It seemed that the elevators were on a go slow at the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram and Hart, although Adelaide had come up with the theory that everything in America was slow. That was the way these obnoxious, arrogant pigs lived. High calorie, high stress lifestyles where everything had to run a few seconds longer lest they give themselves heart attacks. Adelaide hadn't enjoyed this country since she had moved here three months ago. She'd been lying low and taken some time to do some little touristy things before picking up any work. That was when she had discovered her new least favourite thing about the United States. Whilst visiting Las Vegas, Adelaide had discovered that America had build their own Eiffel Tower! The audacity of this country to use her beloved France's glory as their own. But that was always the way with these people. They didn't join the war till the last minute and then declared themselves global heroes when the war was won. But who had done all the hard work? France and the United Kingdom of course. No wonder Adelaide skulked around Los Angeles with a scowl of discontent, there was just so much she found despicable about her new country of residence.

She spent her time focussing on her blood red fingernails as the elevator slowly came to halt. Tutting at the slight chip in the paint, she stepped out into the lobby and immediately analysed the room. Underneath the overpass seemed to be a good location to hide, if there was anything to grip, seeing that no one in this facility looked anywhere beyond right in front of their noses. On that note, Adelaide concluded that the best place to hide would be in plain sight. It usually was, no one ever looked in the crowd. As long as you seemed the part, and in a classy black coat with your typical business attire of a skirt and blouse with black courts on underneath how couldn't she? Offices were always the easiest place to kill someone because blending in was simple.

It wasn't far from true that Adelaide loved working for Wolfram and Hart. She hated people who were late or untidy and suffice to say she found that the Senior Partners and their subordinates ran the offices tight. Not to mention she was always afforded the best in hospitality and the fee was always a generous sum. She always meant it when she remarked that it was a pleasure to do business with them. The Senior Partners were certainly her safest of employers. It was unlikely anyone would have the resources to outbid them and switch her loyalties. Confidently, she strode to the front desk. Bonjour Her piercing blue gaze locked right in on the secretary. This was always fun, freaking out the bimbo on the front desk. They were always the lowest in the workplace. If they could handle her stare down, then maybe she might just remark that they could do with a promotion. Maybe. If they made her blood right. The Noirceur here. I have an appointment.

Yet another day at work, one that had started off so slowly that Lilah was already in a fairly bad mood. She hadn't worked her way up the corporate scale, stepping on heads and destroying lives, in order to deal with mundane tasks that involved a ridiculous amount of paper work. Her fingernails tapped against the desk in an irritated manner as she flipped through the forms in front of her, skimming through the information she had to fill in. By hand. Ugh... Couldn't the Senior Partners find someone else to delegate this to? Apparently not, because the matter was highly confidential and complex, requiring her expertise, and the client was some very old and demanding warlock that disliked modern technology and wanted everything to be handled via good old, traditional pen and paper.

The all too familiar sound of the reminder that her computer generated before an appointment in her calendar drew Lilah's attention away from the papers and to the screen in front of her, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips when she saw whom the appointment was it. At long last, something interesting to do – something that had the potential of destroying lives, just the kind of thing which she completely adored. It's why she became a lawyer, after all, and why she worked for Wolfram and Hart instead of working for some small firm where she would have earned her living by saving the innocent in court. Speaking of saving the innocent, her appointment was directly related to the concept – more specifically to the pathetic ensouled vampire which saved the innocent and always, somehow, stepped on her toes and on those of her big bosses. Assuming they had any toes, at any rate.

If everything went well at the meeting today – and it was very likely to go well, because Lilah took pride in her negotiation and persuasion skills – then the Senior Partners were going to be happy, because they would finally have eyes and years inside Angel's precious little agency. They claimed that it was a very important step they needed to make for the plans they had with him. The fact that they purposely left out the details about the big plan annoyed Lilah quite a bit but there was nothing that she could do about it other than play her part and prove them what a precious asset she was to the firm. There was a knock on her door – right on time, Lilah noted. ”Come in”, she called out and stood to meet her visitor, whom one of the secretaries had lead inside. Although the vampire worked for them, this was the first time in which they met in person, so the proper introductions needed to be done. ”Miss Chevalier, welcome.” Lilah offered her hand. ”Lilah Morgan.” She gestured towards one of the seats in front of her desk and then took a seat. ”Would you like something to drink? We carry different assortments of blood, I am sure we might have a species or type for your taste.”

