Part 7<\/b><\/p>\n
Charles Gunn crept into the darkened building, a shiver running up and down the length of his spine. He had always been drawn to this place, passing it during patrols, but he had never actually had the nerve to enter. So why did it look so familiar to him now? He made a sweep of the lobby and disheveled offices and after deciding the vamp must have made a nest somewhere else in the building, he turned toward the stairs. A noise, small and almost inaudible, froze him before he reached the first step.<\/p>\n
He checked his grip on the crossbow before spinning around to face \u2026. Wesley. \u201cDude, what the hell you doin in here?\u201d Gunn lowered the bow and took in a shaky breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI might be weakened, but I am not completely helpless. And besides, I couldn\u2019t very well wait out in the truck as you faced an unknown demon on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt aint unknown,\u201d Gunn was getting frustrated with Wesley\u2019s account of the previous night\u2019s attack. He turned and took the lead up the stairs. \u201cThe word is \u2018vampire\u2019, English. You used to know just what that meant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley didn\u2019t answer his friend, but simply followed him up the staircase, a sword he hoped he didn\u2019t have to use in his weak hand. Why should Gunn believe him? He could hardly believe it himself. A vampire, yet not. A demon, with a conscience. None of it made sense. If he didn\u2019t know Lorne, know that there was a chance for some so called \u2018demons\u2019 to be good, he would have written the gut feeling off as delirium himself. But something deep inside told him that he was right. That the thing that had attacked him, had done so out of need, necessity. Acting more like a ravaged animal than a malevolent devil. And feeling remorse for what he had done.<\/p>\n
He had told only a partial truth. No, he didn\u2019t want Gunn facing the vampire alone, but he also feared for the creature as well. He knew Gunn\u2019s strengths. He was capable of killing almost anything.<\/p>\n
The two men walked down the hallway, peering into a room or two, unable to see much. Finally they came to a large suite. Both stood silently, looking at the closed door, mutually understanding that some way, some how, they both knew that this was it.<\/p>\n
Gunn pushed the door open and moved stealthily in front of his friend. Four human eyes focused, took in the images of the room as shapes took form. A dresser, a chair, a bed, and\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, God,\u201d Gunn whispered when the nude form of Cordelia, bathed in the sinking moonlight, came into his line of vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it? What\u2019s wrong?\u201d Wesley walked around Gunn and stared at the image. \u201cCordelia?\u201d he felt a sickening pain race through him as he stared at her motionless body on the dusty bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill think this thing\u2019s good?\u201d Gunn nearly spit out his question. \u201cI thought\u2026.\u201d he tried to hold his emotions at bay. \u201cI thought I was coming in here to get this nasty son-of-a-bitch because he\u2019d almost got one of my crew. Thought I was stronger, smarter.\u201d He walked closer to the bed, but couldn\u2019t bring himself to touch her cold, dead body. Not even to cover her, to give her a little dignity. Even in death.<\/p>\n
Wesley felt his stomach roll, he swallowed down what threatened to come up. He steadied himself with a hand on his knee, willing away the need to breakdown. This was all his fault. He\u2019d defended the creature. Even went as far as to say he might be good. What if Cordelia had believed his ramblings, befriended the very thing that had obviously destroyed her. It was possible. Cordelia put on a good front, but her heart, her compassion were all consuming.<\/p>\n
He looked down at her, ashamed of his earlier assumptions of the demon. Shrugging off his jacket, Wesley laid it across her naked form, trying not to imagine the things the beast must have done to her before he killed her\u2026.or turned her. That thought kicked in his watcher senses and a feeling of grim responsibility. He looked at Gunn who still stood in shock, his face a mask of sorrow and fury.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe might not be dead, Charles,\u201d Wesley spoke the fact softly, his voice filled with regret and agonizing grief at the loss of their friend, their heart, and at what they might have to do.<\/p>\n
Gunn turned to him with hope shining in his eyes, until the full meaning of what Wesley was saying sunk in. \u201cSo your sayin one of us is gonna have to stake her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must be certain. Cordy would never want\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Gunn couldn\u2019t go through that again. He couldn\u2019t stake another sister. \u201cHell, no!\u201d he shouted, rousing a sleeping Cordelia.<\/p>\n
Both men were startled and raised their weapons to her on pure instinct. Cordelia squeaked and looked at them both with confusion and then, realizing her state of undress, pulled in her legs and cowered behind Wesley\u2019s coat as much as possible.<\/p>\n
Wes and Gunn were frozen, indecision and fear marring their judgment, neither willing to use their weapon, although both unable to drop them.<\/p>\n
A roar erupted and echoed through the room as the door burst open. Angel stood in the doorway, the food and blood forgotten in the hall and the scent of the other men invading his mind, turning him into the demon they thought him to be. He looked at Cordelia, crouched and naked on the bed and then back to the men, his eyes full of hate and death.<\/p>\n
