In the Lion's Den
They knew we were coming.
I just wish they hadn't been so damn polite about it.
Melaka's sister had found the Senior Partners -- or at least, who I was hoping was the Senior Partners. The political consultation firm of Wolff, Rahman, Hart, and Ryan was too close not to think that the Partners had survived till now.
Which was a little discouraging, actually.
We waited until it was late to make our way into the Uppers. Harmony bitched the whole time, enough to almost make me leave her behind in the Warrens while Melaka and I went topside.
Speaking of Melaka, I can't get a read on her. Sometimes I think she's helping us because she can. Other times, it's as if she just doesn't trust us. I can't blame her on either count.
Once we were there, I wondered if the Partners would still have their anti-vampire spells or other mystical security precautions in place. After all, Melaka told me that until recently -- according to her "Watcher," Urkonn, anyway -- demonic activity was dormant on Earth.
About the time we were trying to figure out how to get inside, the doors opened.
That counts as an invitation to a vampire.
The lobby was dark when we walked in. Not a problem for two vampires and a Slayer. But there was a man standing alone in the lobby, waiting patiently as if he'd been standing there all day long, with an incredibly irritating smug smile just waiting to be wiped off his face.
He said his name was Christian Ryan, and that he and the "other" Partners had been expecting me.
That's usually never a good sign.
And I really didn't care for that smirk.
So I slugged him. And I told him that it didn't matter what kind of new face the Partners were showing in the 23rd century, and I didn't care who or what he was. He was going to do exactly what we said.
Besides, if this guy was really one of the Partners, it felt really good to finally knock the hell out of one of them.
And the bastard laughed. He laughed and said he had every intention of helping us, even before we arrived.
Even after getting bounced two hundred years into the future -- with Harmony, of all people -- having the Senior Partners volunteer to help was one of the last things I ever expected to hear.
Which, of course, made it all the more suspicious.
Ryan told us that an artifact was being "retrieved" that would help Harmony and I. When I asked where, he just smirked -- again -- and said it was coming from what we "remembered" as the West Coast.
Somehow, I don't want to know what he meant by that.
He also said we were free to stay there, in the "executive suites," for as long as it took for the artifact to arrive. Even Melaka -- and the look he gave her was pretty hard to ignore, so I'm guessing the presence of another Slayer didn't get by the Partners.
Harmony practically jumped at the idea -- "No more ick," she said. I think Melaka agreed in spite of her suspicions, just to get a decent meal and a shower.
I agreed for a different reason.
If the Partners want to help us, then they have a reason for getting Harmony and I back to the present. And their reasons for doing things have never been the most benevolent.
If there's a catch, I want to find out what it is.
I just wish they hadn't been so damn polite about it.
Melaka's sister had found the Senior Partners -- or at least, who I was hoping was the Senior Partners. The political consultation firm of Wolff, Rahman, Hart, and Ryan was too close not to think that the Partners had survived till now.
Which was a little discouraging, actually.
We waited until it was late to make our way into the Uppers. Harmony bitched the whole time, enough to almost make me leave her behind in the Warrens while Melaka and I went topside.
Speaking of Melaka, I can't get a read on her. Sometimes I think she's helping us because she can. Other times, it's as if she just doesn't trust us. I can't blame her on either count.
Once we were there, I wondered if the Partners would still have their anti-vampire spells or other mystical security precautions in place. After all, Melaka told me that until recently -- according to her "Watcher," Urkonn, anyway -- demonic activity was dormant on Earth.
About the time we were trying to figure out how to get inside, the doors opened.
That counts as an invitation to a vampire.
The lobby was dark when we walked in. Not a problem for two vampires and a Slayer. But there was a man standing alone in the lobby, waiting patiently as if he'd been standing there all day long, with an incredibly irritating smug smile just waiting to be wiped off his face.
He said his name was Christian Ryan, and that he and the "other" Partners had been expecting me.
That's usually never a good sign.
And I really didn't care for that smirk.
So I slugged him. And I told him that it didn't matter what kind of new face the Partners were showing in the 23rd century, and I didn't care who or what he was. He was going to do exactly what we said.
Besides, if this guy was really one of the Partners, it felt really good to finally knock the hell out of one of them.
And the bastard laughed. He laughed and said he had every intention of helping us, even before we arrived.
Even after getting bounced two hundred years into the future -- with Harmony, of all people -- having the Senior Partners volunteer to help was one of the last things I ever expected to hear.
Which, of course, made it all the more suspicious.
Ryan told us that an artifact was being "retrieved" that would help Harmony and I. When I asked where, he just smirked -- again -- and said it was coming from what we "remembered" as the West Coast.
Somehow, I don't want to know what he meant by that.
He also said we were free to stay there, in the "executive suites," for as long as it took for the artifact to arrive. Even Melaka -- and the look he gave her was pretty hard to ignore, so I'm guessing the presence of another Slayer didn't get by the Partners.
Harmony practically jumped at the idea -- "No more ick," she said. I think Melaka agreed in spite of her suspicions, just to get a decent meal and a shower.
I agreed for a different reason.
If the Partners want to help us, then they have a reason for getting Harmony and I back to the present. And their reasons for doing things have never been the most benevolent.
If there's a catch, I want to find out what it is.