“You ready, Spikey?” Angel said glancing over at the blonde in the backseat.
Spike took a long last drag off his cigarette and flicked it out the window. “Yeah, mate. I’m ready.”
Angel grinned and pulled the balaclava that sat on the top of his head down over his face, Spike did the same and reached for the handle of the door as they pulled up. He slapped the driver on the shoulder. “Andrew, remember, wait here? Don’t piss off and leave us,” he paused for emphasis then continued, “or I’ll kill you.”
“Sure, Spike.” the nervous curly haired kid said shifting in his seat. He reached into the glove compartment and took out a similar balaclava to the ones the other two wore. He pulled it into his lap and then repositioned his hands on the steering wheel as the car slowed, finally stopped and Angel and Spike made their way into the bank across the street.
* * * * *
“Everybody freeze!” Angel shouted at the top of his lungs as they entered the bank, pointing their guns.
Spike turned to him and cocked his head. “You’ve been wanting to say that cliché line your whole life haven’t you?” he asked, receiving a smirk back from Angel he shook his head ashamed but amused, and they separated. Angel went up to the front desk and Spike began to look around, from what he could see there were no customers, so he moved around the cashier’s desk to the back corridor where the private offices were.
There was only one guy behind the glass at the front and he wasn’t sat at a desk, he was further back sorting through draws when he heard Angel shout. Angel could see he wore a manager’s badge and told him to stay where he was, hoping that Spike would find someone they could use to their advantage.
“Is anyone else here?” Angel asked. The manager’s eyes immediately darted to the back, but he said nothing. “If there is someone else here, my mate’ll find them.” Angel threatened. Eventually the manager nodded. “Right,” said Angel holding up his gun, “So think about this, you’re behind bullet proof glass, but they aren’t…so if you don’t want someone’s death on your conscience you won’t go for that panic button you’ve been eyeing.”
He could see conflict in the manager’s eyes, but he was pretty sure he’d got him where he wanted him. “Your bank’ll have insurance,” he continued, “you should know that being the manager. So all you have to worry about is not doing anything stupid that’ll get someone else killed.”
* * * * *
Buffy was stood up in an office pacing back and forth; she’d been waiting for the manager to come back for 10minutes and was anxious, she knew the bank was closing soon and she had to get this whole thing sorted tonight. Suddenly she heard the shouting and froze, ironically like she’d been told to, but just instinctively out of fear. She had no idea what to do. She tried to consider her options, but her brain was too fuzzy. She could make a run for it, but she was in the back of the building, far from any customer exit. She could hide, but where was there to hide?
She heard movement, and the sound of that movement was getting closer. If she was going to do something it had to be soon, but her brain just wasn’t cooperating. She decided unwisely she knew to run, but as soon as she opened the door and ran into the corridor she crashed straight into the firm chest of another person.
“I’d stay there if I was you, pet.” Spike said to her.
Buffy moved back as he gestured to the gun in his hand, and then to her.
She seemed meek enough he thought, to understand that it was best not to try anything. “So what’s you name, luv?” he asked, seemingly interested he started to circle her.
Buffy didn’t even attempt to answer him, she just stared back blankly, turning too so that she never had to have her back to him.
“Okay, not a talker.” he huffed. For some reason he wanted to ask her again, he wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to be afraid of him, but he wasn’t stupid enough to do that. He may not have wanted her to be scared, but if she wasn’t she could cause trouble, so he just gave up and turned around to hear what Angel was saying to the guy at the desk.
Spike felt the girl move behind him and looked back to see her trying to run away. With a few strides he caught up with her further down the hallway. His left arm wrapped all the way around her chest, flattening her breasts down almost painfully and pinning her arms to her side. His right hand came up to put the gun he had to her neck.
“Ah-ah-ah. Not so fast, luv.” He began to drag her backwards, nearer to the front and Angel so that they weren’t separated for too long. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Angel was getting the manager to go into the back where the real sums of money were. He turned back to the girl who he was holding. “Now, why don’t we try this again, huh?” he asked panting in her ear with the effort of hauling her, “What’s your name?”
“Buffy.” she said trembling slightly from how close and tight he was holding her. She’d never seen a real gun before and never thought she’d be this affected, but she wasn’t stupid, she was going to do everything he said as long as he had that pointed at her.
“Good girl.” he whispered huskily.
Buffy was fighting back tears at this point, but desperately didn’t want to cry. She wanted him to know she was going to do as he asked, but she didn’t want him to think she was totally vulnerable.
Spike looked behind him again and Angel was finally getting the manager to open the door to the cashier desks, but when Angel took the bag of money off him, transferred it to his other hand and turned to Spike the guy tried to run back into the safety of the room, on the way grabbing one of the small metal partition that bordered the area for queuing. He held it up to Angel’s head as Angel turned around and angrily raised his gun, pointing it at him.
