The hours drug by for Eliot. He knew it was a medical procedure. He knew that the machine was used for open heart surgery, and transplants all the time, but it was just one more level of control that they had managed to take away from him.
Control was an important thing to Eliot. Not control of others but absolute control of himself. What he ate, when, and how long he slept. It was why he had locked himself in the shed as a child because the claustrophobia controlled part of him and he didn't like that. It was why he had worked alone in the past. Control.
Initially with the abduction he could tell himself that he was choosing to stay put for Amy's sake. As the days passed he was learning that he had no control over anything; not even his heartbeat. The venom would have made things worse. Even now, he was determined to protect the demon and see her goals achieved, but he could see that for what it was now and it was maddening. It would have been better if he had believed it to be his own will.
Dr. Vincent told him it would pass, but the adrenaline had pushed it through his system quicker than they had anticipated. Was that why Lilah had drugged him earlier? The bitch had known he was going to be bitten. If she had told him…
She would have lost control of the situation.
He would have sworn but he wasn't talking right now. Not that he couldn't, but it was just something he could control; for now. God, he was going to go insane before he got out of there. If he got out of there. For the first time, he started thinking in terms of if.
Another round of embarrassing samples was taken and tests were run while he lay there staring at the ceiling. His eyes narrowed as he stared, was there a depression in the acoustic ceiling, a small hole overhead? No, it was his imagination. The only person he knew that could break into the firm was Parker and even she wasn't that crazy. Nate had tighter control than that.
Parker watched from above and waited. She wasn't moving from that spot until Eliot was up and moving. She hated the doctor that kept doing things to Eliot. She was sure that it was just some form of torture, having no context to put it all into. Needles, tubes, hoses, and machines whirring constantly. Worse yet, Eliot had gone quiet. Not his usual quiet either. He wasn't growling; he wasn't poking the guy verbally anymore. Eliot didn't just quietly ride out the storm. There was always some sort of fight going on. Had they made him give up? Maybe he was just pretending.
No. He wasn't pretending. He didn't hit anyone after they unhooked him from the torture devices. He just got dressed, and let the guards walk him out of the room. Oh, this was not good. And they were sending him back to work after doing all of that? Parker was not happy, in fact, this was getting to her in that special angry place.
She moved from her hiding place. She wanted to go to his office and make sure no one hurt him again, but if she spent her time watching Eliot she wouldn't be able to get his revenge for him. He would do the same for her, after all. Okay, his would include a lot more hitting and maybe more death. Maybe.
She slid through the air ducts pausing to listen to snippets of conversation as she went. Most of them were pretty mundane; typical office gossip. Although occasionally she had to wonder if they were crazier than she was. She could understand certain euphemisms, but let's face it, there was no way a man had a pair of horns or multiple tentacles. She found her way to the primary security systems and hooked up the mini laptop, running the program Hardison had given her for Christmas she studied the graphics that came up. Oh, this was going to be fun. She then smiled.
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Eliot entered the office slowly, his legs hurt, his arm hurt, his head was pounding and there was no way in hell he was going to say a word about it because he had endured all he was going to from Extension Twenty-Eight.
Tara was on her feet, files in hand following him into the office.
"I'm alright," He said very quietly and took the files from her. More crap from Lilah to go through. He didn't want to look at it, didn't see the need to look at it. He knew what he was supposed to do for his client. He had been about to toss it into the garbage but he growled lowly, wresting control back from the venom that had managed to permeate his cells. He sat down and opened the file.
"Yeah, right," Tara said and set a bottle of aspirin in front of him. He gave her a grateful look and swallowed several of them dry before putting the bottle in his desk drawer.
His desk. He was already starting to think of this as His Office and part of him was putting Tara in the position of Secretary. He was losing himself in dribbles and drips and he wasn't sure he could stop it.
"Ms. Morgan sent this for you to look over." On top of the file was a note.
Getting you out of here in the morning.
Eliot crumpled the note and shook his head and started to look through the file. More of the same; more of Lilah's agenda and how to press it forward. His head hurt and he could have sworn the words were swimming on the page. They weren't right somehow and he dropped the file on his desk scowling at it.
"Eliot," Tara whispered. "What do I do to help you."
He looked up sharply hearing his real name, looking to make sure no one could have overheard. He simply shook his head again. "Get out of here before they catch on to you," He whispered in turn. "Out of this building out of this town. Go become someone else."
