Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hyperion Hotel – Los Angeles – January 2005
'You seem in an unusually good mood' Illyria told Glory, sitting down next to her in the otherwise deserted dining room where the latter deity was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. Ben had liked the stuff and she suspected it had rubbed off when they were separated.
'I went to a club last night' Glory replied. 'Spent four hours at the bar with guys trying to pick me up' she said. 'Could have taken any man home I wanted, including the ones with girlfriends' she declared confidently.
'And did you?' Illyria asked.
'Don't be ridiculous' Glory replied. 'Humans are barely worthy to look at me, no touching allowed' she said.
'So you were there merely to confirm your narcissistic beliefs that you are exceptionally attractive?' Illyria queried. 'That does support the half-breed Harmony's contention that you are upset that the mercenary is her sexual partner not yours, and seek reassurance you have not "lost it".'
Glory growled slightly. 'If he thought he was going to get any from me sober he'd dump that stupid bitch in a second' she declared.
'I am glad you think so' Illyria replied. 'Your desire for worship, adoration and sycophantic devotion is far easier to stomach than the notion a fellow god is wallowing in self-pity' she said. 'As I have told you before, being whiny in front of the mortals is unbecoming.'
Glory took another sip of her hot chocolate. 'Where's Enyo?' she asked.
Illyria frowned. 'She is visiting her father at Wolfram Hart' she replied. 'I was not happy but did not refuse her permission to do so' the Old One told the Hellgod. 'Although sworn to my clan she is nonetheless tied to that of Berith also and her instincts are to retain as amiable a relationship with him as possible' she said. 'They are going to play tennis later, both ball and rackets as well as net have been specially enchanted for the purpose she told me.'
Glory raised her eyebrows. 'And Berith wants to see her?' she asked in surprise. 'Didn't she hold a scythe to his throat to keep him out of the way while you convinced Sebassis to end the Pylean War?'
'Both Enyo's aura and scent scream kinship at Berith as they do me' Illyria replied. 'I do not believe he has any other spawn and therefore would regard her as his heir despite her origins and allegiance' she said. 'Enyo told me that even with the scythe at his throat Berith was seemingly compelled to offer her sustenance and stroked her hair.'
'Yeah I've seen you do that to her too' Glory noted.
'Berith's clan and my own are very closely related, it is likely his groomed their young as mine did, it is hard to ignore genetically ingrained behaviour' Illyria said.
'So you don't think he'd hurt her?' Glory asked.
'Although my people would seek the overthrow of their progenitors, and to therefore place themselves in the position of head of the clan, this was only done in periods when the clan was not at war with another' Illyria answered. 'Jasmine's Crusade and the prospect of a Corporeal First Evil leads to another instinctual desire' she said, 'that to put aside petty internal family disputes and present a united front against those that are a threat to the entire bloodline not merely an individual.'
'Pack instinct' Glory observed. 'You're like wolves' she said, 'they compete for position, each hoping to be the alpha but they'll always unite against an external threat.'
Illyria nodded. 'If you had faced such an external threat at the time of your overthrow do you not think the other two members of your triumvirate would have united under your leadership to fight against it, instead of ousting you?' she asked.
Glory shrugged. 'You could be right' she admitted, 'too successful in wiping out my enemies I guess.'
'Unity within stems from a threat from without' Illyria replied, 'if unity is required and one does not exist it needs to be manufactured' she said.
'I'll keep that in mind when I get my dimension back' Glory told her. Illyria herself would fit the description of external threat very nicely she decided, get the plebs all worked up preparing ready to fight a possible invasion by the blue-haired megalomaniac and then sit back and relax whilst anyone that criticised her gets accused of being unpatriotic.
The God-King was pleased that Glory was accepting her sage advice. Once all other foes were vanquished she would portray the Hellgod and her restored realm as a threat and use it to keep the mob in line, anybody that complained about Illyria's rule would be denounced as a traitor or a fool. 'You are not interested in accompanying the slayer forces to Jasmine's former world?' she asked. 'It is doubtful the atmosphere would harm you.'
'It's not my lungs I'm worried about it's my hair' Glory replied. 'Did you see what it did to those vampires?' she asked rhetorically. 'Drusilla went frizzy, totally ruined her look.'
