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Nighttime

The Streets of Sunnydale

Xander's POV

~What am I thinking?~ He thought as he carefully slunk down the streets using alleyways when possible.

The answer was all too simple.

The Cobra Unit was in town and he was woefully underequipped.

The memories he had, had inherited from Big Boss, told him a lot and it was enough to make clear to him that the Scoobies were going to need every bit of advantage they could scrape together. He had the made real props he'd gotten with his Halloween costume but they wouldn't be enough for the Cobra Unit. Since the Scooby meeting this afternoon they'd done what they could to comb through Giles' books to find out what demons had been crossed with the Unit but about an hour ago he'd begged off saying he'd do snack run. Willow had been a bit worried since it meant that he'd be out in the open and exposed if one of the assassins decided to come after him. He'd told her not to worry and that he'd have 'insurance' with him.

That insurance being his AM MRS-4 Rifle with two clips of ammunition in his pocket and one already in the gun.

He was doing his best to remember everything Big Boss knew about fighting in urban areas so as to keep the number of people who might see him to a minimum. At the same time though he had two wooden stakes and a bottle of holy water on him just in case he ran into any bloodsuckers along the way to his destination. He didn't think that he'd be able to take a crowd of them but if he ran into a group three or smaller he was sure he'd be able to dust them without getting too banged up. If something demonic showed up though he'd make tracks for safety because while serious physical trauma could kill most demons others required a very specific weapon or substance.

And if a member of the Unit showed up he'd do the best he could to take it down but if that proved impossible he'd find some way to make a diversion then haul ass back to the library.

If they didn't let him leave…he'd give'em hell before he went down.

Hopefully he'd either take one down with him or at least deal a serious enough injury to one of them in order to give the rest of the Scooby gang a better chance.

Coming to a stop ten feet back from the mouth of the alley across from his destination he looked about for any sign of a threat either human or demon. One by one he went through the places where Big Boss might've concealed himself if he'd been waiting to ambush someone coming the same way he was. He didn't have night vision or infrared goggles so he couldn't peer deeply into the shadows so there was always the chance that something was there that he couldn't see. Letting what he couldn't see dictate his actions though wouldn't help anyone so with three deep breaths he made his way across the street to the army surplus store.

He knew where the rear entrance was thanks to the event that got him his first batch of ammunition so he moved towards it scoping out the walls for security cameras. Some store owners put them outside covering all the most likely methods of entry into their place of business to catch members of the B&E crowd. When he reached the rear door without spotting any he began to wonder just how trusting the owner was.

Then again maybe the owner knew more than he let on about what really happened in Sunnydale after sunset. Most thieves planning on getting rich in Sunnydale didn't last long either becoming vamp food or just being killed by a hostile demon. If the owner of the army surplus store knew that then he wouldn't have a good reason for putting up security cameras on the outside.

~That doesn't mean that he has no security at all.~ He thought as he knelt in front of the rear entrance.

Taking out a penlight he began to check every crevice and nook for signs of wires or contact plates or any sign of a security that could bring the cops down on his head. When he couldn't find anything or at least anything the combined knowledge of himself and Big Boss could identify as a threat he took out two paperclips and began twist them into the shapes he needed. While he would've preferred a custom set of professional lock picks he'd long since learned to make due with what he had rather than complain about what he didn't have. Sticking in one piece first and then the other he began to feel about for the tumblers inside in an effort to open the door. He did his best to remain patient knowing that letting his emotions get too far out of hand would affect his ability to pick the lock but it wasn't easy.

He was a teenager after all and learning patience only came with time.

When he heard the click he grinned as his patience this time was rewarded before he turned the doorknob and opened the door. Quietly entering the building he took out a bandana he'd brought with him and wrapped it over his face to conceal as much of it as he could. Just because there were no cameras on the outside didn't mean no cameras on the inside and he didn't need to give the S.P.D anything to work with hence why he was also wearing gloves. As Giles had pointed out while the locals cops ignored or stayed away from supernatural crime they would likely pounce on something that smelled of human crime they'd do their duty.

Moving through the backroom he looked at the stock the store had and began to look for things that his Big Boss memories would let him use but would also be effective against the Cobra Unit. Something that'd be effective against nimble and flexible foes, something against airborne threats and something that'd give him a fighting chance against snipers. He doubted that the army surplus store had anything that'd work against flamethrowers since the basic rule was 'stay away' followed by 'shoot from a distance'.

~Still it might be a good idea to look for bullets capable of piercing metal.~ He thought as he found a few good choices, ~If The Fury's firepower isn't internalized I'll need something to take out the storage tanks.~

He only had one duffel bag for his 'purchases' so he couldn't take everything especially if the weight or the size hindered his exfil. He'd also promised Missus S to grab her a backup weapon in the event that her Remington proved too impractical. At the moment he was learning towards the Colt Official Police with .38 caliber rounds in sufficient quantity to reload the gun ten times since it wouldn't be too powerful for Missus S but would do the job it needed to. He could look into whether or not it could accept more powerful rounds later but for now the .38 caliber ones would do.

In the end he was only able to toss in a few things along with the ammunition to allow each to be reloaded five times but he'd make due. Zipping up the duffel bag he threw it over his shoulder, the strap diagonal across his chest, he moved back to the same door he came in cracking it open just a tad to peek through it. Some might call him paranoid but he wasn't about to be careless.

Careless in Sunnydale got you dead and buried.

~Nothing to the right. Nothing to the left.~ He thought as he checked the various directions, ~Nothing on the rooftops. Looks good.~

With that in mind he crept out of the store, closing the door gently behind him, before starting down a different return route to the school. He'd go in through the rear entrance of the library and leave the bag just to the left of that door since that would put it out of sight of anyone coming in the internal doors.

The gang would probably throw a fit when they realize that he had 'borrowed' some stock from the Army Surplus store but they had to realize that the stuff in the weapons cage wasn't going to be enough. Buffy might be able to fare better with the Cobra Unit with those weapons but only because of her Slayer powers but even then it'd depend too much on chance or luck. Besides if the owner really was under investigation like had been speculated then lightening the inventory would be good for everyone. Good for the owner if any of the stuff he grabbed was hot, good for the gun law agents who'd likely have to haul away the store's entire inventory afterwards and good for him since it'd make him more prepared for the Cobra Unit.

A little whisper in his head nudged him and asked him to consider the possibility of the police somehow figuring out it was him who stole the weapons.

If that happened, if he became a threat to the Scoobies via police investigation, he'd leave as soon as he was able to figure out the best way to exfil from Sunnydale. He wouldn't be able to hide from them since all the best hiding places were likely already occupied by demons and vamps and then there was the likelihood that the cops might tail one of the gang when they visited him. Even if Buffy and the others exercised caution when they came for their visits they weren't trained soldiers and had yet to fully assimilate their Halloween inherited memories into themselves. They'd make mistakes and it'd only take one to bring the gun cops down on his head.

Still, until he had solid evidence that the law was about to drop the hammer on him, he'd continue to operate as though they were as clueless as the S.P.D was.

After all Sunnydale had been around for almost a hundred years and has more graveyards than a town its size could possibly require.

If that wasn't enough to clue in the feds to the truth and get them mobilized then a single B&E incident wouldn't even be the smallest blip on their radar.

