[ BtVS 2117: THE SG-FORCE (9-12 of 16) ]

Willow looked around herself again and took in the scenery in the map room, from the looks of things Z had just dropped a bombshell on the group and things were just getting interesting.

“I ask again did I miss anything?” she asked.

“My sister is back,” Angel said coldly as she sat down at the meeting table.
“Care to explain that statement?” Buffy asked as she slid into her seat at the head of the table.

“Five years ago, she was found by the Angel Foundation seekers, those are the people hired to find potential candidates for the program, and brought to our head quarters. After a standard gene and DNA check, the coats concludedthat she was my sister of sorts, after all almost all of our markers matched,” Angel explained.

“Okay, but what about Future 2?” Rex asked.

“I’m getting to that,” Angel said and glared at the reporter who just smiled and pushed her glasses higher up on her nose. “So long story, extremely short, Demonique , double crosses us and tries to sell us out to the Future Project, we fight and the last time I saw her she was falling toher death,” Angel explained.

“So it was you that caused the fall of Future?” Rex asked again, ever the reporter.

“After a fashion yes,” Angel answered.

“But now they're back and seemingly on the warpath,” Spike stated as rubbed his chin.

“Perhaps I can fill in some of the gaps,” Z said speaking for this first time since his fast spoken report.

“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Buffy urged.

“While fighting with Demonique I took a peek into her mind and although her barriers are strong, I was able to discern the location of the head quarters of the Future 2 and also that Dru played a part in this somehow,” he said as his eyes fell on the vampire.

“They wanted me and my company out of the way, they saw me as a possible threat and they will come after you next,” Dru explained with clarityand stability that was very uncharacteristic of the once insane vampire.

“But why you, why not the OA?” Hope asked, looking up from the Codex.

“Those idiots couldn’t find their way out a paper bag,” Rex said firmly.

“Gee thanks for raising the public trust in law enforcement,” Hope said in an acidy voice.

“So what kind of force are we looking at here Dru?” Buffy asked calmly ignoring the banter.

“Oh I don’t know, fifty maybe a hundred,” Dru saidas she counted of on her fingers.

“That’s not so bad,” Rex said.

“Thousand,” Dru added with a slightly glimmer in her eyes.

“Oh,” Rex’s face sank.

“But that won’t happen until after tomorrow night,” Dru added.

“Explain?” Spike, who had been extremely calm throughoutthe encounter with his former lover, asked.

“They are cloning them. That’s the reason they took overmy company, they wanted to get their hands on the cloning technology my scientists developed. The clones will be fully grown and trained in two days time, maybe less, but then you wouldn’t get them very smart,” she explained.

“Why aren’t we the little law breaker,” Rex said as she adjusted her rose tinted glasses.

“Would somebody care to fill me in here?” Buffy asked. “Twentieth century girl,” she added as an explanation.

“Cloning of humans is illegal, body parts is okay but not the whole package,” Hope explained without looking up from the Codex.

“Great and where is this factory?” Buffy asked.

“Not far, out in the desert, but it’s heavily guarded and…” Dru started but Buffy just raised her hand for silence. “Spike take Rex here and give her a crash course in weapons and equipment, Z you work with Dru you have similar powers and we might need her.” At Dru’s shocked look Buffy onlysmiled. “What you thought you could keep it a secret from me?” she asked and then went on. “Angel you go and rest and Hope, you make sure that she does so and while you stand watch scrape some knowledge from that book of yours. Willow you are with me. It’s time you learned discipline,” she said firmly. “And the rest of you get your minds out of the gutter,” she added.

Section 1.0: Confrontations

Buffy dodged a highly lethal plasma blast, she did a split and the bolt flew harmlessly over her head. Her victory was short lived as she had to execute a series of jumps to avoid being turned into a crisp, landing on her feet not far away from Willow whowas almost surrounded by a nimbus of blue energy. She raised her hand and made a small gesture towards Willow. The Plasma-Slinger fell to the floor half a heartbeat later covered in a fine, tight woven net.

“Now are you ready to talk?” Buffy asked as she knelt beside the struggling slinger.

“Go fu…” Willow started but Buffy just covered hermouth with her hand.

“Now listen you little miss I’m mentally dysfunctional, I love you,” Buffy stated firmly. “So with that knowledge I’m going to remove my hand and we are going to try this again,” she said and removed her hand.

