Have a Little Faith, Chapter 45

The back way very nearly pitch black.  The only illumination was from far off streetlamps.  It would be good for vampires because they could travel with better ease in the darkness, but it also helped the three of them because they would not be easily identified in the darkness.  Faith had to wait a moment while her eyes adjusted to the darkness.  She would lead the way because she was the only one who’s ability gave her better night vision.  “I’m going first, Gunn take up the rear.”

“Well your rear fine, but Lindsey, sorry, let’s just be friends.”

No one laughed.

“The first security camera,” Lindsey whispered and pointed.  “If we quietly move along the chain link fence, they might not spot us.  Look away from the camera.  Remember this isn’t trespassing yet, this is for their own surveillance.  Vampires tend to come and go here all night.”

Faith nodded.

The three of them walked pass the camera keeping their backs to it.

A moment later they passed a darkened figure.  Faith smelled vampire, grabbed him and staked him.  A moment later he turned to dust.

“You go girl,” Gunn said and laughed.  But he stopped abruptly.  More darkened figures appeared.

A moment later the three of them were surround by more than ten vampires.

“Hello Faith,” said one of them.  “Angelus has been waiting for you.”
 

“Aren’t we gonna go?” Alonna asked, watching as Faith fought the ten vampires around her.

“Not yet,” Angelus said and smiled.  “I need to tire her a bit, make her think she has the upper hand.”

“She’s betraying us,” Drusilla said and touched a darkened shadow she saw on the screen. “And I thought she was wicked.”
 

Alex, Kate, and Doyle were in Alex’s car speeding towards Wolfram and Hart.  Lilith had decided to stay at office because she might alienate Faith further.

“How are we going approach her?” Kate asked.  “You said she was hostile earlier.”

“I don’t know,” Doyle said with frustration in his voice.  “All I know is that it sounds like they are walking right into Angelus’ hands.”

Alex hit the gas.  She was going far over the speed limit and was grateful there was a cop in the car.
 

Faith had dusted four vampires from Angelus’ messenger service.  She kept grabbing them and staking them.  Stopping them from vamping anyone else.

“Faith!” Lindsey screamed.  A vampire had grabbed him.  A moment later Gunn was on it and the vampire turned to dust.

Faith no longer heard anything. Her mind was closed.  She thought of Wesley.  Sweet Wesley who wanted her to live on her own and for her go to school.   She was grabbing Angelus’ vampires and killing them, again and again.  They would all die.  Every single vampire until she got the Angelus.

“Faith!” This time Gunn screamed out.  Gunn could take care of himself. But not Wesley.  Faith should
have been there to protect him.

Faith wasn’t listening.  She grabbed the next vamp and pulled her stake back.

“Faith no!” Lindsey screamed again and grabbed the stake with his right hand, the stake ripped at though the skin of Lindsey’s hand. Lindsey fell to the ground and dropped the knapsack.  It fell to the floor with a thud, spilling the crossbow and several stakes to the ground.

Faith came out of her trance just for a moment and realized what had happened.

Standing in front of her, with the stake just a few inches from killing her was not a vampire, but Lilah Morgan.

Lilah looked at the stake, aimed at her heart, then collapsed to the ground with a face filled with sheer terror.

“Lindsey?” she said, turning back around as Gunn dusted the last vampire.

She looked at Lilah.  If it hadn’t been for Lindsey, she would have killed her. She would have killed a human being.

Lindsey was on the floor cradling his bloody hand.  Faith rushed over to him.  “Oh god, Lindsey,” she said in near tears.  “I’m so sorry.”  She held his arm.  “Please forgive me.”

Lindsey looked her over.  She had tears streaming down her face.  Lindsey snapped out of his miseries for a moment and pulled her close.  “You didn’t kill Wesley,” he said.  “You didn’t.”

Faith burst into tears and wept.  Lindsey held her.  All he wanted to do with weep for Cordelia, but Faith needed him, needed him to be strong.  He pushed all his grief aside just for the moment.