Close by in the Shadows

The Point of View of Ocelot aka Adamska

~Well now.~ He thought as he watched the young man crept away with his bag of toys, ~Isn't this interesting.~

It'd been nearing the end of the two weeks he'd given Big Boss for his investigation into the suspected telepathic intrusion into the man's mind and all he had to show for it was a truly bizarre town. He'd arrived in America a little under ten days ago with the delay being necessary in order to slip in under the radar of Sigint and Para-Medic undetected. Based on information he'd uncovered he knew that Zero was in no position to do much of anything so that only left the man's digital doppleganger as well as the two remaining Patriots. Despite his skills at appearing to be someone who was for hire it was not a reputation that bred trust and given his past connections to the Diamond Dogs that later became the foundation for Outer Heaven they had reason to be suspicious of him.

Besides those reasons he very much doubted that his old friend in Zanzibar Land would appreciate his foes learning of a telepath who had knowledge of his inner thoughts and memories.

After he was certain that his movements weren't being observed he'd begun his work to track down the telepath using what clues Big Boss had given him. It hadn't been much, fragments really, and to keep from being picked up by the he regularly changed the computers he used even hijacking civilian internet connections from the outside to confuse anyone watching.

Six days ago he'd finally managed to determine that Sunnydale was the most likely suspect and so via a car rented from a third rate company he'd made the trip.

When he'd arrived he'd felt an unnatural sensation crawl over him, surround him, making him feel as though he'd just driven into one helluva stinky swamp. This contradiction of civilization and the wild had an itch develop under his skin that put him in a foul mood as he looked about the city for anything unusual. It'd been his opinion that no psychic powerful enough to reach across the Pacific Ocean would be able to keep their true nature hidden completely. The closer he got to ground zero for the person he was after the closer he'd be to the person.

Too bad he found out, much to his horror, that strange was relative in the town of Sunnydale and that meant that finding the kind of strange he was after would be harder.

If it wasn't the vampires giving him trouble it was the odd demon that thought he looked like lunch.

Fortunately his time with the GRU, the Diamond Dogs and everything in between he was not as in the dark about this side of the world as most of the planet was. He hadn't thought to bring any 'special' ammunition with him but fortunately a few shots in the right locations proved sufficient to make it clear that he was off the menu. Vampires might not consider bullets lethal but the same spots that were especially sensitive to pain on a human hurt the corpses just as much. He'd once considered them the perfect test dummies for his interrogation techniques but unfortunately the same things that made vampires different from humans made them poor subjects. As for demons he had yet to come across any that were invulnerable to a bullet from his revolvers but they still needed a unique 'touch' to get them to back off.

Aside from the occasional interruption he'd been able to proceed with his investigation without problems and even found a snitch that barely took any effort at all to 'strike up a conversation' with. The worm didn't have any information on powerful telepaths but when asked about anything out of the ordinary the pathetic fool had told him something interesting. A few days earlier someone had used guns to route the local top vampire group in a way that surprised every local who knew the truth. It was a half-truth in his experience that guns weren't very effective against supernatural creatures. They weren't very good in the hands of amateurs or soldiers who'd been trained only to fight other humans but for someone like him it was possible.

A bit more of a challenge than he usually got but not something that truly put his skills as a sharpshooter to the limit.

Still it was enough to catch his interest and it wouldn't be out of the question for the psychic he was looking for to be connected to a military trained organization. He didn't think that the psychic he was looking for was working for the Patriots or one of their cardboard box operations. If they were then they would've pressed for more information extraction out of Big Boss' head to facilitate his capture or defeat. The scattered and fragmented contact wouldn't have been enough.

From then on out he'd spent his time tracking down sources of local firearms and ammunition from the legal to the illegal. Fortunately for him it looked like the illegal sources of guns didn't exist in Sunnydale thanks to the local demons and vampires. As for the legal ones there'd been only three hunting outlets and the local Army base so he'd taken the usual steps to monitor all of them for unusual activity. Nothing had happened until tonight though when the perimeter sensors he'd hidden around the Army Surplus store were tripped. Luckily he'd chosen a motel not too far away so he'd been able to get here in time to witness the thief's retreat from the building.

What he saw triggered déjà vu feelings within him and made him wonder if he truly understood the situation.

The young man's movements and habits with the AM MRS-4 were too much like those he'd personally observed both Big Boss and 'Venom' Snake use in the past. It wasn't too odd since there'd been a number of other people who'd probably seen them at work and done their best to imitate what they'd seen to varying degrees of success. However as was always the case with imitation unless the original was there to pick out and correct the flaws it was never a perfect match.

Not so in this case though.

In this case the only discrepancies he could see were due to lack of experience and familiarity. When a soldier performed certain actions often enough and in the right settings they ceased to need to consciously control what it was they were doing and it became second nature. Muscle memory as it was often called. In the boy though he could see visible signs of the young man consulting his memory on what to do next and reminding himself to do certain things. There lacked fluidity to the teenager's movements.

Nevertheless they were unmistakably the movements and training of Big Boss.

It was too dark to see the young man's face clearly especially with the bandana obscuring the lower half but if he didn't know better he'd say that the Patriots had made another clone.

Another copy of Big Boss to stand in for the genuine article that had refused to follow Zero's plan for fulfilling the will of The Boss.

There had been significant advancements made in the field of genetics and he wouldn't have put it past Para-Medic to somehow restart an old project if there was a breakthrough in an important field connected to it. While the original project had succeeded in creating David and Eli they weren't perfect copies of Big Boss. For one thing Eli was blonde whereas 'John' was a brunette and their voices couldn't be more different if you tried. David was the closer of the two 'children' in terms of being a copy of Big Boss but it'd only been as a result of Outer Heaven that he'd proven himself a worthy 'son' of his 'father'. However even with this he knew that 'closer' did not mean 'identical' and there were the contingencies he was sure the Patriots had engineered in both 'sons' as a measure of control.

If the young man he was watching right now turned out to be their latest effort then he definitely bore watching.

Separating himself from the shadow he'd used to conceal himself in and began to follow the young man with all the stealth thirty plus years as a soldier and spy had gifted him with.

The only thing that didn't mesh with the idea of the teen he was following being the latest clone created by the Patriots was this little 'nighttime shopping'. He could understand 'P.O.S', Procure On Site', when it came to some sort of mission but aside from the local nonhuman life forms he hadn't heard of anything relevant to Zero's goal happening in California. Then again with his controlling information as best they can and the various agents keeping lids on things best kept in the shadows away from the light of day it was possible something might be in the works here.

He'd learn more once he found out where the young man's base of operations was located and got a look inside.

~Whatever method they're using to teach the kid they must not've gotten past the basics when it comes to making sure you're not being followed.~ He thought with a bit of disappointment, ~Either that or they're trying something more…modern…to stuff the information into his head.~

That was the problem with cutting edge technology.

There were always bugs that were invisible until you actually put experimental technology to use outside of simulations and theoretical calculations or hypothesis.

The only question left to answer was how soon it'd be before the Patriots chose to deploy their latest 'child' into the field on real missions.

~If his current skill level is anything to go by I'd put it at four years.~ He thought after some consideration, ~Three at soonest.~

Time enough to decide whether or not this latest development could be an asset or an obstacle.

Sunnydale High School Library

Dawn's POV

"Anyone think we're missing something?" she asked closing the latest book she'd been asked to look through.

"What do you mean?" Mom asked looking away from her own book.

"I mean why are the demon soldier guys coming after us now?" she asked becoming more confident in her words as she spoke them, "Right when we know something is going on with Spike and his crew."

"You believe he may be allied with the warlock who resurrected and enhanced the Cobra Unit?" Giles asked with mild interest.

"It'd work out for him right?" she asked rhetorically as more of the others started paying attention, "We get up to our necks trying to deal with the Cobra Unit letting him do whatever it is he plans on doing with the Du Lac book and Cross."

