Fic: I Play My Part (You Play Your Game) PG-13 9/12
Before 10 o'clock even! Wow, I'm really impressing myself with how well I can be not addicted to Spore OH WAIT I just got done playing it for 4 hours. And only stopped because I wanted to watch Fringe, and hadn't eaten dinner.... and I still missed House.
But anyway, here's the next chapter of the story.
Part 1 here
Xander glanced back at the house. Lois, Lucy, Chloe and Clark were watching from the porch as sixteen young women stood in a circle around the spot where an Army helicopter was landing. Xander turned back to the helicopter. It touched down in the field, and two large young men with large weapons and crew cuts stepped off of the helicopter.
Directly after them was a middle-aged man with thinning hair. He wasn’t a large man, but he held himself with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was capable of.
Riley, by consensus, was the first to approach him. He walked forward a few feet, came to attention and saluted. General Lane sized him up for a moment before returning the salute in kind.
“Agent Finn,” said Lane.
“General Lane,” said Riley. He turned in his spot and escorted the general to the edge of the circle. “Allow me to introduce to you, sir, Buffy Summers and Alexander Harris of the Council of Watchers, and Oliver Queen of Queen Industries.”
General Lane nodded at each of them in turn.
“Nice to meet you all,” he said. He turned to Riley. “I’m not discussing a damn thing with you people until I see that my family is safe.”
“Of course, sir,” Riley said. He held out a hand to in the direction of the house. “If you’ll come this way….”
General Lane nodded, and allowed Riley to escort him up to the house. Riley took him up to the porch, and then walked back to the driveway, where the others had gathered to wait until the General was done speaking to his family.
General Lane stepped up onto the porch. “Mr. Kent,” he said, nodding to Clark.
“General,” said Clark.
The General turned to his daughters and niece. “Girls.”
“General,” said Lois and Chloe.
“Hi, Daddy,” said Lucy.
The General stepped towards them. “How are you?”
“We’re fine, Dad,” said Lois.
“They’ve treated you well?”
“Mostly,” said Lois. “Unless you count lying.”
“And being bastards,” said Lucy.
“Bastards?” asked the General.
Lois shook her head. “It’s a personal thing, dad. Don’t worry about it.”
“But they didn’t hurt you,” he said.
“They never touched us,” said Lois. “And they didn’t hold us against our will, either.”
“What?” he asked. “But Agent Finn said -”
“Riley was very precise,” said Lucy. “Riley is… always very precise. He told you that we were in the next room. We were. That’s all.”
“But I thought -”
“We were talking in the barn,” said Clark. “And Agent Finn asked if he could use the phone, and he called you, sir.”
“Before that we were having a lovely chat over an unconscious girl and a witch,” said Lois.
“Which one was unconscious?” General Lane asked.
“Dawn is,” said Lucy. “Buffy’s little sister. She’s still out, actually. Daddy, is it true you’re working with Lex Luthor?”
“Excuse me?”
“Xander said you were working with Luthor, and -”
“Xander said,” the General repeated. “Xander said? And how exactly do you know Xander?”
Lucy looked up and right at her father. “He’s my boyfriend,” she said.
The General turned to Lois. “Did you know about this?”
“Did I know?” Lois asked. “What exactly would I have done?”
“I explicitly told you that -”
“Jesus, Daddy,” said Lucy. “Can you at least pretend that you remember I’m not fourteen anymore? I’ve been on my own for years, now, getting myself out of hairier situations than Lois has ever been in. I think I’m old enough to pick who I date.”
General Lane pointed to the one-eyed man in the driveway. “And you picked him?”
Lucy stepped up to her father. “Xander is a good man,” she said. “He loves me, he treats me well and he does good work with the -”
“Good work?” he said incredulously. “Lucy, that man over there is one of the leading members of one of the most violent, unpredictable and dangerous terrorist organizations in the world. That one-eyed freak has more -”
Lucy smacked him. Lois and Chloe each took a step back.
“You don’t know anything about him, or his organization,” Lucy said, her finger wavering in his face. “And you don’t get to ignore us for years at a time, and then fly in here in your helicopter pretending like you give a damn.” Lucy glared at him for another second, and then stormed off into the house.
The General looked up at Lois, who was having a hard time keeping the humor out of her eyes.
“What?” General Lane growled at her.
Lois shrugged. “Just a little surprised,” she said. “I always thought that, after all these years, I’d be the one to tell you off. Come on, Chloe.” Lois turned and followed her sister inside. Chloe shrugged weakly at her uncle and went in after them, leaving Clark and the General alone on the porch.
