Chapter 24: The Best There Is

Covers blown, Xander thought. Get out now.

What? The thought came into Xander's mind. The exact thought that he didn't want there. Tell Monet to get your asses out of there. Do it now! Xander was practically screaming in his head. He kept it off his face though.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Xander said, leaning back. He carefully looked around. Despite their body armor, there was no way that Robin or Faith could make a move and not get shot and killed. Neither could he for that matter. "I mean, I used that name before, but you know how it is. Names are like women. They're only good for a couple of days before they get old."

Hector grinned. "Very amusing. But, you really do need to keep better track of your people. I suppose I should be flattered. The Council decides to send some of their best people to come see me."

"I don't suppose you're going to at least tell me who sold me out?" Xander smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. He had a feeling that he wasn't on the list of best people though.

Hector returned the favor. "No. Take them."

Xander felt the pain burst in the back of his head, then all went black.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Uh, Xander says that they've been blown." Kurt said, shaken. "He says that we should get out now."

Monet started the car without a word. She pulled out fast, making their getaway. After a block, she knew that nobody was following. A small stroke of luck. She made her way back to their motel. She didn't want to leave Xander behind. Nor the others. But, sometimes they all had to do the things they hated. Orders were orders.

"Did he say anything else?" Monet said, as she got out of her car. She pulled the guns that she had placed inside the car back in her bag, making sure nobody saw her do it. She slung it over her shoulder and walked to motel, going in through the front door. "Well?"

Kurt hurried to follow her. He was still playing catchup and still hadn't gotten over the deal getting blown so quickly. "Nothing. He didn't have anything else. I felt him go unconscious. Then the others."

Monet stopped and looked back at him. "Are they dead?"

Kurt met her eye contact. "I…I don't know."

Monet exhaled, and turned back around heading to the room. Up the stairs to the second floor. She used the short walk to gather herself. She'd never been in a command position, amongst Xander's team or the Council's. But, she was in one now.

Monet opened the door to their motel and walked to the beds, placing her bag on one and sitting on the other. Kurt walked in behind and closed the door. He took a seat at the table, forearms on his knees. His head hanging between his shoulders. "What do we do now?"

"Plan B." Monet pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. "X's been blown. We need you to come in and work up an extraction."

"What was that?" Kurt looked at her quizzically. "Nobody from the Council came down with us."

"Of course not." Monet got up and walked to the table. She unfolded the map that still lay there from earlier. "Xander doesn't trust people he doesn't know. That's why he didn't fill everyone on the Council in on the whole plan."

"But, he told you." Kurt said. A statement more than a question.

She looked up. "He trusts me."

Monet walked to the window and picked up Xander's shoulder bag. She unzipped the front pocket and pulled out a small vial. "I'm going to need you to find them if they're moved."

"With what?" Kurt said, still looking down. "We need something of theirs in order to work a tracking spell."

Monet rolled her eyes, and walked to him. She placed the small vial onto the table. "Like I said. Xander didn't tell you everything. Now get your stuff together."

Kurt picked up the vial. It was filled with red fluid. "This is?"

"Xander's blood." Monet said. "Now get to work."

Kurt went to get his own bag. He had prepared a small magical kit in Cleveland. It was his standard go bag for field work. Candles, potions, and enough magical ingredients to come up with some pretty good invocations on the fly. It hadn't seen much use though. He walked to the closet and picked up his bag as he heard a knock at the door. He went to get it, but Monet rushed past him, opening the door.

A grim faced black man in his forties stood there. Monet let him in, as well as the two men with him.

"What do you have?" Scott Ryan, said as the door was closed.

"Xander went in with Faith and Robin." Monet walked them to the main part of the room. She ignored the puzzled look on the wizard's face. "He managed to tell us that his cover's been blown. Then he went dark. Do you have someone still there?"

"Yeah. Reacher's still covering the area." Scott said. "But, if there's an underground exit, then they could be moved without us knowing it."

"Okay. Kurt's our wizard. He'll be working a tracking spell that'll tell us if he's moved."

"The transmitter?"

"It won't go operational for another two hours." Monet knew that Xander had had a temporary GPS transmitter implanted for the mission. However, as a precaution once it was turned on, it would stay passive for four hours. To prevent detection. It would only activate after the time period was up. She thought it was kind of dumb now. Xander could overthink things sometimes. She knew that it was because he was scared. Scared of losing any of them. He could take too much responsibility sometimes. "I don't think we have the time."

"Uh, who are they?" Kurt asked, sitting back down in his spot at the table.

The men looked at him.

"Ryan." Said Scott. He pointed at the sandy haired man that had taken a seat on one of the beds. "Ellison."

