The Story So Far.
"So, anyway, it's called the Shanshu Prophecy. Weird thing is, it mentions me. Well, not by name, but if you knew me, you could tell I'm the guy. At first, we thought it said I was destined to die, but it turns out that Shanshu means both 'to die' and 'to live' in this ancient language."
I peeked at the two cards in front of me. "Ooh, pocket tens!" I grabbed a stack of about 10 chips that had been sitting there and threw them into the pot. The guy across the table gave me a little scowl, I refused to let it get to me and continued.
"And we've figured out that it means that after whatever the big apocalypse is, I'm going to be rewarded for my role in it. So, yeah, that's really given me something to look forward to, and I'm feeling pretty good about it."
"Well," the scowling man across the table said to me finally, taking a puff off his cigar. "That is a very interesting story, Mister..."
"Hmm? Oh, Angel, sorry."
"Angel. Ok. Yeah, that's interesting. But it just leaves one question: What the HELL do you think you're doing here?"
I looked down innocently at the unconscious man whose seat at the poker table I'd taken, then around to the 3 guys who'd stood up and were pointing their guns at me.
"Oh, yeah," I said, turning back to him. "I guess that WOULD interest you. Well, might as well get on with it." I shot my arm out and grabbed the gun hand of the guy on my left and spun him around, slamming him into one of the two on my right and knocking them both into a wall.
The third man took a step back and tried to re-acquire his aim, but I was already on my feet. I kicked my chair into him, sending him bowling over it. I turned to the two guys I'd knocked into each other, trying to get to their feet, and grabbed the card table, lifting it into the air and slamming it on top of them, cracking it down the middle.
The scowling man still had his gun drawn by the time I turned back around to face him. Without a word, I let the Demon in myself come to the surface and watched his scowl turn to fear. As I slowly strode toward him, he either regained the courage or got enough fear to try leveling his gun at me. I grabbed the hand holding the weapon and crushed until I heard bones snap. The scream that tried to escape his throat was blocked by my hand as I grabbed him by it and pinned him to the wall.
"Tell Wolfram & Hart that slavery doesn't happen in my city!" I punched him in the face and released him, letting his body drop unconscious to the floor, then walked over to the barred-off area where they'd been keeping the girls locked up. I twisted the chain off the cell door, then willed the Demon back down inside myself.
The first girl to break away from their shivering huddle on the floor looked up at me with uncertain eyes. Eyes that couldn't fathom what I was going to do, but that whatever it was, she wanted it done with quickly.
"There's a phone in the office upstairs," I told her calmly. "Call the police. Ask for Detective Lockley. She'll help you."
Without another word, I turned and walked away. This task was taken care of, and I had another stop to make.
I peeked at the two cards in front of me. "Ooh, pocket tens!" I grabbed a stack of about 10 chips that had been sitting there and threw them into the pot. The guy across the table gave me a little scowl, I refused to let it get to me and continued.
"And we've figured out that it means that after whatever the big apocalypse is, I'm going to be rewarded for my role in it. So, yeah, that's really given me something to look forward to, and I'm feeling pretty good about it."
"Well," the scowling man across the table said to me finally, taking a puff off his cigar. "That is a very interesting story, Mister..."
"Hmm? Oh, Angel, sorry."
"Angel. Ok. Yeah, that's interesting. But it just leaves one question: What the HELL do you think you're doing here?"
I looked down innocently at the unconscious man whose seat at the poker table I'd taken, then around to the 3 guys who'd stood up and were pointing their guns at me.
"Oh, yeah," I said, turning back to him. "I guess that WOULD interest you. Well, might as well get on with it." I shot my arm out and grabbed the gun hand of the guy on my left and spun him around, slamming him into one of the two on my right and knocking them both into a wall.
The third man took a step back and tried to re-acquire his aim, but I was already on my feet. I kicked my chair into him, sending him bowling over it. I turned to the two guys I'd knocked into each other, trying to get to their feet, and grabbed the card table, lifting it into the air and slamming it on top of them, cracking it down the middle.
The scowling man still had his gun drawn by the time I turned back around to face him. Without a word, I let the Demon in myself come to the surface and watched his scowl turn to fear. As I slowly strode toward him, he either regained the courage or got enough fear to try leveling his gun at me. I grabbed the hand holding the weapon and crushed until I heard bones snap. The scream that tried to escape his throat was blocked by my hand as I grabbed him by it and pinned him to the wall.
"Tell Wolfram & Hart that slavery doesn't happen in my city!" I punched him in the face and released him, letting his body drop unconscious to the floor, then walked over to the barred-off area where they'd been keeping the girls locked up. I twisted the chain off the cell door, then willed the Demon back down inside myself.
The first girl to break away from their shivering huddle on the floor looked up at me with uncertain eyes. Eyes that couldn't fathom what I was going to do, but that whatever it was, she wanted it done with quickly.
"There's a phone in the office upstairs," I told her calmly. "Call the police. Ask for Detective Lockley. She'll help you."
Without another word, I turned and walked away. This task was taken care of, and I had another stop to make.