Chapter Fourteen
William stepped back behind the Watcher, trying to shield Willow, but Riley gestured with his gun for all of them to move ahead of him.
“Let’s go. Professor Walsh wants to meet all of you. You too, William,” he said as Spike tried to slip toward the kitchen. “She said ALL of Buffy’s friends and relatives. That includes cousins from other countries.”
“My goodness,” William said, eyeing the rifles apprehensively. “If this woman wants to meet us, why didn’t she just invite us to tea?”
“Consider this your invitation,” one of the other men said with a grin as he nudged the cowering man with his rifle.
“Oh dear, oh dear,” William kept repeating as they moved toward the door, managing to keep himself between the guns and Willow. Just before they reached the door, Riley stopped them and looked at the surprisingly calm older Brit speculatively.
“Let’s see what you’ve got in those pockets, ‘Uncle Giles’, he said, gesturing for him to come closer. For a second, Giles looked like he was planning to resist, then he shrugged and stepped forward.
Riley set down his rifle, indicating to the other men that they should keep all three of the nervous people covered, and began to pat down Giles’ pockets. When his hand bumped against the gun, he grinned in satisfaction and pulled it out.
“Look at this, boys. Our tweedy librarian seems to have some unusual accessories.”
The soldier was so smug and proud of himself, he didn’t bother to search Giles thoroughly or even to order him to empty out his pockets. Thinking he’d found the only weapon the other man was trying to smuggle in, he tossed it onto the sofa with a laugh and said, “NOW, we’re ready to bring these people in. Although,” he added, turning to look at a nervous William and frightened-looking Willow, “I can’t imagine why Maggie wants to see you two.”
“M—me neither,” Willow said moving closer to William. “Why don’t I just stay here and—“
“Sorry, Willow” Riley said with a disinterested shrug, “Maggie wants all of you, and your other friends too, as soon as we can find them. Let’s go.”
He gestured for Willow to go first and gave William an unnecessary shove as he went by.
“You can be quite sure, Mr. Finn, that the British consulate in Los Angeles is going to hear about this outrage. I am a loyal subject of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, and as such, not to be trifled with.” He stuck his chin up in the air and shoved his glasses back up his nose as he bravely met Riley’s amused look.
“Do be quiet, William,” Giles said, hiding his smile. “I am sure Agent Finn is not interested in hearing your intention to bring diplomatic pressure upon his organization.”
“Well, he should be,” William blustered. “This is an outrage, that they think they can treat British citizens like…like…animals!”
When Riley raised his rifle as though to bash William in the face, he cringed back immediately and whimpered in fear. The commandos all laughed, missing the amber flashes in his eyes as he ducked his head.
They were put into the back of the SUV, by themselves, but with one soldier facing them at all times. He was instructed to keep his eyes primarily on Giles. Even though the Watcher’s demeanor was that of a middle-aged man caught doing something quite out of character, Riley was suspicious. The fact that the man even had a gun, let alone that he was planning to bring it with him when looking for his niece, told Riley there was more there than what seemed obvious.
Willow and William he dismissed as weak and cowardly, and he paid little or no attention to them until the driver commented, “Hey, Finn, do you think we’ll get to see this one’s goodies like we did the blond?” He jerked his head at Willow who had gasped, then leaped to put her hand over William’s mouth just in time to muffle the snarl. She could feel his fangs just edging out of his gums, and saw his eyes flashing amber as he tried to suppress the demon that wanted to rip the driver’s head off.
“Serenity!” she hissed, projecting as much magic as she could summon without a spell. To the surprise of all three, Spike immediately calmed down and slumped in the seat, looking relaxed and calm.
“Whoa!” Willow whispered. “I should have done that a long time ago!”
“Quite a trick there, Red,” he whispered back. “It’s not easy to push down an angry demon.”
“That was quite impressive, Willow. I must say.”
“What was quite impressive?” the soldier guarding them looked at her suspiciously.
“Nothing!” they chorused together.
He frowned, but could see nothing wrong. All three were still sitting quietly on the back seat, their hands in plain view.
(Buffy? You there, pet?)
(Where the hell else would I be?) she grumbled at him. (Still tied to a table here – I think I might have loosened one of the restraints, though. I think I’m on a table meant for ordinary humans, not Slayers. Did you know leather stretches when you pull on it?)
(They’re bringin’ us to you, Slayer. Do what you can, but don’t let ‘m know you’re loose until we get there.)
Into the silence he said, (You hear me, Slayer? You wait till the cavalry gets there.)
Her sigh was almost audible and he had to smile, (Well, you’d better hurry. I’m getting bored and….oh, peachy, here comes the goon squad again…later.)
Spike couldn’t get her to talk to him again, but he was able to visualize what was happening through her disjointed thoughts and emotional reactions. He whispered to Willow that she’d better have her calming spell handy as he picked up on what was going on in the room.
The two soldiers approached Buffy, laughing at the way she glared apprehensively at them.
