"Will you all please-." Giles cleared his throat and surveyed the chaos around him. "I'm sure if we all
just-." His voice was a little louder, but still no match for the yelling that bounced off the warehouse
walls. Everyone was talking at once. Insults and accusations rebounded off one another, as each person
tried to talk louder than the rest.
So this was why they were separated in two different towns and by several hours. It was all coming
back to him with vivid clarity. At one time he'd chalked it up to adolescent hormones. The bickering
and name calling. But now he knew better. It was astounding that they ever got anything done in the
past.
With a loud sigh of disgust, Giles placed two fingers up to his mouth and whistled loud enough to make
everyone snap their mouths shut and look over at him in surprise.
"I don't see why we don't do this more often." He replied dryly. His eyes shooting daggers over to
Buffy who was about to open her mouth again and interrupt. "I trust that I don't need to remind you
that we don't have much time to waste?"
Everyone nodded silently. Their faces downward in shame, but not letting the reprimand stop the
irritated looks they sent one another from beneath their lashes.
"Angel, you said your contact was going to meet us here?" Turning to the vampire, Giles took off his
glasses and started cleaning the already spotless lenses. Once again it seemed he'd been cast in the role
to keep everyone on track. Though it was a nostalgic blast from the past, he'd really been holding onto
the hope that they'd be able to proceed with the maturity they'd should have gained over the last four
years. Silly him.
"He said he'd be here around seven." Angel answered, his tone flat. Letting everyone know just how
much trust he put into said person.
"I still say we should find Tess and grab her. At least then she's out of danger until we know how to fix
her." Pushing herself away from the pole she'd been leaning against, Buffy's hands went immediately to
her hips in a defensive posture. Glaring at whoever disagreed with her.
"I'm with blondie on this." Gunn added his voice, trying to brush off the hot glares of Angel and
Cordelia. "We don't know who else is in on this. Why wait?"
"Because we'd scare the you know what out of her." Willow fired back. Her emerald green eyes filled
with concern. "I think she's been through enough already."
Wesley sighed. "But what if we don't do anything and Wolfram and Hart gets to her first. None of you
know how dangerous these people are. They're resourceful. Evil. And willing to do anything to win. If
they have the slightest inkling we're aware of Tess's whereabouts, the situation could become dire. I
don't think I'm out of line when I say that we should be expecting the town to be over run with
Wolfram and Hart employees... and not the human kind."
"That is if they aren't already here. I mean Lindsey did say that he's already tried talking to one that
lives here." Fred's voice was barely above a whisper. But her concern was enough to catch everyone's
attention. "I think we should find her."
"They're right." A voice startled everyone from the dark. Footsteps could be heard echoing against the
concrete floor until the stranger stepped out of the shadows. "Your friend is in danger. Wolfram and
Hart have been working on this project for years. They aren't going to let the ball drop, not now when
they're so close."
"McDonald." Angel's growl rumbled through his chest.
"Angel." Lindsey's dark look matched the vampires. "If I said it's great to see you it'd be lie."
Deliberately stepping between the two men, Giles took a deep breath and gave Angel a warning glance.
"Thank you Mr. McDonald. What you have done for us is...there is no way I can express my
gratitude."
Lindsey shuffled his feet in place. Looking extremely uncomfortable under Giles's steady stare. The
muscle on his jaw line twitched. "You don't need to thank me." Seeing that the older gentleman was
prepared to argue, Lindsey held up his hands to stop him. "Trust me."
"Listen to him Rupert. The last thing he deserves is our gratitude. Do you McDonald?" Stepping
forward, his eyes held the anger he felt for the ex-lawyer.
"Do you want my help or not?" His attention zeroed in on Angel, Lindsey stepped past
Giles. He could handle Angel's holier than thou attitude. Was used to it. But he wasn't going to stand in
a room filled with strangers and have Angel humiliate him. "Cause if not? There was cute little down in
Charleston I wouldn't mind visiting again."
"Do I want your help? To have to trust that you aren't screwing us over? No. But I don't have much of
a choice here, now do I? A friend of ours is depending on us and we aren't going to fail her. Even if it
means working with you on this."
"Angel, I'm going to tell you this once. Back the hell off. I don't want to be here either. I was just fine
before the Powers decided to stick their distorted halos into my life." Lindsey was now standing toe to
toe with Angel. He didn't allow Angel's intimidating height get to him. Neither man looked ready to
back down, their fists clenched. Bodies tight with hostility.
