--[The Adventures of the Troika]--
--[Disclaimer: Joss es Deus.]--
--[Author's Note: Hey everyone! Yes, my disclaimer *is* in 3 different languages! Any who... Okay, so it's May now, and yes, I do remember saying something along the lines of, "Spring Break will be here soon so I'll write a lot." Um...yeah, needless to say, Spring Break came and went and I still only have 4 stories of the Troika. So my sincere apologies for that. However, I *am* extremely happy that you guys reviewed and that you love us. LoL. I'm honored. So please continue loving us, and here's the next story.]--
--[Under and Other]---
Buffy Summers sat down at the table in the Magic Box and glared at the book next to her. It was a book entitled, "Under and Other-worldly Forces of the Light and Dark."
Rupert Giles walked in from a room that was behind the slayer and sat down across from her. A smile appeared on his face when he noticed the book. The watcher glanced at the girl.
The blonde nodded and wordlessly pointed to her hair.
Giles frowned. His mouth opened and started to move.
"Put up the volume, you idiot. I wanna hear what they're saying!" Jonathan interrupted.
Andrew sighed and looked up from his comic book to turn a dial on the computer screen in front of him.
"-it looks fine, Buffy." Giles voice was heard over the speakers in the van that Jonathan and Andrew sat in.
"Ugh." The slayer whined. "No, it doesn't. It's completely messed up. And it's also all your fault!"
"No way! Why the hell did he do that?" Andrew exclaimed from his beanbag.
"What?" Jonathan asked as he continued watching the computer monitor.
Andrew waved his comic book. "I don't get why Superman insists on saving the bad guys! He never learns! They always end up coming back in the next comic and Superman's all like, 'Uh, well, where'd he come from?' It's like, hello! They're supervillains. They're not going to go away just 'cos you saved their lives! If anything, they'll be meaner *because* you saved their lives! I swear! Superman can be so-"
"Shut up!" Warren yelled over Andrew as he . "Just...listen."
Andrew and Jonathan looked at Warren then at the computer.
"-shows the greatest forces of this and all other worlds, Buffy." Giles voice once again filled the van. "Like Gods, Goddessess, Demons, all kinds of magickal beings that are currently in existence.or that have been. Ever. Do you have any idea of the importance of that book?"
Buffy shrugged. "No."
"But I do." Warren said. "We need that book."
"Uh, Warren, that won't be easy to get. The Slayer is guarding it." Andrew piped up.
Warren sat down in the swivel chair that sat in front of one of the many computers in the van, he turned down the volume and started typing. "Actually, she won't be. This will be as easy as stealing from a baby."
"A-actually, that isn't too easy either." Andrew mumbled.
Jonathon laughed. "Andrew was trying to steal a lollipop from this 1 year old girl, and she bit him. He ran away."
"She was vicious!"
"She was, like, one year old! I don't even think she had teeth!"
"It was a baby, not an eighty year old man. Of course she had teeth."
"Did I mention that he ran away screaming?"
"I did not!"
A hard whitish object went flying across the van and hit Jonathon on the head.
"Ow! Hey! That was my magick bone!" Jonathon objected.
Warren and Andrew looked at each other and snickered.
"Oh shut up!" Jonathon demanded, shooting annoyed looks at the other two.
"We'll get the book tonight." Warren stated.
"How?" Jonathon inquired.
"We're breaking into the Magic Box, you numbskull." Warren rolled his eyes in irritation.
"They have cameras." Andrew moved to a different computer that showed about four different screens on one monitor.
He typed in a command and automatically the four screens disappeared, and in its place a blue print of the Magick Box materialized. He entered another command into the computer and three red dots popped up. Two of the dots stayed lit, while the other blinked.
Warren came up behind Andrew and stared at the screen for a couple of seconds before pulling up a chair and taking a seat at yet another computer. This computer had a blank screen with a single white line blinking on and off at the top left hand corner. He typed something in and from the blinking line came about seven stars. Enter.
Jonathon stood up and looked on from the computer that Andrew was working on to Warren's computer. He contemplated in his mind whether he should go sit down at another computer, but he couldn't figure out what he would do once he sat down, so instead he stayed in his position behind Andrew and Warren.
"What is that?"
