Fighting The Good Fight
Chapter Two
Summary: As the anniversary of the September 11 attacks nears, Angel travels to New York City to reflect on what happened, and runs into an old friend.
Disclaimer: Of course I own nothing. My purpose for writing this is explained in my intro in part one.
Part Two
When Angel left his hotel later that night, he saw that it had rained considerably during the day, and when Angel started walking he took care to avoid stepping into any large puddles on the ground. At the moment however the rain had slowed down to more of a steady, misty drizzle...the kind of rain that wouldn't necessarily cause some people to break out their umbrellas, but would still be a nuisance all the same. The vampire had not bothered to bring an umbrella himself, and he figured if the rain picked up he could always pull his leather duster over his head. Angel thought that the weather to some people would seem fitting considering the occasion, making an already somber time even more so.
Angel soon found himself at a fence that he saw surrounded what looked like a small park, but it wasn't the fence that made him pause. Someone had hung a banner from the fence, and on it Angel saw the logos of the New York Police Department, the New York Fire Department, the Port Authority Police Department, and the Emergency Medical Services. On the top of the banner was the message, "To the brave men and women who laid down their lives to save others, our thanks and gratitude for what you did knows no bounds". Surrounding the logos were pictures of many men and women Angel didn't recognize, but understood that they were among the many who had never made it home that day, who had gone into the burning towers without a second's hesitation and had subsequently paid the ultimate sacrifice, but not before helping to save countless thousands of additional lives, helping that many more people escape to safety and preventing that many more people from dying. Facing such incredible odds and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, they could have easily walked away, but they did not. Angel had found himself in many situations before, facing incredible, if not impossible odds to save peoples' lives, and had not hesitated whatsoever. Angel did not consider himself a hero though. The men and women who ran into the burning towers that day were the true heroes, are the true heroes, and will always and forever remain the true heroes of that day.
Angel moved on, and saw that the entire fence was covered in similar banners. He saw banners with messages of thanks and condolences written by school children from local schools, and from schools as far away as Hawaii, California, and Europe, to name a few. He even saw one banner from the elementary school in Sunnydale. Other banners were in memory of the thousands of employees of the various companies who either had offices in the towers, or who just had regular business there. The last banner he saw was one dedicated to the members of the New York branch of Wolfram & Hart lost on 9/11. When he saw it, Angel wasn't sure what to make of that banner. They were still part of an evil law firm, but at the same time Angel felt that they didn't deserve to die like that.
By now, Angel found himself at the edge of where the towers used to stand. From his position, he couldn't see into the pit itself, due to the many fences and concrete barriers put up for safety reasons to keep people away. Angel remembered there was an observation platform so people could see into the pit, but he couldn't see where the line was to get on. Angel noticed a woman walking a large German Shepherd headed in his direction and approached her.
"Excuse me, but where do you get in line to get on the observation platform"? The woman looked back towards Ground Zero, pointed and said, "Down at that corner over there".
"Thank you", Angel replied. The woman smiled softly, "You're welcome". The dog, for his part, looked at Angel and softly growled, too low for his owner to hear with all the surrounding noise, but which Angel heard just fine. If he didn't know any better, he could swear the dog was warning him 'I know what you are, and even though you're a vampire with a soul, you better be careful'! Angel merely glared at the large dog, and as they walked away, he noticed the dog kept watching him until they turned a corner and were soon out of sight.
Angel found where he had to go, and was soon able to get onto the viewing platform and stare into Ground Zero up close and personal. From this vantage point so close-up, Angel was able to see more clearly the inside of Ground Zero. Although the wreckage had been carted off elsewhere, Angel saw parts of what looked like old steam pipes still sticking out from the ground, as if they were submarine periscopes poking out from the ocean. Angel also saw the subway tunnel he had seen from his hotel room off in the corner, but this time he could still see some of the rail track still in place in the tunnel and where it ended right inside from the entrance into the pit of Ground Zero. Angel then looked upwards into the nighttime sky, his facial expression dark and brooding. He noticed several pigeons flying above the crowd or roosting on the high ledges of the nearby buildings, their squawking being drowned out by the noise of automobiles and the growing crowd of people.
