Part 4
“The rest of your gang didn’t come?” Doctor Fox asked as he swiped the keycard to Cordelia’s room.
“Nope, just Fred and me,” Angel answered. The vampire ushered Fred into the room, and his body posture indicated clearly that Fox was not invited to do the same. Fox wasn’t put off by it, he just chalked it up as a man wanting to be alone with his wife.
Fox went off to make his rounds. Angel shut the door and peered out the small window to make sure he was gone. “All clear. Give it to her.”
Fred reached into her jacket pocket and removed a syringe with a light brown liquid. It had taken most of the night, and numerous raids to various Los Angeles herbalist shops to finally track down all the components for the neuro-stimulant.
There were a few extremely hard to find herbs that were included in the recipe, as well as a few other things. Cordelia would certainly have a fit if she knew she had Cragnoc juice in her veins. Of course, she’d have to find out what a Cragnoc was first.
“I hope this works,” Fred said as she plunged the needle into Cordy’s arm.
“It will,” Angel assured her.
The next couple minutes were the longest Angel had ever experienced in his two and one half centuries of existence. His ears focused on the clicking of his wristwatch as the seconds ticked away.
When Cordelia blinked, a rush of air he didn’t even know he held was expelled.
Angel could tell the exact instant when she regained her senses. One moment her eyes stared ahead vacantly, the next, they were focused completely. She gasped for breath as if she had been underwater for hours.
“Cordy?” he asked.
“Angel?” she answered weakly. “Where am I?”
Before Cordelia knew what happened, she was the center of a ferocious group hug. Angel and Fred didn’t hesitate to grab on and let Cordelia know how much they missed her.
“I guess you guys missed me?”
“Yeah, we did,” Angel admitted. He kissed her cheek gently, surprising his Seer immensely. “Where were you?”
“Receiving orders,” Cordelia said.
***
Police Precinct 14
Los Angeles, California
“Detective Louis Anderson? How are you?”
Anderson had almost made it to his car in the parking garage when he heard that voice. The cold sweats began almost immediately, and when he turned, he found the one person he never wanted to see again.
“Ramius. How did you get in here?”
Ramius smiled coldly at the detective. “Access, Detective Anderson. It’s all about access.” Ramius walked calmly towards the detective, grinning all the way. “You see, up until a short time ago, I had access to just about any place that I wanted. But because of people like you, I had it all taken away. You cheated me, Detective. I don’t like to be cheated.”
Anderson’s hand dipped slowly down to his holster. He unfastened the strap holding his gun down and rested his hand on the grip.
“What’s the matter, Anderson?” Ramius taunted. “Are you afraid?” he drawled. “Perhaps you should be. Because I plan on making you pay for ever thinking you could fuck with me and get away with it.”
“I just did what they wanted,” Anderson defended. “It’s what the others decided on. I couldn’t go against it.”
“Of course not,” Ramius continued to taunt. “You just followed orders like a good little soldier. Guess what? Consider this your Nuremberg.”
Ramius pulled his silenced pistol from his holster so quickly, Anderson wasn’t even able to tighten his hold on his own. The stunned look on Anderson’s face as the bullet passed through his cerebrum gave Ramius great joy.
Not as much as the several million dollars he was screwed out of could have given him, but he still received a happy.
“Three down, one to go,” Ramius muttered.
***
Hyperion Hotel
“So, uh, Fred,” Buffy began. Fred barely looked up from a file concerning a Tigron demon. “I guess things have been pretty strange here lately.”
“They have,” Fred said simply.
Okay, Buffy thought. This girl didn’t seem to want to communicate. “I kinda get the impression that Cordelia wasn’t the only one who went MIA. Angel was gone for a while too, right?”
Fred failed to acknowledge the question, causing Gunn to shake his head in amusement. “Sweetie, I don’t think they would mind if we gave a yes or no to that question.”
Fred shook her head in embarrassment, realizing she had taken the code of silence thing a bit too seriously. “Yes, things have been strange, and yes, both Cordy and Angel went missing at the same time.”
“The police found Cordy’s jeep out on the interstate,” Gunn continued. “As for Angel, he hasn’t told what happened to him. Although we do have a good idea,” Gunn admitted.
“Oh yeah? What?”
”That’s one thing I don’t think he’d want us to tell.”
“You guys have a lot of secrets,” Buffy observed.
“Yup,” Gunn and Fred agreed.
