Xander slammed the phone back into its cradle and hit the direct line to the guard shack at the front gate. "This is Major Harris, authorization Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot-Omega-Three. Seal the base, I repeat, seal the base. No one is to enter or leave the compound."

"Yes, Sir."

Xander started snapping orders to his suddenly silent squad. "Listen up people. A group of unknowns have taken Spike and Rom from the hospital. Three, Five and Six, I want you on their trail. If they get off base, Five and Six return to command, Three try to stay with them."

Fifteen men pulled away from the group and ran for their jeeps, only slowing down enough to grab their body armor and weapons.

"Four, I want you to secure level four of the hospital. No one in or out without authorization. Stay on site until D.I.S. takes over."

"Seven through Ten, start loading up. If we can't stop them here, we'll be bugging out."

"Team Two, I need you to stay here and run comms. I want the satellite's tracking Spike's chip and Rom's tracer as fast as possible. Jamison, contact the General, let him know what's going on."

"Team One and Coffey, you're with me. Let's move people."

**********

Xander ran for the holding cells, Team One hot on his heels. None of the remaining demons were considered possible candidates for treaties. Xander hit the switches, flooding the cells with a highly toxic gas. The demons died quickly and painlessly. Xander opened a control panel and typed in a command code. Steel doors dropped in the cells and intense light vaporized the remains. Once the cycle was complete, Xander typed in another code effectively sealing the cells until he returned to release the locks.

Xander led his team into sub-level three. After a retinal scan and hand verification, the vault door slowly swung open. Inside were twenty-four titanium pylons and three steel carrying cases. "Blake, I want these packed and ready to move. Make sure the lead seals on the cases match the check sheet. Stay here until either myself or General Marshall gives the okay to move.

"Understood, Sir."

"Come on, Coffey. Let's get your gear." Farther down the hall Xander opened another door with a set of coded keys. "Coffey, this is the 'Toy Chest'. Grab what you're comfortable with for weapons and I'll grab some armor."

Coffey stared, and a grin slowly grew on her usually placid face. "Toys. I love toys." She wanted one of everything, maybe two of the M-74's, but settled for a Glock and a Mac-11. They were both lightweight and easy to handle; she was going to have her hands full with the med kits.

Coffey turned in time to see the Major peel off his shirt. She didn't drool, but she wanted to. Gods, he was such a babe; you didn't get those kind of muscles just lifting weights. And that dark trail of hair running down into his black BDU's...yummy. She was so busy daydreaming that she missed what the Major had said. "Excuse me, Major. I was, uh...reviewing...what I needed to double check in the med kits. I'd hate to run out of something."

"That's okay, Coffey. Now, as I was saying, take off your shirt." Coffey could literally feel brain cells dying. "The gel that forms the inner part of this armor reacts to body heat. The gel will mold itself to your body shape."

Xander flipped the chest plate over to show Coffey the inside skin. "Since it's molded to fit your body exactly, it's a lot more comfortable to wear, and it reduces the chance of a round slipping through."

Xander dropped the body armor over his head and demonstrated how to adjust the shoulder straps before adding the shoulder guards. Three straps on each side connected the chest and back plates. A lightweight but nearly impenetrable steel mesh snapped over the straps, giving almost complete torso coverage.

Coffey pulled off her BDU jacket and olive drab T-shirt; there wasn't any room in military for modesty. Standing in her bra, she took the other set of armor from the Major and quickly sealed it up.

Xander checked over the fit, "Looks good, go ahead and put your clothes back on, the added heat will help. Head up to supply and get some black BDU's like mine. The Sgt. will have the patches ready for you. We use Velcro, no sewing involved. And pick up some extra rounds; once you get out fitted, head back to the command room. We'll form up there."

Coffey watched as the Major walked back down the hall. There was something about the sight of a man in black pants and wearing armor. "Down girl, he's your C.O., not going to happen. Besides, he's gay." She muttered to herself, then giggled, "But there's no law that says I can't enjoy the scenery."

