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Chapter Sixteen

Riley had quickly picked up the two men who’d helped him capture Giles and the others, taking them with him as he raced toward the labs. He found Graham crawling painfully toward the emergency phone and signaled the others to help him. One glance at the broken body that was his second-in-command and he knew that Maggie might have bitten off more than she could chew this time

After getting the injured men to the infirmary, he called up his remaining squad members and sent them to guard the exits. He took two men for himself and headed for the area from which he knew Hostile 17 had escaped before. He reached the end of the long hall leading up to the tunnel entrance and pushed the heavy door closed. He gestured to the other men to take up positions on either side of the hall, while he placed himself in front of the door, gun at the ready.

Using his radio, he found that the small group of intruders was working its way from Maggie’s office toward his position. It was clear they were using Maggie as a hostage, and threatening to decapitate her if anyone got in the way. Riley knew the technicians they were passing were not going to interfere in any way that might get Maggie killed and his remaining men were too scattered around the facility to be of much help. He looked toward the open door at the far end of the hall and prepared himself for what was about to happen.

He was surprised when the first person to look out the door at him was Willow, and even more surprised when she waved her hand and their guns suddenly became so hot none of them could hold on to them.

He was shaking his burned hand and cursing when he saw William come out the door and begin walking toward him. A frown creased the big man’s brow. He was completely thrown that the first two people he saw were the ones he deemed the least dangerous. He looked back down at his blistered hand and wondered who else he might have underestimated.

He watched William remove his glasses and carefully place them in the pocket of what was clearly not his own shirt. Aside from having changed out of his bloody clothing, there was no sign that the man had just been shot at close range. Riley frowned again as the unassuming man continued to walk toward him. There was no sign of blood or any residual effects from the bullet that had ripped into his body just a short time ago.



“Your sudden courage is admirable, William, but I don’t care how strong you think you are, there’s no way you can fight the three of us. You’d best let your cousin handle this herself. If she can,” he added with a smirk.

There was no reply from the other man, just a gradual change in his demeanor as he strode down the hallway. From the clumsy, insecure wimpiness they were all used to, he slowly gained a grinning confidence that sent a chill through the three soldiers. He began rolling up the sleeves of his shirt as he moved down the hall, his stride becoming a predatory swagger. The closer he got, the less he resembled the bumbling William. With only a third of the way to go, there were gasps from the men on either side as they recognized Hostile 17. As he watched the now vamped-out Spike stalking toward him, Riley laughed and got ready for hand-to-hand combat with the chipped vampire.

“I guess now we know why William was so reluctant to fight for himself,” Riley said confidently. “Are you sure you don’t want to re-think this, Hostile 17?” he continued as the vampire approached. “You know how it’s going to end, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah, I know how it’s goin’ to end,” Spike agreed with a feral grin. “ ‘S goin’ to end with your blood in my throat and your balls in my hands.”

“Not likely,” the commando growled, rushing the vampire and throwing a hard right. Spike gave a shout of joy as his head snapped back and he immediately began to pepper the bigger man with short jabs, backing him up all the way to the heavy metal door. As the vampire continued to throw punches, seemingly enjoying the fight more than he was trying to end it quickly, Riley frowned and gasped out, “But you, you can’t…why…the chip…”

“Oh,” Spike paused and cocked his head. “Were you looking for this?” He reached in his pocket and took out a small silicone chip, holding it up so that the other man could see it. He heard the gasps from behind when Buffy and Giles realized what he was holding, but he never took his eyes off the man in front of him.

When Riley realized he was facing a fully functional vampire, a vampire that had every reason to be carrying a very large grudge, he shrank against the wall. He felt something warm going down his leg as his bladder accepted what his brain hadn’t yet. He was going to die. And if the look on the vampire’s face was any clue, it wasn’t going to be quick or easy.

Buffy had followed Spike into the hall, handing Maggie off to Giles to control with the thin line still around the woman’s throat. She watched with interest as he seemed to grow taller and more powerful with each step he took toward the soldiers that had tormented him.

She winced when she saw Spike’s head snap back with Riley’s first punch and moved forward to take up the slack when he collapsed in pain. She saw the flurry of retaliatory punches and frowned slightly when he didn’t seem to be feeling anything. When she saw his hand reach into his pocket and take out the chip, her blood ran cold.

She heard matching gasps from the three people behind her as the grinning vampire dropped the chip back into his pocket. Before she could think about what, if anything, she wanted to do about it, she saw the other two commandos sliding toward where Spike had gone back to fighting with Riley. They were each holding wooden stakes as they tried to get around behind the vampire, and without thinking Buffy leapt the last few remaining feet between herself and the combatants.

She turned to face the two soldiers, shaking her head and saying, “Ah, ah. This looks like a fair fight to me, boys. I don’t think you’re invited.”

She could feel Spike fighting behind her and had a brief flash of what an unbeatable team they would make if they were working together. Then she concentrated on proving to the still advancing men that she was serious about keeping them out of the fight.

It hadn’t occurred to either of the men that the broken comrades they had found on the floor of the lab were last seen heading for this very same small blond who was bound to a table and unconscious at the time. They’d watched, along with everyone else who wasn’t busy, as Maggie tested her for resistance to heat and cold, but everyone had lost interest when the testing moved on to the much less interesting, and fully clothed, truth serum questioning.

