CHAPTER 4-Today, We Are Driven.

OK, here's the 4th chapter everybody! Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Everyone keep reviewing and I'll love you. Please tell me if I contradict anything that has previously occurred on Angel (discounting the 4th season as this story is written over it) Suggestions too!

Conner loved this time in the morning; the deep yellow sunlight bathed the city in heartfelt warmth. It was as though the sun was waking everyone to welcoming warmth. He didn't always love it though; often he despised it. Not because he didn't like it but because he was too tired or injured to enjoy it, it's strange how you mind can work sometimes. Today he felt alive, and it was great. Although his hands were wrapped tightly in dirty, bloodied bandages and continued to pain him he felt a strange power had overcome him.

He walked down a crowded city street, soaking up as much sun as he could get whilst weaving between fellow pedestrians. It was just a swarm of people that seemed to exist to be in each other's way, so many people wearing similar tints of grey and black on their way to work. They all seemed to be robots, like a colony of ants; united in objective and motivation. It seemed to him that he was the only individual in the great mass of people. He was in one of the busier parts of the city for a good reason though; he was after some more weapons. Justine had given him some money after they had reunited last night, telling him that they needed more equipment to keep fighting. He didn't understand why she was so worried that night, after all it was he who was injured; she had come out without a scratch. Still, he was happy to obey; he wouldn't have bothered with any weapons himself but as she had bought it up he felt that she was right. The more weapons they bore the more damage they could inflict. He was heading towards the address that Justine had given him; it was just visible at the end of the street, when a head in the crowd snagged his attention. After glancing at so many idle eyes staring down at the pavement it was clear as glass when someone spied you, even if it was just for a second.

The man was further up in the crowd on his right and was walking towards Conner, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Conner kept walking forwards, another two metres and they would pass. Conner took his eyes off the man for a second and noticed another suspicious face weaving through the sea of people. He wore sunglasses so there was no way for Conner to tell what his eyes were up to but there was something menacing about the way he walked and his stern face told Conner that he was up to something.

He blocked out all of the other thoughts that began to formulate in his mind and tried to form a plan of action. The tight crowd that filled the footpath was a disadvantage if there was a fight, if only he knew what they were trying to do. Where they trying to kill him, stalk him or maybe capture him? Maybe his suspicious nature had gotten the better of him. He neared the first man and at the last second decided to act as though he hadn't noticed a thing, wait for them to make the first move. Conner had to assume that they worked together. The other man passed him and didn't even turn his head, very professional. He wished he could drone out the constant clatter of other shoes to hear the first man's footsteps clearly. He knew he couldn't risk turning his head to watch the man who passed as that would clearly tell them that he knew what was going on. Suddenly something popped into Conners mind; it told him that he had to know what the man behind him was doing and it instantly became imperative. His mind churned through hundreds of possible actions before realising what to do. Fortunately Conner's mind had been trained to work quickly; Quatarth had taught him that, if nothing else. He swung his shoulder into an incoming pedestrian and span round, making sure it looked like it was an attempt to keep his balance. His eyes took in as much as possible as he span around his head.

His eyes scanned past the man, who now had his finger outstretched and his mouth opening and shutting at Conner. Conner suddenly found himself in a world of his own, he could see people shoes to the pavement but no noise came to his ears. Everything around him seemed to be moving slowly and his brain scanned everything. He had a unique ability to be able to observe so richly and speedily, but he didn't know his brain worked that differently to others. Something really caught his glancing eyes though, a figure he recognised as the man who was spying him quickly cut out of the crowd and ducked into what must have been a small alleyway between two shops. He cut off all his thoughts of suspicion abruptly and switched himself into action. He stopped his bodies turning momentum and began walking swiftly in the direction were he saw the man. He had his back to the sunglasses man now but it didn't matter, he felt that they were only human and that they didn't threaten his safety. He weaved through the crowd without care for courtesy or politeness, knocking into a few people and receiving an abundance of curses. He began to barge through, gathering speed to a slow run. As he dodged a man he noticed he was level with the alleyway; he hugged the wall and peered down the alleyway. He saw the man pacing back at fourth with his mobile to his ears and his eyes to the ground. He broke out into a light sprint, moving stealthily, without sound.

"It was definitely him" The man paused and waited for a reply.

"Park St" He replied to the receiver.

