*****
Part 34:

March 8, 2005

6.21 pm

Dock Six, L.A. Piers

"Jesus Christ, how the hell does that man live with himself?" muttered Riley, glancing behind him one last time as he strode back towards where he had parked Joyce's car. Door unlocked and opened, he sat himself in behind of the steering wheel and leaned over and unlocked the passenger door. As Graham slid into the car beside him, Riley voiced his question again.

"You heard him Ri. Just business."

"But... humans, demons... Christ, that's disgusting," Riley shot back at his best friend. For once, Riley was somewhat annoyed at how calmly Graham was taking what Randall had revealed of his illegal operations. Even though Graham tended to take everything calmly, Riley couldn't really understand how the other man wasn't as angry as everyone else had been at what Randall had disclosed. Swearing under his breath as Graham shrugged his shoulders, Riley pulled out his mobile phone and set about informing Kate of Randall Hargrave's location. Once done, he started the engine and drove away from the Dock Six and the numerous shipping containers. All empty but the very last one.

Driving back into the heart of L.A., Graham wondered how Angel and Wesley were going with questioning the lawyer from Wolfram and Hart. He was quite interested in finding out what the firm was up to this time and just what the consequences would be if they weren't stopped. Head twisted to one side, Graham massaged a tense nerve in the hope of receiving a little relief. Although he knew he wasn't showing it, Graham was relieved that Randall was out of the hotel at last. What the older man had eventually revealed about his business dealings had been horrifying. Not just how he had trained Xander and the rest of the kidnapped boys but how many other non-Hellmouth youths had been used and eventually murdered in the pursuit of pleasure. When came down to the crunch, Xander was actually quite lucky to have been born on the Hellmouth... sort of.

The most worrying revelation had been the names and contact numbers of the people and demons who ran some of the now known twenty two slavery rings throughout the United States. To know that there was one being run specifically in Hollywood, one that specialised in procuring wannbe actresses and actors for an overseas human market, was quite a startling thought indeed.

Made sense thought Graham, the one in Hollywood. No-one was going to bother reporting another up and coming starlet who had suddenly skipped out without paying the rent. With that thought in mind, he wondered out of the numerous missing persons reported each year, how many were actually still alive and living out a life of slavery. He honestly hoped that the ones who had been sold to demons had been lucky and found themselves with an owner like W'nth. Shuddering slightly, Graham suddenly found himself trying not to drop the ringing cell phone that had been thrust at him. Depressing the 'talk' button, he was about to speak only to be cut off by Cordelia's loud demands.

"Uh-huh, ri-"

"Yep, but th-"

"Right, how is..."

"Mmmm."

Taking his eyes off the road for just a moment, Riley looked towards his best friend as Graham struggled to talk over whoever was on the other end of the line. As Graham finished the call, Riley asked who it was.

"Cordelia. Forget about the groceries, we gotta go back now."

"Why?"

"Shit's hit the fan," said a stern faced Graham, giving Riley a serious glance as he handed the phone back.

"Crap!"

"Yeah Ri, pretty much."

"Well, tell me?" asked an impatient Riley as he felt chills go down his spine. "Just what the hell else could go wrong?" he thought. As he clicked on the indicator to turn left, Riley gave a shudder as he felt someone walk over his grave.

"Didn't say much, we just got the orders to get back?"

"What's Cordelia doing manning the phones? Where's Doyle?" Riley enquired. Since Doyle had taken over the office from Joyce, the half-demon was the one to tell everyone what was happening and where. As odd as it was, whenever anyone had to call someone who was away from the Hyperion, Doyle was always the one to make the official call. To have someone else call the mobile phone apart from Doyle, or even Angel, made Riley feel a little on edge.

"Uhhh... Doyle's part of the problem. Been having a vision since the moment we left apparently. Still having it but he's seeing something to do with a military base"

"Shit! That was over an hour ago!" exclaimed Riley, appalled that Doyle had been suffering the intense vision pain for so long. Foot planted hard against the accelerator, he refused to acknowledge that he was well on the way to earning Joyce a speeding ticket in his effort to get back quickly.

======================================================

Tomas' Inner Workrooms

6.35 pm

Yawning, Tomas rubbed at his eyes as he continued to attempt to work out what was happening with the location spell for 'Soul of Blood' host. It had been while now since he had cast the spell and according to Holland, the Original Senior Partners were starting to get a bit testy at how long the spell was taking.

Can't blame them really, thought Tomas, squinting into the bowl of blood once again. Not only was he feeling rather homesick, he was also missing his brother. Where Ethan was, was a question that constantly nagged at him. Even though his brother was a complete rogue, Ethan had always give Tomas a weekly phone call, no matter where he had been in the world. When Tomas hadn't heard from Ethan for three weeks running, he decided to try a location spell in an attempt to determine what type of trouble Ethan had landed in. Again.

No matter how many times Tomas had tried the location spell for Ethan, nothing ever came to fruition. After the spell had failed a few times, he had tried another tack. This time he had contacted the spirit world in an effort to find out if his brother was dead. When his spirit guide had told him that Ethan was still alive, Tomas had been greatly relieved.

After two months of Ethan's unexplained absence, Tomas had been forced to look through his brothers personal belongings and thanks to a 'black hole' created in Ethan's private mail box, he had gotten a stepping stone to his first lead as to his brothers whereabouts. Mostly it had been just junk mail advertising and discount coupons for Ethan's favourite store, the only other mail had been from a law firm in America, each one identical. Politely handwritten requests for a meeting to be set up between Ethan and a Mr Gerald Winter and Ms. Caroline Finzern.

It hadn't been until Tomas had collected eight of the letters that he had decided to try and find out if Wolfram and Hart knew anything about where his brother might be. After a lengthy phone call to Ms. Finzern, Tomas had found himself on the next plane to L.A. and a new job. Wolfram and Hart had promised to do what it could to find out where his brother might be, the only information as to where Ethan might have been was a rumour of a now defunct military operation that had been based in Sunnydale.

With a sigh, Tomas rubbed once again at his weary eyes as he watched the silver web dance across the bowl of blood. The image twisted and contracted continuously as the occasional flare of colour was flashed across the thin strands that made up the spider like web. Every now and then, the delicate glimmering pattern was coloured for an instant by a solid colour, only to have the colour disappear again underneath a myriad of others. Tomas looked on as the webbing displayed colours like green, gold and blue. In an effort to distract himself from the almost overwhelming boredom, Tomas had found himself playing a guessing game as to which colour would be displayed next. Red?

