Raiding Party
by Kaz
Xander rested his chin in the palm of his hand, staring out the window as his body rocked slightly back and forth with the motion of the truck as it sped through the streets of Sunnydale. Any minute now he expected a voice to boom out "Your journey to the Dark Side is complete."
He could feel Spike's gaze upon his back, blue lasers that left no mark and heard himself say. "I've done some crazy things. Broke into an army base, stole that rocket launcher Buffy used on The Judge. And you know all about that napalm I pilfered to help send the Mayor on his way." Xander broke off his communion with the blurring landscape, finally transfering his full attention to Spike.
The vampire regarded him with a silent glance that spoke volumes. It also occurred to Xander, somewhat belatedly he had to admit, that he should be worried how Spike could drive without actually looking where he was going. But they had other more important details to discuss, even if Spike was oblivious to the fact, Xander just had to find the words.
"If you tell me to turn the truck around....," came the snarl.
"I'm not," Xander interjected hotly.
"Good. Cause I wasn't going to."
Xander resumed his silence.
The dark cabin was intermittently lit by headlights of cars passing in the opposite direction. Spike had the accelerator pushed practically to the floor and if they weren't flying then Xander was pretty sure they were doing a damned good impression of it.
"I can hear your brain tickin' from over here," the vampire finally commented.
"Its a digital age. My brain doesn't tick," Xander replied airily. "The numbers appear like magic, who am I to question from whence they come?"
"Whence?"
"Its a Giles word," came the solemn statement.
A pale brow furrowed in suspicion. "Have you been snacking on my mushrooms?"
Xander almost laughed at that one and shook his head. "Nope."
"Maybe you should."
The laughter started then and kept on coming, climbed into hysterical in about three seconds flat. Xander heard Spike's muffled curse as the blonde wrenched the truck off the road in a squeal of breaks and smoking rubber.
Found himself in Spike's lap and buried his head into the crook of a pale neck. Not quiet sobbing but close.
Spike had an arm wrapped around Xander's waist and a hand cupped the back of his head. The vampire didn't say anything, just held on tight.
Was the rock Xander needed to crash against.
Xander buried his face. He thought he'd grown past this, had wanted to believe he was stronger. Apparently not.
"Are you sure he's not dead?" he finally asked and practically felt Spike's hesitation. "Truth, Spike," he pressed. "I need to know."
"Drac is a devious bastard, Xander," came the evasive reply.
"That wasn't an answer."
Spike moved away slightly so Xander could see his face. The vampires cold blue eyes glittered with rage and his mouth was a grim line. "He'll never get near you again. I'll rip his throat out before you even see him," Spike vowed.
That was nice to know. Homicidal? Sure. But nice. Xander planted a kiss on Spike's cheek in silent thanks and snuggled in closer.
"It was so humiliating," he finally confessed.
A low growl erupted from the vampire's mouth. Xander didn't even flinch, he knew it wasn't directed at him.
He also found he needed to talk some more. "Things were going really good with the Gang, you know? They were finally starting to treat me with some respect and then *this* happens. I feel like I just played a game of Snakes and Ladders and landed on the snake."
Spike sniffed in disdain. "Snake is a good description of the arrogant prick. And if your friends are too blind to see what's goin' on it's their fault not yours. Don't get mad, luv. Get so bloody *even* the bastard will need a ladder of his own to climb up to you."
Xander let the words roll around in his head. And yeah, he liked the sound of that. Payback is good. The decision had already been made, he didn't want to let this one slide, to shrug his shoulders and walk away. He could live with the consequences.
"You're certain he and the sisters aren't going to be there?"
Spike stiffened, causing Xander to curse the quaver which had appeared in his voice. Felt the arms around him become close to bruising before once again he was gazing into steely eyes.
Eyes that searched and probed with over a century of experience. Picked Xander clean, exposing everything he'd hidden so well yet valiantly sought the courage to tell Spike for days now.
With infinite gentleness Xander was removed from Spike's embrace and placed gently back onto the seat. A finger trailed down his face as the vampire soothed. "I'm not angry at you, luv. Remember that."
Enveloped in shadow, Spike was seemingly made of stone, totally motionless. It was like watching a firecracker with the wick fizzing down and waiting for the explosion.
*********
{{I should have known. I should have *fucking* known! Should have smelt them on him. How did I miss this?}}
And the cabin of the truck was too small. Unable to vent this rage to his satisfaction, Spike burst from the suddenly claustrophobic space stumbling across the ground like an uncoordinated mortal.
