Lindsey is Elliot

Status: Head-canon

Lindsey got shot twice in the chest. By Lorne, a demon who is not a fighter.

Not “one to the head, one to the chest.” Just an inexperienced shooter, trying to kill for the first time.

One who walked away because he did not want to be in the fight anymore. One who did not confirm that Lindsey was, in fact, dead.

Lindsey knew stuff. Lindsey had allies.

It is quite possible that he managed to get to a healer, or use magic to stop the bleeding, or summon an ally, or something to save his life. We’ve seen people on both Buffy and Angel survive worse.

Lindsey survived. After being shot in the chest with a gun.

He has already trained to be a competent hand-to-hand combatant. People, powerful people, are after him.

He needed an alias. He needed a job.

So he did the obvious thing. He faked a background in the US military, all the way to implanting a few false memories for extra realism, and got a job as a hired thug – a “retrieval specialist”.

After having been shot in the chest, Lindsey detests guns. He disarms people who threaten them with him, takes out the bullets, and then takes out the person.

This went well until he got involved in a job to retrieve some plans for an airplane, only to discover he has been duped. He is upset with being duped, now under his alias as “Elliot Spencer”, and he sees a tragic figure.

A man. A drunk. Deep in grief, and yet competent. Another person looking to save a few lives, and in turn, redeem his own.

Lindsey is used to being number 2, especially when number 1 is a strong personality, who projects authority. So “Elliott” finds his own shot at redemption.

He can still make good money. He can use his skills. And he can fight for those who can’t defend themselves.

Lindsey and Elliott are not just played by the same actor. They are the same character.