CHAPTER THREE
You can't handle the truth
Sunnydale, California
March 25, 2004 — 1342 PST
Riley recognized from the start his whole mission had a cloud hanging over it. It wasn't just Buffy and what happened in Sunnydale; it was also the difficulty of trying to achieve their objectives while working under the restrictions imposed on them.
With military communication channels potentially compromised they couldn't use most of the high-tech surveillance equipment they would normally use. While it made their job more difficult, it wasn't impossible. They reverted to using older analog and non-computerized equipment going "old school" in some of their surveillance and intelligence gathering techniques.
When Riley's team first arrived in Sunnydale, they'd done a casual drive-by of the warehouse to see if they could penetrate the security to gain entry. They'd quickly dropped the idea when observing how daunting the security surrounding the warehouse appeared to be. The plan now was to gather more information before revisiting the warehouse.
They quickly settled into town with no problems using their cover identities. The town was humming with rebuilding activity, so it was easy for them to get lost in the crowd and not get noticed as they went about their work. With the warehouse off limits for now, the team's focus was keeping tabs on Buffy and the others when they were outside the confines of the warehouse. The team quickly established their routine to track and keep surveillance on everyone, hoping to gather any information.
Despite frustrations and the imposed restrictions, they'd identified everyone in Buffy's group, tracking them whenever they came into town. There were also a lot of rumors and gossip floating around town, so while not as concrete it still provided another source of intelligence to investigate and follow-up on.
This still left the big mystery of what was going on inside that warehouse of theirs. The background info on the warehouse had it being bought by a numbered company which turned out to be a shell company within at least a dozen other shell companies. Other than that the place was a complete black hole. They hadn't even picked up any EM or other communication signals coming from the building when they did their drive-by.
Riley knew his team would have to attempt breeching the perimeter to place listening devices closer to the building or enter to recon the building. The idea gave him a queasy sensation in his stomach; he hated trying to make an entry with so little intelligence on their target. Several times, Riley fought the temptation to just go up to the gates, ring the bell and ask Buffy what the hell was going on. He knew that approach wouldn't go over well with his superiors and he wasn't sure how she would react.
Riley realized his growing queasiness and frustrations were also a result of the mixed emotions he was experiencing. Everything was being dredged up since he arrived back in Sunnydale. He was finding himself having to confront all the memories and emotions associated with Buffy while reflecting on his choices and decisions. It wasn't like he was looking to pick up with Buffy from where they left off. He loved his wife, but you never forgot someone like Buffy as he realized that sometimes you could never really escape your past. It wasn't helping his state of mind having to spend his days, observing or discussing Buffy.
Today was a perfect example as Riley followed Buffy around town, maintaining a passive tail on her. A part of him still debated his decision to be the one to follow Buffy rather than one of his other team members. He tried rationalizing his decision by saying he was the one most familiar with her movements and behavior, so he was the perfect choice to follow her. Despite his rationalizing, he hoped the baseball cap and sunglasses combined with the distance he was maintaining would be enough to keep from being spotted.
Riley understood the reasons for his selection for this mission, but he felt as if he was walking a thin line. He didn't want to see Buffy get hurt, but he also understood why Washington was so freaked out. Buffy and the others had fought a war here, detonating a stolen nuclear weapon. This created a dangerous situation, from Washington's viewpoint when they had no control over what was happening here and the people involved.
A small smile flashed on Riley's face as old memories drifted through his thoughts, Face the facts… Buffy was never one for playing nice inside the system…
Riley maintained a safe distance as Buffy made her way into the town's rebuilt shopping district. He sighed, realizing she was only doing some window shopping today.
Target and potential threat to national security, window shopping for shoes and clothes… no sign of nuclear weapons, he thought wryly.
Riley found it difficult to maintain focus as Buffy drifted about at a lackadaisical pace, moving in no particular pattern, between stores, stopping to gaze at the display windows. His boredom grew to a point that he lost his situational awareness. In that distracted moment a large crowd of shoppers got between Buffy and him, causing him to lose visual on her. It took a moment to clear the crowd, but it was long enough for him to lose sight of her.