Out and pacing up and down by the side of the road looking for something, *anything* to kill. Shaking and spiraling into a type of madness beyond anything he had known, even with Angelus.
What gripped him was so pure in its intensity that the demon within should have been disgusted. Instead, it joined Spike in a silent scream that reverberated.
Time passed.
"Spike."
Xander's voice didn't really penetrate; it was a whisper trying to find its way through a storm. Only when a warm firm hand closed over his own did Spike realize he wasn't alone.
Stared into brown eyes filled with concern.
{{I'm a selfish ponce}}
This wasn't about him, what he thought or felt-this was about Xander.
"Your hand is a mess," Xander chided.
Still dazed the vampire looked down at the bloody wreck of his hand, bones poking through skin. In surprise his gaze drifted to the tree that bore heavy signs of his anger.
"You have to stop this abuse of wood, Spike." Xander's voice was light, as though he were trying to calm down some rabid dog. A weak smile flitted across the mortal's lips as he said. "Otherwise you might need to go into therapy."
And if Spike could have felt any more like a fool then he didn't want to know how.
"I'm sorry," he blurted out and cursed silently. Apparently there were more ways to be the fool and he just kept on finding 'em.
Xander's eyebrows rose so high they almost touched his hairline. " Now there's a word I'd never thought I'd hear from you. Rank that one right up there with Buffy saying you and her were engaged."
Emotional scenes had never been Spike's forte. Which, he admitted ruefully, coming from someone who had just attempted to bludgeon a tree to death, was rather comical.
Words were a weapon he utilized almost as much as his fists and fangs.
{{I don't know what to say}}
He'd never felt so useless.
Xander's head was bent as he studiously examined Spike's hand. The mortal "tch'ed" in dismay at the damage, muttered. "This might hurt a bit," promptly pouring water over the injury and set about picking out the slivers of bone.
It occurred to Spike that there was something seriously wrong with this picture. One calm mortal doctoring a Master Vampire. One Master Vampire standing numb and mute in shock allowing it to occur.
Shouldn't it be the other way around?
"Xander?"
"Hang on a sec," Xander replied, wrapping a makeshift bandage around Spike's hand.
{{How long was I pounding the tree? Nummy had time to find the stuff to fix me up and I never even noticed!!}}
"There," satisfied, Xander moved back to survey his work. "Can't let you get out of helping now can we?" he joked.
"Fuck the hand," Spike snarled. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
Xander thrust his hands deep into denim pockets, one foot started tracing a pattern in the grass. Eventually he shrugged, "Was my problem, I'll deal. Have in the past, will in the future. It was nothing you had to know at the time."
Spike stood there and gaped like a Slayer walking into a demon club.
{{Nothing *I* had to know? *His* problem?}}
His eyes traveled swiftly over their surrounding area. Spike still had one good hand and by the looks of it there were plenty of trees available that could accommodate him.
Xander deserved better.
Using his good hand, Spike grasped Xander's upper arm firmly. "If you have a problem, *I* have a problem," he said vehemently.
"I think this falls outside the realms of watching each others back, Spike." Xander retorted.
"That wasn't what I was talking about, and you know it."
Xander's eyebrows once again quirk skyward as he nodded sagely. "Ahhh, that stuff. I thought we were operating on a 'Don't ask-Don't tell' policy concerning our emotional entanglement," came the bland statement.
Spike started to grind his teeth.
He'd had some rather idealistic notions of his declaration. Ripping to pieces some demonic entity while his love was in danger and plunking the body parts around Xander. Who naturally would announce how wonderful and adorable Spike was. Maybe Xander would catch him at a weak moment and Spike would just forget he hadn't already said the words and blurt it out. Xander would promptly melt into his arms and get all gushy as mortals were wont to do.
Instead, Spike was standing on a grassy verge by the side of the road in Sunnydale, being coolly assessed by dark eyes that opened him up like a can of bloody peas.
{{Sod it}}
Still wounded by Xander's silence concerning his treatment by Dracula, Spike snapped. "You're apparently the expert on the 'need to know', Harris . Why don't you tell me?"
Xander's face closed, he was almost back to the truck before Spike caught up.
"I'm SORRY. All right? I'm bloody sorry," Spike screamed frantically.
"You keep saying the words but that's not what I'm hearing," Xander rounded on him, fists clenched.
Spike ran a trembling hand through his hair. "I know. Don't you think I know that? I keep opening my mouth to say one thing and all this shit keeps coming out and I don't know how to stop it."
"Try," Xander urged in a harsh tone.
His face silently pleading for some patience, Spike forced his brain and mouth to work together. "This is my fault. I should have been there to keep you safe and I wasn't."