“I should—I should have—protected—We should have given him the curse.”

“No,” he assured her.  “He deserves to die in peace.”

“He was so good to me,” she said.  “He changed for me.  He didn’t deserve it.  He was an innocent.”

“He knew the risk.  And he did care about you Faith—A great deal.”

“I want him back—“ she said, weeping.

“Bravo!” said a voice.  Faith looked up.  Angelus was standing in the cooridor with Alonna and Drusilla behind him.

Faith jumped up and in front of both Lindsey and Gunn.

Angelus smiled.  “I knew you would come.  Vengeance can be so rewarding.  Especially for me.”

“Good,” Faith said.  “I’ve been waiting to kill you.”

“Not going to happen Faith.  I will destroy you and the rest of humankind—“

“What?” Faith asked, confused.  She wiped the tears from her eyes.“I think you got delusions of grandeur there, Angelus.”

“I’m talking about more vampires than you can think of. More Vampires that the slayer can possibly imagine.”

“What?” Faith asked again.  “If you’re gonna tell me the plan, don’t be cryptic.”

Angelus was about to say something when an arrow came out of nowhere and hit him in the chest too high for his heart.

Faith turned around.  Lilah had fired the arrow from the ground.

“I’ll tell you what he is talking about,” she said trying to stand up.  Gunn rushed over and steadied her.

“The gem and book of Dorchadas Marbh.  It will open a portal where dead vampires can come back from the grave.  The world would literally be overrun by millions of vampires.”

“Excellent work, Lilah,” Angelus said, ripping out the arrow.  “Unfortunately I’m gonna have to kill you too.”

“I came to warn you about that,” she explained to Lindsey.  “I don’t want the world overrun by vampires.”

“Come on, Angelus,” Faith said.  “You and me.  I’ll stake you.  I got no qualms about doing it now.”

“She doesn’t,” Dru commented.  “Be careful Angelus.”

“Alright, Slayer let’s get this over with.”

Lilah moved out of the way and back towards Lindsey and Gunn.

Faith charged at Angelus.  He caught her and threw her against the chain link fence.

Lindsey realized what was happening, Faith was in no condition to fight.   She was exactly where Angelus wanted her. If he or Gunn stepped in so would Drusilla and Alonna.  Lindsey looked at Gunn hoping for advice, but Gunn was focused entirely on his sister.

Faith flipped Angelus down, but he kicked her out of the way before she could pull the stake out.

Lindsey heard some movement behind him.  He breathed a sigh of relief to see it was only Doyle, Kate, and Alex.

"Please,” he said.  “He’s gonna kill her.”

“Come on,” Alex said.  “The five of us can take on three vampires.”

Lindsey nodded.  He looked at Gunn.  He did not take his eyes off his sister.

“Gunn.”

“Let’s get them,” he said, calmly.

Alex nodded.

“I’m—a—“ said Lilah.

“Go back and wait at the office—“ Lindsey looked at Alex.  “Is it open?”

“Lilith is there,” Alex explained.

“Go back there and wait for us,” he told her.

Lilah nodded.  “Thanks,” she said and ran off.

Lindsey turned back to the others, then ran into the fight.  Gunn did not join them against Drusilla.  His chief target was his sister.  For some reason Alonna ran off, further into the cooridor.  Gunn followed her there.
 

“I’m sorry, sis,” he said, when he reached her.

“Sorry,” she said. “I am stronger, faster and better than ever,” she said with her vampire face on.

Gunn touched the side of her face.  She was cold.  She needed to feed and she would have no problem doing it on him.

"I was never gonna let anything happen to you.  I was supposed to protect you.  You were my sister."

"I still am. So why don't you kill me?  Why don't you?” She said, putting her arms around him.   “You can't!  Because you got the guilt. I got the greatest guilt cure ever.  We can be together,  A family again."

