CROSS ROADS
Part 12
LeBeau and Vogel dropped Giles off at the library, and then they took their prisoners to a safe house where they would be dealt with accordingly. At the Rosenberg Residence, the phone rang and Jenny Calendar answered it.
"Rupert!" she exclaimed, relieved at hearing Giles voice. "Where are you?"
Cordelia watched Jenny from the sofa. She was hoping that Giles was calling with good news.
"I-I've returned to the library," Giles answered Jenny's inquiry. "It appears that-that something is about to happen and we must be ready for it. I would like it very much i-if you and Cordelia could meet me here to do a little research."
"Okay," Jenny responded, glancing at Cordelia. "That sounds like a plan. Maybe we can convince Billy to come with us. He's absolutely amazing with the computer." She hesitated, "Rupert...you haven't said anything about Willow. Is she okay? Did you find her?"
There was a pause. "No. I'm afraid we did not find her."
Jenny closed her eyes because she didn't want to ask the next question. "The blood, Rupert...Was it--?"
"No, Jenny. Of that I am most certain of. The blood was not Willow's."
She let out a deep sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God." She ran a nervous hand through her hair. "Well...what about the terrorists? Has that threat been neutralized?"
Giles let out a chuckle. "'Neutralized'? You're beginning to sound like one of those government agents, but to answer your question, er-all of the terrorists save for one have b-been taken out of the equation. The man known as the Speaker is still a loose cannon as it were, and-and it appears that he may have some type of nuclear device on him."
"Do you really think this research will do any good then? I mean why bother if we're all about to be microwaved into ashes?"
"Because it's really rather simple, Jenny. We haven't been microwaved into ashes just yet."
She smiled. "We'll be over soon. I just enjoy yanking your chain."
Giles sounded puzzled. "Jenny...I-I don't have a chain."
She smiled teasingly. "All men have chains, Rupert. It's a biological fact."
There was a long pause. "Uh...Oh..."
She decided to bring the subject back to where it belonged. "Listen, I'll send Billy and Cordelia over right away. I have to run home. I may have a few books that might have references to what we saw on the tape."
"Do you think that's wise going alone?"
"You said yourself, the terrorist threat has been neutralized with the exception of one man. Besides, I live on the other side of town in the opposite direction of the school. With Cordelia and Billy there to help you, you might even figure this thing out before I arrive."
There was a pause. "V-very well. Just...be careful...and do hurry."
She smiled again. "Oh, Rupert...Do you miss me?"
"W-well, i must admit...there are times when I-I can't get you out of my mind. Sometimes, I-I find it difficult to concentrate on my research."
"Rupert, I am so glad that I have affected you so." She paused. "I'll admit to that the feeling is mutual. Lately, you're always on my mind. I think Willie said something like that."
Giles paused. "B-Billy? You-you mean, Mr. Fronk has told you that lately, you've been on h-his mind?"
She smiled, amused. "No, Mr. Medieval Times. Not 'Billy'. Willie...as in Willie Nelson. He's a bard."
"A b-bird?"
"A bard!" She chuckled. "I think they call it something different today. He's a country-western singer. You really need to get out of that library every now and then, Rupert. You're getting as musty as those old books of yours." She glanced at Cordelia. "I should go now. Cordy is shooting me with those looks of hers. I'll see you soon."
"I-I look forward to seeing you...here."
She smiled and then hung up the phone.
"Cordelia, you and Billy need to get to the library."
Cordelia looked at her. "What about Willow?"
Jenny hesitated, "They haven't found her yet, but the blood we saw on the tape wasn't hers."
"Oh, thank God." Then, she frowned. "Why do I need to go to the library with that Crazy Man guy? What if he goes psycho on me?"
Fronk was standing in the doorway and he was eyeing Cordelia with heavy suspicion. "I was just about to ask the same thing of you, my dear? What if you go psycho on me?"
Cordelia looked at Jenny. "Puhlease don't make me go with him!!" she pleaded.
Jenny just looked at her.
A short time later, Cordelia and Fronk left the Rosenberg Residence and they headed for the library. Jenny took her car and headed for her home. But when she arrived, she discovered a disturbing scene.
Her front door was ajar.
Carefully, she pushed it open and slowly entered her home. She immediately saw that her living room had been trashed. Cabinets were open, her floor was littered with broken items, and everywhere she looked there was a mess. She stood there in astonishment as she realized that her home had been burglarized! There were terrorists and vampires in Sunnydale, and on top of that, now there were burglars! Thieves had ransacked her home.
