On the roof of an abandoned warehouse, a lone man knelt against the edge, hunched over a rifle as he peered through a night vision scope mounted on his weapon. He patiently watched the scene unfolding below him as two groups of people faced each other. One consisted of the vampire called Angel, an ex-Watcher by the name of Wesley Wyndom-Price and several people in what looked like SWAT uniforms. In the middle of that group was a young girl lying unconscious on a gurney.
The other group was made up of a dozen girls standing behind a young man named Andrew as he argued with the vampire. Then the girls behind Andrew moved forward and withdrew the sleeping girl from Angel's group and then proceeded to take her away, followed closely by Andrew.
By that time, the man on the roof pulled his face away from the scope, revealing a rugged looking, young face of Xander Harris. He had the beginnings of a light beard that went well with an eye patch over the left eye. He rubbed his remaining eye briefly before looking through the scope on his rifle once more.
"Well I'll be damned. Andrew actually pulled it off."
Xander stood there for a moment in shocked amusement. He had been fully ready to fire a specialized armor-piercing incendiary round directly into the center of Angel's chest if the vampire made any move that could have been considered hostile. A little bit of overkill but Xander didn't care. As far as he was concerned, Angel crossed the line when he took over the LA branch of Wolfram and Hart.
After waiting long enough for Andrew, and the dozen girls with him, to place the psychotic Slayer into the waiting van and drive off, Xander finally let the gun drop to his side. From his vantage point, he continued to watch as Angel said something to Wesley before turning away and ordering his people back to Wolfram and Hart.
When all of them were finally gone, Xander sat down on the ledge, his thoughts wandering back to the phone call he had received from Giles. The Watcher knew that he was back in the states, specifically California, following up on some leads. Giles had wanted to inform him about the news of an unstable Slayer being sighted in LA.
After hearing what details that Giles knew about the situation, Xander immediately informed him that he was currently in San Francisco and that it wouldn't take long to get to LA but the Watcher had a different plan. He wanted to send Andrew.
< Andrew... >
Xander was, at best, skeptical. He didn't really believe that Andrew, of all people, would be able to handle Angel. He found it hard to stomach the idea that Giles believed that Andrew would be able to retrieve the wayward Slayer without folding under the pressure of dealing with Angel but, much to his surprise, not only did Andrew get the job done but he managed to take the souled vampire down a peg or two.
"You don't have a choice," Andrew stated as he stared at Angel. "Check the view screen, Uhura. I got 12 Vampyr Slayers behind me, and not one of them has ever dated you. She's coming with us one way or another."
What Andrew didn't know was that Giles had hid a small listening device in his clothes before he left, so when Xander heard that, he nearly fell off the roof in laughter. He so wished that he was the one that had said that. Of course he would have used a slightly different word than 'dated'.
Suddenly the sound of the Star Wars theme song shattered the tranquility of the night, causing Xander to pull a noisy phone from his pocket. He recognized the phone number of the caller and flipped it open. "Bucky's Pizza"
[ Xander? ]
"Yeah Giles?" Xander casually answered.
[ Andrew just checked in with me. I take it that everything went as planned. ]
"Mostly," Xander grunted. "I followed Andrew and, as you asked, I stayed in the shadows. I know that you wanted this to be a test for Andrew but I'm not sure that you should've given him this much responsibility without some form of supervision."
[ That is why I asked you to follow him. I needed to see if he could handle both himself and other, more imposing individuals. If it turned out that Andrew couldn't then I was confident that you would be able to take care of things. ]
Xander paused, letting Giles' faith in him soak in for a moment before speaking again. "I don't know if Andrew told you this or not but you should know that the girl killed or hurt several people before she was captured and, from what I've overheard, I seriously doubt either you or Willow will have much luck in treating her."
[ So you say. Andrew had mentioned that the Slayer was unstable but I refuse to believe that she would be impossible to treat. ]
Xander snorted but decided that it would be better to change the subject, "Speaking of the impossible, you should know that Spike's here. In the flesh."
[ What? Are you certain? ]
"Yep."
[ Well then why didn't Andrew report this development? ]
"Cause Spike asked him not to tell us. You know how Andrew worships him. He almost pledged his undying love for the vampire when he saw him at Wolfram and Hart." Xander answered, his voice heavy with disgust.