It was Tara's turn to shake her head. "Not happening," She said and was relieved to see a hint of a smile, even if his blue eyes were still troubled.
"Let's start with a cup of coffee. I don't think I could keep dinner down yet," He told her. "I've got a lot to do before tomorrow."
Tara nodded. "Yes, sir," She said and left the room. She wound up having to take the stairs down to the break room to get his coffee. All the elevators had stopped working. It was frustrating but it gave her time to think.
The plan was in place. It would all come together if Angel could pull off his half of the plan. They could do it. They would still have to go through with the negotiations but it would get Eliot out of Wolfram and Hart's control. Keeping a demon war out of LA was a priority, but, after what she had seen, it had to take a second place to get her friend out of there.
She returned by way of the stairs as well. There were IT people as well as repairmen working on the elevators as she passed by and it made her think of the rest of Nate Ford's team. But she had told them to stay out of the building; they were there to take care of Dunaway and give Tara back up. They didn't know what they were dealing with and she hoped they never found out. It was bad enough that Eliot was finding out all of it far too quickly to process.
She found him half napping in his chair. She considered letting him sleep but knew he would be angry. She rested a hand on his arm and he sniffed sharply, coming back to full wakefulness. "Maybe you should call it a day. You've been through a lot."
Tara didn't know the half of it, but he shook his head again. The last thing he wanted was to go back to his cage. He instead handed her a folder. "Cross reference this stuff for me, please. I. can't."
Tara nodded. "Yes, sir," She said slipping back into character.
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Angel had done his best to reassure Tara, but it didn't look good. Rasa was one of the elite in her clan. If they were to have nobility she would be it. Her desire to unite the clan under one faction wasn't as noble and forthright as it sounded. If they were to ever come under one faction, leadership would revert to the purest blood and that was hers.
Her bite made Spencer effectively her personal in-her-pocket champion. If it wasn't counteracted he would do whatever it took to protect her and her agenda. It was all but slavery, but that wasn't uncommon with the older demon clans. Fortunately for him, vampires were immune to it; that and the less pure the blood the less powerful the venom. Those he represented were pretty far removed from the source. That was most likely why they had chosen the vampire to represent them. He couldn't be converted by the opposition.
He stood at the edge of Niemic territory and waited for one of the sentries. They recognized the Champion on sight and led him deeper within their territory. Angel and Lindsey were supposed to be off-limits until the negotiations began. He was safe enough for now.
Rasa and Goran stood in the public square in front of their most holy of places. "Why is it you come to us, Champion?" Goran asked.
"I've come to make a request for the negotiations tomorrow, " He said. "I feel that it's important that we meet here," Angel told them. "Some place important to both factions, somewhere that the traditions hold the strongest meaning. "
Rasa raised a pencil-thin eyebrow at that.
Angel smiled "And of course someplace out of Wolfram and Harts's control," He said. "I know you trust your chosen representative from there. It's not Lindsey I am questioning; it's Lilah Morgan and the senior partners. "
"Ahh," Rasa said, regally, "Perhaps your chosen has a point, but then we have always used the Wolf Ram and Hart to ensure true neutrality."
"Surely this is not a time for neutrality," Goran stated "This is a time for all of our people to be present to hear and to respond."
Rasa did not smile. She wanted to. She wanted to tilt her head back and laugh. Goran and his champion, his pet Vampire, were playing into her plans. "It breaks with tradition," She said shaking her head.
"No," Goran said firmly. "It breaks with Custom. The two are not the same."
"Would you turn us into a democracy? Some pale copy of the humans ?" She spat the last word at him. Yes, Goran take those steps. Let the masses have their say and you will forfeit everything.
"Enough, Rasa. We are not here to debate politics," Goran said. "We will speak with the tribunal and if they are in agreement with your suggestion we will hold the negotiations here."
"In the meantime," Rasa said sliding long fingers around Angel's arm. "Allow me to show you what it is you are chosen to protect." She began to lead him away from Goran. "I am sure my cousin can plead his case to the elders. I am confident that they will agree with me, so I see no need to waste my time by going."
There was something about the woman that was disconcerting. He had known master vampires, and demon elders, he had even dined with and on kings and queens of mortal kingdoms, and none of them had exuded control and power the way this creature did. "I'd be honored," He said with a smile he didn't feel. Angel wasn't easily impressed by power.