Andrew looked at Jonathan, then back at the computer screen proudly. "It's an exact copy of the Magic Box. The original blue prints, from when it was first built. That means, it shows any and all passageways in and out of there."
"And the red dots?"
"The three cameras." Andrew looked over to Warren. "Are you in yet?"
"No. It got decoded, but there's one more frame I have to get through."
Jonathon sat back down in his pile of pillows. "You guys, I'm feeling very out of the loop here."
"Alright I'm in." Warren declared.
Jonathon threw up his hands in annoyance. "I'm not!"
"It's alright, Sparky, we'll fill you in, in a second." Warren turned to Andrew's computer. "What've we got?"
"Well, Superman is now being attacked by Kerrigor an-"
Warren shot a withering glance at Andrew and just looked back at the monitor. "What's with the blinking light?"
A confused look passed through Andrew's face and he flipped back a couple of pages. "I don't know. I think they actually show where everything is. But it's really weird, because in this one, they're at different coordinates than at the last comic. It's really weird."
"On the computer, moron."
Andrew looked up from the comic and at the computer. "Oh. Right. Well, the blinking light is the camera that isn't on. And the other two are.on."
"Why isn't that one on? Do you know?" Warren asked while typing up something else on his computer.
"Well, there isn't like, a book about it or anything, but I think what they do, is switch off every 8 hours. Like.look." Andrew points to the blinking camera. "This one, is off right now."
"Really? We didn't notice, you dweeb." Jonathon muttered.
"Just listen, shorty. This one is turned off at 4 in the afternoon, and it turns back on at exactly midnight, which is in six hours time. Then the next one shuts off. That way, there are always two on." Andrew explained.
"But why wouldn't they have all three on? It's maximum security." Jonathan asked.
"They don't need all three on at one time. Two cameras show all of the shop." Warren replied. "I get it. Three cameras, divide a day into three and you have 8 each. So which camera is the one that turns off at midnight?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out now. It's a 50/50 chance."
Jonathon stood back up. "Whoa. Hold up. Why would they *have* three cameras, if they only need two in the first place?"
"I don't know!" Warren exclaimed with in a warning tone. "And I don't care. All I know is that we need that book. So important facts...only two cameras are on at one single time! Every eight hours, a camera shuts off as another starts up. Andrew, how long does it take to boot up?"
"About 2 minutes and 27 seconds. It's one of those G-Tech models that has the motto-" Andrew began.
"So that's the amount of time we have to get in and out with the book." Warren interrupted. "Now we have to figure out which camera we'll have to stay clear of. Let's get to work., we're doing this tonight."
"Um...what are we doing?" Andrew asked cautiously.
"I decoded everything that produces an IP or some kind of signal inside the Magic Box. Now I have to hack into the cameras so we could use them as our own." Warren rolled across the van to yet another monitor. "The cameras will play on this."
"What should I do?"
"Andrew...your job, will be to figure out exactly which camera will turn off at midnight so that we can stay away from the unneeded attention we might get." He turned to Jonathon. "And you, short stuff, will be here."
"Why do you two always get to have the fun?" Jonathon whined.
"We need you here, to let us know how much time we have left, and if anything goes wrong, we'll need to get out of there. You'll be the one to warn us." Warren explained. "You have a very important job. Okay?"
"Fine." Jonathon mumbled.
"Next time I wanna hear a little more enthusiasm, got it?"
"Yeah, whatever."
***
"What?" A voice whispered from the shadows behind the shop. "Speak louder."
"ALRIGHT!" the voice from the earpiece screeched as the headpiece flew out of Andrew's hand.
"Not so loud." Andrew muttered.
"Give me that." Warren grabbed the headpiece and stuck it in his ear. "Jonathon?"
"Hey, Warren, do you read me? Your girlfriend's pathetic. Over." Jonathon's voice floated through the headphone.
"That is so old." Warren rolled his eyes. "What time is it?"
"You have a minute and 37...36...33 seconds."
"Let's go." Warren grabbed Andrew by the jacket and headed to the door. He put his hand to the knob and...nothing happened. "Damnit."
"Are you guys in?"
"No. The doors locked. Hold on." Warren stepped back and was about to kick open the door when Andrew moved to the door, did something that Warren couldn't make out because of the dark, and the door swung open.
"If you had kicked open the door, don't you think that would have attracted some unwanted attention?" Andrew asked as he walked in.
