffy quizzically replies, "No, why do you ask?" Jerry showed a sign of relief, "Oh, its nothing, just didn't want to run into any more government owned slayers. You wouldn't understand."
Jerry finishes off his drink and stands, "Well, it was nice to have this little moment, but I must take my leave. Here is my cell number, Buffy. Call me when you are ready to get my car fixed." Jerry turns to Xander, "Take it easy, Slick." Then with his left hand, Jerry raises Willow's left hand and kisses it, "Nice to see that there are beautiful women here. I will hopefully see you again." Jerry leaves the club to his own pressing matters with the others watching.
Willow sighs, "Wow, he is charming." Xander sarcastically chuckles, "You got to be kidding, right?" Buffy, still watching the door, "We better go see Giles, and find out about our newly acquainted friend." The three grab their belongings and head for Giles'.
Giles hears a rapid knocking on his front door accompanied by the doorbell. "What, what is all this incessant noise about? Oh, Buffy we have been waiting for you?" Buffy walks in, "We? Oh, Angel is already here." Angel is pacing around the living area, and gives a worried look towards Buffy. "Buffy, Angel was just telling me about a fellow that you two have met this evening." Buffy gives an upset look to Angel, "Well that's a lot coming from someone who hasn't shown his face around or called in forever."
Everyone comes in and settles their selves, and Willow asks Giles if she can look through his occult book. Giles grabs his book and hands it to Willow, "What is it that you are looking for?" While strumming through the pages, "Well, I noticed something on Jerry's hand as he was reaching to shake Xander's hand." Xander looks at his hand then wipes his hand on Buffy shoulder. Buffy looks at Xander, "Hey!" Willow continues, "It was like a tattoo of a Black Hand on his palm. He doesn't look like other vampires, he had a really good tan."
Angel stops pacing, "Don't bother looking it up, I know what he is and what his tattoo means." Everyone moves to his or her respective seats in the living area as Angel explains. Angel sits next to Buffy on the couch, "He said he was an Assamite. Assamites are a clan of vampires that are assassins and that mark he had on his hand makes him even more dangerous. That means that he is apart of the Black Hand."
Giles adjusts his glasses, "Wait a second, you are telling me that the Black Hand is real. I thought that they were just a myth." Xander looks around the group, "What's the Black Hand?" Giles removes his glasses and rubs his eyes, "Well Xander, the Black Hand is like the secret police of the vampires, they were meant to maintain order amongst the clans, but until this time I thought they were a myth. Huh, this is an interesting fellow."
Buffy looks at Angel, "So, does that make him a threat to us or what?" Angel runs his hands back and forth through his hair, "That's it, I don't know. We just need to find out what he is doing here and what's going on. The Black Hand doesn't just show up for the hell of it." Willow seeming to defend Jerry, "Well, I don't know, he just said that he was looking for a quiet place to live." Xander quickly attempts to counter, "Come on Willow, since when do blood suckers look for a quiet place to hang out. No offense Angel." Angel, really not paying to much attention to Xander, looks up, "Huh, oh don't worry about it."
Giles replaces his glasses upon his face and gets up to get a drink, "Well Buffy, do you think he will be any trouble while he is here?" Buffy reclines into the couch and looks up at the ceiling, "Well, other than Jerry being sarcastic and worried about his car, I don't think that he will cause any trouble. I will find out something when I go see him." Angel, Giles, and Xander quickly looked at Buffy and simultaneously said, "Your going to go see him!?!?"
Buffy sits up and shrugs here shoulders, "Why not, I did promise him I would go take his car to get fixed for answering my questions." Angel grabs her hand, "Look, I don't want you going by yourself. Let me go with you." Buffy pulls her back, "Don't worry, I'm a big girl now, besides Giles will be going with me." Giles raises his head from his tea, "What me? " Willow bounces in her seat a little, "Ooo, I want to go too." Buffy smiles at Angel, "See Slick, I will have Willow and Giles with me. Ok, when we finish our last class Willow, we will meet up with Giles in front of the University and go from there."
Angel gave her a funny look for what she just called him, "Well, I better get out of here. I will see you tomorrow night Buffy." Angel took his leave and Buffy, Xander and Willow soon followed suit. Giles stood by the door as they left, "Well then, I will see you two tomorrow afternoon then."
The afternoon rolled around and Buffy can from the main entrance from the campus to find that Willow and Giles were already there. "Ok guys, you ready to go. I called Jerry this morning before my first class and he is staying in the apartment complex just four blocks north of the school." Giles, carrying his briefcase and adjusting his glasses, "Well, shall we?" The three began to walk towards Jerry's and cause it is a little quiet, Buffy had to start a conversation. "Wow Willow, that really is a nice outfit that you are wearing. What's the special occasion?" Willow blushes a little, "Oh, nothing special, I just felt like dressing a little nice today, yeah, that's it."
"Well, Willow, if I didn't know better, I would think that you were trying to impress some cute college boy today." Buffy said teasingly. Willow shook her head, "No, that's not it at all! No." Giles interrupted, "So Buffy, what exactly are you doing for Jerry again?" Buffy sighs, "Well, we are going to pick up his car and take it to the local body shop so they can do their thing to fix the dent. Yeah." "Well, I hope that he doesn't mind me asking a few questions," inquired Giles.
The little trio came upon the apartment complex, and Buffy looks up to the building, "Well, he is in room 302. Lets go." They get up to the third floor and find Jerry's door. Buffy looks at the other two, "So, who wants to knock?" They both just looked at her like they were really going to volunteer to knock. "Alright, fine then. I guess I will knock." Buffy turns to knock on the door and before she could even make contact with the door, it creaked open.
