159

I.O.U.

"Wesley, you shouldn't be here alone." Rose looked faintly scandalized to see him in the office, already looking as though he'd been working for some time.

Wes sighed. "Please don't fuss, Rose," he requested. "I get enough of that from Fred. And without meaning to be rude, I am a little better able to defend myself against Angelus than you."

It was Rose's turn to sigh. "And don't you fuss either, Wesley," she warned. "I get more than enough of that from Spike."

Wesley couldn't entirely suppress a grin. He was sure that when it came to 'fussing', Spike had no competition. But, back to business. "I did some research over the weekend," he confessed. "And I believe that I've pinned down the specific spell that was used to remove Angel's soul. But now, we seem to be at a stalemate."

"What's the problem?" Rose inquired, finally settling into her seat. "Isn't there a counter-spell?"

"There is," he answered. "The difficulty lies in that it must be performed by the original spell-caster. For anyone else, it would merely be an exercise in futility."

"So we have to find whoever cast the spell and convince them to cast the counter-spell?" Rose guessed. "That doesn't sound like it's going be particularly easy. Especially given the sort of person who would cast that sort of spell in the first place. And for Havoc & Associates, yet."

"Actually, there is a slightly easier way," Wesley informed her. "That would be to break the receptacle that houses the soul." He drew a quick, rough sketch of what it would look like, for Rose's benefit. "The snag to that being that we haven't a clue as to where to begin looking."

"Well, it's probably somewhere in the building," Rose mused. "Unless Mr. Stenslow was lying about Drusilla taking it. And I don't see where he'd have anything to gain by lying about it. But it's a very big building."

The Watcher gave her a stern look. "And precisely when were you planning on sharing this information with the rest of us, Rose?"

An expression of guilty embarrassment swept over Rose's features, even though she had a perfectly legitimate excuse. "Well, I only found out about it when I went to see Mr. Stenslow," she said apologetically. "And I was just a little busy afterwards."

It was Wes' turn to look embarrassed. Pale as she was, it was still hard for him to remember that Rose had been on the brink of death a few days earlier. "Well.., er.., as you say, Rose, it's rather a large building. But I do believe that piece of information calls for another meeting."

"Won't Angelus get suspicious if we keep meeting like this?" Rose queried.

"Good point," Wesley conceded. "We'll make it a teleconference."

&&&&&&

Angelus had been about to pay a visit to the research department, purely for the annoyance value, when he noticed the figure lurking in the shadows, watching the office door intently if discreetly. Everything about the lurker shouted predator, and Angelus barely managed to stifle a fit of outrage. This was his territory, and it wasn't permitted for anyone else to hunt here. He settled back into the shadows himself, to see what prey the predator was stalking.

At long last, the inevitable happened, and Rose emerged from the office, headed for the restroom. The hidden observer made a quick scan of the hall in both directions, then emerged from his hiding place, and advanced on Rose.

Angelus lost what little patience that he had, seeing that. As far as he was concerned, Rose was his to play with and torment. No other players had been invited, and he was going to make that abundantly clear. Silent as a drifting cloud, he came up behind the man as he was reaching for Rose and grabbed him and slammed him up against the wall.

Rose turned at the sound and let out a surprised little yip of fear, but it was enough to bring Wesley running out of the office.

"I don't seem to recall issuing you a hunting permit," Angelus remarked to his catch. "You know, the whole evil vampire thing. I just have these issues about sharing."

The man broke out into a sweat, but said nothing.

"What's going on here?" Wesley demanded. He had his tranquilizer gun in his hand, but not, at the moment, aimed at anyone in particular.

Angelus actually deigned to answer him. "You're slipping, Wes, old buddy," he remarked. "Our poacher here was just about to put the grab on sweet, little Rosie. You're falling down on the job here."

Wesley winced as the shot struck home. He hadn't even thought that his sense of propriety would become an issue where Rose's safety was concerned. Obviously though, it had been. But best not to let Angelus see that he'd scored a hit. Instead, he turned his attention to Rose. "Rose, why don't you finish your.., errand," he suggested. "I'll wait here until you come back out."

Rose gratefully fled into the sanctuary of the restroom. The scare she had received made the trip even more essential than it had been. And she wondered if Wesley found it as ironic as she did that she'd just narrowly missed being kidnapped again due to Angelus' intervention.

&&&&&&&

"You're not paying attention," Oz scolded gently. The kids had really been shaken by what had happened to Giles. Truth to tell, it had rattled just about everybody, who seemed to look upon the Watcher as a permanent fixture. But lessons still needed to be done.

"We're worried about Mr. Giles," Ariel mumbled. She was spending far more time doodling in the margins of her paper than actually doing the work that was set out on it.

"Can't we go see him?" Alaric asked. This was not the first time the question had come up, but the answer still hadn't changed.

"They won't let kids your age visit," Oz informed them. "Sorry, guys, I don't make the rules. Besides, they want to make sure that Giles has plenty of quiet. And there aren't many people who will believe that kids your age can be quiet."

"It's not fair." For once, Ariel was the one that was pouting. "We just want to tell him that we're sorry that he's sick."

"And maybe take him a get-well present," Alaric added. The twins had no idea what they could get Giles, but they wanted to do something. Whether genuine well-wishing or misplaced contrition was anybody's guess.

"Well, since you can't do that," Oz said. "Why don't you make him a get-well card? Willow can take it with her when she goes to see him again."

"Can we both make one?" Ariel asked. The idea had a great deal of appeal.

"Sure," Oz replied. "I guess we're skipping right to art class today." He started putting away the current subject.

&&&&&&&

"Hey, Spike." Angelus entered the practice room, still dragging along the man he had caught stalking Rose. "Why don't you give me a hand with this?"

