Just.. for.. a thrill...|open|

[ellen]

Just for a thrill...
You changed the sunshine to rain...
Just for a thrill...

Well, this was "fun". Sitting in a cab, stuck in traffic with a driver who wouldn't stop going on about his golfing strategies. And now, the radio...well, she couldn't help but appreciate the sense of irony this song brought about every time she heard it. Given the events that had taken place the last time she'd taken the liberty of playing it...still, though, it wasn't doing much to improve her mood at the moment. Granted, improving the perpetually sour mood of Ellen Parsons, newly appointed district attorney of New York City, was a difficult task to achieve. She rolled her eyes as her driver ceased his rambling to abruptly launch into a serious of violently foul curses - all of which were directed at the sweetheart that had pulled into the the lane in front of them.

Fan-freakin'-tastic.

It'd been a long day, a very long day, actually, and right now all she really wanted was to get home as quickly as possible. As of now, however, the chances of this happening seemed slim. The attorney glanced briefly out the window at the never-ending expanse of cars before them, briefly considered her options, and decided that six more blocks really wasn't that big of a deal. Reaching into her purse, she quickly counted out a rough estimate of the cab fair she owed, and tossed a wad of bills into the front seat. "Keep the change," she told him briefly; maybe he could use it to go...buy new golf clubs or something. "I'm suddenly in the mood for a little walk."

The driver shrugged, wordlessly expressing that he couldn't really blame her, and she gave him a quick nod of farewell before pushing the car door open and stepping out onto the curb.

New York, New York...somehow, the city didn't hold the allure that it once had to her gushing, optimistic college student self...then again, Ellen seemed to be seeing everything in a cynical light these days. And not without reason, perhaps...her line of work did tend to bring some of the less honorable specimen of the human race into her path. Anyway, she couldn't see what was so promising about the Big Apple. There was nothing hopeful about the sort of people that walked these streets, or the bodies that seemed to be found in dumpsters every other day - or the recent zombie infestation for that matter; even her head was still reeling from that one...Not that it had been entirely bad. Her prosecution of the various criminals that had tried to take advantage of the dire situation had won her the recent district attorney election. Though this, like everything else in life, wasn't all it was cracked up to be. In a certain way, having people working for her wasn't much different than working for Patty Hewes: whether you took the lead or decided to follow, there would always be people looking to stab you in the back...

Ellen shrugged the thought off as she continued down the street; it was grim, sure, but it was also true. And she didn't have much time to question the simple truths in life. Brushing her long chestnut brown locks over her shoulder, the attorney quickened her pace slightly and headed for home.

Or, well. Tried to. Because her path was suddenly obstructed by a large, rather formidable looking man who seemed to be in quite a bit of a hurry judging from the speed he was charging down the sidewalk. Interesting. Where's he off to in such a hurry? But Ellen hardly had a moment to contemplate this before she realized that if she didn't move, fast, she risked being bowled right over by the thug. Blinking, she made a quick move to side-step him as he passed...only to end up backing smack into someone else, and ultimately landing herself quite unceremoniously on the ground.

Well that had been...the opposite of graceful. Ellen, none too fond of being knocked to the cold New York pavement, sent a spiteful glare at the large man's retreating back, opened her mouth to snarl something...and then realized that, according to common courtesy, she really did owe the bystander she'd run into herself an apology. A bit of sheepishness slowly worked its way into her thoroughly irritated expression, and (with as much dignity as she could manage) slowly lifted herself up off the ground. Trying not to make too much of a show of dusting herself off, she turned to meet the gaze of the person with a slightly awkward cough.

"Oh...I'm sorry," she addressed them as politely as she could, attempting to shake off some of her agitation. "'Guess I should know by now that the sidewalk's just as dangerous as the streets are in this city."

[ellebelle]

OOC: uhhmm here's hoping this thread takes place at night ahahaha

Bloody New Yorkers, always in such a goddamn hurry. Spike growled a curse at the honking traffic and the shouting people within the cars. With everyone coming home from work at this time of night the city was always sure to be busy. Spike wasnt one to prefer a crowd. But he couldn't deny that it did help him blend more easily.

