Power Play

(Secret Chamber – Night)
(A man is grunting in a dark room. Zoom in to show he's kneeling, wearing a bag over his head, and being beaten with sticks by a half-dozen robed men. There is a roaring fire in the doorway in front of the man. Angel watches this from the other side of the fire, pacing, before he decides to jump through the fire into the room with the man. As soon as Angel shows up, the man's attackers back away. Angel goes to the man, helps him to his feet, and removes the bag from the man's head. Bloodied and weak, with his hands still tied behind his back, the man looks up at Angel's face, and speaks.)
Man: (whispers) Thank you. Thank you.
(Holding on to the man's shoulders, Angel stares back at the man, then changes into vampire face. Angel leans in and bites the man's throat.)

(Angel’s Apartment – Morning)
(Title Card: 19 Hours Earlier)
(Angel is lying naked in bed, staring at the ceiling. Nina cuddles up close to him.)
Angel: Hey.
Nina: (sighs, wraps her arm across his chest) OK. Where did you learn how to do that?
Angel: Which part?
Nina: Doesn't matter. How are you?
Angel: I'm good.
Nina: (leans up) You're not perfectly happy, are you? 'Cause I've got my wooden stake right here. (reaches over into her nightstand drawer) Oh, that's not a stake. (continues looking) I know I brought it—
Angel: You're safe.
Nina: (leans back over his chest) OK. And you? Good? You weren't thinking about your little Roman friend, or—
Angel: Nina, for the last... (picks up his wristwatch from the nightstand, looks at it) whoa.
Nina: Wowee.
Angel: For the last... very long moment, I haven't had a single coherent thought.
Nina: (beaming) I'm gonna take that as a compliment.
Angel: You really should.
Nina: But now, the brow is back. If she's not on your mind, then...
Angel: Oh, there's—there's a lot more than usual going on.
Nina: Work?
Angel: Always.
Nina: (rolls over, lies beside him, facing the ceiling) You should get away. Vacation? You know that word? Go to Cabo, drink margaritas, midnight skinny-dipping, making love on the beach. (rolls over to look into his eyes) Did you catch how I subtly included myself in your vacation package?
Angel: Nina...
Nina: Too pushy, too needy, I never even said it. You should make love on the beach all by yourself.
Angel: It would be wonderful. I mean it.
Nina: But...
Angel: (sighs) There are— There are things that I have to do. Things that I've already set in motion that, uh... (sighs, sits up) I know I've spent years fighting to get somewhere... to accomplish something... and now that I'm close to it... I don't like what I see, what I am.
Nina: You're a hero.
Angel: (softly) Oh, that word.
Nina: You're my hero.
Angel: I may not always be.

(Wolfram & Hart – Hallway – Day)
(Illyria walks down the hallway, and no one so much as looks at her as she passes. As she continues down the hall, Spike addresses her while waiting outside an office.)
Spike: Like you're not even there. World trembled before your feet once. Now... padding around a place you don't want to be in, and the rabble don't even give you so much as a polite yawn.
Illyria: Do not presume I require any creature's attention.
Spike: Wouldn't dream of it, Blue. Still...you can't enjoy haunting this place. Less than what you were, not knowing what to do with yourself. Believe me, I've been there.
Illyria: And what do you know of it?
Spike: Long and fascinating tale. Ghost story, in fact. Short of it is... take my advice. Get out once in a while. Before you go bats.
Illyria: Out?
Spike: Out. Outside. That place just on the other side of the window.
Illyria: (turns to walk away) I've grown wary of this world since my powers were depleted. Strange... though I've been made more human, this place remains disconcerting.
Spike: (following her) Yeah, well, I'm afraid that never goes away. Anyhow, I thought Wesley was giving you a primer on all things human.
Illyria: He and I are no longer having intercourse.
Spike: Y-ah. You wh-what?
Illyria: He has ceased communication with me.
Spike: Oh! Oh. Communi—
Illyria: My recent reversion to the Burkle persona disturbed him. And he will not tell me why.
Spike: You don't know? You may not think you're as powerful as you were, Highness, but looking like Fred, for some of us... it's the most devastating power you have.