"55 seconds."
Warren slightly opened the door to the main room of The Magic Box and looked out. "Andrew, fill me in. Which camera is which?"
Andrew crept up behind Warren. "The one behind the cash register is the one that will turn on at midnight. The one right above this door is the one that will shut down. And the camera over in the back corner will stay on, so we have to stay in the shadows."
"30 seconds."
Warren nodded. "Alright. And we have about 2 minutes and 27 seconds to get out."
"10 seconds."
"Right. When do we go?" Andrew looked out at the dark room.
"Go." Jonathon's said.
"Now."
Warren and Andrew silently walked out of the back and crept around the shop.
"Uh...Warren. The book isn't here." Andrew whispered.
"Where is it?" Warren voice questioned from somewhere across the room.
"I don't know! I don't see-" Suddenly a loud crash sounded from Andrew's side of the shop. "Mmph!"
"What the hell did you do?" Warren asked as he made his way towards Andrew's shadow, which flickered every now and then when a car drove by.
"It's the stupid table! It got in my way." Andrew complained while sitting down and poking his foot. "And now I think my foot's asleep."
Meanwhile in the van, Jonathon sat in a swivel chair with a headset, which he was speaking into. "You have about one minute and thirty seconds left. Do you have it yet?"
"No. This little baby here jammed his toe." Warren voice said.
"Well hurry up. You have about one minute and fifteen seconds left now." Jonathon pronounced.
He looked at the computer monitor that Warren had been at earlier and frowned. He then looked at the blue print of the Magic Box. All the dots were shining steadily. He started chewing on his lip and slowly turned to the monitor that had been programmed to show the same footage as the cameras at the Magic Box.
"Damnit." He verbalized his thoughts. "Warren, you *need* to get out of there."
The monitor showed three separate screens. A minute ago, one of the screens had been actually showing anything. Now all three were recording something. The two screens that had been empty now showed to heavily shadowed, moving objects running around inside.
"Why? Don't we have a minute left?"
"Something's gone wrong. All three cameras are working." Jonathon responded, still staring at the screen in shock and nervousness. "Get out of there."
Warren's figure came up to the camera and tapped it. "Well, yeah, we didn't break it."
"That's not what I meant, you're being recorded...by all three cameras."
"How?"
Jonathon shrugged to himself. "No idea."
"Where's the VCR?" Warren demanded.
He quickly typed in something to the blue prints and a blue dot appeared next to a red dot. "Underneath the camera that's behind the register."
Jonathon looked back at the blue prints, he noticed movement in another computer monitor and turned to it. "Crap...this just isn't a very good day. Warren, forget the book. The Slayer and Spike are headed to the shop."
"Shit. Okay, pull up from behind. Andrew and I'll be right out."
Jonathon took off the headset and threw it onto the keyboard as he opened the back doors and headed up to the front seat. As he turned the ignition, he put the gear on reverse and backed the car up the alley. He stopped about 10 feet from the back door to the Magic Box and looked back.
At that same moment, Warren and Andrew ran out the door and bounded into the van. Andrew quickly dropped down onto his beanbag while Warren shut the car doors. Before even one door was closed Jonathan had already stepped on the gas pedal and they were on their way.
Warren dropped into the passenger seat of the car and the van was silent for a minute.
"That was close." Someone said.
Suddenly Warren looked into the back at Andrew, who was still lying on his beanbag. "You *did* break the VCR like I said, right?"
Andrew sat up. "No." He handed a black rectangular object, that he'd been holding, to Warren, who stared at him in disbelief.
"You *took* the VCR." Warren said slowly.
"Yeah, I didn't want to take any chances." Andrew shrugged. "Ya know..."
"Smart boy." Warren plugged in the VCR and clicked the "Eject" button. Nothing came out, so he looked into the VCR. He suddenly dropped it and a look of utter shock and anger appeared in his face and eyes.
"What is it?" asked Jonathan as he stopped at a red light.
"There is no tape." Warren laughed. "There's no tape! This was set up for idiots.like us."
"What?"
"There's no damn tape! That means, we planned all this out for nothing, we could have gotten the book earlier and in an easier fashion.but no. We thought long and hard, and what do we get out if this?"
"Andrew tilted his head. "The.uh, the book!"
