Swords Drawn, Act 2

Buffy started pacing back and forth. "I knew Giles looked distracted; he left not long after he got a call. I'm betting that it has something to do with this MacLeod." She stopped. "Anya, you said that Immortals can hate each other for a long time? Is there any chance that Giles and MacLeod have bad history?"

Anya shrugged. "I can't say: I've never met MacLeod, and until just now, I didn't know Giles was an Immortal."

"Willow, Tara, do your spell." Buffy took the cylinder from Xander and drew the sword from inside, "Giles may be in trouble." She looked at Anya. "You said that an Immortal can only be killed by decapitation, right?"

Anya nodded. "That's what the legends say."

Buffy looked at the sword. "We need more information." She walked over to the phone and dialed an overseas number from memory. "Hello. I need to talk to Quentin Travers. No, I think he'll talk to me. Tell him it's Miss Summers from America. It's about Rupert Giles and Conner MacLeod."

The distant sound of a foghorn out at sea disturbed the night as Giles and Conner stealthily made their way up the gangway leading to the deck of the container ship. Giles caught sight of the name and port of origin painted on the rusting side of the vessel: Vorovskoi Mir, Murmansk. He laughed, "Vorovskoi Mir: Thieves World."

Conner nodded. "Viktor always did have a twisted sense of humor."

The deck of the ship was deserted as the two Immortals made their way towards the superstructure at the back, their swords at the ready.

Buffy but the phone down. "Well, the Watchers' Council has always known about Giles being an Immortal. He's worked for them as a Watcher, on and off, since the late 1700's. As far as they know, he's friends with MacLeod, but he hasn't spoken about him to anyone since returning from Russia in 1917."

"Ok, well that sound's good." Willow smiled. "Do they know who Sasha is?"

"She was also an Immortal," Buffy said, placing her hands on the table, "And Giles' wife."

"Was?" Willow asked, wary, "As in 'past tense'?"

Buffy nodded. "She was killed; beheaded by another Immortal. The Watchers' Council doesn't know who, but they think it could have been MacLeod." She drew the sword from its scabbard. "We find this MacLeod, and if he did kill her, I'll take his head myself."

The ship was eerily silent as the two Immortals made their way through the narrow corridors, their swords out and at the ready. A swinging lamp over a stairwell gave notice that someone had passed that way recently.

Giles went to descend, but MacLeod held out his arm to stop him. "It's a trap."

"I know it's a trap," Giles said, pushing past his friend, "But traps only work if the target doesn't want to be caught."

The smoke slowly cleared, allowing Buffy a view of the room. "Well, that's not the result I was expecting."

Willow waved the smoke away from her face, "It was meant to form a..." She stopped as the smoke converged to form the outline of a large bird. There was a flash of light, and the smoke turned into an Owl. "...guide. it should lead us to Giles, no matter where he is."

With an ear-piecing cry, the owl took flight and headed to the door. Buffy opened the door, and the bird flew off into the night.

Xander grabbed his coat. "Catch that pigeon!"

The dark hold of the container ship was full of shadows that could contain untold dangers for the un-weary. Giles and Conner split up, each taking one side of the ship as they slowly started their way forward.

To Be Continued...