Black?

Maroon?

Blue?

Still blue mused Tomas. Blue. Blueblueblueblue...Hang on, blue?

With a triumphant cry that echoed through the almost claustrophobic room, Tomas realised that the webbing had finally settled upon a single colour. At last! The first sign that the spell was narrowing down the possible candidates for the 'Soul of Blood'. As more individual colours were chosen and displayed in a separate part of the silver webbing, the better the photo like image of the person or demon would become. As it was, Tomas still wasn't too sure whether the host would be a human or even a demon and according to Holland, not even the Original Senior Partners had an inkling of who it would be.

As gently as he could, Tomas encouraged the solid colour to crawl over the fine silver threads until it had reached one corner of the web. His hands shaking, he reached to the one side of him and carefully took up an empty bowl, placing it a few inches away from the huge bowl of blood that hosted the location spell. Ever so slowly, Tomas got to his feet, all the while trying to ignore the cramps in his legs that were threatening to force him back onto the floor again.

On stiff legs, Tomas shuffled awkwardly to the little bar fridge that was sitting in one corner of the tiny room. Fridge door opened, he got out one of the bags of fresh blood that lay on the middle shelf. Pausing for moment just to stretch his legs a little more, Tomas then proceeded back towards the thin yellow plastic that was spread out upon the floor. With a heavy sigh and a wince from the ache in his legs, he sat himself back down on the floor, in front of the two bowls.

Glancing into the enormous bowl, Tomas barely missed knocking into the side of the three foot wide holding container as he painfully crossed his legs again. Drawing a sharp breath over the near accident, he felt his heart skip a beat as he wondered just what the consequences would be if he was indeed, forced to start over again. Taking several deep breaths to calm his nerves, Tomas took up a small pair of scissors from beside the much smaller bowl and cut a tiny opening in one end of the blood packet.

Tomas filled the second bowl to just below the brim with blood before dribbling a thick trail of the liquid down one side of the bowls clay side and allowing it to form a small puddle at its base. From there, he continued to pour the blood in a straight line to the larger bowl. Holding the cool package just above the silver webbing, Tomas very carefully let a few drops from the bagged blood fall into the area coloured solely by an icy blue. Once done, he again dribbled a trail of blood down one side of the bowl and onto the yellow tarp until both trails of blood met.

With only a few butterflies in his stomach, the Warlock fought to concentrate on the delicate task ahead even as his excitement threatened to overflow. Ever so softly, Tomas whispered the words that would encourage the solid ice blue colour in the one corner of the silver webbing to move itself along the trail of blood and into the new smaller bowl. When that had been achieved, Tomas would then place the newly hosted colour along side one wall of the tiny room.

As this was being finished, Tomas turned back to watch as the silver webbing dulled to a dark grey colour, the myriad of other colours that had been flickering across it only a few minutes before, fading into non existence. A weary but satisfied smile trekked its way across his face just before Tomas found himself yawning with all his might. At a glance of his watch, he realised that he had been holed up in the old utility closet for over eight hours. No wonder he was tired. Tomas was hoping that it wouldn't take as long each time that the webbing came a step closer to identifying the host for the 'Soul of Blood'. Unfortunately, at this slow rate, it was going to take weeks for the host to be identified let alone found.

Shrugging to himself as he yawned again, Tomas felt himself go weak at the knees as a wave of blackness descended swiftly upon his mind, one of his last thoughts was of why he was dreaming of his still missing brother giving him directions to the Hyperion Hotel. His body hitting the floor heavily, the unconscious Warlock missed seeing the location spell's webbing start glowing a bright silver as an explosion of colour commenced to flicker over it again.

*****

March 8, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

6.45 pm

"What do you mean you don't know what's up at Wolfram and Hart?" demanded an ever increasingly angry Angel.

"It's true! I *don't* know what the latest issue is at the firm. Look, I've told you all I know, things that I shouldn't be telling you anyway. Things that are going to get me killed. By you. By Wolfram and Hart. By fucking Fate. I don't know but one way or the other, I'm dead," spat Lindsay as he tried in vain to convince Angel and his friends that he had no idea of what was happening on the upper levels of Wolfram and Hart.

"Like I'm caring!" shot back the game-faced vampire. After staring down the shivering lawyer for a moment more, Angel grabbed Wesley by the upper arm and led him into the far corner of the room as W'nth went to stand next to Lindsay, a shotgun cradled in his hand.

With a glance towards W'nth doing his best to appear intimidating, Angel proceeded to turn his back on the lawyer and ask Wesley if the truth spell had in fact worked.

"Ahngul, Um gowing tho punth you onth day," Wesley calmly stated as he sighed at Angel's question. "Yeth, Um thore thath ith worktheth." As Wesley watched Angel's game-face melt back into his human features, the ex-watcher told Angel that the truth spell lasted for a full twenty four hours once cast and just because they weren't getting far with the questions asked so far, it didn't mean that it wasn't working.

Both men jumped as the rooms intercom buzzed, Cordelia's voice filling the room for all to hear.

"Hey guys, vision's over. Doyle's out of it though so me and the others are going to try and figure out who this 'rain guy' is and just where he is, okay?"

Slightly puzzled as to why he had just smelt an increase in the scent of fear that was surrounding Lindsay, Angel turned so he could look directly at the lawyer as he answered Cordelia's question. As he made eye contact with the other man, the vampire was slightly disturbed to see Lindsey had started to sweat. With a finger pressing down on the intercom button, Angel continued to talk to Cordelia even as he gestured at Wesley to go back over to Lindsay and W'nth.

"That's great Cordelia. Is he all right? I mean, it was a long one this time. Just buzz me when you figure out something...anyway, Wes and I won't be long up here," said Angel, resisting the urge to smirk as he watched Lindsay take a deep swallow.

"No problem and no, he's not okay. He's out cold. At least the pain is gone, I hope. Anyway, just Joyce and me at the moment but I'm gonna get the others to put their thinking caps on. Can you just like, hurry up with that asshole? Oh, and Wes? With Joyce helping, that means you're shutting up for now."

