Chapter 41

"Okay, does everyone know what they need to do?" Chas looked at the team assembled around him, searching for signs of fear or anxiety. Finding only determination, he pointed group one in the direction of the service gate, and group two around the fence in the other direction, through the neighbor's trees toward the far side of the property. Detaching the walkie-talkie from his belt, he murmured to the third team, currently scaling the cliff. "Teams one and two moving into positions, status?"

There was dead silence for a moment, then Carolyn's soft voice from the device, "Geez, are you ever gonna stop checking up on me?"

"Maybe after you're married. Maybe." He smiled, "Climb going okay?"

"It'd go better if you stopped interrupting me." She snapped.

"Make sure you're checking your bolts before you put weight on them, right? Team leader out." Chas sighed and looked at Lorne, who was in the driver's seat of Jezebel's minivan, which the Slayers had taken to Gregor's supposed location. "What if this isn't it?" He muttered, stepping closer to the green demon. "What if we put together this whole tactical invasion team to get into the house, and he's actually holding them in a different location?"

"Then, the girls kill a bunch of minions and we go check out that warehouse we decided was a bad location for holding hostages." Lorne said reasonably. "Look, if you're really worried, you can go in with team one, I have no problem waiting here alone." He shifted his uncharacteristically subdued black blazer to reveal a pistol in a holster. "I'm not much of a fighter, but I can shoot relatively straight. I have some stakes in the glove box, too. I'll survive just fine until you fighty-types make it back out."

Chas was about to protest for a third time that he should stay and coordinate from here, when a shout came from the direction of the service gate. "Shit." Without another thought he bolted in that direction, hoping the girls hadn't been surprised by anything. They'd put the less experienced fighters on the front gate, on the logic that anyone coming out of the house toward them would be clearly visible while they had cover from the fence and the trees around the gate. Their main mandate was to secure an exit route for the rest of the team, and hopefully the hostages.

By the time Chas got to them, the girls had a grey demon down on his knees in the shadows under one of the trees. Joy held his hands pinned behind his back while Maria faced the house with a crossbow and Felicia tried to interrogate the prisoner. Joy was the only one who looked up as he skidded to a stop next to her. "Got two vamps, figured we could ask questions from the one that'd make a hard-to-hide corpse." She murmured, shifting her grip on the grey wrists.

"Good call," He responded, "Just be careful not to accidentally pull his arms off, the noise may attract others. Speaking of, what the hell? You guys were supposed to be laying low."

"Sorry, we were getting into position when they opened the gate to put the trash out, we had to get inside and subdue them before someone called for help." Joy shook her head. "Just bad timing. If we'd had a couple more days to get this set up, maybe we'd have had a schedule of when they were likely to put out stuff."

He sighed, "Okay, you and Felicia take him back outside the fence, get as much info from him as you can, and kill him. I don't recognize his species, so hopefully we won't be in violation of any treaty, but I don't want to risk him getting free and jumping us from behind if we tie him up. Maria and I will watch the house. Go." He gestured toward the open gate, and Felicia stopped talking to the demon to grab one arm from Joy and help the older slayer haul the demon out toward the street.

"Lucky it didn't speak English, or it'd be fighting like hell right now." Maria's lips quirked up into the almost-smile which was the closest the Watcher had seen her come to actual happiness since she'd arrived in LA.

"I was hoping that if Felicia had him speaking Spanish it meant English was a no-go. Seen anything?"

Maria shook her head. "Do you think we should finish putting these cans out, to avoid it looking suspicious out here?"

Chas chuckled, "By we, I assume you mean me." He grabbed the handle of one trashcan and pulled it towards the road. He glanced over at the interrogation, but since the demon was speaking and Joy wasn't taking out her frustration on him, he didn't jump in to help. When he got back inside the gate, Maria was crouched deeper in the shadows, the crossbow pointed at something. Chas slowed his step and watched the Slayer track a guard who was doing a circuit of the house, only relaxing when the man turned the corner on the opposite side of the property. "Team two should get him," He muttered as the girl relaxed. "But, if you see him come by again, you'll have to take a shot." Maria nodded, glancing around again at the windows and doors for anyone who might emerge.

