“What the hell!” Riley cried out, as he hauled the wheel violently to the side.
The tyres screeched on the tarmac and the vehicle slewed sideways. It swayed violently as if it was going to roll, but then righted and came to a halt facing the opposite way to which they’d been travelling in.
Spike, clinging on to the back of Riley’s seat, growled and vamped out. Before the human had chance to react, Spike’s hand engulfed his throat and squeezed.
“I knew you weren’t to be trusted, you git.”
Arms flailing, fingers pointing out the window, Riley gasped and gurgled. Loosening his grip a little, Spike said, “What’s your excuse this time? I forgot to tell you the chip doesn’t work. I can bite you—”
“No! Please, don’t. There was someone out there – on the road.”
“Who?” Spike let the man go and twisted in his seat, heading for the side door, but it began to slide open. He paused, ready to hurl himself at whoever opened the door. He was fighting for his family and soul or no soul, he’d kill to keep them safe.
“Hello, Spike.”
Her scent reached him as he heard her voice.
“Oh, fuck.” He was in trouble now and he knew it.
She stepped into view. “I hope you didn’t think you could get away that easily, did you?” She shook her head and wagged a finger. “Tsk, tsk. Shame on you.”
“But—”
A small fist hit him on the jaw, sending him back against the seat.
“Don’t ever do that again, or I swear I’ll –”
“I know. I know. You’ll stake me yourself.”
The corners of Buffy’s mouth twitched upwards. “Count on it.” She glanced to her left. “Come on, Willow. We need to get moving.”
Willow stepped forwards with a sheepish expression. “Sorry, Spike, but you know how she can be.”
“Yeah. No worries, pet. Not your fault.”
“Standing right here,” Buffy said, hands on hips.
“S-so what’s the plan now?” They all focused on Riley as he spoke. His pale face in sharp contrast to the livid bruising at his throat.
“More or less the same.” Buffy climbed in and took the seat next to the silently snarling Epsilon.
Willow sat next to Spike, and he reached out to pull the door shut.
“Spike.” The tone of Buffy’s voice made him stop. He glanced at her, an eyebrow quirked.
“We need to do something about him.” She inclined her head at the other vampire.
“You mean…?”
“Yeah.”
Epsilon thrashed with renewed vigour.
“But…it’s not his fault…he—”
“He hurts. All the time,” Riley said. “It’s the coating. It hurts so much that their reward for doing well is drugs to stop the pain. The techs have to give them two artificial eyes, because their own get destroyed.”
“There was nothing wrong with mine, but they still took them.” Spike turned to Buffy. “He’s lying.”
Epsilon stilled his struggles, and shook his head. He met Spike’s gaze and tipped his head back, baring his throat in the ultimate vampiric gesture of submission.
“I’m not lying. Check out his hands,” Riley said softly.
The fingers of Epsilon’s left hand were twisted and scarred.
“Fuck! The bastards!” Spike punched the back of the chair, causing Willow to jump and gasp.
Epsilon lowered his chin and nodded. Shaking his head, Spike said, “I can’t do it. It could have been me…”
“It’s okay, Spike.” Buffy primed a bolt in the crossbow she’d had slung over her shoulder when she arrived, and released Epsilon from his restraints.
The vampire stepped from the vehicle, walked a few strides until his feet were on the grass at the side of the road, and turned around to face them again. His eyes met Buffy’s and he gave a curt nod. The bolt flew true from the bow, struck his heart and he exploded. With a shudder, Buffy pulled the door shut.
“Get this show back on the road.” She reached out to touch Spike’s arm but he shifted away. Willow stopped her from trying again.
“Leave him, Buff,” the witch whispered.
Buffy glanced at Spike and felt her heart would break for the pain her vampire had been through and was still going through. She’d wanted him to have no part of this, fearing that his mental state was too fragile to deal with going back there again. Seeing him there, holding his head in his hands and shaking, she thought her fears weren’t unfounded.
*~*~*~*
By the time they stopped as arranged in the woods about a half mile from the facility, Spike had sat up straight but still wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye.
“You don’t have to go in there. Not now we’re here,” said Buffy, touching his knee.
He started as though she’d struck him, and grimaced when he realised what he’d done. “I’ll be okay. We need someone to go in with him.”
“No we don’t.” Willow spoke up. “I can be in and out in seconds.”
