Part 3

"Can you hear me now?" Willow giggled as she walked toward the entrance of the club.

"Ha, ha, Rosenberg. You know the first three times that was funny now you're getting on my nerves."

Willow smiled at the voice hissing in her ear. Having been the new recruit and having been on the receiving end of the teasing it was nice to give a little back.

A smile quirked Graham's lips as he slipped his arm around Willow's shoulder. To anyone looking it was a loving gesture and the perfect cover up to his whispered instructions. "Once we're inside we'll split and I'll work the room while you mingle. Don't worry about gathering information for right now. If you hear something great but don't seek it out. This is just a small exercise to see your blending abilities."

Willow blew out a breath and tried to calm her racing heart. "Okay. I can do that." I hope she muttered under her breath.

"Sanctuary rules apply so you'll be safe inside. If you think you can't handle a situation just give a signal and I'll be right there."

Willow nodded. She had pretended to be her vampself in high school this can't be that much different.

Graham and Willow finally made it to the front of the line.

"Invitation?"

Graham pulled out a parchment card and handed it to the doorman.

The doorman took the invitation and looked over at Willow. "Sanctuary rules apply. No magick unless it's for entertainment."

Willow blinked, how had he known she was a witch? "O-okay. Sure thing. No magick except for fun."

The man let the velvet rope fall allowing Graham and Willow to enter the club.

Willow's eyes widened at the scene. The ceiling looked like the night sky with candles floating in mid-air. A DJ was playing rock songs and there were vampires, humans, and demons of all shapes, sizes and colors mingling around the club.

"Wow."

A voice in Willow's ear hissed, "Well, volume is still good. You're coming in clear. Go forth and blend, recruit."

Willow looked back to Graham who squeezed her shoulder and indicated he was leaving her to roam. She turned on her heel and made her way over to the bar. She needed to keep her nervous hands occupied plus she wouldn't stand out as much with a drink in her hand.

"What can I get ya?"

Willow smiled at the red skinned demon behind the bar. "I'll have a Miller lite." She really wasn't in the mood for beer but it would be easier to carry around the club.

Willow made her way closer to the dance floor to watch and get the feel of the club. It was like a demon version of The Bronze. There were small groups of people watching and talking about other small groups of people. Her lips quirked into a smile as she thought about how close the demon community mirrored the human community.

Willow slowly relaxed and began to enjoy the atmosphere. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

Willing her heart to go back down into her chest from her throat she turned to see a young man standing behind her.

He leaned in so she could hear him over the music, "Would you like to dance?"

Willow smiled and nodded.

Graham watched as Willow followed her partner to the dance floor. No one was watching her more than they should. So far she wasn't sticking out as anything other than what she was pretending to be. An attractive young woman out for a night on the town.

He noticed a small group of demons gathering in a darkened corner. Bingo. This was probably the group his sources had told him about. Graham melted into the shadows and listened quietly to what they were discussing.

~~~~

Willow turned from her fourth partner for the night, scanning the crowd seeing if she could spot Graham. Damn, he was good. She couldn't see him at all. Just the fact that she knew he wouldn't leave a rookie on their first exercise kept her from panicking.

A demon sitting in the corner watching the dance floor caught Willow's eye. There was something just a little off about him and she couldn't place it. It's not like she knew what kind of demon it was so she wouldn't know what was normal or not but as Buffy said, this demon was giving her the wiggins.

Trusting in Graham to be there for her she turned back to her partner and smiled as the music ended. She made a small surreptitious movement with her hand and prayed that Graham noticed. If not, she would wander to where the demon was and put the wire to good use.

Before she even got all the way off the dance floor she felt a strong arm encircle her waist, "Have you been waiting long, baby?"

Willow hoped her face didn't reflect her shock before she turned in Graham's embrace. She put on her best pout hoping it was sexy but dreading it looked like a petulant two year old, "Not too long, Steven here kept me occupied until you got here."

Graham looked at the vampire and smiled though it didn't reach his eyes. He didn't know why Willow had called him over and he wasn't taking any chances in case Steven was the reason.

"Thanks for keeping her busy, I'll take it from here."

Steven saw the threat in Graham's eyes and raised his hands defensively. "Hey, no harm man. Didn't know she was taken."

Well, obviously Steven wasn't the reason so Graham grunted in acknowledgement and turned Willow away. Pretending to nuzzle her neck he asked, "So if it wasn't Steven, what caused you to signal me over?"

Willow wrapped her arms around Graham and turned them so he was facing the corner, "See the demon sitting in the far corner with the dark green shirt?"

Graham raised his eyes but not his head and looked into the corner. His eyes widened just a fraction as he recognized the demon as one of the group that he had overheard earlier.

Wanting to see why Willow picked him out of a crowd he asked, "Yep, what about him?"

"There's something just a little off about him and I can't place my finger on why. He's been watching me for the last ten minutes but not stalkery watching just watching."

"Very good instincts, Rosenberg. He was with a group earlier that I overheard discussing an upcoming meeting of one of the regional big bads."

"So why the interest in me?"

Graham dismissed the demon from his mind. He was a lower ranking demon and not really a threat but it was interesting that Willow noticed this demon among all the others that were watching her as well. It seemed she had a natural instinct that was honed over years of living on the Hellmouth.

"He probably felt your power. Demons can sense the supernatural in others. It's how vampires and others feel the Slayer."

"So that's how the doorman knew I was a witch."

Graham kept his arm around Willow's waist as he steered them out of the club, "You did very well in your first exercise. You didn't raise any alarms and you spotted a potential threat. All in all tonight was a success."