13
Angel and Giles used the tunnels below the city of Boston to go where Hawk had directed them to. To the Lair of S'ushi Alyssia. They couldn't do to the safe house for two reasons. The first reason was because of the simple fact that the sun was still high in the sky. The second reason was for Angel and Giles to break into the Lair and get as much Intel on the enemy as possible.
But there was another reason.
"Angel," Giles began as he stayed in step with the his companion, "y-you don't think Spenser will allow Willow t-to be captured...do you?"
Angel glanced at him. "Well, not intentionally. No." He paused. "But you know how things are, Giles. Things just happen, and sometimes we just don't have a say in it. We have to do what we can. I do know that he will do his best to protect Willow, but what he can't do...we'll do."
Giles hesitated. "And w-when we get her home..." he trailed off.
Angel stopped, turned his head and looked at the Watcher. "You mean, if she remembers what happened at the Funhouse?"
He nodded.
Angel let out a troubled sigh. "Giles, we'll be there for her. It may not be enough, but it's all we can do."
"Buffy..."
"What? Are you going to tell Buffy about this?"
Giles looked at him. "You-you don't think I should?"
Angel shook his head. "No. Leave it be. The Slayer will only start asking questions and that could upset Willow. Trigger her memory of what happened to Kali." He paused. "Let's agree to not tell Buffy until the time comes."
"Xander might tell her."
"He won't. I think he loves Willow too much to let her go through the pain again."
Giles looked at him. "Er, 'loves'? You mean, as-as in the plutonic sense of love?"
Angel paused. "It's blind love, Giles. I can see it in his eyes, and I can tell when they're together. Xander's in love with Willow, but I think he just doesn't realize it yet."
"How very odd."
"Yeah. Well, love does funny things to people." He thought of Buffy. Then he let out another sigh. "Let's just finish this so we can get Willow back home to Sunnydale where she belongs." He forged ahead with Giles at his side.
The Watcher had no idea that what Angel meant by 'finishing this' had nothing to do with reconnaissance but everything to do with taking care of S'ushi Alyssia and her entire organization. As they continued on their way, a dark figure stepped out from the shadows and watched them from behind.
David smiled. "A Slayer in Sunnydale, is it?" He let out a low chuckle. "Well, I think a change of plans is in order, then."
He followed behind at a discreet distance. _________________________________________
Our situation did not look very promising at the moment.
We had made a good run in getting away from the hotel, but unfortunately, our pursuers had managed to keep up with us. At the beginning, there were only seven of them, but now there were five. I had to assume that two of them had raced back to the hotel parking lot to retrieve their vehicles.
We tried to lose the remaining five in the crowds. Once we got to the ever- popular Quincy Market, things began to look a lot more promising for us. At least for a few minutes. I thought we were actually going to lose them. But these bastards proved to be more determined to get Willow than I had originally given them credit for and they proved it by using their damn cell phones. They had split up, and spread out as they attempted to box us in.
With Willow's hand in mine, I led her and Xander through the closing gap before the trap could fully close. I noticed that they still trailed behind us, but they kept themselves spread out. I had seen one of them on his cell phone, and when I looked back, the man was still on it.
Oh, sure, he could have been calling the drivers that had went back for their cars. Or it was possible the man might have been making an appointment with a local masseuse. But I doubted it. I had a very bad feeling that he was simply calling for backup.
I hoped he wasn't...but I knew that if I were in his shoes, that's what I'd be doing.
"I don't like the city," Xander said as he looked around. "I'm gonna take a stand and say that the city is bad."
Willow looked at him and she held out her hand to him. "Take my hand, Xander." She smiled encouragingly at him. "I-it'll be all right."
Xander took her hand and squeezed it affectionately.
I thought I understood the gesture then. It was sort of like a comfort blanket. It was something that Willow and Kali had shared during their brief captivity together. Here we were, being chased by villains who wanted Willow for evil purposes of their own, and she was trying to reassure us.
Willow had a lot of character for one so young.
Xander gave Willow a smile. "I'm supposed to tell you it's okay."
