Chapter 53: Boardroom

"So who are you?" Faith turned around and looked at Xander. Her voice was sharp. She wouldn't truck with any nonsense. Not anymore. The truth had come out. And the truth was dangerous. The warnings about the Initiative from Giles had not been unheard. And were not invalid. Coupled with that was the fact that she was a wanted fugitive too. A fugitive from the very government that the man in front of her now worked for.

However, he had talked their way out of it. Revealing his identity. Kept her from having to do something horrible. Or be forced back to prison. That earned him something. The slayer just didn't know what.

Xander didn't respond. He looked to his right. Vi was asleep in the next seat over, despite the short jet ride. She was slumped over the leather plane seat, her head resting on his shoulder and her arm across his stomach. He reached over and brushed a lock of hair away from her face. It was a bit longer than in Sunnydale, but not enough to prove a tactical disadvantage. Besides, it wasn't like he was sporting a high and tight. She moaned a bit and clutched at him more tightly, still asleep. "Speak softly."

"You're not some mercenary are you? Not even for them." Faith whispered, she wasn't exactly calm, but she tried to control herself. She did try not to wake up the other slayer. "How much of the truth did you even tell us?"

"More than you might think." Xander looked up at her. He wasn't particularly surprised. Though she seemed to be taking it rather well. Much better than he had previously anticipated. Small comfort if it came down to blows. Probably wouldn't though. She was supposed to have learned enough by now not to. "I was planning on telling you. Eventually. But, not like this."

"What is this even about? Who you said you worked for? It was all a lie. Wasn't it. Why?" Faith looked pissed. Still under control though. It was a question of how long that would last. Which depended on what Xander decided to say. And whether she would believe him.

"I lie to just about everyone. So don't feel too slighted." Xander replied calmly. "I said I worked for people that wanted to stay out of the limelight. People of money. And influence. And high motivations. Uncle Sam and his brothers and sisterse in Congress have a vested interest in our dirty little war not spilling out onto the streets. The Council, in all its glory, has been determined to be something of a threat, not directly, but more to their or our interests. Not a high one so far, but that could change. If they decide that efficiency is called for. Trust me, it could have gone down in a very very different way."

"Why?" Faith asked. "Why come back. And why feed us some line? You could have told us the truth."

Xander scoffed at that, without moving though, as to not disturb his girlfriend. He looked her in the eyes. "Is that what you think? Is that what you really think? Do you honestly believe that if I came back saying I was working for the feds, that Giles would have bothered even listening to me half as much as he did? Or do you think he would have booted me out on my ass?"

Faith looked away. He was right. Giles may have been many things. Many good things, but he would more than likely have turned on Xander if the truth had come out then. That protectiveness of the slayers was strong in the watcher. It was strong in her as well. A contradiction that it could lead them to such separate places. At the very least, she was willing to listen. He'd earned that much. He should have earned that with the watcher as well. "Then why'd you come back?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" Xander looked at her strangely. "I thought I explained this all already. Your fellow slayers screwed up. Badly. Dep C is still looking for you; which made and makes our government less than satisfied with the status quo. I'm covering the best I can. But, you guys aren't making it any easier. And trust me, we need them a lot more than we need you. And they are much more willing to cut you loose."

"Giles told us about the Initiative. How they shut down." Faith threw back. "Why would they be so concerned with us now? If they already knew about us before this happened."

"Look at the state of the world." He took a breath. He felt a rant coming down. Though he had more authority to choose how things went down than most government employees, he still had his own frustrations with policy. But, the field agent, emphasis on field, chose only that which most suited the purpose. For the conversation. What the slayer needed to here. Not all he felt. "A few years ago a couple of humans crashed some planes into a couple of buildings. Now we got Gitmo and guys in Afghanistan and Iraq. Dying. The people are scared. They are scared and they are lashing out. That's how we have a public that ended up buying into this war, and eroding civil rights in the name of security. And they ask why. At the top they understand what the reason is. Or at least, they think they do. Enough for them to use security and counter terrorism as an excuse to serve their own interests. You think we'd be pulling this shit if there wasn't oil in Iraq? Fuck, they have about 10 percent of the world's supply. I don't call the shots. I am not the one in charge. I work the street. I am not strategy. I am operations. When there is a need for my services, my highly specific set of skills, I am called in. Sometimes that means retiring a high level operative on the other side before he can pull off some terrorist attack. Human or demon. Sometimes that means taking out a someone that threatens the US trade policy. Someone who isn't currently in favor with our government. Sometimes for the right reasons. Sometimes cause it comes down to the almighty dollar. Luckily, I can pick my fights. Mostly. Which allows me the option to only go after people that deserve at least some of what I give 'em. Not always the case though."

