NOTE: Thank you to Serendipitynow for leaving another review! And to all of those who are following and faving this story! I appreciate the support, everyone. It really helps me write~
WARNING: This chapter becomes a little graphic near the end.
It's also the beginning to how Jackie will alter the series.
-: CHAPTER FOUR: FIRST ENCOUNTER :-
Part Two
The now empty scotch glass thudded against the bar top before Spike returned his gaze on the lady standing before him. A Blonde, mature lady, made up in a tank top, black slacks, and with the customary work apron knotted around her midriff. She was chewing gum unattractively, but Spike could tell by her gaze moving over him that she was smitten, but a job was a job, so no play time for Spikey.
Spike leaned back against the counter as he went on, "There's two of 'em. English, like me, but older. Less attractive." He emphasized before adding, "One of 'em gave you his number."
"I threw it out." The waitress shifted some, toying with a pocket on the apron. "I mean, I took one look and saw he was staying at that rat trap?" her eyes shifted away for a second, the tone in her voice showing the distaste she must have felt, "No thanks."
That made spike lean in, head tilting with interest. It drew the blonde's attention back on him. "Which rat trap?" the girl seemed to blush more as he detected the tone of her heart fluttering.
"The one by the highway. The- the Sunnydale Motor Inn."
That was a lead. Spike gave the blonde birdie a smirk for her reward, "Thank you, love."
With a brief wink and a new number settling in the pocket of his leather duster, Spike made it through the exit to meet up with Giles and the newly acquired bint.
Now that was an unusual woman. Especially compared to the blonde he was conversing with minutes ago. What he learned from Giles was that her name is Jackie and she recently arrived in Sunnydale for some help. That was about it. Spike noted back at the cemetery that her look was challenging. Not at all fickle. She didn't even suspect why he was there among the dead. Or ask for his name for that matter. Does she already know I'm a vampire?
"You know, I could drive this time." her head popping up between the seats as Spike shut the door, starting the car.
"I understand Fyral Giles better than you do I believe." he quipped while pulling away from the curve and onto the road.
That only made her smirk, "You could translate for me." In return, that earned her a scowl from Spike.
"Do I look like a sodding translator to you?" he was no interpreter. Not for her or anybody else. Just because he knew multiple languages didn't mean he'd just offer up his services all willy-nilly.
"Well," she started, the word straining some for emphasis. "You can understand him, after all. But hey," the bint shrugged before plopping back into the cramped seat, arms crossing as if she lost interest and gaze set to the window. "I gotcha. You're not a 'sodding' linguist."
Spike was about to toss in another opinion before Giles growling cut him off. That was fine by him. He didn't want to play word games at the moment with the new girl even if he wanted to tell her off.
Instead, Spike turned his attention to the grumbling demon taking up the passenger seat. "How are ya'feelin', mate?"
"Like snappin' necks till everyone's dead." The demon murmured with his gaze drifting across the dashboard unfocused.
"Now that sounds like a Fyral demon," Spike remarked a little chipper than he ought to, "Good for you."
Of course, the girl in the back seat had to consider otherwise, "Not good." It made Spike roll his eyes without questioning how she comprehend their conversation.
"It's just natural instin-"
"No, I meant," and she gestured to the rear window where bright lights are radiating into the small car. "Them."
They must have just crept up on us, thought Spike as he eyed the rearview mirror, adjusting it while squinting past the blinding light. "We've picked up a tail."
The brooding demon didn't get it. Hell, he didn't even look away from the glove box in front of him. Instead, Giles continued about his new appendage. "Yes, it's a small one. Hurts when I sit."
"No." Spike resisted the urge to roll his eyes and angled himself to look directly behind him. "I meant, someone's followin' us." That drew the demon out of his reflections.
"What?" Giles twisted around the car seat to stare over Jackie, getting a glimpse for himself.
From what Spike could tell it was the commandos. Just bloody great. The vampire straightens himself so he could concentrate making this beat up, piece of scrap metal to move faster.
"Humvee. Military." Spike checked off after another quick look even though it was becoming harder with everybody taking up his view.
"That doesn't seem good," Jackie muttered as she kept her eyes on the unwanted blokes, head peeking over the seat as if worried she'd get sniped. "And why would the military be following this car?"
