118

Out of the Frying Pan

Angelus was sitting at his desk, going over his notes as to what he knew about Cariadoc Stenslow. So far, it wasn't building into a picture of anyone he could work with.

First off, the man could and would do anything and had no scruples. That, he could deal with, and even respect.

It was the file on his private life that proved utterly frustrating. Someone's private life was where the weak points generally were. The emotional levers that should have been there, didn't seem to be. While it looked like there wasn't a single vice that Stenslow hadn't practiced at one time or another, there didn't seem to be any that he was addicted to.

In short, the man lived, for the most part, with the moderation of a monk. What was the point in being evil, if you weren't going to indulge in whatever nasty whims took your fancy? But from Angelus' studies, there seemed to be only one thing that Cariadoc Stenslow cared about enough to make him reckless.

Power.

&&&&&

There was a long, awkward silence. Willow was the first to recover. "Who are your friends there?" She gave the children a sweet smile.

Mentally, Oz pleaded with the kids to behave themselves, just this once. "This is Alaric and Ariel," he introduced them. "I started out as their nanny, and I've sort of graduated to private tutor."

"Hi." Willow was still smiling at them.

"How do you do?" Alaric said, politely, if formally.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Rosenberg," Ariel added. Neither of the twins looked pleased. In fact, they stared at the witch with cool, emotionless expressions.

"Pleased to meet you too," Willow replied, a little taken aback. Both at the formality and the adult tones. She looked at Oz for an explanation, but he was looking at the twins.

"What in the hell was that all about?" Oz demanded, still quietly as ever, but with definite overtones of anger.

The twins looked absolutely shocked. Oz sometimes thought swear words, but he was always very correct in his speech around them. And he'd never gotten mad at them. Not like this. They didn't understand. The red-haired witch was causing their beloved teacher a great deal of emotional turmoil. Which was why they were giving her such a cool reception. They didn't like Oz being upset. And right now, so far away from home, he was all they really had besides each other.

"We could feel you getting upset when you saw her," Alaric grumbled, but with a great deal less than his usual bravado. "We don't like people upsetting you, Oz."

"We love you, Oz," Ariel said, gray eyes filling up with tears. "Don't you still love us?"

Oz sighed and picked her up, and she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. "Of course I still love you," he replied. "But the two of you were being rude to someone who's very special to me. It's got to stop." He looked over at Andrew who'd been watching, absorbing it all and, no doubt already turning the meeting into an epic saga in his mind. "Can we postpone the tour for a while, Andrew?" he requested. "I think the kids and I need to visit with Willow for a while."

Andrew tried to shrug it off, but he couldn't entirely hide his disappointment at a chance to lecture and tell stories. "No big deal," he replied. "I'll be around."

Willow looked at the remaining threesome and realized that Oz had a point. Besides, the kids intrigued her. "Why don't we go to my rooms?" she suggested. "We shouldn't be interrupted there." She looked at the woebegone faces of the twins. "I've been doing some baking. Do you guys like chocolate chip cookies?"

&&&&&&

Rose, finally having had enough of the dancing around that Stenslow was doing, stood. "I was under the impression that you were going to be cooperative, Mr. Stenslow," she remarked. "I see that I was mistaken. I can't see any reason for continuing this discussion. It's a complete waste of time."

"I think that you're being a little hasty, Ms. Powers," Stenslow hemmed. "I really think that we could be working together on this."

"You're not interested in working together," Rose retorted. "You're just trying to find a way to turn the situation, a situation of your making, I might add, to your advantage. You don't want to help us, you want to use us. Quite frankly, I find you and your attitude revolting."

"Maybe you're just enjoying a break from the brats," Stenslow snapped, taking a shot, seeing if he could rattle her into making an admission. "Or possibly you find Angelus a refreshing change from Angel."

Rose glared at him. "I'm not even going to justify any of that garbage with a reply," she said loftily. "Good-bye, Mr. Stenslow. I'm sorry, but I honestly can't say that it's been a pleasure."

&&&&&&

"They read minds?" Willow took another look at the two children who were sitting at her table, happily engulfing milk and cookies, just like any other normal kids.

"Oh yeah," Oz verified. "When I went for my interview for the job, and mind you, I had no idea who their father was, I about lost it when they marched into the room and told Rose that I was a werewolf."

"This Rose must be something else," Willow remarked. "I don't think I've met many, if any women who would hire a werewolf as a nanny."

"She actually liked the idea," Oz replied. "Ever since before they were born, there's been people, and things, that would like to get their hands on those kids. She said it gave her a feeling of security to know that they'd have a werewolf to protect them."

"And you did, too, didn't you, Oz?" Alaric mumbled around a mouthful of cookie. He swallowed hastily. "When we saw Ethan Rayne."

Willow looked shocked. She'd been on the panel of judges when Ethan had been tried. She didn't know that Oz had been involved in the affair.

"It was the first time we made the wrinkly faces too," Ariel added. "We couldn't figure out how to get our real faces back. Oz helped us."

