Disclaimer: Same as always, I don't own any characters from Angel or Buffy. Anyone who you haven't heard of is most likely mine. Please R&R. Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Is This Heaven or Hell?
Spike and Blaze studied their current surroundings with serious eyes that were tiring of the views.
"I don't know how your sister could've found her way around here when she was only fourteen, mate," Spike stated as he held the piece of paper that Blaze was using to copy the surroundings magically onto.
"Yeah, well Bren's done a lot of things that nobody knew she could do," Blaze was still touchy when it came to his little sister, "She's not what or who I thought she was, now can I please finish this without bringing her into it?"
"Sure, it's just that you're mighty lucky to have a sister who'd actually go all the way to Mexico and put her body on the line, literally, just to get money to spring you from a prison, if that's what you'd call it," Spike had a good point but at the moment Blaze didn't want to admit it. "Her heart's in the right place is all I'm saying; don't push her away for it."
"Yeah, well maybe she should've told me about it first," Blaze said as he looked up.
"Maybe, but maybe she didn't want to tell you for a reason," Spike weighed his chances of getting a knuckle sandwich before he continued, "She was scared that this would happen or that you'd do something else that hurt just as bad. Notice that she's only ever done it when she feels that has to? When you needed the money for the house fast and when it's for a big project like this one. She wouldn't do this if she didn't feel that she had to."
"So you think that it's my fault too? How typical of you," Blaze's fury was building again.
"No, you're putting words in my mouth mate, if it is anyone's fault then last time it was your mother and this time it's Angel, Buffy and Who ever put the project on our to do list," Spike said in a calm tone, "I never even thought it was your fault. I'm ready to bet no one else does either, including Bren and Ena. You missed something on the map."
"What?"
"That tree over there and the shed behind it."
"Oh, thanks for pointing that out."
A breeze passed over where they were standing rustling the trees and bushes as it went, Blaze looked up from his mapping and studied their surroundings again but quickly lowered his head once more.
"No problem, but what's the cross for?"
"What cross?" Blaze asked not looking up from the map.
"The one that you just put on the map, right there," Spike pointed at a place on the paper that showed a bush with a cross on top of it.
"Dude, I think you've spent too long talking to yourself," Blaze looked up from the map that matched their surroundings exactly and looked meaningfully at the vampire, "I didn't put a cross on the map."
Spike looked from Blaze then down at the map again frowning, he'd finally latched on to what Blaze was doing, or at least some of it. He turned his head in different directions before finally coming to a conclusion.
"Sorry mate, my bad it's just the way you drew the leaves makes it look like there's a cross there," Spike had covered the situation well and Blaze relaxed slightly.
It took them another hour to finish mapping the other places that Angel had given them to cover and to get back to where they were supposedly meeting Angel and Nab. When they got there the other two had apparently just arrived as well so no one had kept anyone waiting.
As they had organized with the girls earlier the four of them made their way slowly into the main street of Nogales where the large strip club was positioned. They'd escorted Bren, Darla, Kitty and Lani to the strip club a few hours before and had arranged to pick them up when they were finished mapping out the area. From the outside the club looked reasonably respectable but once inside there was a true example of why one should never judge a book by its cover.
When they got to the main level of the club which was where Bren had said they would be the four males immediately began scanning the crowd for any of their female friends. Lani wouldn't be too hard to find, how many girls did you see running around with hair that shade of purple? But Lani was nowhere in sight and neither were any of the others. Angel led his companions through the crowd asking about the girls as he went; a few of the slightly older strippers pointed him to a door at the back of the room. Making his way towards it was a slow process, partly due to the heavy crowd and partly due to Spike's continuous halting or wandering off, each time this happened Angel sent Nab to pull Spike back to where he was supposed to be.
Blaze stuck close to Angel not quite knowing his reason for doing this but he didn't really mind about that right about now, he was still deciding whether this place was heaven or some alternate establishment of hell. True, there were a lot of pretty girls around and the fact that they wore minimal clothing helped to lighten a man's mood but this place had taken the sister that he'd thought he'd known. Ena had always been wild and unpredictable, he'd rarely known what she was doing and had left it to Bren (being her twin and all) to know about that. But he'd always considered Bren as the safe and cautious one, the one who he could depend on and be sure about who she was and who she was going to be, not the likely choice for a stripper. This club had proven him wrong and for that reason he despised it.
Angel came to a door at the back of the club, the three younger males following him halted in just enough time not to run into his back. He hesitated, unsure of what to do, should he open the door and go straight in or knock first? He opted for the latter and rapped his knuckles hard against the door to be sure he was heard. A moment later the door opened a crack and then Bren's head appeared from behind it, she looked over her guests before opening the door wide enough to admit them and quickly shutting it behind them.
"We weren't expecting you back quite this fast but no matter, things went faster here than I'd originally expected," Bren explained as she returned to what she'd been doing earlier, examining the available wardrobe, "The others will be out in a minute."
