Chapter 33
Buffy, Gunn, Angel, and Spike were walking through the garage that held all of her and Angel's cars. Gunn was still explaining what he knew. "Started flipping through the brain files soon as Harmony told me. Figured there had to be some kind of precedent."
"And?" Angel asked.
"Senior partners had trouble with a guy in the Tokyo division way back. Lindsey probably got the tattoo idea from studying up on him."
"And wherever they sent this guy, that's where Lindsey is."
"Yup."
"I hope it's toy poodle hell. I've had my fill of fire." Spike said.
"It's not hell. It's a Wolfram & Hart holding dimension."
"Meaning what?" Buffy asked. "The Senior Partners haven't decided what to do with Lindsey?"
"Their version of a penalty box."
"Great. So.... how we supposed to get there?"
"Ever taken the Camaro?"
They stopped walking as they approached the classic Camaro painted shiny cobalt blue. After a second, Buffy looked at the guys. "Shot gun!" She walked over and opened the door so Spike and Gunn could crawl in back.
***
Angel was in the driver's seat, but he wasn't steering. The car was driving itself. "This is weirding me out. Is this weirding you out?" Angel asked Buffy.
"Majorly." Buffy said, staring at the possessed wheel.
Spike poked his head up front. "What, you never heard of Knight Rider? The Knight Industries 2000? K.I.T.T.? Never mind."
"Car's built to get us there. Once we have Lindsey, it's on us to find the Wrath." Gunn said.
"The Wrath?! You know that's gonna be a giggle."
"Whatever it is, we got to go through it to get out."
"I've never seen these streets before." Buffy said.
"Where we going: not in the Thomas Guide."
"There's gonna be fire." Spike said, sitting back.
Buffy looked at Angel as the Camaro headed through the dark night into a tunnel carved into a hillside. "Glad we never decided to take this car before."
"Tell me about it." Buffy said.
When the Camaro emerged from the other end of the tunnel, it was a beautiful, sunny day with clear blue skies. They looked out the windows to find themselves in a suburban neighborhood.
"This isn't hell. It's the 'burbs." Spike said.
"Close enough." Buffy quipped. She turned and looked at Gunn.
"This is Lindsey's punishment? For trying to kill me?" Angel asked. "Hunh! Maybe it's a reward."
As they drove, men came out of their houses and walked down the driveway. They headed to the end and picked up their morning paper. The creepy thing was that they did it all at the exact same time. "Ok, the Camaro ride? Not looking so creepy anymore." Buffy said.
The Camaro pulled up to one of the identical houses and stopped. Spike stared out the window at the sunny front lawn between the car and Lindsey's front door. "Oh, so we just open with me being on fire. That's great."
"Yeah. You can put your coat over your head and make a run for it." Angel said, smiling at him.
"Bloody thief is what you are. Should've been my ring."
"You're the one that messed up."
Buffy opened the car door and Spike reacted instantly, recoiling with fright, putting his hands to his face trying to shield himself from the sunlight pouring in through Buffy's open car door. She stepped out and helped Gunn get out. Spike realized that he wasn't on fire and looked at Angel confused.
"Alternate dimension, remember?" Gunn asked. "Sun's the non-frying variety."
"I figured that." Spike said.
"Moron." Angel said, getting out and walking over to Buffy's side.
"Can we go?" Buffy asked. They all walked up to the front door.
"Grab Lindsey and we get out."
"Kill everything in our way." Gunn said.
"What's going to be in our way, the family mutt?" Spike asked, pushing the doorbell.
"This is Wolfram & Hart. Odds are there's something ugly behind that door."
A pretty blonde woman opened the door. "Can I help you?"
"Uh, is Lindsey home?" Angel asked.
"Sure. Come on in." She stood back and allowed them to enter. Buffy looked at Angel, extremely confused. "Honey?" The woman called. "There's coffee."
"No. We're fine. Thanks."
Lindsey walked down the stairs. "Zach's hockey stick's gone missing. Oh. I didn't realize we had company."