"Down boys." Putting a hand on each man's chest and pushing them apart, Cordelia positioned herself
smack dab in-between them. "As much fun as it is to watch the two of you duel it out in a pissing
contest... Can we just get this over with? " Giving both males the look instilled in all women to bring out
the little boy in all men, Cordelia waited until each gave a silent nod.
"Angel as much as you dislike Lindsey, he has proved to be a decent ally at times." Wesley's voice
faltered and his face turned beet-red under Angel's hostel glare. "Well when he wasn't blowing up our
offices and putting us in the hospital."
"Or bringing back ex-girlfriends or trying to drive Angel insane." Gunn mumbled.
"But he helped with those blind kids." Cordelia offered, her smile wobbled slightly. "Of course he
ended up getting a rise and a corner office."
Lindsey looked over at the brunette with a wondrous look, that soured instantly. "I don't need or want
your help Cordelia."
With a huff, Cordelia turned on her heal and glared at her old rival. "Good to hear it, because you-you
weak pathetic little worm" Jabbing her finger to his chest with each word, Cordelia's eyes turned cold.
"are the last person I would ever help. You aren't even a blip on my radar. You don't register, don't
count. You are spam. Are you seeing a pattern here? I'm worried about Angel snapping your neck.
You're the only person who knows how to help Tess. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"Alrighty then." Xander's eyes were wide. "There's the Queen C we all know and love."
"Unless of course you're the unfortunate target for her wrath." Buffy grinned.
"Lindsey lets start at the beginning, shall we?" Giles rubbed at his temple. Hoping to ease some of the
pain that was starting to build up there.
"I found out about Tess my first year with the firm." Lindsey looked down at his hands and let out a
long sigh. "It was her junior year in high school. Her parents came to the firm hoping we could help their
daughter."
"Her parents?" A group of voices bounced off the warehouse walls.
"Yeah." Nodding his head, Lindsey cleared his throat. "They had heard about us through one of Mr.
Walker's associates. They knew we represented and helped... things that normal everyday people have
never heard about. To be fair I really don't think they had any idea what they were getting themselves
into."
"Her parents made mine look like the parents of the year." Xander's brows drew together. "I knew the
Walker's were evil."
"They wanted us to make Tess forget about her calling. To block out everything she knew. To become
the daughter they had always of dreamed her being."
"But instead they delivered her to the devil." Shaking his head, Angel didn't know who he was angrier
with. Tess's less than stellar parents, or Wolfram and Hart.
"On a silver platter no less." Bitting down on her lip, Willow sat down on an empty crate. "With a big
ole apple in her mouth and...Done talking now."
Lindsey looked over at the redhead and nodded. "Yeah something like that."
"But that was our junior year. Why did Wolfram and Hart wait a year?" Buffy sat down next to Willow.
"They didn't see the need to do anything. The Walker's were very well off, but they were hard
pressed to come up with the down payment the senior partners were demanding. Instead some people
were assigned to look into Tess and her group of friends she hung out with. This is how they were able
to locate Angel. Once the news got back to the senior partners that Tess was good friends with the
souled vamp they'd been searching for, the down payment was overlooked and plans were made."
Silence filled the air, as everyone absorbed what was being said.
"So it was my fault that she was taken." It wasn't so much of a question, than it was a statement.
Turning his back on the group, Angel stared off. Not knowing how to deal with the information he was
hearing.
"That's not entirely true." Lindsey said. "Sooner or later they would've figured out a way to use Tess. If
it means anything to you, not everything went as planned."
"How so?" Wesley asked.
"For one, she was supposed to be taken well before graduation. But when Faith turned traitor they had
to step back, wait it out."
"Okay I'm lost. Why would an evil law firm care whether or not a slayer went psycho? Wouldn't they
see that as a great time to zoom in and take Tess? When the troops are weak." Cordelia's tone was
doubtful. "They're evil. I'd think that they'd get their rocks off because of the problems we were
facing."
Telling himself not to look over in her direction, Lindsey couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her.
"Wolfram and Hart was a different place before you and Angel came to town." Seeing the disbelief in
her chocolate orbs. "They weren't so quick to jump the gun back then. At one time they actually would
think things out before reacting. If Tess were to be taken too soon, the balance would've been thrown
off. The mayor would've ascended, the battle would've been lost. They couldn't let Mayor succeeded
with his plans it would ruin Wolfram and Harts long term goal. So instead they kept Tess with all of you
until it was over."
"Keeping her in Sunnydale kept the scales even." Thinking out loud, Giles nodded. "Without Tess we
would've been hard pressed."
"That's why they waited. When it was apparent that the battle was won, they made their move."
Buffy's eyes widened. "There were no students."
