The Shroud of Rahmon

Part One

The two cops stared through the two way mirror into the interviewing room, observing the man that they had held in custody there. He was slumped forward, his head resting on his arms so that his face was not visible. He was completely still. 'I'm telling you,' the first cop said. 'This creep knows something - we got one body already and a cop in the hospital - and if she dies…' They walked into the interrogation room, the second cop sat down opposite the suspect. 'Hey, we can help you. Tell us what you know and we'll take you back down to holding. Stay quiet and my partner here will dent your skull.' The first cop slammed his fists down on the table. 'Hey! You listening?'

'Now my guess,' the second cop said, 'is that you got into something a little bit bigger than you expected. You got scared, you panicked. And there's an officer on the floor - not to mention the body without a head. Do yourself a favour …'

The man looked up, at last - it was Wesley. He was unshaven, and his eyes seemed bleary and unfocused. 'She shouldn't have been there. She didn't know! I had to warn him ...He didn't know what he was getting into.' He suddenly looked directly at the second cop, his eyes clearing for a second. 'You didn't bring it here did you?' But then he shook his head, 'no -no, if you had, it would be too late for all of us.' He looked down at the table. 'He grabbed her -very hard.' He remembered her body slipping to the floor, and Angel stood there - his face vamped out, blood around his lips - and the watcher stopped talking.

'Just tell us what you know,' the cop said.

'It all went horribly wrong...'


Cordelia sat alone in the lobby of the hotel. She had just got back from filming her latest 'Stain Be Gone' commercial and the various post it notes she found stuck to her computer monitor informed her that the firm seemed quite busy for once. The front door opened and she looked up, it was Doyle entering, alone. His post it had informed her that he was out talking to his contacts to see if he could get a beat on where Darla had disappeared to. She looked at him, questioningly, as he walked towards her, but he shook his head. 'Still no luck.'

'She can't have just disappeared!'

'She doesn't want to be found,' the half demon told her. 'She's over 400 years old, she's got some experience in covering her tracks.'

'Well that sucks.'

'Uhuh - Cordelia?' He fidgeted and then took something out of his pocket. 'I've got this for you.' He handed it over. 'It's the last o' the money I owe y' - I'm officially livin' debt free as of this moment.' She reached out and took the cheque, her eyes widening when she saw the amount. 'What happened? Did you sell a kidney?'

He chuckled. 'Nope - all body parts and vital organs remained intact during the procurin' of that money.'

'You won big at the poker table, huh?'

'Uhuh.' He really had. Not only had he cleaned up, nabbing himself 12 tiny little kittens - but one had been considerably fluffier than the rest. On a hunch, he had looked it up on the internet and - boy was he glad that he did. It had been a ragdoll, and was worth $500 all by itself. Added to the money made by selling the other eleven cats, he was finally able to pay off everything that he owed - and that meant …

He cleared his throat. 'So...I was wonderin' - now that we're even and all … if maybe you'd like to...'

She reached out and picked up the phone. 'I'll make the reservations now.'

'Yeah?'

She smiled her biggest, brightest beam at him, 'yeah - we've waited long enough - is 8 OK?'

'Tonight?'

'You got anything else planned?'

He shook his head, and she made the phone call. He sat there listening to her talk to the restaurant, grinning away to himself the whole time.

She hung up the phone, and turned back to Doyle. The pair of them were still grinning when Wesley appeared, coming down the stairs. He looked at them, startled. 'What happened?' They turned to look at him, still smiling, but it wasn't their apparent happiness he was interested in. 'What happened to your hair?'

'Excuse me?' Cordelia reached out and patted her now shoulder length hair. It had been getting too long, and thick, and unmanageable and she had fancied a change. This style was edgier -it showed she had grown up and moved on from her cheerleader days. But a massive hairstyle change always came with its own critics - and as Wesley stared at her head, she suddenly regretted cutting off her long tresses.

The British man suddenly smiled. 'It's new - it's great!' Cordelia smiled back. 'When did this happen?' he asked. The smile slid off her face.

'It was ten days ago, bud,' Doyle told him in a stage whisper. Wesley had the grace to look embarrassed. 'Of course,' he said, 'I didn't want to embarrass you by …'

'Noticing?' Cordelia asked. She raked her eyes over his sharp suit. 'Nice suit,' she told him. 'Going to yet another glamorous filled celebrity gala with Miss Virginia Bryce?' she faked an over ostentatious yawn. Wesley smiled again, 'have you seen Angel?' he asked. 'I thought I might check on him before I go. He doesn't seem to do all that much lately.'

'Now that's not fair, man,' Doyle said. 'He gets up to a lot in that darkened pit of his.'