"I'm a big boy, Spike," Xander said. "I can fight my own battles."
The light finally came on inside his head. "You always have. Haven't you? The ones you needed haven't been there and I promised I would be. I'm just as bad as they are, if not worse."
Xander tilted his head to one side. "How?"
"Because I know how the real world works," Spike explained. "The real world will cut you to pieces until you bleed and keeps on cutting. The good guys don't always win and sometimes you need a place to lick your wounds."
Taking advantage of Xander's silence he moved in closer, they were almost touching. "You should have known you could trust me enough to understand. And when I find out?" Spike laughed wildly. "When I find out I go berserk and start punching a tree. I'm so fucking mad I could kill everything between Sunnydale and L.A and keep on going, but I start in on you because your here."
There was slight smile on Xander's mouth. "Not terribly sane at times are we?"
"Hell, luv. I make you look like a poster child for mental health."
This time Xander actually laughed. "I was referring to *you*."
{{Shit! I've done it again}}
Spike was standing there, panic written all over his face. Trying in the best possible way to explain why he' was so fucked up and struggling so badly Xander started to feel sorry for him.
He knew the vampire didn't like being backed into a corner and yet he'd done just that. Why?
{{Guess he's not the only one lashing out at the closest person}}
Neither of them was ready for this.
"Get in the truck, Spike. We can talk about this later, I'm driving," he stated and swung up into the cabin.
Spike blinked a few times before scooting round to the other side and joining Xander in the truck.
Once they were on their way, the vampire commented. "I never noticed how good you were at that."
"At what?"
"Redirecting the conversation."
Xander shifted uneasily in his seat as Spike continued to think out loud. "You do it so bloody well no one would ever suspect if they weren't looking for it."
Shifting gears and turning off the main road, Xander said cheerfully. "Oh, lookie. We're here," and parked the truck behind the other two.
Spike shot him a venomous look and growled. "This isn't over, pet."
{{Crap}}
********
Part Two
Upon exiting the truck, Xander hesitated once his feet hit the dirt. Four Rosx demons came bustling out of the doors of the castle and immediately surrounded Spike, chirping and squeaking for what Xander could only assume to be instructions.
Standing less than five feet high, the small creatures were gifted with the ability to lift sixty times their weight-or so Spike had assured him. Sort of like the demonic version of an ant, Xander mused silently.
They sounded like birds, appeared quite similar in fact. If birds had scales instead of feathers with the added feature of a twin set of horns protruding from their skull. They really were quite... bright. Every movement left the viewer assaulted by an ever-changing montage of blue, green, red and purple as their scales glistened in the moonlight.
{{Why am I regretting leaving my sunglasses at home?}}
Closing his eyes to block out the image, Xander was rather perturbed to find the colors were still bouncing around on the back of his eyelids. He only opened them again when he had attained a nice gray background streaked only slightly through with purple.
Laughter bubbled up inside at the visual of some salesman hawking the 'natural' properties of Rosx demons over expensive designer drugs.
He cleared his throat to regain some composure before reaching into his back pocket, pulled on his gloves and started towards the castle.
"Xander."
Spike had paused in his communication with the demons and was now favoring Xander with a 'concerned- but I'm not going to be obvious about it' stare.
"What's up?" Xander asked.
The blonde vampire nodded towards the castle, "You can stay with the trucks..." Spike's voice trailed off at the glare he received.
"I'm fine," Xander snapped quickly. "It's my idea, I'd like to see through. Besides, you don't know where everything is."
"Your idea?" Spike announced, somewhat offended. "Since when was it your idea?"
Striking a dramatic pose with an arm flung up across his forehead, Xander mimicked his own words from their previous conversation. "Gosh, Spike. You should have seen all the stuff he had. Must be worth a fortune. Do you think someone will just move in and help themselves?" He straightened up blinking innocently.
And saw Spike was doing that fish impression again.
Finally, the vampire shook his head in admiration muttering. "You manipulative little shit."
Xander found himself grinning wildly. "Payback is a bitch."
Spike sobered up immediately, his face dangerously blank. "Ain't it just." His eyes probed silently and although Xander was uncertain as to what his own expression showed, apparently it satisfied as the vampire finally asked. "If you're sure?"
Feeling a bit giddy at this overt concern, Xander nodded.
"Okay, then. But," Spike held up a finger. "Stick close to me and don't move out of my sight."
Opening his mouth to protest, Xander saw that Spike was still far from calm. Blue eyes were slipping into gold, his face struggling to maintain a human guise.