(Lobby)
(Angel and Gunn walk out of Angel's office into the lobby where Hamilton is escorting a business woman.)
Hamilton: Ah! There's the man himself. Angel, I'd like you to meet Senator Brucker.
Angel: (shaking her hand) Senator, welcome to Wolfram & Hart.
Hamilton: Oh, I go way back with this firm, back when Holland Manners was in charge.
Gunn: I think you'll find things have changed a bit since then. Charles Gunn. (shakes her hand)
Hamilton: Head of our legal department.
Senator: (introducing a well-dressed man standing beside her) Oh. And this is Ernesto. My personal—
Angel: Vampire.
Senator: (somewhat taken aback) Aide. I always forget your kind can sense each other. Well, I believe in diversity on my staff. (points smugly) It was a big part of my campaign.
Gunn: How commendable.
Angel: Harmony, you mind getting us some coffee?
Harmony: Coming up.
Senator: Oh, thank you, no. No coffee. But if it isn't any trouble, I think Ernesto might like some blood.
Ernesto: Virgin, if you have it. Room temperature's fine.
Harmony: Sorry. We have a no human blood policy. I can offer you something in a rodent. We have some fruity, unassuming vole—
Hamilton: Oh, I think we could make an exception to our policy this time for the senator. Couldn't we, Angel?
Angel: Harmony, the lab might have something in the blood bank. Why don't you go check it out?
(Gunn glares at Angel. Angel winks at Hamilton, who shows a nod of approval.)
Harmony: OK. You're the boss, boss. (starts walking away, but stops and turns to Angel) Could I maybe just have a teeny, weeny—
Angel: No.
Harmony: Just thought I'd ask. (leaves)
Hamilton: Well, senator, if there's anything you need, please call on me. Rest assured. You're in good hands. (smiles, leaves)
Angel: Shall we?
(The senator and Ernesto walk with Angel toward his office when Wesley goes up to Angel carrying a file folder.)
Wesley: Angel. There's been another fatality in Funville.
Angel: What?
Wesley: That abandoned amusement park downtown? Third victim in as many nights. Teeth marks strongly indicate a Boretz demon.
(Illyria and Spike are in the lobby now and walk up to Wesley and Angel.)
Spike: Oh, bloody Boretz. Nasty buggers. Stink to high heaven. Dress as transients to prey on the homeless, poor sods.
(Illyria, staying a few steps back, stares at Wesley.)
Wesley: (to Angel) This last victim was a teenage girl. A runaway. She was ripped apart.
Angel: (shrugs) Well, there's not much we can do about it now, huh? (turns back toward his office)
Wesley: (steps closer to Angel, an urgent tone in his voice) Angel, we need to find this demon and destroy it before—
Angel: Somebody else dies? Yeah. I know, Wes. People are dying every day all over. This girl is just one more statistic.
Wesley: Stacey. (looks down) The statistic's name was Stacey Bluth. (holds out a printout)
Angel: (takes the printout, peruses it) Well, you know, we can't save everybody, and we can't sweat the small stuff. (hands the printout back to Wesley, turns to go into his office)
Wesley: Small?
Angel: Wes, I got a United States senator waiting for me, so just find out whatever you can about this Boretz thing and we'll talk later, OK? (walks away)
Wesley: (looks at his file) Small stuff?
Spike: Listen, you need some Boretz killing done, I'll have a go. I haven't had a decent tussle since the blue meanie and I stopped sparring.
(Illyria looks at Spike and Wesley, proudly.)
Wesley: Yes. All right. Call me if you find anything. I'll be in my office learning what I can. (walks away)
Illyria: He showed no regard for my presence.
Spike: Not that you require any creature's attention. (Illyria glares) Hey, wanna go find something to hit?
(Illyria looks intrigued.)

(Conference Room)
(Angel, Gunn, the Senator, and Ernesto watch a video. The video is a patriotic advertisement for Mike Conley for U.S. Senate.)
Announcer: (on TV) A Gulf War veteran and Bronze Star recipient, Mike Conley believes ethics and integrity matter... finding solutions to problems in our educational system, health and childcare services, and Mike Conley believes in work... and in home. Your home is his work. He's looking out for your children's interests.
(The senator presses the “stop” button on the video and throws the remote on the table in disgust.)
Senator: There. So you can see my concern.
Ernesto: This Conley campaign's a juggernaut. Guy came out of nowhere with his... "Your home is his work" crap. Women voters are eating it up.
Senator: And they were mine. I had a lock on the chick vote. And now my numbers are slipping. I didn't claw my way up from hell and get installed in a human body just to have some pedophile steal my senate seat.
Gunn: Wait—he's a pedophile?
Senator: Not yet. But the public better think he is when you guys get through.
Gunn: (angrily) Pardon me?
Senator: Hell, convince Conley he is. You've got some sort of brainwashing capabilities here, don't you? What's that doctor's name?
Ernesto: Sparrow.
Senator: That's the one. This sounds right up his alley.
Gunn: Yeah, well, it's not up ours. (the senator turns to look at Gunn, who is leaning forward, impassioned) Look, I don't care what kind of services you were used to getting with this firm, but Holland Manners doesn't live here anymore. We're not about to ruin a man's life and reputation just so you can—
Angel: We can do it.
Gunn: What?
Angel: (to the senator, ignoring Gunn) Not sure how long a reconditioning like that would take.
Ernesto: The election's in November.
Gunn: You're not seriously considering—
Senator: Angel, you just made yourself a very loyal ally in Washington.
Gunn: (stands, incensed) Angel, we need to talk.
Angel: (blowing him off) I'm with the senator now, Gunn.

(Wesley’s Office)
(Wesley is in his office, holding a large book and speaking to it.)
Wesley: "Boretz demons: Classifications and case histories."
(He puts the book on his desk, opens it; it fills with dense text. As he sits at his desk to read the text, the left page blanks out and shows a new, larger text: "YOU'RE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE.")
Wesley: What am I looking—
(The right page of the book then blanks out, now showing a new symbol: a circle with 8 spurs sticking out, evenly spaced around it. Wesley sits up straight, staring at the pages when Gunn walks in.)
Gunn: We got a serious problem. It's Angel. He's—
Wesley: (looks up at Gunn) Hold on. (He looks back at the pages, but they are back to the dense text from before and the message has disappeared.)
Gunn: Wes?

