Chapter 3
Fight and Flight
~~~~~
Two black cars pulled up in an alley next to a sporting goods store. The tall buildings blocked the early morning sun from the people who filed out of the cars.
"Ok, look we're here to get him out safely before the cops come rushing in. Spike, under no circumstances are we going to kill him." Angel said, looking around at the group, saving Spike for last.
"I wasn't planning on killing him." Spike smirked.
"Good. Look, you guys get the people out of there. Spike and I'll distract Connor." Angel said looking at Gunn, Fred, Wes, and Lorne. "Lets go."
Angel kicked the back door of the store open. They walked through the doorway that led to a room with a flight of stairs at the back. They walked swiftly up the stairs, onto a platform with a door to the left. Angel opened the door slowly and they walked out onto a balcony at the back of the store.
********************* (Sunnydale, California)
Buffy, Willow, and Xander were sitting on the couch in the livingroom of the Summers' house when Dawn came in from the kitchen. "Hey, has anyone seen Spike?" She asked looking from Buffy to the other two.
"No, isn't he downstairs?' Willow asked wedged between her two best- friends.
Buffy stood up from the end of the couch, closer to Dawn in the doorway. She walked passed Dawn, through the dining room, and into the Kitchen, where Faith and Kennedy were fixing a snack behind the counter.
"Hey, B, what's up?" Faith asked.
Buffy didn't answer her. She threw the basement door open and descended the stairs at a brisk pace. She didn't see Spike anywhere. She crossed the room to the bed and found a folded piece of paper lying on the pillow. It said, in Spike's handwriting,
"Dear Buffy,
Don't be afraid, I'm fine, promise. I just had to, uh, get some fresh air. I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell lil' bit to be good, for me. Don't worry I'll be back for the battle. I won't let you face it by yourself, promise. I love you.
Love, Spike"
Buffy read Spike's letter three times before sticking it in her back pocket of her leather pants.
"Who's the letter from, B?" Faith asked at the bottom of the stairs, making Buffy jump.
"Spike," Buffy said walking past her, and back up the stairs to the kitchen. Everyone was gathered around the counter, now. "News travels fast in the Summer's house," she thought.
"Speaking of whom, where is he?" Faith said coming up the stairs behind her.
"Out," Buffy said.
"Out where?"
"Who?" Kennedy asked looking from one slayer to the next.
"Spike." Willow whispered to her, looking at Buffy for answers. Willow was standing on Kennedy's right side, with Dawn on Kennedy's left side.
"Oh," Kennedy answered softly.
"I don't know where he is. All I know is that he's out and he'll be back soon." Buffy told them.
"Oh, that's just like Captain Peroxide, run when things get tough," Xander said standing next to Willow.
"Xander," Willow said throwing him a warning look.
"When has he ever ran when things got tough?" Buffy threw at him.
"Let's see, that time when Angelus was fighting you and you were winning," Xander threw back.
"That was when he was evil."
"He has always been evil."
"No, he hasn't!" Dawn said with anger evident in her voice. "He's saved our lives many times, even yours, Xander."
"That's right." Willow added.
"That doesn't count, he had a chip..." Xander started.
"Yes it does, and more in my book then when he tried to kill us." Dawn said.
"Dawn's right. Just because he had a chip doesn't mean he had to help us. He could have just gotten his minions to kill us, instead, but he didn't, did he? He helped us, and saved the world and us. Even you, Xander and you, Giles." Willow added looking from Xander to Giles, "Now, no more arguing about Spike and of what he has done in the past."
"Where did he go?" Giles asked looking at Buffy from the doorway, Xander didn't say anything else.
"I don't know, this is all he said," Buffy said, pulling out Spike's letter and reading certain sentences from it, "dear Buffy, I had to get some fresh air. I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Lil' bit to be good, for me. I'll be back for the battle. Spike."
"Ok, so lets think, where would he have gone now?" Giles asked. "It's day light."
"I don't know, but I don't think he just went out for 'fresh air'," Buffy told them.
********************* (Los Angeles, California)
The room was bright, but that's what you would expect in a room with huge ceiling lights. There was a dark haired man sitting on the floor next to a rack of clothes with a bomb strapped to his chest. He was in his late thirties, and he was watching all of the other hostages and a brunette boy, the boy had strapped the bomb to his body, very closely.
"That boy can't be very strong. He looks to be 17." He thought as the boy twisted a wire to a bomb sitting next to a brunette woman, lying on the floor, unconscious.
The man didn't know her name or why she was unconscious, but he did know that the boy had brought her with him. As he watched the boy he thought, "Maybe, if the boy makes a mistake I can over power him."
*********************
The boy stood up, slowly, and said, without turning around to look at the person he was talking to, "You got in. Thought you might, and I see you brought the whole gang."
Angel and Spike looked at each other for a second, nodded their heads once, and climbed up on the railing of the balcony. They jumped down at the same time, letting their dusters billow out behind them. Fred and Gunn descended the stairs to the right of the door, and Wesley and Lorne descended the stairs to the left. Angel and Spike crept closer to Connor as the rest of the gang crept toward the hostages.
"Connor," Angel said as he walked toward him slowly. He didn't answer him, he just sat back down and finished strapping the wire to the bomb. Angel tried again, "Son." That made him mad. Connor pressed a button on the detonator, which caused a wall in the back to explode. Debris littered the room. The gang and Spike froze, the hostages whimpered.