[ If he has come back then why hasn't he contacted us? Why instruct Andrew to stay quiet? ]
"Who knows what goes through that mess of noodles that Spike calls his brain," Xander paused, making a quck decision. "But don't say anything to Buffy about this until I get back with more info." Xander began disassembling his rifle and placing the parts inside an open suitcase at his feet.
[ If you insist. When can we expect you to arrive? ]
"Probably in a couple of days, at the earliest. I want to check on a few things first plus there is also the lead I was following back in San Fran before coming here to baby-sit Andrew."
[ Xander, this lead... Are you sure that you don't want Buffy or Faith with you? ]
"No. I know what I'm doing. And I also know where to reach you if I decide that I need help."
[ Very well then. Xander, please be careful. ]
"No worries," Xander paused. "Speaking of Faith, when you drafted me to be Andrew's shadow, you mentioned that you were going try to get a hold of her. Were you able to?"
[ Yes, she arrived here just a few moments ago. Unfortunately. ]
Xander smirked slightly at the frustration in the older man's voice. Except for him, nobody else could rub Giles' last nerve quite like the dark-haired Slayer. He listened as Giles ranted about how he had walked into his office only to find Faith sitting behind his deck. She was be leaning back in the chair with her feet propped up on a stack of priceless books.
He could picture Giles just standing there, sputtering. Faith, on the other hand, would simply smirk and lean back in his chair while asking, 'What up G?'
After chuckling to himself for a second Xander grew somber. He knew that the Watcher would not like what he was about to suggest next anymore than he did himself.
"Giles, you might want to consider having Faith waiting with you when Andrew arrives. I think that it would be best to have her there in case a more permanent action needs to be taken against the girl."
Silence reigned on the Giles' end of the call for several seconds before he spoke.
[ That is a very cold suggestion Xander. ]
"Hey, I hated to say it more than you'll ever know but that's a possible reality Giles," Xander sighed, running a hand through his hair. Just saying that went against the very fiber of his being.
[ I'll contact Buffy and then pass that option along to her and Faith. Then we'll see what they want to do. ]
Xander could tell by the tone of Giles' voice that the older man was almost as disgusted as he was over the idea of killing a Slayer instead of helping her, and that alone prompted Xander to offer a second possibility. "I'm sorry but I felt the need to mention it, Giles. Look, if she's still alive and kicking when I get back then we'll get the gang all together and figure out a way to help her."
[ Very well. On to other matters then. About that demon cult you found in Africa, I wanted to talk to you about.. ]
Xander tuned Giles out as he closed the case after placing all the gun parts inside. He then set the phone down on the ledge. He picked up the case and carried it across the roof, placing it inside a simple circle that he had made earlier with a special type of white sand that Willow had given him.
Once he was sure that the corners of the case weren't touching any part of the circle, he pulled a small, plastic bag from his pants pocket. Inside the bag were three tuffs of hair, one blonde in color, another red while the last was a salt and peppered gray. Each batch of hair was held together by small rubber bands. Staring at the bag, Xander smiled and withdrew the collection of gray hair. Putting the bag back in his pocket, he carefully set the hair just inside the circle, making sure that it touched the sand.
Stepping back, Xander reached into his jacket and pulled out a small ornamental dagger that Willow had given him. Holding the dagger in one hand, he pricked the pad of his left thumb with it and held the small wound above the sand. Carefully, he let two drops of his blood fall onto the sand. When this happened, the whole circle changed from a pure white to a deep red and then there was a bright flash of light. When Xander's vision cleared, he saw that the case was gone, leaving only a blackened circle of soot on the roof.
[ BLOODY HELL!!! ]
Xander's lips curled up into a devilish smile as he picked the cell phone back up. "Did you say something Giles?"
[ Your bloody toy just dropped on top of my head. Did you have to send the damn thing to me? ]
"Oops," Xander said innocently. "Hey, Willow thought that it would be better to send it to you rather than her, so you'll have to take it up with her. Of course that would mean interrupting any fun that she and Kennedy might be having but hey, it's your skin." And with that he shut the phone off. He grinned, knowing that Giles was probably staring at the phone in his hand in silence at that very moment. Then he would start muttering a few choice swear words in Latin or some dead language that were aimed either at him for using the spell, or at Willow for teaching him how to cast it in the first place.
