Don't own Buffy, as per usual. Only own James McAnon and Laralek the Deceiver. No actual part of the Buffyverse is owned by me.
And, I forgot to mention this the last two times I believe, but I would greatly appreciate it if readers would review. Just a reminder.
"Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that we're at the mayor's office and not in jail?!" James whispered.
The other two shook their heads subtly. No, he was not the only one.
The mayor's office was clean and businesslike. There were three armchairs-judging by the one on the ends' obviously out of place upholstery, James thought it seemed likely that the chair was pulled out of the waiting room specifically to accommodate all three of them at once. There was a wooden cupboard against the wall to the left that was firmly closed. In the center was the mayor's desk, completely clean and clear except for a name-plate at the very front and a small platter of cookies sitting in the center of his desk.
The mayor himself was sitting in his chair, posture relaxed but nothing that could be considered 'bad', ever-present smile upon his face.
"Hey kids. Anyone want a cookie?" He offered, nodding at his assistant. "Finch's wife made 'em."
"Don't mind if I do." Xander instantly replied, hand snapping out to claim two cookies.
"Um, okay." Willow, rather confused with this turn of events, nevertheless nodded and took a cookie of her own. Well, he's giving us cookies, so he can't be that bad, right? Although I don't know why he's giving us cookies if he thinks we broke into the police station… Willow's thoughts trailed off as she shifted her focus back to the outside world.
"No thanks." James politely declined.
"Suit yourself." The mayor commented cheerfully. "Now kids; why don't we get down to business, huh?" He asked.
All three stiffened slightly; this was the punishment that they'd been expecting.
"Now, I don't believe any of you are criminals. I mean, you, Ms. Rosenberg; straight A's since grade school. Mr. McAnon; outstanding performances in the community theater. Both things, I might add, take up too much time to allow for much criminal activity. And Mr. Harris; with such fine friends as these, I can't expect you to get up to much trouble." The mayor's smile finally broke, replaced by a still-friendly frown of incomprehension. "But that does beg the question, why would you three break into the police station's crime lab? I just don't get it." He sat back in his chair and studied the three unlikely delinquents.
Silence stretched on for several seconds as the mayor gazed at all of them. They all wanted to come up with a story, but didn't want to as much as glance at one another, for fear of garnering attention and suspicion.
The stillness was broken when James looked down, making a show of being embarrassed. "Um…well, sir…we all share a kind of morbid curiosity." He began. "And so, when we heard about the death, Xander here suggested we check it out. The police had already taken the body away, but…well… we really wanted to see the body. We're sorry that we did it, and it won't happen again." James looked up and met the mayor's eyes, expression filled with false-but nonetheless convincing-sincerity.
A few more moments of silence passed as the mayor considered this. Finally, he nodded, and the smile re-appeared on his face. "Well, why didn't you just say so? I mean, really, that's not all that bad."
A nearly simultaneous frown of confusion passed over the faces of all three students. "So we're not being punished?" Willow asked hopefully.
"Well, you did do something wrong, so we probably can't just let you get off completely free." The mayor pondered. "But I don't think what you did really deserves jail. I mean, no harm done, right?" He smiled at them for a few seconds before continuing. "So I'll probably talk to your principal about a suitable punishment for you all."
Xander could feel the blood draining out of his face. "I don't suppose you could just skip right to execution, could you, Mr. Mayor?" He pleaded.
Wilkins shook his head. "Sorry, Mr. Harris. No can do. It's important to make sure that all of you learn to take responsibility for your actions." He informed them kindly. "Now, you kids need to get back over to the school to talk with Mr. Snyder about your punishment."
With a collective sigh, the three students got to their feet and trudged out of the office.
The mayor watched them go intently. His manner transformed when the teens left the room; the jovial light in his eyes transformed into the calculating gaze of a predator. "Finch?"
"Yes, sir?" His aide asked, stepping forward.
"Could you put someone on those children? Something about them just…I don't know. But I've got a feeling about those three." The mayor confided.
"Yes, sir. Would you like to have them killed?" Finch asked. He could take the initiative on this one, but if he killed them and the mayor hadn't wanted them dead…things could get bad.
