Episode 2: Lost Souls
Disclaimer: Joss is god and Angel is his creation.
Teaser
Los Angeles Memorial Hospital, 2004
As Lindsey slipped in and out of consciousness, he could hear the doctor's working to save his life. He had no idea how long he had been there or even how he got there, but he was happy to see that Lorne hadn't... that he was still alive. When he had fully regained consciousness he saw Eve sleeping in a chair next to his hospital bed. It wasn't that hard to wake her up, with just a deep breath Eve was at his side. "Are you feeling any better?"
"I think that the morphine is starting to wear off, so I'm starting to feel the gun shots. What happened with the Senior Partners?"
Eve knew that Lindsey had been a part of fighting the Black Thorn, but she didn't know how he would feel about the outcome with the Senior Partners. "Angel and his friends killed a few of the Senior Partners, but Gunn eventually died from his wounds the Congresswoman dealt him. The dragon took out Illyria. Spike survived and Angel has disappeared. No one knows where he is."
Lindsey wasn't that surprised to hear about Team Angel's demise. He knew that the Senior Partners were extremely powerful. But one thing stuck him as odd. He wondered what had made Angel disappear. He could have been staked and they hadn't found his ashes, but with the respect the Senior Partners had for him, that wasn't likely. "You shouldn't worry about the Senior Partners. With the slaughter of the Black Thorn and then the battle with Angel's crew, their "Apocalypse" has been set back decades." Eve leaned closer to Lindsey and kissed him.
She was grateful to have him with her again. She had been worried about what had happened to him after the battle with the Senior Partners. Angel hadn't told her anything about what had happened. For hours she had been left in the dark. "How did I get here in the first place?" Lindsey gave Eve another puzzled look.
"I'm not sure. I just got a call a couple of hours ago saying that you were in the hospital. Did you list me as your next of kin?"
"No, but that wouldn't be a bad idea." So many things were still a mystery to Lindsey, but he couldn't concentrate on that now; he had no time. What he had to do now was concentrate on getting better. Lindsey knew it was late, so both he and Eve decided to get some rest.
* * *
Lindsey woke up in a cold sweat in his apartment in the building of Wolfram and Hart. He had taken Angel's old living quarters after Lindsey took over as president and CEO of the law firm. He got up from his resting place and headed over to the kitchen. He had to cool down. The clock on the microwave clock beeped as it changed over to 4:00 AM. He knew that he should have still been asleep, but he just couldn't sleep; still on the strange internal clock Angel had forced on him. He grabbed a glass of water and downed it in one gulp. As soon as he put the glass down he realized that Eve was standing in the threshold of the kitchen looking at Lindsey with concern. "What are you doing up so late?"
"Couldn't sleep." He set the empty glass in the sink. "I don't know what it is. I just can't seem to get any decent sleep." From the look on her face, he guessed that Eve was still worried about him. She had been ever since Lorne... since he had been in the hospital. He gave her a reassuring kiss and headed back to the bedroom. "We should try and get as much sleep as we can. We have a big day at the firm tomorrow." Eve followed him silently. Even though she closed her eyes, she wasn't asleep. She was too stressed over what had happened to Lindsey. She had almost lost him once and she wasn't going to lose him again.
* * *
It was only a few hours later that the two of them went down to work in the law firm. Everyone was hustling and bustling, as they got ready for the meeting with Dorian Black, a very influential force in Los Angeles. Lindsey sat at his desk swamped with preparations for the big day. "Are you busy?" Connor was poking his head into the office. Connor could have just gotten rid of him, but instead the boy had joined forces with Lindsey and the law firm. Lindsey motioned for Connor to sit.
"I have the information that you want about the Jiom Tam demons. They are native to China. Our team has found out that a local trading company has smuggled them in as cheap labor. They are basically gentle giants. They mean no harm to anyone."
"Thanks for the information Lindsey. I'll just get out of your hair. From the amount of papers on your desk, it looks like you're going to be having a busy day."
