Buffy arrived at the shop bright and early. She had to admit she was excited to get her hands on an engine again. Working on her baby had reminded her how soothing it was to focus only on a car and forget about her troubles. Dom stood banging away on an engine, lost in thought. A large hand searched for a tool that should have been within reach. It stopped when it felt soft skin rather than cool metal.
"Looking for this?" she asked, handing him the tool.
He stood, wiping his hands as he took in her smirk. "Very funny."
She worked hard not to let that deep, gravely voice affect her. She bet he didn't even need a pick-up line; just a "hello" and girls would follow behind him happily. She shook herself mentally for thinking 'Bad Buffy' thoughts. What can I say, I'm still human. "Didn't want to scare you. You were so deep in the zone that I wasn't sure you heard me come in." Shrugging a shoulder before turning to survey the other cars. "Which one you want me to work on first?"
"The stang needs the carburetor flushed out, a new water pump and the timing's off. Think you can handle it?" He pointed a thumb at a black mustang already up on hydraulic jacks.
"With a song on my lips. Is that all? I thought you said you were backed up."
"Do the stang, and then we'll talk." He went back to work without another word.
She walked around the garage to learn the layout. Noticing a stereo system, she picked a station and cranked up the volume. Grabbing the necessary tools, she quickly went to work, falling into the easy patterns that Pops had taught her. He had shown her how to see the puzzle inside an engine and to remove a piece without causing the rest to crumble in on itself. Moving inside and underneath the car, she bopped to the music while she worked.
Dom tried to concentrate on his own work, but kept finding himself distracted by the pert rear bending over the car next to him, and the toned body dancing to the music blasting from the speaker. He scowled, cursing under his breath when a horn blared from a truck pulling into the drive. Setting down his tools, he walked to the open doors where he saw the kid, Brian; climb out with a huge grin on his face.
"What's that s'posed to be?"
Buffy walked over to join him, giving the truck's cargo a once over. "It's a car, Dom. You know those metal things on wheels you work on for a living."
"You're just a laugh riot, Summers. I was asking the kid." He stepped closer to the truck bed, eying the primed out car sitting there. "You owe me a ten second car, not a tin can."
Jesse and Mia stepped from the office to see who had arrived to stop work. Brian gave Mia a quick hello smile, which she returned. Buffy caught this exchange and made a note to talk with Mia about it later.
"Hey, Dom, you could maybe push it across the finish line," Jesse said with a goofy smirk.
"Not sure you could tow that piece of junk across the line."
"Your doubt is killing me," Brian said, climbing up on the flatbed.
"Case you haven't noticed, Kid, this is a garage."
Brian extended his hand to Dom, helping him up then turned to Jesse doing the same, knowing how much Dom depended on the genius mechanic's opinion.
"Take a peak under the hood."
Dom exchanged a puzzled look with Jesse, shrugged a large, muscled shoulder and opened it to see what lay underneath.
"Two J.Z. engines, no shit," Jesse said.
"Did I deliver or what?" Brian said, smiling smugly.
"I stand corrected."
While Brian and Dom talked, Jesse crawled onto the bumper for a closer look. "This baby could blow everything else out of the water if you put some money into it. Bout 10 grand should do it, unless we overnight parts from Japan."
Buffy interrupted to ask, "Who's your friend?"
"Buffy, this is the kid. Jesse, call Harry and order the parts we need."
They climbed down from the truck and Jesse headed straight for the office. Mia motioned Dom over to the side, which left Brian and Buffy standing alone.
"I'm guessing your mom didn't name you Kid. How'd you hook up with Mr. Charm over there?"
Brian gave her his best smile, all white teeth and dimples. "Racing. Lost my car to Dom, then some gang shot it up before he could take delivery."
"Don't have to tell everything you know, Kid."
"What gang? Why'd they shoot up the car?" She turned to poke Dom's chest after each word.
He caught her finger, pulling her close. "It wasn't anything to worry about." He stared at her for a few minutes, his expression relaying more than words could say.
Biting her tongue, Buffy did the only thing she could think of that wouldn't make their audience suspicious. She put a hand around Dom's neck, pulling him down to her level. "Baby, you know I worry about you when I'm not there to watch your back." Leaning into the large, muscular body, she tilted her head to the side to nip at his ear. "Say you forgive me."
