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Chapter 45- The Thin Dead Line
"This one's not boring, right?" Dawnster asked again.
"Nope, but it makes you uncomfortable", Summers said with a sigh.
"Let's just see it", Buffy said as she turned the recording on.
At night, Angel's convertible pulled up in front of the Hyperion. Angel slowly crossed the hotel lobby, looking around. He looked down at the books and papers on the counter, pushing them off. Turning around to survey the lobby, he crossed his arms and looked down while Wesley held the door to their new office open, looking out. He talked with Cordelia and Gunn, picking up a newspaper, and Cordelia quipped they could find where Steven Segal lived, since he couldn't be a movie star without a little demonic assistance.
"Amen!" Dawn said in agreement.
"Yeah, his acting and movies are pretty terrible", Xander agreed. "And I say that as an action fan."
"He's a jerk too", Harris added.
"Maybe he did have demonic assistance", Willow shrugged.
"Wouldn't surprise me", Tara agreed.
Gunn said they needed to let things be quiet to which Wesley said quiet was good for mankind but bad for business. They argued a little when the door opened and a woman walked in with her girl, introducing herself as Francine and her daughter as Stephanie, saying she was a friend of Virginia, and was looking for them as they specialized in strange phenomenon. Cordelia eventually noticed there was an eye blinking on the back of Stephanie's head, staring at them. Wesley and Gunn came to take a look as Wesley put his finger in front of the eye and moved it, the eye tracking it.
Now that made chills run down everyone's spine, even the future people who had seen this once.
"Eye in the back of…." Buffy trailed off. "Huh?"
"It's…..icky", Dawnster said.
"Skilosh Demon", Giles said as he remembered. "Humanoid, asexual Demon species who have a third eye in the back of their heads."
"She doesn't look humanoid or asexual", Xander said.
"They have a method of replication", Giles explained. "Specifically, they inject their spawn into the back of host's skull using their long, forked tongues. As a result, in only an hour, the Skilosh spawn manifests in the form of a third eye located in the back of the victim's skull and connected to their visual system. If the gestation is not arrested with the proper ritual, a fully grown Skilosh would burst from the host's skull, killing him or her instantly."
The description was only making everyone cringe, the ick factor increasing as Willow realized something. "So this girl, the Demons…"
"Assaulted her", Tara finished, only increasing the horror.
"Bastards", Harris snarled angrily.
"Will they stop the gestation?" Buffy asked.
"Watch and find out", Summers said, not in the mood to explain that this situation was about to get even worse.
Francine explained something had bitten her when she was coming home from swim practice, and in the morning this was there, plus Stephanie was in shock since that had happened, but Wesley assured they'd help them out.
"Please do", Dawnster whispered.
Two teenagers were running down a dark street, darting around a corner and leaning against the wall. The boy glanced back around the corner. At the shelter, Anne gave blankets to a girl, giving her instructions when the door was pounded so she opened it to see the two teens from before, wanting to come in even though it was past curfew, because there was something out there scaring them, and they agreed to sleep on the floor, so she let them in, then took a look at the streets and closed the door.
"Now what can be after them?" Xander wondered.
"It's night time, there are many things that can come around at such a time", Giles said.
A human figure moved in the shadows across the street, the light briefly glinting off a silver badge on its chest and the shiny rim of the cap it is wearing.
"That looks like a…cop", Buffy said, surprised.
"Were they running from the cop?" Willow asked the future people and got nods. "Did they do something wrong?"
"No", Rosenberg said cryptically. "But someone did."
Merl was packing his stuff into boxes, then turned around and almost ran into Angel standing there, shocking him as he asked why Angel didn't knock to which he said he liked the funny look on Merl's face, and then Angel forbade him from going anywhere as he needed to know fun facts about people, so Merl told him about a big meeting next night on 9:30 at Diaghilev, but wasn't going to do anything for him again, due to relocating, as he didn't like people, including Angel himself, busting in and beating him up for info without paying, adding that Wesley had respect, and then asked Angel if he'd bothered to check on him or the other two. Angel said this better pan out and Merl repeated the info before saying it was pleasure doing business with him.
