"You son of a bitch!" Buffy was out of her hiding spot and on Principal Snyder before anyone could even blink. She kicked him hard in the nether regions, and grinned when he doubled over in pain. "Bastard!" she continued, kicking him again in the stomach. "I don't believe you! You . . . you . . . Ugh!" She continued her sound beating of him until Giles walked towards her and put a firm hand on her shoulder, pulling her away.
"You are expelled, Miss Summers," Principal Snyder squeaked from his position on the floor.
"Do I look like I care right now?" Buffy growled back at him, wanting nothing more than to beat him to death.
The school principal levered himself off the floor and gripped the table for support. "I'm calling your mother," he said harshly.
"Oh, no! Whatever will I do?" Buffy retorted. "You bastard! I . . . you know!? You know I'm the Slayer? You who never lets me do a damn thing, you who . . . who . . . ugh! You're the spy, you worthless son of a . . . "
"You're the what?" Principal Snyder demanded. "I don't know what you're on, but as of right now you are no longer a student in this school."
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You spy on me, you work for the vampires against me, and you have the gall to say I'm expelled? I really don't care right now, you idiot! My mother almost died thanks to you!"
"What are you talking about?" Snyder asked coolly.
"Don't even try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about! You know damn well what I'm talking about you . . . you . . . ugh!" Buffy said again, trying to think of a word that was appropriate.
Mr. Arthur chose that moment to walk in, and his eyes widened at the sight of the balding man gripping the table in pain and the Slayer being held back by her Watcher. "Is he the spy?" Mr. Arthur asked, walking towards them.
"He's here, he broke in, you do the math!" Buffy replied.
"I broke in?" Principal Snyder echoed. "It's my school! I heard about the burglary and wanted to make sure nothing had been taken!"
"Oh, a likely story," Buffy retorted.
Giles' eyes widened. "Is that the truth?" he asked.
"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Principal Snyder answered. "As of right now you are fired!"
Giles shrugged slightly. "That's not exactly new," he replied, causing Buffy to look at him in surprise. Giles using humor? This was definitely a strange night.
"Don't listen to him," another voice said. Buffy turned as Ms. Calendar walked into the library. "I overheard him on the telephone before; I came to tell you. He's working for the Watcher Council, I'm not sure on what, exactly, but he's definitely not who he seems."
Buffy shook Giles off and sat down, rubbing her temples as Xander and Willow emerged from the bookstacks and walked down the stairs. "Can this night get any worse?" she wondered aloud. "I've got a proven liar telling me that a proven psycho is a liar."
Ms. Calendar's eyes narrowed but she chose to remain quiet as she walked towards Giles and looked at him curiously. "What's going on?" she asked.
Giles glanced at Buffy, then shrugged and turned back to Jenny. "It's a long story," he replied shortly.
"I can imagine."
The sound of a telephone ringing interrupted the long silence that had descended upon the group. Mr. Arthur removed a cell-phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "Yes?" he asked. He was quiet for a moment, listening to the person on the other end, and then he paled slightly. "I'll be there as soon as I can. By tomorrow night, certainly." He hung up and looked at the group. "Mr. Howard has been murdered," he told them. "By a vampire. And . . . and I'm afraid Mr. Clark is taking over."
"See . . . all last names that should be first names," Xander muttered, causing the group to glare at him for a moment before they turned back to Mr. Arthur.
"Who's Mr. Clark?" Buffy asked.
Giles answered her. "He is, perhaps, the most corrupt Watcher there ever has been or will be. He's very well known among the Watcher circles for accepting bribes whenever possible, and has often collaborated with the enemy. He was, understandably, Mr. Howard's favorite. If I had to wager a guess I'd say Mr. Clark paid one of the vampires in England to take care of Mr. Howard, so he could take over his position. I'm afraid this is quite a dire state of affairs."
Mr. Arthur nodded his agreement. "I must return to England tomorrow night, and I suggest you all accompany me. I'm afraid a Slayer's skills might be required to handle this."
