Chapter Five

Susie, Susie

As was the "norm" in Angel Investigations, when Angel was away, the children would play… and when the vampire came down to the lobby, they certainly were.

"Do you always have to argue when I leave?" he asked, staring intently at Gunn and Cordelia, who were in a heated battle of wits.

"And if we do?" Cordy demanded, her hands on her hips.

"We have work to do," the boss told her quietly.

"Aw' right!" Gunn grabbed his axe from a table. "So what demons do we get to slay tonight?"

"As of now… none," Angel said. He jingled Rae's keys loudly. "Gunn, go down the street to the alley where we found Rae—"

"Rae?" Wesley looked up from his intellectual conversation with Fred. Gunn, Fred, and Wesley all watched Angel with keen interest and some curiosity. "I thought her name was Ella."

"Isabella Winters was my sister," the blond let him know from the second floor landing.

"Oh, my, I didn't see you up there," the Englishman apologized. "Was?"

"Yes, was," Rae smiled gently. "She was killed by a vampire several years ago. It… really… it's in the past now."

"Oh, dear…" Wesley looked away uncomfortably. The topic of victims slain by vampires was all too familiar with him as well as with everyone else in the room.

"I'm so sorry!" Fred exclaimed. "If there's anything… anything I can do…"

"Really, honestly," Rae insisted. "It's all in the past now. I'm fine, really. But can I say the same for you… Wesley, isn't it?"

"What—"

"You were the one who was thrown through the second floor window last night, weren't you?" the blond inquired of the Englishman.

"Well, technically…" Wesley shifted uncomfortably and readjusted his glasses on his nose. "Yes, yes, I was."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, really I'm fine," he assured her. "Nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises… and a very sore back… and my shoulders are stiff."

"Can you walk upstairs?" she asked suddenly.

"Well, yes, I can," he looked up at her with mild confusion and Cordy held in a burst of laughter.

"Come upstairs," Rae smiled widely at him. "I'm good at giving massages, I can get the stiff out of those shoulders of yours in a jiffy."

"Really? That would be wonderful."

"Of course I can. Come on up. Angel's put me in room 210 for the moment anyway," she informed him and turned away from the landing.
"Do you like tea?" Wes called after her.

"Who doesn't?"

"I'll bring the tea!" he told her brightly. "I'll bring the tea and you bring your hands… oh… yes, that really didn't come out right… I'm leaving now."

Cordelia burst into short fits of laughter as soon as the Englishman left the room to go fetch some tea. Gunn stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You really find that funny, don't you?" he asked the brunette.

"Yep!" Cordy nodded, her face alight with a warm smile and her hands clasped behind her back. She looked stunning in a printed yellow shirt and fashionable jeans, her long hair pulled back halfway.

"Now, see, I didn' really—"

"As I was saying," Angel interrupted Gunn quickly, knowing full well that he and Cordelia could go on for sometime. "Go down by the alley last night where we found Rae. Somewhere around there should be her car. Find it and park it in front of the hotel. Bring in whatever belongings she has and bring them up to her room."

"If I don't break up Englishman's love session when I come back," the black man muttered with a shake of his head. "What kind of car is it?"

"I don't know. Press the alarm button," Angel offered and tossed the keys to Gunn, who glared at the vampire.

"Do you realize how many parked cars there are between here and the next two streets, man?" he demanded. "It could be any of a hundred cars!"

"Have fun," the vampire said sincerely and crossed to behind the desk, where he reached into the refrigerator and came out with a sack of blood. "Gunn? Get going."

"I'm on it boss," Gunn growled and stormed out.

Fifteen minutes later found Gunn staring up and down the street by the alley for any car that might have lacked an owner for the night… and he wasn't having any luck. There weren't any rental cars between this street and the next so obviously she owned the car but that didn't help him any, either. He could take a car here or there off his list after their owners returned to them and drove away. He stared down in annoyance at keys in the palm of his hand.

