Chapter 22: The Demonstration
Starfox5
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Chapter 22: The Demonstration
Montego Bay, Jamaica, January 8th, 2008
The Buccaneer Bar was a stark contrast to the Pirate's Eye Bar. A blinking neon sign hung over the entrance, but the interior was far darker, the music louder, and the decor more garish. And the bouncer looked as if he had been brought up on a strict diet of steroids, in Chuck's opinion. Or, he added to himself as he noticed Caridad's scowl, probably whatever demons ate to grow up.
"Vampire?" he whispered?
"Not human," she whispered back.
Chuck didn't think Zabuto would have let a vampire work as a bouncer. Unless he had gone off the deep end. But even a demon bouncer was bad news. Usually. On the other hand, not every demon was a threat to humans. Just the vast majority of them. And bouncer was an often violent profession. Although most demons would be unlikely to control themselves in such a position, and that would have caused trouble with the authorities, so perhaps this bouncer could control himself…
"Keep on your guard," Sarah said, "but don't start anything. Not yet."
Casey grunted in apparent agreement, and Caridad scoffed but didn't disagree. Chuck had no intention of starting anything anyway. There were too many civilians - it looked like the bar was a tourist trap. Possibly literally, he added with a shudder.
"We just walk in? And if they try something, we take them down, hard?" Casey asked.
"Yes," Caridad replied.
The agent nodded. "Fine by me."
Chuck exchanged a glance with Sarah, then they were off towards the bar. Chuck couldn't help feeling like John Wayne crossing the street to enter a saloon where the black hats were hanging out. Well, not John Wayne - probably his young sidekick. Not Sinatra, though.
The bouncer looked them over, but nodded - apparently, their tourist disguises worked. Though the man's toothy grin… well, perhaps he had mistaken Caridad's stare for interest. Of the wrong kind.
Inside, the music - quite generic hits, from what Chuck could tell - made conversation difficult. And the packed dance floor combined with the dim lighting made for ideal hunting grounds for vampires and other demons. At least the tribal mask from West Africa didn't seem to be a cheap copy. He looked at Caridad, who was scowling as she glanced around. "More threats?"
"Don't know. But I don't like it. Something's wrong."
They skirted the dance floor and reached the bar. Chuck whistled at the prices listed. Tourist trap, indeed - these prices would have been outrageous even in Downtown Los Angeles. Or in Las Vegas.
Yet the bar was busy. Three bartenders barely kept up with the orders. And the drinks listed below the tribal mask did seem appealing. Yes, they should try out one. Or more. If people paid that much, the drinks had to be worth it… "I think I'll take a Bloody Mary," he said, picking a drink at random.
"Screwdriver for me," Casey said.
"Cosmopolitan," Sarah added.
"Damn! It's a spell!" Caridad exclaimed. "You're under a spell!"
"What?" That was stupid. Chuck wasn't under a spell. He just wanted to buy a good drink. He could afford it, anyway, so why not? He was on vacation, after all! Time to indulge!
"You're under a spell!" Caridad repeated. "Everyone here is!"
"That would mean you were under a spell as well," Chuck pointed out. "But you're the one claiming we're under a spell."
"Because I am the Slayer. And you are under a spell!"
"No, we aren't," Casey grumbled. "We just want to get a drink or two."
"And if you continue making a scene, we won't get a drink," Chuck told her. "Because they'll throw us out."
He saw Caridad flash her teeth in a vicious smile a moment before she pushed him with enough force to make him fall on the table behind them. Then she picked up a chair as screaming tourists scattered and threw it at the tribal mask, breaking it.
Chuck was blinking. Why had he wanted to buy an overpriced drink? And a Bloody Mary - he didn't like tomato juice or vodka! "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "We were under a spell!"
And, as he realised, they were now the centre of attention in the bar. Damn!
The demon-bouncer was wading through the patrons backing off - and fleeing - from the brewing fight, coming towards them, and two more bulky men were on the way from behind the bar. Caridad broke off two table legs and swung them around in a flashy move, grinning in anticipation.
And Casey and Sarah had drawn their guns - which caused even the drunk tourists - and there were a lot of them - to start running. And screaming.
In less than a minute, the bar was empty but for the staff, Chuck's group, and half a dozen people who had apparently drunk themselves into a stupor.
"So, who wants to get slayed first?" Caridad snarled with a feral grin.
But before the demons could charge - or Caridad pick a target - a voice interrupted them.
"What's going on here?"
A woman stood there, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and decked out in jewellery. Glowing jewellery.
"She's a witch," Caridad confirmed Chuck's guess.
"Who are you and why are you attacking me?"
"We didn't attack you; you attacked us," Caridad spat. "You charmed my friends! And you consort with demons!"
"What?" The woman - the witch - narrowed her eyes. "I don't consort with demons!"
Chuck cleared his throat. "Uh… She didn't mean it that way, I think. But we were affected by the spell on the mask."
"Mind-controlled into buying drinks," Casey spat.
"Yeah!" Caridad yelled. "And that's an attack!"
"You're a Slayer," the witch stated. But she was glancing around, Chuck noticed. Probably estimating her odds.
"You bet your ass I am!" Caridad said. "And you're going down!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chuck stepped up. "Hold it - please." He wasn't very keen on fighting a witch. He didn't want to be turned into a rat. Or see any of his friends suffer that fate. "We didn't come here to fight you," he told the witch.
"Really." The witch didn't sound as if she believed them. But she didn't seem to be as confident any more. And neither did the demons.
"We came to fight vampires!" Caridad said. "But I'll take other demons as well!"
"We don't tolerate vampires in my bar," the woman replied.
"Because you want all the spelt tourists for yourself!" Caridad retorted.
Damn. The Slayer looked like she was spoiling for a fight. Well, more than usual. Chuck licked his lips. "Uh… I have to say, using magic to sell drinks is a little…cheating?" he shrugged.
"It's an effective form of advertising. People come here to drink and dance. I merely encourage their intentions."
"Bullshit!" Casey snapped. "I didn't come here to have a drink."
"Why then did you come?"
Chuck looked around. They were still caught between the bouncer behind them, and two demons and the witch in front of them. Not great odds, but not too bad either. But he didn't really want to fight.
"We were told this bar was a hunting ground for vampires," Sarah told the woman, speaking up for the first time.
"What? Who said… Dixon!" The woman shook her head. "I bet it was him."
"Jim Dixon?" Chuck checked.
"Yes. I taught him a lesson, and he carries a grudge."
"A lesson?" Chuck repeated.
"That his gang better leave me and mine alone." She bared her teeth as she spoke.
Ah. That would fit Casey's theory. On the other hand, the witch was putting the mind-whammy on tourists and employed demons. Or half-demons. Not exactly the deeds of a pillar of the local community. Well, mostly the spells. Not all demons were bad, after all. And, well, tourists had to expect to get fleeced, didn't they? "And you don't let vampires into the bar?"
"I like repeat customers," she said.
"Charmed to return?" Sarah asked in a flat tone.
Uh oh. She was madder than Chuck had expected. Of course - this had been the first time she had been affected by a mind-controlling spell!
"No need. People like what my bar has to offer."
Caridad scoffed. "You mean they think the drinks are worth the money thanks to your spell, and so they keep coming back!"
The witch spread her hands with a grin. "Just trying to earn my share of the tourist money."
Chuck snorted at that. Well, it wasn't exactly wrong.
"With dark magic!" Caridad shook her head. "You've been manipulating people! And you're doing it again!" With a snarl, she flung two throwing spikes at the witch, though both were stopped by a sort of barrier.
And Chuck blinked. What? Why had he thought it was OK to put spells on tourists? The Scoobies had told him that mind-controlling magic was of the über-bad! "She put another spell on us!" he yelled.
But Caridad was already moving, charging straight at the witch with a short sword she had drawn from… somewhere. A demon tried to block her path, but the Slayer jumped over him, blade flashing, and sent his head flying.
"Chuck! Watch out!"
Sarah! Chuck turned, then gasped - the bouncer was coming right at him! He blinked.
The man was coming right at him - perfect for a throw! Chuck ducked under the arms grasping for him, grabbed one arm and pushed his hip out.