In a blur of motion he reached Gunn first, clasping one hand around his neck, the crossbow splintering on the floor. His fingers dug into his enemy\u2019s throat as he lifted him up in the air, strangling him with one strong hold. Gunn couldn\u2019t breath, he tried to fight, but in all of his nights on the streets, he had never encountered such strength.<\/p>\n
Wesley raised his sword, willing to die trying to defend his best friend, but before he could strike, Cordelia quickly slipped into Wes\u2019 jacket and laid a hand on his shoulder. \u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d she gave the calm and quiet order. He looked at her, realizing for the first time that she was alive and unharmed. Tears glistened in his eyes and he dropped the sword as she left him and approached Angel from behind. \u201cLet him go, Angel,\u201d she said just as calmly as before.<\/p>\n
Angel tightened his hold and Gunn could feel his windpipe, on the verge of crushing. His feet dangled, occasionally kicking out at his assailant.<\/p>\n
Cordelia could feel the scream of fear inside of her but she fought it, trying to stay calm for herself and for Angel. \u201cAngel, I care about this man. And so do you. Let him go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel felt the soft touch of Cordelia\u2019s warm hand on his back, soothing him, coaxing him. Slowly, he released his hold, allowing the man to drop with a thud to the floor.<\/p>\n
Gunn fell hard and rolled over, choking and coughing, gasping for air. Rushing to his side, Wesley lifted him up to a sitting position and began examining his throat. When he was satisfied that no permanent damage had been done, his focus turned back to the other two occupants of the room. Standing, he advanced toward Cordelia, ready and eager for answers.<\/p>\n
Angel, still burning with the violent need to kill, to destroy anyone near her, pushed Cordelia behind him, growling at Wesley like a wild animal.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel,\u201d her voice was soft and pleading. \u201cThey don\u2019t know.\u201d But when she went to move around him, to go to her friends and explain to them what little she knew, Angel blocked her, never taking his flaming eyes from the other men. He shackled her wrist and shoved her further behind him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d he growled. It was more a plea this time than an order and she felt his hand caressing her wrist where it had just a moment before been an unbreakable shackle.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel,\u201d her arm snaked around his shoulder and she touched his face, forced him to turn and look at her. \u201cThey won\u2019t hurt me. And you won\u2019t hurt them. Whatever\u2018s been done to us has been done to them too.\u201d She stared into his eyes for a moment, feeling more than seeing him relax, and then walked around him, facing him now with her body between his and the other two members of her family. Reaching in his pocket, she took out the negative and handed it to Wesley. \u201cSomeone\u2019s been messing with our memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley held up the negative but was unable to discern just who the images were in the darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a photograph of me and Angel,\u201d she nodded to the vampire behind her when she said his name. \u201cLast night, I did just what you thought I\u2019d do, Gunn. I went to the beach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn looked up angrily at her, unable to use his voice yet to scold her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got out to walk and before I knew it, two vampires were chasing me. They would have killed me if it weren\u2019t for him. He saved me. He\u2019d been tortured, starved and beaten and he took out two vamps with his bare hands. I didn\u2019t know what to do. I couldn\u2019t just leave him out there, in that mess. Not after what he had done for me. And I didn\u2019t just feel some kind of gratitude toward him, I felt a connection. There was a reason I was drawn to that beach. And now I know the reason was him,\u201d she began to walk slowly around the room as she continued her story, absently searching in blindness through the dresser drawers for something she instinctively knew to be there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried taking him to a shelter,\u201d she shut the drawer she had been digging in and opened another. \u201cThey were all full of course. So, I took him home.\u201d Fast forwarding her story, she got to the point when she found what she was searching for in the drawer, \u201cI knew he wasn\u2019t evil from the beginning. I\u2019d been having visions, dreams, whatever you want to call them about him. Turns out though,\u201d she clicked on the flashlight and held it up to the negative in Wes\u2019 hand, \u201cThey were memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley stared at the image in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve both been experiencing little flashes of memories.\u201d She readied herself before she delivered the blow. \u201cHe was part of our family, our team. We were, are\u2026.\u201d she trailed off and looked between herself and Angel, letting her state and where they had found her speak for itself. \u201cI know this is all so hard to believe. I mean, if it weren\u2019t for the visions and the negative, and the fact that he went on a mission tonight, I wouldn\u2019t\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had a vision?\u201d Wesley stood then and faced her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but it’s alright,\u201d she tried smiling, feeling that a successful mission might help dull the tension in the room. \u201cHe was amazing, Wes,\u201d she gazed over to a silent Angel, awe in her voice and eyes. \u201cNo wonder we\u2019ve been failing so many of the victims in my visions. We needed him. Who knows how many might have survived if this hadn\u2019t been done to us, to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley turned his eyes to the tall, dark-haired figure. \u201cHave you told her? What you are,\u201d he challenged.<\/p>\n