He didn't know whether to spank or kiss her. Seeing how Mia would kill him if he did the first one, he went with choice number two. Large arms swept down to wrap around a tiny waist, pulling it up against a solid wall of muscle. He captured the soft, pink lips that had teased and provoked him since she had arrived. Dom wasn't sure what Buffy would do, go with the kiss or leave him hanging like a fool. To their mutual pleasure, she opened those lips, receiving him whole-heartedly.
She remembered dreaming about Dom giving her, her first kiss. He didn't know she existed when she was growing up. Her adolescent imagination hadn't prepared her for the experience. He lived up to his reputation, controlling the kiss, invading her mouth in a way that left them gasping for air. She felt her feet touch the ground, thanking the Powers this once for Slayer balance when they didn't wobble out from under her.
Brian watched Dom with the wild haired blonde. He didn't have any intel on her. It was as if she appeared out of thin air. Watching them interact, he couldn't help but feel that he was missing something. His only hope of finding out was getting Dom to accept the car and him.
Buffy turned around to lean her back against her back against Dom's chest and caught Brian studying them. A warning bell went off in her head. He wasn't evil, no demony vibes came wafting her way. The way he stood, his mannerisms, even the way he tried to blend in with Dom's gang, brought Riley to mind. She didn't know if it was the lighting, because suddenly he was the anxious kid trying to impress his hero. She couldn't erase the previous image from her mind though. Her guard was up and she planned to watch this new player closely. Whatever Brian was up to, she had no intention of letting him hurt Mia and Dom.
Brian felt goose bumps race across his skin as Buffy's stare turned from friendly to guarded. He found Dom a hard enough sell, and could only hope that his girlfriend would follow his lead. "Is it a deal?" he asked, showing those famous dimples.
Dom turned back toward the office waiting to hear from Jesse. He stuck his head out to give Dom the thumbs. "Come by the shop and do the work. Jesse should have the parts here by Wednesday, which gives you plenty of time to break everything down. Do the work, make it what it should be, then we got a deal. There's a race in the desert called the Race Wars, you'll race it there so I can see some money off this deal."
"Cool, I'll have to work around my hours, but that shouldn't be a problem since I'm only part-time." Dom helped him offload the car and store it in the garage. After talking to Mia, Brian left.
Buffy watched him pull away and waited until Mia went back to the office. "Where'd you meet him?"
"Few days back, cops busted up a race and the kid kept me from getting snatched."
Her head tilted to the side as she glanced up at him. "Do you get busted that often? If that happened a few days ago, why did they show up on Saturday? Sounds like someone's tipping them off to me."
He quietly thought over what she said. Normally, the cops left them alone for two race nights after a sweep. Between Johnny's gang shooting at them and Buffy showing up, the cops busting up the races so close together hadn't registered. "Didn't put it together until now. You might be right; the question is who? Everyone we know is in the same place we are."
"You know your friends better than me, just sounds odd. Wouldn't hurt maybe to lay low until the Race Wars. That way, we have time to be sure that the shipments are on schedule and that the deal's a go."
"Sounds reasonable."
Brian reported to his superior, letting him know that Dom had accepted the car. He didn't say anything about Buffy; why he wasn't sure. Something about her had him curious, but he didn't want to bring the FBI into the mix if he could help it. Then, there was Mia. He knew that falling for someone while undercover broke every rule in the book. Problem was he didn't think there was anything that he could do about it.
He drove his truck up the canyon to think. Bilkins told him this was an easy job, to think of it like a vacation, after the Briar's Grove mission. He had been ready to quit after that mission, not thinking he had what it took for this division. Bilkins convinced him to give it one more chance, not all the jobs would be like the last one. He reluctantly agreed, not wanting to walk away without giving it one more chance. He owed it to his friends and himself.
Getting out to climb on the truck hood, he sat watching the waves letting them relax him. He remembered what had started him down this road. It had been his senior year in high school. The entire class had gone on a camping trip up in the Arizona canyons. Brian had four best friends that he'd known since kindergarten. They were inseparable. Camping was their favorite activity and this was to be the last trip before going away for the summer, then it was off to college. Determined to find the perfect campsite, he and friends headed further back into the canyon away from the others. They were so proud of themselves, laughing at everyone who had to sleep on the rocky ground when they found the perfect spot. It backed up to the canyon wall on one side, protecting them from the cold winds that came down off the high bluffs. The forest lay to the right and the open desert and rocky terrain to the left. A soft, sandy bed creating a perfect campsite lay beneath a huge tree that provided extra protection should it rain. The five teens built their campsite, assembling their individual pup tents, folding open the seating, smoothing out sleeping bags and finally gathering branches to start a fire later. He smiled, remembering the stupid way they had danced around the unlit fire, hooping and hollering like Indians. They went back to eat and celebrate with the rest of the senior class, returning to their campsite later that night. Exhausted from a long day, they had stoked the fire and gone to sleep.
