Disclaimers – I do not own any of the characters commonly
associated with
Buffy the Vampire Slayer; they belong to others and are used
without permission. No copyright
infringement is intended.
Dedicated – To the guys over in The Society to Keep Sunnydale
Commando-boy Free, The Neuter Riley Finn Before He's Able To Reproduce
Committee, and The Sunnydale Home For Homicidal Babes in Leather – you are the
greatest friends a vampire fruit bat can have.
::big grin::
Feedback – Shadowlander1@gmx.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 May 2004
“Oh...
bad news,” Anya said, without looking up from her newspaper, her tone of voice
conveying her eternal boredom at being open on a Sunday with no customers in
sight for at least fifty miles in any direction,
“Riley’s
dead.”
“Now
there’s a name I haven’t heard in awhile,” a male voice commented, as a dark
haired young man continued to unpack the latest supply shipment without pause,
“is it too much to hope it was a violent death, filled with lots and lots of
pain?” He asked frowning over a jar of pickled bat’s breath he just pulled out
of the box. “Exactly how do you pickle bat breath anyway?” He wondered aloud,
cocking his head to the side as this inexplicable image of some guy standing in
a cave with a butterfly net trying to capture bat breath flashed through his
mind.
“Doesn’t
say,” Anya continued, after a moment her concentration still on her newspaper,
“just says that the police are investigating the mysterious death and
questioning suspects... looks like it was gang related.”
“Ohhhh,
gang related,” Xander cooed happily, putting aside the jar with a shrug, he
just unpacked the stuff he never tried to rationalize any of it, “makes us
sound so LA... you think we got actual ‘human’ street gangs in town now?”
Finally
raising her head, she looked over at her live-in boyfriend and almost husband,
if she could get him to pop the question, “Doubt it. All the demon gangbangers
keep killing or eating them... and you know how much that annoys Buffy.”
“Oh
yeah... the Buffster,” Xander said, looking thoughtful for a moment, “so who
wants to make the call?” He asked, knowing full well that the blonde Slayer in
question was probably still unconscious this early on a Sunday afternoon. Being a firm believer that is was truly a
day of rest and wouldn’t be seen anywhere in town until at least an hour before
sundown to begin to prepare for the night’s patrol. ‘I guess breaking up a
demon rave party takes a lot out of a Slayer,’ he thought with a mental shrug.
“Oh
you do it... I’ll call the others and start planning the party,” Anya replied
happily, reaching for the notepad kept by the phone and making out a list of
party supplies. “You think if we make Spike promise not to pick a fight with
Angel he'll bring the vodka?” She asked, absently gnawing on the top of the pen
in thought. “He gets the best deal for alcohol at Willy’s,” she added, almost
as an after thought.
“Hey!
I get good deals at Willy’s too,” Xander protested, one hand cradling the
receiver with other posed above the number pad, giving his girlfriend a hurt
look.
“You
also get propositioned by every female demon and some of the males that happen
to be there at the time too,” Anya replied with a snort, “you’re my orgasm
buddy and no one else can have you.” She nearly snarled, her eyes flashing as
her demon face surfed briefly.
“Now
baby you know you’re the only demon I like getting propositions from,” Xander
purred, with a wicked grin, silently thanking whoever was listening that the
shop was deserted at the moment. Every
since Anya got her demon powers restored she had gotten more possessive of him,
rarely letting him out of her sight without an escort of some kind. He just knew she had spread the word in the
demon community that he was property, anyone that touched him would have
Anyanka ripping their hearts out, and eating it... and oddly enough he wasn’t
nearly as grossed out about it as he thought he should be. Although it was a bit embarrassing when
Spike would address him as Anya’s Playtoy, the bleached blonde vampire taking
perverse pleasure at calling him that around a group of vampires or demons,
granted it was usually around beings that were about to get slayed, but it was
still embarrassing as hell.
************************
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles
Same Time -
Cordelia
Chase set at her desk cradling her head in one hand, the other pawing in the
top drawer for her bottle of painkillers, her shoulders shaking as she fought
to gain control of herself. “Delia? Are you alright?” a concerned voice said, a
strong hand reaching into the drawer to retrieve the allusively bottle of
aspirin. “What did you see?” The tall
dark vampire asked, going into protector mood ready to piece together whatever
vision his seer had just received from the Powers That Be, only to be shocked
by the laugh that escaped the young woman.
“Captain...
cardboard... brought... it,” Cordelia got out before falling out of her chair,
her whole body shaking with laughter as she literally rolled on the floor.
“Captain
Cardboard?” Angel said slowly, taking a moment to place the name, his game face
sliding on as the words clicked in his head. “I said to never mention that
bastards name again.” He growled, trying to control his temper knowing that
Cordelia didn't mean to upset him, only to be cut off by her next words.
“He’s
DEAD!” Cordelia crowed happily, “the bastard is dead!”
“Really?”
the vampire questioned after a moment, cocking his head as he regarded his
laughing seer, then a thought occurred to him. “I take it you saw the killer
then?” he asked coolly, a wicked little grin shining in his yellow/gold eyes,
“and you’re going to tell me all about it?” He guessed hopping up on the deck
and making himself comfortable.
“Why
is Cordelia rolling on the floor?” a somewhat bored voice asked from beside the
male vampire, “and you’re grinning... why are you grinning? Did you get a happy?” the small blonde
demanded, staring accusingly at the vampire.
“No...I
didn’t get a happy, not that it would mean anything... the soul being permanent
and all,” he grumbled, ducking his head like a little boy caught with his hand
in the cookie jar. “The bastard’s dead.” He said simply, grinning foolishly.
