Buffy walked into the living room and looked over to where Lindsey was lounging on the sofa.

"How'd it go?" he asked as he clicked the tv off.

"Spike and Angel were there," she told him as she slid her jacket off and laid it over a nearby chair.

"You don't say?" he asked with amusement.

She studied him before adding, "Darla Chambers was too, and Riley arrested her for wearing Mrs. Whitaker's broach."

All amusement was gone in an instant as he leaned forward to study her intently. "Maybe it's time we had Snyder, Chambers, and Perry picked up. If Darla actually is Nemesis, you could be in danger."

Buffy shook her head as her expression became unreadable. "Not yet," she answered firmly before turning away and lightening her voice. "Besides, how dangerous can I be to them? They have me on video shooting an FBI agent."

He watched with a troubled frown as she headed up the stairs.

"Gunn," Angel murmured as he looked at the man standing over his desk. "Did you have any luck?"

"No. We checked into leads and looked at a few bodies, but we didn't find out anything about Linds. I hate to say it, but I think most of the leads we got were from people interested in the $25,000 reward."

Spike scowled from where he was sitting at his desk. "I know if he's dead we need to find the body, but I'm glad we haven't come across it yet."

"We spent hours talking to people and putting up fliers," Fred spoke up. She suddenly frowned. "Well, I did... Charles doesn't speak spanish, but he's getting better at it." She hesitated before looking at them tiredly. "Did you guys come up with anything on this end?"

"Nothing, other than Lindsey being caught on camera with Luke Perry on the day he disappeared," Spike answered as he dug through a desk drawer before pulling out a file and handing it to her. "He's got a record, but he's been clean for the last 7 years. Runs The Lucky Dollar gambling casino."

"And you talked to him?" Gunn asked.

Angel nodded. "He says he doesn't know anything, but we've got him on tape with Reginald Snyder and Darla Chambers on the night Linds disappeared."

"Darla's the one that keeps coming up in Nemesis's case, isn't she?" Gunn asked.

"Yeah," Spike answered. "She was caught with a piece of stolen jewelry a couple of days ago. Riley's convinced she's the right woman."

"What about you?" Fred asked.

Spike narrowed his eyes before giving a shake of his head. "Angel and I aren't as sure."

"And you think Lindsey's case and Nemesis's are linked?"

"It seems logical," Angel answered grimly.

Silence fell. "So what now?" Gunn asked.

"As of today, Riley and Xander are trailing Darla," Spike stated. "Angel and I have been discussing doing the same with a girl we've been watching."

"What about Luke Perry?" Gunn asked. "Fred and I can keep an eye on him if you think it's necessary."

Angel smiled. "We were hoping you'd suggest that."

"You've got company," Lindsey murmured as Buffy walked inside after her morning jog.

"I know," she answered before heading into the kitchen to pour a glass of juice. She put the container away before glancing back toward the door and wasn't surprised to see Lindsey leaning against the wall studying her.

"So I take it O'Connor and Pryce have come up with a reason to keep a closer eye on you?"

"Seems that way," she agreed as she sat at the counter. "If they keep following me like this, it could be a problem."

"Maybe not, at least you'd have a good chance of having help near you if you needed it."

"Uh-huh. And if Snyder and Perry think I'm working with the FBI, someone could get hurt."

"Oh... right." Lindsey looked thoughtful as he pushed away from the wall. "I hadn't thought about that."

Angel took a sip of coffee as he watched Buffy's driveway before noticing Spike's scowl as he flipped his phone closed. "What's going on?"

"Penn's dead. He was killed this morning during a stint in the exercise yard."

Angel leaned back. "Who did it?"

"No one knows. Of the four guards that were on duty, one was taking a private call, one was in the restroom, and the other two were having a conversation about sports."

Angel stared thoughtfully out the windshield. It wasn't unusual for fights to break out in prison, but it wasn't normal for them to turn deadly. Not that there hadn't been killings there before, but it seemed odd that he'd turned up dead less than a week after they'd tried to get him to spill what he knew about Nemesis. "Any of the prisoners talking?"

"No... and want to know what's really strange?" Spike hesitated, let a silence fall. "He's missing his tongue and an ear."

Angel cursed quietly before giving a shake of his head. "It's a warning. Someone's making a statement."

