Interlude – Cordelia Chase
Luck. To Cordelia Chase, this single word would always remind her of a flat tire right in front of Sunnydale High. And a verbal sparring match with Xander Harris.
She was standing in the middle of a lot of well-dressed people, herself included, nurturing a non-alcoholic drink. They were at a party, celebrating the premiere of a horrible film that one actor of the series she was a star of had shot last year. The place was huge, well decorated, and filled to the brim with the rich and famous of the movie industry and LA upper class.
Cordy had all that she wanted right now. Fame, a steadily growing bank account, more clothes than she could ever wear and a lot of absolutely gorgeous guys fanning for her. So, why was she bored beyond belief?
Tom Skazik, her manager, was approaching quickly. By his face, she could tell that he wanted to introduce her to another boring rich guy, one who could probably finance one of his crazy ideas, if he could bed the new star from the 'Adventure Seeker' series. Not that Cordelia would bed anyone introduced by Tom, but she could always meet someone nice.
"Cordelia, Cordelia!" he said a little bit loud, finally grabbing her by the elbow.
"Who is it this time, Tom?" she asked, in a bored voice, leaving her drink on a table nearby.
"Oh, come on, Cordelia. He's a nice guy, and about your age. He's beautiful too," he said, and since he also preferred the same sex that she did, Cordy almost believed him.
"And rich?" she asked, still bored. She once wanted to meet rich actors and the crème-de-la-crème from society, but after being exposed to the absolutely boredom of their petty minds, she grew tired of them. The lot was worse than any Cordette back in Sunnydale.
"A billionaire," he said, while dragging her over the crowded room. When they approached Tom's intended target, he let her go, so she could compose herself. She straightened up and adjusted her purple dress, wanting to make some impression. He could be a nice guy after all.
They approached a young man, mid-twenties by Cordy's estimate, brown hair, brown eyes, impeccably dressed in a tux. He was even cute, not overtly beautiful, and well treated enough to be classy and not snobby. And he was wearing a wonderful perfume, one of Cordy's favorites.
"Cordelia Chase, meet Jeff Tracy. Jeff, Cordelia Chase," Tom made the introductions, and Cordy extended her hand. The young man, Jeff, grabbed it and gave it a light squeeze. Cordy had heard that name before, but where?
"A pleasure," he said, in a lightly accented voice.
"Hi. I've heard your name before, but I can't seem to place it..." she said, in a friendly voice.
"I try to keep off the gossip magazines," he said offensively, promptly raising Cordelia's haunches.
"Well, I also try to keep away from them. But it is simply not possible being in my type of business," she said, in a no-nonsense voice.
Jeff perked up considerably, face gaining a serious tone.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, Ms. Chase. It won't happen again. Excuse me," he said, and left them.
If Tom had a wall nearby he would surely be banging his head on it, several times. Cordelia blew it, again.
"Cordelia, what is wrong with you? He is a billionaire, he could very well put money in one of your films," he almost screamed at her.
"With /me/? I just asked the guy a simple question, and he gets all judgmental on me? Who does he think he is?"
"That's /Jeff Tracy/! His father was Arnold Tracy, owner of Tracy Industries, Tracy Electronics and a few dozen other companies. One of the richest men in the United States. And Jeff is one of the smartest ones, as well. And you just /drove him off/!"
Recognition finally set in. That's where she'd seen the man's face. It was stamped over a few dozen magazine covers a couple of years back, when his father died. He was the sole heir of a business empire, and, according to the specialized press, one hell of a boy-genius.
Cordelia had the decency to blanch at her mess. Wait up, she hadn't messed anything, the guy was just plain rude. She stood taller, and looked Tom in the eye.
"Look, Tom, I did no such thing. I was being nice, and Mister-I'm-too-important-to-be-on-the-gossip-pages was downright rude. So, not my fault. If you'll excuse me, I'll take a walk. Find someone else to impress," she said, turning her back to him, and walking away.
Tom stood stock still, mouth hanging open. Luckily for him, the media was accustomed to this kind of thing, so nobody really noticed the small argument.
Cordelia stormed out of the mansion, looking for a quiet place to vent her frustration. The mansion grounds were huge, and to one side there was a small, secluded garden, where she could curse and swear freely.
She set a quick pace, somewhat encumbered by her high heels on the soft grassy ground. The tall brunette finally managed to reach the rocky path that gave entrance to the garden, managing to steady herself. She looked around: to one side there was a mound of freshly dug earth, some wooden stakes, shovels and the like. The owners were probably re-designing part of the landscape. To the other side there was an incredibly well treated garden, somewhat inspired in the European gardens that Cordy had visited some time ago.
