THE ENEMIES RESURRECTION
I DISCLAIM EVERYTHING! NOTICE MY DISCLAIMINESS!
SUMMERY: AU, this prologue pretty much explains everything. BA
AN: Okey Dokey... This is the first chapter of this story, so naturally, I have to kinda set up the background. And considering this is an AU story, there will be a LOT of background, so sorry for the length. Please keep in mind that the story WILL get better, seeing as it actually hasn't really begun yet. So this is kinda like the prologue.
I would really really appreciate any reviews at all, and I will ALWAYS take into consideration any requests that you may have for this story, it makes it a lot easier to know what it is that you guys want. So, say, if you want a certain pairing added in (bearing in mind that this is a BA story), or you want this character to be evil, or you want more action, more fluff, whatever, let me know!
Also, could you please give me feedback on whether you want Riley in this story? 'cos im not too sure, I could make him good, bad, neutral, whatever you guys want.
Kk, now... on to the story...
PROLOGUE: The Blake family
Angelus' family could be traced back centuries, long before America had been discovered, and even longer before .... Had reigned the then powerful British empire. The name Blake had then been, and was still now enough to strike fear into the stoughtest of hearts, and to corrupt even the purest.
For hundreds of years, the Blake family crest had been regarded with the deepest of fear, yet also respect. The respect earned by generation after generation of 'businessmen,' striving towards the same goal.
Some had made the mistake of associating the powerful family with the common Mafia... they hadn't lived to make the same mistake twice. The Blake's despised the comparison, to them the Mafia were nothing but common thieves, and were too low for them to consider competition of any kind.
There was only one name that the Blakes had ever thought of as competition.
With a status such as the Blake family held, it was hard not to gather enemies. For this reason they were well protected. The family and their associates, minions and servants all lived in the same place. The impressive Blake manor. The estate was more of a fortress, the mansion more like a castle, as it rose out of the ground, surrounded by smaller yet still as grand mansions on either side.
The beautiful Victorian architecture was breathtaking, and yet seemed not out of place against the symbol on the front of the buildings. The symbol was full of foreboding and seemed to warn off those foolish enough to pass under it without being invited.
The Blake estate lay in vivid contrast to the charmingly bright little town of Sunnydale. The family had taken over a large portion of it, and no one ever dared go into their territory without permission. Their territory was such a large part of this town that it had been given its own name. The Hellmouth. No one knew exactly why, but all agreed that it sounded foreboding enough to fit the families reputation well.
Not many had ever dared to pass even on the outskirts of the fortress, knowing what kind of security measures the Blake's took, and with good reason. Though it was practically impossible to penetrate the heavily guarded estate, there had and always will be a very large price on the life of the head of the family, and those desperate enough to risk taking their enemies up on that offer.
Throughout the generations, exactly 12 lead members of the family had been assassinated. After each death of the head of the family, the eldest child had inherited all of the responsibilities, and had taken over the estate. And after every death of the head Blake, their eldest had been given the responsibility of avenging their death in the bloodiest, most brutal way possible. All 12 times, the Blake family had succeeded beyond measure. Thus adding to their infamous reputation.
As of right now the head of the family was one Nathaniel Blake, and he prided himself on that fact. He took care in ensuring that the family 'business' remained prosperous, knowing that he would not be the one to end the Blake's reign in power.
He wasn't an evil man. Yet nor was he a Samaritan. He had his morals, all of them did, but his were a little... harder to understand, than most. He was well aware that things were never purely black and white, and he had been forced to make some tough decisions in his life. All of this combined to give him a hardened perspective on life, and served to earn him the respect of many.
He had married, and had even had three children. Of course, as head of the family, he had had to, so that the Blake family name could be carried on through the next generation. However, beneath his tough exterior, he could, and would on occasion be a devoted family man. Until he was called away again on duty. His wife, Irina however, understood completely, and was merely happy with the time he was able to spend with them.
Four years ago, tragedy had struck the Blakes. Irina had been savagely murdered as she was returning from a meeting with a Russian spy. Nathaniel had discovered her body, slumped over against the wheel of her car. From a distance, it had looked as if she had merely fallen asleep. It had been deathly quiet. Only the sound of his breathing disrupted the silence.
