Chapter 33

Merry's cell phone rang as she and Liam were driving to a lunch meeting with the owners of a demon ski resort in Snowmass Village, Colorado. She sighed when she saw her sister's number come up. "Hey, Joycie, I thought I told you I was going out of town? Did I forget, or did you?"

"Umm, neither." There was some noise in the background, as though things were being shifted around. "Is Liam there with you? Can you hand him the phone, or put him on speaker or something?"

"Sure, sweetie, hold on." Merry held the phone away from her ear. "My sister wants to talk to you." She pressed some buttons and called, "okay, he can hear you."

More background noise, then Joy's voice. "Hey, Liam, do you have any contact information for the Reillys? Connor hasn't been in touch, and I wanted to make sure someone knew where he was."

"It's 10:00 am there, isn't it? He's probably at the Hyperion." Liam sighed as quietly as he could. He wasn't surprised that a girl willing to date a guy six years younger than her would be a bit maternal over him, maybe overprotective.

"Yeah, I'd think that, except that his car is still outside my apartment." Joy responded. "He spent the night, and he was supposed to meet his mom, Colleen, for breakfast after her yoga class, then head back to the Hype. Thing is, the car's still there, and he should have come back for it by now. He hasn't answered any calls or texts, and when I called the Hype the guy at the desk said Connor hadn't checked in this morning. So, I want to call Colleen. Do you have the number, Liam?"

"Bráthair." Liam cursed under his breath, putting on his turn signal to slow down and pull off the highway. "Alright, let me pull over and see if I have it in my phone, otherwise you'll have to get it from Jezebel. Do you know what time he left this morning?"

"Not really." Joy sighed. "He woke me getting up, which was around 7. I saw the clock before I fell back asleep. I think I heard the door opening, but I could have imagined it. When he did this last weekend, he left at 8:15 to meet her at 8:30. He was back here by 9:30. I suppose he could be running late, maybe they went to a sit down place instead of just the French bakery she likes, but I'd like to check. I have a bad feeling. I mean, you know how he is, he could be half-dead and he'd answer his phone, and he double checked that it was on the charger last night because he knew he had a long day today."

"Yeah, he's good at answering his calls and messages," Liam agreed, finally turning off the engine and removing his seatbelt so he could get the phone out of his pocket. "Okay, got it." He read the number off to her, and she read it back. "Keep me posted, will you?" He asked.

"Of course. I'll text Merry after I talk to Colleen. Thanks for this, and good luck with your meeting!"

"Thanks." He grunted, wondering if he should actually be worried about Connor. Once Merry spoke to her sister again and hung up, he turned to her. "How worried should I be? I mean, how likely is it that your sister's just overly clingy?"

Merry shook her head. "Honestly, I think it's pretty likely that it's nothing. I mean, he's a seventeen year old boy, right? He probably either doesn't want to answer the phone, or his mom yelled at him for wanting to answer it at breakfast."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He agreed.

He was about to shove the phone back into his pants pocket when Meredith gestured for it. "Maybe you should leave it out, in case he calls or there's news or something. Then I can answer it for you."

"Sure," he nodded, handing her the phone, "thanks."

She smiled and nodded. "Better get back on the road, we don't want to be late for our meeting."

Liam snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yes, because being on time helped so much at the meeting in Moab."

"Hey, it's not my fault that the Mormons hate you. You brought that on yourself."

By the time they arrived at the resort there hadn't been any updates from Los Angeles, so Liam turned off his phone to focus on the meeting. The guys working at valet when they pulled up were Lister demons, and Merry's Slayer senses were going haywire, so perhaps it wasn't surprising that there were vampires working at the front desk when they entered the lobby. What was surprising was the identity of one of them.

"Oh my gosh!" Harmony gushed, flailing and looking like she wanted to throw herself across the desk and hug him. "Hi, boss! It's so crazy, you being here. Thanks again for that letter of recommendation, by the way! So, are you checking in?"

Merry looked sideways at Liam, watching his ears turn red. "Err, hello, Harmony. We're here for a meeting with Mr. Crenshaw and Mr. G'ast La-Grum."