(Racquetball Court – Day)
(Dressed in a black t-shirt, black gym pants, a black headband and wristbands, Angel is playing racquetball against Izzy the red devil, who is all dressed in white. They hit the ball back and forth until one gets by Izzy.)
Izzy: Ah! Hell. Nice one. Did I tell ya... ran into Ed the other day?
Angel: Ed?
Izzy: The Grand Potentate whatcha-whosit of the Fell Brethren?
Angel: Right. How is Ed?
Izzy: You know the Fells. All they can talk about is the baby. The baby's doing this now. The baby's doing that. What a wonderful ritual sacrifice he'll make. Yak, yak, yak. Anyway, couldn't say enough nice things about you.
Angel: Great.
Izzy: You're really comin' through, big guy. There's a real buzz about you.
Angel: So how much longer do I have to wait for an answer?
Izzy: Hey, these things take time. Trust me. Won't be long now.
(Angel serves the ball and they begin playing again.)

(Funville Amusement Park – Night)
(Spike and Illyria walk through an abandoned amusement park at night.)
Spike: See? This isn't so bad now. Little field trip out in the... well, what passes in this city for fresh air. All we need now is to bag ourselves a Boretz demon, we got ourselves a perfect date.
Illyria: Angel does not think the casualties of this creature are important enough to avenge.
Spike: Yeah. I think corporate living's made him lose his love for the hunt. No worries. More for me then.
Illyria: It does not serve his interest.
Spike: What are you on about?
Illyria: I've seen this before with many rulers. Your leader has been corrupted.
Spike: (they stop walking) Hey, hang on. In the first place, Angel's not my leader. In the second, what the bloody hell do you mean corrupted?
Illyria: It always begins the same. A ruler turns a blind eye to the dealings of battles from which he cannot gain... and a deaf ear to the counsel of those closest to him. As his strength increases, so does the separation between he and his follow—
Spike: Shh. (looks around) You smell that?
Illyria: (looks around) The odors of everything in this world of men are equally repugnant to me.
Spike: Bloody helpful. (they continue walking) You're wrong about Angel. Not that I don't think the sod could end up being a megalomaniacal bastard. It's just that if he did... I'd know it. I'd feel it.
Illyria: You'll have proof soon enough. A corrupted ruler on such a path sees treachery and betrayal all around him. He cannot suffer intimates and will eventually turn against them.
Spike: Guess I don't have to worry about that, 'cause Angel and me have never been intimate. Except that one...
Illyria: Mark me. He will murder one of you.
Drogyn: (steps out from a hiding place) Actually, he already has.
Spike: Drogyn?
Illyria: (walks forward) Who is this?
Spike: The guardian of the Deeper Well. Greenskeeper of your graveyard, so to speak.
Illyria: (glares at him) My jailer.
Drogyn: (squints at her) Illyria...
Spike: (looks above Drogyn) Boretz. (The Boretz demon jumps down on them, engaging Spike in a powerful fistfight, ending when the Boretz flings Spike into the power junction box. Illyria steps up and engages the Boretz as Spike get to his feet.) Stay away from its mouth! It's bite's poisonous. (gets to his feet) Go for its knees. I think there's a weak spot— (sees that Illyria has kicked the demon forcefully through the large wooden supports for a roller-coaster)(impressed) OK. Yeah! That might do it. (walks over to Drogyn) Drogyn. What the hell are you doing here? Oh, don't give me your "ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies" bugaboo.
Drogyn: (straining) I came to find you.
Spike: Oh, so you tacked up a sign on your tree, waved bye to the Keeblers, hopped the puddle, and somehow managed to sniff me out in a city of 10 million?
Drogyn: (weakly) I can find anyone who's visited the well... be they in this world or any other. I—I came to—to warn you— (collapses)
Spike: (catches him) Warn?
Illyria: He's bleeding.
Spike: You're all torn up, mate. What did this to you, the Boretz, was it?
Drogyn: No. It was Angel.

(Wolfram & Hart – Night)
(Wesley walks through the lobby toward Angel's office, but detours, stopping at Harmony's desk. He grabs the sign-in book and draws the circle symbol he saw earlier.)
Harmony: (leaning forward to see what he's drawing) That would look good on a calf.
Wesley: Pardon?
Harmony: Thinking of getting a tattoo, right? Put a little more "bad" in your bad boy bank. It should go on your calf.
(Wesley puts down his pen, rips out the page he was drawing on, and walks toward Angel's office.)

