not so gentle persuasions

[slayedthedragon]

 
"I swear to ya, Angel, I don't know nuthin' about no demon gods."

Angel crosses his arms, looks up at the sky and then turns back with that glare, the one that makes a demon like Benny feel like a bug pinned to a display board. "Now why don't I believe you?"

"Aw, c'mon, guys," the demon begs. "You know I don't go looking for no trouble."

"No, that's true," Wesley interrupts, his voice hardening. "But it always somehow manages to go looking for you."

"Aw, geez...."

"Benny, Benny, Benny," Angel begins, then grabs the panicking demon and gives him a hard shake, forcing him to look away from Wesley and that alarming dagger he's tossing casually from one hand to the other.

A purely ceremonial dagger, as it happens, but Benny has no way of knowing that.

"We don't care about you," Angel continues. "It's your boss that's the problem. We just want Lofar. He's the one who's been making deals with Ro-Kathac."

"You want me to squeal on Lofar and Ro-Kathac? Why don't you just kill me right now while you're at it?" Benny jerks his head to stare wild-eyed at Wesley. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

Wesley looks extremely disappointed. He starts giving the knife a flip as it goes back-and-forth between his hands. Left. Right. Left.

Angel squints at Wes. Ok, that's it. He is spending WAY too much time with Illyria.

"Benny!"

"WHAT?!? Aw, man...."

"Just give us the address to his lair and we'll let you go. See? We'll even give you a head start."

"Yes, you might even make it as far as Bakersfield before Lofar's hellhounds catch up with you," Wesley adds.

"Wes!" Angel yells, as Benny proceeds to have a complete meltdown.

--------------------------

Ten minutes later they're cruising down Route 10 with the top down on Angel's '67 Plymouth.

"Well. That was productive," Wesley muses, watching the nighttime landscape rush by, "Of course, he might have given us a false address."

Angel rolls his eyes. "He was half out of his mind, Wes. On his best night, Benny isn't the most creative guy. The way we had him, the only thing he was going to come up with was the truth."

"I suppose this is where you'll chastise me for being too hard on him."

"The thought crossed my mind."

"Angel, if we don't put a stop to Lofar, he'll have half of Los Angeles pledged to Ro-Kathac, a demon god who might even give Illyria pause.... No, never mind. It would only encourage her. But the threat is real enough."

"I know that. But at least try to remember we're supposed to be the good guys?"

Wesley is silent for a while. "I'll take it under advisement."

"Great," Angel grumbles, as the convertible speeds into the night.


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