Part 23: Dirty Laundry
#
Riley carefully opened the hospital room door and peeked inside. Just as he had expected. Buffy's hunt for Jackson King had proven fruitless and eventually she had returned to the hospital, opting to stand guard over Angel's bed. Riley was not sure whether being at his side or suspecting that King might come here to finish the job was the stronger motive for her.
"Buffy," he whispered. Unnecessarily, actually, seeing as waking Angel up was just about the best thing that could happen to them right now. Unfortunately the man on the hospital bed never even stirred, only the regular sound of his assisted breathing telling that he was even alive.
Buffy looked up from where she sat beside the bed, dark circles under her eyes. Riley doubted she had been home these last two days or gotten any sleep worth mentioning. Not even Willow had managed to get her away from here for a shower or some decent food.
"Any news?" she asked him, sounding incredibly tired.
"No trace of King yet," he admitted. "The teams are still on the look-out, though. I ... I just wanted to see how you were doing. You and Angel."
She looked down. "No change. He's just ... just lying there. I ..."
A tear slipped down her cheek and Riley walked over, offering her a shoulder. For a moment he thought she would refuse, try to remain as strong as everyone always expected her to be. Then the dam broke, though, and she took him up on his offer.
As she cried in his arms Riley realized that something had changed ever since Angel and him got attacked. Something he had not even noticed in all the uproar. Here he was, holding Buffy in his arms like he had dreamed about more than once ... and it was okay.
Oh, there was still a somewhat bittersweet feeling because he knew she was not his. But there was no resentment, neither directed at her nor at the man in the bed before them because he had what Riley would never have. He did not know exactly how this change had come about, but he was happy for it. Or has happy as he could be considering their current circumstances.
"Wake up soon, big man," he whispered to Angel. "She needs you."
#
"Riley, do you have a minute?"
Riley turned around, seeing Giles coming towards him. He had been about to leave the hospital, reporting back to Burke and hoping that he might have some news about the Huntsman. Buffy really needed some good news now.
"Certainly, sir," Riley said. "What is it?"
"I don't know whether Buffy told you about this, but two days ago, when she went looking for King, she came upon something else. A werewolf."
"A werewolf?" Riley asked, kind of exited. He had met a number of monsters these past few months, things that he never would have believed in as little as half a year ago. Ever since Buffy and Giles had come aboard he learned about even more. Werewolves were among the latter. He had never seen one in the flesh before.
"Yes. The strange things was, though, that, unlike other werewolves we have encountered in the past, this one was ... different. Two nights ago was not a full moon. Apparently this woman was able to control the change and retain complete human intelligence."
"This is amazing. Why are you telling me about this, though? This sounds like something Weinheim would sell his grandmother for."
"I am telling you because, according to Buffy, this woman said some very strange things to her. Buffy was too preoccupied to really think about any of it, but I spent some time going over the notes I made after she told me and ..." his voice trailed off.
Riley almost flinched as Giles scrutinized him intently for a long minute. "I want to know whether I can trust you with this, Riley."
"You know you can, sir."
"I like to think so. I was rather reluctant for Buffy and myself to join your group at first, but everything I've seen so far suggests that it was a good decision. I also believe, though, that there are a lot of things we have yet to know about."
"Such as?"
"Apparently this wolf woman attacked Buffy because she thought that she was connected to something called 'Project Inferno'."
The name did not click with Riley. "What is that?"
"I don't know. She also mentioned a name, though. Elling. Not too uncommon a name, I grant you. I had a friend of Buffy's try to find out something about this and, as it turned out, there was a man called Robert Elling, who died right here in Sunnydale almost twenty years ago. The man was a general, Riley, and attached to some sort of intelligence group. His death was deemed an accident. Apparently he was attacked and killed by wild dogs."
Riley tried to digest all that information.
"You see why I am a bit concerned?" Giles asked.
"I see it, sir. But you don't honestly think ..."
"I think that twenty years ago something went on here in Sunnydale, something that caused a werewolf to attack Buffy because she thought she was somehow mixed up in it. We have a dead general with intelligence ties and all this happens but a few months after your group, an intelligence unit, turns up here in Sunnydale. What am I supposed to think, Riley?"
#
"General Robert Elling?" Burke asked, frowning. "That name does sound familiar."
Riley looked at his superior, trying to see past that professionally neutral face of his. "Any idea where you know it from, sir?"
"Not off the bat, no. And Mr. Giles thinks that this might somehow be connected with the attack upon Ms. Summers two nights ago?"
"Yes, sir. Apparently this wolf woman thought Buffy was mixed up in something called Project Inferno and mentioned General Elling in the process."
Burke went silent, obviously deep in thought.
"Sir, is there anything I should know about?" Riley asked.
After a long minute Burke looked up, the frown having deepened.
"I wish I knew, Riley. When I was first considered for this job there were some rumors floating around Langley. Something about how the company was not as surprised about this sudden discovery of the supernatural as it should have been. There were all sorts of stories of some sort of black budget projects gone terribly wrong. Frankenstein was mentioned at least twice. I did not believe any of this crap, figured it was just people's way of trying to overcome the shock of something like this going unnoticed for so long."
