The Fall of William
Disclaimer: Joss owns all.
A/N: Hi all. I just want to thank all who've reviewed this story thus far. I never expected to get this kind of response to this story. Thanks again for the reviews they are deeply appreciated.
~*~
Ch:14
"I'm very sorry for your loss," the murmur was loud enough to be heard around the small foyer and the next words were only to be heard by her, "Guess the bastard got what he deserved huh? I'll drink to that, will you join me?"
Darla Finn wiped at her eyes and sniffled as she lifted a tissue to her eyes and pretended to dab at them.
"Where at?" she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Fisher's. Round ten," Lindsey McDonald muttered as his lips brushed her cheek and he wandered into the livingroom of the large palatial mansion Darla had once shared with her husband.
Darla turned to the next person in line to offer their condolences and was surprised when she was engulfed in a bear hug and pressed into a large masculine body.
Her face pressed to his chest she inhaled as best she could and smiled as he whispered in her ear.
"Can't say you don't look divine Dar, too bad it's wasted on your worthless husband. You miss me," Angel asked as he nibbled on her ear.
Darla pushed Angel away as his mouth began to trail down her neck, it wouldn't be proper to enlist in a public display of lust at her husband's wake.
"Yes, I did. Where have you been?" she asked quietly conscious of people's eyes on her and Angel.
"Cleaning up a few messes. Listen we need to talk."
"Well I'll be free in-"
"Now," Angel muttered as he gripped her elbow and tugged her away.
"I'll be back in a moment," Darla called over her shoulder as Angel led the up the stairs.
Angel shoved her into the first room they came to and locked it behind him.
Darla glared at him and rubbed her sore elbow.
"What the hell was that? Angel I know you think you can do whatever you want-"
"Does it not concern you that Riley is dead? That he was murdered?" Angel demanded as he glared right back at her.
Darla gave a small shrug and looked away from him as she tried to form a train of thought that didn't include guilt.
Angel regarded her through narrowed eyes as she evaded his fierce gaze.
"I see you have. Listen to me carefully Dar, why would Spike kill Riley?" he asked softly as he slowly walked toward her and wrapped his hands around her arms and turned her to face him.
Darla swallowed and sighed deeply.
She knew he was in the process of piecing together what she'd done, and she wasn't keen on seeing his reaction.
If he wanted he could be a very violent man and although she'd never experienced it she knew it was always there, on the edge.
"What?" she finally snapped out as she tried to break away from his grasp.
"Tell me," he gritted out as he shook her.
"Riley was my husband," she began piously. "He needed-Angel he and I had an understanding okay? We both did our own thing-"
"Like fucking Lindsey?" Angel asked mockingly.
Darla huffed out an indignant breath and narrowed her eyes.
"I have never consorted in any type of sexual relations wi-"
"Forget about that and answer my question what did Riley have that Spike wanted? Because I've thought about this and I can't think of one reason why he would come after Riley."
Darla snorted and finally managed to remove herself from his grasp.
"Well lover did you think that perhaps it could have been the fact Riley spilled his guts about working for you, for Spike? I mean it wouldn't have been hard to find out considering who Spike's married to," she spoke condescendingly to him as she paced the room.
Angel shook his head.
He didn't believe that at all.
"No it has to be something else. He had a whole year to kill Riley why now?" he demanded.
"Who knows how Spike thinks? The point is he killed him and I think you're next Angel dear," Darla commented with a small amused smile.
Angel hissed in a breath and felt his anger turn to a slow boiling rage as Darla watched him in amusement.
"That'll be the day Dar, when Spike comes after me I'll rip him to pieces and make him wish he'd never been released! He-"
"And you think his wife will just let you wander about free after killing her husband? She's not like me or you for that matter, she loves Spike and if you kill him-"
"She's dead," Angel announced triumphantly.
Darla stared at him in stunned incredulous silence as she replayed his words in her head, and then she shook it as it occurred to her, that the more time she spent with Angel would mean she'd be guilty by association.
"Really?" she asked carefully. "You killed her?"
She kept a distance between them now as she waited for his answer.
If it was a yes then she knew what she had to do.
"Damn straight I did," Angel gloated.
Darla managed a small tight smile.
"Congratulations," she muttered and headed for the door.
He caught her shoulder and whirled her around.
"Not so fast Dar. We aren't done. You tell me what you gave Riley and don't lie to me because he mentioned he had something I might be interested in. Something he was certain would make me want to protect him from Spike. Now what was it?"
His eyes usually a mocking brown were now flat and cold as he stared into her eyes and she felt the first ever stirring of fear. It angered her that she was frightened of Angel, she'd helped mold him into what he was now, and he was nothing without her.
She was the brains and he was the brawn.
At the moment though his brawn was winning out.
"I um....he needed an edge Angel," she stammered out unable to hide her fear as his eyes seemed to flash and she could have sworn in that moment he had seen red while he looked at her.
"What. Did. You. Give. Him?" he yelled.
"I gave him...you gave him a code of -"
~*~
".....Off shore bank accounts," Willow exclaimed happily as she looked around expectantly.
Silence met her announcement and she frowned as she waited for someone, mainly Buffy to speak up.
Buffy barely lifted her head from the back of the couch as she closed her eyes and focused on breathing normally.
"Bank accounts," Buffy muttered. "For what? Why would Riley have offshore accounts? Faith didn't you basically take care of those?" she rasped out.
Faith nodded and glanced at Willow.
"He shouldn't have any. I found all of them and froze them, then dumped them and he had nothing. He wasn't smart enough to have any more. So is that all that's on the-"
"Okay I opened one up and it's in the name of the Omega-" Willow muttered.
Buffy sat up abruptly.
"What?" she demanded as she opened her eyes and looked at Willow. "What did you say?" she repeated.
Willow looked at her in surprise and repeated what she'd said.