Illyria blinked. 'Your priorities are so misplaced I am amazed you ever became the most powerful being in your world' she stated.
'If I had hair as lifeless as yours I wouldn't give a crap about it either' Glory replied. 'Maybe that's the reason your boy-toy decided to run his fingers through another girls locks' she suggested sweetly.
Illyria narrowed her eyes and stood up. 'Training room, now!' she ordered
'Sometimes it's worth the beating' Glory replied, finishing her hot-chocolate.
Shadow Valley – California – January 2005
'Force it, you tea-drinking Limey wimp' Kennedy snarled. 'If you don't finish that set I'll tell Giles I want to keep Andrew as my watcher' she vowed as Stephen gritted his teeth and forced himself to pump out the last lift in a punishing routine with free weights. No pain no gain he thought.
'Sonofabitch' Stephen gasped as he lowered the bar again, Kennedy taking it from him barely registering the amount of weight on it. He was in pretty good shape but she was a slayer and could have lifted both him and the barbell he was pressing one-handed without too much effort.
'Do you have to talk to my boyfriend like that?' Emily asked. She was spending every moment she could in his company, he was leaving for Cleveland again tomorrow and she hated it. Having him here for a couple of weeks had been wonderful.
'The stronger and fitter he is the more likely it is he'll live' Kennedy replied, putting down the barbell. 'You should hear what he says to me and the girls when we slack off in training' she added.
Still breathing heavily Stephen picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from his face. 'I'm more creative in my calculated insults' he declared, 'and Andrew as your watcher? I'd have never bought that' he said, 'threats need to be plausible to be worthwhile' he advised. 'I'm going to the pool' he announced.
'I'm going to do five miles on the treadmill then see Willow for lunch' Kennedy told him.
'I'll get my bathing costume and join you' Emily told him.
'Wear a skimpy one' Kennedy advised, 'he'll do another ten lengths of the pool if he has to burn off all that extra energy' she joked.
Emily blushed then smiled. 'I'm expecting twelve at least' she said. 'See you at the pool Stephen' she said, 'I'd kiss you but you're sweaty' she added.
The watcher watched her disappear with a smile plastered across his face. 'Cradle-snatcher' Kennedy told him with a grin.
'Dyke' Stephen retorted before grinning himself. 'I told Giles I'd teach another advanced sword-play class this afternoon, want to be my assistant?' he asked.
'And get poked by bamboo sticks for two hours, no thanks' Kennedy replied. 'You just want to show off in front of the new girls who've never seen the legendary D'Artagnan in action anyway' she said.
Stephen grinned. 'Legendary?' he asked.
'Thinking about it, mildly well known and occasionally mentioned in passing would be closer to the truth' Kennedy replied. 'Hey you're getting looked at anyhow' she whispered. 'Of course you're the only guy in here and you're not completely ugly, so I guess that's understandable' she said, looking around. It was a large gym and quite a few of the girls had been checking him out.
'Ugly?' Stephen asked. 'If you weren't into girls you'd be looking too' he said confidently.
'You're not Brad Pitt sword-boy' Kennedy retorted, 'face it, you're not even Xander' she continued in amusement.
'I make up for it with devastating charm' Stephen replied deadpan. 'And I'm at least Xander' he protested.
'Nah' Kennedy told him honestly shaking her head with a smirk.
Stephen sighed. 'I'd retort in kind but I'm a gentleman' he said.
'And besides which I'm a total babe' Kennedy added.
'You're not Kate Beckinsale scythe-girl, Stephen replied, 'face it you're not even Willow' he told her.
'Some gentleman' Kennedy responded.
'Momentary slip' Stephen told her.
Kennedy crossed her arms and turned to the other girls in the gym. 'Watcher going cheap' she announced, 'low mileage, one careful owner' she continued. 'Make me an offer.'
'Is he house broken?' one of the girls called back, playing along.
'Yeah but he still leaves the toilet seat up sometimes' Kennedy replied.
'Let me know who makes the highest bid' Stephen announced, 'I'll be in the pool if my new slayer wants to collect me' he said.
'Comes with his own longsword and a sports car' Kennedy advertised. 'Good accent for taking phone messages from your parents and you'll never need to polish your own sword again.'
