Chapter Six: Infiltrating the Operation
Those wankers better not be putting me on, Spike worried as he was dragged towards the campus. It had only just dawned on him that the Scoobies might be working with the Initiative to capture him. After all, Captain Cardboard was the slayer’s boyfriend.
Spike recognized the familiar hidden entrance and looked around for any sign that help was on the way. He was just about to make a run for it when he heard one of the soldiers hit the dirt.
"Not so fast, boys. We haven’t been properly introduced yet," Faith drawled. "I’m Faith."
Riley pulled out his stun gun and aimed it at the brunette. "Miss, I think you should walk away before you get hurt."
"Oh, someone’s going to get hurt," she told him as Xander came out from behind them and knocked out one of the soldiers holding onto Spike. "But it’s not going to be me," she promised reaching into the back of her pants and pulling out her own revolver. She cocked the trigger. "You’re coming with me, sugar."
Spike shrugged off the soldier that still had a hold on his arm, smirking mockingly at him.
Riley gulped hard, trying not to appear as afraid as he was feeling. "Miss, put down the gun before you do something to get yourself in trouble."
"I think you’re the one who’s in trouble here, Mister," Xander reminded him mockingly
Faith grabbed Riley by the arm, and he was surprised by how strong her grip was. She pulled him against her, aiming the gun at Riley’s temple. "Tell them to keep quiet or you’re dead, Agent."
Riley didn’t say anything until Faith dug the gun deeper into his skin. "Officer Henry," he addressed one of the soldiers. "Take these men and do not return to the Initiative until I say so, is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," Officer Henry answered with a salute before leading the men away from the scene.
"Not so fast," Faith repeated. She motioned at Xander and Spike. "Take their clothes. We’ll be needing them later."
"Good thinking," Xander complimented her, surprised at how much she was acting like Buffy in this situation. Well maybe not with the sexy taunting, but there were similarities. She certainly wasn’t acting like the homicidal maniac she’d once been.
Spike grabbed the garments and chuckled at the soldiers standing in their underwear. "That’ll teach you buggers to mess with the big bad!"
Xander rolled his eyes and shook his head before pushing Spike in stride behind Faith.
***
"I trust everything went well?" Giles asked as the trio entered his apartment.
"As well as holding up government personnel at gunpoint can go, I guess," Xander joked, always trying to make a serious situation lighter.
"I still don’t see why I had to come back here," Anya whined from her seat on the staircase. "You just wanted to be alone with her."
Everyone, including Xander, chose to ignore her complaints and focused in on Faith who was busy tying Riley to a chair, much like Spike had been only a few weeks earlier.
"Not so comfortable, is it, mate?" Spike smirked at him. This night was just getting better and better.
Riley refused to speak to any of his captors. He sat there in a cold silence, hoping his men wouldn’t obey his orders and that there was already a search party out looking for him. Somehow he doubted that, knowing all too well how seriously soldiers took their commands.
When Faith was finished she tugged on the rope to make sure it stayed in place. She looked back at her new friends and smiled. "I could get used to this!"
"NO!" Willow, Xander and Giles yelled simultaneously.
Faith’s smile turned into a look of confusion. Giles cleared his throat and turned back to the Wiccas. "Is everything ready on your end?"
Willow nodded. "This will be the biggest spell we’ve ever done, but we’re strong enough to hold it." It was true, up until now Willow and Tara had only dabbled in spells for fun. Now they needed to do a complicated spell to save the life of Willow’s best friend, and it scared both of them that so much of this plan revolved around the success of their spell.
"Is there a backup plan?" Anya asked.
"A what?" Willow asked, already irritated by the ex-demon.
"You know, a plan to fall back on. In case your little spell doesn’t work."
