Chapter 14: Secrets Discovered

******A Few Days Later*****

Sin had to have some space. Buffy was such a force of nature that she was left a bit overwhelmed at times. They'd moved into the new place the day after she'd signed the lease. After calling some guy named Giles, she dragged Sin furniture shopping. Sin soon discovered that for Buffy shopping was like a religious experience. Never had Sin been to so many stores. At one point when Buffy was busy talking to a clerk, she had called Thea and begged her to rescue her. She knew that the Queen girl would have no trouble keeping up with Buffy. And she was right. It was a match made in heaven or in Sin's case hell. However, it brought her a reprieve. She snuck off when they were debating colors of curtains.

She was walking down her new block still feeling a bit discombobulated. Buffy had attached herself to Sin for some reason Sin had yet to fully comprehend. All she knew was that Buffy was determined to be in her life. It was nice to have someone care, but it was also a bit suffocating. Having been on her own too long, she was trying hard to be patient with Buffy's well-meaning inquiries and suggestions. She looked around at the houses in their neighborhood. They reminded her of a life she lived so long ago that she'd nearly forgotten what normal was like.

Her path led her closer to the Glades, unconsciously seeking the familiar. After about ten minutes, she heard footsteps behind her. When she glanced back, she didn't see anyone. Annoyed, she kept walking. A few minutes later, she heard the footsteps again. She moved quickly and then turned a sharp right at a nearby corner store. She pressed herself up against the wall of the building, waiting to see if anyone followed her. When a shadow loomed closer, she jumped out.

"Who the hell are you? Why are you following me?" she demanded. Her eyes widened as she recognized the black leather, mask, and blonde hair. "It's you! Wow! Why are you following me?"

"I…I was just making sure you were safe," the woman said.

"Why wouldn't I be? This isn't exactly the slums," Sin said suspiciously.

The woman smiled. "Well, there's monsters everywhere in this city. You can't be too careful," she said.

"Yeah, I know," Sin said. "I wanted to find you. To say thanks. You saved me."

"Looks like you found another to keep you out of trouble," she said.

"I don't know. Maybe. Buffy won't leave me alone. She's okay for now, I guess," Sin said with a shrug.

"Never turn away a friend. A good friend is hard to come by," the woman said, a touch of sorrow in her voice.

"So what's your name? I'm Sin," Sin said.

"Some call me the Canary," the woman said. "My friends call me, Sara." Then she took off her wig and mask and looked at Sin.

Sin's mouth fell open in surprise. She didn't know why the woman was so willing to share her real identity with her. "Why would you show me your face, give me your name? You don't know me!" Sin exclaimed in disbelief.

"You look like someone I could trust," Sara said easily. She didn't know how to tell her the truth—that she had met her father the day he died.

Sin didn't understand why people suddenly found her trustworthy when she'd spent the past few years having everyone look at her with suspicion. However, she didn't have the heart or the nerve to alienate the masked vigilante. "I guess. I'm no rat," Sin said with a shrug. "Do you live in Starling City? I mean, I keep seeing you around the Glades."

"This used to be my home. I have family here," Sara admitted.

"Do they know how gifted you are?" Sin asked.

"No," Sara said, looking haunted.

It was clear that Sara was uncomfortable, so Sin sought to distract her. "Well, Buffy seemed pretty skilled, too. I'm not sure how. She's not really explained, but I do know she didn't like you taking the law into your own hands," Sin warned.

Sara gave a small smile. "Yeah, I could tell," she said, unconcerned. Her dad's new girlfriend was too strong. It made Sara very leery. In her experience, people with unusual strength never came by it naturally. "Be careful with her. I don't know how she broke my staff. Maybe it was a parlor trick or she learned it at a dojo that focused on such feats. But I'd be careful if I were you."

Sin hadn't thought too much about what Buffy did that night because there had been other things like the near rape to occupy her mind. But Sara had a point. It had been a bit on the freaky side. "Well, I haven't seen anything else freaky from her since then," Sin said.

