Part 5

Willow groaned down in her cup of coffee. 0700! What normal human being scheduled a briefing at 0700? Oh yeah Agent Williamson wasn't normal. Willow suspected he was a demon, oooh or maybe an alien like what those Men In Black hunt.

Willow looked up from her coffee when she heard the door open. A Verok demon entered and she nodded in greeting. Her eyes widened in surprise when Graham followed Williamson into the briefing room.

She wondered which would be her partner. She hoped for Graham but figured the demon.

"All right let's get started." Williamson nodded to the demon who handed both Willow and Graham a packet.

The Verok demon hit the remote and a holographic projection appeared in the middle of the table.

"If you'll open your envelopes you'll see some information I've prepared on this subject."

"His name is Zelana and he's a Nazul demon. I believe he is preparing to make a move into the Council. He's a high-level demon with aspirations of greatness. There isn't an opening in the Council at the moment but I think he wants to create one."

Graham looked over at Williamson, "Assassination?"

Williamson nodded, "Probably to show his power and strength in his supporters."

Willow glanced up from the notes and looked over at Williamson, "And does he have many supporters? I mean enough to be able to pull off a successful coup?"

"I'm afraid so. There has been dissatisfaction among the higher ranking demons on how the Council is running the community so at the moment anyone willing to make a move will have supporters."

"Is this going to be 'better the devil you know'? Is he going to be our ticket into the Council?"

Williamson's lips quirked, "Yes and No. He is our ticket in but not as a mole. You and Rosenberg however are another matter."

Willow's heart began to speed up as she realized the importance of her first deep undercover assignment. FUCK! They were giving her an assignment that the Agency has been working toward since its inception.

Oh yeah, no pressure here.

The Verok demon cut the image of the Nazul demon and resumed his seat.

"Rosenberg, you're going in as a powerful dark witch who hires herself out as a mercenary."

Graham's brow furrowed. He was the hired human gun so if Willow was the hired gun what was his role going to be?

Williamson noted Graham's confusion, "Oh, you're still the hired gun, Miller. Rosenberg is an unknown entity in the demon community and you and she are going to work your way up in Zelana's good graces. You're going to ride his coattails to the inner Sanctum."

Williamson turned to Willow, "I need to know now, Willow. Will you be able to stay in this dark character's persona if or when you are confronted by people you know? Family? Friends? This will be dark for you."

Willow thought about Xander, Giles and Buffy. Would she be able to stay in character if she ran into them? To get to the inner Sanctum of the Demon Council? Oh yeah. They probably would think she went evil because of her 'addiction' to magick. Definitely could be used in her favor.

Willow's mask slipped over her features and she allowed no emotion to show through. Graham shivered when he saw her persona slip in place. He was very glad he knew it was an act, otherwise he'd fear for his life. This was the face of someone that would do anything to get anywhere. He ought to know, he perfected his own version of it for his persona.

"If I run into anyone I know outside the Agency they will not see any traces of the Willow they knew."

Williamson looked into her 'dead' eyes and smiled. She would go far.

"So how do we join Zelana's ranks?"

The Verok demon cleared his throat. "That's been taken care of. Graham, you're reputation proceeds you. Zelana is surrounding himself with the best and you are the best at what you do." The demon turned to Willow, "You're going in with Graham as his new partner. There have been rumors circulating since the two of you showed up in various areas around the country and people began to mysteriously disappear. One of the most persistent rumors was that Graham found you in a little known coven, saw you as his soul mate and brought you in as his partner."

Willow's eyes widened, "Soul mate? They think I'm his soul mate?"

Williamson smiled, "Not that kind of soul mate though we are capitalizing on that term. No, soul mate as in you are the other half of Graham. Not romantically, though that is a major part of it. But more he sees himself in you. A step or two above protégé."

Graham nodded. He could see that. His persona would definitely see the darkness of Willow's character and be drawn to it.

"Do we have a history or is this a recent development?"

Graham needed to know how to brief Willow privately. She needed to know the history of his character. Kills, though not actual kills. He also needed to know if they were supposed to be 'young love' or 'reunited'.

"The stories that we're spreading are of reunited love. We are sticking as close to the truth as possible. You met at UC Sunnydale, were separated and recently ran into each other when Graham did a job for a coven that Willow was with. Sparks flew, you saw your other half, Graham offered partnership, Willow accepted."

"That'll work for my Sunnydale friends as well. They would believe I went to a coven. Angel saw me with Graham in LA and he thought Graham and I were lovers." Willow turned to Graham, "How well did Buffy know you? Would she believe that you turned dark?"

Graham's lips quirked, "Given how closely I worked with Maggie Walsh and stayed with the Initiative right until the end . . .oh yeah, I can see Buffy believing I turned dark. What about you though? Will Buffy and the others believe you've turned dark and are using your magick for the 'dark side'?"

"Buffy and Giles probably will especially if rumors of our exploits get back to Sunnydale via the demon grapevine.  But Xander . . . I'm not sure about. I don't think in his heart he'd believe I would turn evil. Even if he saw first hand how evil I'd become I think he'd rationalize it."

"Will he be a liability?" Williamson was wondering if he needed to be taken out of the equation.

"No, he'd never do anything that would jeopardize my life. He might try to 'rescue' me and if that becomes an issue I can take him out of the game."

Williamson nodded and stood. "All right then. You all have your assignments. Jawanza, you'll begin dropping hints that you heard Miller is available and has a partner. Graham, you and Willow will begin cutting a swath through the local community. Willow with your dark magick and Graham with your weapons. We've set up a few scenarios for you with our other agents that should solidify any doubts Zelana might have about your capabilities."

Graham, Willow and Jawanza stood and nodded at Williamson as he left.

Jawanza turned to Graham, "It'll probably take about a week to set up Zelana."

"That would be great. That's plenty of time for Willow and I to start our campaign."

Graham waited until the Verok demon left them alone before turning to Willow, "We need to spend time together not just on our scenarios. We need to become comfortable enough with each other as our characters that our closeness is seamless and not awkward. Any hint of discrepancy could get you or I killed. Going into character 24-7 blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. The more comfortable you are in all aspects of your character's life the better it translates."