Tara jumped from the Jeep as if all the hordes of Hell were after her. Unfortunately, hitting the ground didn't mean she sprinted away to safety. The whole maneuver resembled a particularly bad nightmare. She ran – or she intended to. It was as if she slogged through quicksand. Legs and arms pumping, Tara fought her way across the grass with Faith shoving her from behind.
The gunfire had stopped. Either that, or Tara couldn't hear it over her labored breathing. Why weren't the soldiers shooting at them anymore? And why (now Tara wondered if she'd gone mad) did she care? No bullets was good news.
It soon became clear that guns weren't a requirement any longer. "Son of a bitch!" Faith's hand fell away from Tara's shoulder and her body heat no longer warmed Tara's side. "Keep runnin', T. The boys need help rememberin' about Slayers."
Oh, Goddess. Tara slowed without thinking. She wasn't letting Faith face off with the soldiers alone. By the time she turned and retraced her steps, though, she was too late. Faith had closed with the first pair of uniformed and armed men.
A sharp report coincided with Faith's cry of pain. She went down to one knee, a hand pressed to her left shoulder.
Bile choked Tara and she swayed, lightheaded. "Stop!" she screamed uselessly. The shooter moved toward Faith and more soldiers converged until they formed a tense, wary semi-circle around the downed Slayer. Tara watched impotently as one of them waved the muzzle of his gun in a clear "stand up" gesture. The wave became more emphatic when Faith remained on the ground. Even in the wash of diffused illumination provided by the Jeep's headlights, the blood welling under Faith's hand was visible.
Tara silently pleaded with Faith to follow the soldier's order. Her inner voice grew to an unspoken yet shrill scream before the other girl stood. The group of soldiers moved closer, herding Faith toward Tara.
"You! Let's go!" Face hidden by a camouflaged cloth mask, the lead soldier's voice seemed to emanate from thin air.
Ducking her head, unable to glance in Faith's direction, Tara crept in the direction indicated by the muzzle of a machine gun. Dear Goddess. What was going to happen now? With each step, her fear multiplied. There were too many soldiers for Faith to fight – even if they weren't armed. Tara couldn't risk magic; Ethan's power pounded at her wavering shields. Her feet became leaden, and her mind fogged with defeat. By the time their group re-entered the main building, Tara was numb. So numb she didn't see the thin, smirking man waiting for them in the shadows of a classroom doorway.
"Ah, the little witch. Not the one I was looking for, I'm afraid, but I can deal with the disappointment," Ethan murmured.
Tara flinched in automatic reaction when Ethan reached out with hand and mind.
The attempt to avoid his touch was fruitless on both counts. His cool palm pressed to her right cheek as his magic drilled a hole through her shields. Such purity, Ethan whispered in the recesses of Tara's mind. Dark tendrils of power slithered and twisted their way into Tara's channels. How sweet. Too bad I don't have time to enjoy you, my dear, but I have bigger game in mind.
Walsh and Englemann sat in front of the door. Willow had finished her work on the camera and stared at the computer monitor. Giles and Joyce stood shoulder to shoulder, crossbow and sais in hand, behind the foreman's desk.
They were ready, yet Buffy wasn't happy. Not even the slightest bit relieved. Something was wrong; it had to be. There hadn't been a sound from the Duo since Walsh grumbled at being unceremoniously dragged to her current position, and Ethan and his cronies hadn't rushed the office. The whole thing made Buffy's skin crawl. Damn it! Why couldn't this be like a normal night on the job? At least vampires and demons understood the rules. If you had the Slayer trapped in a tiny room, you rushed in with fangs or whatever flashing. You didn't hide out and wait for her to implode with tension. "What's he waiting for?" Buffy snapped without turning her head to look at Giles. If she did, he'd see the misplaced blame for their situation in her eyes.
"Calm yourself. This display of the vapors will not solve anything." Great. Giles was feeling the strain, too. He only sounded that British when he thought things might be hopeless these days. "Once Faith and Tara return, we can use their intelligence to formulate a plan of action."
