Part 3
“Actually, it’s like having a huge weight off of my shoulders,” Angel admitted leaning casually against the edge of the table.
He could tell Cordelia was tense and frankly, he couldn’t blame her for it. Trying to look like this part of the deal didn’t bother him was the only thing he could think of to calm this potentially hostile situation down. “Or having a pain in the ass removed.”
Cordelia glanced back and forth between Angel and Angelus. Pointing at the soulless vamp, she commented, “Angelus is a little more than a boil on your butt, dorkula. He’s a psychopathic serial killer who enjoys every second of torture before he drains his victims dry.”
“You know me so well,” Angelus didn’t bother trying to look innocent. “Not that I would have denied you equal amounts of pleasure before I turned you.”
“Shut your mouth, Angelus,” growled his double. “I won’t have you threatening Cordelia or anyone for that matter.”
“Like that little warning will stop him when your back is turned.” Cordelia scooted closer to Angel’s side even as she moved her pom-poms in front of her like a barrier against his double’s piercing gaze. The way he stared, you would think the vamp had x-ray vision. Make that X-rated vision. “Can’t you just stake him?”
“Unfortunately not,” Angel quickly informed her that was part of the deal. “Actually, it’s not even necessary.”
“Says the already dead guy,” Cordelia huffed. “It’s not your neck that’s on the line.”
“The spell that separated us and anchored my soul also prevents Angelus from harming humans,” Angel told her drawing a scowl from his double. “He has to fight the Good Fight and live under my supervision or else he loses any chance at his own existence separate from mine.”
Hearing that Angelus had no power to harm her suddenly gave Cordelia her confidence back. Despite the fact that she had forgiven Angel for the deeds of his soulless self there were other things not so easily forgotten. They were all internal remnants of her own response to the encounter with Angelus in the graveyard. Take away the fear factor and it was too easy to recall the flash of excitement underlying those harsh emotions as Angelus whispered his promises.
Cordelia’s failure to return a snarky comeback caused Angel to focus in on his other senses to gauge her response to the news. The anger he recognized and expected. Her heart marked a heavy beat accompanied by huffs of indrawn air released slow and deep. That reaction did not surprise him in the least, but the sweet scent of her arousal left his head swimming.
He was so bewildered by it that Angel didn’t see Angelus move. Before Cordelia had any suspicion of the vampire’s intentions, he had already hauled her into his arms to claim her mouth with his own. Cordelia felt a heady rush as his cool lips covered hers in a kiss of savage passion.
Just as suddenly as it started, Cordelia found herself standing alone as Angel and Angelus grappled on the floor. Her friend growled in fury, “Keep your hands off Cordelia.”
“It wasn’t just my hands,” Angelus commented with a grin as he tossed Angel head over heels across the floor.
“Enough with the vampire wrestling,” ordered Cordelia who dropped her pom-poms to the floor as she rushed over to stop them. “Are you in kindergarten or what!”
Angelus punched his double in the gut and took the second or two offered by Angel’s distraction to look directly up Cordelia’s skirt. “Great view, baby.”
His head cracked against the hard floor as Angel threw a punch connecting with his jaw. “Shut up, you bastard. Keep your fucking eyes to yourself.”
Laughing, Angelus used his leg to flip Angel onto his back, “It’s not my eyes that will be fucking her soon enough.”
Cordelia knew he meant it. The thought scared her because she knew what Angelus was capable of in doling out pain, but something deep inside her recognized a sliver of desire at the thought of his touch. What it might be like to have someone totally in control of your pleasure.
Not that Cordelia had much experience with that, but it was enough to know that the overeager fumbling of high school boys was not for her.
Jumping into the fray, Cordelia grabbed the first vampire. “Get off of him, Angelus.”
Just as she curled her hands around his bicep attempting to pull Angelus away from Angel, he released another forward punch. The move swung her body downward unintentionally sending her crashing directly on top of Angel.
“Oof!”
Cordelia let out a whoosh of air as she connected with the hard body beneath her. Out of breath, she couldn’t speak for a moment as both of the vampires called out her name in obvious concern as the fight came to a sudden end. Gasping for air, Cordelia stared into Angel’s concerned eyes. For a moment, all she could do was react to the sensations strumming through her body as Cordelia realized she was sandwiched between the two of them.
