Fic: Bad News, Bad News, Good News
Title: Bad News, Bad News, Good News
Author: Wyndewalker
Xover Fandom: Losers
Series: Xander's Cousin Jake
Challenge: twistedshorts August-Fic-A-Day - Day 3, 2013 Trope Bingo Round 2 - Presumed Dead
Authors note: Prequel to You Thought WHAT Was A Good Idea? M'elem - Teacher/Mentor, alema'ez aleqdeymh - old goat
Rating: PG
Warning: None
Word Count: 3,023 - posted with Moderator permission
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Losers or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All rights belong to their owners and I merely borrow the characters for your amusement.
Summary: On top of the loss of one of his Slayers Xander finds out another one has gone AWOL and his cousin was killed in action.
Xander sighed dumping his gear into the back of his old Army jeep. There were echoing sighs from the four Slayers with him. Naledi, Samira, and Jehan dumped their gear in with Xander's while Katja carefully placed an urn in the Jeep's strongbox. The urn contained the ashes of their fallen sister Slayer Amali. Xander was not looking forward to informing her family.
Dropping into the driver's seat, Xander gratefully took the food Naledi handed out. Once they'd all finished he looked at Samira and Jehan.
"Alright, you two, tell me again why Mapenzi or Aisha isn't with you? A priority one call out should have gotten me three of the four of you. Not just two."
The girls glanced at each other; Samira's lip lifting in a silent snarl. Jehan sighed. "We don't know where Aisha is," she said quietly. "She received a phone call the day before your call came in. It greatly distressed and angered her. She left the House and did not return. Mapenzi planned to join us if Aisha returned within a couple of days. If she did not it was Mapenzi's intention to contact the Cairo House and possibly the headquarters in London."
"And it's been almost a month since then. Dammit." Xander dug his phone out of his pack turning it on. He blinked when it popped up with 8 messages. The Scoobies had known he was out of reach while hunting down the horde of Klaa'tu demons in the area. Who would be calling him?
"First message: Xan, it's Jenna. I need you to call me back as soon as you get this. It's about Jake. End of Message. If you would..." Xander clicked to the next message.
"It's Jenna again. I don't know if you got my first message but it's been two days. Call me, please. It's important.”
"Come on, Xan. I really need you to call me back. Where are you?"
"Dammit, Xander Harris, call me."
"I swear to God if you're dead I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. Call. Me."
"Uncle Xander?" He winced at his niece’s heartbroken voice. "It's Bethie. Uncle Xander, something happened to Uncle Jake. Mommy and I had to go pick up a flag and his dog tags. The soldiers at the base wouldn't look at us. Why wouldn't they look at us, Uncle Xander? Please come home. Mommy is really upset. Love you."
Xander cursed in every language he knew which was a lot these days. It sounded like Jake had gone and gotten himself killed. He didn't like Bethie's description of the funeral or lack thereof. He suspected they’d been disavowed.
"Xander, it's Jenna again. I called the number on that business card you gave me. I talked to someone named Dawn who assured me you were still alive just out of reach on a mission." Jenna sighed. "I know Bethie called you so you know Jake is dead. I don't know what the hell is going on, Xan. There was no funeral or memorial service. We were practically treated like lepers on the base. And there've been reports on the news about an Army helicopter in Bolivia that was shot down with a bunch of kids on board. I think Jake's unit was somehow involved but I can't believe he would knowingly put children in danger. Please call me, Xander."
"Xan, it's Dawn. I talked to your cousin Jenna Jensen today. I'm sorry to tell you that your cousin Jake was killed in action. Once you finish things up with the Klaa'tu horde Giles says you have as much time as you need to see your cousins. Call me and I'll arrange flights for you. Bye."
Hanging up the phone, he barely resisted the urge to chuck it. He'd just have to go retrieve it.
"What has happened?" Jehan asked. All the girls were watching him in concern.
"Nothing for you girls to worry about. My cousin Jake, he's in the Army. Apparently he was killed in action a couple weeks ago." The girls murmured their condolences. "I need to go see his sister; find out what happened; find out where the hell Aisha disappeared to." Xander closed his eye growling frustration. "I have to inform Amali's family of her death."
"Bah!" Samira spat. "They turned their backs on her because of her Calling; because she would not marry the alema'ez aleqdeymh they wanted her to. They do not deserve your consideration."
"Every parent deserves to know the fate of their child, Sami," Xander said softly.
"I shall accompany you," Naledi said quietly. "To see Amali's parents and to find out what has happened to your cousin."
"As shall I," Samira insisted. Katja and Jehan chimed in as well.
"Girls, thank you but I don't know how long I'm going to be in the States."
"We do not care," Jehan insisted. "You are M'elem. You are our Xander."
"Right," he said after a moment. "Let me make a few calls." Scrolling through his address book, he found what he wanted and hit dial. It was quickly answered. "Hey, Riley, it's Xander. You got a minute?"
"Sure, what's up?" The commando asked amid a bunch of background noise that abruptly cut off as he found a quiet spot. "Everything good with you?"
"It's been better. I hate to do this but I need a favor. Where are you?"