The man on the other end of the line was seriously aggravating him, making sure every detail was correct several times. He couldn't wait to hang up. A reply came from the receiver and he nodded, about to reply. As the word yes just began to escape his lips he felt the phone slid carefully out of his hand. He kept his hands in the holding position for a split second, his face staring at the dirty ground with a shocked look plastered on his face. Suddenly he looked up and as soon as he saw Conner's shirt he knew he was in big trouble. He cursed and jumped back against the damp, brick wall. Such a sudden blow of horror had knocked him off his feet. It felt as though he had been in a state of pure tranquillity for hours and then someone had suddenly stuck a pin in his throat. He'd never been that scared of seeing someone's shirt before, of course he was almost pissing himself with fear when Conner slammed the mobile onto the ground and jabbed his arm out to clamp a tight grip on his throat.

This was another one of those times when Conner felt truly happy to be alive. He smashed the phone down with as much might as he could and thing was now in about 10 000 pieces. He had heard a lot of the conversation and was determined to discover what these strange men were trying to do and above all who was their strings. He despised those who used others almost as much as he hated those who allowed themselves to be used. He grabbed the man around the throat, pushing his head as hard against the wall as possible.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" He demanded strongly, tightening his grip around the man's throat with every second an answer was not spoken.

The man was going purple and his eyes grew wide, he nodded frantically and pointed to Conner's hand clasped around his neck. Conner smiled sympathetically and released his hand. The man stepped froward from the wall and bent over, gasping for breath. Barely a second after he released his hold, Conner punched the guy in the side of the head. As the man was still bent over he fell to his knees with the force of the hit and let out a deep cry of pain.

Conner looked down at him as though he was a rat, a lowly creature. Something powerful and wicked was evident in his eyes. He had no mercy for those who deserved none. He picked the guy up by the collar and held him up about 2 feet from the ground.

"Who told you to do this?" He said calmly yet with such a fierce demanding voice. The man stared at him stupidly as though he didn't know anything. Conner began to get angrier and angrier by the second; he had no time for guises. He clenched his fists and pulled back his arm, gesturing that the man was going to receive another punch. He grinned wickedly at the man, penetrating right into his soul to inflict as much fear as possible.

"Wolfram & Hart!" The man blurted out in a panicked tone. Conner was about a tenth of a second from unleashing another punch. Maybe he wasn't so stupid after all. After that thought set in his mind recognised the words that the man had spoken. The law firm with attitude, as Gunn had put it. When he was with Angel and Co, they constantly reminded him of how evil Wolfram & Hart was. He shuddered at the thought of Angel and punched the guy straight in the nose with all the power he could muster. He felt himself needing to let off a lot of steam. The guy's face was bloodied and mangled, but he deserved it; in Conner's mind anyway.

His cruel smile was suddenly interrupted by a sudden sound of sprinting footsteps. Conner dropped the man and looked at the source of the sound. The man with sunglasses was running down the alleyway towards him and pulling something out from the inside of his suit simultaneously. Conner saw the gun just in time and dived in the opposite direction to where he was aiming. The man straightened his arm and stopped. The sound of a silenced gunshot filled the alleyway. And Conner saw a bit of brick fall away from the wall at the end of the alley. He had dived into the wall opposite the now, unconscious man. To him the weak sound the gun made comforted him, where he had come from things with more power made more noise and that was that; he had yet to learn the ways of Earth.

He was just about to dive again when he realised that the man had no intention of firing another shot. The man kept his aim up vigilance but kept his finger lightly on the trigger. Conner took a quick glance behind him and analysed the bullet hole. It wasn't hard for him to tell then that the man had no intention of killing him. He got up calmly and took his time dusting himself off. The man was taken back by how calmly he was acting, which made it all the more fun for Conner.

Conner turned his head to the man and smiled coolly.

"Good morning" He began, walking at a relaxed pace towards the man.

"Stay where you are!" The man replied loudly, trying hopelessly to add strength to his voice.

Conner watched the gun follow his every move with interest. Smiling again he added, "I've got this feeling."

The man said nothing.

"I feel that you have no intention in using that gun against me and that you have been instructed not to do so." Conner smiled again and looked into the man's hidden eyes.

Conner felt that the man was falling apart with fear and he felt his power grow as the man's weakened. The situation should have been very tense, with a gun to Conners head and all but Conner had all but forgotten the gun now.

"How about you give me the gun and I walk away."

The man stood still, not moving while Conner advanced slowly. It was a long while before the man gave into Conner's pressure and dropped his aim. Conner walked right up to him and held out his hand, smiling at the other man's pathetic excuse for willpower. The man gave in then. He sighed with Disappointment for himself and gave the gun to Conner. Conner walked past and tucked the gun in his back pocket. He began to pick up his pace down the alley, eventually braking out into a run. He knew for sure that Wolfram & Hart knew his location so the best plan of action was to get the hell away.

