\u201cWe\u2019ll meet you there,\u201d Buffy promised quietly. Stunned by Giles\u2019 news, she held the phone to her ear even when the line went dead only half aware of its irascible buzzing.<\/p>\n
Willow and Xander sat on the living room couch staring expectantly, with a large ceramic bowl of popcorn balanced between them. Their movie was paused in freeze frame, the blonde heroine captured in an eternal silent scream as they waited to hear the outcome of Buffy\u2019s conversation with her Watcher.<\/p>\n
When Buffy had pointed at the phone and mimed Giles\u2019 name, they\u2019d groaned at the interruption taking bets on whether it was more research or the unearthing of a new clue about the prophecy.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiles translated the rest of the rubbings from the obelisk,\u201d Willow made a wild guess preferring that to the alternative.<\/p>\n
They had only caught a brief portion of the one-sided conversation. Buffy turned, now clutching the phone to her chest. Her expression drew immediate concern from her two friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she swallowed down the bile rising in her throat. Her eyes were large circles of remorse in a ghostly pale face. \u201cSomething happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTold ya it was too good to be true,\u201d Xander nudged her with his elbow before reaching in for another fistful of popcorn. \u201cJust tell me we don\u2019t need to bring a bazooka to the mall again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffy slammed down the phone causing them to jerk in surprise. \u201cIt\u2019s bad. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou okay, Buffster?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hesitating only for a moment, she told them, \u201cAngel called Giles who called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDead Boy called Giles?\u201d Xander picked up the popcorn bowl dropping it on the couch cushion beside him as he bounded off the couch. There was only one reason he could think of for Angel to pick up a phone.<\/p>\n
Willow was slower to move, but her brain caught his line of thinking lickety-split. \u201cAngel wouldn\u2019t call if it wasn\u2019t important. This has to be about\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Xander blurted the name first, \u201cCordelia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cC\u2019mon,\u201d Buffy urged as she opened the front door. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you everything on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scene 65<\/strong><\/p>\n After securing his passenger side seatbelt a notch tighter, Wesley braced himself on the dashboard. Giles appeared to be trying out for the British Grand Prix. The tires actually screeched at the last turn; it was a wonder they did not fall off in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps arriving in one piece would be more productive,\u201d he yelped as the angry driver of the blue car they passed repeatedly sounded the klaxon. \u201cIs it quite necessary to drive this fast?\u201d<\/p>\n Giles barely spared him a glance, which was probably for the best considering their current speed. \u201cYes,\u201d the clipped answer preceded a tense reminder, \u201cwe need to sort things out before the local authorities get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n Wesley had not been privy to either telephone call having been engrossed in a particular passage of the prophecy scroll at the time. There was only a cursory explanation given when the elder Watcher hauled him out of his seat telling him, \u201cThere\u2019s been a murder.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA murder!\u201d His raised voice had reverberated around the empty library. Then he asked with a whisper, \u201cA murder?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just received a call from Angel,\u201d Giles had said. \u201cHe\u2019s at the scene. Your girl is there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy g\u2014 oh, my Slayer,\u201d Wesley finally clued in. \u201cFaith actually witnessed this atrocity?\u201d<\/p>\n Giles\u2019 jaw tightened, \u201cApparently, she tried to put up a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n He had seen Faith last night at the Bronze dancing with a passion and energy that matched the music. From a carefully chosen vantage point, he spent an hour in silent observation. He watched her dance, flirt and skillfully fend off would-be suitors.<\/p>\n Everything he had read in her profile suggested this would be a worthy challenge. One he hoped would gain him some respect in the eyes of his father. Wesley had thought himself prepared for meeting Faith face to face, but felt that the Bronze was an inappropriate setting. Now it appeared his prepared words for such an auspicious moment would have to be revised.<\/p>\n \u201cDid Angelus provide any specifics?\u201d<\/p>\n Giles corrected him, \u201cAngel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course,\u201d Wes\u2019 eyes narrowed behind the rims of his dark-rimmed glasses. He had read everything available in the Council texts about the Scourge of Europe before making the journey to Sunnydale.<\/p>\n The thought of meeting the infamous ensouled vampire was quite overwhelming. He felt a bit giddy, though that might be due to being flung forward and jerked to a halt by his seatbelt as the car stopped in front of their destination.