[Disclaimer] Please don't sue me. They arent mine!
[Feedback] I remember reading other fics and thinking, "Why do they ask for feedback so much?" And now I know. I love the stuff! Please send!
[Pairing] C&A all the way.
"Angel Investigations, we help the helpless." Fred said automatically as she picked up the ringing phone. "Ok... Ms. Nede, was it? Well you can come on in anytime today, if you'd like. I'll set you an appointment...... Ok we'll see you at four then." Fred hung up the phone and picked up the sheet of paper she had written the notes on. Following Wes and Angel's voices, she made her way to Wesley's office. "Wes." She said, "We have a new potential. She said she'd be coming in at four."
"Ok, thank you, Fred." Wesley said in his crisp British accent. Fred beamed at him and walked back into the lobby.
Fred hummed her own made up song as she walked lazily into the lobby. It was such a slow week at the hotel, a new client would be great. Maybe a missing person, or a murderer who needs to be brought to justice. Fred sat down at her place behind the desk. A moment later, Cordelia walked into the lobby, with Gunn behind her.
"Ok," Cordelia said, "Lets get down to business... who ordered the Pork Fried Rice?"
"Tacos?"
"Yes, Fred. I have your tacos." Cordy tossed Fred her taco supreme, and continued to dig through the bag.
"The rice is mine, Cordelia." Wes said as he stepped out of his office. Cordelia handed him his food and reached into the bag once more.
"O pos?" She said, "I wonder who that could be."
Five minutes later found the A.I. team sitting in the lobby, enjoying their lunches.
"So what's the new client like?" Gunn asked, "Did she tell you about the mission?"
Fred shook her head no as she put more taco sauce on her food. "Her name is Eve Nede. She didn't say much more than that."
"Well a boring case is better than no case." Gunn said as he finished off his chinese food.
"Maybe it will be something big! Like a new hellmouth or something."
Cordelia stood from the floor and brushed off her jeans. "Hate to squash your hopeful thinking, but no vision. I think this lady may just have some guy who won't leave or a ghost. Hey maybe I can introduced them to Dennis?"
"I'm afraid it isn't that easy."
All eyes of the A.I. team turned to the doorway to see a young, classy woman standing on the steps. "My problem... is a bit bigger than that.
*****
"A few months ago, my grandfather moved into a manor that his family once owned." Eve began her story as the crew sat around, paying close attention. "He lived there for about 2 months. Then became very ill. He died last week and left the manor to me. When I went in the house to look around... strange things started to happen. I think it's haunted." Cordy shot Fred a knowing glance. "But it's not that easy. This ghost... it isn't very nice. I did some research and it turns out everyone who has owned that house has died within a year of moving in."
"Why doesn't your family just sell it?" Gunn asked.
"The Manor is a very nice piece of property, worth quite a lot of money. But it's been in our family for hundreds of years. It's hard to just sell ancient history like that."
"I understand." Wes said, "So you want us to exorcise it?"
"If you could... I'm willing to pay quite a bit of money."
"We'll get right on it." Angel said, standing up.
Eve reached into her purse and produced a wad of bills and an address. "This is my down payment. There's more to come once the house is clean." And without another word she turned and left.
"This is going to be so simple." Cordelia said as she stood and stretched, not amused. "We'll be done in no time."
*****
"This is interesting..." Wes said as he read the thick book on his desk.
"What's that, Wes?" Fred asked.
"According to these city records, Nede Manor doesn't exist."
"What?" Cordy asked from her place on the floor.
"Nede manor isn't in any of these records."
"Do you think she was playing around with us?"
"Only one way to find out, I suppose. Cordelia, you and Fred go to the address and see if anything is there. Don't get out of the car, just go look."
Cordelia stood up and mock saluted Wes. "Sure thing." She said and grabbed Fred's arm. "We can stop by the mall on our way back. Angel, I need your car."
"Do be careful, Cordelia."
"No problem. It's just a house."
*****
"Wow." Fred said in awe, "That's quite a house."
"I'll say." Cordelia turned the car off and stepped out, still staring at the mansion in front of them. "How could this not be in any records? It should have its own zip code!"
"Maybe it's new?"
"She said it was in the family for years. That's so weird." Cordelia pulled out her polaroid camera and snapped a quick pic of the mansion. Fred huddled around her as the picture came into focus. "Such a nice house." She said again as she stared at the picture. Nothing seemed out of place or different. "Ok, Fred. It's off to the mall for us, our work here is done!"
