Chapter Two

"The Watcher's Council is speaking to us again?" Spike snorted derisively. "Figures. They're friendly when they want something, but otherwise we're not better than horse shit," he grumbled. Tossing the file on Fred's desk, the young vampire leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, adopting a relaxed pose. "Sod them."

Fred smiled and hit Spike lightly on his shoulder, laughing at her friend's mock-injured expression. She took a bite of her sub and looked over the file again. "You have to admit, it's intriguing," she said. "I mean, apparently he was fine before the Council refused to let him go. That's when he killed those men." She looked up, meeting Spike's gaze. "Why didn't they just let him go?"

"He was a Special Operative, an' a mind-reader as well. They wouldn't let someone like that just leave; he knows too much and he's simply too powerful to let live," Spike drawled, an expression of disgust briefly flickering across his angular features. "Bloody Watchers wouldn't be able to stand it if there was something that powerful that they couldn't break and use for their own devices."

Fred nodded morosely, knowing that what her friend said was true. She was about to change the topic when Spike suddenly held up a hand and sniffed the air.

"What is it?" the young woman asked quietly.

Spike looked at her gravely. "Blood," he replied. "Lots of it. Human."

Fred's eyes widened and reached for the phone. "Can you tell where?" she asked, hoping the vampire's sensitive nose would be able to track the scent.

"Security level. I'm going down there," Spike said, jumping out of his chair and racing for the door.

Torn, Fred glanced at the phone in her hand, then at the door where Spike had just left through. No alarms had been sounded, but then again, her friend was rarely mistaken when he smelled blood. It was entirely possible that the guards had been killed before they had the chance to sound the alarm.

Making a quick decision, the young scientist slammed the phone back in its cradle and ran after the Brit.

~*~*~*~

When Fred arrived at the Security level, Spike was nowhere to be found. In fact, the entire floor seemed deserted. Confused, Fred slowly moved down the corridor, her footsteps sounding impossibly loud in the silence.

There was a light on in one of the control rooms. Steeling herself, Fred reached out to open the door - only to find that she couldn't move. Panicking, Fred willed her legs to move, her hand to move, anything to show some response.

"Don't struggle," a quiet voice said from somewhere to her left. "I'll let you go if you promise not to scream."

How can I agree if I can't move? Fred thought frantically.

"Think it," the voice replied to her unspoken thought.

The young woman's eyes widened as she realised whom her captor was. Mentally, she agreed not to scream or run for help, hoping that the renegade Operative would pick up her thought.

At once, she was released. Gasping, Fred sank to her knees, trembling violently from the effort to free herself from the mental grip. She took several deep breaths to calm her nerves and after a moment, she could stand again. Then she remembered Spike and why they had come down to this level in the first place. Fear gripped her once more, she didn't know what she would do if Spike were gone; he had become her best friend since he arrived at Wolfram & Hart.

"What did you do to the guards?" she asked, looking around for the renegade. "Or to Spike?"

"Two of the guards are dead, the others are merely unconscious," came the soft voice. "The vampire is out cold as well."

"You killed the guards?"

A large shape appeared from the shadows, blood dripping from several wounds. The man was surprisingly much younger than Fred had originally expected. His long hair was stuck to his face and neck from sweat and his skin was an unhealthy grey. Giving Fred a weak smile that did not reach his single eye, he said, "call it self defence. I only killed those who shot me."

Fred felt a wave of sympathy as she saw the man's wounds. Reaching for his good shoulder to steady him, she hesitated. "May I?"

"Go ahead."

Slipping one arm around the telepath's waist, she quickly examined his injuries. It was obvious that he wouldn't survive without medical attention.

"Do you think you can make it to the infirmary?" Fred asked, still wary of the big man. She genuinely wanted to help him, but the more rational part of her mind was screaming at her to run away and get Angel to deal with him.

He blinked owlishly at her, surprise evident on his rough features. "You're not going to turn me in? I know that your CEO is willing to help the Council," he said, speaking quietly, but steadily. Fred was amazed at his tolerance level for pain.

"We had a small, er, disagreement over the treatment of a young Slayer." The telepath nodded slowly and his eye closed, his body sagging against Fred's. The scientist staggered forward under the weight before managing to lay him down on the floor.

Checking the man's eye, she found that he had passed out. Great, she thought bitterly. Now how am I going to save this guy? She looked around, wishing Spike, Wes, Angel, or Gunn were with her.

Turning back to the telepath, Fred nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the big man being lifted off the ground by a pair of pale arms.

"Come on, pet," Spike said grimly. "Let's get this pup into the infirmary." He turned and carried his burden over to the elevator. The normally hyperactive vampire was subdued and there was haunted expression visible in his sapphire coloured eyes.

Spike's abrupt mood change was not lost on Fred, and she made a mental note to talk to him about it later. She rose to her feet and jogged down the dimly lit hallway and into the elevator, wondering how she was going to explain this one to Angel.