Chapter 11
"Mr. Silas, you have some information for me?" Sebastian asked.
"It's jus' Silas. Your trinket has quite a reputation, Mr. -"
"Smith, will do. I'm aware of that. Have you located the item?"
"Er, not yet, but there was a sighting recently…"
"Yes?"
"In Italy…so the rumors say…"
"Right…well, you're not seeing a penny until I get a confirmation, Mr. Silas. Call me when you have better news." Sebastian ended the call and walked out of his office.
"Well?"
"There's a rumor it was seen in Italy. I'll have an operative check it out."
"Okay. Since we're waiting, we could go sightseeing? It's not raining today," Buffy cajoled.
"I did promise you the sights, didn't I?"
"Mmm-hmm. And nice dinners."
"I remember that, too. Put on your walking shoes, sweetness, and we'll take a tour of London."
Buffy kissed him, before rummaging through her suitcase for her comfy boots. "Knew there was a reason I love you," she teased.
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"Who's the idiot that never thought to number these cubbies when the record was written? Utterly shameful, for a librarian…must have been completely daft," Giles muttered.
"It was said he kept track in his head. Here's your tea, Mr. Giles."
"Thank you, Lydia. If that's the case, then my hypothesis on his mental health rings true. What are we up to, now?"
"4347."
"If I counted correctly, that is only 20 away from the missing scroll." Giles flipped pages in the book.
"I believe so, sir."
"Ah, here we are…just in case we're off by one or two, I'll write down these three as possibilities…Lydia, go pull the scrolls on either side of the empty cubby, please."
A few minutes later, she came back with the two rolled parchments. Giles carefully unfurled them, and matched them with the names in the book. That left…
"Oh, dear…" Giles called Buffy's cell, but it went straight to voice mail. She must be out, he thought. He left a message and hung up the phone.
The scroll would take a while to decipher. It was in a language he wasn't the most familiar with, and what he could decipher sounded like part prophecy, part spell. The individual who had copied it to the book had left a notation on the approximate age of the parchment, and the vividness of the ink despite that age. Magic-enhanced ink – wonderful. No one bothered with that unless what they were writing was very important, or very powerful. Giles just hoped it didn't involve the amulet.
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Spike took Kara out to dinner and dancing at the finest restaurant he could find open on New Year's Eve. It was local, since he figured Kara wasn't ready to take off on a trip without the twins, yet. They tended to always stay longer than they had planned. When the restaurant kicked everyone at 2 a.m., they went for a drive along the beach, before going home. The rest of the night was spent making love until they could no longer stay awake.
Spike roused long enough to hear Kara's sister get up with the twins in the morning and make them breakfast, then snuggled further under the covers and closer to his wife for a few more hours.
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Dawn went home after watching the Rose Parade with her girl friends. The party last night had been okay, until one of the football players had shown up drunk, and threw up in the punch bowl. The mood was kinda killed after that.
Joyce was cleaning, something she was doing a lot of in an effort to keep busy while Giles was away.
"Mom, you want to go to a movie later, or something?"
"Sure, honey. Just let me finish the laundry."
Guess moms needed a little looking after, too.
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"You've actually been inside the palace!"
"Of course. My family holds a title, if you remember."
"So…you got invited to parties, and stuff?"
"And the fox hunt, polo matches, concerts. Horse races became quite popular, as well. I navigated through society much easier than William did, but I hardly enjoyed it more. Most of them were dreadful people with their noses in the air, disdain for everything around them. I was grateful whenever a new assignment would take me somewhere else."
"What else can you show me from when you were young?"
"Watch it, Miss Buffy…"
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The following day, a letter arrived in Sebastian's special mailbox.
Sir,
Possible location for item sought discovered. Standing by, please advise.
Sebastian quickly wrote a response and placed it in the box.
Good work. Get confirmation and report back at once.
And be careful.
Captain PierceWith any luck, they would have this situation wrapped up within a week of leaving home. Buffy would be pleased.
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"Master, if I'm not mistaken, I believe the house is being watched."
