Kennedy readied herself, accessing the situation. Six to one weren't good odds even for a slayer. If she were going to survive, she would have to stay sharp, move fast, and fight like hell.
"Mr. Zorichov says hello." The woman announced wickedly.
As if hearing his que, Michael lunged at the slayer.
Kennedy struck out with her left foot connecting with the vampire's knee then jumped off her right leg as he started to crumple catching him in the face with a knee strike delivering enough force to propel the vampire backwards to the ground.
The demon guarding the door rushed from behind.
Kennedy spun to her left, first planting then jumping off the right leg into a spinning left heel kick catching the back of the demon's head knocking him forward as he passed by.
The woman shrieked as she was forced to dodge the demon, which collided with the wall of the next building hard enough to crack the mortar then collapsed on top of the vampire.
Ignoring the woman and still downed vampire and demon who were trying to untangle themselves, the slayer had three more opponents; two coming from one end of the alley and one from the other. She chose to face the single demon first.
The three soldiers came through the door first; followed by Willow, just in time to see Kennedy take two running steps toward a hulking demon and launch herself into the air catching the demon by the head with both hands, wrenching hard, while executing a flip with a half twist that would have made any Olympic gymnast envious.
The demon's neck broke with a sick crunch and his body limply fell to the ground at the slayer's feet as she landed facing the two other creatures lumbering toward her.
Not waiting for an invitation, the soldiers threw themselves into the fray.
Chris rushed to the demon closest to him, which happened to be the one Kennedy had kicked into the wall, and delivered a hard right cross that would have dropped a normal man. "OOOwww!" The big man jerked his hand back trying to shake away the pain as an unaffected demon heaved with a short laugh. Chris then tried a left rabbit punch to the body. It also had no effect. The demon punched at the Airman's head then brought a knee up into the man's ribs when he ducked and weaved. The big man fell backwards then rolled over rising to all fours to get up. The demon stepped forward and kicked him across the ribs causing the soldier to roll several times as he gasped in pain.
Kennedy didn't wait for the two remaining demons to reach her; she raced forward launching into a flying sidekick slamming into the chest of the demon on her left. Half surprisingly, he went down. His partner however, connected with a punch that dropped the brunette.
Eddie came at the vampire swinging. Michael, now showing his demon, caught the young man's first punch with his left hand and countered with his own right cross to the chin then grabbed the stunned man's throat, spun around shoving him against the wall of the neighboring building before leaning in to bite his opponent.
Willow approached the woman that had played the victim during the ruse with a determined pace. The woman met the witch's approach with confidence lashing out in a front kick. Willow spun to the right avoiding the kick and delivering a hard left-hand back fist to the side of her head. The woman crumpled to the ground. "Seven years hanging out with a slayer." She uselessly explained to her unconscious foe. Willow looked around and saw Eddie struggling against the vampire and losing.
Derrick, with his hands laced together over his head, came down striking between the shoulders of the demon standing over the slayer. Kennedy took advantage of Derrick's momentary distraction, rising from the ground to a half seated position, using her arms to prop up her body, bent her knees to her chest and kicked out at the demon's ankles knocking his feet out from under him then rolled to the side as her opponent fell face first toward her and sprung to her feet. Before the demon could get up, she brought down an ax kick to the back of his head, crushing his skull.
Eddie felt the vampire's fangs pierce his neck and yelled in pain. Suddenly Michael pulled back with a confused expression and looked down at his chest. Eddie followed his gaze and saw a sharp piece of wood sticking out of the creature's ribs. A second later he exploded leaving the stake suspended in mid air and revealing a certain redheaded witch standing several steps away. "You o.k?" she came closer letting the stake drop to the ground.
Eddie checked his wound and pulled back his hand to see blood on the fingers. "I think so."
"Go help Chris then."
The demon approached Chris, who was still down and raised a foot ready to crush the man's head. Chris moved at the last second and the foot struck pavement instead.
Eddie picked up a full trashcan coming up behind the demon and smashed it over the demon's head. The demon whirled around knocking the can away. Eddie backed up as the demon advanced.
Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Chris, powered by pure adrenaline and fear for his friend, jumped to his feet then leaped on the demon's back wrapping his arms around the head in a useless sleeper hold. The blinded demon staggered about trying to pry the big man's hands loose and was slowly succeeding. Eddie delivered a hard round kick to the demon's midsection. The demon barely grunted so Eddie kicked him again, then again.
