A/N 2: My grateful thanks to the generous Mandi (vampkiss) for the gorgeous banner. I love it to bits and hope you do to.
A/N 3: Thank you to all who left reviews to the first chapter. I was truly amazed. Will try to answer all feedback.
At the back of the large hangar was a cage. Nothing unusual in that as the hangar was full of cages, each one containing a chipped vampire waiting for the auction - about two hundred in all. This cage held a peculiarity, a vampire whose number was in two digits – seventeen. The longest surviving chipped vampire, clocking up a whole four years. And if he didn’t get sold today he would be passing his title on at sunrise tomorrow. He didn’t know whether he cared or not.
He sat at the back of his cage, his arms around his legs and head resting on his knees. The once bleached hair was gone, long gone, replaced by a recently shorn scalp only just beginning to show a covering of brownish hair. It made his face look even more angular and sharp than it had before, but that wasn’t something he’d cared about in a long while now, his looks. He was clothed in a pair of grey cotton drawstring pants, as was every vampire, a grey tunic on top. Two hours ago he’d been naked, but as preparations for the auction got into full swing all the vampires had been hosed down and given clothes once they were dry.
The cages were roughly grouped in order of the skills possessed by its occupant. There were bodyguards, scholars, courtesans and personal aides. There were even chefs and oddly, gardeners. His cage stood alone, belonging to no group. Although he’d been used for many things, he’d proven unsatisfactory in each and every one, which was why this was his last chance. Nine different masters in less than four years didn’t look good and was creating a lack of confidence in the benefit of chipped vampires. If he didn’t sell today he’d be taken out and left for the sunrise.
He’d been waiting for the auction for nearly two weeks. Two weeks in stinking conditions shut into a cage with no comfort, naked and fed stagnant blood every other day. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt well-fed, or when he’d been comfortable. He tried not to remember the last time he’d been happy, but he never could totally drive it from his thoughts. It had been the last occasion that he’d watched the Slayer, mouthing threats and looking forward to the dance. That was before he’d been caught and neutered, when pleasure was still a possibility and all humans were Happy Meals on legs.
And now the next humiliation was fast approaching. One group of vampires got a little extra attention to enhance their saleability – the whores. Because he’d been used in that way the auctioneers were hedging their bets and preparing him in the same way as the rest of the males. Just in case someone would want to take away a not overly tall, skinny, almost hairless vampire whose back and chest were covered in unhealed lash marks, and install them in an establishment that catered for deviant sex. Or maybe he’d be taken for private use. Not likely.
Two men approached Spike’s cage. Both were well-built and carried cattle prods, amongst other things. Doug and Josh had worked at the centre since the beginning. The small vampire in the cage before them was almost as much a part of the fixtures and fittings as they were. For the last two years they’d held a sweepstake on how long it would be before Seventeen found himself back up for auction, and the gap between visits had become increasingly shorter. In a strange way they respected the vampire who refused to follow the rules, no matter what was done to tame him.
“You know the drill, Seventeen.” Doug kicked the side of the cage to get the vampire’s attention. He continued when Seventeen lifted his head and regarded him with a baleful glare.
“Let’s see what we can do to get you out of here in one piece, eh?”
Without a word, Spike gracefully rose and sauntered to the bars of the cage, leaning the length of his body lightly against them and raising his arms out to the sides. Doug grabbed one wrist and slipped a tie around it, attached the tie to the nearest bar and made fast. Moving to the other arm he repeated his actions, leaving Seventeen restrained. Picking up a collar, he motioned for Seventeen to bring his neck a little nearer so that it could be attached. Doug wasn’t surprised when the vampire complied; it’d been a few years since they’d had any trouble with him at this stage in the proceedings. The next was the bit that could be a little trickier.
Josh pulled on a pair of surgical gloves, reached down in between the bars and untied the drawstring on the vampire’s pants, pulling them down with a quick tug. He absently admired the cock and balls in front of him before returning to his task. Slicking the gloves with a special lube, he reached in again and pumped the vampire’s cock until he achieved the reaction he wanted. That done he slipped a black leather cock ring into place and tightened it sharply to a background hiss from Seventeen.
Having his body treated like a lump of meat was still the hardest thing for Spike to accept since he’d been reduced to this form of slavery. It galled him that he couldn’t tell them to just fuck off and leave him alone, almost as much as not being able to defend himself from the numerous beatings and other torments. If they were prepping him in this way he’d soon be stripped from the small comfort of clothing – whores were paraded naked in front of their prospective new masters. So it came as something of a surprise when Doug entered his cage and pulled up his pants again.
