Chapter Three – Men Will Be Boys
Giles followed the man that he had seen at the bar to the outside of the pub, to the alley behind. He knew exactly who and what he was following. It would have been nice to have backup, but in this instance he knew he could handle himself. The man wouldn't have revealed himself in such a way if he didn't want to just talk.
"Hello, Ripper," the man called out from the shadows.
"Why are you here?"
"Just came for a chat."
"Ethan, you never just come for a chat. You're always about causing grief in my life."
"Rupert, it isn't always about you, now is it?"
Giles really wanted to put his hands around the man's neck, to squeeze the life out of him. But he couldn't. Because if Ethan was in London, then something big was going to happen. It would be just like Ethan to come and taunt him about whatever he had planned.
"Then what is it about this time, Ethan?"
"Hmm. I shan't tell you, just yet. Just heed my warning. Never leave something that important unguarded. You never know what might happen."
Giles had no earthly idea to what he was referring. It could mean many things, which probably meant it would be something he wouldn't expect.
"Ethan, don't be cryptic with me."
"Sorry, old pal. I have to be getting on," Ethan said as he sank back into the shadows and disappeared.
Giles almost used a spell to find out where Ethan had teleported himself off to. But he stopped. He would figure out what Ethan was up to soon enough. He never could keep quiet about anything for too long. But Giles wanted to get the jump on the man before anything disastrous happened. Which meant research to see what Ethan might be after this time.
As Spike smoked his cigarette, he listened in on the short conversation between the watcher and that bloke Ethan. From what he remembered, that guy was bad news. Turning Giles into that demon hadn't been very nice. Although at the time, Spike had thought it was funny. Now he wouldn't wish that on anyone. If Buffy hadn't noticed in time, Giles wouldn't have been sitting there at that table, slamming down drinks with the rest of them. Of course, that meant that he wouldn't have been there when Angel asked him for help. They wouldn't have had to ask in the first place. Everything would have been different in Spike's eyes. Buffy would probably be dead by now. That was something he wouldn't have wished for the world.
But that Ethan character made him shiver a little. That guy was bad news with a capital B. And from the conversation, he was planning something big. Warning Giles about it either was stupid or ballsy. Spike just hoped it wasn't another apocalypse. He'd had his fill of those. Let someone else save the world in a ball of fire. He was done with the saving. He had more important things to save. Like himself.
Wesley's head had that buzz he got from the copious amounts of alcohol that he had been slamming for the last couple of hours. It made him forget, at least for the moment, how much he hated the position he was in. On one hand he wanted to be Faith's watcher. On the other hand, he wouldn't grovel for the position, nor would he sit back while Faith groveled for him.
And her attitude that night pissed him off to no end. She flirted with every guy that came her way, including her so-called friends. Sometimes he wondered where her self-respect went. He just couldn't figure out where all the jealousy that bubbled up had come from. It wasn't like he wanted her for himself. But the thought of that snot-nosed kid with his hands on her enraged him. So he butted in where he wasn't wanted. Intimidated the man to piss off and find easier pickings. The guy got the message fast that Faith was under his protection. And there lay the rub. She didn't need, nor want his protection. Hell, she had to protect him most of the time.
Stepping back out of the way, he leaned against the wall near the pay phones to take a deep breath. He needed to gather some semblance of sanity before going back to that table. Angel had given him a pointed look, like he knew exactly what was troubling the man. Wesley didn't know what was troubling him either, so how could Angel?
As he pushed himself off the wall to face the music as such, a voice called out behind him. The voice that he really did not want to hear that night. He had enough to deal with, regarding Faith and Angel and the rest of them, without having to deal with the woman behind him. He knew this confrontation would have to take place. He was hoping for in the morning.
"Ms. Clairbourne? Are you following me?" he asked as he arched his eyebrow her way.
"Why on earth would I do that, Wesley? I was just in the neighborhood."
"Unlikely, but I guess you would never admit as much. What do you want?"
His assessment of her at the Council meeting was quite accurate. She wasn't a Lilah clone per se, but she did have some of the qualities of the lawyer. Her body wasn't as voluptuous as Lilah's and the hair color wasn't exactly the same, but the attitude was. The way she held herself was dead on. He wondered if this woman liked pain just as much as Lilah did.
"Why do you think I want anything from you?" she answered with a little disdain in her voice.
"I don't know you at all. All I remember is some awkward teenager with gangly legs. Who are you?"
Wesley closed in on the woman, to see if she would intimidate easily. She held her ground.
"You know exactly who I am, Wesley. You surprise me."
"How so?"
"I thought you'd be more like your father."
