Not Long to Wait

Ch 14 – Kidnapped

Dawn stepped out of the club into the alley and glanced around looking for Spike. *Hmmm. Maybe he's waiting on the street.* She walked to the end of the alley and looked up and down the street. *Wonder where he is? He said he'd be waiting outside.* She saw Tony manning the door of the club across the street and walked over to him.

"Hey, Tony."

He pulled her into a hug, "How's it going, Sunny?"

"Good. Have you seen Sp... um I mean John? You know, White Boy?"

Tony smiled. "So you did know him."

She nodded. "Yeah. I've known him since I was fourteen and we kind of lost touch several years ago when he left town. Nobody knew where he'd ended up and I've been looking for him for years. So have you seen him?"

Tony nodded and held his finger to his lips. He stepped inside the club and pulled another bouncer out to man the door then took Dawn's arm and led her around the corner of the building. "Yeah, he was here about an hour ago. Um, Sunny, I have some bad news for you. I saw Alan's thugs loading him into the trunk of Alan's car."

Dawn latched onto Tony's arms. "Where are they taking him and why? And who the fuck is Alan?"

Tony looked around, checking to see if anyone was watching, then whispered, "It's a brothel called The Ranch. Alan owns it. I'm not sure where it is but it's close. They cater to exotic tastes. Mostly sick fucks that like to rape and torture people."

Dawn gasped. *Oh God, Spike!* She backed up a few steps and glared at Tony. "How do you know so much about this place?"

He held up his hands. "Hey, I'm not like that. I only know about it because Alan had me work out there for a week a month or so ago when one of the regular guys was in the hospital. One of the workers got loose and clocked him in the head. If John is what I think he is then he's in a world of trouble."

"What do you think he is?"

"I don't want to scare you but, I think he's… a vampire."

Dawn nodded. "He is and you're gonna help me find him. Let's go." She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the street then hailed a cab. They climbed into the back seat and she gave the driver her address then turned to Tony.

She was about to speak when he blurted out, "You knew about John being a vampire?"

"Ok, his name's Spike, my name's Dawn and yes, I know he's a vampire."

Tony goggled at her. "And that doesn't freak you out? That he was fine when he left and now he's a vampire?"

She put her hand gently on his arm. "Tony, Spike's been a vampire for over a hundred and twenty years. How do you know about them?"

His mouth hung open for a minute then he snapped it shut. "Um, from working out at The Ranch. Vampires are the only workers at that house. You're not a vampire, are you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm… something else. I'll explain it to you later. Why do they only use vamps? And what do you mean that house?"

"Alan owns another house that's just a basic brothel. He's been trying to get Jo… uh… Spike to work out there as long as I've known him. They only use vampires at The Ranch because they can take whatever the clients dish out without dying. Once the client is finished you just fill 'em full of blood and they're healed in a few days and ready for more."

Dawn's face screwed into a scowl. "That's disgusting. Why are you still working for these people? You don't seem like the type to go along with something like that."

"I didn't know anything about The Ranch until Alan took me out there, in the trunk of his car no less, so I couldn't find it on my own later. I stuck around because I've been trying to get more information so I could maybe do something to get that place shut down. I was going to try to find it in the morning when it's slow out there and try to get Spike out."

"Can you tell me anything about where it is? How long did it take you to get there? Did you hear anything or smell anything that might give me a clue?"

"It's about twenty minutes or so from the club. Oh, and it's near train tracks. I could hear train whistles. He's got guards on every floor and one in the cell block. I could probably move around in there pretty easy since I know most of the guards but they're gonna know you don't belong there."

"How many floors?"

"There's three floors above ground for client rooms and the workers are kept in cells in a basement under the parking garage. I never saw the outside because Alan took me in through the underground garage and the guards kept me from going outside, but I think it used to be an apartment building or a hotel."

"Well that's something anyway. Spike's strong. He'll hold out until we can get there."

"Dawn, I'm pretty good in a fight but you're tiny. Those guards are huge and they're not gonna just let us walk him out of there."

She smiled. "I'm a lot stronger than I look and hopefully it won't be just us. I've got friends coming to town in a little while; I just hope I can talk them into helping Spike, he's not exactly their favorite person." The car pulled up to the curb and she handed the driver several bills then opened the door. "This is us. Let's go."

She walked into the lobby with Tony following her and ran into Angel coming out of the elevator. "Where are you going, Angel?"

"The lobby. Everyone should be here soon. Who's this?"

"Tony. Spike's been kidnapped. As soon as the gang gets here we need to go get him."

Angel shook his head. "I don't think they're going to be up for a rescue. Especially for Spike. They're all coming here to remind you how dangerous he is and to try to talk you out of being with him."

"And I already told you that's a waste of time. Jesus Christ, Angel, when are you going to realize he's changed? Do you think it was easy for him to live surrounded by humans with that chip in his head? Humans have been hurting him since before he left Sunnydale. And he took it. Do you know how many beatings he's endured because of that fucking chip?"

