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“I thought it’d be harder, you know, being the CIA mainframe and all,” Willow preened happily. It had only taken her three hours to break into the CIA’s computer system. Though it was tempting to take advantage of the access to all the CIA’s files, she searched only for files containing Spike’s name. Opening the most recent file, she quickly decrypted the contents and saved them into a text file before disconnecting from the network. Getting in had been surprisingly simple, but there was no guarantee that her access wasn’t being monitored.

Tara smiled proudly and patted the redhead’s hand. “I knew you could do it, sweetie.” She had picked up on Willow’s anxiety and fear of failing and letting everyone down, and had been reassuring her from the sidelines as she worked.

“You’re the best, Wills. What did you find out?” Buffy inquired impatiently. She, too, was proud of Willow’s hacking expertise, but there would be plenty of time for praise once Spike had been rescued.

Willow quickly scanned through the case file, relaying any important information: the Initiative was a radical paramilitary group located in the Adirondack region of New York, three hours from Manhattan and only one hour from the Canadian border; they ran a fishing camp as a cover and source of revenue; they had strong ties to several international terrorist organizations and were suspected of orchestrating the bombings of several Federal buildings in New York and Washington, D.C. There was a list of several known members but the identity of the leader remained a mystery.

“Spike and Angel’s assignment was to identify and apprehend the head of the Initiative,” Willow finished. “There are a few notes in here about the hypnosis, but nothing of much use.”

Buffy turned to Tara who only shook her head regretfully. So far she’d been unable to find any information that would shed light on the situation regarding her lover’s “condition”. “Xander and Anya should be here any minute to check in. Hopefully they were able to find something out.”

As if on cue, Xander and Anya burst through the front door. Judging by their matching grins, Buffy assumed they had news and was proven correct when Xander made a great show of handing her thick manila folder. She flipped through its contents, pleased to find that it apparently held all the information on Spike’s hypnosis.

“You stole that from his house?” Willow queried after taking a peek at the folder. It seemed too coincidental that Angel would have the exact folder they needed just lying around his home. Either the information was meant to mislead them, or he was secretly trying to help Buffy.

Anya returned from the kitchen just in time to catch Willow’s question. She slid into the chair next to Xander and took a sip from her glass. “That’s the odd thing: we didn’t have to. He just walked out and gave it to us.”

Sensing his friends’ confusion, Xander took it upon himself to explain. They had been sitting in his truck near Angel’s house when a black-clad petite woman visited the CIA operative. Half an hour later Angel, limping and sporting a black eye, crossed the street and handed them the file without any explanations. Shortly after, Angel’s visitor left.

“Let’s just assume that Angel’s not trying to give us the runaround and the information is correct,” Buffy responded once Xander had finished. She ignored the slight pang of jealousy that hit her at the idea of Angel with another woman, especially considering she had Spike, who needed her now more than ever. She read the first two pages before tossing the folder on the table in disgust. “Is that even in English?”

While the others discussed Angel’s possible motives for turning over the file, Tara scanned the notes on the hypnosis project. According to the preliminary reports, it was to be a standard hypnosis with no special tricks or unusual methods. There was no reason for the code word not to work unless one of the doctors had botched the job. Tara’s cheeks flushed with anger at the CIA’s arrogance. The human mind was a delicate, fragile thing that their so-called experts had no business messing with.

“W-we may have a problem,” Tara started nervously. She hated being the bearer of bad news, particularly after Buffy seemed so excited about the folder’s contents. She shifted in her chair and ducked her head when all eyes turned toward her. “I can’t find any problems with their procedure. There may be no quick fix for Spike.”

Mustering all her inner resolve, Buffy struggled to keep herself from falling apart. This was a major setback, true, but it wasn’t enough to warrant calling off the rescue. Sensing Tara’s unease, she bit back her impatience and softened the sharpness of her tone. “Keep working on it. The main goal is to get Spike out of there. Once we have him back here, time won’t be so big of an issue.”

“That’s great, Buff, but how exactly are you going to get in? Somehow I don’t think just knocking on the front door is going to cut it,” Xander pointed out, earning himself a nasty glare from the blonde agent.

“I’ve already taken care of that predicament,” Giles spoke up for the first time since joining the others in the dining room. He’d received a text message shortly after Xander and Anya’s arrival but couldn’t view it without Olivia’s assistance. He had no doubt who it was from and to what it pertained. “We will need to leave before sunrise. Pack only the essentials. If there is anything else you will need, we can get it once we reach our destination.”