“They’ll sense the magical energy. They’ll catch you.” Spike shook his head rapidly.
“Spike, sweetie. I’m a witch, and I wasn’t always a good one.” She glanced at Buffy and smiled. “I’m powerful.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Do you really want to go back in there?” Buffy couldn’t help butting in.
“What? Yes. If it stops the bastards from doing what they’re doing, then yeah, I’ll go back in.”
“I’m just not sure it’s a good idea. That’s why me and Will found you. We’ve changed the plan a little.”
“What about me?” Riley twisted in his seat. “What are you going to do about me?”
Spike snarled and bared his fangs, unable to stop the thrill at the fear Riley showed from making him smirk. It was good not to be the one who was afraid anymore.
“Will you testify?” asked Buffy, staring at the man.
“Testify?” Spike’s smile faded. “We’re going to raze the bloody place to the ground.”
“We can’t. It’s too big,” Buffy said.
Pointing at Willow, Spike said, “She’s just said she’s powerful. Why can’t she just fucking nuke it?”
“Look, Spike. I know that your plan was like a suicide mission.” Buffy put up her hand. “No. Don’t deny it. I know no matter what you said you’d do that you’d not come out until it was destroyed.”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah…well… I need to know you’re all safe.”
“But we wouldn’t be, can’t you see that?” Buffy reached out and took his hands in hers. “They’d still be in the US. They probably have plans for other facilities in other countries.”
“Australia was the next one,” Riley said.
“See…they’re all over the world. We’ve got to use legal means to get them closed down.”
“But I don’t see how…” Spike slumped in his seat.
“Riley?” Willow said, leaning towards him. “You’d testify against them, wouldn’t you?”
Going noticeably paler, Riley nodded.
“Oh, that was so bloody convincing!” Spike started to get up. “While you’re all pissing about thinking about what to do, I’m going to fucking do something! Anything! But I can’t sit here for another bleeding second.”
Buffy pushed his chest, and shoved him back down. “You’re not going anywhere! Don’t make me get Willow to put a spell on you.” Spike glared at her.
“Our plan will work. We’ve got the two of you – so that’s both sides of what they do covered. Willow and I are going in to get records and other evidence. Then we’ll go to the press.”
“You honestly think that it’ll work?” His voice low, Spike stared at his feet as he spoke.
“It’s the only way it will work,” said Buffy firmly.
“I don’t like it.” Spike raised his head to meet her eye, seeing her love for him clearly in her expression. He wondered how she could possibly love him given what they’d done to him. But he knew she loved him and he’d do anything for her.
She cupped his face with her hands and kissed him hard enough to make Riley want to cough with embarrassment and not a little disgust.
“I can’t let you go in there, Spike. They’d kill you as soon as they saw you.”
“Already dead, love.”
“Oh, you know what I mean! I thought I’d lost you once. I can’t go through with that again.” She kissed him again and then abruptly turned away. “Do it now, Willow.”
“Wh—”
Spike collapsed and half slid out of his seat. Buffy pulled him up and dropped a kiss on his forehead.
“Sorry.”
Turning to Riley, she smiled sweetly. “Now don’t think I didn’t hear your disgust.” She grabbed his throat just like Spike had done earlier. “He’s worth twenty of you!”
Riley’s eyes were bulging by the time she released him and he slumped, gasping, back onto the seat. She pointed to the radio. “Tell them that you’ve had a tyre blow out.”
He reached for the handset.
“Make it convincing.”
Riley took Buffy’s words seriously and didn’t speak to control until he’d taken several deep breaths.
“Now sit back here.”
He climbed over the sleeping body of Spike and sat in the seat vacated by Epsilon. Riley’s heart rate doubled when Buffy strapped him down as if he were a tracker.
“Ready, Will?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Willow shrugged into her rucksack, and Buffy picked up her bag before she strung the crossbow over her shoulder. Slamming the vehicle door shut, she turned to Willow and smiled grimly.
“Cloak and veil it.”
It never failed to surprise Buffy how a few muttered words could have such a dramatic effect. The transporter simply disappeared from view.
“Damn, I’m good.” Willow grinned at Buffy. “It’s like the old days, isn’t it? Let’s kick some butts!”
