Title: The Gilded Cage
Author: T. C.
Rating: R
Pairing: Connor/Dinah; Angel/Cordelia
Summary: The Birds temporarily relocate from New Gotham to Los Angeles
when Barbara attends a conference on spinal cord injury
research. Unfortunately, the move puts Dinah back on Wolfram
and Hart's radar screen and after thwarting their first
attempt to kidnap her, Connor makes it his mission to protect
her and prove that he is a warrior for good.
Spoilers: The past and current season of Angel and the current season
of Birds of Prey.**SPOILER ALERT - This fic contains spoiler
rumors about future episodes of Angel. If you don't like to
be spoiled, then you may want to refrain from reading this
story**
Disclaimer: The characters from Angel belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant
Enemy, 20th Century Fox, and the WB. The characters from
Birds of Prey belong to Tollin/Robbins productions, Laeta
Kalogridis, the WB, and DC Comics.
***********************************************************************
Part One
The jet descended in a gentle glide and landed with a soft bump. Dinah
Lance bounced with excitement, her blonde ponytail bobbing with the
movement. She pressed her nose against the glass of the window. She
had never flown before and for the first time to be in the Wayne jet
was heaven. The cabin was spacious and comfortable with a couch and
several seats in beige leather. The carpet was cream and it was all
very calming. There was also a mini-bar, but Dinah had only been
allowed to have a soda out of it since she was just sixteen. She had
never been to Los Angeles before either. She couldn't tell much about
the city from the airport.
"Calm down, kid, because your nose will break before the glass will."
Helena Kyle grinned as the younger girl jerked away from the window
pane and rubbed experimentally at her nose. Helena flexed her calf
muscles as she stretched her legs and ran her fingers through her
short, black hair. Being cooped up in this small cabin was not her
idea of fun and the only reason she had stepped foot in something that
bore the name Wayne was because this trip was important to Barbara.
She glanced over at the woman who had been her guardian and friend
after her mother had died. Barbara Gordon sat with perfect posture
looking down at a schedule of events for the conference on new research
in spinal cord injuries. A worried frown marred her features, but it
wasn't something she was reading that caused it. "You should relax
too. New Gotham isn't going to descend into the pits of hell just
because we're gone for a couple of weeks."
"Well, I wouldn't go to that extreme, but we do have a mysterious new
player moving in. I would just feel more comfortable if we knew who is
trying to resurrect the Joker's crime syndicate." Barbara swept a
piece of her reddish brown hair behind her ear and then removed her
glasses. She rubbed her temples wearily. "Maybe we shouldn't have
left right now."
"Right now is the only time this conference is being held in this
country, unless you want to wait another five years?" Helena crooked
an eyebrow at the rhetorical question. Of course Barbara wouldn't
want to wait any longer to see if there was any research out there that
might help her walk again. "Besides, didn't Alfred call in
reinforcements to take care of business while we're away?" Helena
unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. She took a few steps to Barbara's
wheelchair, undid the belts that held it in place and released the
brake. It immediately glided to its owner.
Barbara grabbed the arm of the wheelchair and pulled herself into it.
Helena and Dinah waited patiently for her. It was a point of pride for
Barbara that neither girl made a move to 'help' her. Dinah hadn't been
with them for long, but she had caught on quick that Barbara was
independent and in no need of assistance. Most people caught that, and
if they didn't, she told them. "I would have thought you would hate
having someone else taking care of your territory, Helena."
Helena smirked at Barbara and followed her to the exit. "You know what
they say, when the cat's away...the cat finds new mice."
*****
Cordelia. Her name was so pretty and lyrical. It hadn't belonged with
Buffy, Willow, Xander, Oz, and Harmony. It was an old fashioned name,
more suited to his time. Angel sighed. She suited him. He looked out
the window of an unused bedroom on the third floor of the Hyperion.
They hadn't fixed it up - junk littered the floor and the wallpaper
hung in strips where it hadn't turned brown from water stains - he was
there because it had a terrific view of the courtyard. At the moment,
it also had a terrific view of Cordelia. And Connor.
The Powers That Be had given Cordelia back to him, but they had also
kept them apart by taking her memory away. She didn't remember him or
her friends or the mission. She had no idea that he loved her. She
didn't trust him. She trusted Connor. Angel watched as the two people
he loved the most in the world sat talking on a bench below him. It
was more than the sun that stopped him from joining them. Cordelia and
Connor had formed a bond that didn't include him.
When Wesley had released Angel from his underwater coffin and had told
him that Cordelia had disappeared the same night he had, Angel had been
afraid his son had hurt her. Now he knew that Connor would never hurt
Cordelia. The affinity that they felt for each other had probably
started when Cordelia had flushed the darkness of Quor-toth from
Connor's soul. They had connected then. And now, when she was alone -
with no ties to her past - he had become her protector. Angel didn't
know who he was more jealous of - Connor because Cordelia relied on
him or Cordelia because she was close to his son. He hated being
jealous. He hated being left out. He hated only watching.
