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"O put not your trust in princes, nor in any child of man: for there is no help in them." -- Psalm 146:2.
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"Good morning, Mr. Finn."
"Morning, Mrs. Kaplan. And it's Riley. Please," Riley said as he came into the office. They had had the same conversation every morning since Riley's first day.
She smiled the sweetest of smiles and turned back to the computer, bringing her face to within an inch of the screen. Her graying hair was up in a tight bun, held in place by two pencils and a letter opener. "Yes, sir, whatever you say."
He smiled back. Definitely Mom's bridge partner.
He passed through the inner office and into the maze of hallways, nodding at the guards stationed at each checkpoint, finally coming to the Command Center where his eyes were drawn to the huge monitor on the opposite wall. It was showing a map of California with three areas flashing red. "Report."
The response came from the soldier to Riley's right. "They appeared about twenty minutes ago. Same locations - Darwin, Tecopa, and Death Valley."
"Images?"
"Not that the satellites have picked up. Temperature readings triggered the sensors."
Riley nodded. This was the sixth time in the last three days that this had happened and, apparently, it had been happening off and on for six months. Command said they were keeping an eye on the hot spots and to just ignore them, but Riley was bored. And it had been eight months since he had gone this long without a kill. He was aching for something to happen. "Any teams in the area?" he asked.
"Baker and Camby."
"O.k. Send Camby's team in for a closer look. This time I want them down on the ground. Soil samples, water samples, anything they can get." At this point, even soil samples were sounding interesting.
"But, sir, it's just a..." The soldier stopped short when he saw the withering glance Riley gave him. "Yes, sir."
Riley kept his smile to himself as he walked into his office. If Command hadn't wanted him to make use of the resources at his disposal, then they shouldn't have given them to him. Besides, these boys needed some fire under them. They were too complacent. They didn't seem to have any understanding of what they were actually dealing with. The government had scaled back the UC - Sunnydale operation so much that these guys didn't even patrol. Their sole purpose was to monitor the region for questionable activity and send in men they knew only by their last names and call signs. Most of the teams were based in Nevada with reinforcements available from Montana and New Mexico when necessary. Or at least as far as Riley could tell - there were still areas he hadn't been cleared for.
He sat down as Paxton came in the office. "You ever seen a vampire, private?" Riley asked.
"Yes, sir. They showed us one at Tonopah. During training."
"Not in Nevada. I mean here. In Sunnydale."
The cluelessness on Paxton's face could only be genuine. "There are vampires in Sunnydale?"
Riley sat back in his chair. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"Sir?"
Unbelievable. No wonder nothing interesting ever happened here. "I think we're gonna start taking field trips," Riley muttered. He looked at the stack of papers in Paxton's hand. "I'm guessing those are for me," he said, resigned to another day of paper pushing.
"Mostly requisitions. A few invoices."
Riley took them from Paxton and leafed through them, stopping at one. "Do I really have authorization to spend that much?" That number had a hell of a lot of zeroes in it.
Paxton nodded. "Yes, sir."
No fucking way. Riley tried to keep the smile off his face. That was just too damn cool. Still... "What exactly do we need this much equipment for?"
Paxton shrugged. "Communications. Surveillance. The shipment came in a few weeks ago."
"We communicate with that many people? And they say the government wastes money." Riley had made it his personal mission to get Paxton to crack a smile. Hadn't managed yet.
"Yes, sir. Only two distributors work at that level. They don't usually have much incentive to come down in price. But sometimes they give us a deal. There's another local buyer. If he's buying something new, they give it to us at a discounted rate."
Riley looked at the itemization on the invoice. "Who in this area uses this kind of stuff?"
Another shrug. "Don't know, sir."
Actually, at the moment Riley couldn't have cared less. "Where's the shipment?"
"Down in storage. Waiting to be logged in."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Riley asked, his smile finally breaking through. "Show me the way."
Finally. Toys.
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Buffy walked home slowly. So apparently trying to kill your friends is not as bad as sleeping with the enemy.
Well, not really the enemy.
Sometimes.
Xander had never looked at her like that before. Not even with Angel. He had never really liked Angel, or ever been easy with him, but she had never seen that look -- full of loathing and disgust and cold, hard disappointment.
Or maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe she was just seeing in his eyes what she felt herself.
Or what she should be feeling.
Or how she felt about the fact that she didn't always feel that way.