Clark smiled weakly.
“I suppose you have an opinion, too,” said General Lane.
Clark shrugged. “I’ve only known Xander for a few days,” he said. “He seems like a good enough guy, but I really don’t know anything about his work. I do know Oliver, though, and so does Lois. Neither of us believes he’d be wrapped up in anything involving terrorists.”
“Lois knows Queen?”
“They um… dated, actually.”
“Was it serious?” the General asked.
“Serious enough,” Clark said.
“And he trusts these people.”
“He does. Is it true, General? Are you working with Lex Luthor?”
“That’s not something I’m allowed to discuss, son.”
Clark nodded. “Well, I know you’ve had some dealings with Lex before, but he’s changed since then,” he said. “If you are involved with him, you should know that he doesn’t care about anything except his own goals. If he’s trying to experiment on these young girls, I can guarantee you it’s not because he wants to build a better soldier, or because he’s interested in the security of this country.”
“You know something.”
“I don’t know anything specific, sir,” Clark said. “But with Lex, there’s always a hidden agenda.”
General Lane nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” He started down the steps toward the driveway when Clark called him back.
“General,” Clark said. “I know this is none of my business, but Lucy really does seem very fond of Xander. And what I know of him tells me he’s not a bad person.”
“That’s not the same thing as being a good person.”
“No, it’s not,” Clark said. “But if you’re dealing with Lex Luthor, it’s usually good enough.”
The General considered Clark for a moment, then turned and walked to the others in the driveway. When he reached them, they all turned and walked into Clark’s barn.
Clark wanted to stay outside and listen to what was said, find out what Lois’s dad was up to, what Xander’s group was up to, who Riley really was and what Oliver was doing mixed up in all of it.
He sighed, and headed inside. He could quiz Oliver about it later, or maybe even Buffy. But despite Lois’s humor at her sister’s blow-up, Clark knew his friend was not happy with the situation. And sometimes his friends had to come first.
* * * * *
General Lane stepped into the barn, walked over to a crate and sat down on it. Buffy, Xander, Riley and Oliver stood in a semi-circle around him.
“Okay,” he said. “You got me here. Talk.”
“Last night, at about three am, approximately fifteen soldiers under your command stormed the house where my sister lives and abducted her,” Buffy said. “Through magical means, they placed her in a coma, and took her to a hidden warehouse underground in Chicago, where we eventually retrieved her.”
“I’m aware of all that,” General Lane said. “I would like you to know that that particular operation was not authorized by me. One of our… civilian contractors was involved.”
“We’re well aware of Lex Luthor’s involvement, General Lane,” said Oliver. He placed a briefcase on one of the haystacks, took some papers out and handed them to the General. “And we’re also well aware of exactly what it is that goes on inside his 33.1 project.”
General Lane looked up at him. “You know about 33.1,” he said. He started looking at the papers.
“General,” said Buffy, stepping forward. “We know about a lot more than that. You have been told by your superiors - who have been convinced by Lex Luthor - that we are perhaps the greatest supernatural or superhuman threat to this country. Possibly the world. Am I correct?”
General Lane nodded, still reading.
“And you don’t entirely believe him, do you?” she asked.
General Lane looked up. “What makes you think that?”
“Because you’ve held back,” said Buffy. “You’ve had opportunities to make gains and you haven’t taken them. You have enough men and women under your command to really make our lives hell, and you haven’t. You haven’t even gone after any of the girls who aren’t a part of our organization, even though they would work just as well for Luthor’s needs.”
“We’re not going to convince you overnight, General,” Xander said. “We know -”
The General stood up. “You don’t talk,” he said, pointing at Xander angrily. They all took a step back, surprised at his forcefulness. “You used my daughter. I don’t care who you think you are, you don’t come at me through my family. If you say another word, I walk. Understood?”
Xander opened his mouth to defend himself, but instead raised his hands in surrender and walked over to lean against a wall, General Lane glaring daggers at him the whole way.
The others shared a quick glance, and Riley stepped forward.
“General, I’ve known these people for years. They’ve saved my bacon more than once. And I don’t mean to brag sir, but you know that that means something. They saved my people from the snafu with Maggie Walsh.”
General Lane stared at Xander for another second, before turning to Riley. “You were involved in that mess?”
“For a while, I was the lead military man on site, sir,” he said. He nodded at Buffy. “These folks turned what would have been an all-out massacre into a mere embarrassment, and saved a lot of lives doing it.”