“Don’t you even think about it.” Spike shouted. His main aim was to try and stop Angel from doing something stupid, but he was taking to the manager. He knew if he didn’t back off Angel was going to lose it, and they’d be totally fucked. He turned himself and Buffy around and stepped slowly forward, “Put it down, or say goodbye to goldilocks here.” He shoved the end of the gun further into Buffy’s throat making her whimper and forcing her head to tilt back.
The manager suddenly looked panicked, he didn’t want to let them get away, but he wasn’t going to put someone he didn’t know in danger, that’s what Spike had been counting on. Angel’s previous threat that he could be responsible for getting someone else hurt now seemed inescapably real, so he dropped the metal column and raised his hands up.
“Wise decision.” Angel said dropping his arm, and then suddenly out of nowhere he raised it once more and shot the guy in the shoulder.
Buffy screamed and struggled in Spike’s arms at the shock of the noise and seeing the manager fall into the doorway. For all she knew he was dead, everything had gone so fast she hadn’t seen where he’d been hit.
“Jesus Christ, man!” Spike shouted angrily, trying to keep his grip on the girl in front of him.
“Relax.” Angel replied, “It’s just a flesh wound.”
Spike bit his tongue. This sort of psycho bullshit was Angel’s M.O. so he should have expected it. After all wasn’t it this kind of shit he saw all the time? Wasn’t that the reason he was here, the reason he’d gone in on this stupid money trip? So that he had the means to get away from this crazy bastard once and for all?
Behind them all the manager rolled over on the floor clutching his shoulder, Buffy tried to calm herself when she saw he was still alive. She saw him moving around and then he threw himself forward while he had the chance, the door shut behind him and he crawled away into the safety of the bullet proof room. Angel and Spike didn’t see, and she didn’t let on that she had. Unbeknown to them all he crawled under one of the desks and hit the panic button, turned out this wasn’t the first time he’d been robbed, though it was the first time he’d been shot.
Buffy was still struggling, especially when Angel started moving towards her. Spike was staring at him defiantly as if still waiting for a better explanation, but Angel didn’t seem to care. When he got to Spike’s side they heard a siren in the distance.
“What’s that?” Angel asked turning his head towards the door.
Spike paused and then groaned angrily, thrusting Buffy away from him like a rag doll until she slammed into Angel and he grabbed her and held her in the same way Spike had. Then he turned them round to see what Spike was up to.
Spike was leaning over the counter as far as he could with the glass partition in the way, completely ignoring the moaning man on the floor behind the desk for a second. Then his body stiffened when he noticed him. Coming to stand up once more his fist smashed down on the counter in frustration.
“What the fuck, man?” Angel asked wanting answers.
“Panic button.” was all Spike said as he stormed back towards the unlikely couple.
“Shit.” Angel said, “Just our luck that there was a squad so close, I can fucking hear it already.”
“Everyone can fucking hear it.” Spike growled angrily.
“What are we going to do now?”
Spike looked at the floor and thought for a moment, then he looked back up at the girl in front of him. “Sorry pet, guess it ain’t over for you quite yet.” He yanked her out of Angel’s arms and in front of him, turning back to Angel and telling him to stay behind them.
When they got outside they realised it was just one police car and the cops hadn’t even got out of it yet, so Angel made a run for Andrew, and Spike slowly backed away in the same direction. He still had a tight grip on Buffy and she knew she couldn’t struggle free so she had stopped trying; after all he still had the gun.
The police officers got out of the car, leant over the roof and aimed their guns at Spike, one warning that more police were on their way and that he might as well give up. But they were close enough to the open door of the car now that he could just shove Buffy into the backseat and follow behind her quickly. Before he’d even shut the door properly Andrew had started to drive away and the rookie policemen fired a few shots in vain.
Andrew sped away as quickly as he could and soon they were far away on the route they had planned.
“Sit on your hands.” Spike said glancing over at Buffy.
“What?” she shrieked confused.
“Sit on you’re bloody hands you stupid bint.” he repeated more harshly.
She lifted up her bottom and slid her hands underneath and then gasped when she felt something at her neck. Spike had moved the gun back to her and he was staring at her, his piercing blue eyes standing out against the black of his mask. Buffy started shaking.
“Don’t move, don’t speak, and I won’t hurt you, kitten.” he said softly and Buffy was confused at the sudden change in him. He’d said it almost affectionately, but it was after all a threat so she tried to do just that. After a while though she turned her head to look through the back window best she could without him noticing. She was hoping to see them being followed, but she couldn’t see anything, and dejectedly she realised they’d lost the cops already.
“What went wrong?” Andrew gasped once they had driven a little further.
“Someone got the police, what do you think went wrong?!” Angel snapped at him, straining his neck to look through the back window.