“Not quite so brave, now that you can’t move, are you, ‘Slayer’?” Forrest said “slayer” like it was a dirty word.
“Maybe she’s not comfortable,” Graham put in. “Didn’t she look more relaxed when she was naked?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, she did. I’ll bet she’d like to be naked again; that right, Buffy?”
While the men were amusing themselves trying to intimidate her, Buffy was flexing her muscles and stretching the leather restraints to the point that she could slip her arms out. She kept her hands under the table so that they would not notice that her upper body was free.
(If they touch you, they’re lunch. You know that, don’t you, Slayer?)
(I appreciate the sentiment, Spike, but – news flash – if they touch me they’re little piles of broken bones long before you get here.)
“Let’s just get her out of those uncomfortable jeans, huh? I don’t know why Maggie made us dress her again. Naked was working for me.” With a nasty chuckle, Forrest reached for the zipper on Buffy’s jeans only to realize that with her legs tied down, he would not be able to remove them or slide them very far down her legs.
“What the hell are you doing?” Graham almost yelped as the other man reached for the restraints holding Buffy’s feet and legs. “You know you can’t let her loose.”
“Relax, I’m not going to. I’m just going to undo one leg at a time so we can get those pants off her. What can she do with only one leg free?”
As soon as Buffy’s left leg was freed, she brought it up to sweep Forrest’s head down onto the table with a painful thump. At the same time, she sat up and grabbed Graham before he could reach for his rifle, slamming his head down against the edge of the table.
While both men were stunned, she quickly undid the remaining restraint and jumped to her feet. Before Graham could rise, she slammed both hands into his back and forced him down across the table, using it to hold him up while she punched his kidneys until he sank to the floor moaning.
Forrest raised his head and saw with bleary eyes what was happening to his friend. He moved toward the weapons they’d left by the door, but immediately found a small, barefoot, and very angry blond standing between him and his gun. Completely ignoring how fast she’d just shown she could move, he charged toward her, only to find himself propelled through space and slamming into the door with his shoulder.
A credit to his training, he did not back off as the tiny predator stalked toward him, but held up his one good arm in a defensive posture and fell into a fighting stance. A stance which did him no good as, with a flurry of punches and kicks, Buffy reduced him to the pile of broken bones she’d promised Spike she would.
While she stood, panting, over his broken body, she cringed slightly as she looked at what she’d done. The whole time she’d been beating on the man, she’d been aware of Spike’s presence in her head, urging her on with his own rage. She paled as the implications hit her.
(Oh my god. My behavior is being influenced by one of the most notorious and deadly master vampires in the world. I was out of control. I almost killed these guys.)
Spike had followed the whole thing – trying to maintain his contact with Buffy while getting out of the car and entering the lower level of the facility. Willow’s calming grip on his arm was the only thing that kept him from vamping out as soon as the commandos starting talking about Buffy, but nothing could prevent the surge of rage that went through him when they actually tried to take her clothes off.
He knew the rage was flowing through the claim, but he didn’t try to stop it. He rejoiced in every punch and kick, his demon cheering at the sight of the man lying unconscious on the floor. When Buffy turned her attention back to Graham, he was ready to offer more suggestions when her regret and shame flowed back to him and he realized what he was doing to her.
He immediately tried to push his demon down, smothering the possessive feelings toward his mate that had inspired the demand for violence. Buffy relaxed slightly as the urge to kill both men faded and she was able to assess the damage she’d done. Graham appeared to be in one piece, with the exception of a large, swelling over his eye where his head had hit the table and the obvious pain he was in from her blows to his lower back.
She tried to feel bad about the way he flinched in fear when she approached him, but decided that both Buffy and the Slayer were just fine with what she’d done to him. Forrest, on the other hand, she couldn’t look at without guilt. Yes, the man definitely deserved to be punished for what he’d been trying to do to her, but she knew that without Spike’s influence she would never have continued to beat him after he was no longer a threat.
She knew Spike was controlling the demon and she sent him grateful acknowledgement, even as she tried to hide the fear and disgust she was feeling at her behavior. Her first terrified thought about being controlled by William the Bloody had come through loud and clear, though and Spike had felt his heart clench in fear at the way she’d reacted.
(We’re here, love. We’re in the building. Let’s work this out later, alright? Know you’re upset, but now’s not the time. Soon’s you’re safely out of here, we’ll talk it out, yeah? We’ll suss out what we can do about it. I promise, love. Jus’ don’t shut me out yet.)
Riley delivered his captives to Maggie Walsh’s office, waiting quietly by the door as she looked them over. The Watcher, who’d already met her once and decided he hated her when he just thought she was an arrogant college professor, stared at her with a cold expression on his face. Maggie was somewhat taken back at the change in demeanor from the self-conscious, stammering man she’d dismissed from her office and the one standing before her. This one was clearly not someone to be taken lightly and she reminded herself that Buffy had admitted he had something to do with her Slaying duties.
