Chapter 8

The following takes place between 7 am and 8 am on the day of the Autumnal Equinox.

In the end Faith decided to go along with Giles and Xander to bring Justine back to Wolfram Hart. Andrew also elected to go with them. He'd had enough excitement for a while and thought that he could do more good back there.

Buffy and Angel decided to try and rescue Willow and Spike. Angel had asked for the keys to his car back and Andrew gave them to him, hoping that he hadn't dented anything or ruined an internal part. Wesley finally seemed to have gotten past whatever problem he'd had dealing with Justine and said he'd use his car to try and find an alternate route. Robin said that he would go with him. For some reason Giles appeared to object but he wouldn't say why.

So they left: Giles in the front seat, Faith and Andrew in the back guarding Justine. Xander was taking Giles's car back. Though Justine had been tied up and she had a Slayer between her and the door, Andrew was still pretty nervous about traveling with her. He knew as well any of them how dangerous a Slayer could be. So he knew he had to keep a calm attitude.

"Why did you save me?" Justine asked suddenly. If he hadn't been buckled in, Andrew might have jumped to his feet. He wasn't the only one surprised by the question; Faith looked a little shocked as well.

Andrew gathered himself. "I didn't do it for you," he said as boldly as he could manage. "Killing a person is a road that no one should go down unless it's absolutely necessary." Then he looked at her. "But you should know that by now."

"Now it's my turn," said Faith. "Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"

Justine had a good poker face. "I had a schedule to keep to."

"Really?" said Faith in a "you're shitting me" tone.

"Besides, I couldn't risk killing you until I knew for sure that you weren't that warrior woman we needed."

"So you knew about the prophecy," Giles interjected.

"No, I was waiting in the warehouse at three in the morning because I like jewelry." Justine snorted. "Of course I knew about it."

"How did you get involved with the likes of Harmony and Ethan Rayne?" Giles asked.

Justine was silent.

"Why did you get involved with anything this evil in the first place?" asked Faith. "I know I'm not the best example, but Slayers are supposed to help protect the world, not destroy it."

"The prophecy doesn't say the world will be destroyed. It says that it will be substantially altered." said Justine. "For all you know, these rituals could make this world a better place."

Andrew exchanged a look with Faith. "You really think rituals of evil can make the world a better place?"

. "Good. Evil." Justine practically spat out the words. "They're all relative terms that people make up. They don't apply to people like Harmony or Ethan. Or people like me." Justine looked ahead. "We're special."

"That's the kind of thinking that led to the Nazis," said ANdrew. "Really want them as a role model?"

"You don't understand at all," said Justine. "But you will. Soon enough."

7:05:46 - 7:05:47- 7:05:48

Angel had been having all kinds of nightmares of what Andrew might have been doing to his car over the past few hours, and so he was relieved to find it intact. He had not, however, expected to find a stranger handcuffed in the passenger seat. "I'd think Andrew would know better than to pick up a stranger." he said.

Buffy looked at the man. "I don't think they picked this guy up voluntarily." "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

"My…my name is Kevin Isaacson. Thank God. Thank God, I thought they'd left me to die."

"Wait a minute," Wesley spoke for the first time since the confrontation with Justine. "Aren't you one of the people Faith and Andrew found while trying to get the Stone of Meligan?"

"Uh yeah." Kevin tried to look abashed. "I'm sorry, I realize what a mistake I made and I'll do anything I can to help."

Suddenly Angel began to feel that they might have a chance again. "Anything? Do you know where Harmony and Ethan Rayne are hiding out?"

"Ethan was hiding out in Bel Air until a few days ago. I don't know who this Harmony chick is." Angel looked at Kevin sourly. "I swear I never heard of this girl!"

"Where in Bel Air?"

"Near Brentwood. But he told me he wasn't going to be there anymore."

Angel turned towards the others. "Bel Air is ten miles west of here. When they drove off they were heading east down Hollywood Boulevard."

"They could have doubled back." said Robin.

"Or they may have moved their base of operations," said Wesley. "There's no guarantee we'll find them there."

"If he's right," said Buffy, "we might be able to stop them before the east…eurst…the second raising."