Her one free hand moved to brush her fingers over the dark swelling bruise that marred Angel’s cheek. Then she glared over her shoulder at Angelus, “Would you get your big hulking body off of me?”
Sensing the quickening of her heartbeat, Angelus bent his mouth to her ear. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
The vampire’s hand traced a path from her hip up to her rounded breast giving it a squeeze. Cordelia released an outraged gasp and squirmed only to realize that her awkward position left her pressed up against their loins. The cotton panties of her cheerleader uniform provided only a thin covering as they stretched over her plump mound. Now feeling the stirring of Angel’s flesh beneath the zipper of his pants, she also felt the ever-growing iron rod against her buttocks as Angelus purposefully held her to him.
“Just feel what you do to me,” Angelus’ voice sounded as a soft growl.
Cordelia sucked in a deep breath of air, glancing down at Angel with sheer surprise registering on her face. He was just as stunned by their present predicament and for a moment could think of nothing else except the sensation of having her on top of him. Hell, if he closed his eyes, Angelus’ words would be nothing more than hearing his voice back in his head urging him to thoughts and behaviors better left ignored.
Angelus moved his free hand to cup the other breast, taking full advantage of every second of time the pair below him remained too dumbstruck to react. “You make me so hard, baby.”
Her mind made note of the words, but Cordelia couldn’t seem to react to them. To tell him to move. Part of her was freaking out. This was Angelus. Evil Angelus. He might be planning to rip her throat out even as he copped a feel and omigod didn’t his hands know just how to touch her. Obviously, he had other plans considering the huge boner pressing against her ass.
It wasn’t just him she was feeling. Angel’s excitement distracted her from Angelus’ potentially murderous intensions. His eyes pulled her in like a blackhole tugging on her attention. Full of astonishment, they were also filled with desire. Just in case his hard-on wasn’t enough to clue her in that Angel wanted her, his eyes certainly gave it away.
“You should learn to take advantage of situations that arise,” Angelus purred against her ear, but he was looking at Angel who still had not removed his gaze from Cordy. “Don’t deny that you haven’t wanted this, wanted her on top of you, beneath you, in any of a hundred positions you’ve imagined.”
Angel’s chest rumbled with anger as he realized just what secrets his evil double was revealing. The fact that he fantasized about his friend was something Cordelia didn’t need to hear. The other vampire was only speaking the truth. In spite of loving Buffy Summers, Angel had often thought of the brunette.
He was grateful for her friendship and enjoyed her company, but their time alone was rare. So Angel sometimes imagined them alone together and most of those imaginings ended up with them both naked and engaged in the most sultry sex his imagination could devise. It bothered him that he so often took himself in hand to ease his many frustrations using Cordelia as his fantasy lover, but the constant encouragement of his demon countered his doubts within seconds.
Now Angelus sounded out those secrets, his words coming out in throaty whispers against Cordelia’s ear, asking her, “You knew we wanted you.”
“No,” Cordelia’s voice sounded in hushed tones as if speaking too loudly might break the spell she was under. Staring down into Angel’s eyes, Cordelia thought that it was clear to her that Angelus had wanted her. For his evil purposes, of course, but he had certainly wanted her. Why had it never occurred to her that Angel wanted her too?
Before Cordelia could think about the consequences of her actions, she leaned down to kiss him. At first, her soft lips simply plumped over the contours of his cool male flesh, the sensation leaving her tingling. Her eyes darted to his noting the flash of midnight fire in his gaze just before Angel’s hands curled into her hair and pulled her back down to him. Angel all but devoured her with his kiss, tasting her lips, opening her up to the wet intrusion of his tongue. Rasping against the roof of her mouth and moaning deeply so that the sound waves resonated inside her.
Lost in the kiss, Cordelia barely noticed that Angelus was there. Until one hand slipped between her legs and his fingers started to stimulate her through the cotton material of her panties. Until his long, thick fingers slipped inside the elastic to rub along her soaked folds.
Cordelia squeezed her legs as her hips reflexively ground against Angel’s hard shaft as it pressed upward through the barrier of his pants. The fingers teasing her thrust inside the tight core guarded by those silken folds and Cordelia sounded out a moan against Angel’s mouth. Her eyes flashed open in panic, instantly realizing whose fingers were moving inside her.
