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Permanent Future -- by Ruby
Rating: NC-17
Description: Buffy and Willow search for answers, sequel to Past Imperfect.
Note: Dedication -- For Lex, who's been searching under rocks for this sequel. And for Selene, who had so many questions, there was really no way I could not write this.:-)
Disclaimer: Joss owns all.
Giles sighed from his vantage point in the kitchen at the blonde and the redhead who were hunched together on the sofa in hushed conversation.
"Buffy," he spoke. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing," she answered a little too quickly and drew away from Willow.
"Nothing," he repeated as he came into the living room. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," she nodded.
"So you wouldn't be doing something like--oh--say, digging around in Preston Martin's business?" he asked pointedly.
"Preston Martin?" Xander said around a mouthful of cookie.
"University professor. The one who helped out after
Willow was taken," Giles nodded and looked back at the slayer. "I received a phone call from him this afternoon. Seems someone's been asking questions about him. Checking his profile in the university records. I wonder who that could be."
"Oh, all right," Buffy conceded. "I admit it. It just bugged me that he seemed to know so much about Jordan and his gang and the main group he told you about. You can't tell me you aren't dying to know, too."
"Granted, but I hardly think going behind his back is--"
"Well, you asked him straight out, and he wouldn't give you any answers," she argued. "So there's no chance he'd tell me anything. Giles, there's a group of--somebodies--conducting experiments on vampires. We don't know who they are or what their motives are. You agreed that we needed to find some answers after Willow had a chance to recover from what they put her through. It's been three weeks. It's time."
"All right," he nodded and took a chair across from her. "Have you learned anything?"
"Not much," Willow answered. "He spends a lot of his posted office hours away from his office, and no one seems to be able to tell us where he goes."
"You're implying he has direct information about this group. That he's involved in it," the watcher concluded.
"It looks that way," she said. "And I also got hold of a list of the students who have enrolled in his classes for the past three semesters."
Buffy looked away from the redhead, and Willow hesitated for a moment.
"Go on," Giles prodded gently.
"Well, five names appear on all three rosters. Three men and two women," Willow told him.
"So they like him," Xander shrugged, scooping up the last two cookies and looking forlornly at the empty plate.
"The guy teaches molecular biotechnology," the redhead responded. "That's a far cry from Basket-weaving 101. No one would take courses like that just for the hell of it. Two of these students haven't even had the prerequisite courses. Martin waved them."
"There's something else, isn't there?" Giles guessed as Buffy stared down at her hands.
She nodded her head slowly, "Riley's in on this. He's one of the five on that list."
"Oh, lord," the watcher sighed and sat back in his chair. "You don't think he's a part of the group who took Willow."
"I can't believe he was," she answered softly. "I know he thinks of Will as a friend. We haven't been seeing each other very long, but I can't believe he would ever do anything to hurt her."
"I agree," Willow nodded. "He's always nice to me. He couldn't be that deceitful."
"Why not?" Xander asked. "If he's part of this super secret underground society of mad scientists against vampires, why couldn't he poke a few needles into deadboy and dangle Will in front of him like a human worm?"
"That's lovely, Xander. Thank you," Willow scowled.
"Buffy, I really don't think he was part of Jordan's group. The main group, maybe, but not Jordan's."
"Either way, he's still lying to me," the slayer replied.
"Not really. He's just--not telling you everything," she reasoned. "I mean, you haven't exactly told him about your extra-curricular activities."
"True," she nodded. "But that doesn't make me feel any better."
"At any rate," Giles spoke. "You have a good start. What are you going to do with it?"
"It's your call," Willow told Buffy. "We can drop the whole thing--"
"No, we can't," she refused. "We have to find out what they're up to. Who they are."
"How do you intend to do that?" Giles asked.
"Simple. I'm going to ask Riley," she answered and stood up. "I'll make him tell me."
"Buffy, that may not be the wisest--"
"Giles, you said this Martin guy told you the main group's intentions were basically humane, that they completely opposed what Jordan did to Will. We need answers, and I'm not going to sneak around and spy on Riley. I care about him too much."
"All right," the watcher smiled gently. "I'm here if you need to talk."
"Thanks," she nodded, and turned as Willow followed her to the door. "Will, I need to do this alone."
"I know," she replied. "I'm going home. Spike will be up soon, and I need to--you know."
"Yeah, I know," the slayer smiled sadly, her gaze lowering to the ever-present marks on her friend's throat.
"You're late," Spike said from the end of the hallway as Willow closed the front door. "Your last class was finished an hour ago."
"I know. I'm sorry," she smiled over at him. "Buffy and I were trying to find some answers about the group Jordan broke away from. Do you want to hear?"
"Later," he answered as she walked into his arms.
"I missed you," she purred, holding him close.
He scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. "Have you been awake long?" she asked as he lowered her back to her feet.
"Half an hour," he replied, watching as she tugged off her clothes.
He pulled off his jeans, the only clothes he was wearing, and moved over her as she lay back on the bed.
"Too long," she murmured as his cold tongue slid over the wounds on her neck.
He growled softly and wrapped both of his arms around her waist and pierced her flesh to drink her blood.
She felt him hardening against her, and she buried her fingers in his hair as she spread her legs in silent invitation. Spike cleaned the blood from her throat before moving to her lips. Their tongues met, and she moaned as his hard shaft slid into her wet warmth. With a fingernail, Spike opened a gash on his neck, and Willow's lips instinctively sought to capture his blood. He began to thrust into her slowly as she suckled hungrily from him. She licked his blood from her lips and drew his head down to kiss him deeply.
He gripped her hips, drawing her up into him as he pushed deeper into her. One hand moved to her sex, and Willow mewled as his fingers teased her clit. She thrust up into him as her walls began to tighten around his shaft. Her hands cupped his ass, driving him hard inside her, seeking release from the heat that was seeping from her core to her senses. Spike snarled, his cold seed flooding her womb. He slammed into her once more and pinched her swollen nub, and Willow cried out as she came.