A surprised yelp from Cordelia drew Angel out of his thoughts.
"Cordelia, are you okay?" he heard Connor ask. She was clutching his
son's arms and trembling.
"A vision." Angel turned on his heel and ran downstairs. Cordelia
hadn't had a vision since her return and while they didn't cause the
pain they once had, she wouldn't understand what was happening. She
would be confused and afraid. She would need him. She would finally
need him. Angel pushed that selfish thought to the back of his mind
as he reached the lobby in time to meet Cordelia coming in from the
courtyard. She was pale and shaking. "Cordelia." He took her arm and
guided her to a seat. It was nice to touch her and not have her flinch
or back away nervously. "You saw something?"
"I, uh, I...." Cordelia looked down at the vampire who claimed to be
her friend. His dark eyes were more worried than sad as he kneeled
before her. He chafed her hands and then hesitantly reached up to
caress her temple. He was always so gentle with her. She wished she
could remember him and take the sadness from his eyes.
"It's okay, you just had a vision." Angel continued to soothe Cordelia
with gentle strokes of his fingers. She had stopped shaking and her
color was coming back. "You saw someone who is in trouble. It's okay.
Remember when we explained how the Powers sent you visions of people
who needed help and then we helped them?" At first, they had tried to
keep everything demon related from Cordelia so they wouldn't scare her
off, but that hadn't lasted for very long.
"I remember." Cordelia nodded. She smiled at Fred and Gunn as they
came downstairs. "I had a vision."
"That's good." Fred grinned. "What did you see? Do we have time for
research or is it a charge out and fly by the seat of our pants
mission?"
"Oh, it's okay. Connor is taking care of it." Cordelia blinked in
surprise as Angel abruptly let her go and moved away. Usually his
presence made her uncomfortable - like he was expecting something from
her that she didn't know how to give him - but it had seemed right to
have him comforting her after the vision. She kind of missed it now
that he had stopped.
"You sent Connor." Angel managed to say it calmly. He didn't yell or
stomp around like a petulant child and he really wanted to do that.
He was her champion.
"Yes." Cordelia's gaze flickered between Fred, Gunn, and Angel. They
were looking grim again. She may not remember them, but she knew this
wasn't good. They looked grim a lot. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Not wrong, exactly." Fred glanced at Angel, her heart breaking. She
just knew he was reading subtext in Cordelia's actions. "It's just
that Angel is the champion. He goes on the missions and we help."
"I know that." Cordelia frowned. She really didn't know what the big
deal was, a girl was in trouble and she had sent help. Why did it
matter who was doing the helping? "But it looked like these guys were
going to kidnap this poor girl around dusk and you're a vampire. I
thought with your daylight issues, you wouldn't get there in time.
Connor said he recognized the area I described. Apparently he spent a
night in an alley near there."
The bitter and accusing note in Cordelia's voice wasn't lost on Angel.
She didn't understand why Connor didn't live at the Hyperion with the
rest of them and no one had enlightened her. Even though he was
jealous of their bond, Angel didn't want to take away the one person
she counted on. "I use the sewers to go where I'm needed during the
day."
"Oh. I didn't know that." Cordelia bit her lip. "But Connor can
handle it. I still think that it's better that he went."
"Yeah." Angel smiled thinly. Of course she thought that, she trusted
Connor.
*****
The boardroom was empty, just as Lilah had ordered it to be. She
leaned against the door and allowed Wesley to precede her into the
room. She didn't bother to lock the door once it was closed because
no one would dare to disturb them - that was one of the advantages of
being the boss. "Why don't you sit down?" Lilah walked further into
the room. She indicated to the leather office chair at the head of the
table. She licked her lips as Wesley sat down. She had been
fantasizing about this ever since Linwood's head took a tumble from
his shoulders and went rolling down this very table.
"Are you offering me an executive position, Lilah?" Wesley asked
drily. "I already told you I won't work for Wolfram and Hart. A tour
won't change my mind."
"The position I'm offering isn't with Wolfram and Hart." Lilah sat
down on the end of the table. She opened her legs and pulled Wesley
and the chair between them. "And I know you're interested in it."
"Naughty girl." Wesley undid the top two buttons of Lilah's peach silk
blouse. He brushed his thumb along her exposed collarbone. He didn't
feel anything. His body responded with lust for her body, but he felt
nothing but derision for the woman offering herself to him. He felt
nothing but derision for anyone - even the people he had once loved as
his friends. "Fucking the enemy on company time. I think your
promotion has gone to your head." He slid his other hand under her
skirt and rested it on the bare skin above her stocking. He fondled
the strap of the garter belt that held it up. It snapped sharply as
he released it and Lilah hissed with tingly pain.