"What?" Angel asked.
"She turned around and went back to the chemistry lab. She had said she saw some students hiding out
in there." Tears formed in her eyes. Whipping her head in Lindsey's direction, her face twisted in pain.
"Do you know how many times I've woken in the middle of the night screaming because of that day?
Knowing that I should've stopped her." Jumping off the crate Buffy advanced on Lindsey. "I have
blamed myself for her death for over four years."
"Buffy." Stepping behind his ex, Angel placed his hands on her shoulders. "Let him finish."
"Actually we had two of our people waiting in there. We figured if the slayers made it to the hallway in
front of the library..." Talking of the situation as though he were talking about the weather, Lindsey ran
a hand through his sandy brown hair. "I can tell you, she didn't come easily."
"Can we get a big group 'we could give a damn' chant here." Xander glared over at the ex-lawyer.
"You messed with us. With our friend's life. If you weren't the only person that could help Tess right
now I'd kick your ass...or at least let Buffy do it for me."
Lindsey understood the hostility the younger man was feeling. On nights that he'd allow himself to
reflect back he felt the same way. But he tried hard not to remember. Bourbon. Tequila. Jack Daniels.
It didn't matter what he used or how far he ran. Sooner or later it always come back to him. "I might let
you when this is all done."
"What?" The pretty redhead who'd been watching him intently looked confused.
"You all have to remember that I was still relatively new to the firm. I had been so sure I'd known what
I was getting myself into. Had no idea what the senior partners were capable of. I wasn't prepared.
None of us were really."
Angel watched as Lindsey's features soften. Making him look younger, more vulnerable. "Who else
was working on this?"
"Me, Lilah Morgan and Ric Lansing. They were testing us." Shaking his head, Lindsey rubbed at his
eyes. "And we failed miserably."
"How did you fail? We thought she was dead." Dropping his hands, Lindsey watched as Cordelia's
bottom lip quivered. "There was a funeral. A headstone. Trust me Lindsey, you didn't fail. Your firm
was the reason the group split up."
"Cordelia, it may have looked like Wolfram and Hart succeeded, but like I said. Things didn't go the
way the seniors had planned. They wanted to twist her mind. To taint her to the point that she didn't
resemble the girl you all knew. Cared about. Instead of her being your dead friend, she would've been
your worst enemy."
"You helped her." Angel's voice almost sounded humored. Would've worked, if it weren't for that
damn lump in his throat.
"I tried. So did Lilah. At the time we thought that Ric was in on it with us. Now don't get carried away.
I had my reasons for helping her." Lindsey's eyes hardened as he looked over at the vampire. A sneer
on his lips, that was aimed more at himself than anyone else. " In the end...Ric was going right back to
the partners, telling them everything. Telling them that Lilah and I weren't on board with their goal. That
we were getting too close with our little prisoner. Lilah backed off when things started getting too hot to
handle."
"Where was she being kept?" Not sure whether or not to take Lindsey's words at face value, Gunn
kept his eye on the man.
"At the firm. In one of the basement cells."
"D-Did they hurt her?"
A small smile touched Lindsey's lips. "No. But Ric wasn't so lucky. She put him in the hospital for a
month."
"That's our girl." Angel chuckled, not seeing the look Buffy sent his way. "So how is it that you helped
her?"
"Well they wanted to keep her there, until her calvary came for her."
"But we thought she was dead." Buffy defended them.
"There were so many hints around saying otherwise. But either way the partners were getting tired of
waiting. When Angel surfaced in LA and started causing problems they didn't care any longer if he
came to save her or not. They wanted her up and operational. To put her against Angel and his crew."
Lindsey paused. This was it. The part that he tried to block from his mind. "Have you ever heard about
a Klovack demon?"
"I thought that they went extinct over three thousand years ago." Wesley whispered. "Of course they
didn't. It seems that our specialty is in demons that shouldn't exist. You can't mean that they would've.
But that's even more..."
"That's over kill." Giles uttered.
"Hello? Some of use don't get a thrill out of dusty old tomes. What in the hell is a Klovack?"
"You remember the Judge?" Giles turned to Buffy, "Klovack's function in the same fashion, except they
don't turn their victims into a dusty mess."
"They burn the humanity out of a person. But the person is still alive." Wesley added.
Xander scratched the side of his head. Not really liking the way the conversation was going. "So they
burn the creamy goodness out of people and leave...?"
"Someone Angelus would've gotten along with wondrously." Giles mumbled to himself. "She would've
had all the slayer powers. The strength, the speed, plus Tess's magical abilities. She wouldn't have tried
stopping evil, but helped it. Together she and Angelus would've caused more chaos than we would've
been prepared for."
