Title: Sympathy For The Devil
Authoress: Sakuri
Rating: M
Summary: Spander slash. Slight AU. In a Sunnydale without Buffy, Spike is being held captive by the Initiative. When a newly de-souled Angelus arrives in town, he may be the only one with knowledge enough to help stop him. Enter Xander, new Initiative recruit, and the only person able to hold the vampire's interest for more than five minutes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one
Chapter Thirty Seven: A Good Run
xxx
The light-hearted competition between Xander and Buffy over who could stake the most vamps had turned into an all out, no holds barred war between Buffy and Spike. It was actually pretty impressive how much damage they could do in a night when properly motivated. They were beginning to leave a serious dent in Angelus's Court.
Spike was winning the tally for tonight, solely because he'd shoved Buffy into a ditch as they'd raced to get that last fledge. He'd crowed obnoxiously and she'd shrieked indignantly and fun had been had by all. Yeah right, Xander thought, wondering morosely when the ringing in his ears would stop.
They dropped Buffy off at Willow's, who'd taken to greeting them with a proud smile and a happy, "There's my brave little crime fighters!"
Buffy would grin, Xander would snort, and Spike would mutter with embarrassment, "Give it a rest, luv."
Xander still hadn't gotten over the novelty of being able to share all this with people, with friends. He liked patrolling with Buffy – hell, he even liked patrolling with Spike, god help him – and he loved being able to be honest with Willow and Tara again, to tell them what he did, learn what they did, the magic. In the week or so since his escape he'd spent more time with them than ever, all awkwardness forgotten.
Angelus, however, had fallen off the radar after kicking Spike out. The town had gone relatively quiet, and it made everyone a little tense. Buffy insisted that his silence meant Angelus was up to something, and Spike hadn't contradicted her.
After Buffy was gone for the night, Spike drove him home, just as he had every night for a week. The vampire had grown ridiculously protective since the Angelus debacle, to the point that Xander found it both laughable and annoyingly endearing. Also just plain annoying, as he'd now acquired a bleach blond shadow wherever he went.
"You realise I have my own car, right? And that I'm perfectly capable of driving home myself?"
"Your car's bloody awful. And you need to get the window fixed."
"Hey, buddy, you're the one who broke the damn thing – you fix it."
"Got a much better car right here, pet. Stop bitching, yeah?"
Xander sighed and admitted defeat.
Accustomed to the vampire's heart-stopping driving skills by now, when they screeched to a haphazard halt outside his house, Xander just calmly unbuckled his seatbelt.
Spike turned to leer at him, grinning. "Gonna invite me in?"
After only a moment's hesitation, the human shrugged and said with as much casualness as he could muster, "Yeah, okay."
Spike actually looked surprised, like he hadn't been expecting the quick agreement. He soon rallied, though, darting out of the car as if afraid Xander would change his mind at any second. Amused, Xander followed.
Around the side of the house, Spike grabbed him and kissed him, pushed up against the brick wall. Xander slid his hands beneath the leather coat and red shirt, trying to reach the chill flesh he was just starting to let himself want. Spike hummed approval, biting at his jaw and throat and shoulder.
"C'mon, c'mon," the vampire muttered impatiently, already reaching for his belt.
Xander pushed him towards the basement door and they stumbled inside, groping and tugging at clothes. Xander half-laughed as Spike palmed his ass and they both nearly tripped over some pile of junk on the floor. The vampire caught him by the shirt and propelled them both towards the bed.
"–Now!"
That was all the warning he got.
Light suddenly blinded him and noise erupted on all sides. Before he could even react properly, something smacked him hard and fast across the back of the head – almost exactly where Angelus had got him too – and he was on the floor, reeling. Distantly, he could hear Spike snarling low in his throat, but he was drowned out by a riot of voices yelling instructions.
Someone dragged him upright, onto his knees, and something – god, oh my god, that's a gun – was pressed to the side of his head, his hands yanked behind his back and held there.
For the first time he got a real look at the scene.
Soldiers filled his bedroom. Initiative soldiers. Three of them were surrounding him, their guns out and hands rough. The others had tranquilizers trained on Spike, who was looking thoroughly freaked out and – fuck – more than a little bit scared. They hadn't shot yet, though, and the vampire stood there with his hands raised defensively.
"What the hell is going on?" Xander started to demand, but was cuffed across the back of the neck before he got halfway through, and someone snapped, "Shut up!" in his ear.
Spike growled loudly and furiously, starting forward, but the soldiers immediately began screaming at him, waving the tranquilizers. The gun was pressed harder against Xander's temple, the ominous click of the safety being switched off, while someone ordered, "On your knees!" and Spike dropped helplessly, hands locked behind his head like he was about to be executed there and then.
God, Xander thought desperately. They're taking us in. They found out about us and they're taking us in. I'm never going to see the light of day again and Spike... They'll dust him. Torture and dust him and god I think I'm going to be sick.
