"So, do you think we'll run into any trouble?" Xander asked. The two men
had gotten into Lowell House and, with Xander to one side, passed the
retinal scan to get them into the elevator.
"Probably not," Riley said. "Nobody much looks at your face once you're in here."
The elevator door opened, and Riley and Xander stepped into a cavernous room, filled with a vast amount of electrical equipment, both military and scientific. Scattered groups discussed various issues of military, scientific, and personal importance. As they walked through, Xander overheard a couple of scientists muttering something about "that new damn chip design" and decided that it was good they weren't waiting any longer to bust out Angel.
"Back through here," Riley said under his breath as he led Xander through three doors and two hallways – not in that order – and into the holding area of the base.
"Jeez," Xander said. "How the hell did you guys clear out all this underground space without anybody knowing?"
"Actually, most of it was already cleared out," Riley said. "There's a huge system of caves in and around Sunnydale. We picked a spot that suited our purposes and built up inside of it."
"My taxes paid for this, didn't they?"
"Every cent," Riley said. "And your taxes specifically. They said 'Take Alexander Harris's money, and give it to the military.' You paid for all sorts of fun stuff, like our meals, the weapons, the holding cells, the three hundred dollar toilet seats. It was a good time."
"Here we go," Xander said, pointing into one of the cells. He walked up to it. "This side of the glass okay?"
Riley nodded.
Xander leaned his back against the glass and rapped on it with one hand. "Hey! You! Vampire! Get up!"
Riley watched as Angel stood from his meditative pose to his full height, and stretched, flexing his muscles. Even through his coat it was an impressive sight.
"You," Angel said, glaring at Riley through the glass. "I help you guys out last year and this is how you repay me?"
Xander smirked at Riley, who did his best impression of an innocent. "Hey, I just follow orders," Riley said, holding his hands up in symbolic surrender. "What you may or may not have done is not my concern."
"That's just great," Angel said. "So while you get to hide behind your little shield of 'orders,' I'm stuck here in this cell, waiting to be experimented on."
Angel then noticed Xander's shoulders raising up and down in laughter, his head bowed.
"What?" Angel asked, not yet having recognized who was out there.
"Always on your high horse, Deadboy," Xander said, turning around, and bringing a smirk to Riley's face as well. "Never can just shut up."
Angel looked confused. "When did you start working—"
Xander smacked his forehead with his palm. "You're really not that dense, are you? Check out my name tag."
Angel looked down at Xander's chest and read the name O'Bannon.
Xander moved aside as Riley punched in the access code for the cell and opened the door. Xander held up a pair of cuffs. "Gotta put these on ya," he said. "Loose, so you can break 'em if trouble brews, but tight enough to pass a cursory inspection."
Angel nodded. "How did you know –"
"Cordelia," Xander said. "Got pissed when you didn't call."
Angel smiled. "All right," he said as Xander put the cuffs on him. "Let's go."
"I feel like I should be making a Star Wars joke about now," Xander said.
"Yeah?" Riley asked. "Like what?"
"Well, it's like, I'm Luke, cause of my powers, you're Han, you've got the military background –"
"Han had a military background?" Riley asked
"If you read the books he did. Those red stripes on his pants? They're Corellian blood stripes. They're for, like, honor, or something. Anyway, that's you. And being in cuffs, and with all the hair stuff, that would make Angel Chewbacca."
"I have seen Star Wars," Angel said. "And that's not funny."
Xander and Riley shared a smile. "Anyway, shouldn't I be Luke?" Riley asked. "I've got the farmboy thing."
"If you were Luke, that would mean Buffy is Leia, and Faith would be Mara Jade. But really, Willow should be Mara Jade because she's got the red hair. Which would mean Tara is Luke. . . "
"Mara who?" Riley asked.
"You guys are getting way too into this," Angel said.
Both men shrugged.
"Just so you know," Xander said as he and Riley continued to 'escort' Angel down the hall, "it's daytime outside. We have about a twenty foot run to my car."
"You know, even through a window, sunlight can still kill me," Angel said, turning his head to Xander.
"Keep your head down," Riley said to Angel. "Look like a defeated prisoner, not like someone who has a chance of leaving here in the next few minutes."
