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The White Picket Fences	By : QueenB Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Het - Male/Female Views: 2826 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Rupert Giles surveyed the Magic Box with a great deal of self-satisfaction. After an initially shaky start, the customers had started pouring in and business was doing rather well. Anya’s selling skills still needed work but pointing out how proper sales technique ensured higher profit margins usually accomplished the task of smoothing out her rough edges.

If only he could deal with the impending arrival of the Council Watchers as easily…

He’d called an impromptu meeting in order to prepare Buffy. His announcement that a delegation of Watchers was heading to Sunnydale had produced a bit of a stir among her friends. Needless to say, she hadn’t taken the news well.

Those green eyes stared at him with anger and worry warring for dominance. “Why do they have to come here? Giles, I don’t want them to come. Not now, not ever. I don’t trust them. Make them not come here.”

All right, perhaps “stir” had been too mild a word. Giles shrugged helplessly as he began cleaning his glasses. I’m afraid they’re already on their way. But if the Council knows something about Glory, her agenda or her origins, then maybe it will help us get a grip on what we’re dealing with. Right now, we’re a bit lost.”

Riley wound his arms around Buffy, a gesture she didn’t acknowledge. He could feel the tension running through her though he didn’t understand it. Tara was puzzled; she thought of English people as being essentially rather mild mannered. Willow and Xander tried to be reassuring. Anya was the only other person seriously disturbed by the news. She thought the Council’s anti-demon stance might prove harmful to her own welfare and her self-absorption kicked into high gear.

Who or what was this Watchers Council anyway? Riley decided to talk to Buffy about it later. She was too busy trying to keep Dawn from eavesdropping to speak freely in front of him.

Giles for his part resolved to go on with his life as if everything were normal…at least as normal as anything ever got on the Hellmouth. That meant running his business to the best of his abilities. He instructed a dark-haired woman about her recent purchase of a magical tome. “If you’re serious about this, madam, you need to be very careful. Measure precisely and please don’t step ahead.”

“No, he’s quite right,” said a low rumbling voice. “You don’t want to do anything dangerous and turn the wrong person into a badger.”

The comment brought chuckles from the brunette and Giles forced a tight smile onto his face. “Quentin. I didn’t realize you were here. I see you’ve brought some of our colleagues with you,” indicating seven or eight people lined up behind Travers. “Care to introduce us?”

Quentin Travers let his eyes wander over the shop intently before coming to rest on Giles again. “First I thought we might catch up.”

“Certainly, certainly.” Giles began bustling about, keenly aware of Travers’s deceptively placid gaze resting on him. “This is the shop, obviously. It’s been a very interesting transition into the world of retail. In fact, I think it’s going rather well.”

One of the men with Travers, of Eastern Indian descent by the look of him, was rummaging on the shelves behind the counter. “Most of this stuff couldn’t harm anyone…incense, dime store trinkets. But there are some things...”He handed a jar of purple storm sand to Travers.

Giles gave the man a look of baffled annoyance. “I’m sorry. Who are you?” Turning around, he noticed that all of Travers’s assistants were similarly engaged in handling objects, picking items off the shelves and inspecting the store’s contents.

The Indian ignored the question and pulled a book out of the former Watcher’s hands. He walked to the middle of the store and calmly announced, “Magic Box shoppers. We’re going to have to ask you to leave. The store is closing early today.”

Anya was immediately up in arms. Her customers were leaving and taking their beloved money with them! “Hey! Giles, what are they doing? Customers, please bring your money back.” Her furious expression demanded to know why Giles wasn’t stopping these meddlesome people from

interfering with good old-fashioned American consumerism.

Giles was outraged. “You knew you were going to do this before you even saw the place.” This was the Council, all right, as highhanded as ever. Why had he believed this would be merely an amicable exchange of information?

“I’m sorry,” Quentin replied without the slightest trace of remorse in his voice. “It’s just for the duration of the Council’s review.”

“Council? You’re the Council?” Anya’s mouth went dry. She’d been treated to Buffy’s horror story of how the Council had tested her on her 18th birthday. The ex-demon was understandably terrified of what these people might do to her if they learned about her former non-human status. “Welcome to our store. We’re closed now. I’ll be in the back.” She fled as fast as she could without actually running and shut the training room door behind her.