Willow stared wide-eyed up at the Slayer, Angel had told her the same thing earlier but she hadn’t quite believed it. How could anybody love somebody as flawed as her?

“No,” she finally said.

“No what?” Buffy asked.

“No you can’t… you can’t love me…” Willow stammered.

“Sorry but I do,” Buffy said as she started removing thenetting. Just as she had cut away the last strand Willow flung herself at her and they landed on the padded floor with a thud with Willow beating her fists against the floor on either side of Buffy’s head.
“You don’t understand, everybody that I have ever loved have died or gone away,” Willow cried as she continued hammering the floor. “And now I’m so afraid that I might lose you to Rex that I… I don’t know what to do,” she exclaimed as she collapsed on top of Buffy.

Unsure of what to do Buffy just wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and started gently rubbing her back as the sobs racked through her body.

“Hush now,” she whispered. “I’m not going anywhere, we are a team remember?”

Willow looked up with a small smile playing on her lips.

“So you don’t…”

“I only want you Plasma-girl,” Buffy said with a smile.

“What about Rex?” Willow asked.

“I talk to her earlier and Dru must be kind of lonely,” Buffy said with a giggle that soon became a shared laugh.

“We could do it you know,” Willow said. “Sort of abonding thing,” she added.

“I like the sound of it better and better by the minute and itwould be nice to be left alone,” Buffy nodded as her mind went to work on a plan of attack.

Z found himself in the strange situation of training the woman who last time they had met had put a considerable amount of hot plasma into his shoulder. With his characterizing calmness he just shrugged his shoulder and looked at her from across the table.

-Show me what you got? - He asked inside her mind. Then it came likea sledgehammer on a large mental plate followed by an exploding rainbow all inside his mind.

-Impressive- he said as he opened up his mind and the Master Vampire grabbed her head. –But your heart just isn’t in it- he added.

-You’re very strong child and my heart hasn’t done much of anything in a long time - Dru said as she drew herself up to her full height and started chipping away on the edges of his shield.

-Oh please- Z said with a sigh as he simply increased his defenses and felt the attack fade away.

-You might have been good in your time but I’m three hundred years ahead of you in evolution- he explained.

-I can see why she is drawn to you- Dru said. –And I do believe I underestimated you during out first encounter-

-You got lucky and I wasn’t really motivated back then- Z explained.

-What are you anyways?- she asked as they probed each other looking for weak spots.

-Something new and different- Z said with a smile.

-Oh really? Then try this on for size- Dru said with a grin as she opened up the part of her mind that kept her insanity locked away and now Z started to sweat as he fought off the assault from her mind.

-I’m not going to fall down that pit Drusilla,I spent half of my life learning control- he answered although his voice sounded strained. –Actually the more I look, the more I realize that you have grown tired of playing the villain and that you were once good, saintly even-

-How did you- Dru practically shouted into his mind.

-Like I said I’m something new- he answered with a smile. –Also you must admit that your last attempt was half hearted at best and you are a much better shot than to miss me at almost point blank range-

-Well I didn’t want to waste such potential- Dru answered witha small smile.

“I think that’s enough for now," Dru then said out loud as she drew herself out of the mindlock.

“As you wish,” Z said calmly.

“You have hate in you child. Not much, but it’s there slowly building,” Dru said.

“Everybody hates Dru and I think I’ve just found the wayto balance that out,” he said with a smile.

“You want to wipe away the last remains of your loves painful past, how noble,” Dru said and Z wasn’t sure if he was getting a compliment or getting mocked.

“Thanks!” he said with a roguish smile and Dru sighed.

“We have a long way to go child,” she said.

In the Danger Room’s armory Spike was getting tired of this human and she was lucky he had something resembling a soul cause that was pretty much what prevented him from playing a round of footy with her pretty little head.

“Take one more bloody picture and I’ll snap you in half,” he growled. “And you can’t quote me on that,” he added.

“Anything else General?” Rex asked him looking at him from over her glasses that where perched on what appeared to him at that moment as a highly punchable nose.

“Yes leave my great-granddaughter’s girlfriend alone,” he added as he placed the last piece of standard issue equipment on the table in front of them.

“Not very tactful are we?” she asked.

