PART FOUR
"Well, what have you come up with?" Lilah asked, entering her office and taking a seat at her desk. She was speaking to the man seated comfortably in the chair across from her, staring at her with steely, uncaring eyes.
"This," he casually tossed a file on the desk and lapsed back into silence.
Lilah eyed him warily as she reached for the file. Opening it, she spent a few moments flipping through the pages inside, then cursed suddenly as she read a name she had hoped would not be involved in this in any way.
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.
"Are you sure this information is correct?" she snapped suddenly. The man, un-phased, simply raised an indifferent eyebrow at the brunette. "Would you be paying me if you expected it not to be?"
Lilah was silent as she considered her next move. This was a most unfortunate turn of events. If the scrolls she was looking for were in Angel's possession, then there was a distinct possibility that he would already be aware of the existence of this second warrior. And even if he wasn't, there was still no way she would be able to gather more information for herself without tipping her hand to her enemies.
Either way, she was screwed. If she let this whole topic drop, someone else would eventually pick it up, and the Senior Partners would have her killed for having possessed such potent information and not following up on it. If she pursued this and ended up tipping Angel off about the contents of the scrolls--which was inevitable--the Seniors Partners would have her killed for incompetence.
Making her decision, Lilah turned her gaze back to the man seated before her. Kiren. Only the Senior Partners knew his full name, and even then, it wasn't certain if that was his real name. He was the person in charge of several of Wolfram & Hart's...trickier operations. And he never failed. That was part of the reason Lilah had requested his assistance with this particular operation. This time, she couldn't afford to fail.
"I assume you're familiar with the subject our division has been focusing on this past year," she began. "He's strong, intelligent enough to have thwarted the majority of our--"
"If you have an assignment for me, get to it already," Kiren cut her off, his face a mask of boredom, but his voice laced with slight irritation.
Lilah's jaw clenched ever so slightly, in equal parts anger and fear. "Of course," she gave him her most charming smile. "Since you are the one that retrieved this information," she indicated the file in her hands, "then you already know that the scrolls I'm looking for are in this subject's possession. I want them."
"How soon?"
"Yesterday."
Kiren nodded his head ever so slightly, not once breaking eye contact, and stood. He had his orders, and that was all he needed.
Lilah let out a sigh of relief when he left her office, her mind only briefly dwelling on the fact that she had no idea how to handle this man. But it didn't matter. Soon, she would learn the identity of the new player, and all her plans would fall into place.
***
"So, when do you think Angel'll get back?" Gunn asked, leaning casually against the desk Cordelia was seated at.
"Who knows?" Cordelia shrugged, "we have no idea what's been going on in Sunnydale recently; Angel could be walking into anything."
"You don't think there'd be trouble, do ya?" Fred asked.
"In Sunnydale?" Cordelia scoffed, "there's always trouble."
"Oh. Well, I just meant that, I hope Angel doesn't get hurt or anything. From what you've said about his past there, well, I...I'm worrying for no reason, aren't I?"
Gunn snorted slightly, "I think Angel can handle himself just fine."
"Well, whatever happens in Sunnydale, I just hope Angel is able to find out what's going on," Wesley chimed in, "I for one find myself quite intrigued by what Cordelia's visions may indicate."
"You so need to get laid," Gunn shook his head at the ex-Watcher in disbelief.
Wesley's irritated stammering was cut short by a sudden loud crash that startled the group gathered in the lobby of the Hyperion.
"What was that?" Fred asked nervously.
"Sounded like it was coming from the storage room," Gunn mused.
Wesley and Cordelia exchanged a sudden panicked look as they seemed to simultaneously remember what, exactly, was kept in the storage room.
Running to the weapons cabinet, Wesley quickly retrieved the first objects that came into his hands -- two swords, an axe, and a mace -- and handed them off to his friends. The sounds of someone ransacking their way through the storage room continued to reach their ears as the group ran quickly, prepared for battle.
Gunn was the first to reach the door. Banging it open, he cursed at the sight before him. There were at least five intruders, dressed in commando suits and black ski masks, and they were apparently human. Gunn grumbled as he noted the guns they toted -- some stun, some real -- as well as his own mace. It wasn't like he could bash their heads in, but...
"Gunn, move!" Wesley yelled, charging in and shoving Gunn aside as a commando charged at him, taking Wesley down instead. Wesley grunted as he felt the searing pain caused by the stun gun spread through his body. He turned his head to the side and spotted his fallen sword just a few feet away. If he could just reach it...
