The Distress of being the Damsel
The heat that plagued the city that day disappeared with the setting sun and the night brought her kiss of cool air. Spike strode through the halls of Wolfram and Hart after a healthy tussle with a local vamp nest. It seemed the vampires assumed the streets of L.A. were up for grabs once again with Angel as CEO of Evil Incorporated. What they didn’t count on, however, was a certain blond vampire that took Angel’s place; a vampire that did his part to help the hopeless souls of Los Angeles.
It was far better that than to stand by and watch as Angel slowly sold his soul to the evil law firm he’d been against for at least five years now. Spike assumed Angel was bought with the large penthouse office complete with an attached apartment that had a magnificent view of the city below. Not to mention the expensive, colorful artwork that adorned the walls of both spaces; and his private collection of spectacular cars in his personal garage. Oh and don’t forget the ability to boss about the little man, a talent which Captain Forehead definitely had already grown accustomed to.
Yes, Spike could understand Angel’s perspective-that he fought the evil from within. Still, the younger vampire warned his Sire about “being digested deep in the belly of the beast”, but Angel had scoffed at Spike’s words and assumed his childe was merely jealous, which was completely beside the point. The git was obviously blind to the severity of his situation.
However, whether Angel understood his predicament or not, Spike didn’t really care. He had better things to do than to ponder about the poof’s intensions. It was time for him to go pay a visit to his girl. He hadn’t seen her all day; however, he heard she was sent on a mission for the lab’s coffee run. How that even came to pass he didn’t know, but he figured she should have returned by now. He admitted he was more than a little worried; he knew it wasn’t safe for a woman alone on the streets of LA. It didn’t matter what time of day it was.
“Oh, bloody hell!” Spike swore as he shook his head to clear his thoughts, “She’s a big girl. I know she can take care of herself. I just hope she was smart enough to take someone along with her.”
Spike turned down the hallway which headed in the direction of Wolfram and Hart’s Science Dept. First on his agenda was to make sure his Fred was alright. Next was to pay that stupid git Knox a visit about his non-functioning gadgets. He had a dry cleaning bill for the little bastard. It took Spike forever to find someone who didn’t ask any questions as they cleaned the orange crap off his favorite trench coat. Well, alright, his only trench coat.
He lips curled into a smirk as he thought about the previous conversation his fist had with Knox’s nose. Taught the little bugger a lesson, he did. It felt good too. Spike couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was off about Knox. The bloke was like the weasel in the henhouse; up to no damn good. The man couldn’t be trusted, but what really irked Spike was the boyish charm Knox was aiming at Fred, making himself seem so bloody innocent. For all Spike knew, the little blighter could be hiding in a dark corner somewhere, sacrificing an innocent life to appease some ancient hell god. He just hoped Fred was smart enough to see the danger signs and not fall into some twisted, crazy trap.
“Wait a minute.” Spike mumbled as he came to an abrupt stop in the hallway. A petite lady lawyer that had been walking too close behind him had no choice but to smack into his back as she let out a small gasp. The collision caused not only her armful of papers to fly about everywhere, but also quite a stream of obscenities which flowed from her petite mouth.
“Excuse you!” she exclaimed as she tried to gain her composure. She gracefully knelt down on one knee to retrieve her report. She looked up to see Spike walk away from the catastrophe he caused. “Aren’t you even going to help me?” she yelled at his back as it disappeared around the corner. “I liked him a lot better when he was a ghost.” She grumbled. She actually took the time to make an obscene gesture at the empty hallway before she turned on her heel and marched back to her office.
“Twisted, crazy trap,” Spike softly mumbled to himself. There was something about those three words…hang on a tick…not three words. One word. Trap? Hmmmm, no, not trap. Trapped? Trapped! That’s it! Trapped!
Spike stood still and closed his eyes. His featured shifted as he let his demon take over. The ancient, animalistic hunter in him stretched out, looking, feeling for the reason why everything suddenly seemed off. As it searched, he allowed jumbled words to bounce around his brain.
“Off…something off. Trapped. Trapped…gone. Fred gone…Fred…trapped. Fred trapped!”
His yellow eyes snapped open before he transformed back into his human state. “Oh my god! Fred!”
