Disclaimer: Xander and the characters you recognise do not belong to me. The ones you don't know are mine.

AN- My original plan for this story has been completely shot to hell thanks to the last chapter, so this fic will be ending in about two or three chapters, just as soon as I can wrestle muse into writing them. Enjoy and please review.

Soldier

Chapter Eleven

They let him out through the back door, the one that Forrest had gone out through before and Xander cast a wary look around the service area, wandering whether the warlock had set up any traps or not. The way seemed clear at first glance, and he carefully took a step towards the nearest alley, eager to get back to see how much time he had wasted.

"Hey!"

Xander turned back at the sound of Buffy's voice to see her and Finn standing in the doorway. Buffy raised an eyebrow at Finn, who almost looked like he was about to argue back but quickly gave up when she raised the other one too.

Reluctantly, he reached behind his back and brought out a pair of guns. Xander would recognise those guns anywhere and quickly caught them when Finn threw them at him. Smiling, Xander strapped the guns back in place and smirked at Finn.

"Just go," Buffy said, pulling the door shut.

Xander frowned at the metal as it slammed against the frame. She looked sad, really, really sad, like when Angel had turned into Angelus, the only difference being she'd been pretty angry back then too. Shaking his head to get rid of the memories, he ran a hand through his hair and started up the alley. When he pulled his hand away, he noticed the smell that clung to his clothes. Little change in plan, he decided, the first thing he would do when he got back to the motel, would be to get a long, hot shower, and go from there.

-

When he got back to the motel, everything was a mess. Someone had been and gone through his bags, upended the bed and thrown his clothes all over the place. One of his shirts was even hanging off the cheap TV, another was lying at the bottom of the shower, soaking wet and a pair of his pants had been pulled inside and out and twisted into a knot.

He stared at the mess for a moment before starting to search for his other bag, the one with all his magical supplies in it. Pulling his clothes off the floor and the various places they'd all ended up, he dumped them on the bed while checking every place he could think of. He found the bag under his bed, with a holly branch sticking out of the zipper and breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled it out. The holly meant that Ethan had been there and moved it to a safe place. The bed had fallen on it when it had been moved.

He shoved some of his clothes off the bed and sat, rummaging around in the bag, checking all his supplies were still there. Nothing seemed to be missing. Breathing a sigh of relief, he set it back on the bed and headed for the bathroom. The shower still seemed to work, although something that looked a lot like the soap had been flushed down the toilet.

After taking a quick shower and changing into a clean pair of pants, he grabbed the bag again and pulled out his computer. He only had a few hours to figure out where the hell Finn was and kill him. He knew that if he failed, Cleaners would be sent in to completely obliterate Finn, and everyone within a hundred yards of him. He shivered at the memory of the Cleaners and how cold they'd been the last time he'd encountered them.

Pushing the memory from his mind, he started tapping at his computer, trying to hack into the security databases of any shop up the main street. Chances were most of them had video surveillance cameras and Finn would probably be in that magic shop. Xander doubted the shop would have any kind of electrical security, it was most likely covered with magic spells and alarms rather than cameras and motion detectors, but one could never be so sure.

Twenty minutes and hardly any footage later, Xander froze. He'd been halfway through watching a video from the fast food restaurant across the street which showed Finn entering the Magic Box when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Someone was watching him.

He slammed the computer shut and stuffed it back into the bag. Grabbing a shirt off the bed next to him, he pulled it on and headed over to the window. Standing across the intersection on the corner, were Buffy and Forrest. A few minutes later they were joined by another who he couldn't quite make out. Forrest was shaking his head while Buffy seemed to be saying something. Her face was hidden by the third person but Xander could see her hands moving, as if she were trying to explain something to them. Seeming to give up, Forrest threw his hands into the air and began to walk off. Buffy followed. The third person stood for a moment watching them before hurrying after them.

A shiver ran up Xander's spine and he pulled away from the window. There was something about that third figure that he didn't like. Something just wasn't… right about it. He ran a hand over his face and when he looked again, the figure was gone and the street light was flickering on and off.

He frowned at it and turned back to the room. It was still a mess. He dug the computer out of his bag and set it up to do an automatic search to see where Finn might be staying and turned to the room.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Xander had been half-way through folding and packing his clothes into his bag when he heard it. He dropped the clothes, grabbed the computer, stuffed it into the bag and kicked it under the bed out of the way. Checking everything was where it should be, he carefully approached the door and stood to one side as the knock came again, a little louder this time. Reaching into his pocket, he rested a hand on the butt of his gun and checked the peep-hole.

Riley Finn was standing on the other side.

Frowning, he watched as Finn raised a hand and thumped the door again. Xander kept still, wandering what the hell Finn was doing. Finn glanced over his shoulder and slammed a fist against the door. Xander raised a hand and unlocked the door. Finn stepped back as the door opened and Xander stepped into the doorway.

"Xander," Finn said, glancing over his shoulder again.

"Finn," Xander replied.

"Can I er… come in?"

Xander studied him for a moment and stepped out of the doorway to give Finn room to pass. He didn't take his hand off his gun.

"Sure."

Finn glanced round the room, giving it a once over. Xander stepped round him and went back to his bag.

"You leaving?"

"Soon."

"After you kill me."

Xander paused. "Yeah."

A disc landed on the bed next to him.

"There's some stuff on that that you might want to see."

Xander eyed the disc and zipped up the bag, ignoring it.

"Does Buffy know you're here?"

"No. She doesn't need to either."

Xander raised his eyebrows at that. Finn had come to him, without Buffy's approval, knowing that he was going to die? The guy was nuts. Or he had nothing to lose. Xander was betting on the latter. He turned to face Finn, sitting down on the bed. Finn had his hands by his sides, watching Xander warily. Xander reached round his side and pulled out his gun.

"Would you kill for the people you love? Or die for them?" he asked, checking the slide.

Finn stared at him blankly. "What?"

Xander cocked the gun. "Would you?"

"Yeah, I would."

Xander sighed and slid off the bed, reaching under it to grab his other bag. He dumped it on the bed and turned his back on Finn to check the room, making sure he hadn't left anything behind.

"Look, I er… Buffy told me a little bit about you. From before…"

Xander palmed the weapon in his hands, wandering whether he should just leave now and disappear. At the back of his mind though, he knew he couldn't. The Guardians would hunt him down within a few hours and have him killed, probably by the Cleaners. Sighing, he turned around and his fingers called around the grip.

Finn froze mid-sentence, his eyes going to the gun.

Xander raised the weapon and pulled the trigger.

Tbc...