Cordelia stumbled out of her and Gunn's bedroom, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Jet lag, hell. The clock by the bed had said it was about nine in the evening, which meant that she'd been asleep long enough. Her stomach confirmed that belief, so the seer followed her nose to the kitchen. It wasn't difficult, since Oz and Xander were cooking.

"Food," Cordelia growled as she slumped down at the bar.

"Hamburgers, hot dogs, or.what is this, Oz?" Xander asked, holding up a piece of raw meat.

"Came from a sheep," Oz replied.

"Sheep meat," Cordelia replied, waving her hand. "Eggs if you've got them."

"Mutton for the lady," Xander said, pitching the food at Oz, who slapped it in the pan. "Want something to drink?"

"Water, lots of it, now." Cordelia accepted a large bottle of water from Xander and gulped down half of it. "So," She began, somewhat more awake. "How are the visions going?"

"Not many, all in London," Xander said. "Mostly we've been chasing our tails with this Easton, Ginnis & Ralls-Watchers' Council thingy."

"Anything of interest there?" Cordelia inquired.

"Big pack here," Oz murmured.

"Werewolves in London," Xander quipped. "They don't like us much."

Cordelia's eyes snapped open. "Ah, 'don't like?'"

Oz covered the pan and lowered the heat so their meal could simmer. "Lager louts. Don't like American alphas or Raphe."

Xander shuddered. "Yeah, they tried to hunt me."

"What happened?" Cordelia asked, worried.

"Not much. It's hard for a bunch of drunken werewolves to catch a sober Raphe," Xander explained. "Suffice it to say, though, that there are parts of London that I avoid some of the time."

Oz checked on the food and frowned. "Wesley and I can't go there either. Something there."

"Huh?" Cordelia grunted, fishing through a cabinet for something to snack on. She found Xander's soy nuts and shuddered.

"What Mr. Taciturn is trying to say," Xander added, "Is that we think that Easton, Ginnis & Ralls have something there-it's just too convenient. Wil's good there at night, but only because the wolves don't want to mess with a vampire. Angel and maybe some others might be able to help, though. We've got some plans."

"Point," Cordelia said around a mouthful of crackers. "So, what's the plan?"

Xander slid onto a barstool next to Cordelia, snagging a cracker from the mound she'd piled onto the countertop. "The short, short version is this: we sow the seeds of discord among the younger ranks of Watchers-not the ambitious up-and-comers, but the librarians, researchers and other dead-end lackeys. Then, we sit back and watch the entire empire fall."

Cordelia frowned. "Um.maybe you should give me the short version, because I'm not seeing how getting cozy with the nobodies is going to help us."

"Tell me something," Xander began. "What happens to Mr. Bigwig Businessman when all of his secretaries disappear?"

"The same thing that happens to Angel when he pisses me off," Cordelia replied, smirking. "He can't find his appointment book, his computer, or his shoes."

Xander grinned. "What we're going for is the same thing, in essence. Those 'nobodies' are the lifeblood of the Watchers. If we can get many of them to start doubting the integrity of their organization, we'll get what we want-an upheaval." The Raphe accepted a laden plate from Oz. "It's unlikely that everyone in the Council is completely tied to Wolfram & Hart and their London buddies."

"Sounds risky," Cordelia commented as she lit into her dinner. "Good stuff, Oz," She praised. "I thought mutton was nasty."

"Marinade," The alpha wolf replied. "It is risky."

"But it's probably our best bet," Xander defended. "Even though Easton, Ginnis & Ralls isn't as big as Wolfram & Hart, they're still bigger than anything we'd want to just attack. The Watchers' Council is something we'd do well to simply avoid. And, if I'm not mistaken, no one here wants to just stay in London forever."

"I wouldn't go that far," Cordelia murmured. "As long as the Slayer's in L.A., Angel and Wil aren't going to be in any hurry to return."

"That goes for most of us," Xander said. "But no time soon isn't the same as staying for a century or so. And there's the fact that The Powers have got to have something planned. I mean, why else have a vision set in London?"

"Wolfram & Hart can hack into the visions, you know," Cordelia reminded the Raphe.

Xander shook his head. "I know, but I think this is a genuine thing. From what I've heard, Buffy won't have too much trouble setting up shop in L.A., especially with Lorne to help her. You guys assured us that Riley's little buddies were doing ok on the Hellmouth, so we'll be fine here for the time being."

"Fine, fine, fine," Cordelia muttered, reaching for her water. "So, have you seen the vamps?"

Oz grinned and shook his head. "I doubt we will," Xander replied for the both of them. "Same goes for Wesley and Fred."

"Gunn should be up soon. We won't be actually doing all this 'sowing' tonight, so maybe we can spend some quality time scheming," Cordelia decided for them.

"Say what?"

The three investigators turned to see a muzzy Gunn peering back at them. "There is more of that, right?" He asked, gesturing toward the food. Oz served up a plate and the threesome scooted around to make room next to Cordelia for him. He sat down and dug in, not even questioning the contents of the plate.

"Did we wake you?" Cordelia inquired.

"Nah," Gunn mumbled. "Whatcha talking about?"

"What we're doing here," Xander replied. "Business stuff."

"Catch me up?" The vampire hunter asked as he reached for seconds.

���...�...�...�...���

"I know you're awake."

Angel grinned against Wil's shoulder. "So?" He'd been awake for a long time-far longer than Wil had. And no, he hadn't woken up the blonde-it was nice to just lay there.

