Part 2
ANGEL (3.50 am)
He only had an hour and half maximum of real night-time left and he had to make it count, his worry over Wesley was increasing with every minute; he needed to find were Wesley had gone and his best bet for getting that information was snoring behind the door in front of him.
The other address had been a dead-end; this one wouldn’t be allowed to be. He knocked loudly on the door and moved to the side and out of sight, just in case the guy should recognise him like Evans had. He heard the dragging, heavy footsteps and prepared to pounce. The door opened and he heard the guy growl “Fuckin’ kids knockin’ me up at this time – kill you”!
Angel watched and tensed further when he saw the foot step over the threshold; that was enough – he hunkered down and grasped that ankle, pulling hard and smiled in grim satisfaction at the surprised yell and the crash as the guy’s ass hit the opposite corridor wall, entirely out of the safety of his ‘home’.
Angel stepped in front of the open doorway, blocking that escape route and stepped over to the sprawled human, picking him up by the throat to drive him up the plastered wall and vamping out. “Hello Danny”.
The human squirmed and choked as Angel closed his fingers, squeezing the flesh and cutting off air, veins popped out and meaty fingers scrabbled at his, trying to pull them away; he squeezed harder as he leaned in, “invite me in” he said.
Angel loosened his hold to let the guy speak, “Let me go asswi…” strangled gargling finished of that sentence and made the driver think again as he felt his eyes start to bug out. “argghh…invite you… in”, the words were almost indistinct with the pressure on his larynx but it was enough.
Inside the apartment the driver collapsed on to the nearest chair, both hands clutching his neck, watering red eyes watched the vampire warily as he stalked around checking out the rooms and riffling through some papers lying around.
Angel was finished in seconds, and reasoned that the driver would have recovered enough to talk now, “Tell me were Wesley is”? He demanded quietly standing in front of the seated man with his hands on his hips, jaw thrust forward and fierce demonic visage still firmly in place.
“I don’t know”, wheezed Danny, coughing a little and then struggling up with the intent to fetch a glass of water; Angel pushed him back down. “No one said you could move”. This made it twice in an hour that he’d been forced to terrorise a human; he mentally shrugged off the discomfort that was the guilt – guilt at how much a part of him was enjoying this, This one at least had brought it on himself
He paced very slowly in front of the chair, his yellow eyes never leaving the scared man in the chair, fangs glinting with every pace as the lights reflected off them. Finally he stilled, having got his more vicious side under control; he kept his vamp face on though, as it tended to make people take him more seriously and, ironically; saved a lot of bloodshed.
“I don’t believe you – don’t lie to me or I will make sure you regret it- for a short a while at least”. That demonic face towering over him coupled with the deep growling voice made Danny choke again as his throat seized up with fright.
***
ANGEL (4.35 am)
A little later Angel stood inside an empty disused garage, he could smell oil and fumes from engines both old and new, there were also spots of blood on the floor again old and new, he travelled the length and breadth of the building searching for anything to link this place to Wesleys disappearance.
He bent down when he caught a scent that was familiar, it was in the middle of some wheel tracks on the dirty floor and as he got closer Wesley’s scent became stronger, he had lain here for some reason. He laid a hand on the spot as if he thought he could tell more by doing so and then sighed and stood up.
Feeling like an idiot; but fresh out of other ideas, he stood in the centre of the building where he could be seen from every angle and raised his voice, “I know about you and your little scheme, it ends tonight; there will be no more shipments, ever”, he waited feeling even more foolish when only the rustle of rats answered him.
“Come out and face me, or are you cowards as well as assholes”? Again nothing, his shoulders slumped and he was ready to admit defeat and go rouse the others out of bed for some research when a light appeared, just a crack in front of him but then it widened into a bigger rip and a demon stepped through it.
Big bastard aren’t you, Angel thought with an internal whistle, “So you don’t like being called a coward huh”? He smiled grimly amused at its clothes and mask, watching with cautious dark eyes, black as pitch under his slashing brows, as it walked closer fearless and arrogant.
