Chapter 20

William waited beyond the door, hidden to one side. He hoped that Riley wouldn’t see him and that he’d open the door.

When I see him I’m just going to charge at him, fists flying.

William nodded satisfied with his simple plan. It was the most coherent thought he could gather after a long night of worrying without food or sleep.

I hope I’m not too late.

When the door opened, William pounced.
***

Riley peeked his head out of the warehouse and within seconds his gun was torn from his grip and Riley found the barrel pushed into his forehead.

“Let Buffy go.”

“Um, o-ok.” Riley stuttered. “She’s in the back.”

“Take me to her.”
***

William walked through the packed warehouse, paranoid and waiting for another goon to strike at any moment.

This is just too easy.

“So where are the others?” William poked Riley in the shoulder with the gun. “Because if this is a trap, I’m taking you out no matter what.”

Riley swallowed, not saying a word.

Oh, Buffy.

William saw her tied up and he fought the need to run to her. He took a deep breath before demanding, “Cut her free.”

“I can’t wait until Ripper kills you. I hope it will be painful.” Riley spoke in dangerous even tones as he peeled the tape off Buffy’s mouth.

“You asshole!” Buffy screamed as soon as her lips were unleashed. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

William and Riley stood still for a moment, not sure of who Buffy was yelling at.

“I hate you!”

“Oh well, now, that settles it. She’s talking to you, mate. Because she loves me.” William gloated but his smirk was cut short. Riley growled, tackling and knocking William to the ground. Riley held William’s wrist and smacked his hand on the floor until the gun was loosened from his grip. He tried to catch hold of it, but William pushed it away.

“And you know what, Riley?” Buffy thrashed, still attached to the chair. Her arms were tied behind her back and the sweatband was pulled over her eyes as a blindfold. “I didn’t just dump you because you wanted to marry me, I couldn’t stand you!”

“You tell him, love.” William found it difficult to speak with Riley’s knees stabbing him in the back. Just breathing was becoming a struggle.

“I was just using you for—for something different… the thought of spending my life with you makes me want to puke and I’d enjoy it! I can tell you with all the puking I’ve been doing lately, that’s really saying something. Besides if I’m marrying anyone--.”

“Buffy, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Riley spoke over William’s sharp yelp. Riley had William in a headlock and they both stumbled around the room as he tried to guide William’s head into collision with a range of hard and pointed objects.

“Yes, I do!” Buffy paused, listening for only William’s voice as it traveled around the room. She could also hear random noises of the boys fighting. “William? Are you ok, baby?”

There was a large crash followed by a grunt of pain. “Been…better.”

“William, will you marry me, baby?”

“Huh?” The boys responded in unison; both of them stopped fighting.

“Please? William?” Buffy waited, hearing nothing but panting in response. “I love you more than anything and I--.”

“Yes, Buffy—of course—I’ll marry you—but do you think now is the appropriate time for--.” William gasped for breath between the words but he never finished his sentence.

The room became silent.

‘William? What? What is it? What’s happening?”

“Don’t worry, Buffy, everything’s going to be just fine.” Buffy stiffened recognizing Ripper’s voice.
***

William saw the ex-butler standing in the doorway with an automatic pistol in his hand.

Somehow I think he’s lying.

He blinked as one single shot was fired. When William opened his eyes, he saw Riley lying dead in front of him with a neat hole in the center of his forehead. Giles put the gun away and through the door behind him came another man: Hank Summers.

“Well if you’re going to vomit, boy, get on with it because we can’t just leave him there, now can we?”
***

Buffy heard the body drop and for a brief, terrifying moment, she feared that William was the victim of the gunshot. She started to breathe again once she heard Giles order William to drag the body to the car.

Poor Riley. Sure I hated him but still…

Hearing footsteps traveling close, Buffy froze, “William?”

“Buffy, my dear, you disappoint me. I lavish upon you the gifts of fatherly love and how do you repay me? With hurt and malice. I have worried so much about you in the hands of this creep, yet, when freed, do you return home? No. I even have reason to believe that you’ve been working along side of this dangerous criminal. But shacking up with him didn’t help you in the end, now did it? You managed to get kidnapped. Again. You see, my girl, this is what happens when you stray from my protection and authority. You must learn, Buffy, you must learn.”

With that, Buffy felt strong arms around her. She struggled and fought as she was lifted into the air.
***

“There’s no reason to have her in the trunk.” William protested quietly, fearing for Buffy’s safety, hearing her kick and shout. “She didn’t do anything wrong, Mr. Summers. If anyone should be tied up in the trunk it should be me.”

“Buffy is being punished for being disrespectful and for dismissing my paternal authority. Now, William, I’m going to ask you one more time, and remember, your life depends on this: Where is the money?”

William looked out of the window of limousine. Riley’s corpse lay in the seat next to him and with every sharp turn, the body fell on him. William swallowed, feeling sick. “The cabin.”

