This one's set mid-season five Buffy. mid-season 2 Angel, some time after
Riley fled Sunnydale. Joss owns them.
Riley Finn crept through the jungles of Belize, rifle in hand, hunting for demons. It was a routine patrol off base – at the moment base was a camp about eight miles outside of the city of Orange Walk, in the middle of the jungle.
The unit was here on a semi-official basis. As in, "Thanks ever so much for wiping out those nasty demons – but if you're caught we and your own government will call you rogues." Did mean they had nice equipment, though not the same kind of heat he'd packed in the Initiative. Because, well, here it was kill, not capture. They had a laptop with a database on every kind of nasty the US, Belizean or British governments had run into along with the best ways to kill them. Most times plain old bullets worked nicely, but every once in a while you ran across something that needed that little something extra.
Such as now. A couple of small villages out in the hinterlands had been completely overrun by Makkari demons, and while bullets hurt 'em only electricity and brute force would kill. And it would've taken the Hulk . . . or Buffy . . . to outmuscle the demons.
Buffy. First time he'd thought of her in at least five minutes. Damn, he'd come down here to forget –
Stupid him. It wasn't going to happen, not this soon, and possibly not ever. Right now, the best he could hope for was to keep busy and not ask questions. Questions like, why hadn't she come after him? Why had he left? Why had he been so DAMN stupid as to pay a vampire to drink his blood –
Anyway. Here he was at the trailing edge of Ravens Roost. Riley was here on a scouting mission – check to see how many there were and get back without getting killed. So he had the full gear – nightvision goggles, the highest- end camouflage clothes, and a stun rifle in case he got jumped.
He crept up behind an outbuilding – this place had maybe a dozen or so houses, a few stores and a gas station, nothing more. Right now he was behind the gas station. A couple of the Makkari were standing in the middle of the street, with a couple of –
Oh, god. They had a couple of children at their feet. The Makkari had apparently developed a fondness for eating children; in the last two weeks he and his unit had rescued a half dozen orphaned children from other Makkari outposts. They were staying in one of the permanent buildings until the unit could get them to their surviving relatives.
So what did he do?
Despite his orders he couldn't let the demons kill the children. If he had to write up a report detailing it as self-defense so be it. Riley snuck forward until he was hiding behind an old Ford Escort and fired the rifle from his hiding spot.
The nearer of the two demons exploded from the chest outward. The children screamed and dropped to the ground, and the other demon ran towards Riley as fast as he could.
As did the two coming from around the corner of the nearby Post Office.
Crap.
Riley shot the rifle three more times, blowing up one of the demons and scorching a second. Then he had to turn and run. Fortunately, Makkari demons weren't particularly fast on their feet; with any luck he could outrun –
Or not. The scorcher caught him as he dodged around a tree and slammed him into the trunk. Riley brought the rifle up and had it knocked from his hands.
No way was he going down without a fight. Riley doubled his fists and slammed them into the demon's stomach, then slugged him in the face as hard as he could. The demon felt it, but not enough to matter to Riley, who suddenly found himself on the ground. The pain was unbearable and he blacked out for a few seconds.
That he came to at all surprised him. He was dimly aware of a struggle taking place, and first one Makkari, then the second, toppling to the ground with broken necks. Then a strong, powerful, and oddly clammy hand pulled him to his feet. He looked into the eyes of his rescuer –
Angel.
Part 2
"Not that I'm glad for the assist," Riley said, "But what –"
"Am I doing here?" Angel smiled grimly. "That can wait until later. What's going on?" Surprisingly to Riley, Angel was dressed for the climate – no trenchcoats, no leather pants. The vampire had on a black t-shirt and shorts. He thought that was dumb – mosquitoes – but then realized that of course the mosquitoes wouldn't bother Angel. Heck, they'd probably come to him for pointers.
"Well," Riley said hesitantly, not liking the tone in Angel's voice, "This is technically a military operation –"
"And I technically just save your ass. I think that buys me some answers."
Riley sighed. The hell of it was, Angel was right. "There's a group of Makkari demons that have taken over several small towns in this area, killing or driving out the adults – and worse, eating the children." He walked over and picked up his stun rifle from where the one demon had knocked it.
"You're kidding me."
"No, I'm not. Actually, I'd just come from saving two of them in Ravens Roost back there – that's why I was being chased. They were ticked that I'd just killed two of their comrades."
"That explains it." He paused. "No, it doesn't. It's completely ridiculous."
"What's ridiculous about it?" Riley asked.
"Well, for starters, the Makkari are vegetarians."
Riley shook his head. "That's not what we've heard – or what we've seen."
"It makes no sense at all. Meat is poisonous to Makkari. I'm not saying they're charming and pleasant individuals – they're not. But flesh? One bite and they'd be dead in seconds." Angel sighed. "Where did you hear these stories from?"
"Well – from the kids. They were the only survivors in the villages we've already helped. The adults were dead."
"I think I'm going to need to see this one for myself."
Riley nodded. "Okay. But try to keep quiet and stay in the background."
Angel chuckled. "You forget who you're talking to. Blending into the background's my specialty."
"This isn't LA," Riley said, feeling the back of his head. He didn't feel like he had a concussion, but it was damned sore back there.
"Neither was Sunnydale."
Shrugging, Riley said, "Good point." Then he crept back to the edge of the town as quietly as he could. Looking behind him, he could see Angel simply walking and somehow managing to be even more silent and concealed than Riley was. Definitely a good point. If Angel could bottle and sell that to the army he'd be rich.
Damn. Everything was such an effort for Riley, too. Just like Buffy –
No. Still better not to think that way, at least not yet. Though he was pretty sure Angel hadn't made his way down to the forests of Belize just to give him an assist with a town full of rogue Makkari demons. No, it had something to do with Buffy, but Riley was perfectly willing to postpone it.
Heck, he'd be willing to go into the ring with each of the Makkari singlehanded and follow that up with a wrestling match with three angry crocodiles and a hungry shark if it meant postponing THAT conversation.
And then they were at the gas station. Angel commented, "I see where the fight started," pointing to the two thoroughly dead demons in front of him.
"I actually wasn't supposed to get in any fights unless it was self- defense," Riley said. "But there were these two children –"
"What two children?" Angel asked. Riley looked around and sure enough the two children he'd been trying to save had vanished.
