Chapter Fourteen
Monday, November 11, 2002 – outside the Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles; morning:
Kate Lockley. Formerly a member of L.A.'s finest, and one of the youngest police officers to ever make Detective – male or female. Smart, tough, competent, not to mention one of the most beautiful women in Los Angeles, a few years ago – any sociologist would have told you that she was on the fast track in life towards success and career advancement...
But then she'd met Angel, and her life had been sucked down into a quicksand of personal and professional disaster.
First off, Kate's entire world-view had been shattered by learning that vampires and other creatures of the night really did exist. Then her father had been murdered by one of the undead, and she'd found out he wasn't the good guy she'd always thought he was. She had eventually been thrown out of the LAPD for not following the rules and focusing entirely on otherworldly cases, and then she'd attempted to commit suicide – something she'd only barely survived, thanks to Angel's last-moment intervention.
Fortunately, that hadn't been the end; after her career as a cop was over, Kate had established an antiquities business, and started using her professional connections to learn more about the supernatural and the occult. Thus, once she had received the phone call and the name 'Cordelia Chase' had been mentioned, the ex-cop had known to come over to Angel's hotel as soon as she could.
{ What the hell is going on? } Kate asked herself in confusion, as she walked up the main path to the front doors. { What are Angel and his friends up to? I thought they'd have known better than to openly flout the law that way... }
Not bothering to knock, Kate simply let herself in. To her mind, if Angel had a problem with that, he ought to get himself a doorman or something. Immediately, she saw a rather strange sight: Angel's flunky, that black guy named Gunn, out cold and lying on the floor with a beige sofa pillow tucked under his head. Plus a horned, green-skinned demon likewise unconscious, also with a pillow under his head, not far away. There was a petite brunette kneeling by Gunn, while a male teen she didn't know was standing not far away from the demon.
"Who are you?" the kid demanded, glaring at her, and Kate could tell right away that his attitude was gonna mean trouble.
"Name's Kate Lockley," she replied, giving him a pointed look. "I'm looking for Angel; or rather, Cordelia Chase. And just out of interest, what's the story with Mr. Gunn being dead to the world like that?"
"Oh, wow! You, you know us?" the brunette got up, looking excited. Kate didn't understand why, especially when the woman started babbling in a Texan accent, "Oh, gosh, well, that, that's great! I mean, we could do with the help, as things are kind of a mess right now. Well, not necessarily a mess, exactly, but certainly kinda screwed up. Well, sort of, I guess. I mean, I suppose it is, depending on your point of view... "
"Whoa! Time out," Kate did the universal sign for that with her hands, trying to make her stop. "First off, who are you?"
"Oh! Right, introductions, I'm definitely kinda scatterbrained today. I'm Fred, Fred Burkle," the woman introduced herself. "Uh, it seems you already know Charles Gunn – he's apparently my boyfriend, even if I can't remember that right at the moment – and I take it you've met Krevlornsewath here as well? I initially thought he was an alien, see, but actually he's a demon from another dimension, one where we humans are chattel and slaves," Fred chattered nonstop. "I take it you know Connor here, too?"
Kate's eyes narrowed significantly, focusing on that last bit of information. "No. And Connor? As in the 'Connor' who attempted to kidnap Cordelia Chase last night, and ran away from the LAPD?"
"I did not attempt to kidnap Cordy! We live together, she's just – lost her memory," Connor spat, looking annoyed.
"Yeah, I kinda figured it was something like that. Otherwise, Miss Chase wouldn't have told those two officers who tried to arrest you as much as she did," Kate nodded, as Connor scowled. "And I got bad news for you, kid – that loft you two were living in? Officer Castillo and Officer Hodges checked it out after their shift was over, and then they called in the discovery of your little bootleg apartment. What's worse is that Detective Baker called in forensics after he got there, and they found that hidden stash of ears and teeth. Lucky for you, I managed to quash the whole 'serial killer' theory Baker had developed by telling him that your 'trophies' – I assume that's what they were, anyway – weren't human. Seen enough humanoid demon body parts by now, to be able to tell the difference. Anyway, bottom line, you can't ever go back there again. Because not only has museum security been beefed up a lot, all of your stuff there is now in the police evidence locker. Plus, the LAPD now thinks you're a stalker and a thief and an attempted kidnapper – thanks to me telling them that no way would Cordelia Chase ever be your accomplice in crime."
