By Randall Flagg
Summary: In the aftermath of the battle with the First, one man dedicates his life to fighting the forces of darkness throughout the world. This is the story of those crusades.
Miles Militis Candidus is latin for White Knight.
Chapter 10 - Anything but the Zeppo
Giles and Xander farewelled Robson before breezing through the check-in, and were guided to their respective rooms by one of the porters. Giles knocked on the interconnecting door to Xander's room, and entered when Xander unlocked it from his side.
"I'm going to take a nap, but if you can manage it I advise staying awake until it's bedtime here in London. That means it's a very long day, but it will help you adjust to the time change a lot easier. Now, here is the company credit card for VH Limited, you are now an authorised signatory. Go out, take your guide book and map, see the sights. Also you will need to get yourself a suit for the day after next. I'd like to send you to Saville Row but we haven't the time to get it tailored. Make sure you get something decent though, and have it delivered to the hotel. I'll see you back here for dinner at half seven, or 7.30 in American" rattled off Giles.
"Ok. Uh Giles, thinking about tonight is there anywhere where..." started Xander.
"Patrolling? There aren't any cemetaries nearby. Hyde Park is at the end of this road, or can try Green Park, it's right behind the hotel. It leads to St James's Park on the other side of the Palace." said Giles, anticipating Xander's question.
"The Palace?. Are we near Buckingham Palace?" asked Xander.
"Yes you dolt" said Giles good naturedly. "Look out the window. Also don't forget sunset at this time of year is about 9pm".
The rooms they had been given overlooked Green Park and behind it Buckingham Palace. Xander could also see Big Ben in the background. "Wow. Alright I'm gone. See you later" said Xander, now excited.
Xander spent the next few hours seeing the sights of London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Xander was in awe of Westminster Abbey, he frequently had to pinch himself at the wonder of it all, not to mention picking his jaw up off the ground. Giles also spend the same time with his mouth open, seemingly catching flies as he slept in his king sized hotel bed.
Xander returned to the hotel just before 7pm. It had been a great day, just wandering around and seeing the sights. His eye patch had received a few suprised looks, but nobody had given it more than a fleeting glance before they looked away, embarrassed. The assistant serving him hadn't even blinked, but Xander suspected that was largely because he had just spent well over a thousand pounds on a suit, three shirts and two ties.
Xander showered and changed, and was ready at 7.25 when Giles knocked on the connecting door. Dinner at the Ritz is something to be cherished, and Giles and Xander savoured every bite, from the soup through to the dessert cart. Surprisingly Xander waved off a second helping of the Chocolate Tort with Jersey Double Cream, as he wanted to be ready if he encountered anything on patrol later in the evening.
Giles and Xander were sitting in the latter's room just prior to him heading out on patrol. Xander had changed clothes for the third time that day. Gone were the formal trousers for dinner, or the white t-shirt from sightseeing. It was dark khaki jeans, black army-style boots, a plain black t-shirt and a dark green surplus jacket. Xander also carried 6 homemade stakes and 2 bottles of holy water. There was one thing missing, but Xander had no idea what it was.
"Xander I asked Robson to procure two items for us before we flew over. I'm sure you're familiar with their operation" said Giles as he handed a mobile phone to Xander. "It's been preprogrammed so dialing hash-1 will call me, it's fully charged and most importantly, I want you to use it if you get into any trouble. Is that clear?" said Giles in a voice not to be brooked.
"Sure is Giles. Do you want me to report when I get back or in the morning?" asked Xander.
"The morning is fine, but call me when you are back in the hotel so I know you're back in one piece" stated Giles.
"Ok then, I'll head down through Green Park and then the other one past the palace. If nothing is happening I'll head over to Hyde Park and then back here" concluded Xander.
"Good plan. Be careful" said Giles.
"Gotcha. Night Giles" said Xander as he headed out of the room and into his first patrol as a Slayer. The usual feelings of not wanting to run across any vamps were conflicting with the urge to try out his Slayer skills for the first time in a real battle.
By the time Xander left the Ritz and walked out onto Piccadilly it was closer to 10pm than 9, and no trace of the sun remained in the sky. Xander looked briefly at the advertising signs flashing in Piccadilly Circus, before turning and walking in the opposite direction past the tube station and into Green Park.
