[Amanda takes Connor to the Bronze, where she runs into a boy from school she likes. Back in LA, Gunn Wes and Fred get some help from Lindsey. There's also a peek inside Faith's life in prison]
Around sunset, Connor goes to the high school. He assumes Wood's office is his demon fighting headquarters, and therefore the place where he keeps his weapons. Wood's still in his office. Connor opens the door a crack and watches him for a few minutes. He sees the Principal polish a knife and put it away in his hidden weapons cabinet. Wood thinks he hears someone in the hall. He walks to the door. Connor crawls up and hides in the ceiling. Wood steps into the hallway, looks around, sees no one. He heads back into his office. Connor waits. He noticed the ample space between the ceiling and the upper floor when he walked through the school earlier in the afternoon, and quickly realized the stealthy possibilities. A few minutes later, Wood leaves and locks the door. Connor crawls over to the office, removes on of the ceiling panels, drops down, and puts the panel back. He opens up the hidden wall cabinet and likes what he sees. The knives are real nice. But Wood doesn't have as many large weapons as Angel. No halberds or poleaxes. Then again, those would be hard to conceal. The weapons are all spotless and highly-polished. To Connor, this means either Wood hasn't used them very often, or he's as obsessive as Gunn is about weapons care. Connor hates polishing. He looks over the arsenal and takes two scimitars, the two all-metal hatchets, a long sword and a short sword. He closes up the cabinet, puts the weapons in his knapsack, and walks out the door.
Amanda tells Buffy she's going to have dinner at her parents. They worry about her and like to see her once in a while. Her parents live about a mile away, so Buffy doesn't see anything wrong with this, so long as Amanda gets back early. Amanda goes to the school and meets Connor out front. She's a little nervous.
CONNOR: Ready for some fun?
AMANDA: You bet. Where do you want to go?
CONNOR: You know those caves near here? I think a lot of demons live in the caves.
AMANDA: A lot? Sounds like a little too much.
CONNOR: Don't worry. You'll be safe with me. [starts walking away, then turns around] You coming?
AMANDA: Sure. Okay.
Amanda follows Connor. She's a little frightened. Connor can tell. He puts his right arm around her shoulders.
CONNOR: Relax. I planned ahead. Got plenty of weapons.
AMANDA: That's . . . comforting. [takes his arm off her] You do this sort of thing a lot?
CONNOR: Hunt? Not as much as I used to. But it's easy when you get them at home. No tracking. No pursuit. Fight them on your terms.
AMANDA: Did you go to school?
CONNOR: No.
AMANDA: That's what I thought. Where are you from?
CONNOR: Quiet. So I can hear them.
He hands her the long sword. Walks around amongst the caves. Amanda follows close behind, gripping the sword tight with both hands. She's worried about getting ambushed. After a little while Connor stops and puts down his knapsack.
AMANDA: [whispers] Did you find one?
CONNOR: A couple. [takes out the weapons.] Take what you want. [pulls out two one liter glass bottles filled with gasoline. Takes the lids off, puts in some newspaper.] Like what I did to the Bringers. Force em out. Just stand near the opening and hack. Real easy kills.
Connor smiles. He pulls out a lighter, ignites the paper, and walks into the cave carrying the two firebombs. About thirty feet in, he arrives at the lair. Sees two dragon-like demons with stubby lizard bodies and long necks extending eight feet in the air. Around them are six smaller demons. When they see Connor, the parents roar and the children shriek. The cries echo out of the cave and frighten Amanda. Connor tosses the Molatov Cocktails at the demons and runs away. Amanda sees Connor about one second after she hears the explosions. She's relieved.
AMANDA: You get em?
CONNOR: [laughs] I didn't know there were that many. [Amanda gasps. Connor picks up the two scimitars and spins them around in his hands. He stands in front of the cave entrance.] Get to the side.
Amanda stands to the left of the opening, clutching her sword above her head. The short sword and one of the hatchets hang from her belt. She's hyperventilating and in a cold sweat. Connor's knees are bent. He stares into the cave from ten feet away. Anticipating the carnage, he has a cocky half-grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Amanda hears the screams getting louder.
