***<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you file this, please, Dennis?\u201d Cordelia held up a folder which was promptly floated toward the filing cabinet.<\/p>\n
As she looked up, Cordelia saw that Angel was pacing around his office. Usually not a good sign, she decided to find out what was going on. \u201cWearing a hole in the floor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel paused and glanced down at his feet. \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about Wes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d agreed Cordelia walking over to stand beside him, \u201cme too. Do you think I should give Aura a call? She comes into town all of the time to see her brother, Reg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d do that to Wes?\u201d asked Angel distractedly. The former Cordette had lost none of her bite since her High School days according to Cordelia\u2019s detailed descriptions of their phone conversations.<\/p>\n
Cordelia frowned at the question, \u201cWhat\u2019s so bad about Aura?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing,\u201d Angel answered hastily. \u201cExcept for the fact that she\u2019d eat him alive and would never fit in with our lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAura\u2019s from Sunnydale.\u201d Cordelia reminded him that any girl who grew up on the Hellmouth and witnessed their high school principal getting chomped by their guest speaker\/mayor turned gigantic snake demon probably wouldn\u2019t bat an eyelash over Wesley\u2019s job. \u201cShe can deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking doubtful, Angel\u2019s reaction prompted Cordelia to ask him who he\u2019d consider matching Wesley with. Having not really given it a thought after yesterday\u2019s discussion and knowing that Cordelia was completely serious about this self-appointed task of fixing Wes up with a girlfriend so they could double-date, Angel searched his brain for a name, any name and floundering finally came up with\u2026,<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about Kate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDetective Lockley?\u201d gasped Cordelia as if she\u2019d never once thought about the blond police officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows what we do,\u201d Angel tagged on.<\/p>\n
Cordelia rolled her eyes at the idea. \u201cPfft! Kate wouldn\u2019t be caught in the same room as you much less go out with us. She hates vampires.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019d be dating Wesley, not me,\u201d Angel shrugged. At least it was an idea. \u201cHe\u2019s human.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Cordelia was pacing, \u201cIt could work. Maybe I\u2019d better be the one to contact Kate instead of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood idea,\u201d nodded Angel knowing that Kate wasn\u2019t likely to speak to him much less listen long enough to hear what he had to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you can relax. We both can,\u201d grinned Cordelia, happy now that she had a plan.<\/p>\n
Angel gave her a sheepish smile, \u201cActually, Wes\u2019 love-life wasn\u2019t what I was thinking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t?\u201d Cordelia looked perturbed. Hadn\u2019t they discussed this priority already?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I was wondering what Wes is up to,\u201d he confessed, rubbing the nape of his neck and then shoving both hands in his pockets. \u201cAll this research he\u2019s been doing. What is he looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia shrugged, \u201cWho knows. Could be anything, a new prophesy maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s being evasive, Cordy.\u201d The fact had been bugging him for a few days now, but having been so distracted by Cordelia, he\u2019d let his curiosity slide.<\/p>\n
Thinking about it, Cordelia supposed Wes had been closed-mouthed on the subject. \u201cI did catch him using my computer a couple of times. He turned it off right away as if he didn\u2019t want me to see what he was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould he be doing something dangerous?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he must be checking out computer porn,\u201d Cordelia laughed at the idea, \u201cbut then this is Wesley we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s time to start asking serious questions,\u201d Angel put a hand on the small of her back and led Cordelia out of his office. They were about to head down the hall when Dennis pulled a piece of crumpled paper out of the garbage can.<\/p>\n
Hurling it at the vampire, the balled paper bounced off of Angel\u2019s forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis! What the hell was that for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia bent down and picked up the paper from the floor. \u201cI think he\u2019s trying to tell us something.<\/p>\n
Flattening out the paper so that it was readable, Cordelia glanced over the contents. \u201cSomething about a rare demon extract\u2026blah, blah, blah\u2026arranging for Wes to get it this week. More boring stuff\u2026extract is rather volatile in its undiluted form. Nothing, nothing, nothing\u2026obtained from\u2026eew! I did so not need to read that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shoving the paper into Angel\u2019s hands, Cordelia shuddered, \u201cWhatever it is, that stuff is gross.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thoroughly reading over the entire letter, Angel had to admit that he was no more informed about Wesley\u2019s research than he had been before Dennis shared this bit of news with them. \u201cIt looks like Wes has been in contact with another field expert and needs this extract for his research.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuestion time?\u201d Cordelia asked Angel already heading in the direction of Wesley\u2019s new office.<\/p>\n
