Title: A Sarcophagus in Sunnydale (Chapter 9)
Author: thecrystalkey
Summary: A newspaper article has sent Jack and Daniel to Sunnydale. What will they find? Primarily from the POV of Jack O'Neill but focuses on the Buffy characters.
Spoilers: Season 2 Buffy up to 'What's my line?', no real spoilers for SG-1 (early seasons).

Disclaimer: All characters copyright MGM or Joss Whedon/Twentieth Century Fox/Mutant Enemy. Only the plot is mine. This is a non-profit fan story not intended to infringe the rights of MGM, Showtime, Gekko or Double Secret productions. Nor those of Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, or Mutant Enemy. Besides I have no money, sueing me would be a waste of time. :)

---

I hate waiting, Jack thought as he stood in the balmy California night outside the Museum.

He and Daniel had been supposed to wait for the teens at the school library with Giles and Willow but Jack hadn't been able to stand the suspense.

He'd taken a cross, a stake and some Holy Water and snuck out into the night. He felt stupid with the paraphernalia, but better stupid than dead. After the fight last night he wasn't going to take any chances about what the night here held. Or ever again, come to that. The vampires had each been at least as strong and as fast as a Goa'uld, he did not want to come across any unprepared.

It was just about 11pm and Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase were due to arrive any minute. Jack couldn't see Buffy Summers anywhere around but according to Giles she was an expert at moving through the dark. And Xander and Willow weren't bad at it either, the librarian had said, though one or both usually played bait rather than hunter.

He watched what looked like an army truck pull up in the shadows of the building's delivery entrance. A lone figure swung out of the passenger seat and Jack caught a glimpse of what looked like Xander Harris in fatigues as the boy was caught in the glare of a streetlight.

He looked a lot older in those clothes and he moved like he belonged in them. Jack could see now how the kid had gotten away with moving around an army base undetected. He looked like any other private and moved with the confidence of a professional soldier.

As Jack watched the kid was handed a full bag by the driver of the truck and disappeared around the side of the building. When he came back a couple of minutes later and handed the bag back, Jack caught enough of a glimpse to see that it was now empty.

Distractions in place, the USAF colonel thought to himself. Hopefully they won't be needed. He was still tempted to call Sunnydale Army Base and ask them if they could account for all their equipment, specifically trucks and loaders. But as Giles and Buffy had said: point out the security holes after you've finished exploiting them yourself.

A small scream across the way pulled him out of his thoughts. Buffy had surprised Cordelia by coming out of the shadows it seemed. A quick whispered discussion and he saw the shadowy form that must have been Buffy move her hand towards her head. They were calling Willow then to start creating holes in the security system for them to slide through.

Xander and Buffy moved towards the back of the truck and unloaded something heavy, Jack assumed that was the loader.

Some whispered instructions to the Chase girl, still sitting in the truck's driver's seat and the pair of shadows moved off. They were pushing a third, much larger shadow between them.

A patch of light caught them just before they disappeared completely into the shadows by the service entrance. Jack caught a glimpse of Buffy dressed all in black, blond hair covered by a black scarf, but wearing stiletto heels, also black.

This is the worst part, Jack thought. He could feel the tension mounting as he waited. He amused himself by picturing the look on the Sunnydale base CO's face when the truck and loader were returned to him with thanks but no explanation. He wondered if he could get whoever delivered it to take a picture.

A half-hour passed and still they didn't come out. Jack could see Cordelia getting restless in the truck, but he knew she wouldn't leave.

That the coolest girl in school, who would never be seen dead with the others in daytime, had agreed to be the driver for this, said to Jack just how important she thought this group's work to be. Even if she'd never say it out loud.

Forty-five minutes after the two teenagers had first entered the building and Jack himself was getting restless. Unless they'd had trouble it shouldn't have taken them more than half an hour to load the sarcophagus and get out. The only thing keeping him in place was that he hadn't seen any lights or activity within the building that might indicate they'd been caught.

