Chapter 29 Glasgow 7 July 2004
To my surprise, I do manage to sleep - deeply and soundly
like I haven't for a long time. As I come back, I'm vaguely aware of the sound
of movement and then low level conversation. When I open my eyes, there's no
one in the bedroom, so I get up, pull on a wrap and go out to find Moira and
Dawn in the kitchen. Dawn's at the stove, stirring something in a large pan.
"What're you doing?" I ask. "Not teaching her
to cook, surely?" I add as I turn to Moira.
"Not anything useful, that's for certain. There's a
summer fair for the local Kirk. They're looking for things to sell, and tablet
always goes down well. I was going to make some, but Dawn decided she'd like to
learn how."
"Tablet? What's that?"
Dawn shrugs. "It's got sugar and butter and milk in it,
so I'm thinking it can't be bad."
"It's sort of like fudge, but with a harder, grittier
texture," Moira explains. "I think it's an exclusively Scottish
thing, but home made tablet will always sell at these things."
She checks her watch. "Ok, Dawn, it's probably time to
do the test. Remember what I told you?"
"Drop a bit into cold water and see what the texture's
like."
"That's right. Now, lift it out and let me see."
"Ooooh, it's sticky - like soft toffee."
"That's right. Ok, that's perfect. Now, the hard work
part. Take it off the heat but keep stirring it. When you see it just starting
to form crystals - after a minute or two - pour it into the trays."
Dawn does as she's told, stirring the thickening mixture
carefully.
"Did you sleep well?" Moira asks.
"Yes
yes I did. How's Spike doing?" I address
the question generally, but its Dawn who answers.
"He was going to get some more sleep and then have a
shower. I told him to wait until you or Gus were around before he did that,
though, so I've been listening for running water next door. Haven't heard any
though, so he's probably still asleep." Dawn's still got that slightly
over-excited tone she had when I left her with Spike.
"Where's Gus?"
"Ah, well. He's gone to the airport." Moira's
voice sounds hesitant.
"Airport?"
"Yeah, to meet Giles?" No hesitance from Dawn, but
then she probably hasn't had the whole story about Giles' involvement in all
this.
"Giles. Giles is coming here?"
"Apparently he thinks this is where he needs to be to
find out what's happened to the other Slayers."
I feel a constriction in my stomach at that. I was much
happier when I didn't think he'd be any closer to here than London.
"Did he stop off in London
or is coming straight from Cleveland?"
"Don't know. Gus just got the message to meet him and a
flight number, so I don't know."
"Where's he staying?" I ask, wondering if he's
planning on kicking Spike out of his apartment.
Dawn shrugs. "Some hotel. I think he might be coming
straight to the office upstairs, though."
Ok, so Giles is coming. I can deal with him. It might be
easier, though, if I'm dressed and have clean hair.
"I'm going to have a shower. If you hear anything from
next door, give me a shout. I'll be quick as I can."
"You got it," Dawn chirps happily, continuing to
stir the mixture.
I shower as quickly as I can. Drying my hair takes a little
longer, but when it's done, I scrape it back with a scrunchie, pull on some
jeans and a t-shirt and bump into Dawn in the hallway.
"Water's running next door," she informs me, so I
leave right away, bursting in through Spike's front door which has been left
unlocked. The bathroom door's open, but I knock anyway.
"Hardly need to knock, making all that noise," he
mutters before opening the door completely. He's still dressed below the
waist at least and hes gradually removing bandages from his upper half.
"Come to check up on me?"
"Come to make sure you don't fall in the shower."
"Right. So, do you think you need to come in here or
can you listen out for me from there?"
"Er
here'll be fine," I mutter, knowing that
he's taken a perverse pleasure in making me have to even consider the
alternative.
"Fine. I'll shout if I need help."
He closes the door behind him, and faced with a closed door
or an extremely uninteresting hallway, I decide to go and wait in the kitchen
which I reckon should afford the clearest sounds from the bathroom.
There's nothing interesting to do in the kitchen either, but
there is a small pile of washing up, so I set to with that, pleased to note
that he hasn't used all the hot water. And then I remember the unit in Moira's
bathroom - it heated water just for the shower, so maybe it's the same in here.
I'm just finishing when I hear a knock on the door. I go to
open it, wondering who it could be since anyone Spike's likely to be expecting
is more likely to just walk in.
It's Giles with Gus behind him. Gus mouths a 'Sorry' at me
before saying out loud, "Ok, Mr. Giles. I'll be upstairs when you need
me."
