The wording was too eerily similar to Riley's radio conversation for Buffy to ignore. Walsh had someone (Ethan, no doubt) bringing in a host for whatever project was going on in the underground base.
Buffy didn't need Willow's brilliant mind to figure out what the last part was about.
She was the host. As he had with the band candy fiasco, Ethan had planned to create enough confusion in Sunnydale to bring Buffy and the Scoobies running. Right into his trap. Unfortunately, she thought with a wry smile, avoiding the trap hadn't kept them from finding another way of falling into line with Ethan's plan.
Her cautious approach now placed Buffy at the very edge of the opening. "I really hope knowing is half the battle," Buffy mumbled just before leaping around the corner – and into another lab. Her quick examination of the small, cramped room revealed a stainless steel table covered by a massive man. Tubes and wires ran from his body to a myriad of equipment stacked or hanging nearby.
"Buffy!" Professor Walsh spun, her pencil dropping to the floor with a clatter.
"Sorry I'm late. I didn't see the date for this field trip on the syllabus." Reaching behind her, Buffy slipped the dagger from her belt. Knife and chair leg at the ready, she slowly wandered forward. "Should I have studied? Is this a pop quiz? Or an extra credit type deal?"
Walsh frowned. "You know? How…?"
For an internationally famous psychologist, Walsh wasn't very smart. Buffy rolled her eyes. "Come on, Professor. I'm the Slayer." If Ethan was part of the master plan, that wasn't a secret. "The title comes with a few nifty bonuses. Good hearing, for example. And super strength." Letting some of her fear and anger leak out, Buffy slammed the chair leg in her right hand down on an exposed edge of the exam table.
A thunderous boom exploded in the cavern, the echoes coming fast and furious for long seconds until they eventually faded away.
"Too bad Ethan didn't give you the full scoop. You should be choosier about who you pick for your team," Buffy announced. "He's drops the ball a lot. Like now." Raising her voice, Buffy called in the troops. "Faith, Will..."
Seconds later, Faith dashed in, her own weapon at the ready. Willow and Tara followed in less dramatic fashion.
"I think he forgot to mention there's more than just me." Buffy relaxed slightly as Faith took up a position at her shoulder. "Now, let's talk about more important things. Why you're here and who the big, creepy dead guy on the table is." She didn't ask about the silent man sitting in front of the computer near Professor Walsh. Not yet.
Apparently, the sight of the Scooby gang wasn't enough to derail the professor. Walsh smirked. "If you have to ask…"
"We don't," Willow interrupted. She waved the sheaf of papers she'd printed in the other lab. "I didn't have time to fill Buffy in on the details, but I know it all. This is some kind of experiment, and that…" Willow pointed dramatically at the gruesome form on the exam table. "…That's your monster, Dr. Frankenstein. Half human and half demon."
Everyone stared at Willow in shock and disbelief.
The silence continued, growing more and more stifling. Willow broke first. "I'm assuming that's Doctor Englemann. Or…should I call you Colonel?"
When Englemann stood, Buffy divided her attention between him and Walsh. Colonel. It was slowly beginning to make sense. He was the connection to Riley and the armed soldiers who'd captured them. "Doctor, please. The other… Well, it's a means to an end," he responded. The aggression Buffy had heard in his voice from the hallway was gone. Now it was controlled. Hard.
It matched the look in Englemann's eyes.
"This is your source, Maggie?" Never taking his eyes from Buffy's, Englemann addressed Professor Walsh. "Not bad. Not bad, at all. I hadn't even considered this option."
A sudden chill crept up Buffy's spine, and she fought a shiver. These people were crazy. And dangerous. Instinctively, Buffy backed a step closer to Faith. They had to get out of here, but… They couldn't leave things the way they were. "Will," Buffy announced in what she prayed was a confident tone, "shut them down. I'm done playing games."
The whole plan hinged on Willow actually being able to derail the professor's evil plot.
"You got it, Buffy." Looking fierce and determined, Willow stalked across the room toward Englemann and his computer. "Honey, can you clear me a path? I don't have time to turn the Colonel into a toad."
Buffy saw Faith's mouth drop open at that comment, but she recovered instantly. Taking a menacing step forward and cracking her knuckles, Faith answered with a grim smile. "Make my day, soldier boy. Ain't had near enough fun tonight, and I owe you for the kidnappin'."
Englemann shuffled a few inches to the right.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." Obviously, Faith didn't think he'd put in enough effort. Buffy watched, ready to spring to Faith's aid, as she lifted Englemann off the ground by the lapels of his lab coat.
With a bone-jarring thump and a pained grunt, he slammed into the far wall of the room.
"Do your thing, Red. I've got your back." Faith crossed her arms and glared at Professor Walsh, daring her to try something.
***
As Willow began typing, Tara edged farther into the room. Things were going so well… Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she said softly, "Bu-Buffy? What about all those vamp-pires and demons? And the soldiers?" Even if Willow managed to disable the computers and whatever the two scientists had created, they couldn't risk forgetting about the rest of the dangers in the underground facility.
"Uh…" Buffy rocked in place. "I hadn't gotten that far."