His. Not hers.
He had slowly approached the car, knowing that something was wrong. He had felt a terrible sinking in the pit of his stomach as he drew nearer to his wife. He had stood outside her car window, his ragged breath streaming in white whisps from his mouth, looking anywhere but at her. He had tried to put it off as long as possible, because he had known. In his heart he had known that Irina would never have simply fallen asleep at the wheel of the car, even if the engine hadn't been on. She had known the dangers of being a Blake. He stood, inspecting the tyres of the car, noticing that the front one had been slashed. He examined the back window, realising that it had been shattered. Finally he had forced his eyes to his wife.
Her face had been deathly pale, her eyes shut and her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. If it had not been for the blood, he could have convinced himself that she was merely sleeping. If it hadn't been for the blood, he could have believed that all that was wrong was a damaged car. But he couldn't have fooled himself, the bright red blood covered her head, matted in her once beautiful hair. It pooled, scarlet and thick, at the bottom of the seat, were it had run freely from the gaping hole in his wife's head.
He had stared, unblinkingly at her for what had seemed like hours. For the first time in his life he had been completely lost, unable to move, Paralysed at the sight before him.
There he had stood, not even noticing when his bodyguard had come out to see what was wrong. Not caring when he had gone inside to alert the others. He hadn't moved when the ambulance had arrived, far too late, to take his wife away. He had simply stared and stared at the place where his wife had been only moments before.
Finally, as if awakening from some deep coma, he had pulled his tired body into his house, and rested his heavy limbs on the couch in one of the living rooms. He had stayed there until morning, not once falling asleep, only listening, waiting for his children to awaken. Not knowing what he would tell them.
That had been four years ago. Now, his two sons, Angelus and Christian, and his daughter, Faith, were all old enough to have taken up vital parts of the business.
They of course knew that, as the eldest, when their father had passed on, Angelus would be the one to take over for him, but still, they were important to the Blake family, each having their own unique talents.
Christian had, for quite some time, been the fastest get-away driver known to the Blake family, and had an extensive knowledge of mechanics and other such things. He had time and time again proven his worth, and had got them out of quite a few sticky situations with his superb driving and excellent cars.
As for Faith, There had been no one yet to have matched her in infiltration techniques. She seemed to naturally know just what approach to take when they needed to gain access to a building. She was also incredibly adept at escaping those places.
When planning any operation, be it ascertaining, breaking and entering, dealing in arms, etc, or any of the many things that the Blake family had been doing for centuries, Christian and Faith were vital.
And Nathaniel was incredibly proud of all of them.
Angelus had been a born leader, and his strategizing rivalled that of his father, as well as his superior knowledge of weaponry. All three children had from a very young age been taught how to defend themselves. Well. Not JUST to defend themselves. But Angelus had far exceeded his siblings from a very young age, and when their father wasn't around, he generally took care of things.
Christian and Faith didn't mind this so much, though, as they were both well aware of the pressure their father was under 24/7, especially since their mothers death.
Angelus had been sixteen at the time, Faith had been fourteen, and Christian had been thirteen. Each of them remembered vividly the morning that they had been told about their mothers death, and each had tried to deal with it in their own way. Christian had kept himself busy, working on cars, burying himself in work. Faith had become wild and disobedient, which, in their line of work, could have gotten her killed. Eventually she calmed down a bit, and her and Christian had learned to deal. They knew that the terrible tragedy would never quite leave them, but they tried their best to go on with life.
Angelus and Nathaniel Blake, however, had reacted in much the same way. Like father like son, they first couldn't quite believe it, but, once the shock had worn off, they both grew angry, and thirsty for revenge.
They proved yet again, why the Blake family was not to be crossed, when they relentlessly hunted down the person responsible for Irina's death. They eventually discovered that the man responsible was Robert Lexly. Two months beforehand, The Blake family had secured the ownership of a large company in New York, thus consequently terminating his contract with them. Robert had been an extremely successful businessman at this point. And the loss of such a valuable asset was devastating to his career. He lost his job, his house, and his wife. And he had blamed the Blake's, so, he had called in one last favour to have Mrs. Irina Blake, killed.
