Go TeamC/A
Saturday ~ 12:30 AM “Have you heard of Good Cop/Bad Cop?” Angel asked.
“Yeah. Why?” Cordelia responded.
“You get to be the Good Cop.”
“Oh, sweet!”
Willy groaned heavily when he saw the vampire enter his bar. He absolutely hated it when he or the Slayer came to hassle him for information. After divulging said information, he almost always lost a couple customers who didn't want to drink the booze of a “squealer”, and he normally received a black eye from the one he gave the info to.
“Angel! Buff…Hey! You're not the Slayer.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
The introductions stopped there. Angel and Cordelia leaned across the counter from Willy and made it quite clear that ignorance was not an option. Or rather Angel did so. Cordelia smiled politely at the lobster demon on the next stool that was eyeballing her. At least she thought that was an eye.
“We can do this two ways, Willy,” Angel warned. “Quick and easy or slow and painful. Either one will work for me.”
“Actually, he might prefer the pain one. Angel's in a mood tonight. Seems his friend has gone missing. Would you know anything about that?” Angel cast a quick glance at her. He was obviously impressed.
“I don't know nothing about the Seer,” Willy defended.
“Who said it was the Seer?” Angel demanded. Willy shifted nervously. Sweat beaded on his brow. He always seemed to fuck up early in the interrogation.
“It's the Seer? That's a shame. Course, better her than the redhead girl the Slayer likes I guess…”
Angel reached out in a flash grabbing Willy's wrist and twisting until he heard a snap. Cordelia clucked sympathetically as Willy howled in pain. “Shouldn't talk that way to a vampire, Willy. Even I know that. Might wanna spill what you know before he latches onto the other arm.”
Lobster demon clacked his claws in excitement as Angel shifted into vamp face and showed just how serious he was. Cordelia slapped away the claw that tried to stroke her hair. “Hands off before I whip out the marinara sauce, buddy.” Lobster boy backed off. Willy spilled what he knew.
“Okay, okay! All I know is that someone or something is collecting demon parts! A Kungai had its Tack horn removed, a Coluva had its healing core extracted, and just last night a Mikai had its tail cut off! And that is all I know I swear to God!”
Angel growled fiercely for good measure, but he could tell by Willy's eyes that was all the information he had. But just maybe it would be enough. Angel slapped him roughly on the cheek a couple times and dipped his hand into a nearby pretzel bowl.
“Good talking to you, Willy.” He motioned for Cordelia to follow and popped a pretzel into his mouth. As they left the bar, Cordelia kept whispering how cool the experience was. And in the corner of the bar, a Polaris demon shook its head in disappointment.
“No one likes a snitch, Willy.” The demon drained its beer and made an extravagant display of nSaturday ~ 1:47 AM
Adele woke from unconsciousness with a heavy groan. She grunted in pain as she rubbed the sore spots on her back where the tasers made contact.
“Feels like I'm hungover on Jose Cuervo,” she moaned.
It took a few moments to realize that she was lying in a steel cage with inch thick metal bars. Surrounding her were tables and jars containing various demon parts and assorted other paranormal paraphernalia. Adele knew without a doubt she hated the current situation.
“This is no good at all.”
PART SIXSaturday ~ 2:02 AM
The silence in the living room of Adele's apartment was palpable. For over an hour after their interrogation of Willy, Angel and Cordelia had bustled around town talking with a couple figures the vampire knew dealt in information. Both were incredibly disappointed when all merely reciprocated the same knowledge they received from Willy. Someone or something was collecting demon parts.
Angel sat in the leather recliner sipping on a cup of coffee. He focused on a section of chipped paint on the far wall as he thought. Cordelia was munching on a bag of Adele's ranch Doritos as she looked at a list they had made up. It listed over a dozen demon parts that had been or rumored to be collected from town.
“This is some weird stuff,” Cordelia observed. “I don't see what the hell someone would want all these things for? Could these things be used in some sort of spell?” she questioned.