“I’m a 257 years old,” he answered.

“And sleeping with a nineteen year old, man I could have fieldday with this,” Rex said and got stared down by a pair of ice blue eyes. “Or not,” she gulped.

“She’s twenty,” Spike corrected. "Now pay attention cause this stuff could safe your life tomorrow."

“Standard issue slay-wristbands. These are thought controlled,so think blades and a blade will shoot out. The blades are made of silver edged carbon with a wooden tip, enough to kill any minor demon. If the blades get smashed think stake and one will appear in your right hand. It has a total of fiftyall nicely folded into a quantum cube. It has an onboard computer with a link to the control room here at the mansion and to G.I.L.E.S. and if you really get in trouble slam them together as hard as you can in front of your face and they will light up like the sun and fry every vampire within a fifteen-foot radius. Now put them on,” he instructed and handed them to her.

“Stylish,” she commented as she snapped the silver colored bracelets on.

“Standard issue slay-suit,” he said as he started adjusting her suit. “Made of carbon strings woven into a light metal mesh, it’s outer layer is a laser and light absorbent, zero-resistance material so it slows you down when you fall and you can jump further and run faster cause it makes you almost frictionless. So you can take a hit in this, but not too many so be on your feet.”
“Hey,” Rex explained as he zipped the suit all the way up and adjusted it at the back by reaching around her.

“This is nothing new to me Miss Rex,” he said with a grin. “Also if you don’t keep it zipped it won’t stop spit,” he added.

“Utility belt, custom made for each member of the team, but the basics are a grappling hook that goes on top of the right or left wristbands, first aid kit and in your case a camera built into the buckle along with various other compartments you can fill at your leisure,” Spike explained and handed her the belt. “Also there are four compartments around your ankles,” headded.

“Can I get an energy blade?” Rex asked after she had fastened the belt around her waist making it slope down onto the right side of her hip.

“Like this?” Spike asked and drew his blade. A red beam of pure energy appeared as he tuned it on and it crackled against the air until he shut it down. “You sure you can used one of these?” he asked turning the cylinder over in his hands before tossing it to her.

“Co-captain of my high school fencing team and captain of the team in collage,” she said as she caught the cylinder in midair.

“Show me,” Spike said and drew his blade from the belt, pressed the switch in and the pure white glow of his blade flared to life.

The bladesclashed and Spike although he could have just disarmed the reported was curious to find out just how talented the busty blond bombshell was. It took him thirty seconds to build up the rhythm, five seconds longer than usual, it took him another fifteen to get an opening, again five seconds longer then usual, finally ittook a good minute more to disarm the report once he had her on the run. This woman was a fighter no doubt about it. The red blade spun out of Rex’s handand shut itself off before landing on the floor, then pressing the advantaged Spike just had to add insult to injury and the reported landed flat on her ass. Spike smiled as he shut off the blade and offered her his hand.

“You are good kid,” he said. “But just how did yougo from co-captain to captain?” he asked.

“Ran the captain before me through the shoulder in practice, accident honest,” she said with a smile.
“Oh I think you are going to fit in just fine,” Spike said as he hauled the reporter to her feet.

“Maybe it’s the cape?” Rex said as she retrieved the blade.

“Or the fact that I’m 230 years older then you,” Spike added.

“But there is room for a cape?” Rex asked.

“Miss Rex there is always room for the cape,” Spike saidas he spun and walked out of the training room with his cape flapping behind him with Rex following but in a blink of an eye he was standing in the doorway leading into the mansion with a grin on his face.

“Computer activate training program Spike One and put a forty-five minute timer on the doors and lock them after I leave the room,” he said and before Rex could shout at him the door sealed shut and the interior of the room shifted from that of a armory into that of the Danger Room.

“You son of a bitch,” she muttered as she ignited the blade again.

Enter login: …

Rupert

Enter Password: …

Watchfulness

Logging onuser Rupert…

Welcome tothe SG-FORCE database Rupert…

Please select action…

Enter new member…

Codename: Rex

Full name:Christina Rex

Voice sample: It's been fun! (Full sample pending)

Known Relatives: None

Age: 27

Year of Birth: 2090

Class: Human

Occupation: Reporter

Base of Operations: Sunnydale, CA

Ht: 6’2

Wt: 140 lbs

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blond

Known Powers/Abilities: Above average swordsman.

