(Untitled)

[xspikex]

Who: Spike and open
Where: Wolfram and Hart hallways
When: Early morning
Status: Incomplete

Comments

[xspikex]

Maybe he should try shoutin' 'woops'. Cause the security 'round these parts sucked big time. He was a big bad, dammit! He was William the Bloody! Yeah, okay he was a ghostie William the Bloody but he was *still* a notorious mean evil-- who was he kiddin'?

That blasted soul that he had, even as a ghost, made him into a slightly less meanie and certainly less *evil* vampire. Ghostly vampire. What the fuck ever. Didn't mean he shouldn't still put the fear of god or some sorta deity into people. Security should come runnin' if someone was tryin' to get into the big CEO's office.

'Specially something supernatural. And hey, lookie here, he was supernatural. If only he could do more damage. Looked like the soddin' sword wasn't even damaged. Fuck.

Least it had drawn the big poofter out of the woodwork's, or in this case the hallways of Evil inc. "Says who?" Spike wanted to know at Angel's question. Who made him the authority on ghosts anyway? Like captain forehead knew anything. Pfft.

"Aren't stupid vampire who lead an evil law firm supposed to get their blood 'nd files brought to them?" Spike shot back, concentratin' on another weapon on the wall. He smirked smugly when a big axe fell down. Pity it missed Angel's foot. "Awww, bugger." It woulda grown back, sure, but it woulda been fun.

Kinda like the bint walking in to the place right now. "Oy poof, you seriously need to work on the security issues," Spike pointed out gleefully, "Anyone can walk in here. Tsk."

Then he turned to the girl and shrugged. "He got that look from me. Knew I shoulda asked for royalties." Spike gave the girl a once over, got no Slayer vibe from her but she dressed like a Slayer ho wanna be.

"Couldn't settle for the real deal so you got a bad copy?" he remarked toward Angel, knowing the other vampire would get the meanin'

[angel0angelus]

"I'll pass on the heartbeat, Gwen." Angel said, putting the file and the blood down on the desk and bending down to retrieve the axe. "If you know a good exorcist, though, I'm all ears."

He glared at Spike as he returned the axe to the wall. Stupid grand Childe, of all the people to haunt, it had to be him. Why couldn't Spike toddle off and trail around after Drusilla? And the Slayer crack, that was just ridiculous. He didn't even know why Gwen was here.

"And you, stop touching my weapons. In fact, get out of my office. Go haunt one of the hallways or something."

He rolled his eyes before turning back to Gwen.

"Something you need, Gwen? I hadn't even heard you were back in town."

[groundelectric]

Finally, Gwen gave Angel a bit of a smirk, approaching the last few feet so that she was close by the pair. "You seemed to like it last time." She tilted her head to the side and looked Spike up and down again. "Whatever, you say, Billy. Though, you should know I'm nothing but the real deal."

Back to Angel, she added, "I'll let you know about the exorcist. But, the security in here is tip top. Now it's something even a freak couldn't break into. Unless it were me, of course." Since she's of the opinion that she could break into any place she wanted.

"The whole point of being a good thief is that people don't know where you are all the time. As point in fact, I'm in charge of your security. Or, in case any important...acquisitions need to be made. But, I'm not about to show up on your staff list. And you'll find something wooden poking through you before you think I'll call you boss."

Pulling a card out of her shirt, Gwen held it out between two fingers. "This is what you should use if you need me."

[xspikex]

"I aint touchin' your weapons," Spike smirked. Technically, he wasn't, he was a ghost so how could he touch the weapons? "Musta been hold up by formerly evil screws," he snorted before moving right through the desk to see what else he could do in the office.

He was already bored with the meeting between the big poof and the scantly clad girl. He'd given her an ogle, he wouldn't be Spike if he wouldn't. Wasn't no Buffy though, or Dru. Apparently a thief, well what else did he expect in a place like Wolfram and Hart.

Seemed old Angel wasn't as goodie goodie as he liked people to believe. Not that Spike *didn't* already know this. He did spend a hundred or so years in the company of the big git. You know, when he was still Angelus and *fun*. Sometimes.

Ignoring Gwen's little self defence, Spike float stepped over to the door. Yeah, this was borin'. To the max borin'. No fun insultin' Angel when the room was filled with ego's, 'specially when he should be the most important ego in the room. He did pick up on somethin' though.

"You didn't know the chit was back in town and you didn't even know you hired her? Priceless!" A short bark of a laugh was heard. "Or maybe one of the others hired her? Like Harmony?" Oh yeah, he heard the story on how the Watcher had hired her for Angel. Once again proof, in Spike's eyes, how the big berk was just a front man.

"'Ave a fun meetin'." He was still laughin' as he stepped through the door and went on his way, leaving Angel to the self-importance of bein' Angel and Gwen to-- whatever Gwen was. Employed by Angel apparently. Hilarious! Maybe he'd look up Fred, see what the little science girl was up to. The might be explosions with her around, that was always fun. And he had a bit of gossip to share.

[angel0angelus]

He rolled his eyes as Spike made his exit. Finally, now maybe he could actually get something done, now that his office wasn't being "haunted". He reached out and took Gwen's card, examining it briefly before dropping it onto his desk.

"Good to know. And you're my security expert, are you?"

It would be nice, he thought briefly, if Wesley would at least ask before hiring. Not that there was anyone more qualified than Gwen, who'd spent who knows how long slipping past security systems.

[groundelectric]

Just as unimpressed by Spike, Gwen waited till he walked through a wall before she continued. "You didn't hire me. And no one you know did, either. Like I said, I'm not here to take orders from you." What with everything that had been going on lately, it seemed like it seemed like the smartest choice to join the ranks, for the short term at least.

