See disclaimer at the beginning…
***
Doyle's voice and the insistent tugging on his arm penetrated Angel's rage and he visibly tried to reign in his temper. Relaxing his grip on Drexel's throat, he kept the man pinned against the wall of the observation room. The angry glint in his eyes had disappeared, only to be replaced with a cold, hard stare as he used every bit of his six-foot-one frame to try to intimidate the smaller man. His voice low now, he glared menacingly at Drexel as he repeated his demand.
"Give me the access code."
Meeting the steely glare with one of his own, Dr. Drexel cleared his throat and swallowed hard. Mustering every bit of strength he had, he pushed away the hand at his throat and doubled over, attempting to catch his breath.
Able to breathe now, the researcher was quickly coming into his own anger as he righted himself and faced his challenger.
"You forget your place here, *agent*," he sneered. "This is the lab, *MY* lab, and I will do in it as I see fit."
He spared a glance at the three other men and, deciding they would remain passive, returned his attention to the young man who had attacked him.
"You can do whatever the hell you want in the field, but you will NOT come in here and make demands and manhandle me. Ever! Do you understand me?"
His anger resurfacing rapidly, Angel shouted at Drexel, "Have you lost your mind? You've got men dying in there and you're on some kind of power trip?" Shaking his head in disbelief, he spat, "You disgust me!"
Deciding to intervene before the situation escalated again, Gunn stepped between the two angry men.
"Both of you need to chill out," he started. Receiving similar dirty looks from both of them, he pressed on, "You two can have your little pissing contest later! Right now we have something more important to worry about." Finishing his statement, he indicated the room behind him where the vampire, having apparently given up on the idea of escape, was draining his second victim.
Riley stepped up next to Gunn and spoke to the researcher, "We need to get in there. Drexel, you don't have to tell us the code, but you damn well better open that door and let us get those men out of there."
"No. We need to…"
Not giving Drexel a chance to complete his sentence, Angel again grabbed the man roughly and began threatening him.
Involved as they were in their situation, none of the men noticed the entrance of a woman in her fifties leading a group of five lab coat-clad men.
Taking in the carnage inside the observation room and the confrontation occurring just outside its doors in one glance, she strode purposefully to the door of the observation room and keyed in an access code. Silently, the door opened and the men that had been following her swept into the room. Working rapidly, two of the men approached the vampire and took aim with devices that resembled large tazers.
Firing simultaneously, they hit the vampire with large, crackling bolts of electricity that immediately knocked the creature to the ground. As soon as it hit the ground, they rushed forward and picked it up. Struggling a bit under it's weight, the men managed to hoist the demon onto the exam table in the corner of the room where they were able to restrain it, while their coworkers tended to the injured.
Satisfied that the situation within the room was contained, the woman turned her attention to the men arguing without. To her surprise, the men were still not aware of her arrival. Stepping toward them, she made her presence known.
"Gentlemen!"
Immediately, Riley, Doyle, and Gunn spun to face her and shifted to the position of attention.
Sensing the woman's ire, Riley began to speak, "Professor Walsh, ma'am…"
Cutting him off with a wave of her hand, she glared at Angel and Dr. Drexel, who had continued to face off, Angel still holding the researcher by the front of his lab coat.
"Agent Connelly! Release the doctor."
Years of training kicked in and Angel let go of the doctor while shifting into a position of attention. His back still to the Professor, he continued to look fiercely at Drexel, who was busy straightening his clothes with a superior look on his face.
Finally noticing the look he was getting from Angel, Dr. Drexel hastened to move out of his line of sight. Positioning himself beside the younger man, he focused his attention on the perturbed woman who was his boss.
"Professor Walsh! This saves me the trouble of finding you later. Are you aware that these men were interfering with a critical experiment being conducted by my team?"
Casting a glance at the observation room, the professor raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't appear to have been a very successful experiment, Dr. Drexel. I arrived to see at least one human casualty and an enraged hostile." She paused before continuing, "That… displeases me. I'll expect a complete report and explanation on my desk by day's end."
Shifting her interest to the young man whose back was still to her, she ordered, "About face, Agent Connelly. I'd like to be able to see your face when you explain yourself…"
In the midst of an otherwise crisply executed about-face, Angel managed to kick his left leg out to sweep Drexel's right out from under him. Face completely devoid of emotion, he came to rest, facing Prof. Walsh, just as Drexel landed in a heap beside him.
