Chapter 34 - Glasgow 23 July 2004
You know, just when I think I know what she's thinking, she goes and surprises me. 'Surprises' just doesn't seem extreme enough as I make my way down the stairs on my way to the tunnel, but it'll do for now.
Buffy wants there to be an us. She wants to give things a go between us. She wants me in her life. It's all I can do to keep my mind on business as I make my way through the tunnels to my appointment, but as I get closer, I force my mind back.
Russell's human and sleazy enough to give humans a bad name. He's a coward; he's money-grabbing and weak with more vices than most demons. How he survives, I have no idea, but he's at least half afraid of me, and I've been using that leverage. Not that I've got any misconceptions that he's in my pocket or anything, but until something scarier comes along, he's willing to pass on information.
The meeting place, unusually, is his flat. He said what he had to tell me was important, and that he'd be killed if anyone saw him talking to me. I take the paper with his address out of a pocket, double-checking the street name. It's south of the river, in one of the less salubrious areas of the city.
The tunnels have been quiet – they're exclusively service bores for the underground system, and that goes deeper as it goes under the Clyde. When I get to the manhole nearest my destination, I peer out cautiously, and sure enough, the street's in shadow as he said it would be, and the entrance to the flats is just a few steps away.
I go in and climb the six flights of stairs to the flat bearing his name on a tacky brass plate that's badly in need of cleaning. The door's in need of a coat of paint too, but then, so are the others I passed on the way up, and the one next door to this one has been boarded up completely. I knock on the door, and don't have to wait long before it's answered.
Russell looks worse than usual, his skin grey and eyes heavy as if he hasn't slept, but then I don't suppose I've ever seen him this early in the day. He doesn't speak, just pokes his head out of the doorway, checking that I'm alone, before muttering the magic words - "Come in, Spike."
I follow him inside, into a dark hallway. The carpet's lumpy, and I don't want to wonder what caused the various stains I can see. He moves towards a door to the right, and again, I follow. He's nervous - more than usual, but then, he's scared of so many people, it's pretty much a way of life for him. I've got the distinct feeling that something's very wrong, but I don't stop to analyse why, just increase my alertness. As the door opens, I know. I don't know how or why, but I know. Angel's here, and he's not human.
He's standing at the other end of a dingy living room, a smile fixed on his face.
"I'll, just, er … go out. I've got some business." Russell's voice is disgustingly obsequious.
"You do that," Angel answers absentmindedly. His gaze is fixed on me.
"William, so glad you could join us."
"I thought we'd got over all that by now - that you'd given up calling me that. It's been Spike for a hell of a lot longer than it was William."
"Ah, but to me, you'll always be William. William the pretty. William with his poetry and his undying love for Drusilla. William, the eternal victim."
Of course, I was wrong. It's not Angel, it's Angelus. It's him, but it's not. There's something different about him, something subtle, otherwise I'm sure I'd have recognised him before I got this close.
"Angelus. So, what happened this time? Get caught by surprise in London?"
"Well, no. You're right, of course. I'm not that travesty of a souled vampire. Unlike, according to my sources, you. Did have one for a while, of course, but I played it better than the version of me from this dimension. I did consider releasing hell on earth through Acathala, but I was just having too much fun being a thorn in the side of Buffy and her little band of helpers. I picked them off, one at a time. The witch was the first to go. The gypsy witch that is. Then, the little red-headed one. She was surprisingly sweet too. I left the boy till last. What was his name again? Xander? I can honestly say he's the only person, other than Buffy, of course, that I've ever enjoyed torturing more than you."
"You're the one who wanted to buy Buffy."
"Ten out of ten. Good to know you're not quite as stupid as your counterpart in my world."
"What I don't understand is why you're here."
"Simple. I paid the Senior Partners a lot of money for a commodity. A commodity that, apparently, you were instrumental in denying me. And of course, I shouldn't make deals with lawyers, because there was this little clause written into the contract which said that if I interfered with the plan in any way then the contract was void and all money lost. As far as they're concerned, you, being my get, is seen as me interfering. I argued, of course, but you don't win legal arguments against that lot. So, when I went to remonstrate with them, they gave me an alternative way of getting my hands on her. So, here I am. And it was really disturbingly easy to persuade Russell to help me. The fact that he watched me torturing a couple of his customers might have had something to do with it. But you? Falling for it? Seems you're still the worthless imbecile you always were."
Stupid git always did like the sound of his own voice. Anger has been building from the moment I realised that this is the monster who thought he could buy Buffy - who's already killed her, and wants to do it again. But I held back, studying him, trying to spot the best time to attack, and I reckon that time is now. Either that or it's just desperation to stop him talking. I move as quickly as I can - I've always had the advantage of speed over him, while he's had height and a sheer malice that I could never match. And for about two minutes, it looks like I'm getting somewhere. But then he spoils it by pulling something from his pocket and driving it into my shoulder. If he'd been aiming for my chest, I might have taken it more seriously, but of course, it's not a stake, but a taser, and it's got plenty of juice, judging by the way I drop to the ground, my legs unable to keep me upright.
"See, William? Still a victim. You see, to get to Buffy, you've got to pick off her support. It's easy if you do it one by one, and it just makes her more and more careless as she realises she's all alone."
There's movement at the doorway, and a couple of vamps come in.
"Get him out of here," Angelus commands, then pauses. "Wait." He applies the taser again, this time much lower, and there's a short spell of agony before everything goes black.
