"Where are you going?" Wil asked as Angel bundled up a few blankets and shoved them into a half-filled duffle bag.

"Out," Angel replied as he continued to load up the bag.

"Descriptive," Wil remarked, rolling his eyes. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Cordelia getting onto you about never doing anything fun, would it?"

Angel snorted. "Not likely." In fact, it did have a lot to do with the seer's colorful description of his social life, or lack thereof. He had never been much of a party animal, but ever since Wil, and then Xander and Oz, had shown up, Angel was rarely seen anywhere outside the hotel other than Caritas. Now that the club was in the hotel, he only left for work and supplies. The dark vampire had no real problems with staying in all the time. After all, Wil was there. What else did he need? But then again, perhaps the blonde agreed with Cordelia that they stayed in too much.

"Right," Wil said, clearly not believing him. "Well then, have a nice time." He turned on his heel and began to walk out of the room. He'd planned on spending the evening with Angel, curled up in bed while watching a documentary on cathedral architecture, but he guessed that he'd be eating popcorn alone.

"Where do you think you're going?" Angel snapped as Wil reached for the door.

"Kitchen. I want popcorn for the documentary," Wil replied as he turned the door knob.

"Tape the damned thing. You're going with me," Angel growled, reaching for his childe.

Wil sighed. "Angel, you do realize that things aren't fun if you're forced to do them."

Angel flinched. "Please come with me?" He hadn't ever intended to go alone, and should have remembered that Wil wanted to watch that damned documentary.

Wil thought about it for a long minute. It wasn't like he got out any more than Angel did. "Fine. I'll set the VCR."

���...�...�...�...���

"So if this isn't about what Cordelia said, what *is* it about?" Will inquired as they drove up the coast. It looked to him like Angel was planning a beach trip-blankets and the like. It certainly wasn't what Cordelia had intended for the vampire, but she wasn't there with them, was she?

"Fine, it's about what Cordelia said," Angel snarled. "And the fact that I just needed to get away from everyone for a little while."

Wil cringed. "I'm sorry. You should've left me at the hotel."

"Damn it," Angel swore softly. "You're not everyone, Wil. If I hadn't wanted you here, you wouldn't be here! I meant to take you all along, so stop acting like a whipped puppy." He didn't like snapping at the blonde, but he was irritated and short-tempered. The events of the last few weeks were really getting to him. Ever since Cordelia had figured out just how Wolfram & Hart was distributing its philanthropic expenditures, the entire office had been focused on deciding what to do. There hadn't been near enough visions to suit the vampire, so he was practically jumping out of his skin. That wasn't the only thing bothering Angel, though. He and Wil needed to talk, away from the listening ears and empathic brains of their coworkers.

"Where are we going?" Wil asked, trying to change the subject.

"The beach."

"Ah. Swimming?" Wil questioned.

"If you want to," Angel replied. He turned off the main road and onto a smaller local street. They wound their way around for several minutes until Angel found a secluded place to park his car. Wil followed Angel as he retrieved the duffle bag and struck out through the dunes toward the sea.

Once they had cleared the last dune, Angel opened the duffle bag and spread a couple of blankets on the sand, near the dunes and as far from the water as possible. He handed Wil the duffle bag and sat down, laying out flat on the blanket to stare up at the moon. "You can go swimming. The water should be nice enough."

Wil looked down at Angle, who looked about as welcoming as a hungry bear. If there had been a typhoon blowing over the water, it would have been more appealing than his Sire was at the moment. Shrugging absently, Wil rummaged through the bag. After a minute he found a large towel, so he took that and stripped down. Angel hadn't thought to bring swim trunks, but then why would he? There wasn't anyone out here to offend.

The water was, in fact, wonderful; a bit colder than what most people liked but was just to Wil's tastes. He liked the bracing crash of waves over his head and the sting of salt in his eyes. It made him feel alive.

���...�...�...�...���

"Are you ready to talk yet?"

Angel looked up to see Wil towering over him, a towel blanketing his head. The blonde had just gotten out of the ocean and was still glistening with salt water, a pale, glowing marble statue in the moonlight. "Talk about what?"

Wil snorted. "Whatever's eating at you, Angel."

"Eating at me?" Angel echoed. Eating at him, indeed. What was filling his head was standing right in front of him. How did he explain to Wil that he was the most important thing in Angel's existence? That despite all the attacks on their friends, Angel wasn't very traumatized? How did you tell the only other ensouled vampire in existence that you didn't care one whit if all your friends lived or died-because Wil was still there? The depth of his feelings for Wil didn't surprise or shock Angel; he'd come to terms with what he privately referred to as his obsession with his childe. What Angel was scared of was Wil finding out how he felt-that it wasn't the other six members of their little team that were the weak links, but Angel himself. If something were to happen to Wil, there would be no Angel left to fight. He'd alluded to it more than once, but he doubted that Wil understood the depth of those feelings.

Wil got tired of looking down at Angel, so he flopped down next to him and laid back for a short nap. He had enjoyed the night swim and had nothing else to do, and Angel wasn't showing himself to be a very entertaining host. He had almost drifted off when a familiar hand ghosted across his face. He opened his eyes to find Angel staring at him thoughtfully. Wil remained perfectly still as Angel traced his features, lingering on soft lips and angular cheekbones.

Angel watched Wil's face as he moved his hands lower, testing the muscles of the blonde's arms and chest. Wil tried to stay still but couldn't hold back a tremor as Angel rubbed open palms over his nipples on his way toward Wil's stomach. Angel continued his perusal, stroking and touching all the way down to Wil's toes, gently brushing off the last remaining grains of sand from the soles of his feet.

Wil squirmed a little when Angel tickled the heels of his feet, kicking to dislodge the bothersome fingers. Angel simply replaced his hands with his mouth, repeating his investigation of Wil's body. This time Wil didn't bother trying to hold himself down, so Angel took over that job as well, using his stronger hands and arms to position Wil wherever he liked. The dark vampire didn't skip any spot, nor did he linger on any particular area. The weeping head of Wil's cock got the same single stroke of Angel's tongue that his kneecap did, although the former caress elicited a more pronounced response than the latter.

