Unforgettable - Part 10
By Jill

Friday, September 8th, 10.00 a.m., Los Angeles

"I want this over."

"I understand," Giles said gently, looking at Angel's back. The dark-haired
detective stood in the middle of the Interrogation room at Internal Affairs,
staring at the one-way mirror, while Cordelia, Spike, and Xander were
sitting at the desk with the lieutenant. Tim Philips, the District Attorney,
and Brent Harley, the boss of I.A, had joined the little group.

It was the first meeting they held since Buffy had been so seriously injured
by the bomb that had been planted underneath her car on Wednesday.
Fortunately she was making unexpected progress and had been moved from ICU
to a regular room the night before. She would, of course, need more time to
heal properly and it would be at least a week before the doctors would even
consider releasing her. But Angel was finally able to function again with the
encouraging development.

Giles could understand better than anyone how it felt to see the woman you
loved so close to death. He remembered being in with the ambulance with
Jenny on the way to the hospital and he could also remember seeing her die
in that car, only five minutes before they reached the Emergency Unit. He
had loved her with all his heart and in a matter of minutes she'd been taken
away from him.

He had been like a ghost afterwards, only his work keeping him upright and
able to go on. The years that followed had been long and empty and filled
with grief. But it had been years now and lately he found himself more and
more tired of coming back into his empty house night after night. There were
no arms waiting for him, nobody was meeting him there, talking to him,
giving him warmth and love.

"I do too."

Giles forced his thoughts back to the more pressing matters, when Cordelia's
voice sounded through the room.

"But although I want the person responsible for Buffy's accident-"

"Someone blew up her car," Angel interrupted, his voice low and angry, his
eyes blazing at her, "I'd hardly call that an accident."

Knowing Cordelia's temperament, Giles had expected for her to give Angel
some snotty reply, but the assistant DA obviously had realized how tightly
strung the dark-haired man's nerves were at the moment. Better not ignite an
already smoldering live wire.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, looking apologetically at Angel. "I agree. The
expression was a bit... uh... off. Anyways. I want the person as badly as...
almost... everyone else in this room." She glanced at Angel again and he
took a deep breath and returned the apology with his eyes.

Giles was sure that the dark-haired detective wasn't feeling apologetic at
the moment. Angel wanted to go out and beat the crap out of the person who'd
set the bomb under Buffy's car and out of the person who'd given the order
to do it. And more than anything he wanted the dirty cop who'd been going
against his fellow officers, people who'd saved that person's ass more than
once.

Well, tough luck, Giles thought. Angel's going have to wait in line for that
special punch, because Giles felt a certain itch in his right fist too. Of
course he was a police officer and that would prevent him from making good
on his silent threat. But he sure as hell would be part of the interrogation
team. He wanted to look that person in the eye and hear with his own ears
what had happened to turn a good, reliable cop into scum.

"What Miss Chase wants to say," Tim Philips said, "is that we're going to
get those guys. All of them. But we need to do it right. The legal way.
Nothing else. I know how you feel-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Sir," Xander spoke for the first time, "but you
hardly understand how we feel. One of our own colleagues is part of an
operation that almost cost the life of another colleague. A friend. Buffy
Summers. No Sir. You have no idea how we feel."

"I accept that," Tim Philips replied on a nod. "Maybe I don't really
understand. But that doesn't change a thing. I'm just warning you. Don't
pull some private Vendetta here. I know your girlfriend, your friend or
colleague was hurt. Seriously hurt, but-"

"Make that life-threatening," Spike threw in, hating the fact that he had to
listen to this. He glanced at Angel whose hands were clenched into fists,
and who, so the blond could see, was fighting not to lose his control. Spike
knew how he felt. Well, not exactly, of course, but he hadn't seen Drusilla
in 48 long hours. He had tried to call her, wanting to talk, wanting to
explain. So far she had blocked every attempt.

Damn. He loved her. Couldn't she see that? Why on earth couldn't she see
that he was missing her so badly he'd hardly slept the last two days? God,
he was going to go crazy sooner or later. But maybe she wanted that. Maybe
she wanted him to do something stupid, like grovel in front of her door.

The worst, however, was that he would grovel. He wouldn't hesitate for a
second if he'd see a chance to change her hostile attitude. But at the
moment, he saw none.

Zilch. Zero.

She didn't so much as look at him.

He wanted to scream. But of course he knew that it wouldn't help either.

