Part Nine
A slight clacking sound filled the apartment. Pecking away at the keyboard of Adele’s computer, Cordelia typed in a few commands and was able to pull up the records from Sunnydale Presbyterian Hospital.
She began digging through recent admissions in hopes of finding the man who matched the one from Adele’s vision.
Never let it be said that Cordelia didn’t have her ways. She certainly wasn’t a computer genius, but Ernest Corwell was. Ernest was a sophomore and a real dork, but Cordelia thought he was sweet enough. All it took to receive instructions in computer hacking was to give him a pair of her panties. Not a bad deal she thought. Especially since now she was actually putting those skills to use.
Cordelia took hold of the mouse and began to click open various files from recently admitted patients. Progress was momentarily halted when a dialogue box indicated Adele had received an e-mail.
“Busty Bitches Newsletter? Adele, what kind of websites do you subscribe to?”
A few clicks later and Cordelia pulled up a file on an Anthony Todd. According to the notes, Todd was admitted two days earlier due to a savage head injury. So savage in fact that Todd was lingering in a coma. He also seemed to match the physical description that Adele had provided. Another e-mail appeared just as Cordelia was grabbing her cell phone.
“Adele? You there? What’s all that grunting? Fighting with a vamp? Should I hold a minute? Ok, I’ll wait.” Cordelia pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the new e-mail. She frowned and waited for Adele to speak. “Hey. You there? Good. First off, KoreanKunts dot com is revoking your membership. Second, I think I found our boy. His name is Anthony Todd and lives down in that swanky apartment complex on Hendrix. Where are you so I can pick you up? Fine. I’ll be there in ten.”
Cordelia flipped off her cell and hustled over to Adele’s weapon chest. A hatchet and a funky looking dagger went into her purse while the crossbow was wrapped up in her coat. Cordelia was about to slam shut the chest when she noticed a short length of rope.
An idea began to form and maybe, just maybe, it would be good enough to distract Faith long enough so everyone could survive. But she would need to make a pit stop first.
Cordelia barely remembered to close the front door when she rushed out to the car.
***
Beatings were something that Angel had received with regularity during his long lifetime. He remembered the whipping he got when he was human when Jacob Mercer had discovered that he was boinking his girlfriend Sophia. Then there was Juarez in 1937. Damn that was a bad beating. And this one at the hands of Faith was climbing up the ranks.
Angel had to hand it to her, the girl knew how to inflict suffering.
Angel spat some blood on the floor before him as he watched Faith slam a battery into a powerdrill. “Please tell me you’re about to put together a cabinet.”
“I’m about to put together a cabinet.”
“Liar.”
Faith pressed the trigger and a whirring sound was heard. That would be the six-inch drill bit circulating. She looked ready to put it to use when a cell phone began to chirp. Reaching underneath a bloody rag, Faith uncovered one. Sticking it to her ear she answered…
“Faith’s House of Cutlery. We slice, dice, and all for a low, low price. How may I help you?” A forced smiled appeared on her face. “Miss Morgan, how are you? Oh, I’m peachy. I was about to try out my new power tool actually. Hold on a second, Angel is yapping at me. He says that he’s hurt because you never called to arrange that lunch date you promised at the auction house. Yeah, I’ll tell him. Angel, she says fuck you. Yeah, Lilah, I gotta go. So much work and so little time. Yeah. Bye.”
Faith disconnected the phone and tossed it aside. Angel watched as she sat at the kitchen’s island counter. In his present state, Angel might not be the best judge, but it seemed that Faith was in bad shape. Besides the dark circles under the eyes, the young woman looked fairly gaunt, as if she hadn’t eaten in a few days. All in all, it appeared as if fatigue had long since set in. It didn’t seem that the phone call helped matters either.
If anything, Faith appeared more run down after hanging up.
“Faith,” he began softly, “you know this isn’t worth it. Just look at yourself. You looked like death warmed over. And as bad as you look, I’m sure you feel that much worse. Killing me isn’t going to solve anything, Faith. Let me help you. It isn’t too late.”
He was answered by a whirring of the drill bit and a sad smile. “Yeah, Angel,” Faith began softly, “it is.”
***
“Owie,” Buffy exclaimed.
