Ceremony Of InnocenceBy DM Evans
Chapter: 2
SUNNYDALE
"It's a great contract. This could really make our company," Xander said, sipping his overly hot coffee. The whole group, sans Spike, had gathered at the Espresso Pump. It almost felt like old times, especially with Anya sitting at his side and Giles back from England.
"What is this wonderful deal?" Giles asked.
"There's a company buying up the homes around the school. No one really wants to live there and more than a few of the houses got flattened when the Hellmouth almost opened up. They're going to put up an office complex," Xander said, pleased.
"And my company is the one building it."
"Well, I guess there're worse things that could be across from the school," Buffy said, blowing away the excess cinnamon she accidentally over sprinkled on her cappuccino.
"And it's great that your company is going to benefit from it," Willow bubbled.
Xander bobbed his head, an expansive grin cutting across his broad face. "Right now we're tearing down the homes which we want to have done before graduation, Dawn, so hopefully the grounds won't look so bad for the ceremony."
"Cool," Dawn said, whipped cream from her mocha riding her lip.
"And we have a special surprise for everyone," Anya said, with a little clap of her hands, her eyes bright.
"Oh?" Giles raised an eyebrow.
"To celebrate, Ahn and I are springing to take us all to Las Vegas. We'll be leaving Saturday at dawn and we'll spend the night there on us. I've rented a van and we've even found a few teen friendly places for Dawnie. This won't work unless we're all there," Xander said, his face flushed with excitement.
Xander, are you sure? It'll be expensive," Buffy said, her opaline eyes wide with surprise.
Xander held up both hands to ward off the protests. "We know but we're sure and you have to say yes."
"And you need at least one set of dress clothes. We have something planned for Saturday night that your usual dumpy won't work for," Anya put in.
"Dumpy?" Buffy looked slightly indignant but Anya was oblivious.
"Well, I think it sounds like a great idea. We haven't had time to have fun since," Willow paused, pain flickering in her green eyes. "It's been too long."
"Perfect," Anya chirped. "Oh, Buffy, you have to tell Spike. He's invited, too. He'll be staying in your room, Giles."
"My room? Can't he sleep in the bloody van?" Giles asked, plucking off his glasses.
"You know how he whines if he's not given every luxury known to man," Xander said with an apologetic shrug. He didn't look any more thrilled to have Spike along but Anya had insisted which made him even less happy.
"He'll be in the van under a blanket the whole drive and he's not likely to make the mad dash into the hotel until the sun goes down so you probably won't even see him." Buffy put a comforting hand on Giles' arm.
"Fine, but if he starts whinging on I'm opening the curtains on him," Giles grumbled.
"I'm going to call Kit and let her know I can't meet her this weekend. This is going to be fun." Dawn popped up and headed for a quieter spot to use her cellular.
"Thanks you two." Buffy smiled. "We all really need this and anything we can do to help with the cost let us know."
"This is going to be a weekend to remember," Xander promised.
"I say we celebrate with more cappuccinos. Help me cart them back, Anya, Buffy," Willow said, heading for the sales counter. Her friends followed.
"It seems as if you and Anya are putting things back together," Giles said. "It's nice to see."
Xander nodded. "Took a lot of work to prove that under this complete jackass armor of mine there's someone who still really loves her. She had a year on her own to realize that she can be her own person and still want to be in a relationship."
"Most of us don't get a second chance like this, Xander, so don't make a complete cock up of it," Giles said sternly, the lines of his face hardening into a knife's edge.
Xander looked abashed. "Here's hoping."
"Why Vegas?" Giles asked. "None of us are big gamblers. I can't even imagine Anya wanting to risk her money."
"You just have to trust us this will be a great weekend," Xander insisted and Giles could think of nothing to say except maybe 'stop saying that or you'll jinx it,' but that would just prove these kids had worn off on him. He settled for another 'thank you' and sat back thinking how good it felt to be back in Sunnydale however odd that might be.
LOS ANGELES
"It's good to see you again, Lindsey," Lilah said, templing her fingers in front of her.
Lindsey scowled. He hadn't deigned to dress appropriately for the situation. He sat in her office in blue jeans and a flannel shirt, his face like flint, as if to say she wasn't worth his effort. "Knock off the chit-chat, Lilah, like I'm here willingly." He leaned over her desk, getting in her face. "I'm only here because you're holding my brother hostage."
Lilah looked at him, exuding an air of 'gee I'm so not impressed.' "You always did have a flair for the melodramatic, Lindsey. Kevin's our,guest until this deal in Sunnydale is finished."