Giles, Willow, and Buffy looked at each other, then they heard a voice from inside, "Come on in, I don't bite that hard." The three enter the apartment to find Jerry in the kitchen fixing some drinks. Giles was the last to enter and he closed the door behind him, as he turned around, he caught the scent of his favorite tea. Jerry was finishing up the drinks, "Take a seat on the couch." He grabbed the drinks and walked over towards them, "I sure was lucky that this place was furnished when I got here, I hate shopping for furniture." Jerry placed a drink in front of each of them, each drink was that of their preference. Giles looked at Jerry, "How did you know what we like?"
Jerry just smiled and pointed to his noise, "I can smell it, and I also know you have a thing for scotch." Jerry walked to a rocking chair across from the little trio, "Forgive my rudeness, Willow. You look very beautiful today." Jerry chuckled to himself. "Anyway mister Giles, what is it that you want to ask me?" Giles looked up from his tea as he took a sip, "What do you mean mister Brine? I never said that I wanted to ask you anything."
Jerry reached into his coat that is hanging on the back of the rocking chair and pulled out a small recorder. "Why this is how I know, Giles." Jerry pushed the play button and played back a good portion of the conversation that was held at Giles' house. Buffy put down her coke, "How did you record that?" Jerry stopped the recorder, "Well, I never fully trust any body that I recently meet, so I place a bug on Willow's inner sleeve when I kissed her hand last night. You are right, you know. I am not here to cause any trouble. I just want quiet for as long as possible."
Willow sat still searching her inner sleeve. Buffy saw this, but then looked back at Jerry, "Well, you have come to the wrong town." Jerry puts away the recorder and takes a sip of his drink. Jerry then turns his attention to Giles, "Well Giles, you want a few answers, I got them for you, but there is something I need in return." Buffy leans back into the couch and mutters, "Of course." Jerry continues, "I need your help in locating a talisman, in return for your word and work, I will answer all your questions. Fair enough." Giles takes another sip of his tea, glances over at Buffy, then back to Jerry, "Well, I suppose. what talisman do you need?" "Well, I need a talisman of invulnerability, the genuine article, no fakes." Giles finishes off the rest of his tea, "It will take a little time, but I may be able to locate one."
Jerry smiles, "You have four days, Mr. Giles." Giles rubbed his head, "Four days? It may take longer." Jerry interrupted Giles, "I believe you can do it in four days, it is imperative." Jerry turns to Willow, "Judging by your aura, Willow, you have capabilities to do magic. I will get with you later on a more personal basis to discuss it." Buffy jumped in, "Wait a minute, you will have to discuss that with all of us. I don't trust you enough to be alone with her." Willow spoke up, "Oh, I don't mind, I will help in any way I can." Buffy elbows Willow, "Willow?" "What Buffy? I don't believe he would do anything to harm me."
"Now then, you want to know the reason why I don't look like other vampires. Well, my clan is of Arabic descent, that's what gives us our dark skin. You also want to know why I am here. Well, the Black Hand has become very corrupt over the past century. I left to get away from the other members of the Black Hand, cause I was the only one untainted by the corruption, and they are a large force to deal with. So, for now I bide my time till I get the talisman of invulnerability." Giles made a few notes on a note pad he keeps in his briefcase, "Yes, well that answers a lot, now doesn't it."
Jerry now moved his attention to Buffy. "Now, there is a chance, Buffy, that the Black Hand may find out that I am here. That does mean a lot of trouble. But don't worry about it, that's why I gave Giles four days to locate that talisman. If it gets worse, I do have backup, one of which is not so different than you, but he is genetically enhanced to be like you." Buffy shifts to the edge of the couch, "So, you are saying that there is a chance of a major battle going on here? So help me, you put any of us in danger, I will turn you over myself."
Jerry stood up and looked down at Buffy, "No you wont, they will just kill you and your friends anyway." Jerry picked up the empty glasses and took them to the kitchen sink. "Before it gets too late, Buffy, you better get a move on and get my car in the shop. I left money in the glove compartment for the repairs." Aggravated, Buffy gets up and heads for the door, with Giles and Willow following.
"Hey, you might want the keys." Jerry tosses the keys to Giles. "Oh, Willow, would you mind staying behind so that I may speak with you? Don't worry, you are safer here than you would be out there." Willow hesitated for a moment, then agreed. Buffy turns to Willow, "We will be back soon to pick you up. Are you sure that you want to stay?" Willow looks at Jerry, then back to Buffy, "Yeah, I'm sure." Jerry walked from the kitchen to the door. "Don't worry about coming back, I will walk her to Giles' house."
Buffy exited the apartment and continued to the parking lot. She does not like the idea of Willow alone with that creature. Once they reached the parking lot, Buffy pointed out Jerry's car to Giles. "Buffy, do you know what this is?" "It's a car, Giles." Giles gives her a facetious look. "I know it's a car, but not just any car. Before you stepped on it, it looks to be a mint condition, 1969 Pontiac LeMans, and you stepped on it. He has kept it in beautiful condition." "Geez Giles, you are starting to sound like Jerry." "Oh, sorry Buffy, lets go." Buffy sighs and gets in the car.
Jerry offers Willow a seat and another drink. "I will have another coke, please." Willow takes a seat at the dinning room table. Jerry comes back from the kitchen with Willow's drink and sits across the table from Willow. "Ok Willow, I need a favor, and if you need anything from me in return, just ask." Willow nods her head and takes a sip from her soda. "I have a friend ,Willow, that I would like you to perform a spell on, that's if it is in your capability. 1500 years ago, I met my friend in Europe. She is an extraordinary person, we are not sure what she is, we just know that she is not a vampire, and she has no recollection of how old she was before I met here or what she is. I would like you to do a spell that can unlock that information in her mind. That is all I need." Willow thought to herself for a moment. "I may have something in my spell books, if I do not, Giles may. I will do all that I can." Jerry smiles, "Thank you, Willow. My friend will be here tomorrow night, and I will keep in contact with you."