"The Omega Corporation. These accounts are all in their name. But that's not all I found. In fact it's the least important at the moment. What you need to look at is this," Willow muttered and passed her laptop to Oz who in turn handed it off to Gunn and then to Spike who placed it on his lap so that both he and Buffy could look at it.
Buffy leaned into Spike's side to get a better look and was too involved in the screen to notice the surprised and then smugly pleased look that flashed across Spike's face as she did so.
Buffy scanned the screen once, twice, then a third time as she tried to understand what she was seeing.
She'd heard the name Omega whispered in the depths of the criminal underworld and had once been inclined to dig into it and would have had she not been assigned to William the Bloody.
A small humorless smile appeared on her lips as she eased away from Spike and settled back against the couch and heaved a deep sigh.
Everything was beginning to make sense now.
In a weird and totally screwed up way it all made a sick sort of sense.
"Well what was it?" Anya demanded from her position on the floor.
"Yeah pet what is it?" Spike piped up as he scrutinized the screen and couldn't for the life of him decipher it.
"This," she flung a hand at the laptop and continued bitterly, "is the life work of one Quentin Travers. This is Omega. This is what this is all about folks. This is what he didn't want me to find out about, because then I would have stopped him, destroyed him."
There was silence for a moment before it was broken by Oz.
"What are you talking about? We all know Quentin isn't a man to be trifled with but what's this about Omega-what are you saying exactly?"
"Yeah Buffy what are you saying? I mean what the hell is Omega and how do you know this has anything to do with Quentin?" Faith asked as she got up to take a look at the laptop.
She stared at it a moment then nodded and shot Buffy an apologetic look.
"I see," she muttered and retook her seat.
"Well I for one don't and would really like to. Please explain this to me Buffy, because if it's your fault Quentin is trying to kill us I'd love to know why," Anya snapped as she glared at Buffy.
Buffy met her eyes for a brief moment and then looked away and she let her eyes rest on Xander who was looking at her.
Not her but her hands.
She looked down too. Noticed what he'd been looking at and resisted the urge to remove her hand from Spike's grasp.
His thumb moved rhythmically along the inside of her wrist.
She hadn't noticed.
"Well Anya," she began as she took her gaze away from Xander and the little display Spike seemed unconscious of. "Since you weren't with me when I was active you wouldn't understand the significance of this. But look at this," she reached out with her one free hand and turned the computer to face the others.
"Oh I can put that up on the t.v. screen," Willow said as she bounced up and quickly set it up so they could look at it on the large big screen t.v.
"Thank you Wills," Buffy said as she gestured to the screen.
A large map appeared on the screen. A world map to be exact and it was made up of a number of different colors.
"This is a world map," Anya muttered unimpressed.
"No this is a map of the countries Spike had predominant control over," Buffy supplied carefully as she slid a glance at Spike who stared at the screen intently.
"It is innit!" He finally exclaimed.
He shook his head astonished.
Buffy returned her gaze back to the map.
"Now it's color formatted and as you can see by looking at the color key each color represents a type of product each country desires."
Everyone stared at the map and came to their own conclusions.
William the Bloody had once been a very, very powerful man. And they were all conscious of the fact Buffy had been the one to take it all away from him.
"Willow I suspect there are more maps like these huh?" Buffy asked and when Willow nodded and loaded them on screen Buffy's suspicions were confirmed. "It seems Quentin had a knack for taking over where others left off. Because as you all can see these maps, all of them belonged to a certain person. People I've put away and are now in prison. Like Ethan Rayne, his map is the one centered on Asia. Or like Adam's stomping grounds in the Balkans. When I took them down Quentin apparently took control of their operations," she explained as plainly and clearly as she could.
"Now that I think about it B, I've heard of Omega, but I didn't think too much of it as it was only spoken as hearsay. Word of mouth."
Oz rose to his feet and slowly walked toward the screen; he traced a finger down it and then turned back to the group.
"Look at this," he pointed to a section of the screen. "Does this look familiar Xan? Cuz I could swear this belongs to Glory," he muttered.
Xander tore his eyes from Spike and Buffy and looked at the screen and abruptly nodded.
"Yeah you're right," he mumbled.
"What else is there Red?" Spikes asked as he glanced at her and then back at the screen his thoughts on Angel.
Willow frowned and took her laptop back and began to look over the assorted files that had popped up as soon as she had cracked the code.
"There's a lot of stuff here," she muttered biting her lip as she scrolled through them.
"Why would Riley have this?" Gunn asked as he rose from his seat and glanced at his watch, he was getting hungry.
Buffy turned to look at Spike.
Spike shifted under the weight of everyone's stares and then straightened his shoulders.
"Well I heard he had something Angel wanted. I found out it was a piece of paper with a code on it."
"Well where did you find that out?" Anya demanded as she eyed him suspiciously.
Spike turned his gaze to Buffy's and their eyes caught and held.
They spoke in unison.
~*~
"Darla," Angel growled as he advanced on her. "Tell me what you just said was in my imagination and you did not give him access to all of my files!"
Darla met his eyes and gave a small shrug.
"You heard right," she muttered.
Angel shook his head, his face taut with undisguised rage and he clenched his hands together to keep from reaching out and lashing out at Darla.
"You did," he mumbled. "You actually did it and I want to know why!! Tell me what in God's name made you give that to him?! What did you expect to get in return, did you think I would fall at your feet and-"
"I did it for you Angel," she yelled as she advanced on him and shoved him. "You know you aren't the smartest person and guess what Spike would have found out about your part in all of this if you had those files anywhere near you. If he'd found them and I know he would have because he's smart-he would kill you Angel. He would make an example out of you! Don't you see giving it to Riley was the smartest thing I could have done!"
Angel reached out and grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her.
"You lying whore," he screamed. "You did it for yourself! And now," he broke off as he tried to catch his breath, his breathing having grown ragged. "Now he knows everything! Everything and when Quint goes down he's going to take me with him! Do you see what you've done Darla? The problems you've caused me?! Well I'll tell you this you are going to pay too. Once I take care of Spike you're next. You can hide but I'll always find you babe," he whispered in a deadly voice as he kissed her before he tossed her away from him.