He must have miscalculated, though, since the impact didn't just send his attacker flying - straight into a pillar - but also threw Chuck to the side and away. Chuck didn't go down, though - he slid a yard back over the dancing floor, falling into a modified Krav Maga-stance. One down… no, the man was getting up.
Gritting his teeth, Chuck went on the offensive before the man could fully recover from his fall. He took a few steps, speeding up, then jumped, his foot hitting the man in the face, breaking his nose and sending him down on the ground. Chuck landed in a crouch, then stepped forward, kicking the man in the temple. Down.
Or not - a hand grabbed his ankle, and before Chuck could react, he lost his balance and crashed to the ground himself. A moment later, his enemy pounced, going for Chuck's throat.
But that meant he had released Chuck's foot. He rolled to the side, avoiding the man's attempt to pin him, and jumped to his feet in a kip-up motion, then slid to the side, dodging the next attack.
Unbalanced by that, the bouncer crashed into another table, breaking it, and rolled into the chairs behind it. Chuck used the opportunity and grabbed a chair to the side, breaking it over the man's head. Green blood?
He blinked.
That allowed his opponent to recover and get up, and throw a broken chair at him with surprising force. Chuck dodged that by dropping to the floor, following up with a leg sweep. He grabbed a chair leg as the man crashed to the ground, then smashed it against the bouncer's head. Until the man finally stopped moving.
So much green… liquid. Blood.
He blinked.
"Chuck!"
Sarah! "Yes?" he turned. Oh. Sarah and Casey had killed the other demon, and Caridad…
"The witch ran," Sarah said. "Are you OK?"
"Uh, yes. I think. Demon blood! Had he gotten demon blood on himself? That could have bad effects. He quickly checked himself No green stains. Or not many. "Where did they run off?"
"Backroom," Casey replied. The agent was at the door, peering into the room from which the witch had come. "Don't see them… there's a trapdoor."
As if on cue, the entire building suddenly shook. Earthquake! Chuck thought as he struggled to keep standing.
Then he heard the roar. From below.
"What was that?" Sarah asked.
"Uh…" Chuck swallowed. "Something big and dangerous."
"Thank you, Sherlock." Casey flashed his teeth at Chuck in a grimace, then entered the backroom.
He wasn't a Watcher! He couldn't identify monsters by sound! Chuck doubted that anyone could. Not unless they had heard this monster before. It wasn't as if there was a huge library of demon sound files.At least he didn't know about one.
"Come on, she might need help!" Casey was already at the trapdoor when Chuck and Sarah entered the room. They ran after him, down the narrow stairs.
They passed through a surprisingly - or not so surprisingly - large basement filled with beer casks, wine and liquor bottles, snack food and assorted junk, through another door - and there was Caridad, fighting a huge worm. Worm-like demon, Chuck corrected himself - the thing was about fifteen feet long, and three feet thick - it was hard to tell in the dim light shining from strange, glowing plants. But Chuck clearly could see that most of the demon's head was made out of teeth. Sharp, jagged teeth that barely missed Caridad as she sliced into the thing's flank, then jumped away.
Sarah and Casey started shooting, but the bullets didn't seem to hurt the thing, so they stopped after a few shots.
"What can we do?" Casey asked.
Good question. Chuck had no idea. Attacking it with blades or clubs was out - Caridad had trouble keeping up with the monster and was bleeding from several wounds already. Anyone else would have been a monster-snack by now.
Chuck looked around. The floor was covered with mushrooms - or something like them. Several tunnels seemed to lead further away - and down. And there were baskets full of mushrooms at the back, but no sign of… He noticed a reddish smear on the ground, then saw what was left of the witch behind the broken remains of a particularly tall plant.
He was definitely not going to go near that monster - Chuck didn't want to end up squished. But they had to do something! Fire! If they couldn't behead a demon, setting it on fire was the next default tactic. "Come on, guys! Let's get some Molotov cocktails!" he yelled, turning back to the storage room. He remembered seeing a jerry can of gasoline on the way through.
"Hold on a little longer!" he yelled as they rushed back. "We'll be right back!"
Caridad didn't answer, which was a bad sign. Either she had to focus so much on fighting, she couldn't afford to quip, or she was fixated on her enemy. They had to hurry.
Both Casey and Sarah had passed him, and when Chuck reached them, Casey was already emptying bottles for Sarah to fill with gasoline. "Find some rags!" Casey yelled. "What a waste of booze!"
Rags. Rags. Rags! There! Chuck grabbed some towels and rushed to Sarah. She ripped them up, then soaked them in gasoline.
And then they were rushing back, each of them carrying two or three Molotov cocktails. Caridad looked worse when they arrived - she was bleeding heavily from one of her arms - but she was still going at the demon with all she had.
"Fall back!" Chuck yelled.
The Slayer didn't react. Instead, she went in low, slashing at the thing's belly. And got almost crushed before she rolled to the side.
But that was the opening they needed. Two burning bottles smashed into the demon's head, followed by Chuck's bottle. With an inhuman shriek, the monster reared up, hitting the ceiling, which shook the earth again. Two more bottles flew. Chuck was about to throw his second when it was ripped out of his hands. Caridad was there. Baring her teeth in a feral snarl, she launched the bottle herself, straight into the demon's mouth.
The shrieks grew loud enough to hurt, and the worm started thrashing on the ground, setting the plants ablaze and causing the entire cave to shake.
Chuck looked at the others with wide eyes. "Uh…"
"Run!"
"Run!" Sarah barely heard herself over the deafening shrieks of the burning, thrashing demon. But everyone was already running towards the door leading to the bar's normal basement. She stumbled a little when the ground suddenly shook particularly violently but kept her balance. Chuck, though, slipped and fell in front of her, catching himself on his hands.
She gasped, then coughed from the smoke rapidly filling the room as she moved to help him, but Caridad was there already, hoisting Chuck up as if he weighed nothing.
Relief warred with envy as Sarah kept running after the Slayer and Casey. She coughed again, worried - who knew what the smoke from the burning plants would do to a human inhaling it? Nothing good, she thought. But she couldn't hold her breath so long and run at full speed.
Behind her, something crashed to the ground. Not the worm - parts of the cave's ceiling, she realised with a glance over her shoulder. And another part hit the ground, causing more tremors as they entered the bar's actual basement.
Her eyes widened a little when she spotted the number of broken liquor bottles on the ground. Strong liquor. Flowing towards the cave…
She turned. She had to close the door behind them, or the whole basement would go up. But the smoke was already filling the tunnel and entering the basement, obscuring her view. Definitely not natural. She didn't let that stop her, though, slamming the door shut in the face of approaching flames. And tried not to breathe too many fumes. Now… she turned and stumbled after the others.
"Sarah!"
That was Chuck - being carried up the stairs. She gritted her teeth and went after him. Hoping there wouldn't be too many alcohol fumes. She was already feeling lightheaded, and if not for the railings, would have fallen on the stairs - and probably tumbled to her death.
"Sarah!"
"Oh hell! Run, Chuck!"
Someone - Caridad - grabbed her belt and a moment later, she was hoisted on a shoulder, almost knocking her head against the stairway as she was carried upstairs.
"Run! Run!"
From her position, she could see the flickering light cast by flames appearing behind her as they rushed out of the backroom, towards the bar's doors.
"I'm running!"
Then they were through the door, out in the street, and Sarah found herself dumped on Chuck, who stumbled on her weight. "Here!"
By the time Chuck had managed to put Sarah down on her own swaying feet, Caridad had already rushed back into the bar. What was the Slayer… Oh. The drunks left behind. "We need to help her," Sarah mumbled. But her legs didn't cooperate. And neither did Chuck's. Casey managed to get to the bar's entrance, probably on sheer spite and pride, then was almost bowled over by a body hitting him.
As Casey stumbled back, dragging the drunk with him, Sarah realised they were surrounded by a crowd. Of course - the earthquake would have had sent everyone in the area out of the buildings! She really should have expected that! She giggled - she was being silly.
"Sarah?"
"Hm?" She snorted again when she saw Casey drop the drunk in the middle of the street. Oh, the flames had reached the bar, or so it seemed - the flickering light was growing stronger in the back.
"Fire! The bar's on fire!" someone yelled from the crowd.
They were slow too. Sarah giggled again. She should sit down and watch the fire. Oh, she was sitting already. Heh! Funny!
