***
Chapter 13
***

It felt like weeks had passed.  Spike moaned softly, feeling the last of his burns healing.  “Bloody bastards want to play more games, they need to give me more than little bits of pig swill to heal up first.”

“Part of the tests, demon,” the nearby soldier commented.  “See how little to feed your kind and still have you come back for more.  Gotta say, you’re proving to be pretty resilient.”

“What good are all these so-called tests gonna do anyway?”  Spike was pretty sure there was nothing new to be learned from the tortures he’d been enduring.  The Council of Watchers had done their versions of this kind of thing ages ago, had libraries filled with the results.  “That pillock Travers is sittin’ on information; go torture him for it!”

“We don’t torture humans.” The soldier moved away from the cell door, leaving Spike cursing in his wake.

“17 giving you a hard time?” Finn asked the junior officer.

“Just language that I’m pretty certain I shouldn’t use in polite company,” the lad grinned.  “Got quite a mouth on it.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Riley agreed.  “I’ll take it from here.  If 17 has healed enough to be a pain in the ass, he’s ready for another round of testing.”

***

“So we dropped by the hospital to see how Tara’s doing,” Xander looked more than a bit exhausted.  Between work and acting as eyes and ears for Giles in the “normal” world, he hadn’t had much sleep. 
Willow leapt from the cushion she had been sitting on and nearly grabbed him. “How is she?”

“Doctors say she’s stable.  She moved her fingers yesterday when Anya was visiting.  They think that she might be coming out of the coma before long.”

Willow looked hopeful, “How about the tests?”

“So far the scans look good.  They can’t test for some things until she’s conscious though.”

“What about that Nosey Parker nurse?”  Willow remembered the judgmental look on the aide’s face when she had witnessed Willow doing a simple healing spell on Tara.

“I think I smoothed that over.  Claimed that my dear cousin Tara had gotten involved with a nature-based religion and that was actually a prayer thingy you were doing.”

“That’s what I tried to tell her when she walked in on me,” Willow scowled.  “Stupid Muggle.”

“Yes, well, did the stupid Muggle accept your explanation?”  Giles asked.

“I don’t know, but one of the doctors backed me up, so I doubt they’re going to go all Salem Witch trials on Tara once she wakes up,” Xander reassured his oldest friend.

“They’d better not or I’ll show them what a witch really is,” Willow vowed and Xander could have sworn her eyes turned black for a moment.

“And Anya?  Any word on the status of the shop?”  Giles inquired.

“Ahn promised the board of directors at Humans Only that the shop would stop selling anything even remotely linked to magic, even the kids entertainment kind.  She’s transforming the Box into a party goods store.  It was the cheapest merchandise she could find to stock it.  YAY, Oriental Trading! You know Ahn, not willing to go into debt just to build a smoke screen.”

Giles nodded his head in agreement, “Just so.   At least we might be able to keep use of the building if something is in place.  Good thinking on her part.”

“That’s my girl,” Xander grinned.  “Knowing Ahn, she’ll wind up making a profit big enough to even pay the bills before the month is over.”

“So does that mean we can leave this cave and go back to civilization?” Willow wanted with all her heart to be a Tara’s side when she woke.

“I think it best to continue to lay low for a while longer,” Giles cautioned.

“What about Dawn?”  Xander nodded to the sleeping form of Buffy’s young sister.  “We have room at our place.”

“I really think it best for Dawn to remain with us.” Giles wasn’t about to let Buffy return only to discover her sister had been placed in jeopardy.
“What about you, Will, did you get in touch with Angel’s group?”

“Not yet, but I’ve got feelers out.  I think they’re still working their way up to Washington.  It’s kinda slow going with the baby.”  Willow was still blown away at the thought of Angel and Cordy raising any child, much less one born from two vampires.

“There’s this guy in LA named Lindsey McDonald who claims he’s setting up a shelter to take in refugees. He wanted me to put him in touch with groups here, but I don’t know if we can trust him,” Willow looked nervous.  “On paper, he looks like he could really be an asset, but I just don’t know.  Angel hates the guy.”

“I don’t necessarily take that as a sign of a character flaw,” Xander said.

“We cannot take even the smallest of chances though,” Giles warned.

“Run into our own missing vamp?” Xander was starting to get a little worried about Spike, although he would suffer torture rather than admit it.

