REMNANT : Buffy, the Vampire Slayer meets Batman and the Red Rider

REMNANT: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer meets Batman and the Red Rider - Chapter 14.

Buffy and Giles snuck around to the back of the Janus Imports warehouse building, which Batman had identified as the supplier for Hooligan's. Along with drinking glasses, utensils, and food items, this place likely distributed the Scarecrow's fear-inducing toxin that Ethan Rayne had been mixing into teenagers' "non-alcoholic" drinks.

"We're sure this is the place, right?" Buffy said as they approached the rear loading dock.

"Janus Imports. It's definitely the place," Giles said. "Ethan's practically signed his name on the building in large letters, with his fascination with the two-faced demon, Janus. Besides, Batman said so."

"Yeah, that's good enough for me, too. I'm just used to seeing vampire lackeys guarding the front when I raid a place. That always cinches the deal. Working a late afternoon is making me feel really extra-curricular."

"Well, try not to pass out from the exertion."

"Ooh, is that sarcasm?" she teased. "You know, I put in a lot of slaying hours, and this is overtime. Where's my Vampire Slayer benefits package? Batman's right. We need cell phones. And maybe satellite TV hookup."

"Do you have any idea how expensive cell phones are?"

Buffy knit her brow. "No. Do you?"

Giles cleared his throat. "Well – no. But quite a bit more than we can spare. We'll be lucky to afford some walkie-talkies."

"Okay, I'm down with walkie-talkies. Hey, look at us. We're having a planning meeting. I feel more job motivation already. What other benefits can I expect?"

Giles turned on her, whispering through clenched teeth. "If you'll be quiet, I'll give you a cookie. For now, let's make our way inside, with less chitchat."

"Done," Buffy said, dropping to a whisper. "Didn't even know I was chitchatting. What does that really mean, anyway? I get the 'chat', but what is –?" She paused as Giles grimaced at her again. "Sorry." She made a motion of zipping her own lip shut. "I'm in church mouse mode."

Giles climbed the platform stairs beside the loading bay doors. He tried the door handle, finding it locked.

"Step back," Buffy said. "I'll kick it open."

"That won't be necessary. Or stealthy." Giles reached into his coat pocket, extracting a couple of metal pins. "Batman's not the only one with useful tools."

He hunched over the doorknob, applying the metal rods to the door. Within a minute, he had worked the door's lock to jimmy it open with a soft click.

Buffy pursed her lips, impressed. "Wow, Giles. I didn't know you could pick a lock."

"It's not a skill I wish you to learn," he said dismissively. "Unless, of course, it helps you in your slaying duties. As it does now. Follow me."

"Follow you? Giles, you remember I'm still the Slayer, not you, right?"

He gave her a cold stare. "We're not dealing with vampires just now. We're dealing with Ethan. And I don't want him harming any of you, if I can help it."

Buffy shrugged, accepting his temporary lead. "Fine by me. But I say we bring the harm to him."

Giles nodded and entered ahead of her, peering into the room and creeping inside. Buffy couldn't help admiring Giles' technique. For an older guy, he was quite the ninja.

The warehouse was large and dark, with boxes and crates piled twenty feet high on large shelves. They crept forward slowly, toward the dim light issuing from the opposite end of the room.

"We know Ethan's involved with this distributor," Giles whispered. "We just need to find something incriminating to prove they're connected."

They crept forward and heard the click of footsteps, a moment before Ethan Rayne walked around a storage shelf corner. He strode straight into their path, looking up from his clipboard and stopping short to gape at them.