"Here," Giles said and handed the demon a wad of bills.
The demon quickly counted the money.
"Okay, the books are there," he said and pointed at his bed.
Giles walked up to the bed and looked through the books.
After a while the demon was getting impatient.
"You satisfied with them," he asked.
"Yes, the collection seems complete," Giles answered.
"Anything else you want."
"Yes, you could tell me where you got these books from."
"I bought them from an occult book store in LA."
"Do you know if they have anything else on this Ascension?"
"Don't know, you have to ask them."
The demon went back to his suitcases and searched through them. Finally he found what he was searching for and produced a small business card from one of the pockets. He handed Giles the card, but before the watcher could grab it the demon took the card out of his reach.
"That will cost you another grand," he told the watcher.
Giles cursed under his breath, muttering about demons not having any kind of sense for tradition. But in the end he gave the demon the requested money. The demon continued packing his few belongings together while Giles stuffed the books in a duffel bag, he brought with him for this purpose.
When he was finished he walked out of the door, leaving the demon to himself.
The demon finished his preparations and made himself ready to leave, when he heard another knock on his door.
"Have you forgotten anything?" he asked the person on the other side of the door.
He opened the door and revealed a smiling Xander Harris.
"Hi," was all the boy said before he punched the surprised demon in the face. The demon lost his equilibrium and collapsed on the floor, clutching his broken nose.
Xander casually walked into the small apartment and threw the envelope with the money on the demon's chest.
"I hope that's enough," he told the demon. "Where are the books?"
"Which books?" asked the demon, trying to sound clueless.
Xander lifted him up by his collar, so the two where on the same eye level.
"Do you think I'm stupid, demon. Where are the books of Ascension?" he asked him again.
"I sold them," the demon answered his question.
Xander let the demon fall to the floor. He drew his USP from under his jacket and pointed it at the frightened demon.
"You sold the books?" he asked. "To whom?"
The demon smirked up at him, realising that thing swere now standing in his favour.
"That information will cost you a pretty penny," he told the Mayor's personal hitman.
Now Xander was getting angry. He pressed the muzzle of his gun against the demon's forehead.
"I am gonna ask you this only one time, before I'm get angry. Who bought the books?" he asked the demon.
"The Brit, the Slayer's watcher. " he stammered out. "Please don't shoot me."
"You sold the books to Giles?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, that's his name," the demon confirmed his assumption.
Xander took the envelope and put his gun back in it's holster. He turned around and walked in the direction of the door.
"If I were you I would leave the town or else I'm coming back for you," he threatened the demon before he left.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------
Buffy arrived at the Rosenburg residence. Willow called her earlier, telling her that she found something important out. She knocked twice on the heavy door and seconds later Willow opened it.
"Hi Will," she greeted the witch. "What's so important that you couldn't tell it to me on the phone?" she asked her friend, noticing the sad look on her face.
Willow took a step back, allowing Buffy to enter the house.
"I will show it to you," she said and turned in the direction of the stairs. Buffy closed the door behind her and followed her friend.
Both walked up the stairs and Willow started telling Buffy what she found out.
"After Giles told us about the Mayor, I decided to look if I could hack into the computer system at City Hall. Most of the stuff is really well secured and it'll take me some time to break these." she explained.
"But you found something, right," Buffy interrupted her. "Something important, because you look pretty shocked."
"Yeah, I found something," Willow said and smiled weakly. "One of the things I was able to hack in were the financial records. It was not that interesting and I already wanted to try something different, when I spotted a familiar name on the payroll of City Hall."
They finally arrived at Willow's room and entered through the open door.
"Who?" Buffy asked.
"Look for yourself," Willow said and pointed at the computer screen.
Buffy quickly sat down in front of the computer and read the name Willow had underlined.
"Nom that's a mistake Will. He wouldn't do something like that." she told the witch with disbelief in her voice.
"I'm afraid it's true Buffy," she told her friend and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Xander is getting paid by the Mayor."
Both were silent for the following minutes.
Finally Willow was getting concerned.
"Buffy?" she asked.
Buffy turned around and looked at her. She now had the same look of shock and defeat on her face.
"What are we gonna do?" Willow asked her.
Buffy tried to compose herself before she answered.
"Call the gang. We are gonna meet at the library," she finally said.