Spike lowered himself over her and rested his cheek against hers as she breathed heavily under him. She turned her head, capturing his mouth with her own, and kissed him softly. He rolled her over onto him and held her close as the hypnotic affect of their bond began to shake itself from their brains.
"You in there?" he heard her quiet voice ask.
He took the small hand that was caressing his chest and drew it to his lips, "In you. Always."
She smiled and placed a kiss just below the hollow of his throat and returned the promise, "Always."
Buffy was staring down into the untouched glass of soda, twirling the straw in her fingers. Willow slid into the seat across from her and looked from the slayer to Spike, who remained standing beside her.
"Did you talk to Riley?" the redhead asked. Buffy nodded and looked up at her.
"And?"
"He knew," she said softly.
"Knew," Spike repeated coldly. "About what?"
"Everything, basically," the slayer answered. "He said the main group called everyone together two weeks ago to talk about the safety of mortals after they found out what had happened to you, Will."
"Then he admitted he's involved?" Willow asked.
"Not at first. Not until I threatened to go to the campus newspaper and tell them that certain members of the faculty and student body were involved in kidnapping a female coed," Buffy said. "He didn't know the woman was you until I told him. Well, that's what he said, anyway."
"Do you believe him?" Spike asked.
"I suppose so," she sighed. "He's working with the main group, who weren't involved in what happened to either of you. He was pretty upset when he found out Willow was the victim in all of this. He was even more upset when he found out she's bonded to a vampire."
"You told him?" Willow squeaked.
"I had to, Will. He already knew you'd been rescued by a vampire. Ripping out throats and sucking people dry is a pretty effective calling card," she glared over at Spike.
"Think so?" the blonde vampire stared back at her.
"They took what was mine. I hope you warned the sod that if he bothers Willow, he'll be the next bloodless corpse on my list."
"Did he tell you what this group is up to?" Willow asked. "Have they taken other vampires or other humans?"
"No humans, he promised me that," Buffy answered. "He wouldn't tell me much else, though. He wanted to talk to the group leader, first. I'm taking him over to Giles' tonight."
Willow shot her a concerned look, "He knows about Giles, too?"
The slayer nodded, "He knows everything, Will, including what I am. I can't expect to get the truth out of him if I'm telling lies and keeping secrets from him."
"I hope you know what you're doing," the redhead spoke softly.
"So do I," Buffy agreed. "My gut tells me I can trust him. Either my instincts are right, or--"
"You've just been played for one of the biggest fools in the history of humanity," Spike said. "Which, from where I'm standing, wouldn't be all that hard to believe."
Riley sat stiffly on the edge of the sofa and looked uncomfortably around at the others in the room. His eyes came to rest on Willow as the blonde vampire beside her put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side.
Buffy cleared her throat nervously, gaining the young man's attention, and asked softly, "Have you had anything to eat? I can get you--"
She stopped as he shook his head and gave her a weak smile.
"Something to drink?" Giles offered.
"Bloody hell, this isn't high tea," Spike scowled. "Just get on with it."
The slayer glared coldly at him for a moment before turning back to Riley, "I can't believe you're okay with what happened to Will."
"Of course I'm not. And neither is the rest of the group. There were three members of Jordan's group who weren't involved in the--rescue," he ventured a quick glance at Spike. "They've all been dismissed."
"Is that safe?" Giles questioned.
Riley shrugged, "They won't talk. No one would believe them, anyway. Besides, our group includes some fairly influential people. They could make the futures of Jordan's partners very difficult if they step out of line. They'll keep their mouths shut."
"Did you talk to the leader? Is he willing to cooperate?" the former watcher asked.
"The leader is a woman," Riley informed him. "But she doesn't control the group. She works with a panel of administrators. I tried to get her to answer my questions without bringing Buffy or Willow into it. She flat-out refused."
"Do you think you can persuade her to change her mind?" Willow asked.
"I doubt it," he answered. "She's pretty hard-headed and very protective of the organization. She won't help."
"Then we've hit a dead-end," Buffy stated.
Riley looked at her for a moment and reached for her hand, "No, you haven't. She won't help, but I will."
"Are you sure? Won't that put you in danger?" the slayer asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. But I hate what happened to Willow. I understand the need for secrecy, but if they refuse help from potential allies, they're leaving themselves wide-open for something like this to happen again. I'll help you as much as I can, but there are a lot of things even I don't know about."
"Perhaps it would be best if you tell us what you do know," Giles suggested, taking a seat across from him.
He nodded and licked his lips, considering how to begin, "We've managed to capture a number of vampires and several other demons. We have around two dozen, right now. Our research revolves around studying their strengths and the most effective ways of destroying their powers, or if that isn't possible, of destroying their kind."
"Studying their strengths," Giles repeated. "How? For what purpose?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "There are several squads of--soldiers--I guess you'd call them, who are assigned specific duties. The squads only work together when it's a matter of safety--either the group's or the student body's--and they never cross over into the other functions of the organization. Only administrators, scientists, and guards have access to the captives once they're brought in. My duties are concentrated on the capture of vampires."
"You're working blind?" Giles was clearly disconcerted at the thought. "For an organization whose main directive is kept secret from you?"
"The main directive is the public's safety," Riley insisted defensively.
"At least, that's what they tell you," Buffy inserted.
He looked away from her, "And it's what I've always believed, without question. Until now."
"And now, your questions aren't being answered," the slayer added.
"No," he agreed softly. "And I want to know, as much as you do."
"Is Spike still in danger?" Willow asked.
"Yes," Riley nodded. "Especially after what happened to Jordan and his men. Right now, they're working on the assumption that you were an innocent victim, and the assault at Jordan's lab was an attack from a bloodthirsty vampire."
He stopped himself and looked hesitantly over at Spike, who merely nodded for him to continue.
"They have no idea how you really got out of there, Willow. They have a good description of both you and Spike from the surviving members of Jordan's gang. They haven't figured out why he was with you outside Jordan's apartment or why he tore them apart to get you away from them. They know nothing about--"
"The bond," the redhead said and felt the vampire's arm tighten around her. "Riley, Spike has to be safe. I need him."
