Chapter 16

Alexa yelped, skidding back around the corner, hissing as she held her upper arm. "Bastard son of a bitch!" Blood welled between her fingers from where the bullet had grazed her bicep.

Angel looked at the gash, pushing past the sudden bloodlust that always accompanied his seeing blood. "Let me see that," he demanded. He pulled off a strip of his t-shirt and quickly wrapped it around her arm.

Alexa nodded her thanks to Angel. "Bloody bastards. There are at least four of them down there. And they've cut us off from Shannon and Lindsey and Jillian, so if there's any trouble in the basement, they're screwed."

Angel thought about it for a moment. "There's an entrance about a block from here. As long as I stay covered, we could probably get to them from behind."

Spike came up from the other side of Alexa. "Not unless you want to get staked, Angel." He held up one of the gem-tipped arrows Natalie had used last time. "Either the demon's out there, or she has help."

Angel sighed. "We are quickly running out of options."

Alexa growled, her expression dark. "Shannonn said the demon was in the basement. Which means she has help. Did you see if they have anyone to cover the cars?"

Spike nodded. "That's where I was heading."

Angel fell into step behind Spike and suddenly stopped, dropping to his knees with a groan of pain. His hands flew to his head as he screamed. "NO!"

Alexa turned. "What the hell?"

Angel remained motionless on the floor for a few moments before he started to laugh. It was a chuckle, welling up from him until it turned totally maniacal. He threw his head back as he sat up, he arms out. "Yes. Where is she? Cause, baby, I am eating good tonight!" He stood up, his eyes finding Spike. "Hello Spike."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Angelus?"

Alexa groaned. "Crap. What on earth possessed Shannon to bring you out?"

Angelus stalked Alexa, licking his lips at the smell of blood. "I don't know. And I don't care. Come here," he growled as he pulled Alexa into his arms. He was about to taste the blood that stained the makeshift tourniquet and bellowed, releasing Alexa. "You bitch! You let me out and you won't let me feed? What kind of medieval shit is this?"

Spike pulled Alexa behind him. "Even if she did, mate, you don't get to feed on Alexa."

Alexa peered out from behind Spike. "Besides, I think we have a larger problem, Angelus. Like a demon out to stake you and Spike both?"

Angelus looked at Spike, one eyebrow raised. "And to think we used to share."

Spike shrugged. "I'm not in the mood to share her."

"One hopes that comes with the territory of a vampire having a soul," muttered Alexa.

Angelus leaned against a column, his arms folded over his chest. "So? I'm not going anywhere or doing anything until she tells me why she brought me out." He looked around. "So where is she?"

"She was headed down into the basement, last I saw her."

"Oh, Angelus!" There was an amused voice calling from the lobby. "Looking for your demon-caller?" There was a pause. "I can tell you where she is."

Angelus slowly turned at the voice, his eyes narrowing. "You!"

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "What? Surprised to see me?"

"Hardly. I figured I was done with you, oh, a hundred years ago," he snapped as he slowly stalked Natalie. "Right after I broke your neck." He reached out. "I'd be more than happy to do it again."

Natalie chuckled. "That won't stop me, dearie." She spread her arms wide, inviting him to make the first move. "But you're welcome to try."

Angelus' eyes narrowed, but he had enough sense not to approach Natalie. His body still carried the scar from the last arrow she had attempted to poke through him. "Try? No." He smiled slowly, a wicked visage as he vamped. "Succeed? Yes!"

"Oh, will you?" Natalie backed away from him slowly, circling him. "You know," she said conversationally, speaking at Alexa without turning to look at her, "you're a thorn in my side, as much as that friend of yours. I think it's time that thorn was removed, don't you?"

"Like hell, bitch!" Alexa stayed pressed against the wall out of the line of sight of the gunmen below.

Natalie shrugged, keeping her attention on Angelus. "And you, Angelus. You're causing me trouble. Why does my boss want you alive, or undead, as the case may be, now? Instead of dead?"

Angelus stalked her, keeping himself between Alexa and Natalie. He wasn't sure why, but he knew he had to keep the other woman safe. He chalked it up to being the annoying voice of his 'soulful' side. As long as he fed on someone soon, he'd do what it asked. "I was hoping you could tell me that, Demon."

