When Buffy awoke, she instinctively kept her eyes closed, and tried to hide any other sign of being alert. Her head was killing her, no doubt from the bump that knocked her unconscious, but other than that, she felt unharmed. Her arms were tied behind her back, and her legs were fastened to the uncomfortable chair she was sitting in. She could hear low voices from behind her, probably right outside whatever room she was in.
This was not good.
She opened her eyes just a bit, and with the angle of her head she could examine most of her prison. Just a typical living room, with comfortable looking leather couches, a glass coffee table with a gun sitting on it, and French doors opening to a balcony. No one else in the room that she could see.
The voices behind her got louder, and she closed her eyes, pretending to still be asleep.
“He’s on his way?” A familiar female voice. Darla.
“Yeah, ten minutes, tops. Told us to wait.” Forrest. Definitely Forrest.
“But where’s the fun in that?” She giggled.
Buffy felt a slight breeze, and knew they had walked past her. Probably standing right in front of her. She stayed perfectly still.
Oh, this was so not good.
“What’s the point of even keeping her alive?” Darla sighed. “We already have the disks.”
“Angel said wait, so we wait.”
Buffy heard the squeak of leather, and figured they had sat down. The sounds of a TV turning on came from her right, and then, she started to panic.
Xander and Willow would be worried if she didn’t pick up her cell phone. So that was good. And Willow had a few of the disks, she could use that as collateral. Plus, someone had to have seen the car crash, right? Someone had to have seen the men outside Willow’s house. So eventually, the police would find her? Right. She just had to stay alive until then. And she could do that, easily.
From behind her, she heard a door open and slam.
“Baby!” Darla crooned, getting off the couch. Buffy could hear the sounds of a wet welcoming kiss.
“How’s our girl?” Angel asked.
“Sleeping, still.”
“Is that so?”
Buffy felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, which then slid down her arm, across her stomach, onto her upper thigh.
“I know you’re awake,” Angel said softly. His grip on her thigh tightened, and reluctantly, Buffy opened her eyes and flinched back from his touch. “There she is! Morning, sleepyhead.”
“Let me go,” she hissed, knowing just how pathetic she sounded.
“Yeah, no. You almost convinced me, though. It’s the pout.” Angel stood up and pulled a chair over so he was sitting directly across from her. “So. Agent…Summers, is it? Nice cover, by the way. Took a long time to find anything disproving your identity as cute, innocent computer girl.”
“Then how’d you figure out who I was?”
He smiled and crossed his arms. “I have my sources. Okay, honestly? We tapped Gunn’s phone. But doesn’t it sound so much better when I claim some sort of conspiracy?”
“Stupid Gunn,” Buffy sighed, twisting her wrists behind her slightly to test the tightness of the ropes around her.
“Yeah. Not the brightest bulb in the box, that one. But loyal to you, for some reason. Considering you betrayed him and all.”
“You know I didn’t.”
“Of course I do. But he thinks that, does he?”
“He’ll figure it out.”
“Sure, eventually. But hopefully we have him distracted for at least a little longer. And we’ll find the redhead and Xander soon, although, still not quite sure how to deal with the cop. Did not see that one coming! He seemed a little too stupid to be undercover. People can be surprising.”
Buffy stayed silent, hoping Angel’s apparent love of the sound of his own voice would continue long enough for her to gain some valuable information. But when he just observed her for a minute, a smile playing at the corner of her lips, she blurted out, “Where’s Spike?”
The smile grew. “That’s actually what I was going to ask you.”
“I left him in the warehouse. Haven’t seen him since,” she answered honestly.
“Damn it. Really? Should have looked harder.” He clearly didn’t believe her.
“You should have. I’m guessing in your haste to chase me down you didn’t do a complete and thorough search. Sloppy, really. I could give you some pointers,” Buffy tried to sound as calm as she could as she continued to wriggle her wrists around behind her. The ropes were tied impossibly tight. There was no way she was getting out.
“That’d be great, thanks,” he laughed harshly, then said to Darla, “Go grab my briefcase from the hall, sugar.” She jumped up quickly and disappeared from the room.
“What do you want from me?” Buffy asked warily. “You have the disks. Or most of them, anyway. And I honestly don’t know where Spike is.”
“Most of them?”
She smirked. “Whoops. Did I say that?”
“Good to know.”
“Really, though. Why kidnap me? I mean, it’s going to be hard enough getting clear after the whole thing at the warehouse. But kidnapping, and hey, murdering a federal officer? Bad idea.”
“Well, Buff,” Angel said, ignoring her taunts and standing up as Darla approached him. He took the proffered black leather case and stroked it lovingly. “I want to know what you know. Tell me what I want to hear, and you can…well, not go, but not suffer nearly as much.”
“You’re the best sex I’ve ever had, and your dick is huge?” He stared at her in surprise. “Oh, that’s not what you wanted to hear? Damn, and I thought I was so good with men.”
Buffy refused to give into her fear. Whatever they were going to do to her, she figured she couldn’t stop it, and refused to just roll over and beg. Plus, the angrier she made them, the more likely they were to spill something useful. She hoped.
“Can I hit her?” Darla asked “I’m bored, and she’s bugging me.”
“Sure. Go to town.” Angel left the room, and Darla sauntered up to Buffy, an evil glint in her eye, and smacked her hard on the cheek.
“You know what the saddest thing in the world is?” She asked.
“Bad hair on top of that outfit?”
Darla glared at her. “Loving someone who doesn’t love you. And I think that’s what I’m seeing in front of me, Buffy.” She reached out and backhanded her captive. Despite her small size, her fists had some power. “You think you’re protecting Spike, right? Going to get him free from the big bad clutches of us evil-doers? You think he’s innocent in all this?”
Buffy was silent, just licked a drop of blood off of her lip and waited.
“I’ve known Spike for many years, honey. You think you’re the first little thing that’s caught his attention? Hardly. It’s pretty much you or him at this point. And if he was in this same situation, he wouldn’t be picking you.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Isn’t it?”
Angel returned just then, humming a jaunty tune. “Forrest is picking up our other guest now. Just a while longer.”
Buffy wanted to ask who, afraid that they’d managed to find Willow or Xander, but she calmed herself down, and just waited. Prayed. Watched the two leave her alone in the room, and hoped that whatever they had planned for the rest of the day, she’d be alive when someone came to rescue her.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Next chapter, as promised! I've got a busy weekend ahead of me, so my next update will probably be Saturday night, then hopefully, daily up until the end. Having a littttle crisis with some of the things I've got going on, but you know what would motivate me? Reviews. (I'm pathetic, I know.) Thank you so, so much to everyone who's reading and responding, it makes me so happy I can't even tell you. Don't own the characters, or some of the dialogue, just the plot. Don't sue!