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Part 10
“Cordy, please… Where’s L… Sean?” Buffy screamed as she felt tears begin to sting her eyes.
“Same place as half of my five hundred dollar pair of shoes,” Cordy admitted as she sloughed off some of the raindrops that clung to her. “Can you believe this? A pair of authentic Gucci Italian leather boots. You can’t find these at any bargain shoe stores. What am I going to do?”
“I need you to tell us exactly what happened,” Willow attempted to remain calm even though she felt the anger coming from her blonde haired friend next to her. It didn’t help that she also disliked Cordelia intensely and now she was forced to be the voice of reason between Buffy and this woman.
“Well, early this morning, I went to Elizabeth Arden’s and got the works… you know pedicure, manicure, new hairstyle. Then I went shopping for a new dress for ton…” Cordy began her long-winded story before Buffy stepped in.
“After you left the restaurant and right before you ran into the hotel, what happened?”
“If that is what you wanted to know, you could have asked me,” Cordy said ignoring the death stares by the two other women. “We just walked out of Chez Luis after dinner. Sean was going to take me up to his room and we got into the limousine that brought us to the restaurant. In the middle of our conversation when we sat down, I noticed that we were going past the hotel without stopping. I mentioned something to Sean then all of a sudden the driver pulls a gun out on me. It was traumatizing!”
‘A gun!!!’ screamed in Buffy’s mind. She knew that something bad was happening but she wasn’t prepared to see that happen to Liam, ever.
“Did you recognize the driver?” Buffy asked.
“How could I? I wasn’t looking at the driver; I was looking at the gun! Besides the fact that I think he was wearing a mask.”
“Did you see where they were going?”
“No, I was too caught up in the being tossed out of the limousine part and ruining my new outfit.”
“Alright, here’s what we are going to do. Willow, you and I will go upstairs and talk to the FInCom agents and see if they have any way of tracking down the Prince,” turning towards Cordy, Buffy continued on with her commands, “Cordy, why don’t you come upstairs also and dry off.”
“No, that’s alright. Hotel towels chafe my sensitive skin. I need my own at home.”
“Fine,” Buffy said and turned with Willow right behind her before walking away from the actress.
But before she got too fair, Buffy turned back to Cordy and said, “No one hears about this, okay? Not anyone. Not your family, not your friends and especially not the press.”
Cordy shook her head and watched Buffy’s back as she turned once more and entered the elevators. Now out of the tiny handbag that she clutched in her hand, she pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed a few numbers.
“Yes, Channel 7 news… I have something you may be interested in.”
~ ~ ~
“Just do as I tell you and you won’t get hurt, Your Highness,” the driver said keeping the pistol aimed at Liam’s head.
“Where are you taking me?” Liam asked.
“You never know…” BOOM!! The gun fired. “Oops.”
“Jesus, Xander watch out with that thing. You could have poked my eye out!!”
“Don’t worry, they’re just blanks,” the sailor told Liam.
“They could still do a little damage. I want everything to look like I actually have been taken captive. Punch me, kick me, but don’t leave a burn mark on my forehead from a hot bullet casing.”
“Are you whining?” Xander chortled.
“So, is everything ready to go?” Angel asked, ignoring Xander’s previous question.
“As soon as we hit the motel with the other guys, we have the ransom phone call to make, anyone in particular we should talk to?”
“Not any that I can think of.”
“Good.”
“Then are you sticking to the plan that Admiral Doyle calls up the base and gets a hold of you, where you are forced to come to Chicago and find me.”
“With our help we bring back their precious body double and the Finks are forced to bring us all in for extra security.”
“Exactly.”
For the rest of the drive to the motel room, the limousine was kept in silence. Liam took a few deep breaths as he reveled in the fact that he was free from the worst date he has ever experienced in his life.
As Xander pulled the limo into the parking lot of the motel, Liam opened up the door and stepped one foot out the door. “Before you dump this thing, I just wanted to say, I owe you.”
“Owe me? For what?”
“That date,” he answered plainly.
“What are you talking about? That girl is hot! Didn’t you see that rack?”
“You want her, be my guest.”
“Wait till I meet her, she will not be able to withstand the incredible pull towards the Xand-Man.”
“The best of luck to you then,” Liam stated before exiting the limo. He pounded twice on the roof before Xander drove away, dumping the car in some undisclosed location.
