Faithfully Dangerous
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: These aren’t my characters, as you all know. If they were, they’d all be living happily ever after by now.
Summary: Set during my story Latter Days. Faith is sent to L.A. to get information out of Angel and recruit Wesley—if she can. What she discovers is a scheme by persons unknown to take advantage of the imbalance, and an unlikely friendship.
A/N: Although this takes place during Latter
Days, there isn’t a direct 1-1
relationship between the chapters.
So, you could say that time is moving at a slightly different pace,
although
they will intersect.
Chapter 21
“I don’t see—”
“That’s because you’re not thinking, Wesley.” Ellen was beginning to get annoyed; he wasn’t considering the realities of fighting an experienced sorcerer.
The expression on his face made it clear that he felt insulted. “I beg your pardon.”
“Vail is experienced and powerful, and while you have real talent, it’s not enough to go up against him magically. He’ll kill you without a thought.” Ellen gave him a sharp look, the sort she gave trainees who weren’t thinking things through.
Wesley glared at her, then sighed. “Very well. What did you have in mind?”
“You can provide the distraction,” Ellen allowed. “Dana and I will take care of the actual assassination. That should allow you to feel as though you’re doing all the work.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he protested.
Ellen had been reading men and women almost as long as she’d been alive, and she therefore knew exactly what Wesley had planned. By taking on the target he believed was most dangerous, he thought to spare the others’ lives. “You have to let go of this guilt, Wesley,” she said quietly, glancing over at Dana. The girl wasn’t paying attention, a fact for which she was grateful.
“I—”
“Angel made the choice to join Wolfram and Hart of his own free will, and who could say what would have happened if he hadn’t? Would we have the opportunity to stop the Senior Partners now? Perhaps the world would have ended if events had not unfolded in just this way.” Ellen reached out to put her hand over his. “Guilt does you no good, because you do not know what would have happened.”
“Or perhaps the Senior Partners would not have had the opportunity to launch an apocalypse,” Wesley argued. “If I hadn’t—”
“That is the trouble with ‘what ifs,’ my friend.” Ellen sighed. “If you cannot believe it yourself, at least trust me when I say that your death would do our cause no good and great harm. You are an anchor for the others, Wesley.”
He shook his head, and she added, “And Faith?” His silence was answer enough, and she pulled back. “Very well. Let’s talk about what kind of spell you’re going to use to make Vail think you’re serious.”
~~~~~
“A bomb?” Gunn knew that his voice was about an octave higher than it normally was, but he couldn’t help it. He’d been thinking hand-to-hand combat, and here Fred was talking about blowing up the building.
“Why not?” she asked. “If we’re careful, no one will be able to trace it back to us. If you think that’s too much, we could always use flamethrowers. With that many vampires around her, I just think we’d be better off doing some of the fighting from a distance.”
Gunn nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Okay, so flamethrowers, or a bomb?”
Gunn started chuckling. Fred’s tone was so innocent; she might have been asking whether he wanted fries with his burger. “It’s a real good thing that you’re not evil. If you decided to take over the world, I’d give it a year before everybody was eatin’ out of your hand.”
She blushed. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do.” He couldn’t help himself, he’d think later. Her pink cheeks and almost-innocent expression, paired with the incredible brain just under the surface, made her too much to resist. His lips found hers with an ease that surprised him, as though nothing bad had ever happened between them, as though they were starting fresh.
Maybe they were, even in the midst of all this chaos.
“Flamethrowers,” he said, after he broke off the kiss. “Less chance of someone else getting hurt.”
“Okay.” Fred said nothing more, simply leaned in again for another kiss.
To Gunn, she tasted sweet and dangerous in equal measure, and he knew that he couldn’t lose her again. Fred kept him honest.
Without her, he had no idea where he’d be.
~~~~~
Faith twisted slightly, looking at Wes as he slipped inside the room. “What’s up?”
“Did you make your plans?”
“We’re set,” she replied. “Nothing too intense. It’s a big group of demons, right? Did you talk to Kennedy?”
“They’re coming, but they won’t
be here in time. The flight out of
Wesley didn’t sound any too pleased about it, and Faith knew why. “Spike will take care of Abby.”
“You can’t always take care of someone else in the middle of a fight.”
“This is Spike’s gig,” Faith reminded him. “He takes care of baby Slayers.”
“You sound as though you like him.”
“We have an understanding. We were in Sunnydale together, Wes. We saw some stuff, kicked the shit out of each other. There’s a bond.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
He coughed. “Of course not.”
“Then what was that?”
“What was what?”
