Sorry About That

"Hold on a sec.." Faith waited listening to her cell phone transmit a series of loud thumps from the other end of the connection.

"What's going on there, B'?" she asked, continuing to walk around the building that she had been observing for the last ten minutes.

"Nothing major, just handing out a dual set of two carat princess cut engagement ring indentations into the forehead of a jerk demon I found at the airport. He HAS decided to be more helpful now."

Smiling at her friend's words Faith replied, "Be careful you don't break that thing again, I can't handle all the tears. Anyway, I found Willow's downtown trace signal, it's an animal hospital, I've walked around it and I'm getting no kind of feeling or anything from it...hold on, Buffy." She paused walking closer to the back door and confirmed that, yes she had seen small bloody smudges on it. "Hey, B. I'm going in, I'll call you back."

"Check the basement, Faith, they might have a creepy tunnel or magical door to a cult hideaway or something. But go easy until we know what's what."

"This is Florida, they don't have basements here," Faith replied as she ended the call.

The contractor promised the building's owner that a heavy steel door with welded latches would defeat any attempt by the unsavory Miami criminal element from gaining entry, but that promise, unfortunately, did not include a worried Slayer, who had not even for a moment considered 'going easy'. The latch exploded from the massive frontal kick with a noise that had several of the building's occupants thinking a car had crashed in it. Faith stalked in, looking around as two dumbfounded Veterinary Technicians cautiously came into the back room.

"Hi," she said waving her hand with fake cheer. "My sister was here yesterday evening, maybe late at night, tall girl, brunette, annoying superiority complex. Ma and Pa would surely be grateful if we could find her." The good cheer leaving her expression as she menacingly walked towards the two older women, who both stood still with their mouths open in shock. "I'm thinking she might have been injured and I'm sure as hell wondering why the FUCK SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A VET'S OFFICE!"

Picking up the sounds of running feet out in the hallway, Faith barreled past them and charged after. Intercepting a heavy-set curly haired black man as he was about to run out another side door, she grabbed him by the back of his white lab coat and turned slinging him all of the way over a desk, creating a cacophony of noise as he smashed into and through a huge glass cabinet.

Dr. Edward Dutton wasn't a bad man, yes he liked the girls, and yes maybe he had a small Coke habit, he was even known to gamble once in awhile. By the time that the bleeding and bruised two hundred and seventy pound Doctor of Veterinary Medicine had realized that this woman, this angry Angel of Death was holding him up against a wall, off of his feet with only one hand he decided to confess everything to her in a last second plea to be admitted in the pearly gates.

Starting with stealing the lunch lady's money in grade school, to having his parent's catch him in the bathroom, and cheating on tests in college, his confession sped up as her hand squeezed his neck and he zoomed through his whole life ending with Dawn's visit.

"First off, Ewww for the bathroom thing. Listen, I told you, I'm not an Angel but I am here for your confession. You have until those Police sirens I hear in the distance get here to tell me something other than She was shot and in bad shape, Her watch exploded in purple energy and the mystery woman took her away."

Choking he whispered, "I don't know her name...I have no idea how she knew ....blackmailed me...." Shaking her head, Faith drew back her first holding a pair of scissors and prepared to plunge them into his forehead.

"WAIT..WAIT..," he screamed. "The woman made a call after the watch thing...I heard the name Sam..SAM..that's it Sam..my Bookie has a guy that ..THAT'S IT...works with..him once in awhile...that's how she knew...try down at the..Marina, right at the end ..of First and Palm... ...Yea Sam, she called Sam..it's gotta be the same SAM."

---------------------

"Hey, Kenn," the emotionless voice at first took her by surprise.

"Yea, go ahead, Buffy," Kennedy answered setting her phone on speaker as she was sitting on the motorcycle in an alley watching three demons eat at a cafe across the street.

"Here's an update," Buffy sighed. "Dawn was shot in the chest and brought to a Vet's office by some mystery woman."

"A Vet's Office?" What the hell?

"Yup, dog-bones in a basket on the counter and everything," Buffy's tired voice sounded out. "Giles's fail-safe in her watch kicked in and the woman made a call to someone named Sam. He's some kind of hustler down at Grand Pointe Marina."

"She's not dead, Buffy," Kennedy said quickly wondering how much the Slayer Queen believed that they would get Dawn back in one piece. "Willow said the charm could hold her."

"It wouldn't hold her for long, without real medical care...hours at the most. Xan has blanketed all of the hospitals and we haven't found anything yet."

"You've gotta believe, Buffy. She's got too much to live for; she'll get through this."

"I know, thanks, Kenn....I'm at the Marina, while we're waiting, why don't you and Faith tear this town apart. Squeeze everyone until somebody gives this guy or the mystery girl up."

At least she sounded stronger there, Kennedy thought, hanging up as she walked across the street with a big about to be satisfied smile on her face.

-------------------

When you're a spy and an overpowering force enters the battlefield, the rule is to circle the wagons in a defendable location, preferably one that the enemy doesn't know about and gain the advantage of choosing when and where to engage or even if you have to engage at all.

Michael thought about that rule and wondered if the pressure these people were exerting, whoever they were, would make the choice of whether or not to engage moot. Sam had called and said bones were getting broken, doors smashed in, noses flattened, and at least two of his contacts were in the hospital as these outsiders pressed the underbelly of Miami to find that poor dead girl.

Looking over at Fiona as she slept on his bed, all tangled in the sheets, he walked over and lightly placed a kiss on her forehead. She hurt someone innocent and there would be a price to pay for that eventually but it would be on his terms, let's face it, in his line of business everyone does something sooner or later that gives them nightmares. He would be there for her, she was his friend. She was his lover, his confidant, he could admit to himself that in the privacy of his mind that he loved her and if these people hunting them thought they could take her away from him for any reason, well he had a few rules to educate them on too....