Adelaide had been employed by Wolfram and Hart throughout Europe. Whilst she had never been so honoured as to meet with the Senior Partners themselves, she was always pleased to receive a message from one of their branches requesting her services. Of course normally she was asked to perform an off the books hit on someone. The payment was always off the record and if she was caught, and she never was, Wolfram and Hart could deny all knowledge of her. She'd never prove it in a court, but Adelaide didn't really care. Prison did not frighten her and she doubted that the legal system could hold her. Still, she liked working outside the company. It meant she could do exactly as she pleased. Adelaide had never done well with restriction.

The secretary looked unimpressed by her presence. Adelaide ignored the filthy look. She didn't like the way this woman dressed, nor her attitude. Definitely no recommendation here. Perhaps, if she was in the mood, she'd complain. That was always amusing. Still, she kept mostly to herself as she was lead to an office. Whilst she looked like she was doing little, she was subtly analysing the movement patterns of employees, areas that were unnoticed, easier to hide in. Adelaide hadn't survived occupied France without a sire by being inactive. No, she always held a policy to ensure that should everything go to hell (and in this building why wouldn't it?) she would have a way out.

Adelaide smiled softly, shaking hands with the woman. Bonjour Madame Morgan. Quickly, she analysed the office, taking a seat in front of the desk. She was actually aware of the glass windows that streamed filtered light inside. It wasn't every day that Adelaide was able to feel the sun touch her porcelain skin, but she knew it wasn't just for show. Wolfram and Hart dealt with vampires on a daily basis. One wrong move and the vampire could be out the window. Dust before they hit the ground. She pulled a cigarette holder from her handbag. If you have human AB, that would be most pleasant. Do you mind if I smoke? She curved her blood red lips into a smile. What can I do for the firm today?

There were times when Lilah wondered if she could have a successful career in acting in case she ever got bored of this whole lawyer in the service of evil routine. Of course, it was a purely hypothetical issue, because working for Wolfram and Hart wasn't really like working for any low class law firm and terminating a contract... well, the termination could get a little bloody and messy most of the time and Lilah very much preferred being alive. In case something got to her while she was still an employee, there was a little clause in her contract that was going to assure her a job even beyond the grave. Then, hypothetically, could she have been a good actress? Lilah liked to think that she would have and that she was proving it in kind every day on the job, when she had to offer bright smiles to creatures that made her completely sick to her stomach. One thing was for sure: working for Wolfram and Hart required one to have the best people skills.

From the moment in which the vampire entered her office, Lilah started playing the part of the professional that treated the other contractors of the Senior Partners with utmost respect, in spite of the fact that vampires ranked pretty low among her personal preferences. Well, not that Lilah actually had a liking for anything that wasn't human but as far as vampires were concerned, she outright hated them with a passion. Although she wouldn't admit it out loud, the feeling had a lot to do with a certain vampire with a soul that was a constant thorn in her side, making it very hard for her to keep her position among the firm. Not that the soulless vampires were any better than him. Sure, you could count on them to do a dirty job and take someone one but they were instinctual creatures. You could never know when they might decide to change plans and stab in you in the back – or bite you on the neck, to be more accurate.

Lilah wasn't afraid of being alone with a vampire in her office. If Adelaide was expecting to hear her pulse rush, she wasn't going to have that satisfaction. Her body only betrayed her around Angel with that kind of a reaction. If her mind wandered to him again, it was only because her discussion with Adelaide was going to revolve around the pathetic good-doer. All in their due time. Lilah took a seat behind her desk, picking up her phone and pressing the direct dial button for her secretary. ”A drink of human AB for my guest, please. Make it... very fresh”, she stressed out. That kind of order meant that Adelaide was going to get served with one of the many persons in the building who were on the Senior Partners' list to have their contracts terminated. The young woman put the phone back in its hook and then offered Adelaide a polite smile. ”Please, feel free to”, she answered to the first question, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips at the second one. ”Tell me, Miss Chevalier, what do you know about Angel? Or Angelus?”