'Oh I wish I lived in the old days when watchers used to beat their slayers and potentials with sticks for disobedience and back-chat, not just during fencing practice' Stephen complained tongue-in-cheek as he walked away.
Kennedy frowned. 'He's not completely broken in' she admitted, 'I'll knock a few bucks off for that' she said. 'Oh yeah and Watcherette has first claim to him during vacation time' she noted, 'and you'd better not mind him talking sappy to her on the phone all the time' she added.
Idly wondering what the going rate for a watcher was in the current market Stephen left the gym and was almost knocked flying by a girl hurrying across his path, face down reading the top sheet of a pile of papers. 'Careful there Caroline' he told her, the slayer stopping and looking up.
'Oh sorry Stephen' she said. 'First meeting of the Advisory Council starts in ten minutes and I was trying to make sure I was up to date with field reports before I got there' she said.
'Congratulations on getting elected' Stephen told her. 'I'd shake your hand but I was just working out' he said. 'Second highest number of votes I hear' he added.
'Distant second' Caroline admitted, 'Rebecca put more time into campaigning than I did and she talks better in public' the slayer freely admitted.
Stephen smiled, he felt some affinity for the girls he had first met when they were only potentials and a post-activation Caroline had nearly died fighting the Turok'Han on the same night Glory had reappeared and almost killed Buffy. Ending up on a life-support machine her slayer-healing ensured a full recovery though and she was back in time to help close the hellmouth not long after. 'You raked in more votes than anyone without divine intervention on their side' Stephen told her with a wink. Almost dying for the cause gave you major kudos in slayer circles, as did being one of Buffy's Sunnydale veterans, so Caroline did have a couple of advantages others who had run for the Advisory Council might think were slightly unfair, but she wasn't part god at least.
Smiling back Caroline checked her watch. 'Got to go, can't be late to the first meeting' she said hurrying off.
'Good luck and congratulations again' Stephen called after her, resuming his own course towards the pool.
'Thanks D'Artagnan' she called back.
Stephen grinned, it was surprising how much an initially despised nickname could grow on you and it was almost universal now, it was meant affectionately and he liked being part of a greater whole. He could have done well without being called an honorary girl quite as often though he thought, grin replaced with a dejected frown, the now widespread knowledge that like Robin Wood and Wesley Wyndham-Pryce he was a carrier of the slayer gene had not helped there he decided.
Getting ordered out of the pool later by Rona for blatantly and incessantly making out with Emily in there while the slayer was trying to teach a class for those girls who couldn't swim was far more embarrassing than any nickname.
Wolfram and Hart Fitness Centre – Los Angeles – January 2005
An audience had rapidly built up as soon as word got around, and the two rows of seats that surrounded the indoor tennis court were full of Wolfram and Hart employees.
Berith loosened his grip on his racket and rolled his wrist, he couldn't afford the embarrassment of not returning this, although losing overall Enyo had aced two serves in the last game.
At the other end of the court the God-Princess of the Holocene bounced the ball on her racket twice then smiled, anyone that knew her mother Illyria would have recognised the expression as she gently threw the ball into the air and jumping up a fraction of the height she could delivered a barely subsonic serve which slashed through the air.
By mutual agreement they weren't manipulating time which meant that only his normal speed and reflexes were available to the Lord of the Covenant as Berith moved to return the serve which this time he did with gusto beginning a long rally game with both of them demonstrating just how quick they really were, and in Enyo's case both how flexible she was and that the patch of light blue skin on her thighs went all the up as she darted around the court in a short pleated tennis skirt.
Berith eventually won the point with a backhand smash which would have potentially blown a hole in a wall, or one of the spectators, if not for a "thicken" spell cast around the court by one of the company's junior warlocks he had drafted in as a line judge.
'I make that game and set' Berith announced happily as the people gathered around applauded, some because it genuinely had been an impressive and many because he was the boss and they were kissing up. The shell had been a keen tennis player but the lack of anyone to play with that could possibly be a test of his abilities had meant he hadn't been able to find out if the game was as much fun as the sparks of memories indicated.
Enyo nodded her head. 'Well done, father' she responded. 'I will concede at this point if you wish' she offered. 'You are a far superior player' she noted. 'Though I would like to see you do a gymnastic display' she added with a smile. 'I need to teleport to Shadow Valley soon in any case' she said.