“We’ve made mistakes, sir,” Buffy said. “We’re not perfect, and we don’t claim to be. But we’re interested in helping people, in saving the world. Not in destroying it. We think you are, too, and we hope that that information is enough to at least put Luthor out of favor with your bosses. If it’s not, well, I’m sure we can get more.”
“My bosses,” he said. “I am a three-star general in the United States Army. Just how many bosses do you suppose I have?”
Buffy shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said. “One would be enough, and I’m pretty sure there’s still that guy in the White House. But you’re the man in a position to do something. We’ve given you information telling you what Luthor is really up to, and what we think he intends to do. As well as how to get in direct contact with us if you have to.”
“Direct contact?” General Lane asked, flipping to the back of the packet. “Including… addresses, it looks like.”
“This is the endgame, General,” Buffy said, “and a game like this requires trust. If it keeps up, eventually, you’ll win. You’ll start getting our girls, and Luthor will have his experiments. So this is us. Putting our lives in your hands, and standing right in your crosshairs, wondering if you’ll shoot, and hoping to God we haven’t misjudged you. We’re taking the first step, and praying it isn’t our last.”
The General considered her for a moment. “This information,” he said, waving the papers Ollie had given to him. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to get this verified?”
“Oh, you mean from an independent source?” Ollie asked. “Someone who doesn’t work for the Council, who doesn’t know what they do? Who has no reason to try to deceive you?”
“Frankly, yes,” said the General. “Someone like that.”
“How about someone about… this tall?” he asked, holding his hand a couple of inches above Buffy’s head, as she looked up and scowled at his hand. “Someone blonde? Cute? Used to work for a major daily newspaper? Related to you?”
General Lane considered him. “This came from Chloe.”
“What can I tell you, General, the girl’s a prodigy,” Ollie said.
The General looked at him for a moment, and then stood up. He walked out of the barn and stalked into the house. Lois and Chloe looked up as he slammed the door shut.
“Oliver Queen,” he said to Lois. “Do you trust him?”
“Absolutely,” Lois said. “No question.”
He turned to Chloe and held the papers out to her. “And you found this information?”
Chloe looked up at Clark, then Lois, then back to the General. “I… yes, sir.”
General Lane looked around, and saw Lucy on the couch in the living room. He walked over to her, and saw the redness in her eyes. He knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his.
“Sweetheart,” he said. She looked up at him, still angry. “I am sorry I couldn’t be here for you more often, and that I made you and your sister grow up too quickly.” He shook his head. “Some people aren’t cut out for parenting, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t be a better father to you two. It’s a testament to both of you that you’ve turned out as well as you have. I love both of you, very much. More than anything. Do you believe me?”
Lucy nodded.
“I need to know something,” he said. “This man, Harris. Is he a good man? Do you trust his people, and the work that they do? Do you trust him?”
Lucy looked up at her father, closed her eyes and chuckled softly. “Daddy,” she said. “I love him.”
Sam Lane took a deep breath, stood up fully and headed for the door. He paused in the kitchen.
“The girl,” he said. “The one they brought in. Where is she?”
“Upstairs,” Lois said. “I can take you up there if you don’t believe them.”
General Lane shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.” He stepped over and opened the door, then turned back to them. “Stay safe, all of you,” he said.
The General stepped out into the yard, and headed for the barn, where the others were still waiting. He looked around at them. “Very well,” he said. “I can’t promise you any results, but you’re right. I don’t trust Lex Luthor. With any luck, this information will convince my superiors that he’s not the one we want to throw in with.”
“That’s all we ask,” Ollie said.
General Lane turned and walked up to where Xander was still leaning against a wall. Xander straightened up as General Lane got in his face, but he did not flinch.
“If so much as one hair on my daughter’s head is injured by being involved with you… if she sheds one single tear out of anything but joy or laughter… if you ever treat her as anything less than the absolute princess she is, I will not hesitate for one second to hunt you down and make you wish I would kill you, do you understand me, son?”
Xander nodded, and the General backed up a step.
“Now. My daughter tells me that she loves you,” he said. Xander couldn’t keep the surprise from his face. “I suppose that means I’m going to have to get to know you better sometime.”
“I hope so, sir,” Xander said.
General Lane nodded. “Well then. I’ll be in touch.”
He strode out of the barn and off to his helicopter, and the four people in the barn breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Okay,” Xander said, pointing the direction the General had walked off in. “That is one scary son of a bitch.”
