Lindsey paced his office in a square of evening sun that poured through his window as it set behind the trees. Sunset came late during the summer in Los Angeles. The ritual to bring back Angelus was set for that night and he'd been instructed to tell Lilah and Lee where to was. He had done that. He'd also given Cordelia a quick, anonymous call and let her in on the secret meeting place. If she could get Angel, Grace and Wesley to show up there in time they could stop what was going to happen. And if she could get Angel angry enough, he could kill Lilah, Lee and possibly Holland.
The door to his office opened and he paused, preparing a smile for whoever entered. Spike stepped in first and Lindsey felt the smile slid off his face. He didn't like the British vampire, and he was sure the feeling was mutual. Darla and Drusilla followed him, giggling to each other like they were thirteen years old.
"Hey mate." Spike said, settling down in Lindsey's desk chair. "What's been going on 'round this place? Anything exciting like?"
Lindsey shook his head and forced a laugh. "C'mon Spike, we're lawyers. What sort of exciting things do you expect to happen?"
The vampire ignored the response he received and went to work, rolling a cigarette that had fallen apart in his pocket. Lindsey rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Darla and Drusilla.
"How are you ladies?"
Drusilla glanced at him suddenly, her green eyes standing out from her dark makeup. "The fishes don't like the plan for tonight." She took a step away from Darla, closing the distance between her and Drusilla. "The little fishes are worried. Do you know why? They heard that one of the big fishes told some cats what's happening. So the cats are going to come and eat the little fishes. Did you know that?"
Lindsey shrugged innocently. "Can't say that I did."
Darla laughed loudly and suddenly, making Lindsey jump. "Come on now Lindsey, you can't fool a seer."
Spike chuckled. "The girl is not a seer Darla, she's bloody crazy. She also talked about cell phones being tools of the devil and how one day she'd like to thank him. How can you possibly listen to her?"
Darla shot any angry look in Spike's direction. "You used to listen to her all the time."
"No, you see, I used to pretend I listened to her." Spike smiled again. "Guess I was a better actor than I thought, eh?"
Darla rolled her eyes and went back to talking and giggling with Drusilla as Lindsey sighed and turned toward Spike.
"Is everything ready?" He asked.
Spike nodded. "Everything's set mate. We start the spell at eleven tonight and Angelus will join us soon after. He'll rise by midnight and we'll set him free in Los Angeles." The vampire smiled. "He's going to love it here."
Lindsey sighed and nodded. "I'm sure he will. I mean, why wouldn't the Master love--"
"Shut up!" Spike yelled at him, getting to his feet. "Shut the hell up you bloody fool!"
Lindsey's eyes widened. "What? What did I say?"
"His name." Drusilla breathed. "You can't say his name until the ritual tonight. The order of Jagra forbids it." Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. "Don't you know the story behind them? The story behind why they don't speak?"
Lindsey shook his head slowly, completely taken off guard by their response to what he had said.
"Fool." Darla mumbled. "You're taking on a responsibility and you have absolutely no idea what it entails. I thought you were smarter than that."
"Why don't they speak?" Lindsey asked, trying to ignore Darla's words.
"Because they have no tongues." Spike replied. "These people have been preparing for his rising for centuries. These people knew, long before she was even born, that Buffy Summers would kill him. And they knew that it would be up to them to resurrect him. They created a way to help him rise again and said that it would require four vampires that were closest to him in the course of his life, they also said his name would have to be spoken one time by each vampire in order to give him life. The last rule was that no one involved in the cult or in the ritual would ever be allowed to speak his name."
Spike nodded to Darla and Drusilla. "We never knew we were to be part of the ritual so we were given special permission until now. But since you've known all along what's going to happen, you are not allowed to say his name. That's why they cut out their tongues, so they don't slip up like you just did."
Lindsey slowly shook his head. "I-I didn't know." He made a face suddenly. "They cut out their tongues?"
"S'what I said, wasn't it?" Spike answered.
"Yeah, I guess it was." Lindsey glanced at him. "So that's why you need Angelus? Because he was one of the vampires closest to the-- uh, to him?"