'Timne for one more game?' Berith asked, then wandered over to the spectators, eyes fixed on a lawyer from the entertainment division in an expensive flashy suit. 'If she does and you can't watch the game instead of looking up the girls' skirt at every opportunity' he told the man, 'leave because if I see you do it again I'm going to stick the wide end of this racket up your ass' he said seriously.
'I've got a meeting' the lawyer said quickly, checking his watch before tearing away.
'That goes for the rest of you who were being less blatant about it too' Berith added.
Before the next game could start some commotion outside the double doors that led to the court was explained by them being slammed open and a struggling security guard came in being held in an arm-lock behind his back by a furious looking vampire slayer.
Another guard already in the hall reached for the handgun holstered at his hip but before it cleared the holster another gun was aimed right between his eyes as the unshaven man in the brown leather jacket who had been following the slayer effortlessly outdrew him from a shoulder holster. 'Don't' Wesley warned, 'I mean it' he added seriously, pulling back the hammer with his thumb.
Faith pushed the guard away she had been holding and directed at angry glare and an accusing finger at Enyo. 'What the hell do you mean coming here?' she asked.
'Mom!' Enyo exclaimed, looking around at everyone. 'You're embarrassing me' she said.
'Embarrassing you?!' Faith retorted. 'Do you know how humiliating it was being told by Glory, I mean fucking Glory, where you were?' she asked angrily. 'You said you were going to the mall today.'
'I did go to the mall' Enyo replied. 'I needed the tennis outfit' she said, indicating her clothes.
'Don't talk back to me like that Missy' Faith replied.
'Hey who the hell are you to barge in here and start ordering my hellspawn around' Berith asked, dropping his racket and walking towards Faith. 'And you can stop pointing that gun at one of my employees too' he told Wesley.
'Aw crap' Enyo moaned as things escalated. 'Look I'm a grown-up and I don't need to tell you what I'm doing like a child' she told Faith.
'You told Illyria where you were going' Faith responded indignantly.
'I had to she would have sensed Father's aura on me afterwards and she's the head of my clan so I had to ask her permission before meeting the head of another' Enyo replied. 'there are proper codes of conduct for my people' she explained.
'Take your hand off the gun and I'll holster mine' Wesley told the security guard who complied. 'You can't go to a Wolfram and Hart facility alone, it's dangerous' Wesley told Enyo as he put away his automatic.
'For pities sake Dad I'm a fucking goddess' Enyo responded, rolling her eyes. 'You and Mom are in more danger being here together than I was on my own' she said.
'Watch your language' Faith told her hypocritically.
'Perhaps we need to establish visitation rights?' a familiar and sweetly sarcastic voice suggested from behind Wesley.
'Lilah' Wesley responded, turning towards her.
'Quite the soap opera we have going here' Lilah observed, walking into the hall gaining a nod of acknowledgement from Berith who considered her his most valued member of staff by far. 'Two deities involved' she said, 'no three including Illyria' she noted, 'I guess you could call it "Eons of our Lives".'
Faith redirected her glare towards the newcomer. 'Family business, not your concern' she said coldly.
'Ah but I am a character in this little drama' Lilah responded, 'the spurned former lover' she pointed out, reaching out to gently touch Wesley's shoulder. 'Though since he seems to have given up any pretence of monogamy maybe I could become part of his harem again?' she continued. 'No wait, I've got too much dignity to share his bed' she continued, if not necessarily his thoughts she added sadly to herself.
'This is so embarrassing' Enyo moaned, not being able to teleport very well was as nothing compared to this kind of indignity.
'Get off my property' Berith thundered territorially at Wesley and Faith.
'This is company property not your personal fiefdom' yet another voice interjected.
'Oh yeah, that's what I needed' Berith said shaking his head, 'you can take a hike Hamilton' he told the representative to the Senior Partners.
'A slayer, a watcher and a deity allied to a force hostile to this organisation being on our property is my business' Hamilton responded striding past Lilah knocking her shoulder slightly as he did so. Lilah was about to give him a mouth of invective when to her surprise Wesley rounded on him.
'I know you're strong but unless you're bullet-proof you'll apologise to the lady immediately' Wesley told Hamilton sternly.
