A/N: This is some of the roughest written action scenes I have ever seen and I feel the need to apologize now for posting this but I did as best as I could but it still seems off to me. Let me know what you think and feel free to give me pointers on how to fix it. I also know that I tend to switch tenses (really, really bad about that) but I think I caught it all.

A/N 2: Thanks to all who took the time to read my story, especially: General Mac, Spygrrl, Just Me (she met him that summer, but the story doesn't center around that meeting however it will come to light after the LA Gang and Soobies meet), paige, S.. (glad to hear it), and CF (here's hoping…oh wait, I control that don't I).

Chapter 5

Fiery pain raced through his gut, causing him to double over and gasp for unneeded air. Angel…

He jerked up sharply and looked around searching for the threat. He could feel it, something was happening. Something was wrong.

Kate had stopped her forward movements to help him when he snapped up. She wasn't naïve, and she could feel the threat he presented. He was practically snarling, game face to the fore. What she felt here was something deeper than just danger. She felt the primal urge to run. He was everything that humanity had feared since the last demon left after mixing his blood with a human. Even now it was only a tiny part of her mind that rationalized all this. The rest was cowering in fear, frozen.

It took him several minutes to come back down from the absolute panic he was possessed by. It was as if he was sharing her pa-

But he broke that thought off before it truly began. He didn't have time for her. He needed to be strong and get the job done. But he couldn't ignore the feeling in the back of his mind. She was in trouble. And if he had cared to listen he would have heard the demon snarling within him, furious that the soul was going to ignore the instinctive drive that had protected his kind for centuries. The one that said that their mate was in danger.

It was with Angelus howling in his ear and his own sense of danger and fear that he finally convinced himself that there was truly something to dread. There was a reason she was here, and he could not give up on her. As much as he had turned his back on the Powers, he had the feeling that They were not so willing to let him go.

And there was no such thing as coincidence where they were concerned.

Kate stood over him, looking worried. She could feel the fear slowly leaving as if it had never been there. It was only a memory. But nothing had changed. He was still just standing there. But now he was aware and she felt courageous enough to tentatively reach a hand out to get his attention.

They had been walking through the graveyard on the way back to his car and she felt that the scenery was definitely not helping her feelings of fear, "Hey, are you-"

"Buffy," he gasped out.

"What?" she looked confused.

He waited several moments, but the pain disappeared, like it was never there. She was hurt. He knew it. But he was torn. Try and save her or keep doing the job he was doing. But this was Buffy. He thought back to the conversation he had overheard. She was working on this case. He straightened and briskly began to walk to the car. He had a job to do and he had to figure out what was going on soon.

She needed him.

xoxox

"Buffy!" Gunn shouted as he dropped to her side and turned her over.

In an instant George tackled the cop and knocked the gun from his hand. They fell to the ground in a heap, both struggling against the other in an effort to be the first to reach the gun. But Rondell darted in and picked it up. George let out a sharp cry when the cop hit him, forcing them apart. He reached down to his ankle.

"He's got another gun!" Wesley yelled, rushing over to Buffy's side.

The cop pulled out his second gun and aimed at George while trying to rise to his feet, but it put him off balance and it gave Rondell a few precious moments to raise his gun and take aim. He shot twice, dropping the cop to the ground. Rondell looked from the gun in his hand to the cop on the ground in shock, "Oh man! Oh man!"

"Lets get the hell out of here," said George after glancing at the dead cop.

Gunn was frozen, the body of his friend clutched in his arms. He had lived on the streets long enough to see enough gunshot wounds. He knew that it wasn't looking god for her. He gave himself a hard shake to clear his head and called to the others, "Help me get Buffy."

Rondell just stood there in shock before dropping the gun and staring at it.

Her hands were shaking over her wound. "You have to stop the bleeding," Wesley said as he knelt by her side. He pulled out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it hard into gaping hole in her stomach which caused her to flinch in pain. "I apologize, but we need to stop the bleeding."

She looked up at him and shakily asked, "Is anyone else cold?"

"Shh, it's okay now," said Gunn. "We're gonna take you some place warm." He looked up at Wesley on her other side, "She's light. I can carry her."