“‘You sound as though you like him,’” Faith mocked. “If that’s not jealousy, I don’t know what is.”
“It’s not jealousy. It’s just—he’s a vampire.”
“And I’m a Slayer.” Faith flopped down on the bed. “Don’t get me wrong, Wes. I’m not judging or anything, but we’re called vampire Slayers for a reason. Buffy seems to have lost the plot on that one.”
“I’m a Watcher,” he reminded her. “We’re told from very early on that if there’s one rule we’re not to break it’s to develop a personal relationship with our Slayers.”
Faith grinned at him. “Some rules are made to be broken.”
“Indeed.”
His eyes were still haunted, and Faith patted the bed next to her. “What about you? Did you get things worked out with Ellen and Dana?”
“I’m the distraction,” Wesley replied in a wry tone of voice. “Ellen seems to think that I’ll be best suited for the role of bait.”
“I can think of a few other things you’re suited for.” She grinned at him. “What’s up, Wes?”
Shaking his head, he finally sat down next to her. “I’m feeling sorry for myself. Ignore me.”
Faith moved so that she was straddling him. “I can think of a way to take your mind off that.”
“We might not survive this.”
Wesley wasn’t quite as distracted as he normally was when she turned her feminine wiles on him. Faith hardly thought that now was the time to be thinking about death—they could die at any time. That was the nature of their jobs.
“There are a lot of things we might not survive, Wes. We don’t have to talk about that now.”
“I need to.”
Faith pulled back, seeing the intent clearly in his eyes, and realizing that he wouldn’t be dissuaded. “Okay.”
“This thing between us—it’s more than just sex.”
She felt fear stir in her belly. Robin had said the same thing, but it hadn’t been true. For a moment, Faith was tempted to shut him down, to run away, to do anything but talk about the emotion that was already there.
Because if Faith didn’t know better—if she didn’t know that she wasn’t the type to fall in love and live happily ever after—she might have suspected that was exactly what was happening.
But at the same time, Wesley wasn’t some one night stand; he was, in fact, her longest-running relationship now, and that had to mean something. So she swallowed her fear and said, “I know.”
“If something happens to you…” He trailed off. “Promise me that you’ll be careful.”
Faith felt much the same way. “Only if you do the same.”
He smiled. “I’m bait, remember?”
“I remember what happens to bait.” She kissed him—hard, bruising, demanding. “Don’t let it happen to you.”
Wesley gentled the kiss before saying, “I have every reason to stay alive.”
And Faith knew, when they made love that night, they were giving each other every reason to come back alive.
~~~~~
Spike had tried to call Buffy,
but she wasn’t around, and
He knew better, though. The
pieces were beginning to fall together for him—Miriam’s prophecy, the
ring,
Nora’s dreams,
There was a part of him that wanted to, that thought of Buffy and Dawn and the young Slayers he’d trained, and wanted to live more than anything in the world. The bigger part, however, knew that if his sacrifice meant that they would live, it would be worth it.
That kind of sacrifice was always worth it.
There was a timid knock on his door, and Spike called for his guest to come in before he could think better of it. He didn’t think it was a good idea for him to be alone with his thoughts at the moment.
“Abby?” He sat up straight on the bed. “You alright, pet?”
She shook her head. “I thought I’d talk to Wesley, but he’s—” She stopped, clearly trying to think of a tactful way to describe the activities that were going on behind closed doors.
Spike’s sharp ears had heard some of it, and he’d seen the way Wesley and Faith looked at each other when they thought no one was watching. If Buffy had been around, he’d be doing the same thing.
“Passing time with Faith?” he suggested, coming to her rescue.
She shrugged. “I guess you could call it that.”
“What’s up?” Spike asked after a moment when it didn’t appear that Abby would give the reason behind her visit on her own. “Is something wrong?”
“I just—I’m going with you
tomorrow, and I thought that maybe there was somethin’
I should know.” Her voice was steady, but Spike caught the thin thread
of
desperation there. She was a child going into battle, and he wanted
nothing
more than to put her on a plane for
Instead, Abby got to be a hero.
Spike took a deep breath, trying to work out what to say. “There’s nothing I can say that’s going to prepare you for tomorrow,” he finally admitted. “It’s goin’ to be ugly, an’ you’re goin’ to be scared. There’s nothing I or anyone else can do about that.”
Her eyes were ancient. “I’ve seen ugly.”
Spike believed her. “Yeah. Look, you stick close to me, and follow your instincts. I’m gonna get you through this.”
“Okay.”
