Stopping just out of view of anyone in the small conference room, Buffy quickly checked her face and hair in her compact for any signs of her sprint up the stairwell. Satisfied that no one would be able to tell that she'd been running more than fashionably late until that last burst of slayer speed, Buffy stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

Slipping into one of the remaining seats, she looked around at the other seated occupants. Sam Finn, as expected, was dressed in the impressively non-descript uniform her group used for diplomatic meetings. She hadn't been expecting anyone else from Riley's team to show up, but Sam's solitary presence was a very clear indication that they were definitely taking a hands-off approach. If they'd expected to be part of the investigation, Graham or Riley would have been with her, no matter what they'd told Giles.

"Sam," she said, nodding in her direction. Sam winked back at her.

The others wouldn't have been hard to figure out, even if Andy's profiles of them hadn't included photos. The Commissioner and his assistant sat at one end of the table, the Chief of Detectives and hers at the other.

"Commissioner, Chief Cagney, I didn't believe you've met Ms. Summers before," Sam said, introducing her.

"Commissioner, Chief Cagney," Buffy said, briefly standing to shake their hands.

"Ms. Summers, Agent Finn has assured us that your organization can take care of this problem without attracting undue attention from the press," the Commissioner stated.

"We'll do our best, Commissioner," Buffy told him, projecting sureness. "Any press exposure will not come from us."

"Good, good. We'll leave you to your discussion then," he said, standing up. "Chief Cagney and her office should be able to provide you with any assistance you need." Nodding at the others, he stepped from the room followed by his assistant.

Raising an eyebrow at his quick departure, Buffy looked at the Chief.

"As long as we let him take credit for the high-profile cases, he leaves us alone to do our jobs," the Chief said.

"Ah," Buffy murmured, nodding in understanding. She had Giles to play political buffer herself. "So, how are we going to do this?" she asked. "I had to promise our new lawyer that I wouldn't sign anything without her approval. She won't arrive in the city until late this afternoon, but we can at least work out the broad details."

"You have complete authority over the investigation," Sam told her. "We'll provide any special assistance you request," she added, "but otherwise it's all yours." She slid a large envelope across the table. "Have your lawyer review this. It's the standard paperwork. I'll need a signed copy to take back to Washington tomorrow morning."

"So, the usual apocalypse disclaimer?" Buffy asked, opening the envelope and quickly glancing through it. "How much operational freedom do we really have here?"

"I prefer having my detectives running any investigations in the city," the Chief said, clearly unhappy. "But I was over-ruled. You have powerful friends, Ms. Summers. This investigation is now so classified only one of my detectives has been given clearance to be involved."

"Detective Polniaczek?" she asked. "We met yesterday," Buffy added in response to the Chief's frown.

"She's one of Chief Cagney's best detective," Sam said.

At the Chief's terse nod, Buffy said, "Good choice. Does she know yet that we're running this?"

"No," the Chief said. "I have a meeting with her in an hour. As long as you are operating on this case in my city, I expect her to be a part of it."

"Are you lending her to us or is she just observing?" Buffy asked. She really didn't have a spare slayer to babysit an observer.

"I expect her to keep me updated on your progress but otherwise she'll take her orders from you," the Chief said. "I want her back, in one piece, when you're done," she added firmly.

"We'll try not to break her, but we can't make any promises," Buffy said.

"A little experience in your world won't hurt her," Chief Cagney said. "Just don't forget that she doesn't have your unique abilities."

Frowning at the unexpected knowledge she was displaying, Buffy looked at Sam, who shook her head. "My world?" she asked.

"I would be a pretty poor Chief of Detectives if I wasn't aware of the non-human elements in my city," she said. "I expect you to listen to her advice in this matter, unless the Council has suddenly started hiring people with her expertise?"

"You have experience with the old Council," Buffy stated, suppressing a groan.

"Yes," Chief Cagney said but didn't elaborate.

"We aren't anything like them," Buffy said. "The old Council..."

"Wouldn't have asked permission," the Chief said, acknowledging she knew the difference. "I appreciate your efforts in keeping us informed."

"What else?" Buffy asked, turning to Sam.

"The FBI turned over their complete case files to us." She slid a slim briefcase across the table to Buffy. "Our analysts went over everything with a fine toothed comb and narrowed it down to this."

"I'm sure they wasn't happy with that," Buffy said. "How'd you manage to pry it loose?"

"It wasn't too hard," Sam said with a shrug. "They've hit a dead end using their usual methods and would rather it blew up in someone else's face."

"Anything else? Like an actual suspect?"

"We believe there is a clear connection between Sachs and the earlier attacks but our analysts couldn't find anything definitive. The FBI is still claiming there isn't a connection."

"So, probably not directly Council related," Buffy said, nodding. "But someone who knows enough to bring in talent that can handle someone like Andy."

Sam frowned, giving the Chief a quick look before answering her. "Our sources are being very quiet about this," she warned. "Possibly too quiet."

"Okay, I'll pass that on," Buffy said, standing up. Picking up the briefcase. "Anything I can send to the wiz kids up at the Mansion?" she asked

"A duplicate of that was sent up to Willow," Sam said. "If she needs any physical evidence, she knows how to contact us."

"Thanks, Sam," Buffy said. "Chief Cagney, we'll try to avoid damaging both your city and your detective. She could have been one of us, we'll treat her like family."

"One of you?" Sam asked, standing up, her face showing her surprise.

Buffy just winked at her and slipped out the door, leaving her with the Chief.