(Angel’s Office)
(Wesley walks into Angel's office carrying his drawing.)
Wesley: Angel, something unusual came across one of my... (looks up at Angel, who's sitting at his desk talking to Hamilton, who's sitting on his desk) Oh, I didn't realize you were occupied. If you don't mind, Hamilton...
Angel: Actually, Wes, we're kind of in the middle of something. Why don't you try me later?
Wesley: Yes, later, then. (walks to the door)
Angel: Hey, Wes? (Wesley turns) Shut the door on your way out. (Wes exits)

(Lobby)
(When Wesley walks out of Angel's office, Lorne is waiting outside the door.)
Lorne: Hey, is Angel in there?
Wesley: He is. (continues walking)
Lorne: (walks with Wes) What's the weather report?
Wesley: Cold. Icy, actually.
Lorne: Well, he cut 6 of my clients loose, didn't even tell me. I spent all day talking them off ledges and out of pill bottles.
Wesley: I sense that suicidal celebrities are beneath Angel's concern.
Lorne: These are very pretty people I'm talking about here, Wes, 4 of them getting in shape for Young Guns III.
Gunn: (waiting outside Wes's office) What did he say?

(Wesley’s Office)
(Wesley, Gunn and Lorne walk into Wesley's office.)
Wesley: (walks toward his desk) Nothing. He had Hamilton in his office. They're discussing business strategy. (sits at his desk)
Gunn: Hamilton?
Lorne: It's like Angel suddenly started channeling Leona Helmsley.
Wesley: He's not himself, at any rate.
Gunn: What's happening to him?
Wesley: (telephone rings, he answers) Yes? Spike.

(Spike’s Apartment)
(Drogyn is sitting on the couch while Spike sits on an end table nearby. Illyria stands opposite of them while Drogyn fills in Wesley, Gunn and Lorne on the situation.)
Drogyn: It was a Sathari... part of a clan of demon assassins. They fell upon me last night. The poison from his 4 blades wearing heavy on my limbs.
Spike: Yeah, rousing bit of rah-rah, mate. Get to the goods.
Drogyn: Once I bested him, I tortured the Sathari for hours until he confessed who had sent him. It was Angel.
Spike: Tell 'em why.
Drogyn: He said Angel was afraid I'd find something in the Deeper Well, something that would uncover the truth about his involvement.
Gunn: In what?
Drogyn: Helping Illyria escape from her tomb.
Wesley: I thought the release of her sarcophagus from the Deeper Well was predestined.
Spike: Yeah, what about that bit?
Drogyn: Well, that's what I thought at the time, but now I believe... Illyria's resurrection may have been planned.
Gunn: By Angel.
Lorne: Oh, that doesn't make a lick of sense. I mean, why would Angel want to spring an old one?
Drogyn: I don't think that was the point.
Gunn: Then what was?
Drogyn: Before he died, the assassin said something about a sacrifice... someone trusted and dear.
Wesley: Are you saying that Angel was responsible for what happened to Fred?
Drogyn: He may not have chosen her specifically, but—
Lorne: Whoa! Let's put a kibosh on that sentence before it turns into an ass-kickin'.
Drogyn: Do you think I gain pleasure in this? I held Angel an ally, a brother.
Wesley: And you believe he may have murdered Fred?
Drogyn: I know this is difficult for you, but Angel was involved. The information retrieved from the assassin—
Gunn: (angrily) You ever think maybe he was lying?
Drogyn: No one lies when they're at the mercy of my wrath.
Gunn: Then you're the liar, Aragorn.
Spike: He has to tell the truth. It's a curse or something.
Gunn: How can we be sure? We don't even know this guy.
Wesley: Gunn, this is Drogyn, the battlebrand, given eternal youth a thousand years ago. Demonbane, truthsayer...
(Drogyn nods, Wes looks down) Watchers' Council.
Spike: Percy did a paper. Bully on him.
Wesley: (unfolds his drawing) Drogyn... any idea what this symbol means?
Drogyn: No.
Spike: (grabs the drawing) Where'd you get that?
Wesley: This afternoon, someone tapped into the template interface. Sent a message to me, and that symbol. Somebody's dropping clues.
Gunn: Playing games is more like it.
Lorne: Well, put me on the short bus, but I still can't wrap my head around the notion that Angel has anything to do with Fred or any of this.
Wesley: Angel's been doing a number of things out of character lately. We all noticed it.
Lorne: Yeah, but why is this happening now? Why the change?
Wesley: Yes, why the sudden need to tie up loose ends like Drogyn? Unless...
Illyria: (standing in the background) He's preparing to make his move.
Gunn: What kind of move are we talking about?
Wesley: There's only one way to find out. We ask him. (Wes, Gunn and Lorne walk toward the door; Spike follows) Drogyn should stay here under guard.
Spike: I'm not missing the fireworks. Hey, Illyria, you don't care about any of this nonsense, do you?
Illyria: The intricacies of your fates are meaningless.
Spike: (Wes rolls his eyes and exits) Well and good. You mind watching over our friend Drogyn? Aw, come on. New place'll do you good. It's nice and cozy. Help yourself to some beer in the fridge. Switch on the telly if you get bored. (hands her video game controls) And, uh, feel free to play a little Crash Bandicoot. Give you lot something to pass the time. (walks out)
Illyria: (looks at Spike) Crash Bandicoot? (looks at the controls; Drogyn looks confused)

(Wolfram & Hart - Lobby)
(Angel is standing at Harmony's desk reviewing a contract.)
Angel: (crossing out something on the contract) Strike these 4 clauses and wire it back to them. See what they make of that.
Harmony: Yeah! See what they make of that.
(Wesley walks up to Angel, followed by Lorne, Gunn, and Spike.)
Wesley: Angel...
Angel: (looks at the 4 of them) Long dinner?
Wesley: We need to talk to you. Now.
(He walks toward Angel's office.)
Gunn: Boy's dead serious. (follows Wes)
Spike: (to Angel, who hasn't moved) You coming, then?

