A/N: Faithful was written right around two years ago and there are eight.
It takes place fifteen years into the future of 2001.so 2016. This means
Dawn is all grown up, and Faith has just been released from jail. This
story will eventually be a Faith/Angel story.but it doesn't quite start out
that way.
I'm rating the whole series as rated R, but some parts are more R than others.lol. I'll warn you ahead of time. As always, these characters belong to Joss Whedon and all the fine folks who bring us Angel.
If you want to put this story on your website, please email me and let me know. I never say no, but I want to know who's supporting my work. Thanks!
*~*~*
Angel sighed as he watched her move through the office area to the kitchen. His eyes never left her until she left his line of sight. Lindsey watched him watch her and smiled a little, shaking his head.
"You can be so transparent sometimes."
Angel looked at him and then looked back to the report he was supposed to be typing up.
"Why don't you just talk to her?"
"I tried. She doesn't seem to want to talk to me." He looked up at Lindsey. "I just don't get it. At first she seemed angry. Now she just seems sad."
"Angry about what? Sad about what?"
Angel looked helpless as he shrugged his shoulders. "She won't talk to me about it."
Lindsey frowned in thought.
**~**
"Ok, spill." Cordelia put her Diet Coke can down and looked at Faith expectantly.
"Nothing to tell."
"Malarkey."
Faith looked at her oddly. "Malarkey? When did you use a word like malarkey?"
"Since anytime I wanted to. Don't change the subject. What's going on between you and Angel?"
Faith snorted softly. "I can answer that one honestly with one word. Nothing."
"What happened? I mean one minute you two are all giving each other the eyes and in general making people ill, and the next its like getting doused with ice water when you two are in the same room together." Cordelia put her hands on her hips. "What gives?"
"Well I can tell you what doesn't give. That would be me."
Cordelia watched her a moment. She studied the hardness of her features. She studied the barely restrained pain she saw in Faith's eyes. Faith used to be much better at masking her feelings.
"Look, Angel is a man. No matter how old a man is, he is bound to make mistakes. Men think differently than women. I'm sure he doesn't even know what it is he did wrong. Hell, I don't know what he did wrong."
"The kiss. The kiss in the cemetery, in front of Darla."
Cordy thought back and suddenly Faith could recognize the understanding that lit Cordelia's face.
"That's what you're upset about?" Cordelia rolled her eyes. "That was so done out of frustration."
"Exactly."
Cordelia looked like she still didn't understand what the big deal was.
"Cordelia.look, I wouldn't expect you to understand. You with your perfect love and all." Faith turned and went out of the kitchen, heading for the stairs. Cordelia followed her.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
They walked past the office area where David and Lindsey were discussing finance.
"Malarkey! Microsoft will never fall, that's the beauty of them!" David said to Lindsey exasperated.
Faith stopped and smiled to Cordelia. She mouthed the word 'malarkey' and Cordelia's face tinged pink.
"Oh shut up."
**~**
"Tell me why you think we should negotiate with you."
"Because I know him. I know him better than his sire did. I'm his childe. Can't get much closer than that." Penn smiled smugly.
"That's what we assumed about a sire, Mr. Penn."
"Just Penn. Yeah and usually the sire is close to the childe, but not Darla. He staked Darla from what I hear."
Jim Robinson nodded. Jim watched the vampire in front of him very closely. He didn't trust him. Wolfram and Hart's position on Penn was to observe and help if he intended on working for Wolfram and Hart. But if he showed any signs of vigilante, Wolfram and Hart was going to bring him down. Last thing they needed was another vampire hunting down members of Wolfram and Hart. Jim knew that if he handled this right it could mean his promotion as head of Special Projects.
"Alright Mr. Penn, what do you suggest we do about Angel?"
"I suggest you let me take care of him."
Jim smiled a patient and cool smile. "I need a game plan, Mr. Penn. If you plan on using Wolfram and Hart resources I need to know how."
Penn leaned forward, his eyes displaying a dangerous glint. "My plan is to bring you Angelus. Your little firm has been trying to do that for some time now, haven't they, Bill?"
"Uh, it's Jim."
"Whatever. See I don't care about you, or your name. I care about who's going to help me go to Angelus. Back when a vampire was a respectable and brutal killer, we didn't care about names of people. Mortals were like cattle. Just food. I intend to bring that era of brutality back into light, with or without you. So which is it going to be?"
Jim looked at Penn. It was really all the justification he needed, but he didn't want to give up now. Not when he felt so close to his goal.
"Alright. What do you need?"
**~**
"Faith?"
She looked up, but didn't turn around to face him. Instead she continued folding her clothes.
"Faith, talk to me?"
"Nothing to say."
"I think there is."
"So say it and leave."
Angel flinched. She didn't see it, but she could feel his displeasure.
"Faith, what happened? One minute everything is fine and the next minute we're fighting."
"We aren't fighting."
"What would you call this?"
Faith continued folding clothes in silence.
Angel watched her for a moment and then shook his head. The turned to leave the room but stopped. Anger flashed across his face as he turned and stormed over to her. He quickly flipped her to face him and tore the shirt she was folding out of her hand. He grabbed her arms and gave her one good shake.
"What is the matter with you? Don't you care anymore? TALK to me!" Angel yelling into her passive face.
"Nothing to say, Angel. We don't have to make a bigger production of this than we already have. It's clear the way you feel and I'm dealing with that, ok?" She jerked free, pushing him against the wall. "Now keep your damn hands off of me."
"It's clear how I feel, huh? Well tell me. How do I feel?"
"You don't love me. And that's fine. I never really thought you would anyway. It's always been about Darla or Buffy. It's cool, it's just the way it is."
Angel visibly flinched at Buffy's name. No one much brought her up, but every time they did, they ripped open a wound. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh? How about the way you kissed in me in the cemetery? Come on, Angel, I'm not fool. That wasn't a kiss meant for me. That was meant for Darla. To impress her. To show her. Well, you showed her."
Angel frowned, the anger leaving him.
"Faith. I do love you."
"Yeah, well it isn't the same."
"Same as what?"
"Same as Buffy or Darla."
Angel looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you loved Buffy so much you went to hell for her, you saved the world for her, and you." Faith paused and looked away, "made love to her."