Striding out of the room he slammed the door behind him and left Darla cowering fearfully on the floor, her face white and knowing he had meant every word he had said to her.
He was going to kill her.
But not if she killed him first.
~*~
Spike found himself alone in the livingroom with Faith and Gunn.
They stared at him curiously.
It unnerved him, but he didn't let on.
He glanced at them and reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes.
"Got a problem with me?" he finally asked around the fag he'd popped into his mouth and began to light.
"You can't smoke in here," Faith spoke up.
Spike paused.
"Who's gonna stop me?" he wondered aloud as he lit up.
Gunn sat back and smirked at Spike.
"Who's gonna stop you? Buffy'll stop you, that's who," he said with a smug smile as he watched Spike narrow his eyes at him.
Spike took a quick drag and laughed.
"Like to see her try," he muttered.
Faith rolled her eyes and glanced up at the staircase, then to the hallway leading into the kitchen, she really didn't want to be alone with Spike much longer, it was always better if there were more people around, it meant less chance in acting out and killing certain people.
Namely Spike.
"Well it's not like it's a hardship for her, she's done it before," Faith snapped as she glared at Spike.
Spike arched a brow and gazed back at her.
"'Ave I done somethin' to you pet?" he asked curiously.
"Have you done something to me?" she echoed. "Not to me but to Buffy! You wanna act like you've done nothing and-"
"I bloody well haven't! She's the one who put me away! She's the one who lied to me; she's the one who chose to do it! I was locked away in a cell for three fucking years and you're tellin' me I've got a lot of nerve being pissed at the wife?!" he exploded as he snatched his cigarette out of his mouth and jumped to his feet to stalk toward Faith.
She met him halfway.
"You're damn right I am," she hissed as they stood almost nose to nose. "You wanna talk about being in a cell for three years well boo fucking hoo, grow a pair why don't you! That's just a couple of coins in the toilet-"
"That's a new one babe. I like it," Gunn remarked as he rolled that phrase through his head. "Coins in a toilet," he mumbled under his breath.
"Thanks baby," Faith responded before she jumped right back into it with Spike. "Three years is-"
"What's going on here?" Anya asked as she returned to the livingroom with a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
"Discussing who got screwed by whom. Buffy or Spike," Gunn said as he watched Anya take a seat beside him. His eyes drawn to her ice cream.
Anya glanced at him smiled widely as she produced a second spoon and handed it to him.
"Would you like some Gunn?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am," he replied grinning as he took the spoon from her hand.
"It's very obvious to all who got screwed. Buffy did," Anya stated matter of fact as she spooned a bit of ice cream and took a bite.
"What the hell is wrong with you people? Why would she-"Spike had to stop himself as he felt his face begin to heat and turn and angry shade of red. He was very close to exploding.
"That's easy. Look those people Buffy mentioned? Ethan and Glory and such they were if not as bad as or worse than you and you know what?" Anya asked as she looked at him waiting for him to respond.
Gritting his teeth together he managed to get out, "What?"
"Well they aren't wandering around free as birds now are they? They're locked up," she simply said as she returned her attention to her ice cream.
Spike sputtered.
"That's got nothing to do with it," he snapped.
"It's got everything to do with it," Faith retorted.
"Everything to do with what?" Willow asked as she came down the stairs followed by Oz.
Gunn quickly explained what they were arguing about and Willow plopped on the sofa a thoughtful expression on her face.
"You know they're right," she finally said as she looked up at Spike.
"What? I don-what did I do to her?" Spike growled. "That was worse than what she did to me?!"
"See what you don't understand is you got version one and a half Slayer," Oz pointed out quietly.
"What?" Spike asked confused.
He didn't understand what the hell they were going on about, it was clear to him he was the wronged party here, not Buffy! But what could he expect from her lackeys, he wondered in bitter anger.
"Oh!" Anya exclaimed happily as Oz's words caught her attention. "Are we talking about this again? This is a most entertaining subject! Buffy has so many different versions of herself it's quite amazing she can function at all!"
"She's not crazy," Willow interjected quickly. "She's just got a way with dealing with things that is unusual. That's all. She's sane, as sane as any of us are!"
"Let's see there's Buffy version 2.0 that's the one we see the most. It's mild denial and she uses it most effectively," Oz said.
"But she can take it up a notch and we've got 3.o version which is an aversion to the truth denial which is where she only hears what she wants to hear," Gunn continued.
"That's not true-okay it is but she just doesn't like conflict and stressful situations make her very uncomfortable especially when she doesn't want to deal with them. She's not crazy," Willow snapped.
Spike looked from one to the other.
"Oh my turn now! There's Buffy version 4.0 which sad to say we saw all last year and really it was your entire fault. It was cold, unemotional Buffy. A remote, unfriendly Buffy. She only comes out when she deals with you I've noticed," Anya announced with glee.
"Then there's Buffy version 5.0 and that's where she's at her peak, at her best. The one we've all seen and when it's gone miss the most. Happy, friendly, boss, and bestfriend Buffy. She's at her best when she's like that and we all-" Gunn began.
"Oh my God would you all shut up," Faith snapped. "That's B just being B! There's nothing wrong with her!"
They ignored Faith and continued on.
"But back to the original fact, you got Slayer version one and a half and that's sayin' something cuz there's a number of 8 Slayer versions she could have used on you. But she didn't," Willow muttered.
Spike sank back into his seat, head spinning.
"Yeh, you should be grateful you got Slayer version half assed! She didn't even try on you. Everyone else she has put away never get out. They're in there for life. They're gonna die in prison," Anya explained quickly.
"Half assed. I like that," Gunn said with a grin as he licked his spoon free of ice cream.
