Scooby Who - 5

"Are you going to be here tomorrow?" Velma asked, looked up at her owlishly from her cot in the bare bedroom.

"Unless there's an emergency they need me for," Buffy told her. "Are you going to be alright like this? We can always go find a hotel with real beds."

"It's only for one night," Velma said. "Besides, the city had hard floors. This is heavenly."

"Okay." Buffy reached down and squeezed her hand, resisting the sudden impulse to tuck her in. "Get some sleep."

"Goodnight, Buffy."

"Night." Stopping at the door, Buffy turned off the light before stepping out into the hall, gently closing the door behind her.

Going back to her room, Buffy pulled her favorite slaying outfit out of her suitcase. Colorado Springs wasn't known for having much demonic nightlife but she needed to burn off some energy and putting it to use exploring the neighborhood seemed like a good idea.

---

"Are you going to tell her the truth about Groupe Seven?" Rupert asked, watching her stretch out on the porch.

"I was hoping you could do that?" Buffy said. "I think she'll take it better from you. You're more the science type like she is."

Rupert nodded, not surprised. "Before you head out I have something to show you," he said nervously.

"Where?" she asked, flipping to her feet in a move that made his joints ache.

"The garage," he said, stepping off of the porch. The Slayer joined him as he headed to the garage's side door. Unlocking it, he reached in and flipped on the light.

"It's big," Buffy said, her voice echoing.

"If you want your own vehicle there's plenty of room," Rupert told her.

"I do need to return that rental," she said. "I have that truck we used up in Vancouver in storage. I'm sure there's someone who can drive it down here for me. Just needs local registration."

"You kept that?" Rupert looked at her in surprise. She'd been extremely vocal about the black Rover with tinted windows being too obvious at the time, making it hard for her to keep a low profile.

"I keep a lot of the things I get from the Council," Buffy told him. "I just have to keep it in Council storage since I don't have a permanent residence."

"Oh, I see," Rupert nodded, wondering once more what had happened to change the flighty Californian teenager described in her early Council records. "Very practical."

"That's me," Buffy said, with a slightly mocking tone that made Rupert wince. "The Practical Slayer. So what was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"There's a large loft up above," Rupert told her. "The door is over there. I thought you could make use of it for a training room."

"I'd planned on using the basement," Buffy said, "But options are nice."

"It has a separate lock," Rupert said, pulling out his keys. "It's the key with the orange label." Unlocking the door, he led the way up the flight of stairs. REaching the top, he stepped to the side to give her an uninterrupted view of the space. He was rather proud of what he'd done to it in the week since he'd moved in.

"Wow! This is so much better than the basement," Buffy said, looking around the large room. "Though the large windows don't give much privacy.

"They're tinted," He told her. "No one can see through them out past the fence."

"Cool." She wandered around the room. "It's like the perfect training room," she told him, waving at the mirrored wall and the stack of floor mats stacked in a corner. "All it needs is a radio and a shower for after."

"There's a small shower and locker room through that door," he told her pointing at a door in the far wall. "Also..." Stepping to right he reached up and pressed on a hidden latch. The wall split open, revealing a large vertical weapons storage cabinet, several of the mounts already containing weapons.

"Ooh... shiny. Are these yours?" Buffy lightly ran a finger along the edge of a long knife.

"Yes. There should be plenty of room here for your training weapons."

"And then some. How did you open it?" She looked at the doors to the cabinet. "I didn't even see it until you did that."

"There's a pressure switch at the bottom," he told her.

"So anyone can just come in and take something?"

"No, the entire building is warded just like the house."

"I've been meaning to talk with you about that," Buffy said. "Velma noticed the lack of a security system. Yes, I know you don't think we need one with all of the wards you have in place."

"They should keep out anything that doesn't belong," he told her.

"Anything sensitive to magic," she said. "But anyone or anything that is magic free is going to be able to walk right in."

"Yes, but..." Rupert mumbled.

"No buts," Buffy told him in that tone of voice that always reminded him that while she might be half his age, she was still the Slayer and someone only Quentin Travers could successfully argue with. "And besides, Velma will feel a lot better in a house protected by a security system she can actually see and control."

"And who do you recommend install it?" Rupert asked condescendingly.

"Beats me. You're the big brain around here," Buffy said. She shrugged and went back to exploring the room. "I really like it up here," she told him, poking the practice dummy sitting in a corner. "Definitely much better than the basement."

"Thanks," he said, her bright smile bringing one to his own face.

"O'Neill!" She blurted out, jumping up on the pommel horse.

"O'Neill what?" Rupert asked.

"I bet he knows all about security systems," Buffy said, "Isn't that part of his job? And if he doesn't he has people who work for him. I'm sure one of them knows how to set up a security system."

---

"Good morning," Velma said, the smell of bacon drawing her into the kitchen.

"You're up early, my dear," Rupert said, looking over at her from his position in front of the stove. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Coffee? And that bacon smells wonderful," she said, spying a coffee maker.

Nodding, he reached over and opened the cupboard above it. "The coffee and filters are here. If you or Buffy prefer a different kind of coffee let me know."

Velma nodded, grabbing the coffee pot. "I'll ask her. Where is she?"

"She's in her training room," he said.

"Training room?" She couldn't remember anything resembling what she thought of as a training room when he'd shown them around the house the night before.

"It's above the garage," he said, sitting down after placing a plate of bacon, a bowl of scrambled eggs, and toast in the center of the kitchen table. "Help yourself."

"Thanks," Velma said, sitting down across from him.

---

Velma cautiously walked up the stairs.

"Jinkies," she exclaimed, watching Buffy move with an almost inhuman grace.

---

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Graham asked, standing in Colonel O'Neill's office door.

"You've met Dr. Giles?"

"Yes, sir," Graham said, stepping completely in. He didn't add that Dr. Giles had seemed to know more than he should about his past.

"Good." Standing up he shoved a few things into a pocket and grabbed his cover. "Let's go."

"Sir?"

"We have a house to see," he said cryptically.

"Sir? Is there anything I should know about this house?" Graham asked finally, as they pulled up in front of a large garage next to a solidly built house. Colonel O'Neill had been untalkative for the thirty minute trip down from the mountain.

"Dr. Giles' house," O'Neill told him, getting out of his truck. "No security system." He waved at the house and garage. Pointing at Graham he said, "security expert."

"Does he just want an opinion or for us to set one up for him," Graham asked, joining him in the driveway.

"Treat it like it was another facility that your team is responsible for," O'Neill told him, "when you write up your report for me tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" Graham said, pulling out the small computer he carried everywhere. It'd started life out as an experimental hardened iPhone, one of several his platoon had field tested during their last assignment, at the request of some unnamed senator. The hardware had survived. The original custom software had proved so buggy and unreliable that the field test had been canceled, but Sparky had been able to fix the most glaring issues and was slowly turning them into useful tools.

"Does it play games?" O'Neill asked curiously.

"No sir," Graham said, after running a basic RF scan of the area and sending it and a deep scan request off to Sparky.

"Come along then," O'Neill said.

---

[Buffy's in the back yard testing a new toy][several dart-gun things][Velma is watching.]

"Ms. Dinkley," a voice said. Turning, Velma looked towards the fence that separated the back yard from the garage. A vaguely familiar older man stood next to another one, both dressed in fatigues.

"Yes?"

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