Scott pointed at the man that had taken up a place on the other bed. "Browning."

He walked up to the table. "Now work your mojo, son. Morales didn't have many guys at that bar. If he's moving them, then they're just going to get harder to get to."

Kurt bent down and prepared the ingredients. He poured the blood into a mortar and added a few herbs. He ground it with a pestle until it had been worked into a fine paste. A match was dropped in and it made the mixture flare with a plume of purple smoke. It was a lot more theatrical than most magic, but it was still pretty effective.

Monet watched as he looked at the remains. It had turn into a fine, but still gritty, powder. Kurt poured it into one hand and blew it onto the map. A fine red cloud hovered over the map and slowly descended. Small particles coalescing into thin lines. A single blot of powder moving slowly on the map. Pinpointing Xander's location.

"I got 'em." Kurt exclaimed. "Come on. I got them."

Monet and Scott huddled over the small table. The former Delta moved back and got on his phone, placing a call to one of the men he had covering the area.

Monet slapped Kurt on the back. "Good job. Now get ready."

"I'm coming with you?" Kurt said, a bit surprised by the praise and the notion that he would be coming with them into a potentially violent situation.

"You found them, didn't you?" Monet grinned at him. "C'mon we need to plan this thing."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xander groaned. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He opened his eyes carefully, barely making out the bars to the cell he was in through the blur. He tried to get up, but fell back onto his back. His ribs ached. He had a pretty good idea that somebody had kicked him a couple times when he had been out. At least nothing was broken.

"Crap." Xander heard Faith say. "You look like hell."

Xander got to his feet, leaning against the stone wall of the cell. He coughed. "I'm surprised you could tell the difference."

He walked forward and looked at Faith in the cell opposite. She had manacles on. And was chained to the back wall through a thick metal link. Clearly, Morales had been prepared for slayers. Either he had anticipated him bringing a slayer early enough to get them, or he was used to dealing with the supernaturally empowered girls. Dealing with them and holding them.

"Where's Robin?" Xander stretched, trying to loosen up. He figured he'd been unconscious for a couple of hours. It was probably still daylight. He dropped the cover names. While the Council may not have protected the true identities of their own people, he had been especially careful. It was pointless now. He made a mental note to find the person that had ratted them out and feed him to a lawnmower.

"Right here." Robin's voice could be heard from the next cell over.

"You guys okay?" Xander said. He started looking around. It was dirty. An old and well-used mat was on the floor. The only furniture in his cell. He could see stains on it. Blood and other bodily fluids. He imagined what type of events went on in the cells. He wished he hadn't. He had to get them out of there. Faith especially. He grimaced at that thought. A bit patronizing, but he couldn't help it. He wondered when he started thinking that she needed protecting. And when he started to consider her as one of his.

He heard Robin's affirmative and saw Faith nod. Anybody there? Xander thought. There was nothing. Whatever had happened, Kurt wasn't in the area to listen in. At least the wizard had followed his instructions. He hoped.

"Faith." Xander called, he tried looking down the hall to the left, pushing as far out the bars as he could. Didn't feel too good. "Any ideas how to get out of here?"

She rattled her chains. She certainly didn't look amused. "Damn chains are too strong. This bastard was ready for us."

Xander started to try the other side, but stopped before he pushed too hard. It wasn't like he would be able to see anything with his glass eye. "You see why I'm so careful now?"

"Damn it, X!" Faith exclaimed. "Now's not the time for another of your lectures."

"Yeah. I know." Xander heard a door at the far end of the hall open. He pulled back and stood in the center of the cell, waiting for whoever was coming to see them. He wondered if it was to gloat. Too many comic books, he thought.

It was Morales. Sans bodyguards. An interesting development. "Well. Mr. Harris. I see you're awake."

"Yeah." Xander replied. "You here to question us?"

Hector shook his head. "Of course not. That would be messy. Besides, bruises bring down the price. I'd rather just sell you."

"So why come down here?"

"To see you." Hector replied. "You were playing your part very well. I must commend you on that."

"Yeah. Well, not exactly my best role. I play a mean Snake Plissken." Xander stared at him. "How about you tell me who was responsible?"

"Where would be the fun in that?"

"So what then?" Xander said, flippantly. He relaxed his arms. "Am I in time for the continental breakfast? I'm partial to donuts."

Hector smiled. "Always, the jokester. Or so I've been told."

"Big man now aren't you? No guys with you." Xander snorted. "And now you're here to gloat."

Hector smiled wider and took a step forward. "I do not need my men to face you, Mr. Harris. I am not some little vampire or demon that quakes in fear at hearing that the Watchers' Council has come for him. Do you think I'm scared of you?"

