ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 125 - DANGER LOOMS

APRIL 9, 2009
WEDNESDAY
2:00PM

Giles sat across from Willow at his desk in the new office of the Council of Watchers. He’d called her in for a meeting a few days after he had returned, to discuss Buffy and William with her, and though she didn’t feel completely comfortable doing this, she was also glad that it was now out in the open.

His brow was wrinkled in concentration as he read from a copy of the Prophecy, which Willow had been able to hack from Wolfram & Hart's computers, back when Buffy had first told her of the dreams she was having about Spike, last winter, before he Shanshu’d.

"Buffy doesn't know about this, does she?" he asked, pointing the last page.

Willow shook her head, "No. She can't know. You mustn't tell her either."

"I know," Giles said, sighing. "Well, it doesn't look as though we have anything to worry about."

"I don't think so either, but that's not what Angel thinks," she said, going on to explain, how she had warned him about the retribution of the coven, should he try to further harm William, and what Angel’s response had been.

"I don't understand Angel,” Giles said, taking off his glasses to polish them. “I understand he was in love with Buffy and, according to Wesley, thought the prophecy would naturally go to him, but how on earth did he think that killing William would help his cause?"

"I don't think he planned on killing him, really. I just think he might have wanted to keep him from Buffy for the next 2 years, that way...well, you know what that means, now that you've read it."

"I still don't understand his logic," Giles insisted.

"I don’t think it is logic. And as for Angel loving Buffy, he claimed he doesn't anymore, nor does he care if he becomes human or not. I think it's just the idea of Spike getting Buffy, getting to be human, fulfilling the prophecy...that's what goads him."

"That and the fact that he's no longer working for the good of...well, anything, makes him dangerous, I should think."

"I agree, but hopefully, if things can just go on like they are right now, then we won't have to worry. Right?"

"I hope so, Willow. I really do.ll, ll, it wouldn't hurt to keep a sharp eye out for doings at Wolfram & Hart, just in case..."

"Yeah, just in case..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OFFICES OF WOLFRAM & HART
APRIL 11, 2009
FRIDAY
8:30AM

"How old did you say these were?" Angel roared at Lilah.

"Well," she said, picking up her note pad, "one is from February 9th - that's one from the mall again. Another is from March 22nd - that's over at Dana Point, and..."

"Where?"

"Near San Juan Capistrano, and the last one is from April 6th at LAX."

Angel looked at her."

"That's one of Wes and Rupert Giles. The others are of Buffy and William. Oh, and her sister and her boyfriend are in the second one."

"You didn't tell me why I'm only seeing these now, Lilah," he said, menacingly.

"Well, you're the one who fired the whole department a few months ago, Angel. Things got backed up. Right after that, a virus sent by one of our clients got into the computer, wiping out the its hard drive. It took a while to update the data base again."

"Get out!"

"Whatever you want, Angel," Lilah said, leaving him.

Angel put in the first tape and watched as Buffy and William once again were having coffee at a mall in San Diego. Nothing remarkable there, but since they'd been identified as 'persons of interest' to Wolfram & Hart, the rest of the mall's security tapes were automatically scanned for that day, as well. As he watched he saw Buffy and William, going into the movies, sitting on a bench, and then going into a jewelry store. He looked down on the sheet and fast-forwarded to the corresponding number, which showed the tape of the jewelry store. Gritting his teeth, he watched as Buffy tried on engagement rings and as William took the sales clerk aside to ask her something.

"Excuse me, Angel?" interrupted his secretary, coming into his office.

He growled at her.

"Oh, oops, I'll come back," she beat a hasty retreat, seeing him in vamp face.

He put on the second tape and watched as his suspicions were confirmed when Buffy, William, Dawn, and someone named John talked about Buffy and William's engagement on the feed captured by the Starbuck's at Dana Point.

Lastly, he tried unsuccessfully to hear the feed on the conversation between Giles and Wesley at LAX, but couldn't make it out.

"Lilah, come in here!" he said, into the intercom.

A few minutes later, she was in his office, "What did you need, Angel?"

"I need the voices on this one redone, I can't make them out. If he can't make it clear on the tape, just have him send me the manuscript."

"Sure, no problem. So, if I may ask, what are your former friends and lovers up to these days?"

Angel glared at her, "Getting married it would appear."

"Isn't that sweet? Should I start looking into shower or wedding gifts for the happy couple?"

"That and a permanent coffin for yourself, Lilah," he returned.

She smirked at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Here’s the manuscripts you wanted,” Lilah said, as she came into Angel’s office two hours later, “but I don’t think there’s anything of interest here.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said, picking them up and scanning them.

He looked up at Lilah, “Something else you need?”

“Nope, nothing at all,” she said, nodding to him, before letting herself back out.

“Hmm, looks like my old pal Wesley is being reinstated as a Watcher by Giles to some new slayers in LA. Mentions me a few times,” he said to himself, as he threw them on his desk.

