*Sunnydale Warehouse District, the following weekend*
Buffy entered the dilapidated looking building with trepidation. Her senses were telling her there were at least a few vampires inside, although she was pretty sure other types of demons were present as well. The large steel main door looked as if it hadn’t been opened in years, and she had gotten in through a former service entrance on the side of the former warehouse. It wasn’t the only building in such a state of disrepair and sometimes Buffy had to ask herself exactly who had ever needed so many industrial buildings all over town a decade or so prior.
She was jostled out of her thoughts by the sight that greeted her: the secondary entrance, hidden behind the crumbling exterior, was a state of the art security barrier. She had stepped into what looked like a solid steel cage, with the only exceptions being the door behind her, the vault-looking door in front, and what she could only guess was the bulletproof glass observation window manned by a guard. Somebody sure wasn’t skimping on security.
“Password, please.” The disembodied voice could be heard coming from a speaker next to a security camera trained on her.
“Aut cum scuto, aut in scuto.” Spike’s voice was crisp and clear in the enclosed space. He turned to her, grinned, and shrugged. “It was Dalton’s idea to have rotating passwords with Latin proverbs and we all just went with it.”
The vault door opened and surprised Buffy with how quiet it moved. She’d been expecting something resembling the movies with metallic sounds from chains being pulled by gears. Instead, what she heard was a small hissing sound. “So what happens if someone who doesn’t know the password tries to enter?”
He led her over the threshold into a brightly lit corridor. “Nothing much. The alarm gets sounded and every single person inside either rushes out to deal with the intruder, or escapes through a secret tunnel.”
“So you don’t have, I don’t know, laser beams, or something, shooting out of the walls to cut the bad guys to pieces?”
“We thought about it, but I decided against it, just in case someone takes over and lays a trap for whomever is out and about without a clue. Also good for making sure a palace coup wouldn’t catch me on the wrong foot coming home.”
What really threw Buffy for a loop was that he looked completely serious. As if he’d actually considered something as far-fetched as lasers, but had decided against it. “You’re kidding me.”
He smirked. “Okay, so it was more of a ‘either mini-guns, flamethrowers, or walls that close in’ type of suggestion, but the reasoning’s the same: just imagine someone with a grudge was manning the door today. Had we put anything like that up, that person could’ve taken the two most powerful people in Sunnyhell out with a single push of a button. Not on my watch.” He had dropped the smirk, looking determined instead.
The Slayer had to concede his reasoning sounded good. “You really don’t trust anyone here?”
He snorted. “Trust them well enough. Up until I’ve got something every vamp ever would give an arm and a leg to have. Then you get somewhat paranoid.” He grinned again, but she could tell it was weighing on him.
It brought the message home for her once again: he would never be able to feel completely at ease ever again, just so he could walk in the sun with her. The thought brought a knot in her stomach. She wasn’t completely sure if it was from dread or anticipation, though.
Spike led her through a door to the left, to another corridor, then to the right, up some stairs, down another corridor, and finally through a matte glass double door into what anyone would have thought was a normal, open-floor plan office. There were about twenty desks in groups of four, with an additional four set aside along the far wall, as well as some stairs leading to a matte glass wall with another set of double doors.
“That’s where my office is, pet.” He’d apparently seen where her eyes had landed and decided to offer a description. “These here,” he said with a sweeping gesture that encompassed the entire room, “are my helpers.”
Almost as one, the various more-or-less human looking demons Buffy’s senses were telling her to protect herself from, stated waving ‘hello,’ most of them wearing welcoming smiles.
Spike started calling out their names, but Buffy gave up any attempt at remembering them as soon as she heard the first five-syllable name uttered. Instead she tried to guess what species each of them was from the vibes they were sending her. The tally was at least five vampires and eight or nine other demons, with a couple possible humans thrown in for good measure.
“This here is the Slayer, Buffy Summers.”
Apparently the introductions were all done and it was Buffy’s turn to say something. “Hello, everyone. I’m… not going to slay anyone, so don’t worry.”
