A/N: Thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing. It is greatly appreciated!

“So,” Giles began as he backed his car out of the driveway, “do you have any idea as to what she is planning?”

Methos grinned. “All I know for sure is that I’m glad it’s not me she is going after. When she gets her hands on them…” he trailed off and shrugged, “it won’t be pretty.”

“I see.” Giles stated in a tone that clearly indicated that he did not. After a sideways glance at Methos he asked, “I assume your compatriots are no longer in town?”

Giving Giles a startled look and wry grin Methos answered, “Nah, they bailed earlier this afternoon. Mac gets paranoid if he is gone too long. Thinks things will fall apart without him being there to get into trouble. ‘Manda went with him to try and keep him out of trouble…” he trailed off and laughed before continuing, “but knowing her, they’ll just get into even bigger trouble.”

“And the other? Cassandra I believe her name is?” Giles asked.

“She’s in LA, checking something out for Mother. She should be back soon.” Methos thought for a moment and then asked, “Why?”

“No specific reason really,” Giles answered, almost distractedly, “just curious I guess.”

“Curious about what?” Methos prodded.

“Well, how the whole immortal thing works, for starters.” Giles replied with a self-depreciating laugh. “I can’t help it really; it must be the watcher in me.”

Methos let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I can see how the watcher instincts will tend to take over more rational thought processes. But, I’ll try and answer your questions…” he trailed off as they approached Giles’ place and noticed the front door open. “Did you leave the door open?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I locked it.” Giles thought for a moment, while pulling up into his parking space. “Maybe Spike beat us here and just left it open?”

“While I’m pretty sure a snail could beat this car of yours, Spike doesn’t strike me as the sort of person to leave doors open.” Methos said as he climbed out of the car.

“No, he’s rather a stickler about such matters.” Giles stated as he too exited the vehicle. “Maybe I didn’t close it tight and the wind blew it open…” Giles reached for the door to push it open wider but was halted by Methos’ hand on his arm.

“Better let me go in first, just in case. After all, if someone is in there and intending bodily harm, I won’t end up dead.” Methos said as he gently brushed past Giles and opened the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike trudged his way through the underground tunnel system connected to Sunnydale’s sewers. “Wonder if Rupes still has that bottle of single malt I bought him.” Stifling a laugh as he remembered the look on Giles’ face that night, he muttered to himself, “Thought the old boy was gonna have a coronary.” Spike stopped as a slight sound reached his ears from a side tunnel just up a head. “Wonder who else will be taking the low road this evening…” He cautiously walked forward and found himself face to crossbow with a figure dressed in tweed. “Well well, if it isn’t a part of the wanker brigade.”

“Silence demon. You don’t have the right to speak to me,” the crossbow wielding man said in a stiff British accent. “The only thing you have the right to do is die.”

“I see,” Spike said with a grin. “You do realize that you might have had a better chance of killing me if you had actually, oh… SURPRISED ME. Instead of waiting in the dark where anyone with any sense of hearing could locate you, like the complete wanker you are.” As he said this, Spike knocked the crossbow upwards, and lashed out at the man holding it.

“You won’t stop us. Even if you kill me, our mission will be completed,” the man said gasping for air as he took the brunt of Spike’s punch in the center of his chest.

Spike wrenched the crossbow out of the man’s hands and closed his fingers around his throat. “What mission?” he growled.

The man remained silent, smirking in a rather annoying way.

“Well, I suppose I’ll just kill you and be on my way then,” Spike snarled as he vamped out, baring his fangs. Spike growled menacingly as he leaned in towards the man’s neck.

“Giles!” the man yelled. “We were sent to remove you and the renegade watcher.”

“What the soddin’ hell do you mean ‘renegade’,” Spike snarled. “Rupes has done everything you bloody wankers asked of him, including stopping more than one ‘end of the world’ scenario, WITHOUT your bloody help I might add.”

“Yeah, he did. Everything except rid the world of YOU,” the man choked out.

Snarling in full-blown anger, Spike shoved the man away from him and into the cement wall of the tunnel, rendering him unconscious. Spinning around, his duster swirling dramatically, Spike ran down the tunnel in the direction of Giles’ apartment. “If anything happens to Giles, I’ll bloody well take down the Council myself…” Spike muttered to himself.