He was baiting her - making her want him more than he wanted her - and
damn if it didn't always work. Lilah grabbed Wesley and pulled his
head toward her. Their mouths battered each other in crushing,
bruising kisses. Wesley dragged her forward until she was practically
in his lap and pulled away from her mouth. He unbuttoned the remaining
buttons of her blouse.
"Lilah." Gavin walked into the boardroom. His face stayed impassive
despite what he walked in on and there wasn't even a hint of a snarky
comment. She had beaten him and he knew it.
"It's Ms. Morgan, Gavin, and I said not to disturb me." Lilah bit her
lip as Wesley's fingers dug into her flesh when he pinched her thigh.
"Leave, unless of course you like to watch."
"I've never fancied myself to be entertainment." Wesley pushed the
chair back and Lilah stumbled to her feet to keep her balance. He
stood up and walked to the door. "Good day, Lilah. Gavin."
Lilah glared at Gavin as she rebuttoned her blouse. "This had better
be important. My office," she snapped and didn't bother looking to
see if he followed her. If he wanted to live, he would follow. She
nodded to the sweeper team as they passed her on their way to the
boardroom. They had followed her and Wesley on their little tour and
had swept for any bugs that the ex-watcher may have tried planting.
Sex with Wesley was hot, but she wasn't stupid. He still wanted to be
a part of Angel's little group whether he admitted it or not and she
wasn't going to give him the opportunity to use her to get back in the
vampire's good graces.
"Flora demanded to see you." Gavin stopped in the hallway in front of
Lilah's office. "She's in there now."
"You've dodged a bullet this time, Gav." Lilah smirked. "This might
actually be important." She walked into her office and shut the door
in Gavin's face. He didn't need to know how important. "Hello,
Flora." Lilah had redone Linwood's office after his untimely accident.
She had given it a woman's touch with a comfortable sitting area and
a bar for more intimate business meetings. Flora sat in the chair in
front of Lilah's large, imposing desk.
"Ms. Morgan," the older woman said with a heavy accent. It was fake.
Flora looked like a joke dressed in her gypsy fortune teller costume of
multi-colored scarves, gold chains, and a flowing red dress covered
with a black shawl. Her psychic powers weren't a joke though or
fake.
"You've found another psychic for the Cage? I know you're not here to
volunteer yourself." Lilah sat down at her desk. She smiled when
Flora scowled at her. "I hope this one lasts longer than the others or
I might not take a 'no' for an answer from you. It's not like your
business is lucrative for Wolfram and Hart anymore."
"So what if that Colman bitch badmouthed me to her friends and I lost a
few clients. They always come back to me, they can't resist, because
I tell them what they want to hear and it actually comes true. Then I
tell you what you want to hear." Flora puffed up with indignation.
She had given Wolfram and Hart more than enough damaging information
on her wealthy clients and yet she was still threatened with the Cage.
She shuddered. She had seen what the Cage did to psychics with less
power than herself. She knew that the painful way it drained them of
their power would be preferable to what it would do to her. "I have
found her. The girl is in Los Angeles."
"Really?" This was very good. It would certainly impress the Senior
Partners and show them that their faith in her wasn't misplaced. Dinah
Redmond had gotten lucky when she had run away from her foster parents.
They had enrolled her in one of Wolfram and Hart's 'special' schools,
but for some reason the girl had spooked and disappeared. Not even
their most powerful psychics and telepaths, like Flora, could find her.
And just when Lilah had needed something to prove her worth, the girl
showed up. It was fate. "Where is she?"
"The thoughts were random and not hers, but the people she was with.
They're very difficult to interpret."
"Perhaps I can help." If Dinah was in L. A. then Flora was expendable.
Lilah led the woman over to her conversation area and poured her a
drink. "You need to relax and focus." She pressed a button on the
side of the bar and a panel in the wall slid back to reveal a dark
room.
"No, no!" Flora shook her head. The glass fell from her hand and
the amber liquid spilled onto the white carpet. "I'm too old. It
won't work. It will destroy my brain before I can get the information
you need." Her eyes darted around in panic, but she didn't struggle
as Lilah guided her into the room and toward its centerpiece. It was
a rather simple domed birdcage in design except that it was solid gold
and large enough to fit two adults. A dark red gemstone the size of
one of Flora's glass crystal balls and shaped like an egg sat on top.
It gleamed wickedly when the two women entered the room.
"Remember to focus and not fight it." Lilah pushed Flora up the steps
and through the door of the cage. She swung it shut and secured the
latch. The stone brightened, casting a red glow that in the dark room
that seeped into the walls. "Where is the girl?"
Flora stood immobile in the middle of the Cage. Her lips twitched
and then she began to mutter. Her body jerked. She screamed and
clutched her head. The room went dark.
"Hmm, that's never happened before. Maybe you are too old, hag, but
I'm sure that one of our psychics picked up the girl's location."
Lilah walked out of the room and the panel slid shut behind her. Flora
stared into space and continued to mutter.
