Meet The Master

By Michele

Chapter Two

"You don't think Giles seemed a little suspicious when I said you and I would take patrol tonight?"

"Of course he was suspicious. But if it got him out of doing it, he was willing to let it go. He knows there hasn't been much trouble lately." Spike held up his hand and cocked his head. "There's something just over there behind the crypt."

"Vampire?" Xander swung his pack off his shoulder and shoved his hand inside.

"Yeah, I think so. Just stay here and let me handle this, okay?"

"Why should."

"Xander! I said I'd help you patrol since I might find something to kill, but I draw the line at killing my own kind for fun."

Xander watched Spike stalk away and disappear behind the crypt. He pulled out a stake and shifted from foot to foot in indecision. Just because they didn't stake Spike didn't mean that the rest of the vamps weren't supposed to be dust. Long minutes passed with Xander no closer to taking any action one way or the other. Soon, the sound of fighting helped clarify things for him.

Rounding the corner, Xander was just in time to see Spike rip the head off the vamp and watch it turn to dust. "I thought you weren't going to."

"Yeah, well, he pissed me off. We got another problem, too."

"What, more vamps?"

Spike nodded his head and dug through his pocket for a smoke. "Not only more vamps, another Master. I don't mean like bat face, one like me. Okay, not really like me, there's no one else like me."

"Will you get past the Spike self-admiration society speech and tell me what the problem is?"

After he lit his cigarette and took a long drag, mostly just to annoy Xander, Spike finally explained. "Seems that while Slutty was doing the horizontal mambo with soldier boy almost non-stop these last few weeks, a new Master has moved himself and his minions into town. He's kept real quiet-like till now since he somehow knew that Slutty left last night and would be out of town all week. And no, it wasn't me that told him."

"Do you know this Master guy?"

"Nope, never heard of him. Must be pretty young."

"I guess we better get back to Giles' and call Buffy. She can be here by morning."

"By then it'll all be over and Buffy will have a dead Watcher and a firmly entrenched vampire army to fight. This guy is serious and has a schedule. He's planning on turning as many people as he can, starting with anyone who could be of help to the Slayer and moving on through the police, army and any other authority figure he can find."

Xander swore once and then sat down hard. "I.. we.. Buffy.. Fuck."

"My sentiments exactly. I don't know how I missed it. He must have really obedient minions because I haven't caught a whiff of even one until tonight. And that is not good." Spike squatted down in front of Xander and finished his cigarette. Once he tossed it away, he sighed, stood, and held out his hand to the boy. "Well, come on. We have things to do."

"You're.. you're going to help?"

"No damn uppity vamp is going to try to take over my town and get away with it."

"Your town? Since when?" Xander put his hand in Spike's and let the vampire pull him to his feet.

"Since I said so. Now, are you with me or not?"

"Yeah, I'm with you. I don't know what the hell I can do against a Master vamp and his army of evil un-dead, but yeah."

Spike started walking towards the docks where the now dusted vamp had said the Master had set up shop. "Well, I figure the only way to really stop this is to kill Master whats-his-fang and the only way to do that is to get close to him pretty damn quick. Since we don't have time for me to work my way up the ranks or even to challenge him outright.."

Xander's eyes got really wide and he stopped walking. "No. Absolutely not. No way, not in a million years. I. Will. Not. Be. Bait. Been there, done that, not fun."

"You have a better idea? He would never expect a vampire's human pet to have stake up his sleeve. I can't get that close to him, but you can."

"No."

"You'll be the big hero."

"No."

"So you want fang-face to take over Sunnydale, kill you and everyone you know and then kill Buffy when she comes back?"

"Well, no. but there has to be some other way. Human pet?"

"I'll explain it some other time but I know you know what I'm talking about. We do sort of have a time limit here, Xander, so if you don't know any other way.."

"Why is it always me? That's what I want to know." Xander sighed in defeat and continued walking towards his doom. "Willow is never bait. Giles is never bait. It's always Xander."

"It's because you're just so moist and delicious." Spike threw Xander's own words back at him and gave him a little shove from behind to keep him from dragging his feet too much.

They reached the dock area and Spike pulled Xander around the corner of one of the warehouses and out of sight of their eventual goal. "Okay, here's how it goes. If you're my pet, you have to listen to me and do every single thing I tell you without hesitation or explanation. Do you understand? If you screw up even once, we're both goners."

"Um. every single thing? What will 'every single thing' be? Nothing gross, right?"

"I won't know until we get in there. If you can't be sure that you can do it, we might as well not even try. So, can you do it?"

Xander swallowed once and then nodded his head. "Yeah, I think I can do it."

Spike shook his head and sighed. "No, Xander. Not 'think' you can do it. It's either yes or no."

