Part Fourteen
Port of Aden, Yemen. October 12, 2000
The warship made its way into the harbor at a slow pace. The harbor was full of naval traffic, but the other vessels there gave the warship a wide berth.
Except one; a small zodiac boat, with two men on it, made its way towards the warship. After a few seconds, the blast of a horn could be heard from the warship. But the boat continued on, and actually began to pick up speed.
A second blast followed a few seconds later, that was also ignored. The warship started to turn away from the boat.
The smaller vessel just sped towards its target, only to be greeted by a stream of bullets coming from the bow of the warship. A second stream of gunfire came from about amidships.
The boat started to try and dodge the bullets, only to fail as it went up in a huge explosion. The warship then calmly continued on its way, as the zodiac boat and its crew burned.
Georgetown, Washington D.C. October 12, 2000. Two hours later
Esther Marcum concluded the phone call she had just received. She cradled the receiver in her hand, as she dialed another number she had committed to memory a long time ago. The black woman then waited a few seconds for an answer.
"Mr. Wizard? We just got confirmation from the Navy. There was a failed terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Aden harbor. It looks like they took the heads-up we sent them seriously enough, to make sure the captain and crew were on their toes-"
She listened for a few seconds. "Yes, I'll make sure that Cleburne passes the news onto Mr. Hall," Esther said, utilising the alias Xander was still using. "Now, we just have to hope the main event goes as well."
The private office of Lilah Morgan, Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles. October 12, 2000
Lilah continued reading the report that had just been emailed to her. Being a rising young attorney in the law firm that represented so many different versions of evil, was in fact demanding work. She had to be diligent and put in the long hours, to attract the favorable attention of the Senior Partners.
Of course, success on their special projects would be helpful also. Hence her desire to resolve the Xander Harris situation in a favorable way - to her, that is.
So far, that had been a fruitless endeavor. The governmental agency that was protecting the target had casually deflected every attempt she'd made to find him. They had also started poking their noses into the affairs of the firm's clients, the ones that were involved in...nefarious activities. She hoped the more frequent appearances by them would be the factor that convinced the Senior Partners to approve her plan.
As if in response to her hopes, the phone on the desk rang. She picked it up, "Lilah Morgan here."
The beautiful brunette listened for a few seconds. "Yes, Holland. Why, thank you. Yes, don't worry, I won't disappoint you..." She listened for a few more seconds. "I understand what happens if I disappoint you, Holland, thank you but I'm sure there's no need to go into details right now..."
She hung up the phone, and buzzed for her assistant. He quickly came into the room and Lilah looked at him, "My plan's been approved. Start getting the monks here."
U.S. Air Force Base, Northern Utah. October 13, 2000
Xander fidgeted in his chair. The room was full of soldiers in BDUs, only needing body armor and weapons to be completely ready for combat. They were just as impatient as the former Zeppo was, and the room was filled with the hum and racket of their conversations.
Xander recognized quite a few of the soldiers present. Gunny was nearby of course, as was Graham. Rachael was standing in the back of the room; and for the record she had adapted fairly well, after the conversation Xander had had with her in St. Louis. But God help him, every once in a while Xander actually found himself thinking of her in romantic terms...
"Any idea why we're here?" Oz asked as he leaned over to Xander, trying to be heard over the noise.
Xander shook his head. "No idea, buddy, just got a message to hop a plane out here as soon as possible. I gotta tell you though, I don't like being here."
"Why's that?"
Xander nodded over at a group of civilians in dark clothes. "I recognize a few of them. Mormons. Some of them were the missionaries who kept showing up on my doorstep. They're probably just waiting for the opportunity to try to convert me..."
Oz stared at the former Scooby, and then looked at the group Xander had pointed out. His friend had told him why the Mormon prank from Cleburne was one of the reasons Xander often enjoyed a joke at Mother Hen's expense.
But Oz didn't get the chance to respond, as the door to the room opened up and the agent in question, also dressed in BDUs, walked in. The room quietened down, as he walked to the podium at the front.
"Evening, ladies. Welcome to the party, sorry about the last-minute invites but we're moving on really fresh information." He nodded to Gunny, who turned out the lights. On the screen behind Cleburne, an aerial shot of a town was shown.
"This is satellite imagery of Rapid Creek, Idaho, that was taken two hours ago. It's a small town, population about 300, just north of the Utah/Idaho border. The populace of the town is almost exclusively Mormon. Which is kind of the reason we're here..."
Cleburne gazed at his audience. "The Danites got an emergency call earlier today, from one of the town elders. He said a group of demons had rolled into town on motorcycles, blown the bridge connecting the place with the outside world and announced they were settling in for the winter, as the owners of the new demon Shangri-La!"
The picture changed to an aerial view of a building on fire "The townsfolk fought back, it got ugly and the demons won. That's the remains of the city hall you're looking at right now."
The USMC colonel went on, "The elder said the demons were rounding up the survivors, and he didn't know how long he could avoid them. He said he would try to call later, but they needed help quick. He hasn't called back yet."
Cleburne pointed at the Mormons that Xander and Oz had been talking about a few seconds before. "The Danites don't have enough manpower in place to handle the situation, so they gave us a ring-a-ding. And since this is the kind of thing we've decided to deal with, we're going in."
Xander suddenly got a bad feeling about all this. And within his head came forth memories of that future world, on the night of Buffy's resurrection...
"Based on information we've gathered in the last year or so, the demons are a motorcycle gang who calls themselves the Hellions. They find a town that can't protect itself, move in and take over."