Buffy, shocked by Giles’ assistance in clearing their first major hurdle, murmured her thanks and kissed the older man on the cheek. Leaving the agents to talk about various plans and theories, Giles excused himself and retired to his bedroom. He found Olivia reclining on their bed, chatting amiably on her cell phone.

“Here dear, talk to Rupert. I’ve got to help my technologically-challenged husband,” she sat up when Giles held out his blinking phone. After a quick phone trade, Giles began drilling Rhiannon for details on their meeting place and her strategy for getting Buffy into the Initiative complex. He was in the process of triple-checking the particulars when she cut him off by yawning loudly. Taking the hint, Giles ended the call.

After hanging up, he curiously inquired about the message, having heard his wife’s muffled giggles. She responded by handing him back his phone. The message was short, simple and to the point. “Thank you Olivia.” Grumbling under his breath about cheeky women, he settled down on the bed and went over his notes.

Meanwhile, the group downstairs quickly dispersed. Tara promised to keep working on the hypnosis problem while Willow, Xander, and Anya would take turns keeping an eye on Angel. Willow was relieved when Buffy assured her that there was no need for anyone to stay overnight. It had been a very long night and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep.

Once her friends were gone, Buffy checked all the locks before wearily making her way upstairs. Not looking forward to sleeping alone in the bed she shared with Spike, she made a detour and slipped into Dawn’s room. The melancholy teen was in the middle of filling a large leather suitcase – she and Olivia would be leaving for the airport early to catch their mid-morning flight. “I thought we left your suitcase in Giles’ car,” Buffy commented, leaning against the doorframe.

Dawn rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Yeah, and then I had to unpack it because we didn’t know when I was leaving.” She stepped inside her closet and violently yanked a soft blue sweatshirt off a hanger. “I heard you talking with the others. Are you really going to go in by yourself?”

Buffy nodded and pushed away from the frame. She picked up one of the brightly colored shirts piled on the bed and folded it neatly. “I don’t have a choice, Dawnie. It would be too dangerous to go in as a group. Besides, this isn’t an FBI assignment. I can’t just ask the others to put their lives in jeopardy on a whim.”

“It’s not a whim, it’s Spike,” Dawn argued, blue eyes filling with tears. She dropped the sweatshirt and flung herself in her sister’s arms. She knew this was important to Buffy, but she couldn’t stand the thought of losing both Buffy and Spike. They were the only family she had left.

Buffy gently rocked the brunette, lightly stroking the back of her head. She’d hoped to keep Dawn in the dark about most of the details, but, once again, she had underestimated her sister’s incredible powers of eavesdropping. “Dawn, I –“

Dawn put a finger over Buffy’s lips to silence her. “I know, me too. I’m almost done in here. Do you need any help packing?” She didn’t want to hear Buffy say goodbye. Anything she said would sound too final, and Dawn just wasn’t ready for that.

Buffy nodded and squeezed her sister tightly. After zipping Dawn’s suitcase, the two made their way to Buffy’s room. Dawn claimed a spot on the bed while Buffy rummaged in her closet for one of Spike’s small duffel bags. In the event of a hasty retreat, her bulkier suitcases would only slow her down.

“Buff, I thought Giles said to only pack the essentials,” Dawn observed when her sister set a fourth pair of shoes on the bed next to the duffel.

Buffy protectively laid a hand over the suede ankle boots. She glanced at the selection of shoes on the bed, failing to see what the problem was. “Proper footwear is always essential.”

“And I suppose that cashmere is also an essential?” Dawn quirked an eyebrow as she held up a white sweater.

Buffy quickly blinked back the tears that were gathering in her eyes at the Spike-like comments. Seeing Buffy’s lower lip quiver, Dawn scrambled off the bed and embraced her sister, this time as the comforter. “It’s okay, Buffy, you’ll bring him home. I know you will. In a few weeks he’ll be back to griping about the estrogen level in the house and everything will be normal again.”

Humbled by Dawn’s faith in her, Buffy nodded and kissed her on the forehead. Turning back to the bed, she picked up the discarded sweater and refolded it. “Cashmere is definitely an essential.”

Dawn grinned and resumed her spot on the bed while Buffy continued packing. “Next you’ll be telling me that red leather pants are essential.”

Buffy winked at the teen and stuffed a pair of jeans into the bag. “You’re catching on, Dawnie, you’re catching on.”





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