"Not even that. You got Buffy not even trying. I mean three years Spike that's nothing but-"Oz began.
"Coins in the toilet," Faith and Gunn chorused cutting him off.
Willow perked up and glanced at Faith.
"Is that a new phrase Faith?" she asked curiously.
Faith nodded.
"Yep, it sorta just came to me," she replied laughing.
"Coins in the toilet," Oz repeated thoughtfully.
"Who's got coins? And in a toilet, can we all say ewwww," Xander asked as he wandered in.
"We were talking about my wife," Spike said before anyone else could speak. He smiled a smile that wasn't a smile at all but a twist of his lips that conveyed every bit of contempt he could put into it as he gazed at Xander. He put the emphasis on his wife as an added point the git seemed to be missing.
Xander glared at Spike, not caring who saw or what reason was drawn from their little stare down.
"Look dawg you'd best get on those knees of yours and praise the Lord she went easy on you and you're a free man, be fuckin' grateful she didn't lock your sorry ass up for life. And if you don't then all I gotta say is you've got shit for brains," Gunn's voice broke though the thick tension.
"That's disgusting Gunn," Willow exclaimed making a disgusted face as she visualized his words.
"I concur," Anya agreed as she looked at her melting bowl of ice cream then at Gunn. She shoved it at him and rose.
"Quite the visual you gave us Gunn," Oz muttered hiding a small smile from a very disgusted and indignant Willow.
Faith took Anya's vacated seat and wrapped an arm around Gunn's waist and rested her head against the back of the sofa.
"That's my baby, knows how to clear a room full of male posturing testosterone bullshit," she commented fondly as she kissed his cheek.
"What were you guys really talkin' about?" Xander asked as he looked away first and took a seat as far away from Spike as he could.
"Buffy," Anya said cheerfully. "You know your would be girlfriend?"
"They were kind enough to tell me I should be grateful I was only dealin' with the half assed version of the Slayer," Spike said as he shook his head.
"No Buffy did her best," Xander defended her quickly.
Everyone stared at him incredulously.
"Geez Xander you can't be that blind can you? Oh wait you can," Faith spoke up unkindly.
Xander glared at her.
"She gave it her all! It was...."
~*~
"Horrible," Darla shuddered as she remembered Angel's cold fury.
Lindsey placed a comforting hand over her own and regarded her through narrowed blue eyes.
"So you actually think he'll go through with it?" he finally asked.
"Oh yes! He's going to kill me after he kills Spike. He told me so and Linds I don't know what to do! You have to help me!"
Lindsey couldn't help but smile to himself as Darla clung to him, if he were honest he would acknowledge this was what he had wanted for a good long while now. Darla in his arms, his bed.
Looking into her eyes though he could see no mirroring emotions reflecting back at him. He had known she would always belong to Angel in the back of his mind. That no matter who she was with, or who she married it all came back to that lurking, big ass, pathetic bastard.
Gently he pushed her away and traced a hand down her pale cheek.
He bent and let his lips brush hers.
She was smiling widely now, grateful to have him on her side. She knew she would survive if he stood by her!
"I guess this is goodbye then Darla," Lindsey murmured before he moved away leaving her stunned and paralyzed as his words registered.
"No," she screamed as Lindsey stepped out of the dimly lit bar. "No Lindsey you can't do this to me!!!!! I need you!!!"
Lindsey paused on the sidewalk, replaying Darla's words over in his head. He reached into his inside suit pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
He pressed speed dial and on the seventh ring the phone was finally answered he let out a disgusted breath as he heard Wesley Wyndham-Pryce's sleep slurred voice.
"Put Lilah on the phone," he ordered.
"Bugger off," Wesley mumbled.
"Put her on the phone Wes! Tell her it's about her favorite client! Now!"
He heard the distinct rustling of bedcovers and waited impatiently for Lilah to pick up.
"What?' she snapped out when she came on the line.
"We've got problems Lilah and they aren't gonna go away. Get up, get dressed, we're gonna visit our favorite little ex-convict. He's gonna want to know about this."
Lilah blew out a breath.
"This is about Spike?" she asked warily.
Lindsey smiled.
"Actually it's about his wife, but I'm sure he knows where she is and will be more than willing to help us find her when I explain things to him."
"What things? Why would we need him to find Buffy?"
"Things like Angel's on the warpath and blood's gonna be spilled, already has Darla said he killed Buffy. I don't believe it! Doubt Spike'd appreciate us keepin' this from him. But that's not all there's more, I'll fill you in when I fill him in. I'll be at your place in ten you had better be dressed and ready to go," he hung up and glanced at his watch before he hurried down the street towards his car.
He hoped Buffy appreciated the depth of their loyalty to her, because he'd just walked away from a woman he'd wanted the minute he'd set eyes on her and there was no way she would ever if she lived let him near her again.
Shaking his head he slipped behind the wheel of his Mercedes coup and started the engine. She'd better appreciate it, he thought irritable before he pulled from the curb and made his way to Lilah's penthouse.
~*~
Spike slipped into Buffy's room and watched her sleep quietly. He frowned as he rubbed a hand over his face, grimaced as he realized it had been awhile since he had last shaved and stubble graced his face.
"You've been keepin' secrets luv," he whispered as he continued to watch her. "Half assed Slayer.....hard to believe but....that doesn't change anything."
He wanted to believe the words as they came out of his mouth but, somehow he couldn't make himself.
He could slowly feel the sands shifting beneath his feet, leading him in a way he and Buffy had both decided didn't bode well for him.
Shaking his head he placed a hand on her forehead and noted she still had a fever, he would talk to Red about it and get her to keep an eye on Buffy while he took a quick shower and shaved.
As he walked away he wondered what other secrets she'd been keeping from him, what other things she'd done for him, and things she never wanted him to learn about. He had reason to believe the dark haired chit Faith would be more than willing to fill him in on those details and he decided as he left the room and went in search of Willow he'd ask her about it.
Soon.