~ ~ ~
It only took a few minutes before Xander made it back to the room, but the group waited about 2 hours before making the call. Looking around the room, he spotted Liam who had changed into a torn set of clothing that Gunn brought for him.
“So, who’s making the call?” he asked.
“My turn to contribute,” Gunn said as he picked up the phone and placed it to his ear. Before dialing the numbers needed, he placed a black device to manipulate his voice, on the receiver to muffle it in the hopes that no one would be able to recognize him. Spike lifted his wrist watch in front of the black man’s face to remind him that he can’t speak for too long for fear that they may have enough time to trace the call.
“So what’s going to be the ransom?” Gunn asked while still hearing the phone ring in his ears.
“Enough to give Doyle enough time to pull you guys into the fold,” Liam whispered back.
“How about…” Xander began to speak then placed is right hand pinkie finger up to his lips and whispered in his best Austin Powers imitation, “One million dollars!”
One or two rings later Gunn heard a young woman’s voice on the opposite end.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Listen up,” Gunn rasped. “If you want to see the Prince alive and well again, you will do exactly what I say.”
“Is Sean there? Is he all right?” the woman sounded nervous and concerned.
“The longer he is here, the worse he will be,” Gunn said shortly. “You have four days to come up with 50 million dollars. You come up with the money, and then we give you back your precious Prince. Every hour after 96 hours, one bone will be broken. You will get a call later to tell you the drop site.”
“Wait, let me talk to him!” the woman pleaded.
“Just get the money,” Gunn said before taking the phone off his ear but before he hung up, he heard her whisper softly, “Please don’t hurt him.”
~ ~ ~
“Wait NO!!!” Buffy howled into the phone before she heard it click on the other end.
“Was that enough time, Riley?” the Admiral asked.
“A few more seconds and we would have had him. When they call back, we’ll get them,” Riley assured both Doyle and Buffy.
Buffy still had the receiver clenched tightly into her fist before Willow reached over and moved it so it was back on the table.
“Buffy, you’ve had a long day, you might want to get some sleep,” Willow suggested to her friend which Buffy quickly shook her head.
“I just need to get to the bathroom and splash a little cold water on my face then I’ll be able to stay up all night if you need me.”
“That would probably be a good idea. Buffy, you will answer the phone any time it rings and hopefully you can get them to talk a little longer. We should be able to track them down easily.”
Nodding her head, Buffy said, “Excuse me,” before walking towards the nearest bathroom.
“Admiral Doyle, I don’t like this,” Willow said plainly.
“Neither do I,” he agreed. “Riley, I think we should call in Liam’s SEALs team. They of all people would be best to find him and extract him from where he is being held.”
“Are you implying that we can’t do our job, Admiral?”
“Not at all, I’m just suggesting that the more manpower we have on the lieutenant’s recovery, the quicker we will be able to get him out of there.”
“I agree with him,” Willow said.
“Let us do our job!” Riley demanded. “We don’t need the SEALs!!”
“I beg to differ,” Willow muttered under her breath allowing only Doyle to hear her.
“Fine,” Doyle said. “Now if you need me, I’ll be in my room asleep. If anything important comes, wake me up no matter the hour.”
“Yes sir,” the blonde man responded stiffly.
“I’m heading to bed too. If you could get Buffy to sleep a little, I would be ever so gracious,” Willow said before she stormed out of the room past Doyle, without looking backwards.
“I don’t want to pull rank, but reconsider my suggestion,” Doyle commanded to Riley before turning around and walking straight into Buffy as she was coming out of the bathroom hidden on the side of the room’s entrance way.
Doyle looked down at Buffy’s face, noticing how dark her red-rimmed eyes had become after talking on the phone. He could tell that she was exhausted but she refused to give up.
Also he could see the glistening tear tracks that marred her smooth, alabaster skin.
“Ms. Summers, are you alright?”
“Fine,” she said shortly, her voice worn a little from her tears. Before he could ask her anything else, she stepped past him.
“He will be fine, you know.” That stopped Buffy right in her tracks. “Liam’s made out of tough stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was already free and on his way back here.”
Buffy said nothing so Doyle continued, “And even if he hasn’t escaped, I’m calling his team and bringing them into this. They will find him.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“He will be back before you even start missing him.”
‘Too late.’
