Faith swore as she pushed through the front door of Wolfram and Hart. She tipped her head in Carl the doorman’s direction, by way of greeting, and strode across the marble floor to the elevators. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
“Fuck!” she thought as she viscously stabbed at the lift controls, hitting the ‘9’ button three times in her annoyance, “It’s fucking 11.45 on a Friday night. Is Angel some sort of bastard or what?”
In fact, it was pointless asking herself that question, when Angel was the one she was so pissed off at. Thanks to his decision to schedule a late night Heads of Department Meeting. On a Friday night! Late! He’d never have gotten away with it if Cordy had currently been in residence. But she’d taken herself off to Ashdown for a few days to catch up with the gang over there.
Illyria still appeared at random moments and for arbitrary lengths of time, but as there were several individuals at the Estate that she considered powerful enough to be deemed worthy of her attention, the visit was surprisingly drama free. The two entities had pretty much accepted their cohabitation, and Spike and Oz were trying to work with both Cordy and Illyria on some way to control the transition so that they could coexist peacefully and efficiently and shift at agreed times and/or in agreed circumstances.
Anyway, while the mice were away, the cat had turned into his usual dull and boring control freak routine. How he got away with it with the others Faith couldn’t imagine. Fred and Wes were not doubt only there because they were still on U.K. time and as for Gunn and Lorne, one was a workaholic and the other was a night animal anyway.
Mind you, so was she, when it came down to it. But still, 11.00 on a Friday night! Never mind that she was three quarters of an hour late. She had almost decided to blow the meeting off altogether. Not even ring him. After all, there were so many other things that she could be doing at this hour!
Okay, so it wasn’t like she was actually seeing anyone, but when did that ever slow her down. Although, to be fair, she kind of had slowed down lately. It was sort of a combination of the Robin thing (right feeling/wrong person) and the Buffy and Spike thing (way envious of their whole package deal/wanna get some of that for myself).
Not that Faith was any kind of nun. She still strutted her stuff and flirted hard out, and she’d even had a few hook ups since she’d moved to L.A. and crossed Angel off of her ‘maybe’ list. They’d always had a connection, she and Angel, but even before Cordy’s blue tinged return, the big guy was just too morose and moody for her tastes. And as for one-night stands, somehow they just didn’t hit the spot the way they used to.
Still her lack of sex life aside, that was no reason for Angel to cut in on a Friday night. Even if she wasn’t looking to hook up, Faith usually spent Friday nights cruising the bars and nightclubs looking for action of a different kind. Whenever, wherever the scene was hot and heavy, the vamps were sure to follow. And Faith and her girls would be half a step behind them, dusting up a storm.
And if not vamps, then there was always info to gather on various other creatures of the night. Lisa and Leslie were still out there now, probably cruising through the main Downtown clubs and bars – The Mayan, The Vault, Elite and House of Blues, then out along Sunset, through Echo and Los Globos and on out to Hollywood. They’d be having a ball, really get their grooves on, and she’d be stuck in a stupid fucking meeting with Captain Forehead. She stepped out of the elevator and grinned to herself as she realized how Spike’s little insults were rubbing off on her. She was in a prime mood for insulting Angel, so he was no doubt going to get it.
Harmony’s desk was empty and the outer office was quiet. Not that that was any surprise, given the time of day, or night. But just as Faith went to open the door to Angel’s office, that special low down, one of a kind tingle hit the back of her neck. “Hmm,” she thought, “There’s a vamp, on the other side of this door. One that’s not Angel!” Faith knew Angel’s signature, and Spike’s too for that matter, well enough to be able to distinguish them from other vamps.
It could have been Harmony, or any one of his numerous undead staff members. Faith didn’t really know the ditzy blonde vamp, or the rest of the W & H personnel, well enough to be able to isolate their signatures out from others, but something, some Slayer instinct, was telling her that Angel’s ‘guest’ was neither an employee or a client.
