“Anything is possible.” Methos said quietly, glancing around the heli. “Want me to get Cass to check for mystical trackers?” At Buffy’s nod, he walked over to where Cassandra was sitting and, in a low voice, informed her of the problem and then went forward to speak to the pilot.
While Cassandra was doing her thing, which just looked like she had closed her eyes, Buffy was silently running her eyes over everyone in the cabin, her mind racing with possibilities and ideas as to what the trackers might possibly be. She figured it had to be something they wore everyday, or almost everyday. No sense in having trackers placed in items that would sit on a table or dresser.
Cassandra opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times to focus on the here, instead of the ‘possibles’. She locked gazes with Buffy and shook her head. “I couldn’t sense anything tied to anyone here. It must be electronic.”
“Then I guess we search everyone individually, before we reach LAX,” Buffy stated firmly. She turned to the others and asked, “Does anyone have something, a watch, jewellery, or something else, that they wear everyday?”
Nobody moved, until Spike spoke, “Only 2 things I have with me almost all the time, my coat and my lighter.” He shrugged out of his coat and pulled his lighter from the front pocket of his jeans.
Just then Methos came back into the cabin carrying a small piece of equipment. He took this thing and passed it over the coat and the lighter, with no results. “Anyone else have anything,” he asked quietly, his dark eyes touching each person individually.
Joyce removed her necklace and passed it to him saying, “Just this, I haven’t taken it off since Mother gave it to me on my 16th birthday.”
Methos nodded and ran the device over the necklace just to be sure. “Its clean.”
“Excuse me, but what exactly are we looking for,” Giles asked, while rubbing his glasses.
Buffy looked at him and replied, “Several vehicles containing Council operatives arrived at the airstrip just as we were boarding the helicopter. Seeing as nobody else knew where we were going, it seems reasonable that someone has a tracking device on them. Cassandra has already checked for tracking spells and came up with nothing.”
Giles nodded and passed his glasses to Methos. “I had them repaired the other day. One of the screws kept falling out.”
Methos ran the device over the glasses and shook his head. “Nothing.” When nobody else moved he simply sighed and muttered, “I guess we do this the hard way.” He went up to each person and passed the device over them, with everyone coming up clean… until he reached Xander. The device started beeping as it was passed over the watch he was wearing, causing everyone to jump.
“What does that noise mean, Xander asked nervously.
“That noise means that an electronic tracking signal has been located in your watch, Mr. Harris,” Buffy said with a hard voice. “Kindly remove it and pass it here.
As Xander started to fuss and get indignant, Spike simply reached over and stripped the watch from Xander’s wrist, tossing it to Buffy.
“Hey! That’s my brand new watch!” Xander shouted in indignation.
Methos carefully pried the back of the watch off, and frowned. “Where did you get the watch?” He asked Xander as he peered into the inner workings.
“It was on the kitchen counter, wrapped up in shiny paper with my name on a tag.” Xander shrugged. “I assumed it was a present.”
“Do you know who gave it to you?” Buffy asked as she studied Xander’s face.
“No idea. The only name on it was mine.” Xander looked worried for a moment. “Do you think the Council…?” He trailed off in thought, his brow creasing.
“Well,” Methos said as he poked the inner workings of the watch with the tip of his pen. “I don’t think this is an actual watch. At least not any watch I have ever seen.” He looked over at Buffy. “It is my opinion that we get rid of it.”
Buffy nodded. “Pop it out the window. Let the council look for it wherever we are flying over.”
Xander sighed and muttered, “I liked that watch… it looked expensive…”
For the remainder of the flight to LAX, Xander sulked over the loss of his watch. He knew in his heart that it was best to be rid of it, if it was a council tracking device. But he also fumed over the cavalier treatment he had been getting in regards to his possessions. Forced to leave most of them behind, including his playboy collection for crying out loud! Then the issue with his truck and Spike snapping at him over his concern for it. Now his watch. What would he lose next?
While Xander sulked, everyone else chatted quietly or simply looked out the windows at the scenery passing below them. Time passed swiftly and in less than thirty minutes they were landing not far from a large Boeing 737 aircraft. The craft was painted in an ebon black with silver accent stripping and a realistic looking silver dragon on the tailfin.
An older man jogged out from under the belly of the plane and helped the group disembark. He gave Buffy a hug and grinned. “Everything is ready to go Lady Tueur. Not a peep from airport security, so I would say that you have managed to give those idiots the slip, for now.”
“Thanks Sam,” Buffy said as she returned the hug. “How are your grandkids?”
The group hurried across the tarmac as Buffy and Sam discussed his grandkids and what they were currently getting into trouble with. As the boarded the plane, Sam headed forward and Buffy ushered everyone into the main cabin.
You could hear jaws drop and eyes pop as the group from Sunnydale stared around them in awe. The seats were of Moroccan leather in a deep black and looked softer than a cloud. The deep pile carpet was a pale silvery grey that blended with the walls of the plane. Towards the rear of the cabin they noticed a partial wall made of silvered glass with a dark wood frame. This wall partially hid a full dining area with a small galley kitchen beyond. Giles summed it up when he uttered, “Bloody hell...” causing the rest of them to nod in stupefaction.