Nathaniel had taken his time in killing him. He had thought that he would feel better afterwards, and he did, for a while. But soon the effect had worn off, the sense of achievement had faded, and all that he had left was his bitterness towards his wife's death.
William O'Summers strolled confidently past the gate to the Hellmouth. There were not many that could have been so flippant about entering the Blake's impressive abode, But 'Spike' as he had named himself, was not one of the many. Some would say that his attitude was almost arrogant, as he made his way towards the huge front door of the Blake family mansion. And they would be right.
Spike was amazingly self – assured, but he had reason to be. Since he was 8 years old, he as well as his sister had been trained by the best special recruitment team in England. He had stayed in that country for eleven years, even adopting an accent that added to his unique personality. His sister, Buffy, however, had returned to America after only 2 years, to be trained there. Spike had only recently returned from London last year, and he had already created quite a stir.
He hadn't been surprised to hear that Buffy had also made quite a name for herself here in Sunnydale, as well as all over America. Of coarse, snippets of information had drifted across the big pond to him, telling him of her reputation as the best in the business. He had been extremely proud of his little sister, and had told her so when he had arrived here. Since then they had even done a few 'jobs' together, each succeeding unimaginably. They made quite a team.
Today he was here to speak with non other than the head of the infamous Blake family himself. If he was able to impress this guy, then who knows what could come of it?
As he reached up to pull back the brass knocker in the centre of the door, he couldn't help but laugh at the gargoyles fiercely protecting the door on either side of it. They glared up at him, their ugly little eyes fixated on his. He couldn't help but be amused by how over the top it all seemed. He had seen much uglier gargoyles in Brighton.
The smirk was wiped of his face as the huge door creaked open, revealing a large, overly muscled body-guard type, dressed all in black, with his gloved hand resting on top of a gun at his waist.
Spike quickly recovered, smiling widely, "You alright, mate?" he asked jovially, pushing past the man and entering the large, ornately decorated hallway.
"So, what's a guy got to do around here to get a cuppa?" The large man remained silent, his face expressionless. He rose his hand, pointing towards a door at the end of the hallway.
"Not much of a talker are ya?" he observed, before turning to the door and pushing it open.
Inside, was what Spike assumed to be Nathaniel's study. The man himself sat at his neatly furnished desk, looking through a pile of papers. At the sound of the door opening, he had looked up to find a man whom he could only assume was William O' Summers standing before him, grinning confidently. His hair was bleached and his attire consisted of black jeans, black top, a read shirt, and a black leather duster. Nathaniel was intrigued. He had rarely encountered someone he had only just met being as confident and forthright as he seemed in his presence.
Spike waited for the man to speak. He had noticed the mans scrutiny as he stood there. It made him uncomfortable, but he didn't dare show it, most of his success with people like him was due to his confidence. However, he knew that Mr. Blake was in a league of his own, and he wasn't quite sure what to expect. He certainly looked authoritative. His jet-black hair was neatly combed back, and his black suit was impeccable. Blake had a gaze that seemed to see straight through Spike, and he knew at once that this man was not to be crossed. Which was lucky, seeing as Spike hadn't planned on crossing him.
"You don't knock?" Nathaniel reprimanded the young man with just a hint of an Irish accent in his voice. Spike inwardly cringed, his cocky demeanour had gotten him into trouble plenty of times, and he couldn't afford to screw this up. He simply shrugged at the powerful man,
"Sorry about that, mate, forgot me manners." He apologised. Nathaniel nodded, before standing and coming around from his desk. Spike realised for the first time that the man was at least a foot taller than himself, and he couldn't help but be a little intimidated, though he didn't show it.
"I assume you know why you're here?" Mr. Blake stated more than asked. Spike nodded, though in truth, he only knew the basics.
It was well known that the Blake family, through it's centuries of existence, had only ever known one true enemy. That enemy had been the Order of Aurelius. Two hundred or more years ago, the order had waged war on the family, competing for 'business', stealing their snitches, snatching their deals, and playing downright dirty. The final straw had been the four consecutive murders of the heads of the family. One after the other, the order had them killed. After this. The Blake's had taken their revenge. Blowing up their buildings and HQ's, killing many of the members, and ruining their reputation. This had put a stop to them once and for all. Or so they had thought.