*****
"What did you find?" Wes asked Fred and Cordelia as they walked into the lobby.
"Nothing weird." Fred said, carrying some shopping bags.
"Yeah." Cordelia agreed, "The house is there and everything." She pulled the picture out of her back pocket and handed it to him.
"See?"
Wes took the picture from her and examined it. "What's this?" He asked and handed it back.
"The house!" She snatched the picture and looked at it. "What the hell?" The house was gone. Instead of a picture of a big beautiful victorian house, there was an empty, run down lot. Riddled with weeds and litter, it was evident that it had gone a long time without care. "Wes, there was a house there."
"Yeah! I saw it too." Fred said.
Wes shook his head. "This is odd. I guess we'll go there tonight. Do an exorcism. Cordelia, I need you to go find an Orb of Nomed."
"Yeah, ok, I'll get one out of my back pocket, just hang on there a sec, Wesley."
Wes glared at her for a moment before writing down an address and handing it to her. "Go to this shop. They should have one, or know where to get it, I believe."
Cordelia took the address and stuffed it in her purse. "And then what?"
"Meet me at the house."
"Ok. See ya soon." She gave Fred a final wave bye as she stepped out the door, and into the darkness.
*****
"Where is she?" Wes asked, annoyed.
"Maybe she got lost." Gunn answered.
"Or they didn't have it." Fred offered. Then noticed the black convertible in the distance. "Oh, here she comes."
Cordelia pulled up and turned off the car. "Sorry it took so long, your stupid orb took forever to find." She tossed Wes the orb and he caught it, then shot her a look.
"Are we ready?" Angel asked his comrades.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Fred said, a little nervous.
"It's just a routine exorcism." Wes reassured, "We've done this before."
The A.I team started walking up the path to the front doors. "This place is huge!" Gunn said in awe.
"Yeah, it is." Fred said, "It could be a hotel. Like the Hyperion!"
Wes tried to open the front door to the mansion, but it wouldn't budge. "Hmm. Weird." He tried again.
"Yo, English, let me try." Gunn pushed his way in front of Wesley and tried to door. It still would not move.
Cordelia sighed and shoved both men out of her way. "You guys are such wimps." She said as she tried the door and it opened easily.
"How?" Gunn questioned.
"Let's just get this done, already." Angel said. Everyone agreed as they stepped inside. Angel, however, did not. They didn't noticed as they walked into the foyer and looked around. "Guys?" He asked as he tapped to invisible barrier of the threshold, "Invite?"
"Oh. Of course" Cordelia said, "Come on in."
Angel stepped into the house and looked around, unimpressed. "My mansion in the cemetery was bigger than this."
"Someone having an inferiority complex?" Cordelia asked. Angel shot her a look, then opened the book he held in his hands.
"Ok, lets do this." Gunn said as he took a piece of chalk and began drawing a big circle around Wesley.
"Hmmm..." Angel said as he looked around. "This isn't right."
"It says to make a circle with white chalk." Gunn protested.
"Not that. There's a presence here... but it isn't a ghost. It's something...bigger."
"A fat ghost?" Fred asked.
Angel looked at her puzzled, before turning his attention to Wesley. "Did you find anything weird about this place in your research?"
"That's just the thing. I didn't find anything in my research."
"Yeah, and check out this picture me and Fred got." Cordelia reached into her purse and pulled out the Polaroid. Angel took it and looked at it closely.
"What's wrong with it?" He asked.
"It's supposed to be the house!"
"I see that." He handed the picture back to her.
"What!?" Cordelia stared at the picture in surprise. The house was there. The doors, the roof, the windows, everything. It was normal. "When I took this picture, everything was normal. But when I brought it back to Wes, the house was gone."
"It was." Wes agreed as he took the picture. "This is odd."
Cordelia bit on her bottom lip as she looked around the foyer nervously. "Hey guys?" She said.
"Yeah?" Angel answered, distracted.
"I had a vision."
All ears turned to her. "Of?" Wesley asked.
"Evil."
"What?"
"I mean, suddenly, this whole lobby was full of thick black smoke. And it wasn't just smoke it was...something. We need to get out of here."
Oh, I don't know about that.
Angel and his friends exchanged glances as a husky voice filled the room.
We have things to do, you know. You aren't going anywhere for a long time. You may as well make yourself comfortable.
* * * * * TBC