Chapter 5

Riley caught sight of Tara and Buffy's mother just as they were leaving the butchers. He followed them to an address he didn't know, took note of it, and then made his way to the crypt of the animal that he held responsible for everything that he'd just lost. He felt safe in the knowledge that the blond witch was out of the way and would have no way of finding out that he had anything to do with Hostile 17's upcoming disappearance. The bastard would pay for what he'd done. This time, he'd be nothing but dust by the time Riley left the cemetery.

With a last minute check to ensure he had everything he'd need, Riley burst through the door of the crypt. His anger escalated as he realised there was no one home.

A trail of blood splatters led away from the pool that had congealed in the arm chair that had been occupied by the much sought after vampire, and Riley followed.

The trek down through the lower levels of the crypt and into the sewers led the ex-commando to a grate near the dorms, then on to Tara's room. 'So that was how the bastard did it,' Riley mused.

Using the Initiative skeleton key that he'd never returned, Riley entered and searched the room. The bloody towel soaking in a bucket of water was the only clue that anything was amiss.

His rage escalated as he continued to be foiled in his attempts to finalize his revenge- or retribution, as he insisted on calling it, although he did draw the line at calling it divine.

Considering his options, Riley decided that his best chance of finding the monster was Tara and made his way back to the house he'd seen her enter.

Parking his car just out of sight, he scoped out the area and realised that if he approached the property from the position he was now in, he would be shielded from the occupants of the house by the ornamental hedge that surrounded the grounds.

With the stealth of a trained soldier, Riley made his way to the front window and carefully placed a tiny amplifier there before returning to his car. Using his Initiative supplied receiver, he listened to the conversation going on within the living room of the unknown house, hoping for a clue to the whereabouts of the creature he was determined to rid the world of.

He recognised the voices of Joyce, Tara, and Dawn, but the male had him stumped. He sounded like Giles, only younger. Wesley? Now where had he heard that name before?

The mention of the wounded vampire brought his attention back to the situation at hand.

~*~*~

"He's still unconscious," Joyce announced as she re-entered the room, worry evident in her voice.

"His natural healing should have stopped the bleeding by now." Wesley paced the room, his agile mind searching for answers. "Is it possible that Mr. Finn treated the stake with something? Does he have any magical ability?"

Tara shook her head. "He's not into the mystical at all."

"Riley's a big dope. He's all technology this and technology that. It's got to be something simple," Dawn offered her own opinion.

Wesley gave the girl a contemplative look, his mind whirling. There was one possibility...but, no. That would be too cruel.

"What?" Tara demanded when he hesitated to voice his idea.

"Oh! Er...I'm sure it's nothing. Just a thought, really. B-but it's ridiculous. It's not in keeping with the behavior of a man taught honor in the armed services."

"Honor?" Dawn snorted in disbelief. "Gee, Wesley, he used a plastic stake to torture Spike. Riley Finn is so far from being honorable that he makes Hitler look like a good guy."

Blushing in the face of her sarcasm, but nevertheless taking her words to heart, Wesley hastened to ask, "Do you think he would be so cruel as to coat the stake with holy water?"

"Absolutely," Joyce answered harshly. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she considered what she would like to do to the ex-commando.

"Of course!" Tara nearly wilted with relief. Holy water was the perfect culprit. "We'll need to flush the wound with alcohol."

~*~*~

"Damn," Riley hissed in fury. If they cleaned out the holy water, the bastard would be out of pain and would start healing straight away. The only piece of good news he'd managed to decipher was that they were moving to heal him and that meant he was in the house.

Quickly rifling through his bag of equipment, Riley found the instrument he wanted. Directing it towards the structure, he searched for the entity that had no body heat. There! Back room on the second floor on his side of the house. Grabbing his binoculars, he was able to see that the window to that particular room was open. How very convenient, he thought. He smiled smugly as he started his car and headed back to his apartment.

He had an attack to plan.

~*~*~

Dawn leaned against the wall as Tara and Wesley worked on Spike. Her mother was perched on the end of the bed in silent vigil.

To amuse herself, Dawn thought about all the things she'd like to do to Riley, furious that the overgrown boy-scout had managed to hurt her friend. It angered her to know that Spike wouldn't be going through this if it wasn't for that damn chip in his head. But then again, without the chip, Buffy would be still trying to stake him, so maybe the chip wasn't entirely a bad thing.

She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Spike had changed, and now that he had them as family, he wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that. He wouldn't kill, and if what Tara had told them Anya had said was right, they'd never need worry about that again. Maybe...

"Tara? Could you remove the chip?" Dawn asked with determination.

The Wicca blinked in surprise before thoughtfully considering the injured vampire. With a smirk that would have impressed Spike had he been awake to see it, she lifted her eyes to meet the mirth filled gaze of brunette ex-watcher, then turned to smile at Joyce's evil grin. "Oh, Dawnie, what an excellent idea."

Wesley smiled inwardly at the idea of rubbing in the fact that an unchipped, unsouled master vampire, one hundred years junior to his souled ex-boss, was capable of making the decisions that they would be asking of Spike over the next few days. He wanted to believe that all would go well. His need to humble the older vampire ate at him. He was prepared to give Spike every chance, but he was no fool, he would be carrying a stake with him at all times until the change had been made.

If successful, the fact that he'd seen the possibilities and Rupert had not would just be icing on the cake.

"Actually, I believe I have a spell that would be perfect for that. I'll just get it, shall I? We may as well do it while he's unconscious."

With the unanimous agreement of the assembled group, Wesley left the room.

Dawn grinned, Buffy was so gonna be pissed.