By the time he reached Wil's face, the blonde was gnawing on his lip, leaving tiny rivulets of blood on his face. Angel had taken far too long to work his way up Wil's body, both front and back. The dark vampire considered being merciful, but decided not do shorten the night. Wil may have experienced a bit of.tension, but he was also clearly enjoying the activities, if his murmured pleadings were to be believed. Pausing briefly to kiss the blonde, Angel began again, this time shifting into gameface. He pricked his fangs all along Wil's skin, barely scratching the surface. The wounds didn't even leave marks, other than the tiniest dot of blood. Angel rubbed his lips along the spots, collecting the precious fluid as he continued on. Each touch of his fangs made Wil moan and whine. Once or twice the blonde tried to make Angel bite harder, but firm hands put a stop to that at once.

When he finally got to Wil's toes for the second time that night, he paused to collect his thoughts. Touching Wil like this wasn't just maddening to the blonde; Angel was intoxicated by the taste of Wil's skin, accented by salt from the ocean as well as by his own blood. He reveled in the broken cries that emanated from Wil, whose glazed eyes and needless panting indicated just how far gone he was. Angel began again, this time combining his tongue, fangs, lips and hands, determined to drive Wil absolutely insane.

It worked beautifully. Between the sharp prick of his fangs and the exquisite pain of nails raking down his skin-paired with the soft caress of tongue and lips, Wil was sobbing and writhing on the blanket, begging shamelessly. Angel paused for several minutes to suck on Wil's ivory cock, careful to hold the blonde back from orgasm. The begging at that point would have singed most anyone's ears, it was so harsh, but Angel ignored it in favor of continued torture.

When he finally reached the end of his journey, Angel looked into Wil's eyes. They were glassy and bright, but still held traces of control-Wil wasn't completely gone. That just wouldn't do, so Angel bent back down to continue his work, ignoring the angry howl that Wil gave when he wasn't finished. Wrapping his hands securely around Wil's cock and balls, Angel drew Wil's erection deep into his mouth and began to suck. Hard.

The scream he got for that was gratifying, so he repeated the action several more times. Wil bucked uncontrollably, pushing himself deeper into Angel's mouth, trying to come. Angel wouldn't let him though, keeping a firm grip on the blonde to prevent his orgasm. He knew that Wil would soon grow desperate, but he didn't care. He needed this-needed to push, to pour everything he felt into Wil, needed to let out some of the high, ringing tension that threatened to overwhelm him. He needed for Wil to feel in his body what Angel always felt in his mind when Wil was near-a completely mind-altering desire that wiped out everything.

To that end, every time Angel felt Wil grow close, he backed off, keeping the blonde right on the edge. It was like a game; lick, suck, stroke and tug to keep him from coming. In the back of his mind, he knew that he'd pay for this sometime, but that didn't matter at the moment. He had to show, to explain the only way he could.

It was a long time before he looked up again to check on how Wil was doing. Tears had been shed and dried out and the younger vampire's throat was hoarse from crying and shouting. Angel released his flesh and kissed him gently. Wil's eyes flew open, but Angel saw nothing in them but desire-exactly what he wanted to see. He reached into the duffle bag and retrieved the lube he'd placed there. By the time he had it uncapped, Wil had turned over and spread his legs, speeding up his preparation. Angel wasted no time, quickly stretching and loosening him.

They both growled harshly when Angel slid inside. Wil jerked back, seating Angel fully within him. Then the blonde began to move. Angel picked up the rhythm. It was a fast one, designed to bring Wil to climax and end his torture. Angel reached around and fisted his cock, also leaning forward to sink his fangs into Wil's shoulder. As he'd hoped, Wil shuddered and came, a broken, scratchy cry pouring out of his mouth. His hole spasmed around Angel again and again as all that pent-up tension was released at once. Still he kept coming, tightening around Angel almost cruelly. The dark vampire continued to move within him, also close to release, but hoping to draw out Wil's pleasure. Eventually the pull of the body under his became too much and he came with a roar, thrusting once more inside the blond before falling to once side.

When Angel lifted his head, he found that Wil was still unconscious and quivering on the blanket. They only had a couple of hours to get home, so Angel forced himself to rise and get them both cleaned and dressed. He'd only opened his trousers, so he had little to do for himself, but Wil needed to be washed and redressed. It only took a few minutes, though, before they were on the road headed toward L.A..

Wil didn't rouse until they reached the hotel. Angel watched with trepidation as the blonde heaved himself out of the car and toward the stairwell. After a moment, Angel followed, guessing that the big explosion would occur in one of their apartments.

It didn't come, though. Wil simply led them to his place and headed for the bathroom, where he washed off the lingering salt residue from his swim. Soon afterwards he crawled into bed, looking expectantly at Angel. "Not sleeping today?" He asked after a moment.

Angel managed to undress and join Wil in bed. "I didn't think you'd."

Wil smiled softly. "Did it help?"

Angel nodded silently.

"Will you need to do that very often?"

Angel shook his head.

"Ok then."

"You didn't mind?" Angel asked disbelievingly.

"I didn't say that," Wil responded. "I didn't like not being able to touch you."

"Ah."

"Go to sleep, Angel."

"Yes, sir."

"Wanker."

*****
Part 43:

Angel paused outside the main office, not sure he wanted to enter. He had been given an official summons by Cordelia, the self-appointed head of the 'investigate Wolfram & Hart' team. She, Fred and Xander had spent most of the past six weeks amassing information about the law firm's involvement in local and world politics and business matters. The only things that Angel, Wil and the others had been asked to do was go to various places and pick up prepackaged information-that they delivered straight to Cordelia. She took her role in this job very seriously.

As Angel stood in front of the door, weighing the likelihood that he could make it upstairs before Cordelia's enhanced nose detected him, Wil and Wesley showed up, having just exited Caritas. "She knows you're out here," Wesley said, urging Angel to enter with them. "You can't escape this." Angel knew he was right, so he followed the others inside. Oz and Gunn were already in the office, sitting in two of a set of chairs placed in rows, facing one wall. Cordelia had set up a screen and projection equipment against it, and a computer screen saver was currently being displayed.

"Great! Broodboy finally decided to come in," Cordelia bit out. She had known Angel was standing on the other side of the door, and it irked her. 'We've got a lot of information to cover, so we should get started, no?"

