FIC: Lost Pages AU

[Arwen276]

I loved the update!



I'm so happy Willow got this scolarship! and glad that Cora's back to the gramps...

Poor Dawn with the rules! But I hope they'll keep her safe!

I also cant wait to find out about the P.I and Feds stuff, tailing Roncalli was very humorous!!



~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow

[tiredsoul]

Quote:

---

“I wish I could change that,” she said sadly.

The door near the former Slayer opened.

---

Never let it be said you didn't make me think of every possible scenario here



I love that things are falling together for the girls and Cora as well. Things are coming together which makes me worry you're gonna pull the rug out from under me



Thanks for the update jixer



--celia

---------------------------------

When innocence is shattered
... madness is inevitable
www.gotlicky.com

[bluewillowwitch]

,

I just finished this fic s far. I love it I don't know how I could have missed it. There are a few bits that are confusing to me but I'm sure I'll understand with time. I can't wait to more. Update soon, please?







bluewillowwitch

----------------------------------------------

"Fate keeps on happening."--Anita Loos

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Feedback just makes me happy, even if it is a work weekend.



Arwen276- Dawn and safe, is it possible? As for the other parts of the story, don't worry. They're from Washington and they're here to help. Don't you feel how safe our girls are?



tiredsoul-What rug Celia? Would I do that? Well actually, I had this scene in a museum...



bluewillowwitch-Thank you and welcome into the maze! I'm trying to make my notes readable now so as not to add to my own confusion. The next chapter is being hammered into place.



Much thanks to everyone, but work beckons.





Jixer

[jixer]

Lost Pages

Chapter 15







Tara groaned awake five minutes before the alarm went off. She reached up and turned off the buzzer. She pulled her robe around her and went to put the kettle on for tea. She pulled off the water before there was a squeal. A few moments later she knelt by Willow with a cup of Earl Grey. Green eyes opened a slit and then smiled.



“No coffee because it’s going to be espresso day,” Willow reasoned.



“Very good,” Tara yawned. “Who said you’re not a morning person?”



“Me,” Willow answered with her own yawn.



The morning passed with the usual chaos. As they were about to head out the door for their respective buses Dawn seemed to be trying to decide something.



“What is it?” Tara asked just seconds before Willow.



“Look, I can accept the rules,” Dawn said evenly. “But can I bring my friends by Bean Squeezings as a kind of meeting my not quite parents?”



“How about if we’re both there?” Willow answered.



“Okay,” Dawn said reluctantly.



“You could do the coffee klatch studying thing,” Willow suggested as they trundled down the stairs.



“I promise not to embarrass you to horribly,” Tara said with a crooked smile. “But if you get out of hand I’ll pinch your cheek and call you cute.”



“She would too,” Willow said solemnly



“I’ll be good!” Dawn said in horror.





===========================================================





“Hey, Dr. Thompson,” Willow said from the doorway of the cluttered office.



“Ah, good morning, Miss Rosenberg,” the professor said from behind a huge cup of coffee. “You look disgustingly awake.”



“The advantages of being a callow youth,” Willow replied with a grin.



“How did your lady take the proposal?” he asked carefully.



“She thinks nerd girls are cool,” Willow said smugly.



“The advantages of the computer age never fail to amaze me,” Thompson said with a smirk.



“She wants me to go for it, so I’m in,” Willow said. “What do I need to do to get the process started?”



“I’ll meet with Jerry at noon,” he replied. “I’ll tell him you said yes. Then we get you into U of W next semester. Come by after your last class and we’ll get started on the forms Bursars love so much.”



“I’m not a resident yet,” she pointed out.



“He can afford it,” the professor said with a chuckle. “But thank you.”



“Wow,” Willow said smiling. She stood up and didn’t quite know what to say when the title of one of the multitude of papers caught her eye. She frowned thoughtfully. “What do you think of NR4’s new system?”





===========================================================





Tara walked through the back door of Bean Squeezings a few minutes early. The back room was full of raincoats, odd books and a hint of long dead clove cigarettes. A woman with wavy graying hair smiled at her as she took off her coat.



“Tara, you’re an art history girl,” she said rapidly. “Tell Kurt that Sisley is after Manet.”



“Well, Manet was considered the leader of the Impressionists, but his style was more realist,” Tara explained. “They all kind of helped each other branch out and mature into their own styles.”



“See Patty, I told you it wasn’t that simple,” Kurt said as he moved a sack of beans onto a lean shoulder six feet off the floor. “It’s not like baseball.”



“Who said baseball is simple?” Tara asked as she pulled on her apron. “All those statistics and rules and stuff.”



Tara half listened as Kurt and Patty took up the new tack and started arguing about something called a designated hitter. Tara figured anyone who was willing to work the five to nine in the morning shift had to be a little eccentric. At least she felt quite different from most of the world after she worked all night long.



For just a couple more weeks,Tara realized with a smile. She picked up her jar with the flowers on it and put up her sign-Tara’s Retirement Fund-as she got ready to meet her customers.





===========================================================





Roncalli stopped in the foyer of his house and checked the last thing off Gina’s list. He sighed and looked at the overflowing collection of family pictures over Gina’s piano and the mantle. He pulled down the picture of his late wife and looked at a face he hadn’t forgotten in twenty years.



“I’ll be home in a bit,” he whispered as he placed the picture back on the mantle.



“She’d understand,” Joe said from the doorway.



“I know,” Roncalli said softly.



“We need to get going,” Joe said softly.



“The play’s the thing,” Roncalli said with a grim smile.



“Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king,” Joe finished.



“Not this one,” Roncalli said in a pleasant tone. “No conscience. But I think he’s gonna get caught. One way or the other.”





===========================================================





“Subject is moving,” came over Duong and Brown’s radio.



“In this traffic?” Special Agent Brown asked as he dodged a man smoking, talking on his cell and shaving.



“It’s better than yesterday,” Special Agent Duong observed.



“Sure you don’t want to drive?” Patrick asked magnanimously.



“I won the coin toss,” Mina said as she sipped at her coffee.



“I’m flipping the coin tomorrow,” her partner grumbled.





===========================================================





The team in the van had an easier time of it today. Only a third of the team was on Roncalli today. His contacts had proven to be of less interest than the new Buford-Edwards-McGinty phase of the investigation. They managed to get data from the bug in Roncalli’s Cadillac that indicated he was taking his wife somewhere. The agent monitoring the conversation replayed an important sounding segment.



“You’ll like her,” Roncalli was saying. “She’s the one that really made me think about this.”



“You can trust her with this?” the voice identified as Gina Roncalli asked. “This is important.”



“No problem,” Roncalli assured her. “She can handle it.”



He forwarded the file to the Deputy Assistant Director. In a moment the message came back authorizing twenty-four hour surveillance.





===========================================================





Tara looked up from her post at the counter when the bells over the door rang. She smiled as she saw Mr. Roncalli walk in with an attractive woman in her fifties.



“Tara, my favorite barista!” he said with a grand gesture.



“Hello, Mr. Roncalli,” she said brightly. “Are you getting something for your pretty lady?”



“Didn’t I tell you?” Roncalli asked the lady.



“Hello, I’m Gina Roncalli,” she said holding out her hand.



“I’m Tara.”



“I kind of figured, with the box and all,” Gina smiled.



“You have the amazing power to read nametags and signs?” Tara asked with mock amazement.



“Exactly,” Gina answered. “I understand you’re the one who got this old walrus to think about our jaunt today.”



Behind them a couple walked into the coffee shop. Tara’s first glance said they weren’t locals. She looked at Roncalli and was about to apologize when he shrugged eloquently.



“A pair of your best cappuccinos,” he said.



“For here or to go?” she asked automatically.



“To go, unfortunately,” Gina answered. “I can see why he likes this place. It reminds me of the coffeehouse from my college days.”



“Come back and spend some time here when you can,” Tara said as she brought the stainless steel dragon to life. “The place could use a touch of class.”



“I’ll do that,” Gina replied with a grin as she watched Tara’s expert efforts with milk, coffee and steam.



After she handed the cups over and rang the sale she turned to the couple. They stared at the board.



“Need some help?” she asked easily.



“In a minute,” the oriental woman replied.



“Tara, could I have a word with you for a minute?” Roncalli asked quietly. “It’s kind of important.”



“Just a second,” Tara said as she looked in the back. “Kelli, could you take the counter for a second?”



Tara stepped out from the counter as Roncalli sipped at his coffee. He looked at Gina as she ran a finger along the books on the rack on one side of the store.



“What is it, sir?” Tara asked as Roncalli reached for his wallet.



“This is strictly on the QT but I’m taking Gina on a cruise,” Roncalli said with a conspiratorial grin. “We’re making it very private and it’s kind of a whirlwind, spur of the moment thing like we’ve been talking about for years.”



“How romantic,” Tara sighed.



“Yes, but I forgot something,” he said in an embarrassed tone. “We’re going to be in the middle of the Pacific in two weeks when Mary, that’s my oldest granddaughter, has her eleventh birthday.”



“And you can’t figure out what an eleven year old girl would want?” Tara asked nodding.



“She likes horses and those colored one piece computers,” he explained.



“Oh, I have an iMac,” Tara said quickly. “I know just the thing.”



“Good,” Roncalli sighed in relief. “After they grow out of stuffed animals I get confused.”



“Do you have her address?” Tara asked.



“Here,” Roncalli said taking out a card, a birthday card in an envelope and a couple of hundred dollar bills. “It’s signed. What ever you don’t spend on Mary spend on that Cora girl. My son says she’s back with her grandparents. I think the case did him good.”



“I’ll do that,” Tara promised as she struggled with happy tears. “Thank you for everything.”



“Thank you,” he said with a real smile. “Gotta get my girl.”



“You do that,” Tara said with a smile. Then she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.





===========================================================





“Oh yeah,” the senior agent in the van said as he looked at the video feed. “That’s our girl. I want a name, jacket, everything. Tell Three Seven they’re on her for the first watch.”





===========================================================





Mina Duong sipped her coffee and wondered just how they were supposed to set up surveillance on the girl behind the counter. The agent looked out the window at the maze of signs and the circling cars. A parked car surveillance or van would need luck to get the one space that seemed to have a clear view of the building’s interior. She saw Patrick was looking at the other buildings but a vegan bakery, a used clothing emporium and an antique store looked like poor candidates.



“Hi,” a gentle voice said. “Need a refill?”



“They still give those?” Patrick asked with surprised look.



“At least one,” Tara said with a small smile. “New around here?”



“Yes,” Mina said with a shrug. “And we’re kind of at a loss.”



“Meeting fall through?” Tara asked with a concerned tone.



Okay, honey, Mina thought. Why is an old wolf like Roncalli talking to you and why do you come across as a nice girl?



“Yeah,” Patrick said with a start. “How did you know?”



“Times are kind of tough,” Tara said with a shrug that seemed to convey sympathy and shyness. “Look, if you need a place to network or work on stuff it’s okay to stay here.”



“As long as we drink good coffee,” Mina said with a small rueful smile.



“Yeah,” Tara said with a bit more embarrassment as she looked down for an instant. “I’d switch to tea or decaf.”



A nice girl, a bit shy and cute Mina thought. Whoa! Cute? Why did I think that?





===========================================================





Willow waited and worried as the phone rang on the other end. Finally she heard Tara’s co-worker pick up.



“Bean Squeezings,” a frazzled voice said.



“Could I speak to Tara please,” Willow asked politely.



“Tara, the ball and chain is on the phone!” was called out.



“Thanks Kelli,” Willow heard distantly.



What’s the matter Kelli? Willow thought snarkily. Not getting any?



“Hi honey,” Tara said softly. “Is something wrong?”



“Not really, but, well it’s kind of complicated and I’m going to need to talk to you.”



“Is it about the scholarship?”



“Oh, no, that’s easy. I’m going to the U of Washington anyway, looks like.”



“My honey is going to be a husky!”



“Yep, going to the dogs. Look baby, it’s about that NR 4 option. I’m, I’m thinking about selling.”



“O-kay…if you think that’s what you want to do.”



“Like I said, it’s going to be complicated. I’ve got to go, love. I’ll see you after school.”



“Be careful, okay?”



“Always lover, bye.”



“Bye love.”



Willow hung up the phone and realized she felt better about her choice. But she knew her choice about stock options wasn’t why she was smiling.





===========================================================





Tara looked up and hoped it wasn’t another office order that was walking through the door. The lunch rush had been moderately insane. The two people who had missed their meeting had been watching her a lot. She hoped they weren’t considering opening a coffee shop unless they had a lot of endurance.



“Tara!” a familiar voice called out.