"Here goes nothing," he sighed. Closing his eyes, he pressed the button. Seconds later he jumped as an alarm blared ungodly loud in the air, disturbing the general L.A. nightlife peace. This horn was so loud it could have awoken the dead… that is, if they weren't already awake to start with.

Gunn searched left and right until he saw a car's taillights flashing and his eyes brightened. He sauntered up to the car and pressed the panic button a second time, turning the alarm off. Longingly, his hand traveled over the fine exterior of wonderchick's car and he found himself thanking Angel for giving him this job.

"Come to papa, sweet thing, come to papa," he murmured. "I'm goin' to buy Angel the fattest, ripest pig I can find in L.A. for lettin' me drive this thing."

Gunn burst into Angel Investigations grinning from ear to ear despite the light load of suitcases he carried in from her car. He tossed them onto the floor and gave Angel a look that said, "Come here, big ol' vamp, I wanna hug you". The vampire closed his file and took a step back.

"She has the sweetest, coolest, hottest—"

"I get it, it's a good car," Angel nodded, his brow knit together some. He cringed at the look that Gunn still gave him.

"Are you kiddin' me?" he exclaimed. "She's got black Pontiac Firebird convertible out there! I can't believe I actually drove it!"

"It's good, then?"

"Good? Good?" Gunn demanded ludicrously. "Do you not know nothin' 'bout cars, man? She's got a sweet ride out there! And I got to drive it!"

"Alright, already," Cordelia simpered in irritation. "We get the point already. It's a sweet car. Bring her bags upstairs."

"Her and Englishman ain't up to nothin', are they?" Gunn asked with disgust. "'Cause if they are, I ain't goin' up there."

"No, her and Englishman are not up to anything," Wesley indignantly informed him, stepping out from his office. "She and I are perfectly through. She is a wonderful masseuse. You must have her give you a massage if you get the chance. She's simply wonderful."

"Hm," Angel forced a smile and walked away without a word.

"What's eatin' him?" Gunn questioned at the boss's curious behavior.

"He's not really that happy with her staying here," Cordelia told him quietly. "You see, her sister was killed by Drusilla and she wants to kill Drusilla so I think he's feeling guilty being he sired Drusilla and all."

"Right, he's screwed," the black man shrugged and picked up the bags again. "Well, on that happy note. I'm goin' upstairs to bring wonderchick her bags."

"I think she's in the shower," Wesley offered. "But she said she was leaving her door unlocked."

"Got it," Gunn nodded and trampled up the stairs with bags under his arms and feeling as if he had bags coming out of his ears. Sure they were light bags, but there were still a lot of them.

At her door, he managed to open the door and carelessly fumbled one bag onto her floor. From the bathroom, where the door was more than cracked open, he could see steam rising and heard her melodious singing come to an abrupt halt as she heard the crash of the bag.

"Hello? Is someone in here?" she called, her tone nervous.

"Uh, yeah," he responded. "It's me, Gunn, just droppin' off your bags for you."

"So I'm guessing you found Susie?" she asked conversationally over the sound of rushing water from the showerhead. He heard the shower stop and the sound of the shower curtain being pushed aside. From where he stood, his head cocked with interest, he could see a slender golden leg come to rest on the lid of the toilet as she dried it lazily.

"Su… Susie?" he stammered, attempting to control himself.

"Yes, my car."

"O… oh! That Susie! Boy, that Susie's a beauty out there," Gunn smiled to himself as he watched her towel off the other leg at the same slow, taunting rate. "I brought up all your bags for you. You want them any place special?"

"No, the floor's fine."

"Cool," he nodded, even though she couldn't see him but he could definitely see her. He leaned toward the bathroom a bit as he watched her slim curves be wrapped into a plush white towel courtesy of Angel. He knew he shouldn't be peeping in on her like he was… but he just couldn't help himself. "You have a trunk in your backseat of your car—"

"Leave it there!" she snapped quickly. "Don't touch it. No one is to touch that trunk, do you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand, wonderchick, I understand," he answered as he finally pulled himself out of the room before she could respond. Closing the door, he sighed to himself, "God, she is one hot mama!"