"I'll do search and rescue." The woman walked away.
"Ok. How can I help you guys.... And lady?"
"Cut the act, Ward. June's gone." Spike said.
"Excuse me?"
"You don't know who we are?" Buffy asked.
"No. Do you play in the league?"
"No, um.... I'm Angel. This is Spike and Gunn. And this is my wife, Buffy." Angel said.
"You might want to have a seat." Gunn said.
"Ok. Please. Is this about the free vacation I entered to win?" Lindsey asked, offering them seats.
"Does the name Wolfram & Hart mean anything to you?" Buffy asked. "It's a law firm. You used to work there."
"All right, Buffy, is it? Yeah. Now, the only lawyer I know is the one who fixes my speeding tickets."
"Well, that guy, he's not real." Angel said. "None of this is. You're under some spell."
"What?"
"Nuts and bolts, you're in hell. We've come to break you out." Spike said.
"All right. Who put you up to this? Was it Fisher?"
"There's no joke. You're in a mystical holding cell, an alternate reality." Gunn said.
"So Trish is not my wife and Zach's not my son?"
"Now he's gettin' it." Spike said. "Ever heard of something called the Wrath?"
"Seriously, is Fisher outside?" Lindsey stood and looked out the window.
"Lindsey, this whole life is a lie." Angel said.
"All right. This is starting to get a little less funny. I think you guys should leave."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're here to help."
"Ok. Get out. Now."
Buffy grabbed Lindsey by the collar. "Look, we're telling you the truth. You don't want to believe it, that's your choice. Either way, you're coming with us."
"Get off me!"
Buffy noticed the runic necklace. "Maybe this will help you make up your mind." She ripped the necklace off of Lindsey. Lindsey collapsed to the floor in a heap. He came to and tried to sit up when he noticed Angel standing there, wearing a dagger on his belt.
"Angel. Make it quick."
"If I was gonna kill you, it wouldn't be quick." Angel said, pulling Lindsey to his feet by his collar. Lindsey's 'wife' walked into the room, smiling.
"Oh! Hi." Spike said. "Your hubby was just showing us a thing...." The wife lifted up her arms to reveal she was carrying a machine gun. She pointed it at the gang and started shooting. Buffy, Spike, and Gunn ducked behind the couch, while Angel had to pull Lindsey to safety because he was just standing there mired in confusion. "Seems your wife's a little moody."
"Get Lindsey to the car! Go! Now!" Angel said to Buffy. He rushed the wife, serving as a shield for the others behind him as they tried to escape. Buffy grabbed Lindsey up and together with Gunn and Spike, carried him out through the front door. The wife continued shooting, but Angel got close enough to rush her. He nearly knocked the gun from her hand, but she punched him, knocking him down, then started beating Angel in the head with the butt of the gun.
Spike stopped in his tracks when he noticed that the Camaro was no longer parked on the street in front of the house. "Didn't we have a car?"
As they stood there stupefied, an ice cream truck pulled up in front of the house, and the driver started shooting a machine gun at them from the street. Spike shielded Buffy and Gunn, taking the bullets in his back as he pushed them into the house. The mail carrier also joined in the firefight, shooting at the gang with a handgun in each hand. Lindsey tripped and fell to the ground as Gunn and Buffy shoved him out of the firefight outside back into the house. Angel was still fighting the wife, but appeared to have the upper hand now, as he was punching her repeatedly in the face, ultimately knocking her down.
"Hey, our bloody ride's gone." Spike said.
Buffy saw the boy, Zach, creeping down the stairs holding a machine gun. "Get down!" The boy started shooting and the gang hid behind the couch again.
"We've got to find the Wrath." Gunn yelled. "Where's the Wrath?"
"Where's not the Wrath? The Wrath's all over!" Spike said.
Buffy grabbed Lindsey and hauled him close to her. "Lindsey, think. Do you know where it is?"
"I don't know. I don't know!" Lindsey said.
"There's a door by the kitchen. Might be a way out, through the cellar." Gunn said.
