“Well, well, looks like our escort has arrived,” Alec commented wryly pointing out the window. Dawn turned to look from her seat next to him. There were several figures standing or reclining on picnic tables in the motor park. One of them was very familiar looking. The RV pulled into its space in the park at Greenwich and stopped. Buffy got off first and was gathered in a crushing hug.
“Welcome back, mighty Slayer!” DeGanon boomed as the other gypsies cheered. Buffy looked a little embarrassed, but was getting used to the gypsy chieftains’ exuberant style of greeting. The pair made way as everyone else filed off the bus, amidst cheers and warm welcomes. Alec grinned and slapped the gypsy’s back as the older man gathered him in a comradely embrace.
“Ah, the dark general. Is life well?” he asked. Alec nodded,
“About as well as can be expected,” he replied wryly. The pair began walking towards the far end of the park; the rest of the group was following.
“My kumpania has had time to secure transportation for you while you are in the city. I truly hope you will find it satisfactory.” DeGanon led him to a large tarp and gestured to a pair of gypsies. With a flourish the man removed the canvas and Alec inhaled sharply,
“Oh…this’ll do,” he commented dryly. The rest of the group caught a look and there were various exclamations of surprise.
A pair of gleaming motorcycles, all black leather and polished chrome were resting against a picnic table.
“Bloody Hell,” Spike swore fervently before laughing out loud, “I don’t believe it!” he ran his hands over one of the bikes handlebars, “These are gorgeous,” he suddenly looked up at DeGanon,
“American?” he asked suspiciously.
“But, of course,” DeGanon replied grinning. Spike nodded.
“Yeah, good man,” Spike went back to studying the bikes. A black van pulled up next to them. DeGanon turned and said something in Romani; the engine was shut off and a gypsy got out of the car, tossing him the keys. DeGanon caught them and handed the keys to Giles.
“The van and the bikes are at your disposal. The van has already been converted for safe daylight passage,” he informed Giles with a meaningful glace at Angel, who was taking in the whole scene quietly. Giles nodded,
“That’s extraordinarily gracious of you,” he replied. DeGanon waved it away,
“We are family now. There is nothing too good for family,”
“Ummm…out of curiosity,” Willow began, “Just where did you get all this?” she asked carefully. DeGanon nodded,
“I understand your concern, little witch, but have no fear. Both the bikes and the car were found abandoned,” Alec smiled slightly.
“Really?” he drawled out lazily, not believing a word. DeGanon nodded,
“Most assuredly,” he began to grin, “The bikes were carelessly left in front of a bar and the car was casually abandoned in a car dealership lot,” Alec laughed.
“Well, it’d be a shame to let such fine vehicles go to waste,” he commented. DeGanon nodded,
“Exactly what we were thinking,” he replied. Alec chuckled and threw a leg over the saddle of one of the bikes. Spike already had the other one up and running and was revving the engine appreciatively, grinning maniacally. Alec found a pair of helmets by his feet, he turned to Willow,
“Want to go for a ride, milady?” he asked wryly. To his surprise, Willow shook her head.
“Not me, mister, I don’t like motorcycles. Not enough separating me from the ground,” she replied. She grinned and gestured to Dawn, who was talking to Buffy about something.
ASK HER, she mouthed silently. Alec frowned,
YOU SURE? He replied silently, she nodded.
“Hey, petite!” Alec yelled out. Dawn whirled around,
“Yeah, Alec?” she asked eagerly. Alec grinned,
“Ask your sister if you’re ready to take your first motorcycle ride?” he replied grinning crookedly. Dawn’s eyes widened with excitement as she spun around to face Buffy.
“Please?” she whispered fiercely. Buffy exhaled hard, then smiled,
“It’s your call, Dawn, you can do whatever you want,” she answered. Dawn squealed with glee and gathered her sister in a tight hug. Buffy laughed in surprise before returning the hug. Dawn pulled away, grabbing her arms.
