Chapter 19

After a few hours of brooding, Angel decided to return to the suite and finally talk to Spike. He wanted to explain his behavior and the difficult choices he has had to make over the last few months. He took a deep unneeded breath as he opened the door. He flipped the lights on. "Spike?" He said as he looked around. There was still a faint smell of her, so he knew she had been there recently. He saw the open closet and noticed her suitcase was gone. On the floor were the dresses he had brought for her. He saw the open drawers that contained her clothes were empty. His heart sank. "Spike." He whispered as the anger with himself began to build. He rushed out of the room down to the lobby.

He stormed up to front desk. A stout, older gentleman was behind the counter. "Yes, Mr. Angel?" He said with a smile.

The dark vampire began, "My...girlfriend left the room and I need to know where she went. Did you see her leave? She's about 5 ft 2 inches, long wavy blond hair, and blue eyes."

"Well, sir, forgive me. Many people fit that description. Could you be a bit more specific?"

Angel was losing patience. "Look," he hissed as his eyes burned yellow and he flashed some fang, "don't you have surveillance cameras?" The now scared hotel worker nodded. "I want to see them, alright?"

"Y-Yes, sir. R-Right a-away." He stumbled back from the counter. "Follow me." The petrified worker led Angel to the security area two floors below.

They explained the situation and Angel began reviewing the tapes from the last few hours. Suddenly, he said to the security guard, "STOP! Rewind that and play slowly." He saw on the screen that Spike was holding her luggage and was being escorted out of the lobby by Julian May. Angel stood immediately and hurried back to the lobby.

When the hotel worker saw the crazed vampire barreling towards him again, he stood back for a moment.

His voice shook. "Everything satisfactory, Mr. Angel?"

Angel was teetering on the edge of releasing Angelus. "Julian May's room number." He spit out between clenched teeth. The worker hesitated but obliged.

"Room 3325, sir." He breathed a sigh of relief when Angel left.

Julian stood from the couch when he heard the loud banging on his door. He smirked because he knew who was the source of the noise. He opened the door and leaned against it as he observed the angry vampire. "Angel. Or is it Angelus?" He said sarcastically with sparkling eyes.

"Where is she?" Angel hissed as he stayed in place. He knew it was a public building, yet he did not force his way across the threshold.

"Who?" Julian answered innocently as he looked around.

Angel walked into the suite and purposefully brushed Julian. He turned around to face the Immortal. "Don't play games with me, May. I want to know what you did with Spike." He said menacingly as he watched Julian calmly walk towards the couch and sit. Julian crossed his legs and smiled.

"What makes you think I did anything to her?" He feigned confusion.

"Cut the shit. I saw the surveillance tapes." Angel stood defiantly.

"Well," Julian began as he stood and glided across the room. "You're Grandchilde came to me freely for aid." He stopped for a moment as he observed the trembling, clenched cheeks of the dark vampire. "She required a mode of transport to depart Toronto."

"So, you helped her." Angel's eyes squinted.

"Well, of course. She is a member of the Wolfram and Hart family. And that is what we do." He smiled widely as he slightly tilted his head. "She was very distraught and clearly needed a shoulder to cry on." He smirked evilly. "I was hard pressed not to help such a fragile, vulnerable creature."

"If you hurt or touched her in any way..." Angel warned as he stepped closer to the Immortal figure.

"Well, I admit I only had a little bit of a taste..." His statement was interrupted as he felt the dark vampire's fist connect headily with his face. He laughed as he touched his hand to his cheek. "You know you cannot hurt me, vampire." He said in a more serious tone. "I can understand how your William inspires such a reaction." If the use of Spike's true name affected Angel, the lack of reaction on his face failed to reveal this. "If you are frustrated with yourself, I hardly think it fair to punish the person who helped her." The underlying smirk returned. "She did not divulge anything that transpired prior to coming to me, but I clearly aided a beautiful woman who needed to escape a dire situation." Angel bowed his head for a moment.

"And you helped her out of the 'goodness' of your heart." Angel responded sarcastically. "Why should I even trust you to tell the truth? You're evil."

Julian chuckled. "Last time I checked, Angel, we both work for the same organization." Julian squinted his eyes as he started to pace with his arms behind his back. "When we last met, I believe I called you an anomaly. My assessment of you has not changed. I know you were a 'do-gooder' prior to coming to our hallowed firm. It is quite interesting how well you have adapted to our big pond. Your branch is still a top performer. So, before you attempt to label me as evil, I would take a look in the mirror...well, metaphorically of course." He chuckled again as he paused. "No, Angel. It is you I do not trust. You are conflicted, and that can only spell trouble for the firm. But, the senior partners look upon you as the Golden Boy of the moment. So who I am to doubt them, hmm?"