"Yes. Life-threatening," Tim agreed with a nod, his eyes sharp, holding a
silent warning. "To make this totally clear here, detectives. I want those
assholes. But I want a case that cannot be twisted around by some smart,
very expensive lawyer, who spends his holidays in Aspen by defending slime.
There will be no Lone Ranger playing. You will do this by the law. Each
step. Is that understood?"

He looked around and when nobody said a word, he nodded again. He turned his
head and gazed at Brent Harley, "What about Judge Fowler. Did he sign the
papers?"

"Yes," Brent smiled, but it was so cold, it could have turned the Sahara
into ice. "He signed them. He didn't want at first, but I reminded him of
something," he shrugged, "Well, I knew something. We'll leave it at that. We
can start this thing, the moment you give your okay."

"See it as given," Tim replied, and this time his eyes fell on Angel,
"Detective Reardon, I need to be sure that you're able to do this. You have
to be absolutely sure that you won't snap."

"I'm not going to blow this case," the dark-haired man retorted. "I've got
this covered. The person was close to everyone of us, not just to me."

"Yeah," Xander agreed, and then amended his statement by adding, "but she
was a lot closer to you. A hell of lot closer. At least for a while. So you
should know her better than we do. Are you sure it will work?"

"Yes," Angel's voice was firm, "It will. I have to make the final phone-call
and afterwards, the show is on."

****

"I'm scared." Simone Chambers turned to look at her fiancée, her eyes huge
and frightened, her lips trembling, while her hands were wringing the hem of
her shirt.

"I know," he replied gently, crossing the room and taking her in his arms.
"I am too. More for your than my sake. But I also know that if we want any
kind of future together, this has to be done." He reached up and traced the
line of her delicate cheek with his forefinger, "I don't want you to go to
jail, baby. I want to live with you, preferably for the rest of my natural
life," he smiled, "I also want a baby with you, or maybe even more than one.
But that can only work if we're clean here."

Although his words sent a warm shock through her whole system that was the
temperature of ice at the moment, she shivered in his arms, "I want all
those things too," she admitted, her voice quivering. "I love you so much.
But my father-"

"Has done all these things by himself. Your father is a smart man, Simone.
He did what he did with open eyes, and aware of the consequences. I know you
love him, and I can only try to understand what this will cost you, but he
can't expect you to close your eyes all the time." Suddenly his smile
vanished and the look in his eyes was hard, "And he certainly can't expect
you to sell yourself for him."

"Mike-"

"No," he shook his head, covered her lips with his for a moment, soothing
her with the kiss, soothing him by the connection. She was here in his arms
and he would keep her safe. "I told you, I don't blame you. At least not anymore.
But I do blame your father. I know, he knows nothing of what you did for his
sake, but without his doing these things you wouldn't have been forced to do it
in the first place."

"Sometimes, when I sleep," she whispered, pressing her cheek against his
chest, "I can feel his hands on me. His laughter in my ears. And I want to
die in shame."

"God, baby." Mike's voice was hoarse. It was a pity that a sniper had shot
Riley Finn. He would've gladly gone and ripped the asshole's heart out. He
knew that Riley had been blackmailed himself and that he'd done what he'd
done only to save his sister's life, but that didn't change the fury Mike
felt each time he thought that his colleague had forced himself on Simone.

"I'm so glad you don't hate me for it," she said, her voice quivering again,
"I couldn't live thinking you hated me."

"I love you," he told her firmly. "And we're going to get through this. And
then we're going to have the future we're dreaming of. You have to believe
me."

"I do," she whispered, holding him close, pressing herself even closer. And
she did. She believed him. But she also knew that believing wasn't always
enough.

When the phone finally rang, they pulled away from each other and looked
into each other's eyes.

The show would begin.

****

Darla Massey narrowed her eyes and glanced at her sister through the mirror,
"I cannot believe you're so stupid." She shook her head, "After all the
things I had to do to clear up this mess for you."

Diana studied her long red fingernails and snorted, "What *you* had to do?
Gee, should I sink down on my knees and thank you for it now?"

"No," Darla replied, still stunned that a person who looked so much alike
she, could be so completely different. The sisters or rather twins, had
never been close. Only recently it had changed. But not because they wanted
it to. "I don't expect you to thank me. But when this is over, I don't want
to be bothered with your life ever again."

