"Wow. You want projects, I've got projects." Willow punched a few buttons on her laptop and proceeded to rattle them off. She finished with a flourish of one hand. "And the big winner is demon research and the Super Soldier project our favorite Doctors Frankenstein were doing. That's it. Nothing specifically about Ethan. Less than nothing on magic."
It didn't make sense. Tara frowned and stared at the paperwork in her hands. Giles had been correct; she couldn't believe Professor Walsh hadn't kept notes. Maybe she had been afraid the colonel would discover her plans.
That was it. That was the answer to where the professor kept her notes. "Wil-Willow," Tara said intently, "did you only check the m-military computers?"
"Yeah." Willow regarded her quizzically. "I mean, they're the ones slicing and dicing the demons. Where else did you want me to look? I could probably hack into the Pentagon system if I had more time."
Tara was momentarily derailed. "The Pentagon?" Willow could get into the Pentagon computers? Then she tore her focus off that terrifying prospect – and the mental image of a federal prison – and said, "No. I don't th-think the military has any idea what's going on. C-Colonel En-Englemann didn't know; I doubt his superiors do. Professor Walsh wanted to keep her special pr-project secret. She wouldn't risk leaving notes on th-their system. What if she used the university's?"
Willow's mouth opened and closed comically. Then she mumbled, "I didn't think about that. Give me a minute." She glowered at the computer and began typing.
A few minutes passed while Tara sifted through the paperwork. Finally settling on the diagram of Ethan, she peered at it, trying to make sense of the notes and tiny drawings. The chip was easy to identify; a single, tiny dot sat toward the back of the humanoid figure's head.
"You're right, Tara. I can't believe I didn't think of this before!" Willow complained, right before admitting, "Here it is. Walsh put it in plain view. The file's in a folder labeled 'Rayne, Ethan.' Stupid! Lock everything up on demon research and put the super secret project on a server with less security than a 7-Eleven."
Joyce got up from her chair and stretched. "Stop pouting, honey. Faith isn't here."
Tara thought she caught Giles smirk at the rebuke before he hid his face behind a handful of paperwork. "Is there information on Ethan that we might use?" he asked.
"Yes." Willow's voice was stiff. "It looks like Walsh's chip attaches to the frontal lobe, the part that controls decision-making and purposeful behavior. The plan was to use small electrical pulses to influence Ethan's thought process."
"Influence?" Giles sat forward, the paperwork (and the smirk) forgotten.
Spinning in the desk chair until she faced them, Willow nodded. "That's what it says. The chip is way experimental, Giles. From the earliest notes, things didn't always go the way Walsh wanted. Ethan isn't her first try at this. There was a list of names, along with matching files." Whether it was the fall of shadows in the room or real emotion, Willow's expression was grim. "I recognized most of the names, Giles. They were witches that mysteriously disappeared from Sunnydale in the last couple of years."
Tara's stomach twisted. "What were the n-names?" The information wasn't relevant, and she didn't care.
"Angelique Winston, Mara Carstairs, Sara O'Dell," Willow read off the computer screen. She paused for a minute to scroll down, and Tara grew impatient.
"Was there a J-John Stevens on the list?" Tara demanded. It was depressing – and terrifying – to realize how many people Professor Walsh had used for her experiments. However, Tara didn't know any of the women Willow had already mentioned. She had known John through a local coven.
Unfortunately, her pointed question distracted Willow and caught the attention of Giles and Joyce. "My dear, what do you know…" Tara assumed Giles had started to ask if she somehow knew more about Walsh's project than she'd let on.
Willow jumped in before he could finish. "No, Tara," she said quickly. "All of the missing witches were women."
Thank the Goddess. "Thank you." Tara realized her hands were clenched and consciously opened them, wiggling her aching fingers. "I…John disappeared last year. I th-thought maybe…" It hadn't been like her friend to disappear or not stay in contact. From her new position in the Scoobies, Tara knew if Walsh wasn't the culprit then it was very likely a vampire had been. Fighting the threat of tears, she told Giles, "I d-don't know anyth-thing more ab-bout Pr-Professor Walsh and her p-plans, Mr. Giles. J-John was a fr-friend. That's all."
