Starting Over 5 - Ignored Warnings
"So I say just three?"
Wesley and Cordelia collapsed in laughter at the end of Faith's tale. The Slayer beamed at her friends. Ten weeks had passed since Xander had half- carried, half-dragged her into Angel's office. Since that time she'd become a valued member of Angel's team. She'd regained her sense of purpose and confidence while tempering her previous arrogance. And for the first time in her life she was part of a real, loving family. Even more importantly, she had Xander.
Sweet, gentle Xander who patiently nursed her back to health after her breakdown without asking for anything in return. Gentlemanly, shy Xander who'd blushed and stammered when he'd asked her out on her first ever date, three weeks ago. And had followed it up by taking her on a horse and carriage to the classiest restaurant she'd ever been to, the sort of place she'd used to dream of stealing scraps from when she'd been a runaway. Tough, fearless Xander who fought by their side, his natural skills augmented both by the Special Forces soldier inside of him and Angel's training.
The Slayer was distracted from thoughts of her man by a slight sound, too indistinct for any but her ears to hear, at one of the upstairs windows. "What the fu-."
Suddenly the windows shattered and the office door crashed open. From both directions came balaclavaed men in fatigues. Muttering curses under her breath, the Slayer sprang into action. Her left foot flickered out catching the nearest soldier in the stomach, lifting him off the ground and sending him crashing into a near-by bookcase that crumpled under the impact. "Shit, G and Wes are going to be lecturing me about looking after books again," Faith muttered as she eyed the books spilling out all over the floor before sidestepping a right, grabbing her would-be attacker's arm and flipping him onto the ground.
Seeing some sort of gun being levelled at her, Faith dived to the ground and rolled away from the blast. Leaping to her feet she sent a kick flicking backwards, connecting with bone-breaking impact to the gunman's wrist, before spinning round and shattering his jaw with a left hook. As the man toppled to the ground, the man beside him lunged forward and grabbed her in a bear-hug. Faith grinned evilly. "Well that was stupid." The Slayer drove her head backwards, sending the back of her skull crunching into the man's nose. The man fell to his knees with a grunt, giving the Slayer the opportunity to finish him off with a spin kick to the side of the head. Faith surged forward to attack another of the invaders only for the man she'd thrown to the floor to grab her foot. It only took a half-second for Faith to kick loose, but the instant was enough for her to be caught in the sights of three stun blasters. The Slayer screamed as the bolts hit her. Her body convulsing from the shock to her nervous system, the Slayer slumped to the floor, unconscious.
* * * "Holy crap." Graham commented as he pulled off his mask. "She's a looker, real livewire too. Bet she's great in the sack."
Forrest laughed. "Can we take the other babe too? She'd be great for some R & R."
Riley forced a stern expression as he removed his balaclava. This would show Harris not to mess with him. "Remember our mission objective people," he poked Faith's limp body with his foot. "We got the bitch, now let's cuff her and get out of here."
"Not bloody likely!" Finn's head snapped up. He watched in open-mouthed amazement as a pyjama-clad Giles vaulted over the second floor banister and plunged down onto a stunned Forrest. The two hit the floor with a bone- jarring thud, Giles landing on top. The enraged Englishman drove his head into Forrest's face three times before leaping to his feet, a look of inhuman fury on the Brit's face as he started towards him. "You gutless bastard!"
Snapping out of his trance, Riley fired his blaster into the Englishman and watched with relief as he fell to the ground. He'd read the Professor's file on Giles, but to actually see Ripper in person was terrifying to behold.
"You bastard!" Forrest stumbled to his feet, his face a broken, bloody mess. The trooper aimed his blaster at the former librarian and set it to kill.
"No!"
Forrest glared at him. "Have you seen what he did to my face!"
"Summers doesn't give a shit about Faith. If she finds out we've killed Giles though.."
"He's seen our faces man," Graham broke in.
"Doesn't matter. If he contacts Buffy for help, he won't get it, not for the bitch. She might be pissed about us stunning him, but I can smooth that over. And if the others come, well we'll capture Angelus and Hostile 17, and kill the rest."
Forrest nodded. "Makes sense."
