***
“Oh, damn it to hell!”
When Cordelia busted down the bathroom door, she was stunned to find Adele sprawled out on the tile floor. A maroon robe was all that covered her body and a matching towel was wrapped around her head. Cordelia could still smell the apricot bubble bath Adele had used.
Rushing to Adele’s side, Cordy nearly slipped on a wet tile. She flipped down the lid of the toilet and helped Adele take a seat. “Adele? What’s wrong? Do you see something?”
Adele spasmed as the vision continued to rack through her brain and radiated down her body. Thankfully Cordelia was in front of her and gripping the toilet seat on either side, otherwise Adele might slide into the floor and crack her head.
Cordelia, for her part, whispered soothing reassurances to the hurting woman. It was obvious she couldn’t console as well as Angel, but she had to try.
“I see a man,” Adele whimpered. She clutched and clawed fiercely at her skull as if trying to extract her brain. Her eyes dilated as she stared past Cordelia with a horrified look. “It’s Angel! Chained to a chair. Oh my God, he’s hurting. Someone is hurting him!”
Adele bucked violently on the toilet. So hard in fact that Cordelia grabbed her head to keep Adele from smacking it against the tile behind her. The young woman continued to spasm and groan in extraordinary pain. But as concerned as Cordelia was, this whole thing wasn’t getting them anywhere.
Grabbing a fistful of hair, Cordelia forced Adele to look into her eyes and speak.
“Who is hurting him, Adele?”
“A woman,” she sobbed. “A brunette woman. A tattoo on her right bicep.” Now it was Cordelia’s turn to look horrified. She let loose of Adele’s hair and slid to the floor. She leaned back against the tub, the back of her jeans getting wet from where Adele didn’t wipe the floor.
“We need to get to Giles and the new Watcher,” Cordelia stated.
“If the woman is who I think, then Angel is in a whole lot of trouble.”
***
“Does anyone say that Buffy should be more like me? No! Because Buffy is perfect and sweet and just the greatest Slayer ever. All I get is labeled as psychotic and violent! What the hell is up with that?”
Angel watched as Faith carved her name into the plaster wall with a butcher knife she found in the kitchen. “You have to admit that your past behavior has been less than stable. I believe that the greatest beef the Council has is your tendency for overkill instead of going for quick and efficient slays.
“As for Buffy, she is hardly perfect. But despite the fact the Council finds her rebelliousness disconcerting, Buffy always handles herself with composure and attempts to resolve situations in the most effective manner. She has proven herself to be a capable Slayer and a model on which to instruct successive Slayers such as yourself. It isn’t that everyone wants you to be Buffy. It’s that the Council simply wishes you to learn from her. Just because you learn from example doesn’t mean you lose your individuality.”
Faith glared at him with distaste. “You sound like a shrink.”
“I was in therapy for a time in the late 50s,” Angel admitted.
“I don’t like shrinks, remember?”
“Oh yes. And I suppose this is the point and time in which you remind me how you could hurt me and how evil you are.”
“I am evil.”
“Bullshit. Listen to a man who helped redefine the word. I’ve done a lot of evil in my day. I touched the darkness and then embraced it. Over the course of a couple centuries, I’ve seen many do that. Darla. Drusilla. Milton Berle. I’ve seen beings descend into evil. I know what it looks like. I know what it feels like. The pleasure. The thrill. The arousal. I don’t see it in you.”
“You think I didn’t enjoy piercing that dude’s heart with a stake?”
“I think it terrified you. Or are the dark bags under your eyes and the pale pallor of your skin the newest Hollywood trend?” Faith squirmed under his gaze. He hit the nail on the head.
“I bet you’ve not slept more than two or three hours in a row without the help of alcohol, am I right? I bet the nightmares are a real bitch, eh love? Come on, Faith. Tell Daddy all about how you’ve woken in cold sweats as your mind replays the murder over and over. Tell me how you scream when you wake up thinking you have blood on your hands. Does that feel good, Faith? Does evil make you feel all warm and safe?”
Angel barely flinched when the butcher’s knife imbedded in his chest. It would probably leave a bruise come morning, but then it would just match perfectly will all the others littering his body. It did hurt a bit when Faith jerked it back out and then held it to his throat.
“Do not fucking patronize me! I’ll stick this god damn thing in your brain!”
