(Angel/Dollhouse/True Blood) The Last Drink Of The Night for arysani
Title: The Last Drink Of The Night
Author: a_q
Fandoms: Angel/Dollhouse/True Blood
Characters Lilah Morgan; Adelle DeWitt; Pam
Rating: PG
Wordcount 1517
Spoilers: Story isn't set in any specific episode, nor does it contain any spoilers for any of the three shows. Over all, 1st season sense of all three.
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Angel and Dollhouse belong to Joss Whedon, True Blood to Alan Ball & Charlaine Harris.
A/N: Thank you for the excellent beta, humantales! All mistakes are mine.
Summary: Lilah, Adelle and Pam drink and talk.
They always met in a different cocktail bar. They didn't plan ahead, that was just the way it went. Sometimes they had a reason to meet, like for celebration of Lilah's successful case, or Adelle's success, or if Pam just felt like she wanted to try all the different pink cocktails at once.
When they met, they drank and it was never certain what type of alcohol. This time Lilah was drinking vodka, with generous amounts of ice and little wedge of citrus and Adelle was ordering one G&T after another. Pam, on the other hand, was sticking to artificial blood tonight.
“Pam, dear, we really don't mind if you want to go get something... fresher than that,” Lilah said and smiled sweetly. It was not a serious suggestion, because a brightly lit bar full of lawyers and business men was much too public forum for hunting. Adelle echoed Lilah's sweet smile, which meant she was thinking something vicious as well.
Pam just sighed, in a manner that suggested that she was either bored or seriously considering sinking her teeth on something alive. It was hard to tell with Pam, but Lilah liked her anyway. She was much more interesting than the vampires Lilah met at work. Sometimes, Lilah wondered what would happen if Pam would run into Angel at some dark alley. She could probably beat him to a bloody pulp. Lilah liked that mental image. Maybe she should talk about it with Pam one of these nights.
“Yes, you should try something new! How about... that man standing near the bar, with the blue tie and crumpled suit? He's been staring at us almost all evening,” Adelle said and gulped down the remnants of her third drink. “Go for it, would you? That man is a journalist, so it would be just marvelous if he got into some kind of accident tonight..”
“Adelle! Why aren't you turning to me for these matters? I can order a whammy on him, simple as that! No mess, no fuss, we have people who specialize in this kind of thing,” Lilah said and emptied her own glass. “Besides, I'm writing this night off as a business meeting between the representatives of Rossum Corporation, Wolfram and Hart and whatever business Pam is part of... The American Vampire League?”
“I'm not a part of that hypocritical, stuck-up, bureaucratic mess,” Pam said and turned to scout the man Adelle had pointed out for her. Lilah had noticed that Pam didn't have a good opinion about the AVL, and she found this tidbit interesting. Wolfram and Hart had established some ties inside the American Vampire League, so Lilah had heard some things about this new player. It was still unclear what kind of game the League was planning on playing, but Lilah was sure that it would be very interesting.
“My point was, that since this is a business meeting, I can use the necessary security details for this. So, men in crumpled suits, obvious threat to us while we get plastered in public, one call and it's taken care of.” Lilah said and refilled her glass from the bottle strategically placed in a bucket of ice next to the table. She sipped her drink and the vodka burned like a cold flame going down her throat. Lilah noticed from the corner of her eye that Pam seemed to pay a special attention to her manner of drinking. Lilah tossed the empty glass to the table and smiled sweetly again. “Really Pam, you know I'm not your type. How about that cute little thing standing over there?”
Pam and Adelle turned to see what Lilah was pointing at. The girl had long brown hair and a very short, very sparkling dress. She was laughing and leaning against the arm of a tall man in an expensive suit. Adelle shook her head and filled up her glass from Lilah's bottle of vodka. “I'm sorry Pam, that's one of mine. And trust me, you don't want to try her. I think we loaded some sort of close combat specialist on her for tonight. There might have been the supernatural combat detail mixed in as well.”
“Are you seriously telling me that you are working during our girls' night out? I thought we had a deal, Adelle! No working when there is still drinks at the table!”
“Aren't we all working? Pam is definitely scouting the personnel, I'm not drunk enough to miss that. And you! I'm pretty sure I saw at least two of your clients when we came in,” Adelle noted and chugged her glass empty. She made a face and filled up the glass again. Lilah started to laugh and filled her own glass, too. They toasted and emptied their glasses again.
“I'm not working; it's just professional curiosity. Lately, we have had a bit of bad luck with bartenders. They just end up very dead for no reason. The upside is that I don't have to fire anyone,” Pam said. Lilah thought she had seen a glimmer of laughter in her eyes, but that might have been just a trick of light. Pam was just stone cold sober tonight and obviously hell bent on staying that way.
“Fine. So, why is your doll here? If I remember correctly, you don't personally handle the engagements,” Lilah asked.
“Security detail of my own, Lilah dear. Like I said, that journalist is just trouble, and he's been digging up all sorts of nasty details, mostly about our more delicate engagements. I'm sure someone from the inside is feeding him information. You wouldn't know anything about that, Lilah, would you?”
