Part 6<\/b><\/p>\n
Angel rapped on the apartment door and listened intently for the sounds of footsteps on the other side. None were coming. He glanced around the hallway and found an old bearded man patrolling.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me,\u201d Angel called. \u201cCan you help me?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cProbably,\u201d the man answered. He waddled over to Angel. \u201cI’m the building superintendent. What can I do for you?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDo you know where this man is?\u201d He pointed to apartment number 51. \u201cHis name is Jeremy Tyler.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTyler,\u201d the man spat in disgust. \u201cThe boy is a fucking loser. Yeah, I saw the little shit earlier. Asked him about that rent he owes me. Said he had some business to attend to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDid he say specifically what he was going to do?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNah, but chances are it has to do with his wife and kids. He’s in the midst of a divorce.\u201d He snorted in contempt. \u201cNever met the woman before in my life, but I can tell you divorcing this asshole is the best decision she’s ever made. Almost makes up for marrying him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Angel’s eyes widened in horror. He could be heading to Lana’s house. He could already be there. \u201cShit,\u201d he groaned. \u201cThanks for the information.\u201d Angel sprinted to the stairwell, intent on high tailing it back to Lana. Hopefully he was overreacting. But his gut said that he wasn’t.<\/em><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Angel and Spike entered the Magic Box to find the gang gathered around the table. Buffy and Xander were whispering about Cordelia. His vampire hearing detected more that a few unkind words. Even Spike was appalled at some of the words coming from Buffy’s mouth.<\/p>\n Dawn was busy gazing into some multi-colored crystal ball. Giles had his nose stuck in a demonology tome. Willow was busy playing with her laptop.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember,\u201d Angel whispered to Spike, \u201cit’s all in the look. Watch and learn.\u201d Angel then proceeded to saunter over to the table. He smiled slightly when Willow looked up. Lovely. He had her attention. The vampire grabbed a chair and scooted so close to Willow that they were practically one person.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, Willow,\u201d Angel breathed, \u201cyou are an extraordinarily talented girl. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone quite as brilliant as you in all my long years.\u201d He licked his lips as he pretended to study the computer screen. Willow’s eyes tracked the movement intently. Her breathing and heartbeat quickened noticeably.<\/p>\n Like putty, Angel thought. \u201cIt’s a real shame we never got to know one another better while I was in Sunnydale. Course, I had that Slayer phase, but you know how that is.\u201d He made sure that Buffy heard that last part.<\/p>\n \u201cReal shame,\u201d Willow murmured. He had nice lips. Full and incredibly pouty. She could lick those, she really could.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Buffy bristled considerably at Angel’s jab. Spike smirked as he observed the Slayer observing his grandsire. Xander and Giles watched in confusion as Angel appeared to be seducing a known lesbian.<\/p>\n Dawn continued to stare into the crystal ball.<\/p>\n \u201cI’d like to remedy that,\u201d Angel continued. \u201cI’d love to get to know you better. But it pains me to say, Willow, and that is a enchanting name by the way, I really need to ask a favor of you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, sure,\u201d a dazed Willow said. She continued to stare in fascination at his lips.<\/p>\n \u201cI need to borrow your computer for a moment.\u201d Xander and Giles both nodded in understanding. Angel wanted the computer. Somehow he knew that Willow didn’t like people touching her laptop.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems that a friend has sent me an e-mail, and I really need to check it. Is that okay with you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkey dokey,\u201d Willow sighed. She pushed back from her laptop to give Angel access to the keyboard, and any else belonging to her, that he wanted. She moaned as Angel gently brushed her calf with his foot before beginning to type.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Willow. You’re beautiful, you know that?\u201d Willow grinned happily and giggled like a schoolgirl at the compliment. Spike, meanwhile, looked fairly stunned.<\/p>\n The son of a bitch just seduced Willow Rosenberg, former Wicca, current lesbian.<\/p>\n \u201cBloody hell,\u201d Spike whispered. \u201cHow does that Poof do it? Every woman wants him, even the ones that want other women.\u201d<\/p>\n Angel grinned at Spike and sent him an \u201cI told you\u201d look. He then winked at Willow as he logged onto the Internet. He quickly opened up his Hotmail account to retrieve the files Fred sent.<\/p>\n \u201cSince when the hell have you used the Internet?\u201d Xander asked.<\/p>\n \u201cRight around the time you started asking stupid questions. Oh wait, the Internet hasn’t been around that long.\u201d Spike had to admit, this new and improved Angel was quite an upgrade over the old brooding bastard.<\/p>\n Willow continued to stare in awe at Angel. \u201cXander,\u201d she giggled, \u201cAngel just called you stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Will, I noticed,\u201d Xander sulked.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it was worth pointing out,\u201d Spike admitted. \u201cCause you gotta admit, you’re not that bright, mate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUp yours, Spike.