Author's Note: I know I just uploaded a chapter yesterday. I've had this story done for a long time, it just needed editing. So as long as I keep up on editing the story I should be able to finish uploading it in the coming weeks.

Chapter 15: Prisoner

It didn't take Buffy and Dawn long to know the Mercedes wasn't there as they surveyed the street and the neighboring dirt parking lot behind the bank for the employees and any customers unwilling to spend the dime-per-hour at the meters out front.

Dawn looked at Buffy so far every one of her sister's werewolf senses had been enhanced by the Slayer. She was sure that Buffy's werewolf hearing was also enhanced. But she wasn't sure if Buffy had learned enough yet to differentiate the sounds her hearing brought to her. "Buffy we're going to try something. Your hearing is likely better than mine. I need you to listen for the sound of the Mercedes' diesel-engine. It should be easy to pick out since it's well-tuned. Let me know when you think you've got it."

Buffy cocked her head to listen; she heard the soft chugging of a well-tuned diesel engine. "I think I got it."

"This is the difficult part, tune everything else out," Dawn said. "Till all you hear is that engine. Then try and pinpoint where it's coming from."

Buffy nodded and with a little difficulty she tuned out everything else. The Mercedes was less than a few blocks away, the sound of its engine fading, then growing, then fading again. "It's not far. Maybe a few blocks. The sound of the engine is fading and growing and then fading again."

"Possibly moving in circles," Dawn said with a nod. "Which means possibly another parking lot, circling. Maybe waiting for us. Something doesn't make sense here."

"I know," Buffy said.

They started down an alley in the direction Buffy had heard the sound of the Mercedes engine coming from. As they got farther and farther from the main road, the alley widened and rose up on a slight incline, turning from mud to gravel. Dawn was getting ready to tell Buffy that they were going back to the bank and call Jeremy for Antonio's cell number when they saw a glimmer of silver ahead. They stopped. Over a hundred feet away, the alley ended in a weedy vacant lot. As they watched, the Mercedes drifted past the alley opening.

"Come on, guys," Dawn muttered. "What's with the hide-and-seek?"

The sisters tromped along, waving each time the Mercedes passed the alley. As they went by a branching alleyway, they heard a soft noise, but ignored it. About ten feet later, gravel crunched behind them and the edge of a large shadow encroached on the left of their vision field. The sisters whirled around as a hand grabbed the back of their shirts and sent them sailing face first to the ground.

"Get up," a voice said as a huge shape passed over me.

Dawn and Buffy lifted their heads, spitting gravel and blood. "What?" Dawn asked. "No witty riposte? No clever throwaway line?"

"Get up," Cain grabbed their collars again and heaved the sisters to their feet and set them down so hard their ankles twisted beneath them.

"That's no way to greet a girl, Zack," Dawn said. "No wonder you have to pay for it."

Cain stood there with his arms crossed, saying nothing.

"Waiting for us to run?" Buffy asked. "Or still trying to think up a comeback?"

Cain started forward. Buffy and Dawn wheeled and sprinted for the end of the alley. Halfway there, the Mercedes passed the alley opening again. The sisters lifted both arms to wave and Dawn's left foot hit the gravel wrong. As Dawn fell, the silver car slowly vanished from sight.

Buffy helped Dawn to scramble to her feet, but it was too late. Again, Cain reached out and caught the sisters by the back of their shirts. This time, he swung them off the ground. Dawn's left foot smacked into a metal Dumpster and she swallowed a yelp. Cain let them go only for a split second as he grabbed them by their chins and smashed them backward into the wall. He held them there, feet suspended off the ground. He then slammed Buffy against the brick this time hard enough to knock her out as he let her slump to the ground. Then he reached up and tore Dawn's shirtfront open.

"Not much to see, is there?" Dawn said. "I know, I know, they can fix things like that these days. Call me a feminist, but I think a woman's worth should be defined not by the size of her bust, but—" She rammed her fist up into his Adam's apple. He grunted and stumbled back. "—by the strength of her right hook," She threw herself against his chest before he regained his balance.