"Bingo." Darla said. "We need Angelus to complete the circle."
"And that," Holland said from the doorway, "is why Wolfram and Hart has always said they want him dark, not dead." He smiled as he made his way into the office. "We've been building up to this for years Lindsey, you have no idea how hard we've worked on it."
"I think I can take a guess." He replied. "So, now what?" He glanced at the clock on his desk. "It's ten. Shouldn't we be heading down to the place to start?"
Holland smiled. "Great idea son, you're right on track. I'll get the others and you all can meet us down at the limo in say," he glanced at his watch, "fifteen?" Then he turned and left the office.
Lindsey sighed, staring down at the floor. He was a bit worried. From everything Spike had said, it seemed like the followers of the order had planned for a very long time and knew what they wanted. For the first time in almost ten years, Lindsey prayed. He prayed that Angel knew what he was doing.
Grace entered the building later that night, her hands full of books and magickal ingredients. Cordelia was sitting behind the desk at her computer, looking sleepy, but she perked up when the half demon entered the room.
"Hey." She smiled. "Are you -- I mean, how are you?"
Grace smiled back. "I'm good. Actually, I'm great."
"Really? 'Cause from the way you left earlier, we didn't think you'd be great when you came back."
"He didn't know about this." Grace said, dropping her books and opening one for Cordelia. "It's a protection spell. We can do this and it will stop the spell from reaching Angel and it'll stop them from taking his soul." She smiled again. "The ones that are performing the spell won't have the slightest idea that we blocked it. They'll think it worked."
"Grace, you're right. This is great. We can finally protect Angel." Cordelia's smile slid off her face suddenly. "But what if they try it again when Angel doesn't come?"
"That's the rest of my plan." Grace said. "Angel will go and he'll pretend to be Angelus. He can do that, can't he? We'll let them think he's bad and when they're doing the spell to raise the Master, they'll be vulnerable. We can attack. It would work, wouldn't it?" She paused for a long moment. "Except for the fact that we don't know where they're doing this."
Cordelia smiled. "I got another mysterious call, from a certain lawyer. I know where it is."
"So, it will work? If Angel will go along with it, that is." Grace said.
"If I'll go along with what?" Angel asked from the doorway.
Grace turned and bit her lip as she looked at him. Angel saw the hurt flicker in her eyes and he glanced away for a moment.
"Look, Cordelia," he began.
She smiled. "I'm already gone."
Angel turned to look at Grace again as Cordelia left the office and he offered her a sad smile. "I'm sorry."
She shrugged. "It's fine."
"No, you were right. I can't ask you to do something like that." He took a few steps toward her and gently grabbed her arm. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Grace nodded. "You're right. You shouldn't have done it. Especially when you hadn't even bothered to find another way. "
He shook his head and let go of her arm. "There is no other way. If there was another way to stop this, I'd know about it. I'd,"
"I found a protection spell Angel." Grace cut him off. "They won't know that it hasn't worked and we can go to them, with you pretending to be Angelus. Make them think it worked. Then we can attack while they're trying to raise the Master."
Angel's eyebrows rose. "You found something?"
"Yeah. I've made friends with the book keeper in the magick shop." She smiled slightly. "He knows a little bit about our situation and he's been helping me. Supplying me with books and ingredients for the spells. Stuff like that."
"So, this spell," Angel paused, "it can protect me without them knowing?"
She nodded. "And that's what I was talking about. Do you agree with the plan?"
"To pretend to be Angelus?"
Grace nodded again.
"Yeah, I-I guess so." He met her eyes for a long moment. "I just hope you can deal with what you see."
"You'll just be acting." She replied.
"I've just acted before." Angel told her. "Trying to get another slayer to admit she'd been helping out the bad guys. I hurt some people while I was just acting. I don't want to do it again."
"I'm asking you to do this." Grace stressed. "I can't be hurt by something I asked you to do."
"She didn't expect to be hurt either."
"Buffy?"
He nodded. "I guess she didn't expect me to be such a good actor."
A smile broke out on Grace's face. "Try not to congratulate yourself on that Oscar win yet."
