TITLE: To Sell a Soul in L.A.
A continuation of the events in "A Lawyer's Soul"
SETTING: Before and during the events of "To Shanshu in L.A."
SUMMARY: Lindsey rethinks his decision to stay with Wolfram and Hart, but finds it may be harder to leave than he thought.
DISCLAIMER: These characters are not mine. I wish they were, then I would be rich and not poor like I am. However they are not and I am not, so there you go.
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*There's something different. There's something going on,* Karen thought as she watched her brother leave for work. Ever since that morning he had cooked breakfast for her.
It sounded stupid, even to herself, but there was something wrong. Something that he wouldn't even tell her about. Even before that morning he had seemed a little different... distant. She didn't know how to describe it. All she knew was that he had said some strange things to her at breakfast and when he came home, *very* late that night, he just wasn't the same. He wasn't the smiling, laughing, fun Lindsey she had known as long as she had been alive. He was different. His work, that was what she could blame it on. It had always gotten to him on occassion, making him quiet, pensive, moody when he would come home from working on a "bad case." He would never tell her exactly what any of his cases were about. She had asked once, and been provided a stern "You don't need to know, and you don't want to know, so just trust me and leave it alone!" in response. It was one of few times Lindsey had ever yelled at her. So, she dropped the subject and never brought it up again.
But those days, when he came home tired, worn out, emotionally exhausted from work... those were days she wanted to know. Wanted to know why he stayed there if it made him so miserable sometimes. Now, it seemed that every day was one of those days. She hadn't had a real *talk* with him in what seemed like ages... ever since he got that damn promotion.
Karen cleaned up the breakfast dishes and put them in the sink as she left for school. *Sometimes, I worry about you, brother. Sometimes, I really do.*
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Lindsey had to be at work early that morning. He, Holland and Lilah were greeting some of their new clients. Lindsey really didn't know anything about their case yet, but the Senior Partners had put all three of them on it... which meant it was something they didn't want to see go wrong. Unfortunately, something had already gone wrong.
"You lost the scroll of Aberjian?" the client, Vocah, questioned loudly.
Holland looked at Lindsey out of the corner of his eye. "The scroll was... stolen from our vault."
Vocah was outraged. "The raising can not be performed without the scroll."
Lilah stepped forward, trying to calm the demon down. "We understand..."
Lindsey had to do something and stepped forward. "It was my mistake. I'll rectify it."
Vocah looked at Lindsey with a look that somehow conveyed contempt and disgust, all without any discernable facial features. "You will do nothing. I will retrieve the scroll myself. Who stole it?"
Holland answered almost quietly. "Angel."
This outraged Vocah even more. "Angel! I am summoned for the raising - the very thing that was to bring this creature down to us -tear him from the Powers That Be - and he - has the scroll."
*'Bring this creature down?'* Lindsey thought. *What...?*
The corner of Lilah's mouth allowed her a smile. "We're not unaware of the irony."
Vocah turned his gaze to her. : "He is in the possession of the scroll. His connection to the Powers That Be is complete."
She shook her head. "He hasn't had time to make a full study of the text."
Vocah turned away. "No, and he won't. All avenues to the Powers shall be cut off from him and the scroll returned to us."
Lindsey hesitated before stepping forward. "What can we do to help?"
Vocah stopped, but did not turn back. "You can leave it to me." He and the other two demons with him exited, leaving Lilah, Holland and Lindsey alone in the room.
Holland spoke first. "Well - end of discussion?"
Lilah turned to leave. "I'd imagine so. He took it quite well, I thought."
Holland followed and Lindsey brought up the rear as the lawyers headed for the elevator. "Yes," Holland agreed. "I'm glad his kind have the kind of superiority complex that keeps them from smiting us and just lets them look down upon us."
The three made it to the elevator and Lilah looked at the other two. "Well, I'm going downstairs for lunch, either of you joining me?"
"I'll pass, too much work to do," Holland replied.
"Lindsey?"
Lindsey looked up, shook out of his deep thoughts. "Uh, no. Some other time."
Lilah shrugged. "All right." She got into one elevator while Lindsey and Holland got into the elevator headed for the upstairs offices.
Once in the elevator, Lindsey saw his chance to find out what was going on. "So, Holland, what exactly *is* this case? I'm pretty shady on the details."
"Vocah there is here to... get rid of our little Angel problem. Really, it has nothing to do with us. Vocah has a grudge against the Powers That Be and they really like this Angel guy, so that's what it's all about. We're just using it to our advantage and helping him dispose of the Do-boy for the Powers. "
Lindsey nodded. "That's what the scrolls were for?"
"Among other things. And now, Vocah is going to get the scroll back and soon, Angel will no longer be a problem for Wolfram and Hart. Oh. Here's my floor."
Holland exited the elevator, leaving Lindsey not knowing what to think. They were going to *destroy* Angel. He should feel happy about this, the vampire *was* Wolfram and Hart's enemy, after all. But he was also the person who had tried to help him... despite all his reservations.
Lindsey went to his new office and sat, thinking.
At nine o'clock, when he left for the night, he knew what he had to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holland watched Lindsey leave the office that night and had an ill feeling. He walked to the phone on his desk and pressed a number on the speed-dial.
"Yes. It's Holland. I want a tail tonight on Lindsey MacDonald. He's leaving the parking lot right now. He should be taking the 101 to get home. Notify me if he goes anywhere off the path."
Holland went back to the window and saw Lindsey's company car turn left instead of right. Instead of the way home. He knew where Lindsey was headed... and he knew exactly what to do.
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Karen MacDonald looked at the clock on her television set. Ten twenty-five, it read. She slipped her shoes off and curled up under the comforter she had pulled onto the couch. *He should be home by now. This really isn't like him.*
She turned the television on and tried to take her mind off of it.
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Karen was awakened by a loud banging on the door. She looked at the clock and saw that it noe read eleven o-six. *Who would be coming over at this time of night?* She took a quick peek into Lindsey bedroom to see if maybe he had came in while she was sleeping, but he wasn't there. "Maybe he just lost his key," she theorized aloud.
She walked to the door and looked through the peephole, expecting to see her brother. Instead she saw two men standing there. She opened the door cautiously.
One of the men immediately spoke as soon as the door opened. "Are you Karen MacDonald, ma'am?"
She opened the door a little more. "Yes," she replied, not knowing what to make of this.
"And Lindsey MacDonald is your brother?" the same man asked.
Karen was taken aback. "Well, yes..."
The second man finally spoke. "We need you to come with us, ma'am."
Karen took a step back. "Why? What's going on?" Immediately, her mind filled with worst-case scenarios. "Is Lindsey hurt? Is he okay?"
The first man flashed an ID badge. "We're with Wolfram and Hart. There's been... an accident."
She could feel all the color drain out of her face and her heart sink as her breath stopped. One hand reached out to the door frame for support. She stammered out a question. "Wha -- an accident? What... what kind of accident?"
The men looked at each other before the second answered. "It's best if you just come with us, ma'am."
