Go the Whole Wide World
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The standard "I don't own them, please don't sue" should suffice, don't you think?
Archive: If you've got my stuff already, otherwise just ask.
Summary: Wesley finds himself with business in
A/N: spikes_lady asked for Spike and Wesley bonding with possible Spuffy. I hope this suits.
Chapter 2: Ulterior
Motives
"Our distrust is very expensive." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wesley took another sip of his tea, ignoring the platter of breakfast pastries that Lucio had ordered.
"Surely, you must be hungry," Lucio insisted, nudging the tray closer to him.
Wesley took a pastry, knowing that refusing would insult his host. "Thank you. Did you bring the discs?"
"Ah. You prefer to get straight to business." Lucio sighed. "I would blame it on being an American, but I cannot in your case."
Wesley shrugged. "Call it being on a schedule, if you like."
Lucio shrugged gracefully. "As you prefer." He glanced around the room. "And your companion? He is not here?"
"Spike is—"
"Right here." The vampire slid into an empty seat, looking rather tired to Wesley's eyes. "Sorry."
Wesley raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. He couldn't remember Spike apologizing for anything in the past. "Now, you were saying, Lucio?"
"The discs," Lucio said, placing a metal case on the table. "You understand, of course, that you may not leave the country with them. They are a national treasure." His insouciance disappeared in the blink of an eye, and he fixed Wesley with an intense stare. "I hear that you have some personal connection to these discs."
"Some connection," Wesley admitted reluctantly, although he wasn't about to elaborate further.
Lucio nodded. "You have the resources of our Roma branch behind you."
"We appreciate it," Wesley said.
He stood, pushing back from the table. "You will contact me if you need any assistance."
As soon as Lucio was out of earshot, Wesley turned to look at Spike. "Where were you? I knocked on your door, and you didn't answer."
"I was sleepin'," Spike said, sounding disgruntled.
Wesley raised an eyebrow. "Were you out late?"
"Ran into a Slayer," Spike admitted softly.
Wesley blinked. "Are you certain?" He didn't know that they wanted to alert either Buffy or the Council to their presence, particularly given their actions regarding Dana. On the other hand, he still felt that it might be necessary to warn Giles to the fact that whoever the cyborgs were, they had access to Council personnel files.
"Was one of the girls I helped train in Sunnydale," Spike admitted glumly. "She's sure to have told Buffy."
"Do you think she'll try to find you?"
"Hell if I know," Spike said. "She might be too brassed off at me for not getting in touch with her, especially if Andrew told her I was around."
Wesley rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Perhaps I should call Giles today. I probably should have contacted him as soon as we realized that this organization had access to Council files."
"And if he's involved?" Spike asked sourly. "They might want control of Peaches."
Wesley leaned back in his chair. "Perhaps." He was beginning to feel as though they were walking into a quagmire. "That isn't the Council's usual style, however."
"Hard to say what the 'usual style' is since most of 'em are dead."
Spike had a point, and Wesley was a little surprised at the astute observation. "True." He looked down at the case. "Let's focus on the discs for now. We may find the answers we need right here."
"An' if Buffy does find us?" Spike asked.
Wesley raised an eyebrow. "Then we'll deal with that when it comes."
Spike grimaced. "That's easy for you to say."
~~~~~
"Who is it that you want to look for, mia cara?" Antonio asked.
"An old friend," Buffy said. She didn't want to explain that Spike was also an old boyfriend, particularly when Antonio showed signs of wanting to be her next boyfriend.
Antonio looked concerned. "I can find this man for you."
Buffy gave him a grateful smile, but shook her head. "That's
okay. I think I've got a couple of leads." That wasn't exactly true. She had no
idea why Spike was in
She'd had too many experiences with boyfriends new and old running into one another. It was never pretty.
"Have dinner with me tonight, then. It will take your mind off of you troubles." Antonio's tone bordered on demanding.
Up until now, Antonio's take-charge attitude hadn't irritated her. In a way, it was kind of cute, and she had been willing to humor him. Buffy had viewed her relationship with him as a crutch to get her over the hump of missing Spike. He was the rebound guy, and nothing more.
