Part Two
'You think you know someone,' their new client said to Angel, 'you really think you've found something special - and that there could be a future there.' Angel wasn't really listening - he was gazing past the woman, out into the lobby, where he was watching Doyle and Gunn reenact the killing of the Senih'd - to much applause from Cordy and Fred.
'But there's always something,' the woman said, 'someone else - in the way - messing things up for you just by being there.'
The vampire tore his gaze away from the happy foursome, and switched his attention back to his client. 'But what makes you think this other woman is a witch, Ms. Frakes?'
Ms. Frakes looked surprised at the question. 'Why else would Jerry cheat on me?' she asked. 'We've been engaged for eight years - she had to have put some kind of a spell on him.'
Wesley spoke quietly into the phone. Like Angel, he too was more interested in watching what the happy couples were up to, than he was in doing his job. Though for him - the objects of his attention were Fred and Gunn. 'I'm looking for the original Greek if it's at all possible,' he said to the bookstore owner, on the other end of the line.
As the answer came back - he saw Fred throw back her head and begin to laugh, as Gunn acted out the Senih'd melting into black oil. He shook and vibrated his body - making it go all like jello - and then dropped to the floor. Doyle stood above him - still wielding his axe - looking every bit as pleased with himself as he had in the park. Cordelia took on the role of the rescued woman, 'my hero!' she cried throwing her arms around her boyfriend, 'you saved me!' Only Fred was left on the sofa, now, and Wesley moved his head slightly - so that the wall blocked his view of the rest of the gang. He gazed out at the vision of the now solitary Fred, sitting on the sofa - laughing in delight. He smiled.
The he heard the bookstore owner confirm that the original Greek was in store. 'It is? Excellent. Can I get a quote on that?'
Angel leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. 'Well - if you give me the woman's name - I'll have someone check her out. See if we can find out if she's a - witch.'
Ms. Frakes pulled some papers out of her purse and handed them across. They were printouts of emails. 'HotBlonde37159,' she told him, 'I got these off Jerry's computer.'
The vampire glanced down at them - all she had was a pseudonym? This was going to take the kind of detective work they sucked at - actual detecting. Really they were much better at the slice and dice part of the game. 'This is - ah.. gonna,' he glanced up as Wesley walked into the office, 'uh - it's gonna be pretty difficult to find her based solely on this.'
'Well just follow Jerry!' Ms. Frakes sounded annoyed, 'I'm sure he'll lead you straight to her.'
Angel looked at his boss, 'Ms. Frakes, here, wants us to stake out her fiance. I was trying to explain to her that…'
'Oh I'm sure we can spare someone to keep an eye on Ms. Frakes' fiance,' Wesley replied. 'Gunn!' he yelled out into the lobby, and the street fighter got up from the sofa. 'If witchcraft is involved, we should probably look into it,' the watcher finished up, just as Gunn arrived in the office. 'What's up?'
'Ah, Gunn, Ms. Frakes here needs some surveillance work doing,' Wesley told him. 'I thought if you were free...'
Gunn agreed that this was no problem - and he began to take down the details of Jerry's whereabouts from his suspicious fiancee. Fred arrived in the office, just as the street fighter was finishing up. She smiled at Wesley, 'we won't let you down,' she said - and the pair of them left the hotel together. Wesley looked annoyed - and escorted their client to the door.
Angel went back to watching Doyle and Cordelia - who were alone in the lobby now. They had begun to kiss - like they were a couple of teenagers. This was a place of business, people! And they were far too old for such a public display. He looked down at the emails in his hand, and had a sudden idea. 'Hey, net boy - get in here!' he shouted.
The Irishman disentangled himself from Cordelia - with much squelching and sucking sounds that were far too audible to a vampire's ears - and appeared in the doorway. 'You rang - oh dark avenger?' he said.
'Quit calling me that,' Angel snapped. He thrust the emails out towards Doyle, who took them and glanced down at them. 'You're our computer whizz kid,' Angel said, 'HotBlonde37159 - see if you can track her down on the net. You don't seem to have anything better to do.'
'Oh I got lot's better to be doin',' he glanced back at Cordelia and winked, 'but I'll see what I can do.'
'Make it snappy,' Angel told him.
Doyle raised an eyebrow at his brusque tone, 'I'll do my best.' He turned to go. 'Hey Cordy - come help me do some internet stalkin',' Angel heard him say.
