Actions & Consequences (13/?)
He smiled as he heard the little girl ask the female warrior if Lorne would sing for them. He hoped the green-skinned demon would, he'd always found a sort of peace when Lorne sang. His brow furrowed as an unpleasant and very familiar smell reached his nose. "Vampires," he growled deep in his throat. They wouldn't be allowed to hurt the children. Turning, he leapt from the fire escape to the ground below. It was time for The Destroyer to hunt again.
"How sure are you that these tunnels lead to Wolfram & Hart?"
Wesley fought back the urge to slap Xander for repeating the question for what seemed like the hundredth time. "They did when Lillah told me about them six months ago," he replied with a patience that was rapidly running out.
"Right," the youth nodded, "but they've changed bosses since then. On account of the fact of the last bosses being killed?"
Wesley bit back a groan. Why couldn't he have been assigned to one of the other teams. Oh yes, that was it, his special relationship with Lillah. Oh joy, the liaison that just kept on giving. "Xander," Giles' tired tone indicated his fellow country-man was growing as frustrated with the conversation as he was, "this is the best lead we have. After all, only Angel has an eternity to spare."
Finally the youth sighed. "Sorry, just wigged out about my kids."
Giles nodded and squeezed the Scooby's shoulder. "I quite understand son. Now," Giles smiled coldly, "it's time to do a good deed and thin a few lawyers from the herd." The new Council head turned to Angel. "Angel, the grille?"
"Are you a follower of Quart's theory of Magic?" Kennedy heard Fred ask Willow, the two women just ahead of her.
Willow shook her head. "No," her girlfriend replied, "I believe in the teachings of Jonas."
"Oh but wasn't he disproved by Letish in the 700s?"
"Ah," Willow trilled back, "there's an interesting story about that!"
Kennedy fought back at a sigh, she doubted the story was very interesting at all. She loved Willow with all her heart but put her together with another nerd and things went downhill fast. Her eyes widened as Fred suddenly twisted to one side, raised her pistol crossbow and fired. A second later there was a cry and the sound of exploding dust. "Lordy but I hate vampires," Fred stopped for a second, "except for Angel of course," she babbled, "not only 'cause he's got a soul and all, but also because he's my boss and he saved me from Pylea. You know when we got back from Pylea I had this giant crush on him for the longest time, he's so -."
"I get the idea Fred," Willow interrupted. Kennedy hid a grin, maybe there was more to the shy Texan than first appeared.
"Girl likes her work don't she?" Gunn commented, his eyes widening as Faith lifted a fur-covered demon about six times her weight and threw it into the far wall, the demon's bones crunching on impact. In the two minutes since they'd entered, Faith had dusted six vampires, decapitated three demons, and injured another ten. All making him feel very redundant.
Beside him Buffy nodded. "Faith takes a pride in her wo-," suddenly the blonde grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the ground, just as another demon hurtled through the air above them. "Faith!" the blonde screamed angrily. "That nearly hit us!"
The curvy brunette looked over her shoulder and winked cockily. "Just giving you a head's up B," the Slayer smirked, "head's up, get it B?"
"Very funny," Buffy replied, her face tight, "he's getting away."
Faith glanced towards the bartender heading towards the back door. "You sure about that B?" grabbing a ball from a near-by pool table she flung it into the back of the bartender's head, he dropped soundlessly to the floor. "Looks like he's going no-where to me."
"Always with the smugness," Buffy muttered as she pulled herself and Gunn to their feet, "you could have left some for me."
Faith's face darkened. "Don't like people threatening my babies."
"Count me off baby-sitting duties," Gunn muttered under his breath. He preferred saving the world to that particular terrifying responsibility, he so didn't want to be charge of the kids when something went wrong. "Shall we ask our questions?" he asked in a louder voice.
"Gunn," Faith beamed, "I like you, you're plan guy."
"So what's the plan?" Xander whispered. Not there was much point, he was sure that anyone in the vicinity would be able to hear his pounding heart.
"Plan is you and Giles follow Wes up to Wolfe's office while I create a decoy," Angel muttered.
"That's it?" Xander's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're hardly Eisenhower are you?"
Angel shrugged. "We're sort of working on the fly here Xander."
"Fine," Xander groaned. "Lead on Wesley."