Giles barely acknowledges this, merely glancing behind him
and nodding before turning back to me. "Hello, Buffy. I was looking for
Spike. I understood he'd been injured, so I wasn't expecting him to be
entertaining."
"He's not entertaining. He's in the shower, and I'm
here just in case he falls. You know, in case he injures himself worse than he
already is."
"I see. May I come in?"
"I don't know. Maybe I should just check with
Spike?"
"I asked because that's the accepted form. As I'm sure
you know, the building, with the exception of Moira's flat, is leased by the
Council. That makes me effectively his landlord, and as such, I'm entitled to
come in."
I don't know how true or otherwise that is, but I decide
that it doesn't matter. Whatever he's got to say to Spike, I'll be there to make
sure it doesn't get out of hand.
I stand aside and show him into the small sitting room
before going back to the bathroom to let Spike know.
"I heard," he says from behind the door.
"Tell him I'll be there soon as I'm decent."
"Want some help with bandages?"
"I can probably manage most of it, and what I can't,
we'll sort out later."
I go back in to the living room, and we're both sitting
rather awkwardly for some minutes, during which time Giles pointedly looks at
his watch.
"It's going to take him a while," I state.
"He's not exactly at his most mobile."
"Yes, you said he'd been injured."
"Do you have any idea how badly?"
"Given the description of how he single-handedly
defeated this Hatton, I can't imagine it was that bad."
I shake my head, then decide to tell him, one by one, about
the various injuries I tended yesterday. As I go through the catalogue, he
looks more and more embarrassed.
"I don't understand. I thought
when you said he was
injured
that it was minor. I've done some investigation of this Hatton, and I
know what he is. Angel
was able to help too. He said there was someone at
Wolfram and Hart at the end - name of Hamilton.
He
Angel said he couldn't harm him at all until Hamilton
was stupid enough to let Angel know that the power of the Senior Partners was
in his blood. Spike didn't
drink from this Hatton, did he?"
"No, I bloody didn't." The voice from the doorway
takes us both by surprise. "If I'd known that, I'd have saved myself a
world of pain."
I get up, instinctively going towards him to help him to a
chair, but he gestures impatiently to me to sit back down. I do, and I watch
him walking unevenly into the room.
"When Hatton'd finished with me, getting up wasn't an
option, believe me. Then something changed. It was something to do with that
crystal, but why it helped me, I have no idea."
"Yes, well, I had hoped to speak to Spike on his own,
but since you're here, perhaps we should invite Gus back down and I can tell
you what I've been able to add to the information you gave me."
"Ok," I answer, pulling my cell phone out of my
pocket. After yesterday, I made sure to get Gus' phone number, so I call him. I
know it's only upstairs, but there's no way I'm leaving Spike alone with Giles
just now. Giles looks mildly irritated, but doesn't say anything.
It only takes a couple of minutes before Gus has arrived,
and the four of us are sitting, Gus and Giles in the two armchairs, and Spike
and I on the sofa. "Right," Giles begins, taking his glasses off to
rub at his eyes tiredly before replacing them. "Where were we?"
"Spike just told you that when Hatton left him, he had
been badly beaten and couldn't get up. Then, something changed and he was able
to not only get up, but come to the room where the crystal was, and finish
Hatton off," I summarise. I want to be sure that Giles has got the picture
of Spike being badly hurt clearly in his head since he seems to be inclined to
forget that bit.
"The crystal," he repeats. "Yes, I've had
everyone I can spare looking into that. The behaviour of the energy in the
crystal certainly makes sense when you take Edmundsons Free Energy Theory of
the calling of Slayers into consideration. Despite studying the event for
generations, the Council has a number of theories as to how a Slayer is called,
but there has never been a way to conclusively prove one theory over another.
However, in the Free Energy Theory, Slayer power is released into the ether on
the death of each Slayer. It is then temporarily free to roam the earth in
search of a suitable host. That theory believes that it travels until it
encounters a potential Slayer. Some sub theories say that it rests with the
first potential it finds while others believe that it searches for the most
suitable candidate. The fact that Buffy retained her Slayer powers after dying
has caused no end of argument around that theory, but that aspect has no
importance in this discussion. This theory is given substance by the apparent
behaviour of the energy in this instance. We have to assume that the energy had
somehow been locked in the crystal. If it hadn't, surely it would have emerged
before you arrived. However, the energy recognised that there were Slayers
close to it, and fought to get to them."
