"FAITH!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her cheeks. She slowed to a stop, the truck no longer in sight. Turning on her heel, she headed back to the group. "Giles!" she said loudly. "Get the council on-." She stopped when she saw Willow tending to Giles who was just starting to stir. Xander was putting a pair of handcuffs on the tranquilized Council-man.
Buffy ran and stood by Giles. "Does he need to go to the hospital?" Faith. I have to get to Faith.
"No, no. I'll be fine," protested Giles. "Buffy, help Xander load the Council-man into my car."
Buffy leapt at the chance for something to do. Faith. I have to rescue Faith. What are they gonna do to her?
They were all silent in the car, lost in thought, lost in pain.
When they got Giles' place, they were all business.
"I think, perhaps, lugging an unconscious, handcuffed man, into my flat, in broad daylight, isn't the most prudent course of action," said Giles. "I'll get a tarp."
While Buffy and Xander brought in Giles' new "area rug," Willow was on her lap-top, busily tapping away. Giles was getting ice for his head when the slayer tossed her bundle on the couch.
"Any trouble?" Giles asked.
"Just one nosy neighbor," answered Xander.
"And sleeping beauty here decided to moan a little," said Buffy, disgusted. "Xander suddenly had a coughing fit and covered for us. No biggie." She stared at the drugged man contemplating murder and the disposal of bodies.
"Found it!" shouted Willow.
Shaken out of her dark thoughts, Buffy said, "What? Found what? What d'I miss?"
"Well," said Willow in her humble-yet-proud voice. "While I was having a gun pointed at me, I managed to get the license plate of that truck. And, with some clever hacking, I have an address."
"You do know that I love you," said Buffy solemnly.
"As well you should," answered Willow. "Guns make my palms all sweaty."
"Giles?" The slayer was ready for action. "Could you get the council on the phone for me please?"
"Buffy-."
"Giles, please. Just do it?"
"Very well."
As Giles dialed the phone, Buffy turned to Willow. "Where are they, Will?" she asked quietly.
"It's registered to a shipping company. They have a warehouse near the docks."
"Xander? We're going to have to check the place out before we just barge in."
"I'm on it," he said. "I'm your reconnaissance-guy."
"Call soon. Nothing fancy, just speedy. ‘Kay?"
Xander nodded and was out the door.
Giles handed her the phone. "It's ringing."
Buffy put the phone to her ear. "Travers speaking," his voice tinny and distant.
"Hi," she said cheerfully. "This is Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
There was a pause. "*Ahem* I was under the impression that you wanted nothing more to do with The Council, young lady."
"I still don't. However, your boys just tasered me, pistol-whipped Giles, held Willow and Xander at gun-point, and then tranquilized and kidnapped Faith. You just love to screw things up don't you?"
"I can assure that those men were told to use violence as an absolute last resort."
"Well, this was their first resort. And now they have Faith." Her voice lost all cheerfulness and became cold and deadly. "If they harm one hair on her head, I will be sending them home with broken bones. Is that clear?"
"I would have thought you would be glad to be rid of her."
"The last time you antiquated blowhards tried this, you sent her straight into the lair of the most powerful demon on the Hellmouth. Let her go. Give her back to me."
"The last time you encountered her you stabbed her and nearly killed her. How long was she in that coma? Do you even know? Did you ever visit her?"
"That may be. But, as today's fiasco proves, you don't learn from your mistakes. I do. Let her go. Give her to me. Or broken bones. Choose, Quentin, and choose soon." She switched back to cheerful. "Call me, ‘kay?" She hung up the phone with a bang.
She sat down and waited for Xander to call, turning the bracelet on her wrist around and around.
Xander parked a couple of blocks away from the warehouse and hoofed it, taking back streets and alleys. When he found the warehouse he sighed with disappointment. It was deserted.
It was also unlocked. He crept in a side door. The early afternoon sun had been beating down, making it stuffy. There was a faint scent of exhaust and gasoline. He wandered around looking for...something, anything.
When the phone rang, Buffy pounced on it. "Xander? What did you find?"
"Bad news is, they're gone. Good news is I've found something. Bad news is-."
"What? More bad news? That's not how it works. First bad news, then good news. And then that's it. You can't just start piling on bad news."
"Are you done? Can I finish?"
"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."
"I've found something that might be a clue, but I have no idea what it is."
The first thing Faith became aware of was pain. Not a lot. Just a slight headache and a tingle at her right shoulder blade. Her mouth tasted of metal. She opened her eyes and saw a metal floor. I'm face-first on the fuckin' floor. Well, at least it's not another coma.
She lifted her head and winced in pain. The tingle in her shoulder blade turned into a twinge. She sat up and looked at her wrists. They were bound with heavy shackles. She reached behind her, awkwardly. There was something stuck in her back. She plucked it out. A tranquilizer dart.
The events of the morning came back to her. Did one of the Scoobs shoot her? She surveyed her surroundings. The metal walls and benches looked like the truck The Council used to hold her last time. There was a man looking at her from one of the small windows. She started.
The face ducked away. "She's awake!" English accent. Definitely Watchers.
