****And the plot thickness. Or I like to think it is.Thanks to all my reviewers.***

Angel pulled Wesley on to the couch and let out what sounded suspiciously like a growl. The drugs the doctors had put the cop on had knocked him on his ass in a matter of sixty minutes. And if matters weren't bad enough as it is, they were now two cops short of a full deck. In a way, Angel thought, it wasn't really all that bad. After all the cops would want to play by the rules; and he didn't plan to.

He'd play by the kidnappers. Down right dirty. And he'd win. One way or another, he'd win.

He wanted Buffy back, safe. He loved her, and more than anything he wanted a chance to tell her that. To make her happy, to make love to her again, to hold her.

Angel straightened up and ran his hand threw his hair. He could say one thing; since he'd met Buffy nothing was boring.

Ring

Ring

"Answer the bleeding phone you wanker!" Spike shouted from the other room. His mood had gotten increasingly worse with each hour that Faith had been missing. Going on twelve hours of hatefulness was just about killing everyone.

"Its not the house phone!" Willow yelled out as well, probably just to help. Much good it did. If not the house phone, then what? None of them had cells.

Ring.

Angel turned towards Wesley. His breast pocket of his shirt was ringing and vibrating.

"Peaches!" Spike snapped again.

Angel picked it up.

"Hello?" he questioned, "FAITH!" Angel shouted in surprise. Spike flew into the room like a bullet.

**** She was going to die.

Unless there was divine intervention.

He just looked at her. Watched her. Waiting for the fear he used to see in her.

But she wouldn't give it to him. She'd stopped that the day he was arrested. Thinking he could no longer hurt her.

She had been wrong.

She hurt all over, but if she didn't stand up it would be all over.

But then it would be over soon anyways. After all she couldn't miss the gleam on the gun he carried.

Cautiously Buffy slid of the bed, placing her feet on the cement floor of the room. Dusting rose up as she placed her foot down. Her other foot followed and buckled underneath her weight. A sound of pain tore from her lips as she hit the floor below her.

The man across from her just smiled. He liked seeing her helpless and in pain. The bastard.

He watched her struggle to her feet, keeping as much weight off her left foot as she could.

Buffy was breathing heavily by the time she could stand again, so she slid back on the bed. If she were going to win, she'd have to be smart about it. And losing strength would only cost her her life.

Neither moved when she had settled back on the bed. They just watched each other. Finding the other's weakness that they could use.

He had the advantage. Buffy knew that and so did her father.

Then he spoke, in that voice that had haunted her dreams for years. The voice that had frightened her as a little child. "You look so much like your mother," he sneered. But still he didn't move.

Buffy nearly chocked on the air she was breathing in. She looked like the alcoholic, druggy who coward in front of him. Buffy held back a snort. Not fucking likely.

He knew it. And so did she.

**** Faith threw the phone down and let out a heavy sigh. By sheer luck she had found a cell phone in Riley's glove box. By another struck of luck she had managed to remember the cop's number that they had given to the gang. But she should have known it was to good to last. After escaping a psycho, finding a phone and remembering a number was just to good of luck to anyone. And so the phone's battery had died. She was just an hour out side of Sunnydale, so she could probably make it home in about 90 minutes.

But then it was from one horror to another. She still had to tell Spike about the baby. She groaned and turned on the music in the car, hoping it would calm her down just a little. Stress couldn't be good for the baby. Of course it was a bit late for that.

Faith smiled. Spike would have the best look on his face when she told him. It just might be worth it for that.

**** Wesley's phone smashed against the living room wall on impact.

Angel frowned and made a comment.

Spike let out a curse that could burn off ears and lunged at Angel.

Both Cordeila and Willow screamed; while Xander and Oz tried to keep Spike from killing his best friend.

Both expelling a lot of effort to hold the blond.

Angel on the other hand looked unconcerned, after all he was right and he knew it.

"PEACHES YOU ARE A BLOODY WANKER!" Spike yelled and tried lunging again.

"You just don't like begin wrong," Angel stated in a calm voice.

Spike let out another curse and held up his hands; he was in the wrong and he knew it. But it didn't help matter's that Angel was right at this point in time.

Ring

Ring

Every eye turned to Willow who was holding the house phone; she quickly picked it up in case Spike decided to lung at her too.

