A/N: Hope everyone had a great Easter. I did, and I blame it for the delay in updating, sorry! Please enjoy... :)

The agreement had been made that two members of each party could be present to check out the location, so it was Buffy, Vi, Angel and Spike that met Gibbs and Xander in the underground car park the next day. Willow was sleeping after being up most of the night doing the locator spell, and Giles and Buffy had agreed that she should take a slayer as her second, just in case. They were at a tall office building, with various floors and offices leased out to different companies, and a few currently empty.

"Including the one we want," Vi noted, checking the building directory next to the elevator. Xander couldn't believe how much she'd grown up in just a few years. She was definitely a woman now, strong, lithe and confident. DiNozzo would no doubt hit on her as soon as he saw her.

Xander wasn't really sure why Buffy had allowed the two vampires along though; maybe they'd talked further after the meeting last night. He also wasn't sure why the decision pleased him so much, but it did. It helped that they provided a distraction for both Gibbs and Buffy, preventing the two from butting heads too much, and subsequently saving Xander from having to step in to 'liaise' between them.

Buffy led the group into the elevator, still frowning at Xander. As he'd expected, she'd stomped up to him on arrival and demanded to know how he'd been hurt and why he wasn't off work whilst injured. Gibbs had butted in immediately and told her that no agent of his would be allowed in the field unless he was fit and capable. Xander had reassured her that it wasn't serious. He was keeping his arm supported with a bandage but wasn't needing painkillers any more, and had full range of movement. Buffy had still been unimpressed, however.

The tension in the elevator rose as it did. Xander wondered what would be waiting when the doors opened. Buffy and Angel had taken up positions either side of the door, ready to react should something jump out at them. The elevator slowed, and with a ding, opened onto a quiet pastel hallway. There was a unintended sigh of relief from everyone but Gibbs.

"Are we planning to stand around in here all day?" he asked drily.

They moved out. Nobody said anything, but they quickly fell into a line: Buffy and Vi up front, followed by Angel, then Gibbs and Xander, with Spike bringing up the rear. It was a little too neat to be random, Xander thought. Thankfully, Gibbs didn't seem to mind letting the others take the lead, although he was observing them closely.

At first, the entire floor seemed to be empty. The offices, a few still with desks or an abandoned fake plant, were clean and quiet. They worked their way down the hall, checking each room. About halfway, Buffy held up a hand and they all stopped. She tilted her head and looked questioningly at Vi, who nodded.

"What is it?" hissed Gibbs.

"Someone's singing," Angel murmured to them.

Gibbs tilted his head and Xander saw his arm relax from his holster. "I can't hear anything," he muttered after a moment.

"Neither can I," Xander said quietly.

"They're down the far end," observed Vi. "And they seem very... happy."

"Happy?" Xander asked.

"You'll see," she smiled.

They continued down the hall as before, checking the rooms on each side but having a goal in mind now. Two-thirds of the way down, Xander finally heard it, and from the slight change in Gibbs' body language, he did too. Someone was indeed singing, loudly and with abandon. There was also a loud constant humming, like a vacuum cleaner.

"The Bee Gees?" Gibbs muttered.

Xander nodded. It was Stayin' Alive, to be precise. As they got closer, there was a pause, then the singer started again. Xander soon recognised it as You Should Be Dancing. The voice sounded familiar...

They cleared the last rooms and had only the final room at the end of the hall remaining. Buffy signalled for everyone to stay out of sight. She stuck her head around the door, then rolled her eyes and strode into the room. Vi took her place, watching around the doorway.

The singing suddenly stopped, along with the humming.

"Hey!" the singer objected, and Xander finally realised who it was. He pushed past Vi.

"Who are you?" Buffy demanded.

Buffy was facing Frak, hands on her hips. She'd gotten his attention by pulling his headphones off. The large room was empty except for the demon, his vacuum cleaner, and a trolley cart of cleaning supplies.

"Buffy," Xander said, vaguely aware that everyone else had followed him into the room. She turned, annoyed.

"Xander! What are you-"

"Buffy," he interrupted her. "This is Frak. He's Clem's cousin."

"Buffy?" asked Frak. "The Buffy? Oh my god! You know, you are my absolute hero! Or should it be, you know, heroine? Do you prefer the proper term, or is 'hero' okay? I don't mind, you know, whichever you prefer." Frak had clasped Buffy's surprised hand and shook it excitedly.