"Guest." Lindesay sat back. "That's what you call grabbing Kevin out of his patrol car and calling me saying 'one last job or we mail your brother back to you. Expect packages for a month'."
"Negotiations, nothing more." Lilah waved a dismissive hand, her French manicured nails catching the light. "Kevin is alive and well and will remain so as long as you're cooperative."
Lindsey had to fight the urge to bitchslap her. His blue eyes went to ice. "Tell that to his wife and kids. Tell it to my mother who's out of her head with grief, thinking some scumbag he was trying to arrest killed him. I couldn't tell them he was safe, if that's even the word for it."
"And here I told the senior partners this ploy wouldn't work. I always assumed you had no use for your redneck relatives." Lilah smirked.
Lindsey gritted his teeth, almost coming out of his chair at her. He fought to find calm. He couldn't let it show how much she was hurting him. "Just get on with it, Lilah. What does Wolfram and Hart need me to do?"
Lilah pursed her lips at him. "So impatient. What? No time for reminiscing with colleagues?"
"Lilah,"
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. You remember those Moahilya demons you used to deal with?"
Lindsey made a face. "Hard to forget. They smell like muck-out time at a stable."
"And you'd know." Lilah indicated his outfit. "What's it like helping out Indians in Oklahoma?"
"The casino work is a hell of a lot better than dealing with,hell itself," he admitted, a bit of pride sneaking into his tone. "So what do I have to do with the Moahilya demons?"
"They were highly impressed with you. So much so, they refuse to work with anyone else."
"I don't believe this."
"It's true." Lilah shrugged as if to say she couldn't believe it either. "We've tried for months to impress on them that you are replaceable but they won't budge. It's you or no deal."
Lindsey sat back, realization dawning on him. "That's why the senior partners offered me my job back a few months ago."
"Exactly. I still can't believe they didn't have you killed for running out on them, especially after they gave you a new hand."
Lindsey's color went to oatmeal. "It was a risk worth taking." 'And it's done' hung implied in the air. "So what is this deal that you're so desperate to get me to do?"
"Sunnydale's Hellmouth nearly opened last year. It left a lot of ethereal energy around it permeating the ground. We want that energy. The Moahilya demons can construct machinery, if you will, to tap that well from a distance. Hell, you're an Oakie. I don't have to explain slant drilling to you. We've bought up all the land around the high school, which is on top of the mouth. All we need to do is put in the tap without attracting the Slayer's attention."
"Good luck. I wouldn't want to be you if she finds out. Angel assured me Faith was second string compared to Buffy."
"Well, you won't be warning her, not if you want Kevin to remain healthy and I'm sure I don't have to remind you that you have plenty of other family back in Hicksville." Lilah's face hardened.
"Don't push me, Lilah. I'm here. I'll do it but you don't want to go there," Lindsey said. "Just tell me what I have to do to get my brother and myself out of here."
Lilah handed him a disc. "Our terms are all on here. It's very simple. You should be out of here in a matter of weeks."
A knock at the door cut off anything Lindsey had to say. Gavin didn't wait to be asked in but he didn't move away from the doorway.
"So you throw them a runaway? How does that test their abilities?" Lindsey asked. Horror shone in his crystal blue eyes.
"Think more on how long your brother would last in this arena if you don't cooperate," Gavin said.
Lindsey curled his lips at him. "Bastard."
"That's no ordinary boy. Watch," Lilah commanded.
Lindsey looked back out as the crowd cheered some more. He saw a vrykolakas rush the boy and he expected to see gore. What he saw was a piece of wood come out of the kid's jacket pocket and only to be buried in the vrykolakas' heart. The boy's cocky grin faded as the creature didn't dust. His eyes widened as it pulled the stake free and winged it back. He knocked it away with the flat of his sword, even as he whirled under another vrykolakas' attack.
"He can move," Lindsey said, appreciatively in spite of himself.
"He's amazing," Lilah said. "Let's see how long it takes him to figure out regular vampire tactics won't work."
The boy decapitated one of the creatures only to have another vrykolakas plant the loose head back on its owner's shoulders. It resealed and both of them chased after him. The kid flipped out of their way and nearly landed in the fire pit. He grabbed a loose piece of wood out and swatted one of the creatures with it. The vrykolakas burst into flames and crumbled. The crowd roared.Ú The boy stabbed another of them and whirled him into the pit. The vrykolakas exploded, raining fire around.
