Chapter 6

Rupert Giles entered the offices of Wolfram and Hart, and was astonished at the surroundings. He had thought the Watcher's Council buildings would be the most impressive he would ever see, but that environment paled in comparison to the huge expanse he now found himself in.

"Mr. Giles?"

Giles turned and saw Wesley approaching him. Giles smiled and firmly shook the hand of the former Watcher. There was a time when Giles couldn't stand this man that had been sent to replace him as Buffy's Watcher. It had pleased Giles to no end when Buffy had rejected Wesley, and the poor young whelp had failed in his duties, and had left Sunnydale with his tail between his legs. But there was now much water under that bridge. It was easy for Giles to see that Wesley had grown and matured. There were hard lines in his face now, and his hands were rougher. Also, Wesley had been of immense help of late with research in regards to the new developments of organizing a new Watcher's Council, and in training of all the new slayer recruits. There was also the bond the two now shared, a bond of grief and mourning with the loss of so many friends and colleagues when the Council had been destroyed. Wesley and Giles were now senior members of a defunct Council, and with the two of them, they could develop a better and wiser Council that did not see a Slayer as a tool, but as a gift.

"Hello, Wesley." Giles greeted the younger man. "I'm humbled in regards to your offices here. Quite a place."

Wesley smiled slightly as he released the handshake. "Yes, well, money is evil, they say. But we hope to change all that." Giles had his doubts, but he didn't share his thoughts on that.

"I assume you are here for Buffy?" Wesley asked.

"Um, yes. I'm unexpected however. Is she well?"

Wesley nodded, noting the care and concern on the older man's face. The bond of Buffy and Giles was not one that he cared to tangle with ever again. "Oh, yes, she's fine. I'm not sure where she is at the moment, however. Why don't you come into my office? I'll get us some tea, and I'll hunt her down for you."

"Tea would be nice." He followed Wes down the hall towards the younger man's office. "I do have an appointment in a few minutes, but he can wait." Wes opened the door and led Giles into the comfortable office. Giles liked the warm tones of Wesley's office, and he fingered the books that lined the shelves and desktop. Wesley explained how the books contained every prophecy imaginable, just by opening up to a blank page and reciting it's title, and Giles felt envy tug at his heart a bit. He expressed how these books, although dangerous in the hands of the wrong person, could definitely aid them in the future of the Watcher's Council. Wesley agreed, handing Giles his tea and sitting behind his desk. He gestured for Giles to sit as well, as they continued their discussion.

"Why don't you have them locked up? I'd be terrified to leave them out and about."

Wesley frowned at the question, flashing back to his father's criticisms. "This building has the best security system known to man and demon alike. The books are perfectly safe." Giles noted Wes's change in attitude and emotion, and decided to change tact. "I hope your family is well?" he asked instead.

This didn't seem to help the mood. Wesley sipped his tea, and nodded. "Quite well." Wesley set his teacup down on the coaster of his desk, and picked up his phone to reach an operator within the building. He enquired on the whereabouts of Buffy and learned that she was in the research lab. "Shall I connect to the lab, Mr. Giles, or would you prefer just running up there?"

Giles pondered for a moment, trying to decide on whether he should alert his slayer that he was here over the phone, or surprise her in the lab. Wesley interrupted his thoughts by asking, "The lab is quite something to see. I could give you a tour if you'd like?"

That decided Giles. I guess he would face his slayers wrath face to face. Wesley hung up the phone and the two men stood.

"Wait a moment, Wesley. Didn't you say you have an appointment?"

Wesley nodded the question off with a shrug. "It's just a Fyarl demon. It can wait."

Giles paled, remembering his brief stint as to the species in question. "Fyarl demon? Whatever for? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Not at all. I'm not sure as to why, at the moment. This was to be our first meeting. My secretary alerted me of it this morning. I just hope the demon brought an interpreter, since I don't speak Fyarl. I could always enlist one of our interpreters I suppose." Wesley pondered for a moment.

"You could enlist Spike's help. I know he speaks Fyarl." Giles hated to recall that time, but if it could help Wes, he'd offer up the information he had.

"Spike speaks Fyarl? Why doesn't that surprise me? In any case, I'm sure we'll see him in the lab. He and Buffy are there with Fred, most likely trying to figure out the origins of that package."