"Good job, Angel," Spike said sarcastically. Angel threw Spike a 'that's not funny' look.
"You might not want to move. The people are rigged, too. You can't save them all, Dad. You don't know who's going to be first. Could be anyone of them." He said as he stood up and turned slowly around to face Angel and Spike. "Could be me." He had a bomb strapped to his navel. "Could be her." He said looking down at the brunette woman lying at his feet.
Angel and Spike looked down at the woman, down at Cordelia, and gasped. Fred and the rest of the gang were slowly making their way to the hostages. Angel looked up at Connor and said, "Son, you have to listen to me. This is about Jasmine..."
"Jasmine's gone," Connor interrupted Angel.
"I know. We all felt it, that perfect love, then when we had to give it up."
"I didn't feel anything," Spike said under his breath, "Well, that could have been because I was in Sunnyhell and no where near Jas."
Angel threw him another look, and whispered quickly, "Shut up."
"I didn't feel anything." Connor yelled, he took a deep breath and then said, "I can't feel anything. I guess I really am your son... I guess I'm dead, too."
"Your not dead." Angel said, a tear streamed down his face. "You're just starting your life..."
"No, you just weren't there before." Connor yelled.
"I know," Angel said slowly, "I'm so..."
"Don't say your sorry. Doesn't fix anything." Connor yelled again.
"Ok, look. Let me say this. I love you." Angel said between breaths.
"It's a lie."
"It's not."
"It's always a lie, my dead mother couldn't even love me."
"Hey, your wrong. Darla did love you." Spike said.
"How would you know? You're just a vampire." Connor asked him.
"Because I knew Darla. If she didn't love you, she wouldn't have staked herself to bring you into this bloody world."
"How do you know she staked herself?" Angel asked him wiping a tear away.
"Buffy told me."
"Oh," Angel said softly.
"Vampires can't love." Connor said.
"Yes, they bloody well can." Spike said.
"Oh, yeah, name one." Connor smirked.
"Uh, let's see there's Darla, Dru, Angel, and me." Spike said flicking the names off his fingers as he said them. "Bloody bint."
"Hahahahahahahahaha," Someone behind them laughed. Spike and Angel turned around to see who it was.
"Wes, what's so funny?" Fred asked.
"I just think it's funny that Angel's son and Angel's childe are arguing." Wes said smiling.
"Didn't your father ever teach you that there is a time and place for everything? This isn't the time for laughing," Spike said, "You git." Spike looked at Angel and turned back around to face Connor.
Connor was still holding the detonator, but his thumb was moving toward the red button. With vampiric speed Spike punched Connor and ripped out the wire connected to the bomb around his navel.
*********************
Angel thought, "Wes is right, having my son and my childe argue is funny. They're acting like brothers." Angel looked over at his right, but didn't see Spike standing beside him. "Now where did he go? "
He turned around just in time to see Spike pull the wire out of the bomb. He signaled to the gang telling them to get the people out of there. Once he saw that they were doing that, he turned back to the fight. Connor was now kicking Spike in the gut.
Angel jumped in between them and pushed them away from each other. Spike landed against the wall and Connor landed in a rack of clothes. Spike stood up, rubbed his head, and said, "Hey, why the hell did you push me?"
"Because you wouldn't have stopped you would have continued the fi..." At that moment Connor came up behind Angel with a golf club and smacked him across the back of the head.
Angel fell to the ground with a thud.
*********************
Connor went after Spike with the golf club. He raised it over his head and brought it down fast. Spike squatted down and swung his leg out, swiftly, connecting with Connor's feet, causing Connor to fall and drop the golf club. Spike stood up, grabbed the golf club and said, "That might have worked on Angel, but it won't work on me." He threw the club away from the fight and away from Connor.
*********************
Wes, Gunn, and Fred were busy ripping the wires out of the bombs bounded to the hostages' chests. In fact, they were so busy they didn't see Connor hit Angel. Fred unbound three hostages, a man in his late thirties and two teenage women. They stood up and Fred told them, "Go up the stairs, to the balcony, and out the door. There are stairs leading down stairs, there is a man, uh, in a green costume waiting for you. He'll tell you where to go."
"Thank you," the man said grasping her hand.
"Oh, your welcome," Fred replied, after they left she began herding the rest of the hostages out of the store.
*********************
The man and the girls followed the young brunette's instructions. They walked down the stairs at the back of the store, leading to the backdoor. They saw a man, wearing a blue suit, standing inside the doorway. When they got a little closer they saw that the man had, what it seemed to be, green paint on his hands and face.
As they drew closer he said, "Now, go down the alley, toward the front of the store, there are police officers there who will help you get home."
The man walked outside, passed the two black cars, and down the alley to the front of the store. "I'm not sure that was a costume." He thought as he rounded the corner. "But then again it is Los Angeles."
*********************
After they had gotten the rest of the hostages out of the backdoor, Fred signaled to Lorne that there wasn't anyone else left. Lorne came up stairs, and the gang walked to the front of the store to check on Angel and Spike. They saw Angel lying on the floor. Fred walked swiftly to Angel and shook his shoulder, "Angel, come on, wake up." Wesley, Gunn, and Lorne were watching the fight between Spike and Connor.
