Gift

Chapter Eleven

Betrayed

            Liberty glanced around the building, double-checking the address Illyria had given her.  The halls were dark and narrow and the entire complex was silent.  Wesley did like his silence.   She stopped in front of the door and rapped twice.  Wesley answered the door looking the most disheveled she had ever seen him.  His shirt was unbuttoned a couple of times, his sleeves were pushed up, and he had a definite five o'clock shadow. 

"Liberty!  You didn't have trouble finding this place, I hope."

"No.  I'm just late because I had to stay after school to make up a test. You know, skipping school to research a boy's new powers due to a mystical convergence is not a good thing."

Wesley chuckled and let her come inside.  "Connor arrived a few moments ago and Illyria is always with me, of course."

"Of course.  She doesn't do well unsupervised, does she?"

"Not really." 

Liberty smiled brightly at Connor who stopped what he was doing immediately.

"Libby! Hey!"

"Hi.  Hello, Illyria."

"Greetings are useless.  They announce your presence which is already realized."

"I suppose you're right."

Illyria nodded self-satisfied and leaned back into Wesley's recliner.  Liberty walked to the couch where Connor was seated and sat down shyly.  Wesley handed her a file with a knowing smile on his face.  Liberty took it, relieved and began to read fervently.  Wesley had pulled some personnel files; people hired last May.  He was hoping they would find the person that could be responsible for the convergence.  It was very likely they were employed by Wolfram and Hart or were associated with them at the very least.  Liberty flipped page after page until her eyes fell on a picture.  Her eyes widened and she pulled on Connor's shirt.

"This is-!"

"That's Brenden!"  Connor jerked the file out of Liberty's hand as Wesley jumped to his feet to see what Liberty had found.
"Who is Brenden?"

"He's Connor's roommate."

"He was the first person I met at college.  He's my best friend."

Connor read the file carefully.
"It's says he's half Suvelish demon.  They're supposed to be excellent at careful surveillance because of their extra sensitive hearing and eyesight.  It says Brenden is 431 years old."

"Wolfram and Hart planted him?" Liberty asked cautiously, trying her best to avoid hurting Connor more than he already was.

"He must have.  Let me see that file, Connor."

Connor relinquished the file reluctantly, an incredibly hurt look on his face.  Wesley scanned it.

"The order was to watch one Connor.  It doesn't give him a last name; it doesn't give any information on you.  The order was signed off by Angel."

Liberty gasped, any bit of hope she'd held onto that Angel wasn't betraying them vanishing into thin air.  Angel had been lying to all of them since Connor had arrived at Wolfram and Hart desperate for help.  Wesley tossed the file on the couch angrily, the reach of Angel's betrayal hitting him harder than it had hit Liberty.  Wesley had let his guard down.  He'd always been slightly mistrustful of Angel since he was a vampire, but Wesley had finally grown to believe in Angel's mission.  Now he knew Angel had been lying for who knows how long.  Connor sat in silence, reveling in his own feeling of betrayal.  His best friend wasn't really his friend at all.  He was a job to his best friend.  His privacy had been invaded because of Angel and Brenden had used him to get what was needed for Angel.  Connor sighed loudly, which led Liberty to slide her hand to his lap to take his hand. 

"You all sit in complete and utter desolation due to the actions of others.  You should not allow the actions of half-breeds and lower beings to affect you so."

"Thank you, Illyria, for that excellent definition of our feelings.  But at the moment, we do not wish to hear your prattle about your disappointments of human emotion."

Illyria blanched, surprisingly so.  She seemed almost hurt by his comment.  She stood abruptly.  "I am going to return to the wolf, ram and hart now."

"You can't go there without me."
"You are not my ruler.  You will not inform me of what I will or will not do.  You are below me."

Illyria stormed away from him, slamming the door behind her. 

"Awww, Wesley, you hurt her feelings."

"Illyria doesn't have feelings, Libby."

"She does where you are concerned."  Liberty paused before asking another unspoken question.

"What are we going to do?"
"Connor will continue on like he doesn't know anything about his roommate.  We can't let Angel know that we know until we're ready.  And I'm going to confront Angel as soon as I gather my thoughts and all the information I need."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Keep in constant contact with Connor.  Make sure Brenden doesn't suspect anything, either.  Because if he does, he could go to Angel anyway."

"All right."

"I'll call you both after I have a discussion with Angel.  Does that sound acceptable to both of you?"

"Yes."
"Yeah."