"Uh, not keen on 'hero' at all, actually," Buffy replied, slightly stunned.

"Right, 'heroine' then," Frak agreed amiably, completely missing her point.

Buffy looked back at Xander, asking for help. Xander figured he could safely take over here.

"Everyone, this is Frak. He's a cleaner."

"The cousin that Clem wrote to, that knows all about us?" asked Spike.

"The same one," Xander confirmed.

Frak was looking at Spike now. "Wait, you have an accent." He took in Spike's hair and clothing. "Oh. My. God. You're Spike right? Right? You know, I'm so grateful to you, you helped Clem out and all when he didn't have anyone else in back in Sunnydale, you were always a good friend to him, you know? If I can ever return the favour-"

"Yeah, that's great mate," Spike tried to retrieve the hand Frak had now grabbed and shaken.

"Frak," Xander interrupted. The demon certainly meant well, but when he started talking it could take forever for him to finish. "Frak, you've been hired to clean this place, right?"

"Yeah, new job. It's good, you know, because this one is during the day, since the offices are currently for empty, so I can fit it in around my other places, you know?"

"Yeah, that's good. Listen, what was here when you arrived?" The room was pretty much spotless. Frak must have been just about done.

"Oh, you know," Frak replied casually. "Rubbish and stuff. Chalk marks. Some other powdery stuff -like ashes from incense, you know?"

"Okay, these chalk marks," said Buffy, taking the lead again. "What did they look like?"

"There was a big circle here, with a triangle in it," Frak spread his arms to illustrate. "The triangle had two extra lines in it, all joining up to the one point there."

"One line for each marine," Xander observed.

"And there were some extra symbols at the point where all the lines met," Frak continued.

"Where the person would stand at the apex of the triangle," Spike concluded.

"What's that stain?" asked Gibbs, looking at his feet. There were a number of dark blotches in the grey/blue carpet.

"I think it's red wine," said Frak. "Couldn't get it out, you know? They left it too long before calling me in."

"It's blood," Spike replied.

"You sure?" asked Gibbs.

"There's no doubt," said Angel. "It's definitely blood."

"Willow got the right place then," Buffy concluded. She turned back to Frak. "So, who's your boss?"

"Boss?" he answered. "You know, I don't actually have a boss -self-employed, you know, contractor and all that."

"Frak," Xander said wearily. "Who hired you to clean this place?"

Frak paused, finally seeming to catch up and realise what was going on. "Wait, you don't think this is where it was done, do you?" He was horrified. "No way, it can't be, you know? No, no, he wouldn't do that!"

Buffy grabbed Frak by his collar and pushed him back against the wall. "Who, Frak! Who hired you?"

"Buffy!" Xander cried, grateful that Vi and Spike also protested at the same time. But she hadn't pushed Frak hard, just enough to jolt him into focussing.

He gulped. "Oliver Fox."

"Oliver Fox?" Xander asked in surprise.

"That can't be right," Gibbs muttered.

Buffy finally let go of Frak, who stayed against the wall. "Who's Oliver Fox?"

"Senator Oliver Fox," Xander answered. "One of the youngest ever voted in. He's been in the papers a lot lately."

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that Fox is a demon," Gibbs stated.

"Oh, no, he's not, you know," replied Frak. "At least, I didn't think he was..." he finished uncertainly.

"So he's just a sorcerer then," Vi concluded. "Plenty of humans practise magic."

"Actually, that makes sense," Angel said. "He has Felkor guards at his disposal, which are even stronger than humans, but he didn't use them in the spell. Instead, he used them to capture the marines."

"Of course," groaned Spike. "A soddin' purist. Wouldn't want to dirty his blood with demon essence, now, would he?"

"Right, so we know the who and where. Any chance we can rescue the hostages yet?" Gibbs asked, sarcasm plain.

"Sure," Buffy replied cheerfully. "We'll need somewhere to work out the plan. Mind if we use your place?"

"So, the Scoobies and the Council are the same thing?" Gibbs asked. He was driving them back to NCIS with his usual disrespect for the road rules.

"Um, sort of. Giles, Willow and Buffy are part of the Scooby Gang. There were a few others, but the four of us were the originals."

"And what exactly is the Scooby Gang?" Gibbs prompted.

"You know, from the cartoon, Scooby-Do? They drove around in a mini-van, solving mysteries?"

