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Author's Chapter Notes:
I"m going away on a short, short holiday. I hope to post chapter 3 soon.

Thanks.
THE BEST REVENGE



Summary: Rupert Giles and Riley Finn give Elizabeth a tempting offer, although she has to be nudged a bit to take them up on it.

Dawn is introduced, kind of, in this chapter and Elizabeth feels an immediate connection to the young girl.




Chapter 2: ‘Getting Over’


“I don’t understand,” Elizabeth shook her head in confusion. She felt like she was in a daze, kind of, even though cute Mr. Finn led her to a vacant chair and guided her to sit down on it.

“What…what kind of revenge? How?” Liz asked, still a bit hazy from all of this.

“You see Miss Summers,” Giles interjected before he shooed Finn off to the corner of Snyder’s office. “We, well, we and our fellow Los Angeles comrades in arms, so to speak,” he continued in a most serious tone.

“None of us ever believed that it was you, Elizabeth; can I call you Elizabeth?” Rupert asked, offering Liz a warm, gentle smile.

“Sure,” Liz stammered in reply, her green eyes zeroed in on Chief Giles’ handsome face.

“Elizabeth, everyone involved knew from the start that it was not you but Liam, or Angel,” Rupert snorted O’Connor’s paradox of a nickname.

Liam O’Connor was anything but an angel and everyone in this room knew it; including the beautiful young woman sitting before him. Rupert also had pretty much figured out why Elizabeth Summers had taken the fall for O’Connor, even if he did not agree with her about it.

“It ‘was’ Angel, was it not that embezzled the funds from 1st National Bank, Miss Summers?” Rupert’s disapproving scowl alerted Elizabeth to the fact that the jig was up so to speak.

“Well, uhm,” she began with a cautious glance at creepy old Snyder.

“Answer Mr. Giles truthfully Elizabeth,” Snyder admonished the young woman. “It’ll serve you no good to…..”

“Please, Warden Snyder,” Giles interrupted the weasel little warden with a polite cough. “Let Sgt. Finn and I handle this?”

Rupert nodded at his younger assistant who took the opportunity to introduce himself, properly to Elizabeth.


“My given name is Riley, Miss Summers,” Finn stammered almost shyly as he took Liz’s tiny hand in his large one.

Liz took a kind of comfort in this Riley Finn’s huge, strong hand so she rewarded the big man with a coy smile.

“Call me Elizabeth,” she blurted out, quite unexpectedly. Then she did something even more unexpected for her; she blushed profusely and looked away from Sgt. Riley Finn.

“Elizabeth then,” Riley murmured and smiled smugly at creepy Warden Snyder. “If Chief Giles will allow me,” he continued, “I’ll try and explain what we would like you to do.”

“Go on then Finn,” Giles gave Riley his go ahead, even though he seemed to sigh wearily as he did.

“Elizabeth,” Riley began in a somewhat condescending tone. “We know that you took the blame for O’Connor’s transgressions; his and Ethan Rayne’s sins.”

Riley Finn mumbled the last few words, his dark countenance was quite dubious as it scanned Elizabeth Summers .

“We’re not blaming you, of course Elizabeth,” Riley quickly assured the nervous young woman. “You were young; naïve and…..”

“Stupid?” Liz inquired with a raised fair brow. It was time for honesty now and Liz was ready to admit to anything at this point.

“Well, I was going to say foolishly loyal to the man that gave you a new start in life, Elizabeth,” Riley faltered a bit at the end of his speech. Liz had to hide the smirk that graced her mouth.

“Well, Angel certainly did that,” she giggled despite herself. “I mean he did rope me in and show me the better life. In fact,” she continued with just a smidge of resentment, “he bought me my first pair of designer shoes. Jimmy Cho’s they were and a ton of Vera Wang gowns to go with.”

“Elizabeth,” Giles interjected gently, “I’m going to cut to the chase here and just say it. We need your help, now.”

“My help?” Liz asked skeptically. “What can I do,” she muttered under her breath. That is, what little breath she could manage at this point.

