Chapter Twenty Three
Careful to keep eye contact with as much people as she could, Buffy waited for the others to voice their opinion. She'd just told what she had remembered once Vail's cube was broken so those that hadn't already heard it knew what had happened. But she didn't want them to think she was going to pine over it for forever. The apocalypse was officially taking the number one spot in her priorities, especially after she found out about Angel's change of behavior. And with that news came a healthy wave of guilt.
"So what's the plan?" Faith asked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to fully face Buffy. "Max already called in reinforcements from Seattle but there's at least three other places we should probably give a ring-ding, don't ya think?"
"You're talking about Rome, Brazil, and Africa, right?" Alec questioned. Faith nodded. He turned to Willow, Kennedy, Xander, and Oz. "Who'd you leave in charge at your bases?" Xander and Oz exchanged a look while Willow purposefully ignored Kennedy.
"We left Zane and a slayer in charge," Oz answered. Willow glanced at him but then quickly averted her eyes, as if guilty of the action. "Can't remember the name though..." Oz smirked uncomfortably.
"It's on the tip of my tongue..." Xander held up a finger for silence as he tried to remember. Spike rolled his eyes and gave his attention to Willow.
"Do you have a better memory than Alzheimer's boy here?" Xander glared at him but Willow spoke before he could retort.
"Um...yeah. Tatyana and Deryc." Kennedy visibly bit the inside of her cheek in irritation. Krit cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Something wrong?" Kennedy glanced at Willow, who was still ignoring her, and then back to Krit.
"No...Well, it's just...nothing..." The others gave her doubtful looks but she just turned her gaze to the carpet.
"Wait, Deryc is in Brazil?" Xana asked incredulously. Willow nodded slowly, not quite sure why she wanted to know.
"His designation's 538, right?" Alec interrupted abruptly. Xana just nodded. "Yours is 539."
"Deryc's your brother?" Max questioned, surprised. Xana nodded again.
"Oh thank god," Xander muttered. The others turned to look at him. His eyes widened slightly. "Thank god there's...room service! Who's hungry?" His face split into a wide, embarrassed grin.
"I'll help you order," Oz offered quickly as Xander grabbed the phone.
"Um...guys? We can just go to a diner downstairs," Buffy explained. "But right now we have other things to talk about."
"Really? I'm actually feeling kinda hungry myself," Faith replied. Buffy gave her a look. "What? The world will still be undergoing impending doom in an hour or two."
"Personally, I think better with a stomach full of food," Alec added. "Maybe a margarita..." His eyes slid over to Faith, who rolled her eyes.
"Marissa!" Xander suddenly shouted, thumping his forehead with his palm. "That's what the slayer's name is!" He turned smugly to Spike. "Told you I could remember it."
"Yeah, your memory is what everyone should count on in impending situations such as remembering a little girl's name. Can't survive without you," Spike retorted flatly.
"Now, now children, play nice," Max commented giving Spike's arm a squeeze and a pointed look.
"Alright, let's just go eat something," Buffy said. "We'll figure out more later..."
Willow fidgeted uncomfortably with her napkin, eyes darting around the room. Oz watched her with a mixture of concern and amusement. When she started fiddling with her spoon a small smirk spread across his face. He couldn't stop himself from letting out a soft laugh when she accidentally dropped it with a loud clang on her empty plate. She jumped in surprise and two bright pink spots began to appear on her cheeks. Oz opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly felt someone's eyes on him. He glanced away from Willow to the brunette sitting a few seats away from her. Kennedy. His smirk slowly left his face as she seemed to be silently debating whether or not she should gouge his eyes out. Not wanting to give her any further incentive, he turned his attention away from Willow and settled back in his chair.
Sudden elbow jabs to both of his sides made Oz give a small yelp of pain. He glanced back and forth between Xander and Buffy, but they weren't looking at him.
"I'm gonna go check out the bar," Xander stated loudly. Oz just looked at him in confusion. Then Xander gave him, Willow, and Buffy a huge grin. "Come with me?" Buffy's smile creepily mirrored his.
"Yes, let's," she replied in the same loud voice. "Come on Will." She stood up and grabbed Willow's arm, dragging her along. Willow's eyes widened in surprise and for the first time locked onto Oz's. He felt a slight tingle go through his body and found himself unable to look away. Then he felt Xander tugging on him too.