Left on his own with Travers and his lackeys, Giles faced the older man. “Now tell me about this review. No one said anything to me about this.” Travers gestured for one of his nameless tagalongs to pour tea. Giles waved away his cup. He was suddenly uninterested in the pleasantries.

“We’ve discovered information about this creature, your Glory. Some of it is clearly vital, the rest merely extremely disturbing, and it won’t be handed over until we are convinced that you and your Slayer are prepared for it. Thus the review.”

“I’m not having you put her through another one of your insane trials.” Giles’s voice was low but the threat in it was unmistakable. He had nearly lost Buffy to the Cruciamentium—not just her life but her faith in him as well. It had taken weeks before he was able to regain her forgiveness and trust. He was not about to risk that loss again.

Travers continued unruffled in the face of the other man’s ire. “It’s not a test. It’s a check of her methods. We need to know that this information is safe.” Rupert’s gaze turned icy as he succinctly explained how Buffy had grown as a person and took her responsibilities as a Slayer far more seriously than she had as a teenager.

__________

The same responsible young woman could barely keep her eyes open during history class. The teacher was droning on and on about Rasputin, managing to make the Mad Monk of imperialist Russia sound as interesting as drying paint. However, her curiosity was piqued when he mentioned how the man had managed to live through even the most extraordinary assassination attempts.

Buffy had her own theory about why Rasputin was still being seen as late as the 1930s. But as usual her ideas did nothing but irritate the teacher and provoke laughter from her fellow students. The ridicule and the professor’s obvious contempt were more than she could stand.

She was still fulminating about it hours later while pounding the stuffing out of a large vampire. “ ‘Miss Summers,’ “ She kneed him in the jaw. “ ‘Some of us are here to learn, Professor.’ “ A swift kick to the ribs was followed by a powerhouse right jab and left block. She spun the vamp around and threw him headfirst into a bulldozer. “ ‘Maybe you’d like to teach your own class.’ “

The vampire she was fighting looked around in bafflement; the creature of the night couldn’t figure out what had this woman kicking his ass so steamed. “Who are you talking to?” He jumped up abruptly causing her to stagger back. A moment later a big man came hurtling through the air and tackled the monster from behind. Buffy watched as Riley wrestled the vampire onto the ground and then staked it before it could recover.

“Riley. What are you doing here?”

He glanced up, brushing the vamp dust from his blue jeans. “Patrolling, same as you. You’re welcome, by the way.” Buffy continued her patrolling around the gravestones without answering him. Riley scrambled up from the ground and hurried after her. “Buffy, wait. Look, tell me what’s wrong. You’ve barely spoken to me since yesterday when Giles was talking about that Council. I don’t get why they’ve got you so spooked.”

“They’re bad news, Riley. They had Giles rob me of my strength in some bizarre test on my 18th birthday and then sicced a huge crazy vampire on me.”

“But you beat him, right? I mean, you’re still standing, so you must have kicked his ass, didn’t you?”

Buffy whirled on him. “Riley, the vampire wasn’t the problem. This wasn’t some pass-or-fail test. This was life or death. The Slayer has to pass that test or she dies. Up until then, I thought the Council existed to serve Slayers. Instead, it’s the other way around. Their leader, a real bastard by the name of Quentin Travers, fired Giles when he cheated by telling me what was happening to me!”

Buffy paused in her tale, breathing hard. She knew it wasn’t fair to take her anger out on Riley. He hadn’t been there. He didn’t know the terror of being an ordinary girl at the mercy of a crazed killer.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. The knowledge that Giles had deliberately done this to her, that he’d knowingly placed her life in mortal danger, had shocked her to the core. He was supposed to be taking care of her, training her, seeing to her safety. He had cautioned her time and again to be careful whenever she went patrolling or took on some new baddie. Then he had tricked her and lied to her. She had nearly died because of him. Her mom had nearly died because of him.

She had forgiven him eventually. She couldn’t have remained a Slayer if she hadn’t. But the memory brought up a lot of trust issues that for various reasons she was unwilling to rehash with Riley—especially since their renewed romance was still so fragile.

The object of her concern was staring at her with clear astonishment in his hazel eyes. “Why would they do that to you, to their own Slayers?”

Buffy’s eyes turned stormy as she stared in front of them. “Because when one Slayer dies, another one rises. They think of us as being expendable. Just common foot soldiers in the never-ending battle against evil.”

