******
Act I:
En Passant
Part 2:
Countdown
******
"Whenever I find myself doubting the idea of God owning a bloody wicked sense of humor, I remember that the catalyst for the rebirth of one of the greatest legends in history took place in a greasy spoon in a no-name, "one- Starbucks" hole of a burg because some stupid bugger forgot to take out his bloody garbage. If that's not wicked, it is at least deliciously ironic."
William Smythe, noted author of best-selling book "The Secret Wars,"
During BBC Interview dated June 13, 2026.
******
Mid-January, Evening
Faith stood at the opening of the alley behind the diner, waiting. She wasn't able to say much to Xander when she saw him at the library earlier, but they were able to confirm a time. She couldn't say he was late, exactly; it was more like she got tired of sitting in her room and decided to come a little early, her curiosity getting the better of her.
She had made a habit of pretty much reading just about anybody. Coming up how she did, sometimes it was the only thing that saved her ass. By the time she got older, nobody could really surprise her, but he did. If someone asked her before yesterday who, of everybody she knew, would she pick to have her back in a tight spot, Xander would've been far down on the list. In fact, she thought, the only reason he'd even make the list was because he's so completely loyal and dedicated that she knew he'd do anything, no matter how useless, to save them both. But now, it's a whole new ballgame.
She could hear a dull roar approaching, sounding like a bike. She always wanted a bike, but never had the money or any other means to get one. Some of the people she knew from Southie had bikes. When they let her ride, she loved the feeling of power, freedom. Linda said she'd consider getting her one, once she got her license, but life went another way.
Shaking her head out of memory, she watched, raising one eyebrow, as Xander rolled up in front of her riding a wicked cool black bike with silver trim. She whistled softly; looked like he copped a Yamaha V-Max, one of her favorites. He was dressed similar to what he had on last night, dark blue t-shirt, flowing duster, fatigue pants concealing a variety of toys. He also had a large bag on his back, most likely packed with more goodies. *The guy just keeps wrecking my handle,* she thought, chuckling. Pulling to a stop, Xander raised his helmet to rest on top of his head while he let the engine idle. He looked at her, eyes dancing with quiet amusement, and smiled, a gesture she returned.
"Evening, Faith." He said easily, as if they were just meeting to go to the mall. She laughed slightly under her breath.
"Hey, stud. Nice bike." Well, two can play this game, she thought.
"Yeah, well," he looked down, breaking eye contact for the first time. He raised his gaze, looking her up and down, drinking her in. "You'd be amazed what you find when you least expect it." He stared at her, maintaining eye contact, looking very sincere.
Caught flat-footed, she felt her face shade slightly red. *Okay, the score is back even again; this will be fun.* She smirked. He reached behind him to the extra helmet attached to the bike's rear. When he turned back, all signs of her blushing had faded.
"Ready?" He asked. She took the helmet, and looked at him for a moment, the question plain on her face.
"There's a spot across from the nest where we can do some recon and talk strategy. We have almost an hour really before its supposed to start."
"Okay, stud," she said, putting on the helmet and climbing on the back. "Sounds like a plan." She wrapped her arms around him, making sure to let her hands lightly caress up and down his abs. She could practically feel his eyes widen that time. *The Wild Child is back in front,* she smiled devilishly. Getting himself under control, he pulled off smoothly.
******
Ten minutes later, they were on the second floor of a vacant house on East Side, looking across the street at the evening's target. Xander had set up a couple flashlights, allowing them to see. She saw him looking over at her, noticing her tense attention. She hadn't yet asked what was going on, but she wanted to. Instead, she decided to just observe him, see what his new deal was. He was wicked serious, that was the first thing. Normally, the Scoobies seemed to joke their way through stuff, but this felt more. calculated. That would be the right word. *Like preparing for battle, not a hobby.* Yet, he seemed comfortable, at home like it was a walk in the park. It did fit him more than when he was being the Geek. She could see that by how he handled some of the funky toys he brought with him.
She watched him adjust a hand-held radio, setting it near the floor. She glanced at the area around them, noticing a variety of tools he had spread on the floor. Several stakes, a handful of canisters, some knives, a machete, two balaclavas, some electronics stuff and what looked like silly putty. She was definitely curious. He turned to her, the move catching her attention.