‘Oh shit, I think I’m having an anxiety attack,’ Liz realized as she tried to gain control of her jumpy nerves and racing heart.

“Please calm down Elizabeth,” Rupert purred soothingly. “We don’t want to upset you; just help you and in the interim, help ourselves.”

“There it is,” Liz spat in a tone thick with venom. “This is ‘the catch‘ in the plan, right? I scratch your back; you scratch mine.?” She was suddenly very angry with this good looking pair and wished for nothing more then to return to her ‘room’ and talk it out with Faith.

“Elizabeth,” Riley began carefully.

“Just go back to calling me Miss Summers, okay?” Liz spat at the tall lumbering man who suddenly didn’t seem all that good looking at all.

“Miss Summers please listen to us,” Rupert pleaded gently. “I know this is overwhelming to you but…..”

“You don’t know shit!” Elizabeth hissed as she tried to rise from her chair.

“I’m warning you Summers,” Snyder hissed, beckoning Sam back into the room.

“Maybe you should take Miss Summers to solitary, Samantha and…..” Snyder was cut off by Giles.

“No!” The Brit proclaimed with vehemence. “We need Miss Summers; Dawn Mcguire needs her,” he exclaimed; his emotions nearly out of control.

“Dawn Mcguire? Who the hell is Dawn Mcguire,” Buffy screeched.

“A little girl who needs your help Elizabeth,” Rupert replied, much more calmly then seconds before. “Please, just listen to us and try to see the bigger picture here. If you do; I promise you’ll have a chance at many things. A chance to redeem yourself; get revenge on those who harmed you and yes, even help a young girl, a child whose life has just begun and who needs you. Miss Summers?”

“Oh go ahead,” Elizabeth grumbled impatiently. She flopped back down on the chair and stared at the Brit with her angry green eyes.

“This is Dawn Mcguire,” Rupert whispered almost reverently as he held out a 5 x 7 snapshot to Elizabeth.

She took it, somewhat reluctantly and peered at the young girl in the picture.

Liz scanned the snapshot casually as she took in the photo of the young girl, Dawn. Now, Liz saw nothing too very special about the kid in the picture. This Dawn had long, dark brown hair, Liz noted and appeared to be at that awkward stage in life, for girls that is.

A slight gap between her two front teeth gave an even more gawky appearance to the girl. Even though this Dawn grinned widely in the snapshot, Liz could detect a sadness in the girl’s bright blue eyes. It reminded her of herself when she was this age and Liz felt a sudden vice-like, albeit phantom grip at her throat.

“What’s this rug rat have to do with anything?” Elizabeth asked non-pulsed, or at least she tried to seem that way. Her heart was still racing and the palms of her hands felt hot and damp.

“Her parents, Dawn’s parents,” Rupert began quietly, “they were found in their Sunnydale home; executed, massacred really. Them and Dawn’s older brother, Danny. He was ten, just last month the records show,” the older man’s sentence trailed off, his blue eyes seemed suddenly ancient and sad to Liz.

“Her family is dead? Why?” Elizabeth gasped in horror.


Giles looked away from the distressed young woman; deciding instantly not to show her the photos of Dawn’s massacred family. If he had even considered it before, he knew now that he could not do it. It probably would not even be necessary for that matter.

“A drug situation,” Riley mumbled, very low and soft and Liz got the feeling sympathy was a strange emotion for him. Riley’s voice was usually deep and loud, but now it was almost soft, almost mild.

“What drug situation,” Elizabeth asked, again suddenly suspicious.

“Dawn’s parents, Ian and Eve were mixed up with Quentin Travers’ organization,” Giles offered meekly. He could not bring himself to look Elizabeth in her green eyes.

“Travers!” Liz hissed in disgust.

Quentin Travers was the head honcho; the ‘big man’ and the guy that ran the main organization in Los Angeles. If there were drugs; guns or prostitution in the mix? Quentin Travers was the main man. He was Ethan Rayne’s big boss; therefore Angel’s employer also.

“It would have to be drugs, if that two-bit cock sucking dick head Travers is mixed up in this,” Liz spat angrily.

