TITLE: I've Got You Under My Skin
AUTHOR: Jana Kay
EMAIL: jana_kay17@yahoo.com.au
DISCLAIMER: All Angel and BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB and 20th Century Fox, and Roswell characters also belong to others. I don't know who.
RATING: R
PAIRING: Angel/Cordelia
SPOILERS: Up through to the end of S1 for A:tS, and the end of S4 for BtVS as well. Spoilers up through to 'Crazy' for S1 of Roswell also.
SUMMARY: An Angel/Roswell crossover, where Agent Topolsky's character on Roswell becomes a vessel for Darla's demon, brought back from Hell in the Angel season finale.
NOTES: These: //.....// indicate thoughts.
*****
PART II
When Cordelia hurried back into the kitchen, she was surprised to find Angel resting his cheek on the small wooden table, eyes closed and breathing deeply though he didn't need to. He acted as though he didn't notice her, so she quietly walked forwards, stopping beside him as she reached out a hand to touch his naked shoulder.
He shot up with a start, eyes open wide in surprise, and Cordelia had to fight with everything inside of her to stop the stab of pain Angel experienced that she also felt from showing on her face.
As he took in the sight of Cordelia's stunned face at what he thought were his sudden actions, Angel settled back on the chair with a sheepish smile, his injured arm now resting on the table as he stretched his legs out to loosen them a little.
"Sorry. I was just...." He trailed off and looked away as Cordelia quickly brought herself back under control, the pain having faded enough for her to close her mouth and set the kit down. Trying to act casual but still concerned, she tilted her head to the side as she squeezed his shoulder lightly.
"You were what? Doing the vamp version of meditation, complete with your cheek pressed down flat on my table while you drooled?"
Angel turned his head back to look at her as he studied her with a slight frown, his forehead creasing a little. "I didn't drool."
Sighing in exasperation, Cordelia pulled up a chair and sat in it facing him, keeping her legs out of the way of his so they wouldn't get tangled when they tried to get up. "I know you didn't Angel. I was just wondering what you were doing."
"Oh."
Leaning forward so she could see him better, Cordelia waited a few moments for him to continue. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything else, she restrained herself from rolling her eyes before saying, "Okay. So....what *were* you doing?"
Tapping his fingers on the table now, Angel shook his head slightly, almost uncomfortably. "I was just resting my eyes a little. That's all. And I didn't notice you come in so I was surprised when you--"
Cordelia interrupted him bluntly. "I'd appreciate it if you look me in the eyes when you lie to me. I'm your best friend after all. I feel as though I'm worth at least that much of a better job of it."
A guilty look flashed over Angel's face as he caught her hazel eyes for a moment before looking away again. "Sorry," he muttered.
Softening her voice as she took in his expression, Cordelia experienced a little of her own guilt at pushing him so much, so she reached forward and patted her hand on his knee. "Don't apologise Angel. Just know that whatever it is, you can tell me."
Swallowing as he kept his head turned away from her, all Angel could do was nod his head in agreement.
Taking in the sight of his slumped appearance and dejected air, Cordelia knew there was more at work here than his guilt over what happened to Wesley and his having lied to her. Watching him closely, she had a flash of insight as she remembered the pain she'd felt twice now and Angel's steady unnecessary breaths as he rested his cheek on the table.
Sighing softly, she leaned forward and touched his injured arm with gentle fingertips. "It's this isn't it. You were trying to concentrate and make the pain go away."
It came out as a statement, not a question, and Angel looked up at her quickly, surprise showing on his handsome features at Cordelia having figured it out. "Yeah. How did you--"
Shaking her head quickly, she picked up the kit and flipped it open with a practiced move as she cut him off. "It doesn't matter how I knew Angel. What matters is that we fix it now."
Eyeing her carefully as she pulled out antiseptic and gauze, all Angel could do was nod and say, "Okay," as Cordelia steamrolled him into sitting still and giving her his arm so she could patch it up, her sudden rush of -- previously almost unheard of -- insight arousing his curious and slightly suspicious instincts.
