Unmovable Object Meets Irresistible Force

I'm waiting in my office while keeping an eye on the door, Jim and Sandburg are at their desks, waiting for this so called 'vampire slayer' to arrive. I can't believe how far they are willing to take this charade and I find myself wondering what the guy will look like --if he even exists-- when a middle aged man and a girl walk into the bullpen. They look fairly normal and at first I assume that they are here as witnesses or maybe to report a crime, but I see Sandburg get up and before I know it he is squeezing the girl in a tight hug, then Jim gets up and all four of them come into my office. For a moment I fear that this guy may be the famous slayer but then I hear Sandburg calling him 'dad' and his reaction when the pair arrived suddenly makes sense. I admit I have been curious about the man ever since he showed up out of the blue over two years ago, but I had never had a chance to meet him. He introduces himself as Rupert Giles, insists that I drop the Mr. and then introduces the girl as Buffy.

I'm beginning to relax as we get past the introductions and I get a better chance to observe Sandburg's father. He seems almost like the direct opposite from his son, he is polite, quiet and reserved... restrained, totally unlike my formerly hyper observer and now equally hyper detective. The girl is a different story, there is a spark in her, a fire, and hints of a darkness in her eyes that doesn't quite fit with her seemingly carefree attitude. Somehow I get the feeling that this is one innocent little girl I wouldn't want for an enemy, not that Mr. Giles is much different in that regard. They both exude a sense of power I can't quite explain and it's starting to make me nervous. It only gets worse when Sandburg brings up the subject of vampires again. They too seem to accept Blair's crazy theory as fact and I don't like it. There is only one way in which these two could possibly be involved in this mess and there's no way I'm going to buy the idea that Blair's father is this slayer character. I make my opinion known in no uncertain terms but unfortunately their reactions to that statement are nothing like the ones I had been expecting.

Buffy just bursts out laughing at the thought, while Jim, Sandburg and his father can barely keep themselves from doing the same thing. Mr. Giles --who is the only one of the lot who seems to be capable of speech for the time being-- rushes to reassure me that there is no way he can possibly be a vampire slayer, I sigh in relief before I catch the mischievous glint in Buffy's eyes. I can see that Mr. Giles has noticed it too and before I know it there's a dirk flying across my office towards the girl. She snatches it in mid air and grins at Mr. Giles, telling him that he's going to have to do better than that. I swallow hard at her casual attitude, it's like she doesn't even realize that she could have been killed, almost as if having knives thrown at her were the most natural thing in the world, and suddenly I have a sinking feeling that I know what caused her to react like she did when I asked if Sandburg's father was the slayer. He is not the slayer, she is... and there's no way in hell I'm signing on to any sort of plan that places this tiny girl --who is at most as old as my son, if not younger-- anywhere near the path of whatever it was that killed those boys. I don't care if the killer was human, animal or vampire, it's just not going to happen.

I make my position on that issue as clear as I can. I can see that they are serious when they suggest letting Buffy fight whatever it was that attacked that frat house and there is no way I'm willing to let that happen... and then her eyes change. They turn cold, and hard, the darkness moves to the forefront and I can tell that the girl is gone and I'm not sure I want to know whatever it is that has been left in her place. In a matter of fact voice the creature simply informs me that she has killed thousands of vampires, fought countless demons and stopped the apocalypse more than once. She tells me that she has known death --twice-- and has kept the forces of darkness at bay for years. She tells me that she will take care of the ones responsible for the massacre. It takes me only a fraction of a second to realize that she is not exaggerating. For the first time since Sandburg first mentioned the word 'vampires' I find myself believing, but I'm not willing to stand back... not yet. If vampires did it and she's going after them then I'm going with her.

I can see she's not happy about that. Silently she turns to Mr. Giles, who then turns to Sandburg, when Sandburg nods in response to his father's unasked question, Mr. Giles nods back to the slayer. After that silent exchange the tension decreases almost immediately and before I know it the seemingly carefree girl who walked into my office a few minutes ago is back and almost all traces of that terrifying creature have disappeared. I have only a moment to wonder about that --and about the role Sandburg's father plays in this particular snafu-- before they move on to planning the coming battle. It is then that the man turns into a strategist right before my eyes. Neither Buffy nor Mr. Giles seem particularly concerned for anything except how my presence is going to impact their plans. As far as they are concerned vampires are not a problem but I am the unknown, the variable they can ill afford. They make it perfectly clear that I'm not to interfere no matter what, I am to be merely a spectator. I shake my head as the implications of what they are saying begin to sink in.

Tonight we are going to go hunting for vampires.