His patience had been wearing thin before her arrival, now it was in shreds. What he really wanted to do was wipe that look off of her face. Like she had just won a round in whatever competition she had created in her own mind.
"I'm not at all like my father."
"Oh, I beg to differ. But enough about that. You're friends are amusing."
So she got her shot in and changed the subject. She wasn't as skilled with the biting comments as Lilah was.
"My friends are deadly. Remember that."
"Not that I could forget, I assure you."
He stood before her, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to look into her eyes, to gage if she would run if he came any closer. There was no fear in her eyes whatsoever. He wondered what he would have to do to test to see if she would show fear in a situation.
"Did my father send you?"
Her eyes flashed briefly, like he hit the nail on the head. She was good, very good at disguising her emotions. Not as good as Lilah was, but good enough to defeat most people. Only he wasn't most people. He had been taught by the best. His father, then Angel, Lilah, they all taught him how to read those flashes, because if he didn't, he'd be dead. He really didn't want to go back to that status any time soon.
"Your father has no power on the Council anymore. We have changed."
"Clearly not enough."
"I could help you, if you like. I'm sure it would be nice to have a friend, who could shepherd you through, clear the way for you to return."
And what would he have to do in return for her little favor?
"Not likely. Besides, I already have enough friends, Ms. Clairbourne. I don't need any more."
"You think that Mr. Giles welds all the power? You are sorely mistaken."
He could see her anger rise a little at his presumption. But that wasn't what he was talking about. He kept his face neutral. Slamming his hand beside her head, he leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"And your assumptions are yours. You haven't the first idea about what makes me tick. Nor shall you ever. Stay away from me, stay away from my slayer. You wouldn't like the results if something were to happen to either one of us."
She turned her head to look directly in his eyes. He saw her swallow just slightly.
"Is that a threat, Mr. Pryce?"
"It's a fact. I never threaten."
Pushing himself off the wall, he walked away slowly, to see if she followed him back into the pub. Turning as he reached the doorway, he noticed that she had disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. Of course she had been following him. She wasn't there by mistake. Something was going on with the Council. And he didn't know whether he actually gave a damn.
Angel followed Wes into the back, wanting to have a short conversation on his attitude towards Faith. He could smell the anger and possessiveness roll off of him in waves. Faith was on the prowl. Angel could see that. He didn't even want to go there on the senses part. But there was something else underneath the surface regarding Wes. Something that the man probably didn't even realize. That's what he needed to discuss with him.
Only he stopped short when he saw the lady from the Council. Since Angel was good at sliding into shadows and not making a sound, he listened in on the conversation. Not that he meant to, because he knew it was rude. He just didn't want Wes to know that he was eavesdropping.
He didn't know that Wes could be that intimidating. Not that it surprised Angel; he had just never seen the man be that intense with a woman before, unless it was Lilah. Oh, how he longed for the days when Wes was carefree and clueless. Those had been joyous times.
Sometimes he wanted that old Wes back, to the bumbling, accepting guy. The man threatening the woman who was pinned against the wall was the new Wesley now. One that he had to accept, a mixture of the lies he had told to save his son plus all the baggage that the man had gained in the last year.
"Would you look over there?"
Sam's head came up to look over to where his friend had pointed. Straight over to the woman that had hit on him. Sometimes Dave was an ass; now was no exception.
"All alone and no one to buy them drinks. We shall remedy that situation quickly."
Only Sam wanted to stay away from trouble. He knew exactly who and what the three women were over at the table. He had listened in all the classes, to the history of Sunnydale. It was a course now, at the academy. He hadn't seen any pictures of them, but he figured it out quickly. And he could actually sense slayer power at its finest.
"Uh, Dave. Not a great plan. You saw Mr. Giles," Sam pointed out.
"So. He's gone. Let's explore," Dave chided him.
Dave, the Australian, surfer boy, all muscle and not much brain. Sam didn't know exactly how he had gotten entrance to the academy. Were they really that hard up that someone like him would actually get in?
"Your funeral," Sam muttered as Dave got up, in addition to two other watcher wannabes.
Not only did that girl Faith give him shivers, the man that had so rudely interrupted him did also. He looked familiar, but Sam couldn't place him at all. As a matter of fact, all the men at that table had looked dangerous. Even Mr. Giles had worried him. What would his Aunt Betty say to him now? See, told ya so. Those people are up to no good, she had told him right before he left for London.
Just like his friends were up to no good. Sure, the women at the table weren't any older than they were. After all, the three were quite beautiful. Only he knew they were dangerous in their own right. But it might be fun to watch his friends get their asses kicked by two slayers and a witch. So he followed behind, but didn't get too close.