“Cabin? Which cabin?”

“Where I held your daughter captive. It’s a long drive but that’s where it is, I hid the money there.” William lied; pushing away memories of the suitcase of millions taking a two hundred foot leap off a bridge in the middle of Arizona desert.

Giles drew his gun again, “Where is it?”

“Kill me and you’ll never know. Only I know where the money was hidden.”
***

“I’ll get the money. It’s in the house.” William slid out of the car, his legs stiff after the ride that lasted for hours. “What…what about Buffy? She’s been in the trunk for ages. Hasn’t she been punished enough?”

“No.” Hank answered without hesitation. “So here we are then, at the scene of the crime.” He inspected the outside of the house. It still looked as empty and abandoned as the day Buffy and William had moved in. “How… quaint. Ripper the door if you will.”

Giles nodded, using his gun to blast a hole into the wooden door.

“But you have so many crimes to your name William.” Hank continued scanning the interior of the home. “And all of them, you’ve committed against me. Let’s recall, shall we? You invaded my office without an appointment, insulted me, assaulted me, damaged company property, stole a gun belonging to the company, and oh yes, shot me in the arm, kidnapped my daughter, killed my bounty hunters, and stole my money. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“I’ll get the money.”

“That’s what I want to hear.”

“I promise.”

“Get it.”

William stood nervously in the center of the room, disappointed to see that the house had fewer escape routes than he had imagined on the ride over. All the windows looked too far away and Giles standing in doorway blocked his only other option for a getaway.

“Well?” Hank asked, as he impatiently drummed his fingers against the table where Buffy had served William a burnt homemade dinner.

How the bloody hell am I going to get out of this… There has to be some way…

“It’s under the floor, Mr. Summers!” William dropped down and began scraping at the planks of wood. “If only I could remember which board it was. One of them was loose, you see. I’m sure I’ll find it. Just wait a moment.”

Giles sighed loudly, “Hank, I think he’s bluffing. I don’t think he has your money. He’s just wasting our time.”

“I think you may be right, Ripper.”

Giles stepped toward William, finger on the trigger. His foot fell hard on a plank, his weight causing one end to sink and the other to raise an inch higher than the other boards that made up the flooring.

Oh, thank God.

“That’s it! That’s the one!” William scrambled to the plank, pulling it up. He repeated the action until there was a good-sized hole was in the floor. “It’s down there, Mr. Summers, I’ll just get it for you.”
***

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

William panicked in the tiny space under the floorboards. The two-foot deep area of bug-infested dirt disgusted him. He was losing all hope until he saw a hint of light shinning through the brick wall of the home’s foundation.

“I see it, Mr. Summers, I see your money. I’m just going to get it. I just need to free it from the rubble down here.” William kicked at the wall. A brick came loose and he kicked it again.
***

In the room above, Hank smiled and Giles shook his head as they listened to the wall being kicked away.

“Ripper, I think the boy may need your assistance.”
***

Buffy gave up as soon as she heard the shoots fill the air, tears damping the blindfold that covered her eyes.

“William…God, I’m so sorry.”
***

A bullet shot through the floor just in front of William’s face. He screamed and continued to kick at the small hole, desperate to break out. He dodged several more bullets until he could see Hank leaning above him threw the shredded planks.

“Face it, William, you don’t have my money. But what you have to understand is that it’s not the money that matters now: It’s the principle. Ripper, kill him.”
***

Buffy didn’t respond to the sound of nearing footsteps. She didn’t kick or scream as something scraped against the lid of the trunk.

“Lucille? Lucille? It’s me, Todd, from up the hill. Are you in there? I think young Richie’s in trouble.”
***

Giles pulled William out of the hole by gripping onto the collar of his jacket. William flinched as Giles pointed the gun to his heart.

I should be getting used to this by now…

“So William, you see, what happened was this: you shot Riley Finn.” Hank walked around William, pointing to the crumpled body that was dumped on the couch in the living room. “You killed him, William. You shot him and then you shot yourself. And then, while you bled to death, you set fire to this house, destroying all the evidence. Didn’t you?”

“Sorry, Father, but that’s not going to happen.” Buffy stood in the doorway, holding Todd’s flintlock pistol in both hands. With one eye closed, she aimed for Giles. “Leave William alone, Giles or I’ll shoot you and you know I won’t miss.”

“Buffy, go.” William was relieved to see her but he didn’t want her to get hurt because of him. “Just go.”

“No, William, I’m going to save you just like in your dream.”

Hank stepped between the couple, not caring that he was in the way of the gun. “Buffy, put the gun down. You’re not in control of your actions. You’re unhinged, Buffy. You need the most expensive psychiatric care that money can buy.”