"No! We can't go down there, not the cellar!"
"Cellar it is, then." Spike said.
"Guessin' we found the Wrath." Buffy said.
"No! Please, don't!" Lindsey yelled. Angel and Spike turned over the couch and pushed it forward into the boy, giving them a reprieve from the gunfire as they headed for the cellar door. The gang went through the door and down the steps into the cellar. "We're all gonna die."
"Not today." Angel said.
"Every day."
They had descended the stairs into the cellar, and everyone was having a look around. It looked like a torture dungeon, and it was lit by candles. "Holy!" Spike said.
"Nothing holy here." Gunn said.
Buffy walked up to a pile of a hundred or so bloody organs on the floor. "Oh gross! A heart? Whose are these?"
"Mine." Lindsey said.
"Oh." Buffy backed away.
"Try to find the door, some way out." Angel said.
"With pleasure. The faster we get out of here, the better." Spike said.
Buffy jingled some chains on the wall. "Somebody has fun with these."
"Buffy...." Angel said, opening a creaky door that revealed a huge flaming furnace behind it.
"The Wrath?"
"Could be."
"What did I tell you?" Spike asked, looking at the fire.
"The lock's mystical." Gunn said.
"Well, how do we...." Angel started.
"He's coming." Lindsey said.
"Who?" Spike asked.
"He knows. He always knows."
"Who?"
Buffy noticed a demon approaching, his chains rattling. "Him. Gunn, guard Lindsey!" Gunn took Lindsey out of the way, while Buffy, Angel, and Spike faced off with the demon. A fight ensued with Spike swinging a pipe at the demon, Angel using his dagger, and Buffy yanking a bloody machete from the wall. Eventually, after much punching and kicking each other across the room, the vamped-out vampires and the Slayer overpowered the demon by using his own torture devices.
"Come on." Angel said.
Gunn put Lindsey's necklace on. Buffy looked at him. "Gunn, no! What the hell are you doing?"
"What needs to be done." Gunn said.
"I'm not leaving you here."
"You don't make the rules here. Wolfram & Hart does. If one leaves, one has to stay. A void is impossible." The gate in front of the fire opened.
"You knew."
"That thing about atonement."
"Gunn...."
"Buffy, let's go!" Angel said.
"You are not bloody serious!" Spike said.
"When I forget, the door closes." Gunn said. "Go. You have to."
Buffy hugged Gunn tightly. "I'll find a way to get you back."
Angel grabbed Buffy and pulled her through the fire. They walked through a glowing portal and then found themselves falling. They hit one of their cars just as Lorne was about to haul ass. "What the daisy?!" Lorne asked, getting out of the car.
Spike got to his feet, panicking. "I'm on fire! Oh, never mind."
Eve jumped out of the car. "Lindsey!" She hugged him tightly. "What did they do to you?"
"He'll be fine." Buffy said, checking her hair for singes.
"Whereas we got shot and almost killed by a juiced-up S&M demon." Spike said. "Thanks for asking."
"Let's get upstairs." Angel said. He and Spike flanked Lindsey, each supporting one of his shoulders, as they carried him toward the elevator.
"Be careful. He's hurt." Eve said.
Lorne grabbed Buffy's arm. "Uh, Buffy, you guys should know there's a very tall, well-dressed, uh.... Where's Gunn?"
"He, uh.... he stayed behind." Buffy said.
"Stayed behind? But you never leave a...." Buffy avoided eye contact. "Or.... I guess we do. That's what we do now."
There was a loud thumping on the stairwell. "Oh God!" Eve said.
"Like I was saying."
A man punched the door off its hinges, sending it flying into the garage. When the dust settled, the man walked out into the garage and approached Angel and the others. "Damn.... he is well-dressed." Angel said.
"Please, don't do this." Eve pleaded.
"Eve's under my protection. You can't touch her."
The man stood his ground and reached into his vest pocket to pull out a pen. "Whoa. Didn't see that coming." Spike said.
"You know how it works, Eve." The man said.
