Saving a savior

[Vane White]

Hunting was always a success as long as you're still alive. How successful one one would hope? is entirely up to the hunter themselves. Lets get back to the story. The room was dark, the smell was described as stale old paint, and nothing could be heard from or inside the room. Nothing but breathing at least. The room was unknown but it had on purpose for the current moment: keep Vane put. Lost of time, circumstances, and a bit of pride can do a little bit to just about anyone; however, for Vane he was instead taking it as a lesson. Torture wasn't entirely new to the dark hunter. Resistance can still dull however when not exposed. From the looks of it the only exit was a door in front of him; however, Vane has stared at it for quite sometime now and began to think no one was coming.


The wounds were beginning to heal around his now not so aching body. Breathing began to get easier as time goes on. The more healthy he becomes the more he's confused on his catchers. Pressed up on a steel chair the half-demon's hands were tied up with some particular hand-cuffs that he couldn't exactly break out. He was half naked which would be an attractive scene for most but Vane was covered in spear wounds and cuts. Just his pants, boots, belt, and a body full of bruises and wounds - Vane wasn't looking too good. But remaining optimistic is how he's gotten this far right? So he wasn't broken like they wanted him to be. The fire in his chest was still bright. Emotionally? Vane was in a bit of a panic. Physically? He was healing. Psychically? his danger senses were a bit impaired due to the excessive head damage and psychic attack he received earlier. With no back up, friends, or hope to get saved - Vane's mind remained on one thing and one thing only - Getting the hell out.

Angel

[Angel]

For once it wasn’t an abandoned warehouse. Still abandoned, but not a warehouse, and that was a nice change. When the call came in about an abducted half-demon possibly being held in a new condo high-rise that was still partially under construction, Angel almost turned it over to someone else. When the rest of the details were revealed and the psychic element was added to the list, he took it over personally. Having had enough bad experiences with psychics and “gifted” demons, he wasn’t about to put anyone else into that kind of danger.

He sat in the Plymouth outside of the apartment building, his fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, wishing he’d brought the sword. The few vampires milling about around the entrance wouldn’t be too much trouble, but the big bad psychic demon probably hanging out upstairs might require something in the blade department.


He narrowed his eyes and flipped on the car’s high beams, blasting the gathered vampires in a wash of white light. By the time they raised their hands to shield their eyes, Angel was already upon them. He didn’t waste a second of time with fisticuffs, just a stake to the heart..1..2..3 and in a shower of vampire dust, he kicked the final guard through the front door and finished him off like the others. He dusted off his coat and noted the place where an elevator would soon be installed. No such luck tonight…it would have to be the stairs.

All the way up several flights of stairs, he finally came to the penthouse apartment, well guarded of course and a locked door between himself and the one called Vane. The conflict began, this time with all sorts of fancy karate, wrestling holds, and faces slammed against doors. Still no sign of the psychic demon boss of this level and once he’d finished off the vampires guarding the door, he attempted to kick in the security door. No good.


“Vane? You in there?” Angel called out from the other side of the door. “Just hang on, I’ll be right though….maybe” He muttered to himself and tried the door knob this time.

[Vane White]

Sounds of battle and movement began to shake the immediate area. This energy wasn't shown as danger but as simple possible non-harmful danger. Something was going on - Vane could feel it; However, Vane was in a position of being helpless. The closer the sounds came the more sure of conflict he was assured. Vane could not think of anyone who would come for his aid. The gang was dead. Vane had a couple small contacts but nothing that could indicate an actual rescue. The sounds moved closer to his floor. Sounds and the presence of the door in front of him was all he had outside Vane's own heartbeat. The half-demon straightened his seating position to face whatever it was coming ghastly towards the door.


The anticipation of the new energy was leaking through Vane's eyes. Although he lost his sight this feeling he was experiencing was something Vane couldn't describe. Not knowing if this was death, life, or more torture. A minute later the sounds of immediate and close fighting was heard beyond what Vane would think to be the door. The sounds of vampire's last breath being echoed through the layers of the building. A slam hit the door mixed with words. A voice he'd never heard before, and this voice held his name vividly.