"I know," he nodded. "Buffy explained it to me. I'll help as much as I can. But I've already asked too many questions, and someone's bound to realize I have a red haired friend. If they put two and two together--"
"Then we'll have to work fast," Buffy spoke. "Can you get me inside so I can have a look around?"
"Security is too heavy," he answered. "But all of the administrators have computers at home that are networked to the organization. The leader will be on duty in an hour. She won't be home until early morning."
"It's a start," she agreed. "Will, you'd better come with us. Spike, maybe you should keep out of sight--"
"Not a chance," the vampire refused.
"Don't be an ass! If you--"
"Buffy," Willow interrupted. "I can't do it without him. If it takes too long, or if something happens and I can't get to him--"
"All right!" she conceded angrily. "I get it."
"I'm sorry," the redhead offered.
"Like hell you are," Spike grinned and removed his arm from her waist to take her hand. She looked up at her mate, her eyes locking on his as he stared down at her.
"Gods, you two are unbelievable. Get a room," the slayer grumbled.
"Right you are," the blonde vampire smirked over at her and dragged Willow toward the front door. "Meet you in an hour."
"Locked," Buffy announced as she rattled the latch on the back door of the large brick house.
Riley nudged her aside and picked up a small potted plant from one side of the steps, using it to smash one of the narrow panes of glass just to the right of the door. He reached through and released the catch on the deadbolt.
"Unlocked," he said, drawing his hand out and opening the door.
Willow followed them inside and turned, reaching her hand out to Spike, "Come in."
He took her hand and stepped through, and they followed Riley as he led them through the dark house and into an office. He snapped on the desk lamp, and Willow moved around to the computer.
"I think I've found what we want," she said after several minutes of silence. "Now, if I can get around this password. Hang on."
Buffy glanced over the neatly arranged desk top and picked up a picture standing beside the lamp. She looked around at Riley.
"Professor Walsh?" she asked, pointing to one of the figures in the photograph.
"It's her house," he nodded.
The slayer's mouth dropped open, but her thoughts were interrupted by Willow's triumphant whisper, "We're in!"
"Dr. Walsh." The woman turned from her desk at the sound of the urgent voice behind her.
"Someone's hacked into the network," a young man informed her.
She shoved back her chair and rose to her feet, "How do you know?"
"I just logged on to enter some data and discovered the password protection has been disabled."
She glanced over at her dark monitor and hissed angrily, "Damn. Get it back up. Now."
"Where are you going?" he asked as she pushed past him.
"I know who it is. Get those files secured," she snapped.
"We don't have time to read through all of this. Print it out," Buffy suggested.
"No time for that, either," Willow told her.
"Someone's trying to block access."
"They know we're on," Riley said.
"Just a minute," the redhead murmured, her eyes glued to the screen.
"What are you doing, ducks?" Spike asked.
"I've copied everything," she answered, clicking away at the mouse under her hand. "I'm going to email it to Giles."
Riley watched in silent fascination as Willow sent off the information with swift efficiency, completing the task and shutting down the computer before whoever was trying to block her had the time to succeed.
"Let's get out of here," Buffy said, flicking off the light.
Maggie Walsh doused the headlights on her black sedan and rolled to a quiet stop along the curb across from her house. Four shadowy figures emerged from around the side lawn and quickly walked away.
"Good work, Willow," Giles smiled down at the little redhead as the printer continued to spit out page after page of information.
"Aside from the fact that someone figured out what I was up to and probably knows who we are," she added. He raised an eyebrow, "You didn't really think you'd manage to get away unnoticed?"
"I'm an idealist, although I did kind of figure that broken window might be a give-away," her attempt at weak grin was erased by a fleeting frown.
"You can't go back to campus," Buffy said to Riley.
"Walsh has to know you're in on this. She'll be looking for you."
He nodded and squeezed her hand, "I know."
"And we're going to need your help to make sense of all this," Giles told him.
Spike sensed the sharp pain that was gnawing inside his mate, and he moved up behind Willow and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I'll do whatever--" Riley's words were cut off by Willow's soft moan.
"It's going to take awhile for all of that to finish printing," the redhead spoke to Giles. "Could you just make sure the printer doesn't run out of paper while we--um--"
"Yes, by all means, do--um," he nodded. "You're looking rather pale."
She flashed him a sincere smile of gratitude for his understanding, "Thanks."
"How can you stand it?" Riley asked softly as Willow and Spike disappeared down the hallway.
"Because she has no choice and because we love her," Buffy answered.
Spike reached up and pulled Willow down onto his naked body, the bond buzzing in his brain, demanding their union. She straddled him and lowered her mouth to his as his aching shaft slid between her wet folds. He thrust up into her, and she placed her hands on his chest as he gripped her hips and guided her rhythmic movements. One hand moved around her back, urging her body down, and he captured a hard, rosy nipple with his mouth.
Willow panted heavily, moaning as he rolled the pebbled nub between his teeth and flicked his tongue against it. Spike flipped her over, never breaking their connection, and pumped into her as his fingers sought the sensitive bundle of nerves between her legs. Soft whimpers of urgent need parted her lips, and she cried out his name as he pinched her clit and sank his teeth into her neck while his seed flooded her channel.
He drank until the all-consuming hunger for her was sated, then quickly raked a nail over his chest and pulled her mouth to the bleeding gash. Her body stilled as her entire being calmed with the blood that trickled past her lips.
Spike moved off of her, folding her close to him, and let the peaceful aftereffect of their coupling wash over them. At long last, the edges of reality began to glide into place, and he tilted her chin and kissed her, softly at first, then more deeply. He drew away as she chuckled softly.
"What?" he asked.
"Poor Riley," she grinned. "He's just had his first experience of seeing us in heat."
"You're insane," he laughed.
Her eyes sparkled down into his, "Only about you."
His hand brushed gently over her cheek, and he looked at her wonderingly, "My mate."