Harmony blinked, frowning. "Oh, I thought…" She looked over at Merry, then started tapping at the computer in front of her. "Ahh, Mr. Liam O'Connor and Ms. Meredith Cunningham of the Council of Slayers and Watchers." She looked back up at them with a plastic smile plastered on her face. "Please take a seat just over there, someone will be out shortly to escort you to the conference room." She gestured to a seating area across the lobby.

"Thank you." Merry smiled winningly and tugged Liam after her towards the indicated seating area. "Is she a vampire?" Merry asked in an excited whisper. "I sense vampires."

"Yup. She was my secretary at Wolfram & Hart." Liam muttered.

"Your secr…Wait, William's ex? The vamp who went to high school with Buffy?" She craned her neck around to spot Harmony where she was standing with two coworkers. "Huh." She arched an eyebrow, eyes trailing over the other woman.

"Huh, what?" He asked, trying to figure out what the expression on her face meant. He hadn't known Merry well before they started this road trip, but he knew she talked to Spike and Willow a lot, so she must have heard a few thing about Harm. Who knows if Buffy had said anything when she was in LA.

"Nothing. I'll tell you when there's no one with super hearing around." They settled into silence, Merry shooting one last text to someone before she also turned her phone off.

Finally, Harmony came across the lobby toward them, carrying a clipboard. "Can you please come with me?" She smiled her huge plastic working-with-clients smile again, and Liam rolled his eyes as he stood to follow her. Merry poked him in the ribs. "So, did you have any trouble finding us?" Harmony asked as she led them into a warren of hallways behind the reception desk.

"None at all." Merry piped up. "The directions we were given from Moab were good, and your signage is very effective."

"Oh, I'm so glad to hear it!" Harmony even managed to sound sincere that time. She knocked on the door of a conference room, and waited. The response must have been too low for their hearing, because neither of them heard a response, but Harmony startled and opened the door. "Mr. O'Connor and Ms. Cunningham from the Watcher's Council, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Harmony, let them in."

Harmony smiled at them again and motioned them into the room. "Have a productive meeting, I'll see you on your way out."

"Welcome, Angelus. I must say, this is a surprise. We don't get many…Wait, you're not a vampire!" Liam was facing a Chirago demon in a bright pink skirt suit who was looking at him like he'd personally betrayed her. The expressions of the other executives in the room varied from bored to suspicious.

"I am indeed, not a vampire anymore." Liam nodded. "I'd thought that my colleague who made the appointment had explained the situation. I'm sorry if there's been some confusion."

One of the other demons cleared his throat. "Mr. Deathwok indicated that you had undergone some changes after the separation from the Senior Partners and their departure from this dimension. Based on our understanding of the situation in Los Angeles we were expecting a healing injury or two, not the complete reversal of vampirism!"

The female Chirago who'd spoken first broke in. "There are very few things that could cause this, even with intervention from the Powers, and we were given to understand that when you joined Wolfram & Hart you'd either given up fighting for either side, or simply traded sides again. If you're still on the side of good, that's a whole different picture."

"So, you knew he was coming here as a representative of the Council of Slayers and Watchers, and you weren't sure if he was working on the side of good or evil?" Merry frowned. "I don' like what that says about how the organization is perceived."

A human-looking man on the opposite side of the table gave her an oily smile. "Didn't you quit the Council, Ms. Cunningham? I would think you of all people would appreciate that there have always been agents of evil working from within the Council of Watchers. And for most of us, it's too soon to say if the large-scale activation of Slayers and their participation in Council management will have a net positive effect, on the Council or demonkind's interactions with it."

Merry nodded. "Fair enough, I suppose. Although all of this is rather off topic. Or, not the only topic we have to cover. We had planned on Mr. O'Connor's relationship with Wolfram & Hart, and how the dissolution of such affected your business being a good portion of the discussion."