*********************
Connor threw a punch at Spike's head. Spike blocked it with his right arm and landed a punch in Connor's gut with his free hand. The bomb was laying ten feet away, Spike had ripped it off and thrown it there, after he had thrown the golf club. Connor doubled over. Spike, then, landed a roundhouse kick to Connor's head. Connor fell to the ground, unconscious. Spike crouched down beside Connor, put a finger to his brachial artery in his neck, and thought, "Good, he is still alive, just unconscious."
He stood up, brushed off his duster, and dug into his pocket. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and his Zippo. He pulled a Marlboro out, put it in his mouth, and lit up. He took a drawl and said, "I see you decided to join the fun."
Angel stood up rubbing his head and said, "I see you can hurt humans now."
"Got the bloody chip out."
"I didn't know that."
"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me." Spike smirked.
"And Buffy's not worried?" Fred asked.
"Nope."
"That's weird she's always been scared about what you'll do if you got the chip out." Angel said.
"Well, she was the one who took it out."
"Why?"
"Don't know, ask her yourself when we get to Sunnyhell." Spike said sarcastically with a smirk on his face.
"We better get going, if we're going to get there before night fall." Gunn said walking over to Cordelia and picking her up.
"Yeah, and the police are probably going to be coming in the door, in a few minutes." Angel said walking over to Connor and picking him up.
They were on the stairs when the police came in. Gunn, carrying Cordy, was the closest to the balcony with Fred, Lorne, and Wesley behind him, and Spike and Angel, carrying Connor, bringing up the rear. The police officers shouted, "Freeze!"
They turned around to face the officers. The police chief was a stout man with barely any hair left. He said, "We need that boy."
Angel replied, "Over my dead body."
"Which one? The one that goes to dust, the one that goes to hell and back, or the one that is 'grr' evil." Lorne whispered.
Spike and the gang laughed except for Angel who was trying very hard and failing not to crack up with laughter.
"What's so funny?" The chief asked.
"You," Spike smirked. "You come in here with your guns trying to tell us what to do. When you don't even know who you are messing with."
"I know what to do with punks like you," the chief said.
"Oh really, enlighten me." Spike said taking another drawl on his cigarette.
"Spike..." Angel said warningly.
"Angel, I know what I'm doing." Spike said. "These police are all the same. All a bunch of mangy gits."
"I don't think you do, and you better not get arrested or we won't make it to Buffy in time, and you'll burn, they don't give out blankets until you get to the jail, remember." Angel said.
"Fine, if you think you can do better, then show me how to do it. It'll be like old times." Spike said sarcastically.
"I'm taking my son and we're leaving. Do you have a problem with that?" Angel asked, walking up the stairs until he was standing next to Lorne.
"Freeze, or we'll shoot." The chief said, raising his gun.
"Go ahead." Spike said throwing down his cigarette and grinding it out with his boot.
"Uh, Spike, not all of us are immune to bullets." Wes said.
"Oh. Right." Spike said taking a step up to stand next to Wes.
"Lorne, take Connor. We'll distract them then you, Fred, Wes, and Gunn get out of here." Angel whispered to Lorne, as he handed Connor to him. Angel turned back toward the police and said, "Ready, Spike?"
"Whenever you are." Spike responded.
"Then, let's do it." Angel said as Spike and him launched themselves over the railing of the stairs. They landed on their feet with their dusters billowing out beside them. "Spike, no killing," Angel growled.
"I know." Spike growled in response.
Angel had landed in front of the Chief. He reached out with vamp speed and grabbed his gun. He unloaded it with one swift movement and threw it to the floor. Spike had landed two feet from Angel and began taking the guns from the other cops. He didn't worry about unloading them. He said, "You know, these aren't helpful, they just get in the way."
Once all of the cops were unarmed, Angel said to the chief, "I'm taking my son, and we're leaving." The chief didn't reply he was too scared. Angel and Spike turned around and walked up the stairs. The gang was already outside.
*********************
"What's taking them so long?" Fred asked Gunn as they sat in Spike's car, waiting for Angel and Spike to come out of the sporting goods store.
"They'll be out in a minute," Gunn told her. They had brought Connor and Cordy out to the cars. They put Connor in Angel's car, with Wes and Lorne, and Cordy in Spike's car. Gunn saw Angel and Spike step out into the shadows of the store. Gunn grabbed two army blankets from the driver's seat, he had found them in the trunk of Spike's car. Gunn opened the passenger side door and stepped out in the afternoon sun. He stepped over to the side of the alley, handed out the blankets, and asked, "Where to?"
"Sunnydale." Angel said taking the blanket Gunn offered him. Spike grabbed the other blanket, threw it over his head, and stepped out into the sun.
Angel and Gunn stood there for a second and Gunn asked in a whisper, "Do you believe Spike is telling the truth about Buffy?"
"Yeah, most of it." Angel replied.
"Why?"
"Because he wouldn't be here unless Buff was really in trouble."
"How do you know?"
"Because he hates me, and the only reason he would be here was if she was in trouble, or if he wanted something."
"Do you think he wants something?"
"Not sure, I'll know when we get to Sunnydale." Angel said throwing the blanket over his head and walking over to his car.
"You two aren't going to be making out in my car, now are you?" Spike asked as Gunn climbed in the front seat. Fred and Gunn didn't say anything. "Woo hoo, this is going to be a long ride."
