The crackling blue light that had surrounded Glorificus when she ransacked the atrium had shorted out much of their monitoring equipment. It was bad enough that they now had to see the goddess to know what she was up to, but this inconvenience left them amazingly vulnerable to their own people. The last thing they needed was some enterprising snake, like McDonald had been, getting his hands on sensitive material. Speaking of snake, Murrow slipped into Lilah Morgan�s office unannounced.

Linwood Murrow rarely came to the thirty-sixth floor. It was the highest of the junior partner floors and Lilah had been awarded a coveted spot there shortly after Lindsey had jumped ship. Security was now the only staff present besides Lilah, and a few industrious sycophants. That last little temper tantrum Glorificus had thrown had damaged the structural integrity of the forty-eighth floor and caused malfunctions in both the main and one of the backup electrical systems. Combined with the damage from her previous attempt to amuse herself, upper management had ordered the building evacuated. They had cited concerns for the safety of the staff as their reason, as if the well-being of the janitorial staff was of great importance. Murrow himself would be more concerned with the apparent breakdown in security. Now that all the monitors were dark, he had ordered foot patrols but must be concerned with who would police the security staff. The opportunities for internal espionage were endless, and must seem a little too convenient to management if Linwood was checking up on her at this hour.

�As I recall, your budget for this project didn�t mention destroying the building,� he said.

�Linwood.� Lilah acknowledged his presence, but was rubbing the bridge of her nose and resting both elbows heavily on her desk. �Power�s a tricky thing.� She lifted her head from her hand and glared at him. �She wants to see the ritual. She said we screwed up. She�s sure �he� is back.�

This �project� was Murrow�s folly. Lilah was just unfortunate enough to have won the prize of working for him. It had made sense when they considered reining in the energy that had been released when Glory lost her corporeal form in this realm. For the goddess, it was surely more appealing to have sentience and cognizance. It would enable her to once again start building power, and in time perhaps lower the right wall, to if not to get back to her own world, to at least get to another which had more powerful beings to feed on. All the firm�s precogs had been adamant that they would need her ability to punch into other dimensions sometime within the next six months. But Lilah was beginning to doubt that the building would still be standing by then.

�We can�t allow that. She�ll know...� Murrow said, as he crossed to the sidebar to help himself to the liquor Lilah kept for clients.

�I know that! We followed the ritual to the letter, but somehow she�ll be able to tell that the sacrifice didn�t work. Instead of a vampire as her corporeal form we ended up with a pile of dust,� Lilah said. �No matter what we show her on paper she will know... I�m surprised she hasn�t figured it out already.�

�Are you sure she hasn�t? She�s not acting rationally.� Linwood stopped in front of the window; whether to contemplate his reflection or watch the lights of the city, Lilah didn�t know. Now, he was worrying about what the Diva knew. He couldn�t have worried about this before they had sucked her back into their world with a death sentence hanging over her head? Which, without a host to ground her consciousness, was just a matter of time.

�Did she ever act rationally? I�m even more uncomfortable with the six-month window now that I�ve met her. Until her energy begins to dissipate due to the lack of a host, she is damn near invincible.� Lilah rose to pour herself a drink.

�Not so - she was defeated somehow. Has she elaborated on what stopped her from opening the portal?� He turned away from his reflection and looked at Lilah with dawning hope.

�She blames �him�, by which I gather her host screwed the pooch,� Lilah said. Swirling the amber liquid in the short tumbler and wishing for ice, she added, �I wouldn�t count on that kind of luck a second time.�

~~~~~

Lindsey was having trouble dividing his attention between the soft-spoken witch he was conversing with and the rest of the activities going on at their table. There was a time he would not only have been able to do both with ease, but also monitor the rest of the club and mentally review his agenda for an early morning meeting. He was woefully out of practice. At least he hoped he was; the alternative was that the skills he had developed during his tenure at Wolfram and Hart only worked on evil lawyers. Mentally he groaned as he realized he was starting to use their bizarre turns of phrase in his internal monologues. He needed a drink.

Lindsey noticed Gunn struggling not to snort soda through his nose. Gunn and Xander shared an odd camaraderie. From first impressions, the young men appeared to have little in common - one from the an inner city neighborhood blighted by both crime and predators of the less mundane variety, the other from a sleepy little town and a clearly middle class background. One killed vampires, and the other slept with one. Yet they shared a blunt manner and love of the fight.

Both Xander and Gunn were making an effort to draw Miller and Finn into their conversation. Neither of Angel�s newest employees possessed Xander�s natural ability as a storyteller, but both listened with interest as he was recounting some tale of a beautiful Incan princess - who he had apparently dated in high school. Lindsey thought about mentioning that the last of the Incan princesses had perished hundreds of years ago, but figured if some exchange student had told him she was a princess it wasn�t his place to disillusion the young man. His mind boggled, however, as he wondered how the young man had moved from a princess and Miss Cordelia Chase to the infamous William the Bloody.

Realizing he had lost track of the conversation, Tara said to Lindsey, just as Xander paused for breath, �You�re making this all much more complicated than it is.� Her girlfriend gaped at her and Xander grinned, mid-story.

�Pardon?� Lindsey was uncomfortably aware that he was now the focus of everyone's attention.

�You�re trying to figure all this out, right? Who knows who and what it all means? We�re friends. I know that the people you used to work for... they wouldn�t understand, but I think you can. We�re not as sinister as you think. We�re just friends.� Tara ended by lowering her lashes, and then looking up and shrugging. Willow smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

Xander, whose smile had grown while she spoke and seemed in danger of splitting his face said, �Cordy? You wanna give it a shot?�

Lindsey was, if anything, more confused. The stunning brunette flashed everyone one her bright smiles, including him. She continued to grin, albeit shark-like as she turned her attention fully on him. Her eyes were dancing with amusement and she folded her hands in front of her on the table. �Well, let�s see.� She winked at Xander. �You�ll stop me if I mess up, right? Of course you will.�

Xander leaned back, still smiling, and Miller and Finn leaned forward in anticipation of Cordelia�s explanation.

�First, Willow fell for Xander, then Xander fell for Buffy, who fell for Angel, who fell right back at her. Then Xander fell for me, naturally, and Tara fell for Willow, who fell back, and Buffy fell for Riley, who fell back too. Then Spike fell for Xander, who apparently lost his mind and any sense of self-preservation and jumped him. And Riley fell for Graham, ditto, because apparently there�s something in the water. And being that this is Hellmouth 90210, Lorne will eventually fall for Gunn, and Wesley, poor soul, will most likely end up with you.� She smirked and looked over to Xander and said, �I intentionally left out the werewolf and the vengeance demon and the psycho-bitch-Slayer. Oh, and Xander�s near-death adventures with Bug-Woman and Incan Mummy Girl.�

That remark had Lindsey rethinking just how many of Xander�s tall tales were true.

�And Dru,� Willow said, smiling at Spike, who came up behind Xander and rested his hands on his mate's broad shoulders.

�I�m pretending that there is no Dru,� Cordelia said. Turning her attention to Xander, she frowned with real concern and added, �You know, when she finds out you stole her honey... she�s not going to be offering to turn you and telling you your face is a poem. She�ll drain you.�

�What?� Spike growl. Lindsey winced as he saw how tightly the vamp gripped his mate�s shoulders.

�Er...� Xander said, �I told you about that, right?�

~~~~~

Dawn sank into one of the lobby chairs. Fred laughed at her exaggerated exhaustion. She liked Fred. The girl - well, Dawn knew she was a young woman, but she seemed closer to her age than Willow and Xander - was almost a cross between Willow and Tara. She would babble on like Willow about stuff Dawn could barely follow and then abruptly blush and stutter like Tara. She was glad Cordy was bringing her with them tomorrow; it would mean they wouldn�t have to act like grown-ups all the time.

Stephanie�s mom had been relieved to find an adult, or adult-like, person to leave Dawn with, as she was in a hurry to return to Sunnydale. Fred did most of the listening as they went upstairs and started to get ready for bed. Dawn gave her a fast-forward version of the day.

Dawn went into her room and changed into her favorite pajama bottoms. They were pink and had little yellow fortune cookies on them. Truthfully, they had been Buffy�s, but Dawn remembered buying them on that last trip to Old Navy the girls had gone on with Joyce. She and Fred laughed when they met in the bathroom that their rooms shared, since they both wore the same pink Victoria Secret�s tee shirt that said �Angel� in silver script.

They were laughing too hard to brush their teeth as Dawn made up an impromptu cheer that ended with �Go, Brood-boy!� Suddenly, Fred wasn�t laughing. She crouched down in the small space between the sink and the toilet, her wide eyes frantically scanning the room. �What�s wrong?� Dawn whispered, hunching down herself. Year of experience, or at least invented memories of experience, taught her to always assume everything was dangerous.

�Someone�s here,� Fred whispered back.

Dawn started to listen then could almost hear Xander�s voice saying, �run if you can, but if you can�t, hide - then figure out what�s after you.� She looked at Fred and said, �Come on.�

~~~~~

Xander inhaled deeply. The air felt cooler after the stuffy club. He was glad that they had decided to take a walk to talk in private. They weren�t fighting, not really. Spike had stalked ahead of him but Xander figured he was just enjoying the drama. They hardly ever fought. Snarked? All the time. Bickered? Sure, just another form of foreplay. With Anya, he had always expected her to someday start acting human, to get with the program. But, Spike? Yeah, right. Xander smiled to himself. His thumbs were hitched in the back pockets of his jeans, a distinct disadvantage over baggy cargos, into which he could have shoved his hands in the pockets.

He noticed Spike unobtrusively looking into the windows of the shops they passed. Since the blonde was deprived of the privilege of seeing himself, Xander figured it was his way to make sure Xander kept his attention on his allegedly pissed-off lover. Not exactly a hardship, seeing that the one downfall of having Spike up close and personal as much as he was, was that Xander didn�t get nearly enough chances to check out that ass. Well, if you didn�t count all the quality naked time they spent.

Xander ambled along, not looking the least bit contrite for supposedly making time with another vamp. He hoped Spike was doing the fake-angry stalk in the direction of the hotel; it had been a long day. Several of the shops were open, which freaked him out since it was after midnight. Not just the mini-mart but a massage parlor, a movie house, and a tattoo and piercing emporium.

Xander paused to examine the colorful anime designs in the window. He had only meant to glance but some of the drawings were amazingly detailed.

�Not getting any of that kiddie stuff, are you?� Spike purred in his ear and slid his arms around Xander�s waist. Obviously, short-attention-span boy had decided to forget how offended he had been that Xander hadn�t shared the story of his encounter with Drusilla. �Should get a spike, luv, one dripping with blood.�

�I have a Spike and if I wanted you dripping with blood I�d open a vein,� Xander murmured and leaned back into Spike�s arms.

After Spike was able to pull his attention away from Xander�s neck, he seemed as fascinated by the photos and drawings as Xander. �Let�s go in, Pet.�

�No, no,� Xander said, shaking his head and digging in his heels. �I know you. You�ll kiss me until my brains leak out my ears and I�ll end up doing something stupid.�

�Xander.� Spike nibbled on Xander�s ear lobe, sucking the tiny bit of flesh between his blunt teeth.

�Umph,� Xander gasped and clarified, �Spike, I am morally opposed to paying people to hurt me.�

�Er?� Spike pulled his face away and gave Xander a questioning look.

�Needles, ergo oww,� Xander said.

�How about me?� Spike asked, cocking his head.

�No crisis of conscience at all in paying someone to hurt you. Let�s go.� Xander grabbed Spike�s hand and pulled him into the shop.

~~~~~

Six months. Lilah stared out the window. Linwood, of course, had called it a night after dumping the Diva back into her lap. Home to his wife, fifteen years younger than he was supposed to be, and a perfectly groomed trophy picked from the cream of the debs ten years ago. Susan resembled his physical age now and would most likely be traded in within the next five years. He�d do the same with the next one, provided he stayed in the good graces of the firm. Disposability like that was one of the reasons Lilah willingly squandered her Friday nights pursuing her career. Sure, she was just as likely to get thrown to the wolves here, but at least then it would be the result of her own actions and not on the whim of some creature like Linwood.

Glory was unstable. Quite the understatement, but it needed to be addressed. Lilah had spent the better part of the evening - when not playing nanny, guard, press secretary and gofer for the Diva - reviewing the projected time frame of the degeneration of the goddess� cognitive processes. Their best guess when the planned host disintegrated from the influx of power had been a full year before she would have to be put in receivership. If the recent incidents were any indication, they would be lucky to keep her lucid for the full six months.

