Chapter 16--Rhyme or Reason

Buffy signaled the minions to turn the kid loose. Andrew collapsed in a heap on the floor, his eyes wet with tears. The crowd shifted away from him, leaving the Slayer standing with her arms crossed in judgment.
We believe you, Andrew.

Oh yes, I'll be glad to help you any way... he babbled, The blood of the innocent and impure...

So, we'll keep you alive, for now, finished Spike in a cruel sneering voice.

Andrew looked at Buffy with pathetic dog-like devotion, like he was waiting for a pat on the head. Spike signaled a tall dark-skinned vampire.

Chain him inside the tunnel. If we find out he's lying, he can be dessert.

Andrew started sniveling again. Funny thing about cheap hoodlums. Take away their little tin toys and they're just cheap.

We heard the babbling from the darkened stairs. Dawn stumbled forward into the light, pointing blindly upwards. Buffy took her sister's hand and led her over to a small niche and stayed with her, stroking her long brown hair whispering soft comfort.
I looked over at Spike and then toward the tunnels. I could hear Andrew's continued moaning. Even though he was a cheap hood, he was still human. Spike grabbed my arm and dragged me the opposite way into a quiet spot.

He looked up at me, his dark brows sardonic punctuation to his bitter tone, You don't much like any of us, do you Harris?

I was still giving it some thought, when he started talking again, Let me tell you a few things about Andrew. You see, that, he waved toward the tunnel where the weeping figure hung in chains, That is what brought the Hell goddess down on Buffy. He was the cause of my... her little sister to being harmed. He paused for an unneeded breath and began his restless pacing. If it takes a little inhumanity' to get the information we need to keep it from happening again, well, that little weasel will get every second of pain and more. I should have killed him then.

He sat down across from me on a protruding rock and contemplated his fingers and nails, flexing and curling them, But, you see, poor Andrew is human'. A miserable specimen of one, and a piss-poor warlock who got lucky one time. She felt sorry for him then. Wouldn't let me kill him. A smile creased the harsh face, a wicked smile. A small furred and scaly creature was lurking nearby, it's red eyes glittering in the darkness. Of course, things have been known to happen. Accidents. The little demon met Spike's yellow eyes and melted further back into the shadows.

Spike stood up and took a deep breath. Boys, it's time to get your weapons, he shouted, Let's have a little fun.


My head hurt from thinking. Everything I thought I knew was changing and I was fumbling in the dark. I've been wrong before and this wasn't going to be the last time. It was hard to let go of the Demons Evil, Humans Good motto I'd clung to for so long. Andrew, Giles, Willow, and Oz. I just wanted life to be black and white again. These shades of gray were killing me.

Get up, Harris. Let's get going. Spike shoved a bag full of stakes into my hands. I shook off the dead feeling that threatened to stop me cold.
What's the plan?'
Plan? We smash in, then we pull them into bloody bits, he said with relish.

Buffy had Dawn wrapped up in a warm fluffy blanket. She led her to the back seat of my DeSoto and bundled her inside. Then she just stood there looking out into the moonlit cemetery for a moment before she turned to me.
I'm sorry you got dragged into this.

Goes with the territory. Besides, I owed it to Oz. She looked at me with wide understanding eyes, He was my partner, no matter what he did.

She looked over at her partner and his ill-assorted minions. I know exactly what you mean. Thank you, Xander, she said simply.

Spike seemed to feel her smiling eyes on him and tilted his head to give her the tiniest, sweetest smile. It was like watching them make love, that private little glance. She did trust him with her sister and her life. Love? Yeah, I figure there's some of that in there, too.

We piled into an assortment of vehicles as wildly varying as the creatures in them and roared off to our rendezvous point near the Stake. I hoped Anyanka wasn't going to bail on us. We needed her. Hell, I needed her. Maybe I even loved her and maybe she loved me, too. Maybe when all's said and done, we'd figure it all out.

tbc

AN: Title is from Dave Matthews Band ,Under the Table and Dreaming