Thanks for all of the reviews and tuning in to my work. I'm glad you've stuck with it so far.

Majin Gojira: Thanks. I tried to avoid too many clichés in the romance; some just can't be avoided. However, there will be a few issues they'll face because of the nature of their jobs and their circumstances. Keep tuning in.

7:55 am, Friday - 11th Precinct

Sara rode her bike to work the next morning, smiling beneath her helmet all the way. She was starting a new relationship, something she didn't think would happen in the near future. It was sudden, but going back over the past year in her mind all of the signs were there. She just hadn't caught. When she got to the precinct, she was still smiling and that smile was been evident to anyone who passed by, though no one said anything… except Cheryl, the clerk. As soon as she saw Sara's face, she just had to know what made the normally stone-faced cop so happy in the morning.

"Hey, Pez," she greeted. "What's with the smile?"

"What?" the cop said, broken out of her temporary euphoria.

"You're smiling," she reiterated.

"I've done it before."

"Rarely," Cheryl quipped. "Smiles are to you what romance is to my husband: passing strangers."

"Come on, I've…"

"Jake," she interrupted as the detective came by. Pez just came in with a big smile on her face."

"That's new, for a change," he replied.

"Don't you have work to do?" Sara asked, trying to get off of the subject.

"Don't try and change the subject," Cheryl replied. "So... who is he?"

"What?"

"Who is he?" she repeated.

"You automatically assume it's a guy, huh?" Sara asked. "It doesn't always have to be."

"But it usually is," she replied. "So…"

"Cheryl, I have a lot of work to do."

"And you seem to be avoiding the question," Cheryl said. "The sooner you tell, the sooner you can get back to work."

Sara hesitated to answer, but knew that she'd be bugged all day until she gave in. Letting out a sigh, she said, "His name is Rupert."

"Ha, I knew it!" Cheryl exclaimed.

"Rupert!" Jake shouted. "What, is this guy British or something?"

"As a matter of fact he is," Sara replied. "You got a problem with that?"

"Nope," Jake said, holding his hands up in mock surrender, "no problem." He walked off to go about his business. When he got out of Sara's view his face glazed over with disappointment: he had hoped that something would foster between he and Sara, but it looked like the immediate future held out nothing but the safe and least-wanted prospect of the 'just friends' scenario. Figures, he thought.

"Look, we're just starting out," Sara said. "We're not super-serious or anything. We still have a lot to consider."

"Still," Cheryl said, "if he can make you smile like that, he must be a keeper."

Danny overheard the talk made his way over to Sara and began to make conversation.

"I see you made up your mind."

"Yeah, I did. Thanks a lot, Danny. I know I'm not always the most... amicable person in the world, but your advice really helped me out. I owe you one."

"And be sure I'll collect one of these days." As she started to sit, Danny said, "Just one thing, though."

"Yeah?"

"Rupert?"

"Ha ha... very funny."


8:04 pm, Friday - Slayer Base HQ

Buffy had been personally attending to Giles and at the same time was trying to get back into her New York routine. She also went about the business of trying to find new informants ready to deal in street info on Amy. While she knew there were plenty of people willing to barter in the realm of information, whether or not they could find a credible one who was willing to talk about Amy was the challenge. She'd talked to a few people about other people to go to, but her attention was mostly on Giles' needs that day and making sure he made a full and health recovery. She'd picked a few items up while she was out and found Giles in his room quite anxious, trying to make the atmosphere nice for he and Sara to talk about whatever they planned on talking about.

"You all right, Giles?" Buffy said as she set down his teacup.

"I'm just a little anxious. Sara and I have a lot to talk about and I want to make sure we're both comfortable."

"Giles..." she said.

"Yes?"

Buffy wanted to say something, some comment about how she really felt about him and Sara together. But then she saw the look on his face; it was one of an anxious happiness, a loud calm, if there were such things, and she couldn't get the words out. Instead, she just said, "Everything's going to be fine."

"Thank you, Buffy."