Huh?
That was way too complicated.
Then again, the whole thing was complicated. Like the fact that she had slept with Spike. And that Spike had slept with Anya. And that she and Xander and Willow and Dawn had actually watched Spike and Anya having sex on the table at the Magic Box.
On the table at the Magic Box.
God.
Part of this was Riley's fault. Not the fact that she had slept with Spike, of course; although if Riley had never left, she would probably have never slept with Spike. Never. Probably. But that was a whole other thing entirely.
No, the part that was Riley's fault was that he had been so understanding. Or at least not disgusted. There seemed to be no loathing. Not even disappointment. Just the opposite, in fact. Making her actually feel like she hadn't completely failed at every aspect of her life. That there may actually be some semblance of the old Buffy in there.
And she had wondered if he had only been saying that, knowing that he was about to take off to parts unknown and would never see her again. Now that he had seen her again, though - and again and again over this past week - there was no way he could be hiding that. He hated Spike, and she had no doubt that seeing her with Spike affected him more than he let on, but he hadn't been disgusted. Or disappointed. Or loathing. Angry and sad and regretful, maybe, but not disgusted or disappointed or loathing.
Dawn, too. Sitting there talking to Dawn, Buffy had been struck that Dawn actually seemed to be handling this in an incredibly mature way. Maybe even more maturely than Buffy herself. Where had that Dawn come from?
Then again, Dawn had a crush on Spike - always had. That bad boy thing certainly ran in the family. Dawn seemed to be loving having Riley back around - and she was most definitely loving driving around in his car whenever he conceded to give her another driving lesson. When it came down to it, though, she would probably choose Spike hands down.
But Dawn didn't understand. Dawn was much too young to truly comprehend who Spike was: deadly, amoral, and opportunistic. Or had she forgotten.
That she had.
As long as blame was being cast, might as well throw Tara into the mix. Tara who had been incredibly sweet and understanding and supportive. And diplomatic. Which she may not have been if she had known that Spike had tried to kill Willow not so long ago. Or had she forgotten.
That she had.
So seeing Xander's look had been a surprise. An ice-cold-knife-slicing-into-her-gut-and-zig-zagging-around-until-there-was-nothing-left-but-shreds surprise. It probably shouldn't have been. No, it really shouldn't have been. And in a very short time she would have to see him again. And Willow. And somehow explain to them how this had all come about.
At least sleeping with Spike wouldn't bring about the end of the world.
God.
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Riley knocked on Buffy's front door. He took a step back and looked in the window. The lights were all on; Willow's computer was sitting on the table. He knocked again. No answer.
It didn't feel right to just walk in. He had been here almost every night for the past week and Buffy was expecting him, but it still didn't seem right. He rang the doorbell.
Maybe they're out back, he thought. Xander had mentioned barbecue. They could still be out there, even though it was hours past dinner. Riley still couldn't believe how late he was; it had been a complete shock to look at his watch and see how much time had passed. After two weeks of signing forms, however, millions of dollars worth of hi-tech equipment had been quite the diversion.
He probably shouldn't have stopped home first. It was just that it was the only way he could be sure of not giving in to the temptation.
That first night in her bed had been random - it was unlikely she'd be tagged by the same demon again. The next night, however, had not been such a fluke. No, it was just a regular eating dinner, washing dishes and watching old movies until late kind of night. They had fallen asleep on the couch and he had woken up with her in his arms for the second morning in a row. And that was just too damn hard. Every night since then, he had made a point to leave his bag at home and be sure that there was at least one thing that needed to be done for the next morning.
Riley had just turned to head around back when the door opened. "Willow. Hi. Did I wake you up? You're all... ruffled."
"No," Willow said, blushing. "I was up. Buffy's not back yet."
"She said something about..." His voice trailed off as he saw Tara appear at the top of the stairs, her appearance equally rumpled. "Hey, Tara." He looked back at Willow, whose now understandable blush was quickly spreading. "Um, oh, sorry. I can come back later," he said, smiling and backing up. "Or better yet, have her give me a call when she gets back."
Willow nodded. She couldn't contain the huge grin on her face. "I'll tell her you were here." She started to close the door but stopped as she focused on something behind him.
He turned to see Buffy walking up the front walk, the picture of dejection. Willow brushed by him.
"Buffy?" Willow asked tentatively.
