Italy, Venice

10.25pm (local time)

"Deep thoughts Faith?" Buffy asked amused at her friend's uncharacteristic silence. "Just tell Spike how you feel and let love work it's magic."

"Whatever bitch," Faith laughed, and took a huge bite out of her pizza. They were in a city built on water, eating at a 5 star restaurant in the middle of St Mark's Square, surrounded by high brow culture and delicacies of every kind…and they'd opted for pizza, heavy on the cheese. "So run this plan by me again."

"Plan? We have a plan?" Buffy grinned, buoyed up by the promise of the night's adventure. "Okay, so Angel tells us to come to Venice. He then tells us where the second Tide Rock is. Do we trust his intentions? About as much as we'd trust Charles Manson in a Catholic school. Now I figure he wouldn't have expected us here so fast; he's probably working under some deluded notion that we have lives or something-"

"Speak for yourself."

Buffy waved a dismissive hand. "So we have the element of surprise right. I have no idea why he'd share the location of the rock unless (a) it's not where he says it is, or (b) he thinks we'll be too chicken to go get it-"

"Seeing as it's there," Faith interrupted pointing past Buffy at the imposing structure behind her, "in plain view of every Tom, Dick and Fredrico."

"Exactly!" Unperturbed Buffy happily munched on more food, then continued with her mouth full. "So we call his bluff. We go in there tonight, take a look around, if it's there we get the second rock, if it's not there we haven't lost a thing."

"Except for our freedom as we sit and rot in an Italian jailhouse. B that thing's the size of the Whitehouse, and you know it's gonna be secured like San Quinten."

This was a familiar routine, neither girl had any regard for rules or authority, as far as they were concerned, the greater the risk, the greater the attraction. But the best way of circumventing the dangers was to anticipate them and be prepared.

"Fear not my young Padawan. Willow's going to be on the cell ready to disable anything you can't handle, this place will be as deserted as Salam's Lot in a couple of hours and honestly, who'd want to break into the Basilica di San Marco? They're not going to be ready for this."

"Okay, but still leaves us searching for a needle in a freaking large haystack."

"Also taken care of. Will narrowed it down." Buffy leaned to point at the large bag that sat between them underneath the table. "In addition to other fun gadgetry we have maps with coloured stickers." She sat back pleased with her work.

"You're right, we have no plan."

The two girls grinned.

"A toast." Faith raised her glass of Bud ice - in Italy even beer had to be drunk with style - "to the storming of the Basilica."

"To the storming of the Basilica," Buffy agreed clinking glasses.

The night was about to get very interesting.