It was becoming clear to Willow that the twins thought that the sun rose and set on Oz, and she was even beginning to see where some of the initial animosity towards her had come from. They were trying to protect him. It was very sweet, and won them an instant place in her heart. Right next to the spot that Oz had never really left, even though it could never be like it was again.

For the first time, the twins looked into Willow's mind. They hadn't before, because of Oz. But they were starting to warm to her, she made very good cookies, and, well, they were curious. What they saw wasn't anything like they had expected. About a lot of things.

"You knew our daddy before he met mummy?" Ariel asked. It made sense, but they simply hadn't thought of it before.

"I sure did," Willow replied. She got a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "You want to hear some stories about it?"

"Yeah," Alaric answered. "That would be cool." He suddenly remembered their less than cordial reception of her, and how she'd been nothing but nice to them. "We're sorry we were mean at first."

"Both of us," Ariel clarified.

"That's okay," Willow assured them. "How would you like to hear what happened the first time your dad ever did his own laundry?"

The twins looked at each other in amazement. Daddy doing laundry?

&&&&&&

Angelus opened the car door before Val had turned it off. "On company business and you didn't even tell me, Rose?" he asked, evil lights dancing in his eyes. "I'd have made sure that you had a decent escort, instead of that." He dismissed Val with a jerk of his head.

"It wasn't exactly company business," Rose prevaricated. "It was more along personal lines." A half-truth at best, since getting his soul back where it belonged could be filed under either heading.

"So I come under the personal category, do I?" Angelus smiled at her. "I'm deeply touched, Rosie, really I am. Why don't you come to my office and give me a report on your meeting with Stenslow?"

Val had exited the car as silently as possible and was moving just as quietly around to the side where Angelus stood, talking to Rose through the open door. He absolutely couldn't screw this one up, he knew that. But just as he was within reach of Angelus, the older vampire turned to him.

"I'm not hurting her, Valentine," Angelus said. "So why don't you just back off before you get yourself hurt for no reason? And what is she to you anyway? I know you're not sleeping with her, because you're still walking around, and Spike wouldn't let that go." He gave a nasty laugh. "I think you're a little beneath her tastes, for that matter."

"She's my friend," Val said quietly. "And I promised Spike that I'd keep her safe."

"What is wrong with this picture?" Angelus exclaimed in exasperated tones. "Look, surfer boy, you don't have a soul. You don't have to be good. Why don't you show me that you've got a pair and go out and bite someone?"

Val hesitated. The idea did have some appeal. But by and large, he liked his unlife the way it was now. He liked having money to call his own. And he liked being with Harmony. "I don't bite people anymore," he stated. "Harmony wouldn't like it."

Angelus shook his head. "Another member of the pussy-whipped brigade," he said sadly. His fist lashed out so quickly that the eye could barely follow it. Val went sailing into a wall, and lay there, unmoving. Angelus stuck his head back in the car to see Rose scooching along the seat to the other side. "Naughty, Rosie," he scolded. He reached out a hand just as quickly as he'd moved when he'd knocked out Val, and snagged her arm, pulling her back. "You and I have some unfinished business."

&&&&&&&

Spike was pacing the confines of Wes' office, awaiting Rose's return. He didn't like this, he didn't like it one little bit. But it may be their only shot at that one crucial bit of information that would turn things around. But it drove him right round the bend, thinking about Rose walking into that hornet's nest without him to protect her.

When Val came limping in alone, Spike felt his stomach sink to his shoes. He merely stood there in open-mouthed surprise when Val walked straight up to him and handed him a stake.

"What'n hell is this for?" Spike managed to find his voice.

"I screwed up, boss," Val barely whispered it. "I screwed up and now Angelus has Rose."

"Angelus?" Spike's voice went up an octave. He could have sworn that Val was supposed to be protecting Rose from the mob at Havoc & Associates. When did Angelus show up? He realized he could speculate all day, and it wouldn't be as good as questioning Val, who'd been there. "Tell me what happened."

"The meeting at Havoc's was a bust," Val informed him. "So Rose finally gave up on it and we came back. He was there waiting in the parking garage. He had her door open before I even got the car turned off. I tried to stop him, but he knocked me cold. I don't know how long I've been out, but when I woke up, both he and Rose were gone." He hung his head. He knew they needed the small bit of information he'd been able to pass along, but now, he just wished that Spike would stake him as promised and get it over with. The waiting was worse than getting dusted probably would be. He felt something being pressed into his hand, then the sound of the door opening. He looked and saw that the stake he'd handed Spike was back in his hands, and Spike was on his way out.

"Wait a minute," Val protested. He didn't mind not being staked, even though he felt like he deserved it, but this was just screwy. "Where are you going?"

"To get Rose back." Was Spike's reply. He was just shutting the door behind him when something occurred to him. "You want to give me that stake back, Valentine? I just might be needing a spare."