“Not a sign and frankly that concerns me.  Spike is many things, but not a coward.  I cannot conceive of him leaving without a word.”  Giles sighed.  “I cannot like the idea that both Buffy and Spike went missing at close to the same time.  I’m beginning to suspect that this isn’t just a case of Riley kidnapping Buffy, but more likely these Global Human Initiative types have them both.”

***

Buffy reeked.  It seemed like an age since they had let her have even a quick shower and a change of clothes.  She hated how she felt and didn’t even want to know how she looked.  So far she had been lucky, she supposed.  They had kept testing her strength and Slaying abilities against every sort of demon imaginable--some she’d never seen before, even in the dusty books Giles kept making her look at.  She was at full strength again, but even with that there were limits to her energy levels.

“How many is it so far this test?” the impassive eyes of the clipboard-wielding doctor flicked over the exhausted girl. 

“Twenty-seven, most of them the beast variety, not much in the brains department,” the soldier holding the controls to Buffy’s collar replied.
“No significant flagging of energy yet?”

“Doubt she’s ready to dance, but I think she’d still win if we put some more in the cage with her.”

The doctor tapped his pen on the clipboard and thought about the best use of their assets.  “Perhaps we’ll give her a bit of a rest then, while we see if we have enough worthy opponents at hand to continue in the morning.”  The doctor turned to the clearly angry girl, “Miss Summers, I would imagine you would like a night off?  If you’ve been a good girl and have not given Corporal Gaines difficulties,” the soldier shook his head, “then I believe we might even permit a shower and chance to get into something a bit more comfortable.  You see, Miss Summers, we’re really quite civilized as long as you cooperate.”

Buffy bit back the words that begged to be said in answer.  She really wanted, no, needed that shower.  All the soap and water in the world wouldn’t make her feel completely clean after the things she had been forced to see and do in the time she had been held there.  She consoled herself that the demons she had been killing non-stop were likely grateful to finally be done with this place. 

Unlike some Slayers, Buffy had always contented herself in only killing demons and vampires that she caught getting up to no good.  She vaguely knew about the demon underworld in Sunnydale but had decided early on not to take the battle to them unless she had to.  It was enough to keep the troublemakers reduced in number and let the rest take care of themselves.  None of the demons she’d faced in combat here had actually done anything she knew about to warrant a slaying, but then again she didn’t have that death wish Spike told her about yet either.

‘Wonder if that was Spike I saw,’ she thought, not for the first time.  ‘I really hope he didn’t get caught while trying to rescue me.’   She worried again about the rest of the group.  ‘Were they part of a try to get me out of here and are they locked up somewhere too?’

Not knowing was eating away at what little peace of mind her returned powers had given to her.  She needed serious sleep time to get her brain working on a way to get some answers.

***

Private Graham Miller was less than honored that his friend Riley Finn had asked for him to be transferred to his detail.  Graham much preferred being part of the capture units.  He’d seen enough just in the few short days he’d been on this duty to begin to question just what the hell they were doing here anyway.  Riley was changing into someone he didn’t recognize anymore.  Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to convince him to come back to the Initiative; it was as if something had snapped deep in his friend’s psyche. 

“Then this female with blue skin like something out of Star Trek actually offers to fuck me any way I like if I’ll just let her spawn go,” the acne-scarred grunt laughed.  “Like I’d want to touch that!”

“I don’t know.  Lots of the guys have a real good time with the more human-looking ones.  What about the younger one?  Some of them look better when they’re still small.” 

The soldier Graham knew only as Barnes turned his stomach even more than most of the demons he’d been dealing with for the past few years.  Barnes had a reputation for raping female prisoners, usually as brutally as possible.  “Why the evil eye, Miller?  You never took a taste?”

“I’m not a rapist,” Graham replied.

“Not rape.  These things ain’t even real.  Kinda like masturbating, only using demon pussy instead of your right hand,” Barnes shrugged carelessly, then turned back to the other Private, whose nametag read Reese. “You really ought to give it a try.  Some are real wildcats.”

Graham stowed his food tray on the collection table and gave the pair a disgusted look. 

“What’s the matter, Mr. High and Mighty?  You prefer males?  Plenty of them here to fuck if that’ll take the sour look off your face.  I think you just need to get yourself some.”