AMANDA: How many!? How many!!?
CONNOR: Two big ones. But they're hurt.
AMANDA: Won't that just make them angrier?
The mother walks out, flames coming from her nose. Amanda's terrified. She thinks it's a fire-breathing dragon. Actually, it's a dragon on fire. The dragon waves her head side-to-side and roars. Amanda moves away and crouches down to the ground.
CONNOR: Remember me?
He charges in. The demon opens her massive jaws and tries to bite him with her long teeth. Connor slices off her lower jaw with one of his curved swords. Then he steps back for a minute to admire his dismemberment. She can't bite anyone. After taking in the hideous and hilarious image, he jams both scimitars in her eyes. Then he puts his two swords under her neck and slices it off. The dragon's body vanishes, to reveal her husband right behind her. He charges at the animal that killed his mate. Connor retreats a few steps. Amanda steps towards the demon from its left. Connor's mutilation of mommy dragon has given her a little courage. While Connor dodges the dragon's jaws. She slices through his neck at the base. When his body disappears, Connor see her and smiles. He picks up a hatchet and runs back to the entrance.
One of the babies has already gotten out and tries to flee. It looks like a very large iguana with a two-foot neck which it can maneuver with tremendous speed and dexterity. Amanda gets out of the way. Connor throws the ax at the base of its neck and kills it. Another demon scampers out. Connor slashes at it and takes off its tail. It turns its head back and tries to bite Connor. He slices off the demon's right ear and a chunk of its head above the right eye. Amanda runs up and sticks the demon with the short sword, pinning it to the ground. It flails and struggles in vain to get free. She finds this funny. So does Connor. While he's distracted, a third baby comes out and bites Connor in the left hamstring. He turns around and slashes furiously, dismembering the demon into about a half-dozen pieces. Amanda takes out her hatchet and cuts up the demon she's pinned to the ground. She looks at Connor.
AMANDA: Are you hurt?
CONNOR: No. Barely even bleeding. [he motions for her to come close] I think there were more. Let's go check. See how bad I blew them up.
He enters the cave. Amanda follows. He's gotten her blood lust flowing. In the back of the lair, they find three badly-burned and disabled demons. Their legs are either singed off or useless. The skin's been completely burnt off in places. They try to wail, but their voices are very weak.
CONNOR: Go ahead.
AMANDA: Kill them?
CONNOR: Put them out of their misery. [She gets close and hacks them apart with the long sword.] This is what you were afraid of? [she laughs. they walk out.]
AMANDA: That was awesome.
CONNOR: Told you. Wanna do one more?
AMANDA: [sarcastically] Just one? [Connor puts his weapons away.]
CONNOR: Let's go.
Connor grabs Amanda's left hand with his right hand and starts walking. Amanda's thrilled by what she perceives as a sign of affection. Her heart's all a-flutter.]
AMANDA: Are we looking for another cave?
CONNOR: Don't think we'll have to. Sounds like one of them's out in the open.
AMANDA: That sounds like a bad thing.
CONNOR: Only one. Shouldn't be too hard. I'll lead. You follow. Keep hidden behind the rocks.
Amanda's nervous about getting ambushed. Connor's complete and utter lack of fear and his gonzo carelessness is absolutely terrifying. Soon he spots the demon. It's skinny and green. Not too tall. Looks like a pushover. It was the type of demon Trick used during Slayerfest 98 to try to kill Buffy. Connor does not know that it literally has a few tricks up its sleeve. Amanda spots the unintimidating-looking demon, and breathes a sigh of relief.
AMANDA: For a minute there, I was worried.
She takes out her long sword and waits for Connor to attack. He charges the demon and punches it in the face. The demon backs up two steps and pulls two long knives out of its forearms. Connor's eyes get really big, and he gasps. He's seen a lot of demons. He's never seen any who could do that. Confident of an easy kill, he wasn't even carrying any weapons. The demon slashes at Connor, causing him to retreat. He leaps onto a rock and kicks the demon in the head. The demon slashes for his ankles, and Connor leaps down to the ground. The demon kicks Connor in the head. He falls down. Now the demon focuses on Amanda. She holds her sword up in front of her body. The demon throws a knife at her throat. She is paralyzed with fear. Fortunately, the knife deflects off her sword. She is incredibly relieved. Connor tackles the demon, trying to wrestle away the other knife. Amanda grabs one of their hatchets.