With that, Cordelia informed them that they had her permission to beat Lindsay as much as they liked, although she wasn't about to clean blood from the carpet. Without responding to her last comment, Angel stalked back over to Lindsay and the others, determined to find out all he could before he lost control and killed the lawyer.

"Alright, what's got you all in a sweat now?" demanded Angel, full game-face only a few inches away from the shivering man's own.

"Fuck off! You think you can scare me with that sorry display? You truly are insane. No wonder all your kids are nutters" sneered Lindsay in an act of false bravado.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll start providing answers to questions," replied Angel with a matching sneer.

At the end of his tether, Lindsay roared that he couldn't answer questions that he didn't know the answers for, not paying any attention as W'nth took a few steps back from him.

"You want answers? Well, how about asking me fucking questions that I can answer? Huh? Ever thought about that?"

"Right. Wes, you write them, I'll punch them out of this bastard," Angel snarled. At Wesley's brief shake of a head, Angel toned down his snarl into a low growl and finally into a disappointed grimace as Wes continued to shake his head in a firm 'no' gesture. With a sigh, Angel continued. "Fine. Okay, let's see? You organised everything to do with Randall and Sanity. You organised everything that happened at the Magic Box, right? And you have no idea of what's going down with the Senior Partners at Wolfram and Hart? Am I right?"

"Yes, fuck you very much! Jesus. We've been through all this," stated Lindsey, his calm fa�ade belying his racing heart. He knew any minute that Angel was going to ask a question that would earn him a punch as he responded to it.

"Obviously you're too far down the scale not to know such things. Not quite as important as you like to think you are Lindsay. Mmm, not so mouthy now, are you. Magic Box, explain."

"Not much to say. You saw what was planned and how it panned out. Get rid of the strongest links first. Get what was needed and make sure that no one could follow. Use whatever means necessary to get what was required," said Lindsey, a little smile on his face as he watched Wesley's face flush with anger. "Above all, don't let the stock get damaged."

"Woo pwick! Thoths boyths aww noth *Stokth* bwudy humanth beingths" shouted an outraged Wesley, barely able to restrain himself from lashing out at the smug lawyer.

"I'm sorry. Are you able to speak a little clearer? I'm not sure I understood that. You seem to be having a little trouble with your tongue." Having sneered his taunt with all the courage he could muster, Lindsay wasn't too surprised to suddenly find himself unable to breathe as Wesley's hard fist met with his stomach.

"Wes..." warned Angel, taking a crumpled note pad from Wesley's hand and throwing to the ground. Pressing his face into Lindsay's coughing and wheezing one, Angel laid it out straight. "Lindsay, you're not going back to Wolfram and Hart. As much as I really want to do an old-fashioned fox and hound hunt with you, I can't risk you getting out of this room. Tell me what I want to know and it'll be quick."

"Yeah, right. Promises, promises. What are you gonna do? Swear a Scouts honour?" Lindsay said with a slight wheeze as his breath returned to him slowly. Looking into Angel's eyes, he was struck with the realisation that he might as well just sell everyone out now because there was no way in hell that he was ever going home again.

"Why did you sell the twins and Cordelia? What happened with Doyle and where the fuck is Willow?"

"Not sure if the twins would turn out special or not, you know, their mother being an ex-vengeance demon and all, so I was ordered to place them out of the way but within easy reach should we need to get them. Ms Chase was going to a demon brothel, same as the boys, but stocked with females until the twins' buyer decided that she liked Cordelia's spunk and bought her as well. Got more money for her than what the whorehouse offered. Holland was pleased with that"

"Wes, remind me to thank Holland on Cordelia's behalf would you?" replied a grim faced Angel as he gestured for Lindsay to continue.

"Mr. Doyle had his eyes removed for sale to a private client. Needed to use the eyes in some sort of ritual."

"Name, address and phone number."

"Can't remember, not sure and back at the office... Ahhh. Owwww!" howled the bound lawyer as Angel ripped a fistful of hair from his head with one almighty tug. "Holy shit, you fucker! You are such a goddamn girl. You're the big bad Angelus. Aren't you supposed to be torturing me wi-unnnngh"

Ignoring the small droplets of blood that decorated his right fist, Angel found himself smiling with a grim satisfaction at watching Lindsey trying to recover from an punch to the mouth that was backed by sheer demon strength. Even though Angel knew that Lindsay was telling the truth to his previous question because of the truth spell, he felt justified in punching the smartass. God, he was just aching to get to work on Lindsay with a good assortment of blunt and sharp objects. Hell, he was even thinking of getting Spike in the room for his input once the questioning was over.

"With this attitude Lindsey, you're on the way to earning yourself a *really* painful death, like Jonathan's for example. So, cut the shit and keep talking," snarled Angel, his smile growing a little larger as Lindsay's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the Jonathan's gruesome death. At W'nths quiet snort of derision, Angel realised that he still had a hunk of hair clenched tightly in one fist. Wes held out a small plastic container to Angel, silently asking for the hair. As Wes returned the container to the nearby bookcase, Angel wondered what Wes would do with the hair.

"Fuck! Kept telling Holland that we should have leaned on Darla enough so that she would stake you. None of this have sex and lose his soul bullshit," moaned Lindsay as the pain from his abused scalp radiated down towards his shoulders, even as his mouth started to regain some feeling. With a quick swipe of his tongue around his mouth, he realised that Angel had chipped a tooth. God only knew if he had swallowed chipped piece or not. "Should've just set fire to this place but no, no-one gets rid of Angel until the orders come down from the top. What fucking bullshit"

"Yeah, yeah Lindsay. We've already heard this. The amnesty on us is going to be lifted in a few weeks and then it's a free for all with our heads being the big prize. Come on, Willow; why, where and how do we get her back?"

"Ms. Rosenberg was a special case, being a witch. Couldn't risk her causing havoc so Tomas and Holland placed her somewhere special. Don't ask me where because I don't know. I *can* tell you that she's not here. Not here on this dimension. I swear that's all I know about Ms. Rosenberg."

"Are you for real? So, I have to ask Holland and Tomas where she is really nicely?" asked Angel as he felt yet another problem grow in size. He had honestly hoped that by questioning Lindsay, he would know exactly what was going on at Wolfram and Hart and where to find Willow. Unfortunately, it looked like Lindsay was too far down the totem pole to be much help although the news about the amnesty being lifted had certainly come in handy. At least they could prepare for it in some way.