Graham didn’t even dignify the comment with a glance as he left the cafeteria and returned to duty.  He longed for the days when he didn’t feel filthy completing his mission.  The new guys being recruited into the units seemed to be more and more like Barnes and his ilk.  His days of pride in service felt like a thing of the past. 

***

Tara woke with a start and looked nervously around her at the unfamiliar room.  “Willow?” she choked out softly.

Anya jerked awake in the chair next to Tara’s bed. “It’s about time you decided to wake up.  You’ve had us all worried.”

“Where am I?”

“Sunnydale Memorial.” Anya wondered if she should alert the nurse that Tara was awake, but decided it could wait until she had a chance to warn the girl about what not to say.  “You’ve been in a coma since you decided to take on a gang of teenage bullies.  I don’t know how much you remember, but you’ve been unconscious for a couple of weeks.”

“A couple….?” Tara looked startled.  “Where is Willow?”

“Look, we don’t know yet if you are brain damaged or how bad it might be, but you have to try not to say anything that will put us all in more jeopardy.”

Tara blinked rapidly.  There was a lot of information in that artless statement.  “I don’t feel brain damaged.”

“That’s good news, though I’m sure the doctors will be testing you anyway,” Anya sighed.  “I certainly hope you have good health insurance.  Giles provided a good policy for me when the store was doing well, but we didn’t think to ask about you when they admitted you.”  Anya stood and offered Tara a sip from the water glass on the bed table next to her hospital bed.  “I really hope you do, because Xander is listed as your closest relative and I don’t want to have to try to find a way to pay your hospital bill when we check you out.”

Tara gratefully took a sip of the tepid water.  “Why is Xander listed as my family?”

“Stupid laws don’t accept your relationship with Willow as having any legal status and no one would tell us anything unless we were family.  Xander said you were a distant cousin and that he was the closest thing to family you had.”

Tara tried once again, “So where is Willow now?”

“They went into hiding.”  For once, Anya seemed to remember the emotional impact all this must be having on the still fragile girl in the hospital bed.  “Willow was caught doing a healing spell for you and they had just started to enforce all those laws on magic use. “  She stopped and gave a concerned and very pointed look at Tara.  “You cannot let anyone know you have anything to do with magic!  Xander finally made them believe you were into nature worship but not Wicca, or who knows what they might have done.  I don’t know if they can legally arrest someone in a coma or not.”

“Was Willow arrested?”  Tara looked terrified.

“No, she and Giles went into hiding before anyone could show up to bring her in for questioning.  Giles had to remove all of our wonderfully popular merchandise and replace it with silly hats and whistles and things like that just to keep the store open.  Of course, I have had a rather decent month of sales, if I do say so myself.”

“Ahn?  Is Tara awake?”  Xander entered the room and pulled the door closed behind him.

“Hi, Xander,” Tara’s voice was weak but she sounded like she was all there.  “Thanks for backing me up against those boys.”

“So you do remember,” Anya smiled.  “Maybe there won’t be any brain damage.  Go, you!”

Xander closed his eyes and bit back the urge to correct Anya’s social skills.  He cringed to think of what she might have already said to Tara.
“So how’s it feel being back in the land of the consciousness-having?” he smiled.

“Kinda fuzzy, but good, I guess.  Anya was just telling me that Willow and Mr. Giles have gone into hiding?  Why not you too?”

Xander looked around carefully, not wanting to chance being overheard.  “We’re trying to stay where we can keep track of things, at least as long as we can.  I mean, I’m all human and Ahn tests that way too, so we’re safe so far.”

“So they went to stay with Spike in the tunnels? “

“They’re in the caves, yes, but Spike isn’t with them.”  Xander cleared his throat.  “The best we can guess is that he might have been captured by the soldiers.”

Tara looked alarmed.  “Goddess, I hope they haven’t killed him!”

“Just guessing, but maybe he’d be better off if they had,” Xander muttered.

***
Wesley finished packing up the books from his and Angel’s research library and handed the last of them to Charles, who was cramming everything usable into the rental van.  “I think we have everything that might be considered suspect out of the way now.”

“Sure hope so, ‘cause I’m not planning on a vacation in one of the government’s new resort facilities.  I didn’t spend most of my young and pretty years fighting the big uglies only to share a cell with one,” Gunn declared.

“That’s not something I would desire either, I assure you,” Wes wiped his brow. 

