Giles stood outside Ethan's door. "I believe they call me Giles now," he answered calmly.

"Look," Ethan replied, inching away from the door, "about the candy. They forced me… e-even threatened to kill me… a-and how was I to know that you of all people would get hold of it… I mean, w-would I ever try to hurt you Ripper?"

"Relax," sighed Giles. "If I was here to kill you I would have done so already."

Ethan gave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank-God… But why are you here then? Because I'm guessing you didn't come all the way to London to catch up on old times."

"Can I come in?"

Ethan hesitated for a moment, the stood aside to let Giles pass. As he did, he couldn't help but notice how distant his former friend looked. It was like his body was in his shabby B&B but his soul was lost in another dimension. Something was troubling him. "So then, what brings you to London?"

"Business," he replied plainly as he sat down on Ethan's couch. "I need a favour."

"A favour?" repeated Ethan. "From me?"

"I didn't have much choice in the matter. I was in a hurry. So, will you do a favour for me?"

Ethan smiled. "You think I'm just going a favour, for you, like that. You're the reason why I'm in the sodden B&B in the first place! Why should I help you? Give me one reason!"

Suddenly, without warning, Giles sprang from the couch and pinned Ethan forcefully against the wall. One arm pressing down hard on Ethan's neck, and the other arm against Ethan's stomach. "I'll give you a bloody good reason. You do this favour for me, I don't kill you. How's that?"

"F-fine…" Ethan croaked. He was no longer smiling.

Giles loosened his grip. "Good. That's settled then."

"Yes…" replied Ethan while clutching his throat. " It's got to be better than you kicking the crap out of me anyway…"

"There's still time."

SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA

"Wow! You said it was big, but you didn't say huge!"

"We're actually still working on it but-"

"Riley, It's amazing!" Buffy didn't fell like any other words could describe it. 'The initiative', as Riley had called it, was hidden underneath U.C. Sunnydale and around her Buffy could see no fewer than a hundred people. Some were military, and Buffy guessed the ones in white coats were scientists. The government, as it seemed, were not as oblivious to vampires and demons as Buffy had always thought.

Riley had soon finished leading Buffy down the staircase and they were now approaching, what seemed like to Buffy, a big pit.

"This is how we get most of out information," Riley said as he pointed down into the large pit. "Each new species of HST we find is examined, and also tested on. This way, we know how to fight them next time."

Bewildered, Buffy stared down into the pit. 'So this the where Spike got his chip,' she thought. As Riley had said, the demons were being tested on and examined…and for the first time ever, Buffy felt sorry for them. "Wow, and there I was reading books on how to kill them… while you cut them up into little pieces to find out."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Buffy turned away. "Oh… um… nothing. It's just that, well all the scientific stuff in kind of new. I mean I've fought demons for years now… and Giles is still afraid of a computer."

"Giles?"

"Oh, right, sorry. He's my watcher." She turned back to Riley and noticed his blank expression. "A watcher is kind of a mentor to the slayer."

"He trains you?"

"Yeah," Buffy replied, "if you want to be all military about it."

"Buffy, what's wrong?…Have I said something?…done something?"

"What?…oh…well, this is all pretty new to me. See, when I slay vampires, it's pretty much stake-heart-dust. Simple and easy to remember… while you have this huge organisation thingy…. Riley, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Riley put his arm on her shoulder and pulled her close. " I know what I'm doing. I promise you… Do you trust me?"

Buffy's eyes met his and she felt her lips nearing his. "I trust you," she replied. Their lips touched and for a brief moment she felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. While she was close to Riley she felt safe.

After a few moments, Riley pulled his lips away. "So, how strong is a slayer then?"

"Strong enough." She replied.

"Show me," he whispered into her ear.

"You sure? I might hurt you."

"Show me," he repeated. "Don't hold back"

After a moment's hesitation, she slowly took back her fist. Then, suddenly it flew forward, catching Riley hard in the stomach and sending him flying back into the blank wall at the far end.

"Whoops"

LONDON, ENGLAND

The night had matured more than Giles would have liked when he exited the B&B Ethan was staying in. Convincing Ethan to do his favour had probably taken up sometime, but still, he'd done it now. His main focus at the moment was getting back to Sunnydale.

He wondered how soon he'd be able to get a flight. Tonight would be best but he doubted he'd get a flight that soon. He looked at his watch: 9.50 p.m. Maybe if he hurried he could still get an evening flight. He'd need a Taxi though, and with that thought, he set off down the street.

A gunshot was fired in the darkness. The sniper watched from the roof as his target fell to his knees as the bullet buried itself into the target's stomach. Frowning at his accuracy, he began to look for another bullet.

Giles cried out, then looked down. The lower half of his shirt was already soaked in blood. His blood. He tried to work out how much he'd already lost and by the look of his own shirt, he'd lost lots. In desperation he put his hand on top of the wound in an effort to try and stop the bleeding…but he knew it was useless. A sniper doesn't leave you have dead…he always finishes the job.

The pain was becoming unbearable now. Breathing was also becoming an issue. Around him he could sense the sniper loading his gun for the final shot. The shot that would hit his head.

Giles looked up to the sky. There were no stars out, but at least it had stopped raining. He wondered if that was a bright side to his current situation. Cursing himself for thinking about the weather in what he was sure was his last few moments of life, he closed his eyes. Taking deep breaths in and out, he waited for the trigger to be pulled.

To be continued...

A/N- my story is slighly AU...(just incase you're wondering why Riley is incharge of the initiative)

feed back is always welcome!