"So how were you able to stop this?" Gunn asked.
Lindsey ran a hand through his untrimmed hair and paused for a moment. "Like I said Ric was going
behind my back. Going to the senor partners. Telling them that I was too soft for the job. One day
Holland called me to his office...had one of the guards come in with me. I was about to be given my
pink slip."
"They were going to kill you?" Cordelia looked ill at ease.
"Yeah, without severance pay." His chuckle was dark. "But like always I was able to talk my way out
of it. I told Holland that Tess wouldn't bring Angel to the fold like everyone planned. That I had done
some research, poured through the reports. In the end Angel would've seen the need to kill her, to stop
her from hurting innocent people. They wouldn't have their tag team match. Holland seemed to buy it. I
suggested that we should tuck her away until the time was right. Bring her back once we had Angel in
our hands. They set everything up. A new name, a fake background. Everything Elizabeth Webber
thinks is real, her family, her past, hell even half her life in this town is a lie."
"So much for you helping." Rolling her eyes in his direction, Cordelia gave a knowing snort. "You were
just saving your butt."
"What was I supposed to do?" Lindsey fired back. "Call and tell you all that she was alive? Perhaps
hunt Angel down and have a heart to heart with him? Get in touch with my softer side? My life was on
the line. I made the mistake of second guessing the senor partners and I had to do some damage
control."
"So you saved her from losing her humanity and let them suck out her memories instead? Make her
think that she's a different person?" Cordelia's eyes narrowed. "All so they could put their little play
thing up on a shelf to pull down on a rainy day. Boy aren't you just the knight in shiny armor."
"I never claimed to be a hero. That's your job little girl. I did the best I could. Tess was Wolfram and
Harts prisoner. One that they weren't just going to let free." The tension between Lindsey and Cordelia
mounted as they stood glaring at one another. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"So how do we fix this?" Giles decided to skip the rest of the story. It was pretty obvious what had
happened from there.
Reaching into the back pocket of his faded jeans, Lindsey produced a piece of worn looking paper.
"It's a simple spell. You need a few things, but nothing that's hard to find."
Looking over the spell Giles nodded and handed it over to Willow. "I suppose we should get to it
then."
"The sooner you do this the better. I can almost guarantee this town will be crawling with demons
before the night is through. Wolfram and Hart isn't going to back down on this one." Lindsey bitter
words echoed off the walls. "And its gonna be one hell of a fight."
~~~*~~~~
"You missed your meeting with Ric this afternoon." Sonny's disapproving tone filled the air. Jason
looked off into the harbor, trying to tell himself that Sonny didn't mean to talk down to him. That his
friend was concerned. The stress of the up coming trial had them all on edge. But the words did
nothing to calm is raw nerves. If it weren't for the fact that Sonny had been acting like this for months
now, he might have been able to easily dismiss Sonny's behavior.
"I was doing something else." There was nothing else to say. Not when Sonny made his views on Ric
known.
"What else is more important than meeting with your lawyer?" Sonny demanded. "One who is doing his
damndest to get you off a murder charge."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, a sign that his patience was thinning, Jason let out a sigh before
answering. "There isn't anything more I need to talk to Ric about. I didn't do it. I'm not getting on the
stand. He's the one that keeps telling us what a great lawyer he is. Let him do his job."
Sonny's mouth pinched as he took a few steps down the pier. "I heard you were at Kelley's talking to
Elizabeth again."
Just the way the other man said her name made Jason's blood run cold. "So?"
"I thought that was over. You can't be running around meeting with your ex. Not when you're trying to
convince everyone that you're happily married to Brenda."
"Elizabeth isn't my ex." Jason replied, his tone almost bitter. The muscles in his neck and shoulders
bunched in anger. This conversation shouldn't even be happening. Christ hadn't he proven to Sonny
over and over again that everything he did was for him, for the job? He'd given up his own wants and
needs just to ensure Sonny got things done the way he wanted...when he wanted.
Shrugging his shoulders, Sonny said. "You can say that until your face turns blue. But everyone else in
this town sees it a different way. Because of you she's had a bomb planted in her studio, been
kidnaped, shot at. Hell she was living in the penthouse with you."
"Can we not talk about this?" His tone was almost belligerent. He wasn't two years old, needing his
Daddy tell him the ins and out of things.
"Can you start meeting your lawyer when you're supposed to?" Sonny's tone matched Jason's. His
dark eyes narrowing as he waited Jason's answer.
"Whatever."