9:16 pm, Friday - Slayer Base HQ

Sara had a full day of cases and interviews, but even with all of that she was focused on her meeting with Giles. She had come over when work was done and saw Buffy and a few others preparing for patrol or going out to chill on a Friday night. It was about 8:45 when she stepped through the doors. She and Giles had talked for about a half and hour about things, as Buffy counted the minutes. She didn't know any of the details and she knew she was likely never to know, but she started to speculate as to what they were. She still hadn't told anyone about her feelings toward the new romance, since she didn't want to be the fly in the ointment or rain on Giles' parade; that would just make life around the building worse. It was when she saw Sara coming down the stairs that she was brought out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Sara," Buffy greeted as Sara walked down the steps.

"Hey, Buffy."

"Everything all right with Giles?"

"Yeah, we just had a good discussion about some things, seeing as how we've kind of entered a new phase in our relationship. We don't know what expect, especially because of Amy."

"I know what you mean," Buffy said. Indeed, she herself had wondered what new Amy would try once she learned about the relationship. That was one of the many reasons Buffy had reservations about it. But rather than try and get into yet another verbal brawl with the detective, she decided to shift to another topic. It was then she remembered the card left in Giles' hospital box. "Oh, I almost forgot something," she said as she pulled the card from her purse. "Here. Giles said the character was Japanese but he didn't know what it meant. He was hoping you'd..."

"Where'd you get this?" Sara asked in amazement.

"It was in Giles' chart box," Buffy replied. "Someone put it in there but he disappeared before I could get to him. Why? You recognize it?"

"Yeah, I do."

"You read Japanese?" the Slayer asked in disbelief.

"No," Sara replied, "but I know where it comes from. This is the personal insignia of Hideo Takagi, head of the New York yakuza."

"Yaku-what?"

"Yakuza. You don't know who the yakuza are?" Sara asked in mild surprise.

"Enlighten me," Buffy replied.

"They're kind of like the Japanese version of the Mafia."

"Oh," Buffy said, stunned. As Sara walked toward the main office Buffy followed her. When she saw Sara pick up the phone, she quickly grabbed her hand. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm calling the number," Sara replied.

"You're calling the number of a crime boss? Why?" Buffy asked in a stern voice, as if it was the obvious thing not to do.

"Buffy, if one of Takagi's guys left a card for us, that means he wants to talk."

"So what? That doesn't mean we should."

"Well, not everyone in the criminal underworld is happy with Amy's sudden rise to power. He might be able to give us some info on her."

"Or he might be working with her to take us out," Buffy replied.

"Look, I'm just going to call and see what he has to say, alright?"

"Fine, but only that." Buffy released the grip on the woman's hand. Sara dialed the number and waited expectedly for someone to pick up. After a few rings, someone did.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, this is Sara Pezzini. Someone left a card for us in..."

"Ah, yes, detective," the man said. "Mr. Takagi has been expecting your call."

"Really?" Sara replied cautiously.

After a moment of silence, another man spoke. "Detective Pezzini?"

"Yes?"

"And I trust some of your associates are there as well, Ms. Summers perhaps?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's here," Sara replied.

Buffy, knowing they were talking about her, decided she wanted in on the conversation and pushed the button on the teleconference machine. "I'm here," she said aloud.

Sara, throwing Buffy a look, merely put down the phone. "What did you want to talk about?"

"About our mutual problem, detective," Takagi replied.

"And what problem would that be, sir?" Sara asked.

"You know what I mean, Detective Pezzini."

"Be that as it may, Mr. Takagi, what's the point?" she asked.

"I think my people will be able to help you solve this problem. I want to arrange a meeting with you and Ms. Summers to discuss matters."

"What makes you think...?" Buffy started to ask before Sara abruptly put her hand over her mouth.

"When and what time?" Sara asked. Buffy went wide-eyed and started to mumble underneath. Sara pressed her hand more. Buffy could have stopped her, but was taken aback by the sheer surprise of it all.

"Tomorrow at one o'clock," he replied. "There will be a cab waiting for you on 7th and Bleeker, outside of an ice cream parlor. It will take you to the location."

"7th and Bleeker, one in the afternoon. Got it." Buffy was visibly shocked at what Sara just said and waited for her to end the call.

