Chapter 28

"What do you think the mayor wants?" Buffy asked Spike. The two were sitting in the lobby of City Hall, waiting for the mayor to call them into his office. It was almost seven in the morning, Buffy and Spike had been up all night however Snyder had still insisted that the mayor needed to speak to Spike and Buffy.

"The mayor probably wants what every other man in America wants," Spike replied, smirking slightly.

"What?" The petite slayer asked, confused.

"Your phone number, and a razor that actually works," Spike replied. The vampire exhaled a laugh, however, stopped abruptly when he saw that Buffy wasn't laughing.

"How can you say that?" The slayer asked.

"I was just kidding love. You know, trying to lighten the mood."

"But the mood isn't light," Buffy insisted, "I know that this doesn't really worry you, being that you could just eat these guys if they upset you, but for me this is a very big deal." Buffy looked at Spike, however, he was staring past her, not at her.

"What did you say?" Spike asked. At Buffy's look he clarified, "You said that I could just eat these guys, if they annoyed me."

"Well you could," Buffy protested.

"Is that what you think of me? That I'm just another vampire with no sense of right and wrong. That I deal with everything by just killing the people I don't like. Maybe you should watch out then. Hey, you never know, the next time we get in a fight maybe I'll just…eat you," Spike said, his voice growing louder and more upset with each word he spoke.
"I didn't mean it that way," Buffy insisted. The two were silent for a few seconds until the slayer spoke again, "I'm sorry. I don't think of you as just another vampire. I'm just saying that being the slayer, AND a high school student can be kind of stressful. I'm sorry."

"I'm nervous too love. This mayor, he gives me, as you would say 'the wiggins," Spike finished his sentence and sent Buffy into a fit off giggles. At Spike's look, Buffy explained.

"It's just the thought of you saying the wiggins. It's kind of funny." The slayer explained in between giggles.

"At least I could make you laugh," Spike said, satisfied that the tension surrounding the pair had broken. However, Buffy's giggles ceased and she turned to him. Spike feared that she was going to revert to worrying and being angry at him. However, he was pleasantly surprised when Buffy spoke in a playful tone.

"So," The slayer began "every guy wants my phone number?" Spike rolled his eyes in a good-natured way and then gently rested the slayer's head on his shoulder, kissing her hair and allowing her to drift off to sleep.

The slayer awoke a few minutes later when the mayor stepped out of his office, a bright smile on his face and motioned for Buffy and Spike to step into his office. Buffy took Spike's hand in hers and the pair walked into the mayors office.

There was nothing suspicious about the mayor's office. In fact, it was kind of nice. Picture's hung on the wall, showing the mayor with boy scout troops and other local charities. His desk was clean except for a picture of him and his family, a cup of pens and pencils, and a stack of papers in the center of his desk.

The mayor took a seat on the rolling leather chair behind his desk and motioned for Spike and Buffy to take seats on two chairs facing the desk, which they did. It was a few moments before Spike began to speak.

"Have you ever been to the movies?" Mayor Wilkins asked. "Of course you have," He said, answering his own question. "People go to the movies to escape reality. To watch people do things that they could never to in real life, to watch people see things that are not possibly real. It's funny, the truth in the movies. Don't you agree Miss Summers?"

"I guess," The slayer mumbled.

"Let me make myself clear. Demons, for example. Most people say they don't exist. That their simply a creation of movie masterminds. In Sunnydale we know differently. Don't we, William?"

"What are you playing at?" Spike asked, growling slightly.

"I think the question you might want to ask is what can I do for you sir?" The Mayor said, looking down at Spike as if reprimanding a son.

"Well, it's nice that you think I should be asking you that question. However, I was more thinking about asking you how slowly you want to die?" Spike said, standing and glaring at the mayor, radiating waves of power.

"I would sit if I were you Spike. I can call you Spike, right? You wouldn't prefer William the Bloody?" The mayor continued, without waiting for Spike's answer, or the vampire to sit. "You see, I've been tracking you and Miss Summers for quite sometime. I have an album full of photos of the two of you. You two staking vampires and fighting demons. Some, I must admit, of you two in very compromising positions," The mayor admitted.

"You bastard," Buffy ground out, standing and making a move toward the mayor. However, Spike held her back. The vampire knew that the mayor must have some kind of trick up his sleeve, how else would he feel comfortable in the room with a master vampire and a slayer?

"I'm sorry you feel that way Buffy. Because you see, I have two choices for you. Either run a few errands for me. You know, kill a few demons, rob a few banks, call me boss for the next few months, possibly the next few years. Or don't, go back to your lives."

"What's the catch?" The petite blonde slayer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No catch," The mayor replied simply.

"Then why would we ever call you master?" Spike asked.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't. See, the thing is, it all depends on how much you like your watcher."

To live is like to love -
all reason is against it,
and all healthy instinct for it.
~ by Samuel Butler, Life and love ~