His eyes closed almost as if that simple act would banish what haunted him. He knew that he would never forget the sounds from that night as long as he lived. Lying in his bunk that night, he heard an awful scream, followed by a strange, deep, animal-like sound. He had jumped up from his sleeping bag and rushed toward the sound. He stopped outside his tent, feeling like he stepped into the twilight zone. A dark shape with large teeth and claws tore into the tent and pulled his friend out. It held him up by his leg until their noses nearly touched. Large jaws slowly opened to engulf the boy's head. As they closed, the loud crunch of a neck breaking echoed in the open air.
"No!"
Brian had ran toward the fire, grabbing a blazing branch and charging at the beast that had killed his friend. Gunshots rang out, downing the beast and stopping him in his tracks. He turned to see where the shot had come from. A man dressed in black, carrying a high-powered rifle appeared from the darkness.
"Might want to step closer to the fire, son, they're scared of it. Pretty brave of you to try and save your friend, too bad it was too late."
The man walked by him and pulled the destroyed tent over the teenager's mangled body, before pushing the beast's much larger one over with his foot. He and his friends had huddled beside the fire, waiting for the man to explain what had happened. He watched the man's every move, unsure if he trusted him anymore than he had the monster that had killed his friend. The man walked back over to the fire, eying the four teenagers with an intensity that had them fighting to keep from squirming. Their rescuer ignored their questions as he quickly disassembled the camp. When he pulled out a small phone to call someone, he had turned to his friends and told them to run. The boys took off running toward the school group. He waited until they were a safe distance from the camp before turning to see what was happening. It was the last time that he would see his friend's body. He caught the man's eyes across the campfire. He still saw that look when he closed his eyes. It was the look of a man that had seen things, which at eighteen he couldn't fathom.
When he returned to the camp with the principal, everything was gone. He found a card in his mailbox with a phone number and the words 'Call when you're ready to do something about it' scrawled across it. He tried to forget that night, running wild, getting into trouble, until one night he saved himself and his date from a vampire. The next day, he called the number and never looked back.
The only time he felt human now was when he talked with Mia. She was beautiful and honest, even if her brother wasn't. Brian climbed off the truck to return to work. He hoped that when this job was through he still had a life to return to.
"The shipment's been delayed for two weeks. I expect you to use the time to find the ones responsible for taking the other shipments and get rid of them," a soft voice ordered over the phone. Growls came back across the line in response. "Don't growl at me. Remember, you wanted the power. Now, earn it."
"Fine, we'll take care of business. After this we're no longer in debt to you; we've paid our debt."
Lilah gave a sultry laugh. "You don't seem to understand the way this works. The contract you signed with us has no expiration date. It just so happens that if you're successful that I shouldn't need your service any time soon. Happy hunting, boys."
Hanging up the phone, the beautiful lawyer drifted toward the windows to gaze out at the city, her fingers automatically going to the scarf at her neck to ensure it covered the telltale scar. She was impeccably dressed; even back from the dead she was a fashion plate. Returning from Hell as the Senior Partners' liaison for Angel thrilled and frightened her. Lilah knew the position gave her carte blanche to fulfill the Partners' goals. It was everything she had ever wanted. Her problems came in the shape of one auburn-haired brown-noser that wanted her job. Eve didn't think that Lilah knew about her backstabbing tactics, but the sweet-faced viper didn't fool her.
Eve slipped into a small room, smiling brightly at the geeky man sitting behind a control panel. "Hello, Robert. How are you today? Do you have the tape for me?"
Robert swallowed hard, adjusting his tie. "Y-yes, Miss, erm, I mean Eve."
She gave him a naughty smile, swaying her hips as she moved further into the room. The poor man gulped as she brushed against him when she took the seat next to him. "Show me what you got, Robbie."
