22: Giles’s Place, 523 Oak Park Street, Central Sunnydale
During the short walk around the block from Revello Drive onto Oak Park Street, Buffy informed her friends about her findings in the morning newspaper. “The Press says Karla disappeared last night.”
Willow and Xander scurried along as fast as they could behind her since Buffy had unconsciously picked up the pace. “After she got home?” asked Willow breathily.
“No,” Buffy shook her head. “Karla never got there. The cops claim they never even talked to her, but Giles told us there was an officer at the scene who took Karla away with him.”
“Do you think she’s been kidnapped?” Xander had a couple of classes with Karla. “She’s nice, y’know. A sweet kinda girl. So…normal.”
Slayer and witch stopped walking. Xander ran into them both. Gaping at them, he shrugged widely, “What’d I say now?” As the girls met each other’s eyes, they wore identical frowns.
Resuming their walk to Giles’ house, they slowly turned back up the sidewalk. Willow swung her arms back and forth bringing her hands together in a rhythmic clap on each forward swing. Pointing out, “It wouldn’t be the first time the newspaper has done a cover-up when the police department is involved.”
“Nope,” Buffy agreed.
Coming up on Giles’ place, they noted the fact that there was an unfamiliar car parked next to the watcher’s old clunker. “Looks like Giles has guests,” Willow commented. Like Buffy, she simply walked up the path toward the front door.
Xander wasn’t so quick to leave. Even though the girls had already moved on, he called out to tell them they had not paused long enough, “This baby deserves more respect than that.”
He ran a hand over the sleek black lines of the classic Plymouth convertible. The top was down, allowing him to feel the warmth of the sun-warmed leather seats against his hand. “Niiiiiiiiiice.”
“Xander!”
“Coming, Buffy!” He hopped up the drive. Grinning, he told them, “Someday, I’m gonna have a cool car.”
Buffy and Willow shared another look, this time one of amused indulgence. “Sure you will,” both nodded vehemently. “Uh huh.”
Knuckles rapping loudly against the door, Buffy impatiently waited for Giles to open the door. She was about to check to see if it was unlocked, knowing that Giles was expecting the gang this morning, when it swung open to reveal Faith standing there.
“C’mon in,” she waved them inside. “You’re late. We’ve had Giles all to ourselves for almost half an hour.”
Buffy walked past Faith without responding and idly noting that Cordelia must’ve been the other part of the ‘we’ since she happened to be sitting on the couch. Why was it the other slayer had to put a raunchy twist into everything she said, making it sound like the three of them had been having wild animal sex.
She heard Giles puttering about in the kitchen and called out a greeting. “I’ll be there in a moment,” he answered. Imagining him emerging from the kitchen with mussed hair and a crooked tie gave her the wiggins. Not that she would put it past Faith or even Cordelia to make a play for an older guy, but this was Giles.
“Put the bad thoughts away,” Buffy muttered to herself.
“Hi guys!” Cordelia was all smiles this morning; apparently still feeling a high from her little triumph at the demon bar.
Angel hadn’t commented much last night, letting Cordelia tell the story of the brawl and how she’d smashed a beer bottle over one gravlock demon’s head.
She could have sworn that Angel started to smile. Then he’d caught her looking and the smile vanished. God, even looking was painful sometimes. Just seeing him and not touching was a reminder that she couldn’t have what she wanted.
What she wouldn’t give to have him all to herself for half an hour no strings attached. Angel’s strings were more like chains and he had plenty of them.
With a deep sigh, she sank down onto the couch wishing she could be half as perky as Cordelia this morning. Reminding herself that she was supposed to be making Cor feel welcome now, Buffy managed to say, “Hi. I thought you’d be stiff and sore this morning. From the fight,” she added.
“Actually, I have all this energy,” Cordelia practically bounced with it, her bright smile only adding to the natural golden glow of her skin.
Willow sat down in one of the chairs. “You were just lucky you didn’t get hurt.”
This was a good time for Cor to get snarky and blame Willow for the time she did get hurt, but Buffy was surprised to hear her chatter on about the demon brawl without a word of the rebar incident. “Well, I do have a bruise,” she sounded like it was a badge of honor. Rolling onto her hip, Cordelia pointed toward her right butt cheek, “It’s right on my—”
“Good morning, all,” Giles greeted them as he came around the corner carrying a tray with a teapot, teacups & saucers, and a variety of sodas. “We have all had a short rest, but there is no time to waste.”
Xander complained, “But Cordelia was going to show us her bruise.”
Remembering Cordelia’s comment about a certain portion of her anatomy being a bit sore during their debriefing in the early hours after midnight, Giles paused for a moment, shook his head, and tried to go on. “You…there will be time for more Show & Tell later on. For now, we must talk about our strategy for today. There is much to accomplish.”
Sitting down on the floor, Xander crossed his arms on top of his bent knees and exaggerated his pout. Cordelia gave him a pointed look as if to remind him he no longer had the right to look, but it just seemed like friendly teasing or at least semi-friendly teasing. Clearly, Xander had been telling her the truth. He didn’t want to be protected from Cordelia. He was just lucky she wasn’t turning on her patented super-bitch mode, which for some strange reason was nowhere to be found at the moment.