Hearing the commotion and cursing that accompanied the doctor's fall, Doyle and Gunn barely managed to suppress their laughter. Riley merely smirked.
"Well, that certainly seemed uncalled for, Agent." Walsh reproached.
"Not at all, Ma'am," Angel stated calmly, "It was completely called for."
"I'll be the judge of that," looking down at her watch, she continued, "but, as we're already late for our briefing, it seems I'll be the judge of that a little bit later. You're all dismissed to head to the briefing room. I'll be right behind you."
Immediately, Doyle, Gunn, and Riley headed toward the exit. Angel hesitated a moment, gazing into the observation room and trying to assess the situation.
Catching his hesitation, the professor spoke again, "I said dismissed, Connelly… NOW!"
Casting a dark look her way, he hurried off to catch up with the others.
Once he was out of earshot, Walsh again addressed Drexel, "What on earth were you thinking, pulling a stunt like this out here in the open?"
"Well, we needed…" he started before he was cut off again.
"Save it! I'm already running late. I'll expect to see you in my office after the briefing, completed report in hand." With that, she turned and started toward the briefing room.
Taking a last look at the grisly scene in the observation room, she called back to him, "See that this mess gets cleaned up before anyone else has to see it! It'll kill morale…"
***
Arriving in the briefing room, Doyle, Gunn, Angel and Riley were greeted with curious stares. Shaking their heads to ward off any questions from their coworkers, the four men quickly seated themselves in empty seats near the front of the room and waited for the arrival of Professor Walsh.
Seated next to Angel, Doyle looked at his friend and shook his head. Leaning over, he whispered, "You're in deep shit… you know that, right?"
Sighing, Angel merely nodded his head.
Gunn, having caught the whispered conversation, added his two cents, "You have to be crazy going after Drexel like that, man. He's probably talking Walsh into court-martialing you right now!"
"Nah," Doyle disagreed, "She likes Angel too much to do that. 'Sides, Drexel can't be too high on her list right now, either. He got at least one o' his people killed and I don't imagine her taking that very well."
"Hey, do you think they got there in time to save the other two?" Angel asked. "I wasn't paying much attention while I was… trying to persuade that bastard to help."
Joining the conversation, Riley asked, "Persuading? Is that what you're calling it? From where I was standing it looked a lot like choking…"
"So maybe I got a little carried away," Angel admitted ruefully.
Seeing Professor Walsh enter the room, Doyle advised, "Better worry about it later, she's here."
Moving to the front of the room, Professor Walsh surveyed the men before her, making eye contact with each before she began her briefing.
"Gentleman, I know most of you have been waiting here for some time now. There was some… excitement… earlier that required my attention. I apologize for the delay. I don't want to keep you any longer than necessary, so I'll try to be brief."
Knowing she had the full attention of every man in the room, she continued, "Having reviewed your files, I know that most of you spent the past year in the jungles of Central and South America, fighting hostiles there, so I know that being here, in a little California college-town, is a big adjustment." She smiled and continued, "I'm proud to say that you've all done a remarkable job settling into the college routine and assuming the roles we've created as covers.
"We've all been here in Sunnydale for several months now and, so far, everything has gone to plan. Your patrols have been well executed and productive and you seem to have developed into a wonderful unit.
"Because of concerns voiced by our superiors in Washington, patrols have been limited to the university and surrounding grounds... That all changes now. Effective tomorrow, you will be patrolling the entire city of Sunnydale."
The men in the room exchanged glances, some pleased, others anxious, as she continued, "This will result in some minor changes. We are recommending that you wear dark clothes while on patrol. Carry back packs, which seem common on campus, to carry your weapons. Do not, under any circumstances, patrol while wearing camouflage! For whatever reason, the residents of this town have ignored what goes on after sun down for years. I'd like to make sure it stays that way. The last thing any of us need is for someone to see one of you, dressed in military fatigues, fighting some HST. Suddenly it stops being a common occurrence in Sunnydale and it becomes some sort of 'X-Files' plot wherein the government is the mastermind behind some great evil. I want that avoided at all costs, is that understood?"
Looking around the room for agreement, she saw heads nodding and heard a chorus of "Yes, ma'am's."
"Good. Tonight, I don't want any of you patrolling. All teams will stand down." Seeing confusion on several faces, she continued.
"Consider it 'mandatory fun.' Tonight, I want everyone out on the town. Visit the clubs, wander the mall, go out to eat, whatever… Just get acquainted with the town and try to blend. Are there any questions?"