Buffy stopped and looked up, dazed. "Is Xander here?"
Willow shook her head. "You didn't stop him? Is Anya-"
"I stopped him," Buffy said curtly, cutting Willow off. "Is he here?"
"Buffy, what happened?" She glanced at Riley before asking, "Is Spike...?"
For the first time she noticed Riley. It seemed like she wanted to smile at him. What came out, though, was more of a grimace. "Oh, Spike's just fine," Buffy replied harshly. "Just fine." She walked up the stairs into the house.
Riley watched before turning to look at Willow. "What happened?"
She wouldn't look him in the eye. "Riley, maybe it's better if you go. I'm not sure if-"
He grabbed her arm. "What. Happened,"
Her eyes flew up to his and she looked scared of him. He loosened his grip as Willow said, "She... We... We saw Anya and Spike. At the magic shop. There were cameras..."
"Anya's back?" Riley said, letting go of Willow. "With Spike? Together? Xander went after them? Alone? Is he crazy?"
"He wasn't exactly thinking straight. After seeing them..." Willow shook her head slowly as Tara came down the stairs and hovered a few steps behind. Willow pulled Riley back as he started to go inside. "Riley, I really need to talk to Buffy. Please."
He looked back at her and after a moment's hesitation nodded, watching as she walked into the house. He turned to Tara and said, "Why doesn't anyone seem to be concerned about Spike and Anya conspiring together?"
Tara shook her head. "Not conspiring together, just...together," she said, eyes down.
"Together as in... Oh," he said, finally understanding. All too well. Shit. Xander. He started to go down the stairs, turning back to Tara. "Tell Buffy..." Right. Tell her what? Like she's really going to stay here if she doesn't want to. "I don't know. Just tell her to be careful."
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Willow was watching Buffy out the kitchen window when Tara walked in.
"Is she o.k.?" Tara asked, putting her arm around Willow's shoulder.
"I don't think so," Willow replied.
"Did she say anything?"
"Barely. 'Xander's fine. Spike's fine. Anya's fine.' That's about it."
"She probably just needs a little time," Tara said.
"I guess. Is Riley still here?" Willow asked. "Maybe he could get more out of her."
Tara shook her head. "I think he went to find Xander."
Willow nodded. "She was so happy this week. She hasn't been that way for so long, for such a long time..." She sighed and leaned back into Tara's embrace. "Could we stay here for just a little longer?"
"Sure," Tara said, tightening her arms around Willow and whispering, "We can stay here forever."
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Xander looked up as he heard the car stop and the door slam. "Don't suppose you brought any tequila?"
"Thought I'd find you first." Riley sat down on the bench next to Xander, leaning back against the seat, his hands in his pockets and legs stretched out. "Come here often?" he asked, gazing at the burned out building across the street.
Xander didn't respond to Riley's attempt at levity. He was leaning forward, staring at the high school, hands clasped and forearms resting on his knees. "God help me for saying this, but those were good times. It was all so easy, you know? Good was good and evil was evil. Well, most of the time anyway," he said. "With Buffy it's never exactly easy."
"Ain't that the truth," Riley muttered. A minute later he said, "Leaving town is always an option. I can have a chopper here in thirty minutes."
Xander laughed harshly, "Does it make it hurt any less?"
"No, but it's a hell of a distraction."
Xander turned to Riley. "She slept with Spike, Riley. She slept with Spike."
Riley took his hands out of his pockets and sat up straight. "It doesn't mean anything, Xander. She doesn't love him."
"I watched them. It was just there, right in front of me, and I... I saw them." He looked down again. "I love her so much, but that's all I can see. Over and over in my head."
Been there, Riley thought. Try every night for four plus months with a few bonus showings this past week.
"And Buffy," Xander continued, shaking his head. "How could she...? I mean Anya, I can almost even understand why Anya did it, but Buffy..."
And once live and in color.
"Buffy slept with Spike." Xander turned back to Riley. "Buffy. The Slayer who doesn't seem to remember that she's supposed to be slaying not laying." His eyes followed as Riley stood up slowly and walked to the car, leaning against it and staring at the building.
It was clear from the look on his face that Xander hadn't actually meant for that to slip, but now that it was out, he seemed to feel that Riley shouldn't be taking it quite so well. "Are you getting this?" he spat out. "Reactions? Discuss? Any response from the Slayer's ex?"
