Part Three

The team sat around Angel's table, nursing coffee mugs. 'He was a puritan, Penn', Angel was telling them, 'I changed him, taught him to kill. He murdered his entire family in one night, marking their faces with the cross, just like I showed him. I taught him well.'

'And you think he's here?' Wesley asked, leaning across the table, 'Does he know you are? could these killings be an attempt to draw you out?'

Angel shook his head, 'I always had a close bond with those that I sired. These dreams just mean that he's nearby, that's all.'

'God!' Cordelia exclaimed loudly. The three men all turned their dark heads to look at her, in surprise. 'He's been doing the same thing for 200 years.' she said 'Gallagher's changed his act more times than this guy, what's his deal?'

'So we can't find him' said Doyle, turning away from Cordelia and back towards Angel 'and the cops have got no chance of stopping him. What do we do?'

'Kate' said Angel standing up.

'What about her? you can't be goin' to tell her what's goin' on'

'He's not wrong, Angel', Wesley warned, Doyle nodded along in agreement. 'If you march into the precinct and tell Detective Lockley that the murders are being committed by a 200 year old puritan and not offer any proof, you'll be locked up faster than Lady Hamilton's virtue.' Wesley suddenly looked abashed at his words and turned to their female companion. 'My apologies, Cordelia.' Cordelia looked at Doyle in confusion, who shrugged back at her equally perplexed, he couldn't help her out on this one 'That's OK, Wesley' she said 'I don't understand what that means.'

'Kate's a good cop' Angel told them 'and she has resources we don't have access to, eventually she will find him.'

'Pretty bad for her' Doyle said

'But good for us.'

When Kate saw Angel walk into the precinct she assumed he was there for the license plate info and started to look for it on her desk. Then she noticed his nervous demeanour. 'Is everything OK, Angel?'

'Can we talk?' the vampire asked 'privately?'

She led him to the briefing room and he looked at the pictures on the wall. 'How's the investigation going?' He asked.

'It's not, some of your more inconsiderate serial killers don't even leave clues behind when they've murdered someone.' Angel walked along the wall examining each picture, in his mind he compared each victim to the family members that made up Penn's first kill. 'He's reliving it', he said to himself.

'What did you say?'

'Do you trust me?'

'You know I do.'

Angel took out a sketch he had made before coming over, it showed his approximation of what he thought Penn would look like now. 'Trust me when I tell you: this is the man you're looking for.'

'Where did you get this?'

'His next victim will be a white adolescent male, he'll take him off the streets in a low rent neighbourhood, probably near a liquor store or dive bar, and he'll kill him, like he did with the rest, unless you use every resource in this department to stop him.'

'But how can you …?'

'Trust me.'

Angel left the precinct and went back to the car, where he had left Doyle waiting in the passenger seat. 'Did she bite?'

'Told her just enough to get her killed.' He handed his smaller friend a police scanner 'can you hook this up for me? So we can listen in and keep her safe.'

'Sure thing, where d'ya get a police radio? '

'Police car'

Doyle nodded sagely, and started to set up the scanner.

Later that night a young kid walked through a low rent neighbourhood, accosting anyone who passed, hoping to find someone irresponsible enough to buy him a drink. After a few strike outs he found a guy lurking in the road. 'Hey, buddy, you old enough to buy beer?' Penn nodded and led the kid away.

A cruising cop car saw them walking, and, checking the copy of the sketch they had been given, radioed in.

Angel and Doyle were waiting tensely in the car when the scanner came to life 'all units, requesting back up. Multiple homicide suspect sighted. 3336 Channel Avenue.' Angel turned the ignition, the car roared into life and they drove off towards Channel Avenue, ready to hunt a vampire.

As they pulled up they saw that Kate was already there, being filled in by her officers on what had taken place. A kid was being wheeled off on a stretcher, shaken but alive. 'It's a big place, but we've got him sealed in.'

Kate nodded 'I'm going in' she said, and pulled her gun our ready.

Angel and Doyle leapt out of the car. 'There's a drain round back' Angel said 'I'm going to climb it, you wait here for me. See you later.'