Angel heeded the soldier's advice and slouched, dropping his head a little.
"Anyway, that's why the trunk is popped," Xander said. "It won't be the most comfortable ride, but it might save your life."
The three men opened the next door, and saw Walsh and five soldiers standing at the end of the hallway.
"Hey, Riley?" Xander asked, their pace slowing but still moving forward.
"Yeah?" Riley asked.
"These pulse rifles kill a human?"
"Not in one shot."
"Good."
The three men kept moving until they were a few feet away from the group assembled in front of them.
"Gentlemen," Walsh said. "Going somewhere?"
"Yes, ma'am," Riley said. "We're escorting this prisoner to another facility."
"You do know that uniform isn't fooling anyone, right?" she asked of Xander. "I had you pegged as one of those. . . Scoobies. . . as soon as you stepped in the elevator."
"Then why didn't you stop us then?" Xander asked.
"I wanted to see where your loyalties lay. Obviously, not with us, as you are 'escorting' this. . . thing. . . out of here."
"Hey," Angel said, indignantly.
"He's not a 'thing'," Xander said. "He's a good guy. He helped save our asses against that Fargath demon, and he's saved my life a few times over."
"A good vampire?" Walsh asked, intrigued. "My, how poetic. I don't care. He's a vampire. And he does not leave this facility. Gentlemen?"
The five soldiers surrounding her stepped forward.
"Hey, Maggie," Xander said, as the soldiers raised their weapons – pulse rifles, not live ammo. "Wanna guess where I *got* this uniform?"
"Hold," Walsh said. "Why would that be of any interest to me?"
"Well, I just thought you might want to know what happened to the ten soldiers you sent to kill us. You know, since they never came back," Xander said snidely.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.
"Sure you do," said Riley. "The same guys who shot up Mrs. Summers' house. The same guys who shot Giles in the shoulder. And the same guys who put Buffy Summers' thirteen-year-old sister in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the stomach."
"They hurt Dawn?" Angel asked, snarling.
"Not the best time, Angel," Xander said.
"I can list off their names, if you want," Riley said. "Or have you guys not noticed some people missing? Other than Forrest, who mysteriously died?"
The five soldiers standing next to Walsh hesitated, their weapons dipping.
"You ordered a hit on civilians," Riley continued, growing angrier by the moment. "With live ammunition. You sent ten of our men against people who have been fighting these demons, protecting the world from the Hellmouth, for over three years. Maybe you'd like to explain to us why."
"I don't have to explain anything to you!" Walsh yelled. "My reasons are my own, and this unit is mine to do with as I see fit! You are not to question my orders, do you understand me? Now stand down, Commander Finn!"
"No, ma'am," Riley replied fiercely. "I can't do that."
"So, you've chosen. These. . . anarchists, who have no sense of duty, or honor, people who have killed those you served with, you would rather go with them than with the people who put you through college? Who fed you, and took care of you, and trained you? Is that what you've done?"
"First," Xander said. "We didn't kill anybody. A few broken bones, and one elbow that might need some reconstructing, and that's it. Unlike certain psychotic *bitches*, some of us actually have morals."
"And second," Riley said. "I'd rather be an anarchist than a traitor. Now are you going to step aside, or are we going to have to move you?"
"You're going to have to move us," Walsh said. She then noticed movement beside her, as first one, then after a few seconds all five soldiers lowered their weapons and stepped to either side of the corridor. Riley nodded his thanks to all of them. As they passed the group, Xander was visibly twitching as he kept his eyes firmly on Walsh. Angel, still not having dealt with the news of Dawn's injury, vamped out and snarled at Walsh, causing her to jump back and the soldiers to raise their weapons slightly. Xander grabbed Angel by the collar and shoved the vampire in front of him.
"Not now," Xander muttered, his voice making it perfectly clear he was unhappy with that decision.
"I don't want to see you here again, Finn," Walsh yelled, causing Riley to turn around. "You come back and I'll have you shot!"
"You mean like you did Forrest?" Riley asked, snarling. Walsh looked surprised, but denied nothing. Riley shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to finish everything while I'm here." They turned and walked off.
