Empty Places

Not much Spike in this ep.

Giles gets a dossier from the Sunnydale police on incidents involving preachers or religious houses, and the gang is researching. Giles finds something in one of the pictures, and sends Spike out to check it out. Spike is, naturally, suspicious of Giles' motives after the last time. Andrew, who has been whining all over the place, annoys Giles enough that he sends the boy with Spike.

They take the motorcycle to the monastery. Andrew is riding behind Spike, wearing a football helmet. Spike is, of course, helmetless. Andrew is holding onto Spike's waist. And not up high, either; can't see his hands at all. I mention this purely in passing, mind...

Andrew wants to know, really, can't they stop for some road trip food? Poor baby, he never did get any supper... Spike says it's not a road trip, it's a covert operation. Poor starving Andrew points out that even covert operatives probably eat curly fries. "They're really good."

Spike's mouth twists up at the corner. Bloody nuisance of a boy... But then he thinks about what Andrew's going through, maybe remembers how eager Giles was to get rid of him, or how it is being very hungry, and his expression smooths out as he makes a conscious choice not to bait the kid. Besides, he can't turn around and whack him; he's driving. "Not as good as those flowering onion things, though," he says. It's an olive branch.

"Oooh, I love those!" Andrew isn't quite clear on how the thing can be an onion and a flower, and Spike explains how they cook the things--soak them in ice water so they keep their shape, and then deep fry them root down for about five minutes.

And then he realizes he's bonding with the geek over flowering onions. "Tell anyone we had this conversation and I'll bite you."

"Right."

When they get to the monastery, it seems to be deserted. Andrew is nervous, looks around as though he thinks something is going to leap out at him.

"These kinds of places make me feel all funny inside," he says.

"How about that," Spike drawls. "You and me got something else in common after all." Heavy on the irony.

At that moment a robed, hooded figure hurtles out from an archway and knocks Andrew to the ground. "Spike!" he shouts as he lands, and Spike turns, punches the hooded guy. The hooded guy lands a good shot on Spike's chin, and as Spike hauls back to hit him, Andrew kicks the guy's legs out from beneath him, and he goes down. Spike grabs him and slams him back against the wall, and the guy cringes, holding his hands up as though to ward Spike off.

There's something off about the guy, and Spike jerks the hood down. The guy has both his eyes, and there's an odd mark on his cheek. Spike grabs the guy's chin and turns his head to the side; there's a burn scar on his cheek, just like the one on the injured SIT's neck, but the guy's obviously human--a priest.

Spike steps back, head cocked to the side. Andrew looks at Spike, who squats down to the priest's level. "Tell me about the mark," he says. Not threatening, but firm.

The priest covers the scar on his cheek, as though it's something shameful. He's starting to freak.

"Hey," Spike says, perhaps to steady the priest. "Are you part of Caleb's faction?"

"No. NO," the Priest says.

"Then tell me what happened," Spike says gently.

"I...I can't." The priest is clearly terrified.

Andrew squats down beside Spike, a dangerous gleam in his eye. "Talk," he snarls (or, what passes for a snarl with Andrew), "is a four-letter word." His eyes narrow, and he leans a little closer. "I'm Andrew," he says softly. "I'll be your bad cop for the evening." Very subtle eye-roll from Spike. "If you don't start singing," Andrew goes on, "my associate here..."

But Spike cuts him off. "We're trying to fight him," he says over Andrew's threat. Andrew glares at him, but stands up.

Spike goes on gently, so as not to spook the priest any more. "Caleb. We need your help."

"You can't fight him," the priest whimpers. "You can only run."

And Andrew is back in the guy's face again. "Run," he says, "is a four-letter word." Uh-oh... "A three letter word." The priest is now confused, as well as scared.

"Talk," Spike says softly.

"I can do better than that," the priest says. "I can show you."

Spike stands, offers the priest his hand, helps him up. The priest takes a candelabra off a nearby table and starts down the hallway. He tells Spike that a man showed up at their door one day, and they offered him food, but that wasn't what he wanted. The man showed them a secret room that the priests didn't know about. The priests pushes open a secret doorway behind a statue of the Madonna. Inside, the walls are painted with age-darkened tableaux. The priest takes down a wall hanging to reveal a plaque set into the wall. It's in Greek. The man didn't like what it said, the priest tells Spike, and went on a rampage, burning the mark into his cheek. The priest fled and hid, and listened to the man kill everyone else.

Andrew asks what the plaque says. Spike takes the candelabra from the priest and steps up to get a better look. "It is not for thee," Spike reads. "It is for her alone to wield."

--

Dori

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