The two loveless members of Angel Investigations entered the rare books shop together. They were both in a bad mood. But it was Angel, in particular, who was letting his sulky side show. He was feeling, keenly, the fact that he hadn't been able to kill the Senih'd - once it ran out into the sunlight. And that it was Doyle, of all people, who had struck the fatal blow.
'Just… kinda makes me wonder if any of you actually need me,' he said, trailing his fingers along the rare books.
'Of course we need you, Angel,' Wesley said absentmindedly. He approached the counter, and spoke to the man there. 'Hello, I rang earlier enquiring about Grammaticus Third Century Greek Commentaries.'
The man nodded, 'of course, I'll just be one moment.' He disappeared into the back.
'OK - what for?' Angel said. Wesley frowned, and turned to look at him. 'What for, what?'
'What do you need me for?'
'You're our champion, Angel - you help the helpless.'
'Seems to me you guys all got it covered. You do the translating, Fred does the calculations, Gunn heads up the killing, Doyle's got the visions - and Cordy patches everyone up afterwards… where do I fit in?'
Wesley fixed him with a stern look - but it was still a sympathetic one. 'We all have our place, Angel, But we are a team. We work together - magnify each others strengths - compensate for each other's weaknesses.'
'Like not being able to go out in the sunlight,' Angel muttered.
'Exactly - you were the one best placed to track that demon today - your speed, your senses… we can't do that. But when the creature fled into the sunlight - we were there to finish the job.'
'Yeah well - Doyle's vision told you where to go anyway - what did I actually offer?'
'You forget one vital thing,' Wesley told him, 'Doyle's vision came for you. They are messages sent to you, by the higher powers - because you are their champion. Doyle is only their messenger - and the rest of us are … hangers on. We all play our part, of course, but if it weren't for you, Angel, Doyle would never have received that vision. The Senih'd would have risen and that woman, today, would have been killed.' He looked at the vampire, his brow wrinkled with concern. 'Angel - I don't understand where all this is coming from. Have you been feeling this way long?'
'What way?' Angel looked alarmed.
'Without purpose - disconnected? You've felt this way before … it isn't a good place to be, you need to take action, if you find yourself - slipping.'
'Action? So you think I should … Hey, Wes - if you were a woman would you prefer to date short guys or taller guys?'
The watcher looked nonplussed. 'I... couldn't possibly begin to say.' He frowned, folded his arms and tried to apply his intellectual rigour to the question. 'How tall would I be in this scenario?'
'Umm… about 5'6'' - give or take…'
'So around Cordelia's height?'
'For example,' Angel said, hurriedly, 'or, you know - lots of women...'
'Well…' Wesley weighed up the facts, and tried to place himself in a 5'6'' woman's shoes, 'I suppose there would be lots of things to consider. My own personal preferences, of course, but a lot would depend on the man himself - take Cordy for example.'
'What about her?' The vampire asked, quickly.
'Well - she seems perfectly happy dating a man who is practically the same height as her. If Cordy wears heels then she is taller than Doyle. It doesn't seem to bother either of them. But that isn't to say that Cordelia actually prefers short men, in general.'
'It isn't?'
'No,' he pulled himself up to his own full height, and puffed his chest out. 'Once upon a time, Cordelia had quite the thing for me, if you recall. I'm a good 6 inches taller than Doyle. And before me, there was Xander.'
'Right - yeah - Xander - let's not forget that clown,' Angel muttered. Then he looked hopeful, 'so you're saying Cordelia does prefer taller men?'
'I'm saying height doesn't seem to be particularly important to her,' Wesley replied. Angel's face fell. 'But then Cordy is just one example. Women in general will all want different things. Why are you asking this?'
'No reason.'
But Wesley's brain was still ticking over, 'ah - I think I understand. It's all connected. You're feelings of uselessness in the team - you're strange fascination with what women look for in a mate.'
'It is?'
Wesley nodded. 'As office romances form, you find yourself on the edge. On the outside of the team looking in. You feel lonely. The more… wrapped up in each other, the others become, the more you wonder if they would even notice if you were no longer there. You want a similar connection for yourself. You want to feel wanted. I understand, Angel - I do, but office romances … they can be tricky business. Should they fall out - become unable to work together... The less of them we have the better.'