"...we don't have the book, Andrew."
--[Disclaimer: Joss es Deus.]--
--[Author's Note: Hey everyone! Yes, my disclaimer *is* in 3 different languages! Any who... Okay, so it's May now, and yes, I do remember saying something along the lines of, "Spring Break will be here soon so I'll write a lot." Um...yeah, needless to say, Spring Break came and went and I still only have 4 stories of the Troika. So my sincere apologies for that. However, I *am* extremely happy that you guys reviewed and that you love us. LoL. I'm honored. So please continue loving us, and here's the next story.]--
--[Under and Other]---
Buffy Summers sat down at the table in the Magic Box and glared at the book next to her. It was a book entitled, "Under and Other-worldly Forces of the Light and Dark."
Rupert Giles walked in from a room that was behind the slayer and sat down across from her. A smile appeared on his face when he noticed the book. The watcher glanced at the girl.
The blonde nodded and wordlessly pointed to her hair.
Giles frowned. His mouth opened and started to move.
"Put up the volume, you idiot. I wanna hear what they're saying!" Jonathan interrupted.
Andrew sighed and looked up from his comic book to turn a dial on the computer screen in front of him.
"-it looks fine, Buffy." Giles voice was heard over the speakers in the van that Jonathan and Andrew sat in.
"Ugh." The slayer whined. "No, it doesn't. It's completely messed up. And it's also all your fault!"
"No way! Why the hell did he do that?" Andrew exclaimed from his beanbag.
"What?" Jonathan asked as he continued watching the computer monitor.
Andrew waved his comic book. "I don't get why Superman insists on saving the bad guys! He never learns! They always end up coming back in the next comic and Superman's all like, 'Uh, well, where'd he come from?' It's like, hello! They're supervillains. They're not going to go away just 'cos you saved their lives! If anything, they'll be meaner *because* you saved their lives! I swear! Superman can be so-"
"Shut up!" Warren yelled over Andrew as he . "Just...listen."
Andrew and Jonathan looked at Warren then at the computer.
"-shows the greatest forces of this and all other worlds, Buffy." Giles voice once again filled the van. "Like Gods, Goddessess, Demons, all kinds of magickal beings that are currently in existence.or that have been. Ever. Do you have any idea of the importance of that book?"
Buffy shrugged. "No."
"But I do." Warren said. "We need that book."
"Uh, Warren, that won't be easy to get. The Slayer is guarding it." Andrew piped up.
Warren sat down in the swivel chair that sat in front of one of the many computers in the van, he turned down the volume and started typing. "Actually, she won't be. This will be as easy as stealing from a baby."
"A-actually, that isn't too easy either." Andrew mumbled.
Jonathon laughed. "Andrew was trying to steal a lollipop from this 1 year old girl, and she bit him. He ran away."
"She was vicious!"
"She was, like, one year old! I don't even think she had teeth!"
"It was a baby, not an eighty year old man. Of course she had teeth."
"Did I mention that he ran away screaming?"
"I did not!"
A hard whitish object went flying across the van and hit Jonathon on the head.
"Ow! Hey! That was my magick bone!" Jonathon objected.
Warren and Andrew looked at each other and snickered.
"Oh shut up!" Jonathon demanded, shooting annoyed looks at the other two.
"We'll get the book tonight." Warren stated.
"How?" Jonathon inquired.
"We're breaking into the Magic Box, you numbskull." Warren rolled his eyes in irritation.
"They have cameras." Andrew moved to a different computer that showed about four different screens on one monitor.
He typed in a command and automatically the four screens disappeared, and in its place a blue print of the Magick Box materialized. He entered another command into the computer and three red dots popped up. Two of the dots stayed lit, while the other blinked.
Warren came up behind Andrew and stared at the screen for a couple of seconds before pulling up a chair and taking a seat at yet another computer. This computer had a blank screen with a single white line blinking on and off at the top left hand corner. He typed something in and from the blinking line came about seven stars. Enter.
Jonathon stood up and looked on from the computer that Andrew was working on to Warren's computer. He contemplated in his mind whether he should go sit down at another computer, but he couldn't figure out what he would do once he sat down, so instead he stayed in his position behind Andrew and Warren.
"What is that?"
Andrew looked at Jonathan, then back at the computer screen proudly. "It's an exact copy of the Magic Box. The original blue prints, from when it was first built. That means, it shows any and all passageways in and out of there."