But faced with a determined Cordelia Chase, all he could do was watch and wait.
For now.
*****
Lilah Morgan raised the frosted wine glass to her red lips and took a delicate sip, all the while elegantly manicured fingernails of her other hand tapping softly and steadily on the sleekly varnished surface of her large desk. Setting the wine glass down on a portion of her desk that wasn't currently covered in open folders, she proceeded to settle back in her leather desk chair with one particularly large folder open on her lap.
The idleness of her fingers as she flicked through the sheets of information inside could have easily been misinterpreted by another watching as carelessness, but unless they were very close, they'd never actually realise that her smoky brown eyes were carefully skimming and cataloguing every single detail she read.
A manipulative tactic she'd used more than once on unsuspecting rivals to beat them before they even knew what hit them.
She sighed in frustration as she reread some of the information in the folder, then reached for her wine glass again, determined to enjoy her evening even though she was at work, and try her hardest not to let this annoying case upset her.
She had just picked up the slender stem of the glass when there was a cursory knock at the door, followed immediately by Lindsey MacDonald opening the door and stepping inside.
As had become her custom in the last week since the Raising, her gaze flicked down for a moment to the prominent stump of his right wrist before she quickly raised her cat-like eyes again, trying to appear as though she hadn't been looking. Looking at the place where Lindsey had previously had a perfectly fine right hand had become a slightly sick fascination. No matter what she was doing, her eyes always seemed to be drawn back to it, as though the stump was glaring at her in anger.
Why? She had no idea.
This time, Lindsey noticed. "Stop looking at it."
Her face became a picture of innocence as she set the wine glass down again and raised her hands slightly. "Who me? I wasn't looking at anything."
Lindsey scowled as he walked further into her spacious office, flopping down onto an expensive leather armchair opposite her before growling, "Save your lying for the court. I can see through you as if you were glass."
Smirking slightly as she leaned back in her chair, she steepled her fingers together as she studied him for a moment, her eyes once again travelling down to the stump of their own volition. "Well you have to admit, it's very eye catching." Her smirk grew as she watched Lindsey's scowl deepen.
Twisting in his chair slightly, he leveled an angry stare at her with intense blue eyes. "I hope you realise the extent of your parasitism Lilah. Wouldn't want you to suddenly grow a couple more eyes and sprout wings unannounced."
Her smirk stayed firmly in place through sheer force of will, but her smoky brown eyes hardened to cold points of ice as she silently gritted her teeth and refrained from answering. Simply continuing to smile would piss her coworker off more than any other answer she could possibly give him.
Scowling again, eyes narrowed into tiny slits of dislike, Lindsey faced away from her slightly and ran his only hand through his floppy brown hair, then unconsciously began to cradle his stump the way he had when Angel had first cut it off. It was something he'd begun to do ever since the doctor said two days ago that the sling could come off.
Bringing her temper under control again, Lilah sighed with impatience. "Did you have a specific reason in coming here Lindsey? One you needed to talk to me about?"
The sudden change in Lindsey's demeanour was almost, *almost* unnoticeable, but after having worked side by side with him for so many years she was just able to pick it up. His eyes narrowed every so slightly as his head tilted in an innocent gesture. Well, in what would be perceived as an innocent gesture by the entire general public except her. To her the tilt of his handsome face wasn't innocent at all. It was entirely all too calculating, not to mention vastly intriguing.
Leaning forward in curiosity, Lilah propped her elbows on the desk and waited. "Well?"
Clearing his throat slightly and turning his body back to face her, Lindsey raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Have the plans for dealing with the Angel matter been finalised yet?"
Narrowing her own eyes as she picked up the ever so slight trace of hate in Lindsey's smooth voice, she shook her head. "Holland is still meeting with the senior partners over it. He said that they should come to a final decision by midnight tomorrow at the latest. Then it's up to us to move the plan forward."