They all thought for a second. "We split up again." said Angel. "Buffy, call Fred and Gunn and see if they've made any progress tracking the truck down."

"All right." Buffy took out her phone. "Robin, you're riding with me."

"No problem."

"Wes, you and I are going to Brentwood." said Angel. " If he's right we'll get back-up and crash."

"And if he's wrong?" said Wes.

Angel looked towards Kevin. "He's going in first either way. One way or the other, we're walking out whole."

7:09:23 - 7:09:24 - 7:09:25 - 7:09:26

One of the mildest effects of being a master wielder of black magic was that Willow could not wear a watch. The energy that permeated Willow's veins was so powerful it affected the magnetic or electronic capacity of any clock she tried to keep on her body. She had been trying to rely on other methods to gauge the passage of time but had so far only had modest success, and so had no idea how long they had been driving. Furthermore, she had no clear idea what direction they were heading or what route they were taking. She knew that the eutrasia- whatever that consisted of- needed to take place in Los Angeles but it was a big city. They could be anywhere.

"Spike, do you have any idea where we are?" she asked desperately.

The vampire thought for a second. "Well, my X-ray vision tells me that we went through the mountains and I can hear the sound of the ocean. So I'm thinking we're in Alaska. Which is nice 'cause I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights."

Willow wanted to react angrily to Spike's behavior but she was so drained and worn out that she started chuckling. Spike looked at her oddly for a moment and then snickered as well.

"The two of us were once considered the best at our jobs" she said.

"Yet here we are hog-tied, being dragged all over the state by Harmony-bloody-Kendall." Spike shook his head and gave a sarcastic chuckle. "I'm out in the sun for the first time in a hundred years and I'm spending it in a goddamn truck."

"I gotta say your taste in women, right now…it's worse than Buffy's in men," Willow added with a chuckle. Nothing about the situation was funny and yet it all seemed so ridiculous.

That made Spike serious. "Buffy, is she—"

"She's okay." Willow grew a little sober. "It hasn't been the easiest four months—"

"Four months? That's all?" asked Spike, incredulous. "Bloody hell." He thought for a moment. "Which, now that I think about it, is exactly where I was."

Willow was surprised that Spike could be so blasé about where he'd been. "That's… that's where…"

Spike gave a half-smile. "Come on Red, one noble sacrifice doesn't erase a hundred and twenty years of being a soulless killer."

Willow didn't want to ask the next question- it would be painful, and was irrelevant to what was happening- but she had to know. "How…how bad was it?"

Spike reflected for a few seconds. "Stalag 17 without the wacky Germans."

Suddenly the back of the truck opened. Spike tried to duck back into the shadows before he remembered the sun couldn't hurt him

"Hey kids, we've made it to Grandma's house," announced Ethan.

7:14:59 - 7:15:00 - 7:15:01

As Fred waited for Gunn to come back from his sweep of the building, she couldn't help thinking, for what seemed like the fortieth time, how much she wished Angel or Giles or Wesley had stayed behind and headed operations from Angel-Slayer. It wasn't because she had severe doubts in her abilities to handle things from home base-although she did think that someone else might have been more capable to deal with the organized confusion. But she knew more about the prophecy than, say, Xander or Faith. She might have been able to realize what the Stone of Meligan was before Faith had, and knowing that they may have figured out who was going to be raised in the dysonipta.. And despite being in the weapons and science department, she didn't have nearly as good a mind about keeping the building protected. She knew she was doing everything in her power, but she was worried it wasn't enough.

Gunn reappeared. "Okay. Sweep's done. As far as we can tell no one's in the building that shouldn't be." He sighed. "Of course since there are at least three hundred people working here there is a possibility that we could be wrong."

"Yeah, and that's without considering the possibility that there's someone on the inside." Fred looked at Gunn. "You've secured every entrance and exit?"

Gunn nodded. "All of them are now guarded by a Slayer in addition to the security system. Which would be encouraging if we hadn't broken in so many times."

Fred smiled. "I never thought I'd look back at that as the good old days."

"I know, " Gunn said with an answering smile. "Man, we have strange lives." His expression turned serious again: "Did we get anywhere on the traffic photographs?"

