2:10 am eastern
"That was a rough night." Lila said.
"A bit worse than normal." Alex said. "It happens once in a while."
"You can leave if you're done." Cindy said to Lila, who was sitting at one of the tables.
"I'm waiting for my boyfriend to come by." Lila said. "I don't like walking home alone." She cast a nervous look out into the empty lot.
Cindy smiled. "When's he supposed to get here?"
"About half an hour ago." Lila said, shaking her head. "My car is in the shop, so I can't drive home. It just makes me nervous to be walking in the middle of the night."
"Yeah, I understand. Listen, if he doesn't get here by the time we're done, we'll give you a ride." Alex said.
"Yeah, its not a problem." Cindy nodded.
"Thanks." Lila said, nodding. "I wish he'd get here."
"What's his name?"
"Wade." Lila said. "He's a medical student."
There was a knock at the front door. Lila turned, hoping it was Wade.
She turned back around in disappointment as Cindy went to unlock the door.
"What brings you back here, Detective?" Cindy asked, smiling.
"Another one." He said, greeting Lila. He handed Alex a manila folder. "Fresh out of the dark room."
"Oh that's disgusting." Cindy said.
"The victim's name is Wade Hutchinson." He said.
"What?" Lila stood up.
"Uh, sorry, I don't think we've met-"
"Wade?" Lila's face automatically turned a shade of green.
"Cindy." Alex said as Cindy and Chad helped her to a seat.
"I'm sorry." Chad said.
He looked up at Cindy, who mouthed 'boyfriend'
He nodded.
"What happened to him?" She asked, tears starting to roll down her face.
"We, uh…we don't know yet." He said, looking at Alex, who nodded. "We're working as hard as we can. Any help you can provide-"
"We should take you home." Alex said, stowing away the last glass.
"Yeah, I can do that. You guys look beat."
Alex nodded as Chad led her to his sedan.
"I guess we should get out of here." Cindy said.
"Chad left the files." Alex said. "I'm gonna go see if he's still around."
"Okay." Cindy said. "I'll meet you out back?"
"No, you stay here, I'll come back."
Gripping the folder, Alex left and looked around for the silver car. Not seeing it, she walked through to the back alley where here motorcycle was, wondering if he was there. Trying to rack her brain as to where Lila lived, she shook her head and turned to get back to the bar.
She was hit with a shove and her back met the brick wall behind her.
Cindy hummed a song as she wiped off the bar for the third time. When the bar was closed, they turned off most of the lights to dissuade wanderers from thinking they were open. But she couldn't help but want to turn them all on and light the room up. people died all the time, but this was a different case. She cursed under her breath, wondering why Alex always had to be the adventurous one and why she was so interested in the weird stuff that Chad asked her about.
Out of their little family, Chad had always been the authority figure. He was always a big brother to them, looking after them. Alex learned early on to be wild and crazy and that's why she had a motorcycle. Cindy hated that thing, she never liked it, but Alex loved riding it. And Cindy was the homely and motherly one, always wanting a good cup of tea and a book. She as the sensible one, rational and a bit more low keyed than the other two. Her parents had died when she was younger, and she had no one to go to. She moved in with Alex, who's father had died when she was two years old. Her mother took in Cindy and loved her like she was a second child, like she did with Chad almost every evening that he had dinner at their house.
Cindy looked around her and out the window. No one was there.
She didn't want to open the door. She pressed her ear to the door, speculating whether she could hear Alex walking back.
***
"We're here, Giles." Buffy said, hefting her heavy bag. There was a static burst and she tapped her cell phone angrily. Behind her, Xander looked around suspiciously. Vampires didn't hang out in airports, did they? "Well where's your Watcher?"
"He should be there. He called a few minutes ago and there was this horrid screech of traffic behind him. The connection was terrible, he muttered something or other about an accident." 5,000 miles away, Rupert Giles sat at the table, books all over the place. The pages fluttered lightly in the breeze the air conditioning provided.