"Okay, here's the sitch. A few nights back, I got some info from a source about a nest hosting a potentially large vamp meeting for tonight.
I was able to get inside when the leeches were away and plant one of these," holding up the walkie-talkie, "in a spot in the main room." He set the radio down again.
She stared at him. "How you pull that off?" She had trouble sneaking up on vamps and she was a slayer. *How did a normal human get in and out of a nest without a problem? Damn, X has more tricks than a cereal box.*
He smiled. "Ask me again sometime, I might just tell you."
She rolled her eyes, smiled and gestured for him to continue, scoring him another point.
He nodded. "From what I could hear, the meet seems to be about the Slayers, and some rumors of a new hunter, meaning me, most likely." He gestured to the tools on the floor. "I got some ideas about how to handle it, you let me know what you think."
"Sounds good to me, X," she narrowed her eyes at the equipment again. "But tell me what you got here first. Looks like you brought some serious hardware." She picked up one of the canisters.
"What you have there is a holy-water aerosol canister, basically the same idea behind the tear-gas bombs cops use. Thought we might use them as a warm-up?"
She cackled. "Oh definitely, stud. What else you got?"
He picked up the silly putty and the electronics, grinning wickedly in a way she liked. "This is our secret weapon. Military-grade plastique with a couple remote fuses and detonators. Before I ran into you, this op was going to be." He paused.
"Messy?" She interjected.
He cocked his head. "Was going to say loud, but messy works too."
She laughed. "You were just going to blow the nest?"
He put his hands up playfully. "Hey, last night was the first time I had to take out a pack like that. Normally, I'm good for the sneaky 1-on-1 or maybe 1-on-2 thing."
"Well, we can talk threesomes later, Stud. But, for a virgin, you popped your cherry good."
He goggled for a moment then swallowed. "Um. thanks." She laughed, marking herself another point.
He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Let's get back to business, shall we?"
"Yes, sir. Commander Xander, sir!" She saluted, making sure to stick her chest out just a bit.
He closed his eyes and shook his head, smiling. She grinned back, notching another point while noting her increasing lead.
"Okay, X. Business now, play later?"
He straightened up mock-stiffly. "Yes, quite." He said in perfect Giles-voice. She chuckled, he leaned in, like he had a secret to share.
"And by the way, Faith," moving closer, he paused. "I wouldn't mind giving you a FULL inspection, any day." He wiggled his eyebrows faux- provocatively.
Her eyes widened, shocked for a moment, then she snorted, watching his amusement. She could see he was catching on to their little game, seemed like she needed to take him serious in more ways then one. He regained control and held her gaze, smirking
"But first, I got an idea."
******
Almost 90 minutes later, Xander stood on one side of the nest house. He knew Faith was on the opposite side, waiting for his go signal. It was quiet, the silence that always happens before a big event, the calm before the storm. Everything was in place, the trading of ideas had led to a very sound tactical strategy. He smiled to himself; he wasn't really surprised though. He'd had a feeling she was smarter than she liked to let on, maybe even smarter than she believed. He sighed. They had that in common, he laughed ruefully, before turning his focus back to the mission.
It seemed like everybody who was going to show was already here. There was another group who was expected, but it seemed they had gotten delayed, if what he'd overheard was right. Which could be potentially dangerous, leaving possible threats at your six is never a good idea. Still, it could be useful in another way. He smiled devilishly. *Yes, it could be useful.*
He could hear the head guy leading a discussion about the Hunter. One benefit of his guerilla-style tactics was that nobody could really identify him He struck quickly, decisively and disappeared. It just seemed more. natural to attack that way. He sometimes entertained the thought that his methods made him more.mysterious than Buff's usual full- frontal tactics. He smirked, that analogy brought an interesting image to mind. He shook his head, focusing again.
Ironically enough, his method may have been more effective than he thought. From what he heard, it sounded like the vamps were nervous. Maybe even, dare he say it, scared? The devil's grin returned. *Again, very useful.* He raised his radio, dialed to a matching frequency.
"Faith," he began with quiet confidence, his voice clear even through the balaclava covering his face.
"Yeah, stud." He could practically hear her smirk.
"One minute to Go-signal."
"Five-by-five."