She let out a sigh and shook her head in disgust.
There would be no time to call the police. She had to grab her books and head out to the library. Then she hoped that her books hadn't been stolen. She turned to go to her home office and that's when she came face to face with her burglar. Before she could get a good look at him, however, a lamp came crashing down on her head. She collapsed to the floor in blissful unconsciousness.
Abhar Jhamel and two other terrorists stood over her.
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Giles took off his glasses as he thought about what he had just read from the Codex. The Codex was a book that had been given to him by Angel and it had a great deal of written prophecy concerning the Master. He should have read into it further before now. He should have but he didn't because he had thought the threat of the Master was over when Buffy had sent him crashing through the skylight over the library.
The Master was dead.
He was not coming back.
However, there did in fact appear to be an Heir.
"I really, really hate it when you do that!"
Giles looked up and saw Cordelia watching him from the doorway. "I-I'm sorry?"
She sighed and tossed a hand dramatically into the air. "When you stand there and take off your glasses with that far-a-way 'the earth is doomed' look on your face! I hate that because it usually means that it's the end of the world and my dates are canceled and Buffy gets to be hero slayer- girl again! Can't you find something that doesn't involve slaying?"
He put his glasses back on and frowned. "I-I wish it were that simple, Cordelia. I really do. Unfortunately, simple is not the world in which we live." He looked at his watch and frowned. "Jenny should have been here by now. Perhaps I-I should call her."
"Oh, she'll be here soon enough. Maybe she's making herself look pretty for you."
Giles took off his glasses again and looked at Cordelia. "Er...uhm...I'm sorry...w-what did you say?" He tried not to look flustered. "J- Jenny...Miss Calendar is not m-making herself look pretty...for me, I can assure you, Cordelia, b-because...well...I-it comes natural for her to look p-pretty."
Cordelia smiled knowingly. "So you really do like Miss Calendar."
"O-of course, I do. Strictly on a professional level, of course."
"Of course," Cordelia repeated with a nod. "But since a girl can always tell when someone really likes someone else, she knows things. She'll be here soon enough and then you'll find it really difficult to do any research." She smiled. "I suggest that you find what it is you're looking for in those books before she gets here." She turned and walked out of the office.
Giles sat there and puzzled over the whole conversation. Then he shook his head and went back to his research on the Heir.
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Jenny regained consciousness and immediately wished that she hadn't. Her head hurt so bad that it made her nauseous. There was blood in her hair and the room would not stop spinning. That was only a small part of her dilemma. Her hands were bound behind her back and her ankles were bound to the legs of the kitchen chair that she found herself sitting on.
She looked up and saw that she was not alone.
There were three terrorists in the room with her and one of them was the Speaker. Jhamel was watching her closely as if she were a rat in a maze and he was studying her. He held something in his hand, something small enough for his fist to close completely over it. She couldn't see what it was. She did see, however, the gun lying on the kitchen table.
*Oh, my God,* she thought. *He's going to kill me.*
"You are a gypsy witch, are you not?" Jhamel asked her casually.
She didn't answer him. There was no reason to prolong this.
He regarded her silently for a moment. Then he shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I don't really care what you are, nor do I care about the evil that you do. You will be dead before I leave this room."
Her thoughts immediately went out to Giles. She was going to die without ever really getting to know him as she wanted to. She wanted to scream at the terrorists but she knew that it would do no good, so she continued to remain silent.
Jhamel smiled wryly and shook his head. "This is very sad for me. I should have kidnapped you in the first place instead of that young and weak hearted little girl named Willow Rosenberg. You appear to be so much stronger. I imagine it would take me days or even weeks to break your spirit." He leaned closer to Jenny. "It took only a few short minutes to break poor Willow."
That struck a nerve. Jenny glared at him. "You bastard."
Without warning, he slapped her with the back of his hand. "You will speak respectfully or I will cut out your tongue!"
She glared at him again. "You really like tying up women and beating them, don't you?!" she exclaimed. "Does that really turn you on? Is that--?!"
He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back. "Your taunts will not unsettle me, witch. There is nothing you can do or say that will cause me to err from my path." He released her and stepped back.
She tried to calm her breathing as she continued to glare up at him. "You are a coward!"
He turned to look at her. Surprisingly, he made no move toward her.
"I know you're going to kill me. Tell me what you did to Willow."
