Characters and settings are used without permission, and with no intention of damaging copyright in the original stories. This story may not be distributed on any profit-making basis. Distribution Fanfiction.net, Twisting The Hellmouth, Fonts of Wisdom, other sites please ask. I'm British, so's my spelling - live with it.
Billie came to with a start and looked around. They'd gone up to one of the bedrooms for the treatment, and she couldn't remember much after lying on the bed. Tara was sitting across the room from her, reading a sociology textbook. There was no sign of Willow. And, she slowly realised, little or no pain.
"Feeling better?" asked Tara
"Yes, much. Where's Willow?"
"Okay, you've been out for about two hours. The car for Willow's meeting turned up about half an hour ago and she and April had to go off. They'll be at least a couple of hours, I'm afraid."
"Did you hypnotize me?"
"Pretty much, but there was some magic there too. You're a good subject. I've taken care of the pain and helped your ribs to heal a little. Couldn't do much with your arm, the pins they put in tend to interfere with magical healing. You ought to be okay for a few hours now, but if you start hurting again you might want to think about taking those pain killers."
"All right. Now I'd better get up, I really have a lot of questions for Angel and I might as well get them asked while Willow's out."
"Mind if I tag along? I don't really know Angel too well, Willow and Buffy do but I'd like to get more of a read on him. It won't be easy, but I'd like to try."
"Why won't it be easy?" asked Billie. Tara hesitated, and Billie went on "And why does everyone go quiet when I ask questions about him?"
There was a knock on the door. Tara raised her eyebrows, and Billie said "Might as well see who it is." It turned out to be Cordelia.
"Hi," she said, "I'm going out to get food, do either of you want anything?"
"That's a good idea," said Tara, "Billie, you really should eat now, healing takes it out of you. You'll need some protein and calcium."
"Burger and shake?" suggested Cordelia.
"I'm a vegetarian," said Billie, "so unless they have some sort of soya burger..."
"Nut-burger do you? I think they have that, maybe some other vegetarian options."
"That sounds perfect. With chilli sauce if they have a non-meat version."
"Fries?"
"Salad would be better."
"How about you, Tara?"
"I'll have the same, sounds good. But I'll have fries as well."
"Okay, I'll get it, probably be about twenty minutes."
"We haven't really had time to talk," Billie said after Cordelia had gone out, "and I think I need to apologise for being so nosy when I was talking to Willow."
"It's natural, and I think Willow likes someone taking an interest. Goddess knows, her mom never did. Or not so we knew about it anyway."
"But we're not talking about Willow, we're talking about you. As far as you're concerned I'm a total stranger who's asking impertinent questions about you and your girlfriend. I think you have every right to be annoyed."
"Willow's probably the best thing that ever happened to me, so I'm happy to be interrogated. Within reason, anyway."
"Okay, I'll try not to be too intrusive."
"Feeling okay to get up?"
"I think so... yes, a hell of a lot better, and I'm not feeling drowsy or giddy, just hungry. I think I should have gone for the fries too."
"You can always share mine, I probably won't want all of them."
Tom Zapf was standing outside the room and said "good afternoon" as they came out then followed them downstairs. He had an oddly soft voice.
"You really don't have to keep following me around," said Tara.
"I wasn't planning on doing anything else while Willow and April are out. You know my priorities."
"I don't understand," said Billie.
"I was built to safeguard Willow, but she has asked me to take on a general mission to protect her family and friends, especially Tara and now including you."
"Built. That's a hard one to grasp, I think, I can't imagine a person being built somehow. What about free will, what if you wanted to do something else?"
"Willow has told me that I don't have to guard her, so I'm doing it because I want to and because I enjoy my work. I know that I was built with those preferences, but I really do have enough free will to keep me happy, and I have plenty of leisure time. Since April is part of Willow's extended family I can satisfy my protective... I think the word I want is instincts... by spending time with her if there isn't any unusual danger. This satisfies me, and keeps me out from under everyone's feet."
"And April's your girlfriend?"
"That's right."
"I keep thinking that this must be some sort of elaborate joke. You can't be a robot. Nobody can build a computer to imitate a person that well, and robots don't fall in love."
"Trust me," said Tara, "they can. We've seen... oh, at least four including April and Zap and excluding the one that was controlled by a demon that tried to seduce Willow in high school. Plus several Frankenstein deals and man-machine hybrids. Sunnydale doesn't just have demons, we get weird science too."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't discuss it too much," Tom said, "my effectiveness depends on people thinking I'm just a regular guy. By the way, as Tara said most people call me Zap."