*****
Boring. Hotel rooms were boring, that's why Dinah had left their
rooms at the Beverly Plaza and was now walking around West Hollywood
hopelessly lost. It was all Helena's fault - this wouldn't have
happened if she had let her 'scope out' the city with her while Barbara
was at the Opening Reception rubbing elbows with the scientists. The
shadows lengthened as the sun slipped further down in the horizon.
Dinah shied away from the open mouth of an alley. She had that itchy
feeling that someone was watching her. She had gotten it a few blocks
back, but hadn't paid much attention because the street had been busy
and with a lot of people around. Now she was creeped out. Dinah
stopped at the corner and looked around. She had no idea where she
was and it would be stupid to put it off any longer. She took the
communicator Barbara had given her out of her jacket pocket. She
didn't care about Helena's grumbling over having to come fetch her or
Barbara's impending lecture about wandering off by herself - she wanted
to be back at the boring hotel.
Dinah's mind exploded in horrible images as a hand clamped over her
mouth and an arm gripped her around the waist. A sense of evil crawled
in and paralyzed her mind. She had never felt evil like this before.
A van screeched to a halt beside them and the man dragged her back
toward it. Dinah struggled to get out of the man's mind and block the
evil. She had to get away. Her self defense training with Helena and
Barbara kicked in and Dinah elbowed her captor in the ribs. She
thrashed and kicked, attempting to loosen his hold on her. Then
suddenly she was free. He had let her go. Dinah turned. Someone had
made him let her go. The van peeled out and disappeared around the
corner, the driver giving up on his comrade in crime.
"What do you want with her?" Connor squeezed the man by the throat.
He couldn't answer the question, but Connor really didn't care. He let
his rage control him and his rage told him to hurt this thug from
Cordelia's vision. Connor glanced at the girl to make sure she was
safe. She was gone. He dropped his prisoner and went after her.
"Hey! Hey!" Connor snagged the girl's jacket and tugged her to a
stop.
"Let me go." She jerked away and started walking again.
"You can't leave. Do you want this to happen again?" She couldn't
run away from him. Connor knew that she was no match for his speed,
but he didn't want to scare her. Cordelia had sent him to keep her
safe and that's what he was going to do, but Cordelia would be upset
if he scared her. He followed along behind her until he realized
something. "Do you even know where you're going?"
"No." Dinah kept walking. She had lost the communicator in the
scuffle and she had no way to contact Barbara or Helena, but Helena
would come looking for her once they realized she was missing. That
would be soon and then all Helena would have to do was find her in
this impossibly huge city. "You wouldn't happen to know the way to
the Beverly Plaza, would you?" He didn't look like he would, he was
too scruffy and dirty, but it was worth a shot.
"No, but I can take you to a safe place," Connor offered. "You can
call your family from there."
"Why should trust you?" Dinah couldn't help remembering Jerry and the
bogus party he had invited her to her first night in New Gotham. He
had been nice and had seemed safe. This boy really wasn't projecting
those qualities.
"I saved you from those guys." Connor scowled. He wasn't a demon,
why would he hurt her? He had waited in that alley for ages before she
had finally showed up to get herself kidnaped, the least she could do
was trust him.
"Well, thank you for that." Dinah wrapped a strand of her hair around
her finger nervously. Maybe if she touched him, she would know if she
could trust him or not. She wanted to trust him. She almost felt
compelled to trust him, like she had felt compelled to find Barbara
and Helena in New Gotham, but she had never seem him in her dreams.
It could be that she felt this way because she didn't want to be alone
on this dark street. Dinah held out her hand. "I'm Dinah Lance."
"Connor." Connor shook the girl's hand. He didn't introduce himself
as Stephen. Stephen had died with his father. He was Connor now, the
son of vampires. He didn't have to like it, it was just the way it
was.
*****
Wesley watched as Connor walked with the girl. From their change in
direction, he guessed the boy was taking her to the Hyperion. She
would be safe from Wolfram and Hart there. Wesley started up his car
and drove away. He had come here with the intention of saving the
girl from Lilah's henchmen, but had stayed back when Connor had shown
up. He really was an extraordinary boy.
There was no room for guilt or regret in his life now. He had a
mission and that mission was to do what Angel had failed to do - take
down Wolfram and Hart. Angel had been too afraid for his friends'
lives to really do anything. The only time he had shown any balls when
dealing with the law firm had been when he had let Darla and Dru have
their bloody way with the executive staff. Wesley didn't have that
problem, he had no friends or loved ones. He was well aware that
Lilah didn't trust him. She hadn't made it a secret that every room
he had stepped foot in at Wolfram and Hart had been swept for bugs the
moment he had left it. That's why he hadn't bothered planting a bug
in a room. It was on her. Snagged on Lilah's oh-so-sexy garter belt
was a small receiver that actually picked things up very clearly. He
had heard her conversation with Flora and had been left with an
auditory impression of what the Cage was capable of. Dinah would not
be sacrificed to it - even if he had to work with Angel and his
former friends - Wesley would see to that.
