Here's an update. Lots of dialogue and a couple of phone calls.
Riley lovers probably won't like this very much. You have been warned.
Enjoy and don't forget to review.
~~ * ~~
Buffy looked at the clock, again. Time was passing so slowly.
"Oh, Buffy. Some guy named Spike called for you or Angel. Said to give you the message when you got back." Rosalita suddenly said, breaking the silence.
Buffy groaned. She didn't know if she could talk to Spike right now. She was worried about Angel and the others, but maybe he could tell her something about the lab she didn't know before. He never really did want to talk about what happened to him, so maybe he knew something.
Buffy walked in the kitchen to use the phone. She really didn't want the others to hear this conversation. She dialed the number by memory. It rang twice.
"Angel Investigations." The British voice answered.
Buffy momentarily lost the power of speech. What was she going to say? How would he react after all this time? She really hadn't thought this through.
" 'Ello." Came the voice again, only this time tinged with irritation.
Buffy finally found her voice. "Hi, Spike." She said weakly.
"Buffy? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me."
On the other end of line Spike was in shock. He never imagined Buffy would return the call. He thought Angel would call them back. "Is everything all right?" he asked.
"Yes, no, not really." She said, trying to regain her train of thought. He hadn't yelled at her yet, which was good.
"Well, which is it?"
"We have a situation here." Buffy said. "How much do you know about graboids?"
"Since we found out where you were, we've learned a lot. Why?"
"Well, two new graboids showed up and have changed to screechers and are getting ready to change to assblasters. We were tracking them when we came across something interesting."
Buffy paused and Spike waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he asked, "Well, what was it?"
"We found an underground lab almost exactly like the one in Sunnydale." Buffy said, her voice filled with sympathy.
"Oh, I see." Was Spike's only reply.
"I came back here to try and get in touch with Riley. I needed to know if anything was left behind that could affect the screechers."
"And what did Captain Cardboard have to say?" Spike asked.
"I haven't talked to him yet. I left a message like I did before. Then, they told me you had called. Is everything all right there?"
"Everything's fine. We were just checking in with Angel."
"Spike. I'm sorry." Buffy began.
"Don't." Spike interrupted. "Angel explained some things to us after he found you. I can't speak for the others, but I understand."
Buffy felt tears start to form at his words. He didn't hate her. "Thanks." She chocked out. "That means a lot."
"Doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you for not letting us know where you were, 'cause I am, but I understand you needed time away."
"Thanks." Buffy repeated softly.
"So, to what do I owe the honor of this call? I know you weren't calling just to say hello."
"I was wondering if you had any information about the lab that I don't know. I know you don't like talking about it, but I really need to know."
"No, I think I've told you everything I know. I know they were drugging my blood but I don't know with what or what any of the drugs might do to an animal."
"All right. It was worth a shot." Buffy was disappointed. She had hoped Spike had some insight and she wouldn't have to wait for Riley to call.
"Where's Angel?" Spike asked.
"He's in the underground lab. Angel, Faith, and Burt are trying to track the screechers."
"Sorry I wasn't much help."
"That's all right. It was good to hear your voice."
"You, too. Do you want to talk to the others?"
Buffy panicked. She wasn't ready for that yet. "No, I have to go. Need to keep the line clear in case Riley tries to call."
"O.K. Just have Angel call us when he gets back."
"I will. And thanks again."
"Anytime." Was Spike's soft reply.
Buffy hung up the phone and was surprised to see Tyler standing behind her.
"That sounded like a tough call." He said.
"It was."
"Was this Spike guy one of the friends you left behind?"
"Yeah, he was." Buffy answered.
"Why did you leave?" Tyler asked.
"I can't talk about it right now."
"Come on, Buffy. Why won't you let me in?" Tyler pleaded.
"Because everyone I've ever let in has hurt me or been hurt by me." She looked Tyler straight in the eyes. "I don't have a normal life. I don't have normal relationships. Everyone I've ever cared about has hurt me in one way or another. It's not that easy for me to just let you in."
Tyler was taken aback by the venom in her voice. He didn't know what to say.
Buffy saw his shock and was immediately sorry she had blown up at him. It wasn't his fault.
"Tyler, I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress right now."
Tyler put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't mean to push. It's just, we care about you. Obviously your past has had a lot of pain. I just want to help."
"I know, but you can't. This something I have to come to terms with on my on."
Whatever reply Tyler might have made was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing.
"Hotel Perfection." Buffy said when she picked up the phone.
"Buffy. This is Riley."
"Hey. I was hoping you'd call."
"What's this about? They said it was an emergency."
