Author: Ann of Midnight
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the shows I borrowed characters from… blablabla
Rating: PG-15
Feedback: I live for it.
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“Slayer, it’s um- me. Look, I think I left you a message and please disregard it all together. I was pissed and I don’t know what I said but don’t take it literally. You know me; I’m so unreliable. So um, don’t listen to me; don’t come to LA and just forget about me. I’m crazy; I’m out of my bird. I’m not worth it. SO um- sorry. Bye.”
Hum. Better leave one more just in case.
“Yeah, so just to clarify, Angel’s not in danger. I mean, I don’t even like the ponce so why would I know if he’s in trouble or not? See, makes no sense. I’m not even in L.A.”
Bloody hell.
“The food’s over there,” I tell the immortal lamely. She caught me off guard with the ‘are you going to kill me thing.’
“Really,” she says eying the fridge and cocking her eyebrows. “I’m guessing there’s nothing there for your kind.”
“That’s what you’re here for.” I explain, turning away from her and towards a camera, and letting my eyes flash yellow.
“I’d like to see you try,” she laughs (she laughs!) while she pours herself some wine and dips her pinky in.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you. See I have a soul, and that makes me different from all the other vampires.” This bit’s never convincing, even when I’m not playing Angelus playing Angel.
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I turn to face her, looking as sincere as I can.
“So why are you looking at my neck?” She smiles, testing the freshness of the various breads and cheeses on one of the platters.
“I still appreciate, you know… its long and lean and well defined,” I concede, trying not to lick my lips. There is no reason to let the lines get too blurry.
“That’s great,” she says, downing the rest of her glass and putting a piece of bread and Brie into her mouth. She readjusts her jacket and starts chewing her food. “Well, it’s been swell but I’ve got to motor or Mac’s going to think he has to save me again and that will just lead me to want to have sex with him and we aren’t supposed to because of his misguided loyalty to his lunatic ‘wife’. It’ll just make him brood and withdraw and I really can’t stand it when he broods…”
“Right,” I say, watching her petite frame approach the door. What if she goes for her sword? “How do you plan on getting out of here? We’re surrounded by cameras and guards and the room in bugged. And we’re at last three floors underground.”
“We’re actually 11 levels down, but I know my way back. Some of us aren’t as helpless as you, sonny.”
I sit back on the counter amused and cross my arms. This should be good.
She goes for her pocket and takes out a boxy looking thing. She scans the top of the door and it pops open.
She also gets a gun in her face.
She backs up with her arms in surrender, rolling her eyes. Goon boy takes the device away.
“What?” she says. “You’re the idiots who didn’t search me.”
“You’re staying here, ma’am.”
“It’s Amanda, and you don’t need to point that gun at little old me.”
“Yeah, you do,” I supply through my now-apparent fangs. Why do I enjoy the little things so much?
“Don’t listen to him, he’s evil,” she says, walking coyly towards the man and his gun.
“Super evil,” I laugh.
“I’m not a threat. I’m just lost.”
“Come on, she had the boxy thing, and she knew I was a vampire. She’s not just your average girl.”
“Listen here, you crazy-haired freak,” she spits, walking over to me, “I don’t appreciate you getting in the way of my escape plan.”
“Why would I help you, you said it yourself that I’m evil,” I explained, seeing the goon at the door getting nervous.
“If you want I’ll kick your ass first, it’s just I’d rather skip straight to the escaping. My partner might still be stuck with that succubus.”
“Who Lilah? She’ll do it to you when you’re awake, in my opinion. And she’s not actually a demon.”
“You’re a demon!” She says, getting up in my face.
Idiot at the door didn’t see her tackle coming. It was beautiful.
I walk up to the door, because Angelus doesn’t do much running, and they greet me with 5 tranquilizer guns. I lean on the frame, “so, does anyone have a cigarette?”
“You!” The woman says, turning back to me. “This is all your fault.”
“Yak, yak, yak.” I say reaching for and breaking her neck before she could get her finger to my chest.
“Stay back vampire!” One of the sweaty guards warns me.
“Whatever,” I say, putting my hands in my pockets and turning towards my room. Just for fun I turn back and make a shoulder movement at them.
I’m delighted when they all jump back, but I’m still a prisoner.