Karen nodded dumbly. "Yeah sure. Let me get my shoes." She turned around to slip her sandals on, thinking only the worst. She followed the two men out to the driveway. "So, where is he? Or should I just follow you?"
The first man walked over and led her to the limo parked in the lot. "No, actually. You don't have to worry about that. We have a ride ready for you."
"O-- uh, yeah." she replied as one of the men held the door out for her. She got in the back and they both entered in the front.
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Lindsey passed street after street. He knew that what he was doing was in effect risking his life, but it was just something he had to do. This had gone to far - he had gotten in too deep. As he pulled onto a side street, he saw two black cadillacs - the company car - following him in the rear view mirror.
"Shit!" Lindsey cursed as he saw the cars.
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Karen had been sitting in the back of the cadillac for a good five minutes without a word from the people from Wolfram and Hart. She leaned up to the small separating window.
"Um, please. Can you tell me what's happened? What kind of accident was it? Is he hurt? Badly?"
The first man, now sitting in the driver's seat chuckled. "Well, you're quite the curious cat, aren't you?"
Karen was almost shocked. *Why's he laughing?* "I -- I just want to know what's happened to my brother."
The second man, from the passenger's side turned around to face her. "Nothing... yet. And you're here to make sure it stays that way."
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Lindsey turned down another street, trying to lose the cars that were relentlessly following him. Not paying attention to where he was going, he turned into a dead end alley and was suddenly surrounded by the two cars. Lindsey got out of his car and stood behind it.
"What are you doing, man! I need to get out of here! Move your car, now!" He started to pound on one of the car hoods as a third car pulled up. The car stopped and Holland stepped out of the back. Lindsey stopped pounding on the car and stook back. "Let me go, Holland," he demanded in a harsh whisper.
Holland stepped toward his associate. "Go where? To tell your friend, the vampire, about the nice little surprise we have for him?" Holland shook his head. "I don't think so."
People emerged from the other cars. *Oh my god,* Lindsey thought. *They're going to kill me. They're actually going to do it.* He thought about Karen and began to worry for his life. "What if I promise you - I won't talk to him. Just let me go."
"i'm sorry, Lindsey," Holland shook his head as he walked toward the young man. "You had a choice. You were free to come or go, no strings attached. It was the deal of a lifetime. Not often offered to people who know as much as you do. But *you* gave it up, Lindsey. You took the office, and the title... and the money. You truely sold your soul this time, Lindsey. And there's no return on it."
Lindsey paused. He knew that what Holland was saying was true. He could have left, but he let himself get swayed by the money. He took a deep breath and looked straight at Holland. "You can't keep me there. You can't keep me."
Holland smiled. "Actually, we can." Holland pulled a cell phone out and placed one arm around Lindsey's shoulders and led him to one of the cars. "Do you remember the first rule of negotiations, Lindsey?"
Lindsey looked at Holland. "Always have a bargaining chip the other party can't refuse," he stated almost robotically. Holland smiled and nodded as he began to dial a number. Lindsey paled. "What do you mean, Holland?"
Holland held up a finger as he waited for an answer. "Uh-huh. Gary? Yeah. Put her on." Holland took the phone and handed it over to Lindsey. "Here."
Lindsey cautiously took the phone and held it up to his ear. "Hello?"
A voice came over the phone. "Lindsey?" He felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. "Lindsey, is that you? Are you okay?"
"Karen?" he croaked out. He couldn't believe it. He could never have imagined that they could have sunk so low.
Karen exhaled deeply over the phone. "I'm sorry, Lindsey. They told me you were hurt. I ---."
Lindsey cut her off. "Karen, where are you?"
He heard her start to answer before the phone was taken away from her and a male voice came over. "She's with us, that's all you need to know. And she'll stay with us until we hear word from Mr. Holland."
The phone clicked and Lindsey took a deep breath and hung up as Holland put his arm back around Lindsey's shoulder. "Now, if you'll come with me..."
Lindsey pulled away and threw the phone at Holland. "You asshole!" he screamed. "You just couldn't leave her out of it, *could* you?!" Lindsey shoved Holland backwards and two of the people from another car started to charge, but Lindsey held up a hand as he regained his posture.
"You're too valuable of an asset to lose, Lindsey. Think of this... as a compliment."
Lindsey snorted. "Then insult me you bastard."
Holland smiled. "Now, if you'll come with me... we can get this all sorted out."
Lindsey hesitated as Holland opened the back door, but then thought about his sister. He had to go along with what they wanted. At least until he got his sister back.
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Gary, the second man, sitting in the passenger's seat, hung up the cell phone and put it back into the charger. Karen was completely confused now. "What do you people want?" she questioned through the window. "Why are you doing this? Don't kidnappers usually go for heiresses or people like that? You know, my brother really *does* work for Wolfram and Hart and they're going to nail your asses to the *wall* for this!"
After a pause, both men in the front seat began laughing. Gary turned around to the window. "Do you have any idea what your brother *really* does for a living? What class of... clientiele... he represents?"
Karen sat back. "We... don't talk about his work."
The driver chuckled. "Smart boy."
Gary followed his laugh. "You see, Lindsey is in a branch of Wolfram and Hart that services... unique... cases. Cases out of the realm of normal cases. And he knows a bit too much about the law firm. If he decided to leave, which we have cause to believe he is seriously thinking about, and go public with his information, it could prove extremely... detrimental to the firm."
"Why can't you just leave him alone? He won't tell anyone about your stupid firm."
"but we need to make sure that he has a reason not to. Give him something to stay loyal for. Namely... you."
Karen sat back. She didn't know what was going on there, but all she knew was that she wanted to see her brother. She had to know whether what they were saying was true or not. She just had to know.
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Lindsey sat in the back of the company car with Holland. He looked around and saw a small television hooked up. "What's that for?" he asked Holland.
Holland looked at the television and smiled. "Some... entertainment, I guess you could say."
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Karen, sitting in the back of the car, noticed that finally the two men had stopped paying attention to her. She looked out the windows, seeing where she was. *If I... if I can get out of the car. Jump out. Something.* She had no idea where she was but figured it was her best option. Slowly, carefully, she reached for the door handle and pulled it, but found that the doors were locked. She began pulling on it harder and one of the men from the front spoke up without even looking back.
"You don't think we're that stupid, do you?"
Karen sat up. "No, I think you're money-grubbing bastards who would sell your soul to the highest bidder given half a chance!"
Gary turned around to her. "Hey, hey, take it easy," he leaned into the window and looked directly at her. "Your dear brother is one of us 'money-grubbing bastards.'"
Karen screamed and went in for a punch right as the plastic window closed. She let out a slight scream of pain as Gary took the cell phone out of the charger.
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Holland's cell phone rang and Lindsey watched as he answered it.
"Yes? Perfect. I think that's just the kind of entertainment we need. Do it."
Holland hung up the phone and turned on the television set.
"Trust me, Lindsey, you're gonna love this."
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Karen couldn't take it anymore. She didn't care what would happen, she *had* to get out. She tried the doors again, she tried the windows, she tried pulling the windows down with her hands. Nothing was happening.