"Come on, bars in hotels are always fun. Remember that time I was a bartender? But it wasn't in a hotel and sure, some of the customer's went B.C. and grew a bunch of extra hairs and lost a few IQ points..."
Knowing what they were doing, Oz opened his mouth to make up an excuse when Faith and Max suddenly invaded Kennedy's space. They didn't want her to interrupt, which she seemed about to do.
Buffy and Xander dragged him and Willow across the room towards the exit. Oz's brow furrowed.
"But the bar's that way..." he pointed out. Buffy rolled her eyes. Once they were outside the diner and into the lobby, she and Xander suddenly stopped and released their holds.
"Alrighty, you two sit here for a bit and get reacquainted," Xander ordered.
"You haven't spoken in a while and with the apocalypse coming up we can't have any weird tension going on," Buffy added. Oz and Willow stared at them in disbelief. Realizing the hypocriticness of that statement she quickly said, "At least not as much anyway..."
"W-what? You're just gonna force us together?" Willow asked, fear starting to grip her like a vice.
"That's right," Buffy replied cheerily. Xander looked down at his watch.
"And we've only got an hour or two left before we gotta get back to work so you better get crackin'." Without another word, they quickly left towards the diner. Willow and Oz stared, dumbfounded, at their retreating backs. As awkward silence began to settle in, Oz turned to Willow and silently motioned for her to follow him to a sofa.
They sat at complete opposite sides, facing each other but not really meeting eyes. Taking a deep breath, Willow decided to finally break the silence.
"So...how ya been?" she asked lamely, a weak smile finding its way onto her lips. Oz smiled, causing a few waves of relief to make their way through Willow's body.
"I've been alright. You?" The relief suddenly froze as her nervousness completely overtook it. She laughed uncomfortably and gave a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Oh...you know..." Oz cocked an eyebrow at her. "Good. I'm uh...good. Peachy with a side of keen...that's me." Another shaky laugh escaped her lips. "I mean, until this whole apocalypse thingy came up, of course. Not like I get yah-yahs from other people's misery...At least not anymore." Her eyes widened in astonishment and she added quickly, "Not that I ever did, of course! I was never evil. No, I'm a good girl. Just a regular witch. Er, uh..." Oz startled her by laughing softly. She gawked at him. "Are you laughing at me?"
"Just a little bit," he replied, giving her a lopsided grin. Willow sucked in her cheeks and averted her eyes sullenly. "Sorry. But you don't have to cover. I know what happened when Tara died." Willow immediately looked at him in surprise as she felt her body stiffen. Oz winced. "I didn't mean for that to sound...blatant. I just wanted to get it out in the open."
"It's fine..." Willow assured softly. "Did Xander tell you?" Oz nodded. "How exactly did he describe my...evilness?"
"Black. Veiny." Willow grimaced. "Goal-oriented."
"Not the best way to put my wanting to kill billions of people." Oz shrugged.
"Just trying to lighten the mood." Willow scoffed.
"When people start discussing that part of my life, the mood isn't really light-up-able."
"Can't blame a guy for trying." The corners of Willow's quirked up an inch. "So Xander saved the world, huh?" She nodded confirmation. "Wow. Well, 'bout time. Bet Anya was proud of him."
"You know about him and Anya?" Oz nodded.
"Though I was only there for a little bit when I came to see you, I did get an eye-full of their relationship. Plus hanging out in Africa with him for almost a year let me have the inside information." A disturbed expression appeared on his face. "Something I'm not really sure I liked having the privilege of..."
"So then you know that she..." Oz nodded again before she could finish. A sad silence fell between them. "I think the point of Xander and Buffy putting us together was so we could talk about us, not them."
"Not sure it matters, as long as we get through an hour or so together without me getting hairy or either of us getting too uncomfortable." Willow smiled in response. "So you're with Kennedy now?" The smile faltered.
"And we were so close with the not being uncomfortable." Oz shook his head.
"Not if we count the first few minutes we were sitting here," he retorted. Willow sighed.
"Yeah, I'm with Kennedy. How 'bout you? You got some special lady friend? Or wolf friend?" Oz shook his head again. "Oh." Oz opened his mouth to say something else with the sound of rapid footsteps approaching stopped him. "Kennedy. Hi." Willow abruptly got off the couch while Oz stayed where he was. Kennedy glared at both of them, her hands curled into rigid fists at her sides.