Darkness came while Jerry and Willow were sharing things about each other. "Well, time has flown by fast, we better get you back to Giles' place before Buffy comes looking for me. Hahaha." Willow chuckled and agreed. Jerry grabbed his coat and escorted Willow back to Giles' house. When they arrived, everyone from the Scooby gang was now there. Jerry knocked rang the doorbell. As they waited for Giles to answer the door, Jerry asked, "After all this mess blows over, uh. do you mind showing me around Sunnydale? Its rude of me to ask, I apologize." Willow was more than happy to accept, "Oh, I don't mind. You aren't as bad as Angel perceived you." Jerry smiled, "Well, I do have a weakness for a beautiful woman. My down as you might say."
Giles finally opened the door, "Oh there you are Willow, back earlier than I expected." "Oh, Jerry was very nice and all, we had a good time talking.uh.yeah." Willow smiled and walked in. Jerry looked at Giles and smiled. "See, I brought back unscathed. I told you I would not harm her." "Well Jerry, uh. Buffy and I have to do some training this evening before she goes on patrol. I will get started on the search for your talisman first thing in the morning." "That's fine, Giles. See you later." Jerry disappeared into the darkness and Giles returned to the Scooby gang.
Now that the gang is all there, they began the nightly meeting. The first question on everybody's mind, even Angel, was what Willow and Jerry talked about and Willow felt this pressure coming on. "Willow, what were you thinking? Do you know the possibilities of what could have happened to you? You don't need to be hanging around his type," Buffy said in frustration. Willow was hurt and angry that Buffy had brought that up. "What makes me any different than you? You have out with.with his type. See you have Angel, what do I have?"
Buffy saw in Willow's eyes how much she had hurt her feeling. Buffy sighs, "I am sorry Willow. I was just worried about you." "I know Buffy, but I am a big girl. Besides, Jerry was very nice to me, and he kept complementing me and all this other nice stuff. He treated me like a real person." "Well, Willow, we are all dying to know, what did you two talk about?" Willow wiped a tear from her eye. "Lets see. Oh yes, that's right, he asked me if I could perform a spell on a friend of his." Giles sits on a chair across from Willow. "What kind of spell?" "Uh. one that can unlock part of her memory. He told me that she is really old and doesn't remember anything before the day she met Jerry. He said that was 1500 years ago."
A look of shock came upon the groups face. Xander happened to choke out, "Y. you mean that Jerry is over 1500 years old." Angel stands up and shook his head, "Look, that's the least of our concerns. I have been trying to find out more information on Jerry. I got a lead that he is on the run from the Black Hand, and that in three days they will be here. I also found out that Jerry is the most ruthless of all the Black Hand. I don't think that he can be trusted." Giles pulled out his notes from his meeting with Jerry. "What Jerry said was true, that's why he wants that talisman. He intends to fight them off. Now Angel, all of us have a past, one that I am not happy about, but you cannot judge Jerry by his past. So far he has kept his word in every instance." Buffy looks at Angel with a blank stare on her face. "No, he is right, Angel, your not a saint yourself. Jerry has not gone back on his word, yet." Buffy stands and walks towards the door. "Well, its time for me to go on patrol, see you guys later."
Willow gathered her things and headed for the door after Buffy left. "Uh.I am going back to my place and see if I can find the spell I need. I talk to you guys tomorrow." When Willow walked out she noticed Buffy and Jerry speaking to each other across the road. They talked for a minute then Buffy walked away. Jerry turned to face the house and saw Willow standing in the doorway. Jerry walked up to Willow and handed her a cell phone. "Take this, it has my number on it. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call, and if I need to get in touch with you, I can get a hold of you this way." Jerry began to walk away, but Willow stopped him. "Would you mind walking me home, Jerry?" Jerry stops and turned back to Willow and smiled. "I don't mind at all, come on."
The entire walk to Willow's place was quiet, neither said a word, just exchanged glances back and forth, and enjoyed the quiet night. While on their walk, Jerry noticed that they were being watched from the shadows, but Jerry did not pay any attention to it, for the moment. "Well Jerry, here's my stop. Thank you for walking me home." Jerry looks into Willow's eyes, "Wow, you have beautiful eyes. Oh.uh, please forgive me. You are welcome. I will see you tomorrow." Jerry turned to the street and starting heading back towards his apartment. "Oh, thank you for the compliment thing on my eyes. Night." Jerry continued walking, but turned his head towards Willow and smiled.
Angel followed Jerry and Buffy from across the street the entire way from Giles apartment. He watched as Jerry walked away from Willow and down the side walk heading north. Jerry pasted behind a large bush but never emerged from the other side. "Where the hell did he go?" A voice called out behind Angel, "Right here, Slick." As Angel spun around, Jerry grasps him by the neck and pinned him against a tree.
"So Slick, did you get a good show? Did you think I was going to hurt your girlfriend's Willow?" Angel began to try and struggle himself free from Jerry's grasp, but to no avail. Jerry released Angel and shook his head in disappointment. "From the word I am getting, you are supposed to be some kind of bad ass. I think they lied to me. I will have to kill them later." Angel adjusts his coat and snarled at Jerry. "No I don't trust you, Jerry, and I am not going to let you hurt Buffy or Willow."
Jerry continued his course back to his apartment, "Angel, walk with me for a bit." Angel was hesitant for a second, and then he decided he wanted to hear what Jerry had to say. "Nice to see that you decided to join me, Angel." "Yeah, well I am not doing it cause I like you or anything. Just say what you have to say." Jerry chuckles. "Well Angel, here's the deal. The Black Hand is searching for me, and I will give them about four days to find out where I am. What I need is for you to get some friends together to help protect your friends. I will be calling some trusted associates to help back me up."
