Starring:
Summary: Let the Geek Wars begin.
Date It Happened: November 30th, 2001
Log Title Scene of the Crime
Hollywood - Outside Victoria's Secret
While he wasn't there for the actual event, Wesley has returned to the scene of the crime there in Hollywood. Near Victoria's Secret no less. The holes in the pavement are in the preliminary stages of being patched and fixed. There are of course obligatory police lines drawn up with the standard yellow tape to prevent curious onlookers from hurting themselves. For the most part, the bits of worm and goop have been cleaned up. Sadly so. Wes would have preferred things more intact. He adjusts the strap of the bag o'supplies he has slung over his shoulder and surveys the area, trying to gauge where it was the worm first ascended from.
Contrary to possible accusations, Seth has not appeared in Hollywood to watch the Victoria's Secret babes like a creepy old man. Like Wesley, it's the ground-zero of the demon's appearance that has drawn him to the area. The repetitive tapping of cane on sidewalk hits the air as the man approaches the closed-off area. Coincidence is the mother of all plotbunnies, and it is purely by chance that the bystander Seth attempts to shoulder out of the way so he can get closer is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce.
Wesley was denied that pleasure of watching the ladies of Angel Investigations and their lingerie shopping. Le Sigh. He twists his bag around to reach for his notes then is shouldered aside, "Pardon, was I… Seth.. Seth Ward?" Oh no you don't, this is /his/ crime scene to nose about! They had the 'case' first!
"Hey there, English Muffin." Just to be mean, Seth sets his weight just enough that he feels comfortable about letting his right hand take his cane - and then he feels equally comfortable about rapping at Wesley's shins with it if he can manage. "I heard there was a nice big hullabaloo here yesterday. Any truth to that?"
Wesley frowns just a little, but takes the rapping of the cane against his shins in stride. People with disabilities tend to get away with a bit. At least according to House M.D. "There certainly is. My associates tended to it, yet something still doesn't feel right. When dealing with a demon sometimes, it's cut and dried. You battle, kill it, and move on. End of story. Have you heard any chatter in your circles about a gigantic demonic worm beneath the city?"
The cane is soon safely returned to where it should be: supporting Seth's bad leg. The warlock frowns at the 'crime scene' in front of him, eyeballing the enormous tunnels in the ground without speaking for several moments. "There you go again, destroying a perfectly good demon before anyone else can get to it. Do you truly hate everyone else in this community?" He sighs dramatically - for effect - and then purses his lips. "No. I haven't heard anything. But I do think it's interesting."
Wesley's brows raise quizzically. "I wasn't involved this time. But to answer your question, no, we don't hate or destroy willy nilly. Only those causing harm. Some of my good friends are demons." He glances aside at Seth and nods, "No talk of such a thing underground and all of a sudden one appears and without provocation that we know of. It doesn't feel right." For now, he stands behind the barricades, and glances around, looking for ways to sneak through so that his snooping can properly commence.
"Wh-" Seth turns his head sharply to stare at Wesley. "I don't know about England, but no one says 'willy nilly' in this country who wants to retain any semblance of respectability. God. Read a book on it." He takes a step forward, running his palm across the top of the nearest strand of police tape. It's easy enough to break, but doing so would result in an unpleasant set of consequences. "Maybe it was hungry. I take it no one gave you a good enough description to identify whatever it was." It's more a statement than a question.
"I had respectability once. It wasn't good for me." Wesley says in a non-chalant manner of his days as a Watcher. His blue eyes scan the existing holes and those in the process of being patched. "No. My associates were too busy trying to keep from being eaten to provide a proper description."
Seth grunts. "Shows how useful they are, then." The man edges his cane forward to sharply rap the pavement just beyond the police lines, hitting it twice. "This demon was obviously residing underground. Aren't there tunnels that you can nag your associates into crawling through? There might be more of them."
"That's what I was thinking." Seeing as Seth can't tag along, so sorry there mate, Wesley remains where he is. For the moment. "I'm just trying to determine from here where it originated from. It created tremors prior to coming above ground. With that, we can trace the tunnels… that is the hole it originally came up out of. Finding assistance in exploring the tunnels will not be an issue."
Oh, there's no question that Seth is more than willing to let other people take care of the dirty, grimy footwork. Hunting down a possible demon nest? Not something he's interested in doing without some heavy firepower in front of him and at least three swift escape routes mapped out. "And when you all get eaten alive by hellbeasts the rest of us will be left to pick up the severed limbs. It might be an isolated incident. Maybe your demon just had a bad day."
Wesley slowly glances aside at Seth, and in a very dry manner he says, "Has anyone ever told you how optimistic you are? It's quite refreshing." He moves away from Seth, walking along the police tape. Aha. That hole looks like a good candidate to be the original point of ascension. To go now and scout, or return to the hotel and get backup. Oh the dilemma.
"I'm just a bright ray of sunshine, Muffin." And no, Wesley is never going to be rid of that particular nickname. Not from Seth, at any rate. "You've been privileged to experience my legendary cheeriness." The warlock doesn't move from his current spot, instead busying himself with scouting out the locations of several close-by demonbits that still litter the street. Once they've been spotted his gaze returns to Wesley, boring into the ex-Watcher's back.
"I am overjoyed and overwhelmed at the honor," is the equally sarcastic response from Wesley. Knowing that Seth will only be spurred on further by protests, Wes doesn't make an attempt to stop the man's use of obnoxious nicknames. With the warlock out of his mind due to the discovery, Wes slips through the barriers, promptly making for a particular hole in the ground. Wasting no time, he starts to work on prying open the replacement covering put into place.
And now Seth begins to move slowly along the taped lines, pacing like a predatory cat. The look he's giving Wesley is probably leaving no questions as to who the prey he has in mind is. His path brings him closer and closer to the gory prizes that he's after, and consequently closer to a gathered cluster of L.A.'s finest. The covering suddenly and violently comes free of the pavement, whipping up to strike whatever part of Wesley happens to be closest. And then?
"Good God, what's that psychopath doing? Police! He's going to hurt himself! Police!" Seth Ward, concerned citizen, who just maybe had something to do with that covering getting loose in the first place.
"Bloody !!" The rest of the tried and true British swear is cut off from Wesley. First the covering struck him quite hard on in the shin. That's going to leave a mark. Now the attention of LA's finest is upon him. Seth Ward, you will get yours one day. Oh yes, you shall. Wesley forces a smile for the cops coming his way, "Officers, hello."