A flash of Buffy lying on the pavement went suddenly through her mind.
"Where's Buffy?!" she shouted, her voice showing her near panic. "Is she ok?" Pulling desperately on her restraints she continued shouting. "Tell me where she is! I wanna see her! You better not fuckin' touch her you fuckin' limey bastards!" The shackles didn't give in the slightest.
"Shut it!" came a voice. "We haven't got Buffy. We just came for you, Faith."
"Fuck you, you fuckin' liars! How do I know you're not lyin' t'me?"
Another voice spoke calmly, "Stop talking to her. We wait for orders. That's it."
Xander walked into the apartment waving a piece of paper like a victory flag. Buffy snatched it out of his hands and read it. Her brows furrowed.
"This isn't English. Giles? Can you read this?"
"Hexeneinmaleins einer Gehirnwäsche unterziehend. Oh. Bloody. Hell."
"I really hate it when you say that," said Buffy, her stomach clenching with dread.
"Brainwashing. It's a spell that Hitler's occult team came up with to ‘train' special ops military. It wipes the mind completely. All memories, experiences, everything. The experience, I understand, can be very painful. And if the spell is not performed correctly, it can permanently damage the victim."
"As in brain damage?" asked Willow, weakly.
"Precisely."
Buffy's hands were shaking. "We've got to find them. Can we do a locator spell?"
"We could, but we'll need to stock up on supplies and we'll need something of Faith's."
"Giles," said Willow. "I don't think we have time for that."
"What do you think we should do, Will?" asked Buffy.
"I came a across a spell a while ago. Iunctio propinquitas. Close connection. I think that's what it means."
"Ah yes," said Giles. "It requires no components. It does, however, require some one who has a close emotional bond."
"I think that part is covered," said Willow, blushing to the tips of her ears.
Giles glanced in Buffy's direction. "Ah. Yes. Of course. I'll get the book."
"What will this do, Will?" asked Buffy.
"I'm not entirely sure."
"Ok. That is so not what I wanted to hear."
"What I meant was, it could give you the standard telepathic link with Faith. That would mean sharing your thoughts. Or it could be that you would see out of her eyes. Or it could be just an emotional link. It could be any combination of these things plus other things I haven't thought of."
"Ok. My brain is officially spinning."
Giles returned holding a dusty book. "The depth of the connection depends on you, Buffy."
"Huh?"
"Sit down and relax."
"I don't know how I can possibly relax under these-," grumbled Buffy, sitting on the couch.
"Faith is depending on you to relax. Bring yourself to a meditative state," said Giles firmly.
She took a deep breath and let it out.
"Now, think of Faith. Get a picture of her in your mind. The more detail you have, the closer the connection. Concentrate on your feelings for her. The deeper you go, the deeper your connection."
Faith. The smell of Faith's hair. The taste of Faith's lips and tongue. Faith's naked body as she fought a vampire. Her strong arms as she held me, carried me to safety, made me cum. Faith, as she bared her soul and cried in my arms.
Buffy went back further. Back to high school. Synchronized slaying. Faith at Christmas with her heart on her sleeve. Faith fighting at the Mouth of Hell. Faith dancing at The Bronze. Fighting Kakistos. Faith and Mrs. Post. Faith alone in that crappy motel room. Faith's frozen face standing over Allan Finch.
The sound of Giles and Willow chanting was faint and far away.
Our fight to the death that both of us survived. We couldn't kill each other. "There's my girl." "Give us a kiss." "You did it, B. You killed me." Faith drawing a heart on a window. Oh God! How long has she been in love with me? How long have I been in love with her? I love Faith!
Her consciousness split and spun.
Buffy heard frantic breathing. She felt herself panting in a near panic.
If they've touched B, I'm gonna kill ‘em!
Faith?
Faith's whole body jerked with shock. "Buffy?"
Shh. I'm here. You don't have to talk out loud. Giles and Willow did a spell. We're going to get you out of here. Just stay calm.
B's ok! B's ok! Thank God B's ok! Faith's relief doubled, combined with Buffy's relief.
Do you know where you are?
Not a fucking clue. Faith's heart clenched with disappointment.
Don't worry about that. That was just me, hoping. Can you stand? Are those manacles on your wrists that I feel?
Yeah. You can feel those too? That's one trippy spell they cast. Wait, are you sitting on the couch? I can feel you too.
Ok. We'll compare feelings later when we've got you home. For now, stand up and see if you can see anything out the window.
They stood and swooned. Must be the tranquilizer. Oh I am so going to hurt them. They looked out the window. Looks like some kind of mechanic's garage.
A cell phone rang. A man's voice answered.
"Yes? ... Yes she is secure for now. ... We lost one. ... I believe he is in the custody of Miss Summers. ... We've moved to our secondary location. ... She seems to still be quite volatile. She has already threatened to kill us if we harm Miss Summers. ... We can cast the spell without him but it will require some time to prepare. ... Of course. ... Very well, Mr. Travers. We shall begin immediately."
Faith felt Buffy's cold dread. What are they- oh God. We gotta get outa here.
Ok, deep breath. They took a deep breath. Stay calm and keep working on those manacles while I work this end. I've got a Council-man to beat up.