“Don’t get mad, we’ve got a VIP here today. They’ve even put a screen around the pleasure vamps to stop them from sullying her eyes with all their nakedness.” Doug busied himself with getting the cuffs and manacles attached. “She’s after a bodyguard and doesn’t need to get a gawk at all that cold flesh. Doubt you’ll even see her, pretty little thing she is too from the looks of her security clearance.”
The ties were stripped from Spike’s wrists and he automatically held them behind his back as the chains were attached. They fell from the cuffs to the manacles on his ankles, making it difficult to walk and impossible to run. Another chain, this time a leash, was fixed to the collar, leaving only one piece of equipment to be used.
“The boss isn’t too happy about what happened last time you were here so we’ve got to put this on too.” Spike glanced down at the metal bit gag in the man’s hands, only too aware of the reason it was there. ‘Can’t even call the tossers a load of wankers now without them getting all shirty.’ Closing his eyes in resignation he opened his mouth and the gag was tightly fixed in place, effectively silencing him - even if he’d been allowed to speak.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the hangar changed. A breeze of agitation flowed through the vampires in the cages nearest the hangar entrance, passing like wildfire throughout the building. At the back of the hangar the vampire and two men stilled and looked for the cause, but their view was blocked by the group of cages in front where normally docile vampires were now agitatedly pacing, as much as they could in their restricted space.
“Josh, go and see what’s what. This ain’t normal,” Doug directed his workmate. With a shrug, Josh disappeared only to return a few minutes later.
“It’s the VIP. Seems to have caused a bit of a stir down there. Mack’s calming them down now.” It was the most Spike had ever heard Josh utter.
Doug manoeuvred Spike to the front of his cage and pushed him down into the regulation kneeling position. “Do yourself a favour, Seventeen. Try to get one of them to take you on. Don’t really fancy having to sweep up your dust tomorrow.” He cuffed the vampire on the head without force before leaving the cage and locking it. ‘Time to see what all the fuss was about.’
***
Buffy was glad, not for the first time, that she had invested in the conversion of the basement. Contacts in construction, supplied by Xander, had carried out the project to a high standard leaving her with a training area, enclosed laundry room and a small shower room. The shower room had been a bit of an indulgence but Buffy had justified it to herself by thinking of the amount of time she saved not having to wipe up shed mud, dust and demon goo through the rest of the house.
It was also absolute bliss to step straight under the cleansing warmth of the shower when a training session was complete. Buffy stepped out of the shower, quickly towelled herself off and pulled on today’s ensemble: a pair of comfortable black leather pants, a white tank top and pair of low-heeled but fashionable black boots. By the time she’d dressed the extractor fan in the shower room had cleared the mirror enough for her to tidy her hair and pull it into a ponytail – not something she normally bothered with unless she was patrolling. Today’s excursion was business and that was the look she was going for, business-like. A touch of mascara, a hint of gloss and a small spray of Acqua di Gio and she had all the finishing touches. Which was just as well as Tara had just entered the house.
Buffy looked at the most recent additions to her basement. A sturdy iron framed bed had been placed against a wall, right next to the newly mounted wall brackets and chains. She’d chosen a dark blue set of linen for the bed and recycled a couple of her pillows, using the excuse to purchase some extra fluffy new ones for her own bed. Satisfied, she turned and bounded up the stairs to greet Tara.
“Hi, Tara.” Buffy shared a hug with her friend. “Just got to grab a couple of things then I’m good to go.” She picked up and shrugged on her black leather duster before moving into the living room and stuffing a couple of stakes into its deep pockets, pushing another into the clip at the back of her pants and picking up a handful of documentation from the coffee table.
Tara had followed her and thought, not for the first time, how small Buffy looked now that she rarely wore high heels. It was difficult to remember sometimes that the blonde haired woman in front of her was actually a super strong superhero. “Willow says hi and hopes you find what you need.”
Buffy looked at Tara, a small smile tugging at her lips. “She’s not the only one. Better hit the road if we’re gonna be on time. Oh, did you remember the spell stuff?” Buffy had readily agreed with Tara that they were likely going to feel in need of some uplifting by the time they returned.
“Goddess!” Tara pulled a small sack from her coat pocket and moved to place it on the kitchen island. “I’m glad you reminded me. Really don’t want to contaminate the ingredients.”
Smiling, Buffy pulled open the front door and grabbed her keys, wallet, a car rug and a flask she’d left by the door earlier. At Tara’s questioning look at the rug, Buffy explained; “Just a precaution in case we get delayed coming back. So do not want crispy vampire in the back of your car.”
