On the advice of the lawyer Giles hired, Xander explained everything about how the Mayor came to die at his hand. From discovering the spell over Sunnydale to investigating the building companies and inspectors as much as they were able, to finding the pictures of the Mayor at the Sunnydale archives and deciding they needed to know if he was a demon or alien disguised as a human or actually a human, to getting caught by a physical trap because the Mayor guessed he'd try to infiltrate his home looking for answers.
"You skipped some steps in your investigation." Fury observed.
"That was our conclusion too." Xander agreed. "Sooner or later, looking for more evidence probably would have been necessary, but at that point, all we needed to know was if he was using a glamour and we could have waited to find that out."
"Still, not a bad bit of investigation over all. Now what to do about it. You did kill a human."
"Self defense." The lawyer pointed out. "Granted Alexander was trespassing, but the Mayor's response was definitely not a legal way of dealing with a trespasser. Alexander was being tortured, at that point it was a matter of survival and the Mayor stood, literally, between Alexander and freedom. He did what was necessary to survive, I'm certain a court of law would agree with that. And in light of the knowledge of the Mayor's intentions -."
"Which were unknown at the time and are speculation now. Granted the Books of Ascension, the Mayor's history with the town, the analysis of the pictures, which we can also analyse for corroboration and the presence of that mystical convergence lends credence to it all being true, but there's a severe lack evidence, despite the pictures. Some mutants do live a long time after all, same with Inhumans. On the other hand, there is evidence for corruption. The on going and unreported deaths in the town and the laws the Mayor managed to have enacted, certainly make the case for corruption."
"At very least, Alexander is an emancipated minor. Legally, he's even less culpable since two adults not only allowed him to undertake the mission to infiltrate the Mayor's office and home, but aided him in doing so, including with Magic. For all we know, they may have used Magic to influence him."
"No." Xander said flatly. "Don't you dare try to put it on Giles, not even to protect me. If I'm charged, you better damn well find another way to defend me or I'll fire your ass faster then you can say 'case closed.' Understand me?"
The lawyer hesitated a moment, the threat had been a ruse, not an actual attempt to explain away any culpability Xander might have, just a way of getting Fury to possibly back down from any potential threat he might make. She hadn't expected Xander to forcibly reject even the possibility.
"Breathe, Kid." Fury advised. "I'm not actually planning to charge you with anything. I don't have proof that you're telling the truth about killing him. Just your word on the matter and you may be covering for someone else. I have a feeling you'd do that, if you felt it was necessary. But we still have a dilemma. What would you like to see happen from SHIELD's involvement in this?"
"Get rid of the corrupt cops and get good ones in there. Get rid of Snyder, our Principal, Cordy over heard him and the Police Chief talking, they're aware of what's under the High School and have done nothing to help anyone. Principal Snyder is openly antagonist towards Buffy, someone who is trying to help fight the vampires. Given that he's aware of the Hellmouth and her history of fighting vampires, that suggests he knows about the vampires in Sunnydale and kids that die because of them. Either clean out the vampires yourself or if you don't have the manpower at present, then give our group training, resources and supplies and let us do it."
"That's a tall order. You're too young for us to officially recruit you, except Mr. Osbourne, but you'll all be eighteen within the next few months. But we could give you training and everything else you need to deal with them yourself, while we deal with the corruption. At least until we figure out what to do about the Hellmouth, as you call it."
"We have some theories on how to deal with it given it how other ones have been dealt with in the past, but Sunnydale wouldn't survive them."
"Then we need to figure out a way that ensures Sunnydale survives or baring that, remove the population."
"Which may happen on its own." Xander pointed out. "The spell is nearly totally gone. People are noticing things now and becoming aware of the outside world at the same time. It's a matter of which is scarier, Sunnydale or the world. As long as that Hellmouth remains open, demon breed vampires will be drawn to it. We're finding ways to keep humans safe, but right now our resources are limited. Even with everyone helping when they have free time, we can only make so many of the vamp sensors. And while they are strong enough to dust vampires when activated, they can only be put around property. The streets and alleyways still have vamps in them. A curfew would be a temporary measure but only if you're going to officially go in and clean them out. And I don't think you have the resources to do that right now."
"You're right, we don't. Which is why helping your group while we deal with the corruption is the most viable solution at present."