Angel could feel the other man\u2019s concern for Cordelia and finally began to understand the closeness she felt for the two men, or for the one called Wesley at least. He glanced down at Gunn who was gradually regaining a normal rhythm in his breathing. He looked back at Wesley. \u201cI\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I know he\u2019s not human, Wes,\u201d Cordelia interrupted, wanting to assure her two would-be protectors and save Angel from Wesley\u2019s fatherly questioning. Suddenly it dawned on her that Wesley knew too. But how? Her face fell into a questioning expression. \u201cHow did you\u2026.?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows he aint human,\u201d Gunn began, his voice rough and painful, \u201cbecause this is the bloodsucker that tried to drain him last night,\u201d he stood, returning Angel\u2019s warning stare with that of his own. Cordelia and Wesley might be willing to fall for this shit, but he sure as hell wasn\u2019t. If they couldn\u2019t think straight and rational for themselves, then he\u2019d do it for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was you?\u201d she turned to him, her voice a mere tremor, a mixture of shock and hurt crossing her face. And for the first time, even after everything she had witnessed with him and about him, he sensed fear in her. Fear of him. \u201cBut you came home with me. You walked right in and\u2026..of course. You wouldn\u2019t need an invite if you\u2019d been there before. Would you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia,\u201d he took a step toward her, only to have her take an equal one back.<\/p>\n
Wesley decided to be the rescuer, \u201cIf what you say is true,\u201d he directed to both Angel and Cordelia, \u201cthen he couldn\u2019t have known any better than we did just now. Our actions here in this room, or the actions we were prepared to take, could have been just as horrendous.\u201d He thought of how it had felt to see her on the bed, thinking of her as dead, almost killing her for his mistake, all of it more painful than the bite had been.<\/p>\n
Angel shot Wes a look of apology and thanks, silently vowing that somehow he would make up what he had done, and what he had almost done, to the man that must be his friend. \u201cWe need to find out who would do something like this. Who would have the means and the resources for such a large spell.\u201d He looked between the occupants in the room. \u201cAnyone you can think of?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the only one that comes to mind is Wolfram and Hart,\u201d Wesley answered. \u201cBut why would they waste such a thing on us? We aren\u2019t exactly a big threat to an operation of their magnitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we were,\u201d Cordelia stated what everyone in the room was thinking and looked at Angel with a little more of the previous trust in her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we go to this Wolfram and Hart and get some answers. Cordelia, you\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHold up. Just like that. Just like that and we trust this dude. He\u2019s a vampire. A vampire, Cordy,\u201d he looked with disgust at her. \u201cHow do we know that he ain’t workin with Wolfram and Hart?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Cordelia answered honestly and looked at Angel and then Gunn, still shaken by the news of who exactly had attacked Wes. \u201cI just know what I feel, what I\u2019ve seen. He belongs with us, Gunn. I can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, well I\u2019ll tell ya what I feel. I feel sick at the thought of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s enough,\u201d Angel growled. \u201cThis isn\u2019t doing any of us any good.\u201d He approached Gunn, so close that he could see the sheen of perspiration in the dark man\u2019s pores. \u201cHate me, fight me, distrust me. But know this. Somebody\u2019s been messing around in your head. You can\u2019t tell me you haven\u2019t felt it. The familiar places that you\u2019ve never stepped foot in. The crazy amount of deja-vu that you\u2019ve been feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn stayed silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m right. Aren\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHelp us straighten this out. Then we can settle whatever \u2018issues\u2019 are left. Do we have a deal?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn\u2019s jaw clenched, \u201cOnly because they believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two men stared at one another for a moment before Angel turned around, strategy already forming in his mind. \u201cCordelia, I want you to go back to your apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she shook her head to affirm her stand. \u201cI told you before. I\u2019m not shying away from the fight just because\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you there, Cordy. In case we don\u2019t come back. Someone has to stay behind. To remember. Just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was still silently shaking her head, even though she knew what he said made some sense and that this time she was going to end up doing exactly what he wanted her to.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll go back to your apartment. Wait a little while. If you don\u2019t hear from us, call Lorne and\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFred,\u201d she offered.