*********************
She descended the stairs to the basement. It seemed so empty without him. She walked over to the punching bag and landed a roundhouse kick sending her long, blonde hair around her face. She flicked her head back, throwing her hair back in place. She balled her hands into fists and began to punch the bag. "Why...did...you...have...to...leave?" She said between each punch. "Why...didn't...you...say...good-bye? Why? After...everything...that...has...happened?" She punched the bag with all of her strength. The bag flew across the room and landed next to the stairs.
She didn't retrieve it, knowing she could easily pick it back up and suspended it from the ceiling. She walked over to the bed and sat down. She pulled out a worn folded piece of paper, Spike's note. She lay down on the bed, pulled Spike's blanket up to her stomach, and began to read the note. She read it again and again until she slipped into unconsciousness.
*********************
Spike pulled into a gas station, with Angel's car behind him. As he put it in park he asked Gunn, "Would you get the gas?"
"Sure," Gunn said climbing out of the car. Gunn shut the door and the only sound that was left was the sound of Fred and Cordy's breathing.
"Hey, you want something to drink or eat? I'll pay." Spike said breaking the silence.
"Uh, sure." Fred said.
"Here, give this to Gunn, tell him to pay for the gas, get me a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers, and get you guys something." Spike said handing her a hundred dollar bill. "Oh, and ask the others if they want anything."
"Uh, ok," Fred said climbing out of the car. Fred walked over to Gunn. "What's up with Spike, Charles?"
"Why do you ask?" He said pumping the gas into the tank.
"He just offered to buy all of us something to eat or drink." Fred explained.
"Well, I don't know, Angel says he's either really worried about Buffy or he wants something. He said we'll find out when we get to Sunnydale." Gunn replied.
"Oh."
The pump stopped, signaling that the tank is full. "So, did he give you the money?" Gunn asked, as he put the gas nozzle back up.
"Yeah, here." Fred said handing him the dollar bill.
"Damn, what does he expect us to buy in there?" Gunn asked looking down at the money, and then looking up at Fred for an answer.
"Gas, and we're supposed to ask the others if they want something," Fred answered him, "oh, and he wants a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers."
"Why does he want peanut butter and crackers?"
"Don't know."
"Well, lets go." Gunn said walking over to the passenger side of Angel's car.
*********************
Spike watched Gunn and Fred through the cracks in the black paint on the windows as he drummed his right hand on the steering wheel. "Buffy, if you get yourself killed before I get back, I'll bring you back myself, and kill you again," he thought as he watched Gunn, Fred, and Wes go into the Dairy Mart, "And if those friends of yours kick you out of the house again, I'm going to kill them."
"Yo, Spike, here's your change." Gunn said opening the passenger side door, a few minutes later, letting a tiny ray of sunlight fall on Spike's right hand.
"AH, BLOODY HELL!" Spike yelled pulling his smoking hand from the sunlight. "SHUT THE BLOODY DOOR, YOU DAMN NINNY!"
Gunn slid inside of the car and shut the door as fast as he could. Spike rubbed the back of his hand as he said, "What were you saying?"
"Here," Gunn said, handing him a $20 bill. Fred opened the rear passenger side door and slid in behind Gunn with a grocery bag.
"Did you get my peanut butter and crackers?"
"Yeah, here." Fred said passing him a jar of Jif peanut butter and a box of Saltine crackers.
Spike took them and set them beside his seat. He turned the key in the ignition and turned on the radio. The sound of "Bad Company" by Bad Company filled the car. Spike pulled out of the gas station and turned into the stream of traffic.
********************* (Sunnydale, California)
"Where's Buff?" Willow asked Xander as she interred the Kitchen.
"Sleeping," Xander answered her as he poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat down at the counter.
"Still? Damn, she must have been really tired," Willow said, walking over to the cupboard and getting a glass.
"Yeah," Xander sighed as he took a sip of coffee.
"How's the girls?" Willow asked walking over to the refrigerator. She opened the door and grabbed the apple juice. She poured it into the glass as she sat down at the counter next to Xander.
"They're healing," was his reply.
"That's good," Willow said, taking a drink, "You know what we need to do, tonight?"
"Get a tattoo." Xander said, making Willow laugh.
"Nope, we, as in Buffy, you, and I, need to have a movie night. Where we sit around, watch movies, and pig out. We haven't done that for so long. It'll be just like old times. We can get a war movie for you and a chick flick for us."
"Yeah, we need a 'friends-night-in' night to take our minds off the First and Caleb," Xander added. "We'll suggest it to Buff when she wakes up."
*********************
Spike's car screeched to a stop in front of the Summers' house. He grabbed his peanut butter and crackers, and opened the driver's side door of his Desoto. Fred and Gunn were climbing out of the car, too.
"We should wait for Angel to pull up, before we go in." Fred said grabbing the crossbow and arrows from the floorboard underneath the seat that Cordy was lying, unconscious, on.
"Yeah," Gunn agreed. He handed Fred the duffel bag from under his seat, so that when Angel got there he could carry Cordy.
Spike on the other hand had other plans. He shut the car door and with vampiric speed dashed behind the house before Fred or Gunn could protest.
To be continued... It took me a little longer to get this posted then I thought it would. I would like to congratulate J.K. Rowling on the title of the thirty third chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I am a big fan of hers, and the title of this chapter was influenced from that title. I owe the title of this chapter to her. I will try to get more posted in the next couple of weeks. I think most of you are going to be surprised by the next few chapters. Well, got to go write more, see ya.
