"Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go, I wanna be sedated," Spike played a mean air guitar as he jumped on his bed, screaming along with his record player. "Nothin' to do and no where to go, I wanna be sedated." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that one of his minions had entered the room, and was staring at the Master Vampire's antics with a mixture of amusement and fright.
Jumping down, he was in front of the minion (Derek? David?) before the boy knew what was happening. Spike grabbed him by the neck (Daniel? Dale?), and hoisted him into the air so his feet were dangling a few inches above the ground.
"Yes?" he greeted him sweetly.
"Spike, we saw the Protector snooping around earlier today." Dropping the shaken minion (Damien? Dante?), Spike sneered as he went to turn the Ramones off.
"Speak," he commanded as he lit a cigarette, and sank down into his favorite arm chair.
"The factory's cameras spotted him and some cute little blonde driving by a couple times today. Dorian said it was safe to say the White Hats knew we were there." Damn good thing he'd entered the twenty-first century, and gotten those cameras put in. They came in extremely helpful for guarding the factory during the day. Plus, the installation men hadn't tasted bad at all.
"Go back to the factory, I'll be along in a minute." The minion (Daryl? Dennis?) skittered out of the crypt, Spike's own personal casa, as the older Vampire grabbed his infamous duster and pulled it on. Damn Rupert Giles! He'd been the reason they'd had to haul out of the mansion years back, and take up residence in the less comfy toy factory. Spike didn't actually stay in the dirty, drafty factory, but he still gritted his teeth as he conjured up yet another plan to kill the meddlesome librarian. His favorite was sneaking in while the man was asleep, and then slicing him open, removing his kidneys, and leaving him in a bathtub full of blood, as the urban legend went. He didn't know where Mr. Giles lived, though, as he changed residences every few months for his own safety. And apparently, as Spike had seen on his recent trip to the library, his book collection was so large that he kept it in the school to avoid moving it around so often.
He mounted his Harley, and cut across the cemetery loudly as he headed for the factory. A cute little blonde in the car with the librarian? Could it have been 'Anne'? His lips curved into a malicious smile as he remembered the girl who'd lied to him. It seemed unlikely that the librarian would involve a young girl such as her, but she'd been in the library when he collected the book. Maybe it had been her. In any case, this latest development was bad. And the son of a bitch was going to die.
He pulled up to the loading docks, and the watch nodded to him as he swept past them into the factory. Heading directly towards the old executive offices, his right-hand, Dorian, fell into step beside him.
"We checked through the city computers, it was definitely the Protector's car." Ah, someone who didn't mince words. THAT was why Spike trusted Dorian.
"We don't have much time then. We need to either move, or take him out."
"I vote for the second one."
"I like the way you think, mate. Do we have any leads on where he lives?"
"No, but we do have a nighttime location. While we were looking up the license plate, we checked up on his job. It seems the school he works at is having something called a Parent/Teacher night three days from now- no sun, and the Protector should be there."
"He's not a teacher," Spike was forced to point out.
"Doesn't a librarian count as a teacher?"
"Don't think so. Get me a phone, someone." One of the minions (Robert? Randall?) immediately produced a cell phone, and hung around Spike as he dialed. The master Vampire growled at his puppy-like antics. He wasn't going to rewards the fledgling, so he'd best back off.
"You've reached Sunnydale High. School hours are over now, so leave a message, and our secretaries will get back to you as soon as possible." Deciding these secretaries would most likely be middle-aged, sex-deprived women, Spike adopted the sexiest accent he could muster.
"'lo lovely people at Sunnydale High, my daughter attends your fine school, and she brought home one of them papers today sayin' about the Parent/Teacher night coming up, and I was wondering if Mr. Giles, the librarian, was gonna be there. My girl, ya know, all quiet and bookwormish. She really likes this Mr. Giles, and I was hoping I'd get a chance to meet the bloke. Ta, ladies." He hung up with a smirk.
"He'll be there. Till then, double security. Anything weird, call me immediately."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Buffy hummed tunelessly to herself as she stood on a ladder and stapled yet another 'Welcome Parents!' banner up. Principal Snyder had recruited all of the school's 'troublemakers' in his efforts to decorate for Parent/Teacher night. None of the other delinquents had cared enough to take initiative where the event was concerned, so Buffy had appointed herself in-charge.
"Sheila, see if there's any more red construction paper in the art room. Michael, go to the supply closet, and get another box of staples. Jack, can you go start the coffee maker?" Grudgingly, they all wandered off with her instructions.
"The right side is lower than the left." She turned to see Giles standing beside the ladder, appraising her work.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm not sure myself. In all my years of working here, I've never been asked to come in for Parent/Teacher night."
"You're not a teacher."
"I know. That's why I find this bizarre."
"Oooh, I bet the spookies are behind this!" Giles did not look amused.
"Don't joke about things such as that. Besides, I hardly think being called in by my place of employment, even on a night when I'd normally not be, signifies that there is evil afoot."
