Enemy Incognito

By Wynn

Chapter Nineteen: Necessary Exposition

Lilah.

Bitch.

Faith slid off the cold basement stairs, her leather pants softly caressing the rough concrete, a faint rustle of fabric in the silent basement. She inched past Giles and moved into the moonlight, a wicked scarlet smirk on her face, the pale light of the moon causing her dark eyes to glitter. Slipping past Buffy, Faith walked towards the chained assassin, seized his throat with her hand, and lifted him off the ground, slamming the back of his head against the hard stone pillar. "Lilah sent you to kill us?! What were her instructions exactly? Did she single any of us out, or just want us all dead?"

The man struggled against her iron grip, his gaze darting between Giles, Buffy, and Spike. Neither of them moved. He attempted kick at Faith, but she dropped him onto the ground as soon as he lifted his leg into the air. Climbing to his feet, he glared at her and said, "All she wanted was you lot out of the picture. No specific instructions on how to kill you or who to get rid of first. She just wanted all of you dead within the next week." He looked from Faith to Buffy. "And that's all I'm going to say. So either kill me or let me go."

Faith shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't think so, stud. What about this tape you mentioned? Who was on it?"

He met her icy glare and cold questions with silence.

A slow smile spread across Faith's ruby red lips. "Are you looking to be tortured? I can do it if you don't tell me what I want to know. I can make sure it's nice and slow and painful too, and none of them would be able to stop me. Hell, they'd probably jump on in and get a piece of the action. So I wouldn't press your luck with the silence. Now, before I stop playing nice, who was on the tape?"

The assassin's flat grey eyes shifted, moving from Faith and latching onto Buffy. They rested on the blonde Slayer for a few seconds before returning to Faith.

Buffy moved forward, drawing even with Faith, mouth pressed into a hard line. She glanced at the brunette out of the corners of her eyes then stared at the chained man before her. "Both of us were on this tape?"

He nodded.

"What are we doing on the tape?"

The man sighed, an explosive exhalation of dwindling patience and rising exasperation. "One segment is of the two of you, fighting against each other while the old man over there's watching you two go at it. Another is just torture lady here training with the junk you call equipment. The last segment has only you, teaching some random people how to kick men in the nuts." He looked at Spike, boredom and irritation swirling within his grey eyes, and said, "I'm getting tired of the twenty questions. I did my part for the greater good. You got what you want, so either let me go or do me in."

"How about we do neither and keep you chained to the pillar while we have a little discussion," Buffy said as she walked over to the basement stairs. She arched one brow and said in a tone full of false sweetness, "Does that work for you?" Without waiting for a reply, Buffy made her way to the first floor, followed closely by Spike.

Faith remained next to the assassin, watching him, an electric current of emotions running beneath the surface of her skin, causing her nerve endings to tingle with anticipation, with excess energy waiting to be unleashed. She moved from one foot to the other and flipped her wild dark hair over her shoulder.

"Getting antsy girl? Looking for some action? How about you let me out of these shackles, and you and me go a round?"

Suppressing a haughty chuckle, Faith cocked her head to the side and said, "You wouldn't last one second against me."

"Really, now."

"Really."

The man in black slid down the concrete pole, shaking his head softly and regarding Faith through half-closed eyes. "No, I don't suppose I would," he said as he closed his eyes completely and laid his head against the smooth stone column.

Giles walked over to Faith and placed a hand on her shoulder. "They're waiting for us."

Nodding, Faith backed away from the chained man, slipping out from under Giles' hand, and turned towards the stairs, slowly ascending to the ground floor. She moved into the hallway and closed her eyes as she slumped against the wall, her hands tightening into fists. She drew in a few quick breaths, working to calm her racing heart as the basement door opened again. Faith pushed off the wall and looked at Giles, dark eyes alight with nervousness. "Did I… was I… was that too much? Should I lay off the threats of torture next time?"

Shaking his head, Giles said, "Maybe, maybe not. In this situation, your threats were applicable. If it had been a-a less dangerous individual, they probably wouldn't have been necessary."

"Right. Gotcha. So I, um, did Ok?"

"Yes."

Faith flashed a small relieved smile then slipped out of the hall into the living room. She maneuvered past the gathered Scooby Gang and plopped down onto the couch, sitting next to Clem and Emilia. Charles stood beside the front door, and Dawn sat in the armchair opposite the couch. Spike crouched next to Dawn while Buffy paced the narrow area before the fireplace. Giles moved into the threshold between the living room and the hall and leaned against the arched entryway.