"You will all be reprimanded," Walsh seethed, glaring at the soldiers around her. "Every single one of you."
The highest ranking of the five soldiers stepped up very close to her, his gun held at the ready. He dwarfed over her by a good nine or ten inches, and looked straight down at her, defiance in his eyes. "Yes, ma'am," he spat out, snapping off what managed to be a sarcastic, yet technically perfect, salute. Each of the other soldiers followed suit, and left her standing in the hall, fuming.
Walsh stalked away to her office, slammed the door shut and sat behind her desk in a huff. She smacked the button on her console.
"When will it be ready?" she asked.
"My brother is almost finished," Adam said. "Other preparations go well."
"WHEN?!?" Walsh yelled.
"Two days," Adam said. "Three at most."
"Fine," Walsh spat out. "Just make sure it's all done."
* * * * *
"You okay back there?" Xander yelled.
"I'm fine," Angel yelled back, his voice coming through the seats. "Are you taking the scenic route or something?"
"No," Xander yelled. "We're almost there."
Xander continued driving down the road. "How about you?" he asked. "You all right?"
Riley took a deep breath, then let it out and shook his head before answering. "I don't know. Yeah. I mean. . . I just basically left behind everything I've been doing for the past few years. . . I'm AWOL. But. . . I think I'm doing the right thing. No, I know I am," he said. "It's just. . . whoa."
"Yeah," Xander said. "Whoa. But hey, you're still fighting the good fight, which is why you signed on with them in the first place, right? Only now you're not getting paid, and you're not officially sanctioned, there might be a warrant out for your arrest, you can't order anybody around and expect them just to hop to, and almost all the technology you had access to is now out of your reach."
The car was silent. "That didn't help much," Riley said after a moment.
"Yeah, no, I figured that out after I said it. Man, I was so tempted to just beat the hell out of her back there. I was so ready to just grab her and. . . and. . . "
"Yeah," Riley said. "I know."
"Here we are," Xander said, pulling up to the door of the mansion. "You go open the door, I'll let Angel out of the trunk."
Xander and Riley got out of the car. Riley opened the door, and Xander popped the trunk.
"You couldn't have put a blanket back here? Maybe a pillow?" Angel asked as Xander opened the lid.
"Hey, we got your ass out before they chipped you, be grateful. Besides, I didn't think of it. Now go inside, call Cordelia, and somebody will be back around in a little while once we figure stuff out, ok? The door's about three feet to the left."
Angel nodded, then hopped out of the trunk and ran for the now-open door. He made it inside with a minor amount of smoke, then waved to Xander and turned to Riley.
"You know, I didn't really mean –"
"Yeah, you did," Riley said.
"Yeah. I did. Does it help that I was wrong? And I'm sorry?"
"Yeah," Riley said. "And don't worry about it." Riley extended his hand, and Angel took and shook it.
"Welcome to the other side," Angel said.
"I think I've been here longer than I realize," Riley said. "But thanks."
Angel nodded and disappeared into the mansion.
Riley turned and joined Xander back in his car.
"Is that true?" Riley asked. "Did you really not think about the blanket?"
"Yeah, actually," Xander said. "Never once crossed my mind."
"Huh," Riley said, somewhat surprised that Xander hadn't purposely made the vampire less comfortable.
"Well," Xander said. "That's not to say I would have put it in there if I had, but for this time, at least, it was the truth."
Riley nodded. "Xander?"
"Yeah, man?"
"You won."
Xander looked at him for a moment. "I know. It's not about that."
"What's it about?"
Xander shrugged. "Being me. For the last three years, aggravating Angel was a great source of joy in my life."
"But now you've got Buffy," Riley pointed out.
"Point being?"
"Well. . . it's just, I know what it's like, loving a Slayer, and having one love you back. And I'm thinking. . . what other source of happiness do you need?"
Xander turned to the man next to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Well," Riley said, "it's also kind of juvenile."
"Well, so am I," Xander said.
"No you're not. Xander, you have a good, steady job, you've got an apartment, and bills to pay, you have a steady girlfriend, and you go out nightly and kill things that most people would run screaming from, and wet their pants while they did it, and you do it like it's an everyday thing. I just. . . I don't see much kid stuff in there."
