Chapter 2 - Art and Rubies

"The Getty?"

"The new Getty," Cordelia said.

"See," Spike said, looking over Cordelia's shoulder at the monitor. "Palm trees."

"See. Gardeners," Cordelia snapped, shifting to the calendar.

"Jewelry and Jewels as Art and in Art."

"Which means?"

"They have a painting, they have a display of the same jewels or modern replicas, some on models--oh, I wish I'd known, I'd've applied--some in display cases. Oh, the models get to wear the same costume as the subject in the painting."

"Dilettantes," said Wesley.

"Silly," Spike agreed.

"But pretty," Cordelia said.

"The Research Institute," Wesley read.

"A special late night opening. Tomorrow."

"That's how he can get in," Spike said. "After dark."

"How many people are we talking about?"

"It's a benefit, for the Los Angeles Fine Arts Society. Wow. Ten thousand a ticket. Oh. The ticket is good for you and a date."

"So possibly not that many people."

"You and your date also get served a mid-night supper, at the café across the garden."

"Better be a hell of a good supper," Gunn said.

"I don't think they've posted the menu," Cordelia said.

"Why over there?" Gunn asked. "Not the supper, but the exhibition. Why isn't it in the Museum?"

"This says the Research Institute is normally of limited access to the public," Wesley said. "Why are they using it and not one of the usual exhibition areas?"

"Access control," Spike said, looking at the stylized map. "A limited and easily defined area with walls, doors that lock and lifts that need a key. It's called security, people. Not an irrational criterion, considering who can afford to attend and what they'll be looking at."

"Yes," Wesley said. "Very rich people and other portable valuable items."

"Even before this vampire got interested in the ruby," Gunn agreed.

"As an added bonus, the Getty staff don't have to stay up all night getting everything put away for the normal museum crowd tomorrow, they just limit the public access a little more than usual," Wesley said.

"Is there a service road? I would imagine there must be a service entrance," Gunn said.

"Just once," Cordy griped, "just once, I'd like to stay out of the kitchens and go in the front door at one of these things. Let me try for a satellite picture."

"I bet Dru's going right in the front door," Spike mused.

"Would a vampire have ten thousand dollars for tickets?" Gunn asked.

"Some of us are rich," Spike said, thinking of James Sternwood and some of the other vampires from Stanford, "but don't forget, the guy after the ruby--call him Jack--doesn't need to spend money to get the tickets, all he needs to know is who has them. He and Dru call on them, kill them, and take their tickets, and maybe their car, and Jack and Dru, and maybe a driver, are in."

"Jack the Ripper?" Cordelia asked.

"Jack Ruby, of course." At Cordelia's and Gunn's blank looks, Spike said, in an exasperated voice, "You humans have no real sense of history, do you?

"The Getty publishes guest lists?" Wesley asked skeptically.

"Angel ever mention Dru's visions?" Spike asked. "She might be able to find out who had tickets."

"Drusilla has visions?" Cordelia asked.

"Not as detailed as yours, apparently," Spike said.

"So what about those bodies?" Gunn asked.

"Right. Are they weltering in their blood?" Spike asked. "Or did they just fall over dead?"

"God, Spike, I don't know how Ann can stand you," Cordelia said.

Gunn looked at her, started to speak, stopped, and finally said, "That is a question Gytha would ask, Cordy."

"Possibly not so poorly phrased," Wesley said, "but how the guests are going to die is important to us."

"I know, I know."

"Sorry, Cordelia. I'm used to Ann and Gang Long knowing what I mean, and not being bothered too much about how I say it. I'm out of practice for talking to humans."

"I am not over-sensitive," Cordelia said.

"No, no, of course not," Wesley agreed.

"I just take these things very seriously."

"I understand that now," Spike said.

"And they're very upsetting."

"We know," Gunn said.

"And all the people just fell down dead, as far as I can tell. I didn't see any wounds, but I know they're dead." Cordy rubbed her temples.