Faith didn't say anything. Xander, of all people, the same boy she had used for a night's fun and thrown out, had just admitted to political assassination. For less than even what might approach noble intentions.

He noticed the look. "You act shocked. Does this surprise you? Does this somehow change what you thought of me? That it is not the grand battle between good and evil that I fight? That you're now a part of? You shouldn't be. This is the history of mankind."

"Then why help them?" Faith said at last. Trying to find a way through Xander's obvious, though suppressed, anguish. "If you aren't with them, and you don't want to. Then why work for them?"

"They understand quite a bit. They understand that it is in their best interest to expend lives to make their fortunes." Xander replied. "You don't think they understand you? Demons and monsters? That's nothing. Sure, they're scared too. They are very very scared. But, they understand, according to their Ivy League MBA frame of reference. What they see are assets. That they can use, if they can get you under control. Do you believe, for one second that they wouldn't just come in and destroy you all? If it came down to it? If they were that scared? There's a reason I'm attached to Homeland. Terrorism. Domestic terrorism. That's the threat they categorize you under. Because it suits their purpose to be able to ship you out to Gitmo. Or enough of you to make sure that the rest of you do whatever it is that they want you to do. You think that those angels and glowing beings floating around, pulling Angel's strings are the Powers That Be? Some type of All-mighty savior for humanity? Looking out for us all? They aren't. The Powers That Be are self-interested men in suits in smoke filled rooms that decide the fate of humanity over brandy. They're the ones you've always been working for. Whether they were in London or in DC. It's all the same."

"Why?" Faith asked. They hadn't operated that openly, despite them being discovered in Germany. International operations weren't their usual missions. After they'd established themselves in Cleveland, they'd mostly done stuff solely in the US. Only going abroad when there was something specific to go after. It had been low key. Or at least, they had thought it had been. "If they're that unstable, then why work with them? It's clear you don't trust them. Why even try it?"

"Because there is a group of people out there. Rational thinkers. And they represent the best shot we all have at making it through this thing. It's not all oil interests and greed." Xander had questioned himself in the beginning. Of why he should get in bed with them. Unlike the government affiliated agencies that dealt with the supernatural in other countries, Level 6 was not apolitical. Too new. It was not free to act according to its own beliefs. He was working on getting it to be that way, but it would take some time. And much effort. "That's why I work with them. Because I can frame whatever trickles down into my own version of reality. So that they think that they're getting the better deal. So that eventually, I can buy you a longer leash."

She bristled at that comment. She wanted to shout, but she kept it quiet. She saw the other eyes on her. Not all of the slayers were asleep. They likely heard, but seemed to have heard it all before. "Why should you get to decide for us? What makes you so smart? What makes you the one that should get to decide?"

"You judging me for that?" Xander got into her face. To match her obvious reaction, as much as she tried to suppress it. Still not moving his body. "What gives you the right to judge me? You wanted me to leave you back there? Facing how much on your stint? Tack on another five to ten for escape. Trust me. The time you did isn't anything compared to what you'd get in some Agency secret prison. You ever see Midnight Express? Turkish prisons aren't exactly the Hilton. The shit they could pull against you, all that, you won't stand a chance. The thousand or so slayers you got. The handful of witches and wizards? A couple of watchers? You think that's enough?"

"Then what, we should quit?" Faith retorted. "If that's what we're fighting for then why the hell should we?"

"Because the president and company do not represent all of the United States. They do not represent all of the world. You fight for the Throne. But, that doesn't make it why you fight." Xander switched back to the calmer tone he had used before. "There are good people out there. Don't judge them too harshly. They're just afraid. You telling me that you've never been afraid? You going to try to sell me that?"

Faith couldn't tell him that she hadn't been.