{{I'm not used to this. But damn it feels good}}
Ignoring their audience, he walked over and into Spike's arms. Who wrapped himself around Xander tightly.
The masks they wore were apparently cracking on both of them.
He continued to hold on but eventually his mouth drifted down Spike's neck. "Did I ever tell you how much I love the taste of your skin?" he whispered. "How I feel when you make me laugh? When I come inside you?"
Spike shuddered against him.
Xander continued. "How much I love when you fill me so that nothing else exists? You accept everything about me and make me feel I can do anything."
Their lips met, and kissing was not that great a description. A kiss does not convey all they said without exchanging a word.
A high-pitched whistle interrupted them.
Spike broke away, scowling at the demons that were hopping up and down in excitement. "No, you can *not* bloody share," he yelled.
Shaking his head in disgust he explained. "Stupid idiots thought we were feeding each other."
Xander started sniggering. "Well, I may be hungry, but I can't say it was for food."
Blue eyes darkened. Spike leaned forward and placed another hard but quick kiss on Xander's lips. "After we finish this business," he stated emphatically.
Xander felt his stomach tighten in anticipation, and followed Spike and his technicolored rainbow demons up into the castle.
Once inside he halted, pulled off a glove with his teeth then reached into another pocket. "Here," he said, thrusting the piece of paper into Spike's hand.
The vampire gazed down in confusion.
"I made a list, Xander explained.
"You made a list?" came the incredulous question.
"And I checked it twice," Xander replied happily. "Everything that looked like gold and silver is highlighted in blue." He started walking down the hall, followed by a distracted vampire and four demons.
Opened a door and started pointing. "Okay, now the tapestries are pretty old and probably worth heaps. Tell the guys to be careful with those will you Spike?"
Spike looked up from the list still dumbfounded. "What? Oh, sure thing, pet."
Xander pursed his lips in thought. "Do we have enough boxes for the books?"
"Books?"
Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Xander snatched the list from Spike. "See," he pointed. "Library. Could hardly read any of them and they smelt icky, but I reckon they have got to be rare and that means someone will pay muchos dollars."
Spike looked like someone had just hit him with a shovel. Xander sighed and kept on talking.
"Who's got the bags?" he asked automatically.
One demon shuffled forward and shyly held out a large cloth sack.
{{These guys understand me? Excellent. Spike's brain is apparently conducting a survey mission on the moon. At least we'll be able to get started}}
"Great. Now all the gold and silver stuff goes in those *and*," Xander glared. "All those bags go into our truck. Got it?"
Four horned heads nodded vigorously. Xander was forced to blink several times to overcome the assault on his eyes.
"Okay," he said. Clapping his hands together several times to ensure he had everyone's attention, Xander issued his instructions. "I want you guys to start at the top and work your way down. We only have until dawn people, so let's get moving."
The demons scuttled out of the door, leaving he and Spike alone. Xander turned to an unusually silent vampire who was gazing at him with something akin to awe.
Finally, the vampire bowed deeply and said. "I am in the presence of a master."
Xander blushed.
********
{{He's a genius. A bloomin genius in disguise!}}
Spike trailed behind as his lover wondered from room to room. Listening with increasing respect to the comments of, " Mahogany, hard to find these days." And, "...check those figurines out, Spike. Are they jade? I wasn't sure. Really? Cool, put them in the sack."
{{If I can ever get you to leave this soddin' town, Harris. You and I have an appointment at the Tower of London.}}
Not that Spike had any burning desire to nick off with the Crown Jewells of England. A good crypt with a warm Xander for company and the vampire would be happy with enough money to keep them comfortable. It was obvious though that Xander had a true gift for larceny. {{Such a gift deserves a proper challenge. Xanpet would love it.}}
***
With less than an hour till dawn, Xander finally ground to a halt in the dining room. Spike's gaze flickered back and forth between the huge table and Xander, who was assessing the piece of furniture like it was a prime cut of veal.
{{Oh c'mon, pet! Now you're just being greedy.}}
"We'll never get it in the trucks," he said flatly.
"Are you sure?" came the absent reply. Xander had not moved an inch.
"Yes, I'm sure!" Spike grated. "We have three eighteen wheeler's outside bursting with enough stuff to keep us in lollies till Peaches develops a sense of humor."
Speaking of which, Spike was going to have to find another source. There was no way his contact in Sunnydale would be able to handle this sort of quality merchandise.
He said as much to Xander.