"We'll see you then," Sara said. As she hung up her hand was still on Buffy's mouth. She was even more aware of that fact when the Slayer proceeded to bite the woman's pinky, lightly enough to not do any damage but hard enough to get her attention.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For making a deal for both of us to go see a known crime boss!" Buffy replied angrily.

"So you bit me for it?"

"I should have chomped the damn thing off. Are you absolutely insane? It could be a trap."

"I don't think it is," Sara said.

"And how would you know?"

"Instinct," Sara said pointedly.

"Oh, well, let's just go with that, huh? Sounds like a perfect reason to go meet with a criminal," she said sarcastically. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that if he has any information on Amy that could be useful, it'd be worth meeting with him," Sara replied. "Our informant backstabbed us and we're pretty much blind to whatever Amy's doing. Face it, Buffy: we're out of options."

Buffy sighed in frustration. She saw the cop's line of reasoning and reluctantly agreed with her assessment. Still, that didn't mean they could be careless. "I hope you're right about this," Buffy said. "I really do." She walked out of the office, leaving Sara alone in the room.

"Me too," Sara muttered to herself.


12:54 pm, Saturday - 7th & Bleeker

They were dressed professionally in business attire, Buffy in a matching gray slacks and jacket with a white blouse. She was adjusting it for the umpteenth time, ever since she and Sara were in the van to get to the meeting spot. Sara gave her black jacket and skirt a once over hand-brushing. They saw the cab in front of the ice cream shop and merely stared at it for a few moments. Kennedy and a few others had offered to follow the cab in the van, but Sara would have none of it. She wanted to be a non-confrontational as possible, and tailing a car wasn't being non-confrontational. She was more calm than Buffy was about the situation. It wasn't that Buffy was nervous; she was just a little more on edge about everything. She was trying to exercise caution, something Sara seemed to either not bother with or hide rather well. The Slayer turned to her and said, "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

"Well, what would you like?"

"Anything but this," Buffy replied.

"Let's just walk over there and try to get through this. Like I said, the sooner the better." They walked over to the cab and were surprised when the door opened for them. They stopped and stared for a moment. "After you," Buffy said, motioning for Sara to get in.

The cab journeyed through the city to house, past the city limits and into New Jersey. The driver hadn't said a word to them the whole time, making them both more than a little nervous. When they arrived at the location, they were outside of a small house surrounded by trees, out of the way of the other houses in the neighborhood. Exiting the cab, they were approached by a sharply-dressed man.

"Follow me, please," he said. The two women approached the house, the man in front of them. They approached the door, which he opened. Buffy and Sara stepped in slowly and were slightly taken in by the decor of the house. It was a delicate blend of both Japanese and Western styles, almost elegant. Sara saw the shoes sitting on a small wooden stand near the door and motioned to Buffy. Accordingly, they took off their shoes and placed them on the stand. The man closed the door behind them and, noticing the gesture, said, "Thank you."

He led them to a another part of the house and approached a sliding door. He opened it and motioned for them to go through. Upon entering the room, they saw a man, in his late 50's to early 60's approach them.

"Mr. Takagi," Sara said as she bowed, Buffy following suit.

The man bowed accordingly and said, "Detective Pezzini, Ms. Summers. Please, sit." He motioned over toward a table in the room. True to his heritage, it was Japanese-style and there were no chairs. They all sat at the table, both Buffy and Sara facing Takagi on the opposite side. "I didn't realize you had a house in Jersey," Sara said.

"Well, I use it when I need to get things done out of the way of prying eyes," he replied. "Some refreshment?" At once, ceramic cups were brought out and tea was poured into them. Buffy picked up the cup and was about to drink, but then stopped. She looked at her cup in suspicion.

"Ms. Summers," Takagi said as he observed her, "I would not bring you out here just to kill you with poison."

"You'll have to excuse me, sir, but we tend to get a lot of people ready and willing to get rid of us."

"I understand, Ms. Summers, but I am not one of those people. In fact, I'm quite the opposite; I want to help you."

"Pardon me for asking, but... why?" Sara said.

"You know as well I as do, Detective Pezzini, that there are plenty who want to be rid of Ms. Vitelli as soon as possible. She has disturbed the order of things and that cannot be tolerated."