"I beg your pardon," Wesley commented, "I though it was lead on MacDuff."
"Two English comics," Xander muttered, "why couldn't I get the Two Ronnies? Oh no, I ended up with Giles and Pryce."
"Blood Brotherhood?" the man gasped on account of Faith's shapely knee crushing his larynx. Gunn watched her work with interest and more than a little queasiness, he was just glad he hadn't been around when she'd gone bad because if this was her when she was good.... "I don't know no Blood Brotherhood."
"Okay," Faith nodded before grabbing hold of the nose the Slayer had broken when the man had attempted to pull a knife and twisting. The man screamed. "Then let's try the Apocalypse Foundation."
"Hear rumours they've hired some mercs but I don't know who or why."
"See," Faith beamed before giving the man a friendly slap across his face, "now you're getting the idea. I knew you couldn't be as dumb as you looked even after pulling that knife on me. You see," the girl leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, "I have 'faith' in people. Buffy here," the man's eyes widened at the naming of the legendary blonde Slayer, "thought you were too dumb to talk. Although," the Bostonian shook her head, "it wasn't very smart trying to play the tough guy was it, not with a roomful of Slayers? Now one last question – you heard anything about a gang calling themselves the Kalian Order?"
"There's a mob in some offices down Mercer Avenue, moved there about ten months ago -."
"About the time Wood," Gunn noted Faith's slight flinch at Buffy's mention of the brunette's treacherous ex-boyfriend, "turned up in Sunnydale. It fits."
Faith nodded, all semblance of humour leaving her face. Man, Gunn just hoped that one of them got to Wood before Faith, they'd just kill him, she'd dissect the bastard – not that he didn't deserve it, but he shouldn't be the scumbag that pulled Faith back into the darkness she'd crawled out of. "The address?" she snapped.
Rona looked up at the demon, confusion warring with suspicion, she didn't care what Bufy said, in her book a demon was a demon, no distinction. "What's up?"
"No time!" Lorne babbled. "We're in more trouble than David Gest at a Liza Minnelli fan convention! We've got to leave -."
Suddenly the window behind her shattered and a black-suited intruder rappelled in. Instantly Rona threw Hope to Lorne. "Get them out!"
Spinning round, she snatched at the soldier's sub-machine, directing its muzzle to the ceiling before slamming a right into his throat and a knee into his groin. The thug dropped soundlessly to the ground.
Seeing the room filling with more soldiers, she leapt into the air, grabbed onto the room's light fitting and somersaulted behind the troops, her feet crashing into the heads of two as she did so. Even as a third turned towards her, she snapped out a heel, shattering the man's knee. Seeing another's gun raise towards her, she dived for the balcony only for her head to explode in pain and then nothing.
Angel smiled as he looked down through the air vent grille and to the three suited security guards watching the CCTV system. It made for the perfect diversion, not only would an attack here alert every security guard in the building, thus drawing them from their posts, it also gave him a chance to destroy the entire video surveillance system giving Wes and the others a free run at finding and dealing with Wolfe. Angel's expression soured, he just wished it could be him doing the deed, Wes and Giles had too much blood on their hands already, and Xander shouldn't be corrupted in such a manner. Shaking his malaise away, Angel leapt through the grille. "Showtime!"
Landing behind the three guards, he grabbed the nearest by the back of his head and drove him face-first into the control panel, splattering blood all over the desk, the next he grabbed by his collar and belt, and flung into the wall of monitors. The third he simply head-butted into unconsciousness. A grin on his face, he reached under the desk and pressed the alarm before climbing up onto the ceiling. "Hope they hurry," he muttered. "I forgot to set the video for Friends."
"Uncle Lorne, what's happening!" Lex cried.
"I don't know sweet pea!" Lorne replied, struggling to keep his voice calm for the children. The terrible images he'd seen, those two sweet girls murdered, well nothing, he glanced down at the children tucked under his arms, was going to happen to them. Faith had suffered too much in her young life, nobody was taking her children away from her. And that Xander seemed liked a fine young man. "But don't worry," he gasped through wheezing lungs. "Uncle Lor-."
A man stepped out of the shadows, raised a pistol and fired. The bullet slammed into his upper chest, tearing through flesh and bone and sending him crashing to the ground. His last thought before he passed out was he'd failed to protect the children.