Xander switched off the lights, allowing the two remaining humans to see the screen better. He and Fred took seats near the front, on opposite sides of the row of chairs.

Cordelia turned off the screen saver, revealing a PowerPoint presentation. "Ok, we all know that Wolfram & Hart are up to their eyeballs in bad things. We also know that they've got us on their radar, and we're some of their favorite targets. But we also know that we aren't the only thing they're working on." She advanced past the title slide. The next picture was of Anthony Salis.

"This investigation started when I recognized the face of Anthony Salis, a candidate for a position on the city council and city prosecutor with multiple ties to Wolfram & Hart. He attended law school on a scholarship funded by them, and he consistently loses whenever he goes up against them in court." The next slide was a list of names and places.

"You've already been told about the various scholarships and organizations that Wolfram & Hart fund or own. What you may not know, however, is just how the law firm uses these connections." The next slide showed another list of names and places.

"See, what Wolfram & Hart is doing is grooming people to be loyal employees, right out of the womb. You might think from interacting with Lilah and Gavin that Wolfram & Hart is a bunch of high-class, snotty white people. The truth is, most of their admittedly white lawyers come from low-income areas. The law firm sets up philanthropies to improve public schools and provide college tuition money, all the while tracking selected people no matter where they go. For instance," She flipped a slide, "Person X was born in Detroit, on the 'wrong side of the tracks.' His elementary school was among the worst in the state, until he scored very high on an 'aptitude' test that Wolfram & Hart sponsored-a test we can't find a copy of no matter how hard we look. After that, the school suddenly won an 'improvement grant' from a dummy corporation. But that's not all. Person X moved from Detroit to Boston in the seventh grade. He moved into a similarly low-class area with a bad middle school-and then Bam! That school gets a grant and a bevy of new teachers. The high school he's slated to attend also starts getting improvements; now it's one of the best public college prep schools in the country."

The next slide was a bunch of numbers. "This shows how often Wolfram & Hart have repeated this process, both in the U.S. and abroad. They've got seventeen dummy corporations and charities set up to hide what they're doing, so all those people that get helped aren't all singing Wolfram & Hart's praises."

"Why wouldn't they want that?" Angel asked.

Cordelia smiled. "How often do you hear Wolfram & Hart in the news? They don't want that kind of publicity. They'd rather be the quietly respected law firm-the one that everyone likes and no one investigates. What happens, though, is that all these people feel a great amount of loyalty for their benefactors-all of whom are really Wolfram & Hart."

"So they've got an army of lawyers-and probably other types too-that watch out for their interests," Wil summarized.

"You've got it. That's not conjecture either, buddy. When Wolfram & Hart wanted a new arena for the Lakers, the real estate contracts went through with no hitches, the city practically begged contractors to take hard-to-get building permits and nobody complained about the four thousand people who lost their homes. Of course, most of the owners of the Lakers are Wolfram & Hart clients," Cordelia explained. "And it just gets worse."

"You know we get visions all the time. We also help other people, the 'hopeless,' right? Do you want to know just how often we've inadvertently helped Wolfram & Hart?" Cordelia asked, flipping to another slide.

"I know we've done it a time or two," Wil replied hesitantly.

"More than you'd think. Sometimes those 'clients' off the street are dummies-they're leading us to cases that are problems for Wolfram & Hart clients, where the law firm doesn't want its shoes muddied by the nasty details of demon-killing. An assassin can always be traced back to the firm-there's a trail somewhere, no matter how obscure. But us? All it takes is one stupid person to come to us and we take care of it."

"What about the stupid person?" Wil asked.

"Actually, the stupid people I'm referring to are often legitimate employees of Wolfram & Hart's clients. The clients or the law firm subtly lead them toward using us, and then they do, and we clean up their messes. There's no good link between them and Wolfram & Hart-no money, no informant. Some of these cases are just bad situations, while others are actually Wolfram & Hart screw-ups," Cordelia continued. "Now for the conjecture part of our presentation."

"Why, oh why, is Wolfram & Hart doing this to us? From what Fred, Xander and I can see, it's to keep Wolfram & Hart's image clean," Cordelia said.

"Clean?" Angel squeaked. "Everyone knows they're demonic lawyers."

"So what? Everyone also knows that Lorne's a demonic club owner, and no one cares about that," Cordelia replied. "What I mean is that most people, demon or human, don't have issues with Wolfram & Hart because all they know is the 'good' law firm-the one that donates its time and money to charity and is always first to lend a hand to the city in need. What would happen if Wolfram & Hart started taking out contracts on troublemakers?" Cordelia continued to flip through slides, alternately showing where Wolfram & Hart's image was improved by certain situations, while Angel Investigations' public image plummeted.

"We're the unwitting heavy men of our worst enemies," Cordelia stated sharply. "We do the dirty work-the killing, slaying and shaking down, while Wolfram & Hart reaps the rewards. That opera house thingy? Cleaning up that act saved a Wolfram & Hart client millions. And when we aren't needed to clean something up, the law firm is really good at distracting us so we don't get in the way. Disneyland is, of course, a recent example. They lured the seers away from Angel and Wil, and then struck. The vamps were rightfully worried about us, but in the meantime they didn't catch the news about all those eraen demons torturing the innocent. As it turns out, those eraen demons were clients of Wolfram & Hart, who contracted for a mass feeding."

"It gets worse. They're learning to multitask. Remember back when Wil first showed up? Those kragrlange demons were set up to test your souls, true. They also kept us from hearing about three separate harvestings that went on that night. No, we didn't get visions about them-but we don't get visions about everything anyway. The thing is, if we hadn't been preoccupied with getting us straightened out, we would have heard from someone about what was going on."

"Lorne," Angel muttered.

"What?" Cordelia asked, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Lorne. He told me that we shouldn't lose contact with the community."

"He's right-but we did anyway, didn't we? No, we might not have picked up on the scope of their operation right away, but we might have managed to foil a few of their bigger plots. The mayor and most of the city councilmen have some sort of connection to Wolfram & Hart. The law firm doesn't even have to bribe them-they think they're acting in the people's best interests," Cordelia said.