"I need to keep things together until they can settle down some." Xander didn't wait for the reply that wouldn't come. "It's the only way."

"I have a name. I have a reputation." Xander smiled at her. "Partly a lie. More importantly, the stuff that's true about me, that part, that part scares them even more. I'm the man that shouted at the mountain, and the mountain trembled. It's better for them to work with me, than to try to remove me from the board. So they tolerate your existence. At my behest. As long as I keep you in line. And that makes it worthwhile to keep me around. Cause if I'm that scary to my allies, then what's that make me to enemies?"

"How'd you do that?" Faith questioned. She'd seem him. He was good. Had to give him that. But, he didn't actually do that much. Not by himself.

"You don't want to know." Xander rubbed his face. Nobody got to his place in the mix clean. And given his lack of abilities, he'd had to do things that much messier. "The CIA has a list of names. You're on it. Everyone in that house is on it. The slayers in Europe are on it. This is what they do. Recent intelligence failings aside, street level, the spooks at Langley are some of the best. They'd lose people taking you in, and so would you. In the end, they'd still get the job done. Cause they have the money and the resources to do it. You got what, Willow's magic? That only goes so far, and frankly, she doesn't have the power to take on a whole goddamn country. Not to mention whatever other countries would want in on some free agent slayers."

"So how'd they really get to you?" Faith took a breath. She didn't like the idea that their movements were being tracked. Though it should have been obvious. Especially considering how fast he had come back when the trouble had gone down in Germany. "If you managed to have a hold over them?"

"However they could. I figure, the balance is about level. I owe favors, but I'm owed enough to carry us through. I think." Xander admitted. He wasn't perfect. Far from it, but his willingness to go farther made up for it. Most of the way at least. "Besides, state of the world, we can't split forces and start in-fighting. Not now. Not anymore. I can't keep protecting you. All these things on your end are just going to make them want to take you in. Salvage what they can. Scuttle the rest. Cause the world, and our other allies are more important. Money means nothing if the world ain't around to spend it in. That is one truth that they can agree on. And they are making their backroom deals to get it done. And you do not want to be a bargaining chip when that goes down."

"What do you mean?" Faith wondered what else Xander was working on. Or might be working on, since she had no idea what else he could be planning. He'd had a long time on his lonesome. Enough to get up to who know's what.

"This thing that's coming? It's world wide. Global. I'm not talking about saving the world. I'm talking about targets everywhere. Areas of interest. You think everything's in the United States? The world does not revolve around us." Xander chuckled softly. "Lemuria. Lemuria's off the coast of India. That mean's that we're likely going to see some Indian navy for any action on that front. Which means that the US and my superiors need to keep a leash on international affairs, including what you and yours get up to. To keep our relations in the free and clear. And baby, you are not making it easy on me."

Faith eyes widened at the global aspect. That it wasn't all on them. That they had allies that they relied upon. Could trust. Somewhat at least. Or at least, willing to trust enough to buy. It seemed contradictory. That Xander would be so unwilling to trust his own government, but willing to trust that of others. Still he had told them that some of those groups that did what they did didn't answer to governments. As opposed to whatever it was that Xander worked for. It would explain some things.

Xander didn't say anything. Let her work through it herself.

"Why?" Faith asked. The same question. Asked multiple times. All drawing different reasons. All of them true. "If we're all such screwups, then why try to help? And if they're all a bunch of greedy pricks why work for them? If we're not worth any of this then why do this? Why not go to whatever other allies you have? Or why not just take what you want and use them? Use us?"

"Because." Xander said. He glanced down at his still sleeping lover. He stroked her cheek.

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He was looking at the ceiling. The weight on his chest comfortable. Only about four hours of sleep. He didn't really need anymore, even with the hard night's work. It was said that Issac Newton only needed thirty minutes of sleep a night. He wasn't that good. Still, he could work for more than 24 hours straight. And still react with enough speed and accuracy for it not to be significant. Nobody questioned it. Nobody even noticed. Back home, in Sunnydale, they hadn't questioned why. Why he was able to stay up at night, all night, and still be able to handle board meetings with his bosses. Impromptu get-togethers with his construction crew. Any of a million things that could go wrong on a work site. How he could pull 12 hour days and still fight the night.