Angel heard the humour in her voice and replied with a smile of his own. "I guess we'd better get to work on this spell."
She nodded. "I guess so."
Spike stared at Drusilla from across the fire pit they were standing around. Darla was at his left and Drusilla at her left. There was an empty place between him and Drusilla, that was where Angelus would stand. Lindsey and the other lawyers stood off to the side and watched as the vampires prepared to bring back Angelus.
Darla took in an unneeded, but deep breath, then blew it out over the fire. She stared into the empty place across from her and took another breath as a cult member of Jagra handed her a piece of paper. They couldn't recite the words themselves and had to assume that the vampires knew Latin.
As Darla began to read, Spike closed his eyes, listening to the words she spoke. While there were a few words he didn't know the English translation for, he could understand the bulk of the passage. He liked the way it sounded as she read, the words rolling off the vampire's tongue and making them sound soft and gentle, when the real meaning behind them was one of death and pain.
She finished a moment later, handing the paper back to the man in the hooded cloak.
Holland spoke from the outer ring of the circle. "He'll be here soon?"
Darla nodded, smiled, then glanced at Spike. "He'll be here. I felt him come home."
Angel stumbled backward and sucked in a breath as he felt the demon inside him struggle to rear up. He felt a painful tug at his heart and then it was gone.
"Angel?" Grace asked, worry evident in her voice. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "I'm fine. Your protection spell worked but . . ." he drew in a shaky breath, "but it came pretty close. I felt it inside me."
"But you're okay now, right?" Cordelia asked, her hand wrapped tightly around a crucifix.
"I'm fine." He stressed, then glanced at Wesley. The younger man had a shaking crossbow trained on Angel's heart and his fingers rested against the trigger. "Uh, Wes?" Angel asked. "Think you could point that thing somewhere else?"
Wesley shook his head briefly and sighed as he lowered the crossbow. "Sorry Angel. But we couldn't be too careful. We'd rather kill you than have you become Angelus."
The vampire smiled. "I know Wes. And I appreciate it."
Grace stood up, staring at the others. "And now what? Do we go now? Or does everyone expect Angel to kill us before he joins them? Because that might take a few minutes."
Cordelia looked thoughtful. "That's a good point. They think we don't know anything about this. So, Y'know, we're just hanging out, having a quiet evening in. I've ordered Chinese food, Wesley's translating the scroll, Angel's taking an evening sip of blood and you're playing around on the computer. Basically a normal night."
Wesley nodded his agreement.
"But then, -bang!" Cordelia continued, "Suddenly Angel's on the floor, rolling around in agony, screaming a bunch of gibberish and we're all freaked. Our friend is getting hurt. Grace runs to his side as he gets up and . . ." she trailed off. "Well, I'll just leave it at that."
"They expect me to kill you guys." Angel murmured, shaking his head. "I'll need blood." He said suddenly.
Wesley grimaced. "What?"
Angel went to the fridge. "Blood. To make it look real." He pulled out a carton and slowly let himself revert to his demon form, then took some of the blood and smeared it on his mouth. "Real?"
Grace made a face at him, then nodded. "Real. Is some of that meant to be mine?"
"If Angelus were to have come out tonight . . ." Angel sighed, "yeah, most of this would probably be yours. I think he'd get more of a kick out of torturing you than anyone else. Not that we need to talk about that though." He walked toward the door, then paused and looked back at his friends. "Are you guys coming, or what?"
Lindsey sighed impatiently as he glanced at his watch. It was nearly quarter to twelve and they needed to start the ritual exactly at midnight. Not that he himself had a burning desire to raise the Master and end life in Los Angeles, but Holland was looking forward to it.
*Where the hell is Angel?* He thought to himself. Lindsey hoped Angel and his friends had known what they were doing. He hoped they'd found a way to stop the vampires from brining back Angelus. Darla said she'd felt him come home, but they could have found some way to stop it.
Lindsey certainly hoped they could.
"Where is he?" Lee growled impatiently. "I'm getting hungry and if this Angelus guy doesn't show up soon, I might have to have a little snack before we start." He murmured, staring at Lilah's neck.