"That's my take on it," Spike agreed grimly before nudging his partner and picking up the camera sitting on the seat. "Isn't that Snyder?"

Angel glanced at the black car that was turning into Buffy's driveway before picking up the binoculars and training them on the man that had just gotten out of the car. "Yeah, I think it is."

10 minutes later:

Buffy watched Snyder leave with narrowed eyes before opening the manila envelope he'd given her. There was a sheet of paper and a dvd in a case. She glanced at the unmarked disk before skimming the note as both fear and anger ran through her. After she'd read it, she dropped the note on the coffee table and stared out the window. They wanted her to rob Central Bank on 42nd street in two days. They wanted her to take Penn's place.

"Buffy."

The voice broke through her racing thoughts, and she turned to see Lindsey coming down the stairs. "Are you okay? You look pale."

She turned back to the coffee table numbly before grabbing the dvd and holding it out to him. "Snyder just dropped this off."

He looked at it with a frown before taking it. "Did he say what it was?"

"No, but I've got an idea," she answered tonelessly.

His expression hardened, and he headed toward the dvd player as she slid the note into her pocket before going to help him.

The tv flickered to life to show Buffy holding a gun on Lindsey. Her words came through loud and clear before there was the sound of gunshots that had him slumping in his chair, blood soaking through the front of his shirt.

She turned away with a knot in her stomach as the screen went blank. "You could have died."

"We both could have," he answered grimly before adding, "Did they send a note?"

"No," she lied.

His brows pulled together and he swung around to face her. "There's no note?" he asked with disbelief.

She met his eyes before shrugging. "Maybe they sent it as a warning... Just in case I wanted to tell what happened."

"A warning," he repeated skeptically.

"I don't know..." she threw her hands out in a helpless gesture. "Maybe they..." she broke off and rubbed at her forehead. "I could have killed you."

Silence fell as he looked at her grimly before shaking his head. "It didn't happen." She didn't look at him, and he continued, "In my job," he stated quietly, "you have to be prepared for violence. I'm just sorry you got drug into it."

Her expression was troubled when she slowly lifted her head to look at him.

"Hey," he murmured before giving a half smile. "We'll get through this... alright?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "We'll get through this."

She almost panicked the next morning when she came back from a jog and found the front door locked. Nausea built, and she found herself wondering if Luke and Snyder had found out Lindsey was alive. "Linds," she called as she knocked on the door.

It opened, and she studied him with relief as he gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry if I scared you. I was just trying to see if I could pick the lock."

Cautious amusement ran through her as she walked inside. "Riley wouldn't be impressed with your desire to pick locks."

"I know. But he's not my partner at the moment, so I'm a little more concerned about impressing you."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Impressing me..." she murmured as she turned to him. "That depends on whether you managed to pick the lock or not."

He frowned. "Not... yet, but I think I was close."

She couldn't help it, she grinned as her eyes sparked with amusement. "And what do you want to break into?"

"Riley and I found a storage unit that was in Darla's name a few weeks ago, and we didn't have any grounds to get a search warrant." He shrugged. "I thought... since I'm not technically working for Walsh at the moment, I could find out what's in it."

Silence fell before Buffy slowly nodded. "Riley mentioned something about that on the cruise. He said the unit was large enough to hide a car in."

"Yeah, it is." Lindsey scowled at the front door before looking back at her. "But I'm going to have to get a lot better at picking locks before I can break into it."

She studied him thoughtfully. "What about security cameras?"

"What?"

"Security cameras Linds. They're the things that take videos of crimes being committed."

He rolled his eyes before running a hand through his hair. "I don't know... but I suppose there are cameras there."

She continued to study him thoughtfully. "Want to find out?"

He gave a faint smile. "Yeah, but we'll have to ditch Angel and Spike first."

"I take it she knows she's being followed," Angel stated an hour later after they'd followed Buffy on a 30 minute walk through a wooded area, only to watch her get into her own car and drive away when she reached the road.

"It looks like it," Spike agreed. "And someone had to drive her car to meet her. It was parked in front of her house when she left."

"Probably the same person that opened her door this morning," Angel answered as they started back toward their car.

"Yeah." Spike shifted around a branch. "I wonder if we'd recognize the driver."

Angel rubbed at the back of his neck. They'd only been following her for two days, and Snyder had already paid her a visit, and she'd ditched them. None of it looked good, and he gave an irritated shake of his head.