Muttering swears as he quickened his pace, Riley tried to catch-up and reacquire Buffy, assuming her direction from the last time he'd seen her. He headed towards the corner of the store, hoping to catch sight of her, but she was nowhere in sight when he turned the corner.
A frustrated sigh—along with a few choice curse words—escaped Riley as he realized how badly he'd screwed up. There was a chance if he continued circling around he might re-establish contact, but that only increased his risks of detection. No, he'd screwed the pooch on this tail and it was time to call it and return to the motel they were using for their base of operations. He started putting together the report in his head on how he'd screwed up along with revisiting his decision to be the one following Buffy
Maybe it's time to have someone else do this… I'm too close to this…
Any further thoughts of his report and reflecting on his decisions died instantly as he turned back around the corner and found himself face-to-face with Buffy…
oOoOo
In retrospect, Riley would admit it would have been a better idea to have assigned someone else to Buffy. Though he would also admit that maybe he—even subconsciously—wanted this confrontation.
"Hello, Riley. Long-time no see," Buffy said, enjoying his obvious surprise and startlement.
Riley tried to regain his composure, "Uhhh… Hi Buffy… How are things? How're you keeping?" the words sounded hollow and lame as he said them.
Buffy shook her head, "How about we cut to the chase? Why are you here?" she said, brusquely.
A sinking feeling filled Riley, and he became self-conscious of their surroundings. The last thing he needed was someone to overhear them discussing wars against vampires, threats to national security and nuclear weapons.
"Can we not discuss this here, out in the middle of the street?" he muttered, trying not to cause a scene to attract any unwanted attention from passersby.
"How about a coffee then and we can discuss matters?" Buffy offered, gesturing towards a coffee shop.
It wasn't what he wanted, but Riley realized his mission was officially "blown" and Buffy wasn't going to take no for an answer. He nodded his reluctant agreement and followed her over to the coffee shop. They found themselves a somewhat secluded table in a far corner of the shop.
They didn't say a word until their coffees came. Buffy started first, "So, how's the wife?"
Riley was willing to play along with the pleasantries, responding in kind, "She's doing fine. How is Dawn and everyone else doing?"
Riley realized his mistake as Buffy's face flashed with anger, "I think you know how everyone is doing, since you're spying on us!" she replied.
Straight to the chase as always, Riley sighed, chiding himself for getting caught with his pants around his ankles. At this, old memories of Buffy in more intimate settings flashed in his head, causing a small smirk to come to his face.
"You think this is funny? This is damn serious!" Buffy said, struggling to keep her growing anger in check.
Riley shook off the inappropriate imagery of Buffy, again chiding himself for his amateurish mistakes. He took a deep breath to get his mind back on track. He decided to not waste any more time or this opportunity, "Okay, no holding back… all cards on the table here. I know what happened here, and so does the US government."
Her shrug of indifference, surprised and alarmed him, "Buffy, you don't realize how serious this is! What happened here… you guys fought a force of vampires from the Hellmouth! You guys stole and detonated a nuclear weapon!" Riley said, trying to keep his voice low.
Again Buffy shrugged, "Why should I care what the government thinks?" she replied.
Riley couldn't believe her air of indifference to the seriousness of the situation, "You should care! You guys used a nuke here for god's sake! Your little war here has scared everyone in charge… they're scared of you and your group! I mean it Buffy, they're considering all options!"
Old memories competed for space in her thoughts as Buffy studied Riley. She wasn't going to let on about how much she knew of his mission and the government's plans. She was angry that Riley was spying on her and the others. Yet, at the same time she picked up on the worry and concern in his voice and face, "Okay, so what can we do?" she said.
Her response surprised Riley, but he didn't hesitate, "Tell me everything," he said.
Buffy suppressed a smirk as she picked up on his tone, "And?"
Riley sighed, trying not to laugh at Buffy having read him so easily. Again, he reflected on his decision to be the one to follow Buffy.
In for a penny… In for a pound…
"I want a tour of your warehouse," he said.