Gary, in the front, hung up the cell phone, replaced it in the charger and pressed a button on the control panel.
In the back, Karen heard something latch shut. She tried opening the dividing window again, but found that it wouldn't budge. *What's going on?* she thought. *I've got a bad feeling about this.*
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Holland turned the television on and Lindsey held his breath as he saw Karen in the back of another car just like this one. She was pulling on the door handle, window handles. *She must be scared out of her mind,* Lindsey thought. *I can't stand to see her like that.*
As Karen stopped moving, Holland chuckled. "Gives a new meaning to must-see tv, eh?"
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Suddenly Karen heard a quiet, hissing sound and stopped. She looked around and saw a strange yellow haxe coming from underneath the seat.
"Oh, my god." Karen frantically clawed at the divider window. *Whatever that stuff is, I'm going to take these guys with me.* However, the divider would not move one inch. The cabin started filling up with the smoke and Karen got a whiff of it. She began coughing and started to worry even more.
"Oh, my god. Help me! Some one!!!"
She clawed at the windows and doors and began kicking at them, trying to get them to open, but it was almost as if they were welded shut. The smoke was starting to fill up the cabin and Karen could tell that whatever it was it was not good. She pounded and kicked and clawed even more frantically as she began to cry out in a sobbing voice.
"Please! Help me! Someone!! Please! Oh, my god. Lindsey! Lindsey help me, please! Lindsey, make them stop! Please!"
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Lindsey sat, motionless until he saw the smoke start to some in and his sister start to kick the windows. He reached out to the television set. "Karen..."
Holland chuckled. "You can't *do* anything for her. They can't stop that gas now."
Lindsey didn't even reply. He couldn't do anything but watch, helpless, as his sister screamed in fright. The little girl he had taken care of for 18 years. The little girl who ran to him with every bumb and bruise and scrape, looking to him to make it better. And he had. For 18 years. As long as he could, he kept every harm imaginable from coming to her. He was her sheild... and now he sat, completely helpless for the first time in her life.
And then... she began calling out for him... and Lindsey began to cry. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make himself turn away. He watched as she kicked more and sobbed and finally, as the smoke began to overcome her and she lay still.
A moment passed before Holland turned the television off and Lindsey turned to him, asking in a deep growl, "What did you bastards *do* to her? If you think you can kill her and get away with it, you're wrong."
Holland smirked and leaned back. "You've seen what we do - we can get away with *anything*." Lindsey had to admit that he had a point there. "Besides," Holland continued. "Who are you going to tell - Angel? By now he knows that you made junior partner. He won't help you again." The was a still silence in the cabin before Holland continued again. "Relax. She's not going to die. How would *that* persuade you to stay?"
Lindsey looked up at Holland. "Then what the hell are you doing to her?"
Holland smiled. "Uh-uh-uh. If I told you, it would ruin the surprise."
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The car pulled up to the back parking lot of Wolfram and Hart about twenty minutes later. Holland stepped out and held the door for Lindsey.
"This way. Your sister should have already have arrived."
The walked to the back entrance where Holland slid a card through the lock and the door opened. Lindsey stepped in, followed by Holland, and the bodyguards, and looked around. This was some place he'd never been before. "Where is this?" he asked.
Holland chuckled. "Just wait, my boy. This building hides many secrets."
They turned a corner and stopped at an elevator. Holland slid the card again and the elevator doors opened, allowing them all to board.
According to this elevator, Lindsey noticed, the floor they were on was the top floor. *But that can't be right. This is the basement. We came in from the ground floor.* Holland pressed the button for the fifth floor down and the elevator began to move.
"I never knew this was here," Lindsey said, almost to himself.
"As I said... 'many secrets.' Ah, here's our stop."
The elevator doors opened and Lindsey almost gasped in awe of what was down here. It seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. A... a labroratory almost.
Holland stepped out. "Follow me."
Lindsey walked with him, wondering what his sister was doing in this place... whatever it was. Holland talked as they walked. "This is the underbelly of Wolfram and Hart... the bread and butter, should you say. Only 10 people in the entire firm know about what goes on down here... and you will soon make eleven, Lindsey. You see, Wolfram and Hart is a *full-service* law firm in the world of demons. And we take full-service, very seriously. Whatever a client of ours needs, we can and will provide. From defenses to... offenses, we have it all. And what we don't have, we find."
"What does this have to do with my sister?" Lindsey said through clenched teeth.
Holland smiled. "You really should consider yourself lucky. Your sister is now a very special person."
Lindsey stopped. "Okay, enough of this damn tour. I'm not going any further unless you're taking me directly to her."
Holland sighed. "Such impatience. Right this way."
They walk to a room, slightly further from where they had stopped and Holland slid the card again. Lindsey stepped in cautiously and saw his sister, huddled on the floor, behind a glass window. "Karen!" he said in a voice mixed with relief and worry and ran to the glass.
Holland stepped in the room and the door closed. He sat down in the chairs behind Lindsey, as Lindsey watched his sister.
She didn't look well. She was breathing hard and her face was contorted into a look of extreme pain. Suddenly, she cried out an agonizing cry and writhed along the floor. Lindsey turned around and grabbed Holland by the collar, lifting him out of the chair. "What are you doing to her?!" he screamed fiercely.
The two guards stepped forward, but Holland waved them away. "If he really wants to know how to help his sister, he'll be a good boy and sit down. Won't you, Lindsey?"
Holland looked at him and Lindsey realized that it was true. He let go of Holland and sat down in the chair next to him.
"That's better," Holland said, readjusting his shirt. "I trust there won't be any more outbursts like that?" Lindsey was silent as he watched his sister. "I'll take that as a no," Holland concluded.
"Just tell me what you did." Lindsey asked through clenced teeth.
Holland took a breath before beginning. "For a while now, Wolfram and Hart have been working on the ultimate weapon. Beyond any kind of biological warfare. If what we have was released to certain parties... mass chaos would unfurl. Which is exactly what some demons want... for a very tidy sum. None high enough for us to actually *sell* it yet, especially since it's still in the testing stages, but plenty for us to develop it."
Lindsey's stomach twisted in fear as he listen to Holland and saw his sister writhing in pain. "What does it do?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.
"It's a highly concentrated mixture of various demon secretions. Kind of like a virus. When injected or introduced into the air stream, the person infected begins to exhibit... symptoms of the various types of demons included in the mix."
Lindsey swallowed hard and looked closely at his sister. Her skin was taking a purple-ish tint. *Ohmigod,* he thought. *It can't be...*
"And what happens then?" Lindsey asked, knowing and dreding the answer.
"Well, for the early test subjects... death. The pain was too great for their bodies to handle and most died barely halfway into the transformation. Then we learned to include a painkiller into the mix. It stills hurts like a bitch for them, as you can tell, but at least now they survive."
"Survive for what?" Lindsey growled.
