Fair enough. I see your point. I still disagree somewhat. I'm not arguing against the *content* or the *nature* of the scene. Yes, Alex does need this exposition. But as a *reader*, it was a bit much to deal with. You did an excellent job of trying to spice it up with Spike-isms, but still I felt it was too much.

In my mind, it could have been better to make this a background told through narrated flashbacks - and I'll be honest, I cringe to even say that. My mental screenwriter however, is giving images of this information being shown to us as acted scenes with Spike 'telling' the story as a narrator in his typically snarky fashion.