"So tell me." Her eyes seemed to light up as she looked at him.
Xander looked into her eyes. "It will be okay, Will."
She let out a little sigh and she had that look on her face girls got when they in love. "I-I know, Xander. Everything is always okay when-when I'm with you."
That did it for me. I was just plain mad now. These two kids did not deserve to be out on the street running for their lives. They should be in a movie theatre watching a show, and Xander should be getting her popcorn and candy and..."You both should be far away from this kind of trouble," I finally told them as I glanced at them. "If I have anything to say about it, I'll get you out of this somehow."
I realized that I didn't have a choice for time was running out. There was only one option open to us and that was to head for the subway. I was beginning to see faces I didn't like. Faces associated with people like Billiard and S'ushi Alyssia. Some of them were ahead of us, and the five from the hotel were right behind us.
Damn, that wasn't a masseuse he was calling. His backup had arrived.
"Let's go," I said.
I led Willow and Xander onward in another direction. We headed for a subway entrance and disappeared through it. We hurried down the steps and brushed past several people. Some of them didn't appreciate our haste, but at least they didn't bother us except to say something rather unpleasant at our backs.
I glanced back and wondered if we could get on the subway before it was too late.
We got to the subway entrance and I decided on the better part of valor was to get past the ticket booth in haste rather dig for dough. I picked up Willow, put her over the gate and climbed after her. Xander climbed over it after me, and we continued on.
"Hey!" someone shouted.
But we ignored him and kept moving.
Once we were on the subway platform, we again brushed through the crowd. A subway train was just pulling up. The doors began to open and we hurried inside with a crowd of other people who were in a hurry to get nowhere fast.
Then came the waiting.
The doors just didn't seem to want to close.
I looked through the window and I cursed under my breath. These bastards were persistent. The five men from the hotel parking lot came onto the platform and they were followed by four other thugs who just had that look. The look was easy to determine because the shifty eyes, the tough guy stance, and the bulging jackets accompanied it.
I knew what caused those bulges.
Guns.
There was no going back now. We couldn't get off the train now if we wanted to without shedding blood. There were just too many people around. A shoot out would get a lot of innocent people hurt or worst. And that included Willow and Xander.
I watched as Billiard's men entered into the next subway car. Just as the fifth man entered, the doors closed and the train began to move. The other four thugs had remained on the platform incase we had gotten off. Which, unfortunately, we didn't.
I looked at Willow and Xander.
"We're not out of this yet, are we?" Xander asked me.
I shook my head. "Not yet." I led them to the end of the subway car and opened the door.
It seemed like a useless move but I hated to stand still in a crisis situation. I had to be moving. So we moved into the next subway car. We got a lot of strange looks as we moved through the crowds, but for the most part, no one bothered us. Then we went into the next subway car and to the next one after that.
There was one more car to go, and I was certain that behind us, Billiard's men was moving through the cars as we were. I was also certain that they would reach us before the next stop.
Apparently, Xander must have had the same thought. "This is really what they call an exercise in futility, isn't it?"
We stopped at the far end of the car. There was nowhere else to go.
I looked at him with my best solemn expression I could muster and said, "Yep."
"Those guys are going to be in here any second," he said hastily.
I nodded in agreement. "Possibly sooner."
He shot me a look. "If that was meant to reassure me, it didn't." He glanced nervously at Willow. "We can't let them have her."
"No. We can't. Which means we have to stall."
"Stall?"
I nodded. "Yep."
"What are we stalling for?"
"Well, whenever I find myself in a jam, I do my best to stall the situation in any way I can. By stalling for time, I buy time for the Calvary to show up."
At the other end of the subway car, the door opened, and Billiard's men filed in one by one. They began to forge through the crowd toward us.
Xander glared at them. "That's just great! While we're waiting for the Calvary, here comes the damn injun's!"
"Wherever they take us," I said quietly, "Hawk will find us."
Both Willow and Xander looked at me. I hated that look of fright in Willow's eyes as she realized what I had just said.
Xander was as equally shocked. "You're-you're going to let them take us?"
