Glass Towers by Psychofilly
Summary: "Where were you at ten o'clock on the night of the twelfth?"
Spoilers: Early Season Five.
Notes: Guys, this goes dark. I'm really sorry (just getting that out of the way *now*).
"Mr.
Angel?" Harmony interrupted, her tone unusually subdued. "There are a couple of
officers here to see you."
Angel kept his game
face on, not his vampiric one, but the blank businessman mask he
had perfected over the last few years, revealing nothing of the sudden
unease that swam through his gut.
"That's okay,
Harm. Send them in."
***
Angel's head whipped
back and forth as he frantically searched the crowd of people on the
boardwalk. So many sounds assaulted his senses, a painful
cacophony of music light and humanity that he could for the most part tune
out, but he could have swore....
He'd heard it, that
same unforgettable laugh that haunted his dreams night after night.
Sure, he'd moved on, continued to "live" after she had slipped away from
him, but he'd never forgotten. There! A casual toss of brown hair
over bronzed shoulder, a flash of red, Angel began to push his way
through the crowd.
***
Angel watched in
silence as two officers and a detective entered the room. As soon as the
detective rounded from behind the flatfooted bulk of her escorts,
he sat back and steepled his fingers. Her presence was
problematic, but not insurmountable. "Kate, it's good to see you again."
"Angel." Her
lips thinned and Angel wondered what words she was holding back,
swallowing accusations was never her style.
***
"Cordelia!"
Angel shouted as he closed in on the woman. "Cordy, wait!"
She kept walking,
completely ignoring him as she wound through the throng at a leisurely
rate. She reached the end of the promenade, where the crowd was
thinnest. Finally, he caught up with her, circling her wrist in
his fingers and yanking her around. "Dammit, Cor!"
"Excuse me?"
She said, yanking her arm, but he held fast. "Let me go," she
demanded. He searched her hazel eyes, looking for some spark of anything, but all
he could see was confusion. She didn't know him. "Look, I
don't know what your deal is, but let go of me."
"Cordelia,
please...." Angel begged. Her skin was like satin under his fingers. The scent
of her after so long was still the same. She smelled of the beach,
summer flowers and sunshine. He wanted to wrap himself up in her and
forget the world that hammered away his humanity one little chip at a time.
"My name is
Elaine, I don't know any Cordelia," she insisted. Angel found the swell of
hope that had risen in his chest replaced with anger. She had lost a
few pounds, and grown out her hair but otherwise, it was her. Why was she lying?
"Stop playing
games with me," he snapped.
She dug her fingers
into his hand, trying to loosen his hold. He supposed on a human,
it would hurt. There was a new smell emanating from her, this one
also familiar... fear. "I'm not playing around here, let me GO!"
The last word was yelled as she dug in her heels and yanked her arm
trying to wrench free. Could she really not remember? Could this
be yet another cruel joke at his expense? Angel looked around. People
were watching….
***
"What can I do
for you, Kate?" Angel asked neutrally.
She strode to his desk
and dropped a file onto the middle of it. "Does the
name Elaine Caldwell mean anything to you?"
***
Angel instantly let
her go. Unprepared, "Elaine" stumbled backwards. Angel grabbed her
shoulders, pulling her upright, holing her close for a moment longer
than was really necessary. Reluctantly he backed away, hands in the
air. He didn't want to scare her away, not when he'd just- "I-
it's my mistake. It's just you-" He dropped his hands and backed away,
turning towards the crowd.
"I what?"
Elaine asked her curiosity piqued. She couldn't see the satisfied a smirk that
flitted across his features. "Who is Cordelia?"
With a sigh Angel
scrubbed his hand across his face. "She was an old friend. I'm sorry for
upsetting you. I just thought you were her." He smiled ruefully,
letting her see his embarrassment. After an awkward beat, he held out his
hand. "I'm Angel."
The woman snorted, a
sound that was so "Cordelia" it tore him up inside. Elaine grasped
his hand and shook it. "Elaine." She studied him surreptitiously,
thinking he didn't notice the quick darting glances. He let her
curiosity do his dirty work. "I, uh, don't normally do this, but-
would you like some coffee? There is a Starbucks just around
the corner....