Something happened to Fred; he felt a chill as the realization sank deep in his bones. Quickly he changed his direction and headed straight for Angel’s office. Of course the door was closed and through the windows, he could see Wesley and Gunn leaning over Angel’s desk, apparently in deep conversation.
“Oh, Spikey?” Harmony chirped up from behind her secretary station outside of Angel’s office.
“Not now, Harm.”
“Listen, it’s really important, it…”
“Can bloody well wait until I’m finished talkin’ to Peaches.” Spike growled back.
“Fine. It’s not like you ever listened to me anyway. I couldn’t possibly know anything important. I’m like chopped liver over here.” Harmony grumbled to herself as she watched Spike stride into Angel’s office.
“Oi, Peaches! There’s an emergency. I need your fastest….”
“Yeah, I know Spike. Fred’s gone missing. What does it look like I’m doing here…?”
“You knew? You knew and you didn’t tell me?” Spike felt his fury begin to consume him. “You bloody son of a bitch! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Wesley looked up from the map spread across Angel’s desk. “We’re clearly working on the situation….”
“I wasn’t talkin’ to you, Percy.” Spike shot a murderous glare at the former watcher. “This is between Angel ‘n me.”
Gunn spoke up, “Spike, we’re doin’ the best we can…”
Spike cut him off with a growl that rumbled deep in his chest.
“Look,” Angel said angrily as he stepped in front of Spike, “We didn’t tell you because we assumed you already knew. In fact, this is the first I’ve even seen your annoying face all day, Blondie Bear. Don’t come into my office and yell acusations about us keeping secrets from you. We are busy busting our asses to find Fred, and therefore, do not need your shit right now.”
Spike stepped so close to his Sire they almost touched nose to nose. His blue eyes glowed with the promise of pain as he snarled in Angel’s face.
“I haven’t been here, you moron, because I’ve been out on the streets, doing your damn job of being the soddin’ hero. So, stop being a self righteous son of a bitch and just tell me what you know.”
“Besides the fact you have once again managed to be a giant pain in my ass?”
“Yeah? Well, if you don’t get to talkin’ soon, Peaches, I’m gonna leave an even bigger impression on your lily white ass, you prat!”
Wesley moved forward and put a hand on each man’s chest as he bravely stepped between the feud.
“I think,” he began as he separated the vampires, “it would be wise for Spike to track Fred’s scent. It is quite obvious the two are closer than we all realized.” The watcher ignored the hostel glare Angel sent Spike over his head. “He can start here and go to the coffee shop. Perhaps he can find something we are most likely overlooking.”
Spike backed up and nodded his thanks to the watcher.
“Meanwhile Angel, Gunn, and I will continue our efforts behind the scenes. I also suggest, Angel, you give Spike all the resources he needs. It will get him on the street and out of your office sooner rather than later.” Wesley quickly added when he caught Angel’s dark look.
“Fine, if it gets you out of my office,” He looked at Spike and chose to ignore the smug smile creeping across the younger vampire’s face. “Cash, cars, just tell Harmony to give you whatever you need. You can use all available resources. Now, get out before I change my mind.”
“Gee, thanks pop.” Spike exclaimed as he turned and strode out of the office. He grinned when he looked into the reflective glass around the door, caught Angel’s reaction and chuckled as poor Wesley tried to calm the outraged vampire.
“I guess you heard all that, yeah?” Spike asked Harmony as he walked up to her desk.
“Yeah. Cash, cars, and whatever else you need.” She looked down as she began to root around her desk for said items. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, ya know.”
“What?”
“That Fred was missing. I tried to tell you because I knew you would want to know.” She raised her hurt eyes to meet Spike’s surprised ones.
“Harm, I-I’m…”
“Yeah, I know.” She cut Spike a fairly decent sized check and handed him a Visa card. She then held a cluster of keys up in front of him. “Take your pick. I’m not sure which one goes to which car, but they are all pretty nice.”
A slow grin split his features as he spotted the perfect set. “Thanks Harm.”
“Yeah, you’re welcome. Oh and Spike?”
“Hmmmm?”
“Good luck.”
Spike smiled at the blond as he walked to the elevator. “Thanks, pet.” He didn’t notice the genuine smile on Harmony’s face when she realized he hadn’t called her “pet”, and meant it, for a very long time.
“There may be hope for you yet, Blondie Bear.”