The ex-commando clenched his jaw at these bitter words. He remembered what Buffy had told him of Slayers. Even now he could hardly believe it—that there existed an elite cabal that called young girls and threw them into a perilous struggle when they were still in puberty. The very thought of it gave him chills. He ran his eyes over the face of the small woman beside him. No wonder Buffy sometimes looked sadder than anyone her age had reason to be.

“But they’re not going to do that test now. They’re here to give info on Glory. Right?”

Buffy shook her head, caught up in her own thoughts. “If that were all they wanted, why not by phone, fax or email? I don’t trust them and I don’t want them getting so close to Dawn.” She paused, horrified, as something occurred to her. “Oh God.”

“What? Buffy, what is it?” He scanned the surrounding area, wondering if she’d spotted some hostile looming out of the darkness.

“They assigned Merrick, my first Watcher, to me. Then Giles after Merrick died. They both knew who I was, what I looked like, where to find me. They got that information from the Council. What if the false memories those monks gave all of us about Dawn don’t extend to the Council members? If they learn I have a sister that’s not recorded in their mystic files, that’s it, it’s over. They’ll know what she is. They might have her killed to keep her out of Glory’s hands!”

Riley turned to face her and tightly grasped both of her shoulders. “Buffy, relax. You’re exaggerating. They wouldn’t do that—would they?” He looked uncertainly into her face. Buffy struggled in his grip, an irrational terror prompting her to get home to her sister.

“You don’t know that, Riley. You don’t know what these people are capable of.”

He released her with a sigh of exasperation. “Fine. If you believe the matter’s that serious, then I think it’s time you told the others about Dawn. You should tell her, too.”

Buffy remembered how hard it had been for her to deal with being a Slayer when she was only 15. She had hated it, hated the thought that her happy, carefree life was gone forever. She was determined that Dawn not go through the same experience. “No, I can’t tell that to Dawn. The others maybe, but not her.”

“Yes, especially her! The way she’s been snooping around, she’s bound to find out sooner or later. Besides, what other excuse are you going to give her to keep her out of the Council’s way?”

Riley’s point was a good one, dammit. The longer Dawn kept eavesdropping on private conversations, the sooner she was going to find out the truth. Buffy just didn’t know how she could break something like that to her.

“Great, Riley. Maybe you can come up with a soothing way to say, ‘Pass the salt, Dawn, and, by the way, you’re not really my sister. You’re just a mystical ball of energy that’s been given a flesh envelope by some Russian monks.’ “

Riley ignored the bitter sarcastic tone. “Well, naturally, we’re going to have to find a way to break it to her gently.”

Her face was a study in bemusement as she considered the problem. “Nothing comes to mind.”

“We’ll think of something.” He laid an arm around her shoulders and after a moment she allowed herself to relax slightly into his embrace.

Buffy felt a minor lightening of her spirits. All right, her relationship with Riley wasn’t 100% but they were both trying. He still wanted to be a rock for her in times of need. She was trying to be forgiving and include him more in her plans with the others. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to reach out and touch him yet. She would make an attempt and then the image of him in that darkened room with the vampire hooker fastened like a leech to his arm would surface in her mind and desire would die like a blown-out candle.

She signed inwardly and pulled out of his grip. She pushed open the door to the Magic Box and halted. Riley bumped into her still body and peered over her head to see what had caused her to stop.

Giles was standing stiffly next to a shorter old gentleman. There were several other people grouped around them, all staring intently at the pair in the doorway. The old man spoke first. “Miss Summers. Good to see you again.”

Buffy entered the store with Riley at her heels. “Mr. Travers,” she replied in a unwelcoming tone.

This was Travers? At first glance, he appeared to be nothing more than a harmless old fogey. But then Riley saw his expressionless eyes and all his inner alarms went off.

“And who is this young man with you?”

“No one,” Buffy said too quickly. “Just a would-be customer. I’m sorry, sir, the Magic Box is closed. Come back tomor—”

“Riley Finn,” the large Iowan said, resolutely ignoring Buffy’s slayer glare.

“And what exactly is your relationship with Miss Summers?”

“None of your business,” Riley replied in an equally cool tone. Now he knew what it was about this guy that had his teeth on edge. Travers had the same chilly dictatorial manner of Professor Walsh.

Travers went on in the same calm voice he used for everything. “That remains to be determined. Miss Summers, we’ve already laid out our project for Mr. Giles. Nigel?”