Suddenly something dropped downward only inches from Angel's face. Startled, the vampire jumped back to discover that one of the birds had narrowly missed leaving a white mark on his black duster. He looked back up at the pigeons flying overhead and scowled, as if daring the birds to try that again. One of the birds landed on the railing not far from where Angel stood and glared right back at him, not impressed in the slightest nor scared by Angel's scowl. Angel knew the cleaning bill would have been expensive to clean his duster of bird droppings had the droppings found their mark. Angel and the bird continued to engage in a staring contest before the pigeon gave up and flew off to join his friends on the ledge of a nearby building. Hardly another moment passed however, before the vampire was startled again when another pigeon flew in front of his face, so close that Angel felt the whiff the bird's wings made as it flew past. Again, he stepped back, but this time accidentally felt himself bump into someone. He turned around to apologize and found himself staring into a large, black umbrella. Despite that, Angel could tell he had bumped into someone female, as he deduced from the squawk she let out when he bumped into her.
"I'm sorry miss, I didn't see you there", he said. "Are you ok"?
"It's ok. I wasn't quite paying attention either" she replied, as she moved her umbrella to see whom she was talking to. "I'll be fine as long as I...". She didn't get to finish her thought, as she realized whom it was she was speaking to. Her eyes went wide and for a moment all thought was gone. She couldn't speak. Angel meanwhile, took only a second longer to recognize whom he was speaking to, and then for a moment his eyes went wide as well. Angel looked at her. He noticed her hair, while still the blond color he remembered from L.A., was now just above her shoulders rather than the past the shoulder length he had previously been accustomed to. Otherwise she looked just the same now as she did then, with the exception of his opinion that she looked like she had just seen the worst sights of war and had come out battered, bruised, and scarred, but yet still alive. Eventually, the woman recovered and looked at Angel the way one would look like someone had just seen a ghost.
"Angel? My God, it's really you"? She looked at him like he was the last person she expected to run into at a place like this, but stunned, to say the least, to see him at Ground Zero, here, now.
He smiled warmly. "It's good to see you too Kate".
Kate Lockley, former detective for the LAPD, looked at Angel silently, and before he realized what was happening, wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug so fierce, that had Angel been able to breathe, would have found himself all but suffocating. Angel heard Kate start to sob, and he let her cry into his jacket. He returned her hug with one of his own while he waited for her to finish crying. Angel felt her trembling as he held her, as she finally let out emotions and feelings that the vampire guessed had been bottled up for some time. Angel said nothing, just held her. There was clearly still a lot of emotion hanging in the air, and between the events of 9/11 and seeing Kate Lockley again for the first time in a couple of years, Angel knew that they had a lot of talking, and not to mention catching up, to do. They had all night to do it, and Angel knew that she had a lot to say that was on her mind.
Chapter Two
Summary: As the anniversary of the September 11 attacks nears, Angel travels to New York City to reflect on what happened, and runs into an old friend.
Disclaimer: Of course I own nothing. My purpose for writing this is explained in my intro in part one.
Part Two
When Angel left his hotel later that night, he saw that it had rained considerably during the day, and when Angel started walking he took care to avoid stepping into any large puddles on the ground. At the moment however the rain had slowed down to more of a steady, misty drizzle...the kind of rain that wouldn't necessarily cause some people to break out their umbrellas, but would still be a nuisance all the same. The vampire had not bothered to bring an umbrella himself, and he figured if the rain picked up he could always pull his leather duster over his head. Angel thought that the weather to some people would seem fitting considering the occasion, making an already somber time even more so.
Angel soon found himself at a fence that he saw surrounded what looked like a small park, but it wasn't the fence that made him pause. Someone had hung a banner from the fence, and on it Angel saw the logos of the New York Police Department, the New York Fire Department, the Port Authority Police Department, and the Emergency Medical Services. On the top of the banner was the message, "To the brave men and women who laid down their lives to save others, our thanks and gratitude for what you did knows no bounds". Surrounding the logos were pictures of many men and women Angel didn't recognize, but understood that they were among the many who had never made it home that day, who had gone into the burning towers without a second's hesitation and had subsequently paid the ultimate sacrifice, but not before helping to save countless thousands of additional lives, helping that many more people escape to safety and preventing that many more people from dying. Facing such incredible odds and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, they could have easily walked away, but they did not. Angel had found himself in many situations before, facing incredible, if not impossible odds to save peoples' lives, and had not hesitated whatsoever. Angel did not consider himself a hero though. The men and women who ran into the burning towers that day were the true heroes, are the true heroes, and will always and forever remain the true heroes of that day.
Angel moved on, and saw that the entire fence was covered in similar banners. He saw banners with messages of thanks and condolences written by school children from local schools, and from schools as far away as Hawaii, California, and Europe, to name a few. He even saw one banner from the elementary school in Sunnydale. Other banners were in memory of the thousands of employees of the various companies who either had offices in the towers, or who just had regular business there. The last banner he saw was one dedicated to the members of the New York branch of Wolfram & Hart lost on 9/11. When he saw it, Angel wasn't sure what to make of that banner. They were still part of an evil law firm, but at the same time Angel felt that they didn't deserve to die like that.