I would have responded, but the men were closer to us now. One of them I recognized. He was a thug named Buckley. He was mean and I didn't like him, but at least he wasn't the type of man to stab you in the back. For a bad guy, he was with some honor. I was hoping I could use that.
Buckley stepped up to us while his boys stayed back. He looked at Xander, and then he looked at Willow. Finally, his eyes locked onto me. "Spenser," he greeted.
I nodded. "Buckley."
"You know a scene won't be any good for any of us, don't you?" he asked casually.
I shrugged. "I figured as much."
He nodded. "A lot of people could get hurt. I'm glad you see that. So why don't you just take out your gun slowly and hand it to me." He smiled. "Like the cops say, Spenser. With two fingers."
I took out my gun with two fingers, and he took it from me with four fingers and a thumb. It disappeared in a coat pocket of his.
"If you come with us peacefully, Spenser," he said, "I'll see that you're treated fairly."
"That's really not your call though, is it?"
Buckley shrugged. "I guess you're right."
"Besides, it's not me I'm worried about."
He looked at Willow. "Yeah. I can see that."
Willow was standing behind Xander. She had that deer in the headlight look and it made my blood boil. The funny thing was I wasn't mad at Buckley. I was mad at S'ushi Alyssia. There was a part of me that was glad we were caught because I knew that we were going to be taken to her.
That could be a bad thing for S'ushi.
"She's just a kid," I told Buckley.
He let out a sigh. "I'm just doing my job," he explained.
"Find a new career. Look in the Help Wanted."
He paused. "Not that simple."
"You're a father yourself, Buckley. Imagine if this were happening to your kid. What if S'ushi were after your daughter?"
"She's not after my daughter." He nodded his head toward Willow. "This girl isn't my daughter. She's not your daughter either."
I looked at him. "She's somebody's daughter. Even so, whether she's my daughter or not, I still won't let S'ushi get her."
Buckley regarded me and he shook his head sadly. "Well, sorry, Dad. But it looks to me like S'ushi is going to get the girl."
I leaned menacingly toward him. "That remains to be seen."
The subway train made its next stop, and we were all getting off with Buckley and his friends. What Buckley didn't know was that I had a plan in the making. The only trouble was, I didn't know it either. ___________________
We were brought into the Lair of S'ushi Alyssia, and I really had to admit that it didn't look good for us. S'ushi was standing next to Billiard and some other guy named Damien. It's what I heard S'ushi call him, and I didn't like him already. For some damn reason I found quite disturbing, the guy couldn't take his eyes off me.
Buckley had left us. I think it had something to do with his conscious. He could deliver us to his employer, but he couldn't stomach sticking around to witness any horrible deed that S'ushi might have planned for us. I hoped his conscious really bothered him until his last dying breath, even though my dying breath looked a lot closer than his did.
Four of Billiards thugs remained behind us. Two of them had their guns in their hands and they were prepared to shoot us if we made any sudden moves. They wouldn't shoot Willow, of course, but Xander and I were targets.
And so there we were.
Willow stood in between myself, and Xander. Her hand was in mine and she sidled up closer to me as if that could get her away from S'ushi.
The White Slavery Mistress had her eyes locked onto Willow. "You've been a very bad girl," she said softly.
Willow was shaking. She shifted her feet, got behind me, and she closed her eyes.
"Hiding won't help you," S'ushi told her as she slowly made her approach.
I looked at her. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
She gave me the back of her hand.
Right across my face.
The woman just has no class. That really did smart, but I stood there and took it like a man. Hawk would have been proud. I didn't even whimper. She had a ring on her hand and I realized that it had given my cheek a nice scratch.
She smiled at me. "That was for the trouble you cost me the last time I was in Boston."
"Well," I said conversationally, "too bad the last time you were in Boston wasn't really the last time you were in Boston."
"Always the smart ass." She stepped up close and personal toward me. She brought her face close to mine. There was no doubt in my mind that she was one gorgeous lady, but her heart was as ugly as sin.
I shrugged. "It's in the Handbook of P.I.'s, you know. The number one requirement for being a private investigator is that you have to be a smart ass."