"So you want to lay in bed, doing absolutely nothing, until one of them gets impatient and comes in here to wake us up?" Wil inquired shortly.

"Maybe," Angel replied. "Does that bother you?"

"Maybe," Wil parroted. "Should it bother me?"

"When did you become such a smart ass?" Angel asked. "I don't recall you talking back this much."

"You're losing your bloody mind," Wil retorted. "I talk back all the time."

"Ah, I'd forgotten that little bit of disobedience. Distance and all that," Angel murmured. "Tell me again why I came here?"

"Abstinence doesn't compliment your complexion?" For that Wil got a sharp smack on his ass. "Buffy was getting on your nerves?" He tried.

"Better," Angel stated. "It's raining."

"It's London," Wil said. "It's usually raining. Or has just finished raining. Or will be raining in a bit. Haven't you watched any movies lately? London-the town of too much rain, bad food and people who don't go to the dentist often enough."

"Ah. Forgive me," Angel whispered. "I completely overlooked such charming details."

"This is absurd," Wil grumbled.

"What's absurd?" Angel asked.

"We've not seen each other in months, we're both randier than a schoolboy sneaking into the girls' locker room, but we're discussing the weather," Wil explained.

"I feel that you're discontented," Angel commented.

"I'm going to hurt you," Wil snapped. Angel grinned again. "Really hurt you."

"I thought you liked to talk," The dark vampire said innocently.

"That's it," Wil nearly shouted, climbing out of the bed. He grabbed his clothes and threw them on. Angel wasn't even out of the bed before Wil had made it out the door. Angel could hear exclamations of surprise coming from their coworkers, who weren't expecting the blonde to be joining them so quickly. Cordelia was going to kill him, slowly and painfully, for pissing off Wil.

���...�...�...�...���

Cordelia and the others watched silently as Wil heated and consumed whatever kind of blood he'd chosen that evening. Oz's nose told him it was mostly goat-not a common choice for the blonde. No one said a word-after their initial attempts to converse with the vampire, it was safer not to speak. He'd growled and snarled and looked as menacing as his unsouled reflection. Cordelia knew, though, that Angel was at the root of Wil's foul mood.

"Better?" The seer whispered as Wil washed out his mug. The blonde growled at her, but nodded. "So, how 'bout them Yankees?"

Wil snorted. "We need to start planning." There was no way he was going to discuss Angel with them right now. He'd end up trying to drain one of them.

"What about An-the others?" Xander asked, remembering that mentioning Broodboy would be a very bad thing at the moment.

"Fred and Wesley should be up soon, and I'm sure Wes spent the day telling Fred what was going on," Wil replied. It was the truth; he'd heard bits and pieces of conversation all through the day. Interspersed with the usual sappiness were mentions of the goings-on in London. There were some things that just couldn't be transmitted over telephone or e-mail.

The quintet adjourned to the flat's improvised war room, which was a spare room in the back. It had been chosen primarily for it's lack of large windows and abundance of electrical sockets. In deference to their communal coffee addiction, there was a large urn already heating in one corner. "Um.so I take it you guys have some plans already?" Gunn asked as they took seats in front of the computer monitors.

"A couple nearly ready to go, a few more cooking," Xander replied. "We need some fine tuning on one, and if it works, we'll know where to go with the rest."

"And if it doesn't, we'll know where to go with the others as well," Will inserted.

"Right," Gunn murmured. "So, what is this plan?"

Wil began typing on one computer while Xander started to explain. "What we want to do to start the ball rolling is to position a couple of high-probability Watcher contacts so that they can see the Easton, Ginnis & Ralls-Council connection."

"And you're going to do this how?" Cordelia asked.

"Nothing obvious," Xander replied. "Since if it was, they'd suspect something. These guys aren't stupid, just a bit too loyal. What we've got in mind is fabricating a 'situation' within a small clan of Dhois demons across town."

"I take it they're connected to the law firm?" Gunn inquired.

Xander nodded. "Of course. See, according to Wes, there's no way the Watchers' Council should be letting Dhois demons stay in London-hells, in England. They're troublemakers, always fostering violence, unrest and whatnot. Some of the scuttlebutt we've heard says that the law firm is responsible for keeping the Dhois and our targeted werewolf clan from killing each other."

"And why would they not like each other?" Cordelia asked.

"Normally, werewolves and Dhois would simply avoid each other's territories. The werewolf pack we're talking about, though, isn't so tolerant. The Dhois, too, are a bit more.aggressive than usual," Xander said. "What we're thinking about is putting the Dhois in the way of the werewolves. What will that accomplish?" Xander asked, predicting Cordelia's next question. "Well, for one, it will significantly weaken both the Dhois and the werewolves. Dhois aren't the most public demons out there, so being exposed will do several things: they'll lose clientele, lose numbers of their own, and drawing the attention of the Watchers' Council."

"But I thought that the Council was aiding the Dhois?" Gunn asked, frowning.

"Only passively," Xander replied. "See, most of what the Council was doing was turning a blind eye. But just like politicians that do the same thing, if the Dhois are brought to 'public' attention, the Council will have no choice but to pursue the issue. What we're hoping is that the corrupted element in the Council will try, in some way, to downplay the Dhois situation. That would draw the attention of the people we're targeting. Of course, the fact that the Dhois are in London at all will do the same thing. Once they're out in the open, those 'dead-enders' are going to start to wonder how they escaped the Council's attention. After all, they're low-profile, not invisible. And all of this doesn't even take into account the werewolf pack."