"Uncle Lorne!" Lex screamed in shock as he hit the floor beside the singing demon, the hole in his chest seeming crater-sized. People were always dying around him and his sister – their first parents, then Auntie Rona and Auntie Vi, and now Uncle Lorne. Screaming his anger he jumped up and ran at the naughty man who'd shot his uncle.
The man laughed scarily before smashing the side of his gun into his head. His head swimming with pain, he fell to the floor.
"Don't hurt them," Trent instructed as he stepped out of the shadows, barely able to prevent a well-earned smirk from surfacing. Everything had gone swimmingly. An hour ago their surveillance team had informed them that three groups of people had left the hotel, leaving the children with only minimal protection. Not very smart. He'd expected better of the renowned Rupert Giles.
Still, the two Slayers they'd left behind had accounted for seven of his men between them. Newly called too, if they'd had a chance to be seasoned they could have been truly fearsome. He chuckled, but they wouldn't get the chance now.
"My mommy's gonna get you!"
He smiled at the young girl's threat. "Oh I do so hope Faith comes to call," he smiled at the thought of getting his hands on the beautiful brunette. He'd never had a jailbird before – there was a delicious seediness to the idea. His smile faded, time for pleasure later. "Bring them out to the car."
Wolfe looked up as his office door flew open under a heavy kick and a trio of men strode in. He recognised them all from their extensive files. The oldest of the three was Rupert 'Ripper' Giles, new Council head and former black arts mage that W&H's London branch had considered recruiting in the mid seventies, Wesley Whyndham-Pryce, Angel's right-hand man, and Xander Harris, friend and confidante to Buffy Summers and the father of the Kalian prophecy children. Heart racing, he lunged for his desk alarm.
"Oh I don't bloody think so!" He screamed as Pryce shoved a knife through his hand, pinning it to the desk. "Our friend Angel has your security distracted, they really have their hands full, it wouldn't be fair of you to distract them."
"I have money," he babbled, more scared than he'd been in centuries. "Mr. Giles, the Watchers Council's Library was destroyed in the First's attack on you, I can replace every book you lost, and more. Mr. Harris," he turned to the stony-eyed father. "We have the best surgeons, healers that are normally available to our most exclusive clients. Healers that could have your eye back in a -."
The youth's fist collided with his mouth, snapping his head back. "You think you can buy me off with an eye. You think I'd sell my kids down the river for a fucking eye?" the boy almost-snarled. At this point Wolfe could almost believe the story in the files about the young man once being possessed by a hyena, there was something animalistic about him. Wolfe's blood chilled as the youth reached inside his jacket and pulled out a gleaming hand-ax. He opened his mouth to protest.
Xander smiled at the terror in the lawyer's eyes, how many innocents had this bastard terrorised, before sending the ax slicing through the man's neck, his blood splattering the window behind. Next he pulled out a zippo and set the now decapitated corpse on fire. "No resurrection for you," he muttered.
"Damn it Xander!" Giles spun him round to face him, the Englishman's face furious. "I've killed before, you shouldn't have done this!"
"My children, my responsibility," he replied before turning to a strangely expressionless Wesley. The younger Watcher had changed, back in Sunnydale he'd have been throwing up. "You best call Angel."
"Get them in the car," Trent ordered. Soon, his organisation would be the most powerful in the occult world.
"I'd rather they came with me," a strong voice intoned in his left ear. Trent opened his mouth to scream as a hand grabbed his throat and his neck erupted in pain but only a croak escaped.
Lord Pain beamed as he dropped the corpse, his fangs dripping blood onto the cold pavement. He looked around to find the corpses of the special forces soldiers similarly littering the pavement. It had been most fortunate, the other group arriving and dealing with the Slayers for them. A smile on his face, he turned to his minions holding the children. "Load them into the van."
"You can't have them."
Lord Pain turned to see a scrawny male teen stood in the alleyway behind his men, holding a pair of stakes. Pain's brow furrowed in puzzlement. He didn't know this youth, hadn't seen him with Angelus' group. "And who might you be?"
"Connor, son of Angelus and Darla," the boy's eyes shone with an untameable ferocity. "You can't have them."
