Catching sight of people from home was more difficult than he’d hoped. Sure, he’d had some fun reconnecting with Fred back in Los Angeles, but he really wanted to catch up with his two favorite slayers. Buffy with her moral determination to do the right thing, and Faith with her resolve to make sure Angelus couldn’t fuck up Angel’s precious redemption arc. Oh, Faithy. She was such a firecracker. But then there were the kiddos that somehow existed here. He’d already met Fred’s daughter, and he’d caught a few glimpses of Faith’s. Both delicious in their own ways.
Until he was able to schedule the family reunion, Angelus busied himself keeping tabs on the other players in Atlantis. So many different types of people, personalities, and powers. He had to make sure to keep a low profile so he wouldn’t be caught again too quickly, but he was here and he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to make a little noise. After all, what was the fun in playing by the rules?
Molly hadn’t planned on staying so late in the forensics laboratory building. With the damage Angelus was doing before and after his escape she’d been asked to make sure there were precautions in place in case someone came back as a vampire while they were in her care. Not something she’d ever had to worry about in London, but she knew that there was always the ability for the strange to happen in Atlantis. She’d known that in Breckenridge, too, and it wasn’t as though she wasn’t used to the possibility, but it unnerved her still the same. She’d hoped to be back with Rosie before the sun had set, but just her luck, she hadn’t been able to leave while it was daylight.
She’d taken to wearing a simple gold cross, and she had vial of what she’d been told was holy water on hand in the morgue so she took one with her when she left tonight. Her thoughts were so focused on getting back safely that she was hyper-focused, much to her detriment.
Since his escape, Angelus had gotten in touch with a couple COS agents to give him updates on what was going on near the base. They were able to blend in much easier in civilian clothing that he ever could have, and there was the whole thing of not being able to venture out during the day - something he’d soon discovered was somehow not applicable to all other vampires in Atlantis. The sun had already set, but an agent gave him the head’s up that one of the doctors had left the base and was heading back. Knowing the route she would likely take, Angelus took back alleys and side streets to a section of town where he knew he could be able to cut her off before she ever reached the housing area of the city.
Watching and waiting, the moment he caught sight of the good doctor, Angelus licked his lips and waited until she was close enough. Using his speed, he grabbed hold of her and pulled her into the dark alley before she ever had the chance to scream. Holding her against the brick wall with one hand and the other wrapped tightly around her throat, Angelus sneered at her with yellow eyes.
“Shhh,” he whispered, his face barely inches from hers. “As much as I like a good screamer, I’d rather not have to kill you right away.”
Molly’s eyes widened and she froze for a moment before letting him drag her. One thing Sherlock had taught her: go along with a plan as long as it makes sense. That applied to keeping herself alive, too. The advice had been given to her off the cuff when he was dealing with Moriarty, after all.
But Moriarty wasn’t a vampire, and that made this situation even more dangerous, especially as his hand wrapped around her slim throat.
She simply nodded, making as little movement as possible otherwise. She didn’t reply, but she knew her eyes were wide with fear and her pupils most likely were reacting in a way that made it obvious she was scared. As long as he thought she was terrified, that would be the only way he might let his guard down.
She hoped.
“Good girl,” He said and tapped her cute little nose with a finger. “Let’s go.” Angelus jerked her away and towards the back of the alley where he knew they could slip away without notice. He kept a tight grip on her upper arm as they walked. There was a manhole cover just ahead, and after pulling off the cover, he shoved the woman down towards the hole.
“Down you go,” he said in a tone that left very little room for objection. He wasn’t about to stay above ground and risk getting caught. He had limited resources here now that he had escaped, and he knew too little about the area to scope out a real location on the fly. He’d mostly been staying on the move and keeping a low profile while figuring out his next move. Right now, this was his next move.
“Move. Now.” He squeezed her arm again and pushed her down to the ground a little more.
Even though Atlantis was a rather clean place, the sewers were...well, obviously sewers. She had smelled just as bad on her autopsy table with putrificted corpses, especially floaters in the Thames and those who were killed in bathtubs and left for days. Still, she had to keep herself from gagging as the smells assaulted her. They were not pleasant and she had no VapoRub under her nose to kill its intensity.
Not that she thought it bothered her captor, though. Even if he had heightened senses and whatnot, he had the feeling Angelus was used to such places.
She only had a short moment of between being pushed into the sewer and Angelus joining her, but she managed to get the vial of holy water arranged in the pocket of her trousers where it wouldn't be noticed unless she was searched but she could reach it if she could get her fingers into the pocket. Unfortunately, the throwing knives Sherlock gave her were in ankle holsters, and she doubted she'd have a chance to bend over and palm one into her jumper sleeve.
And she was right. Angelus was with her again in mere seconds.
She knew, sometimes, getting a person to talk about their plan would let him lapse in his attention of her. She had to be careful not to press Angelus so far that he attacked but still. A lapse of attention could mean escape.
"You know they'll be looking for you," she said. "And if you know anything about me, you'll know there's going to be an alarm when I don't return to my flat in my usual amount of time. My friends will make sure of that."
Angelus’ feet splashed into the shallow water when he hit the floor of the sewer. He’d made his moves quickly and had the woman in his grasp again within just a few seconds. When she started prattling at him about the others coming after her if they knew she’d gone missing, he rolled his eyes as they moved along. “Lookie here, we have a winner,” he said sarcastically. He didn’t have any idea in hell who her friends were, but Angelus was hardly worried about them.
“Do you really think I’m sticking around here for the ‘mission’ or the deal I made?” The COS agents could kiss his ass as far as he was concerned. Sure, he played along for a little while, but Angelus followed no one’s orders except for his own. Maybe a ruthless centuries old blonde every once in a while when he wanted to let her have his way with him. Otherwise, he played by his own rules, and his rules were fun. For him, anyway.