"And the red dots?"
"The three cameras." Andrew looked over to Warren. "Are you in yet?"
"No. It got decoded, but there's one more frame I have to get through."
Jonathon sat back down in his pile of pillows. "You guys, I'm feeling very out of the loop here."
"Alright I'm in." Warren declared.
Jonathon threw up his hands in annoyance. "I'm not!"
"It's alright, Sparky, we'll fill you in, in a second." Warren turned to Andrew's computer. "What've we got?"
"Well, Superman is now being attacked by Kerrigor an-"
Warren shot a withering glance at Andrew and just looked back at the monitor. "What's with the blinking light?"
A confused look passed through Andrew's face and he flipped back a couple of pages. "I don't know. I think they actually show where everything is. But it's really weird, because in this one, they're at different coordinates than at the last comic. It's really weird."
"On the computer, moron."
Andrew looked up from the comic and at the computer. "Oh. Right. Well, the blinking light is the camera that isn't on. And the other two are.on."
"Why isn't that one on? Do you know?" Warren asked while typing up something else on his computer.
"Well, there isn't like, a book about it or anything, but I think what they do, is switch off every 8 hours. Like.look." Andrew points to the blinking camera. "This one, is off right now."
"Really? We didn't notice, you dweeb." Jonathon muttered.
"Just listen, shorty. This one is turned off at 4 in the afternoon, and it turns back on at exactly midnight, which is in six hours time. Then the next one shuts off. That way, there are always two on." Andrew explained.
"But why wouldn't they have all three on? It's maximum security." Jonathan asked.
"They don't need all three on at one time. Two cameras show all of the shop." Warren replied. "I get it. Three cameras, divide a day into three and you have 8 each. So which camera is the one that turns off at midnight?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out now. It's a 50/50 chance."
Jonathon stood back up. "Whoa. Hold up. Why would they *have* three cameras, if they only need two in the first place?"
"I don't know!" Warren exclaimed with in a warning tone. "And I don't care. All I know is that we need that book. So important facts...only two cameras are on at one single time! Every eight hours, a camera shuts off as another starts up. Andrew, how long does it take to boot up?"
"About 2 minutes and 27 seconds. It's one of those G-Tech models that has the motto-" Andrew began.
"So that's the amount of time we have to get in and out with the book." Warren interrupted. "Now we have to figure out which camera we'll have to stay clear of. Let's get to work., we're doing this tonight."
"Um...what are we doing?" Andrew asked cautiously.
"I decoded everything that produces an IP or some kind of signal inside the Magic Box. Now I have to hack into the cameras so we could use them as our own." Warren rolled across the van to yet another monitor. "The cameras will play on this."
"What should I do?"
"Andrew...your job, will be to figure out exactly which camera will turn off at midnight so that we can stay away from the unneeded attention we might get." He turned to Jonathon. "And you, short stuff, will be here."
"Why do you two always get to have the fun?" Jonathon whined.
"We need you here, to let us know how much time we have left, and if anything goes wrong, we'll need to get out of there. You'll be the one to warn us." Warren explained. "You have a very important job. Okay?"
"Fine." Jonathon mumbled.
"Next time I wanna hear a little more enthusiasm, got it?"
"Yeah, whatever."
***
"What?" A voice whispered from the shadows behind the shop. "Speak louder."
"ALRIGHT!" the voice from the earpiece screeched as the headpiece flew out of Andrew's hand.
"Not so loud." Andrew muttered.
"Give me that." Warren grabbed the headpiece and stuck it in his ear. "Jonathon?"
"Hey, Warren, do you read me? Your girlfriend's pathetic. Over." Jonathon's voice floated through the headphone.
"That is so old." Warren rolled his eyes. "What time is it?"
"You have a minute and 37...36...33 seconds."
"Let's go." Warren grabbed Andrew by the jacket and headed to the door. He put his hand to the knob and...nothing happened. "Damnit."
"Are you guys in?"
"No. The doors locked. Hold on." Warren stepped back and was about to kick open the door when Andrew moved to the door, did something that Warren couldn't make out because of the dark, and the door swung open.
"If you had kicked open the door, don't you think that would have attracted some unwanted attention?" Andrew asked as he walked in.