Giles dabbed a bit more antiseptic on Buffy’s forehead wound. It was a nasty looking cut, but with Slayer healing it should disappear quickly and without a scar. Taking a bandage from his First Aid kit, Giles placed it over the cut and smoothed it out to make sure it stuck.
Satisfied of the job, Giles shut the kit and pushed back in his roller chair. He slid the box into his bottom desk drawer before creeping the chair back towards his charge. Buffy had been hiding in his office for the several hours since her brawl with that Adele girl. What’s more, Buffy wore the face of someone who had been thoroughly humiliated.
“I think you could have responded differently,” Giles began softly. “I’m actually disappointed with the way you dealt with the situation.”
Buffy sighed and placed a hand over her eyes. Sinking deeper into her chair she answered, “So am I.”
“You let personal problems interfere with duty.”
“I know. I was emotional. I’m sorry.” She lifted the hand from her eyes and gazed at Giles with a look of resignation. “I was upset at Angel for dumping me. I did and still feel that Adele and Cordelia have something to do with that. But despite that I should have listened. They presented us with information on Faith who just so happens to be working for the Mayor who just so happens to be planning some as yet unknown evil scheme.”
“Indeed,” Giles concurred.
“Even though Angel and I are no longer seeing each other, I still should have helped because tracking down and stopping Faith is my duty. Capturing her could give us clues as to the Mayor’s plan.”
Giles smiled slightly. It seemed that Buffy was thinking somewhat clearly once more. “So you know what you must do?”
“I should track down Faith. Not for personal reasons, but because it’s for the greater good.” Buffy slid to her feet and breezed from the room. Over the sound of the voices of the rest of the crew, Giles heard Buffy rummage in the weapons closet. As she walked past the door, he noticed she had a short sword and a crossbow.
Giles supposed he should be feeling proud at the present time. After all, Buffy was putting aside personal feelings to accomplish the task at hand. That was something he hand preached since the beginning. But now that Buffy was actually adhering to that, Giles couldn’t shake his concern.
Maybe he was just paranoid. Giles certainly hoped so.
***
Now that she was actually in the hallway outside of Anthony Todd’s apartment, Cordelia began to put a lot of doubt into how sound her plan was. She looked out the window at the end of the hall and noticed that it had begun to sprinkle in the twilight hour.
Cordelia lifted her crossbow up with her right hand as she reached inside her jacket with the left. Creeping slowly along so as not to make noise, Cordy pulled a ball peen hammer out of her pocket. There sure as hell wasn’t any turning back now. If she was right and this was where Angel was being kept, then they had no choice but to face a potentially psychotic Slayer and rescue him.
If she was wrong, then she and Adele would be spending the night in jail facing B and E charges and well as destruction of property while Angel was tortured someplace else. And Cordelia had heard horror stories about what happened to pretty girls like her in jail.
Pressing her ear to the door, Cordelia vaguely heard a voice that sounded like Faith. Deciding that was enough confirmation, Cordy tucked the hammer into her belt and retrieved her cell phone. She tapped speed dial two and tucked the phone away. Bringing the hammer back up, Cordelia poised herself and took a cleansing breath. It was time to go.
Cordelia swung the hammer down in a hard motion and broke the doorknob clean off. A swift kick with her slightly overpriced tennis shoes and the door swung wide open. In the center of the living room was Angel bound to a chair with Faith hovering near him with a power drill.
“Well, if it isn’t Xander’s old flame. How are ya…”
Faith howled in mid sentence when Cordelia expertly let loose an arrow and caught the Slayer in the right outer thigh. As Faith reeled in pain, Cordelia was able to take a moment and catalogue Angel’s extensive injuries. The other thing she managed to catalogue was that his clothes were draped on the living room couch. That meant they weren’t on his body.
“Hello Salty Goodness,” she murmured absently. Angel’s shout drew her attention from his injured nakedness.
“Cordy, what the hell are you doing?” He was actually genuinely confused why she was there.
“I’m part of the rescue party. Duh.”
Faith jerked the arrow from her thigh and prepared to fire it right back at her attacker. That thought was lost when the balcony windows behind her shattered as Adele repelled into the room by swinging down from the roof. Cordelia’s phone call was the signal and Adele moved quickly.