Angel thought to himself for a minute. "Why don't you just leave town, and not give them a reason to stay?" "Well Slick, what makes you think they wont tear apart this town to get information about my whereabouts? They are coming here, and I have to end this now. Besides, I guess that you have been left in the dark about what is going on in the world." Angel stopped Jerry. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Jerry kept walking towards his apartment. "I will speed you up on things. Lets get to my apartment, cause I want a drink."
The two reach Jerry's apartment and continued their conversation. "What has been happening is the Black Hand and a few other clans are trying to resurrect a few ancients. If this happens, of course there will be an all out war between them and the humans." Angel began to pace the living room. "So, what does that have to do with you being here, Jerry?" "Everything. I can't be around them by myself. I needed to lay low for awhile." Jerry takes a big drink from his glass. "Tasty. Anyway, if Giles can get me that talisman, I will have a better chance against them. That and help from you and Buffy." Angel began to walk to the door. "Heed what I had to say, Angel. See if Buffy has anymore, strong friends? I don't need the others to die on me." Angel stopped at the door and looked at Jerry for a few seconds, and then he walked out the door.
Jerry picks up his phone, "Hey Rex, you and the rest have a day to get to Sunnydale. Yeah, get a hold of Jack."
"Hey, what are you up to?" A familiar voice called out, which brought to mind the pain and comfort of the past. As Buffy look from the sky she comes face to face with Angel, standing tall and the same as the last time she had seen him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Angel, bringing a smile upon his face, "I was a little lonely and thought I would come and visit you." Feeling a little comfort from seeing Angel's smile, she replied, "Well, that's nice. Where have you be." Buffy was interrupted by the scream of a woman. Looking across the graveyard, she notices a woman running away from a vampire. "Hold that thought Angel," and she ran off after the fleeing woman with Angel following closely behind.
The vampire that was on his pursuit of his evening meal noticed that the slayer is not hot on his tail, so he changed his direction and proceeded out of the graveyard towards his haven across the road. Now with Buffy almost directly on him, the vampire makes it a to the road and jumps on the hood of a passing car and Buffy had done the same. After clearing the street, Buffy tackles the vampire and commenced to her usual kicking of ass, but the driver of the car had stepped out to confront the two.
"Sir, you might want to get back into your vehicle," Angel insisted to the driver. The driver was quit a tall man, long black hair, glasses, gray trench coat with quite a disgruntled look upon his face. "Mind your own business, boy," replied the driver. Angel did not know what to say to this man. Who does he think he is calling a boy, Angel thought, but before Angel could say anything back to the driver, the man was already upon Buffy and the vampire.
As Buffy is beating around this vampire, the driver calls out, "Hey, what the hell do you think you were doing, kid!" Both Buffy and the vampire stop fighting for a moment as an angry person called out. "Come here, son!" the driver said in a very commanding voice. The vampire proceeded near the man, thinking to himself that this is going to be a very easy kill, and Buffy yelling behind him to back off.
When the vampire came upon the man, he bore his fangs. "Boy, you better put those away", stated the driver. Buffy and Angel were now in aw that this man was showing no fear towards this vampire. "Look at what you did to my car, who do you think you are to go stomping around on a persons vehicle?" The vampire proceeded to attempt to drain the driver of his blood, but before he could come three feet from the driver, the driver flipped open his coat, drew a katana, decapitated the vampire, and sheathed the sword back in one move. "Damn kids, they never learn."
Buffy did not know what to think as she just witnessed this event. Who is this man, I have never seen him here before, what is he, all these thoughts arose in her mind and she did not know which to ask first. "Alright, missy, what is your excuse for this?" inquired the driver. Snapping out of her thoughts, Buffy answered, "Oh, I'm sorry. My excuse about what?"
The driver looked at Buffy standing there with a wooden stake in her hand and a puzzled look on her face. "What's your name girl?" the driver asked while calming himself down. Angel decides to stick his nose into this little charade, "Who the hell are
you and who are you to ask questions?" The driver looks at Angel and
smirks, "You should really learn to respect your elders boy." Angel and Buffy looked at each other and knew that they were thinking the same thing, "who the hell is this guy?"
"Well, since you two are at a loss of words, I will strike up this conversation. For starters, my name is Jerry Brine. Come over here by the car, I want to sit." Buffy commenced to walk towards Jerry's car. Angel grabbed her arm and gave a look that of course meant disapproval. Buffy looked up into his eyes and shrugged, and continued to walk to the car.
Jerry is standing over the hood of his car looking at the damage that has been done to it, "Man, I can't believe this. Fifteen minutes in town and already running into crap." Buffy walks up behind Jerry, "So, your new here?" "Well, isn't that obvious?" Jerry said with sarcasm in his voice. Buffy said very quietly under her breath, "Well, aren't you just the nice guy. "Well, actually I can be nice if you aren't damaging my things." Jerry replied to her silent statement. "How did you hear me?" Buffy asked in shock. "I have good hearing."
Angel came upon the two, "Do I know you from somewhere?" Jerry turns to him, "What's your name slick so I don't have to keep calling you 'Boy'?" "I'm Angel and this is Buffy." "Now, I didn't ask her name, did I?" Jerry shakes his head from side to side, "Forget it, is there somewhere that we can get a drink and talk?" Buffy said with a little perk, "There's the Bronze." Jerry walks to the driver side of the car "Lets go, get in."
Buffy, Angel and Jerry get into the car and Buffy starts giving directions. On their way there, Buffy asks Jerry, "So, what kind of car is this?" Jerry looks over at her, looks back to the road, "The kind you drive." Buffy looks to Angel for some support. "Hey, I am just kidding, don't you two have a since of humor or something?" Buffy fakes a chuckle as they pull into the parking lot of the Bronze. Buffy can not help but think after what just happened, this man has no care in the world, except for the damage to his car.
