Sunday, January 25, 2004

To: ,
CC: Rupert Giles
From:
Subject: Daily Souled Vampire Report and Slayer watch
January 25, 2004 17:00

Hi Andrew!

The souled duo are the most boring assignment you’ve ever gave me! Seriously, you owe me for this… perhaps a slaying gig in Monte Carlo?

The more interesting news is that the bleached blond vamp had his hands reattached after the Dana incident. Angel visited him a few times in the hospital, but then “Spike” moved out into his own apartment. And do I seriously have to keep this façade up? You and I both know it’s Spike. He drinks and plays video games all day. I mean ALL DAY. It seems to be some type of ‘therapy’ – perhaps you should buy a Playstation for therapy as well *grins*

No signs of Vivian.

Seriously, how long should we remain in Los Angeles? The city is starting to freak me out. It feels as if something is wrong here. The hospitals are overflowing and Nicky is really sick.

Please advise,
Courtney

Dawn stared at her email in confusion. It was almost too much to hope for. Could Spike really be alive?

She had to know.

Dawn dialed the phone to make her plane reservations and grabbed her backpack. She could buy anything she needed when she tracked down Courtney. She smirked; Council credit cards were so much fun!

Her tall frame shook in anger. How could Andrew and Giles not tell them? Why hadn't Spike called them? It was obvious to anyone how much Buffy mourned him. She would sort this out.

By nightfall, she would know whether or not this was a cruel joke.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

To:
CC: Rupert Giles , London Office , Robert Sterling < rsterling@council.uk.com>
From:
Subject: Immediate Quarantine of London offices
January 25, 2004 19:00

To all Council employees and offices:

This is a notification of an immediate quarantine for all Council employees who have entered the London branch within the last week.

Any individual who meets the above criteria are ordered to immediately report to the infirmary for medical examination. In the event that you have traveled outside of the London area, please report to the nearest Council branch for assessment. Those who are too ill to drive to a Council infirmary should telephone the main office and a medical team will be dispatched to your location.

Individuals who have come into contact with those who are potentially infected should avoid all civilians until medically declared free of infection.

We are in the process of identifying both the agent causing the illness and the subsequent cure. All non-affected branches of the Watcher's Council, as well as individuals, who have not been in the office within the last week, are advised to avoid headquarters until this situation is resolved.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Monday, January 26, 2004

Giles stepped out of his office and into absolute chaos. He should have known better then to actually take the weekend off.

It was simply madness at the Council. The quarantine notice had gone out on Sunday evening, but he had been caught unaware due to an avoidance of the infernal machine. When he arrived at the offices this morning, there had been armed guards at the entrance and panicked administrators running around the hallways. He had never been so grateful to see Andrew in his life, as he appeared the calmest of all the bureaucrats.

Apparently the strange infection that the scientist had exhibited on Friday was extremely contagious, as it was quickly becoming apparent that many more individuals had been infected. It was difficult to determine what was wrong with the sick, or how it was spreading, due to the fact that those who had taken ill were quite violent and it was difficult to get close to them. To make matters worse, the incubation period was incredible short. By the time a person realized that they were getting sick, it was too late to do anything but lock them in an isolation cell. There were countless guards and Slayers injured while trying to restrain the first victims. The Council's current plan was to bring in a member of the Bath Coven to try and get a mystical reading. One positive fact was that the Slayers seemed to be responding better then the guards. Perhaps their blood contained some gene which was responsible for their seeming immunity?

He was rounding the corner when the alarms starting blaring. 'Now what?’

The speaker-system crackled and a panicked voice came out over the sirens "Security to Medical Lab, Security to Medical Lab… We have multiple breeches. We need reinforcements…" A scream cut through the announcement and the voice was no more. What was left however was worse then silence. He could make out someone in the background sobbing, another lower moan, and sounds which he didn't want to dwell on. A rather…well…squishy sound - like someone was chewing. The combination of sounds was making his skin crawl.

He turned around and headed towards the infirmary.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Giles had almost made it to the infirmary when he noticed that the fighting had overflowed into the hall. The sight before him was horrific. He couldn't tell who was infected and who was trying to contain the infection. It was as if a riot had broken out in front of him. There were guards firing on technicians and on Slayers. There was blood, screams, and moans surrounding him. He was caught off guard – special ops seemed to be taking major causalities. ‘Should he call for reinforcements, or for a general evacuation?’ His thought process was disrupted by everything going black.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"But Christie," Andrew complained to the Slayer, "We should really get the research from the infirmary before we go."

Christie glared at him. "Look, you know what’s going on just as well as I do! There’s no hope for them now. We still have to blow the Council up and hope that we get all the infected. If we miss even one, then…" Christie shuddered, "I don't want to think about that. Did you get all the research? We can go over the materials on the plane. It’s the only safe place until we know how far this has spread. I still say we should go find a deserted island to hide on."

Andrew shook his head. "You know that the desert island plan never works out. Let's stick to the basics. First we go rescue our fearless leader, and then perhaps Willow. Did everyone finish their assignments?"

Vi spoke up, "I have the Semtex and have set the charges. They should detonate when you push the remote. I managed to snag Giles from the infirmary hallway before anyone touched him, so he’s clean. Although he did get hit on the head during the extraction process.” Vi looked sheepish. “Sorry about that. Anyway, Christie got the research from her room, and Nancy went to get the research from your room and Dawn's as well. Sarah has been gathering survivors and checking them over. Everyone’s ready."

Andrew nodded. “How many people are still alive and not afflicted?”