"55 seconds."
Warren slightly opened the door to the main room of The Magic Box and looked out. "Andrew, fill me in. Which camera is which?"
Andrew crept up behind Warren. "The one behind the cash register is the one that will turn on at midnight. The one right above this door is the one that will shut down. And the camera over in the back corner will stay on, so we have to stay in the shadows."
"30 seconds."
Warren nodded. "Alright. And we have about 2 minutes and 27 seconds to get out."
"10 seconds."
"Right. When do we go?" Andrew looked out at the dark room.
"Go." Jonathon's said.
"Now."
Warren and Andrew silently walked out of the back and crept around the shop.
"Uh...Warren. The book isn't here." Andrew whispered.
"Where is it?" Warren voice questioned from somewhere across the room.
"I don't know! I don't see-" Suddenly a loud crash sounded from Andrew's side of the shop. "Mmph!"
"What the hell did you do?" Warren asked as he made his way towards Andrew's shadow, which flickered every now and then when a car drove by.
"It's the stupid table! It got in my way." Andrew complained while sitting down and poking his foot. "And now I think my foot's asleep."
Meanwhile in the van, Jonathon sat in a swivel chair with a headset, which he was speaking into. "You have about one minute and thirty seconds left. Do you have it yet?"
"No. This little baby here jammed his toe." Warren voice said.
"Well hurry up. You have about one minute and fifteen seconds left now." Jonathon pronounced.
He looked at the computer monitor that Warren had been at earlier and frowned. He then looked at the blue print of the Magic Box. All the dots were shining steadily. He started chewing on his lip and slowly turned to the monitor that had been programmed to show the same footage as the cameras at the Magic Box.
"Damnit." He verbalized his thoughts. "Warren, you *need* to get out of there."
The monitor showed three separate screens. A minute ago, one of the screens had been actually showing anything. Now all three were recording something. The two screens that had been empty now showed to heavily shadowed, moving objects running around inside.
"Why? Don't we have a minute left?"
"Something's gone wrong. All three cameras are working." Jonathon responded, still staring at the screen in shock and nervousness. "Get out of there."
Warren's figure came up to the camera and tapped it. "Well, yeah, we didn't break it."
"That's not what I meant, you're being recorded...by all three cameras."
"How?"
Jonathon shrugged to himself. "No idea."
"Where's the VCR?" Warren demanded.
He quickly typed in something to the blue prints and a blue dot appeared next to a red dot. "Underneath the camera that's behind the register."
Jonathon looked back at the blue prints, he noticed movement in another computer monitor and turned to it. "Crap...this just isn't a very good day. Warren, forget the book. The Slayer and Spike are headed to the shop."
"Shit. Okay, pull up from behind. Andrew and I'll be right out."
Jonathon took off the headset and threw it onto the keyboard as he opened the back doors and headed up to the front seat. As he turned the ignition, he put the gear on reverse and backed the car up the alley. He stopped about 10 feet from the back door to the Magic Box and looked back.
At that same moment, Warren and Andrew ran out the door and bounded into the van. Andrew quickly dropped down onto his beanbag while Warren shut the car doors. Before even one door was closed Jonathan had already stepped on the gas pedal and they were on their way.
Warren dropped into the passenger seat of the car and the van was silent for a minute.
"That was close." Someone said.
Suddenly Warren looked into the back at Andrew, who was still lying on his beanbag. "You *did* break the VCR like I said, right?"
Andrew sat up. "No." He handed a black rectangular object, that he'd been holding, to Warren, who stared at him in disbelief.
"You *took* the VCR." Warren said slowly.
"Yeah, I didn't want to take any chances." Andrew shrugged. "Ya know..."
"Smart boy." Warren plugged in the VCR and clicked the "Eject" button. Nothing came out, so he looked into the VCR. He suddenly dropped it and a look of utter shock and anger appeared in his face and eyes.
"What is it?" asked Jonathan as he stopped at a red light.
"There is no tape." Warren laughed. "There's no tape! This was set up for idiots.like us."
"What?"
"There's no damn tape! That means, we planned all this out for nothing, we could have gotten the book earlier and in an easier fashion.but no. We thought long and hard, and what do we get out if this?"
"Andrew tilted his head. "The.uh, the book!"
"...we don't have the book, Andrew."