Waiting until she was sure there were no questions, she nodded. "Dismissed."
As men slowly filed out of the door, she spoke again, "Agents Finn and Connelly, I'd like a word, please."
Nearly at the door, Riley and Angel exchanged a look.
"How did I get dragged into your mess again, Angel?" Riley muttered, just loudly enough for Angel to hear him.
With a slight shrug, Angel turned and slowly walked toward the professor.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I'd still like an explanation for that scene earlier. What on earth possessed you to attack Dr. Drexel that way?"
"People were dying…"
"Agent, we're in a dangerous business. People die all the time. Members of your team have died before without you feeling the need to attack anyone," she reasoned.
"I realize that, ma'am. Armed men dying in combat is something I've accepted… something all of us have accepted or we wouldn't be here…" taking a breath, he continued, "This, this was different. Those men weren't soldiers. They weren't trained. Hell, they weren't even armed! They were no more able to defend themselves than any of the civilians we try to save every night we patrol. We couldn't get in there to save them and Drexel refused to cooperate, so I lost my temper."
Walsh stared at him for a long, silent minute before she nodded.
"I can understand that." Noticing the eyes of both young men widening slightly, she continued, "I can understand that… but it *cannot* happen again."
Looking at both of them, she stated, "You two are my squad leaders. I'll spare you both the 'lead by example' speech, as I'm sure you're familiar with it, but I will not tolerate such behavior again! Fighting with other members of the Initiative is completely unacceptable, regardless of the situation! Do I make myself clear?"
Riley nodded, "Crystal, ma'am."
"Yes," Angel agreed.
She smiled, "Outstanding. Now, you're both dismissed. Go… See the sights. Enjoy your night… Just try to stay out of trouble."
Her smile faded as they hurried out of the briefing room; moments later, Drexel entered, a manila folder in hand. Shaking his head, he handed her the folder.
"They're soft," he stated, his tone distasteful.
Leafing through the report and photos in the folder, she disagreed.
"They're young, idealistic, perhaps even naïve… but they're not soft."
Stopping to look at a still shot of Drexel being manhandled by Agent Connelly while Agent Finn stood nearby, she smiled at him and continued, "Besides, they certainly have potential."
***
TBC…
***
Doyle's voice and the insistent tugging on his arm penetrated Angel's rage and he visibly tried to reign in his temper. Relaxing his grip on Drexel's throat, he kept the man pinned against the wall of the observation room. The angry glint in his eyes had disappeared, only to be replaced with a cold, hard stare as he used every bit of his six-foot-one frame to try to intimidate the smaller man. His voice low now, he glared menacingly at Drexel as he repeated his demand.
"Give me the access code."
Meeting the steely glare with one of his own, Dr. Drexel cleared his throat and swallowed hard. Mustering every bit of strength he had, he pushed away the hand at his throat and doubled over, attempting to catch his breath.
Able to breathe now, the researcher was quickly coming into his own anger as he righted himself and faced his challenger.
"You forget your place here, *agent*," he sneered. "This is the lab, *MY* lab, and I will do in it as I see fit."
He spared a glance at the three other men and, deciding they would remain passive, returned his attention to the young man who had attacked him.
"You can do whatever the hell you want in the field, but you will NOT come in here and make demands and manhandle me. Ever! Do you understand me?"
His anger resurfacing rapidly, Angel shouted at Drexel, "Have you lost your mind? You've got men dying in there and you're on some kind of power trip?" Shaking his head in disbelief, he spat, "You disgust me!"
Deciding to intervene before the situation escalated again, Gunn stepped between the two angry men.
"Both of you need to chill out," he started. Receiving similar dirty looks from both of them, he pressed on, "You two can have your little pissing contest later! Right now we have something more important to worry about." Finishing his statement, he indicated the room behind him where the vampire, having apparently given up on the idea of escape, was draining his second victim.
Riley stepped up next to Gunn and spoke to the researcher, "We need to get in there. Drexel, you don't have to tell us the code, but you damn well better open that door and let us get those men out of there."
"No. We need to…"
Not giving Drexel a chance to complete his sentence, Angel again grabbed the man roughly and began threatening him.
Involved as they were in their situation, none of the men noticed the entrance of a woman in her fifties leading a group of five lab coat-clad men.
Taking in the carnage inside the observation room and the confrontation occurring just outside its doors in one glance, she strode purposefully to the door of the observation room and keyed in an access code. Silently, the door opened and the men that had been following her swept into the room. Working rapidly, two of the men approached the vampire and took aim with devices that resembled large tazers.