Two black cars pulled up in an alley next to a sporting goods store. The tall buildings blocked the early morning sun from the people who filed out of the cars.
"Ok, look we're here to get him out safely before the cops come rushing in. Spike, under no circumstances are we going to kill him." Angel said, looking around at the group, saving Spike for last.
"I wasn't planning on killing him." Spike smirked.
"Good. Look, you guys get the people out of there. Spike and I'll distract Connor." Angel said looking at Gunn, Fred, Wes, and Lorne. "Lets go."
Angel kicked the back door of the store open. They walked through the doorway that led to a room with a flight of stairs at the back. They walked swiftly up the stairs, onto a platform with a door to the left. Angel opened the door slowly and they walked out onto a balcony at the back of the store.
********************* (Sunnydale, California)
Buffy, Willow, and Xander were sitting on the couch in the livingroom of the Summers' house when Dawn came in from the kitchen. "Hey, has anyone seen Spike?" She asked looking from Buffy to the other two.
"No, isn't he downstairs?' Willow asked wedged between her two best- friends.
Buffy stood up from the end of the couch, closer to Dawn in the doorway. She walked passed Dawn, through the dining room, and into the Kitchen, where Faith and Kennedy were fixing a snack behind the counter.
"Hey, B, what's up?" Faith asked.
Buffy didn't answer her. She threw the basement door open and descended the stairs at a brisk pace. She didn't see Spike anywhere. She crossed the room to the bed and found a folded piece of paper lying on the pillow. It said, in Spike's handwriting,
"Dear Buffy,
Don't be afraid, I'm fine, promise. I just had to, uh, get some fresh air. I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell lil' bit to be good, for me. Don't worry I'll be back for the battle. I won't let you face it by yourself, promise. I love you.
Love, Spike"
Buffy read Spike's letter three times before sticking it in her back pocket of her leather pants.
"Who's the letter from, B?" Faith asked at the bottom of the stairs, making Buffy jump.
"Spike," Buffy said walking past her, and back up the stairs to the kitchen. Everyone was gathered around the counter, now. "News travels fast in the Summer's house," she thought.
"Speaking of whom, where is he?" Faith said coming up the stairs behind her.
"Out," Buffy said.
"Out where?"
"Who?" Kennedy asked looking from one slayer to the next.
"Spike." Willow whispered to her, looking at Buffy for answers. Willow was standing on Kennedy's right side, with Dawn on Kennedy's left side.
"Oh," Kennedy answered softly.
"I don't know where he is. All I know is that he's out and he'll be back soon." Buffy told them.
"Oh, that's just like Captain Peroxide, run when things get tough," Xander said standing next to Willow.
"Xander," Willow said throwing him a warning look.
"When has he ever ran when things got tough?" Buffy threw at him.
"Let's see, that time when Angelus was fighting you and you were winning," Xander threw back.
"That was when he was evil."
"He has always been evil."
"No, he hasn't!" Dawn said with anger evident in her voice. "He's saved our lives many times, even yours, Xander."
"That's right." Willow added.
"That doesn't count, he had a chip..." Xander started.
"Yes it does, and more in my book then when he tried to kill us." Dawn said.
"Dawn's right. Just because he had a chip doesn't mean he had to help us. He could have just gotten his minions to kill us, instead, but he didn't, did he? He helped us, and saved the world and us. Even you, Xander and you, Giles." Willow added looking from Xander to Giles, "Now, no more arguing about Spike and of what he has done in the past."
"Where did he go?" Giles asked looking at Buffy from the doorway, Xander didn't say anything else.
"I don't know, this is all he said," Buffy said, pulling out Spike's letter and reading certain sentences from it, "dear Buffy, I had to get some fresh air. I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Lil' bit to be good, for me. I'll be back for the battle. Spike."
"Ok, so lets think, where would he have gone now?" Giles asked. "It's day light."
"I don't know, but I don't think he just went out for 'fresh air'," Buffy told them.
********************* (Los Angeles, California)
The room was bright, but that's what you would expect in a room with huge ceiling lights. There was a dark haired man sitting on the floor next to a rack of clothes with a bomb strapped to his chest. He was in his late thirties, and he was watching all of the other hostages and a brunette boy, the boy had strapped the bomb to his body, very closely.
"That boy can't be very strong. He looks to be 17." He thought as the boy twisted a wire to a bomb sitting next to a brunette woman, lying on the floor, unconscious.
The man didn't know her name or why she was unconscious, but he did know that the boy had brought her with him. As he watched the boy he thought, "Maybe, if the boy makes a mistake I can over power him."
*********************
The boy stood up, slowly, and said, without turning around to look at the person he was talking to, "You got in. Thought you might, and I see you brought the whole gang."
Angel and Spike looked at each other for a second, nodded their heads once, and climbed up on the railing of the balcony. They jumped down at the same time, letting their dusters billow out behind them. Fred and Gunn descended the stairs to the right of the door, and Wesley and Lorne descended the stairs to the left. Angel and Spike crept closer to Connor as the rest of the gang crept toward the hostages.
"Connor," Angel said as he walked toward him slowly. He didn't answer him, he just sat back down and finished strapping the wire to the bomb. Angel tried again, "Son." That made him mad. Connor pressed a button on the detonator, which caused a wall in the back to explode. Debris littered the room. The gang and Spike froze, the hostages whimpered.