"Yeah, pretty much. You've seen the results of Tomas' handiwork; he's a total sweetheart. A real nutter, crazier than his brother and as for Holland, I wish you luck in even trying to get into the same building as him."

"Save your wishes for later. Tomas, tell me more about him. Everything."

"Not much to tell. Not Wolfram and Hart's original choice. He's apparently a fully-fledged Dark Arts practitioner. Scary shit and I'm sure you know what sort of stuff they deal with. They wanted his brother, Ethan Raine, but the older brother got kidnapped by some now defunct US military thing a few years back. Got taken out to the desert somewhere. Never seen or heard of again. Even with the firm's influence, nothings come of the numerous questions and bribes thrown around. It's assumed that he's dead so that just left his younger brother. He came over to work for the firm while continuing to search for his brother."

Butting in, Angel took up the thread of the conversation. "Yeah, and I'm assuming that Wolfram and Hart haven't informed Tomas about his brothers last whereabouts, have they? Let me guess, they're just stringing him along and getting him to do what they want while they keep throwing him little hints as to where his brother may be just so that it keeps him in the country. Am I right and speaking of his 'handiwork', where is Spike?"

"You're right. The big talk is that Tomas won't be needed for much longer anyway; he's lost that fucked up Childe of yours. Can't find him no matter how hard he tries, Tomas is casting location spells for him everyday but the general opinion is that Spike is gone for good and let me tell you now, Holland is not happy with that. He's to be relieved of his duties about the same time that the ceasefire on you is lifted, providing he's completed whatever Holland has him doing now. I do know that he and Holland are working on something big for the Original Senior Partners. Jesus Angel, I need to pee, now!"

"I'm sure you've pissed on the floor before, so this time will be just a trip down memory lane and as for that Childe of mine, that's just another problem that's been solved hopefully. Keep talking, I'm not interested in providing you with luxuries," snapped Angel, choosing to ignore the growing distress that showed on Lindsay's face and feeling relieved that the firm had no clue as to where Spike currently was. Hopefully, the bluff would pay off later on, how though was just another question. "Come on Lindsay, how do we get to Holland?"

"Asshole! And you can't just *get* to Holland, I'm not sure if anyone can. No-one knows where he lives, hell, there's rumours that he lives one of the upper levels of the building itself," snarled back Lindsey, desperately trying to hold on to the stream of urine that was threatening to gush at any moment.

"Really? How interesting and which floor would that be? Times marching on boy."

"I don't know but the four top floors are only for people with an Alpha Prime clearance. I've only heard of Tomas, Holland and the Senior Partners having that clearance. No one knows what's up there. I mean, its been said that there are three *things* up there. Huge dragon like creatures that just sit all day and night but no-one I know has ever seen them and if Holland and Tomas know what is up there, they aren't telling anyone else."

Sharing a curious look with Wesley, Angel glanced at W'nth for a moment to see if he had heard of the 'creatures' but at the other demons slight head shake, he gestured for Lindsay to continue his story.

"Do these 'creatures' have a name, species, description other than the shit that you just told us?" asked Angel, leaning against a solid aluminium bookshelf, his arms crossed firmly against his chest as he eyed off the shivering lawyer.

With his teeth chattering, Lindsay demanded once again to be allowed to relieve his protesting bladder only to be ignored by all others in the chilly room. Adjusting himself slightly so that he had a better chance of holding onto the urine, Lindsay tried another demand, this time for one of the thick sweaters that Wesley was currently wearing. As he was ignored a second time, Lindsay answered Angel's question.

"Assholes! Nothing. I know absolutely nothing except for what I've just told you. Look, from the time that I started at Wolfram and Hart there have been these stories about the 'haunted' upper four floors of the building. You know, the usual ones. People who go to the top only rarely come back down, people on the floors directly underneath saying that from time to time they can hear banging and crashing right above their heads. Sometimes they say they can hear screaming but we all just shrug them off as stories being told to scare the shit out of newcomers to the firm. Anyway, it's just the Senior Partners and the Original Senior Partners that are up on those floors. Shit, each one has almost half a floor to himself. But I can tell you that each Friday afternoon, the floor directly underneath the Alpha Prime floors is closed early and Tomas is he only one allowed up there until the building closes for the night."

"And? Well, keep going. I'm sure that you have a *lot* more to tell us Lindsay."

"What the hell do you want to know now? Look, I'm sure that I can tell you more after I've taken a leak. Come on. Please, for Christ's sake Angel, I'm gonna burst right now!" pleaded Lindsay, his stomach cramping from a combination of the cold, Wesley's punch and the effort of trying not to piss on the floor. Never in a million years had he ever thought that he would one day be begging his most hated enemy to use a bathroom but that was what he was doing and he hated himself for having to do it.

"Senior Partners and Original Senior Partners. Tell me."

"Angel, fine, whatever, you're the one that cleans it up I suppose. Senior Partners are Lockerby, Southam and Fitzgerald. They always travel together; you can never find one without the others. How to find them? Ask Holland if you can get close to him. No one knows how to contact them. We just get told to beep them if they are needed or leave a message with their secretaries. The Senior Partners really only look after the legal side of the firm, you know, the *legal* business," said Lindsay with a deep sigh as his legs started to go numb from the long hours of just sitting on a hard chair in a cold room. Thankfully, with his legs numb, that meant that he was no longer feeling the dull ache in his knees, hopefully his arms would be next, his aching shoulders were getting hard to cope with. With that thought, Lindsay tried to rotate his stiff shoulders a little but that action just proved that the ropes binding his arms behind his back had been tied too securely to allow much movement.

"Gee, what a suprise Wes, fancy Wolfram and Hart actually having a legit side to it? Right, Original Senior Partners, what or who are they, and where does Holland fit into all this?"

"I have no idea of who they are, like the Senior Partners, the Originals are always spoken of as a collective. There are three of them as well. I haven't met with them myself but Holland and Tomas talk with them on a weekly basis. Us 'little people' don't get to meet with the big bosses until we've reached Junior Partner status. You know, that's where your friends' heads are going to come in handy. Anyone who brings back a head gets automatically promoted to Junior Partner," snickered Lindsay, a little aghast at how he was tempting Angel to punch him again. At both Angel's and Wesley's growls of anger, the lawyer hurriedly continued.

