Part 3: The Moment of Truth, and Read Through

Carefully sliding the ceiling panel aside, Joe peered into the hall below. The coast was clear. He nodded at Mickey. Operation: Mission Impossible was going smoothly. Knowing that the slightest noise would alert those who were certainly lying in wait, they had rigged a harness, based on that used in the movie.

Mickey lowered Joe down into the hall, who hung upside down. In one hand he held the finished cast list. In the other, a pushpin. Two more were clenched in his teeth. His downward motion halted. He was in position. He held the list against the wall, and inserted the first pin. He paused, straining with every sense for any sign of detection. Receiving none, he quickly inserted the next two pins and motioned for Mickey to pull him up.

The panel replaced, Mickey and Joe allowed themselves triumphant smiles. They had accomplished what no one else had been able to do. Post the cast list undetected. Mission accomplished. Now, back to Mr. Dean's office.

"No," Giles corrected Buffy. "Don't watch my hand, watch either my shoulder, or my eyes. Your adversary will most likely telegraph his movements from these points."

"You're starting to scare me with you street fighting knowledge Giles." Buffy told him.

Before Giles could respond, the ceiling gave way. Mickey and Joe fell from the hole created by their weight to the floor. Or, almost. The harness got caught in the pipes in the ceiling, and Joe's ankle was caught, suspending him an inch from the floor. Mickey landed on the table.

"Hi." Joe said brightly. "Mind if we drop in?"

"I've fallen," Mickey groaned. "And I can't get up."

I suppose it would just freak them out if I said I'd always wanted to do this. Joe thought.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS CAST LIST

SEYMOUR: JOE MACLEOD UNDERSTUDY: BEN CHURCH

MUSHNIK: SAM RICHARDSON UNDERSTUDY: MATT SIEGAL

AUDREY: ANDREA ABRAHMS UNDERSTUDY: WILLOW ROSENBERG

AUDREY 2: XANDER HARRIS UNDERSTUDY: RICK SMITH

SOUL GIRLS: MIRIAM SCHWEDT, WILLOW ROSENBERG, NICOLE TRAVERS

DENTIST: BEN CHURCH UNDERSTUDY: KAMAU RAMADAN

SKIP SNIP: KAMAU RAMADAN

BERNSTEIN: DUSTIN MOTE

D.J.: TALON BEESON

PATRICK: STEVE MOSSBERG

COMPANY: FITZ HARRIS, RICK SMITH, MICKY KEELER, ANDY BREDESON, DAN O'BRIAN, ERIC VERFOURTH, STEVE LUBER, VINCE MAFFEO, KEVIN GOOD, KATHLEEN BURKE, BRIAN CONNOR

CREW HEAD: MICKY KEELER

CREW: IZZY CHURCH, BUFFY SUMMERS, CORDELIA CHASE, CHRIS SMITH, MATT SIEGAL, MICHAEL ABERSHEIM, ARMAND SMITH, MARTY LYNCH, ZIGGY, AARON DERBY, CHRISTI MONTALVO, JUSTIN MASON, STEFAN BERTEAU

THANK YOU ALL FOR AUDITIONING

Xander couldn't believe it! Both he and Willow had gotten in! I guess we're not such losers after all. he thought. We do appear to be good at something.

Armand entered the auditorium for the first crew meeting. He seemed to be the first to arrive. Seemed to be.

"Hey Armand." said a voice to his right. Armand jumped slightly.

"Mickey," he admonished, "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry," Mickey apologized. "I just wanted to give you something."

Armand was puzzled by Mickey's mysterious air, as if he were trying to be like those informants in the movies. Mickey handed him a thick stack of paper. THE HORROR MOVIE SURVIVAL GUIDE the top sheet said. Armand looked at Mickey incredulously. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asked.

Mickey saw where he was going, and shook his head quickly. "It's nothing about your appearance." he assured him. "There's something you should know about Sunnydale."

Xander plopped his bag on the seat next to him. He still couldn't believe he was here, at a rehearsal for a play. He shook his head, and spotted something on the floor. Picking it up, he found it was the program for last year's musical.

SUNNYDALE HIGH THEATER PROUDLY PRESENTS:

BIG RIVER

STARRING:

THE RIVER RATS:

MICKY KEELER-GUITAR

JOE MACLEOD-HARMONICA

CHRIS "FIDDLER" SEXTON-FIDDLE

BEN CHURCH-HUCK(AN: okay yeah, I wish)

Xander leafed through it, noting with some sadness that Theresa had been heavily into the theater. He also felt a pang of regret at the last page.

WE'D LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS SHOW TO OUR BELOVED LATE PRINCIPAL BOB FLUTIE. WE'LL MISS YOU BOB.

"Hey Willow," Joe greeted the girl as she shyly entered the room. "I've been meaning to ask you, where did you get that harpoon for the Culture Dance?"

Willow blushed. "You saw that huh?"

Joe had been there with many of the drama people. He had researched his clan and gotten an authentic tartan and kilt. Mickey had done the same for his family and pre-Christian Ireland, and come up with and outfit that looked a bit like the ones on Roar. He even had a torq for his neck representative of his family. Everyone had been very impressed.

Sam was the first who'd seen Willow. He'd been hanging by the door when she came in. He was dressed as a rabbi.(AN: there really was a guy dressed as a rabbi, and he looked a lot like Sam)

When they took a break, Joe approached Xander. "Hey Xander, how'd Cordy take being rejected?"

"Surprisingly enough, not that bad." Xander said. "She was disappointed that she had to lose the bet though."

"What bet?"

"If she'd gotten in, I had to let her give me a make over into a cool person."

"So, since you got in, what does she have to do?"

"Crew."

Joe's face paled. "You made her do crew?" he gasped. He looked, frightened.

"Yeah, what's the problem, how much damage can she do?"

"Xander, the crew hates Cordelia!"

Talon, who'd overheard, was quick to point out; "Uh, Joe, most of us hate Cordelia."

"Yeah, but the crew has power tools!"

Cordelia was late. But it was just as well. It gave Mickey time to prepare.

"All right," he said. "Listen up. Cordelia is going to be on crew."

The crew only had time to grin their evil grins before he went on.

"She happens to be the girlfriend of one of the leads. So, I'm imposing a no bodily harm order upon her."

The grins turned into pouts in most cases, but some, like Izzy and Chris kept grinning. Mickey could tell that Cordy would most likely suffer great harm, or at least great humiliation, in Izzy's next script. And if he knew Chris, and the rest of the crew, and he thought he did, it wouldn't take them long to find the loophole in his statement. He'd only forbidden physical harm. But they were sure to traumatize her greatly. It would be good for her.

To Be Continued...