It was about two hours before sunset when they reached the complex. The instructions Buffy had been sent were easy to follow, even if finding the right dirt track proved a little harder. Quite a number of vehicles were parked in front of the dominating building - a large inconspicuous-looking hangar.
Tara parked the car in a space between two shiny limousines and as the two young women climbed from the car they found themselves approached by a grey haired man in a dark suit.
“Miss Summers?” He looked at Tara and Buffy in turn. When Buffy nodded, he smiled and introduced himself. “Mike Sanders. I’ll be running the auction later. Did you get the literature I sent you?”
“Yes, thank you.” Buffy wasn’t about to tell him that she’d only skimmed through it once.
“This is a friend of mine, Tara Maclay.”
Tara smiled and dipped her head. “Hi.”
“Well, welcome to you both.” Mike turned and motioned for them to accompany him in the direction of the hangar. “I thought I’d meet you and explain the setup as you haven’t attended one of our events before. The previewing is just about to start. This gives you an opportunity to actually view the lots. I understand that you are only interested in a bodyguard, is that correct?” At Buffy’s nod he continued. “The lots are divided into groups of expertise. They are viewed and sold in those same groups. At the end of the auction there is a small miscellaneous section. This has lots that can fit into more than one group.”
They had almost reached the hangar doors when Buffy’s skin started crawling and her hand itched to pull out one of her hidden stakes. Tara glanced at her in concern as she halted just short of the entrance.
“Is there something wrong, Miss Summers?” Mike queried. He had no idea why the young lady frozen before him was so important, but instructions had been received from the highest level that this client’s every need was to be pandered to. She was to be accompanied through every step of the auction and her happiness with an end purchase had to be guaranteed. Mike felt the pressure and prayed that he wasn’t going to be facing any difficulty already.
She hadn’t been prepared for the assault on her senses. Being so close to so many vampires, all at once and in a confined space, was too much. Buffy felt an urge to growl. ‘OK. So not the cool thing to do. But, fuck, if I can sense them then…” The rest of her thought was cut short when a howl sounded from inside the hangar.
“How many?” Buffy’s voice came out a bit higher than usual. She swallowed and tried again. “How many vampires are in there?”
“Two hundred and three. Is that a problem?” Mike was growing concerned.
Buffy looked at Tara. Her friend’s face showed her quick understanding of Buffy’s problem. It was probably not the best idea in the world to let the Slayer loose in a hangar full of vamps. Particularly ones that had already sensed her. That way lay mayhem and madness.
“I can’t go in there. Any suggestions?” Buffy looked hopefully at Tara. ‘I knew this was a stupid idea. What the hell was I thinking? That I’d get a break at last? That something would actually go right in my life? Help me, Tara.’
As if she’d read Buffy’s thoughts, Tara stood a little straighter and looked over at Mike. “I take it that you have cameras in there?” When Mike had confirmed this, Tara presented her solution. “Buffy has a thing about being in the presence of so many vampires. Perhaps she could view the actual lots through your monitors, and I could go in there on her behalf?”
Mike nearly laughed with relief. “Oh, you had me worried there for a moment. I was just about to explain that we have remote viewing facilities. Many clients have no wish to enter the hangar. The facilities in there are, of necessity, quite primitive. We have bios on all the lots that can be played in privacy.” With a friendly smile Mike motioned them to the right but neither girl moved. “Is there a problem?” Mike’s smile started to become strained.
Buffy fixed him with a look she frequently borrowed from Willow – the resolve face. “Tara still needs to go into the hangar. I’d like her to be escorted by someone with a walkie talkie so that I can direct her to the lots I’d like her to look at.” She was pleasantly surprised at the instant capitulation.
“No problem at all. If you’ll excuse me a moment, I’ll just arrange for the Hangar Manager to escort Miss Maclay before I show you our private facilities.” Mike executed a small bow before striding into the hangar to make the arrangements.
“Are you okay with this, Tara?” Buffy grabbed Tara’s hands in her own. “We can call it off and just look at their stuff if you don’t want to go in there.” Buffy gave a derisive laugh. “I mean, look at me. The Slayer, and I can’t even go in there.”
Tara pushed away her own doubts and steeled herself to enter the lion’s den. “Just don’t leave me in there too long, Buffy. I can feel the desolation from here.” When Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow she elaborated. “They may be demons, but they have feelings too you know.”
With the exception of Angel - and he had a soul--Buffy didn’t think about her prey as having feelings; they were there to be slain, end of story. But she trusted Tara to be more sensitive to these aspects of the underworld in which Buffy existed. It was also something she would need to take into consideration if they were successful in this mission - if she did leave here with a pet vamp in tow.