***
Angel opened the file
and thumbed through the pictures. With an indifferent shrug, he
tossed the file back across the desk. "I've never heard of her,
no. Do you need us to help you track the assailant down?"
Kate looked like he
had slapped her and then nailed her puppy to a wall. He didn't
understand the look of betrayal. He may have saved her from herself once,
instilled her with a little hope when she was down, but they were
hardly friends. His takeover of Wolfram and Hart was old news, so she
shouldn't be pissed about that particular compromise…
"Where were you
at ten o'clock on the night of the twelfth?" she demanded.
Angel smiled, calm,
cool and intended to infuriate. "I was working...."
***
Angel smiled and took
a sip of coffee to hide his impatience. It was time to turn on the
charm. "So, Elaine, tell me about yourself?"
***
"I need better
than that, Angel." Kate replied coldly, "Were you with anyone, can you give
me an exact location?"
"I was tracking a
special case," He gave her a slow once over, noticing the tightness
in her shoulders, the way she shifted from one foot to the other and
frowned. The supernatural still bugged her. "You know the kind of cases that I
specialize in." He sat back and let her think about it for a moment,
relishing the way her frown deepened. "I can have Harmony pull the file.
I logged my hours in, but there is no one who can confirm my
whereabouts."
"Did your `case'
take you anywhere near the Santa Monica pier that night?" She asked
him in clipped tones.
Angel pursed his lips,
and studied Kate for a long hard moment. He didn't have time for
games. She was going to make him late for an important meeting.
"Cut the crap Kate. You tell me, where was I at ten o'clock on the
night of the twelfth?"
Her eyes narrowed,
angry and sharp as ice-chips. Kate was a real pistol when she was
pissed, and she was pissed. "Fine, I'll tell you…."
***
"So anyway, after
I finally woke the hell up and dumped that looser, I decided my life
needed a complete one-eighty. I quit my job, packed everything up and
moved to LA."
"And how is that
working out for you?" Angel asked, genuinely curious. The woman in
front of him was vivacious and engaging, her hazel eyes sparkling
with humor and intelligence. "I know LA can be a tough town."
A smile flirted at the
edges of her full lips. "It's been okay. I found a job, have a
crappy little apartment, and my car is almost ready to be put down,
but… things are definitely looking up." Her head dipped and her
chestnut hair curtained her face. Suddenly, she tossed the long
tresses over her shoulder and met his eyes with the confidence of someone
who looked good and knew it. "Getting coffee certainly hasn't
sucked."
"No," he
agreed, "It hasn't." He stood and held out his hand for her cup, throwing their
trash away and holding the door for her. "Walk you to your car?"
Her smile was more
dazzling than the Ferris-wheel lights. "Sure."
***
She opened the file on
his desk, "I have a security guard who gave us your description at
approximately ten. He said you were harassing a brown haired woman
that fits perfectly with the description of Elaine Caldwell, right down
to the clothes." She tapped the picture at the top of the pile. There
was too much blood to see what color the dress had been. "He
claimed the only reason he didn't come to her aid is that you let her go
and backed away. He watched as you two exited the area."
"Okay, "
Angel conceded. "Let's say, hypothetically, that I bumped into this Elaine.
Let's say, I mistook her for an old friend… You have to admit,"
he ran his thumb over the picture, tracing the curve of her jaw. "Her
resemblance to Cordelia is remarkable." Angel's gaze flicked to the
detective. He decided to take a calculated risk. "Let's say,
still hypothetically, that we even had coffee and I explained the mix up
to her and we talked for a couple of hours." Angel noticed Kate's
jaw twitch. She knew, which meant he had nothing to loose by revealing
it. He shrugged. "It was just coffee, Kate."
"I think it was a
hell of a lot more than coffee, Mr. Angel." She retorted. "What
happened next?"
"Nothing. We
parted ways outside the Starbucks. End of story." Angel didn't like the cold
smile that crept over Kate`s face, nor did he like the way she
planted her hands on his desk and leaned into his space.
