Red Raider - Prologue II

Coffee

This leg of her trip had so far failed to yield the results she was hoping for. She'd flown into LAX on an early flight from Tokyo chasing a faint rumor that the Urn of Osiris could be found somewhere in California. After picking up the Harley V-rod at the rental counter that Hillary had arranged for her use while she was in LA, Lara had started working her way through her normally reliable contacts in LA's underground antiquities scene. Several hours later her luck wasn't any better than it had been the previous day in Tokyo. Empty handed and frustrated she stopped looking.

The Urn's trail appeared to disappear completely. All her few contacts could tell her was that over a year ago it had disappeared into the wilds of the Internet after a brief appearance on eBay. This was a place where her tomb raiding skills were less than adequate and finding where it went after that now became a task for Bryce when they next spoke.

Without the Urn there was no hurry to move on to the next stage of her trip. Her flight out wasn't until the next day and there wasn't any reason to get an earlier one. This did give her the unexpected opportunity to investigate vague rumors of mystical occurrences in the small town of Sunnydale, a 2 hour trip north of Los Angeles. These rumors had been filtering back to her through a number of sources for the past six years and now seemed like a good time to satisfy her curiosity.

There was just enough time to ride up to Sunnydale, getting there just before lunch, take a quick look around and head back to LAX for her flight to New York early the next day.

After updating Bryce on her status, Lara directed him to find out where the urn had ended up. She also asked him to check to see if there was anything interesting for her to look for in Sunnydale while she was there.

It had been a long run up from LA. Two hours in a heavy wind, no matter what size of bike, was exhausting and any exposed skin felt like it had been sandblasted to a state beyond raw. Small particles of sand had gotten in everywhere, reminiscent of a stay in the Sahara and very uncomfortable in the heat.

It made her yearn for a nice simple exploration of the Parisian catacombs, hopefully not being chased by the local gendarmes like last time. Or even that pirate ship off the coast of Brazil that Hillary kept pushing at her. That one could almost count as a quiet vacation. Anything involving large quantities of sand-less ruins or large oceans seemed preferable to this she thought. She wondered if she would find anything worth her time in this small town.

Coming just over the crest of a hill, ahead in the distance Lara spied a small town with the glint of the ocean even further away. She pulled over briefly to shake the sand out of her hair, face, and clothes. It was then that she saw the bent and battered sign welcoming her to Sunnydale.

Arriving earlier than she'd planned, in time for an early lunch, she was really in need of something to clear the dust and grime of the road from her throat. Reaching the center of her destination, with no real time to find a local bar actually serving more than beer at this hour, the best available choice appeared to be coffee or a coffee-like beverage from one of those interminable coffee houses that dotted the American landscape.

Pulling up in front of Sunnydale's most gregarious example, The Espresso Pump, Lara removed her helmet and dismounted from her bike, drawing a number of eyes with the subtle elegance of the motion. She paused for a moment, before going in, to call Bryce.

"Bryce? Yes. I'm in Sunnydale. Any luck locating the Urn? Were you able to get the other information I requested? Good. Please send it. I'll take a look at it in a few minutes and call you back later."

Disdaining the selection of anything more exotic than simple black coffee, Lara quickly received her steaming beverage from the frazzled person behind the counter. Navigating the crowded shop, coffee in hand, out of long habit Lara grabbed the least exposed table she could find with a view of the entrance while still affording her some privacy.

Pulling her small travel hardened laptop out of her backpack and connecting it to her phone she proceeded to download everything Bryce had been able to find about her current location, marveling briefly at how far technology had come in the 20 years since she'd first ventured out into the field. With the information Bryce provided her on a daily basis she could move much faster and more efficiently than most of her more tradition bound competitors.

Alternating between sips of scalding coffee and scrolling through the information from Bryce, Lara planned the rest of her afternoon. He'd found several interesting items that were on her long term hunting list that rumour placed in Sunnydale.

But there wasn't much to go on other than those rumours. Of the fourteen cemeteries in Sunnydale, Bryce had narrowed it down to three that appeared to have crypts that possibly contained what she was looking for. If the map was anything to go by they were fairly close together. In a stroke of luck and with a massive amount of serendipity, he had also tracked down the last known location of the Urn to a small shop just down the street from where she was, 'The Magic Box'.

With only a couple hours to check out the cemeteries and visit the Magic Box before she had to head back to LA, if she wanted to get any sleep before catching her flight the next morning, Lara quickly finished her coffee. She would find something to eat later. And this being California it might even be healthy enough to satisfy Hillary and his obsessive need for her to eat food more nutritious than fast food cardboard. Not that she would ever tell him she thought with a grin.

While packing up her laptop and disposing of her now empty cup, out of the corner of an eye, in another part of the coffee shop, Lara glimpsed an unexpected sight. The surprise caused her to visibly pause for a second. A familiar looking, petite redhead appeared to be engaged in an animated discussion with a small blonde woman.

Quickly dismissing the idea that this could be the same redhead she'd been almost obsessed with the previous summer, Lara finished packing up and headed for the door, intent on getting to the first stop on her list.

Pausing for a moment in mid-babble, Willow looked towards the front of the Espresso Pump and her eyes widened.

"Buffy, does she look familiar to you?", she said motioning with her eyes to the striking woman now leaving the Espresso Pump.

"No. Why?" Buffy turned and looked out of the window next to them to see the woman climb onto a large motorcycle and seemingly merge with it as if she was a part of it.

"I know I've seen her somewhere before." mumbled a puzzled Willow. "Anyway... Where were we...?"

Lara gazed at the small store in dismay. The boarded up windows gave no indication of what had happened but she was obviously not going to find any answers there. The Magic Box appeared to have gone out of business as the result of some catastrophe.

Sitting on her bike in front of it, she pulled out her phone and called Bryce.

"Bryce, it looks like a dead end." She listened to him for a moment. "Yes, I found the Magic Box with no problem. Unfortunately it appears to have gone out of business. Could you track down the owner and see if they still have sales records for the time period we're interested in? Thanks."

"Yes. I'll check out the other things on your list before I leave. I'll give you a call tonight from my hotel."

Lara sighed. It looked like it was going to be a dusty afternoon.

Notes:

• Needs some work, like the rest of the prologue. Someday.

© Copyright 2009 Andy Stoffel. Last update: 7/19/09; 10:54:36 PM. This theme is based on the SoundWaves (blue) Manila theme.