Harris froze, almost panicking. Oz instantly noticed his old comrade's expression, but nonetheless maintained a poker face.
Cleburne continued, "Based on what the town elder reported and the satellite surveillance, we believe the Hellion strength to be approximately 75 to 100 hostiles. Odds are a number of smaller gangs got together into a large gang, for this little outing of theirs. Armaments are limited; like most demons, they apparently can't or won't handle firearms. I also suspect that the discipline structure they use is nothing more than the strongest one rules. That'll give us an advantage; I'm sure we all remember Hanson's rule on VMI cadets and Hell's Angels..."
Xander was confused by that remark, but most of the soldiers seemed to get it. Harris then made a mental note to ask Cleburne about it later, along with the Danites reference. He turned his attention back to Joshua, as the briefing continued.
"We'll split up into three separate attack groups, about 28 grunts in each team. There'll be a reserve force that'll remain airborne, along with the medics, nearby to help out and evacuate the civilians once we find them. A mechanized infantry battalion from the Utah National Guard, one that's in the know, is handling perimeter security. Air support is available from units of the Utah Air National Guard. The Danites will have two or three members attached to each group, to assist and coordinate. Some of them are familiar with the local terrain..."
Cleburne nodded, and the view changed from the picture to a map of the town. "Insertion will be by helicopter assault on these three locations." There were three red marks, that formed a triangle around the town. "Each team will work its way inwards to the center of town, and the town hall. We think the civilians are being held in the town's fire station, but we could be mistaken about that."
The picture on the screen changed again to a grassy field. "Extraction site for the civilians, assuming they're in the fire station, will be here in the community park behind it. I sincerely doubt that the enemy will have AA missiles, but let's be on our toes just to be safe. The medics will also set up here, once it's secured, using the shelter house as the aid station."
Mother Hen looked around sternly. "One final thing. Armory boys have been playing around with the weapons, and we're hoping they've got the problem with big game hunting ammo licked. Instead of 9mms, everyone gets a sidearm that's a .45. We're hoping that's strong enough to put these demons down, if need be. But either way, primary weapon is to be either Colt M4A1 assault carbines, or Heckler&Koch submachine guns. Those of you with the HKs, remember the opposition may have longer-range weapons than you - so always have someone with an M4A1 nearby. Questions?" He looked around the room.
Red spoke up, "They know we're coming?"
The senior STW agent shook his head. "Best guess is negative. There's no indication that they've started fortifying their position to receive a commando raid. The only real work they've done is set up what looks to be a listening post to watch the blown bridge. Even if they have some inkling, it looks like they're set up for an overland attack through the road into town. A helo assault should take them by surprise."
"Rules of engagement?"
"If it's demon, kill it. Human, save it. Try to minimize collateral damage as much as possible. Also when firing at the demons, aim for the head. I've never really encountered anything that reacts well to a bullet to the head!" Light laughter from the soldiers in the room was the response to that statement.
"Prisoners?"
"If they offer to surrender, accept it. Otherwise, don't go out of your way to try and take any..."
Cleburne held up his hand to emphasize the point he was making. "However, if it looks like civilians might be endangered otherwise, offer the demons the chance to surrender first. Remember, the main objective of this operation is to save the people in trouble, killing the bad guys is secondary. Any other questions?" he looked out over the room.
Xander put his hand up. "Any information on the demon enemy leader?"
Cleburne looked surprised for a moment. "No. You know anything you'd care to share with us, Hall?"
Xander looked grim. "If it's the guy I think it is, his name's Razor. And as I recall, him and his boys like to rape women..."
Most of the men assembled looked instantly angry and more motivated than ever after hearing that, while Rachael and Oz looked at Xander speculatively. {Where does he know these demons from? } they both thought in unison.
Cleburne nodded slowly. {I need to have a talk with the kid about this, after the meeting's over. } "Right. Well, any other questions?"
No response came from the assembled group.
"Okay, a list of which fire teams goes in what group is posted in back. There are also maps and photographs for you to review, on the way to the target. An armory's been set up next door; in ten minutes, report there to draw weapons. And go easy on the grenades, guys! We saddle up in the helos in thirty, and should be hitting the LZ in a little under two hours. And remember, most important of all, don't get killed!"
Outside the briefing room, ten minutes later
"Kid!"
Xander turned to the source of the shout, and saw Cleburne half-walking and half-jogging towards him. "Yeah, Mother Hen?" the former slave replied, as he was handed a carbine by the enlisted man overseeing the allocation of weapons.
By this time, Cleburne had learned to simply ignore Xander's use of the forbidden nickname. "Question. Care to tell me how you came to think that this Razor guy is present where we're headed?"
Xander shook his head. "Not particularly," he said simply, as he checked the weapon like the professional he was.
Cleburne folded his arms, and his version of a Resolve Face showed up. "Look kid, hot LZ. You understand what I'm sayin'?"
Xander sighed; he knew if it came down to something that might affect an operation, Cleburne just would not let it go. "Okay, here's the deal. In October 2001, that particular head hog demon and his pals showed up in Sunnydale, to have themselves a big ol' party and settle down for a while. The Slayer and friends convinced them to move on."
Cleburne looked sceptical. "What else?"
Another sigh. "During that visit, I wound up having an up close and personal with Razor, as did other friends of mine..." Xander's voice visibly hesitated a moment, as he remembered Anya and all those others then. "Before he ended up with an axe in his back, the asshole was quite open about the plans he had for the women he bumped into. It was enough to turn my stomach."