He smiled as he heard the little girl ask the female warrior if Lorne would sing for them. He hoped the green-skinned demon would, he'd always found a sort of peace when Lorne sang. His brow furrowed as an unpleasant and very familiar smell reached his nose. "Vampires," he growled deep in his throat. They wouldn't be allowed to hurt the children. Turning, he leapt from the fire escape to the ground below. It was time for The Destroyer to hunt again.
"How sure are you that these tunnels lead to Wolfram & Hart?"
Wesley fought back the urge to slap Xander for repeating the question for what seemed like the hundredth time. "They did when Lillah told me about them six months ago," he replied with a patience that was rapidly running out.
"Right," the youth nodded, "but they've changed bosses since then. On account of the fact of the last bosses being killed?"
Wesley bit back a groan. Why couldn't he have been assigned to one of the other teams. Oh yes, that was it, his special relationship with Lillah. Oh joy, the liaison that just kept on giving. "Xander," Giles' tired tone indicated his fellow country-man was growing as frustrated with the conversation as he was, "this is the best lead we have. After all, only Angel has an eternity to spare."
Finally the youth sighed. "Sorry, just wigged out about my kids."
Giles nodded and squeezed the Scooby's shoulder. "I quite understand son. Now," Giles smiled coldly, "it's time to do a good deed and thin a few lawyers from the herd." The new Council head turned to Angel. "Angel, the grille?"
"Are you a follower of Quart's theory of Magic?" Kennedy heard Fred ask Willow, the two women just ahead of her.
Willow shook her head. "No," her girlfriend replied, "I believe in the teachings of Jonas."
"Oh but wasn't he disproved by Letish in the 700s?"
"Ah," Willow trilled back, "there's an interesting story about that!"
Kennedy fought back at a sigh, she doubted the story was very interesting at all. She loved Willow with all her heart but put her together with another nerd and things went downhill fast. Her eyes widened as Fred suddenly twisted to one side, raised her pistol crossbow and fired. A second later there was a cry and the sound of exploding dust. "Lordy but I hate vampires," Fred stopped for a second, "except for Angel of course," she babbled, "not only 'cause he's got a soul and all, but also because he's my boss and he saved me from Pylea. You know when we got back from Pylea I had this giant crush on him for the longest time, he's so -."
"I get the idea Fred," Willow interrupted. Kennedy hid a grin, maybe there was more to the shy Texan than first appeared.
"Girl likes her work don't she?" Gunn commented, his eyes widening as Faith lifted a fur-covered demon about six times her weight and threw it into the far wall, the demon's bones crunching on impact. In the two minutes since they'd entered, Faith had dusted six vampires, decapitated three demons, and injured another ten. All making him feel very redundant.
Beside him Buffy nodded. "Faith takes a pride in her wo-," suddenly the blonde grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the ground, just as another demon hurtled through the air above them. "Faith!" the blonde screamed angrily. "That nearly hit us!"
The curvy brunette looked over her shoulder and winked cockily. "Just giving you a head's up B," the Slayer smirked, "head's up, get it B?"
"Very funny," Buffy replied, her face tight, "he's getting away."
Faith glanced towards the bartender heading towards the back door. "You sure about that B?" grabbing a ball from a near-by pool table she flung it into the back of the bartender's head, he dropped soundlessly to the floor. "Looks like he's going no-where to me."
"Always with the smugness," Buffy muttered as she pulled herself and Gunn to their feet, "you could have left some for me."
Faith's face darkened. "Don't like people threatening my babies."
"Count me off baby-sitting duties," Gunn muttered under his breath. He preferred saving the world to that particular terrifying responsibility, he so didn't want to be charge of the kids when something went wrong. "Shall we ask our questions?" he asked in a louder voice.
"Gunn," Faith beamed, "I like you, you're plan guy."
"So what's the plan?" Xander whispered. Not there was much point, he was sure that anyone in the vicinity would be able to hear his pounding heart.
"Plan is you and Giles follow Wes up to Wolfe's office while I create a decoy," Angel muttered.
"That's it?" Xander's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're hardly Eisenhower are you?"
Angel shrugged. "We're sort of working on the fly here Xander."
"Fine," Xander groaned. "Lead on Wesley."