"Out of where?" Spike asked from directly behind her.
"The change room silly, this may be a strip club but that doesn't mean that we aren't entitled to some privacy behind the scenes," Bren let out a savage little kick to the back letting Spike know that he wasn't supposed to be looking over this stuff.
She caught him hard in the shins and he cursed quietly for letting his guard down around her.
"Can't you put him on a lead or something?" Bren asked Angel.
"I wish I could," The vampire with a soul replied, "But you see Spike isn't one to be put on a lead and keep it in one piece."
"You know I could fix that little problem. Bren said cheekily as she pulled an outfit off the rack and held it against her too thin body considering it, "Why don't you boys go out and have a little fun, see what you can get from the strippers out there and we'll get you when we're finished in here."
"With pleasure," Spike answered darting out of the door to where he was sure there were some pretty strippers waiting for him.
"You're sure?" Angel seemed uncertain about this, looking over at Blaze and Nab.
Angel definitely had no problems with asking a stripper for info while she gave him a lap dance; it was Nab and Blaze that worried him. Blaze in particular would hold a grudge against this club that wasn't likely to die anytime soon if ever. Who could blame him? Almost everything that he'd known of Bren had changed since she'd informed him of her past occupation, however temporary it had been. That was a wound that wasn't likely to heal and be forgotten too quickly.
Bren seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he was because she quickly added, "Or if you didn't want to do that you could stay in here and check out the pre-floor look. Take your pick, no one's gonna mind."
Nab and Blaze looked at each other, "Pre-floor?" Nab asked.
"Yeah, whatever," Blaze said, looking at his sister as she pulled out a pair of boots from the shoe rack.
"So it's pre-floor for you two, Angel? You going to keep an eye on Spike or check out the pre-floor action with Nab and Blaze?" Bren asked him.
"I think it might be a good idea to keep an eye on Spike, he's a trouble magnet," Angel answered.
"Okay, you do that and if you find a nice little stripper make sure you give her a tip, it's insulting not to," Bren said, "I would know."
"I'll keep that in mind," Angel said before disappearing behind the door.
A half hour later and Bren, Darla, Kitty and Lani emerged from the dressing room dressed in their latest wardrobe additions. Blaze and Nab walking in their wake weren't quite as noticeable but were still seen because they were with the new blood. Spike looked up from his stripper for a moment and saw the four girls, at this he let out a quiet whistle of admiration.
The stripper in his lap called out across the club in Spanish, "Hey Brenny, welcome back."
Bren looked over at her and simply smiled adding a polite nod; she'd known the girl from her last visit here, they'd been good friends and had kept in touch through e-mail until both girls had run out of time to do so. Now Bren made her way up to the boss's office, knocked and informed him that she and her girls were going home, introduced her brother and let him give her three friends an inspection from an adept opinion. After this she gathered up Angel and Spike, organized to catch up with her stripper friend on the internet and left.
On the way home the four girls received comments and hints from Spike letting them know his thoughts. Eventually Bren tired of this and informed him that she only did that kind of thing at the club or for people she felt were worthy of it, he wasn't one of them. Shortly after that she began to get cold, although it was mid-spring the temperature here as she'd known did get cold on some nights. Bren had thought to bring her coat but had decided against it before she'd left and now she regretted this, Blaze however seemed to be on his way to accepting her as she was and showed that he hadn't forgotten she was his responsibility by wrapping an arm around her.
With the scant clothing Bren now wore Angel didn't need to imagine why she was cold. Her other clothes had gone into a bag which now hung over her shoulder and she was wearing a different set of leather clothes. She had a halter neck on that had only two thin straps across her back and showed quite a lot of breast, two straps attached the front of the top to her mini-skirt criss-crossing just above her belly button. Angel could see why that was, when she moved her body the crossed straps moved with her flat stomach. She still had the same pair of boots on although the mini-skirt was a new one so that she could attach the skirt to the top.
At first the petite blonde looked slightly confused but she quickly relaxed seeing that at least for now there wasn't a catch. When Blaze removed his beanie and put it on her head it almost covered her eyes and both siblings laughed good-naturedly as Blaze pulled up the front a little.
Looking at the two of them reminded Angel of Spike and Dru's many arguments and the behavior that had ensued, although in this case he was sure things wouldn't go that far. Angel looked at the younger vampire as he watched Bren and Blaze from next to Darla.
Darla was another person who reminded him of his past as Angelus. It had been a blonde vampire named Darla who had first altered him and made him a vampire. They weren't the same that Darla had been dusted, but still they bore some resemblance to each other.
That was in his past, this was now and he knew that no matter how much he was reminded of his past as Angelus he was Angel now and there was no time like the present. Seize the day as they said in some movie or other that he'd seen with his friends a year or two ago. At any rate he was content now to be Angel and none of his friends minded his past unless it was necessary, they all had their imperfections and he was pleased to know that they wouldn't hold his hellish past against him, now or ever.
