[X] Take the deal on the table. It doesn't actually bind Buffy to anything, and the money could be a huge deal for defending the Hellmouth.
"So I just want to say, for real, don't be afraid to ask for help," Buffy was going over everything with Percy, and she didn't feel super great about the position she was putting him in.
If she'd had it her way, she would've spent Monday having a sleepy lie-in with Harmony instead of struggling into City Hall still half-exhausted for a long day of politics and meetings. Unfortunately, this would've led to all kinds of bad consequences, not just because there wasn't really anywhere to have said lie-in without blowing the secret but also because all the politics and meetings were important. This one probably more than any of them.
"But, if I understand what's going on right, that help would have a pretty expensive price tag?" Percy said uncertainly.
"Maybe. Probably," Buffy allowed. "But it's only money. Your life is important, and the people you're going to be fighting next to."
"That's a lot of money though," Percy said. Buffy almost felt like she was having this argument in reverse. Before she mustered another response, he continued, "Like, retroactive raises and equipment is a pretty huge deal. You didn't have to do that. Nobody was going to make you. And it's not like LA is where people are going to turn into giant snakes and the school is going to get sucked into hell. We'll be able to do it. It's not like you guys couldn't for the three years you worked alone."
"Willow got you Gunn's number right?" She hadn't had time to actually ask Gunn about it, but of course Willow had barely had to try to figure it out.
"Yeah, and I was talking to Harmony earlier, she thought those guys were pretty metal," Percy said. "Weird how when I signed up with USC I was worried about the gangs in South LA, and now, well-"
"He's a little prickly," Buffy said. "Be careful about, you know-"
Percy raised up his hands to ward off her worrying. "I got it. You get pretty good at stuff like that being team captain. Plus, with the 'spare parts' you're stocking us up on I feel like we'll be able to buy some goodwill to get started."
Buffy wasn't so sure Gunn was the type of guy he was used to corralling, but she'd have to leave that for him to figure out. "Well, anyway, we still have about two weeks. If you think of anything else you could use I'll get it massaged onto the paperwork, just ask." Paperwork massaging was a skill she was getting way too much experience in lately. As opposed to other more fun kinds of massaging.
Percy nodded, but as he got up to go, he stopped, with one more thing to say. "Some of the guys I played with weren't so hyped about the whole way the scholarship thing works. You know, there's bribery everywhere, the NCAA is pretty corrupt, it's all pretty slimy. What I always told them, is in the end you're getting a lot of money to do something you were probably going to do anyway." With those words of dubious wisdom, he left Buffy's office.
Even before the door shut though, Cynthia was there. "I didn't want to interrupt your meeting, but Carl Gervais is about to hold a live press conference. I've set up a television in the conference room." Buffy exchanged a troubled look with Percy, and both of them followed Cynthia there.
The conference room didn't usually sport a TV, and Wilkins hadn't believed in paying for cable on the city dime (not that the city had had the money for it until recently this summer anyway), but there was one of those little wheely tables with a TV on it, and the antenna on it was apparently good enough for reception. Everyone working at City Hall seemed to be there, not just Vanessa, Ian, and Anya but also a bunch of the other '99ers that had been hired on as lower level administrative staff months ago. They'd saved her a spot in the front, and Buffy took the seat, even though she was still a little uncomfortable about the … deference. At least she wouldn't have to struggle to see over the tall people or awkwardly stand in the back.
Carl had set up a podium at Maple Court, though the setup definitely wasn't as grand as it had been for the debate. Nevertheless, he'd apparently attracted or summoned enough media presence to get on TV, and even though it wasn't easy to tell from the camera angles there was at least a little bit of a crowd.
"Did he get all this set up today?" Buffy asked.
"Old money and family connections can do a lot, even without Wolfram and Hart backing him," Vanessa said from the seat next to Buffy. "And it wouldn't be like a Gervais to take something like this lying down. Backed into a corner like this, he'll probably turn into a real spitfire."
Before Buffy could continue the conversation, Carl walked up to the podium onscreen and the chatter of the TV crowd quieted. He still had the same smarmy-perfect politician look, but there was a seriousness to his expression that she hadn't seen him display before. "People of Sunnydale, I'm aware that there are several rumors circulating about my candidacy, Wolfram and Hart's involvement, and the race in general. I'm here to address them, because I think you have a right to know."
"First, the most pressing issue. Wolfram and Hart has pulled their support from my campaign, and scrapped the plans for expansion into Sunnydale." The crowd erupted into comments and Carl had to wait for them to quiet. He looked annoyed. "This is a terrible blow to the recovering economy of this city, but perhaps it's for the best that they showed their true stripes today. While they've cited everything from stock projections to poll numbers in this decision, the truth is something far more sinister. Buffy Summers wanted to sink my campaign, so she conspired with them to stab me in the back." While the first confirmation caused disquiet, this second revelation caused a huge disruption.