Angel tilted his head back to give her a better shot at ramming it in. “Then do it. One step closer to darkness, Faith. It’s what you want, isn’t it?” The knife hand trembled. Angel could tell that Faith was willing herself to push it forward. He breathed a sigh of relief when the blade slowly moved away from his neck and hung limply in Faith’s hand before dropping to the floor altogether.
“You’re not evil, Faith. You’re a girl that has done wrong and has wrong done unto her, but you are not evil. And it certainly isn’t too late for atonement. I can help you. I want to help you.”
For a minute Angel swore he saw her resolve crumble. The tough bitch exterior was cracking and coming down like the Berlin Wall. And for a moment Angel saw Faith’s true essence: A frightened and haunted girl who didn’t know what to do. He found it rather unfortunate when her inner defenses kicked in at the last moment.
“You want to help me?” Faith screamed. “Of course you do! Maybe so I’ll owe you? So I can fucking turn tricks for you later? Fuck you, Angel! No more! I’m no one’s whore anymore! Go to hell!”
The fist slamming into his face sent Angel once more into the depths of unconsciousness.
***
Popping the top of her bottle of painkillers, Adele swallowed two more as she followed Cordelia through the halls of Sunnydale High School. She figured she could use the extra medication. After all, in a few minutes, she would be asking Buffy for help in finding Angel. That thought alone nearly intensified Adele’s migraine.
“Are you listening to me, Adele?”
“Wha-huh?”
Cordelia rolled her eyes and readjusted the strap of her oversized purse on her shoulder. “I said to be on your best behavior. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that you don’t like Buffy. What’s not to dislike? Miss Likes to Fight gets on my nerves too, but we’re gonna need her help, understood?”
“Yes’m,” Adele acknowledged.
“So that means no name calling, no snide remarks, and absolutely no flirting with the sidekicks.” Adele looked ready to object, but Cordy beat her to it. “No arguing. Or am I going to need to make you sit in the car?”
“Okay. I promise to behave. Girl scout promise.”
“Scouts salute with the right hand, Adele. Now behave.”
Cordelia pushed on one of the library doors and entered the room. Adele followed behind obediently. Maybe Cordy would get lucky and Adele wouldn’t pick a fight.
The library was full with its normal patrons. Buffy was whipping up on the new watcher Wesley in a staff fight. Willow and Oz occupied the main table as they sorted through and read various tomes. Xander was zonked out in a chair with a half eaten Twinkie protruding from his mouth.
Cordelia spotted Giles through the office blinds sitting at his desk. And as luck would have it, Buffy was the first to respond to their presence.
“Well, if it isn’t The Girls. And they’re here without Angel. I was wondering if he kept you two on a leash.”
“He does. Angel actually uses the one you used on him before he broke away.”
“Adele!” The glare Cordelia sent her way made the young Corsican shush immediately. If the situation weren’t so serious, Cordelia might be amused by it all. It was actually she who was urging someone to exercise some tact.
Who’d have figured?
Thankfully Giles stepped from his office when he heard the commotion. He placed a hand on his former Slayer’s shoulder to hold her back. Buffy looked about ready to snap Adele’s neck.
“Cordelia,” he greeted politely. Giles was vaguely surprised when Cordelia smiled and bowed slightly at his greeting. “What brings you and your, uh, friend here tonight?”
“Business,” Cordelia began succinctly.
“What sort of business?” Wesley interrupted. He beamed at Cordelia goofily before dropping the staff on his foot. Grimacing, he hobbled behind Giles and attempted to look important.
“Actually, this bit of business should concern you, Mr. Pryce. It concerns us all. Angel is in danger, and we believe that Faith is responsible for it.”
That perked everyone up. Well, most everyone. Xander was still snoozing at the table and Buffy seemed disinterested. Giles took charge of the cross-examination.
“What makes you say that?”
“When Angel left the Bronze last night he went to stop something from hurting a young man. He didn’t come home so we began to worry. Earlier today we got wind that perhaps Faith is responsible for his disappearance.”
Giles looked confused. Both Cordy and Adele hoped that perhaps he would simply take their word on this and not ask questions. The whole visions and Powers That Be angle might create a stir, and neither knew what repercussions might occur from it. They simply didn’t want to explain themselves at the moment.
But it seemed that fate wouldn’t cooperate.