"The other girls said they weren't aware of it until I
got there."
"Interesting. Perhaps, as the longest holder of the
power, it recognised you personally, but again, that's a subject for discussion
when the current crisis has been resolved. Once contact was made between you
and the crystal or perhaps more accurately, the energy within the crystal, the
structure of the crystal was no longer able to contain the energy and it flowed
back into those it recognised. However, I don't see how this could have helped
Spike in the slightest. The Slayer energy, by any reasonable theory, should
have kept as far from Spike as it could. He's the opposite of a Slayer. Evil,
dead, the antithesis of everything it should be drawn to."
"I knew Spike needed help," I offer. "I don't
know how, but I'm sure that my need to help Spike was recognised
somehow."
Giles looks at me as if I'd just told him I want to dye my
hair green. I ignore the look and try to get back to more important matters.
"So, do you know how many Slayers are still
missing?"
"Er, yes. We believe eight are unaccounted for."
"And what's the deal with Philip Spencer Kidd?"
"Ah, now, that's more complicated."
"What do you mean, complicated?"
"Philip is one very scared young man."
"He should be. When I get my hands on him
"
"Buffy, I know he's hurt you. Indeed, he's been
involved in the kidnapping of many Slayers, but right now, he's our only clue
to getting the remaining girls back. And he's got better reason than you to be
afraid." He turns his attention towards Spike. "Spike, the
information you were given by Hatton regarding the Senior Partners has been
corroborated by Philip. He has been working for them, although, to be fair, he
didn't know that until very recently."
"Sounds like he's been talking," Spike pipes up.
"Mind sharing?"
Giles takes a deep breath before explaining.
"Yes, well, as Hatton told you, the original scheme was
Morag's. Apparently, from the time she got her power, she was convinced that
she could use the power in some way other than what was intended. She found
that she could siphon off part of her own power and store it in crystals. Once
she'd perfected her magic, she needed two things - she needed a market for the
power, and she needed information on the Slayers. According to Philip, finding
buyers was easy. She already had contacts all over the world because of her
legitimate business interests, and some of those had contacts in other
dimensions. Once information on her product became known, she was approached by
Hatton. He was apparently happy just to act for various buyers in the
beginning.
Giles reaches into his pocket for a cloth, takes off his
glasses and cleans them thoughtfully. Philip's involvement with Morag is much
longer-term. Some years ago, he had heard that she had some skill with magic,
and he commissioned her to provide him with something rather specialised. As
you described to me, he can literally turn on his charm at will. He paid her
handsomely for it, I understand. As far as Philip was concerned, that was the
end of their arrangement. Then, almost a year ago, she approached him, threatening
to tell the Council about his ability and how hes used it in the meantime.
Philip maintains that he only ever used his
ability in a social context,
although he seems not to recognise the fact that that in itself would be seen
as reprehensible. However, Philip's father believed him to be flighty and
unworthy of the huge inheritance that would otherwise have come to him. As a
result, he left his estate to the Council, on condition that Philip is paid a
very generous monthly allowance for as long as he continues to be employed. The
Council, for its part, cannot dismiss Philip without due cause. Philip
believed, quite rightly, that the Council would not look kindly on his
behaviour, and so he felt he had no option but to accede to Morag's demands.
She needed information on Slayers and their locations, and she knew Philip was
a Council employee. And, by dint of using the very gift she had provided for
him, the information was easy for him to obtain, even from the other side of
the world."
"And he just told you all this? What did you use? A
truth spell?" Spike's voice is heavy with sarcasm.
"I would have had no compunction about using a truth
spell if it had proved necessary. Under the circumstances, it wasn't."
"He didn't just offer this information, did he?"
I'm with Spike. I can't see Philip just coming clean about all this - not with
his allowance in jeopardy.
"He offered this information in return for protection.
He believes that the Senior Partners will wish to punish his
ineptitude in
letting you follow Buffy through the portal. When Philip returned to the UK,
Hatton had already taken over the operation from Morag, and he decided to use
Philip for various tasks, among them, handling the Fyarls. It seems that the
charm he can turn on at a whim has the effect of rendering Fyarls much more
reasonable than they would normally be. Philip knew that he was working for the
Senior Partners, but didn't see any alternative. He was at the portal when you
went through after Buffy. He had a choice to make at that point. He could have
followed you into the portal or tried in some way to warn Hatton of what was
happening, but he believed that he would be blamed regardless, and so he ran.