Xander and Dawn stepped through the lobby, returning from their tour of the hotel. “So,” Xander started, “can you tell us what this big old pentagram on the floor is about, or is that another secret?”
“By the way,” Dawn added, “I think you got mice in the basement.”
Gunn shivered at the mention of the swishy tailed, beady-eyed vermin. “Yeah, about the pentagram. That’s what happens when you hire the wrong redecorator.”
Gunn turned to his girlfriend. “I said hire Martha Stewart, but no, you said hire that nice B’nofren demon. He had a nice business card you said.”
“Well he did,” Fred said, getting into the joke. “Plus, any guy with a big horn like that is okay by me.”
“You said you didn’t look at his horn!” Gunn accused.
“I just took a peek,” Fred defended.
“Why did I even bother?” Buffy asked herself as the two lovebirds continued their mock argument.
***
“So one minute I’m talking to Skip, the next I’m doing the whole heavenly ascension bit. Turns out the Powers said I’d outgrown this plane. They said there would be assignments for me elsewhere,” Cordelia explained.
“So why are you here?” Fred asked.
“The Powers didn’t count on Ramius.”
“Who’s Ramius?” Angel questioned.
“A shape shifter. He used to work for the Powers, but he was expelled because he was caught doing some bad things. Actually, he was ratted out doing some bad things. He was part of an illegal operation here on Earth. He and a few others were leading a drug running operation. They used secretions from Fratnon demons and sold it. Their business had connections all along the West Coast from San Diego to Vancouver.”
“Fratnon demon? I’ve never heard of them,” Fred stated.
“They’re small demons,” Angel explained, “only about two feet tall. The waste product they put out is similar to LSD, but far more addictive, and far more deadly. There was a vampire gang in Manhattan about twenty years ago that specialized in the trade.”
“There’s a moral to that story,” Cordy joked. “Don’t do drugs, because you could be shooting Fratnon urine. But back to my story, the Powers told me the identities of the beings involved. A local Powers representative, a Wolfram and Hart lawyer, Ramius, an LA cop, and a Congressman.”
“You were sent back to tell us about this?” Angel asked.
“Yes, but I think we might be too late. Something’s wrong, I can feel it. At least one of them is dead. I shouldn’t have insisted on a ‘face to face’ meeting with the Powers. I totally forgot about the possibility of Semele Syndrome. Did you give me the juice?”
“Yes,” Angel said astonished. “How the hell did you know about Semele Syndrome?”
Cordelia turned her best Valley Girl look on him. “Well, I’m not just a pretty face. I can read too. You’d be surprised at what I know. Oh, and I am so going to kick your ass for using Cragnoc juice. Don’t you know you can substitute that with extract from the sumac plant?”
Angel stared blankly at her a moment before grabbing her in another hug. “We’re going to have to talk about what you’re reading. It scares me when you come up with brilliant reasoning.”
“Bastard,” Cordelia muttered, although that didn’t prevent her from enjoying Angel’s display of affection. “How about springing me from this joint?”
“Oh crap!” Fred realized. “The doctors don’t know she’s awake.”
“Well then,” Angel said. “We need to make them aware of it. Fred, could you go get Doctor Fox?”
“Sure,” Fred agreed. She was out the door in moments to retrieve the doctor.
Angel turned back to Cordelia. “Now, tell me about this Ramius and these other four people.”
***
Skylark Apartments
Los Angeles
“This is Kelly Winger of Channel 12 News. In three days, the Hilton Hotel behind me will play host to a Democratic Fundraising Campaign for the re-election of Congressman Harold Doyle. The four term congressman will be arriving at LAX sometime tomorrow in preparation of the fundraiser.”
Ramius leaned back in the rickety rocking chair and dug his fork into his bowl of Spanish rice. He chewed thoughtfully as he listened to the television news report.
“Preliminary polls show that Congressman Doyle’s popularity seems to be waning, thanks largely due to his failure to vote ‘yes’ on a bill that would have gone to reduce local air pollution. Also, the alleged affair with Washington DC elementary school teacher Debra Rodgers is fresh in the memory of voters.
“Polls are showing that Independent candidate Melissa Johnson seems to be gaining in recent weeks. When asked, a Doyle spokesperson seemed confident in the Congressman’s ability to gain re-election, calling Johnson ‘someone with big talk, but little planning’.”
“That’s smart, Harry,” Ramius mused. “Piss off the women voters.”
“This is Kelly Winger of Channel 12, asking you to stay tuned for the latest news on the Congressman’s return to LA.”