Author: T. C.
Rating: R
Pairing: Connor/Dinah; Angel/Cordelia
Summary: The Birds temporarily relocate from New Gotham to Los Angeles
when Barbara attends a conference on spinal cord injury
research. Unfortunately, the move puts Dinah back on Wolfram
and Hart's radar screen and after thwarting their first
attempt to kidnap her, Connor makes it his mission to protect
her and prove that he is a warrior for good.
Spoilers: The past and current season of Angel and the current season
of Birds of Prey.**SPOILER ALERT - This fic contains spoiler
rumors about future episodes of Angel. If you don't like to
be spoiled, then you may want to refrain from reading this
story**
Disclaimer: The characters from Angel belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant
Enemy, 20th Century Fox, and the WB. The characters from
Birds of Prey belong to Tollin/Robbins productions, Laeta
Kalogridis, the WB, and DC Comics.
***********************************************************************
Part One
The jet descended in a gentle glide and landed with a soft bump. Dinah
Lance bounced with excitement, her blonde ponytail bobbing with the
movement. She pressed her nose against the glass of the window. She
had never flown before and for the first time to be in the Wayne jet
was heaven. The cabin was spacious and comfortable with a couch and
several seats in beige leather. The carpet was cream and it was all
very calming. There was also a mini-bar, but Dinah had only been
allowed to have a soda out of it since she was just sixteen. She had
never been to Los Angeles before either. She couldn't tell much about
the city from the airport.
"Calm down, kid, because your nose will break before the glass will."
Helena Kyle grinned as the younger girl jerked away from the window
pane and rubbed experimentally at her nose. Helena flexed her calf
muscles as she stretched her legs and ran her fingers through her
short, black hair. Being cooped up in this small cabin was not her
idea of fun and the only reason she had stepped foot in something that
bore the name Wayne was because this trip was important to Barbara.
She glanced over at the woman who had been her guardian and friend
after her mother had died. Barbara Gordon sat with perfect posture
looking down at a schedule of events for the conference on new research
in spinal cord injuries. A worried frown marred her features, but it
wasn't something she was reading that caused it. "You should relax
too. New Gotham isn't going to descend into the pits of hell just
because we're gone for a couple of weeks."
"Well, I wouldn't go to that extreme, but we do have a mysterious new
player moving in. I would just feel more comfortable if we knew who is
trying to resurrect the Joker's crime syndicate." Barbara swept a
piece of her reddish brown hair behind her ear and then removed her
glasses. She rubbed her temples wearily. "Maybe we shouldn't have
left right now."
"Right now is the only time this conference is being held in this
country, unless you want to wait another five years?" Helena crooked
an eyebrow at the rhetorical question. Of course Barbara wouldn't
want to wait any longer to see if there was any research out there that
might help her walk again. "Besides, didn't Alfred call in
reinforcements to take care of business while we're away?" Helena
unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. She took a few steps to Barbara's
wheelchair, undid the belts that held it in place and released the
brake. It immediately glided to its owner.
Barbara grabbed the arm of the wheelchair and pulled herself into it.
Helena and Dinah waited patiently for her. It was a point of pride for
Barbara that neither girl made a move to 'help' her. Dinah hadn't been
with them for long, but she had caught on quick that Barbara was
independent and in no need of assistance. Most people caught that, and
if they didn't, she told them. "I would have thought you would hate
having someone else taking care of your territory, Helena."
Helena smirked at Barbara and followed her to the exit. "You know what
they say, when the cat's away...the cat finds new mice."
*****
Cordelia. Her name was so pretty and lyrical. It hadn't belonged with
Buffy, Willow, Xander, Oz, and Harmony. It was an old fashioned name,
more suited to his time. Angel sighed. She suited him. He looked out
the window of an unused bedroom on the third floor of the Hyperion.
They hadn't fixed it up - junk littered the floor and the wallpaper
hung in strips where it hadn't turned brown from water stains - he was
there because it had a terrific view of the courtyard. At the moment,
it also had a terrific view of Cordelia. And Connor.
The Powers That Be had given Cordelia back to him, but they had also
kept them apart by taking her memory away. She didn't remember him or
her friends or the mission. She had no idea that he loved her. She
didn't trust him. She trusted Connor. Angel watched as the two people
he loved the most in the world sat talking on a bench below him. It
was more than the sun that stopped him from joining them. Cordelia and
Connor had formed a bond that didn't include him.
When Wesley had released Angel from his underwater coffin and had told
him that Cordelia had disappeared the same night he had, Angel had been
afraid his son had hurt her. Now he knew that Connor would never hurt
Cordelia. The affinity that they felt for each other had probably
started when Cordelia had flushed the darkness of Quor-toth from
Connor's soul. They had connected then. And now, when she was alone -
with no ties to her past - he had become her protector. Angel didn't
know who he was more jealous of - Connor because Cordelia relied on
him or Cordelia because she was close to his son. He hated being
jealous. He hated being left out. He hated only watching.