His primary targets were still out of Atlantis as far as he could tell, so he needed to make preparations before their inevitable return. Buffy, Fred, Faith, and even little Lorna. He wanted to collect them all. He’d had the chance to get reacquainted with Fred back in LA, but he still hadn’t had a heart-to-heart with his favorite slayers.
Still pulling her along, Angelus was headed towards a section of the sewer that he’d found during his first few days of being in Atlantis. It had above-ground access to some of the more secluded parts of town, but he didn’t trust sticking to the surface 24/7 just yet. There were a few supplies that he’d left there so that he could secure the woman until he decided on his next move.
“No, because if you did, you’d be an idiot, and I don’t quite think that title fits you,” she replied as they moved. “You’re not really any different than Moriarty, I suppose, at least in that regard. Though he did off himself rather than continue the game he was in, and I don’t think self-sacrifice is quite your thing, either.”
She did not appreciate being pulled, especially by the hand that she could use to grasp the holy water in her pocket more easily, but she’d let him for now. In the sewer her only choices were to go into the water and be swept out to wherever it went, if he didn’t jump in after her or grab her before she went any farther first. Wherever it was he was planning on taking her, there may be better escape options or at least a better chance to maim him and then escape.
Angelus scoffed but didn't say anything. Self sacrifice? Yeah, no. That was Angel's tired song and dance: ‘Oh my poor tortured soul. How will I make up for all of my horrible past wrongs today?’ The fucking soul that made him want to flay himself alive by just the thought of it. It was like a stick shoved so far up Angel's ass that it took getting laid to pull it out. It was pathetic.
“At least you're not entirely stupid,” he said a bit sarcastically. “You've got one up on those idiot agents already.”
Once they reached the turn off, they walked a little ways more until they reached an area that had a few supplies. Supplies that included zip ties and duct tape. Yessiree.
He shoved her away from him towards a corner and busied himself with picking out a set of zip ties for her hands and feet. If she was going to be bait then he couldn't have her running off, could he?
She resisted the urge to say a smart retort at the “not entirely stupid” remark. While she had been there long enough that most people were aware of who her friends from home were, Angelus obviously was not. And he didn’t know all the things they had taught her, or else he just severely underestimated her.
Well, let’s put that to my advantage, she thought to herself, appreciating he was giving her a moment alone while he went to look for ways to secure her.
She quietly leaned down and palmed one of her throwing knives in the ankle holster into the sleeve of her jumper. Mary had taught her that trick, as well as how to cut away bindings. If he didn’t hear the sawing motion, she could free her hands. He didn’t seem to want to pay a whole lot of attention to her, but she couldn’t count on that.
Once the knife was secure she let her other hand drift to where the holy water vial was in her trousers and waited. Her next move would depend on his.
Finding the necessary tools, Angelus returned to the woman and began situating her. There was a thick pipe that ran from the top of the sewer wall to the bottom. One of the longer zip ties was fastened around her legs to keep her in place and the other was set to secure her to the pipe with her hands behind her back. He would have much preferred a good, thick rope to help secure her, but desperate times and all that bullshit.
Turning back, he reached for the duct tape to help fastened her hands and cover that mouth that he didn’t want to have to deal with for however long this took. Now, if he decided to end up cutting her or what have you then the duct tape would disappear and he’d enjoy hearing her scream. Otherwise, hostages needed to keep quiet or else he’d accidentally kill someone.
Before he applied the tape to her mouth, though, Angelus smirked at her as he stared into her eyes. “You know, I plan to have a full meal soon, but while you’re here….” His face shifted, and he leaned in to take a few drinks from the lovely vein in her neck. He’d bleed her a little more in order to get the necessary blood to help set the bait, but this was just for fun.
This was a turn she hadn’t expected, and as he fed off of her she knew the blood loss was not going to be a good thing. At least he wasn’t turning her. She was thankful for that much. But she felt her eyes droop closed as the loss of blood hit her hard, her thought being she hoped, somehow, she could get out of this alive.
Once he'd had enough he knew would weaken her, Angelus pulled away and licked the blood away from his lips. He could have easily just killed the woman - the white hats would be after him either way - but he liked having live bait to play with and dangle in front of his targets. He heard her heart rate slow and knew she was unconscious for the time being.
As for the bait, he retrieved a knife from an inner coat pocket and cut a line down the palm of her hand. Deep enough to draw blood but not deep enough to bleed her out while she was unconscious. He held a vile under her hand to catch some of the blood and capped it off, placing it in his pocket. There was a spot in town he knew he was going to spill some of it to make it look like she'd been taken elsewhere. Verifying again that she was sound asleep, Angelus stepped away and left to go place the blood before she woke up.
When she came too, it was quiet. Maybe a rat or two scurrying about, but no human or vampire footsteps. He’d tied the zip ties around her ankles a bit too tight, but the duct tape around her wrists was loose enough that she could jimmy the knife out of her sleeve. Once she got it down she shifted her hold on it between the heels of her hand to saw the duct tape off. Once free, she worked on the zip ties, which were a little harder, but soon she was completely free of all restraints.
She stood up and wobbled a bit, and realized while she hadn’t lost a whole lot of blood, perhaps under a half liter or so, it was compounding the stress of the situation, of being kidnapped and frightened out of her wits. She had strength still, though, and she needed to focus on getting out before Angelus came back. This time she took off her necklace, ready to press the cross into his skin if needed, and took the vial of holy water into her other hand and retraced their steps. Hopefully she could help stop him before anyone else got hurt.