“Just about anything could be used in a spell in one form or another. But I don't know of any that would require having all of those ingredients.”
“Ok. Not a spell. Makes senses. I don't see how the frontal lobe of an Empathic demon and the big toe of a Havrock demon could be used together. So what else are we looking at?”
“I'm not sure,” Angel frowned. “It can't be for personal use. It takes an incredible amount of effort to collect most of those items. I don't think one being could use or have use for it all.”
Cordelia latched onto Angel's thought. “You say this stuff is hard to come by?” Angel nodded that it was. “So all the items here would be valuable.”
“Extremely. Mikai tail is probably the world's most potent aphrodisiac. One ounce of ground Mikai tail can sell for five thousand dollars in some markets.”
Cordelia considered that. “Is it possible that these items are being collected for a demon supermarket or something? One stop shopping for all your paranormal needs?”
Angel dismissed that. “No, I don't think so. These are specialty items, you see. This is the kind of stuff not every demon wants or needs. It's a small market for this, and the beings that buy are the beings that have an excess of money to do so.” He continued to stare at the chipped pain. In a singular moment, an idea struck. “Unless…”
“Unless what?”
Angel shot up from his seat and leaned against the nearby wall. Groaning in frustration, he slapped the wall hard, nearly knocking down a photo of Adele and her mother. “I'm a fucking idiot!” he moaned.
Cordelia had ditched the Doritos and was now on her feet next to Angel. She tried to focus his attention on her and was finally able to do so. “Angel? What the hell? Talk to me.”
“A fucking auction!” Angel proclaimed. “I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. All these items would be perfect for an auction. You get truckloads of wealthy people all looking to buy something rare and special.”
“Wait a minute.” Cordelia was desperately trying to wrap her mind around this one. She was doing so without much success. “There are auctions where beings try to buy demon parts? Since when?”
“Since forever. It's just the first time I ever remember one occurring in Sunnydale. I took Darla to some in the old days. Shit, I bought her a coat made of Numfar fur once at one.”
“Numfar? What the hell is that?”
“It's like a giant chinchilla. Went extinct about two centuries ago. Nasty things though. I saw a Numfar eat a Jack Russell terrier once. Damn funny sight that was.”
“You and I differ on what's funny.” Cordelia wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought. “But what do we do now?”
“Now? Now we hit the streets and try to rustle up whatever info we can on where an auction may take place.”
Angel was already moving to the coat rack to gather his duster. He was ready to go when Cordelia spoke.
“I think I might know an easier way to find them,” she said. Angel stopped and gazed at her curiously. Cordelia dutifully explained.Saturday ~ 4:41 AM
Sitting Indian style in the middle of her cage, elbow propped on a knee and her chin tucked in her hand, Adele watched in boredom as Hal and Murphy organized the items into the order that they would be sold. Adele noted that she appeared to be number twelve.
“Yo boys! Can a chick get a deck of cards to wile away the hours until she's sold into prostitution or whatever the hell I'm being sold for?”
Hal gently set a crate of Huplar eggs onto a table before turning and glaring at her in disgust. “How about you shut up before I let Murph bitch slap you like the whore you are?”
“Yeah, like that will happened. If memory serves, I beat the shit out of both of you. It took ten thousand volts to bring my ass down. You want to bring your twiggy ass over here for round two, that's cool with me. Just don't be surprised when I rip you a new hole.”
Hal looked about ready to take up the offer when a new person entered the back room. He was an average looking guy with brown hair and a bad poly-blend suit. With the way his eyes bugged out slightly, he had a Steve Buchemi type look. Adele hated Buchemi, so she felt it only appropriate to hate this guy, too.
“Hal! Leave it be!” the man ordered. “Now how about you and Murph go out to the auction room and finish setting up the chairs? This place is opening in just over three hours, so we need to be ready.” Hal sent Adele a scathing look. But when the man again instructed him to leave, Hal did so reluctantly.