He nodded, "We have to hurry. The wound is serious."

Rondell's hands were shaking as he backed away from the body in abject horror. There was no going back from this. "I shot him! I shot a cop!" he shouted.

"Gunn?" it was a breathy whisper.

"I'm right here Buffy, hang on."

"I hurt. Why do I hurt?"

Gunn stood with Buffy in his arms while Wesley moved over to Rondell, trying to get his attention, "You didn't have a choice."

George looked around nervously, "We got to move."

"I killed a police officer. Look at him. He's dead!"

Gunn looked over at him and shook his head in alarm, "Don't look that dead," he said as the cop got back to his feet.

"Lets go!" George shouted.

The four of them ran as fast as they could, with Gunn carrying Buffy.

As they moved away they didn't hear the cop reached up to the radio clipped to his shoulder, "We have a situation."

xoxox

The four of them hurried down the street, Buffy cradled in Gunn's arms. It scared him when he realized how light she was. It was like she was slowly drifting away and there was nothing he could do about it. He gritted his teeth in disgust at the fact that he was giving up and held on to her tighter. He could feel her blood dripping onto his arm as it trickled down her side. He knew that it wasn't a good thing, "Hold up. Hold up. I got to try and stop this bleeding again."

The four of them slowed their ace and glanced around for a resting place. It was George who pointed out a hole in the chain link fence. They slipped through it and then around the corner of the building, trying to keep out of sight.

"Around here. Let me put her down."

"911," said Wesley. "We've got to call 911."

Rondell looked at him in shock, "Screw the cops! They're the ones that did this to her!"

"An ambulance," said Gunn.

"Oh."

Buffy groaned weakly, "Makes me miss Sunnydale."

"Shh, Buffy, it's going to be alright, just hold on," Wesley said, taking one of her hands.

"Cops there…a-are only ignorant…not psychotic."

Gunn chuckled and looked down at her still clutched in his arms, "Gurl, if you're well enough to be makin' jokes I think you're gonna make it." He smiled at her before looking up and meeting Wesley's gaze across her body, the smile fading from his face. He shook his head in worry. Her chances of making it were small, and the longer it took to get her help the smaller they got, "Call them now."

Wesley nodded, pulled out his cell, and dialed. "Alright," said Gunn, as he turned to Rondell, "Go down and keep watch."

But the younger man didn't move. He was too caught up in what he had done. Vampires he could handle. Cops getting up after being shot point blank…he wasn't so sure. He was brought back to the present by George shaking him by the shoulders, "Hey, you need to snap outta it. We need you man."

He nodded and moved back to the hole in the fence to watch for the cop. George turned and nudged Wesley who was on the phone, "Tell them no siren."

Buffy looked up at the stars, feeling oddly disconnected to everything. She wondered if this is what Faith felt when she stabbed her. She knew she was in shock. She had suffered enough serious wounds to know what was happening to her. It was only a matter of time. She needed to be stabilized long enough for her body to mend itself. But it looked like that wasn't going to happen. "Angel…" she breathed out.

xoxox

"It's pretty quiet in here," Kate stated as they walked into the Police Department.

Angel went over to the counter and hit the bell, causing an officer to duck out of an office in the back, "Can I help you folks?"

Kate showed him her badge, "Yeah. I'm investigating some complaints about the way some officers are handling things in this precinct."

He looked confused, "Isn't that more a job for internal affairs?"

She nodded, "Well, I'm taking a personal interest." She looked around, "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, only a few of us riding the desk tonight."

"Not a lot going on?" Angel asked.

"Crime is way down in this precinct," the cop said. "We're doing things right."

"Who takes credit for that?"

"It's a team effort. But, the captain's the one who really got the ball rolling."

"Can we talk to him?"

The cop gave Angel a hard look, "He's not here. But you're free to try again later though."

"This captain of yours, he's running things by the book?"

The officer looked back and forth between them, "I don't have to tell you who used to rule these streets, detective. The scumbags did. Hell, I-I was afraid to drive to work myself."

"Oh, really?" she said.

"We got a tougher policy now."

Tbc…