Disclaimer: Wesley, Lilah, and Minesweeper do not belong to me. Although they should, considering the amount of time I spend with them.
Chapter Five: Great Mines Think Alike
"Thank you for flying Oceanic Airlines. This is your captain speaking. As of now, our flight is on schedule, and we are expected to touch down in approximately four hours. Please enjoy the rest of your journey."
Wesley cringed as the overhead intercom gave a small amount of feedback. Everything felt more abrasive to his senses since he'd come back. The numerous conversations between people sitting in first-class were like hammer poundings to his ears. The lights were glaring; the fabric of his seat was harsh. It was almost as if he had a permanent hangover. Wesley longed for a dark, quiet room. One bed, no people. Or maybe one particular person.
Lilah was sitting next to him, her laptop sitting on the tray table in front of her. She was typing unremittingly, her fingers flying over the keys. An hour ago, Wesley had foolishly asked what she was doing, while trying to sneak a peek at the screen.
"Mind your own damn business," she had replied, while smacking his hand rather painfully away from the computer. So Wesley had gone back to staring out of the window of the plane. There was no point, really. They were on an overnight flight. Everything outside was too dark . But Wesley didn't mind staring out at the gloom. It was oddly comforting to see an environment that emulated his mood in such a way. The cheeriness of the plane's interior was not so soothing.
"You know, if I had wanted to take a long plane ride with a brooding dullard, I would have brought Angel along for the ride."
Wesley shook himself from his reverie. "What?"
"You haven't said a word in three hours." Lilah wasn't looking at him. She was still working on her computer… or not, apparently. Instead of the word processor on which she had been focusing her attentions for most of the flight, she had switched to a game of Minesweeper.
"Don't click on that one," he warned her, pointing to one of the blocks. "It might be a mine. You've only found one of them by that number two--"
"I can play my own game, thanks."
There was another minute or two of silence between them while Lilah worked on the game. She lost after hitting a mine in the corner of the board. There had been only four left of the ninety-nine. Lilah uttered a few rude things about the game.
"I don't suppose you have FreeCell on there?"
Lilah gave him a sly look. "I would have pegged you more for a Solitaire kinda guy."
Wesley heaved a sigh. "You know, Lilah, the alone jokes stopped being clever when my friends forgave me and let me back in."
"Oh, did they forgive you? I was rather under the impression that they tolerated you just enough to use your expertise. I mean, were the words 'we forgive you' ever spoken? Or maybe forgiveness is one of those boring good things that doesn't need to be spoken. I can never keep track."
Wesley ignored her.
"Ah, come on, Wes. It's no fun if you don't play the sparring game."
Wesley was going to respond, but it was then that a stewardess came around to offer them a choice of meals.
"As if I'd eat that vegetarian garbage. Give me the shrimp," declared Lilah. She turned to Wesley. "You, too?"
"Oh, no. I'm allergic."
"Figured," Lilah said, rolling her eyes.
Wesley shook his head. "I'm not particularly hungry. Perhaps something light?" he asked the stewardess.
She smiled. "How about a peanut butter sandwich, dear?" Wesley had trouble hiding his wince. "Or some tomato soup?"
"Tomato soup would be nice, thank you."
After the stewardess had poured another cup of tea for Wesley, she turned to Lilah. Her smile gave way and her tones became clipped; Lilah had not exactly endeared herself to the staff during the flight. "Another martini for you, ma'am?"
"Of course," responded Lilah, not bothering to look up from her next game of Minesweeper.
Wesley would have never suspected that Lilah harbored such a passion for Minesweeper. He discovered it after they'd been "together" for a couple of weeks. Lilah had stopped by his flat for the night.
There was the usual temptation speech. Then the banter. Then the sex. They had both fallen asleep, sore and exhausted. When Wesley awoke, Lilah was gone from the bed. At first, he thought she had left. No surprise. She rarely stayed long.
But he noticed her clothes were still strewn about the room. Wesley rolled over and looked towards the bathroom. Empty. So he got up and trudged out to the living room. Wesley didn't see her at first; the room was dark, and his vision was still blurry with sleep. The only light came from his computer, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. Which, incidentally, was where he spotted Lilah.