"For the complete transformation. By, oh, an hour's time, your sister will be a complete demon. Don't know what kind. It's always just a mixed bag. She might be a whole Vahrall or bits and pieces of five different other breeds, you never know."
Lindsey stood up and walked to the glass again. "And how does this make me stay?"
"Your sister is a demon now... but she doesn't have to stay one." Lindsey turned to face Holland. "We do have a way of... curing it, for lack of a better word."
"So what, you cure it and then you expect me to stay out of the goodness of my heart? There's gotta be a catch."
Holland smiled and chuckled. "I always knew you were a smart boy. We'll give you the cure, but in a diluted form. It will retain her back to normal, human capacity... only for a short time. We are prepared to offer you five doses at a time. That should be enough to last a week, but these things are all still experimental, so, who really knows?"
Lindsey turned away and looked at his sister. Her eyes had blackened over and the purple tint her skin had taken had darkened. "And what do I have to do in exchange?"
"Other than staying with the lawfirm and fufilling every case with the same vigor and dilligence you did before you had your little mid-life crisis... you have to make sure that the deal tonight goes through without a hitch. There's too much riding on it for anyone to interfere. If anything goes wrong tonight, we release you sister, in demon form, out into the streets. And maybe tip off the vampire to a reckless demon in the area."
He took one look at his sister and knew what he had to do. He turned around to Holland. "Deal. But if there's one thing I've learned here, it's to get it in writing. I want a contract."
Holland smiled. "That's my boy." He placed an arm around Lindsey and walked him out. "We've already got one drwn up. We'll go up to my office, sign it, chat a bit about the importance of tonight's deal... and then head there."
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The Wolfram and Hart Lawyers entered the crypt where the ritual was being performed and Lindsey watched impatiently.
"Five are without soul."
"Yet they live."
Holland leaned to Lilah and whispered to her. "They haven't even gotten to the Latin yet."
"Five are without sun."
Lindsey kept looking around, nervous. *Please don't know about this, Angel. I need this to happen. I don't need you interupting,* he thought, waiting to get back to his sister...and get her back to normal.
"Yet they live."
Suddenly, Vocah looked up, laying the scroll down on top of the crate. He walked to face some steps leading down into the crypt. Lindsey got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"What is it?" Lilah asked Holland.
Unsure, Holland answered. "I don't know."
Vocah reached into his cape and produceed a large, sharp scythe. A moment later, Angel burst through the door at the top of the stairs. Lindsey watched as they began to fight. He wanted to root for Angel, knowning what this ritual would mean in the long run, but he needed this to go through.
Holland looked to him "Lindsey?"
Lindsey watched the fight between Vocah and Angel for a moment longer. This was it. He had to make a choice. He hesitated, then steped forward into the circle and picked up the scroll.
Lindsey took the scroll and began reading, finishing the ritual "Five are dead." He looked to the monks, who were not responding as they had to Vocah. "Say it!" he demanded.
After a moment, they recited. "Yet they live."
Lindsey looked at the scroll and took a breath before reciting the latin. "Et illi quinque sacrificum est et illi que est mortuus vivet."
As Lindsey continued, Holland turned to Lilah. "Get the movers in here."
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
Lindsey continued. "Dum vita et mors non duas res sed unas sunt. In tenebris lux est, in luge tenebrae sunt. Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge!"
The five vampires surrounding the box turned to dust one by one as the earth shakes and a whirlwind began to spin around the box. The whirlwind sucked the vampire dust into the box, then a ring of light explodeed outward throwing Lindsey against the wall. He landed in an unconscious heap on the floor. Angel and Vocah continued fighting on as if nothing had happened while the movers rush in.
Holland pointed to the box "Get it out of here."
The movers pushed the box out as Holland threw a quick glance at the unmoving Lindsey. He took one look, and then followed the movers out, leaving Lindsey there to contend with Angel.
As Linsdey slowly came to, he realized that Angel and Vocah were still fighting... and he himself still had to scroll. Angel did away with Vocah as he grabbed a hold of post topped by a cross and brandished it in Angel's direction. Angel slowly walked towards him, bloody scythe held loosely in his right hand.
"Lindsey, give me the scroll."
Lindsey shook his head. "That's not gonna happen. It belongs to us."
Angel looked at Lindsey with disgust. "Us. You put your faith in Wolfram and Hart."
*Faith,* Lindsey thought. *Odd word to choose.* "You said I had to make a choice."
"And you did."
*And I did, that's right.* "Yeah. I had a crisis - and I want to thank you for your help with that - but I see things more clearly now."
"You don't see anything. You don't know what faith is."
*I think it's you who doesn't know Angel. My sister embodies faith, itself. Always has. Faith that I could protect her, give her a better life. And what did I do? I riuned her.* Lindsey thought all this, but knew he couldn't tell Angel. Knew he could never understand. He held up the scroll: "I see that what happened here tonight was foretold - that doesn't bode well for you. - I see that you are either the one with the power - or you're powerless."
Angel looked him square in the face. "Uh-huh. You see what I'm gonna do to you if you don't give me that scroll?"
Lindsey continued. "You need the words of Anatole to cure your friend. She is your connection to the Powers That Be. And since it's foretold that we sever all your connections," Lindsey took the scroll in one hand and held it into the flames burning in the urn beside him. "Well..."
Lindsey was about to drop it into the urn, to let it burn as Angel threw Vocah's scythe, cutting off Lindsey's hand at the wrist. He dropped the cross and screamed as he crumpled to the ground. Cradling his bleeding stump against his chest, he scowled as Angel retrieved the scroll from the floor beside him.
Angel walked away and muttered, "Don't believe everything you're foretold," as Lindsey tried to suppress his screams.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he managed to, Lindsey crawled out of the crypt to find a Wolfram and Hart limo waiting to take him back to the offices. Holland met him at the door and took him to another floor of the sub-basement area of the offices where he was taken care of in the infirmary. As soon as he was finished, he demanded to be taken to his sister.
When they got to her, she had completely transformed. Lindsey couldn't look; he didn't want to see his sister like that. Two armored men went in and gave her a shot.
"She should be back to normal in a few hours." Holland informed him. "Then we will give you the five doses, as specified in the contract, and you can take her home."
"Great." Lindsey answered sarcastically.
Holland paused. "We really are sorry that all this had to happen, Lindsey, but you understand, we have to protect the interests of Wolfram and Hart."
Lindsey avoided his gaze. "Yeah... I know."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Lindsey arrived home with Karen that night, she was still sleeping. He carried her into her room, and placed her under her covers. He sat next to her bed, watching her, thinking, for a long time. *You look so calm, right now. Calm and peaceful. And just like when you were a kid, and you would fall asleep in front of the fire and I would carry you to our room and tuck you in. All I wanted to do was give you a good life, Karen. I didn't want you to end up like the girls we grew up with. I just wanted to make a nice life for you. Protect you. Keep you safe. That's what a big brother is supposed to do. And look what I did. I made you a freak. You'll never be able to live a normal live now. And all because of me. All because I didn't leave when I had the chance. I'm going to make it up to you, Karen, I swear. I will find a way. If it kills me, I will find a way...*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE END.
