Not Long to Wait

Ch 37 – Power of the Xan-Man

Spike walked out of the bedroom carrying Dawn on his back. Xander rolled his eyes as they stepped into the dining room. "Have a good time?"

Angel and Willow walked into the dining room just as Spike grinned and said, "Bloody good time." Dawn slid to the floor and turned Spike around to plant a kiss on him. His hands tangled in her hair as he deepened the kiss and left her gasping.

Xander laughed, "With all the roaring and screaming going on, this place sounds like Animal Planet meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

Spike shot him the two finger salute as he walked over to Riley, who was slumped in the chair pretending to be asleep, and cuffed him on the head. "Oi! Wake up!" Riley lifted his head and scowled at Spike. "Good. I've had a shower and a shag and I'm ready to get back to work." Dawn smacked him on the arm and he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "And a bloody brilliant shag it was, pet." She blushed and sat down on the table then pulled her legs up and crossed her ankles.

Willow walked over and sat down next to her, pushing Spike's bloody towels out of the way. Dawn leaned over and whispered, "So what did you guys do?"

Willow blushed and whispered, "Stuff."

Dawn laughed, "I bet. Fun, isn't it?"

Willow blushed deeper and nodded. She moved closer to Dawn and whispered low, "Is it normal that I want him all the time? I mean, we just got done and I want to drag him back to my room for more." Angel looked over at Willow and smirked.

Dawn smiled. "Who cares if it's normal? None of us are normal, Wils. You're a witch, I'm the Key and the Slayer and we're, as Spike would say, shagging Master Vampires. We're about as far away from normal as you can get. Don't let Buffy's I gotta be a normal girl crap get stuck in your head. For us, this is normal. Just go with it."

Willow smiled and nodded. "Ok, Dawnie, I'll try. Just one thing. How do you stop yourself from attacking Spike whenever he gets close to you? Right now, the way Angel's standing there, I just want to rip his clothes off." Angel looked over at Willow again with eyes full of lust.

Dawn laughed. "I know how you feel. It's all I can do to stay on this table and not jump Spike where he stands." Spike's head turned to the girls on the table and he leered at Dawn. "I don't know, Wils. If you figure it out, let me know." She looked at Spike standing in front of Riley and licked her lips as their eyes met. The raw lust in his eyes sent a shiver of pleasure all through her. "Or don't. I actually kind of like feeling this way."

Willow gazed wistfully at Angel and sighed, "Yeah."

Angel bent down and picked up the skewers then turned to face Riley. He looked at Angel warily and tensed when he started walking closer. "You've had a nice nap. Ready to talk yet?" Riley didn't move, just followed Angel with his eyes as Angel walked behind him, grabbed his hair, and pulled his head back. He dragged the tip of a skewer over Riley's cheek, drawing blood and smiling when Riley winced. He brought the bloody point to his mouth. "Mmmm. That's good. Might have to be careful about wasting too much of that."

Xander crumpled his chip bag and tossed it at Angel. "You don't need to do that, Dead Boy. Riley and I had a nice long chat while the rest of you were... busy. He's told me pretty much everything I think we need to know." Riley scowled at him and jerked his head out of Angel's hand.

Everybody looked at Xander and he grinned. "It's the power of the Xan-Man. Start him talking about something totally off the track and slip questions in here and there. Also helped when I told him that what Spike did to him was just the appetizer. Angel is the full seven course meal."

Angel dropped the skewers behind Riley's chair then walked over and sat down on the table behind Willow, pulling her against his chest. "So what did you find out?"

Xander leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Riley's here to take Spike to a new Initiative Lab because he's the only demon left that has a first generation chip that still works."

Spike shook his head with a snarl, "Like hell! Dawn killed the chip, and the only way I'm goin' anywhere near the soddin' Initiative is in an ashtray. I'll bloody stake myself 'fore I let this git take me back to those arseholes."

Xander looked at Spike. "No, according to Riley, she didn't kill it, she only turned it off."

Dawn pulled Spike onto the table and wrapped herself around him. "Then why did it hurt him when I used that device Riley gave me? I thought that meant the chip melted or something."

Riley lifted his head and gave Xander a look. Xander sighed and looked at the four people on the table. "Ok, here's the deal. Riley will explain everything if you all agree to let him go." Spike sneered at Riley then looked at Angel and smiled. Xander caught the look and held up his hand. "Without beating on him anymore."

Spike looked at Riley. "All right, I'll agree for now… but you walkin' out of here with all the parts you arrived with depends on what you tell me. So get to it."