“So what’s with the mask – seen too many teen horror movies or are you just so butt ugly under there you can’t even stand the sight yourself”? He didn’t move but let it walk right up to him, toe to toe. His smile became a grin, it was unarmed and he had a sword, he left it pointing at the ground, gripped with the fingers of his right hand wrapped around the chained hilt.
“Not too talkative are you? That could be problem”, he said into its face, the smile back again; now joined with a sarcastically raised brow. The demon didn’t answer but gestured to the fissure behind it and Angel guessed he was being ‘invited’ to follow it.
Dammit Wesley, what have you gotten us into now?
He followed the demon and stepped through; and ended up in some kind of antechamber. It felt like he was stepping back in time, but that wasn’t the really weird part, what was weird was the fact that whatever time it was, it was way before his.
Flaming torches flickered in metal brackets on the walls, the floor was some kind of stone and the walls the same; bleeding together to create a dark, grey and altogether medieval picture. Then there were the clothes, studded brown leather and ‘leg wrappings’ for god’s sake!
It would be funny if they weren’t so big, thick meaty arms, grotesquely hunched shoulders wider than his, chests as deep as they were wide -and they were tall too; at least a foot over him and he wasn’t exactly small fry. Apart from the bald head though, all you could see of their faces were black eyes, no white just plain black – like a snake; and just as emotionless.
Several pairs of them were looking at him now – he had a welcoming committee, how nice. Steel glinted from raised swords and axes held aloft in such a way as to make it clear they were adept at using them. He left his own weapon down across his hips and pointing to the floor.
When he didn’t surrender it they moved closer, their weapons raised higher, almost touching his face now. He relaxed and tossed the sword upwards, catching it again by the hilt and holding it out to one of them; the one he’d followed.
It grasped the proffered sword near the hilt and tugged; Angel held on and stepped closer until his nose was almost touching the mask, “I’m going to be getting this back soon”, he told it in a tauntingly confident voice, one eyebrow cocked intending to provoke a reaction. It did, the demon reached up with a bunched fist and a snarl to rip his head off or something.
“Not gonna happen big guy”. Angel told it grinning in satisfaction, then grabbing the wrist and wrenching with all of his might. He twisted it sharply to the side to create tension in the elbow and shoulder and then brought down his free hand, now that he’d released the sword; down in a powerful snapping blow to the arm, just above the elbow; bone cracked and the thing bellowed in pain, it’s arm handing uselessly once Angel released it.
“Bravo” said a deep voice filled with admiration and a tinge of amusement. Angel looked towards the voice standing just beyond his ring of opponents, “But a bit reckless don’t you think, Vampire”?
“Oh, I don’t know; sometimes you have to get your kicks when the opportunity comes up”, he replied lowering his chin and tilting his head a little, dark eyes glinting in the flickering light, full mouth curved. The picture of relaxed arrogance matched only by the creature at the door who knew that whatever Angel was capable of; the vampire was on his territory now.
“Oh I couldn’t agree more, but still you’re a complication and a temptation all rolled into one”.
Angel’s brows both rose at that cryptic remark, “I’m a complicated person, but as for tempting….” his mouth twisted and he shook his head in mockingly, “I’m at the top of the food chain not exactly morsel material”.
The demon walked closer and Angel could see him better. He was as big as the others, in fact similar enough to be same the same species, the eyes all the same but this one wore no mask; the nose was flat and the lips almost nonexistent and above those obsidian eyes were ridged brows with tiny spikes along the length. The skin was almost human coloured and the head and jaw was covered with sharp tines where hair would have been on a human.
“Oh I didn’t mean for food – no; a warrior like you deserves more respect than that. We serve the weak ones for food and use others like yourself for much better sport”.
Angels brows snapped down in a frown, that sounded ominously familiar to Angel but he refrained from saying anything about that, waiting to hear more “Go on”?