“Thank you SO much,” she said fervently. Buffy laughed,
“Get out of here, you little lunatic!” she teased. Dawn sprinted towards the bike and Alec. Buffy turned to speak,
“Make sure she wears a-” Alec held up a helmet, cutting her off with a smug smile. Buffy swallowed the rest of her warning and smiled, she really didn’t give her brother enough credit. Alec handed the helmet to Dawn, who strapped it on as she got onto the bike behind him. He turned his head and whispered a few things, before smiling. Dawn got a shy little smile and carefully wrapped her arms around his waist, holding tightly.
“Luv!” Spike yelled out, “Let’s go already!” Buffy shook her head.
“No thanks, Spike, not my style,” she turned to Faith, who was eyeing the bikes covetously. “You want on, girl?” she asked wryly. Faith whirled around,
“Hey, B, I mean that’s your man on there,” she started. Buffy cut her off,
“And he’ll stay my man when the ride is over. Get going,” she grinned. Faith stared a while, then her face broke into a wide grin.
“Thanks, B,” she replied. Buffy smiled and patted her shoulder. Faith bounded off towards Spike. The vampire frowned,
“What the Hell is all this then?” he demanded.
“Payment for me kicking your ass the other night,” Faith replied quickly, strapping on a helmet, “Let’s ride, Blondie!” Spike muttered something obscene under his breath but began to ease the bike off the grass, onto pavement.
“Hey Dad!” Alec yelled as the others began piling into the van, “We’ll follow you to this bar, all right?” Giles nodded and got into the drivers seat. Alec turned his head to Dawn,
“Hold on tight, petite,” he told her. Dawn rested her face against his back, feeling the warm wool of his duster caressing her face; her arms wrapped around his waist.
“Not an issue,” she whispered closing her eyes contently. Alec revved the engine and guided it out of the motor park. Spike grinned at Alec,
“Told you Harleys are the way to go!” he yelled. Alec just revved the engine louder before cupping his hand over the portion of his helmet covering his ear,
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you: Did you just say that you couldn’t catch a ’53 Packard if your life depended on it?” he asked grinning. Spike’s eyes widened and he flipped him off before peeling out of the motor park, Faith whooping loudly. Alec grinned and gunned the engine, eliciting a squeal from both the tires and Dawn as he rocketed behind the blond vampire.
Dawn squeezed Alec tighter. She felt so…free and alive right now. Suddenly a roar from her left interrupted her reverie as Spike pulled up along side them.
“This is the ONLY way to travel!” he roared. Alec grinned,
“ ‘A charted course!” he replied. Spike grinned,
“ ‘And each careful step, along the highway,” he finished laughing. Spike stretched out his hand, Alec slapped it as Spike gunned the engine and shot ahead of them, weaving through traffic, receiving blaring horns from angry motorists. Alec turned back to Dawn,
“How you doing back there, Dawn?” he yelled. Dawn looked up at him with teary eyes caused by the wind, she grinned.
“This is AMAZING!” she yelled. Alec laughed and turned his attention back to the road, gunning the engine. Dawn whooped in excitement, Alec shook his head,
They grow up so fast. He thought wryly to himself as he weaved through the traffic, keeping the black van in sight.
After a few more twists and turns, they arrived at their destination. Giles pulled into a large parking lot across the street from the address, and killed the engine. Angel opened the large sliding door on the side and hopped out, turning around to help Buffy and the others out. She smiled at Spike, who had just pulled in behind them with Alec close behind.
“How was your ride, boys?” she asked wryly. Spike killed the engine and hopped off, grinning wildly.
“Goh! What a rush!” he gathered the slayer in his arms and hoisted her into the air, spinning her around. She laughed as he kissed her mouth. Angel watched, his eyes twin studies in pain before turning to help Anya out of the van. Alec hopped off and helped Dawn off the bike. She wrapped her hands around his shoulder, luxuriating at the feeling of his hands on her ribs as he hoisted her slim body off the bike and set her down on the ground. Alec grinned,
“Have a good time, petite?” he asked wryly. Dawn swallowed and nodded,
“It was great…” she breathed. She suddenly realized that her fingers were frozen stiff. She cupped them and blew breaths of hot air to warm them, “And cold,” she finished, smiling slightly. Alec took her hands in his,
“Here,” he whispered, taking her hands in his and rubbing, getting the circulation flowing back into them. Dawn closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Within moments, warmth had flooded her hands as well as her entire body. She opened her eyes to gaze into his,
“Thank you,” she whispered. Alec smiled slightly, a smile that caused her to feel a little light-headed, before releasing her fingers and turning to address his father. Dawn smiled a secret smile and set to work stripping off her helmet.