"I love you," she whispered and brought her mouth back to his.
Riley eyed the couple like a specimen under glass as Willow and Spike reappeared in the living room, looking far less put together than they had before their trip down the hallway. Spike sat down, pulling Willow onto his lap.
"You okay, Will?" Buffy asked as the redhead snuggled against her mate's chest.
"Mmmm?" she murmured from some far away place in her mind. "Sorry, takes a few minutes."
The slayer watched as Spike's hand gently caressed Willow's hair, "It's almost enough to make me envious."
She blushed as Giles and Riley shot her hard stares. "Almost," she quickly repeated.
Riley looked at the deceptively petite blonde as if she'd lost her mind, and Giles grinned and handed Willow a cup of tea. When she ignored the silent offer, preferring Spike's lips instead, he sighed a sigh of the eternally persecuted and set the cup down on the table beside her.
"There is some very disturbing information here," the former watcher said as he scooped up the think stack of neatly printed papers from a cushion on the sofa.
"Some of the experiments your people have been conducting are positively sadistic, even by demonic standards."
"I haven't been--" Riley paused, his surprised eyes wandering back to the vampire who was currently being treated to Willow's lips traveling over his neck--Was he actually purring?
"Yes," Giles prodded.
The young man shook himself, marveling at the older man's ability to ignore the tenderly erotic scene unfolding in his own armchair.
"You get used to it," Buffy told him and grinned at his look of utter disbelief. "Okay, maybe you don't. Anyway, you were saying?"
"Yeah," he nodded, turning slightly to block out the view of Spike and Willow and not succeeding terribly well. "I haven't been involved in any of the experiments. I've never even been allowed access to the labs to see what's going on there."
"Some of these demons have been kept alive for months," Giles informed him. "I shudder to think what would happen if any of them escaped after the acts of barbarism that their minds and bodies have been subjected to."
"But you said it yourself. They're demons. You hunt them down and kill them. So why should it matter what the organization is doing to them?"
"There's the difference, though. Our goal is to destroy them, not torture them endlessly," Giles answered. "If you've truly no idea what's being done, perhaps you should read some of these."
Riley took the half dozen sheets that Giles handed to him. His face grew pale as his eyes scanned their contents.
"You must agree that this is wrong," the older man spoke after several minutes. "This can't be allowed to continue."
"No, it can't," Riley answered softly.
Giles nodded, "The organization must either adopt radically different objectives, or they must be shut down."
"I think it would be impossible to persuade them to change the way they operate," Riley told him. "And shutting them down won't be much easier."
"And now that Walsh knows you're working with us, we don't have anyone who can help us from the inside,"
Buffy added. "There's nothing we can do."
"Don't be so sure," Giles responded.
Willow stirred form her bond-induced stupor and reached for the cup of tea on the table.
"Back with us?" the slayer smiled at her friend.
"Yeah," the redhead nodded, her eyes back to their usual bright, clear state.
"Good," Giles said. "I think I know how we can bring down the organization, but it's dangerous--particularly for the two of you."
"None of us are safe as long as they're a threat to us," Spike replied, his eyes fixed on Willow as he brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. "So, let's hear it."
"All of the equipment and records regarding the experiments are kept in one location--an office near the captives' cells," Giles told them. "If we can get in and destroy all of it, we'll effectively put a stop to everything they're trying to accomplish."
"But we can't break in," Riley reminded him. "There's no way we'll get past all the security devices."
"I didn't say you were going to break in. They're going to _let_ you in."
"We're going to let them capture us," Buffy guessed.
"Exactly. Professor Walsh must have people out looking for you," Giles nodded. "All you have to do is make sure they find you."
Riley shook his head, "I don't like this. Buffy and Willow could get hurt, or worse."
"You said yourself that the organization is opposed to harming humans," Giles replied.
"But we're the enemy, now," the young man contended.
"They aren't going to roll over just because a couple of humans are going against them. Let me go in, alone."
"Won't work," Willow interrupted. "There are too many of them to take on by yourself. You're going to need Buffy and Spike. And if we're really going to dismantle their operation, someone is going to have to wipe out their computer network and database. That's me."
Reluctantly, Riley nodded in concession. "Giles, after they do take us, what happens if they separate Willow and Spike?" the slayer asked.
"That could actually work in your favor," he answered.
"It's highly unlikely they're aware that such a bond exists. They didn't figure it out even after Spike rescued Willow, and it's exceptionally rare for a vampire to bond with a mortal without turning her soon afterwards."
"I'd never heard of it," Riley concurred. "And if they had known, I'm sure I would have, too."
"You've seen the lengths to which Spike will go in order to get to his mate," Giles said to Buffy. "The organization has no idea how difficult it will be to contain him if they take Willow away from him. Even if they do lock you up, it won't last long once he's gone on the rampage."
"Okay," Buffy nodded. "Let's go make captives of ourselves."
"I'm giving you twenty-four hours," Giles said as he followed them to the door. "If I haven't heard from you by then, I'm calling the police. Consequences be damned."
Willow sat down beside Buffy on one of the two cots in the square cell.
"How long have we been here?" the slayer wondered.
The redhead glanced at her watch, "Almost four hours. What the hell are they waiting for?"
"I don't know. Maybe it just isn't our turn, yet." Willow looked questioningly at her.
"You saw the look on Walsh's face when she got an eyeful of Riley. Maybe they started with him," she suggested grimly.
Willow let her eyes wander over the stark room, squinting slightly against the harsh, white light, and tried not to imagine what might be happening to Riley.
They sat side by side in their own separate prisons of silence for several minutes, until Willow stood up and began slowly treading the floor.
"You okay, Will?" the slayer asked, her concerned eyes following her friend.
"Yeah," she answered softly and then glanced toward the door. "I wonder where they've taken Spike."
For the first time in four hours, Buffy felt a spark of hope, which would have made her extremely happy were it not for the brief flicker of pain that passed over Willow's face.