With that being all the testing completed at that point, except for the scuffle in the training room, they really had no idea who or what a Slayer was and what she could do. Moving confidently, they each approached her, stakes held at the ready if they needed them for weapons. Buffy let them get within arm’s reach before she jumped up and kicked them both in the face at the same time.

Even with bare feet, the heel of a Slayer’s foot was a pretty potent weapon, and they both dropped to the floor, stunned and in pain. Buffy casually picked up the stakes and put them in the waistband of her jeans as she turned to watch Spike and Riley.

There was no way to call what was happening a fight. Even with his enhancements, the big commando was no match for a fully vamped out, vengeful master vampire. Without ever touching the man with his fangs or claws, Spike had reduced him to a bleeding, crying specimen of humanity. He held the larger man up with one hand while he stood, head cocked to one side, contemplating his next move. Buffy spoke silently and sarcastically as she watched him ponder what kind of pain to inflict next.

(As much as I hate to interrupt your good time, we ARE actually trying to get out of this place. Do what you need to do and lets get going.)

(Do what I need to do? Does that mean I have permission to eat the stupid git?) His disbelief was obvious.

Buffy’s sigh was audible to everyone, even those who had no idea there was a conversation going on.

(I’d really rather you didn’t. Not while Giles and Willow are watching. I’m going to have enough trouble with them knowing that you CAN kill, without dealing with them seeing that you will.)

(Good point, love.)

Spike’s relief that Buffy did not seem bothered by the news that he could once again kill humans made him feel magnanimous and he dropped the mewling soldier on the floor.

“Ok, Scoobies, let’s go. Through here,” he said as he wrenched the heavy steel door open and held it for them.

Buffy went through first, quickly followed by Willow, Giles and a very reluctant Maggie Walsh.

“You’ve made your point,” she said as she tried to plant her feet. “I give you my word that I won’t send anyone after you right away if you leave me here. That’ll give you plenty of time to get out of our complex and away from the base.”

“And, you, of course, will just forget you ever saw us…”Giles scoffed, “as well as the fact that Buffy and Spike have incapacitated your entire squad of demon hunters…”

He shoved the woman through the door and into the dark tunnel. Behind him, Spike let the door begin to swing shut. Just before it closed completely, he reached around the edge and slashed a claw across Riley’s throat. His demon growled at the waste of good blood as it spurted onto the tile floor, but he just stepped away and let the door slam behind him.


“Alright, Slayer, let’s get out of this place.”

The tunnels were dimly lit with small bulbs every hundred feet or so and they were able to move quickly in the direction Spike indicated. The vampire soon moved up beside Buffy and they walked in the front of the group, shoulders brushing occasionally as the uneven ground threw them together.

(When were you going to tell me?)

Spike didn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about.

(When I needed to) he replied honestly.

(How long has it been out?) Suspicion and hurt were evident in her thoughts.

(A while.)

(Why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you trust me?)

His heart gave a leap at the direction of the conversation. He’d expected immediate anger and threats of staking.

(Didn’t think YOU’d trust ME, pet. Wanted to wait ‘til I’d had time to prove m’self to you. To show you I could control the demon when I needed to. That we didn’t have to go back to being enemies jus’ cause I could feed again.)

(If you start feeding again, we WILL go back to being enemies, Spike. I can’t let you go running around eating people!)

(Not even bad people, Slayer? I could stick to murderers, rapists, wankers like that that nobody’d miss. Or, how about if I don’t drain them? Maybe just take a little taste every once in a while…you know, jus’ to get the taste of pig’s blood out of my mouth.)

(You could do that without going after strangers)

He was puzzled for a few seconds until her barely visible blush and accelerated heartbeat made her meaning clear. Ignoring the startled people walking behind them, he stopped abruptly and turned her to face him.

(Are you sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’, Slayer?)

(My name’s Buffy. Why can’t you call me Buffy?)

(Don’ change the subject, love. I need to know what you’re sayin’)

(I’m not changing the subject. I need to know that I’m more to you than another Slayer to conquer. That you aren’t using this…whatever it is between us…just to get close enough to bite me whenever you want.)

(You’ve been inside me more than once, Buffy. Don’t tell me you don’t know what you mean to me.)

Oblivious to the staring people around them, who’d all been forced to stop when the two blond super beings stopped to carry on their obviously very private conversation, Buffy and Spike faced each other, his intense blue eyes boring into her suspicious green ones. The Slayer was the one to look away first, letting her eyes slid away and turning to go.

The vampire growled and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze again.

(I love you, Buffy Anne Summers. God help me, I love you with everything I have and am. If that’s not good enough for you…)

She looked back at him, feeling the truth of what he was saying flowing into her. She was suffused with such overwhelming gratitude for the adoration, lust and protectiveness that she felt from the vampire that she had to blink back tears.

(It’s good enough)

(Alright, then)

(Okay)

Their mutual grinning at each other was interrupted by the sound of Giles loudly clearing his throat as he pointed out the obvious.

“Whatever you two find so important that you must stop our escape to discuss it - quite rudely, I might add – it is going to have to wait. We need to get out of here and decide what we are going to do about this harridan I am forced to walk with.”

The laughter from the Slayer and her vampire echoed off the walls as they turned and led the way toward safety. Shaking his head at them, Giles roughly shoved the woman in front of him and set off after the still laughing pair.





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