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Chapter 3


“What’s so amusing, Spike?” Wesley asked

Spike put the piece of parchment down on the table and said,

“Who’s the pillock that translated this?”

Giles stood from perching on the desk, took off his glasses and began to clean the lenses vigorously.

“Um well, chap – man at the Watchers council…why?”

“Because Rupes me old mate, he’s made a right balls-up of the translation, that’s what – this isn’t a ‘bring us back our seal or we fight’ thing, it’s an invitation”

“Invitation, what to – and I didn’t know you could read Chinese!” Giles replaced his glasses.

“Well, you didn’t ask, did you! It DOES say that there is to be a new head of clan to be inaugurated, and as head of Clan Aurelius I’ve been invited to go, with a delegation of my own clan to see the spectacular – I was wondering how they thought we’d got their seal, coz that day we dusted every last one of those Chinese vamps we found with it. I wonder why it doesn’t mention other clans…Clan Pandora…or even the Judas clan. But that is all by-the-by anyway, because…it is also a trap”

“A trap? What kind of a trap, and how do you know?” Gunn asked

“I’m not really sure at the moment, but this is all wrong – it’s in a mixture of ancient and modern Chinese characters which they would never do, the parchment is…(Spike felt it between finger and thumb) wrong, feels………I don’t know, waxy or oily, weird anyway, there’s nothing on here that smacks of authenticity, no wax seal, there’s something else, but I can’t put my finger on it………”

Everyone frowned, Angel held out his hand, and Spike passed him the piece.

“Hmm…he’s got a point – it does feel all wrong for Chinese parchment” There were quite a few raised eyebrows at Angel agreeing with Spike!

“So who do you think is behind it then?” Wesley asked, taking and scrutinising the piece of parchment from Angel

“I’ve no idea…the Watcher’s maybe?”

“Don’t be silly – we’d know if the watchers were planning something” Wesley said to Angel, passing the piece onto Gunn.

“Huh, they’re not that bloody clever to come up with anything like this anyway!” Spike said, making both Giles and Wesley frown at him.

Spike rubbed his chin and sat thoughtfully for a while

Wesley looked at Giles and said,

“Who exactly did the translation for you Giles?”

“Old QT himself!”

“Quentin Travers did the translation…I didn’t know he read Chinese!”

“Neither did I, but I told him what I’d got and he said he’d look at it straight away for me, I knew like all these things that time was of the essence here, so I let him look at it and took his word”

Angel sat behind his desk, he too deep in thought, he then said to Gunn,

“How many enemies have I got, do you reckon?”

“Enemies – how should – oh, you mean since we’ve moved here to Wolfram?”

“Uh huh”

“Few…but I can’t think of anybody that would go about trying to get revenge via this sort of thing”

Spike suddenly sat bolt upright and snatched up the piece of parchment, and sniffed it.

“What is it baby?” Buffy asked frowning

“I know where I last smelt that smell!” Five pairs of eyes looked at him expectantly…

“When they were sorting out the chip in my noggin!”

“When you had the behaviour modifier chip inserted?” Wesley asked

“No, when they took it out…I remember then, thinking what a funny-“

“OUT – you mean you haven’t…and we’ve…oh goodness!” Wesley looked quite shocked

Buffy and Spike were both looking indignant

“The chip was malfunctioning, there was an option, I asked them to remove it” Buffy said

“Well that’s all very well but – I mean-“

Spike stood and walked close to Wesley, who leant away slightly, but stood his ground

“I’ll have you know mate, that I’ve bagged it blood-wise for three years now, and I’m not about to change that, because I know the second I went back to my old ways, I’d loose my beautiful wife, and my existence, and please take note as to which I gave priority to then, because she means more to me than ANYTHING, got it? Doing anything to spoil what I have now ABSOLUTELY isn’t going to happen, understand?”

Wesley nodded vigorously and said,

“Y-yes, yes, I’m sorry Spike, it came as a bit of a shock, that’s all!”

“Ahem…can we get back to the matter in hand here…so you think the Initiative is behind this then Spike?” Giles said taking the parchment piece off Gunn.

