The first thing Buffy noticed once he was far enough out of the shadows was the sack in his hand. Practically a fishing net, big enough to comfortably house, and then drag, a body. She made a conscious effort to pull away from that thought.
The second thing she noticed was his clothes.
"Why are you-" she started, letting go of the pole still sticking up through the Suvolte's neck. "You're wearing a blue shirt, I mean i-it's a nice blue shirt you look nice in blue, you-you should wear blue more often- I would really like to stop talking now, curse- why are you here?" she asked and just as she did the answer hit her in the face. He's wearing a thick dark blue shirt rolled to the elbows that looks like something Xander might've had lying around from his construction work. Durable. Hides stains well. Function over… well… fashion. "Oh, please, please tell me you aren't here for the eggs."
Spike winced and opened his mouth to defend himself.
"Of course he's here for the eggs," Riley smirked, shaking his head. "We had intel that someone in the area was tracking the same demon. Should've placed my bet on the village idiot."
"Oi, listen, boy scout," Spike snarled, finally finding his voice. "I don't know what either of you do-gooders are even doing here. I was told to come collect some… squishy bulb things." He peered over the lip of the pool into the bundle of eggs below. "Which… yeah, eggs. Right. Changes the game somewhat…"
"Told by who?" Buffy asked.
"He's lying, Buffy. I think it's pretty obvious he's looking to sell them," Riley sneered, inspecting his tranquilizer gun, realigning the catch several times. "Suvoltes make a hell of a weapon, wouldn't be hard to find a buyer. I'm sure you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Spike?"
"Oh yeah? I'm not the one with a fucking tranquilizer gun in his hand and a transport truck out the front," Spike countered, his back straightening. "Not to point out the bleedin' obvious but that's a little out of my budget."
Buffy's head whipped around. "Transport truck? Why would you need a transport truck?"
"That's classified-"
"Oh, I just bet it is," Spike cut in. "'Suvoltes make a hell of a weapon, wouldn't be hard to find a buyer,'' he parroted back. "Bet the military's got the deepest pockets too, don't they Ohio?"
Riley opened his mouth to respond but Buffy got in first. "He's right isn't he?" she asked, disgust souring her words. "You want them for weapons, this was never a monster hunt it was… what did you just call it… asset collection." Again Riley tried to interrupt but she couldn't be stopped this time. "You always do this. Nothing's changed, has it? Everything, everything, changed for me Riley, absolutely every part of my life turned on its head and yet you're still pulling this same old Secret-Ops-the-ends-justifies-the-means crap! You lie and cheat and you run around pretending you're one of the good guys! Good guys don't look like this Riley!" she nearly shouted, gesturing to the pulsing eggs. "And you know what the worst part is? I'm not even shocked. After everything you did, every truth you twisted around I don't even think anything about you could shock me anymore. Right now, I don't even think it would surprise me if you had a secret wife and kids or something."
"Oof, well that sounds like my queue."
All three heads swiveled to the pool's double doors. A tall athletically built woman in Kevlar let the door swing closed behind her, hoisting her own tranquilizer gun onto her hip. "Hi, sweetie, miss me?" she beamed at Riley who had the good sense to wince at the poor timing, but she didn't seem to care. If anything she seemed to find it endearing, wrinkling her nose at him as if the situation he'd found himself in was downright adorable. She took in the others with a quick glance before her eyes rested on the skewered Suvolte. "Aw damn, who shish-kebabbed the mommy?" she asked.
"Uh… that'd be me," Buffy mumbled numbly, raising her hand halfway like a little kid in class. "And you are…"
"Oh, manners, sorry. Sam Finn," Sam said, extending a black-gloved hand to Buffy and shaking it with a firm army protocol one-two.
"Finn. As in Riley Finn?" Buffy blinked her hand still shaking empty air. "That Finn?" She pointed to Riley, who nodded bashfully.
"For better or worse," Sam nodded with him.
"Are the freezers ready?" Riley butted in, clearly keen to roadblock any further questions as he holstered his tranquilizer. "We should make a move with these things before—"
"Uh, hate to burst your bubble, hubby, but think we're a little behind schedule," Sam cocked her chin down to the pool as one of the eggs wriggled violently, and then began to unfurl.
Riley swore under his breath. "Games over then, plan B it is."
Buffy's eyebrow rose in apprehension. "And plan B would be?"
"Grenades," Sam stated simply, unable to hide the joyful smirk to her tone. "You two better beat the retreat, this is a military shut-down now." She pulled open a velcroed pocket of one of the pockets of her kevlar vest, and as she moved to unpin the grenade in her hand Spike swore and grabbed Buffy by the arm, hauling her through the exit doors.
They got to the edge of the school's parking lot before the sound of explosions detonated the night's silence.