Cleburne raised an eyebrow. "You know what this means, right?"
Xander frowned. "Oh, come on..."
"Don't even start, kid. If you're going into a firefight with the rest of the unit depending on you to keep it together, we can't afford for you to collapse from the headaches. You and Gunny, and the Wolfie while we're at it, stay in the rear guard for this one. Clear?"
"Fine," Xander said, fuming. He understood the logic, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "But what are the odds I'll actually come across that one particular bastard, during the op?"
"Knowing the trouble you attract like a magnet? Too high for my liking! Anyway, getting back to what happened in Sunnydale then - I thought these demons only went after towns that couldn't defend themselves? So why the hell would they go to the Hellmouth, while the Slayer was there guarding it?"
Xander grimaced. "Well, Buffy wasn't exactly...there at the time."
"They must have known she was coming back, though?"
Harris shook his head. "Trust me; it was a big surprise to everyone in the know, when she...came back. Even *Buffy* was surprised as all get out. See, she was someplace no one ever wants to come back from..."
Cleburne knew ambiguous half-truths and double-entendre when he heard them, and not for the first time wished *someone* could persuade Xander to talk freely for once. "You know, kid, one day you and I are going to have to sit down and have ourselves a long talk. Things from your past - future - whatever - constantly seem to keep popping up around you. It would be nice to get a program, so I can tell all the players what happens when."
Xander laughed. "Tell you what - you tell me everything about what *really* went on with the grey aliens at Roswell, and I'll tell you some more about my past that's yet to come."
Cleburne frowned. "Kid, how many times do I have to say it? That was just a weather balloon back then, that's all! It even said so in the newspapers!"
Xander chuckled, "Yeah, right. And Irving just works as a 12-year-old professor at the University of Chicago, you're just a colonel in the Marines, and I'm just some guy who grew up in a sleepy southern California town - where according to the papers in LA, nothing ever happens..."
Harris, still smirking, headed off towards the helicopters. He stopped and turned back to Cleburne. "By the way, what are the Danites?"
"Back when the Mormon church first came to Utah? They were the special agents, so to speak, that defended the Church against whatever threats were out there. Over time, they evolved into the branch of the Mormon church that dealt with the supernatural. They do a good job; that's why Utah has almost no vampire or demon activity."
"Some of them look familiar, you know. They wouldn't happen to be the ones who kept trying to convert me, would they?" Xander asked.
Cleburne just grinned at him and walked away, chuckling as he did so.
U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter, the Utah/Idaho border. Ninety minutes later
Xander looked out the helicopter window. He really couldn't see anything in the dark night sky, except the shapes of mountains. Every once in a while he could also see the shape of the other helicopters in the attack force, as they powered along in military formation.
Around the helicopter, several soldiers sat studying the maps of the town they had been provided. Sitting across from Xander was Rachael, who was once again checking her M4A1 carbine. It turned out she had served in the Israeli army before joining up with the Mossad, so she was basically familiar with military operations and that particular weapon.
It showed with the way the brunette woman had been carrying herself, during the last hour or so. Next to her was Oz. Gunny was busy on last-minute instructions on the use of his firearm, as the werewolf was still a little unsure of himself with guns.
"This switches the weapon from semi-automatic to full automatic. So now that you know what it does, don't touch it!" Gunny said forcefully.
Oz cocked an eyebrow at Gunny. "Then why tell me what it is?"
"So you don't go flipping it on, out of ignorance. If you start blasting away on full auto mode, you'll burn through your ammo in no time flat. Until you're more comfortable with firearms, it's strictly semi-automatic for you!" Gunny shouted over the noise from the helicopter's motor.
Xander then idly wondered why the Scoobies hadn't really thought of ever finding a way to use firearms against the undead. Granted, Giles was too steeped in tradition and Buffy didn't like guns, but still - *he* should have come up with something, over the years. Watching the Siberians in action had convinced him of the usefulness of guns and ammo, in those situations that he seemed to find himself in on a nightly basis.
Best of all, the undead seemed to constantly underestimate the effect a pistol would have on them. Xander always got a warm feeling deep inside, when he saw the look on a vampire's face that had just received a bullet in the chest. The slug might not kill the damn thing, but it definitely ended up in pain...
Rachael had noticed Gunny's efforts to instill fire control discipline in Oz. She smiled and leaned over to him, "Don't worry Gunny, I'll keep an eye on Mr. Osbourne to make sure he doesn't waste a single round. Same for Mr. Hall over there," she nodded at Xander.
"Oh, him I'm not worried about - the lieutenant seems to have *some* fire discipline!" Gunny commented acidly.
"Hey, I don't want either one of them in a position where they have to worry about making every shot count!" Cleburne leaned over from where he was sitting. "That's what the rest of us are for."
He then turned to face Xander and Oz. "Listen up you two, we're hitting the ground in a few minutes. This is your first time doing the air assault thing, so there are few things to know."
Xander felt some of his soldier memories sharpen in his brain. { Let's see if things have changed much... }
Cleburne continued on, "The helicopter isn't actually going to land, it's going to hover about five feet off the ground-"
"We're not landing?" Oz asked at once.
"No, the less time the helos spend on the ground, the better for all concerned. You'll jump out, and when you do-" Cleburne said.
"Don't stop or fall to the ground. Keep moving to the edge of the LZ. Whatever you do, don't stop until you get out of range. There are other helicopters and soldiers coming in behind you. You clog up the LZ, it gets messy. Kind of like a cork in a bottle," Xander recited calmly, as Cleburne stared at him.