Faith backed silently away from the door, moving across to the glass wall to see if she could catch a glimpse of what was happening through the blinds. There was a narrow gap, not enough to be able to view the entire room, but just enough to spot the likely antagonist. The guy was wearing an ill fitted black suit over what looked like a grey, rib knit jumper. He was standing with his hands on his hips, talking seriously to a seated Angel. The scene seemed innocuous enough, but Faith’s warning siren was still clanging incessantly.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, Angel kicked the coffee table across the gap between himself and his guest. The table bowled the guy over and Angel was on him in a flash, splintered table leg in hand. Faith barged through the door and into the room just as the vamp managed to still the deadly downward thrust of Angel’s stake. The Big Boss looked up only long enough to acknowledge Faith’s presence, before returning his attention to the seemingly vacuum cleaner-bound guy beneath him.
“You sure you want to do that, chief?” the guy smirked up at Angel.
“Fairly certain I said I'd kill you if I ever saw you again,” Angel growled.
“Oh, I never doubted you. But you gotta ask yourself... would I really come in here unarmed, knowing that, without an ace in the hole? Wouldn't make much sense, would it?”
Angel growled, and flicked in and out of game face. “What did you do?”
“Nothing undoable. But you’ll need me if you want your crew’s heads to remain attached to their bodies.”
Angel sat up, frowning. “If you’ve harmed any of them, there’ll be a world of pain for you, and you’ll beg for dusting before the end.”
“Hmm, revenge, sounds like a mission I could get into. But before we storm off so that you can act the hero and save your people, aren’t you forgetting your manners. Perhaps you should introduce me to this little lady here.”
Angel looked genuinely confused for a minute, before he realized that his guest was referring to Faith. She stood there, arms folded and hips cocked out as she shook her head in displeasure.
“It’s a sad day when the bad dude’s got better etiquette than you have Captain For…”
“Uh, Faith,” Angel interrupted, as he stood up. “This is Lawson, Sam Lawson.”
“Hmm, cute, so where did you two hook up?”
“It’s a long, boring story. You wouldn’t be interested.”
“I beg to differ,” Lawson interjected, as he gracefully rose to his feet. “I think this beautiful creature may well find the tale fascinating. Does she work for you chief? She gives off some mighty powerful vibrations,” he added as he slowly circled Faith, his eyes lit up with curiosity and intrigue.
“You’ve never come across a slayer before?” Angel asked. “You are in for a treat. Faith could probably wipe the floor with your ass more efficiently than I could. And she’d probably get more enjoyment out of it?”
“A slayer. Heard tell of them before of course, but never come across one in the flesh. You're a pretty little thing, if you don’t mind me saying so ma’am. Hard to believe you’d be strong enough to take on monsters the like of Angel and myself.”
“Well don’t make any sudden moves Sonny Jim, or you might just find out. Now, it sounds like you boys have got some reminiscing to do. But before you do that, what about Angel’s staff? What have you done with them?”
“They should be safe enough, for now. But yes, perhaps we should head their way. It is getting late, and I wouldn’t want any of them nodding off.”
Lawson turned suddenly and headed out of the room, towards the elevator. “I’d be happy to fill you in on mine and Angel’s past if you’d like Miss Faith. I was nothing but a lowly ensign when I met him, doing my bit for my country. But the chief here had a huge influence on my life, really made me what I am today.”
“You turned him Angel?” Faith frowned as she stepped into the lift after Lawson. “He’s one of yours? But if he’s talking about, what, World War One? Two? Then you …”
“It wasn’t what you're thinking Faith,” Angel interrupted, “I didn’t want to do it. But we needed him, needed his skills.”
“Yeah, chief, that was about the sum of it wasn’t it. You were just doing whatever it took to complete the mission. And me, well I was just unintended collateral damage right?” He stepped out of the elevator, and led the others towards a conference room. “Now I guess I’ve got some collateral of my own.”
Lawson pushed the door open and stood aside to reveal Gunn, Fred, and Wesley, each bound and gagged and balanced atop a swiveling office chair. Looped over each of their heads was what looked like a strand of fine wire. Both Faith and Angel rushed into the room and over to the hostages.
“Whoa, Easy now. That's double-ought wire wrapped around your crew's necks. Take a fella's head clean off with just a little tug. Best not go roughhousing. Something might get knocked over.”
“Whatever you want from me... this isn't the way to get it,” Angel growled slowly.