She grabbed Buffy’s hands and thanks to the details given to her by Cam, she teleported them into the area where the humans who had been experimented on were kept.
“Oh, sweet Goddess!” Willow staggered backwards as soon as her feet touched the ground.
“What? What is it?” Buffy whirled around, weapon at the ready and then let out a gasp. “Shit!”
“I guess that’s Lilah.”
Buffy nodded and stepped closer to the glass. The thing – she couldn’t think of what else to call it – inside the cell walked towards her, slim white hand encircling thick black cock.
Gulping slightly, Willow took out her camera and took several photographs, trying not to retch as the creature grinned and struck various poses.
A small movement caught Buffy’s eye and she realised that there was someone else in the cell. A naked man. He met her gaze and mouthed the words ‘kill me’. His face was a mass of bruises, with the lips split and swollen. Whilst Lilah was distracted by the camera, he crawled forwards and placed his hands on the glass.
Without giving herself time to think, Buffy pressed the button to open the door and as soon as it was wide enough, she grabbed the man’s arm and hauled him out. Lilah let out a scream and dove for the door, but Buffy was ready and a kick to the midriff sent Lilah flying backwards. By the time she’d gotten up, the door was fully secure once more.
“Take him back to Spike. I’ll go get the data,” Buffy said. “Have you got enough photos?”
“Yes, I’ve got all the…um…I’ve taken some of each cell.”
“You know where to meet me?”
Willow nodded. “I do. Be careful!”
A gust of wind and Willow and the man disappeared.
Buffy turned and ran down the corridor. There was one thing that she was going to get first that she hadn’t mentioned to the others. She just hoped that she’d make it to the data room in time.
Breathing heavily, she paused listening intently at the door to Maggie Walsh’s office. The thick wood masked any sound from the room beyond it; she held her breath as she slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open.
Slipping inside, relief washed over her when she saw the office was empty. Now where did Cam say he’d seen it? Her eyes travelled to a shelf behind the desk. Oh, my God. There it is. Hands trembling she plucked the glass jar from its perch. She placed it carefully in her bag and cursed under her breath as the zipper stuck momentarily. Just as she was turning to leave, the door began to open.
Crap!
Lightning fast, she ducked behind the door and held her breath as Maggie Walsh walked in. Though she wanted nothing more than to kill the woman, Buffy knew that it would mean they’d fail in closing the place down. The professor would be made a martyr if murdered at work. Acting quickly, before the woman sensed her presence, Buffy used the stock of the crossbow to knock Maggie unconscious.
A search of the room revealed a large closet in the back corner. Buffy dragged Maggie into it and used cord she’d put in her bag, just in case, to hogtie her. Needing a gag, Buffy ripped a sleeve off the professor’s shirt and tied it over her mouth.
“Your time will come, bitch.”
She snuck out of the office and raced to where she had gotten the data when they’d rescued Cam. They needed more evidence of what they’d done to people rather than just the vampires. Buffy wasn’t so lucky when she got to the room; this one wasn’t empty.
Through the gap in the partially open door, she could see the back of a man in a wheelchair. He was humming something, but it was so out of tune that Buffy had no idea what.
What the hell do I do now?
She’d had no qualms in hitting Maggie, but to attack a person with a disability was beyond her.
Shit!
Buffy backed up a couple of paces and tried to think. There was another room opposite and she ducked inside. Her luck so far was holding out. Not only was the room empty but there was a grubby white lab coat hanging over the back of a chair. She grabbed it and decided that she’d have to bluff it out.
With the lab coat on and the bag in her left hand, Buffy strode into the room as if she owned the place.
“I need copies of all the data on the subjects in Wing 513.”
She nearly lost it when the man spun the chair around and she saw him properly.
“Jeez…”
The word just slid out between her clenched teeth. To her surprise the man laughed.
“Newbie, huh?” He held out his hand. “I’m Gunn. Don’t worry, they always send newbies in without telling them of my condition.”
“Er…Williams…Elizabeth Williams.” Trying not to stare, she shook his hand. “Uh…yeah….gonna kill them when I get back to the lab.”
“So you need Ward 513’s records?” Gunn propelled the chair over to a bank of computers. “Won’t be a minute.”
“What the hell happened to you?” Buffy clamped her hands over her mouth as soon as she said it. “God! Ignore me. I’m so sorry.”
