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Secrets and Lies by angelic_amy
 
Haze.
 
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Chapter 3: Haze.


The pounding reverberated through his head like someone was slamming a sledgehammer into his skull over and over again. He groaned when it didn’t stop, an eye peeling open as he woke from the peaceful unconsciousness that had claimed him several hours ago.

It had been a long time since he had drank that much, he’d almost forgotten how bad the resulting hangover would be. But not anymore, it was back with a vengeance, making itself known.

He strained his other eye open, finding himself staring up at the cracked ceiling. Recognizing the roof as that of his small living room, he forced himself into a seated position. The movement caused the empty whiskey bottle to fall from his hand and skitter across the carpet.

It became apparent that the pounding noise was in fact coming from the door to his apartment, not from within his head. Clutching at his aching cranium he stumbled towards the door, cursing as he fiddled with the locks. “Keep your bloody knickers on, I’m coming.”

There could only be one person who would be bashing on his door, no one else knew where he was holed up these days.

“Doyle,” he growled. “It’s too bloody early for payin’ visits. What do you want?”

The dark haired man stepped into the apartment, the resonating fumes from the alcohol swimming around the vampire in a haze. Waving his hand in front of his nose as he stepped into the apartment, he spotted the evidence of what appeared to have been an all night bender.

“You weren’t out last night. I thought you understood that as a champion you have a duty to the people.”

Spike kicked the door shut with his boot, wincing when it slammed shut. “I was a little busy, right?”

“So I can see.” He looked pointedly at the whiskey bottle. “What set off this little drinking spree?”

“Nothin’,” Spike replied gruffly, walking to the refrigerator and removing a packet of O+, his face shifting into it’s vampiric form as he sunk his canines into the plastic and suckled the ambrosia from within the bag.

His companion turned away whilst the vampire fed, the slurping noises the only noise in the room. A minute or so later the slurping stopped and the empty blood bag was tossed in the trash.

“Nothing,” the Texan repeated now that the vampire’s attention was no longer occupied with his feeding. “So this wouldn’t be about…” He took a stab in the dark. “…a girl?”

A snarl was Spike’s only response.

“Ok. So it’s about a girl. Does the reason for your hangover have a name?” An eyebrow rose curiously.

Spike considered ignoring Doyle, but that never seemed to work in the past. If he answered a couple of questions, he might be able to get the guy out of his apartment so that he could sleep off the rest of his hangover.

“Buffy,” he muttered.

“Buffy. Interesting name.”

“Watch your mouth,” Spike snapped.

“Didn’t mean to offend,” he replied with two arms raised in surrender. “It’s just that it’s not a name that you hear too often. There was a slayer a couple of years back named Buffy.”

Spike’s shoulders tensed immediately, and he whirled on Doyle, his jaw ticking in anger. “Still is the slayer.”

Eyes widened. “Your Buffy is the slayer Buffy? Well I’ll be.” He frowned thoughtfully. “Didn’t Angel have a thing with her?”

Spike growled in response, stalking angrily towards his bedroom and throwing the door open. He removed his leather duster, throwing it on the bed as he kicked off his boots. “You have a point for this little visit cos I’m not in the mood for guessin’ games.”

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t be,” came the response from the other room. “Was just stopping by to make sure our champion was still among the living.”

“Well now you know,” Spike replied through his T-shirt as he ripped it over his head and tossed it on the floor with his socks.

“So this Buffy… she as gorgeous as they say she was?”

Is,” Spike replied instantaneously. “And yes. Gorgeous.”

“And you were in love with her?”

Always will be…

“There a point to you stickin’ your nose in my business?” Spike asked as he walked back out into the living room still clad in his black jeans.

“Just curious. Can’t a mate ask a couple of questions?”

Spike lifted an eyebrow in response.

“Right. Gotcha. Buffy is off limits.”

The two men stood staring at each other for a moment before Spike finally broke the silence. “I’m takin’ a shower and gonna sleep off this hangover before I head out on patrol tonight.”

“Good to know you’re still in the game.” With a polite nod he turned for the door.

Spike frowned, calling out to him before he left. “How’d you know about the slayer?”

Smiling, he replied, “It’s my job.”

With that the Texan opened the door and left, closing it quietly behind him.

Whilst Spike’s heart could have allowed him to drift off into dreams of his golden goddess, his head was demanding rest. And before rest he was going to take a shower. Peeling off his jeans and throwing them on the pile, he padded into the bathroom and twisted the taps. Moments later he was under the stream of hot water, his head leaning against the cool tile as he tried to drown out the distant memories of the woman who now only lived in his dreams.

~~~

Lindsay flipped open his cell phone the moment he walked out of Spike’s apartment. It rang a few times before it answered, a smile creeping across his face when he heard her voice.

“Baby, it’s done,” he confided with a smile. “You were right. All I had to do was mention the Slayer’s name.”

“Excellent,” came Eve’s reply.

Lindsay could hear the pleasure his news brought in her voice and he imagined the smile that would grace her face. The Senior Partners would not be pleased if they knew what she had planned, or if they found out that she was in cohorts with Lindsay. He was on their most wanted list, the magical tattoos which adorned his skin and walls of his apartment the only thing keeping his location and presence secret. “Now all we have to do is arrange it so that they ‘accidentally’ bump into each other and we’ll get this ball rolling.”

“That can be arranged.”

