Imagine: The List
Fic posted by members of Vo's Imaginings YahooGroup


While the sun has just risen about a half hour ago it was high enough in the sky so that a lone jogger make his way down the streets of Sunnydale without worry of attack, as long as he stayed away from the shadows. Stopping briefly to tie his shoes, the jogger hardly even glanced at the three black SUVs as they went past him in the opposite direction.

The SUVs continued past the jogger and onto a tree-lined street, finally coming to a stop at a small apartment complex. Almost as if it had been planned, the doors on the three SUVs opened and the people climbed out of the vehicles. The first and last vehicle each had 4 people who were dressed completely in black; they immediately took position to guard the vehicles and each other. The middle vehicle only had three people - two who were also dressed in black and one who was wearing a brown leather jacket.

The man in the leather jacket looked around the area before pointing at one of the men who rode with him. “You come with me,” he ordered. “The rest of you stay alert and don’t get eaten. I want to get out of this damned town as soon as possible.”

“I really hate this town,” the man grumbled to himself as he walked towards one of the apartments.

Stopping in front of the door to an apartment, the man banged on the door a number of times. He stopped for a moment, than banged a couple more times.

The door suddenly opened and a loaded crossbow was pointed at the man’s heart.

“I really hate this town,” the man snarled as he pushed the crossbow aside and walked into the apartment.

“I’m not too fond of it myself, Velma, especially before my morning cup of tea” Giles growled in reply as he shut the door once the two men were inside. “Who pissed in your Weetabix this morning?”

“Senator Robert Kinsey,” Velma aka Colonel Pierce snarled.

“I see,” Giles said as he removed his glasses and started to clean them. “And how exactly is the Senator being a problem?”

“Kinsey’s the chairman of the Senate Appropriate Committee - they’re the ones who determine how much funding we get for a year,” Pierce explained. “And he’s starting to ask questions about what exactly my little department does.”

“And is this going to cause problems for us?” Giles asked.

“Depends,” Pierce said with a smirk, “on whether or not I can convince him to take a tour of your lovely little town.”

“I’m sure we do not want a vampire as a Senator,” Giles commented with a shake of his head.

“It wouldn’t be any different than what we already have. Beside I was hoping to hand him over to one of the flesh eaters,” Pierce admitted.

“I think that would be a case of cruel and unusual punishment,” Joyce Summers chimed in as she walked down the stairs. “And I’m speaking about the demon, not about the Senator.”

“Well, if it would help I would give them a case of Pepto,” Pierce suggested with a boyish smile.

Giles picked the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think that would help matter, besides we have more important matters to deal with.”

“Of course,” Pierce replied. “I’m assuming that Mrs. Summers is one of the people you want evaced.”

“My daughter, Dawn, is the other person,” Joyce stated as she finished coming down the stairs.

“Dawn?” Pierce said in confusion as he glanced between the two residents of Sunnydale. “I don’t recall you have another daughter.”

Giles and Joyce share a glance between each other.

“Yes… well…” Giles mumbled as he removed his glasses to clean them once again. “It’s a complicated matter.”

Pierce held up his hand, indicating for Giles to stop. “Sunnydale thing?” he inquired.

“Yes,” Giles answered.

“Is she a danger to my people or the world?” Pierce inquired.

“As long as she’s far from Sunnydale; someplace safe and secure, then no she’s not a danger to anyone,” Giles stated.

Pierce turned to Joyce. “And she’s how old? 6? 9 months?”

Joyce chuckled. “She’s not that young. She is a very opinionated 14 year old.”

Pierce blinked a couple times. “Magic?” he said simply.

Joyce smiled. “It’s a Sunnydale thing.”

Pierce shook his head. “I really hate this town.”

“Mom?” a sleepy voice floated down the stairs.

“I’m downstairs, Dawn,” Joyce called out.

A few moments later, a girl still dressed in her pajamas shuffled down the stairs and over to her mother. Wrapping her arms around Joyce, Dawn leaned against her and went back to sleep.

