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The limousine pulled her up to the front of the Wolfram and Hart building, a sleek exhibit of modern architecture and opulence. Even from inside the limo, Buffy could feel the evil of the place slithering along her skin; the sensation made her feel as if she had a thousand bugs crawling over her flesh.

She swallowed roughly as she leaned forward and lowered the tinted window that separated the driver’s cab from the rest of the car. Spike was quiet next to her.

“We’re gonna be awhile, Chris. Go get yourself Starbucks or something,” she told her chauffeur. He just nodded at her in the mirror.

“You okay, pet?” he asked as she stared at the building through the window.

“I’ll be fine.” Her answer came out a little rougher than she’d wanted, but when she glanced up his expression was understanding.

“I’ll be in there right behind you, pet.”

Nodding, she opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight.

She walked confidently towards the building, her certain steps a mockery of the state of her insides. There was a man waiting at the door to open it for her. He was decked in Armani as he flashed a smile like an orthodontist’s dream.

“Welcome to Wolfram and Hart, Ms. Summers. I’m Vincent Barnhart, one of the firm’s junior partners. Richard had meant to be here today, but was called away on unexpected business. Holland Manners is another of our partners, and he’ll be working with you instead.”

Buffy gave a small nod as she quickly evaluated the reception area for tactical strengths and weaknesses. Glass windows stretched from floor to vaulted ceiling, filling the room with warm sunlight. Other than a welcome desk and several plants, the room offered little protection should fighting break out.

Not that it would ever really get a chance to.

Buffy turned back to her guide, and flared her nose a bit as she realized what he was.

“You’re a vampire, Mr. Barnhart,” she said suspiciously. “How can you be in here with all this light?”

The man gave a laugh meant more for a bedroom than any public place.

“Very perceptive, Ms. Summers. But all the glass in Wolfram and Hart is magickally altered so that sunlight can’t hurt any of the firm’s vampire employees, such as myself.”

“Interesting,” she murmured, wishing she could get a chance to see Spike in full sunlight, possibly in nothing but sunlight. She filed the information away for later use.

“Mr. Manners is waiting for you in the executive lounge, and your Mr. Spike will be meeting us there in just a moment. If you’ll follow me, please.”

Buffy’s heels clicked lightly on the marble floor as they walked past the reception desk to a series of elevators along the back wall. Vincent pressed for floor twelve, and the elevator opened immediately.

Inside, the elevator music played a cheerful instrumental in direct contrast to Buffy’s black thoughts. Vincent was silent until they reached their floor.

“Right this way, Ms. Summers.”

She was getting really tired of being called that.

Finally they reached the lounge, where a tall, salt-and-pepper headed man and a tall brunette in a tailored suit were already talking with Spike.

“I’ll leave you to it, Ms. Summers.”

“Thank you,” she said automatically as he left, focused on her blonde vampire across the room.

Spike turned and looked at her, blue eyes caught on her face. He’d worn dress clothes for this meeting. A crisp blue shirt that brought out those incredible eyes was tucked down into charcoal pants that clung suggestively to his lower frame.

He looked fucking incredible, she thought.

Buffy swallowed as she ripped her eyes away to focus on the man next to Spike.

“I’m Buffy Summers,” she said as she reached out her hand to the man, who was clearly a power of some kind. His skin hummed as their palms connected. He gave her an easy smile.

“Yes, Ms. Summers. I’m Holland Manners. I’ve been looking forward to meeting Hank’s little girl for quite some time.”

Buffy returned his smile, sensing that while the man was powerful, he wasn’t even close to her level. And despite his smile, she could smell his nerves.

“Thank you, Mr. Manners.”

“And this is Lilah Morgan, another of our junior partners.”

The brunette stuck her manicured hand out with a sly smile. Buffy shook it, reading not power but sheer determination and corruptibility. She wasn’t sure which she preferred.

“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Summers.”

“Likewise, Ms. Morgan.”

“Please, call me Lilah.”

“Lilah then.” She glanced briefly at Spike before upping the stakes.

“So, let’s deal with what I’m here for.”

“A woman of action. I like that,” Holland said. “But our interest today is actually a few rooms down. Right this way.”

They followed Holland and Lilah through the lounge’s back door and down the hall to a non-descript door that read ‘Observation.’

The room was empty and dim, save for the light coming through the observation mirror on the far back wall. Through the mirror, Buffy could make out the still form of a teenage girl.

“Her name’s Bell, and she’s been giving us a little trouble as of late.”

Buffy walked closer to get a better look.

Bell sat in a chair in the center of the room, her black hair veiling the right side of her face from view. She was dressed in all white, only her hands and part of her face visible.

“Her father was an oil tycoon from Texas on hard times. Didn’t help that his ‘special’ daughter kept making the society pages. So he called us up for a little exchange- his daughter for a returned empire.”