Xander laughed quietly as he kicked the soot around, making a mental note to thank Willow for that interesting teleportation spell. Xander was skeptical at first when she had suggested it as a way to get rid of any evidence, but she told him that as long as you had something personal to connect with the recipient of the spell, one can send almost any inanimate object to that person as long as the item was smaller in both size and weight than the caster's own body.
After bandaging his thumb, Xander put the dagger back inside his jacket and climbed down the fire escape to where a sleek, black motorcycle was parked. He made one last check to make sure that there was nobody around then climbed onto the bike and started it up. He put on his helmet and drove off into the night, towards his next stop.
Angel walked through the lobby, still angry, and hurt, when Andrew had basically said that Buffy didn't trust him anymore. Between his hurt feelings and his visit with Spike, Angel made his way back to his office without paying any attention to his employees.
"Angel!" a female voice shout out.
"Not now Harmony."
"But Boss, there's -"
Angel turned sharply and glared at the petite vampire. "I. Said. Not. Now."
Harmony just shrugged and stood there, pouting. "Fine, don't blame me if he stakes you."
But Angel didn't pay any attention to his vampiric secretary as he stormed into his office. Harmony followed behind him, wearing a smug smile.
"Hey Deadboy."
Angel froze at the sound of that voice. Sitting in his chair with his feet propped on top of his desk was the very last person he wanted to see. His emotions were already boiling just beneath the surface because of his confrontation with Andrew and he didn't think that it would take much more to bring his anger to the surface.
"Boss?" Harmony squeezed around Angel and entered the room. "Xander's here to see you"
"Thank you Harmony," Angel replied coldly. The look of anger on his face made Harmony quickly flee from the office.
"You sure know how to sweet talk your employees Angel."
"What do you want Xander?"
"Me?" Xander pointed to himself, then shrugged and began counting off his fingers. "Not much. I would like to see the Cubs to win a World Series. I wouldn't mind winning the lottery. I definitely wish that Anya were still alive. Oh and let's not forget that it would be nice if I could still see with two eyes," he finished off, pointing to the eye patch he wore.
"BUT!" Xander growled as Angel tried to speak.
"Unlike some idiots that I know," Xander look pointedly at Angel before continuing. "I won't sell my soul and become a toady for an evil law firm just to have my wishes to come true."
"Actually, I don't care why your here Xander," Angel spoke in a tight, barely controlled voice. "But I want you to leave. Now."
"No," Xander answered flippantly. "See I came here for some information and I'm not leaving until you tell me what I want to know."
That was all it took. That one threatening remark from Xander caused Angel to lose control. Using the speed and strength common to all vampires, Angel quickly yanked Xander out of his seat by his neck and pinned him against the wall. Just as quickly, Xander pulled a small cross from his back pocket and brought it up to Angel's face, slapping it across the vampire's eyes.
Angel scream out in pain and Xander tucked his legs up, placing his feet against the vampire's chest and, using the wall for support, kicked Angel away from him. Without Angel holding him up, Xander fell hard onto the floor, watching as his opponent barely kept his balance as he stumbled across the room.
Xander scrambled to his feet and then tackled Angel to the floor. Then the one-eyed man stradled the vampire's waist and pulled out a thin stake from within his jacket and raised it above his head.
"Angel!!"
Xander looked up to see a slender, dark-haired woman standing by the office door next to a shocked Wesley. Then the ex-Watcher charged into the room and tackled Xander, knocking him off of Angel. Both men quickly got to their feet and faced each other. Wesley was about to attack again when he suddenly stopped, looks of surprise and shock battled for dominance of his features when he recognized Xander.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Wesley demanded harshly.
Xander ignored Wesley as he watched the young woman as she helped Angel up off the floor and into one of the chairs. She then carefully inspected the vampire's burned eyes.
"XANDER!"
Xander calmly turned to the enraged man and flashed him a cocky grin.
"Don't get your tweed knickers in a bunch Wes, I was just reminding Deadboy here just exactly what I think of him."
"By trying to stake him?" Wesley asked incredulously.
"Of course. He is a vampire after all," Xander said evenly as if trying to explain it to a child.
"But Angel is a Champion," the woman spoke up. "He has a soul."
"Who are you?" Xander asked.
"Fred."