Feels so good, she acknowledged a second before pushing up on her hands to put some distance between herself and Angel so that she could tell Angelus just what she thought of his unwanted attention. “Get the hell off of me.”
Snapping out of the haze that he’d allowed himself to get caught up in, Angel saw what his double was doing and growled, “Move.”
Seeing that the game had ended, Angelus moved to a standing position leaving Cordelia straddled across his double’s lap. They both watched him with frustrated and angry expressions as he slowly lifted his moist fingers to his mouth and licked off every sticky drop of Cordelia’s tangy essence.
“You taste devine,” Angelus smirked as Cordelia stared at him with her lush mouth gaping. “You two gonna sit there all day or is Cor planning to give you a lapdance?”
Angel realized his hands had moved down to her hips keeping her in place over his erection. Seeing the flash of red infuse Cordelia’s cheeks, he knew that he had to get them out of this situation without causing her any further embarrassment. Moving apart was awkward enough as they scrambled to their feet.
He grabbed her pom-poms from the floor and held them in front of his pants just to make his arousal less obvious and hoped that the situation itself would soon deflate the issue.
Extremely apologetic, Angel couldn’t say enough to make her understand that he was sorry for literally putting her in the middle of this situation. “I should have called ahead with the news before springing Angelus on you.”
“Duh!” Cordelia let the anger return. Anger was far safer than feeling any of those other shocking emotions that confused her brain.
“Cor,” he whined a little. “How was I supposed to predict this?”
“First off, I can’t believe that you would make a deal that gives Angelus his freedom just so you ca—,” breaking off, Cordelia realized this deal meant that Angel no longer had to worry the loss of his soul during moments of bliss. “I’m no warm up act for Buffy Summers, so you can just save all of your…excitement…for her.”
Angelus chuckled behind her causing Cordelia to whirl to face him. Once he had her attention, the vamp smoothed a hand down the crimson surface of his shirt, across his torso and further to hook his thumb under the waistband of his belted leather pants. The move caused Cordelia’s eyes to follow along the same path and by the time she saw the clearly defined outline of his arousal they appeared as concentric circles of black and hazel in a sea of white.
“I have no plans for the slayer,” Angelus told her. None that involved anything except her torture and death, which was apparently no longer an option. “Come take me if you want it, baby. I’m all yours.”
“Shut up, Angelus,” ordered his double. “You have no right to touch Cordelia in any way.”
“You do?” Angelus countered drawing a sneer in return. “I have every right to touch what’s mine.”
Cordelia snapped, “What!”
“That’s right, baby,” the vampire gave her a look of pure possession. “If the slayer and her little band of do-gooders hadn’t come along, I would have claimed you in the graveyard that night. In every way there is to claim you.”
She didn’t doubt it. After all, Angelus had told her as much that night.
“I made my intentions perfectly clear,” Angelus pointed out. “Time and this current little predicament may have changed my plans to make you a vampire, but there is nothing and no one who will stop me from claiming you as mine.”
“I’ll stop you,” Angel growled out barely controlling the urge to wipe Angelus off the face of the earth despite the deadly consequences to himself. “You can’t bite Cordelia and I won’t let you touch her. Dammit, there’ll be no biting or claiming done unless it’s by me.”
Giving Angel a harsh stare, Cordelia couldn’t believe he’d just said that. Apparently, neither could he because the vampire backpedaled so quickly that he sounded tongue-tied. “I-I…that wasn’t what I—fuck! I was just trying to defend you. J-Just making a point, not that I…that I…had any intentions of do—”
Holding up a hand, Cordelia snapped, “I don’t wanna hear it. This is just too damn crazy and I wanna wake up now.”
“You dream about me?” Angelus asked interestedly. “Bet those are fun dreams. We certainly had fun in mine.”
Infuriated, Angel made to move forward only to be stopped by Cordelia who ordered, “No fighting. That’s what started this in the first place. Besides, if anyone is gonna kick his ass, it will be me.”
“C’mon, then,” Angelus practically purred at the notion. Before he could add more than a smirk, Cordelia was in front of him and about to knee him in the groin. Even though he’d spurred her onto it, warned, “Don’t try that again.”