“Already getting it Chief,” Lawson grinned. “The worry in your eyes, the fear of what might happen next, which is right on the mark, 'cause I got a funny feeling there's gonna be some blood spilled tonight.” He crossed his arms smugly and shrugged, “Just r32;for old times' sake.”
Angel stood stock-still but glared at Lawson, shifting into game face and growling angrily.
“Whoa, all right boys,” Faith stepped between them. “Time to rein back on the testosterone display, the both of you. My stake hand is feeling mighty itchy right now. This seems like way too personal a matter to drag others into. How about we let the nice little minions go, and settle this vamp to vamp, with a good old fashioned wrestling match.”
They both stopped glaring at one another and stared at Faith in confusion. “Well sure, I might be stealing Buffy’s pipedream, but really, a few less clothes, a little oil, I gotta admit, it’d be a pretty picture.”
“Um,” Angel stuttered, “I uh, I don’t think that wrestling thing’s gonna happen Faith, but you're right about keeping the others out of it. Cut them down,” he flicked his head towards his bound staff, “While the Ensign and I have ourselves a quiet chat over here.” He grabbed Lawson by his jacket lapels and threw him across to the far side of the room.
Faith didn’t waste any time. She drew out her dagger, Dancer, from its cuff and used its short form to slice the bindings and gags from Wes, Fred and Gunn’s hands and mouths. Then very gently, she stood on a chair behind each captive and swiftly sliced through the noose wires dangling from the ceiling.
As soon as they’d been released, Faith strode over to the far side of the room. By the sound of shouting and flesh striking flesh, Angel and Lawson were still working out their differences. As she got closer, she could hear their angry conversation.
“We all need a reason to live, even if we're already dead,” Lawson argued pensively. “Mom, apple pie, the stars and stripes— That was good enough for me till I met you. Then I had this whole creature-of-the-night thing going for me—the joy of destruction and death—and I embraced it, well at least I tried to. I did all the terrible things a monster does—murdered women and children, tortured fathers and husbands just to hear 'em scream—and through it all... I felt nothing. 60 years of blood drying in my throat like ashes. So what do you think? Is it me, chief? Or does everyone you sired feel this way?”
“You're the only one I ever did this to...after I got a soul.”
“Do I have one, too?” Lawson asked desperately.
Angel blinked and looked aside. r32;”I don't think it works that way, son.”
“Didn't think so.”
Lawson threw another punch at Angel, despair fuelling his rage, driving the older vamp back into the table. A solid kick from Angel sent the sailor tumbling across the room and into the abandoned chairs. They all paused and watched in horrified fascination as the chair Fred had stood on only moments before rolled slowly backwards. Lawson waited until it had trundled to a stop, before looking up at Angel and shrugging, a whimsical expression on his face.
“You gave me just enough, didn't you? Enough of your soul to keep me trapped between who I was and who I should be. I'm nothin'... because of you.”
Lawson roared and charged at Angel again, but Angel grabbed him, threw him across the room, and leapt on top of him. Soon the two were rolling around on the floor, each trying to cut the others’ unneeded air supply off.
“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Faith grumbled, dragging Lawson off Angel and tossing him through the rear window of the room, despite the whoosh of awareness that threatened to take her own breath away. Shaking herself, she bent down and picked up Angel and sent him flying in the same direction.
“Alright lads,” Faith said as she stepped through the shattered window and into a sea of glass fragments and splintered wood, her palms outstretched either side of her in appeasement. “I think that’s quite enough.”
Both men stumbled to their feet. For once their focus was more fixed on Faith than one another. Lawson’s expression was wary, tinged with a touch of admiration. Angel seemed more annoyed and contemptuous.
“Step aside Faith. I appreciate you freeing the others, but you can go now,” Angel growled, turning away from the brunette slayer. “This really has nothing to do with you.”
The ‘others’, who had retreated to what had seemed like the relative calm and safety of the foyer, now stood encircling the detritus of the fight. They shook their heads in dismay and disapproval at Angel’s dismissive tone and words. Wes and Fred, both of whom had only popped in for a few hours to sort out, and report back on issues in their departments, considered themselves as much, if not more, aligned with Amazon these days than Wolfram and Hart. Neither of them were impressed with Angel’s attitude towards someone that they deemed a close friend and colleague. Even Gunn knew Faith well enough to find the dismissal rash.