"You don't know that half of it." Connor departed from Lindsey's office, while Lindsey got ready for Black's visit to the firm.
Act 1
Connor relayed the information about the demons to Spike and Nina. "So we don't have to go and do this right away 'cause I don't want to end up a crispy critter just for some demons." Spike said.
"Well, that's a good point. We can't go up against a whole company alone. However, we do have to scout the place. We'll leave a half an hour before sunset. It should be dark by the time that we get to the docks. Nina, you should go to Jill and Amanda before then. You don't want them to ask too many questions about what you are doing."
"You should do the same thing Connor. We want to keep up appearances with our family." Nina headed out of the offices and left Spike and Connor alone. Spike could hear Connor flipping the pages as he finished reading the pages. Spike started tapping his foot. He was getting restless, and he wanted Connor to know. Spike saw Connor's eyes lift from the book and he got the impression that Connor was getting irritated by the constant tapping. Connor slammed the book down. "Damn it, Spike!"
"Ain'tchu gonna do what th' lady said?"
"Whatever. I'll see you later."
Spike grunted a goodbye as Connor headed out of the offices.
* * *
Lindsey waded through the papers that had piled up on his desk. Black was creating a fuss throughout the building. He had only met Black once before; Dorian had helped Lindsey get established as the new President and CEO of the law firm's Los Angeles offices. Lindsey knew that Dorian had a great amount of pull within the law firm. After a few hours of signing and going through papers, Lindsey could hear the small creek in the door. He looked up to see Eve enter his office.
"Black's people have called. He'll be here in about an hour."
Lindsey sighed. He couldn't wait for this to be behind him. He mashed the button on his intercom.
"Hello, Mr. McDonald. How may I help you?" His secretary was perky, as usual. Had to be something in her water.
"Will you please send a limousine to the airport to pick up Mr. Black?"
"Yes sir. I'll get right on that." Lindsey lifted his finger and looked back at Eve.
"Has everything gone on schedule?"
"Everything's fine, Lindsey." Eve walked over to him and sat on his desk. "Are you going to be alright? I know that Dorian's visit is stressing you out, but it shouldn't. He has enough pull with the Senior Partners to get you your job back and then some."
"I'm just lucky that he liked me when I worked on his case a few years back. I would probably be dead right now if it weren't for him." Lindsey got up from his seat and leaned against his desk next to Eve. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."
"I don't know Lindsey. Ever since that day in the hospital you have seemed distant. You can't blame me for worrying."
Lindsey's mind flashed back to the final battle of Wolfram and Hart. The last thing that he remembered was Lorne... was him waking up in the hospital. Lindsey had no idea how he had survived the encounter. After he had taken over the law firm, he used all his power to look into what had happened, but his medical files gave no indication. Brushing aside doubts, he leaned over to Eve and kissed her. "We should get back to work."
Eve kissed him back and headed out of the office. She knew that her words had no power over him, and that he was going to be nervous until Dorian left Los Angeles again.
* * *
After turning off the engine, Connor sat in the driveway of Colleen and Lawrence Riley. He remembered everything that happened as Angel's son and as the person who the Rileys knew. Things had become confusing when he started to remember his past life. At least I have some direction now, Thanks to my father, I have a lot more than I ever thought that I deserved. Connor got out of the car, walked up the drive, and knocked on the door. It didn't take long for Colleen to answer it. She threw her arms around her son and ushered him into the house.
"So how is everything going? We haven't heard from you in a while."
"Everything's fine, Mom. I just thought that I would visit you all. Where's Dad and Kathy?"