"You haven't seen the Snoopy dance."
"Entertaining people and keeping the mood light, which you do, doesn't mean childish. Although I am looking forward to seeing it this Christmas," Riley said. "I've heard good things."
"Well, modesty prevents me from. . . well, nothing. It's definitely the event of the holiday season."
"I'm sure it's great," Riley said. "But that doesn't mean you're still a kid."
"You think I should give up making fun of Angel?"
"Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do. . . couldn't if I tried. But he seems a good guy. I don't really get why you didn't like him – other than Buffy, I mean."
Xander shook his head. "At first, that's all it was. He had access to a part of her that I didn't. And then, it was both that and the fact that, hey, vampire. But that was all jealousy and a kind of. . . non-directional hatred. The lynchpin for me was when Buffy died."
"You blame him?"
Xander sighed. "No. It was written in a prophecy that she was going to die. . . I don't actually think that anything we could have done would have stopped that. The point is, he didn't even try. He read the prophecy and gave up. Buffy read it and saw it as her destiny to die. Giles did too, but he stayed behind only because Buffy knocked him out. Angel was sitting in his apartment, reading."
"So the problem was. . . "
"He claimed to love her, but wouldn't go all out. Wouldn't fight. If there was a prophecy, from a book that's never been wrong, and it said Faith is going to die, would you just accept it, or would you do everything you could to fight it?"
Riley was silent. "He accepted it."
"That's why I hated him."
"Now?"
"It's just fun. I don't mind him too much – not that I like him – but he's an okay guy, and he's changed since then. Doesn't hold back anymore. And I know which side he's on, and that counts for a lot."
"So?" Riley asked as they pulled up to the Summers' house.
Xander shrugged. "Whatever. It was kinda gettin' old anyway."
The two men walked into the Summers house and found it empty, except for a note. And, of course, the hostages in the basement.
'X & R,
Mom and Giles went to the hospital. Us girls went to check out Willy's lead. Meet back here later.
-B
P.S. Love you, Baby'
"Willy's lead?" Riley asked. "Where does that mean?"
----------
End Chapter 25
"Probably not," Riley said. "Nobody much looks at your face once you're in here."
The elevator door opened, and Riley and Xander stepped into a cavernous room, filled with a vast amount of electrical equipment, both military and scientific. Scattered groups discussed various issues of military, scientific, and personal importance. As they walked through, Xander overheard a couple of scientists muttering something about "that new damn chip design" and decided that it was good they weren't waiting any longer to bust out Angel.
"Back through here," Riley said under his breath as he led Xander through three doors and two hallways – not in that order – and into the holding area of the base.
"Jeez," Xander said. "How the hell did you guys clear out all this underground space without anybody knowing?"
"Actually, most of it was already cleared out," Riley said. "There's a huge system of caves in and around Sunnydale. We picked a spot that suited our purposes and built up inside of it."
"My taxes paid for this, didn't they?"
"Every cent," Riley said. "And your taxes specifically. They said 'Take Alexander Harris's money, and give it to the military.' You paid for all sorts of fun stuff, like our meals, the weapons, the holding cells, the three hundred dollar toilet seats. It was a good time."
"Here we go," Xander said, pointing into one of the cells. He walked up to it. "This side of the glass okay?"
Riley nodded.
Xander leaned his back against the glass and rapped on it with one hand. "Hey! You! Vampire! Get up!"
Riley watched as Angel stood from his meditative pose to his full height, and stretched, flexing his muscles. Even through his coat it was an impressive sight.
"You," Angel said, glaring at Riley through the glass. "I help you guys out last year and this is how you repay me?"
Xander smirked at Riley, who did his best impression of an innocent. "Hey, I just follow orders," Riley said, holding his hands up in symbolic surrender. "What you may or may not have done is not my concern."
"That's just great," Angel said. "So while you get to hide behind your little shield of 'orders,' I'm stuck here in this cell, waiting to be experimented on."
Angel then noticed Xander's shoulders raising up and down in laughter, his head bowed.
"What?" Angel asked, not yet having recognized who was out there.