"Oh, wow," Fred said, as Connor scowled even more viciously. She then added, "Uh, wait, are you a cop? I mean, you said 'them' instead of 'us', but there's something about you which just screams plain-clothes detective, even if it's probably just me watching too many TV shows back in San Antonio... "
{ Does this woman ever actually pause to take a breath? } Kate asked herself, before saying, "No, Miss Burkle. I was a police detective, once, but I'm not with the LAPD. Well, not anymore. I'm just trying to do Angel a favor, as thanks for saving my life way back when. So, do any of you know where he is? Or that Wesley Wyndam-Pryce guy?"
"So, you know him as well," Connor replied, examining her carefully. "I don't get it. Why don't I know you? I thought I knew all of Angel's friends and contacts in this city – but no one's ever once mentioned your name. I mean, why is that? Did you and him have some sort of falling out, or something?"
"Something like that," Kate replied, not wanting to go into details. "So, do either of you want to tell me what's going on here?"
Connor shrugged and gave her a quick précis of the situation; or as much of it as he knew, anyway. Fred added in a few details here and there, clarifying a few things; especially with regards to what had happened when the group woke up and then everyone went their separate ways.
Kate's eyes were almost as wide as saucers as she said, "Are you seriously telling me that Angel's wandering around L.A. right now, without any idea who he really is?"
"Yes," Connor replied, shrugging slightly. "And so is Cordelia. We've got to find her – "
"She's not the priority," Kate disagreed straightaway. "I mean, if I understand the situation correctly, then we've got a vampire with a soul who doesn't know he's any such thing. He could be killing innocent people right now, if Angelus has taken over somehow!"
"What do you know about Angelus?" Connor demanded, as Fred looked between him and the former cop in confusion.
"He's a particularly brutal and vicious bastard, according to all the reading I've done. I've got some books back at my antiquities shop which describe him in detail, which I could show you. As long as you've got a strong stomach, anyway," Kate told him.
"I grew up in Quor-toth. My stomach can withstand a lot," Connor said brusquely. Looking like he'd tentatively decided to accept her as a temporary ally of convenience, the male teen added, "All right, we'll do it your way – for now. Where do you suggest we start looking for Angel?"
"I'm not sure. He wouldn't head for his normal haunts, because he simply wouldn't remember them," Kate said musingly. She thought about it for a minute, and abruptly made a decision, pointing at the demon and Gunn. "We need to wake those two up, explain the situation, and then split up all over town. Look for Angel – and Miss Chase," Kate said hastily, after seeing Connor open his mouth. "At some point she needs to make an official statement to the LAPD about her lack of involvement with you and your crimes, if nothing else. But like I said, that's not a priority right now. Come on, let's get this show on the road!"
With a shrug, Connor and Fred did just that.
A while later – somewhere in Los Angeles; morning:
Wesley strode down the street, scowling as he had a flashback to sharing a bed with the brunette who'd been waiting for him in his apartment. He remembered the two of them grabbing and holding each other tightly, kissing fiercely, before the clothes went flying and they ended up shagging like a pair of maniacs...
It had been the best night of his life, bar none. Even though they'd gone at it so quickly he hadn't even thought about taking... err, precautions. Well, hopefully his bed partner had that aspect covered – the woman seemed like the type, after all.
Because after waking up this morning – the brunette had slapped him across the face, hard, after he'd made the unforgiveable mistake of admitting he didn't actually know her name. Then she'd pulled on her clothes and stormed out of the apartment, refusing to pay any heed to his desperate apologies.
Chasing after her hadn't helped, as she'd roared off in her car – leaving him alone, angry and frustrated.
{ What to do? } Wesley asked himself, starting to wander the streets aimlessly. { I could always go back to the apartment and call my parents in England; assuming they're still alive, of course. Still, after what's happened – I get the impression it might be better to gather more information than I have right now, in order to be able to answer Father's questions... }
Making his mind up on what to do, Wesley changed direction slightly and set off for his new destination.
A few hours later – not far from the Magic Box, Maple Court, Sunnydale; early afternoon:
Xander climbed out of his damaged Ford Taurus and after clicking the lock button on his key-chain fob, he started walking towards the Magic Box. Then his cell phone started ringing. { Gonna have to replace that Imperial March ring tone, } he thought to himself idly, as he grabbed the phone and pressed a button. "Hello! You've reached the Bat Cave, Alfred speaking."
