Chapter 9: The I in Team

Spike

"So, Rupert got himself turned into a Fyarl demon," Spike said.

Lucy didn't sit back down in front of the pile of homework she'd been doing when he slipped into the factory barely ahead of the sunrise. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"I'm not even that late," Spike tried.

"The Initiative is looking for you," Lucy said. "Every agent I've run into on campus has orders to recapture you. Forgive me for being worried that they succeeded."

That was a fair point. As much as Spike wanted to assure Lucy that he wouldn't get caught again, those buggers had already gotten the drop on him once and now he couldn't properly fight back. The odds weren't exactly in his favour.

"The Watcher and I did have a bit of a run-in with them," Spike admitted. "But all's well that ends well. Rupe's even human again."

Lucy twisted the Gem of Amara around her finger. They were still sharing the ring. Spike wanted Lucy to keep it for longer and Lucy wanted Spike to wear it on one of his ribs so he'd always be protected. Flipping a coin every night was the compromise. Looking at her face now, Lucy seemed to be seconds from saying hang the compromise and cutting him open on the factory floor.

"I won't do that," Lucy said. "The last thing we need is the Initiative getting hold of a vampire they can't permanently harm." She shivered. "Gods, no."

Spike grimaced. "I'd rather not imagine that."

The things the Initiative did were bad enough without giving them a test subject that they didn't have to take care not to kill.

"So be careful," Lucy said. "Buffy's dating one of them. We both have to be careful."

Captain Cardboard was a problem. Lucy hadn't been to see Joyce in weeks on the off chance he'd be hanging around the house. Not being able to go inside was a bit of a giveaway.

"How're your new classes going?" Spike asked.

Even though Lucy definitely knew he was trying for a distraction, she started on a rant about her Egyptian mythology professor that had Spike laughing. The man sounded like an inept fool.

"...and then he said that it meant 'bird' because it was a bird!" Lucy made a sound of disgust. "Why is he even teaching the class if he can't read hieroglyphics?"

"I doubt it's a requirement for teaching you about gods killing each other," Spike said.

"It's annoying." Lucy picked up one of her books and showed Spike the page it was open to. "He's been telling us this is Isis when it's clearly Nephthys! Look at her headdress!"

Spike smiled. "No everyone can be the Watcher, luv. Why don't we head to bed, and you can keep cursing his name tomorrow?"

"I've got a paper due for his class tomorrow—today," Lucy said.

"Even more reason to get some sleep." Spike raised an eyebrow. "Or are you going to try telling me that you actually have more to do than read it over once?"

Lucy grimaced. "The second he sees the title I chose to use I'm going to have to argue my case...I guess sleep is a good idea. Assuming we actually sleep." She raised both of her eyebrows questioningly.

That had been the plan...mostly.

Lucy smirked. "You're terrible."

"Am I?" Spike put an arm around Lucy's shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Yes, you're absolutely wicked." Lucy tilted her head back to whisper in his ear. "Irredeemable."

Spike chuckled. "You like it."

"Of course I do. Things would be so boring otherwise," Lucy said.

They headed downstairs, carrying Lucy's schoolbooks with them. She said that she didn't trust the minions with them and Spike agreed. All of the minions they had now were smart enough not to touch her things, but disasters happened.

"Help me with my laces?" Lucy asked.

Spike complied, undoing the knot at the back of her corset and loosening the laces so she could get it off without damaging it. Lucy slipped on one of his t-shirts.

"Any other exciting plans for tomorrow?" Spike asked.

Lucy sighed and collapsed onto their bed. "Tara wants to talk again. I'm getting tired of telling her no."

"Still wants to be a vampire, huh?" Spike took off his jacket and lay down next to her.

"Less wants to be and more thinks she should be," Lucy said. "I'm working on getting her to realize that she isn't destined for demonhood, growing into it or being sired."

"You'll get there," Spike said.

Lucy sighed again. "I hope so."

The human blood in the drinks at the Shelter was the expired stuff they bought from the hospitals and then sold at a higher price. For some reason, the antlered bloke behind the bar thought that meant that he should give Spike his drink for free. Spike wasn't going to complain about that, especially since his O-pos Bloody Mary wasn't half as good as what Cinna would have made.

Drink in hand, Spike made his way back over to the booth on the other side of the room where Lucy was talking to Deker, a Nighlogh who had a seer's foresight like all of his species but was actually able to see more than a week into the future without becoming incoherent. Both of them had serious expressions on their faces.

"You're sure?" Lucy asked.

Deker's eyes flashed silver. "Exceedingly."

Spike sat down next to Lucy. "Why does that not sound good?"

"Because it isn't." Lucy narrowed her eyes at Deker. "And I guess the three of you are going to run away now?"

"Excuse me for prioritizing my lovers and our lives over this town," Deker said. "There are other Hellmouths."

