Part 7
Xander glanced nervously at Cordelia who had risen from the bed and was checking out the room. There wasn’t much to see, but it was something to pass the time. It also gave Xander a moment to collect the thoughts that were ricocheting off the walls of his brain like a million superballs set loose at once.
He’d awoken two hours earlier, warm in the type of cozy comfort one only gets when sleeping skin to skin with another human body. He’d slowly opened his eyes, smiling lasciviously as he focused on the voluptuous breast so close to him that was begging for his mouth, then frowning as he realized something wasn’t quite right. His first thought was, “when the hell did Anya get a boob job?” He jerked his head up with a snap as he realized that he recognized this breast; it just wasn’t Anya’s. He hadn’t seen this bit of goodness in a very long time. Xander felt dread build in the pit of his stomach as his eyes traveled up the golden column of skin, reaching the beautiful face of his sleeping ex-girlfriend.
Anya was going to kill him.
He’d quickly adjusted Cordelia’s clothing to cover her and located his shirt, slipping it on and buttoning it up in haste. He had no idea how long it would be before Cordelia came out of her drug-induced nap, but he didn’t want her to know what had happened. His experience with unpredictable women had increased significantly since he’d started dating Anya, and he knew that Cordelia was made from a similar mould. It was better that she was ignorant about this.
Xander had instinctively known that he’d been drugged and positioned like that with Cordelia. There was only one possible explanation. Sighing, he tried not to think about the look on Anya’s face as she looked at the picture she was bound to receive.
“Whoever this guy is, he had enough sense to hire a decorator,” Cordelia’s words interrupted his worried thoughts and brought him back to the present. “The color palate is fantastic.”
“I guess you would know,” Xander said absently, watching her riffle through drawers and rearrange knickknacks of fertility gods and phallic symbols.
Cordelia frowned as she rattled chains and manacles attached to the wall near the fireplace. “Kind of a kinky motif, though. Who does he think we are, thwarted lovers with a bondage fetish?”
“If he really wanted us to rekindle the flames of our lost love, he’d have found a smaller room with less light,” Xander quipped. “I saw a walk-in linen closet on my way back upstairs earlier.”
Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha, Xander. Funny.” She strolled unhurriedly back across the room. She gasped and stopped abruptly as she neared the end of the bed.
Xander followed her gaze to a black circle hiding among the leaves of a silk plant above the fireplace.
“Oh, god, is that a camera?”
Well, he’d tried.
***
Wesley slipped the offending picture back into the manila envelope and hid it under a stack of books on the table. The image was forever burned in his brain anyway, so there was no need to keep it for reference. He didn’t think Angel wanted the reminder either.
Turning to his boss, he asked, “So what happened?”
Angel filled him in. “I don’t know what that force was, Wesley, but it was powerful. I felt as though someone had completely drained me of strength. If I’d stayed there any longer, I wouldn’t have been able to stand.”
“And him?” Wesley motioned to the unconscious man in black.
“A guard. Maybe we can get some useful information out of him.”
Wesley didn’t want to bring up the picture again but he couldn’t see any way to avoid it. He cleared his throat. “What shall we do about Xander?”
Angel’s jaw clenched as the photo’s contents flashed through his mind once again. He knew it was a set-up—Cordelia wouldn’t be with Xander willingly again—but it slashed him nonetheless.
“I guess we should call—,”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“—Buffy.”
Angel reached for the door, opening it to find the subject of their conversation on the other side, flanked by Giles, Willow, a very distraught Anya, and, horror of horrors: Riley.
Angel growled menacingly and Buffy frowned.
“Hi, Angel,” she stated simply.
“Buffy,” he returned. He stood there, waiting.
She raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Can we come in?” she prompted.
“Oh, um, yeah,” Angel sounded reluctant, flashing a warning glare at Riley. God, he hated that pretentious mama’s boy.
“Angel,” Riley greeted through clenched teeth. Obviously he wasn’t happy to be here, either.
