"Well, well, well," said Daria. "That was a great deal quicker than I thought it would be. Where is she, Spike?" She gently drew crimson tinted fingernails down his cheek.

"Haven't got a bleeding clue," Spike lied, looking her in the eye. Obviously the bitch didn't know who she was dealing with, if she thought she could scare him into spilling anything.

"Now that I know she's here somewhere," Daria went on, ignoring Spike's prevarication. "All I really have to do is wait. I know she can't get out, I set up some very serious one-way wards." She gave a nasty little laugh. "Spooks get in, but they don't get out." She sighed. "I never was particularly patient, though. Not when I knew that what I wanted was within my grasp." She eyed the vampire speculatively. "I bet I could make her come out."

"No you can't," Spike replied, more for Rose's benefit than Daria's. Please, he prayed silently, and even noted the incongruity of a vampire praying, please let her take the hint. Let her stay out of sight and safe.

"You know what I like almost as much as getting exactly what I want?" Daria purred. She grabbed Spike's shirt and yanked it open, sending buttons flying. "I like hurting things." She gave him a sweetly evil smile. "And vampires can take ever so much damage."

Spike gave her a contemptuous look. He'd been tortured by a god before. Okay, so it was no walk in the park, but he'd survived. And he seriously doubted that Daria was anything better than a second-rater. He resigned himself to being hurt. A lot. But he'd be buggered before she got jack shit out of him.

"I kind of like the cocky ones," Daria remarked, running her hands over his bare chest. "Because they're so much more fun when they finally do break. What do you think of this, vampire?" She dragged her nails down his chest, leaving bleeding furrows in their wake.

Spike just managed not to wince. "Sorry, ducky, I'm not in the mood," he said.

She looked surprised. "What are you talking about?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "That wasn't foreplay?" he asked innocently.

&&&&&&&

Rose watched in an absolute agony. For the first time, she completely understood how Spike had felt when he was unable to come to her aid. And this was worse than what Spike had gone through, because she couldn't even go for help. And Spike had never had to watch her be hurt. Admittedly, she didn't have to watch, she had the run of the entire house. But how could she not be near him? She'd have manifested herself as soon as Daria had mentioned torturing him if Spike hadn't warned her. She didn't want to disappoint him, but how could she stand watching this evil woman do terrible things to him?

&&&&&&

"Bad news, big fella," Lorne said, striding into Angel's office. "I got a line on Daria McBride, and it's not pretty."

"I didn't expect that it would be at this point," Angel remarked. "What did you find out?"

"She's a bounty hunter," Lorne replied.

"A bounty hunter?" Angel echoed. "What would a bounty hunter be wanting with Rose and Spike?"

"Not your run of the mill bounty hunter," the demon elaborated. "She does some very specialized hunting, and not necessarily for bad guys. More like anything the client wants, if the price is right. And her prices start somewhere around a million bucks and go up from there."

Angel sighed. For every answer, there always seemed to be half a dozen more questions. "Okay, so we know what Daria McBride wants. Now we have to find out who she's working for, and why her client would want our prodigals."

"Angel, babe, I hate to burst your bubble," Lorne remarked. "But I had to call in about every favor everybody I know owes me and run up a few debts besides just to get what I already have. I simply do not have to pull to find out who's hiring our bounty hunter."

"It's a start," Angel observed. "Now at least, we have a jumping off place. And even if you don't have the pull, Wolfram and Hart probably does." He picked up his phone, belatedly remembering something. "Harmony? Can you get me a connection to the ops team we sent to Daria McBride's house?" He tapped his foot, waiting impatiently. "Hello. And you are? Okay, Hayden, the situation has changed. Daria McBride is no longer the client, she's a hostile, and she's probably holding two of our people hostage. Spike and Rose. If Rose can't get out on her own, you probably won't be able to get her out. But Spike is another story. Get him out if you can, but be careful. Yeah, do you need extra men? Keep in touch and let me know if you need anything." He hung up. "Nobody's been in or out of that house since Daria and Spike arrived with the ops team," he told Lorne. "Rose wouldn't have had to use the front door, but hopefully whoever is paying Daria will."

Gunn arrived at a run with Fred and Wesley close at his heels. "What's going down?" he asked.

"Daria McBride is a bounty hunter," Angel explained quickly. "And she's got Spike and Rose."

&&&&&&&&&

Spike hung limply from his chains. The electric cattle prod that Daria had been using on him had thoroughly jangled every nerve ending in his body. And right now, he could feel every last one of them.