AMANDA: Connor! Catch!
He looks up, reaches out his left hand, and catches the ax. He uses it to parry the demon's knife thrust, and then drives the ax into the demon's chest. The demon throws Connor off of him, gets up and kicked Connor in the head. Amanda rushes over to help. The demon looks at his dagger, looks at her long sword, and realizes size does matter. As she swings for his head, he retreats. He raises his right arm to throw his second knife and her, but Connor grabs the arm just in time to make the knife miss its mark. Then he races back to the other weapons and retrieves his two scimitars. Amanda slashes the demon's left shoulder, but is having trouble finishing it off. The demon manages to grab her arms, and the sword falls to the ground. The demon punches Amanda and she goes down. Just then Connor leaps in from out of nowhere. While in mid-air, he puts the two swords to the back of the demon's neck and decapitates it. It falls to the ground and melts away, as do the knives, much to Connor's disappointment. He wanted to use them himself. Connor reaches his hand down to Amanda and helps her to her feet. Out of a combination of relief, exhilaration, gratitude and physical attraction, she hugs him tight.
AMANDA: That was little close for while there.
CONNOR: Never seen one who could do that. [Amanda lets go, deciding not to push her luck] You did pretty good.
AMANDA: Thanks. Wanna go to the Bronze? I got like half an hour before I need to be back, and we've done the demon killing, so I was thinking —
CONNOR: Sure. I've been wondering what's in that place. Is it a demon bar?
AMANDA: Uh, no.
CONNOR: So it's mostly humans and only a few demons?
AMANDA: No demons. Why would you think there'd be demons?
CONNOR: So the nice demons don't hang out with people around here? [he's not used to human-demon segregation]
AMANDA: There are nice demons? [she wasn't yet a Potential when the girls met Clem]
CONNOR: A few. And they give you information. They're always telling jokes. Making you laugh so you won't kill them.
[Buffy's kitchen]
BUFFY: Is it just me, or is Spike more surly today than usual?
ANYA: It's probably because I told him Xander was better in bed.
BUFFY: [starts laughing] You were joking, right?
ANYA: Don't get me wrong. He's firm and tight and very pleasing to the eyes and the hands. Spike was good, I guess. But he didn't live up to my expectations. He wasn't nearly as good as Xander. Spike just didn't make me feel the earth move.
BUFFY: Xander made you feel the earth move?
ANYA: Once or twice I think there may have been some actual seismic activity. We are on a major fault line. But the rest of the time I know that it wasn't two tectonic plates rubbing together. It was —
BUFFY: Let me get this straight. Spike didn't live up to your standards?
ANYA: He didn't live up to Xander.
Buffy ponders the idea of Xander Harris, Love Machine, and bursts out laughing.
BUFFY: That was a good one. You had me for a moment.
ANYA: Why can't you accept that I'm being literal? I'm always literal. [Xander enters]
XANDER: What are you two lovely ladies talking about?
ANYA: Buffy refuses to recognize your sexual prowess.
XANDER: [more than a little stunned] And pray tell me, what do you mean by recognize?
ANYA: I told her you were better than Spike. [Xander smiles, looks proud]
XANDER: A lady is entitled to her informed, objective opinion.
BUFFY: Okay. Now I get it. You're doing this to flatter Xander.
ANYA: Why would I want to flatter Xander? He's the insensitive dirtbag who ruined my life. [Anya takes Buffy into the dining room. She thinks she knows what's going on] Was Spike really THAT good?
BUFFY: I am not having this conversation.
ANYA: Or is your estimation of Xander THAT low? After all, you are the only non-lesbian woman he's known who hasn't fallen for him.