* * *

Buffy stopped pacing as Giles entered the living room. The answers given by the assassin had only brought forth more questions and another more dangerous, virtually unknown enemy to fight. Buffy pushed her fingers through her hair as she turned to Faith and said, "Who's Lilah Morgan?"

"A lawyer for an L.A. firm called Wolfram and Hart. They're not your average, everyday bloodsucking lawyers. They're straight up evil. Lilah's the one who hired me to… um… to kill Angel a couple years ago." Faith shrugged and pulled one leg beneath her. She chewed on a ragged fingernail as she continued, "Pretty ruthless bitch. She's been after Angel ever since he moved to L.A., but she's never been able to kill him."

Spike shifted in his position next to Dawn and looked across the room at Faith. "Isn't that the bird Peaches said might be involved in Con-" He broke off, mouth closing with a snap, his blue eyes darting towards Buffy.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Buffy raised one eyebrow and said to Spike, "Involved in what?"

Faith spoke, cutting off the vampire's mumbled reply. "With Wesley. Angel thought Wes may have given Lilah some info about some case he was working on."

Giles stepped into the room, his brow furrowed with confusion. "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce? He is involved with the woman who supposedly sent the assassins after us?"

"Maybe. Angel doesn't know for sure. He and Wes had a… disagreement of sorts and Wes left the agency a couple months ago."

Buffy resumed her pacing of the living room, eyes cast downward as she mulled over the possibility of Prissy Wesley sending assassins after them. The concept was almost laughable. "I don't think Wesley would be involved in this. I mean, I know we all detested him when he was here but not enough for him to want to kill us." She drew in a deep breath and gnawed on her lower lip. There was only one way to learn more about Lilah and her involvement in the attempted assassinations. Go straight to the source. She glanced at Giles and said, "I should go to L.A. and investigate Lilah and why she wants us dead."

"Buffy, I'm not sure that's wise."

"What else can we do? This isn't some demon we can research in the books, and with Willow gone, none of us are skilled enough on the computer to try to hack into Wolfman and Whatever's files." She paused and crossed the living room to stand before Giles. She spoke again, her voice a low murmur. "Giles, she wanted us all dead, but she specifically taped me and Faith. Seems to me like she's looking to shed some Slayer blood. I want to know why."

"But-"

"Do you have another idea on what we can do, besides sit here and wait for the next ambush?" She waited for his reply. After a few moments of silence, Buffy continued. "Giles, I want to know for sure if Lilah is the one that sent the assassins after us. And I want to know now before she sends something else."

Faith stood and moved towards them. She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her leather pants as she said, "I could go to L.A."

Buffy shook her head. "Too risky. Lilah's probably waiting for you to resurface to enact some revenge for your failure to dust Angel. She'll be watching for you. She might not be watching for me." She faced Giles again. "I'll be discreet. I'll ask Angel for help, where to get info on this chick, what he knows about her. I'll be fine. Trust me."

"I don't want you going alone. It's too dangerous, especially if this woman is after you particularly."

"Alright. I'll go with Spike."

"Buffy-"

Buffy held up her hand, cutting off Giles' protest. "It's too risky to go to L.A. with Faith. And if Lilah decides to attack here again, at least one of the Chosen Ones should be in Sunnydale to fight. I'm not going with Anya. She doesn't like me, and I don't completely trust her. Willow and Xander are still in England. And I need you here to watch Dawn and make sure she's safe." She paused, her hazel eyes focusing on Spike. She raised an eyebrow, a silent question, asking if he would go with her. His cobalt eyes burned into hers as he slowly nodded his ascent. Buffy stared at him for a moment more, breathless, heart racing, both relieved and nervous about his acquiescence. She turned back to Giles and said quietly, "Giles, if anything does go down in L.A., I won't have to worry about Spike. He can take care of himself. I trust him."

Removing his glasses, Giles rubbed his fingers across his eyes, lightly pinching the bridge of his nose. He sighed, a soft, weary expulsion of breath, as he said, "Fine. Go with Spike. But make sure to ask Angel for help and call me as soon as you discover anything."

"I will." She walked across the living room, tongue darting out and running across her bottom lip. Glancing at the bare white ceiling, Buffy asked, "Where do you think a camera could be hidden in the training room? There isn't much there to hide one in, unless it's in one of the pieces of equipment."