~ ~ ~
Part 11
For the next few hours, Buffy paced the large room completely unaware of the busy activity bustling around her. Stuck in a drawn trance, she could only think of the phone call and when the kidnappers might call again.
Her mind stayed clouded with her thoughts but through the haze she picked up bits and pieces of those conversing around her.
“This act doesn’t match with the profile of Wesley Wyndham-Pryce’ organization…”
“Could this be a separate act of terrorism or is it possible that it’s connected to the shooting…”
“Whose fault is this…”
“Buffy,” she heard someone call her name breaking her routine of motion. She turned toward the voice to see the admiral calling her name. “Buffy, sweetheart, you should get some sleep.”
Buffy’s only response was shaking her head and looking towards the floor.
Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he could feel her skin being cool to the touch. “Not even the best trained SEAL could perform their duty under the amount of stress and lack of sleep that you have shouldered in the past 24 hours.”
“I can’t…”
“You being exhausted won’t help us find Liam any faster. We need you at full health and right now you look like death warmed over.”
Muttering under her breath in a tired whisper, “Aw geez Admiral, you really know how to make a girl blush.”
“Please, Buffy, you need to get some sleep.”
“I need to be here if the kidnappers call again.” She said, as her true worry ran through her head. ‘I need to know if Liam is alright.’
“I understand you completely,” Doyle nodded his head in comprehension, “but it is highly doubtful that they will try to contact us again in the next few hours. You might as well utilize this time and rest.”
“But…” she wanted to protest but she could feel her eyelids droop.
“Here, let me make you a deal. You try to get some sleep, and I promise to try to call Liam’s SEAL team and see if they would be willing to help us find him.”
“Would they have heard from him?” Buffy looked into Doyle’s eyes with hope glistening in her lethargic tears.
“Possibly,” Doyle admitted. “Liam has been trained to work as a team and if he was able to send out a distress signal, his team would probably be the first to hear word from him.”
Buffy said nothing for a few seconds as her mind attempted to think but since she was so tired, she couldn’t come up with any ideas. Sighing in defeat, her face drooped to the floor and she nodded her consent. “Promise me something.”
“Anything, my dear.”
“If you hear anything, I don’t care what time, wake me up so I know what’s happening.”
Reluctantly Doyle agreed before Buffy shuffled her drowsy body out of the room towards her own hotel suite. When he saw she was completely out of the room, the admiral walked in to a silent corner of the room so that he could call the SEAL Team Twelve’s cell phone.
Dialing the number, he waited until someone picked up.
~ ~ ~
“SEAL Team Twelve, Ensign Harris speaking,” Xander answered the cell phone.
“Ensign Harris, this is Admiral Doyle speaking, I need to know if you have heard from Lt. Liam McDaniel in the past 6 hours,” Doyle commanded.
“No, Admiral,” Xander lied easily. “Is there a situation involving Liam, sir?”
“Actually yes.”
“Anything that the team could do, sir?” Xander asked his superior officer.
“I need you to round up Cruor and Gunn, and get your asses to Chicago ASAP.”
“Do we need authorization, sir, with this mission?”
“I am all the authorization you need, Ensign,” Doyle hardened his voice. “You will be briefed on the situation as soon as you come to Great Lakes Naval Base. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir.”
“And by the way, Harris, if you hear anything from Lt. McDaniel, we need to know.”
“Aye aye, sir,” Xander responded while the admiral hung up the phone.
“Who called?” Liam asked from the other side of the room where he was resting for a few minutes.
“Doyle, he is calling the team in.”
“Good,” Liam almost seemed to sigh in relief. “Now move to Plan B.”
“In the morning then I will make arrangements with the flight logs to make sure we are noted as passengers,” Xander assured Liam. “It is time for Spike to man the camp anyway, I need some shut-eye.”
Nodding his head, Liam returned back to his previous position on the couch and watched Xander wake up Spike so that he could sleep. With a hand placed behind his head and his other arm lying limply on his bare chest, he shut his eyes.
Liam heard Spike grumble faintly from his wake-up call and attempted to fall asleep but ended up opening his eyes back up when sleep wouldn’t come. An image of Buffy kept him from shutting his eyes. He wondered how she was taking all of this.
With his free hand, he placed it over his beating heart. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her before forcing his body into deep sleep.