He wasnt really out to catch big bads tonight. He was actually just looking to take a walk. He had just come back from the butcher's and in his left hand he carried a brown paper bag with contents inside that probably would be difficult to explain if they were revealed. All this trouble just to get a bag of pig's blood. But then again it wasn't like he could just walk around feeding on humans.

Spike wasn't even paying attention when the young brunette woman hurried past him. And he had his back turned to the bloke who caused her to jump to the side, so when she knocked into him he turned around in indignation. Whoever that was almost caused him to drop the bag. Blood bursting all over the pavement would have attracted some unwanted attention to be sure. "Oy! Watch where youre bloody..." Then he looked down and met the partly annoyed and partly abashed gaze of the young woman. Spike looked around in time to see the large thug of a man who had almost run her over. By now, the bloke was already half way down the street. Proving his point once again. Americans, always thinkin' they had somewhere important to be.

He would have offered to help the woman up as was the gentlemanly thing to do but by the time he looked back to her she had already succeeded in picking herself up off the ground.

"S'alright, luv." Spike waved off her apology. "Not your fault, by the looks of it. It's a lesson you'd do well to learn though, a pretty bird like you in a city fulla maniacs like this." Spike glared after the man one more time.

He then stepped aside to allow the woman to be on her way. But when he took a closer look at her Spike had to pause. "Couldnt help but notice you look a bit familiar." Said the vampire at length. Spike took a closer look at her. Why did he get the feeling that he had seen her before, like on television or in the papers perhaps. "You one of those...political figures then?"

[ellen]

The first thing the attorney did once she'd regained her footing was carefully look the man she'd run into over. Not because she suspected him of being some sort of threat, necessarily, but more because this cautious sort of analyzing had become all but second nature to her. In the brief few seconds that followed, Ellen was able to discern several things about the stranger: he had a lean, muscled sort of look about him - the wiry sort of muscle that you got from fighting on the streets, not from going to the gym - and the distinctive bleach-blond-hair-and-leather-jacket Billy Idol-esque look of someone who considered himself to be pret-ty darn tough. Her assessment was emphasized by the words he spoke to her; something British-ly akin to "ohh! Look at the poor lost defenseless girl all alone in New York City!"

She eyed him coolly at this, just a tad miffed at the implications of his words...of course, this was Ellen, so she was pretty much always going to be 'a tad miffed' either way. "Well I'm flattered that you're so concerned, but I've handled my fair share of 'maniacs'...that one just took me by surprise." she informed him briskly, noting his foreign accent after the fact. North London, or somewhere around there, if she was guessing correctly. Interesting...

But she couldn't stop and stare at every 'interesting' person she ran into while on her little misadventures, and so until the man spoke again Ellen very much intended to continue right on her way. But then -

"Couldnt help but notice you look a bit familiar."

Oh, you couldn't? But the attorney managed to keep this bit of snark to herself this time, instead settling for a mildly perplexed expression and a slight raising of her eyebrows. If this was some kind of pick-up line he was going to try wasting her time with, she swore to God...but, oh? She did a double-take as the man branded her as a political figure; for a heartbeat the description baffled her even more than before. Her new job was going to take some time to get used to, she supposed. When you worked under Patty Hewes' shadow, you were just another lawyer. But when you were district attorney, you were suddenly a political figure...right.

"I guess that's...accurate." Ellen chuckled after a moment, resigning herself to at least a bit of conversation. "I'm the new district attorney. Ellen Parsons," She held out her hand politely in greeting, inviting the man to shake, "Please tell me you're not some ambitious new defense attorney I'm going to have to worry about having on my tail.. "

[ellebelle]

Spike smirked at her assertion that she could defend herself just fine. That was the great thing about humans, you never knew what to expect from them. She seemed very confident that she had nothing to fear from New York City. Spike probably could have given her a few contradictions with all the hell he'd seen in this place, but he didnt. "Right then. My mistake. You know what happens when you assume things..." He raised his eyebrows cheekily.