"Well, I'd be mindful if I were you," Sara said. "If things go south here, you can find me around the old abandoned clock tower. Do you know it?"

"Yeah," Sin said.

"Stay out of dark alleys," Sara advised.

"Don't worry. Buffy's given me the spiel. She drags me with her everywhere it seems. Except when she's with her boyfriend—the cop," Sin said with smirk.

Sara's eyes darkened at the mention of her father. This woman was dangerous and was deeply imbedded in her father's life. Sara didn't know how she was going to go about warning her father. She wasn't ready to face her family. But she also couldn't let some woman hurt her dad. "I'll see you around," Sara said. She put her wig and mask back on. Waving, she walked down the street.

Sin watched her go, not sure what to think of the masked woman.

******Verdant******

Felicity went downstairs after Buffy bullied her into jogging. Only Buffy would think two women jogging in the Glades was a good idea. Buffy beat up three different guys, three different times who tried to stop them when they first started out. The funny thing was, it didn't seem to deter Buffy. She just looked at Felicity as if nothing had happened and said, "You ready?" Then started jogging again. She was a very unusual woman. Felicity kept up with her the first two miles, but the third mile became too much. Gasping for air, Felicity said, "Okay, must slow down!"

Buffy grinned back at her and started walking. "Sorry. I get in my head when I start running," she admitted.

"I get it. Sorry to slow you down," Felicity said.

"No biggie. I have an unfair advantage. Supernaturally in shape," Buffy said, flashing her a grin.

"It's so not fair!" Felicity complained. "So what's on your agenda this evening?" They had turned and were heading back to the club.

"I'm going to train Thea for an hour or so then start my shift," Buffy said.

"Oliver hired you back?" Felicity asked.

"No, Thea did," Buffy said with a wink. "Mr. Queen is in for a rude awakening if he thinks he can control a slayer's actions. Thea is her own person."

Felicity frowned, not liking her criticism of Oliver. "Oliver only wants to protect Thea. She's the most important thing to him. His mom may end up in jail for the rest of her life or worse."

"Unfortunately, there's no real protecting of a slayer. We're like a mystical vortex. We draw dark energy to us sooner or later," Buffy said. "Oliver could get killed trying to protect her, and that would destroy her. I have human friends that fought by my side. More than one died. My best guy friend Xander lost an eye. It was gouged out by an evil priest."

Felicity blanched and stopped to look at Buffy. "Seriously? That's horrible!"

"Yeah, I know. If you care about Oliver, you'll tell him to back off from trying to protect Thea," Buffy advised. "He'll only get himself hurt."

How could Felicity explain that Oliver was physically more capable than Buffy realized? In the end, she just remained silent. She'd have to talk to Oliver. She'd already told Buffy about her talk with Oliver. Buffy knew that the two were close, but she couldn't let her know how involved she actually was in Oliver's life. Felicity didn't like the sudden complications, however. Buffy wasn't the type of friend you lied to. Lying didn't come easily to Felicity anyway, but it hadn't bothered her as much before meeting Buffy.

Buffy walked her to her car behind Verdant. When she left to go inside the club, Felicity used the back door entrance to go downstairs. She'd not been by since Oliver had shown up apologizing at her place. Felicity figured Oliver needed some time and space to think. He'd called her, though, every day. The calls hadn't been long, but it had touched Felicity that he was making an effort to connect with her even outside of Hood business. It gave her hope.

Felicity turned on her computers and thought about the last time she'd seen Oliver. It still amazed her that he'd come to her house and been so open with her. She'd felt a real shift in their relationship, but she didn't know what that meant. Oliver was too good at wearing a mask. A little voice inside her head whispered doubts to her. Maybe he regretted their talk. Maybe he'd reconsidered. Since he wasn't the Hood anymore, she didn't see him every day. Talking on the phone, though, helped silence the doubts. She knew now more than ever that she mattered to Oliver. For now, that knowledge was enough.