"Your father's at work, and Kathy is around here somewhere." Colleen smiled, and sat him down in the living room. Connor and Colleen talked about what was going on in their lives. As Connor spoke, he left out any mention of the supernatural; no need to burden her. They visited with each other until the sun began to set. It was time to head back to Angel Investigations. Connor and Colleen hugged and Colleen watched as Connor got back in his car, started the engine and left her alone in the house. Colleen watched him drive off into the sunset. Connor wasn't opening up to her like he used to, but that's a part of growing up. She finished loading the dishwasher, and set it. When she turned around, Colleen saw her daughter standing in the doorway. "What's wrong honey?" Colleen got closer to her daughter. She had a strong feeling that something was wrong. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach. "Kathy..." Kathy wrapped her arms around her mother. Colleen could feel the icy cold grip of her daughter and then a stabbing pain in her back. Colleen could feel her lifeblood dripping out. As the world went black, she croaked out a final word. "Why?"
Kathy watched as Colleen's body fell to the floor. She calmly washed off the blood that covered the knife and her hand. Gripping the gleaming knife, she took a few more steps into the house and then called out, "Daddy, where are you?"
Act 2
As Nina opened the door of Angel Investigations, she realized that she was the only one there. Connor and Spike must have gone to deal with the demons. Nina thought to herself. She wasn't used to being alone in the offices, but she would have to entertain herself while the other two were away. The door creaked as Nina closed it and then locked up. As she made her way to the underground apartment, she could hear every single step that she made. With the lack of sunlight, Connor's apartment seemed a little more spooky than usual.
Nina put her things on the small dining room table that Connor had and then made her way over to the television. After turning it on to some terrible sitcom's commercial break, a breaking news report burst across the airwaves. "Earlier today, a local man came home today to find that his wife had been brutally murdered. Authorities aren't talking, but independent sources have confirm that the victim is Colleen Riley, a local teacher here in Los Angeles. For more information, stay tuned; the news is next."
The remote slipped from Nina's hand as she watched Lawrence Riley, Connor's father, walking across the screen. She didn't know if Connor knew about the news, but she did know that he didn't want to hear it from the evening news. Nina bolted back to the kitchen table and yanked her cell phone from her purse. After dialing Connor's number, she pleaded with him to pick up.
* * *
As Connor wiped the blood off of his sword onto a rag, he could hear the tune of his cell phone. "Aren't you going to answer that bleeding thing?" The constant ringing was annoying Spike, but he called it vengeance for the foot-tapping this afternoon. Besides, answering wasn't important. He was sure anyone who would be calling him at this hour was a case.
Spike tossed him the phone. "It's Nina, wanker. Answer it."
"Yeah?" Nina's voice spilled out of the phone so fast, he couldn't hear a thing. "What? Slow down. I can't understand you."
"Connor, I just saw it on the news. It's horrible! Who could have done it?"
"Saw what? You're not making sense!"
"It's your mother. She was found murdered. It looks like the police are taking your father down for questioning. You should get down there."
Connor couldn't believe what he had just heard. It didn't take him long to realize that Spike was staring at him. Connor realized that he must have looked terrible.
"What's wrong with you, besides the obvious?" Spike had closed the trunk of Connor's car and was waiting for an answer.
"We have to head over to the Riley's." Connor wasted no time. He had to find out what had happened.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"Someone killed my mom."
Spike stopped just as he was about to get into the car. He knew how much the Riley's meant to Connor. He had no idea who would have harmed them, but he knew that Connor wasn't going to rest until the killer was found. Spike slid into the passenger seat and pulled the door tight into the car. The two of them sped through the Los Angeles traffic as fast as they could.
* * *
Lindsey, Eve and some of the lawyers at Wolfram and Hart greeted Dorian as he came through the front door of the law firm. Dorian had been an imposing force at Wolfram and Hart for years, as sway with the Senior Partners proved. Lindsey was the last person to shake Dorian's hand. "Good to see you old friend." Dorian spoke with in crisp, clean English, replete with Oxford diction. Every word that rolled off his tongue showed his age and wisdom, even if his physique did not. Dorian looked as if he was Lindsey's age, possibly even younger. However, Lindsey knew not to judge things by how they appear, especially in Los Angeles.