"Probably due to the fact Giles here got out of the thing to go chasin' some gint earlier." Spike pressed down further on the peddle, as far as it could go as he went off. "I despise these blokes." and Giles seemed to agree as he commanded for him to speed up yet the outdated, trash of a car could hardly move past sixty.
"I've got it floored," he grumbled as his fingers tighten on the wheel, willing it to go faster. "Why did you buy this car?" Giles ignored the question and kept throwing out demands, obviously worried.
"Well, do something. If they catch us, we'll both end up in a lab!" He knew that. The ex-Watcher didn't have to remind him of that white hell hole of a cell or the chip in his sodding noggin.
"Don't wanna be the bringer of bad news and all," Jackie spoke up again while glancing back to Spike, catching his gaze as he peered over his shoulder, "but they're definitely getting closer guys."
Then there was a squeal of tires and out popped another Humvee. "Oh and great. It's got a friend." Spike retorted as the new vehicle slid right in between them and the one previously chasing them. The vampire felt like jumping ship at this point but held on, remembering the cash that was in store.
"Damn!" Giles yelled out while facing forward, resituating back in his seat hurriedly. While doing so, he slammed his massive fist into the window, breaking it into bits.
"Oh sure. Dismantle the getaway car." Spike sarcastically barked, not amused. "That'll scare'em." that didn't even phase the man as he seemed to ponder something frantically.
"Slow down. I'll-" the demon glanced out the window then down at the handle and then on the vampire, "I'll jump out. They'll follow you." Now that didn't seem like a solid plan for lil'ol Spike.
"Now, hold on a sec. These commandos are the same guy's after me too." he reminded Giles. "Maybe I want ya' around to split their attention a bit."
"I'll pay you another hundred." The man offered without any hesitation, wanting to leave the situation as quickly as possible.
"And what about me?" Jackie pipped in, her head slipping past the seats again to look both of them in the face before lingering on Spike's.
The woman must have realized what Giles had in mind. Those stormy green eyes showing signs of fear yet determination. However, everything was moving fast. There was only a small window for Giles to escape before those larger vehicles cornered them in on both sides, so Spike spared her a second.
"Do ya' want to jump out of the moving car too, pet?"
"Uh, no. Not exactly. I don't have demony armor here like Giles so," Her head shook as she spoke, hands lifting to make an 'x.' "I'm not jumping."
"Then hold on." He offered a smirk before facing forward again, a feeling of excitement flooding his veins. "You and I are going on a car chase."
"Wouldn't that be joyriding, not car-chasing? What with them tailing us?" that wiped the smirk right off his face.
"Bloody hell. Ya' know what I meant."
At the next turn, Spike swung wide and purposefully slowed down to allow Giles to roll out. The demon barreled into the street and quickly scurried for a nearby bush as he floored the car again. Luckily the door had shut at the quick twist to align the vehicle.
They sped past shops, motels, and closed fast food joints but the two Humvee's were still on their bumper and Spike didn't like that. All the vampire could think about is that God awful square room where blood bags fell from the ceiling. They put a chip and him that time, so what's to say they wouldn't do next? De-fang him? No, thank you.
Barely fifteen minutes passed before Spike made a split decision to guide the car sharply onto a different street, causing the following vehicles to jerk and squeal to keep up with the turn. The motion about flipped the poor small thing, but the vampire was determined to lose them. Besides, it was exhilarating. The joyride got the blood to pumping and Spike couldn't help but grin as he held onto the steering wheel, gliding the sad excuse of a vehicle all over the empty road. Thank goodness it was late enough that traffic wasn't even an issue.
"Fucking, hell!" The woman in the back seat had cried out before lifting herself up. The whip-like turn had cause her to fall flat against the backseat. No doubt knocking her head around some. "Who taught you how to drive?"
"Definitely not my mum." Spike chuckled out before veering again around yet another sharp corner, wheels squealing as the car whipped around the curve. He was heading into a back alley of some sort as far as Spike could tell. This time Jackie braced for it and clung onto the back of the empty passenger seat. Luckily, that time the leading Humvee spun out, threatening to roll, and successfully blocking the other from continuing, which made Spike bounce a little in his seat with satisfaction.