Felicity looked at the green leather outfit encased in glass. Maybe he'd change his mind. She hoped he'd let them get back to their task of saving the city. Having a mission outside of helping people with their computer problems made Felicity feel like her life was worth more. She liked knowing she made a difference.

She heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up. Diggle and Oliver were there. John smiled. "You're here, too?"

"Yeah, Buffy and I were out jogging. She was meeting Thea afterward, so we met up here," Felicity said.

"What? You went jogging in the Glades? Are you insane?" Oliver asked, outraged. The thought of all the things that could've happened to her upset him.

"Relax, Oliver. I'm fine. Sure, Buffy did have to beat up a few guys that tried to bother us, but she didn't have to call the cops. We ran for three miles. Or rather I ran for two and made her walk the rest!" Felicity announced with a sheepish grin.

Her words didn't reassure Oliver. The Glades had never been a safe place to go jogging in, but it was even worse since the earthquake. In fact, the upheaval had made the Glades a target for the worse kind of scum. Not doing anything about it was starting to bother Oliver.

"It's not a good idea, Felicity. Anything could've happened," Oliver said, still frowning at her.

"I agree. Jog in your own neighborhood," John said.

Felicity nodded, knowing they had a point. "Okay," she agreed.

Oliver stepped closer to her. "Buffy may have supernatural healing, but you don't. If you got hurt…" his voice trailed off, his eyes stormy at the thought.

Felicity couldn't resist reaching out and grabbing his hand. Giving it a squeeze, she reassured him. "I'm fine. Nothing's going to happen to me. I figure I'm the safest girl in the Glades. I have the super-chicks Thea and Buffy to protect me and you and Dig. What could happen?" She grinned at him.

Oliver wanted to return her smile, but the thought of some nameless thug hurting her, upset him too much. He pulled away and removed his shirt. He and Diggle started to spar. It took some effort, but he managed to block Felicity out of his mind for five whole minutes at a time.

A half hour later, she broke their concentration. "Guys! The police just posted a bolo for a missing kid. He's the son of one of the rival gangs in the Glades. The Mayor, the new thug in town, has been encroaching on the guy's territory," Felicity shared.

"What's the name, Felicity?" Diggle asked.

"Lerma. Alejandro Lerma. He's been the main drug supplier to the Glades prior to the earthquake. However, his neighborhood was basically leveled, so he's lost a lot of ground. The Mayor has been pushing into his old territories. They've been fighting the past month. Now the Mayor's kidnapped his son. Probably to force his hand," Felicity said. She waited expectantly.

Diggle didn't say anything. He just waited for Oliver's response. Finally, Oliver said, "I'm not sure why you're telling me. I'm not in the business of helping drug dealers."

Felicity looked incredulous. "Are you kidding?" she asked. She glanced at John. "He's kidding, right?"

John shrugged and looked at Oliver. Oliver had a stony expression on his face.

"We help people. He's six years old! That little boy isn't responsible for the choices of his father. You of all people should get that!" Felicity said. She gave him a look that was both hurt and betrayed.

Oliver was not immune to that look from Felicity. Most days, he was powerless against it. She was one of the few people in his life, he didn't constantly disappoint. "Fine. I'll check it out," he said in resignation. He never thought his reason to put on the suit again would be to save some drug dealer's kid, but disappointing Felicity was never something he liked to do. And she did have a point. Her beaming smile of approval served to smooth away most of his annoyance.

It seemed almost like old times a half hour later with Felicity in his ear and John backing him up. They were at the Mayor's compound, a partially boarded up three story apartment building in the center of the Glades. Oliver approached from top while John moved to enter in the back side.

As Oliver made his move up top, Diggle entered into the building. It surprised him to see no guard at the front door. When he stepped inside, he nearly tripped over a prone figure. It looked like the guard was already dead. Frowning, he moved with more caution. The sounds of fighting nearby caught his attention. "Guys, I don't think we're alone. Someone beat us here," he said quietly. He peered into the room where the sounds were coming from and saw a blonde woman in a mask using a staff to fight off five guys. It looked like she'd already disarmed them. Diggle entered the room. "Need a hand?" he asked her.