"I beg your pardon," Wesley commented, "I though it was lead on MacDuff."
"Two English comics," Xander muttered, "why couldn't I get the Two Ronnies? Oh no, I ended up with Giles and Pryce."
"Blood Brotherhood?" the man gasped on account of Faith's shapely knee crushing his larynx. Gunn watched her work with interest and more than a little queasiness, he was just glad he hadn't been around when she'd gone bad because if this was her when she was good.... "I don't know no Blood Brotherhood."
"Okay," Faith nodded before grabbing hold of the nose the Slayer had broken when the man had attempted to pull a knife and twisting. The man screamed. "Then let's try the Apocalypse Foundation."
"Hear rumours they've hired some mercs but I don't know who or why."
"See," Faith beamed before giving the man a friendly slap across his face, "now you're getting the idea. I knew you couldn't be as dumb as you looked even after pulling that knife on me. You see," the girl leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, "I have 'faith' in people. Buffy here," the man's eyes widened at the naming of the legendary blonde Slayer, "thought you were too dumb to talk. Although," the Bostonian shook her head, "it wasn't very smart trying to play the tough guy was it, not with a roomful of Slayers? Now one last question – you heard anything about a gang calling themselves the Kalian Order?"
"There's a mob in some offices down Mercer Avenue, moved there about ten months ago -."
"About the time Wood," Gunn noted Faith's slight flinch at Buffy's mention of the brunette's treacherous ex-boyfriend, "turned up in Sunnydale. It fits."
Faith nodded, all semblance of humour leaving her face. Man, Gunn just hoped that one of them got to Wood before Faith, they'd just kill him, she'd dissect the bastard – not that he didn't deserve it, but he shouldn't be the scumbag that pulled Faith back into the darkness she'd crawled out of. "The address?" she snapped.
Rona looked up at the demon, confusion warring with suspicion, she didn't care what Bufy said, in her book a demon was a demon, no distinction. "What's up?"
"No time!" Lorne babbled. "We're in more trouble than David Gest at a Liza Minnelli fan convention! We've got to leave -."
Suddenly the window behind her shattered and a black-suited intruder rappelled in. Instantly Rona threw Hope to Lorne. "Get them out!"
Spinning round, she snatched at the soldier's sub-machine, directing its muzzle to the ceiling before slamming a right into his throat and a knee into his groin. The thug dropped soundlessly to the ground.
Seeing the room filling with more soldiers, she leapt into the air, grabbed onto the room's light fitting and somersaulted behind the troops, her feet crashing into the heads of two as she did so. Even as a third turned towards her, she snapped out a heel, shattering the man's knee. Seeing another's gun raise towards her, she dived for the balcony only for her head to explode in pain and then nothing.
Angel smiled as he looked down through the air vent grille and to the three suited security guards watching the CCTV system. It made for the perfect diversion, not only would an attack here alert every security guard in the building, thus drawing them from their posts, it also gave him a chance to destroy the entire video surveillance system giving Wes and the others a free run at finding and dealing with Wolfe. Angel's expression soured, he just wished it could be him doing the deed, Wes and Giles had too much blood on their hands already, and Xander shouldn't be corrupted in such a manner. Shaking his malaise away, Angel leapt through the grille. "Showtime!"
Landing behind the three guards, he grabbed the nearest by the back of his head and drove him face-first into the control panel, splattering blood all over the desk, the next he grabbed by his collar and belt, and flung into the wall of monitors. The third he simply head-butted into unconsciousness. A grin on his face, he reached under the desk and pressed the alarm before climbing up onto the ceiling. "Hope they hurry," he muttered. "I forgot to set the video for Friends."
"Uncle Lorne, what's happening!" Lex cried.
"I don't know sweet pea!" Lorne replied, struggling to keep his voice calm for the children. The terrible images he'd seen, those two sweet girls murdered, well nothing, he glanced down at the children tucked under his arms, was going to happen to them. Faith had suffered too much in her young life, nobody was taking her children away from her. And that Xander seemed liked a fine young man. "But don't worry," he gasped through wheezing lungs. "Uncle Lor-."
A man stepped out of the shadows, raised a pistol and fired. The bullet slammed into his upper chest, tearing through flesh and bone and sending him crashing to the ground. His last thought before he passed out was he'd failed to protect the children.
