The next afternoon, Spike and Xander were seated in the stands of the UCLA gymnasium, surrounded by parents and kids. The banner above them read ‘State gymnastic championships.’
“Ok, what exactly are we doing here?” Xander asked dubiously.
“Told you, getting our grease man.” Spike pointed to the next competitor just about to take the floor.
Xander’s eyes went wide with shock. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer began, “next up, Dawn Summers.”
Dawn launched into her routine, oblivious to the two sets of eyes watching her intently.
“Lil’ bits got talent, very flexible.” Spike rose to his feet clapping and whistling as she finished with a bow, for the first time noticing the bleached blond, a huge grin spreading on her face.
Xander also rose, but with less enthusiasm. “Who else is on the list?”
“She is the list.” Spike replied, leading him out of the sports hall, stopping outside the changing rooms where the contestants were gathered after their performances, greeting proud family and friends.
“Spike!” Dawn called out, fighting her way through the crowd and throwing herself into his arms. “I can’t believe you came! And Xander too!” She hugged the other man.
“Niblet! I can’t believe how much you’ve grown.”
“Well it has been three years Spike. You get all my letters?”
“Every one. Including the one about that R.J guy. I’m telling you Dawn, you just say the word and he’s a footnote in history. I’ll make it look like a painful accident.” He leaned in to her, running his finger across his throat in a beheading gesture.
She chuckled. “Hey, just ‘cause you’re out of prison doesn’t mean you can go all ‘protective big brother’ on me again. I’ve actually been on second dates since you’ve not been around to scare the guys off!”
“Nice to know that you’ve missed your dear old bro-in-law platelet.” Spike said placing a hand over his heart in mock hurt.
She punched him playfully on the arm. “I have missed you. And I’m really glad you came to see me.” She paused, a thought striking her. “Wait, you did come to see me right? ‘Cause if you came to see my sister you wasted your time, she’s not here.”
“Niblet, we came to see you in action. No ulterior motive I swear.”
Xander scoffed. Dawn eyed them both sceptically.
“Ok, maybe just a little one…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later and the three were sat in Baskin Robbins, the youngest with the biggest bowl of ice cream either of the other two had every seen.
“This is so cool. I can’t believe I’m actually going to be part of one of your heists.”
Xander still wasn’t convinced. “Buffy finds out, you’re a dead man.” He told Spike. “Hell, then she’ll probably kill me too.” He turned to Dawn. “And she won’t exactly let you off lightly either.”
The teen scoffed. “No Xander, she won’t do a thing. She doesn’t care about what happens to me anymore. I’ve not even seen her since Christmas. That was six months ago. She’s too wrapped up in her ‘perfect new life’ to even come and watch me in my most important competition yet. There’s no room for her little sister at her cocktail parties and galas. Besides, I’m nineteen years old. I can do what I like.”
Spike smiled to himself, ‘there was the stubborn streak, a trait of both my Summers women.’
After dropping Dawn off at her dorm, Spike turned to Xander.
“We need Giles.”
“He won't get involved. I’ve not seen him since the wedding but I heard he went straight a year ago. Got himself a nice little bookstore.”
“You can ask him.”
Xander sighed in defeat. “I can ask.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bell above the door of the small bookstore, named ‘The Library’, rang and Xander entered.
“Hello, welcome, how may I hel…” the man behind the counter trailed off as he looked up from the bookwork he had been doing and saw who his customer was.
“How ya been, G-man?”
“Never better.” He took off his glasses and began to clean them. “You? And Anya? How is married life treating you?”
“Yeah, good. You know Ahn, any excuse to boss me around.”
There was silence for a few minutes.
“Xander, as much as I enjoy your company, I do have work to do. So are you going to ask me whatever it is you came here to ask me? Or should I just say no and get it over with?” Giles said.
“You’re the best there is. We want you on board.”
“I’m settled here. I’ve changed.”
“Guys like us don't change, Giles. We can bury the thief deep inside, pretend we don’t crave the thrill anymore, but it’ll always be part of who we are. Come on man, I know Ripper’s still lurking in there somewhere. You’re just trying to ignore him.”