He shook his head. "Let me make some inquiries, Riley. If Robert Elling was involved in any kind of cover-up right here in Sunnydale we really should know about it."
Riley nodded. He trusted Burke, trusted that the older agent would do the right thing. He was not so sure about Burke's superiors, though. Maybe he had just seen a few too many spy movies himself. The government did not do things like they showed on the X-Files. This was a straightforward mission to contain a threat to the American people, nothing else.
Maybe some hours of putting his bruised body through training would help distract him.
#
"Y-you sure t-this is g-going t-to work?" Tara asked.
Willow smiled at her friend, glad that the blonde witch had agreed to help her with this. She had known her for only a relatively short time now, of course, but it felt like it had been much, much longer. She was not quite sure why that was, or why she felt so reluctant about introducing Tara to the rest of the gang.
Right now she was just glad to have some help.
"It should," Willow explained happily. "This is a spell used for opening locked doors and unveiling hidden entrances. Which is just what I want to do, just in a cyperspacy way, you know?"
"T-this is a c-crime, isn't it?"
"Well ... technically. B-but it's about helping people, so ..."
"I agreed to h-help, Willow," Tara calmed her down. "I'm j-just worried that ... w-what if someone notices?"
"They won't! It's magic!"
The two witches smiled at each other, then arranged the final ingredients of the spell around Willow's trusty laptop. She had never before used magic to help with her hacking, but if Giles' suspicions were correct than the only place where they might find information to help them was liable to be protected by the best firewalls and encryption the taxpayers' money could buy. Willow had confidence in her abilities, but not enough to try and hack her way into the CIA's database without some help on the side.
"Ready?" Willow asked.
Tara nodded and they started to chant softly, their hands touching, fingers interlacing. Willow felt the same strange feeling of electricity she felt every time her and Tara did magic together, had felt ever since that first night when they had run from the Gentlemen together. She was not sure what exactly it was, but it felt good. Really good.
The keys on her laptop began moving of their own accord, guided by the two witches' thoughts. Numbers and columns appeared on the screen, flowing past so fast that they could barely follow. Dozens of password prompts and security warnings were bypassed in a heartbeat, penetrated with an ease that defied description. Willow felt more powerful than she ever had before. It was so easy.
Then they found something.
"Project Inferno," Tara whispered. "That is what w-we are l-looking for?"
Willow just nodded, completely entranced by what she read on her screen.
TO BE CONTINUED
#
Riley carefully opened the hospital room door and peeked inside. Just as he had expected. Buffy's hunt for Jackson King had proven fruitless and eventually she had returned to the hospital, opting to stand guard over Angel's bed. Riley was not sure whether being at his side or suspecting that King might come here to finish the job was the stronger motive for her.
"Buffy," he whispered. Unnecessarily, actually, seeing as waking Angel up was just about the best thing that could happen to them right now. Unfortunately the man on the hospital bed never even stirred, only the regular sound of his assisted breathing telling that he was even alive.
Buffy looked up from where she sat beside the bed, dark circles under her eyes. Riley doubted she had been home these last two days or gotten any sleep worth mentioning. Not even Willow had managed to get her away from here for a shower or some decent food.
"Any news?" she asked him, sounding incredibly tired.
"No trace of King yet," he admitted. "The teams are still on the look-out, though. I ... I just wanted to see how you were doing. You and Angel."
She looked down. "No change. He's just ... just lying there. I ..."
A tear slipped down her cheek and Riley walked over, offering her a shoulder. For a moment he thought she would refuse, try to remain as strong as everyone always expected her to be. Then the dam broke, though, and she took him up on his offer.
As she cried in his arms Riley realized that something had changed ever since Angel and him got attacked. Something he had not even noticed in all the uproar. Here he was, holding Buffy in his arms like he had dreamed about more than once ... and it was okay.
Oh, there was still a somewhat bittersweet feeling because he knew she was not his. But there was no resentment, neither directed at her nor at the man in the bed before them because he had what Riley would never have. He did not know exactly how this change had come about, but he was happy for it. Or has happy as he could be considering their current circumstances.
"Wake up soon, big man," he whispered to Angel. "She needs you."
#
"Riley, do you have a minute?"
Riley turned around, seeing Giles coming towards him. He had been about to leave the hospital, reporting back to Burke and hoping that he might have some news about the Huntsman. Buffy really needed some good news now.
"Certainly, sir," Riley said. "What is it?"
"I don't know whether Buffy told you about this, but two days ago, when she went looking for King, she came upon something else. A werewolf."
"A werewolf?" Riley asked, kind of exited. He had met a number of monsters these past few months, things that he never would have believed in as little as half a year ago. Ever since Buffy and Giles had come aboard he learned about even more. Werewolves were among the latter. He had never seen one in the flesh before.
"Yes. The strange things was, though, that, unlike other werewolves we have encountered in the past, this one was ... different. Two nights ago was not a full moon. Apparently this woman was able to control the change and retain complete human intelligence."