BUFFY: [thinks that over for a second] Oh God, you're right. But that's not the reason. It's just, well, impossible.
ANYA: So he was that good. Guess he had to be to overcome your whole soulless evil prejudice. That means he was holding back with me. He was tanking! That is so insulting. [goes down to the basement to talk to Spike]
[Amanda and Connor are drinking sodas at the Bronze]
CONNOR: You come here a lot?
AMANDA: There's no other place to go.
PRESTON: Hey Amanda.
AMANDA: Preston! This is a surprise.
PRESTON: I know. You said your parents wouldn't let you go out tonight. [gives Connor a suspicious glance. Preston is a classmate Amanda likes. He's tall and gangly, with a skinny neck and a narrow, bony face with a large nose and prominent chin. He has short black hair and brown eyes.]
AMANDA: That was true at the time. But then I finished my history paper, so they said I could stay out till nine. I didn't know if you'd be out that early, so I didn't call. Sorry.
PRESTON: Who's this?
AMANDA: This is Connor. I met him at Model UN last November. He goes to Oceanside High. And I just happened to see him here, so we got to talking. You know, about Model UN. Right Connor?
CONNOR: Sure. Nice to meet you.
PRESTON: I was at that conference. I don't remember you. What committee were you in?
AMANDA: ICJ. [answers quickly before Connor can say anything incriminating]
PRESTON: Really. What country?
CONNOR: England.
PRESTON: Spring Valley was UK.
AMANDA: They switched. Spring Valley didn't have someone in ICJ, so Connor took the case. You know how things are in ICJ.
PRESTON: Whatever. See you in school tomorrow. Have fun with Connor. [walks away. Connor has absolutely no idea what they were talking about]
AMANDA: I'm sorry about that. He's a guy from school.
CONNOR: Does he like you? [Connor can spot jealousy]
AMANDA: He might. I don't know. Probably. Maybe not. It's complicated.
CONNOR: Do you like him?
AMANDA: Sorta. Well, yeah.
CONNOR: That's not complicated.
AMANDA: Yes it is. See, we've been friends for a couple years, and, you know, you don't want to ruin something like that. Plus, I thought he was gonna ask me to Winter Formals, but instead he went with Dara, so I'm not even sure how he feels about me right now. It's funny how everything's black and white with you, Connor. Life must have been simpler where you came from.
[Gunn and Fred patrol the streets, fighting off the vampires as best they can. Gunn uses his flame thrower to incinerate any demons who get close to him. Fred picks off the ones who run away with her crossbow.]
GUNN: Any word on Destroyer Boy?
FRED: Nothing.
GUNN: Not like him to keep such a low profile.
FRED: Charles, behind you! [Fred dusts he vamp with with her crossbow] Got it. He's been through a lot. Losing Angel. Then Cordy.
GUNN: I knew she didn't come back right.
FRED: Connor likes to alone.
GUNN: Just like daddy. [sets two vamps on fire]
Nearby, Wesley fights alone. He dusts two vamps with wooden darts shot from his wrist band. Then his collapsible sword shoots out. He slashes at the two remaining vampires. After taking a few blows, he gets one. The other one knocks Wes flat on his face. He gets up, spins around, and beheads the vampire. The sword recedes back into his wristband. He walks over to Gunn and Fred. He's got a bloody lip, a small cut over his right eye, and a larger cut on his left cheek. His stubble is thicker than usual. Gunn and Fred are also a little battered.
WES: We're barely treading water.
GUNN: Things have been worse.
FRED: We're makin' progress. The vamps are scared. We're drivin' em back underground.
WES: They appear to be surfacing.
The trio stands at an intersection. They see eight vamps in front of them, six behind them, three to the left, and five to the right.
GUNN: I'll keep em back.
Charles sprays his flame thrower back and forth. Then they hear the rotors of a helicopter descending right down on top of them. When it gets within 30 feet of the ground, the vampires flee from the noise. Fred, Gunn and Wesley move back. The helicopter lands. A man walks out. He wears a dark suit and a white, open-necked oxford shirt.
Lindsey: Looks like you could use a little help.