She said it with such simple faith that Spike was astonished. What was it, he wondered, that led Slayers of all ages to trust him? It had happened everywhere he’d gone for the Council now, and he had yet to discover why.
For some reason, he found himself questioning this girl, a near stranger. “You believe me?” She nodded, and he asked, “Why?”
“Because you’re a hero, right? Heroes keep their promises.”
Spike felt compelled to be honest with her. “Abby, this fight—”
“If we die, I’ll know you tried your best,” she said calmly. “I’ve nearly died a few times now. It’s not so bad.”
“No?”
“No.” Spike could see the child in her for all her maturity in other areas. “When I die, I’ll be in a better place. I’ll be safe, and I won’t be scared no more.” Abby smiled. “When you die, it’ll be the same.”
Put that way, Spike could see her point; he only wished he shared her belief that it would be the same for a demon like him.
~~~~~
Angel almost wished that Sebassis had caught him in the act—of course, if he’d been caught, the others’ chances for success would be much reduced. If he’d been caught, he’d likely be dead now, and that idea had a certain appeal.
Although Angel knew that Connor would probably need him, he didn’t want to survive this—not after he’d killed Cordelia and signed away any chance he’d had at the Shanshu. Besides, Connor wasn’t truly his, not since Holtz had kidnapped him.
The poisoning had gone down without a hitch, however. He’d seized Sebassis’ slave, piercing the little demon’s skin with the point on his ring. In a few hours, Sebassis would drink, and they would both die.
“Angel?” Harmony’s voice came from behind him. “Do you need anything else?”
“No. Go home, Harm, and take the next couple of days off.”
“Is there something I should know?” she asked, her voice taking on a note of cunning.
He turned to face her. “Not if you want to live.” Angel made certain that the threat was both clear. “Get out of here, Harmony. Hear me?”
She stared at him. “Good luck, Angel. You’ve been a really decent boss.”
Angel let her go, grateful that there was one less thing to worry about. Harmony was out of it, which meant that she’d be safe, and she wouldn’t betray their plans. Now he just had to wait until the sun went down, and he could meet the others.
What would happen after that, no one could say.
~~~~~
Connor watched as Izzeriel exited the restaurant with the other targets. “Ready?” he asked the girls.
Uta nodded. Her normally playful manner was all business now. “Ready.”
“Which one do you want to go first?” Phoebe raised her crossbow, pointing it in the direction of the group.
“Wait until we get closer,” Connor directed, his sharp eyes taking in the details. “Uta and I will approach first so we don’t lose the advantage of surprise.”
Phoebe nodded, her dark eyes intense. “You got it. Depending on the angles, I might be able to take out two.”
“Leave something for us to do.” Uta sent her friend a quick grin.
Phoebe shrugged. “Better move fast, then.”
Connor didn’t say anything, too intent on the hunt to think of anything else. Uta was at his side as he ran towards Izzerial and the others, and when they were just a few feet away, the crossbow bolt whizzed past his left ear, striking one of the demons in the heart. It went down with a thump, and Connor raised his ax to take the head off the one nearest to him.
With a bright, manic grin, he threw himself into the fight. Now that his memories were back, he knew that this was where he belonged. This was what he was meant to do.
~~~~~
Gunn clutched his old ax, the one that his old gang had made for him, and stared at the storefront where Senator Brucker had her campaign headquarters. “What do you think?”
“I think I’m really glad we brought the flamethrowers.” Fred was staring at the vampires visible through the backlit windows. There were a lot of them.
“I’m thinking the bomb might have been a better idea.” Gunn had known that Senator Brucker normally surrounded herself with vampires, but this was on the ridiculous side. It was almost as though she’d known they were coming.
Fred shook her head. “It’s too close to the other buildings. There would be no way to confine the damage.”
“You know I think it’s sexy when you talk like that.”
She treated him to a quick grin, then her face grew serious again. “How do you think the others are doing?”
“Don’t know, and I hate to say it, but we can’t afford to care right now. Eye on the prize, hon.”
Fred shifted the flamethrower so that it was sitting more comfortably on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Gunn watched her head towards the building, her steps never faltering, and he knew it was love.
~~~~~
“Damn.” Faith looked around at the dead bodies. “That was not nearly as much fun as I’d hoped it would be.”
Leslie sniffed. “That was not challenging. I could have handled them on my own.”
“Any one of the three of us could have,” Caridad replied, just as huffily.
Faith cleaned her knife off on the clothing of one of one of the dead demons. “Let’s hope that the others had just as easy a job. Challenges are nice, but I’d rather have everybody back in one piece.”
It was too bad that was probably too much to hope for.