"My life?" Diane raised a haughty brow, "At least I have something
resembling a life. You on the other hand, dear sis, have spent your best
years lusting after a guy who never really wanted you in the first place."

At the mention of Angel Darla whirled around, her eyes blazing with fury,
"Don't you dare to bring him up. Angel is absolutely none of your business.
I'm only here because *you* needed my help. It's also the most stupid thing
I've ever done in my life. I betrayed the department, I lied to my boss and
my colleagues and I did other things I'm not very proud of. Only to save
your sorry ass." She laughed slightly, but it wasn't a happy sound, "No,
please don't thank me. Just stay out of trouble in the future. That's thanks
enough."

"How was I to know that David Griffin was a drug dealer?" Diane asked. "He
was so nice to me. A real gentleman."

"Some gentleman," Darla snorted, then sighed in defeat. Her sister would
never change. If she never saw her again, it was still too soon. Not that
she didn't love her sister, because she did. She had always loved Diane. Why
else would she do the things she'd done over the past months? But Darla was
sure she would love her sister even more from a safe distance. A phone call
once or twice a year would be enough.

She was contemplating how to tell her sister exactly that, when suddenly
her cell phone rang.

*****

same day, 2.00 p.m., Los Angeles

"Hey, how're you doing?"

Buffy smiled and slightly lifted her head from the pillow to see Willow
entering her hospital room. "Hey, Will," she greeted her best friend.

"You look much better today."

The blond rolled her eyes, "Gee, that's flattering. Knowing that I looked
like death just yesterday, I'm not sure I should see that as a compliment."

"You never looked like death," the redhead replied firmly, pulling up a
chair to the bed and sitting down. "You almost died, Buffy. You had us
really scared there. Especially Angel," she said with a look that spoke
volumes. "Speaking about him. Where is he? I thought I'd see him still glued
to your bed?"

"He came early in the morning, after the first night he didn't spend at the
hospital" Buffy told her, her mind wandering to the man she loved and to the
danger he was in at the moment. He had told her that they would have a
meeting at IA and later he had called her, to inform her that the show was
on. Suddenly realizing that Willow was looking at her expectantly, she tried
not to think what could happen right this moment, while she was lying in a
hospital bed, forced into doing nothing.

"Something urgent came up," she explained her friend, hating that she
couldn't tell her the truth. True, she wasn't actually lying to Willow,
something urgent had come up, but holding things back from her best friend
was harder than she'd expected. But Tim Philips had made it perfectly clear
that nothing was going to be revealed as long as they hadn't tied up the
case.

"More urgent than you, huh?" Willow asked, smiling. "I suppose the world's
coming to an end then," she joked, "because I just can't see anything else
that could remove him from your side." She reached out and took her friend's
hand. "See, I told you from the start. I knew you would get back together."

Glad that the redhead had changed the subject, Buffy smiled back, "I thought
he hated me. But he doesn't. He said he didn't blame me anymore. God, Will,
I love him so much."

"I know," Willow squeezed the hand she was still holding. "Oz sends his love
by the way," she said then.

"How is the expectant father doing?" the blond wanted to know.

"He's in a permanent state of panic most of the time," the redhead answered,
patting her still flat abdomen. "Who would've thought that a taciturn guy
like Oz could be like that?" She shook her head and chuckled.

Buffy looked at her friend, happy for Willow's happiness, for the joy she
saw in redhead's eyes over their baby and she found herself hoping for the
same some day. She sent another silent prayer to every god that was
listening, that they would keep Angel and all her friends safe. She glanced
at Willow again. Willow, her trusted friend for more than 15 years, Willow,
who had never betrayed her, and never lied to her, and always, stood by her.

Screw orders, she needed to talk about it. Now. Or she'd go mad, "Will,"
Buffy began, squeezing her friend's hand, "I have to tell you something.
Something you're probably not going to believe at first..."

*****

"The subject is entering the warehouse from the back."

Spike's voice came clearly through the ether, and Angel shot a glance at
Xander who was sitting beside him. Behind the two detectives, Cordelia Chase
was biting her nails. Under normal circumstances it would've made Angel
chuckle. Her nails were holy to the brunette. The fact that she didn't care
at all about them at the moment spoke louder than thousand words.

"Is the identification hundred percent positive?" Angel could hear Tim
Philip's voice speaking through the same radio. The DA was sitting in a car
together with Rupert Giles and Drusilla, who'd been taken into the team at
Spike's mention that she already knew what was going on. He hadn't
elaborated that statement, but Angel had a certain idea why his friend had
been so cranky recently.