Buffy eyed her ex-boyfriend while considering his request, "So, basically you want the whole story and a tour?"
A smirk flashed on his face, "Yes, and no holding back on anything."
Riley wasn't sure of what to do next if Buffy rebuffed his proposal. He was still trying to figure out how he would explain to his superiors and Washington on how he'd botched and compromised the mission. How they would react had him worrying about how the whole situation could easily spin out of control and escalate. There was a long pause as she considered his request.
Buffy finally replied, "Tomorrow… 1:00pm… You come to the front gate of the warehouse… Alone!" she said, emphasizing the last part.
A prayer of thanks for small blessings echoed in Riley's thoughts for this change in fortune, "Thanks Buffy," he sighed in relief.
As Buffy got up to leave, a thought struck him. Even though he'd salvaged his mission, he found his curiosity piqued about something, "Buffy… can I ask how you knew I was here? That we were following you?"
Her smirk caught him by surprise, "We will reveal all tomorrow," she said, leaving a confused Riley in her wake as she walked away.
oOoOo
The next day, at exactly 1:00pm, Riley stood outside the front gate of the warehouse as per Buffy's instructions. He'd parked his car a hundred meters away and walked towards the front gate to show he was alone. He hoped his anxiousness and impatience wasn't obvious as he tried not to fidget standing there waiting for Buffy or whoever would meet him at the gate.
For the umpteenth time, he checked the security fence protecting the warehouse before gazing towards the building. The whole setup appeared professional and impressive which only raised more questions. Despite his feelings and opinion of Buffy and the others, this appeared beyond their capabilities. He got a military-like vibe from the place. This wasn't like Buffy as she could never accept the whole military discipline and mindset… at least when he'd been dating her. This set his thoughts drifting as memories of their time together returned.
A female voice, coming from the security box by the gate, startled Riley, "Welcome, Agent Finn."
The sudden opening of the gates further startled Riley as the female voice continued, "You may come in… Please head for the north-west fire access door. It will be unlocked, and Buffy will greet you there."
"Uh… Thanks," Riley replied, recovering his composure as he cautiously eyed the open gate then the building. He realized there was no turning back as he made his way through the gate towards the building.
oOoOo
"He's in!"
"Sweet! Who would have thought the boss would just stroll in through the front gate!"
Two of Riley's team were observing the building and the grounds. Their observation position was five hundred meters from the front gate. They had a good view of the grounds to watch as Riley entered the building's grounds. They'd also setup audio sensors and cameras to monitor and record any activity around the warehouse.
The agent observing with binoculars watched as Riley made his way towards a door on the warehouse, "We should have wired the boss to get ears inside."
"The boss was pretty specific this was as far as we were to go… for now. Just getting in there may mean we can go home sooner," replied his partner.
"Uh-huh… Wait…! The door is opening… it's Buffy!" the agent said, putting down his binoculars and picking up a camera with a huge telephoto lens.
The agent clicked away, taking photos until he exclaimed, "Damn!"
"What's wrong?" his partner said.
"Take a look," the agent said, shaking his head slowly.
Puzzled, the other agent grabbed his binoculars, focusing in on the warehouse area his partner was showing. The sight of Buffy waving towards them greeted him…
oOoOo
Riley was approaching the door as instructed when it suddenly swung open. The expression on Buffy's face caught him by surprise as he realized she wasn't happy to see him. Riley halted in his tracks, caught off-guard by this clearly hostile greeting, "Hey Buffy," he said trying to figure out what was wrong.
"I thought we agreed for you to come alone?" Buffy said angrily.
Her outburst threw him off and he tried to recover, "I'm alone," he replied, trying to keep his composure.
Buffy snorted, shaking her head, "Yeah, right!" she said mockingly, moving away from the door. A sinking feeling grew in his stomach as she waved towards the fence line as if she was waving hello to someone.
"I thought I would say hello to your guys and make sure they could get a decent photo," she said sarcastically, taking joy from his growing look of distress.
