Infinite Regress 1e: Relative Distance: Part 5
by Anne Clements
Cordelia parked the car about three blocks from the office building -- it was the closest empty space without a parking meter. Even this close to the end of the year, the mid-morning temperature was mild enough that Lochley was comfortable in the forest green cowl-neck tunic she had borrowed from Cordelia.

It was perhaps the least flamboyant of the garments the girl had pressed upon her -- Cordy had muttered "Soccer Mom" under her breath, which made no sense at all to Liz -- but it was comfortable. It also went with the chocolate-colored leggings, which not only fit (Lochley hadn't even tried to get into the 19-year-old's jeans) but came close to matching her service boots. Her Earthforce uniform was rolled up and stashed in one of Cordelia's backpacks from high school.

With her hair held back by thin braids caught back from her temples, Lochley felt almost like a teenager herself as they bounced, chattering, across the last intersection. A tall, expensively suited figure peeled itself off the corner of the building and intercepted them.

"Good morning, ladies. About time you dragged yourself out of bed, Captain. Making up for all those early council meetings? Nice outfit, by the way."

"Mr. Doyle," Lochley acknowledged, falling automatically into an 'at-ease' stance. "Don't you have an audition to go to, or something?"

"Nope. I'm taking a bit of a break at the moment -- thanks for asking. Just thought I'd come into town and see if I could be of any assistance."

"Thanks, but we'll be fine -- we're *professionals*," Cordelia snipped. Her attempt to discourage him failed miserably, however, as he fell into step beside them.

"Well, it just so happens that I've picked up what's known in *your* business as a 'clue'."

"Like what?" Cordelia demanded, but the big man played coy.

"Let's wait on that 'til we can get the whole little 'Scooby Gang' together, shall we?" He smiled at her and held the door for the Captain.

thought Cordelia, pausing in the doorway, < a middle-aged Xander Harris. Of course, > she consoled herself, admiring the hang of the actor's sand-colored silk jacket,

Angel and Doyle had been up late ransacking the vampire's eclectic collection of reference materials, and were already at it again this morning.

"We've found half a dozen time travel spells, but with the little we know, we can't narrow it down to one," Angel told them.

"Yeah, and the counterspell to each one requires a completely different setup. Not to mention the fact that doing the *wrong* counterspell could have what you call your seriously unpredictable results," Doyle added.

"Wait a minute," Lochley protested. "Are you trying to tell me that whenever something bizarre like this happens, you just look in one of these books, and the answer is right there for you?"

"Well, yeah," replied Cordelia, bewildered by the Captain's disbelief. "They're *spell* books, duh!"

"Oh, sure, that explains it," she conceded insincerely. "I'm sorry, but of all the insane things I've heard in the past twenty-four hours, that has got to be the *most* implausible!"

"Yeah," mused Jerry, leafing through one of the books. "I'd put it right up there with, say, 'hyperspace' on the implausibility scale."

"Hyperspace is a demonstrable phenomenon -- even some scientists in this benighted era speculated on the possibility..."

"...And those demons left a demonstrable stain on my carpet," retorted the actor. "It sounds to me like what we need to do here is get hold of one of those guys and have another little chat."

"Precisely," said Lochley, "I'm going back to the warehouse district to try and track them down..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Captain," interrupted Jerry. "Slow down a second, there. I may have something that can get us a few steps higher on the bad guys' organizational chart." He pulled out a cheap pen and tossed it to Angel. "One of your demon buddies dropped that last night."

"Talent Connection?" Angel read the florid gold script off the fashionable teal plastic. "Are you sure one of the demons dropped it? It could have been one your...other guests..."

"Not a chance. I've heard of these guys -- real flashy, posh office, the whole nine yards, but nobody who is anybody will have anything to do with them. There have been some ugly rumors about innocent young things fresh from the country disappearing, but nobody's been able to prove anything..."

"Hmmm. I wonder if Kate knows anything about this..." Angel reached for the phone.

Lochley looked a question at Cordelia, who explained. "She's this policewoman Angel has run across on a couple of cases -- a Detective L..." Cordelia's eyes widened as she stared at the Captain.

"Detective Lockley, please," Angel was saying. His eyes flew to Elizabeth, but just then the person on the other line said something.