"It would fit together rather nicely however it could also simply be simple bad luck." Giles said not completely dismissing the possibility, "Regardless we are hardly in a position to continue our investigation into Spike's activities while still targeted by such skilled warriors."

"What if…what if only one of us tries to stop Spike?" she asked an idea forming in her head, "The rest stay focused on the Cobra Unit while that one person looks into what Spike's planning and tries to stop him."

"What good'll that do?" Buffy asked sounding like she thought the plan was only a little better than 'DEMON, KILL'.

"It's common sense that the Unit'll focus on trying to kill as many of us in one go as possible." She replied with a bit of irritation in her tone, "If one of us is missing they'll probably ignore that one until after they've killed the rest of the gang then go after the sole survivor. We can use that to our advantage."

"Or they might just send one of their group after whoever runs off the second they figure out someone's missing." Buffy pointed out still not in favor of the idea.

"Maybe but can we really take the chance of letting Spike do whatever it is he's planning on doing?" she asked trying to make them see what she was beginning to perceive, "For all we know the book has a do it yourself apocalypse recipe in it."

"I somehow doubt that it is that serious Dawn." Giles said with some skepticism, "While Du Lac did delve into magic dark enough to get him excommunicated from the Church I've read nothing to indicate that he developed a means of wielding that level of power."

"See. We gotta focus on the freak brigade first THEN go after Spike." Buffy said triumphantly as though she had just won an argument.

"And yet I cannot completely dismiss Dawn's concerns. While not at the same level as an apocalypse the book could very well contain a means by which Spike and his faction could become decidedly stronger than they currently are." Giles said sounding oddly speculative, "Giving the time to do so could prove to be a mistake."

"If you're right then who'd go?" Mom asked taking time to consider the possible course of action, "It couldn't be Buffy or you. You're probably number one and two on the Unit's hit list."

"I'm probably out of the question too." Willow said removing herself from consideration, "I'm R&D not a field operative."

"That just leaves you and Xander." Buffy said looking to the captain of the cheerleading squad.

"Hey! What about me?" she asked a little offended at being left out, "I got the skills of a ninja! Who'd be better at finding someone without giving away their position than me?"

"Please! You'd probably get spotted inside of a minute." Buffy replied sounding skeptical of her little sister having ANY skill at all.

"I know you're making progress with your training Dawn but Spike's killed Slayers in the past and almost killed Buffy during parent teacher." Mom said trying to sound more reasonable with her objection, "You haven't even slayed a vampire yet. What if they discovered you?"

While more reasonable and understanding than Buffy the objection to her plan still hurt a bit.

She wasn't stupid and she wasn't going to take senseless chances just so she'd become the big hero. She'd stay as far away from Spike and his crew as she could so as not be caught with their heightened senses. She would only gather information on whatever Spike was planning then report back to the library to fill the rest of them in. If…if the situation was such that it demanded immediate intervention she'd do whatever needed to be done.

She couldn't say that she knew what it was like to fight or put your own life on the line to win the day and she was afraid but she also knew that you couldn't let fear keep you from doing the right thing.

"Then who is it going to be?" she asked not willing to fight more for the time being, "Cordy or Xander?"

Before Cordy could say whether or not she'd agree to seek out Spike something crashed through the back door of the library and even knocked over the bookcases. Hearing a groan of pain she watched as Xander pushed himself into a sitting position revealing himself to everyone's line of sight causing everyone to prepare for a fight. Buffy charged in headfirst like she always did, Mom grabbed her rifle before taking a kneeling position to aim at the back entrance, Cordy pulled a combat knife out of somewhere and she pulled her two kodachi out. She didn't know which of the Cobra Unit was strong enough to send Xander through the back door of the library but whichever one it was had better have been smart enough to have brought backup with them.

Instead of a demonic looking humanoid with features matching one of the ability sets Xander had described for each member of the Cobra Unit the figure that appeared was something distinctly different.

A sixteen year old girl, five and a half feet tall, dark skin that made you think she was of Jamaican ancestry and a hairstyle that did likewise. Her fashion sense was okay but she was beat by anyone in the bust department so that was one edge they had over the intruder. Not that rack size could be all that helpful in a fight unless you were obviously fighting a guy who had poor control over his libido then all you needed to do was flash some skin and you'd have your opening to attack.

"You're gonna regret doing that!" Buffy said as she engaged the intruder with a series of kicks and punches.

Seeing it from the outside she could see that as much as her sister had claimed otherwise some of Sonya Blade was seeping into the Slayer's fighting style. She'd never seen her sister fight before Halloween but the few times since then that she'd sat in on one such session with Giles and she could see the differences. In the first session Buffy's moves had been a more instinctual seat of her pants fighting style that adjusted to the circumstances of the battle. This time there was calculation and efficiency in the moves targeting specific parts of her opponent's body for the purpose chipping away at the enemy's fighting ability until victory was achieved.

The intruder however surprised her a bit since she was proving herself to be just as fast, just as strong and just as economical a fighter as Buffy was slowly turning into. There were times when one seemed to gain an advantage over the other but it never lasted for more than five seconds before it swung away to favor the other combatant. With both of them having the same environmental advantages as the other it was all coming down to skill and which of them had more of it.

She didn't even need to look to know that at the speed the two warriors were fighting her mother wouldn't be able to take the shot without risking Buffy's well being.

As for the rest of them they couldn't get involved because they didn't possess the physical prowess to fight at the level they were witnessing right now. If they tried to help Buffy right now they'd only wind up getting in the way and perhaps providing unintentional aid to the intruder if they attacked at the wrong moment.

The best they could hope for was that Buffy would find a way to gain and keep the advantage before providing an opening for the rest of them to help her win.

Or at least that was the plan before Xander forced himself to his feet and dove into the fight.

"XANDER!" she exclaimed incredulous that the guy she loved was throwing himself into a fight that was WAY out of his weight class.

Her voice gave warning to the intruder but it was too late since Xander had already moved too close for his initial attack to be blocked or evaded.

The target?

The spot on the intruder's back closest to where the right kidney would be closest to the surface.

When the punch, one that looked like Xander was putting a lot of his power behind it, connected to the intruder's back she grimaced in pain and paused. Given how most people would've reacted to a punch like that it definitely indicated that the intruder was more than human but that didn't matter. Because the intruder hadn't been expecting an attack from Xander or seen it coming there'd been no time to do what could be done to protect that part of her body or reduce the effects of the blow.

As a result Buffy had a once in a lifetime opportunity to capitalize on this disruption in her foe's attack pattern and as she smiled her sister pounced on the opportunity.

With amazing speed Buffy first delivered a low kick to the intruder's left knee to destabilize balance, then moved onto a high kick to the head to daze her foe, before moving onto a punch-backhand combo that definitely had her opponent reeling only to be followed up by a palm thrust to the solar plexus.

Then came a movie that was pure Sonya Blade when Buffy bent over to plant both hands on the floor before whipping her legs up to lock both around the intruder's neck. Then in a move that HAD to take a lot of back and abdominal strength her sister pulled her foe off the ground and threw the Jamaican girl through the air to impact on the far wall.

Watching the stranger drop to the ground everyone watched to see if she would get back up to her feet even as Buffy moved in just in case to take advantage of her enemy's poor tactical position. Everyone was tense as the seconds passed but when no movement other than automatic breathing could be seen it could only be concluded that the impact with the wall had knocked the intruder out.