Buffy smiled at him, and then held her hand out to him, and he took it.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go check on Dawn.”
----------
End Chapter 9
Continue to Chapter 10
But anyway, here's the next chapter of the story.
Part 1 here
Xander glanced back at the house. Lois, Lucy, Chloe and Clark were watching from the porch as sixteen young women stood in a circle around the spot where an Army helicopter was landing. Xander turned back to the helicopter. It touched down in the field, and two large young men with large weapons and crew cuts stepped off of the helicopter.
Directly after them was a middle-aged man with thinning hair. He wasn’t a large man, but he held himself with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was capable of.
Riley, by consensus, was the first to approach him. He walked forward a few feet, came to attention and saluted. General Lane sized him up for a moment before returning the salute in kind.
“Agent Finn,” said Lane.
“General Lane,” said Riley. He turned in his spot and escorted the general to the edge of the circle. “Allow me to introduce to you, sir, Buffy Summers and Alexander Harris of the Council of Watchers, and Oliver Queen of Queen Industries.”
General Lane nodded at each of them in turn.
“Nice to meet you all,” he said. He turned to Riley. “I’m not discussing a damn thing with you people until I see that my family is safe.”
“Of course, sir,” Riley said. He held out a hand to in the direction of the house. “If you’ll come this way….”
General Lane nodded, and allowed Riley to escort him up to the house. Riley took him up to the porch, and then walked back to the driveway, where the others had gathered to wait until the General was done speaking to his family.
General Lane stepped up onto the porch. “Mr. Kent,” he said, nodding to Clark.
“General,” said Clark.
The General turned to his daughters and niece. “Girls.”
“General,” said Lois and Chloe.
“Hi, Daddy,” said Lucy.
The General stepped towards them. “How are you?”
“We’re fine, Dad,” said Lois.
“They’ve treated you well?”
“Mostly,” said Lois. “Unless you count lying.”
“And being bastards,” said Lucy.
“Bastards?” asked the General.
Lois shook her head. “It’s a personal thing, dad. Don’t worry about it.”
“But they didn’t hurt you,” he said.
“They never touched us,” said Lois. “And they didn’t hold us against our will, either.”
“What?” he asked. “But Agent Finn said -”
“Riley was very precise,” said Lucy. “Riley is… always very precise. He told you that we were in the next room. We were. That’s all.”
“But I thought -”
“We were talking in the barn,” said Clark. “And Agent Finn asked if he could use the phone, and he called you, sir.”
“Before that we were having a lovely chat over an unconscious girl and a witch,” said Lois.
“Which one was unconscious?” General Lane asked.
“Dawn is,” said Lucy. “Buffy’s little sister. She’s still out, actually. Daddy, is it true you’re working with Lex Luthor?”
“Excuse me?”
“Xander said you were working with Luthor, and -”
“Xander said,” the General repeated. “Xander said? And how exactly do you know Xander?”
Lucy looked up and right at her father. “He’s my boyfriend,” she said.
The General turned to Lois. “Did you know about this?”
“Did I know?” Lois asked. “What exactly would I have done?”
“I explicitly told you that -”
“Jesus, Daddy,” said Lucy. “Can you at least pretend that you remember I’m not fourteen anymore? I’ve been on my own for years, now, getting myself out of hairier situations than Lois has ever been in. I think I’m old enough to pick who I date.”
General Lane pointed to the one-eyed man in the driveway. “And you picked him?”
Lucy stepped up to her father. “Xander is a good man,” she said. “He loves me, he treats me well and he does good work with the -”
“Good work?” he said incredulously. “Lucy, that man over there is one of the leading members of one of the most violent, unpredictable and dangerous terrorist organizations in the world. That one-eyed freak has more -”
Lucy smacked him. Lois and Chloe each took a step back.
“You don’t know anything about him, or his organization,” Lucy said, her finger wavering in his face. “And you don’t get to ignore us for years at a time, and then fly in here in your helicopter pretending like you give a damn.” Lucy glared at him for another second, and then stormed off into the house.
The General looked up at Lois, who was having a hard time keeping the humor out of her eyes.
“What?” General Lane growled at her.
Lois shrugged. “Just a little surprised,” she said. “I always thought that, after all these years, I’d be the one to tell you off. Come on, Chloe.” Lois turned and followed her sister inside. Chloe shrugged weakly at her uncle and went in after them, leaving Clark and the General alone on the porch.
Clark smiled weakly.
“I suppose you have an opinion, too,” said General Lane.