The Slayer appeared in the door once more, throwing two bodies into the street, then disappeared again. Drunk tossing!
"Sarah?"
"Chuck?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. Yes. It's just funny."
Caridad reappeared, carrying two more drunks. She didn't toss them, though, to Sarah's disappointment, but carried them out into the street. Feh.
But then the bar blew up, like a firework, and Sarah clapped. Pretty!
Chuck clapped as well. Only Casey didn't, of course. And Caridad. Probably mad she hadn't been able to personally kill the monster.
Feh. Sarah leaned against Chuck, who was sitting now, too, and rested her head on his shoulder. She was feeling rather tired, and Chuck made for a good pillow.
Montego Bay, Jamaica, January 9th, 2008
Sarah woke up with a splitting headache. Just how much had she drunk last night? Then she remembered. The meeting with Jim. The bar. The spell. The witch and the demon. She hadn't drunk anything.
But she had inhaled the smoke from burning mushrooms - and burning demon, probably. Oh, damn!
She closed her eyes and groaned. She was in their hotel room, but where was Chuck? "Chuck?" She had to cough - her throat hurt, too.
"Sarah? Did I wake you?"
There he was, standing in the door to the bathroom. "No, you didn't." She shook her head, but that made the headache worse.
"You inhaled the most of the smoke, I think," Chuck said. "You were pretty, uh…"
"Stoned," she finished for him.
"Uh, yes." He nodded. "Morgan says the mushrooms are like weed, just stronger. We didn't get a sample, but we could describe them for him. And we checked with London."
That was good news. "No lasting effects then?" Chuck and Grimes had had some stories about those. Stories which were not really funny once you thought about it happening to yourself.
He shook his head as he sat down on the bed next to her. "Not as far as we know. It seems as if the witch wasn't just selling overpriced drinks, but also special 'weed' laced with demon mushrooms."
"Ah." She pursed her lips. First Sarah had been magically mind-controlled, then drugged. If the witch hadn't been killed already, Sarah would go and hunt her down herself. She frowned at another thought. "I didn't do anything that… compromised our cover, did I?" Or Anything embarrassing.
"Uh… no. You just wanted to use me as a pillow. In the middle of the street," he told her with a lopsided smile. "It was cute."
She snorted. Of course Chuck would think so. It was still embarrassing. And even if it could have been much worse, she wouldn't let this go. Couldn't. "We need to pay another visit to Jim." He had sent them there, after all.
Chuck nodded. "Yes, we do."
"Did you notice the earthquake?" Bane asked at breakfast. "They say it was very localised; limited to parts of the town. It sounds more as if someone used explosives underground. A bar burned down as well."
"It was a drug lab," Casey said. "It went up while we were sorting out a misunderstanding."
Technically correct, Chuck thought.
"A misunderstanding?" Bane's eyebrows rose.
"We were given faulty intel by a local source," Chuck explained. "Someone might have tried to use us to deal with their competition."
"That's an old trick," Bane commented. "That's why you always double-check your intel."
"That's not always possible," Chuck pointed out.
"We were scouting the place out when we were attacked," Sarah said. "We just defended ourselves."
"They had drugged the drinks," Chuck added.
"What? Is our cover compromised?" Bane looked alarmed.
"No," Caridad said between emptying a huge platter from the breakfast buffet. "They didn't know who we are or they wouldn't have dared to attack us." She grabbed a pot of coffee and refilled her mug for the third or fourth time.
"Really." Bane didn't seem convinced. "They will expect retaliation, though."
"Won't help them," Caridad replied.
"We might need to talk to our, err, mutual contact, though," Morgan pointed out. "This might be another misunderstanding."
Sarah scoffed. "I don't think so. They must have known what was happening in this bar."
Chuck agreed, but it would be better to check with Zabuto anyway. Before he could say so, though, Casey spoke up: "We don't want to give them another warning. Let's just hit the scumbag and find out what he planned."
"Uh…" Chuck grimaced. "We're not about to torture him? I'm bad with torture. I mean, I feel bad about it. I mean, about doing it to someone, too. Not just about getting tortured."
"We get it, Bartowski." Casey scoffed. "Don't worry - you can go and play some games in the arcade while we ask the questions."
"There's an arcade here?" Morgan perked up. "Where? It's been ages since I was in a good arcade!"
Now that he thought of it, Chuck hadn't been to an arcade in years, either. Perhaps…
"I don't know, and I don't care," Casey said, baring his teeth. "It was just a figure of speech."
"Oh." Morgan sounded disappointed.
"So… we go and hit the guy? I mean, go and ask him a few questions about not telling us all we need to know?" Caridad asked. A little too eagerly, in Chuck's opinion. This could have been a mere misunderstanding or faulty intelligence on Jim's part.
"Exactly," Sarah answered with a fierce smile.
Chuck winced. If Sarah and Caridad agreed on a course of action, things were bound to turn violent.
"I can check the location out," Bane offered. "He hasn't met me, yet."
"He'll know that you're with us," Sarah told her. "We arrived together."
"A mistake, in hindsight," Bane said after a moment.
"It would have been more suspicious to arrive separately and then quickly become close friends here," Sarah retorted.
Chuck wouldn't call them 'close friends', though. Anything but, what with the tension between Casey and Caridad and Sarah and Bane. And Caridad and Sarah didn't get along perfectly well, either. And Casey was quite abrasive…
He snorted. Where team dynamics were concerned, Team Bartowski was one of a kind.
"What's so funny?" Casey asked with narrowed eyes.
"Uh, nothing, nothing. Just a stray thought. A real stray thought, you know, not a flash," Chuck quickly explained. "Uh, so… how do we do it? If he's not at the bar, we'll have to find him."
"He might be in hiding already," Caridad said. "He's must know that we won't take this lying down."
"They know him at the bar. They'll tell us his address." Casey grinned.
"Uh…" Chuck grimaced. "But won't he expect that? He won't be at home, will he? And you still have another mission, right?" he reminded Caridad.
"Right," she agreed - though with a pout.
"Well, he used the bar as a meeting spot. If he has gone to ground, then we can at least make trouble for him there," Sarah said.
"And if we can always come back and settle things," Caridad added.
It seemed both spies and Slayers held grudges.
Although… Jim was a contact of Zabuto. If Jim wasn't trustworthy, then Zabuto probably wasn't either. And that would interest the Council. He forced himself to smile. "So… tonight, we hunt?"
Instead of laughing, everyone nodded. Even Morgan.
"...though results are not to be expected quickly."
Hearing the news on the radio about a team of geologists investigating the 'localised earthquake' and driving past several buildings where people were fixing small damages, Chuck felt guilty. A lot of people had to deal with the aftermath of the battle against that demon worm. The ones whose homes had suffered some damages were actually better off - they could fix it - but the geologists were on a fool's errand; even if they managed to discover the actual reason for the 'earthquake', the Council would cover it up. Which would mean more work for the Council. Well, they would already have to deal with the police investigation of the fire. Unless the witch had paid off the local cops, that would require intervening - the local authorities wouldn't miss the underground cave system once the rubble had been cleared enough to gain access to the basement.
Well, Chuck and his friends and allies hadn't known about the demon when they visited the bar, had they? It wasn't really their fault, was it? The ones at fault were the now-dead witch, her equally dead demon minions - and, should he have known about it, Jim Dixon.
Whom they were about to visit in the evening. But first, they had to scout out a good spot for a demonstration with a vampire. It wouldn't do to catch a vampire without having a safe and secluded place ready. In Los Angeles, they, especially Caridad, knew their way around. There, they'd be able to improvise even in an alley. But here? In a tourist trap?
He winced at his choice of words, even if he hadn't actually said them out loud. They had just burned down a literal tourist trap, after all.
"Chuck? Is something wrong?" Sarah asked. She sounded tense.
Oh. "Just thinking," he told her, "about the aftermath of the 'earthquake'. The Council will be covering it up."
"Will they be annoyed about having to send more people to the island just after they had a courier come pick up the artefacts?" Sarah asked as she took another corner.
"I don't think so. This is pretty routine, after all. Usually, the local Wachter would be handling this, but since they don't have a local Watcher in Jamaica…" He shrugged. Someone familiar with the Caribbean would do it, he thought. "They might let Zabuto handle it."
"Even though his local 'friends' might be responsible?"
