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jedibuttercupB:tVS/F&F; 1000 words. (Post-Furious 6, with spoilers for Hobbs & Shaw). Sequel to The Benefits of Inter-Agency Cooperation. For ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
twistedshorts.
"He's alive," were the first words out of Buffy's mouth. She heard Hattie's breath catch on the other end.
Title: Navigating the Fallout
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Disclaimer: The words are mine; the worlds are not.
Rating: T/PG-13
Spoilers: Post-Fast & Furious 6; pre-Hobbs & Shaw; very post-series for B:tVS
Notes: Hobbs & Shaw was so ridic, it gave me more ideas for this universe. [Also, what was with them not even bothering to address Owen's existence in the movie? I think he shows up maybe once as a split-second unnamed kid in one of flashbacks.]
Summary: "He's alive," were the first words out of Buffy's mouth. She heard Hattie's breath catch on the other end.
There was one thing Buffy had left to do, in the aftermath of the Great Shaw Chase.
She'd missed most of the chaos at the NATO base; once Agent Hobbs and his team of civvie drivers had left London, pursuing Hattie Shaw's rogue younger brother to his next destination in Spain, she'd handed them off to the next available Slayer team for assistance. Buffy might still be the Slayer General, but she'd had other immediate responsibilities. And getting involved in the dénouement directly when she was, well, getting involved with one of the participants had seemed like kind of a bad idea.
When she'd heard about the fallout, though-- well, she'd had to see it in person. Their MI6 slayer had broken ties with both of her brothers a long time ago, but they were still her brothers, and she'd been the one to bring the earliest rumors from the intelligence community about Owen Shaw's new demonic allies to Buffy's desk herself. The call from the DSS not long afterward had been serendipity; the Council had already been investigating the matter from the other end before receiving the official excuse to get involved. And now that it was all over-- Hattie deserved to hear what had happened from the source.
Buffy bit her lip, then dialed, staring at the freshly scarred face of the comatose man in the bed.
"Shaw," a woman's voice answered, brusque and clipped. Not because she didn't know who it was-- Hattie had a separate phone for Council business, given the delicate nature of the balance between her MI6 job and her responsibilities as a Slayer-- but because the last time they'd talked, Buffy had been delivering the unwelcome news about the Nightshade device.
"He's alive," were the first words out of her mouth.
She heard Hattie's breath catch on the other end; then a muffled noise that might have been a relieved curse, or a stifled sob. Then she cleared her throat. "Did he...?"
"None of ours, though there were a lot of minor injuries. From what I gather, there was some jumping from planes and being thrown off of moving Jeeps involved, but Caridad's team waded right in, and everyone made it out alive. Including the woman they'd kidnapped to make their getaway. The government guys got the device back, and took Owen's team down, demons and all."
She wasn't sure how to bring up the rest of it; fortunately, the other Slayer picked up on the subtext before she had to. Hattie Shaw been one of the oldest Potentials called back in 2003; one of the more stabilizing influences in the mostly young and untrained army of Slayers in the beginning, and a very helpful resource for Buffy in the early days of rebooting the Council. She hadn't been MI6 then, but she had been in public service already, and brought her family's history on the dirtier side of the law with her as well. It had helped a lot in finding the gaps in the various legal structures around the world for the new Council to fit themselves into-- and how not to get caught at some of the coloring outside the lines they'd had to do to quickly ramp up their funding.
"There's something else," Hattie said, grimly perceptive. "The way you said he's alive... when they took his team down, what happened to him?"
Buffy sighed, then explained, reading from the chart Willow had hacked for her. The guy was a big bad, or possibly a big bad's lieutenant, no doubt about it. But her kind of fights usually didn't leave people behind in this sort of in-between state; either they were gone, or they got right back up. The times they hadn't... well, it brought back some uncomfy memories.
Hattie swallowed audibly once or twice, but was all business again by the time she finished. "Deckard's going to find out soon, if he hasn't already. I won't be the one to tell him, but he'll know. If any of your other friends are in that hospital, I can't predict--"
"Don't worry; my DSS contact is already processing their paperwork. They didn't see much from our side of things, just a few of the Archduke's minions, so there won't be any complications on our end. Soon as he's done with them, they'll be on their way home. But they're not the ones I'm worried about."
Hattie was silent for a moment; then she sighed. "I don't know how I feel about it. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I don't know what I'm supposed to tell our mother. But...."
Buffy made a face, remembering the times some of her own nearest and dearest had wandered over the line between right and wrong. Evil was still evil. Debts still had to be paid. But family was family. And until they were dead-- sometimes even after-- there was always a chance for reconciliation. Not wiping the past away, exactly, but finding a way to settle with it and move forward. "He's still your brother."
That was enough for Hattie. She cleared her throat, then spoke more briskly. "Yes, well. I do appreciate the call. But I won't keep you; I know you must have other things to be doing."
"No problem. Let one of us know if you need anything, all right? I mean it; even if it's just to split a tub of mint choc chip and talk shop for a while."
There was a faint smile in Hattie's voice as she replied. "Thank you, Buffy. I will."
Buffy ended the call, surveying the man in the hospital bed one more time, then stalked out into the hall. Snarly family business over, now for the other promise she'd made to herself, back in London.
She lifted the phone to her ear again, and told the automated assistant to make another call.
"Dialing Salty Goodness," it announced.