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A piercing screech erupted in the quaint, empty neighbourhood as Wesley swerved sharply around a corner. A small amount of smoke drifted in the air from his skid. He revved up and sped down the clear street, it felt good to get out of the traffic and be free to drive. It had been so gruelling, sitting in a car, a machine capable of 120 km/h and being unable to move to his will.

Now that he was out of the city he had the wide, empty street to himself and he was damn well going to use it. He had his window down, and was breathing in the fresh air of the morning. As soon as he had entered the neighbourhood he had remembered exactly were to go, his recent visits to Holtz began to flash into memories, haunting him. He gripped the wheel tightly and raced through about 10 more streets in the same, fanatic manner. He spotted Holtz's estate from the end of the street; he had been there often enough to remember exactly were it was. He screeched to a halt and jumped out, slamming the door behind him. He walked a couple of steps before running up to the door, trying to control his consuming enthusiasm. He gained control of his breath and knocked twice, after all he had no idea who was there now, Holtz could have sold it. He had to wait a minute before the door was pulled open a few inches, guarded by a golden chain. Half of a head emerged from behind the door.

Justine and Wesley recognized each other instantly from a quick glance through the slightly ajar door. It was Justine who received the biggest shock, her eyes widened with shock; he was one of the last people she was expecting.

He jaw dropped and her pupils grew; she hadn't known what to expect when she opened the door, but Wesley, it was a shock to the system.

When she had cunningly slit his throat in the park she was never meant to have to meet him again and all though she barely recollected that memory fear quickly overcame her. She slammed the door in his face and stepped back from it. Justine stared at the wooden door, desperately trying to get herself together and do something. She ignored Wesley banging relentlessly on the door and shouting her name. Suddenly she remembered that she could easily beat Wesley, after all he was just a normal guy, someone who hadn't spent the last 4 months training and killing. No matter how much he wanted revenge Justine wouldn't be punished. She regained her confidence and overcame her fear, running into the kitchen and picking up the largest, sharpest knife she could find and walking back out into the hall. She stood in the hall, about 6 meters from the door and waited for Wesley to kick the door down. Her heart began to beat rapidly and the blood flowed through her veins, for just that couple of seconds she couldn't wait to slit his throat again. All of the past month's traumatising events had taken their toll on Justine's mind; she had developed quite a craving for the fight, for blood.

BANG! The strong wooden door fell straight down into the hallway with a great thump. Bit's of dust and splinters from the ruined lock hovered in front of Wesley, who stood menacingly in the doorway. Strong, vigorous sunlight poured into the hall from around Wesley's stout figure. The sun burdened her eyes and she squinted, retreating back down the hall, into the shade. Until now she had kept her knife safely concealed behind her back; she knelt to the ground as she raised her hand and threw the knife at Wesley. She couldn't see any emotions on his face but he stood as still as concrete as the dagger struck the wall beside him. The dagger stuck straight into the wall and made a strange noise as it's handle swung backwards and forwards from the force of the impact. Wesley began stepping down the hall, advancing menacingly on Justine.

Justine stepped back, his shaded face and heavy, methodic footsteps on the floorboards made her feel uneasy. She shook her head, ashamed at being intimidated by Wesley and ran forward, fists clenched, arms retracted, ready to throw a punch.

Wesley felt his long, leather trench coat against his jeans as he stepped across the fallen door. He looked at Justine and the anger began to rise through his body; as he advanced on her she became more and more distressed. That was the effect he seemed to have on people nowadays; he was no longer the dorky Englishman with his head up his ass. He had grown, or at least changed. He smiled at her as she revealed a knife from behind her back and threw it by its blade. He knew already that he need not move and he felt the force of it as it pierced the wooden wall beside him. He continued his slow, menacing approach, inflicting fear with every step. He began to fill a strong sense of power flow through his body, an ever-growing strength.

He stopped his advance when he saw Justine sprint towards him. In three steps she was before him and throwing a deadly punch. It was a straight jab at his head, she had amazing force in her punch: it was extremely quick and deadly accurate. Wesley craned his neck to the side and her fist flew past his ear by mere millimetres. He felt it's force run through his hair.

