Chapter 15

Spike entered the Science Lab later in the morning. Fred looked up from her microscope and smiled when she saw her friend.

"Hey! How are you? Harmony said you all had a blast last night."

Spike took the chair next to her. "Yeah, grand ol' time it was." Spike said with little enthusiasm. Fred worried as she looked at her. She seemed distracted.

"Spike? Let's go to my office." She said as surveyed the room.

When the two arrived, she began to ask questions. "Are you alright?" She said as she placed her hand on the blond vampire's shoulders.

"Yeah." Spike answered as she hung her head a bit.

"You're as bad a liar as I am." Fred frowned. "Is it Angel? He seems real cranky lately."

"That's not the half of it." Spike mumbled under her breath as she rubbed her neck.

"Come on, Spike. What's up?"

Spike was in no mood to share, so she changed the subject. "So, what time is the meeting today?" She asked with an innocent smile.

Fred looked down at her watch and yelped. "Five minutes ago! Let's go!" The two females hurried towards Angel's office. When they arrived they took their customary seats. "Sorry we're late, guys." She said apologetically.

"No problem, Fred. We're waiting for the liaison." Angel answered.

"I don't know about that guy, Angel." Gunn warned the group and then looked over at Spike who was rubbing at her turtleneck. "You okay, Blondie?" He said to her but did not receive an answer because the liaison walked in.

"Good, everyone is here." Hamilton cheerfully greeted the group. "Well, let's get down to business. The Senior Partners are very pleased that the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart is back up near the top." He said ignoring the glares he received from the group. "It seems that the lack of attention to our clients has been remedied thanks to your leader, Angel. The Senior Partners are so happy to see you focus on your job."

"I bet." Angel said with clenched teeth as he stared coldly at the well dressed man.

"This should make your trip to Toronto a great success. It will be a wonderful way to introduce you to the others."

"What's in Toronto, Angelcakes?" Lorne asked.

Hamilton answered the Green Demon. "The annual corporate meeting of the top executives of Wolfram and Hart's North American divisions. And despite having a first year CEO, the LA branch continues to be a top performer." Hamilton walked around the table. "Of course, there were a few bumps in the road, initially, right Angel?" He chuckled. "But, now you got the ship back to smooth sailing. Of course," he gestured to the entire table, "you have all played your part." He smirked. "Go, Team!" He waved his fist in the air as he began to walk towards the door and turned to Angel. "I hope you and Spike have a wonderful trip." At the mention of her name, Spike looked up in surprise and stared at Angel who was still glaring at Hamilton. "Bon voyage." He swept out of the office.

Spike sat shocked but did not say a word. In fact, no one spoke for a few minutes. Each person was mired down with his or her own thoughts.

Gunn looked at Wesley for a moment and then cleared his throat. "If we can continue, we do have something of interest." He looked at Wesley again before turning to the group. "There are some humans and good demon shop owners down by the Wharf, who are being forced to pay for 'protection' against thieves stealing their goods."

"That's not anything new." Angel said impatiently and crossed his arms.

"Yeah." The lawyer continued. "But, the demon clan running the racket are killing if the people refuse to pay. We can't let this happen."

"And let me guess," Spike interjected. "The demon clan is our client." She shook her head and snorted when Gunn and Wesley confirmed this.

"Team Angel, doing it again." Lorne said sarcastically as he sipped his seabreeze. Fred simply dropped her head.

"What do you want us to do about it?" Angel asked.

"Are you kidding me, Angel?" Gunn yelled as he stood to walk over to the dark vampire. "What the fuck is up with you, man?" His nostrils flared as he breathed heavily. Gunn was using all his willpower to restrain himself.

"Gunn." Wesley added to help calm his friend. "We feel this is important to protect these people. That is what we do."

"And, Wes." Angel said. "We also have this job as well." He rolled his eyes and threw up his hand. "Do what you have to do." He said as he walked back to his desk. He flung papers onto the already overloaded desk.

"Good." Wesley breathed a sigh of relief; although, he realized they were not victors. Angel simply did not care what they did. The Ex-Watcher continued to be baffled at Angel's behavior. Using his background as a Watcher and what he knew of Angel, at times he felt perhaps this was Angelus they were dealing with. He knew, though, they would all be dead or horrifically tortured by now if that was the case. Was the firm corrupting their friend? He needed to ponder these things. For now, they needed to mobilize and venture to the Wharf.

"Gunn?" He looked at his friend. "Shall we get going? We can procure weapons from my office." He said as he walked towards the door.

"Let me go change, English. Then I'll meet you in the Lobby." The two nodded at the other.

"Hold up, Gents." Spike stood. "I could use a little rough and tumble, yeah?" She said enthusiastically and started her strides to join them.

"No." Angel's' voice said from the back of the room. "She doesn't go." He said as he crossed his arms.

"WOT?" Spike said as she turned to her Grandsire. "Did you just tell me, no? Mother may I?" Spike threw her hands in the air as her eyes turned yellow. Lorne and Fred joined Wesley and Gunn at the door. The anger in the room was palpable.

"I said," Angel spoke slowly but forcefully, "I don't want you to go."

"I don't give a shit WHAT you want! You fuckin' poofter!" Spike was nearly seething.

"Spike." Wesley said quietly. The two locked eyes and Spike understood. She looked down and nodded as her shoulders slumped. She wanted them to go so lives could be saved. After the door was shut, Spike slowly gazed at Angel. As if all the anger simply vanished, concerned eyes looked upon him.

"J-Just make me understand, Angel." She practically begged. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what?" Angel said surprised. "As I recall, the last time you went on a mission with Wes, you nearly died! I don't want you to get hurt! Jesus, Spike!"

"I'm not made of glass, Angel! I'm still me!" She implored as her eyes watered. "You act like I'll break if I go fight."

"Things could get rough out there." Angel walked over to the window. His back was to her.

"Like things did last night, Sire?" She said with venom in her voice.

"What are you getting at?" Angel said in a confused tone.

Spike peeled back her neck to reveal the unhealed wound on her neck from their earlier activities. "It hasn't even begun to heal yet! Didn't mind being all rough last night!" She stared at the dark vampire whom did not even seem to flinch.

"Didn't seem to mind when I did that though, did you?" He said with a smirk as he sauntered over to her. "You were moaning and groaning like a pro, Spike." Her mouth fell open in shock at the insult. "You enjoyed it as much as I did. We're vampires, honey." He said as he walked up to her. "You're telling me that Dru never liked it a little hard now and then?" He said while he ran his finger gently up her defined cheekbone.

Spike stepped back and stood there speechless. She looked at the figure in front of her and did not even recognize who it was. Was it Angelus? This couldn't be Angel, could it? He said he would never hurt her. Her head began to spin as she felt dizzy. She needed some time to think. She did not know how long she stood there. Next thing she knew, Angel had embraced her. He kissed her neck where he had bit her. He sighed as he whispered in her ear. Only vampire hearing could pick up what he was telling her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you last night. I got carried away." He paused as he kissed her neck. "Why don't you go up and lay down, okay?" He said as he walked her to the elevator. Spike was almost in a catatonic state as he led her easily. He pushed the correct floor for her and as the doors closed, he added. "We'll talk about Toronto later."

Angel returned to his desk and pushed a button on the telephone. "Harmony? What's next on my agenda?"

"Um, the Senator is meeting with you. Do you want to greet her from the Lobby?"

Angel sighed. "Yeah, that's fine." He released the button. He placed his jacket on and buttoned it. He opened the door to the office and went towards the elevator. As the lift doors shut, Hamilton appeared from beside Angel's office. He smirked as his cold eyes watched the elevator.

TBC...