Didn't mean he didn't feel it though. He had come down. Crashed. Hard. Slept like the dead for those four hours. Awake though. After. At noon, or thereabouts. Like a switch. Off and then on.

Xander looked at the young woman currently curled at his side. One leg thrown possessively over his lower body. An arm across his body, her head lying on his naked chest. Her red hair splayed out a bit. She had a slight smile on her face. Content in sleep. He envied her that.

She moved against him. Rubbing herself against his body.

He moaned quietly in response. She could bring that out of him. Like no other. He continued looking down at her. He smiled at the young slayer, the one that he kept just for her. "You awake?"

"No." Vi kept her eyes shut. She moved up and straddled him, opening her eyes and looking at him intently. Wondering why she had been chosen over any other. And there had been others that had wanted him.

Xander chuckled. "Really?"

"Yup." Vi bent down and kissed him.

He kissed her back, then sat up. Xander pulled her shirt off over her head, breaking the kiss for the shortest time possible. He ran a hand over the smooth pale skin of her stomach.

She drew a breath. Bent down again to kiss him, feeling his bare chest against her skin. The warmth of it.

The cell phone on the nightstand rang.

"Shit." Xander looked at the phone, not wanting to answer it. Knowing he had to.

He reached over and grabbed it, keeping Vi on his lap. One hand playing across the taut skin of her back. She arched into him, pressing against him with more force. "Xander. What do you need?"

"We need you to come to the office. Mission briefing." The voice over the phone stated. "Plane's already been informed. Four o'clock."

"Understood." Xander hung up. "I don't have to get there till four."

Vi smiled. "Plenty of time."

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"You look happy." Cindy watched her team lead take a seat next to her at the conference table. It had been a few days since he had been back to the office. Of course, given the life he led, it wasn't anything to be concerned about.

"Don't act so surprised." Xander replied. He opened the file in front of him. He'd had skimmed it on the plane ride over, but there hadn't been that much time. "I have my days."

"He looks like he just got…." Jack started to stay. He was silenced by Abby's swift elbow into the gut.

"So, how is everything?" Cindy asked, not having to spell things out.

Xander looked at the witch. Her big sister routine. He may be in command, but nobody was under any delusions as to who called the shots when it came to his personal life. Strangely enough, it wasn't unwelcome. "She keeps a toothbrush in my bathroom now."

"Hmm." Abby added from across the table. "You don't say."

"Alright. That's enough out of the two of you." Xander said good-naturedly.

Curtis just looked at him, not having to say anything. Happy for his commander though. He got busy with his own papers as their boss walked into the room.

Taylor turned on the projector, starting up the slideshow that contained the key points of their latest intelligence briefing. "Okay. Paul's on assignment already, so let's get started. This is what we have so far."

Xander and the others looked up, paying attention. He took out a pen, ready to take notes.

"Based off of what McNally gave us, we had the Peruvians check the site he listed." Lampkin used a laser pointed to highlight the designated area on a map. "Unfortunately for us, there was nothing there. They locked the site down, but I don't think we're going to see much yet. The bad news is that whatever was there, looks to have gotten out. Good news, we've talked to some of the other groups, there's a pretty large force deployed there now. A magical dampening field is preventing any other portals from being opened. So for now, we mainly need to worry about what came out already."

He flicked to the next slide. "Okay. For what's not in the case file. The recovered artifacts have already been catalogued, so they've all been destroyed. Barring the crystal. That's being kept in the Vault until we can find a safe method of disposal. It's a target though."

"That's right." Cindy confirmed. "Despite the shielding I could put on, we're still seeing traceability. It's not in the open, but it isn't hidden either. We're going to see trouble on that front."

"We have any idea what came through?" Xander thought about that fight. He didn't know where the crystal was, but it probably wouldn't be a good place to fight off an army. As if there was one.

"Not yet. The archive guys in Peru are working on a profile of what type of forces we might be facing." Taylor replied. "However, according to the research so far, South America was home to quite a few of the Old Ones. They're trying to match it by area of operation, but it's been slow going so far. Sekhmet isn't using of her own armies, which may mean that they're gone. She's branched out. Cindy, the local contact is one Johnny Marsden. His contact info is in the file. I want you to link up and provide any help you can give."

