Chapter 7
Xander was hoping he would get back to LA in time to make the executive board meeting. He was surprised Angel had asked him to be a part of that. Surprised, but glad. Xander felt he had already contributed some intelligent ideas to the group.
Xander liked this work. He found evil employees and he ratted them out. He was the ultimate tattle tale. Really, though, he found it invigorating. He liked traveling under fake names, and it gave him a rush when he found himself in the middle of an emotionally charged scene between evil employees. Ruining the day of a child sacrificing cult just gave Xander a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
He didn't know what Angel decided to do with these people, and he didn't really care. They were demons in human skin, as far as Xander was concerned. The people he looked for were the people invoking hell gods to take over people's bodies. In the back of his mind, that was what Xander thought about. He thought about preventing another Illyria.
He wondered at the morally grey areas of his job sometimes, but he lost little sleep over that. Angel was very careful about who was hired. There was a long process a person had to go through, but some people beat the system. Just like FBI profilers could test as schizophrenic on an exam if they tried to, some people could test as normal and good willed during the Wolfram and Hart process. There were no schizophrenic profilers, and Xander doubted that everyone hired was full of good will.
Some people were just bad. Some people wanted to ruin everything Angel and the others had built, had worked so hard for. The best way to destroy something, and Xander knew that Angel understood this concept very well, was from the inside out. He was going to make sure that didn't happen. He saw the good that was being done, and he thought if he could help that process along, he wouldn't be too disappointed as he looked back on his life years later.
He knew he wouldn't be able to prevent every disaster, but he figured he was still doing his part to save lives. He had fought with his fists and heart for so long; he found it refreshing to fight with his head for a change. It wasn't easy to the sergeant at arms of multi dimensional corporation, but he was starting to get the hang of it.
Xander had yet to travel inter-dimensionally. He hadn't been doing this job long, and he wanted to get the hang of it on Earth before he started hopping portals into hell dimensions. It was odd, but it seemed like most of the problems with employees happened on Earth anyway. He rationalized that fact with the knowledge that everyone who worked in the hell dimensions was evil already. Angel kept a tight leash on those branches.
He smiled a little at that thought. There were rumors those branches were going to be shut down. That should be heck of sight, Xander thought. He doubted any of those employees would go quietly. Angel had mentioned that they still needed contacts in other dimensions if only for trading goods and information.
Beyond the trade agreements Xander was sure Gunn was writing up, they had little need for other dimensional branches. Wolfram and Hart, before Angel gave it a makeover, had been directed from a hell dimension. Xander got the inkling that Angel wanted those branches closed for other reasons, as well, though.
Angel had mentioned something about the misuse of resurrections. Xander had found a few examples in archives about demons and hell spawn the company had brought back to life and unleashed on the world. He could understand why Angel would want to eliminate that possibly.
What Xander didn't understand was Will's reaction to the idea of closing those branches. He hadn't reacted badly, and he hadn't been in favor of the idea either. He had sat at the meeting table and stared at Angel as though he wanted to see through the man. Everyone else had been speaking, but Xander had been watching Will, who was studying Angel like a new creature from outer space. He had meant to talk to Will about that but had been sent to Dubai before he had the chance.
It wasn't that worrisome, really, but he had a gut feeling that something was going on not everyone was privy to. Buffy didn't know anything about it, he was sure of that. If Angel had ulterior motives for wanting to shrink those portals, she was unaware of it. She had answered too honestly, and had readily offered her support of the idea. She would have tread lighter had she been aware of any possible ulterior motives Angel had.
The plane was quiet and the ride was smooth. He was the only one on the jet, and he was relieved to have the quiet. The last few days had been difficult. He looked forward to getting back to LA, his new home, and relaxing for a day or so until he had to back to work. Hoping he wouldn't be too jet lagged to make the meeting happening the nest day, he allowed himself to drift to sleep for a little while.