(Angel’s Office)
(Wesley, Gunn, Lorne and Spike confront Angel in his office.)
Angel: OK, what's on your minds?
Lorne: The question is what's on yours?
Spike: Our friend Drogyn's in town.
Angel: Is he?
Spike: Yeah. A bit marked up, though. Somebody tried to have him killed. Know anything about that?
Angel: Of course not. Where is he?
Gunn: He's safe.
Angel: Good. Now, can we get back to business, or was there something else?
Wesley: "Business"? What business are we in, Angel?
Angel: Do I really have to explain this to you people? We're in the business of business. Oil, software, worldwide wickets. The product doesn't matter. It's the game that matters. Get to the top, be the best, have the most, win.
Wesley: Win what?
Angel: You're still missin' the point. (walks toward his desk)
Gunn: That Angel talking? 'Cause it sounds a lot more like Angelus.
Angel: Oh, if I were Angelus, half of you would already be dead, just for the fun of it. (sits on the edge of his desk)
Spike: One of us already is. We havin' fun yet?
Angel: You want to know the truth? The truth is there's only one of us who ever understood how things really work. Lorne.
Lorne: Whoa. Hey, hey, hey. Can I not be the poster child for your nervous breakdown here?
Angel: You didn't judge. You didn't spend your life obsessed with good and evil. You do that, you get swallowed, lost in the minutia. Good, bad, Angel, Angelus— None of it makes a difference. I wish it did, but, you know, an ant with the best intentions or the most diabolical schemes is just exactly an ant. There is one thing in this business, in this apocalypse that we call a world that matters: Power. Power tips the scale, power sets the course, and until I have real power, global power, I have nothing. I accomplish nothing.
Wesley: And how you get this power...
Angel: Isn't pretty. Isn't fun. (stands, walks up to Wesley) You think it's Wolfram & Hart getting to me here, and maybe you're right, because they've shown us what power is. From day one, they've been calling the shots, and all we've done is get shot at. I have a chance to change that.
Lorne: And will you? I mean, not to play an old saw, but power does traditionally corrupt. You get high up enough, and, well, the people, they do start to look like ants.
Angel: I can't worry about that... the small stuff.
Harmony: (walks into the office) Angel, that important phone call from... (smiles nervously) that guy about that thing, it's on line 3. (walks out)
Angel: We're done here. I have to take this. (they file out)
Spike: Yeah, the guy about the thing.
Wesley: (stops on his way out) The small stuff that you can't worry about, would that include Fred?
Angel: I loved Fred.
Wesley: That's not an answer.
Angel: Then I guess you don't get one.

(Interrogation Room)
(Wesley stands by the 2-way mirror on the wall of a prison interrogation room. Lorne is in the room with him, staring at the floor.)
Wesley: There's got to be something behind all this. A reason. It could be a ploy. For God's sake, say something.
Lorne: What would you like me to say? Tell you that Angel loved Fred, and that in an eon of eons, he would never harm her in any way? I wish I could, Wes, but if he believes what he's saying, and I believe he does...
Wesley: It doesn't make any sense. Angel never cared about power.
Lorne: Well, he's never had any to care about, has he? Not real power, even as Angelus, and then just like that, he's king of the mountain. It's quite a view from up there. Tends to make people want things. Even if they start with the best intentions, Angel's seen real power, and he's not looking away. He's gonna go for it, Wes.
(Gunn and Spike throw the door open, bringing in a man in shackles. It's Lindsey.)
Lindsey: (grinning) You boys look like you could use a hug. (gestures with his arms wide, but Gunn and Spike grab his arms)

(Southern California Academy of Art & Design)
(Nina walks out of the building towards the parking lot when Angel calls out to her.)
Angel: Nina.
Nina: (smiles, walks up to him) Angel, hey. (hugs and kisses him) Well, this is a nice surprise. Everything OK?
Angel: Can we sit down? (points to a park bench)
Nina: (they sit; Angel hands her an envelope) Plane tickets? I don't believe it. We're getting away? This is... but I thought you didn't have time to... Oh, wait. There are 3 tickets here. We taking a chaperone? (looks closer at the names on the tickets) My sister and Amanda?
Angel: I need you to be out of here.
Nina: That's typical. You sleep with a guy and he sends your entire family out of the country. No, wait, that's actually not that typical at all. You couldn't just not call?
Angel: It's not safe here.
Nina: Is it ever? I want to be with you if there's trouble.
Angel: You don't want to be with me. You don't want to be near me.
Nina: Because I might get hurt?
Angel: 'Cause I'm the thing that'll hurt you.
Nina: (holds up the tickets) What do you call this?
Angel: How can I convince you that I want to be with you?
Nina: Show me a fourth ticket.
Angel: (sighs, looks away, then back) OK. If I get through this... intact... I'll come for you. We'll...have time.
Nina: (laughs, looks into his eyes) You're the most amazing man I've ever met, but you're a crappy liar.
Angel: Go. I'm not asking.
Nina: I'll go. Why on Earth would I stay?
(Nina gets her things together and walks off.)