Playing tour guide Buffy pointed out the amenities, which included a 52” plasma TV complete with Blu-Ray player and games console in the main cabin. She walked past the dining area and into the small kitchen, mentioning the availability of several types of food and beverages. “Beyond the kitchen are two bathrooms, one of which has a shower. Just past those is the bedroom.” She grinned and turned to wink at Spike. “No silencing charms available, sorry.”
Methos and Cassandra shared a look and both rolled their eyes. Methos was the one to speak up. “I vote we NOT let them into the bedroom OR either of the bathrooms together.”
Joyce nodded in agreement. “Definitely.”
Just then a voice came over the cabin speakers. “If you would please take your seats and buckle in, we have been given clearance for takeoff. Everyone found a seat and buckled themselves in as the plane taxied for takeoff. They felt the plane gather speed and then lift into the air without even a jolt. After a few moments the pilot came back on the speakers. “Feel free to wander around the cabin; we will arrive at JFK in five hours for refuelling.” The five hours past swiftly as they talked about various things and watched a little TV. They buckled themselves in for the landing at JFK and sat through the refuelling which took less than hour. Shortly afterwards they were airborne once more. “Okay folks, next stop will be Heathrow in London. Flight time should be approximately eight hours, so get comfortable and enjoy the ride.”
Over the next eight hours, they watched movies, played a couple of video games and had something to eat. Two hours into the flight Buffy sent Dawn off to the bedroom for some sleep, as the young girl was yawning and rubbing her eyes. By the time they landed in London, Xander had devoured half his bodyweight in cheesies and Doritos and smelt like he hadn’t bathed in a week. Everyone else was grouchy and just wanting off the plane. They were all starting to get cabin fever, and wanting time away from everyone else.
Buffy led them past the security checkpoints, smiling and greeting those that she recognized and nodding politely to those that she didn’t. As they each presented their passports and identification to the security people, they all noticed the deference Buffy was being shown.
“Mom, why is everyone falling all over themselves for Buffy?” Dawn asked in a whisper to her mother.
Joyce simply smiled and replied, “It’s simply because of who she is dear.”
This was brought to everyone’s attention as they were stopped at the exit from the Suite by an older man in uniform. “If Her Ladyship will wait but a moment, Doug is bringing the car around.”
Buffy nodded and smiled, “Thank you Reg. Nice to see you again.” She simply giggled at the look of patient fondness in the man’s eyes. She motioned Dawn forwards and introduced her to Reg. “This is my granddaughter, Dawn. I expect now that she knows about the jet, she’ll be a frequent visitor here.”
Reg took Dawn’s hand in his and bowed over it saying, “Welcome to England Miss Dawn. I hope your stay here is everything you imagined it to be.”
Dawn blushed and quietly thanked Reg, then hid behind Buffy, looking shy and more than a little overwhelmed.
Just then, the car pulled up and Buffy motioned for everyone to get inside. She motioned Doug to one side and informed him of a possible altercation. Doug nodded and told Buffy that Elvara had warned him earlier that there might be trouble. Buffy nodded and slipped into the car, pulling the door shut behind her. She settled back into the seat as the car began to move.
The cars pulled onto the Heathrow service Road. This was one of the most dangerous parts of the journey. Traffic wasn't as heavy as Buffy had been expecting as she checked all around them. Pulling through the security gates she could hear the sound of plane engines taxiing up and down the various runways. Dawnie was busy looking out of the window, excited to be visiting Britain, Giles was still in shock over the ease they had all gone through customs and immigration and the fact that they had landed at the Royal Suite. Spike had rolled down the window of the car to watch the sunshine; the smile on his face was priceless.
The roar of engines was getting louder instead of softer. Spike looked up at Buffy. She was loosening her knife in its scabbard, checking her sword.
“Doug, defensive driving” the chauffeur nodded in reply, motioning for Clem to make sure his seat belt was secure.
Joyce looked in askance to her mother. “He's security trained, he'll get us through.” Buffy explained.
The roar was almost upon them when Buffy relaxed. “Stand down, it’s OK. Elvara has sent the boys.”
The car was surrounded by high powered bikes. As the first ones over took, Spike took note of the colors the bikers were wearing. 'Slayer' was emblazoned across their backs; the 'l' was a sword, a perfect copy of the one Buffy carried.
One of the bikes through a vial at the car, Spike turned to see the same thing happening behind them. He could feel wards go up over the car and grinned. That's some witch you have working for you. To be able to hide a moving vehicle. Not easy normally they have to be anchored to the earth.
“Elvara's not a witch.” Joyce said as she watched Dawn start to doze. “Never practiced magic in her life”
The bikes rode escort all the way through into London, only breaking off as the house came into view. Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, they were home.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to jamies_lady for the inspiration and the help with this chapter.