"He moves so fast you can barely see him. He can't be human. What is he?" Lindsey asked as the boy danced closer to their protected viewing area. He could see rage in the boy's blue eyes and Lindsey no longer pitied him. This was a creature able to fend for himself.
"He's human, more or less. Well, as human as the child of two vampires can be," Lilah said, studying Lindsey's face carefully.
Lindsey nearly slipped off his seat. "What?"
"He's Angel's son."
Lindsey felt his jaw drop open like a cartoon character but he couldn't help it. "That's not possible."
"That's what you'd think. Of course, at first we thought maybe you were the boy's father." Lilah's smile was like a dagger buried in a soft tender spot.
"Me? Why would," Lindsey trailed off, his blue eyes turning into round lakes of fear and understanding. "My God. Darla. She's his mother."
"Yes, and that would have been remarkable enough but we learned the truth. Connor is hers and Angel's. Sorry, Lindsey. Did she ever let you touch her? Probably preferred her men beefy and dead." Lilah smiled coldly. "There were many prophecies about him as a baby little more than a year and half ago. He ended up in a demon realm as an infant and grew into the magnificent fighter you're watching now. Oh look, he's got the cattle prod. Let's see if he puts two and two together. We're not sure he's all that bright."
"But he should be an infant if what you're saying is true," Lindsey said, still dazed at the idea of Darla having a son.
"Time moved differently in that realm. Poor Angel, you almost feel sorry for him. He loses his baby and when he gets him back, he finds out he missed the boy's entire life."
"And Darla?" Lindsey whispered, not wanting to know the answer.
"Dead. She gave her life to birth him. The way I hear it, she died in an alley. Maybe she killed herself or maybe Angel decided the boy was worth more than her. I don't know. Watch him. He's got it now," Lilah crowed as Connor stabbed the cattle prod into the puddle of water, taking out three vrykolakas at once.
Lindsey felt his eyes stinging. He couldn't believe he still felt something for Darla but here it was. And he was watching Wolfram and Hart put her son at risk, a son that never by rights should have existed. Still, right before his eyes, the kid fried the last of the vrykolakas.
"Why is he here, Lilah? Is he helping you?" Lindsey didn't think that was true. Who volunteered to be a gladiator?
"We want him to but he's stubborn, like his father. We're wearing him down though. This is our way of seeing how strong he is and how cruel. Like I said, he's amazing." Lilah seemed almost proud of the boy.
Lindsey jumped as the kid leapt up on the wall and vaulted the razor wire. He landed on the thick glass bubble he, Lilah and Gavin were in. Gavin was out of his chair ready to run but Lilah remained calm. She just waved at the boy. A sick grin, something that belonged in Bedlam, knifed across the boy's face as he brought his sword down on the glass, doing no damage. That didn't stop him from trying again.
"Lilah, shouldn't we," Lindsey said, tensing to make a run for it.
"Don't worry. He always tries this if he can."
Lindsey saw the uniformed guards entering the court again and heard the shots. He saw at least three feathery looking tranquillizer darts hit home. The boy dropped his sword and tried to jump back over the razor wire. He didn't make it. He fell into it then tumbled down the wall to hit the ground hard. He didn't move.
"Fun show, huh?" Lilah asked.
Lindsey swallowed back the bile. "You're sick."
"No, I'm ambitious. And Gavin's right. You screw with us, Lindsey and your brother goes in that pit. Think he'll fair as well as Connor?" Lilah asked.
Lindsey just shook with rage, unable to speak.
"Gavin, escort Mr. MacDonald back to his new office while I see to our special guest," Lilah said.
Lindsey watched her walk off then turned his gaze back to where the guards were securing the boy and hauling him off. He mouthed Darla's name then followed Gavin back, too numb to do anything else.
---
Lilah went back to Connor's holding cell straight away. She got there in time to see them stripping him back down. He bore raw areas where the razor wire sliced into him. She noticed a few vrykolakas had bitten into him, their marks already red and oozing. Wolfram and Hart had already made special note of the boy's ability to heal quickly.
"Hurry, he's starting to come around," Lilah cautioned.
The guards just nodded and kicked him inside the cage. It swallowed him with a shudder like poking a Jell-o mold. Lilah hunkered down precariously on her heels. She reached in unharmed and ran a hand over his face. The boy was capable of growing a fairly remarkable beard for someone his age. It had taken her by surprise. He looked so young but now with three months of growth he seemed ten years older. She hated beards. Being with Wesley last year reminded her of that. At least it was a sign there was testosterone in him.
