5Aug22 - Aftermath
Title: Aftermath
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Jack Ryan Book Series
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 973 without previous drabble, 1071 with previous drabble
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of the Jack Ryan books belong to Tom Clancy, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: Got stuck, so I looked at some older works and decided to add to a drabble I wrote a while ago. Not happy or upbeat, but it what caught my muse’s attention.
Summary: “So, did they try to make you an Ambassador?”
Aftermath
By Beriaearwen
Buffy Hated this city. One man in a plane had decimated her family here - Giles, Willow and Dawn gone in one instant. The Council’s chain-of-command left Buffy leading both sides of the Council, replacing Giles. That was why she was here.
The only think keeping her calm was the knowledge that the man she was meeting was as ill-prepared as she was for his new role.
Nodding to the guards, she entered the office and approached the desk. “President Ryan.”
He rose from behind the desk and offered his hand. “Miss Summers, thank you for meeting with me.”
“Of course,” Buffy said, settling in her chair and crossing her legs, portfolio settled on the floor beside her. “How may I or my people be of assistance?
The man leaned forward and met her eyes. “I worked in the CIA and had access to more information than most people. Including information about your area of expertise, so I have some basic knowledge, but that knowledge is also limited to events and status outside the United States and is several years old.” He had noticed her wince when he mentioned the CIA and knowing something about her work. He smiled kindly at her, “Don’t worry too much, Miss Summers, not everyone in the government agreed with your labelling. It’s one of the reasons you were able to stay free. As I was saying, I need to know what’s going on here. With the chaos caused by…” his voice faltered. “I need to know what threats to prepare for.”
Buffy nodded. “Why me? Why us?”
Ryan held her eye for several seconds. “I don’t know who to trust with this outside of you. I’m sure there are departments and people, but I know of your group’s reputation and I’ve seen what you can do.”
“We’re in a bit of chaos ourselves,” Buffy hedged.
“I’m aware, but you’re still the ones I trust to get the information and give it straight. I know Mr. Harris is at the UN in New York right now soothing feathers and that I’m just the first of many state visits you need to make,” he admitted. “But I’m going to be selfish and ask you to help us first, before you do anyone else.”
Buffy inhaled slowly and watched the man opposite her as she thought. She nodded once and reached for the portfolio next to her. Opening it, she withdrew a bound report and passed it over. “That is keyed to only open for you. It details our current threat assessment locally and across the US. Our people are on alert and will be patrolling more frequently. I’ve also included general and contact information on the people we generally work with in the US. The Finns are probably your best bet for communication. They have clearance to be in the office with you and knowledge of how and when to send out an SOS.”
“I wish everyone I needed to speak to was this prepared and responsive,” he murmured, leafing through the information. Lifting his eyes, he asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Buffy shook her head. “Not at the moment. While,” she had to stop, clear her throat and take a deep breath. “While our Organization took a hard hit at the top, our structure is such that most of our operations were unaffected by the change. So, not now, but perhaps in the future.”
A discrete knock on the door drew their attention. Buffy stood, as did President Ryan. He offered his hand. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For this, for all you’ve done and I am so very sorry for your loss.” When the handshake released, as she was picking up her portfolio, his hand dipped into his pocket and withdrew three business cards. “If you ever need anything that I can do, not as the President, that number will reach me. The other two cards are for two men I trust implicitly.”
Buffy glanced at the cards, taking in the names before tucking them inside the portfolio. “Thank you,” she replied with a genuine smile. “Xander’s and my numbers are in the report. They’ll reach us wherever we are.
With that said, she turned toward the door just as it opened and left.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Later that evening, she sat down on the couch in a safe house outside Philadelphia and rested her head on Xander’s shoulder, picking up his opposite hand and holding it in hers.
Xander put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close, both of them giving and receiving comfort.
After several minutes of silence, Buffy asked, “So did they try to make you an Ambassador?”
Xander chuffed out a laugh. “Did he try to recruit you to the CIA?”
Buffy shook her head. “I think he’s going to be a good one. He gave me his personal number as well as those of the two CIA guys he worked with.”
Xander hummed in agreement. “For the Ambassadors, the ones that know are willing to give us some time since they understand who we lost. As for the ones that don’t know, it’s kind of a mixed bag. I’ve already passed along the areas to keep an eye on and sent out an alert to pull all operations from a few countries where there have been problems before.”
Silence fell over the two remaining Scoobies, but it was comfortable.
It was also short lived as the girls who were normally housed here burst the door open, chattering fast and at high volume.
Buffy let out a sigh causing Xander to chuckle. “Getting old, there, Buff?” he teased.
She let out a huff of annoyance and gently smacked his arm as she sat up. “Missing the puffy suit, Xan?” she teased back with a wink.
“Gods no!” he exclaimed with an exaggerated shudder. “That’s what they Minis have each other for, after all.”
“True,” Buffy agreed, standing. “Best let them know we’re here and not to destroy the house,” she suggested holding out a hand to help him off the couch.
Xander took her hand. “I think the Hellmouth was less scary,” he grumbled good naturedly.
The banter was a thin mask covering the gaping holes in their hearts and lives, but they were veterans not only of the Supernatural world but of loss and change. They would get through this the way the Scoobies always had - together.