“How about I look through the tapes or whatever and you only go in when there’s something for you to look at? Would that be easier?” Tara’s relieved smile lifted some of Buffy’s guilt at leaving this task to her. “Oh, looks like Mike’s found his pal.”
Mike was approaching them with a tall man who he introduced as Doug. Once Buffy had told him of their plan of action, she was ushered away to an adjoining building and into a room containing banks of monitors, each one showing different views inside the hangar. Mike swiftly dislodged a couple of the personnel watching the screens to make room for Buffy and himself, setting up a laptop in front of them. The laptop contained records of all the available vampires and Buffy set to browsing through them.
Most of the lots were dismissed purely on looks and instinct. They looked too much like the mindless fledglings she dusted on a regular basis and Buffy was searching for something more. She wanted someone who at least looked, or acted, as though they could operate on instinct and initiative in a sticky situation. Someone who would step into the breach if the need arose.
Buffy absently listened to Mike’s running commentary on the assets of each lot, glancing between the computer screen and the live monitors to see how they compared. It was difficult to make any decision from looking at the caged vampires; they were all in the same position, kneeling with their eyes downcast as a few people wandered between the cages inspecting them.
Having eliminated most on the grounds of being too big, too small, too ugly, too thuggish, too not what she was looking for, Buffy eventually selected two from the seventy or so that she’d looked at. It was hard to feel any enthusiasm for either of her choices though, both male. They were just the best of an uninspiring bunch. ‘This isn’t going to work. We could have saved ourselves the trouble and stayed in Sunnyhell for all the good this is gonna do.’ Buffy sighed in exasperation, before indicating to Mike that she’d like Tara to look at her selections.
Buffy watched the live feeds intently as Tara entered the hangar, closely escorted by Doug. It wasn’t hard to see Tara’s flinch as she stepped into the well-lit building, watch as she made an effort to pull herself together and let Doug guide her to the cages. Within seconds of reaching the first, Tara recoiled and shook her head. A minute or so later, the gesture was repeated in front of the second cage. Buffy sank back into her seat and turned to Mike.
“I’m afraid we’ve wasted your time. If this is all you’ve got then we’d better be going,” Buffy said, starting to rise from her seat.
Panicking at the fallout that would be coming his way if this girl left here as an unsatisfied customer, Mike recalled the handful of lots that were multi-skilled. “Miss Summers, we do have a few more. There are the miscellaneous lots, those with more than one skill, which you haven’t looked at yet. Perhaps you’d like to go through them. I really don’t want you to go away empty handed without exploring all options.” Mike held his breath until the blonde girl nodded hesitantly and settled once more.
It was a small list, only five with the bodyguard skills she required. Mike was just beginning to feel his anxiety levels rising again after she discarded the first four, when he felt her tense next to him.
“This one.” Buffy fought to keep her voice steady as she stared at the laptop. ‘It couldn’t be…could it?’ There, on the screen, was a face she hadn’t seen in four years. Spike. William the Bloody. Slayer of Slayers. And there he was on the monitor, kneeling at the front of his cage, shifting and glancing around.
He looked different. Gone was the platinum blond hair and trademark black. Instead, he was clothed the same as the other vampires she’d seen and his hair was darker and shorn close to his head. But there was no mistaking the cheekbones and lean, handsome face, even though it lacked the glaring animation she remembered so well.
Mike was in a quandary. He had been instructed to ensure that his VIP left here happy with her purchase and the only one that had caught her eye was Seventeen. The one lot that he had been sure would be left behind, unsold and destined to become dust as the first failure of the chip. With mixed feelings he directed Doug to take his charge to the back of the hangar and Seventeen.
Tara wanted to get away from this awful place as soon as possible. The levels of misery, anger and despair that were assaulting her senses had started an empathic headache behind her eyes. The two auras that she’d looked at so far had been coiling streams of darkness and hatred, ensuring that she would do all in her power to dissuade Buffy from taking either of them away from this place and into her home. She had just started to fidget in her desire to escape when Doug touched her arm and guided her even deeper into the hangar.
Keeping her eyes down to avoid looking at the cages they passed, Tara only looked up when they halted about as far back as it was possible for them to go. When she glanced up Tara found herself looking into a pair of startlingly blue eyes. Automatically she searched his aura. Tara found the same darkness there as she’d found in the others, but it was held in check, controlled. She could also sense other qualities, stifled and hidden in the depths. With a shy smile, she nodded at the creature before her and was surprised when he tilted his head to one side and smiled back at her with his eyes, his lips moving upwards around the gag. Blushing, she turned to Doug and nodded. Without a word, Doug escorted a relieved Tara from the hangar.