"We got pictures of them near Silver Lake, Dodger Stadium and Chinatown."

"So they're heading west. We just don't know where yet."

"Hopefully, we'll be able to figure it out soon." Fred looked at her watch. "Faith and Giles will be back with Justine any minute now."

"I don't get it. When Justine was working with Holtz she thought she was doing good, in her mind at least."

Fred saw where Charles was going. "Long way from there to destroying the world."

"Pretty big leap."

"I don't get it either. But I may find out." Noting Gunn's questioning look, she said, "A lot of the devices and pharmaceuticals we manufacture are used in medical studies to measure responses to pain. I never had much stomach for using them, but on Justine…" Fred shook her head. "Does my wanting to do this make me a bad person?"

Gunn considered it. "I feel the same way about her. Besides, she's a Slayer now. It probably won't bother her as much. "

"I know. Well time is of the essence, so I'd better get going. You'll keep me and the others updated about the security?"

"Sure thing." Fred was about to leave when Gunn asked: "By the way, did Leonard's vision give us any hint why they're going to attack us?"

"I'm not sure, but if I had to guess I'd think they're after her."

Gunn followed her gaze.

To the occupied Dawn.

7:23:28 - 7:23:29 - 7:23:30 - 7:23:31

Not only were the magic-proof ropes that Harmony had used to bind Willow still around her hands and chest, but they also apparently worked very well on vampires. Either that or Spike was too exhausted from his journey to break free. He was still dazed, and two of the henchman guarding him had practically carried him to the center of the large building they were in.

They were being guarded by ten heavily armed henchmen. Some of them had to be men: there was no way any vampire could hold the crucifix they had near Spike.

Since escaping seemed to be out of the question, Willow had been racking her brain trying to think of something, anything that would help her figure out where they had gone based on. She figured that they had been going west down the freeway for maybe half an hour but that could bring them anywhere.

There was also no way to know where they were now. It was a warehouse but it could be anywhere from Watts to Burbank. It would probably take hours for the others to find them- long enough to raise whatever was coming at noon.

"Willow?" Spike's whisper interrupted her from her trance.

"Yeah?"

"That bloke with Harmony is Ethan Rayne, right?"

Willow remembered that the two had never met. "Yeah."

"And the other guy? The one talking with both of them."

Willow looked straight ahead. To Harmony's left was a man she'd never seen before. He was tall with red hair and gray eyes and, unlike Ethan, was wearing a jacket and tie. Willow had no idea who the man was, but she had known even before she came to LA that men in suits were not to be trusted.

There were three of them now engaged in a conversation. Though Willow strained she could only hear every third or fourth word. No way for her to tell what they were saying, but maybe-

"Spike? " She had to repeat herself, Spike was still out of it. "Do you understand what they're saying?"

Spike did even move his head. "They're talking about getting what they need for the- Eustachia?"

For a moment Willow was baffled but she interpreted. "Eutrasia. It's a dark ritual."

Spike winced. "Of course it is. Can't bring a bunch of bad people together without having a bloody dark ritual."

Though Willow was tired of it too, she knew this was no time to complain. "What about the ritual? What are they trying to raise?"

Spike listened. "Can't tell," he finally said. "They keep saying 'wake her' but they don't mention names." Spike's eyes widened. "Wait a tick. They just said that they were going to get the last one in less than half an hour."

"Who are they talking about?" But Willow had a good idea.

"They're talking about getting the key."

7:28:33 - 7:28:34 - 7:28:35

Giles finally breathed easy when he pulled up in front of the Wolfram Hart building. Despite his apprehensions at the beginning of the day, he still didn't scare very easily. However, the idea of having a rogue Slayer in the car had made him feel like he was carrying a box full of nitroglycerin over a long stretch of bumpy road.

He was also relieved to see that Kennedy and Patrice had come down to help make sure Justine didn't decide to get lively.

"We've arrived," he said more for her benefit than anyone else in the car. Justine had clammed up after a while despite repeated questioning and threats that things would be a lot more uncomfortable for her when they got here. Nothing had penetrated her shell. He believed it was time to put bio-chemistry to better use.