"I'm very sorry, Tara." No matter how irritating he might have been earlier, Giles responded with a kind smile and a pat on Tara's hands.
"Me, too." Willow looked torn between offering sympathy to Tara and continuing to recount information. Duty won out. "The new notes I found are really detailed, guys. Maybe we can use it on Ethan."
"Indeed. You said Professor Walsh' chip only influenced the subject's behavior and decisions." Giles stood and slowly paced behind Willow. "Is it possible that at least some of Ethan's own personality remains? Could we persuade him to stop his attacks?"
Tara was too new to risk the "Duh!" that immediately wanted to spring to her lips.
Willow did it for her. "Are we talking about the same Ethan Rayne? The crazy guy who turned us all into our Halloween costumes? The same one who tried to kill us at least twice before we even graduated from high school? The one who turned Buffy into a cave Slayer?" She threw her hands in the air. "Sure. We'll just wave when he shows up and say, 'Hey, Mr. Rayne. Can you please act less like an evil robot and more like your usual – which is also evil - self? Can't we all just get along?'"
Giles' face went red and Tara jumped in before things got out of hand. "Mr. Giles h-has a point, Willow." Willow frowned and appeared mutinous. Tara didn't let that dissuade her. "Unless th-there was inform-mation on how to turn Eth-than off, it's the best pl-plan we have. How would we br-break through Professor Walsh's c-control, though?"
"That I do not know," Giles admitted quietly. "Appeals to his better nature aside," he shot Willow a glare, "I can only think to remind Ethan of our time together in London."
That didn't sound very helpful. Tara didn't have the entire story about Ethan Rayne, but she got the impression he'd moved on from his friendship with Giles. "W-was there anything else in the f-files, Willow?" she asked to give the older man a chance to flesh out his strategy – and to recover his composure.
"I did find the specs for the control chip." Willow typed on her computer for a second and the printer across the room whirred to life. "I know you guys think being nice to Ethan will work…" She and Giles were obviously going continue taking cheap shots at each other for a while. "Figuring out a way to cut the connection to the chip, though, has more potential for stopping him. Can you take a look at the diagram? I'm trying to find the server Walsh is using to send orders to Ethan; if I can't find it, maybe you can come up with another option."
The trip back to the Research Room took far less time than the trip to Snyder's office. Faith and Buffy ran the entire way. By unspoken, mutual agreement, both slowed only when they entered the Science Wing.
That's when the conversation inside the Research Room filtered into the hall. Thanks to Slayer hearing, Willow's voice echoed. "Are we talking about the same Ethan Rayne? The crazy guy who turned us all into our Halloween costumes?"
Buffy's hand shot up, halting Faith's progress, and she listened to the rest of Willow's tirade. God, it was the Mayor and the Master and every unbeatable evil all over again. Imminent death and no way to stop it.
And Willow, wading in with logic and determination to save the day. Or…trying to, anyway.
The crushing weight of Slayer responsibility settled on Buffy's shoulders. Finding a way to win was supposed to be her job. Since the beginning, she'd broken the rules. She'd relied on a support system no other Slayer had ever had. Support Buffy wasn't supposed to have.
"Come on," Buffy told Faith in a muted voice. "Let's go share the good news. It sounds like they need some." It was long past time she did her part in providing a little positive information and discovering the answer to their problem. Somehow.
Faith hesitated. "B? Something wrong?"
Damn. Cursing Faith's sudden intuition, Buffy pasted on a hopefully reassuring smile. "I thought you wanted to see Willow? Unless we move from this spot, that's not going to happen." She took a step toward the construction office. "OK then. I'm leaving you here," she finally threatened just to spur Faith on.