"What's their role?" Gunn asked, playing along.

"They shouldn't be so strong," Oz said from the computer he was messing with. "And they're not popular among the demon community. If they're weakened, others are going to move in, for revenge. If they can't strike back, someone will start talking to the Council about the law firm's role in the pack."

"Ah," Cordelia murmured. "And how are we going to fabricate this situation?"

"Actually, it will be a real confrontation. It's just the reason that's going to be fabricated. We're going to make it look like the Dhis are moving in on the werewolves' territory," Xander said. "Then we sit back and watch the carnage."

"Where is this going to be?" Cordelia wanted to know, envisioning streets full of dead and injured innocents.

"Aboveground," Wil murmured. "For maximum obviousness. We've picked a particularly seedy part of the city, but don't worry-there aren't many humans there."

"Who lives there, then?" Gunn asked.

"Demons, and not the warm fuzzy kind," Xander replied. "It's going to be at the edge of the neighborhood, close enough to a human population to really matter to the Council. They know about the demons, but since they're 'contained' in their own community, they don't bother getting rid of them because they think they're harmless. However, once the werewolves and Dhois expose themselves to the Council's watchful eye, not only will they be under fire, but the entire community as well. We hope that that part works-it'll make the other plans we're developing more effective."

"Ah, so that's why most of your plans are still under construction-if you don't get the Watchers involved in this little demon community, you're going to have to rethink your entire strategy," Cordelia summarized. "It's risky, like Oz said earlier."

"But if it works, it works well," Gunn said. He liked the idea, now that he thought about it. It minimized the risk to innocents, both human and demon, while having a high probability of getting rid of several really bad elements in the city. The useful side effect of the plan would be to clean up a place that needed it desperately. "So what are the particulars of this plan, the ones that require us?"

"You're going to do the inciting," Xander said with a smile. "What you guys are going to do is make contact with the Dhois and draw them out into the werewolves' territories. Cordelia and Angel are going to work the werewolf end."

"But you said that the pack didn't like Americans," She said worriedly.

"You're female, and beta," Oz replied quietly. "They'll let you live. Angel won't have a problem either."

"Uh, just how are they supposed to make contact?" Gunn asked.

"It won't be difficult. She'll just walk into a pub and look lost. She won't have to 'do' much. Angel, well, he just has to stand around and look menacing," Xander said. He wouldn't even think about putting Cordelia in serious danger, even though she could take care of herself. "There's something for all of us to do, even if it's on the support side."

Wil and Oz moved away from the computers and waved the newcomers toward them. "You can review the rest of the info here," Wil said, gesturing toward the monitors. Cordelia went eagerly, wanting to see the whole of their progress and how it related to what she'd gotten in Los Angeles. Soon Xander and Oz were busy showing Gunn and Cordelia what they'd collected. Wil stepped back and slipped out the door.

Much to his surprise, the blonde found Angel slumped on the floor next to the computer room. Any lingering anger Wil felt at Angel's behavior melted when he saw how miserable the dark vampire was. Angel looked despondent. Wil reached down and waited for Angel to take his hand. Angel looked up in surprise but took the proffered assistance and pulled himself up. Wil led him back to their bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

"Wil." Angel began, trying to think of a way to apologize. Wil stopped him with a smile. The blonde pushed him toward the bed, walking him backward.

"Quiet," Wil warned when Angel tried to speak again. The blonde began to pull at Angel's clothes and after a minute the dark vampire joined in. The first tentative touch of Wil's hands on his body brought tears to Angel's eyes. He'd missed this, the connection and sharing of pleasure. It wasn't everything or even the most important part of their relationship, but sometimes they connected better on a chemical and physical level. It was times like this, when he could taste and smell everything that Wil was feeling, that he wondered how he'd ever enjoyed sex as a human. He couldn't imagine being so engrossed in the act if he didn't have those senses.

When Wil bit into him, drawing of his blood, Angel didn't protest. Nor did he complain when that bite roughened, tearing at his skin. In return Angel scraped his nails hard down Wil's back, drawing blood. The scents of their bodies intensified as the writhed on the bed, blood pooling around them, both from Angel's neck and Wil's back. It slickened them before beginning to dry and making them stick together. Wil withdrew his fangs and laved at the wound he'd created until it was healed. He then cleaned off the blood that had dripped and smeared over Angel's body, even as Angel turned and twisted to return the favor. Soon the only evidence of their blood play was the stained sheets upon which they lay.

Once he was sure no trace of blood was left on Wil's skin, Angel began to move with more purpose. The slightly chemical odor of lubricant added an acrid tang to the heavy sex smell in the room. Once again Angel was entranced, this time by the tug and slide of Wil's body as he writhed underneath him. The cries, the moans, they all drove Angel on.

Wil watched as Angel lost himself once again. He felt the draw and knew he too would fall into the exquisite trance, lured there by Angel's body. He could sense the emotions Angel felt, could smell the lust and the love and the fear all intertwined. The lust drove Wil higher, the love made him cry and the fear added a hint of aggression, appealing to his demon. Wil's world shrank to the thrust and glide of their coupling. He knew that all too soon they'd have to return to the front and to the harsher realities of their destinies. The uncertainty of the future made them desperate and blood flowed once again.