"Do you know anything about a lab, just like the one in Sunnydale, here in Perfection?"
"Buffy. That's classified."
"Cut the classified bullshit, Riley!" Buffy yelled into the phone. "We've got a situation here. I need to know if anything was left in that lab that could possibly affect graboids or screechers."
"How do you know about the lab anyway?" Riley's voice was suspicious.
"How do you think I know about it? We stumbled onto it while tracking screechers. They've been in the lab."
"Oh, shit."
"Come on, Riley. Tell me what you know."
"That lab was our first. We had several specimens that we had captured in other places. We did our first research there."
"I don't really care about that. I need to know what was left behind. Any drugs that might affect the screechers or equipment that could mess with their minds?"
"They took everything when we left for the new lab, except for boxes of MREs."
"Why did they leave those?"
"The MREs were fortified with an experimental growth hormone called Imatome. It was the first attempt at making super soldiers. Problem was, not everyone ate everything. Some soldiers got too little and some got too much. That's when they decided to use vitamins as their method of drugging us."
"And you just left them there?" Buffy was astonished. She knew the people at the Initiative were crazy, she just didn't know they were that stupid.
"I didn't know at the time and after I found out, it didn't seem important. We sealed off the lab."
"Not too well." Buffy retorted. "The screechers didn't seem to have a hard time getting in."
"Did they get into the MREs?"
"I don't know. What if they did? What will it do to them?"
"I'm not sure. It may not have the same effect on them that it had on humans."
"But it's possible that this stuff could make them stronger?"
"Yes." Riley answered shortly. He didn't like having to answer to Buffy.
"So, is there a cure or something we could give them to counteract the effects?" Buffy asked thoughtfully.
"No, it's not a long lasting drug. It just needs time to get out of their systems. In humans it only takes about a day. Depends on the metabolism of the animal."
"Great. Just great. These things are strong enough on their own. Now, we get to deal with super screechers." Buffy mumbled mostly to herself. "What in the hell were you people thinking?" Buffy yelled at Riley again.
"Look. You may not like it but it's the way things are." Riley snapped.
"I'll tell you the way things are. You and your soldier buddies go in some place and build your little labs and then screw up. I have to come and bail your sorry asses out of the fire. That's how it is. Are there any more labs out there that I need to worry about?" Buffy finished angrily.
"That's none of your business. Do you have anything else to say or is this just Riley bashing time?" Riley retorted angrily.
"Riley bashing sounds good to me." Buffy answered.
"I don't have time for this." Riley said and then Buffy heard a click as he hung up.
"He hung up on me!" Buffy yelled indignantly. "I can't believe it."
While she was talking to Riley, Buffy forgot she had an audience. She turned sharply when Tyler cleared his throat behind her.
"I take it that was not good news?" Tyler said.
"That's the understatement of the year." Buffy retorted. "We need to talk to Burt. I need to know if the screechers got into those MREs."
"The signal can't get through the ground. We'll have to go back and try to find them."
"What are we waiting for?" Buffy asked as she headed for the door.
Tyler gave the others a brief explanation and joined Buffy outside.
~~ * ~~
Burt, Angel, and Faith went back down the tunnel that Buffy's group had never got to fully explore. They walked in almost complete silence with Angel leading the way. He would smell, hear, or sense something long before they would.
Burt was trying to contact the others, again, with no luck. The signal just couldn't penetrate the walls of the tunnel.
Angel stopped suddenly.
"What?" Faith asked.
"I hear something up ahead." Angel answered. "Wait here. I'll check it out."
They didn't argue but waited impatiently for Angel to return.
When he did return they didn't like how the conversation started.
"How big did you say these things were supposed be?" Angel asked in a nervous voice.
"About four feet tall, give or take." Burt answered. "Why?"
"The ones that I saw up ahead are about eight feet tall." Angel answered, looking grim. "It isn't the entire group. Only about ten. I don't know where the others are."
"Oh, shit." Faith said. "Well, what are we waiting for? I say we go kick some screecher ass."
"Faith, put a reign on your battle lust. Obviously they got into something in the lab. We need to find out what it was before we fight them. They could have come up with some new tricks." Angel argued.
"I hope Buffy talked her soldier friend." Burt said, staring down the tunnel. "Is there any way for them to get out?" Burt directed his question to Angel.
"I didn't see any. But I couldn't go any farther down the tunnel. One of the screechers had it blocked. It was weird. I walked right into the middle of the group and looked around and they didn't see me." Angel grinned. "Being dead has its advantages."
"I'm sure big guy, but don't let it go to your head." Faith shot back.