“Cora?” Tara asked. The girl seemed to be bursting with a happy energy as she darted into the shop. Tara recognized Mr. Livingstone and looked for his wife.



“We had to take Grams to the clinic for her check up, and Grandpa wanted a cup of coffee and I remembered you were kind of close…”



“So you dragged your poor grandfather up here to parking heck?” Tara teased. Cora just nodded and laughed.



“Why do people bother with cars around here?” Mr. Livingston asked.



“They’re brainwashed,” Tara said with a lop sided smile. “What would you like, besides cheaper parking?”



“Good strong cup of coffee, please,” he answered.



“Room for cream?” Tara asked.



“Nope,” he replied.



Tara drew a large cup of coffee into a mug. She charged him the senior citizen price. He tasted it carefully.



“Now that’s a cup of coffee,” he said with a satisfied smile. He looked at Cora. “I suppose you’ll want a mocha with stuff in it.”



“Oh yes,” Cora said dreamily. “I still have my card.”



“Have you heard anything more about permanent placement?” Tara asked as she reached for the peppermint.



“Mr. Roncalli said we should know in couple of weeks,” the older man said with a frown. “I wish I could say I trusted that Judge McGinty.”



Tara saw a look of fright pass over Cora’s face. She’s trying not to think about it, Tara realized.



“I’m sure it will turn out all right,” Tara said confidently. Cora smiled and took her mint-scented mocha.





===========================================================





“He what?” Kenneth Martin asked unbelievingly.



“He’s boarded a cruise ship for Alaska, returning to Vancouver,” the agent repeated. “According to the purser he’s traveling first but not deluxe class. He’s got a connecting trip to Hawaii and then Australia. He’s going to be gone for months. Do we follow him?”



The Deputy Assistant Director tried to imagine explaining the expense to a subcommittee. He felt decidedly woozy.



“No,” Martin decided. “Make sure he doesn’t get off and then fly to the next port and make sure he gets back on board.”



“Will do, out.”



“All right,” Martin said. “What have we got on this Maclay chick?”



“She’s a nice girl and she words hard for her kid sister and her girlfriend,” the Seattle Police liaison said evenly.



“The wonders of community policing,” the senior FBI official said with a tight grin. “Please continue, Sergeant Franconi.”





===========================================================





Patty felt her gut churn. The plate checked out as a rental on a government rate. She had the two who were camped at the table as FBI and knew it was because of Roncalli. But the mention of the FBI would red flag any chance the child placement would go ahead. She thought for sure that the client was looking for a secondary placement for the Livingstone girl. She watched the girl settle down and sip her coffee with her grandfather. Patty made her choice and didn’t enter her suspicions like she hadn’t noted Roncalli’s visit into her surveillance log. After all, he was just a customer and she wasn’t sure the two who watched Tara were FBI after all.





===========================================================





Tara heard Dawn’s voice say “Cora?” She looked up just in time to see the girl envelope Dawn on a fierce hug. The two teens with her looked a bit surprised. Tara found herself running a very critical eye over the boy. He was tall, athletic and though she was no expert she thought he would be considered cute. He wasn’t dressed in the latest clothes and he was waiting quietly for Dawn to introduce them to Cora. She decided to withhold judgment for the time being. The girl was taller than Dawn and moved well. For all that Tara recognized the shy holding back as she looked uncertainly at what was an unknown social occasion. Finally Mr. Livingstone took Cora and both left with a wave to Tara. Dawn approached the counter with her study group.



“Hi,” Dawn said happily. “Tara, this is Danni Carter and this is Peter Janowski. Guys, this is my ancient sister Tara.”



“Umm, hi,” Danni said softly.



“Hello ma’am,” Peter said after a slight hesitation.



“What can I concoct to make study easier on a slightly damp day?” Tara asked.



“Large skinny mochas,” Dawn said quickly.



“Half decaf, please,” Peter said softly.



“Uh, me too,” Danni said hesitantly.



“Very wise,” Tara observed. “Do you two have student discount cards yet?”



“N-no,” Peter said swallowing.



“Here,” Tara said reaching under the counter for the brightly colored cards. “Just fill them out and hold onto them. They’re good for ten percent off everything we serve.”



“Cool,” Peter said as he carefully counted the price of his drink out of his change.



“Thanks,” Danni said quietly.



The students made their way to a battered old table and pulled out their books. Tara watched them in between the afternoon trade. Most of the sit down crowd were working on something or reading. The exception was the middle aged overweight couple in the corner who were holding hands and smiling at each other as they sipped their drinks. Business picked up a bit as the day grew later and Tara was surprised to see Willow walking in with a red rose.



“Kelli-” Tara started.



“Go snoodle your girlfriend who brought you a flower while I think of something to do to my loser artist boyfriend who got paint all over my Doc Martens,” Kelli said with a wave of her hand.



“Make him sign them and then sell them as post modern art,” Tara suggested as she left the counter.





===========================================================





Danni watched Tara take the rose from a pretty redhead and then take her hands and kiss her. She looked quickly at Peter and Dawn. Neither said anything about it but Dawn smiled and Peter just nodded thoughtfully and started on his homework again. She relaxed and felt more at ease. Maybe they would accept her after all.





===========================================================





Peter felt himself relax. He’d been afraid Dawn was interested in him. Now he watched her older sister and her girlfriend kiss. That and the fact that she was here with Danni Carter meant she was probably gay and therefore safe. He had one shot at college and he had to have the grades and a good season along with all the attendant camps to catch the eyes of college scouts. He couldn’t slack and rely on his talent like Kyle and the stars on the team. Still it was a pity because Dawn was nice and pretty and smart and she…



Peter looked down at his homework and tried to lose himself in math.





===========================================================





“What’s the big news?” Tara asked after a kiss that drew stares from one or two patrons and smiles from the couple in the corner.



“Well, the bloom may fade on NR 4,” Willow said quietly. “I think we should sell.”



“You know this stuff,” Tara said with a nod. “Okay, we sell.”



“Is that Dawn’s study group?” Willow asked nodding at the trio at the table.



“Yeah,” Tara confirmed. “Seems like the other tables are taken.”



“And I just happen to have this homework,” Willow said with a wicked grin.



“Be gentle,” Tara said as she turned to go back to work. “They’ve been playing nice. Mocha?”



Willow just gave her best hungry puppy look and nodded. Tara laughed as she returned to the counter. Willow squared her shoulders and took off her pack. She headed for Dawn’s table.



“Hi Dawn,” Willow said brightly. “Can I join you for homework fun?”



“Homework fun?” Peter asked in a surprised voice.



“She means it,” Dawn sighed. “Sure. Danni, Peter, this is Willow Rosenberg. She’s one of those people who blew the curve in high school but Tara thinks she’s pretty great anyway.”



“Thanks for the ringing endorsement,” Willow said sarcastically.



“Anytime,” Dawn grinned.



“I’ll move my books ma’am,” Peter said quickly.



“Thank you Peter,” Willow said as she sat down. “But if you call me ma’am again I’ll have to hit you with a shovel.” She looked at the big teenager and smiled. “A big one cause otherwise you might not know it.”



Peter smiled as Dawn glared at her.



“Yes, m-umm,” he replied.



“Willow will do just fine,” she said. Then she looked at the books in front of the group. “Trig, cool. How’s it going?”



“It could be better,” Danni said with a scowl at her book.



“Maybe I can help,” Willow said as she looked at the problem.





===========================================================





A few minutes later Special Agent Duong noted the subject delivered a cup of something with whipped cream on it to the redhead.



The cute redhead that she smiles at, an unbidden part of her mind added.



“Mina, are you okay?” her partner asked quietly.



“Just noting the subject seems friendly with that woman at the students’ table,” she said quickly.



“And the weather outside is moist,” Special Agent Brown said with a grunt. “Look, aside from addictive chocolate chip cookies and good coffee I’m not getting a mob front, den of iniquity kind of vibe here. I think she’s just a good coffee slinger who does well with people and likes redheads.”



“We need to observe and make sure,” Mina replied quickly. “Looks can be deceiving.”



Patrick couldn’t understand why his partner suddenly found her coffee cup so interesting. He looked up and saw the subjects hand pull away from the redhead’s back.





===========================================================





Tara ran through her check out procedure with Blaine. She tried to keep her attention on the count and not the incredibly ugly swirl of colors he’d made himself and called a shirt. Finally she escaped the retinal damage inflicting garment and went out to collect her family. Willow looked up surprised at the touch on her shoulder.



“Math narrowing your vision again?” Tara asked.



“You have your coat on, oh, because it’s not nice out and you have to go outside now being all off work and everything,” Willow said as she looked around. “Sorry.”



“Is everyone ready to go?” Tara asked.



“Yeah, now that I understand this a bit more,” Peter said closing his book. “Thanks Willow.”



“Yeah,” Danni added softly. “If I think of it in patterns it makes more sense.”





===========================================================





Patty watched them go and got ready to drive to the bus stop near the apartment house. She expected they’d stop for the makings of supper after that and headed for the small parking lot of the store near their home. She saw the rest of the federal surveillance team pull out after the walking knot of people. Patty smiled as she thought of the FBI following a Seattle bus at rush hour without knowing they’d been spotted. It almost made the crawl directly to Capitol Hill bearable.





===========================================================





Terri watched the monitors as the cavalcade moved out. There were no other patterns behind the P.I. and the feds. She kept her attention on the various screens even as her hands automatically moved over the SVD sniper rifle. Even with the medical gloves on and her hair in a close hat the task seemed routine. The Russian gun oil’s odor brought back memories though. For a second she was waiting in a jungle, then in a dilapidated apartment building waiting again. It was mostly waiting, waiting and watching. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. On one monitor the average looking face of Edwards turned and spoke to person whose profile she knew from before. Her hands stopped on the trigger, then continued to prepare the weapon.



“Thank you, Mr. Edwards,” she whispered. “Hello Sergei.”





===========================================================





Buffy stepped out of the door. She looked around quickly. Then she sagged into the chair. She couldn’t change anything. For her seven years had sped by while she had been helpless to change a thing. This time it had seemed to make less sense. She looked for things to change and after she came back it had all seemed wrong. Spike, Tara’s death, that thing she couldn’t speak out against that hooked onto Willow. Everything in the last two years felt off and wrong.



“Maybe it’s me,” she whispered on the verge of tears.



NO, IT’S NOT.



“Who?”



IT WOULD BE TOO HARD TO EXPLAIN, MISS SUMMERS, BUT IT IS NOT YOU.



“Who are you?” Buffy asked the voice she hoped she was just hearing.



THAT WOULD ALSO BE TOO HARD TO EXPLAIN.



“Kind of figured,” she sighed. “What do you want?”



FROM YOU, NOTHING AND EVERYTHING



“Do you know, say, about a thousand stupid prophets and seers and what not?”



OH BOY DO I KNOW THEM. I’M UP TO HERE WITH THEM. USELESS LOT. WHY DO YOU ASK?



“Oh, no reason,” Buffy said quickly. “Can you get me out of this loop?”



YES, BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE THEM UP.



Buffy watched the monitor flicker to life and saw Willow, Tara and Dawn at supper in their apartment in Seattle. Miss Kitty just happened to be under the table. A bit of bread with a lot of butter just happened to fall. The cat removed the offending butter as Tara and Willow glared at Dawn who looked back innocently.



“I can’t be with them?” Buffy asked wistfully.



THIS IS ONE PLACE YOU CANNOT GO.



“But…”



TARA AND THE CAT AND MANY MORE WOULD HAVE TO DIE



“No!” Buffy shouted with fright.



YES THEY WOULD-OH, SORRY.



“Do I have to decide now?” Buffy asked in a small voice.



SOON, MISS SUMMERS, SOON



===========================================================





The former client felt his gorge rise. The young punk behind the desk smiled at him. He could feel the door closing already.



“I’d love to, really,” the boy said. “Your old stuff was good in it’s day. I can’t greenlight this, sorry.”



“But what about-” the older man started.



“I gotta tell you, after he presented this to the big guy, he got kicked over to the foreign marketing office,” the kid said with a shrug. “This isn’t what we’re looking for now.”



The door behind the former client opened. He looked up to see a hard looking man. He was getting the ‘don’t cause trouble’ send off. He knew he could mark another studio off his list. The former client picked up his eight year old laptop and walked slowly out protecting the venerable computer. He could make it work for another few months. He winced just a little as the door closed.



Behind the door a monitor chirped and a flat screen popped up out of the desk. The young man looked at the incoming call’s ID number and fought the urge to clap, dance and shout at the same time. He called up the image and told himself he wasn’t going to blow this pitch.



“Hello,” he said calmly as those blue eyes caught his attention.



“Hi, I’ve read the script,” the smooth, gentle voice said in a way that made him sure she’d not only read it, but she’d treasured the time spent.