���...�...�...�...���

Oz's nose twitched. Blood. Whatever had driven Wil away from Angel had been resolved. That pleased the werewolf. In his experience, people tended to function better on the job when their personal lives weren't fucked up. He knew it was true for him, Xander, Angel and Wil.and Cordelia and Gunn and Wes and Fred.in fact, Oz was sure there was a pattern there. The others had figured it out and as a result they worked out their little tiffs and arguments quickly.

He knew that it was a bit more difficult for Angel and Wil. They had a lot more history, much of it very painful, to deal with. Maybe, though, they were getting closer. At least this incident had lasted only a little while. That was a good sign. Perhaps what they had planned in London would work without causing injury to any of them. It was a lot to ask for, but he didn't think it was too much. History had proven that they didn't function very well with even one person down.

*****
Part 51:

"No."

Wesley looked down at the scrap of material Cordelia had pitched at his hooves. "Why not?" True, the thing was filmy, flimsy and utterly inappropriate. Then again, those words could be used to describe several things in the seer's wardrobe.

"It doesn't match the shoes," Cordelia stated. If she was going to be subjected to wearing something no self respecting hooker would wear, it was going to match her shoes.

"Then get different shoes," Wesley grated out.

"Buy me new shoes," Cordelia returned. "Good ones, that won't hurt my feet but would match that.thing."

"Fine." Wesley watched as the young woman's face curled up in triumph. She scooped up the garment and sashayed back to her and Gunn's room. He didn't mind capitulating; a pair of shoes wasn't much. It wasn't that long ago that she'd have gone for much more than that.

"I don't like this," Angel murmured, catching Wesley's attention. He'd been saying that for a few days now, ever since Wil had filled him in on the plan. It put too many people at risk, and not just his coworkers. He and Cordy would be right there in front, while Gunn and Fred went after the Dhois demons. The others-Wes, Xander, Oz, Wil and Giles-were fulfilling other roles. Giles and Wes were going to be the ones in charge of getting the Watchers into place. Xander, Wil and Oz were supposed to be 'damage control'-looking out for the innocents, keeping things from turning deadly for them. They were also the extraction crew should either Angel and Cordelia or Gunn and Fred run into serious problems. Angel could see so many ways for it all to fall apart.

Wesley sighed and leaned back in his chair. He'd heard this before, and knew he'd hear it again. "If you've come up with a better idea, I'm sure we'd all be quite interested in hearing it. As it is, this is the best we've got." He didn't like the idea of putting Fred, or anyone, at risk, but that was their job. No one but Angel had been forced upon this path-even if circumstances made their participation logical, any of the others could have walked away. The fact that they remained to fight was proof of acceptance of the risks inherent in their chosen profession.

"Are you sure of your contacts?" Angel inquired, taking a seat at the table.

"Yes," Wesley replied. He and Giles had combed through their collective memories of Watcher colleagues to pinpoint the most likely contacts. The list they'd come up with was nothing but discontents, dead-enders and bookworms. They were a disparate group, tied together by one thing-a pure and deep-seated devotion to the true purpose of the Watchers' Council. They were the people that both Giles and Wesley had mocked once upon a time, for being either staid traditionalists or na�ve idealists. Now they were their best hope.

"Go over them again?" The dark vampire asked. Wil, Xander and Giles appeared as if by magic. The blonde grinned and sat down next to Angel.

"Thought we'd help out," Wil offered the faun. They were all well-versed in the biographies of their Watcher targets, and could recite them forwards and backwards. Of course, the fact that they'd all done so at Angel's behest several times didn't hurt.

"First off is the one we ran into when we first got here," Wesley began. "Alan Norton. I trained with him, right from the beginning. He was a bit of a purist, and more interested in the history of the Slayer than her current status. For that he was funneled into research, in the rare editions archive at the library. Unfortunately for him, he ran afoul of the curator of that collection and was moved over to the main collection, where he stalled at a midlevel position, overseeing the research efforts of trainees. His nonsuccess has done little for his personality, but he hasn't lost his love for the Council's mission."

"Which brings us to Maeve Baedl," Xander continued. "Friend of Alan Norton. She went through training a few years after he and Wes did, with an interest in nonviolent demonic species. She was a bit too egalitarian, so her superiors put her in the Interactions department, where she maps out instances of peaceful coexistence between humans and demons. Most of her time is actually spent filing paperwork and describing the differences between closely related violent and nonviolent demonic species. Her permanent record has been marked for surveillance, since the Council considers her a moderate to serious risk in terms of violating Watcher protocols."

"Very good," Wesley remarked softly. "Wil, would you proceed with the Watcher of your choosing?"

Wil nodded. "Trude Michel. Older than the first two, having trained about fifteen years before Rupert. He's a much respected member of the Library staff, where he spends his time determining the age and authenticity of various texts. The main reason why he's on this list is that despite his position and performance, he's been denied any say in the actual administration of the Council and the Library, for reasons related to his intense dislike of outsiders influencing the Council's major policy decisions, although he is by no means a xenophobe. He is also watched because he has on more than one occasion consulted with a nonhuman expert when working with his beloved books."

"Peter Haimen, Cho Zhang, Theresa Walters, and Mayfair Sellers are all targets because they have been marked for career-assassination," Giles said quietly. "The first two are just out of training, while the others are 'old guard'. All of them have repeatedly expressed a dislike for the 'stodgy, hidebound white-male traditions' of the Council, to quote Mayfair. Each works from a different premise, however, and are not seen as a 'gang of four."

