Title: The Assistant, part 39
Author: Sweetdoggie (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: More about the Initiative
Spoilers: season 4/5
Disclaimer: No permission has been granted to use the characters. They are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB, and Mutant Enemy. This story is non-profit and is intended solely as entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.
Phase one of Buffy’s plan started working immediately. The Watcher’s Council pulled enough strings to have the Initiative’s budget cut by ninety percent. All but a half-dozen of Maggie Walsh’s closest associates were reassigned to “less risky” projects. She was furious and spent most of the next several days calling her various contacts to no avail. The military had decided that Dr. Walsh was persona non grata with a vengeance.
Phase two began shortly after that. All but three of the Initiative soldiers were reassigned to other duties throughout the country away from Dr. Walsh and her crazy ideas. Riley, Forest, and Graham were left with the deeply frustrated professor. They stayed on ten hour shift rotations but within a couple of weeks, they were all exhausted.
“Professor, we have to do something. My men and I can’t continue to patrol, guard our prisoners, and keep up our cover. We need help.”
She ran her fingers through her hair. “What do you suggest, Riley? I’m not independently wealthy. I can’t afford to employ my own private army. I’m sure this is just some sort of politically motivated setback. I’m going to D.C. for a few days to talk to my contacts in person. I’m sure once I show them some of my results, we’ll get our funding back.”
“In the meantime, we need help. I was thinking that we might ask Buffy if she’d like to give us a hand.”
“Buffy?” The Doctor frowned. “I don’t know, Riley. She’s such an unknown element.”
“But she is strong and fast and knows how to fight demons.”
“All true, but she has no loyalty to the Initiative.”
“Maybe we could change that somehow. I’m sure she’d like some modern equipment to fight with…her group uses swords and pointy sticks.”
“It’s risky…what if she found out about our most important work?”
“How could she? I’m not suggesting we bring her in deeply, just enough to help with the patrolling and fighting.” He was persuasive.
The professor looked at him. He had bags under his eyes and looked as if he might never have enough sleep again, and he was her strongest. The others were probably doing worse. She sighed and made her decision.
“All right. Bring her in.”
“Thanks, Professor. You won’t regret it.”
Though she smiled at him, she rather doubted it.
Buffy was amazed when she opened her front door and found Riley knocking on it.
“Riley! Geez, you look awful, I mean, uh, hi.”
“Hi, Buffy.” He stood there for a few minutes shuffling his feet. “Um, can I come in?”
She stepped back and let the door swing open but said nothing. She hadn’t lived in Sunnydale for years without picking up some basic survival tips. Giles came downstairs when he heard the boy enter the house.
“Ah, if it isn’t young Mr. Finn. How may we be of assistance, Riley?”
The younger man looked down for a second then back up. “I’d like to invite Buffy to patrol with me and my men.”
Buffy tipped her head sideways. “How come?”
He cleared his throat. “Uh, it could be a good experience for both of us to work together for a change. After all, we are allies and, and it wouldn’t hurt for you to see real, up-to-date methods in action.”
The tiny Slayer shrugged. “Our old-fashioned methods have been working pretty well so far. I don’t know, Riley. I mean, what’s in it for me? You Initiative guys have seriously pissed off the demon contingent in this town and frankly, I dunno that I want to be associated with you.”
He looked grim. “All right, I’ll come clean. The real reason I want you to patrol with us is—we’re desperate. Somebody in D.C. has cut our funding and removed all but Dr. Walsh, Dr. Angleman, Graham, Forest, and myself from the Initiative project. We simply don’t have enough men to patrol, guard our facilities and sleep. Forget about attending any classes. Dr. Walsh has gone to Washington to talk to our sponsors, but even if she succeeds, we aren’t going to make it through the next few days, let alone the weeks it will take to reassemble the team.”
“I need to talk this over with Giles, Riley. I’ll be in touch one way or another.” She saw him out the door before turning to her husband. “What do you think?”
“I’d say it’s time for phase three to begin.” He smiled.
They called the others and within an hour, the Scooby gang was assembled. Giles began preparing a circle for the spells he and Willow would cast. Buffy went on patrol and managed to slip unseen into Willy’s bar. She told him to get word to the demon community that tonight was the night.
“Let me emphasize that any demon that willfully kills a human is toast,” she explained carefully. “Make sure they understand that. Oh, and make sure they understand that I want them out of Sunnydale within twenty-four hours. After that, the amnesty is off.”
“I’ll get the word out, Slayer.” Willie nodded emphatically. “You know some of them won’t go.”
“Doesn’t matter to me if they want to die,” she said casually. “The rules are simple, no killing, and get out. I wouldn’t think they’d have a huge problem with that.”
“Well, you know demons.” He finished wiping down the bar as she left.
Willow’s spell went like clockwork. Dr. Walsh was gone, but Dr. Angleman and his associates were magically locked into his office, Riley, Graham, and Forest fell deeply asleep in their respective rooms and the power was shut off throughout the Initiative complex. As the barriers fell, demons poured from their cells and up the tunnels. In ten minutes, the place was deserted.
Buffy’s patrol that night was extra vigilant. She ended up killing four demons that wanted revenge on all humans for their long ordeal. Once the others had seen she was serious about not allowing random people to die, they mostly packed up and began the exodus from Sunnydale.
The vampire Spike was not among those leaving. He was furious at the Initiative and had plans to make them pay. He hated the little Slayer as well. Spike wondered if his revenge against the Initiative could be combined with killing the Slayer, which, in his opinion, would make the world a better place. He resolved to think about it.