FORAY-PART 11b
For disclaimers see Foray
CHAPTER 44
London, England.
Watcher Compound.
Feeling the vibration from his beeper, Henry Latham took the beeper from his inside vest pocket and glanced at the numbers on the screen.
Folding his newspaper, he got up from the leather armchair he had been relaxing in, placing the paper on the seat.
Walking away from the warmth of the fireplace, he went to the phone. Picking up the receiver, he dialed the number, it was answered after two rings.
"Mary speaking. May I help you?" came the reply.
"'ello Mary, it's Henry. I was paged?"
"Yes... Mr. Latham. You have an e-mail at the front office," Mary replied.
"I'll be right there, thank you Mary."
"You're welcome Mr. Latham."
Henry replaced the receiver and headed out of the study, the newspaper forgotten.
Walking through the corridors, he paid little attention to the original works of art displayed on the walls. Many of England's famous artists, especially those of Sir Joshua Reynolds, had their masterpieces in the Watcher's Compound, in England's rural country side.
Most of the pieces were priceless, and would have been quite at home on display in the British museum.
The furnishing were by Chippendale, with a few Tiffany pieces from America thrown in for good measure.
When Henry first came to the compound, many years ago, he was speechless. The scope of wealth the organization had was mind boggling, but it was never boasted about. The money had never been used for personal gain, by any of the members. It was invested over the years, granting them total immunity from outside interference.
It was not to say that the organization did not 'spend' money, they had given full scholarships to Oxford and Yale, to family members of those in employ with them As well as to those certain individuals who were thought to be Watcher material, they were never told that their schooling would also include studying to become a Watcher.
If it was decided, after their formal education was completed, to offer them the opportunity, then, and only then, were they told.
If the individual decided not to accept, they were given jobs that best suited their education. The organization had many legitimate business ventures around the world, enabling them to provide an incentive to stay 'in the family', so to speak.
They had never turned their backs on the families who had lost loved ones to their duties.
They took care of their own.
It was one of the reasons why the organization had been able to exist without discovery for hundreds of years.
Henry passed by the paintings of high ranking members of the Council, both living and dead.
He sighed as he walked past his. He didn't quite like it. It wasn't to say that it wasn't a perfect portrait of him, it was.
He just didn't think that he had put in enough time to have been made a part of the upper echelon of the Council.
He wished that he was still out in the field, doing what he loved to do best...
'Fighting the forces of evil', he laughed to himself.
That's what he had thought... believed, many, many years ago.
When he was still a young man.
And his eyes hadn't been so rudely opened to how the world really was.
That THERE were things that went bump in the night.
He had been one of the lucky ones. He couldn't say that about the friends he had lost over time.
He finally reached the massive mahogany door that led to the office. He knocked before he entered.
It always surprised him when he came to the main office. It was disconcerting to feel as if he had stepped from one century to another. The office was as modern as they came. Fax machines and computers, copiers, everything you'd need in a office was here.
Including fire-proof storage cabinets that contained information which had been encoded, painstakingly scanned, and re-typed, when the condition of the document was extremely fragile, on every Slayer ever known.
Also encoded were the names of future Slayers.
Henry had to fight the older members to get the security systems in place. He had told them that it was an open invitation for anyone to come hack their computer system and get the names of current and future Slayers.
They finally agreed.
It had taken years to encode the documents, and only 4 members of the Council had the encryption keys. All four were needed to decipher the information, otherwise, the computer would automatically begin deleting the files. Once started, the procedure could not be stopped.
Mary looked up as Henry had walked in, noting the ever present smile on his face. He was remarkably fit for a man of 66 years. His white hair was combed to perfection, his suit pressed, it looked as if he were expecting a visit from the Queen.
"Good evening Mary. How are things?" he asked closing the door behind him.
"Fine Sir Henry. Here's the communiqué," Mary replied, handing him his e-mail.
"Mary... what have I said about that stuffy title?"
"It's a hard habit to break... Henry."
"That's better," he said, pulling his glasses out from his top coat pocket. The light reflected off them. "Ah... it's from Shae," he said smiling.