«Hello? Harris?» the voice of his boss, one of the Junior VPs at the Sunnydale branch of T&P Construction and Contracting, sounded annoyed and irritable. «Is that you?»
"Uh, yes, sir. Sorry about that, I-I thought you were someone else," Xander replied, feeling very embarrassed.
«Whatever. Where the hell are you?» the Junior Vice President in charge of Projects and Planning wanted to know, now sounding even more annoyed.
"Walking down Maple Court, uh, more or less heading towards Main Street – " Harris started to say.
«What? Why? No, never mind, I don't care.» the man's voice said quickly, cutting him off. «Just get your ass back to the office, right now! There's a million things to do, and I can't do it all by myself!»
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't – my ex-girlfriend needs my help, she showed up with a really weird case of amnesia last night, that's why I had to leave early today – "
«I don't give a crap about whatever lameass excuse you thought up, in order to tap some hot-ass 'ho. You can get laid on your own time!» the Junior VP said angrily, interrupting him again. «Now get back here on the double, or I'll see to it you get fired! Do you understand me?»
"Perfectly, sir. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to hang up and call Mr. Peterson's Executive Secretary at the L.A. Head Office. I'm pretty sure he and Mr. Turner will want to know why I'm going to be suing the company for wrongful dismissal," Xander said lightly, but with an undertone of steel in his tone.
«WHAT? Harris, you son of a bitch, what the hell are you talking about?!»
"Well, sir, you said it yourself; either I come back to the office after I submitted all the appropriate paperwork for a half-day's paid leave, or I'm fired. And since I can't abandon a woman in need, especially not an old girlfriend who I still love, I figured I'm now unemployed. And the company's HR policies are pretty clear on how the appropriate people have to be notified, when former employees decide to take legal action against the firm," Xander said, hoping like hell he hadn't just made a huge mistake trying to bluff his way out of this. "I'd, uh, suggest you get on the phone to Legal and explain the situation to Thompson, sir. He's gonna have questions for you; quite a lot of them, I'm sure."
«Harris? Shut up. And, uh, forget about that whole 'fired' thing. On second thoughts, you've obviously got an emergency your hands.» his boss said roughly, but also with a barely audible note of fear in his voice. «Just do what you gotta do, and get here on time tomorrow morning, or else your ass is grass – and I'm a lawn mower! Understand me?»
"Yes, sir," Xander managed to say, before his boss disconnected with a savage-sounding click!
{ OK, I'm definitely too young to have a heart attack, but I'm thinking a stroke might just be a possibility here, } he thought to himself, trying to get his racing heart to calm down. Xander then replayed the phone conversation in his mind, wondering if there was anything he could have said or done differently...
{ Nah. Screw it. } Cordelia was more important to him than any job, and it was actually surprising just how unsurprising that was. Still, Xander figured some sort of damage control was definitely in order, and so called his company's head office in L.A. "Hello, Mary?"
«Xander?» the voice of Mary Worthington sounded surprised, and pleased, to his ear. «Xander Harris, is that you?»
"Sure is. Been a while, hope I'm not calling at a bad time?"
«No, silly, of course not!» the woman's voice said happily. «I've missed you, believe it or not. So, what's up? Are you planning to come to L.A. soon, and ravish me during one of my lunch breaks?»
Xander laughed, he couldn't help it. "Down, girl. We both agreed it was just a one-time thing in Arizona, remember? Besides, I'm pretty sure my old girlfriend would cut off my balls and roast them if I hooked up with anyone right now."
«An old girlfriend?» Mary sounded surprised all over again. «Somehow, I get the feeling you're not talking about Anya.»
"Yeah, no, I'm not. But, um, that's not why I called. Mary, I'm in a bit of a situation here," Xander confessed painfully, finding a convenient wall to lean on and avoid all the pedestrian traffic around him. "And I think the best thing for me to do is a request a transfer to L.A. If not Head Office, then one of the satellite ones. As soon as possible."
«What? What's going on?» Mary's voice now sounded puzzled. «I mean, not that the company wouldn't benefit from having you here in the big city – hey, I've heard Mr. Peterson saying to Mr. Turner that someone competent is needed to take over the Glendale operation – but why now? And why the rushy-rush?»