By the looks of relief that crossed at least a couple of faces, as well as the chuckles from some of the other people there, that was the right thing to say.
“Let me show you to my office now, Slayer.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her along, past the still smiling assorted demons, up the stairs and through the glass double doors that closed behind them with a thud. She realized the office had to be soundproofed. When one added in the matte glass, it was almost completely private, while still accessible. Part of her was proud of him for having apparently given a lot of thought to how to run his operation. Then again, it could have been someone else’s idea, like the passwords, but at least he’d implemented it. She remembered her Dad telling her about different office-space layouts and how they affect morale on one of her few trips to his work, back in LA.
“Usually when I’m here the doors are always open, but we’ll keep them closed for now for more privacy.” He was looking at her, obviously waiting for her verdict. “So, what do you think?”
“It’s very… corporate, but not.” She sat down in a plush swivel chair opposite his impressive-looking desk, complete with computer, telephone, post-its, and even a stapler. It all looked so normal, so nothing like the only lair of a Master she’d seen that she had yet to wrap her head around it. “Are the people out there it? Your whole operation is less than twenty vampires and demons?”
“There are a few more, some that only do the day shift and what not, but that’s most of them.” A frown creased his brow. “Were you expecting an army?” He was half-leaning on the corner of his desk, looking down at her.
She got up, her anxiety not allowing for her body to stay in one place for too long. “No, yes, I don’t know! I just wasn’t expecting ‘Spike Ltd.’ I don’t really know what I was expecting,” she confessed. “I guess you’ll just keep surprising me, that’s all.”
He was up and in front of her in the blink of an eye, his hands holding her shoulders, and his eyes pinning hers. “There are a total of eleven vampires, five humans, and about fifteen other demons that I can call my own at the moment.” He took his right hand off her to point with his thumb. “The ones out there are the nerve center, but we’re recruiting more muscle every day.” He ran his hand through his hair. “You’re right, it’s probably the smallest number to hold an active Hellmouth in recorded history, but they’re all loyal, and, most importantly, they all agree to respect the Pact.” He sounded proud of them. “Wouldn’t trade one of them for ten of anybody else out there.” He lowered his head to be even closer to her. “What’s gotten you so upset, all of a sudden?”
She hadn’t realized it until he said it, but it was true. She was upset. And the reason was weird, to say the least. “Are they enough, though?” She wasn’t really sure where that question had come from, but she went with it. “If someone like that Khaki-straps guy comes barreling down on you, claiming the title of Master, ahead of an actual army of demons, vampires, or anything else, could you survive?”
He smiled. “You forget the Gem. Pretty hard to kill with it, ain’t I?”
“Especially with the Gem. You said it yourself, the Gem is like catnip to vampires. Someone will spill you have it, some baddie with a following will hear about it, and come to get it. What then?”
“Then we fight, and they die.”
“What if they beat you, if they—” She couldn’t even finish the thought out loud. The dread she was feeling was making it difficult to breathe, let alone speak.
He kissed her gently, his hand cupping her cheek. “You’re worried about me.” His voice was filled with awe, and it only made her madder.
“Of course I am, you dumb idiotic stupid moron!” She pushed him away, exasperated that he seemed to not have understood anything.
His hands gripped her shoulders again, turning her towards him once more. “You don’t understand: since I’ve been turned nobody has worried about me. Ever.” He was looking at her as if she’d just given him the moon, and it made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. “Knowing you care, that you worry, it’s—” His hands slid down her arms, then he brought her hands up and kissed them in turn. “Thank you!”
She couldn’t think of an answer to that, so she just kissed him instead. It lasted longer than usual, slowly growing in intensity, until hands started roaming, and he’d pushed her against the desk, with one of his legs between her thighs.
She felt excited, happy, and loved, but a knock on the door brought their make-out session to a stop, and left her panting.
Spike growled softly in annoyance—something she found endearing in that moment—and turned around, shielding her behind him. “Come in, since you had to come banging at the closed door.”