“Elizabeth!” Snyder screeched in horror as he nearly leapt up from his chair again.

“I won’t have you using your gutter talk in this office! You’ll do a week in solitary for that and if you…..”

Giles interjected with a polite cough:

“It’s alright Warden Snyder,” the older man assured the little weasel, Snyder, “Finn and I have certainly heard such language before and Miss Summers does have a right to be so vindictive, doesn’t she?“

He eyed the little blond; sizing her up even as he did so. Rupert knew about Elizabeth’s upbringing; her own personal hell of a childhood.

“It’s always ‘drugs’ in some way,” Liz muttered to herself more then anyone. A vision of her dead mother’s face appeared in her mind.

Joyce Summers, as Elizabeth remembered her best, had been a down to earth, lovely young woman with a warm smile and gleam in her blue eyes. Of course that was when Liz was about five or six, then something tragic had happened in the Summers’ world and everything went to hell in a hand basket after that.

For some reason, one that Elizabeth had no clue about, her mother had taken a liking to illicit drugs. Of course Liz had no idea when Joyce became enamored with the crack pipe, but she certainly did do just that.

Hank Summers, Liz’s so called father (or sperm donor as she liked to think of him) had eagerly supplied his wife with everything or anything she desired. Who could know why he did it, but he had. In a manner of a few years, Joyce Summers had gone from an earthy, seemingly contented housewife to a desperate, haunted woman. Hank was a downright loser; barely able to earn a paycheck and the Summers’ house became a living hell on earth.

Once, Joyce was a happy homemaker, contented to bake wonderful week night casseroles. After her spiral into the drug world, she had turned into a human horror; someone who rarely remembered to manage fast food for Liz’s meals.

Finally, in what Liz suspected was her mother’s last act of desperation; Joyce overdosed on Quaaludes and died by her own hand. After that, Hank Summers disappeared completely and Liz never saw or heard from him again.


Elizabeth shook her golden head and cleared the unhappy images from her troubled mind.

It was then that she realized just what this Rupert Giles and Finn were trying to say.

“Are you saying that Angel, my Angel actually had a part in murdering this little girl’s family!” Liz nearly in disbelief.

“I mean Angel is an major league prick at times and I wouldn’t trust him with a puppy, but murder? A family and children? No way,” she hissed vehemently before any of the men could reply.

“The girl, Dawn? Where is she? Did they kill her….” Liz managed to choke out.

“No, we don’t believe so,” Rupert quickly assured her. “We can’t find Dawn, at this time,” he rambled, his sentence finally trailing off to nothingness.

“Only the parents and the boy‘s body were at the scene,” Riley added sullenly.

“Only?” Liz whispered in horror as she scanned Dawn’s picture once again.

“Isn’t it enough that the poor kid’s family was massacred and she’s missing,” she added with a snort.

“As for Angel? I don’t believe it for a minute! He would not murder this little girl; her brother or her parents!”

Liz flopped back in her chair and folded her arms across her ample chest. If looks could kill, Giles and Finn would be dead by now. Along with that weasel Warden Snyder.

“We don’t believe that O’Connor was actually at the scene Elizabeth,” Rupert offered rather meekly.

“It’s just…..” the older man looked to his younger companion to step up and take over again.

“We’re pretty sure that O’Connor wasn’t at the murder scene, Eli…Miss Summers,” Riley continued sheepishly.

“We ‘are’ certain that Ethan Rayne was there,” he added with a frown. “That little Dawn may have witnessed the whole ugly thing and…..”

“Oh Rayne would have to be,” Liz interjected angrily. “This is just the horrible, sadistic kind of thing he would be involved with!”

“It’s just that we do believe that Dawn Summers is still alive and well….” Finn glanced at Rupert who gave him a nod to go on.

“We believe that Angel O’Connor is keeping Dawn Summers at his mansion, in LA,” Riley blurted out, the words nearly running together. “Keeping the girl hidden, or hiding her perhaps,” he added mumbled. “Maybe even to keep the child safe,” he continued weakly.