Cindy nodded, looking through and finding the profile and phone number for her Peruvian counterpart. Surprisingly, he was an American. Berkeley raised, so there was a touch of the familiar.

"Next." Taylor clicked over to the next slide. It had an area of the Indian Ocean highlighted. "The Indians have sent two Bangaram class patrol craft and the INS Sagardhwani to look for the location of Lemuria. Xander, I want you to help coordinate the search. Since you're apparently the only one that's been there. The local contact is one Captain Raj Singh. They'll be sending you deep SONAR imaging of their searches. See if you can identify anything from what you remember."

Xander nodded. The others chuckled. It wasn't that they didn't believe him. Since they all did. It was just that it was so ridiculous. One of the seven cities of Heaven on Earth. Course, that was what it meant to have faith in your people. "How many are in?"

"Captain Singh. And he has a group of MARCOS in the know on board. That's it. The Indians' don't have that large a presence militarily speaking." Lampkin said. It was an important question. Who could be dealt with on an equal footing. And who the truth had to be shaded slightly for.

"Okay." Xander noted down on his report who exactly he might need to contact.

"Lemuria. The legends say that it was one of the most advanced of the ancient city states." Lampkin showed the next slide. Digital pictures taken of illustrations from some of their archived texts on mythological cities. "Legend has it that their thinking machines rivaled that of the greatest human minds. That ties in with what we got from the laptop recovered in New York City. Fallon is having a tech team work on what data is available. Xander, do we have anything from the Council?"

"Uh. Not from what they've told me." Xander shook his head. "Rudy's taps says that Willow worked on it, but they haven't gotten very far. Quantum mechanics isn't really her specialty. It wasn't given that high of a priority, and she wasn't working it too hard in the first place. They were working on the other aspects of it. And she had her other duties to the Council. And me, I guess. That's partly my fault. But, the situation now is that we can't rely on them. And we can't try to bring them in on anything on a research basis."

"Right." Taylor replied. It wasn't completely unexpected. He would rather have not relied on outsiders in the first place. As it was, he really hadn't. "I wasn't doing that in the first place. Fallon's team is working it, but without anything actual from on site, we may not be able to figure out anything useful. Then again, I'm hoping it's not necessary. If we can identify whatever is left to be assembled then we might be able to destroy enough pieces to prevent the plan from succeeding. If that hasn't been already accomplished already."

"There's still that army though." Xander interjected.

Lampkin looked at him and nodded. "That is true. And there could be more on the way. That's why we need to find whatever is on this shopping list. We need to take them out at the source. Xander, I want you to see if you can get in touch with any of the Sisters. If soldiers are being sent against us, and the method of transport stays the same, then mystical tracking may be possible."

"I'll see what I can do." Xander wrote that down as well. They had been more allies of word than of action. Still, for large scale magical matters, they provided more than adequate services. Cindy was more effective on the tactical level anyway.

Lampkin waited until they had finished up on what they had to do. "Okay. That's pretty much it."

The gathered personnel got their stuff together and started to leave. Lampkin waited for the others to go before pulling Xander back in.

"What's up, sir?" Xander wasn't really surprised that Taylor might have some issues or questions regarding him.

"Well, first of all, Dr. Farmiga says that Dana wants to see you." Taylor shut the door to the conference room, leaving them in private. "She's doing better."

Xander nodded. "That's good. I'm glad it's working. But, I get the feeling that's not what you wanted to talk to me about."

"Well, Budget's been asking about your travel expenses." Lampkin didn't want to broach the main issue yet. He sat down.

"The commute between Cleveland and New York isn't that short. Especially when I have to use the jet." Xander shrugged and sat down as well.

"Which explains why you're running such a large expense." The assistant director didn't look amused. "Not what you're going to do about it."

"Okay." Xander breathed out. "I'll try to cut back on the side trips."

"Good." Taylor nodded. "And there's the issue of the security details you requested on the families."

"They could be targets." Xander said, using the same explanation that he had used when he'd made the original request.

"Yes, the slayers families could be targets." Taylor confirmed. "And we didn't really have a problem with your request to put a team on Vi's family. But, the more of the slayers' real families you find, the more it costs. And this wasn't in our original forecast."

