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Work in Progress. If you like this story, check out my other stories on the Fanfiction Net, Twisting the Hellmouth, and Fonts of Wisdom websites. Other sites please ask before using.
by Marcus L. Rowland
XXII
"Evening Willy," said Spike, "How's the fingers? Seen the Shark and his boys around tonight?"
"Mister Spike," Willy said reproachfully, holding up a bandaged hand, "Did you really have to set fire to my collecting box?"
"Come on, it's not like you were actually planning to give much of it to Rack. I'm willing to bet that after you'd taken your cut he'd have ended up with a bunch of grapes. A small one."
"Some people have no respect for my devotion to my friends."
"Some people would know better than to claim Rack as a friend when I'm around," said Buffy, idly flipping a stake in her hand.
"Well, business contact." Buffy stared at him. "Oh, all right, maybe I didn't like him that much, but the customers expect it of me."
"Now that we know where your loyalties lie, where's mister Shark? More specifically, where's his friend Jerry?"
"Which one is Jerry?"
"I'm getting bored, Willy."
"Oh, that Jerry. I think he lives some place out near Clem, not sure exactly where."
"Bollocks," said Spike, "Clem wouldn't stay there if Jerry was anywhere around."
"Why not?" asked Buffy.
"Vampires don't need an invitation to go into demons' homes, and Jerry has a bit of an appetite control problem. He'd nick Clem's kittens."
"He steals kittens?"
"If it's warm and has blood in it he'll bite it."
"Charming friends you have, Spike."
"He's one of Harm's old minions. She didn't exactly select them for smarts."
"I still can't believe Harmony had minions. What the hell were they thinking of?"
"Some people are just born followers, like the whelp."
"That's not fair and you know it."
"umm..." said Willy, "Not to press, but having you two here is bad for business."
"What business? The place is empty."
"Exactly."
"Spike, are we good to stop here for a few hours?"
"Sure, pet."
"Great. Willy, you're buying."
"Err..."
"You want the place to have people in it."
"Let me just make a couple of phone calls, see if I can find out where the Shark is..."
"Looks like Buffy's been and gone," said Riley, flashing his ID at a local cop and gesturing towards the police cars and ambulances.
"I make it three vampires dusted in the mini-market," Sam said a few minutes later, as the last of the victims was taken away to hospital, "and one outside."
"That's Buffy all right," said Riley.
"And she's not even worried about the security camera tape?" Sam asked, holding it up.
"The mayor of Sunnydale used to be a black magician. He appointed most of the police, and most of them seem to be incapable of noticing anything out of the ordinary. Did you see that guy examine our ID?"
"No."
"Me neither. In this town deliberate ignorance is bliss. Three'll get you five someone would erase it, but we'll take it with us to be on the safe side."
"Where next?"
"I think a little bar hopping is probably our best bet, if that fails we can always fall back on the cemeteries."
"Okay, I got an address for Jerry, nobody seems to know where the Shark is tonight..." said Willy. "You're not gonna like it."
"Try me," said Buffy.
"He's squatting in Angel's old mansion."
"That's ballsy," said Spike. "Angel still owns that place, and I don't see my old sire taking kindly to squatters."
"Angel still owns it?" asked Buffy. "I thought he'd left it for good."
"The realtors can't shift it. This town has no shortage of cheap houses, what with the death rate and all, and the place gives most people the creeps. He won't spend any money to fix it up, the top floor is rain damaged, and most of it never gets the sun."
"Let's go then, see if we can evict him. Willy, you tell anyone we're coming and you're a dead man."
"Fine.. Nobody appreciates me, why should you?"
"Shut up, and stay that way."
"That's Buffy's jeep leaving the bar up ahead," Riley said, "I'll stay back, we might get a chance to see her in action."
"Better let her know, or she might think you're an enemy following her. Give me her mobile number, I'll let her know we're behind her."
"Okay."
Sam dialed, talked for a moment, listened, then said "She says that she's heading towards the old mansions on the edge of town.. follow her, when she tells us stop and pretend that we've broken down. She wants to use us as bait for a vampire called Jerry."
"Sounds good to me. You okay with that?"
"Sure... Taser and stake enough for this?"
