THREE STRIKES
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.
CHAPTER 8-OUCH! AND OVERDOING IT
Angel was about to ask Cordelia why she looked so angry when she reached her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. Angel had been slapped before, thousands of times in fact, but Cordelia slapped him so hard that his ears rang. Behind him Wesley tried to say something but all he could get out was the beginnings of certain words that would usually form a question. Faith on the other hand started to take an angry step forward but stopped when a wave of nausea swept over her. She swayed for a bit before she closed her eyes and leaned up against Wesley, thankful that he put a supportive arm around her and held her up. Thousands of questions flew through Angel's mind as he nervously rubbed his stinging cheek. He finally picked what he thought was the simplest and most straightforward one and asked it.
"Ow…Cordy, what was that for…," Angel exclaimed with a sad and hurt frown on his face as he rubbed his cheek, that for the first time in over two and a half centuries was momentarily filled with color.
"Why didn't you wake me up…I was worried sick about you…and now you're thinking about helping Lindsey…in your condition…not to mention dragging along the gruesome twosome along for the ride," Cordelia replied, her face flush with color, as she appeared to be on the verge of tears.
"Yep…no doubt about it…Queen C is back…," Faith mumbled with a giggle before the lobby began to spin and she was forced to cling to Wesley for dear life.
"Right on time to…," Wesley said through a chuckle before the room began to spin for him to, forcing him to stagger back towards the round couch and pull Faith down beside him. All of a sudden it had become quite warm in the room and he discovered that he and Faith were sweating heavily.
"Guess we must have overdone it…," Faith mumbled sadly as she wiped some sweat off of her brow, the two lovers completely ignoring Cordelia and Angel's conversation that had continued without them.
"You needed…you still need your rest Cordelia, I thought it best not to wake you," Angel said with a hopeful frown on his face as he hoped that Cordelia would believe him and calm down.
"It best…Angel you collapsed…normal people collapse all the time…but two hundred and fifty year old nigh immortal vampires aren't supposed to," Cordelia answered, the anger and worry clearly evident in her eyes, as she poked a nervous finger into the middle of Angel's chest.
"So the venom affected me more than I thought it would…I was wrong…happy," Angel replied with a less than pleasant tone of voice that he instantly regretted as the look of anger on Cordelia's face made him expect to be slapped again. For a moment Cordelia looked as if she would in fact slap him, but then a few more tears slid down her face and Angel instantly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest. "I'm fine Cordy…really…," Angel mumbled softly, just to Cordelia, before he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.
"Just don't scare me like that again…okay," Cordelia stuttered out through her tears as she lifted her head up and locked gazes with a startled but concerned Angel.
"Okay…," Angel answered with as reassuring a look on his face as he could muster at that moment as he tried to bolster Cordelia's spirits.
"He's lying Cor…you know that right…no matter what he says ole sour pants over there will always be getting into things that are way over his head…it's what he does best…besides brooding that is," Faith called out from her spot on the couch with at first a serious frown on her face that soon changed to a slightly out of it smile at the end. Before Angel or Cordelia could respond Faith began laughing softly, with Wesley joining in shortly.
"What's so funny….huh….Angel-cakes, you're awake….why didn't you say something," Lorne interjected with an amused and joyous smile on his face as he walked down the stairs, smoothing out a crease in his suit as he went.
"Because I…," Angel started to say with a tired sigh before Cordelia placed a hand over his mouth with a very serious frown on her face.
"Because he thought himself indestructible again and tried to slip out while no one was looking…oh yeah…and he promises to never do it again," Cordelia said with a very determined look on her face as she held her hand over Angel's mouth. She finished with a big grin on her face, one that Angel quickly matched.
"Can we please get back to the…task at hand…are we going to help the young woman save Lindsey or not…," Wesley started to say as he slowly began to stand up before his knees wobbled a bit and a worried Faith pulled him back down beside her.
"Uh not to be the little demon that cried wolf but…what young woman…," Lorne asked with a hesitant smirk on his face as he looked around the lobby and saw no one other than his friends.
"The one that was standing right…wait where'd she go," Angel said with a small smile on his face as he turned around only to see that indeed the young woman had disappeared.
"She ran out while you and Cordelia were whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears…," Faith replied with a devilish smirk on her face as she ignored the glare that Cordelia aimed her way.
"Can't say that I blame her…the sight of the mighty Angelus nearly coming to tears would be too much for even me…," Wesley added with an equally devilish smirk on his face as Angel quickly realized that Wesley and Faith had gotten in synch again. Ever since the night of the party there had been times in which Wesley or Faith would start off with either an insult or an observation, neither of which was ever meant to be hurtful, and almost instantly the other would pick up where the other left off and keep going. More than once Angel had been forced to yell at the two lovers to get them to stop. In those cases they'd just smirk and wait for another opportunity.
