Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, but I'll release them back into the wild when I'm done. None of them except Harris, of course, he's all mine. How do you guys like him, by the way?

Feedback: Thanks peeps, for all your support, and I get your point. I won't include the scoobies if you don't want me to. It wasn't what I had originally planned for this story anyway. Glad you're liking the story so far, I just hope the end will live up to expectations!

Anyway, don't worry about that just yet, it's a while off. This chapter's a bit of a long 'un, but it needed to be. I'm really pleased with it if I do say so myself, so I'd really like to hear what you think! Cheers again :)

PART 9.

Here comes the tricky part.

Cordelia and Harris had made it to the Wolfram and Hart building without incident, and Cordy was capable of walking on her own now. It had taken them a while to walk all that way, but, luckily for them, the evil law firm wasn't that hard to find.

It towered above them now, the roof concealed by darkness and the ever-present smog. It just oozed bad intent, and Cordelia shivered at the thought of all the foul deeds being committed within it at this very moment.

Now that they were finally here, they needed to overcome the problem of actually getting in undetected. Angel and Gunn were still nowhere to be found, which confirmed Cordelia's assumption that they had taken the sewer tunnels. As much as she hated the darkness, dankness and general 'scankiness' of the sewers, that would have to be their route too.

She and Harris found a manhole without too much trouble, and the demon held the cover open for her as she climbed down into the seemingly never-ending abyss. When Harris had closed the lid and followed her down, they were plunged into almost total darkness. It seemed so ominous that Cordelia was reduced to a whisper, hoping that none of the usual nasties were down here at the moment.

"I still don't see them, do you?" It would take a little time for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but she assumed that demon eyes would work better than hers anyway, especially down here.

Harris took a good look around and sniffed the air again. They both stood still for a moment so that he could pick up any sounds from further along the tunnels, but it proved fruitless. He returned to her and shook his head.

"If they're down here, they must be on the other side of the building. I can't pick up anything. Maybe they went in above ground after all."

"No, they wouldn't be that stupid…I hope."

She didn't fancy their chances if they had dared such a move, it was dangerous enough as it was. She decided it best to press on anyway, to see what they could find. If the worst came to the worst, she and Harris would have to find their own way in without them.

They travelled on along the dripping tunnels, stopping before every corner to check for anything or anyone that might be lurking in the shadows. They had headed on instinct at first, choosing their route depending on the general direction of the building. When it seemed as though they had gone quite a way, Cordelia stopped and turned to her demon companion.

"I don't suppose you remember which way we came, do you?" she asked, rather sheepishly, realising that before long, they'd be at risk of getting hopelessly lost.

Harris gave her a look that could be interpreted as meaning 'I thought you were doing it' and then leant against a wall. Cordelia was about to join him when she noticed his body language changing. She stepped back a bit, fearing the worst, but he ignored her and pressed an ear to the wall.

"What is it?" she whispered, hoping that nothing bad was going to happen. They hadn't even got to the hazardous part yet, and she had received enough shocks and surprises today to last her a lifetime.

The demon looked upwards and then ran his hands along the smooth, flat surface of the wall. It wasn't damp and slimy like the rest, and seemed to be made out of concrete, unlike the slightly curved brickwork of that opposite.

"I think this is part of the building itself", he mumbled, listening to a sound that Cordelia couldn't hear. He lowered his voice and turned back to her, pointing with his claw.

"I can hear people talking behind here, it's not very thick. It must be part of the basement or something. If we keep following it round, we might find an entrance or a grate…"

"But that's just what they would be expecting! They've probably got all sorts of mojo going on to protect the doors, and laser beams over the air vents, you know, like in the movies."

Harris was slightly amused at the serious way in which Cordelia gave that little speech, but he didn't say anything. He decided that he liked her a lot more than her friends, and that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that he had been dragged along on this mission after all.

"I'm sorry I lied to you guys, you know, before…" Where did that come from? He hoped she wouldn't take that the wrong way. He really wanted her to trust him.

Cordelia turned and looked Harris in the eyes. She paused for a second, not really knowing what to think. When he started to look uncomfortable and shied away, she relaxed somewhat, and took the apology for what it was.

"It's OK, I understand." She gave him a brief smile, not wanting to seem too friendly, and then focused her mind back onto solving the problem. She walked over to the wall and touched it herself as if expecting to be able to feel its thinness. An idea came to her, and she abruptly turned to face the demon.