"Maybe some of the other Makkari –"
"Uh-uh," Angel said. "I'm not saying a Makkari wouldn't kill a kid but he'd have to have a good reason. They're not nice but they're not bloodthirsty, sadistic, or particularly nasty."
"Then why would the children we rescued say what they did?"
"It's a good question," Angel said. "And – Hold it. I think I see the answer. Under that streetlight over there. What do you see?"
Riley turned his attention a bit down the road and saw the same two children he'd been trying to rescue earlier, one boy, one girl, both small and helpless. "I see the kids I was trying to help."
Angel shook his head. "Come with me."
"The Makkari will kill us," Riley said.
"We're not going to need to worry about them in a few minutes," was Angel's reply, and he and Riley walked down the road to the two children.
They looked up at Riley with big, pleading eyes. "Thank you, sirs!" they said.
"Are there any more – WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Riley leveled his rifle at Angel, who'd picked up the girl. "Put her down."
"I don't think so," Angel said. "Watch." And before Riley's horrified eyes Angel broke the girl's neck and dropped the corpse to the ground.
Part 3
Riley hadn't yet gotten over his shock at Angel's actions when the boy looked up at Riley. "Don't let him hurt me, sir," he begged. "Please!" Several Makkari emerged from the nearby buildings. "They'll all eat me! Please help!"
"How – how could you?!" he demanded, pulling the boy closer. "You son of a –"
"Look at the girl," Angel said unexpectedly. Riley's eyes shot downwards as he examined the girl's broken body and saw, for just a second, a small, large-eyed, bright orange figure. He blinked and shook his head and then saw only the poor girl's corpse. He looked back at the boy and was overwhelmed with sympathy.
And then the Makkari attacked them both. Riley fired out as many charges from the rifle as he could – killing three of the eight charging demons – and this time he brought the barrel up into a fourth one's face. Best way to fight these guys hand-to-hand was to not. Second best was to stick and move, stick and move. So, as quickly as his concussion would allow, he dodged backwards as fast as he could.
Angel was having less trouble. He matched the Makkari in strength and was easily their superior in agility. He'd have to remember this when he killed the bastard for murdering the little girl. But for now two of the Makkari were down on the ground and the other two around him were circling warily.
Riley couldn't spare more than a split-second glance for Angel's situation; he was too busy dodging the Makkari in front of him. It looked even more vicious and hungry than he would have thought, and if he'd been able to bring the stun rifle to bear, he would have blown the monster up as soon as he could.
Until then it was stick and move. He connected with the barrel twice, once to his enemy's face, once to the kneecap. It was like being in a brawl with Shaquille O'Neal. And fortunately this guy connected about as often as Shaq nailed a free throw. Still, it connected often enough for Riley to feel it. No way was he going to win a slugfest.
So he hit the Makkari in the stomach with the rifle's barrel, turned, and ran. As he expected, it followed him after a few seconds. Riley didn't bother twisting, turning, or trying to dodge; he simply wanted distance. Once he got about forty feet ahead, he dove to the ground, rolled, and came up firing.
Success! The demon exploded. Riley then turned back to Angel's part of the fight –
And the vampire was done with his battle as well. Two more blows to the head of the remaining Makkari and it went down.
Back to just Riley, Angel, and the scared little boy again, now huddling by himself over by an antique-looking streetlight. Instinctively, Riley went over towards him – only to have Angel block his way. Riley swung the rifle at Angel's head, but the vampire was too fast and grabbed the weapon from Riley's hands. He then tossed it down the street. "You're not hurting that boy!" Riley said angrily, and leapt at Angel.
Angel kept stepping backwards, dodging our of his reach. He didn't smile, he didn't frown, he simply kept moving just out of Riley's reach. "Have you had enough?" he finally asked Riley.
"Give me a second to catch my breath," Riley said through gasps, "And then I'll stake your sorry ass."
"No, you won't," Angel said calmly. Then he strode over to the little boy and picked him up. Riley could hear him wailing in agony, pleading for mercy. It was heartrending. He determined to stop the vampire any way he could –
But he didn't get the chance. Angel cracked the boy's back against his knee and dropped the limp body to the ground . . .
Wait a second.
That wasn't a little boy at all – that was what he'd thought he'd seen earlier. A three-foot tall demonoid with bright orange skin and large black eyes. Riley slowly looked over at where the girl's corpse had lain and found a nearly identical body. He raised his head and found Angel looking at him sympathetically. "These – these aren't children, are they?"
Angel shook his head. "No. Their official name is the Artimadix, but I usually just call them Leeches. They're a parasite race. They feed off violence, but they're not strong enough to commit it themselves. So they latch onto other beings – humans, demons, werewolves, doesn't matter – and makes them nasty, unpredictable, if they weren't already. They have a kind of mental control over their victims."
Riley blinked. "Kind of like that Star Trek episode?"
Amazingly, Angel got the reference. "In a vague kind of way. Only Leeches aren't energy creatures, they can't manipulate matter, and they're a lot easier to kill. And they're real."
"Why weren't you affected?" Once again, he went over to pick up his gun.
"They can't manipulate vampires, for some reason," Angel said. "Far as I know we're the only species immune. It's kind of a crusade, on our part, to kill the things wherever we find them." He shrugged. "It's one of the few things I have in common with other vampires, philosophically at least."
A horrible thought struck Riley. "Do they usually look like children?" Angel nodded his head. "Crap. These aren't the first children we've rescued. There's another half dozen or so back at the base, and I'm betting from what you told me they're also Leeches."
"The odds would run that way," Angel said. "Come on, take me back to your base."
Gesturing towards the Makkari on the ground, Riley said, "What about them?"
"They'll wake up, figure out what happened from the Leech bodies, and clear out, most likely," Angel said. "They'll be too pissed and embarrassed to try revenge."
Which was more or less what Riley'd wanted to hear. As they left Ravens Roost and started back into the forest, Riley turned and asked Angel, "So why'd you come down here, anyway? It's not like you rounded Hollywood & Vine and found yourself in the middle of Belize."
"True," Angel said. "I'm just keeping a promise I made."
"What promise?"
"That if you hurt Buffy I'd kill you."
Part 4
They kept running towards the base, mostly discussing what they'd do when they got there. There were two dozen well-armed soldiers there in addition to the six Leeches. Angel explained that now that Riley knew what was going on, he'd have at least a fighting chance against the parasites' mental powers.
