TANGLED WEB



Willow scowled at the white room. She had been blindfolded and driven here two days ago. They still had not spoken to her. She knew they were watching her. Nikita had been by a few times. Michael had not. She had missed him, hard as that was to believe. There was something about him that made her feel sorry for him. Made her want to comfort him. He reminded her of Angel. That's probably what is was. If she didn't get out of here soon, she knew she would scream.

The door opened. Nikita stood there smiling at her.

"Put this on and follow me" she said handing Willow a blindfold.

"It's about time." Willow grumbled.

"Sorry...we had a crisis." Nikita led her up some stairs and down some more.

Finally, she was told to sit down.

"Can I take this thing off?" she asked.

"Yes. Sorry. I forgot." Nikita said.

Willow removed the blindfold and looked around the room. She recognized Michael and Birky. There was an older man that had a twinkle in his eyes. He winked at her. Must be Walter. She saw a woman dressed rather severely. Madeline. She saw another older man. His hair was almost as white as Spike's. Goddess, she missed Spike. This must be the main boss. She'd never heard his name mentioned.

"Willow....I'm sorry it took us so long to get to you." Madeline said, in what Willow assumed was a reassuring tone.

"Not a problem. I'm sure you had something more important than me to deal with." She said, smiling. She wasn't going to let this woman spook her. Hell, she'd faced down Angelus and several hundred demons. This woman was nothing.

"Of course" Madeline said, slightly taken aback. The girl seemed completely relaxed.

Willow looked around the conference room, her eyes missing nothing. The computer equipment she saw made her drool.

"Willow, we need to know what happened that night you were attacked. Can you tell us?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "I've been over this so many times. I woke up. Had a weird feeling. Snuck into Nik's room and saw her fighting with three men. I heard them ask about Section and mention someone called Casales. One of the men noticed me and threw me against the wall. I got hold of this ugly statue and killed him. That's about it."

"Oh. I was wondering why you happen to be in Toronto. Nikita says you're from California."

"I assumed that all that information would be in the report." Willow said, keeping her eyes on Madeline's.

"There is a report isn't there? Knowing Michael, he probably filed one that first night and has been adding his information to it. Am I wrong?"

Madeline was shocked. She couldn't believe this young girl was standing up to her like this. She had had grown men crying for their mother's after an interrogation with her.

Operations noticed Madeline's discomfort and was surprised. He saw Nikita hiding a grin.

"Willow, I'm Operations here at Section. Nikita seems convinced that you are an innocent and no harm to us. I need to make sure of that. Do you understand?"

Willow stared at him a few minutes. He grew almost uneasy at the intensity of her stare. "I understand. You don't often do this do you?"

"Do what?"

"Interrogate. I can tell. You seem almost nervous. I'd wager that you like to be in control. In this sort of situation, it is too easy for the control to be taken away. That's why I figured you left it to others."

"Willow" Nikita warned.

She was trying to save the girl, yet Willow was acting as though none of this was frightening her.

"Yes Nikita?" She asked, her eyes innocent.

"Please just answer the questions. I'd like to see you alive after this."

"OK." Willow sighed and sat down. "I am a sophomore at Sunnydale U. I'm 19. I came to Toronto to think. Trust me when I say that getting attacked and having a gun stuck in my face is not what I had in mind for a vacation. I met Nikita. She introduced me to Michael and Birky. I had no idea where she worked until that night."

"She said that you seemed to get over killing that man quickly. It is unusual for a student to murder someone and just go on like that."

"Self defense. Not murder." Willow corrected. "He was a bad guy. I trust Nikita when she tells me that. Why should I feel guilty for killing someone who planned to kill me?"

"Amazing logic" Operations muttered.

Madeline knew the girl was hiding something. She could tell. "What aren't you telling us?"

"I've answered every question you've asked." Willow said, sighing.

Suddenly, she sat up straighter. She felt a familiar tightening in her heart. She glanced at the door and smiled.

The door opened and Nikita watched as a good looking man with bleached hair entered, his leather duster flying behind him. His piercing blue eyes scanned the room, lighting up when he saw Willow.

" 'ello pet. You're a hard one to track down these days" he said in a British accent.

At the sight of him, everything else faded to her. She was so happy to see him. Willow laughed.