"Kid?"
"Hey, PFC Donald Grant. Remember him? He did this kind of thing all the time, during Vietnam."
"You remember that?"
"Yeah, looks like my soldier memories aren't as gone as you all thought they were," Xander said with a smirk. "Can't I have an off day once in a while, without you guys wanting to hypnotize me?"
Cleburne leaned back. "Kid, you never cease to surprise me. Anything else I need to know?"
Xander never stopped smirking. "Yeah, but I'm not going to tell you..."
Rapid Creek, Idaho. Thirty-five minutes later
The landing had gone smoothly enough. Oz and Xander had followed the rule of not stopping, till they were well away from the landing zone. Gunny and Rachael had then followed the two of them. Cleburne was overseeing the other troops of the attack force, as they deployed.
After a few seconds, the sound of the choppers faded into the distance. The helicopters would remain in orbit far enough away from the town to escape detection by the demons, and await the signal that the civilians were ready to be evacuated. Fortunately, they were far enough from the town that the sound of landing hadn't reached the ears of the demon gang.
The night was silent, except for the normal nocturnal sounds and an occasional murmur from the Siberians. Xander tensed up though and thought to himself, {Here we go...}
Cleburne looked around, and then made a signal with his hands. This started the Siberians advancing towards the town. Xander and his group followed the advancing troops, after a minute or so. In particular, they all listened to the short comments between the soldiers in their earpieces.
The advance into the town was intense. Every once in a while, the sound of roaring motorcycle engines could be heard off in the distance. Other than that though, there was no hint of the demon presence.
Till they got to the first house, that is. The front door was kicked in, and all the windows were smashed, with the glass lying everywhere within the house. The next two houses were the same way.
At the third house, Xander's earpiece squawked to life. "Team Charlie, we've got hostile contact. Three demons dead, one got away-"
Xander could see Cleburne at the front of the third house. "All teams, head to the fire station. Take out all the hostiles on your way!" He started trotting down the road, towards the center of town.
Xander made to follow him, but then Gunny signaled him to wait a second. Harris then made a face that didn't move Gunny one bit, as the career soldier said, "You know the rules, Hall, we hang back. No brain freezes for you in the middle of a firefight!"
Off in the distance, they suddenly heard the rattle of gunfire.
"Mongoose, this is Saucer," Xander's earpiece squawked again. Xander remembered that Saucer was the designation for the aircraft that was circling the town, to provide command and control for the commandos.
Saucer continued in a clipped tone, "Confirming the hostiles do have heat signatures, so we're able to track them."
"Copy that. Can you track the civilians?" Cleburne asked over the radio.
"There's a large number of heat signatures at the fire station. Stationary at the present time."
"Which force is closest to the target?" Xander listened to the conversation as he trotted down the street with his teammates, keeping an eye on the surroundings.
"Team Baker is closest. Charlie has the main group of hostiles between it and the civilians."
"This is Mongoose. Team Baker, secure the fire station with all dispatch. Charlie, hold position. Able will attack the hostiles and try to force them into Team Charlie's position."
Xander heard confirmation of Cleburne's orders from the various team leaders. He then heard Cleburne telling Gunny to stay to the rear of Team Able. {Man, these guys really need to get cooler code names for themselves! Hmmm, maybe Nighthawk could make a comeback} the young man thought to himself with a bit of nostalgia, as he followed Gunny and the others. Then Xander frowned.
Cordelia Chase had liked that name *way* too much at Buffy's welcome-home party, that in this world...had never. Even. Happened.
A short distance ahead, Cleburne crouched next to a wall. Down the street from where he was, the local police station stood. And Joshua could see several of the red heads of the demons through the window. Every once in a while a shot rang out from the stationhouse, which caused the commandos to duck.
The Siberian known as Red crouched down next to Cleburne. "Uh, for demons who don't like using firearms? They seem to have adapted quite well," he remarked.
"Well, they're demons - not morons," Cleburne replied, scanning the surrounding area. "By the way, sorry about having to pull you away from your leave in LA."
"Hey, I knew things were going too well, I was kinda halfway expecting something to come up!" Red fired off two rounds from his weapon at the police station.
"Speaking of things going well, you seem to be spending a lot of time in Los Angeles, for a blue blood from Boston. Do I need to ask, or be worried?"
"Hey, just enjoying the sights of one of America's greatest cities!" Red said. "Ah, shit - seven of the demons just headed out the back door."
Cleburne nodded. "I saw it, they might try to get us in a pincer movement. And you've been seeing that waitress again, haven't you?"
Red shoved a new magazine in the Colt carbine he was using. "We need to outflank 'em, right? And so what if I'm seeing Ametila? I'm an adult, and you generally don't meddle in the personal lives of the agents. Well, okay, you did introduce Lemke to his wife..." Red thought for a second. "Come to think of it? There are several active and former operatives who met their spouses through you. I never realized before now, how much of a matchmaker you are at times - sir..."
Cleburne simply shrugged, after firing several rounds in response to the latest fusillade of gunfire from the police station. "Negative. And it's just a hobby. But I'm surprised that you *finally* seem to have a steady girlfriend..."
The sound of motorcycles starting up could now suddenly be heard. "Oh come on, don't tell me they're going to try and slip behind us on those things?" Cleburne put a new magazine into the carbine he was carrying.
Joshua then ignored Red's annoyed face as he reminisced, "Anyway, I can remember when you first came on board into the outfit, it seemed like you had a girl in every port, street and corner. To have a special girlfriend monopolizing your time is...kinda unnerving."