"You just try to stop me, ya' stupid Jar Heads." he mused while looking out the side mirror, grinning even more. Completely unaware of what was ahead.
"Wah-" but Jackie didn't get the chance to finish before the front end ran smack dab into a half-wall, causing the airbags to deploy. Spikes face slamming right into one, but Jackie wasn't as fortunate. Despite bringing her arms up to shield her face, the momentum pitched her forward, right past spike. The windshield shattering against her weight and out she flew to lay bloodied and motionless on the dented hood.
Spike detected the blood before his eyes opened. The airbag obscuring his view momentarily as he slowly lifted up. Being a vampire meant he wasn't disoriented for as long as most mortal beings would be in this situation, but that didn't mean he wasn't fuzzy in the head for a second. With a short glimpse behind him, Spike noticed Jackie wasn't in the backseat. Abruptly his eyes slid to the front, past the dashboard, through the jagged hole, and out at the lump laying on the car.
Oh, that's not good…
The vampire observed while using his honed instincts, but the heartbeat was slowing to a stop. It would go entirely still before he could find her any help.
The noise of screeching tires coming to a halt behind him drawing his eyes back to the rear window. "Oh, for fuck's sake."
"You're surrounded!" A man yelled after dropping out the Humvee. "Step out of the vehicle! Now!" At least they weren't charging the car all at once. That was better, right?
Spike considered making a run for it. No sense in taking the girl either since she was dead as a doorknob any minute now. And with his speed and not being caught off guard this time by the military brats, he felt confident he could make his getaway. Yet, it was the subtle sway of the car that caused him to pause.
With caution, Spike peered forward again to only see the dead girl rising. First to her palms and knees than on her feet. She was facing the soldier boys with her head towering over the roof. Requiring the vampire to strain to look, but he noticed her face.
Blood trickled down her temple, lips, and nose but it appeared to be seeping back into her skin like ink on wet paper. The wounds healing with every second. If he blinked, Spike would have missed it. The freakiest part was when her eyes opened; they were pitch black. Even swallowing up the white of her eyes. It appeared to be overflowing, black tears gliding down her cheeks to only stiffen when it reached her chin, drying up before it could drip off her jawline.
Then Jackie rolled her shoulders, letting her coat slip off her frame. It left her in a tank top and jeans, exposing tattoo's Spike didn't even know existed on her arms. And they were alive. The lines and watercolor design wiggling and whirling with motion, restless to break free.
With a heavy thump, Jackie landed on the ground and stood to her full stature. She stepped right past Spike's door without even glancing at him. That's when the commando's acted.
The first man to charge forward fired a taser, the same weapon that allowed them to capture Spike in the first place, but her left hand knocked it aside. A black force, like a short wall, protecting it for the time it would take. Then Jackie's right hand snapped out for a black dagger to form from her palm. Spike knew it was as sharp as any regular blade as it hit its mark on the next guy's throat. Blood flew, spraying across her and among the ground but it didn't stop her.
He couldn't help but watch as he slid out of the wrecked car; it was fascinating. Spike could have sworn she was a normal human girl. She had smelt like one, talked like one, and had a working heart to prove it. But now, now Jackie twirled around the soldiers like it was nothing, ripping out throats and burying her hand chest deep like any regular demon. Who was she? Why did she need help from the Slayer? All good question he didn't have the answers to at this very moment.
Before Spike knew it, Jackie had the last man hovering over the ground by the throat. A solid black hand with fingers elongated like talons grasping and tightening as the sap struggled weakly. Then 'pop' went his head, clean off his shoulders. The body falling limply to the ground as the head rolled away, discarded. And all the men were dead. Left discarded in pools of blood strewn apart between Spike and the woman.
Spike shifted his weight, taking a cautious step backward. The sound of his boot hitting the ground made Jackie turn to face him with a quickness that was unsettling. Those pitch-black holes were eating him alive as she seemed to summon the blade again. This time he noticed it was a tattoo slithering down to form into a real object within her grasp. Then she stepped forward.
If it were any other bloke, Spike would have congratulated them in the massacre of a few unwanted gits, but this was a different situation.