"You could talk to the senior partners. Tell them it's a mistake."
"That's impossible."
"I said back off." Angel said.
The man pulled out a contract and handed it to Eve. "Don't bother, Angel. It's over." She said.
"Sign here." The man said. She signed. "Good girl."
"What the hell's going on?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, sorry for the intrusion. I'm Marcus Hamilton, your new liaison to the senior partners. And here."
"You're what?"
"Along with her immortality and certain other privileges, Eve has signed over her duties to me. Oh, and initial there."
"This is about a contract?" Angel asked. "I thought you said you were gonna die."
"And now one day I will." Eve said.
"The senior partners felt it was time for a change." Hamilton said. "Eve was too easily distracted. Lost sight of the big picture."
"I fell in love."
"Yes. Congratulations. Wonderful escape, by the way. Very clever. We'll be in touch. Oh, I have some excellent ideas I can't wait to share."
Angel intercepted Hamilton. "This is my house. The only ideas that matter are mine and my wife's."
"Absolutely. That's the policy. The senior partners are behind you two 100%."
"I doubt that." Buffy said.
"I'm looking forward to working myself into the mix. Angel, Mrs. Summers, Spike.... Welcome to the team." With that, he walked away.
"Well, he's not so bad." Lorne said.
Buffy shook her head. "Ok boys, who goes first with the first aid?"
***
Dawn was using some hefty tweezers to pull bullets out of Spike's back. She dropped one into a bowl nearby and proceeded to dig out another. "Ouch! Take it easy, half pint!" Spike said.
"Sorry, I've never really done this." Dawn said.
"Just get on with it."
"You ok?" Buffy asked Angel, gently digging out the last bullet from her husband's chest.
"Been better." Angel said.
"There." Buffy dropped the bullet in the bowl and handed Angel a shirt. He slipped it on as she put the final bandage on him.
"The hero of the hour." Lindsey said.
"I'm not your hero. I'm your warden." Angel replied.
"It's all how you look at the glass."
"I thought a few months of torture at the hands of the senior partners would have dug a little deeper."
"Just scratched the surface. Turns out they can only undo you as far as you think you deserve to be undone. I wonder how Gunn's gonna make out."
"The senior partners want to know everything you know about them. About the apocalypse, about their plans for me and Buffy."
"And for me." Spike said. "The guy with the pen said, 'welcome to the team.' Must've meant something."
"You know what I know. Look around. The world's a cesspool.... full of selfish and greedy beasts. We live, we die. Even you, babe." Lindsey said to Eve.
"Lindsey, don't." Eve complained.
"You still happy to see me?"
"Yeah, hell's on earth. Holland manners tried to sell me that line 3 years ago." Angel said.
"Did you ever prove him wrong?"
"All how you look at the glass. You know, Lindsey, we can philosophize all night. Hell.... We could do it forever, huh? I don't need to eat, sleep, drink. How about you?"
"That's what I like to see.... the Angel of yore. Takes no prisoners, suffers no fools. How 'bout this? It's here. It's been here all along. Underneath. You're just too damn stupid to see it."
"See what?" Buffy asked.
"The apocalypse. You're soaking in it."
"I've seen an apocalypse or two in my time." Spike said. "I'd know I one was under my nose."
"Not AN apocalypse. THE apocalypse. What'd you think, a gong was gonna sound? Time to jump on your horses and fight the big fight? Starting pistol went off a long time ago, boys and girl. You're playing for the bad guys. Every day you sit behind your desk and you learn a little more how to accept the world the way it is. Well, here's the rub.... heroes don't do that. Heroes don't accept the world the way it is. They fight it."
"You're saying everything we do.... it's a distraction.... to keep us busy from looking under the surface." Buffy said.
"Ding! We have a winner! The world keeps sliding towards entropy and degradation, and what do you two do? You sit in your big chair, and you sign your checks, just like the senior partners planned. The war's here, guys. And you're already 2 soldiers down."
Buffy and Angel looked at each other. They could read what the other was thinking and both of them were worried beyond normal.