“Oh shut up you big lunk!” Faith snarled angrily. “You really, really piss me off sometimes you know.” Her admonition was enough to shock Angel into temporary silence. She knew she’d have to act quickly to take advantage of it. “So you, Lawson, what’s your deal? What is it you want? Is it simply revenge you're after?”
“No ma’am, not really. I guess what I really want is to find some purpose in life, some reason to go on. I know that sounds pretty suspect for a vampire, but somehow the whole torture and murder routine has never really satisfied me. I suppose I came here looking for some answers, hoping that the chief here would either be able to settle my misgivings, or put me out of my misery.”
“Hmm, so Angel, why not?”
“Put him out of his misery? Sure, that’s what I was trying to do before you interrupted!”
“Noooo.” Faith added a touch of condescension to her voice as she placed her hands on her hips. “You turned him after you got the soul right? Yet you reckon you haven’t passed any of that soul onto him, that it doesn’t work that way. Well why not? Why doesn’t it work that way? Have you even bothered to pick up a book or make a call in all the years since to check?”
“Well no, I’ve been busy, and besides which, there was nothing to say he was still around out there. I mean, for all I knew, he could have dusted on the swim to shore.”
“Rrrr, Angel, you really are such a self centered pillock at times. Sounds like you turned this guy in unusual circumstances, by his own admission he’s an unusual vamp, and yet you can't be bothered pausing long enough to see whether he just needs a little shove to start heading in the right direction. You’ve got vamps and all manner of demons working for you. You’ll happily overlook all their past history of evil and bloodshed to award them Employee of the Month, but you’ll stake a guy who comes seeking guidance.”
“That’s different. I’m not responsible for the blood on their hands,” Angel shouted at her. “I didn’t turn … any … of them.” His voice petered off as he heard what he was saying.
“Hmm, so as per usual this is all about you. It figures. Right then, I’ve got a proposition for you. Provided he agrees to a trial period of bagging it, I’ll take him off your hands. What do you say Lawson? How would you feel about teaming up with a slayer?”
“Oh don’t be so naïve and idiotic Faith,” Angel interjected. “For pity’s sake. This isn’t the pound, and he’s not some cute little stray you can take home. Asking him to bag it? Of all the simple-minded, guileless things to do! I thought you were hard assed enough to not be sucked in by …”
“Actually Angel, I’d have to agree with Faith,” Wesley cut in. “This chap certainly seems a little different. I think the circumstances of his turning warrant some research to see if there is a reason why. And I’m pretty sure we’ve imposed a moratorium on staking souled vampires these days, no matter what our personal feelings towards them might be.”
“And in case you're wondering, bagging its not a problem,” Lawson added. “I've done it before, plenty of times. When there’s no thrill in the kill, it’s hardly a sacrifice to switch to donated stock. Although I’ll admit I’m not too fond of animal blood,” he screwed up his face in dislike, “I’ll put up with it in a fix.”
“How do you feel about killing demons and other vamps?” Faith asked.
“I don’t really have any opinion either way,” Lawson admitted. “But one thing I am good at ma’am, is following orders,” he stepped forward and saluted her, “And if you want me to kill vamps, then just point me in the right direction.”
“Okay, I think we’ll head out. There are still a few hours of good hunting left tonight. Let’s see if our boy here enjoys the fight. Drop by tomorrow afternoon if you're interested Wes. Bring your notebook. Maybe we've found us a new warrior.”
Faith nodded at Wes, Fred and Gunn then headed back towards the elevator, flicking her head in Lawson’s direction until he fell into line behind her. Neither of them noticed Angel standing there with his mouth open and a scowl blacker than the night sky gracing his face, leastways not until they’d slipped into the elevator car and turned to face the front. And then it was only a glimpse of him through the closing doors.
“So, Lawson, you certainly know how to make your presence known. Not that I mind so much. Angel needs his ass handed to him every now and then. But just so you know, involving his staff was not cool. They’re good folk and didn’t deserve to be dragged into shit.”
