Chapter Thirty
Maggie Walsh threw her coffee mug at the wall and turned, face contorted with fury. “What do you mean – you’ve lost them?”
The tall, blond man before her struggled not to quail. “Um…they—”
“They simply walked out of my facility!”
“Well, not exact—”
“They didn’t fucking fly out, did they? One in a wheelchair, one in a pod and one woman! How could they possibly have made it to the outside, let alone out of the compound?”
The man opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it and simply stood there, heart pounding, awaiting further instruction.
Rubbing a hand wearily across her face, Maggie sat down behind her desk. “The tracking device in the pod isn’t working, so I’m told.”
“That’s correct, Ma’am. We’re not sure why it’s not working.” The man was proud that his voice held no tremors.
“Tell me why, exactly, do I pay your wages, Tyler? Where ever it is, the pod is warded.”
“Warded, Ma’am?”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, I’m surrounded by fools!” Maggie leaned forwards, resting her palms on the desk. “Magics! Those bastards have got someone one their side with magical knowledge.”
“Oh, right.” Tyler took a step backwards. “So what do you suggest, Ma’am?”
Maggie’s eyes narrowed. “Get the best trackers and hunters we have and get them on the scent of them. Magics can’t hide that!” She put her hand up when Tyler opened his mouth to speak. “I know they took off in a van, but the Slayer and her son obviously survived the crash and so their scent should be trackable from there! It should give us some clues – they’ll have needed help from someone.”
“I’m on it, Ma’am”
The man fled.
Linking her fingers together and then flexing them until they cracked, Maggie rose and stalked about her office, mind working overtime. They had to get them back. They had to neutralise all who could damage the Initiative.
*~*~*~*
Spike was in trouble. He paced anxiously back and forth in the cage, trying to keep the demon from taking over. It was a battle he knew he was losing. Was this his future? A cage in a basement somewhere? He’d seen Buffy when she’d come down to check on him during the night. Not that he’d let her know that he’d been awake. The way she’d looked at him, the tears that had coursed down her cheeks, made him stay still. He wasn’t ready to talk to her the way she wanted. He couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear.
With a growl he slammed his hands against the bars. There was a connection between them, and he’d believed Cam when he’d told him of the relationship he and Buffy had shared, but it didn’t seem real. So much was missing. He banged his forehand lightly against the bars. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted his memories completely back. From what he’d gleaned, a lot of his past had involved being controlled and tortured. Who’d want to remember that? If the price of staying as he was, with only snippets of his ordeal, was that he lost the memories of Buffy, then it was a price he was happy to pay.
Grimacing as his face shifted, he snarled with frustration. It was all bloody moot seeing as the demon ruled him now. Rage built in him and he began hurling himself about the cage. He tossed the bed to the side and roared at the ceiling.
Hearing footsteps, he turned and watched Craig walk into the basement. Spike’s nose twitched as the scent of warm plastic told him that Craig was bringing him some bags of blood.
“Wow, I guess you’re hungry, eh?” Craig smiled nervously at him. He couldn’t get used to seeing the vampire-faced version of Spike.
In response, Spike simply growled.
Craig pushed a bag through the narrow gap and gasped, as Spike snatched it and tore at it with his teeth, worrying at it with his clipped back fangs until he managed to pierce the bag.
When the bag hit the floor, Craig pushed the second one through. “Another?”
Demon feeling appeased, Spike nodded this time, his face reverting to human only when the bag floated to join the first one on the floor. The pair stared at each other before Craig dropped eye contact and scuffed at the dusty floor with the toe of his shoe.
“Um…so…do you want to talk about it?” He glanced up at Spike for a moment before looking down again.
“How’s Cameron?”
“Uh, okay, I guess.”
“I mean has he improved any further?” Spike rested his head on the bars of the cage.
“Not any more than yesterday. Is it true that he’ll be alright again?”
Spike shrugged. “In theory, yes. In practice, who knows?” After a pause, he added, “He’ll need more blood. If you bring a knife and a container that will fit through the bars, I’ll do it now – it’s best when I’ve just fed.”
“Why through the bars? I’ll bring a bottle and I’ll open the door.”
“No!”
Spike’s full-volume yell had Craig stepping back a couple of paces.
“What?”
“I don’t come out of this cage!” Spike paced back and forth, his anger fuelling the demon within, making the struggle for control even harder. His face morphed as he turned to glare at Craig. “I’m dangerous. I can’t control it. I’m still what they made me.”
“But yesterday, you had time to get Mom out of the cage.”
“I know.” Spike put the upturned bed back on its legs and sat on it. “But I can just feel it, bubbling inside…and worse than that,” he glanced at Craig, “I’m starting to want to let the demon take over.”
“What? Why?” Craig stepped closer.
“Because when he takes over it’s all simple. Rage, the need for blood, and that’s it. When I’m…more rational—well then I have the delightful prospect of sitting in a cage. I can’t be trusted. I can’t trust myself. And from the bits I’ve remembered and from what I’ve been told, I’ve had more than my fill of captivity. Just letting go means I wouldn’t be aware of this.” He spread his hands out wide, before tapping his metal knee with his metal thumb. “Would that be such a bad thing?”
His voice was so utterly defeated that Craig’s eyes glistened with tears. “But we rescued you.”
Spike smiled at him as they both heard how young and petulant he sounded. Closing his eyes, Spike said almost inaudibly, “Well you have. I’m not being controlled anymore, am I?”
Craig fixed him with a hard stare. “No – not controlled. Just going to let your mind be torn apart by unleashing the demon. The one that they screwed with!” He put his hands on the bars. “So if you give in, they are still controlling you!”
