Kate picked her way over the mess of garbage in the street. "This is disgusting," she said, and her partner looked at her in amusement.
"And LA is so much better?" he asked mockingly. She gave him a glare.
"LA doesn't require full quarantine after being outside for a few minutes," Kate shot back.
"Why don't you go back?" he replied, and this time Kate didn't answer.
In truth, LA was just as bad as Sunnydale- though it didn't have the distinction of being on a Hellmouth. When she'd received the call to come to Sunnydale to meet with Quentin Travers, she'd been stunned.
All her life she'd been groomed for the Council, but her teachers had all found her impropriety and strong will too difficult to manage.
The thought of finally being accepted into the Council had been a thrilling thought. Never had she imagined that taking down the master would be her final test to prove her worthiness.
Reaching the remains of the Bronze club, they found the doors locked. Carefully picking at the lock, they made their way inside. Two vamps immediately jumped from their sentry posts behind the door.
Kate's stake landed squarely in the one vamp's heart, immediately dispatching it.
Turning, she used her other hand to bring up a cross and ward the other towards her partner, Mac. Mac quickly showered the vampire with holy water, then staked him.
'Clearly fledglings- we'd never have gotten them dusted that easily otherwise,' Kate noted with disdain.
Kate brushed herself off, then moved farther into the main room. It didn't appear that too many vamps had stuck around after the Master had moved on.
Her eyes narrowed in disgust at the many chains and cages that had once held human prisoners.
Their informants had told them that only a few vamps had been left to safeguard the club. The vampire who'd been the Master's personal pet had been left as well- probably too weak to travel.
And even though the Master and his favorite subjects would miss their pet, Kate figured the Master would just get a new one.
Though it was curious that this pet hadn't been killed before they left. 'Must have left in a hurry,' Kate mused, looking at the disarray the club was in.
Reaching the back hallway, she and Mac cautiously made their way to the end of the cells.
Mac took up a flanking position, as she located the vamp they needed to grab. Reaching his cell, she noticed a large figure hunched on the ground. She wrinkled her nose at the smell- wondered if he was already dead.
She slid the keys out of her pocket, and opened the lock. At the loud creak of the door, the figure carefully turned over, and Kate shone her flashlight over him.
Before she could react to the horror that was in front of her, she felt movement behind her.
"Kate!" Mac called out, as a vampire reached over and shoved her down into the cell. Then went straight for Mac.
"Damn it," Kate swore, dropping her flashlight and the keys to root around her pockets for her stake.
Mac was putting up a valiant fight, though Kate could tell that this vamp must be extremely strong. Finally getting hold of her stake, she carefully made her way towards them.
As she got within a few feet, Mac stopped struggling. At first, Kate thought he might have gotten the upper hand- but then she realized the vamp was drinking.
She fought the wave of fury that washed over her. She remembered her teacher Margaret's words- 'Calm in the heat of battle, Kate. Keep your head clear, your mind sharp- then go for the kill.'
Calm, calm, must remain calm. Slowly approaching, the vamp was so busy with its prey it didn't even notice her approach.
It also missed the predatory smile on her face as she slammed the stake home. But as it exploded in front of her, her grim smile of victory fell as she watched Mac's body hit the floor.
He'd been a good man.
She backed up a bit, wiping at the moisture that was gathering in her eyes. Damn it, she could not get emotional now. People died- that's the way this world worked.
You deal, you move on. But still- she was sick and tired of seeing people she liked go down.
Making her way back to the cell, she threw another cautionary glance over her back before coming back in. Dark eyes glanced at her from a disfigured face, but she ignored his questioning look.
She retrieved her flashlight, then moved over to him. "Can you walk?" she asked, and his eyes closed. She shook his shoulder slight. "Can you walk?" she repeated, more sharply this time, and he shook his head.
Great. Fantastic. So she'd have to carry him.
Well, no time like the present, she thought to herself, moving behind him. Placing her hands under his shoulders, she pulled up hard. His shriek of pain echoed in the halls, and she quickly braced them both against the wall.
Facing him, the wall bearing much of his weight, she glared at him. Purposely ignored the cuts, bruises and scars that covered his body, she leaned in.
"Listen here, buddy. I know you're wounded. But I've got a job to do, and that includes getting us both out of her relatively intact. So put up and shut up, and help me out. Because if you fight, you'll find out I can be a lot worse than your tormentors here were," she said, voice low.
He nodded again, slowly, and she took a deep breath. "Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three…" And as she pushed away from the wall, she found that he could hold up most of his strength on his own, as long as he braced himself on the wall.
Sliding along the hallway, Kate fought the urge to hide Mac's body. It was no use- it'd be found anyway. He was gone, in a better place. His body was only a shell- nothing done to it could hurt him now.
Not facing the huddle that had been her partner, she glanced over at the wounded vampire. He was looking at Mac with sadness.
"Your friends' work," she spit out, not entirely forgetting that this creature was one of the things she fought against. His eyes briefly met hers.
"They were never my friends," he whispered, and she shrugged.
Getting to the main room, she stopped to take some well-needed breaths. The walls were too far from the door to keep going that way- she'd have to figure something else out.
Just then, the vampire beside her gasped in pain and fell to the floor, clutching his ribs.
She looked at him, realizing their walk down the hallway had cost him more than she realized. Then she got an idea. Grabbing hold of his arm, she began the slow process of dragging him across the floor.
Inch by inch, painful gasp by painful gasp, they reached the door.
Pulling it open, Kate motioned to the van sitting outside. Immediately, four people jumped out and grabbed the vampire. Kate barely noticed them helping him into the back of the van, as she got into the passenger side.
Taking a look at the club's outside, she felt the ice-cold sensation of fear slide out of her spine. Relaxing against the worn leather of the seat, she let out a breath of relief.
Just another day on the job.