"I'm glad that you could make it Mr. Black. We have been looking forward to your visit."
"I can see that." Dorian looked around the lobby of the law firm. There were several of the employees that Dorian had never seen before. "You did not have to get out all of the lackeys for me, Lindsey. And it is just Dorian, thank you."
"We're not all lackeys, Dorian." Eve stood next to Lindsey and laced her fingers in between Lindsey's fingers.
"I did not mean you, my dear." Dorian took the young woman's free hand and kissed the top of it. Eve was very impressed with Dorian. She only knew what Lindsey had told her, which wasn't much.
"Shall we go some place else, Lindsey? I would feel more comfortable talking to you about these matters in a more private venue."
"That will be just fine." Lindsey kissed Eve on the cheek and sent her back to work. The two associates headed into the CEO's boardroom.
"What do you want to talk about Dorian? You didn't just fly thousands of miles to chat did you?"
"I do not chat, Lindsey. You know that. I need to discuss with you this boy." Dorian placed his briefcase on Lindsey's desk and took a file out of it. After taking it from Dorian, Lindsey looked at whose picture graced the first page of the file. "He has killed many of my employees lately and I was curious if you have any information on him."
"He's Connor. Angelus' son."
Dorian didn't seem too surprised by this revelation. And I thought the knowledge of a child of two vampires' would get some type of reaction. It surely did when we first found out about it. "You know about Angelus and Darla's child, don't you?"
"News travels fast; the only thing that puzzles me is how he got to be 24 when he is supposed to be 7 years old."
"He grew up in an alternate dimension." Dorian nodded his head in agreement. Obviously, thought Lindsey, he knows how these things work.
"Do you know if I will be able to speak to him? I should like talk to him myself, rather than sending out your special task force to deal with him."
The doors of Lindsey's office opened to reveal Eve walking into view without any warning. "I think that you should look at this." Eve tool Lindsey's television remote off of his desk and turned on the television. The same report that had come on only a few seconds earlier at Angel Investigations graced the screen of the television.
"I think I know where to look for him." Dorian pulled his briefcase shut. "I shall see you later Lindsey. I must tend to this."
"I understand, Dorian. I'm glad that you could come to see us." The two gentlemen said their good-byes and Dorian headed back to his limousine.
Act 3
The childhood home that Connor remembered growing up in was covered with yellow police tape. As Connor and Spike entered the home, it looked so different from the humble domicile Connor had left hours before. Blood was splattered everywhere. The police had left very little for the two detectives to search through. Connor held back the urge to throw up. The smell of his mother's blood was strong and almost overwhelmed him.
He headed into the hallway that lead to the bedrooms and bathrooms of the house; something was odd here. As he looked closer at the lower part of the walls, Connor could see deep groves. As he examined them closer, it became obvious that they weren't done by a normal animal. A very large demon must have been here for some reason. As he was about to head into his sister's room, he heard the back door shut. Who else could be here?!
"Hello, Keorvis-Dal." A young voice said; Connor recognized it as his sister. He sprinted to the kitchen, where she was seated. A strange man was standing by the stove, and both were looking at him. As he got closer, Connor could see a knife in his sister's hand.
"What are you doing with that?"
"Oh, hello Connor. Do you know where Lawrence went?"
"That's not your sister." The strange man spoke in cultured English; a sharp juxtaposition from Spike's harsh Cockney. "Would she have killed your mother if she was?"
"It was..." Connor couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had guessed "Kathy" wasn't his sister. He knew his sister all too well. She would never have called her father or himself by their proper names; always "Daddy" or "big brother". Had this... imposter done this to his family? Connor was getting tired of demons infecting people that he cared about. "How could you do this?"
"I'm a demon. What do I care? I know who you are. Those stupid vampires that worship you, calling you the miracle child. What a disappointment you were. Angel was the true hero and all you did was bring a former power to earth to enslave humankind."