A stunning female vampire with cherry red hair and lips sauntered through the door and she didn’t look sorry to interrupt at all. “Come on, boss, from the looks of things I didn’t interrupt much.”
Buffy took a moment to reassess the vampire, while she racked her brain in the attempt to remember her name. The result didn’t please the Slayer at all: she looked like a cross between a fashion model and a fitness instructor, she was dressed in clothes that showed off enough, without crossing over into trashy, and she wore a smirk that could very well have meant she was issuing a challenge for Buffy to prove why he was with her instead of the vampire. The stake that was tucked away in its sheath was almost begging to be let out in order to eliminate the long legged threat.
“You better have a good reason for interrupting, regardless of what exactly it was that you cut short.” Spike sounded upset, but maybe not as completely as Buffy would have wanted. It was almost playful, and it brought a stab of jealousy to her heart. She hadn’t really felt jealous since Hemery, not even when Cordy had tried to attract Angel’s attention, because it was overshadowed by the brunette’s not knowing what Angel truly was. The thought was sobering, since she’d realized already that she hadn’t really known enough about him either. She vowed to herself to ask more questions about Spike’s past, no matter how icky the answers might be.
Maybe sensing the tension in the air, the mirth left the other vampire completely. “It’s John. He hasn’t come back yet and I’m worried.” She was fidgeting in place, almost as if she was experiencing the emotion for the first time. Buffy was almost convinced that it couldn’t be too far from the truth, given what she knew of vampires.
“I’m sure he was just delayed by something.” He went around the desk and started leafing through a datebook. “He was supposed to meet with Razhak, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” She took a couple of steps and kicked the black leather couch so hard it moved a couple of feet away.
“Penny, I told you to leave the bloody furniture alone!” Spike raised his voice a bit, but wasn’t yelling as Buffy expected. It made her think the exchange wasn’t exactly something new between them, and she had to wonder exactly what kind of damage had the things around them taken in the past. At least she could stop wondering about the name, since the closest she’d gotten was ‘Pretty.’
“I should have gone with him. You assigned me to protect him, and if something happens—”
“Dalton will be fine.”
“Wait, John is Dalton?” That piece of information changed the Slayer’s take on things. “Should we go look for him?”
The redhead threw her such a grateful look that Buffy was certain there was more going on than a mere assignment. The thought of the bookish looking vampire with the redhead that was just minutes ago making Buffy feel inadequate brought a whole new level of respect for him from the Slayer.
“Did anyone think to call and ask someone?” Spike had already rounded his desk and was holding a phone’s receiver to his ear while searching a rolodex for a number.
“No, because we can have no thought without our Master.” The sarcasm was dripping off of Penny’s every word. “We’re not drones, even if we are your minions. Of course we called and nobody picked up!” The redhead threw herself on the couch she had recently kicked with a huff.
Spike slammed his phone down hard. “Nobody’s picking up now, either.” He squinted at Penny, and Buffy started wondering if maybe he’d make her pay for the ‘minions not drones’ jab. “So how come you’re still here, pet?”
“You said it was ‘all hands on deck’ for the meet and greet with the Slayer, so…”
“So you waited. Good on you. Now off you go and find out what’s going on.” He’d barely stopped talking and Penny was jumping off the couch and rushing to the door. “Just make sure at least one of you returns to tell me why I have to worry about a balding former professor instead of snogging my date, yeah?”
“Sure boss!” She hadn’t turned around, or even slowed down to acknowledge Spike’s words, instead she disappeared down the steps leading to his office and then tore through the main office like a bat out of hell, leaving everyone staring after her.
“Well that was fun!” Spike sat down in his plush-looking chair with a worried frown.
Buffy decided to cheer him up. She made her way around the big mahogany desk, sat sideways on his knees, and linked her hands around his neck. “I’m sure everything will be fine, but if you want, we can both go looking for him.”
