Chapter Two


“So, pet. What do you think? Is the good mayor hiding something?”

“That’s your call, Mr I-can-tell-when-somebody’s-lying. Did you think she was?”

Spike shrugged and thought for a minute.

“Well, she was more nervous than you might expect from someone who should have been glad to see us. And her heart went into overdrive when the boy came home.”

“Huh.” She watched Spike’s face as they passed under a street lamp, noticing the indecision there. Giving him a poke in the side, she said, “Give it up, vampire. What else?”

Spike grinned and put his arm around her. “Can’t put anything past you, can I?”

“Nope!” She popped the ‘p’ sound at the end of the word. “And don’t you forget it, buddy.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, love.”

“So, what is it? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’, ‘cause I know I felt something weird.”

Spike nodded.

“Something was off with the boy. He isn’t quite…normal.”

“He’s a vamp?”

Spike shook his head.

“I don’t think so. He’s got a heartbeat, but it’s very slow. And I’d guess if he’d shaken my hand, his wouldn’t have been much warmer than mine. Don’t know what to call him, but he’s not a quite a real boy.”

“Well, that is weird. No wonder she was nervous. She was probably afraid I’d slay him.” She bit her lip. “If her own kid is a sort of vamp, I wonder why she called us in? You’d think she’d want to keep me away.”

By this time, they had reached the hotel and restaurant area that began a few blocks from the beach and continued down to the water’s edge. They located the neon sign marking their hotel and decided to check in before exploring the nightlife going on around them.

The desk manager had been expecting them, and he greeted Buffy enthusiastically. It was soon apparent why the mayor might have been forced to bring in the Slayer, in spite of the less-than-human condition of her own son.

“Slayer! It’s such an honor to have you here. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you and your…” he glanced at Spike, who was rolling his eyes at the man’s obsequious performance “companion… have chosen our hotel for your stay in our city.”

“I think, actually, Mayor Stevenson chose it for us, but we’re happy to be here.” Buffy smiled her thanks and dug an elbow into Spike’s ribs. “After we find our room, I think we’re going to sample some of the famous nightlife. Can you recommend a few clubs?”

The man winked and said in a whisper, “Oh, yes. I can show you where to go to find the kind of nightlife you’re looking for. I can’t wait for you to get started. The hotel owner has instructed us to give you every assistance.”

He gestured to a bellboy, who promptly appeared at Buffy’s side, frowning when he realized that the only luggage they had with them were the duffle bags over Spike’s shoulder. The manager blinked, but recovered quickly.

“Johnny here will show you to your room; that’s part of his job,” he said, glaring at the unhappy-looking boy. “Whether you have luggage or not.”

The bellboy led them to the elevators and pushed the button for the fourth floor, keeping what he obviously deemed a safe distance from Spike. Buffy tried to allay his fears, joking to Spike that his reputation had obviously preceded him. Her joke fell flat as Johnny moved even farther away from the now leering vampire.

“Lead on, John-Boy,” Spike said. “Maybe I can come up with some other way for you to earn that tip, yeah?” He wiggled his eyebrows and allowed his eyes to flash amber for a second before laughing and thumping the wide-eyed boy on the back. “Just kidding, mate. I’ve already eaten today.”

Buffy got between Spike and the clearly frightened boy, managing to sound reassuring at the same time as her glare at the laughing vampire promised serious retribution.

“He’s only kidding, Johnny,” she said kindly. “He thinks he’s funny and I just don’t have the heart to tell him he sucks at it.”

“Heh,” the boy replied weakly. “Here we are.” He pointed to the door of their room and began to turn away.

“Hold on, mate. I’m sorry I scared you – well, no, I’m not sorry, cause it’s about the only fun I get---” He dodged a half-way serious punch from Buffy, put his arms around her and nuzzled her ear until she stopped trying to squirm away. “But I really do have another way for you to earn your tip. What can you tell us about these gangs of baby vamps that are frightening off the tourists?”

Johnny glanced up and down the empty hallway, then whispered, “I have to be careful. You never know who they are. One day a guy’s just another flunky here, and then the next night he’s munching on the guests.”

Wriggling out of Spike’s grip, Buffy opened the door to their room and jerked her head for them to follow her inside. She waited, calming the still-nervous boy, while Spike walked around the suite, listening and smelling carefully. When he nodded that they were the only ones in the room, Buffy relaxed and turned to the bellboy with a smile.