******
Act I:
En Passant
Part 2:
Countdown
******
"Whenever I find myself doubting the idea of God owning a bloody wicked sense of humor, I remember that the catalyst for the rebirth of one of the greatest legends in history took place in a greasy spoon in a no-name, "one- Starbucks" hole of a burg because some stupid bugger forgot to take out his bloody garbage. If that's not wicked, it is at least deliciously ironic."
William Smythe, noted author of best-selling book "The Secret Wars,"
During BBC Interview dated June 13, 2026.
******
Mid-January, Evening
Faith stood at the opening of the alley behind the diner, waiting. She wasn't able to say much to Xander when she saw him at the library earlier, but they were able to confirm a time. She couldn't say he was late, exactly; it was more like she got tired of sitting in her room and decided to come a little early, her curiosity getting the better of her.
She had made a habit of pretty much reading just about anybody. Coming up how she did, sometimes it was the only thing that saved her ass. By the time she got older, nobody could really surprise her, but he did. If someone asked her before yesterday who, of everybody she knew, would she pick to have her back in a tight spot, Xander would've been far down on the list. In fact, she thought, the only reason he'd even make the list was because he's so completely loyal and dedicated that she knew he'd do anything, no matter how useless, to save them both. But now, it's a whole new ballgame.
She could hear a dull roar approaching, sounding like a bike. She always wanted a bike, but never had the money or any other means to get one. Some of the people she knew from Southie had bikes. When they let her ride, she loved the feeling of power, freedom. Linda said she'd consider getting her one, once she got her license, but life went another way.
Shaking her head out of memory, she watched, raising one eyebrow, as Xander rolled up in front of her riding a wicked cool black bike with silver trim. She whistled softly; looked like he copped a Yamaha V-Max, one of her favorites. He was dressed similar to what he had on last night, dark blue t-shirt, flowing duster, fatigue pants concealing a variety of toys. He also had a large bag on his back, most likely packed with more goodies. *The guy just keeps wrecking my handle,* she thought, chuckling. Pulling to a stop, Xander raised his helmet to rest on top of his head while he let the engine idle. He looked at her, eyes dancing with quiet amusement, and smiled, a gesture she returned.
"Evening, Faith." He said easily, as if they were just meeting to go to the mall. She laughed slightly under her breath.
"Hey, stud. Nice bike." Well, two can play this game, she thought.
"Yeah, well," he looked down, breaking eye contact for the first time. He raised his gaze, looking her up and down, drinking her in. "You'd be amazed what you find when you least expect it." He stared at her, maintaining eye contact, looking very sincere.
Caught flat-footed, she felt her face shade slightly red. *Okay, the score is back even again; this will be fun.* She smirked. He reached behind him to the extra helmet attached to the bike's rear. When he turned back, all signs of her blushing had faded.
"Ready?" He asked. She took the helmet, and looked at him for a moment, the question plain on her face.
"There's a spot across from the nest where we can do some recon and talk strategy. We have almost an hour really before its supposed to start."
"Okay, stud," she said, putting on the helmet and climbing on the back. "Sounds like a plan." She wrapped her arms around him, making sure to let her hands lightly caress up and down his abs. She could practically feel his eyes widen that time. *The Wild Child is back in front,* she smiled devilishly. Getting himself under control, he pulled off smoothly.
******
Ten minutes later, they were on the second floor of a vacant house on East Side, looking across the street at the evening's target. Xander had set up a couple flashlights, allowing them to see. She saw him looking over at her, noticing her tense attention. She hadn't yet asked what was going on, but she wanted to. Instead, she decided to just observe him, see what his new deal was. He was wicked serious, that was the first thing. Normally, the Scoobies seemed to joke their way through stuff, but this felt more. calculated. That would be the right word. *Like preparing for battle, not a hobby.* Yet, he seemed comfortable, at home like it was a walk in the park. It did fit him more than when he was being the Geek. She could see that by how he handled some of the funky toys he brought with him.
She watched him adjust a hand-held radio, setting it near the floor. She glanced at the area around them, noticing a variety of tools he had spread on the floor. Several stakes, a handful of canisters, some knives, a machete, two balaclavas, some electronics stuff and what looked like silly putty. She was definitely curious. He turned to her, the move catching her attention.
