Skullduggery

Lorne sat in the bar, sipping rather than gulping his drink, staring pensively off into space. He'd been doing a lot of thinking since he'd had his little chat with Rose. It almost seemed as though saying the words out loud made them seem a little less theoretical. And the truth was the work was starting to get to be more than his stomach could bear some days. He couldn't even begin to count the times when he'd thought the gray areas he'd been treading were actually black.

Okay, so, as the Rosebud had pointed out, there was still a certain amount of good work being done. But was it enough to lift some of the shadows from the gray?

He'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed the new performer on stage. He found himself humming along with the tune before the realization filtered through that this was a voice he was familiar with. His head came up with a jerk to find Lindsey looking right at him.

&&&&&&&&

"You're not even trying," Spike complained. "We're supposed to be sparring, you pillock. Not doing the bloody waltz."

"If you ever spoke to me politely, I'd think the world was coming to an end," Angel commented. "Would a civilized conversation every once in a while kill you?"

"With you?" Spike's staff began moving faster, forcing Angel into action just to defend himself. "Since when have you cared about having a 'conversation' with me unless I screwed up?" He eyed his grandsire suspiciously. He was pretty sure his ass-chewings were up to date. At least the stuff Angel knew about. So what was the ponce up to? Then, he caught a gleam, just a flicker in the older vampire's eye.

"You're getting some?" There were undertones of horror in it, similar to that of a pubescent humans who have just realized to their shock and disgust that their parents have had sex.

"I've got a date," Angel corrected him. "Tonight, as a matter of fact. Why is it that sex is still the first thing you think of? I know you've got more than that going with Rose."

Spike's features softened visibly at the mention of his beloved. A contented smile started to work its way across his face and he just barely managed to parry the attack Angel launched at him.

"Maybe you'd better forget about a love-life," Spike advised. "Hasn't helped your concentration at all." Having upheld his reputation for being a pain in Angel's ass, curiosity got the better of him. "Who with?"

"Who with what?" Angel repeated dumbly, barely blocking Spike's latest barrage. "Oh, the date."

"Yeah, the date, you poor, dumb, git," Spike said pityingly. "Can't imagine who'd want to..,"

"Stuff it, Spike," Angel interrupted. "After that shot, I'm not sure about telling you anyway."

The corners of Spike's lips twitched downward. "I can't tell Rose you've got a date and not be able to tell her who you're going out with," he muttered. He straightened up and looked Angel in the eye as menacingly as he could. "Look, you bloody ponce, you are not leaving here until I get every single little detail that Rose is gonna want to hear. Or else you won't be in any shape to get fresh with the girl anyway."

Angel suddenly changed direction and swept Spike off his feet with his staff. When Spike looked up, the butt of Angel's staff was millimeters from his throat.

"How about saying please?" Angel suggested.

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Wesley?" Rose said hesitantly. He'd been a bit surly the last few days, and Rose had no doubt that it was because she'd rained on his parade.

Wesley awarded her the briefest of glances, then turned his eyes back to what he was working on. "What is it, Rose?" he asked in disinterested tones. "Is it important? Because right now I've got..,"

"I think I've found a spell to seal Hramaas up where he is forever," Rose interrupted. She'd been pretty sure there was one, but it had taken forever to find it.

"You what?" Wesley's head came up and Rose could see she had his undivided attention now.

"A major binding spell," Rose elaborated. "It's very complex, but once cast, it cannot be broken." She stopped and looked a bit unsure of herself.

"What's the catch?" Wesley asked. That look on Rose's face spoke volumes for the fact that there was a catch.

"I don't know," Rose admitted. "The last few lines are in a language I don't even recognize, let alone speak."

"Let me see," he demanded. But it took no more than a quick glance to confirm that the language was unfamiliar to the Watcher as well. "Damn," he swore softly. "This spell would put paid to Richard McDaniel's plan once and for all. And guarantee that you wouldn't be sacrificed to the Hramaas."

"The thought had occurred," Rose said dryly. "Are you sure you haven't even seen that language before, Wesley?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, Rose," he answered apologetically. "But I'm afraid I can't recall ever seeing that particular language before in my life." Before she could become too despondent over the news, he tried to hold out a ray of hope. "But we have the not inconsiderable resources of Wolfram and Hart, not to mention the Watcher's Council. We'll find out what it means, Rose. I promise."