~ ~ ~
For at least an hour, Buffy just laid in her bed praying for sleep to overcome her. She clutched her pillow close to her chest mimicking the tightness that squeezed around her heart.
She thought that she had shed enough tears and that her body was tapped out, but it wouldn’t deter more drops tracing lines down her smooth face. Her face buried in the pillow stopped the tears from falling on the bed. A sob racked her body and before she knew it, she punched the pillow that she held.
She was sad and now she was pissed. Being upset felt better than being miserable, so that is what she did.
‘I am not some whimpering weakling,’ she swore to herself and punched her pillow one more time.
Memories of the past few days flew by in her mind from the assassination attempt right up to tonight and she growled lowly to herself, “You can attack me, you can send assassins after me . . . that's just fine. But nobody messes with my prince.”
With that thought in mind Buffy quickly succumbed to a dreamless sleep preparing her for tomorrow’s battle.
~ ~ ~
Approximately four hours later, Buffy’s sanctuary was disturbed when Willow sprinted into her room, rousing her from her sleep.
“Buffy, wake up,” Willow said as she shook the blonde.
“Liam????” she groaned with her eyes still firmly shut and her mind in her dreams.
“No… Do I sound that butch to you!!!!!” Willow almost screamed.
“Willow?” Buffy asked in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
“The admiral told me only to wake you up if there was an emergency and well, we have just reached F-5 proportions.”
“What’s wrong? What happened? Is Liam…”
“Liam is fine the last thing we heard but there is another problem that just came to our attention.”
“I’m sure that it can wait till morning,” Buffy muttered then rolled back over to sleep.
Willow pulled back Buffy’s covers and exposed the petite woman to the cool air to entice Buffy to get up. “Buffy the front lobby of the hotel is crawling with the media. They are demanding to speak to someone over the kidnapping, and being the head woman in charge, you are voted off the island and must talk to them.”
That statement woke her up. “How in God’s green earth did they figure out?? It was supposed to be a secret.”
Shrugging, “I don’t know,” Willow commented. “Someone must have called them.”
For a few seconds, the two woman had no idea who could it be then suddenly it hit them. Looking straight in each other’s eyes and stating at the exact same time, they both muttered, “Cordelia.”
‘I’m going to kill her,’ Buffy roared to herself.
~ ~ ~
Part 12
Buffy immediately shot up in bed, her mind racing with all of the problems that could arise from the press’s knowledge of the kidnapping. “Willow, I need you to stall the reporters. Do something, tell them something, anything to keep them preoccupied while I shower and get ready.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll just grab my circus performing monkey in a clown costume and put on a side show for them.” The redhead said, sarcastically.
“Sounds great, Will.” Buffy replied, not really hearing her friend, since she was going over how to solve this crisis while getting herself pulled together.
“BUFFY!!! I was kidding!! What the heck can I do to entertain a hundred crazed reporters?? I’m just one person!” The assistant complained, sounding very panicked.
“Will, pull yourself together!” Buffy said, gently shaking her friend’s shoulders. “We can do this,” she encouraged with the air of being strong but all she imagined were the horrible things that could be happening to Liam right at that moment. “Just go in that room and talk to them. Tell the press that I will be there to explain everything, but reassure them that nothing is wrong. Okay?”
“Yeah. I can do that! I just imagined having to sing Madame Butterfly or Limp Bizkit or something else dreadful. It was similar to a nightmare I had before and it was really scary and I was hoping you wouldn’t make me-“
“Will!! Don’t worry! Just get down there!!!”
“Sorry, really. I’m going.”
“I’ll be right behind you.” Buffy said, as she closed the bathroom door. She prepared a hot shower, figuring that it would help to wake her up, and calm down her nerves. Her dream had been so vivid, before Willow woke her up. She could see Liam tied to a chair, beaten severely, calling out her name. Buffy rushed over to him, telling him it would be okay, that she was going to get him to safety. She tried to free him, but the knots in the ropes were too tight. She couldn’t get them loose. Then, suddenly, someone was behind her, pulling her away from Liam. They were much bigger than her, and she couldn’t get out of the tight grip. And to make matters worse, the bad guys were going to kill Liam because of her. She was terrified, and then everything went black. That was just before she woke up.
Stepping into the shower, Buffy closed her eyes, and prayed the vision of her dream would leave her alone so she could focus on getting the man she was falling for back home.