"She doesn't want us following her," Spike broke in quietly, "but that doesn't mean..."

"I know," Angel cut him off, "but it doesn't mean she's innocent either."

Silence fell as they continued to walk before Spike broke it, "Do you think Darla and Buffy are working together?"

Angel snorted. "Not if we're right about Nemesis trying to set Darla up. Manuel's very detailed."

"That seems logical," Spike answered, "unless Darla set herself up to take the fall."

Angel stopped walking. "You mean to make it look like she was set up?"

"It's possible."

Silence fell. "You have to admit this case isn't boring."

"No. A long way from it," Spike agreed as they started walking again.

Buffy walked through the storage unit parking lot with Lindsey and took in everything from the fact there weren't any cameras, to the easy to pick locks used to secure the units. Her gaze swept over the quiet area. There were cornfields to the right and only one farmhouse on the left... and it looked like it might be abandoned.

"Her unit's seventeen," Lindsey stated.

"You're sure? It's been a few weeks, Linds."

"Seventeen," he repeated. "Riley made a comment it matched the last 2 digits of her license plate."

Buffy couldn't stop from smiling. That sounded like something Riley would say.

Two hours later, Lindsey was sitting in the passenger's seat trying to pick a lock similar to the ones on the storage units. "Any luck?" she asked as she tapped fingers on the steering wheel.

"Almost," he told her as he scowled at the lock before smiling when it clicked open.

Buffy grinned at the quiet shout of triumph he gave. "Alright... now do it again."

He nodded as he continued to concentrate on the lock, and she looked at him with amusement before looking over the crowded mall parking lot they were parked in. "I'll be right back," she told him as she climbed out of the car and started toward the nearest entrance.

She needed to make a couple of phone calls, one to a very trusted friend. The same one that had repainted Angel's car and was allowing her to use his semi-trailer to store it in. She grinned. If everything went alright with her call to Clem, she'd call Angel after that.

Spike opened the foil that was wrapped around his hamburger before taking a bite and making a quiet sound of appreciation. "This is good stuff."

Angel rolled his eyes. "At least it's something other than potato chips."

"Hey... There's nothing wrong with potato chips mate," Spike protested.

Angel started to open his foil wrapped hamburger before his phone rang, and he stopped to answer it. "Angel." His head came up at the voice on the other end of the line. "Buffy?" he asked before going silent for several seconds. "Tomorrow night? Yeah, I'm free. Where do you want to meet?" A couple of seconds passed before he added, "I'll be there." Another second later, he was flipping the phone closed and turning to Spike. "She asked me on a date."

Spike sat up with interest. "Now we're talking."

"Go on Spike, I know you're dying to say it."

His partner grinned. "You've got to get a look at her thigh mate."

"She's not stupid, you know," Angel told him thoughtfully.

"No, but you could at least try, couldn't you?"

"Yeah," Angel agreed. "I could at least do that."

The lock clicked open a few hours later, and Lindsey looked up with a smile that caused Buffy to shake her head. You know Riley would have a fit, don't you?"

"Yeah, but if I'm lucky, he won't find out." He pushed the rolling garage door up before giving a quiet curse when he saw the beautiful pink car inside and he walked over to it. "The keys are in the ignition," he stated as he looked in the window before circling to the back to see the 'Angels' license plate.

"Are you sure it's the right one?" she asked.

"Yeah. But I don't understand the keys. I'm pretty sure O'Connor didn't make it that easy for her to steal his car."

Buffy shrugged. "She must have had new ones made."

"That would have been risky," he stated before frowning... "but everything she does is risky."

Silence fell, and Lindsey grabbed the keys out of the ignition and opened the trunk. Buffy hid her smile when he didn't say anything for a long moment before he shifted so he could see her. "It looks like all the stolen property's here," he informed grimly.

"Alright," she started carefully. "So it's possible Darla's Nemesis and is hiding her identity from her mobster friends... That must be fun for her. But we still need to find out who Perry and Snyder's boss is."

Lindsey shook his head. "We need to call Walsh and come clean."

"No. We need to take down the guys that tried to make me kill you... And we've got to figure out a way to make Spike and Angel stop following me, because I think we both know they're not wearing bulletproof vests, Linds."

"That's just another reason to let Walsh know what's happening," he answered.

