Rebuilding

Ch 8 – Investigations

Xander glanced out of his trailer window, looking over his busy crew. He noted that Kyle and Kenny were once again bullshitting instead of hanging drywall. With a sigh he determined to give them five minutes to get back to it before he headed out and showed his face. That was usually enough to get them back to work. Across the expanse of dirt lot, Eddie was on the steamroller and seemed to be ready to complete the flattening of the expansive parking lot by the end of the day. That put them one day ahead of the new schedule he'd given to Joe to pass onto Mr. Greeley. He smiled to himself that something was going a little bit right around him.

Until the phone rang on his desk and the I.D. revealed Giles. With a glance of the clock, he saw it was a few minutes after one.

He's calling to invite me to lunch, Xander willed, not believing himself for a second.

"Hey, Giles. What's the disaster?"

"W-what… oh, no, it's no disaster. But we do have a case that Detective Stein would like us to look into. I've been reading over a report from last night and there's been a robbery. I'd like to meet for a meeting; perhaps over dinner tonight?"

"Sure. Have you round-robin-ed the gang, or you want me to do it? But it doesn't sound like a robbery falls into Scooby territory," Xan said.

"Well, ordinarily I'd agree except that this has been the third of the same sort. A, uh, New Age store was also stolen from and a natural foods store. Among the items missing are several crystals with little cash value and various cooking herbs. Place these specific items together and we have a possible magical connection."

"Hmm… but they stole the more valuable stuff, right? Still sounds like regular burglaries."

"My thoughts exactly," Giles admitted, "Until Mr. Stein also mentioned that the security systems on all of the shops happened to be deactivated the same way allowing the thieves to walk in at their leisure. The thing that caught my interest in the cases, however, is from the foods place. An eyewitness provided a sketchy account of a, and I'm quoting, "A large man who appeared to have a mangled face… like from an accident, maybe. He was wearing a really bizarre metal vest on him and he ran really, really fast. I'm talking about Olympic sprinter fast," end quote."

"Okay. I'm on board… maybe a super-dude is involved. The others?"

"I haven't called them, yet, but I'll take care of it," Giles assured him. "But I believe the 'mangled man with the metal vest' could refer to Adam. We haven't seen any signs that he was destroyed since Buffy… (there was an uncomfortable pause on the line)… since Buffy last faced him."

"Damn. Adam was one tough S.O.B. I think Wills has Buffybot ready for patrol. Maybe we should send her out tonight to scope around for the big lug?"

"I think it merits consideration," Giles said. "Once we have April up as well, it will help immensely."

"Okay, Giles. I gotta get back to work. See you tonight at six-thirty? Dawn's?"

"That will work. Until later, Xander."

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Madeline, a prostitute who worked the eastern warehouse district, rolled over in her bed. She gasped at the pain in her arms and back.

Covering her wrists and forearms she could see ugly purple bruising from her last john the night before. No doubt, there'd be similar marks on her back. He'd been pretty rough, which was alright since he'd paid extra for the privilege, but the morning after aches were annoying. And she had to admit to herself that sometimes, like last night, she had to wonder if she'd lost her mind. There were a lot of sickos out there and who knew when she'd bring home one who didn't know when to stop. She'd wondered if the English guy was going to be her mistake a few times during the three hours he'd spent tying and squeezing her, but it had worked out.

Marc would, no doubt, bitch to her about the bruises. It made it harder for her to bring him the bread when she was marked up, but he didn't know about her charging her customers a little on top for being allowed to go a little more on the edge. It was the only way for her to make any money at all with the bastard taking nearly everything she brought in. And the fact that he paid for the rent on this shit hole, in no way made things fair.

But it wasn't like she could complain about it or go solo. She'd seen what happened to Trix and Spice when they'd gotten an attitude. Neither of the girls was around anymore and it didn't take a PhD to figure out that the weird strongman with the long teeth and deformed face had 'taken care of it' for Marc. No, she'd have to keep her mouth shut and put up with her pimp cleaning out her purse. But she wasn't going to let that get in the way of keeping herself well fed, either.