Buffy, Gunn, Angel, and Spike were walking through the garage that held all of her and Angel's cars. Gunn was still explaining what he knew. "Started flipping through the brain files soon as Harmony told me. Figured there had to be some kind of precedent."
"And?" Angel asked.
"Senior partners had trouble with a guy in the Tokyo division way back. Lindsey probably got the tattoo idea from studying up on him."
"And wherever they sent this guy, that's where Lindsey is."
"Yup."
"I hope it's toy poodle hell. I've had my fill of fire." Spike said.
"It's not hell. It's a Wolfram & Hart holding dimension."
"Meaning what?" Buffy asked. "The Senior Partners haven't decided what to do with Lindsey?"
"Their version of a penalty box."
"Great. So.... how we supposed to get there?"
"Ever taken the Camaro?"
They stopped walking as they approached the classic Camaro painted shiny cobalt blue. After a second, Buffy looked at the guys. "Shot gun!" She walked over and opened the door so Spike and Gunn could crawl in back.
***
Angel was in the driver's seat, but he wasn't steering. The car was driving itself. "This is weirding me out. Is this weirding you out?" Angel asked Buffy.
"Majorly." Buffy said, staring at the possessed wheel.
Spike poked his head up front. "What, you never heard of Knight Rider? The Knight Industries 2000? K.I.T.T.? Never mind."
"Car's built to get us there. Once we have Lindsey, it's on us to find the Wrath." Gunn said.
"The Wrath?! You know that's gonna be a giggle."
"Whatever it is, we got to go through it to get out."
"I've never seen these streets before." Buffy said.
"Where we going: not in the Thomas Guide."
"There's gonna be fire." Spike said, sitting back.
Buffy looked at Angel as the Camaro headed through the dark night into a tunnel carved into a hillside. "Glad we never decided to take this car before."
"Tell me about it." Buffy said.
When the Camaro emerged from the other end of the tunnel, it was a beautiful, sunny day with clear blue skies. They looked out the windows to find themselves in a suburban neighborhood.
"This isn't hell. It's the 'burbs." Spike said.
"Close enough." Buffy quipped. She turned and looked at Gunn.
"This is Lindsey's punishment? For trying to kill me?" Angel asked. "Hunh! Maybe it's a reward."
As they drove, men came out of their houses and walked down the driveway. They headed to the end and picked up their morning paper. The creepy thing was that they did it all at the exact same time. "Ok, the Camaro ride? Not looking so creepy anymore." Buffy said.
The Camaro pulled up to one of the identical houses and stopped. Spike stared out the window at the sunny front lawn between the car and Lindsey's front door. "Oh, so we just open with me being on fire. That's great."
"Yeah. You can put your coat over your head and make a run for it." Angel said, smiling at him.
"Bloody thief is what you are. Should've been my ring."
"You're the one that messed up."
Buffy opened the car door and Spike reacted instantly, recoiling with fright, putting his hands to his face trying to shield himself from the sunlight pouring in through Buffy's open car door. She stepped out and helped Gunn get out. Spike realized that he wasn't on fire and looked at Angel confused.
"Alternate dimension, remember?" Gunn asked. "Sun's the non-frying variety."
"I figured that." Spike said.
"Moron." Angel said, getting out and walking over to Buffy's side.
"Can we go?" Buffy asked. They all walked up to the front door.
"Grab Lindsey and we get out."
"Kill everything in our way." Gunn said.
"What's going to be in our way, the family mutt?" Spike asked, pushing the doorbell.
"This is Wolfram & Hart. Odds are there's something ugly behind that door."
A pretty blonde woman opened the door. "Can I help you?"
"Uh, is Lindsey home?" Angel asked.
"Sure. Come on in." She stood back and allowed them to enter. Buffy looked at Angel, extremely confused. "Honey?" The woman called. "There's coffee."
"No. We're fine. Thanks."
Lindsey walked down the stairs. "Zach's hockey stick's gone missing. Oh. I didn't realize we had company."