“The
bastard?” the blonde questioned, raising an eyebrow, “you mean Finn?” she
questioned her game face sliding on in rage.
“Yup!”
Cordelia shouted from the floor, “got himself so killed it wasn’t even funny...
hell it was quite gross in fact... but so poetic too.”
“Riley’s
dead?” a new voice asked, a hint of fear tinting the voice.
Turning
the two vampires looked at the young redhead leaning heavily on a cane, one arm
looped around her escort as she tried to keep her balance as the news settled
in.
Sobering
instantly Cordelia pulled herself up off the floor to face her friend, “Yeah
Wills... got the headache to prove it,” she said with a little lopsided grin.
“Didn’t get a good look as his killer... but it was bad.” She continued,
shooting a quick look to the two vampires silently asking for support.
“ENOUGH!”
Willow’s escort growled, when the little redhead started to shake as past
memories started to overwhelm her. “Enough talk about that man... you are
scaring luvy... he is dead now. We'll
just have to resurrect him if we want to get our revenge, but quit talking
about him or else!”
"You're
right," the blonde vampire said, returning to her human face and walking
over to the two. "Don't worry my
love... he can't harm you anymore," she whispered, taking the redhead's
face in her hands and placing a kiss on her forehead.
The Magic Box, Sunnydale CA
Later that day -
Anya
looked up from the open phonebook in front of her, a pen clutched between her
teeth while she had been studying the catering section of the yellow pages. “Oh
it’s you,” she said by way of greeting to the two people that entered the shop.
“Anya,”
the young police officer in a SWAT team uniform said, with a nod of her head,
“is Xander around? We need to ask you a
few questions.”
“Okay...
XANDER, AJ IS HERE WITH A DETECTIVE AND WANTS TO ASK US SOME QUESTIONS!” the
vengeance demon replied, yelling to her boyfriend who had disappeared into the
backroom moments ago.
Trying
not to flinch as the voice echoed through the shop, the police officer rubbed
her temples with one hand, wondering for the millionth time why she just had to
be the one that was walking through the squad room when the Chief was looking
for someone to introduce the “new guy” to the Scooby Gang. Over the years, a sort of understanding had
been worked out between the Slayer and her gang and the Sunnydale Police
Department, one that had ended up saving a lot of lives. The SPD would let the Slayer do her thing,
even offering their assistance when needed resulting in the emergency room and
morgue not being as packed as they used to be.
In all it was a pretty good system, people were just a bit safer at
night, and there were only one or two kinks, usually with someone new to the
force who didn’t know of the situation concerning the little group based out of
the magic shop.
“Justice! My favourite SWAT member and very best
gun-bud,” Xander Harris said, coming out of the backroom with his arms open
wide and a goofy looking grin on his face.
“Who’s the suit?” He asked, noting the well-dressed man standing beside
her, a shiny gold detective’s badge hanging from his belt as he coolly looked
around the shop.
“Detective
Donavon, this is Alexander Harris and Anya... guys this is Detective Donavon,
he will be handling the Finn murder,” AJ Justice said formally.
Xander
looked at the Detective for a long moment before laughing, “This is the guy
that got the short end of the stick?” he questioned, pointing a finger at the
police officer in disbelief. “My condolences... hey AJ if he’s going to
question Spike can I come too? I
promise to be real good and not make too many snide comments.” He finished,
leaning against the counter for support as laughter shook his frame.
“Or
Angel!” Anya added, grinning evilly, “can I be there for that?” she asked
hopefully, her eyes shining.
“I
warned you Detective... Riley Finn had a lot of enemies,” Justice said, feeling
a bit sorry for the new Detective, he was in a no win situation here, because
there was no way in the Hellmouth anyone was going to cooperate with him to
find the killer, not when the victim had more enemies then the Slayer in the
demon community.
“I
can see that... are these two of them?” Angelo Donavon asked, with an arched
eyebrow, wondering just what the hell he had walked into when he took a job in
the little university town outside of Los Angeles. In his two weeks on the Force he had seen more things that scared
the living hell out of him that he was sure he had entered into some weird
Twilight Zone or something.
“Two
of his enemies?” Anya questioned, cocking her head to the side to regard the
Detective, “oh yes, we were defiantly his enemies. Did we want him dead?
Yes. Did we have anything to do with
his death? No.” She continued honestly.
“Riley
Finn... had friends in high places that felt he deserved redemption, so we
couldn’t touch him,” Xander added, growing a bit sober.
“And
you felt otherwise?” Donavon asked, noting the hatred in the young man’s eyes
as he said the name Riley Finn. He had
rarely seen such hatred in a person since his dealing with a racist skinhead
early in his career.
“You
have got to be new to the Demon Squad,” Xander said to himself, shaking his
shaggy head in defeat, using the nickname the Scoobies had given to the select
group of Sunnydale’s finest that they usually dealt with. “How much does he
know AJ... about the town and such?” He asked, looking at the SWAT officer.
“Enough
to know not to sneak up on me,” AJ replied, with a rueful grin, “he’s still a
bit green though... the Chief thinks he’s far enough away from all this to do
an ‘objective’ investigation.”
“Okay,”
Xander replied, with a tired sigh, “only because the Just-ster is vouching for
you... you aren’t going to get a hard time from me. I can’t guarantee how
anyone else is going to react, but I will try to answer your questions with as
little malice as possible.” The young man said, looking Donavon straight in the
eye. “I hated Riley Finn, detective... I hated what he did to my friends and
what he had become. I would have gladly have killed him without blinking... but
I didn’t.”