The demon smiled genially and held out a thick arm towards the doorway, “Why waste words, come and I’ll show you”, it was quite a courtly gesture -and coming from this one, creepy, even to the vampire! His guards stepped back and allowed him to pass freely; so this demon he was following was obviously some kind of authority figure.
He walked into a nightmare, even having spent time in a hell dimension, the sight that met his eyes shocked him and his entire body clenched, as he forcibly had to restrain himself from erupting into useless fury. The smooth stone of the antechamber gave way to rock-face walls and dirt packed and rocky floors as if they were in an underground series of tunnels and chambers.
The entire complex looked huge with a central chamber directly ahead, encircled by a tunnel with additional chambers leading off. It was the central chamber that brought bile to his mouth. Huge stone slabs were set up, hundred of them all blood spattered with entrails and body parts scattered over and around them.
Dismembered bodies were still lying on some and being worked on by other masked demons with meat cleavers; most of the bodies were human while some of them had once been smaller demons. Hooks were dug into the ceilings near the walls and strips of red meat were hung to drip, the stench was incredible and the he had to choke back the sharp need that suddenly tore at his guts. Oh God, please don’t let one of them be Wesley
He didn’t realise until he heard the savage growling and felt the vibration in his chest that he’d vamped out; his ‘host’ noticed though, and looked at him curiously. “Feeling hungry Vampire? we have plenty here”.
“I’m going to kill you”, He felt no better for having said it, but fuck it; it needed saying.
The demon just smiled in approval at him, “I like you Vampire, I knew I would when I heard about you”
“Get fucking real, I just threatened your life”, he snarled angry at not being taken seriously.
“That happens all the time around here, do you think we would want tame demons? Of course not! –that would never do”
“All right; cut to the chase. What do you want the demons for?”
It was pretty obvious what they wanted the humans for, and he intended to address that before he left here. But he was calmer now; the smell of the blood was still driving his intestines into spasms of need but that was something he’d become accustomed to over the last century, although recently; with much less difficulty.
“Look behind you, Angel, what do you see”?
Still vamped out, feral topaz eyes surveyed the chamber directly behind them, next to the one he’d come out of just a few minutes earlier. There were literally hundreds of shelves dug into the rock; each bore hundreds of carvings of combat and figures stretched in furious battle. Weapons littered them too, some broken some not, paintings crudely drawn showed battle scenes too.
“We are a warrior race. In fact, we used to spend all of our very long lives either preparing for or doing battle; so much so that our attention on other things has dwindled to nothing. To satisfy our populace, we must have constant contests of strength and fighting skills, or erupt into an endless stream of wars that would eventually wipe us out”
“That’s bad why”? Sarcasm fairly dripped from the last word.
“We are strong, and our obsession has meant that our skills in fighting are very nearly unrivalled -but even so; our ability to reproduce is limited, and we do die”, the demon shrugged.
“So you kidnap other demons and force them to fight for their lives -to keep your people from killing themselves, and each other. Sorry; still failing to see the incentive here”, topaz eyes glared from under ridged brows.
The demon turned to face the vampire, black eyes met his and Angel felt his anger escalate at the humour in them and the merciless sense of enjoyment at his predicament. He would kill this one even if it meant he died.
“You and they have no choice in the arena; it is kill or be killed -either way blood and dust will be spilled; the crowd will be happy”
“I’ve been here before, demon, why should we fight one another when we can fight you”?
“You won’t be fighting one another; you fight us, we are not the type to just sit and watch – so don’t think refusal will do you any good. Like I said; fight and die”.
Angel grabbed it by one upper arm, fingers clenched in a tight hold strong enough to crush; the demon didn’t flinch but just eyeballed him. “Where is Wesley Wyndham Pryce”?
“Ahh, your human pet! He’s still alive, if that’s what you want to know?” The demon moved to resume walking. “He was unusual enough not to be put in there”, he indicated the butchering area. Angel sighed with relief and let go; he still had a chance -although what he could do to get them out of here, was a question he could see no answer too at this point.