"Basically," he said, "Just try not to think about how weak and helpless they are. They'd lose a fight to a well-armed garden gnome, true, but they're mean and vicious little bastards and not to be given a second thought. If you have a chance to kill one, KILL IT. With the mental control they now have over your fellow soldiers you're not likely to get too many second chances."
Riley nodded and then told Angel the layout of the camp. This wasn't three tents and a hole in the ground, but it wasn't Fort Dix, either. They had an old house by a river as a permanent building, a half dozen tents outside, plenty of food and enough weaponry to take down an army of demons, the LAPD, the British Air Force, and a handful of Jedi Knights, and still had enough left over in case the Hulk got rowdy. They had to, with all the different demons around.
This also made them capable of causing a lot of mayhem; to even get into the country they'd had to undergo extensive background checks. That helicopter ride out of Sunnydale had taken him nowhere more dramatic than the nearest army base, where a litany of officials from Belize had asked him and his fellow soldiers a whole lot of questions.
Anyway. As usual, he was thinking about other things, trying to postpone thinking about his problems. Angel hadn't explained himself any further -- and Riley would have been willing to bet that their post-crisis "conversation" would include a few gut shots, maybe a broken jaw; at the very least a couple of black eyes. And that was assuming the vampire wasn't serious about killing him, not a safe assumption by a long shot.
Because whether or not what he'd said about Buffy just using him was true, the truth was he'd ruined the best relationship he'd ever had in his life.
And here they were and (thank god) he could stop thinking again and just go kill things. They were on the main path to the camp when Angel turned and said, "Now, one good thing is that the Leeches won't know we're coming. They're not mind-to-mind communicators. But still, this is going to have to be a quick strike. If we give them too much time –"
"I get what you're saying," Riley said. "They could have everyone in the camp on us."
"Pretty much." He stopped. "So you know these people better than I do – should we bluff them or try another route?"
Riley chuckled. When Angel asked why, Riley said, "Two reasons. One, 'these people' are well-trained and have the weaponry to back it up, and two, the two of us combined couldn't slug it out with them even if they weren't carrying the guns."
"What about sneaking in?"
"If you want to try it, fine, but we didn't get our training in the Cub Scouts."
A little grumpily, Angel said, "Okay, we'll play this one your way for now. But the Leeches have to die."
"I'm not disagreeing. Now follow my lead." They walked into the compound and were immediately met by a soldier and a leveled rifle. Riley knew her; thorough professional with a wicked sense of humor. Her name was Livvy.
"As I walk through the valley . . . ." Livvy said.
Riley said, "Where I harvest my grain." Angel shot him a look but said nothing.
"Welcome back, Riley," Livvy said, lowering the weapon. "'s your friend?"
"His name's Angel," Riley said. "Independent demon-hunter. I ran into him while I was scouting Ravens Roost. I met him before, up in Sunnydale."
"Tell me," Angel said. "Where'd you get the idea to use Weird Al Yankovic songs as passwords?"
Livvy grinned. "'twas me."
Angel nodded. "Smart move."
"Anyway," Riley said, "Where's Major Ellis? Angel here has some information about the Makkari."
"In his tent," Livvy said. "What information?" Her face drained of humor. "Anything you can do to help us nail these child-eating bastards –"
"That's why I came," Angel said, after a quick glance at Riley. "I'm a one- man show. If there's a military
op down here to take them out –"
"We didn't come here just for them," Livvy said. "Whole country's swarming with demons 'n the undead. 's a wonder they haven't just taken the place over."
"Yeah, it is," Riley said, cutting Angel off. "C'mon, Angel, we should get to the major and leave Livvy to do her guarding." Riley and Livvy saluted and Riley led Angel away.
"It being as late as it as at night," Riley said, "All the kids should be in the tent we cleared out for them."
"Where do you all sleep?" Angel said. "On the ground?"
"No," Riley said. "We get the house."
Angel looked up at the place. "Lucky you," he said sarcastically.
Riley had to admit the building had seen far better days, but it kept out the rain. Sometimes.
Quietly he told Angel, "Tell him you need to use the bathroom," as he knocked on the door of the tent. Angel nodded his head fractionally as a muffled voice told him to come in.
Inside, Colonel Ellis was reading a novel and wearing a bathrobe. Riley saluted as he entered – technically, he was a civilian, but for the purposes of the operation he wasn't. Ellis said, "At ease, there, Finn. What'd you get from your recon? And who's our guest?"
"Name's Angel. He's a demonhunter I ran into in Sunnydale – he was down after the Makkari too."
Ellis stood up and held out a hand. Angel shook it quickly. "Nice to meet you," Ellis said.
"Same here," Angel replied. "I think I found something that'll help you take these guys down."
"Really?" Ellis said, turning around, "And what's that, VAMPIRE?" He turned around and shoved a cross in Angel's face. Instinctively, Angel recoiled. "Don't just stand there, Finn!" Ellis yelled. "Stake the bastard! He's after the kids!"
"Right." Riley grabbed a crossbow bolt off the table and reached towards Angel. Then he turned around and slammed the blunt end into Ellis' temple. The Major went down like a sack of wet potatoes. "Go," he told Angel. "I'll cover as long as I can."
Angel didn't say anything; he just opened the door and vanished.
About fifteen seconds later, two of his fellow soldiers stormed in – Graham and some guy named Polniczek. "Riley," Graham said. "What happened?"
"Demon hunter I brought to camp turned out to be a vampire. He jumped the Major," Riley said.
"Go get the son of a bitch before he gets to the children," Polniczek said. "We'll look at Major Ellis." Polniczek was a doctor as well as a soldier.
"Right." Riley ran out the door and made a show of looking around. Whatever soldiers had been awake and otherwise unoccupied were milling around looking for something to do. Riley promptly told them all to head to the exits to the camp to cut off the vampire's escape route. When one of them said, "What about the kids?" Riley growled that he'd handle it. Then he started looking around – and found Angel lurking in the darkness behind one of the tents. "What are you doing here?" he whispered.
"Avoiding getting staked," Angel retorted. "So much for your way. Where are 'the kids' anyway?"
"You're inside, aren't you?" Riley shot back. "They're in the furthest tent over there." He heard some action behind him. "Go. Try not to kill anyone." Angel gave him a dirty look. "Anyone BESIDES the Leeches," he amended reluctantly.
Again Angel took off, but this time at a dead run. After about thirty seconds – by which time he'd vanished inside the tent's front door – Riley charged after him, running into Livvy headed the same way.