Tugging on his tie to loosen it, Lindsey relaxed back into the comfortable armchair as he eyed Lilah carefully. "Okay. Well have there been any problems....with the plan?"
Smiling widely as she pushed her chair back from the desk and stood up, Lilah purred, "Only what we expected, but she seems to be coming along nicely. Give her a few more weeks and she should be in top condition. Our favourite neighbourhood vampire will never know the difference."
Walking around the edge of her desk, Lilah moved towards the far side of the room where a sleek 63cm television was set up on a black coffee table. Picking up the remote control that lay beside it, she clicked it on and then stood to the side so Lindsey had a clear view of the crisp picture on screen. Her smile grew wider as she eagerly watched the events taking place in another part of the huge Wolfram & Hart building. "See what I mean?"
Lindsey's smile became nasty as he watched the small blonde onscreen struggle against her bonds, growling angrily at empty air as her eyes flew around the vault in confusion, her pupils still largely dilated as her mind kept replaying scenes of Hell over and over again in front of her eyes.
His fingers stroked his chin as he crossed one leg over the other. "Tell me again how she works Lilah. I still can't quite believe it. I mean if you'd seen her when we first got her....an FBI agent! Now look at her."
Rolling her eyes as she moved back to her desk, Lilah said, "How many times do I have to tell you this Lindsey? Do you keep forgetting? Or are you just really enjoying hearing what's going to happen to Angel?"
Lindsey smirked as he kept his eyes fixed on the screen. The blonde had settled down slightly but she was still growling softly. "Probably a bit of both."
Sighing as she turned back to the TV, Lilah watched the blonde closely. "She's not really his sire as you well know, but she is a direct descendant of hers. That's why she bears such a frighteningly strong resemblance to Darla." Opening up the large folder she'd been looking in when Lindsey first came in, she picked up a photograph taken in the early 1990's and passed it to him.
Lindsey took it and stared at it closely then looked back towards the screen, a low whistle escaping his lips as he compared the two females. "Uncanny."
"Exactly. That photo of Darla was taken when she was last in LA. Holland ran into her by accident when he was in a meeting with a client, and you won't believe who the client was. The now completely deceased Russell Winters. How's that for irony?"
"Why do you say that?"
Rolling her eyes at the back of Lindsey's head, Lilah replied, "Because that was the first case Angel ever meddled in, and now it's going to come back to haunt him. I mean if it hadn't have been for Russell Winters, we would have never found out about Darla and have been able to use her against him. Anyway, Holland had someone take that picture of her, in case we ever felt the need to use her services for the firm and had to find her."
Turning to Lilah quickly before looking back at the screen again, Lindsey asked, "How did those two know each other again?"
Taking another sip of her wine, Lilah replied, "Winters met Darla when she and her also now completely deceased sire first came to American shores. They remained friends throughout the years while they both went about their own business', and Darla often came back to visit him and help him out with any work problems he might have. The last time she came, when that photo was taken, was for those exact reasons. A few demons who were looking to move in on Winter's territory needed to be dealt with immediately, and she came up from wherever she was at the time to help him kill them."
Lilah smiled and her eyes twinkled with unholy glee. "Holland saw them do it too. He told me just the other day as we were down in the vault visiting our guest that she was one of the most powerful vampires he'd ever seen, with a wonderful style when it came to dealing with opponents in a....messy way."
Lindsey's eyebrows raised in surprise. "And we think she," he said pointing to the screen, "is going to be able to emulate what the real Darla was and could do?"
"No Lindsey, she won't have to do that. She is after all, still only human. However though, she is possessed by Darla's demon, and this lends certain traits to her that she otherwise never would have had."
"Such as?"
"Well, she has better reflexes and increased strength now, and of course, she'll have all the mannerisms and memories of Darla herself, because the demon from Hell will be what's controlling her body, not the soul."