“We
might as well get comfortable... this is going to take awhile,” Xander said,
waving his arm over to the research table, and the comfortable chairs
surrounding it, tucked into a corner.
Once the Detective was seated, Xander took a moment to gather his
thoughts, remembering his promise to try to be civil to Donavon, ‘It’s not his
fault he got this case dropped into his lap,’ he told himself firmly, as Anya
took a seat beside him and absently patted his knee. Beside Donavon, Justice made herself comfortable, throwing one
booted foot up on the table and picking up the book on demons that had been
left there. The SWAT officer making it clear she was not apart of the interview
and was only there to make the introduction and stay out of the actual detective
work, wasn’t her job anyway, her expertise lay in hostage situations and
defusing bombs.
Running
a hand through his somewhat shaggy unruly hair, Xander took a deep steadying
breath before beginning. “Things began to fall apart a little over two years
ago I think... Riley the bastard... sorry force of habit,” he said, with a
sheepish grin at his slip up, “came back after running with the Army’s version
of the Demon Squad... only the government's version isn’t nearly as competent
as you guys are.” His tone of voice leaving little double about what he thought
of the remaining Initiative commandos that still ran around hunting demons.
‘Those clowns are just dying to become demon food,’ he thought ruefully, before
turning his attention back to the interview.
“The
US Army has a demon squad?” Donavon questioned, with raised eyebrows, casting a
look for help over to Justice.
“The
leftovers from the Initiative program that used to run under the campus about
four years ago,” Justice replied without looking up from her book, “What? You
don't think the Scooby Gang were the only ones watching those idiots did you?”
She asked Anya and Xander, looking at them with a mischievous grin in her eyes.
“Actually...
yes,” Anya replied, “You guys used to be a joke.”
“That
was only because our demon-wannabe mayor kept appointing stooges... after Buffy
made snake road-kill out of him we got one of our own in office, problem
fixed. Our hands weren’t tied anymore.”
Justice replied, returning to her book and dismissing the three once more.
“The
mayor was murdered?”
“He
was trying to sacrifice the Senior Class of '99, the same class the Slayer
graduated from... she stopped him... and blew the high school up in the
process. Or actually the Librarian did,
but since that would be grounds to deport him, we’re blaming Buffy for
it.” Justice replied, turning a page in
the book.
“Why
wouldn't you want the Librarian deported?” Donavon couldn’t help but ask.
“Because
he had all the demon books and knows how to train a Slayer, so we can’t deport
him... he’s the only authoritative figure she remotely listens too.” Justice
replied, with a shrug.
“Am
I the only one that finds any of this disturbing?”
“Yes...
but don’t feel so bad the newness will wear off soon and you’ll come to accept some
of the creepier stuff in town without losing your lunch too many times.” Xander
advised sagely, giving the Detective a reassuring smile.
“Can
we get back to talking about Riley now?
Because I got a party to plan and I want to have sex with Xander before
all the fun begins,” Anya said after a moment.
“Oh
don’t go there Detective... not worth it one little bit.”
Deciding
that Justice was probably right, Donavon returned to the matter at hand, “You
said that it all began roughly two years ago, when Riley Finn returned to
town,” he prompted Xander, trying to get the mental image of the two having sex
in front of him out of his mind.
“Yeah...
Finn’s triumphant return,” Xander couldn't help but sneer, “He had gotten
injured during a raid on this demon nest somewhere in Brazil and wanted to come
home. We could tell something was wrong
with him then but he kept insisting that he was fine. He was back to being a full-blown initiative commando prick and
didn't even try to hide it.” The young man began trying to remain calm as the
memories began to stir around in his mind.
“So
you knew something was wrong with him from the beginning,” Donavon noted,
pulling out a small notebook and making a notation. “Did you try to help him in
anyway?”
“Oh
yeah we tried all right... that is when he snapped on us,” Xander said,
shifting in his chair as the memories washed over him. “You see in Brazil... a
demon bit Riley, it was a rather nasty bite too... made for a really
interesting scar. Only problem is the
Army... they don’t do any research on the demons they hunt, they walk into
demon nests all the time totally blind.
No idea what the hell they are dealing with...big mistake on their part
and we paid the price.”
“How?”
“He
got possessed by a bore-demon... vary nasty little buggers, they attach
themselves to your darker emotions, bringing out your darker urges and
instincts,” Anya explained, “it’s a lot like getting vamped, only you’re still
alive and the demon doesn’t try to fry your brain cells.”
“Only
we didn't know what kind of demon had possessed him, not until after the
attack,” Xander continued, a nerve in the side of his face twitching as his
eyes harden at the memories running freely through his mind now. “Riley always
hated Spike... you know who Spike is right?”
“Yes...
a vampire who I plan to interview later,” Donavon replied, making another note
on his little pad.
Absently
nodding his head at the news, Xander continued, “Well Riley...he came looking
for Spike that night, found him too at the Rosenberg place. Spike had been
staying with Willow and Tara, until he got his new place fumigated or something
like that. I just know that Spike was
staying there, helping out around the house... although the neighbours hated
all the hammering and power saw noises coming from the backyard in the middle
of the night.” He couldn’t help but smile at the fond memory of the bleached
blonde vampire playing with his power tools at two in the morning just to
irritate the neighbours.
“What
happened that night?” Donavon prompted gently.
