Chapter Thirty-Six
Riley whirled around when something hit his back. His eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth to yell and…found he couldn’t. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even close his gaping mouth.
Craig coughed and struggled weakly to rise, taking the offered strong hand gratefully.
“Easy, mate. The legs won’t be working properly yet,” Spike said, having been on the receiving end of too many blasts from the damn stun guns in the past.
Legs shaking, Craig clung gratefully to Spike as he retched and spat out something that had gotten into his mouth as he lay on the ground..
“Eww!” Willow screwed up her nose. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
As one, Willow, Spike, Craig, and Buffy - whose bolt from the crossbow had brought down the vampire – stared at the splattered remains of the vampire who’d been dragging Craig away.
“Must be the coating.” Spike poked a chunk with the toe of one of his borrowed boots. “Means they can’t dust properly. He just sort of exploded.”
“Hey! Watch the boots,” Craig - the boots’ owner – said, managing to stand without help as the effects wore off.
“I knew they were trying to daylight proof vamps – didn’t realise they’d succeeded,” continued Spike. “Lots of vamps went into that program and never came back out.”
“Uh...” Craig shook his head, frowning. “So how come you aren’t dust?”
Raising his chin towards Willow, Spike said, “The new wards she put up means the sun can’t harm me in here, but if they’d run past the barrier I would have had to leave the rescue to the others.”
Buffy stepped closer to Craig and enveloped her son in a hug that had him wince. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think they’d use the stun gun on you. I would never agreed to you being the bait otherwise.” She let go of him abruptly, strode to the still immobile Riley and punched him in the face. “You bastard!”
Riley reeled from the blow but then settled back into his former position, blinking rapidly as his eyes watered. She went to hit him again but Spike caught her wrist. “Save it. We need the organ-grinder not the monkey. We need to find out just who else is here with this git. They never work alone and we don’t have much time for this to work.”
Resisting for a moment longer, Buffy nodded and let her arm relax. Spike released his grip, bent down and began rummaging in the remains of the vampire.
“What are you looking for?” Willow tried and failed not to stare at the pair of eyeballs staring back at her from the grass.
“His tracker chip. Need to have it. Will have to get that git,” Spike pointed at Riley, “to report that the eyes got fucked up. Then they won’t know we’re coming.”
“Willow, keep him where he is but let him speak,” said Buffy, still glaring at Riley.
A muttered incantation and Riley’s mouth shut with a snap that made his teeth rattle in his head, before he said, “They’ll kill you all!”
“Well, we’ll take a few of you out before we do!” Craig proved his legs were now back to normal by going up and kicking Riley between the legs, smiling nastily as the man cried out and gasped for air, his body still held in place by the spell.
“Craig.” Buffy admonished half-heartedly.
“Aw, let the kid have some fun,” Spike said, but his voice was grim.
Buffy scowled. “You stopped me from hitting him.”
“Yeah, but I reckon Craig needed to do that more than you did. And have to say I didn’t mind seeing it either.” He shifted from foot to foot remembering when Riley had stomped on his genitals in the hay barn after his recapture.
Willow clapped her hands. “Guys! We’re still wasting time!”
“Right.” Buffy was all businesslike as she turned to face Riley. “This is what we’re going to do…”
Riley listened, eyes wide, to their plan to get back inside the Initiative. They’d fail; he knew it for a fact. But more importantly, the fact that they had captured him would mean he’d get a swift trip to join Mark in the cells once Maggie found out about it.
“Look, don’t get mad,” he glanced at Craig, “but I mean it. You’ll all get killed and what good is that?”
No one spoke, so he continued, “If Seventeen—”
“Spike.” The vampire corrected the name with a growl and a flash of fang.
“Er…sorry…um… If Spike goes back in the facility, they won’t let him out again. The professor wants you all dead – or worse than dead.”
“Worse than dead?” Craig’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“It means that they experiment on more than just demons. There are humans in there and you wouldn’t believe what’s been done to them.”
Cam’s voice made all but Riley start and turn to face him. He was leaning heavily on a pair of walking sticks he’d found in a closet. There was sweat on his forehead, but he was on his feet.
“Cam!” Buffy rushed to his side. “Here lean on me. What are you doing out here?”
Leaning gratefully into his mom, Cam said, “I didn’t want to be left out. I think only Spike knows more about what goes on in there than I do.” He looked down at his legs. “Thanks to Spike these are getting better, but the guy who did it to me should pay for it.”
“He is.” All eyes returned to Riley.
“What do you mean?” asked Willow.
Riley’s gaze settled on Cam. "You saw Lilah, right?” Cam nodded. “Well, he’s her cell mate now.”