"Spike, does the Viper have a hamper?" Wesley asked. "We've found Ann's wine is beneficial for the pain that attends Cordy's visions."

"Not surprising," Spike said. "Didn't the Cobra have one?"

"Angel took it with him. With such a specialized diet," Wesley said, "he thought it only polite to travel with his own supplies."

"He's becoming positively civilized," Spike said. "I'll be right back."

In the vampire's absence, Wesley said: "I don't know how it happened, but Spike is certainly more civilized himself than when I first met him."

"That was a while back," Gunn said.

"He's got the chip," Cordy said.

"Which stops him from killing us. It does not stop him from being sarcastic, rude, or unhelpful, which he has not been; certainly not as sarcastic as he was when Arlack Armel and his ilk were infiltrating the Council."

"According to Gang Long, he's been living at Gytha's a lot of the time," Gunn said. "She tends to bring out the best in people, and besides, she sure doesn't tolerate poor manners. Not at all."

"He got all prickly when you mentioned Angel," Cordelia said.

"I think it's logical to assume that they may have some points of contention yet to be resolved," Wesley said. "Even after so many years."

"Especially after so many years," Gunn said. "There's nothing like a past history to build up points of contention."

"Boy stuff," Cordelia dismissed.

"Close enough. Look, it's late, and I need to go," Gunn said. "So where are we putting him?"

"Upstairs," Wesley said. "Across from the courtyard from Fred, next to Angel's room."

"The plumbing stack in those rooms works," Cordy said. "As opposed to most of the other plumbing stacks. We need so many repairs."

"What you need is more parking," Spike said, coming back with the picnic basket from the Viper and a suitcase.

"More plumbing."

"Fewer leaks."

"I went out and bought you some sheets and towels," Cordelia said. "But you'll have to use them yourself."

"I brought some gear," Spike said. "What I saw when I was here last month made me think the housekeeping staff was overworked or nonexistent." He opened the basket and soon offered Cordelia a glass of wine.

"Better," she said, after sipping.

"Do you know Claire Galen?" Spike asked Cordelia. "My doctor, Angel's doctor? You could call her, and see if she knows about visions and your headaches. She might be able to do something for you."

"Oh? I'll talk to her, after this."

If Spike noticed Cordelia did not ask for Claire's phone number, he didn't mention it.

Wesley looked up and saw Fred darting back down the hallway from the balcony.

"Fred," Wesley said and waited.

After a long moment, Fred cautiously looked around the corner.

"You remember Spike. You looked at him last month, when he was here with Dawn."

"Hi, Fred," Spike said.

Fred darted back down the hall.

"Well, that's the last you'll see of her," Gunn said. "I'll be back in the morning."

About 9:00 AM the next day:

"I wish now I'd brought the Jag or one of the Mercedes," Spike said, pulling a late supper out of his picnic basket. He yawned. He opened a can of Cambells and, pouring it into a tumbler, warmed it in the microwave. He offered Cordelia some grapes.

"How many Mercedes does Ann have?" She shook her head at the grapes. "No, thanks, but don't put them away, I'll try to get Fred to eat them."

"OK. Two at the moment, more than she needs. We had a toddler for a while, and Ann felt a sedan was appropriate transport for him. The Jag and both Mercedes have filter spells on the windows, so I could drive out and case the museum today."

"That's a neat trick. Angel should have something like that," Cordy said.

"Talk to Ann about it. She's been thinking of giving one of the Mercedes away--she likes her new Jag better than either of them."

"Where did you and Ann get a baby?" Wesley asked.

"Long story."

"Gytha attracts people," Gunn said.

"Exactly," Spike said. "Which is how we got the nursemaids. The house was crowded for a while, and that was even before we captured the assassin and all the truant officers."

"Sunnydale doesn't change much, I guess," Cordelia said.

"These maps are not all that helpful," Wesley said, "I'll take the Cobra and reconnoiter."

"I'll go with you," Gunn said.

"Be ready to sketch a map when you get back," Cordelia said. "I don't understand either of you when you try to tell me what a place looks like."