Buffy looked up and sighed. "What about him?" she asked, gesturing towards the school principal, who was looking back and forth at everyone in the library. "And her?" she added, gesturing towards Ms. Calendar.
Mr. Arthur shrugged. "They are your . . . comrades . . . I'd say it's your call," he answered.
"Quite right," Giles concurred, looking at his Slayer.
Buffy closed her eyes for a moment. "Okay . . . Snyder, you're coming with us. If you're not working for the vamps or whatever then you get to take a lovely trip into my world. And don't even start with the 'you're expelled' crap. If, however, you are involved then you'd better hope I'm in a damned good mood when I find out. Calendar, you want to come, feel free." She looked towards Willow and Xander and frowned. "I'm guessing even if I said it could be dangerous and you should stay here you'd say no, huh?"
"Yup," Willow replied.
"Absolutely," Xander agreed.
Buffy pursed her lips in thought, then sighed. "Fine. We'll leave tomorrow at sunset. Giles, call Angel, tell him he gets to take his favorite mode of transportation again. I'm gonna think of some excuse to tell my mother. Oh, and no matter what, do not let him out of your sights," she added, pointing towards Snyder.
"You can't hold me prisoner here," Snyder answered darkly.
"Principal Snyder, you'd be very surprised at what I can do to you," Buffy said coolly. "For now, be glad that I'm not killing you, deal?" Her principal nodded, perhaps sensing that Buffy was not in the best of moods, then watched as she stormed out of the library.
* * *
Giles looked around the library and sighed, feeling a deep exhaustion set in. It was now six in the morning, and he'd spent the entire night discussing possible plans of attack with Jack Arthur. He reached for the phone, deciding to call Angel and inform him of the flight schedule and then go to sleep. He was a little nervous about callling the vampire, actually, considering the last conversation they'd had, but he was hoping Angel would be a bit calmer now.
He knew Angel hadn't calmed at all when the phone was picked up. "I just got in bed. Hang up." And then the sound of a dial tone rang in his ears. Giles sighed and re-dialed the number. "What do you want, Giles?" Angel asked tightly.
"Buffy's returning to England tomorrow night; she'd like you to go with her. There are some things going on there that require Buffy's personal attention. I will be going as well, I just called to inform you. The plane leaves ten minutes past sunset, so you'll have to hurry."
"Fine. Is that it?"
"Yes. That's all." He waited for a response, and was slightly puzzled when he didn't hear one until he realized that once again the connection had been terminated.
* * *
"You know, I'm really tired of these things," Angel muttered, looking around at the group of people in the plane and then turning towards Buffy with a pitiful expression that caused her heart to melt.
"Awww, poor Angel," Buffy intoned, smiling. "Look, it's just here and back, and that's the end of it, I promise. Once we're done, we go home, and you never have to step foot on a plane again."
"I'll never have to step foot on a plane again if we all crash, either," Angel replied, still looking nervous.
"God, Angel, geez!" Buffy said, shaking her head. "Are we going to have this conversation every single time we're on a plane?"
"Every single time?" Angel repeated. "What every single time? It's just this one, and then the one back, and then that's it, right? Are you hiding something?"
Buffy laughed at his paranoia. "Relax. I just don't want to have to hear this on the way back, too. Isn't three times enough?"
"More than enough," Angel agreed. "Which is why we shouldn't be going. Can't we let the Watcher Council take care of it?"
"Ya know, no one's putting a stake to your heart and forcing you to do this, honey. If you want to leave, go ahead. Stay home." Angel gave her a look and she sighed, leaning against him slightly. "Calm yourself. Read a book. I'm almost done with 'The Verdict'. You want it?"
"No," Angel said flatly.
Giles, who was sitting next to Buffy, spoke up. "How about translating a latin prophecy?" he suggested.
Angel shook his head. "Can we just take off so we can land?" he asked rhetorically.