"Hello, ladies. Could we buy you a drink?" Dave asked Faith, leaning over to look down her shirt.
Sam almost snickered in delight. He really wanted to see Dave get it where he deserved.
"You're a dumb one," Faith answered back, not looking up at him.
"Guys can be so stupid," someone said beside him.
Sam turned slightly to see one of the guys from Faith's table standing beside him, a pitcher in his hands. The guy with the eye patch stopped his forward progress, putting thebeer down on an empty table. Since it was getting late, thepub had emptied a little.
"Shit, I left my glass at the table."
The one-eyed guy grabbed a glass off an order that was going by.
"I need a drink," he said to Sam.
"What for?"
"For the show. Oh, look. Here come the others." The one-eyed guy actually snickered.
Sam could see the mean looking guy that had interrupted his conversation with Faith, followed by the glowery guy with the massive shoulders. Next, the man all in black came through, throwing a glance the one-eyed guy's way.
Sam thought he heard the word bugger from the cockney-accented man. He just hoped there wasn't any trouble.
"Here's what I don't understand. These guys are watcher trainees, right?"
So the one-eyed guy knew all the info. That was a plus when talking about his chosen profession, Sam thought.
"Why don't they know who they're hitting on? Think that it's great to hit on those women? Of course, there's the three broody guys heading that way. I just hope there's not a fight."
"So why don't we stop it?"
"Too much fun to watch."
Sam thought so too; he just didn't want to see them get into trouble with Mr. Giles, who was nowhere to be found at that moment.
"Who are those guys? I have no clue."
The one-eyed guy laughed. "You know what the ladies are? Just guess on the guys. Come on."
"I know that the dark one is Faith. The blonde is Buffy Summers, right?" The guy shook his head yes. "The redhead is Willow, the witch. Didn't she try to end the world?"
"Hey, three for three. You're good." The guy patted him on the back. "Now for the gentlemen about to kick those wannabe watcher asses?"
Then it came to Sam. He knew exactly who the man in the leather coat and shoulders was. "Holy shit," he exclaimed as he grabbed for a stake in his back pocket.
"Na. Don't do that. He's good. Trust me."
"But he's a," Sam started, but lowered his voice, "a vampire. Isn't that what we kill?"
"Yeah, mostly. Deadboy over there would agree. Cause that's what he kills too. The man in black beside him? Any guesses. Oh, wait. The hair. I forgot. Used to be peroxide blonde. And he likes railroad spikes."
Sam muttered the word fuck and advanced until the guy put a hand on his shoulder.
"They won't hurt your friends. Well, maybe a little, but no biting."
But from the look on the third man's face, he was the one that worried Sam. The same guy that had interrupted him at the bar. He looked like he could murder someone in an instant. Maybe he was the one that Sam could use the stake for. The aforementioned man took a step forward to be stopped by the two vampires.
"That guy's scary. Don't tell me a vampire too?" Sam asked.
"Nope. Just a very pissed off watcher. And there's Giles. Damn. Your friends are lucky."
The one-eyed man picked up his beer glass and the pitcher and started forward. Sam was never so glad to have stayed out of that mess. Mr. Giles would hand them their asses on a platter.
Faith almost laughed out loud. To be hit on twice in one night. Of course, the last guy, Sam, seemed to be a nice enough one. The boy looking down her shirt wasn't. He was a sleaze, the kind she had dated often.
"What do we have here?" Willow snickered.
"Watcher assholes," Buffy chimed in.
One of the guys glared her way. Not that it mattered to Faith, anyway. These guys weren't even getting up to the plate, much less buying them a drink.
"They know what we are, minus the asshole part," the last one said as he made his way around to Willow.
"You see, here's what I don't understand," Buffy started.
"What? Like you ever understand, B," Faith laughed a little.
"Faith, our guests here. Makes me wonder what this world is coming to."
Faith knew that Buffy was egging the men on.
"Tall and broody at six o'clock," Willow added.
"My six or your six, Will?" Faith asked, wanting to be ready.
"Your six."
"So how 'bout that drink?" the asshole asked her.
"Sorry. One too many assholes in my life right now. Scram."
"You're rejecting me? I'm hurt," he said, playing with Faith's hair.
"You will be if you don't move your ass."
"Hey, lots of throwing around of that word, now. What would Giles say?" Willow asked.
The three stiffened at the mention of the watcher's name.
"You know him?" the man behind Willow asked.
"Yep. Middle-aged man, tall, green eyes. Wicked magic. Turns into a raving lunatic when I make his tea the wrong way," Buffy described Giles to a T.