Xander's eyebrows shot up in surprise, finally recognizing the woman from Willow's description. The woman before him had a lot more confidence than the one his best friend had described to him..
"What do you want?" Angel asked tiredly, gently pushing Fred away.
With a shrug of his shoulders the one-eyed man answered. "Well first, I want to know how it is that Spike is here in LA."
A uncomfortable look was shared by Angel, Wesley, and Fred which did not go unnoticed by Xander.
"Well this looks to be an interesting conversation," Xander said, crossing his arms across his chest and waited for the three to begin telling him what they knew. For the next hour and a half Xander listened quietly to what they told him.
"So he's been here all this time and you didn't try to contact us," Xander wondered.
"Well I thought your group was aware that Spike came back," Wesley answered.
"Nope. Not a clue."
Everyone fell silent, each occupied with their own thoughts. This went on for several seconds before Angel spoke up.
"You said that the first thing was the news about Spike."
Xander turned to Angel, studying him with a calm eye. "Yeah, so..."
"So what is the second thing?" Angel asked, locking his eyes onto Xander's single one.
"I want to see her."
"Her?" Fred asked.
"Angel knows who I'm talking about," Xander gave the vampire a pointed look but it was Wesley who spoke up.
"He means Cordelia."
Angel opened the door to the private room that was home to the comatose Seer. Xander shouldered past Wesley and Fred and walked into the room, moving quickly to the side of Cordelia's bed. With a shaky hand, he carefully ran his fingers through her hair.
"Ah Cor, why didn't you stay out of this mess?" Xander softly spoke.
"She tried," the vampire said. "But like you, she couldn't turn a blind eye to the evils found in the night."
Xander didn't say anything more, he just bent down and places a tender kiss on Cordelia's forehead. As he stood back up, he caught the brief look of possessive anger on Angel's face. That's when he understood. He finally saw all the odd clues that Cordelia had given him during few times that they had talked or exchanged e-mails. It all made sense now.
"You love her."
"Don't you?" the vampire replied.
Xander smirked. "Considering the conversation we're having, I hope that you're doing a hell of a lot more for Cordy than you were doing that night for Buffy."
Angel visibly bristled at the comment. "Why you little-"
"Angel," Wesley put a hand on the vampire's shoulder, shaking his head. When Angel had calmed down, the former Watcher turned his attention back to Xander.
"I can assure you Xander, Cordelia's getting the best care possible."
Xander studied Wesley for a second before looking first at Fred and then at Angel. With a curt nod of acknowledgement, he knelt back down to Cordelia.
"Come back to us if you can Cordy," he whispered. "We miss you."
Xander stood back up and quietly left the room. The others followed out of the room, through the building, and out into the parking lot. They watched silently as Xander climbed onto his bike and pulled his helmet over his head. The young man twisted around on the bike to look at them.
"You are gonna let us know if there are any changes. Right?"
"Yes Xander," Wesley answered. "As soon as we know anything, I'll make sure to contact Giles."
"Thank you."
"Where are you off to next?" Wesley asked.
"Back up to San Fran. I was following a lead about a drug that was rumored to being developed by daemons."
"Do you need any help?" Fred asked.
"No," Xander stated. "Me and Giles have got it covered but thanks for the offer."
Xander started up his bike but then paused and turned once more to stare coldly at Angel.
"Just remember what I told you in the Hospital that night Buffy was sick," Xander said before he sped off into the darkness.
"What did he mean by that?" Fred asked Angel.
Angelus stood in the Hospital hallway and looked down at the boy in front of him. "It must just eat you up that I got there first," the vampire said, taunting him about having Buffy first.
Xander just stared him in the eyes and said, "You're gonna die and I'm gonna be there."
"Angel?"
The vampire looked over at Wesley and Fred and shook his head.
"It's nothing," Angel said tersely. "Forget about it." Angel turned around and walked back inside. Wesley and Fred exchanged slightly worried looks before heading back in themselves.
The windows were drawn closed in Angel's office, effectively darkening the room. What little light that existed in the room, filtered in from the slightly opened door. Muffled sounds could be heard from coming from the main area just outside that door as the employees and clients of Wolfram & Hart went about their daily tasks completely unaware of the phone that sat on their boss' desk, suddenly coming to life.
The phone continued to ring in the gray darkness even though there was no one in the room to answer it.