Angel blinked in disbelief. "Please tell me that's your creative way of telling me to go to hell." When Faith didn't answer he closed the space in between them again. "Faith, she sent me to hell, I was with her when she saved the world, and making love to her was a big mistake! Would you rather I made love to you and called it a mistake?"
Faith's eyes met his; they were hurt.
"I don't know what to do here, Faith. If I do what I want I become a monster, and if I don't, I lose you. Please tell me that's not the choice I have here."
He waited and watched Faith. Finally she spoke. "It isn't about the sex. It's about the closeness that goes with it."
Angel roared with frustration making her stand en guard for an attack. Instead of attacking her Angel turned and put his fist through the wall before slamming out of the room and stomping down the stairs.
Faith just sank onto the bed, stunned, her eyes glued to the hole in her wall.
**~**
Gunn watched Faith as the group trudged through the complex sewer tunnels. She had a determined look on her face. The same look she was wearing when he and Fred met the group at the hotel. One look of Faith's face and he convinced Fred to stay behind. This was going to be serious.
Faith's eyes darted around the corners and turns of the sewers. She was looking for any sign of him. It didn't take long for her to realize what Angel said was true. She was trying to make him choose between being the beast or loosing her. She ran down the stairs and searched for him, but she couldn't find him. The group decided he had left through the sewers since it was still daylight at the time, but the sun had sense set, and they were now looking for a manhole to climb out from.
As they rounded the corner Faith, Gunn, Cordelia, Lindsey, and Wesley's flashlights all flashed on a blur of fur and teeth. The growl reverberated off the sewer tunnel walls as the beast charged them. Cordelia flashed her flashlight around to try and get a visual of the thing, but it suddenly was nowhere. Flashlights jerked from side to side looking for it. Everyone had their backs to the tunnel's sides.
"Looking for me?"
Five flashlights all zeroed in on the voice, illuminating Penn's white features perfectly.
"Impossible." Cordelia whispered.
"Not impossible, darlin'. Very possible indeed. You see, Darla isn't the only vampire Wolfram and Hart can raise." He smiled a lazy smile.
Faith narrowed her eyes and started to sweet the area behind Penn with her flashlight. The light played upon the three demons of different sizes and substances behind him. Penn smiled.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm."
"Penn. I know who you are," Cordelia spat.
"Well then. Introductions over. Let the games begin."
Chaos began as flashlight beams jerked every direction. Faith kicked the hairy demon that jumped at her. She sent it flying into the tunnel's wall, but it was faster than her flashlight and jumped her while she couldn't see. Cordelia screamed somewhere in the distance, Gunn cursed and used his axe to decapitate his purple glob of slime. Wesley attacked as best he could the yellow scabby demon that threatened him with its gigantic claws. Penn just watched them fight, analyzing each one, in case.
Lindsey struggled with the demon that had a hold of him. The smell rivaled the sewer they were already in and the sulpheric gases that it was emitting was making Lindsey sick and lose his concentration. He heard his own cry as he felt the claws rip down the front of him, tearing clothes and skin indiscriminately. He felt the hot sticky blood trickle out and mix with the skin of the demon, making his cuts burn. He felt a bit on his shoulder and screamed out for help, but his world went black before help came.
Faith heard Lindsey's scream just as she beheaded the demon she was fighting with it's own weapon. She took off in that direction, tripping over the body of Cordelia's demon before bringing the sword she hand in her hand down on the feeding sulpher demon that had Lindsey.
Gunn looked around to make sure all the demons were gone. He didn't see any sign of a living demon or Penn. He trained his flashlight on Lindsey and gasped. Cordelia put her hand to her mouth to mask her cry. Lindsey was covered in blood and his wounds were smoking like they were burning.
"Lets get him out of here," Faith said and started to snap orders out. Quickly they were able to find the manhole Penn must have come through and get his limp body out of the sewer.
**~**
Angel walked in the hotel and immediately knew something was wrong. The strong smell of blood and sulpher lingered in the air. It created a trail up the stairs. He took the stairs two at a time, only thinking of Faith, until he came to Lindsey's room and threw open the door.
Faith was sitting beside him, tending to the last of his wounds, and bandaging him up. He was still unconscious, and his color was awful. He looked like he had lost a lot of blood, and the bed sheets on the floor covered in blood spoke the truth of that.
"What happened?"
Faith glared at him. "Penn happened."
Angel looked like he had been slapped. "No."
Faith got up quickly and got into Angel's face. "Yes. He and about four of Wolfram and Hart's best shots. But we took them down, no thanks to you."
"But, Faith."
"Yeah, yeah, but you were too broody to be here when your friends needed you. If we weren't chasing YOU in some sewer maybe we'd have been able to get out of there before Lindsey got torn to pieces! Maybe Cordelia wouldn't be crying over the visions she's having of this Penn guy and what he's doing to LA right now. Maybe if you had staked yourself as soon as you regained your soul Wolfram and Hart wouldn't have resurrected your bitch Darla. Maybe they'd had never found the way to resurrect your childe and he wouldn't have torn us to shreds!" She screamed.
Angel broke. He grabbed Faith's arms and swung her around, shoving her against the wall and letting himself slip into game face.
"STOP!" Lindsey said as loudly as he could. "Angel.please."
Angel looked at Lindsey and let himself take on his human face again. He looked at Faith and slammed out of the room, and finally the hotel.
Faith was stunned. He was really going to hurt her.
"It's called tact, Faith. And keeping your mouth shut when your temper flares." She muttered angrily to herself. She looked at Lindsey and then looked down, leaving in a hurry to follow Angel. But he was gone.
**~**
"Lindsey, maybe you should stay behind," Cordelia said looking concerned and waving around her lollypop as Lindsey came downstairs. He shook his head.
"I'm going. Look it's been weeks since the attack. I'm fine now, ok?" He took what he thought was the last step down the stairs but when another came he tripped. Luckily he was able to catch himself. He looked right into Cordelia's disbelieving face.
"Hey! Not fair! I tripped!"
Cordelia shook her head and turned to Wesley pointing her candy at him. "Wesley, tell him he can't go."
Wesley looked Lindsey up and down. "Lindsey, maybe she's right."
"See! I'm right!" She smiled victoriously at Lindsey. He frowned.
"Wesley, I can do this. Without Angel here you'll need another person."
"It's best if you just stay here. We will be able to work a lot better not having to worry about whether or not you're ok." He took his glasses off and began the process of cleaning them. "Although I wish Angel were here." He wondered a moment where Angel was. He hadn't returned since Faith had yelled at him.
