Part 5
It was a quiet night in Willy's bar. Only the regulars were in the place either slumped over the bar or sipping ales in the shadowy corners. Willy himself stood cleaning beer glasses behind the bar with a rag. Cleanliness wasn't really an issue for his customers. They spent most of the day in run-down apartment blocks, under bridges or in sewers.
Willy lamented on his situation. On one hand he was getting tired of the bar business. And things had been slow lately, which didn't help matters. The local demons were trying to keep out of the way of Angel and Buffy. Willy thought of maybe moving to L.A. and starting a career in acting. On the other hand he was kind of proud of his bar. He had swindled it from some guy fair and square. He thought of it as kind of a sanctuary where both demons and humans could enjoy a quiet drink together and check that whole 'mutual hatred' thing at the door. It was on this high note that Willy's thoughts were interrupted.
A strange face had slunk into the bar without his notice. Dressed in a long tan trench coat the man looked more like a police detective rather than a demon. He sat down at the bar in front of Willy finally catching his attention. The stranger peered up at him from beneath the rim of the Trillby with a cold gaze and piercing eyes. Willy was instantly nervous. Of course anything remotely intimidating made Willy nervous.
"What'll it be." he stammered.
"Information." the man answered.
"Uh, what kind of information."
Willy was definitely not happy right now. Not only did new faces make him nervous but also the guy was looking for information. That kind of exchange, Willy knew, often involved him getting punched in the face, or worse.
"The tomb. On the outskirts of town. You've heard of it."
The man had a kind of serenity in his demeanour that Willy found both comforting and unnerving at the same time. His eyes focused on Willy's and rooted his feet to the ground.
"Yeah, it was in the papers." Willy replied.
"Good."
The stranger broke his gaze for the first time and looked at the bar as if he was thinking. After a pause he locked eyes with Willy again.
"Do you know of any… parties that would perhaps be interested in such a find. By that I mean any… unnatural people."
Willy knew exactly what he meant but as usual he made things hard for himself.
"I don't know what you mean, 'unnatural' I mean, I guess those historians and archaeologists, they can be pretty freaky sometimes".
The stranger broke his gaze again and nodded softly. He looked around the darkened interior cataloguing whatever he could make out.
"You run a bar, that caters for demons of most races. Vampires, Coulags and… well I don't know what that is. My point is I'm sure you know of anyone who would take a special interest in the tomb apart from historians and archaeologists. Now you'd better tell me… or I'll cut your head off."
He pulled back his coat slightly with his right hand exposing the handle and several inches of a long and very sharp sword. Willy gulped as he looked at the blade and then turned again to the stranger.
"Well there is the Slayer and her gang."
"Slayer? The Vampire Slayer."
"That's the one, and I guess Angel might have some kind of interest too."
"You mean Angelus!"
"Yeah I guess, why you know him. Well anyway he's shacked up with Druscilla and Spike somewheres. That's all I got. I swear."
The stranger seemed to be disturbed by this information. His forehead wrinkled pulling the rim of his hat downward.
"You know where I can find the Slayer and Angelus."
"I don't know where Angel is but the Slayer mostly hangs out at school. Sunnydale High."
The man stood and to Willy's relief closed over his jacket. Without a word he backed off from the bar, took a cautious look around and walked out of the bar without making a sound.
When he was gone Willy exhaled. That acting career was looking better and better.