Eve suppressed the giggle ready to burst from her throat when a bright red blush bloomed across Robert's cheeks. Men were so easy, flirt a little, talk sexy, drop little innuendos, and they turned into putty. If only Lilah were a man, she would have the liaison position wrapped up with no trouble. She still didn't understand why the Partners put the deceased lawyer in place over her. After all, they created Eve for this purpose. How else did they expect her to spend her time other than trying to find ways to obtain her rightful position? It frustrated and intrigued her at the same time. She watched the tape of Lilah's conversation. Her lips slowly turned up into a vicious smile.
Got you. Now, I have to find a way to get Angel involved without letting him know that it came from me. But, how? She got up and left the small room without a backward glance at Robert.
The technician felt a cold shiver race down his back, remembering the look on Eve's beautiful face. He wasn't sure that he'd done the right thing in allowing her to see the footage. Robert only hoped that it didn't come back to bite him.
Ethan had called to let her know that the shipment had been delayed. He warned her that W&H put out a contract on Dom's gang. Lilah had a rival gang under contract who wanted power and she had arranged for them to get it. Buffy hung up the phone knowing that she was going hunting tonight. It had felt odd to her not to go out every night to slay and she actually felt excited at the prospect of tonight's adventure.
She planned to talk with Mia about the gang that shot up Brian's car. Buffy knew that Dom wouldn't tell her what she needed to know. Stupid, stubborn, gorgeous man. Whoa, where did that thought come from? Back on track, Summers. You're here to help, not find a new man. Besides, he's still trying to deal with Letty's death and I'm trying to deal with my own.
Buffy called Mia asking her to meet at their favorite coffee shop. As she drove from the condo, she wondered how Mia felt about Brian. She hadn't missed the looks that passed between the two at the garage. It had her worried. Something about the newcomer bothered her; she didn't know what it was, but her instincts told her to watch him. The bad part was that she knew Mia wouldn't listen to her the same way that she wouldn't listen if she were in Mia's place. She hated feeling helpless. If Brian was a demon or a vampire she could slay him; unfortunately, he was human.
She walked into the coffee shop and found Mia already there. The pretty brunette waved her over to their favorite table. The best friends hugged, happy to have time together. "I ordered you a white chocolate mocha china," Mia said taking her seat.
"You always remember." She smiled at the thoughtfulness. "Have you been waiting long?"
"No, just long enough to save our table and place the order."
"Good." Buffy took a sip of her coffee as soon as the waitress placed it on the table. "Mia would you tell me about the gang that shot up Brian's car the other night?"
Mia searched Buffy's face trying to see what her friend's interest was in that particular night. But, her eyes were unreadable. Mia hated that her friend wouldn't let her guard down even around her. "Johnny Tran and his gang are bad news. They don't care about the rules. Johnny hates Dom in a big way because he can't beat him. He's tried every dirty trick there is and it hasn't made a difference. Dom's a better driver, doesn't matter what Johnny puts under his hood," she said proudly.
"Says the baby sister." Buffy grinned at Mia, who stuck out her tongue. "There has to be something more, Mi. I understand rivalry, believe me. Been there done that, but that doesn't explain why they'd shoot up a perfectly good car. I'd understand if they'd stolen the car from them, but shooting it up that doesn't make sense. It has to be something more, but what? When did Johnny start harassing Dom?"
"Around the time that Letty died, I think. Yeah, Johnny changed about that time. His gang got aggressive not long after that. They were mostly talk before that, but they never did anything about it, not like now."
It fit with what she already knew, but had hoped wasn't true. "This is serious and I need your help, Mi. They aren't human anymore. Until I know how to kill them, you have to keep Dom and everyone else away." She grabbed Mia's hands, forcing the other girl to look into her eyes. "This could get bad if Dom and the others get into the middle of it."
"What about you? Johnny's gang uses guns and even Slayers aren't bulletproof. I know that you haven't wanted to talk about what happened since your mom died. Believe me, I still remember how numb you feel inside, trying to deal with the reality that she's gone, but I'm here when you want to talk, Buffy. You know that I'll listen to whatever you want to talk about, don't you?"
Buffy brushed the long, dark hair away from Mia's face. The texture reminded her of Dawn's long locks. "Oh, Mi, I know. I promise, when I'm ready to talk, you'll be the first person that I come to. Speaking of pouring out your heart, what's up with you and surfer boy? I saw those dreamy looks you two were passing back and forth."