“I’m pretty nervous trusting this McDonald mother.  I mean, he did Angel a solid with the heads-up on Lilah droppin’ a dime about Connor, but can the dude really be trusted?”

“We can’t know for certain and I don’t plan to have too much share-time with him, but he did seem sincere in wanting to help.  He claims it’s in honor of Darla that he wishes to be a help fighting against those who would have targeted her.” Wesley looked nervous.  “Frankly, he’s all we’ve got.”

“That don’t make me happy, man.  All he’s gotta do is say the wrong thing in the right ear and we’re toast.”

“Lindsey may be morally corrupt, but from what I’ve seen, he has some scruples.  There are lines he doesn’t wish to cross.  He even had a moment there when they gave him that new hand where he seemed to be looking for a bit of redemption himself.  I’ve often wondered what might have happened had Angel not dismissed him entirely.”

Gunn chuckled, “Prob’ly staked his ass if Angel’d gotten too close.  No love lost there.”

“Indeed.”  Wesley took a last look around the hotel and dusted off his hands.  “Well, I suppose we’re about to find out how trustworthy Lindsey McDonald might be then.”

“Remind me again why I don’t just cut my losses and head back to the hood?”

“Because you are a loyal defender of the innocent and a fighter on the side of good.”

“Yeah, that.”  Gunn laughed again and slapped Wesley on the back.  “Think they made it?”

“I have every confidence in Angel’s ability to survive against insurmountable odds.”   Still, he looked grim.  “There is nothing in this dimension that would prevent him from protecting his son and Cordelia to his last bit of strength either.  Yes, I think they will make it, if they haven’t already.”

“Okay then.  Guess we pick up Lorne and head to McDonald’s farm…and can you get any more dope a name than that for his setup?”

“Very apt indeed.”

***

The floor of the room was being hosed down as they dragged Spike in for the next planned “test”.  The blood of varying colors mixed with ichor of who knows how many previous occupants.  He looked at the wheel attached to the wall and had a feeling he knew what was coming.  ‘Movin’ on from skin to bones, I guess.’

“Thought you would have this cleaned up by now!” Riley barked at the slow moving soldier pushing a broom through the mess and aiming it all for the grated drain in the center of the room. “We’re on a schedule here, you know, Private.”

“Yes, sir, doin’ my best, sir.  It’s just that there’ve been a lot of them today, sir.”

“And still more to come.  Don’t make me get behind schedule or you’ll find out it really does roll downhill.”

The soldier began to sweep more rapidly while nervously eyeing Spike, who was being held between Graham and Reese.
“Don’t worry, this one’s been chipped longer than you’ve been in service,” Reese jibed. 

Riley looked down at the wet, slick floor and gave an irritated sigh.  “All right, put 17 in the holding pen there until the floor dries enough that we don’t have anyone slipping.  I hate filling out accident reports.”
The soldiers dragged Spike to the small cell adjoining the “testing” room and closed him in. 

“Is that you, Spike?  Gee, I can’t believe they grabbed you!”

Spike looked over to see the battered, emaciated form of his floppy-eared poker buddy.  “Thought you were headed up north?”

“I was.  I came back for Celia’s boyfriend.  We didn’t make it out of town.”   Clem looked forlorn.  His youngest sister had always been his favorite.  He almost didn’t mind dying before having to let her know what had happened to the love of her young life.

Spike put a gentle hand on the sagging shoulder of his friend.  “Know you did your best, mate.”

“I tried, I really tried,” Clem said wearily.  “Don’t think I’ve got much left in me for whatever they have planned.  Guess I should just be glad I won’t die with nobody knowing what happened to me.”  He lowered his head, “When you get out of here, tell Celia I tried, will you?”

“What makes you think I’m gettin’ out of this hole?”

“You’re Spike; you’ll figure a way out.  You always do,” Clem said with conviction.

Spike wasn’t nearly as sure as Clem about that, but he appreciated the vote of confidence. 

“Got any idea what kind of party games they have planned?”  Clem tried to sound lighthearted.

“Yeah, seen pictures in books about the Inquisition.  If that wheel out there is what I remember, we’re both in for a few shattered limbs or more.  You still healin’ okay?”

“Not so much.  We’re not as quick to heal as vampires.  I really don’t think my body can take much more.” 

“Try to hang in there, Clem.  You’ve got family out there who care.”

“You’ve got people who care too, Spike.”

