Chapter 21 - Merry Pincers



“Waking up from a drug-induced blackout is wearing a bit thin.”

Spike woke up on the floor of a white-tiled cell, with a single glass wall, like the cell he’d found he was first captured by the Initiative. This cell was located within a grey laboratory, lots of stainless steel knives and merry pincers and saws, all fitted up for surgery and other demon torments. A human in a white coat was sitting on the other side of the room fooling around with a computer.

He was dizzy from the drugs in the multiple tranquilizer darts they’d shot him with, but he struggled to his feet. They weren’t taking any chances with him this time. Poxy bastards not only drugged him, they chained him up, too.

He was confronted with another unpleasant sight.

His grandsire, Angelus.

Spike knew that Angelus was being held on Fuego, but he hadn’t expected his luck to run so bad that he’d be chained up in the same cell with the bastard.

“Bugger all, Peaches. Heard you were here. How the hell did they catch you?” Same way they’d caught him no doubt. Sneaky cowards.

Angel relaxed on the floor of the cell. He, too, was chained to the walls, which kept him from thrashing Spike for showing up here. Too bad, he could use some exercise.

He wasn’t a bit happier to see Spike, than Spike was to see him. He couldn’t remember a single time he’d been happy to see Spike in the past hundred and twenty odd years.

“Soldiers came all the way to Los Angeles to get me. They needed a Master Vampire for their latest project. Guess I was the closest one.”

Spike snarled. Angelus was still playing the big shot, just because he was a century older than Spike. Since the Big Poof was chained up and his chains were too short to reach Spike to deliver one of his muscular blows to Spike’s head, Spike decided to have a little fun and inquire about his property.

“You had the bleeding ring. Why didn’t you kill the blighters?”

Angel wasn’t about to give Spike any ideas about retrieving the Gem of Amara. Or, tell Spike how the soldiers had caught him off guard and nabbed him without a fight.

“I destroyed the ring,” Angel lied.

He’d pretended to destroy the ring so Doyle, his now-deceased associate demon and nursemaid from the Powers That Be, would think he was on the straight and narrow Twelve-Step Program to Vampire Recovery. As if he’d ever destroy a ring that could protect him from flaming death let him feed to his dead heart’s content without interference. It would be a handy item to have if he got tired of do-gooding, or if he had to deal with a less understanding Slayer than Buffy. He hadn’t been able to use it much with Cordy and Wesley spying on him every moment of the day and night, but the day would come.

Spike didn’t believe Angelus’ lie for a second. There was no way the ponce would get rid of a ring that would allow him free rein to bite and pillage and walk in the sun. Even Buffy might not be able to take Angel out with the ring. Pillock probably had the damn thing in his coat pocket.

“Christ, you’re even stupider than I thought. I’d give my right fang to have my ring back.”

Spike tested the chains. The cuffs and wall fasteners held firm. He sniffed the cuffs and smelled something foul, like rotted weeds. It seemed the Initiative wasn’t above deploying a bit of magic to keep cuffs securely locked on their Master vampires. Mr. Broody had been here for a while, maybe he’d had a chance to figure out a way to escape in between broodings and bloodings.

“How do we get out? I don’t fancy waiting for the Slayer to come around to fetch me.” No telling how long it would take Buffy and those lackbrain friends of hers to figure out where he was.

“Buffy? Why the hell would Buffy come to save your sorry ass?” He’d heard rumors about Buffy and Spike, but he’d dismissed them. He, Angel, was the love of Buffy’s life. She couldn’t possibly give up her eternal love to associate with riff raff like Spike.

Spike puffed up his chest. He couldn’t help bragging a bit to his grandsire. “Little chit loves me, that’s why. And, I’m going to be a Dad. I got Buffy sprogged, and its going to be a boy.”

Angel stared at his grandchilde in disbelief. Buffy in love with Spike? Pregnant with Spike’s baby? He might be sick. No, this wild tale was just another link in the incredible chain of lies and boasts Spike had been telling since the day Drusilla turned him. Lies, which had an annoying way of coming true.

He slumped to the floor and stared at the chute the doctors used to drop blood down into the cell when there wasn’t anything – anyone - better to eat. Now, he’d have to share with Spike. He hoped the soldiers would increase the number of volunteers. A steady diet had tweaked his appetite for fresh human blood.

The idea of Spike drinking from a fresh human cheered Angel up considerably. Spike had never been good at controlling his voracious appetite. He wouldn’t last ten minutes after they shoved the first hot body into the cell before his fangs sprang out and he was howling for blood. Angel would be lucky to get the last slurp once Spike got hungry.

When Buffy found out that Spike was drinking again, she’d slam a stake through the heart of Spike’s romantic dream. She’d stake Spike, too. Then, she’d forget about this pain in the ass, wet behind the ears fledgling and remember her true love. Girls never stop loving their Daddy.

