Old Enemies... (S/X)

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Part 19

An hour, Spike thought. And it might as well have been an eternity. No, make that fifty minutes, he thought, looking at the clock. So only fifty minutes until he could call his beloved and picture him all wet and hot, water streaming in steaming rivulets over tanned skin and toned muscle…

He groaned, the mental images not helping with the erection beneath his robe.

Sure, he could have a bit of a wank, but… somehow the idea wasn’t appealing, even though he’d be hard again long before he spoke to his luv.

No, it just wasn’t the same as taking care of business while listening to his Xan do the same in DC.

“Four bloody hours by car,” he growled, wishing it was dark out. Hell, he’d take the drive in a heartbeat but the last thing either of his cars were was economical. He’d have to stop for gas and that would be bad considering the lack of full service stations on I-95.

He was surprised at how antsy he felt, considering he’d just talked to the bloke, but… he just felt a bit… off. Like something was… “Wrong,” he whispered.

No, he was over-reacting. He must be. It was just having his claimed so far away. That had to be it. It HAD to. Because if it wasn’t, then…

Spike’s hand scrabbled for the phone, hitting the speed dial for Xander’s cell. He waited impatiently as it rang once, twice… five times… six… Finally the voice mail picked up and he growled, stabbing at the end call button before hitting call again and punching in Elliot’s cell number.

Two rings and it was answered.

“Elliot,” he said roughly, “Somethin’s wrong. He’s not answerin’ his phone!”

* * * * *

He’d dropped Harris home five minutes earlier, waiting outside until his friend had gotten inside the front door of the security building. Then he’d headed home himself.

He hadn’t gotten far before his phone rang.

He’d fumbled for it on the passenger seat, finally hitting the answer call key and pressing it to his ear. Before he could even say hello, he heard Will’s voice saying ‘Elliot, something’s wrong’.

“Will… WILL!” he said after a moment, “Calm down. I just dropped him at his place. He’s probably in the bathroom or something!”

“No,” he heard Will say, “He’s not. There’s… he’s… bloody HELL, mate! Can you… can’t you just go check on him, ‘ey? For me? An’… I’ll pay ta have your car detailed anyway, alright?”

It wasn’t the offer of free detailing that had Elliot turning his car around as soon as he could. It was the completely frantic sound to Will’s voice. Still, he spoke slowly and calmly into the phone, trying to soothe the man as he made his way back to Harris’s building.


He swerved wildly, nearly hitting a line of parked cars. “Hey, watch it, buddy! This is the city, not Indy!” he yelled, even though he knew the other driver couldn’t hear him. Hell, the van was already long gone.

“No… no, it’s nothing, Will. Some asshole just about creamed me, is all. Yeah… yeah, I’m almost there.”

He turned the corner, eyes brightening when he saw the empty parking space just in front of Harris’s building. “There IS a God,” he whispered softly as he pulled into it.

“Nothing, Will. I’m going inside now.”

Fortunately he still had his keys from when he and Harris had been all hot and heavy so he let himself into the lobby, then rode the elevator up to six. He walked down the hall, the phone still pressed to his ear.

“No… I’m getting there. Damn it, Will, I’m only human, okay? Give me a minute.”

He slid his key into Harris’s deadbolt, frowning when he found it wasn’t engaged. Harris NEVER left his door even partially unlocked. It was like a fetish for the man. “Hold on,” he demanded, suddenly finding himself just as concerned as Will was.

His other key slid into the lock in the doorknob and he turned it, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

“Harris,” he called out, “Harris?”

It was then that he saw his friend’s bags sitting in a pile in the living room, as though they’d just been dropped and abandoned. Even the laptop was there and that, more than anything, told Elliot that Will was right. Something really WAS wrong here.

“Will,” he said softly, “I think you’d better get down here. Harris… he’s GONE. His bags are here, but he’s not…. Yeah, even his computer. Just… on the floor. It seems… Yeah. I’m going to call the police, so…”

“WHAT? NO! It’s… if something’s HAPPENED to him, then we need to call… but… Christ, Will, how can you…?”

“Okay… no, okay. You’re right. If he was kidnapped, whoever took him won’t want the police involved. I… how soon can you get here?”

Elliot sighed softly. “Fine. Because looking young is more important. Stay out of the sun.”

He hung up and left the apartment, careful not to disturb anything.

He didn’t care WHAT Will said. The police would want as untouched a crime scene as possible.

With that thought in mind, he deliberately left the deadbolt unlocked, even though he knew Harris would have blown a gasket.

He went outside and got into his car. He’d wait until Will got there ‘sometime after dark’ before he called the cops, but that was about it.

In the meantime… he sighed unhappily. Not only was his best friend missing, but now he had to cancel his next encounter with Trevor. He was supposed to fly back to New York the next day, but unless Harris showed up soon he didn’t see that happening.

He opened his phone and dialed the number he’d already memorized.