The Indian stepped forth and proceeded to give his instructions in a bored, pompous tone. “It’s an exhaustive examination of your procedures and abilities. We’ll observe your training, talk to your friends…”

“Talk to my friends? Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Buffy couldn’t believe Travers would just walk in here and try to push her around like this. She looked at Giles and noticed that he was studiously avoiding her gaze. Uh oh, that didn’t look good.

Travers seated himself and peered at her with clinical detachment. “I can sense your resistance. I don’t blame you. But I think your Watcher hasn’t reminded you lately of the ranks and status of our little game. The Council fights evil. The Slayer is the instrument by which we fight. The Council remains; the Slayers change. It’s been that way from the beginning.

“Glory is stronger than you. She’s a more powerful instrument, if you will. We have information that will help. Pass the review and we give it to you without reservation. Fail the review, either through incompetence or by resisting our recommendations—”

“Resisting your recommendations? How much under your thumb do you think we are?!” Giles yelled in barely contained fury.

“How much do you want our help?” Travers replied. He had Giles and Buffy right where he wanted them and he knew it. Turning to the blonde woman, he continued. “There are factors which should motivate you to go along with the review. I don’t want to do this but obviously we could shut this place down permanently.”

“You can’t do that,” Riley said, his eyes narrowing. “You don’t have that kind of power.”

“Of course we do and a great deal more. In fact, if Miss Summers insists on fighting us, we’ll arrange to have Mr. Giles deported within a day. He’ll never set foot in this country again. Now perhaps you’re used to idle threats and sloppy discipline, Miss Summers, but you’re dealing with grownups now. Am I making myself clear?”

After Squinting Travers and the Sunnydale Tea Party (as Buffy had taken to calling them) vacated the Magic Box, the Slayer slumped at the table looking utterly dejected. Riley hated to see her like this but felt helpless to do anything about it. The whole situation sucked, any way you looked at it.

Giles paced back and forth, furiously polishing his glasses and muttering all the while. Buffy looked in Riley’s direction. “I don’t suppose there’s anything you can do? Maybe you could contact someone in the government or one of your ex-Initiative buddies.”

“Buffy, I’d like nothing better. But we’re military. We work for the government not vice versa. I don’t have any real clout with elected officials. And if these guys have their passports all legal and above board—”

“They do,” Giles muttered while staring sightlessly into the depths of the store.

“—Then INS can’t force them to leave. And my former Initiative pals are deep undercover in Central America. They’re not going to break radio silence just to keep some Englishman from being deported. No offence, Giles.”

“None taken, I assure you.”

Riley frowned, thinking hard of other options. Now, more than ever, he wanted to show Buffy she could rely on his aid. She had asked for his assistance and he would give it to the best of his abilities. But first he needed to know what he was up against. “Can they really do the stuff they threatened? Kick you out of the country?”

“In a heartbeat. This stuff, the bureaucracy, pulling the political strings, they’re the best in the world. They can kill you with a stroke of a pen. Poncy sons of—” A sharp crack came from his hands, revealing that Giles had finally scrubbed his lenses a wee bit too hard.

Buffy looked up at the sound. “Am I going to be able to get through this review?”

Giles was swift to assure her as he pulled up a chair beside the blonde woman. “I suppose they’ll make it as difficult as they want to. The physical stuff may be a bit of a challenge.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. Twice now I’ve been within slaying distance of Glory and twice she’s kicked my ass without even tensing a muscle and I haven’t been able to figure out what she is or anything about her except that she wants the Key which I have and I can’t even figure out if it’s okay for me to tell anyone that.” Buffy paused after the long-winded speech and wrapped her arms around her small frame.

Riley could see she was working herself up to a fever pitch of anxiety. “Buffy, calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Her voice rang out loudly in the empty store and she shut her mouth with a snap, giving him an apologetic look.

“Okay, fine. Stay angry. But stay focused. You’re going to need that if you hope to get through this. Just take a deep breath. That’s an order.” The abrupt authoritative tone brought her up short. Buffy gaped at Riley’s set face for a moment. Then she took in an exaggerated gulp of air.

“That’s good. Now keep telling yourself ‘They’re the assholes. They’re the assholes.’ Think of it as a kind of mantra,” he grinned.