Even though he was indulging her Spike wasnt making her out to be anything more than just a normal human girl at that point. Maybe someone who served under the mayor at some point, had been on TV a couple times. When she introduced herself as Ellen Parsons and said she was the new district attorney, Spike did a double take. A lawyer. Of course he would stumble upon a bloody lawyer. And not just any lawyer, THE sodding number one prosecuting attorney to look out for in this city. *Good thing Im not too keen on bleedin people out anymore*. But it was not his criminal record that he was worried about. Spike didnt actually have any kind of record. Not that the police would have anyway. He was after all, a near-200 year old vampire. Which could bring up some issues. He didnt want to attract any more attention to himself than necessary.

Just by instinct he shifted the bag he held a little further out of sight. Spike actually laughed when Ellen checked to make sure he wasnt a defense attorney. "Ha! Not hardly. Think I wanna go swimmin' with the sharks? No offense meant to you, pet, but well. I expect you've been in the business long enough to know what Im talking about." She must have been if she had been elected district attorney. Strange though, she looked younger than most. Spike reached out and shook her hand before saying "Name's Spike, by the way. Afraid I can't offer up much of an impressive title, but there it is."

She was a lawyer, and he was a shady looking vampire with no proper documentation of his existence. It was probably better for Spike to just walk away. But wherever there was an occasion where it seemed like he might get into trouble, he had a bad habit of not being able to resist putting himself right in the thick of it. So both because of this and because he was currently talking to a pretty girl who looked like shed be fun to provoke, Spike said

"District attorney. 'Bit young, aren't you?"

[ellen]

Geez, what was with this guy? He was so...cocky and candid and...he had an air of superiority about him that was really starting to rub her the wrong way. Every from those smug smirks to the pet names he kept giving her, to the fact that he somehow doubted she could handle herself - what did he know about her? Her expression turned a bit glare-y as she continued to stare at him, silently analyzing both his words and his body language. Confident as he seemed, there had been that moment of hesitation from him after she'd introduced herself. And people usually only had that sort of impulsive response when they had something to hide. Her gaze dropped briefly to the paper bag he held; presumably it contained his dinner (ironically, this assumption was comically close to the truth) but...he did seem rather keen on not letting her get a good look at it.

Before she could comment on this, the man introduced himself. Upon hearing his name, Ellen tore her gaze away from his hands and stared back up at him. ..Spike? What was that, some kind of street name? She blinked skeptically at him in response. Just who had she bumped into here? It was never a good thing when an attorney like Ellen became curious - unfortunately perhaps for both of them, however, she could already feel her own inquisitiveness rising.

And that was when Spike made his next comment. Oh, did that go over well. Ellen immediately stiffened at his words, tensing slightly at his tone of voice. It was evident that he was trying to provoke her here, though she wasn't yet sure exactly why...but if he was trying to get a rise out of her, she was determined not to give him the satisfaction. Just who did he think he was, anyway? A, he looked like he wouldn't know the first thing about law practices, and B...well, he didn't look much older than she was! She clenched her jaw for a moment, eyes narrowed, before responding. "Yeah, see, that's the thing. When you work for Patty Hewes, you learn more in a month than some lawyers would in a year." She wasn't sure whether or not Spike would be familiar with the name she'd just mentioned, but at the moment she didn't much feel inclined to explain herself to him.

Rather tersely, the brunette crossed her arms as she stared thoughtfully at the man before her, "And I'm not too young not to notice when someone's trying to hide something from me...Spike. What's in the bag?" She hadn't really thought it worth mentioning before, given that it was probably just a stash of some sort of illegal drug that she couldn't afford to waste time caring about. But if Spike here was looking to pull her strings, well...two could play at that game.

[ellebelle]

Spike's smirk widened at the spark of annoyance in Ellen's eyes. A part of him knew he really shouldnt be trying to provoke her. But girls like this were just so fun. Despite her annoyance she answered him calmly enough though. Saying something about a woman named Patty Hewes and how working for her apparantly toughened you up. The name sounded vaguely familiar but Spike didn't waste time trying to place it. If Patty Hewes was a big name in this city's legal system than it made sense he would hear her name dropped before. But other than that he didnt much pay attention to those kinds of affairs.