"I don't mind you being a smart ass, Spenser. I like your smart ass. I think it's kind of...cute." She put her hand on my chest.
I frowned. "Just cute?"
She gave me a coy smile, which I had to admit, was a lot more enjoyable than the back of her hand. She looked into my eyes. "I'd really like to have your smart ass on my team. I've always liked you, you know."
"Now don't I feel popular?" I inquired with just a touch of sarcasm. I noticed that Damien was still looking at me closely. I saw a deep hunger in his eyes and I suddenly understood what he was. "You don't need me on your team. You have enough bad players, including your blood sucking friend over there who can't seem to take his eyes off me."
S'ushi glanced at Damien. She smiled at me. "He likes you."
Damien nodded his head toward me. "He's dying," he said.
I looked at him.
Xander and Willow looked at me.
Even S'ushi seemed surprised. "Dying?"
Damien nodded slowly as he watched me. "I can smell his cancer." He stepped toward me. "I can cure you, Spenser. I can make you a better man." His face began to change. His eyes turned yellow, his face sort of got lumpy, and his teeth became fangs.
Willow grabbed my arm and stared in horror.
"Where the hell is a Slayer when you really need one?" Xander asked no one in particular.
S'ushi stepped away from me and Damien took her place. "Spenser," he said, peering at the bleeding cut on my face, "I can give you eternal life."
I regarded him very carefully. This is the second time I had seen a vampire, and I couldn't tell myself that this wasn't real any longer. Because it was. And I hated that it was real. I shook my head. "I really can't imagine going around looking like that for all eternity."
"You would prefer death over life?"
"You're not God. Only God is in the business of giving eternal life. What you have is an illusion of life. How can you call hiding in shadows and feeding off from living flesh a life? It makes you look ugly, and it makes you smell bad." I paused. "Do you even have a dental plan? Do you floss after every bite? Do you brush your teeth after every meal?"
Damien glared at me. "Forget my offer. I do believe that I will just kill you."
"Get back, Damien," S'ushi ordered.
"Yeah," I said, puffing out my chest. "Get back."
He hesitated. Then, he pointed his finger at my broad and muscular chest. "We're not through." His face returned to its human form as he stepped back toward Billiard.
S'ushi approached me, but this time, her eyes were fixed on Xander. "Who's the boy?" she asked.
I was about to answer.
Xander decided, however, to answer for himself. "I'm the boy who's going to take Willow back home where she belongs."
S'ushi regarded him. "What are you talking about, boy?"
"What's the matter, girl?" he demanded of her. "Are you surprised that a guy like me can pick up your trail from Sunnydale, California?"
She looked at him with genuine surprise on her face.
Xander nodded. "That's right, bitch! I traced your steps from the computer camp, to the Funhouse, and finally to this dump in Boston!"
S'ushi was angry. She shot a look in Billiard's direction, but it wasn't aimed specifically at him. "That asshole Sunter talked. He must be dealt with!" She shook her head as she walked toward a beam and she reached for something behind it.
Here it comes.
When she turned around, I saw what she held in her hands. It was some kind of rod. Before I could figure out what it truly was, she abruptly touched it to my chest and she pulled some kind of trigger. What I could only describe as some kind of electrical charge shot through me, and it was as if my body just shut down.
I collapsed in a heap to the floor.
"That should keep you down for awhile." S'ushi smirked down at me. Then, she fixed her eyes on Willow. "I'm through talking, little girl. Get over here right now."
Xander put himself in front of Willow.
Good move, I thought.
S'ushi just smiled and she touched him with the rod. He cried out and collapsed to the floor beside me. Yeah. Good move, but not good enough. I couldn't bring myself to move even though I tried like hell to.
Willow was left completely undefended.
S'ushi began to approach her. She laughed.
And that's when the demon fell from the rafters above and knocked the Mistress aside with one blow. The demon had landed in front of Willow. He turned around to look right at her.
Willow saw his face.
His vampire face.
It was Angel.
