Chapter 1: The Fall
Buffy walked down the dark alleys of Los Angeles until she found who she was looking for. Riley Finn, her carrier. “Got anything for me?”
“I got Green, White, Brown, and Gems. What’s your poison?”
Buffy hated that they always came up with new nicknames for drugs. There are so many, it made her head spin remembering them all. But Riley was using the simple terms. Green was obviously pot, White was cocaine, Brown was heroin, and Gems were crack. “Got anything else?”
“Got the paper to show for it?”
Buffy put her hand in between her breast and pulled out a wad of $100 bills. “This enough.” she stated sarcastically.
Riley’s eyes became wide at the look of the bills. She must have mugged a millionaire or something, he though. “This way.” He then led her deeper into the dark alley to where his boss was.
It was only 4:00 in the afternoon, but the alley made it look like it was an hour past midnight. Buffy was completely blind in it’s darkness until a lighter lead her way as it lit a cigarette. This is what she has been waiting for.
“Spike. Chick here wants something different.” Riley told his boss. The sound of Riley’s retreating footsteps told her that this Spike was going to help her out.
“So…something different, eh?” He asked in an attempt to be seductive.
Buffy played along. “Yeah. Something tasty.”
“Well… I’ll show you the way.” He must have had great night-vision, cause he easily found her hand and lead her to a warehouse. The light under the door and the embers from Spike’s cigarette were the only lights she could see. Someone else in her position would bail, but Buffy was completely determined, no matter what the voices in her head said.
Spike opened the door for her. Inside it was almost like a rave, but with more drugs and less activity. The walls were surrounded by couches that were stained, torn, and completely occupied. Her nostrils flared at the smell of vomit, smoke, sex, blood, and urine. How could people live like this? she puzzled in disgust. The people on the couches were either asleep, passed out, too stoned to move, or dead. Buffy tried not to loose her cool as Spike continued to lead her up the stairs.
On the upper level, there was more activity. Orgies going on that looked like 20 naked people trying to play Twister. Most of the people in the group had no idea what they were doing so they just continued to swim around in the puddle of flesh.
Spike was still holding her hand. He guided her to a room, completely oblivious to the actions taking place around him. Buffy was a bit worried of what lied in the room, but no matter what, she was going to get through this.
She let out her breath when she realized that it was his office. 3 mini-fridges stood next to each other on the back right corner, his desk in front of the only window the entire building had, and a shelf of various liquids in jars lined the right wall. On his desk, there were money (Buffy guess it was about $1,500), business papers, a dirty mirror, and seven pens lined neatly to the left side of a notepad. This is too easy, Buffy thought.
“What exactly do you think is tasty, luv?” Spike finally said as he led her to the comfy chair in front of his desk.
“I don’t know. My brother told me he got some sweet stuff from you before. But he was so out of it that he forgot to tell me what it was.” Inside, Buffy was screaming out her brother’s name at Spike, but she kept her cool. Or at least she thought she did since Spike didn’t react to what she was feeling.
Spike sat down in his desk stair and looked at her as he picked up one of his pens and played with it in his hands. “Can you describe how your brother was feeling from our… product? That could be useful.”
He fell into a coma and never woke up, she wanted to say. “I wasn’t around him long enough to really notice.” Now was the time, “I want to ask you something.”
“Yeah?” he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. “What’s that?”
“Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” She said with a smirk that grew by the second as his face got further and further into confusion.
“What?” Three seconds later, he heard a bang in the bottom level. He stood up in shock, didn’t even notice that Buffy pulled a gun and was aiming it at his head. “Oh, Bloody HELL!!!”
“William Snow, your under arrest for drug dealing. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…”
*******************
I can’t believe I FELL for that! Spike yelled at himself. He sat in the interrogation room of the narcotics division of the LAPD. Angel is going to kill me.
He’d been sitting there for almost two hours. The second Buffy put the cuffs on him he asked for a lawyer. Now he was waiting for Lindsey to arrive. That damn McDonald sure does take his time, Spike huffed. He finished off his third coffee with extra sugar.
It wasn’t like he was a junkie himself, he just sold the stuff. He hadn’t touched an ounce with his own hands after Drusilla OD’d five years ago. She was never the same after that, babbling about a ‘Miss Edith’ whispering things in her ear and seeing the sky rain blood from time to time. But Dru was his sweetheart, so he would always take care of her and that meant he had to keep a clear head all the time. That’s the only thing he was scared of when he was arrested. What would happen to Dru if he weren’t there to take care of her?