Then she combated his remark by going on the offensive. Ellen asked what was in the bag he held. It wasn't like carrying a container of pigs blood from the butcher was illegal or anything. But it wasn't something that a lot of people did. It would look strange to say the least. And Spike got the feeling that this woman wasn't someone you wanted to have an excuse to investigate anything about you. But he still couldnt help but be amused at the fiery attitude she'd taken on. Though his grip tightened on the bag his smile did not waver. "What, this?" He pushed it further behind his back and sucked his cheek smugly. "Dont see how that's any of your business, pet. Unless you got a warrant I dont know about?"

He doubted that she did. Spike knew he could have just as easily claimed he was carrying [normal human] food and walked away. But who could deny that it was more fun this way? Spike then took a step towards her, staring down at her coolly. "Got any more questions for me, or do you plan on just ordering my arrest on account of me looking like a big, scary criminal?" Said Spike with some spite and a touch of amusement.

[ellen]

Now if she were being honest here; had she really expected a serious answer from him? ..Probably not. But a girl could dream. Despite this, she rolled her eyes at the man's haughty retort, her mood going unimproved by his smug request to see a warrant. Ellen really hated smart-asses, and lo and behold she seemed to have found the biggest wise ass punk in New York. This was gonna be a long night.

Okay. Time to cut the crap. She glared unflinchingly at Spike as he took a taunting step closer to her, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You know why it's so gosh darn fun being district attorney?" Ellen asked after a moment, her voice laced with false enthusiasm. "Because if I wanted to? I could make anything 'my business'." Her gaze darted pointedly down to the bag again, her fingers tapping pensively against the side of her purse. Could be that Spike was hiding something incriminating - or it could just be he was withholding information just to irk her. Either way, that was really besides the point by now. Spike had indirectly issued a challenge, and it was this that held the attorney's attention now.

"Now I'm not sure what you're hiding - maybe drugs, maybe something a little more creative...or hell, maybe it's just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," She smiled a cool, mocking smile before continuing, "It doesn't really matter, though, because in the end? If I wanted to, I could have you arrested on whatever bullshit grounds I came up with. I could call the police up right now, tell them you're exhibiting behavior that's reasonable grounds for suspicion...and have you detained 'for questioning' all night, just because I feel like wasting your time." By this point she was practically nose-to-nose with the man - and though there was a notable height difference between them, the young attorney held her own with a rather bristling, aggressive stance.

"So, you wanna piss me off? Have a good laugh? Go ahead -" But then, quite abruptly, her hostile words were cut off by a loud, piercing, scream. Ellen knew that kind of scream. She'd heard it plenty of times before to recognize the terror, and even pain, that clung to it...but, where had it come from? The brunette froze where she was, momentarily distracted from her little confrontation.

[ellebelle]

*Well look here! Little Lamb's not quite as harmless as she seems!* Spike thought to himself as he fought off a grin. Honestly despite the fact that Ellen already proved she had a temper, he was not really expecting a response quite so fiery. His own reaction was torn. On one hand he wanted to scoff. Her words didnt hold much threat to a full fledged vampire, except that him evading arrest would make him a wanted criminal in this city. And that would make it very difficult to go about his business here. On the other hand her fearless assertiveness was a quality that a part of him had to respect. Spike knew he did not have the appearance of a gentleman. He could have been any thug, any psycho off the streets. Yet Ellen had faced off against him without a moment of hesitation. She was brave. Reckless, but brave. Courage was a trait that Spike valued.

He certainly was not going to stand here and threaten her. Rule number one for peaceful human co-existence, don't eat their district attorney. So instead of advancing on her further or even going game-face to shake her up a little, Spike stepped back and pulled a cigarette out of his leather jacket pocket with a free hand."You know something?" Said Spike as he lit up. "For the power-abusing, manipulative little vixen that you no doubt are, youre not too bad." Spike wasnt really good at throwing out compliments with adding a little insult in for good measure.