Gunn glanced over his shoulder at her. “It’s okay. I know I look…unsettling, but hell, I’m just glad to be alive, you know?” He turned his attention back to the computers and inserted a memory stick, tapped a few keys and then wheeled round to face her. “Will only take a few minutes.” His broad smile made Buffy feel more uncomfortable than ever.
“Uh…thanks.”
“It was vampires,” said Gunn as the silence stretched uncomfortably. “That did this to me,” he added as if she wouldn’t know what he was referring to. “Maggie Walsh rescued me. I tell you, that woman’s a saint. Turning those evil bastards into useful creatures – it’s just incredible.”
“It’s that alright.” Buffy hoped her tone wouldn’t give her away.
“Without her research on vampires, I’d be dead. Without the chair she designed I’d be dead.”
Buffy swallowed hard as she took in the various tubes that ran into the base of the wheelchair.
“Incredible. Are those files ready now?” Buffy asked in desperation. Another minute with this weirdly cheerful amputee and she’d hurl for sure.
He’d just handed her the memory stick when a sharp breeze caused the doors to rattle.
“What the hell?” Gunn moved towards the door.
“That’s my ride.” Jogging past him, Buffy shoved the doors open. “Willow, you’re back.”
“Heavens!”
Buffy didn’t need to glance behind her to know that her friend had spied Gunn. The alarms shrieked into life.
“We’ve got to go – now!” Willow said, her eyes bugged out with a combination of surprise and fear.
“Can you bring him with?”
“What?” Willow’s eyes grew wider still.
“Hey! I’m going nowhere. What’s going on?” Gunn said backing away.
“Look, Will. Remember that Lilah creature?”
Willow’s shudder was reply enough.
“Well, I’m thinking…”
“Oh…”
“So can you?”
“Yes…I think so…but not at the same time as you.”
“That’s okay. Go now. I’ll be okay for a couple of minutes,” Buffy said.
“Don’t go far from here, or I won’t find you.” Steeling herself she strode to Gunn and grasped the handles on his chair. “Um…I’ll try to do this as smoothly as I can, but you’d better hold tight.”
Gunn tried to look over his shoulder at her. “Do what?”
A gust of wind and a burst of static that made Buffy’s hair stand on end, and they disappeared. The sound of running feet drew Buffy’s attention. Heart pounding she glanced around. Once they realised Gunn was gone there would be no going back. Unless… She dug the point of one of the bolts from the crossbow into her palm and smeared the resultant blood over her forehead. Just as three soldiers ran round the corner, Buffy slid to the floor, pulling the lab coat off one shoulder.
The troops slid to a halt; the leader bent down. “Miss? Are you okay?” He held out a hand to help her up, but she waved it away.
“They went that way.” She pointed down the corridor. “It was a… a tracker… but its hands…and there was a woman with it. She hit me.” Buffy touched her fingers to her forehead and winced dramatically.
“Miller, look after the lady. Gates, you come with me.”
“No, I’m fine, honestly. Please, just go and get them.” Buffy waved a hand at them.
“If you’re sure?”
Buffy nodded and began to rise, praying that they wouldn’t notice the static that was building up. The leader helped her to her feet, and the three men raced down the corridor.
Willow arrived with a blast of air.
“Hurry, Will!” Buffy grabbed her friend and they teleported just as a burst of gunfire rang out.
“Sheesh, that was close.” Willow put a hand on the side of the transporter and took several deep breaths.
“Too close,” muttered Buffy, looking down at the blood oozing through the fabric of her pants. “Got grazed by one.”
“Grazed by one? Hells bells, Buffy! You’ve been shot!”
“It’s nothing. We need to hit the road. We’re too close to them, and you can’t teleport us all back to the safehouse.”
“I took Gunn straight there. Dora’s looking after him. The other one is strapped down next to Riley, but Buffy…we’ve got a bit of a problem…”
She slid the door open and glanced at Buffy. The two men were looking understandably afraid, but Spike…Spike was huddled on the floor between two seats with his hands over his head, rocking back and forth.
Tears flooded Buffy’s eyes. “Oh, Spike…”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Oops! Missed a chapter last week! Sorry guys!
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Chapter End Notes:
Another one is posted now too! Sorry again for missing posting here - especially when you have been so kind with the comments. Was due up when the maintenance was being done.