"Use your powers."

"What?!"

"Use your powers, on the wall. Blow a hole in it or something. Come on!"

"Whoa, wait a minute, don't you remember what happened last time? As I was told, you got a pretty good view of it in your head. I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides, I can't just do it when I feel like it. You know how it works."

Cordelia narrowed her eyes at him and walked a bit closer, bringing a hand up to hit him in the arm as she did so.

"Hey!" he protested, "That hurt!"

He backed away from her to the other side of the tunnel as she took another swipe, catching her wrists to stop her from attacking him.

"Stop it, this isn't funny!"

She ignored him and thrashed her arms, trying to get loose. When that didn't work, she kicked out with her feet, trying to stamp on his thigh.

"Do it, do it, do it, do it!" she shouted, lashing around like a wild thing in his arms. He clung on to her, desperate to make her stop without actually hurting her. The intensity of attack was starting to scare him, and he wondered if something weird was happening to her.

"Cordelia, please…" It was no good. Nothing he could say would make her back off, and he considered the option of wrestling her to the ground. He moved his hands to her shoulders, ready to flip her down, but she anticipated the move and took the opportunity to sink her heel into his ankle.

He cried out in pain and pushed her away, and before he cold stop himself, a fireball hurtled from his fingertips and into the flat concrete wall. Cordelia jumped to the side and threw herself to the floor, covering her head with her arms just in time. A small portion of the wall exploded outwards with a moderate thud, and chunks of plaster and powdery dirt rained down on them both.

Choking through the dust, Harris ran to Cordelia's side, convinced that he had killed her. To his relief, she got up and brushed herself down, squinting against the particles in her eyes.

"Are you alright?!" He asked frantically, fearing the worst. The guilt was evident in his voice, and Cordelia immediately put out a hand to reassure him.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I was ready for that. I'm sorry I kind of freaked you out, is your leg OK?"

Harris stared at her open mouthed, absolutely mortified at what he had done.

"But…why did you do that? I could have killed you!"

"Nah, I knew you wouldn't do something like that. I'm way too nice a person for you to make toast out of", she joked, smiling at him as she walked past.

Harris stood where he was, slowly comprehending the nerve of this woman, and Cordelia went over to inspect her handiwork. It wasn't very big, but the hole left behind by the demon's outburst was sufficient for them both to crawl through.

She squeezed her way in, finding a dark and relatively empty room on the other side. Other than the odd filing cabinet, the place seemed deserted. She poked her head back out into the sewers and whispered loudly.

"Psst! Are you coming or not?"

Harris turned and wandered over, a shocked expression still on his face. Cordelia grabbed his shirt and pulled him through; being careful not to let any more bits of wall fall in her hair.

When they were both inside, they took a second to glance around.

"Well, whoever it was you heard, they're gone now." Cordelia hoped that the sound of the explosion hadn't attracted any attention. She opened the nearest drawer and started flipping through the contents.

"Better make sure this is the right place", she told Harris when he gave her a questioning look. "Rifle through some of those over there and see what you can find."

Harris did as he was told and soon got absorbed in the material he found. There were pages and pages of records relating to all sorts of projects undertaken by the twisted lawyers of Wolfram and Hart. They were in the correct building all right. There were references to virtually every mystical being under the sun, and some to those that weren't. There didn't seem to be scam that these guys hadn't tried and, by the looks of it, they were successful in nearly all of them.

A tap on the shoulder made him jump three feet in the air, and little sparks and flames shot from his claws. He turned around in annoyance to see Cordelia standing behind him, an apologetic smile on her face.

"Geez, don't do that. Do you want me to burn the place down?"

"Actually…" She smiled a bit wider as she thought of the satisfaction she would get from seeing the entire building and its occupants ablaze, but quickly scolded herself for the idea when she remembered who else was probably in it. She shook herself from her thoughts and smiled at Harris again, trying to keep his good humour.

"At least we know you can fend off any big uglies that might sneak up on us! Anyway, look at this. There's a whole load of stuff here about Angel. I wonder if we could smuggle some of this out when we –"

Harris had suddenly put up a hand to silence her.

"Someone's coming", he whispered, and they both hurried behind the door, hoping to catch anyone entering by surprise.