"You never know." He smiled at her as he took off his glasses to clean them.
"That's very true. You don't. As such, it's best to be prepared at all times." He replaced his glasses, but began to rummage in his briefcase with his free hand. "Which is why I see fit to give you this." Buffy brightened.
"Ooh, a present!" He handed her a curved stick of wood, filed to a point. "…Just what I wanted."
"It's a stake. I personally think all residents of Sunnydale should be equipped with one, but telling them why they needed to carry wooden stakes on them at all times would most likely alarm them. But you already know the truth, and I don't like the idea of you walking around with just that tiny cross to protect you." She reached out and took the stake, wondering if she should be creeped out or honored.
"It's…" She looked up as Giles tried to start a sentence, and noticed with a start that it looked like tears were forming behind his eyes. "Its name is Mr. Pointy. I trained a young Protector, about the age you are now, named Kendra, several years back. And that was her stake." She caught the accidental emphasis he placed on 'was', and realized how much this piece of wood meant to him. She decided to be honored.
"Thank you Giles. I promise that I won't let any baddies bite me." He gave her another fatherly smile, before turning and heading towards the library. Running her fingers over the crude stake, she slipped it in her pocket and began trying to straighten the banner once more.
An hour later, the place was beginning to teem with parents. Buffy spotted her own mother coming in, and approached her with a cup of lemonade.
"Hi Mom. So, did you meet all my teachers yet? Hear all the lovely, glowing remarks they had to make about me?"
"Buffy, I just got here. I haven't spoken to any of your teachers yet."
"Really? Cause I could have sworn you were just on your way out of here."
"What?"
"Yea, you came from the direction of my History class, so I just assumed."
"I came through the front door."
"Are you sure?"
"Buffy, are you trying to confuse me out of speaking to your teachers?" She shrugged, caught.
"Maybe." Joyce sighed as she took a sip of the lemonade.
"This is good. I'm going to meet your teachers now." She walked off as Buffy grumbled, and went back to the refreshment table. She wished Xander or Willow was here, but no student would be caught dead anywhere near Parent/Teacher night unless they were forced into pulling host duty.
Snagging a cookie from the treat-laden table, she plastered a phony smile on her face, greeted every parent who wandered over to the snacks, and fiddled with the stake in her pocket.
If only there was a Vampire around now. They may be scary, but there was nothing boring about them.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Spike had positioned minions at every possible exit, and a few at random intervals in case the building's occupants were smart and tried to escape through a window. He wasn't particularly interested in any of the soon-to-be hostages, though. He'd let his crew have their fun with them, but he was interested in Rupert Giles alone. And he could smell that the man had walked up the front steps to the school very recently.
Grinning, he nodded to Dorian, and made his way towards the doors with a small force of human-faced Vamps. He threw open the swinging doors and sashayed in, keeping his human features across his face. Having studied the school's plans years ago, he made his way to the library with his duster flying out behind him. All parents who happened to be in the hallway were muscled to the side by his minions as Spike strode confidently past, the smell of Protector getting stronger and stronger in his nostrils. He passed the cafeteria, were a number of parents were crowding around the doors to peer out at the commotion in the hallway, and a different scent hit his nose. He smirked to himself.
"Oi! There's a little blonde bint in there- no one touches her, hear me? I call dibs." The others nodded their obedience, and he put 'Anne' out of his mind for the moment. He had to focus- Giles wouldn't slip through his fingers tonight.
Moment of truth. The library doors were in sight, and there was already a struggle going on inside. Apparently dear Rupes had tried to sneak out the back way, but found himself quite restrained. Spike grinned as he pounced through the door and indeed found Mr. Giles hacking away at Spike's troops with what appeared to be a fencing sword as he stood on one of the library's tables. Snorting to himself at the Protector's choice of weapon, he cleared his throat conspicuously. Immediately, the three Vamps fighting Giles backed off as their leader strode forward confidently. He looked around the room with one sweeping blue gaze, noting that the only other human in the room appeared to be a middle-aged woman with curly brownish hair. She gasped when she saw the new additions to Giles' attackers, and ducked behind a bookshelf. Spike grinned. Did Rupert have himself a little girlfriend, or was she in the wrong place at the worst time?
"You were behind the sudden desire for my participation in Parent/Teacher night. I'd never have guessed." Spike shrugged.
"It's the accent. Ladies will do anything for the accent." He approached his prey, circling just out of reach of the fencing sword. Some of the younger minions who had yet to see Spike in actual combat shifted eagerly, waiting for their master to strike. But Spike wasn't ready yet.
"So…s'pose I could just kill you. Not quickly, mind you, and it'd be pretty damn satisfying." He reversed the direction of his circle. "Or I could turn you. I couldn't mangle you if so, but I have a feeling you'd rather die than suffer your girlie's fate. Kendall was her name, right?"
"Kendra," Giles growled. The painful memory had now been forced to the surface twice in one night…if he lived to survive this, sleep would not come easy tonight.