"Or you could take the GTX out while Angel and I are on our date, and help convince him I'm not Nemesis. They could find someone else to follow, and we could wait for Snyder and Perry to contact me again."

He rolled his eyes. "Even if I was to agree to that, what makes you think Darla wouldn't move the car when she found out someone was driving it around town? We'd lose," he shook his head, "everything, Buffy. All the evidence would be gone."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Don't you guys have some kind of gps system to keep track of cars now?"

"We could pick something up," he answered, "and if she moves it in the next few days, at least know where it went."

Buffy nodded. "So it's a plan? We'll get you a large hat, maybe some white gloves... a little makeup, Angel's car, and you'll be able to fool the best of them."

He shot her a scowl, and she couldn't stop from giving a slow smile before sobering. "They'd be safer if they stopped following me, and it might even convince them to take a second look at Darla."

He rubbed at the back of his neck before giving a reluctant nod. "Alright, Buffy, but I don't like it."

They were back at the mall again, and Lindsey walked out of Radio Shack and began to make his way toward the exit. If he was lucky, he could beat Buffy back to the car... or at least that was the plan.

He adjusted his glasses and ignored the group of teenagers that laughed as he walked by. It was true he didn't need sunglasses when it was so late in the day, and he didn't need the old coat he was wearing since the heat index was in the 80s... or the old hat with fishing lures and a floppy brim. He also doubted he'd run into anyone he knew, but it was too risky to chance...

It was also true he could have had Buffy get the gps unit while he sat in the car, but there was something else he wanted to pick up that he didn't want her to know about. He shifted the plastic bag he was holding as he walked past the movie theater. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It was more about getting solid proof of who Nemesis was... and he had to admit he was looking forward to seeing if the intelligent thief could get past the trap he had in mind.

"Did you find what you were after?"

He frowned and turned toward Buffy. "Yeah," he answered as he tried to keep her from getting a good look at the bag he was carrying. It was larger than a gps called for, but maybe she wouldn't know that.

She studied him before nodding. "Alright," she finally murmured before holding out the box she was carrying and pulling the car keys out of her pocket. "Would you mind taking the pizza to the car while I make a quick trip to the bathroom?"

He grinned as he took the box and keys. "Sure thing, Darling. I'll meet you there."

"Thanks." She turned toward the restrooms and walked a few steps before turning back to watch as he disappeared into the crowd. A moment later, she headed for Radio Shack.

The girl behind the counter looked bored, and Buffy walked up to her with a friendly smile. "My boyfriend was just in here. He was wearing a coat, sunglasses, and a fishing hat." She rolled her eyes. "I really have to clean out his wardrobe."

The girl behind the counter laughed before nodding. "He left about 3 minutes ago."

"He was pretty excited about his purchase," Buffy continued before shaking her head. "I'm not sure what it was, but he told me he might have to have two of them, and I need to get him a birthday present. Anyway, I was hoping you could help me out with that."

The girl grinned as she walked from behind the counter and disappeared for a minute back into the aisles. "I think this is what you're after." She laid a couple of items on the counter several seconds later.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed absently as she looked at the gps unit and trail camera with narrowed eyes before looking up at the girl with a forced smile. "He always was the outdoors type."

"A lot of guys are," the redhead agreed as she rang up the sale. Buffy paid in cash and left her purchase on a mall bench a couple of minutes later before heading toward the car.

She was still frowning the next morning as she poured a glass of orange juice before dropping onto a chair at the kitchen table. She'd been awake half the night wondering what Lindsey planned to do with his trail camera. Whatever it was, he wasn't in a hurry to fill her in on it. He hadn't even admitted to buying one.

"Hey."

She looked up as he walked into the kitchen. There was another thing bothering her and now was as good a time as any to bring it up. "Linds... You don't think they'd put a tracking unit on my car, do you?"

"Who?" he asked as he pulled eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator.

"Angel and Spike."

"It's illegal unless they can clear it with the higher-ups, and I don't think they've got the evidence on you to do that."

"That may be how it's supposed to work, but I get the impression Angel and Spike aren't as 'by the book' as Riley," she answered.

"They're good agents," he stated seriously as he cracked an egg in a pan before throwing the shell in the trash and turning to her. "They won't break the law to try to bring in a criminal. They're too smart for that."