Riley tested once more the straps that bound his wrists to the arms of the chair, but they held just as firmly as when they were first placed around him. Whatever the lab assistant had injected into his arm, it had initially only sapped his strength. After the second injection, given to him nearly an hour ago, his head was pounding until it set his nerves on edge and wrenched at his stomach until he felt like vomiting.
He steeled himself as the door slid open, and Maggie Walsh stepped into the room. His glazed eyes glared over at her, and she moved toward him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Is this the kind of torture you put all your lab rats through?" he asked angrily.
"This is nothing compared to what we do to them," she answered calmly. "You are only human, after all."
He shook his head and winced at the bolt of pain that rocketed behind his eyes, "This is not what we were supposed to be about."
Her eyes grew stormy, and her voice grew cold, "I'm truly disappointed in you. You had such promise. Someday, you would have taken my place."
"Pass," he hissed at her.
"As if you have the option, anymore," she replied with a crooked grin.
"What have you done with Buffy and Willow?" he demanded.
"They're dead," she lied with an easy shrug.
What little color there was on his cheeks suddenly bled away with her statement, and he whispered, "You murdered them?"
"I prefer to think of it as self-preservation. The good of the organization and all of that," she answered and knelt down in front of him. "So, you see, you have no reason left to fight us. None whatsoever."
Riley forced his mind, which was precariously close to surrendering to shock, to remain focused, "Then why am I still here? Why not just kill me, too?"
She laid a steady hand over his, and he tried, unsuccessfully, to jerk his away.
"As I said, you have a great deal of potential. We need people like you, Riley. You're intelligent and fearless."
"You don't really think I'd ever work for you again," he sneered.
"Of course you will," she patted his hand and stood back up. "All it requires is a little reprogramming."
His body tensed in revulsion, but she remained unaffected.
"Of course, you'll never attain the heights you were destined to achieve before, not after your mind has been so drastically altered, but you'll be a valuable member of the team once again."
She went back to the door and paused before exiting,
"Riley, don't fight it so hard. You're only making it more painful for yourself, and you can't win, in the end."
He squeezed his eyes shut and fought the despair welling inside him. He heard the door slide shut and the computerized lock re-engage before he allowed the tears to slip from his eyes.
"He won't take it, Dr. Massey," the young woman said to the older man standing beside her.
He took the bag of blood from her hands. His gaze moved beyond the cell's invisible barrier to the blonde vampire who was leaning against the far wall, hands balled into fists, staring hatefully back at them.
"He knows we've been drugging it. This one is untainted, though," Dr. Massey answered. "It's been hours since he fed. He can't hold out much longer."
"I wonder why a vampire would be working with humans," the young lady asked.
"That's what we want to know," he nodded. "I have to leave. Walsh is convening a meeting in fifteen minutes. I'll send Fuller and Currey to help you. Wait until they get here, and then try to coax him to take this."
She nodded as he handed her the bag of blood and strode off down the corridor.
"Damned bloody sods," Spike growled to himself and pushed his lean frame away from the wall.
It was coming up on five hours since they had allowed themselves to be dragged into the underground complex.
The gun pointed at Willow's back had done far more to prevent him from tearing into the soldiers than they could possibly have known. The demon inside him was raging for his mate. He knew it wouldn't be long before it completely overtook him, and at this point, he didn't really give a damn.
He watched as two men dressed in white lab coats appeared beside the woman who had been waiting on the other side of the cell. They were carrying weapons that resembled guns, and they spoke for a moment before the woman extended a hand to punch the keypad that would release the barrier.
Spike forced himself to remain still as the men stepped inside just ahead of their female colleague. She dropped the bagged blood to the smooth, cold floor and gave it a shove with the toe of her shoe. It slid to a stop halfway between the vampire and his captors, and he gave it a cursory glance before returning his cold eyes to them.
"It's pure," she told him.
He made no move to pick it up. "Go on," she urged. "You need it. You don't want to starve."
"You have no fucking idea what I need, bitch," he thought to himself, but kept his face stonily expressionless.
The men raised their guns as she sighed heavily and stepped between them, "You have to eat. There's nothing wrong with that blood. Take it."
Willow leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. She moaned and raised her hands to her head, clutching at her hair with two tight fists.
Buffy sank to her knees in front of her and folded her hands over the redhead's, "Oh, gods, Will. Hang on. Please, hang on."
She whimpered pitifully and began to rock back and forth as the pain of her unfulfilled need ripped through her.
"Take it!" the young woman ordered as Spike stared at the bag of blood.
She took a step back as he took one forward and kneeled down, reaching out for the bag as his game face slid on. The woman's momentary feeling of relief was quickly shattered as the blonde vampire suddenly rolled, knocking her feet out from under her and sending her tumbling into one of the two men behind her. His gun flew out of his hand and landed in the passageway outside of the cell.
Spike's hand curled around the second man's ankle and yanked him down onto the floor. He landed on his tailbone, knocking the wind out of him. Spike grabbed the man's wrist in a steely grip and grinned cruelly as the bones snapped. The man cried out in pain, and the vampire easily tore the gun out of his hand and smashed the weapon over his skull.
He leapt to his feet and whirled around to the woman, who was hauling herself up off of the floor. Her eyes widened in terror as Spike's finger moved over the trigger and squeezed, sending a lethal jolt of electricity slamming into her chest. She collapsed, her limbs twitching convulsively before her lifeless body grew still.
The one remaining captor was crawling over the floor, headed for the gun that lay in the corridor. Spikegrabbed him by the back of the neck. The terrified man flailed out at him, narrowly missing his jaw, before the blonde vampire growled loudly and sank his fangs into the man's jugular. He drained him and tossed him to the ground, then strode out of the cell, still holding the gun. He bent and scooped up the other one and jammed it into the waistband of his jeans before stalking quickly down the corridor, on a direct path to Willow.
Spike rounded a corner and came face to face with an unsuspecting and immediately horrified assistant. The blonde vampire, amber eyes burning, grabbed him by the throat and shoved him up against the wall beside the door to Willow's cell.