General information: Miss Rex only recently joined the SG-FORCE, or rather was forced into the team after following up on a story leading to her assisting in rescuing Dru from execution. Quick on her feet and with a sharp mind she could be an asset tothe team. Miss Rex shows an interest in Buffy that should be considered fleeting at best.

Save…

Enter New Member…

Codename: Dru

Full name:Drusilla (Last name unknown)

Voice sample: If you won’t untie me at least get this infernal ball away from me!

Known Relatives: William Spike (childe)

Age: Circa 270

Year of Birth: Unknown

Class: Vampire/telepath/seer

Occupation: President of Dru Enterprises

Base of Operations: Sunnydale, CA

Ht: Unknown

Wt: Unknown

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Known Powers/Abilities: Enhanced strength, speed and senses following the demonic possession. Dru also possesses strong mental abilities as well as the ability to see into the future.

General information: Driven from power as the Master vampire in Sunnydale Dru has, for the time being, been taken into the SG-FORCE. She undoubtedly has her own agenda, but her experience and considerable mental powers make her an asset for the team. The madness that characterized Dru for centuries seems to be gone, but Dru is far from sane and likes to speak in riddles and is the source of irritation formany on the team, but for the time being she is needed.

Save…

Logging off user Rupert…

Angel opened her eyes to check if Hope was gone, then she swung her legs out of the bed and made a line for the bathroom. After splashing some water in her face, she went through her ritual. Walking back into the bedroom with the medicine bottle in her hand she shook the pills into her hand and swallowed them. Dropping the bottle on the nightstand she checked her injuries and then dressed in her armor.

Section 1.1: Wandering in the Night

Hope had trouble sleeping like everybody else in the mansion probably did, but for some reason she also felt alone. Truth to be told she hadn’t been out of it as much as she let on when she slept with Spike, that was just her excuse. She had been curious and she always got what she wanted, but what she had gotten with Spike scared her a bit, hell it scared her a lot.

“He’s just a man,” she mumbled in frustration as she beat her pillow again.

Spike smiled from where he hovered outside her window just another trick he’d picked upafter getting infused with the Guardian Spirit of Earth. It felt good to be a part of a group again, although he had to assert some amount of self-control when he was around Drusilla, but in the end it was just a part of the job.

Yet Hope was not a part of the job and being great granddaddy to Willow was not part of the job either. That just made life interesting.

Buffy wokeup as she sensed somebody standing outside the door leading into her room. The person shuffled her feet and Buffy smiled as she sat up in the bed remindful to cover herself since Willow would probably faint if she saw her naked.

“Open,” she called out from her bed and the door opened up to reveal Willow in her pajamas holding a pillow.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Willow said as she stepped into the room. “And I know we agreed to take it slow, but I…”
“Want to make sure,” Buffy said with a smile as she lifted up a corner of the comforter and patted the mattress.

“I don’t want to be without you tonight,” Willow said as she slipped into the bed and Buffy pulled the comforter around her.

“It’s not like we are doing this for the first time you know,” Buffy said regarding the mission that loomed ahead.

“Well last time is was so sudden and I wasn’t really sure how I felt, now there is this looming thing that we know is coming,” Willow said as she snuggled up to the Slayer.

“Don’t worry,” Buffy said and kissed the top of her girlfriends' head. “Looming darkness is my specialty,” she said.

Willow smiled as she tried to touch Buffy as much as possible, longing for the physical contact she had long denied herself in sake of the cause. After a moment of content silence there was a soft beep from the wristbands laying on the nightstand.

“G.I.L.E.S. it’s two AM,” Buffy groaned in frustration.

“I am aware of that miss Summers, but need I remind you that you requested to be notified if Miss Rex approached Drusilla,” a equally irritated British voice answered.

“Oh you don’t say?” Willow asked looking up at her girlfriend.

“Relaying the feed from the roof camera to your holoscreen,” G.I.L.E.S. said with a hint of artificial snicker in his voice and a screen flickered into life above the bed.

Drusilla sat on the roof and looked out over the city, the vampire felt a strange conflict inside her mind. On one side was the cool corporate thinker persona she had adopted eighty years ago in order to survive and on the other hand was the saintly girl she had been before her madness and turning at the hands of Angelus over two centuries ago had taken place, then there was the part of her she had locked away, the insane seer with a limited grasp on reality. She was trying to decide if ruling the world was really worth all the trouble.