"'s a nice job you did, bringing a vampire to camp," she said. "Why'd'ncha just kill us all in your sleep?"
"I thought this way would be more fun," Riley said sarcastically as they headed for the Leeches' tent. He'd have some fast explaining to do once the parasites were dead, but –
A wave of terror hit him and hit hard. There was something in there with the children! Why had he abandoned --
No. They were not children. This was not real panic.
This was not real fear he was feeling, fear of abandoning others. He might be afraid of that where Buffy was concerned, but never about something like this.
Riley took a deep breath.
Unfortunately, Livvy'd felt the same wave of terror – and so, apparently, had everyone else in the camp. Everyone conscious was making a beeline directly for the children's tent, at top speed, and from their faces they all had murder on their minds.
Riley tossed his rifle ahead and tripped Livvy – it was the only way he'd get past her. Then he ran for the tent opening, ignoring her outraged looks, and went inside.
Four of the six Leeches were dead. The other two were huddled against the back wall of the tent, pleading to Riley with their eyes not to let this maniac hurt them. It took all of Riley's willpower not to charge to their defense.
People started pounding on the sides and door of the tent.
Angel reached out and grabbed one of the leeches, breaking its neck. Then he stood there. "Angel, for god's sake, why aren't you killing her?" Riley said. Just then the rest of the soldiers burst inside, raised their weapons . . .
And collectively said, "What the hell?" Riley spun around and saw one vampire, five bright orange Leech bodies, and one very frightened little girl.
"That's why," Angel said.
Part 5
Even given the bright orange corpses on the floor of the tent, it took Riley some fast talking to get Angel out alive, especially when Major Ellis showed up wondering why Riley'd cold-cocked him. But the dead Leeches gave him pause enough to get Riley and Angel back in the Major's tent, although this time flanked by a couple of armed guards. The remaining girl had been taken into another tent.
"He really does hunt demons, sir," Riley explained. "And other things as well." Then he explained everything as best he could, leaving out nothing but minimizing Buffy and her role in both their lives.
The Major was understandably skeptical. "Is there any way you can prove you have a soul?" he asked Angel.
"Not really," Angel said. "Though the fact that I helped Riley kill the Leeches, and that none of you are dead or even injured –" the Major pointed to the lump on the back of his skull – "present company exempted, should be a point or two in my favor."
Riley added, "Also, sir, even given our history, I do vouch for him." This also despite the fact that Angel had said he was going to kill Riley and sounded serious in saying so. But Riley'd steeled himself to this. Almost, almost, he believed he deserved it. Almost. But then he remembered how Buffy'd told him Angel's history, and how he'd vanished into the night as well, without a word, without a farewell. The difference between the two of them is that he'd given her her shot to tell him how much he meant by stopping him – and she hadn't come. Angel had never given her the shot – but they'd since come to an accommodation. But then, she'd loved Angel. And obviously not him, or he wouldn't be there.
Bottom line was this. Buffy had a right to rake him over the coals. Angel didn't.
"History, Finn?" The Major asked, bringing him back to reality. "There's a story there –" Riley tensed; he really didn't want to have to explain it – "But I won't make you tell it." Riley released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Then the Major turned to Angel and said, "Provided you clear out within fifteen minutes and don't come back without an invitation, I'll let it slide. But Finn – if he causes any trouble it's on your head."
More prophetic than he thought, of course. Riley saluted and he and Angel bypassed the armed guards and walked over to the edge of the camp. Livvy caught Riley's eye and mouthed, "Later;" Riley nodded back but then he didn't really expect to make it back anyway. He knew that – especially minus his Super-Soldier serum – he wasn't up to tackling Angel one on one.
And then they were there, out of sight of anyone, and Angel turned to face Riley.
To hell with it. If Angel was here to kill him he would have a fight. Riley socked Angel in the jaw, then went for a blow to the stomach –
And Angel blocked it. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked.
"You said you were here to kill me," Riley said. "I wasn't going to give you the chance."
Angel laughed. "And you thought I was serious?"
"You sure as hell sounded serious."
"I wasn't. Not entirely, anyway."
"So you're only going to kill me a little bit?"
"Not going to kill you at all. I don't do that . . . much . . . anymore." For a second he seemed lost in thought himself.
"That's reassuring."
"I'm not trying to reassure you, I'm trying to give you a hard time." There was no trace of amusement on his face now.
Riley didn't bother keeping the disbelief off his face. "So you came down to Belize – a pretty fair trip, I know, I've made it myself – just to rim me out? That's like blowing up a building to kill a nest of cockroaches."
"No, when I started out I was going to kill you. But on the way down I changed my mind to just roughing you up. But in the last few hours . . ." he trailed off.
"In the last few hours, what?"
"In the last few hours I've seen you operate. You're miserable."
"I like to think I'm doing okay."
Angel said, "Then you're delusional."
That tore it for Riley. "Like you have any right to judge!"
"I'm not judging," Angel said calmly. "I'm observing." Riley still didn't believe him, so Angel explained. "You've been beating yourself up. You've been hesitant, you've been sloppy, and you haven't noticed that one soldier – Livvy, wasn't it? Anyway, she's definitely attracted to you."
"She is not."
"It's not like she's stripping naked and screaming 'Take me," but it's there. And you didn't have a clue. And most importantly, you didn't figure out that if I'd wanted you dead you would have already been dead. You're a wreck. The only thing keeping you from complete despair is your work."
Damn. Angel was right, all of it. (Well, he wasn't too sure about Livvy.) "What makes you so wise?" he said grumpily.
"Wisdom, hell. I've lived through it myself. It's what losing her can do to you. And losing her the way we did – by walking away."
When nothing else was forthcoming from the vampire's lips, Riley said, "Is that it?"
"What more do you want? I said I noticed you torturing yourself. I'm not going to help you get over it. I had to do that on my own, and besides, you did kind of screw her over."
"So that is it," Riley said with finality.
"No, one more thing," Angel said. "Don't sucker-punch me like that again."
The next thing Riley knew, he was being shaken gently. He opened his eyes and saw Livvy staring down at him, and his jaw hurt like hell.
"Y'alright?" she asked. "'d the vampire bastard do this?" Riley could see the concern in her eyes – was that attraction?
It didn't matter. He'd never do anything about it, not now. "Yeah," he said, standing up. "But it was personal. Nothing you need to worry about."