Willow screamed.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx TO BE CONTINUED--
Angel and Giles used the tunnels below the city of Boston to go where Hawk had directed them to. To the Lair of S'ushi Alyssia. They couldn't do to the safe house for two reasons. The first reason was because of the simple fact that the sun was still high in the sky. The second reason was for Angel and Giles to break into the Lair and get as much Intel on the enemy as possible.
But there was another reason.
"Angel," Giles began as he stayed in step with the his companion, "y-you don't think Spenser will allow Willow t-to be captured...do you?"
Angel glanced at him. "Well, not intentionally. No." He paused. "But you know how things are, Giles. Things just happen, and sometimes we just don't have a say in it. We have to do what we can. I do know that he will do his best to protect Willow, but what he can't do...we'll do."
Giles hesitated. "And w-when we get her home..." he trailed off.
Angel stopped, turned his head and looked at the Watcher. "You mean, if she remembers what happened at the Funhouse?"
He nodded.
Angel let out a troubled sigh. "Giles, we'll be there for her. It may not be enough, but it's all we can do."
"Buffy..."
"What? Are you going to tell Buffy about this?"
Giles looked at him. "You-you don't think I should?"
Angel shook his head. "No. Leave it be. The Slayer will only start asking questions and that could upset Willow. Trigger her memory of what happened to Kali." He paused. "Let's agree to not tell Buffy until the time comes."
"Xander might tell her."
"He won't. I think he loves Willow too much to let her go through the pain again."
Giles looked at him. "Er, 'loves'? You mean, as-as in the plutonic sense of love?"
Angel paused. "It's blind love, Giles. I can see it in his eyes, and I can tell when they're together. Xander's in love with Willow, but I think he just doesn't realize it yet."
"How very odd."
"Yeah. Well, love does funny things to people." He thought of Buffy. Then he let out another sigh. "Let's just finish this so we can get Willow back home to Sunnydale where she belongs." He forged ahead with Giles at his side.
The Watcher had no idea that what Angel meant by 'finishing this' had nothing to do with reconnaissance but everything to do with taking care of S'ushi Alyssia and her entire organization. As they continued on their way, a dark figure stepped out from the shadows and watched them from behind.
David smiled. "A Slayer in Sunnydale, is it?" He let out a low chuckle. "Well, I think a change of plans is in order, then."
He followed behind at a discreet distance. _________________________________________
Our situation did not look very promising at the moment.
We had made a good run in getting away from the hotel, but unfortunately, our pursuers had managed to keep up with us. At the beginning, there were only seven of them, but now there were five. I had to assume that two of them had raced back to the hotel parking lot to retrieve their vehicles.
We tried to lose the remaining five in the crowds. Once we got to the ever- popular Quincy Market, things began to look a lot more promising for us. At least for a few minutes. I thought we were actually going to lose them. But these bastards proved to be more determined to get Willow than I had originally given them credit for and they proved it by using their damn cell phones. They had split up, and spread out as they attempted to box us in.
With Willow's hand in mine, I led her and Xander through the closing gap before the trap could fully close. I noticed that they still trailed behind us, but they kept themselves spread out. I had seen one of them on his cell phone, and when I looked back, the man was still on it.
Oh, sure, he could have been calling the drivers that had went back for their cars. Or it was possible the man might have been making an appointment with a local masseuse. But I doubted it. I had a very bad feeling that he was simply calling for backup.
I hoped he wasn't...but I knew that if I were in his shoes, that's what I'd be doing.
"I don't like the city," Xander said as he looked around. "I'm gonna take a stand and say that the city is bad."
Willow looked at him and she held out her hand to him. "Take my hand, Xander." She smiled encouragingly at him. "I-it'll be all right."
Xander took her hand and squeezed it affectionately.
I thought I understood the gesture then. It was sort of like a comfort blanket. It was something that Willow and Kali had shared during their brief captivity together. Here we were, being chased by villains who wanted Willow for evil purposes of their own, and she was trying to reassure us.
Willow had a lot of character for one so young.
Xander gave Willow a smile. "I'm supposed to tell you it's okay."