"Well… keeping the supernatural secret is something even demons support. Most of them, at least. But I think that the Council won't trust Zabuto as much as they had until now. Once they receive Morgan's report, at least."
"Do you think they'll ask us to investigate him?"
"Zabuto? Hm." Chuck pursed his lips as he considered this. It would make sense, but did the Council trust them enough to set them on such a task? Caridad would be trusted, but she wasn't exactly an investigator or auditor, and Morgan was still in training. But… "They might ask Morgan to investigate, knowing it would involve us as well, I think."
"Ah." Sarah didn't sound pleased hearing about such machinations.
"We could consider it a test?" Chuck ventured.
Sarah nodded, though Chuck had the impression that she was more motivated by dealing out some payback for the whole affair than anything else. "So… see any useful warehouse?" he said after a moment. They had left the area affected by the tremors, and the tourist zones as well.
"A few, but we'll have to check them out," Sarah replied, nodding towards a cluster of buildings ahead of them. "An isolated place outside the town might be better," she said.
Chuck nodded. Caridad was checking out the countryside, under the guise of doing some bicycling in the area, but she hadn't reported back yet.
So, they had to check out warehouses. Chuck hoped they weren't too successful and found a deserted one that had already been taken over by a few vampires or demons. It was the middle of the day, but that didn't mean such an encounter would be safe.
As it had turned out, the warehouses weren't quite deserted. Just not used very much. But there were security guards patrolling. Fortunately, they had readily believed that Sarah and Chuck had merely gotten lost on the way to a beach. But they couldn't use the warehouses for a demonstration. And since Caridad hadn't found a secluded spot close enough to Montego Bay to drag a vamp there on foot, they would have to trust that they could find a deserted side alley for a demonstration. Which was what they were doing now.
Chuck shook his head as he and Sarah walked with the rest of the group through the harbour area of Montego Bay, mixing with a throng of tourists out to enjoy the nightlife. At least Casey would be able to scare off any passers-by - the man was constantly scowling, it seemed. Not exactly like a tourist would behave on vacation, in Chuck's opinion. Not that he'd mention that to the agent, of course.
"Where are we going?" Bane asked from the rear - Morgan was still on crutches but didn't want to miss out on this. 'As the only Watcher available, I should be present', he had claimed, though Chuck suspected his friend mostly wanted to be there when Bane found out about demons.
"I've heard about a great club," Caridad, leading them, said. "It should be around here, somewhere."
"You said that ten minutes ago," Bane replied. "Can't we ask for directions?"
"No," Caridad told her. "I'm sure it's right…" She trailed off, and Chuck could see her grin widen. "Gotcha!"
And the Slayer sped away - towards a dark side alley.
Chuck almost groaned as they gave chase - sort of. Unlike the Slayer, they had more trouble pushing through the crowd on the street; they weren't supernaturally fast and graceful, nor did people give way to them almost instinctively. Well, Casey probably could come close.
"Let's go!" he heard Morgan behind him.
"What? You can't fight like this!" Bane objected.
"I won't have to, trust me."
The Chuck was at the alley's entrance, looking into it. It was very dark - a twisting turn ensured that you couldn't see much of it from the main street. If Caridad hadn't entered first, he wouldn't like to go down this alley. Well, he didn't like it anyway, but it was - probably - safe.
Sarah pushed past him, taking the lead as they entered the alley, Casey falling back. "I'll keep this end clear," he said.
The sounds from the street faded slightly after the first twisting turn. In exchange, Chuck could hear the sounds of fighting. And taunting.
"Oh, did that hurt? As much as this, or not?"
"Bitch!"
"Oh, I'm hurt! Not!"
"Ow!"
"No running! I need you… yes, keep that face!"
Sarah drew her pistol a moment before someone appeared in front of them, stumbling. Oh, a tourist, probably drunk. He didn't seem to be hurt - Chuck couldn't see blood, at least - but was obviously terrified. "Mo-monster!" he stammered, reaching for Chuck.
"Ah…" Chuck took a step back. He didn't want to deal with a drunk vampire victim. Or demon victim. But probably vampire.
"Run!" Sarah snapped.
The man blinked, then ran. Or tried to. It was more like a fast stumble. But it got him away, and Chuck and Sarah continued.
Another turn - Montego Bay's long history was showing here - they reached Caridad and her enemy. Or victim. The Slayer had a vampire in game face on the ground, one foot on its back. The demon's arms and legs were broken - even a vampire's limbs didn't bend that way.
"There you are! Where's Bane?"
"She'll be right here," Chuck said. "Morgan can't run." Which Caridad should have known.
She huffed for some reason, then slammed her heel on the vampire's hand. Chuck winced at the sound of crunching bones. It was just a corpse possessed by a demon, he reminded himself as he started to pull a few sticks, a couple vials and a decently-sized mirror out of his pack. And a lamp. They would need light for the demonstration, after all.
Chuck hoped that if the alley was secluded enough for a vampire feeding, it would be secluded enough for a vampire killing.
"Ah, there we are!" Morgan had arrived. "Sorry guys - that idiot almost tackled me."
"What are you doing?" Bane asked. She stepped closer, a frown on her face. "And who is this?"
"Not who, what," Caridad replied with a grin as she, once more, broke the vampire's arms.
"It's a vampire," Chuck said. "It tried to eat the drunk guy you saw."
"A vampire." Bane didn't quite scoff, but it was clear she didn't believe him. "Really."
Well, they never did. Which was why Chuck had brought so many things to prove his claim. Even though it was usually the mirror check that convinced people that this wasn't a trick.
He bet Bane would insist on using her own mirror before she was convinced, though.
As Chuck had expected, the cross and holy water hadn't been enough, nor the way the demon healed its wounds. It had taken the mirror. Bane's own mirror, to be exact. And she had double-checked it for any sign of tampering before she had finally accepted that this wasn't a trick played on her.
"Vampires exist."
"And we hunt them! Well, I do. The rest is helping." Caridad said as she staked what was left of the vampire.
"Demons exist."
"Only as long as they behave, or we destroy them!"
"Magic is real."
"And a bitch to fight!"
Chuck couldn't help thinking that Bane wasn't really listening to Caridad's replies. He cleared his throat. "Yes. Now you know what the Council's doing. They're fighting a global war on demons and other threats to humanity as a whole." Putting it in familiar terms would hopefully help.
"And we're winning!" Caridad announced.
"That's…" Bane blinked. "Those were real zombies!" She stared at them. "That wasn't a twin - that was a zombie!"
"Yes. A magic-using zombie, we believe," Morgan said. "Who controlled the rest."
"And he had demons as bodyguards," Caridad added.
"And what... who are you?" Bane looked at the Slayer. "You're inhumanly strong and fast."
"Hey! I'm human. Just a little better. Well, a lot."
"She's a Vampire Slayer," Morgan interrupted Caridad. "Chosen by fate to fight demons. Empowered by a great power many millennia ago, Slayers have been fighting the forces of darkness forever. As soon as one falls, another is called." Morgan's delivery could use some work, Chuck thought. But it was essentially correct.
"Well, only until we changed the rules!" Caridad cut in. "Now there's an army of us, and we're cleaning house!"
"An army?" Bane looked alarmed.
"A strictly neutral army," Chuck pointed out. Best to nip whatever Bane was thinking into the bud. "The Council's not getting involved in politics of any kind."
"Not unless demons are involved," Caridad said. "We're like the UN of the Supernatural. Just not useless."
That was a slightly unfortunate comparison, in Chuck's opinion. The UN did get involved in politics - or would like to if it had the power.
Bane shook her head. "So, that 'misunderstanding' last night…?"
"A witch was using magic to make tourists buy overpriced drinks in her bar," Caridad said. "And when I took offence to that, she ran to her demon patron. The earthquake? That was the thing thrashing around as it died in its cave."
"What?"
"Oh, don't worry - it was a normal demon, just larger than normal. Not a real apocalypse. We already stopped one this season." The Slayer smiled.
"Apocalypse?"
Uh oh. Chuck winced. Perhaps they should have planned out these revelations a little better.
"Attempts to end the world, or destroy a city or so," Morgan explained. There are usually one or two per year. We prevented Los Angeles from being buried under demon slime with the Council last month."
"Demon slime? Los Angeles? What is going on here?"
Chuck sighed. They never took that part well.
