REPRECUSSIONS
Disclosure: I don't own any of the characters except for the new ones that I created.
CHAPTER 8-A LINE IN THE SAND
It was everything that she had ever dreamed about. Gunn hadn't overstepped his bounds in his description of the property. Hidden in amongst the rolling hills and spots of forest sat what by the moonlight looked to Buffy like her dream house. It was almost as if she were in a dream, one that she definitely did not want to wake up from. Spike tried to find the voice to let out a snide remark, if only for posterity's sake, but gave up as the large iron gates slowly swung open in front of their car. The car wound its way up the long driveway before finally coming to a stop at the foot of large set of stone steps that led up to the front doors of the mansion. Molly was the first out of the car and up the steps before either Buffy or Spike even left their seats. Rolling his eyes at his fellow Brits enthusiasm Spike followed Buffy out of the car and slowly up the steps. Behind them followed the pair of assistants that Angel had bade go along and make sure that all of Buffy, Molly, and yes even Spike's needs were met to the fullest.
"I take it from the smiles on your faces and stars in your eyes that you like it," Michael, the assistant sent along to cater to Spike's needs, asked with an optimistic smile on his face as he walked past Buffy and Spike and stopped at the front doors, pulling a large key ring out of his pocket.
"It'll do…," Spike replied coolly with a bored look on his face before he turned his face away from Michael and couldn't help but break out in an excited grin.
"Remember if there's anything that you need…anything at all, just tell us and we'll get it for you before you're aware that you even asked for it," Tammy, the assistant sent along to cater to Buffy and Molly's needs, interjected with a readily present nervous frown on her face before she smiled a fake smile and followed Michael into the mansion after he unlocked the door and pushed the heavy doors open.
"Don't worry we will," Molly exclaimed with a delighted smile on her face before she hurried inside and tore up the stairs.
"No wait Molly…," Buffy started to shout after the excited teenager before she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Better to just let her go pet, otherwise she'd be trying to sneak off every five seconds…besides if she gets lost I'll find her, one advantage of having the man of the house being a vampire," Spike added with an almost bored frown on his face before the edges of his mouth curled up into his familiar smirk that he got when he knew that he was right.
"Fine…but just so you know…oh man of the house…we shouldn't let her get to far away, I'm not going to feel completely comfortable about any of this until I've been over this place with a fine toothed comb," Buffy stated with a nervous shrug of her shoulders as she set her jaw and glared at Spike.
"I assure you Miss Summers, this house is exactly as it appears before you, we had teams picking this place apart all last year taking out listening and spying device that they could find, mystical and otherwise," Tammy interjected with a hopefully helpful and reassuring smile on her face as she shut the front doors and handed Buffy the dark black briefcase that contained the scythe.
"And we're just supposed to trust you that those teams took out every single spying device that they found…I find that…," Buffy started to ask with an unconvinced frown on her face before Michael jumped in.
"Mr. Angel said that if they left even a single listening or spying device in this house then he'd…fire…them all, the last guy that he fired ended up working for Sholak," Michael interjected with a scared look on his face as beside him Tammy smile through her fear.
"Who…," Buffy asked with a confused look on her face as she and Spike walked to the base of the giant grand staircase.
"Sholak…really ugly bugger, I forget what kind of demon he is…let's just say that he doesn't have his playthings for long, they always seem to break, filthy wanker tried to dust me and Angel back in the day…," Spike replied with a tired yawn as he slowly began to walk up the steps, leaving a weary looking Buffy to follow after him to hear his entire answer.
* * * * * *
"Do you love him," Kennedy timidly asked out of the blue, tensing up her muscles in case she needed to vacate the room in a hurry, as she kept her gaze locked onto Faith's shoulder.
"What…," Faith asked softly, almost as if she had suddenly been shaken out of an intense stupor, as she half turned her head towards Kennedy.
"Do you love him…Wesley I mean," Kennedy clarified her answer with a very nervous but interested look on her face as she hoped that Faith would simply answer the question and not take offense at the idea.
"Well…what kind of a question is that…," Faith started to reply softly at first before she scowled heavily and glared across the bed at Kennedy.
"An honest one, ever since he arrived you've barely left his side, and when you have it hasn't been for very long, and then there's that little outburst downstairs…need I go on…," Kenny answered with a slightly scared look on her face as she shifted her weight to the edge of her chair.
"Didn't you hear me…he's been hurt to much in the past and as his slayer it's my responsibility to keep him from getting his wimpy ass killed," Faith nearly shouted her reply with an emphatic glare in her eyes before Kennedy stood up and took a step towards the door.
"Fine…you're not in love with him…so tell me this then…why have you been holding his hand this entire time," Kennedy asked with a very pointed and serious frown on her face before she hurriedly slipped out of the room, missing the shocked look on Faith's face as the former rogue slayer glanced down and saw that what Kennedy had said was true. Oddly enough though she did not pull away, Faith only muttered something incoherently under her breath and stayed where she was.