"Zap?"
"Tom is this body, which was originally built without self-awareness. Zap is me, the actual intelligence controlling it, a much smaller machine. When April and I got together I needed a body and this one was spare, so I'm using it."
"It sounds like a fascinating story." Billie said as they reached the lobby, thinking that it sounded like the ravings of a schizophrenic, then realised that something was going on. Cordelia was sitting on one of the lobby seats, drawing something, while Fred and the two men she'd seen earlier were rummaging through a cabinet filled with weapons.
"What's happened," asked Tara.
"Cordy has a vision," said the black man, rummaging through a cabinet filled with weapons. "We've got a kid being attacked by a demon in Griffith Park in an hour or so." He put two swords and an axe into a large bag.
The other man, who had a British accent, said "Angel's gone to question one of our informants, we're going to look for the kid. What the hell's happened to the silver-tipped crossbow bolts, Gunn?"
"Got them here, Wesley," said Fred.
"Good work. Right, let's move." The three of them raced out.
"I'm sorry," said Cordelia, "I didn't get out to get the burgers, and I'm gonna have to stay here near the phones and work on the vision, see if I can shake loose any more information and look after Connor."
"How do the visions work?" asked Billie.
"There was a seer called Doyle, a half-demon who used to work with Angel. There was a situation... he gave his life to save us, Angel and me and a bunch of other people. Anyway, he kissed me just before he was killed and I suddenly started to see things, usually people in trouble. The visions used to be accompanied by fits and incredible pain but I got over that, now it's more like full three-dee sensorama carnage without the crippling migraines."
"Can we do anything to help?" asked Tara.
"Not right now. They'll be gone for at least an hour or so. Tell you what, it'd be great if you could go for the food."
"Okay. Where's a good burger place around here?"
"I know one," said Billie, "but it's a couple of miles and I don't have my car here. I'm supposed to phone when I want to be picked up."
"We came down in Buffy's jeep," said Zap, "I've got the keys."
"If you don't mind getting them, mine's a small burger with salad," said Cordelia. "Rare, no mayo, meat not vegetarian. Better get something for Lorne too, he's around somewhere. He'd probably go for a burger and fries and a shake, don't know how he likes it."
"Small rare burger with side salad, hold the mayo," said Billie, "and a burger, fries, and a shake. Let's go."
"So let me get this right," said Billie, as they sat at traffic lights, "You're driving that body, and the body is driving the car?"
"Not exactly," said Zap. "Once I'm in here I connect my brain to the body's computers, essentially it becomes my body. Sometimes I have trouble remembering that it isn't me. Which is fine, especially when I'm with April, except that it might slow me down in an emergency."
"Why's that?"
"This body wasn't designed for combat. It isn't particularly fast or strong and there isn't much I can do to change that. Buffy helped with some martial arts training, tricks that help me get the best results with what I've got, but in a real fight I'd have to bail out and hope it doesn't get damaged too badly."
"Why bail out?"
"Because my real body is a lot stronger, faster, and tougher, and has built-in weapons and stealth systems."
"He's like the Hulk," said Tara, "except that instead of getting bigger and meaner he gets smaller."
"I've got to see this."
"Sure," said Zap, "but not in public, and not when I'm driving."
"Pull over just after the next lights," said Billie, "the restaurant's the place with the green awning. We should be okay to park outside."
They were loading bags of food into the jeep when Billie looked up to see Holtz watching them from the sidewalk. He walked over, and Zap quickly moved to block him.
"I don't mean anyone here any harm," he said to Zap, "so you're wasting your time."
"You're obviously following us," said Zap, "and you're armed. I don't think I agree."
"Do you think you could stop me?"
"Probably not. But if necessary I'll try."
"How heroic. I'm pleased you've hired a bodyguard, Miss Newman."
"He's not, he's a friend."
"And this must be your niece."
"Again no. My niece had to go to a business meeting, this is another friend."
"Good afternoon to you all. Have you spoken to Angelus yet, miss Newman?"
"Not yet. He had to dash out to rescue a child."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I gather he does that sort of thing a lot. What is it you actually want?"
"Possibly nothing. Possibly your help, eventually. But first you need to see Angelus for what he really is."
"Don't you think your viewpoint might be biased?" asked Tara. "You obviously hate him, and I'm sure you have cause, but I don't think you really know what he's like now."
"Do you?"
