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Lost Boys	By : Spacey Category: Angel the Series > Slash - Male/Male > Angel(us)/Wesley > Angel(us)/Wesley Views: 2496 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own AtS. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Title: Lost Boys
Disclaimers: All hail King Joss and his overlords at Mutant Enemy.
Spoilers: Hum…up to and including parts of Seasons 1-3 of Buffy, 1 of Angel
Summary: There’s a new guy in town, and he needs Angel’s help.
Ratings Note: PG-NC-17
Pairing: Wesley/Angel
Author's Note: I’ve intentionally mangled the events of Season 1 to my liking-so sue me. Wait! Um, just kidding Joss…I’m really a poor schoolteacher so don’t sue. Also, Lost Boys constitutes Part 1 of the Crossroads Series.
Acknowledgments:
Feedback: scarletsfiction@yahoo.com
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Chapter 3

Thunk.

Angel dropped another dozen books on the table.

"Okay, Angel. The Dirty Old Book obsession has got to stop." Cordy was in a foul mood. Not only had she not had the chance to talk to Wesley that morning--much to Wesley’s relief, she was sure--but Angel had selected almost forty dusty volumes of demon lore that he felt might hold the answer to Wesley’s dilemma. Add that to the manicure she had had to cancel in favor of the midday Research Party, and she was not feeling like Angel Investigation’s Employee of the Year. "We’ll never be able to read all of these."
"You don’t have to read them, actually. You simply have to look at the pictures. Will that be alright?" Wesley asked.
The Watcher-turned-demon hunter was nervous. Cordelia had to admit that she was loving this part, at least. "I don’t know. *Angel*, what do you think? Can I look at the pictures?" She gave Wesley a knowing stare.
"With all the time you spend looking at pictures in your magazines instead of filing case reports, I’m sure you’ve had lots of practice." Angel did not appear to be in the best of moods, either.
"See Wesley? *Angel* thinks I can do this." Cordelia was putting special emphasis on the vampire's name, reveling in the way it made the ex-Watcher squirm.
"What are we looking for again?" Gunn rubbed his head absently. "It’s a circle with—"
"—with two small marks on the side. I’ve made a diagram and added several cross-references so as to make researching easier." Grateful for the change in topic, Wesley handed each researcher a copy of his report--typed, copied, and bound that morning. The researchers looked at him with awe and disgust.
"Is he always like this?" Gunn asked.
"Yeah, this is pretty much what I remember the most. Hey, *Angel*, do you remember--"
"—Enough. Thank you, Wesley. I’m sure we’ll find what you need. Cordy, I suggest that you get started on this volume first." Angel heaved a thick book at the young woman. As she caught it, a plume of dust rose from its surface. Wesley and Gunn each chose a book began thumbing through the pages. Angel selected a book himself and settled into his favorite chair, balancing his book across his knee. The Research Party began in earnest.