Without a word, Val tossed him the stake, and Spike left. Val looked helplessly at Wes, who'd been watching the whole thing in open mouthed shock.

Wesley suddenly recovered himself. "Don't look at me," he said severely. "I'd have gone ahead and dusted you." He picked up his phone. "But we'd better let the others know what's going on."

&&&&&&&

It was getting late, most of the staff had already left for the evening, and those that hadn't were preparing to. Angelus considered the possibilities of his office, but realized that Rose's allies had a built-in snitch in the form of Harmony sitting just outside of it. To his apartment then. They were less likely to be interrupted there.

There were still a few people to-ing and fro-ing, but Angelus had already warned her. "You say or do anything that suggests that there's anything wrong to anybody," he'd hissed in her ear. "And I'll kill them right in front of you. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes," Rose whispered. She winced in pain. "It won't be easy. You're hurting my arm."

Angelus slackened his grip slightly. "Not a word, not an expression," he warned as they saw someone approaching. "You just give them the same sweet smile you give everyone else."

Rose did as he bade, difficult though it was. She didn't want anyone's death on her conscience. And she was sure that she would have. She remembered Angelus saying that he always kept his word when he promised that he'd kill someone, and she believed that. She tried to move naturally, even though his grip on her arm was still tight enough that it nearly cut off her circulation. When they reached the elevator to his penthouse, she breathed a sigh of relief, odd though it seemed. At least now, all that she had to worry about was herself. Although given the current circumstances, that surely was enough.

"Home, sweet home," Angelus remarked as he pushed her inside. "Won't you walk into my parlor, Rosie girl?"

"You've got me here," Rose said. "You're between me and the door, and I couldn't get a window open before you could stop me. So do you think you could let my arm go? It's practically numb."

"Poor baby," Angelus murmured sympathetically. But he did release her. "Maybe daddy should offer to kiss it and make it all better."

"You're not my father," Rose pointed out.

"But then, you don't have one, do you?" Angelus said conversationally. "Or a mother, or any human relatives at all. Unless you want to count those two little half-breed freaks you popped out."

Rose's eyes hardened, but she still kept her distance, difficult though it was. "What did you call my children?" she asked tightly.

Angelus thought it was comical, Rose looking like she was spoiling for a fight. It was like a kitten that didn't have its eyes open yet, hissing soundlessly at someone picking it up. He laughed out loud. "Of course, I mean your charming, intelligent, and adorable children, Rosie," he said insincerely. He laughed again. "Why I do believe that the kitten thinks she has claws. Are you going to scratch me, kitty?" He gave her a lecherous smile. "You might want to be careful with things like that. It might turn me on."

Rose had turned her back to him, feeling that it didn't matter, since she was trapped in here and couldn't see a way out, and was looking out the window, looking at how far down the ground was, and rubbing her aching arm. "I think I'd rather jump and kill us both," she replied softly, not caring whether or not he heard.

"Do you really think it would be so bad?" Angelus asked, coming to stand behind her, ever so close, but not quite touching. "After all these years with Spike, I can't believe that you're not into the rough stuff, baby. Surely it would be a small enough price to pay for me to keep your secret from the senior partners."

"What secret?" Rose was honestly in the dark. It was something she scarcely thought about anymore, unless one of her friends brought it up. And since they all knew, it hardly seemed like a secret anymore.

"The senior partners are really hot to know who and what you are, darling Rosie," Angelus informed her. "And I'm the one who knows it all. The first person that you told. I haven't told them yet, but I could." He ran his hands lightly over her arms, feeling her jump a bit at the initial contact, and then again when he touched the spot he'd handled so roughly. "What is it worth to you for me to keep my mouth shut?"

"It's not worth anything," Rose replied, wriggling away from him. He let her, this time, because it amused him. "Go ahead and tell them. What can they possibly do about it?"

Angelus was flabbergasted. Whatever response he had expected, this wasn't it. "I should just let the partners know that you're one of The Powers That Be?" he asked incredulously.

Rose shrugged. "Right now," she reminded him. "I'm just human. Obviously, or you wouldn't have been able to bring me here against my will."

"Suppose they want you dead," Angelus suggested. "How would the universe react to being short a Power?"

Rose smiled slyly at him. For once, she had the advantage, even if it was only a little one, and one that wouldn't get her away from him. "How do you know that?" she inquired. "If they kill this body, I'll probably just go back. Or they may even have replaced me by now. I don't know, so I'm pretty sure there's no way you can. And I can guarantee that the senior partners don't."

Angelus rubbed his chin in thought. This line of reasoning had never occurred to him. But dammit all, how could you blackmail someone who didn't mind if you broadcast their innermost secrets to their most dire enemies? Finally, he just shrugged it off. What else could he do? And he had other things to fall back on. "That was for your benefit, you know," he informed her. "I was giving you a chance to do it willingly and still have an excuse to fall back on." He laughed humorlessly. "I guess I'm just too nice a guy. But you know what? I really do prefer rape."