Lindsey sat down heavily with a frustrated sigh.
Cordelia smiled, gloating about being right as she sucked on her lollypop.
"And if you don't learn how to dodge attacks better, Cordelia I may suggest the same for you."
Cordelia looked at Wesley with surprise and disbelief.
"Hey! It's been a really long time in between concussions thank you very much!"
Wesley smirked. "And it would be longer if you learned to get out of the way." Cordelia fumed.
"Hey." Faith walked in, Gunn close behind her. "Lets get this show on the road."
Wesley nodded and turned to leave, Cordelia jammed the sucker into her mouth and glared at the back of his head as she followed him. Faith and Gunn followed, gently patting Lindsey on the shoulder as they left.
Lindsey muttered as slid down further in his seat. They were going after Penn, but they should be going after Wolfram and Hart. Wolfram and Hart supplied Penn. Wolfram and Hart supplied most of the demons and vampires they fought. Rarely did they fight a demon or vampire that wasn't affiliated with Wolfram and Hart, anymore. Cordelia's visions seemed geared more and more to stopping Wolfram and Hart. Why was he the only one who could see that?
"Well I'm not going to sit here and piddle with my pickle, it's time for some action." Lindsey stood up slowly and went to a cabinet where they kept their weapons. He started to load his person with various items. He was careful to grab a good assortment of explosives as well as sharp and pointy objects.
After equipping himself as best as he could, he headed out to his truck. Wolfram and Hart was going to pay. He would die trying to bring some justice to this world. It was the least he could do for these people who risked all over and over again just to make sure he was safe.
Lindsey shook his head as his mind filled with all he had to thank these people for. Especially Angel. How many times had Angel stuck his neck out for him? For him.the a-moral lawyer who had done more to hurt him and his family than most anyone else. Everything that Darla had done to Angel was his fault. Everything that Wolfram and Hart had done to Angel was his fault or doing. Everything Lilah had done for years was his fault. If he died in this, he felt it was a good death. The kind any warrior for good would be proud to call his at the end of the good fight.
Lindsey parked his truck many blocks away. He needed to save his energy to get in, but he knew that if he just drove up to the firm, he'd never get through the door.
**~**
Lindsey quietly placed the grenade down on Jim Robinson's desk. He picked up a picture on the desk and looked at it in the dark. The moon outside the window illuminated the family picture. Jim, his wife and a child. He disregarded the woman and child and stared a moment at Jim. He's just like Lindsey used to be. Young, dumb, and willing to do anything to get to the top. A-moral. Dangerous. Hopefully one day he'll be saved by Angel and his friends.
Lindsey put the picture down, not wanting to get too sentimental at the moment. He needed to steel himself against what he was going to do. He turned and ran right smack into a broad black-clad chest.
"Angel!" he whispered loudly. "Are you trying to scare the living shit out of me?"
"What are you doing here, Lindsey. You should be resting." Angel's voice was low and dangerous but his eyes told Lindsey that nothing had changed.
"I couldn't stay at home. I needed to be where the action is."
"And you think it's here?"
"It is here, Angel. While the gang is going out cutting off the limbs, I understand you need to cut off the head of this beast, or it will never leave."
Angel regarded him silently and then nodded.
"Why are you here?"
"Great minds think alike, I suppose." Angel smiled a little but his smile faded. "You may not survive this."
"Well those are better odds than I gave myself."
Angel nodded. "Well then, lets get to it."
Lindsey smiled and handed Angel some of his grenades. Angel silently took them and slipped out the door. Lindsey took one last look at the picture on the desk. He turned to leave when his eyes hit an envelope under some papers on the desk. He pulled the envelope to the top and saw the name PENN written on it. Lindsey shoved the envelope in his pocket. In case he survived.
**~**
Angel waited outside for Lindsey. He looked around nervously. So far they hadn't set off the security system of Wolfram and Hart. Or at least it didn't appear they did. But this was looking too easy. He had never had such an easy time getting in and out of Wolfram and Hart. Angel's eyes shifted around. Something was wrong.
Suddenly the security system screamed as an intruder was detected. Angel cursed and ducked back inside, no longer careful. Security men with tazers and stakes. Angel didn't hesitate, he started attacking. One good tazer to the ribs, though, stopped Angel's fighting instincts. Instead he was able to make a hole in the defenses by sweeping a few of them off of their feet. He leaped through the hole made and ran. He hoped he found Lindsey in time.
**~**
Lindsey cursed himself as he slinked through passages on the third story. The elevators wouldn't work in a security crisis and the stairs were being flooded with men, all looking for the security breech.
He hoped Angel got out in time. What they could do to a vampire here was horrifying.
Lindsey turned to peek around a corner before going around it fully. He saw three security guards disappearing around a corner further down the hall. The hand that closed around his shoulder nearly made him yell out in fright. Lindsey looked up into the eyes of Penn. The vampire smiled and Lindsey didn't hesitate. He quickly smashed the heel of his foot onto the vampire's foot and jabbed him in the stomach. The fight was on.
**~**
Angel heard the scuffle down the hall and ran for it. He skidded to a halt when he saw his childe fighting a quickly tiring Lindsey and about six security guards surrounded them, all waiting to see who the winner would be.
Looked like time to even the odds.
Angel leaped at the backs of the unsuspecting security guards, twisting necks and tearing out jugulars as soon as the opportunity arose. Neither Lindsey or Penn paid him any attention as he systematically took out the security guards.
Angel looked up from the last of them, blood running down his chin, his demon fully aware. Penn knocked Lindsey against a wall, dazing him, but he didn't have a chance to finish him off as Angel leaped at Penn.
Lindsey watched a moment as the two vampires, in full form, fought each other. When he felt less dizzy he remembered the explosives and the sirens and how he and Angel should be trying to get out of there. He struggled to his feet, using the wall to support him. He looked down and saw an old wound opened, and blood seeping through his shirt. He grimaced as he briefly thought about how he was going to have to admit to Cordelia she was right about him fighting tonight. If he survived to see Cordelia again, he thought. The thought sent him into action.
"Angel, lets go."
"Get out of here Lindsey!"
"Angel, come on.just.push him and lets make a break for it."
"Lindsey.go. It's your responsibility now. Just go. Take care of business. If I don't make it out, it'll be worth it."