By now, Angel found himself at the edge of where the towers used to stand. From his position, he couldn't see into the pit itself, due to the many fences and concrete barriers put up for safety reasons to keep people away. Angel remembered there was an observation platform so people could see into the pit, but he couldn't see where the line was to get on. Angel noticed a woman walking a large German Shepherd headed in his direction and approached her.
"Excuse me, but where do you get in line to get on the observation platform"? The woman looked back towards Ground Zero, pointed and said, "Down at that corner over there".
"Thank you", Angel replied. The woman smiled softly, "You're welcome". The dog, for his part, looked at Angel and softly growled, too low for his owner to hear with all the surrounding noise, but which Angel heard just fine. If he didn't know any better, he could swear the dog was warning him 'I know what you are, and even though you're a vampire with a soul, you better be careful'! Angel merely glared at the large dog, and as they walked away, he noticed the dog kept watching him until they turned a corner and were soon out of sight.
Angel found where he had to go, and was soon able to get onto the viewing platform and stare into Ground Zero up close and personal. From this vantage point so close-up, Angel was able to see more clearly the inside of Ground Zero. Although the wreckage had been carted off elsewhere, Angel saw parts of what looked like old steam pipes still sticking out from the ground, as if they were submarine periscopes poking out from the ocean. Angel also saw the subway tunnel he had seen from his hotel room off in the corner, but this time he could still see some of the rail track still in place in the tunnel and where it ended right inside from the entrance into the pit of Ground Zero. Angel then looked upwards into the nighttime sky, his facial expression dark and brooding. He noticed several pigeons flying above the crowd or roosting on the high ledges of the nearby buildings, their squawking being drowned out by the noise of automobiles and the growing crowd of people.
Suddenly something dropped downward only inches from Angel's face. Startled, the vampire jumped back to discover that one of the birds had narrowly missed leaving a white mark on his black duster. He looked back up at the pigeons flying overhead and scowled, as if daring the birds to try that again. One of the birds landed on the railing not far from where Angel stood and glared right back at him, not impressed in the slightest nor scared by Angel's scowl. Angel knew the cleaning bill would have been expensive to clean his duster of bird droppings had the droppings found their mark. Angel and the bird continued to engage in a staring contest before the pigeon gave up and flew off to join his friends on the ledge of a nearby building. Hardly another moment passed however, before the vampire was startled again when another pigeon flew in front of his face, so close that Angel felt the whiff the bird's wings made as it flew past. Again, he stepped back, but this time accidentally felt himself bump into someone. He turned around to apologize and found himself staring into a large, black umbrella. Despite that, Angel could tell he had bumped into someone female, as he deduced from the squawk she let out when he bumped into her.
"I'm sorry miss, I didn't see you there", he said. "Are you ok"?
"It's ok. I wasn't quite paying attention either" she replied, as she moved her umbrella to see whom she was talking to. "I'll be fine as long as I...". She didn't get to finish her thought, as she realized whom it was she was speaking to. Her eyes went wide and for a moment all thought was gone. She couldn't speak. Angel meanwhile, took only a second longer to recognize whom he was speaking to, and then for a moment his eyes went wide as well. Angel looked at her. He noticed her hair, while still the blond color he remembered from L.A., was now just above her shoulders rather than the past the shoulder length he had previously been accustomed to. Otherwise she looked just the same now as she did then, with the exception of his opinion that she looked like she had just seen the worst sights of war and had come out battered, bruised, and scarred, but yet still alive. Eventually, the woman recovered and looked at Angel the way one would look like someone had just seen a ghost.
"Angel? My God, it's really you"? She looked at him like he was the last person she expected to run into at a place like this, but stunned, to say the least, to see him at Ground Zero, here, now.
He smiled warmly. "It's good to see you too Kate".
Kate Lockley, former detective for the LAPD, looked at Angel silently, and before he realized what was happening, wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug so fierce, that had Angel been able to breathe, would have found himself all but suffocating. Angel heard Kate start to sob, and he let her cry into his jacket. He returned her hug with one of his own while he waited for her to finish crying. Angel felt her trembling as he held her, as she finally let out emotions and feelings that the vampire guessed had been bottled up for some time. Angel said nothing, just held her. There was clearly still a lot of emotion hanging in the air, and between the events of 9/11 and seeing Kate Lockley again for the first time in a couple of years, Angel knew that they had a lot of talking, and not to mention catching up, to do. They had all night to do it, and Angel knew that she had a lot to say that was on her mind.