'You really believe that?'
Wesley paused for a moment - and then, 'yes. We could all do without the complications they bring.' He looked at the vampire, his expression kindly. 'I know it can be hard - to watch others have what you cannot have - but that doesn't mean that you are not a vital part of the team. You are the reason for our mission - the reason we all came together in the first place. The founder of our family. You're just like one of the books Angel - rare - and one of a kind.'
Angel began to smile, ever so slightly - just as the bookstore keeper walked back into the room. He slammed three volumes down on the desk. 'I got three copies,' he said. The smile slid off Angel's face.
Cordelia made two cups of coffee and then returned to the desks, putting one down for Doyle, just by his computer. 'Thanks, Princess,' he said - without looking up from the screen. 'How's it going?' she asked him.
'Nothin' so far,' he told her, 'what you up to, over there?'
She shrugged, 'oh - I was just updating the Demons Demons Demons Database to put the Senih'd in. Can you believe they didn't already have him listed?'
'Sometimes technology isn't all it's cracked up to be,' the half demon frowned at his own computer, tapping away at the keyboard - as he searched for further signs of Miss HotBlonde37159.'
'Yeah - but don't ever tell Wesley that,' Cordelia said. Doyle smirked and continued his searching.
Cordelia disappeared into Wes's office and came back with the ancient volume the watcher had used to identify the demon. She located the correct page, switched on the scanner - and began to scan the picture of the Senih'd into the database. 'Well, next time one of these things materialises, the next champion to face it should have an easier job tracking it down, now,' she said - as she waited for the picture to upload.
'Yeah,' Doyle agreed, 'I just hope Fred and Gunn are havin' an easier time trackin down this mystery woman than I am. Otherwise I think we're gonna have to chalk this one up as another grand Angel Investigations failure.'
'I don't think it'll really make the list of our screw ups,' Cordy was optimistic. 'She probably isn't a witch, he's probably just a cheating sleaze bag. No one's gonna die - you'll see.'
'I hope you're right.'
'I always am.'
Gunn and Fred trailed Jerry's car in Gunn's truck. Jerry stopped in Plummer park, just across the road from a large tree - with great, sprawling, gnarly roots. He got out of his car, smoothed his hair back - and then went to stand beneath the tree - clutching a single red rose.
A moment later, the truck pulled up. Gunn switched the engine off - and the two of them stared out at the lone figure standing in the shades of the tree. 'Looks like this is it,' Gunn said, 'get the camera ready.'
Fred took the camcorder out, switched it on and set it up on the dashboard - pointing at the man. 'Do you really think he's possessed or under some kind of spell?' she asked. He looked so normal out there - kind of pathetic - clutching his rose.
Gunn considered her question. 'Well it's hard to say. There's all different kinds of magic. You've got demony love spells, mojo sex chants - voodoo bootie rituals.'
'Voodoo bootie rituals?'
He gave her a serious nod. Then they both cracked up laughing. She leaned in towards him. 'You made that up,' she accused him, smiling. He smiled back - and looked deeply into her eyes. 'And then there is the all-powerful, big, brown, soulful eyes kinda magic.'
'I'm kind familiar with that one myself.' They were only inches apart now - grinning, and locked in eye contact. Fred closed the distance, and pressed her lips against his… before breaking away a moment later - and sitting back in her seat. 'Oh - um - we should…' she gestured towards Jerry.
'Right. Because we're all about the work.'
Fred stared back out of the windshield for a while - looking at Jerry and his rose. Whoever she was, Miss HotBlonde37159 was yet to put in an appearance. She considered things - her and Gunn, Cordy and Doyle - this guy and his fiance and his virtual lover from the lonely hearts websites …'Maybe it's not so much magical, but chemical - when two people are attracted,' she suggested. She turned back to look at Gunn. 'Maybe it's like - the DNA knows what it needs and when it finds it, nothing can get in its way. It just takes it.'
Gunn looked like he liked the sound of what he was hearing. 'It does?' he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. She nodded at him - and they began to kiss again.
'Charles?'
'Yeah?'
'We're not supposed to be the ones having a rendezvous,' she reminded him - pulling away for the second time.
'We're not?'
She shook her head - 'he is,' she gestured out to Jerry, still stood alone, under the tree. Gunn glanced at him, and then looked back at Fred. 'But he's cheating on someone,' he pointed out. 'You and me, we got a right.' He leaned in for another kiss - but Fred was adamant, though she was still smiling. 'We're supposed to be working.'