Both men stood staring at one another, neither recognizing the other.
~~~*~~~
just-." His voice was a little louder, but still no match for the yelling that bounced off the warehouse
walls. Everyone was talking at once. Insults and accusations rebounded off one another, as each person
tried to talk louder than the rest.
So this was why they were separated in two different towns and by several hours. It was all coming
back to him with vivid clarity. At one time he'd chalked it up to adolescent hormones. The bickering
and name calling. But now he knew better. It was astounding that they ever got anything done in the
past.
With a loud sigh of disgust, Giles placed two fingers up to his mouth and whistled loud enough to make
everyone snap their mouths shut and look over at him in surprise.
"I don't see why we don't do this more often." He replied dryly. His eyes shooting daggers over to
Buffy who was about to open her mouth again and interrupt. "I trust that I don't need to remind you
that we don't have much time to waste?"
Everyone nodded silently. Their faces downward in shame, but not letting the reprimand stop the
irritated looks they sent one another from beneath their lashes.
"Angel, you said your contact was going to meet us here?" Turning to the vampire, Giles took off his
glasses and started cleaning the already spotless lenses. Once again it seemed he'd been cast in the role
to keep everyone on track. Though it was a nostalgic blast from the past, he'd really been holding onto
the hope that they'd be able to proceed with the maturity they'd should have gained over the last four
years. Silly him.
"He said he'd be here around seven." Angel answered, his tone flat. Letting everyone know just how
much trust he put into said person.
"I still say we should find Tess and grab her. At least then she's out of danger until we know how to fix
her." Pushing herself away from the pole she'd been leaning against, Buffy's hands went immediately to
her hips in a defensive posture. Glaring at whoever disagreed with her.
"I'm with blondie on this." Gunn added his voice, trying to brush off the hot glares of Angel and
Cordelia. "We don't know who else is in on this. Why wait?"
"Because we'd scare the you know what out of her." Willow fired back. Her emerald green eyes filled
with concern. "I think she's been through enough already."
Wesley sighed. "But what if we don't do anything and Wolfram and Hart gets to her first. None of you
know how dangerous these people are. They're resourceful. Evil. And willing to do anything to win. If
they have the slightest inkling we're aware of Tess's whereabouts, the situation could become dire. I
don't think I'm out of line when I say that we should be expecting the town to be over run with
Wolfram and Hart employees... and not the human kind."
"That is if they aren't already here. I mean Lindsey did say that he's already tried talking to one that
lives here." Fred's voice was barely above a whisper. But her concern was enough to catch everyone's
attention. "I think we should find her."
"They're right." A voice startled everyone from the dark. Footsteps could be heard echoing against the
concrete floor until the stranger stepped out of the shadows. "Your friend is in danger. Wolfram and
Hart have been working on this project for years. They aren't going to let the ball drop, not now when
they're so close."
"McDonald." Angel's growl rumbled through his chest.
"Angel." Lindsey's dark look matched the vampires. "If I said it's great to see you it'd be lie."
Deliberately stepping between the two men, Giles took a deep breath and gave Angel a warning glance.
"Thank you Mr. McDonald. What you have done for us is...there is no way I can express my
gratitude."
Lindsey shuffled his feet in place. Looking extremely uncomfortable under Giles's steady stare. The
muscle on his jaw line twitched. "You don't need to thank me." Seeing that the older gentleman was
prepared to argue, Lindsey held up his hands to stop him. "Trust me."
"Listen to him Rupert. The last thing he deserves is our gratitude. Do you McDonald?" Stepping
forward, his eyes held the anger he felt for the ex-lawyer.
"Do you want my help or not?" His attention zeroed in on Angel, Lindsey stepped past
Giles. He could handle Angel's holier than thou attitude. Was used to it. But he wasn't going to stand in
a room filled with strangers and have Angel humiliate him. "Cause if not? There was cute little down in
Charleston I wouldn't mind visiting again."
"Do I want your help? To have to trust that you aren't screwing us over? No. But I don't have much of
a choice here, now do I? A friend of ours is depending on us and we aren't going to fail her. Even if it
means working with you on this."
"Angel, I'm going to tell you this once. Back the hell off. I don't want to be here either. I was just fine
before the Powers decided to stick their distorted halos into my life." Lindsey was now standing toe to
toe with Angel. He didn't allow Angel's intimidating height get to him. Neither man looked ready to
back down, their fists clenched. Bodies tight with hostility.
"Down boys." Putting a hand on each man's chest and pushing them apart, Cordelia positioned herself
smack dab in-between them. "As much fun as it is to watch the two of you duel it out in a pissing
contest... Can we just get this over with? " Giving both males the look instilled in all women to bring out
the little boy in all men, Cordelia waited until each gave a silent nod.
