Both had been quiet the entire car ride. Billie stared out the window the whole time and Anson tried to think of ways to get her to talk to him. The story of what happened to this girl in Boston was a mystery to everyone other than the person sitting beside him. In her file it told of a girl sent away by her Watcher to Sunnydale to take part in the fight against the First but the woman who wrote the file, Miss. Rosenberg, made it clear that she didn't believe Billie's story.

When chosen to look over Billie in Cleveland, Anson was told by Giles to get the real story. Being a Slayer for years, traveling the world to pick up other girls, no one had ever seen Billie even try to contact her Watcher from Boston. Giles seemed determined to find as much as he could about this girl. Anson had to get her to talk, it was his first job as a Watcher and he couldn't fail. And he wouldn't. She might have shot him down once but that wasn't the end of it.

It had taken all of Anson's courage to ask Billie and that was a big accomplishment for the man who had doubted himself to sleep the night before. The blow she'd dealt him in response to his question set him back, but only a bit. Anson knew that to get through to this girl it would mean withstanding such a blow, with more following. He was going to have to build up his resistance for the next time he confronted her. He was already preparing, but he knew that there was a long road before him.

Quite the opposite of the one he was turning off now.

Dwelling on his own thought, Anson hadn't even realized where he was but sure enough he and his passenger were exactly where they should've been. A parking garage. Nothing special, certainly not one Anson was particularly happy to see,just a parking garage. Unfortunately, it was what the garage held that made him nervous.

Parking the van and turning off the engine, Anson turned to Billie. "You ready to do this?"

Unbuckling her seat belt. the girl shrugged and said, "It's my job."

Anson nodded. "Yes, it is."

As soon as Billie opened the door the hands were on her. They pulled her out and threw her into a nearby trash can, tipping it over. Jumping back onto her feet, the Slayer looked at her attacker. Walking toward her was a vampire. Tall and built, his shadow reached Billie, covering her. Even as he shortened the distance between them, she stood her ground, in a traditional fighter's stance.

From his spot at the car, Anson saw Billie as calm as the winds in Savannah. She striked the vampire with her right fist, grabbed it's head, and ran it into her knee, ans threw it away from her. Using the legendary Slayer speed, the girl dashed for the bag she'd dropped when she was thrown out of the car. Before her hands grabbed the bag, the vampire had his arms around Billie's chest. The Slayer met this with a headbutt, loosening the vampire's grip on her so that she could break free and lift her left leg to violently make contact with it's neck. The vampire hit the ground hard and Billie launched herself into a cartwheel, her right hand landing on top of her canvas tote bag. By the time Billie landed on her feet again, Anson saw a wooden stake in her hand.

Anson was frozen to the spot, intrigued by the scene unfolding before him. Barely able to breath, the Watcher hoped his Slayer would not be needing his assistance. Seeing her, he doubted she would.

Without waiting for the vampire to attack her, Billie ran toward him, her weapon held high. As her left hand grabbed hold of it's arm, the right plunged the stake into her undead enemy.

The vampire staggered back staring at the wooden object sticking out of his chest. Anson watched the things face which changed from surprise to anger to pain to fear to amusement. The smile that crept upon it's features sent shivers down Anson's spine; Billie had missed the heart. The plunged stake had not hit it's unbeating target, and though it would hurt like hell, a vampire would not die. "Stupid Slayer," it's voice boomed, "You can't even find my heart."

Before the vampire could pull the stake from his chest, Billie was behind him. In one hand was a nine inch dagger, the other grabbed his face. "I didn't want to. Just needed to hear something." The girl put the dagger at the vampire's throat and pulled it toward her. The creature turned to dust before the decapitated head fell from it's position.

As the vampire disintegrated into dust, Anson found himself able to move once more. He stumbled out from behind the car, holding the hood for balance. "Wow, Billie, I mean," he started, his voice as shaky as his legs. "That was incredible. I've never seen a Slayer fight before, at least not in an uncontrolled environment with a real vampire."

Before another world could leave his lips, Billie ran to him. Her hand was around his neck, pushing him down onto the hood of the car. Air went in and out of his lungs harshly, causing a pain from his chest to his throat. He was experiencing that Slayer strength first hand and could no longer see the beauty in her movements. Now she was just inflicting pain, that was it.

She spoke through clenched teeth, "I'm glad you enjoyed it. But news flash: this isn't a show, it's my life." Billie's fury radiated from her eyes, making Anson incapable of speaking. More words spewed from the woman, "Was that a test? You wanted to see me fight before you wasted anymore time on me?"

Anson could feel his voice becoming more shallow and darkness threatened his vision. Fighting to stay conscious, a curse exploded in his head as the Slayer slammed him into the hood again. "Answer me!"

In an answer more air than voice, he said, "I can't."

Making no attempt at hiding her anger, Billie let go of Anson and backed away. He stood, holding his throat and coughing, filling his lungs as gently as he could. It still hurt to breath but Anson was afraid that if he didn't speak Billie wouldn't be as understanding as most and would not hold back the power she held in her body. "What are you talking about?" he squeaked out in a grainy voice, looking at her through the side of his eyes. The woman he saw was a distorted reflection of the one in the file, though the intensity was the same.

Hands folded across her, hip jutting out in annoyance, Billie stood with her jaw clenched tight. Regretfully unclenching, she answered the man who glared at her in anger, "Did you get that vampire to attack me so you could see me at work? Is that what you meant by 'Time for work'? Answer me, now."

Anson lost the anger in his face, replacing it with confusion. "How? Why would you even think so? No, of course not."

"Well, then why did he attack me at eleven o'clock in the morning? And how, oh how, did he know I was a Slayer?"

"I have no idea why he attacked you. Maybe he was trapped here by sunrise and saw you as an early lunch," Anson shrugged, leaning on his car.

Billie met his answer with a heavy sigh and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "And knowing me as a Slayer?"

Dragging his hand through his blonde hair, Anson said, "If they know you're here, then it's already too late."

She looked at him, her eyebrow raised in a question. For the first time since the met the night before, the Slayer before him looked confused and unsure of herself. Her voice cemented that idea, "What do you mean by that?"

"We're on the Hellmouth and we lost the upper-hand. Our surprise attack is lost. And you, more than anyone, should know that that puts us in some deep trouble."

"Well then," Billie stated, regaining the composure she had after the fight, "We'll just have to work a little harder to find another way." Looping a strand of hair behind her left ear, she added, "Won't we?"