It was time to hedge her bets. Lilah moved purposefully to her desk and pulled her rolodex up on her computer. She began to sort through her contacts, looking for another way to open a portal.

~~~~~

Xander held Spike at arm�s length as he examined his new piercing. The harsh fluorescent lights accentuated his lover�s extreme pallor. The two bars which now bracketed Spike�s scarred brow seemed jarring and new. Spike had opted for niobium barbells because he could get the cool matte black, so that they wouldn�t reflect any light while on patrols. They did look good, and Spike hadn�t even flinched when they had been inserted. Xander had shut his eyes and flinched in anticipation - twice. Spike had assured him it didn�t hurt and had done his best to talk Xander into piercing a nipple. Xander tried to imagine wearing something as obvious as Spike�s piercing to the site and couldn�t. He just didn�t have Spike�s brazenness, which he figured must be necessary to carry off this look without appearing to be a total zeppo. Of course, he could always get a less-visible piercing, like Spike wanted, if he got extremely drunk.

�S�not permanent,� Spike whispered into his silent contemplation. �I can take it out anytime and it�ll heal right up.�

�No, I like it.� Xander blushed at the thought of the hemostats that had pinched Spike's brow at a more intimate and easily concealable spot. �I think it�s sexy. Can�t wait until Dawn sees it. Er... Back me up here, Dawn is not piercing anything until she is sixteen - come on, say it with me.�

Spike chuckled and leaned into a kiss, pulling Xander into his arms. The staff was apparently immune to PDAs among their clients and didn�t so much as glance over from their own private conversation at the two men kissing.

They stepped out onto the night sidewalk as Xander was once again vetoing the idea of getting �the property of Spike� tattooed on his ass. Spike pretended to pout and Xander pretended to believe it was real.

A short distance from the brightly lit strip of stores they passed a small park. Xander jumped up onto the retaining wall and walked its narrow waist-high ledge and Spike followed beside him on the sidewalk. Their conversation veered from their impressions of the fang gang and plans on what to do while in L.A., to the politics of the Hellmouth and whether or not Giles would think they were checking up on him if they called home.

Not unsurprisingly, the subject of Angel and Angelus came up. �So... How does that work?� Xander asked, and abruptly sat down on the end of the wall.

�Huh?� was Spike�s coherent reply, which Xander thought was understandable, since the vampire had probably assumed that he tripped and been preparing to catch him.

�Well...� Xander looked up at Spike. �If I understand it, Darla gets dusted, the lawyers from hell suck her back into her human form... not any human form, but Darla-the-hooker from way back, currently dying of VD, but she�s alive. Why? I mean, why not take any random girl and have the demon formerly know as Darla inhabit that corpse?�

�Wouldn�t have been the same. Definitely wouldn�t have had the same pull on Peaches.� Spike scuffed his Docs and didn�t meet Xander�s eyes. The vampire had been shocked that Xander knew about Darla, but Cordy had spilled that when she came to Sunnydale. Xander was more concerned with Spike and his reaction to the conversation. Spike often proclaimed that he was evil and that he was a demon, but he rarely talked about what that meant to him. Most of the time Xander was okay with that - it wasn�t like he went on and on about what being human meant. But then, Spike had an idea of what being human was - Xander didn�t want to remain completely in the dark about the most important being in his life.

�Do... do you remember?� Xander felt himself blush and pulled Spike closer by his belt loops. Spike now stood between his knees, but was still doing the bashful examination of his boots. �I know you remember being William, or rather, remember what William knew and felt before he died... but... do you remember a time before you were a vampire? The part of you that makes you a vampire... your demon, does that part remember a time before... I�m not saying this right...�

�No, Pet, I understand,� Spike whispered and buried his face in Xander�s hair, still not meeting his eyes. �It�s... part of me. I mean, the memories don�t fade, they�re just... this would be easier if you had ever done hallucinogens.�

�What?� Xander pulled away with a startled laugh. Even in the dim light he could see how intense Spike�s eyes were. He reached up and fisted the loose blond locks, pulling his lover down for a kiss. �Translate, please,� he murmured.

�See.. when I look at you like this... well, you look eminently fuckable, but pretty much how you would have looked to me when I was human. When I shift to my true face, what you lot call my game face, I see other stuff; heat, movement, even a bit of mage sight - just enough to tell if someone is sporting a glamour or whatnot. But I know how to interpret between the two types of sight, so I would recognize a photo of someone with my human eyes, even if in person I had only seen them with my demon eyes. But... in the before... I had... different senses, different ways of processing the input and I was in another realm with other physical laws.�

�Hell?� Xander whispered.

�One of them... there�s a lot of hell dimensions, luv. Some are horrific, others are like... the world of perpetual Tuesday,� Spike said and smirked.

�Eek,� Xander said. He lifted his face to kiss his lover and groaned, not because of the pleasant grope Spike was initiating, but because his phone vibrated.

�If that�s one of your fucking Children...� Spike growled.

Xander glanced at the number and keyed the phone on. �Dawn?�

*****
Part 10:

Wesley was deep in a conversation with a Noxxian when Lorne stopped by their tiny out-of-the way table. �Lovely, you better get ready to leave. I have a feeling your party is clearing out. You have trouble at home.�

Wes apologized to his companion in the being�s native tongue and laid a number of bills on the table, more than necessary to cover the drinks they had shared. He followed Lorne over to where Cordelia was still sitting with Lindsey and the witches. Wes felt eyes tracking their movement and turned to see Miller nudge Finn and nod to Gunn over by the bar. The three men moved with purpose and demons stepped out of their way as they too converged on the Seer. Angel appeared swiftly, standing behind Cordelia�s chair, looking both concerned and protective.

�Fred called, you have uninvited guest. She was scared and not too clear, but she�s not alone. She handed the phone to Dawn. Dawn said they would hide and that Spike and Xander were en route,� Lorne said.

Almost as one they headed for the door. Lorne stopped Cordelia with a touch on the elbow. �I know everything will be fine, but call and let me know that, all right?�

�Sure. Of course, if Spike gets a hold of anyone going near Dawn, I am so billing him for the cost of cleaning.� She smiled, but her eyes were worried.

~~~~~

Dawn added Xander to the mental tally of Scooby traits that Fred possessed. They had scampered up a cordoned off stairway to the more derelict levels of the hotel. Not content to just find an out-of-the-way closet and wait for rescue, Fred was setting traps. Quietly, she would scan a room and grab an object and then move to the next room. She had chosen a corner suite as their hide out. Now Fred struggled to lift an old-fashioned fire extinguisher half as big as she was up almost to ceiling height.