"Try it and I'll break your scrawny little arm." She hissed at him.
Lee took a step backward and raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh now what was that? A little testy are we? That time of the month maybe?"
"Lee, shut up." Holland said pleasantly. "We don't need your mindless gibberish upsetting him."
"Him who?" Lee asked, his lip curling into a sneer.
"Him." Lindsey breathed, staring out into the trees of the park
The vampire followed his gaze to find Angelus standing between two low hanging trees. Both arms were raised, his hands wrapped around branches that were near his head and he had a happy smile on his face.
Drying blood was smeared on his mouth and chin and when he noticed it, he gently licked his lips, ridding himself of some of it. The ridge of bone over his eyebrows was twisted and sticking out more than usual. He smiled at them with a mouth full of teeth, but the smile didn't quite reach his golden eyes. They were still cold and angry.
Lindsey heard a sharp intake of breath and looked over at Drusilla to find her swaying gently with a blissful smile on her face.
"He's come home." She breathed, still swaying.
"That's right baby," Angelus stepped into the light of the fire, "daddy's home."
From the trees, Grace made a face at Cordelia and Wesley. "Daddy?" She asked, struggling to keep her laughter down.
Cordelia shot a worried look in Wesley's direction and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It's going to get pretty scary Grace." He warned. "I don't know if you really want to watch this."
Grace tossed a light smile in Wesley's direction. "I'll be fine Wes. He's just acting."
*Oh God, he's evil!* Lindsey thought, his eyes darting around the park. *How the hell am I going to get out of this now?*
Angel sauntered around the fire, gently stroking his chin and making the blood stick to his hand. He paused for a moment, staring at the remains on his fingers, then laughed.
"Who is it?" Darla asked, motioning to the blood.
Angel shrugged. "A mix. I tasted a little here and a little there." He laughed. "Cordelia was fresh, she's never been tasted before. But I have a feeling ol' Wes let himself get tasted before. He's been used." He licked his fingers and smiled. "But the best was that demon inbred Grace." His eyes closed. "That bitch tasted so good."
Spike smiled. "Anything like Slayer?"
Angel whirled toward him. "Better than Slayer. Better. Have you ever had demon blood? I never knew it tasted so damn good! If I had, I'd be hunting half demon chicks, never mind those Slayers."
"Are they all dead daddy?" Drusilla asked. "All the little do-gooders?"
Angel nodded. "They're dead. I killed them all. And I sang while I did it. You know what I sang?"
Drusilla shook her head and bit her lip in excitement. "Tell me."
"I sang . . . well, I suppose it was more of a hum actually. I hummed really. Because I don't know the words." He paused. "Come to think of it, I don't know if there are any words."
"What was it?" Drusilla asked. She took a step forward and lay her hand on Angel's chest. "Tell me what it was daddy. And tell me what it was like, killing them all. I want to hear the story."
Angel grabbed her hand and the back of her neck, then reached down and kissed her violently. When he let go, Drusilla spun in a circle, giggling madly.
"It's good to be home."
"We have to start now." Holland interrupted suddenly.
Angel turned toward the lawyer. "To raise him." He laughed. "Are you sure you know what you're doing old man? He's not going to be very happy to see humans here when he wakes up. Just like you I suppose. I bet you don't appreciate anyone coming into your bedroom before you get your wig on, do you?"
Holland self consciously touched his hair, then frowned. "Darla told us it would be fine."
"Darla probably just wanted you dead." Angel replied. "He won't take kindly to you and you'll probably all die before the night's over."
*Please let that be true.* Lindsey thought.
"Except maybe you." Angel said, looking over at Lee. "You're one of us." He smiled and held out his hand. "Why don't you help us with the raising?"
Lee glanced nervously at the outstretched hand, then looked at Darla. She smiled gently and nodded to him. Smiling back, Lee placed his hand in Angel's and stepped forward.
Angel pulled him close, into a brotherly hug and Lee disappeared in a cloud of dust. Lilah gasped and took a step back, backing into Lindsey.