Lawson nodded, but kept his thoughts on the matter to himself. Faith flipped open her phone as they reached the lobby and patched a call through to Leslie. The slayer picked up on the second ring.
“Yep done for the night,” she replied to Leslie’s enquiry. “How about you? Any action left for me and a friend?” Faith paused as the younger slayer replied. “Holy shit? Really? Where are you? Okay, wait for us. Don’t engage until we get there. We’ll be there in fifteen.”
By the time Faith’d hung up and pocketed her phone, she and Lawson were striding through the front door and out onto the footpath. Her motorcycle was right where she’d left it, and she pulled on the helmet, and threw her leg over the seat. Lawson hopped on the pillion just as Faith kicked down on the starter.
She squealed away from the kerb and out onto the almost deserted road, trying hard to ignore the almost constant frisson of awareness that emanated from the vamp seated behind her. Damned if it wasn’t utterly different from the signature that she picked up off of other vampires.
This was less like an alarm and more like an allure. It had been buzzing in the background from the minute she’d walked into Angel’s office, but as soon as she touched him, it had ramped up a hundredfold. She didn’t know what to make of it, and she was too bloody cagey to even consider the consequences, but whatever the case, she knew that she hadn’t wanted to see him dusted. But to have taken him on like this, without a minute’s hesitation? Angel was right, she was an idiot!
Frowning, she dragged her focus back to where she was headed. After picking up a tip at The Vault, the girls had scouted out the nest of Drakorls they’d been looking for. Drakorls were vicious reptilian monsters, somewhat humanoid in appearance, but with tough leathery skin, a long snout, dorsal spines and razor sharp talons on both hands and feet. Generally they stuck to their own home dimension, but once every seven years, they ripped through the veil between dimensions and travelled in large groups to Earth, in order to access the fresh, clean seawater needed to both lay and hatch their baby Draklings. According to Giles, they'd managed to pollute the oceans in their own world so thoroughly that the few embryos that survived the laying process were unable to hatch, and died in their leathery pods.
Privately, Faith thought they’d have found much cleaner water if they’d opened their portal onto a less inhabited stretch of land than the greater Los Angeles basin or any of the other metropolitan areas that they’d set up camp. But being close to a city also meant they were close to a great source of nutrition. The Drakorls weren’t particularly picky eaters, they’d settle for any type of meat, but they were quite keen on mammals, including humans.
They’d been searching for a local enclave for the last two weeks, after news of Drakorls appearing in Barcelona, Cape Town, Sydney and Buenos Aires arrived via Ashdown, combined with the discovery of the remains of several victims of a pretty gruesome ‘serial killer’ in the Santa Monica area.
So tonight’s news, that the Drakorls had set up a nursery in a cave in the Topanga Canyon made sense. They’d planned to head to Santa Monica tomorrow night to scout out the area anyway, but obviously tonight’s tip-off had been too tempting for the girls to pass up on. They’d swung by headquarters to pick up Ashton and a few more weapons, then headed out to the coast. Beyond the fact that they’d spotted the cave, Faith hadn’t had time to get any more details, but she hoped that the discovery panned out. She was itching for a fight.
Faith leaned into the turn, Lawson shifting with her, his hands going to her hips, as they hit the long swooping overpass that led to the Harbor Freeway. The roads were still busy, even at this time of night, but the traffic was moving freely and Faith could maneuver the bike in and out of cars without slowing down. That little frisson had turned into a roar as he’d pressed the inside of his thighs against the outside of hers and the hard planes of his chest had brushed against her back.
There’d been no time to enjoy the sensation or even query the enjoyment, beyond a confused frown. She’d switched her focus back to the road in front of her, and cranked up the speed until they were zipping along, travelling well in excess of the speed limit, but determined to get to girls in minimum time.
Before long, they turned onto the Santa Monica Freeway; following it all the way out to the coast. Once they turned onto the Pacific Coast Highway, it was only another five minutes until they spotted Ashton, the watcher signaling for them to turn into a carpark. They parked and leapt off the bike, Faith pausing just long enough to unlock the weapons’ rack, grab a battle-axe and throw it to Lawson. He raised his eyebrow in question, then nodded his thanks, before the two of them turned as one and made their way towards where Ashton was scrambling up the bank at the edge of the carpark.