*****

Nearly three hours later, with human stomachs growling for lack of food, Angel casually eyed his crew over the top of a rather large demon codex. Cordy was whipping through pages at lightning speed while twirling a strand of thick, dark hair around her finger. Gunn had his head propped up on his hands. His eyes were glazed and clearly only minutes away from falling completely asleep. Wesley, on the other hand, looked as though they had begun researching only minutes before. He had three books open and was peering from one to the other. As something new caught his eye, he would smile with delight and then guiltily leave a small slip of paper on that page indicating that he should come back to that part when there were less pressing matters to deal with.
A brief smile threatened to cross Angel’s face. The vampire held it back. Wesley was so…*different* from the man he had known in Sunnydale. That man had been… snobbish? Uptight? Uncompromising? All of the words fit, yet Angel was at a loss to describe *this* Wesley in those terms. This Wesley was…confident. Warm. Strong. And clearly hiding something. Whatever it was, though, Angel had the feeling that it was personal and not professional, which was why he had agreed to help him. He made a mental note to discuss his concern with Wesley later. Maybe it was girl trouble. Angel indulged in a bitter sigh. Didn’t it always come down to that? He hated the thought of one of his crew having a problem if it was something that he could help them with.
Angel stared openly at the other man. His crew. Was Wesley part of his crew now? The vampire rolled that thought around in his head for a while and found it to be more than pleasant. It would be nice to have a demonologist around. And Wesley’s actions in the sewers proved that the A-Team could do with a little more muscle--and Cordelia was plainly not cutting it. Wesley was reading a passage intently now and began running one hand through his hair as the other trailed across the page of a book. He wondered what Wesley would think if he knew most of Angel’s "research time" only masked brooding and self-reflection.
Wesley slipped his glasses from his face and rubbed long fingers over the bridge of his nose, attempting to soothe the pinched area between his eyes. Perhaps it was the sound of a vampire sighing that distracted him because as Angel was about to turn his head, Wesley looked up at him and their eyes met. For a moment, neither man looked away, then Angel lowered his eyes guiltily. He was startled by the thought that if he had been human, he would have been blushing.
"Feeders!"
"Ug! Where?" Gunn instinctively raised his feet into his chair. "I mean, What are you talking about?" He sat up straight in his chair, trying to smooth over the slightly childish outburst.
"Feeders. The demons that took the little boy. Feeders!" Cordelia could barely contain her excitement. "Look, I found a picture. And can I just say, eww? They’re kind of warthog-like. It says that the symbol in the boy’s room is part of a portal spell. The Dak--Dahk—whatever. The guys are also known as Feeders--they use the spell to sort of transport into a place, grab something, and teleport out. They…" Cordy squinted at the tiny print. "They usually hunt subjects easy to claim--kids, old people...and they’re called Feeders because…they feed on the male lifeforce.
Male lifeforce? What kind of Robert Bly nightmare is this--hey!" Angel snatched the book out of her hands and began skimming the passages she had been reading.
Wesley looked pale. "Is the boy—"
Angel jumped in quickly. "No. No, I don't think so. It says when they steal the lifeforce they sort of, um, suck it out through the eyes, leaving a shell of the person behind. The victims appear to be in a coma.
You said no shell, right? No body? So…maybe the boy *was* kidnapped and they’re storing up for winter, so to speak….and," Angel consulted the text again, "this is interesting. Their main feeding grounds are actually Los Angeles. Maybe your oracle was right about coming here." Angel continued to read, his eyes frantically roaming the pages.
"Actually," Wesley’s mind began making connections, "that would account for many of the mysterious comas that have been experienced over the years."
"And people who mysteriously wake from comas. Look at this." Angel passed the book over to Wesley. "Apparently, when the Dak—Dekh—"
"Dak’tari."
Angel’s face looked pinched. "—when the Dak’tari that took the lifeforce dies, the child is restored. If their body is still alive, that is."
"Why would it only hunt for boys?" Gunn looked ready to pummel the first Feeder he found, which was okay by Wesley. The face of the young father in Tucson still troubled him.
"I don’t know. It doesn’t say. Maybe they’re lured by testosterone?" Angel speculated. He moved to the bookshelf in the back of the room to compare the text Cordy had found with another.
"And score one more for Estrogen, ladies and gentlemen," Cordelia quipped, standing to stretch. "Okay, I can’t take it any more. It’s time to make the call."
Gunn looked relieved. "Oh, Yeah! Okay, we’ll get two Beef & Broccoli, one Sweet & Sour—"
"—Two Sweet & Sour"
"Cordy’s hungry, Angel!" Gunn called to the vampire. "Two Beef & Broccoli, two Sweet & Sour chicken, one pork fried rice, one chicken fried rice—Wesley, what do you want?" Gunn’s pleasure was evident as he imagined the banquet of Chinese delights that would take him away from the Research Party.
Wesley looked taken aback by the close and casual atmosphere that had settled into the small office. Replacing his glasses on, he thought for a moment. "Hum...something spicy…with shrimp?" he suggested.
"ANGEL!!! Wesley wants the #4!!!!"

*****

An hour later, with bellies full and empty containers decorating the office, four weary researchers swallowed back the last of Angel’s beer--no closer to finding the boy. Angel, Cordelia, and Gunn were, however, very close to having a new best friend. After paying for all of the food himself, Wesley proceeded to consume three beers in quick succession. It was a very relaxed Brit that turned over the last of the pork fried rice--and two fortune cookies to Gunn, earning a devoted grin.
"Okay, I have a plan." Angel once again surprised him with his outburst. As he didn’t need to eat, he had simply nursed his beer while the others indulged. At one point, Wesley saw him leave for the small refrigerator behind the desk. Cordy had made her fingers in to fangs and simulated biting a neck. The translation was obvious to Wesley. Angel was getting blood.
"Shoot, boss." Gunn encouraged, through a mouthful of cold rice.
"I didn’t say it was a good plan. It’s actually not much of a plan, but it *is* something to do besides research." At this comment, he looked at Gunn who turned away with a guilty smile.
"I suggest Gunn check with his contacts in the human world while Wesley and I check with some of my sources here in the city. Look for anything associated with the Feeders. Symbols, comas, anything."
"What should I do?" Cordy asked.
"Cordy, you can stay here and man the office while we are gone. We’ll check back by midnight."
"Angel, there’s no TV here. You can’t expect me to just sit around all night waiting for you to call. My position here is serious and important and special and—"
"You can bring my TV upstairs."
"Oh, okay then. Have fun."
With that decided, they waited the last half-hour for the sun to go down before Gunn left the offices in his beloved pickup truck. Wesley and Angel started out through the sewer tunnels on foot and began heading for the first of four places Angel planned on visiting that night. With any luck, they would have one very happy father in Tucson by dawn.
TBC...
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Lost Boys