"I'll do search and rescue." The woman walked away.
"Ok. How can I help you guys.... And lady?"
"Cut the act, Ward. June's gone." Spike said.
"Excuse me?"
"You don't know who we are?" Buffy asked.
"No. Do you play in the league?"
"No, um.... I'm Angel. This is Spike and Gunn. And this is my wife, Buffy." Angel said.
"You might want to have a seat." Gunn said.
"Ok. Please. Is this about the free vacation I entered to win?" Lindsey asked, offering them seats.
"Does the name Wolfram & Hart mean anything to you?" Buffy asked. "It's a law firm. You used to work there."
"All right, Buffy, is it? Yeah. Now, the only lawyer I know is the one who fixes my speeding tickets."
"Well, that guy, he's not real." Angel said. "None of this is. You're under some spell."
"What?"
"Nuts and bolts, you're in hell. We've come to break you out." Spike said.
"All right. Who put you up to this? Was it Fisher?"
"There's no joke. You're in a mystical holding cell, an alternate reality." Gunn said.
"So Trish is not my wife and Zach's not my son?"
"Now he's gettin' it." Spike said. "Ever heard of something called the Wrath?"
"Seriously, is Fisher outside?" Lindsey stood and looked out the window.
"Lindsey, this whole life is a lie." Angel said.
"All right. This is starting to get a little less funny. I think you guys should leave."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're here to help."
"Ok. Get out. Now."
Buffy grabbed Lindsey by the collar. "Look, we're telling you the truth. You don't want to believe it, that's your choice. Either way, you're coming with us."
"Get off me!"
Buffy noticed the runic necklace. "Maybe this will help you make up your mind." She ripped the necklace off of Lindsey. Lindsey collapsed to the floor in a heap. He came to and tried to sit up when he noticed Angel standing there, wearing a dagger on his belt.
"Angel. Make it quick."
"If I was gonna kill you, it wouldn't be quick." Angel said, pulling Lindsey to his feet by his collar. Lindsey's 'wife' walked into the room, smiling.
"Oh! Hi." Spike said. "Your hubby was just showing us a thing...." The wife lifted up her arms to reveal she was carrying a machine gun. She pointed it at the gang and started shooting. Buffy, Spike, and Gunn ducked behind the couch, while Angel had to pull Lindsey to safety because he was just standing there mired in confusion. "Seems your wife's a little moody."
"Get Lindsey to the car! Go! Now!" Angel said to Buffy. He rushed the wife, serving as a shield for the others behind him as they tried to escape. Buffy grabbed Lindsey up and together with Gunn and Spike, carried him out through the front door. The wife continued shooting, but Angel got close enough to rush her. He nearly knocked the gun from her hand, but she punched him, knocking him down, then started beating Angel in the head with the butt of the gun.
Spike stopped in his tracks when he noticed that the Camaro was no longer parked on the street in front of the house. "Didn't we have a car?"
As they stood there stupefied, an ice cream truck pulled up in front of the house, and the driver started shooting a machine gun at them from the street. Spike shielded Buffy and Gunn, taking the bullets in his back as he pushed them into the house. The mail carrier also joined in the firefight, shooting at the gang with a handgun in each hand. Lindsey tripped and fell to the ground as Gunn and Buffy shoved him out of the firefight outside back into the house. Angel was still fighting the wife, but appeared to have the upper hand now, as he was punching her repeatedly in the face, ultimately knocking her down.
"Hey, our bloody ride's gone." Spike said.
Buffy saw the boy, Zach, creeping down the stairs holding a machine gun. "Get down!" The boy started shooting and the gang hid behind the couch again.
"We've got to find the Wrath." Gunn yelled. "Where's the Wrath?"
"Where's not the Wrath? The Wrath's all over!" Spike said.
Buffy grabbed Lindsey and hauled him close to her. "Lindsey, think. Do you know where it is?"
"I don't know. I don't know!" Lindsey said.
"There's a door by the kitchen. Might be a way out, through the cellar." Gunn said.
