TITLE:
Darkest Before Dawn 33 "Recon"
AUTHOR:
Nmissi
PART:33/?
DISCLAIMER: I own Nothing and No one.
Especially not Spike. If I did,
what makes you think I'd share him with you?
DISTRIBUTION: Want it? Take it. Just let me know where it's going.
Feedback:
Please. Nmissi@aol.com
SUMMARY: The way the world would work if I wrote the Buffyverse.
Cordelia moved the empty pizza boxes
off of the pile of papers she wanted.
"Guys?"
She held up an orangey-stained list
for their inspection.
"Maybe can we NOT sit the greasy
pizza box right on TOP of the admissions reports? I mean, I might actually need
these things for something."
Gunn hung his head sadly.
"Sorry, C." he said. It had been his
idea not to get Chinese again tonight.
Wesley headed over to survey the
damage.
"Yes, well…it seems to have missed
our notes. That's a positive sign."
He took the stained sheets from
Cordy, and looked them over intently.
"It appears she's branching out into
a new area. Admissions are up 22% in Brentwood, now."
Cordy answered him through a
mouthful of mozzarella.
"That matches with," she chewed for
a moment, and then swallowed loudly.
"That matches what I picked up at
the hospital. They're drowning in Psych consults, having to call in extra staff
just to handle the overrun."
Gunn scratched his head, and joined
the discussion.
"Man, I don't feel right about this.
Just sittin' back, chillin' and compiling statistics like some kinda paranormal
census taker. It don't seem right. Not with this little 'g' god runnin' around,
makin' people freaky."
Wesley shared his concerns, and was
equally uneasy about their inaction. But Giles had told him not to engage
Glory, and he respected the watcher's wisdom.
"Gunn, I do understand how you feel.
But we simply aren't equipped to stop her right now. Any action we take would
be literal madness, you do realize that, don't you?"
"Yeah, man. I get that. But it still
don't sit right, y'know? It feels, I dunno. All cowardly and shit."
There was silence in the room as
they all considered this.
Cordelia broke it after several
minutes with a well- placed observation.
"We can't keep doing our research
here."
They all looked around, taking in
the piles of papers, the boxes of records, and the overflowing trashcan full of
Chinese take out boxes.
"Not only is your place filthy,
Gunn. But it's too small. And we need our books back."
She looked over at Wes.
"When did Angel say they'd be
finished with the floors, again?"
Wesley gazed at her overtop his
glasses.
"He didn't. He just said he was
refinishing all the hardwoods throughout the hotel, and we shouldn't be in it
for awhile because of the fumes."
Cordy's lips drew into a hard line.
"Do you think that's really why we
can't go over there?"
Both men were unable to meet her
eyes. All three had the same thought, but no one really wanted to voice it. Not
since their disastrous confrontation with Angel had they even discussed it.
Ultimately Cordelia was unable to
keep her silence.
"I think we ought to go over there
and get a good look at her. I mean, she's gone and stolen Angel from us. Let's
see what the competition's like."
Wes raised an eyebrow at Gunn, who
raised his shoulders in a questioning shrug.
"Should we?" said Wes.
"I don't know." Said Gunn.
Cordy rolled her eyes and sighed
dramatically.
"Well I for one, am going over
there. He can't just make me sit here and call hospitals all night. I'm a woman
of action!"
Wes choked back a giggle, and Gunn
snorted, but she ignored them and grabbed up her purse.
As she headed out the door, Gunn
looked back over at Wesley.
"You game for it, man?"
The Englishman smiled.
"Always."
"Harmony, I just don't see what the
problem is. You're perfectly safe here- So long as you don't get in the way, or
cause trouble, Angel will look after you. And your room here is certainly as
nice as the one at the Radisson."
Harm pouted.
"You say Wolfram and Hart are the
"bad guys", that they want to use me to hurt Angel. But they aren't really
interested in him- Or they'd have gone to get him, instead of me!"
The girl's intellect was truly
mind-blowing for its complete lack of scope. Lilah took a breath and counted to
ten.
