Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 8, 2006 19:11:38 GMT -5
Lilah sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She'd been poring over crime scene photos all morning, and she was grateful that she'd chosen not to eat breakfast. Whoever was behind this recent string of killings--they were very good. Or very lucky. The police had failed to gather any clues, and upon studying what little evidence there was, the firm's empaths came up with just two letters: "H" and "E".
What was that supposed to mean? Someone's initials, letters in their name, the fact that the killer was a man? Cross-referencing this information with their list of recognized freelancers turned up only one match. Henry Elder. A wild card with only a cell phone contact, no known address, and no history of being on the payroll.
She put a call in to her assistant. "Contact Henry Elder, invite him to a meeting this afternoon. Tell him we have business to discuss." She hung up the phone and tapped her immaculately-manicured nails on another case file. Another call that she would have to make, but it could wait till after lunch.
|
|
|
Post by Henry Elder on May 9, 2006 12:07:18 GMT -5
Henry entered the doors of Wolfram and Hart. People in suits swarming to and fro, and Henry couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.
He looked out of place, in his black jeans, dark coat and cut-off gloves. He took a deep breath, and stpped forward.
He strode up to a young receptionist, and said, "Excuse, I'm Henry Elder. I'm here to meet with, uh..."
He struggled to remember her name. "Lilah Morgan."
The receptionist consulted a file, and then smiled sweetly, saying, "She's in her office. She's waiting."
He gave her a nod, and left for Lilah's office.
|
|
Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 9, 2006 13:14:17 GMT -5
Lilah saw the man approach through the window and got up to open the door for him. "Mr. Elder," she smiled warmly. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. Please come in, have a seat."
He looked rugged and weather-beaten, a change from the starched and press suits that she dealt with all day. But not necessarily a welcome change. She tried not to wrinkle her nose at the smell of smoke and alcohol that surrounded him like an aura. "Can I get you anything? We have some very fine single malt scotch," she offered.
|
|
|
Post by Henry Elder on May 9, 2006 13:24:32 GMT -5
"Yeah, why not." he asked, sitting down. His eyes flickered over her body and face for a moment, and then it was back to business. "So, who needs killin'?"
|
|
Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 9, 2006 14:51:32 GMT -5
Well, he was curt and straight to the point, she observed. But like all lawyers, Lilah thought in billable hours. And "curt" wasn't exactly profitable. She picked up the bottle of scotch from her sideboard, poured about an inch worth into a crystal glass and placed it on the desk before him.
"Mr. Elder, you make the business of killing sound so...ephemeral," she shrugged, perching herself on the desk and crossing her long legs. "I suppose it's easy to get desensitized in your line of work. One demon's very much like another, and who really cares about the consequences as long as the check clears?"
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "But consequences seem to have caught up with you, Mr. Elder. During your recent stay in Los Angeles, you've managed to kill several of my firm's best clients. You eluded us for a while, which is admirable, but we have resources that the police department don't. Not that we usually bother with that whole 'irrefutable evidence' thing; sometimes we just like to let our forensics team have a little fun," she laughed hollowly with no hint of amusement.
"But here's the point: You've put a sizeable dent in our quarterly profits and that doesn't sit well with the Senior Partners." She adopted her iciest tone and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Now, tell me...how do you plan to pay us back?"
|
|
|
Post by Henry Elder on May 9, 2006 15:01:15 GMT -5
Before he had a chance to try and figure out what 'ephemeral' meant, he started to grow angry. "What? I wasn't planning to pay you back." he said, annoyed.
"I'm an assassin. It's just what I do, I'm making a living here. I don't much care if you're pissed at that idea, or who your law firm knows or what it can do. It just all depends on who hires me, and I guess a lot of my employers have been pretty angry at you. Can't you all just...get along?"
He smirked at her. Like some suit was going to tell him what to do.
|
|
Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 9, 2006 18:10:35 GMT -5
She met his self-satisfied smirk with a blank look, betraying no emotion. Anger and annoyance were just a brief storm she'd have to weather in order to secure his services. "We get along with everyone who plays by our rules," she replied cheerfully.
She pushed herself off the desk and walked around to the opposite side to sit in her chair. "Mr. Elder, I don't think you're seeing the big picture. It's all about power--who has it, who doesn't, who can give it, and who can take it away." She clasped her hands together on the desk and leaned forward. "And believe me, my firm isn't in the habit of making idle threats. Despite all that nonchalance and forced bravado that you're currently displaying, there's something that scares you. Something that keeps you up at night, causes you to break into a cold sweat. We will find it, we will exploit it, and we'll set you up in a cozy cottage in your own custom-made purgatory. All it takes is one call." She tilted her head toward the phone, making sure she was understood.