The hailstorm of shattered glass offered a few moments cover for Adele to launch an assault. With her leg wound, Faith wasn’t able to avoid the first few blows from the purple-faced demon. A right cross to the jaw was quickly followed by a knee to the gut and a high kick to the face.
Faith was just able to avoid the brunt of a down slice from Adele’s sword, but still received a nasty slice to her left arm. When Adele attempted to deliver another boot to the face, Faith caught the foot and delivered a quick counterpunch to the belly.
The moment’s reprieve allowed the Slayer to push away with her good leg and bolt for the door. She elbowed past Cordelia who was trying desperately to pump a new arrow into position. Cordy tossed the jammed weapon away in frustration and moved to Angel as Adele went in pursuit of Faith.
“Cordy,” Angel painfully gasped as the girl rushed behind him. “What the hell were you thinking? Screwing with a Slayer is bad business.”
Cordelia examined the lock binding him to the chair and once again produced her hammer. “Aw, fuck it. We did it once today, why not twice? Besides, am I supposed to feel guilty because Adele and I love you enough to risk our lives for you? Screw that, Buster. Now lean forward.”
Angel dutifully obeyed as Cordelia raised the hammer and smacked away at the lock. Two blows were all it took to break the mechanism.
“Clothes,” Angel grunted. His naked form slid from the chair and fell onto the glass littered floor. “Gotta save Adele.”
“Hold it, Angel. The plan is to get you out of here.” She handed him his black khakis and white t-shirt. “I’ll go help Adele. You’re in no position to do much.”
“Like a cheerleader is?” Angel snapped back. Seeing Cordelia’s hurt look he quickly amended. “I’m sorry, Cor, but Faith will rip you both in half. I can reach her. Just stay out of my way.”
***
Adele grabbed a fistful of brown hair and jerked back with all her might. With a hard twist she sent Faith crashing headfirst into the wall and tearing a hole in the plaster. Then in a fashion that would make the most hardened NFL linebacker proud, Adele charged headlong and buried a shoulder into Faith’s gut and drove the Slayer back into, and then through, the glass window at the hall’s end.
The woman flew through the sky amidst a flurry of glass shards and a heavy thunderstorm of rain. Faith crashed mightily into the windshield of a Ford Taurus on the street with Adele right on top of her. The car alarm blazed as the rain continued to pelt heavily on the girls.
For a moment, neither moved. The sheer force of the landing blow did more that just knock the wind from them. The impact concussed the back of Faith’s head while a vicious gash was torn across Adele’s nose and cheek.
Blooding pouring from her face, it took all of Adele’s strength to push up away from Faith and rear back to deliver a right jab. Faith’s head rolled back not once, but several times as Adele gained momentum and began delivering punch after punch. But that momentum was broken as somehow Faith mustered the strength to bring a knee up and thrust into Adele’s stomach. Adele rocked backwards off the car and onto the pavement below, the back of her head cracking against the solid sidewalk. The pain was so severe that she shifted uncontrollably between human and demon visage.
Not that Faith was in much better condition. She essentially slid from the hood of the car atop of Adele and reached back into an unknown well of fortitude to pummel away at her foe. Each shot sent a glob of blood flying from Adele’s mouth, and through the haze of pain and adrenaline, Faith realized she was losing a large amount herself.
She paused, dazed, reached back and touched a mat of wet hair on the back of her head. Focusing shakily on her hand, Faith understood it wasn’t all rain. There was blood pouring from the back of her head and dripping down her neck and back, staining her white tank top.
And for a time it seemed the world came to a standstill. As Faith’s head lolled back and she peered up into the night sky, a sense of complete and utter understanding swept into her soul. This was her life.
She was bleeding and dying in a dark, dirty, and wet street fighting a woman she didn’t know nor care about. Every dream she ever dream seemed so far away. Here she was, reduced to something less than human in a feeble attempt to survive. But why should she? Why should she survive when this was her life?
Faith vaguely felt the body beneath her squirming as she stared up into the sky. She felt and memorized every droplet of rain as it struck her face. When she felt hands wrap around her shoulders, Faith rolled her head back around and first noticed the demon woman resting in the arms of Cordelia. Then she saw Angel, the rain matting his hair and trickling down his nose.
“Angel…help me?”
