Talley, Jason A wrote:
This one is now on my "get to it one of these days" fastrack. Look for it,
hopefully, some time before Judgement Day.
Knights in Shadow
Angel glanced at the clock on the wall as he dialed. There was an
eleven hour time difference between Japan and California. In all likelihood
she'd still be up.
One ring. Two rings.
"Come on," muttered the vampire. "Come on, pick up."
The vid-phone's screen suddenly flared to life. The woman who
appeared looked to be in her mid-fifties and had red hair that was slowly
losing a battle to gray. Time had been kind to her and she had only a few
wrinkles, most along her laugh lines. She wore an aqua-blue headband, John
Lennon sunglasses, a red and yellow tye-dye shirt and a pendant with a
pentagram on it.
"Hel-- Angel?!" gasped the woman.
"Hello, Willow," said Angel. "I see you've gone native."
Willow continued to look stunned for a moment. She then gave a small
laugh and ran a hand though her hair. "I guess I have. San Francisco tends
to have that effect on people."
That's not much different from some of the outfits she was wearing
in college.
"How's business at the magic supply shop?"
"You know about my shop? But I haven't seen you since just after$B!D
Ascii please.
(J"
Willow didn't need to finish her sentence. The look of sadness she wore said
it all.
Angel gave a mental sigh. He knew that this was going to be the hard
part. "After it was all over I needed some time to myself to$B!D(Jdeal with
what happened. When I was finally able to function again I found that your
old gang had split up and everyone had gone their own way."
Willow nodded sadly as old and painful recollections floated up from
the dark of her mind. "Without$B!D(Jher there wasn't a need for the Scooby Gang
anymore. So we all kind of went off to do our own thing."
Willow's face then brightened a bit. "Say, I heard from Xander last week.
He's just--"
"I know all about Xander's good luck," interrupted the vampire. "I
sort of kept tabs on all of you over the years. Just in case you should ever
$B!D(Jneed me."
"Thanks, Angel. I think she'd be glad to know that," said Willow
sincerely. The witch's face then grew serious. "But you didn't call me for a
just-wanted-to-say-hi moment, did you?"
Angel shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The short version of the
story is that I've been doing my PI gig in MegaTokyo for the last few years.
But recently I've run into some serious trouble. And I don't mean just rouge
Why are red boomers so troublesome? Everywhere I go I hear about these "rouge"
boomers. In my experience the "bleu" boomers are just as bad.
boomers and out of control satellite weapons."
Actually I seriously doubt the supernatural could do much more damage than
that out of control satellite weapon.
Willow felt a sense of dread creeping up her spine. She knew this
day would come sooner or later. "What kind of trouble?" she asked quietly.
Angel's face was a mask of grimness. "Sunnydale-style trouble."
So the world's going to end?
"If I catch the first low orbit shuttle out this morning in can be
in MegaTokyo in twelve hours," said the witch, her voice full of resolve.
A small part of Angel wanted to chuckle. Willow had truly grown
stronger over the years. She'd lost the nervous manner that had been so
prominent during her teen years, but had managed to hold on the natural
sweetness that made her, well, Willow. Angel repressed the urge to say he
was proud of her.
"I appreciate the offer, Will, but it won't be necessary. Right now
what I need is information. You're one of the best techno-pagans in America.
If anyone can help me find the information I need it's you."
"Research Girl rides again. Okay, I won't come if you say so. Just
remember I'm here if you need me."
"I understand," nodded Angel. "But I already have some local allies
helping me."
Willow raised an eyebrow. "Really? Anyone I'd know?"
This time Angel did chuckle. "I don't think so. But let's just say
they know how to fight and are as good at dealing with their brand of
monsters as we were with ours. Plus, I think Xander would just love these
girls."
Angel then began pecking away at the keyboard next to the phone.
"I'm sending you all the information I have now. It should be enough to give
you a few leads."
Willow turned to look at something off-screen for a moment. "All
right, it's coming in. I'll get to work on this right away."
The witch then glanced back at the screen looking a bit
uncomfortable. "Angel, you know I'm glad to help you, but if research into
the weird is what you need you really should call--"
"I will as soon as we say goodbye." The reluctance in the vampire's
voice was unmistakable.
That admission seemed to satisfy Willow. "Okay, I won't keep you
then. But, Angel, there's just one other thing."
"Yes?"
Willow flashed her trademark quirky smile. "From now on call to say hello
once in a while."
Angel returned the smile. "Understood, Will. See you."
"Bye,' said the former Scooby Gang member just before the screen
winked off.
Angel took a deep breath before dialing the next number. As
difficult as contacting Willow had been this would be a thousand times
harder.
One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Fou-As the call was picked up no
vid-screen came to life. Angel had expected as much. High-tech hand never
been among his contact's favorite things.
"Hello?"
"Giles? It's Angel. We need to talk."
"Eh? What? Speak up, sonny! I'm 90, you know."
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