For creative_muses July 2 - Calm before the storm
Quiet times in the Grid. They did happen on occasion. Lucas was sitting at his desk, reading through a couple of reports that he’d acquired, actually having time to carefully take in the full implications of them. Normally they were so busy he never got more than a glance. Miss Summers was heading back for the train station, that much was obvious, so Lucas pulled the operation, told everyone to go home. They simply didn’t have the resources for more.
He’d stood up, determined to find himself a coffee, then work through some more reports, though he didn’t hurry. They would be there when he got back, and it was nice to take things at a leisurely pace for once. He poured a coffee, and stood there for a moment, breathing in the bitter scent, imagining just what it would taste like.
His reverie was interrupted by Malcolm’s head suddenly appearing around the door frame. “Lucas? You are going to want to see this.” Lucas frowned, sensing suppressed excitement from the analyst - which was unusual in itself - but followed him back to the main area of the Grid, perching on the edge of Malcolm’s desk.
“Right. After Jo left Buffy Summers to her own devices, we thought nothing of it. However, we recorded a phone call from her to one of her known associates. Take a listen...” Malcolm pressed a button, and Buffy’s voice came over the system. “Will! Twilight. Need some witchfu. I need teleported out of here now. I'm at---. I'll go back to the bank. Meet me there and be really careful. They don't care who they hurt to get to us.”
Lucas glanced at Malcolm, an eyebrow raised. “Did she just say what I think she said?” he asked, his tone incredulous.
“Yes. There’s more though. We managed to find out where she was via CCTV footage. This is interesting.” Again, he pressed a button on his keyboard, bringing up footage of a group of people converging on Buffy, all wearing suits.
“Who are they?” Lucas demanded, as Malcolm zoomed in on the way they were gathering round her. “Tell me they aren’t ours.”
“I’m getting as many faces as I can, and no I don’t think they are ours. However, whoever they are, they’re good.” The pair of them watched as Buffy took on the six of them... and was holding her own.
“Okay, how the hell is she doing that?” Lucas said, wheeling a chair over and sitting down. “That’s not possible. Unless it’s a set up to show off.”
“With that phone call? Possible, but unlikely. Keep watching.” A gun went off, the bullet grazing Buffy’s arm, but she seemed unaffected. Lucas turned to look at Malcolm.
“Okay, speaking from recent experience, that had to hurt,” he commented, then watched as she made her phone call, then ran. “That’s it?” he asked. “She managed to escape them?”
“So it seems. We caught up with her at the bank, as expected. Her friend met her then they... well, disappeared.”
“Disappeared? How?”
Malcolm brought up the footage outside the bank. Buffy’s friend appeared... then disappeared with the pair of them. Just vanished. “Some kind of technology?” Lucas surmised. “It could be why the CIA are all over us with this.”
“If it is, it’s like nothing I’ve heard of,” Malcolm said. And Malcolm would know.
Lucas sat there, staring at the screen for a moment. “She mentioned Twilight in her conversation with her friend. She also mentioned them with me. Have you found anything?”
“No,” Malcolm said, turning to look at Lucas. “But then, I’ve been treading lightly.”
“Keep digging. Something will turn up.”
“And you?”
“Me? Burn me a copy of that. I need to talk to Laurie Werner, then I think it’s time to pay Miss Summers another visit.”
Lucas North
Spooks
Word Count: 638
Set in crossover universe with Buffy the Vampire Slayer
He’d stood up, determined to find himself a coffee, then work through some more reports, though he didn’t hurry. They would be there when he got back, and it was nice to take things at a leisurely pace for once. He poured a coffee, and stood there for a moment, breathing in the bitter scent, imagining just what it would taste like.
His reverie was interrupted by Malcolm’s head suddenly appearing around the door frame. “Lucas? You are going to want to see this.” Lucas frowned, sensing suppressed excitement from the analyst - which was unusual in itself - but followed him back to the main area of the Grid, perching on the edge of Malcolm’s desk.
“Right. After Jo left Buffy Summers to her own devices, we thought nothing of it. However, we recorded a phone call from her to one of her known associates. Take a listen...” Malcolm pressed a button, and Buffy’s voice came over the system. “Will! Twilight. Need some witchfu. I need teleported out of here now. I'm at---. I'll go back to the bank. Meet me there and be really careful. They don't care who they hurt to get to us.”
Lucas glanced at Malcolm, an eyebrow raised. “Did she just say what I think she said?” he asked, his tone incredulous.
“Yes. There’s more though. We managed to find out where she was via CCTV footage. This is interesting.” Again, he pressed a button on his keyboard, bringing up footage of a group of people converging on Buffy, all wearing suits.
“Who are they?” Lucas demanded, as Malcolm zoomed in on the way they were gathering round her. “Tell me they aren’t ours.”
“I’m getting as many faces as I can, and no I don’t think they are ours. However, whoever they are, they’re good.” The pair of them watched as Buffy took on the six of them... and was holding her own.
“Okay, how the hell is she doing that?” Lucas said, wheeling a chair over and sitting down. “That’s not possible. Unless it’s a set up to show off.”
“With that phone call? Possible, but unlikely. Keep watching.” A gun went off, the bullet grazing Buffy’s arm, but she seemed unaffected. Lucas turned to look at Malcolm.
“Okay, speaking from recent experience, that had to hurt,” he commented, then watched as she made her phone call, then ran. “That’s it?” he asked. “She managed to escape them?”
“So it seems. We caught up with her at the bank, as expected. Her friend met her then they... well, disappeared.”
“Disappeared? How?”
Malcolm brought up the footage outside the bank. Buffy’s friend appeared... then disappeared with the pair of them. Just vanished. “Some kind of technology?” Lucas surmised. “It could be why the CIA are all over us with this.”
“If it is, it’s like nothing I’ve heard of,” Malcolm said. And Malcolm would know.
Lucas sat there, staring at the screen for a moment. “She mentioned Twilight in her conversation with her friend. She also mentioned them with me. Have you found anything?”
“No,” Malcolm said, turning to look at Lucas. “But then, I’ve been treading lightly.”
“Keep digging. Something will turn up.”
“And you?”
“Me? Burn me a copy of that. I need to talk to Laurie Werner, then I think it’s time to pay Miss Summers another visit.”
Lucas North
Spooks
Word Count: 638
Set in crossover universe with Buffy the Vampire Slayer