Feedback MUCH appreciated: Crystal@SunnydaleHigh.zzn.com
A continuation of the events in "A Lawyer's Soul"
SETTING: Before and during the events of "To Shanshu in L.A."
SUMMARY: Lindsey rethinks his decision to stay with Wolfram and Hart, but finds it may be harder to leave than he thought.
DISCLAIMER: These characters are not mine. I wish they were, then I would be rich and not poor like I am. However they are not and I am not, so there you go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*There's something different. There's something going on,* Karen thought as she watched her brother leave for work. Ever since that morning he had cooked breakfast for her.
It sounded stupid, even to herself, but there was something wrong. Something that he wouldn't even tell her about. Even before that morning he had seemed a little different... distant. She didn't know how to describe it. All she knew was that he had said some strange things to her at breakfast and when he came home, *very* late that night, he just wasn't the same. He wasn't the smiling, laughing, fun Lindsey she had known as long as she had been alive. He was different. His work, that was what she could blame it on. It had always gotten to him on occassion, making him quiet, pensive, moody when he would come home from working on a "bad case." He would never tell her exactly what any of his cases were about. She had asked once, and been provided a stern "You don't need to know, and you don't want to know, so just trust me and leave it alone!" in response. It was one of few times Lindsey had ever yelled at her. So, she dropped the subject and never brought it up again.
But those days, when he came home tired, worn out, emotionally exhausted from work... those were days she wanted to know. Wanted to know why he stayed there if it made him so miserable sometimes. Now, it seemed that every day was one of those days. She hadn't had a real *talk* with him in what seemed like ages... ever since he got that damn promotion.
Karen cleaned up the breakfast dishes and put them in the sink as she left for school. *Sometimes, I worry about you, brother. Sometimes, I really do.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsey had to be at work early that morning. He, Holland and Lilah were greeting some of their new clients. Lindsey really didn't know anything about their case yet, but the Senior Partners had put all three of them on it... which meant it was something they didn't want to see go wrong. Unfortunately, something had already gone wrong.
"You lost the scroll of Aberjian?" the client, Vocah, questioned loudly.
Holland looked at Lindsey out of the corner of his eye. "The scroll was... stolen from our vault."
Vocah was outraged. "The raising can not be performed without the scroll."
Lilah stepped forward, trying to calm the demon down. "We understand..."
Lindsey had to do something and stepped forward. "It was my mistake. I'll rectify it."
Vocah looked at Lindsey with a look that somehow conveyed contempt and disgust, all without any discernable facial features. "You will do nothing. I will retrieve the scroll myself. Who stole it?"
Holland answered almost quietly. "Angel."
This outraged Vocah even more. "Angel! I am summoned for the raising - the very thing that was to bring this creature down to us -tear him from the Powers That Be - and he - has the scroll."
*'Bring this creature down?'* Lindsey thought. *What...?*
The corner of Lilah's mouth allowed her a smile. "We're not unaware of the irony."
Vocah turned his gaze to her. : "He is in the possession of the scroll. His connection to the Powers That Be is complete."
She shook her head. "He hasn't had time to make a full study of the text."
Vocah turned away. "No, and he won't. All avenues to the Powers shall be cut off from him and the scroll returned to us."
Lindsey hesitated before stepping forward. "What can we do to help?"
Vocah stopped, but did not turn back. "You can leave it to me." He and the other two demons with him exited, leaving Lilah, Holland and Lindsey alone in the room.
Holland spoke first. "Well - end of discussion?"
Lilah turned to leave. "I'd imagine so. He took it quite well, I thought."
Holland followed and Lindsey brought up the rear as the lawyers headed for the elevator. "Yes," Holland agreed. "I'm glad his kind have the kind of superiority complex that keeps them from smiting us and just lets them look down upon us."
The three made it to the elevator and Lilah looked at the other two. "Well, I'm going downstairs for lunch, either of you joining me?"
"I'll pass, too much work to do," Holland replied.
"Lindsey?"
Lindsey looked up, shook out of his deep thoughts. "Uh, no. Some other time."
Lilah shrugged. "All right." She got into one elevator while Lindsey and Holland got into the elevator headed for the upstairs offices.
Once in the elevator, Lindsey saw his chance to find out what was going on. "So, Holland, what exactly *is* this case? I'm pretty shady on the details."
"Vocah there is here to... get rid of our little Angel problem. Really, it has nothing to do with us. Vocah has a grudge against the Powers That Be and they really like this Angel guy, so that's what it's all about. We're just using it to our advantage and helping him dispose of the Do-boy for the Powers. "
Lindsey nodded. "That's what the scrolls were for?"
"Among other things. And now, Vocah is going to get the scroll back and soon, Angel will no longer be a problem for Wolfram and Hart. Oh. Here's my floor."
Holland exited the elevator, leaving Lindsey not knowing what to think. They were going to *destroy* Angel. He should feel happy about this, the vampire *was* Wolfram and Hart's enemy, after all. But he was also the person who had tried to help him... despite all his reservations.
Lindsey went to his new office and sat, thinking.
At nine o'clock, when he left for the night, he knew what he had to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holland watched Lindsey leave the office that night and had an ill feeling. He walked to the phone on his desk and pressed a number on the speed-dial.
"Yes. It's Holland. I want a tail tonight on Lindsey MacDonald. He's leaving the parking lot right now. He should be taking the 101 to get home. Notify me if he goes anywhere off the path."
Holland went back to the window and saw Lindsey's company car turn left instead of right. Instead of the way home. He knew where Lindsey was headed... and he knew exactly what to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen MacDonald looked at the clock on her television set. Ten twenty-five, it read. She slipped her shoes off and curled up under the comforter she had pulled onto the couch. *He should be home by now. This really isn't like him.*
She turned the television on and tried to take her mind off of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen was awakened by a loud banging on the door. She looked at the clock and saw that it noe read eleven o-six. *Who would be coming over at this time of night?* She took a quick peek into Lindsey bedroom to see if maybe he had came in while she was sleeping, but he wasn't there. "Maybe he just lost his key," she theorized aloud.
She walked to the door and looked through the peephole, expecting to see her brother. Instead she saw two men standing there. She opened the door cautiously.
One of the men immediately spoke as soon as the door opened. "Are you Karen MacDonald, ma'am?"
She opened the door a little more. "Yes," she replied, not knowing what to make of this.
"And Lindsey MacDonald is your brother?" the same man asked.
Karen was taken aback. "Well, yes..."
The second man finally spoke. "We need you to come with us, ma'am."
Karen took a step back. "Why? What's going on?" Immediately, her mind filled with worst-case scenarios. "Is Lindsey hurt? Is he okay?"
The first man flashed an ID badge. "We're with Wolfram and Hart. There's been... an accident."
She could feel all the color drain out of her face and her heart sink as her breath stopped. One hand reached out to the door frame for support. She stammered out a question. "Wha -- an accident? What... what kind of accident?"
The men looked at each other before the second answered. "It's best if you just come with us, ma'am."