"Now why would you want to know that? I believe that if I did tell you what I did to Willow, then that would unsettle you." He watched her.
Her eyes blurred. "Did you kill her?"
He paused for affect. "Yes. I did."
Jenny closed her eyes and she cried.
"It was very painful for her, too. She screamed and begged for mercy." He shrugged. "But I am a terrorist and I showed her no mercy. Would you like the full details, Miss Calendar?"
Jenny glared up at her tormentor. "She-she was just a sweet girl, you bastard! She was so young...she had her whole life to live!" She shook her head in frustration. "May you burn in hell for this!"
Jhamel paused. "It is you who shall rot in hell. You are doing the work of Satan and you do not even realize it. Fool! Even Christians in this so- called great country of yours would despise you for the evil that you do! Your entire home is a den of devilry!" He revealed to her what he was holding in his hand. "You have such things as this item. I believe that this is an orb of some kind?"
She stated at it. "Th-that's an Orb of Tesa!"
He nodded. "Yes, it is. To you, this orb has powers of magic that you can tap into. For what, I do not know, nor do I care." He held it up to his face and looked at it. "To me, it has a different kind of power. A power so immense, so awesome, it could destroy this town into dust." He looked at Jenny. "This is what I was after all along. You're precious little Willow Rosenberg was nothing more to me than a decoy."
Jenny stared at him, horrified. "What?"
"You see, I knew that you had this. So I came into town, caused everyone to look elsewhere and then I waited for the right moment to come for my true prize. Now when I put this little orb into the device of mass destruction, it will be the same as if I were using nuclear radiation. It will have the same results once implemented." He smiled. "It will destroy Sunnydale, California, and it will open the Hellmouth. And it is you, Miss Calendar, that I will have to thank for."
Jenny was so stunned, she was at a loss for words.
"You know..." Jhamel replied conversationally, "if I hadn't of come here to kill you today, then your very own evil, gypsy ways would have eventually come back on you and killed you anyway." He picked up the gun from the table. "You should really thank me. I am doing you a favor. Ahh, but then again...you are about to be killed because of your evil, gypsy ways."
She stared in horror, helpless to stop him.
Jhamel leveled his gun at her, and he fired.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Part 12
LeBeau and Vogel dropped Giles off at the library, and then they took their prisoners to a safe house where they would be dealt with accordingly. At the Rosenberg Residence, the phone rang and Jenny Calendar answered it.
"Rupert!" she exclaimed, relieved at hearing Giles voice. "Where are you?"
Cordelia watched Jenny from the sofa. She was hoping that Giles was calling with good news.
"I-I've returned to the library," Giles answered Jenny's inquiry. "It appears that-that something is about to happen and we must be ready for it. I would like it very much i-if you and Cordelia could meet me here to do a little research."
"Okay," Jenny responded, glancing at Cordelia. "That sounds like a plan. Maybe we can convince Billy to come with us. He's absolutely amazing with the computer." She hesitated, "Rupert...you haven't said anything about Willow. Is she okay? Did you find her?"
There was a pause. "No. I'm afraid we did not find her."
Jenny closed her eyes because she didn't want to ask the next question. "The blood, Rupert...Was it--?"
"No, Jenny. Of that I am most certain of. The blood was not Willow's."
She let out a deep sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God." She ran a nervous hand through her hair. "Well...what about the terrorists? Has that threat been neutralized?"
Giles let out a chuckle. "'Neutralized'? You're beginning to sound like one of those government agents, but to answer your question, er-all of the terrorists save for one have b-been taken out of the equation. The man known as the Speaker is still a loose cannon as it were, and-and it appears that he may have some type of nuclear device on him."
"Do you really think this research will do any good then? I mean why bother if we're all about to be microwaved into ashes?"
"Because it's really rather simple, Jenny. We haven't been microwaved into ashes just yet."
She smiled. "We'll be over soon. I just enjoy yanking your chain."
Giles sounded puzzled. "Jenny...I-I don't have a chain."
She smiled teasingly. "All men have chains, Rupert. It's a biological fact."
There was a long pause. "Uh...Oh..."
She decided to bring the subject back to where it belonged. "Listen, I'll send Billy and Cordelia over right away. I have to run home. I may have a few books that might have references to what we saw on the tape."
"Do you think that's wise going alone?"
"You said yourself, the terrorist threat has been neutralized with the exception of one man. Besides, I live on the other side of town in the opposite direction of the school. With Cordelia and Billy there to help you, you might even figure this thing out before I arrive."