Andrew got out of the car first, then Justine with Faith right behind her. The young man then moved aside to let both Slayers get on either side of her.

"Last chance, Justine," said Faith. "Talk or the bullet in your knee is going to seem like a mosquito bite. "

The redhead maintained her silence.

Faith shrugged. "Don't say we didn't warn you." The group began walking to the front doors.

"What are we doing to protect against whatever's going to happen in Leonard's vision?" Giles asked. Fred had called en route to update them on what was happening at Angel-Slayer Inc.

"Right now every access point is being guarded by a Slayer and someone on the security team." said Kennedy. She then winced. "Great. Now I'm talking like I'm in the army."

"Good," Andrew spoke up from his position behind Justine, "we need to think like we're the marines. Like or not, this is war."

It was the right sentiment but Giles had had a lot of first-hand knowledge with how the military worked. He didn't want to use them as a model. Still Andrew was basically right.

"How sure are we that we're secure?" he finally asked.

"Not very," admitted Kennedy as they walked up to the door. "Which is why Cho-San and I are going back to patrolling the second we've get Jean Grey here secured."

Giles didn't understand the reference but wasn't going to ask. For one thing the explanation would be irrelevant. More importantly they needed to be very alert. Right now his senses were telling him that someone was watching them.

Someone not on their side.

7:33:39 - 7:33:40 - 7:33:41 - 7:33:42

Kevin had been so willing to give directions to find Ethan's apartment that Wesley had thought that it was very likely that he was either misleading them or luring them into a trap. When he mentioned it to Angel, the vampire had said that he thought it possible as well- with one key difference.

"This guy, he's a low-level grunt." Angel had glanced back as Kevin.

"They probably only told him what he absolutely needed to know. He doesn't know what the rituals were supposed to raise, what materials they need, not even whatever great evil that's supposed to be brought forth. They're not going to lie to him about important things because they're not going to tell him important things. He knows the location of this hideout because they didn't take him to the major hideout. That's how much they trust him.

"You're sure?" asked Wesley.

Angel looked straight ahead. "It's how Angelus would handle the same situation."

Wesley wasn't entirely sure that that was true, but he believed Angel's assessment was probably right. He was also relatively sure Ethan and Harmony wouldn't be there, but that there might be some clue as to what else they had planned. So he let Kevin give them directions to an apartment complex just outside of Century City in Bel Air.

They stopped the car and considered their next move. "So this is the last place where you met Ethan Rayne," Wesley said.

Kevin nodded. "He rented out the studio apartment on the first floor."

Wesley was about to get out of the car when Angel said: "Wait."

"What's the problem?"

Angel gestured to the left. Wes looked and saw the security camera perched on the top of the door. "Of course," he sighed. "How do we handle this?"

Angel though for a few seconds. "Go around to the side and get Mr. Isaacson out."

Wesley did as Angel requested, being sure to keep his gun in plain sight of the prisoner.

Angel got out of the car and walked around to the side. "I'll take him up to the front. The cameras can't see me. If they're watching us, they won't know I'm coming. When they open the door, I'll find out who's who and what's what."

"And if it's a trap?"

Angel paused. "Be ready to come running." He turned to Kevin. "Mr. Isaacson for the next thirty seconds, you are not going to be held. You may think about running or giving the people inside a warning. Keep this in mind: I'm going to be less than three feet behind you and I can kill you the second you try either. Do you understand?'

"Yes, sir," said Kevin.

They walked towards the front door, moving steadily but not quickly. In less than thirty seconds they were at the door.

As Wesley watched he couldn't help but think that this had all the makings of a set-up. He was sure that the enemy (whoever they were) were waiting to kill Angel the instant the door opened.

That was why he started moving towards the door seconds after Kevin pressed the buzzer.

"Angel wait!" he shouted.

The vampire turned away; Kevin didn't and was then the only one standing out front when the door opened- and right in the path of an arrow.

Kevin Isaacson fell to the ground, an expression of surprise frozen on his face.

"No!" shouted Angel.

And then the enemy was on them.

7:40:17 - 7:40:18 - 7:40:19

Like everyone else Buffy had been sure that Robin would insist on driving when they started looking for Ethan's and Harmony' truck. Robin, however, handed her the keys without a word of protest.

