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Many thanks to ObscureBookWyrm. With her I always learn something new.
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Awakening
Chapter Six
"She's nowhere. I've checked all the hospitals and sheriff offices for the entire state!" Willow's voice hit a crescendo of panic at the last word. Buffy was gone. Wiped off the face of the earth. All of Willow's location spells were fritzing out, which either meant Buffy was way out of range or she was dead. Oh, God. Dead. Broken in some crypt somewhere. An evening snack for nasties. Her beautiful, vibrant, powerful friend a corpse.
Willow swayed, biting hard on her lower lip to hold back the tears.
"Willy's got nothin'. All he said was that demons have been disappearing off the streets for the last three months. Same dudes that Buffy described the other night. Willy swears they aren't demons."
"And you believe him?" Giles snapped.
"Yeah. I made sure." Xander rubbed his bruised knuckles.
"Willow, have you found anything online about these disappearances?"
"I've logged into some local demon chat rooms. I'm getting the same thing as Xander. Dressed in black, heavy fire power. Human."
"Anything else?" Giles rubbed his strained, red-rimmed eyes. It had been days since Buffy went missing, since he got more than an hour or two of sleep.
Willow licked her much abused lower lip. "I've found one unconfirmed rumor, but it seems a little farfetched, I mean…"
"What, Will?" Xander bounced in place. About twelve hours back he'd switched from black coffee to double espresso shots.
"Some are saying they're military."
Giles snapped straight. "U.S. military?"
Willow shrugged. Giles put his glasses on and reached for the phone.
"Who you calling, G-man?"
"The Watcher's Council. If there is, indeed, a military force operating out of Sunnydale they'd know about it."
"And if they have Buffy?" Willow asked, her hands clasped over her heart, her face pale and hopeful.
"I imagine they'll be persuaded quite forcefully to return her."
Xander and Willow glanced at each other, shivering at Giles' murderous tone.
"Never thought I'd say this, but go Watcher's Council." Xander pumped his fist in the air. Willow nodded so enthusiastically that the pencil she'd shoved in her hair to hold it out of her face while she worked plopped out and rolled on the floor. She scrambled after it before it could roll under the couch.
Giles strode out of the room, handset already poised next to his ear, while Willow settled back at her laptop.
"Cocoa covered espresso bean," Willow offered Xander.
"Nah uh. I think my heart's gonna pop out of my chest like an alien baby any second now."
"Not good." Willow popped another bean in her mouth.
"Nope." Xander stepped closer to Willow, watching over her shoulder as she logged into another chat room. They read several threads, many of which were 'Missing' boards. Demons looking for their loved ones who had disappeared suddenly. Those made Willow's soft heart ache a little. A couple were conspiracy boards, claiming that aliens were stealing demons out of scientific curiosity, citing a dump site of dissected demon bodies near the college campus as proof. A site that no longer existed. One claimed that the U.S. military was continuing paranormal studies started in WWII by the Nazis, a super-soldier program.
Bupkis, most of it.
Suddenly there was a loud, frantic pounding at the door. Xander jumped three feet and Willow lost half her espresso beans onto the floor.
"Giles, open up."
"Great. The undead have arrived. Quick, board up the doors and windows!" Xander snarked.
"What is that racket?" Giles entered the room, still holding the handset. The Watcher's Council knew about the special ops military program called the Initiative working out of Sunnydale, their contacts at the Pentagon having kept them appraised. However, they knew nothing of Buffy's disappearance, having only taken a cursory interest in the facility. It would take a day or so, but if the so-called Initiative had taken Buffy, then the Council would turn their full and undivided interest onto the operation. As an active Slayer on the Hellmouth, whether she acknowledged her ties to the Council or not, she was granted certain privileges. One of which was the Council's political clout.
Giles only took minimal comfort in the knowledge. By urging the Council to turn its eyes to Sunnydale, it invited them to renew their less than positive interest in Buffy.
"Angel's here," offered Willow.
"Giles!" More pounding.
Giles crossed to the door, pausing to pick up the crossbow he kept in his umbrella stand. He opened the door, crossbow aimed at Angel's heart.
The frantic vampire didn't notice the threat; hair ungelled and clothes askew, it was clear that he'd rushed from L.A. in a hurry.
"Spike has Buffy!"
"What?" Xander gasped.
"How do you know?" The slight tremors in Giles' hands before he steadied them were the only outwards signs of his shock.
"He sent me a sire call."
"A what?" Willow's brow furrowed.
"Let me in and I'll explain it."
"Explain it now," Giles ordered coldly, reaffirming the crossbow's aim on Angel's heart.
Angel ran his hand through his short hair, once, twice, visibly swallowing down his concern. "It's a way for childer to contact their sire if they're separated."
"So, like, to track them? Like a locator spell?" Willow tried to reason out.
"It's similar."
"Why didn't you do that when Spike first came to Sunnydale? Our lives would've been a heck of a lot easier if you had led Buffy to his and Drusilla's hideout to dust them," Xander sneered.
"I couldn't. Spike has never, not in a hundred and twenty years, sent a sire call."
"Why should that make a difference?" asked Giles. Hard blue eyes studied Angel, memorizing information to write down later.
"A link has to be opened. Now that it has, I can track him. Down to the centimeter," Angel growled.
"How do you know he has Buffy?" Willow drew closer to Giles, peering anxiously over his shoulder.