Giles hid a smile and then sighed. “He’s right, Buffy. They have crucial information that we need but instead of giving it to us willingly, they choose to hold it hostage. I don’t care if they see themselves as ‘adults’ in this business. It’s childish and humiliating.”

Buffy smiled wanly at him. “Also smart. They picked the perfect leverage. I can’t lose you.”

Giles blinked at the quiet statement. “Thank you.” She touched his hand as they shared a moment of closeness between them.

Riley stood aside, watching them both. Oddly enough, he felt no envy of the two of them. He had often considered himself the outsider in Buffy’s little group. It was one of the many reasons he had despaired of ever being close to her heart. Now he understood just how much a man like Mr. Giles meant to her. He only hoped he might prove as worthy of such regard.

As if sensing his scrutiny, Buffy cocked an eyebrow at Riley. “So they’re the assholes, huh?”

__________

[Assholes. Oh yeah. You bet.] According to what her friends told her, the Council toadies had been around to each one with probing questions about their involvement in Buffy’s life. However, when attempts were made to interrogate Riley, all they got was that he’d been involved with a classified project and that attempts to learn more would be considered a breach of protocol and he’d have his questioner arrested.

Buffy grinned at his description of the encounter. “Wow. They really bought that?”

He shrugged off her obvious admiration. “It’s more or less the truth, Buffy. It should keep them off my back anyway. How did things go at your end?”

Buffy grimaced as she tried to battle twin feelings of anger and frustration. She gave a rough sketch of her afternoon: how she had been forced to fight, bare-armed and blindfolded, against an armed opponent while Squinting shouted commands at her in Japanese. She’d disarmed her attacker easily but the “target” she was supposed to be protecting got impaled by an axe. All in all, not a favorable beginning.

“So where are you headed now?” Buffy threw on her jacket and headed out of the Magic Box.

“Well, I’m not really in the mood for socializing and since this whole Glory mess got started, I’ve been getting home early to check in on Mom and Dawn. Want to come with?” The Iowan was happy to oblige; he hadn’t seen Dawn or Miss Summers for a bit. It would be nice to catch up.

Buffy opened the door and hung her purse on the coat rack nearby. Riley couldn’t help but notice how quiet the house was. Admittedly only three people lived here but his house had always been bustling with activity back on the farm. He like to hear the noise of other people around him and this silence seemed…off, somehow.

“Mom? Where are you?” Buffy rounded the corner to the living room and froze. Standing there with an empty smile pasted on her face was Glory.

“Long day, sweetie?”

Buffy overcame her paralysis and moved farther into the living room. Glory was wandering around the place, idly running her hands along the furniture and fiddling with various personal items. Riley had stopped when Buffy did and Glory hadn’t seen him yet. Behind the demon’s back, Buffy silently mouthed the words, “Keep out of sight.”

“So this is where the Slayer eats, sleeps and gets laid. Can’t even stand it,” she sniffed. “Personally, I need more space. Plenty of space. I don’t like having any humans near me. The mess. The bodily secretions. The smell.” She gave an exaggerated shudder and brushed imaginary dirt from her hands. “But this…this is good for you. Tiny but cramped. Suits you down to a tee, small stuff.”

[Great. She’s running down my home life? What is it with bad guys and their urge to babble?] “What do you want?”

Glory plopped down on a small armchair. She was fabulously dressed as always. If she felt at all out of her element, she didn’t show it. “The Key. Why else do you think I’d come to this squalid little hole? See, I think you know where it is and that’s good because it’s the only thing keeping you alive right now. ‘Cause you may be tiny queen in vampire world but to me you’re a bug. You should get down on your knees and worship me!”

Buffy didn’t pay attention to the rambling speech. She did her best to keep her stance loose and relaxed and her eyes trained on the demented monster in front of her. Riley was hovering behind Glory, just out of sight, and Buffy was determined not to reveal his presence.

Glory never so much as turned her head as she continued watching Buffy. “Hey, you!” she shouted. “Come here a sec. Not gonna ask twice.”

[Shit.] “Leave him out of this,” Buffy gritted. “This is between you and me.”

Glory smirked at the futile display of anger. Did this puny mortal really think she had any say in what was happening? “No, this is between me and my Key. You just happen to be the thing in the way.” She snapped her fingers for Riley to come closer.