"Oh?"
"Just a feeling I have, Master."
"Good. It's about time they caught on. All is going according to plan. This time next week, I will be at my summer home, none the wiser."
"Yes, Master. What should I tell the guards?"
"The day after tomorrow…Sunday, is it? Have no one stop the spy if he chooses to come closer. I will have conducted my business by then."
"Yes, Master."
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Saturday…
Sir,
Sighting confirmed. Item seen on subject through window. Awaiting confirmation for retrieval.
Please advise.
Sebastian was pleased. He knew Corporal Moseby had been the right man for the job. He sent back orders for the operation.
Assemble team and use extreme stealth and caution. Consider opponent extremely dangerous with possible magical fortification.
I'm coming to supervise. Await my arrival tomorrow.
Captain Pierce"Buffy!" Sebastian called through the intercom.
"Yeah! I'm down here!"
"We have a confirmed sighting of the amulet. I need to leave right away."
"Huh? Where?"
"Italy. I don't have time to talk. Charles will take you anywhere in the city you want to go. There's some cash in my nightstand. I need to arrange for a flight so I can lead the team tomorrow." He kissed her until her knees went weak, then was out the door, duffle bag in tow.
"But…dang it. Well, I guess I better call Giles…," she said with a sigh.
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In the central courtyard of the villa, with the stars shining overhead in the winter sky, the sharp-dressed figure started casting his spell.
Ingredients were tossed into a small cauldron. The final ingredient, as he got near the bottom of reading the scroll's incantation, was the gem out of the amulet. He smashed the soft stone with a small hammer, then brushed the powder into the cauldron, saying the final words. There was a bright flash accompanied by a 'poof!', and it was done.
"Hmm, bellissimo," he murmured, pulling out the small crystal that had been formed. "Perfecto."
The scroll and amulet were carried to his room and placed on his desk. He held up a fake gem to the light, pronouncing it suitable, and placed it into the amulet. No one would ever know, unless they tried to use it.
He slept lightly, knowing they could probably expect an attack in the early morning hours, under the cover of darkness. He would be long gone down the secret passageways by then.
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Sunday…
"Move among the shadows, men. This area of the city is too populated, and the police will be here as soon as the alarm is sounded. We go in, find what we came for, and leave. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. You four watch the perimeter. You two come with me to search the house."
Sebastian and the two soldiers faded through the wall. They were merely transparent shadows, as they moved down the hallway. They paused in front of the first set of closed doors. Sebastian silently directed them to check two of the rooms, and moved on to a third. They needed to find the bedrooms, since the thief would most likely want to keep such valuable items close to him at all times. They moved upstairs after checking the first floor.
The last bedroom was the master suite. All three knights entered, Sebastian taking point. The room was empty, the bed made, so it appeared the master of the villa had not come home last night. All the better for them. A careful search finally revealed the items in a locked desk drawer. Sebastian secured them inside his coat and signaled to his men it was time to leave.
Once the group stood outside the house, the knights asked what their next order would be.
"Burn it," Sebastian said.
Molotov cocktails were tossed over the wall, and the team faded into the darkness once more.
The firefighters managed to put out the fire before it damaged much of the house.
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Buffy was roused from sleep by fingers caressing her cheek.
"Good morning, beautiful."
"Hey…I didn't expect you back, yet," she sleepily croaked. Sebastian handed her the glass of water from the nightstand.
"Things were easier than I anticipated. I came right back on the private jet to be here when you woke up."
"So, it's over? What time is it?"
"About 8:30. You can take these to the Council once you've had a proper breakfast." He handed her a pouch containing the missing items.
"Right now, I'm going back to sleep. It's too early!"
"As you wish, darling. Do you mind sharing the warm bed?"
"Mmm, not at all…"
Sebastian undressed and slid under the covers, pulling her warm body close to his. Buffy snuggled into him and fell back to sleep.
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"Good afternoon, Mr. Giles. Sir Pierce and Miss Summers are in the dining room." Charles bowed as he ushered the ex-Watcher inside.
