It was late afternoon when everyone, even Illyria, gathered at the
desk behind the counter. Connor had claimed it as his, setting up his
laptop and organizing his notes into neat piles only he understood. Now he
sat on the edge of the desk, briefing the group on what he was working on.
He managed to speak without meeting Angel or Caitlin's eyes.
"So," he said as he began to summarize. "We've got some new areas to
research – the prophesy, the trials. And we have three main mysteries
remaining. What brought Angel back? How did Cordelia become a Power, or the
pawn of a power? And why is Drusilla here, now? She said an ant told her to
come, but-"
"I'm a bloody idiot!" Spike exclaimed.
"We know, Spike." Angel said "Go on-"
"No, you're an idiot, too. Angel, don't you remember? Ant? The barrister in London?"
"Barrister?" Connor asked. "That's a lawyer, right?"
"One and the same. Right after I was turned, Angelus wiped out a convent, killed the whole lot, then took a notion to buy the bloomin' building so we'd have a headquarters. So Drusilla finds a barrister who doesn't mind night meetings. The deal fell through, mostly because Angelus found a convent he liked better, but Dru took a liking to the man and made him a vampire. His name was Anthony, but Dru always called him – "
"Ant." Angel finished. "She said he carried all the sweets from the picnic and buried them for the Queen."
"I don't get how you two thought that crazy talk was hot." Faith observed.
"It's usually only half crazy." Spike explained with a small smile. "Dru can see things, but she has some issues about her sight. Probably because back when she was human, somebody told her it was the devil inside. I wonder who that might have been."
"Enough of the lighthearted nostalgia." Caitlin said. "What does a lawyer vamp from over a hundred years ago have to do with us?"
"If he worked for Wolfram and Hart as a human, he'd still be working for them because of the perpetuity clause." Angel explained.
"I knew it!" Faith said. "She's probably holed up at Wolfram and Hart right now. I say we mount up."
She sat behind Angel's desk in the ruins of what had not too long ago been his office. She swayed a bit as she tried to get a feel for who he'd been, this ruler of the lawyers. Drusilla had strong feelings about most professions – she thought doctors, scientists, priests, teachers were all liars. Lawyers were the only honest ones in the bunch. Like her boy Ant.
Had he been that nasty Angel-beast, using his power to protect people from his own kind? Or had he been Daddy, making friends with all the wonderful evil creatures who frequented a place like this?
Suddenly she moaned, bouncing in her seat. Ant dropped what he had been working on in the adjoining conference room and rushed to her side. "Dru? Darling, what is it?"
"Oh," she whimpered. "The rats are coming, but the Pied Piper has not yet played his flute."
"I don't understand – there are rats?"
She looked up, eyes unfocused. She swayed to the window. "I don't know. I can't hear the moon through this glass."
"Dru, it's daytime."
"Yes, but the moon calls it's child." She straightened, suddenly lucid. "Rats – it's Spike. And Daddy. They're coming, but not to play. All is not lost, though. They've left my baby brother behind."
Anthony's blue eyes sharpened. "Connor? You believe they all left and the boy is alone?"
"Isn't it grand? I feel as though I'm about to get a present!"
"Only if you hurry darling. If you still want the boy, we have to more fast."
"I'm a bloody idiot!" Spike exclaimed.
"We know, Spike." Angel said "Go on-"
"No, you're an idiot, too. Angel, don't you remember? Ant? The barrister in London?"
"Barrister?" Connor asked. "That's a lawyer, right?"
"One and the same. Right after I was turned, Angelus wiped out a convent, killed the whole lot, then took a notion to buy the bloomin' building so we'd have a headquarters. So Drusilla finds a barrister who doesn't mind night meetings. The deal fell through, mostly because Angelus found a convent he liked better, but Dru took a liking to the man and made him a vampire. His name was Anthony, but Dru always called him – "
"Ant." Angel finished. "She said he carried all the sweets from the picnic and buried them for the Queen."
"I don't get how you two thought that crazy talk was hot." Faith observed.
"It's usually only half crazy." Spike explained with a small smile. "Dru can see things, but she has some issues about her sight. Probably because back when she was human, somebody told her it was the devil inside. I wonder who that might have been."
"Enough of the lighthearted nostalgia." Caitlin said. "What does a lawyer vamp from over a hundred years ago have to do with us?"
"If he worked for Wolfram and Hart as a human, he'd still be working for them because of the perpetuity clause." Angel explained.
"I knew it!" Faith said. "She's probably holed up at Wolfram and Hart right now. I say we mount up."
She sat behind Angel's desk in the ruins of what had not too long ago been his office. She swayed a bit as she tried to get a feel for who he'd been, this ruler of the lawyers. Drusilla had strong feelings about most professions – she thought doctors, scientists, priests, teachers were all liars. Lawyers were the only honest ones in the bunch. Like her boy Ant.
Had he been that nasty Angel-beast, using his power to protect people from his own kind? Or had he been Daddy, making friends with all the wonderful evil creatures who frequented a place like this?
Suddenly she moaned, bouncing in her seat. Ant dropped what he had been working on in the adjoining conference room and rushed to her side. "Dru? Darling, what is it?"
"Oh," she whimpered. "The rats are coming, but the Pied Piper has not yet played his flute."
"I don't understand – there are rats?"
She looked up, eyes unfocused. She swayed to the window. "I don't know. I can't hear the moon through this glass."
"Dru, it's daytime."
"Yes, but the moon calls it's child." She straightened, suddenly lucid. "Rats – it's Spike. And Daddy. They're coming, but not to play. All is not lost, though. They've left my baby brother behind."
Anthony's blue eyes sharpened. "Connor? You believe they all left and the boy is alone?"
"Isn't it grand? I feel as though I'm about to get a present!"
"Only if you hurry darling. If you still want the boy, we have to more fast."