"Don't kill me," came the man's strangled plea.
"Open that door, and you get to live," Spike snarled.
The man nodded frantically, and Spike dragged him away from the wall and whirled him around to face the keypad. The man swallowed hard and punched in the code, then looked hopefully up at the vampire as the door slid open. Spike glared back at him and grabbed hold of his hair.
"You promised!" the assistant shrieked.
"I'm a vampire, you asshole, not Mother bloody Theresa," Spike growled.
He raised the gun in his free hand, jammed the barrel into the man's gaping mouth, and pulled the trigger. Flinging the corpse aside, he stormed through the door to find Willow on the floor in a corner, knees tight to her chest, fists clenched until her knuckles were white, with Buffy hovering over her.
The slayer scrambled out of the way as Spike quickly moved to his mate and knelt down before her, gathering her to himself. The smell of his blood assaulted her senses as he tore a gash on his throat. Her mouth immediately clamped onto him. She had suckled from him for no more than a minute when the sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
Spike pushed Willow away and whipped his head around, snarling furiously as a man appeared in the doorway. In one swift motion, the vampire sprang to his feet and hurled himself at the enemy. The two of them landed on the other side of the door. The man scooted backward as Spike leapt up and shoved a booted foot under the man's chin, slamming his head violently into the floor and breaking his neck. Spike returned to Willow and helped her up onto her feet.
"We have to get to Riley," Buffy spoke.
He handed her the gun, "She needs my blood, and I need hers. The other part can wait. Five minutes." The slayer nodded and went to the door to keep watch.
Spike kept Willow close to his side as they followed Buffy down the long corridor. Their exchange of blood had tempered the vampire's demon, and the agonizing pain that had tormented the redhead had subsided. The call of the bond had not been completely satisfied, since they had put the more intimate aspect aside temporarily, but their physical proximity lessened that ache to the degree that they could both function. The trio concentrated their search for Riley along the corridor in which Willow's and Buffy's cell had been located. These doors were without windows and clearly not meant for the various demons held captive behind transparent barriers, where they could be observed.
Their progress came to an immediate halt as they discovered that computerized locks secured all of the doors.
"Will?" Buffy shot her friend a look.
The redhead inspected the keypad on the wall beside the first door they had come to, and she shook her head grimly.
"If we had enough time, which we don't," she answered. Spike took a step back, his hand still clutching his mate's, and raised his eyes to the white-tiled ceiling overhead. He pressed his back against the wall, drawing Willow to his side. He put his hand around her head and drew her face protectively into his chest.
Buffy, too, stood well away as Spike pulled the gun from his waistband and aimed it at the ceiling. Charred bits of white material cascaded to the floor as the tile disintegrated, leaving the electric wires behind it exposed. Spike severed them with another blast from the gun, and the lights along the corridor went out. The hallway was now illuminated solely by the much dimmer bulbs of the battery-powered emergency lights that were situated every few feet along both sides of the wall. The loss of power triggered the safety mechanisms on the doors along the passageway, and they slid open almost simultaneously.
"I could learn to like you," the slayer flashed Spike a quick grin.
"That's a thought," he grimaced.
They moved down the hallway, checking inside each room, until they came to the third door.
"Oh, god," Buffy whispered as her eyes registered Riley's form, still strapped in the chair inside the dark room.
She ran to him and fumbled with the buckle on one wrist until Spike shoved her hands away and tore both leather restraints free.
"Buffy," the word rasped from the young man's throat.
"Can you walk?" she asked, kneeling over the chair as Willow hurried to a sink beside a row of locked metal cabinets and filled a paper cup with water. Riley took it gratefully, letting the cool liquid soothe his parched throat before the slayer put an arm around his shoulders and helped him to stand.
"What did they do to you?" she asked, her voice dripping with worry.
"Some kind of drug," he answered. "It's been a couple of hours. Not as bad as it was."
"Riley, we have to get to the computers," Willow said softly.
He nodded and leaned heavily on the slayer as they stepped out of the room. He glanced around, realizing for the first time that it was his surroundings that were darkened and not just his vision.
"You took out the power?"
"We had to get the doors opened," Buffy nodded.
"This whole sector is on the same circuit. The barriers on the cells must have gone down," he warned them.
"Pretty much explains why no one came looking for us after the lights went out," Willow spoke.
They looked at her in confusion. "If I were one of those demons, I know right where I'd head," she told them.
"Straight after the people who had been torturing me,"
Spike nodded. "That should buy us some time."
"Come on," Riley said. "The computers are this way." He directed them down to the far end of the corridor, where they turned a corner.
"It's the last room," he gestured, breathing heavily under the painful exertion of simply trying to keep himself upright. "The equipment in there requires a lot of power, so it has its own circuit."
"Then the door is locked," Spike said.
"And I don't have access, damn it," Riley hissed. "The administrators are the only ones who do."
Buffy's arm tightened around his waist as the door at the end of the hall suddenly slid open and a tall lean man with greying hair took a step outside.
"Riley," the man's hushed voice spoke.
The younger man blinked in surprise, "Dr. Martin?"
"Quickly," Preston Martin gestured to them and ushered them into the room.
The door closed behind them, and the lock automatically re-engaged as the professor moved to a bank of computers.
"I've been trying to wipe out everything in them. Unfortunately, my knowledge of computers is woefully lacking."
Willow moved around him and sat down in a chair in front of one of the computers.
"Why?" Riley questioned him.
"Walsh called a meeting about an hour ago. I knew she was trying to bring you in, along with him, if possible," Martin shot a nervous glance at the vampire who was standing beside Willow. "I understood the need to bring you in, Riley, but I had no idea what her intentions really were. When she started talking about drugs and reprogramming minds, I thought her megalomania had finally driven her over the edge. All of my colleagues sat around the table nodding their heads in enthusiastic agreement. I literally thought I was going to be ill...speaking of which, you don't look well at all, my boy."
"I'll be all right," Riley responded.