"Hello? Yes. I understand. How soon? Yes. Thank you. We will. Bye," Willow hung up, she looked sort of pale.

"Well Red?" Spike asked a bit impatiently.

"That was the hospital," Willow began, but quickly hurried on when she saw Spike blanch, "Apparently there was a little accident involving a stretcher and Giles as been knocked unconscious. The doctor said that he should be out for a few hours at least."

"I don't believe this," cried Cordy, "We're out two cops and now the only other person who could help us with Buffy's and Faith's whereabouts!"

"I wouldn't say that yet Cordy," Doyle remarked from the doorway.

"What did you find out?" Angel asked. His older brother had many skills and among them was finding out information no one else could. When Doyle had heard what had happened, he'd taken matters into his own hands and started gathering information. So far he'd had more luck than the rest.

Willow hadn't been able to find anything on the web regarding Riley Finn, and had had very little luck with Hank Summers.

"Enough," was all he said, as he held out a small picture.

"I know that place," Xander said.

"Don't we all," Spike snapped, "What what's it got to do with anything. After all it's just a broken down factory."

"I had a talk with Willie while everyone was still at the hospital; turns out he's been serving a guy by Hank Summer's description. The man even had him do a few jobs, paid pretty good Willie said," Doyle finished.

"What kind of jobs," Angel barely got out threw his teeth.

"Nothing really interesting except picking up a gun at Frankie' s store for the man. The address to drop the supplies off at was always the old factory." Doyle looked his brother in the eyes and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to check out that factory and see if anything's wrong up there," Turning to Willow, Angel asked," Can you tap in to the police and hospital files from here?" he asked.

"No, there on a different network, but if I can get into one of the hospital's computers then I can get into the police files as well. Why?"

"I want to know if this guy is on any medication and as well as his back ground that the police have on him."

"Well one of us has to go and check up on Giles and Gunn; so it shouldn't be to hard to find an unused computer," Willow smiled, "But I'm going to need some help. After all we just can't leave Wesley here by himself and I'll see someone to keep people away if something should happen."

"Cordelia, you and Oz go with Willow and help. The rest come with me," Angel said, picking up his leather coat and going into the other room for his duffle bag.

"What about Faith!" Spike demanded he wasn't just going to forget about her. " It stands to reason that since she called that she is outside Sunnydale. So we go find Buffy who is most likely still in the town and then find Faith. By that time Wesley will have woken up and be more useful to us," Oz remarked a matter of fact. Everyone started in stunned silence. After all that was the longest sentence that he had ever said to them as a whole.

"I agree," said Doyle, taking a long knife and gun from Angel.

Angel, Doyle, Xander and Spike all packed up the same way and got into the second cop car. The first had been blown up.

"How do we get a hold of you if we find something?"Cordelia asked.

"This," Xander held up Wesley's cell phone, "Oz fixed it." He explained when Cordelia pointed out it was broken.

"You take the mustang," Angel told Willow before getting in the drivers seat of the other car. After all they needed one that wouldn't get so many looks in a low class neighborhood.

"Be careful," Cordelia said and slide into the other car with Willow, Oz and Wesley.

**** Buffy was beginning to fill rather dizzy.

Must be the heat. She thought. Which was ridiculous since she was in a cold basement of an old warehouse or something.

Looking down she found she still had on her leather jacket. Damn thing could over heat you. Buffy began pulling at the sleeve, she felt something catch on the jacket.

Her knife. She'd started wearing it again. How could she forget?

She pulled the jacket back into place; grateful Hank had left the room for a minute.

She didn't need to fight him, just escape and get somewhere safe. An old iron pot sat on the table next to her. That could hurt.

Enough to knock someone unconscious? Maybe.

Couldn't hurt to try.

Sliding off the bed again, Buffy tried to keep most of her weight off her left ankle. Slowly she hobbled to the table and lifted the pot. It was heavy, weighed about ten pounds, if she hit Hank hard enough with it, he would drop like a pile of stones.

Buffy sucked in her breath and winced as she walked to the other side of the door. With the heavy pot in her arms there was no way to kept he weight off her left foot.

Buffy stood by the door with her back to the wall, and she waited.

Her breathing was coming hard and labored; it felt like her lungs were on fire. Her ankle shook with the weight it held up.

Behind her she heard noise, stairs creaking.

Man or mice, she didn't know.

Still she waited.

The door opened.