He seemed to light up at the idea. “Thank you, pet. You don’t know what it means that you would be willing to help me find one of my men. Still, Penny’s on it and I’m sure she’ll come back as the password said: with, or on the shield.” At her blank look he elaborated. “It’s an old saying, something the women of Sparta used to tell their men as they went to war. It means they were supposed to fight or die, seeing as how their shields were so bloody big you couldn’t run away with one.”
She scrunched her nose in distaste. “That’s a great way to send someone off.”
“It was, for them. The Spartans were really big on fighting and honor, so running away would have been the biggest sin. Almost won them the bloody world, too.”
Buffy though was much more interested in finding out about her vampire boyfriend than some long dead Greeks. “So do you know so much because you’re ancient, or is there more to the story?” She accompanied her words with a light massage of the back of his neck.
He tilted his head to look at her. “You wouldn’t be trying to find out the Big Bad’s secrets, now would you? Because if I tell you, I might just have to eat you all up!” He dove for her neck and started to lick, nibble, and kiss all along the side of her throat.
Just as her giggles started to become moans they were interrupted once more. By the same vampire. Who didn’t even knock the second time. Penny was rising on the scale of people Buffy wanted to see dead, after she’d climbed down it very fast when it became clear she only had eyes for Dalton.
“What is it about me snogging my woman that gives everybody the right of way through my bloody closed office?” Spike was all but roaring by the end of his question.
The answer took the wind out of both their sails. “I found John and we have a potentially huge problem.”
Jenny had only just finished talking when Dalton came in. He was completely disheveled, with his hair sticking up oddly, and a bruise forming on the right side of his face.
Spike was up in a flash, checking up on his man. “What happened to you and who do I have to kill?”
Penny appeared right next to him, offering the panting Dalton a packet of blood. The whole surreal image in front of her made Buffy’s brain wonder a bit, going from such topics as ‘why do vampires pant when they don’t need air’ to ‘do different blood types give different results, like taking different medicines for different illnesses?’ She closed her eyes tight and shook her head a little to focus while the still flustered vampire was led to the couch and force-fed his dinner.
“Now that you have some plasma in you, tell me everything.”
“Well, after I got to Razhak to talk about letting us hire some of his guys for the new docks project, in comes one of his men all but out of his mind with worry. Long story short it appears that various demons have been turning up missing for the past couple of weeks, and this guy Mirchak’s wife was the latest to disappear. That’s when they figured my nose was much better than theirs, so I was offered the deal in exchange for me trying to find her trail.” The adrenalin must have been running rampant through his body, because Dalton didn’t even sound much like himself. He was too jumpy and loud, but then again excitement tended to do that to someone.
“So why didn’t you call it in, get some expert tracker on it, and decided to just go ahead and run with that nose that’s probably clogged from all the book dust in Sunnyhell?”
“They said time was of the essence, and I didn’t think it would be that hard.”
“Stupid!” Penny gave him a slap upside the head for good measure. “The next time you do something like that, I’ll dust you myself.”
“I’m sorry baby, I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Whatever!” Penny tried to act tough by turning her nose slightly up and sneering, but the effect was lost by the eyes that were still filled with worry and wouldn’t leave Dalton’s face. Buffy thought they were really sweet.
“So did you find her?”
“Oh, Miss Buffy, I mean Slayer, I mean I’m sorry, I had completely forgotten you were supposed to be here.” Spike’s hand stopped the other vampire from getting up from the couch.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re sorry, she’s here, and she’s already met you. Now answer the lady’s question.”
John’s face all but fell. “I think we did, in a way.” The words brought a stabbing pain to Buffy’s heart and she had just enough time to wonder when exactly she got to the point where the news of a dead demon pained her physically. Watching Spike’s worried face as he listened to Dalton’s tale made the answer not seem that foreign anymore. “There were a lot of signs of struggle in an alley right off Jefferson, a block from the playground there, and even some blood, some probably hers, some definitely human, though.”
“But their species doesn’t attack humans. Was it a mixed marriage?”
