I do not own Angel of BTVS, but if I did BTVS would still be on the air and they would never have an off-season. I don't own most of the characters in this story, but if I did I would turn on and old Smith's album and play Twister with them. I don't own Joss Whedon, but if I did we wouldn't be waiting around for the next month and a half for a new episode of Angel. *takes a bow* Yes, you can applaud if you want to. I'm sure you all agree. Anyway, I should go ahead and let you all read this chapter, I guess. So...
On with the show.
::Carpe Diem- Beyond the Yellow Brick Road::
Connor sat at the foot of the couch looking between his 'brother' and his dad. Spike was sprawled across the couch, trying his best not to move too much, and Angel was laid out on the floor. Gunn was crouched down pointing a dart gun at his chest. "I don't think that's necessary."
Gunn grinned up at his young friend and shook his head. "You sure have changed a lot, since Spike came around. What was it that made the change? Spike or Skittles?"
Connor's mouth twisted up in a wry smirk. "Paxil... Now, could you stop pointing a tranquilizer at my dad's heart?"
Gunn lowered his firearm and sat back on his haunches. "How's it going with the books?"
Katie was shuffling through the pages of a book, in the corner, muttering about magic and the problems of the world. Fred and Cordelia were at her side, agreeing with whatever she had said.
Gunn pushed himself up off of the ground and looked over at the women. "Ladies? The books?"
Wesley walked out of the office and shut the door behind him. "What happened to Angel's desk?" Wesley looked over at Gunn, who only shrugged.
Connor winced, as he watched Spike try to sit up. The vampire was breathing hard, when he shouldn't be breathing, at all. "You want some Tylenol?"
Spike shook his head and grunted. "I want you to stake me."
"Not gonna' happen." Connor chuckled. "Angel would whip me up and down, if he woke up and found you as a pile of dust."
"It's his fault I wanna' turn dusty." Spike groaned and slumped against the arm of the couch. He was finally sitting up, on his own. The blood he had drunk, when they had brought him in, must have started working. "I've had broken ribs before, mind you. I'm pretty sure they never punctured a lung, though."
"Are you sure it's punctured?" Connor asked, worry sketched across his face.
Spike nodded. "I'm coughing up blood. It's either the lungs or the stomach and if my knowledge on the human anatomy serves me well, broken ribs can puncture the lungs faster than they can the stomach." Spike coughed and swallowed. "It's better the first time."
Gunn winced and took a walk over toward the counter that the women sat behind. "Eww..."
Spike shrugged and sighed. "How are the books, girls?"
Fred stood up, from her seat, and made her way past Gunn, toward the vampire on the couch. He scooted over a little, so she could sit and show him a passage. "You see there? I've been reading up on your blood line." She smiled at Spike. "You were kind of scary, before you went all gung-ho on the good guy side."
Spike nodded. "That's the story of our line. Scary bad men-- and/or women-- go gung-ho for good, or die."
Fred smirked. "Sounds like your taking out an ad in the paper."
Spike chuckled. "Pretty creepy ad, if you ask me."
"I'd answer it." Fred turned a pretty shade of pink and cleared her throat. "You can always use another good guy, around." Fred pushed herself up from her seat and straightened her skirt.
Spike watched the girl get up from his side and smiled at her, sadly. "What if I'm one of the ones who just die?"
Fred shook her head, resolutely. "It's not gonna' happen. Angel wouldn't allow it."
Spike nodded, solemnly, and looked over at his sire, who lay on the floor, unmoving. "I want Katie to tell me about this spell she did."
Fred nodded and returned to her place, next to the other women. She told Katie that Spike wanted her and the young woman straightened her ponytail, as she made her way over to Spike's side. She scratched the back of her neck, nervously, and sighed, before taking the seat Spike offered at his side. "Something happened."
"I'd call that a definite understatement." Spike smirked at the woman and placed his hands behind his head, resting on them. "Now, tell me about this voodoo that you do, so well."
Katie sighed and shrugged. "I don't know what happened." Katie tried counting out the different possibilities on her fingers. "It could have been a mistake in wording. I have gotten tongue tied in the past and said something else, than what I originally meant to say." Katie took a breath and continued. "Then, it could have not worked on Andy cause he was drugged, but then, how would that explain Angel getting sucked into it?" Katie huffed. "There is always the option that I had another hair mixed in with Lindsey's, but your friend would have had to get really close-- and I mean *really* close-- to shed on him."
Spike quirked an eyebrow and hummed.
Katie shot him a glance. "What does 'hmm' mean?"