"Spike. My hero. Come to save me?"

"Bloody hell...I'd wager they're the ones that need saving luv."

"What the hell is going on?" Operations demanded. "Security."

"Who is this?" Madeline demanded.

Both of them started yelling.

Spike looked at them and then at Willow. "What's their problem?"

Willow went to him and kissed him deeply. She pulled back, tasting blood on is mouth.

"You killed someone." she scolded pulling away.

"Just a few of them" he gestured to the people sitting at the table, watching wide eyed.

"Didn't kill them luv. Promised you, no more deaths. Just stunned them a bit."

"OK. If they're not dead, you're forgiven. How did you find me?"

"WILLOW!" Nikita shouted. "What the hell is going on?"

Willow looked at her, suddenly remembering where she was. She blushed as she smiled.

"Spike came to save me. Guess he felt that I was in trouble."

"You called him." Madeline said, still not believing that someone had made it into Section undetected.

"I did not" Willow said, her eyes blazing.

Madeline opened her mouth to respond.

Willow murmured a few words. Madeline couldn't speak.

Willow looked at Nikita. "I'm sorry about that, but we will be here forever if she keeps interrupting."

Spike took Willow into his arms and kissed the back of her neck. "Do we have to explain? Can't I just kill them?"

"NO. I want to help them before I leave. Someone tried to kill me and Nikita. I want to get them back. Now, hush. I guess you all have some questions to ask." she said, chewing on her bottom lip as the room exploded into sound. Madeline sat down, waiting to hear the girl's explanation.

Willow felt a headache coming over her. She sat down and reached for Spike's hand. He smiled and squeezed it reassuringly. She couldn't here anything, everyone was talking so loudly. Everyone except for Madeline. She hid a smile as she saw the silent woman. She knew Giles would be very upset if he had known she had used such a powerful spell. She couldn't resist though. She doubted anyone had ever rendered the dark haired woman speechless.

Suddenly, a shrill whistle sounded. Everyone quit speaking and stared.

"Good. Now, sugar" Walter smiled at the young girl.

He didn't know what she had done, but he loved seeing Madeline put in her place.

"You need to learn. Never tell them to ask questions. You won't be able to hear anything."

Willow smiled back at him, liking the twinkle in his eyes. "I can see that."

"You people just sit back, keep your lips zipped, and let this sweet thing talk."

Everyone looked at Willow expectantly.

"Well...uh...I don't really know what to say." she looked around uncomfortably.

"I know that none of you could handle the truth, so I guess I can give you an edited version."

"We can handle the truth" Operations said, scowling.

Michael spoke for the first time, looking into her eyes. "Willow....tell us. Please."

She smiled. He was speaking to her again. She noticed Spike tense at the intensity of Michael's stare. She squeezed his hand letting him know it was ok.

"Well, you might find this hard to believe, but I am a Wicca.....I practise spells. I'm not very good yet, only been at it a few years."

Spike suddenly spoke. "Good god Red. He's a bloody human Peaches."

She looked at him and saw him looking at Michael in disgust. "You noticed that too?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Rather obvious. At least he's not wearing leather. In this entire city, you have to meet the one person like that sorry bastard of a sire. Why me?"

She laughed softly. "Sorry Spike. I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"Hmmph." Spike said, staring daggers at Michael.

"Willow!" Nikita said, eager to hear more. "Spells? You're a witch?"

"I so hate that word." Willow said. "I practice magic. Can we just leave it at that?"

"How did he get in here?" Birkoff asked, staring at Spike. There was something almost evil about the man. He couldn't believe sweet little Willow was involved with him.

Willow looked at Spike. "What do you think?"

"I doubt they could handle it luv. There world is black and white. Good and evil. Well, their version of good and evil. What do you think?"

"I don't know. You might be right, but they have to know. If we tell them now, maybe they can accept it in time."

Nikita sighed loudly. "What?"

Willow smiled. "Spike is a vampire."

Suddenly, the room erupted in tense laughter.

"Good one WIllow" Birkoff said.

"Seriously Willow. What?" Nikita asked again.

"I didn't want to have to do this" Willow said softly. "Spike....show them Grrr."

He smiled sexily and winked at her. "I love it when you growl."

"Spike....quit playing." Willow said, blushing slightly.