Lindsey knew what Angel was asking him to do. He hesitated a moment.
"GO!" Angel roared. Lindsey sprang into action. He made his way down the hallway, the sound of the fighting vampires fading in the distance as he turned corners and quickly got himself to a door that lead to the stairs.
Most of the guards were off the stairways now. Looking for him or Angel, most likely.
Lindsey dodged guards and slinked against walls until he finally made it to the first floor. Finding a doorway out was easier said than done, though. Lindsey finally made his way out one of the side entrances.
He stood at the door, fingering the last grenade he had. His eyes searched for some sign that Angel made it out. Something that said he would. He took a deep breath. He slipped the pin out of the grenade and tossed it in, turning to run for his life.
The first explosion happened moments after the grenade hit the ground. Lindsey leaped as he felt the flames tickle his back, and he rolled behind a car, throwing his hands over his head. He listened to a few of the other strategically placed grenades go off as the fire from the last hit them. After Lindsey was sure it was safe, he peeked up over the side of the car and saw the building in flames. He didn't see Angel. Tears wet his eyes and touched the soot collecting on his face, but he blinked them back and slowly made his way to his truck. It was done.
**~**
Lindsey walked into the hotel and immediately caught the worried attention of all its occupants. Cordelia rushed to him and grabbed his arms.
"Where have you been? And ew.what's with all the soot? Decided the life of a chimney sweep was for you?" She wrinkled her nose at his appearance.
"Angel.is." he trailed off. He still couldn't say it.
Faith swallowed. "Angel is what?"
Lindsey's sad eyes touched hers.
"Angel is."
"In pain."
Everyone turned to see Angel, bloodied, clothes torn and burnt, and his skin blackened by soot stumble into the hotel.
Faith rushed to him and grabbed him, keeping him standing. "Oh, God. Come on, lets get you sat down.
Cordelia ran and grabbed the newspaper and started to spread it on the couch. "Here you can sit him on these."
Faith led him to a chair without papers on it and sat him down.
"Hey!"
"Can it, Queen C, he's hurt and it's the closest chair."
Cordelia frowned at the nickname and stayed silent.
"Angel, what happened?" Faith looked him over carefully, noting that some of the blood seemed to have come from his mouth, as if he were feeding.
"We blew up Wolfram and Hart." Lindsey said from behind her. She turned to him, wide-eyed.
"You what?"
"Blew up Wolfram and Hart." Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia moved in closer to them to better hear.
"But.how?"
"Lindsey. He knew that to stop everything that was going on we needed to cut the head off of the snake." Angel answered.
"And where do you come into this?" Cordelia said, confused. She knew Lindsey didn't have contact with Angel while Angel was away.
"Great minds think alike," Lindsey said, smiling at Angel. Angel returned the smile.
Faith knew there was something she was missing, but she just kept quiet. She looked at Angel and his eyes went to hers. It was like as soon as their eyes met, they both simultaneously remembered the harsh words she had said to him before.
"I'm sorry."
"So am I." Angel reached his hand up and pressed it against her cheek. Their eyes were locked and they shared a private moment between the two of them. The others kept their eyes averted out of respect.
When Angel's hand left Faith's face it left behind some of the grime that was on his hand. It made Angel remember what terrible shape he was in right now.
"I need a shower." He stood up, but wavered a bit.
"I'll help you," Faith said as she slipped her arms around his waist to steady him.
"You'll get all dirty." His lips quirked into a half grin.
"I'll have to take a shower myself then, won't I?" Faith smiled as her eyes bore into his. The electricity between them was electrifying.
"Actually, Faith, that probably wouldn't be a good idea. I'll take the vampire and you take his sidekick." Cordelia said, pulling Angel out of Faith's arms. Faith looked disappointed but she knew that if they were to get to a shower in this state of mind bad delicious things could happen. Faith sighed and nodded, taking Lindsey by the arm.
"Come on."
"I feel like such a consolation prize," Lindsey muttered.
Gunn and Wesley chuckled as each took an injured man and attempted to help the girls get the men cleaned and wounds mended.
**~**
Cordelia slammed the door to the main office. Lindsey looked down. He felt bad, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He picked up his duffel bag and tossed it into the back of his truck. He turned and went into the hotel to say his good-byes.
Gunn, Wesley, Fred, David, Angel, and Faith were there to see him off.
"Look man, if you need anything, you know where to find my neighborhood. Just make some noise. I'll hear ya." Gunn smiled as he clasped hands with Lindsey. Lindsey nodded with a smile. They gave each other a brief hug before Lindsey moved to give Fred a hug.
"Don't go."
"I have to, Fred. I did what I came to do. I destroyed Wolfram and Hart. It's time for me to move on." Fred nodded but looked down, sniffling and trying to hold back tears.
Lindsey embraced everyone, saying his goodbyes. Every so often he'd look at the office door where he knew Cordelia was, refusing to budge. She was taking his leaving the hardest. Ever since a week ago when Dawn called saying that she and Spike were coming to LA for a while Lindsey knew it was time to go. Spike would take his place in the dynamic of the group, and he could move on with his life. Redeemed. Whole. It saddened him that Cordelia, who he had become close to, hadn't talked to him since his announcement to the group.
Lindsey tentatively walked up to the office door and tapped on it.
"Cordelia?" There was no answer. He pressed his ear to the door and he heard her sniffling.
Cordelia sat at the desk, her head down, and tears streaming down her face as she hid from the inevitable. He was leaving. She never was good at goodbyes. She stayed there until the tapping stopped and Lindsey was safely away.
Lindsey stood outside by his truck and looked at Angel. This was going to be the hardest of the goodbyes. Angel was his best friend, and mentor. He knew he'd never have words enough to thank Angel for pulling him out of the evil he was immersed in and bathing him with a true purpose and the love of good friends.
Lindsey cleared his throat. "So."
Angel smiled and closed the distance between them, hugging him close.
"Take care of yourself, Lindsey."
Lindsey nodded and took a moment before speaking. No need to get too emotional.
"Angel," he cleared his throat again and his eyes danced around, never staying anywhere for long, "I just wanted to thank you for everything. If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be working for Wolfram and Hart, and I would never have known how good it felt to be playing for the right side." His eyes met Angel's, which were warm with sentiment.
"Nah.I don't think that's true."
Lindsey smiled a confused smile. "You think I could have pulled out on my own?"