Andrew swallowed nervously looking to Spike for a better answer, but Spike was silent. He knew if he could say what he wanted to say it would be something along the lines of, ‘Angel was a dick, that’s what happened, and if he’d held it together for a few more minutes the whole thing could have been handled smoothly.’ But he knew Angel wasn't used to controlling himself or his anger, and letting himself go like that no matter how much chaos followed, fuelled his baser need for the buzz and excitement that came hand in hand with his love affair with violence. It all meant that if he actually said what he wanted to the only thing he'd achieve would be to give Angel the chance of another argument, another fight, and Spike was determined that he was getting out of this crap, not dragging himself further into it.
“Who’s the girl?” Andrew asked when he saw Spike’s resolve face.
“She’s our…” Spike stumbled on his words looking over at Buffy; she looked back at him terrified. “She’s sort of our…hostage.” He sighed, now looking through the back window himself.
“Oh gees, Spike! What are we going to do now?!” Andrew panicked.
“You absolute pillock!” Spike snapped, removing the gun from the dip in Buffy’s collarbone where it had slipped, and using that hand to yank up his balaclava.
“What?” Andrew stuttered.
“How many bloody ‘Spike’s’ do you think there are in California?...Scratch that…in the world?”
“Erm…not many?” Andrew suggested hopefully.
“Try one…So how easily do you think the police could find me now she knows my bloody name?” Spike hung his head in exhaustion. “You total spanner.”
“Bad luck Spikey.” laughed Angel, “Guess you’re stuck with the girl.” He took a look around then patted Andrew on the shoulder, making him jump, “but as for me I’m off, drop me. I can walk from here.”
Andrew pulled to the side to let Angel out, he was on his way to Darla’s and they all knew it was near here. He got out and then leaned on the window and poked his head back inside the car.
“I’ll see you in a few days like we planned.” Then he turned to Buffy, “See you later sweetheart.” he said sinisterly.
Buffy was more than terrified by this point, and although Spike was the one who had pointed a gun at her, and although he was the only one capable of hurting her at that very moment she couldn’t stop the shiver Angel’s promise sent through her. All she could see was his eyes through the balaclava, but they weren’t bright and blue like Spike’s, they were dark and frightening. That was enough, his voice and his eyes were all it took to make her more afraid than she’d ever been before.
Eventually he turned and left, running down a back alley he took the balaclava off and ran a hand through his brown hair. He never looked back so Buffy never got to see his face, but she didn’t think she’d ever forget those eyes.
“You might as well get out too,” Spike motioned to Andrew, “You alright here?”
“Yeah, I’m good…But god, Spike I don’t think I’ll ever stop shaking.”
Buffy heard her blue-eyed captive, Spike, sigh quietly. “We always knew something like that could happen. It was a risk, but it paid off. That’s all you need to worry about…mate.” He stopped himself at the last minute from saying Andrew’s name, but Buffy wouldn’t have noticed anyway, she was too confused to see the person who had 20minutes ago kidnapped her actually consoling someone. “There’s nothing to tie you to what happened, you’ll be fine.” he finished.
Seeming to dwell on that for a moment Andrew then took a deep breath and got out. “You sure you’re okay with the car?” he asked passing Spike the keys through the back window.
“No.” he said honestly, fully taking off his balaclava and then looking at Buffy for a brief second.
That was the first time she’d really gotten a good look at him since his face had been uncovered. He was handsome, with platinum blonde hair, obviously dyed, and a scar on one of his eyebrows. He was like something out of a movie; a type of person she didn’t think really existed until now, in that he was a complete contradiction; totally hot and totally dangerous all at the same time.
She snapped back to the scene when he continued to talk. “Not really. But I’d rather do it myself that leave it to you. Why don’t you just go home, I really think you’ve ballsed things up enough for one day.” And with that his softer side disappeared once again.
She really didn’t get him.
Andrew sighed, but knowing Spike was right he headed off with his hands in his pockets.
She was about to tell him that he had been a bit harsh on the driver, that was until she felt his hand roughly and painfully yank her arm and pull her out of the car with him. She stumbled and nearly fell upon exiting, but she managed to stand up eventually. She’d forgotten who she was dealing with there for a second, he may be good looking, but he was kidnapping her.
“Get in the front.” he said bluntly, opening the door for her.
She got in quietly, they weren’t anywhere public so she didn’t think screaming would help, and she didn’t know exactly where they were, so she didn’t think running was an option, not that she could get out of his ironclad grip anyway. She decided the only option was to shut up and get in, when she did he shut the door behind her brutally. Then he locked the car in case she made a runner, and only reopened it when he was at the other side and could immediately get in. This told Buffy a few things; he was serious about this, he wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t planning on letting her go anytime soon.
* * * * *