FIC: A Murder Of Crows (4/?)

"Hey Padre!" Jack grinned as he opened the apartment door to find the preacher, two African-Americans, one Mexican, and the cockney that had made up his new team stood on the porch. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Father Adam Guiteau beamed back at him as he entered. "Jack Crow retiring to a life of domesticity? We had to see this for ourselves. And meet the unfortunate girl who is your daughter." The preacher looked around. "Where is she anyhow?"

"Faith's at a school dance."

One of his men snorted. "A daughter of yours at a high-school dance? I don't believe that!"

"You know," Crow grinned, remembering Faith's cursing when he'd laid down the law. "Neither did she."

Mr. Trick nodded in satisfaction as he looked at his army. Forty vampires, more than enough for two Slayers. It had taken him almost two weeks to amass this army, either turning likely candidates, or press-ganging lesser vampires into his army, but now they'd pay for killing his sire. "The Slayers will be at a school dance tonight-."

"Why not separate them?" commented one of his minions. "Half of us after one, the other half after the other."

"Because one might escape, alert the others, but if we attack them at a dance," Trick smiled. "Plenty of innocents, they can't run."

"And plenty of food for us," his questioner finished.

"Exactly," Trick nodded. "Only don't forget our main targets. Time for fun afterwards." He smiled at the others' nods of agreement. This would be the atrocity that put him on the map as a vampire to be feared. No-one had ever killed two Slayers at once.

Faith glanced around the converted sports hall, as usual hiding her anxiety behind a mask of bravado. This was the first dance she'd ever been to, the schools back home couldn't afford them and even if they had, she wasn't the sort of girl that got invited. But now, both Crow and G had insisted she go, something about her being part of the school and the Scooby gang. The Scooby gang, she snorted derisively, no surprises that Harris came up with that dorky name. Jesus.

"Hi Faith."

"Hey B," Faith forced a smile as the blonde Slayer walked up to her, looking smouldering in a red dress. "Looking good."

"You too," the other Slayer stared at her for a long second.

"Say," Faith babbled, god nerves sucked. "You seen JL?" She'd looked for her bud but hadn't seen him around.

"He doesn't come to these things," Buffy grinned slyly. "I thought you didn't have a thing for him."

"I don't," she replied, her tone flat. It would just be nice to have someone here she actually liked instead of people she just endured. "How come he doesn't come?"

Buffy shrugged. "I guess he gets uncomfortable, he's not part of any gang. He's just on his own."

Faith's eyes narrowed. "And you noticed this but you didn't do anything about it?"

"Hey!" Buffy's own eyes glinted and her tone turned defensive. "I don't have time to social work. Slayer remember?"

"And yet," Faith strode over to the wall, tore a poster off and slapped it into the blonde's hand. "You've got time to stand for some stupid Homecoming Queen shit! You don't get it, Slaying ain't just about killing shit, it's about helping people too!"

Buffy reddened and opened her mouth. "For your information Missy," Faith groaned at the strident tones of Xander's squeeze to her right. She turned to see Cordelia and Xander had arrived, accompanied by Oz and Red. "The position of Homecoming Queen is very important. And it's mine!"

"Important sure," Faith rolled her eyes. "Right up there with the president or UN. Secretary-General."

"I heard that-."

"Calm down honey," Xander had a wide-eyed look in his eyes as he interrupted his girl-friend. Man, the guy was whipped. It was weird. It was like two Xanders, the one who trained with her dad was kinda cool, she secretly enjoyed walking him home afterwards. But when he was with the others, he was such a fucking dork. "Faith just doesn't get how important this is to you."

"Huh," Cordelia sniffed. "I'm not surprised, the girl has no idea of how to act in proper society."

Faith's eyes widened. "You bitch," she growled. "I won't need any Slayer powers to kick your ass."

"Faith," it was B, "we've got trouble."

"Oh no," she continued to glare at the resolutely scowling cheerleader. Girl had a set, she had to admit that. "Queen C won't be trouble at all."

"Uh I'm sure," B continued. "But I was actually talking about them."

Faith glanced towards the door. Her heart dropped when she saw the forty or so vampires striding through the hall double-doors, knocking over tables and students as they went. "We are so fucked," she muttered. Not good odds, not good -. Her eyes narrowed as she recognised the lead vampire. "Trick." That fucker was going to pay for what he'd put her and Ally through.

Trick smiled as he strode into the high school sports hall, the sign over the front door invitation enough. Grabbing hold of a near-by partier, he sunk his fangs in drinking his fill before tossing the corpse to the ground. He searched for the Slayer through the crowd and smiled as he spotted her. He'd never seen her in a dress before, quite delightful. "Um," he licked his lips. He'd promised his companions that they could have their share of the teens, but she was his. "Get them."
"Fuck!" Faith pulled her skirt up, pulling her stake out of her calf sheath before kicking her high-heels off. "These dresses aren't made for fighting in B!"