"Always on your high horse, Deadboy," Xander said, turning around, and bringing a smirk to Riley's face as well. "Never can just shut up."
Angel looked confused. "When did you start working—"
Xander smacked his forehead with his palm. "You're really not that dense, are you? Check out my name tag."
Angel looked down at Xander's chest and read the name O'Bannon.
Xander moved aside as Riley punched in the access code for the cell and opened the door. Xander held up a pair of cuffs. "Gotta put these on ya," he said. "Loose, so you can break 'em if trouble brews, but tight enough to pass a cursory inspection."
Angel nodded. "How did you know –"
"Cordelia," Xander said. "Got pissed when you didn't call."
Angel smiled. "All right," he said as Xander put the cuffs on him. "Let's go."
"I feel like I should be making a Star Wars joke about now," Xander said.
"Yeah?" Riley asked. "Like what?"
"Well, it's like, I'm Luke, cause of my powers, you're Han, you've got the military background –"
"Han had a military background?" Riley asked
"If you read the books he did. Those red stripes on his pants? They're Corellian blood stripes. They're for, like, honor, or something. Anyway, that's you. And being in cuffs, and with all the hair stuff, that would make Angel Chewbacca."
"I have seen Star Wars," Angel said. "And that's not funny."
Xander and Riley shared a smile. "Anyway, shouldn't I be Luke?" Riley asked. "I've got the farmboy thing."
"If you were Luke, that would mean Buffy is Leia, and Faith would be Mara Jade. But really, Willow should be Mara Jade because she's got the red hair. Which would mean Tara is Luke. . . "
"Mara who?" Riley asked.
"You guys are getting way too into this," Angel said.
Both men shrugged.
"Just so you know," Xander said as he and Riley continued to 'escort' Angel down the hall, "it's daytime outside. We have about a twenty foot run to my car."
"You know, even through a window, sunlight can still kill me," Angel said, turning his head to Xander.
"Keep your head down," Riley said to Angel. "Look like a defeated prisoner, not like someone who has a chance of leaving here in the next few minutes."
Angel heeded the soldier's advice and slouched, dropping his head a little.
"Anyway, that's why the trunk is popped," Xander said. "It won't be the most comfortable ride, but it might save your life."
The three men opened the next door, and saw Walsh and five soldiers standing at the end of the hallway.
"Hey, Riley?" Xander asked, their pace slowing but still moving forward.
"Yeah?" Riley asked.
"These pulse rifles kill a human?"
"Not in one shot."
"Good."
The three men kept moving until they were a few feet away from the group assembled in front of them.
"Gentlemen," Walsh said. "Going somewhere?"
"Yes, ma'am," Riley said. "We're escorting this prisoner to another facility."
"You do know that uniform isn't fooling anyone, right?" she asked of Xander. "I had you pegged as one of those. . . Scoobies. . . as soon as you stepped in the elevator."
"Then why didn't you stop us then?" Xander asked.
"I wanted to see where your loyalties lay. Obviously, not with us, as you are 'escorting' this. . . thing. . . out of here."
"Hey," Angel said, indignantly.
"He's not a 'thing'," Xander said. "He's a good guy. He helped save our asses against that Fargath demon, and he's saved my life a few times over."
"A good vampire?" Walsh asked, intrigued. "My, how poetic. I don't care. He's a vampire. And he does not leave this facility. Gentlemen?"
The five soldiers surrounding her stepped forward.
"Hey, Maggie," Xander said, as the soldiers raised their weapons – pulse rifles, not live ammo. "Wanna guess where I *got* this uniform?"
"Hold," Walsh said. "Why would that be of any interest to me?"
"Well, I just thought you might want to know what happened to the ten soldiers you sent to kill us. You know, since they never came back," Xander said snidely.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.
"Sure you do," said Riley. "The same guys who shot up Mrs. Summers' house. The same guys who shot Giles in the shoulder. And the same guys who put Buffy Summers' thirteen-year-old sister in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the stomach."
"They hurt Dawn?" Angel asked, snarling.
"Not the best time, Angel," Xander said.
"I can list off their names, if you want," Riley said. "Or have you guys not noticed some people missing? Other than Forrest, who mysteriously died?"