"But why?" Gunn asked. "I mean, yeah, there's some financial profit for their clients, but in the end we're good and they're bad."

Cordelia shook her head. "Not exactly. Well, we are good and they are bad, but it's not that simple. They may be bad, but they're not chaos. See, the white hats of Angel Investigations and the really, really black hats of Wolfram & Hart overlap in one key area-order. They're evil, but most of the badness they represent needs some sort of order to be bad. When stuff goes random, their clients suffer. That's where we come in. We love to clean things up, and we don't ever stop to think about the consequences, say, ten years down the road." The slide show was over, so she turned off the computer while Xander hit the lights. Meanwhile, Fred handed out huge packets of information to each of the investigators.

"What are we gonna do?" Gunn asked, staring at the folder he'd been given. It looked like a headache waiting to happen.

"Stop helping people?" Xander offered. "Not likely."

"It's a catch-22," Wil remarked. "We're damned if we do and damned if we don't. We, Angel and I, can't just stop helping. We have to keep on with this. Plus, there's no guarantee that your or Cordelia's visions can be taken away."

"Limiting ourselves to just the visions is a bad idea-fiscally and ethically," Fred added. "We can't stay afloat on just Lorne's rent and the pennies we squeeze out of vision victims. Besides, we do help people besides Wolfram & Hart's clients."

"But we can't keep doing their work for them," Oz offered. "Yeah, we're saving someone's life, but not all of Wolfram & Hart's clients are Lakers' owners. They represent murderers, and worse."

"He's right, you know," Cordelia agreed. "Who in here really wants to be the person who saved a mass murderer from the vengeance demon all set to do its job?"

Angel slumped down in his seat. Why couldn't this have been a simple prophecy? Compared to this, impending apocalypses were nothing. He'd rather face a demonic ascension, Sunnydale-style, than try to tease apart the ethics of helping versus fighting Wolfram & Hart. "I don't know," He said finally.

"This is difficult," Wesley remarked softly.

Gunn choked. "Difficult? That's like saying Dennis Rodman is having problems with his life-style."

"We could always make up a survey to give clients before we help them," Xander offered.

Cordelia snorted. "And how many young co-eds being chased by vampires are going to stop to fill out a survey on their connections to Wolfram & Hart?"

"Hey! It was just a thought," Xander replied defensively.

"We've already amassed a database of known connections-clients, former employees, all those students." Fred added. "We can set up the database to flag any client of ours that matches up. Most of the visions are at least partially honest. Even if Wolfram & Hart is behind the attack, the victim is usually innocent."

Wil nodded. "We would help those anyway. I don't know. Maybe we should think about this for a while-avoid too much emotion."

"It's certainly sticky enough," Xander said. "I'm with you all on this one, though-we can't just stop helping."

"What we need to do is bring down that law firm!" Gunn said firmly.

"How?" Cordelia asked. "They're like a huge old oak tree."

"What?" Gunn asked. "You lost me, Delia."

"Oak trees put down deep roots," Cordelia said, waving her hands around. "Really deep roots. By the time they're big and old, those roots are everywhere. If you just pull the tree up, it takes a lot of the ground with it-and leaves a big hole and a lot of soil with no support. The next time it rains, whoosh! Erosion."

"What she's saying is that just taking out Wolfram & Hart all at once-even if it were possible-would leave a huge vacuum, on many levels," Wesley translated. "On the obvious level, there would be a shortage of lawyers in the city-they do handle normal people as well as demons, you know. On a more serious, but less visible level, they provide a great deal of structure and control for the demonic community, both here and elsewhere. With nothing to control those elements-we certainly cannot-they would run amok. But all that is beside the point. The firm is much bigger than anything we could tackle."

"You all sound like you're just giving up on fighting them," Gunn said suspiciously.

Wil shook his head. "No, but there is more than one way to defeat such an enemy. It is far better-both safer and more effective-to destroy the firm's foundation than to simply try to blast it from the surface. That's how termites work, if you'd like to continue with the Discovery Channel themes. What you want to do is like Cordelia's tree uprooting picture. There are more insidious ways to destroy something, though."

"You sound like you've got experience with that," Xander murmured.

Wil shrugged and looked at Angel. "We all have our strong points." They didn't need graphic details of how Spike had brought down several of Angelus' enemies using just such a method. It wasn't his trademark railroad spike, so it didn't make it into his chronicled history. The fact remained, though, that he knew how to be subtle if the situation called for that.

"Anyway, I agree with Wil-we should sleep on this," Cordelia said. "Those binders are just summaries of the information we found. We can discuss this again in a few days. I for one want a long day's sleep, and I'm sure Xander and Fred are in at least as bad a shape."

*****
Part 44:

"What are we going to do?" Wil asked as he and Angel heated up their dinner. The investigation agency had spent more than a week now moping around the hotel, pointedly not talking about what was bothering them most-Wolfram & Hart.

"I really have no idea," Angel murmured as he decanted his blood. It was nothing less than the truth; the dark vampire had replayed every option in his mind over and over, with the same results-bad things all around. One or all of them died, innocents died, the world ended. He didn't like what he saw, and he couldn't keep from thinking about it.

Wil followed suit, sitting at the kitchen table to drink his dinner. In a way, he wished that Cordelia had never started investigating the law firm. No, they wouldn't have known about it, and would have gone on inadvertently helping the bad guys sometimes, but in exchange they would have kept their happiness and group cohesiveness. Now, everyone stayed silent where they used to talk. No one laughed, or made suggestions about dinner or singing at Caritas. But most importantly, no one talked about their 'mission.' Before this had come out, nearly every day someone would mention how they were helping not just a few people, but the world in general-helping turn the tide against darkness by first getting rid of the bad guys and second by showing normal people that the world had good people in it looking out for them. Now, though, they thought that they were just laughingstocks. The people they were helping probably got a kick out of watching the do-gooders help the bad guys, and they weren't keeping evil at bay. They were just eliminating small-time evil so that the big guns could move in.

"We have to do something," Wil remarked after he finished his blood. "At the rate we're going, we're gonna get ourselves killed."

"I know," Angel replied. If they didn't find something to get them motivated, they were going to get careless and sloppy-and that would get them killed very quickly.

"Vision!"