WES: Lindsey? Lindsey McDonald? Is that you?
LINDSEY: I'm not the one who's changed. Look at yourself. Like a Mad Max makeover or something.
GUNN: Nice chopper. Guess it really pays to be evil.
FRED: He's evil? Who is he? Who are you?
LINDSEY: [shakes Fred's hand, smiles and gazes at her with his big blue eyes] I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you. I'm Lindsey McDonald. And I'm one of the good guys.
FRED: Winifred Burkle. Call me Fred.
Fred smiles and blushes. Gunn and Wes are fuming. It was tough enough fighting each other for Fred's affections. Now they had to worry about a pretty boy who may have once been evil, but who never slept with Lilah and probably never killed a man with his bare hands. How cruelly ironic that from Fred's point of view a former leader at Wolfram & Hart carried less moral baggage than either of them.
WES: He used to work for Wolfram & Hart. Lilah reported to him.
Fred lets go of Lindsey's hand and takes a step back.
LINDSEY: That's not true. Technically, I was the senior associate, but we both reported to the same partner. I wasn't proud of the work I did for them. Just a poor kid from the Mississippi Delta who wanted to strike it rich and got caught up with the wrong people. I left the firm nearly two years ago to start over. Since then I've been trying to redeem my soul.
WES: And how precisely are you going about making restitution for your numerous and grievous crimes?
LINDSEY: I'm here, aren't I? Right now, I don't think any of us can afford the luxury of dwelling on the past.
GUNN: How ya gonna help us? You never were much of a fighter.
LINDSEY: You need am army. And I've brought you one. Get in the chopper and I'll take you to them.
WES: Take us to whom?
LINDSEY: 40 heavily-armed demon fighters who'll do whatever you tell them. I'll explain on the way.
Gunn, Wes and Fred go off to the side for a quick huddle.
WES: We can't trust him.
GUNN: Who can we trust at this point?
FRED: And we really do have literally nothing to lose.
GUNN: Plus, if he tries anything, we can take em.
WES: Yes. Either of us could. Easily.
They board the chopper. Lindsey explains what he's been up to.
LINDSEY: When I got home, I took out a loan and started up my own firm. We led a class action lawsuit against against a petrochemical company that had polluted this town on the Gulf, creating cancer clusters, birth defects, pretty awful stuff. After depositions and jury selection they settled for $300 million.
FRED: And don't the lawyers get a third of that?
LINDSEY: When you work on contingency it's usually 40%, but I lowered my fee to a third in this case.
WES: [sarcastically] Left a few crumbs on the table. That was mighty charitable of you.
GUNN: You made 100 mil off other people's suffering?
LINDSEY: I made sure they were well-compensated for their suffering. Without me, they would have gotten nothing. I'm not gonna waste time debating this. Just wanted to explain how I can afford the chopper. My firm also did some work for a company called Next Defense. They make demon fighting equipment for the U.S. military, among others.
FRED: What is there, some super-secret special ops group of men in black who run around dusting demons and taking them to secret underground laboratories to do experiments on them?
LINDSEY: They never were very super-secret. I became interested in working for the good guys. Had a lot of ideas from my tenure on the other side. Now I'm on their Board of Directors. The Wolfram & Hart connections were disturbingly helpful in landing foreign contracts. They sell soldiers as well as equipment. We hire fighters when they leave the military, and they go all over the world. Course the guys are working pro bono on this one. I talked the CEO into making a goodwill gesture.
FRED: But if the government knows about demons, and fights demons, why they letting LA get sucked dry?
LINDSEY: Posse Comitatus Law. Can't use American soldiers on American soil. As private contractors, we're free to operate wherever we please.
WES: By the way, how is your evil hand?
FRED: Evil hand?
GUNN: Angel cut off Lindsey's right hand.
WES: Back when Lindsey was evil and was obsessed with killing Angel.
GUNN: He got a new hand from an executed serial killer.
WES: It had a mind of its own. A mind of pure evil.
LINDSEY: That nasty side effect went away after a few months. I can assure you that currently none of my appendages are evil. We should be at Hughes Airport in a minute. That's where you'll meet your teams. By the way, care to tell me what brought this about?
