Chapter 13
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Angel sat alone in his office. As the others had left, he heard Lorne trying to convince Lindsay to try his hand at a singing career. Who knows, maybe he and Eve could find a version of redemption. And Gunn would probably either go back to his old crew, or join Spike's new team. Angel was all alone, and then a familiar face walked in. It was Kate Lockley, a former police detective who had once been an ally. But Angel hadn't seen her in three years, ever since he prevented her from committing suicide.
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Kate: Hello Angel. Are you going to ask me how I got into your secure location?
Angel: You'd be suprised how many unauthorized creatures come here on a daily basis.
Kate: I was hoping you would figure it out. Think back to the last time we spoke.
Angel: It was after your attempted suicide, you gave me a pep talk about trying to be good, to help people.
Kate: Remind me again how you saved me. It's not like you could give me CPR.
Angel: I went into your apartment...
Kate: How'd you get in, I never invited you.
Angel: It must have been when we first met. You ere undercover, trying to find a serial killer, who was actually a demon. You didn't know I was a vampire, so you invited me back to your place.
Kate: So that night, when you saved me from suicide. I swallowed the pills, called you just before I passed out. You heard this but, you had sex with Darla, fell asleep, had your little epiphany, drove across town, entered my apartment, possibly without an invitation. How long did all of that take?
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Angel then realized what Kate was leading up to.
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Angel: I never saved you. You died that night.
Kate: Correct.
Angel: I'm sorry.
Kate: It's not your fault I killed myself. Other stuff is absolutely your fault, but not that.
Angel: I don't understand, what happenned exactly?
Kate: Well, I'm not sure what you'd call it. God, the powers that be, they really frown on suicide. But fortunately they didn't think I deserved to go to Hell for it. It's more like, community service. My first assignment was to help you. Let you be the hero, save my life, and help your self-esteem. Because your own team, wasn't exactly eager to take you back.
Angel: So why are you here now?
Kate: Hopefully to knock some sense into you. Make you see realize that you're suppossed to be the hero.
Angel: Actually I'm not. I was suppossed to drink myself into oblivion in the 1750s. Then Darla found me and I became a monster. This soul, is a curse. I killed so many people over the years, there's no way I should be able to remember all of them, that has to be part of the curse. Spike on the other hand saved the world, he fought to get his soul back. He's the hero not me.
Kate: Maybe, that doesn't mean you have to do evil.
Angel: I've done good work here. We mediated peace between different demon tribes. We stopped one group from eating babies.
Kate: I read somewhere that Stalin created the first generation in Russia' history where the majority of people could read and write. And Mao, he cracked down on public spitting, probably prevented health epidemics.
Angel: What's your point?
Kate: Do you still think those two were bad guys, despite this good?
Angel: I don't know. I find that good and evil are more relative than a lot of people realize.
Kate: Angel I know for a fact that, someone will judge us for our actions here on Earth. Maybe you have a few centuries before you have to worry about that, but then you have centuries where you have to live with your actions. Doing good helps with that. Maybe you think you can do more good here with this power. I hear that D'Hoffryn has a similar sales pitch.
Angel: What about D'Hoffryn?
Kate: Your ex-employee Fred will soon get some disturbing news, her parents are dead.
Angel: What happenned?
Kate: She's going to be seeking revenge soon, and D'Hoffryn will be watching with great interest. A lot of vengeance demons started off that way, and he does a pretty good job convincing them that they could do some good, protect the innocent and only hurt those who deserve it. It isn't long before they believe that everyone deserves it.
Angel: What do you want me to do about this?
Kate: Hopefully, convince her not to murder the people responsible for her parents' murders.
Angel: Why would she listen to me?
Kate: In this state, she wouldn't. If you were to set an example, by leaving Wolfram and Hart.
Angel: How do I know this isn't another trick? I mean if you work for the powers that be you would want to sever the firm's leadership.
Kate: The question is, can you turn your back on your old friends?