The Painting
by Squirly

33. Plans
Disclaimer: Now I own another new person! Go me! The original Joss people all still belong to him. Darn it.

Summary: Too much to go into. Gotta read it to find out.

Reviews: Can't survive without them. Love readers. Adore reviewers. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!!

A/N: I see more new names on the reviewers list. Thank you. I love it when I pick up new readers. Gives me warm fuzzies to know people are enjoying my insanity.


Jake walked over and extended his hand to Wesley. "Good try." He smiled. "Welcome to captivity. We have a well-stocked kitchen and full satellite television. Have to protect the remote from certain members of the female set though." He flicked a smiling glance at Dawn as he said it. She flipped an obscene gesture at him with a completely Spike-like smirk, earning a snicker from Gunn, a slight smile from Wesley and twin gasps of outrage from Buffy and Willow.

"Dawn! I can't believe you did that." Buffy cringed in embarrassment.

"It's okay. We've just spent most of the day with each other. What's a finger between friends? Besides, I figure she had a very good teacher. Some rude vampire we all know." Jake winked at the girls with a grin. He crossed over to the teenager and tapped her chin with a long finger. They smiled at each other. It then occurred to the newly arrived females that Jake was a very attractive man. Buffy gazed at her under-aged sister with suspicion in her green eyes. But a tiny part of the slayer was happy Jake wasn't a demon or vampire.

Gunn began inspecting the room for escape routes. Dawn followed his progress with amusement, her arms folded across her chest. "Give it up. There's no way out."

Willow wandered around the apartment moving from room to room and touching each outer wall with her hand. Jake watched her curiously but shrugged when no one else paid attention to her odd behavior.

Wesley glanced around. "You haven't seen Lindsey, have you?"

Jake tilted his head. "Lindsey?"

"The young man who was there at breakfast. He works for Wolfram and Hart. We followed him back here after he escaped from the hotel." Wes explained.

"No, we haven't seen him." Dawn answered.

"Right then. Willow?" Wes smiled at the witch. She returned the smile.

Projecting her thoughts, she reached out mentally to everyone in the room. 'Buffy?'

'Yes.' The slayer answered mentally.

'Wes?'

'Excellent. It worked.' The former watcher responded.

'Gunn?'

'Man, this still wigs me out.' Gunn shivered.

'Jake?'

The artist jumped at the unfamiliar feeling of someone else's voice in his head. 'Um...yes?'

'Dawn?' Willow polled the final member of the group.

'Cool. What are we doing?' The teenager grinned.

'We are making sure that they can't hear us.' Willow answered. 'Now that I have everyone's attention, it's obvious that they didn't detect my magic. And I've removed the feeble little magic barrier they had. They must have seen us enter the building on the security system just like you figured they would, Wes.'

'So Lindsey must be behind the door Lilah came out of earlier.' Buffy projected.

'I'd say that would be a fairly safe guess.' Wes nodded silently.

'So...what are we doing now?' Jake asked mentally.

'Waiting for the cavalry.' Buffy snickered.

'Huh?' Dawn frowned, confused.

'Angel is leading the second wave. All we had to do is get into the building and locate you.' Gunn explained.

'But you got caught.' Jake sent.

'That was the plan.' Willow smiled.

'And again with...huh?' Dawn's confusion increased.


In the apartment next door.

Lindsey watched as Lilah handed the amulet to the witch seated at the kitchen table. The witch nodded. "The vampire's essence is here. I can feel it. He is telling the truth." She stated pointing to Lindsey. Lilah's smile chilled Lindsey to the bone.

"So I can go now? My family is safe?" Lindsey asked with more courage than he felt.

Lilah looked at him. "Why would you think that? You're too valuable now. You've seen inside Angel's stronghold. You know how to get around their building. How did you get out anyway? Our people couldn't get in."

"I just opened the door and left. Maybe it was only blocking people trying to get in." Lindsey shrugged and went to the refrigerator for something to drink. He should have known asking if he were free would be a waste of time. The only way to escape the clutches of his employers was death. It was an option that was looking more attractive by the day.

He sat down on the sofa in the living room and once more began answering Lilah's questions about his time in Angel's custody. He knew he would have to go over the ordeal several more times before the bitch was satisfied she'd extracted every detail.


At the Hyperion.

Giles made his required phone call as soon as Cordelia hung up her cell. "Andrew. Are you there? Do you know what you have to do? How many slayers do you have with you?" He waited and was relieved the annoying young man seemed to have finally done something right. "Excellent. As soon as we call, take them to England and give them lodging in the Council building. They'll be protected there. When you get back have the coven enhance the shielding barriers."

Angel entered through the front door. His mind was still reeling from the information he'd gotten from the Oracles. The urge to go see Spike was almost overwhelming but he had too much to do before he could go to Caritas. He saw Rupert hanging up his cell phone.

"Everything set?" The dark vampire asked distractedly.

The former Watcher nodded. "Yes. Are you all right? What did they say?"

Angel shook himself. "I'm fine. Did Andrew get where he needed to be?"

Again Giles nodded. "He's just waiting for the go-ahead. Are you sure you're all right?"

"They had some very interesting information but I have to talk to Spike first. It's possible that Lorne already knows most of it." Angel told him. A rare smile lit his face. "It's amazing."


At Caritas.

Xander, Lorne and Spike all stared at Krista in shock. "What are you going on about, Sprite?" Spike finally asked. He shifted his handsome features into game face. "I am just a vampire. Nothing more. Want me to bite the Whelp here to prove it?" He shook the demon away.

"Hey, no biting. There's a no violence rule here, right Lorne?" Xander protested.

The Pylean only smiled benignly.

Krista ignored the man next to her and smiled. "You're not just a vampire. You are a person. You're more than both. You are a Daywalker. You have abilities no other vampire has, not even Angel. Most of them were released when you were freed from the amulet. Your soul is unique. You have an innocent soul. That's what sets you apart. You've earned Heaven. No other vampire has ever done that. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately? Other than the whole going about in the sunshine that is."

Spike thought about it. "No. But then, before last night the only things I remembered about vampires I looked up on the Internet. I know now that the people who posted those websites know squat about vampires."

Xander ran his gaze over Spike and looked back at Krista. "The only differences I can see are that he's marginally nicer than he used to be, his hair is actually almost a normal color and his accent is a little bit more refined than it was before. But that's it."

"Sod off, Harris" Spike growled.

"Kiss my ass, Spike." Xander retorted mildly.

"Play nice boys." Krista admonished.

"Lorne mentioned a choice." Spike found his fingernails very interesting.

Krista's auburn curls danced as she nodded. "You do have a choice." Her sparkling eyes fixed on Spike's face. He met her gaze with his own sapphire stare. She saw all she needed to see in that mutual look. She grinned. "But it will be an easy one, I'm thinking."

Spike felt a sense of peace spread throughout his being as he gazed into the pixie's startling lavender eyes.