Title: A Flock Of Crows 1

Rating: R (For Language later)

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Story: ActionAdventureAngst

Feedback: In lieu of a Faithbot yeah.

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FIC: A Flock Of Crows (1/?)

Oxnard, Jan '80

Jessica screamed as the monster grabbed her by the throat and pushed her into the alley wall. She struck out wildly but the creature laughed and grabbed her wrist, twisting it back to almost breaking point. "So pretty," she squealed when the beast's eyes flashed yellow and it shoved her down onto the hard tarmac. "I think I'll-."

"Die." A cold voice interrupted.

Her attacker's mouth dropped open. A half-second later, the monster exploded into dust. Jessica looked up, her dazed brain trying to make sense of the lean man maybe ten years her senior staring cynically through the falling dust at her. After a second, the man reached out a gloved hand. She hesitantly took it, allowing him to drag her to her feet, feeling the strength in his ripcord frame. "W…what was that?" she stuttered.

"A vampire," the man replied, his tone matter-of-fact. Her mouth dropped open. That was impossible, but, she glanced at the dust, she'd seen it. The man smirked at her, licking his lips slowly. "You got a man?"

She was about to say yes. Then, thinking of Tony probably laid on the sofa, belching drunkenly as he snored and slept off his hangover, she shook her head. She wanted a real man for one night at least. "No one important," she declared. "Your place near-by?"

The demon hunter grinned at her. "Oh yeah."


Boston, Sept '81

He stepped out of the room, laughing at the sound of his team-mates indulging themselves with the local whores the pigs had brought in after another successful hunt. Taking a breath in the marginally fresher air of downtown air, he casually glanced around.

His breath caught when he saw the raven-haired babe stood just a few feet away. Pulling out his stake he continued his inspection. She was dressed in a leather micro that revealed all her long stocking-clad legs, and a black midriff top that displayed her flat belly and barely contained her ample chest. Nice lips too, full and pouty. And her coal-black eyes, a man could drown in them. He sauntered over to her. Noting the slight rising of her chest and the healthy colour of her skin, he dropped the stake back into his pocket before getting to the heart of the matter. "How much?"

The girl looked up. He realised she was young, barely out of her teens – if she was at all. "Depends what you want to do," the prostitute replied.

"You got a room?" he grinned. From the look of her he'd be getting his money's worth. After a second she nodded. "Lead the way," he instructed.


Sunnydale Oct '98

Crow threw his spent cigar onto the ground, stomping it underfoot. "Tonight it ends," he looked at the town sign and shook his head in disgust. "Sunnydale? What fucking dickhead calls their town Sunnydale?" Still shaking his head, he climbed back into his SUV and drove into the silent town.

Faith resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the blonde continued to babble. When she'd run to Sunnydale she'd had such hopes of meeting the legendary Buffy Summers. And now she was there.

Her Watcher was kinda impressive, smart but with an edge. But the rest of them… The Xander kid, fuck the guy was a drooling idiot, and his girl-friend, an up-tight bitch who was slumming it. The Wicca, she was like a hyper-active mouse, and her boyfriend was just plain weird.

But Summers, she was the big disappointment. When she'd run, she'd figured the legend would be a kick-ass bitch with plenty of smarts and experience. What had she got? A vapid, whiny cheerleader who despite having slayed for close on four years had no idea of what was happening in the real world. Pathetic.

She decided to give it a few days, just to scope out the most likely places she could boost some money, then rob some businesses and run. This Slayer wasn't the back-up she needed, not to face what was coming after her. Resisting the urge to shake her head, she turned around the corner of the warehouse they'd just checked out in one of Sunnydale's industrial districts.

"Hello Faith." Her blood chilled when Kakistos stepped out of the shadow, the brawny vampire's face still sporting the hideous scar she'd given him. The 1,000 year old vampire smiled as he strode towards her. "Still as pretty as ever I see," the vampire's smile widened as he ran a cold finger down her face before tousling her hair. Out of the corner of her eye she saw B fighting the trio of demons but she couldn't move, her body frozen with fear. "I'll have to do something about that." The demon's backhanded slap slammed into her face, snapping her head to the side and splattering her blood against the wall. "Slayer blood nothing sweeter." There was a pause, then the massive demon picked her up and flung her into the far wall, the back of her head bouncing off the concrete. "Well except a Slayer's screams." She whimpered at the demon's approach, her entire body shaking as if afflicted by a terrible palsy.

