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Chapter 27
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***
 
Buffy fingered the talisman in her pocket and turned her back on the camera pointed into their cell. "I know it's our best shot of getting out of here, but there's just something icky about being in a cart full of dead bodies that makes me shudder.  You'd think I'd be used to dead bodies, but I'm not usually lying around with them."
 
"Not somethin' anyone usually does, pet. Not in large numbers anyway."  Spike had more than a few reservations about the plan.  Oh, it was sound enough as escape plans go, but so much depended on every single aspect going smoothly and Spike knew well that the odds of that were slim.  "Sides, you've been layin' around with this dead body for a good while now," he gave her a grin and hoped his jest would lift her spirits a bit.
 
Buffy gave a sputtering laugh and whacked him lightly on the arm, "You don't count!  Besides, when I think of dead, I certainly don't think of you.  You're more alive than most people I've met."
 
"We get on the right side of these walls and all your little Scoobies might have somethin' to say 'bout the company you keep."  Spike gave her a sideways look that did little to disguise his unease. 
 
"No one is going to pick my friends, Spike.  You don't get a say where the Scoobies are concerned and they don't get one about you. I'm a big girl. I feel like I've aged a bunch of years in this place, so I'm counting that as a big old plus sign on the maturity scale."  She touched his arm gently, "You'll grow on them; you did me," she promised with a smile.
 
Buffy had spent plenty of time during her captivity getting a much closer view of the vampire who was once her great enemy and now her best comfort.  She had seen behind his masks and his self-protections.  She couldn’t say she knew him half as well as she suspected he knew her, but she was seeing him, really seeing him.  He wasn’t just a vampire.  He wasn’t like Angel or Angelus, for that matter.  He was his own unique self.  One thing this horrible experience had taught her was that most demons, at least the sentient ones, were unique individuals just like humans were.  That was a lesson she wasn’t going to forget once this was all sorted out.
 
She could see why her mother had enjoyed having a cuppa with Spike and why Dawn loved to just hang out and listen to his stories.  He was so much more complex than she would have ever expected; also smarter and funnier once he let you in.  She had already seen his loyalty back when he was with Dru.  Had seen his ability to love then too, even if she had denied that’s what it was she was seeing.  There was no way to deny it now.  For whatever reason, Spike could and did love and love well.
 
They had to get out of here!  There were too many things she wanted to learn in life, too many people she wanted to get to know better.  She’d be damned if she’d have that opportunity lost or forced to play out before Quentin Travers’s perverted cameras!  The escape would not be a piece of cake, but it could be done…would be done.
 
"Going to be a lot like one of those Mission Impossible movies with all the synchronized watches and everything.  Wonder if we can recruit Tom Cruise?" Buffy wiggled her brows and gave a wistful sigh.
 
"Damned nasty thing they did makin' Phelps a villain," Spike grumbled.  "Saw the original series back in the day and there's no way Phelps would turn like that.  Cruise's film ruined a good character."
 
Buffy gave him a puzzled look.   See, there was another example of the complexity of Spike.  He was a vampire.  He should be cheering when someone, even a fictional character, went to the dark side!  He was a…what was the word?  Sounded like pair of ducks, but that wasn’t it.  Anyway, that’s what Spike was and she was really hoping for time to explore all those things that made him so different from anything anyone would have expected.
 
"Gunn should have a pretty good idea about the timetable for removal of demon bodies.  They have fewer of them now that they don't have me adding to the number every day," Buffy noted sadly.  She never minded killing demons as part of her calling.  The ones she killed were asking for it.  The ones she had killed here had been a different matter.  The terrified demons put into the arena with her were desperate to kill her in the mistaken belief that they would be allowed to live if they won the contest.  It may have been ‘kill or be killed’, but most of them hadn't a clue about how to fight and didn't last long.  Most were demons that never would have seen the killing side of the Slayer in other circumstances.  She couldn't help but feel some grief over those deaths.
 
"Buck up, Slayer.  You did 'em a favor by puttin' 'em out of their misery.  They'd tell you if they could," Spike consoled her.  "Better that than the labs, bein' all helpless and no end to the torment."
 
Spike knew Finn was going to be back fairly soon from a longer than usual R & R break.  Likely he'd been thinking up new ways to make Spike miserable. He could take it, years with Angelus taught him that early on, but still it wouldn't help to be physically impaired when they needed to put the plan into action.
 
He looked lovingly at Buffy and thought about how things were going to only get harder for her the longer she was kept here and how important it was for her to get out, back to her loved ones.  "Pet," he started hesitantly, "If the time comes to jump in that cart and make it out of here and I happen to be...."
 
Buffy frowned and put a gentle hand on his forearm, knowing where his thoughts were going, but it didn't stop him.
 
"Listen, I 'preciate more than I can ever say how you keep goin' on about stickin' together, not leavin' me here, but we need to be realistic.  I might not be able to go, might not be in shape to do anythin' but hold you back, get you caught."  He tenderly tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.  "You don't wait on me, hear?  You get yourself in that cart and out of this place.  Ol' Spike'll find a way out.  Like a cat, always land on my feet, yeah?"
 