"This is amazing. Why are you telling me about this, though? This sounds like something Weinheim would sell his grandmother for."
"I am telling you because, according to Buffy, this woman said some very strange things to her. Buffy was too preoccupied to really think about any of it, but I spent some time going over the notes I made after she told me and ..." his voice trailed off.
Riley almost flinched as Giles scrutinized him intently for a long minute. "I want to know whether I can trust you with this, Riley."
"You know you can, sir."
"I like to think so. I was rather reluctant for Buffy and myself to join your group at first, but everything I've seen so far suggests that it was a good decision. I also believe, though, that there are a lot of things we have yet to know about."
"Such as?"
"Apparently this wolf woman attacked Buffy because she thought that she was connected to something called 'Project Inferno'."
The name did not click with Riley. "What is that?"
"I don't know. She also mentioned a name, though. Elling. Not too uncommon a name, I grant you. I had a friend of Buffy's try to find out something about this and, as it turned out, there was a man called Robert Elling, who died right here in Sunnydale almost twenty years ago. The man was a general, Riley, and attached to some sort of intelligence group. His death was deemed an accident. Apparently he was attacked and killed by wild dogs."
Riley tried to digest all that information.
"You see why I am a bit concerned?" Giles asked.
"I see it, sir. But you don't honestly think ..."
"I think that twenty years ago something went on here in Sunnydale, something that caused a werewolf to attack Buffy because she thought she was somehow mixed up in it. We have a dead general with intelligence ties and all this happens but a few months after your group, an intelligence unit, turns up here in Sunnydale. What am I supposed to think, Riley?"
#
"General Robert Elling?" Burke asked, frowning. "That name does sound familiar."
Riley looked at his superior, trying to see past that professionally neutral face of his. "Any idea where you know it from, sir?"
"Not off the bat, no. And Mr. Giles thinks that this might somehow be connected with the attack upon Ms. Summers two nights ago?"
"Yes, sir. Apparently this wolf woman thought Buffy was mixed up in something called Project Inferno and mentioned General Elling in the process."
Burke went silent, obviously deep in thought.
"Sir, is there anything I should know about?" Riley asked.
After a long minute Burke looked up, the frown having deepened.
"I wish I knew, Riley. When I was first considered for this job there were some rumors floating around Langley. Something about how the company was not as surprised about this sudden discovery of the supernatural as it should have been. There were all sorts of stories of some sort of black budget projects gone terribly wrong. Frankenstein was mentioned at least twice. I did not believe any of this crap, figured it was just people's way of trying to overcome the shock of something like this going unnoticed for so long."
He shook his head. "Let me make some inquiries, Riley. If Robert Elling was involved in any kind of cover-up right here in Sunnydale we really should know about it."
Riley nodded. He trusted Burke, trusted that the older agent would do the right thing. He was not so sure about Burke's superiors, though. Maybe he had just seen a few too many spy movies himself. The government did not do things like they showed on the X-Files. This was a straightforward mission to contain a threat to the American people, nothing else.
Maybe some hours of putting his bruised body through training would help distract him.
#
"Y-you sure t-this is g-going t-to work?" Tara asked.
Willow smiled at her friend, glad that the blonde witch had agreed to help her with this. She had known her for only a relatively short time now, of course, but it felt like it had been much, much longer. She was not quite sure why that was, or why she felt so reluctant about introducing Tara to the rest of the gang.
Right now she was just glad to have some help.
"It should," Willow explained happily. "This is a spell used for opening locked doors and unveiling hidden entrances. Which is just what I want to do, just in a cyperspacy way, you know?"
"T-this is a c-crime, isn't it?"
"Well ... technically. B-but it's about helping people, so ..."
"I agreed to h-help, Willow," Tara calmed her down. "I'm j-just worried that ... w-what if someone notices?"
"They won't! It's magic!"
The two witches smiled at each other, then arranged the final ingredients of the spell around Willow's trusty laptop. She had never before used magic to help with her hacking, but if Giles' suspicions were correct than the only place where they might find information to help them was liable to be protected by the best firewalls and encryption the taxpayers' money could buy. Willow had confidence in her abilities, but not enough to try and hack her way into the CIA's database without some help on the side.
"Ready?" Willow asked.
Tara nodded and they started to chant softly, their hands touching, fingers interlacing. Willow felt the same strange feeling of electricity she felt every time her and Tara did magic together, had felt ever since that first night when they had run from the Gentlemen together. She was not sure what exactly it was, but it felt good. Really good.
The keys on her laptop began moving of their own accord, guided by the two witches' thoughts. Numbers and columns appeared on the screen, flowing past so fast that they could barely follow. Dozens of password prompts and security warnings were bypassed in a heartbeat, penetrated with an ease that defied description. Willow felt more powerful than she ever had before. It was so easy.
Then they found something.
"Project Inferno," Tara whispered. "That is what w-we are l-looking for?"
Willow just nodded, completely entranced by what she read on her screen.
TO BE CONTINUED