“Sure thing, Doug,” Hal murmured. Murphy waddled behind him, a mess of white tape covering his broken nose.
When they were alone, Doug smiled slightly towards the cage and sauntered over. Kneeling down, he dropped to eye level with Adele. “So you are my prized item. You are far prettier than they described. Of course, you did beat the hell out of them, so that probably explains it. Too bad I must sell you. I could certainly find another use for a creature of your beauty.”
“Is that right?” Adele drawled. “Well, you might as well wipe those thoughts from your head. The last guy who got those kind of thoughts and tried to force me into them lost function in his…unit. Happens when you shatter a bloke's pubic bone and crush every vessel down there.”
Doug had the gall to smirk and chuckle. Adele felt the sudden and overwhelming urge to crush his windpipe. “A feisty little thing, aren't you?”
“Indeed. How about letting me out and showing you how feisty?”
“I don't think so, pet. It wouldn't do to lose my star exhibit. Early rumor is saying you might bring in a cool hundred thousand dollars. That will of course go up to one-ten if we have to remove your eyes. Delicate surgery you understand. Boosts the price.”
“My eyes? Excuse me, but I don't think I like that. I've had these eyes all my life. I have my father's eyes actually. They're a family heirloom.”
“I'll be sure to mention that to the new owners.”
“Asshole.”
“Cunt.”
Adele instantly shifted into demon face and lunged at the bars. Shooting her hand out, she huffed mightily when her nails fell just short of Doug's jugular. It didn't help when a small conceited smile crossed his face.
“You better pray I don't get a hold of you. I'll make you hurt,” Adele promised.
Doug merely snorted in amusement. Standing up, he motioned to a couple guards to stand watch over the storeroom. It wouldn't do to have his prized item stolen.Saturday ~ 7:47 AM
It was certainly amusing to watch how a woman's mind worked. And when that mind belonged to Cordelia Chase, it was all the more so. The girl explained that her idea for tracking down the auction house was to look in the yellow pages and find all the listings under “auction”.
Angel had diligently explained to the young woman why it was a foolhardy action. It just wasn't feasible to sell demonic type of items in an open and public forum as a human auction house. Demons would also be in attendance, and they simply couldn't move about in broad daylight. After observing and investigating six different places in Fulton County, Angel felt confident in his belief.
But then, Cordelia drove down Main Street of Jonesboro, a small town ten minutes south of Sunnydale. It was a nice little burg. White picket fences. Brightly colored houses. A barbershop right next to the sheriff's office. A caravan of demon's showing passes to a guard in front of the town auction house.
“Son of a bitch,” Angel murmured.
Cordelia pulled her car into the parking lot of the small Kroger grocery store across the street and smiled triumphantly. She slapped Angel on the arm and pointed to the house in victory. The vampire just hated people that gloated.
“Who was right? Huh? Go on and say it. I was right, wasn't I? Say my name, bitch! Say my name!”
“Cordelia.”
“That's right. I was the one who was right, not you, Vampirella. This just goes to show that I'm always right and you are always wrong.”
The car fell silent as Angel stared at her in disbelief. She was actually serious. “Cordelia, Poison was not the greatest of the hairbands.”
“Pfft!”
“How can you say they were better than Bon Jovi?”
“They just were. Now shut up and grab the blanket from the backseat. I don't want you bursting into flames by the time we get to the front door.”
“And how do you propose we get in the front door? It looks like the guard is checking for invitations.”
“Leave that to me. When you're a woman, you have the greatest persuasion gift ever devised at your disposal.”
“Charms?”
“Tits. I'll be back in a minute. Don't go anywhere.”
Cordelia breezed from the car and trotted across the street to secure their passage inside. Angel was left to ponder the young woman. She was quite an amazing specimen. He grabbed the blanket from the seat and began to wrap it around him.