Disclaimer: Joss owns all.
A/N: Hi all. I just want to thank all who've reviewed this story thus far. I never expected to get this kind of response to this story. Thanks again for the reviews they are deeply appreciated.
~*~
Ch:14
"I'm very sorry for your loss," the murmur was loud enough to be heard around the small foyer and the next words were only to be heard by her, "Guess the bastard got what he deserved huh? I'll drink to that, will you join me?"
Darla Finn wiped at her eyes and sniffled as she lifted a tissue to her eyes and pretended to dab at them.
"Where at?" she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Fisher's. Round ten," Lindsey McDonald muttered as his lips brushed her cheek and he wandered into the livingroom of the large palatial mansion Darla had once shared with her husband.
Darla turned to the next person in line to offer their condolences and was surprised when she was engulfed in a bear hug and pressed into a large masculine body.
Her face pressed to his chest she inhaled as best she could and smiled as he whispered in her ear.
"Can't say you don't look divine Dar, too bad it's wasted on your worthless husband. You miss me," Angel asked as he nibbled on her ear.
Darla pushed Angel away as his mouth began to trail down her neck, it wouldn't be proper to enlist in a public display of lust at her husband's wake.
"Yes, I did. Where have you been?" she asked quietly conscious of people's eyes on her and Angel.
"Cleaning up a few messes. Listen we need to talk."
"Well I'll be free in-"
"Now," Angel muttered as he gripped her elbow and tugged her away.
"I'll be back in a moment," Darla called over her shoulder as Angel led the up the stairs.
Angel shoved her into the first room they came to and locked it behind him.
Darla glared at him and rubbed her sore elbow.
"What the hell was that? Angel I know you think you can do whatever you want-"
"Does it not concern you that Riley is dead? That he was murdered?" Angel demanded as he glared right back at her.
Darla gave a small shrug and looked away from him as she tried to form a train of thought that didn't include guilt.
Angel regarded her through narrowed eyes as she evaded his fierce gaze.
"I see you have. Listen to me carefully Dar, why would Spike kill Riley?" he asked softly as he slowly walked toward her and wrapped his hands around her arms and turned her to face him.
Darla swallowed and sighed deeply.
She knew he was in the process of piecing together what she'd done, and she wasn't keen on seeing his reaction.
If he wanted he could be a very violent man and although she'd never experienced it she knew it was always there, on the edge.
"What?" she finally snapped out as she tried to break away from his grasp.
"Tell me," he gritted out as he shook her.
"Riley was my husband," she began piously. "He needed-Angel he and I had an understanding okay? We both did our own thing-"
"Like fucking Lindsey?" Angel asked mockingly.
Darla huffed out an indignant breath and narrowed her eyes.
"I have never consorted in any type of sexual relations wi-"
"Forget about that and answer my question what did Riley have that Spike wanted? Because I've thought about this and I can't think of one reason why he would come after Riley."
Darla snorted and finally managed to remove herself from his grasp.
"Well lover did you think that perhaps it could have been the fact Riley spilled his guts about working for you, for Spike? I mean it wouldn't have been hard to find out considering who Spike's married to," she spoke condescendingly to him as she paced the room.
Angel shook his head.
He didn't believe that at all.
"No it has to be something else. He had a whole year to kill Riley why now?" he demanded.
"Who knows how Spike thinks? The point is he killed him and I think you're next Angel dear," Darla commented with a small amused smile.
Angel hissed in a breath and felt his anger turn to a slow boiling rage as Darla watched him in amusement.
"That'll be the day Dar, when Spike comes after me I'll rip him to pieces and make him wish he'd never been released! He-"
"And you think his wife will just let you wander about free after killing her husband? She's not like me or you for that matter, she loves Spike and if you kill him-"
"She's dead," Angel announced triumphantly.
Darla stared at him in stunned incredulous silence as she replayed his words in her head, and then she shook it as it occurred to her, that the more time she spent with Angel would mean she'd be guilty by association.
"Really?" she asked carefully. "You killed her?"
She kept a distance between them now as she waited for his answer.
If it was a yes then she knew what she had to do.
"Damn straight I did," Angel gloated.
Darla managed a small tight smile.
"Congratulations," she muttered and headed for the door.
He caught her shoulder and whirled her around.
"Not so fast Dar. We aren't done. You tell me what you gave Riley and don't lie to me because he mentioned he had something I might be interested in. Something he was certain would make me want to protect him from Spike. Now what was it?"
His eyes usually a mocking brown were now flat and cold as he stared into her eyes and she felt the first ever stirring of fear. It angered her that she was frightened of Angel, she'd helped mold him into what he was now, and he was nothing without her.
She was the brains and he was the brawn.
At the moment though his brawn was winning out.
"I um....he needed an edge Angel," she stammered out unable to hide her fear as his eyes seemed to flash and she could have sworn in that moment he had seen red while he looked at her.
"What. Did. You. Give. Him?" he yelled.
"I gave him...you gave him a code of -"
~*~
".....Off shore bank accounts," Willow exclaimed happily as she looked around expectantly.
Silence met her announcement and she frowned as she waited for someone, mainly Buffy to speak up.
Buffy barely lifted her head from the back of the couch as she closed her eyes and focused on breathing normally.
"Bank accounts," Buffy muttered. "For what? Why would Riley have offshore accounts? Faith didn't you basically take care of those?" she rasped out.
Faith nodded and glanced at Willow.
"He shouldn't have any. I found all of them and froze them, then dumped them and he had nothing. He wasn't smart enough to have any more. So is that all that's on the-"
"Okay I opened one up and it's in the name of the Omega-" Willow muttered.
Buffy sat up abruptly.
"What?" she demanded as she opened her eyes and looked at Willow. "What did you say?" she repeated.
Willow looked at her in surprise and repeated what she'd said.