If they returned. The waiting, the lack of a plan, the thought of Tara…of Tara and Faith in the school with Ethan and soldiers turned Buffy into a true pessimist. She brooded and paced while Willow and Giles whispered to each other and pointed at the computer. The sound of their voices was like a drill against Buffy's head; it dug a little deeper with each passing second. She wanted to scream at them to stop. Hanging onto her self control with a death grip, Buffy stalked to the desk and peered over Willow's shoulder, opposite Giles. "Something wrong?"
"I lost track of Faith and Tara," Willow answered. "They were right there, in the hallway by Mr. Danver's room, and then…poof!"
"Any sign of Walsh's army or Ethan?" There were a limited number of explanations for the disappearance, and Buffy wasted no time on the non-dangerous ones. Leaning in closer, she stared at the grainy images. Nothing. No Faith. No Tara. No nothing. How was that possible? They'd been there before, and Buffy could vouch for Riley and Company's presence on campus.
Impatience became adrenaline so fast it left Buffy lightheaded. "Will, could Ethan do something to the cameras?"
Maybe Faith was right. Slayers were built for action, not talking. Obviously, she hadn't gotten her point across. Willow stared at Buffy with her brown creased in comical confusion. "Like have his guys destroy them? Sure. Or they could spray paint over the lenses. I saw that in some movie Faith made me watch. Die Hard or Die More, or something like that."
"Ah, not exactly." The more Buffy thought about things, the more she was certain Ethan was about to kick their butts. "I meant something magic-y. Could he make it look like nothing was out there? Hide where he and the soldiers are?"
Willow's confusion disappeared. "I…I don't know. It would take a lot of power, Buffy." Her eyes met Buffy's, and it was easy to see the fear there. "And even more power to make sure Giles, Tara, and I couldn't feel him doing it." Standing abruptly, she grabbed Buffy's arm and attempted to push her out of the way. "We have to go! We have to find Faith! If we can't see Ethan and his goons – and now we can't see Faith – it must mean he has her."
Ethan had Faith. Worse, he had Faith and Tara. Buffy wanted to charge from the room with stakes and knives flashing, but enough of Giles' past lectures had penetrated. Buffy remained firmly in place and gently pried Willow's hand from her arm. "Faith will be fine, Will. She's a Slayer, remember?"
"Buffy!" Willow didn't look happy that Buffy finally acknowledged Faith's status and skills. In fact, she looked more than willing to flatten Buffy with a lightning bolt to get her out of the way.
Shaking her head, Buffy stood her ground. "No. We can't go charging off. We don't know where Ethan is or how many of Walsh's flunkies are with him. And…" She hesitated, not wanting to play her final card. When Resolve Face made an appearance, though, Buffy ruthlessly suppressed her best friend emotions and continued. "If Tara couldn't beat Ethan, Will, we wouldn't stand a chance." Willow jerked as if Buffy had slapped her. "Think." Pressing Willow back into the desk chair, Buffy poured all the faux confidence and compassion she could muster into her appeal. "You're camera thingie is the best bet we have to shut Ethan down. And we know the soldiers are coming here because of Walsh. If Ethan really is doing something to the cameras, we'd be sitting ducks outside. There are way more of them than us."
It was a toss-up who appeared more shocked by Buffy's comment: Willow or Giles. "Buffy is correct, Willow." Recovering quickly, he gave her an approving smile and nod. "Indeed, we must make our stand here and trust that Faith and Tara are safe. Ethan will soon find that none of you girls is as helpless as he assumes."
Buffy beamed at Giles' approval and compliment – until Willow's glare resumed and nearly set her hair on fire. "We stay, Will," she said firmly, ignoring the Resolve Face. "Now, tell me what I can do to help with the Ethan Jammer. Does he have to hold it or can I just grab it and get close?"
"You don't have to do anything." Willow dropped her eyes and slumped over the laptop on the desk in front of her. "Ethan just has to show up. I hit the switch, the jammer hopefully turns on, and we kick his ass, collect my girlfriend, and go home."