But it looked like Ellen wasnt finished. Spike sighed and braced himself for another verbal thrashing. Blimey, he hoped she'd be done soon. Then her words were cut off by the sound of a scream not too far off. Spike stiffened and held up a hand for quiet, then he listened intently. Another scream did not come. Nor did any other sounds that a normal human would be able to hear from this distance. But with his acutely vampiric hearing he was not only able to pinpoint almost exactly where the sound came from, but also here the scuffles and snarls that were following it.

More vampires? Werewolves? Rogue zombies left behind? Or something worse. Spike was going to find out. "Stay here." He said to Ellen. Not that he expected her to take an order from him by now. But he felt obligated to say it anyway. He turned and all but floated silently down the street. Toward the alleyway that the noise came from. He prowled around the corner.

*Damn it! Bloody demons.*

A group of them all of an identical breed it seemed. All advancing on some teenage kid theyd cornered. They looked like a humanoid race, two arms and two legs, and they wore clothes. But their faces were twisted and mutated. Night ghasts of some kind.

They also looked extremely stupid.

"Oy!" Spike called out to get their attention. "C'mon, you pathetic bastards. Dont you want a real challenge?"

As the demons turned on him he really hoped that attorney had wised up and not followed him. So very doubtful though.

[ellen]

Ugh. That was his response? Kick back and light up a cigarette? At Spike's evident refusal to take this matter seriously at all, she couldn't help but clench her jaw rather tensely. Glowering as he spoke next, Ellen didn't relax her stance - and certainly didn't end up feeling any more charitable upon hearing the backhanded compliment that slipped from his mouth. What...outrageous nerve. Scowl fixed firmly in place, the attorney looked the man before her up and down coolly. "Gee, thanks. For a block-headed, arrogant asshole, you.....kinda suck." She shot back grumpily, her patience worn thin by the persistent feeling that she was being patronized.

Moments later when she was cut off by the scream, however, their little verbal spar was cut short. For a long moment, neither of them moved...and Ellen wasn't sure what was going through Spike's mind, but as for herself? Well, the movement of her hand toward her purse, where the gun she carried 'for defense' was hidden, was almost instinctive. There was every chance that there was just another mugging going on, and well...she didn't have time to stop and put her neck on the line for every poor sucker in New York. But then again, whoever had cried out actually sounded as if they were in real pain. Could she really just stand by and allow someone to be murdered?

Before she could answer her own question, Spike acted first. With a suddenly somber "Stay here.", he was sweeping off toward an alleyway about a block down. For a moment, Ellen did nothing but stare after him blankly. What the hell was he doing? It was then that her own nature caught up with her, and her glare quickly returned. 'Stay here'?! Who fucking died and made him her superior? With a snort, Ellen shook her head and stormed off after him, agitation practically radiating from her until-

..Until she laid eyes on what was in that alley. Over Spike's shoulder, she caught a quick glimpse of something distinctly...not human, and then that thing came into full view - and then another, and another. And Ellen, for once...was speechless. Staring in wide-eyed incomprehension at the creatures, who were now leering maliciously in response to Spike's reckless challenge. And when the first of the creatures darted forward, she was no more capable of reacting than speaking. Blankly, the attorney simply stood there, her head tilted slightly to one side...wondering if her sanity had finally given out at last.

[ellebelle]

The first of the demons came right at him. It hurled a clawed fist into his face, but Spike was faster. Forgetting about the contents of the paper bag he dropped it to the floor and then caught the demon's wrist in midair. Spike felt his fangs extend and his face contort as he vamped-out. He forced the demon's arm lower and met its surprised expression with a toothy grin of his own. "Ooh, sorry mate. Maybe next time." Spike chuckled before he swung his leg out in a sweeping kick that knocked the demon off its feet.

Spike lived for this. The thrill of the fight, the heat of battle. But even he knew to end this as quickly as possible for the safety of people around them. And anyway these demons werent putting up much of a fight so far. He could already tell that they were lower-level dimwitted brutes, just mercenaries of hell with no real power to speak of. As he waited for the first demon to get to its feet he noticed the second one dart forward. At first Spike assumed it was aiming for him and readied himself for battle. But then he saw the demon thud past him. Spike whipped around.