"Images can be sent. Mental snapshots." Angel's dark eyes drilled into Giles. "He showed me Buffy. She's hurt."
Giles' crossbow sagged. The tears Willow held back coursed down her cheeks. In the den, Xander sunk into the couch, his head braced between his hands.
Spike having Buffy was the worst possible outcome their imaginations could have conjured. Being at the mercy of an unrepentant killer, Buffy's chances for survival were slim if she was injured and unable to fight back.
"Come in, Angel." Giles moved aside, allowing Angel entrance into his flat.
"So, what? He's taunting you?" Xander wiped his face, looking towards Angel.
"He's calling me out. He's taken the thing I love. Rubbing my face in it."
"She's not a thing," Giles murmured, pouring himself a glass of bourbon. No one heard him over the clatter of glass.
"So you can track him, right?" Xander shot up from the touch and began to pace.
"Yes. But it's just a feeling. An intuition. Like playing hot and hotter. And right now, it's just a tingle far in the distance. That's why images can be sent. To help Sires find their childer faster."
"Did he send any other images?" Giles down his drink.
"Just some numbers. I don't know what they mean." He withdrew a folded piece of paper from his pocket. Willow snatched it out of his hand, hurrying to her laptop.
"Anything else?" Giles asked.
"It's pretty jumbled. Woods, a lake, a cave. Buffy and the numbers were clearest. Spike's never been good at basic vamp stuff. He can't even thrall," Angel sneered.
"Can you?" Xander asked, fingering the stake hidden in his pocket.
Angel shrugged, not bothering to glance at the boy. Instead his worried gaze was riveted on Willow as her fingers flew over the keyboard.
Giles watched, eyes narrowed. "Drink?"
Angel shook his head, lost in his own tortured thoughts, unaware of the growing tension.
"It's coordinates!" Willow exclaimed, her voice pitched high. "Longitude and latitude."
"Where?" Giles peered over Willow's shoulder, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling as Angel crowded him.
"Here." Willow leaned back in her chair as the map popped up. "This doesn't make sense. It's in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountain range."
"No, it does. One of the images Spike sent was of a lake and mountains." Angel pointed to a small blue splotch on the map. A lake so tiny it didn't have a name. Leastways, not on the map Willow pulled up.
"The closest road is for fire access and it's miles away," Giles noted.
"Wow. They're way on the eastern side of the range. According this map, they're darn near 7,000 feet up." Xander cocked his head so he could read the map legend.
"Is that bad?" Willow squeaked.
"Well, it's not good. That's high and even though it's only October it's pretty freakin' cold up there. Like gettin' ready to snow cold." Xander shook his head. "Why would Spike take Buffy way out there?"
"To limit resources?" Giles rubbed his chin. "You'd have to hike in there, leaving you vulnerable once the sun rises."
"You sure he's there?" Willow chewed her lip, zooming in on the coordinates. It was so desolate. Just below the subalpine zone.
"There's no way to know until I start moving in that direction. The link will become stronger the closer I am to him."
"How'd they even get out there? I can't see Spike dragging Buffy out there on foot, injured or not."
At Willow's comment everyone stared blankly at the screen.
"ATVs!" Xander shoved his finger towards the sky in a 'aha' gesture. When no one responded he frowned. "You know, four-wheelers? My dad and Uncle Dale use them all the time to go deer hunting."
Giles folded his arms, brow creased with thought. "Your father has these ATVs?"
Xander nodded. "Two of 'em. Along with a trailer and a four-wheel drive SUV, which you're gonna need to get up that fire road."
"What are we waiting for?" Angel rumbled. "Let's go."
"No need to go off half-cocked. We need supplies first." Giles calculated the travel time and the supplies they would need. Even if the ATVs could travel fast enough to get to the site and back to the SUV before daybreak, it would still be wise to carry camping supplies just in case they became stuck. Spending an evening in the Sierra Nevadas this late in the season without proper protection could very well kill a human.
Angel shoved his finger into Giles chest, growling, "She could be dying. We don't have time to waste."
Giles flinched, worried for his charge. "We need medical supplies for Buffy. Food, water, and camping gear if Buffy can't be moved right away. Tell me Angel, do you have enough blood on hand for the trip? I don't fancy becoming your roadside snack."
Angel backed away, dropping his eyes.
"Right," Giles continued. "Why don't you go buy some for the road? Meet us at Xander's. Xander, go ahead and ready the vehicles."
"Can do, G-man. I've got camping gear too. Ready-fitted for the backs of the ATVs." The boy shifted his weight.
"What is it?"
"With gear, those vehicles only fit one person."
"That's why only Angel and I are going." Giles braced himself.
Predictably, Willow and Xander protested loudly, citing multiple reasons why they should accompany the two older men. Giles held up his hand for silence, waiting patiently for them to die down.
"There won't be room for all of us on the ATVs when we pick up Buffy. Or in the SUV if she's too injured to sit and has to recline in the back seat."
"But—" Willow protested.
"There is no time. The longer we argue, the more dangerous the situation becomes for Buffy. Now, Willow, I need you to grab the medical grade first aid kit from my bedroom while I pack weapons. Angel, Xander, you need to get going."
Everyone nodded, Willow and Xander unhappily, Angel grimly – but no one hesitated to do their parts. Buffy's life depended upon them.