"No." Angel smiled. "I just would have killed you by now."
Lindsey laughed and shook hands with Angel. He was still chuckling as he drove away.
I'm rating the whole series as rated R, but some parts are more R than others.lol. I'll warn you ahead of time. As always, these characters belong to Joss Whedon and all the fine folks who bring us Angel.
If you want to put this story on your website, please email me and let me know. I never say no, but I want to know who's supporting my work. Thanks!
*~*~*
Angel sighed as he watched her move through the office area to the kitchen. His eyes never left her until she left his line of sight. Lindsey watched him watch her and smiled a little, shaking his head.
"You can be so transparent sometimes."
Angel looked at him and then looked back to the report he was supposed to be typing up.
"Why don't you just talk to her?"
"I tried. She doesn't seem to want to talk to me." He looked up at Lindsey. "I just don't get it. At first she seemed angry. Now she just seems sad."
"Angry about what? Sad about what?"
Angel looked helpless as he shrugged his shoulders. "She won't talk to me about it."
Lindsey frowned in thought.
**~**
"Ok, spill." Cordelia put her Diet Coke can down and looked at Faith expectantly.
"Nothing to tell."
"Malarkey."
Faith looked at her oddly. "Malarkey? When did you use a word like malarkey?"
"Since anytime I wanted to. Don't change the subject. What's going on between you and Angel?"
Faith snorted softly. "I can answer that one honestly with one word. Nothing."
"What happened? I mean one minute you two are all giving each other the eyes and in general making people ill, and the next its like getting doused with ice water when you two are in the same room together." Cordelia put her hands on her hips. "What gives?"
"Well I can tell you what doesn't give. That would be me."
Cordelia watched her a moment. She studied the hardness of her features. She studied the barely restrained pain she saw in Faith's eyes. Faith used to be much better at masking her feelings.
"Look, Angel is a man. No matter how old a man is, he is bound to make mistakes. Men think differently than women. I'm sure he doesn't even know what it is he did wrong. Hell, I don't know what he did wrong."
"The kiss. The kiss in the cemetery, in front of Darla."
Cordy thought back and suddenly Faith could recognize the understanding that lit Cordelia's face.
"That's what you're upset about?" Cordelia rolled her eyes. "That was so done out of frustration."
"Exactly."
Cordelia looked like she still didn't understand what the big deal was.
"Cordelia.look, I wouldn't expect you to understand. You with your perfect love and all." Faith turned and went out of the kitchen, heading for the stairs. Cordelia followed her.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
They walked past the office area where David and Lindsey were discussing finance.
"Malarkey! Microsoft will never fall, that's the beauty of them!" David said to Lindsey exasperated.
Faith stopped and smiled to Cordelia. She mouthed the word 'malarkey' and Cordelia's face tinged pink.
"Oh shut up."
**~**
"Tell me why you think we should negotiate with you."
"Because I know him. I know him better than his sire did. I'm his childe. Can't get much closer than that." Penn smiled smugly.
"That's what we assumed about a sire, Mr. Penn."
"Just Penn. Yeah and usually the sire is close to the childe, but not Darla. He staked Darla from what I hear."
Jim Robinson nodded. Jim watched the vampire in front of him very closely. He didn't trust him. Wolfram and Hart's position on Penn was to observe and help if he intended on working for Wolfram and Hart. But if he showed any signs of vigilante, Wolfram and Hart was going to bring him down. Last thing they needed was another vampire hunting down members of Wolfram and Hart. Jim knew that if he handled this right it could mean his promotion as head of Special Projects.
"Alright Mr. Penn, what do you suggest we do about Angel?"
"I suggest you let me take care of him."
Jim smiled a patient and cool smile. "I need a game plan, Mr. Penn. If you plan on using Wolfram and Hart resources I need to know how."
Penn leaned forward, his eyes displaying a dangerous glint. "My plan is to bring you Angelus. Your little firm has been trying to do that for some time now, haven't they, Bill?"
"Uh, it's Jim."
"Whatever. See I don't care about you, or your name. I care about who's going to help me go to Angelus. Back when a vampire was a respectable and brutal killer, we didn't care about names of people. Mortals were like cattle. Just food. I intend to bring that era of brutality back into light, with or without you. So which is it going to be?"
Jim looked at Penn. It was really all the justification he needed, but he didn't want to give up now. Not when he felt so close to his goal.
"Alright. What do you need?"
**~**
"Faith?"
She looked up, but didn't turn around to face him. Instead she continued folding her clothes.
"Faith, talk to me?"
"Nothing to say."
"I think there is."
"So say it and leave."
Angel flinched. She didn't see it, but she could feel his displeasure.
"Faith, what happened? One minute everything is fine and the next minute we're fighting."
"We aren't fighting."
"What would you call this?"
Faith continued folding clothes in silence.
Angel watched her for a moment and then shook his head. The turned to leave the room but stopped. Anger flashed across his face as he turned and stormed over to her. He quickly flipped her to face him and tore the shirt she was folding out of her hand. He grabbed her arms and gave her one good shake.
"What is the matter with you? Don't you care anymore? TALK to me!" Angel yelling into her passive face.
"Nothing to say, Angel. We don't have to make a bigger production of this than we already have. It's clear the way you feel and I'm dealing with that, ok?" She jerked free, pushing him against the wall. "Now keep your damn hands off of me."
"It's clear how I feel, huh? Well tell me. How do I feel?"
"You don't love me. And that's fine. I never really thought you would anyway. It's always been about Darla or Buffy. It's cool, it's just the way it is."
Angel visibly flinched at Buffy's name. No one much brought her up, but every time they did, they ripped open a wound. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh? How about the way you kissed in me in the cemetery? Come on, Angel, I'm not fool. That wasn't a kiss meant for me. That was meant for Darla. To impress her. To show her. Well, you showed her."
Angel frowned, the anger leaving him.
"Faith. I do love you."
"Yeah, well it isn't the same."
"Same as what?"
"Same as Buffy or Darla."
Angel looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you loved Buffy so much you went to hell for her, you saved the world for her, and you." Faith paused and looked away, "made love to her."
Angel blinked in disbelief. "Please tell me that's your creative way of telling me to go to hell." When Faith didn't answer he closed the space in between them again. "Faith, she sent me to hell, I was with her when she saved the world, and making love to her was a big mistake! Would you rather I made love to you and called it a mistake?"