Giles shrugged. "Anywhere, I suppose, if the recording device was small enough."

"I wonder how long it's been there. The training room wasn't damaged like the rest of the shop, so it could have been planted a while ago. Can you and Anya search the room tomorrow and try to find it?"

Giles nodded. He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and took another step into the room. "What about…"

Buffy sighed. "I don't know. Tyler probably hired me for this, to get information for Lilah and her plan to kill us. More than likely the job was a set up from the beginning."

Dawn waved her uninjured hand in the air, her mouth hanging open in shock. "Ok, for those of us not clued in, your boss is spying on you?"

"Maybe. Probably. I wouldn't be surprised. The guy gave me the major wiggins, all super-nice in the ultra creepy way."

"Something's off with him," Spike said as he looked at Buffy. "Followed him to this massive brick building on Mulholland Drive. He was looking all around, like he was afraid he was being watched, which he was but he never spotted me. He had a bag with him, too. Clutching it to his chest like his life depended upon its survival."

Buffy's mouth curved into a half grin. She tilted her head to the side and said, "So you were there, lurking in the shadows, that night."

A wisp of a smile appeared on Spike's face. "Wasn't lurking. Just happened to come across the two of you on my way to somewhere and decided he looked suspicious, creeping around dark alleys late at night."

Emilia nodded solemnly, her violet eyes bright with amusement. "Massive black haired lumps of flesh are almost always suspicious looking, especially if they're creeping around alleyways."

Spike shot a glare across the room at Emilia before he continued, "The bloke disappeared inside the house and didn't come back out. I doubt it's where he lives though. The area isn't exactly suburbia."

Faith grimaced. "I remember Mulholland Drive. More demons than people over there. Mostly abandoned buildings surrounded by more abandoned buildings."

Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, Buffy said to Faith, "Think you can handle a little breaking and entering?"

Faith smiled in reply, a wicked curling of her ruby lips.

"Good. See if you can find any cameras or more videotapes of us at Mossino's. If there's nothing there, check out this building on Mulholland. Who's coming and going, ways to get inside the building, things like that. Just try not to get arrested, Ok? Now-"

Anya strolled into the living room. She had a cut on her right bicep and a bruise beneath her left eye. She brushed her hands across her dirty clothes, coughing slightly as a billowing cloud of dust drifted into the air. Straightening, she flashed everyone a wide smile and waved, golden eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Um, Anya… what happened to you?"

Anya glanced at her disheveled appearance. She looked up at Buffy and said, "Bar fight. Willy said the closest pack of Larouse demons was spotted in L.A. four days ago by a couple of Fyarls."

Faith leaned forward and inspected her friend, a tiny smile playing on her lips. Raising one eyebrow, she said, "Do any damage? Or were you just an innocent bystander?"

Anya grinned. "Oh, I did lots of damage. I didn't start it though. It's a funny story actually. You see-"

"Did Willy know who sent the thorny demons?" Buffy asked.

Frowning at the interruption, Anya shook her head no.

"Didn't think he would, but at least we know where they came from." Turning towards Spike, Buffy said, "Are you ready to leave tonight? If the assassin guy was telling the truth and Lilah wants us dead within the week, we don't have a lot of time. Hopefully we'll only be in L.A. for a day or two."

Spike stood. "Yeah. I need to stop by my place and get some clothes and a few weapons. Should only be twenty minutes or so."

"Ok. Meet me back here when you're ready." Buffy watched Spike move across the living room; he slipped out of the house and into the cool night air. She turned to Giles and said, "Can you check Mom's car and make sure it's running properly. I don't really want to ride all the way to L.A. on Spike's motorcycle."

"The keys?"

"In the ignition. The driver's door is unlocked."

* * *

Closing the front door to the Summers home, Giles walked to the edge of the porch. He could see Spike at the end of the driveway, the white light of the moon highlighting the pale bleached tips of his ash blonde hair. His ever present duster was missing; he was clad in a torn and bloodied black shirt and a pair of jeans. Emilia's revelation about Spike's soul whispered in Giles' consciousness. He is more than a vampire with a soul. It has merged with the demon. The concept was unprecedented, absurd, and impossible.

"Planning to stare at me all night, Watcher? Or do you have some warning about how you'll stake me if anything happens to Buffy you want to say?"