“Gotta love a girl not afraid to use what she's got.”Saturday ~ 8:06 AM
Once inside the main lobby, Angel tossed the blanket into a corner and began to devise the best course of action. He saw a side door on the west wall of the lobby. He was willing to bet that would give him access to wherever they were keeping Adele. He could just breeze through, grab her, and the three of them could walk out.
“Don't even think about it, Angel.”
“What?”
Cordelia slapped a sheet of paper into his palm. It was a program of all the items on the block. Leaning close she murmured, “Look at all the suits.”
Angel frowned a moment and wondered what she meant. Looking about, he quickly discovered her meaning. He detected half a dozen bulky looking bastards wearing cheap suits. They had the look of hired muscle.
“I know you could probably take them, but why chance it? There could be a dozen more in back who could steal all the merchandise away before we could get to Adele. Let's just take a seat and watch the show. Maybe opportunity will present itself.”
Angel nodded slightly. Cordelia was absolutely right. It was just too risky since they didn't have a lock on her position. He felt Cordelia wrap her left arm around his right and gently lead him to the double doors that would open into the auction room. An attendant smiled politely and opened them up.
It appeared the proceedings had already started. Up on the stage, the auctioneer was taking bids on a Tuskanee battleaxe. It was a very nice battleaxe, Angel noted. He used to own one, but it got lost around 1874 after he and Darla had a spat. Actually, Darla hurled it at him as he fled from a Madrid hotel room after seducing a young attendant. Darla didn't like him seducing young girls when she wasn't around to watch. He motioned to Cordelia to take a seat on the aisle in the back row. Doing so, they watched the proceedings.
“Now this axe was found outside a Madrid hotel room in the mid 1870's,” the auctioneer explained. “Rumor says, that during a spat, the legendary vampire Darla attempted to kill her infamous childe Angelus with this very weapon. Apparently, the elder vampire discovered an illicit affair Angelus was conducting with one of the hotel workers named Consuella. Before that, this axe was rumored to belong to the Russian noble Petre Zhukovski. For you history buffs, Zhukovski was a noted child molester who used this axe to murder his young victims before feasting on their flesh.”
Angel was furious. “That's my axe!” he hissed at Cordelia. “I won the fucking thing fair and square in a poker game!”
“Angel, shush!” Cordelia admonished. The vampire was still furious, but he settled back in his seat and continued to mutter.
“When we save Adele, I'm taking my God damn axe back.”
Cordelia put a finger to her lips. Putting on her best “Do not fuck with me face”, Cordelia dared him to keep ranting. Angel decided not to. Confident the vampire would stay quiet, she grabbed the program from him. It proclaimed that an actual Seer would go on the block twelfth in line. This axe was second. She was slightly annoyed when Angel elbowed her in the arm.
“Look there,” he pointed. Cordelia followed his gaze and spotted an attractive brunette sitting in the middle row of the next section. She was one of the few in attendance who did appear to be human. And a well off one if the business suit was any indication.
“A future conquest?”
“Lilah Morgan.”
“You already know her name? Good work. But what would Buffy say?”
Angel shot her an annoyed look. “Mind out of the gutter, Cordy. That's Lilah Morgan. She's an attorney for Wolfram and Hart. She was also at Jameson's mansion the afternoon he lost his head.”
Surprise and worry etched across Cordelia's face. So that probably meant the young lawyer was one of the bad guys. “Why do you think she's here?”
“I don't think she's after a battleaxe,” was the answer.
The pair fell into silence as the auction progressed. Both watched Lilah, and both became increasingly nervous when she failed to bid on any of the first eleven items. The lawyer yawned as the auctioneer rambled about the Tack horn on the block.
“C'mon folks! This is a genuine Kungai Tack horn! It saps the life energy of whatever you stab. Perfect for getting rid of whatever is bothering you. From business opposition to pesky ex-wives, this little jewel can cure what ails you. High bid is twelve thousand. Anyone want to go higher?” No replies. “Ok! Going once. Twice. Sold! To the funky looking dude with the spittoon haircut! Congratulations on that sir! Or is it ma'am? Whatever. Murph! Wheel out the next item!”