'You're very protective of your cast-offs aren't you' the taller, more muscular and inordinately stronger Hamilton told the scruffy watcher. 'First you save her from those Ninja's and now you're ready to commit suicide for her' he said with a smirk.
Faith slowly turned around. 'Back off, Frankenstein' she told Hamilton menacingly.
'This is much better than watching the tennis, anyone got any popcorn?' one of the many employees still sitting in the stands said too loudly for his own good. 'Oh balls' he added nervously as two demon gods, a slayer with a criminal conviction for murder, a watcher of known psychopathic tendencies, a reanimated dead lawyer of legendary ruthlessness and a Child of the Senior Partners all simultaneously turned and delivered looks of varying hostility at him.
Apparently his last company annual evaluation report was right, he thought, he really didn't have much of a future at wolfram Hart and it looked likely he'd just burned his bridges with the main competitor too... maybe Twilight was hiring he hoped.
Shadow Valley – California – January 2005
Giles sat up in his chair and raised his eyebrows. 'I must confess' he said. 'I had thought you'd welcome a return to retirement' he told the older watcher sat across the desk from him.
Stirling sighed. 'Frankly I hated it with a passion before I returned to duty' he said, 'and now after getting back into the game the idea of spending my remaining days on a bowling green or a golf course makes my blood run cold' he told Giles. 'For one thing my handicap can only go up from here' he joked. 'I realise I'm too damn old to be a field man' he admitted, some days on Pylea he hadn't wanted to get out of bed, 'but I can still teach the girls things they're going to need to know' he said.
Giles nodded. 'Well I must admit you have several decades more experience than I do and I'm usually cast in the role of the patriarch around here' he said.
'You're welcome to the role' Stirling told him, 'I never got involved in the theory side of things anyway, I was just shown a picture of something nasty and sent out with my boys to ventilate its brains' he said. 'I'm glad you and Miss Summers decided to resurrect the Council's Special Operations Team' he said. 'Having seen him in action Corporal Ashton will do the job very well' he opined, 'just the right mix of lunacy and testicular fortitude.'
Giles chuckled. 'Is that how you would have described yourself during your own lengthy stint running the team?' he asked.
'Nothing wrong with a touch of insanity backed up by plenty of balls young Rupert' Stirling told him. 'I'm too old to be running around fighting vampires and demons but for a while there in Pylea it was like the glory days of the fifties and sixties before the Council started to gradually retire the generation that fought in the war from active service' he said. 'After facing down the Waffen SS demons didn't seem quite as scary, they might have teeth and claws but for sheer ferocity, and inventive murderous intent, nothing beats our species' he declared. 'You should have seen the girls in action' he said, 'I never thought I'd see the day when demons would break and run like scared rabbits but by the end of the Pylean campaign they were doing it merely because of Vi's hellions sheer reputation.'
'Slayers have always been the thing the darkness has nightmares about' Giles replied. 'Vampires often fled rather than fight Buffy.'
'It's not the same' Stirling told him. 'In any case, as I said I'm offering my continued services to the cause, teaching in a classroom or on a parade ground isn't quite as invigorating as getting ones own hands dirty, but it beats mouldering away in a retirement home or the like' he said with distaste 'those places are closer to my idea of hell than anything Wolfram Hart can envision.'
'For my part as Head of the Council I'm more than happy to retain you on the active list as long as you feel you wish to be but as for a teaching position Robin Wood is the Headmaster, or should I say Principal, of this Academy so you'll need to talk to him too' Giles advised.
'Of course' Stirling concurred 'if we go around violating the proper chain of command willy-nilly we're on the road to anarchy' he said. 'I'll talk to the boy later today' he told Giles, 'oh there was another thing' he continued, 'I've been giving the tale we learned via Jasmine's Priest chappie some thought and I think I've found an parallel that matches up nicely' he said. 'How much do you know about Muhammad Ahmad?' he asked. 'You might know him better as the Mahdi' he added.
'Not much I'm afraid' Giles admitted.