"Angel as much as you dislike Lindsey, he has proved to be a decent ally at times." Wesley's voice
faltered and his face turned beet-red under Angel's hostel glare. "Well when he wasn't blowing up our
offices and putting us in the hospital."
"Or bringing back ex-girlfriends or trying to drive Angel insane." Gunn mumbled.
"But he helped with those blind kids." Cordelia offered, her smile wobbled slightly. "Of course he
ended up getting a rise and a corner office."
Lindsey looked over at the brunette with a wondrous look, that soured instantly. "I don't need or want
your help Cordelia."
With a huff, Cordelia turned on her heal and glared at her old rival. "Good to hear it, because you-you
weak pathetic little worm" Jabbing her finger to his chest with each word, Cordelia's eyes turned cold.
"are the last person I would ever help. You aren't even a blip on my radar. You don't register, don't
count. You are spam. Are you seeing a pattern here? I'm worried about Angel snapping your neck.
You're the only person who knows how to help Tess. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"Alrighty then." Xander's eyes were wide. "There's the Queen C we all know and love."
"Unless of course you're the unfortunate target for her wrath." Buffy grinned.
"Lindsey lets start at the beginning, shall we?" Giles rubbed at his temple. Hoping to ease some of the
pain that was starting to build up there.
"I found out about Tess my first year with the firm." Lindsey looked down at his hands and let out a
long sigh. "It was her junior year in high school. Her parents came to the firm hoping we could help their
daughter."
"Her parents?" A group of voices bounced off the warehouse walls.
"Yeah." Nodding his head, Lindsey cleared his throat. "They had heard about us through one of Mr.
Walker's associates. They knew we represented and helped... things that normal everyday people have
never heard about. To be fair I really don't think they had any idea what they were getting themselves
into."
"Her parents made mine look like the parents of the year." Xander's brows drew together. "I knew the
Walker's were evil."
"They wanted us to make Tess forget about her calling. To block out everything she knew. To become
the daughter they had always of dreamed her being."
"But instead they delivered her to the devil." Shaking his head, Angel didn't know who he was angrier
with. Tess's less than stellar parents, or Wolfram and Hart.
"On a silver platter no less." Bitting down on her lip, Willow sat down on an empty crate. "With a big
ole apple in her mouth and...Done talking now."
Lindsey looked over at the redhead and nodded. "Yeah something like that."
"But that was our junior year. Why did Wolfram and Hart wait a year?" Buffy sat down next to Willow.
"They didn't see the need to do anything. The Walker's were very well off, but they were hard
pressed to come up with the down payment the senior partners were demanding. Instead some people
were assigned to look into Tess and her group of friends she hung out with. This is how they were able
to locate Angel. Once the news got back to the senior partners that Tess was good friends with the
souled vamp they'd been searching for, the down payment was overlooked and plans were made."
Silence filled the air, as everyone absorbed what was being said.
"So it was my fault that she was taken." It wasn't so much of a question, than it was a statement.
Turning his back on the group, Angel stared off. Not knowing how to deal with the information he was
hearing.
"That's not entirely true." Lindsey said. "Sooner or later they would've figured out a way to use Tess. If
it means anything to you, not everything went as planned."
"How so?" Wesley asked.
"For one, she was supposed to be taken well before graduation. But when Faith turned traitor they had
to step back, wait it out."
"Okay I'm lost. Why would an evil law firm care whether or not a slayer went psycho? Wouldn't they
see that as a great time to zoom in and take Tess? When the troops are weak." Cordelia's tone was
doubtful. "They're evil. I'd think that they'd get their rocks off because of the problems we were
facing."
Telling himself not to look over in her direction, Lindsey couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her.
"Wolfram and Hart was a different place before you and Angel came to town." Seeing the disbelief in
her chocolate orbs. "They weren't so quick to jump the gun back then. At one time they actually would
think things out before reacting. If Tess were to be taken too soon, the balance would've been thrown
off. The mayor would've ascended, the battle would've been lost. They couldn't let Mayor succeeded
with his plans it would ruin Wolfram and Harts long term goal. So instead they kept Tess with all of you
until it was over."
"Keeping her in Sunnydale kept the scales even." Thinking out loud, Giles nodded. "Without Tess we
would've been hard pressed."
"That's why they waited. When it was apparent that the battle was won, they made their move."
Buffy's eyes widened. "There were no students."
"What?" Angel asked.