"Tell me something I don't I know," her fellow Slayer looked behind. "Xan-," the blonde squinted. "Where's he gone?" The shorter girl shook her head. "Oz, take the others and get out. We'll hold them off."

Faith snarled in disgust. She'd thought Harris was different. Her mistake. "Chickenshit," she muttered.

"I'm staying," she was surprised to see their Watcher stood by them and nodded approvingly. At least Tweed had a set.

The moment the vampires had appeared, Xander made his move. Leaving the others, he'd dodged around the back of the gym and headed into the darkened corridor, mind whirling with plans. One of the first things Jack had taught him was to make weapons out of whatever could find. His heart stopped when he sensed someone ahead. The party was behind him, the caretaker would have gone home long before. It had to be a vampire.

Pulling out his stake, he continued to run as if he hadn't noticed the demon. Suddenly it lunged out at him. Instantly he twisted to meet the monster and thrust his stake upwards. "Damn it!" He cursed as he missed the demon's heart, instead tearing through its left triceps.

The monster snarled as it backhanded him, knocking him into the opposite wall. Xander's eyes widened as he realised that in his flight he'd dropped his stake. Ducking under the monster's follow-up right, he shoulder-charged it in the chest, knocking it off-balance. Taking his opportunity, he squatted and picked up his stake, leapt to his feet, and spun around, slamming his stake home. Once the monster had exploded into dust, Xander looked down, squinting at the object that must have fallen out of the monster's pocket during their life and death scuffle. "A mobile," reaching down, he picked it up and began dialling.

Jack grinned as his gang laughed at his story. Until now having a daughter had been a chore, a duty. But now, talking to his friends, he realised how proud he was of the spirited, brave, and streetwise kid that was his daughter. The only thing that pissed him off were the missed years.

His sudden dark mood was interrupted by the sound of his phone. Motioning the others to silence, he picked up the phone. "Yeah?" He listened with growing horror to the kid talk, his words little more than a babble. "Be there soon, don't let anything happen to my girl!" He slammed the phone down. "Guys," he turned to his former team. "You in the mood for a turkey shoot?"

Xander hung up the phone. Seeing he was just down the corridor from the auto shop, he hurried towards the building, the smouldering embers of a plan burning in his head. It had to work.
Faith stared fearfully at the vamps surrounding her and B as they guarded G's unconscious body. It had been a hell of a battle. She'd taken out six vampires and B eight, obviously she hadn't found any of them hot enough to bang. Even Oxford had weighed in with two. Before he'd been knocked him out.

Seven of the remaining vampires had corralled the other students into a corner, probably for dessert, but that still left fifteen surrounding her and B. And she didn't know about her fellow Slayer, but she was about out on her feet. "I don't suppose you'd surrender?"

She forced a glare at Trick's question. "What are you? Fucking mentally challenged? You want us, come get us!"

"Did you have to issue an invite?" B muttered.

"Ah well," Trick shook his head. "Youths today, no manners."

"You're right there." Faith blinked at Xander's voice behind them. The next second, she heard the sound of something rolling also behind them. "I'm especially ill-mannered." And then an almighty explosion.

Three of the vampires exploded into flames, dusting a half-second later. Even as that happened, a bottle flew over their heads to land amongst the vampires in front of them, exploding on impact. "What the fuck!"

Even as she looked around, the window at the far end of the hall was bathed in light and her pa's SUV came crashing through it, rolling onto the hall floor, totalling the punch table before screeching to a halt. A half-second later, her pa and five hard-faced men jumped out, crossbows in their hands and deadly intent on their faces.

Buffy glared at Xander. "Burning the gym down Xander?" the blonde grinned suddenly and shook her head. "So passé."

Xander looked around, more weary than he could remember. The battle had been hard, some of the vampires had escaped but with the twin surprises of his makeshift weapons and Jack's arrival they'd survived. He thoroughly expected a school assembly on the dangers of PCP gangs in the morning.

"You did this?"

Xander glanced towards Faith. "Yeah, I went to the auto shop, grabbed some gasoline and bottles, made a few Molotov cocktails. Nothing much."

"Well I was wicked impressed X, real smart. Ballsy too."

"It was nothing."

"Don't put yourself down Xander," he looked over his shoulder to see a battered, but otherwise fine, Giles stood there. "You did exceptional today."

"Uh, thanks," he shrunk into himself at all the praise, as always hating being the centre of attention.

Jack scowled as he noticed the way his daughter was looking at his student. It wasn't right, she should look at him with that sort of respect. Something had to be done about that.
Trick winced as he raised a hand to his face, feeling at the healing burn there. This was the last time he crossed the Slayer, first Kaktosis had lost his eye, then the bitch's father had killed his sire, and now her and her companions had wiped out nearly two score of vampires. "Gotta get out of Sunnydale."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." He turned to see himself being regarded by a genial looking middle-aged man. The man inspected him for a second before speaking. "Hello, I'm Mayor Wilkins."