Hokay, here we go :) A minor note that it will probably be a week between chapters from now on -priorities other than writing keep rearing their ugly heads and taking up all my time, sorry! Mostly casework this chapter, but I promise it leads to some fun in the next one! Enjoy!
The guy from the video tape sat alone in interrogation. He was an average sort of man -short brown hair, dark slacks and a blue collared shirt. The kind of person who would easily blend into a crowd.
He was nervous, his hands fidgeting under the table, glancing between the door, the one-way mirror and the video camera in the corner.
"Who is he?" Gibbs asked.
"A Mr Andrew White," Xander replied. "Works as an accountant for a property management company."
"He wasn't eager to come," commented Tony. "Tried all sorts of excuses, until his manager came in and gave him the afternoon off especially so he could help us with our enquiries."
"Did you tell him what we wanted to ask him about?"
"Nope. Which makes his behaviour a bit suspicious, don't you think?" Tony grinned.
Gibbs moved to leave the observation room. "Harris. You're sitting in. Come on."
Xander was surprised, and glanced at Tony, who only grinned wider.
"Go on Probie, definitely don't want to keep him waiting."
Xander hurried after Gibbs and soon found himself sitting on a chair on the other side of the glass. Gibbs sat opposite Mr White, whilst Xander was in the corner, observing.
"Mr White?"
"Yes?" asked the man.
"We were hoping you'd be able to help us with a case we are currently investigating," Gibbs began.
"Oh, I don't know anything about any crimes," Mr White replied. "I'm don't think I could be any help at all."
"Were you at a club called The Suite last night?" Gibbs asked.
Xander was watching the man carefully. He noticed something about the guy's hands -which he still appeared to be wringing nervously under the table.
"Yes," the man answered after a moment's hesitation. "That's my regular club. I like the music there." He sounded awkward.
"You went out to the alley at the back of the club at one point, is that right?"
As Xander surreptitiously watched, Mr White gripped one thumb with his opposite hand, and pulled on it nervously.
"I, uh... I went to the convenience store down the street, to buy some smokes, that's all. The alley is the quickest way. The staff have let me use the back entrance for a long time now," he explained defensively.
To Xander's surprise, Mr White's thumb seemed to stretch as he pulled on it. It stretched out to about twice it's normal length before he let go and it popped silently back to normal size.
"Did you see a group of five men leaving the alley just before you returned to the club?" Gibbs asked.
"Uh... five men?" Mr White repeated. "No, no, I didn't see anyone."
Xander watched as the man switched hands and did the same to the other. It was clearly a nervous movement -and just as clearly, not a human one. Mr White obviously didn't realise Xander could see his hands -Xander was sure he was keeping them under the table especially so they wouldn't be seen.
Gibbs turned to look at the mirror behind him and asked for the tape to be played. Mr White watched the screen as the five figures left the club, and then a moment later he saw himself walking down the alley, turning to look behind him, before entering the club.
"Looks to me like you heard or saw something," Gibbs observed drily.
Mr White swallowed. "No, no, I mean, I heard a noise but I thought it was just a cat or something. I didn't see anything."
Gibbs frowned and sent the man a disbelieving stare. He growled the question again, and Mr White denied seeing or hearing anything again.
They weren't getting anywhere. Mr White was afraid to tell them what he knew. Xander softly cleared his throat, and Gibbs glanced over.
"May I?"
Gibbs nodded, and Xander moved to Mr White's side. He leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"You're a demon." There was a small flinch of surprise from Mr White. "So I presume you've heard of the Scourge of Europe, right? You know who Spike and Angelus are?"
Mr White nodded, much to Xander's relief. He had no idea what he would have done if the answer had been no. He whispered again.
"Both of them are in town right now, and they're interested in this very same matter. If you don't want to talk to us, we can always let them," -he paused meaningfully- "interview you."
Mr White paled. "No, no -wait! I'll tell you what I heard, I swear." He seemed to unconsciously shrink in his chair.
Xander breathed a quiet sigh of relief and straightened, indicating that Gibbs could continue with the interrogation. He had no idea whether Mr White would have heard that Spike and Angel weren't exactly the Big Bads anymore. He'd gotten lucky -if Mr White hadn't been afraid of them, Xander would've looked a fool. The teasing from Tony would have been worse than Gibbs' probable rebuke.