Wil and Angel bounded out of their chairs and ran to the lobby. Xander was hanging off the second-floor railing, peering down at them. "It's a big one, guys. You better get up here."

The vampires ran up the stairs to their office. The rest of the gang was hanging out in there as well, reading magazines and polishing their fingernails. "What about this vision?" Angel asked.

Xander sat down. "Huge, long vision. Funny thing is that I can't place where it is."

"What did you see?" Wesley asked absently. Fred drew out a pad of paper to take notes, passing it over to Oz.

"Um.a bunch of people screaming, some demony things running around, and a lot of blood," Xander recounted evenly.

"Anything else? Clues as to the location?" Angel asked desperately. Their seers needed to have a little more enthusiasm for their jobs.

Xander's brow furrowed. "Like I said, I don't recognize the place. It's near this big building. Looks like one of those old churches, or a palace or something," Xander muttered. "It had a cool-looking clock tower-really tall and all. Trees, too. Kind of reminded me of England."

Wesley looked up. England? "You didn't see any signs, did you? The Powers usually give more clues than that."

"They probably gave us everything we need," Wil said from the seat he'd taken in front of Cordelia's computer. He was typing rapidly. "Did it look anything like this?" He asked, swiveling the computer's monitor toward Xander.

Xander glanced up, then looked again. "Yeah! That's exactly what it looked like. How'd you do that?"

Wil rolled his eyes. "I did live there at one point, Xander. That's the Palace of Westminster. You saw the clock tower commonly known as Big Ben in your vision."

Wesley's eyes widened. "Why on earth would he have a vision for something that is going to happen on the other side of the world?"

Angel looked over at Wil, a tight, cold suspicion tightening in his gut. "Because we're supposed to do something about it."

"In England?" Cordelia squawked. "Why England?"

Wil shrugged. "The Powers call, we answer. That's how it goes."

"Yeah, well it looks like you're gonna be answering from London for a while," Gunn remarked. "After all, Xander is your seer, isn't he?"

Wil nodded. "That is true."

Fred frowned. "So the two of you have to go to London?"

"Three."

Everyone looked at Oz. "What?" Cordelia murmured.

"I go where Xander goes," Oz said quietly. The investigators nodded.

Wesley looked over at Fred. She knew what he was going to say, so she nodded her assent. "I'll go as well."

"What?!?" Cordelia yelled.

"You could try a different word," Gunn muttered. "Delia, they're gonna need a researcher, and Wesley knows London-better than any of us do. Wil may have been there before, but I'd bet it's been a while."

"Cars in London will be a novelty," Wil murmured. He was very surprised at how quickly the group had rallied around this vision. Their apathy had vanished in the rush of danger and excitement. He just hoped it lasted beyond the transatlantic flight that followed.

"How are you going to get Wil over there?" Fred asked curiously.

"Very carefully," Wil replied.

"What did those demons look like, Xander?" Wesley asked. "We won't be able to take very many texts with us, and I'm afraid that most reference libraries that I know of in London are no longer open to me."

"Why not?" Angel inquired. They could always call or e-mail here for information, but it would be faster to just get it there.

Wesley looked down at himself. "Watchers are not known for their fondness for cloven hooves."

Everyone looked around nervously. "Will the Council be a problem, Wes?" Angel asked seriously.

Wesley shook his head. "For me? No. Fauns aren't common, but they aren't dangerous, so they'll probably just disapprove strongly. But then again, they already think I'm a failure, so little will change. Wil, though, is going to have to stay invisible."

Wil nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. There's a thriving community in London; not even the Watcher's Council can control that."

Angel stood up from where he'd been leaning on the desk. "Cordy, can you and Wil get the plane tickets and other arrangements together?" They nodded. "Xander, you, Fred and Oz help Wesley with the research. Gunn and I need to run a few errands."

Gunn raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he followed Angel out of the office. Angel started talking again as soon as they got out of the room. "We need to track down some information."

"Like what?" Gunn asked.

"I just want to make sure this was a real vision and not something Wolfram & Hart pulled out of their asses," Angel replied darkly.

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"We're flying out in the morning. Wesley figured out that the attack is going to happen in a crowd of football fans, after England wins their next match."

Angel closed the door behind him and looked over at Wil. The blonde was sorting through several piles of clothing, occasionally tossing something into his suitcase. "I'll drive you to the airport," Angel murmured, sitting down on the bed.

That statement got a choked laugh. "Of course you will, Angel."

"How long do you think this will take?" Angel inquired, watching with discomfort as Wil put more and more stuff into the case. He was packing far more than what he'd need for a few days.

"Honestly? I don't know," Wil replied, staring down at his hands. "Considering our luck? Don't wait up for us."

Angel growled. He knew that Wil was going to say something to that effect, but it still bothered him. He didn't want his childe gone for any length of time. A separation of a single day was torture for Angel; how was he going to survive a week-or a month? What if it took longer than that? "It is just a vision," Angel said desperately.

"Right," Wil said, grimacing. "Just a vision."

Angel sighed and stood to help Wil pack. It was the least he could do. Together they sorted, folded and stuffed until the suitcase was full and Wil had nothing left to take. "Now what?" Angel asked as he set the case by the door.

Wil looked over at Angel. "I figured we'd spend the rest of the night fucking ourselves stupid, but if you'd rather do something else, that's fine as well."

Angel didn't bother to answer; he just walked over to Wil and pressed their bodies together. The blonde's head tipped back as Angel bent down to cover that lush mouth with his own, tasting blood and chocolate and whisky. Ah, his childe had been indulging again.

Much to Wil's surprise, Angel didn't begin to pull and tear at his clothes as he was wont to do; instead the older vampire carefully unbuttoned and unsnapped until they were both naked. The blonde was shaken by the intensity in Angel's eyes as he was lowered onto the bed. That gaze was so pure, so pained, that Wil nearly cried from it. He couldn't look away, even as it made him tremble.

"Will you think of this, Wil, when you're alone in London?" Angel whispered as ran his hands down Wil's body. The blonde arched and moaned when Angel took possession of his cock, smoothing his thumb over the head. "Will you take yourself in hand and pretend it's me doing this?"