"Angel's an ass." Spike nodded, confirming his statement.
Katie cleared her throat and leaned her elbows on her knees. "You want to expound on that statement?"
Spike shook his head. "No need to really. I'm not exactly sure how it all played out, but I did walk in on Angel, when he was getting up in Lindsey's face, earlier tonight." Spike shot Katie a sly grin. "Those men... what are we going to do with them."
Katie rubbed her temples and shook her head. "After all the crap mine has put me through in the last few days, I'm whipping mine and sending him to bed, without supper. Then, I'll focus on getting to know Andy."
Spike shook his head and muttered archly. "I'd like to see how Angel would react if I tried to pull the old sire act on him. You are a fool child, Angelus. You should take better care of your soul. Whack, whack." Spike smacked his hand through the air a couple of times and grinned over at Katie, who giggled.
"Isn't hitting me once tonight, enough for you?"
Spike looked over at Angel, who had pushed himself up, into a sitting position. "You remember me hitting you?"
Angel shook his head and rubbed the base of his skull. "No, but my cheek does. It stings pretty bad. It was you that hit me, right?"
Spike shook his head. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Connor and Angel, both, shot Spike a look that screamed, 'yeah right'.
Spike looked between the two and grinned. "What?"
Katie sighed and stood up. "I wonder when Lindsey will feel like getting up."
Connor smiled sweetly at the woman and shrugged. "He was only knocked out. There doesn't seem to be a concussion.
Spike shook his head. "He's the luckiest sod, I've ever seen."
Katie shook her head. "Spike, he was knocked out twice in one day."
Spike nodded. "And he's been fine, both times. Says something about how bloody stubborn a man can be."
"Especially that man." Angel added.
Katie nodded, in agreement. "He can be pretty stubborn."
"Who can?" Lindsey had been standing on the top stair for the last half minute, listening to the others talk. He knew that they had been talking about him, but he just felt like needling them, anyway. He took slow steps down the stairs and leaned against the railing.
"The Brave Little Toaster." Spike stated, before sucking on the insides of his cheeks, making him look more hollowed than usual. "He's a pretty bolshie lil' fellow. Makes for a good movie, though."
"Bolshie?" Angel quirked a brow at his childe and then shot Connor a look. "I don't even know what that one means."
Connor shrugged. "I suppose you have to look at the content that was in the sentence. It was about a brave kitchen appliance... Maybe it means brave?"
Katie glanced up at Lindsey and then away again. She felt so bad for all the pain she had caused him. She couldn't even work up the courage to look him full on, in the eye.
"'Brave kitchen appliance', he says." Spike's lip turned up and he shook his head, in disgust. "What do they teach kid's in school, nowadays? Bolshie is an English word, thank you so bloody much! It means stubborn or unyielding... The Brave Little Toaster is only the best musical ever written."
Angel smirked and shook his head. "I didn't go to school, 'nowadays'. Neither did Conner."
"Plus, a musical about a toaster?" Connor sneered. "Who would be stupid enough to dress up like a toaster and sing?"
Spike's jaw dropped. "It's a cartoon!"
Lindsey cleared his throat, in an attempt to stop the insanity that was trying to ensue. It didn't work. The three men, of the Aurelius bloodline, were still arguing among themselves. So, Lindsey tried it again, but to no avail.
Cordelia had been watching the scene, and had taken the man's plight into account. She definitely pitied him. He had been knocked out, twice in one day, and neither o the two people who did the knocking out was paying him quite enough attention. She picked up a book and drew it back.
Gunn held up his hand and beckoned Cordelia to hand the book over. "Please, allow me." Cordelia handed him the book and he turned to access his target. When he was satisfied, he drew his hand back and shot it forward, toward the man he had singled out.
"Damnú ort!" Angel jumped up from his seat, on the floor, and searched the room, for his attacker. Gunn's eyes had gone pretty wide, he realized, and Cordelia was laughing behind her hand. "Gunn? Cordy?" The two pointed at each other and Angel nodded. "I see."
"Hey, when you start cussing in other languages, people sit up and take notice." Spike grinned at the red that had flushed to his sire's face. He must have eaten something before we left, Spike thought idly.
Lindsey sighed and took a seat on the bottom step. "I think they were just trying to assist me, in getting some attention." Lindsey laid his head in his hands and took a deep breath.
Katie looked over at Lindsey and took in the slump of his shoulders and the heavy sigh, he let out. She got up and walked over to where Lindsey was sitting. She took a seat next to him and slipped her arms around his shoulders. "What is it, baby?" She whispered into Lindsey's short cropped hair.
