The sun is finally shining (it's been raining for days here) and I have more fic! And each chapter keeps getting longer!!

Title: Murder at the Neptune Express
Author: cordelianne
Chapter: 5/8
Pairing: Spike/Xander, Logan/Weevil (eventually)
Rating: R
Word Count: 993
Feedback: Yes please. Concrit is very welcome by email.
Disclaimer: Sadly not mine, Joss and Rob Thomas own them.
Summary: This is set in the summer of 2005, after season one of Veronica Mars and 2 years after BtVS ended (one year after AtS ended).
Spike and Xander are a couple when the story starts and are both working with Buffy, Giles and the other slayers and watchers, etc. They go to Neptune to investigate some suspicious reports.
A/N: Thanks to the completely awesome and wonderful savoytruffle and spookymonkey for the invaluable betas. Any mistakes are mine.

All chapters can be found here.

Previously...
Spike nodded and released his grip on Weevil. “Let’s get a move on before our girls get offered up as dinner.”

“Dinner?” Logan asked. “Now you’re telling me they’ve been kidnapped by cannibals?”

Spike snorted and gave him a scathing look. “No, vampires. Cannibals aren’t real.”

“You must be on some serious drugs, dude.”

“What the hell is going on?” Weevil adjusted his jacket.

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

A figure emerged from the shadows. It was the tiny blonde girl Xander’d talked to outside the Echolls house.

Murder at the Neptune Express
by Cordelianne

CHAPTER FIVE


“Vampires?”

“Vampires.”

“Vampires?”

“Vampires.” Xander sighed. He wondered how much longer Logan and Weevil were going to keep up this endless back-and-forth.

On the bright side he now knew that the blonde’s name was Veronica Mars. What was with Logan calling her by both first and last name? And he noticed that she wasn’t peppering him with questions. Instead she was watching the increasingly Monty Pythonesque exchange with crossed arms and an unreadable expression.

“Vampires?” Logan asked as if it was the first he’d ever heard of the topic.

“That’s right, vampires.” Xander decided that the real Hell wasn’t under the former Sunnydale High School in the former town of Sunnydale, or in any of those nasty dimensions people were always popping back from. It was right here, right now, answering the same simple question for all eternity.

“Vamp –”

“For fuck’s sake.” Spike dropped his cigarette and ground it with his heel. “Vampires are real. Deal with it.”

He vamped out.

Logan and Weevil yelped and jumped back, banged into each other and hastily moved apart. Spike grinned and lit another cigarette.

Veronica Mars didn't jump or yelp. She didn't so much as flinch. Xander envied her cucumberness, or at least her ability to seem “cool as.” Spike was looking extremely pleased with himself. Xander glared at him. “How exactly does that help us?”

Logan was muttering something about hallucinations, and Weevil was staring intently at Spike’s face. “Where’d those bumps come from?”

“What the hell, man?” Logan’s voice wavered just a bit.

“Don’t make me send you boys to the corner.” Veronica had stepped forward and was giving each of them stern looks. Spike gave Xander a Who does she think she is, Buffy? look, or at least that's what Xander read into the raised eyebrow.

“Okay, so maybe vampires are real. Mark me down as undecided.” Spike shrugged and unvamped. “But either way,” she continued, “right now there are six girls we need to save from a vampire-worshipping cult.”

“And I suppose the great Veronica Mars has a master plan to defeat these movie monsters?” There was no warmth in Logan’s voice. Xander realized he hadn’t been kidding about the bad break-up.

“At least my plan isn’t to stand around in the Neptune Express parking lot all night arguing about vampires.” Veronica pulled a file out her bag and flipped through it. Xander glanced at Spike, who was watching Veronica with interest. He really hoped Spike was over his take-charge blonde girl thing.

“For your information, we have a very clever plan! It’s – uh.” Xander looked at Spike who was unhelpfully leaning against their car, looking amused. “We do have a plan, right?” He tried not to appear startled as a girl with dark, blue-streaked hair stepped out of a nearby car.

“Course we do.” Spike eyed the new addition to their odd group. “We go to the cemetery, stop the ritual sacrifice, save anyone who’s still alive and get out of this crap town.”

“And why would you go to a cemetery?” Veronica asked. “Never mind, I don’t want to hear your old-fashioned, Anne Rice ideas about vampires.”

“Anne Rice?!” Xander gasped in horror.

“Old-fashioned?” Spike frowned at Veronica. “Lots of modern vamps live in cemeteries, I’ll have you know.”

Logan looked confused. Xander could guess how he was feeling and didn’t envy him one bit. Weevil looked like he’d just about had enough.

“Anyway,” Veronica continued, oblivious to their objections, “Mac and I know where the girls are.” Xander decided the new girl must be Mac. His hunch was confirmed when she whipped out an iBook.

“Good. Tell me where so I can go kick their asses…or whatever,” Weevil said. Logan nodded and stepped up beside Weevil, in a ready to fight pose. Spike caught Xander’s eye and nodded towards them, smiling faintly.

“By researching the history of land purchases and cross-referencing that with reports of suspicious activity we narrowed it down…” Mac tucked her hair behind her ear and took a breath. “Can we do introductions? I feel weird explaining this to two strange guys.”

Xander opened his mouth but Veronica beat him to it. Damn, she was fast. “Right. That’s Spike.” Spike nodded, Mac started to smile but it vanished with a quaver. “And that’s Xander.” Xander waved. Mac waved back. “They’re monster hunters or something. They’re looking for the girls too. Now that we’ve gotten the group hug out of the way, can we get back to business?”

“Monster hunters? We’re –”

Veronica silenced Spike with a look and Xander decided that Veronica Mars was by far the scariest person he’d encountered in Neptune. Scary in that super-organized, hyper-efficient, multi-tasking sort of way that Xander always found intimidating.

And kinda hot.

Maybe he still had a thing for take-charge blondes.

And why did his thoughts always turn to sex? Xander bet Veronica didn’t spend hours thinking about whether introducing handcuffs to sex would be a good idea or what new positions she could try with her boyfriend. Not that he was thinking of Spike as his boyfriend. He glanced at Spike, who was leering at him in a way that made him worry that Spike could read his thoughts.

Focus, he must focus. Veronica was saying something about the old bowling alley next door. “What are we waiting for?” he said. “Let’s strike these bad guys out!”

Spike rolled his eyes.

“I’m all for getting these guys, but my research suggests we’re outnumbered ten to one.” Mac did some typing on her computer. “Okay. I have the building layout. So what’s the plan?”

“We need slayers. Damn the Cleveland hellmouth and their stupid apocalypse,” Xander muttered.

“I can take ‘em,” Spike declared. Everyone ignored him.

“What we need is people. People who can fight.” Weevil pulled out a cellphone. It was weird to see a biker with a cellphone. “I’ve got it covered.”

“First vampires, now the PCHers.” Logan heaved a sigh. “My night’s complete.”



Continues here.