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Nicholas Angel loved to run. He loved the feel of the road beneath his feet, the heat in his muscles, the chill of the air against his hot skin. Running for pleasure, to keep fit, was one thing. Being off duty and chasing a suspect who you've just found molesting a young woman in an alleyway is something very different and now Nicholas Angel's body does what it's trained to do without his brain kicking in much past stopping himself from shouting "Stop in the name of the law!"He goes into a straight sprint, out of the alleyway, turning sharply on to the High Street and then chasing the attacker along past the chemist. God he's quick, Angel thinks to himself, forcing his legs to move faster. He is suddenly aware of the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching behind him and then a figure passes him in a whirl of dark hair and black leather, accelerating easily ahead and launching itself at the attacker in a perfect rugby tackle. The two bodies land on the pavement with a thud but by the time Angel gets to them, they are both back on their feet.Angel skids to a halt, keeping his distance. He is not foolish enough to wade into a fight like this, not without seeing what he is taking on. The attacker, his face deformed, pale skinned, dark haired is well built and strong. The other is a girl (quite clearly a girl his brain notes), dark hair well past her shoulders, lithe and fast. The attacker lashes out a fist at the girl and she takes it on the chin, letting her head snap round to take the force of the punch. Her fist comes straight back at him, knocking the attacker backwards and she follows up with a series of kicks and punches before she reaches into her jacket and pulls out a wooden stake."Stop!" Angel yells but she doesn't even pause but sinks the stake deep into her opponent's chest.To Angel's astonishment the attacker looks slightly stunned and then explodes into dust. The girl tucks her stake away, looks round at him and smiles a little."Stop?" she asks and Angel tries to ignore the shiver that goes down his spine."What just happened?" he asks, focusing his mind on the exploding man."Vampire," she says succinctly. "Wooden stake. Equals death."He nods, not bothering to dispute the evidence of his eyes, and she steps closer to him. He can smell the sweat mixed with leather and suddenly he's incredibly horny."Faith," she purrs.He looks at her confused. "I need to have faith?" he questions and she throws her head back and laughs."Do you think faith needs to be had?"He suddenly realises that Faith is her name. He also thinks that it's been a very long time since anyone looked at him with the kind of hunger she has. It crosses his mind that Danny would be proud of him if Danny could see him. Of course Danny would have given up somewhere near the newsagents, unable to keep up for more than 100 metres."Oh yes," he smiles broadly. "Definitely."She returns the grin. "What's your name?""Angel. Detective Inspector Nicholas Angel." He is bemused when the smile drops off her face for a moment."Figures," she says and then the smile is back. "So Detective Inspector Angel, are you planning on putting me in handcuffs?"Angel grins as she steps in closer. "Depends if you're going to come quietly....."Faith slides her arms up around his neck and presses her body against his. "Why change the habit of a lifetime?"
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For the first time in his life Nicholas Angel is late for work. He tries to sneak in but they are all waiting for him outside his office with trumped up excuses and knowing looks on their faces. The Andies are looking particularly smug and he ignores all of them in favour of slumping in his chair. Danny shoos everyone away and brings Angel coffee."Good night was it?" he tries tentatively.Angel just glares at him through sleep heavy eyes."It's just......" Danny is trying very hard to keep a straight face. "The walls of your cottage aren't quite as thick as you think."Angel doesn't even dare meet Danny's eye."And you did have the windows open....."Angel buries his head in his arms. Danny's anxious tone belies the laughter in his eyes."So Mrs McWhirter opposite called the police. Which was us."Angel shakes his head silently and bangs his head on his desk slowly."And the CCTV is still operative in town. And you'd be amazed at the area it covers."Angel finally raises his head and looks at his partner woefully. "How much did you see?"Danny shifts and grins. "Not much."Angel breathes a sigh of relief and reaches for his coffee. He is mid sip when Danny finishes his sentence."We HEARD a lot though."