Either that or the Jamaican girl was playing possum real good and was waiting for Buffy to let her guard down.

"Time to finish this." Buffy said bringing out a wooden stake in preparation for delivering the coup de grace.

"No." Xander ordered with a wince even as he moved to Buffy's side, "She's not one of the Cobras and she's not a vamp. She's a new player and we need to know if she's operating solo or as part of a larger group. If it's the former then no problem but if she's got friends it'll bring a third front to our problems that we don't need. Better to tie her up and question her. At least if he get some intel out of her we'll have a better idea of whether her friends are something that can wait or need to be handled ASAP."

"Good thinking." Giles said as he moved towards his office, "I believe I have some rope that should do the job so long as we use it in a manner that will render her superior strength pointless."

"And how exactly do we do that?" she asked sounding interested in learning such a method of restraining someone considering what they usually went up against.

"Um…well…that is…" Giles replied looking quite embarrassed judging by the bit of blush on his cheeks.

Oh this was going to be good!

Minutes Later

Cordelia Chase's POV

"O-Kay…you and Giles are definitely made for each other Summers." She said after looking at the finished product of the Watcher's effort to restrain Miss Jamaica, "You're both freaks!"

"I honestly can't come up with a single reason to say you're wrong." Buffy said looking and sounding quite awkward at the moment.

The reason for this was obvious when you looked at how the Watcher had tied up the intruder with the rope he'd had in his office.

It wasn't like a normal person would do it by putting the prisoner on a chair then tying their ankles, thighs and upper torso to it.

No.

It was more akin to a picture she'd seen in one of Harmony's magazines when the blonde bimbo had been trying to decide how to liven up her relationship with Todd of the Basketball team. It was how you could tie up your lover or have yourself tied up in some sort of sick bondage and submission game. Worse than that this particular style had the effect of stretching the girl's clothes in some places causing them to be VERY form fitting so as to leave little to the imagination.

It also revealed the fact that the intruder apparently didn't believe in wearing a bra under her shirt.

Not that there's much to show off in that department. She thought noting that the Jamaican girl couldn't have been bigger than a B cup.

"Why Mister Giles…I had no idea you were so…open minded." Missus Summers said in a way that was MOSTLY humorous.

"Something I learned in my misspent youth and do not indulge in anymore." Giles said furiously cleaning his glasses while not looking at anyone, "Nevertheless it is the best way to restrain her."

"How do you figure that G-Man?" Xander asked sounding quite entertained, "I doubt she's like old school Wonder Woman who loses her powers if she's tied up by a guy."

"What?! When was this?" Dawn asked sounding surprised like this info contradicted what she knew.

"Way back in the beginning, fifties or sixties I think, but they retconned it out once enough ladies got pissed about it and let them know it." Xander replied showing he was definitely a comic book nerd.

"Doesn't explain why you didn't just tie her to a chair." Dawn said not willing to let the Watcher get out of completing his explanation.

"It was evident by watching her battle Buffy that the girl had strength on par with a Slayer." Giles explained putting his glasses back on, "The rope used in the conventional manner of binding her to a chair would've proven ineffective since she could simply snap the wood. Even if we relied on the rope alone most methods of tying them to negate physical strength were designed with human limitations in mind."

"And this'll be more effective HOW?" Dawn asked an amused grin on her face.

"Well for one thing since she's suspended by the rope off the ground by the rope's connection to the ceiling she'll logically have to free her legs first in order to land safely." Giles replied feeling safer speaking of logic rather than his past, "The…intricacy of how the rope was tied will not allow her to free both legs at the same time even if she possesses the strength enough to break the rope. It would be like being forced to break a length of chain one link at a time. The odds of her breaking free or even freeing enough limbs to counter us when we move to stop her is quite small."

"And she can't snap the rope tying her to the roof without freeing at least one arm." Xander said walking about to examine the rope job from all sides, "Can't see that happening before Buffy clocks her one."

Buffy lightly punched Xander's shoulder while giving him the universal 'stop perving' glare.

Then the dweeb of course gave the 'what? I am not the one who tied her up like that' look and to her mild surprise the guy didn't fold like a good little Slayer groupie.

~Guess getting a mercenary badass downloaded into your head's good for something. ~She thought before letting the moment pass.

"So who wants to wake her up?" Dawn asked looking up at their captive.

"I've got that." Buffy replied before walking up to her defeated foe.

The slapped the Jamaican girl, HARD, across the face.

A bit more than was necessary but it had the desired effect since the intruder woke up, struggled against her ropes and when that proved to be too difficult settled for glaring at me.

"Do what you will! Even if you kill me another will come to finish what I began!" the intruder declared full of defiance and fiery spirit, "Whatever dark deed you have planned for the Hellmouth will not succeed!"

"Is it too late to find a ball gag for her?" Dawn asked sounding like she was tired of the intruder's strong Jamaican accent already.

"And how do you know about those?" Missus Summers asked with potential disapproval.

"Half curiosity and half memories from Taki." Dawn replied making her wonder what other adult things the youngest Summers girl had received from the Halloween spell.

~Oh well. At least Missus Summers could probably skip the birds and the bees talk now.~ She thought shrugging off the development.

"Time to start talking." Buffy said in a way that was probably supposed to be intimidating, "Why'd you attack Xander? Who are you?"

"I am Kendra de Vampire Slayer demon." Kendra replied mimicking many action stars when they were talking to foes they'd sworn to kill.

Everyone pretty much gaped at this since it'd been the last answer they'd expected to hear.

Of course this lasted maybe three seconds before the impossibility of the statement kicked in.

"Nice try but everyone knows there's only one Slayer at a time and you're looking at her." Buffy said mocking the prisoner's attempt at deception, "Want to try the truth? I hear it's good for the soul."

"You cannot fool me demon. My predecessor died months ago so you cannot be her." Kendra fired back not backing down from her version of the truth in the least, "At best you are somehow possessing her corpse. You will pay for disgracing her memory."

Buffy looked like she was planning on dishing out a serious tongue lashing but a restraining hand from Mister Giles stopped her but also prompted a questioning gaze.

"'History is not what you thought'." Giles said quoting some book as though it meant something.

"'It is what you can remember'" Kendra said as counterpoint to what the Watcher had spoken.

"'I never think of the future'." Giles quoted continuing the little game he'd started.

"'It comes soon enough.'" Kendra said probably finishing the quote and with it the last of her defiance.

"Buffy, cut her down." Giles ordered no longer acting like he was in the presence of a prisoner, "She is not a threat."

"What? You two had some kind of geek off and that proves she's not a threat how?" Buffy asked not willing to do as ordered without some sort of explanation.

"What we did was exchange signs and countersigns. It is an old method of confirming the identity of deep cover Council operatives." Giles replied taking on an air of authority, "It is only taught to operatives working in the field in areas where the possibility of impersonation exists or if two Watchers meet but have never met before inside enemy territory."

"And it's impossible for someone to just guess right?" Willow asked sounding like she thought it was a genuine possibility.

"I suppose the possibility exists but given the sheer number of literary quotes that are available for use in such a manner the odds are quite poor that an enemy would know them all." Giles replied sounding open to the idea but with an undercurrent of skepticism.

"And if she's a telepath?" Xander asked pointing out a possible flaw with the identification method.

"All Watcher's are taught how to protect their minds from that method of intrusion and Watcher's assigned to Slayers have a spell placed on them to reinforce those protections." Giles replied as though ready for the question, "Even if she were powerful enough to overcome those obstacles it would not be instantaneous. I would sense it before she got through and naturally would act to warn you all."