They heard keys being turned in the lock, and Cordelia realised how foolish they had been to think that they could even get so far as exiting the very first room. The door opened, and three people in suits walked in, all of them men. The first rushed over to the hole in the wall, and the others followed, expressing their ignorance as to what had happened.

As soon as they were all clear of the door, Harris pushed it shut and leapt at the nearest man, forcing him to the floor. Cordelia readied herself for a confrontation as the other two turned to see the intruders and made a rush towards them. It seemed that only one of them considered Cordelia to be a significant threat, and she felt grateful that at least she didn't have to fend them all off at once.

Trying to remember some of the moves she had learnt from the others during certain fights, she traded blows with her opponent until he out-manoeuvred her and knocked her towards the wall. He pulled a knife from out of nowhere, and brandished it at Cordelia, threatening to stab her if she moved. She froze, terrified of what would happen to her, when she heard Harris call her name in distress. She watched as, before her very eyes, the knife wielding man burst into flames and began rolling around on the floor, desperate to put hem out.

He succeeded in his efforts, but Cordelia didn't give him a chance to get up again. She sprang over to him and gave him a firm kick in the head, leaving him sprawled over the floor. She breathed a sigh of relief before remembering to check for the others. She looked up to find that Harris had managed to neutralise another of the men, and was now pinning the last against the wall. This particular lawyer had obviously seen the fireworks display and had surrendered, begging for his life.

It was then that Cordelia became a little worried, anxious not to let Harris get carried away. She approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's OK, they're not going to hurt you now", she soothed, feeling his heavy breathing.

He backed off and looked at his hands, obviously distressed about what he had done.

"Are- are you…if they hurt you…"

"No, we beat 'em. You can relax now, I'll take it from here." She watched Harris as he walked away and turned his back on the scene, trying to calm himself down. For the first time since she had known him, she pitied his situation and began to fully understand his need for their help. If this was what it was like for him, then perhaps Wesley was right. This power was dangerous in the wrong hands and wasn't to be taken lightly. She wondered in what state she would find her friend, if at all, and the thought fuelled her determination.

She turned to the remaining man who was now cowering on the floor beneath her.

"Now, look here, you. You think that's bad? Well, if you don't do exactly as we say, then my demon friend here will…sprout poisonous spikes and…suck out your spleen through a tube! And as for me, well, I'm a demon too, and I can…make all of your limbs fall off with a simple chant! Now, get up!"

The man obeyed, trembling before her, and she felt a little rush from the power trip that gave her. Trying desperately not to smile, she ordered him to tie the others up with their own ripped clothing and went to retrieve the dagger from the grip of the burnt guy.

"This might come in handy", she thought to herself as she planned her next step. When it seemed that Harris had channelled his anger and gotten himself under control, she examined the bonds that her minion had tied to make sure they were secure. Satisfied with the result, she turned to the man and gave Harris a suggestive nod, spurring him to grab the man's collar and pull him close for some demon-style intimidation.

Queen C was back. She looked the man in the eyes and sniggered at him, just for effect.

"Now, you're going to take me and my friend here up to the office of your junior partner, as your guests. And don't even think about trying anything. If I see you so much as reach up to scratch your nose, I'll have my friend here make sure you end up as a living match, just before he snaps your neck…"

                                                *            *            *

Angel had decided against taking the sewers after all, knowing that, after the last few times he had used that entrance, Wolfram and Hart were bound to expect an assault from there. Besides, he didn't have the patience for such a carefully laid out plan. He had lied to Cordelia to keep her from protesting and worrying, when really, he knew that this had gone way beyond discretion. He wanted his researcher back and he wanted him now.

Knowing that the senior partners had plans for him and wanted him 'alive', he considered the risk of an open attack worth taking. They weren't going to kill him, especially if they thought that their plan had succeeded in releasing his darker side. Plus, he'd been her many times before, and they'd always let him walk, so unless he came across some rouge agent in the firm that would rather see him as a pile of dust than obey their masters, he was safe.

He had stormed into the main entrance with his game face on, dragging Gunn with him by his jacket. He strode through the lobby, throwing anyone in his way to the side. As expected, the security guards present had circled round him, drawing out their stakes as the vampire alarm had gone off.

He stood and growled at them all through bared fangs, chuckling at the effect it produced.

"Aw, come on, is that all you've got? Ain't ya gonna come and get me?"