Simple and to the point. Buffy whole-heartedly approved, except for one detail. "Don't forget Tara," she reminded Willow. "We collect Faith and Tara and then we go home." No one said anything else and Buffy stifled a sigh. Rousing speeches and big plans aside, they were back to waiting. She resumed her earlier pacing, but kept her senses on high. Without the cameras to help them track Ethan's progress, Buffy had to make sure he didn't surprise them.
Pushing her limits was exhausting. Buffy finally stopped stalking back and forth and dropped onto the couch. This was pointless! She kicked her feet against the floor and started to relax just as a faint scuffling sound emanated from the hallway. Buffy was up in a flash, stake and sword in her hands. "Company's coming," she warned the rest of the gang. Ready to finally get to the action, she took up a position behind Walsh's chair. "Looks like your freak show's about to come to an end, Doc. I don't think you'll be doing any encores, though, just ducking tomatoes."
Walsh snorted but didn't say anything. For the first time since leaving the lab, she appeared resigned.
The hint that even Walsh knew the Scoobies would win boosted Buffy's confidence. They could do this. They could beat Ethan again. The footsteps drew closer, and Buffy dropped into a defensive stance. "Hope you have your hand on the switch, Will," she called out just loud enough to carry across the room. It was one pair of feet out there, and she was betting on Ethan.
Luckily, Buffy was in Sunnydale and not Las Vegas. Tara stumbled into the room and jerked to a halt. "Buffy!"
"Tara!" Echoing the greeting without thought, Buffy rushed around Walsh and Englemann, gently taking Tara by the arms. "Where's Faith? Is everything OK? Did you see Ethan?" She fired questions off while she scanned Tara for obvious injuries.
"Faith is fine. We were…We saw a couple groups of soldiers, but Faith knew how to avoid them." Stepping to one side, Tara shook off Buffy's hands and walked farther into the room. "Faith stayed outside as a lookout, but she wanted me to check in with you. Are you ready? I don't think Ethan will stay away much longer."
It was amazing he'd left them alone for this long. Buffy glanced toward the hallway. It was important to keep an eye on things, but she really wished Faith had come back, too. Willow was on edge. Teetering, actually. She'd stopped peering at the computer and now stared worriedly at the doorway. And, when the fighting broke out, they'd need Faith's Slayer skills. Damn it. Buffy hated this feeling, hated knowing she'd overlooked some part of the plan. Faith wouldn't have risked playing lookout if they'd talked about what to do after setting the last of the traps.
Oh, well. It was done. Buffy turned away from the door. "Were you able to set the glamours and wards, my dear?" Giles inquired. "Willow has discovered that Ethan somehow tampered with Principal Snyder's cameras, and we are unable to track his movements through the school."
"Sure, Giles. I did the wards," Tara answered with a slight smile. "How about you guys? Are you set here? What did Willow come up with?"
"Nothing new," Willow muttered without taking her eyes off the door.
For a split second, Tara's face twisted in frustration and then her expression smoothed. "Oh. Do you need me to do anything? I could try a locator spell for Ethan, if you want."
Earlier, Buffy had jokingly warned Tara that Slayer skills included a built-in lie detector. Her mental needle was busy recording crazy spikes and dips. "I thought you'd be tired after doing the glamour in the gym and main office?" Praying she was wrong, Buffy slowly slid her body between Willow and Tara. "Did you get eat a Power Pellet?"
Because she was now watching Tara closely, Buffy noticed how stiffly she stood. How her eyes darted around the room as if she were taking notes. "I just used the nodes and ley lines, Buffy. It's easy to do and there is quite a lot of power because of the Hellmouth."
"Quite a lot, huh? Wow." Buffy didn't dare glanced away to see if anyone else noticed the problem. She stared at Tara and remembered the way she'd looked at the mall in Los Angeles, in their briefly-shared room at UC-Sunnydale, in the kitchen as a less than modern-minded Buffy sprawled on top of her. "You're good," she said quietly to the man she now believed to be behind the curtain of Tara's mind.
If Tara and her magic weren't available, this fight would be over before it really started. Buffy returned Tara's smile and did what she had always done in the face of overwhelming odds and certain defeat. She went on the offensive. "Will! Hit the switch now!"