Spike wandered up to the glass and tapped on it.

“She’s not moving a bit.”

“She won’t,” Lilah said dryly. “That’s why Ms. Summers is here. We need her cracked.”

“Her handler died a few weeks back,” Holland continued. “Heart attack. She was the only person Bell would communicate with.”

“What is she?” Buffy asked, studying Bell through the glass.

Occasionally she would move slightly, staring at the air around her as if she were surrounded by invisible things.

“She’s the firm’s prophecy keeper. Every future secret we need to know is hidden somewhere in her brain. And we need to regain access to them.”

“Think you can do it?” asked Holland, looking to Buffy expectantly.

“I’ll look at her,” Buffy said. “Any chance she’ll attack me if I go in?”

“You? No. But she’s not too fond of men,” Lilah said, looking pointedly at Spike and Holland Manners.

“Well then. I’ll just leave you in Lilah’s capable hands. I have a meeting right about now,” he said, glancing down at his Rolex.

“Again, a pleasure Ms. Summers.”

“Likewise, Mr. Manners.”

And then they were alone in the room, staring in on Bell as she sat frozen in her chair, still as a statute.

Spike was looking at the girl with a large degree of fascination.

“Wonder if the bint’s got any of my secrets floating around that locked up brain of hers.”

“Well, Spike, I’ll make sure to ask her for you. Wait here.”

Buffy followed Lilah back out and to another door just down from the observation area. A security pad next to it lit up as Lilah’s fingers grazed it.

Buffy watched with some interest as Lilah keyed in the combination to the room.

“You’re not afraid of me, not like your boss.”

“No, I’m not,” she replied as the air lock hissed in release.

“Why not?”

“I’ve learned some things working here. And the most important thing is that there are two kinds of people with power: those that use it to get whatever they want, and those who don’t know what to do with it.”

“And you think I don’t know what to do with it?”

Lilah smiled and opened the door for her.

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

Buffy didn’t say anything, just turned her head and stepped through.

Lilah waited at the door as Buffy walked over to the unmoving girl. She sat down in a chair just opposite of Bell and tried to make eye contact.

Bell just stared past her, eyes unseeing.

“Bell?” she tried softly. “My name is Buffy. I need to talk to you.”

Bell laughed so low in her throat that it came out more like a growl. The noise was startling. Buffy glanced back at Lilah for a moment before turning back to Bell. She was still staring past Buffy, at the wall, now rocking her head back and forth.

Silly Ms. Summers… What will we talk about? How they want you to break me into pretty little pieces of secrets?

Buffy almost jumped, but years of training held her still as the voice came again.

Shhh now! Don’t speak! The prophecies are all confused about you. You’re the queen of secrets. You’re in a thousand worlds and you shine in all of them. And they all want you to dance to their music, but all you can hear is his. The Champion, the White Knight of Blackness.

Buffy pretended to study her as she sent back what she hoped was a silent reply.

You know what they’ll do to me if they know?

Bell’s eyes glittered almost black as they finally came to rest on Buffy’s face.

Queeny, soft Texas accent coming through even in Buffy’s head.

They already do.

Buffy was silent still, even as her stomach became a threatening taste at the back of her mouth.

What you need to be doing, Bell’s voice continued inside her head, is figuring out how to play dumb and still win.

Buffy stared at Bell as she rocked, still apparently gone to the world.

See ya soon, Queeny.

And then the voice was gone.

“Well?” asked Lilah impatiently as Buffy shut the door to the room behind her and headed back to where Spike was waiting.

Buffy slowly shook her head.

“I can’t do it. I mean, I could try and rip through her straight up, but it would be pure power and it would probably destroy whatever she’s got locked inside her head. You need someone more fine-tuned, someone who can precisely access her brain. You need a Merselin demon.”

Lilah stared at her, mouth slightly open.

“A Merselin demon? Do you know how rare they are? I mean, the War of Valor between the clans during the fourteenth century practically wiped them out. It’ll take weeks to locate one.”

“Then I suggest you get cracking,” Buffy said as she walked over to Spike.

“You know,” Lilah said, “We brought you in so we wouldn’t have to go to these sort of lengths.”

Buffy turned around slowly and met Lilah’s eyes with a deceptively pleasant smile.

“I didn’t say I couldn’t crack her. I just said there wouldn’t be anything left if I did. Now, if your firm would like me to do a trial run, I’d be more than happy to start with you.”

Lilah tossed her hair as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I should be able to get the Merselin here in a couple of weeks if I get the acquisition department started on it right now.”

“Excellent. Just call me when you’ve got word.”

“Spike,” Buffy said as she turned to leave again.

“Let’s go do lunch. I’m starving.”

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