"I think you should pay him", Tara said to Angel. "Just because this time the info is right is all, I think. That's it."
"Yeah, because beating, while not undeserved, is not necessary right now", Dawnster agreed. "But even he's calling Angel out on his actions now. Pretty hypocritical."
"Weird", Xander said. "Maybe beat him then pay him. That'd be for the best."
Next day, Anne gave instructions to a guy with a clipboard and pen before noticing the guy who'd come in late, asking about why he'd come in, and eventually he revealed cops had been hassling them all, and one had assaulted him and his friend, and was gonna pull out a nightstick so they'd run off. Anne realized they had a problem and said she knew someone who could help.
"Why did the cop do that?" Buffy asked. "Corrupt? Drunk by his power?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that", Maclay said.
Anne walked into the new Angel Investigations, greeting and hugging Gunn, the two knowing each other as she was introduced to Cordelia and Wesley as well, and then she asked to run something by them.
"So she knows Gunn", Buffy said. "Well, that makes this a little easier for her."
"Yeah, Gunn helped her out a lot when she first started work here", Summers told her.
Later in the evening, Anne explained that many kids were having the same experience, and eventually she and Gunn decided to head to the shelter to figure things out, and Cordelia sarcastically ended up mentioning the girl who was bit by a Demon and had an eye in the back of her head, so now they were trying to figure out a way to save her. Cordelia also mentioned the name of the company as 'Angel Investigations', surprising Anne as Gunn mentioned it was named after their former boss, and Anne described him, surprising them that she knew him as she said he'd tried to help her a few weeks ago but it was just a scam to screw a law firm, disappointing the three as Gunn and Anne walked out, Angel watching them from the roof of the building opposite and trailed them along the edge as they walked away.
"Angel is still not endearing himself to his team", Dawnster said with a sigh. "Not that I blame them."
"I'm still wondering about these cops", Buffy muttered.
Gunn and Anne arrived at her shelter, Angel watching from afar as they entered, and inside, Gunn and Anne talked to some kids who said the cops were out for war. Gunn wanted a minute so Anne walked off to do paperwork, and then warned the kids to not play Anne due to her blind spot for them, but one kid called Ray swore they were the victims. Gunn reminded Ray used to be involved in illegal deals but he assured that was ancient history, and the girl with him added this was all out war and they were all targets.
"I think they're telling the truth", Willow said. "Still confused about the cops though."
"You're about to find out", Rosenberg said to her.
Angel stepped away from the window where he'd apparently been watching and listening and turned to walk down the sidewalk when a cop stopped him, pulling out his nightstick, and hit Angel across the jaw, slamming him against the fence. Then the cop started announcing Miranda Rights while fighting Angel. Angel pushed the cop off him, but the cop rebounded of a parked car and came right back, swinging his stick. Angel blocked the swing and pushed the cop off him again. The cop rebounded off the fence and came back swinging. Angel kicked him in the chest, pushing him back into the fence. Again the cop rebounded swinging his stick. Angel punched the cop in the stomach, then the back of his head. The cop dropped against the car, then crumbled to the ground and didn't move. Angel continued down the sidewalk, but hadn't taken more than a couple steps before the cop popped back up and continued announcing Miranda Rights dispassionately. Angel stopped and turned, blocking another swing from the cop and punching him in the gut again. The cop mentioned the attorney bit as he swung twice and Angel blocked. The cop staggered back. Angel turned and kicked the cop's head right off his neck. The head bounced off the windshield, Angel staring after it. The decapitated and decaying head announced some more Miranda Rights. The words slowed and stopped. Angel looked down at the LAPD badge on the chest of the now equally decayed looking corpse.
The past people were in shock once more at that.
"Is that a zombie cop?" Dawnster finally asked. "I know he can speak and all that, but that's a zombie cop."
"It is a zombie cop", Maclay confirmed.
"So zombie cops have been harassing these people?" Buffy asked and got nods. "What are they? How did they even come around?"
"Someone was a little too passionate about justice and security", Harris muttered to her.
"To the point it made people unsafe and had them unjustly beaten", Summers added.