Xander quickly shuffled forward, his right arm extended through the bars. Morales skipped back, eyes wide.

"I think you are." Xander said. He kept his arm extended and bared his teeth. "Cause I'm real damn scary."

Hector moved forward, just out of reach of Xander's arm, recovering well. He let Xander's fingertips nearly touch his chest. He merely smiled and cocked his head to the side.

Xander jerked his hand up, a small thin bone shot out of the underside of his forearm, spotted with blood. The dirty white spike stuck itself into Hector's neck at an angle. "Get the point, bub?"

Hector only gurgled blood in response. Surprise apparent on the dying man's face.

Xander carefully tipped the man forward a bit, and then pulled the spike back, letting Hector fall to the ground in front of him. He pulled his arm back through the bars carefully and wiped the spike on his shirt. Making sure that it was clean before retracting it back into his arm. Couldn't be too careful these days. The exit point was still bleeding though. He carefully grabbed the dead man's shirt with his left hand and pulled him towards the bars. He went through Hector's pockets, finding the keys. Xander opened the door to the cell and bent down, ripping a strip from Hector's shirt and binding his forearm.

"What the hell was that?" Faith said, finding her ability to speak again after she saw Xander kill their captor.

Xander unlocked the door to her cell and walked in. He flipped through the keys, trying a couple until he found the one that unlocked the manacles. He walked back out after unlocking the bands and bent down to search the body while Faith rubbed her wrists. He found the revolver Hector had previously carried and checked it. Six shots. Better than nothing. Barely.

"Upgrade. Dr. Moreau had a special." Xander walked over and unlocked Robin's cell. "Now, c'mon. We gotta get outta here."

Xander walked carefully to the door that Hector had came in from. There wasn't a window in it so he couldn't tell what was outside. Pity. He looked back at Faith. "I don't suppose you can hear anything outside?"

Faith shook her head while Robin came up to him. "What's with the skewer?"

Xander looked at him. The watcher had a serious look on his face. He spoke softly. "Flesh mechanic in Indio. I helped him out once. He set me up with an improvement. Polgaran bone spike. No ejection port though. So I try not to pop it for everyone. You should consider yourself lucky."

Faith came up to them. "I don't hear anybody. Smells like we're in a junkyard or something. Metal and rust. Oil. I don't think anybody's that close."

"Okay. Stay inside till I tell you." Xander carefully opened the door and slipped outside in a crouch. He carefully covered the area, but couldn't see anybody. "C'mon, it's clear."

Robin and Faith followed him while Xander made his way forward. It was still daylight and the heat made things blurry. They were in a junkyard, and all around them were piles of old cars and parts. He carefully walked ahead, looking for a way out.

"He probably has a car stashed around here. Probably our best way out." Xander heard voices and crouched behind a partially dismantled sedan. The others bent down next to him. "Quiet."

They watched as a few of the men from the bar walked past. The thug in front was the same one that had led them to Morales. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was the one that had laid into him after he had went down earlier. "That blonde chica is so fine. Chicken head would look real good when she's on her knees."

The others laughed. The smallest of the four snorted. "Yeah right. She'd rip you in half, ese."

Xander waited until they past by the car. He wondered when that had become Mexican slang. Or maybe it had always been. Despite living in California, he hadn't been up on gangland linguistics. The thugs were likely on their way to the cells that held them. He waved his hand down to let Robin and Faith know to stay there and to keep their heads under cover. He let Morales' men get a bit further then slipped around the car, making sure that he was still behind cover himself.

He drew a bead on the largest of the men and fired, the bullet connecting with the head. His target fell, but Xander barely paid it any notice. He had already targeted his second and fired again. Another body fell, head shot. The only free ones. The others moved, the smart one going for cover. The stupid one crouched and went for his own gun. Xander fired quickly twice, taking the dumb one in the chest.

He ran quickly forward, diving to his right against another rusted hulk as he heard the return fire hit the ground he had just passed through. He was paying full price for this one. And only two shots left. Time for something stupid.

"Come on out." Xander shouted. "Don't make me come after you."

"Screw you." The man fired at him again. It was the smaller one that had snorted earlier.

Xander wished he had worked up some type of plan for Faith and Robin. Hadn't been time for that unfortunately. "Bitch. You're just making me angry. I don't think you want that."

He moved to the corner of the car and looked for a way out. He saw the dead bodies. And no cover between him and the remaining shooters. No real cover anyway. Time for something really stupid. He fired once, just to keep the other guy honest and ran forward, heading for the closest dead body. He fired again, dropping the gun and diving behind the bleeding corpse, pulling it up in front of him. Good thing the guy was so big, thought Xander. He pulled a gun from the dead man's waistband. Large caliber handgun.