Just something he needed to.
Riley Finn crept through the jungles of Belize, rifle in hand, hunting for demons. It was a routine patrol off base – at the moment base was a camp about eight miles outside of the city of Orange Walk, in the middle of the jungle.
The unit was here on a semi-official basis. As in, "Thanks ever so much for wiping out those nasty demons – but if you're caught we and your own government will call you rogues." Did mean they had nice equipment, though not the same kind of heat he'd packed in the Initiative. Because, well, here it was kill, not capture. They had a laptop with a database on every kind of nasty the US, Belizean or British governments had run into along with the best ways to kill them. Most times plain old bullets worked nicely, but every once in a while you ran across something that needed that little something extra.
Such as now. A couple of small villages out in the hinterlands had been completely overrun by Makkari demons, and while bullets hurt 'em only electricity and brute force would kill. And it would've taken the Hulk . . . or Buffy . . . to outmuscle the demons.
Buffy. First time he'd thought of her in at least five minutes. Damn, he'd come down here to forget –
Stupid him. It wasn't going to happen, not this soon, and possibly not ever. Right now, the best he could hope for was to keep busy and not ask questions. Questions like, why hadn't she come after him? Why had he left? Why had he been so DAMN stupid as to pay a vampire to drink his blood –
Anyway. Here he was at the trailing edge of Ravens Roost. Riley was here on a scouting mission – check to see how many there were and get back without getting killed. So he had the full gear – nightvision goggles, the highest- end camouflage clothes, and a stun rifle in case he got jumped.
He crept up behind an outbuilding – this place had maybe a dozen or so houses, a few stores and a gas station, nothing more. Right now he was behind the gas station. A couple of the Makkari were standing in the middle of the street, with a couple of –
Oh, god. They had a couple of children at their feet. The Makkari had apparently developed a fondness for eating children; in the last two weeks he and his unit had rescued a half dozen orphaned children from other Makkari outposts. They were staying in one of the permanent buildings until the unit could get them to their surviving relatives.
So what did he do?
Despite his orders he couldn't let the demons kill the children. If he had to write up a report detailing it as self-defense so be it. Riley snuck forward until he was hiding behind an old Ford Escort and fired the rifle from his hiding spot.
The nearer of the two demons exploded from the chest outward. The children screamed and dropped to the ground, and the other demon ran towards Riley as fast as he could.
As did the two coming from around the corner of the nearby Post Office.
Crap.
Riley shot the rifle three more times, blowing up one of the demons and scorching a second. Then he had to turn and run. Fortunately, Makkari demons weren't particularly fast on their feet; with any luck he could outrun –
Or not. The scorcher caught him as he dodged around a tree and slammed him into the trunk. Riley brought the rifle up and had it knocked from his hands.
No way was he going down without a fight. Riley doubled his fists and slammed them into the demon's stomach, then slugged him in the face as hard as he could. The demon felt it, but not enough to matter to Riley, who suddenly found himself on the ground. The pain was unbearable and he blacked out for a few seconds.
That he came to at all surprised him. He was dimly aware of a struggle taking place, and first one Makkari, then the second, toppling to the ground with broken necks. Then a strong, powerful, and oddly clammy hand pulled him to his feet. He looked into the eyes of his rescuer –
Angel.
Part 2
"Not that I'm glad for the assist," Riley said, "But what –"
"Am I doing here?" Angel smiled grimly. "That can wait until later. What's going on?" Surprisingly to Riley, Angel was dressed for the climate – no trenchcoats, no leather pants. The vampire had on a black t-shirt and shorts. He thought that was dumb – mosquitoes – but then realized that of course the mosquitoes wouldn't bother Angel. Heck, they'd probably come to him for pointers.
"Well," Riley said hesitantly, not liking the tone in Angel's voice, "This is technically a military operation –"
"And I technically just save your ass. I think that buys me some answers."
Riley sighed. The hell of it was, Angel was right. "There's a group of Makkari demons that have taken over several small towns in this area, killing or driving out the adults – and worse, eating the children." He walked over and picked up his stun rifle from where the one demon had knocked it.
"You're kidding me."
"No, I'm not. Actually, I'd just come from saving two of them in Ravens Roost back there – that's why I was being chased. They were ticked that I'd just killed two of their comrades."
"That explains it." He paused. "No, it doesn't. It's completely ridiculous."
"What's ridiculous about it?" Riley asked.
"Well, for starters, the Makkari are vegetarians."
Riley shook his head. "That's not what we've heard – or what we've seen."
"It makes no sense at all. Meat is poisonous to Makkari. I'm not saying they're charming and pleasant individuals – they're not. But flesh? One bite and they'd be dead in seconds." Angel sighed. "Where did you hear these stories from?"
"Well – from the kids. They were the only survivors in the villages we've already helped. The adults were dead."
"I think I'm going to need to see this one for myself."
Riley nodded. "Okay. But try to keep quiet and stay in the background."
Angel chuckled. "You forget who you're talking to. Blending into the background's my specialty."
"This isn't LA," Riley said, feeling the back of his head. He didn't feel like he had a concussion, but it was damned sore back there.
"Neither was Sunnydale."
Shrugging, Riley said, "Good point." Then he crept back to the edge of the town as quietly as he could. Looking behind him, he could see Angel simply walking and somehow managing to be even more silent and concealed than Riley was. Definitely a good point. If Angel could bottle and sell that to the army he'd be rich.
Damn. Everything was such an effort for Riley, too. Just like Buffy –
No. Still better not to think that way, at least not yet. Though he was pretty sure Angel hadn't made his way down to the forests of Belize just to give him an assist with a town full of rogue Makkari demons. No, it had something to do with Buffy, but Riley was perfectly willing to postpone it.
Heck, he'd be willing to go into the ring with each of the Makkari singlehanded and follow that up with a wrestling match with three angry crocodiles and a hungry shark if it meant postponing THAT conversation.
And then they were at the gas station. Angel commented, "I see where the fight started," pointing to the two thoroughly dead demons in front of him.
"I actually wasn't supposed to get in any fights unless it was self- defense," Riley said. "But there were these two children –"
"What two children?" Angel asked. Riley looked around and sure enough the two children he'd been trying to save had vanished.
"Maybe some of the other Makkari –"
"Uh-uh," Angel said. "I'm not saying a Makkari wouldn't kill a kid but he'd have to have a good reason. They're not nice but they're not bloodthirsty, sadistic, or particularly nasty."