With a lightning fast move, Angelus had Cordelia off-balance. He hauled her against him twisting her arms behind her back as she attempted to claw his face. Angel vamped out and made ready to attack again, holding back only because his double held Cordelia with her crossed wrists in one hand and tugging her hair back to expose her throat with the other. Only Angelus didn’t move to bite her, he just lapped his tongue along the path of her jugular vein.
“I bet you taste good,” Angelus sighed longingly. “As good as the rest of you.”
He released her suddenly, a growl of frustration on his lips as he walked across to the library counter and shoved a stack of books with one swipe of his arm.
“What the hell is his problem?” Cordelia asked as he rubbed at her sore wrists.
Angel let his game face disappear behind his human features and stepped over to examine Cordelia for bruises. “He’s frustrated.”
“Aren’t we all,” muttered Cordelia almost imperceptibly.
“The spell that separated us came with conditions,” Angel explained. “Angelus can’t bite, kill or act with an intent to harm humans. What’s more, he has to join the fight against evil.”
“Fight the Good Fight,” Cordelia snorted. “Angelus? What’s to stop him from hiring a bunch of vampire thugs to do his evil work for him?”
Angel told her, “All part of the deal. If he wants his own existence, Angelus has a fine line to walk or he’ll be gone forever.”
She wondered what other conditions were set. “And you?”
“My soul is secure, but I get to play watchdog on my evil twin,” Angel gave the other vampire a scornful look. “He has to live under my roof.”
Cordelia found herself intrigued with this deal. Despite her fury that Angel had done something so irrational just so he could bone Buffy, she found herself thinking that it left her with twice the eye candy. Not that she should think of evil Angelus as being anything but a demon. Certainly not about the way he filled out those leather pants.
“I can’t believe you did this!” Cordelia pushed at Angel’s hard chest giving him a look of pure petulance.
Angel captured her hand and pulled Cordelia behind him into the adjoining section where the majority of the library books were stacked in long rows, putting some distance between them and the other vampire. Watching them go, Angelus glared at their backs thinking that Cordelia Chase was not going to get away from him. That she would be his before long no matter what it took to claim her.
“This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, Cor,” Angel told her softly.
Her answer came without any attempt at whispering. “So you want to screw your girlfriend. I get that, Angel, but you brought back your evil half who seems to have some crazy fixation on me.”
“I didn’t…this wasn’t…dammit, Cordelia, this wasn’t just about Buffy,” he told her.
Looking doubtful, she put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot as she waited for an explanation. “Tick tock, Carebear. I have places to go that aren’t in this library and I don’t seem to be getting there with you stuttering over every syllable.”
The dreaded nickname irked Angel, but he could never tell her that because it also gave him a little thrill every time she said it. “I saw an opportunity to ensure that Angelus would never be a threat to…anyone. This restrains him.”
“Not his tongue,” Cordelia commented and then felt a little dizzy as her brain took a happy detour imagining Angelus’ unrestrained tongue tasting what his fingers had dipped into.
Angel held out a hand to steady Cordelia who suddenly looked to be wavering on her feet. “You okay?”
“Yes!” She snapped out of her little fantasy. “Fine. I’m fine.”
“This…does this…hurt our friendship, Cordelia?” He was ready to beg if necessary. It was something Angel didn’t really have with anyone else. Something he hadn’t had since his human days and even then it had never been with a woman.
Cordelia blinked in surprise. “No, dumbass. I’m still your friend. Even if you are an idiot for bringing Angelus back.”
“Not that,” Angel could see this was not going to be pleasant. “I didn’t mean my decision to give Angelus his own existence.”
She looked puzzled and Angel found his fingers smoothing her chestnut hair away from her face. Cupping the nape of her neck his thumb edged along the line of her jaw as he clarified, “Kissing you. I meant kissing you.”
He felt the gulp against his hand as Cordelia swallowed down her nerves. It was the only sign she gave that told him she’d been equally affected by that kiss. Hell, after all the things Angelus had said, it wasn’t only the kiss he had to fear. Angelus had all but told Cordelia that they got off on fantasies starring her.
“It was a mistake,” Cordelia answered flippantly rolling her eyes. “Just a momentary thing. Two identical hotties in close quarters. What’s a girl to do?”