“Giles, did you see the morning paper?” Buffy got right to it deciding that Cordelia thoughts were certainly not going to improve her own mood.
“I’m afraid so,” Giles set his teacup down, pulled off his glasses, tapping the tip of the earpiece against his lower lip. “There is a clear disparity in the actual events and the information reported by the Press. The sign we witnessed last night indicated it would reveal the First Sacrifice.”
Willow piped in, “Tony.”
“I thought that as well at the time,” admitted Giles as he popped his glasses back on. “Having reviewed our research again, I have to conclude that Karla Brewer’s sudden disappearance is no coincidence. Though the news article indicates she is believed to have run away, I suspect there is foul play involved.”
Pushing away from the wall with the heel of her boot, Faith walked up to Willow’s chair where Xander was now sprawled on the carpet. “We saw that cop put Karla into his car. There’s no mention of that in the paper. It’s like she just disappeared from the scene.”
“So what’s the connection?” asked Cordelia realizing that she’d missed something last night when Giles & Faith were talking about their experience outside of the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor.
Giles explained that one of the last signs in the ongoing chain of events written in the scroll was that of ritualistic sacrifices. “I assumed that Tony’s death was in fact a sacrifice, but I now believe it occurred as a culmination of mystical energy, a beacon of sorts. It pointed the way to Karla Brewer.”
“A little excessive, dontcha think?” quipped Xander.
Willow agreed. “There are lots of ways to find people. Not that I’ve tried that kind of spell before. Maybe I could—”
“No,” Giles answered sternly. “There are dark mystical forces at work here. We will have to search for her the old-fashioned way. Trying to use magick when we don’t know what’s involved could be dangerous.”
“Okay,” Willow deflated a bit, her shoulders slumping, wide mouth tipping into a frown.
Buffy volunteered for a little legwork. “Willy might have something.” Her snitch was usually good for a lead or two.
“I’ll take care of it,” Faith said as she rubbed her closed fist into her other palm. “A little work-over and he’s gonna spill.”
“I can handle it.”
Swallowing down a soothing sip of his tea, Giles suggested, “You should both go.” He caught the sharp look that Buffy sent his way; adding further reasoning, “Stop by the police station as well. I’m curious to find out whether Officer Clark actually exists. I’d rather you worked as a team just in case you run into the unexpected.”
“You got it,” Faith shrugged. This was supposed to be her town, after all. A little charity wouldn’t hurt. “I don’t mind if B tags along.”
Cordelia heard Buffy’s teeth gnashing together and tried to suppress her laughter. That worked for all of two seconds. “See Faith, looks like you get a sidekick after all.”
Buffy’s face was blazing, her usually cool green eyes shooting laser beams toward the two brunettes. What was it she’d been thinking early about Cordelia’s inner bitch being on vacation? Deadpanning, “Funny,” Buffy found it anything but.
Putting the two slayers together on assignment was risky, Giles knew, but it was something they needed to work out. Their styles were vastly different and Faith was difficult to control. He hoped a little of Buffy’s experience would wear off on the girl.
“I plan to remain here today,” Giles informed them. “Follow any leads you find and contact me if you discover anything. There is research to be done on the relic.”
A collective groan sounded from the non-slayers in the room. “More research?”, “Again?”, “Isn’t it too early in the day for that?”
“Whining won’t make the work go any faster,” Giles commented. “I tried that myself this morning and had no luck with it.”
“Hee!” Willow chirped. “Giles made a funny.”
Giles explained that he was very close to making a discovery on the origins of the bone relic. Unfortunately, he was at a stage of research where there remained a number of sensible theories. Narrowing it down would require more time and information. “Tonight may provide the key.”
The Scroll of Septarius with its auguries of events indicated that an earthquake would reveal an ancient obelisk. As with many of Sunnydale’s mystical sites, they were located underground. The passage of time had buried them beneath layers of sediment and other more modern structures. In this case, the obelisk would be uncovered between holy and unholy ground.
“That could be anywhere in Sunnydale,” Cordelia commented. “Hello, Hellmouth.”
“You’re right,” Giles agreed, but suggested that they use the school as the focal point and consider some of the holy sites closest to it. “There are four here on the eastside—”
Cordelia let out a whoop, “Yes!” The others turned and stared.
“Thank you, Cordelia for that rousing cheer, but you might allow me to finish before you applaud my plan.”
“Oh, please continue,” she grinned at the happy thought that she wouldn’t have to deal with misty Old Sunnydale, pebbly Restfield, spooky Shady Hill or live with flashbacks of grabby vampires by patrolling Parkdale.
Giles drolled on and handed out the night’s assignments. He told them that there was no need for an evening meeting unless something new cropped up between now and then.
“How will Angel know?” Cordelia asked realizing that there wouldn’t be a chance to meet up with him if they didn’t have a Scooby Meeting.
