YELLOW BRICK ROAD
By: Lisette (lisette@chaletian.co.uk)
Rating: PG-13 so far - might change later on.
Distribution: Want, take, have. Just e-mail me first.
Summary: Faith is released from prison - but there's a catch.
Feedback: God, please.
Angel, Buffy, the whole lot, belong to JW, Mutant Enemy, and anyone else who officially owns them. I don't. Big surprise.
Okay, a few notes. Firstly, I haven't seen any of season 3 yet, though I know vaguely what happens. So, definitely after "Billy", and Fred and Gunn are getting with the happy, but "WITW" never happened.
Please, please review - I need to know what people think! I have a fragile ego and it needs bolstering! Thanks to everyone who has already reviewed - you have made me a happy person!
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Chapter Twenty-Five - Going All Super Villain
"He's in the demon karaoke bar."
"Caritas."
"There's some green-faced lounge lizard taking care of him, as well as the rest of Angel's band of merry men."
"They just let you in?"
"No violence, right? They didn't have a choice."
"You're sure it was Angel's child."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Lilah was quiet for a moment. Faith, sitting casually in a chair in front of the wide desk, looked around with mild curiosity, then focused again on the silent woman. "So, what next? Do want me to-" She made a crude gesture indicative of a gruesome - and deliberate - death, grinning at the look of distaste on Lilah's face.
"No. The senior partners have an interest in the child. Keep an eye on him." Faith shrugged.
"Hey, you're the boss." Lilah leaned forward, her chin on her hand, and viewed Faith critically. A seed of suspicion had been planted by one of the junior workers, and she was anxious to see how Faith would react.
"I hear Mr Wyndham-Pryce is still alive." By not a flicker did Faith betray herself.
"So?"
"I thought you said he was dead."
"I don't remember saying that. I certainly don't remember killing him."
"I'm surprised. Under the circumstances, I wouldn't think you had much love for him."
"Oh, Wesley has his entertaining moments. But you can't honestly think he's a serious threat. He's a loser; he's pathetic."
"But…entertaining."
"Exactly!" Faith smiled, and Lilah recalled the reports from the first time the slayer had roamed the streets of LA. Word was, Faith had had a little fun torturing her ex-watcher. The tension in Lilah's shoulders relaxed somewhat, her suspicions eased. Faith was not someone she could bring herself to trust, but from what Lilah had gathered, Angel was the only one who connected with Faith - as far as the rest of his "merry men" were concerned, Faith could go hang. And they seemed to feel that literally.
Before long, Faith was on her way, with strict instructions to keep an eye on the child. Hardly five minutes passed before the door to Lilah's office opened again, and her current bête noir, Gavin Parks, walked in, unannounced.
"Don't you have a building permit to revoke somewhere?" she asked irritably as sat down smugly.
"Don't be unprofessional, Lilah," he replied smoothly, incidentally annoying her even further. "I heard about Angel. Is it true?"
"He's dead, if that's what you mean." She was fully aware that Gavin was trying to get a grip on her game plan, and she had no intention of giving him such an advantage. She got rid of him as soon as possible, avoiding his subtler questioning, and reverting to downright ignoring when they got more pointed. The senior partners no longer had much of an interest in Angel - it was his child who had got their attention. According to the Nyzerian scrolls, the child would play a crucial part in, well, in the fight of good against evil. And the senior partners wanted him batting for evil.