When General Mark Abraham first heard his old squad mate, Major Rory Harris, retired was calling his official line, he'd been confused. When Rory usually called to catch up, he called at home, not at work. Once he heard Rory's report though, he understood. And began to feel like he'd eaten week old tacos. Military personnel in Sunnydale, where they didn't belong, capturing demons for God knows what reason. Worse, they'd also targeted the local Protectors Pack. Two of their members had been captured and had not been seen since. The local demon snitches were reporting the military people had been capturing demons for a few weeks now and none of them had been seen since either. And he had the unenviable task of telling the President that some of their people had gone completely insane. What other reason could there be for risking the U.S.'s entire economy?
President Aaron Jacobson listened with growing horror to General Mark Abraham's report. Good God, how stupid could some people be?
"General, I'm pretty sure the answer to my question is going to be no, but I just have to ask, is there even a tiny possibility that you've decided to become a practical joker before you retire?"
"No, sir. Not a chance in Hell."
"I was afraid you'd say that. Tell me about Rory Harris."
"Major Rory Harris, Marine sniper, retired. Served in my old squad for ten years. It was his last posting. He retired when his deadbeat, drunk brother crashed his car and killed his wife, himself and nearly his ten year old kid as well. Rory adopted the boy. But it's more complicated, sir. Alexander Harris is the Alpha of the Sunnydale Protectors Pack. Those are his people that have been captured. Ordinarily, the reciprocal agreement would go into effect. The Packs protect areas our military can't go, in return, if they run into trouble, we help them. In this case, we have to prioritize shutting that operation down and hope we can save them. They're 19, sir."
"Do you have any good news?"
"Yes sir, Alpha Harris has had his people following the military personnel. He's certain as can be that their active duty, not civilians playing dress up. They seem to be using a fraternity house on the University of California, Sunnydale campus. They have also seen the military people speaking with a civilian that works at the college, a Dr. Maggie Walsh. Holds advanced degrees in psychology and neuropsychology, as well as cybernetics sir."
"Great a head doctor that's gone nuts. General, while I am loath to violate Posse Comitatus any farther than it's already been violated, your Command is the only one who can handle what ever they've got in there, demonwise. I am ordering you to take that facility apart, detain all personnel involved in the operation. Coordinate with Alpha Harris and Rory Harris on the ground. Shut them down, hard, if you have to."
"Yes, sir." General Abraham saluted and left, already planning his assault.
"Xander, how long are we going to wait before we do something about these people?" Faith asked. "It's been a week since Tor and Heidi got snatched and all we've done is follow them around."
"That's not all we've done, Faith. Rory's been in contact with his old squad leader. He's a General now and he reports directly to the President. He's been given orders to shut down this group. He's bringing his people here. Once here, we'll work with them to shut the group down and get Tor and Heidi back. The General's arriving today. In fact, he should be here soon."
"And we can trust this guy?"
"Rory trusts him. That's enough for me."
"I'm glad to hear that. You must be Alpha Harris." A voice said behind them.
They turned to see Rory Harris and two men they didn't recognize.
"I'd like you all to meet General Mark Abraham." Rory said. "General, this is my nephew, Alexander Harris, Alpha of the Sunnydale Protectors Pack."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, son. Your groups done alot of good work."
"Thank you, sir. It's our home. General, may I present Faith Lehane, Slayer."
"While I have no love for the Watchers Council, I greatly respect Slayers. It's an honor to meet you."
"Yah, thanks for that. Look, not to be rude, but how are we going to get our people back?"
"By assaulting the facility and arresting all personnel inside. Once that's done we find your people and deal with any demons they're holding. Let's talk specifics about the assault, shall we?"
Tor couldn't stand up anymore. He hadn't eaten in a week, all he'd had was water. The food was drugged, he could smell it. Protectors, like Slayers, have a higher metabolism. He knew he'd lost weight. He hadn't seen Heidi since the first day. Just that bitch of a doctor. Endless vials of blood and tissue samples. And she still refused to believe he was human. He knew the Pack would come for them, they just needed to hold out for a little longer. Just a little longer.
"Are they still continuing their hunger strike?" Riley asked Dr. Walsh.
"Yes. I don't know what good they think it'll do them. They're only hurting themselves. But the tests are confusing. Their muscles are denser then they should be, especially considering their size. They have a greater lung capacity. But their DNA shows they're human. The results don't make sense. And they're still insisting that they are human."
"Maybe they are. Maybe some other group augmented them in some way. Wouldn't that be helpful to know?"
"I considered the possibility, but they refuse to say one way or another. And their hunger strike is making them weaker faster then they should be as well. Nothing is adding up with them. For now, I have some more tests to run. Back to work Captain Finn."
"Yes, ma'am."