Xander walked slowly and headed off the concrete path and into the unlit centre of the park. There were more people than he expected still walking through the park, so Xander decided to wait until the numbers dropped off. Heading to a large tree, Xander looked around to make sure he wasn't being noticed and then jumped the 10 feet to the nearest overhanging branch. He pulled himself up with ease and sat on the branch with his back against the trunk. With his dark clothing it would be virtually impossible for someone to notice him unless they already knew he was there.
Xander waited for half an hour, and absolutely nothing of interest happened. There was the odd wino, the quick walking office worker heading for the tube station, and occasionally a jogger or power walker. Not even a hint of any supernatural activity. Sighing, Xander slid off the branch until he was hanging and then dropped to the ground in silence. He resumed his slow loping walk and headed for the Palace before crossing The Mall and into St James's Park.
Almost immediately Xander could sense the difference. There were no late night commuters walking through this park, and most of the centre was shrouded in complete darkness. Xander spied through the darkness that there was a small house further down by a road. A house meant electricity, and it meant plumbing. So there was almost certainly sewer lines running under the park and most likely an access point nearby. Instinctively Xander heightened his awareness, going from a slow walk to actively hiding while still searching for vampires.
Xander had been patrolling the area around the lake for the last hour like a sniper stalking his target. Each step was carefully measured, and he kept a constant lookout for trouble. For all that, when trouble came he was in the wrong place. A girl who was about to cross the footbridge over the lake in the centre of the park had obviously encountered something lurking on the other side. Xander was prevented from seeing exactly what it was because of the hedge running parallel to the water. What he did see was a vampire emerge from behind the hedge and come up behind the girl unseen. Xander was over 200 metres away when the vamp bit into her neck.
At school Xander would have taken more than 30 seconds to cover the distance. In that interval a vampire can drain a human to death and still have time to brush his teeth before leaving. It was lucky for the girl in question that Xander covered the distance in a tick under 12 seconds.
Without the time to stop for witty repartee, Xander launched a flying kick at the feeding vamp at an angle that would pull his teeth directly out of the wound, hopefully without tearing it. The vampire was caught unawares and was still on the ground stunned when Xander came out of his roll and staked it.
The other vampire who was originally obscured by the hedge came forward to attack. Xander turned to face him, quickly glancing at the girl who was now lying where she fell on the grass, unmoving. Without waiting another moment Xander rushed forward and threw a quick left to the vamp's body, followed by a severe right to the side of the vamp's head. He ducked a clumsy right hook from the vampire and struck out with his left hand. The stake found it's target and the vampire was still for an instant, and then it turned to dust.
Xander ran over to the girl and immediately checked for a pulse. It was there, and not as weak as he expected. Xander hoisted the girl onto his shoulder, and began running back towards the hotel. The phone was in his hand in an instant, and a second later it was ringing.
"Hello Xander, are you.." begin Giles.
"Giles, I'm coming back with a girl, unconscious, about 18, lost some blood, pulse medium but steady" interjected Xander.
"Will you need an ambulance?" asked Giles.
"Don't think so. She shouldn't have lost much more than 2 pints" said Xander in between breaths.
"Alright, there is a fire escape door on the Green Park side of the hotel. The Council keeps it unwired so it won't catch the alarm. I'll get things ready at this end" said Giles, pressing to end to call. Quickly he gathered the first aid kit he always packed in his luggage, cursing the fates that he had finally need to use it.
Xander hit the fire exit at a run and kicked it open with his left foot. He raced up the five flights of stairs and barged through the slightly ajar door of Giles' hotel room. "Set her down on the bed" indicated Giles.
Xander laid the girl on the bed, noting that Giles had placed some towels to stop the blood getting all over the bed covers. After checking her pulse the Watcher worked quickly and efficiently, first disinfecting the wound and then bandaging it.
Giles turned to Xander who had just recovered his breath. "Xander, you saved a life tonight. She will be fine, but I've taken the liberty of having room service specially prepare two chocolate milk shakes and a slice of lemon tart. Hopefully that will go some way to replacing the blood that she has lost. What she needs now is rest, and until she regains consciousness all we can do is keep an eye on her" said Giles.
