Part 22<\/b><\/p>\n
Connor stood at the window to his apartment just as the first fingers of light began to stretch across the eastern horizon. The sky began to turn purple, then pink as the sun crept over the ragged mountains beyond the bay like a sliver of molten gold. He watched the bay, its waters rough, and knew the ocean behind him would be even choppier. It was a typical day in the windy jewel of California.<\/p>\n
He yawned, a jaw-popping movement he felt all the way to his toes. A full-bodied stretch brought his hands high above his head, every joint popping as it moved into alignment. The stretch gave him a boost of energy, but within seconds it was gone, his exhaustion once again seeping into every pore.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d been up all night.<\/p>\n
After royally handing Jace his ass, Connor had stalked out of their warehouse gym and headed home, his mind filled with everything that had happened that night. Fighting Jace had been hard, but he\u2019d finally beaten the older man down within an inch of his life. He hadn\u2019t held anything back and Jace hadn\u2019t complained at all.<\/p>\n
Eve had stood by, leaning against some old boxes in a shadowy corner, her mouth curved up in a satisfied grin that gave Connor the shivers. She watched his moves like a millionaire admiring her latest roadster, and he hadn\u2019t appreciated it. Every calculated gaze told him she was planning to use him, but he didn\u2019t have to like it. And he didn\u2019t. Not one bit.<\/p>\n
Before they\u2019d sparred that night, Eve and Jace had taken him out to dinner. It had grated on Connor\u2019s nerves that Eve attempted to treat him like she was his benevolent big sister, chucking his arm playfully and smiling up at him as she clung to Jace\u2019s arm like fur on a rat\u2019s ass. Even Connor\u2019s exquisitely cooked steak had seemed dry and tasteless when accompanied by a side of Eve\u2019s conversation. Her words were smooth, but there were threats and innuendo threaded throughout, like expensive ice cream blended with shards of glass.<\/p>\n
Connor had come to one important conclusion by the end of that dinner, though: Eve was shrewd. She knew exactly what the score was and knew that she had Connor over a barrel. An innocent inquiry had been slipped in her conversation effortlessly, seemingly naive when paired with fluttery eyelashes and a plastered-on smile, but Connor\u2019s face had hardened at the telling glint in her eyes.<\/p>\n
His blood ran cold as he remembered the exchange. They had just finished their meal and Eve was nursing a glass of red wine. Her blood red lips left a mark on the edge of the crystal glass, and she\u2019d smiled at him over the rim before taking another dainty sip.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo how are your grandma and sister doing?\u201d Eve had asked, her eyes wide and innocent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re fine,\u201d Connor answered simply, carefully schooling his features. \u201cYou know,\u201d he shrugged.<\/p>\n
Eve sighed, shaking her head in pity. \u201cIt must be so hard for your sister. First she lost her parents, then you. . .\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor\u2019s eyes flew to hers, narrowing. That bait he couldn\u2019t avoid. \u201cShe hasn\u2019t lost me.\u201d A layer of steel ran under the words. \u201cI talk to her all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eve regarded him for a moment, her head cocked to the side, then nodded. \u201cI\u2019m sure you do.\u201d Her tone made it sound like he\u2019d been covering his ass, not telling the truth. \u201cI hope they\u2019re safe there,\u201d she ended with a sigh, every inflection implying that they would be anything but.<\/p>\n
The words hung in the air like a rotten carcass. Connor clenched his napkin into a hard fist under the table in an attempt to control his anger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t they be? They live in my parents\u2019 house. It\u2019s a good neighborhood. They\u2019re fine.\u201d It was hard to get the words out when his teeth were gritted so hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I\u2019m sure they will be,\u201d Eve said airily, sipping her wine again. \u201cIt\u2019s just that there are so many unfortunate accidents these days. I would hate for your family to suffer another needless tragedy.\u201d She blinked at him from across the table as she set her wineglass on the table and it was all Connor could do to keep from growling.<\/p>\n
That little bitch was threatening him, threatening his family. Her words had been innocent, but that unspoken threat was still real and he knew he couldn\u2019t back out now even if he\u2019d wanted to. It had taken Connor several minutes to clear the haze of anger from his mind, although his face remained stoic. For the rest of the meal, he managed to hold his cool and keep his answers short and to the point.<\/p>\n
Jace\u2019s expressions had varied little throughout their meal, his conversation sparse. He\u2019d added not more than two comments to Eve\u2019s one-sided conversation, and for all the world it looked as though he were enthralled with her, content just to stare at her and bask in her beauty. Connor wasn\u2019t fooled; Jace did love Eve but he didn\u2019t always trust her.<\/p>\n
Jace agreed with her plan though, and he\u2019d die to help her avenge the one who\u2019d wronged her. Connor did feel a flash of admiration for Jace as Eve had reminisced about her deceased fianc\u00e9e; it had to be tough knowing you lived in the shadow of a dead man.<\/p>\n