"So tell me." Her eyes seemed to light up as she looked at him.
Xander looked into her eyes. "It will be okay, Will."
She let out a little sigh and she had that look on her face girls got when they in love. "I-I know, Xander. Everything is always okay when-when I'm with you."
That did it for me. I was just plain mad now. These two kids did not deserve to be out on the street running for their lives. They should be in a movie theatre watching a show, and Xander should be getting her popcorn and candy and..."You both should be far away from this kind of trouble," I finally told them as I glanced at them. "If I have anything to say about it, I'll get you out of this somehow."
I realized that I didn't have a choice for time was running out. There was only one option open to us and that was to head for the subway. I was beginning to see faces I didn't like. Faces associated with people like Billiard and S'ushi Alyssia. Some of them were ahead of us, and the five from the hotel were right behind us.
Damn, that wasn't a masseuse he was calling. His backup had arrived.
"Let's go," I said.
I led Willow and Xander onward in another direction. We headed for a subway entrance and disappeared through it. We hurried down the steps and brushed past several people. Some of them didn't appreciate our haste, but at least they didn't bother us except to say something rather unpleasant at our backs.
I glanced back and wondered if we could get on the subway before it was too late.
We got to the subway entrance and I decided on the better part of valor was to get past the ticket booth in haste rather dig for dough. I picked up Willow, put her over the gate and climbed after her. Xander climbed over it after me, and we continued on.
"Hey!" someone shouted.
But we ignored him and kept moving.
Once we were on the subway platform, we again brushed through the crowd. A subway train was just pulling up. The doors began to open and we hurried inside with a crowd of other people who were in a hurry to get nowhere fast.
Then came the waiting.
The doors just didn't seem to want to close.
I looked through the window and I cursed under my breath. These bastards were persistent. The five men from the hotel parking lot came onto the platform and they were followed by four other thugs who just had that look. The look was easy to determine because the shifty eyes, the tough guy stance, and the bulging jackets accompanied it.
I knew what caused those bulges.
Guns.
There was no going back now. We couldn't get off the train now if we wanted to without shedding blood. There were just too many people around. A shoot out would get a lot of innocent people hurt or worst. And that included Willow and Xander.
I watched as Billiard's men entered into the next subway car. Just as the fifth man entered, the doors closed and the train began to move. The other four thugs had remained on the platform incase we had gotten off. Which, unfortunately, we didn't.
I looked at Willow and Xander.
"We're not out of this yet, are we?" Xander asked me.
I shook my head. "Not yet." I led them to the end of the subway car and opened the door.
It seemed like a useless move but I hated to stand still in a crisis situation. I had to be moving. So we moved into the next subway car. We got a lot of strange looks as we moved through the crowds, but for the most part, no one bothered us. Then we went into the next subway car and to the next one after that.
There was one more car to go, and I was certain that behind us, Billiard's men was moving through the cars as we were. I was also certain that they would reach us before the next stop.
Apparently, Xander must have had the same thought. "This is really what they call an exercise in futility, isn't it?"
We stopped at the far end of the car. There was nowhere else to go.
I looked at him with my best solemn expression I could muster and said, "Yep."
"Those guys are going to be in here any second," he said hastily.
I nodded in agreement. "Possibly sooner."
He shot me a look. "If that was meant to reassure me, it didn't." He glanced nervously at Willow. "We can't let them have her."
"No. We can't. Which means we have to stall."
"Stall?"
I nodded. "Yep."
"What are we stalling for?"
"Well, whenever I find myself in a jam, I do my best to stall the situation in any way I can. By stalling for time, I buy time for the Calvary to show up."
At the other end of the subway car, the door opened, and Billiard's men filed in one by one. They began to forge through the crowd toward us.
Xander glared at them. "That's just great! While we're waiting for the Calvary, here comes the damn injun's!"
"Wherever they take us," I said quietly, "Hawk will find us."
Both Willow and Xander looked at me. I hated that look of fright in Willow's eyes as she realized what I had just said.
Xander was as equally shocked. "You're-you're going to let them take us?"