"Good job, Angel," Spike said sarcastically. Angel threw Spike a 'that's not funny' look.
"You might not want to move. The people are rigged, too. You can't save them all, Dad. You don't know who's going to be first. Could be anyone of them." He said as he stood up and turned slowly around to face Angel and Spike. "Could be me." He had a bomb strapped to his navel. "Could be her." He said looking down at the brunette woman lying at his feet.
Angel and Spike looked down at the woman, down at Cordelia, and gasped. Fred and the rest of the gang were slowly making their way to the hostages. Angel looked up at Connor and said, "Son, you have to listen to me. This is about Jasmine..."
"Jasmine's gone," Connor interrupted Angel.
"I know. We all felt it, that perfect love, then when we had to give it up."
"I didn't feel anything," Spike said under his breath, "Well, that could have been because I was in Sunnyhell and no where near Jas."
Angel threw him another look, and whispered quickly, "Shut up."
"I didn't feel anything." Connor yelled, he took a deep breath and then said, "I can't feel anything. I guess I really am your son... I guess I'm dead, too."
"Your not dead." Angel said, a tear streamed down his face. "You're just starting your life..."
"No, you just weren't there before." Connor yelled.
"I know," Angel said slowly, "I'm so..."
"Don't say your sorry. Doesn't fix anything." Connor yelled again.
"Ok, look. Let me say this. I love you." Angel said between breaths.
"It's a lie."
"It's not."
"It's always a lie, my dead mother couldn't even love me."
"Hey, your wrong. Darla did love you." Spike said.
"How would you know? You're just a vampire." Connor asked him.
"Because I knew Darla. If she didn't love you, she wouldn't have staked herself to bring you into this bloody world."
"How do you know she staked herself?" Angel asked him wiping a tear away.
"Buffy told me."
"Oh," Angel said softly.
"Vampires can't love." Connor said.
"Yes, they bloody well can." Spike said.
"Oh, yeah, name one." Connor smirked.
"Uh, let's see there's Darla, Dru, Angel, and me." Spike said flicking the names off his fingers as he said them. "Bloody bint."
"Hahahahahahahahaha," Someone behind them laughed. Spike and Angel turned around to see who it was.
"Wes, what's so funny?" Fred asked.
"I just think it's funny that Angel's son and Angel's childe are arguing." Wes said smiling.
"Didn't your father ever teach you that there is a time and place for everything? This isn't the time for laughing," Spike said, "You git." Spike looked at Angel and turned back around to face Connor.
Connor was still holding the detonator, but his thumb was moving toward the red button. With vampiric speed Spike punched Connor and ripped out the wire connected to the bomb around his navel.
*********************
Angel thought, "Wes is right, having my son and my childe argue is funny. They're acting like brothers." Angel looked over at his right, but didn't see Spike standing beside him. "Now where did he go? "
He turned around just in time to see Spike pull the wire out of the bomb. He signaled to the gang telling them to get the people out of there. Once he saw that they were doing that, he turned back to the fight. Connor was now kicking Spike in the gut.
Angel jumped in between them and pushed them away from each other. Spike landed against the wall and Connor landed in a rack of clothes. Spike stood up, rubbed his head, and said, "Hey, why the hell did you push me?"
"Because you wouldn't have stopped you would have continued the fi..." At that moment Connor came up behind Angel with a golf club and smacked him across the back of the head.
Angel fell to the ground with a thud.
*********************
Connor went after Spike with the golf club. He raised it over his head and brought it down fast. Spike squatted down and swung his leg out, swiftly, connecting with Connor's feet, causing Connor to fall and drop the golf club. Spike stood up, grabbed the golf club and said, "That might have worked on Angel, but it won't work on me." He threw the club away from the fight and away from Connor.
*********************
Wes, Gunn, and Fred were busy ripping the wires out of the bombs bounded to the hostages' chests. In fact, they were so busy they didn't see Connor hit Angel. Fred unbound three hostages, a man in his late thirties and two teenage women. They stood up and Fred told them, "Go up the stairs, to the balcony, and out the door. There are stairs leading down stairs, there is a man, uh, in a green costume waiting for you. He'll tell you where to go."
"Thank you," the man said grasping her hand.
"Oh, your welcome," Fred replied, after they left she began herding the rest of the hostages out of the store.
*********************
The man and the girls followed the young brunette's instructions. They walked down the stairs at the back of the store, leading to the backdoor. They saw a man, wearing a blue suit, standing inside the doorway. When they got a little closer they saw that the man had, what it seemed to be, green paint on his hands and face.
As they drew closer he said, "Now, go down the alley, toward the front of the store, there are police officers there who will help you get home."
The man walked outside, passed the two black cars, and down the alley to the front of the store. "I'm not sure that was a costume." He thought as he rounded the corner. "But then again it is Los Angeles."
*********************
After they had gotten the rest of the hostages out of the backdoor, Fred signaled to Lorne that there wasn't anyone else left. Lorne came up stairs, and the gang walked to the front of the store to check on Angel and Spike. They saw Angel lying on the floor. Fred walked swiftly to Angel and shook his shoulder, "Angel, come on, wake up." Wesley, Gunn, and Lorne were watching the fight between Spike and Connor.