He could see the same thoughts passing in fast succession over the vampire's face, kneeling right opposite him, and they stared at each other with the hopeless knowledge that this was it, it was over. Spike slid back into human facade, looking lost and a little bemused, like he couldn't believe it. Xander wanted to make a crack about how they'd had a good run, but for the life of him couldn't make his voice work – and anyway they hadn't, they'd had a terrible run, and it so wasn't fair that they'd blown the only chance they'd had.
"Hostile 17." One of the soldiers stepped away from the fray, coming to stand before Spike. Xander didn't recognise him. "You're hard to track down."
The vampire seemed to regain himself somewhat at that, putting on a sneer that was all bravado, Xander was pretty sure. "Only for a bunch of incompetent tossers like you lot."
Xander cringed at the defiance, knowing the soldiers wouldn't let it go unpunished and god he did not want to be watching this. He was, in fact, so busy attempting to avert his gaze that he didn't see the butt of the gun slamming towards his own head until it struck, and bright stars of pain were exploding behind his eyes.
Spike made some incoherent noise of outrage – or maybe it just seemed incoherent as Xander's senses scrambled to right themselves – but the vampire was held in place.
"What the bloody hell? He didn't do anything!"
The soldier just regarded them both coldly. "Maybe I should have warned you, Hostile 17. Every time you feel the need to back-chat me, Agent Harris over there will be reprimanded for your defiance. Understand?"
Spike gaped at him incredulously, then visibly choked on whatever retort had come to mind. He cast a glance at Xander, who was trying through sheer force of will to bring his vision back into focus, then nodded once.
"Good. Now, I have a proposition for you from Director Walsh."
"That so?" the vampire said cautiously, like he was sure there was a punch line coming but couldn't see it yet.
"We're taking Agent Harris into custody. Treason. Harbouring a fugitive. Fraternizing with the enemy. Accomplice to however many murders you're responsible for since your escape. And pretty much anything else we can make stick that'll make him disappear indefinitely."
Xander's stomach heaved unpleasantly, but Spike kept his expression carefully blank.
"Yeah, and? Doesn't seem to me there's much I can do about that, is there?"
"Well now that just depends," the soldier said almost pleasantly, crouching down in front of the vampire. "Director Walsh wants to offer you a deal, Hostile."
"A... deal," Spike repeated slowly, narrowing his eyes. "What deal?"
"We'll give you back your human – stripped of rank, of course, but unharmed – and all you have to do in return is hand over a little blood."
Dark brows shot up in surprise and bewilderment. "You want... blood?"
"Your blood, naturally," the soldier specified. "Given willingly."
"...Are you out of your sodding mind? I'm not bleeding myself dry for wankers like you and your precious Director. I'd rather –"
One of his captors kneed Xander in the back and he fell forward, groaning.
"I warned you about that mouth of yours, Hostile. Let me clarify: You'll bleed yourself, or Agent Harris is done with."
Spike's stubborn expression visibly wavered, but he recovered it a second later and raised his chin scornfully in what was so clearly a bluff, Xander thought hazily. "Oh please," the vampire muttered, doing his level best to look unimpressed. "You're not gonna kill one of your own, mate, don't gimme that."
The soldier leaned forward and said very quietly, "But he's not one of our own anymore, is he? Agent Harris is nothing but a traitor and a demon-sympathiser and a murderer by proxy. So don't get cocky on that account."
Spike opened his mouth and closed it again, apparently at a loss. He cast a vaguely panicked look in Xander's direction.
The soldier stood up briskly and said, "You have two nights to make a decision. Let me remind you that if you agree, you lose nothing but a few pints of stolen blood. If you decline, you may wish to say goodbye to the Agent now, and know that we will hunt you down before the week is out."
He turned sharply on his heel and made a gesture to where Xander was hunched over on the floor, addressing the other soldiers with the instruction, "Bring him."
Hands clamped onto him and hauled him upwards, aching all over. Spike loosed another growl and surged to his feet. Before he could do anything more than that, though, a tranquilizer dart had sprouted from his chest and the vampire had just enough time to blink down at it before he was collapsing bonelessly, dead to the world. Xander was hustled out of there, and they left Spike unconscious on his bedroom floor.
xxx
"Did you get it?"
Finn raised his head at the sound of his question, nodded almost imperceptibly.
Angelus clapped his hands together, pleased. Once again, he congratulated himself on the forethought of turning an Initiative soldier. Forget for the moment that the younger vampire spent his days looking damn near catatonic – who cared, when he continuously proved so useful?
They were ready now. This whole thing was about to draw to a close, and Angelus could finally extract himself from the ridiculous mess he'd become entangled in since arriving at Sunnydale. Screw Spike. Screw being Master of this backwards little town. He had better things to be doing, god damn it.
He'd finish the task he started, and he'd do it properly, but after that he was done.
Angelus inhaled deeply with something like relief, relishing the sweet almond tang of C4 explosives.