"You're
lying."
***
"Well, this is
it." Elaine scanned the dark lot nervously. Angel wondered if she was
rethinking the wisdom of having a complete stranger walk her to
her car, only they weren't strangers. She'd tried all night to
throw him off, but her scent didn't lie. His memory didn't lie.
Cordelia lied, she lied and lied and lied and he was tired of playing
along.
"Cor, can't you
just drop the act?" he asked tiredly.
Her face scrunched in
confusion. "What? I thought we cleared that up. My name is
Elaine." She hurriedly fished through her purse, yanking out her keys. Angel
didn't miss the way her hands had begun to shake. Only someone with
something to hide would be nervous.
"Don't do this to
me, Cordelia." He placed his hand over hers, ignoring her gasp as
he helped her slide the key into the lock and turn it. "Talk to
me. Tell me why you left me."
"I-" Elaine
wrenched the door open, threw her purse in the passengers seat and tried to get in, but Angel was
too fast. He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up against him.
"Please," she begged.
"We are going to
talk." Angel growled, just before he punched her.
***
"The parking lot
sweeping service had a truck out there. The man was blowing off a sidewalk
when he saw a car, Elaine's car, speed through the parking lot,
almost running him over. He got a good look at the driver, Angel -a real
good look- what with the lights from the strip center shining into
the car and everything." She grinned, but there was no humor in it,
only the joy of a hunter closing in on its prey. "Would you
care to revise your statement Angel?"
"No."
"You got
sloppy."
"I didn't get
anything. I completed the op and went home. Your blue- collar witness is
mistaken."
"You couldn't
bring her here because you'd be seen. You couldn't go to her place because
you couldn't get in. That's why you rented the hotel room, paid
cash…. Am I ringing any bells?"
***
"I don't get it
Cordy. Why do you always try and run?" He hefted Elaine up and rushed
her into the cheap, threadbare room. "I just- I worry about you all
the time, where you're at, how you are doing. I know we didn't part
under the best of circumstances, but really. A little common courtesy
wouldn't kill you, now would it? I mean, how hard is it to send a
letter or even a fucking post card?" He threw her down on the bed
and began to pace.
The young woman only
gasped for air as she cried. Something dark and ugly twisted in
Angel's heart. He strode across the room and yanked her up by the hair.
"Stop it! Cordelia Chase doesn't cry!"
"I'm not
her!" she hissed, struggling against his grip. "Let me go!" She shrieked and Angel
backhanded her. Elaine whipped around as she tumbled to the bed in
a sobbing heap. "Please let me go."
No."
"PLEASE!"
she screamed.
"NO!"
Angel's patience snapped, he crawled onto the bed, dragging the terrified woman
underneath him.
***
"I think you are
the one getting sloppy, Detective Lockley." Angel responded, his
demeanor outwardly cool.
Her eyebrow rose as
she slowly stood and crossed her arms. Angel leaned over in his
chair and eyed the two men that had accompanied her. She seemed to
take the hint and with a short wave of her hand, she dismissed them.
They murmured their assurances that they would be just outside and left.
"What is it, Angel?"
"I'm a vampire,
Kate."
"The word, duh,
comes to mind." She replied sarcastically.
He sighed, "Think
about it. If I did this, do you think I would have left all that warm,
tasty, nutritious blood in her body for it to leak out all over the
mattress?" He pushed a picture across the desk, inviting her to study
it. "That wouldn't be my M.O."
She nodded, touched
the picture lightly, then pushed it back in the pile. "I thought
about that," she said softly. "I didn't have to ask myself why a vampire
would rape and mutilate a woman –Elaine- like you did. You are sick,
twisted, evil bastards every one, but I'll admit the blood had me
confused…."
"But you figured
it out?" he prodded. "Tell me Kate."
"People kill for
all kinds of reasons Angel. Vampires kill for food, but that doesn't mean
they can't kill for vengeance, or fun… or in your case, rage and
betrayal."
Angel clapped his
hands, once, twice, again. "Bravo, such a brilliant piece of deductive
reasoning, but what the hell did poor Elaine Caldwell ever do to
me?"
