STORY SEVEN: THE D.C. AREA, and then some... (Part 1)

"Georgetown is a pretty cool place," Xander said as they sat at a bar in the said part of Washington D.C. It was their first night in the town, and hanging out in a bar with bunch of college students sounded safe enough. "It's got good beer." He held up his mug. "Plus, I don't feel the wolfman coming on so that's a plus."

"Definitely. I like you better this way," Faith said, slamming her own empty mug down on the bar.

"Good because I didn't like the those birthday handcuffs to only be used those three nights," he said, giving her a kiss.

"You ever been here before?" she asked him.

"Faith, I haven't seen the light of day outside California all my life until now." He looked around. "This place has got very nice college girls.. I mean, college atmosphere." He sipped his beer to cover up his slip. "You?"

"With you on the whole college girls thing," Faith said with a wink. "But - no, never been here. Passed through on the way down south a few years ago, that's all." She frowned and looked around, then laughed. "Oh, man. I can't believe it."

Xander scanned the area. "What? What is it?" he asked, alarm. "Do we need to run?"

"Well, you might wanna," Faith said with a grin. "Check your six."

"My six what? Oh, you mean..." He looked in the direction she was referring to and saw the familiar figure of Mexico Ana dancing with a few of the college boys. "Well, I guess she found her way out of the Mexican jungle." He smiled, drinking his beer.

"Yeah... Wonder what's she doing here," Faith murmured. "It better not be a Slayer thing." Judging by the enthusiasm Ana was putting into her dancing, it didn't LOOK like she was concerned with Slaying at the moment. "You gonna go fetch her, or you want me to?"

Xander put the mug down on the bar. "This is a job for me," he said with a grin. "I'll be back." Smiling at her, he still wondered what the hell he did to deserve Faith. With that, he made his way through the crowd and came up behind the Latina, tapping Ana on the shoulder. "Hey, can I see some I.D., ma'am?"

Ana turned and frowned, then grinned. "Senor Xander! Mi amor, mi corazon," she purred, putting her arms on his shoulders. "What are you doing in Washington?" she asked as she pulled him into a dance.

Xander tried his darndest to be just as smooth as her in dancing. But that was never going to be the case. "Just checking out the sights," he said with a smile. "And how about you? What's a hottie like you making her way out east? Wanted to know who runs the U.S. of A? I can tell you now, just a bunch of politicians."

"Ohh... I don't care about politics," Ana sniffed. "Eet's all money, and that's boring," she told him. Then she glanced past him and spotted the other Slayer. "Oh. You're still with her, Xander?" Ana laughed.

Xander grinned, nodding. "Amazing, huh? Amazing she's still with ME. C'mon, I think she wants to say 'hey' to you." He nodded in her direction, allowing Ana to lead the way.

"All right." Ana reluctantly left the dance floor and headed over to Faith and Xander's table. "Hola, Senorita Slayer," she said.

"Hey. What brings ya do DC?"

Ana yawned. "My father, he's at some big thing at the embassy here. So he asked me to come and visit with him before he left for Mexico again. It's all boring... so I came here to have a leetle fun. What about you two?"

Xander sat down next to his beer again. "Oh, we're just passing through. Trying to avoid any run ins with... lots of things, actually. It's been a rough few nights. Werewolves and stuff."

"Werewolves?" Ana asked, then shrugged when Faith gave her a 'don't ask' look.

He sipped his beer again. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Ohh, my hero. Yes please. Tequila!"

"Actually, can I REALLY see I.D?" Xander told Ana with a quirk of a brow. "Not here to encourage underage drinking, you know."

"Xander!" Ana moped, then dug around in her purse, finally producing a Mexican matricula ID card. She stared at it, grinned and put it away. "Wrong one," she explained, handing Xander another ID. "See? I'm old enough for tequila."

"Yeah, I'll..." Faith's voice trailed off.

Xander was about to get up to get the bartender when he noticed her expression. "Faith, hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I think," Faith said. "Don't look now, but the couple two tables over, near the jukebox... weren't they at the place in Philly?"

Xander glanced over at said table and knitted his brows together. "Um, I was kinda busy being... all wigged to look. But I think they kinda stuck around for the fight. Oh, man, you don't think they're gonna come arrest us, do you?" he asked, glancing over at Faith. "The gun wasn't even loaded."