* * * * * *
"Ms Burkle we've found something," One of the guards shouted as he crouched down amidst the rubble and waived Fred over to an area that was lit up with portable lights rigged to a generator.
"What is it…," Fred asked with a worried look on her face as she hurried to the spot as quickly as she could.
"Blood…and from the looks of it…human," The man replied with a grave look of concern on his face as he took in the look of panic that spread like wildfire across Fred's face.
"Human…are you sure…maybe I should…," Fred started to babble out softly as in her mind she tried to calm herself down and keep from thinking to horrible of thoughts.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but after working for Wolfram and Hart for as long as I have you get to be able to tell human blood on sight, it's part of the job," The man answered with a grim frown on his face before another of the guards called her attention away from the spatter of blood and broken glass.
"Have a look at this Ms Burkle…heavy tire marks, it appears that someone tore out of here in a big hurry, and from the dispersal pattern of the glass shards I'd say that whoever did this was backing up when it happened, and from the rest of the evidence I think that it's safe to say to a medical certainty that Mr. Wyndam-Pryce was here at some point," That second guard added with a serious expression on his face as he slowly stood up from the pavement, which showed two large black marks.
"I don't like this…," Fred mumbled softly with now an even more worried look on her face as the guards and medics around her began to eye each other with confused looks on their faces.
"W…what now ma'am, do we return to headquarters and regroup or…," The first guard asked slowly as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his knees.
"No…Angel told me to come to Sunnydale and find Wesley and bring him back and that's exactly what I'm going to do no matter how long it takes, okay everyone pack up, we're headed to Revello Drive, but remember we're not supposed to hurt anyone so keep the safety's on," Fred exclaimed loud enough so that all of those with her could hear before they packed up and tore off across town.
Dawn had reluctantly come out of her room, only making the trip because her bladder felt like it was about to burst before she heard the doorbell ring. At first she thought about simply returning to her room and locking the door before diving underneath the covers but then suddenly a thought hit her, it could be Buffy. With a fervor she tore around the corner, down the stairs, and threw open the door with a, "Buffy!"
"Huh…," Fred mumbled out with a startled and surprised look on her face as she took a step back away from the door and stared at the young redhead in front of her.
"Wait a minute, you're not Buffy…who are you," Dawn asked with a very pointed and almost angry tone to her voice as she held the door now only half open and glared across the threshold at the Texan standing on her doorstep.
"Winifred Burkle, I work for Wolfram and Hart," Fred managed to reply with a stutter before Dawn disappeared from the doorway and stepped away as little more of a familiar face came into view.
"Fred…what are you…," Willow asked with a confused look on her face as she turned her head slowly from watching Dawn sulk back up the steps, tears running down her cheeks.
"Willow…hi…uh I'm looking for Wesley, is he here…do you know where he is…," Fred asked with an impatient and exasperated look on her face as she clasped her hands together rather than allow them to shake and belay her level of nervousness.
"Yeah he…he's here, upstairs…but he's hurt…you're going to have to…," Willow stuttered out her reply before Fred regained her composure and nodded her head towards the door. Before Willow could finish her answer over a dozen heavily armed Wolfram and Hart guards rushed inside, catching a startled Kennedy as she was just reaching the bottom of the stairs and all of the potentials in the basement. The guards kept their safeties on as Fred had told them to but still made for an impressive show of force. "Fred…what is this…," Willow asked with a confused and scared look on her face as she pulled an angered Kennedy behind her.
"I'm sorry Willow, I really am…but I have my orders to get Wesley back to LA as quickly as possible and any way possible…now please stay calm, we'll take Wesley with us and be gone before you know it," Fred replied with a look of shaky confidence on her face as she stepped across the threshold and tried to not look to threatening.
"What is the meaning of this…who are you," Giles demanded with an angry look on his face as he stormed in between two guards and stepped up to Fred, a slightly woozy Robin close behind him.
"Fred…," A weak question from the top of the stairs asked that shook everyone out of the seeming standoff that had come up.
"Oh my God…Wesley," Fred exclaimed loudly before she scrambled up the stairs to his side and at first failed to notice Faith more than holding him upright.
"I must look a fright," Wesley whispered through the pain before he gritted his teeth and would have collapsed to his knees had Faith not tightened her grip and held him up.
"He's hurt Slim, can't this wait…," Faith demanded with a worried and angry scowl on her face as she helped Wesley to lean on the banister as the two stepped down onto the first step of the stairs.
"What…no, we…Angel needs him, his help…with something and…," Fred mumbled softly with a distracted look in her eyes before she shook it off and hurriedly motioned for the medics behind her.
"What is going on here…I demand an explanation," Giles stated, nearly in a shout, before he quickly shut his mouth as one of the guards raised his weapon and lightly tapped the end of the barrel against his chest.