Clark shrugged. “I’ve only known Xander for a few days,” he said. “He seems like a good enough guy, but I really don’t know anything about his work. I do know Oliver, though, and so does Lois. Neither of us believes he’d be wrapped up in anything involving terrorists.”
“Lois knows Queen?”
“They um… dated, actually.”
“Was it serious?” the General asked.
“Serious enough,” Clark said.
“And he trusts these people.”
“He does. Is it true, General? Are you working with Lex Luthor?”
“That’s not something I’m allowed to discuss, son.”
Clark nodded. “Well, I know you’ve had some dealings with Lex before, but he’s changed since then,” he said. “If you are involved with him, you should know that he doesn’t care about anything except his own goals. If he’s trying to experiment on these young girls, I can guarantee you it’s not because he wants to build a better soldier, or because he’s interested in the security of this country.”
“You know something.”
“I don’t know anything specific, sir,” Clark said. “But with Lex, there’s always a hidden agenda.”
General Lane nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” He started down the steps toward the driveway when Clark called him back.
“General,” Clark said. “I know this is none of my business, but Lucy really does seem very fond of Xander. And what I know of him tells me he’s not a bad person.”
“That’s not the same thing as being a good person.”
“No, it’s not,” Clark said. “But if you’re dealing with Lex Luthor, it’s usually good enough.”
The General considered Clark for a moment, then turned and walked to the others in the driveway. When he reached them, they all turned and walked into Clark’s barn.
Clark wanted to stay outside and listen to what was said, find out what Lois’s dad was up to, what Xander’s group was up to, who Riley really was and what Oliver was doing mixed up in all of it.
He sighed, and headed inside. He could quiz Oliver about it later, or maybe even Buffy. But despite Lois’s humor at her sister’s blow-up, Clark knew his friend was not happy with the situation. And sometimes his friends had to come first.
* * * * *
General Lane stepped into the barn, walked over to a crate and sat down on it. Buffy, Xander, Riley and Oliver stood in a semi-circle around him.
“Okay,” he said. “You got me here. Talk.”
“Last night, at about three am, approximately fifteen soldiers under your command stormed the house where my sister lives and abducted her,” Buffy said. “Through magical means, they placed her in a coma, and took her to a hidden warehouse underground in Chicago, where we eventually retrieved her.”
“I’m aware of all that,” General Lane said. “I would like you to know that that particular operation was not authorized by me. One of our… civilian contractors was involved.”
“We’re well aware of Lex Luthor’s involvement, General Lane,” said Oliver. He placed a briefcase on one of the haystacks, took some papers out and handed them to the General. “And we’re also well aware of exactly what it is that goes on inside his 33.1 project.”
General Lane looked up at him. “You know about 33.1,” he said. He started looking at the papers.
“General,” said Buffy, stepping forward. “We know about a lot more than that. You have been told by your superiors - who have been convinced by Lex Luthor - that we are perhaps the greatest supernatural or superhuman threat to this country. Possibly the world. Am I correct?”
General Lane nodded, still reading.
“And you don’t entirely believe him, do you?” she asked.
General Lane looked up. “What makes you think that?”
“Because you’ve held back,” said Buffy. “You’ve had opportunities to make gains and you haven’t taken them. You have enough men and women under your command to really make our lives hell, and you haven’t. You haven’t even gone after any of the girls who aren’t a part of our organization, even though they would work just as well for Luthor’s needs.”
“We’re not going to convince you overnight, General,” Xander said. “We know -”
The General stood up. “You don’t talk,” he said, pointing at Xander angrily. They all took a step back, surprised at his forcefulness. “You used my daughter. I don’t care who you think you are, you don’t come at me through my family. If you say another word, I walk. Understood?”
Xander opened his mouth to defend himself, but instead raised his hands in surrender and walked over to lean against a wall, General Lane glaring daggers at him the whole way.
The others shared a quick glance, and Riley stepped forward.
“General, I’ve known these people for years. They’ve saved my bacon more than once. And I don’t mean to brag sir, but you know that that means something. They saved my people from the snafu with Maggie Walsh.”
General Lane stared at Xander for another second, before turning to Riley. “You were involved in that mess?”
“For a while, I was the lead military man on site, sir,” he said. He nodded at Buffy. “These folks turned what would have been an all-out massacre into a mere embarrassment, and saved a lot of lives doing it.”