Montego Bay, Jamaica, January 8th, 2008
The Buccaneer Bar was a stark contrast to the Pirate's Eye Bar. A blinking neon sign hung over the entrance, but the interior was far darker, the music louder, and the decor more garish. And the bouncer looked as if he had been brought up on a strict diet of steroids, in Chuck's opinion. Or, he added to himself as he noticed Caridad's scowl, probably whatever demons ate to grow up.
"Vampire?" he whispered?
"Not human," she whispered back.
Chuck didn't think Zabuto would have let a vampire work as a bouncer. Unless he had gone off the deep end. But even a demon bouncer was bad news. Usually. On the other hand, not every demon was a threat to humans. Just the vast majority of them. And bouncer was an often violent profession. Although most demons would be unlikely to control themselves in such a position, and that would have caused trouble with the authorities, so perhaps this bouncer could control himself…
"Keep on your guard," Sarah said, "but don't start anything. Not yet."
Casey grunted in apparent agreement, and Caridad scoffed but didn't disagree. Chuck had no intention of starting anything anyway. There were too many civilians - it looked like the bar was a tourist trap. Possibly literally, he added with a shudder.
"We just walk in? And if they try something, we take them down, hard?" Casey asked.
"Yes," Caridad replied.
The agent nodded. "Fine by me."
Chuck exchanged a glance with Sarah, then they were off towards the bar. Chuck couldn't help feeling like John Wayne crossing the street to enter a saloon where the black hats were hanging out. Well, not John Wayne - probably his young sidekick. Not Sinatra, though.
The bouncer looked them over, but nodded - apparently, their tourist disguises worked. Though the man's toothy grin… well, perhaps he had mistaken Caridad's stare for interest. Of the wrong kind.
Inside, the music - quite generic hits, from what Chuck could tell - made conversation difficult. And the packed dance floor combined with the dim lighting made for ideal hunting grounds for vampires and other demons. At least the tribal mask from West Africa didn't seem to be a cheap copy. He looked at Caridad, who was scowling as she glanced around. "More threats?"
"Don't know. But I don't like it. Something's wrong."
They skirted the dance floor and reached the bar. Chuck whistled at the prices listed. Tourist trap, indeed - these prices would have been outrageous even in Downtown Los Angeles. Or in Las Vegas.
Yet the bar was busy. Three bartenders barely kept up with the orders. And the drinks listed below the tribal mask did seem appealing. Yes, they should try out one. Or more. If people paid that much, the drinks had to be worth it… "I think I'll take a Bloody Mary," he said, picking a drink at random.
"Screwdriver for me," Casey said.
"Cosmopolitan," Sarah added.
"Damn! It's a spell!" Caridad exclaimed. "You're under a spell!"
"What?" That was stupid. Chuck wasn't under a spell. He just wanted to buy a good drink. He could afford it, anyway, so why not? He was on vacation, after all! Time to indulge!
"You're under a spell!" Caridad repeated. "Everyone here is!"
"That would mean you were under a spell as well," Chuck pointed out. "But you're the one claiming we're under a spell."
"Because I am the Slayer. And you are under a spell!"
"No, we aren't," Casey grumbled. "We just want to get a drink or two."
"And if you continue making a scene, we won't get a drink," Chuck told her. "Because they'll throw us out."
He saw Caridad flash her teeth in a vicious smile a moment before she pushed him with enough force to make him fall on the table behind them. Then she picked up a chair as screaming tourists scattered and threw it at the tribal mask, breaking it.
Chuck was blinking. Why had he wanted to buy an overpriced drink? And a Bloody Mary - he didn't like tomato juice or vodka! "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "We were under a spell!"
And, as he realised, they were now the centre of attention in the bar. Damn!
The demon-bouncer was wading through the patrons backing off - and fleeing - from the brewing fight, coming towards them, and two more bulky men were on the way from behind the bar. Caridad broke off two table legs and swung them around in a flashy move, grinning in anticipation.
And Casey and Sarah had drawn their guns - which caused even the drunk tourists - and there were a lot of them - to start running. And screaming.
In less than a minute, the bar was empty but for the staff, Chuck's group, and half a dozen people who had apparently drunk themselves into a stupor.
"So, who wants to get slayed first?" Caridad snarled with a feral grin.
But before the demons could charge - or Caridad pick a target - a voice interrupted them.
"What's going on here?"
A woman stood there, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and decked out in jewellery. Glowing jewellery.
"She's a witch," Caridad confirmed Chuck's guess.
"Who are you and why are you attacking me?"
"We didn't attack you; you attacked us," Caridad spat. "You charmed my friends! And you consort with demons!"
"What?" The woman - the witch - narrowed her eyes. "I don't consort with demons!"
Chuck cleared his throat. "Uh… She didn't mean it that way, I think. But we were affected by the spell on the mask."
"Mind-controlled into buying drinks," Casey spat.
"Yeah!" Caridad yelled. "And that's an attack!"
"You're a Slayer," the witch stated. But she was glancing around, Chuck noticed. Probably estimating her odds.
"You bet your ass I am!" Caridad said. "And you're going down!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chuck stepped up. "Hold it - please." He wasn't very keen on fighting a witch. He didn't want to be turned into a rat. Or see any of his friends suffer that fate. "We didn't come here to fight you," he told the witch.
"Really." The witch didn't sound as if she believed them. But she didn't seem to be as confident any more. And neither did the demons.
"We came to fight vampires!" Caridad said. "But I'll take other demons as well!"
"We don't tolerate vampires in my bar," the woman replied.
"Because you want all the spelt tourists for yourself!" Caridad retorted.
Damn. The Slayer looked like she was spoiling for a fight. Well, more than usual. Chuck licked his lips. "Uh… I have to say, using magic to sell drinks is a little…cheating?" he shrugged.
"It's an effective form of advertising. People come here to drink and dance. I merely encourage their intentions."
"Bullshit!" Casey snapped. "I didn't come here to have a drink."
"Why then did you come?"
Chuck looked around. They were still caught between the bouncer behind them, and two demons and the witch in front of them. Not great odds, but not too bad either. But he didn't really want to fight.
"We were told this bar was a hunting ground for vampires," Sarah told the woman, speaking up for the first time.
"What? Who said… Dixon!" The woman shook her head. "I bet it was him."
"Jim Dixon?" Chuck checked.
"Yes. I taught him a lesson, and he carries a grudge."
"A lesson?" Chuck repeated.
"That his gang better leave me and mine alone." She bared her teeth as she spoke.
Ah. That would fit Casey's theory. On the other hand, the witch was putting the mind-whammy on tourists and employed demons. Or half-demons. Not exactly the deeds of a pillar of the local community. Well, mostly the spells. Not all demons were bad, after all. And, well, tourists had to expect to get fleeced, didn't they? "And you don't let vampires into the bar?"
"I like repeat customers," she said.
"Charmed to return?" Sarah asked in a flat tone.
Uh oh. She was madder than Chuck had expected. Of course - this had been the first time she had been affected by a mind-controlling spell!
"No need. People like what my bar has to offer."
Caridad scoffed. "You mean they think the drinks are worth the money thanks to your spell, and so they keep coming back!"
The witch spread her hands with a grin. "Just trying to earn my share of the tourist money."
Chuck snorted at that. Well, it wasn't exactly wrong.
"With dark magic!" Caridad shook her head. "You've been manipulating people! And you're doing it again!" With a snarl, she flung two throwing spikes at the witch, though both were stopped by a sort of barrier.
And Chuck blinked. What? Why had he thought it was OK to put spells on tourists? The Scoobies had told him that mind-controlling magic was of the über-bad! "She put another spell on us!" he yelled.
But Caridad was already moving, charging straight at the witch with a short sword she had drawn from… somewhere. A demon tried to block her path, but the Slayer jumped over him, blade flashing, and sent his head flying.
"Chuck! Watch out!"
Sarah! Chuck turned, then gasped - the bouncer was coming right at him! He blinked.
The man was coming right at him - perfect for a throw! Chuck ducked under the arms grasping for him, grabbed one arm and pushed his hip out.
He must have miscalculated, though, since the impact didn't just send his attacker flying - straight into a pillar - but also threw Chuck to the side and away. Chuck didn't go down, though - he slid a yard back over the dancing floor, falling into a modified Krav Maga-stance. One down… no, the man was getting up.