"The Omega Corporation. These accounts are all in their name. But that's not all I found. In fact it's the least important at the moment. What you need to look at is this," Willow muttered and passed her laptop to Oz who in turn handed it off to Gunn and then to Spike who placed it on his lap so that both he and Buffy could look at it.
Buffy leaned into Spike's side to get a better look and was too involved in the screen to notice the surprised and then smugly pleased look that flashed across Spike's face as she did so.
Buffy scanned the screen once, twice, then a third time as she tried to understand what she was seeing.
She'd heard the name Omega whispered in the depths of the criminal underworld and had once been inclined to dig into it and would have had she not been assigned to William the Bloody.
A small humorless smile appeared on her lips as she eased away from Spike and settled back against the couch and heaved a deep sigh.
Everything was beginning to make sense now.
In a weird and totally screwed up way it all made a sick sort of sense.
"Well what was it?" Anya demanded from her position on the floor.
"Yeah pet what is it?" Spike piped up as he scrutinized the screen and couldn't for the life of him decipher it.
"This," she flung a hand at the laptop and continued bitterly, "is the life work of one Quentin Travers. This is Omega. This is what this is all about folks. This is what he didn't want me to find out about, because then I would have stopped him, destroyed him."
There was silence for a moment before it was broken by Oz.
"What are you talking about? We all know Quentin isn't a man to be trifled with but what's this about Omega-what are you saying exactly?"
"Yeah Buffy what are you saying? I mean what the hell is Omega and how do you know this has anything to do with Quentin?" Faith asked as she got up to take a look at the laptop.
She stared at it a moment then nodded and shot Buffy an apologetic look.
"I see," she muttered and retook her seat.
"Well I for one don't and would really like to. Please explain this to me Buffy, because if it's your fault Quentin is trying to kill us I'd love to know why," Anya snapped as she glared at Buffy.
Buffy met her eyes for a brief moment and then looked away and she let her eyes rest on Xander who was looking at her.
Not her but her hands.
She looked down too. Noticed what he'd been looking at and resisted the urge to remove her hand from Spike's grasp.
His thumb moved rhythmically along the inside of her wrist.
She hadn't noticed.
"Well Anya," she began as she took her gaze away from Xander and the little display Spike seemed unconscious of. "Since you weren't with me when I was active you wouldn't understand the significance of this. But look at this," she reached out with her one free hand and turned the computer to face the others.
"Oh I can put that up on the t.v. screen," Willow said as she bounced up and quickly set it up so they could look at it on the large big screen t.v.
"Thank you Wills," Buffy said as she gestured to the screen.
A large map appeared on the screen. A world map to be exact and it was made up of a number of different colors.
"This is a world map," Anya muttered unimpressed.
"No this is a map of the countries Spike had predominant control over," Buffy supplied carefully as she slid a glance at Spike who stared at the screen intently.
"It is innit!" He finally exclaimed.
He shook his head astonished.
Buffy returned her gaze back to the map.
"Now it's color formatted and as you can see by looking at the color key each color represents a type of product each country desires."
Everyone stared at the map and came to their own conclusions.
William the Bloody had once been a very, very powerful man. And they were all conscious of the fact Buffy had been the one to take it all away from him.
"Willow I suspect there are more maps like these huh?" Buffy asked and when Willow nodded and loaded them on screen Buffy's suspicions were confirmed. "It seems Quentin had a knack for taking over where others left off. Because as you all can see these maps, all of them belonged to a certain person. People I've put away and are now in prison. Like Ethan Rayne, his map is the one centered on Asia. Or like Adam's stomping grounds in the Balkans. When I took them down Quentin apparently took control of their operations," she explained as plainly and clearly as she could.
"Now that I think about it B, I've heard of Omega, but I didn't think too much of it as it was only spoken as hearsay. Word of mouth."
Oz rose to his feet and slowly walked toward the screen; he traced a finger down it and then turned back to the group.
"Look at this," he pointed to a section of the screen. "Does this look familiar Xan? Cuz I could swear this belongs to Glory," he muttered.
Xander tore his eyes from Spike and Buffy and looked at the screen and abruptly nodded.
"Yeah you're right," he mumbled.
"What else is there Red?" Spikes asked as he glanced at her and then back at the screen his thoughts on Angel.
Willow frowned and took her laptop back and began to look over the assorted files that had popped up as soon as she had cracked the code.
"There's a lot of stuff here," she muttered biting her lip as she scrolled through them.
"Why would Riley have this?" Gunn asked as he rose from his seat and glanced at his watch, he was getting hungry.
Buffy turned to look at Spike.
Spike shifted under the weight of everyone's stares and then straightened his shoulders.
"Well I heard he had something Angel wanted. I found out it was a piece of paper with a code on it."
"Well where did you find that out?" Anya demanded as she eyed him suspiciously.
Spike turned his gaze to Buffy's and their eyes caught and held.
They spoke in unison.
~*~
"Darla," Angel growled as he advanced on her. "Tell me what you just said was in my imagination and you did not give him access to all of my files!"
Darla met his eyes and gave a small shrug.
"You heard right," she muttered.
Angel shook his head, his face taut with undisguised rage and he clenched his hands together to keep from reaching out and lashing out at Darla.
"You did," he mumbled. "You actually did it and I want to know why!! Tell me what in God's name made you give that to him?! What did you expect to get in return, did you think I would fall at your feet and-"
"I did it for you Angel," she yelled as she advanced on him and shoved him. "You know you aren't the smartest person and guess what Spike would have found out about your part in all of this if you had those files anywhere near you. If he'd found them and I know he would have because he's smart-he would kill you Angel. He would make an example out of you! Don't you see giving it to Riley was the smartest thing I could have done!"
Angel reached out and grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her.
"You lying whore," he screamed. "You did it for yourself! And now," he broke off as he tried to catch his breath, his breathing having grown ragged. "Now he knows everything! Everything and when Quint goes down he's going to take me with him! Do you see what you've done Darla? The problems you've caused me?! Well I'll tell you this you are going to pay too. Once I take care of Spike you're next. You can hide but I'll always find you babe," he whispered in a deadly voice as he kissed her before he tossed her away from him.