Buffy leant back in her chair and sorted through her spinning thoughts. ‘Oh my God. Tara just gave Spike the nod. What do I do now?’ She was still thinking, blocking out whatever Mike was saying, when Tara joined them. Buffy desperately wanted to talk to Tara privately.
“What happens now?” Buffy interrupted Mike’s babbling.
“Ah, well. The auction will be starting shortly. The lot you have expressed an interest in will be up in,” Mike glanced at his watch, “about an hour or so. If you like, I can take you to the refreshment area and arrange for you to be collected in good time for the bidding.” Not that Mike thought there’d be much other interest in the often returned vampire. “I’ll leave you his file to study and please feel free to ask any questions. One of my staff will be available to you at all times.”
Seated in a discreet and dimly lit booth, a buffet selection of food and drink before them, the young women were left alone. Although the hall they found themselves in held a large number of other people, the dim lighting and almost enclosed booths ensured a certain amount of anonymity that Buffy appreciated; it wasn’t like she wanted anyone to see her in this place.
Tara relaxed with a sigh and started nibbling at the food, thankful that the headache had started to abate the moment she left the hangar. The whole experience so far had left her feeling wrung out and looking forward to returning to her home and the cosy bed she shared with Willow. There would be some super snuggling going on later that night if she had any say in it.
Glancing over to Buffy she wasn’t surprised to see her looking pensive. “The first two were awful, Buffy. But the last one really had great potential, especially compared to the others.”
Buffy startled her by starting to laugh. She tapped the unopened file on the table before replying; “Seventeen. Also known as Spike, William the Bloody, Slayer of Slayers.”
“Oh, Goddess,” Tara gasped, recalling the name from Willow’s frequent recounting of tales before her time with the Scoobies. “The one who kidnapped Willow? Threatened her with a broken bottle?”
“Oh, yeah. That’d be him. Then he was a peroxide pain in my butt. A regular Sunnydale feature until, well, I guess now I know what happened to him.” Buffy had stopped laughing but was now smiling in reminiscence of satisfying fights from long ago. ‘Those were the good days, even though I didn’t know it then. We were all together in the fight, mom was still alive and things hadn’t fallen apart. Good times.’
“You really surprised me when you nodded. So how was he different?” Buffy felt nervous but really wanted to hear Tara’s answer.
“Well, it’s difficult to say. The others were just totally full of darkness, just full of hate and anger. And he has that too, you know?” At Buffy’s nod, Tara continued. “But there was so much more to him than the others. He has control of his demon, and intelligence. He was the only one to look at me, and he smiled.” Tara smiled at the recollection. “I really think that with the correct incentive he could be just what you’re looking for. But he would need to be handled carefully, especially given your history together.”
Buffy sighed. That was just it. They did have a history, and not an especially friendly one. He’d tried to kill her, he’d helped her save the world, and then he’d gone back to trying to kill her. ‘Well, after that spectacular fiasco when he’d sweet-talked mom and kidnapped Willow and Xander in his forlorn efforts to regain Dru.’
At least they knew each other, if only as vampire and Slayer. Perhaps that gave her something to work on. And she had to admit, if only to herself, that seeing his familiar face had stirred something she’d thought long dead – interest and excitement. Buffy remembered the way they used to trade insults before, during and after their tussles. ‘How long has it been since I’ve even bothered to toss out a pun to the stupid vamps in Sunnydale?’ She really couldn’t recall. It somehow seemed too much effort to banter these days.
Nowadays it was all patrol, slay, sleep. The fun in the fight had long since disappeared. But fighting Spike had always been fun, even at its deadliest. Perhaps it would be just as good to have him fighting beside her. Buffy wondered what his reaction would be when that proposition was put to him. Smirking to herself, she imagined the string of verbal abuse she’d likely receive. ‘Oh, yeah. This could be fun.’
“Buffy?” Tara caught her attention, a troubled expression on her face. “What do you really think about chipped vampires? Do you think it’s a good thing?”
“Really? Hell, no. Vampires should be staked, not turned into slaves. Guess that makes me a hypocrite, huh?” Buffy gave Tara a troubled look of her own. “If things were different I wouldn’t be caught dead within a hundred miles of this place, but…”
Tara reached over and squeezed Buffy’s hand. “You aren’t like the rest, Buffy. You wouldn’t torture him, would you?”
Buffy gave a small laugh. “Nope, no torture girl, that’s me. Might stake him though, he really is annoying at times, like most of the time.” She looked down at the still unopened file in front of her and, making a decision, pushed it away. Anything that had happened over the last four years he could tell her himself, she didn’t need to read about it.
A/N: Feedback most welcome. More next Monday.