"You're not afraid?" she'd asked half in jest.

Robin gave her a strange smile. "Let's just say that I feel adventurous."

Had the circumstances not been rushed Buffy might have asked about his 'tude. But they didn't have the time and it really wasn't that urgent. So she let Robin take the phone calls from Wolfram Hart that were tracking down the truck while they tried to catch up with it.

For a while everything went smoothly. The drivers weren't making any effort to hide the truck with a spell, and they managed to follow its trail West down Hollywood Boulevard all the way to Chinatown. Then there had been a brief blank stretch and then it showed up going down Pasadena Boulevard. But now they seemed to have lost it.

"They're sure that it was going this way?" she asked Robin.

Robin listened to the phone. "They said it was going Southeast fifteen minutes ago."

"Well, we just passed the Santa Monica Freeway. If they doubled back they could be taking the scenic route to…" Buffy trailed off.

"Buffy?" said Robin curiously.

"It was a black truck with doors in the back."

"Yeah." said Robin. The penny dropped. "Did you see it?"

In answer Buffy made an abrupt U-turn (just missing hitting the car behind them) and started heading back up the street.

"This isn't the way I want to die.," said Robin as they began moving back up the street.

Buffy ignored him and starting driving back. A quarter of a mile later, she saw it.

"What's the license plate number?" she asked Robin.

Robin listened for a few seconds. "G73-N08."

And there it was, parked in a side street with the doors shut. That would have been encouraging except that there was no one guarding it. Not a good sign.

Buffy pulled into a place about ten feet away.

"Do we need backup?" Robin asked.

Buffy thought, then shook her head. "Give me thirty seconds to check."

She slowly made her way to the car. Even before she got there, she was pretty sure of what she was going to find- or not find, as was the case.

No one was in the van. No vamps, no Ethan or Harmony, no Willow or Spike. "Goddamnit!" she swore.

Robin had started out of the car. "No one's here?" said Robin. "They just left the truck here to throw us off the scent?"

Buffy thought this was probably it- until she looked across the street.

And saw that they were right in front of a University of Southern California dormitory .

"Maybe they came here for a reason."

Robin was puzzled. "I don't follow."

"We're at the USC campus," said Buffy.

"And this is important because…"

"Connor's going to school here."

7:47:43 - 7:47:44 - 7:47:45 -7:47:46

As somebody had said, it was déjà vu all over again: Angel and Wesley were fighting with a bunch of vampires for their lives. This time, however, it was more difficult because they didn't have the advantage of surprise and silver ammunition and there were twice as many flunkies.

Despite that Wes was still managing to hold his own- until one of the vampires landed a lucky punch and knocked the shotgun from his hands. Before he could reach for his pistol, three vamps were on him. He fought hard but he was no match for them.

One of the vampires was about to sink his fangs into his neck when suddenly and without any warning, he screamed. A few seconds later he burst into flames. The other vamps had to leap back to avoid getting set on fire themselves- which gave Wes enough time to get to his pistol and dispatch those that hadn't been burned.

Wes wanted to know what force had done a deux ex machina and saved his life. Unfortunately, he realized that they didn't have the time to deal with it now.

He ran to Angel who had his hands around the neck of the last vamp. "Angel!"

Angel didn't even turn around. "Did you know that we were coming?" The vamp shook his head frantically. "Then why were you waiting here for us?"

"Can't talk…with you… choking me." the vamp managed.

"Nice try. But you don't have to breathe." said Angel.

"If you… crush my…larynx… I can't talk… dumbass."

Angel rolled his eyes but let up a little. "Answer my question."

"We were sent here by a guy named Thompson."

Wesley was standing over the vamp as well. "How does he know Ethan Rayne?"

"I don't know. But he must have some serious history with him."

"Why?"

The vampire looked at the two men as if they were fools. "He's the guy who fused him with the Poloxa. Made him a magus."

"Poloxa?" said Angel questioningly.

"Spell book of the middle ages." said Wesley "Supposedly if you became one with its spells you could become a powerful sorcerer." He thought some more. "The Poloxa was thought to have been lost for centuries."