Firing simultaneously, they hit the vampire with large, crackling bolts of electricity that immediately knocked the creature to the ground. As soon as it hit the ground, they rushed forward and picked it up. Struggling a bit under it's weight, the men managed to hoist the demon onto the exam table in the corner of the room where they were able to restrain it, while their coworkers tended to the injured.
Satisfied that the situation within the room was contained, the woman turned her attention to the men arguing without. To her surprise, the men were still not aware of her arrival. Stepping toward them, she made her presence known.
"Gentlemen!"
Immediately, Riley, Doyle, and Gunn spun to face her and shifted to the position of attention.
Sensing the woman's ire, Riley began to speak, "Professor Walsh, ma'am…"
Cutting him off with a wave of her hand, she glared at Angel and Dr. Drexel, who had continued to face off, Angel still holding the researcher by the front of his lab coat.
"Agent Connelly! Release the doctor."
Years of training kicked in and Angel let go of the doctor while shifting into a position of attention. His back still to the Professor, he continued to look fiercely at Drexel, who was busy straightening his clothes with a superior look on his face.
Finally noticing the look he was getting from Angel, Dr. Drexel hastened to move out of his line of sight. Positioning himself beside the younger man, he focused his attention on the perturbed woman who was his boss.
"Professor Walsh! This saves me the trouble of finding you later. Are you aware that these men were interfering with a critical experiment being conducted by my team?"
Casting a glance at the observation room, the professor raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't appear to have been a very successful experiment, Dr. Drexel. I arrived to see at least one human casualty and an enraged hostile." She paused before continuing, "That… displeases me. I'll expect a complete report and explanation on my desk by day's end."
Shifting her interest to the young man whose back was still to her, she ordered, "About face, Agent Connelly. I'd like to be able to see your face when you explain yourself…"
In the midst of an otherwise crisply executed about-face, Angel managed to kick his left leg out to sweep Drexel's right out from under him. Face completely devoid of emotion, he came to rest, facing Prof. Walsh, just as Drexel landed in a heap beside him.
Hearing the commotion and cursing that accompanied the doctor's fall, Doyle and Gunn barely managed to suppress their laughter. Riley merely smirked.
"Well, that certainly seemed uncalled for, Agent." Walsh reproached.
"Not at all, Ma'am," Angel stated calmly, "It was completely called for."
"I'll be the judge of that," looking down at her watch, she continued, "but, as we're already late for our briefing, it seems I'll be the judge of that a little bit later. You're all dismissed to head to the briefing room. I'll be right behind you."
Immediately, Doyle, Gunn, and Riley headed toward the exit. Angel hesitated a moment, gazing into the observation room and trying to assess the situation.
Catching his hesitation, the professor spoke again, "I said dismissed, Connelly… NOW!"
Casting a dark look her way, he hurried off to catch up with the others.
Once he was out of earshot, Walsh again addressed Drexel, "What on earth were you thinking, pulling a stunt like this out here in the open?"
"Well, we needed…" he started before he was cut off again.
"Save it! I'm already running late. I'll expect to see you in my office after the briefing, completed report in hand." With that, she turned and started toward the briefing room.
Taking a last look at the grisly scene in the observation room, she called back to him, "See that this mess gets cleaned up before anyone else has to see it! It'll kill morale…"
***
Arriving in the briefing room, Doyle, Gunn, Angel and Riley were greeted with curious stares. Shaking their heads to ward off any questions from their coworkers, the four men quickly seated themselves in empty seats near the front of the room and waited for the arrival of Professor Walsh.
Seated next to Angel, Doyle looked at his friend and shook his head. Leaning over, he whispered, "You're in deep shit… you know that, right?"
Sighing, Angel merely nodded his head.
Gunn, having caught the whispered conversation, added his two cents, "You have to be crazy going after Drexel like that, man. He's probably talking Walsh into court-martialing you right now!"
"Nah," Doyle disagreed, "She likes Angel too much to do that. 'Sides, Drexel can't be too high on her list right now, either. He got at least one o' his people killed and I don't imagine her taking that very well."
"Hey, do you think they got there in time to save the other two?" Angel asked. "I wasn't paying much attention while I was… trying to persuade that bastard to help."