"Would you two…," Cordelia started to growl angrily before Lorne cut in with a slightly fearful frown on his face.
"Whoa now…none of you are in any condition to take this argument any further…so what's the word big guy…we going to help the mysterious disappearing woman…," Lorne asked softly as Cordelia glared a hole through him and Angel just shook his head.
"Yeah…we are, but I've changed my mind about who's going…Lorne, get Fred and Gunn and take them with you…check things out, the rest of us will come after we've had some more rest," Angel replied with a tired frown on his face as Wesley and Faith nodded their approval.
"What about me," Connor asked with a concerned look on his face as he walked into the lobby and regarded Angel and Cordelia, who were still in each other's arms, with a calm look.
"Connor…you'd better go with them, in case this is a trap…they could use the backup," Angel added with a very serious look on his face as he looked back at his son. Instead of getting angry at being told what to do Connor seemed genuinely pleased and excited at getting asked to go with Lorne and the others. In fact he was so pleased that he was almost out the door before he remembered that he hadn't gotten a weapon.
"Uh Connor…you might want a sword…unless you're going to use your father's approach and just use your fists…and various other body parts…," Cordelia quipped with an amused smirk on her face as she looked back and forth between Angel and Connor.
"Hey…fists work…," Angel muttered with a fake look of dejection on his face as he hung his head before Cordelia started laughing. The laugh was one that neither Angel nor Connor had heard in a long time. It was a truly happy laugh that they had missed so much hearing from Cordelia.
"You'd better watch it Lorne…broody pants over there is on fire with the one liners…," Faith added with a joking smile on her face before she turned to Wesley.
"Although I'm not sure if he could stand the criticisms about his hair…," Wesley said with an equally amused smile on his face before Angel brought a hand up and ran it slowly through his hair before answering.
"What's wrong with my hair…," Angel started to say with a hurt and confused look on his face before he cleared his head and continued, "Enough of that for now…you guys had better get going, if you're lucky maybe you can find that young woman that told us about Lindsey in the first place…possibly get some more information."
"What are we supposed to do…I guess taking a walk is out of the question," Faith asked tiredly as she slowly stood up, followed closely behind by Wesley.
"Stay here and rest, that zombie venom really did a number on you two, it'll probably be a few more days before you're ready to do any work," Angel replied with a serious frown on his face as he took his arms from around Cordelia and jammed his hands into his pockets.
"You look pretty bad yourself Angel, maybe you should take your own advice and get some rest to," Wesley said softly, suddenly sounding like an old country doctor, as he nodded his head and looked over at Angel.
"Truer words were never spoken Wes…," Cordelia added with a very kind but determined frown on her face as she looped her arm around Angel's and began to drag him bad towards his room.
"Let's go Wes…the nice warm bed is calling…and we need to finish what we started in the shower," Faith mumbled tiredly as she winked at Wesley before the two slowly made their way back up the stairs.
* * * * * * *
Oz and Groo had slept several more hours before they had stumbled into the kitchen and made themselves something to eat after Kate had filled them in a little bit on what she had found out. The three barely talked other than to wonder where they were and what their next move should be. Oz wanted to return to Sunnydale and get Willow's help while Groo wanted to immediately rush to Los Angeles to check on Cordelia. Kate wasn't sure what she wanted to do so she just sat back and listened to the two talk their hearts out. They spent the better part of that day talking and watching television, trying to determine how long they had been locked up and what they had missed. They were shocked to learn that they had been out of the loop for months. Groo didn't have any family to speak of so he doubted that too many people would have noticed his absence other than those that he had protected. Oz didn't even want to think about what he had missed so he left the kitchen to look around the house. Kate thought about placing a call to her friends, thinking that they must have been worried sick about, but stopped abruptly when the thought occurred to her that the phone might be tapped.
"Miss Kate…," Groo started to say with a concerned frown on his face as he entered the living room before Kate sighed and interrupted.
"Don't call me that…it's just Kate…," Kate said with a tired frown on her face as she sat down into the cleanest easy chair.
"Okay…Kate, do you trust the man that brought us here and whose food we have been eating," Groo asked calmly as he walked across the room and changed the channel. Kate thought for a few moments before answering.
"Even though I probably shouldn't I guess I do…there's something about him that…I don't know…he just seems harmless and like he genuinely wants to help us," Kate answered, deep in thought, as she observed the current state of her fingernails.
"If you trust him then I do as well…," Groo said slowly as he nodded his head and sat down in front of the television.
"You know you're not supposed to sit that close to the…aw forget it," Kate started to say with an almost motherly tone to her voice before she stopped suddenly and just shrugged her shoulders and smiled. Groo watched the images flash across the screen for a few moments before he turned back slightly and asked a question that he had been wondering about for some time.
"How do you know the champion Angel and my princess Cordelia," Groo asked with a wondering but also slightly scared look on his face as he half expected Kate to yell at him for even asking. Instead she simply smiled kindly and leaned back in her chair before responding.