Despite his shock, Riley couldn't help being impressed. His team was five hundred meters away and running ECOM dark. Yet, they might as well been standing up and waving a sign saying 'GOVERNMENT AGENTS HERE' for all the good it did. He could only assume the security system here was even more sophisticated, covering a larger area, than they suspected.
Riley shrugged sheepishly, knowing he'd messed up. He tried to smooth over the situation, "Okay, I'm busted. Just so you know, its standard operating procedure for my team to make sure I'm alright. Are we still good on this?"
Buffy's anger was still obvious, "If this wasn't so important, I would kick your ass back out the gate!" she said, waving him to follow her in.
Riley released a small sigh of relief along with saying a silent prayer of thanks as he followed Buffy into the building…
oOoOo
As he followed Buffy through the building, Riley grew even more impressed as he got a sense of the layout. The building was humming with activity as he passed people in the corridors… all of them young women. Despite their apparent youthfulness, there was an air of organization and purpose hanging over the place which surprised and impressed him.
Everything is so well laid out… Whoever organized this sure knew what they were doing, Riley observed as they passed through more of the warehouse. The more he saw, the more his suspicion grew that the unknown person—Michael—from the drone video footage was behind all this.
Though brimming with questions, Riley and Buffy didn't exchange any words as they made their way through the building. After almost making a mash of it with his surveillance team, he stayed quiet, observing everything around him and making mental notes. He got the sense she was leading him somewhere specific.
Buffy confirmed his hunch when they came to a large door and she gestured for him to follow her though. Riley surprise grew as he followed her though and found himself in a well-furnished and well- equipped conference room. The room would have easily looked at home in the Pentagon or Fort Meade for senior staff briefings. He arched an eyebrow, seeing people already gathered waiting for them. He recognized everyone already seated around the conference table… Willow, Xander, Giles and Faith.
Despite his surprise, Riley didn't hesitate, "Hello everyone—"
Buffy's angry voice cut off his attempted greetings, "Take a seat Riley, so we can get this over with!"
Riley smiled sheepishly to the group, in response to Buffy's obvious anger, taking the seat in front of him at the conference table. He studied the people gathered around the table as he settled in to his chair. Everyone looked the same, but yet they seemed different from how he remembered them. He hesitated finding himself suddenly uncertain on how to proceed.
Well, this is no time to hold back, he thought, overcoming his hesitation.
Riley took a deep breath, diving right in, "I'm here because the US Government wants to know what the hell went on here, and what's going on now?"
Silence answered him as the group studied him as they considered what he said. He got an uncomfortable feeling from the looks he was getting. Buffy finally broke the silence, "So you and the government want to know what's going on? Do you think you can handle the truth?"
This elicited chuckles and smiles from the group gathered around the table, except for a puzzled and confused Riley.
"What truth?" he said, trying to sound not too confused.
A female voice, seeming to come from the room itself, answered his question, "Our truth…"
A surreal sensation filled Riley as he looked around the room trying to figure out what was going on and who was talking. There was something familiar about the female voice it took a moment to recognize it… it was the same voice from the gate, but there was something more. He could have sworn he'd heard the voice before… somewhere else. The light bulb finally went off in his head, and he played his hunch.
"You must be Adriana?" Riley said, trying to figure out why the person was hiding from him.
"Correct, Agent Finn… You would appear to be as smart as your personnel record and Buffy give you credit for."
Riley ignored the chuckles from the group as he tried to get a handle on the situation and this person, "So who are you?" he said.
A bright light flashed in the middle of the conference table, causing Riley to jump slightly. He tried to keep his surprise in check as the light assumed a female form… just over a foot tall. The light projection of the female's "body" comprised blue and red shimmering lights and she had blue hair in a short-cropped style. He couldn't help notice the female's proportions and curves in all the right areas. Despite his analytical studying of this projection, the brief thought passed that he wouldn't mind seeing a life-size version of her.
The projection gave him a smirk, noting how he was studying her and he arched his eyes in surprise. He suddenly realized he wasn't looking at a mere projection… this was a hologram looking back at him… a 3-D projection of light.