Sighing, Xander told her just about everything. The weekend from hell, Cordelia's memory problem, and the unpleasant phone conversation with his boss just now. And when he was done, Mary didn't say anything for nearly ten seconds, digesting the implications and thinking rapidly.
«Xander? It sounds like this guy is actively harassing you. Do you want to file a complaint against him or something?» the brunette's voice eventually said over the air waves.
"Hells, no," Xander said rapidly, shaking his head – even though he knew Mary couldn't see him do it. "I mean, the situation isn't that bad. It's just – I figure things are only gonna get worse around here as time goes on, and the next time I might not be able to bluff my way out of it like I did today. And there's nothing much keeping me here in Sunnydale anymore, so I figure a transfer's probably the best solution."
«OK. I'll talk to the Big Boss about it.» Mary promised. «And, Xander? Is it really that bad for you in that town, nowadays?»
"No, not really, but – well, Anya and I are definitely over. I can't seem to connect with my friends – uh, non-work related friends – any longer. Plus, there's also the fact that Cordelia lives in Los Angeles." He shrugged. "Not saying I'm planning to start up anything with her again, but once she get her memory back, if Cordy wants to give our relationship another try – well, at least we'd be living in the same city... "
«OK, listen. I know there's got to be a lot of details behind this particular development, and while I'd love to hear them, right now Mr. Peterson wants to see me in his office.» she said, a hurried tone appearing in her voice. «Xander, you keep your head down and don't make waves until you hear back from me, all right?»
"Sure. Give Mr. Peterson and Mr. Turner my regards?"
«You know I will. G'bye!»
"So long, Mary." Xander smiled and snapped the phone shut. Then he sighed, "Hoo boy!"
He shoved himself away off the exterior of the building, and started walking towards the Magic Box again. He tried not to think about all the implications of the last five minutes, it was all far too mind-boggling to cope with right now. Better to focus on the immediate problem at hand – Cordelia.
Once Xander arrived at Slayer Central, he saw the CLOSED sign and frowned. { What the hell? The shop's closed this early in the day? } He turned the knob of the magic shop's front door, and discovered that it wasn't locked. { Oh, now I get it – Willow didn't want interruptions. Who knows, she might even have cured Cordy already! }
Feeling hopeful and excited, Harris entered the Magic Box – only to see a dazed-looking Willow sprawled out on the floor not far from her overturned chair, and an equally dazed-looking Cordelia sprawled out near the main display cabinet. { Sweet mother of Zeus, what happened? They didn't have a massive hair-pulling cat fight or something, did they? }
"Xander? What are you doing here?" Anya's angry, strident voice suddenly registered in his mind, but he was far too distracted and upset to deal diplomatically with her antics right now.
"I came to find Willow and Cordelia. What the hell happened here?" Xander demanded forcefully, kneeling down to examine his ex-girlfriend. "Cordy? Are you hurt? Do you need a doctor?"
"No! I don't need some idiot doctor treating me like I'm some kinda invalid," she said irritably, slapping away her ex-boyfriend's hands. "Just – help me up, will you?" She grabbed hold of Xander's right hand, and hauled herself up off the floor with his assistance. Then she looked around at Willow, who was being helped up off the floor by Anya. "What just happened, Willow?"
"I have no idea," the witch confessed, shaking her head. Then Willow winced in pain. "Ow. So not the best possible choice of action, that."
"Will, you OK?" Xander asked, automatically wrapping an arm around Cordelia, holding her tightly and oblivious to the small, pleased smile that appeared on his ex's face – and the scowl that likewise appeared on Anya's features.
"More or less. Just... shook up a bit." Willow leaned on Anya for support as she added, "OK, maybe more than just a bit."
"Again, I'm asking. What the hell happened here?" Xander demanded to know.
"There was some kind of supernatural explosion while Willow was attempting to analyze your ex-girlfriend's aura, and they were both hurled across the room and ended up on opposite sides of my store. Happy now? Curiosity satisfied?" Anya asked him, with an acid and bitter note in her voice.
"Yeah, uh, what she said. And I don't get it – something like that shouldn't have happened," Willow confessed, as Anya helped her walk over to the overturned chair. Ahn quickly leaned Will against the counter and bent down to right his best friend's chair, so that she could sit down in it.