[they explain while the helicopter lands and continue explaining while the four of them wait on the tarmac. Lindsey is understandably shocked by some of the details.]
LINDSEY: Darla has a son. Man, that's just, wow. And he's all grown up?
FRED: Physically, more or less. Mentally, not even close.
LINDSEY: Quor Toth could explain that. We used to send demons who betrayed the company to that dimension. He must have a lot of his mother's strength to survive that place. You can't find him?
GUNN: Not for the last couple nights.
LINDSEY: And he thinks Angel's his father?
FRED: Thinks!? What do you mean thinks?
[just then two very large cargo helicopters land nearby. When the rotors slow down enough for Lindsey's voice to be heard, he explains.]
LINDSEY: These come courtesy of the Corporation. [the cargo holds are lowered] As is the equipment. [four armoured humvees are driven out of the belly of each helicopter as Wes, Gunn and Fred look on in astonishment] The latest in slaying technology [he picks up an odd-looking grenade] This is a grenade where the charge has been lessened and the casing is made of wood. Shoots out thousands of splinters which kill all vampires in a ten foot radius. Can be thrown by hand or shot out of this launcher on the back of the vehicle, which has a range of 100 yards. These things are small napalm canisters. Ignite on contact and incinerate the target in seconds. Shot out of this tube, with a range of 200 yards. [holds up one of their guns] This is what the men use in close combat. Stuns the vampire into unconsciousness from as far as 20 feet away. The military doesn't expect its soldiers to fight vampires hand-to-hand. Which makes you guys are braver than their bravest. They'll look up to you for that reason. Alpha Company will be commanded by Charles Gunn. Bravo Company will take its orders from Wesley Wyndham Price. Charlie Company, you work for Winifred Burkle. Delta Company will for the moment be under my command. [he walks over to Wes, Gunn and Fred] You guys know where I can find Lorne?
GUNN: You must be tripping.
LINDSEY: He knows the terrain. All he has to do is point the men in the right direction, and they'll do their job.
WES: They'll take orders from a demon? A helpless, non-violent demon whom they could easily overpower?
LINDSEY: They take their orders from whomever I tell them to. Decide which neighborhoods each of you want to start in. The men do three hour patrols, followed by six hours off, and so on. You have them for four patrols. Twelve hours of fighting over a 30 hour period. Use them as best you can. I'm off to find Lorne. [they tell him where they belive Lorne is. Lindsey walks into the cargo helicopter, and drives out in his old red Ford pickup. Two humvees each filled with five soldiers follow him. Wes, Gunn and Fred are left to get acquainted with their ten-man teams.
GRAHAM: Charles Gunn?
GUNN: Call me Gunn.
GRAHAM: Call me Graham. I'm leading your team.
GUNN: [looks over his men] Three brothers. Not bad. That should come in handy when we hit my old hood. I have truck I use to fight vamps. I'm pretty proud of it, but — damn! We gonna do a lot a killin' with these wheels.
Wesley draws like a man possessed on the maps his men have.
WES: I'm going to exploit your mobility to the utmost. Each car will maneuver independently. You paths will converge on this sector. You will obliterate anything undead that crosses your path. Those that run will be fleeing into a trap. [he pauses to look at the equipment] These infra-red vampire motion detectors are just tremendous. They should help immeasurably when you're searching individual buildings. Remember, only enter structures with three or more vampires inside. We have to be efficient. I will maintain constant radio contact. Both teams will now proceed to my headquarters. (he means his apartment) I will then operate between the two teams, right in the thick of it. I'll have my motorcycle, and can quickly come to the aid of either squad. When we are finished, the streets of this city will be covered with the ashes of our enemies. Move out.
Unlike Gunn and Wes, Fred doesn't let it go to her head. She feels a little odd about the dictatorial power she's been given.