“I certainly do…I wonder what they’re up to”

“Well, we won’t know until we get there, will we?” Wesley said

Spike looked at him and replied,

“Hey, hey hold it you, always so bloody quick off the mark aren’t you Geronimo…no wonder we never see you with a girlfriend…”

“Do you mind!” Wesley said indignantly

“Look, mate, all I’m saying is, if you think I’m toddling along to fuck knows where to just be plunged straight into some sort of trap, you can forget it. The Initiative, well, they consider me the enemy again, a Hostile 17 since the chip’s gone, and I do not want to be a guinea-pig for their latest piece of microchip hardware thankyou very much”

“I think we should go though” Angel said

“Oh, you do, do you? Well YOU bloody well go then, what’s stopping you – just remember you might be Mr Soul man to your mates here, but to them it’ll mean nothing – you’re just another bloody vampire, another Hostile 17”

“I don’t know…Riley seemed pretty reasonable when I spoke to him – it was obvious we’d never become best friends, but………” Angel said, with a smirk

Buffy rolled her eyes and looked at her shoes, and Spike glanced at her, and he realised what had happened, that Buffy must have introduced them because she thought Riley was ‘The One’ and she wanted closure with Angel………

“Well then, I suggest you go and reacquaint yourself with over developed hall monitor, and while you’re at it, ask him what’s the catch. But if you suddenly find yourself lying on a table with a green cloth over your forehead and it feels like somebody is digging around in your brain with a blunt fork, don’t say I didn’t warn you”

Giles picked up the phone and said,

“I think I’m going to phone Quentin”

“Do you think that’s wise old man – I mean he got this all wrong” Wesley said waving the piece of parchment.

Giles hesitated

“You think Travers could be in on it too?” Gunn said

“It?”

“Well, what ever that is…Spike thinks it’s a trap” Gunn said pointing to the parchment

“Hmm, okay then” Giles replaced the receiver, and said

“So what are we going to do?”

“YOU can do what you bleeding well like, I want no part of it, once bitten and all that, if you’ll pardon the pun. Besides which, it’s you they want this time, not me, they sent that here, remember”

Angel was deep in thought, idly playing with his pen.

“Will you come with us Buffy?” Angel asked

Buffy looked at Spike, and although he was itching to answer for her, Spike stayed silent.

“What…(ahem) what for?”

“Well…you have an intimate acquaintance there, you hold sway, could have bargaining power”

Buffy looked at Angel and said

“Look, Angel – Riley’s married now, and what he and I once had – huh, well put it this way, I realise now it was all on his side…I don’t see what I could do”

Angel pouted for a second, and concentrated on his pen balancing before he said,

“But if things got rough, you might just talk them out of putting a chip in my head, you talked them into taking out Spikes’ chip!”

Buffy looked at Spike who’d got his arms folded across his chest, and she thought for a second

“That was different – Spike’s chip had malfunctioned - You could tell them who you are, and that you have your own behaviour modifiers, I’m sure that-“

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain why you don’t want to come…I was told you were getting lax over your sacred duty anyway”

Both Buffy and Spike rankled at this, Spike unfolded his arms and Buffy’s attitude changed, she demanded,

“And just what’s THAT supposed to mean, huh?”

Spike got angry and leant over the desk towards his grandsire and hissed,

“Listen you, wanting the slayer to cover your sorry arse against a nasty is one thing, but this is the Initiative mate, NOT a slayer thing, you don’t have to remind Buffy about her sacred duty, she’s 100% professional, and always will be”

“Hey, look, folks please, let’s not fall out…it might not be the Initiative anyway…” Wesley said cheerfully, but convincing no-one, so he dropped the bonhomie and sighed

Buffy was standing between Spike’s legs, they were cooing at each other oblivious of everyone else.

“How about if we go?” Wesley suggested, patting Gunn’s arm

“What – hey man, nobody is doin’ no brain surgery on me!” Gunn said, rubbing his bald head.

“And what if you go, and all those Chinese vamps are there – they’ll think you’re an English take-away!” Giles said, making Spike grin.

“Where is it anyway, I meant to ask earlier?” Gunn picked up the parchment

“Back of beyond, out it the Nevada desert somewhere” Giles said

Spike clicked his fingers and piped up,

“And that’s another thing, why isn’t being held in Hong Kong, or Peking?”

“Beijing you mean”

“Peking, Beijing, all the bloody same to me mate – why so close to home here for us?”

Wesley said

“Good point, Spike” Causing Angel to roll his eyes…





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