The comment drew a snort from Professor Walsh. "It's a good thing we only needed your body as a vessel. My God. Charging in here with no plan. How typical."
Tara swore she could hear Buffy's teeth grind together. "Lucky for poor, dumb me, I do have a plan." She smirked and waved her knife at Willow. "That's who you should have gotten to supply your brain."
Buffy probably hadn't meant her statement to be funny. However, Tara had to fight back an inappropriate giggle. She was glad for the self-control when the reality of what Buffy said finally sank in. Willow seemed to be the Head Researcher, witch, and all around mastermind. That was too much responsibility for one person. Despite her usual reluctance to take the lead, Tara stepped in. They needed a plan. Now. And Willow was busy. She and Buffy would have to strategize.
Not even her short time as part of the gang convinced Tara that Faith would be an asset for this part of the evening. She was definitely the "muscle."
"Professor." Tara's voice wavered; although, there wasn't any stutter. "I assume there is another way out of this tunnel."
Walsh's face tightened and she pressed her lips together.
Great. Feeling as if she was in a room of stubborn children, Tara glared at the older woman. "I don't really need an answer. Buffy, I know there is another way to leave. This place…" She pointed to the equipment and the man/demon on the table. "Unless all those soldiers know about the experiment, the professor needed an entrance for supplies."
This time, Buffy did look back, and Tara flushed at the obviously approving expression.
She also enjoyed Faith's husky, "Damn. You better be careful, Red. Looks like T's tryin' to compete in the brain department."
"Brains and brawn." Voice more confident than before, Buffy turned back to Professor Walsh. "Tell us how to find the exit. The ride stopped being fun a long time ago, and I don't want a second trip."
Walsh crossed her arms. "No," she announced defiantly.
Buffy's smile caused goose bumps to rise on Tara's arms. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way." Her smile grew. "And this time, it's my chance to show off." In one, lithe stride, she crossed the lab. A beeping monitor near the exam table suddenly soared through the air, the cord still attached to the electrical unit snapping in half from the momentum. "Tell me what I want to know."
For the first time, Tara thought Walsh appeared less arrogant. "You can't do this! My research is important." She didn't explain why, or what, exactly, she and Englemann were studying.
Before Buffy could approach Walsh further, Willow got up from the desk. "Leave her alone, Buff. I've got a lock on all her 'research.'" In a comical display of scorn, Willow made air quotes on either side of her head. "Professor Frankenstein won't be creating any more monsters."
Walsh went so pale even the color left in her face from the fluorescent lights disappeared.
"And the vampires?" Tara wasn't getting sidetracked by their one, small victory. She didn't allow Willow time to respond. Buffy and Faith were the Slayers. They specialized in exterminating vampires. "Can you two h-handle so many at once?" Then, feeling mean for continuing to point out the flaws in their victory, Tara asked, "And what do we do about the guys with g-guns?"
Buffy and Faith exchanged glances. "From the way things feel, we need reinforcements. Once we get out of here…" Tara heard the unspoken if we get out of here. "…we'll grab Giles and Mom and head back."
Willow waved a hand. "Oops. My bad." Her grin announced she was anything but. "I must have forgotten to mention I locked up all the pet vamps and demons. They'll stay in the cages the Professor built until we have a plan."
"That's my girl," Faith said as she sauntered up to Englemann and shoved the sharp edge of her broken chair leg against his throat. "And the soldiers are the easy part. All we gotta do is take Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb with us. Don't think the bullets'll be flyin' if they're in the way."
That took care of all of the threats except one. The one Tara had deliberately left off of her list.
Ethan was her problem. Buffy and Faith were built to kill demons, not magic users. Willow was too untrained – and too impulsive. Unfortunately, Tara was no closer to a solution to beating Ethan in a magical showdown now than she had been earlier that night.
"You comin', T?" Tara had been so occupied by her thoughts that she had missed everyone moving back into the narrow hallway. Faith regarded her with a worried frown from the entryway, one hand clenched tightly around the lapel of Englemann's shirt and the other still brandishing the chair leg.
Hurrying after the group, Tara tried to smile. "S-sorry. I just…" She just what? Tara struggled to explain her lack of action and distraction. If she mentioned Ethan, Tara risked involving Willow, at the very least, in any eventual fight. "I'm coming." Avoiding any further comment, she shadowed Faith and her reluctant companion out of the lab.
"Stay alert, guys." Buffy and Walsh were up front. "I don't trust the professor not to have some kind of booby trap."
The group's pace slowed at that. Everyone was on alert. Tara crept along behind Faith and Englemann. From above, she heard faint sounds of movement and shouting. The soldiers? Without realizing it, Tara sped up – and nearly slammed into Englemann's back. No one was moving now.
Why not?
Tara bit her lip and held back the question. Instead, she focused on breathing without panting too noticeably and casting out carefully with her senses.
A hint of magic floated around them. It clung in random patches to the walls and ceiling. Ethan had been here. He'd been a part of Walsh's plot, despite Englemann's lack of knowledge. That wasn't a surprise.
As a new metallic whir began at the head of the ragged group, Tara pushed out further.
That's when she felt it.
The real surprise.
"Buffy!" Fear sharpened Tara's voice. "We have to go. Now!"