His insurance policy was a bit of information he came across by accident. Somehow,
he learned that a lawyer by name of Lindsay McDonald had been able to hide from
the Senior Partners. He didn't know the details, and he hadn't investigated too
closely so as not to draw attention to himself, but he knew that a method
existed. The details were, in fact, provided to the Council by Wesley Wyndam
Pryce before his death. Philip tried to get the information from Penelope, but
that was too specialised to be within her remit. In desperation, he tried to
contact me, but, not realising his significance, I ignored his calls. Once I'd
spoken to you, I immediately contacted him, and, in return for this
information, was able to provide him with the protection he wanted. He is
currently in a room which is shielded from the Senior Partners. However, if he
takes as much as one step out of that room, he will lose whatever protection
the symbols provide. He is therefore, to all intents and purposes, out of
circulation."
I shiver despite myself. Giles is managing to be so cold
about this. It reminds me of the time, with Glory, when he tried to persuade me
that I'd have to kill Dawn.
"Ok," Spike interrupts my thoughts. "So Morag
started the scheme, and then Hatton decided to take over. I assume that's when
she got herself killed?"
"I would assume so."
"But if it was working so well, why didn't they just
carry on letting her run things?"
"Because Hatton was impatient. He felt that the
harvesting of Slayer power was taking too long and wanted to speed things up.
According to Philip, Morag didn't like the changes Hatton wanted to make, and
tried to push him out of the equation. It's when Hatton took over that the base
of operations moved from Inchmore to the place you were taken to."
"And things started to speed up then."
"That would appear to be the case."
"But if they were taking girls a dozen or more at a
time, why did they come back to get me?"
"You don't want to know." Spike's voice is quiet
and his head down.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean Hatton told me why you were wanted. You.
Specifically. From what he said, you weren't going to stay locked up with the
other girls for long."
"If you know something, it would be foolish to keep it
to yourself," Giles chides. "We have no way of knowing which bit of
information might be vital to the rescue of the remaining Slayers."
Spike locks his gaze with Giles for a moment, as if weighing
him. Interestingly, it's Giles who breaks the connection.
"Sorry, Pet. I didn't want to tell you this, but Giles
might just have something there. Anyway. Hatton said you were specially requested.
He had a
buyer
already lined up for you. No one else would do."
"A buyer? For me?" I shudder at the prospect.
"Who? Who'd want
"
"Angelus. No,
" He stops me from interrupting and
reminding him that Angel's human now.
"Not your Angelus. This one's from an alternate
dimension. In that dimension, things went a bit differently. Dru
Dru killed Willow
before she could return Angel's soul. So
I don't know how the rest of the
history worked out for them, but Angelus survived, soulless. Somehow, he managed
to get his hands on you, or the Buffy from that universe. He kept her
don't
know how long, and I can only guess it wasn't pretty. But she died. Angelus
wants a replacement. He wants another Buffy to torment until he manages to kill
her you - too. That's what Hatton had in mind for you."
The shudder at the prospect of being sold has multiplied. I
look at Spike, my eyes on his as they have been while he's been speaking, and
it's like the rest of the world has ceased to exist. His eyes, so blue and expressive,
are trying to see into my soul, trying to gauge my reaction to this news.
"Sorry, Pet. Didn't want to tell you, but
"
"No, Spike. I'm
glad you told me. It
pretty much
confirms that the missing Slayers have been sold. And
"
His arms are around me in an instant, just holding me,
making me feel safe. I take a couple of deep breaths before breaking away and
looking at Gus and Giles. Gus looks pale and shaken, but then he knew one of
the missing Slayers well, so hes got a personal stake in this too. Giles is
cleaning his glasses so aggressively that I'm amazed that they survive the
process.
"So, we can be pretty sure that the missing Slayers
have been sold," I summarise. "But we've got no idea where they might
be."
"Indeed. By all accounts, they could be in any of the
infinite number of alternate universes which exist."
"So, how do we find them?"
"Well, the coven has had success finding Slayers
before," Giles points out. "However, that was limited to this
reality. I believe it should be possible to search other realities. Willow
is certainly able to astrally project herself into other dimensions, and once
there, she could search."
"But, as you said," Spike butts in. "There're
an infinite number of possibilities. Unless we can cut that down somehow, then
searching for our Slayers that way is like looking for the proverbial needle in
a haystack."
"Quite," Giles says softly.
|