"Ok. Giles, do you mind, I'd like to.." Xander started to say.
"Yes of course" said Giles, anticpating Xander's request to stay and watch her. "Stay with her, and I'll be in your room. When she wakes up let me know"
Xander took a chair and set it next to the bed. He picked up the book Giles had left on the nightstand 'The Mythology of Vampires - Fact or Fiction' and began to read. Before he had finished the introduction there were two sharp knocks on the door. Xander opened the door and the porter set the tray on the table just inside the room. Thankfully the opening of the door blocked any view of the bed, and Xander signed as R Giles before thanking the porter and closing the door. Sighing at the delicious looking lemon tart, Xander placed the milkshakes and the tart in the mini fridge and went back to reading.
After almost an hour, during which Xander asked himself numerous times why Giles would bother reading such gunk, there was a hitch in the breath of the girl on the bed. Then she groaned softly before her eyes flew open, looking quickly around the room. She made to sit up but was still lightheaded after losing so much blood, and reluctantly lowered herself back to the bed.
"Hi", said Xander softly. "You gave us a scare, but it looks like you're going to be ok. Is there anyone we can call for you to let them know you're ok?"
The girl groaned again, seemingly ignoring Xander's question. Then she fixed him with a intense gaze "what happened to me?".
"You were attacked by muggers" answered Xander. "One of them cut you on the neck".
Immediately the girl's hand flew to the side of her neck where she was bitten, and this seemed to kick start her memories. Then she quickly checked her inside jacket pockets, not liking that she couldn't find what she was looking for. "Where's my w... never mind" she said.
"You're safe here. My name's Xander, short for Alexander" he said, trying to calm the girl.
"Well, Xander. Not that I don't trust you, but if I was attacked by muggers why didn't you take me to the hospital" the girl started, and then spied the book Xander was reading, "and why are you reading a book about vampires?" finished the girl.
Xander was doing an excellent impression of a goldfish, his mouth opening and closing several time but making no noise. This was not going anything like he had anticipated. Finally he spoke "what do you know about vampires?"
"Well a lot more, since I was just attacked by two of them. But yes, in theory I know about vampires" she said.
"Right. Ok. I know about them in theory and in practice, and let me tell you, you had a very close call tonight. You really should rest" pleaded Xander. He stood and went to the fridge and took out a milkshake and the lemon tart. "If you're not going to rest, then at least drink this, it will help you replace the blood you lost" said Xander as he brought the drink and the tart over to the bedside table.
"Where are we anyway?" the girl finally asked.
"Sorry, it skipped my mind. We're at the Ritz hotel, my room is actually the one next door, but I volunteered to watch over you, so my colleague is sleeping in my room at the moment" said Xander.
"So, once again, what happened? The last thing I remember was feeling a cold stale breath behind me, and then being bitten. I must have blacked out right after that" the girl recounted.
"That's pretty much what went down. Look, I'll do you a deal. Finish that shake, go back to sleep and then when you wake up I'll answer all your questions for as long as you want. How's that?" asked Xander.
"I'm sorry but I can't. I uh, must have dropped something when I was attacked. And it's quite important to me. I need to go back and get it before anyone else picks it up" insisted the girl.
"You know, you seem like an intelligent girl. Yet you want to do something silly like go back to the spot where you were attacked while you're still weak from blood loss" stated Xander.
"I know it doesn't make sense, but I need my w.... my watch, I dropped my watch. It's very sentimental to me" pleaded the girl.
"If it's that important to you, I'll go back and get it" offered Xander.
"No! uh, no... thanks. You've done enough. Was it you that saved me?" asked the girl before sipping on the milkshake.
"Uh.. yeah" mumbled Xander, now a little embarrassed.
"Well thank you Xander. You're a brave man" said the girl, which caused Xander more embarrassment.
Just then Xander heard Giles knocking on the door connecting their rooms, and he rose to open it.
"Giles!" said Xander in the hope that he could convince her to rest. "Our patient has recovered"
"Uh, this is Giles, Rupert Giles but we just call him Giles, or G-man. And you never told me your name" Xander said, facing the girl.
"I'm sorry. Where are my manners. I'm Hermoine Granger"