"And yet, it did. Hrmm. Color me surprised," Cordelia said cynically.
"Well, gee. If you can still snark, Cor, guess you can't be hurt too bad," Xander commented, and easily avoided the female hand that tried to dope-slap him for the not-exactly-tactful remark. He caught Cordelia's hand in his and kissed it, before letting it go in the face of her astonishment. "Honestly, though, I'm really glad you're not seriously hurt. Just don't scare me like that again, OK?"
"No promises, Dweeb," Cordelia replied, her classic thousand watt Pepsodent commercial smile briefly illuminating her face.
"Ahem!" Anya cleared her throat, looking angry as Cordelia moved to sit down on the other chair. "Getting back on topic?"
Willow exhaled loudly, and told him what she saw just before the magical explosion took place. Namely, a really dark shadow around Cordelia's head, heart and throat chakra points. She then turned to face the former cheerleader and said, "I'm sorry, Cordy, but I – well, this is obviously a lot more complicated than I thought it'd be. I'm gonna have to research some other angle in order to try to fix the problem, maybe get in touch with Giles and the Devon Coven and consult with them about this. So, in the meantime? You're just gonna have to try to cope with living like this, somehow."
"Uh, Cordelia? Do you, um... do you want me to take you back to L.A., and your friends there? Not sure if they'd be any use in helping you, but if they can manage to figure out a way to fix this... " Xander trailed off, after seeing the hurt and angry expression on Cordelia's face.
"Well, I certainly don't want to be any kind of burden on you, Harris! Fine, if you want to get rid of me that badly – " she said, starting to rise up off the chair.
"Hey! You may be a lot of things – but you're NOT a burden of any kind, Cordelia Rose Chase," Xander interrupted forcefully, using her full name for emphasis. "And I'm not trying to get rid of you! I told you that you're welcome to stay with me for as long as you want, and I meant it! All I was suggesting was that we explore every single possibility in getting your memories back, OK? That's all!"
"Oh. Right." Cordelia blinked, suddenly looking annoyed with herself for misunderstanding the situation. She then turned to Willow. "So, what do you think? You know those people, according to what Xander's told me, and I don't. Well, apart from Angel, but even there my info's nearly five years out of date. You think they can help?"
"I don't know," Willow shrugged. "I mean, to the best of my knowledge, the only one who can do magic is Wesley; and not wanting to brag 'n all, but pretty sure I'm way ahead of him in both the theory and practice. And since no one's been answering the phone at Angel's hotel, I think it's a pretty safe bet to say they're all wandering around L.A. right now, thinking they're seventeen again. Just like you."
The redhead grimaced. "And, ouch. Going through something like that twice? We're gonna have to track those people down straightaway and help them out, once I come up with a cure for the amnesia!"
"OK, then I guess we'll leave ya to it, Will. Call me if you need anything from us, all right?" Xander asked, as Cordelia wrapped an arm around his waist possessively and they walked to the door. "We'll see you guys later... " he added, as the former couple left the magic store.
"Five bucks says they'll be having loud, sweaty, disgusting sex tonight," Anya said disdainfully, trying to cover up the hurt in her vulnerable heart.
"Anya!" Willow replied chidingly. "Don't be silly. Xander wouldn't do that! Not with Cordelia in her current condition, anyway."
"The fact that you're gay now is the only explanation I can think of for why you've apparently forgotten just how eager unfaithful and libidinous males can be for sex. Especially if the woman is actually willing to initiate interlocking those body parts," Anya said dismissively. "And fine. If not tonight, then tomorrow night – or the night after that. I certainly can't see that Cordelia person waiting any longer to claim Xander as hers!"
Frowning and getting up off the chair, Willow couldn't help wondering if Anya might actually be right about that.
TBC…
A/N: According to the Buffy and Angel wiki, Kate Lockley really did establish an antiquities business in Los Angeles after her LAPD days were over - odd but true! And 'Mary Worthington' is merely an OC we came up with, not the character from Supernatural (just in case anyone was wondering, one of our beta readers pointed it out). Other than that, we just wanna say thanks for reading and reviewing the story, your feedback is like a warm fire on a cold dark winter's night. So please, keep it coming!