*********************
Connor threw a punch at Spike's head. Spike blocked it with his right arm and landed a punch in Connor's gut with his free hand. The bomb was laying ten feet away, Spike had ripped it off and thrown it there, after he had thrown the golf club. Connor doubled over. Spike, then, landed a roundhouse kick to Connor's head. Connor fell to the ground, unconscious. Spike crouched down beside Connor, put a finger to his brachial artery in his neck, and thought, "Good, he is still alive, just unconscious."
He stood up, brushed off his duster, and dug into his pocket. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and his Zippo. He pulled a Marlboro out, put it in his mouth, and lit up. He took a drawl and said, "I see you decided to join the fun."
Angel stood up rubbing his head and said, "I see you can hurt humans now."
"Got the bloody chip out."
"I didn't know that."
"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me." Spike smirked.
"And Buffy's not worried?" Fred asked.
"Nope."
"That's weird she's always been scared about what you'll do if you got the chip out." Angel said.
"Well, she was the one who took it out."
"Why?"
"Don't know, ask her yourself when we get to Sunnyhell." Spike said sarcastically with a smirk on his face.
"We better get going, if we're going to get there before night fall." Gunn said walking over to Cordelia and picking her up.
"Yeah, and the police are probably going to be coming in the door, in a few minutes." Angel said walking over to Connor and picking him up.
They were on the stairs when the police came in. Gunn, carrying Cordy, was the closest to the balcony with Fred, Lorne, and Wesley behind him, and Spike and Angel, carrying Connor, bringing up the rear. The police officers shouted, "Freeze!"
They turned around to face the officers. The police chief was a stout man with barely any hair left. He said, "We need that boy."
Angel replied, "Over my dead body."
"Which one? The one that goes to dust, the one that goes to hell and back, or the one that is 'grr' evil." Lorne whispered.
Spike and the gang laughed except for Angel who was trying very hard and failing not to crack up with laughter.
"What's so funny?" The chief asked.
"You," Spike smirked. "You come in here with your guns trying to tell us what to do. When you don't even know who you are messing with."
"I know what to do with punks like you," the chief said.
"Oh really, enlighten me." Spike said taking another drawl on his cigarette.
"Spike..." Angel said warningly.
"Angel, I know what I'm doing." Spike said. "These police are all the same. All a bunch of mangy gits."
"I don't think you do, and you better not get arrested or we won't make it to Buffy in time, and you'll burn, they don't give out blankets until you get to the jail, remember." Angel said.
"Fine, if you think you can do better, then show me how to do it. It'll be like old times." Spike said sarcastically.
"I'm taking my son and we're leaving. Do you have a problem with that?" Angel asked, walking up the stairs until he was standing next to Lorne.
"Freeze, or we'll shoot." The chief said, raising his gun.
"Go ahead." Spike said throwing down his cigarette and grinding it out with his boot.
"Uh, Spike, not all of us are immune to bullets." Wes said.
"Oh. Right." Spike said taking a step up to stand next to Wes.
"Lorne, take Connor. We'll distract them then you, Fred, Wes, and Gunn get out of here." Angel whispered to Lorne, as he handed Connor to him. Angel turned back toward the police and said, "Ready, Spike?"
"Whenever you are." Spike responded.
"Then, let's do it." Angel said as Spike and him launched themselves over the railing of the stairs. They landed on their feet with their dusters billowing out beside them. "Spike, no killing," Angel growled.
"I know." Spike growled in response.
Angel had landed in front of the Chief. He reached out with vamp speed and grabbed his gun. He unloaded it with one swift movement and threw it to the floor. Spike had landed two feet from Angel and began taking the guns from the other cops. He didn't worry about unloading them. He said, "You know, these aren't helpful, they just get in the way."
Once all of the cops were unarmed, Angel said to the chief, "I'm taking my son, and we're leaving." The chief didn't reply he was too scared. Angel and Spike turned around and walked up the stairs. The gang was already outside.
*********************
"What's taking them so long?" Fred asked Gunn as they sat in Spike's car, waiting for Angel and Spike to come out of the sporting goods store.
"They'll be out in a minute," Gunn told her. They had brought Connor and Cordy out to the cars. They put Connor in Angel's car, with Wes and Lorne, and Cordy in Spike's car. Gunn saw Angel and Spike step out into the shadows of the store. Gunn grabbed two army blankets from the driver's seat, he had found them in the trunk of Spike's car. Gunn opened the passenger side door and stepped out in the afternoon sun. He stepped over to the side of the alley, handed out the blankets, and asked, "Where to?"
"Sunnydale." Angel said taking the blanket Gunn offered him. Spike grabbed the other blanket, threw it over his head, and stepped out into the sun.
Angel and Gunn stood there for a second and Gunn asked in a whisper, "Do you believe Spike is telling the truth about Buffy?"
"Yeah, most of it." Angel replied.
"Why?"
"Because he wouldn't be here unless Buff was really in trouble."
"How do you know?"
"Because he hates me, and the only reason he would be here was if she was in trouble, or if he wanted something."
"Do you think he wants something?"
"Not sure, I'll know when we get to Sunnydale." Angel said throwing the blanket over his head and walking over to his car.
"You two aren't going to be making out in my car, now are you?" Spike asked as Gunn climbed in the front seat. Fred and Gunn didn't say anything. "Woo hoo, this is going to be a long ride."
