Charming Faith

Chapter Four

See Chapter one for Disclaimers.

A/N:

I really mixed up the seasons for this fic. This tale was originally intended to take place in season two, but Agent Tyler doesn't show up in the series until season three. Still, she's pretty easy to add to the previous season – we can say she was there all along but we just didn't see her. And having killed off Zobelle so early changes season two completely, so far warning: I intend to further mix and match scenes and seasons to wild abandon - but this chapter is primarily S2.


Xander and Faith coasted out of the SoA parking lot around one in the morning, Faith didn't start her Electra-Glide until they were a block away, and even then she kept the RPMs low. But when they got into the center of town, she started to twist the throttle some, and when they drove past what used to be Zobelle's place, and was still occupied by the white-power nut-cases, she really gave it the gas, still in a low gear though. A few blocks later she shifted up and let off the throttle.

"Ya think they heard us, Xan?"

"I think the dead heard us."

"Prolly shouldn't joke 'bout shit like that, not you an' me, anyway."

"Well, I like living on the edge; I mean, I wouldn't be sleeping with you otherwise, right?"

"Sure." They drove out towards the edge of town, where the cemetery was located. Faith laughed as she pulled up into the parking lot at the graveyard.

Xander said, "Isn't this a little obvious?"

"Them Nazi-boys ain't appeared to be too swift so far, don't think that's gonna change tonight."

"That's a point."

They walked casually among the graves, checking for any fresh-dug ones. Xander pointed up ahead. "That one looks new up there."

"Let's walk slower, timing ain't right, yet."

Faith heard a couple of pickups coast into the parking lot behind. She said quietly, "They took the bait, lean in, don't look too alert."

Xander put his arm around Faith's waist. "One oblivious couple, coming right up."

"Perfect," breathed Faith, listening to the night, "three are coming up behind us, two are circling around, trying to get ahead. And there's a vamp coming out of her grave, just to our right."

"So what's the plan?"

"Let's step off the sidewalk and saunter kinda diagonally to the vamp's former grave."

Without warning, one of the men behind yelled, "HEY! WHAT THE FUCK'S THAT?!"

They heard growls, screams and more yelling behind them. Xander said, "We gonna help them?"

"Sure, if it weren't for the pair of gangsters coming out of the woods in front of us, with guns and machetes."

"How can you tell, I can't see shit."

"I can smell Hoppes gun oil, and I can see the fuckin' machetes."

"Okay, them first."

Faith grabbed Xander and dropped to the ground, bullets went over their head. Faith grabbed a handy tennis-ball sized rock, and heaved it into the night. A thunk, a yell, and the sound of someone falling on the ground followed. More shots rang out. Faith, scrabbling around on the ground, said, "Isn't there another fuckin' rock around here? What the hell kind of cemetery is this?"

"Apparently a well maintained one."

"Well shit. Wait, the guy's running towards us."

"He probably can't see us."

"Well, we are behind a large gravestone. Nice thing about granite," she said while patting the stone, "it's pretty good at stopping bullets." Just then a bullet spranged off the side of the stone.

"Can't you do something about that guy?"

"I hate to break it to ya, but he ain't shootin' at us. He's tryin' to help his buds back threre, tangling with a fresh raised vamp. They're not havin' much luck."

The night rang out with a scream that sounded like it was from hell. Even Xander could hear the gunman running past him. He could respect the guy a little for running into unknown danger to help his friends.

"All right, none of 'em are paying any attention to us now, I suppose we should at least try and help them, they are humans, kinda."

"Wow, such enthusiasm."

"Hey, let's not forget they want us dead."

"Do you have any idea of why?"

"Probably from when I accidentally said something about pissing on Zobelle's corpse."

"Accidentally, huh. I guess that would do it."

The gunfire and fighting seemed to have died down, so Faith and Xander went to count bodies.

After taking care of a left-over vampire, they found one of Zobelle's crew still alive.

"Hey dude, how'd you survive the vamp attack?"

"I don't know how you arranged this, but I'm gonna track you down girly, whoever the fuck you are, I'll find where you live even if it takes me years, and then, and then by god yer gonna wish you'd never been born by the time I'm through with you!"

"Let me make it easy for you, my name is Faith Lehane, and I live in a big house near Sag Harbor, not far from the Hamptons. You want a map?" She leaned over him, her eyes boring into him. "If you come after me, I fucking guarantee it will be the last thing you ever do. If you don't believe me, you can ask my enemies, oh wait, you can't ask them, they're all dead."

"Big nasty words from such a nice little girl!"

"If I wasn't such a nice girl, I'd kill you! Instead, you can bleed out for all I care. Although your wound isn't all that bad, worse luck for me."

He looked at Faith and smirked. "You're a fuckin' pussy, but that's all right. Now call an ambulance."

"Nah," said Xander, "you won't be needin' it." He pulled out an AMG .45 from an ankle holster, and shot him in the head.

Faith jumped to her feet. "Shit! Why the fuck d'ja do that?"

"Because he needed to die. Maybe it's second nature for you to be constantly watching your back, Faith, but me, I'd rather be able to relax from time to time. I learned that in Africa."