�If you tell me what to do, I�ll help,� Dawn whispered.

Fred jumped as if she had zoned to some place inside her where she was alone in this. Dawn watched her swallow and wondered if she were trying to remember how to talk.

Unfortunately, once she focused on Dawn she not only would tell her what to lift or tie off, but ramble on in a disjointed whisper about the physical principles behind the traps they were rigging. She sounded a bit like Willow when she was thinking of combining two or more spells and somewhat like Xander when he was arming and assigning patrols. Either way, it was TMI and making Dawn more nervous.

Dawn was just glad they had managed two calls before the battery on her cell phone died. Xander was going to kill her if he found out she had drained most of it during the fashion show, IMing Stephanie, who had sat next to her.

~~~~~

The look on the vampire�s face was one of shocked confusion as his companion suddenly dissipated in a cloud of ash for no apparent reason. Unbelievably, a human pushed him back against the black Mercedes they had requisitioned from the firm to come check on the hotel. Gavin had told them that the listening devices had all suddenly cut out in the early hours. Given the chaos that had plagued the security division, he wasn�t surprised. This was supposed to be a routine mission, just wait outside while the sweepers went through and checked and replaced the bugs. If it hadn�t been another vampire�s lair the firm wouldn�t have bothered to send vamps as look-outs.

The dark eyes of the human that held a gun to his throat were hard and crazed. The vamp knew all the faces of Angel�s people, and this wasn�t one of them. Must be one of the vigilantes that worked with Charles Gunn. The vamp almost smiled in anticipation - he was going to have a snack. The gun turned until it was just under his chin, pointing up toward his brain. Sure he was strong enough to toss this human a good twenty feet, but if the guy got off a shot, would he want to survive with a big hole in his head?

�It�s a squirt gun, moron. Filled with holy water,� the human said levelly. That was disturbing, the vamp thought. That, and the obvious lack of fear in the human�s scent. �How many?� The gun began to burn against his neck and the vamp realized that if the human pulled the trigger he would be dust. �How many others? What�s your mission? Make it quick or I go find out myself, and you�ll join your friend.�

�You won�t shoot? Promise?� The vamp looked into the hard eyes of the human and wondered if he were dead either way.

�You have my word; if you tell me the truth, I won�t shoot,� the human said.

�Three. Technicians. They�re to check the basement, the lobby and the two floors above it. This is just a security sweep. We,� the vamp thought quickly, �we�re part of a service. The owner hires us to monitor his security system.�

�Any other sentries?� The human didn�t blink at the lie, and the vamp hoped he bought it.

�No,� the vamp said.

�What�s the all-clear sign?� the human asked.

�What?� the vamp asked.

�How do you let who... ordered the sweep know that everything is fine?� the human asked.

�I file a report with my superior... Why do you need to know?� The vamp felt the stake and realized he was about to meet his partner�s fate.

The last sound he heard before oblivion was a deep accented voice say, �Well, Pet, you kept your promise. You didn�t shoot him.�

~~~~~

Cordelia floored the gas pedal before taking the car out of park. Angel, of course, had dashed off to his car before the rest of them had made it out of the club. Gunn, Graham and Riley had run down the block to where Gunn�s truck was parked and she had gotten Wes and the witches. Wes had parked Cordelia�s car around the back of the club after taking Fred home. It seemed to take forever for the four of them to get in her little Neon. She swung out onto the main drag, cursing her father and missing the shiny red sports car she had had in high school. She knew Angel would get there first but hoped they would get there before the boys; the witches had the best shot at keeping down the body count. Fred might annoy her at times, but no one was hurting Cordelia Chase�s family.

She saw a light change ahead and cut illegally through a gas station and out the other side, swinging back onto the street beyond of the paused traffic. Wes was braced in the front passenger side, hanging on to the �oh shit� handle. The witches slid around the back seat, into each other and the doors. Cordelia spared a brief thought to the packages in the trunk and ran the next light.

~~~~~

Lilah waited for the elevator, then on a whim walked to the security station on that floor. She hoped that the guards had checked on Glorificus recently and she wouldn�t have to risk a visit. She slowed as she heard voices arguing. Gavin was hissing out orders to one of the guards to send someone to check on his people.

�Well, well, you have people now? You are moving up in the world. What are you doing here Gavin? You�re not on the list of people cleared to be in the building,� Lilah said. She briefly turned her attention to the three security guards, who rapidly found some other place to be under her calculating stare.

�There... was a break down in communication. I was merely seeing that security continued to monitor an important project,� he covered smoothly.

Lilah longed to make this obsequious boy sweat. How dare he think he could play in her league? Did he really thing she was as gullible as his last boss? His machinations had earned him a promotion but he had no idea the kind of players he was up against - she could work with that. Come to think of it, he might make the perfect fall guy when the Diva project went down the toilet. Now to just find out what kind of trouble he was up to on his own.

�Unfortunately for you, this kind of break in communications is fatal. I have the authority to have you executed for being here during a lockdown,� Lilah said smoothly.

�What?� Gavin lost some of his oily smoothness as he looked around to see if they were alone.

�Don�t even think about it,� Lilah interrupted his train of thought. �What have you screwed up? I�m not having the senior partners find out I let a bumpkin like you stumble around a supposedly secure site.�

�I haven�t �screwed up� anything. I sent a patrol over to sweep the Hyperion. Surveillance cut out this morning,� he said.

�Surveillance?� Lilah hissed. �By whose authority did you plant surveillance equipment around Angel? This hasn�t been sanctioned. You�re going to end up as spare parts if �your people� implicate Wolfram and Hart in any illegal activity. Angel is far too important for the likes of you to deal with - �

�MacDonald is back. He�s staying in the hotel,� Gavin said.

�What? Damn it! How long have you known?� Lilah glared.

�Less than twenty-four hours...� Gavin gulped at the look.

�And it never occurred to you that that might have something to do with your surveillance cutting out?� Lilah said.

~~~~~

Angel expected to see many things after finding the abandoned car out front, surrounded by the scent of holy water and two piles of dust. Two humans in black coveralls dangling upside-down from leg irons attached to the frame of the chandelier wasn�t one of them. The chain that lifted and lowered the chandelier had been adjusted so that the human�s faces hung at eye level. He knew the shackles would support their weight, having been designed to hold him, should it be necessary. However, he had his doubts about the ceiling joists of the old hotel, as his enhanced hearing picked up the ominous creaking from above.