“Is this the place?” Alec asked, gesturing to the bar across the street. Giles nodded and squinted trying to read the neon sign,
“Asura’s,” he read frowning.
“She’s in Hindu lore,” Angel commented walking up beside him, “A demon,” Giles sighed and took off his glasses. Alec smirked,
“Another cult you think?” he asked. Giles shook his head,
“I doubt it; if Marlena gave us this address, then she must believe it to be sound,” he turned to his son, “I doubt that there’ll be a significant demonic presence here,” he assured with a hint of finality.
“ ‘No significant demonic presence’?” Alec asked wryly, turning to his father with a grin. Giles just sighed and rubbed his eyes. The bar was sprawling beneath them, with only a little more reserve than the trucker’s tavern had. Loud music blared from a jukebox in the corner. But that wasn’t the main attraction. Several women were dancing on the bar, not nude, but pretty close, doing some rather interesting things with pitchers of water.
The fact that every single one of them was either a vampire or a demon was also a factor.
“My God it’s ‘Coyote Ugly’ meets Clive Barker,” Buffy commented with wide eyes. Alec grinned and turned to the group,
“Split up, Me, Buffy, Angel, Spike and Dad will stay here and check the place out. The rest of you head back to DeGanon’s and wait for us to come back,” he instructed. There were a few moans of complaints but after their last bar encounter, they got the hint. Willow gave him a kiss and Dawn flashed him a warm smile before they left. Giles eyed his son thoughtfully,
“I say, Alec, you seem to be growing into the leadership rather well,” Buffy snorted affectionately,
“Yeah, like a weed,” she replied. Alec shot her a wry look as the group descended a staircase into the main bar. Weaving their way through the crowd, the reached the bar. Giles cupped his hands over his mouth to shout over the music,
“We’re looking for the Maitre D’,” he yelled to a pink skinned woman with quills for hair. She grinned, revealing a forked tongue and turned to talk to someone else. Angel looked around thoughtfully,
“Reminds me of Madame Dorion’s” he commented. Giles frowned and turned to Angel,
“Isn’t that that establishment in Bel Air? The one that…” Angel shot him a look and Giles silenced instantly. Spike was too busy ogling a dancing vampire on the bar; Buffy was too busy glaring at Spike. Alec just smirked as a gray-skinned woman with flaming red hair and a dress that had holes in all the wrong places came up to the bar, grinning.
“I heard you’re looking for the ‘Maitre D’?” she asked, sarcasm dripping. Giles cleared his throat and nodded,
“That’s right, Marlena sent us. We need some information,” he replied. The demon nodded,
“Well, I’m the owner. Name’s Satara,” she grinned crookedly. The woman tossed her flaming hair back and flashed a grin and a pose that would raise a monk’s interest, celibacy be damned. “Marlena actually said ‘Maitre D’?” she asked. Giles nodded,
“She didn’t tell us this was…” he struggled for the proper word.
“A demonic burlesque?” Satara finished grinning. Giles colored and nodded. Alec decided to intervene,
“Terminology aside, Satara, we could really use some help. Name your price,” he flashed her his most charming grin. Buffy rolled her eyes at her brother as Satara eyed him appreciatively.
“Is that a fact, handsome?” she asked demurely. Alec looked momentarily taken aback,
“Uh…” Spike was trying not to burst out laughing as Satara continued to eyeball Alec with an intensely appraising look.
“Well, handsome, you have two choices,” she gestured to an unused stage, “One you sing us a tune and I can tell you what I see,” Alec frowned,
“What you see?” he asked hesitantly. Angel started paying attention,
“She’s anagogic, a psychic demon,” he informed them, eyeing her critically, “There’s a Karaoke bar in L.A. run by another one,” Satara frowned at him.