The demon quickly counted the money.
"Okay, the books are there," he said and pointed at his bed.
Giles walked up to the bed and looked through the books.
After a while the demon was getting impatient.
"You satisfied with them," he asked.
"Yes, the collection seems complete," Giles answered.
"Anything else you want."
"Yes, you could tell me where you got these books from."
"I bought them from an occult book store in LA."
"Do you know if they have anything else on this Ascension?"
"Don't know, you have to ask them."
The demon went back to his suitcases and searched through them. Finally he found what he was searching for and produced a small business card from one of the pockets. He handed Giles the card, but before the watcher could grab it the demon took the card out of his reach.
"That will cost you another grand," he told the watcher.
Giles cursed under his breath, muttering about demons not having any kind of sense for tradition. But in the end he gave the demon the requested money. The demon continued packing his few belongings together while Giles stuffed the books in a duffel bag, he brought with him for this purpose.
When he was finished he walked out of the door, leaving the demon to himself.
The demon finished his preparations and made himself ready to leave, when he heard another knock on his door.
"Have you forgotten anything?" he asked the person on the other side of the door.
He opened the door and revealed a smiling Xander Harris.
"Hi," was all the boy said before he punched the surprised demon in the face. The demon lost his equilibrium and collapsed on the floor, clutching his broken nose.
Xander casually walked into the small apartment and threw the envelope with the money on the demon's chest.
"I hope that's enough," he told the demon. "Where are the books?"
"Which books?" asked the demon, trying to sound clueless.
Xander lifted him up by his collar, so the two where on the same eye level.
"Do you think I'm stupid, demon. Where are the books of Ascension?" he asked him again.
"I sold them," the demon answered his question.
Xander let the demon fall to the floor. He drew his USP from under his jacket and pointed it at the frightened demon.
"You sold the books?" he asked. "To whom?"
The demon smirked up at him, realising that thing swere now standing in his favour.
"That information will cost you a pretty penny," he told the Mayor's personal hitman.
Now Xander was getting angry. He pressed the muzzle of his gun against the demon's forehead.
"I am gonna ask you this only one time, before I'm get angry. Who bought the books?" he asked the demon.
"The Brit, the Slayer's watcher. " he stammered out. "Please don't shoot me."
"You sold the books to Giles?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, that's his name," the demon confirmed his assumption.
Xander took the envelope and put his gun back in it's holster. He turned around and walked in the direction of the door.
"If I were you I would leave the town or else I'm coming back for you," he threatened the demon before he left.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------
Buffy arrived at the Rosenburg residence. Willow called her earlier, telling her that she found something important out. She knocked twice on the heavy door and seconds later Willow opened it.
"Hi Will," she greeted the witch. "What's so important that you couldn't tell it to me on the phone?" she asked her friend, noticing the sad look on her face.
Willow took a step back, allowing Buffy to enter the house.
"I will show it to you," she said and turned in the direction of the stairs. Buffy closed the door behind her and followed her friend.
Both walked up the stairs and Willow started telling Buffy what she found out.
"After Giles told us about the Mayor, I decided to look if I could hack into the computer system at City Hall. Most of the stuff is really well secured and it'll take me some time to break these." she explained.
"But you found something, right," Buffy interrupted her. "Something important, because you look pretty shocked."
"Yeah, I found something," Willow said and smiled weakly. "One of the things I was able to hack in were the financial records. It was not that interesting and I already wanted to try something different, when I spotted a familiar name on the payroll of City Hall."
They finally arrived at Willow's room and entered through the open door.
"Who?" Buffy asked.
"Look for yourself," Willow said and pointed at the computer screen.
Buffy quickly sat down in front of the computer and read the name Willow had underlined.
"Nom that's a mistake Will. He wouldn't do something like that." she told the witch with disbelief in her voice.
"I'm afraid it's true Buffy," she told her friend and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Xander is getting paid by the Mayor."
Both were silent for the following minutes.
Finally Willow was getting concerned.
"Buffy?" she asked.
Buffy turned around and looked at her. She now had the same look of shock and defeat on her face.
"What are we gonna do?" Willow asked her.
Buffy tried to compose herself before she answered.
"Call the gang. We are gonna meet at the library," she finally said.