They get out and Jerry walks to his trunk, opens it, removes his sword and grabs a small bottle. Closing the trunk, Jerry looks at them both, "Lets go." They get into the club, which is pretty busy on Fridays. Buffy sees Willow and Xander sitting at a table, "Hey guys, lets go over here, I see my friends." Jerry looks over at the bar, "I will meet you there. I am going to grab a drink." Buffy and Angel make their way over to her friends' table. Willow is the first to see Buffy, "Hey Buffy, how was patrol? Oh, and there's Angel, uh. how you doing Angel?" Angel smiles and nods. Xander nods, "Hey, Angel." Buffy fixes her self upon the stool and Angel sits beside her, "Kind of weird night, just met an interesting person. Oh, here he comes."
Walking up to the table, Jerry looks to Angel, "Quite the motley crew you have with here." Buffy speaks up, "Jerry, these are my friends, Willow and Xander." Willow says her usual shy hello and Xander reaches out to shake his hand. As Jerry reaches to shake Xander's hand, Willow notices a tattoo of a black hand on Jerry's right hand. "How you guys doing?" Jerry takes a seat near Willow.
Jerry places his drink on the table and pulls out a bottle of red liquid from his coat pocket. Willow asks Jerry, "So, where you from, Jerry?" Jerry pops the cork from the bottle and pours the liquid into his drink, replaces the cork, and commences to stir his mixture. Angel leans over to Buffy and whispers into her ear, "That's blood he had in that bottle." Jerry, bringing his drink to his lips, "Wow, can pull anything over you, Slick." Angel over at Jerry, "What?"
"Like I couldn't hear ya, Slick", Jerry smiles and turns his attention to Willow. "To answer your question, I am from New York." Willow gives Jerry a smile, "Wow, uh. what are you doing all the way in Sunnydale?" Jerry takes another sip from his drink, "Well, I have been meaning to move over around here for sometime. I heard that it was a quiet place, but found out other wise when I ran into your friend, Buffy, here." "So, Buffy, what are we gonna do about the damage you and your dead friend did to my car?" Willow and Xander looked at each other wondering what Jerry was talking about.
Angel is beginning to be come irritated with Jerry, "There is nothing that she can do about it, so just forget about it." Jerry lost his smile as he spoke to Angel, "Fair warning, Slick. Don't put your nose in business that I don't want it in, got it?" Angel, now angry, growls at Jerry, "Hey, let me tell you something." Buffy interrupted, "Angel, calm it! I don't need all this testosterone flying around." Jerry chuckles, "Yeah, like she said, Slick."
"You, Mr. Brine, I need some answers." Jerry smiles, "What am I going to get out of all this questioning?" Buffy is not getting to happy with Jerry now, "I will let you continue to walk, How's that?" Jerry nods and takes another sip from his drink, "Look, I know what you are, and I am nothing like you have faced before, so I have a better proposition. How about you get my hood fixed and I will answer your questions?" Buffy thought about it for a second, and didn't since that he was going to cause any trouble at the moment, "Alright, that sounds fair enough. For starters, I know you are a vampire." Jerry smirks, "Wow, I'm that obvious." Buffy scoffs "Don't interrupt. Now then, why are you here? What do you do you exactly?" Jerry finishes off his drink, "Well, I already told you why I am here, looking for a place to relax, and I am what some call an Assamite." Angel got a shocked look on while Jerry mentioned what he is. Willow saw Angel's expression, "What's the matter Angel?" Angel shakes his head, "Oh, uh.nothing. Hey Buffy, I have a few things to take care of, I will meet you at Giles' place later."
Buffy watched as Angel rushed out of the club, "Oh well, he always just shows up for just a moment, then gone." Turning her attention back to Jerry, "What is an." Jerry was no longer in his seat, Willow and Xander just noticed as well. They looked about the club and Xander noticed Jerry walking back from the bar. "Sorry for my slight absence, needed a refill. So, what were you going to say Buffy?"
Buffy shook her head, "How did you get over there that fast? Know what, that doesn't matter. What is an Assamite?" Sitting down and smiling at Willow, "Oh, your boyfriend knows?" Buffy quickly replies, "NO! Angel is not my boyfriend, anymore." Buffy looks down at the table remembering how Angel last hurt her.
Jerry takes his finger and raises Buffy's head, "Hey, I don't care about that, I care about the damage you did to my car. But, there is something I want to know. You are not sent over here by the government or have anything to do with it?" Buffy quizzically replies, "No, why do you ask?" Jerry showed a sign of relief, "Oh, its nothing, just didn't want to run into any more government owned slayers. You wouldn't understand."
Jerry finishes off his drink and stands, "Well, it was nice to have this little moment, but I must take my leave. Here is my cell number, Buffy. Call me when you are ready to get my car fixed." Jerry turns to Xander, "Take it easy, Slick." Then with his left hand, Jerry raises Willow's left hand and kisses it, "Nice to see that there are beautiful women here. I will hopefully see you again." Jerry leaves the club to his own pressing matters with the others watching.
Willow sighs, "Wow, he is charming." Xander sarcastically chuckles, "You got to be kidding, right?" Buffy, still watching the door, "We better go see Giles, and find out about our newly acquainted friend." The three grab their belongings and head for Giles'.
Giles hears a rapid knocking on his front door accompanied by the doorbell. "What, what is all this incessant noise about? Oh, Buffy we have been waiting for you?" Buffy walks in, "We? Oh, Angel is already here." Angel is pacing around the living area, and gives a worried look towards Buffy. "Buffy, Angel was just telling me about a fellow that you two have met this evening." Buffy gives an upset look to Angel, "Well that's a lot coming from someone who hasn't shown his face around or called in forever."