-Of course it is you idiot! Power is everything- the corporate thinker said in its icy cold voice.

-But the rewards are a splendid isolation and suspicion- the saintlygirl said in a soft caring voice.

-The moon sings a lonely song tonight- the third part of her fractured psyche said in her dreamy voice.

“Plotting our downfall,” a husky voice that sounded like the wind that blew over the blood stained streets of the Slums asked and Rex sat down next to her.

“Rex what brings you out on this cold night?” Dru asked without even turning her head to acknowledge the reporter.

“Boredom… and I don’t need much sleep,” Rex answered as she studied the vampire and took a picture through her glasses.

“You see the world through rose tinted glasses,” Dru said. “And still the picture isn’t pretty,” she said.

“True, but the world will never be a perfect place anyway,” Rex answered as she pulled the cape she had attached to her suit around herto ward off the chill coming in from the ocean.

“You have always dreamed about playing the hero haven’t you child?” Dru asked and finally turned around to regard the report.

“I guess so, but don’t tell anybody,” Rex answered with a smile.

“It shines through,” Dru said. “Like sunlight shinning through a dirty iceberg.”
“You must spent at least six hours a day coming up with those,” Rex commented.

“I don’t sleep much,” Dru answeredwith a grin.

“Why are you still here?” Rex answered after a short silence.

“I do not like losing and both William and theSlayer are itching for an excuse to end my existence,” Dru answered.

“So this is no higher calling or…”
“There are other reasons to stay,” Dru said.

“Such as?” Rex asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I find this little group entertaining,”Dru answered with a small smile.

In Buffy’s bedroom Buffy cheered as Dru managed to baffle the reporter and earned a strange look from Willow who shut down the screen they were watching.

Dru placed a hand on Rex's shoulder and smiled as the reporter winced slightly.

"I see the Slayer made her point," she nodded as she removed the hand and looked at it for moment or so.

"Sure did, almost had me believing her," Rex answered with a small smile.

"Not what you expected?" Dru asked.

"It was an act sure, but consider me scared," Rex said.

"Good," was all that Dru said and then they went back to looking at the moon.

Angel silently dressed in her armor and then slipped out of her room as silently as a mouse. Mission or no mission the Slums were unguarded and she was needed. Turning around after closing the door she stopped dead in her tracks as her heart got caught in her throat and her mouth went dry.

“Going somewhere?” the calm voice that could only belongto Z asked. He was leaning up against the wall besides the door with his hands crossed over his chest, dressed in telepathic black he almost blended completely into the shadows. Only his red eyes shone like twin rubies and his face was pale as always.

“The Slums to do my duty and don’t you get in my way Zoëga,” she said in a cold voice and turned to walk towards the Hall of Heroes and the skylight there.

“Usually I wouldn’t dream of it,” Z said and then Angel found herself unable to move. “But tonight you need to rest,” he said.

“Let me go,” Angel said through gritted teeth as she struggled against her invisible bonds.

“Alright,” he said and with a wave of his hand he let her go, she would have fallen face first onto the floor if he hadn’t been there to catch her.

“Let me go,” she said again as he ran a finger under hereye removing the make-up that covered the dark rings under her eyes.

“I may be many things Angelica but I’m not stupid and neither is Buffy,” he said in a low voice as he drew out a handkerchief and started to remove the make-up from her face. “You are running yourself ragged, at first I thought it was just stress but…”

“Should have never let you into my mind,” Angel mumbled as he gently ran the cloth over her face.

“You don’t need to be a telepath to see it and I’mpretty sure Buffy suspects, but her current problems are preventing her from investigating,” he said as he finished wiping her face and placed the handkerchief back into the breast pocket of his suit. “Now lets get you out of that armor and into bed,” he said as he effortlessly picked her up.

“Will you let me into your mind?” Angel asked with a nervous smile as the door leading into her room swung open under the power of Zoëga’s will.

“I don’t think you’ll enjoy what you’ll find,” Z answered as he laid her on the bed and then helped her sit. The bottle of jumpstart pills that lay spilled on her nightstand floated through the air and into the trashcan.