"Wes!" Gunn regained his balance and saw his comrade convulsing under the electric charges inflicted onto him. Gripping his mace, Gunn moved to help Wesley, but noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw another attacker coming towards him. Gunn quickly dodged the advance and raised his mace, brining the handle of it down to strike the man across the back of the head.
Cordelia and Fred appeared in the doorway at that moment, taking in the scene. Wesley and Gunn were struggling with two of the men, while two others were advancing upon them.
Fred ran to the side and used the side of the axe to strike Wesley's attacker across the back of the head, rendering him immobile for a few moments. Seeing Wesley struggling to regain control of his limbs, Fred rushed to his side and helped him to his feet. Wesley gave her a quick thankful glance before staggering away and grabbing his sword, using it to swing at the new oncoming attacker.
Cordelia, meanwhile, rushed forward with her sword, intent on stopping the man that was pillaging through the contents of the shelves and tables that were lined against the far wall.
"Cordy, behind you!" Gunn yelled, but his warning came too late as another commando approached Cordelia from behind and zapped her with his stun ray. Cordelia sank to her knees with a cry as the numbing pain shot through her.
Gunn turned back to his opponent and elbowed him in the nose, followed by a sidekick to the gut, which sent him sprawling backwards onto the floor. Grabbing his mace off the floor, Gunn ran towards Cordelia's assailant, intent on knocking the weapon from his hands, when a loud shot rang through the room, followed by an agonized scream.
Both Gunn and Cordelia immediately turned their heads to where Wesley and Fred were standing and noted that the two of them were unharmed. Then they saw the blood.
One of the commandos that the pair was struggling with was lying face down on the floor, a pool of blood forming around his body. It proved to be enough of a distraction.
Wesley finally tore his gaze away from the dying man to see the other commandos escaping -- one of them with a particular set of scrolls in his hands.
"The Aiterion Scrolls!" Wesley gasped as he realized what they had been searching for. Grabbing his sword, he rushed forward, intent on stopping them from getting away. Gunn ran to help his friend, noticing too late the weapon aimed at him.
"Shit!" he cursed as he dove to the side, but not before a bullet passed completely through his shoulder. Wesley continued to speed forward, attempting to tackle the man with the scroll, but he evaded, and Wesley found himself about to crash into the table before him. Striking out with his sword, he heard the unmistakable rip of parchment as he landed hard against the wood, the side of his head banging against the floor.
Grunting as he pushed himself to his knees, Gunn saw the last of the intruders escaping. His gaze wandered over to where Fred was assisting Cordelia to her feet, then moved to Wesley, who was also struggling to sit upright.
"What the hell just happened?" Cordelia muttered as she continued to lean slightly against Fred for support.
"Apparently they were here for the Aiterion Scrolls," Wesley murmured as he gathered the few scattered pieces of the scroll that his sword had cut apart.
"The what?" Gunn asked, his hand clutched over his shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"A set of scrolls that I purchased from a--" Wesley cut himself off as he noted Gunn's bleeding shoulder. "You've been shot."
"Yeah, well, at least I ain't dead, which is more than I can say for that fool over there."
Four pairs of eyes turned to the dead body of the commando.
"Oh, god," Fred breathed as she gazed at the body, "they killed him."
"Who killed who?" a new voice asked from the doorway.
"Angel!" Fred exclaimed as she turned to see him entering the room with a pretty redhead at his side.
"Oh my god," Angel exclaimed as he took in the sight before him. "Is everyone alright?"
Wesley, Gunn, Cordelia, and Fred all exchanged glances as they wondered how they were going to explain this to the vampire.
***
"What the hell do you mean you didn't get the entire scroll?!" Lilah snarled as she stared Kiren down.
"We were interrupted," Kiren's jaw was clenched tightly in anger, though his expression was as blank as ever.
"Obviously," Lilah hissed. "How could you let this happen?"
"Apparently one of the men assigned to my team was never trained in the stealthier aspects of breaking and entering."
"Well that's just great. Even when I go outside of the division, all I get is a bunch of incompetents."
"The matter has been dealt with," Kiren stated coolly.
Lilah turned an inquiring eye on the man, then realized exactly what he meant. "I see. Can he be traced back to us?"
"As I understand the situation, the vampire traces everything back to you."
Lilah sighed as she realized he was right. It was only a matter of time before Angel came barging into her office, or home, or car, or wherever the hell else he felt like cornering her, to start threatening her to return the scrolls. And before that happened, she fully intended to decipher as much as possible of the scrolls currently in her possession.