Now, almost one hundred and twenty years later, rumours had surfaced that the order had risen again. Several deals that the family had thought were as good as done, had been snatched out from under their noses by an anonymous organisation.
Spike had been called in to put together a team to infiltrate a company suspected to be under the control of the order, and ascertain what the situation so far is. That was pretty much all that he had been told, though he would never admit to this man where he had gotten some of the information from.
"Good." Nathaniel stated. "Now, I do not, under any circumstances want them to be alerted to our knowledge of their reappearance. Is that clear?"
Spike again nodded. He had already known that this would be undercover. "What's the target?" he asked.
Spike could have sworn that the man seemed to be holding back a trace of a smile as he replied;
"The stylex mega-corps."
Spike raised an eyebrow at the name of an extremely successful make-up company.
"They make thousands every hour, and if the order seize this company, they will most certainly profit from it." Mr. Blake explained. "I want to know how far they have come in 'persuading' the owners that they need 'protection'."
Spike of coarse knew what he meant. Large and successful companies very rarely made a name for themselves by remaining strictly legit. The order would have been blackmailing the company into giving them a share of their profits. A very large share.
"Now. You will be taking Angelus, Christian and Faith with you as well as one of my men. You may select three of your own to accompany you. You will be provided with whatever you need for the operation."
Spike nodded. "Awfully nice of you sir." He grinned.
"Anymore, and it would be too risky. As it is, you realise that the mission is strictly undercover." Blake asked.
Spike nodded, already knowing who he would bring along. He knew that his sister would love the idea of going undercover in the biggest make-up firm in LA.
okay, im aware that this didn't have much to go on, but it really will get better, I just had to set the story up first.
Please review, remember what I said at the top. If I don't get any i'll just forget about this story. (it's happened before!) lol.
Anyway. Thanx 4 reading. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Angie : )
I DISCLAIM EVERYTHING! NOTICE MY DISCLAIMINESS!
SUMMERY: AU, this prologue pretty much explains everything. BA
AN: Okey Dokey... This is the first chapter of this story, so naturally, I have to kinda set up the background. And considering this is an AU story, there will be a LOT of background, so sorry for the length. Please keep in mind that the story WILL get better, seeing as it actually hasn't really begun yet. So this is kinda like the prologue.
I would really really appreciate any reviews at all, and I will ALWAYS take into consideration any requests that you may have for this story, it makes it a lot easier to know what it is that you guys want. So, say, if you want a certain pairing added in (bearing in mind that this is a BA story), or you want this character to be evil, or you want more action, more fluff, whatever, let me know!
Also, could you please give me feedback on whether you want Riley in this story? 'cos im not too sure, I could make him good, bad, neutral, whatever you guys want.
Kk, now... on to the story...
PROLOGUE: The Blake family
Angelus' family could be traced back centuries, long before America had been discovered, and even longer before .... Had reigned the then powerful British empire. The name Blake had then been, and was still now enough to strike fear into the stoughtest of hearts, and to corrupt even the purest.
For hundreds of years, the Blake family crest had been regarded with the deepest of fear, yet also respect. The respect earned by generation after generation of 'businessmen,' striving towards the same goal.
Some had made the mistake of associating the powerful family with the common Mafia... they hadn't lived to make the same mistake twice. The Blake's despised the comparison, to them the Mafia were nothing but common thieves, and were too low for them to consider competition of any kind.
There was only one name that the Blakes had ever thought of as competition.
With a status such as the Blake family held, it was hard not to gather enemies. For this reason they were well protected. The family and their associates, minions and servants all lived in the same place. The impressive Blake manor. The estate was more of a fortress, the mansion more like a castle, as it rose out of the ground, surrounded by smaller yet still as grand mansions on either side.
The beautiful Victorian architecture was breathtaking, and yet seemed not out of place against the symbol on the front of the buildings. The symbol was full of foreboding and seemed to warn off those foolish enough to pass under it without being invited.