A loose-skinned demon chuckled. "Ah, yes, the lawsuit. Ms. Cunningham, we think you may have your priorities somewhat reversed. If you wish the support of the peaceful demon community for Angelus' legal troubles, you will have to be able to satisfy our curiosity about the new Council. Please, sit. You can start by telling us all about your new job, and why you were willing to work with an organization you've refused offered employment from twice in the last five years."

Exchanging surprised looks with Liam, Merry sank into a chair. "Sure." She said hesitantly, feeling Liam slide into the seat next to hers. "What do you want to know?"

"That was by far the most surreal meeting I've ever been in. And I sat through Jezzie's Watcher Thesis defense." Merry shook her head, speaking quietly as they boarded the elevator to their rooms. "I guess I just wasn't prepared for dealing with the peaceful demon community. I thought it would be more like dealing with humans."

"Peaceful Demons is kind of a misnomer. Just because they generally aren't fighting species doesn't mean they aren't associated with demon communities with more violent members. And they obviously have their ears to the ground in terms of Slayers and the Council."

"And yet, they seem not to know about 'The End of the Order of Aurelius'." She responded. "It sounds like a combination of hunting and bagging vampires were killed, and so people who didn't know about the prophecy didn't make the connection to the Order."

Liam sighed and cracked his neck, watching the numbers climb towards their floor. "Most people who aren't vampires don't know or care much about vampiric orders. Jezebel, maybe a few other researchers at the Council would know and care, but not your average demon. Although, I'm pretty sure at least two of the people in that room had their suspicions. Whether they thought I made a sacrifice of the vamps who were killed, or they know something about the prophecy, there were some suspicious faces in there."

He looked at his watch, calculating the time in England. "I should call Council HQ and report in, so Buffy gets the message."

"No." Merry shook her head. "Jezebel's been pretty clear about following the Council's new chain of command. I'd rather deal with HQ, but we should call Robin & Faith in Cleveland first. Ugh, Faith." Merry rolled her eyes. As the elevator finally slowed to a stop on their floor, she sagged briefly against the elevator wall, before pushing herself up and out the door. "I'm sure she's matured, or at least I hope she has. I didn't exactly get to chat with her when she was in LA. We just…Didn't click when I was in Boston."

"Wait, when were you in Boston with Faith?" Liam blinked, absorbing this new information and trying to keep up with her as she stomped down the hallway.

"Right after she was called. I was studying the Slayer Line; you know, trying to figure out if there was any way to predict who'd get called and learn why they got called? So, when Kendra was killed and Faith was called, I went to meet her. It was lucky timing for me, I'd just finished my fourth year of training, so I was eligible for field work. I hadn't been cleared for travel in time to meet Kendra."

"Huh." Liam blinked. "How long does Watcher training run?"

"Six to eight years, depending on your specialization. Six years for researchers, eight for field, generally speaking." Merry frowned. "I thought you knew all this stuff already."

He shook his head. "I can't say I ever asked Wesley or Giles, it didn't seem important. It did kind of seem like Wesley was under-trained, but…"

Merry snorted. "Wes was young, that's all. He and Jez were the youngest two in their class. He should have gotten to shadow an older Watcher first; then been stationed with a young potential, someone unlikely to be called, the way she was. I'd heard that his father insisted he be thrown in at the deep end of the pool." She'd reached her door, and as he moved to continue to his own room, Merry reached for his arm. "Hey, you're friends with Faith, right?"

"Umm, yeah, I guess." Liam scratched his head, wondering what was going on. She wasn't hitting on him, was she?

"Come help me with this call, will you? I'll put the phone on speaker, and we can both tell them about the demons who want to speak to Council representatives about a peace treaty. Then if she and I start sniping at one another there'll be someone to get us back on track." Merry shifted nervously, wondering why Liam had that look on his face. She hoped he wasn't getting sick.

"Oh, umm, sure." He relaxed, then felt annoyed with himself for being relieved. He really didn't remember human interaction being this difficult.

"I agree, you should call Council HQ and give them a verbal report, maybe even e-mail an emergency written report to whoever Mr. Freeman wants it sent to." Robin's voice rumbled through the phone.