"What?" the vampire almost snapped. "Since when? Where was she... right, of course. I understand. But can you tell me if she was working on anything...yeah, I know, she's a real workaholic. Well, if she turns up, ask her to give me a call, will you? Thanks."

He hung up the phone, turning to Doyle before anyone else could speak.

"Which spell was the one that used a blood bond between the two points in time?"

"The Cretan variation," the younger man replied. "I'll get the sea-urchin spines."

"That's it!" cried Cordelia. "Your friend Kate must be Lizzie's great, great, great, great...aunt, maybe?" she finished.

"Oh, come on, that's a helluva conclusion to jump to," Jerry protested. "Just because people have the same last name doesn't mean they're related!"

"I heard *that*," chimed in Doyle. "How does Kate spell her last name, anyway?"

"L-O-C-K-" Angel started.

"There you go -- the Captain's got an 'H'," said Jerry smugly, but Lochley shook her head.

"Actually, unlikely as it sounds, you may have something there," she said. "family records show that there was a branch of the Lochleys that spelled their name with a 'K' -- we lost track of them at about this time, too."

"Then, if it was *Kate* who was supposed to go back in time..." said Cordy.

"She's probably investigating the guys who jumped us -- and followed us to your place. The desk sergeant said she's been out of contact since last night -- he wouldn't give me any specifics, but it's not like her to not call in..." Angel was looking worried.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Doyle.

"That maybe they got tired of the fancy stuff and decided to take her out the old-fashioned way?" suggested the vampire.

"That's what I was thinking," Doyle confirmed.

"I'd say it's time to pay a visit to the 'Talent Connection'," said Jerry. "I can probably get us in to talk to whoever's in charge, and we'll..."

"Wait a minute," Cordelia cut in. "If this place is a sticky-trap for cute country bumpkins, why don't I go in...you know, try to infiltrate? I know it's a stretch, but aren't real...I mean, *other* actors always talking about 'expanding their range'? I can play vulnerable, honest."

The others declined to comment.

"So, you want to be an actress, huh? Well, how about this. You can be my niece, fresh in from...where are you from, again?"

"Sunnydale -- but I probably shouldn't be from there, it's pretty well known in the Spooky Community."

"We can work out the details. Anyway, Frankie can be my lawyer..."

"Gee, thanks," said Doyle, unflattered.

"...and Angel can be my accountant, and *you* can be..." Jerry met Lochley's gaze and hastily revised what he had been planning to say. "Somebody else."

"All right," the Captain acknowledged. "Now, where is this office?"

After they looked it up, Angel headed for the elevator.

"Where's he going?" asked Jerry.

"There's a network of tunnels running under the older parts of the city," Doyle explained as he ushered the rest of them out the door. "He'll meet us there."

"But if we're driving, won't we get there before him?" Lochley wondered.

"Not if we grab lunch along the way," Jerry replied. "I know this great little place..."

Lunch was good, and quick, and only a few blocks from the building that was their target, so they walked the rest of the way. Doyle and Cordelia had gotten into some sort of a spat, so Lochley found herself walking with the actor.

For a few moments they strode in silence. Lochley noticed that he seemed quieter than the night before, more thoughtful. She could understand that -- they both had a lot to think about. Finally he shook his head.

"That guy Angel's a piece of work, isn't he?"

Lochley smiled. "Every time I look at him, I think of Dr. Franklin."

Jerry laughed aloud. "No shit! Stephen would be all over that guy. Hey, how's he doin', anyway?"

"Real well. In fact, I saw him just a little over a week ago, in Geneva. Had a lovely dinner with him and his new lady friend -- she's a doctor at the medical complex..."

"What happened to whats-her-name...the Martian chick?"

"Tessa?" said Lochley, surprised -- then she remembered. "Oh, you know...long-distance relationships..."

"Gotcha. So...did Delenn have that baby all right?"

"Now *there's* a story..."

They walked along that way for a while, chatting idly about mutual friends on both sides of the timeline divide. Lochley realized that he was deliberately avoiding controversial topics on either side, showing a level of sensitivity she had not expected from him. By the time they caught up with Cordelia, standing enthralled by a boutique window, the Captain was feeling almost comfortable with the guy.