"No! We can't go down there, not the cellar!"
"Cellar it is, then." Spike said.
"Guessin' we found the Wrath." Buffy said.
"No! Please, don't!" Lindsey yelled. Angel and Spike turned over the couch and pushed it forward into the boy, giving them a reprieve from the gunfire as they headed for the cellar door. The gang went through the door and down the steps into the cellar. "We're all gonna die."
"Not today." Angel said.
"Every day."
They had descended the stairs into the cellar, and everyone was having a look around. It looked like a torture dungeon, and it was lit by candles. "Holy!" Spike said.
"Nothing holy here." Gunn said.
Buffy walked up to a pile of a hundred or so bloody organs on the floor. "Oh gross! A heart? Whose are these?"
"Mine." Lindsey said.
"Oh." Buffy backed away.
"Try to find the door, some way out." Angel said.
"With pleasure. The faster we get out of here, the better." Spike said.
Buffy jingled some chains on the wall. "Somebody has fun with these."
"Buffy...." Angel said, opening a creaky door that revealed a huge flaming furnace behind it.
"The Wrath?"
"Could be."
"What did I tell you?" Spike asked, looking at the fire.
"The lock's mystical." Gunn said.
"Well, how do we...." Angel started.
"He's coming." Lindsey said.
"Who?" Spike asked.
"He knows. He always knows."
"Who?"
Buffy noticed a demon approaching, his chains rattling. "Him. Gunn, guard Lindsey!" Gunn took Lindsey out of the way, while Buffy, Angel, and Spike faced off with the demon. A fight ensued with Spike swinging a pipe at the demon, Angel using his dagger, and Buffy yanking a bloody machete from the wall. Eventually, after much punching and kicking each other across the room, the vamped-out vampires and the Slayer overpowered the demon by using his own torture devices.
"Come on." Angel said.
Gunn put Lindsey's necklace on. Buffy looked at him. "Gunn, no! What the hell are you doing?"
"What needs to be done." Gunn said.
"I'm not leaving you here."
"You don't make the rules here. Wolfram & Hart does. If one leaves, one has to stay. A void is impossible." The gate in front of the fire opened.
"You knew."
"That thing about atonement."
"Gunn...."
"Buffy, let's go!" Angel said.
"You are not bloody serious!" Spike said.
"When I forget, the door closes." Gunn said. "Go. You have to."
Buffy hugged Gunn tightly. "I'll find a way to get you back."
Angel grabbed Buffy and pulled her through the fire. They walked through a glowing portal and then found themselves falling. They hit one of their cars just as Lorne was about to haul ass. "What the daisy?!" Lorne asked, getting out of the car.
Spike got to his feet, panicking. "I'm on fire! Oh, never mind."
Eve jumped out of the car. "Lindsey!" She hugged him tightly. "What did they do to you?"
"He'll be fine." Buffy said, checking her hair for singes.
"Whereas we got shot and almost killed by a juiced-up S&M demon." Spike said. "Thanks for asking."
"Let's get upstairs." Angel said. He and Spike flanked Lindsey, each supporting one of his shoulders, as they carried him toward the elevator.
"Be careful. He's hurt." Eve said.
Lorne grabbed Buffy's arm. "Uh, Buffy, you guys should know there's a very tall, well-dressed, uh.... Where's Gunn?"
"He, uh.... he stayed behind." Buffy said.
"Stayed behind? But you never leave a...." Buffy avoided eye contact. "Or.... I guess we do. That's what we do now."
There was a loud thumping on the stairwell. "Oh God!" Eve said.
"Like I was saying."
A man punched the door off its hinges, sending it flying into the garage. When the dust settled, the man walked out into the garage and approached Angel and the others. "Damn.... he is well-dressed." Angel said.
"Please, don't do this." Eve pleaded.
"Eve's under my protection. You can't touch her."
The man stood his ground and reached into his vest pocket to pull out a pen. "Whoa. Didn't see that coming." Spike said.
"You know how it works, Eve." The man said.