"Then why would the children we rescued say what they did?"
"It's a good question," Angel said. "And – Hold it. I think I see the answer. Under that streetlight over there. What do you see?"
Riley turned his attention a bit down the road and saw the same two children he'd been trying to rescue earlier, one boy, one girl, both small and helpless. "I see the kids I was trying to help."
Angel shook his head. "Come with me."
"The Makkari will kill us," Riley said.
"We're not going to need to worry about them in a few minutes," was Angel's reply, and he and Riley walked down the road to the two children.
They looked up at Riley with big, pleading eyes. "Thank you, sirs!" they said.
"Are there any more – WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Riley leveled his rifle at Angel, who'd picked up the girl. "Put her down."
"I don't think so," Angel said. "Watch." And before Riley's horrified eyes Angel broke the girl's neck and dropped the corpse to the ground.
Part 3
Riley hadn't yet gotten over his shock at Angel's actions when the boy looked up at Riley. "Don't let him hurt me, sir," he begged. "Please!" Several Makkari emerged from the nearby buildings. "They'll all eat me! Please help!"
"How – how could you?!" he demanded, pulling the boy closer. "You son of a –"
"Look at the girl," Angel said unexpectedly. Riley's eyes shot downwards as he examined the girl's broken body and saw, for just a second, a small, large-eyed, bright orange figure. He blinked and shook his head and then saw only the poor girl's corpse. He looked back at the boy and was overwhelmed with sympathy.
And then the Makkari attacked them both. Riley fired out as many charges from the rifle as he could – killing three of the eight charging demons – and this time he brought the barrel up into a fourth one's face. Best way to fight these guys hand-to-hand was to not. Second best was to stick and move, stick and move. So, as quickly as his concussion would allow, he dodged backwards as fast as he could.
Angel was having less trouble. He matched the Makkari in strength and was easily their superior in agility. He'd have to remember this when he killed the bastard for murdering the little girl. But for now two of the Makkari were down on the ground and the other two around him were circling warily.
Riley couldn't spare more than a split-second glance for Angel's situation; he was too busy dodging the Makkari in front of him. It looked even more vicious and hungry than he would have thought, and if he'd been able to bring the stun rifle to bear, he would have blown the monster up as soon as he could.
Until then it was stick and move. He connected with the barrel twice, once to his enemy's face, once to the kneecap. It was like being in a brawl with Shaquille O'Neal. And fortunately this guy connected about as often as Shaq nailed a free throw. Still, it connected often enough for Riley to feel it. No way was he going to win a slugfest.
So he hit the Makkari in the stomach with the rifle's barrel, turned, and ran. As he expected, it followed him after a few seconds. Riley didn't bother twisting, turning, or trying to dodge; he simply wanted distance. Once he got about forty feet ahead, he dove to the ground, rolled, and came up firing.
Success! The demon exploded. Riley then turned back to Angel's part of the fight –
And the vampire was done with his battle as well. Two more blows to the head of the remaining Makkari and it went down.
Back to just Riley, Angel, and the scared little boy again, now huddling by himself over by an antique-looking streetlight. Instinctively, Riley went over towards him – only to have Angel block his way. Riley swung the rifle at Angel's head, but the vampire was too fast and grabbed the weapon from Riley's hands. He then tossed it down the street. "You're not hurting that boy!" Riley said angrily, and leapt at Angel.
Angel kept stepping backwards, dodging our of his reach. He didn't smile, he didn't frown, he simply kept moving just out of Riley's reach. "Have you had enough?" he finally asked Riley.
"Give me a second to catch my breath," Riley said through gasps, "And then I'll stake your sorry ass."
"No, you won't," Angel said calmly. Then he strode over to the little boy and picked him up. Riley could hear him wailing in agony, pleading for mercy. It was heartrending. He determined to stop the vampire any way he could –
But he didn't get the chance. Angel cracked the boy's back against his knee and dropped the limp body to the ground . . .
Wait a second.
That wasn't a little boy at all – that was what he'd thought he'd seen earlier. A three-foot tall demonoid with bright orange skin and large black eyes. Riley slowly looked over at where the girl's corpse had lain and found a nearly identical body. He raised his head and found Angel looking at him sympathetically. "These – these aren't children, are they?"
Angel shook his head. "No. Their official name is the Artimadix, but I usually just call them Leeches. They're a parasite race. They feed off violence, but they're not strong enough to commit it themselves. So they latch onto other beings – humans, demons, werewolves, doesn't matter – and makes them nasty, unpredictable, if they weren't already. They have a kind of mental control over their victims."
Riley blinked. "Kind of like that Star Trek episode?"
Amazingly, Angel got the reference. "In a vague kind of way. Only Leeches aren't energy creatures, they can't manipulate matter, and they're a lot easier to kill. And they're real."
"Why weren't you affected?" Once again, he went over to pick up his gun.
"They can't manipulate vampires, for some reason," Angel said. "Far as I know we're the only species immune. It's kind of a crusade, on our part, to kill the things wherever we find them." He shrugged. "It's one of the few things I have in common with other vampires, philosophically at least."
A horrible thought struck Riley. "Do they usually look like children?" Angel nodded his head. "Crap. These aren't the first children we've rescued. There's another half dozen or so back at the base, and I'm betting from what you told me they're also Leeches."
"The odds would run that way," Angel said. "Come on, take me back to your base."
Gesturing towards the Makkari on the ground, Riley said, "What about them?"
"They'll wake up, figure out what happened from the Leech bodies, and clear out, most likely," Angel said. "They'll be too pissed and embarrassed to try revenge."
Which was more or less what Riley'd wanted to hear. As they left Ravens Roost and started back into the forest, Riley turned and asked Angel, "So why'd you come down here, anyway? It's not like you rounded Hollywood & Vine and found yourself in the middle of Belize."
"True," Angel said. "I'm just keeping a promise I made."
"What promise?"
"That if you hurt Buffy I'd kill you."
Part 4
They kept running towards the base, mostly discussing what they'd do when they got there. There were two dozen well-armed soldiers there in addition to the six Leeches. Angel explained that now that Riley knew what was going on, he'd have at least a fighting chance against the parasites' mental powers.