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Anna sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, spiked with a bit of brandy. Randy was still in a foul mood over her going off with that guy from the bar. She was kind of sick of hearing about it, already. It wasn't like she was expecting him to be loyal, either. She'd seen the way he'd been checking out Sherrie's hooters on more than one occasion. She just hadn't turned into a whiner over it.

Men! Always wanting us to be the housewife while they're out playing the 'big stud', she sighed aloud.

"I'm looking for that dude! I'm going to fuck him up," Randy fumed over the stove where sausage was frying.

"Baby, you really need to calm down. It wasn't nothin' but a thing and it's over. You know you're the one I love," Anna replied, bored.

"Yeah… acting like some cheap tramp! I can't believe you went with that psycho! Did you see what he did? Who the hell brings a Taser to a fistfight? A fucking British coward, that's who! He knew I was gonna kick his blimey ass back to England!"

"Well, it's over now. Besides, it was only once. Tell you what, you got a freebie coming, alright?"

Randy looked at her aghast, "I don't want freebies, damn it! I want you. I love you, Anna, don't you get it? I'm not like the others. This is serious."

"I know, Baby. And I'm sorry… it was his eyes. Those dark, hypnotic eyes…. But, like I've been saying, it was just that one time. You know I'm yours. Just tell me how I can make it up to you? How's about a three-way with Sherrie? I know you've been checking her out," Anna said slyly with a grin. "I mean, I ain't going downtown on her, but we can work something out."

Randy looked askance at Anna and then smiled. It wasn't like the British dude had showed up again, right? And it was just that one time and she was gonna make it up to him now.

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Detective Morris searched the body stuffed in some bushes for a wallet, but came up empty. He sighed out into the afternoon warmth.

"Anything," his partner, Donna Redsoe, asked.

"Nah. This looks like a lot of the others, but…."

"Yeah," she nodded as he stood to join her, "They're not usually sporting a chunk of their neck removed. Poor guy."

"He look familiar to you," he asked. Sunnydale was relatively small, so it was worth a shot.

"Sorry. Guess we better post a picture on the news, put up some flyers. Maybe the M.E. can identify him from dental records."

"Sure," Morris nodded. "Wish he'd get here and wrap this thing before too many flies come buzzing. I hate flies."

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In Los Angeles, Wesley sat before a sheet of thick Plexiglas separating him from the dark haired Slayer on the other side. In his hand, he gripped a telephone handset tightly.

The sun was streaming into the window behind him and the row of his fellow visitors. It shined through the security window and onto the bowed head of dark hair, fingers currently running through it.

"I know this is a shock," he said pointlessly, just to fill the silence.

"I knew it. I knew she was in trouble, damn it," Faith said. She lifted her head to look at her former Watcher and he was surprised at the redness around her eyes. "If I wasn't stuck in this dump, maybe I coulda helped out."

"You tried, Faith. You told me you warned Mr. Giles. I'm sure that Rupert took as many precautions as he could, but these things happen."

"Happens to Slayers, you mean? I thought having super powers was so cool… well actually, okay, it is really cool. But I forget sometimes that it doesn't mean we always get to win."

"Buffy was an accomplished young woman and she died for a noble cause. Her loss is terrible, of course, but we mustn't lose sight of the fact that she died a hero. We should all be given the dignity of doing so," Wes said.

"Poor, Giles. I can't even imagine what the Sunnydale crew is going through now. How's Angel coping," Faith asked as she brushed at her eyes.

"Not well, I'm afraid. He's run off to spend some time alone. Cordelia is very unhappy with the fact that he didn't deign to tell us where. I'm not very happy with it, myself."

"I can't believe they sent Spike to break the news," Faith said with a little bit of anger. "Couldn't Willow have come? At least she would have been gentle about it."

"Things have changed a little between them," he pointed out. "Spike seemed… less spiteful when he arrived. And they managed not to get into a fist fight."

"That's a miracle, alright. Any chance that was a sign of another apocalypse?"

"Well, I did have the same thought," Wes smiled for the first time since coming to the prison. "But there have been no further signs. I believe, perhaps, the planets were simply aligned just right."