"How are you going to get them together again?" Angel inquired. Wesley just rolled his eyes.

���...�...�...�...���

By the time three more days had passed, no one had time to roll their eyes or make fun of Angel's paranoia. The last details of their plan were being hashed out, and everyone was grilling everyone else about each detail. The situation was so intense that even Oz was talking on a regular basis. That shocked everyone but Xander, who knew that the werewolf could be communicative if he so chose.

Cordelia was reveling in her role. She may have given up on the idea of acting as a career, but she still liked to play around with it as a hobby-or for work. Each of the other investigators had watched her 'dumb American' routine several times, to make sure that it fit with the story they were using and was convincing enough. Xander's opinion was that with the outfit she was wearing, she could recite the Gettysburg Address and have the werewolf pack wrapped around her fingers.

Oz wasn't so confident-he was very protective of his beta. The last thing he wanted to see was the young woman hurt or killed by a wild pack. So instead of nodding and agreeing that it was a great performance, he made her fine tune it-working on the little cues that only other werewolves would pick up on. He had requested that they move the timing of the attack to coincide with a specific point in the waxing moon, so that Cordelia's pheromones would be at a high point. That way the all-male pack would be more interested in her than usual. He was also insistent that Angel not touch the seer at all for a week or so beforehand, so that there was no way the violent werewolves would consider him competition. If he smelled like nothing more than a bodyguard, then he would be treated that way.

Angel was happy enough with the amount of preparation he had to do to play his part-almost nothing. His instructions were simple: act like his old, broody and silent self. He was supposed to be nothing more than hired muscle, silent unless spoken to. That lack of dialogue left him with plenty of time to evaluate their circumstances and keep Cordelia safe, which was his primary goal anyway.

As it happened, Gunn and Fred were the most burdened by their roles. They were in charge of inciting the Dhois demons, which wouldn't be an easy job. First, they had to make contact with the demons without getting killed in the process, which wouldn't be easy or simple. Then they had to convince the Dhois that their information was trustworthy. The plan was for them to have available for sale information about some incidents that occurred in Dhois territory. The demons would be most interested in it, since the attacks had caused damage to both structures and income, threatening their hold on a certain slum. In reality, the attacks were done by Gunn and Fred with the help of the other investigators. They were planning to frame the werewolf pack for the incidents.

Cordelia's part would involve getting the wolf pack out where the Dhois could encounter them. She was going to go to their local hangout, pretending to be a flighty, well-off American werewolf looking for a good time. Unfortunately, she got lost and followed her nose here. During the course of her flirtations with the pack, she was going to let slip about all those nasty Dhois demons she spotted just inside the pack's territory. That would incite the pack to confront the Dhois, who were similarly upset with the wolf pack. The ensuing altercation would gain the attention of the Watchers, hopefully leading to unrest within the ranks.

The main difficulties they encountered were setting up the attacks without the knowledge of the Watchers, the law firm, the Dhois and the werewolves and thinking up a reason for Gunn and Fred to be in London. It hadn't been easy, but Xander, Fred and Wes had found ways to destroy two subway entrances, disrupt the water supply at three mains and shut down power to the Dhois' headquarters. They'd initially wanted to perform more sophisticated attacks, but Wil had reminded them that the werewolves weren't the most advanced enemies they'd ever met.

Gunn and Fred had come up with their cover while the others worked on Cordelia and Angel. They were going to be a pair of hunters-werewolf and vampire-who were in the business of selling their expertise to the highest bidder. Fred practiced keeping her mouth shut and using short, terse phrases for communication, while Gunn beefed up on werewolf-hunting skills. If asked, they planned to say that a previous job had brought them to London. The hunter-for-hire cover worked well because the Dhois would more readily believe information from a hunter looking to sell his information than a good Samaritan giving it away.

And during all the other preparations, Wesley and Giles set up the Watchers. Wesley indirectly approached Alan Norton as their initial contact. From there it was not difficult, although somewhat slow, contacting the other targeted Watchers. Having Giles there helped quite a bit-he was very good at keeping a low profile. The Council knew that he was in town, but they never found out about what he was doing. After a few weeks of preparations, their Watcher contacts were primed-they were suspicious of the targeted communities, the werewolves, and outside influences.

���...�...�...�...���

"You're worrying again."

Wil looked up at Angel. "Of course I am." Who wasn't worrying? All of them had bitten their nails down to nubs thinking over every aspect of the plan. Was it too complicated? Too simple? Transparent, easily foiled? Had the law firm figured out what they were up to? Did the Watchers' Council know as well?

Angel sat down on the bed next to his frowning mate. "Do you think it will work?"

"I don't know. It's so.classic, so simple. The Watchers aren't stupid; they're going to figure out it was a set up."

"So? Does it matter in the end?"

"What do you mean, 'does it matter?'" Wil snapped. "If they."

Angel shrugged. "They'll still know about the law firm, the werewolves and the Dhois. What are they going to do, ignore all of that when they figure out that another party was involved? I don't think so."

Wil sighed. "I know, but."

"You don't like having to sit this one out," Angel guessed. "I know it's difficult, but you're doing all you can."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Wil ground out. "It doesn't, you know. I don't want to be damage control. What happens if the entire pack turns on you and Cordelia?"

"Then you and the others will rescue us," Angel replied calmly. "We've been over this a thousand times, Wil."

"I know, but."