Cain toppled to the ground. As he fell, Dawn stayed on him, slamming her open hand against his neck and pinning him by the throat. "Yes, I can talk and think at the same time," she said. "Most people can, though I suppose you wouldn't know that from personal experience."

With a roar, Cain swung one arm up toward her. In midair, a shoe shot down and stomped his hand to the ground.

"Uh-uh," Clay drawled above Dawn. "Dawn's played with you long enough. It's my turn. Dawn, go check on Buffy."

Dawn waited until Clay moved his foot to Cain's throat, and then backed off. Antonio was standing to the side over Buffy. "Is she?"

"She's fine. She'll wake up with a headache though," Antonio said.

"Trap?" Dawn asked.

Antonio nodded. "Clay saw him lurking in the alley. We figured you two would come looking for us."

"So you circled that vacant lot knowing we would follow the sound of the car and waited for us to take the bait, and Cain to take us as bait," Dawn said.

Antonio smiled. "Something like that."

Clay hauled Cain to his feet. The two stepped back and looked at each other. Then Cain took a step left toward Clay. Clay mirrored the maneuver, but moving forward to the right. They repeated the dance steps, gazes locked, each watching the other for the lunge. It went on for several minutes. Then Cain lost patience and dove. Clay dodged out of the way, grabbed him by the waistband, and flung him into the wall. Cain recovered in a heartbeat and slammed into Clay's chest, knocking him to the ground.

Dawn knelt beside Buffy as she slowly regained conscious. "Are you okay?" Dawn asked.

"Hell of a headache," Buffy said. "But otherwise I'm fine." She noticed Clay and Cain were going at it. "What's going on?"

"We were used for bait," Dawn said.

It finally ended with Cain sprawled face down in the gravel.

"Unconscious," Clay wheezed, wiping his shirt over his bloody nose. "You can look now."

"I was watching," Dawn said. "I was just worried more about Buffy. Who is alright thanks for asking."

Clay grinned. "Of course I'm worried about Buffy."

"Don't start," Antonio said. "We need to get this mutt back to Stonehaven so Jeremy can question him. Dawn help Buffy down the alley to the car. Make sure no one's around? Clay, take the keys and open the trunk. I'll get this one."

Dawn helped Buffy down the alley and sat her in the back seat. Behind her, Antonio and Clay loaded Cain into the trunk. Then Clay walked over to the sisters.

"You both okay?" he asked.

"Other than a scraped cheek, a twisted ankle, a possible concussion, soaked sneakers, a ruined shirt?" Dawn said. "And Buffy was knocked unconscious and has a splitting headache. I'm peachy. Feel free to use me and Buffy for bait anytime."

Clay grinned. "Glad you feel that way."

"Watch it or you'll have more than a bloody nose and split lip." Dawn gave him a quick once-over. "Is that it?"

"Maybe a few bruised ribs," Clay said. "Nothing permanent."

"No groceries on this run, I assume," Buffy said, weakly.

"Doesn't look like it," Antonio said. "I'll have to come back for them. We'll grab a snack on the way to tide us over."

Before they left town, Antonio pulled into a strip mall and went in to get submarines and salads, leaving Clay and Dawn naked and bleeding and Buffy passed out next to Dawn in the car and Cain unconscious in the trunk. Dawn was worried about Buffy she was sure passing out so soon after being unconscious wasn't a good thing. She quickly shook her sister who opened her eyes.

"Don't fall asleep on me," Dawn said. "Try and stay awake."

Buffy slowly nodded.

At Stonehaven, Antonio and Nick loaded the still-unconscious Cain into the basement cage while Jeremy inspected Buffy, Clay and Dawn's injuries. Buffy got two aspirins for her headache. Clay got a plaster for his lip, binding for his ribs, and a few stiff words on the dangers of using Buffy and Dawn as bait.

"Is she going to be okay?" Dawn asked as she looked at her sister from across the room.

Jeremy sighed and nodded. "I believe so. Her Slayer healing combined with the werewolf healing is taking care of the damage. I think that is why she passed out in the car on the way back. Her body is using a lot of energy in the repairs. So much that it wanted to let her sleep."