FRED: So. Uh, men. Hi. I'm Fred. Um, you're going to kill vampires. I just have to figure out where. Got it! [she looks at the map and decides to focus on the neighborhood around her old college, since she knows that area well] That's where. Let's get rolling. Wait. Who am I riding with? Tony, you're the leader, so you take that vehicle. I'll go in the other one.
Along the way, a soldier named Curtis strikes up a conversation with her.
CURTIS: How did a nice, pretty girl like yourself get involved in demon hunting?
FRED: I was enslaved for five years in a demon dimension.
CURTIS: Is that like a joke, or code for something?
FRED: I wish. You heard right. Slave cow in Pylea. Held captive by a primitive society of demon warriors. Like Sparta, but without the homoerotic male bonding. Humans were their Helots. Until there was this big huge revolt and the humans liberated themselves and I got rescued and taken home.
CURTIS: Kind of makes plebe year at the Academy sound like a vacation. So you're hardcore.
FRED: Excuse me! Hardcore what? I wasn't THAT kind of slave girl.
CURTIS: Sorry. I meant you must be really tough. To make it through all that.
Lorne sits alone in a dark one-room apartment, drinking gin straight from the bottle. Junk is strewn everywhere. His hair's a mess. His clothes are wrinkled and tattered. He's pretty much given up on life. He hears a knock at the door, and assumes it's trouble.
LORNE: If you're a vampire, you should know I'm a demon. Which means if you're looking for a meal you're wasting your time. So scram! [he looks through the peephole and sees an old familiar face. He looks again. Then a third time, just to make sure] Lindsey? Lindsey is it really you?
LINDSEY: It's me Lorne. Open up. I need your help.
LORNE: You need help. I need help. This whole town needs help. [pulls off the latch, undoes the two bolts, and opens the door. Lindsey looks stunned]
LINDSEY: What happened to you?
LORNE: The apocalypse. The Beast. Angelus. Cordy going all Linda Blair, without the laughs. Take a look outside. Everything's gone to Hell. Even your old comrades have bit the dust.
LINDSEY: I heard. Too bad about Lilah. Get yourself cleaned up. You're about to become a leader of men.
LORNE: Look snookums, if you're talking about a band, my voice is shot, I'm all out of practice, and I just don't have the heart for it anymore.
LINDSEY: Look out that window. See those two trucks. You're in charge of them, and the ten men they hold.
LORNE: Soldiers. Is this like a Village People thing?
LINDSEY: They're mercenaries. Vampire hunters. And for the next three hours they work for you. They go where you tell them to go.
LORNE: You're serious.
LINDSEY: Gunn, Fred and Wes each have teams of their own. Plan is for each of you to start with the neighborhoods you're most familiar with.
LORNE: So for me that would be Caritas. Ground zero for the big evil. Sing for me.
LINDSEY: Lorne, we don't have time.
LORNE: Just a couple bars. From anything.
Lindsey thinks for a few seconds, then comes up with something appropriate — the chorus to The Band's "It Makes No Difference."
LINDSEY: "And the sun don't shine anymore/ and the rain falls down on my door."
LORNE: Heavens to Betsy, how I've missed that sweet voice of yours. Plus now I know you're for real. Guess it's time for me to take back the night. What was that I heard about Faith?
Lindsey explains as they walk down to the soldiers.
LINDSEY: The Sunnydale PD made a number of procedural foul-ups. Tons of reversible error. Coulda got her off. Woulda if she stayed on our side. But when she went redemptrist, Wolfram cut her loose. Plus, she had inadequate representation while in custody. Actually, she had no representation. Plenty to spring her loose on appeal pending a new trial. My new firm's been working on it on and off. But the appellate courts move slowly. Her hearing's three weeks from now. It would sure be nice to have some Slayer muscle to back you guys up.
LORNE: Once she gets out she'll probably want back in. Prison's a lot safer than LA these days.
Maximum security women's prison out in the desert. Faith is fighting two demons who've been teleported into Cell Block F by the First to kill her. This is the sixth time in the last two weeks something's gotten in and attacked her.
FAITH: It's been three days. I don't like to be kept waiting.