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re just pissed because I boinked your ex-girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d Angel asked. \u201cYou boinked his ex?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah. You remember Anyanka, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEx-vengeance demon. Nice rack?\u201d Spike nodded and Angel let out a long whistle. \u201cShe was hot.\u201d<\/p>\n Giles felt it was quite time to put an end to this line of conversation. Someone might get hurt, and it would probably be Xander. \u201cAngel, you said that your friend e-mailed you some information. Might I ask what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPolice reports,\u201d Angel answered. He opened up the small note and then the attachment Fred sent. \u201cAngel, I did like you asked and went over old murder cases. In the attachment are several murders matching the Sunnydale killings dating back nearly fifty years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFifty years?\u201d Giles asked. \u201cYou think that perhaps whatever demon is killing has been doing so for that period of time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot exactly.\u201d Angel scanned a directory of case files that Fred sent. \u201cWhen I went to the hospital this last time, Cordelia woke long enough to give me some information. It confirmed the conclusion I had reached earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that would be, Mister Cryptic?\u201d Xander quipped.<\/p>\n Buffy knew exactly what Angel meant. \u201cYou think the killer is human?\u201d an astonished Buffy asked. \u201cAre you out of your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n Angel glanced at his ex in annoyance. \u201cIt’s not that big a stretch, Buffy. Just look at the history books. Berkowitz, Gacy, Dahmer, Manson. They were all human and all prolific killers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo were Bianchi, De Salvo, Gein, and Bundy,\u201d Willow continued.<\/p>\n Angel looked up from the laptop at Willow. \u201cOh, not Gein. He was a Tackler demon.\u201d<\/p>\n Willow looked in confusion from first Spike and then Giles. Both nodded in agreement. \u201cWell, you don’t see that on The Learning Channel.\u201d She then smiled widely and turned her focus back to Angel. \u201cBut someone as smart as you would know that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh God, Willow,\u201d Buffy groaned. Her best friend had become an Angel Groupie.<\/p>\n The vampire smiled sweetly at Willow. This was pissing Buffy off and he liked it. \u201cBut like I was saying,\u201d Angel continued, \u201cbecause you live on the Hellmouth, you get the impression that the only things that are evil are demons, vampires, or zombies. When you battle monsters with sharp teeth, and slimy horns, and long tails, you sometimes forgot that evil takes other forms. Truth is, sometimes the scariest monster of all is just the guy next door.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo what you’re doing is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I’m doing is searching the case file directory for names that ring bells in my head. The person called me by human name. So it stands to reason I’ve met the person. Now maybe I let my name slip, or maybe they did some research, but I think once I see a familiar name that it will all come together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny names looking familiar?\u201d Buffy mocked.<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet.\u201d Angel continued to scroll down the list. Willow inched closer and closer so that she could read over his shoulder. Yeah, look over his shoulder, that’s it. That’s exactly why she was so close.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n \u201cI thought you said that he would come for us,\u201d Jordan said. Joshua paced the barren living room anxiously. Jordan sat in the room’s lone chair and watched as her brother analyzed the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought he would!\u201d Joshua snapped. Jordan recoiled at his tone and began to whimper softly.<\/p>\n Joshua’s stern expression immediately melted into one of compassion. \u201cI’m sorry, Jordy. I’m not mad at you. I’m just frustrated. With the clues we’ve left, and his friends to help out, I thought he would figure things out by now. Evidently I was wrong. His memory isn’t quite as good as I imagined.\u201d Joshua gazed intently at a crack in the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps we should try something different. If he’s having so much difficulty finding us, maybe we should make ourselves known. Come out into the open. Maybe go after something he cares about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you saying Joshua?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI’m saying that perhaps we should pay Miss Chase another visit. Maybe this time she shouldn’t be allowed to live.\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n This was incredibly frustrating. He’d looked through over eighty files and had yet to find the one. Angel was quickly beginning to think that perhaps this was a dead end. But then, he caught a break.<\/p>\n Or rather, he finally found the answer.<\/p>\n \u201cJeremy Tyler.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d Giles asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYour name isn’t really Angel, is it? I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were, but it almost seems too good to be true.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cNo, my name is Liam. Angel was\u2026is\u2026a bad joke that stuck.\u201d<\/p>\n When Angel looked up from the screen, the group was shocked at the vacant look in his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cSon of a bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n