A Gargoyle Named Bob: Part 2
by Jared Cantrell
Part Two

The two vampires from the park didn't stop running until they made it to the warehouse that they now called home. They had moved their base after the Slayer and her Watcher discovered the location of the last one and burned it down. It was mostly deserted now. Their numbers had thinned considerably in the recent months, and fewer vampires from neighboring cities were willing to come to Sunnydale to aid in the fight. Spike and Drusilla had gone to find more reinforcements, and Angelus was off doing God only knew what.

"Do you think they're following us?" the first one asked his partner after they were safely inside.

"I don't think so. I don't think they were following us to begin with, but they scared me just the same!"

The first one paused as if considering the matter then asked a question.

"Why did you run in the first place? What scared you exactly?"

"Well, I don't know. I heard the dog barking and I just got this sudden feeling of-I don't know-fear. I was scared!"

"I felt the same way. It wasn't the Slayer was it? I wasn't scared of the Slayer. It was something about that dog and what ever was following it. Is that what you felt?"

"Yeah! That's it! That's exactly how I felt! I was scared of the dog!" He shook his head in confusion. "Why would we be scared of a dog?! If we're not afraid of the Slayer, why should we be afraid of a dog? Cause, I wasn't afraid the Slayer. Not a bit. We had her right where we wanted her. Yeah, I think we coulda taken her!"

"'And I would've succeeded too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids!'" a new voice sounded from the front of the building. From the shadows, a man wearing a black suit and tie came forward pointing a pistol at the two vampires. Though the light in the warehouse was meager, the man was wearing dark wrap-around sunglasses.

"By the way, if I didn't mention it before, don't move," he calmly told the two vampires.

"Who are you?!" one of them demanded. "You are _so_ dead, mortal! You don't know what you're messing with."

"Of course I do. You're vampires. You suck people's blood and live forever. That is, until someone stakes you through the heart, or you get caught out in the sun without your SPF 1000. I also know that if I shoot you enough times, you _will_ fall down and I'll be free to stake you at my leisure."

"What do you want?"

"My name's Blake, and I'm looking for information about what happened to a sorcerer who disappeared around here about a week ago, along with his house. I figured you guys would be the best place to start. So, what can you tell me?"

"Why should we tell you anything?" One of the vampires turned to his partner. "We can take him. He can't get both of us."

"I don't have to," Blake warned them. "Bob will take care of the other one. Bob! C'mon out!"

The two vampires turned around as the hulking figure stepped out behind them without making a sound. They stared up into the glowing red eyes beneath the wide brimmed hat.

"Grrrr."

One of the vampires was still staring up at the giant newcomer when the other vampire turned back to Blake defiantly.

"You can't intimidate us! Let's kill them!"

"Bob, tear his arms off."

Bob grabbed up the vampire that was giving Blake a hard time. The vampire began screaming in fear as Bob's hands gripped his arm. They were grey and stone-like with a tight grip. The vampire's scream of fear turned quickly to pain as the sound of ripping flesh filled the air. The other vampire quickly intervened.

"Wait! Wait! We'll tell you what we know! Just don't rip any arms off."

"Relax, Bob," Blake told his partner. "It looks like our undead friends want to help us."

"What do you care about what happened to some magician?"

"Bob and I used to work for him. We were sorcerously bound to him, to serve him even to the death. We have only one final command to carry out now that he's dead: find whoever killed him and return the favor. After we've finished, we'll be free agents again. Now, on to our questions. The mansion on Bannion's Road disappeared. Our sorcerer was in it. Our question is what do you know about it? Oh, Bob, you can put him down now."

The wounded vampire dropped to the ground with a grunt of pain. The other vampire looked fearfully back at the fearsome 'Bob' then turned to answer Blake's question. His voice was quick and tinged with fear.

"This was what, last Saturday or so? We spotted the Slayer and her crew heading over that way. We don't know what occurred there that night, but we are sure that the Slayer was involved."

Blake swore.