"Same difference. All you Protectors are bloody alike. You follow the same rules, use the same methods, and meet the same ends." Giles' blood began to boil as the Vampire talked casually about Kendra's death. "Heard about her, though. She was different. Stabbed in the back-literally- by you lot. Now that's not a pretty way to go." He nodded thoughtfully, before grinning again. "So. I'm still trying to decide how I do you in. I've thought about this moment a good deal many times- when I have you surrounded on your own ground, too far away from your precious arms, with only a flimsy piece 'o metal to protect you. So what way do I proceed?" His grin had become so perverse it made Giles' stomach churn. "Feel free to chime in. After all, it's your death."
Giles stood perfectly still. He'd paid close attention to the Vampire's trajectory on the library floor, and when he knew that Spike was as far away from him as he was going to get, he jumped down from the table as he flung the fencing sword at Spike's chest. It had been the only weapon at the school not in his briefcase- he kept it behind the checkout desk, and practiced with it while the library was void of students. He'd had to grab it when they heard the noises in the hall, as it was the first accessible. His briefcase had been placed in a corner too far away from the table he'd sat at with Ms. Summers just a few minutes ago, and he now lunged for it as Spike grabbed the metal moments before it hit him. The little catching trick had cost him a second thought, and Giles was already halfway to his supply of Holy ornaments.
Spike came after him, his game face having slipped on when Giles made his mad dash. Just before he grabbed the Protector, Giles groped blindly in the portfolio-style bag, found a plain wooden cross, and held it to Spike's face. Swearing, the Vampire leapt backwards.
It took Spike all of two seconds to regain his composure, and he jumped at Giles with a hand out to hold the arm bearing the cross down. With fangs mere inches from his face, all Giles could do was rummage helplessly with his free hand for anything to get Spike off of him, much less kill him. Seeing his movements, pressure was lightly applied to his inner elbow, so any wooden object produced couldn't reach the Vampire's cold heart through any means. But as his fingers grazed a recent addition to his arsenal, a small smile spread across his face.
"Kill an' mangle it is. Any last words?"
"This may pinch a bit." And without further warning, he jabbed the needle into Spike's lower arm and pressed down on the syringe. Spike's eyes adopted a dazed look for a few seconds before he slumped forward, muttering.
Giles pushed the bleached freak off him and rolled to his feet. He took out a stake to finish what he'd started years ago, but two of Spike's droogs pushed him back and grabbed their leader.
"Grab the book…on poisons," Spike weakly ordered them as they spread his weight across four lesser Vampires, and all left the library with a glare. None had heard his quiet command before they were gone, and Giles laughed to himself. Once again, Offensive Venomous Substances of Vampires and Human-Like Demons had come in handy- the first time he'd paralyzed Spike, now he'd disoriented him.
He remembered Joyce Summers with a start, and made his way through the bookshelves to find her huddled in the biography section.
"Ms. Summers, are you alright?" She looked up sharply, then smiled.
"I'm fine, thank you. I must have fainted; I had the strangest dream. I wonder what was in that lemonade Buffy gave me?" Raising his eyebrows at the woman's explanation for the Vampires, he helped her up.
"So, um, as I was saying, Buffy is a lovely girl. A bit of an individual, but I don't think she means to be a troublemaker."
"Yes. Yes, thank you Mr. Giles. It was a pleasure meeting you." He led her back to the cafeteria which, as he'd suspected, was now clear of any nocturnal guests. Everyone who'd seen them had already talked themselves into believing that it was a hallucination, and a ring of angry parents were currently surrounding the lemonade bowl. Buffy helplessly tried to fend off the parents who claimed the lemonade was spiked, to no avail. Snyder was already heading towards her with a furious look on his little pug-like face.
After returning to the library to push in chairs and take his briefcase, Giles walked towards his car. Now that he knew Spike had somehow talked the school into calling him in tonight, he didn't feel like so unnecessary as he had when only one parent- Ms. Summers- had showed up to see him.
He blushed as he remembered the kind woman with her subtle flirting- hand on his arm when speaking, gazing into his eyes when he spoke. He looked forward to seeing Ms. Summers again if their paths did indeed cross.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Spike would be in a hell of a bad mood when he woke up, having failed to kill the Protector. To keep in the Vamp's good graces, Dorian was currently prowling the streets, looking for a treat for the master. Remembering his orders as they'd passed the cafeteria, he smirked and headed for the school again. Sure enough, after a little poking around, he found a blonde teenage girl sitting in the room marked 'Principal's Office' alone, looking quite miserable. He slipped in quietly before making his presence known.
"Well, I can see why he wanted you." She gasped and looked up at him with fright evident in her green eyes, and his smirk widened. Crossing the room and grabbing her by the arms, he kicked the window open and hoisted her through. She struggled fiercely, clawing at her jacket pockets, but he just threw her easily over his shoulders.
He was determined to stay Spike's favorite. And if this human could do that, then his task was immensely simplified.
