Enemy Incognito

By Wynn

Chapter Six: Sinister Beginnings

Faith sprang from the plush chair. A hard kick sent the chair crashing into Angel, knocking him into the stereo and onto the floor. Pouncing like a sleek, black panther, Faith tackled Spike. The pair rolled end over end until she gained the upper hand and pinned the blonde to the floor. She straddled his chest. One of his arms was pinned between her thighs while the other was held roughly in Faith's left hand. Her right hand held her stake, which was pressed over Spike's green goo covered heart.

Flipping a strand of hair out of her eyes, Faith fixed her dark gaze on Angel. "Why're you hanging with Blondie, Angel? Or should I say Angelus? Did you lose your soul while I was locked up, or did you decide to go evil once and for all?"

Angel struggled to sit up. Knocking the chair and speakers off of him, he pulled himself into a sitting position and glared at the brunette Slayer. "Faith, I haven't lost my soul. And I haven't done anything evil in a long time. Neither has Spike. He has a government chip in his head-"

"I know about the chip."

"Then you know he can't hurt anyone."

Faith sighed. "Come on, Angel. A chip wouldn't stop someone from being bad if they really wanted to be." She pressed the stake harder into Spike's chest. "Why is he here?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself, you daft cow," Spike growled. "I do possess the ability to speak."

"I don't care one way or another, Blondie. Is this some plan of yours to try to kill Angel? I won't let you."

Spike sighed. "That's touching. Really. I don't want the Poofter dead. You, on the other hand-"

"Spike," Angel said as he glared at the pinned vampire. "Faith, would you look at us? Both of us are covered in Florvak blood. We both came back from fighting demons. He's not here to kill me, and I'm not evil, so you can let him up now."

She stared at Angel as she contemplated his words and the vampires' appearances. Both were covered in dried green demon blood; two battle-axes lay on the floor. Slowly, she removed the stake from Spike's chest and stepped off of the prone vampire. Holding down a hand, she helped him off the floor.

Spike stepped close to Faith. Leaning down, he whispered, "Just a word of warning. If you're here to try to kill Angel or myself, I won't let you. I may have a chip in my head, but like you said it won't stop me from hurting someone if I really want to."

Faith arched an eyebrow. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Pulling the fallen chair upright, Angel slunk down into it, hands rubbing his temples. Wearily, he looked at Faith. "How did you get here? Did you break out of prison?"

"No. I was released early. For good behavior."

Spike snorted.

"Yeah, it came as a shock to me too. Figured I would be in prison for the rest of my natural life. But they let me go about a week ago, on the condition that I return to Sunnydale to serve the remainder of my sentence out doing community service."

Angel's eyes narrowed at her admission. "Community service in Sunnydale?"

Faith shrugged. "Government speak for returning to the Hellmouth and becoming an active Slayer again with Giles as my Watcher."

Spike moved next to Angel and pulled the stereo and speakers upright. Clicking the eject button on the CD player, he examined the Nirvana disc appreciatively. "Hate to break it to you, ducks, but Rupert isn't in Sunnyhell anymore. He moved to England last November. Hasn't been back since."

Confusion spread across the brunette's face. "They told me that he was back in Sunnydale."

"Well, they told you wrong."

"Maybe not," Angel said. "You left a month ago. It's possible Giles could have returned during that time." He glanced at Faith. "So if you're supposed to be in Sunnydale, why are you here?"

She fidgeted as her gaze bounced between Angel and Spike. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she said, "The last trip I made to the Hellmouth didn't turn out so hot. I screwed B over. Stole her body, slept with her boyfriend… she's probably still pissed."

"What?" Spike asked as he looked at Faith. "You stole her body? When was this?"

Faith glanced at the blonde warily. "About two years ago… nobody told you about the body switch?" As Spike shook his head, she continued, "Do you remember that night in the Bronze? B came up to you, all glammed out, and taunted you, teased you, and left you high and dry. 'I could have anything… anyone… even you Spike.' Under the stairs in the Bronze. Remember?"

"That was you. In Buffy's body."

Faith nodded. "Yeah… I slept with B's man, too. I doubt he wants to see me again."

Spike cocked an eyebrow. "Riley? I'm happy to say Captain Cardboard left Sunnyhell, so I don't think Buffy'll be mad at you for sleeping with the idiot." Turning to Angel, he said, "He left before her mum died. Went to some vamp whores, got a suck job while he was still with Buffy." He snorted. "He staked me good and proper for telling her about his indiscretions… it was a plastic stake, though."

Angel rolled his eyes. "I never did like him."

"Feeling's mutual."

"Still," Faith said, "between that and everything that went down during Graduation, we're not exactly on the best of terms. I- I don't know what to say to her, to convince her that I'm not the way I used to be. That I want to do the right thing." She looked at Angel. "I thought maybe you would help me. I don't want to fuck everything up again."

Angel and Spike looked at each other. The blonde shrugged. Turning to Faith, Angel said, "So you want to stay here a while?"

"Yeah… if you're not too pissed about being knocked over with a chair."