"Are you finished?" Angel hissed as he walked closer to the Immortal. "I want to know where she is, May."

"My instructions to my pilot was to take her to the destination of her choice. Of course, I can and probably will know where she went, but why would I share that information?" His eyes sparkled with glee. "That wouldn't be sporty."

Angel's anger continued to build. "You have no chance with her. She would never be with you."

"Likely. Yet, she does not seem to be by your side either, is she?" Julian slowly walked towards the door as he continued to talk. "She does not want to be found by you, Angel. That, was extremely clear." He paused to open the door. "Well, I believe this conversation is over. I guess I'll see you in the corporate stress management seminar in the am?" Angel glared at him as he walked out. The door closed softly leaving Angel standing in the hall.

He slowly walked back to his room and proceeded to sit on the bed. 'I just needed a little more time, Spike.' Angel thought as he felt his heart breaking.

Spike found that flying the second time was not nearly as traumatic as her maiden voyage. As she sat in a Wolfram and Hart limo, she leaned forward and pressed the button. A voice came on over the speaker. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"Yeah, you can let me off here."

"Yes, Ma'am." The voice answered as the car slowly came to a stop. Spike stepped out of the car into the cool night. She grabbed her suitcase and entered the building in front of her. She walked slowly towards the lobby desk. She turned back briefly to see the car had pulled away. She went off to the side to wait. After about 30 minutes, she exited the building and made her way to her real destination. After about 20 minutes of walking she reached her goal: Wolfram and Hart. She quickly traversed the lobby and pushed the up button on the elevator. She was happy she returned at night; there would be less people around to notice her presence. She needed to take care of matters expeditiously. She went into the bedroom she and Angel shared and packed a few more clothes in her suitcase. She opened the closet to find her beloved duster. She slipped on the leather that she had not felt in so many months. She sighed as the scent of the coat filled her senses. Spike returned to the main room and stopped at Angel's desk. She brought out some pen and paper and quickly wrote notes to Lorne, Fred, Wesley, Gunn, and finally to Angel. She carried the letter intended for the dark vampire back over to the walk-in closet. There was a special drawer that Angel kept money in. She opened it and found nearly six thousand dollars hidden there. She placed the note in it after taking the cash. She grabbed her suitcase and the letters and returned to the lobby. She dropped the letters in interoffice mail and made her way outside. After walking a few blocks, she hailed a cab. At one point, she thought to take one of Angel's cars, but she did not want to traced in any way. She gave instructions for her destination to the cabbie. Upon her arrival, she paid for a single room and tiredly fell into bed.

Spike did not awake until the evening beckoned to the vampire senses. The blond vampire sat up and realized how uncomfortable her shirt was.

"Fuck, did this thing shrink?" Spike said as her fingers attempted to adjust the garment. "Hold on a 'mo..." Spike's hand flew to his throat as he looked down to see his former body. Spike jumped out of bed and howled in delight. "Ta, Hallie!" He screamed to the ceiling as he reveled in the feel of his own body again. His hand traveled to his penis and as Spike cupped it he said, "Missed ya 'ol friend!" He exclaimed as he struggled to remove the shirt he was wearing. He tore the t-shirt and jeans off and walked over to his bag and pulled out his black on black ensemble that was his trademark. He smiled as he slipped into his jeans and shirt. He then proceeded to grab his trusty duster and slowly placed it on. He sighed at the fit. He sat back on the bed and made a few phone calls. When he was satisfied with his plans, he reached into the suitcase and grabbed the money. He stuffed the green bills into his pocket as he made his way down to the lobby. As he exited into the Los Angeles night, he smiled. He hailed a cab and drove off to begin a new chapter in his unlife.

The next day, Angel returned to the offices of Wolfram and Hart. He could not concentrate on the meetings in Toronto when he was so distraught over Spike. He knew there could be consequences to leaving early; frankly at this point, he did not care. He was determined to use all his resources to find her; plans be damned. He had to explain to her why he had acted so strangely and that he loved her with every fiber of his being. As he opened the door to the penthouse, he was hopeful initially when he smelled her. At least she had been there recently. He walked around to try to find any clues to where she had gone. He saw the light on in the closet and his secret drawer slightly opened. As he peered into it, he saw a letter addressed in Spike's flowing, poetic handwriting: To Angel. The dark vampire's hands shook as he opened the envelope that he recognized as his own.

'Angel,

Or is it Angelus? I think I said what I needed to in Toronto. Obviously I have taken the money from your secret stash. Let's just say it was for services rendered. Job well done, eh?

Will'

The words of the letter started to blur as Angel's unchecked tears fell onto the ink. "Oh, God, Will..." Angel cried as he fell to his knees as the realization hit that he had lost Spike.

TBC...