"Besides..." she continued with a short laugh, leaning back into the chair and assuming a casual air. "I wasn't talking about payment in the literal sense. I was speaking of a trade. You do us a favor, and we wipe the slate clean. You'll be free to murder and maim wherever you choose," she stated, waving her hands in an open gesture. "As long as it's not Los Angeles."
|
|
|
Post by Henry Elder on May 10, 2006 4:51:42 GMT -5
He was silent for a moment. Then he laughed slightly. "I've met so many people like you. Idiots in suits, think they can scare me, lecture me about power." he said. "You're a little different, though. You actually do have power. Or at least you work for it."
He finished his drink, and stood up to his full height. "Haven't been in L.A long, Ms. Morgan. For too long I've been doing easy jobs for losers fighting petty battles."
He put his empty glass down on her desk, and turned back around to face her. "I think we can deal."
|
|
Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 10, 2006 11:50:14 GMT -5
"I knew you'd see things my way, Mr. Elder," Lilah smiled pleasantly, trying to ignore the fact that he'd referred to her as an idiot in a suit. She opened a drawer in her desk and retrieved a manila envelope, sliding it across the desk.
"The firm needs someone taken care of. And I believe your very special talents would be well-matched to the task," she said.
|
|
|
Post by Henry Elder on May 10, 2006 11:55:18 GMT -5
"Name, species, crime and location. In fact...forget the crime. Not interested."
|
|
Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 10, 2006 12:24:13 GMT -5
Lilah templed her fingers and sat back in the chair, allowing Henry the chance to look through the envelope's contents. "Target's name is Faith Lehane. Don't be fooled by appearances, Mr. Elder. This young woman has at least one murder to her credit, probably a dozen more casualties, and a few incidents of torture."
She slid a blueprint and several surveillance photos across the desk. "In a matter of hours, she'll be released from a nearby women's penitentiary. Remanded into house arrest, and this is the house she's most likely to go to. The Hyperion Hotel downtown. She has associates there. Well-armed associates. So a frontal assault wouldn't be a good idea."
Lilah knew that Henry wasn't in the habit of killing humans. At least not according to their observations of his recent behavior. But Faith was hardly human; if anything, Henry seemed the type to welcome a challenge and a Slayer would certainly give him a run for his money. And speaking of money...
"You will be compensated for your troubles, of course. We've taken the liberty of opening a Swiss bank account in your name. That's the account number," she explained, handing him a card with several digits on it. "Half of your fee will be deposited now, the other half when we have proof that the job is complete. This woman is a major liability to our firm, Mr. Elder. And the Senior Partners would be very grateful if you would remove said liability."
|
|
|
Post by Henry Elder on May 10, 2006 12:36:51 GMT -5
He flicked through the file, coming across her picture. "Pretty face. Shame to ruin it." He snapped the file shut. "I've got it. In a very short space of time, she'll no longer be a liability."
|
|
Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 10, 2006 13:25:52 GMT -5
"The Senior Partners do appreciate your cooperation in this matter, Mr. Elder. Obviously, the resources of the firm are at your disposal while you're under contract with us. And I don't need to remind you that this conversation never happened," she said emphatically, leveling her gaze at him.
She picked up a pen and shifted her focus to a legal pad on her desk. "I trust you can show yourself out," she remarked, giving him a slight smile of dismissal.
|
|
|
Post by Henry Elder on May 10, 2006 13:48:30 GMT -5
"Of course. This never happened, etcerta, etcerta." he said, sneaking a look at her butt. "Thanks for the drink."
He turned around, and walked out.
|
|
Lilah
Bad Ass Demon Slayer
Legal Eagle
Posts: 318
|
Post by Lilah on May 10, 2006 15:03:39 GMT -5
Lilah kept the smile plastered on her face until Henry had closed the door behind him, then let out a small sigh of relief. Sometimes she really hated in-person meetings with the firm's contractors. She gingerly picked up the glass that he had drunk from and dropped it into the trash can. She had to wonder if Henry had any inkling of just how disposable he was.
So he was off to confront the fallen Slayer. Any outcome was a win-win for Wolfram & Hart. If Henry killed Faith, that was one less wild card for the forces of good out there on the streets. If Faith killed Henry, which Lilah thought to herself was the more likely outcome, she would have killed a human and negated all her hopes of redemption. And thus the Senior Partners would take another piece from Angel's side of the chessboard.
It was time for the second order of business. She turned to her laptop and began to write up an email to the district attorney. Seemed his wife had made some rather questionable property purchases, a scandal which they'd managed to keep out of the papers until a wronged investor started talking to a reporter. Lilah was writing to see if there was anything, anything at all, that their firm could do to help with their current situation.
|
|