"Find something heavier!" Chris shouted. Eddie looked around for something suitable but found few options. "Hurry up! I can't hold him for long!" Finally Eddie decided on another full trashcan. Rushing back over he used his impromptu weapon like a battering ram, slamming the bottom of the can into the demon's torso. The demon got a good grip on Chris and flipped him over his shoulder into Eddie with a Judo throw. Both men fell in a heap of tangled limbs.
Derrick was so amazed at how Kennedy dispatched that demon that he didn't see the one behind him get up.
Willow saw the demon's approach on Derrick and Kennedy and called "Watch out!" But it was too late. She watched it slam a fist into the soldier's head, sending him to dreamland.
Kennedy caught the demon's second punch aimed at her; wrapping her right arm around the demon's left one grasping the elbow. The demon struck her in the face with a right punch trying to break free. When it didn't work he swung again, but she caught his right arm in the same trap as his left one. A head but however freed both hands as Kennedy staggered back, blood tricking from her nose. The demon followed with a right front kick but was too slow. Kennedy had recovered and caught the kick. Viciously yanking forward while wrenching the leg clockwise, she pulled the demon off balance dislocating the hip as he fell face down on the ground roaring in pain. Kennedy ignored the sound, instead, dropping the limp leg and quickly straddled her opponent's back reaching down swiftly twisting his head with both hands until she heard the neck crack. Jumping to her feet the slayer looked around for any more threats first seeing her girlfriend smiling proudly at her. Then she noticed Eddie and Chris still struggling with the last demon. "Ah, Will." She pointed to the fight.
Willow turned around and took in the sight of Eddie and Chris circling the demon. Looking around the alley for something useful, she spotted what she needed. "Clear the deck!" she hollered.
Chris and Eddie heard the warning and looked over to see the witch raise an arm in their general direction. That was all they needed. The two friends quickly evacuated the immediate area, leaving the demon alone.
The demon also saw Willow's actions and braced himself to react to whatever she threw at him. A scraping noise behind him made him turn around to see a dumpster barreling towards him at an ever increasing speed.
The dumpster collided with the demon creating a sick 'SPLAT'.
"EEWWWW!" Chris wrinkled his face as he and Eddie stepped closer to get a better look at the squashed demon underneath the dumpster. "Now that's something heavier."
A thick greenish liquid began to oozed out from under the dumpster in several locations.
"I double that 'EEWWWW!' and raise you an ICKK!" Eddie agreed disgustedly then started to swoon.
For the first time Chris noticed how pale the other man was and that the right side of his shirt was soaked with blood. "You alright man? You don't look too good." Chris' voice showed concern for his friend.
Eddie didn't answer, his eyes just rolled back into his head as he collapsed. Chris caught him before he hit the ground.
*** *** ***
A number of MP's were stationed at each end of the club's alley blocking admittance to any and all gawkers. Inside the perimeter there were two military ambulances surrounded by a small crowd of military personnel, some medical staff, some soldiers.
Willow walked alongside a gurney containing an unconscious Eddie who was being rolled to one of the waiting ambulances, An I.V. already running blood into his arm.
Derrick and Chris sat side by side at the back of the second ambulance while a pair of medics tended to their injuries. Diana treated the gash on the back of Derrick's head while a man was wrapping Chris's bruised ribs. Kennedy stood to the side holding a cold pack to her jaw and using a wad of cotton to wipe dried blood from under her nose.
"He's going to be alright ain't he?" Derrick asked while watching his friend being loaded onto the other ambulance.
"It'll take more than this to keep that man down. He'll be whuppin' our butts on the courts in no time." Chris assured.
"Chris is right. I'm sure as soon as they pump enough blood in him he'll be good as new." Kennedy backed up.
Unseen by either patient, Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson approached. "How are you kids?" Colonel O'Neill's voice interrupted any more conversation.
Derrick and Chris immediately tried to jump to attention wincing at the effort; but Diana and the other medic restrained them. "Hold still." Diana instructed.
"At Ease. Airmen. Are you guys alright?" The Colonel showed concern.
"We'll live. I'm more concerned about Eddie, Sir." Derrick stated.
Looking at Chris' medic, Jack silently asked his opinion.
"He's breathing o.k. But, he still needs an X-ray to make sure nothing's broken."
"We also need to rule out a concussion." Diana referred to her patient.
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Jack answered the airman's concern. "But we need to know what happened."
"I spotted a vampire pick up a woman and lead her into the alley. So I followed them." Kennedy began.
Chris picked up the story. "The rest of us were curious and decided to follow along since none of us had ever seen a real vampire before. By the time we arrived, there were four of these, ah, what did Willow call them, gra--, gra--."
"Graplars." Kennedy supplied. "Plus the vampire. It was a trap. Our friendly neighborhood gangster wanted to say 'Hello'. "That's what she said anyway." She briefly pointed to the right.