Connor stood up and headed for the door.  His face was sullen and angry and confused.  He didn't want to hear any more instructions from Wesley.  He didn't want to know any more than he already did, suddenly.  He could remember a time that he didn't have superpowers and he didn't have to wonder if all his friends were plants by an international law firm to keep him under constant surveillance.  For all he knew his teachers and councilors were plants too. 

"Connor, I'll walk home with you!"  Liberty's face was smooth and hopeful.  Connor shook his head.

"No.  I just want to be alone for awhile."

"I'll call you tomorrow, then."

"Whatever."

Connor opened the door and left in a huff, much of the way Illyria had only moments before.  Liberty closed her eyes and popped her neck as she tried to stop the disappointment from suffocating her.  Connor didn't need her.  He never had.

            Connor stopped outside his dorm building, trying to gather the courage to go on into the dorm.  He'd have to see Brenden and he'd have to pretend like he didn't know who or what Brenden really was.  Connor took out the picture he'd swiped off of Wesley's side table, still in its frame.  The woman from his dreams was there, smiling brightly with her arm around Wesley, Angel, and Gunn.  They looked happy and at peace in that photograph.  Liberty had told him the woman's name was Cordelia Chase, but there wasn't much else she could tell him about Cordelia.  Liberty didn't know Cordelia, just of her.  He pushed the picture back into his jacket pocket and trudged up the stairs to his apartment.

            Liberty sat outside on a bench in a park near the Wolfram and Hart offices.  She knew it wasn't best to be out at night, but she was ready in case a vampire attacked.  She just felt like being outside to be wrapped up in her thoughts.  She remained on guard though, which was exactly why she tensed when she heard the leaves crunch behind her.  She whirled to see Spike approaching her.

"Didn't mean to frighten you, Love."

"Oh, I'm not scared.  I was just ready to stake you."
"What a pity that would have been.  What are you doing out here?"

"Thinking."
"About what?"

"Trust."

"Trust of what? Or whom?  Or are you thinking of putting all that money you're making into one?"

Liberty laughed lightly.  Spike was such an amazing friend. He could make her laugh when no one else could.  If she didn't know better, she would never think he was an ex-vicious vampire.

"Just trusting people and what happens when they betray you."
Spike sat down on the bench, his dead heart almost feeling like it was pounding.  Did Liberty know about his betrayal?  Was that what caused her to think about trust?
"Who's betrayed you, pet?"

"I didn't say I'd been betrayed."
"But something made you think about it."

Liberty bit on her lip, wondering if she could tell Spike now.  He wasn't Angel.  He hated Angel.  And Spike wouldn't betray her.  Of all the people she knew, Spike was the one she knew she would never be betrayed by.

"It's Angel.  He's been lying to everyone.  You know the Connor Johnson case I've been working on?"

"Yes."

"He knows about Connor's powers. He's the one responsible for the convergence that activated Connor's powers in the first place."

Spike's eyes widened, from surprise that Liberty was telling him.  She still didn't have any idea he was working with Angel to stop them from finding out Connor's true nature.  She still believed in him.  He felt like such a wanker. 

"So you're taking it all very personally, then."

"Well, I thought this job was basically a gift from heaven.  This gift that I was cursed with could finally be put to good use; I would be helping people with their problems.  Everyone was so close-knit too.  Wesley, Gunn, Angel, even you, though you probably hate me for saying it.  You were all so close.  I wanted to be a part of something like that.  I wanted to share a bond with people who saved the world every single day.  But Angel isn't any different.  He lies like everyone else does."
"He's a vampire."

"With a soul. Like you.  You don't lie and cheat and all that.  You're a good vampire."

Spike glanced away from Liberty.  She trusted him so completely.  It hurt him to know that.  She believed in him for no reason at all and he was betraying her.
"Libby-"

"Mhm?"

He wrapped a brotherly arm around her, pulling her close.  Liberty relaxed in his embrace, staring up at the sky as the clouds passed over the crescent moon.

"Nothin'.  Just don't worry about Angel, pet.  I'll help you out with him."

"No.  I wasn't supposed to tell.  Wesley is going to deal with Angel.  He told me to just wait."

"The whelp thinks he's going to get Angel to what, confess all his wrong doings and beg for repentance?"

"Well, I don't know what he plans on exactly.  He didn't tell me that.  I just agreed to stay out of it for the moment."

"All right, love.  I won't say anything."

Liberty sighed and leaned up to give Spike a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me.  Please."  Little did Liberty know Spike really didn't deserve her thanks.