"Package?" Giles asked.

"Oh yes, you wouldn't know. Sorry. Spike received a package the other day, and when it was opened Spike was restored to his old vampire self."

Giles felt a bit weak in the knees at that information. "He's corporeal again?"

Wesley nodded. "Yes. But we don't know how or who sent the package. That's why they are all in the lab, but thus far no one has found out anything." Wesley opened his office door to walk with Giles to the lab, but his exit was blocked by a huge, angry looking Fyarl demon.

"Oh, hello. Sorry, but something has come up." Wesley glanced behind the demon and saw that his secretary was still out on her lunch break. "Would you mind waiting a few moments?" Wesley had no idea if the demon understood a word he had said, so he tried to illustrate with hand motions that he needed the demon to wait in the sitting room. The Fyarl demon ignored him, however, and pushed Wesley into the room, knocking him onto the floor. The Fyarl slammed the door closed behind him, and before Giles could aid in any way, the Fyarl demon knocked him out with a well placed punch to the chin. He fell to a heap beside the stunned Wesley. "What the…" but before Wesley could finish the question, the Fyarl demon kicked him on the side of the head, rendering him unconscious as well. The Fyarl demon then removed the pack that was on his back, and emptied all of Wesley's prophecy books that sat on his desk, into the bag. Then the demon returned the pack onto his back. It was momentarily confused as he looked down upon the two men. He had only been expecting the one man, so now the plan would need to be a bit improvised. He picked each man up, cradling one in each arm, and kicked the door back open.

The desk that had sat empty outside Wesley's office now contained a secretary. She took one look at the Fyarl demon running down the lobby, and screamed. The Fyarl demon growled, and kicked over desks and potted plants, and anyone that got in his way. He flattened two guards on his way out the door. Before any security could be alerted, the Fyarl demon slipped out the entrance, and was gone, the two Watchers dangling from his arms.

When the building alarms went off, Angel came out of his office, and was met by Gunn and the others in the lobby. "What's happened?" Fred asked, looking around at the strewn furniture and utter chaos. The crying secretary informed them to what she had seen. A Fyarl demon had grabbed Wesley, and some other man, and fought his way out of the building. Wesley and the other man had been hurt. That's all she could remember.

"Who was the other man?" Angel asked, but the secretary shook her head. "I didn't recognize him. And the only person Mr. Wyndom Price had expected this afternoon was the Fyarl demon. Someone had phoned this morning and made an appointment to talk with him."

"Do you know what about?" She just shrugged, and blew her nose into a hanky. Gunn had left to inspect Wesley's office, and came back to the group with an anxious expression. "His books are gone. The prophecy books."

"Well, whoever hurt Wes probably didn't hurt him too badly. They probably needed him to use the books." Angel dispatched men onto the Fyarl demon's trail.

"Poor Wesley. I hope he's okay." Fred was visibly shaking, she was so upset. Buffy put her arm around the young scientist, trying to comfort her. "I'm sure he's fine, Fred. If he's anything like the Watcher I know, his head is very thick." She tried to reassure Fred, but also remembered the Wes she had known. That Wes was a coward and weak. But Angel had told her stories that illustrated Wesley was no longer that kind of man. She looked up at Angel. "How can I help?"

"Yeah. Me too. After all, unlike some of you, that Englishmen has been tolerant of me." Spike glanced at Fred, knowing how much Wesley meant to her. Buffy smiled at him.

One of the security officers approached Angel. "We took a roll call, boss, and no one seems to be missing from the office."

"I wonder who that other man was then, and if he's connected to this?" Gunn said. The others wondered the same thing.

Angel took up the leadership reins then. "Okay, we need to find out who that man was. Gunn, talk with security and see if they picked up anyone on the surveillance cameras. Fred, can you find out who made the appointment for the Fyarl demon, and anything you can about him? Buffy and I will track it down. I'll have my cell phone if you need me, and when you find anything else out, call me immediately." Fred and Gunn both nodded, and left to begin their part in the mission.

"I'm going with you two." Spike said. Angel rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's go then." He didn't want to argue. Not with Buffy standing right there. They'd have to go by car, until sunset. Tracking the Fyarl demon would not be easy.

Chapter 7