A surprised yelp from Cordelia drew Angel out of his thoughts.
"Cordelia, are you okay?" he heard Connor ask. She was clutching his
son's arms and trembling.
"A vision." Angel turned on his heel and ran downstairs. Cordelia
hadn't had a vision since her return and while they didn't cause the
pain they once had, she wouldn't understand what was happening. She
would be confused and afraid. She would need him. She would finally
need him. Angel pushed that selfish thought to the back of his mind
as he reached the lobby in time to meet Cordelia coming in from the
courtyard. She was pale and shaking. "Cordelia." He took her arm and
guided her to a seat. It was nice to touch her and not have her flinch
or back away nervously. "You saw something?"
"I, uh, I...." Cordelia looked down at the vampire who claimed to be
her friend. His dark eyes were more worried than sad as he kneeled
before her. He chafed her hands and then hesitantly reached up to
caress her temple. He was always so gentle with her. She wished she
could remember him and take the sadness from his eyes.
"It's okay, you just had a vision." Angel continued to soothe Cordelia
with gentle strokes of his fingers. She had stopped shaking and her
color was coming back. "You saw someone who is in trouble. It's okay.
Remember when we explained how the Powers sent you visions of people
who needed help and then we helped them?" At first, they had tried to
keep everything demon related from Cordelia so they wouldn't scare her
off, but that hadn't lasted for very long.
"I remember." Cordelia nodded. She smiled at Fred and Gunn as they
came downstairs. "I had a vision."
"That's good." Fred grinned. "What did you see? Do we have time for
research or is it a charge out and fly by the seat of our pants
mission?"
"Oh, it's okay. Connor is taking care of it." Cordelia blinked in
surprise as Angel abruptly let her go and moved away. Usually his
presence made her uncomfortable - like he was expecting something from
her that she didn't know how to give him - but it had seemed right to
have him comforting her after the vision. She kind of missed it now
that he had stopped.
"You sent Connor." Angel managed to say it calmly. He didn't yell or
stomp around like a petulant child and he really wanted to do that.
He was her champion.
"Yes." Cordelia's gaze flickered between Fred, Gunn, and Angel. They
were looking grim again. She may not remember them, but she knew this
wasn't good. They looked grim a lot. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Not wrong, exactly." Fred glanced at Angel, her heart breaking. She
just knew he was reading subtext in Cordelia's actions. "It's just
that Angel is the champion. He goes on the missions and we help."
"I know that." Cordelia frowned. She really didn't know what the big
deal was, a girl was in trouble and she had sent help. Why did it
matter who was doing the helping? "But it looked like these guys were
going to kidnap this poor girl around dusk and you're a vampire. I
thought with your daylight issues, you wouldn't get there in time.
Connor said he recognized the area I described. Apparently he spent a
night in an alley near there."
The bitter and accusing note in Cordelia's voice wasn't lost on Angel.
She didn't understand why Connor didn't live at the Hyperion with the
rest of them and no one had enlightened her. Even though he was
jealous of their bond, Angel didn't want to take away the one person
she counted on. "I use the sewers to go where I'm needed during the
day."
"Oh. I didn't know that." Cordelia bit her lip. "But Connor can
handle it. I still think that it's better that he went."
"Yeah." Angel smiled thinly. Of course she thought that, she trusted
Connor.
*****
The boardroom was empty, just as Lilah had ordered it to be. She
leaned against the door and allowed Wesley to precede her into the
room. She didn't bother to lock the door once it was closed because
no one would dare to disturb them - that was one of the advantages of
being the boss. "Why don't you sit down?" Lilah walked further into
the room. She indicated to the leather office chair at the head of the
table. She licked her lips as Wesley sat down. She had been
fantasizing about this ever since Linwood's head took a tumble from
his shoulders and went rolling down this very table.
"Are you offering me an executive position, Lilah?" Wesley asked
drily. "I already told you I won't work for Wolfram and Hart. A tour
won't change my mind."
"The position I'm offering isn't with Wolfram and Hart." Lilah sat
down on the end of the table. She opened her legs and pulled Wesley
and the chair between them. "And I know you're interested in it."
"Naughty girl." Wesley undid the top two buttons of Lilah's peach silk
blouse. He brushed his thumb along her exposed collarbone. He didn't
feel anything. His body responded with lust for her body, but he felt
nothing but derision for the woman offering herself to him. He felt
nothing but derision for anyone - even the people he had once loved as
his friends. "Fucking the enemy on company time. I think your
promotion has gone to your head." He slid his other hand under her
skirt and rested it on the bare skin above her stocking. He fondled
the strap of the garter belt that held it up. It snapped sharply as
he released it and Lilah hissed with tingly pain.
He was baiting her - making her want him more than he wanted her - and
damn if it didn't always work. Lilah grabbed Wesley and pulled his
head toward her. Their mouths battered each other in crushing,
bruising kisses. Wesley dragged her forward until she was practically
in his lap and pulled away from her mouth. He unbuttoned the remaining
buttons of her blouse.