The garden was protected from the external world by a dense hedge of bushes, around six feet high, and she could see that it was designed to have a relaxing atmosphere.
Her darkened mood suddenly vanished, and she sat on one of the benches, looking at the sky, mind flying to a place not too far away, and another young man with a heart of gold and a mind of shit.
Dennis, the Vampire, was a complete moron. He was a moron while alive, a couple of decades ago, and his turning didn't nothing to improve on it. He was still a moron, but with vampiric powers.
His buddies, all five of them, kept picking on him, saying that he was the one that gave the vampires a bad name. So, he decided on a risky plan, one that would elevate his status on the vampire underworld.
It was really simple. He would drain a famous bitch, one of those actresses or so, and leave her in a very popular spot. And he would brag about her to the rest of them for the rest of their undead lives.
So, when he heard about the party for the 'Soul Hunters 2' movie, he thought to himself, this is it. Gaining access to the outside grounds was easy enough. He couldn't set foot at the house interior, so he would have to wait on the outside for a suitable subject.
The first one to leave the house was a young man. He was close enough for the vampire to pick, but since Dennis didn't recognize him, he let the man go.
The second one was perfect. She was that new broad from the 'Adventure Something' series. She was quite a hottie, Dennis noticed, and she looked quite tasty. That was it.
He walked out of his hideout, going straight to her. She was sitting calmly on one bench, looking at the sky. 'How Dracula!' he thought, smirking. Pity he couldn't transform into mist, it would be cool, right now.
The moment she noticed him, all his plans went down the toilet.
Cordelia noticed the badly dressed guy approaching. Her fashion sense struck, and while not as powerful as Buffy's Slay-dar, it was almost as infallible as the blonde's. Cordy groaned.
"Hey, I had the chance to leave that Helltown behind. Couldn't you guys let me be as well? CAN'T I HAVE SOME PEACE?" she yelled to the night.
The vampire looked at her oddly. So much for the silent, seductive approach. He vamped out, and in a bout of speed, attacked her.
Jeff Tracy was walking the grounds of the mansion, mind far away at the moment. Someone screaming closely suddenly interrupted his thoughts. He was the closest one to the sound, and as his father used to say, he was a boy scout in the heart.
He ran to the direction of the scream, only to see the actress he ditched earlier be attacked by a badly dressed man. He came closer, tackling the guy with all his strength. They landed right in the middle of a flower garden, and the man tried to attack him. Jeff gave him a good look, and what was his surprise when he saw the face of a monster looking back to him. They must be shooting a scene, he thought, but since the guy didn't diminish the strength of his attack, he kept fighting back.
Jeff wasn't a weak man, and all the training he was going through made him a worthy adversary to most guys, but the man was simply too strong. He screamed, trying to overpower the nutcase, when suddenly the guy stopped, made a surprised face, and turned to...dust?
"What the /hell/?" he asked, and he finally noticed the standing above him, holding a...stake? "Wha...what happened?"
The security detachment finally appeared, five guys in black suits, two of them holding weapons. Cordelia turned around, hiding the stake on her back, and she said in her best acting voice.
"A crazy man...attacked me...he went that way!" and she pointed in another direction. The suits ran in the direction she pointed, and they were left alone.
"What happened?" Jeff asked.
"So, you don't know, Mr. Know-it-all? It was a vampire. A real one," Cordelia said, in her best Queen C mode.
"Vampires? But that's...that's impossible!" he said. The woman should be making this up.
"So are intelligent actresses?" she asked, fuming. "Look, you saw the face, you saw him turning to dust when I staked him. Make your own conclusions. Just don't make the wrong ones," she said, and turned around, walking away.
Jeff was too confused right now, he needed more answers. He was a scientist, after all. "Hey, wait up!" he spoke loudly to a retreating Cordelia. She didn't stop. "Look, I'm sorry. Can you wait, please?"
Cordy stopped, but she didn't turn around. Jeff approached, and he stood right in front of her.
"Look, I'm truly sorry. It's...it's just that I'm tired of those parties and those airhead bimbos that call themselves actresses. I just came because the producer was a good friend of dad's. Can you forgive me?"
Cordelia looked him straight in the eye. "Get me a good cup of coffee and I'll think about it. And make it a /good/ one, not those decaf thingies."
Jeff laughed. "Ok, deal. I'll make it even better than that. But let's get out of here, ok?"
She nodded.
An hour later, they were arriving at one of the most luxurious condos that Cordy had ever seen. Jeff parked his car, a Lamborghini Diablo Roadster, in his parking spot. He helped Cordy climb out of the Italian coupe, and they walked to the elevators. The entire trip was mostly made in silence, Cordelia only asked where they were going.