"Hmmm." The mayor thought briefly. "No, I think just keeping an eye on them should be fine."
"Alright. I'll get right on it sir." Finch nodded respectfully as he turned to leave. At the door, he was stopped when the mayor called out to him. He turned around to find the politician's smile back on his face.
"Tell Marcie the cookies were absolutely delicious for me, would you?" He requested. Finch nodded his head. "I'll let her know." Then he turned around and left the room.
Buffy looked around the library in concern. Willow, Xander, and James hadn't been at school since Giles had reported sending them to investigate the body, and she was worried. Now, having still not found them despite school having been out, she was well past worried and nearing actual fear for her friends.
"Giles!" She called out into the depths of the Watcher's sanctuary.
"Yes, Buffy? What is it?" The Brit emerged from his office, rubbing his eyes. He'd spent the majority of the school day in intensive study, looking for details on Laralek. He'd found alarmingly few that he could rely on, but then, this was the demonic master of duplicity they were talking about, so it at least had some sort of consistency.
"Have any of the others been here yet? They haven't been in any of their classes today, and I didn't see them at lunch either." Concern for her friends filled her voice.
Sighing, Giles took a seat at the table in the center of the library. "I haven't seen them either. However, I did manage to find some information on our foe." He informed her.
Taking a deep breath, Buffy switched from worried friend mode to Slayer mode. "Okay; whatcha got?"
"Well, this book here," Giles began, tapping a book sitting on the table with a finger, "is an extraordinary and reliable resource that contains information on Laralek."
"Does it say how to kill him?" She inquired impatiently.
"Well, not exactly. It alludes to a ritual that can be done to prepare a weapon that can kill him; however, as he is quite clearly not dead, I cannot discern how effective the ritual actually is."
"Alright. Got anything more reliable?" She tried again.
"Well, there is information on his behavior and habits. Apparently he attacks groups that are guilty of major deceptions." Giles flipped through the book, looking for the exact page he'd found earlier.
"What does he do with them?" Buffy asked, curious.
Giles sighed and took his glasses off for emphasis. "He devours their heads." He informed her quietly. After an instant of silence, he turned back to the book. "It says here that he supposedly eats the heads because he derives a sort of nourishment from eating the brains and tongues, where some sort of…spiritual imprint of lies is collected. Or at least, that is what I can gather from the book."
Buffy took in a sharp breath. "So he's our headhunter." She smiled in grim understanding.
"Yes, that was precisely my conclusion." Giles agreed, nodding his head.
"So; what's this ritual that kills him supposed to be? We should get started." Buffy suggested after a short silence.
"But we don't even know if the ritual works." Giles protested. "We should find that out before we attempt it."
Buffy shrugged. "How are we going to do that if he isn't dead?" She pointed out. "And besides; it's not like it'll blow up in our faces if it doesn't work."
"Well, not literally, no, it won't 'blow up'. But using an ineffective weapon is tantamount to suicide!" Giles tried to think of something, anything to say to make her listen. "What will your plan be if the preparation ritual doesn't work?" He challenged.
Buffy shrugged as she grabbed the book that mentioned the ritual. "I'm going to kill him. That works on most things."
Giles gave her a doubtful look as she left the library, and then hurried to catch up to her.
"The first thing the ritual needs is…" Buffy began as she trailed her finger down the page, reading.
"A pure silver knife." Giles recited from memory. "Unfortunately, I don't have one in my collection."
"What? Why don't you have one? Seems like one of those would be dead useful if a werewolf popped up." Buffy considered what she said for a moment, and frowned. "Pun totally not intended."
"It is not difficult to obtain a knife with silver as a component. However, obtaining a pure silver knife is much more difficult. And I would hardly recommend engaging a werewolf in hand-to-hand fighting to anyone, even a Slayer." Giles commented. "I also wouldn't approve of killing a werewolf."
"Why not? It's supernatural, it kills people, ergo, it needs slaying." Buffy stated plainly as they strode through the halls.