“Hold up, you’re Angel?” she asked. Angel nodded slowly, Satara grinned, “Yeah, Lorne told me about you. He and I are kind of in a ‘friends with benefits’ relationship.” She grinned wickedly and the observing men were quickly losing their resolve in the face of this walking epitome of sensuality. “So you’re the vampire who sang Barry Manilow, huh?” Buffy, Alec, Giles and Spike whipped their heads around to gape at the vampire, who looked about ready to die…again.
“Something like that,” he commented dryly. Buffy threw her head back and laughed, Spike was nearly doubled over and Alec was pounding the bar, tears streaming down his face. Even Giles looked stunned.
“I would have given my left arm to see that,” Buffy finally gasped out. Angel scowled and thrust his hands into his pockets.
“It was for a good cause,” he muttered defensively. Alec, still laughing turned to Satara,
“So, musical performance, huh?” he asked. Satara shook her head,
“You sing, and the girls play,” she gestured to the scantily clad vampires, who were right now engaged in a fairly dramatic dance sequence on the bar, involving cartwheels, splits and more pitchers of water. Alec frowned,
“What if they don’t know the song?” he asked. Satara grinned,
“Trust me, that won’t be a problem,” she assured him. Alec sighed,
“Okay, what’s option two?” he asked. There was a yell of surprise, Alec spun round to see a guy in a suit being dragged onto the bar and having ice water poured down the front of his slacks while a female vampire began tearing his clothes off.
“That,” Satara replied gesturing to the scene. Alec blinked a few times and turned back to Satara,
“So…any song?” he asked mildly. Satara grinned and nodded. Alec sighed and turned to Spike,
“Hey Spike, I got an idea,” Alec told him and Spike snarled at him.
“You’re out of your bloody mind!” he sputtered. Alec grinned,
“C’mon, man, it’s for a good cause,” he cajoled. Spike scowled and shook his head vehemently,
“There’s nothing you could say or do that would convince me to get onto that stage and make a fool of myself!” he finished. Alec sighed then grinned as the perfect threat came to him.
“Well it’s either that or we dress in drag and perform a cover of Bowie’s ‘Boys Keep Swinging,’”
The spotlight hit the stage as Spike, bare-chested and looking very unhappy, began to croon,
“And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain...,” he sang as Buffy, Giles and Angel were sitting grinning. The girls were doing their part, playing backup well.
“…and more, much more than this, I did it my way,” he continued. And with a roar, the guitars and drums were pounding as Alec came out in stage.
“Mistakes, I’ve made a few, but then again too few too mention!” he sang into the mic. The crowd went nuts as Spike and Alec began singing a duet.
“I’ve planned each charted course. Each careful step along the highway and more, much more than this, I did it my way!” Before long they were both getting into it, Spike seemed to be having a ball, dancing with one of the girls who were writhing on stage with them.
“Whooo!” Satara howled out waving a towel over her head. Spike and Alec got together for the last line,
“The record shows, I shot the bloke and I did it MYYYY WAAAAAAYYYY!” They finished with Spike throwing the mic off the stage and taking a long pull from a whiskey bottle, spewing it into the air with a grin.
“Fag off, everyone! Goodnight!” he cried before getting off the stage. There were hoots and howls of applause as Alec bowed and followed Spike, who was grinning like a mad man,
“Yee-haw!” he strode over to the table as patrons slapped his back and applauded, and bent low to gather Buffy in a crushing kiss. Buffy mewed in surprise before returning the kiss tentatively. Alec grinned as he stepped off, getting some measure of applause, but Spike was the start of the show. Satara tossed him a towel and gestured to his bare chest,
“What’s with the strippage?” she asked wryly. Spike shrugged and toweled some sweat.
“You seem to have a rowdy crowd that would appreciate it. Besides what’s a few more shreds of dignity?” he replied evenly. Satara shook her head and handed Giles a slip of paper,
“Here’s a rabbi you should see. He should be able to fill you in,” she told him. Giles’ eyes widened,
“You got all that from that…display?” he asked askance. Satara grinned,
“Nope. Marlena called me ahead of time. That was just for fun,” she replied wryly. Alec laughed,
“Good to know I embarrassed myself for a good cause,” he laughed. Just then a female vampire came up behind him and ran her arms down his chest and began stroking his skin.