“They
got into a fight... or at least Riley got into a fight. Spike was just trying
to defend himself, he had promised Wills no fighting as long as he was under
her roof. But that is just Spike...he may
be a soul-less bastard but he’s an honest one, he... I’m not sure what
happened, somehow the fight in the backyard migrated inside the house. That is
where Tara and Willow got into the middle of it.” Xander said, in a cold emotionless voice.
“They
tried to restrain Riley,” Anya picked up the story, her demon pushing forward a
bit at the memories, although she was able to keep her human appearance for the
most part, “with magic... because that is what they do, they are witches. Anyway Riley had managed to stake Spike...or
at least half stake him, because Tara hit him with an energy blast that sent
him through the front window. As they
were checking on Spike, Riley came back in... and attacked all three of them. Tara
got thrown into a wall... it dazed her a bit, then he turned on Willow.” Her control slipped then, her demon self
surfacing as she stared unblinkingly at Donavon. “Riley Finn proceeded to rape
and try to beat Willow to death with a shovel... that is when we arrived at the
house. I saw him standing over one of my friends with a bloody shovel and slam
it into her knee with all his strength, it nearly amputated her leg.”
“Dear
god,” Donavon said, the blood draining from his face. “Why...How...”
“The
only reason Finn survived that night was because we arrived Detective, the
neighbours had called,” Justice said, pulling her foot off of the table and
putting the book aside. “We arrived just in time to restrain a very enraged
Slayer and take Finn into custody.” She reported, sharing a look with Anya and
Xander. “While in custody... the demon was exorcized from Finn and he had to
deal with the consequences of his actions.”
“You
said that he had friends in high places that felt he deserved redemption... did
you mean the government?” Donavon asked, wondering why Riley Finn hadn’t been
locked up for the rest of his life demon possession or no demon possession.
“Nah...
these friends are a lot more powerful,” Xander replied with a humourless laugh.
************************
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles
Same time -
“You
have to eat luvy,” Drusilla said, placing a tray filled with tea and a few
sandwiches on the table next to the little redhead who had been staring
unseeingly at the wall for hours.
“I
can still feel him Dru... why can I still feel him?” Willow asked suddenly, her
eyes still focused on the wall in front of her.
Crouching
down in front of the little hacker who had become her dearest friend over the
past two years, the mortal’s pain and injuries calling to her, Dru peered deep
into the red-rimmed green eyes before her. “He’s been a naughty boy,” she
whispered, a grim determined look entering her own eyes. “Don’t worry my little
luv...the nasty one isn’t going to hurt you anymore,” she then said in a more
determined voice, seeing something in her friend's mind she can only see. “Now
eat up luv,” she encouraged, giving the hacker a bright smile.
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles CA,
“I
WILL NOT AVENGE THAT BASTARD!” the tall, usually brooding, vampire raged, his
game face firmly in place as he prowled his private office, looking for
something to smash. “If they think I am going to bring that son of a bitch’s
murderer to justice they are out of their damn minds. You hear that PTB... I’m
not going to do it! Get another lapdog!” He yelled at the ceiling, throwing in
a few Gaelic curses for good measure.
“Now
he gets a backbone concerning them,” Lindsey MacDonald grumbled low under his
breath, with a slight smirk. Only to
have the smug little grin threatening to form on his face wiped off by the hand
he suddenly found wrapped around his throat as he was slammed into the bookcase
by the very same vampire.
“You
do NOT have permission to speak in MY home... do I make myself clear,” Angel
growled, his yellow/gold eyes boring into the human lawyer’s. “The only reason
you are allowed to live is because you are a good lay... and you serve a useful
purpose for the moment, continue to irritate me and I will find a new lawyer to
serve me. Do I MAKE myself clear?” he
finished, making it quite clear just where the lawyer’s services were needed
the most, some of which had little to do with a court of law.
“He’s
not dead,” a softly accented voice said, breaking up the staring match the
vampire and lawyer had gotten into.
“Who’s
not dead?” Darla asked, walking over to her lover, “did you get Willow to eat
something?” she added after giving the insane vampire a quick kiss.
“The
naughty little boy, who hurt our Little Tree... he’s not dead,” Dru replied,
“and Willow is eating now.”
“Whoa,
whoa... wait, wait.... what the hell do you mean, ‘he’s not dead’?” Cordelia
demanded, “I got the headache and several terrifying images that are going to
give me nightmares to prove it.”
“He
broke the agreement with the High Ones... he give into the darkness once
more... he plots his revenge against my Spikey and Little Tree,” Dru said with
a frown, “My Spike and Little Tree have been good... the naughty little boy has
to be stopped!”
“That
doesn’t make any sense... why fake his own death?” Lindsey asked, forgetting
momentarily that he had been commanded not to speak, only to be reminded by a
low murderous growl and a hard slam into the bookcase by the enraged vampire.
“He
wants us to drop our guard,” Darla said, more to herself then anyone else, “he
hasn’t been able to get near Spike, Tara or Willow since that night.”
“That
little bastard... I knew we should have let Angel eat him,” Cordelia growled
thinking of the suffering her friends and family had gone through at his hand.
Turning
away from her lover, Darla paced the office for a few moments, “Dru...how do
you know he’s still alive?”
“Luvy
still feels him... senses his presence but has not made the connection.”
“Good...
make sure Willow doesn’t... I don’t want her upset,” Darla said, her eyes
flashing yellow for a split second, “Cordelia... call the Watcher inform him of
our suspicions. If Finn is alive he has
to still be in Sunnydale... he'll go after Spike and the Slayer first.”
