Disclaimer: see prologue

Chapter 7

Mike paced. Under his feet the wooden floorboards of the library creaked.

Giles watched him from his perch on the edge of a desk. "Buffy will do all she can, Mike."

"She'll be too late," Mike said, turning at the far end of the room and beginning to pace back. "I don't know who I blame more, myself or the Council."

"Blame the Council," Giles returned. "It's not your fault. You did the best you could in horrendously difficult circumstances." He watched Mike for a moment. "Why don't you sit down?"

"Nervous energy. I want to be doing something and I can't."

"We will kill him," Giles said. "Him and the rest of them. I'm not going back to Sunnydale until I see the dust on the floor."

Mike managed a weak smile, but kept pacing. His mind was running riot with bloody images and he kept hearing the mocking voice of Angelus, and the smoother calm one of the Breton.

"They've been gone nearly two hours."

"They'll be back soon," Giles reassured him, and even as he spoke the door of the library opened. Mike stopped pacing and turned to it.

Buffy's face told the whole story, even before she had wrapped her arms around Mike in a sympathetic hug. Behind her one of the Watchers who had gone with her supported a man whose face was streaked with tears.

"Mike?" the newcomer said. "Mike, what happened? What happened to you?"

"Daniel?" Mike returned.

"He got there just after us," Buffy informed Giles in a low voice. "He's Mike's brother-in-law."

"And his wife?" Giles asked. The Slayer climbed on to the table next to him. Giles looked at her. "God."

"I don't understand what happened," Daniel was saying to Mike. "I thought ... I don't know what I thought. That she'd fallen, or something. I mean ... Sophie's always been there. She's so ..."

"Alive," Mike said, dully. "I should have told her, I should have told you."

"You knew - what, how could you know?" his brother-in-law said, moving away and pushing his hair away from his eyes. "You can't have known."

Mike dropped his eyes, his brain raging. "I should have told you what I do, what I did. It might have saved her." He looked up suddenly. "Katie? Was Katie ..."

"Katie wasn't there," Daniel said.

Giles slid off the edge of the table and stood up properly, crossing to the two men. "I beg your pardon?"

Nodding towards Giles, Mike said, "Dan, this is Rupert Giles. Giles, my brother-in-law, Daniel Hansen." He paused. "My niece - she wasn't there, with my ... with Sophie."

"They'll use her as a bargaining tool," Giles said. "Where's that fool Travers? We need to find them, and find them fast."

"A bargaining tool?" Daniel asked. "What do you mean? Who are you talking about?"

Giles took the other man's shoulder and steered him into a seat. "Mr Hansen, I know you've had a terrible shock this evening. It - I know what it's like."

Close by, Buffy studied her hands intently.

"We need to explain some things," Giles continued. "And it might not make much sense. Trust me, please, and we'll try and get your daughter back to you."

"We will get her back," Buffy interjected, her tone that of steel.

Mike came and joined them, taking the seat next to his brother-in-law and listening as Giles began.

"Your wife ... was killed by a vampire." Disbelief flooded Daniel's face. Giles frowned, and carried on. "This place is the Council of Watchers, an ancient organisation set up to combat evil. Such as vampires and other demons. A - and Mike was sent to California by the Council a short while ago to try and kill some fairly notorious vampires. He asked myself and Buffy here to help." Giles paused, waiting for reaction. Getting none, he took a deep breath and continued. "We thought we had succeeded, but against the odds the vampires survived. They came here, after the Council."

"And they think they're getting at the Council by coming through me," Mike murmured.

"It's their best way in," Giles explained. "They cannot attack the building, and you - you're vulnerable, Mike. And he knows your weak spots."

"He?" said Daniel, softly.

"Angelus," Giles replied, his voice bitter. "One of the worst vampires we know of."

"He did this?" Daniel asked. "He ... he killed my Sophie?"

"Yeah." Mike sighed.

"I'm afraid so," Giles said.

"So what about ..." Daniel gestured towards Mike's arms, cradled in slings. "How did that happen?"

Mike looked at Giles for help, feeling more incapable than ever; burning with anger and grief and unable to do anything. Giles sent him a sympathetic smile.

"That was Angelus too."

"I'll explain another time," Mike said, looking towards the doors, through which Quentin Travers had just entered the room. Travers came towards them and stopped a few metres away, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"I, erm, am very sorry for your loss," he said, and then looked at Daniel. "Who's this?"

"My brother-in-law, Daniel Hansen," Mike said coolly.

Travers nodded. "Right. Well. I suppose they found something in that burglary to tell them where to go?"

"Probably," Mike agreed.

"It's a tragedy, indeed, a tragedy," Travers said. "If there's anything we can do ..."

Giles stood up and faced Travers. "Stop dithering, Travers. Mr Hansen's daughter has disappeared from that house. Angelus has her. A child. Now get your act together and help us find them."

Quentin Travers went very pale and then very red, and his mouth pursed. "Mr Giles, I must remind you I am the head of this Council ..."

"And I must remind you that I don't work for the Council - since you fired me," Giles retorted. "If you don't have any bright ideas about how to find them, get me someone who does. If you can't manage that, bring me a telephone and I shall ask Willow Rosenberg to help us."

Buffy came to stand next to her Watcher. "Are there any bars or anything where demons hang out?"

"Several, yes," Travers said.