Instead, Gibbs was looking slightly impressed, and Xander could only imagine what Tony could be thinking in the next room.
"Let's try this again," Gibbs suggested. "We need to know what you may have heard that group say or do in the alley last night."
"I didn't hear much, really." Mr White was still nervous but begrudgingly speaking now.
"What did you hear?"
"They just said something about going to a place, that was all. I didn't recognise the name."
"Which was?"
"Gitel, Gitoom, something like that. Gitooral?"
"Gitumel?" asked Xander.
"Yeah, Gitumel! I'm sure that was it," agreed Mr White. "Can I go now?"
Gibbs turned to Xander. "What's Gitumel?"
Xander shook his head. "Means 'storage place'. Usually refers to a warehouse or storeroom."
"You're sure that's all you heard?" asked Gibbs, turning back to Mr White. "Why'd you turn back to look at them?"
Mr White shrugged, still clearly uncomfortable. "It just seemed weird. I wondered what they were doing, but then one of them turned to stare at me and I got out of there quick as I could. I don't want anyone coming after me! I'm just an accountant!" he finished pitifully.
Gibbs sighed and sat back in his chair. He glanced at Xander, obviously asking whether Xander thought they needed to keep him. Xander shrugged -he was pretty sure Mr White didn't know anything else.
"Alright, you can go." Gibbs turned to the mirror. "Ziva, could you escort our guest out?"
Mr White looked about, cautiously optimistic. "You're -you're just letting me go?"
"Unless you've done something wrong that you'd like to tell us about?" Gibbs replied. Mr White shook his head fervently. The door opened and Ziva beckoned to him, and Mr White gladly hurried out. Tony appeared in the doorway.
"Wow, Probie," he said, leaning lazily against the doorway. "Looks like you've got the TBI method down pat. You been taking notes?"
Xander was confused. "TBI method?"
"Truth by intimidation. Gibbs' favourite."
"Oh. Uh, yeah, I guess," Xander shrugged. Gibbs had walked out and Tony & Xander followed him back to the bullpen.
"So, come on, spill Probie. What did you say to that guy?" Tony pushed.
Xander was saved from answering by the phone on his desk ringing.
"Harris."
"Agent Harris, it's Colin from Security, we got a guy down here who wants to see you. Says his name's Frank, won't give me a last name."
"Frank is here?" Xander couldn't help the surprise in his voice. Gibbs looked up and caught Xander's eye.
"Yeah, should I send him up with an escort?" Colin asked.
"Uh, no," said Xander, thinking quickly. "I'll come down and see him."
Gibbs nodded as Xander hung up, so he headed for the elevator. A minute later he was on the ground floor, approaching the security checkpoint.
"Xander!" Frak called excitedly as Xander reached him. "This place is awesome! I bet you have scary interrogation rooms and everything!"
"Hey Frank," Xander laughed. "You've only seen the entrance. It can't be that impressive."
"So you do know this guy?" asked Colin, standing off to the side. "Thought he might have been pulling my leg."
Xander grinned. "Nope, he's for real. Come on, Frank, let's get some fresh air."
They wandered out and headed to the small patch of grass and trees that passed for a 'park' nearby.
"So, why are you here, Frak? You can't have found something out already."
Frak grinned, floppy ears falling forward. "I did actually! You know, I think I was made for undercover work. I could be a demon detective full time -have my own agency, you know? Oh, and I could hire some other demon as my cleaner! You know, I think that would be the best!"
"Wait, wait." Xander put up his hands to placate the demon. "Undercover work? Just how exactly did you go about finding out information?" he asked, concerned.
"Oh, you know, I just put out word that I was looking for a friend of mine who was a marine. Said I hadn't heard from him and wanted to know if anyone had seen him."
Xander had to admit, that was pretty good.
"Didn't your contacts ask for a name?"
"I made one up. Dwayne Hardcastle. Funny name, you know?" Frak laughed as though he'd made an awesome joke.
Xander shook his head but couldn't help smiling. "Alright, so what news did you get?"