END PART FOUR
"Well, what have you come up with?" Lilah asked, entering her office and taking a seat at her desk. She was speaking to the man seated comfortably in the chair across from her, staring at her with steely, uncaring eyes.
"This," he casually tossed a file on the desk and lapsed back into silence.
Lilah eyed him warily as she reached for the file. Opening it, she spent a few moments flipping through the pages inside, then cursed suddenly as she read a name she had hoped would not be involved in this in any way.
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.
"Are you sure this information is correct?" she snapped suddenly. The man, un-phased, simply raised an indifferent eyebrow at the brunette. "Would you be paying me if you expected it not to be?"
Lilah was silent as she considered her next move. This was a most unfortunate turn of events. If the scrolls she was looking for were in Angel's possession, then there was a distinct possibility that he would already be aware of the existence of this second warrior. And even if he wasn't, there was still no way she would be able to gather more information for herself without tipping her hand to her enemies.
Either way, she was screwed. If she let this whole topic drop, someone else would eventually pick it up, and the Senior Partners would have her killed for having possessed such potent information and not following up on it. If she pursued this and ended up tipping Angel off about the contents of the scrolls--which was inevitable--the Seniors Partners would have her killed for incompetence.
Making her decision, Lilah turned her gaze back to the man seated before her. Kiren. Only the Senior Partners knew his full name, and even then, it wasn't certain if that was his real name. He was the person in charge of several of Wolfram & Hart's...trickier operations. And he never failed. That was part of the reason Lilah had requested his assistance with this particular operation. This time, she couldn't afford to fail.
"I assume you're familiar with the subject our division has been focusing on this past year," she began. "He's strong, intelligent enough to have thwarted the majority of our--"
"If you have an assignment for me, get to it already," Kiren cut her off, his face a mask of boredom, but his voice laced with slight irritation.
Lilah's jaw clenched ever so slightly, in equal parts anger and fear. "Of course," she gave him her most charming smile. "Since you are the one that retrieved this information," she indicated the file in her hands, "then you already know that the scrolls I'm looking for are in this subject's possession. I want them."
"How soon?"
"Yesterday."
Kiren nodded his head ever so slightly, not once breaking eye contact, and stood. He had his orders, and that was all he needed.
Lilah let out a sigh of relief when he left her office, her mind only briefly dwelling on the fact that she had no idea how to handle this man. But it didn't matter. Soon, she would learn the identity of the new player, and all her plans would fall into place.
***
"So, when do you think Angel'll get back?" Gunn asked, leaning casually against the desk Cordelia was seated at.
"Who knows?" Cordelia shrugged, "we have no idea what's been going on in Sunnydale recently; Angel could be walking into anything."
"You don't think there'd be trouble, do ya?" Fred asked.
"In Sunnydale?" Cordelia scoffed, "there's always trouble."
"Oh. Well, I just meant that, I hope Angel doesn't get hurt or anything. From what you've said about his past there, well, I...I'm worrying for no reason, aren't I?"
Gunn snorted slightly, "I think Angel can handle himself just fine."
"Well, whatever happens in Sunnydale, I just hope Angel is able to find out what's going on," Wesley chimed in, "I for one find myself quite intrigued by what Cordelia's visions may indicate."
"You so need to get laid," Gunn shook his head at the ex-Watcher in disbelief.
Wesley's irritated stammering was cut short by a sudden loud crash that startled the group gathered in the lobby of the Hyperion.
"What was that?" Fred asked nervously.
"Sounded like it was coming from the storage room," Gunn mused.
Wesley and Cordelia exchanged a sudden panicked look as they seemed to simultaneously remember what, exactly, was kept in the storage room.
Running to the weapons cabinet, Wesley quickly retrieved the first objects that came into his hands -- two swords, an axe, and a mace -- and handed them off to his friends. The sounds of someone ransacking their way through the storage room continued to reach their ears as the group ran quickly, prepared for battle.
Gunn was the first to reach the door. Banging it open, he cursed at the sight before him. There were at least five intruders, dressed in commando suits and black ski masks, and they were apparently human. Gunn grumbled as he noted the guns they toted -- some stun, some real -- as well as his own mace. It wasn't like he could bash their heads in, but...
"Gunn, move!" Wesley yelled, charging in and shoving Gunn aside as a commando charged at him, taking Wesley down instead. Wesley grunted as he felt the searing pain caused by the stun gun spread through his body. He turned his head to the side and spotted his fallen sword just a few feet away. If he could just reach it...