"Whoops." Angel murmured, taking a stake out of his jacket. "Looks like I forgot to take that out after my crime fighting days ended." He shrugged and smile. "Oh well. Let's get on with the show."
"He called me a bitch and then he kissed that stupid vampire!" Grace whispered loudly.
"I told you that you might not like it." Cordelia responded. "Besides, this isn't even Angelus at his worst. I betcha the vampires are wondering why he hasn't killed the humans yet."
Grace just shook her head. "But, he's such a jerk."
"Angelus was more that a jerk Grace." Wesley said, looking at her sadly. "He was a cold blooded killer and he loved what he did. Just be happy you've never had to see, let alone deal with, the real thing."
Cordelia tapped them both lightly. "They're starting the whole ritual thing. We have to be ready to back Angel up."
"What if we come up against a human?" Grace asked, nodding at Lindsey and the others.
Cordelia sighed. "Leave Lindsey alone. Beat the hell out of the other three."
Lindsey saw them a few seconds before the ritual began. They were huddled in the trees, mostly hidden from the light. Every once in a while, the fire threw light onto their faces, casting them in an orange glow. He noticed that Grace held a stake clutched in one hand and Wesley had a crossbow trained on Spike.
*Thank you.* He prayed. *He's been acting. Thank you, thank you, thank you.* The four vampires stood around the fire, their hands joined above it. The two members of the cult walked around them in circles, dropping things on the ground and mouthing the words to the spell. Finally they stopped and one tapped Spike on the back.
He licked his lips and said, "The Master will rise."
Darla smiled at him before speaking the same words. Then Drusilla said them rapidly and tried to calm her nervous laughter.
Angel smiled over the fire. "The Master . . ." he spun away from the circle and grabbed Drusilla in a choke hold, pulling her away. Her eyes widened and she clawed at his arm, trying to get him to let her go.
Spike rushed forward, trying to get to Drusilla before Angel could do anything to her. The sounds of a struggle between Darla and Lindsey could be heard as Holland cursed loudly.
"I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear, then shoved the stake into her back.
She exploded into silver dust and Angel stepped through it, meeting Spike in hand to hand combat.
"You bloody jerk." He yelled, punching Angel in the face. "You killed her."
"I set her free." Angel replied, kicking Spike in the stomach.
"Don't move." Someone spoke from behind Spike. He stopped fighting Angel and turned around slowly. Grace was standing there, a crossbow trained on Spike's heart. Wesley had given it to her when he had run to pull Darla away from Lindsey.
"You wouldn't shoot me with that thing. I'm just like your little boyfriend here. Despite the fact that he's a bloody poof and I'm bloody well not."
"You're nothing like Angel." She spoke in a calm and steady voice.
Angel smiled at her. "Do what you have to Grace." Then he stepped out of the way. Her finger tightened on the trigger as the smile slid off Angel's face and he darted toward her. As the arrow flew forward, Spike took advantage of Angel's distraction and stepped out of the way of the flying arrow.
Darla slammed a piece of wood across the side of Grace's head, causing her to fall to the ground and let go to the crossbow. Spike picked it up swiftly and loaded another arrow into it, pointing it at Angel.
"Now I'd think it's my turn to say, don't move." He said, then laughed.
Angel knelt on the ground beside Grace as she struggled to sit up. Blood poured down the side of her face, falling into the dirt.
"I wonder if it's true." Darla mused.
"If what's true?" Angel asked.
She smiled. "If it's true what you said about demon blood. That it's better than the blood of a Slayer." She paused. "But I've never had Slayer's blood, so I have nothing to compare it to. Spike, on the other hand . . ."
Spike stepped over to her, keeping the crossbow trained on Angel, then handed it over to Darla. She smiled and forced Angel to move backward with the crossbow. When she felt he was far enough away, she nodded.
"Go ahead Spike."
He knelt by the demon as she stared at him, her eyes bloodshot and watery. Her head rolled slightly, showing how dizzy she was and how much blood she'd lost. The arm she was using to prop herself up shook and she nearly fell back down to the dirt, but Spike grabbed her arm and held her up.