"I make one remark on how it's about time Xander moved on and you take it personally. I try to apologize but you won't speak to me. Or even spare me a glance. And don't try using that 'you wouldn't understand' spiel. The only reason for me not understanding is because you aren't explaining it to me. I realize you and dog-boy here have a history, but you're my girlfriend. I think you at least owe me some sort of explanation on why you've been giving me the cold shoulder all of a sudden before you start trying to 'catch up on things'."
Oz carefully got off the couch, but once again his attempt to speak was interrupted as more hurried footsteps approached.
"Sorry," Max stated quickly as she made her way over to the sofa, followed closely by Spike, Faith, Alec, Buffy, and Xander. "It was Spike's fault." Spike gave her an incredulous look.
"And Alec's," Faith added. Alec's reaction mirrored Spike's.
"Their fault that what?" Willow asked, slightly bewildered.
"That Max and Faith got distracted by their whispered sweet nothings," Buffy replied. Kennedy rolled her eyes impatiently while Max and Faith's faces turned bright shades of pink.
"They were trying to keep me from coming out here," Kennedy snapped.
"We were just talking," Oz finally managed to get out.
"See? I told you that's all they were doing," Xander exclaimed. Kennedy glared heatedly at him. "What? Don't take it out on us just because you can't trust your girlfriend."
"I completely have faith in her," Kennedy growled. "How can you accuse me of something like that? She's out here with her ex-boyfriend, alright? That gives me the right to be a little worried."
"Not really," Willow stated flatly. Kennedy faltered.
"W-what?" Oz and the others slowly began to slink back towards the diner.
"Kennedy, you don't have the right to be worried because there's nothing to be worried about. Yes, Oz is my ex-boyfriend, but we haven't seen each other in a while, and if we're going to be fighting this thing together we can't have any awkwardness between us. At least, not as much. And in response to your reaction to my being angry with you, don't push it." Kennedy blinked. "You said something that really upset me and I just need a little more time to sort through it, alright? Can you give me that?" Kennedy took a moment to answer. She slowly shook her head in disbelief.
"I wanna help you, Will...but how can I do that if you don't want to be around me?"
"That's not what I said..."
"But it's what you mean, isn't it? We're partners, we should figure out things together."
"Not when what's bothering one of us is the other. If you don't get that..." Willow sighed heavily. "I think I need a break." Kennedy let out a scornful laugh.
"A break? In the middle of the apocalypse? Are you insane?" Willow just looked at her. "W-Willow...what're you...Why are you deciding this all of a sudden? Nothing's changed..." Willow shook her head sadly.
"Things changed a long time ago. They haven't been right for a while..." Kennedy swallowed a sudden lump in her throat, unable to say anything else. Without another word, she stiffly exited the lobby. Willow tearfully watched her go before heading back into the diner.
"So much for not wanting awkwardness, huh?" Alec commented as Willow arrived at the table. Max gave him a swift kick out of sight. He quickly retorted with a kick of his own. They sent each other scathing looks as they both rubbed their new injuries. Willow barely noticed.
"I just wanted to tell you guys that I'll be up in my room. I need to think about some things," she said softly, not meeting anyone's gazes.
"Do you want someone to go with you?" Buffy asked, concern seeping into her voice. Willow shook her head.
"No, I'll be fine. Just fill me in on whatever plans you'll have later. I'll help in what ways I can." She lifted her eyes from the tablecloth for a split second, meeting Oz's blank expression. But she could still see a troubled look in his eyes. She managed a weak smile meant to comfort her friends, but she knew it didn't work.
A long silence hung in the air after Willow had left. Xander was uncomfortably fiddling with his watch. When he finally looked up he saw that the others were all looking at him and Buffy, who was staring fixedly at her knife and fork with a frown marring her features.
"Okay so maybe distracting Kennedy while Willow and Oz had a talk when their relationship was already on the rocks wasn't the smartest idea we've had, but it's not like we knew this would happen," Xander tried to defend himself. Spike shook his head.