"Harmony, they wanted you because
you're young and inexperienced. We have reason to believe they've actively
tried to kill Angel- There's no reason to believe they won't go after the rest
of us as well. Drusilla, Darla, Spike- all of them are fair game right now."
The blonde exploded.
"Like I even CARE what they do to
that two-timing, good for nothing-"
Ouch. Bad blood there, Lilah could
tell.
"You know them personally?"
Harm rolled her eyes heavenward.
"Oh, yeah. I know them. Droodzilla-
Spike's crazy ex. And Spike- You might say I know him REAL well. We lived
together for about five months. He's a bastard and I hate him."
'Note to self- investigate "the
Spike connection" further,' thought Lilah.
"Well then, you and Angel have
something in common. He doesn't seem to like your Spike very well either."
"He's not my Spike anymore. I don't
think he ever really was."
Her whine was soft and plaintive.
Oddly Lilah felt sorry for her. She dropped her voice and made her words
gentle.
"Look. Angel sent up these clothes,
just for you. He's prepared this room with you in mind. He cares about your
welfare, Harmony, and if you made the slightest attempt to ingratiate yourself
with him, you'd have him eating out of your hand in no time. Just get dressed
and come downstairs, all right? You'll see you're not a prisoner here."
She tried to reach out her hand to
the girl, but she drew back, demon to the fore, hissing.
Lilah sighed.
"I can't make you come down, I know
that. But if you grow bored up here, maybe you'd like to join us. We'd like to
include you in our discussions and see if you can help us out."
She left the girl alone then to
consider her options.
"Can you see yet?"
Cordy's harsh whisper crackled in
the night air, making Gunn jump slightly. He whistled softly through his teeth
at her.
"Cordelia, please…Quiet, remember?"
Wesley reminded her gently.
She rolled her eyes.
Then Gunn sat up a little
straighter, the binoculars jutting out from his handsome face, spoiling its
symmetry.
"Dude! I can see her! I can see her!
She's sitting across from him, at that little table. She's blonde-"
"I knew it!" shrilled Cordelia.
"SSH!" Wesley hissed at her. Then
quietly to Gunn he said.
"What else can you see?"
Gunn waited a beat, then excitedly
continued.
"Waitaminute! They're's two of them
in there! He's got himself a blonde, AND a brunette. The brunette's all
snuggled up alongside of him, real cozy like. They seem to be talking to the
blonde. She's gesturing around, waiving her hands like this."
His swishy arm gestures were
effeminate and amusing. Cordelia jumped in again.
"But what do they look like? Are
they pretty?"
He nodded.
"Uh huh. Brunette gets at least a
9.5- she's wearing this tight black suit, and Damn, those'r some fine curves!
Can't see the blonde though, she's got her back to the window."
Minutes passed in complete silence
before he broke it with a disgusted outburst.
"Aw, Man…He's got a guy in there
too! And he looks even cozier than the girls. He's drapin' himself over Angel
like a sweater or something, hanging around his neck."
Cordelia's protracted "Eeww" seemed
to sum things up nicely for the group. Then Gunn's posture changed, his
shoulders tightened and he leaned forward slightly.
"I don't know, but I'm thinkin' that
guy looks kinda familiar."
He took the binoculars down, and
passed them over to Wesley in the driver's seat. He put them to his face, and
leaned over in front of Gunn. Behind them Cordelia was waving her hands, trying
to get them to hand them back to her.
"Who is it? Come on, let me see."
Wesley lowered the binoculars, a
look of despair in his eyes.
"Cordelia, I believe those people
are from Wolfram and Hart. Angel's young man is Mr. McDonald."
Imprudently, the girl opened up the
backdoor.
"What are you doing?" asked Gunn, as
Wesley stammered out a similar question.
She climbed out, and shut the door.
Then she addressed them from the street, determination stiffening her spine.
"I'm gonna go find out just what the
HELL is going on in there."
She headed for the door, and her
partners quickly fumbled their way out of the car, to follow her.