By the time Chas had dragged the other trashcan out to the curb, the slayers were stuffing demon parts into the first can. He helped them dispose of the rest, and called to check positioning on the other two teams, then they headed inside to reconnoiter, closing the gate behind them. Chas handed Felicia his radio so she could report to all three teams. They'd set up the radios so his was the only one that broadcasted to and received from all units, the others could only communicate with his and Lorne's units.

"Okay, so team two should be outside the house's security room. It's just off the pool and looks like a music studio, evidently. Soundproofed, so they can use it for interrogations. There are three sub-basements, and unless Gregor has a party or something where he's showing off the house, he stays downstairs. That's where they hold prisoners, too. He said they have four people in right now, two women and two men."

"There were no windows or air vents or anything in the cliff, at least not that we saw." Reported Dominique, the Slayer who'd climbed up with Carolyn.

"There's a couple utility boxes on this side," Apple reported. "Maybe one controls the HVAC for the lower floors? Should we destroy 'em?"

"No," Chas muttered, "If we cut off the airflow to the lower floors that might only be harmful to the prisoners. Okay, so we'll go for the modified-quiet break and enter, like we'd planned. Team two, you three find this music room and subdue everyone in it. I'll come around the fence line to meet you, and see about turning off any alarms and interrogating the prisoners. Once I'm there, you move on and clear the above-ground space. Team three, the two of you look for a window or door on the cliff side you can get through. Hopefully, with an invasion force coming in on the other side of the house, they'll be distracted and miss you. Find a stair down, don't bother with up, even if you hear something interesting. We go radio silent as of now, use the tone settings on the radio and put your earpieces in, I'll be monitoring. Everyone clear?" Eight voices muttered their agreement, and Chas watched Maria fiddle with the controls on her team's walkie-talkie, then send him a test tone.

Satisfied that his small invasion force was functioning well, Chas headed for the fence line, staying in the shadows and near plantings as much as possible. While he walked he received the test tone from Carolyn, then one from Apple. He'd made it most of the way around the building when he heard a shout and some scuffling. He picked up the pace, and arrived at the corner of the house just as Laurie dragged a dead demon around the building toward him.

"Hey, Watcher-dude," She whisper-shouted, "Got the guy on patrol, and two guards by the pool. The security room was empty, so we'll get you in there and set you up to cover the monitors with the doors locked." She escorted him up onto the patio, and through the door of what looked like a mid-century-retro home music studio, but with a very modern bank of security monitors on one wall. After glancing at the monitors, and looking across the patio to the glass windows of what looked like a living room for entertaining, Chas oriented himself and turned to the three Slayers, giving the signal to continue with the plan. Apple, Barbara and Loralie headed out, and he started fiddling with buttons, hoping to get a view of anything on a lower floor.

In one of the underground hallway views Chas spotted a guard outside a double door, but with no knowledge of the basement layout and no way to communicate complex instructions to Car and Dom, he simply sighed and started looking around for anything that might help him figure out what was going on in the rest of the house. He found a duty roster in one of the drawers which told him there were three more guards on duty, and shift change would be in 45 minutes. He winced, hoping there wasn't supposed to be a driveway meet-and-greet for the new people coming on, otherwise the mission would be blown before they got out.

He set two of the monitors to show the front gate, inside and out, and set the alarm on his watch for 30 minutes. He glanced at the other monitors in time to spot Laurie staking a vamp in what looked like an upstairs hallway, and Carolyn peek around the corner and almost get spotted by the guard in the basement hallway. He held his breath as she ducked back out of sight and the guard continued to do nothing. The man was obviously wearing a radio at his waist, so if he was faking right now he was playing it really, really close to the vest.

He flipped some switches until he spotted the two girls in the basement hallway on a monitor. Good, so those two views were connected, that was something. Now, how to signal them? If that was a vamp, even sending a tone to Car's earpiece might give them away. After watching them mime an argument for a second, he risked sending the tone that meant he was asking for a status update. Car immediately held up her hand and stepped away, motioning Dominique to watch the guard, in case he came to investigate. He saw that the guard hadn't reacted, and relaxed somewhat.