"Not lost enough." Angel turned back to the vamp. "He just gave Rayne this power?"

"It's more than that. Thompson was the money."

A nasty picture was beginning to form in Wesley's head. "Let me guess." he said slowly. "He wore an Armani suit and had a Hilfiger briefcase."

Angel got it too. "This is the kind of thing that they'd invest in. Call the office. Get somebody to see if we can find a lead."

Wes dialed, thinking that an already bad situation had become worse. If Wolfram Hart was somehow involved in this- really involved, instead of just generally hindering their progress- there was a good chance that they would fail.

Unless…

He kept looking at the sky, wondering.

7:54:19 - 7:54:20 - 7:54:21

As much as Fred hated Justine for what she had done, she grudgingly had to admit that the girl had guts. It was an admirable characteristic for most people but very bothersome when you were trying to break them. It didn't help matters that the woman also had the strength and resistance of a Slayer- as well as other traits.

Fifteen minutes earlier, when Fred had entered the room with two of the most formidable looking Slayers she could dig up and a trolley loaded with drugs not meant for recreational use, she had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that that would intimidate Justine. Instead she had given the three of them a brief glance and said: "No, Madeline don't take me to the white room." After it became clear that Fred didn't understand this particular reference, she said, "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you? Where have you been the last seven years, in a cave?"

In less than thirty seconds Justine had managed to gain the advantage even though she was a prisoner at Fred's mercy. Things had gone downhill from there. She had decided to use chemistry rather than violence to try and get information out of her. Unfortunately, even though the chemicals were working, they weren't encouraging Justine to speak.

She watched as the latest injection coursed through Justine's veins. She was groaning but she seemed more amused then afraid.

"I gotta tell you, there's a guy in Van Nuys who sells this kind of junk for half what you probably paid for it." She managed a half-smile. "Want me to give you his cell?"

There was a rap at the door. "If that's my pizza, you're gonna have to pay for it." she said calmly. One of the Slayers gave Justine a disapproving look before opening the door to reveal Giles. "Well, if it isn't English Leather Prime. Come to glower me into submission?" Justine asked, sounding almost cheerful.

Having ignored wry comments from masters in the field, Giles calmly walked over to Fred. "Something's come up that needs your attention. Can we talk?"

Fred made a gesture. "Why not here?" When Giles gave her a look, she said, "It's not like she's going anywhere."

Giles weighed this and settled for walking to the opposite side of the room. "Wesley called from Bel Air. He and Angel are pretty sure that someone at Wolfram Hart made Ethan Rayne more than just the minor nuisance he was and has helped finance the search for the artifacts."

"They got a name?"

"Thompson. Unfortunately, aside from a vague description, that's all they have."

Fred took a deep breath. "All right. I'm going to do some back checking on our computers." She gestured towards one of the Slayers. "Regina, give her a few more minutes and then we'll try some of those truth serums."

"Gotcha."

Fred and Giles started walking out the door. "Could we be any further behind?" Fred muttered in frustration. "We don't learn about this threat until its almost upon us, they've beaten us to the first group of artifacts, they get the first raising done in front of us and now we learn they've got a man inside. What the hell's going to go wrong next?"

Five seconds after she said this the lights went out. "Well, that's different. I figured saying that would make something explode," commented Giles dryly.

Fred rolled her eyes, picked up her cell phone and auto-dialed Xander, who had joined Gunn and Faith on the security sweep. "What the hell is going on?" she said angrily into the phone.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger. I'm as pissed as you are."

"I know. What floor are you on?"

"I'm heading towards the basement along with the rest of my posse."

"Now is not the time to practice your ghetto-talk." Fred could hear Gunn was nearby.

"Sorry, I thought the mood could-" Xander stopped abruptly.

"Xander? Charles?"

"Did you hear that?" The humor had left Xander's voice in a hurry.

"Sounded like-" Gunn never finished his sentence as it was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering.

And screams of alarm.

"Xander? Somebody pick up? Is anyone there?" Fred shouted frantically. Giles in the meantime had run to the main part of the office and started shouting.

"We have intruders! We are under attack!"

7:59:57 - 7:59:58 - 7:59:59 - 8:00:00