Both men followed the brunette's finger to a woman sitting in an MP jeep wearing handcuffs holding a cold compress to her face, just like Kennedy was. Two MP's stood guard over her.
"Who is she?" Daniel asked.
"Don't know. She won't say. But she's the one that played like a damsel in distress to lure me out here. She also seemed to be in charge of the whole thing." Kennedy answered.
"O.k. But I'm sure Hammond will want a full debriefing later though."
"Sir, what about Eddie, ah, Sergeant Lightfoot? Is he O.K?" Derrick implored again.
His answer came from some distance to the side. "He will be." Willow walked up and Derrick visibly relaxed.
"Frasier is waiting for him back at the base. She'll take good care of him." Daniel reassured.
"Why don't we all get back to the base and sort this out there." Jack suggested.
*** *** ***
Behind the military barricade, a man with a cell phone stood amongst the other curious spectators, watching as Jack and Daniel led Willow and Kennedy to an Air Force sedan. The four people climbed in and drove off. "It appears that the mission has failed." He spoke into the phone. A few seconds passed before he spoke again. "Victoria appears to be in custody. I'm assuming that Michael and the graplars are dead." Another pause, "Yes Sir, Mr. Zorichov. I understand." The man hung up and casually walked away.
*** *** ***
A lone military jeep traveled down the dark highway on it's way to the base. In the back, Victoria quietly sat between two MPs while a third sat across from her.
In the front, the driver watched a pair of headlights come up from behind in his side mirror. He recognized the large vehicle as an armored car as it came along side the jeep then passed. Suddenly it swerved into the jeep's lane and slammed on the brakes.
The jeep's startled driver tried to stop but failed allowing his own vehicle to slam into the rear of the armor-plated wagon; his seat belt prevented him from going through the windshield.
The four passengers in the back were thrown forward eliciting a number of surprised and confused yelps.
A large man wearing body armor complete with hood and face shield, carrying an Uzi jumped out of the attacking vehicle's side door and promptly fired several rounds through the windshield, killing the driver before he could radio for help.
A black van screeched to a halt behind the wreck. The side door immediately slid open and two men, dressed identical to the first, jumped out, also with uzis. Quickly the men climbed the back of the jeep.
The soldier that had been sitting opposite the prisoner was now on his side and saw the men. He rolled to his back and went for his sidearm.
The commando on the right fired a three round burst into the guard's chest. "Anyone else want to be a hero?" The other commando asked the remaining two guards, his voice slightly muffled by the mask.
Both soldiers raised their hands in surrender.
"Good. Now uncuff her!" The man ordered.
The soldier to the woman's right produced a key and unlocked the handcuffs.
The woman climbed to her feet, silently approaching her rescuers and climbed down between them. Then she got into the front passenger side of the van.
The two men hopped down and backed away from the jeep, guns raised to cover their retreat. Once safely back inside the van, it sped away.
When the first commando saw the van pass by him, he climbed back into his own vehicle and it too drove away, leaving the military truck in the middle of the empty road.
*** *** ***
"Well, you two look better now than you did a little while ago." Kennedy commented as she, along with Willow and Chris walked into the infirmary to find their two injured friends lying in neighboring beds.
"Next time I say I want to see a vampire, remind me about this." Derrick groaned touching the bandage on his head.
"I don't think I'll ever need reminding." Eddie stated. "I got way to close to ever forget."
"Yeah, I thought I was pretty tough. But those demon guys were ---." Chris shook his head letting the sentence trail.
"The way I see it I owe you guys. You really bailed me out tonight." Kennedy commended
"How? By getting beat up? You did the most damage." Derrick questioned.
"Maybe so, but you kept everybody busy and off my back. I don't know if I could've fought them all at once."
Everyone turned as Hammond walked in with a very unhappy expression.
Willow sensed the General's mood. "What's wrong?" She asked with dread.
"The truck bringing the prisoner back was attacked. Two of our men are dead and she escaped."
"Damn!" Kennedy cursed. "That's it! This Zorichov is going down!"
"Agreed. I already have Colonel O'Neill pulling up all the recent Intel he can find."
"No General. This is our mess. We'll take care of it. We don't want to endanger any more of your people." Willow cut in.
"Like hell!" Chris spoke out then held his tender ribs and winced as pain shot through them. With a calmer voice he continued. "You can't expect us to sit on the sidelines after what he's done."
"He's right. They attacked members of the U.S. Air Force. That definitely makes this our jurisdiction!" Hammond gritted, eyes full of determination.