Crumpling the paper into a ball again, Angel tossed it toward the trashcan hitting it dead center. He didn\u2019t even have time to respond to Cordelia before the wadded paper flew back out of its receptacle now hitting the vampire on the back of the head.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis! What is it now?\u201d Angel growled at him.<\/p>\n
Turning around, Cordelia walked back to join him. There was always the possibility that Phantom Dennis was just having a little fun with Angel, but she wasn\u2019t going to suggest that idea. Angel was still griping about his sock drawer.<\/p>\n
They watched as the paper containing the email unfolded before their eyes. A red marker floated from its place on Cordelia\u2019s desk, uncapped itself and then circled a name on the paper. Neither Angel nor Cordelia had noticed it before as the name was part of the sender\u2019s email address.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a genius,\u201d Cordelia marveled at Dennis\u2019 ability to notice little details. \u201cMy ghost is a genius.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBusybody,\u201d corrected Angel realizing that their resident phantom was so involved with every aspect of their lives that he knew more about them than they did. He had to concede, \u201cGood job, Dennis. This gives us a lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lead?\u201d Cordelia scrunched up her nose. \u201cIt\u2019s more than that. Don\u2019t you see what this means, Angel?\u201d<\/p>\n
The vampire stared down at her planning to answer, but knowing that it wouldn\u2019t be what she wanted him to say, \u201cThat Wes is collecting demon extract for a dangerous experiment and he knows precisely who to contact to get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rolling her eyes, Cordelia smacked him in the chest. \u201cNo, dorkula. It means we can forget about Kiss Me Kate Lockley.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Wesley looked at his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. Their usual mail delivery occurred at just after 2pm barring unusual weather or major sporting events.<\/p>\n
He was sitting at the front desk eagerly anticipating the delivery of the package and wondering why he hadn\u2019t asked if Dr. Potter was planning to send it by UPS or Fed-Ex. That way, he could have tracked the package minute-by-minute to its arrival.<\/p>\n
He was still staring at the door when it opened ten minutes later to admit a pretty blond woman wearing a sundress with a bright red flowery print and carrying a large straw tote bag.<\/p>\n
She paused just inside the doors, pulled off her sunglasses and took a moment to look around the lobby, an expression of surprise on her tanned face.<\/p>\n
Straightening his tie, Wes sat up and cleared his throat. They hadn\u2019t had a client in the past couple of days and he wondered what problem this woman might have to bring her to Angel Investigations.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay I help you?\u201d Wes asked formally hoping that the spot of mustard on his tie wasn\u2019t showing. He\u2019d tried to wipe it off, but the tumeric dye in the mustard was nearly impossible to rub out.<\/p>\n
A smile instantly appeared on her face as she turned toward him and Wesley felt a little nervous under the warm gaze this stranger was sending his way. \u201cI\u2019m looking for Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sputtering in surprise, \u201cW-why, that would be me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reaching into her tote bag, the woman pulled out a sturdy oblong box about six inches long. As she started across the foyer, Wes came to realize that this woman was hand-delivering the extract he\u2019d been expecting as she commented, \u201cThis was just too unstable to send through the mail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cD-Do you work with Dr. Potter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Laughing, she answered, \u201cI am Dr. Potter, but there\u2019s no need to be so formal. You can call me Harry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley stared at her, blinking twice as he realized Dr Harry Potter was not a man at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo relation to the fictional character,\u201d Harry added when he appeared to be tongue-tied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the renowned demonologist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harry didn\u2019t blush, but looked rather pleased at the reference. She\u2019d worked hard over the past few years to gain respect in the community for her research. \u201cI\u2019ve only recently taken a job at UCLA. You know the drill. Teach a few basic classes, but gain access to scholars and students interested in my field.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really fascinating,\u201d Wes commented suddenly thinking that he had a hundred questions for this interesting young woman.<\/p>\n
Taking the box from her hand, Wes set it down on the counter. He had no idea that Dennis had gone upstairs to notify Angel and Cordelia of their guest\u2019s arrival until the two of them appeared on the stairs a couple of minutes later.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarry!\u201d Cordelia called out from atop the stairs drawing a frown from Wes who was confused by the fact that the brunette seemed to know the PhD.<\/p>\n