At the shelter, two guys called George and Rondell arrived at the place with a camcorder, already knowing about the cops. George and Rondell commented how Gunn was moving up in life, and Gunn explained the plan was to roll the camcorder when the cops hassled them, telling Anne they'd be walking and were black, so it would work, and the three left.
"Racist cops", Xander muttered. "Sadly, can be a thing at a few times, but this ain't one of them."
"Yeah, these are just zombie cops, race doesn't matter to them", Rosenberg told him.
"Anyone else think the plan is really stupid?" Buffy asked.
"Very stupid plan", Giles said in agreement.
At LAPD, Kate found Angel on her desk, mentioning the dead women in the store and the slaughtered lawyers of Wolfram and Hart, thinking Angel hadn't gotten to Darla and Drusilla in time, and he mentioned burning them, which Kate said he'd enjoyed as murder and mayhem was up his alley. Angel then mentioned he'd killed a cop, Kate warning him not to make a joke about that, Angel then adding this cop kept talking even after decapitation, then pulled out the cop's badge, asking Kate about it.
"Imagine if she finds out that Angel did catch up to Darla and Drusilla", Dawnster suddenly piped up.
"Not gonna end well", Tara told her.
Kate pulled up a file on the badge, and his name was Peter Harkes, she'd gone to his funeral 6 months ago. Angel decided they had to take a ride.
"We figured they were dead", Willow shrugged.
At her office, Cordelia was talking to Gunn on the phone, before hanging up, and told Wesley of his plan, surprising him as Cordelia said Gunn and stubborn were synonyms and that Gunn had graduated with a major in dumb planning from the Angel University. At first they decided to let him do this, but then finally decided to help him.
"With a plan like that, he definitely needs help", Dawn said with a nod.
Angel and Kate arrived at Peter's grave, Kate mentioning his killer was up for the death penalty, and then Angel noted the ground where he'd been buried had been disturbed in the past few weeks, and when Kate confirmed many cops were buried here, Angel noted quite a few of their graves had been disturbed, realizing someone was putting digging up dead cops and putting them back on the street, calling them zombies aka reanimated corpses who could walk and talk but someone was pulling their strings. Kate then rushed to her dad's grave, asking if that was disturbed, but Angel assured it wasn't, and she put a hand to her mouth, struggling not to break down as they wondered who was behind this.
No one commented here, since as much as Kate got on their nerves nowadays, they still did feel bad about how she'd lost her dad.
Anne came down the steps of the shelter, carrying a stack of blankets, then there was pounding as she walked to answer it, and it was Cordelia and Wesley, who wanted to know of Gunn, and were informed he was on 45 th Street, so Wesley decided to go and Cordelia could stay here, though they'd remain in touch. Cordelia then looked inside the shelter, Anne asking how her folding skills were to which she said she was an actress so she could fake them.
That made everyone chuckle a little as Tara said. "I think you need real folding here."
Cordelia then saw a girl wearing a blouse that Angel had donated earlier and recognized it as hers before saying she just had one like that.
"Angel's so dead", Buffy commented. "Well, he already is, but you know what I mean."
"He shouldn't have given away her clothes without asking her", Xander agreed. "Especially since they're hers."
Anne turned to shut the door but a guy called Jackson stopped her from closing it, saying he wanted to come in, and also watched some girls, commenting he could share with them, and eventually he pushed into the place and walked in, Anne telling Cordelia to let it go as she didn't want any trouble.
"I am pretty sure this man is trouble himself", Giles noted, everyone troubled by his appearance.
"You're right", Summers nodded. "He is big trouble."
Jackson then met Ray, angry at him for ducking him, then assured Ray he wouldn't kill him here, before walking off.
"Poor kid", Willow muttered about Ray.
"That guy is even more trouble than what you think right now", Harris told her.
Gunn, George and Rondell walked down the street, eventually arriving at 45 th Street where gangs resided, so they'd be caught here, and it was deserted, till a cop came behind them, tapping his nightstick as they turned to face him. George started getting it all with his camcorder as the cop started barking out orders, wanting to arrest them, then Wesley ran up behind the cop, trying to stop him, only for the cop to spin and shoot Wesley in his belly, making him stagger back and sink down.