Come on boy, he said to himself. She’s just being kind. It’s just the way she is. It’s why she’s in demand and perfect for this part.



“Wow!” he said before he could think about it. “Thanks!”





===========================================================





In the library the room above the floor was being expanded again. It happened every time either of them were in a movie. The old fans would remember and the new ones would make their own interpretation. The orang-utang came by and frowned at some of the new images. The ape was a traditionalist and the new haircuts and clothes offended his sensibilities, but what could you do with humans? At least the cat was always the same. He liked that. He picked up a few books left in the To Be Reshelved section and replaced them on the shelves.



“Thank you,” a harried looking woman said. You took what help you could get, and if they reshelved with their feet you just put it down to cultural differences.



“Ook,” he replied. “Ook?”



“You know how it is,” she sighed. “I don’t know where we’re going to find the room for the next batch.”



“Eek.”



“Exactly.”

Edited by: jixer at: 9/10/03 3:21 pm

[bluewillowwitch]

jixer,

I loved this update! Oh man, Is and going to okay? I don't like that FBI lady checking out . I thought sitting down with the kids was funny. I feel bad for Dawn. The guy she likes may not like her, then again, I kinda want to see where you are going to take the whole Danni thing. Buffy and that voice's convo mad me . She can't be with her family cause some would have to die. I only have one more question, what's up with the ? I can't wait to more. Update soon, please?





bluewillowwitch

---------------------------------------------

"Fate keeps on happening."--Anita Loos

[WintersDreamer]

I love your AU's Jixer!

I'm going to have to go back and read " Honor thy Father". I'm assuming (bad me) that is where you got your information on Joe Bannono?

Will you be working on "Citizen of the Galaxy"?

Thanks again,

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Even when the modem is wonky feedback is a wonderful thing.



bluewillowwitch[/i]-My, Kittens tend to growl at interlopers. Mina's having issues. Oh yes, few things are as terrible for a teenager as 'hey your mom/dad/big sibling is pretty cool'. As for the future, this is Pens after all.



WintersDre-Not really. Lets just say very old men talked into the wee hours with the kid. They were out to pasture even then, and that was coughcough years ago. It is an AU, so I'm playing with time. Lots of time.



Citizen will be back as soon as my strumpet muse recovers from three stories at once.





Thanks for your time and words Kittens,



Jixer

[jixer]

Lost Pages

Chapter 16







Special Agent Mina Duong watched the outside of the club and took the video as Tara Maclay climbed into the van along with the other staff. This made three jobs for the subject. Mina was reminded of her father’s long struggle in the carpet business that put her and her siblings through college. Her partner started the car and began to head toward the bus stop the subject had used last night. Special Agent Patrick Brown radioed another team to take the actual surveillance for the trip.



“Does any of this make sense?” Mina asked as they maneuvered into traffic.



“Why the freeways should be backed up at this time of the morning?” Brown asked as a woman in an SUV nearly ran into him while smoking and screaming at her cell phone. “Or why I can’t shoot idiots who are gonna kill somebody with their five ton weapons?”



“Why she’s doing what she’s doing,” Mina explained. “I mean three jobs or buying stuff for Roncalli’s granddaughter or taking the bus everywhere.”



“Well, buses are cheap and you don’t have to park them,” Patrick replied. “My dad and my mom had four jobs between them to get me and my brothers to good schools so I can get that part since the kid sister and the girlfriend are going to school now. Other couples have switched off work and college.”



“And the present?” Mina wondered.



“Maybe she never saw Roncalli except as an old man who gave her a job,” Patrick said after a moment.



“Just a nice girl?” she asked with a touch of sarcasm.



“Yeah,” he shrugged. “Too bad she likes girls. My little brother has the worst taste in women on the planet. A nice girl would be a change.”



You have no idea, Mina replied silently, and then wondered why she had that thought.





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Tara opened the door quietly so she wouldn’t disturb her sleeping family. The single beeswax candle was a surprise as was Willow standing beside it clad only in her robe. Tara thought she looked like ivory carving in the soft light of the single candle. Willow glided up to her and kissed her as the door closed.



“We’re celebrating,” Willow said after they came up for air. “Somebody in Renton wants the NR4 option in the worst way. We close the deal Monday.”



“I like your way of celebrating,” Tara said as Willow picked up the candle in its holder.



“How about this?” Willow asked as she opened the door to their room.



“This?” Tara asked.



Willow undid her robe and let it fall to the floor.



Alabaster and coral, Tara thought. With jade.



Then Tara’s hand gently touched this vision in front of her. Pink lips parted with Willow’s sharp intake of breath in response and the beginning of the intoxicating scent of a woman aroused let Tara know this dream was real and all hers. Tara moved to take off her blouse. Willow’s hand gently stopped her.



“No,” Willow whispered. “Not tonight.”



Tara looked at her lover’s stance. All the signs that her body was sending in a different and older language belied her words. Tara smiled as wolfishly as she could and ran her hand up to the soft hair that held just a hint of sandalwood.



“You’re mine tonight,” Tara said roughly. “Mine to ravish.”





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In her bed Dawn blearily opened an eye. She listened, shook her head just a little and went back to sleep. Miss Kitty didn’t even stir.





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“So…that’s…ravished…” Willow gasped in the still hours of the morning.



Tara’s hand entwined itself in her red hair as Tara’s mouth closed over Willow’s. Tara’s tongue was forceful and Willow could taste both of them as her lover moved slightly. Then Tara pulled away.



“Not if you can still talk,” Tara said with an almost silky snarl.



“No,” Willow said weakly.



“No?” Tara asked as she looked into her lover’s eyes.



Willow felt Tara’s hand move down her trembling body, stopping just short of a now growing need. Tara smiled and tilted her head. The dark blonde hair gently trailed over Willow’s swollen coral points of desire. Then she shook her head ever so slightly.



“No?” Tara asked in an innocent voice.



Willow arched her body, but Tara only leaned back slightly, her hand still just millimeters away and her hair still brushing Willow’s breasts. Willow shuddered in ecstatic anticipation.



“Yes,” Willow whispered. Tara just smiled. Willow arched again and let out a tiny cry. “Please!” she whimpered.





===========================================================





Patty turned the light off and lay back in her bed. Maclay was safely tucked in for the night. If nothing else the girl was a creature of habit these days. Patty rolled over and happily felt sleep approaching. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.





===========================================================





Willow had no breath to spare for words nor any need for them. It was all she could do to cling to Tara and shake as sensual waves flowed over her, reminders of the intensity of their lovemaking and proof that neither had held back. Tara’s panting as she sheltered her lover in a tight embrace was a counterpoint in the dark. Finally Willow laid her head on Tara’s arm and nestled against her.



“Now…that’s…ravished…” Tara gasped.



Willow just smiled and listened to Tara’s heart as she fell asleep.



They were in a meadow. It was a picnic with a blanket and everything. Miss Kitty was chasing butterflies. Tara’s head was in her lap. Willow reached into the bowl, dipped the strawberry into chocolate and fed it delicately to her love. She looked over and saw hundreds of other Willows, each different but the still the same, nod to her and then they all looked down at their own Taras.



“I love you,” rang out in the meadow.





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Terri looked at the violated, broken figure in the hospital bed that had once been Mikhail. He had lost his struggle. Now the broken, twisted hands would never again hold her or make his violin come alive just for her. She touched the small patch of intact skin on his face. It was so cold, as if it had never been warm. Then he looked at her.



“Love, you must let me go,” he said in the voice that had made Pushkin come alive. “Let me go so you can live.”



“I can’t!” she wailed as she grabbed for him but he slipped away from her again-



Terri woke up in the old chair. The monitors in front of her were mostly still. She brushed tears off her cheeks and replayed the intercepted messages. Her equipment couldn’t break the scramblers on the Russian hoodlums’ cell phones, so she listened to the FBI specialist do that. She stood up and opened the drapes just a crack. The street below was quiet. She looked at the loops of her security cameras and risked going out. A few minutes later she was at a pay phone. She dialed the cold number she had given Jason.



“Hi love,” he said on the message. “I know you have to do whatever this is but damn I miss you. I’m getting a lot of work done but…never mind. I love you. Just being stupid. Be careful. I love you. Come home to me. Bye.”



“I can’t come home, love,” Terri said distantly. “There are too many monsters in the world.”



Terri repeated the message twice and then hung up. She stepped into the night. Two men looked at her and took a couple of steps toward her. She met their eyes. They turned away and crossed the street. Terri stopped and wondered at how fast she had become again what she had tried to leave behind.



She looked at a window and saw the hard eyed reflection staring back at her.



“Too many monsters.”





===========================================================





“Salamanders are as bad as frogs,” Willow mumbled in her sleep.



“Come on love,” Tara said gently as she touched Willow’s back.



“I can’t,” Willow said unhappily. “There’s a Stage Three Gravity Alert.”



“Really?” Tara asked with a giggle.



“Oh yes,” Willow said hiding under the sheet. “No body says anything but all the airplane crashes are caused by gravity.”



“How about falls from high places?” Tara asked.



“Gravity again,” Willow replied.



“Maybe there’s a gravity cartel,” Tara suggested.



“The best thing we could do is not play their foul game and get ‘up’ like they expect,” Willow said firmly.



“But doesn’t gravity pull the warm water down out of the shower and make it run down across my naked body?” Tara asked innocently.



“I didn’t say gravity wasn’t useful,” Willow said with a voice suddenly gone husky.



“But now I’m afraid,” Tara said in her best ingénue tone. “Perhaps if I could find someone to steady me in the shower…”



Which is how Willow came to be in the shower that late Saturday morning. As the water danced over Tara her lover felt the need build even if she was still sensitive from the night before. Tara seemed to understand without asking. They made love gently in the shower, their shared peak so slow and soft it left them more relaxed than sated. As Willow dried Tara’s back afterwards Tara sighed happily.



“Thanks love,” she said lazily. “I needed this.”



“No one can really dry their own back very well,” Willow replied.



“Silly genius, I meant…everything,” Tara said suddenly more serious.



“I know, baby,” Willow said gently. “I’ve needed this too.”



Willow leaned against Tara’s back and slipped her arms around her love. Tara placed her hands over Willow’s. They stood like that for a moment. Finally Tara let go and Willow stepped back a bit.



“Looks like I’m going to have to dry this back again,” she said lightly.



“Oh well,” Tara purred.





===========================================================





Patty was on her way to her office to drop off the memory sticks and pick up fresh batteries when her cell phone rang. She looked down and saw her boss’s phone number. She pulled over and stopped as she answered.



“Patty, good news,” her boss said smugly. “You’ve got the rest of the weekend off.”



“Oh?” Patty asked uncertainly.



“I forwarded your old reports to the client and they said they had enough data to make a decision.”



“But what about-”



“Don’t worry,” her boss chuckled, “They paid the full fee. See you Monday.”



Patty rang off and thought for a moment. Something didn’t add up. She decided to start her unexpected days off thinking over a cup of coffee.





===========================================================





Willow looked through the flowers again as Dawn stood nearby with the canvas bag full of produce and bread.



“Gee,” Dawn said with a smirk, “I wonder why Tara’s getting flowers.”



“Because she’s my girl and she likes them,” Willow said archly.



“And you will neither confirm or deny any other reason at this time,” Dawn said carefully.



“You’ve been watching too much news,” Willow smiled. “Time to branch out to violent old cartoons.”



“Or dating,” Dawn said casually.



“Six months,” Willow said without looking up from the bouquet she was building.



Dawn sighed.





===========================================================





“You’re sure?” Sergei asked as Edwards’ man looked uncomfortably around the social club.



“This Sunday morning,” the stout man said nervously. “She’ll be alone at a bus stop near this South Harbor warehouse. Nobody’s out there then.”



“Why not just kill the stupid cunt?” the Georgian asked.



“We need to break our target,” the man Sergei knew as Olson explained. “Hurting this woman badly will do that.”



“All right, but my man isn’t going to like it,” Sergei sighed. “He hates rush jobs.”



“And he has to dump her somewhere else,” Olson added. “The South Harbor has to be kept quiet.”





===========================================================





“Now this is interesting,” Special Agent Brown said watching the van drive by.



“Second time he’s been by,” Mina said. “Call Seattle PD and give them a heads up?”



“You’re thinking they’re out here casing a warehouse?” Patrick asked as he nodded.



“Sunday morning would be a good time for it,” his partner replied.



Mina called in the plates and asked the liaison to pass it along. The banged up Seattle Police sergeant agreed to do so.





===========================================================





Yuri was not happy. He would have to identify the target first, then make the grab. That meant two passes. He checked the bus schedule. It was going to be close. He looked at his driver, which was another point of discomfort. The kid was cocky and young. He cursed his usual driver’s sprained shoulder again.