Who promptly produced a cell phone and slapped it into Spike's palm saying. "Start calling those sleazy people *I* know you know in L.A. I had the boys place some blood in the cabin of our truck," Xander's face was lit by a sly grin. "Just in case," he added like an afterthought, then abruptly excused himself by mumbling some tripe about going to check on the trucks.
A good five minutes of catatonic silence went by before Spike could bring himself to begin stabbing at numbers.
He also started griping loudly about "bloody manipulative little wankers."
{{What's that bozo Vinnie's number again? Oh yeah}}
Nine- stab- eight- stab- one- stab.
The griping was soon joined by some bitching about one particular little wanker who was "too bloody smart for his own good."
Four-stab-Four-stab-five-stab.
This was closely followed by loud complaints of "just 'cause I'm a vampire is no excuse to be kept in the bloody dark," and concluded with a wail of "haven't even set me video to tape Passions!"
The phone rang for an undefined amount of time before a sleepy, extremely annoyed voice finally answered. There was much yelling and some not so veiled threats, but a time and place were arranged and the conversation ended. After which, Spike examined the cracked phone and silently expressed his amazement at the shoddy workmanship that seemed so commonplace these days.
He could feel the sun rising like an itch on the back of his neck, when he reached the main entrance where the sky was already lit by false dawn.
"Ready to go then?" came the voice, behind him.
Spinning round, he was confronted by a smiling Xander striding towards him. As the mortal drew close, Spike could plainly see the strain Xander had hidden so well for much of the night.
Eyeing the empty haversack slung over broad shoulders, Spike felt a faint stirring of unease. At that moment the Rosx demons chose to hoot the horn on one of the trucks as they drew away from the castle.
{{What the hell?}}
"I told them to wait for us down by the main road," Xander explained hastily.
Spike rubbed his temple in an effort to concentrate and confirm he'd just seen what he thought he'd seen.
"And the masks, Pet?"
"You don't like President Nixon?" Xander asked.
"I never knew the man," Spike replied smoothly. "I'm just curious as to why our demons are wearing his face is all."
Xander shrugged. "I knew we'd be traveling. Seemed obvious we wouldn't want to *be* obvious. If you know what I mean?"
Spike nodded. Okay, that made sense; and that thought alone he found vaguely alarming. How anyone, let alone himself, could equate four rainbow colored demons wearing the face of a former President as *not* being obvious was something he did not want to contemplate.
*****
At the junction with the main road from within the confines of the curtained off cabin, Spike felt the truck brake and heard a door open and close as Xander exited swiftly.
{{What the hell are you up to now?}}
Now only bare minutes to full dawn should have been sufficient to keep him within. Yet concern and natural overriding curiosity soon had him hanging out the window in an attempt to see why Xander had stopped.
The human stood ramrod straight on the ground beside the truck, his attention focused entirely on the grim edifice of the castle. Finally, Xander glanced up and addressed Spike in a voice that was way too calm for vampire's comfort.
"I've been doing a bit of reading. Apparently, it was common to burn the village or town after looting it," he said. A cold half smile crept across his lips.
Spike's uneasy feeling was escalating into half anticipation and half dread. He smirked, "Far be it from me to be the party pooper in your parade, luv. But castles have a habit of not being all that vulnerable to fire. Oh, they'll smolder and flame a bit," he added, not wanting to seem cruel. "Thing is, pet. We've pretty much taken everything that *could* be useful, and stone has a very nasty effect on fire, namely, it doesn't burn."
"It's like you said, Spike." Xander replied, casually removing a small metallic control box a little larger than a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. Expertly flicked a switch with his thumb and the light went from red to green.
Spike felt himself grin.{{Oh, this is going to be a good one}}
Despite the first rays of light touching the landscape, Spike leaned forward to obtain a better view of Xander face. Cold, hard and ...{{Horns and hooves! I hope I never get a look like that!}}
"Modern Vikings need to get with the times, Spike." Xander explained flatly.
And his thumb pressed a button.
******
Suunydale Morning News (local channel):
"Authorities have been flooded with calls concerning the large explosion which rocked Sunnydale early this morning, and which was felt ten miles away in the neighbouring town of Winervis. Police Chief Ralph Yeplin has released a statement advising that there is no cause for alarm."
"The statement reveals that all Sunnydale emergency sevices quickly and efficiently swung into action but could find no significant damage to any commercial or residential properties. Authorities have put forth the plausible theory that the noise could have been a sonic boom resulting from military aircraft flying too low and fast over Sunnydale. They have resolved to lodge a complaint with the Airforce over this breach of protocol."
"Moving along, our next story focuses on a new business venture that plans to take advantage of the high grade stone available in the local area......."
*********
TBC