“On
it,” Cordelia said, reaching for the phone on Angel’s desk, ignoring for the
moment her loathing of taking orders from the blonde vampire. ‘What am I a
minion?’ she asked herself, but chose not to voice the question, for the time
being she would let it slide; they had more important matters to attend to,
‘just as long as she doesn't make a habit out of it.’
***********************
Sunnydale, California
Giles’ Flat
Rupert Giles put down the Sunday paper with a frown, scratching his bearded chin for a moment; he pondered what he had just read. “Rubbish,” he said, with a firm nod, his eyes hardening as he thought of the only reason someone would go to such lengths to disappear. “All right lad... you want to play games with me... I’ll play, but the ol’ Ripper is playing for keeps this time,” he said, staring murderously at the article about the Finn homicide.
“Talking
to yourself now Watcher... first sign of senility you know,” an amused voice
said from behind Giles, as Spike wandered into the room, his bleached blonde
hair sticking up at odd angles as he scratched his t-shirt clad chest, trying
to shake the effects of sleep off. “What did you put in my blood last night?”
he demanded grumpily, feeling like he had been hit by a runaway bus, then
remembering that he had indeed been hit by a bus... a large out of town gray
hound, while on patrol. “Oh yeah that's
right... there was a bus there, stupid bugger to actually be on time!” he
complained to himself, reaching for the discarded paper. “Well hello!” he
brightened immediately, upon seeing the article Giles had been reading, “please
let them have printed all the gruesome details,” he said, casting a quick look
skyward, before settling in with a big goofy looking grin to read all about the
last hours of Riley Finn’s life.
The
phone ringing stopped Giles from making any comment, ‘Let him have his fun,’
the Watcher decided rising to get the mobile, ‘who knows maybe he’s right and I
am getting senile.’
Roughly
twenty minutes later the vampire and Watcher were back at the table, identical
looks of hatred and outrage in their eyes, “So Darla thinks this is all a plot
to get us to drop our guards, huh?” Spike growled, “that damn little bastard...
I should have torn his heart out when I had the chance.”
“Yes...
and I tend to agree... if Willow can still sense him, he has to still be alive
somewhere,” Giles replied, somewhat lost in thought only half paying attention
to Spike’s continued growls and curses.
“Hey
Watcher... does this mean if he’s already been declared dead that we can kill
him and not get into any trouble?” Spike suddenly asked, a bright hopeful look
in his blue eyes.
“The
case would have to be closed first, but I don’t see how we could get into any
trouble for killing a dead man,” Giles replied without thinking, his mind on
other things.
“Oh
goody,” Spike replied happily, his goofy looking grin returning as he began to
plan out the next time Riley Finn would die, if he was indeed alive somewhere
in Sunnydale.
***********************
Tara
Maclay rolled over in bed, pulling her pillow over her head as the persistent
ringing of the phone dragged her out of a sound sleep. Blindly reaching out for
the phone on the bedside table, she dragged the receiver under the pillow with
her and groaned, “No one home... call back at a more human hour.”
“Tara
wake up and get to the office, we got trouble,” Cordelia’s sickeningly cheerful
voice said from the other end of the receiver, “and wake up Amy too, we're
going to need her.”
Groaning
softly and banging her head against the mattress as Cordelia hung up, Tara
wondered for the billionth time why she moved to LA in the first place. ‘Who
are you kidding, Maclay? You came to be near Willow and to get away from that
bastard,’ she thought ruefully, pulling the pillow off her head and returning
the receiver to its cradle, knowing full well that if she didn’t get a move on
Cordy would be calling or showing up at her front door to drag her to the
office. ‘She’d probably dress me too,’ she thought with a slight shudder,
remembering the one and only time she foolishly went shopping with the wonder
that was Cordelia Chase.
“Who
was that?” Amy Madison’s sleepy voice cut into her silent musings, as the bed
shifted.
“C-cordelia...
we’re needed at the office,” Tara said with a sheepish little grin, as she
looked at her sleep ruffled lover, then something occurred to her, “I hope
nothing has happened to Willow.” She muttered to herself, a sinking feeling
forming in her gut.
************************
“Ah
Justice can I ask you a question about Anya?” Donavon asked as the two left the
magic shop, at the other officer's nod, “that thing with her face... she’s a
demon right?”
“Was
wondering when you were going to ask about that,” Justice replied with a
chuckle, “but yeah, Anya is a demon, one of the most feared in the demon
community... at one time she was the patron demon of scorned women, a real
terror to the entire male populace in fact.
She lost her powers for a time due to a wayward wish... but got them
back shortly after the Finn mess, now she’s back to being a full-fledged
vengeance demon once more... although she isn’t quite limiting herself to
torturing men.” The officer explained as they approached their car parked
across the street.
“A
vengeance demon?” the detective questioned, filing away the information.
“Oh
no Detective... if Anya is Finn’s murderer the crime scene would have been a
hell of a lot messier and his body would have been left in the middle of Main
Street hanging from the traffic lights,” Justice said, in a serious tone,
“Anyanka is not known for doing things half-assed, if she killed Riley Finn, it
would have been in public and quite possibly in full view of the City Council.”
Once
the two officers got into the vehicle, “You know Justice... I don’t know what
concerns me more, the fact that there are actually beings that would do those
sorts of things running lose in town.
Or the fact that you happen to be on first name bases with most of
them,” Donavon said warily, as Justice started the car.