* * *
The nine hour plane ride finally ended, and once again the group, plus Ms. Calendar, and Principal Snyder, piled off. "Someone watch him," Buffy ordered, pointing to the school principal. She then turned towards the pilot, who was climbing out of the cock-pit. "Well, we're here, now what?" "I'd suggest we go to the hotel," he suggested. "And tomorrow we will confront Mr. Clark about his transgressions."
Buffy nodded, and the group left once more for the hotel.
* * *
Morning came, and Buffy awoke from her comfortable position in Angel's arms to hear the alarm clock she had set for herself. She shut it off before the vampire could wake and gently crawled out of his embrace and towards the shower. She had decided not to tell Angel that Jack Arthur wished to confront Mr. Clark during the day, so that none of his vampire companions would be around. She found his reasoning sound, but she knew that Angel would not like her being unprotected. Once she was dressed and ready she went down the stairs where the rest of the Slayerettes and one additional watcher were waiting. "Is he at the headquarters?" Buffy asked, not relishing going back there, to the place where she'd been condemned.
Arthur nodded. "Yes," he replied. "Most likely clearing out the back office of Mr. Howard's things."
"Well, can't say I'm in tears that he's dead," Buffy muttered. "We didn't exactly bond," she added as they left the hotel.
"His death may bring about very bad things," Jack Arthur commented. He looked around and frowned. "Where is your spy?" Buffy shrugged and looked towards Giles.
"He's locked up in one of the rooms," Giles answered. "I saw no reason for him to accompany us."
"Good thinking," Buffy agreed. "I'm not exactly wanting to see anymore of Snyder than necessary." She looked towards Ms. Calendar pointedly, making it clear that she didn't exactly want to see her, either, then shrugged. "In any case, what exactly are we hoping to accomplish by talking to this new guy?"
"To see just how deep his vampire connections run," Arthur answered. "And to try and find someone we can go to with our information. We'd need to get all the Watchers who are not involved in the conspiracy to vote and throw Mr. Clark out of office. Fortunately Ms. Leigh, who is next in line for head of council, is not at all involved with the vampires in any way shape or form."
"So basically we just need some proof?" Buffy asked, and he nodded. "Isn't his firing me enough proof?"
Arthur shook his head. "No, Mr. Howard fired you, Mr. Clark did not. Therefore there is absolutely no real evidence to support our claims that Mr. Clark is corrupt. Only well founded suspicion."
"How are we supposed to get proof though?" Buffy wondered. "I mean, let's get real here, it's not like this Clark guy is gonna pour his heart out to us on video-tape or anything."
"I'm not sure."
"Know any gypsy honesty spells?" Buffy asked, casting an innocent look in Ms. Calendar's direction.
The technopagan glared back at her. "No," she answered shortly.
"Why not?" Buffy queried. "You got spells for removing souls, rejoining souls, turning vamps into humans, but you don't have a simple truth spell? Yeah, you're a real credit to your people."
"I could look for one," Ms. Calendar offered, looking to Giles instead of Buffy.
"That might prove useful," Giles answered, smiling at her and then looking towards Buffy guiltily.
Buffy groaned. "Oh, and how about a levitation spell? And a 'turn vamps into dust with a look' spell? And love spells, although Xander already knows one of them, but you know, might as well know all your spells." Xander and Ms. Calendar both glared at her that time, and Buffy shrugged. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm not a morning person."
"Considering your consort I'm not surprised," Ms. Calendar commented darkly.
Buffy raised an eyebrow at her. "At least Angel doesn't go around behind people's backs and spy on them, then go run and report back to a bunch of gypsies," she retorted.
"True enough," Ms. Calendar agreed. "But at least I don't turn on the people I love."
"No. You just make them feel guilty as hell, like you did to Giles that one time. Yeah, acting all holier than thou, little did he know about the skeletons in your own closet."
"Both of you stop it!" Giles commanded. "Right now we have more important matters to attend to. You can fight with each other later."
Ms. Calendar and Buffy both looked up at him. "Sorry," they both muttered in unison.
"Good," Giles replied simply. He stopped when he realized they were at the headquarters. "Let's go."
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