They caught up with him just as he reached Lisa and Leslie. The two slayers were flat on their bellies, looking across a small creek at the slope above the far bank. Faith and Lawson approached, and the two girls looked back, frowning as they both sprang to their feet, swiftly but silently. They were tense, and battle ready, their weapons at their sides, as they glanced from their leader to the man beside her and back again.
“Chill ladies,” Faith whispered. “This is Sam Lawson, and yes, those tingles aren’t wrong. He is of the undead persuasion, but he’s going to be trying on a white hat for size, see how it suits him. Lawson, this is Leslie, Lisa and our main man Ashton over there.”
There was no response beyond a fierce frown from the Watcher and a tightening of hands on swords from the two girls. Lawson merely grinned and doffed his metaphorical white hat in their direction. Lisa raised one eyebrow in disbelief, while Leslie shrugged and shook her head.
“So, what’s the story here?” Faith continued, ignoring the tension.
Lisa took the bait. “We picked up a tip from a Lister who said that a Sathari demon had told him that one of his targets had been killed by a group of Drakorls. The guy had been running along Topanga Beach Drive when the Drakorls attacked. The Sathari apparently followed them back up to their cave, next to Topanga Creek and watched as the guy was dismembered and devoured. He’d thought about sneaking in and grabbing some identifying proof so that he could claim the hit, but in the end, he wasn’t keen on tangling with even one of the Drakorls, let alone an even half dozen.”
“Ok,” Faith said, “So you're sure this is the right spot?”
“Yeah. We've watched a couple coming and going,” Leslie remarked, but we've no idea how many are in there right now.”
“Right, I don’t think we want to play on their home turf. How about we draw them out instead? Any ideas?”
“I think they’ll be less defensive if they’re thinking with their stomachs rather than their protective instincts. What if Lisa and I pose as an innocent, moon gazing couple, out for a midnight stroll. We could draw two or three out onto the flat land just behind us, and our faithful guardians could leap into the fray and save us.”
“Speak for yourself Ash,” said Lisa, “I’m just as keen to do a bit of saving myself. But otherwise the plan sounds good.”
They got into place quickly, Ash and Lisa ambling along the riverbank, chatting and laughing loud enough to attract attention. Once they were sure they’d been heard, they turned and made their way up the slope towards the clearing, where Faith, Lawson and Leslie were lying in wait. It only took a few minutes before Lawson nodded at Faith, his keen hearing having picked up the sounds of fleet footed movement down towards the stream, then up the other side.
Lisa and Ash had only just arrived at the clearing before they could all hear the stamping, crashing sounds of the Drakorls clambering up the slope. They weren’t bothering with stealthy, which meant they obviously considered themselves to be invulnerable. They were in for a surprise.
Ashton had done the research and luckily they knew that the Drakorls’ scaly skin was thick enough to make penetration by normal weapons, including guns, more or less impossible. It certainly saved them a lot of wasted time, knowing that the eyes, ears, neck and wrists were the only weak points. But as it was, even with five against two, defeating the Drakorls was no easy matter.
Lisa and Leslie battled one monster, while Faith and Lawson took on the other. They soon discovered that the beasts’ long talons were deadly, after one swiped a jagged slice down Lisa’s left arm, and Lawson took a slash to the chest. Then the fight became largely defensive, each warrior trying to avoid the sharp claws, while attempting to get a hit in to areas that were either out of their reach or too small to hit with any accuracy.
In the end, it was Ashton’s marksmanship that turned the fight, with a crossbow bolt to the eye that incapacitated the girls’ beast long enough for them to decapitate it. Even with Faith’s experience and Lawson’s speed, they weren’t faring too well, until the vamp nodded at Faith and took a dive through the Drakorl’s open legs. When the confused monster bent down to find his prey, Faith drove her sword through his ear hole and deep into his brain.