"Ironically, the drug she had injected into your veins is a modification of the one Jordan developed," Martin told him. "It will wear off in a few hours."
The young man nodded and gave him a wary smile. "Walsh told us that two young women had been brought in along with you," the professor continued. "She had just asked for the panel to come to a consensus--whether the women should be killed or kept alive for experimental purposes--when an alarm suddenly sounded. In the commotion that ensued, I slipped away and took the stairs down to this level. She must be stopped. This entire operation must be stopped."
"The barriers on the cells have been de-activated," Riley told him. "The alarm--"
"I know. I've been watching," Martin nodded and pointed to a row of monitors along the far wall.
Security cameras covered every area in the underground complex--all rooms and all corridors--and relayed the images back to this room. Buffy and Riley moved closer to them. Bodies could be seen laying lifelessly on the floor of the large room above them as the demons who had been freed from their prisons picked their way around the corpses in search of those still alive.
"The fates must have been on your side," the professor spoke from behind them, averting his eyes from the horrific scenes. "The only reason your escape went unnoticed was because all of us were meeting with Walsh at the time. There was no one in this room to see what you were doing."
The slayer swallowed hard and looked up at Riley, amazed into silence by their dumb luck.
"Almost finished," Willow's voice spoke into the silence. "They must have backed-up this stuff, though."
Martin shook his head, "We couldn't run the risk of it getting into the public's hands. We administrators had access from our homes to the information through the network, but what's contained in those machines is all that there is."
"Make that all that there was," she corrected him with a satisfied smile as she rose to stand beside Spike.
"It's gone? All of it?" Buffy asked.
"Poof," the redhead nodded.
"I'd feel a lot better if all this equipment were destroyed," Martin said.
The group whirled around as the door behind them slid open, and Maggie Walsh stepped through. She was battered and bruised, a long gash running down the full length of her left cheek, but her eyes were cold and clear as she glared over at them and raised the gun in her right hand.
"Move away from them Preston," she spoke calmly and shifted her gaze to the little redhead. "I assume you're the one who hacked into the network. Riley wouldn't know where to begin, and if Miss Summers' course work is any indication, just starting up a computer would be mentally taxing for her."
Willow stared back at her silently and took an unconscious step closer to Spike's side.
"Now, why don't you show me just how good you are? I want everything in the database transferred to disk," Walsh ordered.
"Can't do it," Willow responded.
"Why not?" she hissed, her icy glare hardening.
"Everything's gone, Maggie," Preston told her.
"Completely wiped out--at my request." Her voice dripped with contempt, "You always were the fool of the panel. Trust you to defect to the wrong side."
"Wrong?" he repeated angrily. "When the hell did this organization become a group of murderers? Our objective was to study the demons we captured, to find more effective ways to destroy their kind. You've turned this complex into a chamber of horrors. I turned a blind eye when you began torturing those creatures. I salved my conscience by telling myself it was for the greater good. But I want no part of reprogramming humans, of turning them into nothing more than drugged slaves. And how could you ever have imagined I would have condoned the murder of these two young women?"
"Enough!" she bellowed. "If you had become so repulsed by our methods, you should have bowed out, Martin."
"Yes, I should have," he nodded. "I'm sure I'll regret not doing just that for the rest of my life."
"I can take care of that problem for you," she told him. "Since there's nothing left to retrieve here, you've all outlived your usefulness."
She raised the gun, and Riley drew in a sharp breath as she leveled it directly at Martin's head. Buffy drew her weapon from behind her back, and Walsh whirled to her and squeezed the trigger. The blast tore past her arm, mere inches from the slayer's flesh, as one of the escaped demons lunged through the doorway, growling angrily, and knocked Walsh to the floor. The gun clattered out of her hand as he grabbed her hair and hauled her onto her knees.
"Stop!" Martin shouted.
The demon snarled over at the man and released his intended victim as he took a step toward him. Buffy fired, and the demon howled as the blast ripped through his skull.
Walsh attempted to drag herself up off the floor, and Spike swung his foot into her chest and kicked her out through the open doorway. He grabbed Willow's hand and followed the others as they tore out into the hall.
Three more demons had found their way to the lower level and were coming toward them from the far end of the corridor. Spike and Buffy raised their weapons and quickly took them out as two more demons appeared around the corner.
"This way," Martin shouted, turning to lead them in the opposite direction where a flight of metal stairs to the left of the hallway led up to the above floor. They took a quick glimpse back at the sound of Walsh's scream echoing off the walls behind them. The two demons had dragged her up off the floor, and Willow stifled a cry as she saw the woman's head violently twisted and her lifeless body thrown to the floor.
They flew up the stairs, their shoes clattering loudly on the metal steps, only to find themselves cut off by two more demons when they reached the upper floor. The first threw himself at Martin, and the professor stumbled backwards against Buffy. The slayer lost her grip on the gun in her hand as she fell to the floor. Riley bent to scoop it up, and the second demon grabbed the young man by the hair and slammed his head into the concrete floor.
Buffy shoved Martin out of the way and leapt to her feet, kicking savagely at the demon who was poised over Riley. Willow grabbed a nearby chair and swung it into the demon's back. He whirled around angrily and placed his clawed hand over her face, flinging her small body into a row of cabinets set into the wall behind her. She whimpered and slumped to her knees as Buffy scrambled for the gun and blasted the demon.
Spike barreled into the other demon and sent him hurtling down the flight of metal stairs. He raced to his mate and lifted her up off the floor as Buffy knelt over Riley. He moaned as she pulled him up onto his feet, and he wiped at the thick blood trickling from his forehead down into his eye.
"Riley," she whispered. "Oh, gods, are you--"
"We have to get out of here," he said through clenched teeth.
"This way," Martin spoke, heading off toward the other end of the room.
By the time they stepped out of the building and into the night air, Riley was fighting to remain on his feet.
"We need to get him to the hospital," Dr. Martin said.
The young man shook his head, "Just--take me back to the dorm."
"No," Buffy refused. "Not until we find out what's happened to the rest of the demons down there. We need to talk to Giles. Spike, is Willow okay?"
