“Hello
lover boy.”
Wes
glanced over his shoulder at Lilah, leaning casually in the doorway.
He paused for a moment then turned back to the filing cabinet again.
He rustled papers, flipping rapidly through manila file after manila
file. Lilah watched him with a small frown, right hand trailing
subconsciously to the scarf around her neck. She took a step forward,
softly, and reached out to gently grasp his shoulder.
“Obsession
isn’t healthy. Trust me, I know.”
Tensing,
the former watcher let out a deep sigh, still not turning to face
her again. “I’m sure you do, Lilah.”
“Then
why the compulsive searching? What do you hope to find?”
He
waved his hand abruptly and bowed his head. “An answer. Anything.”
He
slammed the drawer shut, resting his palm on the next handle. He
pointedly ignored the hundreds of other filing cabinets, closets,
boxes, rolls, scrolls, books, and parchments. They would be dealt
with too, in time. But first this next drawer, one drawer at a time.
“It’s
not so bad, this eternity of servitude.” Lilah tried for cheeky
but it came out rather maudlin.
He
shook his head, hunched his shoulders and squatted down to reach
the next drawer. “It isn’t? Well, that’s comforting.”
She
ignored the sarcasm and crouched next to him, dismissing the way
the linen of her pants wrinkled. She was past caring about such
things now; besides, she reappeared every morning, perfectly pressed.
“Wes…”
“Don’t.
Burning didn’t work; I get the hint. Standard perpetuity contract.”
He tilted his head, looking her in the eyes. “You could call
this a bit of personal interest as well. I want to know just what
we’re in for, now that Angel verbally sold our souls.”
“Yes,
well, verbal contracts are one floor up. This is written ones. See?
Rows upon rows upon rows of paper, all saying the same thing. Ours
for eternity.” She flashed a toothy smile. “The Senior
Partners are ever so thorough. But you aren’t going to sign
one, are you?”
Wes
was startled by the real-sounding concern in her voice. She gazed
at him with an intensity he’d not thought possible, one hand
ghosting out to almost touch his cheek. Lilah stopped a breath away
from his skin, smiling sadly.
“No,
Lilah, I won’t. But others might, and they should know what
it means to sell their soul to the devil.”
“Flames
and all?”
He
snorted. “Perhaps. But maybe…”
“If
you can figure out how to break my contract, you could break theirs?”
Wes
nodded slightly, fingering yet another file. He narrowed his eyes
and tilted his head, squatting further down. In the dim back of
the cabinet was a rolled bit of canvas. He pulled it out, carefully
unrolling it, and flinched.
It
was a portrait of a rotted skeleton, shades of puce and pond scum.
He wrinkled his nose, turning it this way and that. “What
the hell?”
Lilah
chuckled. “Ah, I see you’ve met Dorian.”
“As
in Dorian Gray? I thought he was just a story?”
Now
Lilah laughed in earnest. “No story, Wesley, but a very valuable
employee. Been with us since his vampire ex-girlfriend left him
staked to the wall with a sword through the heart. Resourceful woman,
that Mina Murray… Anyway, came to us offering Dorian’s
eternal servitude. Naturally, we were happy to oblige. He’s
most creative and wonderful at wet-works.”
Wes
tapped the now re-rolled canvas on his palm, brow creased in thought.
“And his contract?”
“Actually,
his portrait and the magics that bind him to it and this world were
the model for most of our modern contracts.” She shrugged.
“If you can break his contract, you could probably unravel
most of all of ours, given enough time.” The wicked glint
in her eye didn’t go unnoticed.
Arching
an eyebrow, Wes smirked. “Well, I think I’ll be paying
payroll and personnel a visit… see where Mr. Gray is lurking
these days. I believe we’ll have to have a chat.”
Lilah
stood, dusting off her pants. “Just to warn you, Dorian is
a smidge unpredictable.” She looked at him, narrowing her
eyes. “Then again, I think the two of you are going to get
along just fine.”
Wes
was still crouched on the floor, fingering the canvas. “Lilah?”
“Yes?”
Lilah took a step towards the doorway, but stayed to listen.
“What
if I succeed?” he whispered.
“Then
you succeed.” She tried to smile gamely. “And my contract
will be gone…”
“So
will you. I know how it works, Lilah. No contract, no artificial
life.”
He
waited for Lilah to speak, but when she remained silent, he finally
stood. A brief hesitation, then he closed the distance between them
rapidly, drawing the lawyer into an embrace. They stood that way
for a moment, his heart beating all too loudly in his chest. Lilah
allowed herself a brief moment to pretend that the last few months
hadn’t happened, that they were back in Wes’ flat making
wagers on the nature of their relationship. A beat or two later,
she stepped back.
Lifting
her chin and flipping her hair over her shoulders, she said softly.
“Good luck, Wesley.”
He
nodded, the faint smile not reaching his eyes, and gripped the portrait
tightly. Lilah turned and walked out of the hall of records, sharp
heels tapping their way down the hall. He could still smell her
there, long after the sounds had faded, and he breathed deep, before
turning to make his way to Personnel. After all, he had an obsession
to fulfill.
~Fin~
Leave
Feedback