"What about you? Aren't you breaking the law by putting a tracker on Angel's car?"

He grinned and turned back to put a couple of pieces of bacon in the pan. "It's not illegal for the owner of a car to track it."

Amusement flashed in her green eyes. "What does that have to do with you tracking it?"

"Believe me, if I asked O'Connor if it was okay to track his stolen car, he'd say yes."

She grinned before getting up to put her glass in the sink. If she was going to make a bet, it would be that he was going to put the camera near Darla's storage unit. She wished she could be certain though, but there wasn't anything she could do about it now. "Guess I'll take off," she murmured as she started out of the room. "See you when I get back?"

"Yeah," he answered as he took a plate out of the cabinet. "I wouldn't want to disappear now... Someone has to play Nemesis tonight."

She glanced at him with amusement, and he couldn't stop from frowning as he watched her turn to go. The front door opened and closed, and he looked into the living room to make sure she was gone before making a quick call for a taxi and heading back up the stairs. He needed to set up the camera at the storage unit, and there wouldn't be a better time than when Buffy was jogging.

A few hours later:

Buffy shifted away from Angel. They'd danced the last three songs, and she walked back to their table and picked up her drink before smiling when Angel's arms slid around her waist. He'd been hitting on her all night, not that she was complaining, and she leaned back against him.

"Want to play a game of pool?" he asked as his arms tightened.

Her eyes lit with amusement. "I won the last one, you know."

"I know. That's why I didn't think you'd mind placing a bet. Two out of three games, the winner decides what we do after the date." He dropped a kiss on top of her head and released her before watching as she turned toward him and glanced at her watch.

"The winner decides what we do *after* the date?" she repeated.

He shrugged. "Ice cream? Coffee? A dance in the parking lot," he hesitated, "maybe somewhere else."

She shook her head before giving him a warm smile. "Alright... but let's play a warm-up game first."

An hour later, he'd won the first two games when his cell phone rang, and he scowled as he pulled it out of his pocket. "Sorry," he murmured as he silently cursed the timing before flipping it open and pressing it to his ear. His frown deepened when Spike's voice came over the line.

"My car?" he asked after a moment of silence as he turned to look at Buffy. "Are you sure it's mine?" His eyes narrowed as he watched hers light with warm amusement. "Alright. I want to know if they catch her. Thanks." He punched the phone off.

"They found your car?"

"They think so. Nemesis seems to be taking it for a spin."

"Really? That's great." She turned to put her pool cue back on the rack before taking a sip of her sprite and starting to head back toward the tables.

"You're done playing?" he asked with a scowl, his pool cue still in his hand. "I thought we were going to have a warm-up game and then go for two out of three?"

She stopped, turned back. "I thought you'd probably want to look for your car. I mean, now's your chance to..." she broke off when the waitress walked over.

"Sir," the brunette turned to Angel. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I've got a note for a Mr. O'Connor and you fit his description."

"I'm Angel O'Connor."

"A lady just brought this in for you." She held out a familiar looking pink envelope, and he cast a quick suspicious look at Buffy before taking it with a frown.

"Thank you," he offered before suddenly turning to look at the waitress that was walking away. "Miss?"

"Yes?" She turned back.

"She just brought it in?"

"Yeah. She said a woman in a cool car gave her five dollars to make sure you got the note, and," she shot an apologetic glance at Buffy, "she got the impression she wasn't happy you were here with a date."

"Must be the jealous type," Buffy answered as Angel quickly headed for the door.

He'd just made it into the parking lot when he spotted the GTX leaving, the blonde at the wheel waved a gloved hand before peeling out of the lot, and he couldn't stop from staring after her with frustration before stalking back inside and scowling when he couldn't find Buffy.

"Sir," the waitress hurried toward him again, and Angel glowered as she looked him over with more interest than she'd shown while Buffy had been there. "She left you this."

He took the napkin she held out and looked at it with frustration. In large looping letters was the message, 'Three's a crowd.' His frown deepened before he looked back up. "Where'd she go?"

"Out the back." She motioned toward a door, and he quickly headed toward it.

He was sitting in the car with annoyance a couple of minutes later. The note supposedly from Nemesis was nothing more than a taunt. The note from Buffy, Angel frowned and flipped open his cell phone, could be a legitimate note from a woman that had just had her date interrupted. He ran a hand through his hair before closing his eyes and waiting for Spike to pick up.