Giles sighed. “What is it this time? What’s the scam?”
Xander placed an envelope on the counter in front of Giles, and then walked out of the store.
Giles considered his options. He looked back down at his paperwork, grimacing at all the red minus amounts; his business wasn’t doing as well as he liked to make out. He then looked at Xander's envelope: a ticket to Las Vegas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Spike sat on the crowded subway car with a smirk on his lips, the only one aware of the inevitable heist.
His eyes were fixed on an attractive brunette women and her pray; a bulky stockbroker who stood facing her, focused entirely on the v of her low cut top and curve of her hips in her tight leather pants.
Watching the man carefully, the young women waited for just the right moment. When the train hit a sharp curve, she stumbled forward, her left hand finding support on the stockbroker's shoulder as her right reached out and took his wallet. He meanwhile, oblivious to her actions, quickly reached an arm around her waist to steady her (and to cop a feel).
“Wow, sorry 'bout that. And thanks.” She told him with an innocent smile, while detangling herself from his grasp.
“No problem.” He replied with a leer.
Reaching the subway station, the car screeched to a stop. The women gave one last smile to her victim before squeezing between the bodies and off the train.
A few moments later, Spike stepped off, too. He followed the women through the chaos of rush hour at the station until she was almost at the exit. Picking up his pace, he nonchalantly pushed passed her, departing quickly into the cool night air.
“Hey, watch it asshole.” The women shouted, but didn’t take further action; she was used to the rudeness of crazed commuters. She relied on it actually in her chosen ‘career’. That was until she reached to examine her lift; her stolen wallet was missing. She groaned, then her fingers found its replacement; a calling card. One side, in black printing, simply said ‘Spike’, and on the other, handwritten, was ‘Nice pull. Robin’s bar.’
Five minutes later, the women entered said bar, instantly spotting the wallet on a table occupied by the peroxide headed, black clothed man. She cautiously walked towards him.
“Hello, Faith. Please, take a seat.” Spike gestured to the chair opposite, taking out a cigarette and lighting it, offering one to the women.
“Who are you? And how’d you know my name?” She asked, eyes narrowed, hesitantly doing as she was told. She didn’t even acknowledge his offer, so Spike put the packet away.
“I’m a friend of Richard Wilkins.” He replied as he reached into his jacket, pulling out a plane ticket and setting it on the table, keeping his hand over it. “I need an answer. Now. In or out?”
“What is it?” Faith asked.
Spike smirked. “A job offer luv.”
“Well Blondie, gotta say, you're pretty trusting pretty fast.”
“Wilkins has every confidence in you.”
“Huh. Well, fathers are like that.” She noticed Spike's shock. “He didn't tell you? Not surprising really, he doesn't like me trading on his name.”
“You do this job; he'll be trading on yours.”
“If I say no?” Faith inquired.
Spike hesitated for a moment. All the others he’d recruited he’d been sure of, known without question they’d be in. But with this woman he had his doubts, it could go either way.
“Well I guess we'll get someone else who won't be quite as good and you can go back to being felt up by stockbrokers.” He eyed her expectantly.
Faith looked down at the ticket, then at the wallet. ‘It’s one or the other,’ she thought to herself.
The waitress passed the table, and Spike looked up at her and asked for his bill. When his attention returned to Faith, he looked down at the table; the wallet remained but the ticket had gone. It was now in the brunette's hand, who was studying it intently.
“Las Vegas, huh?” Faith said to the ticket, then lifted her eyes to meet the sparkling blue ones. “You do know I’m not going to sleep with you right? ‘Cause flirting with a guy to pick his pocket is one thing, but I gotta tell you, I don’t drive stick. That’s something else dear old daddy probably forgot to mention. He still thinks it’s just a phase.”
Spike was momentarily taken aback, but recovered quickly. “Hey what you do in your private life is nothing to do with me pet. And as for me hoping for a shag; there’s only one woman in my life.” He explained, holding up his left hand where his platinum wedding band resided. ‘Even if I’m not the only man in hers’ he added silently.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
thanks for the lovely reviews. Sorry it took me a while to update.