"Arrest us? And - shit, it wasn't? Damn, Xander." Faith shook her head. "You've got a pair. Not that I didn't know that already," she confided to Ana, who snickered.

"Okay, let's keep the girl talk when it's just you girls," Xander said, reddening all of a sudden.

"Go get the drinks," Ana said. "These people will notice you noticed them."

"Ahh... too late," Faith said, watching as the two of them - a slender woman with short brown hair and a tall, almost black-haired man with a medium build, but with a grace that hid more- started towards their table.

"Oh, good timing," Ana moaned. "I don't really know you..."

Xander smiled as they came up to them. "Hi there!" He waved. "Wasn't encouraging underage drinking, I promise." He grabbed Ana's fake I.D. "See? Over 21! And, um, me, too!"

The man and woman exchanged glances. "That's great. You're still under arrest," the woman said with a cheery smile.

"Me?" Ana squeaked. "I didn't do anytheeng!" she protested miserably.

"Neither did I," Faith said.

"I didn't do anything either!" Xander piped in.

"What the hell is this?"

"Oh, nothing, just a little case of national security," the woman replied a little too casually.

"Come with us, please," the man added, an unspoken 'or else' hanging in the air.

Xander looked around the bar, all the college kids. He snaked his hands towards both Faith's and Ana's hands, holding them both. He got up. "Uh, you know, we make it a rule NOT to be involved in anything of national security. So, we just wanna keep following that, sir. And ma'am." He pulled at the two Slayers, away from the table.

"Are you gonna make this a thing?" the woman asked, her pleasant smile turning into a hard look. "You really don't want to."

"A... thing?" Xander asked. "Oh, no. Definitely NOT wanting this thing to become a thing." He leaned in a little, still holding onto the Slayers. "Just what exactly is this thing?"

"A thing is where a dozen or so commandos come crashing in, we all fight, you lose, and you come with us in the end anyway," the guy grumbled, cracking his knuckles for emphasis.

"That kinda thing," the woman confirmed with a nod.

"Okay, that's fun, but why don't you tell us what the hell this is about before you get all Rambo and GI Jane?" Faith demanded.

The brunette shrugged. "Can't talk about it here. Classified." She looked at the three of them, finally settling on Xander. "Oh, by the way, Captain America told me to tell you he said 'hi' and that he still hates Spike more than you do," she told him. "I guess you'll know what that shit means?"

Xander's eye widened, a grin suddenly spreading across his face. "Riley?" he asked. "I mean, Agent Finn or whatever you call him. You know him?"

"Yeah." The woman smiled crookedly. "We work for the same outfit. And usually we call him Agent Frag Him," she added under her breath. "So. Are we all friends now?"

"Um, no." Faith cleared her throat. "That's great that you know Riley, but that still doesn't explain what you want with us."

"I told you - "

"Yeah, yeah, classified. I'm not really big on the cloak and dagger stuff, you know."

"And I'm not even American," Ana pointed out.

"So tell us what's what."

"In public?" The woman sighed. "He was right, they really aren't keen on operational security..." she told her companion.

"What can you expect from civilians?" the male stranger told the woman. "Especially these two." He nodded towards Faith and Ana. "Look, this is too crowded of a place to reveal any classified information. It's best if we just go out of here, and talk, and we'll tell you all about what we're here for. Got it, Slayers?" He whispered that last sentence.

"Oh, great." Faith rolled her eyes. She glanced at Ana, who gave a nervous little nod. The Mexican girl did not like the twist her evening of partying had taken.

"Okay. Walk and talk."

"See? I knew you could listen to reason." The woman smiled. "By the way, I'm Agent Rutherford."

"That's nice." Faith followed the two Initiative agents out of the club, wondering if they should try Peoria or Erie, PA next to avoid this kind of thing.

"Agent Shapiro," the man answered as they led the two girls and the one guy towards a limo waiting on the side of the building. He stopped, looking up and down the street seeing it was fairly abandoned. "Now, we know who you are. All of you."

"Even me?" Xander asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes, Mr. Harris, even you. Especially you. Agent Finn spoke pretty highly of you - although..." He let his next, not-so-nice comment go as Xander grinned. "But we're actually interested in these two. Ana. And Faith." His gaze lingered on Faith. "Specifically you."

"Me? Why?" Faith asked, hesitating at the limo's door.