She retracted her hand and took a swipe at the side of his face, missing only slightly as he stepped backwards. She lost her balance and began to fall forward. Wesley scooped his right arm backwards and swooped up with his fist, hitting her with full force in the chin. She was knocked back with the force and quickly stepped backwards, pushing her hand against the wall to stay up. She leaned against the wall and cupped her chin with her hand, breathing hard and looking up at Wesley with a pained face.

Wesley looked into her eyes and tried to salvage a drop of sympathy from within his harsh thoughts, not a drop. He sneered at her and advanced.

"You bastard!" She spat, throwing herself off the wall and releasing her chin. She threw a curved punch at is head and Wesley had to bend his back to loop his head under the punch. He raised his head again and looked into her eyes for a split second before elbowing her in the same side of her jaw. She fell back against the wall and began to slide down it, towards the floor; her muscles were giving way. Wesley stepped forward and raised his arm to hit her in the chin again. He jabbed out his arm with great force only to smash it through the weak plaster of the wall; she had launched herself to the opposite wall. Plaster fell to the floor and it's dust floated in the air as Wesley began to turn. He saw the edge of her shoe just before it smashed into the side of his head, just near his ear. His head rang with pain as he collapsed against the wall he had just punched. He raised his arm as suddenly as possible when he saw her fist flying towards his face. He blocked the punch with his wrist and threw back his other arm to smack her in the side of her face. She started to step back with the pain but grabbed on to the wrist that had blocked her punch, pulling Wesley sharply towards her. He was bent over from the pull and she kneed him in the face with all her might. Wesley stumbled back down the hall, his whole head burning him with relentless, fierce pain. He stopped himself from falling over by outstretching his arms and pushing against the walls.

Both warriors took a pause to catch breath and control their pain. Justine's mouth felt like ripped apart from the inside, the taste of blood sickened her. She felt the blood ever so vividly as it trickled down her throat; she felt it pouring out of her nose and her mouth. A couple of drops left her chin and made an eerie sound as it dropped on the hard floorboards. Her whole mouth was a cauldron of sizzling pain. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and felt around until she found what she had feared she would. She took her fingers out and they were soaked in blood, carrying a stained tooth between them. She glared at Wesley's cool, hard face and forced a smile despite her pain. Her tooth clattered across the floorboards after she dropped it. Wesley's complexion was unchanged, despite the blood that ran thickly from his nose, his face remained as jaded and cold as ever.

Wesley gazed into Justine's tortured eyes as she clenched her fists and charged at him. Her fist was aimed straight at the middle of his face. He bent backward and watched her arm pass over his head. He grabbed her arm before she could pull it back and twisted it as hard as he could. She screamed with pain, he wouldn't be surprised if he'd broken it. He pushed her against the wall front on and held her arm back behind her. He swiftly flicked an arm behind him to his belt and drew a small dagger. He smiled and put it to the front of Justine's throat.

He had her in the perfect position now, one move and she was dead. He waited a few seconds for a reply but when none came he said, "hi Justine. You remember me right?"

"Wesley" She replied through bated breath

"Yes! Well done! I'm the guy whose throat you slit." He spoke mockingly, teasing her with his power.

She didn't reply.

"Well, if your not going to talk to me you wont need this voice box huh? Maybe I should just cut it out, hmm?"

"What do you want?"

"Just making a social call here Justine, catching up on some of the goss."

So, what have you been up to all this time?"

"Wesley, whatever this is about, I swear I haven't done anything."

"Yeah. Well I want to know everything about the nothing you've been doing. Where's Angel Dammit?"

"Is he missing?"

Wesley pushed her head harder against the wall.

"Don't play me as a fool Justine! I know you've been up to something, and it probably involves Angel."

"How do you know that?" He speech was slightly distorted as her lips were now pressed against the wall.

"Because, Justine, I know just how stupid you are. Where is he? What about Conner? Seen him lately?"

"I'm too stupid, I can't remember." She mocked.

Wesley pushed the knife harder against her throat.

"Where are they?" Wesley could see the corner of her face tremble and give in. Maybe his face told her that he would go all the way, and who knows? Maybe he would.

"I know where Angel is, I'll tell you. Please, let me go." She replied, half-sighing with Disappointment for giving in.

"Alright, but if you play meanI'll bleed you." Justine almost felt a shiver past through her at those last words. Just the sincere tone in which he spoke them spooked her.

He let go of Justine and tucked the dagger safely in his pocket. She turned around and glared at him with anger. Her face was a bloody mess, with blood still dripping from her red chin. The pale yellow wall practically had a red stamp of her face on it. Wesley licked the blood from his lips and wiped the blood under his nose with his hand.