"Fort Bragg. We’re about to go on leave but we can be wheels up in a couple of hours if you need us?"
"Thanks, not the favor though. Actually you being at Bragg works out perfectly. My cousin Corporal Jacob Jensen was killed in action about three weeks ago, probably in Bolivia. His..." Xander cut off, one eyebrow raised at Riley's sudden cursing. "I take it that rings some bells then?"
"Yeah. Why didn't you ever tell me your cousin was one of the Goddamn Losers? Rumor has it they were involved in a serious FUBAR that got over two dozen kids killed in Bolivia. The Diplomatic Corps are scrambling to smooth things over while the Brass are disavowing all knowledge of it."
"Well that's just peachy. Look, I need you to find out as much real information as you can, Ri. I know my cousin. I've met a couple of the guys in his unit. They’re not the kind of people to put kids in harm's way. Something fishy is going on and I need to know what the hell it is before I start going through official channels."
Riley sighed. "I'll do what I can but there's a reason that unit was known as the Losers. They all had a bad habit of bucking authority. That unit was the last step for all of them before Dishonorable or Other Than Honorable Discharge."
"Just do what you can. I have one of my girls to bury; another gone AWOL; and cousins to console. The only good thing about today is we killed the last of a Klaa'tu horde. I’m not a happy camper."
"Shit, sorry, Xander. I'll see what I can find then call you. It might be a couple of days though."
"That’s fine. Thanks, Riley. Say hi to the others for me."
"I will. Talk to you soon."
Hanging up, Xander started to bring up Dawn's number then decided to wait until they were closer to actual civilization. Instead he dialed Jenna's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jenna."
"Xander! What the hell? I've been trying to call you for three weeks and anyone would tell me is you were alive and would get back to me when you could. Where the hell are you that you couldn't pick up a phone and call me, you doofus? Do you know how worried I've been? First Jake, then I couldn't get a hold of you and..."
Xander made soothing noises as she broke down into sobs. "I know. I'm so sorry you had to go through this alone, JenJen. I really am. I would have called if I could. I didn't even get your messages until today. There's not much cell phone reception in the Congo."
"The Congo!?" Jenna practically shrieked. "What the hell are you doing in the Congo, Alexander Lavelle Harris?"
"The short answer is my job. I can't really go into more than that. Not right now. I'll explain what I can when I see you."
"And when exactly is that going to be?"
"Er, what day is today?"
"Tuesday."
"Friday then. Saturday if we hit any major delays on the way to the airport or in Dubai. Not that I expect to be in Dubai more than a couple of hours depending on flights."
"What's in Dubai that you have to stop there?"
"Next of kin of one of my people. I'm returning her ashes to them for burial. I don't expect a very warm welcome."
"No," Jenna exhaled. "I don't expect you would. I have to pick up Beth. See you Friday, Xan."
"Will do, JenJen." Hanging up the phone, Xander wasn't surprised to find the Slayers ready to go. "Alright, ladies. I'm going to find a little boy's tree. I suggest you do the same and then we're off. I don't plan to stop unless it's too dark to see, we need gas, or we hit a city with an airport."
Fifteen minutes later they were barreling into the gathering dusk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days later Xander re-boarded the Council jet in Dubai. He hated doing family notifications. Oddly it was slightly easier with families that had turned their backs on the girls than the ones who supported them. It still sucked either way.
Shrugging off his suit jacket, Xander dropped into his seat reclining it. "Let me know when we hit the States."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were halfway across the Atlantic when his phone started ringing. "H'lo?"
"Did I wake you?"
"Yeah. S'okay. I was just napping on the plane. What've you got for me, Ri?"
"A hornet's nest. My discrete inquiries led to a face-to-face with the Base Commander who told me it was a CIA matter and to let it drop. I then got a visit from a rather smarmy guy in a suit. I didn't let him say much other than his name, Max, and he pretty much confirmed he was involved in the op. Whatever you do, Xan, tread carefully with this guy. He's the kind of spook who thinks everyone is a disposable pawn in whatever game he's playing."
"Any chance he's a demon?" Xander perked up, that would totally put this guy in his jurisdiction.
"Not that I could tell. He could be a halfie that passes but he had no clue who I was other than the public info and I didn't notice any tells."
"Eh. It was a long shot. Thanks, Ri. Enjoy your leave."
"No problem. Give my condolences to your cousin."
"Yeah. Bye." Xander hung up and immediately dialed Dawn. "Hi, Dawnie. How hard would it be to have a magicked laptop waiting for me when we land? And any word on Aisha?"
"Not a problem on the laptop," Dawn assured him. "Nothing on Aisha yet. The mini witches all agree she's still alive but something or someone is hiding her from scrying. They tried scrying for null spots that she might be in but after they set fire to the third map they gave up. Once Willow finishes dealing with that Warlock in Prague I'll have her look into it. The good news, I suppose, is there's no rituals or demonic holy days coming up that would benefit from Slayer blood or sacrifice for another month and a half."
"Somehow that's just not comforting," Xander sighed.
"Sorry, it's all I've got for you."
"I know and I appreciate it. I swear we should start electronically tagging all of the Slayers. Most demons wouldn't even think to try blocking that."