They stopped on the fifteenth floor, and Jeff opened the door right in front of him. One apartment per floor, classy. They entered, and he turned the lights on. The living room was huge, and very well decorated.
"Sorry about the lack of amenities, I don't live here. I'm just staying for the weekend," he said, leaving the keys and his jacket on a table. "If you want to refresh yourself, the bathroom is the second door to your right, over there," he said, pointing to his left.
"Thank you," she said, walking to it.
A few minutes later, she returned, sans jewels and make-up. Jeff couldn't help but notice that she seemed more beautiful like that.
"I like make-up," she said, walking closer to him, "but it really destroys your skin if you let it stay too much."
"You look...nicer, without it," he commented, smiling.
"I do? Thank you," she said, smiling back. An awkward silence struck them both for a few moments.
"C-care to join me in the kitchen?" he asked, extending a hand. She grabbed it, and they walked to the spacious kitchen. Cordy noticed that the kitchen was probably the size of her own apartment. He cordially made her sit down on a chair, while he walked around, grabbing the items to make the coffee.
"So, could you please explain to me what I just saw attacking you?" he asked, while arranging the coffee maker.
"A vampire, the real kind. The ugh kind, that kills you to feed. No Mr. Dracula Prince Charming on those," she said, making faces.
"You talk from experience, I see," he said, sitting by her side, while the coffee was being made.
"I used to live in Vamp Central, aka Sunnydale, California, home to the Hellmouth."
"Hellmouth? What is a Hellmouth?" he asked.
They spent the next three hours speaking, Cordelia telling him about her past and the weirdness of living in Sunnydale, Buffy, Xander and the gang. Jeff was impressed with her so far, and he told her about his past and his future projects.
"So, you want to be an astronaut. Why?" she asked, curious. The coffee was gone a long time ago, and they were sipping some white wine that he opened.
"I guess it's because it involves everything that I like. Science, adventure, the chance to help mankind. And it's a chance for me to do some research for myself."
"Doesn't every astronaut do this? Research?" she asked, a bit confused.
"Not like this. It's like a hands-on experiment for a future project."
"Future project?"
He remained silent for a moment. He shouldn't tell her, it was a secret, after all. His secret. But somehow, he trusted the young woman.
"Do you know how my father died?"
Cordy tried to remember what she had read about it.
"From what I remember, he died when he was visiting a diamond mine in Africa. A landslide got him, right?"
"Not exactly. That was the press version. We didn't want to cause a scene with the shareholders and the press. Only me and a couple of other people know the truth. A landslide didn't catch him, it happened a couple of meters in front of him. He was locked with another five people inside a cave with enough air for a couple of hours, according to the geologists. It took us three days to remove the rocks and the debris safely," he said, becoming mute afterward.
"I'm so sorry," Cordelia said, honestly. She grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Not your fault. After the funeral, I kept thinking that if we had the right tools, he and the other five could have been saved. So, I've been planning some things."
"What things?"
He sighed, and stood up.
"Wait here."
He walked out of the kitchen, returning a few moments later holding an opened laptop computer. He placed the computer in front of her, and she saw on the LCD display some initial schematics for some sort of vehicles. They looked extremely cool, but she didn't understand half of what those schematics meant.
"Cool. What kind of vehicles are those?"
"Specialized rescue vehicles. Each one has a different function. Too bad that some of the technology still hasn't been invented. I'm working on it though."
"So, you want to save people, right?" Cordelia asked, her gears working at top speed.
"Yes, that's my life objective."
"While you are planning those...vehicles...why don't you start smaller?" she said, looking back to the screen.
"What do you have in mind?" he asked, interested.
"I believe the Scooby Gang would be very happy with some technological backup," she said. After all, they were rescuing people from certain death.
Jeff Tracy stopped for a moment, his own gears working.
"I believe I can help you, Miss Chase."
"All of us. And call me Cordy. All of my friends do," That wasn't exactly true, but she wanted him to be her friend. He was a nice guy, if you could break the defenses.
"All ," he said, smiling
Cordelia kept looking to the screen, and the changing schematics. Something picked up her attention.
"Hey, what are those initials on the vehicles? TB?"
Jeff smiled again.
"My father liked to fly, he even had some restored airplanes to play with. One of his most prized possessions was a reformed F-16 jet, used in air shows. So I decided to honor him into these too," he said, pointing to the schematics.
Cordy remained mute for a few more moments, waiting for him to continue. He didn't.
"So?" She asked, annoyed. "What does it mean?"
Jeff smiled.
"Thunderbirds."
- To be continued -