When they\u2019d left for the warehouse, Connor had followed silently. He\u2019d said enough to keep Eve and Jace from questioning his behavior, but he knew there were problems. Taking out his aggression on Jace had helped, and his mentor had absorbed it all without question.<\/p>\n
Coming home, he\u2019d tried to sleep, but Connor knew it was a futile effort after an hour of tossing and turning. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the images from his dreams and they wouldn\u2019t leave him. Dragging himself out of bed, his eyes grainy and watery, he paced his apartment for an hour or more, running the scenes through his mind. He\u2019d mentally driven in circles so many times that he was dizzy and he still hadn\u2019t figured out what to do yet.<\/p>\n
As he stared at the morning sky, Connor\u2019s mind drifted back to the startling realization he\u2019d made while sparring with Jace. In that moment when Jace had looked at him, his chin tilted downward, his eyes up, he\u2019d been so eerily familiar. There wasn\u2019t an exact match in Connor\u2019s dreams, but someone looked just like Jace.<\/p>\n
Or Jace looked just like someone else.<\/p>\n
When Connor\u2019s insomnia had caused him to start wearing a hole in his carpet, he\u2019d finally come to the conclusion that he needed to write it all down. In school, outlining had always helped him get a handle on what he wanted to say in his papers, and he hadn\u2019t changed much since then. Whenever faced with one of life\u2019s problems, Connor found it easiest to just write everything down. Seeing it on paper made everything so much clearer.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d found a stack of index cards in his drawer left over from his first and last semester at Stanford, the fall before his parents died. Each scene from his dreams went on a card, and when he was done, he had nineteen cards, all filled with distinct dreams. No, he\u2019d thought. Distinct memories.<\/p>\n
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to be true.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d begun to think about each scene, placing them in what he thought was the correct order. The scene with the mall and the explosives was obviously last and it made the most sense to put the strange beast-world with the old man at the beginning. The others seemed to be jumbled, until he realized that in some, his dream-self was more unbalanced than in others. Applying his logical mind to the task, he thought he\u2019d managed to put them in an order that seemed plausible.<\/p>\n
Sitting back in the chair, he crossed his arms and stared at them, his eyes going unfocused as he tied his dreams to what he\u2019d discovered about Jace. The only person in his dreams that came anywhere close to Jace\u2019s description was his vampire father.<\/p>\n
Connor had shivered suddenly, bolting up from the desk and pacing the room again. Jace looked like the father in his dreams. The thought flitted through his mind for the briefest of moments that it might actually be<\/i> Jace in his dreams, but the thought was gone just as quickly. There were differences between the faces. Subtle, but definitely there.<\/p>\n
Besides, the dreams had started after he\u2019d met Jace. Using that line of thought, maybe the dreams were just manifestations of his physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. He\u2019d been through a lot this past year and it wasn\u2019t unthinkable that his brain would need an outlet for the problems he faced every day. Maybe his mind was just conjuring up a Jace clone to star in his bizarro nocturnal imaginations.<\/p>\n
That theory, too, was thrown out almost the moment he\u2019d come up with it. In truth, Jace reminded him of his dream father, not the other way around. It was as if somehow his mind knew that the dream version was the real one and Jace was just a look-alike.<\/p>\n
That left the only other option: Eve and Jace were playing him and they knew more about his past than he did.<\/p>\n
The idea of their deception made his skin crawl and his blood boil. He felt betrayed, used, and torn, knowing that he had few people he could trust. Thinking of his grandmother and his sister, Connor felt a stab of real fear. In the end, what was true didn\u2019t matter as much as keeping them safe.<\/p>\n
As the morning turned a beautiful golden color, the sky brightening to blue without a cloud in the sky, Connor reevaluated everything he\u2019d discovered during the night. No matter how he rearranged the information, it all came out the same. What was left of his family was in danger, and no matter what his dreams told him, he would follow Eve and Jace, doing as they asked. He couldn\u2019t see any other way to protect his sister and grandmother.<\/p>\n
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Turning back into his apartment, he headed for the shower. Even though he\u2019d tried to escape it, the reality of his situation followed him there like a ball and chain attached to his ankle.<\/p>\n
He was in deep shit and there wasn\u2019t a damn thing he could do about it.<\/p>\n