"Her name's Winifred Burkle and she works with Angel, she came here to find Wesley and take him back to LA because Angel needs his help with something," Willow answered the question before anyone else could as she slowly and calmly turned her head and looked over at Giles.
"But what's with all of the…," Xander asked with a concerned look on his face as he and Anya appeared in the doorway behind Giles and Robin and stared nervously at the drawn guns.
"We have her things ma'am…ma'am…," The first guard from before he stood rigid and saluted Fred, who was mostly to busy to notice as she was busy helping the medics get Wesley onto the gurney.
"Good…get them into the truck…okay people clear a path…," Fred shouted with a slight nod of her head before she hurriedly followed the gurney with Wesley strapped down onto it back down the stairs, making sure that no one bumped it. Faith followed closely behind, worry and concern clearly evident in her gaze and actions. The guard followed his given orders and soon Giles and the others were pushed back even further as several guards hurried past them, carrying everything from Buffy's room down the stairs with them. One of the last guards out couldn't fit the last piece of Buffy's things into the bag so he stuffed the stuffed pig under his arm and followed the others out of the room. The guards quickly hurried back out of the house almost as quickly as they had come, leaving Giles and almost everyone else a little to stunned to move.
"Fred…wait…," Faith called out after Fred from the doorway as she tried to keep from following after the gurney.
"Do you know where Buffy and Spike are…," Willow quickly shouted out her question with a hurried look on her face as she rushed to Faith's side as the medics loaded Wesley into the ambulance while the guards stored all of Buffy's things away in one of the larger trucks.
"No…I'm sorry…, goodbye," Fred answered with a deep in though look on her face as she kept herself from making eye contact with either Faith or Willow after taking a long and dramatic pause to fully consider her reply. With that Fred quickly jumped into the waiting limousine and shouted at the driver to get moving, leaving everyone in the house to sadly stare off after the quickly disappearing column of vehicles, with Faith wearing an expression of someone watching the most important person in their world slipping away with a hopeless feeling in the pit of her stomach and a lone tear sliding effortlessly down her cheek, going completely unnoticed by everyone.
"Hey guys…what'd I miss…," A confused Andrew asked through a mouthful of popcorn as he looked around oddly at the frightened potentials after having come in through the back door.
"Only everything…," Xander replied coldly with a very worried look on his face before he caught sight of Willow shaking slightly and put a supportive hand on her shoulder.
* * * * * *
"How's it coming," Angel asked softly as he walked out of the elevator, cup of blood in hand, and kept his gaze away from anyone but Lorne's.
"Mission accomplished Chief…okay mostly accomplished, there was someone that got out a short report about Sunnydale becoming deserted before we were able to cut him off…," Lorne saluted with a happy smile on his face at first before he smile sagged down into a frown and he shrugged his shoulders.
"That's not good news Lorne, how much got out in that short report," Angel asked with an impatient tone to his voice, one that told Lorne not to beat around the bush but to come clean with the straight answers.
"Just that the citizens of Sunnydale were making like Diana Ross on her Supremes comeback tour and disappeared," Lorne replied sadly with a worried smile on his face as he tried to laugh but failed at the glum look on Angel's face as he took a sip of the blood and looked around the room.
"I want you to find out where that report went to and destroy it, we can't leave any record anywhere of the mass exodus out of Sunnydale, we can't screw this up," Angel commanded with a very serious frown on his face as he looked very much like a general on the battlefield, ordering his troops into battle.
"Yes sir…," Lorne's team replied in unison before they turned around and feverishly went back to tracking down both the sender and who the short report had been sent to with their computers.
"You see Angelcakes, we've got everything under control…now onto other matters…heard anything from Fred yet, did she find Wesley," Lorne asked with a restrained look of hope on his face as he went to pat Angel on the shoulder but stopped at the serious look on Angel's face.
"She called a little while ago, they found Wesley's blood at some hotel…but no body, she's going to go to Buffy's old house and see if he made it there, she'll call me back when she finds anything," Angel replied coldly with an impassive frown on his face before he took another sip of his blood.
"Blood…that doesn't sound so good Angelcakes…Wesley must really be injured if he hasn't answered his pager yet…I only hope that Winifred finds him and gets him back here quickly enough," Lorne lamented with a worried sigh before he adjusted the lapel of his suit, silently fretting about how the color really didn't match his skin tone or horns and how he should have seen it sooner.
"He's alive Lorne…I don't know where he is…but Wesley's alive and Fred will find him, I'd know if he were dead," Angel replied calmly with a stone cold emotionless look on his face with the cup of blood up to his lips before he turned and started to walk out of the room.
"Ye…yeah but…are you sure…I'm empathic and even I can't…," Lorne started to babble out his question with a very worried look on his face while wringing his hands in frustration before he took a few steps towards the retreating Angel.
"I'd know…," Angel stated plainly with his voice full of certainty before he walked out into the maelstrom that was the offices of Wolfram and Hart.
END OF CHAPTER 8