Everyone comes in and settles their selves, and Willow asks Giles if she can look through his occult book. Giles grabs his book and hands it to Willow, "What is it that you are looking for?" While strumming through the pages, "Well, I noticed something on Jerry's hand as he was reaching to shake Xander's hand." Xander looks at his hand then wipes his hand on Buffy shoulder. Buffy looks at Xander, "Hey!" Willow continues, "It was like a tattoo of a Black Hand on his palm. He doesn't look like other vampires, he had a really good tan."
Angel stops pacing, "Don't bother looking it up, I know what he is and what his tattoo means." Everyone moves to his or her respective seats in the living area as Angel explains. Angel sits next to Buffy on the couch, "He said he was an Assamite. Assamites are a clan of vampires that are assassins and that mark he had on his hand makes him even more dangerous. That means that he is apart of the Black Hand."
Giles adjusts his glasses, "Wait a second, you are telling me that the Black Hand is real. I thought that they were just a myth." Xander looks around the group, "What's the Black Hand?" Giles removes his glasses and rubs his eyes, "Well Xander, the Black Hand is like the secret police of the vampires, they were meant to maintain order amongst the clans, but until this time I thought they were a myth. Huh, this is an interesting fellow."
Buffy looks at Angel, "So, does that make him a threat to us or what?" Angel runs his hands back and forth through his hair, "That's it, I don't know. We just need to find out what he is doing here and what's going on. The Black Hand doesn't just show up for the hell of it." Willow seeming to defend Jerry, "Well, I don't know, he just said that he was looking for a quiet place to live." Xander quickly attempts to counter, "Come on Willow, since when do blood suckers look for a quiet place to hang out. No offense Angel." Angel, really not paying to much attention to Xander, looks up, "Huh, oh don't worry about it."
Giles replaces his glasses upon his face and gets up to get a drink, "Well Buffy, do you think he will be any trouble while he is here?" Buffy reclines into the couch and looks up at the ceiling, "Well, other than Jerry being sarcastic and worried about his car, I don't think that he will cause any trouble. I will find out something when I go see him." Angel, Giles, and Xander quickly looked at Buffy and simultaneously said, "Your going to go see him!?!?"
Buffy sits up and shrugs here shoulders, "Why not, I did promise him I would go take his car to get fixed for answering my questions." Angel grabs her hand, "Look, I don't want you going by yourself. Let me go with you." Buffy pulls her back, "Don't worry, I'm a big girl now, besides Giles will be going with me." Giles raises his head from his tea, "What me? " Willow bounces in her seat a little, "Ooo, I want to go too." Buffy smiles at Angel, "See Slick, I will have Willow and Giles with me. Ok, when we finish our last class Willow, we will meet up with Giles in front of the University and go from there."
Angel gave her a funny look for what she just called him, "Well, I better get out of here. I will see you tomorrow night Buffy." Angel took his leave and Buffy, Xander and Willow soon followed suit. Giles stood by the door as they left, "Well then, I will see you two tomorrow afternoon then."
The afternoon rolled around and Buffy can from the main entrance from the campus to find that Willow and Giles were already there. "Ok guys, you ready to go. I called Jerry this morning before my first class and he is staying in the apartment complex just four blocks north of the school." Giles, carrying his briefcase and adjusting his glasses, "Well, shall we?" The three began to walk towards Jerry's and cause it is a little quiet, Buffy had to start a conversation. "Wow Willow, that really is a nice outfit that you are wearing. What's the special occasion?" Willow blushes a little, "Oh, nothing special, I just felt like dressing a little nice today, yeah, that's it."
"Well, Willow, if I didn't know better, I would think that you were trying to impress some cute college boy today." Buffy said teasingly. Willow shook her head, "No, that's not it at all! No." Giles interrupted, "So Buffy, what exactly are you doing for Jerry again?" Buffy sighs, "Well, we are going to pick up his car and take it to the local body shop so they can do their thing to fix the dent. Yeah." "Well, I hope that he doesn't mind me asking a few questions," inquired Giles.
The little trio came upon the apartment complex, and Buffy looks up to the building, "Well, he is in room 302. Lets go." They get up to the third floor and find Jerry's door. Buffy looks at the other two, "So, who wants to knock?" They both just looked at her like they were really going to volunteer to knock. "Alright, fine then. I guess I will knock." Buffy turns to knock on the door and before she could even make contact with the door, it creaked open.
Giles, Willow, and Buffy looked at each other, then they heard a voice from inside, "Come on in, I don't bite that hard." The three enter the apartment to find Jerry in the kitchen fixing some drinks. Giles was the last to enter and he closed the door behind him, as he turned around, he caught the scent of his favorite tea. Jerry was finishing up the drinks, "Take a seat on the couch." He grabbed the drinks and walked over towards them, "I sure was lucky that this place was furnished when I got here, I hate shopping for furniture." Jerry placed a drink in front of each of them, each drink was that of their preference. Giles looked at Jerry, "How did you know what we like?"
Jerry just smiled and pointed to his noise, "I can smell it, and I also know you have a thing for scotch." Jerry walked to a rocking chair across from the little trio, "Forgive my rudeness, Willow. You look very beautiful today." Jerry chuckled to himself. "Anyway mister Giles, what is it that you want to ask me?" Giles looked up from his tea as he took a sip, "What do you mean mister Brine? I never said that I wanted to ask you anything."
Jerry reached into his coat that is hanging on the back of the rocking chair and pulled out a small recorder. "Why this is how I know, Giles." Jerry pushed the play button and played back a good portion of the conversation that was held at Giles' house. Buffy put down her coke, "How did you record that?" Jerry stopped the recorder, "Well, I never fully trust any body that I recently meet, so I place a bug on Willow's inner sleeve when I kissed her hand last night. You are right, you know. I am not here to cause any trouble. I just want quiet for as long as possible."
