Chapter 27
Glasgow, 6 July, 2004
“Buffy,” he murmurs, before sitting up.
I belatedly take a look around, although my Slayer sense has been quiet.
He sits up straighter, checking around him as if expecting to find that I’ve missed them.
“No idea. I don’t even know where we are; although I’d hazard a guess we’re underground.”
He looks around again, then slowly, and what looks like painfully, pulls himself to his feet.
“That would be this way,” he says smugly, as he limps off to my right.
It soon becomes obvious that he’s still badly injured. Of course, the fact that he’s swaying on his feet is a bit of a give-away, and I rush to help him support himself. He tries to shrug me away, but I don’t let him.
“Shouldn’t take too long, but I won’t know where we are in relation to what’s above. I reckoned we walked a fair way south, and I don’t know this part of the city that well. No idea if there’s somewhere out of the sun where we can get out.”
“Spike, stop it. Just lean on me.”
“Absotively. Now, while I’m not at all averse to comparing notes on what happened back there, I’d feel a lot happier if I knew we were somewhere clean and more comfortable.” I don’t add the rest of my thought – that somewhere he could lie down and have his injuries tended seems like a good idea too.
Gus shrugs, but goes to take a look, returning a few moments later with an old box containing a few bandages.
“I don’t know. There’s no news about Fiona yet. Why? Didn’t you find them all?”
“No, mate. But we’ll find her. I’ll be back on my feet in no time and then I’ve got some scores to even.”
I make up my mind to encourage her later, once I’m sure he’s going to be ok.
“Mr. Giles just called. He said he’d call back in one minute.”
“Hello, Giles,” I answer, leaving Spike’s bedroom. I’ve got a feeling this conversation might require me to raise my voice, and I don’t want to disturb him.
“I don’t want to talk about that. There’s nothing you can say to me that will justify the fact that you kept his survival from me, so just don’t waste your breath. So, what’s happening? Any word on the other Slayers?”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand, though. How were you taken? Gus said something about being drugged, but he didn’t elaborate.”
“Phillip? How do you know him? And what has he got to do with this?”
< the I in t you at He?s been until span service? saw> Brunei – sent there because his one talent is being able to rub shoulders with people who have money.”
“It’s not that unusual a name, but there’s only one Penelope I know who’d have access to such information.”
“No. A mature widow who’s been the PA to the Council’s finance director for over ten years.”
“Not that I can think of. Penelope fits the bill though – she’d have access to anything that had money involved – like assignments, and of course, Moira’s budget for the memorial service.”
And then, he’s gone. I just hope he puts Spike out of his mind and concentrates on finding out what Phillip’s been up to. Right now, I suspect he’s the only link we’ve got to the missing Slayers.