His companion replied, "If I remember correctly, the road behind the police station loops around and comes right through here. They're probably trying to catch Charlie by surprise, not realizing they'll have to go by us. And just for the record, Ametila is special! I even think it could be something long-term..."
The sound of the motorcycles grew stronger from down the street. Cleburne, with Red following, walked to the middle of the street, being careful to make sure that the demons from the police station couldn't get a clean shot at them. "Eyes out, weapons hot. So, how you going to explain her to your parents? I mean, for pity's sake, the one time I met your mother? She thought I was the hired help! No offence, but we both know she doesn't relate well to people from other classes, let alone other species..."
"Ready when you are. And I guess I'll just have to figure out something..."
At the end of the street, several motorcycles finally appeared. They sped up when they saw the two agents standing there. "We're all going to have figure something out, with the way things are going. I'll take the left, you take the right," Cleburne told Red.
"Roger that, Colonel."
The two of them then started firing off gunshots, aiming methodically at their targets.
After their volley of shots, the demon in the lead of the group approaching the two Siberians stopped his motorcycle and grinned, laying a shotgun across the handlebars. "Hey, softskins. What do you think you're doing? You're pretty lousy shots!" He laughed at the two humans in front of him.
Cleburne observed the demon with no expression, one way or the other. "Look behind you, horn head." Red idly wondered what it would take to get the senior Siberian to show anger in a combat situation.
"Listen to him, boys, all brave aren't they?" the demon laughed. There was no response to his snide comment. "Boys?"
He glanced behind him, and the laughter died at once. As there behind the creature in a ragged line on the ground, were the bodies of his fellow demons.
They lay intertwined with the motorbikes, many of which still had their wheels spinning. The demon then turned back to the humans, with a look of unease. Because both of Cleburne's and Red's weapons were now zeroed in purely on himself.
"So, horn head, a few questions," Cleburne said. The demon nodded dumbly. "The townsfolk, where are they?"
"Fire station," was the raspy answer. "Most of them. A few of them are still on the loose, we're hunting them down..." The demon instantly noted that his mentioning hunting humans had not gone over well, with the two men about to determine his fate
"That police station you just came from. Any civilians in there?" The demon biker just shook his head. "Okay then, what do we do with you?"
The demon shrugged his shoulders. "Any chance you'll just let bygones be bygones, and I simply go?"
Cleburne shook his head. "Don't think so."
The demon nodded, then jerked up the shotgun - hoping to get off a quick shot.
He failed miserably, his head bursting apart like a festive piñata as Cleburne and Red lowered their smoking guns.
A few minutes later, Xander listened to Cleburne from the command post he had just set up in the police station, telling the Siberians that there were still some townspeople on the loose. So Joshua cautioned the commandos to be sure of their targets, before shooting.
There were various confirmations from the ranks of the soldiers. Xander and his group continued making their way hesitantly towards the center of town.
"Oracle, this is Saucer," Oracle was the codename attached to Xander's little group.
"Go ahead, Saucer," Gunny replied at once.
"There are five heat signatures near your position. Sixty yards from you, due west. They're in a structure of some kind."
Gunny looked in the direction indicated, and saw a convenience store. "Understood. Can you tell if they're hostiles or civilians?"
"Negative. Can't confirm enemy presence, at this time."
"Roger that, we'll check it out." Gunny turned to the others. "Okay, lieutenant - you, Osbourne and Weitz hang tight. Keep your eyes peeled, I'll do a quick recon..." Gunny then slipped away after the others confirmed his orders, and made his way towards the building.
After about a minute and a half, gunshots rang out from within the building. The front doors slid up, and two demons then came running out. Xander could hear Gunny's voice calling out in a high-pitched manner, "Thank you, come again!" in a dead-on imitation of Apu from 'The Simpsons'.
So Xander and his two companions opened fire with their own weapons, Oz staying with the semi-automatic setting for his gun while Rachael and Xander blasted away on full automatic. The demons quickly flopped to the ground, and were of no further concern to anyone in this world.
Gunny exited the store, supporting a very scared teenage girl in a clerk's uniform. It was clear that she had been treated roughly. Xander felt himself getting angry as he started across the street to help out, losing his focus on the surroundings. {This is getting to be just like Sunnydale, back then... }
"Xander!" Oz called out to his friend.
"Alex!" Rachael called out at the same time.
Harris twisted to see what they were yelling about, and vaguely saw a red blur as a demon slammed into him - and both of them crashed to the ground. The demon, which had darted out of its cover to try and escape during the confusion, had not seen Xander as the two of them had intersected in the street.
Xander rolled over, and then got a good look at the demon that had fallen with him. "You!" he shouted and then groaned, grabbing at his head - as the former Scooby felt the intense headache hit him, right between the eyes.
Razor, for that was who it was, just glared at Xander and raised a Bowie knife to stab him with. {Nothing's gone right, ever since we came to this shithole town. So I'm pissed, and I'm gonna take it on your ass, soldier boy! }
Two gunshots then rang out, as Rachael and Oz tried to kill the demon biker from their unfavorable position. Black blood splattered upon Xander and Razor, as one bullet missed and another just tore through the demon's shoulder.
The enemy leader cursed, and inadvertently dropped the weapon. He then kicked Xander away, and lunged for the knife at once. {Freaking human assholes, you're dead - whoever you are! }
In the throes of his intense headache, which normally would render him unconscious, Xander somehow was still able to bring up the HK submachine gun that the Siberian quartermaster had given him. {Gotta make this count- }
Mainly by pure instinct, he jammed the gun into Razor's side and pulled the trigger. The roar of the weapon on full auto mode was muted somewhat, by the effect of the demon's body being directly over the weapon.