The sound of scuffling from the stairway leading down to the parking garage and gym drew his attention away from the flailing humans. Xander manhandled his captive up the stairs and sent him sprawling onto the floor of the lobby. �Hey! Deadboy! Just in time for the fun. Let�s make popcorn.�

�Xander...� Angel�s attention jarred once again, although he didn�t take it entirely off of the wild-eyed young man, to the sound of Fred and Dawn coming down the stairs. They were helping Spike walk, one under each shoulder. Fred was apologizing at a rapid rate and Dawn was begging Spike not to kill Fred because Dawn liked her.

Xander�s captive made the mistake of trying to stand, only to have one of Xander�s large feet placed in the center of his back and push him flat onto the floor again. Xander ignored the man�s cry as he was stepped on and crossed to his mate. �What happened?� Xander lead Spike to a couch and sent Dawn to get blood.

It was Fred, who came over to clutch Angel�s arm, that broke his stunned speechlessness. �I�m so sorry I hurt your Childe, Angel. Really. I didn�t mean to... well, it worked, the trap, and I meant that, but I didn�t want that... not that I didn�t want it to work, but I wanted it to work on whoever was here and well, he was here but he wasn�t... I may have used to much centrifugal force...�

�We hid upstairs,� Dawn clarified, as she sat on Spike�s other side and offered him a mug of blood. �Fred and I made traps, she�s real smart,� Dawn directed the last comment to Xander, who merely nodded and stroked Spike�s now-healing skull. �We rigged this real heavy fire thingy to fall when the door opened, um... a dead weight, right?� She looked at Fred, who nodded and scooted a bit further behind Angel. �It worked, but the bad guys never made it up that far, only Spike did. It fell, caught him square in the chest and sent him about twelve feet through the air to land head first in a plaster wall, which, by the way, is now pretty much toast.�

�At least you didn�t damage your piercing,� Xander whispered, brushing his lips against his lover�s hair.

�You got pierced? Oh, that�s so cool! I want one!� Dawn said, just now noticing it.

�No, not until you�re sixteen,� Spike and Xander said together.

~~~~

Cordy pulled to a stop next to Angel�s convertible just as Gunn�s truck pulled up behind the Mercedes. When the two groups emerged from their respective vehicles, they looked at each other over the piles of dust and realized two things. One, all the lights in the lobby were on, and two, neither of them had grabbed Lindsey when they left the bar.

Together they filed through the main entrance, only to interrupt a fight between Angel and Xander over whether or not to add the third intruder to the chandelier. Dawn was sitting next to Spike, dabbing at his hair and remarking that she hoped the blood wouldn�t ruin his new color. Fred walked out of the kitchen with an enormous pink bowl filled with popcorn, thus silencing Angel and Xander.

�Now there�s a woman who knows how to think in a crisis,� Xander said, relieving Fred of her burden and joining Spike and Dawn on the couch. �If we haven�t told you,� he added to Dawn, �we�re very happy you got those calls out.� She smiled and traded him her bowl of bloody water and her damp cloth for the popcorn.

Tara and Willow hugged Dawn and took her up to bed to debrief her on her day with Stephanie and make sure she was really as okay as she said she was. Cordy called Lorne, both to let him know Fred and Dawn were safe and to make sure he still had Lindsey. He did, and Gunn went to retrieve him, hopefully before Angel realized he had been misplaced.

~~~~~

Gavin drove by the Hyperion. The company car was parked out front and the services van was down the block. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree, but no one was outside. He let two security guards out and they each drove one of the vehicles away. Once the lawyer was sure no one had seen them leave, he followed. He wondered if he would be able to pad the Diva project with the cost of the missing team. Judging from the ash on the Mercedes, Lilah was not going to be happy.

~~~~~

Xander yawned hugely. Angel had lowered the chandelier so that the intruders were on the floor, but had left the leg irons on them and still attached to the frame of the chandelier. He looked at Spike, who rolled his eyes. He could almost read Spike�s mind. The fun was over. Angel wouldn�t let them even scare humans. If it had been back in Sunnydale, Xander would have wrung out every last scrap of information out of them. He knew that whoever they worked for would terminate them, whether they talked or not, and if someone was out there gunning for him or his he wanted to know about it. But this was Angel�s town and Angel�s enemy; as long as his people weren�t the target he would let Angel handle it. It wasn�t like they would be here that long.

It was too late to pack up the girls and head for Sunnydale without risking getting stuck on the road at sunrise. Not to mention, Dawn�s life would be utterly ruined if she didn�t see designer boy tomorrow.

But unless Deadboy leveled with them tomorrow, they were out of here at sunset. Willow should be able to keep a magical eye on Dawn while she did the town with Cordy. They should be safe in public places, at least with the witches keeping an eye on them, magically speaking.

Xander figured Angel needed some privacy to talk this over with the fang gang. He wanted to hash this out with Spike; more than anyone, Xander trusted Spike�s instincts when it came to protecting Dawn. They needed to talk, and Xander needed his lover�s cool strong arms around him to help soothe the adrenaline that was still rushing through his system from this near miss. He caught Spike�s eye and felt that odd vertigo that sometimes hit when they seemed to be almost one entity. He knew with utter certainty that Spike wanted to talk as well.

�Well, thanks for dinner. You got a real interesting town here, Deadboy. We�re going to turn in. Good night,� Xander said.

�Xander?� Cordelia said. �You�re just going to bed?� She gestured to their captives.

Xander shrugged. �Not really our business, is it? Say good night, Spike.�

�Good night, Spike,� Spike said dutifully, winking at Fred as he went past.

*****
Part 11:

Lilah almost growled as her secretary-of-the-week scurried out of the office after leaving the carafe of black coffee. If Lilah got her hands on Gavin before Linwood did, she would skin him alive - literally. That fool�s pitiful attempt at 'surveillance� had cost them five personnel, two of whom had been with the special security unit. Linwood was livid over the morning news. Instead of discreetly disposing of his hirelings, Gavin had made an amateur attempt to rattle Angel.

She swallowed two aspirin and washed them down with the coffee. It had been a long night and the coffee had been a peace offering from the assistant to cushion the news that the Diva was bored - again. Maybe she could kill two birds and send Gavin to entertain her, if he didn�t survive the experience - no harm done.

She had spent most of the wee hours of the morning going over every scrap of information in both the Glorificus project and the Angelus scenarios. The precogs were unsure why a portal would be necessary to facilitate his changing sides but were making dire predictions that Darla�s return to L.A. would herald the need to either bring in or remove a major player, and that whoever this random factor was, killing them wouldn�t make Angel�s fall as probable as sending them to another world.

Lindsey was what was most troubling. He had shown an unparalleled ability to shake every tail that the firm put on him. As whatever information he had left with became less and less timely, his attempts at extorting his own safety should have failed. Unfathomably, the senior partners were insistent that he be �persuaded� back into the fold, rather than eliminated. This odd response to his defection from their consortium was definitely not a whim.

Somehow, McDonald must have transformed from a lackey to a major player in the end game. The fact that he was alive and that all of his records were not sealed but nonexistent spoke volumes. A newcomer to the firm would never know he had worked here. If Lilah had not kept her own notes of their time as co-managers of the Special Clients Division she might have conveniently forgotten the smarmy bastard too. It was only through a careful review of petty expenditures that she had been able to piece together the efforts the firm had made to turn McDonald�s path away from the city of angels - or would that be, she thought, the city of Angel?

Putting on a headset attached to the jack in her personal laptop, Lilah keyed the first of many files recorded in the Hyperion over twenty-four hours prior to the surveillance cutting out. Maybe there was something salvageable from Gavin�s train wreck.

