Sins of the Father
Chapter Eleven
Wesley inhaled sharply at the sound of Lilah's voice. She didn't speak for a moment and he was glad of it because her voice… It brought it all back.
"Hmm. You know that sinking feeling you sometimes get the morning after?… It arrived early."
That memory and many more besides tumbled through his mind and he sank back in the chair, his fingers clenching on the desk in front of him.
"What do you want, Lilah?" he gritted out. "I told you it was over."
"This isn't about us," she snapped, then sighed. "Look, ok, maybe it is… I wanted to tell you that whatever you're gonna do about Angelus, do it quick. The company are working on offers to get him on our side and destroying the soul forever is one of them."
"That's not possible," Wes argued, feeling a brief surge of panic. "You can't destroy a soul."
"The senior partners can," she answered grimly. "And they have a special interest in Angelus."
There was a silence and he expected her to put the phone down. But she didn't, he guessed she had more to say.
"Why are you telling me this, Lilah?" he asked, frowning, wondering if this was some bizarre trick.
"Because…" her voice tailed off and then surged back to confident defiance. "Because sooner or later, Angelus will come after you. And he will kill you. Maybe I don't want that to happen."
"Li -"
But the phone had already been slammed down. Wesley lowered it back into its cradle and stood slowly, leaning heavily on the desk.
"What's up?" Cordelia asked, entering the office. "Is Willow not going to be back for a while?"
"It wasn't Willow," he answered in a low voice. "It was Lilah. Wolfram and Hart know about Angelus. We have to move fast," he glanced out of the office and saw night descending through the main doors. "I'm going out."
"What?" Cordy asked in disbelief. "It's dark now, it's not safe! Angelus -"
"Is the reason I'm going," he answered, pulling on his jacket. "Look after Lottie for me, see if you can contact Giles. I'll take Gunn with me."
"And what if something happens to you?" Cordy protested, following him as he strode to the basement to call Gunn. "What do I tell Lottie?"
"Tell her the truth," he fixed Cordy with a hard look. "That I died trying to do the right thing. It's not like I've never come close before."
She stood stunned outside the door of the basement and was still there when Wesley reappeared, followed by Gunn, who was frowning at him. Lottie came out last and Cordy scooped her up.
"If you see Connor," Wes said, in an almost clinically detached voice. "Don't let him come out after us."
"Connor's not with you?" Fred asked, coming down the stairs with Lorne after shutting all the upstairs windows.
"No," Gunn answered. "He said he was helping you two."
"Oh, God," Cordy moaned. "He's gone after Angelus."
"Bloody hell," Wes muttered, snatching up the tranquilliser gun. "That's all we need."
He turned to the door, but spun back to face Cordy again. He walked over to them, his face softening for the first time since Lilah put the phone down on him.
"I won't be long," he told Lottie. "Be good for Cordy, all right?"
She nodded and yawned.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To look for Connor."
She nodded once more and Wesley turned to leave, followed by Gunn.
"What's wrong with him?" Lorne asked, frowning at the figures that disappeared onto the sidewalk.
"Lilah," Cordy said, not looking at Lorne. "She called. Wolfram and Hart know about Angelus. I'm gonna call Giles."
She entered the office; setting Lottie down on the desk beside a pile of books she began to idly flick through and paused with the phone halfway to her ear.
Why is he acting like this because Lilah called? She asked herself. It's not like we didn't know Wolfram and Hart would be after Angelus.
Think about it. Maybe it wasn't what was said, but who said it, was the answer.
Gunn was getting more than a little pissed off with Wes's new attitude.
"Y'know," he started. "Maybe you should go back to cage building."
"What?" Wes snapped, almost glaring at Gunn.
"When you were cage building, you weren't being an asshole," Gunn retorted. "What the hell happened?"
"There's no time for niceties," Wes answered. "Angelus is out there, killing at this very moment and pretty soon, we may not be able to stop him. Maybe I just realised that."