"Let's get back above ground and try to get in touch with Buffy. Maybe she's heard something by now."
~~ * ~~
Buffy looked at the clock, again. Time was passing so slowly.
"Oh, Buffy. Some guy named Spike called for you or Angel. Said to give you the message when you got back." Rosalita suddenly said, breaking the silence.
Buffy groaned. She didn't know if she could talk to Spike right now. She was worried about Angel and the others, but maybe he could tell her something about the lab she didn't know before. He never really did want to talk about what happened to him, so maybe he knew something.
Buffy walked in the kitchen to use the phone. She really didn't want the others to hear this conversation. She dialed the number by memory. It rang twice.
"Angel Investigations." The British voice answered.
Buffy momentarily lost the power of speech. What was she going to say? How would he react after all this time? She really hadn't thought this through.
" 'Ello." Came the voice again, only this time tinged with irritation.
Buffy finally found her voice. "Hi, Spike." She said weakly.
"Buffy? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me."
On the other end of line Spike was in shock. He never imagined Buffy would return the call. He thought Angel would call them back. "Is everything all right?" he asked.
"Yes, no, not really." She said, trying to regain her train of thought. He hadn't yelled at her yet, which was good.
"Well, which is it?"
"We have a situation here." Buffy said. "How much do you know about graboids?"
"Since we found out where you were, we've learned a lot. Why?"
"Well, two new graboids showed up and have changed to screechers and are getting ready to change to assblasters. We were tracking them when we came across something interesting."
Buffy paused and Spike waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he asked, "Well, what was it?"
"We found an underground lab almost exactly like the one in Sunnydale." Buffy said, her voice filled with sympathy.
"Oh, I see." Was Spike's only reply.
"I came back here to try and get in touch with Riley. I needed to know if anything was left behind that could affect the screechers."
"And what did Captain Cardboard have to say?" Spike asked.
"I haven't talked to him yet. I left a message like I did before. Then, they told me you had called. Is everything all right there?"
"Everything's fine. We were just checking in with Angel."
"Spike. I'm sorry." Buffy began.
"Don't." Spike interrupted. "Angel explained some things to us after he found you. I can't speak for the others, but I understand."
Buffy felt tears start to form at his words. He didn't hate her. "Thanks." She chocked out. "That means a lot."
"Doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you for not letting us know where you were, 'cause I am, but I understand you needed time away."
"Thanks." Buffy repeated softly.
"So, to what do I owe the honor of this call? I know you weren't calling just to say hello."
"I was wondering if you had any information about the lab that I don't know. I know you don't like talking about it, but I really need to know."
"No, I think I've told you everything I know. I know they were drugging my blood but I don't know with what or what any of the drugs might do to an animal."
"All right. It was worth a shot." Buffy was disappointed. She had hoped Spike had some insight and she wouldn't have to wait for Riley to call.
"Where's Angel?" Spike asked.
"He's in the underground lab. Angel, Faith, and Burt are trying to track the screechers."
"Sorry I wasn't much help."
"That's all right. It was good to hear your voice."
"You, too. Do you want to talk to the others?"
Buffy panicked. She wasn't ready for that yet. "No, I have to go. Need to keep the line clear in case Riley tries to call."
"O.K. Just have Angel call us when he gets back."
"I will. And thanks again."
"Anytime." Was Spike's soft reply.
Buffy hung up the phone and was surprised to see Tyler standing behind her.
"That sounded like a tough call." He said.
"It was."
"Was this Spike guy one of the friends you left behind?"
"Yeah, he was." Buffy answered.
"Why did you leave?" Tyler asked.
"I can't talk about it right now."
"Come on, Buffy. Why won't you let me in?" Tyler pleaded.
"Because everyone I've ever let in has hurt me or been hurt by me." She looked Tyler straight in the eyes. "I don't have a normal life. I don't have normal relationships. Everyone I've ever cared about has hurt me in one way or another. It's not that easy for me to just let you in."
Tyler was taken aback by the venom in her voice. He didn't know what to say.
Buffy saw his shock and was immediately sorry she had blown up at him. It wasn't his fault.
"Tyler, I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress right now."
Tyler put up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't mean to push. It's just, we care about you. Obviously your past has had a lot of pain. I just want to help."
"I know, but you can't. This something I have to come to terms with on my on."
Whatever reply Tyler might have made was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing.
"Hotel Perfection." Buffy said when she picked up the phone.
"Buffy. This is Riley."
"Hey. I was hoping you'd call."
"What's this about? They said it was an emergency."
"Do you know anything about a lab, just like the one in Sunnydale, here in Perfection?"