"Okay, here's the sitch. A few nights back, I got some info from a source about a nest hosting a potentially large vamp meeting for tonight.
I was able to get inside when the leeches were away and plant one of these," holding up the walkie-talkie, "in a spot in the main room." He set the radio down again.
She stared at him. "How you pull that off?" She had trouble sneaking up on vamps and she was a slayer. *How did a normal human get in and out of a nest without a problem? Damn, X has more tricks than a cereal box.*
He smiled. "Ask me again sometime, I might just tell you."
She rolled her eyes, smiled and gestured for him to continue, scoring him another point.
He nodded. "From what I could hear, the meet seems to be about the Slayers, and some rumors of a new hunter, meaning me, most likely." He gestured to the tools on the floor. "I got some ideas about how to handle it, you let me know what you think."
"Sounds good to me, X," she narrowed her eyes at the equipment again. "But tell me what you got here first. Looks like you brought some serious hardware." She picked up one of the canisters.
"What you have there is a holy-water aerosol canister, basically the same idea behind the tear-gas bombs cops use. Thought we might use them as a warm-up?"
She cackled. "Oh definitely, stud. What else you got?"
He picked up the silly putty and the electronics, grinning wickedly in a way she liked. "This is our secret weapon. Military-grade plastique with a couple remote fuses and detonators. Before I ran into you, this op was going to be." He paused.
"Messy?" She interjected.
He cocked his head. "Was going to say loud, but messy works too."
She laughed. "You were just going to blow the nest?"
He put his hands up playfully. "Hey, last night was the first time I had to take out a pack like that. Normally, I'm good for the sneaky 1-on-1 or maybe 1-on-2 thing."
"Well, we can talk threesomes later, Stud. But, for a virgin, you popped your cherry good."
He goggled for a moment then swallowed. "Um. thanks." She laughed, marking herself another point.
He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Let's get back to business, shall we?"
"Yes, sir. Commander Xander, sir!" She saluted, making sure to stick her chest out just a bit.
He closed his eyes and shook his head, smiling. She grinned back, notching another point while noting her increasing lead.
"Okay, X. Business now, play later?"
He straightened up mock-stiffly. "Yes, quite." He said in perfect Giles-voice. She chuckled, he leaned in, like he had a secret to share.
"And by the way, Faith," moving closer, he paused. "I wouldn't mind giving you a FULL inspection, any day." He wiggled his eyebrows faux- provocatively.
Her eyes widened, shocked for a moment, then she snorted, watching his amusement. She could see he was catching on to their little game, seemed like she needed to take him serious in more ways then one. He regained control and held her gaze, smirking
"But first, I got an idea."
******
Almost 90 minutes later, Xander stood on one side of the nest house. He knew Faith was on the opposite side, waiting for his go signal. It was quiet, the silence that always happens before a big event, the calm before the storm. Everything was in place, the trading of ideas had led to a very sound tactical strategy. He smiled to himself; he wasn't really surprised though. He'd had a feeling she was smarter than she liked to let on, maybe even smarter than she believed. He sighed. They had that in common, he laughed ruefully, before turning his focus back to the mission.
It seemed like everybody who was going to show was already here. There was another group who was expected, but it seemed they had gotten delayed, if what he'd overheard was right. Which could be potentially dangerous, leaving possible threats at your six is never a good idea. Still, it could be useful in another way. He smiled devilishly. *Yes, it could be useful.*
He could hear the head guy leading a discussion about the Hunter. One benefit of his guerilla-style tactics was that nobody could really identify him He struck quickly, decisively and disappeared. It just seemed more. natural to attack that way. He sometimes entertained the thought that his methods made him more.mysterious than Buff's usual full- frontal tactics. He smirked, that analogy brought an interesting image to mind. He shook his head, focusing again.
Ironically enough, his method may have been more effective than he thought. From what he heard, it sounded like the vamps were nervous. Maybe even, dare he say it, scared? The devil's grin returned. *Again, very useful.* He raised his radio, dialed to a matching frequency.
"Faith," he began with quiet confidence, his voice clear even through the balaclava covering his face.
"Yeah, stud." He could practically hear her smirk.
"One minute to Go-signal."
"Five-by-five."
******