"Good, then grab her body and let's get out of here."
* * *
"And so she looks at me and says only three!" Xander finished his story with a smile. He couldn't believe how well everything had turned out. He and Faith had been eagerly accepted into Angel's gang. He was no longer the Zeppo but a valued member of the team, putting Faith back together had been tough but with care and attention, they'd all played their part, they'd managed it. Without Buffy to stir the pot and with the respect he gained from training with the ensoulled vampire, he'd even grown to become firm friends with Angel. Although it was still entertaining to help Spike in baiting him. And most importantly, he had Faith.
Suddenly he realised his story hadn't received the expected response. He turned towards the two vamps. "What's up?"
Angel pointed towards the office building that his human eyes couldn't yet see through the night's impenetrable darkness. "The windows have been broken. Xander no -."
At Angel's first words, the young man felt an icy finger run up his spine. Ignoring the danger, he ran across the busy road, causing cars to screech to a halt and drivers to curse, and drawing his Desert Eagle as he went. After a few moments he vaguely registered the presence of Angel and Spike beside him. "We said wait you bloody pillock!" Spike growled. "Scout the place out before running in!"
"Screw that for a plan!" Xander snapped back, his eyes flaming angrily as he kicked the building's front door open. "Faith's inside!" his heart pounding, the young man raced up upstairs and through the office's open doorway.
The office looked like a tornado had swept through it. Desks, chairs, and a bookcase were over-turned while the bodies of Giles, Wesley, and Cordy lay slowly stirring on the floor. After quickly checking that his friends weren't seriously injured, Xander hurried into their living quarters to search for his Slayer. His heart fell when his eyes confirmed what he already really knew, no Faith.
Xander forced away the dizziness assaulting him. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he strode over to a now awake Wesley. "What happened? Where's Faith?"
The former Watcher, his hand pressing a handkerchief onto a deep gash over his left eye, shrugged before wincing. "A dozen men in military fatigues broke through the door, windows and the skylight," Wesley glanced up at the ceiling. "As to Faith, I'm sorry Xander, I don't know."
"The Initiative took her."
"What!" Xander's head snapped towards Giles. "How do you know?"
Giles rubbed at his head before continuing. "I was asleep when the attack began so I didn't get out here until the others had been subdued. By this time, the soldiers had removed their masks so I recognised them as that odious prat Finn and his merry band of idiots." The Watcher's face twisted in misery. "I couldn't stop them Xander, I'm sorry."
"I'll phone Buffy-."
"Like hell," Xander strode over to Angel and snatched the phone out of his surprised friend's hand. "The bitch is probably in on it."
Angel's face contorted in rage. "Buffy's a lot of things, but she isn't cold-blooded!"
"Still hung up on her?" snarled Xander. "Does Kate know?"
The vampire's eyes glittered golden. "Why you -."
"Shut up!" The arguing duo turned to face a crying Cordelia. "I've been beaten up and my friend's been kidnapped! And what are you two dumbasses doing? Arguing about Buffy! God it's like being back in high school!"
Xander glanced at Angel. He saw the shame he felt mirrored in the vampire's face. The uneasy silence was broken by Giles. "Actually I believe both of you are correct. Buffy wouldn't have been part of this," Giles glanced around the wrecked office. "However I also believe contacting her would only lead to Riley being warned. The question is what do we do next?"
"There is no we." Xander strode into the bedroom he shared with Faith. After grabbing his armoury he walked back out into the office only to find the exit blocked by Angel.
"What are you going to do?" demanded Angel.
"I'm going to Sunnydale to get my girl," the teenager smiled coldly. "And I'm not asking nicely."
Giles spoke up from behind him. "I know I speak for the others when I say not on your own."
Xander's gaze didn't move from the vampire. "This is just my fight Giles."
"No it is bloody not!" Giles' angry bellow caused him to jump. "She might be your girl-friend, but she's mine and Wesley's slayer, and she's the others' friend. We are coming with you. That's what family does, it helps one another."
After a second Xander nodded. "Fine. But you might not like what I'm going to do." With that warning delivered, he pushed past the suddenly gaping vampire and headed into the night. They were going to pay, every last one of them.