"Should be, but keep your gun handy. Buffy'll probably do most of the fighting anyway."
"Let's hope I see her in action."
They drove on for a few minutes, then Sam said "Stop by the derelict mansion ahead on the left," and switched off the phone.
"Right. Both of us out of the car?"
"Sure, if there's serious trouble I don't want either of us trapped inside."
They stopped, got out, and began arguing loudly about the SUV. As Riley popped the hood Buffy drove on and turned a corner, out of sight.
"..and I told you to buy the proper oil filter, but oh no, mister know-it-all has to go for the cheapest brand. Well, let's see what the AAA have to say about it when they get here."
"If they get here," said Riley, "She said it could be an hour before they get someone out."
In the shadows Larry smiled, put on his human face, and came out to be helpful. "Need a hand?"
"We think the oil filter's blocked," said Riley, wondering if this was a man or a vampire, or one of Sunnydale's other denizens.
"Maybe you ought to come inside, it's dangerous out here. Sunnydale has a crime problem."
"It's really okay," said Sam, pretending nervousness, "we're sure the AAA will be here soon."
"Those idiots took three hours to get out to the guy next door when he broke down a couple of months ago."
"Really," said Riley, "it's a nice night, we'll be fine."
"No you won't," said Jerry, switching to game face, tired of playing with his food. He advanced on Sam, taking it slowly to ensure that she had a chance to be terrified. When he was six feet away there was a loud thud and a crack of breaking ribs, as Buffy ran in from the side and kicked Jerry so hard he collided with the gatepost of the house. The gatepost collapsed in a shower of bricks and cement.
"Hello Jerry," said Spike, following Buffy towards the fight, "We hear you've been a naughty boy."
"Where's Warren?" asked Buffy, kicking him again and shattering a kneecap. Jerry screamed.
"That's gotta hurt," said Sam, pulling out her Taser and watching out for any other vampires.
"You think so?" asked Riley, wincing as Buffy followed up with a kick to the groin. Jerry grunted and fell onto his side, doubled up in pain.
"Where's Warren?" asked Buffy. "You know, the guy you took from the service station."
"In.. house... Jesus, lady, that hurt."
"Anyone else in there?" asked Buffy, stabbing a heel into his hand. There was a crunch of grating bones.
"..nuh.. no."
"Good." Buffy staked him; he tried to scream but didn't have time. Buffy ducked back and shook his dust from her hair. "Stay alert, he was probably lying."
They went in through the garden doors, and Riley looked around at the dungeon-like decor. "Who the hell lives like this?"
"Used to be Angel's place until he moved to LA," said Buffy. "Jerry was squatting."
"The great poof likes to live somewhere depressing where he can brood," said Spike. Buffy gently punched him in the ribs.
"Why am I not surprised?" said Riley.
"I don't know," said Sam, "A little remodelling, some pastels, concealed lighting... you don't get craftsmanship like this any more."
"There's earthquake, lightning, and Slayer damage, and it needs a lot of work upstairs," said Spike, "plus at the end of the day you'd be living in Sunnyhell. That's a reason in itself not to bother."
"Good point," said Buffy. "Anyone hear anything?"
They listened, and Spike said "Think I can hear breathing from upstairs. Hell of a smell of blood."
"Recent?"
"Think so."
"Riley, Sam, stay down here and check out the rest of this floor. Spike, upstairs with me."
"Sounds promising."
"Later. Work first."
Sam and Riley watched them go upstairs, then Sam softly said "Did he mean what I think he meant."
"I always thought there was something between them, guess it's finally out in the open."
"You don't sound too surprised."
"After Angel? Not really, just disappointed."
"Upset?"
"No, I gave up any right to be upset when I left her."
"I just can't understand why anyone would want to sleep with a... well, with a corpse. It's bad enough when you come to bed with cold feet, that'd be ridiculous."
"I guess. Let's start through this door over here..."
"It's getting on for eleven," said Xander, "guess we'd better call it a night."
"Yes," said Anya, "We need to have some orgasm time."
"It's just a shame that the party got messed up like that," said Dawn.
"Don't forget to give Riley and Sam an invitation when they get back," said Xander, "it'd be nice to have a few more people there who aren't my family, demons, or both."