“No, it was pure, but that’s not the point. We found out it’s the humans hunting demons, not the other way around. A team of about five jumped us—we’d split up to search a wider area, so it was just me and the husband—and by the time the rest of Razhak’s men showed up we were almost tazed, bagged, and tagged to be taken God knows where. Luckily when they saw they were outnumbered, they threw some smoke grenades and left.”
“And you’re sure they were human?” Spike’s voice was gruff. Dalton just nodded his confirmation, all of the adrenalin having probably left his body.
Penny’s eyes fixed Buffy in place. “Do you know anything about this, Slayer?”
“I swear I don’t know anything!”
“She’s not a part of this, leave off!”
Spike and Buffy had spoken simultaneously, which warmed the Slayer’s heart, despite the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Sure, she could deny it all she wanted, but humans hunting demons was always going to come with a lot of questions from the demon community—a community which she’d completely ignored up until recently, but that she had begun to realize was a lot more tightly knit than she’d ever thought.
Still, she would have to investigate about what was going on, because either it was the Council trying some alternative tactics, or some rogue demon hunters were moving in on her town. Either way things were not looking good and if what Dalton said was true, it had been going on for at least a couple of weeks without her knowing.
“I really don’t know what’s going on, but I promise I’ll find out anything I can and I’ll stop these guys.”
“How you planning on doing that, Slayer? Going to start offing humans?” Penny apparently wasn’t done questioning Buffy, but the blonde couldn’t really hold it against her, especially with the way she was clutching at her boyfriend, probably thinking how easily she could have lost him that night.
“No, but I bet any humans that know a thing or two about demons will be smart enough not to get on my bad side.”
Penny fixed her with a long, hard glare, then nodded a little when she was probably satisfied by what she saw in Buffy’s eyes. “Good. If you need any help, let me know.” She then lowered herself to her knees and took Dalton’s face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. They didn’t speak, but they seemed oblivious to everything around them.
Spike watched them for a few seconds, then grabbed Buffy’s hand and led her out of his office. “I’m sorry, love, but I have to start taking care of things here.” He turned his head slightly and made some gestures with his free hand. “Mark and Brian will take you home.”
“You’re kidding.” She took the pose she’d used in Hemery whenever someone she’d deemed ‘beneath her’ dared approach.
“Now, now, Slayer, don’t start! I know you can take care of yourself, but I also know Razhak, and he’s almost as strong as me, which is why his kind usually work in construction, or other hard labors. My guys will just make sure nothing tries to take you out on your own, and then they’ll come right back to start the search for these guys.”
“I’d rather be here for that.”
“I know, but the way you can help the most is by getting all of your White Hat pals together to research this, go places us demons can’t and all that rot.” His tone of voice softened and he placed a palm on her cheek. “Just please don’t go anywhere alone, ‘cause we can’t be sure these gits know the difference between ‘Slayer’ and ‘demon,’ yeah?”
“Then they’re in for a world of hurt!”
“Would you kill them?”
The question stopped Buffy’s blood in her veins, especially since Penny had just asked the same thing. “No, but—”
“And that’s your Achilles’ heel. We don’t know they wouldn’t try to kill you, and a fight like that, lopsided from the start, can only end badly for you. I can’t have that! So until you’re safely home with your mates, use my guys as bodyguards. Non-negotiable.”
Buffy was about to protest more, but she had to admit he had a point. If those demon-hunting humans didn’t realize in time she wasn’t a demon herself she’d have to fight them, and she would only be going for incapacitation, while they could even have guns for all she knew. A shudder made its way up her spine. “Fine! But I’ll get you back for this!”
Spike laughed and then leered. “Can’t wait, sweet!” He then kissed her once, with enough passion to melt an iceberg, then went back to his office.
Buffy was left to make her way home with the two almost-acquaintance vampires flanking her, instead of her vampire boyfriend. Sure, mentally she knew he was right, and that he had to take care of his own, while she had to rally her own troops, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting. Her life as a Slayer sure was weird!
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I just realized I hadn't updated this story here in a very long time, so I'm going to be posting some ten chapters over the course of the next couple of weeks.