~~~

“We’ve organized a retrieval team to head out tonight and track her down.” Angel finished the short presentation.

Buffy flipped through the file in her hands that contained eyewitness accounts of encounters with the missing slayer, surveillance photos from the camera equipped locations she had been seen at, and the report from the operative who had run into the disturbed woman two nights prior. By the sounds of it, the guy was lucky. If he had been human, the fall from the multi-level warehouse would have killed him.

“That won’t be necessary,” Buffy finally responded when she dropped the weighty file on the large boardroom table. “I’ll head out on patrol this evening, track her down. Your file has given me a few good starting points.”

“Buffy,” Angel countered. “The mental health of this girl isn’t stable. She could see you as a threat and attack you and I’m not willing to take that risk.”

Buffy pursed her lips in annoyance. It seemed things never changed. Even after all this time, Angel was still trying to protect her. When she was a teenager she had found it endearing, but now as an adult, it just pissed her off.

“Angel, if I could handle myself against Faith, then I don’t think a newbie to the game is going to be an issue.”

“Faith?” Gunn interrupted. “She helped us out with the beast last year.”

Buffy didn’t respond immediately as she tried to word it as delicately as possible. “Faith wasn’t always such a good Samaritan.”

“Quite right,” Wesley agreed. “If memory serves me correctly, she has not only tried to kill you and Angel several times, but she also worked for the Mayor of Sunnydale at one point.”

“The Mayor?” Fred repeated. “That isn’t a good thing?”

“The Mayor turned himself into a big snake and tried to eat everyone,” Buffy supplied.

“Oh.”

Gunn and Fred shared surprised looks. Wesley and Angel had neglected to fill them in on the more colourful aspects of Faith’s past when she had helped them out last year.

“This girl is different from Faith.” Angel’s tone was businesslike as he tried to direct the conversation back on track. “Sending out a team is procedure and --”

“Procedure?” Buffy repeated with a quirked brow. “And since when have I ever followed procedure? Giles tried to make me conform for years and he never --”

“Buffy,” Angel insisted. “This isn’t a debate. You will have back up for this.”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes and pout like the teenager he was treating her as, Buffy shrugged her shoulders. It wasn’t like it would take her much to shake off the backup anyway if she really tried…

“Alright,” she agreed. “But I want to speak to the operative mentioned in this report before I head out tonight.”

With wide eyes Fred was the first one to respond. “Why would you need to do that?”

“A verbal recount will tell me more than this piece of paper,” Buffy replied as she lifted and then immediately dropped the file she had been perusing.

“That won’t be possible,” Angel said coolly.

Buffy looked at the faces of the people seated around the table, noting the discomfort in not only their gazes but also in their body language. “And why is that?”

“He’s out on a case,” Fred blurted out, her cheeks tinting pink when she realized how rushed that had come out.

“An interstate case,” Gunn added when he saw Fred’s look of panic, thankful that Buffy had been focusing her attention on Angel at that point.

“Right,” Buffy sighed in frustration. She picked up the file again, perusing the report one last time in an attempt to gain more information. Looking at the bottom she noticed that not only was it unsigned as she had expected it to be, but the operative’s name had not been noted. “Who did you say it was that had a run in with her?”

“I didn’t,” Angel responded.

Right… Buffy thought to herself. Is it just me or does it seem like something’s being hidden here?

“Okay then, I should probably be heading out,” Buffy announced as she stood from her seat. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of before tonight.”

Angel nodded his approval and that very action caused Buffy to bristle with annoyance. It’s just a couple of days… you can survive a couple of days…

Buffy exited the boardroom as swiftly as she could manage, shooting a glare in Harmony’s direction when the vampire dared to smirk at her as she moved through the atrium.

“Buffy, wait!”

She turned at the female voice, her expression softening slightly when she identified the speaker as Fred. “Was there something you needed?” Buffy asked.

“No,” Fred responded. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.” At Buffy’s frown she continued. “I know that Angel has organized a place for you to stay but if you needed someone to talk to, or hang out with…” she trailed off, leaving the invitation hanging.

“Thanks.”

Fred returned the smile. “Well, good. I should probably be heading to the lab. I’ve got work to do.”

“That’s right. Willow told me you were the brains of this operation.”

“That’s awful sweet of her but I’m just the science nerd,” Fred said with a deprecating smile. “Wesley is the real brain around here. Anyway, I should probably get back to work. It was nice to finally meet you, Buffy.”

“You too.” Buffy smiled as the bouncy brunette turned towards where she presumed the lab was located. Stepping into the lift, Buffy pressed the button for the underground car park. A second later the lift was descending and she let out a relieved sigh, her shoulders relaxing with the knowledge that in a few moments she would be out of the W&H offices.

The doors chimed as they opened and Buffy was surprised to see Morty’s car in the lot, the driver leaning up against it.

“Shall I take you to your hotel, Miss Buffy?” he asked with a dip of his hat when he noticed her arrival.

With a nod Buffy entered the limo via the backdoor and slid across the black leather. She could do with a rest before heading out on patrol, and that’s exactly what she intended on doing.


~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Sorry for the delay guys! Hope you all like, send me your thoughts.
 
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