Willow, Tara and Dawnster gasped while the rest just watched grimly.
"The bastard", Xander snarled.
"Wesley…" Buffy trailed off.
"And he got it looking out for Gunn", Giles reminded.
"Gunn really should stop making dumb plans", Dawnster said to the rest.
"Yeah, it's kind of his shtick", Rosenberg muttered. "But Wesley will pull through, no worries."
That made them sigh in some relief.
Gunn tackled the cop, knocking the gun from his hand as Rondell picked up the gun. Gunn hit the cop and he reached down to his ankle, pulling out another gun only for Rondell to shoot him twice, dropping him down, with Gunn hurrying to Wesley and Rondell dropped the gun, staring at it. Gunn and George started supporting Wesley away while Rondell was horrified at shooting a cop when the cop got back up, and so they all ran as best as they could, the cop telling into the radio that he had witnesses to a situation so he needed back up.
That only dropped the atmosphere as Tara realized. "So more of them are coming now."
"And they have a wounded Wesley with them, this is getting much worse", Buffy sighed.
Gunn, Wesley and the rest hurried down a street, then Gunn pointed to a hole in a chain link fence and they slipped through it, then around the corner of a building, putting Wesley down who asked to dial 911, and Rondell thought it was the cops before Wesley corrected an ambulance, pulling out his cell while Gunn asked Rondell to keep watch and he did as Gunn dialed.
"Now worst case scenario is that the ambulance also gets caught up in this", Xander said.
"Shut up", Harris told him as he sighed.
Angel and Kate entered another police precinct which looked deserted, then Angel hit the bell on the counter and an officer arrived, Kate showing her badge and inquiring about complaints over how this precinct was handling things, adding she took a personal interest. The captain passed behind the officer and disappeared into a back office. Angel and Kate inquired some more as the officer said crime was down in this precinct so they were doing things right, and it was a team effort but the captain had gotten the ball rolling, and now they had a tougher policy, though Kate knew things weren't being run by the book.
"Tougher policy, huh", Willow muttered. "You mean undead cops brutalizing people."
"I think the original intention was to take down criminals, but they didn't think about the side-effects, like brutalizing innocents, and then just didn't care", Rosenberg said.
"So in a way, it's almost as bad as criminals ruling the place", Maclay said.
Gunn was pressing a rag to Wesley's wound as Rondell came running back, and Gunn took off his coat to cover Wesley, assuring he would be fine, and then the ambulance arrived as Wesley was loaded into it and Gunn sat with him, telling the other two to meet him at the shelter, so they ran off. The ambulance neared the end of an alley as 2 cop cars pulled up, so the driver walked out to talk to them and Gunn noticed, darting out of the back to the driver's seat as the cops killed the driver.
"Hey! I was just joking! I had no idea it would actually happen!" Xander said.
"It's all right, it's not like you not saying it wouldn't make it happen", Dawn sighed.
Gunn backed up the ambulance, until his way was blocked by another cop car. He turned the ambulance and rammed it through the fence they slipped through earlier. Three cops ran after them, firing their guns at the back of the ambulance. Gunn made it out of the alley and started to speed down the road. Gunn later pulled up near the shelter and started to unstrap Wesley, telling the remaining paramedic to help, as he lead Wesley to the shelter and there Anne answered the pounding, noticing the shot Wesley as Gunn informed the cops weren't human and was let in.
"The shelter, I don't think that can keep cops out for long", Willow said.
"Neither can a hospital", Giles told her.
A cop car pulled up as the cop from before radioed to the captain, who told him to wait for backup and then they'd have a clean house.
"We all know that means", Harris said grimly, the mood only dropping.
The paramedic was taking Wesley's blood pressure who was clinging to one of Gunn's hands, and Cordelia arrived, the paramedic giving her a pad as she used it to apply pressure to the wound. Gunn then looked out the window and asked Anne to lock it all up as she ordered the kids to do so, and then Jackson arrived, seeing Wesley's wound as he found it nasty, and Gunn recognized him. Anne wondered how to keep the cops out as Jackson said he knew how to handle them, revealing a gun on his waist.