"Yeah, I figured, but since you're the senior people in the US, I wanted to check in with you first." Merry rolled her eyes and smiled at Liam, who was shaking his head at the phone.

"I'm surprised that you two don't want to deal with the demons yourselves." Liam said. "Isn't this a good chance for both of you to extend relationships in your region?" He was surprised that Faith couldn't see the opportunity here. He'd thought she was more pragmatic than that.

Faith chuckled. "We're just a bit overwhelmed, here right now. Between Slayer training, and keeping up with new orders from HQ, we had enough to do before we had to take over Jezebel's job. There's no way either of us can take off and head to Colorado right now, let alone both of us. So, if HQ wants it dealt with right away, they'll have to send someone else over to take the meeting."

"Wait, why did you have to take over Jezebel's job?" Merry blinked. She couldn't imagine Jezzie backing off from her plans for the school, or her desire to help the Council fix its US operations.

"Well, not her entire job." Faith qualified. "Just the Council portion. Decisions have to be made while she's incommunicado, and everything with the Council's changing so fast these days…"

"Why is Jezzie incommunicado? What happened?" Merry was panicking now, and didn't care who knew it.

"She's been missing for a little over 24 hours." Robin responded. "Lorne's leading the search, Luca and Chas are trying to run patrols and keep up with her plans for the school. Without Jezebel or Wesley there's no one left on the west coast that Buffy trusts to deal with Council stuff, so for now we're in charge of the western section."

"There should really be four or five sections, not just three. It's too many damn people and too far to go for problems." Faith snapped. "Sorry, just in the time we've been on the phone with you I've gotten two e-mails asking for help, and it bothers me that I can't go help your peeps in LA. And I've still got girls in Cleveland out on patrol. I'd love a few days at some fancy resort, get my drink-and-hot-tub on, but it's not happening right now."

"Do you know how she went missing?" Liam asked, hand moving toward his phone. Suddenly he felt the need to see if he had any messages.

"Do you mean, 'do they think she was kidnapped'? Yes, that's the theory." Robin responded. "Evidently her daughter was home, but she fell asleep with loud music playing on her headphones and heard nothing. Since Jezebel's keys, phone, and car were all still at the house, the working theory is she went out to smoke on the back porch or something and got nabbed. No ransom demands, but her parents are monitoring the rich-girl angle while the LA crew checks out the demon angle."

"Has anyone else gone missing?" Merry asked, watching Liam wait for his phone to boot up, hoping no one has messaged him. She hoped everyone in LA knew they should message her first if there was bad news.

"Not as far as they've told us, although they didn't actually tell us." Robin responded, sounding frustrated. "Cousin Amber called me from London, asked us to take over communication with the individual Slayers and smaller groups on the west coast. She said if it takes more than a couple of weeks to resolve whatever's going on with Jezebel they'll send someone from HQ."

"Why can't Wes just come home?" Liam grumbled, wondering how he was in a hotel having a conversation on one cell phone while his evidently had no signal.

"Well, first of all, his mother just died, his father's in jail for her murder, and earlier this year his girlfriend died in his arms; you really want to tell him his ex has been kidnapped and he's gotta go do her job while someone else runs the rescue?" Faith drawled sarcastically.

"I'm somewhat disturbed that there's a second-of-all after that litany." Merry quipped, watching as Liam stood, moving around the room in an attempt to find a phone signal.

"Second of all, Buffy asked him to accept a position at the Council's Research Library in London, and he's accepted." Robin cut in before the women could start picking at one another. "My understanding is that he'll be in LA for a wedding July 4th weekend, close up his apartment, and then he'll be back in England for good."

"We need to get back to LA ourselves." Liam said loudly, staring at his phone.

Great, someone texted him something directly, Merry thought. "We haven't received instructions not to go to the meeting tomorrow in Fort Collins. When we get off the phone, I'll call LA and see what they think about us cancelling the last meeting."

"No, you don't get it. We need to leave, now." He handed Merry the phone, which displayed a text reading, I have the boy, come to the Tennis Courts at South Gate Park tomorrow night at 11:00.

"Well, fuck." Merry muttered.