"I.. I.. Well, what if he wants me to do something. you know."

"There won't be time for much of anything, he does have a town to take over in a few hours. As a matter of fact, it would be a good thing if he did wanted to play tonsil hockey or somthin'. No way to get closer to a bloke than. what?" Xander was shaking his head vehemently.

"I can't kiss a...a... guy! And a vampire. Well, that's just. okay, it's just not."

Spike waived away his objections. "It'll be just like kissing Anya, only a bit colder. What all do you have in that pack you lug around with you all the time?"

"Usual stuff." He shoved the pack at Spike and started pacing. "I can handle taking your orders since I know you want rid of this guy. I can handle being all whipped puppy seeming, I can even handle walking into a room full of vamps who would like to suck me dry. But I can't."

Before he could finish the sentence, Spike shoved him against the wall with a growl of annoyance. "This is the one and only time I'm doing this, so pay attention."

"Pay att..."

Spike's head descended and he pressed his lips to Xander's, gently at first and then with more intensity. Finally, he probed at the tightly pursed lips with his tongue, seeking entry. But the boy stayed stubbornly tense and closed. "Open for me, Xander," he whispered. Still Xander refused to participate. He wasn't struggling to get away- always a good sign-but he wasn't doing anything to show he liked it either. Time to call out the big guns.

Spike slid his hands slowly down Xander's sides, carefully avoiding the still tender claw marks and around to his buttocks. Taking a firm handful on each side, the vampire pulled the mortal into him, hard. Groin to groin, thigh to thigh, Spike rotated his hips from side to side. A gasp from Xander and Spike was in.

Hot, wet, slightly sweet, and definite signs of interest below the belt. Those were the only sensations Spike was able to register before he felt something sharp pressed up against his chest. He yanked his head back and looked down. Somehow, Xander had managed to wedge a stake between them and press it directly above his heart, all without him noticing.

"Uh... yeah. Like that." Spike carefully released his hold on Xander's ass and stepped back. Kid was a fast learner. "Over your little 'no kissing of male vamps' thing, are you?"

"That was nothing like kissing Anya, not even close." Xander took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, I can do this. I'm still not liking the plan all that much, but I can do it."

Spike mentally shook off the urge to taunt Xander about his less than repulsed reaction to kissing a vampire. There would be time for that later. if they made it through the next few hours. Back to business. "Glad to hear it. Get two stakes and put them up your sleeves but leave all the other stuff here. No crosses, no holy water, no extra stakes. They'll probably search me and not you but they'll definitely know if you've got a cross or holy water on you."

"You can feel the stuff I have in my pack? It. bothers you?"

"Xander, we can play twenty questions later if you want, right now, just do what I say and shut up. As of right now, you are my human pet. You do everything I say without question, got it?"

Xander glared at Spike for a long seconds and then nodded his head, dropping his eyes. "Yes, I understand."

"Then do it!"

Without another word, Xander picked up the pack from where Spike had dropped it and fished out another stake. While he was at it, he removed the pencil size stake from his sock and the necklace with a tiny gold cross from his front pocket, placing them in the pack. Pack zippered and placed against the wall with the hope of later retrieval, he shoved the stakes up the sleeves of his shirt and wiggled his arms to make sure they wouldn't just clatter out unexpectedly. "Okay, good to go."

Spike nodded once and turned towards the corner of the warehouse.

---

"Eyes down, don't talk unless asked a direct question, don't touch me unless I touch you first, stay behind me unless I place you somewhere else... um." Spike tried to think of any other last minute instructions as they weaved their way around the shipping containers. "Oh, and try not to act too surprised by anything I do or say."

"Yeah, I think I get it, Spike."

Spike stopped abruptly and gripped Xander's arm just hard enough to get his full attention. The brunette took a step back from what he saw. Gone was the sarcastic, 'devil may care' attitude Xander was familiar with. This Spike was serious, angry, intense- maybe a little worried- but definitely scary. Even scarier than when he'd been trying kill them all, making cheesy jokes the whole time. Xander thought if this version of Spike had been the one they'd known and hated, there would have been no way they would have taken him in after the chip.

"So you say, but you were walking right next to me and talking back. This isn't a game, boy, and one mistake means death to us both. And if you get us killed before we can kill this guy, everyone you know will be a vampire or dead by tomorrow night."

Xander swallowed hard and tried to fight off the rising panic. I can't do this. It's too important. I'll mess up somehow. I'm not brave, I'm not Buffy, I can't do it, I can't.

"Yes, you can." Spike could almost see the insecurities flitting through Xander's mind and they just didn't have time for it. "You've done much more dangerous things and lived. You can do this, I know you can."