"The bloody idiot!" Giles said. "He is giving the cops a strong case with that gun on him, even undead ones."
"I don't think he really cares about anyone but himself", Dawnster said.
"Right you are, he is just a petty criminal", Summers scoffed.
Gunn and Jackson started arguing as Jackson said the cops were racist pigs and Gunn agreed, but added people like him were also a problem, since he was a thug with a gun who kept the cycle going, and it was his problem since his friend had been shot. Jackson said he wouldn't lose sleep over a dead white man, making Gunn push him up against a wall but Anne stopped them.
"So he's a thug with a gun and a racist too", Buffy scoffed. "Just what we needed in this situation."
"Like Gunn said, there are some racist cops, then there are people like him", Rosenberg said.
"Bad combination", Tara sighed.
"Keeps the cycle going", Maclay added grimly.
The police captain listened on his radio and ordered to kill, but without gunfire. The paramedic said Wesley needed a hospital now, so Gunn let go of Jackson and went to the sofa, saying they couldn't go out there, but Cordelia said Wesley would die so Gunn decided to help him out, but when Cordelia opened the door two cop cars pulled up, making Cordelia close the door and hurry to Gunn, informing him of the situation. Cops got out of their cars and headed for the shelter as the kids tried to barricade themselves inside, Gunn and Anne coordinating it.
"The captain is behind this then", Buffy said. "Angel is right at the precinct."
"Well, he's gonna do something right in this one", Summers told her.
The police captain put his radio down and sat behind his desk when the door opened and Angel walked in, looking over things on the desk as he introduced himself on being questioned while lifting an open medal case. The captain took the case as Angel said he wanted to talk about the dead cops. The captain chuckled and got up, saying they should talk about him instead, and fired two shots at Angel. Angel curled up around the wounds for a moment then came back up in vamp face. "How do I stop them?"
"Spew it right now", Willow said.
The captain pointed his gun again, but Angel gripped his hand and tossed him across the room. Then he grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the wall. The cops were coming to the shelter, 4 trying to open the front door as Cordelia was trying to make a call on the cell phone, some cops pulling off bars across the lower parts of windows. Gunn coordinated some barricades as the cops tried different ways to enter.
"Come on, answer quickly", Tara said about the captain.
Angel asked how to stop them as the captain ranted these good cops had died on the streets, Angel saying they should have been left that way but the captain didn't want to betray them so he knocked Angel's hand from his throat and fled towards the back of his office, pushed a file cabinet aside and slipped through a hidden door behind it. Angel darted after him. The kids were pushing bookshelves up against the windows. The cops were breaking the glass and one of them reached in and pulled one of the kids moving the shelf out through the window.
"You betrayed your policemen by turning them into this", Giles said with a scoff.
"He's too egotistical to see it that way", Rosenberg sighed.
Gunn and Anne tried to get everyone to safety. The cops were trying to come in through the windows and the kids were beating them back with their baseball bats. Anne went to check another door and one of the cops reached in through the bottom of the window beside her and grabbed her foot, trying to drag her outside. Screaming Anne lay into him with her bat. Cordelia, carrying a hammer, came over and hammered the hand holding Anne, getting it to let go. Anne scrambled up and they pulled a chair in front of the window, only to have the cop stick his arm through the window above it. Cordelia gave it a couple good whacks before they ran. Jackson was heading for one of the side doors, pulling out his gun he opened it, only to be clubbed down by a cop lying in wait on the other side of the door. Gunn came over and hit the cop a couple of times with his bat, knocking him back out the door, then slammed the door shut and locked it again. Gunn held out a hand towards Jackson, who took it, and pulled himself up.
"I don't think he's gonna be grateful for that", Buffy said.
"Nope", Dawn said with a shake of her head.
Cordelia and Anne were trying to hold the front door shut. Gunn and Jackson hurried over to help. The police captain was in a back room lit with candles sitting on shelves along the walls in front of pictures of numerous police officers. He was frantically digging through a trunk, pulling out a cross and some other stuff when Angel burst in. He inspected stuff on the table, noting they were entrails, and dropped them when the captain didn't react. Two of the kids freaked, abandoned the back door and the cops broke through. Other doors, including the front door, broke open and cops came in through the windows. One cop pushed Gunn up against the wall, another grabbed Cordelia.
