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Chapter 3



At 5.30pm that afternoon, Buffy went downstairs and got them both something to eat from the buffet that was provided rather than have a big meal – it felt more comfortable for travelling, and as Buffy said, there were snacks available at the various stops along the way.


At 6.45pm, they both went down – Spike was itching to get going, and although he’d already gassed up the car and checked the oil and water, the cars needed to be officially checked again to see nobody was going to cheat. He said to Buffy that he’d do that, while she waited in the queue to be logged out by the officials.

Standing three people behind her in the queue was Cordelia.

“Was that little effort this morning for OUR benefit?” She asked Buffy sarcastically.

“What?”

“All that ‘oohing and aahing, and bouncing the headboard off the wall – because if it was to make Angel jealous, it-“ Buffy had her attention diverted as it was suddenly her turn at the stewards log-out desk.

“Name please?”

“Buffy Summers and Spike, um…Williams, car number 128”

The steward stamped the card and initialled it.

“Ladies, Ladies…can I have one or two of you for a photograph please – you and um, you…and” The press photographer had pulled three ladies from the queue, Cordelia included, and they all stood with their arms around each other, smiling big false smiles, while the photographer snapped away.

Cordelia was mentally patting herself on the back, Angel had argued that a Prada suit was hardly suitable attire to travel hundreds of miles in, but SHE knew better, and thought that there was a possibility of a photo opportunity, she’d have to look her best.
Suddenly spike was at her side.

“Buffy, are you ready love, we should get going” Spike asked

“Yup, ready when you are! – Let me just put this safe” Buffy slid their registration card into the back pocket of her jeans, and they left for the starting line. This time round, they would be in the first third to go.

“Cordelia…Cordelia – CORD – where are you?” Angel came into the lobby looking for his passenger.

Cordelia was talking to the mayor.

“………Of course, I chose the Inner City Garden Charity fund, such a worthy cause, it’s easy to forget when we live in a big city that there are things like trees, and grass and flowers!”

“Exactly my dear…did you know, it’s my charity?”

“Is it – oh, WHAT a coincidence!” Cordelia fawned, touching the mayor’s forearm, lying through her teeth!

“But my, you are a very beautiful woman, how come you weren’t in the beauty pageant we had last month – I know I would have remembered-“

“CORDELIA! At last, I’ve been calling you!”

“Angel! Well I’m sorry, but I’m talking to the mayor!” She tried to sound normal, but she emphasised every word through the gritted teeth of a false smile.

“I can see that, but come on, if we go now, we can be in the first third to go”

“You’ll have to excuse my partner’s exuberance, he’s SO eager to win the money for your charity!”

“Then the best of luck my dear…I shall keep a special eye out for you at the finishing post!”

“Oh thankyou! Bye-bye!” Cordelia gave him a little wave and Angel caught her by the elbow and steered her towards the starting line.

“What’s the hurry- Angel, that was the MAYOR!”

“I know who the oily little creep is – can’t fail to miss him, with his horsy teeth and bad toupee”

“He does NOT wear a toupee! – I think he’s quite cute!”

Angel sighed and Cordelia slid into the bucket seat of the Viper.

She fiddled around with the CD player, and put a boy band on.

“Must you?” Angel groused, he would much prefer to listen to some Mozart or a Puccini opera.

To save argument, they didn’t speak for the first 150 miles.

*************


“Oh dear…first casualties, by the look of things” Spike said, as they had to drive slowly past two cars that looked as if they’d had a crash. It was nothing too serious, because all four occupants were walking around, two of them inspecting the damage of their cars.

One of the marshalling helicopters swooped down, and then made a landing some yards away.

“Did the cheerleader have anything to say for herself in the lobby?”

“Oh, something and nothing, I wasn’t really listening. She made me feel a mess though, in just jeans and a tee-shirt – she had a Prada suit on!”

“Yes, and bloody ridiculous it looked too, I mean come on...what you are wearing is far more practical. Mind you, I bet she’s giving old Peaches earache in the car, ‘ Oh Angel, I’m too hot – turn the AC down, you’ll blow my hair out of place – no, I can’t open a window, I might break another nail!” Spike mimicked. Buffy giggled and delved into the glove compartment for some chocolate, which she shared with him.

“Pit stop two miles ahead, are you okay pet – do you need to stop?”

“No thanks, I’m fine, let me check………yeah, it’s 60 miles to the next one, I’ll be at least fine to that one”

“Hokey Dokey then………do me a favour pet, put that Ramones tape on”

Buffy did as he asked and she sat back, staring out into miles of nothingness as they sped along.

They’d been bowling along merrily, doing a steady 75-80 miles an hour, when Spike saw some headlights looming up brightly in his rear-view mirror.

“Dip…dip your lights, you prat, you’re dazzling me!” Spike groused, trying to look see whom this idiot was in the nearside wing mirror.

“Let him pass, if he’s that desperate” Buffy suggested

Suddenly, Spike saw who it was.

“Not on my bleedin’ existence will I let him pass, it’s tall dark and forehead!”

Buffy sat up and turned around to look, but the pure whiteness of the extra bright headlights dazzled her. She held her forearm up to her forehead to shield her eyes from the glare.

Spike put his foot down, and was nearly touching a hundred miles an hour, the engine was roaring, he didn’t want to push the car this hard this early, but it looked like he had no choice.

Angel kept on putting his foot down, and coming up so fast behind them, nearly rear-ending the Desoto, then dropping back, all the time bibbing his horn.

“Fuckin’ WANKER!” Spike hissed angrily, and swerved when Angel tried to overtake him.

“Careful Spike!” Buffy frowned and turned to look at Angel’s car again.

“Make sure your seatbelts on properly pet, there’s no telling WHAT that fucking idiot will try – NEXT – YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!” Angel had tried to creep up on the inside and ‘undertake’, until Spike swerved back into the lane, almost hitting one of the posts that roped off the road.

“Spike, let him pass, we can soon make up the time when they pit-stop. I saw Cordelia drinking loads of juice and water, it’s only a matter of time before they have to stop”

“But what about you, you’ll have to go sooner or later”

Buffy said something that she knew wouldn’t gross Spike out, especially if it helped them beat Angel, something Cordelia wouldn’t do in a million years.

“I can pee into a bottle if necessary, but I’m fine” Spike just grinned and concentrated on not letting Angel pass them.

After a few of hours of hard driving, they seemed to be back on their own again, no sign of Angel’s headlights.

“Do you need to stop, kitten, there’s one coming up in half a mile?”

“Um, do we need gas or something?”

“No, just under half full gas wise and we are nearly half way round, well, we’ve done 340 miles, but we can stop if you want”

They did stop, Spike wiped the windshield of dead insects, and Buffy went to the toilet, and then got them both a snack, the stop took them four minutes.

Lapping the cars that had crashed, they noticed a few more casualties along the way, mostly overheating, there was a long line of cars with the hoods up, steam belching from overworked cooling radiator pumps as the water boiled through them.

One car was having a wheel change.

With more and more cars joining the racing throng, and more and more casualties seemed to build up, making the course that much more dangerous to navigate around. The marshals and stewards were trying to push any broken down vehicles off the main track but it seemed that the breakdowns were building up faster than they could work, and extreme caution had to be exercised.





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