To tell the truth, he hadn't even noticed it at first. He'd been too
concerned about Buffy, to notice anything by her. But Cordelia had pointed
it out this morning and as Angel had seen Spike after his breakup with his
former girlfriend, he had a pretty good guess that only Drusilla could be
the source of his foul mood. He had no idea what exactly had happened, but
made a mental note to talk to the blond detective as soon as this was over.

"Yes," Spike replied. "Positive. And now subject number two is arriving as
well," he went on, "Bingo," he shouted, and Angel could hear the
exhilaration in the other man's voice. He was as eager as everyone else to
finish this case and go back to normal.

Normal.

Whatever that was going to be. Angel wasn't quite sure what normal would
mean to him... and Buffy. Yes, they had told each other that they were still
in love. But love was one thing, the future another. Was she ready for a
future with him? Because, he sure as hell wanted a future with her. They had
already lost four years. And only days ago he had almost lost her
completely. All he wanted was to hold her close and never let her go again.
Preferably by putting a ring on her finger and carrying her off to a
happily-ever-after. The only question was, did Buffy want that? After what
she'd been through with Riley, was she ready for another commitment that
would bind her to a man?

The back door of the car suddenly opened, and Mike Harmon slipped into the
seat beside Cordelia. "Hi guys," he said, his face a mask of stone. Somehow,
Angel thought, it was comforting that he wasn't the only one who'd gone to
hell. Mike was just going through his own, private one. His fiancée would
face mortal danger in just a few minutes and all he could do was pray it
would be all right in the end.

"Mike," Xander turned slightly in his seat and nodded at the younger man.
"How's she holding up?"

"Barely," Mike replied. Combing his fingers through his short hair, he took
a deep breath, "Simone is scared shitless, plus she's got all the guilt on
her shoulder regarding her father. She knows that we're going to arrest him
today if everything goes as planned and it's tearing her apart."

The radio in front cracked and then they heard Spike's voice again. The
blond detective was located on a roof behind the old warehouse and watching
the scene to report what was going on. "Holy sh- sorry, Sir," he apologized,
obviously remembering that the District Attorney was part of their team
today, "Damn, I wanted to say. Our friend Griffith brought some sort of army
with him. I can at least count ten armed men."

"Ten!" Xander exclaimed incredulously. "Holy cow."

"That's what I call a tight security." Cordelia's voice held a trace of
sarcasm, but there was also a hint of admiration in it. You could say a lot
about David Griffith, but you could hardly call him careless or stupid.

"Yeah," Angel said through gritted teeth. This was going to be a rough game.
Damn it. He was thinking about a future with Buffy. Hell, he should probably
pray that he was going to survive today and then hang on his daydreams. Ten
armed men. Damn, damn, damn. And he would be in the middle of it. And Simone
and...

He closed his eyes for a moment and forced himself to calm down. Panic
wouldn't help anyone. At least Buffy was far away from this. At least she
was safe now. He didn't even want to imagine how he'd feel if she was part
of this. He had deliberately not told her what was going to happen today,
how dangerous their plan was. He didn't want her to worry, but somehow, in
the depth of her hazel eyes he'd seen she already knew.

Angel quickly glanced at Mike Harmon through the rear mirror. His face was
locked up, the jaw set, the set of his shoulders showing the nervous tension
that was probably searing through him, hell, it was in all of them. But it
was his eyes that gave him away. There was fear in them, but there was also
determination, to get the job done. Mike Harmon would become a very fine
detective, Angel was sure of it. One of the very best.

"All players on board," Spike's voice came again. "Repeat. All players on
board. It's your turn Detective Reardon." There was a short pause and then
he said, "Be careful, Angel. I would really miss you."

Despite the situation Angel had to chuckle, "Thanks. Just cover my back."

There was no reply. Without a doubt that was because Spike had already left
the roof and was changing locations so that he could help Angel if needed.
The dark-haired detective felt a hand on his shoulder and turning his head
he saw Cordelia looking at him with concerned eyes. He covered her hand with
his and squeezed it, "Keep your fingers crossed," he said and left the car.

*****

Simone Chambers tried to keep the tremble out of her hands so that nobody
would notice that she was scared witless. Never before, not even when she'd
realized what Riley Finn was planning with her, had she been so afraid. She
was emerging the limousine with her father, holding on to his offered arm
and walking to a warehouse that could become her deathbed if anything went
wrong today.