"Meanwhile, you could go to a bookstore and buy some reference material," Spike said.

"What sort of material?" Cordy asked.

Spike handed her a sheet of paper, with a long list in his painstakingly neat handwriting. "I spent some time with Books In Print and some other sites last night. These looked the most helpful. Mostly about jewels, but some about the Getty Center."

"I guess you don't mean a chain store at the nearest mall, do you? Gemmarum et Lapidum Historia, by Anselmus Boetius de Boot, 1636? Are you kidding? Antique Gems: their origin, uses and values, by Rev. C. W. King, M. A., 1866? The budget won't run to all this, Spike."

"They can be facsimiles, if that's an option, but I don't want edited or translated text."

"Even so."

"OK. Pick the best local bookstore or stores, I'll call in the order and charge it. You go pick up what they can supply today, while I get some sleep."

"That'll work. Wes, where should we go?"

"Are all the books that specialized?" Wesley asked.

"There are some big coffee table books on the Getty."

"Very well, try these two," and he wrote down two phone numbers.

"Notice how he's got them memorized?" Cordelia asked.

"Really, Cordelia. Literacy is not something of which to be ashamed."

"Well, between both stores, we'll get everything today." Spike handed Cordelia another sheet of paper. "Here are the addresses. You have to stop at the third place, too, it's a clipping and copying service. I've ordered some copies of news stories, paper and video."

"If Wes and Gunn are taking the Cobra, I guess I get to drive the Viper."

She smiled at the vampire, who said, "Your logic is interesting," and handed her the keys. "Here, if you can get it to start, you can drive it. Sometimes it's picky: Gunn, Filis and Xander Harris each drove it, but it wouldn't start for either Giles or Tara."

Cordelia checked her hair in the big mirror on the back wall, took her purse, waved at everyone and went off to the parking area, going out the corridor to the right of the elevators across the lobby from the desk and office.

"How do you know how to do all this?" Wesley asked.

"Every so often, a charming detective and I go out for dinner and a show. Sometimes, we talk shop."

Later that day:

"So where did you get this?" Wesley asked.

"While you were gone and Spike was sleeping or watching TV, I got into the volunteer site at the Getty. It had lots about being a docent--you have to go to classes for that, did you know?--and a hotkey to the site that shows you how get apply for a real job there, an internship at the Conservation Center, or a grant at the Research Institute. It shows you a cute little map, telling you where to go to apply, and from there, I got in here, which is floor plans. Oh, layers."

"Sub-basement one?" Wesley read.

"Yes!" Cordy said. "Multiple levels of sub-basements."

"Is that helpful?" Spike asked.

"I don't know yet," Cordelia admitted.

"Look here, I found a better map," Gunn said. He opened a large book flat on the desk and unfolded a plan of the whole museum site. "First of all, Cordy, the place is huge! It's a lot of acres on top of a couple of hilltops, with some of the buildings built deep into the sides of the hills. Some of those sub-basements may be walk-ins, accessible from the side, not just from the top."

"What are these curved things?"

"Retaining walls, with plantings, not unlike the turfed walls in a mediaeval garden, only much bigger," Wesley said. "Gunn's right, it's huge. There are unexpected gardens all over the place. Not to mention railings, terraces, ramps, lifts, flights of stairs and small streams flowing down the center of the pavement. I wish we'd had more time--there's a sort of cohesion about the whole place that is really interesting, beyond the impressive exhibits. I could wander around for hours, just tracing the grid lines."

"Grid lines?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Wesley said. "Even the joints of the tiles of travertine marble that make up the pavements are aligned with the compass points. The details of the total conception..."

"You so need a life," Cordelia said.

"So what are we seeing?" Wesley asked Spike, who turned on the TV and started a tape playing.

"Recent gathering, these are the pre-soirée arrivals," Spike said. "Here's your mayor Hahn, and the governor; I don't know who that guy is--"

"This year's mayor of Malibu," Cordelia said.