"Good enough for me." Xander said stepping forward to lift Kendra up a bit before using a knife he had on him to cut the rope leading to the ceiling.

"Watch the hands dweeb." She warned immediately causing Xander to immediately inch his hands away from Kendra's ass.

Once the second Slayer was on the ground it didn't take long for key knots to be sliced through freeing her completely allowing the Jamaican girl to rise up and stand. She could see the whole alpha female friction happening between Buffy and the new girl but it would probably just be something like what usually went on between the dweeb and Angel.

She could SO do without being there to witness that crap.

"Now you said that there was a darkness rising in Sunnydale." Giles said moving on to what was important, "Could you perhaps clarify that statement."

"It was a vision had by one of the Council seers four days ago." Kendra said with unusual subservience, "She told of a darkness that would rise in Sunnydale that could influence the future for its own ends and would branch out like a weed throughout the world."

"Were there any identifiers mentioned in the Seer's report? A way to know if someone or something we encounter is this rising darkness?" Giles asked with moderate concern in his tone.

"No sir. Me Watcher, Sam Zabuto, instructed me to come here to seek it out." Kendra replied keeping the same tone as before, "I was also to check in with you as you were known to still be in Sunnydale since you might know what the darkness was."

"There have been some recent developments that could represent the rising darkness you are referring to." Giles said with contemplation, "One is a vampire named Spike who has recently come into the possession of both a cross and a book belonging to Du Lac. We are still not quite certain what he hopes to find in the book but I think it is safe to say it is not good."

"That would be one possibility sir." Kendra said respectfully while looking at Giles, "What is the other?"

"The other is that a spellcaster of unknown nature has resurrected members of the team known during World War Two as the Cobra Unit." Giles said with all due seriousness in his voice, "They have also added attributes to each member to heighten their power and threat level. As far as we know they have not killed anyone but we here are most certainly among those they wish dead."

Judging by the look of shock and concern on the girl's face it was a safe bet that she was just as much a book nerd as the Watcher was.

"That is indeed another possibility sir." Kendra said in a grave tone of voice, "How shall we proceed?"

The way the Jamaican girl asked that and had been behaving since they all found out that they were on the same side was irritating her. It was as if she had no self-respect, no confidence and heavily relied on being told what to do rather than coming up with a course of action herself.

What sort of life could this girl possibly have lived until now to make her like this?

She didn't know but she was pretty sure she was glad that it wasn't her life.

No one decided how her life would unfold and she bowed her head to no one.

And that had been the case BEFORE she'd gotten all the Black Widow stuff dumped into her Halloween night.

No reason to change it now.

Buffy's POV

She couldn't say she liked the new circumstances, from any point of view, but instead of flying off the handle and doing everything she could to get the new girl to leave she held her tongue.

With the Demon Cobra Unit gunning for them and Spike up to something even she could see that turning away help would be a major mistake. Up until now in the Slayer gig she'd been lucky in that no vamp or demon had tried to come at her with anything resembling a plan and instead relied on their abilities to see them through to victory. The sheer abundance of easy kills they got from ordinary humans succeeded in making them cocky so when they inevitably had to deal with her they were overconfident. Not that she minded it when they showed up all full of themselves but this situation was different.

If Giles was right then whoever was controlling the Demon Cobra Unit had shut down their minds leaving only their skills and their ability to use them to maximum effectiveness still functional. Add to that the fact that Spike had proven himself capable of killing Slayer's in the past and had a mob of minions to back him up and…well…yeah anything that might even the odds would be welcome.

"Well now that we've got the whole 'hero versus hero' thing out of the way it's time to pass out the goodies." Xander said lifting the large duffel bag he'd retrieved from the rear library entrance and putting it on the main library table.

"What do you mean goodies?" Willow asked her curiosity metaphorically raising its head.

"These." Xander replied opening the bag wide enough that everyone could see what lay within.

Guns.

Lots of guns.

"XANDER!? What the hell!?" she exclaimed at the sight knowing that there was no way that her friend could've acquired them legally.

"Look I know you and Giles aren't crazy about guns but you both need to face facts." Xander said a rasp entering his voice, "Blades and arrows aren't going to get us out of this alive. No one who can raise the dead and change them is going to be stupid enough not to cover their bases. If The Fear and the others aren't somehow immune to our usual gear then they're rigged to make sure getting the final blow'll cost us just as much if not more than them. The only way we're getting out of this in one piece is to throw them a curveball and hope they can't adapt."

"And Sunnydale P.D? Have you forgotten about them?" she asked pointing out a BIG concern.

"No I haven't." Xander bit out with some irritation, "Doesn't change the facts. We needed firepower so I got us firepower. Besides as long as we're careful we've got nothing to worry about. Finish the fights quick and make sure to clean up before leaving the scene."

"And if we can't clean up quickly enough? If we leave something behind?" she asked trying to drive home the fact that there was too much risk of them getting caught.

"Then we use our prep time to wipe down every single gun and every single bullet. We do our best to get rid of every bit of forensic evidence we can think of." He replied not showing any sign of doubt or uncertainty, "I bet it's been years since the Sunnydale Police Department has been anything resembling competent. As long as we don't do something to justify outside involvement we'll be fine."

She wanted to come up with something else, some other reason to reject the use of guns, but she couldn't come up with anything without retreading the same old ground. Guns were loud. In the hands of those without permits they were illegal. If the police managed to spot them with them there'd be no way for them to continue on with their lives like normal. Their homes and the school would be raided or staked out by officers with the intent of arresting the lot of them. Lethal force would almost certainly be permitted given the hardware they'd be carrying. Someone could get hurt, KILLED even, regardless if they chose to attack or make a run for it.

Were things really so bad that guns were now necessary?

One by one she went through the descriptions that Xander gave them of the members of the Cobra Unit as well as her experiences with both The Fear and the near miss with The End.

Yes. Guns were needed.

She didn't have to like it though.

"Fine. What've you got?" she asked making it clear that she was only grudgingly accepting his controversial contribution.

"For your mom a Colt Official Police with .38 caliber rounds enough for multiple reloads." Xander replied taking out the handgun before handing it to her mother, "It makes for a good backup weapon when using your rifle isn't an option."

She watched as her mother looked over the weapon before testing how it felt in a proper two-handed grip and quickly taking aim at what she presumed were imaginary targets. At the end it looked like her mother was satisfied with the feel of the weapon but personally she doubted that she'd ever be okay with seeing a gun in the hands of the woman who gave her life. Still she bit her tongue to keep from backtracking on her decision to allow the newest addition to the Scooby gang's arsenal.

"Next I've got two Glock 26ses for Cordy figuring she wouldn't want something bulky like a rifle or a shotgun." Xander said handing the two remaining handguns to the leader of the cheer squad at Sunnydale High School, "Besides you get more bragging rights if you can kill with a smaller gun."

"Nice." Cordy said testing the heft of each Glock, "These come with matching holsters?"

"Of course and I hear black goes with everything." Xander replied with a smirk about the rich girl's frequent focus on fashion.

"Like you'd know anything about color coordination." Cordy said before letting her arms rest at her side.

"For Willow I decided she'd need something where aiming isn't a big concern." Xander said before reaching into the bag, "The FN-P90. The only one the army surplus store had in its inventory but there's enough ammo for at least a few firefights. Best to fire it in short bursts. Your R memories have you working with anything like this?"

"MI-6 gave all its members basic weapon training a variety of different gun types but most of the emphasis was on the standard sidearm." Willow replied holding the submachine gun up with some effort, "Not much need for a gun if you rarely leave the R&D lab."