Vi looked scared. “Sarah said that she found fourteen Slayers unaffected in the dorms, seven Watchers and ten students in the Academy, two of the pilots, one medical researcher, and three scientists. Oh, and five support staff.”

“Which means?”

“Over two hundred of the London Council have been either afflicted or are dead.”

Andrew took a deep breath. "Okay, girls, let's go!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Giles watched as the girls picked up the range of weapons they had amassed: crossbows, guns, and … baseball bats?

He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but that could also be side affect of a possible concussion. Andrew and Christie had filled him in on some of the details, but it seemed to be a bit much. Two hundred dead and these forty-odd people the only survivors? It was horrific.

He picked up the nearest crossbow and proceeded to the door. Indeed, they needed to be in a safe location, although surely they were joking about blowing up the Council? Twice in a year was rather extreme…

An explosion ripped through the building as the girls, along with two dozen employees, fled on foot to the nearby airport.

Giles looked back with a deep sigh. It was almost too easy of an escape, but the loss of the Council’s resources, not to mention life, weighed heavily on his mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Transcript of taped interview with Vi Davidson

November 7, 2011

"We're recording? *eep*

Okay. Well, like I was saying; I really wish that we would have known that we didn't have to blow up the Council. It would have been nice if we could have gone back eventually to salvage some of the weapons. Oh, and the books! I thought the watchers were going to cry when they realized that all the books were gone again.

But still… it would have been nice.

Of course we hadn't realized that by the time we escaped the Council, the infection had spread throughout London. Most of us were so focused on figuring out what was wrong with everyone that we didn't have time to turn on the news, much less evaluate the state of the city outside of the Council's holdings.

I mean, we had already figured out that the scientist was patient zero for the London outbreak, and therefore all those infected had to come from the Council. And well, we ordered quarantine and told everyone to come back to the Headquarters and get checked out. Who would have thought that there were people who disobeyed those orders? The email was really clear…

I think they said some of those who were infected went home Friday night, so once the security guards left for the night, it was already spreading. A lot of them were already dead by the time the quarantine email came through… still; we didn't know that, you know? And we did tell everyone to come in!

I still wonder sometimes if there is anything we could have done… and darn it! My favorite broadsword was in that building and I was so focused on getting the explosive thingies set up that it completely slipped my mind.

Anyway, what was the question? Oh yeah, why did we decide to blow up the Council…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Giles wondered once again if perhaps he somehow jinxed their flight to safety. He had, after all, pondered if their quest for freedom had been a tad easier then previous missions.

The streets were reminiscent of a war zone. The screaming and yelling of civilians rang through the air, but the sound of the moans was truly spine chilling. It was rather disturbing to see his Slayers and other surviving Council employees fighting those who attacked them, he couldn't even tell the difference between the ones who were infected and those who were simply crazed with grief or injured. The only thing he noticed was that those who seemed to be infected tended to move much more slowly.

They closed in on to the private airstrip that housed the Council's planes, along with a few others whose owners maintained hangers at this small airstrip. As they approached, they noticed that the moaning seemed to be getting louder, and as the gates came into view, they stopped en masse in shock. The city was nothing compared to the small airport. People and infected fought a mass battle, with the infected seemingly gaining the upper hand.

A whisper came from the left of him. "What are we going to do?"

It seemed like hell had opened up a portal; the carnage was overwhelming. Giles looked at the small band of Council survivors. They had started out with over 40 people fleeing the headquarters. There numbers had dropped already by at least a dozen, including several of the Slayers.

He turned to look at the warriors by his side.

"We fight; protect the pilot and the scientists. They have the best chance of getting us to safety and finding out what is going on." He held up a hand to Andrew, Christie, and Vi. "Yes, I know that you claim to know what is transpiring, but let’s focus on getting on the plane, and then you can explain it to me. For now, we fight."

Giles took a deep breath. He was scared, but he had to be strong. The Slayers were counting on him. He knew that many of them saw him as a cold and remote figure, but it was just a façade —a mask he donned in an effort to hide his true feelings. Day after day he ordered his girls into battle, knowing each time that they might come back wounded, or not at all. He tried desperately not to care, to do the right thing. Now, because of this mysterious outbreak of rage, violence, and infection, he was again forced to make them fight.

‘Would it ever end?’

They formed a protective ring around the pilot and remaining scientists and begun to hack their way to the Council hanger. The numbers were overwhelming as the crazed and violent creatures kept coming closer and closer. As the infected fell due to being shot, others replaced them and occasionally the infected got back up, appearing to be only dazed by a seemingly mortal wound. The coven and most of the magic users fell in the first hour of their fight. Magic worked, but not when they were surrounded by those who wished to kill. Most people need time and preparation to cast a spell. Things normally that they had, but not while running for their lives through the city. The only thing that could save them in this fight was brute force, and perhaps a bit of luck.

After what seemed like hours, they managed to get to the plane and open the door. The Slayers were boarding when Vi was grabbed from behind. Two of the Slayers rushed to save her and were confronted by an onrushing wave of infected.

Giles grabbed a gun off of a fallen security guard; he could not let another girl fall in battle, not when he could save her. 'Not my first choice of weapon, but oh well.’

He began to fire into the mass and continued firing, laying down cover. "Get her to the plane!" He continued shooting until they were aboard.

Suddenly Vi screamed out, "GILES!"

He turned, and immediately wished he hadn’t when he saw what was in front of him. Another five infected were coming up beside him, one moving particularly fast, but covered head to toe in blood. She even looked familiar… ‘Kaori’

"GO!" he screamed, continuing to fire the gun.

His last thought was the fervent hope that they would reach Buffy in time. His brave Slayer; he loved her like a daughter.

Then he thought no more.

TBC…