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Chapter Two
Richie followed Angel and Doyle back to the office. Angel was still deep in thoughtful-and-brooding mode; Doyle was trying to make small talk; and Richie was still wondering what he'd gotten himself into and hoping that his bike wouldn't get towed away. Not surprisingly, Cordelia was still at the office, trying to come up with some research that might spread some light on the sword-wielding demon, or whatever. Doyle and Angel had gone out to patrol the neighbourhood, and she certainly wasn't expecting them to bring back a visitor. She was pleased to note, though, that said visitor didn't seem to need to a special invitation to enter the building.
"Hi, guys", she greeted, putting down her books.
"Hey, Cordy".
"Hi, Cordelia. Did you find anything?" asked Angel.
She shrugged.
"A few references to ritual sword fights, ending with beheadings; unsolved police cases. Could be something". Angel nodded and went to look at her notes.
"Can I get you a beer, Richie?" Doyle asked after a moment, heading for the fridge.
"Sure. Thanks". Not sure what to do with himself, Richie had finally settled on taking a look at the office he'd been brought to."I, er, like what you've done with the place".
Cordelia looked quizically at Doyle as he past her, hoping for some information as to what was going on, but he just shook his head at her. She got up to follow him, but it was then that Richie noticed her.
"Hi, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Richie...Richie Ryan".
"Hi. Cordelia Chase", she replied politely.
"So", he began, giving her the patented Ryan grin, "what's a gorgeous girl like you doing in a place like this".
"Ah, well, I'm an actress..."
"Oh, method acting?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. My next part is about a secretary in a detective office who works for a vampire, a short Irishman, and TPTB".
"Who?!"
"Oh, never mind. I've obviously been working too hard. Oh look, here's Doyle with some beer. That makes a change".
"Hey, Cordy, I see you met Richie", Doyle commented, handing Richie a bottle of beer.
"We were just...getting to know each other", Richie replied, grinning at Cordelia, who blushed lightly. He was quite cute, in a boyish way, she admitted. Still, what she really wanted was to know was what was going on. Angel, still deeply buried in his books, was being absolutely no help.
"Doyle, a word, please. Richie, excuse us". Cordelia dragged Doyle out of the room, into the kitchen, determined to get some answers.
"20-something guy, curly, red hair...I'm guessing this isn't a co-incidence".
"You'd be guessing right, princess. It was Richie I saw in the vision. We came across him while out on patrol. After he beheaded a vamp, Angel decided he was worth keeping an eye on".
"After he what?!"
"This vampire was coming for him, and Richie whips out a sword and after a minute, swish, whack, nice pile of ash on the ground".
"A sword. Like the one his killer has?""No. A different kind of sword. One that only works on vampires! Of course, one like the killer has. Something funny's going on here, and Angel's determined to get to the bottom of it. Even if Richie does have a sword, he obviously doesn't succeed in defending himself against this guy. He had nowhere to stay, either, so..."
"So, he's here. Doyle, the guy a total stranger! We don't know a thing about him."
"Cordy, he's alright. He's from Seacouver. Drove up on his bike just to see LA for a few days. Works as a manager in a friend's martial arts dojo."
"And carries a sword!"
"Cordy, relax. He's a nice guy. The sword thing is...strange, I admit. But, if the powers want us to help him. Plus Angel's determined to find out what's going on."
"And, neither of you thought to ask him? Men!"
"It's not that simple".
"Sure it is. I'll ask him. Besides I think he likes me."
"Fine. You do that. Just...just don't come crying to me if he fobs you off with some "I know about keeping secrets", he continued quietly, as Cordelia flounced out of the room, ignoring him.
Smiling sweetly at Richie as she re-entered the room, Cordelia went to sit next to the young man.
"So, Richie. Doyle says you're from Seacouver... I've never been there. Nice place?"
"Yeah, it's ok..."
"You work in some gym...place?"
"Er, yeah. It's a dojo. My friend Mac owns it. It's mainly martial arts, classes and stuff. But there's also gym equipment", Richie replied, laughing.
"I bet you work out loads", Cordelia purred, with a perfectly straight face. At this even Angel looked up, raising his eyebrows. He hadn't known that Cordy was that good at this. He wondered exactly what Doyle had told her about Richie. What did she want from the boy? He caught Doyle's eye. The Irishman was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen, watching Cordy. He gave Angel a small shrug, and a look that said 'don't blame me'.
Surprisingly Richie managed to meet Cordelia's eye with only a faint blush on his face.
"Actually, I do", he replied, "But I bet you say that to all the guys".
"Not all of them", she pouted. Richie just laughed good-naturedly.
"So, what's this about you and a big, long sword?"
This time Richie did have to clear his suddenly-dry throat before replying.
Doyle narrowed his eyes as he watched Cordy, and Angel could tell he thought she was going too far. It was very obvious, to Angel at least, that Doyle was just a little in love with Cordelia. It was also just as obvious that Cordelia thought of Doyle as just a friend.
"My-my sword?"
"Yeah, why do you carry a sword with you?"
"Oh. I, er, I have a fencing competition next month. I need to practice all the time."
"And you just decided to use it on that vampire? Good fencing skills."
"Um, just lucky I guess".
"You sure were".
"I could...I could show you some moves some time if you like", Richie offered.
"Sure", Cordelia breathed. Well, he was cute. Very cute, in fact. And he knew about the vampires.
"Oh, please! Get a room, will you!" Doyle snarled at them, destroying the moment, and storming past them and out of the offices. Cordelia looked to Angel.
"He'll be alright. He's just jealous. You know how he feels about you".
"Yeah, well, don't worry about it. He knows you don't feel the same. He'll be alright. Give him time."
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault Richie".
"He won't do anything stupid, will he?"
"Well, this is Doyle we'll talking about".
Richie just stared at her.
"No, seriously, he's fine. Probably just getting drunk somewhere". Richie nodded, thoughtful. There had been something bothering him about Doyle since he'd first met him. He still wasn't absolutely sure, but was fairly certain now. Doyle was pre-immortal. And, he was wandering around nightime LA on his own, probably soon to be drunk. He doubted it was the first time the man had done that, but Richie had a bad feeling about this. If Doyle died, he really should be there to help. Besides, he couldn't help but feel that it was fault that Doyle had stormed out.
"Oh, man", he moaned, as all this went through his mind. He jumped up, grabbing his jacket.
"I have to find him", he announced, rushing out. Cordelia just stared after him, her mouth open. Angel just shook his head, the mystery deepening.
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