One of the guards advanced with his stake held high, but, when Angel made a lunge for him, he jumped back hastily and retreated behind his comrades.

Angel smiled sadistically at them and gave the guard a wink.

"Nice try, boy, but you'll have to try a bit harder than that. Name's Angelus. Don't tell me you haven't heard that name a few times! And I'm really quite busy at the moment so I suggest you get out of my way and let me through."

The guards mumbled amongst themselves for a moment, obviously not sure what to do. One of them must have put across the point that they weren't supposed to kill anyone with that name, as they all reluctantly holstered their weapons.

"Who is it you want to see?" one of them braved, trying not to look nervous.

"I'm off to see the wonderful wizard of Oz!" Angel laughed, giving the floor a casual tap with his heel.

"Hand over the human, then."

"Hey, back off. This is my kill, and I'm getting peckish. I'll take one of you, though, if you'd rather?" He grinned again when the guards shook their heads in decline, and pushed his way past them to the elevators. He pushed Gunn in first before stepping in himself, giving the troop a little wave as the doors closed on them.

"Next stop, munchkin land…" He gave Gunn an evil 'signal' smile to let him know that everything was going as planned. They both knew that cameras and bugs were installed throughout the building, so they didn't want to risk a reassuring friendship hug just yet.

Ping. The cab stopped at their floor and they were greeted by a gang of well-armed demons who insisted on escorting them to Lilah's office. No doubt the encounter downstairs had prompted the receptionist to send a warning call in front of them. That didn't matter, Angel was prepared for it. They saw them through the door, but then pulled away, leaving them both alone in the room.

Angel hid his demon again and straightened his jacket, handing the axe it concealed to Gunn. He put his hand on the handgun he had brought along, just to check it was still there. It was. He closed his eyes for a second and mentally prepared himself for what was to come. Then he turned to face the door, hearing Lilah coming before she was even halfway down the corridor.

When the door opened, he noticed Gunn's grip tighten, but the two of them stood rigidly still, waiting for that irritatingly confident smile to appear. There it was. Lilah almost skipped into the room, followed closely by possibly the ugliest demon Angel had ever seen and…wait a second, was that Lindsey?

He didn't have time to ask questions. Well, except for the important one.

"Were is he?"

Lilah cocked her head quizzically and sat at her desk, picking up a pen to tap on the surface with.

"Well well. If it isn't the elusive Angelus, or is it Angel? So hard to tell these days…"

He repeated his question with more passion. "Where is he?

"I'm sorry, who are we talking about? Oh, right. British guy. Tall, kinda cute, inferiority complex. Yeah, he's around here somewhere. I'm telling ya, that boy has issues."

Angel advanced, unable to contain his rage for much longer. Lilah realised that she had taken as much tolerance as she was going to get, so she stood from her seat and stopped him with a sentence before he could come any closer.

"You want to see him, I understand that. I'll get him for you, but don't be alarmed if he doesn't appreciate your concern." She smiled and nodded to her ugly demon, and his empty eye sockets seemed to glow for a second.

Gunn audibly held a breath, and Angel turned to the door, hearing the footsteps approaching. The door opened and Wesley entered, or at least, someone who looked like him.

Angel stared in horror at the state of Wesley's face. He was covered in bruises and cuts from a severe beating, and all of the life was gone from his eyes. He shuffled in and stood next to Lilah, his head down and saying nothing. Pity would have swelled Angel's heart, had it been able to beat, and he had to hold Gunn back from an angry outburst of violence.

Lilah grinned at their expressions, taking great delight in the suffering she had caused them.

"You know, I hadn't counted on you finding us out so soon, I was going to come to you. But it doesn't matter; I guess it just speeds up the showdown. Goody. I can't wait to see what happens…"

She sat back down in her chair and her expression changed from mirth to contempt. Without taking her eyes off of Angel, she spoke a single word in the coldest voice possible.

"Now."

The demon shifted and his eyes glowed again, or at least, the place where his eyes should have been did. Angel prepared himself for a fight with the beast, but it never came. Instead, Wesley lifted a hand and looked directly at both Angel and Gunn in a blank stare. Before they could utter a sound, they were thrown backwards into the wall and the axe was ripped from Gunn's fingers.

They both gasped when they hit the ground, struggling to their feet as Wesley approached them.

"Play nice, boys…" Lilah sneered.

To be continued…