"Andy..." Lindsey took another breath and shook his head. "Amelie was the one who gave him to that man. She gave our son to that man!" Lindsey growled into his palms. "We have got to pay her back."
"Wait until tomorrow, Linds." Katie grabbed a lock of Lindsey's hair and tugged, softly. He looked up at her and smiled. "You'll be thinking more clearly, then."
Lindsey nodded. "Tomorrow, then." Lindsey snuggled into Katie's embrace and sighed. "Tomorrow."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Spike wheezed, as he made his way up the stairs of the apartment building. "Couldn't you pay for her to have an apartment in the shorter part of town? Maybe you could have springed for a building that had an elevator." Spike asked Lindsey, while he bent over to catch his breath.
Lindsey grunted. "I just signed the checks." He walked past Spike and
Angel stopped to give Spike a little push and waited for him to start back up the stairs. "You didn't have to come, you know." He followed his childe, closely, up the steps, in case he fell backward.
"What?" Spike hissed. "And let you have all the fun, without me? You have got to be joking. Tell me that you are joshin' with me, Angelus."
Angel chuckled. "I'm 'joshin' with you."
Lindsey had reached the door of his ex-wife and waited outside, in the hall. Spike and Angel made their way up the stairs, slowly. He wasn't in a hurry. He really wanted to take his time, actually. Now, that he knew Andy was fine and safe at home, with Katie, he knew everything would be all right, where it counted.
Spike reached the top of the stairs, Angel right on his tail. "We gonna' wait out here, or are we gonna' bust in and bust her up?"
Angel 'tsked' Spike, quietly enough that only he could hear.
Lindsey shrugged and reached for the door. He knocked, loudly, and took a step back, so Amelie wouldn't b able to see him, if she looked out the peephole.
The door opened up and laughter filled the air. A young woman, with a phone pressed to her ear, opened the door and peered out at Lindsey. She made an inaudible gasp and muttered. "I'll call you back." She hung up the phone and screeched. "You aren't supposed to be here!"
Lindsey shook his head. "Neither are you. Where's mommy?"
Missy looked past Lindsey and almost choked. It was the two vampires. "They aren't going to hurt me, are they?"
Lindsey shook his head, again. "No, but I might, if you don't cooperate."
Missy nodded and sighed. "Come in, Lindsey." Missy took a step back and let Lindsey in. Spike and Angel stood in the doorway.
Lindsey pushed past the woman and looked down the hallway, while pointing over his shoulder, with his thumb. "Invite them in."
Missy 'hmphed' and sighed. "Come in, then."
Spike and Angel took a few steps into the apartment and Missy shut the door behind them. Spike grunted. "Where is the bint?" Spike looked over at Missy and the young woman shrugged. Spike nodded. "I'm sure you have no clue."
"She doesn't tell me everything." Missy informed the men, as she crossed her arms across her chest. "So, why are you guys here, anyway?"
"Oh..." Lindsey grinned at Missy, in a nasty fashion. "We found out about your little plot to sell my son. Oh, yeah... Did I mention that we got him back and I'm keeping him?"
Missy gaped and jumped for the door. Angel barred her way and grunted when the young woman fell in his arms. Angel tried lifting her up and realized she was crying.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I would never hurt anyone, on purpose. She promised to take care of me. She said that I would finally be safe." Missy looked up into Angel's face and sobbed. "I'm sorry. Andy is a good kid. I never wanted to send him away, but she said it was the o..." A loud sound, like the back-fire off of Lindsey's truck, broke through the air. Missy looked down at her chest and hissed.
Angel watched the color drain from Missy's face and shook his head, in horror. She slid from his grip and fell to the floor, a dead weight. He looked at the front of his shirt and realized he was covered in blood. Missy's blood... and his. Angel looked up and saw a streak of color, zipping through the hallway. "Lindsey, it's her!"
Lindsey jerked his head toward the hallway and made a run for his ex-wife.
"Be careful!" Angel yelled after him. "She may still have her weapon." Angel shook his head. "Never thought I'd be warning Lindsey against danger." Angel leaned down, on his knees, and ran his hand over Missy's features. She was still breathing, but very slowly.
Spike shook his head and fell down, at Angel's side. "Whose fault is this?"
Angel shot his childe a look. "Amelie's."
"No, not the gun shot." Spike murmered. "I mean... all of it."
"I don't know." Angel sighed and grabbed at his chest. "But I'm gonna' hit 'em, when I figure it out."