"Don't get your panties in a wad, wet head," he retorted. Xander scowled. "Things haven't really been going that well for those two anyhow. The worst thing you two did was just add one more lick of gasoline to fuel the fire. So don't beat yourself up, it'll take the fun out of it when someone else does it for you."
"How would you know their relationship was going downhill?" Xander spat angrily.
"Because I have eyes, carpenter," Spike growled back. "And I have been around them more lately since you went off to Africa to analyze monkey dung and watch gazelles leaping through meadows."
"That's not what I was doing!" Xander cried indignantly. "I was getting together newly-appointed slayers while you were off playing undead mercenary for Evil, Inc. You didn't even bother to tell any of us you were actually back, not even the woman who for some insane reason thinks you're quite the catch! Gee, could it be you were just too ashamed to show how yet another 'soul-having' vampire had once again let down the woman he claims to care about so he can freely go over to the dark side without considering what his 'conscious' might say whenever he knowingly lets another innocent person die?"
"Dark side? Been watching Star Wars again, have you?" Spike taunted with a malicious grin.
"Shut up, Spike!"
"Snappy retort, ponce. Been practicing that one in a mirror?"
"At least I can see myself if I look in one," Xander replied scathingly. Spike's jaw tightened and his eyes flashed gold.
"Stop it!" Buffy cried out, standing up so fast that her chair toppled over with a loud clang. Anyone who hadn't already been looking over at them once Xander and Spike were shouting at each other now had their gazes fixed, astonished, at their table. "This is neither the time or the place to get into yet another of your ridiculous pissing contests! People are going to die! And our team is frayed enough as it is! If you want to completely break us up than you might as well head over to Wolfram & Hart! I'm sure they've already got plenty of ideas on the subject!" As she took a deep breath to try and calm down, she only just realized that the diner had gone completely quiet. Wide eyes from almost every table were fixated on her. She blinked. "Excuse me. I need to go to the restroom." Then she swiftly left the table.
The stunned silence hanging in the diner didn't evaporate. The females still sitting at the table Buffy had just vacated exchanged looks. Without a word to Spike, Xander, Oz, Krit, or Alec, they quickly followed after her. Alec rested his elbows on the table and blew out a sigh before glancing over at Spike and Xander.
"Great job. You two are the masters at keeping everything under control and uncomplicated. Kudos. We should have a plan to eradicate Wolfram & Hart any minute now." Both Xander and Spike had the grace to look ashamed.
When Max, Faith, Jondy, and Xana entered the bathroom, they saw Buffy standing in front of one of the mirrors. Her shoulders were slumped and her head was down, but her hands were clutching the edge of the sink hard enough to make her knuckles turn bright white.
"B?" Faith asked tentatively as they walked closer to her. Buffy lifted her head to look at them. Her eyes were watery though it was clear not a single tear had fallen down her cheeks. She blinked a few times and used the back of her hand to swipe at her eyes before turning to fully face them. As she let go of the sink, little bits of plaster crumbled to the black and white tiled floor. She barely spared it a glance.
"You alright?" Jondy asked. Buffy smiled weakly and gently rubbed her forehead. "I know that's kind of a stupid question after what just happened, but I'm kinda limited on openers here." Buffy's smile strengthened.
"I'll be fine," she replied.
"You sure?" Xana questioned. Buffy sighed heavily before answering.
"Yeah. But I'm not the one to really be concerned about. Willow's going through something that I think we've all experienced at least one time or another, but I'm not sure how she plans on dealing with it. I trust her, though."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Max asked as she leaned against the wall. "We'll be getting reinforcements soon enough, but this deal with Angel bothers me. I know we don't need a big master plan right now, and one doesn't even seem possible right now anyway since we have so little information. So how are we gonna get some?" Buffy bit her lip in consideration.
"You still work there, don't you?" she asked Jondy. She nodded.
"Yeah, in fact I should probably be getting back there pretty soon. I'll do the requisite spy work, if you like." Buffy smiled in thanks before turning back to Max.
"I'm not sure how you'll feel about it, but he really does have an easy in..." she began.
"He'll do it," Max interrupted. Buffy continued to look at her. "I think Spike was planning on doing it anyways. And he's a big boy, he can take care of himself. I'll worry about him like any other warm-blooded girl, but like any other good soldier, I'll keep it to myself. Wolfram & Hart isn't quite dangerous just yet."