“Me? How would I know anything? You know there are no leaks at Wolfram and Hart! They get shut down, literally. I'm offended,” Lilah said. It was dangerous to even suggest such things in public places. There could be a purge at work if even a whisper of this got to the wrong ears. Lilah filled up her glass again and glanced carefully around the bar. There was nothing visibly alarming at sight but one never knew with the upper management.
“Your doll doesn't look like a trained killer. She seems more like a...glittering cupcake,” Pam said, interrupting Lilah's thoughts.
Adelle just shook her head again. “Don't let the glitter fool you, she can be very dangerous if we make it so. The girl is one of my most sought-after dolls and she is excellent in every role we have ever given her.”
“I wouldn't mind sampling such a cupcake,” Pam muttered, and there was nothing sweet about that. Actually, she seemed slightly tense at the edges. This was usually a clear sign that she was feeling peckish. For a moment Lilah was glad that Pam was a picky eater.
“Forget it, Pam. The risk factors are far too high to be acceptable. I must protect my most valuable asset.”
“Pristine toys for every play, I remember,” Pam muttered, but her eyes never left the girl. She was flirting shamelessly not only with her date but with everyone else at close proximity. This seemed to amuse the man. Lilah scoffed. She had never understood the idea of sharing. What was hers, stayed hers. Lilah would never share her toys like that.
“So, if you can't taste the girl, maybe you should consider the journalist after all. He looks like he's ordered one drink too many anyway. Lovely level of blood alcohol, wouldn't you say?” Lilah suggested and Pam turned her scrutiny back to the man in the crumbled suit. He was not as spectacular as the doll, but there was something tough about him. Pam shrugged. “He is not really my type, but I don't mind doing Adelle a favor. I can mess with his mind too if you want. Make him tell me about the leak, if there is one.”
“What kind of story is that journalist writing about you, Adelle?” Lilah asked, suddenly curious. “If you suspect there is a leak that leads to us, it means that we might have a common enemy somewhere.”
“Oh, you know. The usual urban myth of an organization that strips people of their personality and forces them to do unspeakable acts. That one. Except, this time he might have some proof of it. I don't want that information getting into the wrong hands.”
“Ah yes. The delectable Agent Ballard,” Lilah sighed. “I understand your problem.”
“I would certainly take a bite out of Ballard,” Pam said and Lilah had to agree wholeheartedly.
“So what should we do? Adelle has the doll, I can order the whammy on him with a phone call and Pam could just eat him. Doing everything at once seems a bit excessive,” Lilah summed up the situation. The women nodded and there was a moment of silence when everyone gulped down their drinks.
“So. Rock, paper, scissors?”
-END-
Prompt:
“You meet the strangest people at 3am”
Author: a_q
Fandoms: Angel/Dollhouse/True Blood
Characters Lilah Morgan; Adelle DeWitt; Pam
Rating: PG
Wordcount 1517
Spoilers: Story isn't set in any specific episode, nor does it contain any spoilers for any of the three shows. Over all, 1st season sense of all three.
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Angel and Dollhouse belong to Joss Whedon, True Blood to Alan Ball & Charlaine Harris.
A/N: Thank you for the excellent beta, humantales! All mistakes are mine.
Summary: Lilah, Adelle and Pam drink and talk.
They always met in a different cocktail bar. They didn't plan ahead, that was just the way it went. Sometimes they had a reason to meet, like for celebration of Lilah's successful case, or Adelle's success, or if Pam just felt like she wanted to try all the different pink cocktails at once.
When they met, they drank and it was never certain what type of alcohol. This time Lilah was drinking vodka, with generous amounts of ice and little wedge of citrus and Adelle was ordering one G&T after another. Pam, on the other hand, was sticking to artificial blood tonight.
“Pam, dear, we really don't mind if you want to go get something... fresher than that,” Lilah said and smiled sweetly. It was not a serious suggestion, because a brightly lit bar full of lawyers and business men was much too public forum for hunting. Adelle echoed Lilah's sweet smile, which meant she was thinking something vicious as well.
Pam just sighed, in a manner that suggested that she was either bored or seriously considering sinking her teeth on something alive. It was hard to tell with Pam, but Lilah liked her anyway. She was much more interesting than the vampires Lilah met at work. Sometimes, Lilah wondered what would happen if Pam would run into Angel at some dark alley. She could probably beat him to a bloody pulp. Lilah liked that mental image. Maybe she should talk about it with Pam one of these nights.
“Yes, you should try something new! How about... that man standing near the bar, with the blue tie and crumpled suit? He's been staring at us almost all evening,” Adelle said and gulped down the remnants of her third drink. “Go for it, would you? That man is a journalist, so it would be just marvelous if he got into some kind of accident tonight..”
“Adelle! Why aren't you turning to me for these matters? I can order a whammy on him, simple as that! No mess, no fuss, we have people who specialize in this kind of thing,” Lilah said and emptied her own glass. “Besides, I'm writing this night off as a business meeting between the representatives of Rossum Corporation, Wolfram and Hart and whatever business Pam is part of... The American Vampire League?”
