Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The following day, Cordelia sat at her desk in the new office of 'Angel Investigations'. She skimmed through a few things on her laptop with one hand while her other was busy dialing a number.

On the other side of the country, a man sitting at his desk picked up his ringing phone.

"Chambers and Ryan private investigators, how can I help you?" he asked.

"Hi Rick, this is Cordelia Chase," was the reply. The middle-aged man's eyes widened in happy surprise.

"Cordelia Chase! Wow, I haven't seen you in a long time. How are you doing?" Rick asked.

"I'm fine, but I need your help with something," the young woman stated.

"Sure, what's up?" the PI asked.

"You were one of the best investigators that my dad knew; that's why I came to you. I need you to find someone for me; I'm emailing you a picture of him and his physical description," Cordelia stated.

"Okay, what's his last known location?" Rick asked.

"I don't know the exact place, but it's in Colombia, South America," was his answer.

"South America?" he gasped. "Cordelia, that's a tall order!"

"I know, I'll pay whatever you want, but I need you to find him for me," she said almost desperately.

"Cordelia…who is this guy…an old boyfriend?" Rick teased.

"No, he's just important to a friend of mine. Now look, I know that you have connections to certain government agencies that I don't have. He's working for one of them on an assignment right now. Attached to my email is a letter that is for his eyes only. Also there is another picture that I'm sending you; it has to be included with this letter! Please Rick, do this for me," Cordelia nearly begged. The older man chuckled.

"All right…all right, sweetie, I'll do this for you and don't worry about the money; this one's on me!" he laughed.

"Thank you, I appreciate it a lot and so will my friend," she said happily. "Goodbye." Cordelia hung up and ran her hands through her hair.

"Please let this work," she pleaded softly. Cordelia looked at the second picture that she'd scanned and sent to New York. 'I just hope Buffy doesn't mind that I went through her purse!'

Somewhere in Colombia two days later…

Riley sat up from his bunk and scratched his hair. He was frustrated and a little irritated. This mission was supposed to be lively and action-packed, but their supposed hotspot was nothing more than an empty warehouse. Riley took out his wallet and pulled a picture that he looked at once a day at least. It was slightly faded, but you could clearly make out the young woman. She had long, blond hair that was slightly curled, a beautiful face, and a pair of gorgeous eyes. A small grin crossed Riley's face then he replaced the photo back into his wallet.

"Hey Riley!" a voice called. The young man raised his head to see his bunkmate Justin approaching him.

"Hey man, what's up?" he asked. Justin tossed him a long, bubble-wrapped envelope.

"What's this?" Riley repeated.

"Don't know, it was in the mail tent for you. Clerk said that it came early this morning- an overnight delivery from Washington," Justin replied.

"Washington, huh, it's probably another mission that they've got for us," Riley laughed. He looked at the front of the envelope. It had his name in bold letters in the center, but what caught his eye were the initials in the upper left hand corner. B.S. was all there was. Riley felt his heart nearly stop; it couldn't be from Buffy could it?

"What is that?" Justin asked. Riley didn't answer but ripped upon the envelope. Two items fell into his lap. The first of which made his heart leap for joy; it was a picture of him and Buffy at the carnival in Sunnydale. The second item was a folded sheet of paper, and Riley eagerly opened it.

"I didn't think that she wanted me anymore; I guess that I was wrong," Riley groaned.

"Who's that?" Justin retorted. Riley handed him the photo, and Justin's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Damn Riley, who's the babe? She yours?"

"Yeah, sort of," he replied.

"Riley, even if you 'sort of' have a girl like this you're one lucky SOB; she's is one hot item!" Justin gasped. Riley chuckled at his friend's comment; Buffy always could turn heads. He unfolded the letter and looked at it.

To Riley,

I know that we've never met in person, but I believe that we know of each other. My name is Cordelia Chase; I used to live in Sunnydale with Buffy until I came to LA. I also work with Angel, who I'm sure you know. I wanted to talk about you and Buffy; now, I know you're thinking that it's none of my business. But, let me tell you something about Buffy that she would never admit to anyone. She's afraid to love. You see, the first time that Angel and Buffy were together was also the night that Angel lost his soul to darkness. Buffy blamed herself for letting that happen him even though it wasn't her fault.

After Angel left, Buffy was almost half-dead. One night at a party, she met a nice guy and ended up sleeping with him. However, the following day, she found that the guy was a player and didn't want her for anything but sex.

After that happened, Buffy put up barriers to protect herself from getting hurt; I'm sure you know that. She never let any of those barriers down with anyone until she met you. Riley, as time passed, Buffy realized that she could trust you with who she really was- the real Buffy Summers not the slayer.

Buffy told me that you always asked her why Angel had so much power over her. I'll answer that question for her. Angel didn't have any power over Buffy; he merely knew her better than she knew herself. Riley, when Buffy was with you, she found out that you knew her far more intimately and emotionally than Angel ever did, and it scared the hell out of her. So, she erected her protection zone once again and held you at arms length.

Even though I haven't been to Sunnydale for a while, Xander, Willow, and Giles call me once and a while to catch up on things. That's how I know all this.

Riley, Buffy told me about the night that you left. She actually got to the launching pad a few seconds after your chopper lifted off. Buffy stood there and watched you fly out of her life. I think at that moment; she realized just how much you truly meant to her.

Riley, Buffy loves you with all her heart; she loves you even more than she used to love Angel. But more than love, Buffy flat out needs you; she needs you around in order to survive. You're her counsel when no one's around. Since she became the slayer, Buffy has tried to keep everything under her control, but I think she realized that many things are not that easy to control. She needed an outlet for her emotions but didn't know how to release them. Buffy wanted you to be that outlet, but she pushed down her emotions because she would have felt weak.

Riley, Buffy needs you back; she needs you by her side- loving her like you've always been doing. But this time, I'm confident that she'll finally let you inside; she'll let you see everything that you want to know. Riley, Buffy is in Los Angeles right now helping me with a case. Please, come see her; I beg you. You've always wanted to see Buffy Summers while she wasn't the slayer; I'm giving you that opportunity; take it!

On the following page is travel information if you choose to come. Come to her, Riley, I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

Your friend,

Cordelia Chase

Riley's hands were almost shaking by the time he finished reading the letter, and a single tear fell from his eye.

"Hey man, you okay?" Justin said worriedly. A wide smile spread across his roommate's face.

"Yeah pal, I'm great," he answered and stood up. Riley grabbed his duffel bag and stuffed his things inside. "Justin, I'm leaving as soon as possible."

"What's wrong?" he asked. Riley's smile only widened.

"My girl needs me, Justin, and I'm going to see her," Riley said firmly.

Author's Notes: How'd you like it? Please review this and let me know if you'd like to see anything specific in future chapters. I do take suggestions so let me know; send them to bigtrw@juno.com.