"You've been saying that an awful lot lately," Angel quipped. He got a rude gesture for the comment. "Come on, the others want to play cards."

"Ten hours before we start this thing and they're playing poker?" Wil asked as he and Angel stood.

"Five card draw," Angel replied as they walked out of the room.

*****
Part 52:

Wesley looked around the room one more time, trying to gauge the readiness of his coworkers. Everyone looked tense and unhappy, which was both expected and worrisome. Each of them had multiple, valid reasons for being discontent, but the ex-Watcher was afraid that their current states might affect their performance. There wasn't anything he could to about it though, so he shoved his worries to the back of his mind.

"Can we get this over with?" Gunn asked irritably, pacing up and down his narrow strip of floor. He wanted nothing more than to be done with this whole project. The idea of dealing with demons like this-tricking them into a fight, just to put on a show for the Watchers, bothered him a lot. Something was going to go wrong. Of course, the fact that he hadn't been able to lay a single finger on Cordelia for the past week hadn't helped one bit. The only thing that had kept him sane though that was the knowledge that most of his friends were in the same boat. Only Oz and Xander had been allowed contact with each other, since neither of them were going to be meeting with any nonhumans.

Oz's edict that Cordelia was off-limits, due to the sensitive noses of the werewolf pack, quickly spread to anyone who would be dealing with either group of combatants. Angel couldn't smell like Wil and Fred couldn't smell like Wesley. Gunn, of course, was already banned from being near Cordelia. Giles had taken great delight in laughing at them as they struggled to keep 'clean'. It was quite difficult, since they couldn't touch anyone at all-they had to smell like nothing but themselves.

At least Oz had taken pity on them and had assigned himself and Xander to cleaning the house. Once the place had been scrubbed top to bottom, each of them chose a place to sit and a separate place to sleep, one that no one else touched. By the end of the week, they were as clean and odor-free as people could get.

"Does everyone know what they're supposed to be doing?" Xander inquired.

"We've done our parts," Giles reminded him. He and Wesley had set up the Watcher contacts and were now with Wesley, Wil, Oz and Xander on damage control.

"The Dhois accepted our initial overtures," Fred added quietly. Wil and Oz had spent much of the last week causing damage to different areas-attacks to be blamed on the werewolves. Fred and the others had helped plan those attacks. After a brief wait, she and Gunn had approached the Dhois in their guise as hunters-for-hire with information about the attacks. So far, their plan had worked perfectly.

"And I've got the script down pat," Cordelia finished. She'd practiced ad nauseum and was sure she'd be able to get the werewolves out to where the confrontation was to take place.

"Then we should get going," Wesley stated. They filed out of the flat, each group taking a separate route. Angel and Cordelia set out to hit a few trendy bars they'd managed to make contacts at, to establish the evening's cover. Wil shadowed them while Wesley took up an intermediate position near the werewolf pack's headquarters. Meanwhile, Gunn and Fred took a different route, quietly making their way to the Dhois' headquarters via several dummy streets. Xander was their shadow, with Oz at a midway lookout position. Giles was responsible for watching the Watchers they'd set up to witness the event.

"Something's going to go wrong. It has to," Angel murmured as he hit the stairs. Cordelia punched him on the shoulder-an allowable action, since he was now her bodyguard and some contact between them would be expected.

"Don't say it. Don't even think it, mister," She warned as they made their way to the cab they'd called earlier.

���...�...�...�...���

Gunn and Fred waited silently in the anteroom of the Dhois' headquarters, where they'd been standing for several hours. It wasn't difficult to do so, since the place smelled incredibly foul. They were both slightly afraid that if they opened their mouths, they'd vomit and ruin the entire charade. True, grizzled hunters-for-hire wouldn't care about the stench of rotting flesh, no matter how overpowering it was.

"You can go in now," One Dhois guard commanded to the pair. Gunn nodded once to the sickly brown-gray demon as he ushered Fred inside the main room. When they got inside, they found themselves facing the same midlevel bosses they'd seen the first time they'd approached the Dhois. Initially, Gunn had been disappointed that they'd not met the highest-ranking Dhois, but he soon realized that it just wasn't going to happen.

"So, you still have information to sell us?" The ranking Dhois hissed to Gunn. Fred stood silently, knowing that the demon would never address her.

Gunn nodded curtly. "Yeah, exclusive information." He knew that the Dhois had tried to find out for themselves who had attacked their territory. Of course, they weren't about to learn that, since it was Gunn's own coworkers.

"And your price?"

"�50,000," Gunn replied.

The Dhois spat on the ground at Gunn's feet. "Before, it was �40,000."

"Inflation's a bitch."

"You have no one else who would want that information," The Dhois protested.

"And you have no one else to get it from," Gunn retorted. "And I hear the exchange rate is getting worse and worse." The Dhois argued amongst themselves for several minutes. Fred listened intently for the cue words Wesley had taught her. They hadn't had time to actually learn the language, but he'd shown her the words for 'kill' and 'force' and a few others that might mean the Dhois were about to attack them.

"Fine," The elder said angrily. They needed the information, regardless of how much it cost-they couldn't afford to be attacked any more. Gunn handed over a folded piece of paper. It held the number of a U.S. bank account, the destination of their payoff.

"Give us the information," The Dhois demanded.

"Give us the payment," Gunn replied. The Dhois grimaced. "Pay us and we'll do better than tell you who attacked you-we'll take you to their place."