Faith's eyes met his; they were hurt.
"I don't know what to do here, Faith. If I do what I want I become a monster, and if I don't, I lose you. Please tell me that's not the choice I have here."
He waited and watched Faith. Finally she spoke. "It isn't about the sex. It's about the closeness that goes with it."
Angel roared with frustration making her stand en guard for an attack. Instead of attacking her Angel turned and put his fist through the wall before slamming out of the room and stomping down the stairs.
Faith just sank onto the bed, stunned, her eyes glued to the hole in her wall.
**~**
Gunn watched Faith as the group trudged through the complex sewer tunnels. She had a determined look on her face. The same look she was wearing when he and Fred met the group at the hotel. One look of Faith's face and he convinced Fred to stay behind. This was going to be serious.
Faith's eyes darted around the corners and turns of the sewers. She was looking for any sign of him. It didn't take long for her to realize what Angel said was true. She was trying to make him choose between being the beast or loosing her. She ran down the stairs and searched for him, but she couldn't find him. The group decided he had left through the sewers since it was still daylight at the time, but the sun had sense set, and they were now looking for a manhole to climb out from.
As they rounded the corner Faith, Gunn, Cordelia, Lindsey, and Wesley's flashlights all flashed on a blur of fur and teeth. The growl reverberated off the sewer tunnel walls as the beast charged them. Cordelia flashed her flashlight around to try and get a visual of the thing, but it suddenly was nowhere. Flashlights jerked from side to side looking for it. Everyone had their backs to the tunnel's sides.
"Looking for me?"
Five flashlights all zeroed in on the voice, illuminating Penn's white features perfectly.
"Impossible." Cordelia whispered.
"Not impossible, darlin'. Very possible indeed. You see, Darla isn't the only vampire Wolfram and Hart can raise." He smiled a lazy smile.
Faith narrowed her eyes and started to sweet the area behind Penn with her flashlight. The light played upon the three demons of different sizes and substances behind him. Penn smiled.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm."
"Penn. I know who you are," Cordelia spat.
"Well then. Introductions over. Let the games begin."
Chaos began as flashlight beams jerked every direction. Faith kicked the hairy demon that jumped at her. She sent it flying into the tunnel's wall, but it was faster than her flashlight and jumped her while she couldn't see. Cordelia screamed somewhere in the distance, Gunn cursed and used his axe to decapitate his purple glob of slime. Wesley attacked as best he could the yellow scabby demon that threatened him with its gigantic claws. Penn just watched them fight, analyzing each one, in case.
Lindsey struggled with the demon that had a hold of him. The smell rivaled the sewer they were already in and the sulpheric gases that it was emitting was making Lindsey sick and lose his concentration. He heard his own cry as he felt the claws rip down the front of him, tearing clothes and skin indiscriminately. He felt the hot sticky blood trickle out and mix with the skin of the demon, making his cuts burn. He felt a bit on his shoulder and screamed out for help, but his world went black before help came.
Faith heard Lindsey's scream just as she beheaded the demon she was fighting with it's own weapon. She took off in that direction, tripping over the body of Cordelia's demon before bringing the sword she hand in her hand down on the feeding sulpher demon that had Lindsey.
Gunn looked around to make sure all the demons were gone. He didn't see any sign of a living demon or Penn. He trained his flashlight on Lindsey and gasped. Cordelia put her hand to her mouth to mask her cry. Lindsey was covered in blood and his wounds were smoking like they were burning.
"Lets get him out of here," Faith said and started to snap orders out. Quickly they were able to find the manhole Penn must have come through and get his limp body out of the sewer.
**~**
Angel walked in the hotel and immediately knew something was wrong. The strong smell of blood and sulpher lingered in the air. It created a trail up the stairs. He took the stairs two at a time, only thinking of Faith, until he came to Lindsey's room and threw open the door.
Faith was sitting beside him, tending to the last of his wounds, and bandaging him up. He was still unconscious, and his color was awful. He looked like he had lost a lot of blood, and the bed sheets on the floor covered in blood spoke the truth of that.
"What happened?"
Faith glared at him. "Penn happened."
Angel looked like he had been slapped. "No."
Faith got up quickly and got into Angel's face. "Yes. He and about four of Wolfram and Hart's best shots. But we took them down, no thanks to you."
"But, Faith."
"Yeah, yeah, but you were too broody to be here when your friends needed you. If we weren't chasing YOU in some sewer maybe we'd have been able to get out of there before Lindsey got torn to pieces! Maybe Cordelia wouldn't be crying over the visions she's having of this Penn guy and what he's doing to LA right now. Maybe if you had staked yourself as soon as you regained your soul Wolfram and Hart wouldn't have resurrected your bitch Darla. Maybe they'd had never found the way to resurrect your childe and he wouldn't have torn us to shreds!" She screamed.
Angel broke. He grabbed Faith's arms and swung her around, shoving her against the wall and letting himself slip into game face.
"STOP!" Lindsey said as loudly as he could. "Angel.please."
Angel looked at Lindsey and let himself take on his human face again. He looked at Faith and slammed out of the room, and finally the hotel.
Faith was stunned. He was really going to hurt her.
"It's called tact, Faith. And keeping your mouth shut when your temper flares." She muttered angrily to herself. She looked at Lindsey and then looked down, leaving in a hurry to follow Angel. But he was gone.
**~**
"Lindsey, maybe you should stay behind," Cordelia said looking concerned and waving around her lollypop as Lindsey came downstairs. He shook his head.
"I'm going. Look it's been weeks since the attack. I'm fine now, ok?" He took what he thought was the last step down the stairs but when another came he tripped. Luckily he was able to catch himself. He looked right into Cordelia's disbelieving face.
"Hey! Not fair! I tripped!"
Cordelia shook her head and turned to Wesley pointing her candy at him. "Wesley, tell him he can't go."
Wesley looked Lindsey up and down. "Lindsey, maybe she's right."
"See! I'm right!" She smiled victoriously at Lindsey. He frowned.
"Wesley, I can do this. Without Angel here you'll need another person."
"It's best if you just stay here. We will be able to work a lot better not having to worry about whether or not you're ok." He took his glasses off and began the process of cleaning them. "Although I wish Angel were here." He wondered a moment where Angel was. He hadn't returned since Faith had yelled at him.
Lindsey sat down heavily with a frustrated sigh.