“You could inform him,” Giles suggested before Buffy had a chance to speak up.
She jumped in with, “I’ll stop by.” It didn’t matter that she was trying to avoid meeting him in one-on-one situations. The thought of another girl— even if it was only Cordelia— going there for any purpose was unsettling.
Faith pointed out, “You’ll be with me, remember, unless you want me to deal with Willy and the cops myself.”
There was a long pause. “No, duty calls, so I suppose Cordelia can handle going to the mansion.”
“To creepy Crawford Street,” Cordelia wasn’t so sure she wanted the job. “Me? As in alone?”
“I’m not going,” Xander answered despite the fact that he was an obvious choice.
Willow didn’t think Cordelia was looking to her as a little mission buddy, but just in case, commented, “I’m with Xander.” Then realizing how that sounded, added, “And Giles, cos I’m sure there’s research we can help with.”
“Sheesh! It can’t be that bad,” Cordelia told them she’d take care of it herself.
Giles certainly wasn’t going to volunteer to do it, either. That was one place he never intended to set foot again. He wouldn’t send Cordelia if he didn’t consider it safe for her to make the trip. “Just get there while the sun is still up.”
“But, y’know, not too early,” Buffy commented. “Because if Giles is right about these signs all happening at midnight, then it’ll be hours before you two need to patrol.”
“Like I was planning to go now?” Cordelia rolled her eyes at Miss Obvious thinking she was going to run over to Angel’s place at the first opportunity. “Angel will be sleeping. What’s to see? I suppose I could sneak into his bedroom and write him a note.”
She snorted at the idea because it made Buffy scowl in that way that caused her eyebrows to fuse momentarily.
“Puh-lease! Like I would disturb a sleeping vampire. Angel may have a soul, but I have no desire to test out any bite-first-ask-questions-later reflexes,” Cordelia told her.
“Good plan,” Giles interrupted before things escalated beyond his ability to ignore. “Now let’s talk about what you’ll be doing the rest of the morning, shall we?”
Ten minutes later, the five of them were outside of Giles’ house gathered near the driveway. The watcher had shut the door and turned the lock with a swift, satisfying click. Faith had to laugh at the speed in which he did it. “Guess Giles wanted some privacy.”
“We’re off,” Buffy just wanted to get on with it. “See you guys later. Or, if not, we’ll meet up at Giles’ post-patrol interrogation.”
The two slayers had already taken a few steps when Cordelia offered, “Hey, you want a ride?”
Faith was the only one not surprised by the fact that Cordelia was holding a set of car keys. “Nah. I’d like to stretch my legs a little. Hate being cramped up.”
“Me too,” Buffy was saying, but wondered why Cordelia would have a car like that one. It wasn’t exactly her style.
Xander was too busy hopping around the car in excitement, realizing that he was going to get to ride in it. “Niiiiiiice. We’ll be taking it to the school, right? Gotta get there somehow.”
“No, Xander, I was planning to leave it here,” Cordelia let out a soft pfft. School was the last place she wanted to go on a Saturday, but all things considered, it was the most interesting thing on her calendar.
She’d been assigned along with Willow and Xander to secure the library against potential earthquake damage. Just because Giles didn’t want to come in Monday morning to find his precious books all over the place meant that she was going to spend a lot of quality time with rope and duct tape. Lots of better ideas came to mind for using those items, but Giles had assured the three of them that it would be a bonding experience for them. There was something sadistic about Giles on days like this.
“Where’d ya get it?” Xander wanted to know.
Cordelia twirled the key chain around her finger, “I borrowed it for the weekend. Offer of a ride is still good,” she eyed Faith. “I know how to get to Willy’s.”
A dimpled grin appeared as Faith shook her head. “Nah. The school is in the opposite direction. Besides, Willy is probably sleeping it off.”
“We can grab him later,” Buffy agreed. “Early afternoon is best.”
“We’ll head to the police station first and check out Officer Clark. He was the last one to see that chick alive,” Faith said, only to be chewed out by Willow for saying something that suggested Karla Brewer might already be dead.
“We should think positive,” Willow added.
Xander hovered next to Cordelia waiting for the moment to ask, “Can I drive it? I wanna drive. Just to the school. Can I, can I?”
Clutching the keys close to her chest, which did not deter Xander from trying to pry them out of her hand, Cordelia snapped, “No, my— the owner wouldn’t like it.”
As he dropped his hand to his side, Xander took a big step back. It suddenly occurred to him where Cordelia got the car. “Guess the boyfriend doesn’t want anyone handling his stuff.”
Cordelia felt everyone’s eyes on her and not in a good way. Even Faith had her reasons for giving Cor a sharp look. Closing the space between them, she poked a finger into Xander’s midsection in the same spot as her scar. “That’s right. It’s hands off for you, Xander Harris, and that goes for my car, too.”
She opened up the driver’s side, climbed in and started the engine. Xander and Willow were just standing there staring. “Hello, mass transportation here. Get in.”