(Spike’s Apartment)
(Illyria and Drogyn sit beside each other on Spike's couch, playing the video game.)
Drogyn: It is a test, a task of some sort. You must collect those crystals. And the fruit.
Illyria: Why?
Drogyn: Old one... you have no right to walk this Earth. Your time is past. You belong to the well.
Illyria: Truly. I wish now I had never been brought out of it.
Drogyn: Do you?
Illyria: I don't know. I play this game... it's pointless and annoys me... and yet, I'm compelled to play on. Does that not—
(Someone busts down the door to the apartment. Drogyn and Illyria stand, alarmed. It's Hamilton.)
Hamilton: (dusts himself off) Well, looky, looky who's making friends.
Drogyn: Marcus.
Hamilton: Dro, how have you been?
Illyria: You're acquainted with this creature?
Hamilton: Yes. We go way back, don't we?
Drogyn: Too far.
Hamilton: Hmm, the good old days. So I hear you're living in a tree now.
Drogyn: The tree is the entrance to the Deeper Well. I live in a cave. It's really quite pleasant.
Hamilton: I'm sure it's a peach. Afraid you won't be returning to it again.
Illyria: (walks up to Hamilton) You will not harm him.
Hamilton: Oh, you mean like this?
(He throws Drogyn forcefully into the wall behind him. Illyria starts fighting Hamilton, but she's no match for him. He isn't fazed by her punches and kicks. He tosses her into a wall across the room. She gets back to her feet.)
Hamilton: Hang on, Dro, this'll just take a second. (Illyria goes for Hamilton once again. They fight, Illyria giving her all, but Hamilton barely uses any effort.) I gotta tell ya, I'm a little disappointed. (punches her hard in the face, then in the stomach) Didn't think a big, scary old one bled this easily. (as she doubles over in pain, he hits her hard in her back, knocking her to the ground) Maybe it's this skinny, little body you chose to infect. (picks her up and punches her in the face) Or maybe it's that ray gun they shot you with to keep you from exploding. (punches her in the face again) Or maybe... (punches her again) you're...(punches her again) just... (punches her again) not...that... (punches her again) cool! (lets her drop to the ground, unconscious and bloody) Yes, that's probably it. (steps on her face)

(Interrogation Room – Night)
(Lindsey is sitting at the table, surrounded by Spike, Gunn, Lorne and Wesley.)
Lindsey: So what are you gonna do? You gonna beat it out of me?
Spike: (smirks) If you say so. (walks toward Lindsey)
(Lindsey springs to his feet confrontationally.)
Gunn: (steps between Spike and Lindsey) We all know how this goes. (shoves Lindsey back into the chair) Spike beats you to a bloody pulp, you beg for mercy, and we get what we came for.
Lorne: Who needs all that rigmarole?
Lindsey: I told you, I don't know why Angel gave up that kid. Or anything else. Me and him, not too close. I gotta get back to my game of Solitaire. (Wesley shows him his drawing) Where'd you get that?
Wesley: It doesn't matter. What does it mean?
Lindsey: (chuckles) Is that what all this is about? All these questions about Angel. (looks at the drawing) No. No way. No way they'd take Angel.
Spike: Who they?
Lindsey: The Circle of the Black Thorn.
Lorne: Sounds like a little sewing club for pirates.
Lindsey: It's a secret society.
Gunn: Never heard of them.
Lindsey: That's 'cause they're secret.
(Gunn smirks.)
Spike: There's plenty of these cabals about. They usually spend a lot of time in basements paddling one another's bums to prove their manhood.
Lindsey: These are not frat boys, Spike. The circle's small. It's elite. They got connections you boys can't even comprehend.
Wesley: They're evil.
Lindsey: Sure. But evil's not the point. Power is.
Wesley: Power.
Gunn: OK, we get it. They're bad ass. What do they do?
Lindsey: (snickers) Jeez. Are you guys always this slow? Huh? Starts with an "a," ends in "pocalypse." It's a well-oiled machine, this circle. These people grease the wheels, keep the parts in place. Make sure man's inhumanity to man keeps rolling along.
Wesley: We thought the senior partners were responsible for the apocalypse.
Lindsey: The senior partners are on a different plane. Down here...it's the players in the circle that make things happen. Hell, you get tapped by one of them, it's kind of like getting the keys to the chocolate factory.
Wesley: That's why you came back to L.A., tried to kill Angel. To get into the circle. (sits across from Lindsey)
Lindsey: To be a Black Thorn is to be the senior partners' instrument on Earth. Doesn't get bigger than that.
Gunn: Looks like Angel succeeded where you failed.
Lindsey: He doesn't have it in him.
Wesley: Doesn't have what in him?
Lindsey: Well, for starters, he's gotta give up the champion angle. Quit saving girls in alleys. Probably wouldn't even make it on the circle's radar until he killed one of his lieutenants.
(Wes, Spike, Gunn and Lorne look at each other, alarmed.)
Lorne: The senior partners, the Circle, they're killing Angel by degrees.
Wesley: (hangs his head) And we all watched it happen.
Gunn: The guy I knew wouldn't want this. Wouldn't wanna be this.
Wesley: Angel dedicated his life to helping others, not because he had to, but because it was a path he'd chosen. (stands) If he's been swayed from that, influenced... then maybe there's still time. We can bring him back. He'd do the same for any of us, regardless of our actions.
Lorne: And what if he's skipped too far down that evil brick road?