Karen nodded dumbly. "Yeah sure. Let me get my shoes." She turned around to slip her sandals on, thinking only the worst. She followed the two men out to the driveway. "So, where is he? Or should I just follow you?"
The first man walked over and led her to the limo parked in the lot. "No, actually. You don't have to worry about that. We have a ride ready for you."
"O-- uh, yeah." she replied as one of the men held the door out for her. She got in the back and they both entered in the front.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsey passed street after street. He knew that what he was doing was in effect risking his life, but it was just something he had to do. This had gone to far - he had gotten in too deep. As he pulled onto a side street, he saw two black cadillacs - the company car - following him in the rear view mirror.
"Shit!" Lindsey cursed as he saw the cars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen had been sitting in the back of the cadillac for a good five minutes without a word from the people from Wolfram and Hart. She leaned up to the small separating window.
"Um, please. Can you tell me what's happened? What kind of accident was it? Is he hurt? Badly?"
The first man, now sitting in the driver's seat chuckled. "Well, you're quite the curious cat, aren't you?"
Karen was almost shocked. *Why's he laughing?* "I -- I just want to know what's happened to my brother."
The second man, from the passenger's side turned around to face her. "Nothing... yet. And you're here to make sure it stays that way."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsey turned down another street, trying to lose the cars that were relentlessly following him. Not paying attention to where he was going, he turned into a dead end alley and was suddenly surrounded by the two cars. Lindsey got out of his car and stood behind it.
"What are you doing, man! I need to get out of here! Move your car, now!" He started to pound on one of the car hoods as a third car pulled up. The car stopped and Holland stepped out of the back. Lindsey stopped pounding on the car and stook back. "Let me go, Holland," he demanded in a harsh whisper.
Holland stepped toward his associate. "Go where? To tell your friend, the vampire, about the nice little surprise we have for him?" Holland shook his head. "I don't think so."
People emerged from the other cars. *Oh my god,* Lindsey thought. *They're going to kill me. They're actually going to do it.* He thought about Karen and began to worry for his life. "What if I promise you - I won't talk to him. Just let me go."
"i'm sorry, Lindsey," Holland shook his head as he walked toward the young man. "You had a choice. You were free to come or go, no strings attached. It was the deal of a lifetime. Not often offered to people who know as much as you do. But *you* gave it up, Lindsey. You took the office, and the title... and the money. You truely sold your soul this time, Lindsey. And there's no return on it."
Lindsey paused. He knew that what Holland was saying was true. He could have left, but he let himself get swayed by the money. He took a deep breath and looked straight at Holland. "You can't keep me there. You can't keep me."
Holland smiled. "Actually, we can." Holland pulled a cell phone out and placed one arm around Lindsey's shoulders and led him to one of the cars. "Do you remember the first rule of negotiations, Lindsey?"
Lindsey looked at Holland. "Always have a bargaining chip the other party can't refuse," he stated almost robotically. Holland smiled and nodded as he began to dial a number. Lindsey paled. "What do you mean, Holland?"
Holland held up a finger as he waited for an answer. "Uh-huh. Gary? Yeah. Put her on." Holland took the phone and handed it over to Lindsey. "Here."
Lindsey cautiously took the phone and held it up to his ear. "Hello?"
A voice came over the phone. "Lindsey?" He felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. "Lindsey, is that you? Are you okay?"
"Karen?" he croaked out. He couldn't believe it. He could never have imagined that they could have sunk so low.
Karen exhaled deeply over the phone. "I'm sorry, Lindsey. They told me you were hurt. I ---."
Lindsey cut her off. "Karen, where are you?"
He heard her start to answer before the phone was taken away from her and a male voice came over. "She's with us, that's all you need to know. And she'll stay with us until we hear word from Mr. Holland."
The phone clicked and Lindsey took a deep breath and hung up as Holland put his arm back around Lindsey's shoulder. "Now, if you'll come with me..."
Lindsey pulled away and threw the phone at Holland. "You asshole!" he screamed. "You just couldn't leave her out of it, *could* you?!" Lindsey shoved Holland backwards and two of the people from another car started to charge, but Lindsey held up a hand as he regained his posture.
"You're too valuable of an asset to lose, Lindsey. Think of this... as a compliment."
Lindsey snorted. "Then insult me you bastard."
Holland smiled. "Now, if you'll come with me... we can get this all sorted out."
Lindsey hesitated as Holland opened the back door, but then thought about his sister. He had to go along with what they wanted. At least until he got his sister back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary, the second man, sitting in the passenger's seat, hung up the cell phone and put it back into the charger. Karen was completely confused now. "What do you people want?" she questioned through the window. "Why are you doing this? Don't kidnappers usually go for heiresses or people like that? You know, my brother really *does* work for Wolfram and Hart and they're going to nail your asses to the *wall* for this!"
After a pause, both men in the front seat began laughing. Gary turned around to the window. "Do you have any idea what your brother *really* does for a living? What class of... clientiele... he represents?"
Karen sat back. "We... don't talk about his work."
The driver chuckled. "Smart boy."
Gary followed his laugh. "You see, Lindsey is in a branch of Wolfram and Hart that services... unique... cases. Cases out of the realm of normal cases. And he knows a bit too much about the law firm. If he decided to leave, which we have cause to believe he is seriously thinking about, and go public with his information, it could prove extremely... detrimental to the firm."
"Why can't you just leave him alone? He won't tell anyone about your stupid firm."
"but we need to make sure that he has a reason not to. Give him something to stay loyal for. Namely... you."
Karen sat back. She didn't know what was going on there, but all she knew was that she wanted to see her brother. She had to know whether what they were saying was true or not. She just had to know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsey sat in the back of the company car with Holland. He looked around and saw a small television hooked up. "What's that for?" he asked Holland.
Holland looked at the television and smiled. "Some... entertainment, I guess you could say."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen, sitting in the back of the car, noticed that finally the two men had stopped paying attention to her. She looked out the windows, seeing where she was. *If I... if I can get out of the car. Jump out. Something.* She had no idea where she was but figured it was her best option. Slowly, carefully, she reached for the door handle and pulled it, but found that the doors were locked. She began pulling on it harder and one of the men from the front spoke up without even looking back.
"You don't think we're that stupid, do you?"
Karen sat up. "No, I think you're money-grubbing bastards who would sell your soul to the highest bidder given half a chance!"
Gary turned around to her. "Hey, hey, take it easy," he leaned into the window and looked directly at her. "Your dear brother is one of us 'money-grubbing bastards.'"
Karen screamed and went in for a punch right as the plastic window closed. She let out a slight scream of pain as Gary took the cell phone out of the charger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holland's cell phone rang and Lindsey watched as he answered it.
"Yes? Perfect. I think that's just the kind of entertainment we need. Do it."
Holland hung up the phone and turned on the television set.
"Trust me, Lindsey, you're gonna love this."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen couldn't take it anymore. She didn't care what would happen, she *had* to get out. She tried the doors again, she tried the windows, she tried pulling the windows down with her hands. Nothing was happening.