“Don’t
worry Detective... I’ll protect you from the mean ol’ creatures of the night,”
AJ promised him, putting the car into gear, she gave him a quick grin, her
features shifting a bit as she grinned merrily, gently reminding him that his
partner just happens to be a demon herself.
Shaking
his head in defeat, “Is there anyone in this town that doesn’t know about
demons or happens to be to one?” He asked, as the car pulled into traffic.
“Well
I think there are a few toddlers here and there around town... and there is
always those big city folks from LA that move here trying to get away from the
crime and pollution,” came the helpful reply from his laughing partner.
Sunnydale -
“So
you have reason to believe that Riley Finn may still be alive?” Angelo Donavon
questioned slowly, both eyebrows raised in disbelief as he stared at the human
Watcher and bleached blonde vampire like they were crazy.
“That’s
what Dru’s claiming mate,” Spike replied, enjoying the fear coming off of the
human detective as he continued to hold the conversation in his ‘game
face’. “Says Red can still feel the
bastard.”
“eel
him?”
“A-ah
yes... shortly after the attack we discovered some kind of bond formed between
Willow and...Riley,” Giles answered, saying the last word like it left a foul
taste in his mouth.
“The
bloody git was driving her crazy,” Spike growled, “we had to get her out of
Sunnyhell... get her as far from him as we could and still make sure she was
protected.”
“Where
is she now?” Donavon asked, trying not to let the growling and hissing vampire
psych him out.
“LA...
with friends.”
“Would
these friends kill for her?” The Detective asked, trying to piece what was
becoming a very confusing puzzle together in his mind.
“Mate...
when it came to Riley Finn they would kill for the Slayer and half of them
can’t bloody well stand her.”
“Where
can I find these friends of Willow Rosenberg’s... as well as Tara Maclay?”
Donavon asked, making a quick notation in his little book, “I would like to
talk to this Drusilla as well... hear for myself what she has to say.”
“Let
me get this straight... YOU are going to walk into the great Poof’s lair and
start asking questions about Captain Commando?” Spike questioned, howling with
laughter, “wha’ you going to take the entire demon squad to protect you!” He
demanded before falling out of his chair, “Hey Justice can I tag along too...
haven’t seen the Poof rip someone’s heart out in ages!”
“You
have to ride with Anya in your own car... but I can’t stop you from being
there,” Justice replied with a smirk, “you two can keep me company while the
Detective makes nice with the LAPD.” She added, not looking forward to having
to deal with one Detective Lieutenant Kate Lockley, the two women having formed
an instant distrust for one another. ‘The woman acts like she never saw a demon
in riot gear before,’ she thought to herself remembering her introduction to
the LA Detective, by having a .45 shoved into her face.
“Hey
we can always pop over to Faith's and drag her with us... you know how much she
just loves to get Lockley’s knickers in a twist,” Spike offered brightly,
already planning his road trip to LA. ‘Let’s see...we leave chubs here to watch
over the shop, get Anya and the Watcher...pick up Faith and go paint LA red.’
He thought merrily, already picturing the mischief and mayhem.
************************
Cordelia
Chase hung up the phone with a slight frown before turning to the other people
in the room, “That was Faith... she just heard about the beefstick’s murder...
which she isn’t buying for a moment,” she reported with an amused smirk. “She
says to tell the undead ones that she’s on her way to keep an eye on Willow and
Tara... just as soon as she steals Giles’ car.”
“Oh
joy,” Darla deadpanned, rolling her eyes. ‘Just what we need... a Slayer.’ She
thought ruefully, wondering what else could happen to make her quiet Sunday
even worse.
“I’m
going to play with luvy for a while,” Dru said after a moment, “she ever so
much needs to be screaming my name right now... we didn’t get to play last
night.” She added, shooting a hostile glare over to the sulking lawyer, blaming
him for the interruption in last night’s love feast. ‘Naughty little lawyer...
nearly getting eaten by a werewolf,’ she thought with a scowl. Giving her other lover a quick kiss, before
turning to give her sire, Angel, a kiss on the cheek, Dru left the room pausing
only to growl at Lindsey once and to tell Cordelia to “make daddy roar later,
he has been brooding again”.
Watching
her dark-haired lover leave the room, “I’ll be helping Dru for the rest of the
night... tell the Slayer to stay out of our rooms or I will rip her heart out,”
Darla growled, knowing full well that both Slayers had a tendency to walk right
in on her when she was relaxing with her lovers. The younger dark-haired one more then willing to join the three
in whatever they were doing at the time, as long as it involved nakedness and
lots of sex.
“So
now we wait for the others to arrive,” Angel commented from his spot against
the wall where he had been lurking, knowing full well that if Faith was on her
way she would probably be bring a few others with her, because there was no way
in hell that Giles would let his two-door little red ‘baby’ out of his sight
long enough for Faith to drive it to LA. Pushing away from the wall, Angel
stalked toward his secretary pausing only to smack Lindsey on the back of the
head in passing, a wicked little grin on his face. “What was that I heard about
making me roar?” he purred, pulling her into his arms.
“Angel! Guys!
Anyone here?” A voice called out from the lobby area signaling the
arrival of the rest of the staff.
************************
Willow
looked up from her sandwich as the bedroom door opened revealing the two
grinning vampires. Chewing slowly as
they entered, Darla shutting and locking the door behind her, as Dru stalked
toward her, the little hacker swallowed the bite in her mouth and wondered what
they were up to. The last time those
two had that look they were helping Spike and Faith “kidnap” her from the
rehabilitation center she had been staying at to learn to walk again after the
“accident”, convinced that she would recover more quickly around her friends
and family.