“To keep her safe? Or keep her hidden so she can’t testify against that fucking monster, Ethan Rayne?” Liz growled.

“Oh, don’t try and sugarcoat this,” she continued in a snarl. “Angel is weak where Rayne is concerned. My own boyfriend and he lets ‘me’ take the fall so Rayne and him are safe!”

“We’re doomed in prison, baby. Do you know how many enemies me and old Ethan have in there Lizzy? That’s what Angel kept blabbering on about,” the venom in her tone was nasty to say the least.

“Ethan and me won’t last a day, lass, he went on and on. You owe me Liz. I took you in; bought you your first pair of designer shoes and…” Liz continued on and on, mimicking Angel’s slight brogue as she ticked off the reasons her own lover had thrown her to the wolves.

“Miss Summers, please,” Giles murmured softly before coming to stand in front of her chair. “We need your help in getting over on Angel O’Connor and his master, Rayne. If we could persuade you to…..”

“To what?” Elizabeth asked in exasperation. “I can’t very well do damn much now can I? Locked up in here and…..”

“That’s one of the perks if you help us, Miss Summers,” Riley offered smugly. “You’ll be out of this place by tomorrow…if you agree to aid us that is.”


“So, exactly what do you want me to do?” Liz directed her question to Mr. Giles instead of the good looking boy scout, Riley.

“I will cut to the chase Miss Summers,” Rupert replied in a quiet tone.

“Call me Elizabeth,” Liz countered with a saucy little grin.

“Elizabeth, we want you to contact Angel and ask him to help you acclimate to the outside world again,” Rupert continued in a cautious manner.

“That’s going to be a bit awkward, don’t you think?” Liz chuckled in response. “I mean, it’s common knowledge that my ex-significant other has moved on without me. I finally figured out why he quit coming to see me,” she continued in an unusually casual manner.

“You know, Cordelia Chase, Travers’ beloved little niece? Last I heard, my ex was shacking up with her and…..” Liz began to giggle for some reason, which threw all three of the men in the room for a moment or two. Only Samantha, the guard seemed to find the situation as equally amusing as Liz seemed to.

“Yes, well that may be true,” Rupert interjected quickly, “however, Mr. O’Connor still possesses a certain amount of chivalry and sense of obligation. He will no doubt be more then happy to accommodate you, Elizabeth, if you were to be released early from Sunnydale. I mean if you were to call him; explain you’ve been given a reprieve of sorts and…..”

The older man smiled benevolently at Elizabeth who looked at the Brit as if he’d lost his mind.

“Call him! Why, I mean how could I? Do you think that Angel has even given me a second thought since Cordy slipped in and…..” she blustered in disbelief.

“I am only saying that Mr. O’Connor has a skewed sense of loyalty, Elizabeth,” Rupert replied evenly. “If you were to contact him, say immediately and ask him for some ‘help’ as it were. Perhaps a place to stay for a while until you get your bearings. I think we will all find that Angel will be most helpful, if ‘you’ persuade him to be,” he finished with another wry smile.

“If you think I’m going to sleep with Angel,” Liz sputtered, stunned by the nerve of these guys. “Think again Chief. Why I’d rather fuck your boy scout over there the ever let Angel touch me again,” she glared at Riley who blushed profusely back at her.

Rupert just coughed politely again and gave Snyder another warning glare.

“As I said,” Rupert began with an expression that belied his growing impatience with this young woman.

“If you could just find it in your heart, a way to get into Angel’s mansion, platonically of course,” Giles mumbled, his own face red with embarrassment.

“Surely there’s something you have, at Angel’s, that you want? Jewelry, some personal items that have some sentiment that you can…..” Giles was cut off by Liz.

“My mother’s good china,” she muttered under her breath. “Her china, and a ring of my aunt’s,” she added wistfully. “I left them with Angel,” she finished with an all-to-casual shrug.

Rupert wasn’t fooled by the young woman’s cavalier attitude about her personal affects. He knew in his heart that Elizabeth Summers still harbored the illusions and dreams of the young girl she must have once been. Before her life had gotten so bloody messed up and confused.