“Come back to my crypt,” she whispered, her game-face in place, “And I’ll show you a good cause,” she purred…literally. Alec smiled slightly and gently disentangled himself from the amorous vampire,
“Some other time, beautiful,” he grinned. She shrugged,
“Your loss,” she replied, not unkindly before tossing her hair back and walking away, swinging her hips back and forth. Alec eyed her admiringly as Spike joined him,
“I’ll agree with that,” Spike commented dryly. Alec nodded slowly,
“Oh, hell yes,” he commented solemnly. Spike just nodded.
“Ahem,” Buffy cleared her throat. Slowly, the pair tore their eyes from the retreating vampire’s backside and turned.
“I’m back,” Alec piped up. Buffy just rolled her eyes and handed him the address. Alec nodded,
“Okay, this sounds like a plan. Do we snag the others?” Buffy handed Spike the address. He read it and shook his head,
“No, mate, this is only a few blocks from here. DeGanon’s is clear across town and we’d never get there and back in time before sunup,” he handed the address back to Buffy who nodded in agreement.
“Okay, let’s get going,” Buffy, Angel, and Giles got to their feet as Alec pulled on his t-shirt and his duster. Satara grinned at them,
“Nice performance, boys. Sid Vicious?” she asked. Alec nodded,
“Once, then remade by Gary Oldman,” he answered. Spike nodded as he lit a cigarette,
“Mm. Can’t believe that soundtrack is out of print,” he snorted in disgust. Alec just nodded,
“You see why I covet yours, man?” he asked. Spike glared at him,
“Not in this lifetime, mate,” he retorted as the pair said their goodbyes and headed out.
“Yeah, but what about the next, oh immortal one?” he asked as he held up the door open. Spike stopped to exhale a plume of smoke,
“Maybe, talk to me after you kick the bucket,” he replied before exiting. Alec considered before following. The elder Giles just shook his head disapprovingly,
“I suppose I should be the adult here and nay-say and wag my finger at your antics,” His son shot him a look,
“Really? So what’s this Jenny told me about your participation in college musicals? Something about fishnets and ‘Doing the time warp again’?” Giles sighed taking off his glasses and pinching the skin at the bridge of his nose,
“She swore she’d keep that to herself until the day she died,” he commented dryly. Alec chuckled and patted his father’s shoulder,
“And so she did, afterwards however was another story…doctor,” Giles glared at this son as the pair of them headed out of the bar.
“Nice digs,” Alec commented as he parked his bike on the side of the road. Giles opened the door to the van, climbing out in front of him; he looked over the building,
“Yes, I mean for being located in such a dilapidated portion of the city, this synagogue is actually quite nice,” he took off his glasses and smiled. Buffy walked over to them,
“So, we meet this Rabbi guy?” she asked. Alec nodded and looked down at the piece of paper in his hand,
“Yeah uh…Rabbi Mesha, I think,” he shrugged and turned to Willow “Name mean anything to you?” he asked the young woman. She frowned, thinking back to her Jewish school days,
“Sure, Mesha is another way of saying Moses,” she replied smiling. Alec looked up and shrugged,
“Well, I suppose that’s appropriate,” he turned to Buffy, “So who goes talking to the good Rabbi?” Buffy shrugged,
“I think it’s safe to say that isn’t trap-worthy, still…” she turned to Spike, who had pulled up on his bike beside them,
“You want to stay out here with everyone else? Just until we get to talk to the rabbi?” Spike nodded,
“Sure luv, besides holy places and vampires just don’t mix,” Angel frowned,
“I don’t know, I’ve always had a thing for convents,” he replied evenly. Spike snorted derisively,
“Let’s not get into that now, okay?” he said with more than a hint of disdain. Angel shrugged and turned to Buffy,
“We’ll wait out here,” he told her. Buffy nodded and turned to Giles and Alec,
“Shall we?” she asked. They nodded and headed across the street up the stone steps. Giles checked his watch,
“It’s entirely possible that it may be closed for the evening, you realize,” he commented. Alec strode up the double doors and, with a grunt, shoved them open,
“Or not,” Giles finished wryly. Alec flashed him a grin and entered the temple.
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