“I want to see…” she insisted in a low voice. “My scars are deep, but I think yours are even deeper,” she said.

“We are all scared here,” he answered with a hint of emotion in his voice. “But if you insist I will show you,” he said as he gently placed his hands on her head. One stayed on her cheek and the other caressing the backof her neck.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered.

“I’m not afraid,” she stammered.

“Not yet,” he said with an evil grin as he pulled her towards him and kissed her full on the lip as he drew her into his mind.

Angel’s mind was flooded with his memories, everything Stefan Zoëga was flowed into her mind, his birth when he was removed from the cloning pod, his childhood filled with genetic manipulation and the almost endless pain and the death of his friends as failed experiments. Then came his rescue by William Harris and the Angel Foundation and his new life with the Hope and her parents. Then came the rigorous training he received to control his powers and further more his emotions. Finally she saw how he willingly subjected to the placing of carefully constructed magical and mental blocks designed to keep his powers and darker side in check until he reached maturity. Blocks that were now breaking down, maybe too soon. Then she stared into the face of the part he kept hidden, the part of him that Dru had seen so clearly, staring back at her with blazing red eyes, filled with anger at the world that had allowed him to be born into such a cruel destiny. But then there was a beacon of light in the darkness as the light grew brighter she felt herself drawn to it.

Then finally after what seemed like hours he pulled out and she could hear him sobbing. Finding herself lying on the bed, devoid of her armor and unsure of what to do she wrapped her wings and arms around him and pulled him closer and started comforting him, her boyfriend, although that title didn’t do what they shared justice. What they had just shared made them more, made them soul mates andor at least fellow sufferers at the hands of humankind.

Section 1.2: Gathering of Unlikely Heroes

Here’s what I know. An organization calling itself Future is planning something big and nasty, to achieve that end they have taken over Drusilla’s company and secured the mass-cloning technology she’d had her scientist develop. Note: cloning is illegal. With this Future-2 plans to create an army, but to what ends is unknown. Still, given their history we have assumed that they are up to no good. One of their top people is an enhanced human named Demonique. She is Angel’s evil sister and she wants Angel and everybody who she cares about dead. That makes it very much our business. Hopefully we can get this over and done with a start planning the New Years Party.

Buffy looked over her gathered team. All fresh from a night’s sleep and dressed for battle.The clock was approaching midnight. That meant shift change for the OA and the time they had chosen to strike was once the fresh shift was in place. They were gathered in the desert outside of the city waiting for the signal that the OA officers were in place and that they could go to work. They could see the lights coming from the factory roughly two miles away from their position, it was well located and would have to be taken with force.

Willow stood tall in her green slay-suit, with blue plasma dancing under the skin of her hands and her eyes had taken on a blue hue. Her red haired tied back into a ponytail and her face filled with a serene peace that comes with the absolute understanding of your purpose in the world. Buffy never felt more in love than at that moment.

Angel woreher gleaming silver armor with an almost regal baring, her wings spread to their fullest and the talons on her hands sharpened to perfection gleaming in thepale light of the half-moon. She seemed to be in that place where she went whenever she patrolled the Slums, fueled by her controlled rage and hatred. Still tonight there was something else in her eyes, compassion and hope, hope that everything would turn out right in the end and that she would go home and curl up withZ after this was all done.

Z looked as he always did, calm and like he had just woken up. With his hair falling into his eyes and wearing that black uniform forever marking him as a telepath. He was perhaps their most potent weapon and biggest wildcard. He was standing awfully close to Angel though, something had definitely happened between the two.

Spike was standing slightly apart from the group with his cape swirling around his legs and his hair blowing in the wind. The man did know how to strike a pose and look cooler then Jesus Christ himself. Rex stood with him and made up the other half ofwhat had quickly been dubbed the caped duo. The white cape flowed down from her shoulders and down to her ankles, but the rose tinted glasses never left her nose.

Dru was something of a mystery to Buffy and truth to be told she scared her a bit. But that obscure line Hope had found in the Codex made her glad that the mentally sick vampire was on their side for the time being, also she made the slay-suit look good.

Hope was holding the fort back at the mansion, running simulations with G.I.L.E.S. and watching the Codex for any changes. All in all they were as ready as they would ever be.Then of course it all went to hell and Murphy’s Law reared its ugly head at them.