Rose was still frowning. "It still just seems too good to be true," she muttered. "But there must be a reason for it. We never do anything without a reason." She sat down abruptly, brow knitted, so obviously deep in thought that Wesley forbore to interrupt her, even though, to the best of his recollection, she'd never referred to herself as one of The Powers since she became permanently human. At least, not that casually.

"Damn," Rose said finally, causing raised eyebrows from her supervisor. Rose seldom swore, even though, had she wished to, she had an excellent teacher.

"Problem?" Wes inquired mildly. He intended to tread lightly until he figured out what was going on.

"I remembered.., just.., that the spell exists," Rose explained. "If I can remember that, why can't I remember what language that is, or what it says?"

"You did say that your memories of.., then, were fading," Wesley reminded her. "Maybe that's what this is. Like any human memory, sometimes you can remember only bits and pieces."

"Human memory sucks," Rose observed in a fit of pique.

The conversation seemed to be drifting from the original subject, but at the moment, Wes thought this was more important.

"If you gave up your human memory," he pointed out gently. "You might have to give up your memories of being human. Would you want to do that?"

"I didn't mean it that way," Rose muttered, looking shamefaced, suggesting that perhaps she had.

"I didn't think so." He agreed with her to spare her further embarrassment. "Now, why don't we see if we can find out what language that is, shall we?"

&&&&&&&&&&

"What man be wanting now?" the Q'xlzr demon demanded impatiently. At least, it sounded that way. Secretly, it was delighted that Lindsey had called it back so soon. If the man was that impatient himself, he was likely to make mistakes. And the little demon had become nearly apoplectic upon hearing that he was probably in league with the man who had taken Rose away from where she belonged. Not to mention trying to get her to sacrifice herself to a demon.

"It's been a few days," Lindsey pointed out, trying to look like he wasn't fidgeting. "Surely you've managed to pick up at least a little something by now."

The Q'xlzr appeared to be considering until Lindsey got the hint and gave it some money.

"Boss vampire and Rose vampire were being in incinerator hunting slug-puppies," it offered.

Lindsey failed to stifle a snort of laughter, and there was a nasty little grin in its wake. "I guess that might have been a little petty of me," he admitted. "But if I can't take Angel on face to face, I'll settle for yanking his chain."

The Q'xlzr filed that information away for future use. No doubt the boss vampire would be wanting to have a discussion with this man, about slug-puppies, if nothing else.

Lindsey sobered up. "Is that all you got?" he demanded. "I thought you were supposed to be good."

"I best," the Q'xlzr corrected, a bit shrilly. "Boss vampire be checking on man named McDaniels."

Lindsey grunted inelegantly. "Not a surprise," he mused. "What I'd really like to know though is what's so special about this Rose that he's willing to go to such lengths to protect her. Are they sleeping together?"

"Rose has own vampire," it replied, working not to sound offended on Rose's behalf, even though it knew enough of human culture to know how vulgar its erstwhile employer was being.

"So she does," Lindsey murmured reflectively. "Know anything about him?"

Now the Q'xlzr knew quite a bit about Spike. Like the facts that he was hot-tempered, impetuous, a good fighter, and totally devoted to Rose and his children. But this was the first time the subject of Spike had come up, so it played it that way. Just as it would with any other client.

"You only be asking about boss vampire and Rose," the blue-gray demon pointed out. "You no ask I to find out about Rose vampire." It waited expectantly. A man as obviously used to using informants as Lindsey was would know that often quite a lot of collateral information was gleaned in the course of the surveillance on the main subject. But nothing, certainly not information from a professional snitch, was free.

Lindsey knew how the game was played too. He pulled out his wallet and extracted a bill. "Anything you might have heard about him in passing?" he suggested.

The Q'xlzr eyed the twenty with unfeigned disdain. "I not working for chump change," it informed Lindsey haughtily. "That insult."

Lindsey gave a rueful laugh. "I had to try," he confessed. He added a fifty to the total. "How's that?"

"Okay for starters," the demon conceded grudgingly. "Rose vampire have soul, like boss vampire."

"It figures," Lindsey groused. "What are they doing, handing the damn things out like door prizes?"

"I not be knowing that," the blue-gray creature replied. "That would be costing extra. You want incidental poop or not?"