Carolyn started signaling in morse code with the walkie-talkie's tone setting, and only the fact that they'd been learning the language together and using it to communicate for years allowed him to translate in his head. She explained that they were on the second level down, and had found a guard. Should they fight him and find out what he was guarding?

Chas changed the settings on his radio and sent a voice reply, scrapping the tones now that he knew she could hear him and she could communicate with him silently. "Sis, I got you. I can see you two and the guard on camera. He has a radio on his belt, on his left-hand side. If you can shoot it out before you attack, do so, that should keep him from calling for backup. I'm still figuring out the cameras, but I don't see anyone else on your level. You only have like 30 minutes until more guards come on shift, so put a rush on it."

Carolyn had started looking around for the camera as soon as he said he could see her, and having spotted it, she responded with a jaunty salute, then headed for Dominique. She handed the other Slayer the radio and earpiece, and waved her over to where she'd previously been standing. Chas relayed the information on the cameras and the guard to her, and she also spotted the camera and waved. She sent the 'signing off' tone and pulled out an airgun to back up the crossbow Carolyn was currently preparing.

"That's odd." Gregor frowned at the phone in his hand as it continued to ring. "Derrick should be back from his patrol by now."

"Maybe you should send David up to check on him?" Jezebel said, trying to sound relaxed. She hoped this small breakdown in the well-oiled machine that was Gregor's operation indicated an attempt to break them out, although she worried about who might be in charge, and what they'd planned without her there to manage things.

Gregor snorted, eyeing the Slayer. While he was gratified by the attention she'd been lavishing on him during her captivity, he also wasn't stupid. While she was clearly a knowledgeable vampire researcher who wanted to ask him questions, she was just as clearly trying to make him think she was more interested in him than she was. She wasn't anywhere near a good enough actress for that kind of operation. Without responding he pressed the hook switch until he had a dial tone, then tried his security chief's mobile phone instead of the phone in the security office. When there was no answer again, he stood and walked toward his desk.

"What's up?" Asked Connor, who was seated at the desk reading through one of Antonia's journals from the 1920s, looking for mentions of Darla.

"My security chief isn't responding, I have to summon someone from my business operations to come check the house. We may be compromised." Gregor stated brusquely.

Connor blinked at him, refusing to move. "Now, why would I help you do that? What if it's our people coming for us?"

"And what if it isn't? They have no idea who has you, let alone where I have you." The vampire snapped. "I have other enemies, and I won't allow you to endanger my entire operation for your false hopes. Now, please let me at my desk."

Just then a crash came from the hallway, and the doors vibrated so hard it seemed for a second that they might break open. The door miraculously held, but all three of the room's occupants were shaken. "Hit the button!" Gregor yelled, clearly unwilling to waste the time getting Connor out of his way.

Connor pushed the vampire aside, headed for the display cabinet of weapons across the room. When the cabinet doors didn't immediately open at his tug, he smashed the glass with his elbow and grabbed a sword and mace. Without a second thought, he took up a defensive station inside the doorway, spinning an armchair so that he had some cover if an arrow or bullet made it through the wooden surface. He figured they had a fifty-percent chance this wasn't a rescue party, and if it weren't he might earn release by protecting Gregor.

Jezebel dived after Gregor, rolling the vampire farther away from the desk and the panic button she could see now that she knew to look for it. Even if the people breaking in now weren't friendly, she figured the three of them could make it out, but she and Con were screwed if more of Gregor's people showed up. She'd seen Connor fight, and knew what she was capable of. "What are you good at?" She asked the vampire. In response to his blank look, she rolled his eyes. "Sword, crossbow, mace, what do you use best? You've got all'a those weapons, you must be able to use some."

"Swords," Gregor choked, "Mostly the epees, I still practice with those, but when I rode in tourneys I was able to take off a man's head on horseback without even slowing down."

Throwing a glance at Connor near the door, and gauging their distance from both the desk and the weapons, she elected to grab Gregor by the shirt and haul him along with her. There was another loud thump against the door, and splinters shot across the room, though the main structure held. Jezebel pushed the vampire so that she was between him and the door. They might need him, no reason to let him get accidentally dusted. Grabbing a sword from the cabinet, she pulled the vampire close and glared directly into his eyes. "If either Connor or I end up stabbed, or even so much as nicked by you, your ending will be painful. Understand?" At his nod, Jezzie let go of his shirt and handed him the sword.