He sighed, and sat back in his seat, 'you're right.' He looked out of the windshield. Jerry was no longer in sight. 'Damn!'
'I'll get started translating this material straight away,' Wesley said - as he and Angel arrived back at the Hyperion. Night had fallen, and the pair of them entered the hotel through the courtyard garden.
'You know, Wesley, thanks for what you said - back in the bookshop,' Angel said to him, 'it really made me feel better.'
'Glad I could help you put things in perspective,' the watcher replied, opening the door. 'The fact is, we are a team - and we are all as equally important to each other - there's really no need to feel that you're becoming a third wheel…' he trailed off as the pair of them entered the lobby - and saw Doyle and Cordelia making out over by the computers '... even if certain employees are busy doing it on the job,' Wes finished up. He cleared his throat - and the young couple broke apart.
'Sorry, man,' Doyle said. 'We were just … takin' a breather.'
'Unless you can breathe through your ears - I'm not sure that's the appropriate word,' Wesley said drily. Cordelia grinned in an embarrassed sort of way, 'we'll be good,' she promised. Wesley crossed over to his office, and shut the door - getting his new book out ready to start translating.
There was an awkward moment between the three people left in the lobby. 'Hey Angel,' Cordy said, 'did you get the book?'
'Hey - uh, yeah.' They all looked at each other awkwardly again. 'Well - I'm just gonna go check on Connor,' the vampire said - and hurried out of the lobby and up the stairs to his own room. Cordelia and Doyle picked up where they had left off - they were sure Fred and Gunn could do a better job of tracking this lady down than they could, anyway…
Connor was upstairs, sleeping, and Lorne was watching over him. He glanced up as Angel appeared in the doorway, 'woo - look at your aura!' the anagogic demon announced, 'things not going too well in the game of love?'
'No - how's Connor?'
'The little guy's fine - he's asleep. Let's talk about you, bub.'
'I don't wanna.'
The Host smiled - and went to fix himself a SeaBreeze. 'Well you have to - I can see it, Angelcakes. All this pent up jealousy… it's ugly.'
'I'm not…'
'Sure you are,' Lorne smiled and sat back down. 'This isn't just Cordelia colouring your energy. There are undertones.'
'Undertones?'
'Dark undertones,' the green demon nodded, wisely. He crossed his long legs - and fixed a stern gaze on the vampire. 'So how long have you and Doyle been fighting, now?'
'Uh…' Angel wrinkled his head up, as he tried to remember. He had this low lying feeling of just being … pissed off ... with his friend for so long now, that he couldn't quite recall when it had started. He remembered realising that he was in love with Cordy - back at the monastery in Tibet - though he knew his feelings went back further than that … he just hadn't recognised them for what they were, at first.
And immediately upon realising that he loved Cordy, his initial feelings had been ones of horror - though matters had been complicated on account of he had also been grieving for Buffy at the time. Cordelia was his friend, his sister … and she was Doyle's girlfriend. He had been so sure, at the time, that he must never mention his feelings to anyone - must never let on - that he couldn't try to get between Doyle and Cordy. But, after his return, he and Cordy had grown closer and closer - and Doyle had grown more and more distant, becoming angry much more easily … until the pair of them were constantly irritated with each other - and Angel no longer cared how much it would hurt Doyle, if he stole his girl.
But what had come first? Angel's increasing attraction and closeness to Cordy? Or Doyle's increasing anger? Who was in the wrong here? He didn't actually know - he wasn't sure it even mattered. 'You know…' he looked at Connor, sleeping peacefully in his crib, 'things have been tense between Doyle and me… ever since Darla showed back up.'
Lorne nodded. 'I think that was our spark. Our assassination of ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand. Our Pearl Harbour. Our Yoko Ono. But the long term causes go way back.'
'They do?'
'They do. So…' he took a sip of his drink, 'you've decided you don't care if you destroy things with Doyle - just as long as you get Cordelia? That's a big step…'
'I don't… I haven't …'
'Oh, I think you have, buddy. You need to move on - because that ship has sailed. Admit it to yourself and make peace with it. You're a love rival now - and that can't end happily. But the real question is … what if you end up destroying things with Cordelia?'