Glory ran her eyes over his tall form. Her scrutiny was a blatant parody of a come-on and it made Riley’s skin crawl. “Well, aren’t you a handsome stud! For a human, anyway. What’s your name, good-looking?”

“Riley.” Buffy wanted to hit him. What the hell was he thinking, telling this monster his name? Was he going to introduce himself to every evil creature he met?

Glory was delighted; she could tell that the Slayer was upset and it pleased her no end to show this mortal trash who was the boss. But right now she had more important things on her mind than the blonde bitch’s feelings. “Riley, did you know your girlfriend took my Key and she won’t give it back? I bet you know where she put it, don’t ya? You’re fucking her, she’s got to have told you all her dirty little secrets.” Her bright-eyed stare was like a hawk watching a rabbit. “Where’s my Key, Riley?”

Buffy couldn’t keep still for much longer. Every slayer sense screamed at her to attack and get this thing away from her lover. But Glory was being fairly restrained and Buffy didn’t want to commit any action that might set her off.

“Riley, get out of here.” Riley glared at her. Dammit, she was doing it again! He opened his mouth to respond but caught sight of the look in her eyes.

She was afraid. It was as close to terror as he’d ever seen in her and he knew it wasn’t for herself. Whatever this woman was, she was more dangerous than any hostile he’d ever fought, dangerous enough to warrant a whole cadre of Council members flying from England to aid the Slayer. An instinct of self-preservation warred with the urge to defend his girlfriend. Finally he gave a sharp nod and turned on his heel.

“Fine. When you feel you can tell me what’s happening, you know where to find me.” He walked out without a backward glance and slammed the front door behind him.

Glory fell back into the armchair with a small giggle. “Ooh, I like him! He’s got that thick-necked, bullheaded charm I’m betting all the dumb blondes go for. And I’ll kill him. I’ll kill your mom. I’ll kill your sister. I’ll kill your friends. And I’ll make you watch when I do. Just give me the Key.”

Buffy’s silence finally seemed to get on her unwanted guest’s nerves. Glory stood up and all the amusement vanished from her voice. “Obviously, this is a one-time only deal. The next time we meet, something you love dies bloody.” She shrugged and sauntered away from Buffy.

Mrs. Summers appeared only a moment later, glancing after the departing threat. “Buffy, who was that?”

“Mom. Pack a bag.”

__________

[Where is he? Where is that Billy Idol-wannabe when I really need the help?] Buffy had made the reluctant decision to leave her mother and sister with Spike. The vampire was a formidable fighter plus Buffy was fairly sure Glory didn’t know where his crypt was. If worst came to worst, and the vamp couldn’t fight her off, they could always escape through the tunnels. [Besides, if she wipes the floor with him while he’s protecting Mom and Dawn, I won’t shed any tears over it.]

But the peroxided wonder was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him since—her mind shied away from that thought. She hadn’t told anyone about the incident at the vamp brothel and she wasn’t about to now.

“Where’s Spike?” Dawn peer around, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the dust piled on the furniture. It doesn’t look like he’s been here for awhile, Buffy.” She picked up a discarded glass caked with coagulated blood and set it down hastily. “Ugh! Gross!

“I don’t know where he could be. But could you two just stay here until I get back from the Magic Box? I have to talk to Giles about our—visitor.” She glanced at her watch and swore under her breath. She had to get to the Magic Box for her final assessment.

__________

Xander, Anya, Tara, Willow and Riley peered down from the upper balcony of the Magic Box as the Council lackeys pawed, sifted and flipped through the store’s inventory. “Something’s wrong,” Riley grumbled.

“I’ll say,” Anya sniffed in reply. “These people have no right going through the store like this. The least they could do is buy something.”

Willow’s sidelong stare was directed at Xander. It was one of her “What the hell are you doing with her?” looks that she frequently gave him since the ex-demon officially became his girlfriend. She considered Anya to be an even worse romantic choice than Cordelia had been. Other than the sex, she just didn’t know what he saw in the greedy cow.

“No, I mean Buffy. She knows how important this is. It’s not like her to be late, not when she knows Mr. Giles is at stake.”

“Think something’s happened to her? You said you didn’t hear any sounds of fighting and you saw Glory leave the house almost right after you left,” Xander whispered back. For some reason, no one felt like raising his or her voice. The presence of the Council was dampening everybody’s spirits.