“At least put on the fucking seatbelt!” he snarled.



“I want to be tossed free if this thing rolls,” the youngster replied. “I ain’t gonna burn.”



We’ll see about that, Yuri thought darkly.





===========================================================





Terri looked at the van and the FBI tail. She adjusted the hold on the modified and silenced Remington 700 and listened to the speaker beside her. Fortunately the pickup from the small bug on the roof of the bus stop was clear. She glassed the driver of the van but didn’t recognize him. She was just glad her high position was sheltered from the constant wind.





===========================================================





Tara finished the last of her sandwich Willow had made her along with the lukewarm coffee. She looked at her watch and then glared as her replacement finally tossed his clove cigarette away and headed out on his first round with no enthusiasm at all. Tara opened the door and looked at the sky above. It was still dark but the reflected light off the clouds above seemed to indicate no rain, at least for now. Tara hurried for the bus stop.





===========================================================





Officer Juan Mendoza watched the van drive down the street. It was an old Ford panel van with a sliding door on the passenger side. It had seen better days. The plates came back as being registered to a van owned by a Mr. James Greene of Federal Way. Mendoza doubted it was a Mr. Greene who drove so carefully this morning. Then his eyes narrowed. The person who might be Mr. Greene was not wearing a seatbelt.



“Probable cause,” the cop said with a grim smile.





===========================================================





Tara arrived at the bus stop and watched the van go by slowly. She caught a glimpse of someone staring at her. She looked down the street but didn’t see the boxy shape of her ride. Tara remembered her lessons from the retired cop who had given her what training she had. She stepped to the back of the bus stop and edged behind the concrete garbage receptacle. Then she opened her backpack and made sure she could reach the old revolver in its holster. Was she being paranoid? She thought for a moment.



“I’m going home to Willow,” she said tightly.





===========================================================





“That’s her,” Yuri rasped as he pulled on his ski mask.



The driver sped up and hurried for the bus stop.





===========================================================





Brown and Duong were getting their coffee cups in the unfamiliar holders and Mendoza was just out of sight when the van screeched to a stop at the bus stop. Yuri leapt out and in an instant knew the operation was blown. His target was watching him and had moved to the back of the bus stop and was behind hard cover. She was reaching for something in her backpack. He braced himself for a blast of pepper spray. The cold look in the girl’s eyes was matched by the matte stainless steel of the weapon she pulled out and pointed at him.





===========================================================





Van, ski mask, and he’s coming at me with a crowbar! Oh God! ran through Tara’s mind as the van stopped. Then something made her very angry.



He has no right! she thought as she brought up the revolver and sighted on the center of mass of the man in the ski mask. Then the only thing she remembered from her training kicked in.



Front sight, press





============================================================





Yuri pivoted with the grace of a prima ballerina and dove for the open side of the van. The driver looked at him.



“GO!” Yuri bellowed. “Goddamn women and those stupid concealed weapon permits!”



The driver was too busy flooring the gas pedal to listen.





===========================================================





Tara dropped the weapon to her side. She’d stopped pressing the trigger when the man had run away. She put the Smith and Wesson away carefully. She looked up as a police cars blue lights cut through the gloomy morning.



Should I stay? she thought. Am I a witness?



Suddenly Tara shook all over and felt sick. She needed to talk to Willow, to know her girl and Dawn were all right. She heard the familiar wheeze of the bus.



“I wanna go home,” she said in a frightened voice.



She went to the curb and waved.





===========================================================





Officer Mendoza swore when the van sped away. He’d been spotted. He called in the report and pushed his cruiser into pursuit. The driver made a quick turn into an access road and then cut back. Mendoza swore when he saw the light of the train. All the suspect had to do was take a hard ninety degree right turn at the next intersection and he could make the tracks before the officer could get there. The van started its turn.



Later the report would show the van’s tires weren’t up to the task on the wet street, which was why they lost traction. The curb was why the van flipped. The driver was thrown clear on the second roll. The pole that stopped him was proven harder than his skull. The van did not burn. Overturned cars rarely do. What stood out for Mendoza was the second suspect because in a wreck unsecured objects become missiles. The sight of the would-be burglar’s crowbar embedded in his chest made the policeman look away. Feeling for a pulse was a formality.





===========================================================





“You go home,” Terri said as she watched the bus pass the knot of police cruisers beginning to cluster around the overturned van.



The brunette had the rifle in its hard case and stored in the trunk when tears sprang up in her eyes.



I’m going home to Willow



“After this I’m going home too,” Terri said softly. “Good bye, Mikhail.”



Terry got into her nondescript sedan and drove away at the speed limit. She had to get clear of the area and back to her listening post. The opening move had been made.





===========================================================





Mina listened to her cell call. She looked at Brown and smiled smugly.



“The van cracked up after it rabbitted at the sight of the prowl car,” Mina told Patrick. “Gun, burglary tools, and two ski masks. They had a map of the area, even a bus schedule. The Seattle PD actually unbent enough to say thanks.”



“I bet Martin writes it up as an ‘interdepartmental anti-crime effort’ aimed at professional criminals.” Patrick chuckled. “Not that that kind of thing doesn’t look good in a record.”



“You came on this task force because you want to become the first African American Director, didn’t you?” Mina asked thoughtfully.



“And you want to be the first female Director,” Patrick replied. “Change the Bureau from the inside.”



“You really are a investigator,” Mina laughed. “First one to the top helps the other.”



“You’re gonna need help.”



“Hey, who spotted the van?”



“I did.”



“No way!”





===========================================================





“We’re getting cell phones!” Tara said urgently as she knelt by their bed. “For all of us and, and we’re going to have them with us always!”



Willow looked at her lover with a confused stare. The words didn’t matter. The shakes and the red eyes told her much more. She sat up and reached for Tara.



“Are you all right?” Willow asked, frightened because she knew the answer was ‘no’.



“I’m n-not h-h-hurt, but…” Tara started. Then she leaned forward and found shelter in the safest arms in the world.





===========================================================





“I’ve got to go to them!” Buffy shouted at the screen.



YOU CAN NOT



“They need me!” Buffy snapped.



YOU WOULD HAVE NO POWERS THERE FOR THERE IS NO SLAYER IN THEIR WORLD. YOU WOULD BE A NORMAL MORTAL



“Why?” Buffy asked pointedly. “They have monsters.”



NO, THEY JUST HAVE HUMANS



“But…”



YOU CANNOT GO THERE. YOU AND ANYA SENT YOUR SISTER AND YOUR FRIEND TO THIS WORLD. IF YOU GO THERE THE SYMMETRY WILL BE BROKEN AND TARA WILL DIE.



Buffy looked at the images of Willow holding Tara. She put her hand to the screen. It seemed to surprise her when she could not touch them.



“But I need them,” she whispered. “I need them to be all right. I need…”



Buffy curled up on the floor in front of the monitor. She watched as Tara finally called Janet. Policemen showed up at their door along with an FBI Special Agent. Buffy watched worriedly as Tara seemed to fade under their questions.



“Are they going to be all right?” she asked in a small voice.





To Be Continued

[russ]

"Are they going to be all right?" That is the question.



Glad to see an update to this, Jixer. Sixteen chapters in, and I'm still not sure what's going on; but I'm confident that all will be made clear eventually. Meanwhile, heart-stopping tension, a touch of, yes, spiciness, and questions, questions.



Like why is everyone after Tara? and most importantly, what did Buffy & Anya do and why?



Hopefully the next chapter will arrive quicker; it's uncomfortable on the edge of my seat.



Russ

[Arwen276]

I second the "Are they gonna be alright?"

Thanks for the update it's been so long!!

and it was really lovely! I'm so happy Tara had the guts to defend herself! I was really anxious about what would happen!



Poor Buffy, stuck in that place of hers!!





more?



~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Kitten feedback contains 100% of the daily requirements of fanfic writers. Make sure you get your fanfic writer genuine Kitten feedback. Accept no substitutes!





russ-I just hope I can give this story the right answers. The next chapter is being written on breaks and days off. I'm hoping that by next Saturday I can have something up for my loyal readers.



Arwen276- Thank you for welcoming this story back. Tara's hard encounter let me touch on something I think every Kitten should know. One of the books (more a pamphlet really) I recommend people read (but not buy because the price is a bit steep) is 'Principles of Personal Defense' by Jeff Cooper. Basically the seven principles are



Alertness-Tara noticed the van

Decisiveness-"I'm going home to Willow" and following up on her decision.

Aggressiveness-Tara's flare of anger and "He has no right!"

Speed-She gave herself more space and bought an extra second to respond.

Coolness-While it was happening she stayed focused. When Yuri ran she stopped. It was after that adrenalin surge the shakes hit.

Ruthlessness-Her life was worth defending-"Front sight. Press." It could just have easily been "Stick. Hit. Repeat as necessary."

Surprise-It's almost always a surprise to the wolf when the sheep fight back.



I hope to give Buffy some answers too in the next couple of chapters.



Thank you everyone for your time with my story.



Jixer

[justin]

That was a great update



While I still have trouble with Tara and guns going together, I'm glad that she was able to defend herself. Though I wonder what Terry would have done if Tara hadn't been able to handle Yuri herself. Assuming, of course, that she was there to protect Tara.



I feel sorry for Buffy, being forced to watch her friends lives but not being able to help them.



I'm looking forward to reading more.

Anya in a wimple...I'd pay full admission for that. Gods Served And Abandoned - by Antigone Unbound


You know the worst thing about people in a relationship? The fact that they're in a relationship. - Hilda Spellman

[xita]

Dang, man wow. I caught up with the last couple of episodes. I don't like mina thinking Tara's cute I never like that but heck who can blame her. And Jixer I love to tease you but that was down right spicey! And god poor Buffy. I really feel for her, she's caught in this catch 22. You gotta help her out, mighty holder of the pen!

- - - - - - - - - - -
"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Just a quick moment stolen away from the night shift. Besides, Kitten feedback is better than coffee!



justin-I understand the dichotomy of the good and gentle person being armed. The fact that her choice is the one that allows her to survive just makes the questions of duty, responsibility, and balancing even deeper. But that's the Pens board for you-all the thinking that our girls inspire. And not just THAT kind of thinking



xita-Okay, I'm still about the spicy



Buffy's pain seems to resonate so much because we have all been unable to help people we care about at one point in our lives. But this is Pens so let yourself hope, just like I hope the next update make sense and moves her along as well.





My thanks for your time, gentle readers.



Jixer

[bluewillowwitch]

jixer ,

OMG! I love this update! is really starting to get in deep now. 'm staring to get worried. I'm glad that she has . What are they going to say to Dawn? I feel bad for Buffy. Shewant to help so much and can't. I can't wait to more. Update soon, please?







bluewillowwitch

---------------------------------------------------

"Fate keeps on happening."--Anita Loos

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Sometimes the first cup of coffee in the morning is better than usual. For me that happens when I'm responding to Kitten feedback with new (to me) Pens updates in my favorite fics.



bluewillowwitch-You're right that no matter how deep it gets Willow is there for Tara. You also raised a very good point about how all of this will impact Dawn. I'm going back to working on my update after an indulgent trip through Pens.



Thanks everyone,



Jixer

[jixer]

Lost Pages

Chapter 17





"Will they be all right?" Buffy asked in a small voice.



THEY HAVE THEIR OWN FATE NOW. YOU MUST CHOOSE A NEW PATH FOR THIS PLACE IS DYING.



"Why can't I be with them?" Buffy asked tiredly.



YOU MADE A CHOICE



"When?"



For a moment Buffy knew she was alone. The thought of never leaving this little room with the TV was both frightening and comforting.



COME WITH ME, PLEase...



Buffy stepped out into a huge library. Images that might have been memories rose as she looked next to her. There stood an average looking but androgynous figure in a suit. She looked around the enormous book-filled space again.



"I've been here before," she said softly. "Who are you?"



"An editor, sometimes a critic," the person replied.



"Are you important here?" Buffy asked.



"You might say I run large parts of this place," the person, now a definitely a man, said with a shrug.



"Is this why I can't go where I want to?" she asked.



"The explanation for that is this way," her guide replied.



They climbed a long stairway that led into a separate set of rooms. As she stepped in Buffy was surprised to see hundreds of drawings and photos of Willow and Tara on the walls and glowing from monitors. Dozens of versions of Miss Kitty were there as well. The guide asked for a book. Now the guide was just as definitely female.



"What's happening to you?" she asked with a hint of worry.



"What?" the guide asked. "Oh, that. Part of being a consensual figure."



"Oh."



"Now, about your choice," the woman said. "Read this."