~ ~ ~
Doyle arrived at the airport at 0800, precisely when Seal Team Twelve was scheduled to land in Chicago. When he reached the baggage claim a mere two minutes later, the soldiers were already headed toward him. Though the admiral was suspicious of that, he didn’t worry about it yet. There were more important matters to be concerned about. Like Liam’s life and the mission to save the Prince’s life, as well.
Once all the men were seated in the large SUV that the MP’s loaned the admiral, the orders were given.
“Okay, gentlemen, I assume you all are curious as to why you’ve been called here with almost no information.”
“Aye, sir.” Gunn replied, pretending to be interested, even though he knew what was going on. The men had worked things out this morning before they left Liam for the airport. After fixing the log books and arranging things with the airport to get them into the secured boarding area, the men also decided it was important to find out how much Admiral Doyle and the others knew about the kidnapping. If they were caught, they could be kicked out of the SEALs. And as far as they were concerned, it wasn’t going to come to that.
“The situation is that Liam was kidnapped and is being held for ransom. The amount doesn’t matter because, as you know, we don’t negotiate with terrorists. With all of the data we’ve managed to gather, it seems like these are the same men that are attempting the murder of the Prince. We are assuming that their intentions are to collect the money and then kill Sean. Our ace-in-the-hole is Liam. They don’t know that they’ve captured a commander in the SEALs. I’m certain that he will be a big help when the rescue mission goes down.”
“When is that, Admiral?” Spike asked, wondering how much time they had left in this charade.
“Well, we are heading back to our base of operations as we speak. There, you boys will be collaborating with the FInCom agents.” A round of grunts and scowls erupted from the SEALs, as they heard mention of their stuffy, incapable rivals. “Sorry, gentlemen, but that’s the plan. You must work together with them to retrieve Liam, and take care of those bastards.”
“Aye, aye, sir!”
~ ~ ~
Buffy straightened her black suit jacket and smoothed out her hair, as she nervously prepared to enter the makeshift pressroom. Steeling her resolve, she pushed open the doors and marched in, cameras flashing everywhere. Reporters surrounded her, questions flying left and right. Willow looked eternally grateful that they weren’t hassling her anymore.
“Okay, hold on everyone!! Hold on!!” Buffy yelled to the rowdy crowd, who after several more minutes and a round of “Shhh” from random spectators, finally shut up. “I will be making a prepared statement, which will be followed by questions.” She took a deep breath and began to lie through her teeth.
“Later last evening, His Highness Prince Sean escorted Miss Cordelia Chase to a dinner at Chez Luis. Afterwards, Miss Chase was dropped off a few blocks away from the hotel. This was meant to be a diversion from the press and was completely planned by the Prince, his security, and myself. Kidnapping was not involved, and he is in no danger. In fact, His Highness was taken to his room later last night by members of the FInCom team, and will remain there until this media frenzy wears down. Now, any questions?”
A room full of hands raised, and Buffy took her time making the way through them. “What reason would Miss Chase have for fabricating such an elaborate kidnapping?” Suzanne, from the Sun-Times asked.
“I’m not sure, ma’am. It is clear that she simply wishes to have the attention of the media, but for what purpose I have no idea.”
“What about the rumors circulating about a ransom call? Is there any truth to that?”
“No, sir,” Buffy lied, praying that Liam was going to be okay. “There was no call and no kidnapping situation. Like I said, it was all a staged event, to keep the media away from the Prince’s activities.”
“Well, it didn’t work too well, did it, Miss Summers?” The room erupted in laughter, even Buffy, though it was a nervous laugh.
“No, I suppose not!”
~ ~ ~
The meeting lasted for an hour more and the reporters slowly began to disperse before Buffy decided it was time to leave. She immediately walked to the bathroom where she vomited quietly, hoping no one would be able to tell. The stress was definitely getting to her. Her mind was constantly plagued with visions of her nightmare, of Liam being tortured and murdered and alone. When she was finished and the violent heaves stopped, Buffy stood up and cleaned herself up, and then headed back to the conference room. She wasn’t sure how long she would be able to last like this, but she had to. For Prince Sean. For Liam.
~ ~ ~
Part 13
Buffy was standing on the roof of the hotel, staring out at the busy city before her. Couples walked hand-in-hand on the sidewalk, while others went to the bars and clubs that lined the street below. Watching the people being so happy simply reminded her of Liam. She wondered if he was okay and if he was thinking about her, too.
Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her against a hard body. Instinctively, she knew it was him. “How did you find me here?” She whispered, unwilling to break the quiet atmosphere.
“If I was blind, I would see you.” Liam answered, placing an open-mouthed kiss on her delicate shoulder.
“You’re not really here. You’re gone, and I can’t find you anywhere.” Buffy’s voice was tinged with a sadness and despair that lanced right to Liam’s heart, breaking it.
“I’ll never leave. I’ll be with you forever. That’s the whole point.” He took her hand in his and led her away from the roof’s ledge. A grand canopy bed was set up covered in white silk, surrounded by candles that seemed to float in the air. When they reached the edge of the bed, Liam ran his knuckles down the side of her face, staring deeply into Buffy’s eyes, before leaning in to kiss her. It was tender and reverent, yet passionate as well, almost as if he was unable to completely hold back his desire for her. Their clothes seemed to melt away, as Liam laid her back onto the bed without breaking the kiss. Hands roamed and mouths searched, as their passion grew. Liam trailed kisses down her throat and tasted the place where her blood pumped so furiously.
Buffy felt his warm breath caressing her skin as she felt his strong hands traveled from her ribcage to tenderly knead her breasts. All air was caught in her lungs as he moved to rest more of his weight on her willing body, with his strong, muscular chest rubbed against the taut peaks of her nipples.
She felt his arousal press up intimately against her mound as she opened her legs wide to accommodate the cradle of his hips. Buffy bent her knees and then caressed his right calf with her foot.
Liam’s mouth trailed from her pale throat, along her jaw line until he took possession of her lips. He moved carefully so that his stiff erection was placed at the center of her. Buffy felt his body grow taut as he moved to thrust himself into her.
Buffy tilted her hips up to receive him as their tongues dueled for dominance. Liam ripped his mouth from hers to follow his trail right back down to her throat. The lids on Buffy’s eyes went incredibly heavy as their equal passion overflowed her petite body.
She could not describe how magnificent Liam had felt with his weight pressed down upon her. He shifted his body to be more flushed with hers as he moved his hands to caress the sides of her face.
“Buffy,” she heard him whisper in her ear as he suddenly went still.
Lazily she opened her eyes to view his face only inches from her own. The tears of blood streaming down his face forced her eyes open rapidly. “Buffy, help me,” he cried pleadingly…
At the exact same time, both Buffy and Angel woke up from their dreams, smelling the other on their skin as they tried to catch their breath and the sounds of their own screams lingering in the air.
~ ~ ~
“Ms. Summers, are you awake?” Admiral Doyle called against Buffy’s door the next morning.
“Hold on a second,” Buffy called back dabbing the corners of her eyes with her Kleenex. After waking from her vivid dream, she couldn’t get back to sleep even though she tried again and again. When she finally did get to sleep her dreams were completely void of Liam and when she woke up, she couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks as she thought of him possibly with his life in danger.
Having her tears mostly under control, she opened up the door to see Doyle and three men that she had never met before. All three stood in a relaxed stance but behind that façade, she felt something very powerful and ready to fight.
“Morning Buffy,” Doyle greeted as she lead all four men into her spacious suite. “Let me introduce you to these three men.” Pointing to the tall African man, Doyle said, “This is Charles Gunn.”
“Just call me Gunn,” the man said as his large hand encased Buffy’s smaller one in a firm but gentle handshake.
“Good to meet you, Gunn,” Buffy said as they dropped hands. She turned back towards Doyle, who put his hand on the shoulder of the next man whose hair, she could tell, was recently bleached.
“Buffy, this is Bradley Cruor.”
“Spike,” he said shortly also taking her hand. Spike had a attractively chiseled face with cheekbones that most gay men would love their boyfriends to have. “Nice to meet you, love.”
Lastly, Doyle turned to the final man who had a very pleasant, joking smile on his face. “No need Doyle let me. Xander Harris and may I just say, you are incredibly beautiful, Buffy.” Buffy felt her cheeks warm as she looked at the man who out of the three looked about five years old.
“I’m very glad to meet all of you,” she smiled at all three as they moved to sit on the furniture along the wall of her room. As soon as they sat down, she looked at all of them and asked the question that had been on her tongue since the introductions began. “What can I do for all of you? You aren’t reporters, are you?”