There was a pause. "V-very well. Just...be careful...and do hurry."
She smiled again. "Oh, Rupert...Do you miss me?"
"W-well, i must admit...there are times when I-I can't get you out of my mind. Sometimes, I-I find it difficult to concentrate on my research."
"Rupert, I am so glad that I have affected you so." She paused. "I'll admit to that the feeling is mutual. Lately, you're always on my mind. I think Willie said something like that."
Giles paused. "B-Billy? You-you mean, Mr. Fronk has told you that lately, you've been on h-his mind?"
She smiled, amused. "No, Mr. Medieval Times. Not 'Billy'. Willie...as in Willie Nelson. He's a bard."
"A b-bird?"
"A bard!" She chuckled. "I think they call it something different today. He's a country-western singer. You really need to get out of that library every now and then, Rupert. You're getting as musty as those old books of yours." She glanced at Cordelia. "I should go now. Cordy is shooting me with those looks of hers. I'll see you soon."
"I-I look forward to seeing you...here."
She smiled and then hung up the phone.
"Cordelia, you and Billy need to get to the library."
Cordelia looked at her. "What about Willow?"
Jenny hesitated, "They haven't found her yet, but the blood we saw on the tape wasn't hers."
"Oh, thank God." Then, she frowned. "Why do I need to go to the library with that Crazy Man guy? What if he goes psycho on me?"
Fronk was standing in the doorway and he was eyeing Cordelia with heavy suspicion. "I was just about to ask the same thing of you, my dear? What if you go psycho on me?"
Cordelia looked at Jenny. "Puhlease don't make me go with him!!" she pleaded.
Jenny just looked at her.
A short time later, Cordelia and Fronk left the Rosenberg Residence and they headed for the library. Jenny took her car and headed for her home. But when she arrived, she discovered a disturbing scene.
Her front door was ajar.
Carefully, she pushed it open and slowly entered her home. She immediately saw that her living room had been trashed. Cabinets were open, her floor was littered with broken items, and everywhere she looked there was a mess. She stood there in astonishment as she realized that her home had been burglarized! There were terrorists and vampires in Sunnydale, and on top of that, now there were burglars! Thieves had ransacked her home.
She let out a sigh and shook her head in disgust.
There would be no time to call the police. She had to grab her books and head out to the library. Then she hoped that her books hadn't been stolen. She turned to go to her home office and that's when she came face to face with her burglar. Before she could get a good look at him, however, a lamp came crashing down on her head. She collapsed to the floor in blissful unconsciousness.
Abhar Jhamel and two other terrorists stood over her.
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
Giles took off his glasses as he thought about what he had just read from the Codex. The Codex was a book that had been given to him by Angel and it had a great deal of written prophecy concerning the Master. He should have read into it further before now. He should have but he didn't because he had thought the threat of the Master was over when Buffy had sent him crashing through the skylight over the library.
The Master was dead.
He was not coming back.
However, there did in fact appear to be an Heir.
"I really, really hate it when you do that!"
Giles looked up and saw Cordelia watching him from the doorway. "I-I'm sorry?"
She sighed and tossed a hand dramatically into the air. "When you stand there and take off your glasses with that far-a-way 'the earth is doomed' look on your face! I hate that because it usually means that it's the end of the world and my dates are canceled and Buffy gets to be hero slayer- girl again! Can't you find something that doesn't involve slaying?"
He put his glasses back on and frowned. "I-I wish it were that simple, Cordelia. I really do. Unfortunately, simple is not the world in which we live." He looked at his watch and frowned. "Jenny should have been here by now. Perhaps I-I should call her."
"Oh, she'll be here soon enough. Maybe she's making herself look pretty for you."
Giles took off his glasses again and looked at Cordelia. "Er...uhm...I'm sorry...w-what did you say?" He tried not to look flustered. "J- Jenny...Miss Calendar is not m-making herself look pretty...for me, I can assure you, Cordelia, b-because...well...I-it comes natural for her to look p-pretty."
Cordelia smiled knowingly. "So you really do like Miss Calendar."
"O-of course, I do. Strictly on a professional level, of course."
"Of course," Cordelia repeated with a nod. "But since a girl can always tell when someone really likes someone else, she knows things. She'll be here soon enough and then you'll find it really difficult to do any research." She smiled. "I suggest that you find what it is you're looking for in those books before she gets here." She turned and walked out of the office.