That thought almost brought tears to his eyes, but he heard Angel’s voice in his head. “Suck it up, Willy. Be tough if you expect to survive.” That’s what Spike did; he swallowed his tears, lifted his chin and continued to wait for Lindsey. What’s taking the git so long?!
*******************
Buffy watched William Snow through the one-way mirror. Rage was making her body go aflame. She was waiting for this for five years. This is why she became a narcotics officer, to finally nail Spike’s dick to the wall. The thought brought a smile to her face. She smiled even more when she thought about Spike becoming some Bubba’s prison bitch. She tried to hold back a giggle in the presence of her superior, Captain Giles.
Giles didn’t look at her, but he knew her well enough to know that it brought her great joy to cuff the bleached-blond. He knew about it enough that he scared him.
“You didn’t listen to my orders.” Giles told Agent Summers while keeping his eyes on Spike.
“I got the job done didn’t I? Doesn’t that count for something?”
“You got the job done because William was not at his sharpest.” Giles turned to address her. “We got him because HE screwed up, not because YOU did your job well.”
“I guess I’m lucky.” She didn’t want to argue, she just wanted to savor the sight of Spike locked up. “He’s going down, and that’s all that matters.”
“To you.” Summers was the only agent that he grew fond of. He really didn’t want her to get killed because of what happened to Sam. “If you don’t get your act together, I may have no choice but to transfer you.”
He said this before. It barely made Buffy flinch. She was the best cop this city has ever seen. It wasn’t because of her black belt, her marksmanship, or her agility and stamina. It was because she was driven. There was no way they would get rid of her. Not when scum like William “Spike” Snow were still out there.
*******************
She couldn’t stand it anymore. She entered the interrogation room with two cups of steaming coffee. One black, the other with extra sugar. Spike didn’t talk to her, he didn’t even realize it was her that busted him. At the warehouse, she was wearing a nice leather coat over her hot pink halter-top and a red mini-skirt. She almost looked like she was 17 in that outfit. Now she was in gray work suit that still showed off she curves and her real age of 26.
She sat down across the table from him, sipping her coffee. Spike just held his for a while, waiting for it to cool.
“Man, your lawyer is sure taking a long time.” She commented as she looked up at the clock. “It’s been what? 4 hours?”
Angel would always tell Spike the ways cops would try to get you to talk. There was the Good Cop/Bad Cop, which isn’t the case here since there’s only one officer in the room. This was the casual conversation route she was taking, and Spike wasn’t going to follow her. He knew soon she was going to talk about personal stuff that didn’t have anything to do with why he was here.
“How’s your brother doing?” Buffy asked.
See, there she goes. He couldn’t help himself though. “How about your brother? He really a junkie or was that all made up?” He should have kept his mouth shut, he thought as the sentence was uttered. But the look on her face after he said it made him reconsider. He hit a nerve, and it made him smile for the first time since the bust. “He on the street? Bumming cash from ya? Stealing? Or his he one of my dealers?”
Buffy’s jaw clenched. She felt the blood in her neck boil as it raised to paint her face red with fury. Spike was too into making her more upset that he didn’t realize what she was going to do.
He leaped back when he saw this petite blond completely turn over the metal table that separated them, Spike’s steaming coffee spilling in his lap, scolding him. She then ran over to him and pressed him against the wall with her left hand on his neck. She wasn’t trying to strangle him, she just wanted his head still as she started punching him with her right.
The moment he saw her hand turn into a fist, he screamed for someone to get her off him. She got three good punches in before two fellow officers came and pulled them apart. Buffy was trying to fight them off so her can kill the son of a bitch. “You killed him, you fucker! You killed my brother! I’ll kill you! You are dead! DEAD!” was that last word she said before the door slammed shut.
Spike knew he never killed anybody, let alone a Narc’s brother. Not on purpose…
*******************
Buffy’s shoulder was bothering her as she waited in Giles’ office. She had to remember never to fight back when Bruno and Bucko were holding her back. She may have been very strong for someone her size, but she still could get herself hurt if she pushed herself too much.
She was rubbing her shoulder when Giles came in with a thick file under his arm. He looked into her eyes as she turned to see him enter. She knew she was in for something, but didn’t know what. It was punishment enough to see the disappointment in his eyes. Even though Giles was her boss, she always thought of him as a father, mostly since her own was banging his “Secretary of the Week”.