“Sorry to say, no,” the man they called Xander said.
“They’re here to get Liam back,” Doyle said plainly.
Buffy’s posture quickly snapped up as she heard the words that she desperately needed to hear. “Are you friends of Liam?”
“We work with him,” Gunn said plainly.
“So you guys are also SEALs?”
They nodded in unison after her question. She turned to Doyle, “Does Agent Finn know these guys are here?”
“No, ma’am,” Doyle answered. “We hope to have him back before they have time to object to their presence here.”
“Good. Any help right now would be a benefit. Do you know where to begin?”
“We have a few ideas on where to look but nothing definite,” Spike answered. “We hope that the kidnappers will contact us again just to get a location, but if that doesn’t happen in the next few hours, we’re going hunting.”
“If…” Buffy began but the swift knocking on her door delayed her words. She rose from her seat to open the door to see Willow standing there.
“Willow, what are you doing…” she was interrupted by her friend storming through the door, grabbing the TV remote control on the end table and turning on the TV, before even noticing anyone else in the room.
“You have got to see this!” Willow exclaimed before turning towards Buffy’s guests to say hello. “Hello everyone.”
“What’s wrong, Wills?” Buffy asked as she turned towards the screen only to see Cordelia’s face plastered on the TV.
“Who is that?” Xander asked with his eyes transfixed on the screen.
“Cordelia Chase,” Willow and Buffy said in unison, their eyes trained on her.
The room went silent as they listened to what the woman was saying to one of the many reporters. “Please, I need him back,” she pleaded and cried on the screen. “I will do anything to have you release him. I love him too much and without him, I feel like a part of me has died. I am here to offer a reward to any hints of my love’s prison. I can feel his heart breaking along with mine. Please unbreak my heart,” Cordelia broke into heavy sobs as the camera cut to the reporter then quickly went to commercial.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Buffy ranted as she pushed the off button and felt the overwhelming urge to throw the remote at the TV. Composing herself, Buffy stood in front of her guests. “I don’t care how, I need Liam back as soon as possible. If you need anything, just let me know. If you don’t find him soon, God help you because I might be forced to kick your ass.”
~ ~ ~
After spending most of the rest of the day with Doyle discussing different options for finding Liam, the three SEALs snuck away to meet in one of their rooms.
“We need to call Angel,” Xander commented as soon as the door was shut and they knew it was okay for them to talk about this. “We should probably go over the plan to find him.”
Nodding his affirmation, Gunn grabbed his cell phone from the backside of his jeans and dialed the number to the motel room that Liam had been hiding in. Gunn let the phone ring twice, and then hang up only to dial again telling Angel that it was one of them that was calling.
“McDaniel,” Angel answered.
“It’s Gunn,” he said on the other end of the conversation.
“What’s the news from your end?” Angel asked.
“The Finks are bugging all the phones and are preparing to locate your captors the next time they call about ransom. In two days we are going to put our plan into motion and you will be back up here in less than 56 hours. You just be prepared on your end when the time comes. You copy?”
“What’s going on around there?”
“The hotel is completely buzzing with people trying to find out where we are keeping you and so far no one has come close. Plus everyone is going a little crazy with all the news people camped out in the lobby. They are giving one exceptionally large headache to Buffy. I’m surprised she hasn’t cracked yet, but she did threatened to kick all of our collective asses if we didn’t find you. That girl has spunk, I like her.”
Angel remained quiet on the other end of the line as he remembered the dream he had last night of her. Hours later he swore that he could still feel her on his skin. “So you met Buffy?”
“We all were introduced today.”
“How is she?” he asked not much above a whisper.
“She’s fine. I could tell she was crying about something before we went into her room, but she quickly pulled herself together.”
A sigh of relief escaped his lungs as he heard the report. “I want you guys to watch out for her until I get back,” Angel spoke in his traditional commanding tone.
“Yes sir,” Gunn promptly responded hearing the tone in his lieutenant’s voice. “I best be getting off this line, now before anyone finds out who I’m talking to. See you in two days.”
“Fine,” Liam said but spoke up quickly before Gunn could hang up. “Oh and Gunn, if anything happens to her, I will kill you.”
“I know, sir.”
~ ~ ~
TBC…
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