It took Vane a second to register that he didn't know his savior - but Vane responded. "Yes. I am here!" boy you'd never know how happy this man was to hear he was being saved. The demeanor spoken was well mannered and quite polite despite his situation. The door knob made a large click sound. The moment of truth started as the wall in front of him began to show light. Light through this room of darkness.

Angel

[Faith Lehane]

Faith stood in the three-car garage of the newly gifted house soon to be known as the Beta Team Headquarters. She was completely surrounded by multiple pallets of clear-plastic-wrapped furnishings that were meticulously stacked almost to the ceiling like multiple 3-D games of Tetris. Delivery drivers had dropped them off earlier complete with a note that advised her to get ready for the rest of the Beta Team recruits. As she looked around at the looming towers around her, she honestly wished to be surrounded by blood-thirsty bad guys instead. At least bad guys she could handle.

She'd managed to get a bed unpacked and assembled in one of the rooms. It had made her genuinely proud, and she decided to reward herself by not returning to the furniture-infested garage. Instead, she opted to shower and get dressed. She hurriedly pulled on some tight-fitting black jeans and a deep maroon colored top that she covered with a black leather jacket. She pulled her still-half-wet brown hair into a ponytail, and opted to let her wavy locks air dry, mostly because it saved time. She pulled on her black boots, and was out the front door just as the last remnants of daylight drained from the sky. These new digs were making her antsy, and she was glad to be back out in the dark.

Once outside, she stumbled upon a group of vamps relatively quickly, and she went about dispatching them fairly easily, leaving puffs of dust in their wake. However, when she got to the last one, he pleaded with her to spare him. Said he had some info that he figured she'd wanna hear. The slayer almost dusted him on the spot, but stopped short after he uttered a name that she hadn't heard since her last foray into the big "L" of "A." Her interest piqued, she played along until she got the info she needed before thanking him and promptly dusting him.

She set out for the specific area of town mentioned by the vamps, and by the time she'd gotten to the seemingly abandoned building she'd almost convinced herself that she was given fake intel. That is, until she spotted the black Plymouth parked out in front. A smile quickly spread across her face and her doe eyes softened. "Angel," she said aloud, to no one but herself. If Angel had traveled all of the way to Cleveland, there must be a damn good reason.

She then jogged over to what was left of the entrance and cautiously stepped inside.

[Angel]

The knob turned easy enough this time. Either there was some magic in place and he was the only one meant to turn the knob, or in his eagerness to get inside he never tried it in the first place. He couldn’t worry about that now, there was still tension and danger on the other side of the door to possibly deal with. The door opened and the light mingled with the darkness as Angel’s silhouette blackened the entrance. His eyes narrowed, filtering the change in light and he finally beheld the one called Vane, still trapped in the chair.

“Anyone else in here I need to know about?” Angel asked steadily as he took long, quick strides across the room to the chair. His fingers wrapped around the bit of space there was between Vane’s wrists and the cuffs that held him there and he gave a good hard snapping twist, attempting to shatter what there was of a locking mechanism. But if it were magic that held these cuffs in place, he was going to have to try something else.

He took a glance around the room again before finally settling his full attention on the man in the chair. To this point, he had not let the mystery of who he was, or why he had been sent on this rescue to trouble him. It was just another job he was completely powerful to resist. But now, the nagging sensation was getting to him…He had to know who this guy was. It wasn’t that the smell of a trap was getting that thick in the air, but it was the lack of understanding anything about this mission that has his guard up.

“And I know your name. But who exactly are you, and why all this?”

[Vane White]

Vane did not sense danger around the individual coming to his rescue. This meant the rescue was indeed a safe save. The door opened and tall, dark, and mysterious was blaring through the room like a TV show introduction. He could practically hear the violin as the new individual made his way to questions. Vane could tell instantly he didn't know who this man was. Vane gave a valid response: "No Sir. Not in this room: however, at this point I'm unaware who else is here." The figure came closer sliding through the room like some movie actor. Still no sense of danger: indicating Vane was in good hands. The attempt to release his arms were successful. The magic was a simple but complicated one. The magic was used so Vane couldn't get out but it was easy for anyone else.