"Something wrong sir?" Mary asked when she saw the smile leave his face.
"Mary? Could you please bring up the files on Buffy Summers, Sunnydale, California?" Henry replied, folding the note and placing it in his inside coat pocket.
"Right away," she answered, her fingers flying across the keyboard. "Here you are."
"Thank you Mary, " he said as he went around her desk and looked at the computer monitor. "Hmm? Would you get me her file, then let me know when Mr. Halloway shows up?"
"I wasn't aware that he was back sir," Mary said as she got up from her desk and searched for the file in question.
"Yes... he's back," Henry replied.
After entering her code number to open the cabinet, Mary took out a three ring binder, and locked the cabinet once more.
"As requested," Mary said as she handed him the thick binder.
"This does have the most recent update, doesn't it?" he asked.
"Yes," Mary began, as she looked at the files on the computer, "The last update was this past Sunday... made by Mr. Smythe," she said.
"Ah... yes, Ian. Good lad. I'll be taking this with me," Henry said.
"You'll have to sign for it Henry," Mary told him.
"Of course... of course," he replied.
Taking the pen Mary offered him, he signed the book and then walked out of the office and went to his.
It had taken him well over an hour to go over everything in Buffy's file, including the supplementary report that Ian had added on what really happened.
"Damn Halloway," he uttered under his breath. Picking up his phone, he placed a call.
"Yes?"
"Talbot?"
"Can I help you?"
"Gerald... it's Henry. What the BLOODY HELL WENT WRONG!??!!"
"Hello... Sir Henry, nice to hear from you again," Gerald replied.
"Cut the bull Gerald. I want to see you in my office now!" Henry hung up the phone.
He dialed Mary's number once more.
"Mary... be sure to have a car waiting to pick up Rupert when his flight arrives. He'll be worn out from the trip."
"Yes Henry, I'll take care of it."
"Good girl."
There was a knock on his door a few minutes later.
"Come."
"You... you sent for me, sir?"
"Sit down Gerald, and be quick about it," he gestured to the chair by his desk. "Gerald... do you have any idea what I hold in my hand?" he asked lifting the binder up.
"Ah... no, I don't," Gerald responded.
"Of course you wouldn't, you've never seen it. You don't have access to it, you're not a Watcher. I'll tell you what I have. It's the most wonderful piece of fiction I have ever read, and it's written by some people I believe you know," Henry said, then he proceeded to name names. "And then... there's you. How long have you been with us Gerald?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.
"Ten years sir."
"Ten years, that's a long time. Hmm? Gerald, could you... could you explain to me, how a simple test escalated into the FIASCO I have before me? Could you?"
Gerald didn't reply.
"Well, answer me man!" Henry hit his the top of his desk with the palms of his hands. "WHERE'S YOUR BACKBONE?"
Gerald thought this might happen, but still wasn't prepared for it.
"Um... well, sir."
"I'm waiting."
"I followed my orders sir, as instructed by my superior," he answered.
"Ah... I see, so, this was Mr. Halloway's idea, was it?" Henry asked.
"Yes sir."
"And didn't you think it odd?"
"Odd, in what way?"
"Odd, in the way this was handled?"
"I... I did, at first, yes," Gerald replied.
"So, why didn't you DO something about it? You could have easily picked up the phone and called me. I would have put a stop to this...this mess. Do you have ANY idea what you've done, by not saying anything?"
"No... I... I can't say that I can sir, no," Gerald said.
The phone rang.
"Yes?"
"It's Mary, sir. Mr. Halloway is here. Shall I send him to your office?"
"Yes... and Mary?"
"Yes sir?"
"I want Cowley and Fitzsimmons waiting for Mr. Halloway when I'm finished."
"Understood," she replied, then hung up the phone.
"Sir Henry is waiting for you Matthew," she told him.
"Thanks Mare," Matthew Halloway said.
The moment he was out the door, Mary picked up the phone and paged the two men Sir Henry had requested.
"Cowley here, you paged?"
"Kenneth, Sir Henry wants you and Rory to go to his office, but you are to wait for Mr. Halloway to leave first."