Part 23<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cThere he is!\u201d Cordelia whispered, sitting up abruptly and peering into the darkened foyer of Connor\u2019s apartment building. Sure enough, Connor stood there, holding the door open for a woman and her baby stroller, then ruffling the hair of a little boy that tagged along behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cMust be neighbors,\u201d Angel said, his eyes drinking in the healthy figure of his son. \u201cHe looks good,\u201d Angel said, his voice hoarse.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Cordy sighed, her eyes tearing up. \u201cHe does. Looks kinda tired, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel peered at him, noting bleariness in his sons eyes and the messy state of his hair. Connor took off down the street, and Angel and Cordelia watched him for awhile before rousing themselves from their stare-fest.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go, broody butt,\u201d Cordy said, poking Angel in the ribs before sliding back over to her side of the car and fastening her seatbelt. \u201cGood thing you have these fancy windows so we can play Turner & Hooch during the crispy daylight hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said distractedly, pulling the car out into the rapidly busying city street. Half a block later, her reference sank in. Contrary to popular belief, he did watch TV once in awhile. \u201cWho exactly is supposed to be Hooch in this situation?\u201d he asked warily.<\/p>\n
She gave him a pitying look. \u201cDon\u2019t even think about putting my name anywhere closely associated with a big ugly slobbery dog. \u2018Sides, you\u2019re the strong silent type anyway, and you do like to pant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPant?\u201d he asked, his eyes wide. \u201cI don\u2019t breathe. When do I pant?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him askance, her eyebrows raised.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d he said, and cleared his throat, turning back to the road. \u201cI just get carried away when I\u2019m with you. Sometimes you make me forget I\u2019m a vampire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so you pant?\u201d she teased him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said, squirming in his seat and obviously wanting to end this crazy conversation. \u201cLook! He\u2019s turning in there.\u201d Angel pointed to a warehouse three blocks from Connors apartment. They drove past as Connor disappeared inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t look like much going on there,\u201d Cordy observed. \u201cPull in here.\u201d She gestured toward a shadowed alleyway that would provide Angel enough cover from direct sunlight so they could continue their observation of Connor.<\/p>\n
Angel killed the engine and coasted to a stop outside the building. Pallets were stacked against the building\u2019s edge, arranged rather fortuitously like stairs up to a dingy set of windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, time to play spy,\u201d Cordy said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly. Looking into his eyes, she smiled. \u201cIt\u2019ll be okay, Angel,\u201d she said, trying in her own small way to reassure him.<\/p>\n
He squeezed her hand back, unable to say anything. She had to be right, because there was no way he could survive losing his son for the third time in two years. There was no choice but to succeed.<\/p>\n
Part 24<\/b><\/p>\n
Connor resisted the urge to glance back over his shoulder at the road behind him when he pushed open the creaky door of the weather-beaten warehouse. He\u2019d had this weird crawly feeling up his back ever since he\u2019d open his apartment door, like someone or something was following him. One of his high school friends had termed his strange form of radar as his \u201cspidey sense,\u201d and somehow it had stuck. Today, his spidey sense was spiking off the charts.<\/p>\n
He shook off the feeling and walked confidently into the depths of the darkened, cavernous room, coming to a stop just inside the ring of light cast by the overhead fluorescents. Sticking his hands in his jacket pockets, he just stood there nonchalantly, his hair hanging in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are we gonna get started already, or what?\u201d he asked neutrally, trying to keep the exhaustion and wariness out of his voice.<\/p>\n
Jace walked over to him, standing a few feet away and mimicking Connor\u2019s stance. \u201cNo sparring today, son. We have some other, more important things to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor looked wary. \u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eve walked up beside Jace, standing with her arms crossed as she faced Connor, all business. \u201cWe need to solidify our plans, now that you\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that I\u2019m ready?\u201d he repeated. \u201cWhat\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve proven that you\u2019re nearly invincible, Connor. You\u2019re ready to face him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor nodded tersely. He didn\u2019t like it, but he had no choice. After all, this guy was evil. Killing someone evil shouldn\u2019t be too bad, right?<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we gonna talk about this here?\u201d he asked, slinging his backpack to the floor at his feet.<\/p>\n
Eve shook her head. \u201cLet\u2019s go out to breakfast.\u201d She smiled up at Jace, pulling on his hand as she led them back toward the entrance. \u201cI know a great place where we won\u2019t be bothered at all, and no one will think twice about what we might have to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor knew a lot of places like that around this city; people seemed to accept the strange and abnormal as if were an everyday occurrence. In this city, it was.<\/p>\n