"Then get me a car and a couple of guys and we'll go and check them out," Buffy announced. "If Angel ... if Angelus is using hired muscle he has to hire them from somewhere, and bars are good places for that. Find the muscle, find the brains."

"I'm coming too," Mike said, and stopped. Two other voices had spoken with him - Giles, and Daniel. The latter looked determined.

"Neither of you should come," Buffy said. "Mike, you can't fight. Mr Hansen, do you know how to fight?"

"Are we going to fight?" Giles said, unexpectedly. "We need information. I agree it may not be safe for them to come, but - but on the other hand, are you going to ask them to stay here?"

Mike met Giles's eyes and managed a smile. Folding her arms, Buffy faced her Watcher. "I don't want them getting hurt. Any more hurt."

"We'll stay back, out of the way," Mike said. "But I refuse to stay here, Buffy, waiting again, for God knows what news. I can't do it."

Daniel nodded, his face pale. "I need to be doing something," he said. "Every time I stop, I see Sophie's face. Please?"

Buffy sighed, and nodded.

The first bar they came to, directed by a Watcher armed with a crossbow, had loud music blaring from the entrance. The bouncer on the door, a bulky human man, paid no attention as their small group entered. Giles grimaced at the music.

"This is awful."

"Job to do," Buffy shouted over the din, and made her way to the bar. Mike looked around at the clientele, a mixed group of demons and humans. There was an enthusiastic game of table football going on in one corner, two men playing two blue demons amid a crowd of supporters. At the bar, Buffy was leaning over and talking to the barmaid, and after a moment the latter nodded. The music was turned down, and Buffy cupped her hands around her mouth and called, "May I have your attention!"

The chatter died down, and the customers turned to look at her. Not for the first time, Mike reflected how unlikely it was that Buffy Summers possessed such strength - strength of body and strength of character. Now she radiated assurance. Daniel fidgeted next to his brother-in-law.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Buffy said, her voice carrying over the quieter music, "I'm looking for someone and I hope you guys might be able to help me. It's kind of important."

"What's in it for us?" said a demon with ugly green spots adorning his face.

"Protection," Buffy answered. "You might end up needing it. I'm looking for some vamps. One of them goes by the name of Angelus."

There was a murmur of talk, and one of the humans called out, "Who's asking?"

"The Slayer," Buffy said. "That is, me. We know he's been hiring, and we want to find out where he is. There's no point any of you running off to him and telling him I'm looking, 'cos he knows that. Much better for everyone if someone stands up now and gives me the information."

"You're the Slayer?" a vampire said, disbelievingly. "I heard you were bigger."

"I don't know how that tale started," Buffy said, shaking her head. "Look, either someone tells me now, or you give the Council of Watchers a call. I bet everyone knows the number. Anyone?"

Nobody spoke. A few demons shifted their feet and looked at the floor. Mike shook his head. "They're not going to talk," he said.

Buffy shrugged. "Okay then," she said. "No protection. Nice meeting everyone." Shaking her head, she came over to the waiting group. "C'mon."

The customers watched silently until they were out of the door, and as they all climbed back into the car, the music was turned up again.

"Useless!" said Buffy. "And bad, because they're more scared of ... of him, than they are of me. I kicked his ass, back with Acathla."

"Stories like that don't always cross the Atlantic," Giles pointed out. "Maybe we'll have more luck at the next place."

The 'next place' was more like a coffee shop than a bar, and far more sedate than their first stop. However the message from Buffy, and the reaction from the demons, were much the same, and they left feeling distinctly downbeat.

"There's one more place we can try," their accompanying Watcher said. "It's a nasty little bar, a prime spot for gambling and so on."

"Take us there," Buffy instructed, fiddling with her hair.

The third bar was full of smoke, and as they moved through the murk Daniel coughed. "This is horrible."

"About par for the course," Mike observed. "You all right, Dan?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Kind of a stupid question, Mike. Though yeah, I'm doing as well as I could be. More ... well, I feel shell-shocked still. This is unreal."

Mike nodded, sympathetically. "I know what you mean."

Ahead of them Buffy had stopped, looking around her, Giles at her elbow. Her body stiffened, and then she had launched herself across the room at a table of card-players. Giles was swiftly in pursuit, pulling something out of his coat pockets as he ran, and Mike caught a brief bright glimpse of blond hair and then heard a familiar voice, saying, "Bleedin' heck, Slayer!"

"Spike?" he said. Daniel looked at him in confusion, but Mike was hurrying after Buffy and Giles.

The Slayer had the blond vampire in an arm lock, and Giles was snapping a pair of handcuffs on to him as Mike arrived.

"Fancy seeing you here, Buffy," Spike said, twisting his head to look at her. "Now let me go, why don't you?"

"Not a chance," Buffy returned. "I'm out looking for Angel. I guess you know where he is."

"Not telling," Spike retorted. "They've got you well and truly stitched up, Slayer."

"You might not be telling now," Giles said, his voice steely, "but you may be in a while. Back to Headquarters, Buffy?"

"Oh yeah," she said, tugging at her captive.

Spike grinned at Mike. "Fletcher. Nice to see you. How're the arms doing?"

Mike bit his lip and said nothing. Beside him, one of the demons at the card table said, "He owes us fifty quid."

Mike turned, Daniel with him, and hurried out after Buffy.