"You really are a pretty little thing." He murmured, brushing back the hair that wasn't matted with blood. "I could take you home, clean you up a little and turn you into my very own."
"I'd rather die." Grace whispered.
Spike smiled. "I thought you might say that." He let go of her arm and she collapsed forward, leaning against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her, his chin resting on top of her head, so near to the blood he could smell. "But you really don't want to die. I mean, look at Lee over there. He's nothing."
"You're nothing." She breathed. Her breath was coming out short and ragged.
"You might die tonight anyway." Spike told her.
Grace surprised him by laughing. "But I won't be a vampire. And at least I will have died, trying to save lives."
He sniffed her hair, then shoved her away from him. Grace toppled over, lying in the dirt, struggling to breath.
"You're beautiful." He said, leaning over her and licking the blood off the side of her face. "And you taste like heaven." The bone over Spike's eyebrows grew larger and his teeth sharpened into points as he leaned closer. He leaned into her throat, his teeth cutting two small holes and he began to drink what blood was left inside of her.
"Spike don't!" Angel yelled from where Darla had him pinned against a tree. "Don't!"
"I'm fine Angel." She tried to call to him, but her voice was too weak.
Spike came away from her for a few seconds and smiled. "You know what I'm going to do, don't you?"
She nodded slowly, her eyes closed.
"You're going to love it with us." He said, then leaned down once more to finish draining her.
"You stay away from her!" Lindsey yelled, grabbing Spike's collar and pulling him off Grace. He threw the vampire onto the ground and ran after him. Spike looked completely shocked as the lawyer leaned over him and wrapped his hand around Spike's neck.
Darla glanced over in surprise and Angel took advantage of it by grabbing the crossbow and ripping it from her hands. He turned it around and pointed it at her, but she was long gone by the time he had the arrow ready to be fired.
Grace still lay on the ground, barely breathing as Spike and Lindsey fought in the dirt. Angel had never expected the lawyer, of all people to come to Grace's rescue. As he looked around, he found Wesley battling angrily with Holland and was surprised to find the senior partner putting up a good fight. Cordelia had Lilah backed up against and a tree and punched her hard enough to knock her out.
Angel went to Grace. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, her eyes still closed. "Help the others. They need you. I can hear them."
Angel bit his lip, gently touched her forehead, then got to his feet. He pulled Spike off Lindsey and threw him against a tree. Then, without thinking, he reached down and offered a hand to the fallen lawyer. Lindsey took the offered hand and stood up beside Angel, both of them facing the bleached blonde vampire.
Spike stood and growled at them, angrily showing them his teeth.
Before he could do anything, Cordelia was beside Angel, standing up to the vampire. The three of them stood there, staring at him until he backed away and disappeared into the night.
"Where's Lilah?" Angel asked, when Spike had finally gone.
Cordelia smiled. "Over there, lying on the ground. I told Grace if she came up against any lawyers to just beat the hell outta them. I took my own advice."
They turned to find Darla picking up the female lawyer and lowering her head into her throat.
"No!" Angel yelled, running toward them. By the time he had crossed the park, Darla had dropped the corpse at her feet, tossed a casual smile in Angel's direction and taken off after Spike.
He reached Lilah's fallen body and bent down, trying to find a pulse.
Cordelia and Lindsey caught up to him a moment later and he shook his head sadly. "She's dead. Darla got in at least one good kill tonight."
Wesley joined them, a little breathless. "The older one ran off. He's a good fighter though. And speaking of good kills, we need to get Grace to a hospital before she loses any more blood."
Angel nodded. "Pull my car up onto the walk. It'll be better if we don't have to move her as far." He tossed Wesley the keys, then glanced back at Grace.
"Cordelia, I'll need you to take her legs. She's probably going to be pretty close to dead weight and it might be a little heavy. I'll grab her arms and,"
"I can help." Lindsey interrupted. He glanced at the prosthetic hand and shrugged slightly. "Or, at least I can try."
"I think we've had enough of your help tonight Lindsey." Angel said. "Go home and get some sleep."
