Chapter 15
Natalie looked around at the team MacInnis had sent her, suppressing the urge to sigh. She shouldn't have to have a team. The demon-caller owed her.
"Well? What did MacInnis decide to do now?" She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the kitchen counter as she waited for an answer.
"He's not the one with further orders, ma'am. The boss said to take the demon-caller, and secure her in a safe house. The rest of the mortals are fair game for the hunt, and so is William. But she wants Angelus. Alive."
Natalie uncrossed her arms, siezing the man by the throat, and hauling him into the air. "She wants me to bring him in alive?"
"Yes, ma'am," the man choked out, and she let him drop, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "She has plans for him, or so I heard, ma'am. Needs him for some project of hers."
Natalie growled, and the man scrambled away from her, taking refuge behind the rest of the team. "Fine. She wants him in one piece, I will deliver him in one piece." She sighed, settling into a chair, spreading a blueprint she'd obtained for the hotel. The team gathered around, and she began to make her plans. She carefully spaced the small team around the hotel, with two held back to remove the demon-caller as soon as they got her secured.
"I will take care of the vampires if they try to leave through the sewers, but make sure that the team for the demon-caller is with me. If she doesn't come to me, she'll be making me go to her, and I want someone to take her out as soon as possible. We strike during the day, so they have no other way out." She looked up at the man who'd brought her the message from MacInnis's boss. "You are to make sure their vehicles are disabled. We don't need them driving anywhere."
He grimaced, but nodded, and she continued to give instructions. They would have to strike soon, while the demon-caller was still incapacitated. Or at least, weakened.
"Tomorrow, at noon." She smiled slightly to herself. As soon as the demon-caller was out of her way, she was looking forward to hunting down those two vampires, and getting rid of them. A frown replaced the smile. "And make sure that if you find the vampires while they're asleep, tranquilize them. It will make the capture of Angelus easier."
"Yes, ma'am," the men chorused, and she leaned back, satisfied with the plan.
Shannon looked up from where she was curled on a couch in the lobby, reading a book. "Alexa."
"Hmm?" Alexa was hunched over her laptop, typing furiously, and didn't notice the wary tone of her friend's voice.
"We have company."
"What?" Alexa looked up, then cursed when she saw the expression on Shannon's face. "Where are Spike and Angel?"
"Both upstairs, asleep. It's almost noon."
"Bitch!" Alexa snarled, saving her work and shutting the laptop with a snap. "She would attack now."
"It makes sense. Attack when the two strongest people in the hotel are at their weakest, and unable to help. Keeping them out of the picture. But it doesn't make sense for her to be where Shannon can sense her." Lindsey frowned, pulling out his nine-millimeter, and checking the cartridge. "Wesley's upstairs, and Jillian's in the basement, wiring the sewer entrance."
"Fuck!" Shannon bolted for the door to the basement. "That's where the demon is!"
Lindsey took off after Shannon, and Alexa snarled, taking the stairs up two at a time, pounding on the door to Spike's room first. "SPIKE! COMPANY!" She shouted a response to his growled question for why she was bothering him, darting down the hall to wake Angel up, and let Wesley know there was trouble.
Jillian panted, leaning against the wall as she listened for the people who'd interrupted her wiring the sewer entrance. Apparently she hadn't moved fast enough to establish a security system. She looked up when Shannon came down the stairs, followed by Lindsey. "They've stayed over by the sewer entrance, as far as I can tell."
Shannon looked at Lindsey, rubbing her hands together. "How many are there?"
"One scary-looking chick with gold skin, and two guys who look like para-military types. Heavily armed, though it looks like they're carrying trank guns instead of normal guns."
"Tranquilizers?" Lindsey looked over at Shannon with a frown. "I thought this demon was trying to kill your new boyfriend."
Shannon flashed Lindsey a icy glare. "Oh, you'd so love that, wouldn't you?" She stepped towards the sewer entrance, reaching out in her mind for the demon. "For your information, Lindsey, you don't run my life." She could feel the demon moving and she took off at a run.
Natalie was listening for the voice of the demon-caller, and she nodded to the two men who had set up an ambush. She dropped back into the sewer, and began to make her way towards where the car waited to take the demon-caller away from the hotel. "Come on, demon-caller. I know you can sense me. Come to the Collector like a good girl," she whispered to herself.
Shannon moved further into the sewer, not even paying attention to Lindsey and Jillian behind her. She was getting closer. She could feel the demon's energy vibrating around her. "Where are you?" she whispered to herself in the dim light. She held her hands before her, her fingers tingling. "Come to me," she mouthed, sending out her power. "Come to me."
Natalie felt the first touch on her mind, and she stiffened, fighting the woman's control. She turned, knowing that her men would be moving in behind to cut off their retreat, and she'd seen the two stationed at the entrance with the car before she'd been caught.
"Well, I could kill you, but then, you wouldn't lead me to your boss," Shannon answered, making sure she kept a tight hold on Natalie. "So, let's go have a nice long little chat about you wanting to kill Angel and Spike and see if we can't come to some sweet little agreement." She turned, pushing Natalie ahead of her.
The two men from the entrance moved forward, watching their boss as she began to stiffly move back towards the hotel. They raised the trank guns, waiting for the demon-caller to come into their sights. The man pulled the trigger, the dart hitting Shannon between the shoulderblades.
"Motherfucker!" Shannon yelled before sliding to the ground in an unconscious heap.
Natalie moved forward with a satisfied smirk, stepping over Shannon's unconscious body. The two who'd been following the unsuspecting mortals passed her, helping with the demon-caller. The other two were face down on the sewer floor, and she ignored them, heading for the basement again. Now, to take care of her objectives.