Mia blushed then smiled naughtily. "He does look like a surfer, huh? That tanned skin and crystal blue eyes. Ooh, and have you seen those dimples," she gushed.
"You have it bad, girlfriend. Has he asked you out yet?"
"No, I think he's waiting to get on Dom's good side before he asks. You know how protective Dom is. They seem to get along pretty well, and now Brian will be around the garage working on the car."
Buffy laughed at the idea of Dom approving of the two dating. "Better watch out, Mi, or Dom might scare him off with stories about you."
"He wouldn't dare," Mia huffed. "Besides, I know just as many about him."
"Oh really, like what?" Buffy's eyes gleamed and her face looked at Mia expectantly.
"You just want something to tease him about," Mia replied.
"You're a smart cookie."
"That's me just a brilliant chocolate chip."
They laughed at the silly joke and spent the rest of the morning reminiscing.
Buffy went home, thinking over everything that she'd learned today. She knew that the next two weeks would be hard. Between stealing back the cargoes from the warehouse and selling them to the Watcher's Council, preparing for the Race Wars, hijacking the last cargo and taking out Johnny Tran's gang without involving Dom or Mia, Buffy wasn't sure that she'd have time to ponder her own problems. Maybe that was why she jumped at the chance to come back to LA and help the Torettos. It kept her out of her own head and focused on other things.
She walked into the condo, throwing down her keys. It was strange that she felt so at home in her father's house. She remembered stepping back into the house on Revello Drive and it not feeling right. The house seemed empty, almost haunted with memories of her mother and Dawn. At night when everyone slept, Buffy walked through the rooms, touching the furniture, reliving happier times. Here at Leather & Chrome Central, she had found a place where she fit in as strange as that sounded.
She got on the internet, determined to research the chalice with the spare hours she had before going out to hunt Johnny's gang. Pulling up a database that Willow used, she started putting in search queries. Though not as fast as the redhead, she stayed with it and slowly started making some headway. Whoever created the database had links into the Council's libraries as well as several other prominent ones.
The chalice dated back to the early 1200's. A group of wizards and monks aligned with the Knights Templar crafted the piece. They poured their combined magics and faiths into it. The Templars hid the chalice along with the other sacred treasures entrusted to their care. They swore an oath to fight against the demonic evils, while protecting the innocent and saving those not lost to their demon.
Sitting back in her chair, Buffy stared at the computer screen. She picked up the chalice to rub her fingers over the engravings. Why does the vampire look like Angel? If wizards, monks and knights, created this, then why is there a Slayer on the other side? It doesn't make sense. There has to be a woman involved in this somewhere, but how am I going to find her, and who is she? Men back then wouldn't write about her, or… She turned back to the computer to research women warriors during the Crusades. To her surprise, there were several accounts of women with remarkable skills that even the kings commented on, calling them gallant-hearted. Were these women Slayers or Potentials? Did the monks and Templars act as some type of Watchers? She wished that she could talk to Giles about this, but he was back in the Council's fold and she didn't trust them not to destroy the chalice. They would see it as a way to strike out against the vampires. She didn't see it that way. If the chalice could truly change a vampire back to a human, then she knew she had to protect it and use it wisely. Maybe when Angel got his act together, she could tell him about it, but not as long as he stayed with W&H. Speaking of W&H, Buffy put the chalice away and went to change her clothes; it was time to find out the truth about Johnny Tran and his gang.
Parking the car several blocks away, a figure quietly crept through back streets toward Johnny Tran's warehouse. It slipped over a chain link fence, dropping quietly to the ground below. The figure scampered across the open space to fade into the shadows along the warehouse's edge and disappear inside a back door.
Buffy sat up in the rafters with a bird's eye view. She watched a shadowed figure open the door and slip inside the building. When the door opened, it backlit a large male body for a brief moment. Something about the way the man walked sent off a warning bell in Buffy's head. The sound of high-powered engines roaring toward the warehouse interrupted her thoughts. Thankfully, the man, intent on spying or thievery, ducked out of sight.
Johnny pulled inside the warehouse, cutting off the engine before getting out and angrily slamming the car door. "Bring him."
She saw two thugs pull a small 'man' from the trunk. He squirmed under the rough treatment, but couldn't get away from his kidnappers.