"She turned around and went back to the chemistry lab. She had said she saw some students hiding out
in there." Tears formed in her eyes. Whipping her head in Lindsey's direction, her face twisted in pain.
"Do you know how many times I've woken in the middle of the night screaming because of that day?
Knowing that I should've stopped her." Jumping off the crate Buffy advanced on Lindsey. "I have
blamed myself for her death for over four years."
"Buffy." Stepping behind his ex, Angel placed his hands on her shoulders. "Let him finish."
"Actually we had two of our people waiting in there. We figured if the slayers made it to the hallway in
front of the library..." Talking of the situation as though he were talking about the weather, Lindsey ran
a hand through his sandy brown hair. "I can tell you, she didn't come easily."
"Can we get a big group 'we could give a damn' chant here." Xander glared over at the ex-lawyer.
"You messed with us. With our friend's life. If you weren't the only person that could help Tess right
now I'd kick your ass...or at least let Buffy do it for me."
Lindsey understood the hostility the younger man was feeling. On nights that he'd allow himself to
reflect back he felt the same way. But he tried hard not to remember. Bourbon. Tequila. Jack Daniels.
It didn't matter what he used or how far he ran. Sooner or later it always come back to him. "I might let
you when this is all done."
"What?" The pretty redhead who'd been watching him intently looked confused.
"You all have to remember that I was still relatively new to the firm. I had been so sure I'd known what
I was getting myself into. Had no idea what the senior partners were capable of. I wasn't prepared.
None of us were really."
Angel watched as Lindsey's features soften. Making him look younger, more vulnerable. "Who else
was working on this?"
"Me, Lilah Morgan and Ric Lansing. They were testing us." Shaking his head, Lindsey rubbed at his
eyes. "And we failed miserably."
"How did you fail? We thought she was dead." Dropping his hands, Lindsey watched as Cordelia's
bottom lip quivered. "There was a funeral. A headstone. Trust me Lindsey, you didn't fail. Your firm
was the reason the group split up."
"Cordelia, it may have looked like Wolfram and Hart succeeded, but like I said. Things didn't go the
way the seniors had planned. They wanted to twist her mind. To taint her to the point that she didn't
resemble the girl you all knew. Cared about. Instead of her being your dead friend, she would've been
your worst enemy."
"You helped her." Angel's voice almost sounded humored. Would've worked, if it weren't for that
damn lump in his throat.
"I tried. So did Lilah. At the time we thought that Ric was in on it with us. Now don't get carried away.
I had my reasons for helping her." Lindsey's eyes hardened as he looked over at the vampire. A sneer
on his lips, that was aimed more at himself than anyone else. " In the end...Ric was going right back to
the partners, telling them everything. Telling them that Lilah and I weren't on board with their goal. That
we were getting too close with our little prisoner. Lilah backed off when things started getting too hot to
handle."
"Where was she being kept?" Not sure whether or not to take Lindsey's words at face value, Gunn
kept his eye on the man.
"At the firm. In one of the basement cells."
"D-Did they hurt her?"
A small smile touched Lindsey's lips. "No. But Ric wasn't so lucky. She put him in the hospital for a
month."
"That's our girl." Angel chuckled, not seeing the look Buffy sent his way. "So how is it that you helped
her?"
"Well they wanted to keep her there, until her calvary came for her."
"But we thought she was dead." Buffy defended them.
"There were so many hints around saying otherwise. But either way the partners were getting tired of
waiting. When Angel surfaced in LA and started causing problems they didn't care any longer if he
came to save her or not. They wanted her up and operational. To put her against Angel and his crew."
Lindsey paused. This was it. The part that he tried to block from his mind. "Have you ever heard about
a Klovack demon?"
"I thought that they went extinct over three thousand years ago." Wesley whispered. "Of course they
didn't. It seems that our specialty is in demons that shouldn't exist. You can't mean that they would've.
But that's even more..."
"That's over kill." Giles uttered.
"Hello? Some of use don't get a thrill out of dusty old tomes. What in the hell is a Klovack?"
"You remember the Judge?" Giles turned to Buffy, "Klovack's function in the same fashion, except they
don't turn their victims into a dusty mess."
"They burn the humanity out of a person. But the person is still alive." Wesley added.
Xander scratched the side of his head. Not really liking the way the conversation was going. "So they
burn the creamy goodness out of people and leave...?"
"Someone Angelus would've gotten along with wondrously." Giles mumbled to himself. "She would've
had all the slayer powers. The strength, the speed, plus Tess's magical abilities. She wouldn't have tried
stopping evil, but helped it. Together she and Angelus would've caused more chaos than we would've
been prepared for."