At least now he\u2019d know exactly what he was getting himself into.<\/p>\n
Part 25<\/b><\/p>\n
Cordelia stared through the half-opened window, her mouth dropped open so wide a Fyarl demon could\u2019ve nested there.<\/p>\n
\u201cD-did you see that?\u201d she said, finally closing her mouth and swallowing audibly. She turned to Angel and tugged on his jacket sleeve, noting the stormy expression on his face. \u201cAngel?\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned to her, his eyes dark with anger. \u201cI saw it,\u201d he said with clenched teeth. \u201cEve, that little bitch!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, yeah, her. Never liked the skank either, but that\u2019s not what I\u2019m talking about.\u201d She gripped his sleeve tighter as her eyes grew wide. \u201cThat guy! He looked just like you!\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel frowned at her words. \u201cNo, he didn\u2019t,\u201d he denied, affronted. \u201cI don\u2019t look anything like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordy rolled her eyes at him. \u201cWell, duh, of course you wouldn\u2019t know. You don\u2019t exactly look at yourself every morning, now do you? Believe me, I know what you look like. And he looks like you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel stared back into the empty warehouse as his mind conjured up the image of the man who\u2019d just left with Eve and Connor. Okay, so he had dark hair and black clothing, but what else was the same? He said as much to Cordelia.<\/p>\n
She rolled her eyes again. \u201cHello? Overhanging brow, bushy eyebrows, broad shoulders, cute ass. Salty goodness and everything, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought he had a cute ass?\u201d Angel said, grabbing onto the one worrisome thing that jumped out at him and hanging on like a neurotic hypochondriac.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, yeah, he\u2019s hot. He looks like you,\u201d she said as if the conclusion were foregone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he hotter than me?\u201d Angel asked.<\/p>\n
She scowled at him. \u201cIs this conversation really necessary?\u201d she asked. \u201cDon\u2019t we need to follow them?\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned right back, staring at her, then finally jerked himself out of his thoughts. \u201cYeah,\u201d he said, and jumped down off the pallets in one leap, down about fifteen feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cShowoff,\u201d she muttered as she picked her way down the wobbly stack by herself. Angel waited at the bottom, ready to catch her if she fell. She felt his big hands grip her waist as she neared the bottom and let him lift her onto the blacktop.<\/p>\n
She looked up into his face and still saw the insecurity in his eyes. What was it about him that made him so vulnerable? This guy with Connor was theirenemy<\/i> for crying out loud. Sexy and enemy weren\u2019t good mixy things, so it was merely an observation, not an declaration of intentions. So what if she thought the guy was a hottie? Angel was way better, and he was hers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel,\u201d she said, smiling up at him, using her small hand to cup his cheek. \u201cI love you. You\u2019re the saltiest of salty goodness, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes lit up at her words. \u201cOkay,\u201d he said, squeezing her back. \u201cLet\u2019s go find out where they went.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rolled her eyes to the heavens and sighed as he turned away from her to head back to the car. You\u2019d think 250 years of kicking butt would work out some of those insecurities, but sometimes she thought he was the most vulnerable person she\u2019d ever met.<\/p>\n
It looked like she had an eternity of hard work ahead of her.<\/p>\n
Part 26<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to strike soon,\u201d Eve said, her fork poised in the air as she planted her elbow on the table. A goopy clump of eggs clung to the end of her fork, threatening to slide off at any second. Eve didn\u2019t seem to notice. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know we\u2019re coming, but the longer we wait, the more likely it is he\u2019ll get wind of this. He has amazing connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
She caught the bite in her mouth just before it slipped back onto her plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of connections?\u201d Connor asked, his pancakes barely touched in front of him. \u201cThe Mob or something? Gangs?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eve shook her head around a mouthful of food, then elbowed Jace to explain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is mystical, remember?\u201d Jace answered. \u201cHis contacts are demonic. He has a legion of vampires and demons working for him, along with some mystically gifted and enhanced humans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally having swallowed, Eve smirked evilly. \u201cHe did have one really strong connection to his evil backers, but she died a few months ago. She was in a coma from that whole fight against world peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor only nodded. \u201cSo now he\u2019s not as connected?