Mike. She desperately tried to think about Mike. His smile. His lips. His
gentle hands. His love. He was everything she'd ever wanted and now she
could lose it in a matter of minutes.

"Are you alright, honey?" she heard her father ask and nodded
absentmindedly.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I think I've got a slight case of flu."

Derryl Chambers stopped and with concern his eyes rested on his only child.
"You should've stayed at home then. I know it was your idea to come with me
and I'm glad that you're interested in my business, but I don't want you to
overexert if you don't feel well."

She gazed up at him. Her father was a tall man and she had to tilt her head
to look into his familiar blue eyes. She remembered all the things Mike had
told her about her father's business and only at the very last moment
managed to stifle a cry of agony. Could it really be? Was her father the
kind of monster, Mike had described? Was it possible that the man, who had
held her, read stories to her when she'd been a little girl, was it possible
that this man could be part of David Griffith's organization? God, she
didn't want to believe it.

"I'm fine, Daddy," she replied, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze. "No
need to worry. I'm dying to learn more about your business. I'm your only
heir, Dad, I should know all the important things."

"Yes, you keep saying that. And you're right," he suddenly frowned, then
sighed, "Still, I want you to tell me if you get tired."

Could this concern be a fake, she wondered. Could all his love, his
affection been false? God, please, don't let it be true. Don't let him be
involved in murder and other horrible crimes. "I will," she managed to smile
and followed him when he went towards the entrance.

A tall and bulky man spotted them and nodded, clearly recognizing her
father. Simone felt her hopes crumple. This man, who worked for David
Griffin, knew her father. He knew her father. She closed her eyes for a
second, and then opened them again. She thought again about Mike and his
promises of love and a future together. She would concentrate on that. There
was time to mourn the loss of her childhood illusions later.

*****

Willow gaped at her injured friend in the hospital bed as if she'd never
seen her before. "Oh my God," the redhead breathed, her eyes huge and
shocked. "A dirty cop. I can't believe it. And Angel and Spike working for
Internal Affairs. And you. Oh, Buffy."

"I'm sorry, Will. I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you the truth. We were sworn to
secrecy," Buffy explained, squeezing the redhead's hand that was still
laying in hers.

"That's not it," Willow shook her head, to clear the confusion in her mind.
"I understand, why you had to do it. I'm a cop too remember? Granted, I sit
at the computer most of the times and do research and other boring stuff,
but that doesn't mean I don't understand. But a dirty cop," she shook her
head again. Suddenly her eyes were sharp and inquiring, "Who?"

"Huh?"

"Who is it?" she asked, looking intently at Buffy. "Do you know who the cop
is?"

Buffy took a deep breath and returned her friend's intense stare. This was
the tricky part. She wasn't supposed to give that kind of information away.
Tim Philips would certainly kill her for it. On the other hand. The show was
going down today, so what could it hurt? So she pulled Willow close and then
whispered the name in her friend's ear.

The redhead's eyes widened even more, and she pulled back, not really able
to believe what she'd heard. But Buffy's eyes were so serious, there was no
doubt she meant it. Still, it made no sense, why would that person...

As if the blond had sensed Willow's thoughts, she said, "It's the money.
It's about a hell lot of money, Will. And that's what frightens me. Because
the moment money is involved people don't care about who's hurt anymore.
Plus they're cornering in on them right now." She took a deep breath, her
voice suddenly shaking, when she added, "And Angel's right in the middle. He
didn't want to tell me, Will. But I know. He's going to be right in the line
of fire."

*****

"Diane." David Griffin's eyes lit up when his eyes fell on the blond who
was walking into the room. "How good of you to come."

"David," Diane turned the corners of her mouth up in what resembled a
flirtatious smile. "I couldn't believe it when I got the invitation," she
slightly turned her head, her gaze flickering to one of David Griffin's
bodyguards. "And you even delivered it personally, you shouldn't have." Now
her eyes narrowed and her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

The same instant David's eyes cooled as well, "I had the feeling you
wouldn't come otherwise."

Diane didn't comment that, but her eyebrows rose when she saw Derryl
Chambers and his daughter coming through the door of the warehouse. "More
guests?" she asked, looking back to David.