"So how were you able to stop this?" Gunn asked.
Lindsey ran a hand through his untrimmed hair and paused for a moment. "Like I said Ric was going
behind my back. Going to the senor partners. Telling them that I was too soft for the job. One day
Holland called me to his office...had one of the guards come in with me. I was about to be given my
pink slip."
"They were going to kill you?" Cordelia looked ill at ease.
"Yeah, without severance pay." His chuckle was dark. "But like always I was able to talk my way out
of it. I told Holland that Tess wouldn't bring Angel to the fold like everyone planned. That I had done
some research, poured through the reports. In the end Angel would've seen the need to kill her, to stop
her from hurting innocent people. They wouldn't have their tag team match. Holland seemed to buy it. I
suggested that we should tuck her away until the time was right. Bring her back once we had Angel in
our hands. They set everything up. A new name, a fake background. Everything Elizabeth Webber
thinks is real, her family, her past, hell even half her life in this town is a lie."
"So much for you helping." Rolling her eyes in his direction, Cordelia gave a knowing snort. "You were
just saving your butt."
"What was I supposed to do?" Lindsey fired back. "Call and tell you all that she was alive? Perhaps
hunt Angel down and have a heart to heart with him? Get in touch with my softer side? My life was on
the line. I made the mistake of second guessing the senor partners and I had to do some damage
control."
"So you saved her from losing her humanity and let them suck out her memories instead? Make her
think that she's a different person?" Cordelia's eyes narrowed. "All so they could put their little play
thing up on a shelf to pull down on a rainy day. Boy aren't you just the knight in shiny armor."
"I never claimed to be a hero. That's your job little girl. I did the best I could. Tess was Wolfram and
Harts prisoner. One that they weren't just going to let free." The tension between Lindsey and Cordelia
mounted as they stood glaring at one another. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"So how do we fix this?" Giles decided to skip the rest of the story. It was pretty obvious what had
happened from there.
Reaching into the back pocket of his faded jeans, Lindsey produced a piece of worn looking paper.
"It's a simple spell. You need a few things, but nothing that's hard to find."
Looking over the spell Giles nodded and handed it over to Willow. "I suppose we should get to it
then."
"The sooner you do this the better. I can almost guarantee this town will be crawling with demons
before the night is through. Wolfram and Hart isn't going to back down on this one." Lindsey bitter
words echoed off the walls. "And its gonna be one hell of a fight."
~~~*~~~~
"You missed your meeting with Ric this afternoon." Sonny's disapproving tone filled the air. Jason
looked off into the harbor, trying to tell himself that Sonny didn't mean to talk down to him. That his
friend was concerned. The stress of the up coming trial had them all on edge. But the words did
nothing to calm is raw nerves. If it weren't for the fact that Sonny had been acting like this for months
now, he might have been able to easily dismiss Sonny's behavior.
"I was doing something else." There was nothing else to say. Not when Sonny made his views on Ric
known.
"What else is more important than meeting with your lawyer?" Sonny demanded. "One who is doing his
damndest to get you off a murder charge."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, a sign that his patience was thinning, Jason let out a sigh before
answering. "There isn't anything more I need to talk to Ric about. I didn't do it. I'm not getting on the
stand. He's the one that keeps telling us what a great lawyer he is. Let him do his job."
Sonny's mouth pinched as he took a few steps down the pier. "I heard you were at Kelley's talking to
Elizabeth again."
Just the way the other man said her name made Jason's blood run cold. "So?"
"I thought that was over. You can't be running around meeting with your ex. Not when you're trying to
convince everyone that you're happily married to Brenda."
"Elizabeth isn't my ex." Jason replied, his tone almost bitter. The muscles in his neck and shoulders
bunched in anger. This conversation shouldn't even be happening. Christ hadn't he proven to Sonny
over and over again that everything he did was for him, for the job? He'd given up his own wants and
needs just to ensure Sonny got things done the way he wanted...when he wanted.
Shrugging his shoulders, Sonny said. "You can say that until your face turns blue. But everyone else in
this town sees it a different way. Because of you she's had a bomb planted in her studio, been
kidnaped, shot at. Hell she was living in the penthouse with you."
"Can we not talk about this?" His tone was almost belligerent. He wasn't two years old, needing his
Daddy tell him the ins and out of things.
"Can you start meeting your lawyer when you're supposed to?" Sonny's tone matched Jason's. His
dark eyes narrowing as he waited Jason's answer.
"Whatever."
Both men stood staring at one another, neither recognizing the other.
~~~*~~~