Willow sat still searching her inner sleeve. Buffy saw this, but then looked back at Jerry, "Well, you have come to the wrong town." Jerry puts away the recorder and takes a sip of his drink. Jerry then turns his attention to Giles, "Well Giles, you want a few answers, I got them for you, but there is something I need in return." Buffy leans back into the couch and mutters, "Of course." Jerry continues, "I need your help in locating a talisman, in return for your word and work, I will answer all your questions. Fair enough." Giles takes another sip of his tea, glances over at Buffy, then back to Jerry, "Well, I suppose. what talisman do you need?" "Well, I need a talisman of invulnerability, the genuine article, no fakes." Giles finishes off the rest of his tea, "It will take a little time, but I may be able to locate one."
Jerry smiles, "You have four days, Mr. Giles." Giles rubbed his head, "Four days? It may take longer." Jerry interrupted Giles, "I believe you can do it in four days, it is imperative." Jerry turns to Willow, "Judging by your aura, Willow, you have capabilities to do magic. I will get with you later on a more personal basis to discuss it." Buffy jumped in, "Wait a minute, you will have to discuss that with all of us. I don't trust you enough to be alone with her." Willow spoke up, "Oh, I don't mind, I will help in any way I can." Buffy elbows Willow, "Willow?" "What Buffy? I don't believe he would do anything to harm me."
"Now then, you want to know the reason why I don't look like other vampires. Well, my clan is of Arabic descent, that's what gives us our dark skin. You also want to know why I am here. Well, the Black Hand has become very corrupt over the past century. I left to get away from the other members of the Black Hand, cause I was the only one untainted by the corruption, and they are a large force to deal with. So, for now I bide my time till I get the talisman of invulnerability." Giles made a few notes on a note pad he keeps in his briefcase, "Yes, well that answers a lot, now doesn't it."
Jerry now moved his attention to Buffy. "Now, there is a chance, Buffy, that the Black Hand may find out that I am here. That does mean a lot of trouble. But don't worry about it, that's why I gave Giles four days to locate that talisman. If it gets worse, I do have backup, one of which is not so different than you, but he is genetically enhanced to be like you." Buffy shifts to the edge of the couch, "So, you are saying that there is a chance of a major battle going on here? So help me, you put any of us in danger, I will turn you over myself."
Jerry stood up and looked down at Buffy, "No you wont, they will just kill you and your friends anyway." Jerry picked up the empty glasses and took them to the kitchen sink. "Before it gets too late, Buffy, you better get a move on and get my car in the shop. I left money in the glove compartment for the repairs." Aggravated, Buffy gets up and heads for the door, with Giles and Willow following.
"Hey, you might want the keys." Jerry tosses the keys to Giles. "Oh, Willow, would you mind staying behind so that I may speak with you? Don't worry, you are safer here than you would be out there." Willow hesitated for a moment, then agreed. Buffy turns to Willow, "We will be back soon to pick you up. Are you sure that you want to stay?" Willow looks at Jerry, then back to Buffy, "Yeah, I'm sure." Jerry walked from the kitchen to the door. "Don't worry about coming back, I will walk her to Giles' house."
Buffy exited the apartment and continued to the parking lot. She does not like the idea of Willow alone with that creature. Once they reached the parking lot, Buffy pointed out Jerry's car to Giles. "Buffy, do you know what this is?" "It's a car, Giles." Giles gives her a facetious look. "I know it's a car, but not just any car. Before you stepped on it, it looks to be a mint condition, 1969 Pontiac LeMans, and you stepped on it. He has kept it in beautiful condition." "Geez Giles, you are starting to sound like Jerry." "Oh, sorry Buffy, lets go." Buffy sighs and gets in the car.
Jerry offers Willow a seat and another drink. "I will have another coke, please." Willow takes a seat at the dinning room table. Jerry comes back from the kitchen with Willow's drink and sits across the table from Willow. "Ok Willow, I need a favor, and if you need anything from me in return, just ask." Willow nods her head and takes a sip from her soda. "I have a friend ,Willow, that I would like you to perform a spell on, that's if it is in your capability. 1500 years ago, I met my friend in Europe. She is an extraordinary person, we are not sure what she is, we just know that she is not a vampire, and she has no recollection of how old she was before I met here or what she is. I would like you to do a spell that can unlock that information in her mind. That is all I need." Willow thought to herself for a moment. "I may have something in my spell books, if I do not, Giles may. I will do all that I can." Jerry smiles, "Thank you, Willow. My friend will be here tomorrow night, and I will keep in contact with you."
Darkness came while Jerry and Willow were sharing things about each other. "Well, time has flown by fast, we better get you back to Giles' place before Buffy comes looking for me. Hahaha." Willow chuckled and agreed. Jerry grabbed his coat and escorted Willow back to Giles' house. When they arrived, everyone from the Scooby gang was now there. Jerry knocked rang the doorbell. As they waited for Giles to answer the door, Jerry asked, "After all this mess blows over, uh. do you mind showing me around Sunnydale? Its rude of me to ask, I apologize." Willow was more than happy to accept, "Oh, I don't mind. You aren't as bad as Angel perceived you." Jerry smiled, "Well, I do have a weakness for a beautiful woman. My down as you might say."
Giles finally opened the door, "Oh there you are Willow, back earlier than I expected." "Oh, Jerry was very nice and all, we had a good time talking.uh.yeah." Willow smiled and walked in. Jerry looked at Giles and smiled. "See, I brought back unscathed. I told you I would not harm her." "Well Jerry, uh. Buffy and I have to do some training this evening before she goes on patrol. I will get started on the search for your talisman first thing in the morning." "That's fine, Giles. See you later." Jerry disappeared into the darkness and Giles returned to the Scooby gang.