"Well, if he calls again, tell him that we're going to go patrolling nearby and that we'll meet him back at the hotel." Buffy said, unsure of her decision. But they couldn't waste a night's time waiting near Starbucks when they could be getting rid of at least some vampires, even if they didn't know where they were going.
"Too bad none of us know New York." Willow said as Buffy hung up.
"Yeah, too bad." She mumbled. "Giles said that this guy was somewhere in traffic, and I don't know…"
"We should get a move on then." Xander said, lifting his duffel bag.
As the three left the airport, looking like lost ducklings trying to find their mother, across town, Cindy was growing in fear.
"Alex?" She said out loud, hoping for an answer.
Nothing.
***
"You know, I really hate you guys." Alex said, kicking one of her attackers in the chest. He went flying back and the moonlight caught a brief glow off the assailant's eyes.
Alex frowned as he lunged again. She hit him with a roundhouse kick and the attacker wiped blood from his face before he ran out of the alley.
She dusted herself off and wiped the water from the alley on her jeans. Brushing her hair back, she walked out of the alley. As she walked back to the bar, she wondered who had came after her. Probably a mugger looking for cash, but what was with his eyes? The moonlight was dim, but what was with the face? She had seen what drugs did to people but this was just weird. Maybe it was a burn.
She got to the corner and the door opened and Cindy ran out.
"Where were you?!?" She asked, engulfing Alex in a hug.
"In the alley. Some mugger came after me."
"Oh my God." Cindy said, her eyes in the shape of large saucers. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." She said, reassuring Cindy.
"Let's go home." Cindy said. "We can call Chad and tell him what happened."
***
"Who the hell are you?" A vampire growled.
"I hate to be cliché, but I'm a Slayer." Buffy said to the vampire. She watched as he signaled his friends and the three of them were soon surrounded by four vampires.
Stakes and holy water ready, Xander and Willow took their places, flanking Buffy.
Willow was mumbling something in Latin and Xander's eyes shifted from one vampire to another. His brief military training allowed him to note the individual weaknesses of each body. He leaned over to Willow.
"The girl on the left has a bad knee." He said.
Willow nodded, still speaking.
Buffy's hand tightened on her stake and she waited. It was a standstill. No one made a move.
A newspaper floated by.
"How long do you expect me to stand like this?" Buffy asked.
"As long as it takes for me to kill you." One vampire said.
"Ooh. Trembling in fear here." Xander said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, I've got time and you're wasting it, so why don't we get this over with?" Buffy said. She stepped back. "Will?"
Willow stepped forward, hands raised palms outstretched. The vampires looked at each other, bewildered.
A few phrases in Latin…
A few balls of energy….
A few slightly toasty vampires…
"Thanks, Will." Buffy said, grinning. "Have you been working on that?"
"You could tell?" Willow said happily.
One toasty vampire from the left got up. "You'll pay for that, Slayer." He quickly glanced at his now two comrades. The third had suffered the worst of the energy blasts Willow had generated and was now a burnt cinder in the corner.
"Right. Whatever." Buffy said as she ran forward and planted a Stake into the vampire. A few flakes of burnt flesh scraped off and landed on her jacket. She made a face and shook it off. As the dust settled onto the pavement, Willow kicked the girl vampire in the knee and she cried out in pain while Xander staked her. The rest of the vampires were quickly dusted after that.
"Let's get out of here."
In the distance, a siren shrieked through the city air and Buffy and company ducked back into the shadows as the police car rolled by. Once it was out of sight, they crept out of the alley.
Buffy gave a thumbs up to Xander and Willow when she saw that the cop car had taken a turn and was out of reach. She turned the corner and-
"Hi."
She ran straight into him. If it weren't for her reflexes and the slow rate she was walking, she would've been knocked over. He was young and he wore a leather jacket. His soft gray sweater reminded her of Riley. And his hair…it was short, spiked, too much gel. A few brooding looks and tormented thoughts, and he could've been an Angel double.