"Glad you think so, because you'll be going with him," Buffy replied. Max just cocked her head in confusion.
"'Scuse me? What do I need to be over there for?"
"You've been there longer than we have," Faith commented, catching on to Buffy's idea and grinning mischievously. "They probably trust you more than they would us. You're Spike's girlfriend."
"That's actually more of a reason for them to be suspicious of me," Max stated wryly. Buffy waved her hand impatiently.
"It doesn't matter. So far nothing you've done can be construed as threatening to them. And if Angel's acting alone in whatever he plans to do, that'll make Gunn, Wesley, Lorne, and possibly even Illyria side with you, Spike, and Jondy even more."
"Aren't you guys forgetting that whole thing where I got god powers and tried to kill everyone?"
"That wasn't you," Jondy replied exasperated. "And Illyria was a part of it through the whole thing and where is she now? Wolfram & Hart."
"Yeah, but most of them are still pretty iffy about her," Max commented lamely. Lines of worry began to show on Buffy's face.
"Are you refusing to do this?" she asked. Max winced.
"I guess not..." she murmured. Faith grinned happily and gave her a one-arm squeeze around the shoulders.
"Perfect," Buffy grinned as well. "It's not a master plan, but it'll work. Now lets get you, Jondy, and Spike back to Wolfram & Hart before any of you change your minds."
Max stared blankly at the silver elevator door in front of her. It was the only thing separating her, Jondy, and Spike from the rest of Wolfram & Hart. A few more seconds and the barrier would simply slide away. It wasn't until Spike lightly grasped her hand that she realized she had been flexing her fingers over and over again. She gave his hand a grateful squeeze in return before steeling herself. Wolfram & Hart would be different from the last time she was here and she didn't quite know what to expect. The only calming solution she could think of was to tap into her never-ending supply of soldier/transgenic techniques. It was time to play spy.
A faint beeping noise announced their arrival on the lobby door. Max let go of Spike's hand as the doors slid open. She allowed her gaze to quickly calculate everything that was in view. A quick glance to her left and right told her Jondy and Spike were doing the same thing just as discreetly. Lawyers and secretaries were milling around; all with a place to go. The lobby would have looked exactly like a regular old law firm if it wasn't for the occasional demon intermingling with the other employees.
A hand lightly brushed Max's, but she didn't need to look over to know Jondy was just leaving to head over to her desk. Sticking by each other's sides, Max and Spike walked further into the lobby.
"Probably should check in with Percy or someone before we go milling around," Spike pointed out. Max nodded her agreement and they headed towards Wesley's office. The door was open and one quick look in showed that Wesley was sitting at his desk, which was covered with books and parchments. Spike gave the door a few raps to announce their presence. Wes looked up with raised eyebrows.
"Spike. Max. What are you doing here?" He gave his head a slight shake and smiled sheepishly. "I mean, how nice to see you. What brings you here?"
"Boredom, mostly," Max lied. "Got anything interesting going on?" Wes's eyes darkened and it took him a moment to respond.
"Not quite. Just the usual."
"Well we just figured we'd check in with you before roaming around the castle," Spike stated with a smirk. He gestured towards the papers on Wes's desk. "Good luck with whatever beastie you're working on." Wesley just nodded and returned to his work. Spike and Max turned to go when he suddenly looked up again.
"Oh, did Jondy come back with you? I've got a few requests of her." Max smiled lightly.
"Yeah. She's at her desk now." Wes returned her smile briefly and stood up from his desk, following them out. He gave them a nod goodbye before walking briskly over to Jondy's desk. Spike and Max watched after him for a few seconds before ascending the stairs.
"Where to next?" Spike asked when the reached the top. Max opened her mouth to answer when she caught sight of a distinctly blue form down the hallway behind him. A smirk slowly formed on her lips and she headed towards Illyria. Spike followed her without a word.
Illyria didn't seem to pay them any attention as they neared her. She was intently eyeing each person that passed by her, though they never spared her much of a glance. Max's smirk widened.
"Hey blueberry," she greeted cheerily. Illyria's eyes fell on her sharply. "Haven't seen ya in a few days. Gotten used to the human filth roaming around you without bowing or giving any sign of worship yet?" Illyria scowled.