"--the senator and the state assemblymen. So it's everybody trolling for votes, walking up the fire lane, working the lines and smiling. Now, as they pull back for a long shot, watch this car."

"Where's it going?"

"Down the lower service road." Spike hit the pause button. "You can see--this isn't a very good angle, but it's still visible--a canopy, right where the road passes the square thing at the base of the big doughnut thing."

"That's the Research Institute," Cordy said.

"Right. The limo stops under the canopy, the guests exit, the car goes, the guests go in the back door."

"With a red carpet, though," Cordy said.

"And the limo?" Gunn asked.

"Goes on," Spike said. "Parking lot, rear exit, somewhere."

"Non-public area, anyway," Gunn said.

"So who got to use the private entrance?" Wesley asked.

"Immaterial," Spike said. "But maybe we can tonight and if we can get here, even if we can't use the door, we can get in by climbing up the terraces or by going over this wall and using this ramp."

"Getting in appears possible," Wesley said. "Staying in may be the problem."

"There's one thing you'll like, Cordy," Gunn said. "The Center's caterer seems not to use waitresses."

"Only waiters," Spike said. "At least in the cuttings of the last two banquets."

"So we won't ask you to appear as catering staff," Wesley said.

"Thumb sized," Cordelia said. "My thumb."

"Oval, round, square or rectangle? Other?"

"Round."

"Cabochon or faceted?" Spike asked.

"Ah..."

"Like an opal or like a diamond?"

"Diamond."

"Modern, then." Spike flipped the pages of the glossy large format book on jewels. "Something like this?"

"Sort of."

"Maybe one of these? Not that there's much difference between one table cut stone and another of a similar weight."

"No."

"Are you sure it's a ruby?"

"It's red, like that. What else can it be?"

"I don't trust reproduced color that much and I don't have any idea how, or even if, your vision color correlates to reality."

"Ruby red is ruby red!"

"Maybe. Is someone wearing it, or is it in a case?"

"It's in a case."

Spike glanced at Cordelia. She was rubbing her forehead again. He carefully kept his voice neutral. "In your vision, what's it with? What's on the same shelf?"

"It's alone, on the top shelf. Beneath it, more shelves, more rubies, some like it, some smooth."

"Good," Spike said.

"All sizes. Some are carved, some are funny shaped, some are square. Next set of shelves are all green, emeralds."

"I think we can find it. Do you want to lie down for a while? Do you want some wine?"

"No," Cordy said, and went over to the file cabinet and started fussing with the contents. Spike slipped out of the office. Gunn and Wesley followed him.

"All right, so she doesn't know how the attendees die, and she's not sure of the stone's exact location. Unless you think she can see more if I press her, I'd like to ease up on her."

"No, she was giving all she could," Wesley said.

"So it's big, and it's next to some emeralds," Gunn said. "We can find it."

"I hope so." Spike decided to keep his concerns about green garnets and watermelon tourmaline to himself.

"I'm going to dress!" Cordelia said. She gave the three men a suspicious glance as she passed them as she went upstairs, but made no comment.

"How is Jack going to kill everyone?" Wesley asked.

"A couple of years ago, I was thinking...it doesn't matter. The point is," Spike said, as Gunn and Wesley each frowned at him, "an easy way of killing humans but not vampires is poison gas. It's a lot less chancy than the poisoned canapé routine. After all, humans need to breathe, but eating is optional."

"I thought of that, too," Gunn said.

"Which sort of brings us around to priorities."

"Yes?" Wesley asked.

"What are ours?" Spike asked. "I know what my individual priority is: keep you from staking Dru, if I can; but as a group, what are we doing here? Preventing the deaths? The theft? What am I about to risk my life to accomplish?"

"Cordelia says that the ruby is necessary for Jack to achieve the destruction of the world. Stopping that is our prime goal. If worse comes to worst, Spike, and it's a choice of one thing or another, save the world," Wesley said.

Spike nodded. "That's what I planned." Anything else would be a waste of Buffy's death, and he had no intention of doing that.

The Watcher nodded back at the vampire.

Chapter 3

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