"Okay, okay. Holland. Well, he's a bit different. He's the man that knows everything and I mean *everything* that goes on in the building and your own personal life. He could tell me what colour jocks I had on for the whole of last March. You think about him and just when you're drawing a breath, he's there, right at your side. It's fucking scary shit at times. Hell, I don't even know *what* he does at the firm but the Senior Partners always run things through him if they are unsure about something. Don't ask me where his office is, I don't know. If he ever needs to talk to you, he just comes to see you. Like the Senior Partners, if you need to talk to him, you just beep him or leave a message with his secretary on the floor underneath the Alpha Prime floors."

"Christ Lindsay, you don't know much do you? Just what the fuck do you *know*? Hmmm, how about you continue to enlighten us?" snapped Angel, the frustration of getting nowhere with the questioning starting to get to him. Just as he shifted himself from his increasingly uncomfortable position against the hard bookcase, Angel was startled to hear an alarm ring through the room.

MMMMMMEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEP...

"Wes, tell me that's not what I think it is?"

"What the hell is that? Shit, if that's a fire alarm, untie me now"

With an order for an equally startled W'nth to keep an eye on Lindsay, Angel and Wesley quickly ran over to the intercom on the other side of the large room. As the alarm continued to sound through the room, Angel's heart sank as Wesley informed him that the alarm only sounded when someone was using magic with the intent on getting past the numerous wards that both he and Joyce had placed on the Hyperion.

MMMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEP...

"Jesus Wes, just when will that thing shut off?" Angel asked, as both he and Wesley covered their ears from the piercing alarm.

"Onwy whunth thuy sthopth tethting thu wardth" replied an exasperated Wesley. When he had read about the spell, there had been no mention of just how loud it actually was. With grimace, he looked towards W'nth and took in how the furred demon had both of his usually upright ears flattened close to its skull in an obvious sign of annoyance at the continuing sound. A mouthed apology later, Wes found himself trying to reassure Angel that the wards were strong and that it would take someone hours to tear them down if it ever came down to that.

MMMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMMEEEEP...

"Can you and Joyce try and find out who is testing the wards? I really hope its not Tomas, as much as I want to rip his limbs off for what he did to Spike, I just don't want to deal with him at the moment...actually, not at all if it can be helped"

Nodding at what Angel had asked, Wesley gave Angel a reassuring pat on his lower arm, letting his much warmer hand linger on the black clad limb for a few moments before leaving Angel and W'nth to keep guard over Lindsay until Graham and Riley could take over for them.

*****
Part 35:

March 8, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

7.06 pm

MMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEP...MMMMMMMMMEEEEP...

~~Gotta get to the boy..gotta keep him safe..gotta get to the boy..gotta keep him safe~~

Running down the corridor, away from the hotel's gym and towards the large flight of stairs that would take him to the fourth floor, Spike found that he was consumed by only two thoughts. His ability to protect Xander and the need to be as close to the young man as possible, the ongoing litany in his mind pushing the sound of the constant ringing of the tripped ward alarms to a place where he was barely hearing it.

~~Gotta get to the boy..gotta keep him safe..gotta get to the boy..gotta keep him safe~~

As he reached the top of third floor stairs, Spike saw someone coming down them towards him. Without waiting for the other man to speak, Spike gave the other person an almighty shove out of the way, sending them tumbling down the stairs, all the while refusing to give into the pain in his head that had him howling above the ongoing alarm. Piercing pain that was making a determined effort to cloud his mind.

~~Gotta get to the boy..gotta keep him safe..gotta get to Dru gotta keep her safe~~

With bright stars dancing across his vision, Spike snarled and growled as he was momentarily reduced to trying to crawl on his hands and knees to the first steps of the fourth floor stairs. Shaking his head in both frustration and pain, he felt his way up two of the steps even as the pain and stars started to dissipate. A flare of anger shot through him just as he managed to stand on his feet again. Barely pausing enough to regain his balance, Spike continued up the stairs, concentrating only on getting to Xander.

MMMMMMMEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEP...MMMMMMMMMEEEEEEP...

~~Gotta get to the boy..gotta keep him safe..gotta get to Xander..gotta keep Dru safe~~

Turning into the fourth floor corridor on his right, Spike allowed his growling to evolve into harsh guttural snarling, his field of vision narrowing until it was focused on only one thing, Xander. With an ear splitting howl of triumph, Spike lunged as fast as his demon speed could take him towards the young man standing by the elevator door.

~~Gothimgothimgothimgothergothim~~

One hand wrapped around Xander's tanned upper arm to the point of being almost painful, Spike tugged and pulled at the pliant figure until Xander was facing him. With his free hand, Spike turned the boy's face upwards, forcing Xander to look at him even as his gaze slid away from Spike until he was looking at the floor again. In swift, precise motions, Spike found himself running his hands over Xander's body. He had to make sure that Xander wasn't hurt, had to check that nothing had happened to him in the few minutes they had been separated since the latest threat had revealed itself. As his hands descended to the lower part of Xander's warm body, Spike's growling quietened unconsciously as Xander thrust his pelvis forward the instant that Spike's hands made contact with his crotch.

~~Gotta keep him safe..gothimgothimgothergothergothim..gotta keep him safe~~

MMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEEP...

Lifting his head for an instant, Spike looked at the bright smile that was decorating Xander's face even as his hand rested lightly on the warmth of Xander's crotch. A few sniffs of the boy and Spike resumed his growling as his game face sprang to the forefront of his normally human features, his scenting of Xander revealing nothing but fear no matter how much Xander was smiling.

~~Safe..must keep him safe..she's gotta be safe..no-one else..me..only me..I gotta keep him safe~~

Without a word to Xander, Spike tightened his hold on Xander's upper arm and whipped his hand away from the boy's nether regions even as he started to break into a run and yanked Xander along with him, pulling the boy off his feet with the ferocity of the action. As Xander tripped and fell, the agitated vampire only growled louder and continued to pull on his upper arm. As a result, he ended up dragging Xander along the floor; Spike being unwilling to stop for the brief few seconds it would take Xander to pick himself up off the floor.

~~Must hurry up...gotta get the boy safe..must hurry...gotta get her safe...only me...only me..I gotta get him safe..no-one else..only me..me..me..me..me~~

MMMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEP...

