The Big Payback

Chapter 6 - Angelus To The Rescue

Part 1

As far as Buffy could tell she hadn't eaten since the morning of the previous day, or maybe it was the previous week, she couldn't remember. All she knew was that she was very hungry and she had received very little food and water in the time she had been in prison. She had tried to reach Angel through their link, but had gotten no response. 'I guess he really did sever all ties when he left Sunnydale.'

Part 2

As days and weeks passed the torture at the hands of Travers and his friends seemed to have lessened in frequency, but not in severity. They seemed to be losing interest. Sometimes days would pass before anyone entered the cells.

Buffy had been given drugs at some point that made her have terrible hallucinations; she saw her worst nightmares come to life before her eyes and at one point she could not tell what was real and what was not. She saw Angelus free again, killing and maiming at will; she saw Angel staked; she saw her friends, Giles, Willow and Xander being taken by the same men who had taken her from her home. When she saw Willow killed in front of her she lost it; she attacked what she thought was a demon (she later found out that it was Beckham), and beat him to death using just her feet.

After that she was not given any more of the drugs; Travers considered her too dangerous; she was too susceptible to suggestion when drugged. He left Beckham's dead body in Buffy's cage for days, insisting he was teaching her a lesson; after all she had killed a human being, she had to pay for that crime. It was only when he could no longer stand the smell that he had the body removed.

She still wore the clothes that she had on when she arrived in London, but now they were mere shreds of fabric hanging from her body, ripped and torn from the many lashes of the whip that she had received. Her body showed the results of far too little nourishment. She was extremely thin. Still she tried to flex her muscles as much as her weak body would allow and she practiced meditating and mind building exercises that she had learned from Giles and Angel. Buffy was determined to survive as long as she could and, like Spike, she would never let her will be broken.

Part 3

During the periods of time when they were alone, Buffy, Spike and Drusilla had time to discuss strategies. "Are there any other prisoners here?" Buffy wanted to know.

"No. There were others here when I arrived, but they were killed and their bodies removed before you were brought in. There may be other parts of the prison; I don't know."

Seeing how Spike and Drusilla were being tortured, Buffy made a promise to them that if she ever escaped, she would free them as well and she got them to promise that if they escaped, they would not tell Angel about her being imprisoned. She did not want to risk his getting captured while trying to free her. Spike and Dru agreed among themselves, but did not tell Buffy, if they ever got free they would get Angel and come back for her. They could not leave her to these monsters.

Part 4

At one point Travers came to the prison and told Buffy that he had also captured Angel, Xander and Willow and they would never leave his prison alive. Buffy broke down then. This was just what Travers wanted to see, a broken slayer. He was not aware of the agreement between the vampires and the slayer or that there was a truce between. When he left, Spike told Buffy that he could not feel Angel anywhere near and Xander and Willow were not in the prison. Buffy was so relieved to hear this, she burst into tears all over again; she just wanted to get away to make sure that her friends were all right.

Travers continued his attempts at mental torture; however, he was not aware of the communication between Buffy and Spike and that Buffy's mental state was not as she allowed him to believe.

In the meantime in Sunnydale with help from Giles and Tara, Willow was becoming a proficient Wicca; along with Anya, she and Tara were a big help to Giles in the magic shop. Life continued for them without Buffy whose name was never mentioned. Only Tara, who had never been introduced to Buffy, held no animosity toward her; even her mother, who had left Sunnydale, did not want to see her.

Part 5

Angelus took a non-stop flight from LA to New York. To anyone seated with him in first class he looked like any other business man with his expensive business suit, briefcase and umbrella. Only he knew that what he carried in the briefcase was not at all related to business and his umbrella was a cleverly disguised sword. He tried to relax, but he knew it was impossible, as he waited in his hotel room at the airport for the second leg of the trip that would land in London around two o'clock in the morning.

Penn and Gretchen met him at the airport. Even though they had not seen their sire for over one hundred years, seeing the look on his face they knew this was not a time for celebrations; without words they motioned for Angelus to follow them to the first of six parked cars and after Penn gave instructions to the driver, Gretchen pulled out a small brief case containing a two disk DVD and a folder of documentation and handed them it Angelus. "Here is all of the information that you requested. It was all online, including pictures."