"Guess I can't be a bitch all the time…how do I know Angel and Cordelia…well when I was still a cop Angel used to help me with a case every now and then, the really quirky ones that wouldn't have gotten solved without him…I didn't really know Cordelia very much," Kate replied with a calm almost nostalgic look on her face before Oz came back into the room with a worried frown on his face.
"We can't stay here…we have to find Angel and warn him…," Oz stated slowly and clearly as he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.
"And just how pray tell are we supposed to do that, we don't even know where we are…," Kate asked with an unconvinced scowl on her face as she crossed her arms and looked over at Oz.
"You said the guy that brought us here and is helping us out works for the L.A. branch of Wolfram and Hart right…okay well then it's reasonable to assume that we're close to L.A.," Oz answered with a thoughtful look on his face as he tied the pair of shoes that he had found sitting beside his bed.
"And once we're in L.A. we find Angel and sort all of this out," Kate added with a growing look of hope on her face as she smiled before standing up and looking down at Groo.
"Then we should get going…," Groo interjected with a very serious scowl on his face as he stood up and pointed at the screen. On it was a news report about the police looking for three murder suspects who the crawler at the bottom of the screen said were armed and extremely dangerous. Except instead of hardened killers on the screen the three images were of Kate, Oz, and Groo.
* * * * * * *
He didn't know how long he had been out; only that it had been awhile. He didn't know if she had been back to see him but he hoped that she hadn't. He had always tried to make sure to be awake when she visited him, no matter how painful or tiring it was on him. After she had sworn to him that she wouldn't let him down he hadn't seen her and had begun to get worried. But just as he was about to pass out again she slipped into the room and waited for a few minutes so that she was the only other person in the room with him. She looked both excited and worried, as if she were unsure of the outcome of her mission. He tried his best to show her that he was happy to see her but all he could muster was a tired smirk. Even though the room was empty except for the two of them and the cloud keeping him going she looked all around as she crept closer to him.
"I did it…I told Mr. Angel just like you told me to…he said that he'd help you," She whispered softly as she edged closer to him, making sure that he would be the only one that would hear her.
"Thank…you…," Lindsey managed to painfully whisper back before a small fit of coughing overtook him.
"What do I do now…what's next…," She asked quietly as she tried her best to appear to be simply checking on his condition.
"I…was kind of hoping that…I wouldn't have to…think of anything else…that Angel would take it…from there," Lindsey coughed out as softly as he could so that she alone could hear his words and understand them. The last thing that he needed now was for one of the major employees at Wolfram and Hart to discover his plan of escape and set a trap for Angel, if he himself wasn't already one.
"Are you sure that he can do the job Mr. McDonald," She asked with a very worried frown on her face as she nervously shuffled her feet and looked away.
"Fortunately…for me, Angel always seemed to be…able to do whatever…he wanted…no matter the odds," Lindsey replied as for some reason he seemed to find himself a bit stronger than before.
"Where are you going to go when you get out of here…the senior partners won't let you go very easily," She said with a concerned look on her face as she looks as if she just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"I don't know…I'm kind of making this up…as I go along," Lindsey answered with an unsure frown on his face as he reluctantly agreed with what she was saying.
"I'd better get going or else they'll know that something's up…," She started to say very nervously as she let out a small laugh before she turned around and headed off towards the door. She was almost at the door before Lindsey got up enough strength to speak again.
"Wait…you've helped me so much…and I don't…even know you're name…," Lindsey asked with a very tired sigh as he swallowed hard and hoped that the young woman had heard him. For a few agonizing seconds it seemed like she hadn't. But then she slowly turned around and nervously walked back towards him. She leaned in closely and gave him a soft and silky kiss on the cheek before she smiled as she answered.
"It's Elaine…my name is Elaine…," Elaine whispered sweetly as a kind smile spread itself across her face before she straightened up and left the room, leaving behind a weakly grinning Lindsey to repeat his angel's name over and over again in his mind.
* * * * * * * *
After getting the okay from Angel Gunn had led his small group through the city and straight towards the offices of Wolfram and Hart. About a block away they had parked Gunn's truck and hit the sewers, hoping to be able to get close enough to the building to maybe get lucky and find a few answers. Lorne had refused to enter the sewers and ended up making a vain attempt to simply walk in the front door and see what he could pick up. He had been almost instantly turned away at the front desk. Discouraged he was about to sulk back out the front doors when a beautiful young woman walked by him humming a nervous tune, stopping him in his tracks. It wasn't her beauty that stopped him; instead it was the reading that he got off of her. One that showed him the current, and possible future predicament of one Lindsey McDonald.
"Oh miss…can we talk," Lorne asked softly in his kindest voice and with his most sincere smile as he headed off after the young woman.
END OF CHAPTER 8