"As a matter of fact," he replied, and she saw a flicker of astonishment in
his eyes. He clearly hadn't expected for Simone to accompany her father.
"Derryl, my old friend," he stood from his desk to greet the two people.
"And the beautiful Simone. What an honor."

Derryl Chambers gave David Griffin what could be called a regal nod, while
Simone forced herself to extend a hand and endure the kiss the older man was
breathing on its back. David Griffin might be a gangster, but etiquette was
important for him. Only at the last moment Simone stifled a noise of
disgust. And this moment, for the first time in her life, she hated her
father. For disguising her, for lying to her, and that he put her through
something like that. For his hidden black heart.

"Mr. Griffin," she forced herself to say.

"David, please," he replied with an elegant bow, his eyes traveling over her
form, resting on her breasts and Simone suppressed the urge to knee him in
his groin.

"Come on," he turned and started towards the back part of the warehouse
where several men were waiting for them and a blond woman, Simone recognized
as Diane Massey, Griffin's girlfriend. "Let's get to business."

*****

Angel ducked in the shadow of a tree while he approached the warehouse,
hoping that nobody saw him before he'd arrived at his destination. He was
already close when Spike suddenly spoke through the headset he was wearing.
"Last subject not at the meeting point. Repeat. Last subject not at the
meeting point."

Angel stopped instantly, his blood turning to ice. "What do you mean," he
asked, his voice carefully controlled, "last subject not at the meeting
point? I thought you said all players on board."

There was a short silence, but Angel was sure he heard his friend curse in
the background, then Spike's voice came back again, "It's my fault, buddy. I
thought she was there. But obviously there are look-a-likes running around."

"Damn," Angel cursed as well and leaned against a near by tree, his legs
suddenly feeling weak. The person they were looking for, the dirty cop was
not on board. Where the hell... and then it hit him like a bullet through
the guts. Buffy. The target was Buffy. God, he was such an idiot. She had
been a target before. The bomb had been planted underneath her car.

Starting a dead run back to his car, he shouted through his microphone,
"Cover. I need someone to cover me in this operation. And I need a free line
to the hospital. NOW," he bellowed. His lungs were burning already, but he
didn't slow down, if anything, he even increased his speed.

"I'm covering you," Spike replied through the headset. "Repeat. I'm taking
your place. Go," he shouted, obviously having the same thoughts. His next
words made it clear. "Take care of her."

Buffy had been Riley's wife. And they had killed Riley because he knew
something. It had to be the pictures that Riley's brother had brought them.
They just had been too stupid to see it. The attack on Buffy hadn't been a
warning for them. It had been an attempt to kill her. Her. Riley's wife. The
most likely person to know about his secret. Divorce or no, they had been
close for a long time. Dammit, he thought desperately, finally reaching the
car where Mike, Xander and Cordelia were already waiting for him.

"Do you have the line to the hospital?" he asked breathlessly.

"What the hell is going on?" Cordelia wanted to know, but was handing him
her cell phone.

Ignoring her question, he took it, "Faith? Is everything clear? ... Good.
Any visitors? ... No? That's ... WHAT? WHO? DAMMIT ... I said no visitors
without my direct ... Never mind. Forget about it. It's not really
important."

He turned and looked at Cordelia, then at Xander, "Willow is with Buffy at
the moment," he told them, repeating what Faith had told him just before,
his eyes grave. Turning his attention back to the phone, he said, "Listen to
me now, Faith. This is important. I have to tell you something, you're going
to hardly believe, but you have to. There is a dirty cop... yeah, a dirty
cop..."

He was talking to her while getting rid of his headset and signaling Xander
to come with him. "Faith, wait a moment," he said, and turned towards
Cordelia. "I have no time to explain this. But subject one is at the
hospital this very moment. Spike can explain. I have to go. If anything
happens to Buffy, it'll be my fault."

With that he slipped into the car and continued talking to Faith, while
Xander was flooring the accelerator.

*****

Simone had the feeling as if she was walking through a nightmare. There were
armed men. Lots of them. They were surrounding a large desk where two
foreign looking men were sitting. They were obviously of South American
origin, and they were smiling and joking with Diane Massey.

David Griffin stopped in front of the desk, and then turned and smiled at
Simone, "May I introduce my friends. These are Sergio and Enrique Royos.
Guys, this is Simone, the daughter of our friend Derryl."