Taking the package of information, Angelus said, "Good. I want you to put on a little presentation for a group of watchers. In the meantime, Penn, I want you to start gathering these people; I'll let you know what to do with them later. For now you and your people just keep them quiet and out of the way and make sure that The Specialist does his job."

Penn had one of his buddies, a vampire that called himself The Specialist, take care of the Council's cook. The Specialist simply hypnotized the cook and gave her instructions on what to do; afterwards she would remember nothing. On a certain day she was to put the white powder that he gave her into all of the food and drinks that she prepared for the Council. The truth drug would put into a state of semi-consciousness for forty-eight hours all who consumed it. It would also require them to answer truthfully any questions asked of them during that time period. Penn had used the services of The Specialist several times before and he knew him to be meticulous and trustworthy.

After reviewing the information he had received, Angelus knew exactly how he would proceed. "I need to make a phone call," he said to no one in particular and the driver passed him the car phone. He dialed the number given him by Griffiths who answered immediately. Griffiths explained to him the layout of the Council building, the prison and how to get to the tunnel that led to the back entrance of the prison. He also gave him the codes for both sides of the door entrance. According to him most of the watchers were at a retreat for the weekend, courtesy of the Council head, but the rest of the two retrieval teams may still be in the building.

"If there is anything else I can do for you, do not hesitate to call," Griffiths told him before hanging up the phone. Gretchen had included blueprints of the Council building that showed the latest updates, including a rear entrance that ran underground and exited through a tunnel a few miles away from the building; these matched Griffiths' explanations exactly.

'Now what do you supposed that tunnel is used for? I bet it could tell stories of many a nasty occurrence that old Quentin has been hiding.' Angelus thought to himself. 'I think that's where I'll start.'

"Be sure you can find this presentation room and be ready for a viewing three nights from now," he told Gretchen and, as he exited the vehicle near the tunnel entrance, to Penn he said, "Hide two of the cars nearby and have a dozen of the recruits follow me for backup; take the others with you, you're going to need them."

Part 6

Angelus had watched as four men left thru the tunnel exit carrying what looked like bodies wrapped in canvas and he hoped, no he knew for sure, that Buffy was not one of them. 'I would know,' he assured himself. 'I would know.'

When the men returned he followed them and listened as they gave a signal at the end of the tunnel and when a door opened, he saw Quentin Travis. Again he waited and this time only two men came out carrying one body; again it was not Buffy. He heard one of the men say, "This is the last of them; finally, now we can get cleaned up."

Angelus was waiting for them when they returned after disposing of the last body. He waited until they gave the signal and the tunnel door started to rise, he quickly knocked them out and entered. The two men on the other side of the door were so startled that they were knocked unconscious before they could recover. Some distance from the tunnel door were the cells where Spike, Drusilla and Buffy were being held prisoners. He saw Spike and Drusilla first and lifted an index finger indicating for them to be quiet. In his briefcase he carried bagged blood for his two childer which he passed to them thru the bars of the cell. Angelus mouthed, "Where is Buffy?"

Spike mouthed back, "There," pointing farther up the row to a cell on the opposite side of the prison where Travers was standing with his back to them. Angelus' eyes widened and a low growl escaped his lips when he saw a human body on the floor.

Spike shook his head and mouthed, "Angelus, she's all right; she just fainted."

Without making a sound Angelus approached Travis and knocked him out just as he turned around. With all of his strength he gave one mighty tug and the bars of the prison cell gave way. He entered the cell and picked Buffy up; he sat on the floor cradling her, rocking her in his arms until she came to.

"Angelus?" Buffy whispered, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah baby, it's me." He wondered briefly how she knew he was not Angel.

Buffy burst into tears. "You shouldn't have come here; they will kill you; you should have let me die here."

Angelus held her closer, careful not to cause her any more harm, his dead heart constricted over the state she was in and still she was more concerned for him. "Never, Buffy; never," he told her, his voice hoarse with emotion. He stood up and carried her to Spike and Dru who had regained some of their strength and together had freed themselves from their cells.