"You're excused. Do me a favour and get as many other people out as you can on your way," Lucy said.

Deker inclined his head and rose from his seat. Spike followed his progress as he headed for the dance floor. The Nighlogh pulled his boyfriend and girlfriend out of the crowd, and they whispered to each other in a tense circle for a moment before leaving the club.

"What did he see?" Spike asked.

"The Initiative is building a monster that can kill us all," Lucy said. "Key word: can."

So, it was the negotiable type of doom and destruction vision. That was always nice.

Spike nodded. "Dare I ask what 'building a monster' means?"

Lucy stole a sip of his Bloody Mary. "Exactly what it sounds like, Doctor Frankenstein style."

"Huh. I'd be interested in seeing that if it hadn't made Deker run for the hills. He's no one to overreact," Spike said.

"Yeah, it's not good." Lucy stole his drink again. "We should prepare and... Well, Deker saw what we should do with Harmony. How much do you think we'll have to threaten her to get her to play messenger?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Very, very little."

Harmony was on the cowardly end of the properly sired vampire spectrum.

Spike stole his drink back. Between the two of them there wasn't much left. "What sort of message are we sending? Or should we be keeping that a secret?"

The layout of the Shelter wasn't conducive to eavesdropping on people sitting in a booth like they were. Neither was the loud music and the chattering around them. And yet, Spike knew that there were at least three demons who'd overheard their entire conversation up to this point, probably more.

"A warning." Lucy raised her voice so slightly that it wouldn't have been obvious if Spike hadn't been talking with her the whole time. "The military is bad news, run unless you want to be chopped up and used—that sort of thing."

"Did you mean to make that rhyme?" Spike asked.

Lucy gave a half smile. "Lucky coincidence."

They ended the shop talk there. Lucy went to get her own drink which Spike stole from in turn.

"Do you want to dance?" Spike asked.

"Not really," Lucy said. "You?"

Spike shook his head. They finished what was left in their glasses and stood. Spike saw a few sets of eyes quickly looking away. Cowards. Maybe they'd join Deker in deciding to leave that night. Or maybe not. Cowardice and self-preservation didn't always look the same.

Outside, it was quiet. There was a misty rain hanging in the air that was probably what was keeping most people inside. Drops of water condensed on Spike's skin as they walked. He wiped them off his face before they could run down his cheeks and make it look like he was crying. Anyone who might see them wouldn't be carrying any tales of fabricated weakness.

"Maybe we should tell Giles and he can get the problem taken care of for us," Lucy said. "The Council loves interfering in this sort of stuff, don't they? Like when they started the Great Fire of London."

Spike raised his eyebrows. "The Watchers did what? I didn't think those tossers had it in them."

"There was a—" Lucy cut herself off. "Oh fuck."

"What is it?" Spike looked around the graveyard they were walking through. He didn't spot anything unusual among the headstones, but the copse of trees at the edge of the graveyard was another story.

The soldier boys hiding in the bushes didn't give them a chance to choose a plan of attack. Their opening move was a single bullet that Spike barely dodged. He didn't like being shot and he liked the sound the bullet was making even less. It was buzzing on the ground where it had ricocheted to, and Spike could see a blinking red light coming from its direction that hadn't been there before. Then two of the commandos charged out of their cover with those electric rifles that had knocked Spike unconscious before.

As loudly as he could, Spike thought that they had to run.

Another shot was fired when Spike and Lucy turned and started running away. This time Spike couldn't dodge. The bullet pierced the back of his shoulder and he hissed. That was another bullet hole in his jacket. He really hated getting shot.

The soldier boys chasing them crashed through the graveyard but quickly fell behind. Spike could hear one of them cursing under his breath.

"Up or down?" Lucy asked.

"Down," Spike said. The soldier boys would be easier to lose in the maze of the sewers than on the rooftops where they could come back into view at any moment if they weren't careful. Even if the Initiative had installed cameras, they couldn't have found all of the tunnels under Sunnydale, not with the magic hiding the vast majority of them.

Spike and Lucy took a frantic, winding path through the sewers and the tunnels that had been created over the years by various demons. They detoured through a nest of lizard ghouls that would definitely delay anyone who might have risked following them, ducked through a doorway that changed location whenever someone went through it and finally stopped underneath the street in front of the burnt-out shell of Sunnydale High School.

"That sucked," Lucy said. "What did they shoot you with?"

Spike tried to look at the back of his own shoulder. He couldn't catch sight of the bullet, but he could hear it buzzing every second. "Something electronic."

"It must be the tracker Forrest was thinking about," Lucy said. "I can't see it either. We'll need tweezers or maybe I can try cutting it out?"

Lucy sounded very unsure about that second option. And she was the one who wanted to try during surgery to get the chip out of Spike's head.