Wil shuddered and cried out as Angel took up one of his own hands and wrapped it with his around the blonde's erection. Angel controlled the pace as they masturbated him together. The dark vampire leaned down, close to Wil's face. "Will you close your eyes and see us together?"

"Y-yes," Wil moaned as Angel's hand tightened, simultaneously pushing Wil's own hand down hard on the base of his cock. When Angel's free hand began to stroke against his hole, Wil simply shifted his legs further apart and canted his hips up, wantonly inviting Angel to do as he pleased.

Angel grabbed a bottle of lubricant and coated one finger before pressing it inside Wil's cool, tight body. The blonde groaned and whined, thrusting to bring Angel deeper inside him. Angel moved with those thrusts, keeping Wil from getting what he wanted. Angel had to make this last-after this night they would be alone, for gods knew how long. "Tell me, Wil. Show me. What will you do?" Angel said, abruptly pulling away from the blonde.

Wil's eyes shot open. "Ahh." He moaned, feeling suddenly bereft. Why had Angel stopped?

Angel looked down at Wil with a serious expression on his face. "Show me what you will do when you're alone in some cheap London hotel, knowing that Xander and Oz are fucking in the next room over and all you've got is yourself."

Wil just stared at Angel for a long time. "What I'll do?" He echoed.

"Yes, show me. I cannot believe that you will abstain for any length of time," Angel replied.

"I have before," Wil said absently.

Angel leaned down again, pressing his mouth right up to Wil's ear. "But you won't this time, will you? Because those other times we were not together like this. Now, though, we are. And you'll know that whatever you're doing in your loneliness, I will be doing as well."

A shiver ran through Wil's body at the intensity of Angel's voice. "I."

"Show me," Angel demanded, looking down Wil's body. "How shall you abuse yourself when I cannot be there?"

Wil nodded silently and placed one hand gingerly over his right nipple, his eyes locked with Angel's. He pressed slightly, and then began a slow rubbing motion. Angel watched Wil's face avidly as the blonde raised his hand and caught the now-erect nipple between two fingers and began to pull and twist with almost cruel force. The blonde began to draw the fingers of his left hand across his face and around his ears and neck much like Angel did with his tongue. The light, fluttering touches made Wil whimper and moan, but he couldn't look away.

Eventually, Wil moved his left hand down his body, stroking his cock lazily and dabbling in the precome that had leaked onto his belly. His other hand dropped lower, circling his lubricated entrance. All the while Angel simply stared into his eyes; not watching what Wil was doing, but rather taking in how Wil's face expressed his pleasure.

Angel bit back a moan as he watched Wil's face contort when the blonde pushed one finger inside himself, unerringly finding his prostate. The dark vampire could tell exactly what Wil was doing to himself-how he was fisting his cock loosely and barely moving the finger inside him. He could tell when Wil began to move with more purpose, pinching and sliding his foreskin and pushing a second finger into his hole.

Wil was unnerved by Angel; that dark stare kept adding to his arousal until it was at a fever pitch. His lover had watched him before, but this was different. It was as though Angel was memorizing him. Although he had only been touching himself for a few minutes, Wil found himself rushing toward orgasm.

Angel knew the moment that Wil reached his climax; that lush mouth opened in a silent scream and all the muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed, corded, and then relaxed. Wil's eyes widened impossibly, but he never looked away. Angel could see his pupils grow huge and knew that Wil probably couldn't see him at all.

Once Wil had calmed down somewhat, Angel rolled on top of him and began to caress the blonde, mimicking Wil's earlier behaviors. When Wil began to speak, Angel stopped him. "Shh. Close your eyes, Wil." After a moment, Wil obeyed, lying back with his eyes closed. Angel continued to touch him, brushing one tender hand over his face while the other pinched and tortured a nipple.

When Angel reached Wil's groin, he found the blonde erect again and squirming under his hand. He knew that Wil was completely undone by this mirrored reflection of what he'd done to himself. It was his fantasy made real. Eyes open, he was with Angel but alone in his pleasure. Eyes closed, he was with Angel in his pleasure but otherwise alone.

Both vampires cried out when Angel pushed his cock inside Wil's still stretched and relaxed hole. Angel easily controlled Wil, keeping the blonde from rushing their lovemaking. He reveled in the tug and slide of Wil's body around his, of the breathy pants and moans his thrusting elicited from his lover. He held off his own climax until Wil had finished shuddering and crying through his own.

Afterwards, Wil wrapped himself around Angel, burying his face into one hard shoulder. Angel held him close, trying not to be too worried about the tears running between them. There was little, if anything, they could do about this situation. Looking back, Angel realized that he'd always known, somewhere in the depths of his mind, that The Powers That Be were going to separate them. He didn't think it was fair, but their bosses hadn't really shown a lot of fairness in the past.

Eventually Wil quieted and Angel moved them around a bit so that they were comfortable for a few hours' sleep. Wil's flight left at an ungodly early hour, so they had little time for rest.

*****
Part 45:

Wil looked around Customs nervously. The rational part of his mind knew that nothing was going to happen. Wesley had been very thorough; special clothes and a rather good medical excuse had gotten Wil through various airports with no problems, and a decent glamour made the ex-Watcher look perfectly normal. Only Wil had forged documents, and they were the best that could be had. The blonde vampire couldn't help but be nervous, however. They were in a strange airport far from home. That thought made him chuckle silently; he, a Brit to the core, didn't consider England to be his home. Not anymore, anyway.

He was so lost in thought that only a sharp nudge from Xander got him to move forward. As the more logical part of him had said, Customs was no problem. They just looked over everything once and waved him through. Ah, the glories of practical magic. Getting a cab was another thing altogether, though. No amount of magic could make on appear when they needed it. At least Wesley had managed to get a flight that landed after dark.

"Whatcha think?" Xander asked as they piled into the cab. "I'll bet everything's different."

Wil looked out the window. "Not really," He murmured. Oh, the twentieth, and twenty-first, centuries had descended upon London, but the damp air and crowded streets remained. The noxious odors of humans packed too closely together without adequate sewers had been replaced with the stench of too many cars in too small an area. The Thames was still polluted, although what made it dirty was a bit different than before. No, London hadn't changed all that much. It just got electricity and cable.