Drusilla spoke to him in a quiet but firm voice. "Thank you for saving us, Angelus."

Angelus couldn't believe that this was his childe. "Drusilla?"

"Yes. I'm Drusilla."

He stared at her, still not believing his eyes and ears. Then it dawned on him. "You have your soul," he stated.

"Yes. One of our jailers returned it to me. He did it to punish me. He didn't expect that it would clear my mind." She looked at Angelus; his face showed his regret and he was nearly in tears. "No, Angelus. Don't grieve for me. The slayer helped me. I am at peace in my heart for the first time ever."

He nodded at her briefly just as they heard the door at the end of the hall slam shut and lock. He handed the sword to Spike and whispered, "Take Buffy and Dru and get out of here. Don't wait for me."

"No Angelus, I won't leave you here to these monsters," Buffy told him. She was weak and there was nothing she could do to help him, but she was still concerned about his safety.

"Don't worry baby, I'll be fine;" he kissed her on the forehead. "I just have some cleanup work to do." He turned to Spike. "Get them out of here - now. Get all of you to safety. You know where to go. When you get there, tell Penn I'm ready and have Templeton's mate take care of Buffy. After you and Dru have fed and Buffy can travel, Templeton will fly the three of you by jet back to the US and return for me. If you do not hear from me by the end of next week, you know that I am not coming."

"S-Sire…" Spike's words caught in his throat. Though he and Angel were not friends, he could not bear the thought that Angelus no longer existed.

"Angelus, don't harm Griffiths; he tried to help me."

"I know." He turned to Spike, "There are minions at the end of the tunnel; have one of them drive you to Templeton's and tell the rest to come in and be quiet. Go, Will."

Spike nodded briefly and without another word Drusilla took Buffy from Angelus and Spike led the way as he and Dru hurried through the door leading to the escape tunnel. He didn't know what to expect, but he had to be ready for anything; thankfully he had two weapons, Angelus' sword and an iron bar from one of the cell doors. It dawned on him then that Angelus was unarmed. At the end of the tunnel he found the minions anxiously waiting for Angelus. He gave them Angelus' instructions and his sword. Once he saw the minions, he was sure that he wouldn't need it.

Part 7

Angelus quickly lowered the iron gate that hid the tunnel entrance, threw the five unconscious men into cells and stood under the stairs as four men descended. He could smell the alcohol that they had been drinking. "Quentin, where are you?" one of them yelled. "We're here and ready for the party that you promised us."

Angelus barely controlled the growl that rose in his throat. "So it's a party you want, heh? Well, a party it is then, and guess what, I'm the host and you're all invited."

Panic struck the men when they saw Angelus in full game face as he stepped to the bottom of the stairs. "Angelus. What are you doing here? Where's Quentin?"

Angelus spoke with a sneer that caused his demonic face to look even more threatening, if that was possible, "He decided to start the party without you, but don't worry, you'll catch up."

The man at the top of the stairs turned and tried to retreat back up the stairs. With one leap Angelus was at the top landing. "Unh unh unh," he said in a teasing voice, but the look on his face told them that this was no joke. Angelus gave a quick shove against the chest of the man who was attempting escape and the four men found themselves in a heap on the floor.

"Get off me," yelled the guy on the bottom of the pile, "you broke my arm."

Angelus leapt off the stairs landing next to the pile of 'party goers'; he reached down and grabbed the one that had spoken, "Tsk tsk," he said with a smile (and on his demon face that was scarier than anything they had ever seen), "It's only sprained." He grabbed the injured arm by the wrist and gave it a downward jerk. The man yelled out in pain as he heard his arm snap. "See," Angelus continued, "now it's broken."

He picked the men up two at a time and threw them into cells and locked the cell doors. He then walked to the prison exit and, using the codes he received from Griffiths, opened the door. The minions entered in game face and waited for further instructions.

"Now that we're all here, let's get this party started, shall we? How nice, thanks to Quentin most of your friends are all gone for a three day weekend; so it's just the nine of you and all of us for three whole days. Whatever shall we do?"