The others realised from the way Cam’s face paled that, whoever Lilah was, being in with her wasn’t a good thing.
“Christ,” Cam muttered.
“Please…look, if you go back and get caught, I’ll be the next one they work on.”
“So you’re just trying to save your skin?” Spike said dryly.
“Yes…no… Well, yes, but—”
“Why are we listening to him at all?” Buffy said. “Why don’t we just kill him, find the transporter and head into the goddamn place?”
Willow gasped. “He’s human! You can’t kill him.”
“I’m sure I can. A bolt through the heart will work just as well on him as it did with his tracker.”
“Let him speak.” Cam’s voice rang out loud. “And Aunt Willow, remove the spell on him. It looks too weird seeing him like that.”
“He’ll run,” said Buffy.
Cam smiled lopsidedly, “Then you’ll get to use your crossbow, won’t you?”
“I won’t run,” said Riley, desperately.
“’Course he won’t. He’s trying to save his skin and we’re the best chance he’s got,” Spike said, fixing the man with what he hoped was a hard stare and wishing he could have shown a bit of yellow in his eyes.
“Let me check him for weapons, first.” Craig went over to the inert soldier and ran his hands over the man. He took the stun gun and shoved it in his own back pocket, before tossing the stake he found to Buffy.
Willow muttered the incantation. Riley’s legs gave out and he folded gracefully to his knees. He stayed there for a moment before taking a deep breath and rising to his feet.
“I need to get to the transporter and report back to base, otherwise they’ll send back up. There are helicopters in the area. You’ll be overrun.”
Buffy and Spike exchanged glances. Though they knew that nothing would get past Willow’s wards unless she wanted them to, it was sound thinking to keep the numbers down.
“You’ll have to go with him, love. I’ll get done extra crispy if I pass the wards.”
“Who’s in the vehicle?” Buffy asked.
“My driver and two more trackers.”
“What were your orders? Kill us or take us?” said Spike.
None of them were surprised at the answer. “Take you.”
“I’m guessing you traced the magical energy from the wards?” Willow smiled as she spoke.
Realisation hit Riley. The fugitives had planned it. They’d wanted to be discovered. They were already in charge of the situation.
“I better make that call. I’ve been out of communication for too long.”
“Craig? How are you feeling?” Buffy asked, keeping her eyes on Riley.
“I’m okay now, Mom.”
“Good. Come with me.”
Spike clenched his fists as he watched the three of them walk out of the warded area, frustrated at being unable to go with them. Willow laid a hand on his arm.
“They’ll be fine.”
“I know…it’s just…”
She squeezed her fingers. “I understand, Spike.”
Casting a small smile at her, he turned to stare at where they’d disappeared into the trees.
“Uh…Spike?”
At Cam’s voice, Spike whirled around and caught the boy as he began to fall. “Stupid sod!”
“Hey!” Cam protested but didn’t resist as the vampire scooped him up into his arms.
“Not you. Me,” said Spike. “For not realising this was going to happen.”
“I’m okay…just the legs got a bit tired.”
“Well, I’m taking you inside. Willow, keep Buffy and Craig safe. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“I will. I promise.”
With a nod, Spike strode across the grass towards the house.
*~*~*~*
Four-twenty-seven began growling ferociously and tugging at the restraints that bound him to the chair.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you?”
The driver reached out for the radio, then hesitated. Finn had ordered radio silence and he wasn’t the sort of guy you crossed. Not if you knew what was good for you.
“Answer me! I know you can freaking speak if told to.”
“Targets coming this way.” The vampire managed to say the words before returning to growling.
The driver twisted in his seat to peer out the window. He got out of the van when he saw a boy carrying the limp body of a petite blonde in his arms. As he watched, Finn shoved the boy in the back. The kid staggered for a couple of paces before regaining his balance and glaring over his shoulder at Finn.
“If you make me drop her, you bastard…”
“You’ll do what, exactly?” Riley said with a sneer. “Do you want a blast of this too?”
“Where’s Zeta?” the driver asked, pulling open the side door to allow the prisoners inside.
“Bitch killed him.”
Epsilon’s snarls joined those of Four-twenty-seven’s as he raged at the loss of one of his own.
“Should I call for back up?”
“Yeah, Freddy, call them up.”
As Freddy turned, Craig hit him with the stun gun and the driver dropped like a stone. Buffy was back on her feet and she helped Riley to tie the hapless man up. He’d be held captive until they had put their plan into action.
“What about them?” Craig nodded his head towards the still growling trackers.