When the cage containing Adele was wheeled out, Cordelia had to wrap a hand around Angel's arm to keep him from bolting on stage. It wasn't the time yet. But they needed to act soon. Despite the cool exterior Adele tried to put on, both could tell that she was worried.
“Ladies and Gentleman! This is the marquis item on the block! This exquisite looking creature before you is a genuine, I shit you not, a genuine Seer!” The audience began to murmur in excitement. “That's right, folks! This girl before you has a direct line to The Powers That Be! Just think of the power you obtain by having a Seer at your disposal!
“You can have the eyes removed if you like! Or you can keep her whole! You win either way! Frankly, who wouldn't want to keep this dark haired beauty in one piece? C'mon guys, you know what I mean! Think outside the box! Just because she can sense danger and has a link to a supernatural force doesn't mean this beautiful young lady has no other…applications.”
Adele began to make some noise in her cage. “Damn right! I give mean blowjobs! Can't have those if you remove my eyes!”
Murphy was about to shock her with his cattle prod when Hal, the auctioneer, waved him off. It looked like the BJ comment drew some interest.
“We will start the bidding at twenty thousand dollars!” Hal proclaimed. “Do I have any takers?” Lilah immediately raised a hand. “Ah! Twenty grand for the lawyer from Wolfram and Hart!”
In the cage, Adele's jaw dropped. “A chick? Maybe this won't be so bad after all.”
“Anyone want to go to 25?” A hand. “We got 25! 30! 35? Fabulous! 40? Very good sir! 45?”
“C'mon guys! Fucking buy me! I turn a mean ass trick! I'll even pierce my tongue if you want! Into anal sex? I'll try anything once! Just let me keep my fucking eyeballs, okay?”
“One hundred thousand!”
The room fell silent as Lilah snapped shut her cell phone. It seemed Wolfram and Hart gave her bunches of money to play with.
“We have one hundred thousand dollars! Is there anyone willing to go higher?”
“A hundred kay? Shit, I can do cunnilingus. Can I keep my eyes?”
“No more takers on this fine specimen? Going once? Going twice?”
“Just be gentle with me. I'm a virgin.” Hal stopped in mid sentence, and like everyone else in the room, looked at Adele in disbelief. She shrugged and tried to look offended. “What? I am!”
The male Trixlux demon sitting next to Lilah, for some reason believing Adele, shouted, “One hundred and fifty!”
Before the demon could utter another word, Lilah whipped out a blade and buried it deep into his chest. “Two hundred,” she stated calmly.
Hal cried out “Sold!” as the Trixlux slid from his metal folding chair into the floor to die in a pool of his own blue blood. All but Angel and Cordelia politely clapped as the crowd congratulated Lilah on the purchase. The cage with Adele was wheeled back to the storeroom. An usher handed Lilah a receipt to collect her purchase. Lilah accepted and followed the young man to the access door so she could collect her Seer.
“We need to do something now, Cordy,” Angel whispered.
“Agreed. Want a distraction?”
“It might help. Got something in mind?”
“I think I do. Just make a dash for the backroom when I start convulsing.”
“Convulsing?” Angel frowned.
His question was interrupted when Cordelia let loose with a single ear piercing scream. Angel jumped in his seat at the noise. The young woman then began to go into a fit of convulsions and tipped back in her chair. If the scream didn't have everyone's attention, the crash of the metal chair on the tile floor got it.
Not knowing what else to do, Angel obediently followed the command he had received and made a dash for the storeroom. As curious onlookers began to move towards and gape at Cordelia, Angel pressed past them to the access door just off the stage. Spotting a fireman's axe hanging next to the door, he shattered the protective glass and removed it. Throwing open the door, Angel charged in, intent on rescuing his friend.Saturday ~ 9:29 AM
Lilah pinched the bridge of her nose to relieve the stress. It didn't work. Doug was simply being a little prick. She wanted to bitch slap the little punk, but the big dude behind him named Murphy probably wouldn't stand for it.