Willow’s face turned red, embarrassed by Anya’s lack of confidence in her magical ability, and was searching for the right reply when Spike spoke up. "You know, that’s not a half bad idea," he started. He turned to Willow, feeling the need to calm her down. He’d always liked the bird better than the rest of her annoying mates. "Not saying your spell won’t work, Red. I’d just like to have a little security before I risk my ass getting stuck in that hell hole again."
Willow seemed to think over his words before nodding in agreement. "What’d you have in mind?"
Spike was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected anyone to listen to him, never mind suggest he lead them in a plan. "Well, uh," he trailed off as he was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea.
***
The gang stopped in front of the hidden entrance of the Initiative, preparing for battle. Spike, Xander, and Giles were dressed in camouflage, while the girls were clad in white lab coats. They looked like they belonged to the elite military group, and hoped their guise would prove effective.
Faith turned on Riley, holding open her lab coat so he could see that she was still in possession of the weapon.
"Now, Riley," Giles spat his name in disgust for the man. "You are to speak with Professor Walsh assuring her everything is normal, and that your group is still in pursuit of Hostile 17." He pointed to the metal bracelet on the Riley’s wrist. "Xander will be watching you from a distance and you are wired. Try to warn her of our infiltration and you will be given an electric shock. This is not something you’ll recover from," the older man promised with no sign of remorse.
Riley nodded his understanding, hoping he could act as normal as possible to save himself from an untimely death.
***
While the others were preoccupied with finding Buffy and watching Riley, it was Anya’s job to steal Dr. Angelman’s access card. She was thrilled with her task, especially since it meant getting away from Xander and Faith for a while. She hated the fact that Faith had had Xander first, even if the other woman didn’t remember the encounter.
Anya pulled down her shirt and pushed up her breasts, showing all the cleavage she could muster and walked purposefully down the halls of the Initiative. She held her head high, so no one would mistake her for an intruder, and searched for a man she’d never seen. The only way she would know him, was from the online photograph Willow had found and even that was a little blurry.
Finally after walking around aimlessly for ten minutes, she saw her target walking, engrossed in the paperwork on his clipboard. Anya strode towards the doctor, throwing herself against him yet making it look like a complete accident.
"Oh, my, how clumsy of me," she purred, looking up at him through hooded lids. She picked up the pen he’d dropped as Dr. Angelman reached out a hand to help her up.
"No, it was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going," Dr. Angelman apologized while leering at her chest. "Are you new here?" he asked flirtatiously.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I am," she told him. "Just transferred here this week." She flashed him a brilliant smile before placing his pen in the pocket she had a feeling held what she wanted. "I should really be getting back to work. Nice meeting you," she called over her shoulder at the dumbstruck doctor as she sauntered off sexily. She grinned down at the card in her hand, loving the feeling of control that was coursing through her body.
***
Dr. Angelman walked into the security headquarters and found the woman he was looking for. "How did Agent Finn’s recon assignment go?"
Professor Walsh sighed. "Not as well as I’d hoped," she admitted. "Hostile 17 is proving to be a worthy opponent."
"Maybe he’s got friends on the outside," Dr. Angelman joked.
Professor Walsh didn’t even crack a smile. "I think Adam is ready to be tested out in the field."
"Under controlled circumstances I’d say that’s a good idea," he agreed with her, turning to fill himself a cup of coffee.
"Professor Walsh?" She turned to look at the soldier manning the security counter. "The computer is indicating that Dr. Angelman has just entered a restricted area."
"Impossible!" Professor Walsh exclaimed looking up at her colleague.
Dr. Angelman searched inside his pockets for his access card. He looked at her sheepishly when he came up empty handed. She glared at him for his carelessness, and wondered who could be foolish enough to break into a state of the art institution. Making her way over to the security televisions, the screen suddenly showed a group dressed in military gear and lab coats. She immediately recognized the redhead from her psychology class. "Friends of the slayer," she murmured to herself angrily. "Seal off all the exits," she commanded. "Notify all soldiers of an immediate briefing. We’re dealing with a group of dangerous intruders."
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