Spike mock sighed. He turned and put on his game face. The humans gasped as they caught their first look of a vampire.

Nikita stood and leaned over. She brought her hand up to touch Spike's face. He watched her through half closed eyes, ready to attack if she appeared hostile. She ran her hand over the ridges in his forehead....down to his teeth.

"Good lord." she said, her eyes wide. "He really is a vampire."

"What is going on?" Michael asked, not losing his cool.

Willow made a face. "For every generation, there is a slayer...yadda yadda yadda. It's like this. There are a lot of evil nasty things in the world. You guys kill the human ones. My friends and I kill the not so human ones."

"You mean, there are things besides vampires?"

"Oh yeah. I could tell you guys some stories that would make your hair curl. The town mayor turned into this big snake thing on graduation and tried to kill us. My best friend got possessed by a hyena. Oh, he also dated a mummy and had a praying mantis after his virgin blood."

"Xander?" Nikita asked, remembering Willow's stories.

Willow smiled. "Yes. I've been fighting evil since I was a sophomore...when I met Buffy."

Spike groaned. "Damn silly slayer. Did I tell you that she is trying to get Giles to agree to let her go to Hawaii for the rest of the summer? She gave him some big story about hearing through the grapevine that a bunch of natives were going to rise and try to bring about the end of the world. Silly little chit."

"I'm assuming Giles said no."

"Damn right. He told her that if that were the case, there was a slayer in training over there already. She could handle it. She is still moping around sulking. I really wish you'd let me kill that girl."

"Sorry." Willow said. She turned back to the others.

"Uh...Spike and I haven't seen each other in awhile. Catching up and all that."

"You're dating a vampire?" Nikita said. trying to understand.

"Isn't he great?"

"Much better than her last one, I can tell you. He shed on all the furniture" Spike said, letting his human features slide back into place.

"Shed?" Walter asked, curious.

Willow blushed. "He was a werewolf. But only three days a month. He was a very nice guy...well, until he fucked around and tried to kill me. That sort of lower him in my book."

"I've tried to kill you luv. Twice in fact."

"Yeah, but you looked so cute attempting it, I had to forgive you." Willow said, winking at him. Spike smiled broadly at her compliment.

"I can't believe this." Operations said. He was struck completely speechless.

"Believe it. They are out there. Trust me." Willow said, understanding their disbelief.

"So, you plan to help us find Casales before you leave?" Nikita asked hopefully. The girl had become a dear friend to her. She hated the idea of seeing her go so soon.

"Casales?" Spike said, leaning forward. "Ricardo Casales?"

"You know him?" Michael asked quietly.

Spike started to laugh. "Met him once in Madrid. Oh, I'd say it's been almost 80 years now. Right after Peaches left us."

Willow looked at him, her eyes wide. "He's a vampire?"

Willow started to laugh. She looked at the others. "Well, I guess you do all know a vampire."

"You're joking?" Nikita asked.

"Sorry, pet. He's young. I met him shortly after he turned. I'm sure you should have no problems staking his sorry ass. Can we go now luv?" he asked Willow.

"Not yet. I want to see him go poof first." Willow looked at Madeline. "You can talk. The spell only lasts five minutes. I just needed a chance to speak before you attacked."

Madeline almost smiled at the girl. In some ways, she reminded her a bit of herself...or as she used to be. "I'll be fine. I was most interested to hear your story."

Willow smiled. She had a feeling that she'd better watch her back. She doubted that Madeline was fine with it. "Comments?"

"We can not get close to Casales. He moves quickly. We believe that he someone on the inside. None of our forces can get very close."

Spike noticed a board behind the desk. He started reading off names as Madeline spoke to Willow. "Luv, I know some of those blokes." he motioned to the names.

"You do?" Operations asked, eager to hear details.

"Yeah. A few demons....see a couple vampires....that one is a wolf. Guess it is a small world."

Willow was surprised. It appeared that Section may have been fighting the same sort of evil as she had. They just hadn't been able to tell the difference between the real monsters and the human monsters. She had discovered herself having that same problem lately. In Sunnydale, the demons had quit coming after the hellmouth had closed. They still have a few nasties, but not near what used to be around. Now, they often had a lot of free time. Buffy was thrilled, but she often found herself bored. She had gotten so used to the research and the plans and the fighting. She was actually enjoying the experience she was having now. It was the most fun that she had had in months.