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight. Fred. Tell them what\u2019s going on. I know we\u2019re right about what has happened, but we could be off on the who. Get them to call anyone they know that might have information about this kind of spell or whatever it is,\u201d he stepped closer to her and gently held her by the shoulders, relieved when she didn\u2019t flinch away due to the knowledge of exactly what he was. \u201cPromise me you\u2019ll do this. Believe me. This time I want you with me, so I can know you\u2019re safe. But this is right. We need part of the team on the outside. Besides,\u201d he tried for humor in their awful situation. \u201cIf I can\u2019t guard you, who better to leave you with than that overprotective ghost of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t smile or laugh at his remark, just simply nodded her head in answer.<\/p>\n
He leaned down and kissed her on the top of the head like an obedient child, meaning it as a thank you for understanding. And that is how she took it. \u201cGet dressed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll take the jeep and drop you off on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel left the room with Wes and Gunn. He paused beside the ex-watcher just as the door closed. \u201cWesley. About\u2026.what I did. I\u2026.I didn\u2018t mean\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do this first,\u201d he interrupted the apology. \u201cThen we can settle any \u2018issues\u2019 that are left. Right?\u201d he echoed Angel\u2019s words.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Cordelia tossed the lone key she had taken off of her ring to the small table beside the door and sat down the laundry basket of clothes she had picked up from downstairs before walking up. She had convinced Angel not to come in with her. Whatever they were going to do she wanted it over with as quick and possible. Besides, she wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d be so agreeable about his plan if she had him safely in her apartment.<\/p>\n
\u201cA little light would be nice, Dennis,\u201d she called to the ghost in the dark.<\/p>\n
But there was no answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis!\u201d she gave a small shout to the temperamental phantom.<\/p>\n
Still there was no answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis?\u201d concern started to swirl through her as she reached for the lamp. She clicked once. Twice. No light. Feeling her way to the sofa table across the room, she reached for another lamp and tried again. Still nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sound of a match lighting broke the eerie silence and she turned toward the glow coming from the kitchen as a candle was being lit on the counter. \u201cDennis!,\u201d she scolded as she walked to the kitchen. \u201cDon\u2019t do that to me. I thought\u2026.\u201d a figure illuminated in the golden glow of the candle. \u201cRichard?\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t hard to get in. In fact it was so familiar that Angel assumed he had done it a number of times in the past. And Wesley seemed to know exactly where to look for the records. Of course they had to take care of the receptionist with the strange eyes to get to them. But when they did find the filing cabinets with the information, he knew they had been right.<\/p>\n
He stared at the page in front of him for a moment and then discarded it, unable to read another line about the monster he had once been.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re cursed!\u201d Wesley exclaimed from across the room as he turned another page.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA curse,\u201d he walked closer to Angel. \u201cThat\u2019s why you have a soul. It says here that a group of gypsies cursed you as punishment for murdering one of their daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is givin a demon a soul a curse?\u201d Gunn raised his head from the folder in his lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there\u2019s the guilt factor. Think of all the things a vampire can accomplish in over a hundred years and then add all of those experiences to a mind with a conscience and a soul. But they didn\u2019t stop at that. It says here that not only would you have to live with the guilt of what you had done. But, since the girl you killed had been\u2026..savagely raped,\u201d he chose better words to describe what the file stated. \u201cThey added a clause of sorts to the spell. If you were ever to reach \u2026.sexual satisfaction during an intimate encounter, you would revert back to your demonic alter-ego Angelus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat can\u2019t be right. Cordy and I\u2026.and I\u2026.,\u201d he stopped at the heated and angry stare the other two gave him, before returning to their research.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, dude must have gotten a little satisfaction back in Sunnydale too. Says hear he was in love with the Slayer and after a particularly active night, turned evil. Did a truck load of damage before they were able to re-curse him too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were able to reinstate the curse? That knowledge and the original spell must have been lost for years. Gypsy lore and legend was never recorded. It only seems logical that such a thing would have had little chance to survive through the descendants of the original family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSee for yourself,\u201d Gunn slid the open folder across the floor from where he was sitting.<\/p>\n
Wesley took a few moments, studying the writings and translations intently.<\/p>\n