‘Who
would have thunk it... me little Willow Rosenberg, the lover of two of the
meanest vampires in history... and I only had to throw holy water into the face
of one of them too’ she thought with a goofy little grin, recognizing the look
in her lovers’ eyes. “Can I help you two?” she asked, trying to appear
unconcerned about the late afternoon visit and the locked door.
“Well...
it had just occurred to us that you have not been naked and tied to the bed all
week,” Darla purred, picking up Ms. Edith from the table next to Willow and
placing her on a nearby shelf racing the wall. No matter how much she loved
Dru, something about having that doll ‘watch’ while she shagged her lovers just
creeped the blonde vampire out.
“Really?”
Willow said in a small voice, a goofy looking grin forming on her face as Dru
removed the tray from her lap and set it aside.
“Yes...
really,” Drusilla teased, crouching down beside the seated redhead and took
hold of her right leg, running one hand down the side of Willow’s thigh,
stopping just above the knee where flesh and bone gave way to titanium steel
and hard plastic that made up the prosthetic leg her lover now wore. The insane vampire hated the artificial
limb, it being a grim reminder of what that bastard did to her Little Tree, so
she would always remove it... getting it out of the way so she can help her
mortal love forget about the pain she was usually in.
“Now
that we have discovered our oversight... we’re taking steps to correct the
situation,” Darla added, stepping up to gather the redhead into her arms, “but
that can wait... right now we have a new hot tub to play in.”
Following
her lovers, Dru began to strip off her clothing eager for the fun to begin, it
would be a welcome distraction from the problem that had landed in their laps,
Ms Edith and the stars whispering the nights of blood and passion ahead for
them all. She couldn’t wait for it all to begin.
Lowering
herself into the hot bubbling water, Willow let out a contented sigh as she
settled back against Drusilla, the two waiting for Darla to finish undressing
and join them. “Comfy pet?” Dru chuckled, massaging
Willow’s
right thigh, working out the knots that always formed around the muscles when
the redhead had been walking around on her artificial leg for long periods of
time. According to the doctor, a tall
boring old man that Dru didn't like one little bit because he kept touching her
Little Tree without permission, the nerve damage in Willow’s leg was making it
difficult for her to stand long periods of time without a cane for additional
support. Although the boring old man
did have hopes of correcting that situation with yet another surgery to repair
the nerve damage, where he planned to install a state of the art micro-fiber
system that will interface with a new prosthetic leg being built just for her
Willow, while the insane vampire didn’t understand most of what the doctor
said, she did understand that it would be the last operation. After five major
reconstructive surgeries to salvage as much of her Little Tree’s mangled limb
as possible, they were going to call an end to it. The operations just took too much out of Willow and the pain
never seemed to end.
“Ah
hmmmm,” Willow mumbled, her eyes drooping as she let the water and Dru’s
massaging hand relax and lure her to sleep.
Shaking
her head as she watched her mortal love fall asleep in the hot tub, “You know
one of these days we’re going to be able to shag her in this thing without her
falling asleep on us,” Darla commented ruefully, making herself comfortable in
the heated water. ‘Oh well she can use the rest... she has such a long night
ahead of her,’ the blonde vampire thought smugly, running one foot up
Drusilla’s leg, with a wicked grin shining in her eyes.
************************
Sunnydale morgue -
Dusk
“Why are we here?” Spike whined, following the Watcher, Faith and the two police officers into the City Morgue.
“Ah
come on Spike... I thought you would be eager to see the remains of Riley
Finn,” Justice chuckled, stepping out of the way as the vampire shot to the
head of the group.
“Well
why didn’t you say so?” Spike growled, nearly bouncing off the walls now,
“let’s go see the bloody wanker... you don’t think they did the autopsy yet do
you?” He asked eagerly, his eyes shining.
“That’s
what I love about Spike... his compassion for the dead,” the SWAT officer
commented dryly to the dark-haired Slayer as they continued down the hall.
Within
moments the little group found themselves surrounding the remains of the person
that had been identified as Riley Finn. “Oohhh someone defiantly had issues
here,” Faith commented, cocking her head to one side as she studied the dead
body laid out before her.
“And
a chainsaw,” Spike added gleefully, crouching down to get a closer look, his
tongue sticking out from between his lips in a goofy grin. Upon closer
inspection of the corpse, “Hey Justice... take a look at this with your true
eyes... tell me what you don’t see?” Spike said, pointing to a marred part of
the chest area.
“Okay,”
she replied, allowing her human face to slip away to reveal her demon
face. From the other side of the table Donavon
watched in fascination as her features took on a more feral-like appearance,
“What the hell?” She said more to herself then anything else.
“What
is it?” Giles questioned, wondering what the two demons found so interesting.
“His
scar is missing,” Justice said, “the one from the demon bite... its not
there. Looks like someone was trying to
hide it too... explains all the chainsaw damage.” She continued waving one
finger around the area in question as she returned to her human face.
“So
that proves it... this isn’t Finn,” Faith growled.
“But
it is... the scent matches the one I associate with Riley Finn, only this one
has never been bitten by a bore-demon,” Justice corrected with a shake of her
head.
Sharing
a look with one another four of the five people spoke in chorus, “Hellmouth.”
“This
couldn’t have been Riley’s identical twin brother?” Donavon asked hopefully,
grasping at straws.
“Could
be... we'd have to ask B, she would know... but I think he’s an only child or
something,” Faith replied, her mind working. “Vamp-Willow,” she said snapping
her fingers as an idea occurred to her.