Xander was dragged into the middle of his room and shoved into a sprawl upon the carpet, Spike running his fingers through the dark hair a few times, twisting the unruly ends gently as his growling eased a little. Cocking his head to the one side, Spike listened to Xander's heart beating rapidly even as he noticed that the bright smile was still firmly in place. For the first time since the alarm had gone off Spike spoke, his speech intermittently broken with involuntary snarls and growls.

"S'alright Pet. No one's getting to you."

~~Gotta keep him safe..gotta keep him safe...gotta keep her safe..gotta keep him safe~~

There was not a chance in hell that anyone was going to get through him to hurt Xander. Not a chance. Leaving Xander's side, Spike paced up and down the length of the room, snarling and growling with almost every step. There was only one thing on his mind. He had to protect Xander at any cost.

~~Gotta keep him safe..no-one else..just me..always me..always..gotta keep her safe..no-one's gonna hurt him..gotta protect him~~

MMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEP...

He paced the room, dividing his time between watching the open doorway and Xander. Spike's driving need to protect Xander at all costs wasn't allowing reason to enter his head. Not once had it registered that Xander hadn't moved a muscle from the awkward position he'd been shoved into, not so much as an inch to make himself comfortable. As long as Xander was with him, then Xander would be safe. What had happened last time had been an accident. He had been distracted by what had been going on outside of the Magic Box training room but this time, Spike was once again going to do all he could to protect Xander. He had to.

Spike was ready. If something was going to come for Xander, then it might as bloody well step on up to the plate. He was ready and raring to go and not once did he wonder why each time he thought of Xander, an image of Dru was blending into Xander's, essentially making them one complete image. Nor did he stop to wonder about his train of thought.

~~Nuthin' and no-one gets the boy..gotta protect him..keep her safe..protect him~~

=======================================================

March 8, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

7.36 pm

MMMMMMMEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEP..

"Jesus Wes, shut this thing off already," muttered Angel, his head aching from the constant sounding of the alarm. With his gaze focused firmly on Lindsay, Angel made a snap decision. There was no way he was going to spend one more minute in the room with Lindsay and an increasingly nervous W'nth. Getting up from his perch upon one of the two hard metal tables that decorated the training room, Angel closed the distance between himself and the annoyed lawyer with only a few strides.

Gesturing at W'nth, he told the other demon to check all the rooms in the hotel and make sure that everyone was in the library downstairs. At W'nth's nod, Angel relieved the demon of the shotgun and waved him towards the door.

"What are you gonna do Angel? Finish me off? Kill me? Blow my head off? You got what you wanted now, go on, just get it over and done with," sneered Lindsay. His earlier concern about using a bathroom was all but gone as he tried to figure out what it was that was making the vampire before him so worried.

Silently, Angel stood in front of Lindsay, both eyeing him intently and trying to ignore the annoying alarm. Should he just kill the lawyer now or should he wait and see if he could get any more information out of him. He had everything that he essentially needed. Once Wesley had gone downstairs, Angel had taken one of the lawyer's hands and had twisted Lindsay's little finger until the man had screamed in agony as the digit had been finally broken. Between breathy gasps of pain, Lindsay had given Angel all the phone numbers he had asked for including his private email address, bank account numbers and all the relevant passwords. Even though Lindsay was still under the truth spells influence, Angel had taken the liberty to break another two fingers. Just because he could.

MMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEEEP...

W'nth had been the one to stop Angel from going any further, telling Angel not to rub himself along the same patch of grass as Lindsay. After a few confused moments, Angel had realised that the other demon was telling him not to lower himself to the Lindsay's level. Angel hadn't been able to stop himself from suddenly leaping at Lindsay, game face fully display and snarling for all that he was worth. The brief flash of pure terror that Lindsay had displayed had been worth the struggle to keep his blood lust under control. A struggle that Angel was afraid of losing if he stayed anywhere near Lindsay for much longer; already he could feel himself almost ready to give in to his desire to let Angelus out to work on Lindsay for a few minutes.

"Go on Angel, break a few more. Come on, I've still got seven left you know? Start on my toes why don't you?" said Lindsay snidely, unsure of what was going to happen next. With heart beating a rapid tattoo and his abused fingers radiating a pain that he was feeling up the shoulder, Lindsay waited for Angel to do something other than just stand and stare at him.

"Five. You've *five* fingers left. Two thumbs, eight fingers. I once made a simple finger breaking last for four hours. So slow. So very slow. Watch what you wish for Lindsay, you may just end up getting it," replied a grim faced Angel, closing the space between them rapidly. Putting the shotgun down, Angel allowed himself a small smile when Lindsay gulped in what was obviously relief. Content to just smile at the other man, Angel let Lindsay's questions and remarks wash over him for a moment, allowing Lindsay to kid himself that Angel wasn't going to kill him in the too near future.

MMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMEEEEEP...

In an action that was almost too swift to see, Lindsay caught a glimpse of the clenched fist flying towards him, aimed directly at his face. The force of the impact when it connected with his un-blackened eye was beyond describing, all Lindsay knew was that he *hurt*. Badly. Otherwise silent, Lindsay found he was trying to gulp enough air into his lungs to scream while his newly injured eye instantly started to swell. His head ringing from both the alarm and the pain exploding from his eye, Lindsay missed seeing Angel's fist shooting towards him again. He felt it though, only a second after it made contact with his nose, shattering his favourite feature and reducing it to a rapidly purpling misshapen mess.

Growling in delight, Angel watched as both blood and displaced tissue ran from Lindsay's destroyed nose, staining the man's expensive shirt. His growling gave way to a short bark of derision as Lindsay finally let go of both his bowels and bladder. Content for the moment to look on as Lindsay choked and spluttered in agony, Angel drew his fist back one more time and after a brief consideration of where to punch him next, Angel put everything he could into the action.

Just as he drew a great shuddering breath, Lindsay felt a pain like no other he had ever experienced before, a heavy solid fist almost forcing his windpipe through the back of his neck. His chair rocking backwards from the force of the blow, Lindsay didn't even notice as he finally ended up on his back on the floor, so intent was he on trying to force the air trapped in his lungs outwards.

MMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEP...