After he entered Angel’s garage, Spike pressed the “lock” button on his auto-start key ring. The red Viper lit up like a Christmas tree, just as Spike knew it would. What better car to take on a road trip than the Poof’s favorite. He then pressed “auto start” and listened happily as the engine began to purr.
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It was far better that than to stand by and watch as Angel slowly sold his soul to the evil law firm he’d been against for at least five years now. Spike assumed Angel was bought with the large penthouse office complete with an attached apartment that had a magnificent view of the city below. Not to mention the expensive, colorful artwork that adorned the walls of both spaces; and his private collection of spectacular cars in his personal garage. Oh and don’t forget the ability to boss about the little man, a talent which Captain Forehead definitely had already grown accustomed to.
Yes, Spike could understand Angel’s perspective-that he fought the evil from within. Still, the younger vampire warned his Sire about “being digested deep in the belly of the beast”, but Angel had scoffed at Spike’s words and assumed his childe was merely jealous, which was completely beside the point. The git was obviously blind to the severity of his situation.
However, whether Angel understood his predicament or not, Spike didn’t really care. He had better things to do than to ponder about the poof’s intensions. It was time for him to go pay a visit to his girl. He hadn’t seen her all day; however, he heard she was sent on a mission for the lab’s coffee run. How that even came to pass he didn’t know, but he figured she should have returned by now. He admitted he was more than a little worried; he knew it wasn’t safe for a woman alone on the streets of LA. It didn’t matter what time of day it was.
“Oh, bloody hell!” Spike swore as he shook his head to clear his thoughts, “She’s a big girl. I know she can take care of herself. I just hope she was smart enough to take someone along with her.”
Spike turned down the hallway which headed in the direction of Wolfram and Hart’s Science Dept. First on his agenda was to make sure his Fred was alright. Next was to pay that stupid git Knox a visit about his non-functioning gadgets. He had a dry cleaning bill for the little bastard. It took Spike forever to find someone who didn’t ask any questions as they cleaned the orange crap off his favorite trench coat. Well, alright, his only trench coat.
He lips curled into a smirk as he thought about the previous conversation his fist had with Knox’s nose. Taught the little bugger a lesson, he did. It felt good too. Spike couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was off about Knox. The bloke was like the weasel in the henhouse; up to no damn good. The man couldn’t be trusted, but what really irked Spike was the boyish charm Knox was aiming at Fred, making himself seem so bloody innocent. For all Spike knew, the little blighter could be hiding in a dark corner somewhere, sacrificing an innocent life to appease some ancient hell god. He just hoped Fred was smart enough to see the danger signs and not fall into some twisted, crazy trap.
“Wait a minute.” Spike mumbled as he came to an abrupt stop in the hallway. A petite lady lawyer that had been walking too close behind him had no choice but to smack into his back as she let out a small gasp. The collision caused not only her armful of papers to fly about everywhere, but also quite a stream of obscenities which flowed from her petite mouth.
“Excuse you!” she exclaimed as she tried to gain her composure. She gracefully knelt down on one knee to retrieve her report. She looked up to see Spike walk away from the catastrophe he caused. “Aren’t you even going to help me?” she yelled at his back as it disappeared around the corner. “I liked him a lot better when he was a ghost.” She grumbled. She actually took the time to make an obscene gesture at the empty hallway before she turned on her heel and marched back to her office.
“Twisted, crazy trap,” Spike softly mumbled to himself. There was something about those three words…hang on a tick…not three words. One word. Trap? Hmmmm, no, not trap. Trapped? Trapped! That’s it! Trapped!
Spike stood still and closed his eyes. His featured shifted as he let his demon take over. The ancient, animalistic hunter in him stretched out, looking, feeling for the reason why everything suddenly seemed off. As it searched, he allowed jumbled words to bounce around his brain.
“Off…something off. Trapped. Trapped…gone. Fred gone…Fred…trapped. Fred trapped!”
His yellow eyes snapped open before he transformed back into his human state. “Oh my god! Fred!”
Something happened to Fred; he felt a chill as the realization sank deep in his bones. Quickly he changed his direction and headed straight for Angel’s office. Of course the door was closed and through the windows, he could see Wesley and Gunn leaning over Angel’s desk, apparently in deep conversation.
“Oh, Spikey?” Harmony chirped up from behind her secretary station outside of Angel’s office.