He almost groaned aloud in exasperation at what he saw. Of course Ellen had followed him. He should have just automatically assumed. Before the demon could even touch her Spike lunged after it. In one swift movement he grabbed it from behind and slammed it into the alley wall. Before it could even process what happened Spike roughly grabbed the demon again and with a violent twist, snapped its neck. That was one down. Two to go. The person the demons were attacking in the first place was also a concern, but logically he did not even know if they were alive. Right now he had to worry about Ellen first.

"Are you barkin' mad? Fancy havin' front row seats to the show? Sod off before you get yourself killed!" Spike hissed. But he didnt have time to say more before the first demon rammed into him. He stumbled forward and then turned around, snarling. But the third demon was already entering the fray as well. A glint of silver told him that it was armed. *Don't you idiots know you can't kill a bleedin' vampire with a knife?* Spike just shook his head. Time to finish this. He picked up along metal pipe that lay beside a dumpster and thumped it against his palm.

"Have a go, then."

[ellen]

It had finally happened. Those years of betrayal and manipulation and paranoia had finally done their number, finally pushed her off the deep end. Because really, that was the only possible explanation for what she was seeing, wasn't it? Unless these guys were...really messed up, tripped up on steroids or something...or maybe they'd been infected with something similar to what had caused the recent "zombie" pandemic. Even using that word still sounded a bit extreme; zombies? It had never gotten quite as bad in New York as it had other places, and Ellen had only really ever seen the creatures at a distance. Describing them as zombies went somewhat against her cynical nature, however, and in her opinion it was a rather dramatic way of describing the people that had been infected with the mutating, maddening 'disease' - because that was what it had to be.

These men, though, they were different than anything she'd ever heard the 'zombies' described as. Quick, violently hyperactive in their movements, and anything but brain-dead. And...and Spike seemed to see them too. He was duking it out with 'em, at any rate. So if they weren't hallucinations, then...what were they? Gang members fallen victim to some sort of experimental drug?

She didn't have much time to contemplate this, because what happened next stole her attention. Surprisingly, Spike had actually been defending her - and doing a rather good job at it - but when he turned and snarled for her to run, Ellen stumbled back a pace in utter shock. His face...it was different. Twisted somehow; a bit like the monsters he was fighting, but with yellow eyes and...fangs? What the fuck?

It would've been smarter just to run. That probably would've been what any sane human being would have done, and...truth be told she'd actually meant to do exactly as Spike said. Trouble was, she couldn't exactly seem to get her feet to move. The creatures were getting dangerously close now, evidently quite pissed off by this point. And one of them had a knife. Just fantastic. Well, if she was going to have to depend on Spike here for survival, her chances looked rather slim. Before she could even register exactly what she was doing, the attorney was fumbling through her purse - hardly perceived as a threat to the creatures before her - and pulling out a handgun.

Admittedly, it was kind of difficult to decide whether to point it at Spike or the creatures he was fighting...but in the end, the fact that Spike was the only one out of the three who hadn't yet shown any desire to rip her apart earned him a couple brownie points, and Ellen turned the weapon on who she perceived to be the most immediate threat: the monster with the knife. Aiming the barrel carefully at the creature, she hesitated only a moment before firing three shots. Two to the chest, one to the head, just as Wes had taught her - and just like that, the monster was down for the count. And...still twitching slightly.

Oh, gross.

Narrowing her eyes and refocusing her aim, she fired another round, all to the head this time. Thankfully, this seemed to do the trick.

Apparently her actions had some as something of a shock to the other monster, who stared at her in furious disbelief for a long moment before glancing back to Spike, weighing the odds against it, and...turning to flee down the alley.

She could've just let him run. There was a possibility that he was some sort of warped, deformed human after all - and he'd given up the fight. But really, why take any unnecessary chances? Without hesitating this time, Ellen turned the gun on the other creature, blinked once, and gunned him down in the same manner she had the first.

Pity. If he'd just stood still, perhaps she could've gotten an answer or two out of them first. But now she'd just have to settle for getting them from Spike. Or the thing that looked like Spike. Whatever...Spike was. At least now she actually had an excuse to threaten him!