Angel sighed. "If you and Spike can refrain from killing each other, you can stay." He moaned and closed his eyes. "What have I done? Invited you two to live in my hotel… I must be crazy."

Spike smirked. "Like I said, the prolonged exposure to ocean water turned your brain to mush. Now you make stupid decisions like taking in me and the bird."

Arching an eyebrow, Faith asked, "Ocean water?"

"He'll fill you in," Angel told Faith as he stood and shuffled past her. "Need to take an aspirin… maybe a shot of tequila… definitely a few weeks worth of sleep… Leave the weapons cabinet alone and don't kill each other or I will be forced to kill the both of you…" He trailed off as he drifted out of the sitting room, past the lobby, and up the main staircase, leaving his two wayward houseguests alone in the silent hotel.

***

Giles opened the back door of the Magic Box and peered into the training room. He saw Anya sitting on the couch, arms folded, mouth set in a grim line. A few tracks of tears lined her face. Easing the door shut behind him, he walked to the couch and sat beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"No. I don't understand why I still feel this way. And I don't understand how he can still hurt me. And I don't understand how he can't forgive me when he's already forgiven perfect Willow." She turned to Giles and whispered, "I didn't do anything wrong, so why do I feel so bad?"

Laying a hand on her head, Giles said, "I don't profess to know what happened between you and Xander-"

"He left me at the altar, I became a vengeance demon again, and I slept with Spike."

"-But I feel that he is more embarrassed now than angry." He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Anya. "He seems to have acted rashly and doesn't know how to set things right."

Anya wiped a few stray tears off her face. "He asked me out for coffee so we could 'talk.'" Her eyes clouded over with pain and anger. "But then Willow came back and he went to her and invited her to stay at our house. She went psycho and tried to kill everyone, but since she's Willow, everything's Ok now that she said she's sorry."

"Willow and Xander have been best friends since childhood, so it is only natural that he is quick to forgive her. Bonds like that are not easily broken."

Returning Giles' handkerchief, Anya shook her head and sighed. "I guess you have to be in the inner circle of you, Buffy, Willow, and Xander to get unconditional forgiveness. Or even the slightest acceptance."

"That is not true."

Anya stood and paced the length of the training room. "Isn't it? Buffy tried to kill them, but everything's Ok because she was drugged. Willow tried to kill us, but everything's Ok because she was grieving. Xander dumps me two minutes before we're supposed to get married and leaves without a word, but it's Ok because he's Xander." She stopped and locked eyes with Giles. "But I sleep with Spike and I'm wrong. I become a vengeance demon again, and without even doing any vengeance, I'm on the outside. And Spike was never accepted, not even after he got thrown off a hundred foot tower trying to protect Dawn." She closed her eyes for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Maybe you're right Giles. Maybe you don't have to be in the inner circle to be forgiven. You just have to be human. Apparently, demons don't deserve forgiveness."

"Anya-"

She held up her hand. "Thank you for listening, Giles, but I want to be alone right now. I'll be back tomorrow to finish the front wall." Before Giles could attempt to convince her to stay, Anya teleported, disappearing without a sound.

***

The windowless hall was long and narrow with a dark hardwood floor covered by luxurious hand woven rugs and oil painting lined walls. The hall ended with a large stone fireplace. A gold chandelier hung over an oval oak table surrounded by six leather chairs. Four men and two women sat in the six chairs. All were dressed elegantly, in cashmere or linen suits and silk shirts. Each carried a heavy leather briefcase.

One of the men lifted his briefcase and removed a manila envelope. Setting the briefcase on the floor, he opened the envelope. A thick file slid onto the table.

"I trust all of us are ready to proceed," he said as he flipped through the contents of the file. He pulled five pictures and placed them in the center of the table. The first was of Faith, the second Spike, and the third of Buffy and Dawn. The fourth and fifth pictures were of Xander, Willow, Anya, and Giles. The man continued, "We must act quickly if we are to gain control of the Hellmouth. The Slayer and the rest need to be eliminated." Turning to the woman on his left, he asked, "Is everything in order?"

Pointing to the picture of Faith, she said, "We are still waiting for the second Slayer to arrive in Sunnydale. She has taken… a detour. She is in Los Angeles at the Hyperion Hotel owned by Angelus."

A second man cleared his throat. "Isn't that where William the Bloody is staying?"

The first man nodded. "Yes. It is unfortunate that these two have now met. However, it should not alter our plans much. A… friendship or an alliance between the two may even be an asset to us."

"But what if the vampire kills her?"

The first man raised an eyebrow. "I see you have not studied your file closely. William the Bloody is chipped. He cannot harm any human, save for the Slayer Buffy Summers." He rubbed a hand over his chin. "And if Faith should eliminate Spike… it would be to our advantage. Then we would not have to contend with the… relationship of sorts he has with the Slayer." The man returned the five pictures to the file and replaced the manila envelope in his briefcase. A small smile appeared on his face. "You know your assignments. We will meet again in a week. Within a month the Hellmouth will be ours."

 

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