True.

Scientists were meant to develop the tools those in the field would use not go into the field and utilize them personally. Still if anyone managed to get into MI-6 HQ and get deep enough to reach the R&D lab then a scientist with a gun wouldn't be that much of a threat.

"For Dawn she's got close up fighting locked down well enough so I figured giving her a ranged option would be better." Xander explained as he dipped into his bag of goodies once more, "The H&K G36 rifle. It has an effective range of eight hundred meters and thirty rounds per magazine. Should be good enough when you can't let a hostile get close enough to use your kodachi."

The rifle looked a little big in Dawn's arms and unlike the others it was obvious that the weapon felt alien even with the echoes of the ninja Taki in her little sister's mind. Still she felt a little reassured that at least with this rifle no one would be able to get close enough to hurt her sister.

"Last but certainly not least an AA-12 shotgun for making a loud entrances and leaving big impressions." Xander said handing the last gun to her, "Thirty-Two rounds per drum and an effective range of one hundred meters which is a little past the length of a football field in case you're wondering."

Not bad.

She'd seen enough action movies to know that shotguns could do quite a bit of damage even if the one you were aiming at was wearing protective armor. Seeing as how she very much doubted that any of Spike's minions or the master vampire himself would think of taking such a precaution she couldn't help but smile at the thought of using the shotgun on him. As for the demonic Cobra Unit…she'd have to wait and see. With her Slayer strength holding the weapon was not a problem and even as she looked at the weapon the part of her she associated with Sonya Blade liked what she saw. With the punch this thing could deliver even if whatever demon races the Cobra Unit were crossed with possessed some sort of natural armor she was confident that continuous yet precise targeting of specific spots would chip away to the gooey core.

For an ordinary person it would be hard to keep the shotgun on target but with the Slayer package she'd manage well enough.

"As for me I'll be sticking with what I got Halloween." Xander said with his little exposition concluded, "Plus one little surprise of course."

"Mister Giles? Why are dese civilians involved?" Kendra asked sounding confused as well as somewhat opposed to non-affiliated associates.

"Because they're my friends and it's common sense to make allies that's why." She said in a tone that made it clear she would not permit this to change without her approval.

"But it is against the Slayer handbook." Kendra said firmly as though it were some kind of law.

"Yeah Giles said something about it being for security reasons." Xander said not sounding very impressed, "Problem is with only a Watcher as backup it's no wonder most Slayers don't last more than a year or two. In any war numbers matter."

"De Slayer has de entire Council for backup with strike teams ready for deployment." Kendra refuted making it clear that she was a loyalist as far as the Council was concerned.

"Really? Hmmm…Willow you ever seen this backup? These 'strike teams'?" Xander asked somewhat sarcastically before becoming dead serious, "Because I sure as hell haven't. It's been over two years since Buffy became the Slayer and over a year since she came to Sunnydale. In all that time Giles has been the only member of the Council pulling his weight in this fight. So until I see Buffy getting enough help that she doesn't need the rest of us by her side I'm staying by her side whether you like it or not Likkle Gyal."

She could tell that Kendra didn't like being talked to with such disrespect, especially from an 'outsider', but before a yelling match could begin Giles intervened.

"While I do not share Xander's hostility Kendra I must concede that the support I have received from the Council has been limited to information rather than additional physical presence." Giles said in as diplomatic a tone as he could manage, "As such I chose to accept the aid of Willow and Xander when they offered it. The Hellmouth…is a breeding ground for the bizarre phenomena and a gathering place for various ambitious demons. Any help gained increased the odds of success and survival. As for security concerns…we judged the benefits to be worth the risk."

Her 'successor' looked to be caught between wanting to abide by the decision of a Watcher and what she'd probably been taught since she'd been Called months ago. To her the solution was simple: think for yourself and act according to your heart's wishes. The will of a singular individual was never irrelevant, never to be disregarded, and while the Watchers Council's aid was a valuable asset that didn't give them the right to dictate every aspect of her life. The only one with the right to carve out Buffy Summers' future was Buffy Summers and if the Council refused to accept that then that was THEIR problem.

If they tried to make it her problem…well…she'd show them that their definition of 'problem' was seriously inaccurate.

"So now that got all these party favors what're we going to do?" Cordelia asked as she finished securing the holsters she'd taken from the bag to her body, "We don't know where the Cobra Unit's base is or where to find Spike or what he's planning."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Xander said after a minute or two of thought.

"What do you mean Xander?" Giles asked sounding like he couldn't fathom what her best guy friend was thinking.

"Both the book and the cross were made by someone who used to be a part of the church. Like anyone'll tell you a writer writes what he knows." Xander replied with an all business tone of voice, "Du Lac knew the church and its ways for years before getting kicked out. Bet you a box of Twinkies that what's in his book is tied to that."

"You believe that Du Lac used churches and items used by the church in the creation of his spells?" Giles asked rhetorically before looking contemplative, "I suppose it is not impossible. If so then it may behoove us to investigate all holy ground connected to Du Lac's former religion. We will focus first on those places that are abandoned or at least not frequently visited. If those prove to be fruitless we can move on to more populated locations."

"Wouldn't Spike want to avoid those? Keep a low profile?" Willow asked pointing out a real concern.

"While I would imagine that drawing public attention to himself would not be his first choice I doubt he would hesitate if his objective was important enough to him." Giles replied bringing his Watchery knowledge to the surface, "The dead tell no tales after all."

Spike would kill any witnesses he could to keep word from spreading further than was safe.

"Then let's get going." She said only realizing that she'd slapped a drum onto her shotgun AFTER she'd done it, "We'll each take a location and call it in if we hit the jackpot. Once we know where Spike is we converge and take him out."

"Great plan! But you're forgetting about the Cobra Unit." Dawn said spoiling her aura of command, "If they're here to run interference for Spike then splitting up just makes things easier for them."

"A group travelling together'll be easier to spot than someone sniffing around solo." She said trying to convince everyone present of the validity of her course of action, "It'll also make it easier for them to kill us if we're all close together. Look I'm not saying it's a perfect plan but I'm not hearing any better ones. We focus on Spike and we risk getting blindsided by the Cobra Unit. We focus on the Cobra Unit and we give Spike the room he needs to do whatever it is he has planned. We can't do both at the same time so let's get rid of the threat we know the most about so we can focus on the one we don't know much about."

Looking from one face to another she could see each Scooby gradually and grudgingly accept her line of reasoning as being sound. They obviously still had their misgivings, their doubts, but found it to be preferable to just sitting around playing twenty questions or waiting for the enemy to make the next move.

"Very well." Giles said adding his support to her proposed course of action, "Let us draw up a list and assign locations in order of likelihood. However let me stress that should you find Spike or evidence of his interest in the location you are NOT to go on the offensive. Retreat to the nearest payphone and call the library. I will then notify the others to return here so we can plan our assault on the discovered location."

"How do you plan on notifying us?" Xander asked with some puzzlement.

"I…will think of something." Giles replied with only a moment of uncertainty, "Trust me. It will be impossible to miss."

THIS made her curious to find out what her Watcher would come up with.

However it also had her thinking that she should suggest buying some Walkie Talkies the next time she was in the mall. The Scoobies did need a means of staying in touch that didn't rely on phones and that they could carry with them without any trouble. Sure there was gear that people could use to eavesdrop on their conversations but she was confident that if she gave Willow some alone time with the devices she'd come up with something.

Maybe Xander was onto something with this whole idea to upgrade the Scooby Gang's methods and gear.