"You lost her?" The bleached blonde rolled his eyes. "How could you lose a woman you're sitting at a table with?" The reply came back, and Spike sighed. "Alright... Look, I just meant..." Angel cut in, and Spike dropped his head back on the sofa. "You're kidding? A woman that was either Nemesis or pretending to be, showed up at the club? How do you suppose she knew you'd be there?" Another reply and Spike gave a short nod. "The car being driven around town tonight is your car, Angel. The pictures started going online a few minutes ago. The driver's blonde, and wearing a large black hat that's tied with a scarf, a white jacket, and short white gloves." There was a last retort, and Spike broke the connection and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.

Bob took another sip of coffee, his eyes glued on the bank. "Wouldn't it be something to be the one to capture Nemesis?"

His partner glanced at him, shook his head. "This isn't Nemesis... but I wish it was." Randy bit into a donut and chewed before adding, "I mean, I'd love to catch her and put the big boys in their place, but this isn't even her mo."

"It's close," Bob defended.

"Yeah, but Nemesis sends notes letting us know where she'll strike ahead of time. This was a phone call from a man saying he thought the bank would be hit tonight."

Bob nodded sadly. "Yeah, but it could be her."

Randy shot him a small grin. He understood his partners' yearning to get into the action. Bringing down Nemesis was every L.A. cop's dream, and the embarrassment it would bring the FBI would be icing on the cake. It had turned into a contest between the two law enforcement agencies. "It could be her," he agreed as he settled further into his seat. "Of course, if it is, she might get past us."

"If someone shows up and tries to get into that building tonight, they're not getting past us."

His partner grinned and finished his donut.

Something felt off tonight, and Buffy hesitated before deciding to take a slow drive past the bank she had instructions to rob. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted the large white van, and she looked at it suspiciously before parking a couple of blocks away when she found a free space. A moment later, she got out and walked down the nearest alley. It didn't surprise her when she noticed another white van parked behind the building. It was a setup, and she took an uneasy breath before heading back to her car.

She was good at what she did, but there was no way she could come close to pulling this off without being arrested. She rubbed at her forehead as she leaned against the BMW before giving a quiet curse as she realized what she was going to have to do. It wasn't her game anymore, but it was her move. She purposely walked away from the car, and the duffel bag in the trunk holding her lock picking tools, mask, and gloves. Nemesis wasn't going to be the one going down tonight, it was going to be Buffy Summers.

She walked the block back to the bank before narrowing her eyes when she was almost even with the entrance. Something besides the cops waiting for her looked wrong. If she didn't know better... She stopped and made a quick change of plans, made a show of looking at the door before heading back to her car with an easy jog. It wasn't much, but if what she suspected was true, her new 'boss' had left her a way out... even if they'd also set her up to be arrested.

An hour and a half later, Buffy was sitting in an LAPD interrogation room. She didn't bother to turn around when she heard the "Good evening, Mr. O'Connor," the guard gave. Her frown deepened instead, and she listened to his steps as he walked toward the table before he finally settled into the chair across from her. It wasn't like she couldn't blur the lines on what happened. It was more about the wound to her pride the arrest had caused, and the anger she felt at being in this position to begin with... and now, she slowly lifted her head and looked into chocolate eyes, she had to deal with Angel.

"Buffy," he murmured before he looked away. They had her, but he couldn't keep from thinking about Lindsey and how he hoped she wasn't responsible for his disappearance.

One thing at a time, he decided grimly as he turned back toward her. "I don't have the authority to make deals, but..." he gave a slow shake of his head, "things will be easier if you return the stolen items." She didn't say anything, and he purposefully looked into her eyes. "Please," he stressed quietly, "don't drag this out and make it worse."

Even with the knot in her stomach, she couldn't keep from looking at him with interest. "Is this the way you usually get acknowledgments of guilt, Angel? Because I have to tell you, having you begging... It's got appeal."

He frowned, his eyes serious. "Buffy..."

"Mr. O'Connor," Lilah's voice cut through the room as the clicking of her heels came closer to the table. "Is it customary for you to sneak into interrogation rooms after the legal council has stepped out?"

He turned toward the brunette with surprise before settling back in his chair and looking at Buffy with an unreadable expression.