Riley nodded and looked at Dawn. "When you used the deactivation device, all you did was turn off the behavior modification portion of the chip."

Dawn glared at Riley. "The scanner you gave me didn't register a charge after I used it."

"I know. The scanner was calibrated to read only the behavior section. The rest of the chip is still active."

Spike started to get off the table and Dawn pulled him back to her. He struggled for a bit then relented with a loud growl, "And what does the rest of the chip do, you git?"

"Transmits a tracking signal. The pain you felt when she used the device was the tracking beacon being activated. If the behavior portion is ever damaged or tampered with, it sends an energy pulse to the tracking portion and turns it on. The Initiative has been tracking your movements since Dawn used the device."

"So why didn't you show up and try to nick me earlier?"

"I was on assignment out of the country. The director thought I should be the one to bring you in because I know you."

Spike snorted. "Like that makes a bloody difference. Just 'cause I know you won't keep me from killin' you. How do I turn off the tracker?"

"You can't."

Dawn jumped off the table and stalked over to Riley. "Do you remember what I told you I'd do to you if that thing didn't work?"

Riley shifted nervously in the chair and looked up at Dawn. "It's not my fault! That's how the chip was designed! The device I gave you did what I said it would. He doesn't get corrected when he hurts someone. That's what you wanted."

Dawn walked over to Spike and wrapped her arms around him. "Great. So the fucking Initiative will never stop hunting you."

Riley nodded. "If I don't bring him back, they'll only send someone else, and they'll keep coming until he's captured or dust. As long as the chip is active, he's a target."

Dawn turned back to Riley. "What if I use the device again? Will that turn off the rest of the chip?"

Riley shook his head. "No. Hitting the chip with that frequency again will cause it to self-destruct."

Willow asked, "Well, that would turn it off, wouldn't it?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah, the chip would be destroyed, but so would Hos… um... Spike's brain. The self-destruct releases a chemical that dissolves the chip. Once the chip is gone, the chemical would still be there and would eventually eat through his brain. There's not a lot of chemical, so it wouldn't be a quick process. It would probably drive him crazy before it finally turned him into a vegetable."

Spike jumped off the table in full game face and roared with rage. "Fuckin' Initiative! Can't turn it off, can't get it out, and I'm gonna be hunted by those buggerin' gits 'till I'm dust! Bloody buggerin' fuckin' hell!"

Riley jumped as Spike got close to him and stammered. "The only way they'll stop hunting you is if they think you're dead."

Spike turned and screamed at him, "I am dead, you brainless twat!" He stood in front of Riley shaking with rage and breathing hard until Dawn walked up to him and wrapped him in her arms.

She nuzzled against his neck and whispered, "We'll figure it out, Spike. We'll do whatever we have to."

Willow smiled as she climbed off the table and walked over to Spike. She put her hand on his arm and said, "If they're going to keep hunting you until you're dust, I guess we'll just have to make you dust then."

Spike tilted his head and looked at her. "You gonna stake me, pet? Put me out of my misery?"

She laughed, "No, but I could do a little clean-up and make them think you're dust."

Spike's eyebrow went up then he broke into a huge grin. "You think it'll work?"

She nodded. "I've been using that spell for years. It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

He pulled her into a rib-cracking hug and whispered into her hair, "Thanks, Willow. Thanks for trustin' me enough to help me."

She squeezed him back and whispered, "I always liked you, Spike, well… except for those times when you tried to kill me, and that time you kidnapped me and threatened me with a broken bottle. That time was more terrified than like. But… mostly I liked you."

Spike chuckled, "I'm sorry for all that, Red." He leaned in close and whispered, "I was never gonna kill you anyway. You're a very powerful witch, and I don't wanna be responsible for removin' that much power from the world. I may be reckless, but I'm not stupid."

Dawn turned to Riley. "Where is it?"

He looked up at her with a puzzled expression. "Where is what?"

"Your scanner or whatever you used to track Spike."

His eyes shifted and he looked around the room then focused on his knees. She pulled his head up by his hair and got right in his face. "Don't make me ask you again."

She released his hair and he nodded to a pocket on his lower left pant leg. "It's in there." She opened the pocket and pulled out a small device that looked like a weird cell phone.

"How does this work?"

"If you'll untie me, I'll show you."

Dawn snorted, "Fat chance. Use your words, Riley."

He scowled. "Fine. Push the button on the side to turn it on. The dot blinking in the center of the screen is Spike. The closer you are to him, the bigger the dot."

She turned it on and a large dot started blinking in the middle of the screen. "Ok, Wils. We're ready."