Buffy took the book with the picture of the cat and the space needle on the cover and opened it. She looked at the opening lines of the story.



Buffy remembered the dream. She had been in a library, vast and full of books...





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The former client answered the phone in his best expensive secretary voice.



“Cut that shit out!” snapped the producer on the other end. “Have you got the rewrite?”



“I’m getting a full credit on this, right?” the former client asked, hoping the desperation in his voice didn’t show.



“Yeah, yeah,” the producer said quickly. “Space Bimbo III is all yours. Now get me the damn script before my side bitch cuts me off, you hack.”



“I am a fucking genius!” the client snarled into his phone, but only after the producer had hung up. Now all he had to do was get the script to the overbearing man’s office. The former client pulled out a Los Angeles MTA schedule and told himself he was taking the bus because he was environmentally aware.





===========================================================





“So I made the choice to send them away,” Buffy said as she looked up from the book.



In the corner she saw a long orange arm unbend in a complicated way. She saw the hand raise a finger to simian lips, but the glare that came from the round face was the same one that would come from any librarian whose precious silence had been broken. She felt herself give an embarrassed nod. She followed her guide to an alcove.



“Yes,” the woman said. “Quite remarkable actually.”



“Anya helped,” Buffy said sadly. “Why didn’t I see all of this in the real world?”



“You weren’t allowed to,” her guide explained. “Your kind have little control. That’s why your choice was so remarkable. It’s rare that your kind can break through.”



“My kind?” Buffy asked in a frightened voice. “What am I?”



“You are yourself, but you’re also possibilities, a touchstone, an example,” the woman answered. “ Or you were. You could have shown the world so much. But that was taken from you.”



“Who did it?” Buffy asked angrily. “I’ll demonstrate what a Slayer can do…or I would, if I’m a Slayer here.”



“You are not,” her guide said with a small smile. “But there are other punishments here.”





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“Do I know you?” a chubby young man on the bus asked the former client.



“You might,” he replied with a bit of his old pride. “I made the best female empowerment so on television.”



“Man, I can see why you’re on the bus ‘cause you really fucked up,” the youngster replied. “That last Xena episode blew chunks.”



“I didn’t make Xena!” the former client snapped. “Do vampires ring a bell?”



“There was a show I read about,” the young man said. “Busty? Bunny? Who cares anyway? It was just Xena with campy horror according to the footnotes. Oh shit, my stop!”



The former client watched the retreating back of the 18 to 34 year old male in shock.



“Footnotes?” he whispered. “I’m footnotes?”





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“What do I do now?” Buffy asked quietly.



“You need to make a choice,” the guide replied. “Your own possibilities are falling away, but the ones that your existence gave to Willow and Tara remain strong.”



“Cool,” Buffy said with a smile. “But I, ahh…kind of need to know how things are going to work out for Willow and Dawn, the ones I sent away.”



“I suppose you won’t move on unless you know,” sighed the woman. “Let’s go back to the reading room.”



Buffy followed her. The odd librarian was nowhere to be seen as Buffy pulled the book off the shelf and opened it again.





===========================================================





Deputy Assistant Director Kenneth Martin looked at the report again. The sinking feeling was still there. He sighed and tossed the report on the desk.



“They didn’t Miranda her,” he said heavily. “They treated her like a witness, not a suspect.”



“Why is she a suspect?” Special Agent Goldman asked.



“Roncalli has her buy presents for his daughter,” Martin said tersely. “The Russians make a move on her. Then to top it off our crooked family court judge has had a case with Roncalli’s son. The son doesn’t do that type of law usually and he makes it a pro bono case for some girl that, surprise, knows Maclay from a shelter where our suspect volunteers.”



“Big picture,” Goldman said. “You’re too farsighted.”



“Explain that, Robbie,” Martin said leaning forward.



“What if Duong and Brown are right?” Robbie asked. “This Maclay is what she seems.”



“And Roncalli?” his superior asked.



“Out of the loop,” Goldman said calling up the Roncalli file. “He’s got a tiny bit of the docks left but nothing in South Harbor. He helps out this Maclay because it makes him feel like he did when he still had power. He has to kowtow to Edwards so he gets back at one of Edwards’ people by using his son the high profile corporate attorney. He feels like he’s in charge again. He gives out little favor tasks to the girl who sees a nice old man who gave her a job.”



“She’d have to be six kinds of blind not to know what Roncalli is,” Martin protested.



“She’s not like you,” Goldman pointed out. “You’re an experienced investigator who knows things most Americans couldn’t conceive of. Right now you’re too well informed, trained, and insightful.”



Take the bait so we can go after the real big fish here, Robbie added to himself.



“Why the Russians?” Martin asked thoughtfully. “Why is there one of their enforcers on a slab?”



“Because they’re looking at it like you, only from a paranoid criminal viewpoint,” Goldman explained. “These guys were survivors against the KGB. They can’t accept coincidence. If somebody Roncalli talks to works in the South Harbor area they have to think Roncalli knows what’s happening there. My guys at the local office are saying snitches are complaining about the new hard boys moving into South Harbor.”



“Franconi was saying one of her old snitches was saying the same thing,” Martin mused.



“Sir, you’re a damn good judge of people,” Robbie said without a single note of sarcasm.



“And?” Martin asked.



A good leader doesn’t see how much effort that’s costing Robbie, Martin thought. It's so hard for him to admit I'm damn good



“Talk to Miss Maclay yourself,” Goldman suggested. “The report says the Agents used the tack of investigating a possible organized crime connection. Use that angle and see what she knows.”



“Excellent suggestion.”





===========================================================





“Are you s-sure this is all right?” Tara asked softly.



“Are you kidding?” Daniel Murphy replied with a smile and a wink that made him look like an overage Pan. “How often do I get to show off my wonder car?”



“They are cute,” Tara said. “Willow likes Minis.”



“Not to mention they can-get this-actually fit in a Seattle parking space,” Murphy said as he squeezed between two pickups with a twist of the wheel. “Plus they can hold two hundred pounds of rice and a bundle of clothes in the back.”



“Rice?” Tara asked “C-clothes?”



“I have to whittle down my sweaters every year or so and a couple of girls had some old stuff,” Daniel explained. “Reynolds said to pass the rice along. Seems the whole oriental theme night didn’t fly. He threw in the leftovers out of the lost bin.”



“But why?” Tara asked.



“You said you needed a ride to your night shift thing and the shelter,” Murphy said whipping the little car towards the curb. “Somebody might as well get some use out of this stuff.”



“Thank you,” Tara said blinking away tears.



“I’ll get the stuff, you tell the director we’re here,” Murphy said as he parked amid a squeal of tires and horns.



As the bartender busied himself at the back of the car Tara entered the shelter. Sister Frances took one look at her and beckoned her to follow. The nun lead her back to the tiny office.



“What’s so bad?” Sister Frances asked.



Tara started to cry.





===========================================================





Terri stood back in the shadows of the room as she watched the nervous man hand the envelope to the cop. Then he hurried away leaving the officer with the bandaged arms frowning. Terri watched Franconi open the envelope and pull out the Zip disk. The small object represented her take from some of the best black bag work she’d ever done and Terri hoped the cop knew what to do with it.





===========================================================





“Then there was this really important FBI person who mostly talked about how important his mission was,” Tara said tiredly. “He wouldn’t tell me what was happening or anything but he kept hinting I could tell him the truth.”



“Some people can’t handle the truth because they can’t find it,” the older woman explained.



“He was just kind of weird,” Tara said with a shrug. “The cops and the other FBI guys were okay but…”



“Tara, you can’t blame yourself for the decisions and actions of others,” Sister Frances said sternly.



“Even if I get them killed?” Tara asked softly.



“You didn’t kill them,” Frances said levelly. “Remember what the police said? You were wearing a uniform and you had seen them. They chose to attack you so you could not bear witness. They chose to run away from the police. They had free will, Tara. They made their choices.”



“But-” Tara started.



“If they had attacked Willow or Dawn, wouldn’t you have done the same thing?” the old woman asked quickly.



“Yes,” Tara nodded.



“What about if they had attacked some old, unarmed security guard?” Frances asked.



“I think I’d do the same thing,” Tara replied after a moment.



“If they had gone on with their plan some other person may well have been attacked,” the old woman explained. “They had already attacked Willow and Dawn.”



“How?” Tara asked.



“They attacked you,” Frances said evenly. “They would have taken you away from your family. And without you your family would have suffered, maybe beyond their ability to cope. You stood up to evil. Tara, it was the only thing you could do.”





===========================================================





Dawn opened the door after looking through the peephole. She didn’t smile at Janet.



“Is there something wrong?” the teen asked trying to hold back the fright in her voice.



“It’s all right, Dawn,” Janet said gently.



“It’s just…” Dawn started.



“I know,” Janet said evenly.



“You do?” Dawn asked looking at her carefully.



“Hi,” Willow said coming out of her bedroom. “Is something wrong?”



Janet looked at the two women and wondered how she would feel if Carlo had brushed up against something beyond her control. She sighed and sat on the couch. She took out the Zip disk.



“Look,” she started. “Tara said once you were a computer genius. I give this to the feds they’ll make it theirs and I’ll never know if I could have used it.”



“Feds?” Dawn asked suspiciously.



Janet could almost hear Deputy Assistant Director Martin screaming about ‘operational security’. She smiled grimly.



“Yeah,” Janet said tiredly. “It’s like this.”





===========================================================





“How did the interview go?” Robbie asked as Martin arrived at the hotel the task force was using as their staging area.



“She’s clean, Roncalli’s running scared, and we’re being played,” Martin replied. “I’m going out for a while. I need to ask somebody a very important question and I need to do it myself.”





===========================================================





Janet watched as Willow worked on the lime green computer. She looked at the odd colored bits of technology around it and felt a bit uneasy.



“Are you sure you can do this on that little computer?” she asked finally.



“I’ve improved it a bit,” Willow said distractedly. “This may take a while.”



“How about a mocha?” Dawn asked. “I can get you a big one down the street.”



“It’s dark,” Willow said suddenly attentive.



“I’ll take a police escort,” Dawn said quickly.



“I don’t know,” Willow said looking at Janet.



“It’s okay,” the officer replied. “I’d just be hovering anyway.”



“Okay,” Willow said. “But make it half decaf or Tara will never let me hear the end of it.”



Dawn grabbed her coat and left the apartment before Willow could tell her to put on a sweater. When the door was closed she turned to Janet.



“Did you know Tara was in danger?” Dawn asked tightly. “Did you know those bastards were going to go after her?”



“No,” Janet said honestly. “And we still don’t have any evidence beyond one eyewitness.”



“Why don’t you just get these guys before they hurt somebody?” Dawn asked angrily.



“They may Dawn,” Janet said softly. “This bunch brought their own federal judge. He’s greenlighted everything they do.”



“Good!” Dawn snapped.



“Really?” Janet asked. “Tara’s had two overdue fines at the library this year.”



“How did you know that?” Dawn asked.



“Patriot Act,” Janet explained. “They’re using that and the RICO statutes. With a federal judge signing off their requests everything and everyone is fair game.”



“But, if you don’t violate the law…” Dawn said quickly.



“Like Sister Frances?” Janet asked. “Do you really want them asking why you’re living with a couple of essentially unlicensed, unregistered foster parents? Gay ones at that? Sister Frances should have called Family Services and let them make the decision whether or not Tara was a suitable guardian. And they would have said not, believe me.”



“But Tara’s-”



“A half sibling who works at a former mob hangout,” Janet said tersely. “Do you want these guys asking about Willow?”



Dawn just stopped and stared at the cop. Finally she shook her head.



“Right now they’re after some very bad people,” Janet said more levelly. “But some good people are going to get hurt along the way. That’s how these things work out, Dawn. I think they’re looking past Tara now. I hope so. I’m trying.”



“Why?” Dawn asked in a small voice. “Why can’t the bad ones go to jail and the good ones just go on living their lives?”



“Because we’re human,” Janet said tiredly. “Because we make mistakes. Because we try to do too much with too little because there’s never enough cops. Because somebody always wants to use the law to change things they don’t like. Because people make stupid choices or don’t want to get involved or just want the problems to go away so they don’t have to see them.”



“If it’s so fucked up why do you do it?” Dawn asked bitterly.



“Because it’s better with me than without me,” Janet said. “I’ve got to believe that.”



Dawn looked away from Janet for a long moment. Then the teen turned back and met the older woman’s eyes.



“I think you’re right,” Dawn said. “I think you make a difference.”





===========================================================





Willow looked up at their return. Dawn recognized the triumphant look in the redhead’s eyes.



“I waited until you got back,” Willow said excitedly.