They barely had time to draw breath before another three Drakorls were upon them. With Lisa already winged, it was up to the three other supers and the regular to take on the fight. Ashton stood back a bit, firing above the warriors’ heads at the monsters’ eyes and ears. He’d managed to make one hit and several misses, when one of the infuriated beasts charged him and swatted him across the clearing and into a tree with a crunch. He lay there stationary, but none of the others were able to do more than glance his way.
Leslie gave a blood curdling scream and leapt at the culprit, hacking away senselessly at his back. Her slashes only angered the Drakorl further, and he spun round and grabbed her, shaking her so viciously that she dropped her sword. He pulled her towards his chest and roared in her face. He was squeezing her so hard that his talons began to pierce her torso, back and front, where he clutched her. A soft whimper spilled out from the terrified girl’s lips.
In a blur, Lawson was upon the Drakorl, driving his axe into the beast’s exposed armpit. It sunk in six inches, not enough to do any damage, but enough to make the thing drop Leslie and turn to Lawson. The vamp pulled his axe free and swung again, chopping off one of the monster’s hands as he ducked and dived beneath the slashing claws. With only one hand to defend himself and two hemorrhaging wounds, the Drakorl wasn’t able to put up much of a fight and it was only a matter of time before Lawson finished him off.
He spun, ready to join in wherever needed. But Faith was just finishing her opponent off and Lisa had stepped up to single handedly put down the Drakorl injured by Ashton at the start of the fight.
“There might be more of these bastards left in the cave, but I think its time to call it a night before they head this way. We can come back and finish them off another night,” Faith panted.
“Good call ma’am, I’ll go and get the watcher.” Lawson volunteered. “You and Lisa get Leslie down to the car.”
Faith didn’t argue, too battle weary and overwhelmed to do anything else. She flicked Dancer, telescoping the sword back to its dagger form, then sheathed it as she moved to check on Leslie. The slayer was unconscious, and bleeding heavily, but she was still breathing. Faith carefully lifted her and headed towards the slope leading down to the carpark. She glanced at the five Drakorl carcasses, but decided they too would have to wait for another day.
Lisa had picked up Leslie’s sword and Ashton’s crossbow and was following her down the path. Lawson brought up the rear, the limp body of Ashton cradled in his arms. No-one spoke. Faith swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. This was almost on a par with that time in Sunnydale in terms of her fucked up ability to lead. Shit, if it wasn’t for her new vampire recruit, they'd have definitely have lost Leslie tonight. Who knew if she’d survive even now?
And as for Ashton, by the time they made it to the van and Faith had the light on enough to check the watcher out, the first thing she noticed was the blood soaked into the front of his shirt.
“Shit he’s bleeding,” she moaned. “Badly!”
“Actually,” Lawson interrupted, “I think you’ll find that’s pretty much all mine.”
“What?” Faith pushed Lawson’s shredded jumper up. His chest was torn open, four long diagonal slashes exposing layers of skin and muscle, sometimes through to the rib cage.
“Fuck! We need to get you strapped up and topped up with some blood. Hell if I know where we can find a butcher open at this time of night.”
“Perhaps Angel might send a delivery of his top shelf stuff around. You know, just as a show of good faith.”
Faith laughed at Lawson’s quick comeback, a cynical suggestion and a compliment wrapped up in one. Checking that Lisa was good to drive, and that the patients were firmly secured on the bench seats in the back of the van, she closed the door and strolled over to her bike. The vamp was standing next to it, waiting for her. His hair had been slicked back during the fight, highlighting a clean, smooth forehead and twinkling eyes set beneath strong eyebrows. Damn if the dude wasn’t a hottie. Shit, what the hell had she been thinking about, taking him on? He had proved his worth tonight, but that only added to Faith’s confusion.
Warily, she hopped on the front of the bike. Lawson swung onto the pillion, scooting up close to her and wrapping his arms around her hips.
“I hope you don’t mind me holding on ma’am?” he purred in her ear. “I’m feeling a little weak, what with the blood loss. I wouldn’t want to fall off.”
“Ah, no that’s fine. Let’s get you back to base and seeing about patching you up. Then we need to see about sorting out some sort of job for you. You know, that mission you were talking about.”
As they pulled out of the carpark and back onto the highway, Faith swore she heard him murmur, “Don’t worry ma’am, I think I've already found it.”