Cordelia smiled, gloating about being right as she sucked on her lollypop.
"And if you don't learn how to dodge attacks better, Cordelia I may suggest the same for you."
Cordelia looked at Wesley with surprise and disbelief.
"Hey! It's been a really long time in between concussions thank you very much!"
Wesley smirked. "And it would be longer if you learned to get out of the way." Cordelia fumed.
"Hey." Faith walked in, Gunn close behind her. "Lets get this show on the road."
Wesley nodded and turned to leave, Cordelia jammed the sucker into her mouth and glared at the back of his head as she followed him. Faith and Gunn followed, gently patting Lindsey on the shoulder as they left.
Lindsey muttered as slid down further in his seat. They were going after Penn, but they should be going after Wolfram and Hart. Wolfram and Hart supplied Penn. Wolfram and Hart supplied most of the demons and vampires they fought. Rarely did they fight a demon or vampire that wasn't affiliated with Wolfram and Hart, anymore. Cordelia's visions seemed geared more and more to stopping Wolfram and Hart. Why was he the only one who could see that?
"Well I'm not going to sit here and piddle with my pickle, it's time for some action." Lindsey stood up slowly and went to a cabinet where they kept their weapons. He started to load his person with various items. He was careful to grab a good assortment of explosives as well as sharp and pointy objects.
After equipping himself as best as he could, he headed out to his truck. Wolfram and Hart was going to pay. He would die trying to bring some justice to this world. It was the least he could do for these people who risked all over and over again just to make sure he was safe.
Lindsey shook his head as his mind filled with all he had to thank these people for. Especially Angel. How many times had Angel stuck his neck out for him? For him.the a-moral lawyer who had done more to hurt him and his family than most anyone else. Everything that Darla had done to Angel was his fault. Everything that Wolfram and Hart had done to Angel was his fault or doing. Everything Lilah had done for years was his fault. If he died in this, he felt it was a good death. The kind any warrior for good would be proud to call his at the end of the good fight.
Lindsey parked his truck many blocks away. He needed to save his energy to get in, but he knew that if he just drove up to the firm, he'd never get through the door.
**~**
Lindsey quietly placed the grenade down on Jim Robinson's desk. He picked up a picture on the desk and looked at it in the dark. The moon outside the window illuminated the family picture. Jim, his wife and a child. He disregarded the woman and child and stared a moment at Jim. He's just like Lindsey used to be. Young, dumb, and willing to do anything to get to the top. A-moral. Dangerous. Hopefully one day he'll be saved by Angel and his friends.
Lindsey put the picture down, not wanting to get too sentimental at the moment. He needed to steel himself against what he was going to do. He turned and ran right smack into a broad black-clad chest.
"Angel!" he whispered loudly. "Are you trying to scare the living shit out of me?"
"What are you doing here, Lindsey. You should be resting." Angel's voice was low and dangerous but his eyes told Lindsey that nothing had changed.
"I couldn't stay at home. I needed to be where the action is."
"And you think it's here?"
"It is here, Angel. While the gang is going out cutting off the limbs, I understand you need to cut off the head of this beast, or it will never leave."
Angel regarded him silently and then nodded.
"Why are you here?"
"Great minds think alike, I suppose." Angel smiled a little but his smile faded. "You may not survive this."
"Well those are better odds than I gave myself."
Angel nodded. "Well then, lets get to it."
Lindsey smiled and handed Angel some of his grenades. Angel silently took them and slipped out the door. Lindsey took one last look at the picture on the desk. He turned to leave when his eyes hit an envelope under some papers on the desk. He pulled the envelope to the top and saw the name PENN written on it. Lindsey shoved the envelope in his pocket. In case he survived.
**~**
Angel waited outside for Lindsey. He looked around nervously. So far they hadn't set off the security system of Wolfram and Hart. Or at least it didn't appear they did. But this was looking too easy. He had never had such an easy time getting in and out of Wolfram and Hart. Angel's eyes shifted around. Something was wrong.
Suddenly the security system screamed as an intruder was detected. Angel cursed and ducked back inside, no longer careful. Security men with tazers and stakes. Angel didn't hesitate, he started attacking. One good tazer to the ribs, though, stopped Angel's fighting instincts. Instead he was able to make a hole in the defenses by sweeping a few of them off of their feet. He leaped through the hole made and ran. He hoped he found Lindsey in time.
**~**
Lindsey cursed himself as he slinked through passages on the third story. The elevators wouldn't work in a security crisis and the stairs were being flooded with men, all looking for the security breech.
He hoped Angel got out in time. What they could do to a vampire here was horrifying.
Lindsey turned to peek around a corner before going around it fully. He saw three security guards disappearing around a corner further down the hall. The hand that closed around his shoulder nearly made him yell out in fright. Lindsey looked up into the eyes of Penn. The vampire smiled and Lindsey didn't hesitate. He quickly smashed the heel of his foot onto the vampire's foot and jabbed him in the stomach. The fight was on.
**~**
Angel heard the scuffle down the hall and ran for it. He skidded to a halt when he saw his childe fighting a quickly tiring Lindsey and about six security guards surrounded them, all waiting to see who the winner would be.
Looked like time to even the odds.
Angel leaped at the backs of the unsuspecting security guards, twisting necks and tearing out jugulars as soon as the opportunity arose. Neither Lindsey or Penn paid him any attention as he systematically took out the security guards.
Angel looked up from the last of them, blood running down his chin, his demon fully aware. Penn knocked Lindsey against a wall, dazing him, but he didn't have a chance to finish him off as Angel leaped at Penn.
Lindsey watched a moment as the two vampires, in full form, fought each other. When he felt less dizzy he remembered the explosives and the sirens and how he and Angel should be trying to get out of there. He struggled to his feet, using the wall to support him. He looked down and saw an old wound opened, and blood seeping through his shirt. He grimaced as he briefly thought about how he was going to have to admit to Cordelia she was right about him fighting tonight. If he survived to see Cordelia again, he thought. The thought sent him into action.
"Angel, lets go."
"Get out of here Lindsey!"
"Angel, come on.just.push him and lets make a break for it."
"Lindsey.go. It's your responsibility now. Just go. Take care of business. If I don't make it out, it'll be worth it."
Lindsey knew what Angel was asking him to do. He hesitated a moment.