Kicks one in the head. The other one comes at her from behind. She reaches back, grabs it, and flips the demon to the ground in front of her. Then she snaps its neck. The other one punches her in the face. She kicks it in the stomach. It leaps on top of her and tries to bite her. While she's on her back she snaps its neck. The two demon corpses melt away. Faith stands up. All the other prisoners are staring at her.
FAITH: Come on ladies. Nothin' ya ain't seen before.
They all turn away and pretend to get back to their business. Faith walks up to one particularly tough-looking woman.
CRISTAL: How ya feelin', Faith?
FAITH: Five by two.
Cristal looks terrified. Faith punches her in the jaw. She tumbles to the ground.
FAITH: What am I paying your gang for? Answer me! [She kicks Cristal in the mouth.] Answer me!!
CRISTAL: To protect you.
FAITH: That's right. But I didn't see no one protecting me. Did you?
Pulls her foot back as if she's going to kick Cristal in the face. Cristal flinches and puts up her arms for protection. Faith smiles. She just wanted to make sure Cristal was scared.
CRISTAL: They came too quick. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Faith kicks Cristal in the ribs. She groans in pain.
FAITH: You're not even close to sorry. You don't want to know what it feels like when I make you sorry. You better make this up to me Cris.
CRISTAL: We will. I promise.
FAITH: Don't promise. Do it.
Faith walks away in disgust. Cristal's friends help her to her feet. Faith goes back to her cell. It's the largest in the block. It was built for four, but she's got it all to herself. After showing the other girls that she was NOT to be trifled with, Faith said she wanted that particular cell, and the four women living in it left without making a fuss. She's got a rug, a television, a small stereo, and all sorts of other creature comforts. Bought with proceeds from protection money — Faith getting paid to protect prisoners from the other inmates — and extortion money — Faith getting paid to protect prisoners from herself. If it wasn't for the orange jumpsuit, you would assume she was the warden. Two inmates lightly tap on the bars.
FAITH: Grace and Elaine?
GRACE: You said you'd mediate.
FAITH: Step into my office.
Faith reclines on her bed. The two women sit down on chairs nearby. Faith reaches out her hand. They each give her a twenty for the privilege of having Faith settle their dispute.
FAITH: What seems to be the problem this time?
ELAINE: Grace's crew is sellin' in block C. That's our turf. They got block G.
FAITH: I know. Care to explain, Grace?
GRACE: You know G's smaller than C. Lot less customers.
FAITH: And you don't think that's fair.
GRACE: Damn straight. [Faith laughs]
FAITH: You think I care about what's fair? Elaine, you've been good to me. But so have you Grace. Tell you what I'll do. Grace, you stop pushing in C. However, I'll let you move in on Cristal's turf in B. She's lost her monopoly there. And if any of her girls give any of yours any trouble, tell them they can take it up with me.
ELAINE: Cool with me.
GRACE: Thanks Faith. I owe you.
FAITH: Two hundred. [reaches out her hand]
GRACE: Right now?
FAITH: By dinner. Now get out.
Grace and Elaine leave. Faith lies back and puts on her headphones. A few minutes later she falls asleep. In her dream, she and the Mayor are sitting next to one another on a desert island surrounded by endless blue seas.
MAYOR: I knew nothing could keep you down. You've turned into quite the leader. Maintaining order. Snuffing out chaos. Keeping all your neighbors in line. Almost like you're following in my footsteps.
FAITH: [smiling bashfully] It's hardly a fair fight.
MAYOR: I know, sweetie. You don't belong here. I blame myself. I should have done more, to save you. [gets choked up] Look, I don't mean to sound like my Aunt Maybell, but you've really made lemonade out of this lemon. But the picnic's ending.
He disappears. Faith turns around and sees a small snake slithering into its pit. She looks out and notices the water's gone. She gets up and starts to walk through the desolate Death Valley landscape. Faith looks up and sees a comet shoot across the bright blue sky. The dagger the Mayor bought her materializes in her right hand. She looks around and notices she's surrounded by six knife-wielding Bringers. She's seen them before, in dreams where they killed other women. The Bringers bear down, she prepares to fight them, but wakes up before that happens.