Wesley ignored the conversation and directed the driver to their hotel. They were staying at a place a bit less.refined than he preferred, but there wasn't much choice. Hotels were expensive in London and he couldn't exactly invite this group to bunk in at his family's residence. That would not be well received by his parents.

"Nice to know seedy dives aren't exclusive to the US," Xander said as they pulled up to their hotel.

"It has private baths," Wesley remarked. "Be grateful." Xander shuddered. The main reason they were at this hotel was, in fact, Xander. They could have afforded a better room somewhere else if the four of them had been willing to stay together. Wesley and Wil, however, had decided that two rooms in a cheaper place were better for their sanity. They could stand to be together, two miserable, lonely Brits. Being in the same room as Xander and Oz would be the death of them. Xander had very little self control, and his sense of modesty was nearly gone.

"The water's brown," Xander said as he stuck his head in Wesley and Wil's room.

"Then don't look at it," Wesley snapped. "We'll get bottled water for your sensitive palate." Xander glared but left the room. "He's going to drive me insane, you know."

Wil nodded and continued to sort through the weapons they'd brought. "England plays tonight, right?"

"Yes. We'll need to keep an eye on Xander. He was making noises about placing a bet on the game. England's a long shot," Wesley replied. They all knew who was going to win, because of Xander's vision, and it would be wrong for any of them to profit from that. Unfortunately, the ethics of a twenty-one year old left something to be desired.

"And we can't even get him drunk to distract him," Wil remarked. They'd need him for the fight, so getting the boy snockered was out.

"We should just pay Oz to keep him in bed," Wesley decided. "It shouldn't take much."

"So he doesn't gamble?" Oz said from the doorway. Wesley blushed at being caught, but Wil simply nodded.

He's easily tempted," Wil replied. "And has no self-control."

"And you want me to sacrifice myself to keep him from temptation?" Oz said dryly.

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to give into it," Wil said, quoting Oscar Wilde. "Give him something more tempting to distract him."

Oz nodded and smirked. "Not difficult. By the way, Xander said to tell you he's hungry." The werewolf left to allow the two Brits to decide what to do.

"You said." Wil began, looking around blankly.

"I know where we can get you what you need," Wesley replied, referring to blood. Wil nodded and sat down on one of the beds.

"Can we feed him kidneys? I want to watch his face," Wil asked. Wesley grinned.

"Oh, yes. That would be.entertaining, wouldn't it?"

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"Blech," Xander said, wiping his tongue on a napkin. "I can't believe you fed me kidneys! I ate pee-filters!"

Oz covered his mouth to hide his smirk. Wesley grinned evilly and Wil just chuckled. "You didn't like it?" Wesley asked innocently. "They're a delicacy."

"So are snails and you don't see me going after them," Xander shot back.

"No, you prefer crickets and June bugs," Wil retorted.

"Bastard," Xander huffed. It was too bad his demon's body didn't like vomiting. Otherwise he'd be in the bathroom right now, losing those.ugh. It made him ill to think about it. "That was evil, guys, so don't do it again, ok? Oh, what about the soccer game?"

"Football," The other three men corrected in unison.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Football. Fine, when does the 'football' game start?"

"Not soon enough," Wil muttered.

"So, we're leaving right after we get rid of the bad guys, right?" Xander said hopefully.

"That's the plan," Wesley replied. Of course, none of them really thought that would happen. After all, they had the luck of the wretched and damned.

"Wesley?"

The ex-Watcher turned in his chair. "Oh, shit," He whispered. It was one of his old colleagues from the Council. "Wil, go to the loo. RIGHT NOW." Wil didn't even hesitate; he just stood up and practically ran to the back of the pub.

Fortunately, the Watcher approaching Wesley didn't notice the blonde moving away. "I had no idea you'd returned to London," The man stated, staring down a bit disdainfully at Wesley.

"Only to visit. I am accompanying some acquaintances. They wished to see England and requested my presence," Wesley replied stiffly, indicating Oz and Xander. The pair simply nodded and remained silent. Both of them could tell that this was a tense, uncomfortable situation that needed to end quickly.

"Ah. And how does that.investigation firm you're working for suit you? The one with the vampire?" The Watcher asked.

"Very well, thank you," Wesley gritted out. Did they have to know everything about him? "Angel has proven to be a most devoted servant for The Powers That Be."

"Hmm," The Watcher hummed. Wesley knew that the Watchers' Council disapproved of his alliance with Angel, but they had no jurisdiction over him anymore. They had fired him, after all; besides that, even the Watchers' Council wouldn't interfere too much with someone known to be working for The Powers That Be-they wouldn't dare. That meant that Angel and Wil were safe, at least in theory. In Los Angeles, they had the advantage of home turf and the distance between themselves and the Watchers' own home in England. Here in London, however, the Council had more direct power and control, and all it would take was one egotistical Watcher to set the hounds after Wil, consequences be damned. That was why the vampire was sitting in the loo right now, probably peeling paint off the walls with his cursing.

And of course Wesley couldn't help but think of what the Council would say if they found out that he was no longer human. Wil they might actually avoid due to his alliance with the 'good guys,' but one of their own becoming such a creature? He wouldn't make it out of England alive. They might have fired him, but he would be a Watcher until he died, even though he might well outlive every other Watcher in existence.

Fortunately the Watcher was meeting someone and had to leave. Once he was safely out the door and up the street, Wesley went to fetch Wil, who was indeed entertaining all he entered the restroom with his colorful profanities. "He's gone," Wesley murmured during a brief pause in Wil's ranting.

"Who is he?" Wil asked harshly.

"Alan Norton," Wesley replied. "We trained together."

"Will he be a problem?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe," Wesley replied. "We should get back to the hotel. It's late."

���...�...�...�...���

"We did ask him to keep Xander occupied," Wesley said, wincing as the bed pressed against the other side of the wall they shared with Oz and Xander's room thumped yet again.

"Keep telling yourself that," Wil replied, turning the volume on the television up a little. At least Wesley didn't mind watching the football match; Angel was no fan of the sport. Actually, Wil wasn't either, but it was better than the American stuff. Wesley grimaced and slumped further down on the bed. He was interested enough in the game, but their neighbors were beginning to get to him as well.