“I'm not a part of that hypocritical, stuck-up, bureaucratic mess,” Pam said and turned to scout the man Adelle had pointed out for her. Lilah had noticed that Pam didn't have a good opinion about the AVL, and she found this tidbit interesting. Wolfram and Hart had established some ties inside the American Vampire League, so Lilah had heard some things about this new player. It was still unclear what kind of game the League was planning on playing, but Lilah was sure that it would be very interesting.
“My point was, that since this is a business meeting, I can use the necessary security details for this. So, men in crumpled suits, obvious threat to us while we get plastered in public, one call and it's taken care of.” Lilah said and refilled her glass from the bottle strategically placed in a bucket of ice next to the table. She sipped her drink and the vodka burned like a cold flame going down her throat. Lilah noticed from the corner of her eye that Pam seemed to pay a special attention to her manner of drinking. Lilah tossed the empty glass to the table and smiled sweetly again. “Really Pam, you know I'm not your type. How about that cute little thing standing over there?”
Pam and Adelle turned to see what Lilah was pointing at. The girl had long brown hair and a very short, very sparkling dress. She was laughing and leaning against the arm of a tall man in an expensive suit. Adelle shook her head and filled up her glass from Lilah's bottle of vodka. “I'm sorry Pam, that's one of mine. And trust me, you don't want to try her. I think we loaded some sort of close combat specialist on her for tonight. There might have been the supernatural combat detail mixed in as well.”
“Are you seriously telling me that you are working during our girls' night out? I thought we had a deal, Adelle! No working when there is still drinks at the table!”
“Aren't we all working? Pam is definitely scouting the personnel, I'm not drunk enough to miss that. And you! I'm pretty sure I saw at least two of your clients when we came in,” Adelle noted and chugged her glass empty. She made a face and filled up the glass again. Lilah started to laugh and filled her own glass, too. They toasted and emptied their glasses again.
“I'm not working; it's just professional curiosity. Lately, we have had a bit of bad luck with bartenders. They just end up very dead for no reason. The upside is that I don't have to fire anyone,” Pam said. Lilah thought she had seen a glimmer of laughter in her eyes, but that might have been just a trick of light. Pam was just stone cold sober tonight and obviously hell bent on staying that way.
“Fine. So, why is your doll here? If I remember correctly, you don't personally handle the engagements,” Lilah asked.
“Security detail of my own, Lilah dear. Like I said, that journalist is just trouble, and he's been digging up all sorts of nasty details, mostly about our more delicate engagements. I'm sure someone from the inside is feeding him information. You wouldn't know anything about that, Lilah, would you?”
“Me? How would I know anything? You know there are no leaks at Wolfram and Hart! They get shut down, literally. I'm offended,” Lilah said. It was dangerous to even suggest such things in public places. There could be a purge at work if even a whisper of this got to the wrong ears. Lilah filled up her glass again and glanced carefully around the bar. There was nothing visibly alarming at sight but one never knew with the upper management.
“Your doll doesn't look like a trained killer. She seems more like a...glittering cupcake,” Pam said, interrupting Lilah's thoughts.
Adelle just shook her head again. “Don't let the glitter fool you, she can be very dangerous if we make it so. The girl is one of my most sought-after dolls and she is excellent in every role we have ever given her.”
“I wouldn't mind sampling such a cupcake,” Pam muttered, and there was nothing sweet about that. Actually, she seemed slightly tense at the edges. This was usually a clear sign that she was feeling peckish. For a moment Lilah was glad that Pam was a picky eater.
“Forget it, Pam. The risk factors are far too high to be acceptable. I must protect my most valuable asset.”
“Pristine toys for every play, I remember,” Pam muttered, but her eyes never left the girl. She was flirting shamelessly not only with her date but with everyone else at close proximity. This seemed to amuse the man. Lilah scoffed. She had never understood the idea of sharing. What was hers, stayed hers. Lilah would never share her toys like that.
“So, if you can't taste the girl, maybe you should consider the journalist after all. He looks like he's ordered one drink too many anyway. Lovely level of blood alcohol, wouldn't you say?” Lilah suggested and Pam turned her scrutiny back to the man in the crumbled suit. He was not as spectacular as the doll, but there was something tough about him. Pam shrugged. “He is not really my type, but I don't mind doing Adelle a favor. I can mess with his mind too if you want. Make him tell me about the leak, if there is one.”
“What kind of story is that journalist writing about you, Adelle?” Lilah asked, suddenly curious. “If you suspect there is a leak that leads to us, it means that we might have a common enemy somewhere.”
“Oh, you know. The usual urban myth of an organization that strips people of their personality and forces them to do unspeakable acts. That one. Except, this time he might have some proof of it. I don't want that information getting into the wrong hands.”
“Ah yes. The delectable Agent Ballard,” Lilah sighed. “I understand your problem.”
“I would certainly take a bite out of Ballard,” Pam said and Lilah had to agree wholeheartedly.
“So what should we do? Adelle has the doll, I can order the whammy on him with a phone call and Pam could just eat him. Doing everything at once seems a bit excessive,” Lilah summed up the situation. The women nodded and there was a moment of silence when everyone gulped down their drinks.
“So. Rock, paper, scissors?”
-END-
Prompt:
“You meet the strangest people at 3am”