Angel nodded slightly and brushed the wet bangs from her eyes. “Sure.”
Faith immediately began to weep violently. When she slumped into his arms, Angel had no choice but to hold her as she cried. And as Faith shook in his arms, Angel peered over and found Adele curled in Cordelia’s lap, the latter gently stroking the wounded girl’s hair.
Their eyes locked, and Angel was grateful to see that approval was showing in Cordelia’s eyes. And just for a moment, as the last rays of sunlight evaporated and the rain chilled him to the bone, that understanding was good enough for him.
***
The puddle rippled when a sneaker quickly stepped in and out. Footsteps sounded lightly as the figure carefully jogged down the street and in the shadows, careful to avoid the detection of the police.
Buffy eyed the scene analytically, coolly, emotionlessly. It was obvious that someone or something was tossed from the third story window and crashed into the windshield of that parked car. Buffy had a pretty good guess at the parties involved.
With the leisurely pace the police were taking, it became apparent there were no bodies to be taken away and examined. That meant that everyone involved had survived the ordeal. Buffy vaguely wondered how that happened. She hadn’t expected that to be the case. In fact, she had idly hoped that perhaps the Adele girl got lucky enough to inflict some serious damage to her fellow Slayer.
Obviously her luck wasn’t that good.
Since it was clear that Faith had cleared the area, it was now essential to track her down. But that presented some difficulty. Buffy knew that she no longer stayed at the hotel since she was now being put up by the Mayor. She could have Willow do some hacking to find out what properties Wilkins owned and then narrow it down. Or maybe there was an easier way.
She was assuming that Angel had survived, so perhaps he knew how to track down Faith. Buffy frowned. But then again, Angel was no longer at the mansion. So that meant he would need to be tracked down through that Adele girl. Buffy wondered why everything had to be so difficult. Life would be easier if a handbook with the vital players’ information was handed out.
It’d be so simple to find people.
Slinking back into the shadows, Buffy vacated the scene. She intended to find Willow at home and wake the girl up. Buffy needed some voodoo performed on the computer. Then maybe this whole situation could be wrapped up.
***
Curled on the couch, Faith fell into a rough slumber. Angel watched her for a few moments and gently wrapped the young woman in a blanket. Faith had actually asked for his help. Should he give it? Angel wanted more than anything to help put her back on the right path, but was it worth it? After all, Faith had several previous opportunities to redeem herself. And since then she had tortured him and nearly killed Adele.
He took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet. Angel’s knees popped loudly, his head pounded, and every single bone in his body ached. Nothing would be more greatly appreciated than a heavy-duty painkiller, a bag of blood, and a few days sleep. Angel knew he’d probably need to settle for the first two.
With a heavy limp in his left leg, Angel hobbled into the dark kitchen and fumbled around for the refrigerator. The bright light when he opened the door caused him to squint and turn away. He grabbed the old Gatorade Fruit Punch bottle that contained pig’s blood and drank straight from the jug.
“Didn’t your mother tell you not to drink from the carton?”
Cordelia squeezed by him and grabbed a bottle of Sunny Delight. She followed his example and drank straight from the carton.
“Double standard there, love,” Angel murmured. “Besides, we didn’t have cartons when I grew up.” He kept the fridge door open until Cordelia flipped on the small light on the stove. The two then leaned against opposite counters and gazed at each other as they guzzled from respective bottles.
“I’m not a doctor,” Cordelia began lightly, “but I’d say that Adele has a very nasty concussion. I know you’re not supposed to sleep for 24 hours after receiving one, but I couldn’t keep her up. She’s also got a horrible cut across her face. I’m assuming that her half-demon state will allow her to heal more quickly and cleanly than the normal girl.” Angel nodded slightly to confirm that thought.
“You shouldn’t have come for me,” Angel stated. “It was risky and stupid and I never want you to risk yourself for me again, understood?”
Cordelia set the jug aside and raised her chin defiantly. “No. You can’t give me that order. You can’t give Adele that order. It isn’t your decision whether we risk ourselves for you or not. This may come as a shock to you, Angel, but we love you. Did you know that Adele considers you her best friend?” Angel apparently didn’t.