He felt a tremor go through the body as bullets started to hit his cover. It wouldn't last for that long. Man, Xander thought. He was probably going to get shot again.

Xander got ready to return fire when he heard a three round burst of automatic gunfire. It sounded like an AK47. Not exactly standard gangland fare. He peeked over and saw the last thug, dead. Slumped against the pile of engine blocks he had ducked behind.

"Clear." Xander heard a voice call out. It was echoed by the same word spoken from other parts of the junkyard. He saw a man dressed in a black uniform walk up, masked. From the size, he guessed it was Scott.

Xander shouted. "Sapphire."

"Emerald." Came the response. It was the second half of their recognition code. So it was one of Scott's men at least.

Xander stood up, still carrying the gun. "Thanks for the rescue."

"No problem." The man pulled off his mask. It was Scott. Two others walked came closer to the group, pulling off their masks as well.

"Didn't look like you needed our help." It was Russ Ellison. Oscar Browning was behind him, cradling an AK74. The other two were carrying MP5's Xander noticed. Not the standard automatic weaponry of gangbangers, but they had started to show up on the streets, replacing the uiquitous Uzi and TEC-9.

"Robin, Faith. It's alright." Xander said. He started to search the man he had hidden behind. He found some cash and a set of keys, but nothing of any value. Still,he pocketed both.

"Who are they?" Robin walked to the gathered men.

Scott ignored the question. "Kurt and Monet led us to you. They're waiting with Reacher and Ramirez."

"Okay. Search the rest of the bodies." Xander said. "It seems like the rogue's still here. We may have a chance despite this, little setback. You got my gear?"

"Yeah."

Xander let the men get to work while he went over to Faith and Robin.

"Who are they?" Faith echoed Robin's earlier question.

"My backup team." Xander said. He looked around. He highly doubted there was anything in the area that would help them. He needed to get back to the city proper. "I hired some hitters to watch my back just in case."

"You didn't trust us?" Robin looked like he took some offense at that.

Xander shrugged. "Somebody squealed. You sure it wasn't on your side?"

Robin opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. There really wasn't anything he could say to defend himself. Or the Council. He had his own suspicions by this point.

"How do you know it wasn't one of yours?" Faith retorted, defending her boyfriend. "They're merecenaries right?"

Xander turned to look at her. "Cause they know what I'd do to them if they turned on me."

"Xander." The former Delta commander walked up to them. He had a small black bag with him. He opened it. "Looks like two kilos of black tar."

"That's pretty sloppy." Xander frowned. "Anything else?"

"No." Scott shook his head.

"What's that?" Faith looked into the bag at a few small shrink wrapped packages of black paste.

"Heroin." Xander explained. "Okay. Bag it, we're taking it with us. Torch the car, make it look like a drug rip."

Scott nodded.

Xander looked at his backup man, before he went to clean up the area. "We need to move on this now. The bad guys already know we're here, if Rosemary figures out we're not dead she may go to ground. We're already behind on this, so we need to hurry. The guys at the bar probably don't know that Hector's dead. We got a chance to check it before they scatter. No more screw ups. Let's get this done."

He walked away, leaving Scott to direct his men. Robin and Faith watched Xander walk back to the cells.

"What just happened?" Robin asked. From the strike team that had suddenly appeared, to the fact that Xander was apparently stealing drugs, he had gone back to confused. He thought he had gained a decent understanding of the man from their previous interactions, but this latest mission had turned up all sorts of unpleasant questions.

Scott turned to the watcher. "Looks like Jack's back."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: RudyHenkel: Yeah, I think Tara did get short shrift, but I was thinking of characters that survived the end of the series. And while it makes it more noble in ways for Xander not to get rewarded, Chosen was the end of the series at the time, with a bit of an epilogue in S5 of Angel, so I think he still should have gotten something. Otherwise it gets tedious to have some characters constantly dumped on. I haven't read the second issue yet, but I have read the first. I've incorporated some of it, like making Amy one of the villains, but I'm not going to be bound by it. Also, he does trust Faith more now, due to her apology and Vi has sorted him out a bit about it during their time together. One-Eyed Jack will come back soon, but he's trying to distance himself from it. It was something he was when he was in a bad place, and it isn't as necessary these days. But, it isn't without use. Thanks for the review.

In general, I didn't want to make it too easy for Xander to get out of his trouble, but he couldn't be incompetent. So in this case I wanted to show that while he could extricate himself out of part of the situation, he still needed a bit of help at the end. And, Xander won't have superpowers in this story, though that doesn't mean he doesn't have a few tricks up his sleeve.