"So I say just three?"
Wesley and Cordelia collapsed in laughter at the end of Faith's tale. The Slayer beamed at her friends. Ten weeks had passed since Xander had half- carried, half-dragged her into Angel's office. Since that time she'd become a valued member of Angel's team. She'd regained her sense of purpose and confidence while tempering her previous arrogance. And for the first time in her life she was part of a real, loving family. Even more importantly, she had Xander.
Sweet, gentle Xander who patiently nursed her back to health after her breakdown without asking for anything in return. Gentlemanly, shy Xander who'd blushed and stammered when he'd asked her out on her first ever date, three weeks ago. And had followed it up by taking her on a horse and carriage to the classiest restaurant she'd ever been to, the sort of place she'd used to dream of stealing scraps from when she'd been a runaway. Tough, fearless Xander who fought by their side, his natural skills augmented both by the Special Forces soldier inside of him and Angel's training.
The Slayer was distracted from thoughts of her man by a slight sound, too indistinct for any but her ears to hear, at one of the upstairs windows. "What the fu-."
Suddenly the windows shattered and the office door crashed open. From both directions came balaclavaed men in fatigues. Muttering curses under her breath, the Slayer sprang into action. Her left foot flickered out catching the nearest soldier in the stomach, lifting him off the ground and sending him crashing into a near-by bookcase that crumpled under the impact. "Shit, G and Wes are going to be lecturing me about looking after books again," Faith muttered as she eyed the books spilling out all over the floor before sidestepping a right, grabbing her would-be attacker's arm and flipping him onto the ground.
Seeing some sort of gun being levelled at her, Faith dived to the ground and rolled away from the blast. Leaping to her feet she sent a kick flicking backwards, connecting with bone-breaking impact to the gunman's wrist, before spinning round and shattering his jaw with a left hook. As the man toppled to the ground, the man beside him lunged forward and grabbed her in a bear-hug. Faith grinned evilly. "Well that was stupid." The Slayer drove her head backwards, sending the back of her skull crunching into the man's nose. The man fell to his knees with a grunt, giving the Slayer the opportunity to finish him off with a spin kick to the side of the head. Faith surged forward to attack another of the invaders only for the man she'd thrown to the floor to grab her foot. It only took a half-second for Faith to kick loose, but the instant was enough for her to be caught in the sights of three stun blasters. The Slayer screamed as the bolts hit her. Her body convulsing from the shock to her nervous system, the Slayer slumped to the floor, unconscious.
* * * "Holy crap." Graham commented as he pulled off his mask. "She's a looker, real livewire too. Bet she's great in the sack."
Forrest laughed. "Can we take the other babe too? She'd be great for some R & R."
Riley forced a stern expression as he removed his balaclava. This would show Harris not to mess with him. "Remember our mission objective people," he poked Faith's limp body with his foot. "We got the bitch, now let's cuff her and get out of here."
"Not bloody likely!" Finn's head snapped up. He watched in open-mouthed amazement as a pyjama-clad Giles vaulted over the second floor banister and plunged down onto a stunned Forrest. The two hit the floor with a bone- jarring thud, Giles landing on top. The enraged Englishman drove his head into Forrest's face three times before leaping to his feet, a look of inhuman fury on the Brit's face as he started towards him. "You gutless bastard!"
Snapping out of his trance, Riley fired his blaster into the Englishman and watched with relief as he fell to the ground. He'd read the Professor's file on Giles, but to actually see Ripper in person was terrifying to behold.
"You bastard!" Forrest stumbled to his feet, his face a broken, bloody mess. The trooper aimed his blaster at the former librarian and set it to kill.
"No!"
Forrest glared at him. "Have you seen what he did to my face!"
"Summers doesn't give a shit about Faith. If she finds out we've killed Giles though.."
"He's seen our faces man," Graham broke in.
"Doesn't matter. If he contacts Buffy for help, he won't get it, not for the bitch. She might be pissed about us stunning him, but I can smooth that over. And if the others come, well we'll capture Angelus and Hostile 17, and kill the rest."
Forrest nodded. "Makes sense."
"Good, then grab her body and let's get out of here."