***
"Oh God! Stop,
no! Please, pleeease, stop…." Angel ignored her as he ripped away the
barriers of clothing between them. One more punch added to the map of
bruises already drawn across too thin skin. A fine spray of blood
spurted from her busted lips. She gulped as he rose above her, cold,
hard, ugly. He didn't understand her look of surprise, she had made
him this. It didn't make any sense, but at this point, Angel
didn't care.
The dirty bedside lamp
cast a sickly yellow glow over the entire scene, dulling the
once rich bronze sheen of her skin, highlighting the terror that swam
behind dilated pupils. Her breath came in hard fast pants as he
pushed inside her…. She wasn't as warm as he'd imagined she'd be, but
that could just be from shock. It was still more heat than he had
felt in so very long, and he wanted to soak up the meager offering.
He shoved his cock in hard, skin slapping with an audible crack. She
groaned. That was better.
***
"You said it
yourself Angel, the resemblance is remarkable." She walked around the side
of the desk and stared down at the city from behind the
vampire-safe glass. "Did she ask you to stop? Did she plead, say no. Stop.
Don't?"
Angel rotated in his
chair, watching Kate with hooded eyes. She presumed to judge him?
So much of his life had been ripped away, and now they wanted this
too. The very thought roughened his voice and turned his eyes gold.
"I distinctly
remember, `Please' and `God' but those aren't necessarily bad things
are they Kate?" He stood and glided silently to the spot beside
her. You have no idea what it's like in here," he said, tapping his
head. "The things I've seen, the secrets I know, the pain I've endured.
She's the one thing that's kept me going all these years. I've
never stopped looking…."
"Tell me
something Angel," she turned and regarded him with dispassionate eyes.
"When you find her, are you going to do the same thing you did to
Elaine Caldwell, or Vicky Winters, or Melissa Peck, or Tracy Grune?"
Angel stepped back,
confused. "Who?"
***
Angel roared when he
came. The woman had stopped moving a long while back but Angel had
been too far lost to care. He'd wanted to imprint the loss in his heart
on Cordelia's skin, to show her just what her abandonment had done
to him. He was dead inside and now, so was she. His eyes narrowed as
he pulled out of the cold corpse beneath him, his cock weeping
because his eyes could not.
Something about the
eyes…. Not quite the same shade of shimmering brown. He stood and
surveyed the woman sprawled across the mattress as he wiped the blood
off his hands with her jacket. Maybe she was a hair shorter too. As
always What had seemed so clear at the start of the night slipped into
confusion. Hope withered on a wintery vine.
"Huh," he
grunted, staring at the young woman who had reminded him so much of Cordelia
Chase. "You were telling the truth." Angel slowly pulled on his clothes.
He was tired and sated… for now. He mentally shrugged. It wasn't
the first time he'd made a mistake.
***
Kate shook her head,
bitterness coating her words. "Once I made the connection with
Elaine, it wasn't hard to spot the same, MO over and over and over."
She turned and faced him, staring him down as if she were trying to take
his measure. "These are just the ones we know about. How many more
are there Angel? How many times have you found Cordelia, raped her,
tortured her, and killed her." Her voice rose with righteous
indignation. "How many more mothers and fathers are going to loose their
children?" she yelled, nostrils flared, heart pounding. "Do you
even care?"
She chuffed, walking
back around the desk, fingering the file. "How can you? You don't
have any idea what it's like to loose someone you love. All you care
about is your hurt, your anger and your loss, but I'm here to tell
you-"
"You have no idea
about me Kate, so I'd suggest you shut up," He ground through
clenched teeth. He took a deep breath, mask slipping, emotion betraying him.
"I lost a child once," he said softly, a confession. "I
don't want to lose Cordy too."
"That doesn't
justify your actions."
Still filled with so
much hate….
He chuckled,
"What are you going to do about it, Kate? You can't take me to trial, even if
you tried, I run the most influential law firm in LA." He
stalked closer, enjoying the thrill of hunt/chase/match. He had her and she
knew it. "She's out there and I'll find her, and when I do… That will
be between me and her. For now, I've got my office and my glass
tower and I don't need you, coming here trying to fuck with my head. The
law can't touch me, you can't touch me. So-"
"I can touch
you."