"Word was that they hadn't heard of my friend Dwayne -haha -but if my friend was a marine I might be able to find him here."
Frak handed a bit of paper to Xander, who glanced at it before tucking it away in his pocket. It appeared to be an address, but not in English. "Who gave you that?"
"Friend of a friend of a friend -and nobody mentioning who their friend was, you know?"
Xander did know. "Okay. Did you find out anything else?"
"You know, I thought that much was pretty good," Frak answered, mildly offended.
"It was, it was very good," Xander assured him. "Thanks. Now keep your head down, okay? I don't want Clem chasing me up if you get hurt."
"Yeah, I'm just a cleaner, you know? Nobody's gonna bother with me," Frak grinned. "But hey, what you said this morning?" Frak's voice dropped to a whisper, though there was no-one around. "Is it true?"
"About the spell? It looks that way."
Frak shuddered. "I hope your marines are alright."
"Yeah, me too. Thanks Frak."
"See you later Xander!" Frak plastered a cheery grin and waved as he walked away.
Xander pulled the bit of paper out of his pocket and looked at it again. It had been too long since he'd translated ancient languages. He recognised this as Ancient Greek, but he could only make out a few letters -certainly not enough to read the address. Who did he know who could translate this for him right now?
Xander knocked on the hotel room door, and it swung open.
"Xander," Angel greeted him. He gestured for Xander to enter, and Xander whistled in admiration.
"This is fancy. Being an private eye pays well then?"
"Not really. Apparently Spike 'borrowed' some money from Wolfram & Hart when I was running it. And by 'some' I mean, quite a lot. We live off that now."
The suite was modern and still had that feeling of being new that came with clean carpets and a fresh coat of paint. The furniture was nice too, with very few signs of use. There was a sparkling clean kitchen off the side of the living area, and a hallway on the other side. The heavy curtains were all drawn, as he expected they would be in the middle of the afternoon, with only a few lines of light poking through. The lights were on though, so it wasn't dim.
Spike was spread across the couch, flicking his lighter back and forth. He looked up at them.
"Never thought you'd be glad for my pilfering ways, did you?" he responded to Angel with a cheeky grin. "Come to entertain me, Xander? This place bores me to tears."
"Not unless you find translating ancient languages fun. Any chance either of you know Ancient Greek?" Xander pulled out the paper.
Spike held out his hand. "Give us a look then."
Xander handed it over, and Spike stared at it a minute before shaking his head. "English, Latin, Swahili, Fyarl -and half a dozen other demon languages, but not Greek. Angel? You know it, don't you? And another dozen human languages after that."
Angel looked at the note over Spike's shoulder, but shook his head. "I'm really only a modern languages guy. Was never into the ancient scrolls and prophecies enough to learn the older languages myself."
"Where'd you find it?" Spike asked.
"Clem's cousin Frak lives here in D.C. Did some asking around for me, that's what he got."
"Clem's cousin? Really?" Spike was surprised. "I haven't seen Clem since he skipped out before Sunnydale. Wonder how he's doing."
"He's doing fine, last I heard. He and Frak keep in contact a lot. I could introduce you to Frak if you like," Xander offered.
"Is he anything like Clem?"
"A lot like Clem. Except maybe more excitable."
"On second thought, maybe not then," Spike decided. "So... what is this?"
"An address. One where we might find some marines," Xander replied.
Spike stood up. "Let's go see what the old girl thinks then."
Xander followed Spike down the hallway to one of the bedrooms, Angel close behind. There was an odd girl sitting on the floor with papers spread around, the bed having been pushed aside. She looked up.
"Spike. Good. We should fight again."
Spike groaned. "We already sparred this morning Illyria."
"But I have just read of a new move that the Samurai warriors used." She held up the page in question. "I wish to try it."
"Later," he conceded. "Illyria, this is Xander. Xander, Illyria."
"Er.. good to meet you," Xander said. She looked less like a girl the more he looked at her. Her 'outfit', her partially blue hair, the way she spoke -but most especially her eyes were strange. He was glad Spike and Angel had already explained who she was before they'd met.
Illyria stood to face Xander but didn't offer her hand. She observed him a moment.
"Only one eye, and mere human, not even a half-breed like you two. I could break him like a twig."