"All you've got," Lindsey said. "Give me something I can really use, and there's more where that came from." He nodded at the money now tightly clenched between blue-gray fingers.

"Rose vampire being called Spike," the demon offered cautiously. That sounded like an innocuous enough piece of knowledge. And, one that was readily discovered as well.

"William the bloody? That Spike?" Lindsey was shocked, not by who the vamp was, and he had heard of him, through association with Darla and Drusilla, but the thought of William the bloody being saddled with a soul.

The Q'xlzr, through a series of ear-centered gymnastics, managed to convey the impression of a shrug. "Just know he name Spike," it repeated. "Not get along with boss vampire." Another piece of fairly common knowledge.

Lindsey grinned. He could relate to that one. "So it probably wouldn't be too hard to stir up a little more trouble between the two of them?" he inquired. It might not help, in the long run. On the other hand, it might. Either way, it would be a pain in Angel's ass, always a plus as far as Lindsey was concerned.

Privately, the Q'xlzr demon thought that things were never going to get worse between the two vampires. Rose wouldn't allow it, and when she put her foot down, they listened to her. But if it could get a word to the boss vampire and tip him the wink.., "Maybe," it conceded carefully.

"What's the best way to piss Spike off?" Lindsey queried, pretty sure the demon would know that one. He had a nagging feeling that the little snitch knew a hell of a lot more than it was letting on.

"Rose," the demon answered promptly and without thinking.

It could have kicked itself. Literally. Its legs did bend that way.

&&&&&&&&

"C'mon, Oz. Daddy said we could go to the arcade," Ariel wheedled. "He even left us money just for it."

"He said we deserved it for being so bloody smart," Alaric added smugly. The smugness received a slight check as his sister elbowed him in the ribs.

Oz was still hesitant. The skating rink was one thing. The kids spent nearly the entire time in a wide-open area where they were easy enough to keep an eye on. An arcade, however, was practically nothing but dark nooks and crannies. With everything that had been going on, he wasn't sure he liked the idea.

Ariel had latched onto his worries. "Do you think daddy would suggest it if he thought it wasn't safe?" she asked reasonably. Wide, innocent-looking gray eyes gazed up at him appealingly.

"S'matter, Oz?" Alaric asked cheekily. "Is it that time of the month?" He'd heard Spike use that play on words to a confused Rose once, and wanted to see how the tutor would react.

Oz considered his two charges carefully for a minute. Especially Alaric. "You know," he opened up conversationally. "Maybe it's just me, but I was thinking that someone who wants something that badly should be displaying better manners." He waited.

Alaric got a faraway look in his eyes, almost as if he could imagine himself out of the situation. Ariel gave him a nudge, and when that didn't work, pinched him.

"Hey! Ow!" the elder of the twins protested. "I'm sorry, Oz." He gave his sister a dirty look.

"All right, we'll go." Oz caved in. "But the two of you stick close by. And keep your hands to yourself, Ariel."

&&&&&&&&

Lindsey popped the cassette into the player and listened intently. Wyndam-Pryce and the girl again. Well, who would know her secret better than the lady herself? And it was Rose's voice he heard first.

"But there must be a reason for it. We never do anything without a reason."

Lindsey listened to the tape, re-wound it and listened to it again. Then, he decided that it was time to pay a call on his employer.

&&&&&&&&&&

Lorne heard Angel before he saw him, and his first instinct was that of self-preservation, i.e. getting the hell gone before Angel committed further assaults on his ears. Then, the visions came, and he was able to, for the most part, blot out the tone-deaf warbling.

After a few moments, however, the demon just shook his head with a sad, half-smile and walked away in the opposite direction. The prevalent images had been personal enough that the big guy wouldn't appreciate his interference. And everything else had been so shadowy and vague as to make no sense whatsoever.

&&&&&&&&

Lindsey walked out of the underground lair, whistling merrily. The old man was currently involved in listening to his audio tape over and over again, much as he had himself, trying to puzzle out exactly who or what Rose Powers really was. And quite a sight that had been, watching the cassette floating in mid-air and playing without benefit of a tape recorder, watching the little wheels turn as it hovered several feet off the ground.

But the old man had given Lindsey an assignment before he'd made his departure, and it was one that Lindsey was already prepared for.

He was going to put the snatch on Rose and Spike's kids.