He broke eye contact as he walked around her and sat behind his desk, Buffy’s eyes never leaving his face. Giles put the file down on the desk and opened it. “Five counts of assault, 2 counts battery, 12 threats, and now you’ve attacked someone in custody.” Oh, that was my file, Buffy thought. Is it really that thick? “You give me no choice Buffy. I’ve warned you time and again but you continue to act like a vigilante. You are no longer working for the department of narcotics.”
Buffy gasp. No, no, no, he wasn’t serious. He’s messing with you. “Please tell me you’re joking?”
“I wish I was Buffy, but the department can’t risk you anymore. You’ve been violent to every dealer we bring in, even ones that you weren’t assigned to.”
“It was just that one time, and he grabbed my…”
“I don’t wanna hear it.” This is the first time Buffy has ever seen Giles remotely pissed off. “Buffy, you finally crossed the line today. No one is going to doubt that you are one of the best officers this city has ever seen, and someone like you is needed in homicide. Do you think you can manage that?”
Buffy nodded. She knew he was doing her a favor. Someone in her position would have been canned easy, but she got transferred. To Homicide. Heck, some people would call that a promotion.
She finally stood up from her chair with her head still staring at the carpet. She didn’t notice Giles until he was in front of her and pulling her chin up. “I’m sorry, Buffy. But it’s for the best.”
“I know,” was all she said before she left his office and started to pack her things from her desk.
*******************
Spike continued to repeat in his head, must kill Lindsey, must kill Lindsey, over and over again. Stupid lawyer!
He was stuck. 15 years to life.
He was only there for 3 days and he was already feeling like tunneling under the walls to freedom. But a ray of hope shined when the guard told Spike he had a visitor. Only one person it could be…
“Hey Angel. How’s Dru?”
“She’ll be ok. She won’t even notice you’re gone. I’ll make a life-size cardboard cut out of you for her.” Angel laughed while Spike merely chuckled. “You know you deserve what you got. Letting that cop right into your office? Silly boy.” Angel was seeming to be going easy on him, but Spike knew that if it wasn’t for the thick plexy glass, he’d be dead now.
“I was rash. Over my head.” Spike didn’t bother giving excuses. “How’s the misses?”
“Darla’s ok. In a mood as always. Staying with her father for a while.”
“She doesn’t know how good she’s got it with you, bro.” slightly comforting his brother. Spike laughed at that. He’s the one doing the comforting and he’s the one behind bars.
“Yeah.” Angel agreed. “Life on the inside real bad?”
“You got to get me out of here man! I think I’m already going crazy!” Spike said in a very dramatic panic that was half mockery.
“Sorry. Nothing I can do.” Angel saw Spike’s saddened blue eyes. There was more there then the fact that he had to spend 15 years in jail. “Hey, what’s else is wrong?”
He looked up at his broad-shouldered brother, “There’s this cop. She really had it in for me. She gave me this.” He pointed to the purple that was under his left eye. If Angel saw him the day he got in, it was so swollen that Spike was blind in that eye.
“Whoa. Big chick? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her…” Angel offered what Spike interrupted.
“No, no, no. She was a small thing but… hell man, she flipped over a heavy metal table easily. And she was screaming at me that I killed her brother or some shit like that.”
“Really? Well, I know you Spike. You wouldn’t harm a fly.” Spike was a bit insulted by this. 20 years trying to put on the persona of a Big Bad and yet his brother still saw him as the poetry-writing geek with a chemistry set. But the pang of guilt that started when he was left alone in that room again after the cops attack on him made him think…
“What if he… what if I… made a bad batch?”
“William…” Angel usually calls him ‘Willy’, unless he’s trying to be the comforting brother. “You didn’t mess up. I always had people test your stuff before we send it out. Nothing was wrong. If he died using your stuff, he probably used too much. So stop with the guilt trip already. You’re a great guy, and you have nothing to worry about.” Spike gave him a look and Angel realized the flaw in what he said. “Well, besides this.” He chuckled.
Spike let out his own chuckle. “Is Dru going to visit?” he said hopefully.
“She never likes being around the blues, you know that.” Angel reply apologetically.
“Tell her to write me ok. The only thing that going to make this place hell is being without her.” Spike almost sobbed at that.
“Will do. If she can still write that is.” Another chuckle. “See ya around Willy.”
“Bye Ang.” They hung up the phones they talked to each other with and headed back to their lives.
This bloody sucks.
AN: the line "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" is from Batman. I always love that line and thought it would be cool to use it.
Review please, help me finish this story!
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!