But the effect of the submachine gun was not lessened in the slightest, by its location. Xander felt himself getting drenched with the demon's blood, as the bullets tore unmercifully through Razor's body and the vital fluid exploded outwards.
The leader of the Hellions was nothing but dead meat, even before Harris had fully emptied the magazine into the target. {Well, it's not as neat as when Tara did it - but thank God, he's just as dead} Xander thought to himself, breathing hard as the pain mercifully started to abate and he wiped the blood from his eyes.
Local community park, Rapid Creek, Idaho. Forty-five minutes later
The medics moved around the aid station they had set up in the shelter house, located in the community park. One of them was examining Xander - as Gunny, Oz and Rachael hovered nearby, nervously. Scattered throughout the shelter house were mostly newly-liberated residents of Rapid Creek, with some soldiers mixed in with them.
Off in the nearby clearing, a Blackhawk helicopter landed, guided in by a strobe light. Once it hit the ground, several more medics jumped out and headed over to the shelter house.
Red, puffing away on a cigar, walked up to where Xander was being treated. "How is he?" he asked the medic.
"Lieutenant Hall's gonna be fine, nasty bruise from the fall, but other than that he'll be 100% soon. I did make him take some painkillers, just to be safe." The medic then headed off to help with the civilians.
Mike Byrne joined his comrades. "Hall, I'm sure you can already imagine what Cleburne is going to say to you about all this - can't you?"
"Look, Red, gimme a break - I didn't see him coming. He just took me by surprise, is all."
"Exactly," Red took the cigar out of his mouth and pointed with it. "In combat, you need to always keep your head and be aware of everything around you-"
"I was aware!" Xander snapped back. "I just slipped up for a second."
"And that's all the time that was needed for you to get knocked to the ground, by that demon! If your hand had slipped holding the HK, well - no, let's not even talk about that," Rachael said, with a genuine look of concern on her face.
"Look, when my number's up, my number's up. I learned that the hard way in my life, sometime all the training in the world can't stop what's meant to be," Xander declared, while rubbing his forehead.
"Sure, pal, but you can minimize the odds of Fate as much as possible. The worst thing you can do in combat is get angry, or allow your emotions to take over. Every recruit into our little group has that drummed into his...or her..." Red added quickly when Rachael glared at him. "...head from day one, by Cleburne."
"Speaking of tall and grumpy, where is he? I've not seen him in a while," Oz asked.
"Oh, he's just taking care of some wrapping up right now," Red shrugged.
The outskirts of the town. The same time
The group of demons riding motorcycles was considerably smaller, than when they had ridden into town a day earlier. The couple of dozen remaining survivors constituted a pretty ragged group, in fact, with several wounded among them. They were making good time down the mountain road, though.
Once it was clear that things were falling apart in the town and Razor couldn't be found - command and control, what little there was of it in the demon motorcycle gang, had completely disintegrated. It had been every demon for itself, in a mad rush towards the demolished bridge.
The fact that it had been blown away in places had only slowed them down a little bit, as they had literally flown their bikes over the holes of the roadway. They had then started tearing down the road, in a mad attempt to escape. They hadn't thought to question why their attackers hadn't pursued them, something a more organized and well-trained group would have done.
Of course, they also didn't know that two miles down the road was a Utah National Guard mechanized infantry battalion, set up to handle just such a situation. However, the National Guardsmen would be denied the opportunity to explain to the demons the folly of attacking fellow Mormons.
Because high above the bikers, a conversation was taking place.
"This is Damocles One, I have target in sight. There's a straight stretch of road about 300 yards ahead that'll be suitable for a kill zone."
There were two confirmations, as the unaware demons continued on. Three hundred yards down, they did indeed come to a straight part of the mountain road and picked up speed. Unfortunately for them, their motorcycles couldn't outrun what was coming for them.
About halfway down the scenic route, the demons heard a roaring coming their way. They all looked back, screamed and either tried to swerve off the road or speed up to avoid what was coming.
Neither choice was viable as three A-10 warthogs flew in a low-level strafing run at them, firing their 30mm cannons as they approached their targets. The planes were spread out in such a way that their guns completely covered the area the demons were riding in or could get to, using their night-vision imaging systems to maintain a perfect formation in the night sky.
The exploding shells, all the size of old-fashioned milk bottles and designed to penetrate the armor of Russian tanks, tore up the road behind the demons - then quickly moved through them, and approximately 20 yards in front of them. Explosions blasted the road apart the whole distance, as a huge dirt cloud was thrown up.
After a few seconds, a riderless motorcycle emerged at the front edge of the dust cloud, and continued on for 15 yards before falling over.
As the smoke and dust cleared the scene of bodies, some barely moving and others not at all, and mangled motorcycles revealed itself to any observers.
One of which was standing at the top of a rise just on the outskirts of town, watching the scene with binoculars. Cleburne nodded in satisfaction with the job done by the air National Guard. He then keyed the body mike to his radio, "Saucer? This is Mongoose. Damocles has done a number on the enemy. Tell the Utah NG guys to go in and mop up."