With a calm, serious look upon his face, Angel looked on as one of his most hated enemies lay writhing and gasping in what were his last few moments in the living world. Angel's expression gave way to a slight weary smile when Lindsay, in a massive jerk of his body, managed to snap one of the chair legs from the seat base, the chair leg still being tied to Lindsay's leg. Ever so slowly, Lindsay stopped jerking and twitching as his brain starved from lack of oxygen. Finally, he lay still, his eyes black and swollen shut, his mouth hanging open in the middle of a last desperate attempt to draw enough breath to survive.

Eyeing off the lawyer for a moment more, Angel slowly circled the pathetic figure before looking down at his hands. His smile slid into a grimace as he sourly noted that he had still given Lindsay a merciful death compared to the one that Spike had been wanting to give him for so long. While he had been recovering from his earlier horrendous injuries, Spike had passed the time by making lists of just how he wanted Lindsay, Randall and Tomas and anyone else connected with them, to die. Even though Spike had hidden them away from everyone, Angel had still managed to sneak a look at a few, worried at first that his Childe was planning some sort of trouble for the world weary friends. Ultimately, Angel had been a little relieved that Spike had been occupied in relatively harmless exercise; after all, his youngest Childe was harmless to humans.

Giving his head a hard shake in an effort to relieve the discomfort from the constant alarm, Angel wondered just how much abuse he was going to cop from everyone once he told them that Lindsay was no longer a threat to them. As he ventured to imagine the huffy little hissy fit that Wesley would throw once Angel had told him, let alone what both Cordelia and Joyce would say about the rapidly staining carpet and vile odour in the training room, he growled as the alarm rode roughshod right over his one remaining nerve. In a swift about turn, Angel left Lindsay's side and with out a glance backwards, strode towards the solid door. Just as he reached out to punch in the security code so that he could open the door, the door was opened by someone from the outside.

MMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...

Last of the security code punched into the keypad beside the solid door, Graham realised that his gums were throbbing in time to the increasingly annoying alarm that continued to echo through the Hyperion. The alarm, however, was currently the least of his concerns. His normally expressionless face displaying a rare frown, he glanced to his left side, looking down at the far end of the corridor. As the security pad displayed the all clear, Graham started to push the door open even as he tore his gaze from Riley trying to get past a rabid Spike and to help a downed W'nth, just outside Xander's room.

With a violent shove, Angel pushed past Graham and stared down towards Xander's room as a vicious growling reached his ears. Groaning to himself, as to just what else could possibly go wrong, Angel cursed quietly as he wryly thought that he had probably just wished more bad luck upon both himself and his friends. Ignoring Graham's questions about Lindsay for the moment, Angel strode swiftly down the hallway.

The first thing that had captured his attention was Spike. His youngest Childe was in full throes of the Twilight Instructions, growling and snarling at Riley for all he was worth, even as he paced up and down the width of the corridor just in front of Xander's doorway. Riley was trying to both placate Spike and edge closer to a stricken W'nth. Robin's former owner was lying a few feet in front of a game faced Spike, on his side, facing Riley and with both eyes closed. Thankfully, it looked like all his limbs were still attached, so far. Whether W'nth was unconscious or not, Angel was unable to determine at this distance. From what he could see, Spike more than likely had Xander holed up in his bedroom and had probably attacked W'nth after identifying the other demon as a possible threat to Xander's safety, the alarm ringing through the hotel was what had probably triggered the Twilight Instructions into full force. Poor W'nth wouldn't have stood a chance against an enraged Spike, the demon was as passive as a demon could possibly be and probably hadn't even known what had hit him.

MMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...

Shaking his head in both frustration and annoyance, Angel watched as Spike took a step closer to W'nth, matching Riley's own movements. Each time that Riley made a little progress forward, towards W'nth, Spike did the same thing and each time he did, the growling got a pitch higher. As Angel struggled to keep his human visage, he told Riley to get back and leave it to him.

"Angel, do something?"

"W'nth alright?"

"Far as I can tell. No blood or anything," replied Riley as he slowly backed up, his gaze focused firmly upon the agitated vampire even as he walked backwards until he felt a hand between his shoulder blades indicating that he should stop. His nose wrinkling at a foul odour that was drifting his way, Riley tried to ignore it as he told Angel about the latest events.

MMMMMMMEEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEEP...

"Only got back here a few minutes ago, heard this fucking alarm the moment we stepped through the doors so we headed up to the library. Wes told us to come straight up and get you to handle Spike. Guess W'nth tried to handle him first huh?"

"No, it's my fault. I told W'nth to make sure that everyone was in the library. How does Wes know about Spike? He went down well before W'nth left," enquired Angel as kept his eye on his pacing Childe. As soon as Riley had backed off from W'nth, Spike hadn't moved back but he also hadn't gone nearer to the downed demon. Hopefully, Spike wasn't going to start trying to rip apart W'nth in the near future. Then again, this was Spike and that meant anything was possible. With that thought in mind, Angel slowly made his way down the red carpet, towards Spike and W'nth. Gesturing discreetly to Riley and Graham, he indicated that the two men should follow him but stay well behind.

"Spike sort of pushed Wesley down the stairs on his way up here," answered Graham, walking next to Riley, a few yards behind Angel.

"What... But the chip. It is... right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Still working apparently. Wes said that Spike clutched at his head, was in pain," Riley muttered as he felt a twinge of guilt at being a once hearty advocate of the chipping of all demons. Now however, he wasn't too sure how he felt about it, just that in the light of recent events, he was determined to find some way to help Spike defend himself against humans. How though was the million-dollar question.

MMMMMMMEEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEEP...

"Why the hell didn't he buzz me and tell me? Fuck! Lindsay, that's why. Jesus, I didn't even hear a thing, even when W'nth opened the door to leave. Too busy with that prick."

"Well, he's something that we don't have to worry about now, right?" stated Graham calmly as he gave a thumbs down gesture in answer to Riley's questioning look, frowning when Riley shook his head and glared at Angel's back.

"Christ, I really hope so. Okay, just stay here and let me handle things. All I'm going to do is get W'nth, make sure Xander is ok and then leave them to it. Spike's just doing the right thing and we are not going to start challenging him on that. Okay?" asked Angel, taking a step forward towards a still snapping and snarling Spike. Walking slowly, Angel tried to establish eye contact with his irritated Childe in an effort to display dominance. The alarm ruled out any attempt of making the usual sub vocal soothing noises that Sires sometimes used with upset Childer.