"Come on Angel!" Buffy begged.
Angel spotted a statue. "Here we go. It's the idol of Granath. The Zombie god." He picked the idol up as the captain charged him with a scream, cross raised high to strike. Angel smashed the idol on the captain's head and as he dropped to the floor, covered in its pieces, so did the zombie cops at the shelter, turning into decaying corpses.
Everyone present sighed in relief.
"He did it", Willow muttered. "Phew!"
"There was some cost to it though", Summers told her.
Anne hurried to check on the kids while Cordelia and Gunn ran to help Wesley and the paramedic, Gunn asking Jackson to help but he walked off, saying the streets were safer for him.
"Told ya", Dawn said as all sighed.
"Some people", Dawnster groaned.
Cordelia and Gunn started helping Wesley away. Next day, Angel walked to Kate's desk and sat down, saying he'd taken care of the cop problem, and Kate handed Angel a file of crime reports from that precinct saying up until three months ago there was a murder every two weeks, a rape every two days, a robbery every hour and a half, and they'd given that back to the people. Angel said he could live with that, Kate noting he lived with a lot of stuff.
"He has to", Willow said. "Many of us do."
"Guess it's a pyrrhic victory then", Buffy muttered. "With what Kate just said."
"The cost of this safety was too high", Maclay pointed out. "Either way, it's a lose-lose situation."
"I hate those", Buffy sighed.
"But we have to live with them", Tara said. "Like you said, sometimes we don't have a good choice but we still have a choice."
"Yeah", Buffy said with a nod, not liking it but having to be accepting. "There's always a choice."
Kate said the job made her crazy and Angel agreed, when a woman handed Kate a file, and she looked at it, realizing Wesley had been shot.
"Now…." Dawnster trailed off.
"He does realize what his actions did", Summers said to her.
Wesley was lying on a hospital bed with Gunn sitting in a chair beside him. Slowly Wesley's eyes opened. Gunn leaned in closer. "Hey." Wesley slowly looked over at him. "Hey." Gunn asked. "How're you doing?" Wesley muttered. "Oh, I feel I should be in a great deal of pain." Gunn said. "Getting gut-shot will do that to you." Wesley trailed off. "And yet..." He looked at the IV on his left hand. "Is this morphine?" Gunn nodded. "Well, it's bloody lovely!" He giggled. Gunn smiled and grabbed a hold of Wesley's hand for a moment before sitting back in his chair with a sigh.
"Looks like some good came out of this", Willow said with a smile. "They have all grown closer now."
"Seeing them will make Angel realize what he threw away", Xander muttered.
Angel stood by the nurses' desk, watching. Angel turned to leave only to find Cordelia standing right behind him. "What are you doing here?" Angel said. "I heard about Wesley." Cordelia was having none of it. "Well, that's great. Too bad it takes a gunshot wound to make you give a crap. - Wesley doesn't need you right now. We don't need you. - You walked away. Do us a favor and just stay away." After a beat Cordelia walked past Angel into Wesley's room. Angel watched as she handed a cup of coffee to Gunn them leaned down to brush Wesley's hair. Then he turned and walked away down the corridor. The screen went black.
"Can't really say I blame her", Tara muttered. "Though to be fair to Angel, this time he did help by taking down the statue."
"They don't know that", Willow pointed out. "And well, he still has to make up for what he did before."
"That is gonna take time", Buffy sighed before turning to the future people. "Break now?"
"Sure", Harris shrugged. "After all these, we definitely need one."
"Next two are the big ones, right?" Dawnster asked and got nods. "I hope things get better in those."
"First, they'll get worse, and then better", Summers assured her.
"Let us go then", Giles said as they all got up, walking out to the dining room for their next break.
Finally, these filler episodes are done. Next is break, and then finally the end of Dark Angel. Funny how this arc had a brilliant start with the Angel/Darla Trilogy and a brilliant end with the next 2 episodes, but the middle portion just sucked.
Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!