She wasn't feeling the love so much right now.
"I can't," Buffy said, trying to sound regretful. "I promised the girls I'd patrol with them tonight."
"At least have a glass of wine with me before you go," he coaxed. "Or antipasto. I brought a nice selection with me. You must eat before you leave."
Buffy gave in as graciously as possible. "Sure. I could probably stand to eat before I leave."
She was still munching on the snacks Antonio had procured and was starting on her second glass of wine when Dawn entered the apartment. "Hey, Buffy," she said. "Aren't you going out with Julie and the others tonight? They said to tell you that they're ready."
Buffy frowned. "I'm sure they'll be fine without me, and Alessandra knows her way around."
Dawn gave her an odd look. "Are you sure? Weren't you going to look for Spike tonight?"
"Spike is gone, Dawnie," Buffy replied sympathetically. "We have to let him go."
Her younger sister stared at her for a moment. "Okay," she said slowly. "Um, you know, I think I'm going to hang out with the Slayers tonight. They said something about watching movies after patrol."
Buffy nodded, turning her attention back to Antonio. "Sure." It looked as though she and Antonio would have the apartment to themselves, which suited her perfectly. Really, Antonio was the perfect man for her—handsome, intelligent, and not quite human, which meant that he understood her being the Slayer.
Although, she had the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something.
~~~~~
"Why isn't she coming?" Julie asked, her eyes going to the ceiling. "Is it Antonio?"
"Bastard," Alessandra spat. "Buffy should never have agreed to go out with him. He sleeps with every woman he sees."
Dawn looked uncomfortable. She didn't remember how Buffy had met Antonio, but she was the one who had encouraged her sister to go out with him. Dawn had believed that Buffy needed to get over Spike, and the only way to do that was to find another man who would take her mind off of the vampire. "He seemed nice at first," she objected. "Buffy seems happy with him."
Rosalia shook her head. "This is not good. Buffy told us earlier that she meant to search for Spike tonight, and now she insists on staying in with the Immortal? Why did she change her mind so suddenly?"
That's what was making Dawn so uncomfortable. While Buffy had been skeptical that Julie had actually seen Spike, she had made her intentions to get to the bottom of things very clear. "Okay," Dawn said. "We can still look for Spike ourselves. If I go along, we can split up, and cover twice as much ground."
Julie caught on quickly. "I'll go with Alessandra, if you'll go with Rosalia, Dawn. We'll know if it's Spike."
"If you see him—and it is him—don't hurt him," Dawn insisted. "Just bring him back here."
"Do we show him to Buffy?" Alessandra asked.
Dawn shook her head. "Not if she's still with the Immortal. You haven't seen the clash of the boyfriends. It always gets ugly."
Rosalia chuckled. "It was that way with my older sister. One time, she was dating three men at once, and they all came to our house at the same time."
Dawn winced. "Yeah. Let's avoid that this time around."
Alessandra nodded her agreement. "We will not let them see one another."
Dawn had enjoyed her time in
"So, this is a vampire we are looking for?" Rosalia asked as they set off on their own.
Dawn nodded. "He's a different sort of vampire, though."
Rosalia didn't appear convinced. "Vampires are vampires."
"Normally, I'd agree with you, but Spike is in a category all his own." Dawn didn't want to explain more than that, but she knew Slayers. Rosalia would need a better reason than "Spike is different" to not kill him. "He was like my older brother."
Rosalia looked surprised. "A vampire?"
"You know that Buffy died?" Dawn asked.
Rosalia nodded. "Of course. Everyone knows."
"He took care of me the summer she was gone," Dawn said. "We—we kind of had a falling out, and I said some things that I wish I hadn't. And then he died to save the world. So, Spike's different."
Rosalia touched Dawn's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Then I will treat him as my friend's older brother, and not as a vampire."
"Thank you," Dawn said, hoping that they did find him. She wanted a second chance.