"So why us, Mr. Takagi?" Buffy asked.

"We obtained information that Ms. Vitelli was particularly interested in a group of people located in New York City. We found out that someone had made it their personal quest to disrupt her operations. After some more research, we found out about your group."

"I see," Buffy replied.

"In my line of work you learn about things most aren't aware of, vampires and Slayers being two of them. When we found out how much Amy invested her agenda into you, we took note. Then we discovered her ambush plot."

"You knew about that?" Buffy asked in astonishment.

"Yes, we found out about it through various channels," Takagi replied.

"You knew and didn't tell anyone?" Buffy said, her voice slightly raised.

"We were in a very precarious position, Ms. Summers. If we alerted anyone to the ambush, Amy would have knowledge of the leak and sift out our informants. Besides, we had to know whether or not you and your group could actually fight against her. Surprisingly, your people survived the encounter."

"Barely," Sara muttered.

"But you survived. And that means you're capable of winning against her. "

"You seem pretty sure of that," Sara said.

"Amy isn't as strong as she pretends to be, Detective Pezzini. The only reason she's where she is now is because of subterfuge and brute force. She's a bright young woman, to be sure, but lacks what is necessary to keep things running in order. No one suspected that such a young woman would be capable of engineering a takeover like she did and it caught everyone off-guard. In addition, her alliance with dark forces has made our lives difficult. We try to avoid deals with vampires and demons and such; most are too unpredictable and many don't care to sully themselves by working with humans. One can only guess at how Amy's been utilizing them so effectively. However, she uses brutish methods to get things done, something that only works for so long."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"I mean that Amy's days will end soon. She knows, as well as anyone else, that she can't sustain herself in the long haul."

"And why is that?" Sara asked. "Specifically?"

"Like I said, there is no doubt the young woman is smart and talented. Unfortunately, there are things in this business one can only know through years of experience. Her acts are of one who hasn't been taught the subtleties of leadership. She knows this, which also brings me to another disturbing question."

"Which is...?" Buffy asked.

"Why does someone who ascends so quickly to power not take precautions in securing it as much as possible?"

"She seems pretty secure from where we sit," Buffy replied.

"From where you sit, Ms. Summers, but from my position the view is much clearer," Takagi said. "One thing she has utilized against you is Sun Tzu's principle of appearing strong while being weak. Your attacks on her supernatural associates have had an effect on her, in many respects, but her own worst enemy is herself. Ever since Genovese and his son died, profits have been down for her and her territories have been compromised. At first, it was attributed to a change in leadership, but then we noticed something odd, something that mostly everyone from the Triads to the Russians noticed: she hasn't been paying much attention to business details."

"You said she's inexperienced. Maybe she just sucks at it," Buffy offered.

"Or maybe there's another reason... and I think from Ms. Pezzini's expression she may be understanding my concern. Think about it: she lets business suffer while she tries to acquire something valuable to her, and at the same time tries to kill the people she believes would be capable of stopping her. Put it all together."

"Wait a minute," Sara said. "I remember Sean saying something the night of the ambush. It was something about Amy knowing the Scoobies had a tendency to mess up plans at the last minute and she didn't want that happening. She doesn't care about business because..."

"Because," Buffy interrupted, the realization coming to her as well, "she's focused on something else. And she wants us out of the way. She's planning something."

"Exactly," Takagi replied. "As to what, that is a mystery. But I have a feeling that whatever she's planning the consequences would be disastrous... for everyone. That is why I came to you."

"So what do you want?" Buffy asked.

"I propose a partnership of sorts, Ms. Summers," Takagi said, "one that would be beneficial to everyone involved."

"No offense, sir, but what makes you think we'd want a partnership with you?" Buffy asked.

"Because you have no other choice," he answered.

Buffy sat, silenced by his words. He was right, in some sense. The mere fact that they chose to meet with him spoke volumes of their limit of options.

"Besides, I'm the only one offering any deal," he continued. "I suppose you could try and go to the Russians. They hate her more than we do. Might I suggest you bring a towel, though. They're known to be quite brutal in their dealings if you don't tread carefully."