"We need your help," Rutherford replied, obviously with the greatest reluctance.

"Heh. Uncle Sam Needs Me." Faith laughed. "What's the deal?"

"Inside the limo," the agent said.

Xander held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa. Okay, I trust Riley if he was standing right here telling me what you're telling me. But you suits, not really."

"I'm not a suit!" Rutherford protested indignantly.

Agent Shapiro rolled his eyes towards Rutherford. "Mr. Harris, we're not going to hurt any of you, if that's what you're worried about."

"No experiments?"

Rutherford glowered. "That bitch Walsh. She's ruining it for the rest of us."

Shapiro gave her a quick look before glancing back at the group. "No. None. Now get in. Don't make us use force; we really don't want to do that."

"I'd like to see you try," Faith replied, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Yeah, it'd be really amusing for everyone," Rutherford said. "Can we all just get in the car? They might be listening in, okay?"

"Who?" Ana wondered.

"The guys I can't talk about because they might be listening in!"

"Uh, girls, I think we just better get into the car," Xander said, gesturing for them to go in first. "Sorry, they're kind of stubborn," he told Rutherford and Shapiro.

"Yeah, well, we don't know ANYBODY like that." Rutherford glanced at Shapiro. "Not a word," she warned him.

When they were inside the limo, Shapiro took out a cell phone and told them to secure the road ahead. When he hung up, he looked at the Slayers. "Okay, you want to know why."

Faith nodded. "Yeah, we do. Who and what, too."

"All right, fair enough. I'll dumb it down for you," Rutherford said. "There's a cult of demon-worshiping ninjas in DC who are trying to summon their god from another dimension. We don't have the manpower to stop them. And that's where you enter the picture."

"Demon-worshiping ninjas..." Faith nodded slowly.

Rutherford grinned. "Hey, it's the truth." She pulled a briefcase off the seat next to her and, after tapping in an entry code, popped it open. "Here. Top secret." She handed each of the three passengers a thick manilla envelope marked TOP SECRET.

"Whoa, she wasn't kidding," Xander murmured at the large type. "No tricking us." He frowned. Lots of reading.Is there a cliff's notes version of this?"

Shapiro shook his head, closing his eyes.

"That IS the Cliff's Notes version," Rutherford explained.

"Oh, man," Shapiro murmured. He looked over at the Slayers. "Ana, you weren't intended to take part in this mission, but when we learned of your presence here, we decided to take advantage of that. Having two Slayers on this mission would make it easier on you both." He looked over at Faith. "You, on the other hand, we intended. We've been following you for a while now, Faith. You have more skill than any of the other Slayers in the world, except for possibly one. We think you'll do well in the mission - and survive."

"Oh, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Plus..." He quirked a brow towards Rutherford, though still talking to Faith. "You have more at stake."

"Yeah. Those old warrants on you out in California are still valid," Rutherford said. "Just saying."

"Fuck you." Faith flipped through the dossier about the demon ninjas - the Hand. "I'll do your job, but don't try to blackmail me."

"Wait," Xander said, looking up at his notes as well. "Blackmail?" He knitted his brows together. "Are you saying that you'll toss her back in jail if she doesn't do what you say?" The thought hadn't occurred to him about Faith's still broken relationship with the law. It was no wonder she wanted to run every time the authorities had the possibility on arriving on the scene. He glanced worriedly at Faith.

"Exactly," Shapiro answered. "All it takes is one call and the police will take care of it all. But we're trying to be civil, and we don't want to resort to that."

Rutherford shifted, uncomfortable, and said nothing for a few seconds. "Harris, you're a civilian. So - "

"So... what?" Xander asked, looking at Rutherford. "I don't get to join in the fun of ninja hunting?"

"You think it's fun? Have you ever MET a ninja?" Rutherford asked. She turned to Faith. "Is he dumb or just really brave?"

"Xander can take care of himself, Miss Agent Girl," she replied.

"Plus, it was called sarcasm," Xander said, flatly. "They don't teach you that in CIA kindergarten? Oh, what I just said there - also sarcasm."

"Hey, easy there, no offense. Also - 'Rachel' works better."

Faith just went back to flipping through the dossier. "Okay. So these freaks want to steal an old sword from the Sumida Gallery. And you want us to be there waiting."

"That seems simple enough," Ana said hopefully.