Lindsey scratched his chin lightly as he tilted his head to the side and stared harder at the screen. The blonde was hanging limply in her chains now, moaning as if in pain while her eyes kept rolling up into the back of her head in agitation. "How exactly can you be sure of that? I mean, they're both in there right? Soul and demon. How do we know she won't suddenly be in control of herself again and ruin everything?"
Lilah sighed at his naivete. "You idiot Lindsey. There's no way she can be in control again, not until the demon's expelled. And then we'll have no use for her, so it'll be goodbye Agent Kathleen Topolsky."
Lindsey turned back to face her, concern etched onto his handsome features. "But how can you be sure? I mean, we've never done anything like this before, and none of the records in the vault or the library have ever written about something like this being successfully completed. We have nothing to guide us here except for vague clues from a scroll full of prophecies that are over 3000 years old, and written in over a dozen different languages which aren't even all human." His eyes flicked back to the screen again as if unwilling to turn away from the miraculous sight. "How can you be so damned certain she won't gain control?"
Lilah was flustered for a moment when Lindsey finished his tirade. As much as she hated to admit it, a lot of his points made sense. In fact, too many did. But did he really think Wolfram & Hart were so stupid as to do something of this size and importance without taking the necessary precautions? Of course not. Wolfram & Hart were not a stupid firm. They may have hired some stupid people, but they themselves were not stupid. Far from it. Finding her icy calm again, Lilah leaned back in her chair as she cast a withering look at her coworker.
"We've done countless amounts of research on demon possessions and the like MacDonald. It's all clearly written there. A vampire is always stronger than a mortal, therefore a vampire's demon will always be stronger than a mortal's soul. Blondie's soul will be too weak to protect itself, let alone fight back against Darla's demon." She settled back into her chair in triumph, ignoring the niggling doubt that there really hadn't been that much written in way of confirmation. Ignoring that the majority of what they were doing was just guesswork, strategic planning and a heck of a lot of confidence.
Why?
Because Wolfram & Hart were not stupid. This wild plan would never have been agreed to unless they all thought it would work.
She had to believe in that.
They all did.
End part 2
AUTHOR: Jana Kay
EMAIL: jana_kay17@yahoo.com.au
DISCLAIMER: All Angel and BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB and 20th Century Fox, and Roswell characters also belong to others. I don't know who.
RATING: R
PAIRING: Angel/Cordelia
SPOILERS: Up through to the end of S1 for A:tS, and the end of S4 for BtVS as well. Spoilers up through to 'Crazy' for S1 of Roswell also.
SUMMARY: An Angel/Roswell crossover, where Agent Topolsky's character on Roswell becomes a vessel for Darla's demon, brought back from Hell in the Angel season finale.
NOTES: These: //.....// indicate thoughts.
*****
PART II
When Cordelia hurried back into the kitchen, she was surprised to find Angel resting his cheek on the small wooden table, eyes closed and breathing deeply though he didn't need to. He acted as though he didn't notice her, so she quietly walked forwards, stopping beside him as she reached out a hand to touch his naked shoulder.
He shot up with a start, eyes open wide in surprise, and Cordelia had to fight with everything inside of her to stop the stab of pain Angel experienced that she also felt from showing on her face.
As he took in the sight of Cordelia's stunned face at what he thought were his sudden actions, Angel settled back on the chair with a sheepish smile, his injured arm now resting on the table as he stretched his legs out to loosen them a little.
"Sorry. I was just...." He trailed off and looked away as Cordelia quickly brought herself back under control, the pain having faded enough for her to close her mouth and set the kit down. Trying to act casual but still concerned, she tilted her head to the side as she squeezed his shoulder lightly.
"You were what? Doing the vamp version of meditation, complete with your cheek pressed down flat on my table while you drooled?"
Angel turned his head back to look at her as he studied her with a slight frown, his forehead creasing a little. "I didn't drool."
Sighing in exasperation, Cordelia pulled up a chair and sat in it facing him, keeping her legs out of the way of his so they wouldn't get tangled when they tried to get up. "I know you didn't Angel. I was just wondering what you were doing."