Gary, in the front, hung up the cell phone, replaced it in the charger and pressed a button on the control panel.
In the back, Karen heard something latch shut. She tried opening the dividing window again, but found that it wouldn't budge. *What's going on?* she thought. *I've got a bad feeling about this.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holland turned the television on and Lindsey held his breath as he saw Karen in the back of another car just like this one. She was pulling on the door handle, window handles. *She must be scared out of her mind,* Lindsey thought. *I can't stand to see her like that.*
As Karen stopped moving, Holland chuckled. "Gives a new meaning to must-see tv, eh?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suddenly Karen heard a quiet, hissing sound and stopped. She looked around and saw a strange yellow haxe coming from underneath the seat.
"Oh, my god." Karen frantically clawed at the divider window. *Whatever that stuff is, I'm going to take these guys with me.* However, the divider would not move one inch. The cabin started filling up with the smoke and Karen got a whiff of it. She began coughing and started to worry even more.
"Oh, my god. Help me! Some one!!!"
She clawed at the windows and doors and began kicking at them, trying to get them to open, but it was almost as if they were welded shut. The smoke was starting to fill up the cabin and Karen could tell that whatever it was it was not good. She pounded and kicked and clawed even more frantically as she began to cry out in a sobbing voice.
"Please! Help me! Someone!! Please! Oh, my god. Lindsey! Lindsey help me, please! Lindsey, make them stop! Please!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsey sat, motionless until he saw the smoke start to some in and his sister start to kick the windows. He reached out to the television set. "Karen..."
Holland chuckled. "You can't *do* anything for her. They can't stop that gas now."
Lindsey didn't even reply. He couldn't do anything but watch, helpless, as his sister screamed in fright. The little girl he had taken care of for 18 years. The little girl who ran to him with every bumb and bruise and scrape, looking to him to make it better. And he had. For 18 years. As long as he could, he kept every harm imaginable from coming to her. He was her sheild... and now he sat, completely helpless for the first time in her life.
And then... she began calling out for him... and Lindsey began to cry. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make himself turn away. He watched as she kicked more and sobbed and finally, as the smoke began to overcome her and she lay still.
A moment passed before Holland turned the television off and Lindsey turned to him, asking in a deep growl, "What did you bastards *do* to her? If you think you can kill her and get away with it, you're wrong."
Holland smirked and leaned back. "You've seen what we do - we can get away with *anything*." Lindsey had to admit that he had a point there. "Besides," Holland continued. "Who are you going to tell - Angel? By now he knows that you made junior partner. He won't help you again." The was a still silence in the cabin before Holland continued again. "Relax. She's not going to die. How would *that* persuade you to stay?"
Lindsey looked up at Holland. "Then what the hell are you doing to her?"
Holland smiled. "Uh-uh-uh. If I told you, it would ruin the surprise."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The car pulled up to the back parking lot of Wolfram and Hart about twenty minutes later. Holland stepped out and held the door for Lindsey.
"This way. Your sister should have already have arrived."
The walked to the back entrance where Holland slid a card through the lock and the door opened. Lindsey stepped in, followed by Holland, and the bodyguards, and looked around. This was some place he'd never been before. "Where is this?" he asked.
Holland chuckled. "Just wait, my boy. This building hides many secrets."
They turned a corner and stopped at an elevator. Holland slid the card again and the elevator doors opened, allowing them all to board.
According to this elevator, Lindsey noticed, the floor they were on was the top floor. *But that can't be right. This is the basement. We came in from the ground floor.* Holland pressed the button for the fifth floor down and the elevator began to move.
"I never knew this was here," Lindsey said, almost to himself.
"As I said... 'many secrets.' Ah, here's our stop."
The elevator doors opened and Lindsey almost gasped in awe of what was down here. It seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. A... a labroratory almost.
Holland stepped out. "Follow me."
Lindsey walked with him, wondering what his sister was doing in this place... whatever it was. Holland talked as they walked. "This is the underbelly of Wolfram and Hart... the bread and butter, should you say. Only 10 people in the entire firm know about what goes on down here... and you will soon make eleven, Lindsey. You see, Wolfram and Hart is a *full-service* law firm in the world of demons. And we take full-service, very seriously. Whatever a client of ours needs, we can and will provide. From defenses to... offenses, we have it all. And what we don't have, we find."
"What does this have to do with my sister?" Lindsey said through clenched teeth.
Holland smiled. "You really should consider yourself lucky. Your sister is now a very special person."
Lindsey stopped. "Okay, enough of this damn tour. I'm not going any further unless you're taking me directly to her."
Holland sighed. "Such impatience. Right this way."
They walk to a room, slightly further from where they had stopped and Holland slid the card again. Lindsey stepped in cautiously and saw his sister, huddled on the floor, behind a glass window. "Karen!" he said in a voice mixed with relief and worry and ran to the glass.
Holland stepped in the room and the door closed. He sat down in the chairs behind Lindsey, as Lindsey watched his sister.
She didn't look well. She was breathing hard and her face was contorted into a look of extreme pain. Suddenly, she cried out an agonizing cry and writhed along the floor. Lindsey turned around and grabbed Holland by the collar, lifting him out of the chair. "What are you doing to her?!" he screamed fiercely.
The two guards stepped forward, but Holland waved them away. "If he really wants to know how to help his sister, he'll be a good boy and sit down. Won't you, Lindsey?"
Holland looked at him and Lindsey realized that it was true. He let go of Holland and sat down in the chair next to him.
"That's better," Holland said, readjusting his shirt. "I trust there won't be any more outbursts like that?" Lindsey was silent as he watched his sister. "I'll take that as a no," Holland concluded.
"Just tell me what you did." Lindsey asked through clenced teeth.
Holland took a breath before beginning. "For a while now, Wolfram and Hart have been working on the ultimate weapon. Beyond any kind of biological warfare. If what we have was released to certain parties... mass chaos would unfurl. Which is exactly what some demons want... for a very tidy sum. None high enough for us to actually *sell* it yet, especially since it's still in the testing stages, but plenty for us to develop it."
Lindsey's stomach twisted in fear as he listen to Holland and saw his sister writhing in pain. "What does it do?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.
"It's a highly concentrated mixture of various demon secretions. Kind of like a virus. When injected or introduced into the air stream, the person infected begins to exhibit... symptoms of the various types of demons included in the mix."
Lindsey swallowed hard and looked closely at his sister. Her skin was taking a purple-ish tint. *Ohmigod,* he thought. *It can't be...*
"And what happens then?" Lindsey asked, knowing and dreding the answer.
"Well, for the early test subjects... death. The pain was too great for their bodies to handle and most died barely halfway into the transformation. Then we learned to include a painkiller into the mix. It stills hurts like a bitch for them, as you can tell, but at least now they survive."
"Survive for what?" Lindsey growled.
"For the complete transformation. By, oh, an hour's time, your sister will be a complete demon. Don't know what kind. It's always just a mixed bag. She might be a whole Vahrall or bits and pieces of five different other breeds, you never know."