Dawn saw Xander and Anya out, then went back to Willow and Tara. April was upstairs, recharging in the small room they'd improvised for her. She gathered up the kittens again and put them into the basket they were supposed to use as a bed. Zip licked her sleepily, Zap was his usual alert self. "Now that they've gone, what are we gonna do about the wedding?" she asked Willow, "With the birthday out of the way can you remember anything more?"
"Not really... to be honest, I'm just more confused now, I don't recall Riley and Sam being at the party at all, in my memories they showed up a couple of days before the wedding, and had to leave town in a hurry."
"I guess that just shows that things are changing," said Tara. "Originally Spike tried to sell the real Suvolte eggs, is that right? And the mother demon was still alive until Riley and Sam got here?"
"I think so, it's kinda blurry."
"Then if Spike was dodging her to gather the eggs it would have taken him much longer to have the full batch and start advertising them, that would account for it."
"I guess so."
"Wait a minute," said Dawn, "are you saying that Spike was planning to sell real demon eggs? To arms dealers?"
"Umm.. Yeah, 'fraid so."
"Oh. That's not good."
"He's a vampire, Dawnie," Willow said patiently, "he's nice to us these days but his sense of morality is still kinda... skewed, I guess. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that Buffy will keep him from doing anything else like that now they're in more of a relationship, she's done a good job so far."
"She'd better, if not I'll have to do it for her."
"Okay, now Spike really needs to worry."
"Damn right."
"Back to the wedding," said Tara. "The problem as I see it is that Xander never really told you exactly what happened."
"I know that some sort of demon got close to him and did something," said Willow, "then he just walked out on her. No explanation, really, just something about having seen what his family was like again, he wasn't sure he was ready for marriage. He wouldn't change his mind, even when he knew he'd been talking to a demon. And I was too wrapped up in our problems to find out more."
"Is there any way we could... I dunno... make him happier about his family?" asked Dawn.
"There's no way anyone could be happy about Xander's family. That'd take some sort of miracle."
"Okay, then we have to keep the demon away from him, or make it so that he doesn't fall for whatever it is the demon does."
"What are you suggesting? Hypnosis, or some sort of spell?"
"Well, I was kinda thinking it might be a good idea to tell him about it, get him psyched up to expect it. At the worse, he might make a decision now and call off the wedding or postpone it, rather than leaving Anya standing at the altar."
"We'd have to tell both of them," said Tara, "otherwise it just wouldn't be fair to Anya."
"I can see that going down well," said Willow, then went very still.
"What is it, Willow?" asked Tara.
"'My lord, I have a cunning plan...'"
"What?" asked Dawn.
"Sorry, something I saw on PBS. I have an idea. It's a stupid, risky idea, and if it goes wrong neither of them will ever speak to me again, but I think it might just work...."
"Anything?" whispered Buffy.
"Still hear breathing, room off to the left."
Buffy kicked the door open and went in. Warren was tied to a chair, bleeding from a dozen wounds, his breathing barely perceptible.
"He's lost a lot of blood, looks like Jerry was having himself a bit of a snack."
"Think he'll make it?" asked Buffy, cutting him loose from the chair.
"Doubt it. That far gone, I doubt he'll even make it to hospital."
"Damn. Riley..." she shouted, "Get up here with your first aid kit."
"I'll check the rest of the house," said Spike, "not much I can do for him."
"Okay. Warren.. can you hear me?"
Warren moaned but didn't answer.
"We're gonna try to get you stabilised and into hospital."
Riley ran up with the first aid kit, Sam followed holding her Taser in one hand and the neck of Irving the Miquot demon in the other. "Found this creep snooping around downstairs."
"He works for Shark," said Buffy, leaving Riley to work on Warren. "What are you doing here, Irving?" she asked, snapping off one of his knives and using it to trim a slightly ragged nail.
"Oww.. The boss sent me over, he wanted to know where his money was."
"Money?"
"Yeah. Jerry was bagman tonight, he did the rounds of the places the Shark protects."
"How much would he have been carrying?"
"A couple of hundred, it's all nickel and dime stuff. Gas stations, grocery stores, that sort of thing."
"Must have gone when we dusted him."
"You dusted Jerry?"
"Caught him snacking on someone."
