Nottingham's Loft
New York, NY
Monday, August 13, 2001
Early morning
Christian woke to an empty pillow next to his. Pulling on a pair of sweats, he followed the breeze from the open balcony door out to where Lilianna stood watching the city. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against him. Silence reigned for several minutes. Christian enjoyed it, knowing that all too soon reality would come crashing down on them and he would miss these moments of simplicity.
"He knows too much."
Christian stiffened at his wife's words. "How much?"
Lilianna sighed. "I don't know, not really. But the Blade is anxious. It knows something big is coming."
The Witchblade on his ring finger warmed in agreement, but sent him no more detail.
"Should we attempt to contact Akantha?" he asked softly.
"No," Lilianna said. "If she were able to help with this, she would have spoken with us last night. This is something we have to do on our own."
Lilianna was silent for a few minutes, and Christian could tell through their connection that she was plotting something that would help level the playing field a little.
"Irons has too many men who would stop at nothing," she said carefully. "Men who don't have your honor. If he has all of them at his beck and call when he makes his move, we could be in serious danger."
"And what is it you think we should do?"
Lilianna turned in his arms and looked him in the eye. "It's time to go hunting."
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Hyperion Hotel
Los Angeles, CA
Monday, August 13, 2001
9:00 am
Gabriel came downstairs and went straight to the kitchen area in the office. Lorne was there nursing a cappuccino. The demon watched as Gabriel made a sandwich with the groceries he had purchased yesterday. The kitchen of Angel Investigations had not been well stocked when Gabriel had entered the scene. The distant sound of men talking, hammering and other construction sounds could be heard coming from the third floor.
"Can you believe the construction crew has been here since the ungodly hour of seven?" Lorne asked the young New Yorker.
Gabriel quirked an eyebrow at him, "Sure, I let them in. I've been up since a little after three. Still stuck on New York time."
Calculating that "a little after three" was still "a little after six" in New York, Lorne shuddered, "Young people."
Gabriel snorted a laugh. A moment later Faith came into the room. She glanced at Gabriel's sandwich with a hungry look in her eye.
"There's more stuff in the fridge if you want to make one," he told her. "Help yourself."
"You sure?" she asked.
Gabriel nodded, and Faith granted him a rare smile. He didn't know why, but he felt a brotherly affection for the emotionally complex Slayer. In some odd way, she reminded him of Nottingham. Thinking of the dark man who he hadn't actually seen since before Lilianna had come into his life, Gabriel wondered how they were doing.
"Why don't you call them?" Lorne suddenly asked.
Gabriel and Faith both looked at Lorne like he was crazy. Lorne sighed, gesturing to Gabriel.
"You, my little bon bon. Telepaths project loudly enough that I don't need you to sing for me to know what's bothering you."
Faith turned back to making her sandwich, and Gabriel nodded his understanding.
"Thanks, Lorne, but I don't think that would be a good idea right now, they have enough to deal with. I should probably let Sara know where I am though. I just wish I could do something for Lily and Ian."
"What's the deal with those two?" Faith asked as she hopped up onto the counter to sit and eat her sandwich.
Gabriel told as much of the story as he knew, including how completely psycho he originally thought Ian to be. Faith was fascinated with the knowledge that Lilianna had come back in time to change things, and the Witchblades especially intrigued her. Mystical weapons were few and far between, especially "good" ones. They were deep in a discussion about some of the mystical artifacts he had bought and sold over the years when the phone rang.
Lorne had left the room a while ago, so Faith sighed and picked up the phone.
"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."
Faith listened for a couple minutes before saying into the phone, "I'm sorry you think your wife is cheating on you, but we don't take that kind of case. We specialize in the paranormal."
The man on the other end of the phone evidently hung up, and Faith replaced the receiver. She looked at Gabriel, quirking an eyebrow in his direction.
"So does that mean Lily and Ian can't get legally married? I mean, that would be kind of hard to do if you didn't have your birth certificates, right?"
Gabriel smiled and gave the shocked Slayer a quick hug. She wasn't used to people spontaneously embracing her, and she was surprised to find that the gesture had felt rather familial.
"Thank you," Gabriel said. "Now I know exactly what I can do for them. Or at least, what Mara can do."
Faith watched warily as Gabriel used a calling card number to dial Sunnydale. She listened as he was transferred from Giles to Mara and explained what he wanted to do for his friends back in New York. Her eyes grew wide as he asked Mara to get it all done as soon as possible and then confirmed that tomorrow would be great. Rich did not even begin to cover what Mara must be if she was really able to pull off what Gabriel had requested of her. After a few minutes of small talk, Gabriel said good-bye to his aunt and dialed a new number in New York.
"Hey, Sara, it's Gabriel." Pause. "Yeah, I know it's been awhile, but I know you've been busy lately. I just wanted you to know that I'm safe. I'm staying in Los Angeles. Lilianna sent me away with someone she trusted as soon as she realized Irons was having her followed. She figured she might have led them to me and didn't want to risk it." There was a longer pause on Gabriel's side of the line this time as he winced, and Faith almost heard Sara, who must have been yelling. "I'm sorry, Sara. I thought Lilianna would have told you. Another pause. Yeah, I'm sure I'm alright. I'll call you if I need anything. Bye."
Gabriel hung up the phone and turned back toward Faith. "I think I just got Lily in trouble."
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11th Precinct
New York, NY
Monday, August 13, 2001
As soon as Gabriel had hung up, Sara dialed Lilianna's cell phone. It was the only number she had that she thought might even have a chance of being safe. Though from what Gabriel had told her, maybe it didn t matter anymore. When her daughter didn't pick up, Sara left a terse message. A few minutes later, Jake walked into their office and gave Sara a puzzled look.
Sara was pacing. When he had left the room, she had been in a good mood. Having just found out last night that he was going to be a father, Jake was still over the moon.
"What's the matter, new case?"
"No," Sara sighed. "Personal problem, has to do with Li... Angel."
"Anything I can help with?"
"Thanks, Jake, but no, this is something she and I have to work out."
Sara smiled at her partner-slash-boyfriend and moved closer, resting a hand on his arm. She wasn't at all prepared for the flood of images the Witchblade suddenly decided to send her. Visions involving Jake, Dante, Irons, a group known as the White Bulls, her father...
Sara paled and snatched her hand away from Jake's arm. When he asked her what was wrong, she muttered 'morning sickness' under her breath and headed for the bathroom before anything could stop her.
After she made sure no one else was in the ladies' room, Sara dialed Lilianna's cell phone again and left a one-question message.
"Did you know your father was an FBI agent?"