“So, you know some of them?” she asked. “Were they friends of yours?”

“Well, not so much friends as co-workers…although some of them are guys who went to my high school. It just seems like there are more of them all the time.”

“Have they tried to recruit you?”

“You mean has anybody tried to turn me into a vampire?” Johnny drew himself up to his full five feet five inches. “They know better than to mess with me. I can take care of myself.”

Turning his back to hide a grin, Spike let Buffy continue the questions, but he whirled back when Johnny said casually, “I’m surprised Mayor Stevenson finally asked you to come. She’s been fighting the hotel and club owners for months.”

“She has? Why? Why didn’t she want the Slayer here?”

“I’m not sure. But she argued against it at every town meeting. I’ve heard the owners complaining about her. Everybody’s losing money now that word is getting out about our problem.”

Buffy and Spike exchanged looks, remembering his assessment of the boy they’d met.

“Do you know the mayor’s kids, John?” Buffy asked casually. “Doesn’t she have a boy about your age?”

He made a face. “Jason Stevenson doesn’t go to a public high school like I did. He goes to that private school that a lot of the vamps go - went - to. So did his brother, I think. He was more my age, or maybe a little older. I’m a high school graduate, you know,” he added with an aggrieved pout, once again standing up as tall as he could.

“We met Jason tonight. But we didn’t talk much. What can you tell us about him or the other brother?”

“Jason’s still at his fancy private high school He’s some kind of a jock -- in the paper all the time. That’s why I know about him. The other one’s…I don’t know. I guess he’s in college somewhere. He’s supposed to be some kind of a brainiac. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him except maybe a picture in the paper or something.”

“But you don’t know him,” Buffy pursued. “You don’t know if he’s one of the vamps?”

Johnny shrugged. “No. I don’t know him, but I think somebody would have said if they saw him.” He thought for a second. “Of course, most people who get that close to the vamp gangs end up dead or turned, so it’s not like they’d be telling, is it?”

“Not likely,” Buffy agreed. “Okay, John, thanks for the information.” The young man beamed at her use of his more adult name, turning to leave the room. Buffy cleared her throat and glared at Spike until he opened his wallet and handed the boy some bills.

Johnny smiled his thanks and let himself out the door, leaving Spike and Buffy to ponder what they’d learned so far.


Buffy rummaged through the bag Spike had tossed on the bed, pulling out the dressier pants and top that she’d brought. As she casually changed her clothes, smiling at his open admiration when she took her shirt off, she asked, “What do you think? All the boys came from the private school at first – and now they’re turning other kids. Do you think it’s some kind of gang initiation?”

“Not a soddin’ clue, love. Could be some Master wannabe is collecting minions, but if so, he’s not doin’ a very good job of keeping them under control.”

“Well, if the ‘Master’ is a kid himself, he probably has no idea how run a …what do you call it? Family? Clan?”

Spike shook his head and walked over to zip up the back of her low-cut red blouse.

“Family is just those directly related to you – and turned with being family in mind. It’s a bit different, turning someone you intend to bring into your family than it is just creating another vamp. And a clan is made up of all the families going back to one or two original vamps of that line. These kids haven’t been at this long enough to create either one of those things – even if they knew enough to think about it.”

Buffy pulled on a pair of boots that looked dressy, but had sturdy heels and hard toes. She could fight or dance in them, and even run if it became necessary. She pirouetted for Spike, asking, “What do you think? Do I look like a tourist?”

“You look good enough to eat,” he said with a leer. “If anything would bring out a healthy teenaged boy vamp, it should be that outfit.”

Buffy slipped a thin, but very strong, stake into the small of her back, using the looser bottom of the blouse to hide it. She had a knife in one of her boots, holy water in her purse, and an extra stake in the false lining.

Spike patted his pockets to be sure that the extra stakes were still there, then gestured towards the door. “After you, my lady.”

“Are you armed?”

“Always, love.” He flashed his fangs and flexed his fingers, running one claw lightly down her cheek. “And don’t forget that. The vamps always have their weapons with them. Even the baby vamps.”

“Yes sir, Watcher, sir,” she giggled, preceding him out the door and switching her hips as she walked to the elevator.

“Just want to be sure that cute little arse stays in one piece,” he growled, stepping into the elevator with her. “You’re a bit too cocky sometimes.”