I would have responded, but the men were closer to us now. One of them I recognized. He was a thug named Buckley. He was mean and I didn't like him, but at least he wasn't the type of man to stab you in the back. For a bad guy, he was with some honor. I was hoping I could use that.
Buckley stepped up to us while his boys stayed back. He looked at Xander, and then he looked at Willow. Finally, his eyes locked onto me. "Spenser," he greeted.
I nodded. "Buckley."
"You know a scene won't be any good for any of us, don't you?" he asked casually.
I shrugged. "I figured as much."
He nodded. "A lot of people could get hurt. I'm glad you see that. So why don't you just take out your gun slowly and hand it to me." He smiled. "Like the cops say, Spenser. With two fingers."
I took out my gun with two fingers, and he took it from me with four fingers and a thumb. It disappeared in a coat pocket of his.
"If you come with us peacefully, Spenser," he said, "I'll see that you're treated fairly."
"That's really not your call though, is it?"
Buckley shrugged. "I guess you're right."
"Besides, it's not me I'm worried about."
He looked at Willow. "Yeah. I can see that."
Willow was standing behind Xander. She had that deer in the headlight look and it made my blood boil. The funny thing was I wasn't mad at Buckley. I was mad at S'ushi Alyssia. There was a part of me that was glad we were caught because I knew that we were going to be taken to her.
That could be a bad thing for S'ushi.
"She's just a kid," I told Buckley.
He let out a sigh. "I'm just doing my job," he explained.
"Find a new career. Look in the Help Wanted."
He paused. "Not that simple."
"You're a father yourself, Buckley. Imagine if this were happening to your kid. What if S'ushi were after your daughter?"
"She's not after my daughter." He nodded his head toward Willow. "This girl isn't my daughter. She's not your daughter either."
I looked at him. "She's somebody's daughter. Even so, whether she's my daughter or not, I still won't let S'ushi get her."
Buckley regarded me and he shook his head sadly. "Well, sorry, Dad. But it looks to me like S'ushi is going to get the girl."
I leaned menacingly toward him. "That remains to be seen."
The subway train made its next stop, and we were all getting off with Buckley and his friends. What Buckley didn't know was that I had a plan in the making. The only trouble was, I didn't know it either. ___________________
We were brought into the Lair of S'ushi Alyssia, and I really had to admit that it didn't look good for us. S'ushi was standing next to Billiard and some other guy named Damien. It's what I heard S'ushi call him, and I didn't like him already. For some damn reason I found quite disturbing, the guy couldn't take his eyes off me.
Buckley had left us. I think it had something to do with his conscious. He could deliver us to his employer, but he couldn't stomach sticking around to witness any horrible deed that S'ushi might have planned for us. I hoped his conscious really bothered him until his last dying breath, even though my dying breath looked a lot closer than his did.
Four of Billiards thugs remained behind us. Two of them had their guns in their hands and they were prepared to shoot us if we made any sudden moves. They wouldn't shoot Willow, of course, but Xander and I were targets.
And so there we were.
Willow stood in between myself, and Xander. Her hand was in mine and she sidled up closer to me as if that could get her away from S'ushi.
The White Slavery Mistress had her eyes locked onto Willow. "You've been a very bad girl," she said softly.
Willow was shaking. She shifted her feet, got behind me, and she closed her eyes.
"Hiding won't help you," S'ushi told her as she slowly made her approach.
I looked at her. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
She gave me the back of her hand.
Right across my face.
The woman just has no class. That really did smart, but I stood there and took it like a man. Hawk would have been proud. I didn't even whimper. She had a ring on her hand and I realized that it had given my cheek a nice scratch.
She smiled at me. "That was for the trouble you cost me the last time I was in Boston."
"Well," I said conversationally, "too bad the last time you were in Boston wasn't really the last time you were in Boston."
"Always the smart ass." She stepped up close and personal toward me. She brought her face close to mine. There was no doubt in my mind that she was one gorgeous lady, but her heart was as ugly as sin.