Bisbee, Arizona

'Agent Fury's' POV

"So what do you think this is about?" Agent 'Johnson' asked from the driver's seat of the car they were in.

"Dunno and don't care." He replied from the passenger side looking at the place they'd been told to stake out, "And if you want to make it far in this outfit you won't care either. They might not want dum-dums working for them but they definitely don't want nosy nobodies either. Just stick to your job and it'll all be good."

It was the honest answer.

He'd been with 'the outfit' for over five years and that was enough to make him a veteran of experience. In this line of work you learned the rules quick or you didn't live for very long. One of the rules he learned pretty quickly: don't ask questions about your orders. At least don't ask questions beyond the scope of your assigned task. If it has immediate relevance to your assigned task then it's safe enough but if it ventures into the future then you were politely or impolitely told to mind your own business OR ELSE.

No one needed to know what 'or else' meant.

In the case of the current assignment they were simply told to park across from a motel and watch for a girl in a photograph they'd been given or a specific car with a specific license plate. Should they spot one of them their orders were to keep an eye on them and take detailed notes of everything they observed. Should either leave the hotel they were to phone it in while keeping the target within eyesight at all times until ordered to do otherwise.

They weren't told anything more after setting out.

They'd arrived at their present parking spot a little over an hour ago and so far while he could see the car that the primary target he had not laid eyes on the girl. He could only presume that she as in the room closest to the vehicle but it was possible that she was not. As a man of experience he knew that there was more than one way out of the motel room and so did his superiors since two other teams were stationed on the remaining sides of the motel. Looking down at the screen he watched closely the video images being sent to it from the camera hidden in the car's hood. Using controls below the screen he tightened the focus of the image on the door of the room the girl was in as well as the window next to the door. Neither he or 'Johnson' could afford to miss a thing lest their complacency lead to the target getting away.

Nothing had happened thus far and it was probably the beginnings of boredom that had caused 'Johnson' to suddenly get so chatty.

Hopefully his little bit of advice would keep his partner alive.

He hated breaking in the newbies!

"Hey! I think I just spotted the curtains moving!" 'Johnson' said causing him to focus his attention on the screen.

Narrowing his eyes he confirmed that the curtains were swaying in a way that supported the possibility that a person rather than intangible air had been behind the movement. It did not mean that the target was aware of the surveillance but it did imply a level of anxiety enough to motivate checking out her surroundings to determine if there was trouble.

Better not take any chances.

"Eyes to ears and mouth. Possible heart flutter." He said into the radio, "Pulse check."

"The mouth says nothing." The 'mouth' team replied indicating no activity from their side of the motel.

"The ears hear…WAIT!" the ears replied before abruptly becoming excited, "Heartbeat confirmed! Heartbeat on the move! Code Red!"

Code Red. Dammit!

Code Red meant that not only was the girl on the move but at such a rate of speed that it could only mean that the target knew that they were there. Not their specific outfit, not its name, but rather that unknown people who were possibly a threat had surrounded her location. Normally this meant that one of the teams had screwed up and done something to tip the girl off but he'd been on enough missions for the outfit to know that they didn't deal with the ordinary. Those missions could be left in the hands of the public law enforcement groups and agencies. The outfit only dealt with the things that existed outside of the public eye and possessed the possibility of becoming either an asset or a threat. If the higher ups wanted this girl then either she or something she was connected to fell into one of those areas.

As such it could mean that something else had tipped her off and none of the surveillance teams had screwed up.

"All teams converge and pursue target!" came the voice of their C.O over the radio, "Initiate Scylla protocols."

"Roger that. Mobilizing now." He said into the radio before starting the car up and peeling away from the curb.

A quick twist of the dial below the screen switched the image from the camera feed to a tracking system that'd let him know where the ears team's vehicle was at the moment. Navigating the streets as quickly as he could without causing himself more trouble he moved to take up a parallel position on the right of the ears team while the mouth team would go on the left. The idea behind the Scylla protocols from what he could tell was to box in the girl and herd her towards to a specified location. The fact that the town was out of the way and just had a handful of cops working to keep it safe worked to their advantage. A high speed chase and anything that followed might cause quite a bit of commotion but the odds of it escalating was small since who'd believe some hick sheriff much less scramble an investigative team. He also suspected that the higher ups had contingencies in place to keep the truth from coming out but only up to a point.

The pursuit teams didn't have carte blanche to do anything they wanted because it'd be covered up.

Sloppy agents would become dead agents.

Looking to the left he split his attention between driving and getting a visual confirmation of the girl so he could be sure that the ears team hadn't fallen for a decoy. It was hard with everything moving so quickly and there being so few gaps to look in between but when they hit a small park he got his first look with his own eyes rather than a camera.

"Man! She's moving like greased lightning!" 'Johnson' exclaimed from the passenger seat, "No way is she human!"

"No shit! Now lock it down and keep your mind on the job." He said doing his best to keep his partner from losing his composure.

The chase went on for longer than he'd thought it would but that came as no surprise considering how fast and agile the girl was proving to be. At levels well above what a human being was capable of she was moving at just under eighty kilometers per hour and anything that obstructed her path proved less than difficult to deal with. Maneuvering around it, vaulting over it or ducking under it she managed to get past all of them with only a momentary decrease in speed. Still the three cars were proving up to the challenge of keeping her moving in the direction they wanted her to go in and the few times it looked like she might be able to escape they used the nice little party favor they'd been given.

The T-8143759 or as one of the agents on the other team called it before they'd deployed the 'taser blaster'.

It was similar in size and configuration to a submachine gun but instead of bullets it fired a concentrated stream of electricity that according to the boss could KO just about anything with a pulse. It didn't have great range since there was some science based reason that projecting electricity through the air was difficult but he hadn't been paying attention. Basically though it meant that they could only use the taser blaster when the target was roughly two to three car lengths away if they wanted it to do any good. Any further away and the energy would either dissipate into the air or veer off course to hit something more conductive to electricity. Whatever the case it was believed by the higher ups that a direct hit by a taser blaster would be enough to inspire the target to veer away from the source.

And BOY did it!

One well placed shot by 'Johnson' was enough to disrupt the target's stride and prompt it to move back to where the pursuit team wanted it to be.

They did have to be careful to occasionally have one pursuit vehicle from the left or the right slow down to ensure that the target didn't suddenly go in the opposite direction on them. It was a bit tricky since if the car fell too far back it'd give their target an opening to slip through to the side but if they didn't slow down enough it just might do a one eighty degree change in direction. Still this wasn't the first time he'd been on one of these missions so he was confident he knew how to properly measure his vehicle's movements as well as placement.

It took them a little over fifteen minutes in the end but it was worth it when their prey leapt over a wire fence and entered a storage warehouse that looked like it'd been abandoned for a few years.

'Looked' being the operative word.

The truth of the matter was that it was a property owned by his superiors and while the exterior looked shabby the interior was quite the opposite.

They'd just herded the target into a literal kill box.

Just as he'd seen done before the moment the target was deep enough inside every means of entry or exit was mechanically sealed using a combination of tank armor plate and high electrical current. He hadn't seen the target carrying anything he knew of capable of penetrating tank armor and its reaction to the taser blasters made it clear that electricity would harm it if only marginally. Combine the two and unless someone screwed up in the design of the place it was only a matter time before the target was taken down.

That was why he was more than a little surprised when he saw one of the armor plates that'd sealed up a window suddenly bulge out in a manner consistent with a fist sized object hitting it. It was only a little over a foot outwards but it was still something he hadn't expected to see.