He'd heard of holograms and seen them portrayed in movies, but as far as he knew they were years away from holograms of this complexity. What really surprised him were "her" eyes… the eyes looked alive, showing a deep level of intelligence beyond anything he was familiar with. Studying her eyes, he realized this was more than some simple parlor trick. He was looking at something way beyond his comprehension.
Adriana's smirk became a smile, seeing Riley grasping the situation, "I'm pretty much the most advanced piece of technology on this planet…"
oOoOo
It took Riley a moment to catch his breath as it felt as if he'd stepped through the looking glass into a different world. He glanced around the room at the people before settling back on the hologram, "W-What are you? W-Why are you here?" he said, trying to focus his thoughts.
The hologram smiled at Riley's confusion, "You may want to get more comfortable… it's quite a long story," she chuckled.
Adriana gave Riley a sanitized version of who she and Michael were. There was still the overriding concern of how the government would react, so she avoided some details of their background, especially the SPARTAN program. She stuck to the general highlights… the Human-Covenant war, and how Michael and her ended up in Sunnydale. She ended her story by covering off how Michael and her prepared and watched, revealing themselves when The First Evil and the Turok-Hans threatened.
Stunned was an inadequate word to describe what Riley was experiencing as he tried to digest everything. It seemed all too incredible to believe it was real that he was having a hard time grasping the situation. He looked to Buffy to throw him a lifeline, "So, what you're saying is that Adriana is an Artificial Intelligence from the future…?"
"Right," Buffy said smirking, taking delight in Riley's condition.
"B-But she's not from our future…? She's from some alternate universe future…?" even saying it aloud didn't make it sound any less crazy.
"That's correct," Adriana replied, adding her own smile which disconcerted Riley even more.
Riley took a deep breath, trying once again to get a handle on the situation, "Uh, right… and this Spartan? This Michael… he's some kind of cyborg, like Adam?"
Faith exploded, "NO! He's a man… not a robot or a cyborg! He's a man… a better man than you!" her anger catching everyone by surprise.
"Take it easy, Faith. Riley meant nothing by it," Buffy said trying to calm Faith down, but also giving Riley a hard glare.
Faith's outburst and Buffy's glare flustered him. He belatedly remembered the audio from the drone and realized he'd stupidly touched a nerve with Faith. He would need to tread carefully, and watch his remarks regarding this Michael, especially around Faith.
Adriane spoke up trying to defuse the situation, "Michael and the other Spartans are humans. They've received… um… certain enhancements and augmentations to allow them to wear their specially designed combat armor. They're still human… it's just that they're now… special."
Even though Riley was still struggling to grasp everything being dumped on him, he suspected Adriana was holding back a lot of information on these "Spartans". Despite his suspicions on not getting "the whole story", he had to admit that what he'd gotten so far was nothing less than a miracle. One major hurdle was he didn't know how his superiors and Washington would react to this information as he gathered his thoughts on what to do next.
"So what's next for your merry little band?" he said, glancing between Buffy and Adriana. Buffy's angry expression soften catching him by surprise.
"We're asking you to tell the government to leave us alone. We have no quarrel with them," she said.
"Huh? You're kidding right? After you fight a war in Sunnydale against vampires and blow up the town! To top it all off… your gang here stole a nuclear weapon and detonated it on US soil! I don't think we've even scratched the surface! You expect the government to sit back and let you go on your way?" Riley said, adding a sarcastic laugh.
"Yes," Buffy replied, meeting Riley's eyes.
Riley shook his head, knowing Washington would lose their minds when he told them all this. As he imagined how his superiors would respond, he glanced around the table at everyone. He noted worried looks being exchanged between Buffy and Faith. His gut told him that there was something else going on. He decided to push his luck, "There's something else going on? What is it?" he demanded.
"You're not really in a position to demand anything," Xander blurted out.
Faith struggled to keep her emotions in control. The thought the government would step in and stop them from looking for Michael became too much to bear, "Michael is alive! He was in the Hellmouth, but he found a way out to another dimension, universe or whatever you want to call it! He's out there and we're trying to find him and bring him home!" she blurted out, drawing exasperated looks from Buffy and Giles.