'It's a packed day,' Cordy agreed. 'Brood about Darla, brood about Darla - lunch - followed by more Darla brooding.' She yanked Angel's post it from her computer screen and gave it to the British man. 'Today, however, there is a slight interruption to his forecast brooding schedule. He's out with Gunn, something to do with a job.'

Wesley scanned the sticky note for the scant information that was there. 'Good - that's good. He's getting out. Something I must do right now.'

'Uhuh - time to traipse off to your shallow soul sucking Hollywood party?'

'Premiere actually - and I have an extra ticket if you'd care to join me?'

But Cordelia glanced across at Doyle, and beamed brightly once more. 'Maybe next time, Wes, we've got other plans.'


Gunn and Angel leant against the hood of the convertible, arms folded across their chests, as they spoke to the kid in front of them. This was Lester, Gunn's cousin, and he had got himself involved in something big. Big meaning illegal. And now he wanted out. He wasn't too happy about Angel being there though, vampires freaked him. That was the very reason he had called Gunn in the first place - it was a vampire problem that he had - but his cousin assured him that Angel had experience in that line. 'Yo spill it!' Gunn said, 'we aint got all night.'

It turned out that Lester had agreed to take on a driving job for some big time crew, who were planning on knocking off a museum - though he didn't know which. He hadn't met the crew himself, but he'd been vouched for - only now he was thinking …

'That you'd like to stay out of prison?'

'Well, yeah - there's that. Then I heard they're bringing in this psycho vamp from Vegas - and like I said man …' he didn't like vampires.

'What are they planning on taking?' Angel asked. But Lester didn't know. It was something supernatural - and the heist was planned for sometime during the week. There was a meetup tonight, and he had been informed that if he didn't show then the crew would hunt him down and kill him. He was panicking.

'Where's the meet?'

Lester pulled out a piece of paper, both men reached for it, but Gunn was the one that got it. He looked at the details. 'This vampire got a name?' Angel wanted to know. Lester wasn't sure of it exactly. 'Something like Jee-don or Joe-don...'

'Jay -don?'

'Yeah that's it. He's coming for the meeting tonight. They're picking him up.'

'Where?'

'Down Town bus station, midnight.' He turned to his cousin. 'What am I gonna do?'

'Take the meetup,' Gunn told him. 'I'll get you out before the crime goes down.'

'I owe you big time cous!' he hugged Gunn, and then ran off.


They had been shown to their table, and a menu handed to each of them. Doyle gazed around at the opulent surroundings; there was a fountain tinkling away in the middle of the room, and a chandelier overhead. Classical music played in the background. 'Uh - are you sure we can afford this place, darlin'?' he asked. He glanced down at the menu and saw the prices. He gulped. That would be a no.

Cordelia laughed. 'You can't,' she told him. 'But I've just finished filming another commercial and I'm feeling flush.'

'Hang on a moment - are you tellin' me that not only do I get to go out to dinner with the most beautiful girl in the world - she's payin' for it?'

'Do you have a problem with that?'

'No ma'am. But I must have done something really good in a past life to get all this.'

She laughed again. 'Somehow, I doubt that, Doyle. Now, you look very nice in your new suit. Just sit there quietly and pretend you belong here.'


'You know this Jay-don guy?' Gunn asked, looking at the paper with the details of the meet up.

'I know of him. He's a big player. Way too dangerous for you. I'll take it from here.'

'You'll what? - this is my cousin we're talking about.'

Angel snatched the paper away from Gunn and read it. 'Which is why I don't want you jumping into this thing guns a blazing.'

'Since when did I take orders from you?'

'Since I started paying you.'

But Gunn protested that this wasn't a paying gig - that it was he who had brought the vampire in on it. But Angel didn't listen, his aim was to shut the heist down, and if that failed - then he'd protect Lester.

'And what am I meant to do?' asked Gunn. 'Stay home and knit?'

'I could use a sweater - something dark.' The vampire jumped in his car and drove off, leaving Gunn standing there, shaking his head.


No one was in the hotel when Angel returned, but it wasn't long until he heard Cordelia's voice floating through the courtyard, as she made her way back. 'That was so embarrassing.'

'I don't think anyone noticed, princess.'

'Pft! And here I was worried it was you that would show us up! I'm losing my touch. I used to rule places like that. Now I'm a backwoods country bumpkin that can't even use a knife and fork.'

'It's not that bad!'

Doyle and Cordelia entered through the front door and Angel looked up to watch them. Cordelia seemed furious with herself, and her fancy top was all stained with red. 'What happened?' Angel asked.