"Uncle Lorne!" Lex screamed in shock as he hit the floor beside the singing demon, the hole in his chest seeming crater-sized. People were always dying around him and his sister – their first parents, then Auntie Rona and Auntie Vi, and now Uncle Lorne. Screaming his anger he jumped up and ran at the naughty man who'd shot his uncle.
The man laughed scarily before smashing the side of his gun into his head. His head swimming with pain, he fell to the floor.
"Don't hurt them," Trent instructed as he stepped out of the shadows, barely able to prevent a well-earned smirk from surfacing. Everything had gone swimmingly. An hour ago their surveillance team had informed them that three groups of people had left the hotel, leaving the children with only minimal protection. Not very smart. He'd expected better of the renowned Rupert Giles.
Still, the two Slayers they'd left behind had accounted for seven of his men between them. Newly called too, if they'd had a chance to be seasoned they could have been truly fearsome. He chuckled, but they wouldn't get the chance now.
"My mommy's gonna get you!"
He smiled at the young girl's threat. "Oh I do so hope Faith comes to call," he smiled at the thought of getting his hands on the beautiful brunette. He'd never had a jailbird before – there was a delicious seediness to the idea. His smile faded, time for pleasure later. "Bring them out to the car."
Wolfe looked up as his office door flew open under a heavy kick and a trio of men strode in. He recognised them all from their extensive files. The oldest of the three was Rupert 'Ripper' Giles, new Council head and former black arts mage that W&H's London branch had considered recruiting in the mid seventies, Wesley Whyndham-Pryce, Angel's right-hand man, and Xander Harris, friend and confidante to Buffy Summers and the father of the Kalian prophecy children. Heart racing, he lunged for his desk alarm.
"Oh I don't bloody think so!" He screamed as Pryce shoved a knife through his hand, pinning it to the desk. "Our friend Angel has your security distracted, they really have their hands full, it wouldn't be fair of you to distract them."
"I have money," he babbled, more scared than he'd been in centuries. "Mr. Giles, the Watchers Council's Library was destroyed in the First's attack on you, I can replace every book you lost, and more. Mr. Harris," he turned to the stony-eyed father. "We have the best surgeons, healers that are normally available to our most exclusive clients. Healers that could have your eye back in a -."
The youth's fist collided with his mouth, snapping his head back. "You think you can buy me off with an eye. You think I'd sell my kids down the river for a fucking eye?" the boy almost-snarled. At this point Wolfe could almost believe the story in the files about the young man once being possessed by a hyena, there was something animalistic about him. Wolfe's blood chilled as the youth reached inside his jacket and pulled out a gleaming hand-ax. He opened his mouth to protest.
Xander smiled at the terror in the lawyer's eyes, how many innocents had this bastard terrorised, before sending the ax slicing through the man's neck, his blood splattering the window behind. Next he pulled out a zippo and set the now decapitated corpse on fire. "No resurrection for you," he muttered.
"Damn it Xander!" Giles spun him round to face him, the Englishman's face furious. "I've killed before, you shouldn't have done this!"
"My children, my responsibility," he replied before turning to a strangely expressionless Wesley. The younger Watcher had changed, back in Sunnydale he'd have been throwing up. "You best call Angel."
"Get them in the car," Trent ordered. Soon, his organisation would be the most powerful in the occult world.
"I'd rather they came with me," a strong voice intoned in his left ear. Trent opened his mouth to scream as a hand grabbed his throat and his neck erupted in pain but only a croak escaped.
Lord Pain beamed as he dropped the corpse, his fangs dripping blood onto the cold pavement. He looked around to find the corpses of the special forces soldiers similarly littering the pavement. It had been most fortunate, the other group arriving and dealing with the Slayers for them. A smile on his face, he turned to his minions holding the children. "Load them into the van."
"You can't have them."
Lord Pain turned to see a scrawny male teen stood in the alleyway behind his men, holding a pair of stakes. Pain's brow furrowed in puzzlement. He didn't know this youth, hadn't seen him with Angelus' group. "And who might you be?"
"Connor, son of Angelus and Darla," the boy's eyes shone with an untameable ferocity. "You can't have them."