"I had hoped you would be gone from this world after you canceled our sparrings. I see now I should not have let that idea entertain me so. Disappointment has a very bitter taste." Max cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Nice to see you too." Illyria ignored her as she turned her gaze on Spike.
"You continue to mate with the white-haired one, I presume?" she said to Max, though she didn't look away from Spike. He smirked.
"Every chance she gets," he replied smugly. Max lightly elbowed him. He grunted and shot her look. "What're you still doing here anyway, Illyria?" Illyria's eyes narrowed, but Spike continued before she could interrupt. "You can't enjoy haunting this place. The little peons hardly even give you a polite yawn."
"Do not believe I require any creature's attention," Illyria snapped. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Fine. But I know what I'm talking about. I haunted this damn place before you did, remember? Take my advice. Get out once in a while before you got bats." Illyria cocked her head at him.
"Though I am more human, this world remains disconcerting," she replied.
"Well, that'll probably never go away," Max commented. "Besides, wasn't Wesley teaching you about all things human?" Illyria's blue gaze fell away from them.
"He and I are no longer having intercourse." Spike and Max both choked on their own saliva.
"W-what?" Illyria cocked her head at them again, confused by their reaction.
"Communication. He no longer speaks with me." Max and Spike laughed in relief.
"Oh. Well, why do you suppose that is?" Spike asked.
"My recent reversion to the Burkle persona disturbed him. And he will not tell me why," Illyria answered, frowning slightly. Their smirks were swiped off as Max and Spike tried to process what she had just said.
"Y-your what?"
"This shell that I walk in...It's creators arrived shortly after you had left. They showed no sign of knowing of It's demise. Wesley was troubled by their presence and seemed to be struggling with ways of informing them. It was a pitiful sight. I chose to take the appearance of Ms. Burkle and relieved him from explaining. Though instead of being grateful..." Her face hardened. "He spoke to me in a tone that I did not care for." Max swallowed painfully.
"You mean...you went prancing around this place looking even more so than usual like the woman you murdered...and expected to get a 'thank you' from the man who loved her?" she asked incredulously.
"I do not prance," Illyria retorted sharply. Max just shook her head in disbelief. "I still do not understand. All my reversion required was a different voice and..." She paused for a moment as her gaze drifted again. When she spoke, both Spike and Max froze, as the voice coming from her was identical to Fred's. "And I got rid of all this blue skin. Ya'll know my parents are from Texas and the slightest deformation might freak 'em a little."
"Stop," Spike interrupted quickly. Illyria looked between him and Max intently.
"It disturbs you as well," she stated in her regular voice. Max could only stare horrified at her. Spike gave his head a slight shake before meeting Illyria's gaze.
"You honestly don't know?" She just looked at him. "You may not think you're as powerful as you used to be, but looking and sounding like Fred...it's the most devastating power you have."
Jondy idly flipped through one of the folders that Wesley had given her. It wasn't very interesting stuff. Just a few phone calls to make to confirm some appointments. Sighing heavily, she reached across her desk to grab the phone. Her fingertips had just grazed the receiver when she saw Angel and Gunn enter the lobby from Angel's office. She looked across the room to see if anyone was heading towards them. Hamilton was escorting a short blonde woman and a tall black man. All three were wearing suits. Jondy felt her upper lip curl back in distaste and quickly forced her face to become blank. Then she made herself look busy as she allowed her enhanced hearing to catch every word they said.
"Ah! There's the man himself. Angel, I'd like you to meet Senator Brucker," Hamilton said, referring to the blonde woman. Angel shook her hand and gave her a small smile.
"Welcome to Wolfram & Hart, Senator," he greeted. Jondy didn't miss the quick glance Gunn had given him.
Lot of suspicion there...she noted.
The senator returned Angel's smile politely. "Oh, I go way back with this firm," she replied. "Back when Holland Manners was still in charge."
"Well, I think you'll find things have changed quite a bit since then," Gunn replied before shaking her hand without a smile. "Charles Gunn." The senator just nodded before turning to the man standing next to her.
"This is Ernesto. He's my personal..."
"Vampire," Angel stated suddenly. Jondy couldn't identify his tone of voice and his face was still frustratingly blank. The senator looked slightly taken aback though, which she couldn't tell was a good or bad thing.
