I feel the words unspoken inside...
Jul. 8th, 2004 09:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonlettuceTitle: Moments In Time: Alibi's Host
Episode: The Ring
Pairing: Angel/Wesley unrequited
Author: Claire
Closing his eyes and leaning against the wall, Wesley takes a deep breath. The last time he was in this situation - creeping along a corridor with a crossbow at his side - led to confronting Angel in a dingy flat, with getting out of there as quickly as possible the only thought running through his head. Now look at him, working for Angel. For Angel! A Watcher, ex-Watcher, working for a vampire, for one of the very beings he was trained to kill. Only things have changed since that first LA meeting. He's stopped thinking of Angel as 'the vampire' and started thinking of him as 'Angel'. Angel, the man who helps people. Angel, the warrior for the powers that be. Angel, the man Wesley would drop to his knees for and...
His eyes jolting open, Wesley shakes his head frantically, trying to clear it. This is not the time. He ignores the voice in the back of his head that says it'll *never* be the time. But not here, not now. Angel is missing, and it's up to Wesley to find him.
Checking the crossbow, he steps into the doorway next to him, watching for a brief moment as one man punches another, waiting until there's another backswing before he steps forward.
"Stop that."
The bookie, Ernie, turns to face him, dismissing him instantly with a laugh. "Who's this?"
But Wesley's used to being laughed at, used to being dismissed. "I'm Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. And I'm looking for my employer." And isn't it a surprise that the word comes out without catching. Because that's all Angel is, all Wesley can afford Angel to be - his employer. "He came here to question you about Jack Macnamara."
"Maybe you didn't notice. I'm kind of busy here."
Wesley noticed, he just doesn't care. Doesn't care about the young man being beaten up on, maybe it'll teach him not to get in over his head next time. All he cares about is Angel. "Where is he?"
"Your boss gave me 200 dollars to answer his questions. I'm a businessman. Make an offer."
But the only offer Wesley is prepared to make will not interest Ernie. "You should understand, the man I work for means a great deal to me." And he can hear the lie in his voice. Angel has long since ceased meaning a great deal to Wesley; he's started to mean everything. "And I will not give you a single red cent. What I will do, sir, is beat it out of you if I have to."
His promise is met with laughter, but Wesley means it. He'll go through each and every one of them, and relish doing it, if it means he'll get Angel back.
"You're from another country, right?" Wesley doesn't dignify the question with an answer as he raises the crossbow. Ernie just looks at him. "What are you, Robin Hood?"
He's tempted to point out that Robin Hood used a longbow, not a crossbow, but since Ernie's obviously not someone who cares for English literature he resists.
A beat passes as Ernie and Wesley stare at each other before Ernie's hand whips out from behind him, holding a gun and pointing it at Wesley. The silence almost crackles between them, and Wesley watches as Ernie's finger starts to press down on the trigger. But before the gun fires Wesley releases the bolt from the bow, watching as it flies across the room, willing it to its target. And he can feel the bruises of every time he missed as a child itching under his skin, taunting him. Mocking him with the knowledge that the price of failure is so much more than it was back then.
But he's not a child any more. And the shadow of failure doesn't loom over him as heavily as it used to.
Ernie drops the gun as his hand is pinned to the wall, the weapon skidding across the floor. Scooping it up and aiming it in a fluid arc Wesley holds it on the others, stopping the hands that are going for their guns. "Please drop those."
Three clatters ring out as the guns are dropped to the floor.
Motioning to the young man Ernie had been beating up Wesley nods towards the door. "You can go now." He doesn't know how far he's going to go with this, doesn't know how many lines he's willing to cross, and doesn't really want anyone else there.
The man runs past him mumbling his thanks, but Wesley doesn't want thanks. He wants only one thing, and Ernie knows where he is. Walking slowly over the bookie Wesley reaches out, grasping the bolt stuck in Ernie's hand and twisting it sharply, a moan echoing into the room. "And where is my employer?"
