Remember Me

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Joss owns it all damn him!

***

Chapter 15 - The Beat Down

"Spike?" The tiny radio crackled in Spike's ear.

"Yeah?" Spike whispered quietly back, hoping the hidden
microphone in his lapel would pick up his hushed tones.

"The girls got Buffy. She's fine, just a little shaken." Xander hissed in
his ear.

Spike stopped stunned. He stood in the middle of the path unmoving,
not willing to believe the words Xander was saying. Buffy was safe?
If it weren't an ungodly hour of the night, he'd be worried that he
looked a bit odd standing stock still on the meandering pathway. But
as it was, he was probably the only one awake for miles around.

"Cordy's on the other line. She's got Buffy with her now. Apparently
some girl named Harmony found her, got her out of there." Here
Xander paused, while Spike clenched his teeth in frustration. If
Harmony was the one who'd gotten Buffy out, that could mean only
one thing. "It was Angel." Xander's words hit Spike like a punch in
the gut.

Angel.

It had been that bloody ponce all along! He'd had Buffy the whole
time he pretended to be concerned. Pretended to search for her.
Bloody bastard!

Spike could feel the growl starting from the tips of his toes. It crawled
through his body until he was practically vibrating with the sound. His
lips curled up in a vicious snarl as he whipped his head around to
focus his eyes toward the end of the path.

"Sir, you'll have to calm down if you don’t want to tip him off. He
could be watching you right now." Agent Salazar's voice whispered in
his ear.

Spike grit his teeth and forced himself to calm down. "I want to talk to
Buffy." God, he couldn't believe she was safe! He needed to talk to
her, to see her, to touch her.

"You can't right now, Spike." Xander's voice crackled again. "The
girls have taken her over to the hospital for a checkup."

"What?! You said she was fine. You said she wasn't hurt!" Spike
was nearly shouting.

"Calm down!" Wesley's voice cut in. "She *is* fine. Just a couple of
bruises, but they wanted to get her checked and get some forensic
photographs taken."

"Fuck! Forensic photographs. My girl has to have forensic
photographs taken." Spike mumbled the last sentence dejectedly.

"Spike, baby. We know. Let's just get this over with so that you can
get back and see her for yourself." Lorne's suggestion came over the
wire.

"Yeah, okay." Spike visibly calmed. That's all he wanted right now,
to see his Buffy. And the only way to do that was to take down that
fucking bastard, Angel.

He squared his shoulders and continued down the path. Spike
suppressed the sigh that wanted to escape. This was the fifth
meeting place he'd gone to, only to find another note giving him
further instructions. This better be it.

He got to the old mission a few minutes later. The mission itself was
pretty run down, the walls cracked and crumbling. But the sign on the
door announced the schedule for masses and tours. It was one of
those historical sites that got a small write up in the tourist books they
gave out at the airport.

In front of the main doors was an old dry fountain. The instructions
had said they would meet there, by the fountain. The case he held
with the money should be placed in the fountain bed while he waited.
So Spike stepped forward and gingerly laid the case down. The one
lamp by the main doors provided very poor visiby, sy, so he strained
his ears listening for any movement rather than bothering to search
with his eyes.

A few seconds later he heard it. Rustling, to his right, just beyond the
dim light the lamp cast. "I've got the money, where's Buffy?" He
demanded loudly, making sure the guys realized that he was no
longer alone.

"Go inside the mission, the doors are unlockedThe The voice drifted
through the darkness toward Spike. "Leave the case in the fountain."

"No." Spike's answer was vehement. "How do I know you won't just
take the money and run? How do I know you'll let Buffy go?" Spike
was trying hard to keep his voice from shaking with anger. Then he
realized that there was no reason for that. That his anger would be
genuine if he thought this psycho was going to keep Buffy for himself.

"Where the fuck is she?" Spike demanded, letting his anger out.
"Come out where I can see you're fucking face!"

And then he did step out of the darkness, Angel, a smirk playing
about his lips and a gun in his hand. "I've been waiting a long time for
this, *Will*." The smirk turned into a sneer as he spat out Spike's
name.