"I'll try to smooth it out with Accounting okay?" Xander knew this wasn't the real issue. It was just to get him to accept the issues that the agency was still facing. And to get him to react to what they wanted him to. Though, he didn't particularly look forward to having to submit a revised departmental AOP.

"That's fine." Taylor said, knowing he'd have to bring up the main problem next.

"I'll see about getting a revision on our current expense budget." Xander leaned in. "Now what's the real concern here."

"This isn't working. You can't just play it fast and loose with the Council, hoping that your man starts getting a clue." Lampkin breathed out. Frustrated from the sounds of it.

"Maybe if I could tell them the truth. Now, it might make a difference." Xander tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. He had understood the operational need for secrecy. But, they should have reached a point where it wasn't so tightly restricted. Especially since they were going more public with their international allies. A security leak with the Council wouldn't be the only place to obtain information about the American organization. Though, they could have supplied more personal information than their allies could have or would have. "You gave me authorization for Faith."

"That was a special case." Taylor replied. It wasn't a completely new argument. "The director's given you one last chance. This thing with Finn? That's your last shot. You may need to go down to his post."

"Uh, what about our current assignment?" Xander asked. Confronting Finn on his home turf wasn't particularly smart. But, it may be better than the consequences of meeting in a less than controlled situation.

"Just keep close to a linkup. You'll have secure access so you can pull anything that the Indians give us off the database." Lampkin hoped it wouldn't be an issue. Putting double work on the kid. But, he'd done it before, so the assistant director wasn't concerned that Xander couldn't handle his work load.

"Okay." Xander said. They'd really though of everything.

"Look, you can't make it work, then we're cutting them loose." Lampkin said, more calmly. Not the direct boss anymore, but a man that cared. "They don't get our protection."

"No compromises?" Xander was concerned. He'd thought he'd had more time. And more room to maneuver.

Lampkin hesitated. "We haven't been able to crack the monitoring issue. Without 100 coverage, or someone on the inside helping make policy, then the decision will be to bring them in hard. Faith isn't going to cut it. Psych says that Giles no longer gives equal weight to slayer input. We need full leadership or advisory positions. That means Robin or at the very least, one of the more senior watchers. Or Andrew. He's not working with the slayers anymore, but he's got Giles' ear. Wormed his way back in so to speak."

"So what you're saying…" Xander tried to get out.

"One or another, they'll do what we want them to do." Taylor didn't like it, but those were his orders. And he didn't completely disagree. For different reasons than the boss of his boss however. "Dep C is asking for our progress. Without a guarantee, the uppers might want to give someone up. Xander, for their sake, make it work."

Xander just nodded.

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He looked at from across the room. She seemed better. Even looked at him as if she was seeing him and not some hallucination or random slayer memory. It was something.

The walk down had been somewhat calming. And had allowed him to clear his head. Things were coming to a head. If he didn't set things on their proper path soon, there wouldn't be a next time. They didn't all get another chance. And, he'd had more than his fair share of second chances already.

Xander took a seat. He'd brought a chair in, not knowing exactly what to expect. Dr. Farmiga hadn't given him that much anyway. Apparently the patient was more cogent than ever. Hardly healed, but the Mohra blood had helped straighten a few mental pathways. Gave the slayer a better sense of herself and the world around her. Maybe even patched up a little of that pain that had consumed her life, the pain that multiplied when she had been activated.

The slightly less demented than usual slayer that was watching him sit down, didn't react. She still had enough muscle relaxant in her to keep her from being dangerous, so he wasn't too worried. Didn't let his guard down, but wasn't too concerned.

"How are you doing?" Xander noticed that she seemed to understand, but didn't react to that either.

He'd have to come up with something big if he wanted to show them that they needed to rectify but fast. If he were smarter, he'd have though of a way by now. As it was, he was doing it by the seat of his pants. Not ideal.

Dana took a seat on the bed. She wasn't in a strait jacket anymore. Small comfort, given her room, no matter how much it had been decorated to seem less like the asylum it really was. At least it wasn't as bad as her last one. She remembered the man that sat in front of her. "Xander."

He smiled. "That's right."

She didn't respond. Just sat there, looking at him.

"It's okay." He kept smiling, and leaned back some in his chair. Settling in. "You don't have to talk. We can just sit right here for a while."