“That didn’t take long,” Janet said with a touch of awe in her voice.



“Well, when you’re dealing with encryption it’s only as good as the encryptee,” Willow explained. “People get lazy and take shortcuts, like when you’re using a Word file and you decide to use Stuffit or a multi part BinHex before…”



Willow stopped and looked at Janet’s confused expression.



“Don’t worry,” Dawn said with a grin. “I don’t get it either.”



“They made some mistakes and I cracked it,” Willow said finally.



“Can anybody use it?” Janet asked. “I mean people that make me look like an expert computer user.”



“It’s just a Word document now,” Willow said. “If they have Word it should be readable.”



“And you haven’t read it?” Franconi asked.



“Nope,” Willow said. “I didn’t know the legal stuff so I’m not looking. It’s a nearly empty disk though.”



“Damn,” Janet said. “I need to take a look at this.”



“Let me launch Word,” Willow said.



It only took a few seconds for Janet to get the mechanics of the process. Her first sight of the data was a disappointment. The numbers and letters on the screen made no sense to her.



“This is a folder in a language that needs a different font,” Willow said running the cursor to the line.



“The rest of it must still be coded,” she said frowning.



“Only in Geekese,” Willow said lightly. “It’s my native language.”



“So what is it?” Janet asked.



“I’d say it’s a file on an FTP site,” Willow said more seriously. “Let’s see if we can get it.”



As far as the police officer was concerned the redhead was doing magic as her hands flew across the keyboard. A moment later the slim girl scowled and consulted the numbers.



“It’s a non-public folder with a password,” Willow said. “No stumbling into this one.”



“Dawn, I think you may want to go to your room,” Janet said firmly.



“But-” Dawn started. Then she sighed and stormed off to her room.



“Good thinking,” Willow said as she opened the file. “Wow, lots of files. Any ideas?”



“How about middle of the second row there,” Janet suggested.



Willow opened the file. A moment later she looked at Janet.



“Tell me this is some sort of sick joke,” she said tightly.



“Show me how to get there,” Janet said flatly.



“It’s a mirrored site,” Willow said after a minute. “The physical site is Germany, but there could be more.”



“I meant get there on the computer,” Janet said gently. “I need to show this to some people.”



Willow typed up a pathway for Janet in a couple of minutes. As she printed it out Dawn stuck her head out of her room.



“Is it safe for my delicate little self out here yet?” she asked sullenly.



“In a minute,” Willow said quickly.



Willow ran Janet through the procedure and this time they chose a different file. Willow felt sick as she looked at the image on the screen.



“She’s fourteen,” she whispered.



“I’ve got to go,” Janet said coldly.



After Janet left Dawn came out of her room. Her cutting remarks died on her lips when she saw the tears in Willow’s eyes. The hug Willow gave her was as much for the redhead as for her surrogate little sister. Dawn just stayed quiet and held her.





===========================================================





“You know what this means,” Patrick said as he sat at the desk.



“We’re poison,” Mina sighed. “Swing shift duty officers equal losers.”



Mina and Patrick looked at each other as Robbie and Janet came into the room. Patrick nodded at his partner.



“Where’s Martin?” Robbie asked levelly.



“Out of contact unless it’s a huge break in the case,” Mina said unhappily. “What’s up? Why the non-departmental laptop, which is a violation you know?”



“Because I know this one,” Robbie said. “Our liaison officer got this second hand from someone with access to Edwards’ allies.”



“What is it?” Brown asked as Janet keyed in the data slowly with her injured arms.



“A shopping list,” Robbie said coldly.



On the screen Mina and Patrick watched the image of a girl come up with her data on the side. The haunted look in her eyes belied the pose and her nakedness. Patrick did the math for her birth date, mostly to get away from the girl’s eyes.



“She’s fourteen,” he said distantly as he looked away. “My oldest niece is fourteen.”



“According to another file on the site all the merchandise will be available, in the US, by the end of next week,” Janet said in a clipped voice.



“But why…?” Mina asked in a small voice.



“Power,” Robbie said coldly. “Money can’t buy everyone, so you use a different currency.”



“I’ll get him,” Mina said reaching for the secure phone.





===========================================================





Deputy Assistant Director Martin had driven past libraries and universities to get here. He’d swept by Seattle’s churches, mosques, and synagogues without a glance to come here to ask his question. He changed in the locker room of the most exclusive health club in King County. His club in Washington D.C. had a reciprocal agreement with this one. He looked at the blinking light on his phone, checked the message, and turned off the instrument. Until he had an answer everything could wait. He picked up his squash racket and headed to the courts. He made his way to the squash desk, checked in with the registrar, and entered the court with the old man in it.



After a warm-up and pleasantries the old man listened to Martin’s concerns. He nodded sagely and looked at the younger man.



“I think I know your question,” he said. “Indulge an old man and ask it anyway Kenneth.”



“All right Senator,” Martin said with a small smile.



“How do I spin this to get the most out of it with the least risk to my career?”





===========================================================









To Be Continued

Edited by: jixer at: 10/31/03 10:29 pm

[justin]

That was a great update



The first part with the former client had me



very interesting, so people are selling children over the internet. That's very not nice



Looking forward to reading more

Anya in a wimple...I'd pay full admission for that. Gods Served And Abandoned - by Antigone Unbound


You know the worst thing about people in a relationship? The fact that they're in a relationship. - Hilda Spellman

[bluewillowwitch]

jixer ,

I love this fic! The thing with Buffy is so sad. The only thing she wants is her family and that is the one thing that she can't have. I'm glad that could crack the disk. But what is it with the 14 year old. You have me worried here. I don't believe that was upset for defending her life. Can't wait to more. Update soon, please?







bluewillowwitch

---------------------------------------------------

"Fate keeps on happening."--Anita Loos

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Thank you for the feedback. It's making me warm, which is a good thing since we seem to have gone from summer to winter here without autumn at all!



justin- It seems that sometimes the former client sometimes almost writes himself. And yes, Willow has found an evil here too.



bluewillowwitch-Yes, I am mean. Tara's reaction is that of a decent person caught up in sudden life and death situation. Post traumatic stress is tricky and more common than most people realize. Fortunately for Tara she has more support than she knows.





Take care cool Kittens,



Jixer

[jixer]

Lost Pages

Chapter 18







Tara watched the street with a sense of dread until she saw the lights and the blunt shape of the bus. This was the last time she’d be leaving the warehouse, and Tara wished that the bus would hurry. She never wanted to wait here again. The few drops of cold rain were less than a nuisance as she dashed aboard. She looked back and saw the car pull out behind the bus. She relaxed just a bit. Janet had been as good as her word. Tara wondered what the police were doing about the gang.





===========================================================





Willow tossed in the bed. She was awake and she knew the horrible images of her dreams were waiting. Dawn looking out of a monitor somewhere, her eyes full of shame and fear. Then the image became Cora.



Or Tara.



Willow tried to close her eyes and sleep. She wondered what the police were going to do.





===========================================================





Janet was unhappy as she looked around the room. The visiting FBI people were all still on East Coast time, ready to start the day. She’d been to bed late and crawled out when it was still dark. She drained her coffee cup and realized not even that was going to get her kick started for this breakfast meeting.



“Very nice work,” Deputy Assistant Director Kenneth Martin said as he looked at the report and the translation of the document. “But we need to stay focused on the big picture.”



“Sir,” Mina said urgently. “This could be huge.”



“Guns and drugs are the most important part of this operation,” Martin said sagely. “Prostitution doesn’t pose a threat.”



“Sir,” Robbie said sternly. “I disagree.”



“I didn’t say we would let it go,” Martin said a bit defensively. “But let’s face it. We’ll just be putting them on a plane out of the country by the end of the week. They’re just hookers.”



“They’re under age children being exploited,” Goldman said with a quiet anger in his voice.



“Here’s what I’ll do,” the ranking agent said expansively. “Robbie, you take Duong and Brown along with our current liaisons and handle this part of the mission.”



“What about technical support?” Brown asked.



“I need all of my people on this new Russian mob connection,” Martin said firmly. “I’m afraid you’re on your own for support.”



“Understood,” Robbie said evenly. “What about Edwards?”



“If there’s an actual connection we’ll investigate,” Martin said as he stood up.



“What the hell does that mean?” Mina asked.



“Edwards is political and just one arrest while TV cameras love pictures of dangerous weapons laid out in rows on a table to see how good a job you’ve done protecting the U.S. of A. from a bunch of nasty foreigners,” Robbie replied in a lecturer’s tone. “Besides, Edwards might have powerful friends that won’t help you run for president in 2008 if you bust him.”



“What the Hell are we going to do?” Patrick asked angrily.



“Cheat,” Robbie said with a tight grin.





===========================================================





Tara more collapsed than got into bed. When Willow pulled her close Tara didn’t argue. The warm arms and the bed finally made the tired woman relax.



“No more scary warehouse guarding,” Willow said in a sleepy, happy voice.



“No,” Tara agreed with a shiver. “Just working with caffeine and booze and naked women.”



“Hmm, now I’m not sure if I should be jealous of the coffee beans getting squeezed by you or the people who get to look at you in those heels,” Willow said with a thoughtful frown.



“The beans,” Tara said with a mock gravity. “I actually touch them.”



“Damn those beans!” Willow pouted.





===========================================================





Willow looked up to see Janet Franconi coming towards her table. Behind her there were a couple of men who pushed the limits of the word frumpy. All of a sudden all Willow could think of was that something was wrong with Tara. Janet’s face gave what might be called a technically a smile and Willow relaxed just a bit.



“What brings you all the way to the more practical than ivory towers of our community college?” she asked with just a hint of nervousness.



“Miss Rosenberg, we need your help,” one of the rumpled men said earnestly.



“Miss Rosenberg, Special Agent Robert Goldman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Brice,” Janet said tiredly. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”



Willow looked at the clock and nodded. A few minutes later Dr. Thompson looked up from a brown bag lunch to see Willow and a trio of people he put down to law enforcement almost at once.



“Am I going to want to hear this?” he asked.



“Dr. Thompson, this is important,” Willow said with a quiet urgency.



“I’m not sure about this,” Brice said with a sniff. “This has to be kept very quiet.”



“My dear sir, I still hold a Q clearance,” Thompson said with a hint of disdain.



“How did you get that?” Robbie asked.



“Need to know,” the academic said cryptically. “Now that we have sniffed fannies please proceed, Miss…?”



“Sergeant Janet Franconi, Seattle Police,” Janet said with a wry grin. “I think that makes me the bitch of this little pack.”



“I’m willing to let the analogy die off here,” Thompson said with a matching grin.



“Thank goodness,” Willow whispered. Then she pulled herself up straight. “Dr. Thompson, we need a place to talk and probably a lot more.”





===========================================================





“Oh no,” Buffy whispered in the library reading room. She looked at her guide. “I know I can’t get there but can you get Faith or Giles there?”



“Why?” the woman asked quietly.



“Because they aren’t witches there and-and Willow’s getting involved and she always gets in trouble and tried to do too much,” Buffy said, her voice rising.



“Thinking like a young warrior,” the guide said nodding. “Keep reading.”



“But-” Buffy started until she saw the woman at the next table look at her. She picked up the book and started reading again.





===========================================================





“I think that’s it,” Dr. Thompson said tiredly.



“Excellent work,” Brice said as he finished taking his own notes on his laptop. “With this information we can roll up all the sites.”



“What about this, Doctor?” Janet asked handing him a translation. The teacher read it and raised an eyebrow. He handed it to Willow. “Well, Miss Rosenberg?”



“Its kind of code, but not a cryptographic code, more like a ordering code, but one that only has…it’s a pair of transponder codes for airplanes!” Willow said excitedly as her professor nodded.



“I’ll get hold of the FAA,” Robbie said stretching



“But what does ‘under no circumstance will evidence fall into the wrong hands’ mean?” Willow asked.



“That we are dealing with very ruthless people,” Brice said grimly.





===========================================================





“Oleg, calm down,” Sergei said as the young man paced back and forth.



“Yuri was one of ours, uncle!” Oleg snapped. “We should go after the cops that killed him.”



“The driver fucked up,” Sergei said firmly.



“Then we kill his family and the lazy bastard who wouldn’t drive Yuri yesterday!” Oleg snarled. “Then we finish the contract.”



“The contract is cancelled,” Sergei sighed. “We’re too close to the big day now.”



“Somebody’s gotta pay,” muttered Oleg.





===========================================================





Terri ran through the tapes again. The FBI was concentrating on the Russians. That was good news, but she knew they were the second most dangerous game. Then she smiled grimly.



Unless they’re wounded,she thought.