She was letting him off easy, Angel realized. Taking all the blame herself. He allowed himself a moment of self-directed anger just before taking the easy way out. “Guess I can’t blame you. Buffy finds it hard to keep her hands off me too, lately.”
“Pfft! Egomaniac!”
When Cordelia moved out of arms reach, Angel let her go. Then they heard a ruckus coming from the main part of the library and turned just in time to see the slayer sprawled across the floor with Angelus towering over her. Giles, Xander and Willow were standing agape having just watched Buffy greet the vampire with a rousing kiss only to have him push her away in disgust.
“Oh, crap!” Cordelia knew this was going to be bad.
Angel grabbed her by the hand and they ran back into the main part of the library. “Buffy! Are you okay?”
Still reeling with confusion at her boyfriend’s rejection of her kiss, Buffy Summers turned to see an identical albeit differently dressed version of Angel coming from the other room with Cordelia in tow. Her reaction was automatic. Buffy let out an ear-piercing scream and scrambled to her feet drawing her stake faster than any of the others could react.
“Holy hell, Batman,” Xander screeched. “There’s two of them.”
Buffy’s lower lip quivered as she looked back and forth from vampire to vampire. She had no idea what was going on here. “A-Angel?”
“Wh-wh-wh—,” Willow couldn’t even manage to get out more than a few little whiffs of air.
“Dear God!” Giles pulled Willow to a safe distance. “One of you…explanations now.”
Xander barked at Angel, not knowing if it was safe, “Get away from Cordelia.”
“I’m fine, Xander,” she told her former boyfriend. “Relax. This is Angel. You’re the one standing next to Angelus.”
The teenager slowly glanced at the smirking vampire standing beside him. Angelus did nothing more than quirk his eyebrows and Xander let out a yelp before running behind Buffy.
“Angelus!” Buffy gasped her eyes popping into wide circles. “I kissed Angelus?”
The vampire in questions swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Who did you think I was…Santa Claus?”
“It was an honest mistake,” Cordelia commented. Then, changing her mind, pointed out, “They may have the same face, but…hello! Look at the way he’s dressed. Red silk and black leather. Obvious giveaway that something’s not quite right in the state of Denmark. Besides the clothes, they’re still nothing alike. Sheesh!”
Buffy glanced at the leather pants and red shirt. She hadn’t really been looking at the pants themselves. Just the way they fit. Fashion queen Cordelia could tell the difference between the two of them and now that she’d pointed the obvious clothing preference of Angelus compared to Angel’s dark layers, she figured that she could keep them straight.
“I’m still waiting for an explanation,” Giles whipped off his glasses to nibble on the ear tip. “This is obviously a mystical event. Both of you here in physical form at the same time.”
Xander glanced at Giles giving him the high signal now that he was positioned by the weapons locker. The watcher tossed him the keys and cautioned everyone to stay behind Buffy who was armed with her stake. Angelus laughed at their pitiful efforts to defend themselves against him.
“If I wanted you dead, Rup,” he told the Englishman, “I’d already be staring down at a pile of dead bodies.”
Angel walked forward putting himself between Angelus and the path of Buffy’s stake just in case she got any wild ideas about throwing it. Cordelia, knowing that killing Angelus would only result in doing the same to Angel, also moved into a protective stance in front of the evil vampire.
“Put the weapons away,” Angel held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender, trying to caution them against any sudden moves, but Xander had already pulled out several stakes and had armed Giles with his crossbow. “There is a reason Angelus is here, but there is no reason to fear him.”
Angelus stepped out from behind the pair guarding him, unwilling to be protected from those who would do him harm when he could still fight them with the only weapon he had left. “There is every reason to fear me. Buffy remembers why.”
“The last time I laid eyes on you, I sent you to hell,” she gripped the stake a little more tightly.
“That was Angel,” reminded Angelus. “You fought me, but it was your precious soul boy whose heart you pierced with that blade.”
“Shut up!” Buffy snapped. That wasn’t how she wanted to remember it. Angel was here now and in no way killed by her or sent to any hell dimensions for a hundred years.
“Am I lying? It was Willow, here, who managed to bring back that cursed soul,” he edged around the redhead who let out a little gleep of nervousness at his approach.
Buffy yanked Willow behind her. “Get away from Willow.”
“I’ve no interest in the little witch,” Angelus shrugged, “but there is one person here I have a question for.”