"Not be able to stop him?" Gunn asked, grabbing Wes's arm and pulling him to a halt. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Wolfram and Hart are willing to destroy the soul if Angelus agrees to work with them," Wes explained testily. "If that happens, we all die. Every single friend of Angel's will die slowly and horribly. And there won't be a damn thing any of us can do. So you'll see why right now I think jokes are wasted."
"We'll get there before Wolfram and Hart," Gunn assured Wes as they started to walk again, scanning the area for any sign of Connor or Angelus. "And if we don't, we'll just have to put a stake through his heart."
"And how many of us will die before we're able to do that?" Wes questioned. "Wolfram and Hart -"
"Y'know, you keep harping back to that," Gunn folded his arms, challenging Wes. "What's the real deal? Cordy says you get a call from Lilah and all of a sudden you're - oh my God. It's Lilah, isn't it?"
Wes opened his mouth to protest, but found that he really had nothing to say.
"Were you two… An item?" Gunn asked finally.
Wes chuckled darkly at that and shook his head.
"To be an item, Gunn," he started. "One would have to be in a relationship. Lilah Morgan doesn't do relationships. It was just sex."
Gunn looked startled and stared at his friend, eyes wide.
"Just sex?" he repeated. "Did you not learn about the consequences of 'just sex' with Lottie's mom?"
"Melissa and I," Wes said, glaring at Gunn. "Were in an actual relationship. Lilah and I… I don't know. It is just something that happened."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's not something I'm particularly proud of, Gunn."
"Do you love her?"
The direct question startled Wes and he frowned, pondering how to answer. He wasn't sure he had ever thought about any feeling he had for Lilah. He always told himself it was just sex, you don't love your enemy. He hadn't loved her, but there was something… Something that made it hurt when he told he it was over. Something that made talking to her on the phone like pouring salt into a wound. Something that was making him act like a complete jerk after talking to her.
"I think I started to," he admitted quietly. "I think I started to care about her, another couple of months and who knows? I don't love her now. But I think I came close."
Gunn didn't say a word.
"Aren't you going to tell me I'm insane?" Wesley asked, perturbed by Gunn's silence.
"Not when I think that's Connor," he answered and Wes followed his gaze to the silhouette at the end of the alley. It was flying backwards through the air and hit the brick wall with a thud. Wes and Gunn ran to help him, but Wes grabbed Gunn's arm and pulled him to the wall when he saw the familiar figure appear from around a dumpster and look down at Connor.
"Angelus?" Gunn asked in a low voice.
Wes nodded and lifted the tranquilliser gun, aiming it at Angelus's neck.
"I'll see you soon, boy," they heard Angelus say to Connor's crumpled form, they both heard the smirk in the voice.
Wes's finger tightened on the trigger. In the split second before he pulled the trigger, Angelus glanced toward them and grinned. As the dart flew toward him, he leaped up, grabbing onto a fire escape to haul himself up. They ran out from their hiding place and Wes tried to aim at Angelus's form as it raced up the fire escape.
When he reached the roof, Angelus looked down.
"The games don't start yet," he called. "But they will soon. Be patient."
He disappeared only seconds before the dart hit the air where he had been.
Cursing, Wes looked toward Connor.
"I think he's knocked out," Gunn said.
"Yes," Wes answered distractedly, returning his gaze to the rooftop. "We'd best get him back."
He helped Gunn lift him and together, they began to carry him back to the hotel.
"What's up, Wes?" Gunn asked, noting Wes's frown and his silence. "Is this about Lilah? 'Cause that's in the past and it's not like it's actually my business or anything -"
"It's not Lilah," Wes answered. "It was what Angelus said. 'The games will start soon'."
"Great," Gunn huffed. "We got a psycho vamp wanting to torture us before he kills us."
"There is that and he'll probably use mind games," Wes replied. "It's what he's famous for. It's what I expected, but why wait? Why not get started now?"
Gunn looked at Wesley and read his expression as clearly as if the words had been scrawled across his forehead.
"Wolfram and Hart," he said.