"But that is only at night. And, I might add, only three nights a month." Giles pointed out. "The rest of the time, a werewolf is a human being; and one who might not even realize they are what they are, at that. So I don't feel that killing one is right."
"Well, if you don't kill them, how are you going to make sure they don't maul anyone else?" Buffy challenged. She also made a mental note to ask about the three nights thing later; she was definitely under the impression that the full moon was only one night a month.
"By simply locking them away on the nights they are to change. Apart from then, they are completely normal human beings, after all."
Buffy nodded in acceptance of her defeat. "Okay; I get it. Werewolves; capture, do not slay. Set phasers to stun, as Xander would probably say."
Giles' brow furrowed. "I'm afraid I don't get the reference."
Buffy shook her head. "Nevermind. Geeky guy-and-Willow stuff." She waved it away. "So; how are we going to get a silver knife?"
"I suppose I could send for one from the Watcher's Council." Giles contemplated for a few seconds before waving the idea away. "No; that would take far too long."
"I don't suppose there's a shop in Sunnydale that sells really expensive, really sharp knick-knacks?" Buffy suggested half seriously.
Giles shook his head no. "I do believe I know where we might be able to obtain one. However, we may have to embark upon a…less than legitimate enterprise to do so."
Buffy looked at Giles with a new appreciation for the stuffy librarian. "Wow, Giles; talk about being a bad influence. And here I thought I was the bad one." She gave him a friendly smile to show she wasn't being entirely serious.
"Yes, well, I do believe it is my turn for once." He stated absently as he scanned the environment for listening ears. "I believe we'll have to finish this conversation outside. It would be rather unfortunate for anyone to hear this discussion."
"Alright; fair enough." Buffy agreed. The rest of the walk from the school to the staff parking lot was accomplished in relative silence.
"So; where will we be doing this little bit of crime?" Buffy asked once they were out of earshot.
"Well, there is only one place I could think of that was currently holding a silver knife, and that we could reach and get back from quickly." Giles began as he unlocked his car, and waved her around to the passenger seat while he climbed into the drivers' side.
"In fact, I believe I have the notice…here." Giles reached into his back seat for a moment, before producing a newspaper page and handing it to Buffy.
Buffy took the page and examined it for a moment. "I'm not seeing anything." She told him bluntly.
"I believe it is in the bottom right." The Librarian directed while he started the car.
"Oh, I think I see it." Buffy zeroed in on the relevant article. It stated that the local art gallery had just gotten a shipment of various pieces of centuries old tools and weapons that had been forged and decorated enough to be considered art instead of just antiques.
And then it clicked in Buffy's brain. "Wait…the art gallery? You want to rob my mom?!" Her voice rose in incredulous outrage.
"Well, 'want' is a rather strong word for this situation." Giles told her. "I do, however, feel that it is a necessary evil if we want to perform this ritual you insist on."
"Sure, put all the blame on me. You're the one who's saying we should rob an art gallery!" Buffy grumbled.
"Need I remind you that this would hardly be necessary if not for your insistence on this ritual?" Giles rebutted.
"The ritual which is our only sure-fire way to kill Laralek." She reminded him.
"The ritual which by no means is a 'sure-fire.'"Giles countered. "Remember, he is quite clearly not dead."
"Okay, fine!" Buffy threw up her arms in irritation. "This is my fault, I get it."
"Just remember to tell your mother that if we get caught stealing from her establishment." Giles instructed idly as he peered through the windshield.
"No way! She'd kill me!" Buffy protested.
"Of course not. As your Watcher, I'd be forced to intervene." Giles reassured her, a slight quirk of the lips the only indication of his struggle to keep from smiling.
"Thanks." Buffy replied. "So; how are we going to perform our heist?"
"Well, we are going to need some hoods or masks, to hide our identities, as well as clothing that will minimize the possibility of detection." The middle-aged mentor listed off as he drove.
"If you say ski masks and black jumpsuits, then I'm going to punch you." Buffy warned, trying to cut off that possibility as soon as possible.
"Of course I wasn't going to suggest that." The Watcher lied, feigning offense. "But now that you mention them, wouldn't those be good choices to wear during our, erm, robbery?"