She glanced up. "No. Get the boy. I think he's on the second floor," she said.

Diggle nodded and went to the stairway. "Looks like the masked female that's been popping up around the Glades had the same idea we did. She's taken out most of the guards already," Diggle shared.

"Don't engage her," Oliver said. He didn't like knowing another play was in town. One he didn't know nor could he control.

Taking two steps at a time, John made it to the second floor. He checked one room. It was empty. A guy came out of the other shooting. Diggle hugged the wall as he returned fire. The guy went down. Diggle checked the room the man had come out of. It connected to another room. He heard a cry and moved toward the sound. A man with a gun backhanded a young boy. Diggle raised his gun and shot the guy in the right shoulder. He fell and dropped his gun. Diggle bent down and picked up the man's gun and found another one on him. Grabbing that one and the boy, he moved quickly from the room. "I got the boy," he said so Oliver and Felicity would know.

The boy began to struggle. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to take you home," Diggle said to him in a soothing tone. "Felicity, where is the boy's home?"

Felicity began looking that up while Diggle made his way out of the building.

Oliver had found the Mayor, a maniacal black man who kept trying to shoot him. "I'm not afraid of you!" the Mayor shouted.

"Where are you getting these guns?" Oliver asked, recognizing the military grade weapons.

"Like I'm going to tell you!" the Mayor shouted.

He fired his gun again, and a bullet grazed Oliver's arm. He let out a hiss.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Felicity asked worriedly. She hated how powerless she was. She hated not knowing exactly what was happening.

"I'm okay," Oliver said.

A figure came up behind the Mayor. Oliver looked and saw the woman he'd heard rumors about. She moved quickly and hit the man hard in the back of the knee, causing him to fall.

"Maybe you'll tell me," she said. She swung her staff and hit him in the head, knocking him flat on his back.

"Who the hell are you?" the Mayor yelled, still conscious. "I'm not telling you anything! You're going to regret this!"

"Unlikely," she said as she put her staff to his throat.

"Don't kill him!" Oliver yelled. "Felicity, are the police on their way?"

"Yes, their ETA is three minutes," she answered.

"The police are coming," Oliver said to the woman.

The woman looked at him then back down at the man. "He's a cancer. He needs to be eradicated from this city."

"He will be. Killing him isn't the only way to accomplish that," Oliver said.

"No, but it's the most effective way," the woman said. She reached down and snapped the man's neck.

Oliver's fists clenched in anger. He had enough blood on his hands. "She killed him," he said so Diggle and Felicity could hear.

"Oliver, John's got the boy out. You need to leave. The cops will be there in a moment," Felicity said urgently.

"The woman. I need to find out who she is," he said.

The woman straightened up and faced him. "You don't want to know who I am," she said. "Once you do, your life will never be the same." Before he could reply, she slipped out of the room.

"Oliver!" Felicity called urgently. Her screen showed police cars surrounding the building.

Frustrated, Oliver made his way out of the building.

******Verdant*******

Roy watched as Buffy and Thea exchanged blows. Buffy would call out instruction and words of encouragement. It was incredible to watch them. Roy couldn't help but feel a bit envious at their movements. Thea had decided the dance floor would work as well as her giant home, so this week they'd been practicing at the club. Roy heard a noise and looked up. He winced as he saw Sin. She was gaping at the sight of the two women moving and fighting like no ordinary women should be able to move. He quickly made his way over to her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"How? What's going on?" she asked, unable to take her eyes off of the two women. Thea landed a hard punch to Buffy's face. Instead of getting angry, Buffy just grinned and hit her back.

"Well, I guess if you're going to be hanging around, you might as well know. Buffy is a supernatural empowered vampire slayer. So is Thea. They have super healing, reflexes, and strength," Roy said.

"Vampires?" Sin asked, finally looking at him.

"I know it's crazy, but they're real. Thea killed one not too long ago. They turn to dust," Roy said.

"No, it's not crazy. It explains a lot actually," Sin said, having spent too much time in the Glades.