Spike raked a hand through his hair. They couldn't have the Initiative tracking them to the factory or Joyce's house. Since the soldier boys would likely be on the lookout for something like a break-in that could lead them to where they were, that left one viable option.

"Giles will hate it if we bring the Initiative to his door," Lucy said.

"Then he'd better make sure we don't." Spike headed for the ladder that led to the surface. "The Watcher owes me one."

The Watcher let them in with little grumbling when Lucy explained the situation. He was probably too tired to bother. Lucy joked about him keeping vampire hours but the bags under his eyes were very much screaming that three in the morning was too late for a human to be awake.

"You going to be any use, Rupert?" Spike asked.

The Watcher glared at him. "I am perfectly capable of...of..."

"Leading me a pair of tweezers and holding a flashlight," Lucy said.

The Watcher nodded. "Yes. Quite."

Lucy quickly dug tweezers out of the Watcher's massive first aid kit. Sharp jolts of pain shot down Spike's arm and into his chest as she poked around searching for the tracker. She wasn't gentle about it. Since they did need to get rid of it fast, Spike didn't complain.

"I hate guns," Lucy grumbled. "Hate them. Giles, move that light a little to the left. Spike, I'm using a knife."

Spike gritted his teeth. "Do what you have to do."

It was obvious when Lucy successfully extracted the tracker. She let out a harsh laugh and then Spike smelled ozone and rot for a split second when she used one of her favourite spells to decay it into nothing.

"Well, I doubt they'll be able to track that," the Watcher said. "Please do get out of my house now."

"Spike?" a young voice said.

Spike turned and saw Avery standing at the top of the stairs. Their hearts were racing. "'lo, firebrand. Why're you up this early?"

"Nightmare," Avery said. They shifted their feet on the landing. "Why're you here?"

"Getting some help from Giles," Lucy said. "We've got to head home if we want to beat sunrise."

Avery's face fell. "Oh."

"We can stay a while." Spike looked at the Watcher, daring him to disagree.

The Watcher sighed. "Yes, of course." He muttered, "Use a child's emotions against me, why don't you."

Well, if he was offering.

Avery ran down the stairs and hugged Lucy before colliding with Spike and attempting to break his ribs. For some reason they'd glommed onto Spike despite having to know that it was a bad idea. Spike suspected that they took after their mother.

Lucy ruffled Avery's short white hair. "How've you been doing?"

"Okay." Avery sniffed. "Mom has headaches."

That wasn't a surprise with how the Initiative had been poking around in her brain. Spike was half impressed by their torture capabilities, half ready to join Lucy in tearing them apart in righteous fury.

"Headaches suck," Lucy said.

Avery nodded, bumping their forehead against Spike's chest. "I'm scared they'll take her away again," they whispered.

"Not going to happen, firebrand," Spike said. "You've got two Slayers and enough mojo makers to drown a city looking out for all of you."

"And you?" Avery asked.

Spike looked at Lucy over Avery's head. "Yeah, and me."

Lucy nodded. That must have been the right thing to say.

Avery finally released Spike from the vice grip that could be called a hug. "What time is it?"

"Nearly three-forty," the Watcher said. "Would you like some tea?"

"Ms. Jenny's lavender stuff?" Avery asked.

The Watcher gave them a gentle smile. "Coming right up."

Avery was quick to start yawning after they'd finished their tea. Spike half carried them back upstairs and they were asleep as soon as their head hit their pillow. When he rejoined Lucy and the Watcher, they were in the kitchen washing the few dishes that had accumulated.

"An hour and a half left before sunrise, luv," Spike said.

"We won't be long." Lucy shot the Watcher a brilliant, feral smile. "Want to tell me why Buffy's professor tried to kill her, Giles?"

The cup the Watcher had been washing shattered on the floor.

"I beg your pardon?" The Watcher stuttered.

"You don't think as quietly as you try to," Lucy said. "Stop doing translations and tell me so I can decide how much to kill Walsh."

"I'd rather you not jump directly to murder, not matter how much—" the Watcher clenched his jaw. "Professor Walsh was made aware that Buffy is a Slayer and was displeased when Buffy refused to submit to her control."

"She's Initiative," Lucy said. "Buffy was working with the Initiative?"

The Watcher cleared his throat. "I believe 'spying on' is more accurate."

Good on the Slayer.

Lucy growled. "And that bitch decided—Like she has a right to—And she's the one who—I'm killing her, Giles. Slowly."

Lucy was radiant when she was planning torture, but the Watcher might risk trying to stake her if she went into too much detail. The Gem of Amara would protect her, but she wouldn't be happy about the mess. Spike put a hand on her shoulder. Lucy sighed.

"Sorry, Giles. I won't kill her," Lucy said.

Neither Spike nor the Watcher commented on the "yet" that was clear at the end of that sentence, despite Lucy not saying it. Spike was going to enjoy watching her cut Professor Bitch to ribbons later.