"Aide," Senator Brucker finished before recovering with another smile. "I always forget your kind can sense each other. But I believe in diversity on my staff. It was part of my campaign." Jondy felt her eyes narrowing. Something wasn't right about her.
"How commendable," Gunn replied flatly, making Jondy like him all the more.
"Jondy," Angel's voice nearly startled her, but she was careful to keep her outer appearance calm. She forced a smile.
"Yes?"
"You mind getting us some coffee?" She politely shook her head.
"Not at all. Coming right up." She was already out from behind her desk and heading out of the lobby when the senator's voice stopped her.
"Oh, no thank you. But if it isn't any trouble, I think Ernesto would like some blood."
"Virgin, if you have it," Ernesto added. "Room temperature's fine." Jondy felt her body stiffen and struggled to keep the venom out of her voice when she responded.
"Sorry. We have a no human blood policy. Can I offer you something in a rodent? You look like a rat person." She inwardly berated herself for that slip though she showed no sign of it. The slight twitch of Gunn's lips was enough to make it a little less bad.
I'm not alone in this, she reminded herself.
"I think we can make an exception," Hamilton stated after a few beats of uncomfortable silence. He turned smugly to Angel. "Don't you think?" Angel's eyes never left Jondy's face.
"The lab might have something in the blood bank. Why don't you check it out?" Jondy had to once again pretend this didn't affect her, believing Gunn's heated glare towards Angel was enough for the both of them.
"Sure," she replied lightly. She turned to go, but not without missing the wink Angel had sent Hamilton, receiving a nod of approval. She also saw Wesley headed towards them with a folder in his hand.
She passed Max, Spike, and Illyria on the staircase. She quickly made a few subtle hand signs to tell Max to go listen to the conversation between Angel and the others. Max gave a slight nod of her head without slowing her pace and Jondy continued grudgingly on to the lab.
"There's been another fatality in Funville," Wesley was saying as Max, Illyria, and Spike joined him, Gunn and Angel. Angel gave him a look of confusion. "It's an abandoned amusement park downtown. There's been a third victim. The teeth marks strongly indicate a Boretz demon."
"Nasty buggers those are," Spike commented. Wesley only gave him a nod of acknowledgment before turning back to Angel.
"This last victim was a teenage runaway. Her body was ripped apart." Angel's face didn't show so much as a smidgen of reaction.
"Then I guess there's not much else we can do about it," he replied before turning back to his office, where the senator and Ernesto had already entered. Wesley stepped closer to him and an urgent tone began seeping into his voice.
"Angel, we need to find this thing and..."
"And what? Destroy it before someone else dies? Yeah. I know, Wesley. People are dying everywhere. This kid is just one more statistic."
"Stacey," Wesley commented softly. "The statistic's name was Stacey Bluth." He handed the printout to Angel, who flipped through it quickly before giving it back to him.
"We can't save everybody. And we can't sweat the small stuff."
"Small?"
"Wes," Angel began exasperated. "I've got a United States Senator waiting for me. So just figure out what you're gonna do about this Boretz demon and fill me in later, 'kay?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked into his office.
Spike stepped over to Wesley after he and Max exchanged a look. "You need some Boretz killing done, I'll have a go. Got nothing better to do." Wesley nodded.
"Alright. Call me if you find anything. I'll be in my office learning what I can," he replied before walking away. Illyria watched after him with a frown marring her face.
"He showed no regard for my presence," she stated bitterly.
"Not that you require any creature's attention," Max mocked. Illyria glared at her.
"Hey," Spike got her attention back on him. "Wanna go find something to hit?" Illyria looked at him for a few beats before nodding.
"I will take great pleasure in feeling something crush beneath my hands," she commented before heading towards the elevators. Max and Spike each cocked an eyebrow at her retreating form.
"You coming?" Spike asked. Max shook her head, causing Spike to pout. She smiled.
"I'll help Jondy keep an eye on things here," she replied. "You go have fun beating up a demon with the blue meanie. Just don't get in the way of her crushing hands." Spike nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Alright. See you back at the apartment?" Max grinned.
"Count on it." Spike smirked and let out a playful growl as he kissed her again.
