The alley was quiet. The last defender had fallen; the last demon warrior had returned to hell. Only scorch marks and a few puddles of various bodily fluids, some human, some not, remained to bear silent witness to the night's battle.
A man entered the alley. He gazed around warily for several moments before relaxing. Glancing down, he noticed a small pile of ashes. He smiled. Angel, you should have known I'd have a back up plan, he thought.A car pulled up to the alley's entrance and a woman's voice called out: "Lindsey, we'd better get out of here before the authorities show up"."Yeah, you're right," he said absently as he scuffled his shoe through the ashes.
"Come on, Lindsey," the woman said impatiently.
"Okay, okay, I'll be right there," Lindsey said, scraping the ashes off his shoe before getting into the car. Turning to his companion, he said "We did it! We finally won!"
"It feels great, doesn't it?" she said.
Lindsey smiled triumphantly. "I never could have done it without you baby," he said.
"Don't sell yourself short," she said. "You would have found another way."
"I'm not kidding. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it out of LA in the first place. That 'Cops Suck' sign would have gotten me 'Rodney Kinged' before I hit the freeway," Lindsey said.
The woman laughed. "I've always known that's the real reason you wanted revenge, not Darla, not your hand, but because he threatened your precious truck."
"Hey, a man's truck is special. You mess with it at your own risk," Lindsey said with a grin. "Anyway, I don't know if I've said it before, but thanks again, Cordelia."