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by Chris Kenworthy (scoobyhq@fcmail.com)
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy Summers and her friends etcetera are owned by the people behing the shows we know and love, of whom I am not one. What's more, this part is dedicated to them (I just saw 'The Prom' and loved it!)
"I'm not happy, of course," Wilkins opened. "But this latest incident was none of your resposibity, and I'm sorry to have taken it out on you. Komiara sent you away... quite literally. His unhappy end was his own misfortune."
"Glad you see it that way," Trick said. "So, what's up?"
"Just one small matter," the Mayor said, smiling broadly. "I hesitate even to trouble you with it... just a curious prank so far. But... well, look at it." He handed a newspaper page to Trick, a personals page with a single ad circled: "Hey Ricardo! You wanna rise up? You're gonna have to pay for it. P.O. box 466."
"Variants on that message have appeared in the personals of local weekly papers as well, on the town website's bulletin board, and various other places."
"So?" Trick said.
The Mayor looked at him and then sighed long-sufferingly. "Well, I don't see why you need to have all the details, but there are reasons I think this... this message may be directed at me. The name for one thing; I did once go by 'Ricardo' instead of Richard. And the general term for my plans is 'acension,' which might be corrupted into 'uprising.'"
"So, you think someone wants to squeeze you by threatening to disrupt your plans??" Trick said.
"The thought crossed my mind." Wilkins opened a drawer of his desk and started pouring himself a mug of warm milk. "I probably wouldn't mind paying, but if business like this is handled indiscretely it could ruin my affairs on other fronts. And of course, there's always the possibility that we're jumping at shadows."
"So?" Trick said. "Well, if you ask me, we send a reply to this box, with a fake name, a p.o. box number of our own, the number for your private phone line, fax, email and such. That puts the ball back in their court, whoever it is. If they get back in touch with us, we can follow their lead."
"Ah, yes of course," the Mayor said. "So very sensible. Make the arrangements."
(In a rented house close to the Bronze.)
"So, we're armed, we're in the know," Harry said appraisingly. "We've got our troops downstairs. What else do we need to do before Action Hour?"
"Get word from the Upriser so we know how to reach him when we need to," Tom offered.
"Anything else?" Harry asked. The others shook their heads. "Okay, so we're ready. I'm stoked."
"We're as ready as we'll ever be," Jim amended. "This deal worries me."
"Why?" Harry shook his head at the leader. "It's the ultimate score. When we get what we want from the Upriser, we'll be able to take charge anywhere we want. Except here, of course, but who'd want to be sticking around this burg for the uprising?"
"I know the rewards, Harry. I also know the risks. To pull this deal off, we're gonna have to go through not just the Upriser and whatever organization he's built up for his own security, but two vampire slayers. That's twice as many as anybody before our time has had to deal with."
"The Upriser isn't going to be opposing us; he'll pay off without a second thought," Harry maintained. "As for the Slayers, they're just human girls. How tough could they really be?"
"P-put it this way, Harry," Bob put in. "We, uh, we had Blake Everrun as our f-first pick for your spot. After our first job, a S-slayer followed us all the way from Vermont to Atlanta, and went up against us alone. We thought we were ready for her. She.. she got Blake. Staked him right through the heart in w-wolf form. That's wh-why you're on the team."
"That's ancient history," Harry sneered. "Any one of us now are better trained than the whole team was back then. Ain't nobody mortal who can stand in our way."
"Still, be careful," Jim urged. "They could be on the scene when we make our move..."
(At Sunnydale high the next morning.)
"Hi," Xander told Willow as she climbed out of Oz's van in the student parking lot.
"What? Uh, huh?" Willow replied.
"Hi," Xander repeated, making a little wave to emphasize his point.
"Oh. Um, hey Xander," she said.
"See you after first class?" Oz said from around the other side.
"Uh, yeah," Willow confirmed. He blew a kiss to Willow and walked off.
There was an ugly silence between Willow and Xander all the way to chem. Finally, as they settled onto their seats, Xander spoke up. "I'm worried about you."
"Huh? What??"
"Ever since this whole 'choice' thing, you seem so distant and sad. I mean, yeah, it's a tough situation, but even when we were, well, sneaking around and all guilty about it - or after it was over and Oz wasn't speaking to you, you'd talk, you'd even smile sometimes. Now, it's like, nothing."
"Huh," Willow stated.
"Maybe I really should just get out of the way. You go with Oz... that's the best thing for everyon..."
"No!" Willow broke in. "It's my choice, Xander, and I'm gonna make it. But you're right... all this sitting around and sulking about it hasn't made the choice any easier. It's time for something different."
"Huh?" Xander dropped his voice to a whisper. "Different how?"
"Can you find Buffy and make sure she's in the library in the break after classes? I'll run and get Oz."
"Uh, okay. Can I ask why?" Xander said.
"Um, no, you'd better not. Oh, and make sure she has a quarter."
"A quarter??"
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