"We're on our way," Kenneth replied, hanging up the phone. He turned to see his partner staring at him.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Come on mate, Henry needs us," Ken said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I think ol' Matthew has finally dug a hole he can't get out of."
"This ought to be interesting to see," Rory replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gerald, your associate is on his way. Do you see that door over there?"
Gerald turned to look in the direction Sir Henry had indicated.
"Yes sir," he answered.
"Go inside and have a seat. Don't move, until I tell you to. If you do, I'll know," Henry told the young man.
Gerald got up and went to the door. He looked back over to Sir Henry, who nodded, reaching for the door knob, he went into the room. All the time wondering what was going to happen to him.
He noticed two chairs, and closing the door, he sat down and waited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matthew Halloway knocked on Sir Henry's door. He straightened his tie, and ran his comb through his hair, being careful not to go over his stitches.
"Come in."
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Matthew stepped into the Lion's den.
CHAPTER 45
United States.
Sunnydale, California
Sunnydale High School.
Willow had gone to her locker after leaving the library. She had a few minutes to spare before she headed to her class. Opening her locker, she placed the books she wouldn't need until after lunch away.
Peering down the halls in both directions, checking to see if she was alone, she opened her notebook.
There it was...
The letter...
She almost felt like Charlie Bucket, from "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." One of her favorite books when she was younger.
Would she find the 'Golden Ticket'?
She carefully opened the envelope...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere between Los Angeles and New York.
'I wonder if Willow has read the letter yet?' Giles asked himself, as he gazed out of his window, into the endless sky.
"Excuse me sir? Would you like something to drink?" The flight attendant asked, wondering what kind of accident this passenger might have been in.
"Um... yes, tea please," he replied, noticing how the flight attendant's hair was almost the same shade as Willow's. "Thank you," he said, taking the cup.
He had felt an ache, something he knew he wouldn't find a cure for.
'That's not exactly true, is it? Willow, what am I doing?' he thought.
He knew that this drastic measure was needed, he wanted to give himself some time...
'Don't forget distance,' he mused. "Am I doing the right thing?" he muttered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunnydale High School.
Willow had read the letter twice.
"Courage... I think that's what you were looking for Rupert,"she said.
She caught the faint wisp of his cologne on the paper. She brought the note to her face and inhaled deeply, ingraining the scent in her mind.
Folding the letter, she placed it back in the envelope, putting it safely in her locker.
Right before she closed the door, she gave into the sudden urge to reach out and touch the letter...
It was as she had expected some 'force' to flow from it and into her...
Some connection she hoped would not be broken by Rupert's departure.
Firmly closing and locking the door, Willow went to class...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
London, England.
Watcher Compound.
"Good evening Sir Henry," Matthew said as he entered the private office of Henry Latham.
"Have a seat Matthew. We have much to discuss, don't you agree?" Henry said. He moved his chair closer to his desk, nudging the switch that activated the speaker as well as the two-way mirror where Gerald was sitting. He didn't want to go over this twice, once was enough.
"Thank you sir," Matthew replied taking a seat.
"How was your flight?"
"Fine, thank you," Matthew responded.
"And your injury?"
"OH... that..." he knocked on his head with his knuckles, "Hard as rock. The doctor was amazed that the blow didn't kill me outright."
"Is that so?" Henry asked.
"Oh yes. I consider myself quite lucky."
"Indeed you are. So, why don't you brief me on your mission?" Henry said leaning back in his chair.
"Where would you like me to start?" Matthew answered, secretly thankful that the meeting had started off so well.
"Can you tell me? How did the Slayer... Summers isn't it?" He watched Matthew nod. "How did she do?"
"Um... I would say that she passed with flying colors sir."
"And... how did you injure yourself?"
"It's terribly embarrassing I slipped," Matthew replied.
"Well, we all have accidents from time to time, nothing to be embarrassed about. How did Rupert take the news that Miss Summers had passed the test?" Henry couldn't wait to hear the answer.
"Actually, I... I didn't tell him. Um... I had asked Gerald to relay the information for me," he said.