Gritting his teeth, Chuck went on the offensive before the man could fully recover from his fall. He took a few steps, speeding up, then jumped, his foot hitting the man in the face, breaking his nose and sending him down on the ground. Chuck landed in a crouch, then stepped forward, kicking the man in the temple. Down.
Or not - a hand grabbed his ankle, and before Chuck could react, he lost his balance and crashed to the ground himself. A moment later, his enemy pounced, going for Chuck's throat.
But that meant he had released Chuck's foot. He rolled to the side, avoiding the man's attempt to pin him, and jumped to his feet in a kip-up motion, then slid to the side, dodging the next attack.
Unbalanced by that, the bouncer crashed into another table, breaking it, and rolled into the chairs behind it. Chuck used the opportunity and grabbed a chair to the side, breaking it over the man's head. Green blood?
He blinked.
That allowed his opponent to recover and get up, and throw a broken chair at him with surprising force. Chuck dodged that by dropping to the floor, following up with a leg sweep. He grabbed a chair leg as the man crashed to the ground, then smashed it against the bouncer's head. Until the man finally stopped moving.
So much green… liquid. Blood.
He blinked.
"Chuck!"
Sarah! "Yes?" he turned. Oh. Sarah and Casey had killed the other demon, and Caridad…
"The witch ran," Sarah said. "Are you OK?"
"Uh, yes. I think. Demon blood! Had he gotten demon blood on himself? That could have bad effects. He quickly checked himself No green stains. Or not many. "Where did they run off?"
"Backroom," Casey replied. The agent was at the door, peering into the room from which the witch had come. "Don't see them… there's a trapdoor."
As if on cue, the entire building suddenly shook. Earthquake! Chuck thought as he struggled to keep standing.
Then he heard the roar. From below.
"What was that?" Sarah asked.
"Uh…" Chuck swallowed. "Something big and dangerous."
"Thank you, Sherlock." Casey flashed his teeth at Chuck in a grimace, then entered the backroom.
He wasn't a Watcher! He couldn't identify monsters by sound! Chuck doubted that anyone could. Not unless they had heard this monster before. It wasn't as if there was a huge library of demon sound files.At least he didn't know about one.
"Come on, she might need help!" Casey was already at the trapdoor when Chuck and Sarah entered the room. They ran after him, down the narrow stairs.
They passed through a surprisingly - or not so surprisingly - large basement filled with beer casks, wine and liquor bottles, snack food and assorted junk, through another door - and there was Caridad, fighting a huge worm. Worm-like demon, Chuck corrected himself - the thing was about fifteen feet long, and three feet thick - it was hard to tell in the dim light shining from strange, glowing plants. But Chuck clearly could see that most of the demon's head was made out of teeth. Sharp, jagged teeth that barely missed Caridad as she sliced into the thing's flank, then jumped away.
Sarah and Casey started shooting, but the bullets didn't seem to hurt the thing, so they stopped after a few shots.
"What can we do?" Casey asked.
Good question. Chuck had no idea. Attacking it with blades or clubs was out - Caridad had trouble keeping up with the monster and was bleeding from several wounds already. Anyone else would have been a monster-snack by now.
Chuck looked around. The floor was covered with mushrooms - or something like them. Several tunnels seemed to lead further away - and down. And there were baskets full of mushrooms at the back, but no sign of… He noticed a reddish smear on the ground, then saw what was left of the witch behind the broken remains of a particularly tall plant.
He was definitely not going to go near that monster - Chuck didn't want to end up squished. But they had to do something! Fire! If they couldn't behead a demon, setting it on fire was the next default tactic. "Come on, guys! Let's get some Molotov cocktails!" he yelled, turning back to the storage room. He remembered seeing a jerry can of gasoline on the way through.
"Hold on a little longer!" he yelled as they rushed back. "We'll be right back!"
Caridad didn't answer, which was a bad sign. Either she had to focus so much on fighting, she couldn't afford to quip, or she was fixated on her enemy. They had to hurry.
Both Casey and Sarah had passed him, and when Chuck reached them, Casey was already emptying bottles for Sarah to fill with gasoline. "Find some rags!" Casey yelled. "What a waste of booze!"
Rags. Rags. Rags! There! Chuck grabbed some towels and rushed to Sarah. She ripped them up, then soaked them in gasoline.
And then they were rushing back, each of them carrying two or three Molotov cocktails. Caridad looked worse when they arrived - she was bleeding heavily from one of her arms - but she was still going at the demon with all she had.
"Fall back!" Chuck yelled.
The Slayer didn't react. Instead, she went in low, slashing at the thing's belly. And got almost crushed before she rolled to the side.
But that was the opening they needed. Two burning bottles smashed into the demon's head, followed by Chuck's bottle. With an inhuman shriek, the monster reared up, hitting the ceiling, which shook the earth again. Two more bottles flew. Chuck was about to throw his second when it was ripped out of his hands. Caridad was there. Baring her teeth in a feral snarl, she launched the bottle herself, straight into the demon's mouth.
The shrieks grew loud enough to hurt, and the worm started thrashing on the ground, setting the plants ablaze and causing the entire cave to shake.
Chuck looked at the others with wide eyes. "Uh…"
"Run!"
*****
"Run!" Sarah barely heard herself over the deafening shrieks of the burning, thrashing demon. But everyone was already running towards the door leading to the bar's normal basement. She stumbled a little when the ground suddenly shook particularly violently but kept her balance. Chuck, though, slipped and fell in front of her, catching himself on his hands.
She gasped, then coughed from the smoke rapidly filling the room as she moved to help him, but Caridad was there already, hoisting Chuck up as if he weighed nothing.
Relief warred with envy as Sarah kept running after the Slayer and Casey. She coughed again, worried - who knew what the smoke from the burning plants would do to a human inhaling it? Nothing good, she thought. But she couldn't hold her breath so long and run at full speed.
Behind her, something crashed to the ground. Not the worm - parts of the cave's ceiling, she realised with a glance over her shoulder. And another part hit the ground, causing more tremors as they entered the bar's actual basement.
Her eyes widened a little when she spotted the number of broken liquor bottles on the ground. Strong liquor. Flowing towards the cave…
She turned. She had to close the door behind them, or the whole basement would go up. But the smoke was already filling the tunnel and entering the basement, obscuring her view. Definitely not natural. She didn't let that stop her, though, slamming the door shut in the face of approaching flames. And tried not to breathe too many fumes. Now… she turned and stumbled after the others.
"Sarah!"
That was Chuck - being carried up the stairs. She gritted her teeth and went after him. Hoping there wouldn't be too many alcohol fumes. She was already feeling lightheaded, and if not for the railings, would have fallen on the stairs - and probably tumbled to her death.
"Sarah!"
"Oh hell! Run, Chuck!"
Someone - Caridad - grabbed her belt and a moment later, she was hoisted on a shoulder, almost knocking her head against the stairway as she was carried upstairs.
"Run! Run!"
From her position, she could see the flickering light cast by flames appearing behind her as they rushed out of the backroom, towards the bar's doors.
"I'm running!"
Then they were through the door, out in the street, and Sarah found herself dumped on Chuck, who stumbled on her weight. "Here!"
By the time Chuck had managed to put Sarah down on her own swaying feet, Caridad had already rushed back into the bar. What was the Slayer… Oh. The drunks left behind. "We need to help her," Sarah mumbled. But her legs didn't cooperate. And neither did Chuck's. Casey managed to get to the bar's entrance, probably on sheer spite and pride, then was almost bowled over by a body hitting him.
As Casey stumbled back, dragging the drunk with him, Sarah realised they were surrounded by a crowd. Of course - the earthquake would have had sent everyone in the area out of the buildings! She really should have expected that! She giggled - she was being silly.
"Sarah?"
"Hm?" She snorted again when she saw Casey drop the drunk in the middle of the street. Oh, the flames had reached the bar, or so it seemed - the flickering light was growing stronger in the back.
"Fire! The bar's on fire!" someone yelled from the crowd.
They were slow too. Sarah giggled again. She should sit down and watch the fire. Oh, she was sitting already. Heh! Funny!
The Slayer appeared in the door once more, throwing two bodies into the street, then disappeared again. Drunk tossing!