"Wes!" Gunn regained his balance and saw his comrade convulsing under the electric charges inflicted onto him. Gripping his mace, Gunn moved to help Wesley, but noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw another attacker coming towards him. Gunn quickly dodged the advance and raised his mace, brining the handle of it down to strike the man across the back of the head.
Cordelia and Fred appeared in the doorway at that moment, taking in the scene. Wesley and Gunn were struggling with two of the men, while two others were advancing upon them.
Fred ran to the side and used the side of the axe to strike Wesley's attacker across the back of the head, rendering him immobile for a few moments. Seeing Wesley struggling to regain control of his limbs, Fred rushed to his side and helped him to his feet. Wesley gave her a quick thankful glance before staggering away and grabbing his sword, using it to swing at the new oncoming attacker.
Cordelia, meanwhile, rushed forward with her sword, intent on stopping the man that was pillaging through the contents of the shelves and tables that were lined against the far wall.
"Cordy, behind you!" Gunn yelled, but his warning came too late as another commando approached Cordelia from behind and zapped her with his stun ray. Cordelia sank to her knees with a cry as the numbing pain shot through her.
Gunn turned back to his opponent and elbowed him in the nose, followed by a sidekick to the gut, which sent him sprawling backwards onto the floor. Grabbing his mace off the floor, Gunn ran towards Cordelia's assailant, intent on knocking the weapon from his hands, when a loud shot rang through the room, followed by an agonized scream.
Both Gunn and Cordelia immediately turned their heads to where Wesley and Fred were standing and noted that the two of them were unharmed. Then they saw the blood.
One of the commandos that the pair was struggling with was lying face down on the floor, a pool of blood forming around his body. It proved to be enough of a distraction.
Wesley finally tore his gaze away from the dying man to see the other commandos escaping -- one of them with a particular set of scrolls in his hands.
"The Aiterion Scrolls!" Wesley gasped as he realized what they had been searching for. Grabbing his sword, he rushed forward, intent on stopping them from getting away. Gunn ran to help his friend, noticing too late the weapon aimed at him.
"Shit!" he cursed as he dove to the side, but not before a bullet passed completely through his shoulder. Wesley continued to speed forward, attempting to tackle the man with the scroll, but he evaded, and Wesley found himself about to crash into the table before him. Striking out with his sword, he heard the unmistakable rip of parchment as he landed hard against the wood, the side of his head banging against the floor.
Grunting as he pushed himself to his knees, Gunn saw the last of the intruders escaping. His gaze wandered over to where Fred was assisting Cordelia to her feet, then moved to Wesley, who was also struggling to sit upright.
"What the hell just happened?" Cordelia muttered as she continued to lean slightly against Fred for support.
"Apparently they were here for the Aiterion Scrolls," Wesley murmured as he gathered the few scattered pieces of the scroll that his sword had cut apart.
"The what?" Gunn asked, his hand clutched over his shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"A set of scrolls that I purchased from a--" Wesley cut himself off as he noted Gunn's bleeding shoulder. "You've been shot."
"Yeah, well, at least I ain't dead, which is more than I can say for that fool over there."
Four pairs of eyes turned to the dead body of the commando.
"Oh, god," Fred breathed as she gazed at the body, "they killed him."
"Who killed who?" a new voice asked from the doorway.
"Angel!" Fred exclaimed as she turned to see him entering the room with a pretty redhead at his side.
"Oh my god," Angel exclaimed as he took in the sight before him. "Is everyone alright?"
Wesley, Gunn, Cordelia, and Fred all exchanged glances as they wondered how they were going to explain this to the vampire.
***
"What the hell do you mean you didn't get the entire scroll?!" Lilah snarled as she stared Kiren down.
"We were interrupted," Kiren's jaw was clenched tightly in anger, though his expression was as blank as ever.
"Obviously," Lilah hissed. "How could you let this happen?"
"Apparently one of the men assigned to my team was never trained in the stealthier aspects of breaking and entering."
"Well that's just great. Even when I go outside of the division, all I get is a bunch of incompetents."
"The matter has been dealt with," Kiren stated coolly.
Lilah turned an inquiring eye on the man, then realized exactly what he meant. "I see. Can he be traced back to us?"
"As I understand the situation, the vampire traces everything back to you."
Lilah sighed as she realized he was right. It was only a matter of time before Angel came barging into her office, or home, or car, or wherever the hell else he felt like cornering her, to start threatening her to return the scrolls. And before that happened, she fully intended to decipher as much as possible of the scrolls currently in her possession.
END PART FOUR