Dawn laughed. "I want to be there when you suggest it to Buffy or Faith. I recommend being on another continent."
"You're all heart, he grumbled good-naturedly. "Alright, Dawn Patrol. I'll call you when we land."
"Kay, Xan."
With nothing else to do Xander went back to sleep. Landing at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire they found an SUV, gear and the requested laptop waiting for them. There was also a note from Dawn saying she'd booked them a set of rooms at the Holiday Inn just outside Derry.
Xander dropped the girls off at the hotel with directions for Katja to use the Council's backdoors into the Pentagon and Langley to find out just what Jake's unit was doing in Bolivia. He then headed to Jenna's house. Finding no one home, he texted her.
::In Derry. Where u?::
::Soccer practice::
A link followed with directions to the school field. It didn't take him long to find it and park the truck. He sat for a moment just watching the kids running around. It never ceased to amaze him how tiny they were at this age. Realizing he was starting to look like a creeper, Xander got out heading towards the bleachers looking for Jenna. He was halfway there when he heard his name shrieked and a tiny blonde whirlwind barreled into him.
Grinning, Xander grabbed his niece, tossing her into the air to make her shriek with laughter then pulled her into a tight hug.
"You're here, Uncle Xan. You're really here," she cried into his shoulder, her little arms practically strangling him.
"Shh. I got you, Bethie. I got you." Seeing Jenna approach, he held out his arm to pull her into the hug. "Hey, JenJen."
"Xander," she half-sobbed clutching him tightly. He held her just as tightly while all the emotions she'd been holding back were released. Eventually he steered them from the field to his SUV, taking the bag and purse one of the other mothers brought over.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "We'll be back later to pick up her car."
The woman just nodded, smiling sadly in Jenna and Beth's direction before returning to the stands.
Back at the house he settled on the couch with Bethie curled up in his lap. She'd refused to let him go. He took the cup of coffee Jenna handed him, sipping it appreciatively.
"Oh God, real coffee," he moaned making Jenna smirk at him. Sobering a little, he put the cup aside. "I really am sorry it took me so long to get back to you, Jenna. Reception in the Congo sucks to begin with but we were maintaining radio silence most of the time anyway."
"What were you doing there, Xan? I thought the people you worked for were historians based in Cleveland and London. Why on earth would historians be sending you to the Congo? What the hell do you really do?"
"I..." Xander sighed. "I can't tell you everything. You don't want to know everything. The short story is I work for a very old organization that is sanctioned by a large number of governments around the world including the Vatican, though they occasionally get uppity about jurisdiction. The point is it is a historical society but that's not all they do. I train operatives in the field while taking care of the occasional hot spot. Congo was a very hot spot."
"Do you fight bad guys like Uncle Jake, Uncle Xan?" Bethie asked proving she wasn't asleep.
"Not quite like Uncle Jake but, yes, I do, Bethie. I keep the world safe for brilliant little girls like you."
"Are you going to find the bad men who... who hurt Uncle Jake and his friends?"
"You better believe it, pumpkin. No one hurts my favorite family and gets away with it."
"Good," she said promptly falling back to sleep. Xander just smiled and carried her into her bedroom, tucking her in with Jenna's help.
He helped Jenna put together a light dinner and was just sitting down to eat when there was a knock on the door. Waving Jenna back, Xander retrieved his Colt 1911 from his bag before cautiously looking out the window. He rolled his eye when Katja grinned and waved at him.
"I thought I told you I'd call later," he said opening the door, "and how did you get here?"
"It is less than 10 miles from here to the hotel, m'elem," Samira said as they entered. "It is not as if we were trying to cross the Sahara."
"This couldn't wait, Xander," Katja chirped, pulling the laptop out of the backpack she'd been wearing and setting it up on the kitchen table. She smiled at Jenna who was watching in bemusement. "You're Xander's cousin Jenna, yes? I have good news."
"Katja," Xander sighed. "Why are you here?"
"This Max, he is," she lapsed into her native Afrikaans for a moment. "Arrogant, I think is the word. He doesn't hide his tracks well. It will be easy to show what happened was not your cousin's fault."
"That's great but why not just call me?"
"Because," she tapped a couple of keys, "according to these reports the target that your cousin was sent to, uhm, light up for targeting was Ahmed Khalfan Fadhil."
"Fadhil?" Xander demanded. "As in..."
"Yes," Samira nodded, nudging Katja. "Tell him the rest."
"Your cousin isn't dead!"
Jenna gasped at the proclamation; her hand covering her mouth as her wide-eyed gaze snapped to Xander.
"Katja," he said warningly.
"No," she rushed to say. "I'm certain. The-the forensics report. It found the bodies of all the children and the men from the helicopter crew. There were no remains found for your cousin and his friends other than their dog tags. And those, according to another report, were piled together in the middle of the wreckage."
"Xander? Is... What does it mean?' Jenna demanded.
"It means my missing girl and Jake are looking for the same guy. It means when I find his dumb ass I'm going to smack him upside the head before dragging him home. It means," he grinned broadly, "Jake is alive."
Jenna's squeal and tight hug made him laugh with joy.
The End