"Thank you. It's this way, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
Giles found the dining room with relative ease. Sebastian stood to greet him, shaking his hand, before returning to his seat.
"Rupert, you're just in time for lunch."
Buffy slid the pouch across the table. "I think you'll be happy to see these, Giles."
"You've retrieved the scroll and the Amulet already!" he asked, astonished.
"Very early this morning, actually. It was remarkably easy. Probably too easy…though, I don't see the point in taking these items in such a way, only to make them easy to find again. It has me quite puzzled," Sebastian relayed.
"The stuff is safe and there was no apocalypse. I call that a victory," Buffy said. "It could be as simple as the guy was an over-confident idiot. I'm sure the Council has learned from the encounter to be a bit more diligent with their security."
"Indeed. That's actually something I'd like to discuss with you, Buffy, but it can wait until you two tell me how you found the thief."
Sebastian told the story, starting from the phone call he got from Silas, to the confirmation of seeing the Amulet, to taking it from the house in the middle of the night and setting a fire to cover their exit. Giles agreed that it did appear to be a bit simple. The thief wanted to be found. The question was why, and furthermore, who was he?
"Did you look up the owner of the house?" Giles asked.
"It's under the name of a woman. It's unknown if there is any relation to whomever was living there. He cleared out before we went in, probably knowing somehow that he was being watched. The whole thing gives me a bad feeling, like this isn't really over. He had plenty of time to do whatever the plan was for the Amulet and that scroll. We might already be too late to prevent the real danger this represents."
"Well, as long as it has nothing to do with the Hellmouth, the Council can handle their own mess from here on," Buffy stated. "I have to be back at work in a week, which gives me just enough time for a little vacationing while we're here. I plan to take full advantage of it. When is Mom expecting you home, Giles?"
"I haven't exactly set my departure time, yet. I still have to finish translating the scroll."
"Don't make me kick your butt for getting too caught up in your work, Giles," Buffy warned.
"I assure you, that isn't the case. I've been on the phone with your mother every day since I left."
The cook entered, laden down with plates, interrupting the conversation. "It's so good havin' people to cook for again. Sir Pierce isn't home nearly often enough to give me somethin' to do," Ruby teased.
"Well, I've been more than happy this week. She makes the best croissants, Giles," Buffy gushed.
"It's been a pleasure, dear. Always nice to have a young lady around that 'ppreciates my work. Took one look at 'er and proclaimed they must not feed girls in California. Sir Pierce tells us you live there, too, Mr. Giles. Has it been a comfort to be back 'ome again?"
"It has. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it, actually, but home is Sunnydale, now."
"Ah, I see by that look you have a good woman to go back to. She's a lucky one," the cook said, with a wink.
"That's enough, Ruby. You'll get me in trouble with my guests with your teasing," Sebastian teased back. His staff were a good bunch, but boredom tended to bring out their most…forthright traits.
"Yes, sir. I have a cake to check on, anyways." Ruby winked to Buffy, then left the room.
"I can see why you've kept her around all these years," Buffy said. "I like her."
Sebastian blushed, embarrassed. "Yes, well…perhaps we better eat, before this gets cold," he mumbled. Buffy patted his hand, then gave her attention to her plate.
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Buffy and Sebastian stayed a few more days. Before going home, they stopped at the Council one last time.
"Ah, Miss Summers…heading home?"
"Yep. Just wanted to stop by, say goodbye…don't call me unless the world's ending. The usual. And I believe we agreed on some compensation?"
"Ah, of course. Here's your check. Thank you, from the entire Council, for all your had work. Good luck on the Hellmouth," Reggie replied. He shook her hand.
"Don't sweat it," she said. "All part of the Slayer package. Well, we have a plane to catch…"
"Yes. Goodbye, Miss Summers."
Homeward bound…
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Thanks for the reviews, still, guys. It means a lot. I'm working hard on getting chapters in my PC before company comes on the 5th, so there won't be any interruptions in updates. I hope you guys like what's coming ahead. -CM