He still couldn't believe he was letting teenagers do this. He'd tried to argue one more time before they'd left from the library. Harris had just waved goodbye and left, saying he was worried that Cordelia would leave without him if he didn't meet her on time. So he'd ended up arguing with a teenaged girl.

--- Flashback ---

"Trust me," Buffy said. "You can't help. In fact, you'll hinder, because I'll have to watch out for you too when I should be concentrating on other things. Like moving quietly and not getting caught."

"I used to be in Special Operations, Miss Summers, I think I know how not to get caught," he said.

"You're still not coming," she said. "And my name is Buffy. Only Principal Snyder calls me Miss Summers."

"Fine, Buffy, I don't think you're getting the point here," he argued. "You're a teenager, I'm not. I should be telling you not to do this. I should be having you arrested for even planning it. But because it needs to get done and because your friends can get the things we need to do it, I'm not only letting you I'm, god forgive me, helping you."

"Actually," she pointed out cheerfully, "we're helping you. This might be for your mission, Colonel, even though technically you shouldn't even be in this town by now, but this is for the good of my town. You said that whatever's in there is bad. Well, I believe you. You said you want it opened as much as we do. I believe you on that too. But this is my town and I'm supposed to deal with the bad things here. So until you get it out of town, that sarcopha-thingy is my- our problem and me and mine are gonna deal with it."

"I understand how you feel," Jack said. "I really do, but you're missing the point here. I want to help."

"You can help by staying out of the way," she pointed out reasonably.

When Jack looked at Dr. Giles and then at Willow Rosenberg and then at Ms. Calendar, each had shrugged and nodded. He'd sat down in defeat, only to sneak out about ten minutes after Buffy left.

--- End Flashback ---

He sighed as he thought about that conversation. He wondered how Daniel had taken his desertion. Especially with Willow's obviously developing crush on the arcaheologist.

After the two youths had been inside the building for an hour, Jack couldn't take it anymore and got up to head into the Museum. He was halfway across when he heard and saw them come out the way they'd gone in.

He crossed the rest of the road, glad they didn't seem to have noticed and waited in the bushes. He was now close enough to hear any conversations. And to see that it was Buffy and the sarcophagus-laden loader that come hurriedly out the door. Xander Harris was nowhere in sight.

"Cordelia," Buffy whispered urgently as she parked the loader near the back of the truck. "Get over here."

With an audible sigh, the other girl got out of the driver's seat of the truck and, also wearing high heels, trotted towards the back of the truck.

"Where's Xander?" Cordelia asked as took one side of the sarcophagus and began trying to heave it into the back of the truck.

Again Jack was tempted to come out of concealment but Buffy appeared to be handling the lifting while Cordelia guided the sarcophagus into the truck bed.

"Not that I care if he gets caught or anything," the brunette cheerleader said. "He didn't, did he?"

She certainly sounded like she might care. Then again, Jack mused, she probably would mourn the loss of her best verbal sparring partner.

"Not yet," Buffy said. "He's trying to confuse things, give us time to load it. So let's hurry."

One last heave and the sarcophagus was in. Next the girls manhandled the loader into the back of the truck.

Just in time, too.

Xander came flying out the rear entrance just as the blond girl slammed the tail gate up.

Seeing that everything was ready, he lifted his hand and pointing it back at the building as he pressed the button.

A couple of muffled explosions from inside the far wing of the building and a couple of less muffled ones from the front signaled the boy's pre-planted "distractions" going off.

"Let's go," he said, jumping into the truck bed as the girls go into the truck cab.

They drove off just as a single overweight security guard came puffing out the service entrance.

Jack found himself laughing softly as he faded back into the night.

--

He did make it back to the school before the kids, but only just.

He'd just dropped into a seat, having come in through the stacks, when the kids themselves came in through the main library doors.

Amused glances from the other four in the room assured Jack that they wouldn't give away his secret.

"You just had to set them off, didn't you?" Cordelia was asking.

"What did you want me to do? Just leave them there?" Xander was asking. "Or better yet, try to retrieve them tomorrow?"