"That was a rough night." Lila said.
"A bit worse than normal." Alex said. "It happens once in a while."
"You can leave if you're done." Cindy said to Lila, who was sitting at one of the tables.
"I'm waiting for my boyfriend to come by." Lila said. "I don't like walking home alone." She cast a nervous look out into the empty lot.
Cindy smiled. "When's he supposed to get here?"
"About half an hour ago." Lila said, shaking her head. "My car is in the shop, so I can't drive home. It just makes me nervous to be walking in the middle of the night."
"Yeah, I understand. Listen, if he doesn't get here by the time we're done, we'll give you a ride." Alex said.
"Yeah, its not a problem." Cindy nodded.
"Thanks." Lila said, nodding. "I wish he'd get here."
"What's his name?"
"Wade." Lila said. "He's a medical student."
There was a knock at the front door. Lila turned, hoping it was Wade.
She turned back around in disappointment as Cindy went to unlock the door.
"What brings you back here, Detective?" Cindy asked, smiling.
"Another one." He said, greeting Lila. He handed Alex a manila folder. "Fresh out of the dark room."
"Oh that's disgusting." Cindy said.
"The victim's name is Wade Hutchinson." He said.
"What?" Lila stood up.
"Uh, sorry, I don't think we've met-"
"Wade?" Lila's face automatically turned a shade of green.
"Cindy." Alex said as Cindy and Chad helped her to a seat.
"I'm sorry." Chad said.
He looked up at Cindy, who mouthed 'boyfriend'
He nodded.
"What happened to him?" She asked, tears starting to roll down her face.
"We, uh…we don't know yet." He said, looking at Alex, who nodded. "We're working as hard as we can. Any help you can provide-"
"We should take you home." Alex said, stowing away the last glass.
"Yeah, I can do that. You guys look beat."
Alex nodded as Chad led her to his sedan.
"I guess we should get out of here." Cindy said.
"Chad left the files." Alex said. "I'm gonna go see if he's still around."
"Okay." Cindy said. "I'll meet you out back?"
"No, you stay here, I'll come back."
Gripping the folder, Alex left and looked around for the silver car. Not seeing it, she walked through to the back alley where here motorcycle was, wondering if he was there. Trying to rack her brain as to where Lila lived, she shook her head and turned to get back to the bar.
She was hit with a shove and her back met the brick wall behind her.
Cindy hummed a song as she wiped off the bar for the third time. When the bar was closed, they turned off most of the lights to dissuade wanderers from thinking they were open. But she couldn't help but want to turn them all on and light the room up. people died all the time, but this was a different case. She cursed under her breath, wondering why Alex always had to be the adventurous one and why she was so interested in the weird stuff that Chad asked her about.
Out of their little family, Chad had always been the authority figure. He was always a big brother to them, looking after them. Alex learned early on to be wild and crazy and that's why she had a motorcycle. Cindy hated that thing, she never liked it, but Alex loved riding it. And Cindy was the homely and motherly one, always wanting a good cup of tea and a book. She as the sensible one, rational and a bit more low keyed than the other two. Her parents had died when she was younger, and she had no one to go to. She moved in with Alex, who's father had died when she was two years old. Her mother took in Cindy and loved her like she was a second child, like she did with Chad almost every evening that he had dinner at their house.
Cindy looked around her and out the window. No one was there.
She didn't want to open the door. She pressed her ear to the door, speculating whether she could hear Alex walking back.
***
"We're here, Giles." Buffy said, hefting her heavy bag. There was a static burst and she tapped her cell phone angrily. Behind her, Xander looked around suspiciously. Vampires didn't hang out in airports, did they? "Well where's your Watcher?"
"He should be there. He called a few minutes ago and there was this horrid screech of traffic behind him. The connection was terrible, he muttered something or other about an accident." 5,000 miles away, Rupert Giles sat at the table, books all over the place. The pages fluttered lightly in the breeze the air conditioning provided.