Angel sat down on the couch and ran his hand through his hair. "No, I didn't know."

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "You didn't want to. Because it's Spike. Nobody thinks he can change because he doesn't have a soul. Well he can. He did. Do you have any idea how many vampires are in this town? I've been dusting vampires here for six months and haven't even made a dent. He's been here for years. A town full of fledges, a Master Vampire and no Slayer. He could've ruled this place."

Angel sighed, "I'm sorry, Dawn."

"Sorry doesn't help Spike. Help me get him back and then we'll talk about sorry."

X

XXXX

X

Spike slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was sprawled on a metal cot in a tiny, dark cell. He lifted his hand and heard the clink and rattle of chains. *What the hell?* He looked down and saw that his wrists were shackled and a chain connected them to the shackles on his ankles. *Oh this is bloody fabulous. Where the hell am I?*

He sat up and got to his feet then shuffled to the door and peered through the bars. There was a row of tiny cells running the length of the hallway and he could smell them. Vampires. Every creature down here was a vampire. The cell across from him was empty and he couldn't see very far into the ones next to it, but from what he could smell, there must be around ten vampires in the cells. *They're all fledges.* He sniffed deeply. *Oldest one is maybe three years. Is this more Initiative shit? I'll dust 'fore I let 'em chip me again.* A door at the end of the hall scraped open and he shuffled quickly back to the cot and lay down, pretending to be asleep.

His cell door squeaked open and two pairs of boots clomped loudly over to the cot then he was jerked roughly to his feet. "Wake up! You've been out long enough. Time to earn your keep."

*Earn my keep? What the hell is he talkin' 'bout?* Spike opened his eyes as one of the men snapped a collar around his neck. The one holding him pushed him against the wall and backed up then took something from the other man. He held it up and pointed it at Spike.

Spike reached toward the collar and asked, "What's this?" The man pushed his thumb down and Spike howled and dropped to the floor, writhing in agony.

The man smiled and sneered. "Protection." He walked over and squatted down next to the crumpled vampire. "You make any kind of move I don't like or touch the collar and I'll hit you again. Got it?" Spike looked up at him and nodded shakily. "Good."

*Bit will find me. She knows I went to the club. Hopefully she'll figure it out. And I hope she beats Alan to a bloody fuckin' pulp in the process.*

The man unlocked the shackles and handed them to the other one then hauled Spike to his feet and stripped his duster off, tossing it onto the cot. "Take off your boots."

Spike toed his boots off and kicked them under the cot then stood quietly. *Just gotta hold on 'til she gets here. Be good, Spike, don't do anythin' to make the git angry. Might need to fight my way out of here and I need to be conscious for that.* The other man took his arm and dragged him out of the cell and down the hall.

He counted ten vampires on his way out of the cell block. Three of them were as close to death as a vampire could get without being dust. One was kneeling on his cot having a conversation with the wall. *Completely barmy. Reminds me of Dru.* Three of them were lying on their cots bloody and beaten as they sobbed and begged for the end. The rest were just standing at their cell doors quietly watching Spike being pulled down the hallway.

As he passed the last one on the row he barely made out what he whispered through the bars, "Welcome to hell."

They stepped into the elevator and the man with the protection pushed the button. There were only five: One, Two, Three, G and S. *Three floors, a garage and a sub-basement. They're takin' me to the third floor. Could maybe break a window and jump. I'd survive a three story drop. Need to know if the sun's up first. Too deep in the buildin' to sense the time.* Spike cleared his throat and asked quietly, "Could you tell me what time it is, please?"

Pain sliced through him and he howled as he dropped to his knees. He was hauled back to his feet panting and the man growled in his face, "It's time for you to service a client and that's all you need to know."

The doors slid open and he was dragged down the hall and thrown into a room. He stumbled and went to his knees then looked up and gasped. It was a torture chamber. He gazed around at the various instruments hanging on the walls. Most of them were covered in dried blood. *Huh, haven't seen anythin' like this since the Nazis.* The man hauled him to his feet and pulled his shirt over his head then held him while the other one lifted his arms and locked his wrists into shackles hanging from the ceiling. They let him go and he dropped just enough for his feet to barely touch the floor.

One of the men reached for the buttons of his jeans and Spike automatically kicked his legs out then arched and howled as the other one set the collar off. "Stop fucking moving!" Spike hung limply as the man stripped his jeans off and tossed them into the corner next to his shirt.

He was facing away from the door; looking around at all the instruments on the walls, when he heard someone else enter the room. One of the men who'd brought him here said, "Trussed up just like you asked for, sir. Here's the remote. Just hit this button if you need to… um… give him a correction."

A deep gravelly voice said, "Thank you. Just leave it on the table there and get out." The two men scrambled for the door and closed it behind them.

Spike heard the slithery leather sound of a whip being unfurled and gritted his teeth. *This is gonna hurt.*

The voice said, "Let's get to work, shall we?"

The screams echoed down the hallway.