The vampire was struggling to keep his mind focused as the redhead in his arms trailed her lips over his throat, "Just get us to the bloody watcher's!"
The professor jumped at Spike's deep snarl, "I'll drive you. My car is this way."
Giles leapt to his feet, sending the book on his lap tumbling to the floor, as the front door flew open and Buffy stepped inside. He hurried over to her and, supporting Riley between them, they moved him onto the sofa. Without so much as a word, Spike pushed past Dr. Martin and carried Willow off down the hallway. Giles' face reddened as he heard the bedroom door slam shut.
"Bond," Buffy said.
The former watcher grimaced at the unnecessary explanation, and Martin scratched his head and looked from Giles to Buffy with a puzzled expression.
The clothes that had been rapidly discarded lay scattered about the bedroom floor as Spike placed a bruising kiss on Willow's lips and thrust violently into her. She moaned loudly, her nails drawing blood from his back, as she pushed back into him, keeping time with his frenetic pace. Her fingers curled around his blonde hair, and she turned her neck and all but shoved his mouth against her flesh. He snarled and pierced the familiar marks with his fangs, and Willow screamed out as her orgasm wracked her body with shuddering convulsions.
She clung to him as he opened a gash on his throat and brought her hungry mouth to the wound. She drank greedily until the long-denied coupling had been partially sated, then licked away the last traces of his blood and looked up into his amber eyes.
"More," she moaned huskily as she felt his half-erect cock hardening within her, and his lips descended to take hers once again.
Preston Martin shifted uncomfortably in his chair and tried to ignore the moans that emanated from the closed door down the hallway. Buffy looked up at Giles with a half-grin as she gingerly dabbed the cold cloth against the deep gash on Riley's forehead.
"He'll be all right," the former watcher pronounced, examining the wound. "But it could do with a couple of stitches. I'm more concerned about the long-term effects of the drug they injected into him."
"Dr. Martin said it would wear off in a few hours," Riley assured him.
The professor jumped to his feet at the loud snarl that drifted into the living room, "What the hell is the matter with all of you? That--that creature is a vampire, and she's--"
"His mate," Giles told him.
A rush of air hissed from Martin's lungs, "His mate? She's mortal! He could be draining the life from that poor young woman while you--"
"He isn't," Buffy promised. "They're bonded. They love each other."
The man shook his head and ran a trembling hand through his hair, "You're all mad. Completely insane."
"Buffy, I think Dr. Martin could do with a drink," Giles suggested and looked over at the professor.
"Please, sit down, Preston. I'll explain everything."
Spike nestled Willow's warm body close to him and caressed her hair as her hand moved lazily over his chest.
"I'll bet Dr. Martin just had a cow," she said softly, her words slightly slurred from the effects of their bond.
"Natural childbirth, I hope," he grinned. She giggled and placed a kiss on his hard chest, and Spike cradled her head and stilled it against him as their minds slowly wandered back toward reality. After several minutes of silent entanglement, she shifted to look up into his blue eyes.
"I'm hungry, Spike," she said quietly.
He smiled and kissed her before shuffling out from under her and reaching to retrieve their clothes from the floor.
They appeared at the end of the hallway, and Willow couldn't help but feel like his latest experiment as Martin's curious stare followed the couple into the kitchen. Giles catapulted out of the armchair at the sudden loud crash of pans.
"Go. Sit," he commanded, rounding the counter and hitching a thumb back toward the living room.
"I'm starving," Willow complained.
"I'll fix you something. In your present state, you'll probably burn the place down," he insisted. She mumbled incoherently, and Giles ignored her bond-induced stupor as Spike pulled the little redhead out of the room. He took the chair the former watcher had vacated and settled her comfortably onto his lap.
She rested her head in the crook of his neck and turned her eyes toward Riley, who was stretched out on the sofa.
"He okay?" she asked Buffy.
She smiled and squeezed the young man's hand, "Yeah. He has a hard head, thank goodness."
Spike snarled softly as Martin's eyes continued to study the redhead. The man's face instantly paled, and his eyes quickly darted away.
"We explained the bond to him," the slayer told them.
"And I must admit to being throughly fascinated," the older man couldn't help adding. "I've never heard of such a bond existing between a human and a vampire--not for a prolonged period of time, that is. What was the--"
He stopped at the soft sigh that issued from Willow's mouth as Spike brushed his lips tenderly over hers. "Are they hearing any of this?" he questioned as Giles returned from the living room.
He shrugged and placed a cup of coffee and a plate of buttered toast beside the armchair, "I seriously doubt it. Willow, please drink that, and try to return to the land of the living."
"I'm kind of liking the land of the dead," she mumbled, running her hand over her mate's chest.
Martin's eyes widened to round circles as Spike's mouth took Willow's in a voracious kiss.
"You get used to it," Riley laughed softly, echoing Buffy's earlier statement.
"Preston," Giles spoke, desperately attempting to draw the conversation away from the amorous couple in his armchair. "What about the other demons who were released from those cells? Is Sunnydale--"
Martin shook his head, "Several of them were completely incapacitated. I don't expect they'll last for too many hours. And I imagine the rest of them will be falling all over each other to get out of this town."
"Nevertheless, I think you should add an extra round to your patrol for a few nights," Giles suggested to Buffy.
She nodded, "No problem. But what about that underground hell house?"
"If Riley feels up to it, I'd like to go back there tomorrow and destroy everything--the computers, the equipment. Buffy, I'm very sorry for everything that you and your...friends," he shot a quick glance over at Spike, whose lips were glued firmly to Willow's, "have been put through."
"I'm just grateful you were there to help us," she smiled.
"Are we done here?" Willow suddenly asked.
"Well, _we_ are," the former watcher answered dryly, taking in her disheveled appearance.
"Good, let's go home," she said, sliding off Spike's lap and hauling him up onto his feet.
"I thought you were starving," Buffy reminded her. The redhead looked up at her mate with a wicked grin,
"I am."
The End
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