"Oh."
Leaning forward so she could see him better, Cordelia waited a few moments for him to continue. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything else, she restrained herself from rolling her eyes before saying, "Okay. So....what *were* you doing?"
Tapping his fingers on the table now, Angel shook his head slightly, almost uncomfortably. "I was just resting my eyes a little. That's all. And I didn't notice you come in so I was surprised when you--"
Cordelia interrupted him bluntly. "I'd appreciate it if you look me in the eyes when you lie to me. I'm your best friend after all. I feel as though I'm worth at least that much of a better job of it."
A guilty look flashed over Angel's face as he caught her hazel eyes for a moment before looking away again. "Sorry," he muttered.
Softening her voice as she took in his expression, Cordelia experienced a little of her own guilt at pushing him so much, so she reached forward and patted her hand on his knee. "Don't apologise Angel. Just know that whatever it is, you can tell me."
Swallowing as he kept his head turned away from her, all Angel could do was nod his head in agreement.
Taking in the sight of his slumped appearance and dejected air, Cordelia knew there was more at work here than his guilt over what happened to Wesley and his having lied to her. Watching him closely, she had a flash of insight as she remembered the pain she'd felt twice now and Angel's steady unnecessary breaths as he rested his cheek on the table.
Sighing softly, she leaned forward and touched his injured arm with gentle fingertips. "It's this isn't it. You were trying to concentrate and make the pain go away."
It came out as a statement, not a question, and Angel looked up at her quickly, surprise showing on his handsome features at Cordelia having figured it out. "Yeah. How did you--"
Shaking her head quickly, she picked up the kit and flipped it open with a practiced move as she cut him off. "It doesn't matter how I knew Angel. What matters is that we fix it now."
Eyeing her carefully as she pulled out antiseptic and gauze, all Angel could do was nod and say, "Okay," as Cordelia steamrolled him into sitting still and giving her his arm so she could patch it up, her sudden rush of -- previously almost unheard of -- insight arousing his curious and slightly suspicious instincts.
But faced with a determined Cordelia Chase, all he could do was watch and wait.
For now.
*****
Lilah Morgan raised the frosted wine glass to her red lips and took a delicate sip, all the while elegantly manicured fingernails of her other hand tapping softly and steadily on the sleekly varnished surface of her large desk. Setting the wine glass down on a portion of her desk that wasn't currently covered in open folders, she proceeded to settle back in her leather desk chair with one particularly large folder open on her lap.
The idleness of her fingers as she flicked through the sheets of information inside could have easily been misinterpreted by another watching as carelessness, but unless they were very close, they'd never actually realise that her smoky brown eyes were carefully skimming and cataloguing every single detail she read.
A manipulative tactic she'd used more than once on unsuspecting rivals to beat them before they even knew what hit them.
She sighed in frustration as she reread some of the information in the folder, then reached for her wine glass again, determined to enjoy her evening even though she was at work, and try her hardest not to let this annoying case upset her.
She had just picked up the slender stem of the glass when there was a cursory knock at the door, followed immediately by Lindsey MacDonald opening the door and stepping inside.
As had become her custom in the last week since the Raising, her gaze flicked down for a moment to the prominent stump of his right wrist before she quickly raised her cat-like eyes again, trying to appear as though she hadn't been looking. Looking at the place where Lindsey had previously had a perfectly fine right hand had become a slightly sick fascination. No matter what she was doing, her eyes always seemed to be drawn back to it, as though the stump was glaring at her in anger.
Why? She had no idea.
This time, Lindsey noticed. "Stop looking at it."
Her face became a picture of innocence as she set the wine glass down again and raised her hands slightly. "Who me? I wasn't looking at anything."
Lindsey scowled as he walked further into her spacious office, flopping down onto an expensive leather armchair opposite her before growling, "Save your lying for the court. I can see through you as if you were glass."