Stepping off the porch, Giles walked down the driveway towards Spike, his grey eyes never wavering from the black clad vampire. "When did you acquire your soul?"

Spike blinked once and folded his arms across his chest. Smirking, he said, "You got the wrong vampire, Rupert. The Great Poof is the one with the soul."

"I wouldn't lie to me, Spike. The possibility of you possessing a soul is the only thing keeping me from staking you. After what you did to Buffy-"

"Save it. I don't need your disgusted, disapproving lecture on how much I hurt Buffy or how much of a monster I am." Spike looked at the concrete, his blue eyes flashing with anger, guilt, and remorse. He spoke again, his voice soft, barely audible. "Everyday, every second, I live with what I did. I can't change it. Can't ever make it up to her. But I made sure it would never happen again."

"The return of your human soul."

"I see her every night. Hear her crying, screaming at me to-to… feel her trying to push me away. I see what I did to her. The pain in her eyes, the betrayal. The shock and disgust." He looked up at Giles. His eyes were haunted, pale shells of the brash, cocky, and irritating vampire that had created a hundred years of chaos, violence, and pain with a smile on his face. "I hate myself. More than you ever can. More than you even want to. The only reason I didn't stake myself after I apologized to Buffy is because she asked me to stay. Her and Dawn asked me to stay. I don't deserve their forgiveness and I never will. But I will do anything I can to ensure their happiness. Even if that means spending eternity reliving every kill, every bout of torture, every scream of pain. I don't matter. I'm not important. They are."

"Yes. They are."

"If anything happens to Buffy or Dawn it'll be because I'm already dead. And even then I'll do everything I can to protect them." Spike stared at Giles a moment longer then turned and walked into the night, shoulders hunched, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans, face hidden in shadow to mask the raw pain shining from his eyes.

Giles watched him walk down the road and disappear around a street corner, their brief, impassioned conversation replaying over and over in his mind. He closed his eyes and drew in a steadying breath.

"Do you believe me now, Rupert?"

Opening his eyes, Giles glanced at Emilia, who stood beside him. Her wide violet eyes were directed in the direction Spike had traveled. She tilted her head and looked at him from beneath silvery-white eyelashes as he said, "Yes."

"He loves Buffy and Dawn more than he hates himself. They are his family. They are the reason he has not killed himself in retribution for his sins." She paused, looking over her shoulder at the Summers house. "Buffy's waiting for you inside. Charles has looked at their automobile and found it satisfactory for travel. It needs some petrol though."

"Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. It's the least I can do. If you should require anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't."

Emilia smiled. She locked eyes with Giles and said, "Good. I… I never thought I would see you again. It's funny how fate chooses to unfold." She smiled again as she flipped her long, silver hair over her shoulder. Stepping away from Giles, Emilia moved to the edge of the driveway, Charles a few steps behind her, and said, "I'll see you soon."

"Yes."

As Emilia and Charles walked down Revello Drive, Giles returned to the porch and reentered the house. The living room was empty. Glancing in the dining area, he found Anya, Faith, and Buffy looking through the books covering the oak table. Buffy glanced up from her book as he walked into the room.

"Clem's going to stay here for a few days. When the basement's free, he'll move down there so you can take my room. Clem's not fully healed yet so I thought it would be safer for him to stay." Buffy paused. She glanced at Faith and Anya as she stood and walked over to Giles. Sliding past him, she moved into the living room. As Giles turned to follow her, she said, "I think you should call the coven and see if Willow is ready to return. If these attacks keep coming, we'll have a better chance of fighting back if Willow and Xander are here. Strength in numbers."

Giles nodded. "I'll call tomorrow."

"Ok." A faint smile appeared on Buffy's face as she said, "You're going to have your hands full if Willow and Xander come back soon. They hate Faith, and she hates them. Xander and Anya are still fighting, and Willow and Anya have never gotten along. Dawn is still angry with Willow, and she's pretty pissed at Xander, too."

"Yes, it's amazing they haven't all killed each other yet."

Peering into the dining room at Faith and Anya, Buffy slowly nodded her head, a faraway, contemplative expression upon her face. She bit the corner of her lip as she murmured, "Yeah. Amazing." Blinking, she flashed Giles a smile as she maneuvered past him and up the stairs. "Got to get some stuff together, clothes and some weapons." Buffy reached the second floor landing and quickly made her way to her bedroom, opening the door and sliding into the darkened sanctum.

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