Connor balled up his fist even tighter, feeling his finger nails digging into the palm of his hand. He didn't know who this demon was but he sure knew enough about him. "What do you want with me?"
"The same thing that most demons want. To make your life miserable. You fight on the side of good which makes you an enemy. It's nothing personal really. Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim."
Connor's eyes wandered over the kitchen and spotted the knife rack.
"Don't even think about that. I would kill you before you even got into the kitchen."
"You are forgetting me, Sechial. What about me?" The strange man was suddenly on top of the demon, and had it pinned to the ground, but something was happening. Kathy’s body was shifting into what looked like the thing that could have made the scratches in the wall. The demon threw the man against the other wall of the kitchen and raised itself up. It looked like a cross between a gargoyle and a lion. As it made its way over to Connor, he could see the demon's claws digging into the ground. Connor could feel his stomach doing back flips inside him as the demon closed in.
"Aww. The intoxicating smell of fear." The demon slowly advanced on Connor. As it raised its talons to attack, Connor could hear a grunt coming from Spike as he jumped on the demons back and wrapped his arms around the demon's neck. "Vampiric pest." The demon tried to grab Spike, but the vampire kept just out of the demons reach. Connor saw his chance to attack the demon. Connor lunged at the demon and caught it in a tackle. The demon alomst fell over, a low gutteral growl coming from deep within its throat. Snapping back to its feet, the demon flipped Spike over his head and into Connor. The two men sprawled out on the floor. The demon bared its fangs and started towards them. Connor began to tremble, as all hope of escape drained out of him. They were done for.
Suddenly, the man was in front of them. From somewhere, he had found a sword. "This is your last chance, Sechial. Yield or be cast back into the Abyss." The demon roared in frustration, and shifted back down. The girl who had been Kathy glared angrily at the man, and stalked out the back door.
As she left, Spike got up off of Connor and helped the boy to his feet. "Who the bloody hell are you?"
"My name is Dorian Black. I cannot tell you more than that, not now. But now that I know who you are, and that you...," Dorian nodded towards Connor's direction, "...will be seeing more of me." Dorian headed out of the front door. Spike jumped over the bloodied table and tried to catch up with Dorian, but as he reached the front door Dorian was nowhere in sight.
"I really hate all of this cryptic bullshit." Spike was frustrated with the whole situation. He looked back over at Connor who was now kneeling over the chalk tracing of his mother's corpse. Spike knew that it must have been hard for Connor. He lost almost everyone that he cared about in one day. The vampire made his way back over to Connor. "We need to head over to the police station to see how your father is doing." Spike helped Connor to his feet and the two of them left the house.
It didn't take them long to get to the LAPD station. As Connor made his way inside, he could see Lawrence sitting in the precinct. Lawrence met Connor in the middle and wrapped his arms around Connor. "I can't believe what has happened." Connor could feel Lawrence start to choke up. Connor closed his eyes and stood there with Lawrence Riley for what seemed like hours. It wasn't until a police officer spoke that Connor snapped out of it.
"Your alibi checked out. You are free to go, Mr. Riley."
"Thank you so much."
"Don't worry. We will find your wife's killer." Connor sighed at the cop’s statement. Colleen's killer was still out there and in the stolen body of his sister. Connor lost almost everything that Angel had given him, almost.
"You can come home with me, dad."
"Thanks, Connor."
* * *
Lindsey leafed through files that littered his desk, when Eve stepped into his office. "Any news from Dorian?"
"He called the front desk a few minutes ago. He left a message that he was leaving and that he had to leave so fast, but he had to check into something that came up."
"I'm not that surprised. Something is always coming up with him."
"See all that worrying just for a short visit. I told you that you shouldn't stress over it." Eve had come right next to Lindsey.
"I know I should listen to you more." Lindsey rose to his feet and kissed Eve. "Maybe we should stop working." He kissed her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Maybe we should." She kissed him back. The two of them made their way to the elevator and up to their apartment to settle down for the night.
End Credits
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