"Sarah?"
"Chuck?"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. Yes. It's just funny."
Caridad reappeared, carrying two more drunks. She didn't toss them, though, to Sarah's disappointment, but carried them out into the street. Feh.
But then the bar blew up, like a firework, and Sarah clapped. Pretty!
Chuck clapped as well. Only Casey didn't, of course. And Caridad. Probably mad she hadn't been able to personally kill the monster.
Feh. Sarah leaned against Chuck, who was sitting now, too, and rested her head on his shoulder. She was feeling rather tired, and Chuck made for a good pillow.
*****
Montego Bay, Jamaica, January 9th, 2008
Sarah woke up with a splitting headache. Just how much had she drunk last night? Then she remembered. The meeting with Jim. The bar. The spell. The witch and the demon. She hadn't drunk anything.
But she had inhaled the smoke from burning mushrooms - and burning demon, probably. Oh, damn!
She closed her eyes and groaned. She was in their hotel room, but where was Chuck? "Chuck?" She had to cough - her throat hurt, too.
"Sarah? Did I wake you?"
There he was, standing in the door to the bathroom. "No, you didn't." She shook her head, but that made the headache worse.
"You inhaled the most of the smoke, I think," Chuck said. "You were pretty, uh…"
"Stoned," she finished for him.
"Uh, yes." He nodded. "Morgan says the mushrooms are like weed, just stronger. We didn't get a sample, but we could describe them for him. And we checked with London."
That was good news. "No lasting effects then?" Chuck and Grimes had had some stories about those. Stories which were not really funny once you thought about it happening to yourself.
He shook his head as he sat down on the bed next to her. "Not as far as we know. It seems as if the witch wasn't just selling overpriced drinks, but also special 'weed' laced with demon mushrooms."
"Ah." She pursed her lips. First Sarah had been magically mind-controlled, then drugged. If the witch hadn't been killed already, Sarah would go and hunt her down herself. She frowned at another thought. "I didn't do anything that… compromised our cover, did I?" Or Anything embarrassing.
"Uh… no. You just wanted to use me as a pillow. In the middle of the street," he told her with a lopsided smile. "It was cute."
She snorted. Of course Chuck would think so. It was still embarrassing. And even if it could have been much worse, she wouldn't let this go. Couldn't. "We need to pay another visit to Jim." He had sent them there, after all.
Chuck nodded. "Yes, we do."
*****
"Did you notice the earthquake?" Bane asked at breakfast. "They say it was very localised; limited to parts of the town. It sounds more as if someone used explosives underground. A bar burned down as well."
"It was a drug lab," Casey said. "It went up while we were sorting out a misunderstanding."
Technically correct, Chuck thought.
"A misunderstanding?" Bane's eyebrows rose.
"We were given faulty intel by a local source," Chuck explained. "Someone might have tried to use us to deal with their competition."
"That's an old trick," Bane commented. "That's why you always double-check your intel."
"That's not always possible," Chuck pointed out.
"We were scouting the place out when we were attacked," Sarah said. "We just defended ourselves."
"They had drugged the drinks," Chuck added.
"What? Is our cover compromised?" Bane looked alarmed.
"No," Caridad said between emptying a huge platter from the breakfast buffet. "They didn't know who we are or they wouldn't have dared to attack us." She grabbed a pot of coffee and refilled her mug for the third or fourth time.
"Really." Bane didn't seem convinced. "They will expect retaliation, though."
"Won't help them," Caridad replied.
"We might need to talk to our, err, mutual contact, though," Morgan pointed out. "This might be another misunderstanding."
Sarah scoffed. "I don't think so. They must have known what was happening in this bar."
Chuck agreed, but it would be better to check with Zabuto anyway. Before he could say so, though, Casey spoke up: "We don't want to give them another warning. Let's just hit the scumbag and find out what he planned."
"Uh…" Chuck grimaced. "We're not about to torture him? I'm bad with torture. I mean, I feel bad about it. I mean, about doing it to someone, too. Not just about getting tortured."
"We get it, Bartowski." Casey scoffed. "Don't worry - you can go and play some games in the arcade while we ask the questions."
"There's an arcade here?" Morgan perked up. "Where? It's been ages since I was in a good arcade!"
Now that he thought of it, Chuck hadn't been to an arcade in years, either. Perhaps…
"I don't know, and I don't care," Casey said, baring his teeth. "It was just a figure of speech."
"Oh." Morgan sounded disappointed.
"So… we go and hit the guy? I mean, go and ask him a few questions about not telling us all we need to know?" Caridad asked. A little too eagerly, in Chuck's opinion. This could have been a mere misunderstanding or faulty intelligence on Jim's part.
"Exactly," Sarah answered with a fierce smile.
Chuck winced. If Sarah and Caridad agreed on a course of action, things were bound to turn violent.
"I can check the location out," Bane offered. "He hasn't met me, yet."
"He'll know that you're with us," Sarah told her. "We arrived together."
"A mistake, in hindsight," Bane said after a moment.
"It would have been more suspicious to arrive separately and then quickly become close friends here," Sarah retorted.
Chuck wouldn't call them 'close friends', though. Anything but, what with the tension between Casey and Caridad and Sarah and Bane. And Caridad and Sarah didn't get along perfectly well, either. And Casey was quite abrasive…
He snorted. Where team dynamics were concerned, Team Bartowski was one of a kind.
"What's so funny?" Casey asked with narrowed eyes.
"Uh, nothing, nothing. Just a stray thought. A real stray thought, you know, not a flash," Chuck quickly explained. "Uh, so… how do we do it? If he's not at the bar, we'll have to find him."
"He might be in hiding already," Caridad said. "He's must know that we won't take this lying down."
"They know him at the bar. They'll tell us his address." Casey grinned.
"Uh…" Chuck grimaced. "But won't he expect that? He won't be at home, will he? And you still have another mission, right?" he reminded Caridad.
"Right," she agreed - though with a pout.
"Well, he used the bar as a meeting spot. If he has gone to ground, then we can at least make trouble for him there," Sarah said.
"And if we can always come back and settle things," Caridad added.
It seemed both spies and Slayers held grudges.
Although… Jim was a contact of Zabuto. If Jim wasn't trustworthy, then Zabuto probably wasn't either. And that would interest the Council. He forced himself to smile. "So… tonight, we hunt?"
Instead of laughing, everyone nodded. Even Morgan.
*****
"...though results are not to be expected quickly."
Hearing the news on the radio about a team of geologists investigating the 'localised earthquake' and driving past several buildings where people were fixing small damages, Chuck felt guilty. A lot of people had to deal with the aftermath of the battle against that demon worm. The ones whose homes had suffered some damages were actually better off - they could fix it - but the geologists were on a fool's errand; even if they managed to discover the actual reason for the 'earthquake', the Council would cover it up. Which would mean more work for the Council. Well, they would already have to deal with the police investigation of the fire. Unless the witch had paid off the local cops, that would require intervening - the local authorities wouldn't miss the underground cave system once the rubble had been cleared enough to gain access to the basement.
Well, Chuck and his friends and allies hadn't known about the demon when they visited the bar, had they? It wasn't really their fault, was it? The ones at fault were the now-dead witch, her equally dead demon minions - and, should he have known about it, Jim Dixon.
Whom they were about to visit in the evening. But first, they had to scout out a good spot for a demonstration with a vampire. It wouldn't do to catch a vampire without having a safe and secluded place ready. In Los Angeles, they, especially Caridad, knew their way around. There, they'd be able to improvise even in an alley. But here? In a tourist trap?
He winced at his choice of words, even if he hadn't actually said them out loud. They had just burned down a literal tourist trap, after all.
"Chuck? Is something wrong?" Sarah asked. She sounded tense.
Oh. "Just thinking," he told her, "about the aftermath of the 'earthquake'. The Council will be covering it up."
"Will they be annoyed about having to send more people to the island just after they had a courier come pick up the artefacts?" Sarah asked as she took another corner.
"I don't think so. This is pretty routine, after all. Usually, the local Wachter would be handling this, but since they don't have a local Watcher in Jamaica…" He shrugged. Someone familiar with the Caribbean would do it, he thought. "They might let Zabuto handle it."
"Even though his local 'friends' might be responsible?"
