Wesley sat behind the counter, attempting to focus on the task at hand but his mind kept wandering to the telephone call he'd received earlier. He glanced over at Cordelia and Angel who were sitting together on the sofa, they both looked tired but both were trying to research. He knew that once Angel was aware of the possibility that Connor was in trouble, all attempts to find the Beast would cease until Connor was safe but Wesley didn't know if he could lie to Angel; especially about his son. He had only just won back their trust and friendship and taking Angel's son away again, by whatever means, would be unforgivable.
"Angel, I need to talk to you," he announced, his voice sounding a little louder than normal, maybe it was nerves or the acoustics of the otherwise silent hotel reception.
"Have you found something?" asked Angel, dropping the book he was reading onto the sofa and walking across to the counter to join Wesley.
"Not exactly, I meant to tell you earlier but Connor called this morning," said Wesley, Angel smiled. He had been worried about him and the fact that he had called gave him a little peace of mind. "He was asking about Machor, one of the demons of balance,"
"Machor? Why would he be asking about that?" asked Cordelia, dropping her own book and moving closer to the conversation.
"There's no way Machor's around, we'd know about it. He must've met up with the sisters," said Angel, looking at Wesley for confirmation.
"He seemed to know what he was doing, Angel," said Wesley. "He got the information he needed and he went. I think he can handle himself if he has come up against the twins,"
"Only Connor could go out of town and still run into trouble," sighed Cordelia.
"Machor isn't the threat right now but the daughters… I don't know, did he say where he was?" asked Angel, pacing the room anxiously. Wesley shook his head. "I wish he'd taken that damn cell-phone," Angel kicked a chair across the room; Cordelia flinched at the noise it made.
"He can take care of himself, Angel," said Wesley. Angel stopped pacing and returned to the counter, leaning against it and sighing loudly. Cordelia placed a comforting hand on his arm and smiled.
"He's strong and smart and he can do this alone," she soothed.
"I know," he said. "I just wish he was home, this is where he belongs no matter what's happened,"
"I don't think there's any need to worry, he'll be home soon enough and you've taught him a lot," smiled Wesley.
"Yeah, I just hope it was enough,"
"It's negative," grinned Allie as she skipped out of the public bathroom, waving a plastic test stick. She held it up for Connor to see the large red minus sign before tossing it into the rubbish bin.
"Good, that's one thing out of the way," nodded Connor. "Where's Frankie?"
"Probably at the garage but I think I should come with you. Frankie won't hurt me and that means I can protect you," smiled Allie.
"Fine," growled Connor, his voice low and menacing. He began walking in the direction of the garage, Allie following a few steps behind. He still wasn't sure how he was supposed to do it, especially with no weapons to his name and a lingering feeling of guilt that Frankie was only a girl. He had to focus on the situation, it was survival of the fittest, him or her and there was no way he was getting himself killed on his first time out of L.A.
The garage doors were open and the morning sun was glinting off the cars parked outside, waiting to be serviced. Connor could just see Frankie tinkering around inside, she was wearing her work uniform from the day before and her hair was tied back in her red bandana again. Allie looked nervous but Connor ignored her, he wished she hadn't come with him even though he knew that nothing would happen to her. He didn't have to worry about Allie; he just had to worry about himself. Connor and Allie walked through the open double doors and stood there, waiting for Frankie to come out of the office.
"Hey you two, what you doing here? I thought you'd be cosied up on the couch all day," she grinned, waving a spanner in one hand. Allie stepped forward before Connor could stop her.
"Frankie, I'm not pregnant. We failed again," she announced loudly, Frankie shot her a look of absolute rage.
"What are you talking about, Allie?" she said, her voice low and her eyes fixed on Connor.
"Just give it up," said Allie, reaching out for the wrench that was sitting on the metal workbench. "It's over,"
Allie lifted the wrench and hit Frankie across the face with it, Frankie fell to the floor clutching her jaw, her eyes watering with the pain; Allie stepped backwards quickly to allow Connor to move in. Frankie sprung up and lunged for Connor, using the spanner as a weapon but Connor's inherited vampiric reflexes swung into action and he dodged her attacks. Allie crawled into the office at the side of the room and watched from the doorway as Connor and Frankie punched and kicked each other; she had never seen anyone fight back against her in the way that Connor did. She gasped as Frankie sent him flying into the wall with a right hook but Connor just got back up and flew at her; he had obviously studied the martial arts as his kicking technique was flawless in comparison to Frankie's. He blocked a flurry of her punches and grabbed her by her t-shirt, throwing her against the wall. She lay still for a moment and Allie thought it was over but she jumped back up and ran towards Connor, kicking him in the stomach and sending him into the desk, hearing him grunt with pain as his back connected with the metal.
She ran towards again but he spun behind her and landed a high kick to her chest, sending her flying into the car she had been working on. She stood up and shook herself down, pulling the bandana from her hair and running toward Connor, landing a flying kick at his torso. Connor grunted with the pain to his ribs and he fell backwards slightly but didn't lose his footing, Frankie took his surprise as the perfect opportunity and ran to her workbench, pulling out a silver dagger from her drawer. Connor saw the metal glint in the sunlight pouring through the windows and shook off his pain, he had to focus on the fight. Connor and Frankie were squaring up to each other, Frankie relishing the feeling of the knife in her hand and the knowledge that her time was nearly here. She would vanquish the warrior and another would come, bringing her father back to her, it was what she was born for.
"We don't have to do this, Frankie," shouted Allie from the corner. "It doesn't have to be like this,"
"Shut up, Allie," shouted Frankie, angry at the interruption and the distraction from her fight. "You were never cut out for this. Just say goodbye,"
Frankie lunged at Connor with the dagger but Connor grabbed her wrist, twisted Frankie's body around his own and plunged the dagger into her stomach and pushed it upwards. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock and fear, she coughed suddenly and a stream of blood poured from the side of her mouth. Connor dropped her limp body to the floor and sighed with the exertion, his hand instinctively moved to cradle his side. He could feel the bruises developing on his body, especially his back and he could feel tiny cuts on his face but nothing could compare to the searing pain of his ribs; he was sure they had been cracked by Frankie's kick.
Connor sat down on the cold hard floor and leaned back against the wall, looking at the teenage girl he had just stabbed. She was the same age and the guilt hurt but he knew he had done the right thing; she was the daughter of a demon and had been hell-bent on raising him. Age was the only thing they had in common. Frankie lay on her back, coughing up blood and wheezing as she tried to draw breath, Connor could hear Allie moving from inside the office, he watched as she walked out and knelt down beside her sister. She placed her hand against Frankie's cheek and began to cry, she kissed the top of Frankie's head and began to talk to her in what Connor assumed was their demon language. With a final sigh, Frankie let out her final breath and died. Allie sat for a while, stroking Frankie's face and allowing her tears to fall freely until Connor managed to stand up and take her by the hand, leading her away from her sister and a life of demons and out into the sun.