"Are we sure that Spike is still chipped," Faith suddenly asked. "I mean, the 'Dale crew are sitting ducks if he's not chained. Hell, even if he is, I wouldn't trust him as far as Dawn could throw him."

"I have no doubt that Rupert is keeping a close eye on the situation; especially with this new news."

"Yeah, I can see Giles flipping over Xander getting involved with Platinum-Head. Didn't we already do this storyline with Buffy and Angel? I gotta admit; I didn't see Xan as playing stick. Of course, we only got physical that one time."

"Well, I would like to suggest to Giles he put his foot down and end this before it gets too complicated," Wes said. "But it's best if we leave them to deal with things internally while we take care of our own. It's not like we don't have enough on our plates with the return of Darla and Drusilla still out there causing trouble."

"And here I sit, uselessly cooling my heels."

"Are you regretting turning yourself in? Because, I was very impressed with your willingness to begin accepting responsibility for your prior, poor decisions, Faith."

"'Prior poor decisions'… talk about major understatement! But, hey, I made my bed and I'm lying in it. Just frustrating when things are going on that I was meant to fight and I'm not able to get in there and do what I was meant to do," she blew out a breath of frustration and again raked her fingers through her hair.

"How is your class going," Wes said to change the subject. He had been living with the worry in the back of his mind that Faith may give up and break out. He had little doubt that if she really wanted to be free, she would be. And when he considered the last time they'd met with her outside of bars, he thought his concern understandable.

"It's a constant reminder of why I dropped out," she replied wryly. "But I know that some people never get a second chance, so I'm sticking with it."

"Well, I should go. I just wanted to tell you in person."

"Thanks, Wes. I know… it's not that easy being this close to me."

"I believe in you, Faith," Wesley told her, clearly surprising her. "I think you really are turning yourself around. I have no trouble believing that you'll continue doing the right thing."

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Giles stuffed an egg roll into his mouth, and then vaguely waved in Willow's direction. "Do you think the robot is ready to patrol on its own? I was hoping that one of you could accompany it."

The Buffybot smiled beamingly at her Watcher and mentor. "I can handle it, Guy-iles. I'm a Slayer… we're very strong."

"Oh, really!"

"Sorry, Giles," Willow said with a tired yawn. "I'll fix that. And yes, I think she's good to go. This is just a recon mission, not a battle. And thanks to Warren's original programming, she's more than able to take care of the stray vamp already."

"As long as it's not Spike," Buffybot grinned. "He's so delicious."

All eyes turned toward the vampire, who virtually snarled. He also looked slightly sick, "Willow…."

"I know, I know," she sighed. "I'll add that to my trouble-shooting list."

"Make it a priority."

"Relax, Spike," Xander told him. "Consider it just desserts. You're just gonna have to overlook the occasional slip."

"You could act a little more jealous, you know," Spike glared.

"Can we return to the topic at hand," Giles told the table with discomfort. "Has anyone heard from Anya, today? And when can we expect April to be functional?"

"Nice desperate attempt to switch attention from the boyfriends," Dawn smirked. "You really need to get more comfortable with guys doing it, Giles. It's the 2000's, you know?"

"Dawn… don't torture the Watcher," Tara giggled before turning to Willow. No one caught Giles' flinch at being referred to as a Watcher still. "I've loaded up some holy water bottles that the robot can carry tonight on patrol. Do you think she'll bother using them?"

Tara turned toward the robot before Willow could respond, "Do you understand that holy water can work against vampires?"

"My programming indicates so, but it is illogical."

"Well, just toss them on them anyway, okay," Tara sighed. "We kind of need you to not get too damaged for awhile."

"And remember," Xander added, "You're not engaging Adam. Just follow him from a discreet distance if you see him and remember where he goes. Unless, you know, he's going to hurt someone," he added looking at the rest for conformation. "I mean, we can't let him go on a rampage."

"Right, then," Giles said. "I believe it's ready for its first official patrol."

"Creatures of the night," Buffybot nodded enthusiastically, "Except for Spike, beware!"

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End Chapter 08