The senior Siberian then turned, and headed back to the town park. He was going to have a talk with the kid, having heard enough over the radio to get annoyed at what had happened. { I swear, Harris has *got* to learn to keep his head in the game or else I'll wind up having to writing a letter to... }
Cleburne paused for a second. {Hold on a sec, just who *would* I write the letter to? His parents? I don't think so. The Brit, or those kids in Sunnydale? Now that would be a damn strange letter to write! Might have to do an in-person visit for that...}
Joshua then swore to himself to do everything possible to avoid ever having such a task befall him. Meanwhile, unnoticed by anyone, another figure on a distant hilltop looked down on the scene of carnage.
"Well, but these guys just keep popping up like ants at a picnic. They'll spoil my fun if something isn't done about them," said the First Evil, in the guise of Glory, before it vanished in a burst of light.
U.S. Air Force Base, Northern Utah. October 14, 2000
Xander walked out of the briefing room, having finished up the debriefing of the assault a few minutes ago. As expected, Cleburne had not been happy with him at all, and had made his displeasure with Xander's conduct evident.
However, there was a key difference from when he had gotten hurt in Sunnydale - that fray-adjacent lecture from Buffy, never buried all that deeply in his psyche. Here, there was no cautioning to hang back or be more careful; no, the thrust of the ass-chewing was that there was a lot more combat training coming his way.
And Xander couldn't help but notice the looks of sympathy he had gotten from his fellow Siberians, when they heard Cleburne was taking control of Xander's training schedule.
He remembered Buffy complaining about Giles and her training sessions, and that was without G-man being equal in ability to the Slayer. But in this situation, Harris knew beyond a doubt that Cleburne would not have any problems not holding back, when it came to kicking his ass.
Of course, from what he knew of Siberian lore, the fact that the senior agent was verbalizing his anger meant that deep down he was happy Xander was all right, despite his blustering about not wanting the Wizard or Esther getting mad at him.
But the USMC colonel whaling on him was a problem for the future. Right now, he had a more pressing concern.
"Mr. Hall, I'm pleased to see that you're largely unharmed," a clipped voice said that Xander instantly remembered, from his first days with STW.
The young man turned around, and saw one of the Mormon Danites standing there. He recognized him as one of the missionaries that used to visit him. "Been a while since I've seen you, you were literally the knock on the door I came halfway to dread." Xander said with a small grin.
The Danite looked chagrined. "I can assure you, we never meant you any harm. We just wanted to talk to you, and explain the tenets of our church. A man in a situation such as yours needs something higher in his life, than just trying to survive from day to day."
Xander looked the Danite up and down. "Look, pal, I know you mean well - but I spent nearly five years in a place where surviving day to day, was the only choice I had!" He said with a little bit of an edge to it, as he started to walk off.
The Danite ignored Xander's tone, and started walking alongside him. "I understand it was horrible, there's no lessening of the atrocities committed there implied. Still, you found something greater in life there than simple survival, such as getting yourself and your fellow prisoners out - correct?"
The Danite held his hands up to calm Xander down, as he saw a look of anger flash across the former Scooby's face. "Again I apologize if I have offended you, for truly I meant no offense. I'm Darien Chalmers. If you'd like to talk to us about the church, I would be delighted to answer any questions. If not, I understand, but still my fellow Danites and I would like to talk to you about hunting demons and your experiences with them. We're thinking of expanding our operations, and would appreciate any pointers you could give us."
Xander thought for a second. He noticed several Danites standing off to the side, looking expectant. "Does Cleburne know about this?" he finally asked.
Chalmers nodded. "Of course, and he said it was completely up to you."
Xander pondered the issue. {Well, it isn't actually a breach of the agreement we reached back at Caritas. Besides, maybe they'll have some more honey. I really liked that stuff! } So the man nodded his head. "Okay, guess there's no harm in talking..." The Danite looked very pleased that Xander had consented. "Let me just shower and get a cup of coffee first, though."
He started walking away, and as he did Harris heard Chalmers talking to the other Danites. "Now, I know you're all anxious, but I really think we should wait a while before everyone starts bringing out the pamphlets..."
Xander sighed as he walked off, hearing Cleburne's laughter in the background. {I should have known...does nothing I do escape your notice, Mother Hen? }
As he walked along, Rachael somehow appeared alongside him. "Hey Mr. Hall, if you're looking for a new religion? I got a suggestion, you should consider joining up with the Chosen people!" She then added with a chuckle, "Because, we get to drink alcohol and smoke..."
The former slave sighed again and just kept on walking, much like he had when Cordelia had given up popularity and the Cordettes for him so long ago - attempting to block out all the annoyances. He then recalled that in earlier times, Willow had tried to teach him about Judaism. {Hmmm, wonder what the old gang in Sunnydale is up to right now? }
The Magic Box, Sunnydale, California. October 16, 2000
"See, this is what happens when she's with those who can't control her," Mr. Maclay said while glaring at the Scoobies, who were tending to their wounds and standing around the magic shop.
"I'm so sorry," was all that Tara had been able to whimper to Willow, after the events of the last few minutes.
Tara's 20th birthday had arrived, and Willow had made arrangements for a surprise party for her girlfriend. Everything had been going according to plan, too, until Tara's family had shown up yesterday.
And they were nothing like Willow had expected. If anything, she had thought they would be peace-loving Wiccans and the like, after all that Tara had demonstrated being.
But they were definitely not like that at all. The men in particular had rubbed everyone the wrong way, right from the start - most especially Jonathan Levinson, for some reason. And Willow had definitely not liked the way that Tara had started acting once they had shown up, all meek and submissive.