“Yeah, I did.” After leaving the house, the ex-commando had hidden around the corner of the building, watching and listening intently for any sign of trouble. With the departure of Buffy’s unwelcome guest, he had debated staying to check on her or tailing Glory. Opting for the latter, he’d tracked her on foot only to have her disappear into the crowd. He didn’t get it. Riley was highly skilled in stealth and tracking; how could some woman teetering along the street in high heels elude him as easily as Glory had? Then, when he had returned to the house to see Buffy, no one had answered his rings or knocks.

“I’m going out again. See if I can find out where Buffy could be.”

Xander nodded without taking his eyes off the Council members below. “Good luck. We’ll hold down the fort here until you get back.” Riley snatched up his jacket and silently left the store.

__________

Buffy hurried down the street. She was late and she knew it. She cursed Glory and the Council. Between them, they were making her life miserable. Any demon that tried to get in her way tonight was going to face one really pissed off Slayer.

Speak of the devil…

A large masked figure lunged from behind some stacked up cans, grabbed Buffy around the waist and flung her to the ground. As the petite blonde scrambled to her feet, two more of the creatures leapt out of the darkness and began circling her, twirling long metal staves that winked and flashed in the air.

“Uh, guys, any way we could not do this? I’m kinda on a schedule here.” The figures made no answer only began swinging their weapons. As Buffy threw a hard kick into one of her assailants’ ribs, Riley rounded the corner. Seeing Buffy once again outnumbered, he charged into the fray.

One of the men swiveled at the sound of his running gait. Only Riley’s quick duck at the last minute prevented the staff from impacting with his head. He slid on the ground the last few feet and his foot lashed out, catching the creature in the ankle. There was a solid cracking noise and the attacker went down with a howl of pain.

Buffy managed to disarm one of the two remaining and used his staff to take down the last fighter. As she sat on his prone form, Riley came up besides her, grimacing and flexing his right hand. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Next time warn me not to slug someone wearing chain mail as head gear.”

“Gotcha.” She lifted the face mask of her downed opponent. “Okay, let’s see what you are.” The mask came off to reveal—a human face. Her attacker was a human male albeit with a strange symbol on his forehead. “Or who you are.”

The man glared up at her. “I’m a soldier in a vast army.”

Riley squatted next to Buffy. “Really? I don’t recognize your uniform, soldier.”

The soldier ignored him, addressing his words to Buffy. “We’re the Knights of Byzantium, an ancient order—and now your enemy.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed. These guys were a new enemy? [Right, like I don’t have enough of the demonic kind.] “You work for Glory?”

The man’s face was eloquent in its outrage. “You think we would ally ourselves with the Beast? You must be mad,” he spat.

[The man may be a soldier but he doesn’t know anything about maintaining silence.] Riley listened in growing dismay as the Knight boasted about an army of thousands of Renaissance Fair escapees ready to take on the Slayer in order to destroy the Key. “Right. I’ve heard enough.” Grabbing the guy by his collar, Riley knocked him out cold with a single jab. “Yep. Much better without the face plating.”

Buffy picked up the soldier’s sword. “C’mon. We’ve got to get going.”

Riley ran after her though he cast a worried glance at the unconscious men lying behind them. “Buffy, this is getting serious. We’ve got an army heading our way.”

She nodded curtly as she swung the sword without breaking stride. “I know. Like I don’t have enough problems. But first things first.”

The two walked into the Magic Box. Quentin Travers paid no attention to the sword in Buffy’s hand. Giles, however, started up in alarm. “Buffy, was there an attack?” She smiled in appreciation at Riley.

“Nothing we couldn’t handle, Giles.” Seeing Travers, her smile promptly disappeared.

He spread his hands over the book opened on the table. “Good of you to make it, Miss Summers. We can begin the review at last.”

“No.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “Sorry?”

She tossed the sword onto the opened pages in front of him. “No review. No interrogation. No questions you know I can’t answer. No hoops. No jumps. No interruptions.” This last was directed at Nigel. The Indian had been about to speak but apparently thought better of it.

Buffy took a moment to survey the entire room. She didn’t just see her enemies. She saw her friends. Her allies. The best support system any Slayer could have. Then she recalled the Watchers present and her gaze hardened. “I’ve had a lot of people talking at me the last few days. Everyone just lining up to tell me how unimportant I am. And I finally figured out why.