Gibbs sent him a brief look.

"Well okay, we didn't have a mini-van," Xander amended.

"So how did they end up an international agency, and you ended up with us?"

Xander chuckled. "That's a long story."

"Shorten it."

"The old council had been around for hundreds of years -some say longer. Most of it was destroyed in a bombing a few years ago. We put back together what we could, updated it's policies and turned it into what it is now, but it wasn't the place for me. So I left them to it and came back to the States."

Gibbs thought for a moment.

"You just went in and took over what was left of a foreign council?"

"Technically, Buffy and Giles were already members. After the bombing, there weren't many others left, so they just stepped up."

Gibbs grunted. They turned a corner at a speed Xander was pretty sure was twice the limit. He leaned against the door heavily til the road straightened out in front of them again.

"So why Buffy Summers?" Gibbs asked.

"Why Buffy what?"

"You, and Summers, and... Rosenberg, was it? You were all involved, but Summers is in charge?"

"Yeah, Buffy's special, but..." he sighed. "That is a story I really can't shorten."

"She's human though?"

"Oh yeah, no doubts there," Xander assured him. "And she really is the best person for the job. I know you don't like it, and I'm sure you won't agree with everything she-"

"I got it, Harris. You're saying I should trust her."

Xander nodded. "Yeah Boss."

Gibbs just grunted, but Xander took that as a good sign.

"Gibbs!" Ziva jumped up as he and Xander arrived back in the bullpen. "I found-"

"Not now, Ziva. DiNozzo, our friends from the Council will be here any moment, please show them to the conference room when they arrive."

"Friends?" Tony inquired. "So we're working with them?"

"Yep."

"But Boss-"

"No buts Tony. I need coffee before this meeting starts," he grumbled. He started to walk away, but Ziva blocked his path.

"Gibbs," she said patiently, like talking to a child. "This is very important."

He stopped, though his look told Ziva she should be quick.

"Two more marines were taken last night," she said. "They went with a group of friends, but got separated at some point."

Gibbs looked over her shoulder at Xander.

"They must have taken them after we were there. We'll get them back," Xander said, feeling pretty confident.

"We're going in? When?" Tony asked.

"Tonight," Xander answered, at the same time that Gibbs said "Today."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at Xander. "We're waiting until tonight?"

Xander nodded. "I assume so."

"Wouldn't it be easier in the day time?" Ziva asked. "In a place that they know and we do not, the darkness will put us at a disadvantage."

Xander shrugged. "It's not up to us."

The elevator dinged and they turned to see the people who would be making the decision. Buffy and Willow emerged, followed by Vi, Giles and the two vampires. Gibbs walked off to get his coffee, whilst Tony led the group off to the conference room. As Xander had expected, Tony's eyes were glued to Vi, who giggled. He rolled his eyes.

"Coming, Xander?" asked Spike as they passed.

"Be there in a minute," he replied.

Ziva crossed to his desk, where he'd dumped his stuff and was quickly checking his email.

"You know them well, no?"

He glanced up at her. "Yeah, I do."

"All of them?"

"Most of them."

"Especially the girl Willow? I saw how she ran up to you last night."

He laughed. "Willow and I have known each other since kindergarten, but we've been apart for a couple of years now. I've missed her."

"Why not? Did they not want you to be part-"

"Ziva!" Xander interrupted. "Stop fishing."

She frowned. "Fishing?"

"You're fishing for information. I can't tell you about the Council, okay?"

"Hey, who was the new girl?" asked DiNozzo, arriving back in the bullpen. "She's sure something..."

"That would be Violet, and I'd be careful, Tony. She could take you down without raising a sweat," Xander grinned. "Plus, Buffy tends to be a bit over-protective of her girls."

"Her girls?" asked Ziva.

Xander rolled his eyes and stood up as Gibbs walked through.

"Come on Harris," he said gruffly.

"Not us Boss?" asked Tony.

"You've got other things to work on, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied as he walked away.

"Got it Boss."

Xander followed Gibbs into the conference room and closed the door behind them, with a suspicion that he knew what 'other things' Gibbs might have Tony working on. Buffy stood at the head of the table with papers spread around, one of which appeared to be a floor plan of the warehouse.

"Right, if everyone's here," she said, taking charge. "This is the plan of the warehouse that was submitted at the time of construction a decade ago. Angel and Spike have marked what they saw when they were there last night."