"Okay, it's my turn!" Roy called out.

Buffy paused and looked over at him. She frowned when she spotted Sin. "What are you doing here?" Buffy asked warily.

"I was bored," Sin said with a shrug. "So you guys do this a lot?"

"I can explain!" Buffy said quickly.

"No need. Roy told me. So you really are a superfreak!" Sin said with a grin. "Does your cop know?"

Buffy nodded, relieved she didn't have to explain. The secret identity thing never did sit well with her. "Yeah. He saw me dust some vamps in an alley. He took it quite well," she admitted.

"Sin! Come over here. She can't take us both!" Roy said with a grin.

"If you're going to be around us, you should know how to take care of yourself. We attract bad things," Buffy said with a rueful smile.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Sin replied with a smirk. She walked over toward her new friends.

Buffy watched them for a moment, smiling. It reminded her of her time with her friends long ago. She missed them. Grabbing her cell phone, she walked over to a secluded corner and called Xander.

"Hey, Buff. How's things?" Xander asked as he saw her name on the caller ID.

"Extremely well. Better than they've been in a long time," Buffy said. "But I suddenly missed your Xander-face!"

"It's bound to happen. My face is pretty miss-worthy," Xander said smugly. "So when are you moving on? Faith was complaining about not getting enough action lately. She's probably going to go find some trouble."

"You're going to have to be on Faith patrol. I'm busy here. Training the new slayer. Maybe busy falling in love," she admitted to her oldest friend. He was the first friend she'd made in high school at Sunnydale. His best friend Willow became her other best friend. They hadn't been anything like her friends in L.A. When she'd moved to Sunnydale, she'd made a conscious choice to distance herself from the shallow, boy-obsessed girl she'd been when she'd first become a slayer. It'd been the best decision she'd ever made. There weren't two more loyal friends on the planet.

"Love? Buffy's in love?" Xander said, a note of wonder in his voice. "So who's the guy? Will I like him? More importantly, will Andrew hate him?"

"He's a cop. His name is Quentin. He's a bit older than me with two grown daughters. Well, one died. The other doesn't really like me, but I'm dealing," she said. "Andrew will probably love him."

"A cop? Does he know about your special talents?" Xander asked.

"Yes. He hardly batted an eye. He's pretty wonderful," Buffy said. She heard a noise and looked behind her.

"I'm glad for you, Buffy. I can't wait to meet him," Xander said.

"How's the hellmouth? Anything coming up?" Buffy asked.

"It's going pretty good. With all the rotating slayers moving in and out, we've not had any trouble containing it. I'm getting tired of these Ohio winters, though," Xander said. A Californian native, snow was not his favorite thing.

"Well, come visit me soon. I've made some good friends I want you to meet," Buffy said. She heard the noise again. No one else was supposed to be in the club. She was instantly on guard. "I gotta go. Love you."

"Love you, too," Xander said.

Buffy hung up and slowly made her way to the back of the club. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a guy in green leather wearing a hood disappear in a door that led to the basement. Thea had told her the basement only contained extra storage space. Naturally, Buffy was immediately suspicious. Determined to find out what was going on, she moved to the door. However, she was stopped by a keypad. Why would a basement door have such security measures? And why hadn't she noticed it before? Why would the Hood be going down into the basement of a night club?

She went back to where Thea was at. When they paused to get a drink, she approached Thea. "So I was wondering why a door that leads to the basement has a locked keypad?" she asked.

Thea frowned, thinking. "Oh. After the quake and all the break-ins, Mr. Diggle worked on security. He didn't want anyone being able to break in through the basement. So even if they managed to get into the basement, they wouldn't be able to get into the club," she explained.

Buffy nodded. That made sense, but it still didn't explain why the city's masked vigilante was using her basement. Without alarming Thea, she walked back to the door. Looking for a good place to stake-out the basement, she sat and waited. Whoever was in that basement had to come out eventually. Buffy was determined to find out the man's identity.

*****To Be Continued*****

I hope you liked this! Reviews are appreciated.