As the slayer went back to the cabinet for weapons of her own, Gregor hefted the sword and contemplated throwing his whole plan out the window and just killing her. Then again, if his people couldn't overcome the threat outside, he might need his hostages to get out of the room. Sighing, he tested the weight and balance of his weapon and prepared to defend himself.

With a final crash and another spray of wooden bits, the double door crashed open. The body of David the guard flew partway through the chaos before he was staked by a random piece of door, and then it was just dust and wooden shards, and the mangled remains of the metal-cored doors in the center of it all. Connor peeked around the edge of the armchair to get a look at the invaders, and relaxed when he spotted Carolyn in the hallway.

He dropped his weapons immediately, and called out, "You found us! We're both in here, and we have the master vamp with us!"

"Connor?" Carolyn called.

"No, it's that other dude you're looking for." Connor rolled his eyes and stepped out slowly from behind the chair. He smiled at Carolyn and Dominique in the hallway, "I hope you're not the entire rescue force."

Carolyn finished updating Chas on the walkie-talkie, and turned to Connor, "No, there are six other slayers on the property. Can you show us where the holding cells are?"

"Freeze, you three," Jezebel barked, stopping the three younger sineyans and drawing their attention, "You seriously just forgot that the main bad guy was in the room with you and started making plans? Also, we've got confiscated personal property to find, and we should box up…"

Which was the point at which Gregor realized that he was about to end up imprisoned or dusted, and swung his sword at Jezebel's head. The slayer responded automatically, with speed she hadn't been aware she possessed, and blocked the blow. The vampire and vampire researcher locked eyes across the blades, and Jezzie let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd held.

"If you'll surrender your blade, I'll make a deal with you." She offered. "You've been a very gracious host, and I wouldn't want to disrespect that."

Gregor sniffed, pressing closer and forcing the slayer to swipe her sword around and make an offensive strike toward him. "I very much doubt the Council will allow you to make deals with vampires, no matter how cultured they are."

She arched an eyebrow at him, "Well, if you won't deal, your choices are 'die in captivity' or 'fight to the death'.

"I believe I've already chosen. In case I haven't made that clear." Gregor parried her strike and set his feet, shifting his weight to his back foot as he went on the offensive again.

Jezzie backed up to stabilize her stance and waved the younger sineyans off, hoping they didn't intervene. She was fairly sure she could beat the vampire with the amount she'd been training recently, and if she was wrong he still wasn't getting out of the room. It behoved her to honor his age and his consideration for their comfort while he'd held them captive, especially since he wouldn't be able to sacrifice them.

Gregor struck again, and then the swords were moving almost too quickly to see. Neither of them had a great deal of space to maneuver, the room had been over-furnished even before the doors became an additional obstacle, so Jezzie took a hit to the shoulder before she was able to find an advantage. Fortunately the wound wasn't deep, and didn't prevent her from taking the strike at the vampire's neck. Her first swipe wasn't successful at severing his spinal cord, and Gregor's body sank to the carpet, spraying blood and causing Carolyn to shriek.

"I'm almost sad to do this, you know? You should have taken the deal." She raised her sword and brought it down on his neck again, bowing slightly as she finally dusted the vampire. Jezebel allowed herself a moment to regret the vampire's lost knowledge and honor a worthy opponent before she raised her eyes to the other occupants of the room. Carolyn was speaking with Chas again via the walkie-talkie, while Dominique and Connor had found a bag somewhere and were loading it with books and papers. "Okay, what's next? We get out of here?"

"There are supposed to be two more hostages we have to find." Carolyn answered. "Some of the other girls are gonna come down and help extract the records you guys want. I need one of you to show me where the holding cells are."

Jezzie nodded, "Okay, Connor, please go help with the holding cells, I'll deal with the records." He started to protest, "No, you're stronger than me and I have experience dealing with archival records. I promise not to leave anything that might mention your mother, but I need other things from this room also." She rummaged through one of the desk drawers until she found the mobile phones she'd seen Gregor store there. "I've been keeping track of where he stored things, also." She tossed him his phone, and Connor sighed, nodding as he led Carolyn back toward the hallway.