"That's sweet that you think so," Rachel replied.

"Just how many of them are we expecting to infiltrate anyway?" Xander asked, trying to flip through the paperwork to find the answer to his own question.

"Forty. Give or take."

"Well, I highly doubt they'll ALL come to the Gallery," Shapiro answered. "Their strength is stealth." He leaned back in the leather seat. "Rachel, I think we shouldn't put Mr. Harris in the equation."

Rachel gave Xander a thoughtful look, then shrugged. "It's up to him. These guys are serious, Harris. It won't be pretty."

"Hey, I haven't left this gal's side yet," Xander stated, thumbing towards Faith. "But, I've been reading this brief, and I think I'll be kinda in the way of all these flying ninja stuff. I want to be a part of this, though."

Shapiro glanced over at Rutherford. "Surveillance?"

"Yeah." She smiled at Xander. "You get to watch me play with millions of dollars of cutting edge technology. Fun, huh?"

"Beats getting in the way of ninjas and Slayers," Xander said with a smile.

"Can we hurry this up? My dad is going to notice if I'm not back at the Embassy by three," Ana said.

"Good then," Shapiro said with a nod. He told the limo driver to get them to the surveillance van to grab any weapons and to drop off Xander and Rachel.

Xander put his hand on Faith's knee, leaning in and giving her a peck on the cheek. "Never a dull moment, huh? You're gonna be okay, right? Remember, I'll be watching."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Always wanted to beat the shit out of a ninja," she told him, wishing she could give him a real kiss. But the audience was a bit much.

"All right. This is your standard closed-frequency mike," Rachel said, handing sleek black headsets to Ana and Faith. "It's fixed so the whole unit can hear you, so don't share any dark secrets."

"Yeah." Faith put the headset on and tapped the mike. "Whee. I liked the Kevlar better," she said, patting her bulletproof vest. She wondered if they'd let her keep it - and the big ass automatic rifle, too.

Ana was fiddling with her own rifle, aiming the laser pointer at various objects around the inside of the van. "Cool."

Xander sat in the chair, watching the show. "Seeing you in Kevlar is turning me on," he teased Faith.

Shapiro glared over at Xander as he adjusted his own uniform.

Xander winced.

"Finally..." Rachel pulled a large case off one of the racks on the side of the van. She opened it and swung it around so Faith and Ana could see inside. "You girls know how to handle swords?"

"They get guns AND swords?" Xander asked. "Not fair."

Shapiro looked at the swords. "I'm sure they're more capable with the swords more than the rifle. Am I right?"

"Wrong." Ana grinned. "My father took me hunting with him all the time when I was young." She held the rifle close. "I'll be fine with this."

Faith smiled a little. "You better not be fucking with me. I don't wanna get shot in the ass."

Ana smirked. "Trust me."

"Okay, is the female bonding over?" Rachel asked impatiently.

"Yeah, it's over." Faith picked up one of the swords and checked the sharpness. "Not bad."

"Ten thousand bucks. Don't lose it."

"Uh-huh." Faith sheathed the sword and slung it over her shoulder. "Xander..."

Xander was playing around with some of the safer looking buttons when he heard his name. He looked up. "Yeah? Hey, looking very... Amazonian. The vest make your shoulders look bigger."

"My shoulders, huh?"

Ana rolled her eyes. "Faith, let's go kill the monsters, please?"

"Yeah..." Faith kissed Xander. "Now I'm ready."

Shapiro let out an exasperated sigh as Xander grinned from ear-to-ear. "Can we depart now?" He opened the van and motioned for the Slayers to follow. They would have to cross two blocks to get to the back of the Gallery.

Shapiro kept low as he moved through the grounds. "Are you girls still with me?" he asked, not hearing anything behind him. Maybe they weren't as fast as the reports say.

Up ahead, there was a soft whistle. Ana waved back at Shapiro, then made a 'come on' gesture.

Shapiro glanced up ahead and frowned when he saw Ana. "What the hell...?" he murmured, wondering how they'd gotten ahead. Then he sighed and moved towards them, crouching beside the two Slayers. "Okay, this is the best side to see if anyone is going to sneak in. Keep those ears and eyes open since you supposedly have better both than the average person." There was skeptism in his tone, as had been since they met.

Faith shrugged. "No supposing about it," she whispered, then slipped a few feet away to get a better vantage point.