"But."

"No buts. Eyes down, stay behind me and no talking. Let's go." Spike continued on his way, smiling slightly when he heard Xander fall into step behind him.

After rounding two more stacks of shipping containers, they met the first guard.

---

It turned out to be a fairly simple thing to see the big boss alone. He had good security but an appalling amount of trust and, apparently, no real survival instinct. A little name-dropping, some posturing, and a dash of menace and Spike and his human pet were in the office set high above the warehouse floor with Ambrose Peede, Master Vampire and Angelus wanna-be. Spike had never understood the point of ending the world or even taking over the Hellmouth, even if he could. Way too much responsibility and not any time for fun if you had to hold a place like this once you had it and ending the world was kinda, well, the end. Of everything.

All the tension that had built since learning of the plot to take over Sunnydale leaked out of Spike as he faced the so-called Master. The man would be pathetic if it wasn't for the fact that he'd accomplished something that even the most experienced vampire had trouble with: inspiring complete obedience in his minions. It was only that quality that had let this Southern-fried nitwit get as far as he had.

"I apologize fer not checkin' with you first. I didn't realize you were already workin' an angle." Ambrose's eyes flicked over the human standing across the room near the door before returning to the other vampire. "Now, I'm not sayin' yer wrong or nothin', but I know the Slayer got on that bus. You sayin' she came back?"

Spike sighed dramatically and motioned Xander over, hoping the mortal had been able to hear the conversation enough to follow it. "Pet, did the Slayer go visit her da?"

"Not really." Xander waited until Spike nodded and then continued. "She does that sometimes when she knows something is up but doesn't know what. She'll make a big production of leaving and then sneak back into town to see who takes the bait."

Spike smiled at Xander, who knew the boy was such a brilliant bloody liar? "I fell for it once, meself." He pulled the mortal closer, wrapping his arm around his waist and letting his hand rest low on his pet's hip. "No shame in falling for it. Unpredictable chit, can say that for her. That's why I decided to go this other route." He nodded at his pet and shifted his hand downward, palming Xander's ass, squeezing slightly, and was pleased to note that Xander didn't flinch.

Ambrose got up and began pacing, throwing the occasional appraising look at Spike's Human Pet, formerly one of the Slayer's minions. He had to admit, it was a good move, especially if the Slayer didn't yet realize that her friend was givin' it up to the enemy. Of course, Spike had a reputation for being a lying, two-faced backstabber, literally and figuratively. On the other hand, he had survived this town and the Slayer for much longer than anyone before him so maybe there was some method to his madness. After two more turns across the room and back, he flopped down on the edge of the desk. He'd just have to let it play out a little longer and see what happened. "Fuckin' shit. I had this all planned out and now it's goin' to shit."

"It tends to happen around here. Why do you think Angelus finally blew town?"

"I heard the Slayer put the big hurt on him, that's why he up and disappeared. You tellin' me my information is all wrong?" Ambrose's eyes narrowed with the first hint of suspicion. "Matter of fact, I ain't heard nothin' of Angelus since. Well, since I heard tell he got his hands on Acathla."

Spike shrugged carelessly and continued to fondle Xander's ass. "She stopped him from ending the world - obviously- but he decided there was more profit in working another town, left this one to me."

"Another town?"

"L.A. Not a bad place if you don't mind a little competition in the business of evil from the humans." Spike didn't even feel a twinge of guilt about setting Angel up for a little visit from Ambrose if they failed to dust him. "So, enough chit-chat, yeah? You pulling your people or not?"

Ambrose pushed himself further up onto the desk, arms gripping the edge, forehead wrinkled in thought, his legs dangling over the edge, kicking the desk with a repetitive 'thump thump thump' that, along with his slight frame, sandy blond hair and round, smooth face made him look more like the 20-something human he must have been once instead of the century-old vampire that he claimed to be. Spike figured him more for 50 than 100 since vamps were notorious for lying about their age and origins to suit the situation.

The noise was really starting to get to Spike and even Xander had begun shifting in discomfort, though whether that was from having to listen to the thumps or whether it was from dealing with Spike's increasingly bold exploration of the human's anatomy, Spike wasn't sure. But finally, Ambrose nodded to himself and slid off the desk.

"No, I'm not. I've planned this out too well to let it just slide on your say so." He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "You and your pet are welcome to join us though. When it's all over, I'll make sure you get the recognition that is due you at bein' the nominal Master of Sunnydale. But." He held up a finger and vamped out. ".you'll have to fight me to take over my crew and my town in truth."