The Blake estate lay in vivid contrast to the charmingly bright little town of Sunnydale. The family had taken over a large portion of it, and no one ever dared go into their territory without permission. Their territory was such a large part of this town that it had been given its own name. The Hellmouth. No one knew exactly why, but all agreed that it sounded foreboding enough to fit the families reputation well.
Not many had ever dared to pass even on the outskirts of the fortress, knowing what kind of security measures the Blake's took, and with good reason. Though it was practically impossible to penetrate the heavily guarded estate, there had and always will be a very large price on the life of the head of the family, and those desperate enough to risk taking their enemies up on that offer.
Throughout the generations, exactly 12 lead members of the family had been assassinated. After each death of the head of the family, the eldest child had inherited all of the responsibilities, and had taken over the estate. And after every death of the head Blake, their eldest had been given the responsibility of avenging their death in the bloodiest, most brutal way possible. All 12 times, the Blake family had succeeded beyond measure. Thus adding to their infamous reputation.
As of right now the head of the family was one Nathaniel Blake, and he prided himself on that fact. He took care in ensuring that the family 'business' remained prosperous, knowing that he would not be the one to end the Blake's reign in power.
He wasn't an evil man. Yet nor was he a Samaritan. He had his morals, all of them did, but his were a little... harder to understand, than most. He was well aware that things were never purely black and white, and he had been forced to make some tough decisions in his life. All of this combined to give him a hardened perspective on life, and served to earn him the respect of many.
He had married, and had even had three children. Of course, as head of the family, he had had to, so that the Blake family name could be carried on through the next generation. However, beneath his tough exterior, he could, and would on occasion be a devoted family man. Until he was called away again on duty. His wife, Irina however, understood completely, and was merely happy with the time he was able to spend with them.
Four years ago, tragedy had struck the Blakes. Irina had been savagely murdered as she was returning from a meeting with a Russian spy. Nathaniel had discovered her body, slumped over against the wheel of her car. From a distance, it had looked as if she had merely fallen asleep. It had been deathly quiet. Only the sound of his breathing disrupted the silence.
His. Not hers.
He had slowly approached the car, knowing that something was wrong. He had felt a terrible sinking in the pit of his stomach as he drew nearer to his wife. He had stood outside her car window, his ragged breath streaming in white whisps from his mouth, looking anywhere but at her. He had tried to put it off as long as possible, because he had known. In his heart he had known that Irina would never have simply fallen asleep at the wheel of the car, even if the engine hadn't been on. She had known the dangers of being a Blake. He stood, inspecting the tyres of the car, noticing that the front one had been slashed. He examined the back window, realising that it had been shattered. Finally he had forced his eyes to his wife.
Her face had been deathly pale, her eyes shut and her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. If it had not been for the blood, he could have convinced himself that she was merely sleeping. If it hadn't been for the blood, he could have believed that all that was wrong was a damaged car. But he couldn't have fooled himself, the bright red blood covered her head, matted in her once beautiful hair. It pooled, scarlet and thick, at the bottom of the seat, were it had run freely from the gaping hole in his wife's head.
He had stared, unblinkingly at her for what had seemed like hours. For the first time in his life he had been completely lost, unable to move, Paralysed at the sight before him.
There he had stood, not even noticing when his bodyguard had come out to see what was wrong. Not caring when he had gone inside to alert the others. He hadn't moved when the ambulance had arrived, far too late, to take his wife away. He had simply stared and stared at the place where his wife had been only moments before.
Finally, as if awakening from some deep coma, he had pulled his tired body into his house, and rested his heavy limbs on the couch in one of the living rooms. He had stayed there until morning, not once falling asleep, only listening, waiting for his children to awaken. Not knowing what he would tell them.
That had been four years ago. Now, his two sons, Angelus and Christian, and his daughter, Faith, were all old enough to have taken up vital parts of the business.
They of course knew that, as the eldest, when their father had passed on, Angelus would be the one to take over for him, but still, they were important to the Blake family, each having their own unique talents.
