"I got a question," Faith interjected when Giles seemed intent on reading the entire prophecy again.

Giles' startled eyes shot up from the pages of the book, and Willow's head snapped around as she stared at Faith.

Faith smirked. "Yeah, I know. I usually just sit and let the two of you do all the work. That don't mean I ain't paying attention." Pausing for a second, she let that sink in before going on. "Anyway, we all keep thinking 'undead' means vamps. Aren't there other demons or whatever that qualify for that title?"

She thought for a second that Giles might topple out of his desk chair. His mouth worked soundlessly while his hands reached up to remove his glasses from their perch on his nose. Finally, a pained, "Good Lord," emerged from the television speakers. "How did we miss that?"

A hand waved in the air. "I think I can answer that one," Willow answered wryly. "We always think vampire first." She shook her head. "If the passage does refer to something other than vamps, I'm drawing a big blank. The only undead without fangs I can think of is a zombie." Willow looked at Faith. "We really, really want it to be vampires, if that's the case."

"There are various types of zombies, ghosts, and mummies," Giles mumbled as he stared sightlessly at the camera and cleaned his glasses. "I'll have the research corps begin looking for other examples, and I, myself, will attempt to find someone to assist me with the translation. If you are correct, Willow, and Ms. Lake is not familiar with vampires and other demons, perhaps I have missed something in the prophecy."

"What does that mean for us, Tweed? You want us to…" Faith broke off when her cell phone rang. Pulling the unit from her pocket, she peered at the display. "Fuck. It's Nicole. We may have a problem," Faith announced before she answered the call.


Anshu's move was a surprise, and Chelsea grunted when her back slammed against the brick façade of the building. He was big and muscled. Chelsea squirmed against him.

Her training finally kicked in. Planting one foot against the wall, she shoved forward. Chelsea didn't have enough leverage to topple Anshu backward; however, the move did force him to change his stance and resettle the hands gripping her arms. It was the opportunity Chelsea needed.

As his hands loosened, she jerked away and bent at the waist. Driving her shoulder into his stomach, Chelsea forced him back. Anshu's feet slid in the slushy snow on the landing, and he toppled down the stairs to the sidewalk.

Not bothering to reach for the gun holstered beneath her coat, Chelsea fitted her key into the door lock and hurried inside. She stayed there, resting against the heavy metal door, for a long minute. "What the hell was that all about?" she mumbled to herself.

The door rattled then banged into her back.

Chelsea pushed away and drew her weapon. Finger resting along the trigger guard, she waited tensely for Anshu to enter.

A coated figure staggered through the door.

Her finger dropped inside the guard, touching the cool metal of the trigger.

"It's too fucking cold." The figure rubbed red, chapped hands over leather-encased arms, and Chelsea's gun slowly lowered. She hadn't had time to re-holster her weapon when Mr. Romero, her next door neighbor, looked up. His eyes widened and his hands shot up over his head. "Don't shoot!"

With exaggerated motions, Chelsea returned the gun to her holster and snapped the guard closed. "Sorry, Mr. Romero. I had some trouble on the way in. I thought you were the guy trying to get inside."

Her comment drew a disbelieving sniff from the elderly man as he walked by, cane tapping on the cracked tile entryway.

Chelsea waited until he had disappeared into the elevator before reaching for her cell phone.

"Special Victims, Sergeant Munch speaking," Munch answered brusquely.

Gripping the phone tightly, Chelsea said, "Hey, Sarge. Is the Captain still around?" She hoped not. Otherwise, she'd have to wait until tomorrow to do her research.

"No. He left right after you and Liv." Chelsea could hear amusement in his voice. "You think Liv is going to sneak back in after Dad sent her to her room?"

Debating how to answer, Chelsea absently walked across the lobby and opened her mailbox. "Not Benson." If she went back to station Munch was sure to see her and ask questions. She'd just have to trust the older man. "Me."

A whistle blared in her ear. "Not smart, rookie. The Captain can get awfully touchy if he thinks you don't like to follow orders."

It was a risk Chelsea had to take. She needed to know who Anshu was. Her hand tightened around the bundle of mail, crumpling the flimsy sheaf of ads and envelope. Most importantly, Chelsea had to know if her time in foster care had been arranged, and if there was a grandmother or other family out there waiting for her.

Chelsea tossed the junk mail into the trash can in the lobby and tucked the bills into her inside jacket pocket. She kept her gun hand poised near her holster as she stepped back into the cold night.