TBC
-How pissy and sad was that? Pretty pissy and sad, if I do say so myself.-
--The subtitle was Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, which is an album by Elton John. It's so good and I really felt that it fit this chapter.--
On with the show.
::Carpe Diem- Beyond the Yellow Brick Road::
Connor sat at the foot of the couch looking between his 'brother' and his dad. Spike was sprawled across the couch, trying his best not to move too much, and Angel was laid out on the floor. Gunn was crouched down pointing a dart gun at his chest. "I don't think that's necessary."
Gunn grinned up at his young friend and shook his head. "You sure have changed a lot, since Spike came around. What was it that made the change? Spike or Skittles?"
Connor's mouth twisted up in a wry smirk. "Paxil... Now, could you stop pointing a tranquilizer at my dad's heart?"
Gunn lowered his firearm and sat back on his haunches. "How's it going with the books?"
Katie was shuffling through the pages of a book, in the corner, muttering about magic and the problems of the world. Fred and Cordelia were at her side, agreeing with whatever she had said.
Gunn pushed himself up off of the ground and looked over at the women. "Ladies? The books?"
Wesley walked out of the office and shut the door behind him. "What happened to Angel's desk?" Wesley looked over at Gunn, who only shrugged.
Connor winced, as he watched Spike try to sit up. The vampire was breathing hard, when he shouldn't be breathing, at all. "You want some Tylenol?"
Spike shook his head and grunted. "I want you to stake me."
"Not gonna' happen." Connor chuckled. "Angel would whip me up and down, if he woke up and found you as a pile of dust."
"It's his fault I wanna' turn dusty." Spike groaned and slumped against the arm of the couch. He was finally sitting up, on his own. The blood he had drunk, when they had brought him in, must have started working. "I've had broken ribs before, mind you. I'm pretty sure they never punctured a lung, though."
"Are you sure it's punctured?" Connor asked, worry sketched across his face.
Spike nodded. "I'm coughing up blood. It's either the lungs or the stomach and if my knowledge on the human anatomy serves me well, broken ribs can puncture the lungs faster than they can the stomach." Spike coughed and swallowed. "It's better the first time."
Gunn winced and took a walk over toward the counter that the women sat behind. "Eww..."
Spike shrugged and sighed. "How are the books, girls?"
Fred stood up, from her seat, and made her way past Gunn, toward the vampire on the couch. He scooted over a little, so she could sit and show him a passage. "You see there? I've been reading up on your blood line." She smiled at Spike. "You were kind of scary, before you went all gung-ho on the good guy side."
Spike nodded. "That's the story of our line. Scary bad men-- and/or women-- go gung-ho for good, or die."
Fred smirked. "Sounds like your taking out an ad in the paper."
Spike chuckled. "Pretty creepy ad, if you ask me."
"I'd answer it." Fred turned a pretty shade of pink and cleared her throat. "You can always use another good guy, around." Fred pushed herself up from her seat and straightened her skirt.
Spike watched the girl get up from his side and smiled at her, sadly. "What if I'm one of the ones who just die?"
Fred shook her head, resolutely. "It's not gonna' happen. Angel wouldn't allow it."
Spike nodded, solemnly, and looked over at his sire, who lay on the floor, unmoving. "I want Katie to tell me about this spell she did."
Fred nodded and returned to her place, next to the other women. She told Katie that Spike wanted her and the young woman straightened her ponytail, as she made her way over to Spike's side. She scratched the back of her neck, nervously, and sighed, before taking the seat Spike offered at his side. "Something happened."
"I'd call that a definite understatement." Spike smirked at the woman and placed his hands behind his head, resting on them. "Now, tell me about this voodoo that you do, so well."
Katie sighed and shrugged. "I don't know what happened." Katie tried counting out the different possibilities on her fingers. "It could have been a mistake in wording. I have gotten tongue tied in the past and said something else, than what I originally meant to say." Katie took a breath and continued. "Then, it could have not worked on Andy cause he was drugged, but then, how would that explain Angel getting sucked into it?" Katie huffed. "There is always the option that I had another hair mixed in with Lindsey's, but your friend would have had to get really close-- and I mean *really* close-- to shed on him."
Spike quirked an eyebrow and hummed.
Katie shot him a glance. "What does 'hmm' mean?"
"Angel's an ass." Spike nodded, confirming his statement.
Katie cleared her throat and leaned her elbows on her knees. "You want to expound on that statement?"