Johnny walked over to the sleek cars that lined the wall. "These are fine cars, aren't they fine cars, Ted? Only one problem with them, you wouldn't know what that might be?" He opened the hoods to show the empty interiors.
The small man turned green, literally, as quills burst through his skin. "Johnny, please, I just need a little more time. They're coming in tonight; in fact, they should be at Mac's Garage by now. Those engines are everything I promised. They're sure to leave Dom finally eating your dust." Seeing Johnny's eyes turn red and his mouth start to dissect, Ted knew he'd said the wrong thing.
Buffy felt sorry for the small demon. Normally, she'd take out Johnny and his gang with a quip and a smile. This time there was a snag, one human bystander. It surprised her that Johnny and his gang didn't catch his scent. Maybe, enhanced smell wasn't part of their demon package. She saw Johnny's mouth fold back into four parts with a fang at each tip, revealing razor sharp teeth.
He leaned forward, sinking the four fangs into Ted's chest. Loud slurping sounds echoed throughout the warehouse as everyone watched him eat the heart from the man's chest. Straightening up, he folded the folds back in place, licking the blood from each fang. The folds seamlessly fit together, leaving a disturbingly handsome face behind.
"Remove that trash; you can gnaw on it later. We have some engines to steal."
They jumped back into their cars, racing off into the night amid screeching tires, laughter and growls.
Buffy waited until the other visitor left, then silently climbed down to follow him. Somehow, it didn't surprise her to see that it was Brian. She needed to know who he worked for and if he was after Dom, Johnny, or both. The building Brian walked into was nondescript, which immediately told Buffy that it was a law enforcement facility. She walked inside as if she owned the place.
Walking up to a young man sitting behind a desk, she gave a soft smile and, "Hi, I'm new here and I'm hoping that you can help me."
He swallowed as he gazed into large emerald eyes. The small woman with the wild looking hair didn't look like any agent that he'd ever seen. "What can I do for you, Miss?"
Her smile grew into a mega-watt one, blinding the poor man. She leaned closer to speak quietly. "I'm the new kid on the block and I'm supposed to check out this place on the down low. Do you think you can help me out, give me the layout, so I don't look like a pedestrian?"
"I don't know if I can do that, Miss…"
"Oh, I'm sorry." She put her hand out to introduce herself. "Autumn Sayers, pleasure to meet you. Perhaps you know my contact, Brian; I think he's already here."
He nodded his head and said, "Yeah, O'Connor came through here about fifteen minutes ago." Taking out a map, he showed Buffy the layout and where Brian was currently meeting with his superiors.
"Yep, Brian O'Connor that's him. Thank you so much. I'll be sure and tell Brian how helpful you've been."
She walked down the hallway in the direction indicated on the map. No one stopped her as she walked through the building minding her own business. She found the room where Brian was, and luckily, the room next to it was empty. Buffy slipped inside to listen to the conversation between Brian and his boss. Her Slayer senses had intensified since her return, allowing her to hear them clearly, even through the thick walls.
"Important people are flying in from DC on Friday and I want to have something to show them. You said that you saw proof that these Asian punks are demons and work with other known demons to support their racing needs. Why aren't we going in to take them out?" Agent Bilkins asked.
"There's something up between him and Toretto. I don't know what the bad blood is between them, but its big, and more on Johnny's side than Dom's. Dom doesn't trust easily. I don't know if it's from where he grew up, or he's into something else. Toretto isn't who we're looking for, but Johnny's definitely the one. I saw him in action on a Brachen Demon tonight. The headman himself did the honors. He looked like a Drooling Demon to me. Sure are gross to look at when their mouths are open, really weird that you can't tell otherwise."
"You positive your take on Toretto doesn't have anything to do with your feelings for his sister?" Bilkins eyed Brian, unsure whether he should keep him on the case or reassign him.
Bright blue eyes studied the man who taught him how to hunt the monsters and fight back against the darkness. "Mia isn't a problem, for anyone."
Buffy had heard enough. She slipped from the room to search for an exit. Tomorrow would be soon enough to take care of Brian O'Connor. There were several calls she needed to make before she talked to him. Too bad, she was going to have to lean on Giles and his connections with the Council again. Smiling internally, she decided to sleep on it, positive that she could come up with some way to have this come out in her favor.