Half supporting and half hugging her daughter, Joyce said, “As you can see my Dawn is not a morning person.”

“So she doesn’t live up to her name then,” Pierce remarked as he eyed the young woman.

“Who you?” Dawn mumbled as she opened one eye and peered at Pierce with it.

“Colonel Pierce. I’m here to escort your mother and you out of Sunnyhell,” Pierce replied.

Dawn let out a grunt before closing her eye again.

The adults all shared a brief look of amusement.

“Dawn,” Joyce said as she nudged her daughter. “Why don’t you get dressed? We have to leave soon.”

“Shower?” Dawn mumbled.

Joyce glanced over at Pierce, who just sighed warily. “It would have to be quick. It may be daylight but I want to be out of this town as soon possible,” he stated.

“Make it a quick one,” Joyce told her daughter.

Dawn grunted once again but didn’t move from where she was leaning against her mother.

Joyce sighed. “Dawn, move it,” she ordered. “Now.”

Dane grunted once again before she started to move slowly to the stairs and towards her shower.

“And you have 15 minutes to take your shower and be ready to leave,” Joyce added in.

Dawn suddenly seems more awake are her mother’s command. “But Mom!” she whined

“You’re wasting time, Dawn. Now move it,” Joyce ordered in a firm tone of voice. Turning to the man that had accompanied Colonel Pierce, Joyce pointed a finger at him. “You come with me. We might as well load things up while Dawn is getting ready” Joyce then started up the stairs.

The man in question turned and looked at Colonel Pierce with a questioning look.

Pierce nodded towards the stairway. The man followed the unspoken orders and followed Mrs. Summers to the second floor.

It was exactly 15 minutes later when Joyce Summer marched her younger daughter down stairs.

“But mom,” Dawn whined as she walked down in front of her mother. “My hair is still wet.”

“It will dry on its own,” Joyce stated. “It’s time for us to leave.”

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Dawn turned around to face her mother and asked, “What about my stuff?”

“It’s already out in the cars,” Joyce said.

“And my friends. I’ll be able to call my friends, right? We’ll be coming back, won’t we?” Dawn demanded.

Joyce glanced over at the Colonel Pierce for answers.

“You won’t be able to call them but you can email them,” Pierce stated.

Dawn looked less than thrilled about that. “Are there other teens there? Are there boys there?” she demanded. “It’s very important for my social well-being to be able to interact with other people of my own age.”

“Dawn,” Joyce said with a warily sigh. “I know this is hard on you but it’s just like last time when we moved to Sunnydale. You’ll make new friends and as the Colonel said you can still email your old ones.”

Dawn cross her arms over chest and seems to give herself a hug. “I know,” she said solemnly. “I just don’t want to leave.”

“If it helps any, the place you’re going to is really nice. Plenty of fresh air. Lots of tree and no pollution. You can see all the stars at night,” Pierce chimed in.

Dawn gave Pierce a small smile at the fact that the man was trying to reassure her.

“Alright. We’re been here long enough. It’s time to get going,” Pierce declared. “Giles. You know my number. Call if you need help.”

“I will,” Giles said shaking Pierce’s hand, a trace of Ripper appears in his tone of voice. “And you’ll protect them for us, won’t you?”

“You know I will. I have the best man for this job already at the base, waiting for them,” Pierce replied with a smirk.

“I’ll miss you,” Dawn said as she gave Giles a hug good-bye.

“Don’t forget to write me,” Giles said as he returned the hug.

“You’ll have to learn to use a computer if I do,” Dawn pointed out teasingly. “You can’t have Willow doing it all the time for you.”

Giles sighed in disgust. “Ah, the sacrifices one must make for one’s family.”

Dawn giggled at that as Joyce walked over and gave Giles a hug. “Good-bye, Rupert,” she said. “Take care of yourself and the girls for me.”

“I’ll do my best,” Giles replied. “Take care of yourself, Joyce. I’ll miss you.”

Joyce smiles briefly before turning towards her daughter and Colonel Pierce. “Let’s go.”
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