“No, Father, I need William and no one is taking him away from me, especially not you or because of you.” Buffy locked gazes with Giles, “I don’t want to kill you.”

“I give up!” Hank threw his arms up in frustration. “You’re crazier than Joyce now! Rupert, kill him. Now!”

Hank ran at Buffy knowing she’d never hurt her loving father.
***

Giles knew it would come to this. He watched, as father and daughter fought, never releasing William from his grasp. He knew someday he’d have to choose between his employer and the girl he had watched and taught since birth.

“Joyce.” Giles whispered the name of Buffy’s mother.

What a lovely woman and Hank put her through hell and now he’s doing the same to her daughter.

“You love her?”

“Huh? Are you talking to me?” William peeked open one eye. “I’ve never met the lady. She does sound nice and all but--”

“Not Joyce you idiot, Buffy. You really love her?” He pushed the gun into William’s chest, meaning to prod a truthful answer out of him.

“Yes.”

Without saying another word, Giles turned his gun on Hank Summers and he fired.
***

“This is what happened: The girl eloped with the boy after a love-at-first-sight type situation. The boy was poor and from the wrong side of the tracks. The father was displeased with the daughter and the boy. He hired a number of bounty hunters to retrieve and dispose of the boy. However due to the many failures of the bounty hunters, the father took matters into his own hands, he kidnapped the girl and he boy followed finding himself in a trap. The father planed on killing the boy and destroying all useful evidence in a fire. The girl, with help from a friend, managed to save the boy from death. The father died in a fight.”

“And Riley Finn was?”

“Another bounty hunter.”

“All deaths were a matter of self-dense?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And no one was hurt?”

“Both were checked out by paramedics and no injuries were reported. The couple is staying at a local motel and they are available for questioning however Miss Summers would like matters cleared but as quickly as possible.”

“I think we can move the case along quickly. It sounds open and shut.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
***

“There’s so many things that I don’t understand.” William mumbled watching the news coverage of what happened on the television.

“We’re on TV already?” Buffy stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body and another wrapped around her hair.

“Seems like Ripper works fast.”

“Everything can be moved along quicker when large amounts of money are involved.”

“Oh.” William felt Buffy get into bed behind him, “Buffy? Why did Giles have a sudden change of heart? I was positive that he was going to kill me. I could see it in his eyes.” He reached forward to turn off the TV, getting up from the edge of the bed.

“I was watching that,” Buffy protested but she was happy to see that William was going to be joining her under the covers.

“I’ll summarize it for you,” He cleared his voice and Buffy curled her body around his. “According to your butler, Hank was pissed because we eloped secretly. He also added a nice bit stating that your old man suffered from obsession, delusion and hallucination… It seems like it’s all over now. We’re getting away with it. Oh, and Buffy, you’re rich again, sweets.”

“I am?”

“You’re loaded, princess. Summers Enterprises, the cars, the homes, the yachts… the news had a list that ran for miles, all yours.”

“Goody.”

“You’re not happy about inheriting a billon dollars?”

“It’s not just money and property and status. Just imagine the stress and responsibly.” Buffy hugged William tightly. “But we can talk about that later, right? I’m so tired, William.”

“Long day, huh?”

“Long and terrifying. I thought you were dead. Twice. I thought I’d never see you again.” Tears filled Buffy’s eyes and she ran her fingers along William’s chest. He was covered head to toe with bruises, scrapes and cuts. “And then, when we could hear the police sirens, I was positive that you were going to be taken away. I nearly died, baby.”

“Hey, it takes a lot to get rid of me, kitten.” Speaking lightly, he kissed her forehead. Buffy’s body shook as she cried in his arms. “Besides I know you’ll always be here to save me.” He whispered words of love into her ear, comforting her. “I’m never leaving you, Buffy. Shhh, let’s talk about something else. You didn’t answered my question about Ripper, sweetheart.”

“Giles… he had an affair with my mother when I was in high school. They were so cute and so in love. When Hank found out about the affair, he blackmailed Giles, using his “Ripper” days against him. Giles left town and today was the first time I’ve seen him in years.”

“So killing Hank, it was beneficial to him?”

“I’d say. No more blackmail. I slipped him Mom’s address and phone number too.”

“I just wish he wouldn’t have waited so long to see the light.”

“But he did in the end and that’s all that matters. I’m so glad this is over. I don’t think I could handle anymore.”

“Me too, Buffy.” William reached to turn off the light next to them, “Me too.” He changed their position slightly, spooning his body around Buffy’s. “Night, Buffy. I love you.”

Buffy felt her heart tighten and she threaded her fingers with his. “Love you, too. And thank you for bringing me back to our tee pee, this motel means so much to me.” Buffy closed her eyes as William placed his lips against her neck.

“Maybe tomorrow we can work on adding to the memories, yeah?”

“Maybe,” She grinned, feeling William’s hand cup her swelled breast.
***





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