"Buffy. That's classified."
"Cut the classified bullshit, Riley!" Buffy yelled into the phone. "We've got a situation here. I need to know if anything was left in that lab that could possibly affect graboids or screechers."
"How do you know about the lab anyway?" Riley's voice was suspicious.
"How do you think I know about it? We stumbled onto it while tracking screechers. They've been in the lab."
"Oh, shit."
"Come on, Riley. Tell me what you know."
"That lab was our first. We had several specimens that we had captured in other places. We did our first research there."
"I don't really care about that. I need to know what was left behind. Any drugs that might affect the screechers or equipment that could mess with their minds?"
"They took everything when we left for the new lab, except for boxes of MREs."
"Why did they leave those?"
"The MREs were fortified with an experimental growth hormone called Imatome. It was the first attempt at making super soldiers. Problem was, not everyone ate everything. Some soldiers got too little and some got too much. That's when they decided to use vitamins as their method of drugging us."
"And you just left them there?" Buffy was astonished. She knew the people at the Initiative were crazy, she just didn't know they were that stupid.
"I didn't know at the time and after I found out, it didn't seem important. We sealed off the lab."
"Not too well." Buffy retorted. "The screechers didn't seem to have a hard time getting in."
"Did they get into the MREs?"
"I don't know. What if they did? What will it do to them?"
"I'm not sure. It may not have the same effect on them that it had on humans."
"But it's possible that this stuff could make them stronger?"
"Yes." Riley answered shortly. He didn't like having to answer to Buffy.
"So, is there a cure or something we could give them to counteract the effects?" Buffy asked thoughtfully.
"No, it's not a long lasting drug. It just needs time to get out of their systems. In humans it only takes about a day. Depends on the metabolism of the animal."
"Great. Just great. These things are strong enough on their own. Now, we get to deal with super screechers." Buffy mumbled mostly to herself. "What in the hell were you people thinking?" Buffy yelled at Riley again.
"Look. You may not like it but it's the way things are." Riley snapped.
"I'll tell you the way things are. You and your soldier buddies go in some place and build your little labs and then screw up. I have to come and bail your sorry asses out of the fire. That's how it is. Are there any more labs out there that I need to worry about?" Buffy finished angrily.
"That's none of your business. Do you have anything else to say or is this just Riley bashing time?" Riley retorted angrily.
"Riley bashing sounds good to me." Buffy answered.
"I don't have time for this." Riley said and then Buffy heard a click as he hung up.
"He hung up on me!" Buffy yelled indignantly. "I can't believe it."
While she was talking to Riley, Buffy forgot she had an audience. She turned sharply when Tyler cleared his throat behind her.
"I take it that was not good news?" Tyler said.
"That's the understatement of the year." Buffy retorted. "We need to talk to Burt. I need to know if the screechers got into those MREs."
"The signal can't get through the ground. We'll have to go back and try to find them."
"What are we waiting for?" Buffy asked as she headed for the door.
Tyler gave the others a brief explanation and joined Buffy outside.
~~ * ~~
Burt, Angel, and Faith went back down the tunnel that Buffy's group had never got to fully explore. They walked in almost complete silence with Angel leading the way. He would smell, hear, or sense something long before they would.
Burt was trying to contact the others, again, with no luck. The signal just couldn't penetrate the walls of the tunnel.
Angel stopped suddenly.
"What?" Faith asked.
"I hear something up ahead." Angel answered. "Wait here. I'll check it out."
They didn't argue but waited impatiently for Angel to return.
When he did return they didn't like how the conversation started.
"How big did you say these things were supposed be?" Angel asked in a nervous voice.
"About four feet tall, give or take." Burt answered. "Why?"
"The ones that I saw up ahead are about eight feet tall." Angel answered, looking grim. "It isn't the entire group. Only about ten. I don't know where the others are."
"Oh, shit." Faith said. "Well, what are we waiting for? I say we go kick some screecher ass."
"Faith, put a reign on your battle lust. Obviously they got into something in the lab. We need to find out what it was before we fight them. They could have come up with some new tricks." Angel argued.
"I hope Buffy talked her soldier friend." Burt said, staring down the tunnel. "Is there any way for them to get out?" Burt directed his question to Angel.
"I didn't see any. But I couldn't go any farther down the tunnel. One of the screechers had it blocked. It was weird. I walked right into the middle of the group and looked around and they didn't see me." Angel grinned. "Being dead has its advantages."
"I'm sure big guy, but don't let it go to your head." Faith shot back.
"Let's get back above ground and try to get in touch with Buffy. Maybe she's heard something by now."