'What the hell?' Gerald thought when he heard Matthew's reply.
"And why was that?"
"Yeah... why was that?" Gerald muttered seeing as they had all left the states in a extreme hurry.
"Well, I was injured sir. I thought it best that Mr. Giles...Rupert get the information as quickly as possible, I knew I could depend on Gerald to deliver the message in my stead," Matthew replied, getting comfortable.
"I see, other than your unfortunate accident, there was nothing else that occurred during your mission? Nothing out of the ordinary?" Henry asked.
"No... everything went smoothly," he answered.
"Very well, if you're completely sure there's nothing else?" He wanted to see if Matthew was going to offer any more. "Right, if you'll just sign this," Henry took out a small stack of papers.
Matthew got out of the chair and went to the desk.
"Right here please," Henry said as he held out a pen for Matthew.
"Of course Sir Henry. What exactly am I signing, if I might ask?" Matthew took the pen.
"Why... it's the official report, of course," Henry replied.
Matthew looked as Sir Henry, confused. "That's not possible sir... I haven't had a chance to file my final report."
"Oh... you mean that dreadful piece of trash, you thought about turning in? I've already read enough of the reports your men turned in. Did you think I wouldn't find out what really happened?"
"I don't know what you're talking about sir?" Matthew answered, still holding the pen.
"I see, you're going to continue with this farce," Henry shook his head in disgust. "You do realize that you leave me no choice in the matter, don't you?" Henry reached into the top drawer of his desk, he was slightly amused to watch Matthew take a step back. "Sit down, and watch the television screen would you?"
Matthew sat back down, annoyed at himself for having stepped back earlier.
Using the remote control, Henry turned on the television, then the VCR.
The screen remained blank at first...
What looked like a newscast finally appeared on the screen...
A building as engulfed in flames, firefighters struggled to put the raging inferno out, to no avail.
Henry watched Matthew's reaction to the tape. He saw a slight tremor in his jaw muscles.
"This is quite interesting Sir Henry, but what does this have to do with me?" Matthew asked.
Henry did not reply, he continued to watch as the scene played out before him. The fire gutted the entire building, leaving smoldering embers in its wake.
The newscast ended, Matthew thought that would be the end of the tape...
When a different image appeared on the screen... one he was quite familiar with.
"Oh my God," Matthew uttered in shock.
There in full glorious color was Malcolm hitting someone...
The camera found itself drawn to his face when he had turned around...
His eyes were glazed, he had a smile on his face... it looked as if he truly enjoyed what he had just done.
Malcolm stepped away... the camera angle moved...
It was Giles...
He was a bloody mess...
"Wha... what do you want?" Giles asked, blood running from his mouth.
"Right now? Nothing, I just like hitting you that's all," came Malcolm's reply.
Gerald could be seen in the background, standing by the door to Rupert's office, standing guard.
'I'm dead,' Gerald thought as he watched the tape. He knew what had happened afterwards.
Henry fast forwarded the tape, looking over at Matthew who just stared at the screen.
"OH... I think you might find this part most interesting Matthew," Henry said as he watched Willow unconscious body being brought in.
Once again Rupert's voice was heard.
"WHAT have you DONE to her!!?"
Henry watched as Rupert had struggled against his bindings to get to the girl. A knife flashed out of nowhere and was imbedded into his desk. Henry felt for Rupert, he saw the defeat as Rupert's shoulders slumped forward.
He watched as Matthew left the room, after being informed that someone had arrived.
Malcolm had told Rupert: "Well... I think it's time you took another nap." Then proceeded to knock him out again.
What came next turned Henry's stomach.
Matthew had reappeared, and walked over to Willow.
The camera followed him, Matthew kneeled next to Willow's prone body.
"What are you doing?" someone asked.
"Nothing... just some harmless fun, that's all," Matthew replied.
Matthew had started to squirm in his seat. He was trying to remember who was with him when they had paid Giles the surprise visit.
"I... I don't think you should do that. There... there's isn't time," the voice said, after watching Matthew taking out the hunting knife, and trailing it up and down Willow's blouse.
Matthew had finally slipped the knife underneathe the blouse, the tip could be seen poking through the material.