"Well… keeping the supernatural secret is something even demons support. Most of them, at least. But I think that the Council won't trust Zabuto as much as they had until now. Once they receive Morgan's report, at least."
"Do you think they'll ask us to investigate him?"
"Zabuto? Hm." Chuck pursed his lips as he considered this. It would make sense, but did the Council trust them enough to set them on such a task? Caridad would be trusted, but she wasn't exactly an investigator or auditor, and Morgan was still in training. But… "They might ask Morgan to investigate, knowing it would involve us as well, I think."
"Ah." Sarah didn't sound pleased hearing about such machinations.
"We could consider it a test?" Chuck ventured.
Sarah nodded, though Chuck had the impression that she was more motivated by dealing out some payback for the whole affair than anything else. "So… see any useful warehouse?" he said after a moment. They had left the area affected by the tremors, and the tourist zones as well.
"A few, but we'll have to check them out," Sarah replied, nodding towards a cluster of buildings ahead of them. "An isolated place outside the town might be better," she said.
Chuck nodded. Caridad was checking out the countryside, under the guise of doing some bicycling in the area, but she hadn't reported back yet.
So, they had to check out warehouses. Chuck hoped they weren't too successful and found a deserted one that had already been taken over by a few vampires or demons. It was the middle of the day, but that didn't mean such an encounter would be safe.
*****
As it had turned out, the warehouses weren't quite deserted. Just not used very much. But there were security guards patrolling. Fortunately, they had readily believed that Sarah and Chuck had merely gotten lost on the way to a beach. But they couldn't use the warehouses for a demonstration. And since Caridad hadn't found a secluded spot close enough to Montego Bay to drag a vamp there on foot, they would have to trust that they could find a deserted side alley for a demonstration. Which was what they were doing now.
Chuck shook his head as he and Sarah walked with the rest of the group through the harbour area of Montego Bay, mixing with a throng of tourists out to enjoy the nightlife. At least Casey would be able to scare off any passers-by - the man was constantly scowling, it seemed. Not exactly like a tourist would behave on vacation, in Chuck's opinion. Not that he'd mention that to the agent, of course.
"Where are we going?" Bane asked from the rear - Morgan was still on crutches but didn't want to miss out on this. 'As the only Watcher available, I should be present', he had claimed, though Chuck suspected his friend mostly wanted to be there when Bane found out about demons.
"I've heard about a great club," Caridad, leading them, said. "It should be around here, somewhere."
"You said that ten minutes ago," Bane replied. "Can't we ask for directions?"
"No," Caridad told her. "I'm sure it's right…" She trailed off, and Chuck could see her grin widen. "Gotcha!"
And the Slayer sped away - towards a dark side alley.
Chuck almost groaned as they gave chase - sort of. Unlike the Slayer, they had more trouble pushing through the crowd on the street; they weren't supernaturally fast and graceful, nor did people give way to them almost instinctively. Well, Casey probably could come close.
"Let's go!" he heard Morgan behind him.
"What? You can't fight like this!" Bane objected.
"I won't have to, trust me."
The Chuck was at the alley's entrance, looking into it. It was very dark - a twisting turn ensured that you couldn't see much of it from the main street. If Caridad hadn't entered first, he wouldn't like to go down this alley. Well, he didn't like it anyway, but it was - probably - safe.
Sarah pushed past him, taking the lead as they entered the alley, Casey falling back. "I'll keep this end clear," he said.
The sounds from the street faded slightly after the first twisting turn. In exchange, Chuck could hear the sounds of fighting. And taunting.
"Oh, did that hurt? As much as this, or not?"
"Bitch!"
"Oh, I'm hurt! Not!"
"Ow!"
"No running! I need you… yes, keep that face!"
Sarah drew her pistol a moment before someone appeared in front of them, stumbling. Oh, a tourist, probably drunk. He didn't seem to be hurt - Chuck couldn't see blood, at least - but was obviously terrified. "Mo-monster!" he stammered, reaching for Chuck.
"Ah…" Chuck took a step back. He didn't want to deal with a drunk vampire victim. Or demon victim. But probably vampire.
"Run!" Sarah snapped.
The man blinked, then ran. Or tried to. It was more like a fast stumble. But it got him away, and Chuck and Sarah continued.
Another turn - Montego Bay's long history was showing here - they reached Caridad and her enemy. Or victim. The Slayer had a vampire in game face on the ground, one foot on its back. The demon's arms and legs were broken - even a vampire's limbs didn't bend that way.
"There you are! Where's Bane?"
"She'll be right here," Chuck said. "Morgan can't run." Which Caridad should have known.
She huffed for some reason, then slammed her heel on the vampire's hand. Chuck winced at the sound of crunching bones. It was just a corpse possessed by a demon, he reminded himself as he started to pull a few sticks, a couple vials and a decently-sized mirror out of his pack. And a lamp. They would need light for the demonstration, after all.
Chuck hoped that if the alley was secluded enough for a vampire feeding, it would be secluded enough for a vampire killing.
"Ah, there we are!" Morgan had arrived. "Sorry guys - that idiot almost tackled me."
"What are you doing?" Bane asked. She stepped closer, a frown on her face. "And who is this?"
"Not who, what," Caridad replied with a grin as she, once more, broke the vampire's arms.
"It's a vampire," Chuck said. "It tried to eat the drunk guy you saw."
"A vampire." Bane didn't quite scoff, but it was clear she didn't believe him. "Really."
Well, they never did. Which was why Chuck had brought so many things to prove his claim. Even though it was usually the mirror check that convinced people that this wasn't a trick.
He bet Bane would insist on using her own mirror before she was convinced, though.
*****
As Chuck had expected, the cross and holy water hadn't been enough, nor the way the demon healed its wounds. It had taken the mirror. Bane's own mirror, to be exact. And she had double-checked it for any sign of tampering before she had finally accepted that this wasn't a trick played on her.
"Vampires exist."
"And we hunt them! Well, I do. The rest is helping." Caridad said as she staked what was left of the vampire.
"Demons exist."
"Only as long as they behave, or we destroy them!"
"Magic is real."
"And a bitch to fight!"
Chuck couldn't help thinking that Bane wasn't really listening to Caridad's replies. He cleared his throat. "Yes. Now you know what the Council's doing. They're fighting a global war on demons and other threats to humanity as a whole." Putting it in familiar terms would hopefully help.
"And we're winning!" Caridad announced.
"That's…" Bane blinked. "Those were real zombies!" She stared at them. "That wasn't a twin - that was a zombie!"
"Yes. A magic-using zombie, we believe," Morgan said. "Who controlled the rest."
"And he had demons as bodyguards," Caridad added.
"And what... who are you?" Bane looked at the Slayer. "You're inhumanly strong and fast."
"Hey! I'm human. Just a little better. Well, a lot."
"She's a Vampire Slayer," Morgan interrupted Caridad. "Chosen by fate to fight demons. Empowered by a great power many millennia ago, Slayers have been fighting the forces of darkness forever. As soon as one falls, another is called." Morgan's delivery could use some work, Chuck thought. But it was essentially correct.
"Well, only until we changed the rules!" Caridad cut in. "Now there's an army of us, and we're cleaning house!"
"An army?" Bane looked alarmed.
"A strictly neutral army," Chuck pointed out. Best to nip whatever Bane was thinking into the bud. "The Council's not getting involved in politics of any kind."
"Not unless demons are involved," Caridad said. "We're like the UN of the Supernatural. Just not useless."
That was a slightly unfortunate comparison, in Chuck's opinion. The UN did get involved in politics - or would like to if it had the power.
Bane shook her head. "So, that 'misunderstanding' last night…?"
"A witch was using magic to make tourists buy overpriced drinks in her bar," Caridad said. "And when I took offence to that, she ran to her demon patron. The earthquake? That was the thing thrashing around as it died in its cave."
"What?"
"Oh, don't worry - it was a normal demon, just larger than normal. Not a real apocalypse. We already stopped one this season." The Slayer smiled.
"Apocalypse?"
Uh oh. Chuck winced. Perhaps they should have planned out these revelations a little better.
"Attempts to end the world, or destroy a city or so," Morgan explained. There are usually one or two per year. We prevented Los Angeles from being buried under demon slime with the Council last month."
"Demon slime? Los Angeles? What is going on here?"
Chuck sighed. They never took that part well.
*****