Her move surprised the man in the hallway. He stepped back, hands automatically lifting over his head. Then his eyes widened and zeroed in on Chelsea's naked form…and the gun in her hand.
She was too wired to care about the visual examination. "Who are you and what the fuck do you want?"
"I…ah…" Appearing to shake himself back to awareness, the man finally uttered, "I'm Gary, the new super. I was doing a check with the tenants to see if you had any repairs you needed done? There should have been a notice in your mail." His hands hadn't dropped.
The mail. Feeling her head pound, Chelsea lowered her gun and straightened. "I haven't had time to check the mail, Gary." Trying to sound like she hadn't been seconds away from shooting him, Chelsea backed toward her apartment. "Nothing that needs fixing, though. I'll give you a call if that changes."
Gary slowly lowered his hands. "Sure. You do that." He continued to watch Chelsea closely. "You got a license for that thing?" A jerk of his head indicated her gun. "I mean, I know people want to feel safe, but isn't that against the law?"
Chelsea resisted the urge to turn the gun on herself at the question. "No, Gary. It's not illegal – if you have a license, or if you're a cop. My badge is inside." She waited for the news to sink in. "Sorry for the less than friendly welcome; I've had a rough few days." Stepping back inside, Chelsea began to close the door. "The next time you want to check on things, call. I check my messages before the mail."
The door closed with a loud thud, and Chelsea sagged against the cool surface. She had to get a grip. It might not be illegal for her to carry a weapon; that didn't mean she got a free pass to wave it around indiscriminately. She was letting the situation with Anshu really affect her. Pushing away from her resting place, Chelsea clicked on the safety and padded back to her bedroom. She paused inside the doorway to retrieve and don a long t-shirt – just in case the new super decided to make a return trip – and climbed back into bed. There were a couple of hours left until the alarm would go off, and she planned to take advantage of those.
***
"Huh?" Faith stared in open-mouthed shock at Nicole as she stumbled out of the elevator.
Lowering her voice in deference to the people milling around the lobby, Nicole said, "You heard me, Faith. How can you be so clueless? I mean, you must be the only one who doesn't know."
The words stung. Faith ground her teeth and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat. "I don't know what you're talking about, Junior. Since I'm so fucking clueless, why don't you fill me in?" Had she missed something with the prophecy? As she stalked toward the exit, Faith mentally tried to go over everything she knew.
Nicole let her stew until they were in the car and pulling into traffic. The extra time Nicole had given her to ponder the situation hadn't given Faith any answers. "You're great to work with, Faith," Nicole finally told her. The seemingly unrelated comment was soft. "You don't treat any of us like we're too stupid to get the job done and you don't just shove us out the door with a stake and a cheery 'see you in the morning.'"
Years of experience with Willow let Faith know there was a large 'but' coming. Sure enough, as she stopped the car at a red light…
"But I don't understand how you can't see it." Nicole turned in the seat as much as her seatbelt would allow and watched Faith for a reaction.
The only one Faith could give her was confusion. "Nic, I'm glad you and the Juniors don't feel left out." It was the one part of the conversation she'd managed to follow completely. "Me and B didn't have the same chance, ya' know? It was all about hitting the cemeteries or the warehouses and killing anything that moved. Not much in the way of learning or anything. Well," she tacked on with a grin, "Giles lectured a lot. Kind of like Willow…only less with the babble and more with the impatient sighs."
Her words drew an unexpected response from Nicole. "See? That's it!" the younger girl declared, finger pointing in Faith's direction.
See? See what? Faith glanced around the car and even examined the busy sidewalk as they drove along. "What's it, Junior?" Her irritation was back – and it was growing. "I ain't good at guessing games. Spill or let it drop," Faith growled.
"Willow." Nicole made the name sound like a grand announcement.
The car jerked as Faith hit the brake in surprise. "Red what? She isn't hiding in the back seat or something?" Ignoring the angry sounds of honking behind her, Faith craned her neck to peer over the seat.
"No, Faith. Willow didn't sneak out of the hotel." Was that a hint of laughter in Nicole's voice? Faith scowled and resumed driving as Nicole continued. "I was talking about the way Willow feels about you. Haven't you noticed that she watches you all the time? That she seems to care how you feel and that you're safe?"
"Sure, I have." Faith dodged a slower-moving car and accelerated for half a block until the traffic ground to a halt again. Her hands clenched around the steering wheel. God, she missed Sunnydale. They'd never had to fight this kind of congestion on the way to saving the world.
Her attention was dragged away from the stationary line of vehicles, when Nicole asked, "And?"
"And what?" Some of Faith's vexation with their slow pace crept out and her voice rose. "If you've got something to say, Nic, spit it out. I may not like what you got to say, but I'm gonna listen." She didn't have much choice since the only alternative was to get out of the car – although, that didn't sound like a bad idea at the moment. Faith knew she would be at Lake's door a lot sooner if she used a little Slayer foot speed.
Nicole's sigh filled the car. "You really don't have a clue. I didn't think that was possible… I mean, from the way some of the original Scoobies talk, you're some kind of man-eating woman with more notches on your bedpost than Don Juan."