* * *
"And so she looks at me and says only three!" Xander finished his story with a smile. He couldn't believe how well everything had turned out. He and Faith had been eagerly accepted into Angel's gang. He was no longer the Zeppo but a valued member of the team, putting Faith back together had been tough but with care and attention, they'd all played their part, they'd managed it. Without Buffy to stir the pot and with the respect he gained from training with the ensoulled vampire, he'd even grown to become firm friends with Angel. Although it was still entertaining to help Spike in baiting him. And most importantly, he had Faith.
Suddenly he realised his story hadn't received the expected response. He turned towards the two vamps. "What's up?"
Angel pointed towards the office building that his human eyes couldn't yet see through the night's impenetrable darkness. "The windows have been broken. Xander no -."
At Angel's first words, the young man felt an icy finger run up his spine. Ignoring the danger, he ran across the busy road, causing cars to screech to a halt and drivers to curse, and drawing his Desert Eagle as he went. After a few moments he vaguely registered the presence of Angel and Spike beside him. "We said wait you bloody pillock!" Spike growled. "Scout the place out before running in!"
"Screw that for a plan!" Xander snapped back, his eyes flaming angrily as he kicked the building's front door open. "Faith's inside!" his heart pounding, the young man raced up upstairs and through the office's open doorway.
The office looked like a tornado had swept through it. Desks, chairs, and a bookcase were over-turned while the bodies of Giles, Wesley, and Cordy lay slowly stirring on the floor. After quickly checking that his friends weren't seriously injured, Xander hurried into their living quarters to search for his Slayer. His heart fell when his eyes confirmed what he already really knew, no Faith.
Xander forced away the dizziness assaulting him. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he strode over to a now awake Wesley. "What happened? Where's Faith?"
The former Watcher, his hand pressing a handkerchief onto a deep gash over his left eye, shrugged before wincing. "A dozen men in military fatigues broke through the door, windows and the skylight," Wesley glanced up at the ceiling. "As to Faith, I'm sorry Xander, I don't know."
"The Initiative took her."
"What!" Xander's head snapped towards Giles. "How do you know?"
Giles rubbed at his head before continuing. "I was asleep when the attack began so I didn't get out here until the others had been subdued. By this time, the soldiers had removed their masks so I recognised them as that odious prat Finn and his merry band of idiots." The Watcher's face twisted in misery. "I couldn't stop them Xander, I'm sorry."
"I'll phone Buffy-."
"Like hell," Xander strode over to Angel and snatched the phone out of his surprised friend's hand. "The bitch is probably in on it."
Angel's face contorted in rage. "Buffy's a lot of things, but she isn't cold-blooded!"
"Still hung up on her?" snarled Xander. "Does Kate know?"
The vampire's eyes glittered golden. "Why you -."
"Shut up!" The arguing duo turned to face a crying Cordelia. "I've been beaten up and my friend's been kidnapped! And what are you two dumbasses doing? Arguing about Buffy! God it's like being back in high school!"
Xander glanced at Angel. He saw the shame he felt mirrored in the vampire's face. The uneasy silence was broken by Giles. "Actually I believe both of you are correct. Buffy wouldn't have been part of this," Giles glanced around the wrecked office. "However I also believe contacting her would only lead to Riley being warned. The question is what do we do next?"
"There is no we." Xander strode into the bedroom he shared with Faith. After grabbing his armoury he walked back out into the office only to find the exit blocked by Angel.
"What are you going to do?" demanded Angel.
"I'm going to Sunnydale to get my girl," the teenager smiled coldly. "And I'm not asking nicely."
Giles spoke up from behind him. "I know I speak for the others when I say not on your own."
Xander's gaze didn't move from the vampire. "This is just my fight Giles."
"No it is bloody not!" Giles' angry bellow caused him to jump. "She might be your girl-friend, but she's mine and Wesley's slayer, and she's the others' friend. We are coming with you. That's what family does, it helps one another."
After a second Xander nodded. "Fine. But you might not like what I'm going to do." With that warning delivered, he pushed past the suddenly gaping vampire and headed into the night. They were going to pay, every last one of them.