"Wait a mo'. Ya' wouldn't want to hurt your mate, Spike, right?" that didn't stop her. "Oh, come'on, can't I get a break?" he asked no one in particular as he put his hands up, ready to go toe to toe with Slice and Dice'em, but she stopped short of a few feet. He caught her nose flaring and realized she was smelling him. It wasn't like they knew each other for long or anything but hey, if the woman recognized him and decided not to slaughter him, then, by all means, get a good whiff.
When Jackie had stilled Spike watched her eyelids flutter shut, and body relax while the dagger slid back up her arm. Pitch black orbs were not there when they reopened. Instead, it was the usual set of green, and Spike gave a sigh of relief unconsciously despite not needing to breathe.
Those eyes started to droop right before her body began to sway, pitching forward, and ready to kiss the ground goodnight, but Spike leaped forward. He caught her in his arms with little effort on his part and now he could hear the heart that once pittered out start in full force again. The feel of the girl's chest rising and falling against him.
The human was alive again.
But how?
"Just who and what exactly are you?" the question went unanswered as the quiet air around them swallowed it up. The woman was asleep in his arm, out to the world with blood staining her clothes and dripping from her form.
In that split second, Spike considered leaving her behind yet he would not let the mystery behind this go, so he hooked his arms below her knees and stood up straight, carrying her back through the shadows to Giles place. He was no white hat, but this gint needed to be looked at properly by the Scoobies.
Apparently, everyone but the Slayer and her Cardboard lover got the memo to meet up. That was what confronted Spike when he stepped past the threshold of Giles apartment anyway.
"Whoa, hold it there, Spike. We didn't invite you, and this isn't the place to bring your.. uh," Harris trailed off while giving the woman weighing down the vampire's arms a look over. No doubt noticing the blood with no wounds to account for the mess. "Is she dead- did you turn someone?"
"Hold on a sec'-"
"I see no wounds on the human girl," Anya added while taking up space next to the bone-head, disregarding what Spike was trying to say while speaking out the obvious.
"Can't change a bloody pers-"
"Spike? Why are you here?" that time Red interrupted while popping off the sofa, a look of concern washing over her features. For her and the scoobs or the woman in his arms, Spike couldn't tell.
With a frustrated roll of his eyes, Spike maneuvered around them to unceremonially drop the girl on the now empty couch before turning to face the trio, "Let me get a sodding word in, and I'd be happy to explain away."
After a moment of them not spouting another question he continued, "Giles sought me out for some help." Spike smugly noted out loud, "Ya' that's right. And we got a lil' tied up with the soldier boys and load to behold slice and dice'em here has some mystical secrets. Goes all slasher on the blokes after we crash the getaway car- and the chip in my noggin won't let me hurt a person you ponce," Spike made a point to rehash that bit to Xander before continuing. "And here I am returning this gint to ol'Ruper to get some answers to why he didn't tell me about her powers."
"Um, Spike, we don't know her." Xander glanced at Willow for confirmation, and she gave her head a short shake in response, confirming it.
"Giles didn't tell us anything about someone with the name Jackie."
"That's because she arrived yesterday and I was a tad busy working something out." Spoke Giles as he stepped through the still broken door. The slayer was trailing in behind him and obviously unhappy to see Spike if the glare he received meant anything. The man's arrival tore everyone's attention away from the vampire as they took in his disheveled appearance, but it was Spike who spoke up before they could.
"I see your human again." that earned him a quick nod as the ex-librarian fixed the shiny weird button up shirt that clearly wasn't his.
"Yes, and I've noticed you brought Jackie to my apartment though I didn't see my car out front."
That time it was Spike who readjusted himself, his hand sliding into a pocket to seek out a smoke. "About that."
A/N: Technically there is a part three to this 'first encounter' segment I am doing, but honestly Jackie is unconsciously meeting them right now but does that really count? I'd like to think not. So get ready for part three soon! Chapter five will be the final part of this, by the way, to allow for chapter six to start a new day. Well, sorta. Anyway, next chapter will have some explanations, but the questions will overpower them, sorry~ We definitely have a mystery afoot. Also, feel free to tell me how you think this chapter was written. Did I capture Spike right? Did you love or hate it and why? It'll help me decide if I should write more chapters in his POV.