“Right...
this could be a Riley Finn for an alternate universe,” Giles commented almost
absently, “but why is he here... and who killed him?”
“Yeah...
and where the hell is our bastard Finn at?” Spike added with a sneer, if that
pillock was off in another universe touching his Red, he would tear him apart
with his bare hands, even if he had to track him to the ends of the universe to
do it.
“Good
questions,” Donavon said after a moment, “now how do we find the answers?”
“Four
hundred ninety-two,” Donavon commented in disbelief, a puzzled look on his face
as he stared in confusion at his mobile phone.
“Columbus
sailed the ocean blue?” Justice replied almost absently, barely keeping the
vehicle on the road to a void a large truck, as she navigated through late
night LA traffic looking for the Hyperion Hotel. ‘Damn where is this place?’
she wondered, ‘it’s a rather large hotel, how can they hide the damn thing?’
“Huh?”
“You
said four hundred ninety-two... I thought you were singing or something,”
Justice replied, growling lowly as she was cut off, her true face threatening
to slip on.
“Justice...
Columbus set out in FOURTEEN ninety-two not four hundred ninety two,” the
detective corrected with a shake of his head, “I was actually referring to the
number of people, both human and demon, that have stepped forward claiming to
be Riley Finn’s murderer... the station has been swamped with calls all day.”
He added with a shake of his head.
“Only
four hundred ninety two, huh?”
Grabbing
the dashboard in reflex as the SWAT office took a sudden left turn without
slowing down. “You know... I think I just figured out why you were never put on
traffic detail,” he said under his breath, finally understanding the looks of
sympathy he had gotten from fellow officers, as the pair was leaving the
Sunnydale Police Station for the ride up to Los Angeles.
“I
heard that,” AJ growled playfully, shooting the human detective a quick grin
letting her true face surface a bit. “Its not my fault you humans never learned
know how to drive defensively.”
“Defensively?”
he cried both eyebrows arched in disbelief. “You tried to ram an ice cream
truck before we got out of town?”
“Ah...
detective, we left the station after nine... all the ice cream trucks stop
running around dusk,” Justice said, with a small smirk forming on her lips as
she turned her attention back to the road. “That wasn’t a human driver... and I
was just letting him know that the hunting grounds were closed for the night.”
“Hunting
grounds? You mean?”
“Yup...
that driver was a vampire... with a new idea for hunting humans it seems,”
Justice replied, “pretty smart idea too, don't think its ever been used
before.”
“Is
this one of those strange little Sunnydale quarks that make the town more
interesting and not just blind numbingly terrifying that I should get used to
and more on?” Donavon asked, a wild hopeful look on his face.
Chuckling
softly, “Well now I won’t say that... but after awhile the newness will wear
off and you'll be able to accept things better,” she advised calmly.
************************
Sunnydale
Same Time - Location of the Finn
Murder -
The
short, stocky man crouched down beside the chalk outline on the floor that
marked the final resting place of the man that had been identified as Riley
Finn. Growling lowly to himself the
young man expanded his supernatural senses to take in the crime scene around
him, picking up the trace elements others has missed. “Interesting,” he commented to himself, before rising to his
feet. Pulling out his mobile phone, the
young man pressed a button on the speed dial, his eyes scanning the darkened
crime scene for more clues, “Yeah... this is Oz...tell Jonathan that the
bastard is still alive,” he said into the mobile when it was picked up at the
other end. “I’m gathering the pack now...we’re on a blood hunt... this ends our
way.” He growled lowly before
hanging
up, old memories of seeing his first love fighting for her life in Intensive
Care after what Finn did, running through his mind.
Stepping
out of the building the young werewolf called Oz, spotted two familiar figures
sitting on the hood of his car, the pair in a deep conversation and playing
“rock, paper, scissors” to pass the time.
“Oz-meister...
please tell me you found something of interest in there?” Xander Harris called
out as the werewolf approached the pair sitting on the car. “The Buffster and I
got a bet going... I say you met a cute fur-bunny in there and were just
answering the call of the wild.”
“Xander...
I take it back... you HAVE been spending way too much time with Anya and
Spike,” Oz replied with a shake of his head, wondering at the strange things
that always came out of his old friend’s mouth.
“So...
what’s the verdict?” Buffy Summers asked, choosing to ignore Xander's somewhat
twisted - of late - sense of humour. ‘I swear... he’s gotten worse over the
year,’ she thought, trying to push the image of two werewolves getting frisky
at a crime scene out of her head, there was just some images she just did not
want in her head.
“Not
sure... from what I can tell there were two Riley Finn's in there,” Oz replied
after a moment, trying to puzzle things out. “It’s weird...but from what my
senses are telling me... Finn number two killed Finn number one. A lot of hate and negative emotions took
place in there...the place still wreaks of it, may for a long time.”
Nodding
at the werewolf’s words, Buffy took one last look at the building still roped
off by police tape, “So if Finn number one is in the morgue... where is Finn
number two?” She asked almost absently.
“Good
questions... I’ll sound the Slayer alarm and call for an Emergency Meeting of
the Scoobies,” Xander said sliding off of the hood of the car, one hand digging
into his coat pocket for his mobile phone. “You know the Dead Ones in LA are
going to be pissed if he’s not laying dead somewhere too.”
“We’ll
just have to make it up to them... maybe give them Finn’s head on a golden
platter or something.” Oz commented coldly.
“Golden? I thought it was silver?” Xander questioned,
curiously.
“Silver
allergy... its all golden platters for me.”
TBC…