"Would that have been a bad thing?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know. They say not to let someone sleep for long periods of time after receiving some sort of head trauma. At least not right away. Serious enough head trauma likely would have placed her in a coma. But Buffy is not like you or I."

Dawn nodded. "Because of the Slayer. Just as I am a werewolf / witch hybrid, she is a werewolf / Slayer hybrid. Who knows how the two merged."

After Cain was secured and Jeremy finished nursing, they had their snack. Then Nick and Antonio went back to town for the groceries while Jeremy, Clay, and Dawn talked about what information they wanted from Cain while continuously checking on Buffy. Around six o'clock, shouts and clangs from the basement told them that Cain was awake. Jeremy and Clay went down to the cage.

Dawn stayed upstairs with Buffy in the study. She didn't need to see what happened anyways. She could hear them just fine.

Of the three experienced mutts in Bear Valley, Zachary Cain was the worst choice for an informant. Any plans Daniel and Marsten had deigned to share with him had since become lost in the empty wasteland of his brain. According to Cain, Jimmy Koenig was also part of the revolution and that their goal was the elimination of the Pack, but he hadn't shown up yet.

They found out that Daniel had masterminded the new-recruit plan. He'd done the research, found the subjects, and played the psychopath's version of the Godfather—approaching them with an offer they couldn't refuse. If they helped him eliminate a few old enemies, he'd grant them the ultimate killer's body. None had refused. From there, Daniel had assigned a recruit to each of his comrades. Daniel had bitten and trained Thomas LeBlanc. Marsten had taken Scott Brandon.

While she and the others had already surmised that Marsten had turned Brandon, this just confirmed it and it made Dawn furious all over again. The wolf in her vowed Marsten would be hers to kill. She owed him for what he had done through Brandon to her sister.

They hadn't met Cain's protege yet. Apparently, he was a man named Victor Olson who'd been waiting in the car the day Cain led Nick, Buffy, Clay and Dawn on a chase through the forest. Jeremy asked Cain what Olson had done in his human life. Cain wasn't clear on the details.

So with Cain out of the way, they were down to two experienced and two new mutts. But Koenig hadn't arrived yet. His recruit was still recovering from being turned, but they'd be in Bear Valley soon.

It was past ten when Jeremy came upstairs. He stepped into the study and saw Buffy curled on the couch, against Dawn, asleep.

"Anything else?" he whispered so as not to disturb Buffy. Dawn shook her head. "How is she?"

"Out of the woods I think," Dawn said. "Her wounds are closed and the last time I woke her she said her headache was gone."

Jeremy nodded. "Good." He turned and went back downstairs.

There was a shout, a muffled sound, half anger, half pleading. Then silence. Seconds later, the basement door opened and Dawn heard Jeremy's footsteps headed to the back patio. When the door opened a second time, she peeked out from the study. Clay was rubbing a hand over his face. He looked exhausted. When he saw Dawn, he managed a wan smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Done?" Dawn asked.

Clay nodded. "Yeah. He's dead. We'll take him out tomorrow. He's in the cubbyhole for now. Have you eaten?"

Dawn shook her head. "I've been with Buffy all evening."

"How is she?" Clay asked and Dawn could hear the concern in his voice.

"She's doing better," Dawn said. "I think it's probably safe to carry her up to bed."

"I'll do that if you want?" Clay said as Dawn nodded her appreciation.

Clay walked into the study and picked Buffy up as gently as possible and then he carried her upstairs.

An hour later, Clay and Dawn went back to the study to find Jeremy already there, leaning back in his chair, eyes closed. He half opened one eye as they walked in.

"Sorry," Dawn said. "Should we leave?"

Jeremy motioned them in with his good hand, and then closed his eyes again. Dawn sat on the couch while Clay fixed drinks. He laid one by Jeremy's elbow.

"So we have four in town," Dawn said to Clay as he sat beside her. "Plus two more on the way. The question is, what to do about it."

"Kill 'em all," Clay said.

"Good plan," Jeremy murmured. "Very succinct."

Clay grinned. "Hey, if you don't want to hear my ideas, don't be eavesdropping."