'Ah well I'm sure imperial history was more prevalent in the curriculum during my school days than yours' Stirling responded reasonably. 'Back in the Sudan in the 1880's Muhammad Ahmad was a religious leader and mystic who managed to unite the tribes in a Holy War against the foreign powers controlling the Sudan, specifically the Ottoman-Egyptians who had some ties with Britain' he said. 'He declared himself the prophesied "Mahdi" or saviour and said he was sent to prepare the land for the Second Coming of the Prophet Isa.'
'Jesus' Giles noted. The Muslims didn't believe Jesus was actually the son of God but they did believe he was a prophet sent by him and that he would return to Earth one day to defeat the false messiah, or the Antichrist as Christians called him. The bug Prophet was preparing the way for Jasmine's return too, which made Illyria's notion that she was being cast in the role of the Anti-Jasmine resonate even more.
Stirling nodded. 'The Mahdi was very successful and the fanaticism of his forces made them greatly feared' he said. 'Even after his death in 1885 the religious state he began continued and they invaded several of their neighbours' he said, 'they weren't finally crushed until 1898 when a British Army under Kitchener demonstrated that fervent faith backed by swords, spears and a few old rifles wasn't a match for a modern professional army carrying repeating rifles and backed by cannon and machineguns' he said.
'Kitchener in the Sudan!' Giles exclaimed. 'The Fuzzy Wuzzies' he said.
'Somehow I guessed you'd make that association' Stirling remarked. 'They don't like the cold steel' he said expecting a response.
'They don't like it up 'em' Giles responded breaking out into laughter. 'So as the oldest of us does that make you Lance Corporal Jones? He asked.
'I was in the real arm during the war as you now, though my father was in the Home Guard as it happens, so to me Dad's Army was a very appropriate name for the series' Stirling replied. 'He was an officer of course, though not like Captain Mainwearing I would hope.'
Giles chuckled. 'So do you think we should popularise the use of "Mahdi" as the unofficial name for this supposed demon prophet?' he asked.
The old watcher smiled. 'Perhaps we could collectively call them the Buggy-Wuggies too' he suggested. 'Vi would appreciate the reference at least' he said, 'I got her a book of the collected poems of Rudyard Kipling for Christmas, they were highly quotable in Pylea, good verse for a soldier.'
'Sorry I'm afraid I only have passing familiarity with Kipling' Giles admitted.
Stirling closed his eyes and began to recite part of a poem,
'So 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan
You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;
An' 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air—
You big black boundin' beggar—for you broke a British square!'
'Broke a British square?' Giles queried.
'Battles of Tamai and Abu Klea during the first British expedition to the Sudan in 1884-85 to try and relieve Gordon at Khartoum' Stirling replied, 'the Sudanese tribesmen managed to break formed up squares of British Infantry, almost completely unheard of, even against other well-equipped European Armies' he explained. 'They were willing to die for the cause in such numbers they overwhelmed massed ranks of riflemen, that's why Kitchener's second expedition over a decade later bought Maxim Guns and Field Artillery along.'
Giles frowned. 'One hopes we're taking the lesson there to heart' he said.
'If its mortars versus martyrs bet on the mortars, but bring along plenty of ammunition because you definitely don't want to run out of bombs before they run out of guts or belief' Stirling noted.
An increasingly loud noise outside started to penetrate the building and Giles turned to look out of his office window. 'I think the new helicopter is arriving' he said.
Stirling watched as the aircraft flew in low over the sounding vineyard and smoothly landed on the concrete helicopter pad which Xander had prepared for it. 'Did Miss Summers approve that paint job?' he asked as the jet turbine that drove the rotor-blades was shut down.
'The matt black and the SlayerCorp Logo on the side yes but I think the crossed scythes on the nose were someone else's idea' Giles responded.
A couple of offices further along the corridor Vi waited until the helicopter engines had completely shut down before picking up the telephone on her desk and hitting number 4 on the speed-dial. 'Hi is that Emil?' she asked, 'Its Vi, the Huey has arrived can you order those rocket pods Wesley talked to you about before?' she asked, 'and the miniguns' she added. 'Thanks a lot, glad you liked the Christmas card' she added before hanging up.
Vi looked out of the window a gleeful expression on her face. 'First of the Ninth, Portal Cav' she said. 'Dimension mobile.'
Buffy's suspicions as to who asked for the crossed scythes on the nose of the helicopter were confirmed in her mind by the large number of gunslayers going around humming Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries for the next week or so.
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