Part 23<\/b><\/p>\n
“My father told me that God gave me to him to protect me,\u201d Connor glared at Wesley.<\/p>\n
Wesley sat back in his chair. “To be more accurate, it was a large talking plastic JollyBurger that really set the final stages in motion. If that is God, then we\u2019re all in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? I don\u2019t understand you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor, no one, God included, gave you to Holtz. Holtz took you because I acted out of fear for you. Fear that Angel was going to kill you. I believed that because of a prophecy I found and signs that were manufactured or manipulated. That\u2019s why.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe you. You\u2019re trying to get me to doubt my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to get you to see the truth. The clich\u00e9, in the one instance anyway, is correct. The truth will set you free.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTruth, what do you know about the truth? I know what my father told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoltz was not your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, like or not, Angel is your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNO.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want him to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley rubbed his forehead a sad knowing smile on his face. \u201cThat\u2019s not a choice that you get to have, Connor. You can deny your father, you can hate him, ignore him, wish that it wasn\u2019t so, but in the end, he is your father and that fact will effect your future choices and the life you choose. It can\u2019t be helped, not until you accept and understand your father. Love and trust come automatically with birth and Connor I was there with you. You did love Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNO.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, you trusted that he would care for and protect you. It\u2019s the nature of being a baby, Connor, it\u2019s not wrong or anything to be ashamed of. However, the trust and love a baby has can grow stronger as the relationship between child and parent develops or it can falter and mutate into something akin to hate. It all depends on the relationship and the actions of the parent and child. You feel that Angel\u2019s actions to Holtz\u2019s family has made him untrustworthy, unworthy of your love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is, he\u2019s a demon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. But those acts Holtz filled your head with were over 150 years old. His warnings weren\u2019t current with the Angel of this era, the era to which you were born. You don’t have a relationship with Angel or a basis that trust can grow because Holtz stole that from you.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you want me to trust him? I\u2019ve heard them talk,\u201d Connor motioned to the locked door. \u201cThey say you hate him too. That you are working with them against him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said before, I want you to know the truth. Holtz was a human, a mortal, that should\u2019ve died over a hundred years ago, but instead he made pact with a demon to circumvent the natural order of things so that he could get revenge on the vampire that killed his family. Holtz wasn\u2019t noble, he was a revenge-minded fanatic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow dare you,\u201d Connor swung knocking Wesley down.<\/p>\n
Wesley stumbled back to his feet, his hand going to his jaw. \u201cThe truth, Connor. Holtz wasn\u2019t an agent of God, he may have been pious at one time, but he lost that distinction when he chose revenge, when he chose to steal the childhood from an innocent babe, when he risked human\u2019s lives for his plan, when he ordered Justine to kill me. Those actions that he described of Angel, were those of a demon without a soul, Holtz\u2019s actions were those of a human with a soul. Which is worse?<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel killed him, those are the actions that I\u2019m care about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI seriously doubt that, the truth, Connor, think about it.\u201d Wesley left the room.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Wesley unlocked his door. The first thing he saw as he entered was Lilah picking up her purse. \u201cLeaving and I just got here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere have you been?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t realize there was a time clock on this job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is when my life is contingent on your cooperation.\u201d She said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHazards of a highly paid career.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking to Connor, don\u2019t believe check with the readers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah shook her head. \u201cAny head way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley shrugged. \u201cHe\u2019s very loyal to Holtz.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Angel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill doesn\u2019t trust him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill doesn\u2019t trust me, but I think he\u2019s listening at least.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d She said moving past him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHazards of a highly paid career.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething else happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Angel. They\u2019re concerned he\u2019s not reacting at all like expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExpected?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis seer’s dead. One would expect him to be choking me again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you came here. What hoping he went for me first, giving time for you to get away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a thought.\u201d Lilah smiled slightly, and then frowned. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t made a move towards Wolfram & Hart, it\u2019s been over 7 hours. Cordelia had to have told him before she died. He has to have figured out that her death was at our hands. He knows and he\u2019s not after us, that\u2019s not normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what does Wolfram & Hart think is normal for Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWesley, every time, he\u2019s come after us, going straight to Lindsey- when he was gone, to me to get answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley moved to sit down. \u201cThat\u2019s just it, Lilah, he doesn\u2019t need answers this time. Cordy\u2019s dead. Angel doesn\u2019t need to come after you or anybody, he knows who killed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLilah,\u201d Wesley said softly as if talking to a small child, \u201cthose other times when Wolfram & Hart put Cordelia in danger, she was alive, almost dead, but still alive, he had a purpose, to get to you, Lindsey, whoever, as quick as possible, too get the answers he needed to save her. You are still alive because he got those answers. This time, he doesn\u2019t need answers, he doesn\u2019t care why you killed her or even how, he just cares that you killed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he should be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLilah, you\u2019re not listening. Angel doesn\u2019t need answers. He doesn\u2019t have to move quickly. He can take his time. Cordelia’s dead. He has time to plan now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlan.\u201d Wesley nodded. \u201cPlan, to make your death, the death of everyone and anybody in Wolfram & Hart he can get to, as painful as satisfying as he can. He doesn\u2019t need you alive anymore, Lilah, you can\u2019t help him. Cordy\u2019s already dead. Honestly, you should have asked, there was a chance that you could\u2019ve stayed alive if Cordy was. That\u2019s what Angel really wants, without that, we\u2019re all fair game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he would really kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley looked surprised. \u201cYou don\u2019t. Lilah, he hasn\u2019t kept you alive because of some hidden liking on his part or even because of his soul, not really. He\u2019s left you alive because he hasn\u2019t had to kill you yet. Every time, Wolfram & Hart has put Cordelia in danger, he\u2019s truly wanted to kill you, but he hasn\u2019t because you\u2019ve had the knowledge to save her and once she was saved, his urgent need for your death had been diverted by his need to be at her side as she recovered.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d rather sit at Cordy’s bedside watching her sleep and be well than kill you. But, that\u2019s gone, so he\u2019ll be sitting at an empty bed, knowing she\u2019s gone, and knowing you killed her and he\u2019ll be thinking and planning the best way to kill you.<\/p>\n