“We’ve made mistakes, sir,” Buffy said. “We’re not perfect, and we don’t claim to be. But we’re interested in helping people, in saving the world. Not in destroying it. We think you are, too, and we hope that that information is enough to at least put Luthor out of favor with your bosses. If it’s not, well, I’m sure we can get more.”
“My bosses,” he said. “I am a three-star general in the United States Army. Just how many bosses do you suppose I have?”
Buffy shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said. “One would be enough, and I’m pretty sure there’s still that guy in the White House. But you’re the man in a position to do something. We’ve given you information telling you what Luthor is really up to, and what we think he intends to do. As well as how to get in direct contact with us if you have to.”
“Direct contact?” General Lane asked, flipping to the back of the packet. “Including… addresses, it looks like.”
“This is the endgame, General,” Buffy said, “and a game like this requires trust. If it keeps up, eventually, you’ll win. You’ll start getting our girls, and Luthor will have his experiments. So this is us. Putting our lives in your hands, and standing right in your crosshairs, wondering if you’ll shoot, and hoping to God we haven’t misjudged you. We’re taking the first step, and praying it isn’t our last.”
The General considered her for a moment. “This information,” he said, waving the papers Ollie had given to him. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to get this verified?”
“Oh, you mean from an independent source?” Ollie asked. “Someone who doesn’t work for the Council, who doesn’t know what they do? Who has no reason to try to deceive you?”
“Frankly, yes,” said the General. “Someone like that.”
“How about someone about… this tall?” he asked, holding his hand a couple of inches above Buffy’s head, as she looked up and scowled at his hand. “Someone blonde? Cute? Used to work for a major daily newspaper? Related to you?”
General Lane considered him. “This came from Chloe.”
“What can I tell you, General, the girl’s a prodigy,” Ollie said.
The General looked at him for a moment, and then stood up. He walked out of the barn and stalked into the house. Lois and Chloe looked up as he slammed the door shut.
“Oliver Queen,” he said to Lois. “Do you trust him?”
“Absolutely,” Lois said. “No question.”
He turned to Chloe and held the papers out to her. “And you found this information?”
Chloe looked up at Clark, then Lois, then back to the General. “I… yes, sir.”
General Lane looked around, and saw Lucy on the couch in the living room. He walked over to her, and saw the redness in her eyes. He knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his.
“Sweetheart,” he said. She looked up at him, still angry. “I am sorry I couldn’t be here for you more often, and that I made you and your sister grow up too quickly.” He shook his head. “Some people aren’t cut out for parenting, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t be a better father to you two. It’s a testament to both of you that you’ve turned out as well as you have. I love both of you, very much. More than anything. Do you believe me?”
Lucy nodded.
“I need to know something,” he said. “This man, Harris. Is he a good man? Do you trust his people, and the work that they do? Do you trust him?”
Lucy looked up at her father, closed her eyes and chuckled softly. “Daddy,” she said. “I love him.”
Sam Lane took a deep breath, stood up fully and headed for the door. He paused in the kitchen.
“The girl,” he said. “The one they brought in. Where is she?”
“Upstairs,” Lois said. “I can take you up there if you don’t believe them.”
General Lane shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.” He stepped over and opened the door, then turned back to them. “Stay safe, all of you,” he said.
The General stepped out into the yard, and headed for the barn, where the others were still waiting. He looked around at them. “Very well,” he said. “I can’t promise you any results, but you’re right. I don’t trust Lex Luthor. With any luck, this information will convince my superiors that he’s not the one we want to throw in with.”
“That’s all we ask,” Ollie said.
General Lane turned and walked up to where Xander was still leaning against a wall. Xander straightened up as General Lane got in his face, but he did not flinch.
“If so much as one hair on my daughter’s head is injured by being involved with you… if she sheds one single tear out of anything but joy or laughter… if you ever treat her as anything less than the absolute princess she is, I will not hesitate for one second to hunt you down and make you wish I would kill you, do you understand me, son?”
Xander nodded, and the General backed up a step.
“Now. My daughter tells me that she loves you,” he said. Xander couldn’t keep the surprise from his face. “I suppose that means I’m going to have to get to know you better sometime.”
“I hope so, sir,” Xander said.
General Lane nodded. “Well then. I’ll be in touch.”
He strode out of the barn and off to his helicopter, and the four people in the barn breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Okay,” Xander said, pointing the direction the General had walked off in. “That is one scary son of a bitch.”
Buffy smiled at him, and then held her hand out to him, and he took it.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go check on Dawn.”
----------
End Chapter 9
Continue to Chapter 10