"Agreed," The Dhois said quickly. Gunn knew that the offer was the perfect sweetener-the Dhois would have solid proof that there was a group acting against them. Also, it gave them a chance to remove Gunn and Fred, and Gunn knew that the Dhois would have a way to get their money back from that account. Well, they thought they did. The account was one of Wolfram & Hart's-one that the U.S. Government kept an eye on. Because it was monitored, the law firm kept all things flowing into and out of the account completely legal. Wouldn't it be fun to watch them scramble around when a bunch of foreign money just showed up there?

"Come on, girl," Gunn snapped at Fred as they led the Dhois out of the building.

���...�...�...�...���

"Come on, dance big boy!"

Angel stared stonily at a spot about a foot behind Cordelia's head. She was twirling around him, trying to make him join her. Actually, she was just putting on a really good show, and he knew it. It was something of a competition between the two of them to see if she could make him crack a smile. So far she'd failed.

After a couple of minutes, Cordelia made a grand show of giving up on her staid bodyguard and took another sip of her drink. It was really strong, so she swished it in her mouth and let it run back into her glass. She'd done that with the last three drinks, at the last three places they'd been to. The werewolf needed to smell inebriated, not be that way, so she gargled alcohol, letting small amounts of the stuff drip on her skin. It made her feel icky, but it worked, blending with her sweat to make her appear drunk.

"Let's go, I'm bored," She said to Angel, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward the door. They'd spent enough time building their cover-it was time to act.

The cab driver certainly bought into her performance, shaking his head at Angel as he drove them to the pub Cordelia'd asked for. He even made sure that she really wanted to go into *that* part of town, but she insisted in a slurred voice that she did. Angel just rolled his eyes and glared at the road.

Once they were dumped outside and the cab drive had driven off, Cordelia tugged her scrap of material this way and that, for a more dramatic effect, and headed toward the door. She only had one shot to pull this off, so it had to be good. Angel stayed exactly two steps behind her, just out of reach of clicking heels and razor-sharp nails.

Cordelia swung open the door and strutted inside, completely ignoring the first four guys she passed. "Where's the party?" She shouted in a loud, friendly voice. "I came here for."

Her voice dropped off as several dozen inhuman eyes turned toward her. Angel stepped closer, acting in his role as bodyguard. When one of the men stood to approach Cordelia, he growled menacingly.

"Oh, stop that, Hubert. They're harmless-just a pack of natives," Cordelia scolded. Angel backed off slightly, but still kept a close watch.

The werewolf packed looked around at each other. Normally they disliked outsiders, particularly Yanks, but this one was pretty.and protected. Yeah, they could overpower one female beta and her vamp bodyguard, but they'd get hurt, seriously hurt, in the process. Besides, she did come in for a party.

"Party's right here," One said with a leer, ogling the young woman's attributes. Cordelia grinned widely and slid onto the proffered stool.

"Oh, good thing that," She cooed. "Much better than the last place we were at. What was it called, Hubert? The Lame Duck?"

"The Purple Eunuch," Angel mumbled quietly. The werewolves looked to each other in amusement.

"You're better off here," Her admirer stated. "We're more fun, by far." Drinks were served and Cordelia forced one into Angel's hands. The mega-hormones Cordelia was putting off riled up the werewolves quite a bit and soon they were squabbling amongst themselves and crowding against her.

"Ooh, look Hubert! I've got a bunch of bodyguards now!" She shouted over the din. To one of the werewolves she said, "And that is sooo good, you know? Hubert's fantastic, but one vamp is nothing against a big ugly bunch of Dhois demons."

"Dhois? Where'd you run into them?" One werewolf asked angrily. They hated Dhois-they smelled bad and did dirty business.

Cordelia waved her hand in one direction. "Oh, over that way. They sounded funny-like they were foreign or something. Anyway, they were looking at me-you know, down my dress, and grabbing at me. Actually, they were just a couple of streets over, near that other pub.Hubert, what pub was it down the street?"

"Which street?" Angel asked, stalling.

"That one just a couple of blocks down," Cordelia replied. She noticed that the werewolves were taking notice of what she was saying. Any street that close would be well within the pack's territory and any demons there would be seen as a threat. Sure enough, the pack began to mobilize and move toward the door. "Hey, where are you guys going? It was just getting good here!"

"We'll be back around, so stay put," One growled, motioning toward the bartender. The man pulled out a huge knife and a crossbow, laying both in front of him on the bar. At one werewolf's shove, Angel took a seat next to Cordelia. Apparently they were staying here for the duration.

"Um.if they're all leaving, I'm going too. It's no fun here by myself," Cordelia whined to the bartender. He just grunted and pointed the knife at her.

"You stay." Angel growled, which got him a nudge with the crossbow. "You stay too, Hubert."

���...�...�...�...���

Giles nodded to Wesley as the faun joined him at his perch. He was the last to arrive-Oz, Wil and Xander had already made it to the meeting point. In less than three minutes, both the Dhois and the werewolves would be there. With any luck, Gunn and Fred would manage to get out of the way before anything bad happened.

"Is everything as planned?" Wesley asked Giles. The elder man shook his head.

"Cordelia and Angel didn't leave the bar." The plan was for them to exit as quickly as possible.

"Are they alive?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, but the bartender is holding them." Wil had seen them inside, but had had to follow the pack.

"Look!" Wesley exclaimed. The Dhois and the werewolves had both appeared-and had seen each other. They could see the tension, even from their vantage point several stories up.