"There are stacks of pallets along here," Angel said, pointing at the page. "Including blocking access to this hallway, but it wouldn't be hard to get through there if we needed to. We just couldn't do it quietly."

Buffy shook her head. "We shouldn't need to. Now, Agent Gibbs, we can do this with or without you, but if you and your people are willing to follow my orders and-"

"I am," Gibbs cut her off.

Buffy was thrown for a moment, having obviously expected more opposition, but she recovered quickly. "Good. The extra numbers will help. Here's how it's going to work: We'll take two Slayer teams and one NCIS team."

"Slayer?" Gibbs asked.

"A discussion for another day, Boss," Xander answered. Gibbs looked questioningly at Xander, then grunted and nodded at Buffy to continue.

"Willow and Giles will stay outside. When Willow confirms that any magical wards or defences are down-"

"Don't think there are any, love," Spike interrupted. "We got in and out last night without any trouble and without tripping any alarms."

"We don't take any chances," Buffy replied firmly. "We will wait for Willow's word. We'll send two Slayers ahead as scouts. Once they return, Vi will lead one team through the rear entrance, and I'll take the other through the front. If the guards are still here where Angel and Spike saw them," she indicated the place on the plans, "Then Vi, you take your team through this way. My team will go up here and we'll pin them between us."

"Where will we be?" asked Gibbs.

"Your team will wait until we're in. Willow will be co-ordinating; she'll tell you when it's clear. The captives are being held down here," she pointed out the right place on the plans again. "If you come through this way, there's access to the basement level here. It'll be up to you to get your men out while we deal with the guards."

Gibbs nodded, studying the plans. "Two more marines were taken last night, so we're probably looking at six men we need to break out."

"Uh, Xander?" said Willow. "We weren't sure what team you'd want to be with."

Xander frowned. "My team, of course. NCIS," he added, for clarification. He sensed, rather than saw, Gibbs' approval, though that wasn't the reason for his choice. As far as he was concerned, there hadn't been a choice to make.

"Okay," Willow said, looking relieved. "That's good. That'll make communication easier."

Xander groaned as he realised she would be using magic, not electronic earpieces, to keep in touch.

"Oh come on Xander," she teased, smiling now. "It's not that bad."

"What's the problem?" asked Gibbs.

Xander shook his head, unable to help smiling back at Willow. "No problem Boss."

"What about us?" Angel asked.

"I want you to stick to the NCIS team," Buffy replied. "If all goes well, the Slayer teams will keep the guards away, but just in case, I'd be happier if they had some strength with them."

"So after everything, we probably won't get to see any of the action," Spike moaned.

"Be careful what you wish for," Giles warned. Spike just shrugged.

"Right, so everyone knows what they're doing?" Buffy asked. There were nods from around the table.

"Okay, then we meet an hour after sundown."

"Wait, why after sundown?" Gibbs asked. He glanced at Xander, obviously remembering Xander's prediction but not understanding it. "Why don't we head out there now? Darkness will give them an advantage."

"Not really. The darkness won't bother my teams, and it will give you an advantage," Buffy replied.

Gibbs stared, still not comprehending.

"Spike and I can't do daytime," Angel explained. "We're, uh, sensitive to sunlight."

"So, we can't rescue them for another few hours because you'll get a sunburn?" Gibbs asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, basically," Angel agreed, ignoring Spike's snorted laughter at the term 'sunburn'.

"I suggest you use these hours to rest or prepare or do whatever you need to so your team is ready, Agent Gibbs," Giles suggested. Gibbs looked over at the older man, aware that he'd sat back and let Buffy run this part of the proceedings.

"We'll be ready. Let's go, Harris."

"Oh, one more thing, Agent Gibbs," Buffy said. "No guns."

"What?" The incredulity was back in Gibbs' voice.

"No guns. They won't do you much good anyway, and guns and Slayers don't tend to mix too well."

He considered it. "Federal agents are always armed when working in the field."

She nodded. "Of course you can be armed. But not with guns."

He considered her a moment longer. "There's no way I can convince-"

"No, Agent Gibbs," Buffy replied.

"You're in charge," he conceded. "Harris?"

"Coming, Boss." Xander grinned at his friends before hurrying after Gibbs. They had to get Tony and Ziva up to speed and ready to go before sundown.