Lindsey nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm not welcome." He began to walk toward the place his car was parked.
"I meant that." Angel called after him.
Lindsey glanced back. "Meant what?"
"Your help. It made all the difference. If it hadn't been for those phone calls . . ." he trailed off.
Lindsey shrugged. "What phone calls?"
Angel cracked a slight smile. "Just . . . thanks."
Lindsey turned back toward his car, not wanting the vampire and his friends to see the smile on his face.
Grace opened her eyes slowly to find Angel and Cordelia standing over her. Her head throbbed whenever she moved, but at least she was alive.
"Hi." Cordelia said, smiling at her. "How do you feel?"
"Everything hurts." Grace moaned. "But I'm still breathing."
"Yeah, Darla did quite the number on you." Angel said.
"And Spike didn't help matters." Cordelia added.
Grace smiled slightly. "Thanks guys, but I do remember what happened. That chunk of fire wood was pretty heavy. We should have taken it home. Made it a piece of memorabilia. Y'know, 'the chunk of wood Grace nearly got killed with'."
Angel smiled back at her. "If we did stuff like that for all of us, I don't think there would be room in this place for us."
"Where's Wes?" Grace asked. "He's okay right?"
Cordelia nodded. "We're all fine. A few bumps and bruises, but as you said, we're still breathing."
"The other side got the worst of it." Angel said.
"Drusilla's gone." Cordelia told her. "You saw that. But Darla also got a hold of Lilah. She killed her. Wesley said Holland was hurt quite a bit too and Lindsey got beat up pretty bad." She shrugged. "But maybe we can't count that as the other side getting hit."
Grace frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Lindsey pulled Spike off you just in time." Angel told her. "He saved your life."
"He . . . Lindsey saved me?" She asked.
Cordelia nodded. "It was a little scary. And now we don't know what to do. I mean, is he still our mortal enemy? Or do we take what he did as an offering of peace?"
"I am less than impressed at our current situation." Holland said, staring at the people that stood in front of his desk. "I thought we would have much more control than this. Less back stabbing and none of this going against your own side."
Lindsey glanced down at the floor, even though he knew the senior partner wasn't talking to him. Darla and Spike stood there as well.
"Darla, you killed one of our best lawyers." Holland said.
"I've always hated that bitch." She replied.
Holland sighed. "I can, however, commend all of you on your fabulous fighting. Spike and Darla, you nearly killed Grace and that was great. She won't be fighting for a while. And Lindsey when you took on Angel like you did . . ." he trailed off, "it was just wonderful. I'm really sorry he gave you that black eye though. And your jaw must hurt like hell."
Lindsey nodded, gently rubbing the bruise that spread across the side of his face and down his neck. "It does sir. But it was all worth it. Saving the firm . . . everything."
Holland nodded. "Thanks again, all of you. I can guarantee our next try won't fail." He paused. "The one thing I never figured out . . . how did they know what was going on."
"The scroll." Spike hissed. "Lindsey told us they have the scroll of Aberjian. Everything in Angel's life is laid out there. If they have it all translated, then they know everything."
Holland smiled. "Well, we'll just have to make our next plan a better one. You may go."
As they walked into the hall, Spike slammed an elbow into Lindsey's side and pushed him up against the wall. "I've never liked you. And what you did last night just makes it worse. You're a traitor and a back stabber. You think you can keep it a secret from Holland that you attacked me to save Angel's sweetie? He's going to find out and when he does . . . I bloody well want to be there."
Lindsey pushed Spike's arm away. "When I decide to tell him, I'll let you know. Besides," he cast a glance at Darla, "I'm not the only traitor standing here."
"I was hungry." She said defensively.
"Yeah, tell that to Lilah. Oh that's right, you can't. She's dead." Lindsey snarled at her. He glanced back at Spike. "Don't talk to me about back stabbing when we have it's queen right here. We are not on the same side. We never were on the same side." He turned and began to walk away.
"So who's side are you on then?" Spike called after him. "Angel's side?"
"I'm on no one's side." Lindsey replied. "From now on, I only do what's good for me."
The End