Simone was hoping desperately that the shock she felt didn't show on her
face. Sergio and Enrique Royos. She had never met them before. But she had
heard of them. Who hadn't? They were two of the most wanted drug dealers
around. Both born and raised in Colombia, they had taken over the smuggling
of drugs into L.A. from their father about five years ago.

She watched when her father shook hands with them, no doubt they knew each
other, had met before. She felt the last of her hopes crumbling at her feet,
and again concentrated on Mike's face last night, when he'd told her he
loved her. She would make it through this. And then she would start
forgetting about a man who had deceived her all her life.

On autopilot Simone extended her hand again for Sergio and Enrique to kiss.
She smiled at David Griffin when he explained that Simone was accompanying
her father to learn the business, and she even managed to smile at Diane
Massey who she despised. The blond was nothing but a cheap whore in Simone's
eyes, looking for the next rich lover to lead an easy life.

But of course this person wasn't Diane Massey. Diane Massey was sitting in
the precinct, guarded by two uniformed officers, while her twin had taken
her place. Knowing that made it easier to smile at the other woman.

"David," Diane/Darla was saying, while studying her nails, "can we get on
with it? I don't have the whole day. I really need to be on time for the
appointment with my hairdresser."

David laughed slightly, and Simone saw him shaking his head. God, she wanted
to kill the guy. Right here and now. Her father laughed too, and she felt
sick.

"Okay, guys," David turned and addressed Sergio Royos, "Show us what you
have."

"Why don't we show each other what we have?" Enrique suggested, in his soft
accented English.

"The money," David Griffin ordered and snapped his fingers at Floyd Brady,
who appeared instantly carrying a large bag. He put it on the table and
opened it. There was money in it, lots of it.

Sergio smiled and the same moment another bag appeared on the table.
Although she had expected it, Simone couldn't suppress the slight gasp that
escaped her mouth when she saw little bags inside, filled with a white
powder. No doubt it was cocaine.

And then, chaos exploded. The doors of the warehouse were pushed open,
officers and detectives were coming inside, shouting. Simone could see the
blond detective who Mike had told her was called Spike. He was holding a
mean looking weapon, pointing it at David Griffin, while Darla had drawn her
own gun and held it towards Sergio Royos. It all happened so quick nobody
had time to react.

"Keep your hands up," Spike warned approaching the table. "Check," he spoke
into his headset, "Things are under control." He ripped one of the little
bags open, stuck his finger inside and licked it. His face split into a huge
grin and he spoke into the headset again, "Tim, my friend," he said to the
DA, "I think that case couldn't be tighter. About fifty pounds of nice,
white stuff and two eyewitnesses. One of them a police officer. This is like
Christmas, buddy." He instantly became serious, when he listened to the
reply. "Yes, got that. Any news from Angel?"

*****

"Man, I can't believe this," Xander said for the umpteenth time while he was
driving. He had tears in his eyes, but there was firm determination in them
as well.

Angel nodded absentmindedly at him, his concentration on the voice that was
talking to him over the cell phone. "I hear you. Be careful, Faith. We'll be
there in about ten minutes... Yes." He closed his eyes for a moment, and
then opened them and Xander could see that he was fighting for an answer,
"Alright. If necessary eliminate the target."

He turned the phone off and stared at it for a long moment. Xander drove
straight through a red light, ignoring the horns sounding around them,
"She's going for Buffy, isn't she?"

"Yes," Angel confirmed. "The target is Buffy because she was Riley's wife.
She's expected to know certain things. Even though she doesn't."

A tear slipped from the younger man's eye, "I can't believe it. They're
colleagues. And I always thought we were friends. God, this isn't true." He
shook his head, almost missing the entrance of the hospital parking space.

"But it is," Angel replied and jumped out of the car. He ran towards the
entrance of the hospital, knowing that Xander was following right behind,
and dialed a number on Cordelia's cell phone.

*****

"You should rest now," Willow said, standing up and smiling down at her
friend. "You must be tired."

"I'm not that bad," Buffy replied with a shrug, wincing when the little
movement sent stabs of pain through her whole body.

"Yes, you should," the redhead said firmly. "Close your eyes, Buffy."

The blond smiled at her again, and then did as told and her lids slipped
over her eyes. She sighed, and was apparently falling asleep, when suddenly
the phone at her bed stand rang. Her eyes opened again and with an
apologetic look at Willow she picked it up. "Yes? ... Angel!" Her face
brightened, and she smiled. Only a second later the smile slipped and was
replaced by an expression of concern, then disbelief, then almost agony,
"No," she breathed into the receiver. "Oh, no. Angel," she whispered. "Oh,
God. ... Yes. ... Yes. ... All right. I love you too."