Once again Willow found herself sitting alone in her hotel room. Though instead of nervousness being the emotion consuming her, it was sadness. And instead of staring at a phone she was clutching one of the pillows against her chest. She was too horrified to look in a mirror, knowing her face was red and puffy from crying, so she stayed put on her bed. A sudden knock on the door broke her staring contest with the wall. She opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out.
"Will? Are you still in there?" It was Buffy. Willow sighed, knowing she wouldn't go away until she opened the door. She stiffly got off the bed, feeling her bones crack as if she hadn't used them in ages instead of just a few hours. She unlatched the door and opened it.
Standing next to Buffy was Xander. They had twin looks of intense worry and concern. It was too much. Willow had thought she had cried all the tears should could, but she suddenly felt a new wave coming.
"Oh, Willow," Xander murmured, gathering her in his arms. Willow gratefully hugged him back, still trying to control her tears. When she let go of Xander, his arms were just replaced by Buffy's.
"We're so sorry," she said softly into her ear. Willow could only nod as a single tear found its way down her cheek. Xander gently ushered them farther into the hotel room so they could talk in private. Then all three of them sat down on Willow's bed in silence.
"Have you talked to her since yesterday?" Xander asked. Willow shook her head as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"No," she croaked softly. "I don't know where she is."
"And you aren't ready to talk to her yet, are you?" Willow shook her head again. Buffy grasped her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It'll get better." Willow didn't respond, doubting that statement just as much as Buffy did.
"You need anything?" Xander asked. "Cause you know I can be pretty fast when I wanna be. Not like a transgenic or vampire but when one of my best friends is hurting, I can come pretty damn close." Willow smiled weakly.
"No, thank you." She drew in a shuddering breath and swiped at her eyes, just to make sure they stayed dry, and leveled her gaze on Xander and Buffy's. "I don't wanna talk about me right now. I need a distraction...otherwise I might..." She paused to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. "Do we know anything more about the whole Wolfram & Hart situation?"
"Not really," Buffy replied. "But we've got Jondy, Max, and Spike playing spy over there. Right now we don't have much to go on, but we're hoping they'll hear or find something." Xander opened his mouth to add something when a knock at the door sounded. He glanced over at Buffy and Willow. Buffy got up without a word and walked over to the door. She opened it only a crack and peered out. Xander and Willow couldn't hear what she said next, but then she suddenly flung open the door to catch the person on the other side. "Drogyn!"
"Who?" Xander questioned in alarm as he and Willow stood up in shock. Buffy didn't answer as she helped Drogyn over to the bed beside Willow's.
"Get the door, will you Xander?" she said. He quickly obeyed. When he came back, he saw that the man, Drogyn, was bleeding from numerous wounds. "What're you doing here Drogyn?" He looked up at her and Buffy narrowed her eyes. "And don't remind me not to ask you questions. You're clearly too beat up for any games." Drogyn shook his head.
"I came to find you," his voice was strained. Buffy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"How? You live in a tree across the ocean in London. And I'm in a city of ten million people."
"He lives in a tree?" Willow asked, bewildered. Buffy turned from Drogyn to face Xander and Willow.
"He's the keeper of the well. Where Illyria came from. Remember Angel and I went there to find a way to save Fred?" Willow nodded, while Xander just raised an eyebrow without responding. Buffy turned her attention back to Drogyn.
"I can find anyone's who's been to the well," he stated weakly. "I-I came to warn you."
"About what?"
"Angel." Buffy inhaled sharply. Then she seemed to truly take in his wounds and realization dawned on her. All the color in her face drained.
"Angel...H-he did this to you didn't he?" Drogyn nodded solemnly, clutching his side where blood continued to flow. Buffy ran a shaky hand through her hair before whirling around to face Xander and Willow. "Get what bandages we have to help fix him as best we can." She practically leapt for the phone beside the bed. "I have to call Max."
"W-what? Buffy how could Angel do this? How do we know he's telling the truth?" Willow asked shakily. Buffy didn't turn around as she continued to dial Max's cell phone number.
"He can't lie," she bit out softly.
A/N-I'm sooooo sorry it's taken this long for me to update. I tried to make this chapter extra long to help make up for it...Since I've been gone a new rule has been made that I can't reply to reviews in a fic, which kinda sucks, but there's not really anything I can do about it. Well, thanks for not sending me any flames for not updating sooner ;o) I'll try to have the next update be less than three months...hehe.