Faith sighed, "Well, maybe you're right. It's not like anyone's gonna miss this fucker."

"You do get a little tenderhearted occasionally, usually at the most inappropriate times."

"Fuck you!"

"Any time!"

"Later, we got a problem now, though. These others, they're dead from an animal attack. At least, not anything to do with us or our friends. But this guy, he's got a bullet in 'em, not so hot from our point of view."

Xander sighed. "Yeah, maybe I fucked up a little." He thought about it for awhile. "Look, the bullet's in his head. Maybe we could decapitate him and then we'd just have one head to get rid of."

"The forensics team would probably notice a sword cut's different from claws. Or whatever imaginary shit they come up with to explain a vampire attack."

"Well, couldn't you like, rip his head off?"

"Jesus Xand! That's gross! He was a human, not some vamp or demon."

"He wasn't very human."

"Yeah, but I can't go around makin' those kinda distinctions, it gets me in trouble."

"You didn't have any trouble getting' these guys killed."

"Then you weren't payin' attention. They came after us, in the middle of us doin' our job. They didn't hafta do that. Yeah, I did make us noticeable, but it's not like I spit in their faces, or raped them with baseball bats or somethin'. It was their choice, and they made the wrong one."

"Yeah, okay. It's splitting hairs, but maybe big thick monster hairs instead of little blond ones."

Faith laughed. She pulled her gloves tight, then casually bent down and took a firm hold of the dead man's head. She gave it a yank, stepping smartly sideways to keep any blood spatter off her. Xander held open a canvas sack, Faith rolled the head into it. Xander dropped his gun in the sack with the head, then tied it off.

"Now, all we hafta do is make sure this'll never pop up anywhere embarrassing."

"Any ideas?"

"Umm, how 'bout that big construction site over near Lodi?"

"Sounds good to me. That gun can't be traced, can it?"

"Nope. One of the old Council 'specials', completely neutralized."

"Then we just gotta make sure we don't get stopped by any cops while on the way."


The next day Faith rolled out her Electra-Glide and prepared for a short cruise to the store.

Clay and Tig strolled up. Clay said, "Now Faith darlin', I'd really like you to do a favor for me."

"What'dya need Clay?"

"Nothing big, just a little cover. See, when you get back to New York, you could lend a little legitimacy to an operation the clubs got goin'. There's gonna be a shipment comin' in from Ireland, only this one's landin' on the East Coast 'sted of the West Coast like usual. So we thought, hey, our friend Faithy, she won't mind bird-doggin' a container for us..."

"Let me stop you right there, Clay. I'm not in the outlaw business. I'm straight – well, mostly straight. I'll pass a message along for ya, maybe even bankroll something I think s'cool, but no outright criminal shit for me. Not anymore. Not unless I'm defending myself against nasties tryin' to fuck me over."

"I see. I can respect that. Okay, see ya at the party."

Faith swung her leg over her Electra-Glide and took off with a friendly wave.

They watched her ride away. Tig said, "Seriously, Clay? You gonna let her thumb her nose at us like that? I mean, shit, that girl's 'bout as straight as a fuckin' corkscrew."

"I got a little somethin' that may change her mind."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I got her DNA mixed in with a dead body out in the woods."

"Shit, Clay! You're gonna try'n 'Oswald' Faith?"

"Hey, it's a proven technique."

"You know that'll fuckin' piss her off somethin' royal. And knowing her, it'll be the dangerous kinda pissed-off. And she's got bigger balls than Elliot Oswald, huge muthas." He held his hands apart about a foot to demonstrate the size of Faith's 'balls'.

"Yeah, that's why I won't drop the hammer 'til there's about three thousand miles between us."

"Oh, I can't wait for her reaction."

"She'll get the guns here, she'll get her cut, then she'll be fine."

"She's already got loads of money, Clay, why would any more calm her down?"

"Shit, you know these millionaires, they don't never have enough money!"

"True that. Okay, I'll get the message across the ocean. Our Irish brothers will be happy to get a shipment in the country while the DEA, ATF, and FBI have our fuckin' ports closed down," said Tig.

Clay answered, "Where there's a will, there's a way. They got so many agents covering our ports here, they must be neglectin' the other side of the country."

"Probably shouldn't mention this tactic to Jax."

"Or his mother," Clay said with a shudder.

"Yeah, we don't do this just right you'll be in the doghouse with yer old lady."

"The two of us, Tig. It'll take us years to work our asses off her shit list."

"Then we better make damn sure she don't find out."

They popped a couple of beers and clanked them together.


TBC

A/N:

For those who missed it, Season 1, Episode 3, 'Fun Town', featured a story line concerning a local businessman named Elliot Oswald. [WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!]

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After his thirteen year old daughter is raped, Elliot asks Clay to find the perpetrator so Elliot can take care of business.

SoA succeeds, Elliot shows up out in the woods where the rapist is being held by the gang. Elliot planned to castrate the man, but at the last moment wimps out and drops his knife. After he drives away, Clay (wearing rubber gloves) picks up the knife and finishes the job. He packs the bloody knife, complete with Elliot's fingerprints, into a plastic bag.

Now Clay has blackmail material on one of Charming's most powerful citizens, and he isn't afraid to use it.