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d She shook her head. \u201cThe law firm he took over, Wolfram & Hart, used to be a force for good in the mystical realms, but since he\u2019s been there, his evilness has infiltrated the entire organization and its effectiveness is barely half of what it used to be. He\u2019s systematically destroying the balance between good and evil in the universe, and every day he gets stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re going to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYup. One beheading from you and everything will be all good again.\u201d She smiled, for once the expression reaching her eyes. The evil glint was still there, though, and it gave him the willies. \u201cBut not before a little good old-fashioned torture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor squirmed slightly, not liking the thought of torture at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cShouldn\u2019t you tell me a little bit more about him?\u201d he asked, wanting to know as much of the score as he could before he got himself involved in this.<\/p>\n
Eve and Jace exchanged a glance, as if to warn each other to keep their stories straight. Connor pretended not to notice the surreptitious look.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a vampire,\u201d Eve said, \u201cAs we told you before. He\u2019s evil, as all vampires are. Can be killed with a wooden stake, decapitation, or sunlight, although I prefer you decapitate him. It\u2019s the most satisfying to watch and the easiest to execute.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he\u2019s been around awhile?\u201d Connor asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Jace said, nodding. \u201cHe was turned into a vampire back in the late 1700\u2019s by a vicious female vampire named Darla. They terrorized the whole of Western Europe for a hundred years, give or take, and moved here to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. In the last twenty years or so, he\u2019s set himself up as a powerful figure in Los Angeles and his strength continues to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gonna give me a name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you want to know that?\u201d Eve asked, her eyebrows raised. The less Connor knew, the better. Erased memories had a funny way of leaking back, and she didn\u2019t want to trigger anything. Especially not now that he had such close, comfy ties to Jace. She struggled to keep the fury off her face. He was such a fucking screw-up.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, Connor didn\u2019t seem to notice her anger. \u201cSeems kinda unfair to be killing a guy whose name I don\u2019t even know. I mean, what if I get the wrong guy or something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t,\u201d Eve insisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to know,\u201d Connor said forcefully when she seemed disinclined to continue. Somehow, he had to know. Thought it might mean something. Might make something in his dreams make sense. Not that his dreams had ever given him anything to work with that could help here.<\/p>\n
Eve pursed her lips in thought, then finally sighed. \u201cHis name is Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor was silent for a moment as he digested this. He fidgeted when the name didn\u2019t affect him at all. The name Angel didn\u2019t mean anything. At least not to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cKind of a dorky name for a vampire,\u201d he commented. \u201cSounds kinda girly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jace laughed. \u201cHe\u2019s anything but girly. Lore about him says that his sire named him that because he has an \u2018Angelic face.\u2019\u201d Jace grimaced at the words as if they tasted bad rolling off his tongue. \u201cHe\u2019s a formidable fighter, kinda rough around the edges.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve fought him?\u201d Connor asked, intrigued.<\/p>\n
Jace nodded. \u201cOnce.\u201d He didn\u2019t elaborate because he would\u2019ve had to explain way too much. He\u2019d been muscle at Wolfram & Hart a year or two previous, when Angel Investigations had moved into the hotel. There had been a skirmish once when they\u2019d tried to infiltrate the hotel, and he\u2019d come face to face with the vampire. Jace hadn\u2019t fared well. His wrist still ached when it rained and his nose had healed slightly crooked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if he\u2019s all wicked protected, how do we get in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have some contacts on the inside,\u201d Eve said, her smile gone again. \u201cThey\u2019ll see that we can enter the offices of Wolfram & Hart undetected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all going? I thought I was the one who was going to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are,\u201d Jace answered. \u201cBut you\u2019ll need back up. He has henchmen. Evil groupies who will stop at nothing to protect him. Even a superkid like you needs help once in awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor smiled at him, amused despite himself. He kinda liked the superkid moniker. \u201cOkay, fine,\u201d he said, acting bored with the plans. \u201cWhen do we go?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eve sat back in her seat with a sigh, her plate empty in front of her. \u201cWe have to wait two weeks until our opportunity comes up. My contact has to sever some important mystical ties protecting the building, and the spells can\u2019t be cast until the full moon. We\u2019ll strike the next morning.\u201d<\/p>\n