"How?"  Gunn asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Look at you. I can feel your guilt from here.  I can make it so you never have to feel guilty again.”
Gunn felt her cold hand wrap around his neck.

“Gunn, we can be together and will never be powerless again.”

"Good-bye,” he whispered.  A moment later Alonna turned into dust.  Gunn took a deep breath.  He did not get his chance to grieve because he noticed a whole lot of Wolfram and Hart security heading his way.
 

Gunn ran back out to the fenced area.  Faith was still fighting Angelus.  Lindsey, Alex and Doyle were having worse luck with Drusilla.  She was stronger than the three of them together.

“Guys!” Gunn screamed.  “We’ve got to get out of here!  There’s a whole security detail heading our way!”

“I got to kill him first,” Faith said.

“Faith!” Lindsey screamed.  “Not yet.”

Faith saw the security detail.  There were a lot of people. Angelus used that moment to slam her against the fence again.

“I’m going to kill you,” Faith said.  She looked at the others.  She could not endanger them as she had done with Lindsey and Gunn,  “But not right now.”
 

Lilith let Lilah in.

“Hello? Are you one of Alex’s clients?” Lilith asked.

Lilah shook her head.

“Are you okay?” Lilith asked noticing how shakened and pale Lilah looked.  She was obviously human and terrified. “Please sit down.”  Lilith took Lilah over to a chair. It just so happened that it was Cordelia’s desk.

“Things are all screwed up,” she said burying her face in her hands.

“Screwed up how?” Lilith said.  She could tell the woman was distraught, but Lilith had never been a comforter.  “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’m just watching the office for Miss Taylor.  She should be back shortly.”

“Lindsey sent me.  He said to meet him here.”

“Oh, Mr. McDonald sent you.  Right now?” Lilith said, growing more concern.

Lilah nodded.

“Was Faith with him?”

Lilah nodded again.

“Is she okay?”

“I don’t know,” Lilah replied, sobbing out the words.  “All I know is that they were taking on Angelus.”

“Oh my—is she?” Lilith growing concerned that the job she had not even started was over again.

“I don’t know—“

“And you are?”

“I’m Lilah Morgan,” she explained.  “I am—I was—I don’t know anymore.  I worked for Wolfram and Hart, but oh god,” she said looking down and holding her head.

“What is it?” Lilith said.

“I can’t do this,” Lilah replied.  “I can’t.  I have to go back.  Explain it—no they won’t believe me.”

“You have to calm down,” Lilith said and smiled.  “Explain to me who you are and why you are here.  Wolfram and Hart is the law firm that raised Angelus, right?” she said, keeping anger out of her voice.  After all, despite Lilah working for Wolfram and Hart, Lindsey trusted her enough to send her here.

Lilah nodded.  “Look.  Angelus was planning to do this raising thing.  It would bring back all these dead vampires to destroy the world.  I just wanted to do my job.  That’s all.  Now they know I betrayed them and they are going to kill me.”

Lilith seemed concerned.  She felt like a complete outsider who walked right into a war.

“Let me get you some tea to calm yourself, then you can tell me everything.  Especially where Faith is.”
 

The car ride home was quiet.  Gunn said he needed to go off on his own and would drop Alex’s car back at her place.  Alex drove Lindsey’s car with Doyle in the front seat and Lindsey and Faith in the back.

Lindsey looked at Faith.  She was covered in bruises from her fight with Angelus.  He was beginning to think more clearly now.  He looked at his hand.  There was a deep cut on it, but he probably would not need any stitches.  His shoulder was starting to hurt.  He vaguely remembered that he had been shot the day that Cordelia died.

Faith sensed that he was staring at her.  She looked at him and smiled.  She rested her head against his chest.  He put his arm around her.  She would get through this, she was a survivor.  Lindsey was not sure.  The hurt was so much that he began blocking it.

Faith looked at the car window.  Dawn was coming up.  They would be free of Angelus for just a little while.
 

Chapter 46

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