Giles sat there and puzzled over the whole conversation. Then he shook his head and went back to his research on the Heir.
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Jenny regained consciousness and immediately wished that she hadn't. Her head hurt so bad that it made her nauseous. There was blood in her hair and the room would not stop spinning. That was only a small part of her dilemma. Her hands were bound behind her back and her ankles were bound to the legs of the kitchen chair that she found herself sitting on.
She looked up and saw that she was not alone.
There were three terrorists in the room with her and one of them was the Speaker. Jhamel was watching her closely as if she were a rat in a maze and he was studying her. He held something in his hand, something small enough for his fist to close completely over it. She couldn't see what it was. She did see, however, the gun lying on the kitchen table.
*Oh, my God,* she thought. *He's going to kill me.*
"You are a gypsy witch, are you not?" Jhamel asked her casually.
She didn't answer him. There was no reason to prolong this.
He regarded her silently for a moment. Then he shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I don't really care what you are, nor do I care about the evil that you do. You will be dead before I leave this room."
Her thoughts immediately went out to Giles. She was going to die without ever really getting to know him as she wanted to. She wanted to scream at the terrorists but she knew that it would do no good, so she continued to remain silent.
Jhamel smiled wryly and shook his head. "This is very sad for me. I should have kidnapped you in the first place instead of that young and weak hearted little girl named Willow Rosenberg. You appear to be so much stronger. I imagine it would take me days or even weeks to break your spirit." He leaned closer to Jenny. "It took only a few short minutes to break poor Willow."
That struck a nerve. Jenny glared at him. "You bastard."
Without warning, he slapped her with the back of his hand. "You will speak respectfully or I will cut out your tongue!"
She glared at him again. "You really like tying up women and beating them, don't you?!" she exclaimed. "Does that really turn you on? Is that--?!"
He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back. "Your taunts will not unsettle me, witch. There is nothing you can do or say that will cause me to err from my path." He released her and stepped back.
She tried to calm her breathing as she continued to glare up at him. "You are a coward!"
He turned to look at her. Surprisingly, he made no move toward her.
"I know you're going to kill me. Tell me what you did to Willow."
"Now why would you want to know that? I believe that if I did tell you what I did to Willow, then that would unsettle you." He watched her.
Her eyes blurred. "Did you kill her?"
He paused for affect. "Yes. I did."
Jenny closed her eyes and she cried.
"It was very painful for her, too. She screamed and begged for mercy." He shrugged. "But I am a terrorist and I showed her no mercy. Would you like the full details, Miss Calendar?"
Jenny glared up at her tormentor. "She-she was just a sweet girl, you bastard! She was so young...she had her whole life to live!" She shook her head in frustration. "May you burn in hell for this!"
Jhamel paused. "It is you who shall rot in hell. You are doing the work of Satan and you do not even realize it. Fool! Even Christians in this so- called great country of yours would despise you for the evil that you do! Your entire home is a den of devilry!" He revealed to her what he was holding in his hand. "You have such things as this item. I believe that this is an orb of some kind?"
She stated at it. "Th-that's an Orb of Tesa!"
He nodded. "Yes, it is. To you, this orb has powers of magic that you can tap into. For what, I do not know, nor do I care." He held it up to his face and looked at it. "To me, it has a different kind of power. A power so immense, so awesome, it could destroy this town into dust." He looked at Jenny. "This is what I was after all along. You're precious little Willow Rosenberg was nothing more to me than a decoy."
Jenny stared at him, horrified. "What?"
"You see, I knew that you had this. So I came into town, caused everyone to look elsewhere and then I waited for the right moment to come for my true prize. Now when I put this little orb into the device of mass destruction, it will be the same as if I were using nuclear radiation. It will have the same results once implemented." He smiled. "It will destroy Sunnydale, California, and it will open the Hellmouth. And it is you, Miss Calendar, that I will have to thank for."
Jenny was so stunned, she was at a loss for words.
"You know..." Jhamel replied conversationally, "if I hadn't of come here to kill you today, then your very own evil, gypsy ways would have eventually come back on you and killed you anyway." He picked up the gun from the table. "You should really thank me. I am doing you a favor. Ahh, but then again...you are about to be killed because of your evil, gypsy ways."
She stared in horror, helpless to stop him.
Jhamel leveled his gun at her, and he fired.
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TO BE CONTINUED...