"Lilah." Gavin walked into the boardroom. His face stayed impassive
despite what he walked in on and there wasn't even a hint of a snarky
comment. She had beaten him and he knew it.
"It's Ms. Morgan, Gavin, and I said not to disturb me." Lilah bit her
lip as Wesley's fingers dug into her flesh when he pinched her thigh.
"Leave, unless of course you like to watch."
"I've never fancied myself to be entertainment." Wesley pushed the
chair back and Lilah stumbled to her feet to keep her balance. He
stood up and walked to the door. "Good day, Lilah. Gavin."
Lilah glared at Gavin as she rebuttoned her blouse. "This had better
be important. My office," she snapped and didn't bother looking to
see if he followed her. If he wanted to live, he would follow. She
nodded to the sweeper team as they passed her on their way to the
boardroom. They had followed her and Wesley on their little tour and
had swept for any bugs that the ex-watcher may have tried planting.
Sex with Wesley was hot, but she wasn't stupid. He still wanted to be
a part of Angel's little group whether he admitted it or not and she
wasn't going to give him the opportunity to use her to get back in the
vampire's good graces.
"Flora demanded to see you." Gavin stopped in the hallway in front of
Lilah's office. "She's in there now."
"You've dodged a bullet this time, Gav." Lilah smirked. "This might
actually be important." She walked into her office and shut the door
in Gavin's face. He didn't need to know how important. "Hello,
Flora." Lilah had redone Linwood's office after his untimely accident.
She had given it a woman's touch with a comfortable sitting area and
a bar for more intimate business meetings. Flora sat in the chair in
front of Lilah's large, imposing desk.
"Ms. Morgan," the older woman said with a heavy accent. It was fake.
Flora looked like a joke dressed in her gypsy fortune teller costume of
multi-colored scarves, gold chains, and a flowing red dress covered
with a black shawl. Her psychic powers weren't a joke though or
fake.
"You've found another psychic for the Cage? I know you're not here to
volunteer yourself." Lilah sat down at her desk. She smiled when
Flora scowled at her. "I hope this one lasts longer than the others or
I might not take a 'no' for an answer from you. It's not like your
business is lucrative for Wolfram and Hart anymore."
"So what if that Colman bitch badmouthed me to her friends and I lost a
few clients. They always come back to me, they can't resist, because
I tell them what they want to hear and it actually comes true. Then I
tell you what you want to hear." Flora puffed up with indignation.
She had given Wolfram and Hart more than enough damaging information
on her wealthy clients and yet she was still threatened with the Cage.
She shuddered. She had seen what the Cage did to psychics with less
power than herself. She knew that the painful way it drained them of
their power would be preferable to what it would do to her. "I have
found her. The girl is in Los Angeles."
"Really?" This was very good. It would certainly impress the Senior
Partners and show them that their faith in her wasn't misplaced. Dinah
Redmond had gotten lucky when she had run away from her foster parents.
They had enrolled her in one of Wolfram and Hart's 'special' schools,
but for some reason the girl had spooked and disappeared. Not even
their most powerful psychics and telepaths, like Flora, could find her.
And just when Lilah had needed something to prove her worth, the girl
showed up. It was fate. "Where is she?"
"The thoughts were random and not hers, but the people she was with.
They're very difficult to interpret."
"Perhaps I can help." If Dinah was in L. A. then Flora was expendable.
Lilah led the woman over to her conversation area and poured her a
drink. "You need to relax and focus." She pressed a button on the
side of the bar and a panel in the wall slid back to reveal a dark
room.
"No, no!" Flora shook her head. The glass fell from her hand and
the amber liquid spilled onto the white carpet. "I'm too old. It
won't work. It will destroy my brain before I can get the information
you need." Her eyes darted around in panic, but she didn't struggle
as Lilah guided her into the room and toward its centerpiece. It was
a rather simple domed birdcage in design except that it was solid gold
and large enough to fit two adults. A dark red gemstone the size of
one of Flora's glass crystal balls and shaped like an egg sat on top.
It gleamed wickedly when the two women entered the room.
"Remember to focus and not fight it." Lilah pushed Flora up the steps
and through the door of the cage. She swung it shut and secured the
latch. The stone brightened, casting a red glow that in the dark room
that seeped into the walls. "Where is the girl?"
Flora stood immobile in the middle of the Cage. Her lips twitched
and then she began to mutter. Her body jerked. She screamed and
clutched her head. The room went dark.
"Hmm, that's never happened before. Maybe you are too old, hag, but
I'm sure that one of our psychics picked up the girl's location."
Lilah walked out of the room and the panel slid shut behind her. Flora
stared into space and continued to mutter.