"Still not talking, are we?" she inquired, far too cheerfully. "Well, that was more or less a warm-up anyway." She held up a very sharp-looking knife. "I could just start cutting things off," she mused. "But that does get so messy. And I may yet have uses for you that require you to be more or less in one piece." She considered. "There are other things that might just work if your sweetheart is as devoted to you as I think." She cut the rest of his shirt away. "You might even enjoy it," she told him. "I think you mentioned something about foreplay?" She tossed the knife away and ran her hands over his chest.

Spike closed his eyes. He'd almost find it preferable for her to start using that knife. He hoped Rose had gone elsewhere, but he doubted it. He had an idea. It wasn't much of an idea, but at the moment, his options were limited. "I'm still not talking," he said, mostly to get her attention. "But don't let that stop you." He put on his game face.

Daria laughed. "If you're trying to put me off, you're going about it the wrong way," she informed him. "You won't be the first vampire I've had," she whispered against his lips. She jerked her head back just as he tried to bite her. "Naughty, Spike," she scolded. "I can be naughty too." Her hands traveled lower. "Maybe I should cut off your pants as well."

"I just bought these," Spike complained, letting his features slip back to normal, since that didn't seem to be helping. He saw Rose appear, right behind Daria, her face a study in indignation. "No!" he shouted, not caring if Daria thought it was meant for her or not. His first concern was getting Rose back under cover. With an agonized expression on her face, Rose did as she was told, and disappeared again.

"Such vehemence," Daria remarked in mocking tones. "And I wonder, can it have been meant for me? Or could it be that you were warning your spectral lover away?" She kissed his neck, then nipped at the flesh with her teeth, just hard enough to be painful, but not hard enough to break the skin. Spike gritted his teeth and bit back a groan.

&&&&&&&

"Still no luck," Gunn said, fingers tapping away at a computer keyboard. "Whatever else you can say about the lady, she knows how to cover her tracks."

"Wes," Angel turned to the researcher. "Do you think there's any way you can undo those wards?"

"I'm looking into it," Wesley replied, flipping through one of his magic books. "But even if there is a way, and I haven't found one yet, it won't be easy. To the best of my knowledge, the only person who can undo wards is the person who put them in place. And I very much doubt that you'd be able to talk Daria McBride into taking down her wards. Not after she went to all that trouble to get hold of Rose."

"Rose?" Angel looked perplexed. "But she has Spike too. What about him?"

"Unless I miss my guess," Wes said, "Spike was just bait in her trap. I'm betting that Rose was her target. And if she wants a way to insure Rose's cooperation, then who better for her to hold than Spike?"

"Damn, it does make sense," Angel muttered. "But who outside of us, knows who or what Rose really is?"

"Maybe whoever it is doesn't know that Rose is one of The Powers That Be," Fred suggested. "Maybe her value is as a spectral entity. And that isn't exactly a secret around here." All eyes turned to Fred. "I mean, probably everyone at one time or another has seen Rose go through walls and stuff. One of our own employees could have just said the wrong thing in front of the wrong person."

Lorne tucked his cell phone back in his jacket pocket. "Sorry guys, but I've got diddly squat. And I pulled every string until it broke." He started pacing. "Why would anyone want a disembodied spirit?" he mused aloud. "I mean, what could you possibly do with one?"

"If we can figure that out, we'll probably be on the trail of whoever is paying Daria McBride," Wesley observed. "So far, the only lead we have is that her employer is extremely wealthy. That narrows down the field a bit, but not nearly enough."

Angel's cell phone rang. "Yes? Hayden? You have enough men and equipment? Then go for it." He turned to the others. "The ops team are about to go in and try to get Spike out. If Wes is right about why she put the snatch on him, then not having him there may weaken her position, buy us some time." He grabbed a jacket and headed for the door.

"Wait a minute," Gunn protested. "Where are you going?"

"Daria McBride's," Angel answered. "I don't think she's going to invite me in, but heaven help her if she sets foot out of that house." His eyes glowed yellow for a minute, then faded back to normal. "I really don't like people threatening my friends."

&&&&&&&

Rose paced the basement room, unseen, in an agony of indecision. If it had been up to her, she would have given herself up at the very start. Anything to keep that awful woman away from Spike. She had almost screamed in sympathy when Daria had been torturing Spike. But now, now, she really just wanted to slap her face. Anything to keep those dainty crimson- taloned hands off of her Spike.

Spike was thinking about the dreary research he did for Percy. About arguments with Angel. Cricket matches. But it was getting more and more difficult to ignore the sensations that Daria was creating. Suddenly, to his temporary relief, Daria stopped.