"Sure, I guess." Buffy admitted. "But there is no way you're getting me to wear those."
Giles raised his left hand to rub his forehead in exasperation. "Very well; what would you suggest?"
"I have something in mind. But for now, let's move on. What else will we need?" She asked.
"A way to distract any security guards in the area of the knife." Giles suggested as he passed under a traffic light.
"I could knock them out." Buffy offered.
Giles sighed. "Just do no permanent damage."
"Okay then. Security is taken care of." She said matter-of-factly.
"Are you sure? They should have more than just night watchmen on duty." Giles replied doubtfully.
"No, I don't-wait! They'll probably have security cameras." Buffy realized suddenly.
"Do we have a way to neutralize those?" Giles asked.
A sly smile appeared on Buffy's face. "I think we do." And with a glance out the window at the side of the street… "And speak of the devil."
"Hm?" Giles risked a quick glance out the window, where he saw Xander, Willow and James walking along the sidewalk.
Surprised but intending to pick them up, he slammed on the breaks and slid over to the curb next to them. He rolled down the window to speak, but Buffy beat him to it.
"There you guys are! Where have you been?" Buffy called out happily.
"Long story." James commented, climbing into the back seat of the car.
"The mayor's office." Willow piped up as she followed him.
"Okay, so not that long." James admitted from beside the redhead.
"Yeah, we got caught and were punished by being forced to listen to political talks." Xander joked as he piled into the back seat after the other two.
"So; where are going?" Willow asked as the car pulled out and back into the street proper.
"We have a ritual that might be able to kill the baddy." Buffy updated her friends. "But we need a pure silver knife. Giles doesn't have one in stock, so we're going to go find our own."
"Where? It isn't like there's a pawn shop that just happens to have a knife of pure silver." Xander asked.
Buffy threw a questioning look in Giles' direction. The Watcher coughed awkwardly. "I…may have neglected to pursue that particular course, but the odds were stacked against it."
"Alright. First we need to get someplace with a computer that isn't the library." Buffy told the group.
"What's wrong with the library?" Willow posed the question.
"If you can't find a silver knife for sale in a pawnshop, then we're going to need a more private place to plan a heist." Buffy laid out her intent to the crew.
"Um, a heist? As in, a planned robbery of a company?" James objected. "Isn't that kind of, I don't know, illegal?!"
"Yeah." Buffy told him. "But it might be the only way to kill this demon."
"Fine." James capitulated. "But is there any chance we can return the knife after we're done with it?"
"I wasn't planning on keeping it." Buffy said with a shrug.
"Besides, it would be kind of dangerous to keep it." Willow spoke up. "After all, if the police think one of us might have done it, then they could check our 'known associates' houses. And if they do that, they'll find it and arrest all of us!"
"Which is why we aren't doing that. Right, Buffy?" Xander reassured his old friend.
"Yeah, relax Wills. We aren't criminals." Buffy agreed. "Well, technically we will be for this, but you know what I mean, right?"
"So; let's get down to the actual planning here."
"I can't believe we're doing this now!" Buffy grumbled at her two trusted companions. It was just starting to get dark! Not to mention the cramped space in the back of the van that James had borrowed from some senior musician he knew from the local performing arts center wasn't doing her normally impatient disposition any favors.
"Sure; let's come back in two days. You know they give thieves an extra thirty-second head start on weekends." Xander joked as he slipped on a mask.
Buffy looked incredulously at the third, tallest of the bandits. "Really, Giles? I said no ski masks!"
The Watcher shrugged. "I'm sorry, Buffy, but I was under pressure. I, well…panicked."
"'Panicked?' Giles, it's choosing a mask! It's not life or death!" Buffy ridiculed.
"Hey, let the G-Man off the hook! It isn't like he has a collection of Halloween masks leftover from a childhood like we do." Xander sort of defended the older man.
"Well…" Giles began, polishing his glasses. "These were, in fact, left over from my…youth."
"Woah! You were young once!" Buffy gibed gently. "This I have to hear."
