TheLongRouteChapterFive The Long Route Chapter Five

In the meantime, Xander had found the weapons room. He was trying to find a gun so he could protect Kate when he heard a voice behind him. "You again." Oh, shit he recognized that voice.

"Yeah, me again." he said, grabbing a gun down from the shelf and aiming it at Tony. Xander hoped and prayed that there were bullets in this thing. "Now why don't you all just make your way back to your beds before I have to get vicious. It's time for all good little inmates to be asleep."

"You think you can take on all of us at the same time?" Tony found that very funny.

"Maybe not, but you won't know which one of you is going to go down, now do you? And I'm thinking I might just start with your fat ass." Xander said pointing the gun directly at Tony. He pointed towards the cell doors again. "Now move."

The inmates all looked at each other and then back to Tony. They didn't want to die, and the kid might shoot any one of them. They all started backing up, along with Tony as Xander advanced on them. They were about 3 feet from the cell doors when a cop came up behind Xander, knocking him out. Looking down at the boy, he shook his head. "Didn't we learn anything in sensitivity training? It's not nice to be so mean." He stated with certainty before walking away.

Tony was elated. Now he had free reign. "Grab some guns boys," he told them, taking the one that Xander had and firing off a shot into the ceiling. "Guys, you're working for Little Tony now. You'll find I'm stern," he said as he shot the policeman that had helped them. "But fair." He aimed the gun at Xander's head and pulled the trigger but nothing happened. "Fuck. Let's get us some bullets and go kill us a lady cop." He gave Xander a couple of kicks to the ribs before hitting him in the head with the gun. "That was payback, you little shit," he said before walking off, intent on getting his revenge on one Detective Kate Lockley.

*************************************

Outside the building, Cordelia and Doyle had pulled Angel around to the side of the station and had finally convinced him to throw a rock through a window so that they could unlock it and climb in.

"Wow," Angel said looking at the window. "That's vandalism."

"Oh, we'll take care of it later," Doyle reassured the vampire.

"We should leave a note," Angel insisted.

"Would you just come on." Now Cordelia was getting frustrated.

"What's the magic word?" Angel asked her.

"Uuuugh." Cordelia said at the end of her rope.

"I don't think uuuugh is the magic word, if one would call it a word, and certainly even then not a magic one."

"We don't have time for this."

"There's always time to be considerate of others, Cordelia."

"Oh, please." Cordy rolled her eyes at Angel.

"See," Angel said happily. That wasn't so hard now was it?"

Just then, they heard the first gunshot ring out, followed quickly by another. Angel grabbed the door and they ran into the police station where they saw Little Tony holding a gun, which was pointed directly at Kate. Xander, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Thought you had it over me didn't you?" they heard Tony tell Kate. "Thought you were smarter than Little Tony. Well nobody beats me baby, not even a stone bitch like you."

"I am not a bitch," Kate told him indignantly. "I am just protected."

"No one protecting you now." Tony taunted her.

"Hey," Angel yelled at him. Tony spun around to see Angel standing behind him. The other inmates were looking warily at Angel, Doyle and Cordelia as they made their way through the room towards Tony. "I'm feeling some serious negative energy in this room." Angel stated.

"Go on, take care of him," Cordelia urged.

"Oh, I've been wanting to see you again. I've already taken care of your little friend, and now it's her turn or maybe you can be the next one." Doyle and Cordelia were looking around, frantically trying to find Xander while watching the others.

"I'm sure he'd want to see you too," Kate said. "But that gun really makes you come off as hostile."

"And your body language, it's so closed," Angel noted.

"Angel man, fight don't talk," Doyle begged him. "We don't even know where Xander is."

"We are so dead." Cordelia said becoming frightened.

"Now why don't we all sit down together and process this," Angel patted the chair in front of him and looked at Tony.

"Seems that sensitivity training I paid for really took...on nancy boy." Tony said right before Angel grabbed the chair and smashed him in the face with it. When one of the other inmates raised his gun, Kate shot him. "How do you think that makes me feel?" She asked.

As another inmate went for a gun on the floor, Doyle put his foot on it and kicked the guy in the head. He grabbed the gun and aimed it at him. Just then they heard a moan and turned around to see Xander trying to get up. They ran over to him and helped him to sit down, checking to see how badly he was injured.

"Xander, are you alright?" Cordy asked worriedly.

"Yeah, just as soon as I quit seeing two of everything. And would someone please answer the phone?" He asked them.

They looked confused. "The phones aren't ringing." Doyle told him.

"Oh, well this can't be good." Xander said. "Where's Angel and Kate, they've got to find Tony."

"They found him. See. Over there." Cordelia said showing Xander where they were. They all watched as Angel advanced on Tony, who had gotten up off the floor.