Spike's expression didn't change. "I should have known it was you all
along." His gaze drifted down to the gun in Angel's hand. "You need
a gun to show what kind of man you are?"

"Fuck! We're almost there Spike. We'll have him surrounded inside
of three minutes. Just keep him talking." Xander's voice whispered
through the earpiece.

"No. I need a gun to kill you." Angel answered serenely. "You really
are stupid if you think there's anyway I can let you or your precious
Buffy go. You both know who I am and what I've done. Sorry, but the
game's over." Angel lifted the gun and aimed toward Spike's head,
but Spike was ready for it and lunged toward him before he could get
a bead.

They fell to the ground in a tangle of fists and limbs. Spike could hear
his friends approaching at a dead run, and he struggled to get the
upper hand on Angel before they could appear. He didn't want
anyone getting hurt and he knew if Angel could manage it he'd shoot
every last one of them. Spike had seen the crazy glint in his eye, and
knew that he was no longer thinking rationally, if he ever had.

Spike managed to grab hold of Angel's right wrist. He twisted and
bent it until Angel was screaming; finally dropping the gun to the
ground. Spike quickly picked it up and through it as far as he could
into the darkness. Angel let out a deep growl before bending his
head toward Spike's left hand and biting hard.

Spike screamed and pulled back, giving Angel just enough leverage
to flip them over pinning Spike down on the ground. Angel's fist flew
at his face and Spike grunted in pain from the blow. For a second
Spike's world spun out of focus. Then he remembered Buffy.
Remembered all the horrible things he'd pictured as he lay wondering
what was happening to her. Rage coursed through him at the
thought that the man in front of him was the one who'd taken her, hurt
her.

Spike exploded.

Xander, Wesley, and Lorne were running down the path. When
Spike had announced that Angel had a gun, they all quickened their
paces. When they heard Angel's threat and the subsequent struggle
they all broke out into a sprint. The fibbies had gone ahead of them,
trying to surround Angel before he realized that Spike had brought
backup. But the dumb bastard hadn't even bothered to check. He'd
assumed that having Spike run all over the island would have lost
anyone trying to tail An Angel hadn't figured on Xander and
Wesley's tracking devices. And from the sounds of it Angel hadn't
figured on Spike at all.

They burst in to the clearing that surrounded the fountain. On the
ground Angel lay beneath Spike, barely conscious. The two F.B.I.
agents were standing to the side trying to convince Spike to stop and
stand down. It was obvious that they had originally pulled out their
weapons in order to shoot Angel if necessary but had never gotten a
clear shot.

"Bloody, fucking, bastard!" Spike was screaming as he continued to
pummel Angel's face. "You ever, fucking, come near her again and
I'll fucking kill you!"

"Spike, man!" Xander came forward placing a rough hand on Spike's
shoulder. "He's out of it. I think we can safely hand him over to the
feds."

Spike was breathing hard, but at Xander's calm touch he forced
himself to stop. He stood, stepping over Angel's limp body he headed
toward the fountain where he sat staring at his bloodied fists. Wesley
came and sat beside him, not touching.

Wesley cleared his throat before he began. "So..."

"I could have killed him." Spike said quietly, still staring at Angel's
blood on his knuckles.

"Yes, it certainly seemed that way."

"I just kept picturing Buffy, you know? Scared. And *bruised*." Spike
said, by way of explanation.

Wesley moved then, placing his hand on Spike's back and just letting
it lay there. Tears sprang to Spike's eyes as he turned to his longtime
friend. "Are you sure she's okay, Wes?"

"Yeah." Wesley answered without hesitation. "Why don't we go and
see her now, mate?"

Spike wiped at the tears, not caring that this was the first time he'd
ever cried in front of any os mas male friends. Tears were usually
reserved for Buffy. Spike never felt like he had to hold back when he
was with her. He knew that no matter what he did, Buffy would never
think any less of him. But right at this moment, he couldn't give a rat's
ass what anybody else thought of him. Right now, all he wanted,
needed, was to be with Buffy, to make sure that Buffy was safe.

"Yeah, let's go." Spike stood and headed back toward his car.
Before he realized it, he was running.