“I’m sorry, but why do you suspect Faith is involved? Certainly the mayor wouldn’t have her strike against Angel. I feel that perhaps you are not explaining everything.”
“Leave it to Cordelia to omit the important parts.”
“Hush Buffy!” Cordelia snapped. “Sometimes it’s easier to omit certain irrelevant parts.”
“Such as?” Giles asked.
“I get visions,” Adele said softly, “of people in need. Souls that need to be saved. I was drawn to Sunnydale for that reason and to help guide Angel towards his redemption.”
“You work for the Powers,” an awestruck Wesley realized. Giles was equally amazed. Only once before had he met an actual Seer. And that one hadn’t been near as attractive as this one. Buffy was not near as impressed.
“Who the hell are the Powers?”
“A mystical force,” Giles explained. “Sort of a balancing act between good and evil. They are very powerful. Typically a connection between the Powers and Champion exists in the form of a Seer. Apparently Miss Adele here is that connection. And you say that Faith is responsible for Angel’s disappearance?”
“I believe so. In my vision I saw Angel being tortured by a brunette woman with a tattoo on her right bicep. Cordelia and I think that Faith may be acting under the influence of a Los Angeles law firm called Wolfram and Hart.”
“That’s the firm where that one e-mail address was routed through,” Willow spoke. Giles looked back at the girl and nodded slightly. He remembered that.
“Do you know where Faith may be holding him?”
“No.”
“Wonderful,” Buffy mocked. “They’re here on a hunch that Angel might be, or may not be, in trouble. And even if he is in trouble, they don’t know where Faith might be keeping him. Is there anything you two know for certain?”
“How the hell can you be so cold about this?” Cordelia snapped back. “Angel is likely getting the shit beat out of him, and the only thing you can do is mock us. Don’t you care that he’s in danger?”
“Why should I care? As I seem to recall him saying last night, Angel is his own man. He doesn’t need a Slayer to protect him. Besides, it’s not my job to look after ex-boyfriends.”
Cordelia just stared at her in awe. “You selfish bitch. You’re not going to help because you’re pissed he dumped you? Angel’s dead, that’s why his heart doesn’t beat. What’s your excuse?”
“You little bitch, I oughta…” Buffy’s open palm was about to make solid contact with Cordelia’s cheek. But at the last moment, another hand latched onto Buffy’s wrist and prevented that from happening.
When Cordelia finally opened her eyes after expecting the blow, she found Adele glaring angrily at Buffy.
“A Slayer versus a cheerleader?” Adele admonished. “That’s not a fair fight. If you’re so anxious to slap someone around, I suggest you go after someone who’ll swing back.”
“Oh, like you?”
Adele shifted into her purple demon visage and snarled. “Yeah. Like me.” The momentary look of fear upon Buffy’s face was more than enough to rid the last vestiges of Adele’s headache. The backhanded slap she delivered to the Slayer actually made her quite giddy.
Buffy rolled away and wiped her hand across her mouth. The few droplets of blood she found enraged her. “Oh, that will get you killed.”
“Will it? How about you prove it?”
Buffy leapt forward and connected with a right cross against Adele’s jaw. What then ensued was a quick and furious battle in which both women displayed their knowledge of the martial arts and plain old street fighting.
When Adele head butted Buffy, the ridges on her forehead opened up a gash on the Slayer. But while Adele did manage to get a few more hard blows in, it was clear that she was vastly outmatched. When she missed on a left hook, Buffy used the momentum to whip around Adele and position her arms to snap her neck and deliver the final blow. Needless to say, Buffy was fairly surprised to be greeted by a crossbow in her face.
Cordelia aimed the small crossbow she had carried in her purse at Buffy with remarkable composure. Even Xander, who was now wide awake, was stunned by the fact Cordelia of all people was standing toe to toe with the Slayer.
“You have two seconds to let go of her,” Cordelia warned.
“You’re not going to kill me, Cordelia. Who do you think you’re fooling?”
“Of course I’m not going to kill you.” The way Cordelia said that made Buffy feel like an idiot for suggesting it. But she began to wonder when Cordelia dropped the sights and aimed at her foot. “But I will make sure you won’t be dancing for a while. Now let her go.”
Buffy relinquished her grip on Adele and lightly pushed her away. Adele sent her best scathing glare at the Slayer as she rubbed her bruised neck. She only allowed her demon face to melt away once she was behind the very armed Cordelia Chase.