"No!"  Buffy knew there was a possibility that Spike might be injured when the time came.  She could help him.  Between Charles Gunn and herself they could get Spike out with her if she had to carry him!  "I thought I made my position clear, Spike.  We go together or we wait till the next opportunity."
 
Spike smiled gently and tilted his head in that way that caused Buffy's breath to catch and her heart to beat oddly.  He lifted a lock of her hair and stared at it gleaming gold in the harsh light of the florescent lighting.  "Dru called you Sunshine."  He looked hypnotized or lost in deep thought.  "She had no idea how right she was," he said in a near whisper.  "You're a dove at daybreak--strong, beautiful, all with a mission and ready to fly."  He chuckled and closed his eyes, then let go of her hair and moved away from her.  "I'm just a broken thing, more evil than good most of my time.  What happens to me don't much matter in the big picture.  You, on the other hand...."
 
"Me, on the other hand, is still going nowhere without you," Buffy said stubbornly. "You've been on the right path for quite a while now and that's without a soul to take the credit.  You sell yourself short."  Buffy took Spike by the shoulders and willed him to look into her eyes.  "Was it someone broken or evil who saved my mom from a gang of vampires?  How about when you helped me stop an apocalypse or two? Was it someone who doesn't matter who's been like a brother to Dawn almost since she came on the scene?  Who's helped me and the gang?  Saved Giles from being tortured to death by Angelus or being captured by these idiots when he was turned into that demon? No, don't turn your eyes away from me.  Look at me, Spike," she demanded.  "At the very least, you're family.  Family doesn't get left behind.  Family doesn't get forgotten."
 
"But, pet..."
 
"No ‘but anything’," Buffy said sternly.  "You can't walk; I carry you--just like you'd do me.  You can't make it otherwise and we wait."  Her voice and face softened, becoming quite tender.  She gently cupped his face turning his gaze back to her again.  "You think I don't know what would happen if I leave here and you don't?  Not gonna happen, so just shove that idea right out of your head.  You'd never leave me."
 
"Never," Spike admitted.  "Don't walk out on people I love," Spike smiled wanly, "Not too many of them to waste."
 
"And yet another way you're different from Angel," Buffy mused.  "You stay, or at least you come back."
 
*** 
 
"I don't know, Kate.  We've lost a couple of decent recruits lately.  Luckily, they never got in any position to compromise the operations."  Nick Perkins sounded tired, but as full of good humor as was his nature.  "I probably need to talk to the Grand Organizer himself instead of emails and messages."  He laughed, "NOT because I don't trust you, o wife of my beloved elder brother. I should make that clear before I need to hire a food taster for the next family dinner," he teased.
 
Kate giggled, "I already sent Dawn to go get Angel when you started telling me.  I figured you'd need to run things by Mr. Micromanage."  Kate was getting along better with Angel after having worked with him for a while, but she still hadn't forgotten the pain he had caused the Summers family.  Cordy had assigned Kate the job of running the communications center for the camp and that had forced her into a grudging relationship with the brooding vampire.
 
All of the leaders throughout the underground that, under various names, ferried at-risk humans and any peaceful, or willing to be peaceful, demons to safe places had heard the rumors.  The scuttlebutt was coming from all areas about the new guys on the block, the ones who had chosen to meet the world's insanity with violence.  No amount of reasoning was making a bit of difference to the DRA as more and more young demons were convinced killing was the only way to survive.  Naturally it was creating that famous cycle of violence that merely fed into the fear and paranoia already felt by the humans.  Most recruiting was happening on the dark web, the part of the internet still safe for use without giving away their location. Now there were reports that members were trying to infiltrate the refugee camps to entice the fearful and angry to join in their cause.
 
No matter if one could understand how the DRA came to be, there was no excuse for the mayhem they caused or the danger they put every other demon in.  Demons were already misunderstood victims of bigotry, and in jeopardy.  Every violent act just made the whole situation worse.  There was no way their methods could ever hope to win out against the sheer numbers of humans that were in control of the planet.  T’Mcasla talked big and dreamed even larger, but, in the end, he and his cause were doomed.  The other leaders were scrambling to keep the Demon Rebellion Army  from dooming them all.  Human assistance was essential, but it would dry up if the madness continued.
 
"Too bad Lorne was the only Pylean to immigrate to our corner of the Universe," Kate mused.  "We could use more with his particular gift.
 
"Amen to that!"  Nick held the perpetually cheerful green demon with the major skills for ferreting out potential trouble in high esteem.  "I'm just happy we latched onto a couple of Obake to do our liaison work with recruits here.  Wesley sent a pair of brothers, or I think they're brothers, hard to tell."
 
"Yeah, but that's why they're so valuable to the cause," Kate reminded him.  "All that endless shape-shifting makes it impossible to ID them later."
 
"They do all the parts that require visual contact when we interview now.  Add to that the mad skills of our resident Mage and his truth spells, and so far no slip-ups."  Nick's voice became more serious and quiet, "Only a matter of time though.  Can hear the tick-tock on that one.  Only hope it’s somewhere we can contain without bringing down the whole network."
 