He grabbed her arm and led her outside. "Come on, we have work to do."

"What?"

"You're going to lead me to Angel." She was being pulled along behind him, across the front lawn.

"Can I at least wipe my fucking mouth?" She blurted out as he threw her in the back seat. He opened the front door and sat down in the seat.

"Under my seat"

Justine frowned and peered under the seat in front of her. She spotted a box of tissues and pulled them out. She cringed, on the brink of tears as the tissue wiped across her cheek and face. Her head throbbed and she was struggling to deal with her pain. She would keep control though; she wouldn't let herself lose to pain as she had to Wesley.

Wesley tore off down the empty road as Justine threw her last tissue out the window. It was swept away by the wind and flew behind the car as Wesley sped up. Wesley grabbed the box of tissues and held his nose to stop the bleeding; he didn't want to look too suspicious. His face already seemed to trigger mistrust within every one he met.

Despite the pain he felt good, back on the road with the strong breezes blasting through the window. Justine began to tell him where to go and he couldn't wait to get out there and do something good.

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Lilah briefly recollected the last time she had visited files and records.

She smiled to herself as she descended a set of steep, marble stairs; she remembered it well. She had been doing her homework on Holtz. All those wasted hours she had spent leaning over thick, encrypted books with small text stuck in her memory like a fin in the water. At least now she knew that it was quite a lot easier to find what you want to know. She clicked down a metallic handle and entered a crammed, dimly lit room. It was stocked to the brink with file cabinets, all of them crammed to the brim with files. She walked past a couple of rows of cabinets and up to the desk. A young woman sat up and smiled at her.

"Lilah" She stated, in mild surprise.

"I want to know something."

"Well, you certainly came to the right place"

"Gwen, could you tell me if there is anything, like a prophecy or ancient text relating to a wolf"

Gwen curved her brow in curiosity but then smiled and replied, "certainly"

Lilah leaned against a stack of cabinets and watched Gwen's eyes flicker white and black. She knew nothing of what Gwen was but she knew for certain that she was a valuable asset for Wolfram and Hart; Lilah just hoped she could get to the bottom of what the girl had told her. She didn't have the slightest clue on what was happening; it was all an epic mystery to her, the answer so elusive, so vital. Whatever was happening Lilah knew that if need be, she had to go to the ends of the Earth to find out.

"5343 entries on subject, wolf."

Lilah's eye widened with disheartenment and shock. She felt like screaming at the top of her lungs with annoyance but she bit her tongue. She should have known searching for such a mythologic word was pointless.

She scanned her memory for the words that she had been given; it wasn't hard as the words were alive in her mind, they shielded her eyes and she saw them everywhere she went.

"It's coming Lilah, the end, the beginning, everything everyone has fought for will come together. Like the lamb of the altar, death is without vein. From the seventh day every sacrifice brings us closer. Lilah, know that you are the Wolf and when the vessel calls you must come."

After receiving no reply from Lilah, Gwen spoke again, "If you're looking for something in particular then you might want to further specify your" She was suddenly cut off by Lilah.

"OK, hang on." Lilah pulled out a pen from her breast pocket and slid a piece of paper on Gwen's desk under its tip.

Please don't say any of this aloud.

Wolf, 7 days, a vessel, and a sacrifice.

Gwen nodded and tore up the note into pieces as her eyes flickered rapidly. The pieces of torn paper floated down into the dustbin.

"One record found" Lilah waited patiently as Gwen wrote down an address and a reference number on a second piece of notepaper. Lilah took the paper and carefully folded it away.

"Thankyou Gwen" She said, in probably the most sincere tone she had ever given out in her entire life. Shutting the door gently behind her she strolled swiftly down to the underground parking. As she walked into the lift she glanced Gavin walking swiftly out of Wolfram and Hart's front lobby doors. She frowned as the elevator doors closed. She could tell by the way he was walking that he had something important happening. 'Probably planning my assassination,' Lilah thought. That would be just like him, the coward. The elevator hummed softly; the elevator had but one passenger and descended straight to the car park.

The elevator doors slid opened with a 'bing', haunting against the silence of the carpark. Lilah walked briskly towards her car, briefly recollecting the time she had entered her car to find Angel sitting in the back seat. She had only recently resumed parking there.

She drove out of the car park hurriedly, greatly exited that she was in something truly important, for the first time in her life. She was dying to discover it all, to piece it all together.

Well, that's that at 5087 words. Please review.