The release of Vane at the time of his recovery was probably somehow the best kind of timing. The feeling of freedom rose from his chest. Vane shot out of his seat fast quickly checking himself in well fashion. "Gratitude." almost shouting to his lungs in excitement and appreciation. Before the introduction could even begin Angel spoken first. It was time for the whole conversation kind of thing. Angel was curious to know if Vane had answers, which only made Vane question the situation just as much as the figure before him. The eye contact was starting to happen. Vane's attention shifted to this guy before him as well. Time to speak to the man. "I'm a hunter. This is kind of my field of work. You?" casual tone. Vane was starting to get these of something particular. The story gets interesting.

Angel
Faith Lehane

[Faith Lehane]

The second the heel of Faith's boot touched the concrete floor of the remnants of the entryway a thought occurred to her, causing her smile to fall and disappear from her face altogether. What if this wasn't Angel? True, the vampire intel and trademark muscle car matched up, but she knew all too well that sometimes when it came to Angel, if it looked like a duck and quacked like a duck sometimes it was a murderous psychopath with a penchant for cigarettes and torture. She took a quiet step backwards, careful not to disrupt the pieces of wood that were once the front doorway, and quickly evaluated the situation.

She quickly reached down and hiked up her right pant leg a bit and revealed a stake, affixed to her boot with a nylon strap. She lowered her pant leg back over the weapon and stood. Then she reached into her inner jacket pocket, and her hand produced the same stake she'd used to dust the vamps from earlier that night. After a quick inspection, she wrapped her hand around it tightly and looked back towards the doorway. She probably should have evaluated the scene a bit more before barging in, but that was more Buffy's thing. She took a breath, and cautiously stepped into the unfinished building.

Instantly, the dark-haired slayer heard faint voices above her, and she began to make her way up to them. She tried to keep her steps light to avoid detection, but also quick, in case she was needed in a now-ish type capacity. All the while, Faith struggled to hear what the voices where saying.

Midways up to the penthouse, she made out Angel's voice. Sounded normal enough. The other person? A guy. Didn't recognize it any further. But they didn't seem to be fighting, so that was a good sign. She'd almost made it to the door of the Penthouse suite when... something... made it's presence known below. She looked over the railing and squinted, attempting to make out the culprit in the darkness.

[Angel]

After a quick glance up at the ceiling, another look at the corners of the room, and regarding Vane once more he finally settled the tension in his back long enough to have something more resembling a conversation.  "I'm Angel.  I help the helpless."  That always sounded silly, but it was the closest thing to a tagline to deliver to strangers that he had.  "Though I don't get sent to rescue a hunter that often.  The don't usually fall into the helpless category."  He headed back toward the open door after the sounds of scuffling below caught his attention.  Angel placed his hands on the guard rail and leaned over the edge trying to get sight of whatever the sound was.  Muttering back toward Vane.  "Heads up.  We might have company."

His hand dipped quickly into the inside pocket of his coat and removed a handy stake.  Based on the previous pack of vamps guarding the entrance to the place, it seemed the most likely suspect to expect next.  But still, things didn't add up with this hunter and why he'd been sent here in the first place.  More than likely these vampires were only the muscle...hired muscle.  That typically meant there was another brain in charge...some other big bad behind the magic.  Its possible his patience was about at an end.  He shouted down into the darkness.

"Okay!  I got the bait...standing here inside the trap.  Whatever is next, lets get on with it."  He whacked the wooded stake several times against the metal railing causing a reverberating echo down into the darkness.

[Faith Lehane]

Peering through the darkness, Faith couldn't see anything over the railing, just a blur of shapes acending the staircase below her. She opted to instead take the opportunity to finish the accent up the stairs.

"Okay! I got the bait...standing here inside the trap. Whatever is next, lets get on with it," a voice yelled, followed by loud banging.

Clearly, Angel and whoever it was that he was calling bait were okay, which meant that the probable danger was the sounds increasing in intensity below her. She opted to forego the stealth and charged up the last of the stairs. When she was finally able to make out Angel, she spoke.

"Ain't my trap," she answered. She smiled at him, "but I am happy to help with whatever baddie is comin' up behind me."

"Nice to see ya, Angel," she said, before adding "didn't think to call a girl when you come to her town?"

She said the last bit while using her fingers to tighten up her ponytail in preparation for the probable flight. She then put her hands up and faced the stairway, ready for whatever was about to come up.