*****
Boring. Hotel rooms were boring, that's why Dinah had left their
rooms at the Beverly Plaza and was now walking around West Hollywood
hopelessly lost. It was all Helena's fault - this wouldn't have
happened if she had let her 'scope out' the city with her while Barbara
was at the Opening Reception rubbing elbows with the scientists. The
shadows lengthened as the sun slipped further down in the horizon.
Dinah shied away from the open mouth of an alley. She had that itchy
feeling that someone was watching her. She had gotten it a few blocks
back, but hadn't paid much attention because the street had been busy
and with a lot of people around. Now she was creeped out. Dinah
stopped at the corner and looked around. She had no idea where she
was and it would be stupid to put it off any longer. She took the
communicator Barbara had given her out of her jacket pocket. She
didn't care about Helena's grumbling over having to come fetch her or
Barbara's impending lecture about wandering off by herself - she wanted
to be back at the boring hotel.
Dinah's mind exploded in horrible images as a hand clamped over her
mouth and an arm gripped her around the waist. A sense of evil crawled
in and paralyzed her mind. She had never felt evil like this before.
A van screeched to a halt beside them and the man dragged her back
toward it. Dinah struggled to get out of the man's mind and block the
evil. She had to get away. Her self defense training with Helena and
Barbara kicked in and Dinah elbowed her captor in the ribs. She
thrashed and kicked, attempting to loosen his hold on her. Then
suddenly she was free. He had let her go. Dinah turned. Someone had
made him let her go. The van peeled out and disappeared around the
corner, the driver giving up on his comrade in crime.
"What do you want with her?" Connor squeezed the man by the throat.
He couldn't answer the question, but Connor really didn't care. He let
his rage control him and his rage told him to hurt this thug from
Cordelia's vision. Connor glanced at the girl to make sure she was
safe. She was gone. He dropped his prisoner and went after her.
"Hey! Hey!" Connor snagged the girl's jacket and tugged her to a
stop.
"Let me go." She jerked away and started walking again.
"You can't leave. Do you want this to happen again?" She couldn't
run away from him. Connor knew that she was no match for his speed,
but he didn't want to scare her. Cordelia had sent him to keep her
safe and that's what he was going to do, but Cordelia would be upset
if he scared her. He followed along behind her until he realized
something. "Do you even know where you're going?"
"No." Dinah kept walking. She had lost the communicator in the
scuffle and she had no way to contact Barbara or Helena, but Helena
would come looking for her once they realized she was missing. That
would be soon and then all Helena would have to do was find her in
this impossibly huge city. "You wouldn't happen to know the way to
the Beverly Plaza, would you?" He didn't look like he would, he was
too scruffy and dirty, but it was worth a shot.
"No, but I can take you to a safe place," Connor offered. "You can
call your family from there."
"Why should trust you?" Dinah couldn't help remembering Jerry and the
bogus party he had invited her to her first night in New Gotham. He
had been nice and had seemed safe. This boy really wasn't projecting
those qualities.
"I saved you from those guys." Connor scowled. He wasn't a demon,
why would he hurt her? He had waited in that alley for ages before she
had finally showed up to get herself kidnaped, the least she could do
was trust him.
"Well, thank you for that." Dinah wrapped a strand of her hair around
her finger nervously. Maybe if she touched him, she would know if she
could trust him or not. She wanted to trust him. She almost felt
compelled to trust him, like she had felt compelled to find Barbara
and Helena in New Gotham, but she had never seem him in her dreams.
It could be that she felt this way because she didn't want to be alone
on this dark street. Dinah held out her hand. "I'm Dinah Lance."
"Connor." Connor shook the girl's hand. He didn't introduce himself
as Stephen. Stephen had died with his father. He was Connor now, the
son of vampires. He didn't have to like it, it was just the way it
was.
*****
Wesley watched as Connor walked with the girl. From their change in
direction, he guessed the boy was taking her to the Hyperion. She
would be safe from Wolfram and Hart there. Wesley started up his car
and drove away. He had come here with the intention of saving the
girl from Lilah's henchmen, but had stayed back when Connor had shown
up. He really was an extraordinary boy.
There was no room for guilt or regret in his life now. He had a
mission and that mission was to do what Angel had failed to do - take
down Wolfram and Hart. Angel had been too afraid for his friends'
lives to really do anything. The only time he had shown any balls when
dealing with the law firm had been when he had let Darla and Dru have
their bloody way with the executive staff. Wesley didn't have that
problem, he had no friends or loved ones. He was well aware that
Lilah didn't trust him. She hadn't made it a secret that every room
he had stepped foot in at Wolfram and Hart had been swept for bugs the
moment he had left it. That's why he hadn't bothered planting a bug
in a room. It was on her. Snagged on Lilah's oh-so-sexy garter belt
was a small receiver that actually picked things up very clearly. He
had heard her conversation with Flora and had been left with an
auditory impression of what the Cage was capable of. Dinah would not
be sacrificed to it - even if he had to work with Angel and his
former friends - Wesley would see to that.