"Please, please, let me get all of this news out. It's vitally important to the future of Sunnydale, and we'll have time for questions at the end." As they settled down again, he continued, "You may think that such backroom dealings would be out of character for her, but in that you would be wrong. Against my better judgement, in the past months I have listened to advice from none other than Wolfram and Hart to stay quiet about Ms. Summers' disreputable past. I now see that I couldn't have been more wrong. There are some things the people need to know."
"At the tender age of 15, Buffy was going to Hemery High School in Los Angeles. Why didn't she graduate there? The gym was burned down, and multiple students died. Buffy was a principal suspect, but she was never charged.
"Just days later, Buffy's own parents had her involuntarily committed to a mental institution, doubtless terrified of what damage her criminal outbursts would cause next. If only she'd stayed there, but she was released weeks later. Buffy sure has a wonderful way of making sure consequences never stick for her.
"After fleeing to our fair city to escape the consequences of her actions, did Buffy clean up her act? No. Just a year and a half after the arson at Hemery, Buffy Summers was wanted for the murder of a foreign national, Kendra Young. But Buffy skipped town for a few months, and 'lo and behold, that went away too.
"In the last year, the pattern has only intensified. Does anyone really believe that Mayor Wilkins died at Graduation due to a gas explosion? That bands of armed teenagers are necessary to protect our town? That our 'police chief' Matt Waters is anything but her puppet? That the donations she's secured to fund the city are anything but dirty money?
"Don't let her brash teen act fool you. Buffy Summers is a criminal mastermind, and she's working with Vanessa Waters of all people to corrupt our fair city into her personal fiefdom. Bad blood leading to bad ends. Please, work with me to save Sunnydale from her!" He pounded down on the podium with his fist to put an exclamation point on his speech. Nobody said a word in the conference room around Buffy, but the crowd that had gathered in Maple Court erupted with questions.
One familiar blonde got pointed to first and handed a mike. Buffy vaguely recognized her as the girl from Carl's first campaign announcement over a month ago. "Katie Anderson, Hollywood Confidential! Buffy Summers has become a role model for young girls all over California. Do you have proof that she's the monster you say she is?"
Carl didn't seem thrilled with the question. "Unfortunately, as I've said, Buffy is very good at covering her tracks illegally, and she's lately acquired numerous powerful backers including not just Wolfram and Hart, but also Congressman Gold. I have my people overtime looking for any surviving records, but I believe they may have all been destroyed. I implore anyone with first hand accounts to come forward and expose her as a villain."
Another reporter got the mike next. "Kent Thompson, ABC News. If all the records of her supposed misbehavior have been destroyed, how do you even know about it in the first place?"
"As I've said," Carl answered. "She turned Wolfram and Hart against us. They'd uncovered the evidence of her record, but now that they're working with her it's inaccessible. Luckily, I was able to find out about it before they showed their true colors."
"Clayton Stone, CNN. Why would Wolfram and Hart give you this if they were supposedly conspiring with Buffy Summers?" Buffy was starting to see the mood of the crowd was pretty skeptical. It helped her calm down, but this was still nerve wracking.
"She must have blackmailed them somehow! Or coerced them! It's probably connected with the blackout their LA branch had last week! Her little hoodlum friends can probably hack into anything. They were even spying on me last week before the debate!"
After that, things got a little out of control, and the reservedness of the reporters started to collapse into outright disbelief. Carl never quite fully lost his composure, but he didn't manage to make what was more or less the truth sound very true. Buffy almost felt like she should feel bad, but she was mostly just relieved.
"That should be that with that," Vanessa crowed, a smile on her face.
"A lot of it was true though," Buffy whispered to her, still a little concerned.
"The truth doesn't matter in politics, dear. Just what people are willing to believe. And young Carl crossed over that line. The press won't forgive him."
"But I mean," Buffy struggled for words. "Aren't there rumors about me already? And like, what if he digs up my old classmates or something?"
"From the story you told me, I doubt many of the survivors will be willing to work with him. The police will disavow that you had any role in the death of Ms. Young from top to bottom, and the rest is completely unsubstantiated."
"Should I like, call a press conference of my own, or something?" Buffy asked.
"That would only legitimize him, Ms. Mayor." Vanessa said the title with a smirk. "Just let him burn himself out."
Buffy was nervous, but Vanessa had been tied into Carl's conspiracy theories too. She had as much to lose as she did. She'd take her advice and let things lie for a little while.