She sat on the couch, her face illuminated by the glow of the computer. She was staring at it, enraptured and unblinking. There was only one explanation: She was accessing his personal files. Wesley was furious.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he exclaimed, stumbling over the rug as he raced towards her. He snatched the laptop off the table, ignoring Lilah as she called him various offensive names. "I should have known you'd stoop to something like this." He put the computer on the kitchen counter to see what she had found. "Slipping out of bed to access my… Minesweeper?"
He stopped, flabbergasted. Lilah got off the couch and stormed over to where he stood at the counter. "You idiot! You've ruined my time!"
"Sorry! I'm just a little… surprised."
She stopped glaring, and allowed herself a small smile. "Why? Is Minesweeper not evil enough for someone like me?"
Wesley strode to one of the cabinets where he stored his scotch. "I don't care. It's about time you left, anyway. Go play your game at the office."
Lilah was taking the computer back to the couch. She sat and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Can't. We're not allowed to play computer games. Linwood feels our competitiveness is better channeled against each other."
"Then use your home computer," said Wesley, yawning. He didn't really care about Minesweeper or anything else, but arguing with Lilah was becoming a way of life to him.
Lilah shook her head. "The company taps into our personal computers. Can't risk my "family" casting me out over one small sin, now can I?" Her face went from apathetic to devilish in an instant. "You'd know a little something about that, though, wouldn't you?"
Wesley downed a shot of scotch, ignoring Lilah's jab. "Are you coming back to bed or not?"
Lilah waved her hand dismissively, as if she were an empress and he were a loyal subject. "No. I'm not leaving till I beat my best time." She played for a couple of minutes before hitting the table and cursing the computer. "Dammit! I hit the wrong square!"
If Lilah were ever this angry, Wesley certainly couldn't remember it. "This is pathetic. Why do you even bother?"
Lilah's anger faded, to be replaced by a look Wesley liked even less. It was the look of a hawk that was considering a particularly plump field mouse. "I thought you would have figured it out by now, Wes. I can't resist a challenge."
Wesley squeezed through the middle of a group of teenagers. The airport was uncomfortably crowded, and he was having trouble keeping up with Lilah as she maneuvered through the throng. She elbowed a couple of elderly people out of her way at the baggage claims, and pulled two heavy bags off the belt. Wesley carried them for her.
"Ever the gentleman," Lilah said softly as they made their way outside.
To be honest, Wesley wouldn't have grabbed both of them if he had known how heavy they were. Although, he wasn't about to admit this fact.
"Why did you bring so many clothes if you were only planning to stay in France long enough to retrieve my soul?" Wesley asked, trying not to groan from the aching in his shoulders.
Lilah was hailing a cab. "Those aren't just clothes, handsome. One of those suitcases contains a little bit of firepower. You know, in case I found myself in a tricky situation."
"How did you get them past security?"
"Do you really need to ask? I had one of the mystics cast a few spells."
A taxi pulled up to the curb, and Wesley slung the suitcases into the trunk while Lilah eased into the backseat. Wesley made to follow her, but she remained on the open side of the cab, blocking his way.
"Probably best to take separate cars," she said.
"What?" asked Wesley, taken aback. "Why?"
Lilah looked at him as if he were stupid. "I told you before. The higher-ups are keeping tabs on me. They've no doubt got my hotel under surveillance. They don't know you're back, so let's just keep it that way. No one's going to be looking for you, since they all think you're dead. You can sneak in a few hours after me. The Calypso Resort, Room 237."
She slammed the car door, and the cab sped off.
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Lilah paced the room anxiously. Wesley was taking longer than she thought he would. She had arrived at the hotel almost two hours ago. Perhaps he'd taken her insistence on covertness to heart, and he was waiting for the hotel to become more crowded, when he'd have a better chance of blending in.
Or perhaps something had happened to him. Lilah wrung her hands and looked out of the window. What if the Senior Partners had discovered that he had been re-embodied? She should have been more careful. Hadn't Ecnel'ovelam proven himself a master of disguise? He could have been anyone at that airport… maybe even that smelly bum she had kicked in the ankle. He would have seen Wesley plain as day.