The vampire grabbed her by her hair and dragged her to her feet. "Where's that spirit?" the demon taunted. "Where's that heart? Did I break it when I ripped your Watcher's heart out?"

Mention of her Watcher, the only parent she'd ever had, caused a fire to ignite within her. "You bastard!" she snarled as she leapt up. She slammed a fist into the monster's broad chest, but the blow bounced off ineffectually.

"Dear," the vampire threw her back to the ground. "Keep struggling it makes it more fun." A look of puzzlement flickered across the demon's face. "What is that?"

The Greek vampire began to turn to the left. Suddenly a silenced and metal-grilled SUV burst out of the darkness and slammed into Kakistos, lifting the bulky demon off his feet and flinging him into the air.

The demon hit the ground with a grunt. Even as Kakistos began to rise, the vehicle screeched to a halt, a door flew open, and its driver, a lean, edgy-looking bastard jumped out. "I'll rip your lungs ou-, AHHHHHH!"

Faith's ears reverberated with first the boom of the shotgun the intruder produced and then with the Greek vampire's scream when the newcomer blew his knees out. She watched in stunned fascination as the man reached into his car and came out carrying a loaded crossbow and a sledgehammer. The interloper sauntered over to the demon's body. "Not tonight mother-fucker," the man aimed his crossbow over the vampire's heart and fired. The bolt smashed into the demon's chest turning it to, she blinked, a skeleton. That had never happened before. The demon hunter raised his sledgehammer and smashed the skeleton into pieces before turning to them. "So," he leered at them. "Saved you two girls' pretty little asses. Which one of you wants to thank me first?"


Crow smirked as he surveyed the two girls. Life was good, he'd just finished off the demon he'd been hunting for four months. And now, he was going to get some 'gratitude' of these two honeys. One was a typical but pretty California blonde with good muscle-tone and perfect teeth, dressed in a spaghetti top and red spandex trousers. The other was an exotic-looking sex-bomb with flowing raven-dark hair, smouldering eyes, pouty lips, and a curvy, leather-encased body that begged to be held. Been a while he'd had two honeys like this.

"Who are you?"

He was surprised to find the blonde glaring up at her, her eyes wary but not with the usual fear. "Name's Jack Crow babe," he grinned at the girl. "I work for the Church honey. And speaking as a man of God, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be walking the streets alone, maybe you need an escort."

"Jack Crow?"

"Yeah babe?" He turned at the husky voice of the second teen.

"Hi." Right into a bone-crunching fist to the mouth.


Faith opened her mouth to croak out a thanks to the stranger for saving her. Then he began to talk to her companion. Her eyes narrowed when he mentioned his name. She reached a trembling hand into the inner pocket of her leather pocket and pulled out a folded photograph.

After taking a rattling breath, she unfolded the crumpled photograph her Ma had given her when she was six together with a fat lip when she'd asked why she didn't have a proper daddy like all the other kids in her elementary class. Even as she looked at the photograph of a man sat on a hotel bed she remembered her Ma's words. 'That's your Pa Faith, a worthless bastard. He would have to be to produce a no-good bitch like ya. You're bad seed girlie."

Tears blurring her vision at the memories of the countless hours she'd spent staring at the photograph, wishing her pa would take her away from her hellish life, she looked up at the man talking to Summers. It was him. More lined and with some pepper in his once dark hair, but him.

Before she knew it she was up and moving. "Jack Crow?" she gasped.

"Yeah babe?" The man started to turn towards her.

"Hi." Her first blow caught him square in the mouth. Blood fountained out of his lips, spraying her. From somewhere near-by she heard Buffy's shocked shout, but ignored it to slam a foot in the man's groin. The bastard doubled up and slumped to his knees. A sneer on her face, she smashed a fist into his forehead, opening a cut. Now the man slumped onto his hands and knees. She raised a fist for another blow only to be grabbed and dragged away.

"Faith! I know he's a pig!" Buffy screamed. "But what are you doing?"

"He's more than an pig!" she screamed at her fellow Slayer while all the time glaring at the crumpled body. "That mother-fucker's my pa!"