===========================================================





Willow listened to her teacher’s advice as she gave her deposition. The Assistant U.S. Attorney had been careful and when she was done her statement was almost boring. It wasn’t until now how much she realized her professor had done this afternoon. She frowned at the words.



“Are you sure this will get the bad guys?” Willow asked.



“My dear lady,” Brice replied. “By the time this is all done a lot of people are going to prison in at least four countries.”



“But we have to wait,” Thompson said quietly.



“Yes,” Robbie said. “Not very long, but we have to wait. Miss Rosenberg, there can’t be any word about this to anyone.”



There was a ring on Dr. Thompson’s phone. He picked it up quickly.



“Thank you,” he said after a moment. He looked at Janet.



“My old student came through,” he said. “The Senator is available for about five minutes tonight. She’s very active in the fight against trafficking in people.”



“I didn’t know you knew a Senator,” Willow said quizzically. “Not that I know a lot about you besides your filing system is based on chaos theory.”



“I don’t really,” he explained. “I was her brother’s tutor.”



“Thank you,” Janet said softly. “Willow, this is where it stops for you until we go to trail and maybe not even then.”



“But I have web bots watching those sites, and-and there could be more disks that are, you know, encoded and-” Willow said quickly until she saw the look on Janet’s face. “No, huh?”



“No,” Janet said firmly.



“And a PhD carries more weight in court anyway,” Thompson said with a grimace. “In more ways than one.”



“So I’m supposed to just go home?” Willow asked.



“To your girl,” Thompsn replied nodding.



Willow looked at her watch and gasped.



“Oh my God!” she hissed. “She’ll kill me! I’m supposed to meet the buyer with her this evening!”





===========================================================





I’m going to kill her, Tara thought to herself.



“No, really?” she asked the man across the table.



“Oh yes,” the man said enthusiastically. “Very few CFOs realize that with the proper IT support plan the TCO can be can be managed much better. It’s all well and good to put 2 gigahertz machines on everyone’s desk but without the proper infrastructure then secondary tasks of the network can become even slower.”



“It doesn’t sound possible,” Tara said in well feigned amazement. “How did you find that out? It must have been very clever.”



“Oh, just observation and thinking outside the box,” he replied with a huge smile. “I started with the basics and did the math. People overlook the importance of things like busses and buffers. As a consultant…”



Maybe attack frogs…





===========================================================





“Why did you say we’d go to his party?” Tara asked as they walked home.



“You looked really interested when I arrived,” Willow said with a please forgive me smile.



“Finally,” Tara said quickly.



“Yeah, about that, I…” Willow stopped.



“Just tell me you weren’t in the library,” Tara sighed.



“No, I was working with Dr. Thompson,” Willow replied quickly.



“Okay, Trilby,” Tara said with a hint of a smile.



“And we made more than I thought we ever would,” Willow said hopefully.



“I wonder where some of that money is going,” Tara said looking a new car with the sticker still in the window.



“I’m kind of obvious, huh?” Willow asked in a small voice. “Almost mesmerized by the thought of wheels.”



“Yeah, but in a cute and sexy way,” Tara replied easily.



“Am I forgiven?” Willow said. “I mean for the dinner and being late and all the shop talk.”



“Things might be arranged where you could be forgiven,” Tara said slyly.



“Oh?” Willow asked brightly. “What kind of things?”



===========================================================





Janet stood up when the Senator walked in. For her part the Senator took one look at the three people in front of her and offered them a seat and coffee quickly.



“What’s this all about?” she asked in the concerned tone so many people knew from C-Span, or would if many people ever watched C-Span.



Brice pulled out a picture as Janet started the explanation. The Senator was half an hour late for her next engagement.





===========================================================





In the morning Tara woke up to Willow rubbing her back very softly. When she was awake the redhead rolled her lover over and did a very credible back rub.



“Consider that interest on the forgiving,” Willow said with a smile.



“If I get anymore pleas for forgiveness I’m going to be boneless,” Tara murmured.



“Remember, we’re getting cell phones tonight,” Willow said as she reluctantly stopped.



“We can afford them, right?” Tara asked with concern.



“I did the math,” Willow answered.





===========================================================





In the library Buffy skipped ahead a few pages. She looked at the book with a puzzled frown.



“What’s wrong?” her guide asked.



“Where’s the climactic battle?” Buffy asked.



“Just getting to the juicy parts?” the older woman asked archly.



“No, but there’s so much that’s happening around them,” Buffy said worriedly.



“And?”



“Well, doesn’t everything have to come down to a great conflict in the end?” Buffy asked. “One where people die?”



“Where did you get that idea?” the guide asked.





===========================================================







“Bicycle?” the producer asked as the former client wheezed into the room.



“Yeah, very eco-friendly,” the former client said struggling for breath.



“This is a braided anthology series,” the producer said carefully. “Kind of like your old work, only without every relationship going to hell.”



“Which is how you know its fiction,” sighed the former client slumping into a chair. “Bitches.”



“Since you’re new here I thought you should know I like this pairing here,” the producer said carefully not hearing the former client. “This new character Tabitha is interesting. She and Linda seem to have something. The actresses are excited.”



“Oh, sorry-wait, you like her?” the writer asked in shock. “I had figured on getting rid of Tabitha after the first couple of episodes she’s in.”



“How?” the producer asked.



“Drunk driver, out of no where-bang she’s gone, and Linda’s hitting the coke again,” the writer said as he leaned back. “Then we get a hottie instead of that fat chick playing Tabitha.”



“She seems to work well and has great chemistry with the cast,” the producer said in a mollifying tone.



“She thinks she can direct, she’s at least a hundred and twenty pounds, and she talks back,” the former client explained. “I know the type. Hot chicks, that’s what this series needs.”



“Right,” the producer said. He hoped the antacids he was taking were going to get him through this meeting. When he looked at the smug writer in front of him waiting for praise the producer knew he wasn’t going to make it.





===========================================================





“Now, Miss Summers, if we’re going to get going you need to get reading,” the older woman said firmly.



Buffy looked around the quiet room full of books and the pictures of her friends. She felt safe here, and connected in a way she’d missed without knowing it for a very long time.



“I could stay here,” Buffy said softly.



Her guide just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Buffy sighed and picked up the book.



“I know, I know” Buffy whispered. “I’d be crazy in a week. I have to do stuff.”



Buffy opened the book and looked for her place.



To Be Continued

Edited by: jixer at: 11/5/03 9:58 am

[justin]

That was a great update



It was a bit annoying that the feds weren't really interested in stopping the people trafficking. At least the police are doing something about it though.



If the russians are the second most dangerous group, then whos the most dangerous?



I was at the scene with Buffy expecting there to be a big climatic battle with lots of people dying. As her guide asked where did she get an idea like that?



The former client is starting to remind me of someone, but I'm not sure who. I don't think he'll be keeping his new job for long if he keeps annoying the producer like that.



Looking forward to reading more

Anya in a wimple...I'd pay full admission for that. Gods Served And Abandoned - by Antigone Unbound


You know the worst thing about people in a relationship? The fact that they're in a relationship. - Hilda Spellman

[bluewillowwitch]

jixer ,

I loved this update! hass helped the authorites out, now why do I have a feeling that she isn't going to stay out of it like they aske? I hope that is going to be alright, I'm glad that she isn't working the warehouse anymore. I love how and decided that should be more jealous of the coffee beans cause actually touches them. Buffy is going to go crazy if she doesn't find out what happens soon. Can't wait to more. Update soon, please?





Grace

------------------------------------------

"Fate keeps on happening."--Anita Loos

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Once upon a time there were these readers called Kittens. Writers who made up stories about a magical pair of girls (and sometimes their friends and their kitty) would go to a magical place and leave their stories there. Then the Kittens would come out and purr and make the writers feel very happy.





justin-At least some of the feds aren't interested. Big picture disease can be blinding. I don't really know who the former client could remind you of



bluewillowwitch- Coffee beans are just sneaky You can never tell if Willow will take good advice. Actually, you can, but maybe she'll be...sensible?





Thank you for your kind words and for reading my story everyon.





Jixer

[jixer]

Lost Pages

Chapter 19









Willow Rosenberg, you are not going to go looking for those bastards, she scolded herself. Besides any monitoring program is going to show a hit from Tara’s IP address. These guys are ruthless and the feds are finally looking for them.



Willow looked at the lime green iMac and frowned. There were ways around a trace or ping. Willow stared at the screen for a moment, but while she was good there were many ways to do a backtrace. Finally Willow pushed the chair away from the desk and stood up as Dawn came out of her room with a gym bag.



“Are you coming?” Dawn asked.



“Oh, right, hitting bad guys class,” Willow answered. “This might be just what I need.”



As they went downstairs to the bus stop Willow found herself asking a lot of questions. It wasn’t until they were at the bus stop the redhead realized Dawn was looking carefully up and down the street. Willow looked worriedly around.



“What is it?” Willow asked in a coarse whisper. For some reason she touched her neck.



“I’m just trying to stay in yellow,” Dawn replied.



“Yellow?” Willow asked in a puzzled tone. “You’re in blue jeans and a kind of faded red…oh. This is like those alert color code thingees?”



“Only without Ashcroft making the decisions,” Dawn explained. “Yellow is alert but not alarmed. Jesse’s been teaching this for years, and he learned it from older teachers. If you make yourself notice things you can see problems coming.”



“Hooray for modern life,” Willow sighed.



“You’ve always been responsible for your own safety,” Dawn said firmly. “Besides if you were in yellow you’d have seen that dishy guy or the way the light caught the water on the street. It’s not all about danger. Besides, I kind of knew about it from…before.”



Willow was silent until the bus arrived and picked them up. Dawn watched her and realized Willow had taken her words the wrong way. Dawn just wasn’t sure which wrong way it was.



“Willow?” Dawn asked gently.



“I’m sorry,” Willow said softly. “I guess I kind of screwed up your whole life. You’ve had to become so…hard.”



“No!” Dawn protested. “Willow, don’t do this to yourself.”



“You watch the street like it’s a jungle,” Willow replied tiredly. “You’ve seen things, know things I should have kept you from.”



“Its not all your fault,” Dawn said levelly as she took Willow’s hand in hers. “Yes, you made mistakes. So did I. So did Liz.”



“She saved the world, you know,” Willow said earnestly.



“I know,” Dawn said surely. “Now it’s up to us to live in it, and to make what she did mean something, something that would make her proud. Oh! It’s our stop!”





===========================================================





In the reading room Buffy brushed a tear out of her eye.



“You already have, Dawnie,” Buffy said in a whisper.



For a second Buffy could feel Dawn’s soft brown hair under her fingers as she brushed her hand through her younger sister’s hair. It took several moments for her to return to the story.





===========================================================





Oleg watched the girl serving drinks. He had followed her from the bus stop near this place. He watched her carefully, with as much subtly as he could muster. If he handled this correctly he could prove he wasn’t just a hotheaded hard guy.



Of course even a child can tell when he’s being played for as big a fool as this, Oleg thought.



The girl serving drinks was Tara, which fit his information. That and the fact that she worked here though seemed to be where the information fell apart. He watched the girl carefully and saw her blush.



She works here and can still blush? he thought darkly to himself. She takes the bus, didn’t notice two large men behind her, and can blush in a strip joint. Definitely a cold-blooded killer laying a deadly trap for Yuri.



“Bullshit,” Oleg snarled softly.



“No boss, I think the those are real,” his bulky minion said. “Look at them sway.”



“Perhaps you are right,” Oleg said quickly. Anatoly, whose nickname translated closely to ‘Little Bear’, went back to watching the blonde onstage. Another word slipped easily into Oleg’s mind.



Betrayal



Oleg nodded softly to himself and sipped his beer. The concept fit. Yuri had been his mentor in the arts of violence and terror. There was no doubt Yuri was the best and smartest enforcer in their operation. With him gone there was a gap no one could fill, not even Oleg for he knew he wasn’t clever enough yet.



But we remain strong enough to do the job for Edwards, Oleg mused. Which is where this piece of shit information no doubt ultimately comes from.



Oleg thought of what might have happened. The girl, no doubt someone selected for her uselessness to Edwards, had already spoken to the police. If she ended up dead then they cops would look for another member of the gang. With the deal so close Edwards would no doubt demand Oleg be turned over, and another loose cannon would be secured.



I need to be sure, Oleg decided.



He caught Tara’s eye and lifted his empty glass.





===========================================================





Tara hurried to the table with the two big men with the odd accents. The biggest one was lost in Tawny’s movements onstage. The other one looked directly at her and smiled.



“Another please, Tara,” he said politely. “It is good to see you were not hurt by those bandits.”



Tara felt her breath get tight. She shook her head and shrugged helplessly.



“You must have been very brave,” the customer said carefully.