~~~~~

Cordelia dashed toward the sound of the crash, and she stopped in the doorway of the lounge. The small television, which normally sat on a counter off of the employee kitchen, had been tuned to the local news, although she hadn�t been listening to the chatter. Angel apparently had been, as he had just hurled it into the wall.

�What is your damage?� she said, to cover her shock at his behavior.

�You saw?� Riley asked as he and Graham came up behind her. Angel�s response was to shift back out of game face.

Graham elaborated, �It�s all over the news. The guys from last night were found drained down by the wharf.�

�What?!� Cordelia whirled to look toward Angel, confusion clouding her face.

�You know I didn�t...� he started.

�Of course you didn�t,� she said. Sitting down on one of the straight back chairs next to the dining table she paled with shock. �I can�t believe this.�

�Where was Spike?� Riley asked.

�Spike never left his room after we released the captives. And for God�s sake, if you want to keep your kneecaps intact, don�t even think that question too loud near Xander,� Angel said, as he stopped behind Cordelia and stroked her hair.

Graham stepped closer to Riley and placed a hand on his shoulder. He said to Angel, but watched Riley intently, �We knew that whether they talked or not Wolfram and Hart would consider them compromised. This �message� is only an efficient use of resources.�

�What message?� Cordy said.

�That they can frame him at anytime. The Initiative, the Watchers - they�re not the only ones who know about vampires. A few strategically placed corpses and we�ll have a mob of villagers with torches out side this place.� Graham�s frank statement and utter lack of concern in his voice made the words more chilling.

�No,� Angel said, as Cordelia grasped his hand and looked up with concern. �This... incident, it�s... this doesn�t feel right. There�s something off.�

�It�s a new player.� Lindsey�s soft drawl preceded him into the kitchen area. He was barefoot and shirtless, in a worn pair of soft blue jeans. �Whoever it is knows that you�re the target,� he continued, leaning his shoulder against the door frame and hooking his fingers in his belt loops, �but they either don�t know, or have lost sight of, the objective.� He laughed softly, �Lilah must be venting steam from her ears.�

�Could you explain to the new guys?� Riley said, indicating Graham and himself with a jerk of his head.