“So, how’s the chow around this place, Yoda? You look like you’re putting on a few stone. Are they giving out drugged-up blood like they did in Sunnydale?” He knew what Angelus had been up to – having a Bite-And-Turn Fest. He wanted to hear Mr. Soulier than Thou admit he’d been up to no good. Spike wanted to hear from the oaf’s own gob that he’d been feeding and turning humans.

“Blood’s fresh and on the hoof,” Angel said.

“What are you on about? Are they going to toss a pig in here?” As if Forehead would ever lower himself to wrestle a live pig, not even if he was starving.

“Nope, human and delivered in the original package. Blood’s warm, pumping and gushing right into your mouth.”

Spike licked his lips. He wished Angel would shut up.

Before Spike could question Angel further, a doctor wearing a white laboratory coat punched a code in the cell security pad and the glass wall slid open. Two soldiers frog-marched a young man into the cell and tossed him in Angel’s direction.

“You boys share and don’t forget to do a good turn after you’re finished.” The doctor laughed at his own little joke. He stepped out of the cell and punched in the locking code.

Angel grabbed the young man and slapped him a couple of times to soften him up. He vamped out and bit the youth’s neck. He sucked down a half-dozen large gulps of blood and shoved the kid in Spike’s direction.

“All yours, William. Don’t forget to turn him when you’re finished.”

The young man was awake to the deadly danger he was in now. He fought, kicking and punching at Spike wildly, until Spike slugged his jaw to get him to stop. The young man slid to the floor nursing his bruised face and trembling.

“Sorry kid,” Spike said. “Stay on this side of the cell. I won’t let the big wanker over there kill you.”

How long could he protect the kid from Angelus? How long could he protect the kid from himself?

***

“Hi Joyce. Hi Fashion-Impaired Person from the Backwaters of the Sixties,” Anya said as she entered Buffy’s house with Aspen in tow. “Buffy said you were tacky, but she didn’t mention you wore Birkenstocks. This is much worse than I thought. Maybe we should go right to the mall. Marsalette at the Cut Me Salon might take you on an emergency basis.”

“Come in, girls,” Joyce said. “This is Sunglow, she’s a demon activist. Would you girls care for some herbal tea?”

Anya and Aspen made sour faces.

“This is Aspen,” Anya said, “Her boyfriend’s a vampire and we have to rescue him. And, Spike.”

Sunglow sniffed. “Fashion is just another way the Patriarchal Society keeps women in bonds and keeps them from realizing their full potential as powerful humans.”

“If women want to be powerful, they should become Justice Demons. Then, they can be powerful and still get a bikini wax,” Anya sniffed.

“Rescue Spike?” Joyce asked. “Buffy didn’t mention anything. Where is she?”

“She’s still at the Magic Box getting the Sacred Duty Lecture from Giles. I hope Giles doesn’t disturb the customers. His lectures can be so off putting.”

Joyce sighed. As usual, she had no idea what Buffy was up to or why. “Sacred Duty to do what?”

Anya sat down at the table and helped herself to a cookie. “Ugh, these are awful. Are they made of pine twigs?”

Sunglow looked a bit put out. “They’re health cookies. I made them myself out of organic soy flour, unfiltered honey and carob bark with sassafras root for flavoring.”

“No wonder they're so bad. Sacred Duty to kill Spike, of course.”

***

Xander waited outside the Magic Box in his car to drive Buffy to the Army base to liberate supplies, while Buffy sat patiently through Giles’ Primo Slayer-Duty Lecture. Xander honked the horn.

Giles paced around the store, polishing his glasses, and looking Serious.

“Buffy, I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others, but if Angel is killing people and turning them into vampires, it’s only logical that the Initiative has similar plans for Spike.”

“You said earlier that we didn’t have to worry because Spike had the chip in his head.” Which Spike didn’t. Have a chip in his head. Well, a working chip, anyway. But, that didn’t mean he was killing people or that she shouldn’t use Giles’ false assumption against him since he was puffing himself up to give her a good talking to.

“Yes. I said that because I didn’t want the others to be concerned or to argue about the best course of action. As your Watcher, I have an obligation to be completely honest with you. You knew the dangers of becoming involved with a vampire and you went ahead. If Spike is killing again, whether the Initiative is allowing him to do it or not, you know what you must do. You cannot allow personal considerations to interfere with your duty.”

“Nope. Wouldn’t want the fact that I’m in love and Spike is the father of my baby to interfere with Slayer Duty.”

“This is no time to be flip, Buffy.”

She made Serious Buffy face to appease him. “I know what you want me to do,” she said.

Which is precisely what I’m not going to do. She’d already made up her mind that she wasn’t going to kill Spike no matter what he’d been doing and she was only listening to Giles’ lecture so that he wouldn’t get wise and thwart her plans.

“Good. We’re in agreement. We’ll break into the Initiative and rescue the chipped vampires. If Angel and Spike have been feeding and killing again, you will eliminate them.”

Xander honked his horn again, and Buffy ran out to avoid answering Giles.