'It's not blood - it's cocktail sauce. Because I'm not even fit for human company anymore.'

'I meant to your head - to your hair?' She looked at him, even more irritated - 'It looks great.' He chuckled. 'When did this happen?'

'Ten days ago,' she and Doyle said in unison. Cordelia began to root around under her desk, and Doyle turned to ask how things had gone with Gunn. Angel filled them in on the meeting, explaining that there was a planned robbery on a museum - but that they didn't know which museum or what they were after. 'Well that narrows it down,' Doyle said. 'It's a good thing Cordelia's unbelievable klutziness called time on our date early - this is going to take a lot of looking into.'

'I heard that, buddy!' Cordelia called, from under her desk

'Hang on a moment.' Angel looked between Doyle, in his suit, and the desk that currently obscured the changing Cordelia. 'Were you guys out on a date?' Doyle grinned. 'The first o' many.'

'Yeah, but next time I'm wearing a bib!'

'You're a classy girl Cordelia!...So, we need to find out which museums have just got new stuff in - maybe we should call Wesley? Well, this is great man - you're back on a case.'

'Yeah!' Cordelia popped up from under her desk, now wearing a black top. 'It'll be just like old times.'

'They're bringing in a vampire tonight - Jay don. He's got a rep,' Angel told them.

'Man, I've heard o' him. He's meant to be a flashy sorta fella isn't he?'

'Well he ran with the whole Sinatra rat pack thing,' Angel informed them, 'never got over it. You know, I think I'll meet his bus.'

'And take his place?' Cordelia asked enthusiastically. 'That's great! No more sitting alone brooding about - things we don't even have to mention.' She turned to look at Doyle. 'How flashy?'

'He's meant to be quite the extrovert, darlin'.' They both turned and scrutinised Angel. 'Hmmm.'

'What?' The vampire wanted to know.

'Nothin' man - we're sure you can pull it off.'


The bus rolled into the station and Angel watched as the people disembarked. Last off was a pale man in a bright red shirt, with a 50s quiff, and sunglasses. He dusted himself off, as he stepped onto the asphalt, and adjusted the shades. Angel approached him, in character; a nervous, gushing, flunky type - all awestruck to meet the famous Jay-don. 'Oh man - what an honour, I'm a big fan you know.' he thrust his hands in his pockets and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. 'When the boss said Jay-don was coming I was like woah woah! Can I see the glasses?' He reached out and the other vampire pulled back. 'No one touches the glasses or the hair, doll.'

'Yeah, right, doll, you got it -cool!' His face suddenly took on a look of concentration. 'There was something I was supposed to ask you.' He bashed his forehead with his hand. 'What was it? Oh yeah! What's the password?'

'There is no password.'

Angel stretched out his arm and a stake, concealed in its sheath, sprung out and plunged straight into Jay-don's heart. As the vampire crumbled to dust, Angel grabbed his shades. 'Just checking.'

...

Once the station was empty, and the bus secured for the night, an ugly demon crept out of the shadows and peered under the chassis. 'Jay-don?' he whispered.

'What, you think I'm travelling luggage?' a broad New York accent asked him. The demon turned around, and there was Angel, wearing Jay-don's shades and a bright, bright green shirt.

'Lets go,' the demon said, taking him over to his car. It was a beaten up station wagon and Angel protested loudly. 'What is this piece of junk? You gotta know bro, there are two things bringing the chicks in: the do,' he adjusted his sunglasses, 'and the ride.'

'Just get in.'

'I hope I don't see anybody I know.'


The station wagon pulled up outside of a garage, and the ugly demon and Angel got out and were met by an even uglier, spiny looking demon and a human security guard. 'Let me guess,' said Angel. 'You must be-' he squinted at the name tag, 'Bob, the security guard.' he looked at the demon 'and you're just a great big - monster aren't you?'

'This is Jay-don,' the ugly demon said. 'He talks too much.'

'I'm a people person.'

Ugly demon looked around. 'Where's Lester?'

'Yeah - where is Lester?' Angel asked. 'We can't get the ball rolling without Lester. Who's Lester?'

'The driver,' Bob told him.

'I don't like this,' Ugly said. 'He should be here by now.'

'Hey - he's vouched for - he'll show,' Bob reassured him. There was the sound of a car pulling up outside. 'See?'

'What kind of name is Lester?' Angel wondered, still in his thick New York accent. 'Norwegian? Finnish?'

The door opened and Gunn walked in. 'What took you so long?' Ugly asked.

'What took me so long is: I'm a professional - had to make sure there were no cops, I wasn't being followed.' The young street fighter looked around the garage and saw Angel. 'Looks like I'm the last one here.'