"Giles is a nice guy, Buff. And he does have some wicked magic," Willow agreed.
"Hey, you should see Wes. Let me tell you, more than wicked. Makes me all hot just thinkin' about it," Faith said as she smiled Buffy's way.
"When did that happen?" she asked, ignoring the men trying to hit on them.
"We still need to talk, B. Lots and lots."
"He didn't delve into anything dark, did he?" Willow wanted to know, worried just at the mention of magic.
"Not sure. I just know that it's been hard," Faith responded. "You ever have to do that with Giles, B?"
"What?"
"Fucking baby him? I know, I know. Watchers in the line of fire and all. Playin' nurse isn't easy."
Faith could see the three had started to back away from them. Only they didn't get the chance to retreat fast enough.
"Faith? Why don't you introduce us to your new friends?" Wesley asked from behind them.
"As I told you before, I don't need no new friends. The ones I have are challenging enough, watcher o' mine."
"Uh, sorry. We were mistaken," the one behind Willow said as he inched away.
"Oh, now where are you blokes goin' so quickly?" Spike said as he approached behind Wesley. "We just came back."
"Spike, behave," Buffy admonished.
The one behind Buffy mouthed the word Spike and bumped into the chair behind him in an effort to get away.
"We could use all the new friends we can get," Angel piped up, arms across his chest, smiling like Angelus.
Faith almost giggled. The three men were going to make a scene if she didn't stop it now.
"David, what on earth do you think you are doing?" Giles said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Uh, Mr. Giles. Excuse us. We were just leaving."
"Right you are. I do believe that you have weapons in the morning with Danforth. Doesn't he like you all up early?"
"Yes, right you are, Mr. Giles. Seven thirty to be exact. We are going."
The three guys scrambled away quickly, pushing patrons out of the way as they did it. Faith watched Sam follow behind, grinning at his friends' distress. She was so glad the nice guy hadn't joined in with the assholes. Her opinion of him went up a notch.
"Damn it, Xander. Where's my beer?" she shouted, Xander appearing a few seconds afterward.
"Don't look at me, Giles. Faith is an asshole magnet."
"Oh, gee, B. Thank you so fucking much."
"Hey, at least you're not a demon magnet. That just sucks," Xander quipped, making the ladies laugh.
The three broody men sat, with Wes pulling the scotch bottle his way. He poured a measure for the two vampires after he pour a generous one for himself. Giles held out his glass for a refill. All of them downed the amber liquid at the same time.
"Don't come cryin' to me when you're all puking your guts out," Faith added as she sipped her beer.
"Vampire, Faith. I can hold it," Spike told her as he poured himself another.
"Bullshit," Fred muttered as she watched Spike drown his sorrows.
This watching thing really did suck. Sure, she could speak with him in dreams and stuff. But she couldn't tell him how sorry she was, for what happened to him. He was so down in the dumps. And she hadn't figured out how to bring him out of it. He put up a good front for Angel and the rest of the gang. Fred knew better though.
Fred thought that the slayer, Buffy, would notice that something was off about the vampire. But she didn't. Maybe it would take time. Fred would see if she could drop hints here and there.
She still wouldn't look Wes's way, avoiding him as much as she could. But since he and Spike were now some kind of buddies, it was hard. Her mind was still so jumbled with lies and memories; she didn't know what to think. Not that it mattered. She was dead, soul returned to the correct plane. Floating in nothingness didn't help either. Everything was even more scattered than it was when she came back from Pylea.
"Anything?" Lindsey said from behind her.
"Nah. They almost started a fight. But Mr. Giles stopped it in time."
"Shoot. That might have been fun to watch."
"It's the last thing that Spike needs right now."
Lindsey sat down beside her. "Maybe a little violence will pull him back, get him back to where he needs to be."
"Not likely, but who knows. I really don't understand any of this," Fred explained, Texan accent becoming a little thicker as she talked with Lindsey.
Lindsey had listened to her from day one. He had been so patient with her, even to the point of helping her through a crying jag she had a few days before. Everything was so much more complicated now, she thought.
"So, any more new assignments?" she asked him.
"No. Not yet. That one last week was a doozy."
"Glad that I just have the one vampire to deal with."
"I get it. They give me the hard cases."
"It can't be easy. To see all that heartache and sufferin'."
"I'm dealing. I know what I have to do to atone."
Fred shook her head yes, like she could relate, which she really couldn't on any level. Lindsey had done so many questionable things in his life. One of which was to try and drive Angel insane with that creature that attached itself to him. But she could see in his eyes that he was sorry.
"You'll do it," Fred cheered.
