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Edges of My Mind
by Tami
Chapter 13
Los Angeles, Hyperion Hotel
Buffy arrived at the hotel, had barely put the car in park before jumping out and ran inside to the reception desk where Wesley and Fred were arguing over whether it was right to call Sunnydale and essentially tattle on Spike when it was none of their concern anymore.
“Wes! Where is he?” Buffy cut in on the argument.
Wesley spun around at the sound of his name and startled at the sight of the Slayer standing in front of him.
“Where is who?” Wesley asked in a harassed tone.
Buffy huffed in frustration. “Angel or Spike, where are they?”
Wesley may have become more rugged with his appearance these days, but he still sounded patronizing to her. She didn’t have time for this. She had to find Angel and knock him on his ass for taking Spike’s side as well as removing the chip, and then she would stake Spike once and for all for making her life more of a hell than it already was.
“Angel hasn’t come back yet. He’s still out searching for Spike,” Wesley replied.
Buffy paced the lobby as she considered her next course of action. She couldn’t just wait around for Angel to show up with Spike. She’d go crazy wondering if the blonde menace would actually be with him and in what condition.
Coming to a decision, she announced, “I’m going out to patrol and find them. I never was the sit-and-wait type.”
Wesley and Fred watched the blonde Slayer leave again. Then, Fred spoke up, “Shouldn’t we stop her? Angel won’t be too pleased if she’s on a vengeance kick over Spike.”
Wesley turned to Fred, commenting wryly, “And miss the fireworks that will inevitably go off when Angel finds her down here? Not a chance.”
“So then why did you call Sunnydale?” Fred asked.
“Simply because Giles had more experience dealing with Spike than I do,” Wesley replied. “I did not foresee Buffy suddenly showing up.”
“You better hope Angel sees it that way,” Fred said doubtfully.
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Los Angeles, Wolfram & Hart
Angel gained entrance into the building through a sewer access tunnel. He didn’t have time to play dress up and act like a lawyer as he had done numerous times before. This damn law firm was getting on his last nerve.
First, they used Darla to fuck with his mind. Then, they dangled her in front of him in reality to try to save her dying body. Finally, they used his demented girl to turn her – which he was sure for Drusilla was no easy feat. However, she was the sanest she had ever been when she and Darla were making his life a living hell. In retrospect, he hadn’t meant to burn Drusilla. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong company.
Now, this fucking law firm abducted his other childe.
Angel’s relationship with Spike was just beginning to find its stride when the other vampire went missing. He was starting to break down some walls with his boy before Wolfram & Hart decided to meddle in his life again. If anything happens to him, I’ll kill Lilah myself. There won’t be the option of a wine cellar massacre in which she hopes to survive.
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Los Angeles, Wolfram & Hart, Lilah’s Office
“So, what do you think?” Lilah asked. She was sitting on the desk while Spike paced the floor.
“I think it’s . . . the most insane idea I’ve ever heard. Believe me; I’ve heard a lot over the years while in Dru’s company.” Spike smirked as he thought it over. “You tried to use Darla to fuck the soul out of him and that didn’t work. What makes you think I’m a better candidate? Angel and I despise each other.”
“Well, you must have some sway over him, some importance. Otherwise, he would have killed you long ago,” Lilah said.
“What makes you think he hasn’t tried?” Spike said darkly.
Lilah shrugged. “I’ve read the history between you. You can’t expect me to believe that he only kept you around to baby sit Little Miss Mental Complex.”
Lilah scarcely blinked before she found herself flat on her back across the immaculate desktop with Spike hand squeezing around her throat. She tried to pull his hand away, but it wouldn’t move.
“Drusilla isn’t insane any more than you are, lady,” Spike growled. “As for the reasons Angelus kept me around, you’ll have to ask him. Though, I doubt he’d tell you. Whatever issues I have with Angel, Dru and Darla are mine.”
“It’s not like there is any love lost between the four of you. You could easily get back at him for taking Drusilla from you, for making you feel inadequate. All you have to do is pander to the demon inside; remind him of whom he really is. He’s not a savior of the human race. He’s a ruthless demon, and we could use someone like that on our side,” Lilah choked.
Spike laughed humorlessly. “Then, you obviously missed a few things when you were taking notes in Extortion 101. You expect me to appeal to the demon inside Angel and bring out Angelus. You skipped the part in the chapter where it said that the last time Angelus was in residence, he was completely off his rocker. He tried to suck the world into Hell. Not to mention, he’s not one for being a team player. He tends to lead the pack. He’s an arrogant, self-serving son of a bitch. If you manage to pull him to the surface, what’s to say he won’t kill you? Because, you’ll be the first one he goes after and when he’s through torturing you to death, he’ll go after Angel’s little gang of do-gooders.”