Pointing her weapon grimly at the man's chest, she fixed him with a wry glare. "You've got fifteen seconds to explain to me what the hell is going on here. "

[ellebelle]

With his back turned to her, Spike did not notice what Ellen was about to do. He was just starting to advance on the demons when the deafening sound of several gunshots rang out. Spike stopped. It took a minute for him to realize where the bullets hit. But then the demon with the knife sank to the ground, with another round he was dead. Spike just stood there, staring. And then it hit him.

Taking his eyes off the last remaining demon probably was not a good idea right now, but he didnt think about that as he turned around to stare at Ellen. Sure enough she was holding a firearm pointed right at the fallen demon. Her expression was cold. Holy shit. This woman just saw a demon for what Spike assumed was the first time in her life, and her response was to take out a gun and shoot it dead. He really had underestimated her. But Spike learned from his mistakes and this one would not happen again. He straightened up and stared at her with a new mix of wariness and respect. That was until the sound of footsteps distracted him.

The last remaining demon was fleeing. Spike couldn't really blame it, it was left alone to face an infamously known vampire and one pretty pissed off lawyer with a gun. He almost contemplated pursuing it for a moment. But then Spike figured he'd let it off easy this time...it had learned its lesson.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

In the next second that demon was dead as well. Spike turned on Ellen incredulously. The first time was understandable as a defensive act, but that last time could be classified as nothing less then in cold blood. And now she was pointing the gun at him! *Bloody women. They're all insane.* Spike thought. Bullets would not kill him, but they'd hurt like a bitch and they'd definitely sour his mood. He glared at her. It was then he realized why she was staring at him like he was some kind of monster. He was still vamped-out. With a sigh Spike reverted his features to normal, just in time to hear Ellen snarl out an order to start explaining.

"Jesus Christ, would you point that thing somewhere else? If I'd wanted to kill you, I could have done it ages ago." Was Spike's response. None the less he did not move closer to her. He dropped the metal pipe at his feet and raised his hands slowly, trying to show her that he meant no harm. Though at this point Spike wasn't really sure if Ellen would even care. She was beginning to strike him as the blood-thirsty sort.

"It won't do you much good anyway." Spike continued on the subject of the gun. "I'm a vampire. Unless you've got a stake or some holy water handy, you might want to settle down."

[ellen]

Ellen flinched slightly as Spike's features melded back into humanity, and very nearly pulled the trigger reflexively then and there. Somehow, though, shooting Spike felt more like murder than gunning down the two creatures had - perhaps because she'd actually had the...unfortunate experience of having a conversation with him. Well, whatever, he was still of them...who or whatever 'they' were. She'd give him one chance to explain, and then they'd see what would happen...

Admittedly he did have a bit of a point when he'd told her that if he wanted to kill her, he could've done so already. Why not just attack her when they'd first met? But then again, there'd been plenty of witnesses around; they'd been in the middle of New York City for God's sake. Yet...if he had wanted her dead all along, it still didn't explain why he'd made such an effort to protect her from those monsters. Ellen frowned at him thoughtfully over the barrel of the gun, but did not lower her weapon - not yet. However sensible Spike managed to sound, she absolutely could not rule out the notion that this could be a trick. Giving in, trusting this stranger for even a moment...could mean death. She had learned that the hard way.

And then - "It won't do you much good anyway. I'm a vampire. Unless you've got a stake or some holy water handy, you might want to settle down."

A--what?! Ellen stared at him blankly, almost wondering whether he was as insane as she was. There were no such thing as...vampires. It had to be some strange steroid effect, or a mutation of some kind...not some mythical creature of the night. Then again, he'd had...fangs? Sort of? The attorney mentally shook herself; no. There was absolutely no way she was going to entertain this ridiculous idea. And so after a moment longer of stunned silence, she seemed to come out of her trance...and let out a high-pitched, half-hysterical laugh.

"Hah--a vampi--tha--that's really fucking funny." She half giggled, half snarled. Motioning to the lifeless bodies of the creatures on the ground, she continued, "And what were they? Aliens?" Sarcasm laced Ellen's tone as she voiced this last question, her eyes narrowed as she shot Spike a challenge.