She indicated with her eyes that Riley was to stay close to the man, then turned her attention to the nervous-looking redhead and the young man beside her. William was trembling just slightly, but the psychologist in Maggie picked up on it and she smiled at the fear she thought was being evidenced. Willow could have told her that the trembling was from Spike’s struggle to control the demon trying to get across the desk to the white-coated woman, but she kept silent and concentrated on sending soothing magics toward the angry vampire.
“Well, Miss Rosenberg, I must tell you I am quite surprised in your choice of companions. I’ve been quite taken with your intelligence and talents and had actually given some thought to recruiting you. It is quite disappointing to find that you are already involved in demon hunting in some mystical fashion.”
Willow just stared back at her in amazement. She was so shocked at the thought of being recruited by anyone, that she couldn’t even indulge in her usual babbling. Then she remembered that this woman had kidnapped her best friend and, based on what little Spike had shared with them, possibly tortured her and she drew herself up and did her best to give an icy glare
“You kidnapped my friend,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “Why would I want to work for you?”
Maggie waved her hand dismissively and looked at Willow with open speculation. “I wonder what your place is in this little gang of demon-hunters? I wonder what we don’t know about you that we can discover in our labs?”
Calling on reserves of courage she didn’t know she had, Willow stared back at her teacher and said calmly, “You might find out more than you care to, Professor Walsh.”
Maggie blinked in surprise; then, tired of being threatened by what she insisted on thinking of as little girls, she turned toward the young man who appeared so meek and yet according to Riley was so strong.
“And you, William, is it? How do you fit in here? Are you really just a visitor from out of the country? If you are truly related to the Slayer, I wonder if we will find that her strength is inherited? I’m curious as to how such a slender man could have such a strong grip. Perhaps we will have a chance to find out how strong you actually are also.”
“Oh, I think you can pretty much count on it,” Spike answered, making no attempt to sound like William.
When Riley whipped his head around in surprise, Giles leaped for him and twisted the rifle away, bringing the stock up and hitting the man in the chin. He whirled and held the gun on the woman who was reaching for her phone saying coldly, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
She froze, her hand just inches away from the intercom on her desk.
“You’ll never get out of here alive, you know,” she said, relaxing back into her chair.
“We’ll see,” was the only answer. “Now, where’s my Slayer?”
Maggie smiled. “She’s under control, and entertaining some of my men. Men who are not terribly fond of her, I might add. Perhaps if you answer some of my questions first, I will see that she is brought here. Or, better yet, I will take you to her.”
Giles looked at Spike and the vampire made a face and shook his head.
“Hate to spoil your plan there, you ugly bint, but the Slayer is not under control, the men who were with her will be needing serious medical assistance, and she is on her way to this office. She’s quite brassed off, by the way,” he added, as Maggie paled.
“There is no way you could know that,” she growled. She saw Riley edging toward Giles and as the big man reached for his rifle, she tried to hit the intercom. Only to be stopped by a very fast, cool, and strong hand on her wrist.
“Wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” William drawled. “The Slayer didn’t leave much for me of those wankers that were trying to rape her, but I can have you dead and drained before she gets through that door.”
He took off his glasses and vamped out at her, smiling when she cringed back in her chair with a small cry. Recovering herself, she glared back at him and said, “Hostile 17, I should have known. You won’t be killing anyone. The harder you try, the more that chip in your head will fire. You’re more helpless than Ms. Rosenberg.”
“Well, since Red here is turnin’ into a right powerful little witch, I don’t believe that should be givin’ you a lot of hope.” As he spoke, he was squeezing her wrist, smiling as her eyes widened in pain.
“Your chip…I put that in myself…” she tried to speak through the pain in her hand. She stared in fascination as the vampire seemed to be listening to something, then sighed as he reluctantly eased his grip on her hand.
“Keep it off that intercom, or I’ll break it off,” he snarled as he let go.
(If you made me let go of that bitch jus’ so you could have a go at her, I’m goin’ be really brassed off at you, Slayer.)
Riley and Giles were wrestling for the gun, but as the larger man gained the advantage, the door burst open and Buffy stormed into the room. Riley had been so involved in his struggle with Giles that he had not seen the byplay between Spike and Maggie. He assumed he was still holding two helpless people and an older man hostage. He turned the rifle he’d finally regained possession of toward Buffy and said, “I’m pretty sure you aren’t bulletproof, Buffy. So, just go stand over there near your friends while I figure out what to do here.”
Looks were exchanged quickly and Giles nodded toward Maggie as he and Willow moved as inconspicuously as possible to be close to her chair. As they did, William shoved Buffy behind him. When Giles grabbed Maggie in a choke hold, holding her in front of him like a shield, Riley fired at William. He smiled in satisfaction as he saw the Englishman’s body jerk and blood appear on his blue shirt.
[Reviews - 117]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3384 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
OK, posting more than one chapter on a page hasn't worked very well, so I guess I'll have to do this the slow way. I'll try to post at chapter a day, or more, so as not to drag it out forever.