Author's Chapter Notes:
Just a couple of things for you, 1st MI6 is the same agency James Bond is supposed to work for, Spooks work for MI5 and the term is sometimes used for MI6 agents too. Basically both groups are spies, hope that clears up any questions!

Secondly, just to let you know I will never abandon any of my stories, but currently I’m having trouble writing and whilst I’m not having as much trouble with this one as I am with Princess everyone is just going to have to bear with me and my pissed off muse!

Oh and thirdly I want to say a big thank you to my Beta, especially for sticking with me despite my serious lack of contact for the last few months. Thanks.
Buffy stirred but didn’t waken as Angel quickly answered his phone. Spike absent-mindedly stroked her head, soothing her whilst his eyes never left Angel’s pacing form. Unfortunately he didn’t get much from Angel’s side of the conversation, as all he heard was the occasional “okay” and “alright then”.

This was horrendous, he thought, suddenly his body tensing with anger. Who would do something like this? Who would take the little bit? He had done some terrible things in his life, things he didn’t even like to think about, but to steal a child from her mother, from her family, he couldn’t think of many worse crimes. Blinking back tears, he swore that if anything happened to the little bit, his training in torture for information would be put to much better use. He would make this man suffer. Make him wish he could die, that he had never been born. His wandering mind returned to the present as Buffy started to move again. Forcing himself to relax, he concentrated on keeping the sleeping beauty at peace for the moment.

After a few minutes Angel closed his phone and looked at his brother. “They think that they have found him. A police officer has a sighting near the main street, close to the council buildings.”

Spike nodded, “So you’re off then?” He asked, knowing Angel well enough to know that he would need to be involved.

“No.” He replied to a shocked Spike. “I have a strange feeling that this isn’t right, the area isn’t the right place, and it doesn’t fit.”

“Okay. So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to think and wait. I know this isn’t right, it doesn’t feel right you know?”

“Yeah.” Spike replied understanding exactly what he meant, gut feelings had saved his life more than once and he wasn’t going to argue with Angel. “So do you have any better ideas?”

“I don’t know, he’s always been fond of warehouses and empty storage areas when he doesn’t keep the victims at home. A shopping centre full of people just doesn’t sound like the somewhere he would be.”

“Okay, but Sunnydale isn’t that big. All you really have is the docks and the area around the Bronze, most of that is warehouses.”

“The Bronze is still there?” Angel asked incredulously “Jesus, I’d have thought they would have torn that place down years ago!”

“Nope, it’s still the only place for the high school kids to go around here. Not a nice area though, it’s lost a lot of business’s in the last few years. Hardly any of the warehouses are used anymore.” He paused as Angel suddenly stood very still.

“It’s got to be there!” He exclaimed looking at Spike, “I’m going over there now.”

“Going where?” Buffy suddenly said, pulling herself up to a sitting position and pushing away Spike’s attempts to keep her lying down.

Angel looked at his wife and seeing the determined look in her eye, knowing from years of experience that there was no way that he could argue with her when she was wearing that look, he sighed. “I think that I know where Katie is and I’m going there now.”

“Where is the FBI?” she asked, her mind taking time to process the information.

“They are following up another lead at the moment; I’ll call them on the way.”

She stood up quickly, looking around the living room, “I’m going with you,” she stated.

“No you’re not,” Spike exclaimed. The thought of Buffy being caught by this monster terrified him.

She turned to look at him, her eyes hard as ice. “Yes I am. I can’t stay here, I need to know what’s going on, and I need to be doing something. If I stay here I’m going to crawl out of my own skin.”

Spike and Angel looked at each other with identical looks of resignation across their faces. They both knew better than to continue to argue with her and whilst they both worried and wanted to keep her safe, they also both knew exactly how much this was effecting her and they could understand the need for action, to do something.

“Okay.” Angel began, “You can come, but you are not to leave Spikes side, not for any reason!”

Buffy nodded, knowing that she had won this battle and quickly grabbed her coat and boots, Spike and Angel not far behind her.

They all piled into Spike’s car and Buffy sat staring out of the window as the scenery flew passed, much quicker than the legal speed limit. Just before they reached the Bronze and the surrounding warehouses, Angel’s phone began to ring.

“Shit!” He exclaimed, “I forgot to call Gunn!”

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quickly answered it. It was clear from his conversation with Gunn that the shopping centre had been a false lead, just as he had thought. He gave Gunn the directions to the warehouse area as Spike stopped the car suddenly with a jerk. He was staring in horror as smoke poured out of the roof of the warehouse in front of the car.

Angel yelled into the phone, instructing Gunn to call the fire service before closing the phone and jumping out of the car, closely followed by Spike and Buffy.

“I’m going in,” Angel said, getting his gun out and heading towards the main warehouse doors. “Take the rear, make sure that if I miss him, he doesn’t escape,” he instructed Spike. There wasn’t any doubt in his mind that this was the right place and that Katie was inside that building, that his daughter might die. Whilst he didn’t feel close to his daughter, he knew that if Katie died it would destroy Buffy; he needed to get in there and get her out.

Spike grabbed Buffy by the arm as she went to follow Angel, “You’re staying with me pet,” he told her firmly.

“But Spike! Katie, she’s in there! Please.”

Ignoring the pleading look in her eyes, by refusing to meet them, he replied by dragging her around the corner. “Buffy, you need to leave the little bit to Angel, he can’t be distracted by you running in there after him, if you do it might get Katie killed!”

The pleading look left Buffy’s eyes to be replaced with tears which slowly trickled down her cheeks. It damn near broke Spike’s heart to see her so lost, hurting so much. “Spike, he will save her won’t he? Please tell me it will be okay.”

He gave her a quick hug, “Yes, it will be alright,” he whispered in her ear before pulling out his gun and heading towards the back of the building. “Stay behind me.”





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