"Whatever. You'd get lost on the way," Faith mumbled. With long, hurried strides, she walked the last few feet and disappeared into the office. Buffy followed more slowly and watched Faith take up a spot behind Willow's chair.
"Ah, welcome back. Was the Slayer strategy session a success?" Giles inquired. His smile was forced. Buffy wondered why he bothered after all this time. Everyone in the room (including a smirking Professor Walsh) knew they didn't have a clue about defeating Ethan. "We've located information which may prove useful."
Giles' interpretation of the conversation Buffy and Faith had overheard didn't seem to jibe with hers. "Useful?" Buffy avoided glancing in Faith's direction and played dumb. "That's good. Faith and I found something, too." The words felt stiff and uncooperative in her mouth. She paused long enough to take a calming breath and a seat next to Tara. "Snyder had the school wired with cameras. The monitors were in his office, still working. If Will can hack the signal, we can watch from here for Riley and Company to march in."
Willow was typing before Buffy finished speaking. "That's easy, Buffy. Give me a couple; I want to set up the construction foreman's laptop for the video feed. That way we can keep using mine for research."
Something Willow said tickled Buffy's mind. It seemed like such a simple idea. She was probably way off base. "Um, Will?" Better to be safe than sorry. If she was wrong… Well, Buffy was used to ridicule at research meetings.
"I'm almost there, Buffy," Willow immediately said. "I've got the signal; it's weak, though. I have to boost the reception and it's taking longer than I thought."
Buffy sank lower in her chair as Willow's obvious frustration and worry reinforced Faith's statement about her girlfriend feeling responsible for solving their problems. "Take your time, Will," she said, hoping to soothe Willow's ruffled feathers. "You're doing fine."
The compliment was sincere. In fact, it was a gross understatement. However, Willow didn't look any better. The dim light made the dark semi-circles of exhaustion under her eyes look like bruises, and she hadn't stopped frowning since Buffy's interjection. "Got it," Willow said after only a few seconds. "I've boosted the feed. Faith, can you help me set up the other laptop?"
Tuning out the joint scramble to piece together the technology, Buffy leaned closer to Tara. "How are you holding up?" she whispered.
A wan smile belied Tara's "I'm fine, Buffy."
"Uh huh." Buffy caught Tara's eyes before she could duck her head. "Didn't you know? One of my super powers is seeing when people are lying." If only. "I'm sorry you got sucked into this. Who knew the university computers could change your life so drastically with one simple roommate request."
Tara gently poked Buffy's arm. "Stop it. You can't blame yourself for any of this. The roommate thing was an accident. Or fate. I believe the Goddess had a plan in mind when she sent us that letter. I'm supposed to be a part of what you do." Her hand dropped until her fingers rested lightly on Buffy's thigh. "And I could have walked away, Buffy. You and Willow… You didn't make me stay."
Some of the weight on Buffy's shoulders slipped off. "OK." Tara's head tilted at Buffy's less than enthusiastic agreement. "Fine," Buffy muttered, her lips twitching into a small smile. "I didn't twist your arm – even if I did knock you down and sprawl on top of you."
They both laughed at the reminder of the fiasco in the Summers' kitchen.
"Glad you're havin' fun, B. Me and Red got the work done," Faith snapped, breaking the mood and recalling Tara and Buffy back to duty.
Buffy looked across the table at the second laptop. Grainy, darkened images of the school showed in a grid marked with date and time stamps. "You're the best, Will." She winked at her best friend and then tacked on, "Thanks for picking up my slack, Faith." It was fun, even with the pressing need to move on, to see Faith's eyes widen in shock at the compliment. "Now…I think Snyder's spy operation may help solve our Ethan problem, too."
No one said anything, but Buffy could hear their unspoken doubts and questions.
"We hijacked Snyder's home movies." Leaning her arms on the table, Buffy prayed she was on the right track and not about to make a fool of herself. "His cameras had to send a signal. Doesn't Walsh – or her computer – have to do the same to control Ethan? If we find that, can't we take over like with did with those?" she asked, pointing to the laptop.