"GO!" Angel roared. Lindsey sprang into action. He made his way down the hallway, the sound of the fighting vampires fading in the distance as he turned corners and quickly got himself to a door that lead to the stairs.
Most of the guards were off the stairways now. Looking for him or Angel, most likely.
Lindsey dodged guards and slinked against walls until he finally made it to the first floor. Finding a doorway out was easier said than done, though. Lindsey finally made his way out one of the side entrances.
He stood at the door, fingering the last grenade he had. His eyes searched for some sign that Angel made it out. Something that said he would. He took a deep breath. He slipped the pin out of the grenade and tossed it in, turning to run for his life.
The first explosion happened moments after the grenade hit the ground. Lindsey leaped as he felt the flames tickle his back, and he rolled behind a car, throwing his hands over his head. He listened to a few of the other strategically placed grenades go off as the fire from the last hit them. After Lindsey was sure it was safe, he peeked up over the side of the car and saw the building in flames. He didn't see Angel. Tears wet his eyes and touched the soot collecting on his face, but he blinked them back and slowly made his way to his truck. It was done.
**~**
Lindsey walked into the hotel and immediately caught the worried attention of all its occupants. Cordelia rushed to him and grabbed his arms.
"Where have you been? And ew.what's with all the soot? Decided the life of a chimney sweep was for you?" She wrinkled her nose at his appearance.
"Angel.is." he trailed off. He still couldn't say it.
Faith swallowed. "Angel is what?"
Lindsey's sad eyes touched hers.
"Angel is."
"In pain."
Everyone turned to see Angel, bloodied, clothes torn and burnt, and his skin blackened by soot stumble into the hotel.
Faith rushed to him and grabbed him, keeping him standing. "Oh, God. Come on, lets get you sat down.
Cordelia ran and grabbed the newspaper and started to spread it on the couch. "Here you can sit him on these."
Faith led him to a chair without papers on it and sat him down.
"Hey!"
"Can it, Queen C, he's hurt and it's the closest chair."
Cordelia frowned at the nickname and stayed silent.
"Angel, what happened?" Faith looked him over carefully, noting that some of the blood seemed to have come from his mouth, as if he were feeding.
"We blew up Wolfram and Hart." Lindsey said from behind her. She turned to him, wide-eyed.
"You what?"
"Blew up Wolfram and Hart." Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia moved in closer to them to better hear.
"But.how?"
"Lindsey. He knew that to stop everything that was going on we needed to cut the head off of the snake." Angel answered.
"And where do you come into this?" Cordelia said, confused. She knew Lindsey didn't have contact with Angel while Angel was away.
"Great minds think alike," Lindsey said, smiling at Angel. Angel returned the smile.
Faith knew there was something she was missing, but she just kept quiet. She looked at Angel and his eyes went to hers. It was like as soon as their eyes met, they both simultaneously remembered the harsh words she had said to him before.
"I'm sorry."
"So am I." Angel reached his hand up and pressed it against her cheek. Their eyes were locked and they shared a private moment between the two of them. The others kept their eyes averted out of respect.
When Angel's hand left Faith's face it left behind some of the grime that was on his hand. It made Angel remember what terrible shape he was in right now.
"I need a shower." He stood up, but wavered a bit.
"I'll help you," Faith said as she slipped her arms around his waist to steady him.
"You'll get all dirty." His lips quirked into a half grin.
"I'll have to take a shower myself then, won't I?" Faith smiled as her eyes bore into his. The electricity between them was electrifying.
"Actually, Faith, that probably wouldn't be a good idea. I'll take the vampire and you take his sidekick." Cordelia said, pulling Angel out of Faith's arms. Faith looked disappointed but she knew that if they were to get to a shower in this state of mind bad delicious things could happen. Faith sighed and nodded, taking Lindsey by the arm.
"Come on."
"I feel like such a consolation prize," Lindsey muttered.
Gunn and Wesley chuckled as each took an injured man and attempted to help the girls get the men cleaned and wounds mended.
**~**
Cordelia slammed the door to the main office. Lindsey looked down. He felt bad, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He picked up his duffel bag and tossed it into the back of his truck. He turned and went into the hotel to say his good-byes.
Gunn, Wesley, Fred, David, Angel, and Faith were there to see him off.
"Look man, if you need anything, you know where to find my neighborhood. Just make some noise. I'll hear ya." Gunn smiled as he clasped hands with Lindsey. Lindsey nodded with a smile. They gave each other a brief hug before Lindsey moved to give Fred a hug.
"Don't go."
"I have to, Fred. I did what I came to do. I destroyed Wolfram and Hart. It's time for me to move on." Fred nodded but looked down, sniffling and trying to hold back tears.
Lindsey embraced everyone, saying his goodbyes. Every so often he'd look at the office door where he knew Cordelia was, refusing to budge. She was taking his leaving the hardest. Ever since a week ago when Dawn called saying that she and Spike were coming to LA for a while Lindsey knew it was time to go. Spike would take his place in the dynamic of the group, and he could move on with his life. Redeemed. Whole. It saddened him that Cordelia, who he had become close to, hadn't talked to him since his announcement to the group.
Lindsey tentatively walked up to the office door and tapped on it.
"Cordelia?" There was no answer. He pressed his ear to the door and he heard her sniffling.
Cordelia sat at the desk, her head down, and tears streaming down her face as she hid from the inevitable. He was leaving. She never was good at goodbyes. She stayed there until the tapping stopped and Lindsey was safely away.
Lindsey stood outside by his truck and looked at Angel. This was going to be the hardest of the goodbyes. Angel was his best friend, and mentor. He knew he'd never have words enough to thank Angel for pulling him out of the evil he was immersed in and bathing him with a true purpose and the love of good friends.
Lindsey cleared his throat. "So."
Angel smiled and closed the distance between them, hugging him close.
"Take care of yourself, Lindsey."
Lindsey nodded and took a moment before speaking. No need to get too emotional.
"Angel," he cleared his throat again and his eyes danced around, never staying anywhere for long, "I just wanted to thank you for everything. If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be working for Wolfram and Hart, and I would never have known how good it felt to be playing for the right side." His eyes met Angel's, which were warm with sentiment.
"Nah.I don't think that's true."
Lindsey smiled a confused smile. "You think I could have pulled out on my own?"
"No." Angel smiled. "I just would have killed you by now."
Lindsey laughed and shook hands with Angel. He was still chuckling as he drove away.