Cordelia came rushing in, with Doyle on her heels, laughing as they threw themselves onto the couch by the table. The cottage had become a meeting place of sorts for the four each day, just to catch up and talk. Fred had a small room where she went to be alone after her day was done, but this felt like home. It had been hard to relax at first, when she arrived. Now she was more at ease. Having Cordy around sure did help.
"I won," Cordelia shouted, out of breath.
"Ha. No, no, my lady. You cheated," Doyle chided her.
"Fair and square. See what all that hard living did to you."
Doyle snorted as he closed the space between him and Cordelia. Fred sighed a little, envious that the two found happiness in this dimension, while Fred didn't know the least what her heart felt. Wes, Gunn, everything was so mixed up in her brain. She just wished it would stop. Lindsey picked her hand up and held it tight, like he knew that she was exasperated.
"So, guys. What's up?" Fred asked tentatively.
"Oh, nothin'. Just racin' the beautiful lady here. She cheats, you know," Doyle went on.
"Ha. Like you didn't cheat at those horse-racing tracks when you were alive."
"I did not."
"Did too."
"Did not," Doyle said, coming closer to Cordy.
"You two wanna make me barf," Lindsey finally said, squeezing Fred's hand lightly.
"Oh, shut it," Doyle answered.
"They're in London now," Fred whispered.
"I know," Cordy told her matter of factly.
"What'll we do?"
"Nothing. It'll be OK, Fred. Spike's in good hands."
"Not so sure about that."
"Mean bugger," Doyle mumbled.
"Doyle," Cordelia admonished him.
"I mean sorry bugger?" Doyle said, trying to comfort Fred.
Fred knew what Spike was before. That wasn't what he was now, she definitely knew. He'd do anything to help his friends. Just as he did for her when she was alive.
"Listen, I'm tired. I've been up all day, watchin' and all. Good night."
The three waved as she walked to her room upstairs in the cottage. She had chosen this room because it was cozy and so near her work. But she stopped at the top of the stairs to listen to her compatriots.
"Lindsey?" Cordelia asked.
"She's gonna be OK. My job, right?"
"Right, mate. Your job. And if you screw it up?"
"Doyle, I'm not dumb. You'll take my head off, I know. Get in line."
"Damn straight," Cordelia answered. "I'll be the first in line to do it."
TBC
Next: I think some training is in order. Faith and Buffy need to work off some steam. We need to see the Academy too. How about Wes and Angel? Oh boy, where am I going? I need to reveal what Ethan was talking about, but just enough to keep it going. So much to do.
Author notes: Wow, and double wow. I set up a lot in these last couple of chapters. Lots to think about. Who is the villain? All of you think that it's Ethan. Maybe, or maybe not. I thought I'd bring him in to liven things up a bit. I hoped you liked the jumping around in time. I just like the fact that the two groups are working together right now. That won't last forever. There must be some tension (the writer writes).
Thanks go out to Icepop, Solrana, FuturelyFamous, goldenshadows, jaxhh, tp96, kaliflower, pari106, Imzadi, mandie, Wav, Tanya, psychotic chaos, and all you others out there. I really want to finish this before Christmas. Ha!
Answers to questions:
Icepop—There's lots of good fics out there with Wes/Faith in them. E-mail me and I'll give you a heads up.
Solrana—Thanks! I hope so too. I think this one does have a little different feel though than the first one. Lots more characters!
Futurelyfamous—Hey, I wasn't gonna say it. Yeah, I was thinking stand-alone too, but those plot bunnies. No Immortal. Dumb storyline. Someone new.
Goldenshowers—You read it in one night? It's huge. You must read fast, like I do. I don't know if I can write Anya. Kinda scares me.
Jaxhh-Thanks, new reviewer.
Tp96—more on the Wes/Angel friendship later.
Kaliflower—not lame, since we can't comment on everything. Since the Council is new, I'm having fun messing around with them.
Pari106—they will hash, won't be easy though.
Imzadi—He'll fix it, in time. Lindsey goodness in ch. 3!
Mandie—the scoreboard thing, just popped into my brain. It's so Xander.
Wav—They'll never be best buds, but some respect between the two. I'm just glad they're talking.
Tanya—hey, thanks. I'll e-mail you with others.
Psychotic chaos—I'm an addict; I need rehab. Higher beings, ch.3 a little. Fred in charge of Spike? You'll see why, if you haven't already guessed. They'll be good for each other, but this is not a Fred/Spike pairing at all.
That enough! Woo. Great reviewers with great things to say. Anytime you have a nitpick, don't be shy about pointing it out. Have fun and review more!!