As Lochley was trying to pry the younger woman away from the display, the cousins (well, step-cousins) Doyle sauntered on down the sidewalk.

"Isn't that Cordelia something, though?" the younger Doyle was saying admiringly.

"Frankly, Frankie -- 'frankly Frankie', I like that -- frankly, Frankie, she makes me feel old."

"What, you don't think you could get a girl like that? Of course you could -- you're a famous actor, man. Have some confidence in yourself! On the other hand, I'd appreciate it if you didn't hit on Cordelia, specifically. You might have noticed I've got a bit of a soft spot for her myself."

Jerry looked at him skeptically.

"Well, *soft* may not be the right word, exactly."

"I hope not, for her sake," the older man said. "No, what makes me feel old is that I don't really *want* a girl like that."

"What's not to want?" Doyle protested. "Oh, sure, she can get a little snippy from time to time, but that just means she's got *spirit*...wait a minute." He stopped short and slapped his forehead. "What am I doing? No, man, you don't want her at all! Just forget I said anything."

Jerry turned to him. "Did you say something?"

"Not a thing."

The actor chuckled and walked on. After a moment, he said. "The Captain's something else, though. I'll tell you, Tracy and I always got along real well, and the odd wistful thought might have crossed my mind from time to time, but when I looked up this morning and saw Cap'n Lizzie sashaying across the street in that outfit, looking like some kind of a...damn, what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Dryad," the younger man supplied. Jerry looked at him suspiciously.

"Are you *sure* we're not really related?"

"Positive."

"Doyle!"

Both heads whipped around, to see Liz and Cordelia hurrying toward them across a busy intersection about half a block back. As they met a flock of pedestrians going the other way, the younger woman was jostled by a slender, dark-haired gentleman with a preoccupied look on his ruggedly handsome face.

"Excuse me," he muttered, too distracted to even look at the two women. Cordelia spun to watch his retreating back, then turned to Lochley excitedly.

"*Omigod!* Do you know who that *was*? That was Gary Cole, from the movie 'Office Space'! He is *SO* hot!"

Lochley walked backwards for a few steps, evaluating. "Hmph," she decided, turning back. "I suppose I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers."

She grinned at Cordelia -- associating with the younger woman was definitely bringing out a side of Lizzie Lochley that was seldom exercised in the life of a dedicated Earthforce officer.

"*Crackers?*" Cordy exclaimed, appalled. "Eeeuuw!"

Lochley laughed aloud, but sobered quickly as they rejoined the others. The bald man's gaze lingered on her for a moment, charting the curve of her smile, before he gathered himself and pointed across the street.

"That's it, folks. Now just stick with me and do your best to look like an entourage."

Angel folded his newspaper and joined the others as they trooped into the lobby.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"We stopped for lunch," said Jerry.

"Must be nice. Shall we?"

The offices of 'Talent Connection' were indeed posh, decorated in the same teal and gold color scheme of the telltale pen. There was a posh teal-and-gold-clad receptionist as well, who zeroed in on Jerry immediately. Meanwhile, the others looked around, surreptitiously checking out the few other people waiting on teal couches or bustling importantly between the corridors and offices opening off of the reception area.

The actor introduced himself, and introduced Cordelia as his niece, new in town and looking for that first break. The receptionist showed polite interest, but informed them that Ms. Blain was unavailable at the moment, and that she insisted on interviewing all applicants herself.

"To ensure the personal touch, you understand. However, if you'd like to leave your number or e-mail address..."

"Look, I'd really like to get this settled today..." Jerry kept trying, but the receptionist was a professional, and held him off with minimal effort and unfailing politeness

Meanwhile, Lochley spotted a familiar face, crossing behind the woman's desk. It looked like -- the man turned her way, and she was sure of it -- the face she'd seen in the doorway of the warehouse. This was definitely the place. She focused on Jerry -- he was playing hard, but getting nowhere.

Time to jump.

She stepped forward, well inside the recepionist's perfumed personal space. Ignoring the nearly unbreathable atmosphere, she snapped at the woman.

"Do you know who I am? I'm Tracy Scoggins, the award-winning actress. And if you don't produce my cousin, Detective Kate Lockley, within the next thirty seconds, I personally guarantee that neither you nor your precious Ms. Blain will *ever* work in this town again!"


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