Angel looked over his shoulder like an impatient child, \u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it does indeed say that you were recursed, before you were sent to hell by the Slayer that is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can hear anymore of this,\u201d Angel backed away from Wesley and began to pace up and down the aisle.<\/p>\n
\u201cHmm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d he stopped pacing and looked back to a puzzled Wesley.<\/p>\n
Wes looked between his file and the one that Gunn had given him, his brow crinkled in concentration. \u201cWillow Rosenberg performed the spell. The information was indeed obtained from a descendant of the family who cursed you. But these spells,\u201d he looked again between one file and the next. \u201cThey are not exactly the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gunn stood and Angel walked back to Wesley\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere,\u201d he pointed to the first file. \u201cThe original gypsy curse ends after the phrase, \u2018and if he shall dare to satisfy his great need, lust will send back to him the evil which waits to devour us all.\u2019 But here,\u201d he lifted the second and placed it atop the first, \u201cthe curse is identical but for an added phrase here,\u201c he pointed to the writing. \u201c\u2019lust will send back to him the evil which waits to devour us all, but love shall bind it and banish it forever.\u2018\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCordy,\u201d he whispered her name. In no need of a curse or a file to tell him how much he loved her. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find a way to get our memories back. It must be in here somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d a feminine voice interrupted them. \u201cIt\u2019s not,\u201d Lilah Morgan gave an sly grin to the room.<\/p>\n
He remembered that face. How it taunted him as he was tortured and sealed into his coffin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe this is what you\u2019re looking for,\u201d she tossed him an amulet. \u201cPut it on. It\u2019ll all come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three men looked at her skeptically. \u201cDon\u2019t believe me?\u201d she let a look of feigned hurt cross her deceptively pretty features. \u201cOh well. No skin off my nose. Believe me. Or don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you work for the people that did this to us,\u201d Angel asked. \u201cWhy would you just give it up like that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause,\u201d she entered the room and casually stepped over the unconscious record keeper to lean lazily on the desk. \u201cThe whole purpose of all the trouble we went through was to separate you from your little group of wanna-be heroes. Together you somehow manage to stir up quite a bit of trouble for the people who pay my salary. Apart you\u2019re just a small blip on the radar screen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I ask again. Why give this to us now? If your intent was to keep us in the dark, keep us apart, why help us put it together?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it didn\u2019t work. The storm, your memories. The negative that one of our operatives, well, former operatives failed to clean from the hotel. You were piecing back together yourselves. Besides, when we found out about your little resurrection from the sea, we started enacting plan \u2018B\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was almost afraid to ask, \u201cAnd what plan is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make sure your team is permanently fractured. He\u2019s not quick, but he\u2019s thorough. Don\u2019t worry, Richard won\u2019t let her linger too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name registered immediately with all three men. Angel felt a white hot bolt of rage and panic jolt his body as the three simultaneously rushed from the room, amulet in hand. He could only hope that Dennis was as effective as he thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to kill you after this is all said and done,\u201d he warned through gritted teeth at Lilah as he passed her and exited the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you use the amulet, you\u2019ll know that\u2019s not the first time you\u2019ve given that empty threat,\u201d she called out after him.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard, what are you doing in my apartment?\u201d Cordelia tried to steady her hands by balling them into fists and propping them on her hips.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve been doing ever since I was assigned to you. Watching you. Taking care of you. Trying to rid you of the trash in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAssigned to me?\u201d She thought of all she had learned in the past few hours, of Angel and Wes and Gunn and where they thought the answers lay. Realization took hold of her and her fate flashed in the forefront of her gifted mind. \u201cYou work for Wolfram and Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he seemed insulted. \u201cI work for myself. Freelancer of sorts.