*********************
She descended the stairs to the basement. It seemed so empty without him. She walked over to the punching bag and landed a roundhouse kick sending her long, blonde hair around her face. She flicked her head back, throwing her hair back in place. She balled her hands into fists and began to punch the bag. "Why...did...you...have...to...leave?" She said between each punch. "Why...didn't...you...say...good-bye? Why? After...everything...that...has...happened?" She punched the bag with all of her strength. The bag flew across the room and landed next to the stairs.
She didn't retrieve it, knowing she could easily pick it back up and suspended it from the ceiling. She walked over to the bed and sat down. She pulled out a worn folded piece of paper, Spike's note. She lay down on the bed, pulled Spike's blanket up to her stomach, and began to read the note. She read it again and again until she slipped into unconsciousness.
*********************
Spike pulled into a gas station, with Angel's car behind him. As he put it in park he asked Gunn, "Would you get the gas?"
"Sure," Gunn said climbing out of the car. Gunn shut the door and the only sound that was left was the sound of Fred and Cordy's breathing.
"Hey, you want something to drink or eat? I'll pay." Spike said breaking the silence.
"Uh, sure." Fred said.
"Here, give this to Gunn, tell him to pay for the gas, get me a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers, and get you guys something." Spike said handing her a hundred dollar bill. "Oh, and ask the others if they want anything."
"Uh, ok," Fred said climbing out of the car. Fred walked over to Gunn. "What's up with Spike, Charles?"
"Why do you ask?" He said pumping the gas into the tank.
"He just offered to buy all of us something to eat or drink." Fred explained.
"Well, I don't know, Angel says he's either really worried about Buffy or he wants something. He said we'll find out when we get to Sunnydale." Gunn replied.
"Oh."
The pump stopped, signaling that the tank is full. "So, did he give you the money?" Gunn asked, as he put the gas nozzle back up.
"Yeah, here." Fred said handing him the dollar bill.
"Damn, what does he expect us to buy in there?" Gunn asked looking down at the money, and then looking up at Fred for an answer.
"Gas, and we're supposed to ask the others if they want something," Fred answered him, "oh, and he wants a jar of peanut butter and a box of crackers."
"Why does he want peanut butter and crackers?"
"Don't know."
"Well, lets go." Gunn said walking over to the passenger side of Angel's car.
*********************
Spike watched Gunn and Fred through the cracks in the black paint on the windows as he drummed his right hand on the steering wheel. "Buffy, if you get yourself killed before I get back, I'll bring you back myself, and kill you again," he thought as he watched Gunn, Fred, and Wes go into the Dairy Mart, "And if those friends of yours kick you out of the house again, I'm going to kill them."
"Yo, Spike, here's your change." Gunn said opening the passenger side door, a few minutes later, letting a tiny ray of sunlight fall on Spike's right hand.
"AH, BLOODY HELL!" Spike yelled pulling his smoking hand from the sunlight. "SHUT THE BLOODY DOOR, YOU DAMN NINNY!"
Gunn slid inside of the car and shut the door as fast as he could. Spike rubbed the back of his hand as he said, "What were you saying?"
"Here," Gunn said, handing him a $20 bill. Fred opened the rear passenger side door and slid in behind Gunn with a grocery bag.
"Did you get my peanut butter and crackers?"
"Yeah, here." Fred said passing him a jar of Jif peanut butter and a box of Saltine crackers.
Spike took them and set them beside his seat. He turned the key in the ignition and turned on the radio. The sound of "Bad Company" by Bad Company filled the car. Spike pulled out of the gas station and turned into the stream of traffic.
********************* (Sunnydale, California)
"Where's Buff?" Willow asked Xander as she interred the Kitchen.
"Sleeping," Xander answered her as he poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat down at the counter.
"Still? Damn, she must have been really tired," Willow said, walking over to the cupboard and getting a glass.
"Yeah," Xander sighed as he took a sip of coffee.
"How's the girls?" Willow asked walking over to the refrigerator. She opened the door and grabbed the apple juice. She poured it into the glass as she sat down at the counter next to Xander.
"They're healing," was his reply.
"That's good," Willow said, taking a drink, "You know what we need to do, tonight?"
"Get a tattoo." Xander said, making Willow laugh.
"Nope, we, as in Buffy, you, and I, need to have a movie night. Where we sit around, watch movies, and pig out. We haven't done that for so long. It'll be just like old times. We can get a war movie for you and a chick flick for us."
"Yeah, we need a 'friends-night-in' night to take our minds off the First and Caleb," Xander added. "We'll suggest it to Buff when she wakes up."
*********************
Spike's car screeched to a stop in front of the Summers' house. He grabbed his peanut butter and crackers, and opened the driver's side door of his Desoto. Fred and Gunn were climbing out of the car, too.
"We should wait for Angel to pull up, before we go in." Fred said grabbing the crossbow and arrows from the floorboard underneath the seat that Cordy was lying, unconscious, on.
"Yeah," Gunn agreed. He handed Fred the duffel bag from under his seat, so that when Angel got there he could carry Cordy.
Spike on the other hand had other plans. He shut the car door and with vampiric speed dashed behind the house before Fred or Gunn could protest.
To be continued... It took me a little longer to get this posted then I thought it would. I would like to congratulate J.K. Rowling on the title of the thirty third chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I am a big fan of hers, and the title of this chapter was influenced from that title. I owe the title of this chapter to her. I will try to get more posted in the next couple of weeks. I think most of you are going to be surprised by the next few chapters. Well, got to go write more, see ya.