Buffy closed her eyes for a short moment, and when she opened them again,
she turned her head to look at Willow. Her friend, since they'd been fifteen
years old.

And she gasped.

The woman in front of her wasn't the Willow she knew. It was some stranger,
her face cold and set firmly, she was pointing a gun at the blonde's head.

*****

"Faith," Angel shouted racing towards the brunette detective, the phone at
his ear. "Yes," he spoke into it, his eyes on Faith and on the man standing
beside her, his wrist secured in handcuffs. It was David Gadget. "Yes, we've
got him," he confirmed to Giles who was on the other end of the line. "Yes,
I know. No, Giles, I'm certain. We always thought it was one dirty cop, but
obviously there were two." He turned to look at Xander who had joined them,
panting heavily, "Yes, I'm certain, the identification is positive. ...
Yes... I know it's difficult to believe, but frankly, I don't have time for
this now, because Willow is with Buffy this very moment."

He switched off the cell, and looked at David Gadget who was staring at him
with hateful eyes. "You're too late, Reardon. There's nothing you can do.
The little bitch is going to die."

"You bastard," Xander hissed, fighting with the tears that threatened to
spill over. "What did you do to pull her into this?"

"Nothing," Gadget replied, "It was her idea from the start."

"Her-" Xander's voice cracked and he had to turn away, pain threatening to
consume him. Willow. His longest, most trusted friend. God, this was a
nightmare.

He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, "What?" he asked, not
turning around, not wanting for anyone to see his tear streaked face.

"I'm sorry," Faith said gently, nodding at the two uniformed officers to
lead David Gadget away. "I can hardly believe it myself. I know she was your
friend."

"She's inside," Kate Lockley came around the corner, "and she's pointing a
gun at Buffy." She looked at Angel, "What are we going to do?"

"Follow me," Angel shouted at her and she ran after him towards Buffy's
room.

*****

"Willow," Buffy breathed, surprise and disappointment in her voice.

"Yeah," the redhead replied, shrugged and sat down again on the chair she'd
just moved back into the corner. "Surprise, huh?"

"God, Willow," the blond blinked threatening tears away. "How could you?"

The redhead shrugged again, "You said it before. It's the money. Oz's
business isn't what we need it to be and besides, I'm sick of always
counting my money, I'm too young to not live life in the fullest."

Buffy shook her head, "That's not you talking here, Will," she said, "That
just doesn't sound like you."

Willow raised a brow, quickly looked at the gun in her hand then back at the
other woman, "You think? Well, then maybe you never knew me."

"Obviously I didn't," the blond agreed, a sad smile crossing her features.
"God, Will. You were my friend. You were my bridesmaid and I trusted you."

"Bummer, huh?" The redhead crossed one leg over the other, rested one elbow
on them. "But you said it yourself. Money makes people forget about anything
else. I never knew I wanted money so badly until I had had a taste of it.
It's really addictive, you know. And comfortable."

"What about Oz?" Buffy asked.

"What about him? He knows nothing about my... uh... private transaction
here. But he's too tied up with his computers to even notice that there's
more money than ever before. He actually thinks he's earned it," she shook
her head, "He never had a mind for money. Without me the poor man would be
lost."

"I see," the blond replied. "And... what about your baby?"

"The baby?" she shrugged, "What about it? It will be a happy baby. A rich
baby. It will have all the stuff I didn't."

"You actually believe you get away with this."

"Of course," Willow said, standing up, and approaching the bed, the gun
still pointing at Buffy. With a smile she reached into her pocket, produced
a silencer, and then adapted it on the gun. "Because you're going to die.
And nobody will ever know."

"Don't do it, Willow," Buffy said, looking at her friend steadily. "You
don't want to do it."

The redhead laughed in response. A hollow sound. "Of course I want to do
it." She chuckled, "You are so naive, Buffy. So good. So sweet. Gee, you
can't even guess how bored I was to be close to you all the time, pretending
I liked you."

"Pretending you liked me?" Buffy asked, in total disbelief. She shook her
head, showing the other woman how disappointed she was. "I'm very sorry
Will."

The redhead laughed again, "You shouldn't pity me. Better pity yourself.
You're going to need it in your next life."

And then she pulled the trigger.

... to be continued