As he concentrated upon Spike's face, Angel stopped a few yards away from the downed W'nth and felt a surge of pride as he watched Spike's tightly wound body release some of its tension as they both made eye contact. "Childe."

"Grrrrr...snarl..Sssiiirre..mmrrggg"

MMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEP...

*****

MMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMEEEEEP...

With his chest beginning to ache from the strain of his heart beating in the rapid tempo of pure panic, Xander sat on the stiff carpet and waited.

Waited for his next abuser to find his room.

Someone was coming for him again. They had to be. That could be the only reason for Spike to drag him into a room and then proceed to attempt to defend him. W'nth was probably doing the same thing with Robin right at that very moment, the Moorlyndat demon trying to ensure that Robin wasn't going to be taken again without a fight.

Spike would do his best, Xander knew that and he appreciated it but there was only so much that Spike would be able to do against humans. Spike may not love him anymore but Xander was very glad that Spike at least liked him enough to offer up some resistance on his behalf. Xander wouldn't be able to put up a fuss when his new owners came for him, not that he didn't want to, it just wouldn't be right. Maybe Angel and the others would be able to help Spike again. After all, they helped last time.

MMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEP...

His breathing coming in short sharp gasps, Xander rocked himself back and forth in an unconscious attempt to calm himself down before he broke one of the rules and started crying. He wasn't allowed to cry, they didn't like it. Crying made his face splotchy and a splotchy whore was an unattractive whore and one that would find himself being 'talked' to by his current owners if he wasn't careful. Xander prided himself on being careful.

Back and forth, back and forth, Xander rocked all the while acknowledging the fact that he was pretty relieved that he was being taken so soon again. It was a small mercy that he hadn't started to settle back down into a regular life again. This time, he knew that it was going to be easier to adjust to the career that Fate had chosen for him. Maybe he was going to get a nice Master this time. Maybe he would even get a Mistress like Aiden and Ashley had been sold to. Maybe he should just go out into the hallway and get it over and done with.

MMMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMMEEEEP...

With a shuddering breath, he continued to bring up reasons of why it wasn't going to be so bad this time. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to it. Not every demon was out to hurt him, in fact, some he would have liked to call friend if it hadn't been for the barrier between their different social standings. Thinking that he would have hit the jackpot if he was taken by a demon like W'nth, Xander grinned a little only for it to turn into a gut wrenching dry retch as his mind flashed a brief glimpse of some of his most hated clients. Clients that had involved him in sessions that he still had trouble believing had actually physically and sexually taken place, the acts themselves being so far fetched he sometimes thought that they were just a product of an overly intense dream.

It wasn't going to be like that this time. Maybe he would be sold to a demon that actually knew how to take care of a human, unlike his previous deceased owner. Someone who wouldn't have to bring one of its friends around to translate on Xander's behalf when the Master is puzzled as to why Xander has been sick for three days straight when only given a diet of raw potatoes and bananas. Then again, his previous Master had only followed Randall's translated instruction, plenty of fruit and vegetables each day. It wasn't going to be like that this time, not all demons were that ignorant.

MMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMEEEEEEP...MMMMMMMEEEEP...

Xander gulped down a sudden sob as the snarling and growling outside of his room got louder, Spike's warning almost overriding the continuing alarm. His latest kidnappers were only down the hallway it seemed. Xander hoped that Spike didn't get too hurt this time if he attacked one of the owners and he hoped that it wouldn't reflect badly upon himself if it did manage to happen. In a swift movement, Xander ground the heels of his palms into his eyes as he tried to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. It was all right; it wasn't going to be so bad this time. He was going to be fine. Xander was going to be in pain, he was going to be frightened at times but he was going to be fine.

He knew that he would be all right just because he was Hellmouth born and bred and that fact made him valuable. The fact that he was also experienced made him an all the more sought after possession. Randall had often told him so and even Adam had screamed it at him on more than one occasion, stating that he should count himself lucky that he was Hellmouth bred otherwise he would have been starring in a snuff flick after only a few months of being picked up in Sunnydale.

With the realisation that the inevitable was about to happen, Xander shakily rose to his feet, managing to suppress the sobs that were threatening to emerge. He was going to get taken. There was no doubt about it, even with Spike doing his best to keep the new owners at bay, Xander could just make out a few other voices over the continual snarling of the bleached vampire and the sounding alarm. Shoulders slumping in complete acceptance of his lot in life, Xander pulled his long sleeved top straight before bending down to re-tie an errant shoelace. With swift steps, he walked to the bathroom to check that he was looking presentable. Hands washed and hair quickly brushed, Xander smiled at the reflection in the medicine cabinet mirror, his training holding fast as he unknowingly avoided looking into his reflection's eyes.

He looked good. He looked better than just good, he looked attractive and Xander knew that he was beautiful. With a last look at his hands, Xander's bright smile slipped for a mere second as he took in the sight of his ragged cuticles. Maybe his new owner would let him have the occasional manicure session or at least provide him with accessories so that he could keep himself presentable?

MMMMEEEEP...MMMMMMMMMEEEEEP...MMMMMMMMMEEEP...

As he walked towards the bedroom door and Spike, Xander took a long look around the room before berating himself for being so stupid. He wasn't going to be looked for again and Xander had probably only been found by accident. It was no use in trying to remember a room that he would never see again. People that he would never see again, Angel and the others wouldn't come for him again, Xander was just too much of a waste of time if he was going to keep getting taken. At least Xander wouldn't have to worry about how uncomfortable he had felt since returning to the Hyperion, he could forget about how Spike had broken his promise and of how much everyone had changed since the last time he had seen them. He could forget about how much it hurt to think of Spike lying to him and how stupid he felt to have lost his heart to someone who only cared for himself, someone who as far as Xander was concerned, played with people's lives emotionally only because he couldn't do it physically anymore.

He was going to be fine and this was for the best, he wasn't going to need any retraining, only being back in general society for a few days so his new owners would more than likely be happy about that. Stopping just before he stepped out into the hallway, Xander took a few deep breathes in order to relax himself enough so that he would appear more pleasing to the eyes of his new owners. First appearances always made for the best ones and it was time to get it over and done with.

If he went now, then no-one would get hurt trying to defend him and he won't have to listen to Spike lie when he's told that Spike is going to come looking for him again.

"M-m-my name i-is S-s-s-scott."

He whispered to himself and with that, Scott stepped out into the hallway.

*****