Joining the conversation, Riley asked, "Persuading? Is that what you're calling it? From where I was standing it looked a lot like choking…"
"So maybe I got a little carried away," Angel admitted ruefully.
Seeing Professor Walsh enter the room, Doyle advised, "Better worry about it later, she's here."
Moving to the front of the room, Professor Walsh surveyed the men before her, making eye contact with each before she began her briefing.
"Gentleman, I know most of you have been waiting here for some time now. There was some… excitement… earlier that required my attention. I apologize for the delay. I don't want to keep you any longer than necessary, so I'll try to be brief."
Knowing she had the full attention of every man in the room, she continued, "Having reviewed your files, I know that most of you spent the past year in the jungles of Central and South America, fighting hostiles there, so I know that being here, in a little California college-town, is a big adjustment." She smiled and continued, "I'm proud to say that you've all done a remarkable job settling into the college routine and assuming the roles we've created as covers.
"We've all been here in Sunnydale for several months now and, so far, everything has gone to plan. Your patrols have been well executed and productive and you seem to have developed into a wonderful unit.
"Because of concerns voiced by our superiors in Washington, patrols have been limited to the university and surrounding grounds... That all changes now. Effective tomorrow, you will be patrolling the entire city of Sunnydale."
The men in the room exchanged glances, some pleased, others anxious, as she continued, "This will result in some minor changes. We are recommending that you wear dark clothes while on patrol. Carry back packs, which seem common on campus, to carry your weapons. Do not, under any circumstances, patrol while wearing camouflage! For whatever reason, the residents of this town have ignored what goes on after sun down for years. I'd like to make sure it stays that way. The last thing any of us need is for someone to see one of you, dressed in military fatigues, fighting some HST. Suddenly it stops being a common occurrence in Sunnydale and it becomes some sort of 'X-Files' plot wherein the government is the mastermind behind some great evil. I want that avoided at all costs, is that understood?"
Looking around the room for agreement, she saw heads nodding and heard a chorus of "Yes, ma'am's."
"Good. Tonight, I don't want any of you patrolling. All teams will stand down." Seeing confusion on several faces, she continued.
"Consider it 'mandatory fun.' Tonight, I want everyone out on the town. Visit the clubs, wander the mall, go out to eat, whatever… Just get acquainted with the town and try to blend. Are there any questions?"
Waiting until she was sure there were no questions, she nodded. "Dismissed."
As men slowly filed out of the door, she spoke again, "Agents Finn and Connelly, I'd like a word, please."
Nearly at the door, Riley and Angel exchanged a look.
"How did I get dragged into your mess again, Angel?" Riley muttered, just loudly enough for Angel to hear him.
With a slight shrug, Angel turned and slowly walked toward the professor.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I'd still like an explanation for that scene earlier. What on earth possessed you to attack Dr. Drexel that way?"
"People were dying…"
"Agent, we're in a dangerous business. People die all the time. Members of your team have died before without you feeling the need to attack anyone," she reasoned.
"I realize that, ma'am. Armed men dying in combat is something I've accepted… something all of us have accepted or we wouldn't be here…" taking a breath, he continued, "This, this was different. Those men weren't soldiers. They weren't trained. Hell, they weren't even armed! They were no more able to defend themselves than any of the civilians we try to save every night we patrol. We couldn't get in there to save them and Drexel refused to cooperate, so I lost my temper."
Walsh stared at him for a long, silent minute before she nodded.
"I can understand that." Noticing the eyes of both young men widening slightly, she continued, "I can understand that… but it *cannot* happen again."
Looking at both of them, she stated, "You two are my squad leaders. I'll spare you both the 'lead by example' speech, as I'm sure you're familiar with it, but I will not tolerate such behavior again! Fighting with other members of the Initiative is completely unacceptable, regardless of the situation! Do I make myself clear?"
Riley nodded, "Crystal, ma'am."
"Yes," Angel agreed.
She smiled, "Outstanding. Now, you're both dismissed. Go… See the sights. Enjoy your night… Just try to stay out of trouble."
Her smile faded as they hurried out of the briefing room; moments later, Drexel entered, a manila folder in hand. Shaking his head, he handed her the folder.
"They're soft," he stated, his tone distasteful.
Leafing through the report and photos in the folder, she disagreed.
"They're young, idealistic, perhaps even naïve… but they're not soft."
Stopping to look at a still shot of Drexel being manhandled by Agent Connelly while Agent Finn stood nearby, she smiled at him and continued, "Besides, they certainly have potential."
***
TBC…