"Give them another fifteen and we'll hit the streets," Wil murmured. The match was halfway over, but neither team had scored. They needed to get to their location early, in case they could catch the demons before the crowds hit.

Xander wasn't impressed when Wil and Wesley interrupted him and Oz, but he got dressed and left with them anyway. "I don't see anything," Xander said as they got to the clock tower. At Wil's gesture, they split up and began to walk around the area, looking for places the demons might be hiding.

Wil's search was fruitless, so he met up with Wesley, who had also found nothing. "This place is deserted," The watcher commented quietly.

"Not for long," Oz said as he fell into step with them. "England just scored. Five minutes left in the match."

"Shit," Wil swore. He was about to suggest they start searching again when a flash caught his eye. It moved again, and he squinted, trying to follow it. All of a sudden, Xander appeared right in front of them.

"Found the demons. Lots of them. Big. Mean. Teeth," Xander panted. Wil looked around.

"Where?"

"Oh, right over there," Xander said, pointing. The other three men turned to see a horde of demons running over the green. "They don't like me."

"They're Uika demons; they hunt Raphe," Wesley murmured. "I told you that in Los Angeles."

"Can we get out of here?" Xander asked, ignoring Wesley. "Cause they look really unhappy."

Wil looked around. "We have to get them away from here; the game's almost over." Already he could hear fans cheering at England's imminent victory.

"Where?" Oz asked.

"Thames," Wesley said suddenly. "Easier to get rid of the bodies."

"Right," Wil said, taking one last look at the quickly approaching demons. "This way, Wesley?" He said, cocking his head to one side. The faun nodded and the four men took off; three of them running as fast as they could to escape the demons that were almost upon them. Xander restrained the urge to simply sprint ahead; he was needed to attract the demons, and he didn't know where they were going anyway.

The group kept the demons at bay as Wesley wound them around London. When they reached the river, he stopped. "We're here."

"Great, how what?" Xander asked, eyeing the approaching demons nervously. Wil pulled out a sword and passed it to the Raphe.

"Aim for the head," Wil stated, taking out another sword for himself. Oz and Wesley armed themselves and the foursome spread out a bit. This was going to be really messy-but at least the game had been delayed for a few minutes. Wil could see fans perched on the edge of their seats as a referee dealt with some sort of penalty. He really didn't want to do this with thousands of screaming fanatics wandering around.

The demons arrived in a wave. There must have been fifty of them, all with bloodlust in their eyes. Xander was quite the treat for this species of demon and they all focused on him. That was their downfall; Xander quickly ran up the side of a nearby column and perched on it, far above their grasping claws. Oz, Wesley and Wil began to systematically hack the demons to pieces. They looked ferocious, and were probably quite strong, but they had a strong pack mentality and weren't very intelligent one-on-one. Xander returned to the ground when there were about a dozen left, lending a hand in the slaughter. He followed Wil's lead and worked the demons toward the water, so that as they died they could simply be pushed in.

"That didn't take long," Xander said as the last demon fell into the river.

"We need to get back," Wil replied. The game was about to end-really end, this time. "There might be more."

Xander sighed and handed his weapon back to Wil. They took off at a run again, hoping to make it back to the clock tower before the game ended. The made the green just as England won. Xander held onto a tree as swarms of people flooded the streets. "Help me," He whimpered, sure he was going to get trampled underfoot.

Wil jumped up into the tree and looked out over the crowd. He was searching for any more demons.or other suspicious-looking things. He and Wesley had been concerned about this attack ever since the Watcher had determined the type of demon that was going to do the damage. They weren't the type to just initiate a massacre of this sort, which told Wil that someone was organizing it. Perhaps those organizers would show up to watch.if so, Wil was going to find them.

Much to everyone's relief, there was no sign of additional demons. After about half an hour of mayhem on the part of crazed football fans, Wil jumped out of the tree and stalked off. "Hey! Where are you going?" Xander called out after him. When Wil didn't reply, he made to follow him, but was stopped by Wesley. "What?"

"He'll be back," Wesley said, holding on to the Raphe. He figured that Wil had seen something suspicious, and it was better for him to just investigate it without Xander present. The Raphe hadn't mastered subtlety yet.

Wil melted into the crowd surrounding him. When an England jersey flew into the air and landed on his head, he snatched it up instead of letting it fall to the ground. Ducking into a group of taller people, he quickly pulled the thing over his head. With the colorful shirt on, he looked much more like a raving football fan than a librarian. That would help him figure out what a couple of well-dressed professional types were doing standing around like cardboard cutouts while half a city of raving lunatics partied in the streets.

The vampire circled around until he was behind the two people he'd spotted. They were standing in the deep shadows cast by a nearby building, watching the crowd expectantly. They screamed wrongness, and had he been in L.A. Wil would have fingered them as lawyers for his least favorite firm. One of them turned to the other and said something, but Wil couldn't hear it over the screams of the crowd. The speaker jogged off down the street, while the other man stayed where he was. Their separation made Wil's job easier, so he snuck closer.

The well-dressed man didn't make a sound as Wil grabbed him and slammed him into the wall. Adopting as strong a Cockney accent as he could muster, Wil began spewing random profanities at the man while rifled through his pockets, taking everything he could find. He took the man's watch for good measure, and to make it seem like a run-of-the-mill mugging. The man didn't struggle; he simply stood and quivered while Wil roughed him up a bit. The vampire made sure he used only the force that a human would. Once he'd gotten all that he could off the man, and had tested his scent for traces of demons, Wil shoved him hard onto the ground and disappeared into the crowd once again. To anyone who had witnessed it, and to the man himself, the event was simply a petty crime committed by an overzealous fan.

Wil pulled the jersey off and let it wash away in the sea of bodies around him. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep a real criminal from taking what he'd lifted off the man. Wesley and the others were waiting by Xander's tree when he got back. "Nothing's going to happen here," Wil murmured. The others nodded their agreement and began to force their way out of the crowd.

"What did you go off for?" Xander shouted at Wil.

"Loo," Wil replied sarcastically. He hoped that Xander got the hint that they weren't going to talk about it in public. He must have, because the confusion on his face cleared and he shrugged good-naturedly.

*****