As Angel ran off round the back of the building, Doyle leaned against the car, folding his arms across his chest. Waiting had been a better game to play back when he'd been a smoker, it gave him something to do whilst he just stood there. But he had started to get his life in order, and quitting smoking had been part of that, if only paying off old debts would prove as easy as going cold turkey on the nicotine. Instead of smoking, he occupied himself by thinking about Cordelia and the different times she had smiled at him, or made unnecessary physical contact with him, over the past couple of days. That was a sign a girl liked you, right? When she got all handsy for no good reason. He tried to think back to how it had been before, when he'd been younger. He really only had Harri to go on, he'd got married so young, but he was pretty sure that shy smiles and fleeting touches had featured in it before she had asked him out.

She had asked him out, he remembered, but things had been different back then; he'd been human. Now, even if Cordelia took the plunge and saved him from having to do it, he still couldn't accept; no matter how much he wanted to. Not without coming clean about his demon half, first. And then all those secret smiles and fleeting touches might vanish into thin air, just like Barney had said they would. But he had to tell her, he made up his mind, when he next got a chance and it wasn't ridiculously late, and there wasn't something trying to kill them. He'd just come out and say it, really matter of fact, like, like it wasn't even a problem, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And then asking her out afterwards would be the easy part.

His reverie was rudely interrupted by the sudden blaring of 3 gunshots. He tensed. They had come from the building. Angel was in there. He knew bullets wouldn't kill him, but Penn was in there too. A vampire nearly as old and as strong as Angel, and Detective Lockley had no idea what she was firing her weapon at.

Inside the building Kate made her way towards where the suspect lay prone on the floor. She had just put 3 bullets in his chest and was relieved to find no pulse when she checked for one. Then his eyes opened. 'Ouch' he said.

She was thrown bodily across the room, and even as she flew she registered that no man should ever have had that kind of strength. The suspect was up and headed towards her, and she was still struggling to get to her feet, when suddenly the roof caved in and Angel landed in front of her.

'Angelus!' Penn greeted his old friend warmly, once he had got over the surprise of finding himself face to face with his long missing sire, 'it's been an age, we were to meet in Italy remember?'

'I remember'

'Well, what happened? I waited. Hell I waited til the 19th century.'

'I got held up in Romania'

'What's in Romania?'

'Gypsies'

'Well you're here now', he turned towards where Kate was trying to contact her back up on her radio, 'Join me for a drink.'

'That's not why I'm here.'

'Yeah, why are you here?' Penn had to admit he was confused, even if he wasn't displeased.

Angel vamped out 'To kill you.'

The two vampires fought, and it was a real fight. This was no tussle with a newly sired vamp in an alleyway. Penn was not much younger than his sire, and had the strength and skill of an old vampire. This was a well matched grudge fight; and each vampire threw the other as far as their strength would allow, sending him crashing through walls and ceilings and floors. No matter how hard they fell they always got back up, and Kate watched in horror as the detective she had developed a crush on threw the suspect around with superhuman force.

He turned to look at her and his handsome face was changed, monstrous. His brow, always prominent, hung low over his eyes, his eyes were yellow now and his teeth were turned to sharp fangs. 'Kate! Go! go!' he yelled at her, but she could only gape in disbelief and fear.

'You know its name?' the suspect said 'Angelus what's happened to you?' He threw Angel straight at Kate, sending them both crashing to the ground. By the time they were back on their feet, Penn was gone. Kate stared into the demonic visage of the man she had classed as a friend, when suddenly his whole face seemed to shudder and he was handsome again, a man once more.

The backup units had moved in, but Penn was long gone. 'I shot him', Kate said to Angel, 'three times in the chest, I know I got him, but he just got up.' she suddenly pulled her gun on her friend. ' If I shoot you will you get up too? What is he?'

'You already know the answer to that Kate. There's something you haven't been telling the press isn't there? Puncture marks on their necks, each of his victims have been drained of their blood.'

'Should I trust you more or less for knowing that?'

'Bullets won't kill him Kate, you know that, as well. It's going to take decapitation, sunlight or a stake through the heart.'

She shook her head in disbelief: 'you're telling me children's stories. I don't believe you'

'Even after what you saw? You won't believe? Then you'll lose, Kate.' He reached out and grabbed the small cross that she wore on a chain around her neck, smoke began to rise from his fist. 'you'll lose if you can't face up to this.' And he turned around and stalked away.

He found Doyle waiting anxiously by the car. 'Did'ya kill 'im?'

'He got away.'

'What about Detective Lockley?'

'She knows, but she doesn't believe. This isn't over.' They got back into the car and drove back to the office.