"You could talk to the senior partners. Tell them it's a mistake."
"That's impossible."
"I said back off." Angel said.
The man pulled out a contract and handed it to Eve. "Don't bother, Angel. It's over." She said.
"Sign here." The man said. She signed. "Good girl."
"What the hell's going on?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, sorry for the intrusion. I'm Marcus Hamilton, your new liaison to the senior partners. And here."
"You're what?"
"Along with her immortality and certain other privileges, Eve has signed over her duties to me. Oh, and initial there."
"This is about a contract?" Angel asked. "I thought you said you were gonna die."
"And now one day I will." Eve said.
"The senior partners felt it was time for a change." Hamilton said. "Eve was too easily distracted. Lost sight of the big picture."
"I fell in love."
"Yes. Congratulations. Wonderful escape, by the way. Very clever. We'll be in touch. Oh, I have some excellent ideas I can't wait to share."
Angel intercepted Hamilton. "This is my house. The only ideas that matter are mine and my wife's."
"Absolutely. That's the policy. The senior partners are behind you two 100%."
"I doubt that." Buffy said.
"I'm looking forward to working myself into the mix. Angel, Mrs. Summers, Spike.... Welcome to the team." With that, he walked away.
"Well, he's not so bad." Lorne said.
Buffy shook her head. "Ok boys, who goes first with the first aid?"
***
Dawn was using some hefty tweezers to pull bullets out of Spike's back. She dropped one into a bowl nearby and proceeded to dig out another. "Ouch! Take it easy, half pint!" Spike said.
"Sorry, I've never really done this." Dawn said.
"Just get on with it."
"You ok?" Buffy asked Angel, gently digging out the last bullet from her husband's chest.
"Been better." Angel said.
"There." Buffy dropped the bullet in the bowl and handed Angel a shirt. He slipped it on as she put the final bandage on him.
"The hero of the hour." Lindsey said.
"I'm not your hero. I'm your warden." Angel replied.
"It's all how you look at the glass."
"I thought a few months of torture at the hands of the senior partners would have dug a little deeper."
"Just scratched the surface. Turns out they can only undo you as far as you think you deserve to be undone. I wonder how Gunn's gonna make out."
"The senior partners want to know everything you know about them. About the apocalypse, about their plans for me and Buffy."
"And for me." Spike said. "The guy with the pen said, 'welcome to the team.' Must've meant something."
"You know what I know. Look around. The world's a cesspool.... full of selfish and greedy beasts. We live, we die. Even you, babe." Lindsey said to Eve.
"Lindsey, don't." Eve complained.
"You still happy to see me?"
"Yeah, hell's on earth. Holland manners tried to sell me that line 3 years ago." Angel said.
"Did you ever prove him wrong?"
"All how you look at the glass. You know, Lindsey, we can philosophize all night. Hell.... We could do it forever, huh? I don't need to eat, sleep, drink. How about you?"
"That's what I like to see.... the Angel of yore. Takes no prisoners, suffers no fools. How 'bout this? It's here. It's been here all along. Underneath. You're just too damn stupid to see it."
"See what?" Buffy asked.
"The apocalypse. You're soaking in it."
"I've seen an apocalypse or two in my time." Spike said. "I'd know I one was under my nose."
"Not AN apocalypse. THE apocalypse. What'd you think, a gong was gonna sound? Time to jump on your horses and fight the big fight? Starting pistol went off a long time ago, boys and girl. You're playing for the bad guys. Every day you sit behind your desk and you learn a little more how to accept the world the way it is. Well, here's the rub.... heroes don't do that. Heroes don't accept the world the way it is. They fight it."
"You're saying everything we do.... it's a distraction.... to keep us busy from looking under the surface." Buffy said.
"Ding! We have a winner! The world keeps sliding towards entropy and degradation, and what do you two do? You sit in your big chair, and you sign your checks, just like the senior partners planned. The war's here, guys. And you're already 2 soldiers down."
Buffy and Angel looked at each other. They could read what the other was thinking and both of them were worried beyond normal.