Striding out of the room he slammed the door behind him and left Darla cowering fearfully on the floor, her face white and knowing he had meant every word he had said to her.
He was going to kill her.
But not if she killed him first.
~*~
Spike found himself alone in the livingroom with Faith and Gunn.
They stared at him curiously.
It unnerved him, but he didn't let on.
He glanced at them and reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes.
"Got a problem with me?" he finally asked around the fag he'd popped into his mouth and began to light.
"You can't smoke in here," Faith spoke up.
Spike paused.
"Who's gonna stop me?" he wondered aloud as he lit up.
Gunn sat back and smirked at Spike.
"Who's gonna stop you? Buffy'll stop you, that's who," he said with a smug smile as he watched Spike narrow his eyes at him.
Spike took a quick drag and laughed.
"Like to see her try," he muttered.
Faith rolled her eyes and glanced up at the staircase, then to the hallway leading into the kitchen, she really didn't want to be alone with Spike much longer, it was always better if there were more people around, it meant less chance in acting out and killing certain people.
Namely Spike.
"Well it's not like it's a hardship for her, she's done it before," Faith snapped as she glared at Spike.
Spike arched a brow and gazed back at her.
"'Ave I done somethin' to you pet?" he asked curiously.
"Have you done something to me?" she echoed. "Not to me but to Buffy! You wanna act like you've done nothing and-"
"I bloody well haven't! She's the one who put me away! She's the one who lied to me; she's the one who chose to do it! I was locked away in a cell for three fucking years and you're tellin' me I've got a lot of nerve being pissed at the wife?!" he exploded as he snatched his cigarette out of his mouth and jumped to his feet to stalk toward Faith.
She met him halfway.
"You're damn right I am," she hissed as they stood almost nose to nose. "You wanna talk about being in a cell for three years well boo fucking hoo, grow a pair why don't you! That's just a couple of coins in the toilet-"
"That's a new one babe. I like it," Gunn remarked as he rolled that phrase through his head. "Coins in a toilet," he mumbled under his breath.
"Thanks baby," Faith responded before she jumped right back into it with Spike. "Three years is-"
"What's going on here?" Anya asked as she returned to the livingroom with a bowl of chocolate ice cream.
"Discussing who got screwed by whom. Buffy or Spike," Gunn said as he watched Anya take a seat beside him. His eyes drawn to her ice cream.
Anya glanced at him smiled widely as she produced a second spoon and handed it to him.
"Would you like some Gunn?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am," he replied grinning as he took the spoon from her hand.
"It's very obvious to all who got screwed. Buffy did," Anya stated matter of fact as she spooned a bit of ice cream and took a bite.
"What the hell is wrong with you people? Why would she-"Spike had to stop himself as he felt his face begin to heat and turn and angry shade of red. He was very close to exploding.
"That's easy. Look those people Buffy mentioned? Ethan and Glory and such they were if not as bad as or worse than you and you know what?" Anya asked as she looked at him waiting for him to respond.
Gritting his teeth together he managed to get out, "What?"
"Well they aren't wandering around free as birds now are they? They're locked up," she simply said as she returned her attention to her ice cream.
Spike sputtered.
"That's got nothing to do with it," he snapped.
"It's got everything to do with it," Faith retorted.
"Everything to do with what?" Willow asked as she came down the stairs followed by Oz.
Gunn quickly explained what they were arguing about and Willow plopped on the sofa a thoughtful expression on her face.
"You know they're right," she finally said as she looked up at Spike.
"What? I don-what did I do to her?" Spike growled. "That was worse than what she did to me?!"
"See what you don't understand is you got version one and a half Slayer," Oz pointed out quietly.
"What?" Spike asked confused.
He didn't understand what the hell they were going on about, it was clear to him he was the wronged party here, not Buffy! But what could he expect from her lackeys, he wondered in bitter anger.
"Oh!" Anya exclaimed happily as Oz's words caught her attention. "Are we talking about this again? This is a most entertaining subject! Buffy has so many different versions of herself it's quite amazing she can function at all!"
"She's not crazy," Willow interjected quickly. "She's just got a way with dealing with things that is unusual. That's all. She's sane, as sane as any of us are!"
"Let's see there's Buffy version 2.0 that's the one we see the most. It's mild denial and she uses it most effectively," Oz said.
"But she can take it up a notch and we've got 3.o version which is an aversion to the truth denial which is where she only hears what she wants to hear," Gunn continued.
"That's not true-okay it is but she just doesn't like conflict and stressful situations make her very uncomfortable especially when she doesn't want to deal with them. She's not crazy," Willow snapped.
Spike looked from one to the other.
"Oh my turn now! There's Buffy version 4.0 which sad to say we saw all last year and really it was your entire fault. It was cold, unemotional Buffy. A remote, unfriendly Buffy. She only comes out when she deals with you I've noticed," Anya announced with glee.
"Then there's Buffy version 5.0 and that's where she's at her peak, at her best. The one we've all seen and when it's gone miss the most. Happy, friendly, boss, and bestfriend Buffy. She's at her best when she's like that and we all-" Gunn began.
"Oh my God would you all shut up," Faith snapped. "That's B just being B! There's nothing wrong with her!"
They ignored Faith and continued on.
"But back to the original fact, you got Slayer version one and a half and that's sayin' something cuz there's a number of 8 Slayer versions she could have used on you. But she didn't," Willow muttered.
Spike sank back into his seat, head spinning.
"Yeh, you should be grateful you got Slayer version half assed! She didn't even try on you. Everyone else she has put away never get out. They're in there for life. They're gonna die in prison," Anya explained quickly.
"Half assed. I like that," Gunn said with a grin as he licked his spoon free of ice cream.
