"Where do you think you're going without me?"
Angelus turned to see the very vampire he'd been trying not to awaken. "Spike, I said you should stay here at the mansion to lessen the chance of Buffy finding out you're in town. That means remaining in hiding as much as possible. We don't want Buffy to know you're around. I'm going over to her house to see what she's up to, and you are not invited."
"It's boring here. You don't even have a telly."
"Yes, I do." Angelus pointed. "It's upstairs, in the third bedroom on the right. You can watch it while I'm out."
Spike grinned. "Good, I can catch up on 'Passions.'"
"You watch 'Passions'?"
"Course I do. Good show, that."
Angelus had a terrible image of himself watching the program with Spike every day, if he never got that chip out. "So, you stay home and watch TV, and I'll go out and do my thing."
"Nah, 'Passions' isn't on now and neither is anything else. I want to go with you."
"Spike..." One look at the other vampire's set expression and Angelus knew he was fighting a losing battle. "Oh, all right. You're probably right. I should keep you within sight or who knows what trouble you'll get yourself into." Angelus turned toward the garage. "Since you're coming along, we'd better take the car. With the top up."
They got into the Plymouth and Angelus headed toward Revello Drive. Spike fiddled with the radio, but eventually gave up on finding a suitable station and shut the thing off. "So what's your plan to get back at Slutty? I take it it's not going well?"
"She told me to go back to Los Angeles," Angelus related. "I'm going to have to do some major work to seduce her."
"I can help you out with that part," Spike volunteered. "Pretending to be all soulful hasn't cut it, so it's past time to try something else, if you ask me. Pretend to be gravely injured, so she has to nurse you back to health. It's an old ploy, but a good one."
Angelus considered the idea. "You might have something there." He had to admit, it felt good to talk to someone who understood, even if it was Spike. He was almost starting to feel charitable toward the other vampire as he turned onto Revello Drive and parked at the end of the block. "I need a few minutes to see what Buffy is up to. You wait here."
"I want to come with you."
"Spike, how old are you? Two, or a hundred and--"
"I want to come with you," Spike stubbornly repeated.
"Look, it's a bad idea. You shouldn't have come even this far, and you definitely shouldn't go near the house."
"I'll be careful." Spike grabbed the door handle.
"Aaargh! Fine. You'd just follow me anyway if I said no. So stay behind me, and be quiet." With Spike at his heels, Angelus exited the car and cautiously approached Buffy's house. The front curtains were open, with a light shining inside. "She must be home." Motioning for Spike to hang back, Angelus crept up to the window and peeked inside. Shit! Buffy wasn't there, but her mother was, and the hag was looking straight at him. Angelus ducked down and sprinted for the car.
Spike's footsteps pounded up beside him. "What's wrong? What'd you see?"
"Joyce," Angelus replied as they reached the Plymouth. "This is *not* good. Let's just hope she didn't spot you, too."
"Why not? Joyce likes me," Spike reminded him as they hopped inside.
"Because, idiot, she'll tell Buffy, who will then get stake-happy. I can't afford to let her dust you yet."
"*Let* her? I can take care of myself, thank you very much."
"I can't afford to let her know we're working together, or even speaking." Angelus started the car. "I heard one heartbeat in the house. Since Joyce is home, that must mean Buffy went back to stay on campus. She was only housesitting while her mother was away on business. We're going to UC Sunnydale to find her."
"Whatever." Spike shrugged and resumed playing with the radio during the drive.
Once they arrived at the campus, Angelus parked in a handicapped space and the two got out to stare at the numerous buildings facing them.
"So, where does the Slayer live?" Spike asked.
Angelus looked from building to building. "That, I don't know."
"Then how're we supposed to find her in this maze? That's assuming she's even here. Could be out on patrol or visiting with those puny friends of hers."
"I knew I shouldn't have let you come," Angelus snapped. "We'll have to ask around. Keep an eye out for anyone who knows you." He cut across campus, Spike again trailing. Still no sign of Buffy as he approached the nearest building, but Angelus caught a familiar scent on the wind and involuntarily growled. "Finn."
"Who?" Spike asked.
"Riley Finn." Angelus looked about and soon zeroed in on his enemy, who was lurking near an overgrown bush about 50 yards away. "He's the idiot over there who's trying so hard to look inconspicuous."
"You want me to kill him tonight?" Spike asked as he and Angelus concealed themselves behind a huge oak tree.
"No, leave him alone. I'm saving him for when I can do it myself." While he watched, a 40-something woman with close-cropped hair approached Riley. Angelus stiffened. He didn't remember her, but for some reason she felt familiar. "Shh!" he warned Spike as he set himself to eavesdrop. The voices carried clearly across the quiet campus, and Angelus had no trouble making out the words.
"Any news on Hostile 28?" the woman asked Riley.
"Not yet, ma'am, but I'm sure we'll have some soon."
"Hurry up. I don't like the thought of it being on the loose when we don't know its location."
"I think I know a way to find it. Buffy can probably tell me where it is."
"I hope so. Carry on."
The two said their goodbyes and departed in opposite directions as Angelus glowered. "They were talking about me, and I recognized that woman's voice. That bitch was in the room when the 'surgery' was performed on me. She must be in some position of authority at the Initiative."
"Great," said Spike. "We've identified a couple of their people. Why don't we grab one of their doctors, torture him a little, he spills, you get back to normal, then we'll be able to work together and wipe out the lot of them."
Angelus nodded. "Good idea. The sooner, the better." Checking to make sure Riley was gone, he stepped out from the shelter of their hiding place. "Let's get out of here."
Spike fell into step next to him. "What about the Slayer? Don't you want to find her?"
"Change of plans. We have to pay the Initiative complex a little visit and make them fix me. Tonight."
***
Buffy stared across the campus at Riley. He stood barely 50 yards away. This was a good chance to approach him and try to talk him into helping. Even though the scene would probably be fairly uncomfortable, she had to make the attempt for Angel's sake. Squaring her shoulders, Buffy strode over to her ex-boyfriend. "Riley, hi."
He jumped and turned to face her. "Hey, Buffy."
"Look, I think you probably already have an idea of why I'm talking to you, so I'll make it quick. I need your help."
Riley sighed. "You mean Angel does."
Buffy shrugged. "What Angel needs, I need."
"Well." Riley looked down before meeting her gaze again. "Buffy, you have to know I still feel the same way about you, despite your misguided feelings for that vampire. I do understand, kind of. He's so much older than you and he knows all kinds of tricks you can't possibly fight. I've heard about mind games--thralls and befuddlement, that sort of thing. He could have you believing your name was Mary Brown and you're a florist from Houston. He's undead and he's got more than two centuries on you. It's not your fault in the least."
"Riley, will you *stop* it!" Buffy snapped. "I know Angel. I love and trust him totally. If you ever cared for me at all, you'd help me help him instead of arguing your case again."
"It's *because* I care about you that I'm saying this," Riley insisted. "All right, I'll lay off, but I'm still going to be thinking it, you know. And by the way, where's Angel staying these days?"
"What, you and your buddies didn't implant a tracking device in him along with that chip?"
"No, and we need to know where he is. For public safety."
Buffy snorted. "Yeah, right. It's actually so you can torture him some more. To you, he doesn't mean anything. It's like he's less than you are and his feelings don't count. Well, that's just bullshit."
"Buffy..." Riley tried again. She stared at him, unbending. "Oh, forget it. No, I have no intention of helping. Angel's on his own."
"Fine." Buffy turned and stalked away. Trying to reason with Riley had turned out to be a waste of breath.