Think about it,Lilah, Wolfram & Hart took away his chance to save Darla and look what happened, a wine cellar full of dead lawyers and that was Darla and unplanned, he was just really pissed. This is Cordy and I imagine he\u2019s beyond just really pissed, and now he has time to make it really spectacular, there is some of Angelus in Angel. He\u2019ll make it good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah stepped back. \u201cHe\u2019ll come after you too. He knows you\u2019re with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine I\u2019ll be painted with the same brush.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re taking it calmly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been living at the whim of Angel for some time now. The only reason he stopped trying to kill me before was that Connor was back. Now, Connor\u2019s gone to him and so is Cordy. I won\u2019t be surprised to see him at my door some night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo the uninvite spell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? Then I\u2019ll be a prisoner in my own home. He\u2019ll get me, just like he\u2019ll get you. Lilah, you\u2019ve been playing with the devil for some time now, did you really think that you could win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s time we told him. Can you get in touch with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout him killing me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me make a phone call.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d Lilah slammed her cell phone shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll want me to be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine, but you\u2019re being bugged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, then I\u2019m staying here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to know what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell you when and if I get back. But, I\u2019m not making a dangerous situation more dangerous by having a bug implanted; he\u2019d kill me on the spot. Telling him Wolfram & Hart has Connor just may do it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you were okay with dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay is a lot different from facilitating the happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part 24<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s Cordy?\u201d Wesley stood up as soon as the vampire entered the church.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive and planning once the device was removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlanning?\u201d Wesley laughed softy. Wesley breathed deeply feeling more light- hearted than he had in a very long time. \u201cSo she\u2019s fine.\u201d Wesley asked just to make sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Is that why you called or is it something else, is it Connor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here at Wolfram & Hart\u2019s bequest. They wish you to know that they have Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it seem that they are nervous, you\u2019ve failed to act as expected, they thought you would react violently to Cordelia\u2019s death at their hands. Your inactivity over the last several hours has confused them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll get to them soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Wesley cocked his head. \u201cThey just thought it would be sooner until I reminded them that with Cordelia dead and you didn\u2019t need them for any way to save her that you would kill all of them when you were ready. They hope that your knowledge that they have Connor will stall whatever plan of revenge you are contemplating. I may\u2019ve mentioned something about wine cellars and lawyer killings and mass destruction, I don\u2019t quite remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel stared at the smile on Wesley\u2019s face. Angel\u2019s past action of letting the lawyer\u2019s die at the hands of Darla and Drusilla had been the final step in the schism between Angel and his human friends over a year ago.<\/p>\n
Angel nodded refusing to be deterred by his past actions. He nodded accepting Wesley\u2019s words at face value. \u201cI like your warnings to them better than Cordy\u2019s plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I want to hear it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSince it\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen and you\u2019re part of it, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, we\u2019re going with Cordy\u2019s plan. I\u2019m almost afraid to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is actually very simple in purpose, it\u2019s application maybe a bit difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sitting down, just tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel sat next to Wesley. \u201cWe\u2019re to find Justine, get the truth of how Holtz really died, bring Connor home, tell him that truth and you\u2019re to stop working for Wolfram & Hart as soon as that happens. She said that as much as she hated it you couldn\u2019t quit until Connor was home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley turned to study the vampire. \u201cAngel, you do realize that she\u2019s just contradicted almost everything that you\u2019ve planned, been planning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said that I could \u2018whoop\u2019 the little girl\u2019s ass on the top floor and any lawyers we may come across while were getting Connor home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoop? She realizes that they have tortured her right? That you want them dead? That me being in the middle could help bring them down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, she says it\u2019s not worth it. \u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree that our family is more important at this moment than revenge. I agree that no matter how much I want to kill them all, I won\u2019t go against Cordy on this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer plan means what for me, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re coming home. Wesley, I\u2026I don\u2019t know when or if I can forgive you, but I do know what Cordy knows, Angel Investigations has always been stronger together than separated, and you are a part of it. So\u2026Cordy says everything comes in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley blinked. \u201cGood God, you haven\u2019t slept with her have you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? No.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you love her, like really love her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what?\u201d Angel got up from the pew. \u201cWe both know the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust checking, you did have sex with Darla, one could speculate that you weren\u2019t quite as cognizant of the risk as you once were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDarla wasn\u2019t Cordy, never was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust checking.\u201d Wesley got up. \u201cDoes this plan have any specifics?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know where Connor is. Gunn, Fred and Cordelia will help you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy presence may make things more difficult with Connor. Anyway, I\u2019ll be busy going to the top floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley started to nod then stopped as he realized all what Angel said. \u201cAngel, that little girl is something that I\u2019ve not been able to identify. She may not be able to be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel, I know Cordy didn\u2019t plan that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said I could whoop her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what she meant and you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know that you weren\u2019t there when she said it and don\u2019t mention it to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWesley.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley took a deep breath. \u201cWhen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll let you know when we find Justine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley nodded. \u201cWell, I\u2019m sufficiently scared and you\u2019re stalled so I guess it\u2019s time for me to go back to my temporary masters.\u201d<\/p>\n