If there was one word to describe Adelaide, it was independent. Even as a human, she had taught herself to survive through the destruction and pain of war, caring for her family whilst her father had fought for France. After his death, Adelaide had sought out the French resistance and taught herself the skills to survive. Then as a sireless vampire, she trained hard and read many books in order to find the meaning and purpose of being a vampire. She never found much beyond what already drove her, the art of killing and the thrill of the hunt. But perhaps that was enough, it seemed to keep the demon inside her sated.

It was a good thing Adelaide could not read minds, because Lilah's opinion on vampires would have been something of a distaste to her. Adelaide viewed most newborn vampires as instinctual, searching for purpose and direction, easy kills. But vampires of age and understanding were elegant, regal in behaviour. They saw the world for what it was, chaos, and found meaning in it. Adelaide prided herself on being classy, sophisticated and most certainly in control of her own primitive urges. She certainly did not take the dirty jobs. A woman who had spent a good half century studying and perfecting the art of killing did not just take on any job. Wolfram and Hart never called her in for something so basic.

A soft, cruel smile formed on her features listening to Lilah order a drink for her. Oh you do treat your guests most wonderfully. Something I have always enjoyed about the firm. Casually lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag from it, ensuring not to put ash anywhere. When the blood arrived, Adelaide took it from the secretary with a quiet merci before taking a sip, smiling in delight. Nothing beats fresh AB for morning tea. So sweet and pleasing. Merci Madam.

At Lilah's next question Adelaide raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow and smirked a little. Angelus, scourge of Europe, was in a way my surrogate sire. At least, his stories provided what little information I could gather as a fledging. She paused, pondering the rest of her question. I have heard rumours of Angel, a vampire who slays us and, loved a slayer I believe. I hear he's a hard man to catch. She laughed softly, a hint of delight in her tone at the prospect of hunting the vampire hunter. Do the Partners desire his exist from this realm of existence?

Oh you do treat your guests most wonderfully. Something I have always enjoyed about the firm.

Lilah could only meet the compliment with a very wide grin on her lips. ”The Senior Partners shall be very delighted to hear that you think this”, she replied. To Lilah's best of knowledge, Wolfram and Hart was the only law firm in this realm that dealt with the many (and highly unusual) issues faced by demons in this dimension but firm policy was that lack of competition did not have to lead to a decrease in the quality of the services they offered. After all, some demons mastered the art of traveling through different dimensions and the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart were not the only ones that could tend to their needs there. The Senior Partners wanted the law firm to be the best and feedback was a key element in constant improvement, whether it came from clients or from other contractual partners. If negative feedback was received, the employee who dealt with that particular client, well... delicately put, they were off the payroll. Positive feedback kept you alive and unscathed, so it was important, even when it was coming from someone as low on the food chain as a vampire was. Not that the Senior Partners would have went as far as to axe her for not giving a proper welcome to one of the firm's paid killers but Lilah didn't want to make small mistakes that could pile up and be used by the three demons later. Everything she did had to be perfect, Lilah didn't settle for anything less.

When the secretary arrived with the very fresh blood Lilah had ordered, the woman had to take a discreet deep breath in order to fight the nauseating feeling that was threatening to settle itself into the pit of her stomach. She wasn't squeamish at the sight of blood, no. Lilah had no trouble assisting to blood rituals; on the contrary, she enjoyed being the one to drag the blade across the skin of the sacrifice or bury it deeply in their flesh. The thought that the vampire was going to drink it from a glass, in front of her, bothered her a little more than she liked to admit. ”I'm going to take your word for it but stick to my coffee”, Lilah replied, doing her best to hide her disgust and sound completely professional. ”If you need another one, let me know. We have enough donors around”, the lawyer offered with a smirk on her lips.

Taking her pen in her right hand, Lilah tapped the desk lightly with it while she listened to Adelaide's reply to her question concerning the broody thorn in the Senior Partners' side. ”That sums it up pretty well”, Lilah confirmed when the vampire finished talking. ”Do the Senior Partners want him gone?” The lawyer laughed. ”That's an underestimation. Ultimately, they do. But before he makes his grand exit and goes to hell, his life should be completely miserable.” Lilah's lips curled into a smirk. ”I know you're thrilled for the kill but this time you're going to have to do things a little differently. Do you think you can manage it or should we find someone else to help us?” Lilah leaned a little over the desk, catching the vampire's gaze while she waited for an answer.