The five soldiers standing next to Walsh hesitated, their weapons dipping.
"You ordered a hit on civilians," Riley continued, growing angrier by the moment. "With live ammunition. You sent ten of our men against people who have been fighting these demons, protecting the world from the Hellmouth, for over three years. Maybe you'd like to explain to us why."
"I don't have to explain anything to you!" Walsh yelled. "My reasons are my own, and this unit is mine to do with as I see fit! You are not to question my orders, do you understand me? Now stand down, Commander Finn!"
"No, ma'am," Riley replied fiercely. "I can't do that."
"So, you've chosen. These. . . anarchists, who have no sense of duty, or honor, people who have killed those you served with, you would rather go with them than with the people who put you through college? Who fed you, and took care of you, and trained you? Is that what you've done?"
"First," Xander said. "We didn't kill anybody. A few broken bones, and one elbow that might need some reconstructing, and that's it. Unlike certain psychotic *bitches*, some of us actually have morals."
"And second," Riley said. "I'd rather be an anarchist than a traitor. Now are you going to step aside, or are we going to have to move you?"
"You're going to have to move us," Walsh said. She then noticed movement beside her, as first one, then after a few seconds all five soldiers lowered their weapons and stepped to either side of the corridor. Riley nodded his thanks to all of them. As they passed the group, Xander was visibly twitching as he kept his eyes firmly on Walsh. Angel, still not having dealt with the news of Dawn's injury, vamped out and snarled at Walsh, causing her to jump back and the soldiers to raise their weapons slightly. Xander grabbed Angel by the collar and shoved the vampire in front of him.
"Not now," Xander muttered, his voice making it perfectly clear he was unhappy with that decision.
"I don't want to see you here again, Finn," Walsh yelled, causing Riley to turn around. "You come back and I'll have you shot!"
"You mean like you did Forrest?" Riley asked, snarling. Walsh looked surprised, but denied nothing. Riley shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to finish everything while I'm here." They turned and walked off.
"You will all be reprimanded," Walsh seethed, glaring at the soldiers around her. "Every single one of you."
The highest ranking of the five soldiers stepped up very close to her, his gun held at the ready. He dwarfed over her by a good nine or ten inches, and looked straight down at her, defiance in his eyes. "Yes, ma'am," he spat out, snapping off what managed to be a sarcastic, yet technically perfect, salute. Each of the other soldiers followed suit, and left her standing in the hall, fuming.
Walsh stalked away to her office, slammed the door shut and sat behind her desk in a huff. She smacked the button on her console.
"When will it be ready?" she asked.
"My brother is almost finished," Adam said. "Other preparations go well."
"WHEN?!?" Walsh yelled.
"Two days," Adam said. "Three at most."
"Fine," Walsh spat out. "Just make sure it's all done."
* * * * *
"You okay back there?" Xander yelled.
"I'm fine," Angel yelled back, his voice coming through the seats. "Are you taking the scenic route or something?"
"No," Xander yelled. "We're almost there."
Xander continued driving down the road. "How about you?" he asked. "You all right?"
Riley took a deep breath, then let it out and shook his head before answering. "I don't know. Yeah. I mean. . . I just basically left behind everything I've been doing for the past few years. . . I'm AWOL. But. . . I think I'm doing the right thing. No, I know I am," he said. "It's just. . . whoa."
"Yeah," Xander said. "Whoa. But hey, you're still fighting the good fight, which is why you signed on with them in the first place, right? Only now you're not getting paid, and you're not officially sanctioned, there might be a warrant out for your arrest, you can't order anybody around and expect them just to hop to, and almost all the technology you had access to is now out of your reach."
The car was silent. "That didn't help much," Riley said after a moment.
"Yeah, no, I figured that out after I said it. Man, I was so tempted to just beat the hell out of her back there. I was so ready to just grab her and. . . and. . . "
"Yeah," Riley said. "I know."
"Here we are," Xander said, pulling up to the door of the mansion. "You go open the door, I'll let Angel out of the trunk."
Xander and Riley got out of the car. Riley opened the door, and Xander popped the trunk.