Giles opened his mouth to answer, but thought better of it. Given his past, he wasn't sure how they would react, and the thought of being shunned by any of the children he'd become so fond of was devastating. Instead… "I would, ah, rather not talk about it." He awkwardly deflected.
"Right; we should probably focus on the law-breaking here." Xander pointed out.
"For once, he's right." Buffy agreed, ignoring Xander's indignant protest. "Thieving time."
She turned around to face the back of the driver's seat. "I didn't know you had your license, James."
The teen in question nodded from the driver's seat. "Yeah; got it last year. If I'm gonna get a job soon, then I need to be able to drive myself around, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Buffy nodded, and then turned to the smaller figure in the passenger seat. "You ready to go, Wills?"
The redhead nodded. "Yeah. I got the gallery's personal network pulled up; I should be able to take the cameras down in less than a half an hour." She smiled proudly. "Thanks for letting me use this laptop, James. You must be rich!"
"Well…not so much anymore." James shrugged off the comment. "But it isn't actually mine anyways. It's my dad's. He used to work for a computer company. When he left, they gave him a nice laptop."
"Oh, cool!" Willow bounced in her seat a little bit.
James frowned. "Yeah, I guess."
Willow noticed the drop in James' attitude. She opened her mouth to ask if he was okay, but was cut off when Buffy called to her from the back of the van. "Alright Wills; get hacking! We need to do this quick." Her voice was slightly muffled, Willow assumed from the mask she had over her face.
"Okay!" The hacker chirped cheerfully. "Just give me a little bit."
The wait was tense, but short. The sound of computer keys clacking echoed around the silent van for several minutes before Willow announced that she was done, and the cameras were down.
"Good job. Let's go!" Buffy ordered as she clambered out of the back of the van, Giles and Xander close behind.
"Remember; use the call-signs while we're actually in the building." Xander reminded the other two.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You just want us to call you Nighthawk."
"Sorry if I want to sound awesome for once in my life!" Xander retorted.
"Children." Giles mediated sternly. "Focus on the job at hand."
"Right." Buffy nodded, refocusing.
She headed to the front door and gently pushed on it-and frowned slightly when it fell open. "That's weird. It should be locked…" She muttered to herself. Shrugging internally, she turned to the others. "Door's open."
"Right." Giles frowned in mild confusion, but shook his head to clear himself of doubts. "Let us continue."
The inside of the art gallery was fairly small. It consisted of four different rooms, each accessible from the main foyer.
"Okay. So…we split up and take a room, meet back here after to check the last room?" Buffy suggested.
The other two glanced at each other. "Sure." Xander shrugged in agreement.
"Are you sure that's wise? If the door was unlocked, we may not be the only ones in here." Giles counseled.
"True, but we need to get this done fast, before someone starts getting suspicious about the cameras." Buffy pointed.
Giles nodded. "Very well. We shall split up. But, if something supernatural occurs, don't hesitate to call for help from the rest of us." He advised both of the other two. They nodded. "Especially you, Xander. Err…Nighthawk."
The average teen grimaced, but nodded obediently anyway. He hated not being able to really help fight, but at least he wasn't alone in that boat. Willow couldn't really do much to help other than her computers and research, and now James was in almost the exact same situation that Xander was. Except he had managed to get them the van…He frowned a little at the thought. So he's actually a little more useful than me. He was not pleased by the thought.
"So; I'll take the first one on the right, you take the one straight ahead, and Nighthawk takes the one on the left. If nobody finds it, we come back here and all go for the second one on the right. Right?" Buffy laid out the plan.
"That is correct." Giles agreed nodding. "We can reconvene in this foyer."
Xander gave the librarian an irritated look. "You know, sometimes I swear you talk like that just to make me feel like an idiot. Either that, or to show off how British you are." The masks covered most of their faces, but Xander didn't need to see Giles' face to know the expression being shot his way. The mouth slit in his own mask spread out in an impish grin at the thought, before he scampered over to the room he'd been assigned to check.
"Good luck." Giles nodded at his Slayer before turning and striding across the foyer to his own room. Left alone, Buffy saw no reason to delay, and entered her own section of the art gallery.
