Little Bitty Puzzle PiecesBy PJzallday
Relay
"Mr. Giles," Andrew chirped as he wandered into the man's office, "Mail's here."
"Anything int'resting today, Andrew?"
"Bills mostly." The young man frowned then with a sly grin and a gleam in his eyes, he pulled an envelope from behind his back. "But there's an express package from Wolfram and Hart," he exclaimed eagerly.
Giles raised a brow to his assistant and motioned with his hand for the large envelope.
Andrew suggested, "But I could review-"
"Andrew." Sternly, his superior waved again for the package.
Grumbling almost inaudibly his disappointment, the Brit's young assistant dropped the package on the desk.
Curiously, Giles opened the envelope and quickly scanned the cover letter. Within moments, concern and discouragement were written all over his face. "Could you please ask Willow to join me?" he requested, barely looking up from the paper.
"Sure." Andrew toddled down the hall to Willow's office. "Hey, um… Mr. Giles got some bad news and wants to share it with you?"
"Oh?" Willow looked up from where she sat cross-legged on the floor with a spell book in her lap. "How bad is it?"
"Bad enough he doesn't want to tell me about it," Andrew muttered as he turned to go to the kitchen to make tea and grab a clean glass with ice, should his boss need a scotch.
"Giles? Andrew said you wanted something."
"Yes Willow. Do come in," he invited, gesturing for her to close the door. "I've just received some news from Wesley regarding some… issues he's been researching."
"What is it?" Willow asked nervously. "Andrew made it sound serious."
Giles huffed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, well… the lad has a tendency to over-dramatize things on occasion."
Of the statement, Willow relaxed into her chair
"But I'm afraid this isn't one such time." Giles sighed heavily as he began to flip through the packet of papers he'd received. "It would appear that there's a new danger in California."
"Another actor running for office?" Willow joked.
The man simply scowled humourlessly.
"Sorry. What is it this time?" the witch inquired.
"The Beast of Amalfi: a harbinger of death, six-eyes, razor teeth and whatnot," Giles rattled off. "Evidently this was a prophesied event. Damn!" He cursed in frustration, pounding his fists on the desk. "If only we had more resources. We wouldn't have to depend on others. We should have our own blasted books!"
Discouraged, Willow whined, "I'm doing the best I can to track down and negotiate for the key texts, Giles."
"Yes dear. I know you are. We're all doing the best we can. It's just…" He paused a moment then returned the discussion to the report. "We'll need to gather some of the more experienced new Slayers. Send them to Reseda. It should be quite a test for the girls."
"I kinda get the impression you're not all that concerned about this fight," Willow stated, her forehead crinkled with perplexity.
"No," Giles conceded. "Wesley's report suggests destroying the Beast should be straightforward. Basic slaying, just on a larger scale than a typical demon. The real difficulty- or rather, potential difficulty, is in regards to the Slayers themselves." The man removed his glasses, dug in his pocket for a handkerchief and began to clean the lenses. "You recall that prior to the release spell, both Buffy and Faith got a strong sense of power- of connection to the scythe, but in the days after, it was just like any other weapon?"
"Yeah…" Willow was uneasy about where this explanation was leading.
"Wesley's had his 'people' researching the weapon and speculating on the effects, and they believe that when you-" He stopped abruptly not wanting the witch to feel responsible, "when the power was released, the source was depleted."
"I don't think I'm following, Giles."
"You see Willow, although these women are young, it's only a matter of time before they… die," the man explained. "Accidents. In the line of duty. Old age. The Seers at Wolfram & Hart suppose that only a small fraction of the current Slayers will be succeeded. The girls that died in Sunnydale… The girls we know 'ave been killed since, they'll never be replaced. When the Harbingers were hunting down Potentials, they eliminated untold numbers. Not only existing Potentials, but the would-be parents of ones not yet conceived." He was quite irate: veins bulging at his temples. "Entire generations of Slayers may have been wiped out. Surely the Coven's Seers would agree."
"What's the big deal? The Slayers have the power now," Willow declared. "We've counted almost five hundred Slayers and met with almost half of them. But there could be more. Buffy was holding her own when she was the only One."