Anshu was either gone, or he was very good at hiding. There were only a few people out in the lousy weather. Chelsea eyed each one as she scanned the street for a cab. No one looked suspicious or out of place. Her hand shot out suddenly when a cab careened around the corner. The car nosed up to the curb, and she hopped into the back seat.


"Lake's on the move," Faith announced as she closed the phone. "Some guy showed up at her apartment building and tried to grab her."

Giles' book thudded closed, the sound booming from the speakers. "Good Lord, was Nicole able to assist Ms. Lake? I did not expect an attack in so public a setting."

Hopping from the bed, Faith made sure her pockets were stuffed with stakes and the car keys. "Wasn't a vamp, Tweed. He was human. She said she couldn't hear the whole conversation. The guy's name was Anshu, and Nicole thought he said something about Lake's grandmother and danger. Then he tried to grab Lake, and Nicole called for backup."

"Great," Willow got up, too. "Just what we need. A group of over-eager newbie Slayers running to the rescue. I don't think the Council will authorize bail for that many people. Maybe we should make a list of which ones we think are worth the money." Shaking her head, Willow directed her next comments to Giles. "Can you get a start on the research while Faith and I check in with Nicole?"

Faith's cell rang again. "Fuck." She pulled it off her belt. "What?"

Nicole's excited voice exploded out of the phone. "She's leaving!"

"Who's leaving, Nicole? The cop?" Faith tried to get information, but it was like listening to Willow on caffeine. Words poured from the younger Slayer in a wave of unintelligible babble. "Nicole!" Faith finally snapped. "Breathe! And then tell me who the fuck is leaving and if Lake is all right."

She started pacing when Nicole didn't respond. In the background, Faith saw Willow disconnecting the cables from the television and her computer.

"Lake is leaving. I'm in a cab behind her trying to follow." Nicole's babble slowed. Now Faith heard more than a hint bruised ego in the stiff tone. "I think she's going back to work."

"Sorry, Nic. My bad." Faith put a hand over the bottom of the phone and whispered to Willow, "We need to hit the road, Red." Then she went back to Nicole. "Any more from that guy? Or is the cop on her own?"

Shouting in a foreign language and the screech of tired answered her.

After a minute, Nicole came back on. "Alone, and definitely going back to work. We just pulled up outside the precinct."

There was a pause, and Faith waited. From Nicole's rapid breathing, the kid was nervous about something.

"I told Chan to keep an eye on Lake's apartment, and I've got a couple more girls doing patrols in the area all night." Nicole cleared her throat. "Just in case…you know…just in case the vamps are in the area."

Faith jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. Willow grinned faintly at her reaction. "I'm ready." She held up her laptop bag and her emergency vamp kit.

"Hey, Nic. We're on our way. Stay where you are and we'll be there in a few." Faith started to hang up then paused. "Good work, kid." Flipping the phone closed again, Faith headed for the door.

She explained the situation to Willow on the drive to the precinct. "Nicole's gonna wait for us to show up."

"I hate this," Willow griped. "We never have much information. That's normal. But this isn't Sunnydale! We don't know anything about New York and the demon hierarchy here." She slumped back in the seat. "And, damn it, I'm pretty sure we're missing something."

Faith pulled the car up to the curb about a block from the well lit entrance to the police department. A shadowy figure detached from the side of a nearby building and hurried up to them.

The back passenger-side door opened, and Nicole slid onto the back seat. "Fuck, it's cold out there."

As always, Faith had to fight back a chuckle as she cranked the heat up higher. Cursing didn't sound very effective in the other Slayer's slow, honeyed drawl.

"I tried to remember anything else about that conversation Lake had with the Anshu guy," Nicole continued. She leaned across the front seat and held her hands in front of the blower. "There wasn't much to it. I got something about Lake's grandmother, and then…I thought she said something about not having a family."

Willow's squeal filled the car.

"Fuck, Red. Give me some warning next time." Faith rubbed at her ears. "I think you blew out my eardrums with that."

As usual, Willow ignored the comment. She dug into her laptop bag and pulled out the computer. After shoving a card into the side of the laptop and opening the lid, she said, "I think that's what we were missing, Faith."

"My aching ears?" It didn't make any sense to Faith. "I need more than that, Red. Go slow and use really small words."

Fingers flying over the keyboard, Willow mumbled, "Family, Faith. It's about family and why Lake doesn't know about the vampires and the prophecy."