“You don’t want to help Angel, fine. But you will not hurt my friends.” Cordelia lowered the crossbow and motioned to Adele to back away. The girls retreated from the library as the Scooby gang marveled at what they just saw. Buffy got into a catfight with a lesbo demon and had Cordelia Chase expertly aim a crossbow at her.
“Times like this that you can really tell you’re living on a Hellmouth,” Xander decided. He looked around to see if anyone would disagree. No one did. But then again, nobody was paying attention.
*
And out in the parking lot, Cordelia was laying it on Adele.
“What the hell is wrong with you? You cannot get into a brawl with a Slayer like that!”
“Well excuse me! After all, she was only trying to hit you when I stepped in!”
“Fine! So she would have hit me! Big deal! But she could have killed you and would have if I didn’t have that crossbow!”
Adele glared at Cordelia over the hood of her Lexus. She just wanted Cordy to unlock the door so they could drive out of here. But it seemed that Cordelia wanted to hash things out in the here and now.
“Forget it, Cor. It’s over and done with. It was stupid to come here anyway. Angel is our boss and our priority. It’s quite apparent that no one in there gives two shits about him. It’s up to us to get him back.”
A look of pure disbelief crossed Cordelia’s face. “Okay, did you not just listen to what I said five fucking seconds ago? Getting Angel back means squaring off against an even more psychotic Slayer than the one in there! And didn’t I say how you can’t just get into a brawl with one?”
“Well what do you want to do, Cor? Just wait until Faith kills him and then hope the PTB’s send him back? That’s not gonna happen. So either we can pin our hopes on that improbability or I can fight Faith and hope that you can get him to safety. What’s it gonna be?”
“If you fight Faith you’ll be cut in half within thirty seconds!” Cordelia cried. “What you’re asking me to do is choose between two friends and decide which one gets to live! I can’t do that, Adele! Don’t ask me to choose.”
The last sentence that Cordelia uttered sounded so pitiful and weak that Adele’s resolve was broken. She was right. That was essentially the choice she had been offered.
“I’m sorry, Cor. I’m not a brilliant strategist or a hero like he is. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing or saying.”
“The first thing to do,” Cordelia started, “is to find out where Faith is hiding.” Adele nodded in agreement. “She’s got a crappy apartment downtown. Want to check it out?”
Adele shook her head. “No. My vision didn’t show a cheap hotel. It was a fairly nice apartment.”
“Where would a cheap ho like Faith get an apartment?”
“By taking it. How good are you with a computer?”
“Me? Only fair. The real computer whiz is your would-be girlfriend Willow. Why?”
“I want you to track down the young man from my first vision. I want to know his residency specifically.”
“Sure thing. But what are you gonna do?”
Adele pushed away from the car and forced a smile onto her face. “I’m going to walk around for a bit. There’s gotta be something to kill around here and I’m in need of some stress relief. Call me on my cell when you get something.”
Cordelia nodded slightly and watched as Adele went off on patrol. There were so many things going wrong tonight. And these new suicidal tendencies Adele was developing were among the most disturbing of those things. Cordy unlocked the door and slid into the car. Maybe while she was researching that info a plan would come to her so that all three of them could survive. But right now, it wasn’t coming to her.
Los Angeles
Ian folded his arm behind his head as he rested on his hotel bed at the airport Hilton. They would be moving soon to Sunnydale to deal with the situation. But first it was decided they should take some time to rest from the flight.
He gazed at the photograph he held of the target. Faith Burton. She was certainly an attractive girl. In fact, the last three had all been good looking. A change from the previous six or so. Ian vaguely wondered what the next one would look like after this one was terminated.
This mission was what the Council called a Halo Operation. That meant only a few superior commanders and the strike team knew of the mission. The Council representative in Sunnydale, a bumbling fool by the name of Wyndam-Pryce, would have no knowledge of the fact the Slayer would be targeted.
The bedside phone rang. Ian picked it up as he continued to gaze at the photograph. “Yes? Very well, Douglas. I’ll met you in the lobby in ten minutes.” He then hung up the phone. So it was time. On to Sunnydale to fulfill the mission.
On to Sunnydale to destroy the most valuable commodity the Council had.
May God forgive them for it.