“Not now, Harm.”
“Listen, it’s really important, it…”
“Can bloody well wait until I’m finished talkin’ to Peaches.” Spike growled back.
“Fine. It’s not like you ever listened to me anyway. I couldn’t possibly know anything important. I’m like chopped liver over here.” Harmony grumbled to herself as she watched Spike stride into Angel’s office.
“Oi, Peaches! There’s an emergency. I need your fastest….”
“Yeah, I know Spike. Fred’s gone missing. What does it look like I’m doing here…?”
“You knew? You knew and you didn’t tell me?” Spike felt his fury begin to consume him. “You bloody son of a bitch! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Wesley looked up from the map spread across Angel’s desk. “We’re clearly working on the situation….”
“I wasn’t talkin’ to you, Percy.” Spike shot a murderous glare at the former watcher. “This is between Angel ‘n me.”
Gunn spoke up, “Spike, we’re doin’ the best we can…”
Spike cut him off with a growl that rumbled deep in his chest.
“Look,” Angel said angrily as he stepped in front of Spike, “We didn’t tell you because we assumed you already knew. In fact, this is the first I’ve even seen your annoying face all day, Blondie Bear. Don’t come into my office and yell acusations about us keeping secrets from you. We are busy busting our asses to find Fred, and therefore, do not need your shit right now.”
Spike stepped so close to his Sire they almost touched nose to nose. His blue eyes glowed with the promise of pain as he snarled in Angel’s face.
“I haven’t been here, you moron, because I’ve been out on the streets, doing your damn job of being the soddin’ hero. So, stop being a self righteous son of a bitch and just tell me what you know.”
“Besides the fact you have once again managed to be a giant pain in my ass?”
“Yeah? Well, if you don’t get to talkin’ soon, Peaches, I’m gonna leave an even bigger impression on your lily white ass, you prat!”
Wesley moved forward and put a hand on each man’s chest as he bravely stepped between the feud.
“I think,” he began as he separated the vampires, “it would be wise for Spike to track Fred’s scent. It is quite obvious the two are closer than we all realized.” The watcher ignored the hostel glare Angel sent Spike over his head. “He can start here and go to the coffee shop. Perhaps he can find something we are most likely overlooking.”
Spike backed up and nodded his thanks to the watcher.
“Meanwhile Angel, Gunn, and I will continue our efforts behind the scenes. I also suggest, Angel, you give Spike all the resources he needs. It will get him on the street and out of your office sooner rather than later.” Wesley quickly added when he caught Angel’s dark look.
“Fine, if it gets you out of my office,” He looked at Spike and chose to ignore the smug smile creeping across the younger vampire’s face. “Cash, cars, just tell Harmony to give you whatever you need. You can use all available resources. Now, get out before I change my mind.”
“Gee, thanks pop.” Spike exclaimed as he turned and strode out of the office. He grinned when he looked into the reflective glass around the door, caught Angel’s reaction and chuckled as poor Wesley tried to calm the outraged vampire.
“I guess you heard all that, yeah?” Spike asked Harmony as he walked up to her desk.
“Yeah. Cash, cars, and whatever else you need.” She looked down as she began to root around her desk for said items. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, ya know.”
“What?”
“That Fred was missing. I tried to tell you because I knew you would want to know.” She raised her hurt eyes to meet Spike’s surprised ones.
“Harm, I-I’m…”
“Yeah, I know.” She cut Spike a fairly decent sized check and handed him a Visa card. She then held a cluster of keys up in front of him. “Take your pick. I’m not sure which one goes to which car, but they are all pretty nice.”
A slow grin split his features as he spotted the perfect set. “Thanks Harm.”
“Yeah, you’re welcome. Oh and Spike?”
“Hmmmm?”
“Good luck.”
Spike smiled at the blond as he walked to the elevator. “Thanks, pet.” He didn’t notice the genuine smile on Harmony’s face when she realized he hadn’t called her “pet”, and meant it, for a very long time.
“There may be hope for you yet, Blondie Bear.”
After he entered Angel’s garage, Spike pressed the “lock” button on his auto-start key ring. The red Viper lit up like a Christmas tree, just as Spike knew it would. What better car to take on a road trip than the Poof’s favorite. He then pressed “auto start” and listened happily as the engine began to purr.
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