Christian had, for quite some time, been the fastest get-away driver known to the Blake family, and had an extensive knowledge of mechanics and other such things. He had time and time again proven his worth, and had got them out of quite a few sticky situations with his superb driving and excellent cars.
As for Faith, There had been no one yet to have matched her in infiltration techniques. She seemed to naturally know just what approach to take when they needed to gain access to a building. She was also incredibly adept at escaping those places.
When planning any operation, be it ascertaining, breaking and entering, dealing in arms, etc, or any of the many things that the Blake family had been doing for centuries, Christian and Faith were vital.
And Nathaniel was incredibly proud of all of them.
Angelus had been a born leader, and his strategizing rivalled that of his father, as well as his superior knowledge of weaponry. All three children had from a very young age been taught how to defend themselves. Well. Not JUST to defend themselves. But Angelus had far exceeded his siblings from a very young age, and when their father wasn't around, he generally took care of things.
Christian and Faith didn't mind this so much, though, as they were both well aware of the pressure their father was under 24/7, especially since their mothers death.
Angelus had been sixteen at the time, Faith had been fourteen, and Christian had been thirteen. Each of them remembered vividly the morning that they had been told about their mothers death, and each had tried to deal with it in their own way. Christian had kept himself busy, working on cars, burying himself in work. Faith had become wild and disobedient, which, in their line of work, could have gotten her killed. Eventually she calmed down a bit, and her and Christian had learned to deal. They knew that the terrible tragedy would never quite leave them, but they tried their best to go on with life.
Angelus and Nathaniel Blake, however, had reacted in much the same way. Like father like son, they first couldn't quite believe it, but, once the shock had worn off, they both grew angry, and thirsty for revenge.
They proved yet again, why the Blake family was not to be crossed, when they relentlessly hunted down the person responsible for Irina's death. They eventually discovered that the man responsible was Robert Lexly. Two months beforehand, The Blake family had secured the ownership of a large company in New York, thus consequently terminating his contract with them. Robert had been an extremely successful businessman at this point. And the loss of such a valuable asset was devastating to his career. He lost his job, his house, and his wife. And he had blamed the Blake's, so, he had called in one last favour to have Mrs. Irina Blake, killed.
Nathaniel had taken his time in killing him. He had thought that he would feel better afterwards, and he did, for a while. But soon the effect had worn off, the sense of achievement had faded, and all that he had left was his bitterness towards his wife's death.
William O'Summers strolled confidently past the gate to the Hellmouth. There were not many that could have been so flippant about entering the Blake's impressive abode, But 'Spike' as he had named himself, was not one of the many. Some would say that his attitude was almost arrogant, as he made his way towards the huge front door of the Blake family mansion. And they would be right.
Spike was amazingly self – assured, but he had reason to be. Since he was 8 years old, he as well as his sister had been trained by the best special recruitment team in England. He had stayed in that country for eleven years, even adopting an accent that added to his unique personality. His sister, Buffy, however, had returned to America after only 2 years, to be trained there. Spike had only recently returned from London last year, and he had already created quite a stir.
He hadn't been surprised to hear that Buffy had also made quite a name for herself here in Sunnydale, as well as all over America. Of coarse, snippets of information had drifted across the big pond to him, telling him of her reputation as the best in the business. He had been extremely proud of his little sister, and had told her so when he had arrived here. Since then they had even done a few 'jobs' together, each succeeding unimaginably. They made quite a team.
Today he was here to speak with non other than the head of the infamous Blake family himself. If he was able to impress this guy, then who knows what could come of it?
As he reached up to pull back the brass knocker in the centre of the door, he couldn't help but laugh at the gargoyles fiercely protecting the door on either side of it. They glared up at him, their ugly little eyes fixated on his. He couldn't help but be amused by how over the top it all seemed. He had seen much uglier gargoyles in Brighton.
The smirk was wiped of his face as the huge door creaked open, revealing a large, overly muscled body-guard type, dressed all in black, with his gloved hand resting on top of a gun at his waist.
Spike quickly recovered, smiling widely, "You alright, mate?" he asked jovially, pushing past the man and entering the large, ornately decorated hallway.