Lindsey stood up and walked to the glass again. "And how does this make me stay?"
"Your sister is a demon now... but she doesn't have to stay one." Lindsey turned to face Holland. "We do have a way of... curing it, for lack of a better word."
"So what, you cure it and then you expect me to stay out of the goodness of my heart? There's gotta be a catch."
Holland smiled and chuckled. "I always knew you were a smart boy. We'll give you the cure, but in a diluted form. It will retain her back to normal, human capacity... only for a short time. We are prepared to offer you five doses at a time. That should be enough to last a week, but these things are all still experimental, so, who really knows?"
Lindsey turned away and looked at his sister. Her eyes had blackened over and the purple tint her skin had taken had darkened. "And what do I have to do in exchange?"
"Other than staying with the lawfirm and fufilling every case with the same vigor and dilligence you did before you had your little mid-life crisis... you have to make sure that the deal tonight goes through without a hitch. There's too much riding on it for anyone to interfere. If anything goes wrong tonight, we release you sister, in demon form, out into the streets. And maybe tip off the vampire to a reckless demon in the area."
He took one look at his sister and knew what he had to do. He turned around to Holland. "Deal. But if there's one thing I've learned here, it's to get it in writing. I want a contract."
Holland smiled. "That's my boy." He placed an arm around Lindsey and walked him out. "We've already got one drwn up. We'll go up to my office, sign it, chat a bit about the importance of tonight's deal... and then head there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Wolfram and Hart Lawyers entered the crypt where the ritual was being performed and Lindsey watched impatiently.
"Five are without soul."
"Yet they live."
Holland leaned to Lilah and whispered to her. "They haven't even gotten to the Latin yet."
"Five are without sun."
Lindsey kept looking around, nervous. *Please don't know about this, Angel. I need this to happen. I don't need you interupting,* he thought, waiting to get back to his sister...and get her back to normal.
"Yet they live."
Suddenly, Vocah looked up, laying the scroll down on top of the crate. He walked to face some steps leading down into the crypt. Lindsey got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"What is it?" Lilah asked Holland.
Unsure, Holland answered. "I don't know."
Vocah reached into his cape and produceed a large, sharp scythe. A moment later, Angel burst through the door at the top of the stairs. Lindsey watched as they began to fight. He wanted to root for Angel, knowning what this ritual would mean in the long run, but he needed this to go through.
Holland looked to him "Lindsey?"
Lindsey watched the fight between Vocah and Angel for a moment longer. This was it. He had to make a choice. He hesitated, then steped forward into the circle and picked up the scroll.
Lindsey took the scroll and began reading, finishing the ritual "Five are dead." He looked to the monks, who were not responding as they had to Vocah. "Say it!" he demanded.
After a moment, they recited. "Yet they live."
Lindsey looked at the scroll and took a breath before reciting the latin. "Et illi quinque sacrificum est et illi que est mortuus vivet."
As Lindsey continued, Holland turned to Lilah. "Get the movers in here."
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
Lindsey continued. "Dum vita et mors non duas res sed unas sunt. In tenebris lux est, in luge tenebrae sunt. Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge! Serge!"
The five vampires surrounding the box turned to dust one by one as the earth shakes and a whirlwind began to spin around the box. The whirlwind sucked the vampire dust into the box, then a ring of light explodeed outward throwing Lindsey against the wall. He landed in an unconscious heap on the floor. Angel and Vocah continued fighting on as if nothing had happened while the movers rush in.
Holland pointed to the box "Get it out of here."
The movers pushed the box out as Holland threw a quick glance at the unmoving Lindsey. He took one look, and then followed the movers out, leaving Lindsey there to contend with Angel.
As Linsdey slowly came to, he realized that Angel and Vocah were still fighting... and he himself still had to scroll. Angel did away with Vocah as he grabbed a hold of post topped by a cross and brandished it in Angel's direction. Angel slowly walked towards him, bloody scythe held loosely in his right hand.
"Lindsey, give me the scroll."
Lindsey shook his head. "That's not gonna happen. It belongs to us."
Angel looked at Lindsey with disgust. "Us. You put your faith in Wolfram and Hart."
*Faith,* Lindsey thought. *Odd word to choose.* "You said I had to make a choice."
"And you did."
*And I did, that's right.* "Yeah. I had a crisis - and I want to thank you for your help with that - but I see things more clearly now."
"You don't see anything. You don't know what faith is."
*I think it's you who doesn't know Angel. My sister embodies faith, itself. Always has. Faith that I could protect her, give her a better life. And what did I do? I riuned her.* Lindsey thought all this, but knew he couldn't tell Angel. Knew he could never understand. He held up the scroll: "I see that what happened here tonight was foretold - that doesn't bode well for you. - I see that you are either the one with the power - or you're powerless."
Angel looked him square in the face. "Uh-huh. You see what I'm gonna do to you if you don't give me that scroll?"
Lindsey continued. "You need the words of Anatole to cure your friend. She is your connection to the Powers That Be. And since it's foretold that we sever all your connections," Lindsey took the scroll in one hand and held it into the flames burning in the urn beside him. "Well..."
Lindsey was about to drop it into the urn, to let it burn as Angel threw Vocah's scythe, cutting off Lindsey's hand at the wrist. He dropped the cross and screamed as he crumpled to the ground. Cradling his bleeding stump against his chest, he scowled as Angel retrieved the scroll from the floor beside him.
Angel walked away and muttered, "Don't believe everything you're foretold," as Lindsey tried to suppress his screams.
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When he managed to, Lindsey crawled out of the crypt to find a Wolfram and Hart limo waiting to take him back to the offices. Holland met him at the door and took him to another floor of the sub-basement area of the offices where he was taken care of in the infirmary. As soon as he was finished, he demanded to be taken to his sister.
When they got to her, she had completely transformed. Lindsey couldn't look; he didn't want to see his sister like that. Two armored men went in and gave her a shot.
"She should be back to normal in a few hours." Holland informed him. "Then we will give you the five doses, as specified in the contract, and you can take her home."
"Great." Lindsey answered sarcastically.
Holland paused. "We really are sorry that all this had to happen, Lindsey, but you understand, we have to protect the interests of Wolfram and Hart."
Lindsey avoided his gaze. "Yeah... I know."
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When Lindsey arrived home with Karen that night, she was still sleeping. He carried her into her room, and placed her under her covers. He sat next to her bed, watching her, thinking, for a long time. *You look so calm, right now. Calm and peaceful. And just like when you were a kid, and you would fall asleep in front of the fire and I would carry you to our room and tuck you in. All I wanted to do was give you a good life, Karen. I didn't want you to end up like the girls we grew up with. I just wanted to make a nice life for you. Protect you. Keep you safe. That's what a big brother is supposed to do. And look what I did. I made you a freak. You'll never be able to live a normal live now. And all because of me. All because I didn't leave when I had the chance. I'm going to make it up to you, Karen, I swear. I will find a way. If it kills me, I will find a way...*
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THE END.
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