Then whatever god or goddess that might exist decided to add another surprise to the mix he watched less than a minute later as a bolt of golden energy pierce through the damaged armor plating as though it was made of paper. Another bolt tore through the armor plate covering the window and he knew that if the target was allowed to continued it'd create an exit for itself soon.

"Pursuit teams: move in and apply suppressive fire through the breach." Came the orders through their earpieces, "Do NOT let it escape! Maximum voltage!"

"Well this ought to be fun." He said parking his car, turned off the engine and then as he got out he picked up his own taser blaster.

He hadn't been able to use his own provided weapon since he'd been focused on keeping the car on the road as well as where it needed to be. Now though…now they'd need every blaster they had to force the target to abandon its efforts to blast its way through the armor plating.

In seconds he along with the other members of the pursuit team were in front of the armor plate but away from the line of fire the fire the target was sticking to. Once there they each took careful aim before turning up the dial on the blasters to their maximum output and then with a single look they pulled the triggers as one. The upside to this tactic was that it would reach further into the building and since the interior likely had conductive elements used in its design it'd create a storm of electricity. The downside was the fact that at maximum output the batteries on the blasters probably wouldn't last very long and they hadn't been given more than one spare battery to work with. If their tactic failed to drive the target away from the weakness in the structure they'd need a plan B.

A short while later the batteries on their weapons died and like the trained operatives they were they efficiently removed the spent battery before putting into place the spare.

"Mission completed. Target is moving away from the breach." The C.O said pausing briefly as though to look at something, "Reposition around the perimeter and watch for any sign of new escape attempts."

"You heard the man." He said before turning to the rest of the agents, "Spread out but stay in eyesight of each other at all times. Call it in if you see any signs the target is trying to bust out again."

Nods all around were all he saw before the others scattered to surround the building.

As for 'Johnson' and him he chose to remain in front of the breach just in case the target tried again thinking they'd never consider this course of action. His partner walked to the corner of the building to establish a line of sight with the closest member of the pursuit team but without leaving his sight. Before long the loose net comprised of six people was complete and a moment later they heard sounds of battle going on inside the building. All of it was unmistakably weapons fire but try as he might he couldn't put a name to those weapons even if each individual one bore similarities to some he'd used in the past. Most of the weapons didn't have the power to pierce through the building to the outside world and while a few did the holes created were in the roof rather than in any of the walls.

What bothered him though was the sheer variety in the weapons fire he was hearing.

He knew that he had not seen any weapons on the target during pursuit, he definitely would have seen this many, but that could only mean one of two things. Either the target had found weapons inside the building, unlikely since only a fool would've placed them there, or there was something VERY special about the target that'd explain why his superiors were interested in it.

He didn't allow himself to think on the matter further otherwise he'd be guilty of the same mistake 'Johnson' had made prior to the chase beginning.

He wasn't sure how long the fighting went on inside the building or even who was attacking the target, he didn't look at his watch, but eventually it did come to an end. Less than a minute later a modified armored truck pulled up to the building flanked by four armored cars with manned mini-guns mounted on the top. As soon as the truck came to a stop the rear doors opened up revealing two men armed with guns possessed of serious stopping power that then got out. From what he could see one of them pressed a button of some kind and the sound of a mechanized motor filled the air the cause of which became visible soon after.

~Damn. Just how dangerous is this target?~ He thought as he looked at the high tech restraint gurney exiting the armored truck.

Most restraint gurneys might've been composed of strong metal and straps made of a strong fabric that was beyond a human's ability to break through sheer strength. This restraint gurney…it was entirely made of metal decorated with restraints that looked both strong as well as thick enough to immobilize some of the most powerful animals on the planet. He could also see technological devices and displays incorporated into the design likely meant to aid in the monitoring of the target's status as well as increase the odds of successful restraint.

All in all if the target somehow managed to get free from it after being locked in then they never had a chance of holding it in the first place.

More armed men popped out of the escort vehicles before forming up and entering the building like they'd been planning for this from the beginning and had practiced A LOT. It was somewhat impressive to see such precise movement, such obvious signs of both skill as well as experience, that it almost made him feel a little insecure about his own prowess but he managed to quell this feeling. He was no stranger to the notion that there was always room for improvement and during his down time between assignments he did what he could to push himself to be better than he was.

Everyone had a role in the 'outfit' and they were chosen for those roles based on their physical prowess as well as their psychological makeup or at least that's what he thought. While not impossible to prove that you were suitable for other assignments he figured that it'd take some pretty noticeable changes in either criteria to make management reassess where he would be most suited.

~Maybe a few years down the line.~ He thought not in any rush to reach the top.

Moments later the team that piled out from the escort vehicles entered the building while the rest of them waited with weapons at the ready in case they were needed. In the end though it turned out not to be necessary since five minutes later the team that'd gone in came out with what at first glance looked to be a teenage girl with dark hair clad in clothes that were only just intact. However when he caught a glimpse of the target between two of the men carrying her he saw metallic silver that could not be explained away rationally. It looked as though he'd seen some sort of cybernetic prosthesis like in a Hollywood sci-fi movie and there'd been visible drops of silver blood randomly dropping to the ground.

~Definitely not human.~ He thought concluding that the target could only be some sort of robot.

If so then it was likely THE most sophisticated piece of machinery in the planet and this explained a lot about how the mission was planned out as well as the gear that was provided. Watching as the entry team began to put the target into the metal restraint gurney he could see that it wouldn't allow for more than a millimeter of movement in any limb while at the same time pinning the torso. When the last physical restraint clanked into a locked state one of the members of the entry team tapped a code into a keypad built into it and out of nowhere electricity flowed over the target. It came, again and again, in pulses making him think of some sort of localized EMP confined to the gurney itself and anything restrained on it. A logical move since machines in general hated EMPs and hitting the target with one after another would keep it in a permanent state of incapacitation. Once they were satisfied with the state of the gurney the button was pressed once more and the mechanism began to retract the gurney into the armored truck. Once the gurney was all the way in the two that'd originally arrived in it went back in before members of the entry team closed the doors.

The other newest arrivals soon left as well protecting the vehicle carrying the precious cargo and likely preparing themselves for the possibility that the target might cause trouble en route to their destination.

"Pursuit teams you are to proceed into the building and begin collection of any foreign materials using the kit each of you has been provided with. Nothing is to be considered insignificant." Came the orders through their earpieces, "Upon completion activate the building's sanitizers and proceed to extraction point zulu. You'll receive your new assignments there. Command over and out!"

"Shit! I hate this part." 'Johnson' grumbled even as he went back to their vehicle to grab the kits they'd need, "This is lab monkey work!"

"It's strategic." He said following his partner, "Minimizing the number of personnel involved makes it easier for them to control the flow of info and pin down a spy if sensitive info gets out. So quit your griping before they decide you're a spy looking to slow things down until your real bosses show up."

It was true too.

Just as the outfit had ambitious plans they also had a healthy amount of paranoia about possible spies in their midst and the possibility of their plans getting out to undesirable parties. As such every member below the top rank were probably kept under moderate surveillance with compartmentalized analysts scrutinizing everything for reliable proof of disloyalty. The analysts wouldn't know who they were listening to, looking at or reading about but they would do their job to the best of their ability.

At least that's how he thought it probably went.

So to make sure he wasn't put on a list of people that warranted increased scrutiny if not elimination he moved with a purpose after taking the kit out of the car.

He had a job to do and he'd do it to the best of his ability.

He hoped it'd be enough to reaffirm to those above his loyalty to the outfit.