“Doug is a little prick, ain't he?” Adele echoed from her cage.
“He is,” Lilah agreed. She then realized she was speaking to Wolfram and Hart property and chided herself. To Doug she said, “I've already paid two hundred thousand for that Seer. That is fifty thousand more than the next bidder. I will not, do you understand me, I will not pay more to have her eyes removed. I expect it to be done.”
“Well, you expect wrong,” Doug answered. “Twenty grand or you take her as she is.”
“He's trying to rip you off. Don't pay.”
“Shut up, girl!” Lilah and Doug shouted.
“Tell you what. How about I take the girl off your hands for free?”
“Angel! About fucking time!” Adele cried.
“Angel? Well son of a bitch,” Lilah muttered.
“Who the fuck is Angel?” Doug asked.
The body of a security guard landed in a heap before the haggling duo. The vampire calmly leaned against the doorframe of the short hallway connecting the auction room and storeroom. Peering past him, Doug could spot two other unconscious bodies of his security staff.
“Lilah? Would you be a sweetheart and excuse us for a moment?” Lilah spat on one of Doug's sneakers before turning and heading towards Angel. “You should probably call your bosses and tell them that the Seer is off the market.” Lilah spared him a scathing look as she shouldered past. “We should do lunch sometime. It might be fun,” Angel called to her retreating form.
Lilah waved a dismissive hand. “I'll have my people call your people.”
“Fabulous. As for you,” Angel pointed to Doug, “fetch me a switch boy, because it's time for an ass whipping.”
“Don't hurt him too bad. I want him to struggle when I snap his neck.”
“Sure thing, love.”
As Angel predicted, Doug stepped back so that the big hulking man named Murphy could protect him. Angel vamped out and ducked the swinging sequoia that was the big man's arm. Bringing the axe down in a quick arc, Angel cracked open the lock on Adele's cage. Her gaze directly on Doug, Adele murmured…
“Fresh meat.”
The purple demon visage slipped onto Adele's face as she furiously flew from the cage and lunged at her prey. Doug tried to turn and run, but ended up tripping on his shoelaces. Adele was on him in moments. She was poised to snap his neck when a boot crashed into her face.
“Hey love,” Hal smirked. “Miss me?” The humor was short lived when a Tuskanee battleaxe bluntly crashed into the back of his head. When he dropped like a rock, Adele found Cordelia standing above him looking pleased.
“Great timing.”
“Thanks,” Cordelia grinned. “Angel! I found that stupid axe!”
“Kinda busy!”
Angel ducked yet another clubbing blow from the big man. He deftly delivered a one-two combination to the gut, but Murphy was barely stunned. He lucked out when Murph tried to high kick. With his size, Murph couldn't get his foot up into Angel's face. Instead, it was directed at the vampire's chest and Angel was able to easily grab the ankle and give a sharp twist. He tossed Murphy back and sent the man crashing to the floor, sobbing and cursing as he nursed a broken ankle.
“We ready to go?” Angel asked breathlessly. His eyes widened when he saw Doug rush Adele from behind with what looked to be a knife. “Adele! Behind you!”
That knife was actually the Kungai Tack horn. Adele was barely able to intercept the deadly arc and redirect the horn right into Doug's chest. The small man gasped in pain. A few moments later, when the horn sucked out all his life force, he no longer had to worry about pain. Adele shoved the shriveled carcass away in disgust.
“That is just…ew,” Adele stated. She then squeaked in surprise when Angel spun her around and enveloped her in a bear hug. “Nice to see you, too. But oxygen is becoming an issue.”
Angel softened his hold on Adele, but still held her. Nearby, a voice asked, “Can I be in the hug too? I helped with this little operation.” Angel and Adele smiled and opened up to invite Cordelia into the fold. As the group shared a tender moment, Angel began to wonder.
“What happened to the rest of the security people?”