I’m in trouble. Again. That’s why I shouldn’t be thinking of the first time Angelus let me tie him up while in a public place. I’m all smiles and giggles and I probably blushed. I tend to have more human reactions when I’m lost in thought. I’ve seen myself in a mirror. Now the waitress’ boyfriend doesn’t like the attention she’s paying me and it looks like I may have to stoop as low as a bar fight.
I know that even with the nose (which I like!) and the unflattering clothes I attract sexual attention from all sorts of directions. I’ve never had any complaints… except from some of the slaves. What can I say? I’m 5 000, I’m old enough not to question it and to send a little thank you to the Gods now and then in case they exist.
I’m backing up with my arms up and doing that ‘I don’t know why you would want to mess with me, look how defenseless I am’ act. Really I’m thinking it’s a good thing because I forgot to look if the bloke had money on him. Now I don’t have to.
Lilah was really miffed the footage with Angelus and that woman was unusable. She really wanted to get the phase 2 of the plan on the way as fast as possible. They couldn’t use this part in the montage because it had to look like Angel was keeping the apartment himself and invited people there under false pretenses to snack on. Oh, well, they’d just have to stick him with Anne. The time was soon approaching to get Connor.
“Amanda, I thought that was you!”
“He killed me!” She said, indignantly, zipping herself out of the uncomfortable body bag.
“Who?”
“Never mind. Probably did me a favor. So how did you find me?”
“Well that woman got called away when there was some commotion and I saw you being wheeled into an elevator. We’re in the morgue across the street.”
“Duh, like I’ve never seen one of these before.”
“You’ve been down a long time.”
“Got my neck broken, always takes longer to rebuild the spinal chord, specially considering our necks are actually fragile.”
“Good thing, or you would have revived in front of way too many people. Now lets get the heck out of here before someone realizes we’re gone.”
“I think I know what happened to Methos.”
“Good, tell me later.”
“No problem sweet cheeks.”
“Amanda!”
“Don’t you even try that righteous act with me. I can see your body in any position I want any time I want just by closing my eyes, and you know why I can do that?”
“Because you’ve seen me naked before?”
“Yes. Very naked. And I will see you naked again. Now lets go.”
Hotel’s as empty as ever. I don’t know whether to collect weapons for what would probably be a sodding suicide mission or to get myself some blood and see if one of these televisions work. If only the voices in my head would quiet down, I could stop talking to myself like this. When I stop talking I get pushed down, I get taken over by all the people, all the memories, all the feelings. I have to keep on, so I tell myself really loudly that maybe I should call Sunnydale again because how long can I really survive without Angel helping me? I mean, he’s the only one in the world who’s had to go through this shite ‘afore. Oh, no, I am not going to get all sentimental… Wipe those eyes and oooh, bourbon…
I jump into a cab seconds after I run out of the pub. I’m panting a little, and I’m miffed I hadn’t had the time to decide what to do. I tell the cabby to bring me to the old Hyperion and sigh with relief when I see the man I knocked out did have a sufficient amount of cash in a money clip. I sit back and close my eyes. The sun is going to go down soon and if I don’t come up with a brilliant idea, I may loose my window to get to Angelus.
“Are you sure that was him?” Amanda asked as they peered around the corner of a building close to the morgue.
“Almost positive. I mean, he was too far away for us to feel him but I’d like to think I could recognize him anywhere.”
“What car did he get in?”
“A cab.”
“Did you see what kind?”
“I’ll tell you in the car, let’s go!”
My sword is still where it should be and I am fighting the urge to French kiss it. I sit on the bed and polish it, smiling to myself. That sword and I have been through a lot of things the past… what has it been? 500 years. Anyway, I hate making swords, it takes so much time and I never seem to get it perfectly. This one’s a little too long for me, but I was so happy it was done I never thought of making another.
I jump when William walks by the open door, bottle in hand.
He comes back into view, rubs his eye and almost drops his bottle of… very expensive bourbon. Angelus is not going to like that.
I look at him, waiting for him to say something.
“Doc? That you?”
“No, it’s the bloody toothfairy. Of course it’s me.”
“What about-“
“Angelus got me out. He’s still stuck there.”
“Evil lawyers?” he questions.
“Is there any other kind?”
“What’cha doin' ?”
“Getting my sword.”
“So, you’re just going to leave?”