Now that the gang is all there, they began the nightly meeting. The first question on everybody's mind, even Angel, was what Willow and Jerry talked about and Willow felt this pressure coming on. "Willow, what were you thinking? Do you know the possibilities of what could have happened to you? You don't need to be hanging around his type," Buffy said in frustration. Willow was hurt and angry that Buffy had brought that up. "What makes me any different than you? You have out with.with his type. See you have Angel, what do I have?"
Buffy saw in Willow's eyes how much she had hurt her feeling. Buffy sighs, "I am sorry Willow. I was just worried about you." "I know Buffy, but I am a big girl. Besides, Jerry was very nice to me, and he kept complementing me and all this other nice stuff. He treated me like a real person." "Well, Willow, we are all dying to know, what did you two talk about?" Willow wiped a tear from her eye. "Lets see. Oh yes, that's right, he asked me if I could perform a spell on a friend of his." Giles sits on a chair across from Willow. "What kind of spell?" "Uh. one that can unlock part of her memory. He told me that she is really old and doesn't remember anything before the day she met Jerry. He said that was 1500 years ago."
A look of shock came upon the groups face. Xander happened to choke out, "Y. you mean that Jerry is over 1500 years old." Angel stands up and shook his head, "Look, that's the least of our concerns. I have been trying to find out more information on Jerry. I got a lead that he is on the run from the Black Hand, and that in three days they will be here. I also found out that Jerry is the most ruthless of all the Black Hand. I don't think that he can be trusted." Giles pulled out his notes from his meeting with Jerry. "What Jerry said was true, that's why he wants that talisman. He intends to fight them off. Now Angel, all of us have a past, one that I am not happy about, but you cannot judge Jerry by his past. So far he has kept his word in every instance." Buffy looks at Angel with a blank stare on her face. "No, he is right, Angel, your not a saint yourself. Jerry has not gone back on his word, yet." Buffy stands and walks towards the door. "Well, its time for me to go on patrol, see you guys later."
Willow gathered her things and headed for the door after Buffy left. "Uh.I am going back to my place and see if I can find the spell I need. I talk to you guys tomorrow." When Willow walked out she noticed Buffy and Jerry speaking to each other across the road. They talked for a minute then Buffy walked away. Jerry turned to face the house and saw Willow standing in the doorway. Jerry walked up to Willow and handed her a cell phone. "Take this, it has my number on it. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call, and if I need to get in touch with you, I can get a hold of you this way." Jerry began to walk away, but Willow stopped him. "Would you mind walking me home, Jerry?" Jerry stops and turned back to Willow and smiled. "I don't mind at all, come on."
The entire walk to Willow's place was quiet, neither said a word, just exchanged glances back and forth, and enjoyed the quiet night. While on their walk, Jerry noticed that they were being watched from the shadows, but Jerry did not pay any attention to it, for the moment. "Well Jerry, here's my stop. Thank you for walking me home." Jerry looks into Willow's eyes, "Wow, you have beautiful eyes. Oh.uh, please forgive me. You are welcome. I will see you tomorrow." Jerry turned to the street and starting heading back towards his apartment. "Oh, thank you for the compliment thing on my eyes. Night." Jerry continued walking, but turned his head towards Willow and smiled.
Angel followed Jerry and Buffy from across the street the entire way from Giles apartment. He watched as Jerry walked away from Willow and down the side walk heading north. Jerry pasted behind a large bush but never emerged from the other side. "Where the hell did he go?" A voice called out behind Angel, "Right here, Slick." As Angel spun around, Jerry grasps him by the neck and pinned him against a tree.
"So Slick, did you get a good show? Did you think I was going to hurt your girlfriend's Willow?" Angel began to try and struggle himself free from Jerry's grasp, but to no avail. Jerry released Angel and shook his head in disappointment. "From the word I am getting, you are supposed to be some kind of bad ass. I think they lied to me. I will have to kill them later." Angel adjusts his coat and snarled at Jerry. "No I don't trust you, Jerry, and I am not going to let you hurt Buffy or Willow."
Jerry continued his course back to his apartment, "Angel, walk with me for a bit." Angel was hesitant for a second, and then he decided he wanted to hear what Jerry had to say. "Nice to see that you decided to join me, Angel." "Yeah, well I am not doing it cause I like you or anything. Just say what you have to say." Jerry chuckles. "Well Angel, here's the deal. The Black Hand is searching for me, and I will give them about four days to find out where I am. What I need is for you to get some friends together to help protect your friends. I will be calling some trusted associates to help back me up."
Angel thought to himself for a minute. "Why don't you just leave town, and not give them a reason to stay?" "Well Slick, what makes you think they wont tear apart this town to get information about my whereabouts? They are coming here, and I have to end this now. Besides, I guess that you have been left in the dark about what is going on in the world." Angel stopped Jerry. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Jerry kept walking towards his apartment. "I will speed you up on things. Lets get to my apartment, cause I want a drink."
The two reach Jerry's apartment and continued their conversation. "What has been happening is the Black Hand and a few other clans are trying to resurrect a few ancients. If this happens, of course there will be an all out war between them and the humans." Angel began to pace the living room. "So, what does that have to do with you being here, Jerry?" "Everything. I can't be around them by myself. I needed to lay low for awhile." Jerry takes a big drink from his glass. "Tasty. Anyway, if Giles can get me that talisman, I will have a better chance against them. That and help from you and Buffy." Angel began to walk to the door. "Heed what I had to say, Angel. See if Buffy has anymore, strong friends? I don't need the others to die on me." Angel stopped at the door and looked at Jerry for a few seconds, and then he walked out the door.
Jerry picks up his phone, "Hey Rex, you and the rest have a day to get to Sunnydale. Yeah, get a hold of Jack."