End MIT: Alibi's Host
Other 'Moments In Time' entries can be found here
Episode: The Ring
Pairing: Angel/Wesley unrequited
Author: Claire
Closing his eyes and leaning against the wall, Wesley takes a deep breath. The last time he was in this situation - creeping along a corridor with a crossbow at his side - led to confronting Angel in a dingy flat, with getting out of there as quickly as possible the only thought running through his head. Now look at him, working for Angel. For Angel! A Watcher, ex-Watcher, working for a vampire, for one of the very beings he was trained to kill. Only things have changed since that first LA meeting. He's stopped thinking of Angel as 'the vampire' and started thinking of him as 'Angel'. Angel, the man who helps people. Angel, the warrior for the powers that be. Angel, the man Wesley would drop to his knees for and...
His eyes jolting open, Wesley shakes his head frantically, trying to clear it. This is not the time. He ignores the voice in the back of his head that says it'll *never* be the time. But not here, not now. Angel is missing, and it's up to Wesley to find him.
Checking the crossbow, he steps into the doorway next to him, watching for a brief moment as one man punches another, waiting until there's another backswing before he steps forward.
"Stop that."
The bookie, Ernie, turns to face him, dismissing him instantly with a laugh. "Who's this?"
But Wesley's used to being laughed at, used to being dismissed. "I'm Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. And I'm looking for my employer." And isn't it a surprise that the word comes out without catching. Because that's all Angel is, all Wesley can afford Angel to be - his employer. "He came here to question you about Jack Macnamara."
"Maybe you didn't notice. I'm kind of busy here."
Wesley noticed, he just doesn't care. Doesn't care about the young man being beaten up on, maybe it'll teach him not to get in over his head next time. All he cares about is Angel. "Where is he?"
"Your boss gave me 200 dollars to answer his questions. I'm a businessman. Make an offer."
But the only offer Wesley is prepared to make will not interest Ernie. "You should understand, the man I work for means a great deal to me." And he can hear the lie in his voice. Angel has long since ceased meaning a great deal to Wesley; he's started to mean everything. "And I will not give you a single red cent. What I will do, sir, is beat it out of you if I have to."
His promise is met with laughter, but Wesley means it. He'll go through each and every one of them, and relish doing it, if it means he'll get Angel back.
"You're from another country, right?" Wesley doesn't dignify the question with an answer as he raises the crossbow. Ernie just looks at him. "What are you, Robin Hood?"
He's tempted to point out that Robin Hood used a longbow, not a crossbow, but since Ernie's obviously not someone who cares for English literature he resists.
A beat passes as Ernie and Wesley stare at each other before Ernie's hand whips out from behind him, holding a gun and pointing it at Wesley. The silence almost crackles between them, and Wesley watches as Ernie's finger starts to press down on the trigger. But before the gun fires Wesley releases the bolt from the bow, watching as it flies across the room, willing it to its target. And he can feel the bruises of every time he missed as a child itching under his skin, taunting him. Mocking him with the knowledge that the price of failure is so much more than it was back then.
But he's not a child any more. And the shadow of failure doesn't loom over him as heavily as it used to.
Ernie drops the gun as his hand is pinned to the wall, the weapon skidding across the floor. Scooping it up and aiming it in a fluid arc Wesley holds it on the others, stopping the hands that are going for their guns. "Please drop those."
Three clatters ring out as the guns are dropped to the floor.
Motioning to the young man Ernie had been beating up Wesley nods towards the door. "You can go now." He doesn't know how far he's going to go with this, doesn't know how many lines he's willing to cross, and doesn't really want anyone else there.
The man runs past him mumbling his thanks, but Wesley doesn't want thanks. He wants only one thing, and Ernie knows where he is. Walking slowly over the bookie Wesley reaches out, grasping the bolt stuck in Ernie's hand and twisting it sharply, a moan echoing into the room. "And where is my employer?"
End MIT: Alibi's Host
Other 'Moments In Time' entries can be found here
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Date: 2004-07-09 05:39 am (UTC)Thanks ;)
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Date: 2004-07-09 01:05 pm (UTC)