Natalie shrugged. "I don't know. Neither of them tell me why they want something. Only that they want it, and I get it for them." She smiled, baring sharp teeth. "And you might as well quit trying to keep the mortal safe. She's going to die, just like her friends. Oh, and William, too." She chuckled. "She wants them dead." She paused, fingering the knife at her waist, her eyes flickering to the stairs. She drew on her strength, and moved at the speed she knew the vampire could match, if he chose to.

Angelus took off after her, tripping her before she could make it to the staircase. He stood over her. "If she's going to die, it will be by my hand not yours. What you do with Spike is your problem." He knelt with a smile. "But you're not going to ruin my dinner."

Natalie snarled, her eyes narrowing. "You want to deny me the hunt?" She came up in a crouch, muscles tensed for a spring. "First the bitch says I can't kill you, and now you want to take away another prey. Not on your unlife, Angelus."

"You can hunt Spike," Angelus snarled as he prepared for her attack.

"That's just one hunt. And not the one I'm looking forward to." She leapt, the knife hissing free of the sheath as she moved.

Angelus jumped back, laughing. "Oh look, she has a little pigsticker." He was close enough to the weapon's case to arm himself. He smashed his fist through the glass and pulled out his broadsword. "You want to play dirty, fine. I can play dirty."

Natalie laughed, her eyes lighting with an unholy fire. "Now you're talking. A challenge." She tossed the knife into the air, catching it by the tip before throwing it again, aiming for Angelus's heart. She drew the sabre that had been strapped across her back while the knife was in the air, waiting for him to make the next move.

Angelus reached out with his free hand and plucked the knife from the air. "Is that the best you can do?" he asked in disappointment. "And here I thought I'd have to work hard." He took a step to his left, flipping the knife in the air as he twirled his sword.

"I'm just getting warmed up." Natalie feinted left, testing his defenses.

He blocked the first swing of her blade and immediately went on the offensive, driving her back into the wall. He slammed his hand around her throat, holding her there for a moment. "Too easy. You're supposed to get better with time."

"I'm out of practice." Natalie shrugged. "Happens when you don't have a decent opponent to spar with." She shoved him away, her blade flickering out to slash across his chest. "But I'm not that rusty, old man."

There was a mutter from upstairs. "The good news is I'm rusty, and I might miss. The bad news is, I'm really pissed."

Angelus gazed at the slash across his chest, the wound immediately healing. His eyes darkened and he blocked her again, driving her around the lobby of the hotel. He glanced at Spike. "Some help here would be nice."

"All you had to do was ask, mate." Spike came down the stairs, pulling out an ax from the smashed weapons case. Natalie hissed when he came up on her other side, lashing out with one foot to crack him across the knee.

"What's the matter, love?" Angelus taunted. He swept her feet out from under her. "Can't handle two big bad vampires on your own?"

Natalie rolled as she hit the floor, avoiding Spike and the axe whistling down at her head. "I prefer my battles one on one, but if you want to make this interesting..." She rolled to her feet near one of the gunmen, taking his pistol. She aimed for the wall where she knew Alexa was hidden, firing three shots before Spike grabbed the gun from her. "Might want to check on your precious little mortal, William."

Angelus swung his sword as she turned to fire into the wall, knocking the flat of the blade against her exposed ribs. "Go!"

Spike nodded, bolting up the stairs, as Natalie spun to face Angelus again. He found Alexa curled on the floor, a grimace of pain on her face. "Bloody bitch," she hissed softly.

"You're really beginning to annoy me, you know that?" Angelus asked as he threw the knife. It lodged in Natalie's shoulder and pinned her to the wall.

Natalie reached up, trying to dislodge the knife as Angelus came closer, her gaze getting almost frantic when she spotted the gunmen leaving, abandoning her to his mercy.

He wrapped his hand around her throat, lifting slightly as he tilted his head. "Where's the other one? What did you do with her?" he asked.

Natalie struggled against him. "I didn't do anything to her."

Angelus smiled. "You don't lie very well." He shook Natalie once, lifting her higher off the floor. "Where is she?"

"Elsewhere, Angelus. Where she'll be guarded, and even you can't get past all the guards."

Angelus squeezed his fingers tighter. "We'll see," he whispered before tossing Natalie across the room like a rag doll.

Natalie hit the wall, and slid down it, unconscious.

Spike came down the stairs with Alexa leaning on his arm, holding her shoulder.

Alexa glanced at Natalie's unconscious body. "Looks like she was a bit more rusty than pissed," she muttered. "Um, can someone call an ambulence? I think I'm about to pass out."