“N-n-no,” Tara forced out. “I w-was s-s-so s-scared.”



“How did you now they were bad men?” the man asked intently.



“It’s w-w-weird…” Tara said as she tried to remember what exactly had first made her suspicious.



“I am sorry to upset you,” the customer said after a moment.



“I’ll get that beer,” Tara said quickly.



Tara didn’t see the man’s narrowed eyes as she walked away. It took a moment for her to get the beer and another to stop shaking. When she came back the customer was glowering at his cell phone.



“Thank you,” he said as she place the beer in front of him. “Thieves calling themselves a phone company. What cell carrier do you use?”



“Umm, Virgin,” Tara replied before she really thought.



“Good coverage?” he asked offhandedly.



“It works everywhere so far,” Tara replied.



“Thank you,” he said. “Keep the change. Let’s go.”



“Thank you for coming in tonight,” Tara said automatically. Then she looked down and saw the hundred dollar bill in her hand.



“Thank you!” she called out.





===========================================================





“Do you think she offed Yuri?” Anatoly asked as they walked to the Mercedes.



“Little Bear, if she did in Yuri then I’m the Queen of England,” Oleg said with a grim smile. “You drive. I need to think.”



“Cool,” Anatoly said with a smile. He loved driving the powerful car.



As they pulled out into traffic Oleg looked into the night and glowered.



There is no doubt this Tara hasn’t a clue as to who called her on her cell phone to warn her, Oleg thought darkly. She does not think in terms of survival and conspiracy. Edwards’ people let me know she was the one but in a clever indirect way. Edwards wants us capable to do his bidding but weakened. Why go through all of this?



Oleg stared out the window until they were almost at his place. As the car slowed down Oleg began to nod to himself.





===========================================================





Terri watched Oleg’s car leave the parking lot. The tension in her body was flowing away. She’d been on a knife edge, ready to kill from the moment Oleg had entered the building. The music and the odd looks she had gotten didn’t help. Terri replayed the scene in her mind as she got into her borrowed Honda. She hadn’t considered that Oleg had the imagination to actually just talk to Tara. Terri shifted the car into gear and put the compact monitoring equipment on the seat beside her. She needed to filter out what the Russian had said to the girl.





===========================================================





Willow pulled her collar up and wondered if there was a special name for the wind in Seattle. Something nasty she hoped. Dawn stretched her neck. Willow glanced at the girl.



“Zip up your coat,” Willow said.



“You two get cold and I have to put on a sweater,” Dawn muttered.



“Yeah, well, we’re older,” Willow replied. “Boy, am I really going to feel older in the morning.”



“Take a warm shower and some ibuprofen,” Dawn suggested. “Danni says it helps when she over does it at volleyball practice.”



“I don’t know about you hanging out with jocks,” Willow teased.



“Brace yourself,” Dawn said with a grin. “I’m thinking about joining out for track.”



“If you keep your grades up,” Willow said before she really thought.



“Oh, grades,” Dawn said quickly. “We need to do the study group thing again. Do you think you could kind of come by and, you know, herd us along towards knowledge.”



“That’s cheating,” Willow sighed. “Appealing to my inner border collie.”



“There could be a mocha in it for you,” Dawn cajoled.



“Do you think I’m that easy?” Willow asked in a mock huff.



“Yes!”





===========================================================





Sister Frances looked at the other people in the room as she looked for a seat. There were representatives of every women’s shelter group in the Puget Sound area. A moment later her state’s U.S. Senator came in without any announcement. The room grew quiet.



“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” the Senator said in a voice that carried. “I need your help.”





===========================================================





Tara looked at her cell phone on break and saw Willow’s ‘We r home n safe. Love u’ on the text message. She concentrated and finally got out ‘Good. Love u 2. Home regular time’ for her first real text message.





===========================================================





Mina Duong and Patrick Brown sat across the table from the U.S. Marshal for the district. The fact that the food on the table was some of the best Mexican cooking north of California wasn’t important. What was important was that no one else seemed to be interested in their conversation.



“This is way out of left field,” the Marshal said. “Why come to us?”



“Because every other tactical team in the area is going to be tapped by the FBI task force to take down high risk arrests,” Mina explained.



“And these guys are serious,” Patrick added. “They don’t want any evidence left behind, even if it’s breathing.”



“How about ATF?” the older man asked.



“Locked up with the task force,” Mina replied.



The Marshal nodded and looked thoughtful for a second. Then he gave a smile.



“Did these guys ever do anything illegal in Canada?” he asked.





===========================================================





Tara was very tired so she had to blink a couple of times before the image was processed by the proper part of her brain. She got up out of her seat on the bus and moved forward.



“Sister Frances?” Tara asked with concern.



“Hmmh?” the nun responded before she straightened up in her seat. “Oh, Tara.”



“Are you all right?” Tara asked gently.



“I’m up too late and looking forward to being positively swamped tomorrow,” Sister Frances said with a grim chuckle. “Outside of that everything’s peachy.”



“Is there a problem at the shelter?” Tara asked in a worried tone.



“Not yet, but we may be getting more placements,” the older woman said. “It’s all up in the air.”



“Do you need help?” Tara asked.



“Getting home or getting ready?” Frances asked with a yawn.



“Yes,” Tara answered with a tired smile.



“I have to admit I’d like a hand with these bags,” the nun said gesturing to three large sacks. “I really should have taken up the offer of a ride home.”



“Yes, you should have,” Tara said, nodding. “Then I wouldn’t make you feel all guilty when I help you home.”



“After a long night waitressing your feet must be killing you, girl.”



“The walk will do me good. Or I can just worry.”



“What about you walking home? This is the last bus.”



“I’ll be all right,” Tara promised clutching her backpack.



“You win,” Sister Frances sighed. “Help an old fool home.”



It only took several minutes to get the old nun to her door and get inside. Tara took the moment to use the bathroom. She looked in the mirror for a long moment. Then she took the old Smith and Wesson out of her pack and put it on. Tara opened her wallet and made sure the permit was there, like it had been before she’d left home.



Why did I bring this with me? Tara wondered. My gunslinger days are over.



There was a quick image of a huge man in a ski mask coming at her with a crowbar.



That’s why, Tara admitted to herself. When am I going to feel safe again?



Tara looked at herself again to make sure the firearm didn’t show, which was hard since she wasn’t very large and the old revolver was of service size. Finally she left the bathroom.



“Be careful, dear,” Sister Frances said as she let Tara out the door. “Call me when you get home.”



Tara stepped into the night. After a few steps she realized that in this outfit the revolver and its holster were even more uncomfortable then in her security guard uniform. She wanted to loosen it but then it wouldn’t be concealed and violate the law. She could hide it if she zipped up her coat but with the walking she was already warm. Tara tried to shrug it into a comfortable place. Finally she just gave up and wondered if the designer of holster had gone on to other instruments of torture.



As she walked down the mostly empty streets she became aware of two men behind her. She turned around and tried to keep the holster hidden. They stopped in the dark and turned away.



“Calm down,” Tara said to herself as the men scurried off.



Still she was much happier a few minutes later when she arrived home.





===========================================================





“That bitch was packing some serious heat,” a man known as Wrecker said to his companion.



“There’s a softer target,” Frank replied pointing at a man coming out of what they knew was a gay bar.



Across the street the target of their attention leaned on cane. The two split up and flanked the older man. Wrecker kicked away the cane, which whirled in the older man’s hand and broke Frank’s nose before he could sucker punch his target. Then the simple support device came full circle, picking up Wrecker’s ankle in the process. He did not land well, as the snapping bones and his squeal indicated. Frank bellowed in rage and swung at the old man. The punch kept going and Frank’s head followed it into the stone wall of a building. He fell bonelessly to the sidewalk.



Wrecker felt for his knife. The cane came down hard on his newly bad leg. He screamed and tried to crawl away. A foot came down hard on his hand.



“My clientele don’t get disturbed, understand?” the man growled holding the cane like a club.



“No-No-Never!” Wrecker sobbed as he covered his head.



“Get outta here,” Jimmy “the Brick” Russo growled.



As the hapless would be mugger crawled off and then hobbled away Russo wondered if Roncalli had rubbed off on him. Once he would have broken the robber’s other leg just for good measure. Jimmy went inside, slipped the cane behind the door, and signaled the bar manager over.



“Tommy, there’s some drunk passed out on the sidewalk outside,” Jimmy said over the noise the DJ insisted was popular music. “Call the cops.”



As the young man called 911 Jimmy sipped his Diet Coke. He reflected that becoming the part owner of half a dozen gay and lesbian bars was a pretty nice lifestyle, but he was starting to understand Roncalli’s dislike of modern music. He also felt slightly guilty since he was sure he was breaking hearts by being straight.





===========================================================





Terri listened to the cleaned up audio and wondered about the exchange between Oleg and Tara. It seemed to her that Oleg was sure Tara had been warned. It concerned her that the girl hadn’t wondered how this stranger knew about her. Terri listened again to the short exchange in the parking lot. She thought Tara might be clear for now, and Oleg was suspicious.



“How to push him along?” Terri mused aloud.





===========================================================





Oleg growled as his phone rang. The girl was enticing but that phone was only for business. He picked it up.



“You’re too smart for him, Oleg,” an electronic voice said in good Russian. “I’ll try to help you protect Sergei. Later.”



“What?” Oleg snapped but the line was dead. He looked at the phone number on the display and called the number back.



“This is Edwards Consulting,” a pleasant voice informed him. “Please leave your name, message and number and we will return your call during business-”



“Get your clothes and get out,” Oleg growled at the confused girl.





======================================================

=====





Tara yawned as she stepped out of the bathroom after her shower. She’s had to look for fresh towels, which told her Willow had probably been through a real workout at her first class. Tara stopped and very quietly placed the revolver back into its place without waking Willow. Then she crawled into bed. Willow barely moved at first. Then one green eye half opened and Willow smiled. Tara kissed her.



“Home and safe,” Tara said as she pulled up the blankets.



Willow just nestled close to her. In a minute both were asleep.





======================================================

=====





“But, but…” Buffy looked at the book with a confused expression. “Why aren’t they in the thick of things and doing stuff?”



“It’s the world they’re in,” the woman guiding her explained.



“It’s too big and dangerous,” Buffy said softly. “They could get hurt. They were all hurt before. Tara…”



“Perhaps there is danger,” the woman said gently. “But look around this room. I don’t think you have to worry too much here.”



“I guess you’re right,” Buffy said as she looked at a series of panels on the wall with Willow, Tara and Miss Kitty in homey poses. “I like it here,” Buffy whispered.

Edited by: jixer at: 1/15/04 12:17 pm

[tiredsoul]

Eek, I’ve fallen so far behind on this story.



Bad kitten.



But the upshot is that I got to read a lot in a row

Quote:

---

For a second Buffy could feel Dawn’s soft brown hair under her fingers as she brushed her hand through her younger sister’s hair. It took several moments for her to return to the story.

---

It shocks me to say this, but I am feeling so bad for Buffy having to watch so helplessly. You have reclaimed her character to such a degree that I am pulling for her. And ther is so much is going on here. I like how you’re jumping back and forth.

Quote:

---

“Just working with caffeine and booze and naked women.”

---

Can you get me an application for a position there?



Thanks jixer.



--celia

---------------------------------

When innocence is shattered
... madness is inevitable
www.gotlicky.com

[jixer]

Hello Kittens-



Boy am I up too late Fortunately for me there's feedback!





tiredsoul-Well celia, I should do a better job updating so you can have more to read



I missed the Buffy that started out the series, so I'm glad my version is able to make you root for her. I realize I've kind of gotten broad with the background, but our girls make it easy to write about them and the worlds around them. As for that job, sorry. I can no longer give the address lest the forests disappear to make all the application forms



Thank you and goodnight



Jixer

[bluewillowwitch]

jixer ,

I love this fic! Things are getting a bit jumbled i see. No one know excatly what is going on and who they can and can't trust and our girls are stuck in the middle. I love how Dawn offered mochay goodness to gain 's knogledge of all things brainy. Poor . Hates the gun and still has to take it with her. Can't wait to more. Update soon, please?





Grace

------------------------------------------

"Fate keeps on happening."--Anita Loos



"I'm here without you baby/But your still with me in my dreams/And tonight girl, there's only you and me."--3 Doors Down-Here Without You----Mine and My Baby's song.

[xita]

Excellent, I'd fallen behind as well. Buffy's curiousity is much like my own. I worry about what is happening to them or rather not happening to them. Willow resisted doing her own detective work on the computer and Tara's not even wondering why these guys know about her.



Great fic jixer.

- - - - - - - - - - -
"Hard work often pays off after time but laziness always pays off now!"