Riley sat there dumbfounded as this was the last thing he expected to hear. That this Michael not only survived the Hellmouth and a nuclear weapon going off, but found a way out was too much.
If he's that tough, Washington might be right about the threat he poses, he thought.
Buffy tried to recover Faith's untimely reveal, "Riley, just tell the government to leave us alone. We're not doing anything that involves or affects them. We're only going to other dimensions looking for Michael… Please help us!"
Riley studied Buffy as memories of the past came flooding back mixing with his duty and obligations. He exhaled, "I don't know what I can do. Your little war here scared a lot of people high up."
"How about a trade then?" Adriana said, catching him by surprise.
This immediately perked Riley's interest, "What kind of trade are we talking about?" he said as his gut churned with excitement at the possibilities.
"Information," Adriana replied, seeing she'd hooked his interest. She nodded to Giles. He slid a flash drive across the conference table to Riley. He picked it up and studied it.
"What's on it?" he said, trying to maintain his poker face.
"Let's call it a sign of good faith," Adriana replied, smirking seeing the puzzled expression form on Riley's face.
"On that drive is information and data on certain scientific projects currently in the research and development phase that the US military is working on. That information will allow you to cut, a minimum five years off of project development and by my estimates save the US government $42.75 Billion dollars."
Riley couldn't help it as a small smile formed on his face at the thought of what he was holding in his hand and how Washington would react. Like any gambler, he decided to push his luck, "Why not just give us the more advanced weapon and systems data from your universe?"
Adriana didn't hesitate, "Because you're not ready," she replied.
Riley met the AI's eyes, not wanting to fold to a computer program, "That won't go over very well."
Adriana smirked, calling his bluff, "This is not a negotiation… This is 'THE' deal," she replied using a tone that surprised Riley.
She continued, "You should know I have access to every computer network on the planet. I know and can control every piece of data. My allegiances and loyalties are to a government and military organization that doesn't exist yet, and to a person… my friend… who is trying to get home. Don't think you can stop me, I'm well aware of your computer monitoring efforts to track my code."
Riley gulped realizing he'd overplayed his hand. The thought of this AI controlling everything caused him to shudder.
Adriana noted with satisfaction that she'd gotten her point across, "I will allow certain considerations to this deal. You and your team may remain in Sunnydale and continue to report on our actions to the military and government. You will be our liaison for all communications with the government. Any inspections or meetings will be only on our terms, and with only our permission… Do you understand?"
Riley pushed down his growing fear as he digested the AI's offer. He didn't see any other option, "Yes, I understand. I'll relay your position to my superiors. They won't like it, but they may accept it… I think," he replied, considering the flash drive in his hand. He took a moment to realize that their meeting was at an end. He stood up, making sure the flash drive was in his pocket.
As he turned to leave, he found he still had one more nagging question. He turned back to face the AI, "Before I leave, just one last question, Adriana?" he said.
"Yes?"
"How did you know we were here in Sunnydale? We were running dark… all our reports were hard copy. We sent and received nothing electronically," he said, hoping to find out where they'd screwed up.
"Meal expenses… The military payroll system processed your meal expenses and receipts," Adriana replied, giving him a mischievous smile.
Riley could only stare and blink at the AI in shock and disbelief.
oOoOo
Adriana was still in the conference room, but she was monitoring Xander escorting Riley out of the building and back to the gate. Giles, Faith and Buffy were still with her to discuss the meeting.
"I don't know about this… Playing hardball, so to speak, with the government could blow back on us," Giles said cautiously.
"We need to get them to back off. It was the only way. We needed to buy time, so we can look for Michael," Faith replied.
"You're both correct. This is a most delicate situation. We have to tread carefully and continue to monitor the situation," the AI offered.
Buffy was chuckling as she replayed Riley's reactions in her head, "When you threatened Riley along with the entire US government and military I almost believed you were serious. That was some kind of bluff," she said.
Adriana met Buffy's eyes. The look etched in the AI's eyes caused the Slayer to shudder, "Who said I was bluffing…"