<\/p>\n Wes clutched his chest, an ache where the seatbelt held him in place, and turned his neck from side to side expecting to hear a crack. Over his right shoulder, he noticed the small house, quite modest by Sunnydale standards. Perhaps by anyone\u2019s standards, Wes revised his opinion, as he looked closer at the aged appearance of the one-story building.<\/p>\n Reaching out, he grabbed Giles\u2019 arm preventing him from leaving the car. Waiting to speak until the other man\u2019s troubled gaze turned to meet his, Wes asked, \u201cYou never mentioned the name of the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n Scene 66<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Cordelia, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Xander panted the question as he tried to keep up with the Slayer who was setting a mean pace up Revello Drive.<\/p>\n Buffy nodded and then blurted, \u201cShe\u2019s\u2026gone. I can\u2019t believe the last thing I said to her today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did you say?\u201d Willow asked. It was easier to focus on that than what Buffy said about Cordelia.<\/p>\n The pallor was gone from Buffy\u2019s face. \u201cNothing,\u201d she denied quickly. At the responding look of doubt, she added solemnly, \u201cIt\u2019s not worth repeating.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you say gone,\u201d Xander cut in to steer the conversation where it needed to be, \u201cdo you mean Cordelia is on a shopping spree and forgot to leave a note? Because I can totally see her doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n Stopping, Buffy placed her hands on Xander\u2019s shoulders. She knew that he still cared about Cordelia. No matter how much of a bitch she could be and despite her suspicions about her status with Angel, Buffy would never really want any harm to come to her.<\/p>\n \u201cGiles didn\u2019t know all of the details,\u201d Buffy hoped to soften the news because it was going to take them another fifteen minutes to get to Quincy Street. Causing Xander to fear the worst about his ex-girlfriend was not going to make getting there any easier, but he deserved the truth. \u201cAngel told him that Cordelia is gone and Faith is down.\u201d<\/p>\n Willow remembered, \u201cIt was Faith\u2019s turn to guard her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a fight,\u201d Buffy explained. \u201cS-someone is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot Cor.\u201d Shaking his head, Xander denied the possibility. \u201cGone doesn\u2019t mean\u2014 dead,\u201d he whispered the word. \u201cCould Faith be\u2026\u201d his voice dropped off as if he could not even say the word again. It was not exactly a more welcome option.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d She hugged him tight and then let go. \u201cAngel didn\u2019t give Giles a chance to ask too many questions. We\u2019ve got to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n They followed along as fast as they could until Buffy rounded the corner at the end of the drive. \u201cBuffy, wait. Wait!\u201d Xander called out as he realized they were moving away from Cordelia\u2019s normal hangouts. \u201cCor\u2019s house is the other way.\u201d<\/p>\n Buffy paused, glancing over her shoulder again. \u201cThat\u2019s not where we\u2019re headed. This happened at her grandmother\u2019s house. According to what Angel told Giles, she\u2019s living there now.\u201d<\/p>\n After they caught up, Buffy started moving at a slow jog allowing them to pace her. Willow was panting for air as she shared her confusion. \u201cI didn\u2019t know there were any mansions on the Upper East Side.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere aren\u2019t,\u201d Xander answered instead. It was the poorest section of town. Now that he thought of it, Bev Quinn was not exactly dripping in diamonds when she came to the hospital. \u201cWhen did Cor start living with her grandmother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeats me,\u201d Buffy answered.<\/p>\n Willow was just as clueless, \u201cI dunno. I didn\u2019t even know she had a grandmother until she showed up at the hospital with Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n Cor had seemed like an open book to Willow ever since the days of the We Hate Cordelia Club, a superficial, spoilt princess who got everything she ever wanted, the tactless bitchy girl who once ruled the school. Every run-in she had with Cordelia flashed through her head as they entered what was quaintly known as the eastside slums.<\/p>\n They cut through the motel parking lot toward an area containing the Sunnydale Trailer Park and a street of dilapidated old houses. Willow paused at the corner, catching her hands on her knees and panting for air. She saw that her friends were already off the sidewalk crossing the front lawn.<\/p>\n Giles\u2019 car was parked out front. He had beaten them there, of course. She gulped as she reached the edge of the lawn seeing the screen door hanging on its hinges and a crowd gathered in the front hall. Not quite certain that she wanted to find out if it was Cordelia or Faith who was lying there, she prompted herself to move on, \u201cTime to find out.\u201d<\/p>\nSpeeding Eastward on Oak Park Street, Central Sunnydale<\/h3>\n
Revello Drive near the Crossroads, Central Sunnydale<\/h3>\n