The slightest pressure and the knife would have gone through it.
Sighing, Matthew agreed, "You're right... there's always later. Well, come on, bring her along, she'll make for some lively bait for the Slayer," he said.
'Ian... it was Ian. I'll kill him,' Matthew thought.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself Matthew?" Henry asked, stopping the tape. He had seen enough, it had sickened him to watch the beating Rupert had taken, at the hands of fellow members.
"I did what I thought I had to do," Matthew answered, looking at the shocked expression on Sir Henry's face.
"You WHAT!!??!!"
"I did what I had to do sir."
"You thought you had to endanger the lives of the Slayer... her Watcher, and those teenagers?"
"Yes..."
"I don't BLOODY BELIEVE WHAT I'M HEARING!!! Have you gone off your rocker? What you did to Mr. Giles... Rupert, was uncalled for. What it seemed you were about to do to Miss Rosenberg was... is reprehensible! For GOD'S sake... someone could have been KILLED!" Henry stood up abruptly from his chair.
"We all know that could happen sir... " Matthew replied.
"Don't you DARE throw that back at me, you young pup. Giles knows the possibility that he might be killed, he's accepted it, we all do... but not those children. You recklessly endangered the lives of the men under your supervision. You destroyed property to cover your mistakes, you are A DISGRACE!!!" Henry shouted.
A knock interrupted Henry.
"What!"
"I beg your pardon, Sir Henry. I just wanted to make sure things were okay in here?" Rory Fitzsimmons asked after stepping into the room.
"I'm fine, I'm fine Rory. Everything's fine, " Henry said as he took a deep breath to calm down.
When Matthew saw who had entered the room, a feeling of dread fell upon him.
He wasn't sure how much trouble he was until now.
It had been widely whispered in the confines of the society, that Rory Fitzsimmons and Kenneth Cowley had a reputation of 'Taking care of things'.
"Ken and I will be outside sir, if you need anything," Rory said.
"Thank you Rory."
"A pleasure sir, if you'll excuse me," Rory replied closing the door.
Henry sat down, straightening the remote control, and the binder. He was gathering his thoughts together, he wouldn't not let his emotions take over again. He prided himself on his self-control.
"You are relived from active duty, a board of inquiry will be convened regarding this incident. You will not be allowed to leave the compound for any reason, you will not be allowed to contact in any way, shape, or form, any members of your team, until the inquiry. If you attempt any action that remotely disobeys these orders, you will be placed in solitary confinement. Do I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
"Crystal," Matthew replied.
"Get out of my sight."
Matthew got out of the chair and left the office, passing by the two men, who stepped into the office once he'd left.
"Gerald?"
Rory and Kenneth watched as Gerald walked back into the room.
"Yes sir," he replied.
"You are also confined to the compound. You may move freely, but under no circumstances are you to engage in conversation with anyone from your group, do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Go on."
Gerald left the room, he walked in a daze back to his room. If this didn't end his career, or his life nothing would.
After explaining everything to the two men, Henry asked them to take care of Matthew until the inquiry.
"I want you to put your best men on this gentlemen. I don't want to hear that they've spoken with one another. Oh.. Ken?"
"Yes Henry," Kenneth replied.
"I want 24 hour protection for Ian. If it wasn't for him and that miniature camera of his, we would have never been able to prove any of this. We would only have what Rupert would have given us, and that wouldn't have been enough."
"Right... I'll see to it personally."
"Good man," heaving a loud sigh, Henry was glad this was over with for now. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to retire for the evening," Henry said.
"Good night Henry," Kenneth replied.
"Night Henry, don't worry. We'll handle things on this end," Rory told him.
"Night lads... Oh, one other thing. Rupert MUSTN'T find out about this... God help Matthew if he does, understood?" He could never once recall seeing Rupert act the way he did, when the young Rosenberg woman had been brought in. He had acted like any man would if a loved one was in danger.
Both men nodded, they had heard stories of Rupert's younger days, prior to fulfilling his duties as a Watcher. No... even they wouldn't do that to Matthew.
Part 12
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