"Not even that. You got Buffy not even trying. I mean three years Spike that's nothing but-"Oz began.
"Coins in the toilet," Faith and Gunn chorused cutting him off.
Willow perked up and glanced at Faith.
"Is that a new phrase Faith?" she asked curiously.
Faith nodded.
"Yep, it sorta just came to me," she replied laughing.
"Coins in the toilet," Oz repeated thoughtfully.
"Who's got coins? And in a toilet, can we all say ewwww," Xander asked as he wandered in.
"We were talking about my wife," Spike said before anyone else could speak. He smiled a smile that wasn't a smile at all but a twist of his lips that conveyed every bit of contempt he could put into it as he gazed at Xander. He put the emphasis on his wife as an added point the git seemed to be missing.
Xander glared at Spike, not caring who saw or what reason was drawn from their little stare down.
"Look dawg you'd best get on those knees of yours and praise the Lord she went easy on you and you're a free man, be fuckin' grateful she didn't lock your sorry ass up for life. And if you don't then all I gotta say is you've got shit for brains," Gunn's voice broke though the thick tension.
"That's disgusting Gunn," Willow exclaimed making a disgusted face as she visualized his words.
"I concur," Anya agreed as she looked at her melting bowl of ice cream then at Gunn. She shoved it at him and rose.
"Quite the visual you gave us Gunn," Oz muttered hiding a small smile from a very disgusted and indignant Willow.
Faith took Anya's vacated seat and wrapped an arm around Gunn's waist and rested her head against the back of the sofa.
"That's my baby, knows how to clear a room full of male posturing testosterone bullshit," she commented fondly as she kissed his cheek.
"What were you guys really talkin' about?" Xander asked as he looked away first and took a seat as far away from Spike as he could.
"Buffy," Anya said cheerfully. "You know your would be girlfriend?"
"They were kind enough to tell me I should be grateful I was only dealin' with the half assed version of the Slayer," Spike said as he shook his head.
"No Buffy did her best," Xander defended her quickly.
Everyone stared at him incredulously.
"Geez Xander you can't be that blind can you? Oh wait you can," Faith spoke up unkindly.
Xander glared at her.
"She gave it her all! It was...."
~*~
"Horrible," Darla shuddered as she remembered Angel's cold fury.
Lindsey placed a comforting hand over her own and regarded her through narrowed blue eyes.
"So you actually think he'll go through with it?" he finally asked.
"Oh yes! He's going to kill me after he kills Spike. He told me so and Linds I don't know what to do! You have to help me!"
Lindsey couldn't help but smile to himself as Darla clung to him, if he were honest he would acknowledge this was what he had wanted for a good long while now. Darla in his arms, his bed.
Looking into her eyes though he could see no mirroring emotions reflecting back at him. He had known she would always belong to Angel in the back of his mind. That no matter who she was with, or who she married it all came back to that lurking, big ass, pathetic bastard.
Gently he pushed her away and traced a hand down her pale cheek.
He bent and let his lips brush hers.
She was smiling widely now, grateful to have him on her side. She knew she would survive if he stood by her!
"I guess this is goodbye then Darla," Lindsey murmured before he moved away leaving her stunned and paralyzed as his words registered.
"No," she screamed as Lindsey stepped out of the dimly lit bar. "No Lindsey you can't do this to me!!!!! I need you!!!"
Lindsey paused on the sidewalk, replaying Darla's words over in his head. He reached into his inside suit pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
He pressed speed dial and on the seventh ring the phone was finally answered he let out a disgusted breath as he heard Wesley Wyndham-Pryce's sleep slurred voice.
"Put Lilah on the phone," he ordered.
"Bugger off," Wesley mumbled.
"Put her on the phone Wes! Tell her it's about her favorite client! Now!"
He heard the distinct rustling of bedcovers and waited impatiently for Lilah to pick up.
"What?' she snapped out when she came on the line.
"We've got problems Lilah and they aren't gonna go away. Get up, get dressed, we're gonna visit our favorite little ex-convict. He's gonna want to know about this."
Lilah blew out a breath.
"This is about Spike?" she asked warily.
Lindsey smiled.
"Actually it's about his wife, but I'm sure he knows where she is and will be more than willing to help us find her when I explain things to him."
"What things? Why would we need him to find Buffy?"
"Things like Angel's on the warpath and blood's gonna be spilled, already has Darla said he killed Buffy. I don't believe it! Doubt Spike'd appreciate us keepin' this from him. But that's not all there's more, I'll fill you in when I fill him in. I'll be at your place in ten you had better be dressed and ready to go," he hung up and glanced at his watch before he hurried down the street towards his car.
He hoped Buffy appreciated the depth of their loyalty to her, because he'd just walked away from a woman he'd wanted the minute he'd set eyes on her and there was no way she would ever if she lived let him near her again.
Shaking his head he slipped behind the wheel of his Mercedes coup and started the engine. She'd better appreciate it, he thought irritable before he pulled from the curb and made his way to Lilah's penthouse.
~*~
Spike slipped into Buffy's room and watched her sleep quietly. He frowned as he rubbed a hand over his face, grimaced as he realized it had been awhile since he had last shaved and stubble graced his face.
"You've been keepin' secrets luv," he whispered as he continued to watch her. "Half assed Slayer.....hard to believe but....that doesn't change anything."
He wanted to believe the words as they came out of his mouth but, somehow he couldn't make himself.
He could slowly feel the sands shifting beneath his feet, leading him in a way he and Buffy had both decided didn't bode well for him.
Shaking his head he placed a hand on her forehead and noted she still had a fever, he would talk to Red about it and get her to keep an eye on Buffy while he took a quick shower and shaved.
As he walked away he wondered what other secrets she'd been keeping from him, what other things she'd done for him, and things she never wanted him to learn about. He had reason to believe the dark haired chit Faith would be more than willing to fill him in on those details and he decided as he left the room and went in search of Willow he'd ask her about it.
Soon.