“I’ll shut them up.” Riley flicked the remote switch for the pain chips embedded in both vampires’ brains, and as one they screamed and went rigid.
Buffy slapped the controller out of his hands. “Stop it, you evil bastard! How can you expect us to trust you, when you do that?”
“Uh…sorry…I wasn’t thinking.” Riley glanced at her anxiously as he bent to pick it up.
They all started as Four-twenty-seven recovered from the chip firing, and went into a frenzy, snarling and wrenching at his restraints. Before they could react, something pushed its way into the vehicle in a rustle of fabric and a cloud of smoke.
Four-twenty-seven’s restraints snapped under the pressure of his struggles, and he leapt from his seat onto the invader. The force of the tracker’s attack made both of them fall out of the vehicle and they rolled on the ground, smoke beginning to appear as the dappled sunlight hit them.
“Spike!” Buffy recovered first and lashed out at his attacker with her foot. Four-twenty-seven flew through the air and into a large patch of sunlight. The result was instantaneous. The tracker roared as he burst into flames and dusted.
“What the hell are you doing? You could have been killed!” She grabbed Spike’s shirt at the throat and hauled him into the deep shade.
“I’m going with him,” Spike said quietly.
“No!” She shook her head rapidly. “No way!”
“Buffy, love…we can’t trust him to do as he says.” Her expression told him that she knew that already. “Shite! You were going to go back with him!” When she didn’t deny it, he grabbed her arms. “You weren’t even going to tell me!” Glancing at Craig, he added, “And don’t tell me you were going, too?”
“No. Just me."
“Not a chance,” Spike said glaring at her.
“Well, you’re sure not going back there! We only just got you out and you were all…”
“All what?” Spike’s voice low with more than a hint of a growl.
Shifting uncomfortably and staring at the grass, Buffy said, “Um, you weren’t really dealing very w—”
“That was the soul your bloody pet witch shoved back in me! What do you expect me to b—”
The radio burst into life. “Unit One, anything to report?”
All of them froze and stared into the vehicle’s cab.
“Uh…what do I do?” Riley said.
Spike smiled at Buffy and leaned towards her as if for a kiss. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
He snatched the stun gun from Craig’s back pocket and pressed it against her chest. With a strangled shriek, she collapsed to the ground.
“For that.” He turned back to Craig. “Take her to the house. Whatever you do, don’t let Willow teleport there. Give us the twenty-four hours we agreed to give soldier boy here. If we’re not back by then, do what you can to close the place down.”
Craig nodded. As much as he loved Spike, he’d rather the vampire go to the Initiative than his mother. “I’ll come back for the driver.” He heard the radio crackle as he picked her up and carried her away.
“Unit One?”
“Answer that,” Spike told Riley. “Tell them you’ve got me, but have sustained casualties and are heading in. Say the others aren’t here.”
“But—”
“Do it!”
Riley hesitated for a moment longer, although keen to keep himself safe, taking orders from a vampire…just didn’t seem right. His hand trembled as reached for the radio. Keeping his eyes on Spike, he told HQ what Spike wanted them to hear.
“What about him?” Riley nodded in the direction of Epsilon.
“Can you shut off his speech?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. That saves us from having to travel midst chunks of vampire flesh.”
Epsilon’s growls cut off abruptly.
“Right,” Spike said. “Do you really think you can do what you suggested, or were you talking bollocks?”
“I-er-I’m sure I can.”
“Good.” He grinned at the still discomforted man and nudged him with his hand. “Get in the driver’s seat. I’ll be right behind you. With this.” He waved the stun gun. “In case you get any ideas about double crossing me, just think which of us is more likely to survive a car crash.”
“Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Think that’s bloody obvious, mate. Are you thick? Look at me!” He stared at Riley and flexed the fingers of his hands.
“I meant you as in all of you. Why do they care? You’re just a vam…” His voice trailed away as Spike cocked his head and bared his fangs.
“Wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you.”
“Oh…right! Whatever you say!”
As Spike watched Riley climb behind the wheel, he wondered if by the end of the road trip, he’d be able to get him to add sir to the end of the sentences.
He got in the seat usually occupied by the handler and pulled the door shut, trying to ignore the panicky feelings being inside evoked. Riley turned on the engine and began to drive slowly back to the road.
“Hey, Finn?”
“Yes?”
“If you believe in God, I suggest you start praying, ‘cause we’re gonna need all the help we can get to pull this off.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Beta and banner by dawnofme
Chapter End Notes:
Oh ye of little faith! As if I'd let more bad happen to Craig :D Had you all worried at the end of the last chapter, didn't I? :)