“Riley,” Angel ground out. Thoughts of their last meeting echoed in both their heads, Angel’s memories bringing a small smile of satisfaction at the smack down he’d dealt this kid.
There was a hurried exchange of greetings between Wesley and the present members of the Sunnydale gang.
“I assume you’re here about Xander?” Wesley asked, getting right to the point.
Giles nodded, answering for the group. “Xander was abducted yesterday. Anya received a call earlier today demanding that she produce Willow in exchange for Xander. She asked for proof that he was alive, and she received an e-mailed photograph of he and Cordelia. . .” Giles trailed off, as if uncertain whether he should explain the photo.
“We’ve seen it,” Angel said, his expression implacable.
“My poor Xander,” Anya wailed, “trapped in there with that heartless bitch—”
“Don’t say that about Cordelia,” Angel demanded threateningly. “She’s changed.” At the disbelieving faces of Willow and Buffy, he added forcefully, “She’s different. You don’t know her anymore, so don’t pretend that you do.”
His tone said that the conversation was closed, eyes threatening the life of anyone who dared bring it up again, either.
“Anya, did they say why you and Xander were targeted?”
She looked at Wesley tearfully. “They said that I was a traitor to demon-kind everywhere. That I had to pay for turning my back on seeking vengeance.”
Wesley looked at Angel. “It fits the MO.”
Angel nodded tersely, then turned and picked up his sword, cleaning the blade in preparation for their upcoming assault on the mansion.
Wesley explained the situation to Giles. “Apparently this guy has some kind of business going, extorting money out of reformed demons.” He told them about the force field preventing Angel from getting in.
“Does it affect just demons, I wonder?” Giles mused.
“I think it affects anyone with supernatural ability,” Angel stated quietly, looking at Buffy.
Riley spoke up, earning a frown from Angel for making his presence known. “Well, I don’t have any supernatural abilities, just extensive training. I’m willing to help.”
Angel ignored him, but Wesley nodded his agreement.
“What did they want in exchange for Cordelia?” Buffy asked.
“You,” Angel stated simply, his hard gaze meeting her surprised one.
Part 8
Giles looked perplexed. “I can think of several reasons why someone would want to abduct or kill Buffy; we deal with that on a regular basis. But why not just abduct her or kill her outright?” he wondered.
Wesley jumped on Giles’ intellectual bandwagon. “Yes, and why would they ask Anya to provide Willow and Angel to provide Buffy? Why not just have Anya provide Buffy and use Angel for something else?”
“Guys, I think you’re forgetting something important,” Buffy pointed out. “I’m not exactly easy to kidnap, even if the baddie has a tranq gun. Been tried before. Never works out very well.”
Giles nodded, “That’s true.” He looked disappointed that his fledgling theory died young.
“Not only that,” Buffy continued, “But Willow isn’t very easy to steal either. She’s become a pretty powerful Wicca and I don’t think anyone could hold on to her for very long.”
“She’s right,” Willow confirmed. “I don’t think there are many people who could keep me by force.”
Willow smiled forlornly and looked over at Anya. “And Xander, while we all love him, doesn’t have much going for him in the supernatural power department.”
“Or any other department,” Angel added half aloud, earning a few dirty looks from the pro-Xander camp.
Giles began pacing, lost in thought. “So,” he postulated, “the perpetrator abducted Cordelia for leverage over Angel, and Xander for leverage over Anya. His goal is to have Buffy and Willow both in his grasp. What possible reason could he have for wanting all of you, if not to kill you?”
“Money,” Wesley said quietly. “That’s the common thread in all the abductions. The demon running this show abducts someone important, then blackmails the victim into stealing something or betraying someone. I think he has some type of underground auction going on.”
Silence descended over the room as everyone thought about the situation. A loud moan broke the stillness, and Angel was on the semi-conscious guard in a matter of seconds, his sword at the man’s throat.
“You’re going to tell us what we need to know, or you’re going to die, slowly and painfully,” he said, pressing the blade of his weapon uncomfortably against the guard’s neck. His tone left no room to argue his sincerity.
