Chapter 11
"Charlie" said Angel standing in front of him. "I expected the entire town to come in guns blazing"
"You said you would explain" he replied holding the cross in front of Angel who knocked it out of his hands causing his hands to sizzle.
"Oh…get that thing away from me"
"So it does work" Said Charlie as everyone joined them in reception.
"Yes…would you like some coffee or something to eat?" Angel asked.
"No I want answers before I decide what to do"
"Let's just kill him and get it over with" chipped in Rebekah.
"No" replied Angel blocking her way.
"Have you killed people before?" Charlie asked coming in.
"Only our kind or people who threaten our existence. But we do know other vampires who have killed innocent people"
"Oh ok is it safe to speak to you in private…alone"
"Yes of course. Do you want to go for a coffee to the bar coffee shop that way we can talk in private" Angel suggested "Can Bella come?"
"No just you, you are the only one I trust at the minute"
"Dad…?" Bella began but he ignored her and stepped out into the brisk wind that had picked up.
'Give him time" said Angel patting her shoulder. "You will thank me in the end"
Grabbing his jacket Angel hurried out closing the door behind him while the others waited doing their own thing.
The drive into town was slow and quiet as they made their way through the roads.
When they finally got there the place was busting with regulars but they managed to find a quiet table in the corner and sat down.
"Do you want anything to eat?" Asked Charlie.
"Can you even eat?"
"Yes it helps the cravings for blood and so does drinking alcohol. But when you have been alive for as long as I have your body gets used to the mixture of food and blood"
"Just exactly how old are you?" Charlie whispered.
"Em lets just say they used horses to get around rather than cars and bikes"
"Wow that's old"
"Yeah tell me about it"
"The cross, made your hands sizzle. What about garlic?"
"I can eat garlic"
"Mirrors?"
"Myth"
"Do you heal?"
"Yes" Said Angel taking off the bandage to his hand and showing no sings of scarring.
Charlie could only stare and grabbed his hand. "So cold" he gasped examining the healed wound.
And Angel quickly removed it as he didn't like to be touched very often.
"Sorry" Said Charlie seeing his reaction.
"Well I am willing to keep your secret as long as you promise not to kill anyone. But is it other Vampires who has been attacking the people of this town?"
"Yes. We are trying to catch them but they are being sneaky and fast. So it's difficult and we don't know how many there are"
"Oh…How can we protect ourselves?"
"Um…well…wooden bullets are a bit tough. The cross and holly water I suppose"
"You're telling me ways how to kill you"
"Its pretty hard to kill us with our strength and speed"
"What's Spikes real name?"
"William. But he prefers Spike"
"Ok. I appreciate you talking to me as it answers a lot of questions"
"Where do we go from here?" Angel cautiously asked.
"Well I am willing to keep your secret as long as you try and stop the others from killing more people and as long as you don't hurt humans that's fine by me" Charlie replied holding out his hand.
Angel wondered what he was doing and only stared and raised his eyebrows.
"Oh you are supposed to shake it"
"Ok" he replied shaking Charlie's warmer hand.
The coffee break was pleasant enough after their tense conversation so when it was time to leave Angel was pleased about it.
"See you tomorrow" Said Charlie dropping Angel off back at the mansion an hour later after a slow drive back.
Waving him off Angel smiled at Spike and Darla who came out to greet him.
"All done?" Asked Spike.
"He isn't going to say anything" he replied following them back inside to an anxious, group of people.
Bella was relieved about it as she had been waiting anxiously while listening to Andrew talking nonstop all the time Angel was gone.
"Right…well we need a plan to catch the other vampires?" he said to the group sitting down waiting for any suggestions.