“He wouldn’t go after someone on his side,” Lilah panted out through the obstacle of Spike’s hand on her throat.
“I’ve known him a lot longer than you have, lady. He doesn’t have a side. He does what he wants. I’ve been on the wrong end of a whip with him before. He doesn’t know mercy. These schemes you keep brewing up to drive him dark are only pissing him off and when he finally breaks loose, you’ll be his first target,” Spike in dangerously calm voice.
“Angel isn’t like that, we just have to get him straddling the fence,” Lilah said and tried to swallow past his grip.
“Who said we were talking about Angel? I thought you wanted Angelus,” Spike sneered.
Just then, the intercom beeped. Lilah and Spike stared at each other. A few seconds later, it beeped again. Spike slowly removed his hand and stepped away from her. Lilah rubbed her throat as she sat up and pressed the button.
“Yes?”
“The alert went up. There’s an untagged vampire in the building,” said a static voice.
Lilah looked at Spike and said, “Thank you, I’ll take care of it.”
She turned the intercom off, slid off the desk and walked to the door. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll handle this and we’ll --”
She opened the door and was brought up short when Angel’s tense body was on the other side.
“Don’t bother, I’ll let myself in,” Angel said as he pushed her back into the office and closed the door behind him.
“Angel, how did you --” Lilah started to say.
Angel advanced on her as he spoke casually. “Hello, Lilah. It’s good to see you again. It’s only been what . . . four months? It’s not like you to not call or drop by unannounced. I’m beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”
“I’ve been busy,” Lilah stammered.
Angel glanced over her head at Spike who had a smug expression on his face. “I can see that. So, tell me, how long did it take you to come up with this new idea?” he asked with a dark tone.
“What idea would that be?” she asked as she was crowded against the front of her desk.
“Don’t play games with me, Lilah. Do you expect me to believe Spike just stopped by for tea and conversation?” Angel asked sardonically, his brows furrowed in anger.
“She was going to have her wicked way with me and then offer a way to get back at you if I played along,” Spike told him as he looked around the larger vampire’s shoulder at the lawyer.
Angel raised an eyebrow. “Is that right?” He wrapped his big hand around Lilah’s neck and yanked her towards him until there were centimeters apart. He chuckled maniacally. “You started this shit with Darla last year and now you’re trying to use Spike? You know, Lilah . . . if you wanted to fuck me that bad, all you had to do was ask. I would have been happy to give it to you.” He tilted his head toward Spike. “You should hear about the game she and Lindsey set up for me last year.”
“What game would that be?” Spike asked curiously.
“Oh, it’s one where the object was to see who could do the most damage to the other’s reputation . . . and I was winning too.” He focused his attention on Lilah. “Wasn’t I? I see we’re still playing that game. That’s okay, I like that game. There are no rules. I like that even better.”
“P-p-p-please Angel, if you’d j-j-just hear me out on this, we could both make --” Lilah started to say.
The dark vampire made a face at her stammering. “You’re taking all the fun out of this by begging so soon. Lindsey wanted me dark, so he pissed me off to the point I cut off his hand and smashed the prosthetic one. But, I’m fair. I helped him when he had the hand of death. How’d that work out for you by the way? I’m sure having to share management duties with a guy who had no control over his own hand was intimidating.”
Angel shrugged. “Having to compete with your rival so that the Senior Partners would notice you over their golden boy . . . it must have been hard.” He let her go, stepped back and held out his hands. “But hey, now you got the corporate office, made it to Junior Vice President of Special Projects. That has to look real good on your resume.”
He pushed Spike toward the door, glowered at her then, and became serious. “You wanted dark, I’m dark. I can get even darker before Angelus ever breaks free. You want to play this little game that’s great.”
He towered over her menacingly and continued, “But, try to come after Spike again and the next massacre I throw you into will make Holland Manners’ wine cellar look like an amusement park ride.”
Angel turned on his heel and walked to the door where Spike stood watching the whole scene. He jerked the door open and followed Spike out, slamming it behind him. Angel led the blonde vampire to the sewer tunnels he’d used to gain access to the building.
As they walked to Angel’s car, Spike asked, “You sure she’s going to follow your advice?”
“I doubt it. The only thing Lilah Morgan cares about is her standing with the Senior Partners. We haven’t seen the last of her,” Angel said.
When they got to the car a few blocks away, the dark vampire groaned when he saw who was waiting for them. The little, blonde Slayer was sitting on the hood of his car.