Spike felt Xander stiffen next to him and something nudge the small of his back. He subtly pushed the boy slightly behind him, using the distraction of movement to cover the fact that Xander was pressing a stake into his other hand. When he felt Xander let go of the wood and step back, Spike managed to nod agreeably and offer his right hand to the other vampire. "Seems fair."

Ambrose stepped forward and took the proffered hand before remembering just who he was dealing with. He didn't even have a chance to finish saying 'Fuck' before he felt the stake sink into his chest and then he knew no more.

---

Xander sagged in relief as the last of Mr. Ambrose Peede, ex-vampire, drifted silently to the floor. "Holy shit!"

"Couldn't agree more."

"Did you see that? Of course you did. I thought for sure that he was on to us." Xander leaned back against the wall and slid down until he was an untidy puddle on the floor. "I nearly shit my pants when he vamped out! Oh god, oh god, oh g."

"Give it rest, eh pet? You did good, kept your cool." The vampire joined Xander on the floor and pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting up. "If I hadn't been standin' right next to you, I never would have twigged that you were scared."

Unaccustomed to such obvious praise, Xander didn't know quite what to say and settled for a simple, "Thanks". He took a few deep breaths and studied his hands, watching until they stopped shaking. "So we can get out of here now? It's over?"

Spike shook his head and ground out his cigarette. "Got rid of the ring-master but we still have to deal with the clowns." He flicked his head in the direction of the door and the minions that waited below. "Now that the hick is gone, they probably won't be much of a problem. Unless."

"Unless?" When the vampire didn't answer right away, Xander punched him in the arm. "Spike! Unless?"

"Ow." Spike rubbed his arm, surprised at the strength behind the punch. "Unless dickweed set up a chain of command. Then we're fucked."

Xander groaned and thumped his head back against the wall. "Why do you say things like that?"

"It's true, innit?"

"That's beside the point. When you say 'fucked' what, exactly, does that mean?"

"Means you won't have to have another hissy fit about sexual preference confusion because you'll be stone cold dead and I'll be getting a tour of Sunnydale via the wind. That's what 'fucked' means."

"It wasn't a hissy fit and I'm not confused." Xander reached over, snatched the pack of cigarettes off Spike's thigh and shook one out. "Got a light?"

"You don't smoke." The vampire plucked the cancer stick out of the boy's hand and replaced it in the pack. "Don't be getting all doomsday on me now, Xander, things aren't that bad."

Xander gaped at the vampire. "You just said we were dead! That's not bad?"

"Don't be such a drama queen! We don't have enough info about the jokers downstairs to justify committing hara-kiri just yet." He placed his hand on the back of Xander's neck and shook the mortal a few times. "Calm down and let me think, okay?"

Xander pushed his neck further into the cool palm and did as he was told, mind desperately scrabbling for a way to just get the hell out of there. When Spike began to lightly massage his neck, he sighed, mind quieting, and closed his eyes. As he finally began to relax a little, his mind turned to finding a more reasonable solution to the problem of how neutralize all the hungry vamps downstairs without actually getting himself killed in the process. Unfortunately, he was drawing a blank. They really should have thought of this before they walked into the warehouse. Or at least Spike should have.

"Ya know, I'm really grateful that I didn't end up having to get molested by a stranger in order to kill that vamp but how come you didn't mention the minions when you were convincing me to be bait?"

Spike removed his hand from Xander's neck like he'd been burned. He hadn't realized he was still touching the other man. Later, if they made it out of this place intact, he'd have to have a long talk with himself about the inadvisability of becoming too casually comfortable with this human. "You're a smart guy Xander, you figure it out."

"Didn't think that far ahead, right?" Xander shook his head in disgust and stood. "You're really going to have to work on your impulsive nature, Spike. Especially since it's liable to end up getting me killed right along with you." He began to wander the office, no longer able to sit still, soothing cool hand on his neck or not. "There has to be some way to get rid of a lot of them all at the same time", he mused aloud. "I'd say a bomb or something but we don't have a bomb. Rocket launcher is out, so is a fire truck full of holy water."

"If we had some petrol we could go with the Giles method of vamp lair destruction," Spike added to the list of mass destruction. He shrugged and joined Xander in his pacing. "The only thing I'm coming up with here is for us to go down and bluff."

"Bluff?" Xander threw up his hands, clearly becoming agitated again. "We don't hold any cards to bluff with! We've got a dusty Master and about twenty minions waiting for him to come downstairs so they can go take over Sunnydale. Don't you think they're going to catch on pretty quick when we come down and their boss doesn't?"

"Of course they'll notice!" Now Spike was getting agitated, more in response to Xander than any real fear, but he had to admit that he hadn't really thought this one through too well. "If you have a better suggestion, I'd love to hear it. Now settle down before they come up here to find out what all the yellin' is about."