~~~~~~
Spike was beginning to go a little stir-crazy. Wesley had
holed up with the books he'd brought, including two of the templates. The
ex-Watcher hadn't been certain that they would work so far away from
Wesley didn't need Spike's help, though, and that left him at loose ends.
"I'm goin' out," Spike finally announced.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Wesley replied, not looking up from his books. "You don't want to run into any Slayers."
"Maybe I do," Spike said, challenging him. "Might be better just to get it over with."
Wesley finally looked up. "Fine, Spike. If you want to get yourself dusted, be my guest."
Spike glared at him. "You've got an awful big stick up your ass, you know that? Might want to think about pullin' it out sometime."
"You know nothing about me," Wesley shot back. "You keep forgetting that the only reason Angel sent you along was to get you out of his way. I suggest you not get in mine."
Spike's eyes narrowed angrily. "Then I'll take myself out of your way."
He stormed out of the suite, intent on killing something—or someone. He didn't much care at the moment. It appeared that Angel's mates had swallowed the other vampire's line completely.
Spike was the ne'er-do-well, the black sheep. His soul wasn't as good as Angel's because he hadn't suffered with it for a hundred years. Well, bugger that for a game of soldiers. He was done with it. Wesley could research those discs on his own, and he could take care of the cyborgs by himself, too. If he got hurt, then Wesley would wish Spike had been there.
At that thought, Spike almost turned around and went back to the hotel, if only because he'd promised to watch the man's back, no matter how ungrateful the prat might be. Whatever Wesley's opinion of him, Spike did keep his promises.
He squelched the impulse, telling himself that the man would be fine with his books; it was what he seemed to want.
The streets of
Spike's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a young vampire trailing an older woman, rather clumsily trying to stay out of sight. He shook his head in distaste as he jogged to catch up with the vampire. "Have a little class," he said in broken Italian.
The other vampire, sensing one of his own kind, frowned in confusion. "What?"
"It's the fear that makes the blood sweet," Spike whispered in his ear, then held up a stake. He watched as the sight of it registered and then plunged it home.
The woman turned around, and Spike gave her a jaunty wave before he began walking in the opposite direction, knowing that his offer to walk her home would only frighten her.
His mood slightly improved after the kill, Spike decided to look for something that presented more of a challenge. It was too bad he wasn't still hunting Slayers—he'd have his pick.
"Spike!"
He froze, recognizing the voice. It didn't seem possible;
"Spike." This time the voice came with a hand on his arm, and he turned. Dawn was staring at him. "It is you."
"In the flesh," he managed. Spike looked over her shoulder to see another girl about her age approaching. "What are you doin' out and about at this late hour?"
"Looking for you," Dawn said impatiently. "Julie saw you last night."
Spike winced. "Right. That was her name. Couldn't quite place it."
They stared at one another for a minute, before the other girl spoke in accented English. "You killed the vampire stalking the woman. That is how we found you."
Spike sighed. He should have stayed in the hotel. Wesley had been right. "Yeah. Figures."
Dawn looked hurt. "You didn't want to see us?"
"Didn't say that," Spike said, looking around the street. "Let's not do this out here, yeah? Probably better go back to the hotel."
"Which hotel?" Dawn asked. "Because I've got to let the other girls know that we found you."
Spike tried to hide his own hurt. "Your sister not one of them?"
"Something's up with Buffy," Dawn replied. "Something weird. It's probably better if you don't come by the apartment right now."
Spike swallowed. He could guess why that might be. "New boyfriend?"
"It's more complicated than that," Dawn replied. "Hotel?"
"The Albergo del Senato," Spike said. "Room 23."
The other girl gave a low whistle. "You are staying there?"
Spike shrugged. "I'm not payin' for it."
Dawn frowned. "Who is?"
"Dunno exactly. It's either Angel or Wesley's contact here. You'd have to ask one of them."
Dawn shook her head in disbelief. "Angel?"
"Andrew didn't tell you?" Spike couldn't believe that the boy had actually kept his mouth shut.