End
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Jack Ryan Book Series
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 973 without previous drabble, 1071 with previous drabble
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of the Jack Ryan books belong to Tom Clancy, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: Got stuck, so I looked at some older works and decided to add to a drabble I wrote a while ago. Not happy or upbeat, but it what caught my muse’s attention.
Summary: “So, did they try to make you an Ambassador?”
Aftermath
By Beriaearwen
Buffy Hated this city. One man in a plane had decimated her family here - Giles, Willow and Dawn gone in one instant. The Council’s chain-of-command left Buffy leading both sides of the Council, replacing Giles. That was why she was here.
The only think keeping her calm was the knowledge that the man she was meeting was as ill-prepared as she was for his new role.
Nodding to the guards, she entered the office and approached the desk. “President Ryan.”
He rose from behind the desk and offered his hand. “Miss Summers, thank you for meeting with me.”
“Of course,” Buffy said, settling in her chair and crossing her legs, portfolio settled on the floor beside her. “How may I or my people be of assistance?
The man leaned forward and met her eyes. “I worked in the CIA and had access to more information than most people. Including information about your area of expertise, so I have some basic knowledge, but that knowledge is also limited to events and status outside the United States and is several years old.” He had noticed her wince when he mentioned the CIA and knowing something about her work. He smiled kindly at her, “Don’t worry too much, Miss Summers, not everyone in the government agreed with your labelling. It’s one of the reasons you were able to stay free. As I was saying, I need to know what’s going on here. With the chaos caused by…” his voice faltered. “I need to know what threats to prepare for.”
Buffy nodded. “Why me? Why us?”
Ryan held her eye for several seconds. “I don’t know who to trust with this outside of you. I’m sure there are departments and people, but I know of your group’s reputation and I’ve seen what you can do.”
“We’re in a bit of chaos ourselves,” Buffy hedged.
“I’m aware, but you’re still the ones I trust to get the information and give it straight. I know Mr. Harris is at the UN in New York right now soothing feathers and that I’m just the first of many state visits you need to make,” he admitted. “But I’m going to be selfish and ask you to help us first, before you do anyone else.”
Buffy inhaled slowly and watched the man opposite her as she thought. She nodded once and reached for the portfolio next to her. Opening it, she withdrew a bound report and passed it over. “That is keyed to only open for you. It details our current threat assessment locally and across the US. Our people are on alert and will be patrolling more frequently. I’ve also included general and contact information on the people we generally work with in the US. The Finns are probably your best bet for communication. They have clearance to be in the office with you and knowledge of how and when to send out an SOS.”
“I wish everyone I needed to speak to was this prepared and responsive,” he murmured, leafing through the information. Lifting his eyes, he asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Buffy shook her head. “Not at the moment. While,” she had to stop, clear her throat and take a deep breath. “While our Organization took a hard hit at the top, our structure is such that most of our operations were unaffected by the change. So, not now, but perhaps in the future.”
A discrete knock on the door drew their attention. Buffy stood, as did President Ryan. He offered his hand. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For this, for all you’ve done and I am so very sorry for your loss.” When the handshake released, as she was picking up her portfolio, his hand dipped into his pocket and withdrew three business cards. “If you ever need anything that I can do, not as the President, that number will reach me. The other two cards are for two men I trust implicitly.”
Buffy glanced at the cards, taking in the names before tucking them inside the portfolio. “Thank you,” she replied with a genuine smile. “Xander’s and my numbers are in the report. They’ll reach us wherever we are.
With that said, she turned toward the door just as it opened and left.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Later that evening, she sat down on the couch in a safe house outside Philadelphia and rested her head on Xander’s shoulder, picking up his opposite hand and holding it in hers.
Xander put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close, both of them giving and receiving comfort.
After several minutes of silence, Buffy asked, “So did they try to make you an Ambassador?”
Xander chuffed out a laugh. “Did he try to recruit you to the CIA?”
Buffy shook her head. “I think he’s going to be a good one. He gave me his personal number as well as those of the two CIA guys he worked with.”
Xander hummed in agreement. “For the Ambassadors, the ones that know are willing to give us some time since they understand who we lost. As for the ones that don’t know, it’s kind of a mixed bag. I’ve already passed along the areas to keep an eye on and sent out an alert to pull all operations from a few countries where there have been problems before.”
Silence fell over the two remaining Scoobies, but it was comfortable.
It was also short lived as the girls who were normally housed here burst the door open, chattering fast and at high volume.
Buffy let out a sigh causing Xander to chuckle. “Getting old, there, Buff?” he teased.
She let out a huff of annoyance and gently smacked his arm as she sat up. “Missing the puffy suit, Xan?” she teased back with a wink.
“Gods no!” he exclaimed with an exaggerated shudder. “That’s what they Minis have each other for, after all.”
“True,” Buffy agreed, standing. “Best let them know we’re here and not to destroy the house,” she suggested holding out a hand to help him off the couch.
Xander took her hand. “I think the Hellmouth was less scary,” he grumbled good naturedly.
The banter was a thin mask covering the gaping holes in their hearts and lives, but they were veterans not only of the Supernatural world but of loss and change. They would get through this the way the Scoobies always had - together.
End