Spike shook his head. "No need to really. I'm not exactly sure how it all played out, but I did walk in on Angel, when he was getting up in Lindsey's face, earlier tonight." Spike shot Katie a sly grin. "Those men... what are we going to do with them."
Katie rubbed her temples and shook her head. "After all the crap mine has put me through in the last few days, I'm whipping mine and sending him to bed, without supper. Then, I'll focus on getting to know Andy."
Spike shook his head and muttered archly. "I'd like to see how Angel would react if I tried to pull the old sire act on him. You are a fool child, Angelus. You should take better care of your soul. Whack, whack." Spike smacked his hand through the air a couple of times and grinned over at Katie, who giggled.
"Isn't hitting me once tonight, enough for you?"
Spike looked over at Angel, who had pushed himself up, into a sitting position. "You remember me hitting you?"
Angel shook his head and rubbed the base of his skull. "No, but my cheek does. It stings pretty bad. It was you that hit me, right?"
Spike shook his head. "I don't know what you are talking about."
Connor and Angel, both, shot Spike a look that screamed, 'yeah right'.
Spike looked between the two and grinned. "What?"
Katie sighed and stood up. "I wonder when Lindsey will feel like getting up."
Connor smiled sweetly at the woman and shrugged. "He was only knocked out. There doesn't seem to be a concussion.
Spike shook his head. "He's the luckiest sod, I've ever seen."
Katie shook her head. "Spike, he was knocked out twice in one day."
Spike nodded. "And he's been fine, both times. Says something about how bloody stubborn a man can be."
"Especially that man." Angel added.
Katie nodded, in agreement. "He can be pretty stubborn."
"Who can?" Lindsey had been standing on the top stair for the last half minute, listening to the others talk. He knew that they had been talking about him, but he just felt like needling them, anyway. He took slow steps down the stairs and leaned against the railing.
"The Brave Little Toaster." Spike stated, before sucking on the insides of his cheeks, making him look more hollowed than usual. "He's a pretty bolshie lil' fellow. Makes for a good movie, though."
"Bolshie?" Angel quirked a brow at his childe and then shot Connor a look. "I don't even know what that one means."
Connor shrugged. "I suppose you have to look at the content that was in the sentence. It was about a brave kitchen appliance... Maybe it means brave?"
Katie glanced up at Lindsey and then away again. She felt so bad for all the pain she had caused him. She couldn't even work up the courage to look him full on, in the eye.
"'Brave kitchen appliance', he says." Spike's lip turned up and he shook his head, in disgust. "What do they teach kid's in school, nowadays? Bolshie is an English word, thank you so bloody much! It means stubborn or unyielding... The Brave Little Toaster is only the best musical ever written."
Angel smirked and shook his head. "I didn't go to school, 'nowadays'. Neither did Conner."
"Plus, a musical about a toaster?" Connor sneered. "Who would be stupid enough to dress up like a toaster and sing?"
Spike's jaw dropped. "It's a cartoon!"
Lindsey cleared his throat, in an attempt to stop the insanity that was trying to ensue. It didn't work. The three men, of the Aurelius bloodline, were still arguing among themselves. So, Lindsey tried it again, but to no avail.
Cordelia had been watching the scene, and had taken the man's plight into account. She definitely pitied him. He had been knocked out, twice in one day, and neither o the two people who did the knocking out was paying him quite enough attention. She picked up a book and drew it back.
Gunn held up his hand and beckoned Cordelia to hand the book over. "Please, allow me." Cordelia handed him the book and he turned to access his target. When he was satisfied, he drew his hand back and shot it forward, toward the man he had singled out.
"Damnú ort!" Angel jumped up from his seat, on the floor, and searched the room, for his attacker. Gunn's eyes had gone pretty wide, he realized, and Cordelia was laughing behind her hand. "Gunn? Cordy?" The two pointed at each other and Angel nodded. "I see."
"Hey, when you start cussing in other languages, people sit up and take notice." Spike grinned at the red that had flushed to his sire's face. He must have eaten something before we left, Spike thought idly.
Lindsey sighed and took a seat on the bottom step. "I think they were just trying to assist me, in getting some attention." Lindsey laid his head in his hands and took a deep breath.
Katie looked over at Lindsey and took in the slump of his shoulders and the heavy sigh, he let out. She got up and walked over to where Lindsey was sitting. She took a seat next to him and slipped her arms around his shoulders. "What is it, baby?" She whispered into Lindsey's short cropped hair.
"Andy..." Lindsey took another breath and shook his head. "Amelie was the one who gave him to that man. She gave our son to that man!" Lindsey growled into his palms. "We have got to pay her back."
