Chapter Nine

Buffy tried to open her eyes; her head felt like it was about to explode. Slowly she rubbed her eyes and tried to open them slowly, she adjusted to the light and took a look around the room. After a quick scan she realised she was in Steph's bedroom tied to the bed head. Lying next her still unconscious was Lester.

She made sure he was still breathing and very quietly tried to wake him up.

He didn't budge.

Looking at her hands, Buffy noticed they were tied up with some twine.

She concentrated on her surroundings; she could hear voices in the room next door but not well enough to make out what they were saying.

She did know however that Steph and Tank would be along soon and unless she wanted them to suffer the same fate as herself and Lester she would have to incapacitate the people in the next room.

Come on Buffy think.

First she knew she had to get herself and Lester untied. Putting her attention back to her hands she began twisting them until the twine snapped.

She untied her arms and legs as well as Lester's.

Ok, next find out how many people they were dealing with.

Leaving Lester on the bed Buffy quietly made her way into the bathroom. The window was small but still big enough for her to fit through. Buffy pulled the screen off the window and removed the glass pane. Quietly she popped her head out the window looking for anything that might give her access to the lounge room without being spotted.

After a quick look Buffy swore Nothing there Shit looks like she was going to have to do this the hard way.

Making her way back into the bedroom she checked on Lester again.

Still Asleep.

She was on her own. Wouldn't be the first or the last time.

Quietly Buffy tiptoed to the bedroom door, she strained her ears trying to make out their positions. After a couple minutes she made out three different voices. It sounded like one was near the hallway, which lead to the front door. The second was somewhere near the couch and the third was in the kitchen.

Quietly Buffy opened the bedroom door. She saw the shadow of guy number one near the hallway.

With a flash of slayer speed Buffy sprinted out the door and disabled him with a solid but quiet punch to the back of his head.

He fell to the ground with a thud.

Buffy swore under her breath, out of the corner of her eye she saw guy number two swing in her direction and take aim. Relying on her speed Buffy made a dive out of the line of fire; she somersaulted to a position on the opposite side of the couch ducking down for cover.

She heard guy number two move towards her position.

When she was fairly confident he was within range, Buffy lifted the couch and tossed it in the direction of Guy2. With a loud grunt he fell to the floor forcefully with the couch now positioned upside down and on top of him.

By this time guy3 was aware of what was going on and was taking aim at Buffy, ducking down behind the couch again Buffy noticed Guy2's tranquilliser gun in front of her. After quickly assessing the weapon she took a quick look at guy3's position and fired. Landing a tranquilliser in his neck. He instantly fell to the ground.

Buffy quickly checked they were all still alive and retrieved the weapons from her assailants. After a search of the room she found some twine to tie them up with.

Happy they were secure if they woke up she ran back into the bedroom to check on Lester.

Lester was slowly starting to come around as Buffy entered the bedroom. He opened his eyes and his hand instantly went to his forehead in a gesture of pain. He caught sight of Buffy and managed a small smile.

'Are you ok' his tone was concerned

Buffy nodded 'How about you'

'Ok, head hurts like hell, where are the bastards' Lester did a quick look around the room and noticed the twine on the bed head 'did you untie us'

'Yes, I came around a bit before you did, they hit us with tranquillisers. Must have hit me with a smaller dose'

'We have to get out of here and check on Tank and Steph. Have you seen anyone since waking up'

Buffy smiled 'You should come and see if you recognise any of them'

Lester was confused 'Where are they'

'Out here' Buffy indicated to the other room.

Lester hoped of the bed and carefully walked to where Buffy was standing. He made his way past her and walked into the other room to see three men tied together with their backs to each other and their heads slumped. Walking up to make sure they were still out. Lester noticed a pile of weapons on the kitchen bench, including his own gun and cell phone.

He turned back to Buffy with an astonished look on his face.

'When Ranger said you could take care of yourself, I had no idea how well until now, your mentor was one hell of a teacher Buffy'

Buffy let out a breath of relief. She hadn't been sure what he was going to make of her taking out three full-grown men. 'They should be out for a while longer'

Lester nodded and reached for his cell phone

'I am going to check in with Tank and Ranger, here' Lester tossed Buffy one of the tranquilliser guns 'If one of them looks like waking up shoot them' He picked up one of the guns with his free hand and called Tank.

Tank picked up on the second ring.

'Yo Tank, you and Steph ok…good…yeah where fine…Grandma did what…oh shit…Listen we ran into a bit of trouble here…no they are incapacitated at the moment…ok see you in ten. Lester hung up smiling and turned to Buffy.

'Tank and Steph are fine they will be here soon' he started laughing 'Grandma Muzur couldn't see the body at the viewing so she climbed on a chair to get a closer look and ended up knocking the casket to the floor. The body rolled out and landed on top of her. You can imagine everyone's reaction' Lester and Buffy burst into fits of laughter, relieving the tension of the afternoon's events.

Tank and Steph entered the apartment about ten minutes later with Ranger close on their heels.

Lester and Buffy were both sitting on the couch drinking coffee with the tranquilliser guns pointed at the assailants on the floor. They were still laughing at the visual image from Grandma Muzur.

Ranger was the first to speak 'Is everyone ok'

Lester nodded 'Yeah boss, just a tranquilliser hangover'

Ranger frowned 'they hit you'

Lester explained 'They got us on our way in, came out of nowhere, tied us up on the bed, they must have been waiting for Steph and Tank'

'How did you get away' Steph asked

Lester shrugged 'Still not sure, that's Buffy's tale she came around before I did. When I woke up they were all unarmed and tied up as you see them now'

All eyes turned to Buffy expectantly

Buffy felt herself get nervous 'Well, I woke up and found Lester still asleep, so I untied us and tried to find out how many people I was up against. After making out their positions I used the advantage of surprise and knocked them out. By the time I tied them up and collected the weapons Lester was awake. You know the rest of the story'

Lester was smiling at Buffy with pride, Steph looked a little stunned and Tank was shaking his head.

'Damn what is it with you two and the uncanny ability to turn a bad situation in your favour'

Ranger was watching Buffy closely. She felt his gaze and looked in his direction, their eyes met and held. She was trying to determine what he was thinking when he suddenly smiled and nodded in her direction

'Nice work Buffy'

Before she realised what she was doing Buffy felt her face go a few shades of red and found herself smiling in return 'Thanks Ranger' the praise made her embarrassed.

An hour later the police had hauled off the three assailants. Lester, Buffy, Tank Steph and Ranger had all given statements on the days events. Lester and Tank had left to do some other work. Which left Buffy, Steph and Ranger in the apartment.