He sat back in his chair, his face a cold mask of dispassionate resolve as he contemplated an idea that had been forming for some time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
APRIL 12, 2009
SUNDAY
2:00AM

After seeing a play at Teatro Colon, the slender, dark-haired woman took a walk through the city, past the superb old manisons along the Avenida Alvear, then into the Cementario de la Recoleta, where the richest of the city werid tid to rest. Sitting on a bench, she looked up at the starlit South American spring sky and waited. It wasn't long before a well-groomed man approached her, drawn by her beauty.

She knew he would come, for she had willed it so.

"Why is one as lovely as you, here all alone?" he asked her.

"I'm not alone, you're here," she replied. "What's your name?"

"Guillermo," he answered.

She nodded. She already knew, it was foretold.


3:3
T
The woman looked lazily over at the man in the bed next to her and smiled at him. She rolled over and nuzzled up to his warm neck. For all intents and purposes they looked like any other two lovers, until one looked closer.

The man's eyes were staring straight ahead in terror, as the woman's fangs once again, pierced the skin on his neck. She moved on top of him, roughly taking his cock in her hand and guiding him inside her. She rode him, taking the life force from his loins, as well as his neck. His heart slowed, as she finished with him. She rolled off him, and looked into his now, nearly dead eyes.

"You say your name is William,” she purred at him, her voice deceptively soft and sweet at first, then rising into an unearthly wail, “but you aren't my William! You lie to me, like they all do!"

She pulled the chain on the lamp, illuminating the small bedroom in a soft red glow. She roughly turned his head, so that for the first time, and the last, he became aware of the pile of bodies, which had been hidden in the shadows of the night.

She heard the death rattle coming from him, and then he was no more. She sighed, picked up his body and gently lay him down on top of the other Williams' bodies.

She sniffed daintily.

Although she hated to leave the little, comfortable apartment near Plaza Dorrego, above the jewelry shop, she knew that it would be only a matter of time before someone came looking into why the shop's owner, Guillermo Ramos had not been open for business in nearly a week.

She walked out onto the balcony, wearing a thin, long, white nightgown; little splotches of red down the front of it, and looked up at the stars.

"What's that?" she asked, looking skyward, bursting out in a fit of manic giggles.

"You're telling me that my pretty William lives once more? Resurrected like the Easter bunny? Wait! What? He died and saved the world again, because of her?"

"You are a bad daddy! A very bad daddy! This won't do at all, not at all," she keened, as she hurried back into the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

APRIL 13, 2009
MONDAY
9:45AM

“You’re late!” Angel said, as Lilah entered his office.

“I don’t think you’re going to mind,” she said, giving him a folder and a box.

He opened the box and took out a little sphere-like object, with many pointy protrusions sticking out all around it, "What is it?"

"It's a satellite."

"A satellite? What the hell is this for?"

A smgringrin started at the corners of Lilah's red lips, spreading until she looked like the cat who’d ate the canary.

"Well?"

"This, my dear Angel, is to talk to a certain someone with. A certain someone who we located for you."

"You found her? Really? How?"

Lilah shrugged, "Wasn't too hard. She never was the subtle type was she? Just did a basic search, following her careless m.o., and found her within a day. Seems that she's been living in South America for a while."

"Old habits die hard," he mumbled.

“Here’s where I think you’ll really enjoy the story?"

“How’s that, Lilah? Not that I’m likely to enjoy any story you tell me.”

Lilah laughed, "Well, we contacted our associates down there, especially the ones with the same name; the matching name in question. Then we had them placed, where they were likely to come into contact with her. In other words, we assembled the disposable cannon fodder.”

“Did it work?"

"Oh yeah. She took the bait all right. Or baits, I should say. They've all turned up missing."

"And the satellite?"

"Satellites, you mean. We just watch the feed from the satellites, and when we notice that she's watching them, we just flash her a message or two or ten."

"How the hell do you do that? Is it like skywriting or something? Surely, she can't hear sounds from space now can she? She may have had the gift of sight, but I don’t recall her hg a g a gift of hearing.”

"Let's just say that for a long time, we've known that truly crazy people, like her, have their own perceptions, their own language that they understand. All we do is just put out some of those different 'languages,' call it beeps and blips, if you will, and sooner or later, we see which she's responding to. Then we make all of them 'talk' to her that way.”

"So, the satellites have been giving her messages?"

"Every night, all about a certain someone.”

Angel nodded, impressed by the vast technology of the Wolfram & Hart empire.

“Very Big Brother,” he said. “So, what’s her status?”

“She followed ‘the stars’ and came by the office last night. She’s now under our protection, which brings me to this point; what do you want to do with her, now that we have her?”

“Just leave her there for now, just make her comfortable, give her all that she needs, oh, and keep up with the satellites or whatever subliminal messages you can feed her. I want her biting at the bit when the rest is in place.”

Angel put his arms behind his head, as he sat back in his chair, "Know what Lilah? This may be have been a good Easter after all," he said, smiling.

END CHAPTER 125