“And whom might that be,” inquired Giles coldly.
With a slow smile of satisfaction, Angelus answered, “That would be you, Rup. How did you like the champagne and roses?”
The reference to the night of last February 14th brought an instinctive reaction as Giles pointed the crossbow in Angelus’ direction and let the bolt fly. Only he hadn’t predicted the vampire moving so quickly and the arrow flew right by lodging deeply in Xander’s left buttocks as he bent over to pick up the stake he had dropped.
“Bullseye,” Angelus grinned as Xander screeched in pain.
“Xander!” Giles called out not quite believing that he had injured the boy. “Are you okay?”
“Other than having an extremely sharp object piercing my body?” Xander hopped over on one leg to bend over the table. “Nah! It’s just a little pain in the butt.”
Cordelia walked over to Angelus who was having a roaring time chuckling to himself next to the main counter. She slapped his arm, “Don’t you ever do anything like that again.”
“What did I do?” Angelus tried to look innocent, but wasn’t managing it.
“You know,” Cordelia gritted her teeth and turned on her heel to see how Xander was doing.
Buffy pulled out the straight bolt which was accompanied by a loud yelp of pain. “Off with the pants, Xander. Someone’s gotta check out the wound.”
“Eew!” Cordelia grimaced as Xander struggled with his pants. “Why are you looking at me?”
“You’re the former girlfriend,” Buffy commented. “Haven’t you seen Xander’s bare butt before?”
“I repeat…eew!”
Angel wasn’t certain what kind of answer that was, but he certainly wasn’t about to volunteer for the task. It was only when Xander whined, reminding them, “Bleeding to death over here,” that Willow finally jumped in to hold some pressure on the wound with Giles’s clean handkerchief.
The room fell into a deep silence as Willow tended to the injured teen. Somberly, the group looked upon their fallen comrade until Cordelia could no longer hold back any longer. A giggle escaped under her breath followed quickly by a louder snort. Then Buffy gave her a hard stare, but broke down into a series of chuckles that she tried to smother with her hand. Willow started in after that, the laughter now becoming contagious. Even Giles offered the occasional grin. Angel managed to somehow restrain himself, though it might have taken biting down on his cheeks to stop from laughing.
Cordelia didn’t think she had ever seen Angel laugh over anything, but paused in her own amusement to watch the smile spread across Angelus’ face as the other vampire threw back his head in raucous laughter.
Geez, but he’s sure gorgeous when he smiles. Bad Cordy. Down girl.
“Do you people mind not laughing while staring at my butt,” Xander complained with his usual jovial tone despite his own pain. “You’re giving me a complex.”
With the tension in the room severely lightened, Angel was able to explain that he had found a way to secure his soul by giving Angelus his own existence. Buffy was naturally delighted and threw herself into Angel’s arms looking like she wanted to take his soul for a test drive right then and there. No one was quite as pleased over the Angelus factor.
Finally, Angel had most of the group convinced that Angelus was no longer a threat. “Tell that to my injured behind,” Xander moaned. “Do I need stitches?”
“I’m afraid so,” Willow told him assessing the injury.
Buffy stalked over to Angelus, still holding her stake. “Don’t ever be the cause of an injury to any of my friends ever again. Because if you hurt them, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“Killing me will kill your precious soulmate,” Angelus reminded her with a sour tone.
That left Buffy frowning. “It will?”
Angel nodded when she looked to him for confirmation. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Well that sucks!”
Giles called out to the slayer as he helped Xander toward the door, “Buffy, a little assistance, please. We’ve got to take Xander to the Emergency Room.”
Willow was holding open the door for them. “C’mon, Buffy.”
“I gotta go, Angel,” she told him, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. “Meet you later for patrol?”
Angelus had joined them and was now standing behind Cordelia. He did not touch her, but his voice was soft in her ear as he pointed out, “He’ll meet her. They’ll patrol and then they’ll get down to business.”
“Crude, much?”
“Does that bother you, baby?” Angelus ran a fingertip along the back of her arm.
It shouldn’t, Cordelia thought. She should be happy that her friend finally had what he wanted. That he could make love to his girlfriend without worrying about a stray moment of bliss.
As she watched Angel walking with Buffy as far as the door, Cordelia softly admitted, “Yes.”