Or perhaps Wesley had deserted her. She had certainly given him enough money to get out of town. And there was really nothing for him in Los Angeles. Yes, the more Lilah considered it, the more she was sure Wesley had abandoned her.
"Men will always abandon you, honey," said Lilah's mother as she finished her smoothie. "Always. Your father abandoned you. Your step-father abandoned you. Is it really any surprise that this, uh… what's-his-name….
"Raoul, Mom," responded Lilah.
"Right, is it any surprise that Raoul abandoned you as well?"
"Of course not, Mom," said Lilah around a mouthful of strawberry yogurt. She didn't really care about Raoul or any of the guys she had dated. But her mother would always take things like this personally.
"No. Because men are unreliable. They turn tail at the first sign of trouble. Now, ambition: that's something that you can't lose. It's the only thing you can count on. Forget about marriage. It's worthless. Stick with your ambitions, Lilah. They'll always steer you right."
"But what about true love?"
Lilah's mother leveled a hard gaze at her daughter. "That's nothing but hopeless wishing. Trust me, Lilah. Never, ever fall in love. It would be your ultimate failure. It would be your destruction."
Lilah jumped as a loud thump came from the window. She turned, only to find Wesley standing on her balcony, hunched over and panting. She threw open the glass door.
"Did you just climb the wall?" she asked as he clutched a stitch in his side.
He panted for a few more moments before his breathing slowed. "Obviously," he responded. "I thought it best to err on the side of caution. A difficult feat, to be sure--"
"Oh, please. We're only on the second floor."
"Well, let's see you do it, then," snapped Wesley.
Lilah got him a glass of water as he sat on the bed. He drained it in three gulps.Despite the faint odor of sweat emanating from him, Lilah couldn't help but notice how good Wesley smelled. It was a scent she had greatly missed.
She shook her head, trying to clear away the thoughts that would surely lead to a bad place. "Care to discuss your plans?" she asked Wesley.
He looked confused. "Plans? For what?"
"For what you're going to do now."
Wesley looked away. "I hadn't really given it much thought," he said. "I suppose I'll start where I left off. Fighting the good fight."
Lilah rolled her eyes. "Yes, we can't have the poor widdle puppies and kitties go another day without being rescued. Angel would be so disappointed. Speaking of which, are you planning on going after him and his band of merry men?"
Wesley shook his head. "I don't think so. Not now. If the Senior Partners are really planning to use me to get to him, as you say, I think it's best if I just stay away." He closed his eyes.
Lilah waited expectantly. "And?" she asked, losing patience.
"And what? That's all," Wesley responded.
"And what about whoever took your soul and resurrected you? Don't you plan to investigate? Aren't you curious who did it?"
Wesley considered for a moment. "No," he said nonchalantly. "Not really."
Lilah was astounded. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Here I was, thinking it was kind of an important issue. Silly me."
Wesley leaned back on the bed. "It's not important because it was probably a mistake. I've studied resurrection spells. There are an infinite number of ways they can go wrong. More often than not, the wrong soul is retrieved. I imagine whoever resurrected me was trying to resurrect somebody else."
Lilah almost believed him. But she had been around criminals and attorneys for years, and she was pretty skilled at knowing when someone was lying to her. She saw it in the way Wesley averted his eyes for a fraction of an instant. There was something he wasn't telling her.
She would have questioned him about it further, but at that moment, the window shattered and a bullet hit the wall, inches from Lilah's head.
-----More to Come-----
A/N: I have never flown on an airplane before, so pardon any inaccuracies on that front.
Much like the game of Minesweeper, reviews are very addictive. Please feed my habit. Many thanks to kittyge, WesLess, Ruth Quist, gopie, irish6red, kiwilass, -J, greensleeves8, Rissa Rose, torontokid2003, Luckysparkle, cursedgirl, Beer Good, jords, and redmoon for the reviews thus far. You guys are the best!
Now for the elimination process: 1) Faith didn't steal Wesley's soul, nor did she resurrect him. Sorry, I like her, too. But I'm afraid I wouldn't write her very well. 2) I really hate to shoot this one down, since an astounding amount of people seemed to be hoping for it, but it's not Giles. Keep guessing!