Sara inwardly winced at the idea. She knew exactly what Takagi meant. The Russians had made big inroads in the New York crime scene ever since the fall of the Soviet Union and there was one thing she quickly found out about them: they were not to be toyed with. And making deals with them could mean slitting your own throat. If they could avoid doing so, all the better.

"Here's the deal: we will supply you with as much information as we can on Ms. Vitelli, everything from business dealings to strategies. We'll pass along as much as we can in the oncoming months."

"And what do you want in return?" Buffy asked. "And I hope it's something we can live with."

"Simple," Takagi replied. "You take care of Amy."

"That's it?" Buffy asked. "You're giving us information provided we do exactly what we've been planning for the last year? I don't get it."

"The mere satisfaction of Amy's demise is enough," Takagi said.

"As well as knowing the exact moment she's put out of commission, before the other bosses," Sara offered. Takagi smiled at that.

Buffy started to follow Sara's line of reasoning and then it clicked. "Oh, I see," Buffy said. "Once Amy's out of the picture, you'll be poised and ready to grab what you can in the confusion. And probably with little resistance."

"Very astute, the both of you."

Buffy looked at Sara and thought about the idea. They were indeed running out of options. And if Takagi was right, Amy was planning something huge. If they couldn't stop it, there was no telling what could happen. Looking at the detective's eyes, she knew they were in agreement of what had to be done and finally spoke. "Alright," Buffy said. "But I have a two conditions."

"And they are...?"

"One, you supply info and that's it. I want absolutely no interference in our operations. We take the intel and plan accordingly without your help."

"Deal. And what is the other condition?" Takagi asked.

"Condition two: after Amy's dealt with, we terminate this partnership. We go our separate ways; no holdovers and no side deals."

After a brief pause Takagi said, "I don't think we'll have a problem with that. But I also have a condition."

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"I want no interference in our operations," he replied.

"I have no problem with that," Buffy said.

"But Detective Pezzini might."

Sara thought for a moment and said, "I'm Homicide, not OCD. So unless you guys start racking up dead bodies, I don't foresee a problem. Besides, I'm sure you've got plenty of guys just waiting to take the rap if you do."

Hideo smiled at the quip. He reached over to his cup and lifted it. "Let us drink to our partnership. May it be mutually beneficial and, most of all, brief." Buffy and Sara lifted their cups and they all drank to seal the deal. They then all stood up. "Yoshikata will see you out," he said.

"Good day, Mr. Takagi," Sara said as she bowed, Buffy again following suit.

"Likewise," he replied as he bowed in return. The attendant walked them both out to the waiting cab, ready to take them back to their pick-up spot. Sara and Buffy sat silent all the way. Once they had arrived at their destination, they got out. They were supposed to call base as soon as they made it back, but Buffy hadn't taken out her cell phone yet. She walked over to the edge of a nearby alley and leaned against a brick wall.

"Is it just me, or do you feel really disturbed about what just happened? I mean, I can't believe we just did that," she said.

"Me neither," Sara replied.

"You know, when I made a deal with Spike to stop Angelus, it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. But this... this just makes me sick."

"I know how you feel," Sara said, feeling the exact same way.

"Things used to be simpler, you know: gather info, beat the Big Bad, and go home. Sure it was more complicated at times, but not like this. Never like this. Now I'm held back by every law that says I can't just go in there and beat Amy to a bloody pulp. Now I'm dressed in a suit making deals with people who should be in jail to get rid of other people who should be in jail."

Sara merely stared off into the street, at all of the passerbys going to and fro. Not bothering to look at Buffy, soberly she said, "Welcome to my world."

Buffy briefly stood silent at the comment. Brushing aside what she felt she said, "Well, let's just hope both of our worlds don't have any more surprises waiting for us. I don't think I can take it."

"You and me both, Buffy. You and me both."

Little did they know that indeed a surprise awaited them in the oncoming days, one that would rock the very foundations of their world and drastically change the playing field. Things had been set in motion that were too far gone to be stopped. And it all started with a plan, a daring plan, one devised by a vampire with a soul residing in Los Angeles...