Smirking slightly as she leaned back in her chair, she steepled her fingers together as she studied him for a moment, her eyes once again travelling down to the stump of their own volition. "Well you have to admit, it's very eye catching." Her smirk grew as she watched Lindsey's scowl deepen.
Twisting in his chair slightly, he leveled an angry stare at her with intense blue eyes. "I hope you realise the extent of your parasitism Lilah. Wouldn't want you to suddenly grow a couple more eyes and sprout wings unannounced."
Her smirk stayed firmly in place through sheer force of will, but her smoky brown eyes hardened to cold points of ice as she silently gritted her teeth and refrained from answering. Simply continuing to smile would piss her coworker off more than any other answer she could possibly give him.
Scowling again, eyes narrowed into tiny slits of dislike, Lindsey faced away from her slightly and ran his only hand through his floppy brown hair, then unconsciously began to cradle his stump the way he had when Angel had first cut it off. It was something he'd begun to do ever since the doctor said two days ago that the sling could come off.
Bringing her temper under control again, Lilah sighed with impatience. "Did you have a specific reason in coming here Lindsey? One you needed to talk to me about?"
The sudden change in Lindsey's demeanour was almost, *almost* unnoticeable, but after having worked side by side with him for so many years she was just able to pick it up. His eyes narrowed every so slightly as his head tilted in an innocent gesture. Well, in what would be perceived as an innocent gesture by the entire general public except her. To her the tilt of his handsome face wasn't innocent at all. It was entirely all too calculating, not to mention vastly intriguing.
Leaning forward in curiosity, Lilah propped her elbows on the desk and waited. "Well?"
Clearing his throat slightly and turning his body back to face her, Lindsey raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Have the plans for dealing with the Angel matter been finalised yet?"
Narrowing her own eyes as she picked up the ever so slight trace of hate in Lindsey's smooth voice, she shook her head. "Holland is still meeting with the senior partners over it. He said that they should come to a final decision by midnight tomorrow at the latest. Then it's up to us to move the plan forward."
Tugging on his tie to loosen it, Lindsey relaxed back into the comfortable armchair as he eyed Lilah carefully. "Okay. Well have there been any problems....with the plan?"
Smiling widely as she pushed her chair back from the desk and stood up, Lilah purred, "Only what we expected, but she seems to be coming along nicely. Give her a few more weeks and she should be in top condition. Our favourite neighbourhood vampire will never know the difference."
Walking around the edge of her desk, Lilah moved towards the far side of the room where a sleek 63cm television was set up on a black coffee table. Picking up the remote control that lay beside it, she clicked it on and then stood to the side so Lindsey had a clear view of the crisp picture on screen. Her smile grew wider as she eagerly watched the events taking place in another part of the huge Wolfram & Hart building. "See what I mean?"
Lindsey's smile became nasty as he watched the small blonde onscreen struggle against her bonds, growling angrily at empty air as her eyes flew around the vault in confusion, her pupils still largely dilated as her mind kept replaying scenes of Hell over and over again in front of her eyes.
His fingers stroked his chin as he crossed one leg over the other. "Tell me again how she works Lilah. I still can't quite believe it. I mean if you'd seen her when we first got her....an FBI agent! Now look at her."
Rolling her eyes as she moved back to her desk, Lilah said, "How many times do I have to tell you this Lindsey? Do you keep forgetting? Or are you just really enjoying hearing what's going to happen to Angel?"
Lindsey smirked as he kept his eyes fixed on the screen. The blonde had settled down slightly but she was still growling softly. "Probably a bit of both."
Sighing as she turned back to the TV, Lilah watched the blonde closely. "She's not really his sire as you well know, but she is a direct descendant of hers. That's why she bears such a frighteningly strong resemblance to Darla." Opening up the large folder she'd been looking in when Lindsey first came in, she picked up a photograph taken in the early 1990's and passed it to him.
Lindsey took it and stared at it closely then looked back towards the screen, a low whistle escaping his lips as he compared the two females. "Uncanny."
