From: Tesla1321@aol.com   
      
   Mulder didn't quite feel like a minion, but close enough. After years   
   of holding up a badge and saying, "Fox Mulder. FBI," he was used to a   
   certain amount of attention, damn it. But no, Lilah Morgan was   
   completely focused on the more senior member of the Bloodline.   
      
   Mulder had interrogated a lot of people, and been around a lot of   
   lawyers. He knew bluffs and bullshit. This woman didn't know where   
   their Sire was. Drusilla was off the law firm's radar, apparently.   
   Which was all to the good, he thought.   
      
   Did they learn nothing about their bloodline? That the older the   
   sire, the quicker the fledge learned? Or did they think that Darla,   
   woke up fully acute because she was Darla?   
      
   There was one guard, standing at unlistening attention beside Miss   
   Morgan as she sat at her expensive sofa. But otherwise, they all,   
   including Spike, ignored Mulder as he roamed around the office and   
   fiddled with the computer.   
      
   Well, Spike was pretending to ignore Mulder. He was aware of every   
   expression on Mulder's face. When Mulder looked up, and closed his   
   eyes in a tiny gesture of negativity, Spike stopped the flow of   
   Angelus stories and stood up.   
      
   "Well, it's been fun, but my boy here, and I, got to go," Spike said.   
      
   Mulder almost smiled to see the lawyer's eyes travel across his face   
   in uncomprehension. She didn't realize who he was. Had been. Whatever.   
      
   Of course, some times he didn't realize who he was.   
      
   "I don't think so, gentlemen," Miss Morgan said. The guard raised his   
   spring-loaded stake and pointed it at Spike.   
      
   Mulder was tremendously pleased that he could take a gun out of his   
   pocket, aim, shoot, and kill much faster as a dead man.   
      
   Spike grinned at him. "I'm startin' to like you, young 'un."   
      
   *   
      
   Vampires must have super hearing, Scully decided. She dressed and   
   packed up. This was an ability honed from years of fleeing towns with   
   Mulder, usually with the local citizenry and law enforcement chasing   
   them with torches. It was so sad that it wasn't hyperbole.   
      
   So she would go downstairs and try not to get, uh, bitten by the   
   Vampire With A Soul while the one-armed man got out of the hotel, and   
   hopefully, used some of his rat-like skills to find Mulder.   
      
   And keep him the hell out of Angel's way.   
      
   The guy was sitting at the lobby desk, reading the newspaper. Okay,   
   did vampires need to sleep? Did vampires read the newspaper and watch   
   television and play basketball? If Mulder got his soul back, would he   
   be all gung-ho and want to be some kind of demonic detective?   
      
   If he did, would he be remorseful about the people he'd killed, or   
   would he count them as victims of the Consortium?   
      
   Angel finally looked up. "So you're---what?" he asked, looking at the   
   laptop.   
      
   "I still need to check in with my assistant director," she said   
   calmly. "It has to be done through an encrypted e-mail. I let him   
   know my location; if he doesn't hear from me---well, you don't want   
   the Los Angeles regional office swarming in here, do you?"   
      
   Angel scowled, but waved her to the phone jack at the end of the   
   marble counter. She opened her laptop, and plugged it in. He watched   
   her closely, and she did check in with Skinner. For all she knew, his   
   vampire hearing let him hear exactly what she typed.   
      
   "I got a phone call from Mulder before he left Washington," she said   
   abruptly. "On my answering machine."   
      
   Angel gave her a sidelong look.   
      
   "He said he didn't want to see me, because vampires tended to want to   
   eat those they loved," she said.   
      
   "Sounds like he loved you," Angel said neutrally.   
      
   "Yes, but---" Scully took a deep breath, shoved down the thought   
   Mulder loves me! "What does that have to do with anything?"   
      
   "I told you. The demon is filtered through the personality of his   
   victim. I don't know how to express it, except that it's like   
   different ways of painting the same picture. An artist can paint   
   impressions, or minutely accurately. It's a close imitation of life.   
   Vampires can feel strong emotions. Love. Hate. Fear. But we're   
   monsters." Suddenly, unexpectedly, Angel smiled, and Scully saw that   
   he must be---must have been---about her age. "I guess that's not the   
   most reassuring thing to say when you're alone with one."   
      
   "Well, you---" she didn't know what to say.   
      
   "Even if you succeeded, even if you did get your friend's soul, what   
   life would it be?" Angel asked. "He's still a vampire. No sunlight.   
   No being a partner to you. He's dead." He put his hand flat on the   
   counter between them. "Feel my pulse."   
      
   She dropped her fingers over his wrist. His skin was normal looking,   
   but cool and dry to the touch. "There isn't one, of course."   
      
   He moved his hand from hers. "And I'm warm right now because I've   
   just drunk a pint of pig's blood. Warmed up pig's blood. My touch   
   will be a lot colder, later tonight. So if you're thinking about a   
   future with your friend, think about this touch. Cold. Dead."   
      
   Scully raised her eyes and met his. Apparently, she wasn't reacting,   
   because he moved with frightening quickness she felt the chain of her   
   gold necklace drawing taut against her neck.   
      
   "And you can't wear this if you kiss him or sleep with him," Angel   
   said. There was a burnt smell, and he let go of her cross. He held   
   his palm out to her.   
      
   A small red cross was branded on the pad of his thumb.   
      
      
   Scully swallowed. "I'll leave in the morning," she said.   
      
   Angel watched her, his eyes narrowed, as she unplugged and closed her   
   computer and went upstairs.   
      
   Krycek's door was ajar, the links of chain slack.   
      
   Scully closed the door, and went on to her room.   
      
      
   It seemed that Miss Morgan couldn't decide whether to be more   
   distressed over the death of the security guard or scandalized that   
   vampires carried guns. Hard to tell from her smell.   
      
   Mulder really, really wanted to bite her. He didn't realize he was in   
   game face until Spike waved him off. "We're gonna give you a bye,   
   this time," Spike told the lawyer. "I'm gonna take your cell phone   
   here. You call me if you got any decent offers, okay? Because I'm not   
   here to take down Angel for you. Frankly, the big poof bores me."   
      
   Mulder had to give Miss Morgan credit. She raised an immaculately   
   groomed eyebrow and said, "Very well. You may find our firm's   
   services useful."   
      
   Spike slung his arm around Mulder's shoulder. "I already have," he   
   said.   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->   
   Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.   
   Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!   
   http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/QsMolB/TM   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------~->   
      
   AXF is your list for ALL X-Files Fanfic... all genres, all characters, all   
   ratings.   
      
    Automatic newsgroup posting too! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/all-xf   
   Yahoo! Groups Links   
      
   <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:   
       http://groups.yahoo.com/group/all-xf/   
      
   <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:   
       all-xf-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com   
      
   <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:   
       http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)