"Why not?" the cheerleader asked.

"Because it would easier all around if we just hung a sign around his neck saying 'I did it' as having him hanging around the crime scene," Buffy explained.

"Could we? Make the sign I mean?" Cordelia asked.

Xander rolled his eyes and Buffy laughed.

"No, Cordelia," the blond girl said firmly.

"Went well, did it?" Jack asked.

"Well, there were some complications," Buffy admitted.

"But now we know there's no evidence left," Xander added with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Good lord," Giles said. "You didn't…"

"You owe me french-fries," Xander said to Buffy. "Told you he'd say that."

The blond girl rolled her eyes.

"No, we didn't," Buffy reassured Giles. "No historically significant objects were harmed in the making of this heist. Not even by Captain Blow-'Em-Up over there, who blocked our escape with some well-timed garbage can explosions."

"And SoldierBoy saves the day," the kid said triumphantly. "Now that we're done saving the world again, can we eat? I'm hungry."

"First, who do I give the keys to?" Cordelia asked. "I don't even want to hold them any longer. That is the worst, and ugliest, truck I have ever driven."

"It's the only truck you've ever driven," Giles pointed out dryly. "I believe Colonel O'Neill will take the keys. There's a good girl."

She tossed the keys to Jack who caught them handily. She actually had a pretty good arm.

"There," she said impatiently. "Can I go?"

"Please," Xander said, gesturing at the door. The prom queen stuck her tongue out at the boy as she walked past him and out the door.

Before anyone could say anything else, Xander held up a hand and began a silent countdown from five. When he hit zero, he pointed at the door just as Cordelia walked back in.

"I was wondering if someone would walk me to my car?" she asked. "It is dark outside and all."

Buffy got up with a sigh. "I'll be right back," she said to the others and walked out with the other girl.

"So," Xander said, throwing himself down into a seat, "you headed back to…wherever you came from now?"

"Guess so," Jack said easily.

"I still can't quite believe that you did it," Daniel said.

The two teens still in the room looked hurt.

"I'm just looking forward to returning that truck and loader to the Sunnydale Base CO with compliments. I've been wondering if I can get whoever pulls that duty to take a picture and send it to me," Jack said.

He found himself sharing a grin with Xander and wondered again what his chances on recruiting the kid after high school were. Jack was sure he'd be an asset to the SGC.

"If you do," the kid said, "send a copy to me."

Jack and Daniel waited until Buffy got back from walking Cordelia to her car and then said their thanks and left.

As they were walking out, he heard the adults and teens begin to argue about what food to get.
--

He and Daniel were both silent as they walked out to the military-issue truck waiting in the staff parking lot.

Without a word both men went to check the contents of the back of the truck. Lifting the black tarp covering it, Daniel verified that it really was the real thing. He also bent to take a closer look at the seals on the cover.

"So?" Jack asked as they got into the truck's cab. They had already gotten rid of the rental car that afternoon.

"So, they did it," Daniel said in amazement. "They really did it."

"And they really just handed it over?" Jack asked.

"It's the real thing, Jack," Daniel reassured him. "Unless they had another one just lying around this is the one."

"How do the seals look?" Jack asked as he turned the truck's engine over and began to drive.

"It'll probably take us years to get them open," the archaeologist said. "That thing is heavily sealed. Hammond will probably send it to Area 51 for their guys to play with."

"Oh," Jack said sarcastically. "That's just too bad."

"The good news is Willow gave me a copy of that 3-D image she made, so I'll be able to study it and maybe figure out who's inside."

"Hopefully before we open it," Jack said.

"Hopefully," Daniel agreed.

There was silence in the truck as the men passed a sign saying 'Goodbye from Sunnydale. Thanks for visiting.'

Jack O'Neill stepped on the gas just a little as they passed the sign.

He regretted not having been able to get the Harris kid alone and, maybe, recruit him out of high school, but all in all he was glad to be leaving the place that housed something called a Hellmouth.

-The End-

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