"I was here first," Jeremy said.

"We thought you were sleeping," Dawn said.

Jeremy raised one eyebrow, then fell silent, eyes still closed.

"We should take out Daniel first," Clay said. "He's the ringleader. No one else knows shit about organizing into a pack. Rip out the center and the whole thing falls apart."

"Right," Dawn said. "That'll be easy. Daniel's such a pushover. The only reason you haven't killed him before now is that you still have a soft spot for your childhood playmate, right?" Clay snorted. "Exactly. He's still alive because he knows how you operate and he's not about to walk into a trap like Cain. I say we go after the two new ones first. They're the wild cards. Get rid of them and we know exactly what we're dealing with."

"I'm not wasting my time on a couple of brand-new mutts," Clay said.

Dawn smiled. "Then I will. Without you."

"Ah, shit." Clay said. "Jer, are you listening to this?"

"Now I'm asleep," Jeremy said. When they didn't respond he opened his eyes. "Clay is right to target Daniel. But killing him isn't that easy. I'll settle for talking to him."

"Talking to him?" Clay said. "Why?"

"Because I know what he's like and it might be easier to appease him than to risk more lives fighting him," Jeremy said. "With Daniel out of the picture, the others will break apart, as you said. Then we strike individually and destroy any future threat. I've put up with a lot from Daniel because he was Pack and his father was a good man. No more. We make him happy this once, then we keep our eyes on him. If he so much as kills a human in Australia, he dies."

"What makes you think Daniel will bargain?" Dawn said. "Cain seemed to think he wants the Pack eliminated."

"Maybe so, but more than that, he wants revenge," Jeremy said. "He wants us on our knees. By offering to bargain with him, he'll see that he's succeeded. When he realizes Zachary Cain is dead, he'll start to worry. Jimmy Koenig hasn't shown up yet. All he has is Karl Marsten."

Dawn nodded. "And the two new mutts."

"They have no stake in this battle," Jeremy said, "They've been recruited for a war that doesn't concern them. They're only fighting because they made a deal with Daniel. They've got what they want from him. Once they see things falling apart, they'll leave. What motivation do they have to stay? They haven't had enough dealings with the Pack to want revenge. They haven't been werewolves long enough to develop a need for territory. Why would they fight?"

"For fun." Dawn turned to Clay. "You saw Brandon in that bar. You saw how he killed that man, how much pleasure he took in it. Have you ever seen a werewolf act like that?"

"I'm not dismissing them, darling," Clay said. "Leblanc dies for what he did to Logan and Jeremy. I won't forget that."

"Jeremy I do have one request," said Dawn.

"No," Jeremy said as he opened his eyes and looked at Dawn. "You are too invested in that, Dawn. It's the same reason I would deny Buffy. For both of you Marsten is off the table. If it came down to it, I will have Clay, Antonio or Nick do it for you."

"But –'" Dawn started. This was hers, hers and Buffy's, battle not his. If Marsten hadn't bitten Brandon, Brandon wouldn't have bitten Buffy.

"No buts, Dawn," Jeremy said. "You are not doing it."

He closed his eyes again signaling the end of the conversation. Dawn let out a sigh as Clay's hand fell from the back of the sofa onto her shoulder and toyed with her hair. She closed her eyes as she felt herself relax a little, due to Clay's ministrations. She let her head fall on Clay's shoulder. He twisted toward her and reached his other hand over to rest on her leg. Dawn was drifting off to sleep when the door slammed open.

"What's this?" Nick said. "Bedtime?" No one answered him. "You look positively content, Clayton. That wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Dawn is cuddled up with you, would it?"

"It's cold in here," Dawn murmured.

"Doesn't feel cold," Nick said.

"It's cold," Clay growled.

Nick smiled. "I could start a fire."

"I could start one, too," Clay said. "With your clothes. Before you get them off."

"That's a hint, Nicky," Antonio said from the doorway. "Take it. I have no desire to spend my waning years a childless old man."

After a few minutes, quiet fell again, punctuated only by occasional murmurs of conversation. Dawn spread her fingers across Clay's chest, feeling his heartbeat, and fell asleep.