"You couldn't have put a blanket back here? Maybe a pillow?" Angel asked as Xander opened the lid.
"Hey, we got your ass out before they chipped you, be grateful. Besides, I didn't think of it. Now go inside, call Cordelia, and somebody will be back around in a little while once we figure stuff out, ok? The door's about three feet to the left."
Angel nodded, then hopped out of the trunk and ran for the now-open door. He made it inside with a minor amount of smoke, then waved to Xander and turned to Riley.
"You know, I didn't really mean –"
"Yeah, you did," Riley said.
"Yeah. I did. Does it help that I was wrong? And I'm sorry?"
"Yeah," Riley said. "And don't worry about it." Riley extended his hand, and Angel took and shook it.
"Welcome to the other side," Angel said.
"I think I've been here longer than I realize," Riley said. "But thanks."
Angel nodded and disappeared into the mansion.
Riley turned and joined Xander back in his car.
"Is that true?" Riley asked. "Did you really not think about the blanket?"
"Yeah, actually," Xander said. "Never once crossed my mind."
"Huh," Riley said, somewhat surprised that Xander hadn't purposely made the vampire less comfortable.
"Well," Xander said. "That's not to say I would have put it in there if I had, but for this time, at least, it was the truth."
Riley nodded. "Xander?"
"Yeah, man?"
"You won."
Xander looked at him for a moment. "I know. It's not about that."
"What's it about?"
Xander shrugged. "Being me. For the last three years, aggravating Angel was a great source of joy in my life."
"But now you've got Buffy," Riley pointed out.
"Point being?"
"Well. . . it's just, I know what it's like, loving a Slayer, and having one love you back. And I'm thinking. . . what other source of happiness do you need?"
Xander turned to the man next to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Well," Riley said, "it's also kind of juvenile."
"Well, so am I," Xander said.
"No you're not. Xander, you have a good, steady job, you've got an apartment, and bills to pay, you have a steady girlfriend, and you go out nightly and kill things that most people would run screaming from, and wet their pants while they did it, and you do it like it's an everyday thing. I just. . . I don't see much kid stuff in there."
"You haven't seen the Snoopy dance."
"Entertaining people and keeping the mood light, which you do, doesn't mean childish. Although I am looking forward to seeing it this Christmas," Riley said. "I've heard good things."
"Well, modesty prevents me from. . . well, nothing. It's definitely the event of the holiday season."
"I'm sure it's great," Riley said. "But that doesn't mean you're still a kid."
"You think I should give up making fun of Angel?"
"Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do. . . couldn't if I tried. But he seems a good guy. I don't really get why you didn't like him – other than Buffy, I mean."
Xander shook his head. "At first, that's all it was. He had access to a part of her that I didn't. And then, it was both that and the fact that, hey, vampire. But that was all jealousy and a kind of. . . non-directional hatred. The lynchpin for me was when Buffy died."
"You blame him?"
Xander sighed. "No. It was written in a prophecy that she was going to die. . . I don't actually think that anything we could have done would have stopped that. The point is, he didn't even try. He read the prophecy and gave up. Buffy read it and saw it as her destiny to die. Giles did too, but he stayed behind only because Buffy knocked him out. Angel was sitting in his apartment, reading."
"So the problem was. . . "
"He claimed to love her, but wouldn't go all out. Wouldn't fight. If there was a prophecy, from a book that's never been wrong, and it said Faith is going to die, would you just accept it, or would you do everything you could to fight it?"
Riley was silent. "He accepted it."
"That's why I hated him."
"Now?"
"It's just fun. I don't mind him too much – not that I like him – but he's an okay guy, and he's changed since then. Doesn't hold back anymore. And I know which side he's on, and that counts for a lot."
"So?" Riley asked as they pulled up to the Summers' house.
Xander shrugged. "Whatever. It was kinda gettin' old anyway."
The two men walked into the Summers house and found it empty, except for a note. And, of course, the hostages in the basement.
'X & R,
Mom and Giles went to the hospital. Us girls went to check out Willy's lead. Meet back here later.
-B
P.S. Love you, Baby'
"Willy's lead?" Riley asked. "Where does that mean?"
----------
End Chapter 25
