"Hey Buffy? Are you sure I'm allowed in here? Don't bars require ID of some sort?" Dawn's voice was unsure and nervous. Buffy sighed.
"Not this kind of bar. It's mostly demons Dawn. These people don't usually ask a lot of questions. Besides, it was the only lead Willow could give me. Someone in here might have seen the thing or know where it is!" There was exasperation in her tone that was partly from frustration, but mostly due to lack of sleep and the fact that she was still nearly certain she was being followed. "You wanted to come with me on this, now are you coming in or not?"
"Just as long as I don't end up in the slammer for an overnighter." Dawn replied as she gingerly followed her sister. "I've heard stories about women in prison you know. It's not pretty."
They entered the bar and almost immediately some of the vampires got up and left. Buffy sighed. She was hoping that the fact that she had never been in here would keep most of the clientele from figuring out she was the slayer, but it looked as if her reputation had preceded her.
"So much for blending in." She muttered as another group of demons cleared out of the place the closer she got. Even the bartender looked a bit nervous. That was good. Nervous ones were the easiest to get information out of. They were always quite eager to save their own skin.
"Damn it! Did you have to just walk in here like that? You just cost me quite a few customers!"
"Yea?" She retorted. "In case you haven't guessed, this is not my sympathetic face. I take it you know who I am?"
"You're the slayer. My cousin Willy runs a bar in your neck of the woods. Heard what happened in Sunnydale and he warned me you might end up here."
"You know Willy, then you must know the drill." Buffy said, putting on her best 'I'm the slayer and I'm about to kick your ass' voice. "I need information on a demon called a Brillcrall. I got a tip from someone that he might have been in here recently. That's where you come in. I need you to tell me if you've seen this thing." She handed the bartender the picture that Willow had photocopied from one of Giles' old books. He stared at it a moment, then shrugged.
"You think I'm anything like my cousin? Willy's a wuss. He always has been. I on the other hand own a demon bar in LA. That's a step up my dear. You're going to have to be just a little more intimidating to get anything out of me. I have a reputation to maintain."
Before the man could even react, Buffy had grabbed a stray dart laying on the bar and thrown it at the bartender. It managed to graze his ear just enough to cut him and land beside his right eye. He blinked a few times and Buffy could swear he swallowed the gum he had been chewing. She smiled.
"How's that for intimidation? Has he been in here or not?"
"Look I don't know anything OK?" The bartender stammered. "How about you and the kid get a drink? Relax, stay a while!"
"You don't want me to stay a while." Buffy replied with a smile. "I'm bad for business."
"Yea, no kidding!" The bartender muttered.
"Look, you gonna tell my sister what she needs to know or not?" Dawn said, growing quickly tired of the man's cowardice. The bartender looked at her and smirked.
"Willy didn't tell me anything about the next generation here. You sure it's a good idea to have her with you? I mean, this thing you're looking for...it likes to go after the young ones."
In a flash, she had leapt over top of the bar counter, grabbed the dart beside his eye and held it up to his throat pressing the point of it just hard enough to get the man's attention.
"I am done playing with you. Clearly you know what I'm looking for so if you don't tell me I am going to give you more holes in your throat than a pin cushion. Where can I find the Brillcrall?"
"I'd tell her if I were you." Dawn advised, amused by the sweat that was running down the man's face.
"Look, I haven't seen it I swear!" He pleaded. "All I know, is that a man was in here a day ago talking about a job he hired a demon to do on a day care center in Sunnydale."
"A man?" Buffy asked curiously. Forgetting her earlier threat, she let the bartender go and stepped back. "You mean a human? A human being hired this thing to kill all those kids?"
"Looks that way princess." The bartender replied, straightening the wrinkles in his shirt and clearly glad of the reprieve from the dart.
"Why would a man want all those kids dead?" Dawn wondered, inwardly sickened by the idea of a human being with a soul being responsible for the tragedy. From the look on Buffy's face, she was too.
"I don't know. I'm just the bartender, although I will tell you this. The guy was powerful. I mean powerful. It's possible he holds political sway in this town and those people can be hard to take down."
"I'll take him down." Buffy stated, her voice hard and determined. The bartender smiled weakly.
"I believe you kid. Watch your back."
Buffy nodded and turned to Dawn, signaling her that it was time to go. When she turned back she gave the man a grim nod.
"Say hi to your cousin for me."