If Angel's slight discomfort and Spike's easy grin were any indication, this was normal behaviour for Illyria. Xander tried not to be put off by it, but her assertions were certainly blunt and disconcerting.
"Good thing he's not here to spar with you then, love," replied Spike cheerfully.
"But he has something for me."
Xander was surprised at her intuitiveness. "I heard you've been learning different languages and translating them. Wondered if you've come across this one."
Spike passed over the note and Illyria examined it.
"The primitive scribblings of an infant race. There have been a few like this." She grabbed a nearby notepad and pencil, and quickly made some marks, glancing up at the original note. Then tore off the page and handed both notes back.
"From one basic script of man to another. I desire a better challenge next time."
"Uh, thanks," Xander offered, before Angel ushered him out of the room. His cell rang as they reached the living room.
"Harris."
"Where are you?" Gibbs growled.
"On my way back, Boss," he said quickly. The line went dead in typical Gibbs fashion.
"You're like a puppy dog at that guy's feet, aren't you?" Spike laughed.
"Thanks for the translation guys. Gotta go!" Xander replied, not caring that Spike was still laughing and even Angel smiled as he left.
When Xander arrived back in the bullpen, he only managed a few steps out of the elevator before Gibbs was coming towards him.
"Turn around, Harris."
They went back into the elevator. Gibbs punched the button for the basement, but then hit the emergency stop as soon as the lift moved. He turned angrily.
"Where were you?"
"Frank was here, remember? He got an address for us."
"An address? Why the hell didn't you bring it straight up?"
"Because my Ancient Greek is a little rusty, and I didn't think anyone here would know it either." Xander held out the original note Frak had given him. Gibbs studied it.
"Ancient Greek?"
"Yep."
"You had it translated?"
Xander held out the new version for Gibbs to see.
"That word from earlier, gitoo-"
"Gitumel."
"That Ancient Greek too?"
"No. That was from a demon language."
Gibbs raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "You speak 'demon'?"
Xander couldn't help chuckling. "No. For starters, there are at least as many demon languages as there are human, probably more. Secondly, I only know a few words here and there. We're just lucky gitumel is one I've come across before."
Gibbs leaned back against the wall of the lift, and Xander suspected he was torn between asking Xander for more information about demons, and heading straight back to the bullpen to check out the address in his hand. After a minute, the easier subject won out.
"Where did Frank get the address?"
"He put out word that a marine friend of his was missing. Someone said he might be able to find him there."
Gibbs immediately turned to flick the switch. Whatever else might be going on in his head, the priority was still finding the missing marines. He turned back to Xander as the elevator moved again.
"One more thing, Harris: Never go off on your own like that again. This is a team, we work together. That means you let me know where you're going, got it?"
Xander nodded. "Yes Boss." They left the elevator.
Gibbs handed the address to Tony as they passed his desk.
"DiNozzo, I want to know what's at that address. It's a possible location for our missing men."
Tony immediately started looking it up. "It's a warehouse, Boss. Apparently abandoned over a year ago."
Xander groaned. "Always an abandoned warehouse. Why are so many warehouses allowed to just sit there once abandoned? They should be pulled down as soon as they're empty."
Tony laughed. "You got a problem with abandoned warehouses, Harris?"
"Yes, and no, I'm not telling you why." Xander was feeling a bit grumpy. It was finally getting dark out, but it didn't look like they'd be going home any time soon.
"You know what I would like you to tell, is what you said to that accountant earlier," said Tony. "You had that guy almost wetting himself."
"I wouldn't mind knowing that myself," said Gibbs, with a look that added which is something we will be discussing later. "But right now, Harris, you and Ziva are going to check out that warehouse. Don't go in, just observe, see if there's any indications that our men might be there. Got it?"
"Got it Boss."
"I'm driving," Ziva announced cheerfully, whilst Tony griped about being stuck at his desk.
Xander picked up his bag, again. Gibbs' list of 'things we'll be talking about later' was probably reaching epic proportions by now, and he wasn't keen on facing that conversation. The only thing holding Gibbs off was the case, and once that was finished... Xander sighed. By then he'd probably be wishing for these long days of casework again.