Leaping to his feet, Spike vamped out and hurled himself at the bars. This time Craig didn’t flinch – didn’t even move his hands.
“Fuck you!” Spike’s cool breath hit Craig’s face as he yelled. “You don’t know what it’s like!”
“Maybe not – but all I can say is the Spike I knew would never give in like this.”
“But I did give in to them! I can remember when they broke your arm, and I did whatever they wanted me to!” He squeezed his eyes shut as an image of him pushing his thumbs into a vampire’s eyes sprang into his mind. “I came to enjoy it! Didn’t know that did you?” He stomped away from the bars. “They wanted me to help catch vampires and I did and I liked it! I liked to see them get fucking blinded like I was!” He turned to face Craig who was standing open mouthed, staring at him. Spike laughed bitterly. “I even got punished for enjoying my work a little too much.” Walking closer to Craig, he added, “Now I bet you didn’t know your little pet vamp was like that, did you?”
“You’re still going to let them win.” Craig turned on his heel and walked out of the basement without a backwards glance.
Spike sank to his knees. He could feel the love he had for the boy even if he couldn’t remember much of his time with him, but it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t strong enough.
*~*~*~*
The tracker selected to take point on the hunt for Spike was the one who’d been blinded by him when he’d just been captured. The memories of his former existence may now be so misty as to barely exist at all, but they’d kept his feelings from that incident intact. Every night he relived the moment when Seventeen’s thumbs had ruined his eyes. Now he had a chance for some payback. He’d do all he could to help bring the vampire back for retirement.
The transporter pulled up and the tracker grinned as he was released from his shackles. His baggy blue overalls rustled as he climbed out of the van.
“Now, Four-twenty-seven, you know the drill.” Riley Finn stood in front of the vampire. “You know which scents you’re trying to find?”
“Yes, sir,” Four-twenty-seven nodded and smiled again as his cock twitched with the thought of the delicious scent of the Slayer.
“So get on with it.”
Riley followed the vampire, and then leaned against a tree as the tracker circled the wreckage, sniffing loudly, bending to touch the door handle and licking his fingers. He wasn’t impressed at being instructed to handle a tracker. The last thing he wanted to do was to run through damp undergrowth in an English wood, but the job needed closure and he was the man for the job.
When they found the escapees, he’d throw the cripple to Four Two Seven to play with, to make up for having to keep Seventeen intact for retirement. Riley flexed his fingers as he thought of wrapping them around the Slayer’s slim neck and squeezing the life out of her.
Closure.
The professor had been very clear that this was an ‘us and them’ situation. A point she’d driven home when she’d asked Riley to take Mark his evening meal.
*~*~*~*
Spike managed to keep control long enough to fill a couple of cartons of blood before losing it altogether. Brought on by the need for more blood, Spike closed his eyes, took a deep breath and welcomed the demon. Better not to have human feelings. Better not to think.
*~*~*~*
Craig took the blood upstairs and found the others in the kitchen. Cam was staring avidly at his bare feet, and grinned up at his brother.
“My big toe twitched.”
“That’s great.” Setting the blood down on the table, Craig flopped down onto one of the chairs and sighed. “We’ve got a problem.”
Willow, Buffy and Cam all turned to stare at him.
“Another? Why haven’t we got enough?” Buffy said, rubbing her temples. “What’s wrong?”
Craig glanced at her sharply. She sounded as defeated as Spike was. “It’s Spike. Whatever they did to amp up the demon, it’s still there. He’s struggling to keep in control and to be honest, I don’t think he’s going to keep trying for too long.” His voice hitched. “They’ve broke him, Mom. They’ve won.”
Buffy went to get up, but Willow put a hand on her arm and stilled her. “Stay here – give Cameron the blood. I’ll go and have a little chat with Spike.”
“But—”
“No, Buffy, see to your son.” Willow’s voice brooked no argument.
“Erm…” Cam eyed the containers of blood warily. “Am I supposed to just drink it?” His nose wrinkled in disgust.
Laughing, Craig gave Cam’s chair a shove. “You didn’t seem to mind yesterday – you were latched onto Spike’s wrist like a limpet.”
“Yeah, well…I didn’t know what I was doing then, did I? It’s not the same as now when it’s in…”
“Cold blood?” supplied Craig.
All four laughed.
“Buffy, put some in some soup or a hot drink for him,” said Willow. “Don’t come to the basement until I say so.”
“What are you going to do?” said Buffy, frowning.
“Just do something to help him relax and suppress the demon. Nothing to worry about, but being interrupted midway through would be a bad thing.
Closing the kitchen door behind her, and smiling at Cam’s plaintiff cry for lots of sugar to be added to the blood laced drink, Willow walked softly away. Not making her way to the basement but instead, hurrying upstairs. She went into Buffy’s bedroom, got on her knees and peered under the bed. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of a bag and she smiled as she pulled it out.
She made a brief stop in her own room to gather some other items and then slipped back downstairs into the basement. A growl and the flash of fang greeted her as she walked towards the cage.
“Spike?”
The growl deepened and he stalked towards the bars.
“Show me your other face.”
Willow watched him calmly as he struggled to comply. Only the fact that he was used to obeying commands gave him the strength to do it. His chest rose and fell as he stared at her.
“Gonna dope me up, witch?”
“I’m going to do a whole lot better than that, vampire.”
Willow grinned, knowing that though the human visage was on show, she was talking to the demon. Spike’s head tilted as she unzipped the bag and took out a glass jar. His breathing ratcheted up a notch and he backed away.
“I’m going to give you back your soul!”
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