"So, what's a guy got to do around here to get a cuppa?" The large man remained silent, his face expressionless. He rose his hand, pointing towards a door at the end of the hallway.
"Not much of a talker are ya?" he observed, before turning to the door and pushing it open.
Inside, was what Spike assumed to be Nathaniel's study. The man himself sat at his neatly furnished desk, looking through a pile of papers. At the sound of the door opening, he had looked up to find a man whom he could only assume was William O' Summers standing before him, grinning confidently. His hair was bleached and his attire consisted of black jeans, black top, a read shirt, and a black leather duster. Nathaniel was intrigued. He had rarely encountered someone he had only just met being as confident and forthright as he seemed in his presence.
Spike waited for the man to speak. He had noticed the mans scrutiny as he stood there. It made him uncomfortable, but he didn't dare show it, most of his success with people like him was due to his confidence. However, he knew that Mr. Blake was in a league of his own, and he wasn't quite sure what to expect. He certainly looked authoritative. His jet-black hair was neatly combed back, and his black suit was impeccable. Blake had a gaze that seemed to see straight through Spike, and he knew at once that this man was not to be crossed. Which was lucky, seeing as Spike hadn't planned on crossing him.
"You don't knock?" Nathaniel reprimanded the young man with just a hint of an Irish accent in his voice. Spike inwardly cringed, his cocky demeanour had gotten him into trouble plenty of times, and he couldn't afford to screw this up. He simply shrugged at the powerful man,
"Sorry about that, mate, forgot me manners." He apologised. Nathaniel nodded, before standing and coming around from his desk. Spike realised for the first time that the man was at least a foot taller than himself, and he couldn't help but be a little intimidated, though he didn't show it.
"I assume you know why you're here?" Mr. Blake stated more than asked. Spike nodded, though in truth, he only knew the basics.
It was well known that the Blake family, through it's centuries of existence, had only ever known one true enemy. That enemy had been the Order of Aurelius. Two hundred or more years ago, the order had waged war on the family, competing for 'business', stealing their snitches, snatching their deals, and playing downright dirty. The final straw had been the four consecutive murders of the heads of the family. One after the other, the order had them killed. After this. The Blake's had taken their revenge. Blowing up their buildings and HQ's, killing many of the members, and ruining their reputation. This had put a stop to them once and for all. Or so they had thought.
Now, almost one hundred and twenty years later, rumours had surfaced that the order had risen again. Several deals that the family had thought were as good as done, had been snatched out from under their noses by an anonymous organisation.
Spike had been called in to put together a team to infiltrate a company suspected to be under the control of the order, and ascertain what the situation so far is. That was pretty much all that he had been told, though he would never admit to this man where he had gotten some of the information from.
"Good." Nathaniel stated. "Now, I do not, under any circumstances want them to be alerted to our knowledge of their reappearance. Is that clear?"
Spike again nodded. He had already known that this would be undercover. "What's the target?" he asked.
Spike could have sworn that the man seemed to be holding back a trace of a smile as he replied;
"The stylex mega-corps."
Spike raised an eyebrow at the name of an extremely successful make-up company.
"They make thousands every hour, and if the order seize this company, they will most certainly profit from it." Mr. Blake explained. "I want to know how far they have come in 'persuading' the owners that they need 'protection'."
Spike of coarse knew what he meant. Large and successful companies very rarely made a name for themselves by remaining strictly legit. The order would have been blackmailing the company into giving them a share of their profits. A very large share.
"Now. You will be taking Angelus, Christian and Faith with you as well as one of my men. You may select three of your own to accompany you. You will be provided with whatever you need for the operation."
Spike nodded. "Awfully nice of you sir." He grinned.
"Anymore, and it would be too risky. As it is, you realise that the mission is strictly undercover." Blake asked.
Spike nodded, already knowing who he would bring along. He knew that his sister would love the idea of going undercover in the biggest make-up firm in LA.
okay, im aware that this didn't have much to go on, but it really will get better, I just had to set the story up first.
Please review, remember what I said at the top. If I don't get any i'll just forget about this story. (it's happened before!) lol.
Anyway. Thanx 4 reading. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Angie : )