***
THE HYPERION HOTEL
CORDY (6 am)
Her hands sought him out but found only the sheet, she frowned and still half asleep turned around to face the other side of the bed, hazel eyes blinked open and shut and then stayed open when she realised he wasn’t there at all.
Confused she turned on her back and looked towards the balcony, it must be dawn as the sun was lighting the sky outside, evident even through the drapes. She sat up then, so where the hell is he. She had to force her brain into action, did he say he was coming over after he’d finished or not? She was certain he would.
She looked down and realised she was naked; that settled it! She had been expecting him and it wasn’t a figment of her imagination; or sleep reduced brain power. She normally preferred to wear PJ’s to bed, but Angel hated it when she did and always took them off her; so when she was expecting him she didn’t bother putting any on.
Not caring about the time, she reached over to the bedside table and picked up her cell phone, dialling him and putting the phone to her ear. Boy are you in trouble buster! You’d better have a good excuse!. There was no answer; she disconnected and dropped it on the bed, and flopped back with a disgusted sigh.
“God I hate this! Great; now I’m gonna worry all day until the dork decides to call and let me know he hasn’t turned into a crispy critter!”
She jerked her head round and stared at the digital display on her clock; snarling even more when she realised it was only 6 am. “That’s it, that is totally it – I am so buying him a leash; an electric one -and when he doesn’t turn up when he’s s’posed to I’m gonna send off an electric charge to fry his sorry ass!”
Too wound up to go back to sleep; and still grumbling about that, she pulled her legs off the bed and put her feet into the fluffy slippers carefully placed in exactly the right position. She shivered in the early morning chill, and rushed to pull on a thick pink terry robe. Dressed now, she yawned and turned back to the bed to make it. She stopped dead when she saw the indentation on the other pillow next to hers.
A chill crept over her when she realised that he had been here, but if so, where had he gone? She spun and headed for the door and the corridor, “Angel” she called out as soon as she cleared the doorway, there was no answer.
She rushed down the stairs telling herself she was panicking for nothing, he’d probably got called away; but why didn’t it wake me too- and why isn’t he answering his cell now ?
A quick survey of the lobby revealed no big dark dork of a vampire, “Where the hell are you, dammit”?
She went into the office and stopped dead again, papers were on the floor, items from the drawer scattered across the desk, a half written note on her desk. She snatched it up and nearly growled in frustration, whoever had written it, it wasn’t Angel and they got no further than addressing it to ‘whoever it may concern’, Shit .
Cordy had an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach; and heeding it, dashed back upstairs to get dressed and grab her phone, she needed the numbers of it to call Wes and find out what the hell was going on. Ten minutes later she was back down and pacing in frustration. Her jeans were thrown on as well as the spaghetti strapped blouse; but her impeccable sense of style saved her from fashion disasters, even when she was thinking about other things.
“Wesley, you are just as bad as Angel!” her voice was high, and she forced herself to calm down, “This is ridiculous – this had better be an emergency or you guys are dead for worrying me like this”.
She rang Gunn’s number and got a busy signal, “SHIT” that one screamed word echoed around the lobby and almost made her miss the sound of the door from the yard opening. She whirled around, a smile of relief on her face which faded into numb shock when she recognised her visitor.
“What the devil are you doing here”? She asked partly in bewilderment and partly in annoyance that he wasn’t Angel.
“Hmph, you can tell Wesley’s been influencing you Cordelia, not to mention Angel too. Hello to you too” Said Rupert Giles from the doorway, he stood looking down at her with a quizzical look on his weather-beaten face, an old fashioned carpet bag in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
“Sorry, Hi” replied Cordy shortly, “I’m having a crisis”.
“Isn’t that just my bloody luck” sighed Giles and dropped the bag, “Another busman’s holiday – wonderful”