Of course, that wasn't the real question. Fertility was, in light of the psychics' observations. He could be like a mule given his odd parentage. Still, she'd talk to the senior partners about what Gavin said before she knew if he was or not. Her eyes flicked down to his slim hips. The boy was nicely built, another surprise given how small his frame was in comparison to his father. She'd talk to the doctors retained by the firm and find out what was the next step.
"Stop,touching me," he muttered, trying to jerk his head away.
"Be nice. Look, we've given you a present for doing so well." Lilah pointed at the bare mattress lying on the floor. "Say thank you."
Connor's unfocused eyes struggled to follow along the lines of Lilah's legs instead. "You don't wear panties."
Lilah caught one of his nipples between the sharp tips of her nails and he grunted in pain. "You have even less class than your father. Shall I have your nice new bed taken away?"
Connor rolled away from her. He tried to get up but was still too drugged. He crawled to the mattress and sprawled on it.
"Be good if you have any plans on keeping the mattress. If you make me mad, Connor, I'll give you back to the doctors. You remember what they put you through with all the prodding, wires and needles."
Lilah listened to the harsh sigh that hissed out of him. She knew he didn't want to go back the examination rooms and she figured he would be a little more compliant, happy to have his one small luxury. She turned to the guard and said, "His food will be drugged. When he's out have that rat shaved off his face."
She went back to her office and was only mildly surprised to see Lindsey waiting on her. "Bored with your office already?"
"Is that dullard my replacement?" Lindsey asked, rocking back in Lilah's office chair.
"Gavin? I suppose so. He's nowhere near your league," Lilah said, sitting on the edge of her desk.
"You did miss me." Lindsey smirked.Ú "Now, take me to my brother. There's no deal unless I'm sure you didn't already put him in that ring."
"No going to see him but I will let you see he's alive. Come with me." She swung back off the desk and Lindsey followed her figuring this was as good as he was likely to do. She led him to a room full of view screens and bored-looking guards. She tapped one screen showing what seemed to be a hotel room. It appeared that his brother was lying on the bed watching TV.
"This isn't proof, Lilah." Lindsey scowled at the monitor. "You could have videotaped this any time."
"There's such a lack of trust, Lindsey." Lilah ran a hand over the nape of his neck and he shuddered involuntarily. "Pick up the phone and dial 555-1108."
Lindsey gave her a curious look but did it. He watched the screen as his brother picked up the phone.
"Kevin?"
"Lindsey? Is that you? Get me out of here."
"Kevin, listen to me," Lindsey broke in, his heart thudding. "I don't know where you are exactly. I'm with the people who kidnapped you. I know them. Do whatever they tell you to. If you fight with them, they won't hesitate to kill you."
"Who are they, Lindsey?"
Lindsey wished he could do more to put his brother at ease. "People I used to know. This is their way of insuring I'll do something I don't want to do. Just stay calm and listen to them and I'll have you out of there in a few weeks."
"Don't do anything, stupid, little brother. Don't worry about me. You get the hell out of there and don't help them," Kevin yelled into the phone.
"Just do as I say, Kevin," Lindsey snapped. Damn his brother and his overgrown nobility. "This isn't some cop show where you play the heroic sacrifice. All they want is my legal expertise on a business contract."
"You have to be dealing with criminals." There was a reprimand in his brother's tone but Lindsey was expecting that.
"I'm a lawyer, Kevin. It goes with the territory. Just do,"
Lilah cut off the phone conversation with a press of the hang up on the phone base. "It's starting to border on the precious and I don't want to lose a lunch I paid too much for. You got what you wanted, proof your brother's alive. I suggest you take the disc I gave you, go back to the apartment we set you up in and familiarize yourself with the case."
"You trust me to walk out this door on my own." Lindsey's eyebrows lifted.
"Of course. I have your brother, remember. Your free time is your own. You can do and go wherever you like, barring the Hyperion hotel. You try to pass on any information to Angel and your brother gets fitted up like a demon and I put him in the ring with Darla's cherished little boy." Lilah smiled flatly at him.
"I'll let you know what I think of the deal in the morning," Lindsey said evenly while trying to calmly think his way through things. He'd get himself and Kevin out of this somehow. As he left the building, that boy's blue eyes came back to haunt him. Darla's so-called son looked nothing like her but Lindsey had no reason to doubt Lilah. He had to learn all he could about the boy. He felt he owed Darla that much.
LOS ANGELES
"What are you doing, Wesley?" Angel asked, watching the slimmer man yank the bed away from the wall in Connor's room. Gunn helped him.