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noticed then that the glasses were gone. The oversized, grotesquely out-of-style shirt was replaced with a tight black tee, enhancing his wiry but cut frame. This was no geeky neighbor or misunderstood nerd. Richard was an assassin. He moved slightly toward her and she flinched, making him smile. \u201cAre you afraid of me, Cordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Dennis,\u201d she struggled to keep tears at bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, the ever faithful pet ghost. Got rid of him finally. You don\u2019t know how many spells and concoctions I tried before I finally sent him to hell where he belongs. Stupid thing never even knew I was planning his destruction just one door down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia couldn\u2019t fight her grief and tears began to spill down her cheeks<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t cry,\u201d he actually seemed sincere, in a psychotic, serial-killer kind of way. \u201cYou\u2019re free from him now. He can\u2019t haunt you any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaunt me? He was my friend,\u201d she sobbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou only think this way now, Cordelia, because this has been your life for so long. Wolfram and Hart told me how you were tricked into the visions, how you had tried to run from the evilness of Sunnydale only to run smack in the middle of it here in L.A.. Unlike them, Mrs. Morgan especially, I feel you can be saved. They sent me here to kill you, you know,\u201d he gave her the information that she already assumed. \u201cBut I know that as soon as I get you away from the other evil freaks you\u2019ve gotten mixed up with, you\u2019ll be fine. I might not have been able to save my mother from her fate, but I know I can save you from yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be saved, Richard,\u201d she shot a quick glance to the door and then back to him.<\/p>\n
He stared at her, his muscles tensed and ready to act if she ran.<\/p>\n
The telephone startled them both when it rang. She waited, deciding which to try for, the door or the phone. It rang a second time and she bolted, lunging for the receiver.<\/p>\n
He was too quick, and caught her easily in his strong arms, locking them around her legs below the knees and toppling her over the end table and face down to the floor. The fall knocked the wind out of her, making her head spin and the room turn.<\/p>\n
Richard wasted no time, he flipped her over and straddled her. \u201cDon\u2019t fight it, Cordelia. It will only make it more difficult. I\u2019m not your enemy,\u201d he said as his hands bit bruisingly into her upper arms. \u201cIn time you\u2019ll learn to love me like I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLove you?\u201c she gave a hysterical laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordy, pick up,\u201d Angel\u2019s voice ordered over the answering machine, giving her a burst of energy. She began to writhe and push at Richard\u2019s body.<\/p>\n
He bent down and pressed his lips hard against hers as the answering machine beeped and the line disconnected.<\/p>\n
\u201cOw! Damn it!\u201d he yelled and pulled his head up when she bit him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter where you take me,\u201d she breathed heavily from the effort of trying to free herself. \u201cI found him after all that Wolfram and Hart tried to do to separate us. He\u2019ll find me. And then he\u2019ll kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re in love with him,\u201d he realized and looked down at her in disgust.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I be? He\u2019s good. He\u2019s everything that someone like you could never understand. You can\u2019t imagine what he\u2019s gone through to try and do the right thing. You might label him a demon, but deep down he has the heart of a true angel. And with the \u2018Powers That Be\u2019 behind him\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest of Cordelia\u2019s speech sounded like an annoying buzz in his head after he heard the words \u2018good\u2019, \u2018demon\u2019, and \u2018Powers That Be\u2019 allowing them to swim around in his chaotic mind. He closed his eyes, fighting off dizziness as flashes of his mother appeared before him. Kneeling in front of him. Begging him to understand. \u201cHe\u2019s a good demon,\u201d her voice echoed in his mind and mixed with that of Cordelia\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think you\u2019re so smart,\u201d he opened his eyes and spit at her. \u201cPlaying on both sides of the fence,\u201d he pulled her wrists together above her head and held them there with one hand. \u201cActing like your just a normal girl who got caught up in something she doesn\u2019t really understand.\u201d He gritted his teeth and grabbed hold of the top of her blouse with his free hand, ripping it down to her naval in one, violent jerk. \u201cI almost bought into your little act. But you\u2019re just like she was. A filthy demon whore,\u201d he looked down at her exposed skin and the hint of her breasts, he wanted her, but images of his mother, of what he had had to do to her overpowered his want, his need to force her to satisfy him.<\/p>\n
He raised his hand and slapped her hard for fooling him into thinking she was different, making her head spin again until it was difficult to focus on him, or what was happening to her.<\/p>\n
He lifted the hand that shackled her wrists above her head and closed it over her throat, becoming aroused again now, not by her body, but the thought of the kill.<\/p>\n
She saw him move his other hand to his shirt and then raise it above her, and for an instant she thought he was going to strike her again. Until she saw the glint of metal flash in the glowing light of the candle.<\/p>\n
He stabbed down, his face morphing into something scarier than any monster she had ever faced. He was a mad man, lost in a hell of his own making. Pain shot through her abdomen, hot and fierce, and a warm gush of blood spread quickly across her skin.<\/p>\n
He pulled the knife up from her body, raising it again into the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel,\u201d she whispered, before the knife came down a second time.<\/p>\n