She smiled to herself, and began plotting her own flight back to LA.
(x-posted on twistedshorts and on AO3)
twistedshorts."He's alive," were the first words out of Buffy's mouth. She heard Hattie's breath catch on the other end.
Title: Navigating the Fallout
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Disclaimer: The words are mine; the worlds are not.
Rating: T/PG-13
Spoilers: Post-Fast & Furious 6; pre-Hobbs & Shaw; very post-series for B:tVS
Notes: Hobbs & Shaw was so ridic, it gave me more ideas for this universe. [Also, what was with them not even bothering to address Owen's existence in the movie? I think he shows up maybe once as a split-second unnamed kid in one of flashbacks.]
Summary: "He's alive," were the first words out of Buffy's mouth. She heard Hattie's breath catch on the other end.
There was one thing Buffy had left to do, in the aftermath of the Great Shaw Chase.
She'd missed most of the chaos at the NATO base; once Agent Hobbs and his team of civvie drivers had left London, pursuing Hattie Shaw's rogue younger brother to his next destination in Spain, she'd handed them off to the next available Slayer team for assistance. Buffy might still be the Slayer General, but she'd had other immediate responsibilities. And getting involved in the dénouement directly when she was, well, getting involved with one of the participants had seemed like kind of a bad idea.
When she'd heard about the fallout, though-- well, she'd had to see it in person. Their MI6 slayer had broken ties with both of her brothers a long time ago, but they were still her brothers, and she'd been the one to bring the earliest rumors from the intelligence community about Owen Shaw's new demonic allies to Buffy's desk herself. The call from the DSS not long afterward had been serendipity; the Council had already been investigating the matter from the other end before receiving the official excuse to get involved. And now that it was all over-- Hattie deserved to hear what had happened from the source.
Buffy bit her lip, then dialed, staring at the freshly scarred face of the comatose man in the bed.
"Shaw," a woman's voice answered, brusque and clipped. Not because she didn't know who it was-- Hattie had a separate phone for Council business, given the delicate nature of the balance between her MI6 job and her responsibilities as a Slayer-- but because the last time they'd talked, Buffy had been delivering the unwelcome news about the Nightshade device.
"He's alive," were the first words out of her mouth.
She heard Hattie's breath catch on the other end; then a muffled noise that might have been a relieved curse, or a stifled sob. Then she cleared her throat. "Did he...?"
"None of ours, though there were a lot of minor injuries. From what I gather, there was some jumping from planes and being thrown off of moving Jeeps involved, but Caridad's team waded right in, and everyone made it out alive. Including the woman they'd kidnapped to make their getaway. The government guys got the device back, and took Owen's team down, demons and all."
She wasn't sure how to bring up the rest of it; fortunately, the other Slayer picked up on the subtext before she had to. Hattie Shaw been one of the oldest Potentials called back in 2003; one of the more stabilizing influences in the mostly young and untrained army of Slayers in the beginning, and a very helpful resource for Buffy in the early days of rebooting the Council. She hadn't been MI6 then, but she had been in public service already, and brought her family's history on the dirtier side of the law with her as well. It had helped a lot in finding the gaps in the various legal structures around the world for the new Council to fit themselves into-- and how not to get caught at some of the coloring outside the lines they'd had to do to quickly ramp up their funding.
"There's something else," Hattie said, grimly perceptive. "The way you said he's alive... when they took his team down, what happened to him?"
Buffy sighed, then explained, reading from the chart Willow had hacked for her. The guy was a big bad, or possibly a big bad's lieutenant, no doubt about it. But her kind of fights usually didn't leave people behind in this sort of in-between state; either they were gone, or they got right back up. The times they hadn't... well, it brought back some uncomfy memories.
Hattie swallowed audibly once or twice, but was all business again by the time she finished. "Deckard's going to find out soon, if he hasn't already. I won't be the one to tell him, but he'll know. If any of your other friends are in that hospital, I can't predict--"
"Don't worry; my DSS contact is already processing their paperwork. They didn't see much from our side of things, just a few of the Archduke's minions, so there won't be any complications on our end. Soon as he's done with them, they'll be on their way home. But they're not the ones I'm worried about."
Hattie was silent for a moment; then she sighed. "I don't know how I feel about it. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I don't know what I'm supposed to tell our mother. But...."
Buffy made a face, remembering the times some of her own nearest and dearest had wandered over the line between right and wrong. Evil was still evil. Debts still had to be paid. But family was family. And until they were dead-- sometimes even after-- there was always a chance for reconciliation. Not wiping the past away, exactly, but finding a way to settle with it and move forward. "He's still your brother."
That was enough for Hattie. She cleared her throat, then spoke more briskly. "Yes, well. I do appreciate the call. But I won't keep you; I know you must have other things to be doing."
"No problem. Let one of us know if you need anything, all right? I mean it; even if it's just to split a tub of mint choc chip and talk shop for a while."
There was a faint smile in Hattie's voice as she replied. "Thank you, Buffy. I will."
Buffy ended the call, surveying the man in the hospital bed one more time, then stalked out into the hall. Snarly family business over, now for the other promise she'd made to herself, back in London.
She lifted the phone to her ear again, and told the automated assistant to make another call.
"Dialing Salty Goodness," it announced.
She smiled to herself, and began plotting her own flight back to LA.
(x-posted on twistedshorts and on AO3)