Then the problem in the Magic Box had taken place. An invisible enemy had attacked Buffy and the others; a Lei-Ach demon of all things, even though in this world it was not acting under Glory's orders. Tara had then shown up, and seemed surprised by the fact that Willow and the others could see her...
It turned out that the femme had cast a spell on the Scooby gang, for them to be unable to detect demons - i.e., her. And as fate would have it, the evil creature had chosen that moment to attack the magic shop. It had been touch and go for a few minutes, but in the end the Scoobies had prevailed.
Then the Maclay family had shown up to take Tara home, against her will if need be, for the blonde college girl had been told that she would turn into a demon when her 20th birthday rolled around, which was today.
Tara had been afraid as to how the Scoobies, and Willow in particular, would react. So she had done a demon invisibility spell, with the results that her father was now using as justification to take her back to wherever the hell they'd come from.
"She's turning into a demon. She has to be taken home where she can be handled and cared for, and so she doesn't hurt others. She'll also be able to pay us back for the burden of taking care of her, all these years..."
That definitely got Willow's attention. "Hey, what do you mean? You can't just abduct her away like that! Not if she doesn't want to go!" Willow declared, her Resolve Face surfacing. For Willow wasn't about to lose Tara, in almost the same way she'd lost Xander.
"W-w-willow, it's for the best. I should just do what they say..." Tara said, indicating her family. "I'm turning into a demon-"
Anya raised her hand. "Excuse me..." The others in the room looked at her. "But just out of professional curiosity, what kind of demon?"
"What?" Tara's father had a puzzled look on his face.
"Well, what kind of demon is she going to turn into? After all, there are many different kinds of demons, some of them deadly and vicious - but others quite harmless, and even useful members of society. This whole attitude that all demons are pure evil is just species-ist racism, you know..."
Everyone in the room continued staring at Anya, as she continued talking. "Oh, I get it, you really don't know what kind of demon - do you? Well, let's go down the list then, tell me - first off, what sort of powers is she going to get?"
Tara's father just looked dumbfounded, as the former Anyanka started reeling off a list of powers. "Super-strength, flight, invulnerability, mind-reading? What?"
Mr. Maclay just shook his head to all of Anya's suggestions. {Who is this fool woman? Why, I oughta- }
"Anya-" Giles tried to interrupt her, unsuccessfully.
"Oh, I know, invisibility! I knew a demon years ago, who had the shtick of turning invisible and starting riots. Halfrek and I used to rave on about it all the time, over coffee-"
"No, nothing like that! No so-called powers!" Tara's dad snapped.
Anya placed her hands on her hips. "Well, this whole thing sounds pretty lame then! I mean, no powers? What kind of demon would that make? Sounds like the only thing they get is the duty of serving you..."
An epiphany came to Anya's brain. "Oh! That's it, isn't it?! Right before I became human, this colleague of mine named Lloyd? He was telling me about this racket some humans had going - of fooling other humans into thinking they were turning into demons, unless they did everything they were told. We both laughed our asses off about it, at the time - but that was *you*, wasn't it?"
Mr. Maclay was now angry, as was his son and Tara's cousin. It was the son, Donnie, who answered, "Hey, that's just plain ridiculous! Now let's get going, we're the only ones who can handle that bitch when she goes all demonlike-"
"Well, there's only one way to know for sure," Jonathan stepped forward and said simply, "Animus reveale!" as he pointed at Tara with his outstretched arm.
Tara's outline flared white for a second, as everyone looked confused. "W-what did you do?" the blonde asked her student.
"A modified spell to see a person's soul or aura, that I've been working on as a way to spot vampires and demons from a distance. It's been pretty successful so far, Teach. And if you were a demon, you woulda glowed black for a few seconds," Jonathan replied with a shrug.
"Which, which means that this whole thing is just a-a-a myth told by your family, t-to keep the women such as yourself obediently toeing the line," Giles said, glaring at the Maclay clan.
Donnie spoke up again, "Hey, this entire conversation is getting old! Tara, get in the car - or so help me God, I will strike you down!"
"I think you should be more worried about *us* hurting *you*," Jonathan said, somehow seeming to grow taller. And as Donnie and his cousin Beth watched, his eyes seemed to darken almost to a shade of black, as the nerd got ready to defend the only person in the world who gave a damn about him.
"Yeah right, like you could..." Donnie's voice trailed off, as he suddenly found himself facing the unified phalanx of the Scooby gang members. He had just seen them clean the clocks of something his family couldn't even see, and so Tara's brother was now definitely wondering what they were about to do to him...
"I think you should all leave," Tara said firmly, with no hesitation - or stammer.
"Of all the ungrateful-" Beth said venomously.
"Tara...you don't..." her father started to say.
"LEAVE NOW!" the Wiccan said forcefully, closing the door on that chapter of her life. And after another parting insult from her cousin, Tara's family was out the door.
Willow and Tara instantly hugged each other firmly. "Thank you," the older witch said, and then turned to the others. "Thank you all..."
Jonathan looked bashful. "Uh, you're welcome."
Buffy smiled, "Yeah, and Tara? You're one of us now. It's not like we were going to let anything happen to you..." The Slayer looked away for a second. "I learned my lesson about that sort of thing, a *long* time ago."
Next door to the Magic Box, Lemke stood in the window of his bookstore, watching the Maclay family leave with their tails between their legs, as he drank a cup of tea. {Just from watching them argue with each other, I can see why Xander didn't like them, } he thought to himself. {I'm glad he gave me a heads-up today to be on the lookout for them, and to make sure that Tara didn't leave with them. Oh well, another day on the Hellmouth... }
TBC...