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" she asked conversationally. "Either that, or not much of a man." She paused, waiting to see if his pride would betray him. When Spike remained mute, she went on. "Well, either she doesn't care all that much for you, or she's so crazy about you that she'll do whatever you say." She studied Spike carefully for a moment. "I think I'm going to have to come up with another plan of action," she admitted. "See you later, vampire." She disappeared up the stairs.

As soon as the door shut behind Daria, Rose appeared. "Spike, I can't stand any more of this," she said, looking into his eyes. "Let me give myself up. Maybe once she has me, she'll let you go."

"Nothing doing, babe," Spike said with finality. "You are going to stay well out of the McBride woman's sight. Besides, I'm sure the cavalry will be coming over the hill shortly." Seeing Rose's puzzled expression, once again, he patiently explained. "Help will be on the way, luv. Did anyone know you were coming here?"

"Wesley did," Rose replied. "I was helping him do research on the demon that was supposed to be after.., her." The last word was full of venom. "I also told him that I wouldn't be long, and that was hours and hours ago."

"Then they already know that something is wrong," Spike remarked. "So you just sit tight, sweetheart. And don't worry about me, I've taken worse damage than this."

"But I don't like seeing you hurt, love," she said softly. A thought occurred. "Maybe a vengeance demon..," she began.

"How about no?" Spike suggested with feeling. "Precious, I love you more than life itself, so I can appreciate how you're feeling. But no vengeance demons, okay? I've found that things tend to go very wrong when you call up one of them."

"No vengeance demons," she agreed sadly. Before she could say anything else, there was a loud crash from the upper levels.

"It sounds like help has arrived," Spike remarked calmly. "Why don't you pop up and have a look round, pet?"

&&&&&&&&

Rose emerged on the first floor to see one of the ops men prowling around. She appeared fully. "Come on," she urged the black clad figure. "I can show you where she's holding Spike."

The figure straightened and muttered something in Latin. This was sufficiently out of character that Rose tried to disappear. And found that she couldn't. In fact, she couldn't even move.

"Got you," said Daria, removing the mask.

&&&&&&&

The basement door crashed open, and the real ops team burst in. Moving with a precision that only comes of much practice, they soon had Spike freed. And then, found themselves with an argument on their hands.

"I'm not bloody going without Rose," he said stubbornly. The men looked from one to the other dubiously. None of them much cared for the idea of going one on one, or even five on one, with a pissed off vampire. Finally, their leader had an idea. He whipped out a cell phone.

&&&&&

"You've got him?" Angel asked. "He what? Put him on. Spike? I know she can't get out of there. But you're not doing her any good staying there. It just gives Daria McBride a way to make her cooperate." He paused for a moment, holding the phone away from his ear. When Spike wound down on his tirade, Angel tried again. "Spike? You need to let the ops team get you out of there . You can do more good for her out here than where you are. I had gotten that far. And I do so care about what happens to Rose." He paused and played his final card. "If you stay there, it will just be to soothe your own conscience, and not to help Rose." He winced as Spike started cussing him out again. "We don't have time for this now, Spike. Just get your ass out of there." He hung up. He was almost there himself. If the ops team could actually get Spike out of the house, he could take it from there.

&&&&&

"I don't think Spike is going to be too cool on leaving Rose behind," Gunn remarked.

"He'll do it though," Fred said confidently. "Because that's what will be best for Rose. He loves her too much to do something that would make things more difficult for her if he can help it."

"Getting Spike out will probably be the easy part," Wesley remarked, looking up from his book. "So far I've had no luck at all finding a way to break Daria's wards. But I think I may have found out a thing or two about her employer. And it's not good."

&&&&&&

Just before leaving the basement room, Spike spied his duster, flung carelessly on the floor. He picked it up almost automatically, and shrugged it on. He followed the ops team out of the house and got into Angel's car without a word. His movements were as sinuous and graceful as ever, but he felt like his feet were made of lead. He felt like the worst kind of traitor imaginable at leaving Rose behind, even though on an intellectual level, he could see Angel's point. But there was nothing that said that he bloody well had to like it, and he didn't.

Angel let Spike sit and stew in the car while he gave orders for the house to be watched closely on a round the clock basis. Then, he got back in the car, bracing himself for what was to come.

&&&&&&&

Cerulean: "Should we intervene?"

Violet: "Rose is in no immediate danger. We have time."

Sienna: "Should we then, consider it part of the test?"

Viridian: "I don't see why not. Data is data."

Citrine: "Then let us observe carefully."