"What exactly do you want me to say?" Riley asked, stone cold.
Exasperated, Xander stood up. "Don't you think there's something wrong with that?"
"This isn't about Buffy," Riley said, not wanting to talk about it. "This is about-"
"No, Riley. This is about Buffy." Xander was getting more agitated by the word. "Doesn't it piss you off? Don't you think there's something wrong with this picture?" He looked closely at Riley, his eyes narrowing. "Or maybe you're just feeling guilty because if it weren't for that chip in his head, Buffy would have killed him a long time ago and none of this would have happened." As he spoke, Xander advanced towards Riley, fists clenched, obviously looking for a fight.
Riley pushed off the car. He understood the rage. He hadn't let his own feelings show when he saw Buffy with Spike, but he definitely understood the overwhelming need to destroy, and he wanted to be ready if the punches started coming.
"You know the chip I'm talking about, right?" Xander asked, not backing off. "The one that you and your soldier friends put in his head? Can I just be the first to say thank you? Because I'm, oh, so glad that he can't bite anymore and that he's had all this time to just sit around and screw Buffy and hey - yeah - why not Anya too?"
"You through there?" Riley snapped. It didn't help that the thought had occurred to him on numerous occasions. "Wouldn't want you to start saying things you don't mean."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Xander said, although he obviously wasn't. "Did I say 'screw Buffy'? I meant to say that Buffy was screwing Spike. Is that better?" He was totally in Riley's face now, his fury about to overspill.
Riley pushed past Xander and walked a few paces away. Trying to get his own anger under control. Beating down the bile in his throat as he pictured her lying there with Spike. Knowing that if he had done his job the night Hostile 17 escaped, things would have turned out a hell of a lot differently.
He forced himself to breathe; waited until he had calmed down before saying, "She made a mistake, Xander."
"Ya think?"
Riley whirled around at Xander. So much for calming down. "Why are you so mad at her? How exactly does who she sleeps with affect your life?"
"She's been a part of my life for a long time," Xander said with a hard look in his eyes. "A lot longer than you've been around. And I actually stuck around, so, yeah, I think I have a right to be affected by this." When Riley didn't respond, Xander continued, "How can you defend her? Doesn't it make you sick? That she let him touch her?"
This conversation was heading down a path Riley had no interest in pursuing. He was thinking maybe it was time to get it back on track. "Buffy? Or Anya?"
"Both," Xander said, still furious, but backing down a little. "Neither. I don't know."
"She's human, Xander. They both are. Now at least. Or I guess I hope they both still are." Riley shook his head. So not the point. "People make mistakes."
"You should know," Xander muttered.
"Yeah. Exactly," Riley answered, not rising to the bait. "And so should you, if memory serves. No one's innocent here."
There was a moment of silence before Xander said, "I trusted her. I expect better from Buffy."
Relaxing a little, Riley asked, "Why? Why does she need to be better?"
"I don't know. Just...because." Xander sank back against the car.
Looking down, Riley quietly said, "She holds herself to high enough standards. She doesn't need that from us, too."
"A year too late on that one, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I know. God, do I know." Riley sat back against the bench. "Look. It's like you said - it's the brass ring. Anya's back. Willow seems happy. Dawn has actually been giddy lately, and nobody died. Not a bad day for Sunnydale standards."
Xander shook his head. "This is big, Riley. It's not that easy."
"Maybe not, but it doesn't have to be that hard, either. Besides, this way Spike wins. And I can't tell you how much that would piss me off." Riley stood. He'd said enough. "You want to grab a beer somewhere?"
Xander stuck his hands in his pockets. "Not really in the mood for more clever conversation."
"Yeah. O.k. Just... You know. Don't disappear or anything." Riley opened the car door.
"Is Buffy o.k.?" Xander asked softly, moving away from the car.
Riley shrugged. He was trying not to think about how upset Buffy had been over Spike. "Willow was going to talk to her; she kind of sent me away. Besides, I thought you might get some crazy idea in your head. Like trying to kill Spike or something equally dumb."
"At the high school?" Xander was actually grinning. Kind of grimly, but it still counted.
Riley smiled. "No. At Spike's crypt. This just happened to be on the way."
Xander's grin turned into a much too perceptive smile. "You speaking from experience by any chance?"
Riley didn't say anything. Just closed the door and drove away.
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