Faith had reached her limit. Patience was one thing. This was another entirely. "Nic. Spit. It. Out. Now!"
"Willow's in love with you, Faith," Nicole divulged in a rush.
It was so unexpected that Faith didn't even laugh. At first. Then the chuckles started. Before long, her head was bowed until it nearly rested on the steering wheel as Faith roared in amusement. Willow – in love with her. When she finally caught her breath, she forced out, "No way, Junior. Me and Red, we get along now. Maybe we're friends." She broke off for a second as traffic moved sluggishly forward. "Maybe not. We got a lot of history to get past, though."
For an instant, as she talked, Faith remembered the feel of Willow's arms around her at the hotel, the look in her eyes as they'd discussed the paperwork, and Faith's lips turned up in a soft smile before she shook off the memory.
"Sorry, I must have gotten the signals wrong," Nicole said softly. She cleared her throat. "So you don't think there's any chance it might happen, though? You don't find Willow attractive?"
Faith's smile soured. "Ain't what I think that's important, Nic." Willow would have to be crazy to get anywhere near her. "All that baggage, remember? I did a lot of things to Willow. You can't just shrug that off." Peeling one hand off the wheel, she reached across the car and poked Nicole's shoulder. "Stop trying to play matchmaker, kid. We got more important things to worry about right now."
"Yeah, I'll do that." Nicole slumped against the passenger door and grimaced. "Like I have a lot of experience in relationships, anyway."
That sounded like a long talk waiting to happen. Faith glanced sideways at Nicole and considered her options. They didn't really have time for a heart to heart here. Despite the packed streets, they were closing in on Lake's apartment. "Tell you what, Nic. Soon as we get Lake someplace safe, we'll head for someplace private, grab some food, and you can tell me all about it. The Scoobs weren't wrong. I got lots of practice, and I'd be willing to share the wealth." Hoping that would be enough, Faith let her voice go brisk and back to business. "Right now, though, we gotta finish that plan I was talking about earlier. I think we're only a few blocks from Lake's place now."
***
At least, Chelsea thought, she was awake when the knocking started this time. Continuing to towel her hair dry, she picked up her gun and padded across her living room for the second time that morning. "Yeah? Who is it?" If it was Gary…
"Uh, Detective Lake? It's Nicole," a young, female voice announced from the hallway. "You and Detective Munch arrested me last night. I need to talk to you."
The kid outside the station? Chelsea tossed the towel onto the couch and reached for the deadbolt – and then stopped. How had a sixteen year-old girl found her (at her home) in New York? "I'm off duty," she stalled, thinking rapidly. "Why don't you call me at the station later today?" The safety clicked off on her weapon, and Chelsea slowly backpedaled away from the door. This warranted a call to Munch. And Olivia. It was time to bring her partner in on the situation.
Nicole didn't answer for a second. "Look. I know this isn't the best way to do this," she finally said. "Can you at least open the door? I have some information about…well, about some people I think are trying to kill you."
Chelsea had no intention of opening the door. None. She retrieved her cell phone from the kitchen counter.
It went right back down on the counter when the handle on her front door wiggled.
"Nicole…" Chelsea warned. "Go away. I'm not letting you in. Either stop by the station or call and talk to Detective Munch. He was the lead officer last night, and I'm sure he'd be happy to hear what you have to say." Her hands were slick against the handgrip as Chelsea braced her legs and raised her gun, sighting on the door. Tense and primed for action, Chelsea waited for Nicole's response.
It came…from a completely unexpected direction. "We can't do that, Detective."
The new voice came from behind Chelsea. She whipped around, finger dropping onto the trigger. There was no chance, however, to do anything more. The woman in Chelsea's apartment moved with unbelievable speed. One hand reached out and gripped Chelsea's right wrist, and it went numb. Despite her best intentions, Chelsea couldn't maintain her hold on the gun. It slipped from her uncooperative fingers – right into the woman's free hand.
"We ain't got time to play nice, Lake." The safety clicking back on was loud in the apartment. "I'm Faith, a friend of Nicole's. You need to sit down and listen to what we got to tell you." A finger pointed to the door. "After you let the kid in, though. I don't want her out in the hall while we talk."
Chelsea wasn't giving up that easily. Pretending to take a step toward the door, she hoped to put Faith off guard. One step. Two…Planting her right foot on the floor, Chelsea lashed backward with her left.
The kick never landed. Instead, Chelsea felt her ankle gripped tightly and held in position mere inches from Faith's stomach. "You done or we gonna throw down some more before you get the idea I can kick your ass anytime I want?" Her smirk set Chelsea's teeth on edge.
"Let me go," Chelsea gritted between her teeth. Her heart pounded. Were Faith and Nicole the people Anshu had warned her about? It was hard to think; her instincts were to run or fight, not talk or reason.
"Sure, Chief. Just make sure you let Nic inside before one of your neighbors gets suspicious and calls the cops. None of us need that right now." The hand holding Chelsea's ankle released, and Faith stepped back slightly.
With a tight nod, Chelsea turned and headed for the door. Her skin prickled. She could feel Faith watching her as she reached out, unlocked the deadbolt, and opened the door.