"Hoping you didn't do too good of a clean up job in here," Wesley said, crawling behind the headboard. "You really ought to get some sleep, Angel. I can handle this on my own."
"I'm fine," Angel grumbled.
Wesley peered dubiously through the gap between the board and bedpost. "If you say so. I didn't see Fred at breakfast, Gunn. Is she feeling alright?"
"Not really. She's got morning sickness pretty bad,sort of an all day thing some days." Gunn made a face. "I wish I could do something but the doctor say its normal. Is there something I can do to help you do whatever it is you're doing?"
"I'm looking for specks of blood. You said there was blood here and bullet holes."
"Holes in the wall but no blood spray to go with them so hopefully they didn't shoot him. The blood was mostly where you're at, all over the bed, drops like in a fight," Gunn said.
"Or a knife wound," Angel said. "What do you need with Connor's blood?"
"I'm going to try to make a locator spell. It works best with blood. I could use a hair but I don't see a comb or brush anywhere around."
"Might have gotten broken in the fight and thrown out. I don't really remember," Angel said. "This spell, how accurate is it?"
"Good enough, if I find any blood. But I warn you, it's fairly easy to mask someone from the spell if you know magic," Wesley said, examining the wall closely.
"Wolfram and Hart's all about that," Gunn said, pitching in.
"I know. Ah, here we go." Wesley pointed to some dried blood on the turn of the bedpost they had missed cleaning up.
"Angel, could you hand me that vial on the dresser."
Angel did so and Wesley flaked the blood into it. He sealed the vial, standing up. "Sangue canta sentisi laddove accanto addome," he chanted and the vial flashed red then went clear. "It's ready. This will get more red the closer we get to Connor."
"So we have to have a place to start looking for him,which we don't," Gunn said.
"Yes, we do. Wolfram and Hart," Angel grated out. "Let's go."
"Gunn and I will go. It's nine o'clock in the morning. You'll have to sit this out," Wesley said, gently.
"He's right, man. Try to get some rest. We'll call if we learn anything," Gunn said.
"I don't,"Angel trailed off, flopping down on his son's bed. His cheek rested against the soft pillow, his son's scent tickling his nose. It was like a stake to the heart. "I know you're right. Doesn't make me like it any more."
"We want him back, too, Angel," Wesley said. "This will hopefully give us a place to start."
"Good luck."
Wesley followed Gunn to his truck. They rode in silence for several long blocks.
"This is, I should have let you go alone," Gunn said, shifting uncomfortably as he drove.
Wesley glanced over at him. "Gunn, I'm through with holding grudges. I said as much even before we averted the apocalypse. I meant it. I'm glad you and Fred are happy."
"So happy you left the country," Gunn growled.
"If I had known everyone would think I left because of you two, I would never have gone," Wesley grumbled, scratching at his beard. "I hadn't been home for any length of time in six years, Gunn. I just needed little time back with friends and family. I always intended to come back to L.A. If I hadn't ended up in the fey lands, I would have been here months ago. Believe me, I'm over Fred and have been for some time. I wish you two nothing but happiness with the new family you're starting."
Gunn considered that then smiled. "Thanks, English. So, is that thing of yours pinking up any?"
Wesley lifted the vial to the sun. It was decidedly less crystalline than it had been at the hotel. "Yes, it is. We're heading in the right direction."
"Think the little brat is alive?" Gunn asked.
"Yes. Wolfram and Hart have wanted him since birth. I'm shocked they even came with guns in the first place. I'm quite certain they wanted him alive for testing if no other reason. Dead, he's useless. Alive, and they can make Angel do anything."
Wesley's blue eyes canted in Gunn's direction. "No demands have been made?"
"None, which is damn strange for that crew." Gunn rapped his knuckles against the steering wheel.
"Agreed. I wonder what their agenda is. Oh my, look at this." Wesley held the vial closer to Gunn. It looked like it contained blood.
"Shit. And look what's ahead." Gunn nodded to the gleaming high-rise that housed Wolfram and Hart.
"Well, that's a confirmation."
"But they wouldn't be holding him in that building," Gunn said.
"Who knows what they have in that building. He was here, I have no doubt. Just look," Wesley paused as the vial turned back to clear.
"What's that?" Gunn pointed at the vial. "A false positive?"
"Remember me saying the magic could be scuttled? Trust Wolfram and Hart to make sure he was shielded from magic. I'm surprised we got this close." Wesley grimaced. "Drive around a little and see if we can pick up the trail."
"You got it."
Wesley called Fred with their little success but in the end that was the best clue they received that day.