"I'm innocent," Buffy stated. She didn't have anything to do with Lilah acting as her lawyer. The woman had shown up on her own about two minutes after she'd been brought in.

He snorted, Lilah's presence almost a direct sign of guilt as far as he was concerned, and his expression turned skeptical. "Then why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Mr. O'Connor," Lilah broke in, "if you must know, my client was merely passing by the bank when she noticed something unusual. She pushed on the door and it was already open."

"Really?" Angel asked as he glanced at the lawyer. "That's just..." he looked back at Buffy, "unbelievable."

Buffy frowned before looking into brown eyes. "The glass on the door was broken, Angel. All you have to do is look at the surveillance footage. I was driving by, thought it looked odd, parked the car and walked closer... saw the glass and went back to my car before deciding to go back and check it out." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm definitely spending too much time around law enforcement... because crime is starting to interest me," she breathed with calculation.

Voices came from the front offices, and Angel glanced at the door expectantly as he recognized them. Riley Finn walked into the room with Bert following. "Buffy, are you okay?" the blonde asked with concern. "I've explained everything."

She looked up with a smile. "Yes. Thank you." A moment later, she turned to look at Bert. "Can I leave now?"

"Uh... yeah," he shot an apologetic look at Angel for calling him when it was a simple misunderstanding, "but please stay in the area, Ms. Summers."

"Will do." Buffy agreed as she got to her feet.

"Excuse me," Lilah broke in, "but what exactly did you explain?"

Riley looked at the brunette. "Buffy called to tell me she thought something was wrong at the bank, and I told her I'd be right down." He frowned before turning to look pointedly at the blonde. "Of course, she never did listen to reason and went ahead and explored on her own."

"Really?" Lilah turned cool brown eyes to Buffy's equally cool green. "Just more evidence of her innocence," she murmured with a forced smile.

Angel was looking at her with narrowed eyes when Buffy turned to him, and her eyes glinted mischievously as she studied the good looking agent.

"Smart thinking, Ms. Summers," he gave a slow nod of acknowledgment. "And I hope I can have a rain check?"

She nodded before glancing at her watch and looking back at the assembled group. "It's late, and I'm tired. So if there aren't anymore questions, I think I'll head home."

There wasn't, and Angel watched as Buffy left with Riley on her heels. Sinking back into his chair, he was still staring thoughtfully at the door before Bert sat across from him. "We'll check through the surveillance footage and I'll send you a copy of the report. I'm not supposed to, but since we're working together on Nemesis, this could arguably be important to that case."

"Thanks." Angel looked up tiredly before running a hand through his hair. "I'll look forward to it, but now I think Buffy has the right idea." He got to his feet with a shake of his head. Nothing about this was right, not the crime, not the excuses, and if he was correct about who she was, not the person arrested. Somehow he doubted Nemesis would allow herself to be caught so easily. He frowned. Something was wrong... but he didn't have a clue what it was.

"How'd it go?"

Buffy kicked off her tennis shoes before dropping her purse on the sofa and glancing at Lindsey. She hadn't told him about Snyder's order to rob a bank... the only thing he knew was that she'd been on a date with Angel, and she wasn't in the mood to fill him in. Yes, she'd gotten out of it, but that didn't mean she would next time... She gave a faint forced smile and shrugged before walking into the kitchen to pour some juice. She needed a plan if she was going to...

A chuckle brought her out of her thoughts. "Was a date with O'Connor really that bad?"

She turned toward him and noticed for the first time his wide smile and sparkling eyes before she gave a shake of her head. "My night was... eyeopening," she answered. "How was yours?"

"It was amazing. Everywhere I went, people cheered."

Buffy couldn't stop a slow smile. "Maybe you went into the wrong line of work."

"Oh, no." He dropped onto a stool with a shake of his head. "I also had a blue car that was tailing me. I barely managed to lose them before making it back to the storage unit."

"Mmmm," she nodded. "It scared you straight?"

He gave a snort and rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I'd get caught if I tried to steal a candy bar from a grocery store." Silence fell, and he looked back at her curiously. "You know, you still haven't told me how your date went."

Buffy sighed before telling him about her night, how Snyder had left a note with the dvd, and how she hadn't told him because she hadn't wanted to get him involved. She did her best to do damage control when he worriedly began to make suggestions on how to keep her safe.