"Oh well, never did like him much."
"I think you'd better go back to the Shark and tell that vampire henchmen aren't the best way to stay on my good side. He got any others?"
"No. You dusted most of the others a few weeks ago, and Meatloaf got caught out in the open after sunrise, the other vamps in town decided that the job was a little too high profile."
"Okay. One more thing..." Buffy snapped off another blade, and threw it at the wall. It shattered as it hit the stone. "...damn, that had nice balance, but it's a little too fragile. As I was saying, one more thing... if I hear any more of this protection business there'll be trouble. I don't mind him running poker games, I'm not even all that worried about demons gambling for kittens, but if I hear anything more about protection I'll be coming after him and pulling his teeth the way I'm pulling these knives." She snapped off another for emphasis.
"Owww.. Okay, okay, I hear what you're saying. I'll pass the message on."
"By the way, if you know any other vamps or demons that might be thinking of moving in now Irving is gone, you'd better tell them that Angel owns this place and probably won't be too thrilled if he finds squatters here. Got that?"
"Sure. Wouldn't want to mess with that guy."
"Now get out."
"Getting..." He wobbled slightly as Sam let him go, then hurried off downstairs.
"You really letting him go?" asked Sam.
"Those guys are mercenaries, they don't hurt people just for the fun of it. I don't think he's done more than beat a few people up, killing him seems a little excessive. If he ever does something to deserve it he knows what'll happen, and with luck that'll deter anyone he tells. I've given up killing everything that just looks odd and has a bad reputation, it makes unnecessary enemies."
"Can't argue with that."
Buffy turned to Riley. "Any luck?"
"Think I have him stabilised, but his pulse is weak and erratic. Let's get him to hospital."
"Can we use your SUV? I just cleaned the Jeep. Besides, the hospital asks awkward questions when I bring people in, they've seen me too many times."
"No problem."
"Spike, found anything?"
"Nope," he lied, fingering the bundle of bank notes in his pocket and deciding not to tell her he had them until she was in a better mood.
"Let's move then."
"Are Riley and Sam coming back?" asked Willow.
"Sure, they're going to pick up Doc's papers," said Buffy.
"Waste of some good ideas," Spike muttered regretfully. Buffy hit him with her elbow. "Oww."
"Yeah, really good," said Dawn disapprovingly. "Did you check to make sure there wasn't anything about me being the Key?"
"First thing I looked for, Niblet, there's nothing. Doesn't even mention that the Key is human."
"That's good. We kinda told them we'd never found out what it was."
"You're learning, Bit."
"Xander's idea."
"Didn't know the whelp had it in him."
"Which reminds me," said Willow, "We need to do something about their wedding, and I think I have the beginnings of an idea..."
"Anyway," said Riley, "I'm sorry we messed up your party. We've got rooms at the army base, and we have to head back with these papers tomorrow, so I'd guess it's goodbye for now."
"You've got Xander's invitation?" asked Buffy.
"Doubt we'll make it," said Sam, "but you never know. Thanks for letting us see you at work, it was educational."
"I'll take that as a compliment, I guess."
"It's how it was meant. That flying kick was beautiful, so were the interrogations. Couldn't have done better myself."
"If I'd been paying more attention I would have taken care of Jerry weeks ago and we wouldn't have had to go through all this."
"I suppose, but from all I've heard you had good reasons to be a little off your game."
"Maybe. But I wonder how many have died because I was sleeping on the job."
Riley's phone beeped, and he listened for a moment then said "Okay, thanks for letting me know," and disconnected.
"Problem?" asked Sam.
"Buffy... I'm sorry, Warren didn't make it. Went into shock, died about twenty minutes ago."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry I didn't get there in time to save him, but I can't say I'll miss him."
"Definitely not," said Willow, kissing Tara.
In Sunnydale Hospital a masked and gowned figure wheeled Warren towards the mortuary, checked that he wasn't being watched, and changed course towards a van parked at one of the loading bays. He wheeled the trolley aboard, shut the door, and put on the light to reveal all of the equipment of a small operating theatre. He turned Warren onto his stomach, felt his back to locate the remaining kidney, and started to cut. There was a debt to be paid, and death wasn't going to stop him collecting.
To Be Continued