Kate noticed that Angel had quietly entered the room. 'That man clearly has stalking down to a fine art!'  Better hand it over to him and leave the long-distance reunion for later.  "Hey, Nicky...Angel's here and I'll put him on." She hesitated, her heart filled with worry and longing for the days when her family was as close as a short drive.  "Don't take any chances, Nick; it'd kill Jim if anything happened to his baby brother."
 
"I'll be fine, sis.  Give my love to the old boy and kiss the kiddies for me.  Tell the rugrats their pirate uncle has been picking up plenty of booty for them that I'll bring next time I rotate back up there."
 
Angel took the handset from the weepy woman and waited without a display of impatience for her to vacate the chair.  "Perkins?  Dawn said you need to report another incident?"
 
"Yeah.  This time it was one of our own.  A Garuda hothead.  Not sure if the DRA have targeted us too, or if they just thought an insider could recruit from our safe camps.  Either way, I don't like it. They will bring down fire on all of us if we don't get a handle on this; they're reckless."
 
"Fanatics often are," Angel agreed.  "You sure they were from the DRA?"  Angel looked pensive.  "There are several smaller groups popping up now, you know."
 
"No question about it.  Earl did a pretty inclusive spell on the Garuda and followed it up with a mind wipe, because the last thing we need is to have any of those terrorists think we have too much info on them.  Right now we're just a hunting ground for new members.  We don't want to have them declare our camps to be enemy territory and start their bombing shite on our people.  Too much heartache and loss there already"
 
"True," Angel agreed.  "If they think we are a liability and not just ineffectual, we might as well paint a target on all our backs."
 
"I'm thinking we need to implement a strict policy on our screenings starting...like...yesterday.  We should do extra readings on refugees as well as volunteers.  I sent that to you in an email last week, dude!"  Nick understood that the vampire fancied he had some special gift for managing, but time was a-wasting and too much was at stake.
 
"Yeah, I've looked over our resources and I'm just not sure we have enough talent to cover anything like that," Angel admitted apologetically.  "Besides, if we put our fleeing people through too strict a screening, it'll slow things down to a crawl."
 
"Better slow than bringing the Global Human Initiative to our doors because of a slip-up," Nick barked.  "The whole system depends on keeping our locations, operations and members secret and secure.  Loose lips and all that."
 
"What about Human Initiative spies?  Any more of them sniffing around the docks again?"
 
"Not since the last two."  Nick ran a weary hand over his eyes and swallowed his distaste for violence.  "Vernon took care of them."  He shuddered as he remembered the report on how the two humans had been handled.  Nick hated many things about the situation they were in but most of all he hated what it was turning him into.  "There won't be any bodies to be found."
 
"Good," Angel didn't sound conflicted at all.  "Look, I'll go over the numbers again and get back with you.  You're sounding stressed; why don't you put in for a short break and come see your family?"
 
Nick nearly laughed at the way the vampire made it sound so casual, like putting in for vacation back when he lived a normal life.  "That would be fantastic, but where are you going to find another Dread Pirate Roberts to sail the high seas with boatloads of refugees while I'm playing lay-about in Washington?"
 
"Gunn can spell you," Angel suggested automatically.
 
"Charlie is currently playing the role of James Bond back in SunnyD, trying to get your ex and her new, improved vamp out of the labs there, or did you forget?"
 
Angel growled at the description of Spike but said nothing.  He suspected Nick was trying to get a rise out of him.  "Yeah, I forgot he volunteered for that one."
 
"Shouldn't be too long now," Nick mused.  "They've got a plan ready and they're just waiting for the right time to implement."  He didn't envy his new friend being in the belly of the beast.  "I'll be glad to get him back in one piece.  Graham and I have been handling things, but more hands are always needed.  I was really hoping those last volunteers would work out.  The DRA is really cutting into my resources."
 
"Once Buffy is free, things will start to improve."  Nick could almost hear the intense brooding over the telephone line.  "That whole group can leave Sunnydale and disperse throughout the operation.  Lots of talent at one time then.  Tell you what, I'll personally send Spike to you down there.  He speaks a bit of Spanish."
 
Nick had no doubt that Angel would be more than happy to send Spike anywhere as long as it was as far away from his bone...er...ex-girlfriend as possible.
 
***
..."And in today's news, another suicide bombing in a public place, this time just outside the Lenkom theater in Moscow.  The theater was filled to capacity for the opening of the Gorin play 'Fool Balakirev".  The notorious demon terrorist group DRA has claimed responsibility.  The numbers aren't fully in yet but rough estimates give casualties as numbering over 50 with many more hospitalized.  We'll keep you informed as more information is released.  Now back to you, Bernard."
 
"Indeed," Bernard Shaw intoned somberly, "In a statement released from the Global Human Initiative, acting director Quentin Travers vowed to 'hunt the murderous demons to the ground and wipe this terrorist organization off the planet'. According to our sources at the U.N., a Demon Terrorist Taskforce has been deployed to work with local authorities in Moscow to ensure all known or suspected DRA members or supporters are detained immediately."