“Get your ass off the hood of my 1967 Plymouth GTX,” Angel said angrily.
Spike chuckled. “You just had to say that. Show off.”
“It’s just a car, Angel.” Buffy frowned but did as she was told.
The second she stepped away from the car, Angel used his shirttail to wipe away any prints she may have left on it. Then, he turned to her. “Why are you here? For someone who told me that we shouldn’t be together when she came back from the dead, I’m starting to see you a hell of a lot in my city these days.”
“I didn’t come to see you. I came to stop you,” she said and then turned on Spike with a stake that suddenly appeared in her hand. “And you! I’m glad that chip is out of your head. It means I can stop feeling sorry for your pathetic ass and kill you!”
Spike tensed up and waited for Buffy to make a move. Just as she was about to attack him with the stake, Angel grabbed her wrist and spun her around into the side of his car, placing himself between his childe and the Slayer.
Buffy grabbed the door to keep her balance and glared at her former boyfriend. “Why are you doing this, Angel? There was a time when you would have helped me kill him.”
“I never helped you kill him, I spent most of the time trying to steer you away from him,” Angel corrected her.
“I can’t have him walking around without a leash. He knows too much about me and my friends,” Buffy said angrily.
“You should have thought about that before you fucked him,” Angel shot back.
Spike walked around the bulk of his Sire to see Buffy. He didn’t recognize her anymore. She wasn’t the girl he enjoyed sparring with in the past. She wasn’t even the same as when she confided in him that she was possibly in heaven. Ever since Riley Finn came back, she had turned spiteful toward him and seemingly bitter toward Angel, whom she claimed was her true love.
“You humiliated me in front of Riley!” Buffy accused Spike.
“You’re seriously off your bird, Slayer,” Spike said as he stepped closer to her. “I’m glad we’re through with each other, Buffy. I hated the farce that was our relationship!”
“We didn’t have a relationship! It was just sex! Get that through your thick skull. I don’t love you!” Buffy yelled.
“I never said I loved you because I couldn’t have you. I loved what you were before you died. I loved the way you fought, the way you sparred. I loved that you took care of your brat kid sister and the Scoobies. It had nothing to do with me. When you came back, I still loved you enough to try to help you cope with being alive again. What did I get for the insults and beatings? You handed me over to your tin soldier on a silver platter!”
Buffy drew back her fist and punched him in the face, over the eye that had signs of bruising from when Riley repeatedly punched him two months ago. “You’re wrong! Riley wouldn’t have given you the time of day, and after we found your last scheme and killed it, he left town. He never went after you!”
She punched Spike in the stomach and threw him down on the ground. Then, she sat on him and proceeded to hit him again, crying, “You’re wrong! *punch* It wasn’t like that! *punch* You’re just an evil, soulless demon. *punch* You’re out to hurt me and come between me and Angel to get back at me for not loving you. *punch, punch* You’re dead, you hear me! *punch* Dead! You can’t have a relationship with something that’s dead!” *punch*
Angel grabbed Buffy around the waist and pulled her kicking and punching off Spike. “That’s enough!” He twisted his body away from Spike and her squirming caused him to drop her on the ground in a heap.
“Get a hold of yourself!” Angel shouted over the barrage of insults that she was still hurling at Spike. He reached down and offered Spike a hand to stand up.
Buffy picked herself up off the ground and glared at Angel through a tangle of hair. “How can you take his side over mine?”
“I know him and what he’s capable of. I made him into what he was before your soldier boy stuck a chip in his head. You had no right attacking him as you did. Being a Slayer with one failed relationship with a vampire in your past, you should have known better than start one with a soulless vampire. Did those six months with Angelus stalking you teach you nothing?” Angel said.
“Yeah, it taught me to never trust you again,” Buffy spat.
Angel grabbed her shoulders and yanked her against him, flexing his fingers deep into her flesh as he tried to control his anger. “Then, I suggest you get the hell out of my city and go back home, little girl.”
“Wesley never mentioned that you had completely lost it when he called me!” Buffy said.
“What’s Wesley got to do with this?” Angel asked angrily.
“He called Giles to tell him about what you did with Spike!” She wriggled in his grasp. “Let go of me!”
“Come on,” Angel said addressing Spike as he released her. He walked around the car and got behind the wheel as the blonde vampire slid in the passenger side. When he saw Buffy still standing there glaring daggers at them, he growled, “Get out of my sight, Buffy. Go home and stay there this time!”
With that, he drove away leaving her to watch the taillights of the car disappear into the night.
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