“Auction room,” Cordelia supplied. “I instigated a fight between a couple weird looking demons. They're trying to break it up. One of them looked like a reptilian Don Knotts.” She then handed the axe to Angel. “Here you go.”
He took the axe and grinned. “There's my baby. Daddy missed you.” Angel kissed the blade before tucking the weapon into his duster. He noticed Adele and Cordelia staring at him. “What?”
Adele rolled her eyes. “Boys and their toys.” She and Cordelia strolled out of the storeroom leaving a very confused Angel behind. After knocking out Murphy, whose moans were annoying him, and pocketing a 17th century ceremonial dagger, block item nine if Angel remembered correctly, the vampire hustled after the girls.Saturday ~ 11:42 AM
Back at Adele's apartment, or more accurately her kitchen, Cordelia and Adele sipped on cups of coffee as Angel scrambled some eggs and fried some bacon. The girls lightly chatted about some dress Cordelia had sold the day before. Angel remarked on how fashioned had changed in a couple centuries. And when he finished the meal preparation, Angel served up three plates.
“You'll make a great wife someday,” Adele mused as a plate was placed before her.
“Yeah,” Cordelia agreed. “Do you vacuum? If so, I'll marry you.”
Angel shot a mock warning glare to them both as he sat down between them at the island counter. “Laugh it up, the both of you. Just remember who it is that saves your asses whenever a new big bad shows up.” The vampire speared a piece of egg and pouted as he chewed.
“Don't be like that,” Adele consoled. “We love you bunches.”
“Yeah!” Cordelia added. “You're our most favorite vampire in the whole wide world.”
The girls each wrapped around one of Angel's arms and snuggled a shoulder. Despite his best efforts, a warm tingly feeling was overtaking him. Love was nice. But then a thought came to him.
“Do you two really love me, or are you just after my food?”
“A little of both,” Cordelia admitted. Angel sighed and backed away from his plate. Adele grabbed the bacon, Cordelia the eggs. For his sacrifice, Cordelia rewarded him with a peck on the check. He swore the thermostat was turned up a notch afterwards. “Our hero.”
Angel observed both their smiling faces and came to a conclusion. “You both are full of shit, but I'll go with it. I guess I love you girls, too.”
“Was that so hard to admit?”
“Not really. But it doesn't change the fact Buffy will castrate me for ditching her again.”
“Who needs Buffy when you got us?” Adele asked.
“Yeah, whose company would you rather have, ours or Buffy's?”
“That's a loaded question, isn't it?”
“Shut up, Vampirella.”
“You know, Cordy, I actually like that name.”
“Really? Good, because Cordy sounds nice coming from you. Now go make some toast.”
Angel pretended to be irritated when he obediently followed orders. And as Cordelia continued to talk about dresses, Adele watched them both with curiosity. She was quietly amused by how easily a ferocious vampire catered to a teenage girl. Being around these two might provide her with some entertainment.Los Angeles
Wolfram and Hart Building
Office of Holland Manners ~ 1:44 PMHolland leaned back in his plush leather chair and sighed. Across from him, standing before his desk, was Lilah Morgan. The news she presented was less than pleasing.
“So, the Seer we hoped to obtain is lost, correct?”
“Not exactly lost, sir. More like seized. It seems that a previous unresolved problem in Sunnydale reemerged in force.”
“Angel. The Vampire with a Soul.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That is quite unfortunate, Lilah. His interference in company matters is quickly becoming a habit.”
“I agree, sir. Which is why I present to you a rough outline on how to remove the Angel problem.”
Holland displayed the thin folder momentarily. “So I see. But please, save me the trouble of reading. What does this solution entail?”
A slow and sinister smile spread over Lilah's face. “It involves utilizes a freelancer. You see, sir, the town of Sunnydale currently has a problem. And I think their problem might be our solution.” Reaching into her briefcase, Lilah produced a black and white photo of a young woman. “I'd like to introduce you to a interesting woman named Faith...”
THE END
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