"Statistical Anomaly" by A Gentleman of Leisure.
Disclaimer: See Part 1.
Part 2: "Food For Thought".
"Now we're going to have to buy a brand new bow from the sporting goods store. I'm not sure the Watcher's Council is going to be too happy about the expense".
"Hey! It's not Buffy's fault she broke it. They should have paid for a decent hunting bow in the first place".
"Thank you, Xander. After all Giles, I was only doing what you asked. I can't help that it wasn't up to the job".
"I thought it was amazing when you put the arrow right through that log. It must have been a foot thick at least ".
"Only eleven inches, Willow. I measured it first. I wanted to be able to judge just what Buffy is capable of. I believe that with sufficient training she can do even better".
"And with a better bow, of course".
Rupert Giles, librarian at Sunnydale High School, and the Slayer's Watcher, suddenly pulled hard left on the steering wheel of his old Citroen DS 19, swerving out just in time to avoid running straight into the back of a shiny new grey Ford sedan which had been left parked at the side of the road on the far side of a blind bend. They came to a halt with tyres squealing, a little further on, and everyone looked back, Buffy sitting in the front next to Giles, and Willow, Xander and Cordelia squashed into the back, not that Xander minded being in the middle.
"Wow! That was a bit too close for comfort", Willow said shakily.
"What a stupid place to stop", Xander exclaimed. "We nearly smashed right into it".
"Some people have no consideration for others", Cordelia announced, as if the concept had only just occurred to her.
"And you would be an expert on the subject, of course?" Buffy responded sweetly.
"Well, at least I don't go around breaking expensive pieces of equipment", Cordelia said tartly.
"No, of course not. You might chip your nail polish", Willow commented quietly, and Giles couldn't help smiling to himself.
"Where's the driver? D'you suppose his car broke down?" said Buffy.
"He might be walking down the road, trying to find a phone", Xander said. "Could be his cell phone's out. I know this whole area is bad for reception - maybe it's the Hellmouth's influence".
"Well we didn't pass anyone, so either he's up ahead, or... I suppose he might have gone into the woods", Giles said.
"Why would he do that?" Willow asked, puzzled. The two men looked at her for a moment, and she gazed back at them.
"Um... perhaps to find a big tree, Wills", Xander suggested.
"Huh?"
"To go behind", Buffy said gently, and Willow blushed and said hastily, "Oh. Oh, of course. I knew that".
"Well, wherever he's been, he's not there now. He's standing over there on the other side of the road looking at us. And I think he's coming over", Cordelia said. "Kinda cute, too", she added. "Really cool shades he's wearing - I think they look like genuine Armani Aviators".
"Careful. We don't know what he wants".
"Buffy, it's broad daylight", Xander said. "There are five of us, we have a car load of sharp and pointy weapons to defend ourselves with, and he's wearing a suit".
"This is very true", said Giles, winding down his window.
-----
"Training for the Olympic archery squad?" Mulder thought, smiling to himself as he pulled up in the forecourt of the Bates Motel on the outskirts of Sunnydale. "I don't think so". He shook his head, and went in to register, still wondering why the face of the Englishman who'd been driving had seemed vaguely familiar.
The proprietor claimed he didn't recognise the photo of the second missing agent, but Mulder hadn't really expected him to. The man seemed a little edgy though, nervous, and he filed the impression away for later.
On his way in from the airport, Mulder hadn't seen any trace of either of the cars the two missing agents had been driving, and the kids he'd encountered with their teacher had said they'd not noticed any abandoned vehicles anywhere out in the countryside, so if he was going to find them his next move was to introduce himself to the local police.
As it was lunch time he stopped at a fast food diner, some sort of "Burger Palace", he didn't really notice the name. There was the usual random collection of customers, any one of whom could have been either a serial killer or a saint, or even an alien in disguise, without his being able to distinguish between them.
While out on assignments Mulder would sometimes amuse himself with trying to do the Sherlock Holmes trick of attempting to deduce people's occupations solely by visual observation. He'd never mentioned it to Scully, neither did he ever try to verify his conclusions, preferring to leave them as an interesting mystery, but somehow this afternoon it didn't seem to be so entertaining. There was a strange feeling of tension in the air, despite everything looking so normal. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and this bothered him.
The burger wasn't up to much either. It had a slightly peculiar taste, and he left half of it.
-----
"Detective Norman Stein, but just call me Frank - everyone else round here does".
Fox Mulder looked at the officer blankly, and someone at the back of the squad room sniggered. Stein looked embarrassed and led Mulder into his office.
"We got the fax you were coming, and we've had officers out looking for several days, but there hasn't been a trace of your missing people. I'm afraid we can't keep our boys occupied on it for too much longer, though - we're only a small force, and we've got a pretty heavy caseload here".
"So I noticed", Mulder said, and Stein decided he didn't like Mulder's tone of voice. It boded ill for the future, he thought. He was promptly proved right.
"I had a look at some of the statistics for Sunnydale before I flew out from Washington. They were, well, 'interesting' would be a good word for it, I thought".
"I know what you mean, but we are getting on top of it. Things are getting better, Agent Mulder. Next year's figures will show another improvement..."
Mulder interrupted him.
"I was particularly wondering if you thought there was some sort of outside influence affecting the town".
"Like gangs, you mean?" Detective Stein said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly thought Mulder, but didn't say anything, just looked at him.
"Nothing we can't handle, Agent", Stein assured him. "And we'll keep on looking for your people, no matter what".
A short while later Fox Mulder let himself be shepherded back out to the parking lot, where he was amused and intrigued to notice that each of the off duty squad cars had a bunch of garlic and a crucifix hanging from the rear view mirror.
-----
"So, a real live G-man", Xander said. "Did anyone believe that story of his about looking for a couple of missing agents?"
"Well, if agents were to go missing, SunnyD would be the ideal place to go missing in. Or do I mean from?"
"Both could be correct, Buffy, depending on whether they were still here somewhere, or were not", Giles told her. "I personally believed him".
"Why, because he was wearing a suit?"
"Well, being properly dressed certainly does say something about a man, even though it wasn't exactly Savile Row".
"Huh?" said Buffy.
"Oh, never mind. It doesn't matter", said Giles. "Listen, I want to test your strength, so that we can get a new bow for you that has the right pull. Xander and I have rigged this ingenious little device to do just that. It's a rope going through a pulley, with a hook to put weights on the end. It's fastened to the banisters of the stairs leading to the upper book stacks. You just stand there as if you were about to draw back an arrow, and when I say the word you... erm..."
"Pull?"
"Yes, exactly. You're really beginning to get the hang of this training, Buffy, aren't you? I'm very pleased".
He took off his glasses and cleaned them again, beaming short sightedly at her while he did so.
"Wow, cool. Do I get the extra donut then?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, all right, so long as it's not a jam, er... jelly one", Giles said, having a quick look in the box. Buffy grabbed the last lonely item of confectionary before he could change his mind, and chomped away happily.
"Got to keep my strength up for vampire slayage. Calories equals dusting power", she observed happily with her mouth full.
"With me, calories mean inches", Cordelia said bad temperedly. "I only have to look at a carrot and I put on half a pound". She jumped up. "I can't bear to sit here all day watching you eating".
"Don't you have an elsewhere to be, then?" Xander said, turning one of her own catchphrases back at her.
She gave him a dirty look and marched off towards the door. As she pushed to open it, another student coming in to borrow a book did exactly the same, so she just pushed harder. The student wisely retreated, and let her march out.
END OF PART 2. TO BE CONTINUED...