"I guess we are on the same side." Willow said, smiling at Nikita.

"Who'd have ever believed that?" Nikita said, returning her smile.

Madeline leaned forward, her eyes on Willow and Spike. "So, will you two help us get Casales before running back to California?"

Willow thought for a moment. She looked over at Spike. He shrugged. She knew he still wasn't happy about working with the slayer. He would probably enjoy spending some time here away from Sunnydale. She just had a feeling that committing to help get Casales meant much more than that. She almost didn't want to help because she knew she would enjoy it. Seeing the computer equipment...knowing that she would not just be ridding the world of a normal vampire, but of one that was a terrorist.....it would accomplish much more than she had been doing in Sunnydale lately.

"OK. We'll help." She said, her voice determined.

Madeline nodded as though she had never doubted the answer. "Good. We will brief you on the activities. See if you have any suggestions" she said the latter part to Spike who was running his hand over the back of Willow's neck.

"I still say, go in and stake his ass." Spike muttered.

He noticed the older man smile. He must have heard of him. Well, it beat listening to the slayer whine. He was fast growing tired of that after six months.

"Spike, is it?" Operations said. Seeing the cold eyes of the vampire, he stammered. "You said you recognized some of the people on our list. Could you tell me who they are? These are some of our primary concerns right now. Any help would be great."

Spike thought about it. "I can tell you what they are, though I doubt that will help you very much. A few of them are rather powerful demons. I doubt that your little rag tag army here could do very much damage against them."

"Why don't you leave that to us." Operations said, his voice becoming crisp as the insult on his section.

"Happy too chap. Not my problem." Spike said.

Michael cleared his throat. Willow looked at him expectantly. He wasn't sure if he should mention anything. No one else seemed very concerned. He had had trouble hiding his shock over the situation. He had seen true evil in his life....faced it down and survived. Yet, according to Willow, that had been nothing. She, in nineteen years, had faced creatures directly from hell. He couldn't understand how, after seeing that, she could still seem so innocent. The thought was still nagging at his mind. He had to know. If he were going to be expected to work on this profile with her and her lover, he would need to set his mind at ease.

"Yes Michael?" Madeline asked, not sure if he were going to speak.

"I have a question." he said quietly.

"Just ask it already" Nikita blurted out. Sometimes he could aggravate her.

"Spike is a vampire, correct? Well, it is a bit past noon. How was he able to make it in here? I may not be an authority, but I was led to believe that sunlight killed vampires. Was I wrong?"

Willow sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to get into that."

Spike smiled at her and took her hand. "Sorry luv. They ask a lot of questions. Still think you should have let me kill them."

Willow frowned at Spike. "Quit that. You know you couldn't kill them if you wanted to."

"Willow....what's going on?' Nikita asked, Michael's question weighing on her mind.

"Short story: Spike and I fell in love. Giles couldn't accept it. He thought there was a spell or something. Instead, he found a prophecy. To sum it up, when one of the day finds love with one of the night, fire and ice shall meet and burn forever bright. On the side of good, these two stand, fighting evil across the land. Or something like that."

"Huh?" Nikita said, not really understanding the girl.

"Spike and I fell in love and fulfilled this prophecy, thus making us 'good's' immortal saviors."

"Immortal?" Michael said.

Willow nodded. "Yep. We have to fight evil forever, but we get some nice perks. No disease....no death...staying together...."

"I can't understand this" Nikita said, rubbing her head. "You mean that because of some prophecy you two didn't even know about, you're immortal and you have to fight evil forever?"

"About sums it up luv. The watcher said that was what drew us together..That is was our destiny. I told him he was nuts. I wanted the little witch from the moment I saw her. Some silly prophecy didn't make me feel those things."

Willow nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think that our falling in love wasn't part of the prophecy. It was just what triggered it. So, of course we would love to help you get Casales. After all, we are supposed to fight evil." Willow said smiling.

"Do you mind if we leave now? I haven't seen Red in months. Kind of like to catch up, if you know what I mean" Spike said, smirking.

Walter started laughing. "I like your guy, sugar" he said, winking at Willow.

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