(Secret Chamber)
(Angel walks through a dark hallway into a chamber. He's standing in front of a raging fire in a doorway. He can hear a man being beaten on the other side. Angel leaps through the fire to the chamber on the other side. He sees a kneeling man being beaten by robed men with sticks. Angel pulls the beaten man to his feet, pulls off the bag over his head, and looks into the bloodied face of Drogyn.)
Drogyn: Thank you. Thank you.
(Angel vamps out and bites Drogyn in the neck as robed and masked men look on. Angel drinks Drogyn's blood as Drogyn moans painfully. Angel steps back and twists Drogyn's head until his neck breaks. Angel pushes Drogyn's body to the floor. A robed, masked demon's red hand glows with a fiery symbol in its palm. The demon reaches out to Angel's bared chest and presses his palm over Angel's heart, branding him.)
Demon: The circle entwined.
Group: (chanting a response) Embrace this worthy son.
Demon: The thorn draws blood.
Group: (chanting a response) The thorn is the power, and the power is absolute.
Demon: (offers his hand to Angel) Welcome to the fold.
(Angel shakes hands. The lights go up in the room, and the robed demons remove their masks. Many of the demons Angel has encountered this season are there, including Archduke Sebassis, Cyvus Vail, Sentaor Brucker, and others. There's applause.)
Vail: Well done, Angel.
Izzy: (the ceremony's leader takes off his mask) See? Didn't I tell you it was gonna happen? And how about that lamb we got you for the slaughter, any idea who that was?
Angel: (buttoning his shirt) Drogyn. The battlebrand.
(A man brings Angel and Izzy champagne flutes.)
Izzy: Damn straight. We got you some supercharged warrior juice, not some schmuck. You must feel great. (clinks glasses with Angel; they drink champagne) OK, let me introduce you around to a few people. Some of these folks you know, some you don't. Of course, you're acquainted with the Archduke.
Sebassis: Kudos, child. I must say, it's gratifying to see you've returned to form, Angelus.
Angel: It's still Angel.
Sebassis: Ah. Well, what's in a name, eh? In the spirit of our new alliance, you must allow me to throw a dinner party in your honor.
Angel: You know how I love parties. (tips his glass toward Sebassis, drinks)
Senator: It's nice to see you again so soon, Angel.
Angel: Senator. I had no idea you were so well...connected.
Senator: Well, I'm not gonna take the White House in 2008 on just my sparkling wit and funding from hostile governments. (chuckles)
Angel: (chuckles) I expect not.
Izzy: Excuse us, Helen. Angel, I've got someone here who'd like to pay his respects.
Angel: Vail.
Vail: You've been looking for me.
Angel: Actually, I've been looking like I'm looking for you. Appearances, you know.
(Vail laughs, wheezing.)
Izzy: See, Cyvus?, I told you it was all good. Now why don't you two shake hands? Come on.
Vail: No hard feelings then?
Angel: Ultimately, everything worked out for the best.
Vail: Oh. Your son, he kills quite well.
Angel: Thanks.
Izzy: Got a great turnout for your initiation.
Angel: Really?
Izzy: Oh, yeah. Everybody's here. Here, let me freshen that up. (takes Angel's drink)
(Angel looks around the room, noting the other members.)

(Wolfram & Hart – Lobby – Day)
(Angel walks off the elevator, rubbing his branded chest, and heads straight for his office.)