"Exactly. That photo of Darla was taken when she was last in LA. Holland ran into her by accident when he was in a meeting with a client, and you won't believe who the client was. The now completely deceased Russell Winters. How's that for irony?"
"Why do you say that?"
Rolling her eyes at the back of Lindsey's head, Lilah replied, "Because that was the first case Angel ever meddled in, and now it's going to come back to haunt him. I mean if it hadn't have been for Russell Winters, we would have never found out about Darla and have been able to use her against him. Anyway, Holland had someone take that picture of her, in case we ever felt the need to use her services for the firm and had to find her."
Turning to Lilah quickly before looking back at the screen again, Lindsey asked, "How did those two know each other again?"
Taking another sip of her wine, Lilah replied, "Winters met Darla when she and her also now completely deceased sire first came to American shores. They remained friends throughout the years while they both went about their own business', and Darla often came back to visit him and help him out with any work problems he might have. The last time she came, when that photo was taken, was for those exact reasons. A few demons who were looking to move in on Winter's territory needed to be dealt with immediately, and she came up from wherever she was at the time to help him kill them."
Lilah smiled and her eyes twinkled with unholy glee. "Holland saw them do it too. He told me just the other day as we were down in the vault visiting our guest that she was one of the most powerful vampires he'd ever seen, with a wonderful style when it came to dealing with opponents in a....messy way."
Lindsey's eyebrows raised in surprise. "And we think she," he said pointing to the screen, "is going to be able to emulate what the real Darla was and could do?"
"No Lindsey, she won't have to do that. She is after all, still only human. However though, she is possessed by Darla's demon, and this lends certain traits to her that she otherwise never would have had."
"Such as?"
"Well, she has better reflexes and increased strength now, and of course, she'll have all the mannerisms and memories of Darla herself, because the demon from Hell will be what's controlling her body, not the soul."
Lindsey scratched his chin lightly as he tilted his head to the side and stared harder at the screen. The blonde was hanging limply in her chains now, moaning as if in pain while her eyes kept rolling up into the back of her head in agitation. "How exactly can you be sure of that? I mean, they're both in there right? Soul and demon. How do we know she won't suddenly be in control of herself again and ruin everything?"
Lilah sighed at his naivete. "You idiot Lindsey. There's no way she can be in control again, not until the demon's expelled. And then we'll have no use for her, so it'll be goodbye Agent Kathleen Topolsky."
Lindsey turned back to face her, concern etched onto his handsome features. "But how can you be sure? I mean, we've never done anything like this before, and none of the records in the vault or the library have ever written about something like this being successfully completed. We have nothing to guide us here except for vague clues from a scroll full of prophecies that are over 3000 years old, and written in over a dozen different languages which aren't even all human." His eyes flicked back to the screen again as if unwilling to turn away from the miraculous sight. "How can you be so damned certain she won't gain control?"
Lilah was flustered for a moment when Lindsey finished his tirade. As much as she hated to admit it, a lot of his points made sense. In fact, too many did. But did he really think Wolfram & Hart were so stupid as to do something of this size and importance without taking the necessary precautions? Of course not. Wolfram & Hart were not a stupid firm. They may have hired some stupid people, but they themselves were not stupid. Far from it. Finding her icy calm again, Lilah leaned back in her chair as she cast a withering look at her coworker.
"We've done countless amounts of research on demon possessions and the like MacDonald. It's all clearly written there. A vampire is always stronger than a mortal, therefore a vampire's demon will always be stronger than a mortal's soul. Blondie's soul will be too weak to protect itself, let alone fight back against Darla's demon." She settled back into her chair in triumph, ignoring the niggling doubt that there really hadn't been that much written in way of confirmation. Ignoring that the majority of what they were doing was just guesswork, strategic planning and a heck of a lot of confidence.
Why?
Because Wolfram & Hart were not stupid. This wild plan would never have been agreed to unless they all thought it would work.
She had to believe in that.
They all did.
End part 2