Spike got a faraway look of melancholy and didn’t answer at first.  “Doubt anyone’ll miss ol’ Spike.  Prob’ly didn’t even notice I was gone.”

“That sweet little girl would,” Clem reminded him.

Spike gave a half grin. “Yeah, the Bit might at that.  Guess there’s at least one who’ll remember me.”

Clem began to cough up blood.  Suddenly, Spike was a worried William watching his mother losing her life one cough at a time and he felt tears begin to cloud his vision.  “Hang in there, Clem.  Don’t let the buggers win, yeah?”

***

Giles moved furtively through the back room of the former Magic Box, now renamed Party Box, and opened the hidden panel where they had stored some of the more powerful books and useful weapons. 
He was fairly certain that no one was looking for him specifically and he could easily return to life out of hiding, but he was loath to risk either Willow or Dawn on a bet of that magnitude. 

Better keep his forays into the outside world to a minimum and not attract attention.  Still, they did have certain needs and the Book of Honorius, with its spells revealing deep knowledge of science, might be necessary if they were to move Tara into the caves with them.  It appeared that she was healing well, but neither he nor Willow had sufficient knowledge of medicine to be sure they could deal with any setback that might occur. 

His hand hovered lovingly over several other texts before settling on the one that had brought him out in the open.  Willow was, frankly, unnerving him with her singleminded determination to be reunited with Tara immediately.  He would rather wait until all the test results were in before moving the poor girl to the makeshift lodgings he was now sharing with Dawn and Willow. 

He had thought to have Xander bring the book, but the less connection between Xander and the shop-- beyond Anya, of course--the better.  So far the boy’s regular visits and updates had made their isolation bearable.  They didn’t want to draw unwanted attention to any patterns that might make anyone suspicious however.  Besides, it was safe enough for Rupert Giles, merchant, to be out and about…at least for now.

“Ripper, GOD, I thought you were gone too!” came a whisper from the door leading to the alleyway.

Giles nearly dropped the precious tome as he whirled to the see the last person he expected or wanted to see.  “Ethan, what in the name of all that is holy are you doing here?”  His former friend looked ghastly.

“That damned twat Travers has had me as his personal trained monkey under lock and key for an age.”  Ethan sagged against the wall.  “Barely got out with my skin intact, mostly anyway.”

“Got out?  Got out of where precisely?”

“Well, the…,” Ethan Rayne moaned as the sound of grinding bones accompanied his slide down the wall to a collapse.  “Bugger!”

“Ethan!”  Where have they been keeping you?”  Giles had a stir of hope.  Perhaps this unexpected encounter might lead to Buffy.

“Underground, like a bloody mole.”  Ethan moved his hand from his side that he had been clutching ever since Giles first turned around and saw him.  “Maybe not so intact as I had hoped,” he groaned out.  He pulled his hand away and looked down at his blood soaked side.  “Seems one of them managed to hit me after all.”

Giles rushed to his side and could already hear the wet gurgle that spoke of a punctured lung at the very least.  “What do you know about Buffy?  Quick, man, stay with me long enough to at least answer the bloody question!” Giles would have shaken Rayne in his urgency except it might only hasten the man’s death.

“Your little Slayer?” Ethan smiled.  “Never good to get so attached, dear boy, haven’t you learned?”

“Bit too late for that, Ethan.  Please you have to tell me what you know.”

Rayne quirked an eyebrow.  “Not going to live long enough for that I fear, Ripper, my boy.”

“Just get to the point.” Giles ground out.

“I can’t know for certain if it was your girl or the other one.  Travers wants them both out of the way, you know. “Ethan was gasping for air, making talking difficult.  “Not dead.  Testing her abilities.  Mostly for show.  Quentin sees no need for one silly girl fighting endless battles.  Plans to wipe them all out with his new International army.  Save the world, reap the glory.”

“Yes, he’s a megalomaniacal fool.  Where are they keeping her? Our locator spells tell us nothing.”

“That would be me.”  Rayne flashed a grin that showed the blood that indicated severe internal injuries.  “Wonderful masking spell.  Worked a treat, didn’t it?”

“Damn it, Ethan, where are they keeping her?”

Rayne was fading fast.  “East of here, not too far.  Nearly under your nose.”  He slumped, his head falling to Giles shoulder.  “Always did fancy dying in your arms, Ripper.”