"Basically," he said, "Just try not to think about how weak and helpless they are. They'd lose a fight to a well-armed garden gnome, true, but they're mean and vicious little bastards and not to be given a second thought. If you have a chance to kill one, KILL IT. With the mental control they now have over your fellow soldiers you're not likely to get too many second chances."
Riley nodded and then told Angel the layout of the camp. This wasn't three tents and a hole in the ground, but it wasn't Fort Dix, either. They had an old house by a river as a permanent building, a half dozen tents outside, plenty of food and enough weaponry to take down an army of demons, the LAPD, the British Air Force, and a handful of Jedi Knights, and still had enough left over in case the Hulk got rowdy. They had to, with all the different demons around.
This also made them capable of causing a lot of mayhem; to even get into the country they'd had to undergo extensive background checks. That helicopter ride out of Sunnydale had taken him nowhere more dramatic than the nearest army base, where a litany of officials from Belize had asked him and his fellow soldiers a whole lot of questions.
Anyway. As usual, he was thinking about other things, trying to postpone thinking about his problems. Angel hadn't explained himself any further -- and Riley would have been willing to bet that their post-crisis "conversation" would include a few gut shots, maybe a broken jaw; at the very least a couple of black eyes. And that was assuming the vampire wasn't serious about killing him, not a safe assumption by a long shot.
Because whether or not what he'd said about Buffy just using him was true, the truth was he'd ruined the best relationship he'd ever had in his life.
And here they were and (thank god) he could stop thinking again and just go kill things. They were on the main path to the camp when Angel turned and said, "Now, one good thing is that the Leeches won't know we're coming. They're not mind-to-mind communicators. But still, this is going to have to be a quick strike. If we give them too much time –"
"I get what you're saying," Riley said. "They could have everyone in the camp on us."
"Pretty much." He stopped. "So you know these people better than I do – should we bluff them or try another route?"
Riley chuckled. When Angel asked why, Riley said, "Two reasons. One, 'these people' are well-trained and have the weaponry to back it up, and two, the two of us combined couldn't slug it out with them even if they weren't carrying the guns."
"What about sneaking in?"
"If you want to try it, fine, but we didn't get our training in the Cub Scouts."
A little grumpily, Angel said, "Okay, we'll play this one your way for now. But the Leeches have to die."
"I'm not disagreeing. Now follow my lead." They walked into the compound and were immediately met by a soldier and a leveled rifle. Riley knew her; thorough professional with a wicked sense of humor. Her name was Livvy.
"As I walk through the valley . . . ." Livvy said.
Riley said, "Where I harvest my grain." Angel shot him a look but said nothing.
"Welcome back, Riley," Livvy said, lowering the weapon. "'s your friend?"
"His name's Angel," Riley said. "Independent demon-hunter. I ran into him while I was scouting Ravens Roost. I met him before, up in Sunnydale."
"Tell me," Angel said. "Where'd you get the idea to use Weird Al Yankovic songs as passwords?"
Livvy grinned. "'twas me."
Angel nodded. "Smart move."
"Anyway," Riley said, "Where's Major Ellis? Angel here has some information about the Makkari."
"In his tent," Livvy said. "What information?" Her face drained of humor. "Anything you can do to help us nail these child-eating bastards –"
"That's why I came," Angel said, after a quick glance at Riley. "I'm a one- man show. If there's a military
op down here to take them out –"
"We didn't come here just for them," Livvy said. "Whole country's swarming with demons 'n the undead. 's a wonder they haven't just taken the place over."
"Yeah, it is," Riley said, cutting Angel off. "C'mon, Angel, we should get to the major and leave Livvy to do her guarding." Riley and Livvy saluted and Riley led Angel away.
"It being as late as it as at night," Riley said, "All the kids should be in the tent we cleared out for them."
"Where do you all sleep?" Angel said. "On the ground?"
"No," Riley said. "We get the house."
Angel looked up at the place. "Lucky you," he said sarcastically.
Riley had to admit the building had seen far better days, but it kept out the rain. Sometimes.
Quietly he told Angel, "Tell him you need to use the bathroom," as he knocked on the door of the tent. Angel nodded his head fractionally as a muffled voice told him to come in.
Inside, Colonel Ellis was reading a novel and wearing a bathrobe. Riley saluted as he entered – technically, he was a civilian, but for the purposes of the operation he wasn't. Ellis said, "At ease, there, Finn. What'd you get from your recon? And who's our guest?"
"Name's Angel. He's a demonhunter I ran into in Sunnydale – he was down after the Makkari too."
Ellis stood up and held out a hand. Angel shook it quickly. "Nice to meet you," Ellis said.
"Same here," Angel replied. "I think I found something that'll help you take these guys down."
"Really?" Ellis said, turning around, "And what's that, VAMPIRE?" He turned around and shoved a cross in Angel's face. Instinctively, Angel recoiled. "Don't just stand there, Finn!" Ellis yelled. "Stake the bastard! He's after the kids!"
"Right." Riley grabbed a crossbow bolt off the table and reached towards Angel. Then he turned around and slammed the blunt end into Ellis' temple. The Major went down like a sack of wet potatoes. "Go," he told Angel. "I'll cover as long as I can."
Angel didn't say anything; he just opened the door and vanished.
About fifteen seconds later, two of his fellow soldiers stormed in – Graham and some guy named Polniczek. "Riley," Graham said. "What happened?"
"Demon hunter I brought to camp turned out to be a vampire. He jumped the Major," Riley said.
"Go get the son of a bitch before he gets to the children," Polniczek said. "We'll look at Major Ellis." Polniczek was a doctor as well as a soldier.
"Right." Riley ran out the door and made a show of looking around. Whatever soldiers had been awake and otherwise unoccupied were milling around looking for something to do. Riley promptly told them all to head to the exits to the camp to cut off the vampire's escape route. When one of them said, "What about the kids?" Riley growled that he'd handle it. Then he started looking around – and found Angel lurking in the darkness behind one of the tents. "What are you doing here?" he whispered.
"Avoiding getting staked," Angel retorted. "So much for your way. Where are 'the kids' anyway?"
"You're inside, aren't you?" Riley shot back. "They're in the furthest tent over there." He heard some action behind him. "Go. Try not to kill anyone." Angel gave him a dirty look. "Anyone BESIDES the Leeches," he amended reluctantly.
Again Angel took off, but this time at a dead run. After about thirty seconds – by which time he'd vanished inside the tent's front door – Riley charged after him, running into Livvy headed the same way.