"Well, if he calls again, tell him that we're going to go patrolling nearby and that we'll meet him back at the hotel." Buffy said, unsure of her decision. But they couldn't waste a night's time waiting near Starbucks when they could be getting rid of at least some vampires, even if they didn't know where they were going.
"Too bad none of us know New York." Willow said as Buffy hung up.
"Yeah, too bad." She mumbled. "Giles said that this guy was somewhere in traffic, and I don't know…"
"We should get a move on then." Xander said, lifting his duffel bag.
As the three left the airport, looking like lost ducklings trying to find their mother, across town, Cindy was growing in fear.
"Alex?" She said out loud, hoping for an answer.
Nothing.
***
"You know, I really hate you guys." Alex said, kicking one of her attackers in the chest. He went flying back and the moonlight caught a brief glow off the assailant's eyes.
Alex frowned as he lunged again. She hit him with a roundhouse kick and the attacker wiped blood from his face before he ran out of the alley.
She dusted herself off and wiped the water from the alley on her jeans. Brushing her hair back, she walked out of the alley. As she walked back to the bar, she wondered who had came after her. Probably a mugger looking for cash, but what was with his eyes? The moonlight was dim, but what was with the face? She had seen what drugs did to people but this was just weird. Maybe it was a burn.
She got to the corner and the door opened and Cindy ran out.
"Where were you?!?" She asked, engulfing Alex in a hug.
"In the alley. Some mugger came after me."
"Oh my God." Cindy said, her eyes in the shape of large saucers. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." She said, reassuring Cindy.
"Let's go home." Cindy said. "We can call Chad and tell him what happened."
***
"Who the hell are you?" A vampire growled.
"I hate to be cliché, but I'm a Slayer." Buffy said to the vampire. She watched as he signaled his friends and the three of them were soon surrounded by four vampires.
Stakes and holy water ready, Xander and Willow took their places, flanking Buffy.
Willow was mumbling something in Latin and Xander's eyes shifted from one vampire to another. His brief military training allowed him to note the individual weaknesses of each body. He leaned over to Willow.
"The girl on the left has a bad knee." He said.
Willow nodded, still speaking.
Buffy's hand tightened on her stake and she waited. It was a standstill. No one made a move.
A newspaper floated by.
"How long do you expect me to stand like this?" Buffy asked.
"As long as it takes for me to kill you." One vampire said.
"Ooh. Trembling in fear here." Xander said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, I've got time and you're wasting it, so why don't we get this over with?" Buffy said. She stepped back. "Will?"
Willow stepped forward, hands raised palms outstretched. The vampires looked at each other, bewildered.
A few phrases in Latin…
A few balls of energy….
A few slightly toasty vampires…
"Thanks, Will." Buffy said, grinning. "Have you been working on that?"
"You could tell?" Willow said happily.
One toasty vampire from the left got up. "You'll pay for that, Slayer." He quickly glanced at his now two comrades. The third had suffered the worst of the energy blasts Willow had generated and was now a burnt cinder in the corner.
"Right. Whatever." Buffy said as she ran forward and planted a Stake into the vampire. A few flakes of burnt flesh scraped off and landed on her jacket. She made a face and shook it off. As the dust settled onto the pavement, Willow kicked the girl vampire in the knee and she cried out in pain while Xander staked her. The rest of the vampires were quickly dusted after that.
"Let's get out of here."
In the distance, a siren shrieked through the city air and Buffy and company ducked back into the shadows as the police car rolled by. Once it was out of sight, they crept out of the alley.
Buffy gave a thumbs up to Xander and Willow when she saw that the cop car had taken a turn and was out of reach. She turned the corner and-
"Hi."
She ran straight into him. If it weren't for her reflexes and the slow rate she was walking, she would've been knocked over. He was young and he wore a leather jacket. His soft gray sweater reminded her of Riley. And his hair…it was short, spiked, too much gel. A few brooding looks and tormented thoughts, and he could've been an Angel double.