"Okay. Now I'm feeling unheard." Angel said before he landed three good punches to Tony's face and stomach. "You know, Anthony, you can be a rainbow and not a"...punch...."painbo." He said making air quotes with his fingers. "I mean it really is up to you."

"Did I just see what I saw or have I passed out again and woken up in another dimension?" Xander asked Cordelia and Doyle.

"No, you are still awake. We have seen evil Angelus and regular Angel. Well meet Mr. Sensitive Angel." Cordelia quipped.

"I'd rather not. He's acting like a ponce." Xander said, as Cordelia and Doyle looked at him. "What? It's a Giles word."

Cordelia smiled knowingly as Doyle still looked confused. "What does it mean?" he asked.

"How should I know?" Xander said. "It just always sounded cool when Giles said it and I thought by the way he used to say it that the timing was appropriate."

"Oh, well that certainly makes sense," Doyle said, dryly.

"Man, I wish we had a special type of video camera so we could catch Angel on tape right now. Think how many people would like to have a copy of him acting like this." Xander said, smiling.

"Yeah, we could sell them and make some extra money so I could get my raise." Cordy said, thinking about how much Angel would pay so Buffy and the others wouldn't see him at this moment.

"Hey, wait a minute. There's three of us here." Doyle pointed out.

"Xander doesn't technically work for us. He just helps out a lot." Cordy reasoned.

"Yeah, but I would still get a cut of the profit." Xander argued.

"Why, is that?"

"Because it was my idea, along with the blackmail photos I could hold over his head," Xander said calculating how much fun he could have with this situation.

"Children, that's all very nice, but can we just concentrate on the situation at hand - namely those two." Doyle said pointing at Kate and Angel who were looking at each other lovingly. "You," Kate said.

"No, you," Angel replied.

"Come here." Kate told him and they walked towards each other before hugging.

"Anyone for vomit?" Cordelia asked.

"I think I just might." Xander said as they helped him up from the chair so they could help Angel and Kate.

******************************************

After a few hours the spell was beginning to wear off. The officers were cleaning up and making sure that all the prisoners were secured back into their cells and the injured police officers were getting medical treatment. Luckily, no one had been killed. Everyone was feeling pretty ridiculous for the way they had acted. Kate and Angel tried to act like nothing had happened by ignoring each other as they helped Doyle and Cordelia take care of Xander.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright. Don't you want to go to the hospital or something?" Angel asked the boy with concern.

"No, no hospitals. I hate hospitals. I'll be fine in a day or so. Just a slight concussion and a few bruised ribs. At least that's what the paramedic said before Nurse Nancy here shooed him away and took over, " he hissed as Cordelia taped his ribs. "I'm beginning to get the idea that I might just be the Giles of L.A."

Everyone looked at him in confusion, except for Cordelia, who knew what Xander was referring to. It seemed like every time they had come up against any monster in Sunnydale, Giles had been knocked out. She laughed as she finished taping his ribs.

"This Giles seems like a colorful kind of guy," Doyle said.

"Yeah, he is. He's like a stuffy British librarian but when he gets all mad, he reverts to his 'Ripper' self. You know when he was a young demon raising kind of guy. He's sort of hot when he turns all Ripper." Cordy explained, grinning at the thought.

"Cordy! Please, I'm sick enough, without that image in my head," Xander said looking at Angel, who appeared to agree with him. "I mean for goodness sake, he may be nice looking and everything, but he's like a father to us. That would be like incest or something wouldn't it? So, please no more, I beg of you."

"Whatever. But you're missing a lot of nice images," she teased as she finished taping Xander's ribs.

Angel took hold of the boy and lifted him up from the chair. "We've got to get you home where you can get some rest." He sent Cordelia and Doyle to get the car and bring it around front so that Xander wouldn't have far to walk. While they were waiting on Doyle to come back up and get them, they saw Kate's dad enter the station and walk up on her.

"Katie, I got your messages on my machine." He said.

"Yeah, that was uh kind of a bizarre night." she said looking down at the floor.

"Katie, don't say anything. You make an idiot out of yourself, embarrassed me in front of the guys. You don't bring that up ever again. As far as I'm concerned, it didn't happen." he told her before turning and walking away. Kate watched him for a minute and then walked to the back of the station.

Xander and Angel watched her go with a sympathetic silence. Finally, Xander looked at Angel. "Do me a favor? Go find that prick of a father and hit him for me would you? Cause with the seeing of two of everyone, I might take a swing at the wrong one."

Angel smiled at the boy as he tightened his hold on him. "I would, but I'm afraid that I would enjoy it so much I might do something I wouldn't regret. Come on. Let's get you home so you can rest." He said steering him to where Doyle was coming through the door to escort them to the car.



Chapter Six

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