"'s a nice job you did, bringing a vampire to camp," she said. "Why'd'ncha just kill us all in your sleep?"
"I thought this way would be more fun," Riley said sarcastically as they headed for the Leeches' tent. He'd have some fast explaining to do once the parasites were dead, but –
A wave of terror hit him and hit hard. There was something in there with the children! Why had he abandoned --
No. They were not children. This was not real panic.
This was not real fear he was feeling, fear of abandoning others. He might be afraid of that where Buffy was concerned, but never about something like this.
Riley took a deep breath.
Unfortunately, Livvy'd felt the same wave of terror – and so, apparently, had everyone else in the camp. Everyone conscious was making a beeline directly for the children's tent, at top speed, and from their faces they all had murder on their minds.
Riley tossed his rifle ahead and tripped Livvy – it was the only way he'd get past her. Then he ran for the tent opening, ignoring her outraged looks, and went inside.
Four of the six Leeches were dead. The other two were huddled against the back wall of the tent, pleading to Riley with their eyes not to let this maniac hurt them. It took all of Riley's willpower not to charge to their defense.
People started pounding on the sides and door of the tent.
Angel reached out and grabbed one of the leeches, breaking its neck. Then he stood there. "Angel, for god's sake, why aren't you killing her?" Riley said. Just then the rest of the soldiers burst inside, raised their weapons . . .
And collectively said, "What the hell?" Riley spun around and saw one vampire, five bright orange Leech bodies, and one very frightened little girl.
"That's why," Angel said.
Part 5
Even given the bright orange corpses on the floor of the tent, it took Riley some fast talking to get Angel out alive, especially when Major Ellis showed up wondering why Riley'd cold-cocked him. But the dead Leeches gave him pause enough to get Riley and Angel back in the Major's tent, although this time flanked by a couple of armed guards. The remaining girl had been taken into another tent.
"He really does hunt demons, sir," Riley explained. "And other things as well." Then he explained everything as best he could, leaving out nothing but minimizing Buffy and her role in both their lives.
The Major was understandably skeptical. "Is there any way you can prove you have a soul?" he asked Angel.
"Not really," Angel said. "Though the fact that I helped Riley kill the Leeches, and that none of you are dead or even injured –" the Major pointed to the lump on the back of his skull – "present company exempted, should be a point or two in my favor."
Riley added, "Also, sir, even given our history, I do vouch for him." This also despite the fact that Angel had said he was going to kill Riley and sounded serious in saying so. But Riley'd steeled himself to this. Almost, almost, he believed he deserved it. Almost. But then he remembered how Buffy'd told him Angel's history, and how he'd vanished into the night as well, without a word, without a farewell. The difference between the two of them is that he'd given her her shot to tell him how much he meant by stopping him – and she hadn't come. Angel had never given her the shot – but they'd since come to an accommodation. But then, she'd loved Angel. And obviously not him, or he wouldn't be there.
Bottom line was this. Buffy had a right to rake him over the coals. Angel didn't.
"History, Finn?" The Major asked, bringing him back to reality. "There's a story there –" Riley tensed; he really didn't want to have to explain it – "But I won't make you tell it." Riley released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Then the Major turned to Angel and said, "Provided you clear out within fifteen minutes and don't come back without an invitation, I'll let it slide. But Finn – if he causes any trouble it's on your head."
More prophetic than he thought, of course. Riley saluted and he and Angel bypassed the armed guards and walked over to the edge of the camp. Livvy caught Riley's eye and mouthed, "Later;" Riley nodded back but then he didn't really expect to make it back anyway. He knew that – especially minus his Super-Soldier serum – he wasn't up to tackling Angel one on one.
And then they were there, out of sight of anyone, and Angel turned to face Riley.
To hell with it. If Angel was here to kill him he would have a fight. Riley socked Angel in the jaw, then went for a blow to the stomach –
And Angel blocked it. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked.
"You said you were here to kill me," Riley said. "I wasn't going to give you the chance."
Angel laughed. "And you thought I was serious?"
"You sure as hell sounded serious."
"I wasn't. Not entirely, anyway."
"So you're only going to kill me a little bit?"
"Not going to kill you at all. I don't do that . . . much . . . anymore." For a second he seemed lost in thought himself.
"That's reassuring."
"I'm not trying to reassure you, I'm trying to give you a hard time." There was no trace of amusement on his face now.
Riley didn't bother keeping the disbelief off his face. "So you came down to Belize – a pretty fair trip, I know, I've made it myself – just to rim me out? That's like blowing up a building to kill a nest of cockroaches."
"No, when I started out I was going to kill you. But on the way down I changed my mind to just roughing you up. But in the last few hours . . ." he trailed off.
"In the last few hours, what?"
"In the last few hours I've seen you operate. You're miserable."
"I like to think I'm doing okay."
Angel said, "Then you're delusional."
That tore it for Riley. "Like you have any right to judge!"
"I'm not judging," Angel said calmly. "I'm observing." Riley still didn't believe him, so Angel explained. "You've been beating yourself up. You've been hesitant, you've been sloppy, and you haven't noticed that one soldier – Livvy, wasn't it? Anyway, she's definitely attracted to you."
"She is not."
"It's not like she's stripping naked and screaming 'Take me," but it's there. And you didn't have a clue. And most importantly, you didn't figure out that if I'd wanted you dead you would have already been dead. You're a wreck. The only thing keeping you from complete despair is your work."
Damn. Angel was right, all of it. (Well, he wasn't too sure about Livvy.) "What makes you so wise?" he said grumpily.
"Wisdom, hell. I've lived through it myself. It's what losing her can do to you. And losing her the way we did – by walking away."
When nothing else was forthcoming from the vampire's lips, Riley said, "Is that it?"
"What more do you want? I said I noticed you torturing yourself. I'm not going to help you get over it. I had to do that on my own, and besides, you did kind of screw her over."
"So that is it," Riley said with finality.
"No, one more thing," Angel said. "Don't sucker-punch me like that again."
The next thing Riley knew, he was being shaken gently. He opened his eyes and saw Livvy staring down at him, and his jaw hurt like hell.
"Y'alright?" she asked. "'d the vampire bastard do this?" Riley could see the concern in her eyes – was that attraction?
It didn't matter. He'd never do anything about it, not now. "Yeah," he said, standing up. "But it was personal. Nothing you need to worry about."
Just something he needed to.