"Well, yes. But…"
***
Outside a neighbourhood convenience store a group of teens dressed in designer jeans and leather jackets stood scheming. "Look, I told you: if you're gonna be part of our group, you've gotta do some dares," said an attractive tall brunette. "Your first one is to go into that store and steal a bottle of booze."Nervously, one of the pledges asked, "What kind?"
The others laughed. "It doesn't really matter," the leader explained. "We're not picky. Get whatever you want."
Then another girl warned, "If you get caught, you better not tell 'em about us."
"You'll be fine," the tall girl encouraged. "You won't get caught."
Minutes later, the young 'wanna-be' was on her way into the shop, slipping in quietly behind an elderly woman with a large woollen coat. Unnoticed, she went straight to the alcohol, grabbed a couple of amber bottles and slipped them under her jacket. On her way back to the entrance, she peeked around the corner to ensure the clerk was occupied then dashed for the door.
Unfortunately for her, another customer was on his way in. "Watch where you're goin'," John exclaimed.
The impact and surprise of the encounter caused the girl to drop one of the bottles which shattered against the concrete just outside the store.
"Bloody hell!" The man stumbled back to avoid the glass and liquor.
"Hey!" called the clerk. "Stop her!"
John snagged the thief's jacket then clutched her hand.
He was on the ground then she was on top of him. As pain shot through him from his side, he groaned.
"Are you OK?"
He tried to be brave, to be strong. "I'm fine. Couple o' ribs ain't quite set right since… I'm fine."
Then her hands were on him. Hot: her skin against his. "Lemme see."
"No, it's just-"
"Spike."
He grabbed her tiny hand to stop her touching him…
***
Doubling back to meet her new friends, the girl handed over the bottle."Holy shit!" one of the teens shrieked. "You're fast."
Another girl added, "That was way cool."'
"Yeah," the thief agreed, "it kinda was."
"How did you get away?" yet another asked excitedly. "I thought you were toast for sure!"
"I dunno. Guess that guy was kinda wacked out," she explained.
"Whoa… were you scared?"
***
"Ah Faith," Wesley greeted after he picked up the phone. "Thank you so much for getting in touch with me.""Yeah," the Slayer replied. "I hear you got some sorta deal arranged for me."
"Indeed I have, Faith. I've had one of our best criminal law teams working on your behalf and we've arranged for your parole," he exclaimed proudly.
"Huh?"
The man continued, "What this means is that you're free to resume your duties as Slayer."
"Whoopie. Now there's a deal," replied Faith, sarcasm oozing. "Hey, look. I dunno what you think I been doing, but I ain't been on vacation. I been kickin' demon ass, same as before I got stuck in the joint."
"I'm sure that's true, Faith," Wesley agreed, "but you don't have to run anymore. Mr. Giles has offered a post for you at the Council's Headquarters. Or, if you're up for another go at a hellmouth, I'm sure a place could be found for you in Cleveland. Or p'rhaps you'd like to go abroad? They've a number of regions that could use your skill and experience. I'm sure Mr. Giles would be quite accommodating, whatever you decide."
"No shit?" Faith huffed with both surprise and relief. Maybe some part of her even felt… pleased? Cared for? Respected? "Cool. So what do I gotta do?"
"Well, you'll have to appear before a judge here in Los Angeles, but my people have assured me that that's just a formality," Wes assured. "After that, you should probably get in touch with Mr. Giles to discuss the specifics of his requirements and your interests."
"Yeah. Um… I'll do that." After a moment of silent reflection, Faith managed a, "Wes… thanks," before hanging up the phone.
Immediately, Wesley's phone rang again. "Was there something-"
"Mr. Pryce. I'm afraid I've got some bad news."
***"Angel?" Fred knocked at the door before gently pushing it open and peaking inside.
The vampire was in bed. "Fred?" he rubbed his eyes. "What is it?"
Her eyes were red and tears streaked her cheeks. She swallowed hard, trying to speak.
Angel knew: "Cordy."
Fred nodded as she blinked back fresh forming tears. "She… she died… about half an hour ago."
Angel rose and went to take his fragile friend in his arms.
With her forehead pressed against his chest, she continued, "They don't think she suffered. She just… never woke up."