I shrugged. "It's in the Handbook of P.I.'s, you know. The number one requirement for being a private investigator is that you have to be a smart ass."
"I don't mind you being a smart ass, Spenser. I like your smart ass. I think it's kind of...cute." She put her hand on my chest.
I frowned. "Just cute?"
She gave me a coy smile, which I had to admit, was a lot more enjoyable than the back of her hand. She looked into my eyes. "I'd really like to have your smart ass on my team. I've always liked you, you know."
"Now don't I feel popular?" I inquired with just a touch of sarcasm. I noticed that Damien was still looking at me closely. I saw a deep hunger in his eyes and I suddenly understood what he was. "You don't need me on your team. You have enough bad players, including your blood sucking friend over there who can't seem to take his eyes off me."
S'ushi glanced at Damien. She smiled at me. "He likes you."
Damien nodded his head toward me. "He's dying," he said.
I looked at him.
Xander and Willow looked at me.
Even S'ushi seemed surprised. "Dying?"
Damien nodded slowly as he watched me. "I can smell his cancer." He stepped toward me. "I can cure you, Spenser. I can make you a better man." His face began to change. His eyes turned yellow, his face sort of got lumpy, and his teeth became fangs.
Willow grabbed my arm and stared in horror.
"Where the hell is a Slayer when you really need one?" Xander asked no one in particular.
S'ushi stepped away from me and Damien took her place. "Spenser," he said, peering at the bleeding cut on my face, "I can give you eternal life."
I regarded him very carefully. This is the second time I had seen a vampire, and I couldn't tell myself that this wasn't real any longer. Because it was. And I hated that it was real. I shook my head. "I really can't imagine going around looking like that for all eternity."
"You would prefer death over life?"
"You're not God. Only God is in the business of giving eternal life. What you have is an illusion of life. How can you call hiding in shadows and feeding off from living flesh a life? It makes you look ugly, and it makes you smell bad." I paused. "Do you even have a dental plan? Do you floss after every bite? Do you brush your teeth after every meal?"
Damien glared at me. "Forget my offer. I do believe that I will just kill you."
"Get back, Damien," S'ushi ordered.
"Yeah," I said, puffing out my chest. "Get back."
He hesitated. Then, he pointed his finger at my broad and muscular chest. "We're not through." His face returned to its human form as he stepped back toward Billiard.
S'ushi approached me, but this time, her eyes were fixed on Xander. "Who's the boy?" she asked.
I was about to answer.
Xander decided, however, to answer for himself. "I'm the boy who's going to take Willow back home where she belongs."
S'ushi regarded him. "What are you talking about, boy?"
"What's the matter, girl?" he demanded of her. "Are you surprised that a guy like me can pick up your trail from Sunnydale, California?"
She looked at him with genuine surprise on her face.
Xander nodded. "That's right, bitch! I traced your steps from the computer camp, to the Funhouse, and finally to this dump in Boston!"
S'ushi was angry. She shot a look in Billiard's direction, but it wasn't aimed specifically at him. "That asshole Sunter talked. He must be dealt with!" She shook her head as she walked toward a beam and she reached for something behind it.
Here it comes.
When she turned around, I saw what she held in her hands. It was some kind of rod. Before I could figure out what it truly was, she abruptly touched it to my chest and she pulled some kind of trigger. What I could only describe as some kind of electrical charge shot through me, and it was as if my body just shut down.
I collapsed in a heap to the floor.
"That should keep you down for awhile." S'ushi smirked down at me. Then, she fixed her eyes on Willow. "I'm through talking, little girl. Get over here right now."
Xander put himself in front of Willow.
Good move, I thought.
S'ushi just smiled and she touched him with the rod. He cried out and collapsed to the floor beside me. Yeah. Good move, but not good enough. I couldn't bring myself to move even though I tried like hell to.
Willow was left completely undefended.
S'ushi began to approach her. She laughed.
And that's when the demon fell from the rafters above and knocked the Mistress aside with one blow. The demon had landed in front of Willow. He turned around to look right at her.
Willow saw his face.
His vampire face.
It was Angel.
Willow screamed.
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