"Why don't you go bugger yourself?" Spike muttered. "What possible reason could I have to help you?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know," Angelus replied, pretending innocence. "Maybe because I just caught this guy about to put the grab on Rose?"

"What?" Before even Angelus could react, Spike had torn the man from his grasp and pinned him to the wall. Several inches off the floor, at that. "I'd suggest you start talking," he told the captive. "And you'd better bloody well make it good."

"It was a mistake," the man gasped. "I wasn't doing anything. Your friend just made a mistake."

"He isn't my friend," Spike snapped. "And while he may be a totally evil and unreliable bastard, he wouldn't lie to me about something like this when I could check out his story so easily. Not to mention which, you absolutely reek of fear, which you wouldn't be doing if you were so innocent. So I think you'd better give up on that lame-ass excuse, because nobody here's buying it."

"I'm just doing my job." He was starting to be scared enough that the thought of what Stenslow would do to him was starting to pale. "I'm just following orders."

Angelus was enjoying the show, but he did feel that he ought to make his presence felt at least a little bit. After all, he'd caught the guy. "And whose orders would those be?" he inquired. "You know, I'm just betting that it's my old pal, Cariadoc Stenslow."

"The wanker who's running Havoc & Associates?" Spike asked. He tossed the man back to Angelus. "Think I may just have to pay the sorry sod a visit."

"I think I'm going to have to pull rank on you on this one, Spike," Angelus remarked. "I'll be the one dropping in on Stenslow. Besides, I think we'll both agree that I can be a little scarier."

"When was the last time we agreed on anything?" Spike growled. "Just for the sake of argument, what makes you think that you're scarier than me?"

"Oh, I don't know," Angelus replied. "Maybe this." With a quick, practiced twist, he snapped the man's neck. "I think this ought to make an impression on him. What do you think?"

"I think you're a bloody lunatic," Spike replied. "Okay, you handle it. But make sure that you do. If you don't, I'll come after you before I go for Stenslow." He started out of the room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Angelus inquired.

"None of your sodding business." The reply came floating back in Spike's wake.

Angelus shrugged. He'd settle with Spike later. Right now, he had a date with Stenslow, and he had a feeling that he was going to enjoy it considerably more than Havoc & Associates' CEO would.

&&&&&&

Giles carefully opened his eyes. He didn't see as much as he would have liked, because his glasses seemed to be missing. But he saw enough to realize that he was in a hospital. His gaze went around the room from left to right, and when it reached his right side, he saw Willow.

Willow smiled down at him. "Nice to see you awake at last," she remarked, setting his glasses on his nose and bringing the world into focus for him.

"What happened?" Giles didn't even clearly remember what had been going on before the lights had gone out for him.

"You had a heart attack," Willow informed him. "By the way, if anyone asks, I'm your niece. They're only allowing family members in at the moment."

He was starting to take in more details now. There were already several bouquets of flowers and balloons, the standard get-well gifts, with cards attached to each. On the bedside table were two handmade cards. They were crafted of construction paper, and the artwork on them was done in magic marker. He reached over to pick them up.

He couldn't quite make out what the picture was supposed to be, but the message was clear enough. The twins had been writing for years now, and their penmanship was quite good by now.

This one was from Alaric, and merely wished him a speedy recovery. No frills, really, just right to the point. Then, he turned to Ariel's effort.

Once again, the artwork was incomprehensible. Neither of the children seemed to be particularly talented in that area. But beside the message to get well soon, there was a postscript at the very bottom of the card, written quite small, but very legibly. It said, 'I'm sorry I called you a mean, old man'. It was followed by a string of x's and o's.

"How very sweet," Giles commented. He didn't find it sweet the way that his hand shook holding nothing heavier than a piece of construction paper, however.

"They've been very worried about you," Willow reported. "Everyone has. But if you really want sweet, Giles, there's a possibility that they saved your life."

"They what?" He knew they were exceptional children, but this was almost more than he could handle. "How did they do that?"

"From what Oz said, just about the second you hit the floor, they yelled for help," Willow replied. "And the doctor said that you might not have made it if help hadn't arrived so quickly."

&&&&&&&

Angelus arrived at Havoc & Associates carrying what appeared to be a laundry bag, and one that was very full, at that. He marched right past Travers, and on into Stenslow's office.

He dumped his burden on Stenslow's desk, making him jump perceptibly, and opened the top of the bag, letting the head loll out, a profane intrusion in the pristine office.

"A friend of yours, I believe?" Angelus asked. He sat down and watched the beady eyes dart to and fro, as though looking for an escape route where there was none."

"I never saw him before in my life," Stenslow replied with perfect sincerity. In truth, he had seen the man, but he had never bothered to register his presence. He was too far down the ladder to ever attract Stenslow's notice. On the other hand, Stenslow had more than a sneaking suspicion just who he was.

"You probably don't pay that much attention to the little people," Angelus conceded. He nodded at Travers. "But I bet your little friend there knows who he is. I'll bet he knows more about what goes on in this place than you do."

Stenslow looked at Travers, who just barely blinked his eyes. So, it was the operative they'd planted at Wolfram and Hart. But how had Angelus caught on?

"A little word of advice, Cariadoc," Angelus said. "Vampires are very territorial. And if there's one thing that we really hate, it's someone else hunting in our territory. Wolfram and Hart is my territory. And so is Rose Powers."

"I still don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about," Stenslow lied smoothly. He'd been lying so long and so well, that he could fool a lie detector.

"You just make yourself believe that," Angelus replied. "But one more piece of information for you. If anything happens to Rose Powers, I'll kill you first, then look into who actually did it."

Stenslow sat looking calmly enough at Angelus, unaware that despite his cool demeanor, he had given himself away. He didn't realize that Angelus could smell the fear on him.