Gunn looked down the street at the werewolves and reached for Fred. "That's the ones who tore up your place," He said to the Dhois elder, even as he moved away from the demons. The pair slipped by their Dhois guards and ducked into their appointed hiding place-an abandoned building with sewer access. From there they were to go meet up with Giles and Wesley. Unfortunately, a Dhois behind them saw where they went and decided to follow.

"Gunn!" Fred hissed as she drew her sword. The Dhois made to attack, but Gunn fired a crossbow bolt at it. The bolt hit in the thing's neck, which only slowed it down. Fred raised her sword high and sliced open the demon's skull, spraying greenish glop everywhere, including all over both of them.

"I hope, I mean I really hope, that I'm not allergic to Dhois," Gunn muttered as they made for the sewers. They heard others enter the building behind them. "Shit, they'll follow us." Fred nodded and ran back toward the side exit. They had to get the Dhois out onto the street, not into the building.

The Dhois followed Gunn and Fred back into the streets, where the rest of their clan was fighting with the werewolves. They saw no sign of Angel and Cordelia, which was good, so they headed for their 'plan B' hideout, a subway station nearby. They hoped the Dhois stayed up to fight with the werewolves instead of following them.

Wil saw Gunn and Fred duck into the subway station. "We've got trouble," He said to Xander and Oz, even as he headed for the stairs. Xander signaled to Wesley before following the blonde to give aide. They used the sewer access tunnels to get over to the subway station-not an easy feat-just in time to see Gunn thrown down onto the platform by two hulking Dhois. Fred was being held by a third, who easily evaded her punches.

Xander leapt across the tracks, distracting one demon, while Wil vamped out and took on the one holding Fred. The vampire ripped its head off, tossing it down the tunnel, even as he turned to take care of the third Dhois. Gunn regained his footing and helped Xander out, attacking the distracted demon as Xander ran around it.

"Thanks," Gunn panted once the three demons were taken care of.

"Man, they really stink," Xander complained, wiping his hands off on his jeans.

"We need to get going," Wil said curtly. The others followed him back to the access and climbed back into their watchtower-building.

The site they found when they returned was beyond their wildest imaginings. Yes, they'd predicted that the two groups would inflict heavy damage upon themselves in their fighting. No one, however, had predicted this. It was nothing short of a massacre.

The Dhois had strength on the werewolves, but he shapeshifters were much faster and worked as a pack, whereas the Dhois weren't so coordinated. As a result, the smaller werewolf pack was holding its own against almost twice as many Dhois-and both groups were losing members quickly. Bodies piled up in the narrow street and blood covered the buildings and pavement. Oz watched in horror as one Dhois lifted a young werewolf up by the throat, squeezing until its head simply rolled off to one side, bouncing on the ground. The demon proceeded to rip the body limb from limb, ignoring the blood that streamed down his arms. The werewolves were being similarly bestial. By the time a Dhois fell to the ground dead, it was missing most of it's skin, as though it had been flayed alive. Their blood, a pale green, contrasted with the red of the werewolves, creating an odd jade and ruby mosaic of gore.

"We should go," Wil said after a few minutes. "Angel and Cordelia may need help." The others gladly tore their eyes away from the sight below them and moved toward the sewers.

Wesley and Giles were waiting when they arrived. From the looks on their faces, it was obvious that they had witnessed the same thing that the others had. "I had no idea." Wesley began weakly.

"None of us did," Wil replied. "We thought there'd be a dozen or so of each, not that many."

"Or that violent," Xander added. As they'd neared the sewers, the sound of police sirens resonated through the building. Louder than that, though, was the sound of the fighting outside. It was clear that the two groups fighting were so far gone that they didn't care about the police finding them.

"Angel and Cordelia?" Giles inquired impatiently. The group nodded and headed toward the werewolves' pub.

They used a subway entrance to head toward the surface right next to the pub. Compared to the mayhem just a few blocks over, this place was deadly quiet. As one, they moved toward the drinking establishment-until Wil stopped dead. "Blood."

Oz tested the air. "Vampire and werewolf-"

"Angel and Cordelia," Wesley added. They took off at a run toward the pub.

Inside they found Cordelia and Angel, bloody and bruised, standing over a decapitated, torn up and battered werewolf. "Hi How went the altercation?"

"That, times a hundred," Xander said, pointing to the mass on the floor. "By the way.what is that?"

"He wouldn't take no for an answer," Cordelia said darkly. She reached for a napkin and wrapped the bloody knife she was holding, before handing it to Oz. He pocketed the weapon and checked for other evidence of their presence. After retrieving Cordelia's purse, he rejoined the group.

"We need to leave immediately," Giles said, looking at the door. "The police will come here."

They took off without another word, heading back to the sewers. They trekked for several blocks, before stopping on a subway platform. A few minutes later, a train stopped and they all got on, Cordelia covered by Wil's coat and Angel ducking behind Giles to mask his bloody appearance. Gunn and Fred also made themselves invisible-well, as much as they could whilst covered in rank demon gore. Luckily for them, no one was on the subway at the time, and they made it across the city without incident. Just to make sure, though, they got off several blocks from home and used the sewers to return to their flat.

"I call the shower," Gunn said as the opened the door.

"I've got the other one," Fred added, running for the bathroom.

"Um, guys?" Xander called out after them. "Nobody's arguing with you."

*****