The vampire's feet dangled inches from the ground as Angel held him by
the neck and shook him.

"What are you doing here?" Angel snarled.

The demon forced his voice through his constricted throat, "I heard you
were looking for Spike."

"Yeah? And--"

"I can help," the vampire told him.

"I take it you work for him. Why would you want to help me?" Angel
inquired.

"Because I want to see him staked," he gurgled.

Angel dropped the captive to the floor of the mansion and crouched down
beside him, his eyes dark and questioning.

"I ran into the most gorgeous woman in the park a couple of weeks ago.
All legs and tits, she was--"

"Get to the point," Angel snapped.

"I wanted her, so I turned her. She screwed as good as she looked," the
vampire raised a hand and rubbed his aching larynx. "Anyway, we were
going at it hot and heavy a couple of weeks ago, woke the Lord of
Sunnydale from his sleep. He wasn't pleased. He broke into my room,
grabbed her by the cunt, and tore her throat out. Damn bastard! He's
free to hump any female that gets him hard. You find him, you take his
red-haired bitch, right?"

Angel growled at the insult directed at Willow. The minion swallowed and
scooted back.

"Where are they?" Angel asked.

The vampire looked at him hopefully, "You'll stake him, right?"

Angel grabbed the defector by the collar and pulled him up until they
were nose-to-nose.

"Where are they?" he demanded.

"They were headed south, according to a friend, along the expressway.
They pulled off at a convenience store to get gasoline. My friend works
the night shift there--easy meals. Kind of like drive-through fast food,
in reverse," the minion smirked.

Angel was unamused by his attempt at humor, "There are a lot of
convenience stores along the expressway."

The vampire shrugged, "I'm not a fucking tourist guide. They pulled in
around 3:00 this morning. You figure it out."

Angel tossed the informant aside and rose to his feet, "If you're lying
to me--"

"I'm not!" he insisted. "Just stake the bastard when you find him.
That's all I want."

Angel turned on his heel and headed for the library.
***
"They couldn't have left town much after 1:00" Buffy said as Giles
produced a detailed map of Sunnydale and the surrounding areas and
unfolded it on the table.

"Two hours," he mumbled. "Let's say 150 miles."

Angel peered over the watcher's shoulder as they scanned the map. Giles
trailed his finger along the red line that marked the expressway's
route.

"We're lucky," he stated, raising an eyebrow.

"We are?" Buffy moved to stand beside him and looked down.

"The only filling station marked in the area is here," Giles tapped his
finger on the filling station symbol.

"No wonder. It's in the middle of nowhere," Buffy said.

"Red Springs," Angel read the name of the town where the station was
located.

"I'll get Oz. We can take his van," Buffy said.

"We'll take my car. I want to get Willow home safely, too, you know,"
Giles replied to Buffy's astonished expression. "It's 9:00 now; we can
be there by midnight."

"Let's go," Angel urged.

A shadowy figure waited in its hiding place in the stacks until the
three had left the library, and then made a hasty exit.
***
Spike had managed to find a small drug store, where he purchased some
hydrogen peroxide, antibiotic salve, and bandages to dress Willow's
wrist. He had met an aging widow near her car in the parking lot and had
fed from her before he returned to the hotel. Once he was satisfied that
Willow's wrist was properly cared for, they went in search of food.

Spike enjoyed watching Willow's reaction as the top-heavy waitress in a
short skirt and low-cut blouse leaned a little farther than necessary
over the table, giving Spike a good look at her ample cleavage, and
placed the plate of food in front of Willow.

"Did you like that?" she scowled as the woman walked away.

Spike grinned, "I'll bet yours taste better."

Willow's blush traveled from her neck to her face, and Spike burst out
laughing.

"You'd think I'd know better," she stated.

"You'd think so, pet," he brought her hand to his lips and nibbled at
her fingertips.

"Stop that!" Willow ordered, snatching her hand away and casting a
furtive look around the empty diner.

"Just you and me, baby," Spike smiled.

"And *her," Willow added.

"Her, who? She doesn't count."

"Oh," Willow grinned. "That's better."

She munched on a french fry and gazed in distaste at the little bowl of
lime jello that sat beside her plate. It was a most unappealing shade of
green, with a minute dollop of whipped cream sitting forlornly on top.

"Ew, that's disgusting," she moaned.

"Oh, I don't know. I could think of a few tasty uses for this," Spike
leaned across the table, scooped up the whipped cream on his index
finger, and raised it to her lips. Willow drew his finger into her mouth
and sucked the sweet, creamy confection off it. He moaned softly as she
licked his finger clean.

"Do you know what you do to me, little one?" his voice was husky.

"What do I do to you?" Willow stared into his eyes.

"I'll give you a demonstration later," he promised.

Willow giggled and reached for another fry, "I'll look forward to it."
***
It was the longest 150 miles in the history of human travel. Giles sped
toward their destination, paying no heed to the posted speed limit, and
praying silently that no policemen were lying in wait along the stretch
of road.

"There!" Buffy barked as her eyes caught sight of the exit marker.

Giles veered right and slowed down as they drove into the quiet town of
Red Springs. The clock on the dashboard read 11:30.

Angel was the first to notice the familiar black car parked at the end
of the hotel. Giles pulled in and stopped.

"I'll go," Buffy said.

"Not alone," Angel told her.

He opened the door and took her hand. Giles sat behind the wheel and
waited--and waited--and waited. Finally, the couple emerged from the
lobby door and returned to the car.

"He wasn't very cooperative," Buffy explained. "I finally convinced him
that I'm Willow's sister, and she's needed at home for a family
emergency."

"Are they here?" Giles asked.

Angel shook his head, "He saw them leave about 45 minutes ago. He said
there's an all-night diner down the street, within walking distance."

Giles maneuvered the car out of the parking lot and drove the short
distance to the diner.

"That's them," Buffy breathed as she caught a flash of red hair from the
booth near the window.

Their rescue took on a nightmarish quality as the blonde vampire and
Willow stepped out of the diner. A figure moved out of the darkness and
stepped into the light of a street lamp.

"Damn," Angel moaned as he recognized the minion he had caught lurking
about his mansion hours earlier, and who was approaching Willow and
Spike from behind.

Spike's sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of their stalker's
footsteps. He whirled around, pushing Willow behind him. Angel scrambled
from the back seat of the car and grabbed Willow by the waste, hauling
her inside. He slammed the door shut, and Giles stomped on the
accelerator.

"Willow!" Spike roared into the night.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the minion produced a stake from
his tattered shirt sleeve and flung himself at Spike.

End.

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