Dawn held up a hand. "Okay, obviously there's a lot to talk about, but now isn't the time or the place. I'll meet you there as soon as I round up the others."
"How many 'others' you talkin' about?" Spike asked.
"Just three." She seemed to realize that she'd yet to introduce her companion. "Sorry, Spike. This is Rosalia. Julie went with Alessandra. That's who's coming back with me."
Spike nodded, deciding that now wasn't the time to argue about whether or not it was a good idea for four teenage girls to descend on Wesley. He hid a smirk. On second thought, it was an absolutely brilliant idea.
"See you in a bit, then," Spike said, turning back towards his hotel.
"Spike!" He turned to face her just in time to have her give him a quick hug. "It's really good to see you again."
Dawn had taken off with Rosalia before he could catch his breath to respond.
It looked as though this trip had just become a lot more interesting.
~~~~~
Wesley had managed to make quite a bit of headway on translating the discs and determining their origin. It appeared that the cyborgs were part of a quasi-religious order, although Wesley was still a little unclear on their mission.
Were they interested in fighting those they considered evil, or demons? Wesley knew there was a difference, but he didn't know that they did.
He sighed, putting his pen down. He'd been rather unfair to Spike earlier. Angel might have sent Spike along largely to get him out of the way, but Wesley had a feeling that Spike could be an asset.
If Wesley didn't make an enemy out of him.
The door opened, and Spike entered, his expression wary and defiant all at once. "I'm sorry, Spike," Wesley said, before he could speak. He wanted to get this out of the way as soon as possible. "I've been rather short tempered the last few days."
Spike's face softened slightly. "Yeah, okay. I was a bit of a wanker, too."
Wesley nodded, glad to have that over with. "I believe I've made some headway. Hopefully, we can be out of here in the next few days."
The vampire sprawled in a chair next to him. "Yeah?"
"I thought you'd be pleased," Wesley said, catching the lack of enthusiasm in his voice.
Spike shrugged uncomfortably. "'s not that exactly."
Wesley thought the vampire looked sheepish. "You ran into the Slayer."
"Ran into a Slayer," Spike corrected him. "An' Dawn. They're comin' here."
Wesley winced. He wasn't sure he was terribly interested in seeing Buffy at the moment, particularly not if there were going to be fireworks. Relationship drama he could do without. "Buffy, as well?"
Spike shook his head. "Dawn said there was somethin' up with her, somethin' weird. We might want to look into it."
Wesley didn't like the sound of that. "I highly doubt that she's going to want our help, Spike," he said severely. "They made that quite obvious with Dana."
"That was different!" Spike protested. "Buffy wasn't in charge, an' she didn't know I was there. If she had, she might not have been so quick to jump to conclusions."
Wesley sighed. "They were fair conclusions," he admitted. "Wolfram and Hart has an unsavory reputation."
"Why are you there?" Spike asked. "From what Fred's told me, the law firm was everything you were fightin' against, an' now you're a part of it."
Wesley wished he had a good answer to that. "I don't know. If Angel hadn't taken the position, I don't think I would have made the same decision."
"Why did Angel take it?" Spike asked. "He's not happy there. Not that you want him too happy, but—he doesn't even know what he's fightin' for these days."
"I know," Wesley said quietly. "You're right. But where else could I go?"
Spike shrugged. "Plenty of places that would take a bloke with your talents. Could go with the new Council."
"Unless you count the cyborg disguised as my father, the Council hasn't contacted me," Wesley pointed out. "I doubt they have any interest."
Spike shrugged. "Maybe so."
"When do you think they'll be here?"
"Dunno. Dawn had to pick up the other two Slayers. Said she didn't want me back at their apartment."
Spike sounded so glum that Wesley knew immediately what the problem was. "New boyfriend?"
"Yeah." He sighed. "Shouldn't have left it so long."
Wesley could feel a certain amount of sympathy, having spent the last few weeks watching Fred and Knox embark on a relationship. "Perhaps she'll surprise you," he said, without much enthusiasm.
Spike didn't appear much cheered. "Surprises are never good when it comes to Buffy."