The Quickening

Previously:

"We need to dump the body," Faith confirmed.

"The question is, where?" Cordy asked.

"The harbor," Faith replied. "Weight it and sink it. They'll never find it."

Chapter Fifty-Three:

Angel walked down the hallway of Sunnydale High, keenly aware of everything happening around him. He could hear the two Watchers arguing in the library down the hall, the sound of water coursing through the pipes in the ceiling above his head, and the creak of the tile floor under his feet as he walked. The amulet was tucked safely in his jacket pocket. He could feel it bulging just above his heart. Angel knew the danger of walking around with the amulet in his possession. However, given the circumstances, he knew that he was the best person to protect it. Buffy and Faith, with all of their strength, were walking targets. El Eliminati would be looking for them. No matter how far they ran, or how hard they fought, they would lose the amulet eventually. El Eliminati did not know that he had the amulet though. They would never even think to look for him.

Angel smiled as he approached the library doors. He could hear Giles sigh in exasperation. "I didn't say that you have emotional problems. Nor did I say that you have an emotional problem. I'm merely saying…" Wesley said as Angel walked into the library. "Who is this?"

"Angel," Giles said, relieved to see the vampire, despite his still hostile attitude towards him. "Strange to say, I'm actually glad to see you."

"That is pretty strange," Angel replied. "Who's this guy?"

"I'm sorry, would someone tell me what's going on, please?" Wesley asked indignantly.

"This is Wesley," Giles said by way of introduction. "Wesley is Buffy and Faith's new Watcher. The Council did not deem me fit to act in that capacity any more," Giles explained.

"New Watcher," Angel commented. "He seems a little wet behind the ears."

"He rather is," Giles confirmed.

"I must insist that you explain to me what's going on right now," Wesley demanded.

"Wesley," Giles said in placating tones, "this is Angel. Angel is a friend of Buffy's."

"Angel," Wesley commented. "You mean Angelus, the vampire?"

"He means Angel," Angel said angrily. "I don't go by that name anymore. I have a soul."

"Still a vampire though," Wesley said warily.

"Yeah, still a vampire. But trust me, I'm the last thing you need to be worrying about right now. Like you imagined, Balthazar is very much so alive. He's in town and he's looking for his amulet. He's not going to find it though," Angel explained.

"Why is that?" Giles asked, taking a sip from the cup of tea that was sitting in front of him.

"I have it. Buffy and Faith retrieved it from the crypt. They gave it to me to protect for the time being," Angel replied.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Wesley said cautiously.

"I didn't ask you," Angel shot back. "You know where to find me if you need it," he said to Giles. Turning, he walked back out of the library, smiling at the tension that lay between the two Watchers. He knew that Wesley was unhappy about the prospects of leaving a dangerous and powerful weapon in the hands of a vampire. He also knew that Giles was not happy about the prospect of Angel, of all people, having the amulet either. However, Giles was not about to declare his uneasiness about the situation in front of Wesley, and, thereby, inadvertently agree with him.

Angel quickly walked down the hallway, eager to return to the mansion. He did not like wandering around the streets of Sunnydale with the amulet tucked inside of his jacket. Despite his vampire strength, he felt particularly vulnerable while he held the amulet. He knew that many different people would be looking for it. They would do whatever it took to retrieve it. Angel did not want to get in the way. However, he had a job to do and he would protect the amulet to the end if he had to do so. At the moment, however, all he wanted to do was return home, start up a fire, and lose himself in a good book.

……………………

Buffy sighed, started to move forward, and then stopped, turned, and stopped again. She was standing outside of Giles' apartment. She knew that she had to talk to Giles about what happened with Faith that night. Her sister slayer had killed a man. She knew that Faith would try to run from it. She had to tell Giles. However, she knew that Giles had become quite attached to Faith since she moved in with him. Giles looked at Faith like the daughter he never had. Buffy knew that she could not just barge in and inform him, in no uncertain terms, that Faith had killed a man and left him to rot in an alley. Sighing again, Buffy closed her eyes and summoned all of her strength.

Moving forward, she knocked quickly on the front door of Giles' apartment. Bouncing on her heels, she waited. Several long seconds passed. She strained to hear anything from inside of the apartment, but only silence greeted her ears. "He must be at the library still," Buffy muttered to herself. Turning from the door, she looked up into the night sky. The world seemed so calm, while the whole of her being was uprooted in turmoil. Buffy steeled her resolve and began walking towards the library. She knew what she had to do.

……………………..

"We almost there?" Cordelia asked as she and Faith crept down one of the many alleys in Sunnydale.

"Almost," Faith replied quietly. "He's just down here." Faith pulled her jacket tighter around her body. It was not that cold outside that night; however, Faith felt a chill running through her bones that she could not stop. She imagined that she could walk into the very fires of Hell, but she would still feel that chill – that chill that told her that she had done the one thing in the world that she could never take back.

"You okay?" Cordy asked, gently resting her hand on Faith's shoulder.

"Five by five," Faith whispered.

"Don't lie to me," Cordy said quietly, but firmly. Faith stopped walking and looked over at her. She could see Cordy's eyes shining in the night. Looking down at her shoes, Faith sighed, and then looked back up. When Cordy met her eyes, she could see Faith's entire soul staring back at her, and it looked weary.

"I'm alright," Faith said. "I just need to get this done."

"Okay, let's get it done then," Cordy said. They started walking again. Finally, they came to the spot.

"There he is," Faith said, pointing down at the body.

"Holy shit," Cordy muttered to herself.

"What?" Faith asked, looking over at her in alarm.

"You do know who he is, don't you?" Cordy asked.

"No," Faith replied. "I have no idea who he is."

"He's the Deputy Mayor," Cordy said, looking over at Faith. "Alan Finch, I think that's his name."

"That's not good," Faith muttered, running a hand over her face.

"When the police find out that he's gone missing, they'll be looking extra carefully for him," Cordy said. "We need to make sure that they're not going to find him."

"Then we need to find out why he was looking for us," Faith said. "He wasn't in this alley by mistake. He wanted to see us."

"You think he had some information for you?" Cordy asked.

"Apparently. Although, I can't imagine on what. You said he was the Deputy Mayor?" Faith asked.

"Yeah," Cordy said. "I don't have a very good feeling about this."

"What do you mean?"

"He worked for the Mayor. And he had information for you. This smells of conspiracy and I imagine it's pretty high up," Cordy said.

"You think the Mayor is working for the other side," Faith stated. "The only reason why Alan Finch would be looking for the slayers would be if he had information about something supernatural in the Mayor's office."

"We better dump this body. If someone finds it, we're screwed," Cordy said.

"We?" Faith asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah," Cordy said, looking pointedly at Faith, "we."

…………………….

"The fact is," Wesley said, "you're no longer qualified as a Watcher."

"Do we have to discuss this again?" Giles asked in frustration.

"You don't seem to be getting my point," Wesley replied.

"I understand your point, I just don't agree with it," Giles retorted.

"It's not your fault. No one's blaming you. You've done well really," Wesley said. "It's simply time for someone else to take the field."

Giles was about to take a sip of his tea when he stopped. "Well, it's about time you start," he said, setting the teacup back down on the table. "We have company."

Wesley turned around, only to see nearly a dozen members of El Eliminati standing in a semi circle in front of the library doors. "Bloody hell."