(Angel’s Office)
(Angel walks into his office without closing the door. The door closes itself, revealing Gunn standing behind it. Spike catches Angel off-guard and punches him in the face, sending him to the ground. Wesley and Lorne walk out of the conference room. They are surrounding Angel now, each armed: Gunn with a sword, Spike with his fists, Wesley with a shotgun, and Lorne with a crossbow.)
Spike: You might wanna stay down.
Angel: Or what? Careful. (gets to his feet) You don't wanna get yourselves hurt.
Gunn: We know what you've been doing. Giving up the baby to the Fell Brethren, working for Senator Bitch, trying to take out Drogyn to cover up what you did to Fred. And for what? To get in bed with the Circle of the Black Thorn?
Angel: So you figured it out.
Lorne: Yeah, a little singing from a jailbird we know... and loathe.
Angel: Lindsey? (scoffs) And you believed him.
Spike: Doesn't have a reason to lie.
Angel: Doesn't need one.
Wesley: Unlike you?
Angel: What I do here is my business. You don't like how I conduct it, you can leave... before I kill you.
Wesley: Kill us? Hard to believe we're having trouble trusting you.
Angel: Just telling it like it is.
Wesley: (cocks his shotgun) Then we have a problem.
Angel: I guess we do.
(Angel grabs the shotgun barrel and pushes it away from him while kicking Wesley to the ground. Spike charges Angel, but Angel punches him first. Gunn raises his sword, but Angel blocks his swing and hits him in the head with the barrel of the shotgun. Lorne points his crossbow at Angel and fires a shot, hitting Angel in the shoulder. Angel drops the shotgun. Wesley pulls a pistol out of his belt, but Angel kicks it out of his hand before he can fire it. Angel grabs Lorne around the neck and holds him as a hostage.)
Angel: Are we done?
Wesley: Let him go.
Angel: You don't give the orders. Lorne, pull this thing out of me. (Lorne reaches for the arrow sticking out of Angel's shoulder) Easy. Not in a great mood. (Lorne pulls out the arrow) Good. Now, let's finish this. (pulls a crystal out of his pocket, holds it out in front of him) Involvere. (the crystal glows and sends a force throughout the entire room)(lets go of Lorne) All right, we have 6 minutes.
Spike: 'Til what?
Angel: The glamour collapses. As far as anyone outside this room is concerned, we're still at each other's throats.
Wesley: Aren't we?
Angel: Look, we don't have a lot of time here, so I'm gonna have to make this short. Everything you think you know, everything you've heard, is a lie.
Gunn: Why should we believe you?
Angel: Because I'm the one who told it. (to Wesley) Read any good books lately?
Wesley: You sent us the message?
Angel: And the assassin to kill Drogyn.
Spike: So that part was true.
Angel: I knew Drogyn could handle himself. I told the assassin just enough to lead Drogyn to think I played a part in resurrecting Illyria. I figured he'd come here looking for allies against me.
Wesley: Why would you want us to believe you killed Fred?
Angel: Because they needed to believe it.
Gunn: The Black Thorn.
Angel: They needed to believe my own people didn't trust me anymore. They needed to believe a person as good and as pure as Drogyn considered me an enemy. It was the only way to gain their confidence.
Lorne: (holding his sore neck) Oh, so this whole evil Angel thing has been a big scamola. Hmm. I smell Oscar.
Spike: When did this all start?
Angel: 2 months ago. With a kiss.

(Flashback)
(Angel’s Office – Night)
(Cordelia’s good-bye kiss.)
(End Flashback)

(Angel’s Office – Day)
Angel: Though it didn't hit me till later that night.

(Flashback)
(Angel’s Bedroom – Night)
(Angel gasps as he awakens from a vision. His vision showed him the symbol of the Black Thorn as well as flashes of a fiery apocalypse.)
(End Flashback)

(Angel’s Office – Day)
Wesley: Cordelia gave you her visions?
Angel: (walks around the room; the others are still tense, on guard) One-shot deal. She put me on the path, showed me where the real powers are. But I couldn't see who they were. Then, when Fred died, I wasn't gonna let that be another random horrible event in another random horrible world. So I decided to use it, to make her death matter. And it worked. I'm in. I've seen the faces of evil. I know who the real powers in the apocalypse are.
Gunn: So, all that power tilts the scales crap...?
Angel: It's true. We're in a machine. That machine's gonna be here long after our bodies are dust. But the senior partners will always exist in one form or another because mankind is weak.
Lorne: Uh, do you want me to point my crossbow at him, 'cause I think he's gonna start talking about ants again.
Angel: We are weak. The powerful control everything... except our will to choose. Look, Lindsey's a pathetic halfwit, but he was right about one thing. Heroes don't accept the way the world is. The senior partners may be eternal, but we can make their existence painful.
Wesley: You wanna take them on.
Angel: We're in a machine. The Black Thorn runs it. We can bring their gears to a grinding halt, even if it's just for a moment.
Spike: About time we got our hands dirty.
Angel: This isn't a keep-fightin'- the-good-fight kind of deal. Let's be clear. I'm talking about killing every... single...member... of the Black Thorn. We don't walk away from that.
Lorne: Do we crawl away, at least?
Angel: We do this, the senior partners will rain their full wrath. They'll make an example of us. I'm talking full-on hell, not the basic fire-and-brimstone kind we're used to.
Gunn: We know the drill.
Angel: No, you don't. 10-to-1, we're gone when the smoke clears. They will do everything in their power to destroy us. So...I need you to be sure. Power endures. We can't bring down the senior partners, but for one bright, shining moment, we can show them that they don't own us. You need to decide for yourselves if that's worth dying for. I can't order you to do this. I can't do it without you. So we'll vote. As a team. Think about what I'm asking you to do, think about what I'm asking you to give.
Spike: Kill 'em all... burn the house down while we're still in it.
Angel: Something like that.
(Everyone's got a serious look on their faces.)
Spike: Huh. (raises his hand) I'm in.
Wesley: (looks at Angel) I'm in.
(As the camera zooms out slowly, show Gunn and finally Lorne raise their hands. Continue zooming out past the glamour, to show what those on the outside looking in would see.)
Spike: Drop it!
Wesley: Angel, you don't want it to go like this!
Angel: You're not the boss around here.
Gunn: Lorne, you all right?
Lorne: Wes, help...
Spike: Angel, we got 3 people here. Drop it!
(Continue zooming out to show that Marcus Hamilton is standing outside Angel's office, watching them through the window.)

(Fade to black.)


Season Five Guide