“Power. I have it. They don’t. This bothers them.” She started pulling off her coat and Riley got the odd sensation he was watching someone gearing up for a fight they were certain to win. “Glory came to my house today.” The remark was tossed off as casually as if she were talking about a visit from the Avon lady.

“Buffy, are you—?”Buffy was way too calm after that last statement and Giles wondered what Glory had done to her. His trepidation about the sword and its possible significance resurfaced.

The Slayer appeared unaware of his worried query. “Just to talk. She came into my house and we had what in her warped brain probably passes for a civilized conversation. She told me I’m a bug she could squash in a second. Only she didn’t. Why? Because she needs something from me. Because I have power over her.

“You guys didn’t come all the way from England to determine whether I was good enough to be let back in. You came to beg me to let you back in…to give your jobs, your lives some semblance of meaning.”

Nigel spluttered in righteous indignation, “This is beyond insolence!” Buffy hurled the sword with effortless grace. It flew through the air and embedded itself into the wall inches from Nigel’s head.

“I’m fairly certain I said no interruptions,” was the calm reproof.

Buffy ran her eyes over Travers’s companions. For the first time she addressed them directly. She wanted them to understand it was the entire Council she was taking on not just Travers. “You’re Watchers. Without a Slayer, you’re pretty much watching ‘Masterpiece Theatre.’ So here’s how it’s going to work. You’re going to tell me everything you know and then you’re going away. You’ll contact me if and when you have any further information about Glory. The magic shop will remain open. Mr. Giles will stay here as my official Watcher reinstated at full salary—”

“Retroactive,” Giles coughed out discreetly behind his hand.

“—To be paid retroactively from the month he was fired. I will continue my work with the help of my friends.”

A prissy-looking Englishwoman with a tight bun stammered, “I-I don’t want a sword thrown at me, but civilians? We’re talking about children—for the most part,” as she noticed Riley’s level stare.

Casting an approving eye at the people on the balcony, Buffy retorted, “We’re talking about two very powerful witches and a 1,000-year-old ex-demon.”

“Willow’s a demon?” Anya exclaimed. This time Willow didn’t even bother looking at Xander as she rolled her eyes in disgust. Add a cowardly streak to Anya’s list of rotten qualities.

Travers’s bodyguard flicked a glance at Xander, clearly dismissing him. “The boy? No power there.”

Remembering all the times Xander had willingly thrown himself in to fight alongside his friends, Buffy had no hesitation in denying this comment. “The boy has clocked more field time than all of you combined. He’s part of the unit.”

Willow beamed at the brunette and whispered in his ear, “That’s Riley-speak. He must be rubbing off on her. I mean, in a non-sexual way.”

Xander wriggled, almost giddy, at Buffy’s praise. “I’m part of a unit!”

The bodyguard gestured at the aforementioned Riley. “What about him? He said he’s military? Is your government somehow involved? You know the Slayer’s existence is a carefully-held secret and yet you insist on bringing in—outsiders” He said the last word with clear distaste.

“Outsiders. That’s funny…considering you guys are the foreigners. Riley is military and the only other thing you need to know about him is that he’s got tons of experience in tracking, capturing and killing hos—demons. He’s a highly-trained and capable fighter and I’d trust him at my back any day of the week.”

A deep glow filled Riley. She trusted him. After what he’d done, she actually trusted him. He wanted to tell her just how much those words meant to him, little though he deserved them. But he knew it was more important that she finish what she had to say to these people.

“Now you all may be very good at your jobs. But the only way we’re gonna find out is if you work with me. You can all take your time thinking about that. But I want an answer right now from Quentin.“

“Because I think he’s understanding me.”

There was a tense breathless hush. Then— “Your terms are acceptable.” At those dryly-spoken words whoops and cheers broke out among the American contingent seated in the balcony, swiftly stifled as the Slayerettes tried to regain a more dignified silence.

Buffy smiled sweetly at Travers. “See?” she said. “No begging. Now what about Glory? I want to know exactly what I’m up against.”

Travers glanced at his notes again, forgotten until this moment. “Well, there’s a lot to go through…”

Buffy waved her hand impatiently. “Just give me the gist. Tell me what kind of demon I’m fighting.”

Travers looked her in the eyes and for the first time she saw something akin to real fear in him. “That’s the thing, you see. Glory isn’t a demon.

“She’s a god.”

TBC
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The White Picket Fences