She frowned as she realized that, despite her mother owning the place, she had never actually been there before. A small spark of guilt flared up in her chest, but she pushed it aside. Feel bad later. Slayer stuff now.
The sun was well into setting now, and shadows cloaked the corners and aisles of the room. Yet despite the gloom and the swiftly-vanishing protective fire that was solar light streaming in through the windows, Buffy couldn't help but notice how well decorated the room. Her Slayer sight could pierce the darkness, allowing her to see the tasteful curtains to either side of the windows, and the dark, neatly varnished wood of some of the display stands.
Buffy strode along the edges of the square room, and, seeing no sign of the knife, began to work her way in. The room was built like a maze, with walls leading the viewer into the middle. Buffy wasn't entirely sure of the purpose of the design, but it at least made for easy placement of whatever her mom wanted to have people look at. Idly she wondered if the other rooms were like this too, or if this room was unique.
Her musings were broken by a shattering up ahead. Concerned about her mothers' gallery (ignoring for the moment that she herself was there to steal from it) she broke into a run, intending to investigate. When she rounded the next corner, she saw a man standing next to a formerly glass-covered alcove that was used to store the displays. The glass was all over the floor, and the man-who she saw now was wearing a security guard's uniform-had his fist inside the alcove, clearly having punched through the glass. As she watched, he reached down and deftly plucked something from the small platform that it had been resting on. Buffy peered closer, trying to see the object in his grasp, but all she got was a metallic, silver glimmer as it was enveloped by the man's hand.
The man turned to leave and saw Buffy standing in the doorway. He paused, staring at her with undisguised hatred.
The look in the man's eyes made her feel the need to shiver a little-yet was also familiar. She'd seen that look on the faces of many of the supernatural creatures she'd fought before, but none so much as the vampires.
"Why don't you put that back? This gallery only has enough room for one thief tonight." Buffy ordered the man.
The sound he made could be best described as a growl as words ground their way out of his throat. "I don't think so…Slayer."
Buffy frowned in surprise. The man had her full attention now, and all of her Slayer senses were working at maximum capacity as adrenaline began to flow through her system. And now that she was paying attention to her senses, her Slaydar was telling her the man was something bad.
Sure enough, his face began to contort as the demon inside showed its' 'feeding face.' The brow raised, and the face squeezed together, leaving the nose bulging slightly in a parody of a cat's face.
Buffy hid any fear with a sarcastic sigh. "Really? I don't exactly have time for you right now."
Without any more conversation the vampire charged her. She hadn't expected it, but Slayer speed and reflexes allowed her to get a shot off. Her foot crashed into her attacker's knee, followed by the disconcerting sound of his bones grinding together. Recovering swiftly, he pitched forward, knocking her to the ground with an audible crunch.
She hadn't expected that.
She slowly regained her feet, warily watching her foe who was doing the same.
"Come on. Let's see what you've got." Buffy challenged flippantly, giving the universal 'come at me' gesture.
The vampire obliged. Instead of trying to use an attack to stop the vamp cold, she side-stepped the charging demon, turning swiftly and planting a boot in the small of its' back. Shoving, she sent the vampire stumbling, and quickly regained her own feet to get ready for her opponents' next move.
That was when her senses flared up, warning her that there was a baddy behind her. Before she could move, she felt an arm dart into her personal space and cinch around her neck.
"Hello." The other vampire whispered in her ear, breath tinged with the odor of old blood. He pulled on her neck a little, just enough to make her gasp for air for a few seconds.
In front of her, the other vampire was turning around, ready to attack again.
Buffy, seeing an opening, tensed to prepare to use a judo throw to get the enemy behind her off of her back and in front of her. Just before she performed it, however, the vampire behind her delivered a sharp kick to the back of her left knee, forcing it to bend. Buffy, unprepared, lost her balance, and choked for a second as the only thing keeping her upright was the grip of the vampire behind her. She glanced at the first vampire to see that he was moving close, slow and methodical this time, not charging around.
This was going to be more difficult than she first thought.