Cordelia seemed much calmer at Lindsey�s words and explained, �Wolfram and Hart don�t want Angel dead; if they did, he would be. Er, more dead. They want Angelus in the driver�s seat and wreaking havoc in the final conflict. Yeah, I know, sounds like some straight-to-video flick, but that�s their goal.�

~~~~~

Upstairs, Spike lay awake - worried not about Dawn, but about Xander. His mate slept heavily beside him. Xander was all for heading back to Sunnydale as soon as the sun set. The boy had always been a believer in overkill as the best insurance policy, but he was rapidly surpassing Spike in the �solving your problems with violence� arena. Before Buffy had died, Xander had made the perfect second-in-command. Unquestioningly loyal, he had still never hesitated to point out flaws in her admittedly limited strategies and offer up ingenious solutions to the threat of the week.

Spike had thought, when Xander had begun to shine after taking up not only leadership of the Scoobies, but acting as Master of the Hellmouth, that the boy was simply growing into his own. More and more though, he noticed the fine cracks that the unimaginable pressure was putting in Xander�s iron will. The young man felt so responsible, for all of them. Truth was, no matter how good Xander was at protecting them, they would die - they would all die eventually.

Buffy had understood when Spike had pointed out that eventually the tide of evil seeking to take her down had to succeed. Xander had never accepted that his love wasn�t enough to protect his friends. Losing Buffy had almost broken him, and Spike didn�t want to contemplate what losing one of the girls would do to his boy.

Last night, Spike has suffered one brief moment in the lobby where he couldn�t have said with any conviction that Xander was just playing the part of the crazed, let�s-kill-em-all human to frighten the intruders. Spike had played along. On their patrols where he was forced to act as interpreter, they had often adopted roles, with Spike as the reasonable vampire who acted as if he cared about whatever demon snitch they were roughing up, leaving Xander to be the wild-eyed human with a hard-on for vengeance. He only hoped that the fact that it had been their girl who had been frightened by the intruders hadn�t pushed Xander to choose the peace of mind that having them safely disposed of would bring, over remembering he was a white hat.

Speaking of vengeance, Spike had had a word with Angel, vamp detective , about tracking down the demon bint. He knew Red could probably do it with a few keystrokes, since she had been the one to give Anya a paper identity in the human world, but he also knew the witch couldn�t keep a secret from Xander, if the news turned out bad. Not that it wouldn�t be tempting to string Anya�s entrails on their tree this Christmas, but he just wanted Xander to know she was all right. He wanted Xander to know that where she was, wherever she was, it was where she chose to be. Then, maybe Xander wouldn�t feel guilt that he was happy without her.

Xander rolled over, slinging an arm over Spike�s thighs, since the vampire was sitting up against the headboard. Xander nuzzled Spike�s flank and then opened one bleary, brown eye and growled, �You�re up? Why are you up?� He accompanied his questions by stretching said arm further across Spike�s lap and attempting to pull him back to the glomping hug which was his preferred position whenever their sleeping times coincided.

�Pet, we have to talk,� Spike said.

Xander turned his face back against Spike�s thigh and bit him.

�Xander!� Spike pinned the human in the blink of an eye.

Xander smiled, and without one ounce of sincerity said, �Uhm, I slipped.�

�You slipped?� Spike said. His hold on Xander�s wrist was loose but firm and would have been effective if Xander had made any attempt to be released. Instead his clever human simply faked a yawn, and as he stretched his longer arms out to the side pulled Spike down flush onto his chest.

Leaving his arms out Xander kissed and nipped at Spike�s mouth until the vampire began to return his attention. Spike released his hold on Xander�s wrists and slowly moved his hands along the warm, tan arms, reveling in the feel of Xander�s skin and the relaxed muscles moving under it. Xander smiled into his kisses as Spike began to rub against him. As Xander bucked up into the contact he also tilted his head, offering up a mouth-watering expanse of neck, which Spike licked from shoulder to earlobe, stopping briefly to suck over his binding scar. Xander began to make delicious breathless moans in anticipation of a different sort of climax.

The scent of his mate�s arousal hit Spike like a board to the back of the head - not that had ever happened. Err, often. It was overpowering, and he shifted to his demon visage without any conscious effort. The strong man whimpering underneath him demanded attention. Spike pulled back to appreciate the sight of Xander�s passion. Those soul-filled eyes held only desire and love as they steadfastly met his golden gaze. Xander laughed and lifted his head. Forehead to forehead, his eyes dancing with glee, Xander whispered, �You�re such a tease.�

Spike laughed through his fangs. Only this man had ever brought him this singular joy. He kissed Xander almost chastely and lay him back on the pillow. With a sudden reverence, Spike slowly lowered his fangs to the mark and sank them into Xander�s flesh. Life, fresh and flowing, exploded onto his taste buds as Xander�s semen exploded against his flank. The smell of his mate�s spent desire mingled with the succulent scent of his blood. Killing a Slayer, pickling himself in Jack, a thousand high-risk moments in over a hundred years of unlife and nothing - nothing - was as intoxicating as this connection that just seemed to keep getting more amazing by the day.

He only tasted the blood that rose to his mark. It was the taste and aroma he savored, as he had no need to feed. Swallowing Xander�s warm coppery blood, Spike came against his panting mate. As the flow quickly stopped, Spike carded Xander�s thick hair and enjoyed the sight of his sated lover. When it seemed as if his favorite work of art would doze off again Spike prompted, �Talk, Pet.�

�Talk?� Xander whispered, and pulled Spike down to lie beside him. Opening his eyes, Xander blinked in confusion. Spike mentally slapped himself; he had forgotten rule number seven - �talk first, sex after�. Apparently sex did something bizarre to human brains and made Xander incapable of being coherent. Not that Xander�s odd inability to talk during sex, when he could babble on at during just about any other extreme situation Spike had ever seen him in, was news. It's just that Spike was usually the one trying to initiate sex when Xander was trying to sort through the relevant facts of a blatantly unnecessary conversation. Looking into his mate�s uncomprehending eyes, Spike had an idea why, at those times, Xander looked so frustrated.

�Yes, Pet, but it�ll wait �til after our nap,� he whispered and snuggled down next to his human.

~~~~~~~~~~

�I�m bored!� Crash. Water dripped down the richly papered wall on to the pile of drenched lilies and shards of shattered crystal now heaped on the credenza. Glorificus had already turned her attention away from the mess. It no more distracted her than had the fizzling crackle produced when she had hurled the serving bowl full of fruit through the wide screen television.

Gavin smoothed an agreeable expression onto his face. He knew Lilah was punishing him for the unsanctioned surveillance. He had been sure he could show her up in front of Linwood. Perhaps he still could. She had given rather vague orders to keep the hell god happy. He could use that. If he succeeded he would have major influence over this project, and if anything went wrong it would all be Lilah�s fault.

~~~~~~

Faith slowly climbed the metal stairs. It was dark, but then it was often dark. There was a feel to the air, a scent of impending violence and the coiled anticipation slaying had always brought her. As she reached the top of the stairs she saw she was on a large scaffolding. Standing at its edge was Buffy. It was then she knew it was a dream. She had never had the ability to control her dreams. Way back, when it had all seemed so new and as if she were some superhero, her Watcher had told her she would eventually be able to use her dreams. Something about how once she realized she was dreaming she could focus on the prophetic elements, but that had never happened.

Buffy looked so different from the teen queen of Sunnydale High. Different even from the happy co-ed whose body Faith had borrowed. She seemed pared down, honed to her most basic elements. God, she looked thin; not healthy thin or I-work-out-a-lot thin, but the sparse lean frame of a survivor who had shed all but the most necessary elements.

Faith must have made a noise in the dream. Perhaps her footsteps had echoed or she had gasped at the sight of the other Slayer. Buffy turned to look at her. Her eyes were sad and there was an air of defeat about her. Faith started to speak, not knowing what to say, but Buffy gave her a small, understanding smile and turned back to contemplate something over the edge of the metal scaffolding on which they both now stood. Faith moved to stand beside Buffy and looked down into a whirling blue maelstrom. A large portal gaped below them.

�Buffy! No!� The cry came from the stairs that Faith had just come up. Whirling toward the voice, Faith saw a girl, roughly the age she had been when she became had been chosen, clutching tightly to the railing and sobbing. There was something so familiar about her. Faith tried to remember something, like when a word or name was so close that you really understood where the expression �on the tip of my tongue� came from.

Faith looked at Buffy to see if she knew who the girl was. As their eyes met all the pain and pride, the anger and angst seemed to well up and fall away. �You�ll have to help them,� Buffy said.

�Wait, B., I...� Faith reached out hesitantly. So often their attempts to understand each other had erupted into violence and that seemed dangerous here above that gaping maw.

�The hardest thing to do in this world, is live in it,� Buffy said, and dove off the platform, taking sound and sight with her.

Faith jolted awake. She looked around the rec room. None of the other inmates currently watching Rickie Lake seemed to have noticed she had dozed off. Hard to believe she could, with how vocal they all were while shouting at some no-good ex, who had just been asking for a bashing being on that show. Slayer strength made her less vulnerable than most; still she didn�t normally doze in the public areas. She�d had a dream, and it had seemed important. She struggled to hold on to the details before they faded.

She wondered about the girl. Was she the next Slayer? Was the dream sent to her to somehow get word to the Watchers on who to look for? She hadn�t been impressed when they had stopped by to see her. She had been paranoid ever since. The desperation in their eyes might have been due to not having a Slayer to watch, but Faith had been expecting them to correct that problem at any time.

