Chapter 11
Lindsey carefully packed the duffel with clothing, and a few other items. He touched the glass of a snapshot of Shannon and him on the beach a moment before wrapping it in a pair of slacks, and tucking it into the center of the duffel. On top he placed a nine millimeter semi-automatic, along with the ammunition for it, and a large bowie knife.
He dressed with the same care he'd packed the duffel. Black trousers, combat boots, and a close-fitting black t-shirt. A gun belt with his other nine millimeter, another knife, and a bandolier with a matched set of throwing knives, and more magazines for the nine millimeter.
In the main room of the apartment, Jillian was waiting, and she raised an eyebrow at his attire. "You look like you're ready to go into a war zone, Lindsey. Do you really expect it to be that bad?"
"Possibly. I don't anticipate having a friendly welcome, certainly." A wry smile touched his face. "Not with how my double in their universe was portrayed."
"As a completely heartless bastard. Yeah, I can see why you wouldn't expect the kindest of welcomes." Jillian chuckled. "Well, I'm ready to go whenever you are." She looked over at James. "Is the machine warmed up?"
"And ready to activate the projector and interface whenever you're ready." James looked up as the door opened again, and Wesley slipped in. "Coming to see how well the machine works, Wes?"
Wesley nodded, and the other three turned back to the machine.
"Open the interface, James." Lindsey waited as the static image of the interior of the Hyperion Hotel's lobby came up, a ghostly image on the sheet of glass. He picked up the duffel, and nodded to Jillian, the two walking up to the glass, and stepping through. They heard a shout from James as they did so, but it was too late to step back from the commitment.
A long, painful moment later, they stumbled across the floor of the lobby, and Lindsey felt something, or rather, someone, tackle him, sending both sprawling in a heap. He shoved the person off, rolling to his feet as he pulled the knife at his hip. He blinked, staring at the person who was sorting themselves out.
"Wesley? What are you doing here?"
The scholar shrugged, straightening his glasses. "This is an excellent research opportunity, and I couldn't pass it up."
"So you came through without anything but the clothes on your back?" Jillian raised an eyebrow, looking over at Lindsey, who shrugged, resheathing the knife.
"Actually, I did bring a carry bag with a few spare changes of clothing, and my notes on the project." Wesley indicated the duffel that had careened to a stop at the base of the stairs. "There." He stood, dusting himself off. "Shall we start looking for Shannon and Alexa?"
Jillian sighed, grabbing the arm of the scholar. "You're going to sit over here, and stay with your duffel and mine, while Lindsey and I go looking for Shannon and Alexa. And if you want something to do, look around the lobby, but don't go anywhere."
Wesley nodded, picking up his duffel. "I will await your return here."
Natalie ducked into the shadows when she heard voices below in the lobby, carefully peering out from behind the column. Three people, two men and a woman, had come out of nowhere, and looked to be making themselves at home. The one man was left to guard their gear, while the other moved with military precision up one flight of stairs, the woman up the other.
She moved rapidly away, making no more noise than a mouse, watching as the two moved down the hall. Once they were out of sight, she went down into the lobby, observing the one left behind from a shadowed corner. He hummed softly as he pulled out a thick book from one of the duffels, settling into a chair with it on his lap, opening it to the middle.
Tilting her head, she moved closer, wondering what he was reading. Her eyes widened when she saw a rough sketch of a demon, and a slight noise escaped her.
"Hello? Is someone there? Jillian? Lindsey?" The man looked up, twisting his head around, and froze when he saw her. "Hello. Um, do you live here?"
"No." Natalie shook her head. "How did you do that? Arrive here out of thin air? None of you are demons."
"No, we're not. We're human, but we're not from this dimension." He paused. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. And you are?"
"Natalie Wolfe." She moved out of the shadows, watching him warily. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just here to learn what I can. Lindsey and Jillian are here looking for two of our friends who came here several weeks ago." Wesley gave her a hopeful look. "You wouldn't happen to have seen them, would you?"
"I might have. What do they look like?"
"Alexa is about five and a half feet tall, with dark red hair, and a bit of an attitude, actually. And Shannon's about the same height, brown haired and violet eyed, according to Lindsey. I never met her myself."
Natalie filed the names of the two women she'd encountered earlier away for future reference. "I've seen them."
"Really?" Wesley brightened. "That's excellent. Lindsey and Jillian will be relieved to know they're all right."
Natalie shrugged, sittin gracefully across from Wesley. "Tell me about your world, and how you got here."
"I'll tell you what I can, but without Alexa's permission, I really shouldn't talk about how the machine works." Wesley closed the book, and set it aside. "But I can tell you about my world. What would you like to know?"
Lindsey moved down the hallway slowly, his senses alert for anything. A soft cry caught his attention, and he moved towards it, frowning. It sounded familiar. Coming to a door, he pressed against it, the sounds coming from the other side. His face went red with a mixture of embaressment and anger. He had found Shannon, and it looked like she'd wasted no time in finding herself a new boyfriend.
He waited until the sounds of sex had faded before knocking on the door. There was utter silence on the other side a moment, then a male voice spoke.
"Who's there?"
"Is Shannon in there?"
Shannon's eyes went wide when she heard the reply to Angelus's question. "What is he doing here?" she muttered as she reached for her discarded tank top and jeans. She dressed rapidly, tossing Angelus his jeans, and hissing at him to get dressed. Once he had the jeans on, she opened the door to find a stony-faced Lindsey on the other side. Angel came up beside her, Shannon sending Angelus back into his dorment state.
"Lindsey, what the fuck are you doing here?" She kept herself between her ex-boyfriend and Angel, sensing the animosity rolling off the vampire behind her. "I thought Alexa blew up the machine."
"She did. James rebuilt it." Lindsey looked over her shoulder at Angel. "New boyfriend?"
"Don't start, Lindsey. I'm not your girlfriend anymore, and you can't tell me what to do."
"Wait a minute." Angel turned her around to face him, his expression unreadable. "You and him dated?"
"For a few months, quite some time ago, when Alexa decided to set me up after I got back from Tibet." Shannon sighed, pushing away from both of the men. "Look, it's over between me and Lindsey. Has been for several months. I came here as a way to get away from him!" She looked between Lindsey's hurt expression, and Angel's stony one a moment, than threw up her hand in exasperation, and stalked away.