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"There we go," Wesley said, "Six hundred of these are out on the streets"
"Excellent," Angel grinned, holding Ashleigh, "Everything up and ready?"
"We've got our own web page," Fred said, "It's running"
"Great. Now, all we do is wait for the phone to ring and the money to roll in"
"Just so you all know," Cordelia said, "This wasn't my idea"
"Why does that come as a surprise to me?" Wesley asked
Cordelia whacked him over the head, before handing Connor a sandwich, as Angel, Fred and Gunn all stood before the phone, waiting for it to ring. After about ten minutes, Fred picked up one of the flyers and peered closely at it
"Is this the right number?"
Everyone turned to look at Wesley, as Gunn slapped him upside the head
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"Okay, everything has been corrected and another six hundred of these babies are out on the street…again," Gunn said, coming into the hotel
He sat down at the counter, just as the phone beside him rang. He answered it, as another phone rang, which Wesley answered, as Cordelia answered the third phone
"This is great," Angel smiled, "College fund for you and Connor coming right up," he cooed to Ashleigh
"Where is Connor by the way?" Cordelia asked, covering the mouthpiece
"He's upstairs with Lorne," Fred replied, "Here they come right now"
"Doesn't he look smart and presentable?" Lorne grinned
For some reason, Lorne had dressed Connor in an outfit similar to Angel's, including the small leather jacket. Cordelia gushed at her son, as Connor tried to flatten his hair
"Why did you do that?" Angel asked, looking at his son
"Big champ and little champ," Lorne said, "Puts out good vibes to the helpless"
And there was no shortage of helpless people or others in need of services. The hotel was packed, while Cordelia and Fred were on the phone. Angel, Lorne, Wesley and Gunn were walking around, making acquaintances, while Connor ran amongst the humans and demons, before getting bored and heading over to his toys. Wesley was talking to some silver-masked and robed demons with Lorne, while Gunn had gone into the office with a client
"Wow, it's a madhouse," Angel said
"Yeah, so think you can make it less of a madhouse by answering those lines?" Cordelia asked, before turning back to her phone
Cradling Ashleigh in one arm, Angel answered line four. Within a minute, he had an address and placed his daughter into her mother's arms, before racing off
"It's an exciting arena," Wesley said to the demons, after talking about DNA Fusion Comparisons and Tri-ped Demon Populations
"But one I'm sure we can all download at: I'll-never-know-the-love-of-a-woman-dot-com. Can we get down to business?," Lorne said, "It's their prince's birthday and-"
At that moment, Fred arrived, staring at their robes, which consisted of mathematical elements. She leaned in close, studying the puzzle hard, as a smile appeared
"See this polygons? They're pieces of a mathematical puzzle," she smiled, "You add them all up and-"
By then, the Nahdrah demons were speaking amongst themselves in their native tongue, which consisted of clicks, and then they hurriedly left the hotel
"Did I piss them off?" Fred asked
"Either they had to consort with someone or eat a monkey brain," Lorne said, "Did I ever mention I wasn't that great with the language"
"Wes, I'm gonna need you on this," Gunn called, followed by Allie
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Angel arrived at the building, coming across a young man seated at the desk, speaking on the phone via the wireless headpiece, finishing his call when he saw Angel
"Harlen Elster?" Angel asked
"You must be Angel, correct?" Harlen asked, shaking his hand, "I'm in need for your services. See, there's a nest of vampires downtown that are attacking our clients"
"I'll clean them up for you, but you know I have a price?"
"Of course, Mr Angel. How does ten thousand dollars sound, five before and the other five once you've done the job"
Harlen was writing out a cheque as he spoke, handing the cheque to Angel
"Uh, yeah, sure, sounds great," Angel grinned
He left the office, as an older man came from another office
"Mr Elster?" said the impostor
"What are you doing here?" the real Harlen Elster asked
The impostor promptly cracked him across the jaw, knocking him out. Meanwhile, Angel arrived back at the Hyperion, grinning at the cheque, as Connor ran to him, wrapping his arms around his legs
"Hey, bud, you been good for Mommy while I was gone?" Angel asked, picking his son up onto his shoulders
Cordelia was in the office, gently rocking Ashleigh to sleep, as Lorne came stumbling into the hotel, clearly drunk as he made his way over to the counter
"Can't you hold your drink?" Cordelia asked, moving Ashleigh to her shoulder
"I sure can. Shame I can't say the same about my firewhiskey," Lorne grimaced, "Angelcakes! I got news for you on our buddy, Holtz"
"Yeah, what is he up to?" Angel asked, taking his coat off and joining Connor by his building blocks, "Oh man, Lorne, wash your breath. I can smell you from here"
"Yeah, I'll trundle upstairs and pass out later, but right now: Holtz. Word's on the street is he's killed off his demon friends and is creating a human army"
"Let me guess, all just for me. Oh, how wonderful is that?"
"Good luck"
Lorne headed for the stairs, but then, the Nahdrah demons arrived, one of them carrying a large silver briefcase, as Fred came downstairs
"Oh, you guys are back," Lorne said, "What's up this time?"
He listened to the clicks, before translating for the others
"They weren't offended by Fred, they were amazed by her. They wanna buy her head…for their prince. Uh, I mean, they want her intelligence. They've got a puzzle for their prince and they hope we accept their paltry offer of…FIFTT THOUSAND DOLLARS?"
"Fifty?" Fred said
"Thousand," Cordelia added
"Dollars?" Angel finished, before grabbing the briefcase, "We accept!"
Fred and Lorne left with the Nahdrah demons, as Angel turned to Cordelia
"Check it out, five thousand dollars to clean out a vamp nest and another five thousand when the job's done"
"Angel, all this money and work is a great idea," Cordelia said, "But you've got to slow down and think of all that around you. You've got two kids to take care of"
"I know. That's why I'm doing this. For Connor and Ashleigh"
"Think about the mission, not the money. The mission is what is important"
"I know, Cordelia, but we do need it"
"I get that, but you need to focus on the mission before it's lost"
"Alright then"
Angel grabbed his coat, before grabbing a few stakes and heading out, as Cordelia continued rocking Ashleigh, as Connor started to yawn
"I think someone needs a change," Cordelia said
She laid Ashleigh down on the changing table and changed her nappy and placed her into her bassinet, before picking up Connor and taking him to his room. just as she closed the door and headed back down the stairs, she got a vision. And she was glad she was now half-demon, as there was no pain involved in the vision
Fred was completing a pyramid shaped puzzle. Then, she's tied down to a chair with a brace over her throat to indicate where the sword should cut…
"Oh God, Fred," Cordelia said, "Don't solve that puzzle"
She grabbed the phone and tried to call Wesley and Gunn, but got no answer. She then tried Angel, but got the same result, then wondered why she even bothered trying to call him. He couldn't even work his cell phone. Sighing, she tried to call Piper to mind the children, but once again, got no answer
"Well, she is allowed to have a life. Even if we really kinda can't"
Heading upstairs, Cordelia woke Connor up, before taking Ashleigh in one hand and the briefcase of money in the other, then leaving the hotel
"Well, we'll just head over and give them their money back," Cordelia said to her children, "Tell them it was all a misunderstanding. Though it would be nice to have Angel around, but your father is useless with modern technology. Sometimes being so old like him doesn't help"
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