~~~~~

Lindsey ducked out of the lobby as he heard Cordelia, Fred and Dawn getting ready to leave. Angel had been shadowing his Seer all morning and Lindsey didn�t feel like encountering the thick-headed lunk. The more he saw the souled vampire try to interact with the human world the more he could kick himself for how much he had overestimated him in the past. Angel had almost no interpersonal skills, and seemed to rely on standing around looking deep and thoughtful to cover the fact that he really wasn�t that bright. Except for the whole �Scourge of Europe� rep, Lindsey couldn�t fathom why the vampire was at all important in how the final battle would swing. Maybe Angel was some sort of idiot savant and would stumble into a fate that would save the world, Lindsey thought, because if this is our best hope, I picked the wrong side again. It had been easier back when Angel, merely being a vampire and having a soul, had been enough to make Lindsey stunned at all the implications and possibilities.

Unfortunately, familiarity had indeed bred contempt. Angel reminded Lindsey of far too many darlings of the campus who found that by standing around and keeping their mouths shut, that people would, if not think they were deep at least not realize how truly dim they were. Good-looking men who had never tried to make conversation or turn on the charm, rivals whose only obligation seemed to be to look decorative - they had infuriated him in the days when he was working two jobs and trying to put himself through school. Angel sometimes seemed the embodiment of those favorites of fate. Being a ne�er-do-well had earned the rebellious son eternal life, being the embodiment of evil had earned the vampire a soul; all the pitfalls that destroyed other men seemed to bless this creature, and yet Angel brooded and sighed as his minions danced around, anxious to make it all better.

Lindsey looked up to find Wesley watching him with quiet amusement. The room he had ducked into was lined with mediocre shelving and had a battered conference table covered with notes and books. The Brit sat in one of the armless straight-back chairs that surrounded the table, looking as if he had been up all night studying for a final he knew he would flunk. Of course, being the brains of this operation must be a high pressure job, and quite frustrating given the candlepower of the rest of Angel�s staff. Lindsey wondered if Wesley had to break all his thoughts into Angel-sized pieces or if the vamp just trusted him and realized he wasn�t the thinking part of the team.

�This secret, forces-of-good information or can anybody take a gander?� Lindsey gestured to the scrolls and notes.

�Gander? Umm, yes, feel free, this may actually concern you,� Wesley said. The Brit adjusted his glasses and made a point of lifting the volume he was currently perusing, but as Lindsey pulled up a chair across from him he felt the other man�s gaze linger on him. If it hadn�t been for Cordelia�s off-the-cuff comment the previous night he would have chalked it up to the normal mistrust Angel�s staff seemed to have for an allegedly former �lawyer from hell�, but now he was uncomfortably glad he had put on a shirt. Soon though, all thoughts of the ex-Watcher were driven from his mind as he became absorbed in the dark flowing script on a legal pad offering translation notes on an obscure prophecy regarding the world wrecker.

~~~~~

Cordelia laughed as Dawn gaped at the tiny, ancient woman, who emerged from the long black limo clad from head to toe in red leather. The delicate grande dame wore skin-tight leather pants paired with a bolero jacket and accompanied by calf-high boots and a jaunty cap which sported silver studs. The woman crossed not ten feet from where Cordy, Fred and Dawn were sitting in the sidewalk cafe and walked into the boutique next door as if she owned the place. Given her dubious fashion sense, Cordelia thought, that was highly unlikely. Cordelia had put the morning news out of her mind and was dedicating the day to schooling Dawn on the secrets of appearing haute couture on a limited budget. After the fashion show, they had spent the day prowling the stores of Rodeo Drive, although they had yet to make a purchase.

Once they had refueled on mochas Cordelia would steer her apprentice to the best second-hand and knock-off shops in LA to apply their current research. She was glad that her previous trip with the witches would enable her to weed out the ones without fresh merchandise. They really needed a couple days to get a working wardrobe for the new school year. Maybe Xander could be talked into staying - they rarely got invaded twice in one week.

The waiter was just clearing away their cups when Dawn went silent in the middle of a story about what a member of the audience had been wearing at the fashion show she had attended the day before. At first, Cordelia attributed this to the presence of the waiter, who was cute in a loser/not-working actor sort of way. Yet when she looked at Dawn she saw that rather than blushing, the girl had turned white as a sheet. Cordelia quickly followed Dawn�s wide-eyed gaze and saw a stunning blonde on the arm of a well dressed Asian man. They had emerged from a white limousine, crossed the sidewalk without so much as a glance in either direction and went into the neighboring boutique. The woman was elegantly understated in a simple blue dress that probably cost at least two months� rent on Cordelia�s apartment. She could have been an actress or model but was more likely some trophy wife to a balding, fat, inattentive husband. Sour grapes much, Cordy thought, but pushed her uncharitable jealousy aside and tried to figure out what was the matter with Dawn. The girl was almost hyperventilating and was still staring at the door of the boutique.

Cordelia reached across the small table and laid her hand over Dawn�s, �Dawnie?�

Dawn blinked and turned her fearful look on Cordelia but said nothing. She then gasped and looked around frantically. Fred, with survival instincts honed from years of hiding, whispered, �Let�s go home.�

Cordy wasn�t sure if Dawn was looking for someone or for some place to hide. �Dawnie, honey, what�s the matter?� Looking back at the limo idling by the curb, Cordelia noticed the vanity plate which read WH666.

�We have to go!� There were tears forming in Dawn�s eyes as she struggled to communicate through her obvious terror. �I... We... Xander... Take me back. Take me to Spike and Xander...please!�

�It�s okay. Come on.� Cordelia quickly paid the check and hustled the girl and a wide-eyed Fred to Angel�s car. Everything about Dawn�s reactions screamed Hellmouth and she didn�t feel ready to deal with whatever it was on her own. Rather than set off their brood of overprotective men with a phone call in which she could convey no details, Cordelia engaged her Sunnydale driving mode.

Dawn hugged her knees to her chest the entire ride home and bolted past a startled Angel and up the stairs as soon as she entered the hotel.

�What happened?� Angel was at Cordelia side before she could blink.

"I'm not sure, but it's not good," she said.

*****