“And you’re the first person in a long time that I could count on for anything. When you went missing, we worried about you. It felt like losing family when you didn’t come home. We made the choice and it was ours to make. So poo on you.” Cordelia stuck her tongue out for added emphasis. Angel smiled slightly before asking…
“Are you okay with this? I mean, trying to help Faith?”
“Let’s see. I think helping Faith is incredibly risky, dangerous, misguided, and most likely insane.” Angel lowered his face and stared at the tile floor. “But yeah, I’m okay with it.” The surprised look on his face would have made Cordelia laugh it was any other time.
“You can relate to her. I see that. Horrible crimes. Overwhelming urge to atone. Constant temptation to cross over to the dark side. Yeah, you’re probably the one person on this planet who could actually make a dent in that thick head of hers. Putting aside my own feelings of wanting to bitch slap her for hurting you and speaking objectively, yeah, I’ll support you on this. The Slayer is supposed to be a good guy, er, chick. Who better to show her the way back than a superhero like yourself?”
“What about Adele?”
“Adele will want to help her. Or kill her. I don’t know, it could go either way. But if you believe in this then she will too.” Cordelia crossed the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. Angel was slightly caught off guard, but managed to wrap his slightly less injured right arm around her.
“We missed you.”
“I missed you,” Angel replied softly. Internally he moaned when Cordy broke the embrace.
“I should go to bed,” Cordelia whispered. “I’m sleeping on the floor next to Adele in case she needs something.”
“Do you want me to join you?” Angel blurted out. “I mean, to help you watch Adele, not sleep with you. And uh, I think I’ll just watch over Faith tonight. She’s not doing too well either. Good night.”
Angel quickly hobbled past and occupied himself with scrounging up some extra blankets and pillows. Sensing a missed opportunity, Cordelia quietly put away the OJ and blood. She silently slipped through the living room and avoided looking at Angel. Maybe that was for the best. With Adele injured and ad hoc therapy about to begin on Faith, any personal business would need to wait.
In the bedroom, Cordy gazed at the bedside floor and the blanket and pillow she had previously laid there. Deciding it had been too long a day to spend a night in uncomfortable settings, Cordelia delicately slipped into the bed so not to disturb Adele’s fitful slumber. God she needed some rest. For some reason, Cordelia figured tomorrow might be her second long day in a row.
***
When the key rattled in the lock of the Sunnydale Motel, Douglas and Ian halted their rummy game and turned to greet the arrival. James stepped in a moment later with a satisfied smirk on his face. The man quickly shrugged off his coat and slid into a chair and greeted his leader and the newbie.
“What did you find?” Ian asked. “Do you know where the target is located?”
“I will shortly,” James assured. “As for now, I can tell you where she’s been and that is an apartment complex on Hendrix Avenue. I worked over a patrolwoman and was able to gleam over the evidence collected. Fingerprints found at the scene match those of Faith Burton.”
“And how does that help us?” Ian questioned.
“Because,” James dutifully explained, “I went to the scene and talked with some people in the area. Shortly after the commotion began, an elderly woman across the street in a neighboring apartment noticed four people climbing into a car. Her articulate memory managed to recall the plates and I’m having them run down as we speak.”
“Wonderful!”
“But that’s not all.”
“No?”
“The old woman gave me the description of a man. And if I am not mistaken, I do believe that man just may be the infamous vampire Angelus.”
Ian was stunned. Douglas looked confused. “Who is Angelus?”
“Only the most feared vampire to walk the earth in the past three centuries,” Ian supplied. “His acts of cruelty are unequaled in demon lore. His descendant bloodline has produced some of the vilest creatures imaginable. None of them more vile than Angelus himself, but still.” To Douglas he spoke, “I thought the Summers girl destroyed him.”
“Apparently reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
“Does that mean we get to kill him too?” Douglas gleefully asked.
Ian glared at Douglas with distaste. Never had he seen a man so eager to destroy. But still, all compromising parties must be removed. “It does. The other two will need to be handled as well. Who were there?”
“Two women. Tall brunettes. The old woman said one had a purple face.”
“One demon, one probable human. Lovely.” Ian squeezed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve pressure. It didn’t work. “Fine. Prepare your equipment and get some rest. When James’ contact phones in we shall get to work. Let us do this quickly. I do not wish to stay in this town one second longer than necessary.”