“Those and a need for shelter for a while should do the trick,” Giles offered evenly. “Can’t you please think about this Elizabeth?”

“And just how is it that I get over on Angel and Ethan?” Elizabeth asked, even though she was getting pretty good idea of what these men had planned.

“I mean,” she continued impatiently, “why don’t you guys just go in there and drag the kid out? If she’s even in there that is,” she finished with an unladylike snort.

“It would be too dangerous, for the child,” Rupert readily answered with a shake of his head. “Besides, we think there’s a leak, in our ranks somewhere. Someone working with O’Connor and Rayne behind our backs,” he added with a disgusted scowl.

“If you can just get into that mansion; find out if little Dawn Mcquire is truly there?” Rupert asked, yet stated at the same time.

Elizabeth sighed wearily and shrugged her shoulders in defeat.

“I don’t suppose you happen to have Angel’s home phone number, or his cell number, do you?” She asked hopefully.

Riley picked up Snyder’s cordless phone and wordlessly held it out to Elizabeth.

“O’Connor never changed any of his personal numbers, Elizabeth,” Riley purred as Liz took the receiver from his hand and punched in the digit numbers herself.


“I’ll miss you Blondie,” Faith was babbling bravely as she helped Liz pack her few valuable things.

Elizabeth thought she detected a note of sadness in the brunette’s voice, but she chose to ignore it.

Instead the blond woman just continued to scan the small room for anything she might have forgotten.

“So, you’ve got a place to stay, right?” Faith asked, trying to be flippant but failing miserably.

“Angel’s sending his right-hand man, Charles Gunn, to pick me up,” Liz replied casually.

“Angel!” Faith groaned as if she was going to physically ill. “I thought you were over that prick,” she grunted in disapproval.

“I ‘am’ over Angel,” Liz grumbled in response, “but I’ll be damned if I’m going let the bastard get away with everything that means anything to me.”

“So, you are over Angel, right?” Faith asked skeptically, her back turned to Liz.

“I have so gotten over Angel O’Connor,” Liz assured her soon to be ex-roomie.

‘Now if I can only succeed in ‘getting over’ Angel and Ethan Rayne,’ she thought to herself.

“Okay Lizzy,” Faith sighed unhappily and finally turned to give her room mate a hug of goodbye.


When Elizabeth walked out of the gates of Sunnydale Minimum Prison Facility, Charles Gunn was waiting patiently for her. He stood by a beautiful red corvette, new of course.

‘Wow,’ Liz chuckled, her graceful, even stride belied the fear that was building inside of her mind and body. ‘Angel’s pulled out all the stops this time,’ she mused as she tried to cover her resentment in front of his lackey, Gunn.

“Hello Elizabeth,” Gunn greeted her warmly and even clasped her arm tenderly.

“Hey Gunn,” Liz returned the greeting carefully. She and Gunn had been somewhat friends when her and Angel were together. Liz knew it would do no good to betray her true feelings to this man; his loyalty was with Angel and no one else.

“We should get back to LA and the mansion in about ninety minutes,” Gunn assured her politely. He was being very polite with her, Charles Gunn was and this caused Liz to be a bit anxious.

“Will Angel be there?” Liz asked quietly, not really sure if she wanted him to be or not.

“Yeah,” Gunn replied a little too quickly, then…..

“Cordelia, Angel sent her to Frisco on a clothes shopping spree,” Gunn added as he watched Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh,” she muttered in reply. ‘Great,’ she thought to herself, ‘I’d rather face Cordelia Chase’s jealous wrath then face Angel alone in the mansion.’


tbc


A/N: Well, things are going along rather quickly here, but I want to get to the Spuffy part ASAP!

In the next chapter, Buffy will find out the truth about Dawn’s whereabouts and also discover that Giles’ suspicions about one of their own is valid.

The next chapter should be longer, however I am going away for holiday and won’t be back until Monday. Until then…..

Thank you for reading and please review, spufette.





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