**********

Xander glanced at his watch; twenty minutes had passed, more than enough time for some intel. Strapping his mike to his throat, he slung the ear piece in place and contacted comms.

"What have you got for me?"

"We're getting reports in now, Sir. There is no sign of Spike or Rom. We have all clear from all gates except for number six. Team Five is doing a visual confirmation now."

"I'll be on site in five. Hook me up with Jamison."

"Sgt. Jamison."

"Harris, here. Any luck?"

We're having some trouble syncing with Spike's chip and Rom's tracer, Sir. We're recalibrating now. We'll have data in thirty seconds. General Marshall will on site in fifteen, Sir. Sir? Would you like me to call Mags? Let her know we may be leaving?"

"I'll take care of that, Jamison. I'll be in comms. Contact me there."

"Affirmative, Major."

Xander made it into comms just as everything went to Hell.

"Comms, this is Five. Gate Six is compromised. I repeat, Gate Six is compromised. Both guards are down."

"Five, what is their status?"

"Uncertain, Sir. They're both alive but unconscious. They look like they've been shocked."

"Shocked? Like electrocuted?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Check their chests and back, look for small punctures about four inches apart." Xander said.

"Confirmed, Sir. Both of them. What is it, Sir?"

"Tazer. They should be all right, but we're sending medics to you now."

"Affirmative, Sir."

Turning to the comms op Xander said, "Recall Three. Have them help out in the motor pool."

The creeping sensation Xander had felt since Spike was taken had just gotten a lot worse. "Jamison, track the birds in a direct line from this local to Sunnydale, California."

"Yes, Sir." Jamison flipped a couple of switches and entered the tracking codes. "We've got them, Sir. Looks like two vehicles, moving fast. Do you want to call out the choppers?"

"No, I don't want to back them into a corner. We're going to do this smart. Get the mobile units ready, don't lose sight of them."

"We'll be ready to travel in ten, Major."

Xander contacted Blake in the vault, "Blake, we're bugging out, Seven will be joining you shortly."

"We're ready, Major."

"Good, after you're loaded, leave Seven on guard in the motor pool and head back to command."

"Affirmative, Sir."

**********

Xander showed the General into the office and shut the door behind them. "General, they're heading towards Sunnydale. Operation Sudden Death needs to be stepped up."

"Are we ready for this, Xander?"

"Yes, Sir. We'll be ready to travel within half an hour."

John Marshall smiled, "Good luck, Xander. If you need back up, let me know."

Xander suddenly had trouble meeting the General's eyes.

"What's wrong, Xander?"

"Well, Sir, you see...I haven't told Maggie about Spike yet. She's going to go ballistic."

Marshall laughed, "You take care of business, I'll take care of Maggie. Just make sure you're out of reach before I tell her."

"Good idea, Sir. I guess that's why you're the General."

"And don't you forget it, Xander."

**********

Once the squad was reassembled in command, Xander gave them the mission briefing. "Our vamp nappers are making a bee line to the Hellmouth. Operation Sudden Death has been moved up. Our objectives are three-fold. Rescue Spike and Rom, activate Nexus and give the local demon population their eviction notice."

Xander pulled a file off his desk and put several pictures on the viewer. "These are the players, Buffy Summers, the Slayer. Rupert Giles, her Watcher. Willow Rosenberg, she's a witch guys and a good one. Riley Finn, former Marine Captain with the Initiative. And this is Angel. Formerly Angelus, Spike's Grandsire."

Xander shut off the viewer, "Level one containment strictures are in effect. If the Slayer gets in the way, put her down, hard. Avoid killing her if possible, but do whatever is necessary to achieve the mission. Any questions?"

No one said anything so Xander continued. "Good. Six, Seven, Eight and Nine will set up the Nexus. Three, Four and Five, you've got perimeter duty. Teams One and Two will locate and liberate Spike and Rom. Coffey, you're with One. Ten, you've got floater for now. That is probably going to change once we get on site. I'll be with Nexus. As soon as One and Two finish their objective, they'll be regrouping with me. Let's move people."

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