“Please, I have a wife and children,” the guard whimpered. “I don’t want to die.”
Angel’s mouth curved in a cruel smile. His face shifted to his demon visage as he said, “Fine. You won’t. They will.”
The fear in the man’s eyes grew thicker. “W-What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
***
After what seemed like hours of perusing the countless antiques and bondage equipment their luxurious cell had to offer, Cordelia was bored out of her mind. Just as she began to entertain the unpleasant prospect of small talk with Xander, the doorknob-less doors swung open dramatically to admit the last person Cordelia ever expected to see (well, besides Xander): Kenny, Jeremy’s “nicest” friend.
“Cordelia. Xander,” Kenny nodded to each in turn.
“Why are we being held here?” Cordelia demanded. She wasn’t about to pander to him; she didn’t care who he was.
“You’re leverage,” Kenny admitted. His grin turned carnal as he looked Cordelia up and down. “That photograph of you two in repose was quite artistic. I’m certain that Anya and Angel were very touched by what a beautiful picture the two of you made.”
“Xander,” Cordelia hissed, “What is he talking about?”
Kenny ignored her as he continued. “That was quite sweet of you to protect Cordelia’s sensibilities by covering her up, Xander, but it was really unnecessary. We’d already gathered the visual proof we needed of your safety.”
Xander clenched his fists and made a threatening step towards their captor. “I am so gonna—”
“You’re not going to do anything,” Kenny interrupted calmly. “You have no power here.”
“Enough with the evil power trip already!” Cordelia yelled impatiently. She’d had just about enough of Kenny’s posturing. “We’re your captives. We get that. We’re sufficiently terrified, please don’t kill us, yada, yada, yada. Now what exactly do you plan to do with us?”
“Nothing, yet. Angel and Anya have both been given a mission. They’ve been told to bring the slayer and Willow Rosenberg to me.”
“In exchange for us?” Xander asked.
“They think so,” Kenny added, smirking, obviously in love with his nefarious plans. “They won’t be leaving here, so they won’t be able to take you with them.”
“What do you want with Willow and Buffy?” Xander asked suspiciously, concern for his friends coming to the fore.
“They’re worth a great deal of money, you know. It isn’t every day that one can obtain a Slayer and a very powerful Wicca for one’s collection.”
“You still haven’t answered my question, moron,” Cordelia rolled her eyes, ignoring the glare that Xander gave her as she goaded Kenny. “What are you going to do with us?”
“You’ll be sold for your Seer’s ability. Your friend, here, will be disposed of.”
“You’d better start my bidding out at a decent price. Last time I was up for sale they tried to sell me for a paltry $2,000. I am so worth more than that,” she complained.
“Hello! Head on the chopping block, here!” Xander hissed, obviously miffed that she’d ignored the fact that his death sentence had been handed down.
“Pfft. Your precious Buffy will save you. Don’t worry about it,” Cordelia’s confidence was palpable.
Kenny frowned at Cordelia’s unwillingness to accept his plans. “Buffy and Angel will not have any power here. You have no hope. You are worth nothing but the price you bring at auction.” His speech seemed to convince him, his chilling smile returning.
“What’s with all the money, anyway?” Cordelia sniped. She gestured at the room. “It’s not like you don’t have enough already.”
“It’s not the money, dear, it’s the power,” Kenny said patronizingly. “Besides, the Powers that Be and I aren’t exactly best friends. This deal will allow me to significantly disrupt their plans.”
“You think they’re going to just let you wipe out their Champion and Seer all in one blow?” Cordelia asked incredulously.
Kenny only smiled, filled with the arrogance of a man who feels he’s already won.
“Have a pleasant evening, children,” Kenny added, turning on his heel and sweeping out of the room.
“Where’s the evil ‘Mua-ha-ha’ and requisite handlebar mustache?” Xander griped. “Geez, could this get any worse?”
“Yes,” Cordelia managed before she grasped her head and cried out in pain, sinking to the floor as the images flashed before her eyes.