Angel whirled towards
the sound of a familiar voice. He whipped back around questioning
Kate with a look. "What's going on?"
Kate looked past him,
"Did you hear enough?" Angel backed away, eyes darting between the
two blondes.
Buffy nodded, "I
think so."
"What the FUCK is
going on?" Angel roared.
Wesley stepped through
the door to the adjoining office. He was holding a crossbow.
"I got a rather interesting call from Detective Lockley last
week."
Kate edged closer to
Wesley, knowing her words would not be well received and her gun
would be useless. "See, Angel. You were right. I. Can't. Touch.
You." The resolve in her eyes froze his already numb heart. "After I
found out about the existence of vampires I did a lot of research. Reading
about vampires, you pretty much can't help but stumble across
references to vampire slayers." Her eyebrow rose as she glanced towards
Buffy. "You can imagine my surprise to find that you were married to
one."
Angel finally pulled
together the courage to look at Buffy. She was trembling, barely
holding it together. Her big expressive eyes were shining, her cheeks
wet with tears. The expression on her face was even more determined
than Kate's, and a hell of a lot more chilling. His gaze dropped. She
was clutching a stake. "Buffy-"
Slowly, she shook her
head. "Don't," she said through trembling lips. "I can't
believe you-" Angel noted something else, her ring finger, red where she
had worked her wedding ring over the knuckle as she'd removed it.
"She didn't,
believe me, I mean. I had to set up this meeting to convince her."
Kate said.
"It's not what
you think," he reasoned, ignoring Kate. "I love you."
Angel watched as
something inside Buffy Summers crumbled to dust. Most likely any last
shred of feelings and hope that she harbored for him. For the first
time in years, Angel felt something- fear, anger, regret. It was better
than the cold. Finally, the glacier began to melt, feeling tingled
back into long deadened nerves.
"I just want to
talk to her, but she always tries to run away. She makes me so
angry," he reasoned desperately, clenching his jaw, fighting the red rush
of violence that came with thinking of bronze skin and dark hair.
"If I could just talk to her, if I could put Cordy behind us… but
she lies and I black out and then-"
Buffy turned her back
to him, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Thank you Kate, I think I've
heard everything I need. Wesley and I can handle it from
here."
"I'd rather
stay," she replied sardonically.
"He won't hurt
anyone again, I swear to you."
"What are you
talking about?" Angel asked, not liking the direction Buffy was headed.
"I'd like to
verify that for myself," Kate said.
Angel couldn't see her
face but Buffy's words were soft and thick with held back tears.
"You did your part. This is my part, Slayer business. You have my
word that it stops here and now."
Whatever misgivings
Kate had, once more she seemed to swallow them. "All
right." She stepped close, laid her hand on Buffy's arm, "I'm
sorry," she said gently. With that she let herself out the door.
Angel crossed his arms
and glared at his wife and best friend. "What do you mean, `it stops
here and now'? I don't know what you are thinking- I- I said I
could explain."
"There is nothing
to explain, Angel." Wes said, his tone heavy with regret. "This
can't be allowed to continue."
"Buffy,"
Angel said, eyeing her cautiously as she shook out her arms and readied the stake.
"I don't want to fight you."
"Then stand
still," she said.
"Why?" He
recognized her tone. It was hard, glacial, authoritarian- her Slayer voice.
Understanding dawned, and curiously, Angel didn't feel all that inclined
to resist her. In fact he held out his arms, like a parody of Jesus
embracing the cross. Angel walked the line between acceptance and
denial. She couldn't really do it, not here in his tower of glass and
metal, his keep.
Buffy frowned, poised
on the brink of cutting out another little piece of her heart for
the greater good. Buffy Summers didn't lie, and she didn't run
away. "You know why, Angel. Cordelia Chase never woke up from her coma,
she died five years ago."
Finally, as the stake
slammed home, it all made sense.
End.
Contact Psychofilly