He awoke slowly. His eyes fluttered as he tried to focus.
"Buffy?" He heard a voice say. "I think he's waking up." That made his eyes open wide. Buffy's face came into his view.
"Finally decided to join the living?" she asked with a cheerful, chilling smile. He struggled to sit up and found his hands handcuffed behind him.
"I've already talked to your boss," she continued. "I've promised to send you home with broken bones if you harm Faith. Your buddies have already started the brainwashing spell. So I only have two questions. Where is the secondary location? And, which bones do you want broken first?"
He shrank into the couch. "Xander, check his pockets. See if he's got anything useful on him. Willow? Will you hand me that hammer, please?" Xander quickly checked the man's pockets while Buffy stared at him with predatory stillness.
"He's clean. Not even any ID."
She smiled at the Council-man. "Decision time is comin' up."
"I-I," he quavered, cursing himself for sounding so scared. He stopped talking.
"Maybe a little taste of slayer strength." She slapped him. Hard. Then again on his other cheek. His eyes watered from the force of the blows. He tasted blood where his teeth cut the inside of his mouth. His cheeks felt as if they'd caught on fire and he felt dizzy.
"Buffy-," started Giles.
"They've started casting the spell Giles. I can hear them chanting right now. How long have we got?" Her voice was starting to quaver with panic.
"Not long," he answered, resigned.
She turned her frantic gaze back to the man laying on the couch. He cringed. She grabbed him by the shirt and yelled, "Where is it?" Lifting him high, she shook him, making his teeth rattle in his head. "Where is the secondary location?!"
He still didn't speak. Dropping him back onto the couch, Buffy took the hammer out of Willow's hand. She turned him over and grabbed the handcuff chain and hauled his hands onto the coffee table.
Willow, Xander, and Giles all took a step towards Buffy, alarmed at the turn of events.
"OK! Ok, ok, ok!" the Council-man shouted. "I never agreed with the whole brainwashing spell anyway."
They had finished the first set of chants and were preparing for the next part of the spell.
"Are you sure this is what Travers wanted?"
"Yes! He was very clear. If the rogue slayer hasn't agreed to rehabilitation, her memory needs to wiped."
"This is just-,"
The door flew in and Buffy ran in. She stopped and glared around her eyes adjusting to the dark interior. Her gaze rested on the three men struggling to their feet.
"Ok boys. It's time to put your toys away."
One of them grabbed the trank gun and shot at her. She slapped the dart out of the air and her eyes blazed with fury. Another had pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Buffy as the third man ran to the truck.
"Can you dodge bullets, then, girlie?" sneered the man with the gun. Buffy tried. She cartwheeled, flipped, and tumbled out of the way. Keeping the gun trained on her, the man waited for her to stop moving.
Xander shot him with Giles' trank gun while his attention was on Buffy. Giles ran in and surveyed the chaos. Buffy was advancing on the man holding the trank gun while the man with the pistol fell to his knees, a dart stuck in his hip. The pistol fell and skidded out of sight. That left one. Did he run off? Giles looked around.
Buffy got to her target before he could get off another shot. With a mighty punch, she knocked him out. She rushed to the truck and wrenched off the doors.
"Buffy!" shouted Faith, relieved.
"Faith!" Buffy jumped into the truck quickly hugged the captive slayer. "Let's get you out of these irons." She ran her hand over the manacles. "How do you get these off? There's no key hole."
"They're bolted on, with an alan bolt. I couldn't even get my fingers around it. We need and alan wrench or a hack saw or a fucking blowtorch."
"Xander!" Buffy called, her voice cracking.
He jumped into the truck, still flushed with the success of shooting a bad guy. "Yeah?"
Buffy showed him the manacles. "Find me a tool, you man, you."
Xander darted off.
Giles looked in on the slayers. "There's still one unaccounted for," he said in a rush.
"What?!"
"Well, there's the one handcuffed in the car, the one Xander shot, and the one you punched. Shouldn't there be one more? Unless my math is off."
"Dammit. Xander, get Faith out of these things," she told him as he climbed back into the truck with a tool box. Buffy hopped out and went to the door. "Willow?" Willow was standing next to the car keeping an eye on their captive Council-man. "Has anyone come out?"
"Not a soul. Nobody here but us chickens."
Buffy turned back to the dark interior. She spotted the other man underneath the truck. And her blood ran cold.
He had pulled the pin from a grenade and was scrambling out of the way, leaving the grenade to wobble crazily on the ground.
Time slowed to an aching pace.
Buffy shouted, "GET AWAY FROM THE TRUCK!!!"
Giles turned and saw Xander still struggling with Faith's restraints.
She had one manacle still fastened.
Hearing Buffy and feeling her panicked dread, she grabbed the tool out of Xander's hands and shoved him out of the truck.
Giles grabbed him and ran.
"FAITH!" Buffy ran towards the truck.
DON'T YOU DARE, BUFFY!
Faith!!
I've almost got it.
There!
The shackle fell away and Faith dove out of the truck in a rolling somersault.
She was on her feet and running to Buffy when it blew.