“I don’t know yet; besides, doesn’t look like you’ve been trying to come up with a brilliant plan either.”
“Wow. Just ‘cause I’m sloshed doesn’t mean I wasn’t trying real hard to get to you bloody ponces.”
“That’s great Will. Really.”
“No, no. I followed and found out what building you were in. I went all over town all day looking for information on who had you."
“So evil lawyers not the kind of adversaries you had in mind?”
“I’ve got a chip in my head. Most of them smelled human. So yeah I was the Big Bad bloody scourge of Europe but I’m just one bloke and they have a whole bloody army. They’re far beyond bad Doc. All I’ve heard today, they even give some of the toughest demons the willies.”
“Yeah. I get it,” I say, trying to find a place in these clothes that could hide my sword.
I have to go back to that stupid hotel to get my things. I did see that bike still parked outside… Guess I should do that before anything else. I was supposed to be on a beach somewhere by now.
William is hovering near the door, looking as if he was debating weather to finish the bottle or not.
“Will, finish the bottle and destroy it before Angelus gets back. I’m going to collect my things at the hotel.”
“What should I do when I’m done?”
“Think of a plan… and make it fool-proof. I don’t take chances.”
“Right then.”
I hear some noise in the lobby and feel a slight tingle in my neck. Still too far away to get a good read, but seems like I’ve got company. Then it dawns on me-
“Will, there are some people down stairs. Don’t kill them, don’t tell them anything and don’t let them leave. I’ll be back.”
Will protests when I take his duster off his back, but damned if I’m going to leave my sword here again.
“Who’s here?”
“It’s me Angel.”
“What happened?”
“Wolfram and Hart decided if they left you in here long enough with me I’d eat you.” I tell her truthfully.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, it’s not-“ the greatest way to spend your last days, I was going to say, but I’m glad she cut me off.
“So, are you hungry?”
“No, I’m good,” I say, but it makes me smile a little.
“Okay. So what is there to do here?”
“There’s a bathroom, a kitchen area, a bed and some couches. Our every move is being watched but if you can get passed that it isn’t so bad. Maybe we could find some cards around here or something.”
She sighs and puts her hands in her pockets awkwardly. “I just want to know who’s taking care of my kids… the shelter.”
“I’m sure everything’s fine.”
She suddenly takes in my appearance. She squints, she cocks her head to the side. Do I have blood on my face or something? “I met a boy named Connor this summer. Do you know him?”
Oh. “He’s my son,” I whisper.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“He reminded me of you. He was a great help too… well he also needed help but he liked the shelter.”
“I’m glad.”
"How old is he, out of curiosity, I couldn't get a bead on it and he wouldn't talk."
"We don't know."
"Oh."
"It's complicated."
"He looks 15."
"We don't know," I repeat. I don't know how old my son is.
“So.”
“So.”
This is going to be a long night. How long would Angelus play with her before he fed? How long do I have before I have to get the hell out of here?
“’Allo. Who are you?” I tell the pair snooping around Angel’s lobby.
“Hi my name is Duncan McLeod and this is Amanda.” The dark-haired Scot tells me. He extends his hand but I don’t move down the stairs to shake it. He puts his hands in his pockets and swings a little on his feet. Nervously maybe. Strange bloke. “We followed a friend of ours here. His name is Adam, usually.”
“Usually?” I ask amused. He definitely doesn’t know what I am.
“Yeah, look, we were wondering if we could have a look around the hotel.”
“Why?”
“Look, pet,” the woman tells me, “we just want to find our friend, we think he might be in trouble.”
She called me pet? “And you think he can’t take care of himself?” I ask, finding the idea sort of amusing.
“Sure I think he can, Duncan here on the other hand-“
The bloke throws his hands up like they’ve had this conversation 500 times already. “I trust Methos okay. I just-“
“Who’s Methos?” I ask, cutting him off. “I’ve heard that name before.” ANd I've had. It's a legend of somekind or something.
“Oh Mac,” the woman says.
“Can we go up now?” The man asks impatiently.
“No, he said to wait here.”
“Who?”
“Doc, Adam, whatever. He said to wait here. Now I’ve got to go think of something important, so keep your nattering to a minimum.”
I finish the bourbon and walk past them to go bury the bottle in the yard. It’s dusk.
Where do we go from here?