"But, your systems are updated. No more useless alarms that don't do anything right. Someone unauthorized tries to come in here, they'll be taken care of. Swiftly. Doesn't matter what they are." She paused, looked towards the wall Spike just left from. "I could put him on that list, if you wanted." It may not be an exorcism, but it would take care of him.

[angel0angelus]

Angel wondered briefly who had hired her. But then, Gwen wasn't so big on taking orders, so perhaps she'd hired herself. He glanced in the direction Spike had vanished, rolled his eyes again as he said, "Don't bother. He's more of an annoyance than a threat."

Which wasn't anything new. Angel and Spike had been butting heads for centuries. The only that tended to change was the scenery.

"And thanks for the update." He paused, then raised an eyebrow at her. "Will you be sticking around?"

[groundelectric]

"I bet." But Gwen doesn't linger too long on the idea of Spike as annoyance or threat. If she really though him a threat, she'd have found a way to get out of there by now. Or she would have electrified him. If ghosts can be electrified.

Instead, she looked at the office door and went to shut it, to give them some privacy. "It depends on your definition of around," she answered as she did so.

Once it was shut firmly, she added, "Are you serious about this vampire rights bill? I don't really take sides - unless I'm paid to - but that doesn't seem to mesh with your whole dark savior of the innocent sort of look. I thought the dressing entirely in black was meant to be ironic."

[angel0angelus]

Angel sighed. This was all anyone wanted to talk to him about. He rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head.

"More like trying to keep under the radar, Gwen. The liason came down and pitched the idea, and if I keep the big men upstairs content, I can do a lot more good under the radar without them running interferance."

And if they stayed happy, there was less chance they'd yank Conner's newly-gifted peace of mind away from him.

[groundelectric]

Gwen raised an eyebrow at Angel's answer. It's not like people could be blamed for asking about what the sudden change in treating vampires. Ones without souls, that is. "Never thought I'd hear you sound so corporate. I guess even a vampire's got to get a day job some time in his six hundred some years."

She sounds interested, if not wholly believing in what he just told her. "From what I've seen of you in action, under the radar doesn't seem your style. Doesn't seem to be much grey about you. You go for chucking men out of windows when they cross you as opposed to letting the people you normally stake and protect people against have all sorts of new rights. Wolfram and Hart has a whole archive on you in their libraries. Fascinating stuff. They really didn't like you."

As if that was something he didn't know. But it's puzzling as to why he's suddenly in charge of the place when they were mortal enemies before. It may have been a part of why she decided to stay close. See how it all played out.

[angel0angelus]

He frowned. He'd forgotten how well-informed she was. Selling the idea to her would take more than just tossing a few comments around about doing good and staying under the radar.

"Just got this company, Gwen. I'd like to play with my new toy for a few weeks before it gets broken." He said with forced lightness. "And two hundred years, some changes have to happen. I'm just trying something new, and if it doesn't work, I'll go back to throwing people out windows and staking any vampire that moves. It's just a little experiment."

[groundelectric]

This answer made Gwen regard Angel with something akin to distrust. Though she'd only met the vampire a few times and sparred with him during at least a third of those meetings, he didn't seem like the kind to take an evil law corporation out 'for a spin'. And if he thought he could do that without consequences, well, then he really was cute but dumb.

"I doubt you'll be going back to anything if this doesn't work out," she told him distantly. "I don't think people who sign on to work here do much else afterward." Hopefully, not including herself. "You want to go the privacy route, I'll respect that. Everyone has their secrets."

As Gwen strode over toward the door, she opened it again, figuring she wouldn't get much more out of the vampire. For now, at least. "Just wanted to show my face, do the friendly greeting thing. Do let me know if you need anything."

[angel0angelus]

"I'm not signing on for anything, Gwen." Angel said sharply. "Just testing out a new weapon to see if it's any good."

He hated the way it made him sound. If it hadn't been for Conner, for what they'd offered to do for Conner, he never would have decided to take the deal. It wasn't an explanation he could give though, since no one besides him even remebered Conner.

"I'll let you know if I need something, Gwen. Thanks for the offer." He said flatly, watching her standing in the door. "And thank you for the upgrade on security. Feel free to take whatever payment strikes your fancy."

He was well aware of how he came off just then. Arrogant CEO, and he hated it just as much as Gwen probably would.

[groundelectric]

"I think you signed something. These people are lawyers. They don't just set up some vampire with a soul with a multi-million dollar company without some sort of agreement." Gwen stopped at the doorway and looked over her shoulder at the vampire with a soul. It was hard to read her expression. Whatever she was thinking, it didn't seem to reflect well upon Angel.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will. And no thanks needed. It's my job for now." Her own voice matched Angel's in neutrality. Studying the dark clad champion, she gave him the same kind of evaluation she gave Spike upon first meeting. It was like she didn't even know him any more. If she ever really knew Angel at all. Then, abruptly, she turned around and crossed the threshold of his office back out into the hallway.

"What makes you think I didn't take my payment already?"

[angel0angelus]

Angel shrugged. He had no idea whether or not she'd taken something she'd fancied from somewhere in the building. There were more than enough precious artifacts down in the holding vault, or so he'd been told when he'd gotten his official tour.

"I don't. But if you did as good a job as you claim, then you deserve it."

He rubbed his hands together, watching her. She had that look on her face. The one he'd been getting so often now, the reevaluation. He hated it. He was exactly the same, nothing had changed. Only now he had to play-act and decieve and support things he personally thought were idiotic. Things had been simpler at the hotel, before Jasmine, hell, before Holtz had shown up and kidnapped Conner. Maybe he should have asked for that, and told the Partners to keep their damned law firm. But it was late for that now.