"The Slayer is here? That could be a problem..." He was surprised by the news that he would have to face, and more than likely, kill a woman who was a force of nature unto herself. Blake may not have been a expert on the subject, but he knew that wherever the Slayer went, in whatever generation, she tore through the plots of supernatural evil like a tornado. And attempting to kill her was no picnic either. His own master had feared her possible interference and had warned his two subordinates to steer clear of her if encountered. Some weird thing about fates and destinies being involved. But they could not fail to avenge their master's death. The compulsion he had laid upon them was too great to deny. They would have to serve him in this final task. Blake was not happy with the situation.

"Who is she? Where can we find her?" he finally asked.

* * *

Eric and Buffy said their good-byes to Willow, and Oz who had joined them after a few sets. Cordelia made an appearance, dragging Xander off for a few hours of heavy petting in her car. He did not go reluctantly. Willow had renewed her friendship with Max and sure enough, Max seemed to remember her as well. She finally convinced the owners of the Bronze to allow him in, claiming hysterical blindness necessitating a seeing eye dog. The manager only sighed helplessly at her 'Willow' charm and turned his back as she led Max inside and treated him to a cup of Evian and some of her half-eaten hamburger.

Eric was happy to have his friend pampered even though he protested that she was spoiling him even more than he already was.

"He'll be demanding hamburger for every meal now, Willow," he lamented to her.

"But Max deserves it, don't you boy? Yes, you do!" she cooed at the contented pooch as he munched down on his food.

"I gotta agree with Will here," Buffy interjected. "He's one cute puppy. And smart too. Yes, you are!"

"You always did have a way with the ladies, Max," Eric teased his dog.

Now Buffy and Eric walked down the street back in the direction of their homes. Max trotted along beside them, contented, his belly full. Eric had insisted on walking Buffy home first. He wouldn't accept her idea that his home was closer, and he would have to walk out of his way to accompany her.

"I appreciate you walking me home and all, Eric, even though I told you that you didn't need to. I mean, I told you I can take care of myself."

"Yes, I'm sure you can. But maybe my reasons had less to do with your safety and more to do with spending more time with you." She smiled slyly at his confession and glanced over at him.

"Well, is that the reason?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm a little bit worried about you walking home alone at night, but when you say you can handle yourself, for some ungodly reason that I can't explain, I believe you. So, yes, spending more time with you is my primary mission here. Also, it gives me more time to work up the courage to ask if you'd like to, well, if you'd like to do this again sometime. So would you? Like to do this again, I mean?" A hundred thoughts leaped into her mind at his question. The fact that the last living guy to ask her out had been Owen, the Emily Dickinson-adrenalin junkie who wanted to hang out with her for the mortal danger angle. Then there was the whole part about the inherent jeopardy which her daily life seemed to entail. Last and most importantly was the Angel problem. She still wasn't over his loss, and Angelus was still out there, searching for any way to harm her. She was not sure that she could afford to endanger someone just for the sake of having a little fun.

"Look, um, I don't know if that would be such a good idea," she heard herself saying as they came to her house. "I like you and all, but I just-," she struggled to explain her reasons. "I just got through this really bad break-up," she finally settled on, "and I don't think I'm really up to anything big right now."

He stopped her as she started up the walk to her door and touched her bare shoulder gently.

"Hey, I'm not asking you to marry me," he assured her with his lop-sided grin. "It's just that you're intelligent, and funny. You laugh at my jokes, which is usually a sign of dementia, but we'll let that slide. And Max likes you, and Max _only_ goes after the pretty ones."

She smiled a little at the roundabout compliment he had paid her and looked up into his eyes.

"Okay, I guess it wouldn't hurt. How about you pick me up here tomorrow around four or so?"

"Four? Well, alright. Isn't that a little early, though?"

"I have some things I need to do tomorrow night. You know, like study... and stuff."

"Well, okay, great! I'll pick you up tomorrow at four." His hand dropped from her shoulder and she found herself missing its warming presence. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he was grinning ear to ear now that she had agreed.

Buffy walked up to her door leaving him to smile after her from the end of the walk. After she was inside, she peaked out the window and watched him jovially begin his walk home. Max took his mood from his master and barked excitedly as they walked down the street. She waited until he was a little ways down the street before slipping out her bedroom window and following him home.

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