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It was another quiet night on the beach. Buffy could've maybe pushed on patrolling a little harder, but she'd had a pretty rough few days, and Harmony was still injured, even with vampire healing. The City Watch was out there anyway, and there were the radios in case of emergencies.
Going into the saltwater with bandages on probably wouldn't be the smartest idea, but they'd both gotten used to the spot and decided to hang out here anyway. It was too dark for a normal human to see well, sound was muffled by wind and waves, and most importantly it was totally abandoned. Buffy figured teenagers would make out here way more often if not for the terrible risk of death being out in a place like this after dark was in Sunnydale.
They were both in swimsuits even without much prospect of swimming. It was another convenient excuse. Buffy sat cross-legged in the sand, looking out over the dark water, she had Harmony laying down with her head in her lap. Couldn't put any unnecessary stress on her poor damaged stomach muscles, and they were all out of pillows.
Buffy was running her fingers through her silky hair, and they'd been silent for a while, but something made her ask the question that had been on her mind all day. "Do you think I did the right thing? With the Cease Fire?" She hadn't really phrased it that way with anyone else. Asking felt a little too much like admitting the answer might be no.
"They butted in and made you mad, so we went and beat them up until they gave us money to stop. Seems like the way things should be to me," Harmony said.
Buffy smiled and scratched at Harm's ear, knowing she was being a little facetious. But it was kind of reassuring. No big intimidating morality essays with Harmony. Things were simple. She knew where she stood. Good guys and bad guys.
"So are you going to buy anything fun with the money?" Harmony continued.
The question threw Buffy a little bit. "I mean, it's basically for the city, isn't it?"
"That's not what's on the checks," Harmony said.
"I mean, all the salaries went up, retroactive." Buffy said. "Yours too. We can all get fun things."
Harmony raised her eyebrows prettily. "But not a hundred grand a month kind of fun."
"Well," Buffy gave in, just a tiny little bit. "I've been wanting to get a motorcycle. It'd really be a work expense, as much as anything. So I can respond quickly to things, and stuff."
Harmony squeed and grabbed one of Buffy's arms excitedly. "It'll be so great! I'll be able to ride around behind you all close and hot, but it'll look totally innocent and nobody will know it's super sexy instead! Do you know what type you're going to get? Is it going to be a Harley?"
"I'm not sure," Buffy said, feigning a little calm, even though Harmony's excitement was contagious. "Maybe you can come help me pick one out?"
"Totally!" Harmony said. "Just another way you're way cooler than all my boyfriends from before. None of them even thought about getting a motorcycle." She kipped up to level with Buffy and kissed her spontaneously. Harmony was sure great for getting her mind off of scary serious things. She could barely even remember what any of them were with her tongue in her mouth.
Harmony was usually the one to initiate things, but she didn't ever push it to far. Nothing that would've got them more than a detention if they were caught in high school (well, maybe more than that from Snyder.) It was fun, but safe, and the balmy feeling of freedom was still there. Everything that had usually been missing from Buffy's scattered attempts at relationships in the past few years. It felt so very, very safe in fact, that Buffy thought that maybe tonight could have a little more of the fun and freedom. Harmony had gotten hurt trying to protect her after all.
So when Harmony moved her hand to rub over her top, Buffy took her wrist and pulled it lower. Harmony was disappointed for a moment, until it was clear that the destination was the other article of clothing Buffy was wearing. It took very little additional prodding from Buffy to escalate things from there towards a satisfactory conclusion. The beach was really a wonderful place at night.
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Next time, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3.5 is coming to an end, and the election on August 31st isn't far away, but there are still more mysteries afoot than you can shake a stick at. A revelation of some kind is coming due, but what about?
Choose one mystery: either something Buffy doesn't know about which the readers suspect is lurking around the corner, or something suspicious that not even the readers understand. The mystery could be based around a character's behavior (or in some cases, location), it could be the aims or existence of an organization, or it could be about something as remote as setting specific lore. The episode isn't guaranteed to solve the mystery completely, but it'll be put on center stage and have a large impact. The episode after this next one will (probably) be the season finale.
Brainstorm possibilities and/or write-in votes. If a clear consensus does not emerge there may be a runoff round with structured choices taken from the brainstorming.
As an example, if this kind of vote had been open early in the season, "How is Cordelia doing in LA?" would've been a valid mystery to ask about. Note that this is a
metavote, so the observer affects the observed; in some cases the mystery could fling itself onto center stage, even if the timeline of events in the background might not have otherwise supported it. To continue the example, had that counterfactual vote occurred after episode 1 Cordelia may have run into some troubles even earlier than she did this season, in such a way that Buffy was alerted to them and had reason to go and investigate.