"Not yet. I know a little more than Billie, enough of what he's done to want to see for myself, but I've hardly spoken to him."
"You know what he's capable of?"
"I know. You have to know about the bad to understand why the good is so important, I think."
"I wish someone would explain it to me," said Billie, "because I don't understand any of this."
"You will," said Holtz, then looked around warily. "We're being watched. I'll talk to you again." He turned and began to walk away.
"One question," said Billie. Holtz hesitated then turned to listen. "I forgot to ask last night. When you rescued me from the kidnappers there was someone with you, someone who wanted you to leave me to die. I didn't see him, but it sounded like he thought he was pulling the strings. I know what you seem to want, but what's his agenda? His real agenda? Do you even know?"
Holtz looked thoughtful, then shrugged, said "No," and walked away.
"Should I follow him?" asked Zap.
"Better not," said Tara, "I think he might notice, even if you left Tom behind. Besides, I've got the same vibe, someone's watching us."
Tom looked around without seeming to pay much attention then said. "The white van parked on the opposite side of the road was parked across the road from the Hyperion when we left. The man in blue jeans and a denim jacket standing outside the hi-fi shop was walking past the Hyperion when we arrived this morning. And the jeep is emitting a homing signal, presumably a transmitter planted while we were inside the restaurant."
"Could it be the police?" asked Tara.
"I doubt it," said Billie. "If it was they would have tried to arrest Holtz, they know what he looks like. Let's get out of here, I think it might be the same people that tried to kidnap me."
"Okay," said Zap. "Tara, when we get in the jeep lower the window on the passenger side then lean as far back in your seat as you can. Both of you buckle your seat belts."
"Right."
They got into the jeep, he started the engine, and Tara did as he'd asked. Billie was sitting directly behind him, and had no warning when the front of his face swung open towards her, like an opening door, except that it was a human face bisected neatly at the nose. The eye facing her winked. The half-face was in the way and stopped her from seeing the inner Zap. There was a peculiar faint thudding noise, then another, and his face closed again.
"That ought to slow them down," said Zap, putting the jeep into gear.
"Holy... I don't think I really believed what you were saying until now," said Billie. "What did you do?"
"Blew out two of their tyres and their transmitter."
"How?"
"Laser for the tyres, focused magnetic pulse for the transmitter. I kept the power low, hopefully no-one else will be inconvenienced."
"Let's hope we aren't over-reacting," said Tara, "It could just be coincidence."
"It could," said Billie, "but I wouldn't offer odds if I were you."
"Wasn't planning to. Are we in the clear?"
"I can't see any pursuit," said Zap, "doesn't mean there isn't any, and they can probably guess where we're going." He swerved into a side street, then another, and zig-zagged back towards the Hyperion. "When we get there go straight in, don't wait for me to park the jeep."
After all that their uneventful arrival at the Hyperion was an anticlimax. Billie and Tara grabbed the food and hurried inside, finding Cordelia in the lobby talking to Lorne.
"Something wrong?" asked Cordelia.
"We ran into Holtz," said Billie, "and some other guys we think might be the kidnappers."
"Do you think Holtz is working with them?"
"I don't think so. He warned us they were around."
They were distributing the food and Lorne was suggesting that it was high time that someone invented a sea-breeze flavoured shake when Zap came in holding something that looked like a small cigar tube. "Is that the transmitter?" asked Tara.
"Yes. It's well made from common electronic components. I don't think it's a commercial product, but otherwise there's nothing unusual about it."
"Okay, put it somewhere safe, maybe Willow will have some ideas when she sees it, she's science-gal."
"Why not give it to the police?" asked Billie, "There might be fingerprints inside."
"I've touched the components," said Zap, "and it would be difficult to explain why it isn't working, and how we found it, without revealing my true nature."
"I suppose so. That's the trouble with all of this, there are too many secrets."
"Talk to Angel," said Cordelia, "he'll tell you the truth. You won't like it though."
"Why not you, or Tara, or Lorne?"
"We're all biased one way or another. Even Tara, she's hardly met him but she'll have heard Willow's stories. Best to hear it from the horse's mouth, Angel will give you the unvarnished truth."
"Are you sure?"
"I've heard Angel's version of events, and if I didn't know him I'd be siding with Holtz. But what happened to Holtz and his family is part of a much bigger story. You have to hear it all."
"Okay. Let's hope that he gets back soon. I want to get to the bottom of this."
"Don't worry," said Cordelia, "you will."
To Be Continued