"Wait until tomorrow, Linds." Katie grabbed a lock of Lindsey's hair and tugged, softly. He looked up at her and smiled. "You'll be thinking more clearly, then."
Lindsey nodded. "Tomorrow, then." Lindsey snuggled into Katie's embrace and sighed. "Tomorrow."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Spike wheezed, as he made his way up the stairs of the apartment building. "Couldn't you pay for her to have an apartment in the shorter part of town? Maybe you could have springed for a building that had an elevator." Spike asked Lindsey, while he bent over to catch his breath.
Lindsey grunted. "I just signed the checks." He walked past Spike and
Angel stopped to give Spike a little push and waited for him to start back up the stairs. "You didn't have to come, you know." He followed his childe, closely, up the steps, in case he fell backward.
"What?" Spike hissed. "And let you have all the fun, without me? You have got to be joking. Tell me that you are joshin' with me, Angelus."
Angel chuckled. "I'm 'joshin' with you."
Lindsey had reached the door of his ex-wife and waited outside, in the hall. Spike and Angel made their way up the stairs, slowly. He wasn't in a hurry. He really wanted to take his time, actually. Now, that he knew Andy was fine and safe at home, with Katie, he knew everything would be all right, where it counted.
Spike reached the top of the stairs, Angel right on his tail. "We gonna' wait out here, or are we gonna' bust in and bust her up?"
Angel 'tsked' Spike, quietly enough that only he could hear.
Lindsey shrugged and reached for the door. He knocked, loudly, and took a step back, so Amelie wouldn't b able to see him, if she looked out the peephole.
The door opened up and laughter filled the air. A young woman, with a phone pressed to her ear, opened the door and peered out at Lindsey. She made an inaudible gasp and muttered. "I'll call you back." She hung up the phone and screeched. "You aren't supposed to be here!"
Lindsey shook his head. "Neither are you. Where's mommy?"
Missy looked past Lindsey and almost choked. It was the two vampires. "They aren't going to hurt me, are they?"
Lindsey shook his head, again. "No, but I might, if you don't cooperate."
Missy nodded and sighed. "Come in, Lindsey." Missy took a step back and let Lindsey in. Spike and Angel stood in the doorway.
Lindsey pushed past the woman and looked down the hallway, while pointing over his shoulder, with his thumb. "Invite them in."
Missy 'hmphed' and sighed. "Come in, then."
Spike and Angel took a few steps into the apartment and Missy shut the door behind them. Spike grunted. "Where is the bint?" Spike looked over at Missy and the young woman shrugged. Spike nodded. "I'm sure you have no clue."
"She doesn't tell me everything." Missy informed the men, as she crossed her arms across her chest. "So, why are you guys here, anyway?"
"Oh..." Lindsey grinned at Missy, in a nasty fashion. "We found out about your little plot to sell my son. Oh, yeah... Did I mention that we got him back and I'm keeping him?"
Missy gaped and jumped for the door. Angel barred her way and grunted when the young woman fell in his arms. Angel tried lifting her up and realized she was crying.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I would never hurt anyone, on purpose. She promised to take care of me. She said that I would finally be safe." Missy looked up into Angel's face and sobbed. "I'm sorry. Andy is a good kid. I never wanted to send him away, but she said it was the o..." A loud sound, like the back-fire off of Lindsey's truck, broke through the air. Missy looked down at her chest and hissed.
Angel watched the color drain from Missy's face and shook his head, in horror. She slid from his grip and fell to the floor, a dead weight. He looked at the front of his shirt and realized he was covered in blood. Missy's blood... and his. Angel looked up and saw a streak of color, zipping through the hallway. "Lindsey, it's her!"
Lindsey jerked his head toward the hallway and made a run for his ex-wife.
"Be careful!" Angel yelled after him. "She may still have her weapon." Angel shook his head. "Never thought I'd be warning Lindsey against danger." Angel leaned down, on his knees, and ran his hand over Missy's features. She was still breathing, but very slowly.
Spike shook his head and fell down, at Angel's side. "Whose fault is this?"
Angel shot his childe a look. "Amelie's."
"No, not the gun shot." Spike murmered. "I mean... all of it."
"I don't know." Angel sighed and grabbed at his chest. "But I'm gonna' hit 'em, when I figure it out."
TBC
-How pissy and sad was that? Pretty pissy and sad, if I do say so myself.-
--The subtitle was Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, which is an album by Elton John. It's so good and I really felt that it fit this chapter.--