Disclaimer: Am I a sick, sadistic and twisted person? Well, actually: yes... But I'm not Joss (nor whoever owns Highlander)!

Author's Note: Don't ask me how or why, but this part is mostly verbal, with very little description (at least in the beginning). Yet it still sounds good... Weird. Oh, and my sadistic nature comes out once again to play! (grinning evilly) Hehehe.

To Harry: I'm aware of the WandererVerse. I've known of it from its beginning. In fact, I'm an avid fan of the series, and the Wanderer is the only other person I can stand Buffy being with (which is a miracle on my part as I'm a pure B/Aer). Just thought you should know.

To Laurewen: If you write as fast as you can, so will I. I'm hooked on your story Hogwarts: Scooby Style!

Twilight Unicorn: The Vampiric Unicorn (Who is wondering why it is only during the late night hours that she comes up with her most strangest, amazing, freaky and/or scariest thoughts)

Part 4

LA: Caritas, Midnight, Day 2

"Have I told you yet how wonderful your wife's voice is, Angelcakes?... Angel?"

"He can't hear you right now, Lorne. He's in his own land where only Buffy resides... Doesn't help with what she's singing either."

"Yes. You're right, Cordelia. The Power of Love is quite...powerful for these two."

"Doesn't help that she sang Then You Look At Me right before this... What's the last number she planned after this one, Lorne?"

"Because You Loved Me."

"Great. If Angel's even able to focus for a second on his surroundings when she's done, it'll be a miracle!"

Suddenly serious, Lorne turned to look at Cordelia, and said, "Oh, he'll definitely pay attention with what I have to say."

"That bad?" the Seer said uneasily.

"Let's just say that there's more going on than there seems...and I don't even have all the details."

"Crap!"

"Exactly."

"So what's the verdict, Lorne," Buffy asked as she sat down beside Angel and took his hand. "Why is the Taraka Order after me again?"

"You should be asking 'who', not 'why', my dear."

"You got names?" Cordelia said as Wesley walked up to the table and sat down.

"Not really. It was more like a face."

"Who?" Wesley asked

"The lawyer you love to hate: Lindsey McDonald. Apparently everything you want to know you can get through him...or something like that."

"Anything else," Angel asked, as he looked away from Buffy to Lorne, his gaze intense.

His gaze focused solely upon the Slayer and Vampire before him, Lorne said seriously, "Yes. Remember always that there must be a balance. If one side should possess something over the other...given time, the other side will compensate." He then turned to look at Cordelia. "Oh, and expect a vision from the Higher Ups in the near future that deals with what's going on."

LA: Hyperion Hotel, 1:50am, Day 2

"Did anyone else get the feeling that Lorne wasn't saying everything he knew," Cordelia asked as they walked into the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel.

"Unfortunately...yes," Wesley commented.

"He usually doesn't withhold information unless he has no other choice... And I think this is one of those times," Angel said thoughtfully as he went to sit down on the couch in the lobby.

Sitting down beside – and facing – her husband, Buffy asked curiously, "What makes you say that, Honey?"

"Lorne's usually pretty straight up with what he sees. He wasn't this time. It's like he was only allowed to give us clues, and nothing else."

"So what are you saying," Cordelia said from where she stood behind the old check-out counter, "we're being tested or something by the Powers That Be and that we're supposed to solve this one without help from them?"

"No," Buffy said frowning, "that's not it... I just wish I could figure it out. I feel I should know this."

Angel sighed, then said as he pulled the Slayer into his embrace, "Well – while your trying to figure that out – we can start with the only lead we do have: Lindsey."

"Do we know where he's living right now," Wesley asked.

"No...but we can have Willow hack into Wolfram & Hart's files to find out," Buffy answered.

Cordelia commented on Buffy's reply, saying, "Why not just have her see if they have anything on file about what's going on?"

"Yeah...we could. It'd be worth a shot," the Slayer said thoughtfully.

Sunnydale: Willow and Tara's apartment, 2am, Day 2

Willow looked up from the book she was studying, and frowned. Then raised an eyebrow when she noticed the time. She hadn't realized how late it had gotten. A moment later, the phone rang again. Sighing, she carefully bookmarked where she was reading, then picked up the cordless phone, and looked at the caller id.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Wills! How's everything where you are?"

"Pretty good... Why are you calling at two o'clock at night, Buffy?"

"We need you to look up some pretty classified stuff for us at Wolfram & Hart."

After a startled pause, Willow said into the phone dryly, "You don't ask for much, do you?"

"I know, pretty tall order. Can you do it?"

"Sure, just let me put you on speaker so I can use both hands and get my computer up and running."

"K."

A few minutes later, the Wiccan hacker was inside Wolfram & Hart's mainframe.

"Ok, I'm in. Now what do you want me to look up?"

"An address for a Lindsey McDonald, then anything you can find out that they might have on Angel."

"Gotcha... (clacking of keys) That was easy. Here's the address...(gives address). Now let me see what I can do about your next question... (mouse clicking, keys being hit) What the Hell!"

"What is it Willow?"

In shock, Willow answered numbly, "They have two hundred seventy-seven gigabytes of info on Angel. That's one gig per year of his existence...from birth to now."

"Oh, shit."

"I don't even think the Watchers Council has this much info on him."

"I know they don't. Wesley has done the most extensive work on Angel in their history, and he only has like a bookshelf of folders so full that they're almost bursting. Cordelia keeps threatening him that she's going to buy a file cabinet for that stuff alone. (muffled voice in background) I know, Honey."

"What's Angel saying?"

"He wants to get going, and try to get Lindsey off guard by waking him up in the middle of the night."

"It's not the middle of the night, Buffy."

"It is for us!" the Slayer said far too cheerfully, then seriously, "Can you see what you can get on the Taraka Order attacking us as well?"

"Tell you what," Willow said as she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. "I'll download all this stuff on CD, and look at it that way... That will take me today and tomorrow. Thank goodness it's a long weekend."

LA: Lindsey's Apartment, 2:30am, Day 2

CRASH!

"Wakey, wakey, Lindsey!"

"Oh f–urck!"

"Now, now, Lindsey. No swearing," said Buffy casually from where she sat beside the lawyer on his bed, a hand clamped over Lindsey's mouth.

With wide eyes, Lindsey looked at the Immortal Slayer, then – as he saw a shadow move – over to Angel. The souled vampire gazed at Lindsey out of eyes that promised pain.

His attention was brought back to the Slayer as she said, "Now, Lindsey, we want to ask you some questions. I expect you to answer them truthfully...especially since we will know if you lie. I'm sure you know what will happen if you lie...?" Lindsey nodded. "Good."

Buffy removed her hand, and said, "First question: Do you know why the Taraka Order is after me?"

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, the lawyer answered, "Yes and no, actually. We were ordered to put you and a few others on the Taraka Order's hit list, but not why."

"Who are the others?" Angel asked from where he leaned against the bedroom's doorway.

"We weren't told the actual names, just descriptions or titles they go by. I don't think you'd know them."

"Just say 'em."

"The Twice-Lived Slayer, Death, the Key and the Archangel of Darkness and Light Combined. So far, we've only been able to figure out the first title. Also – for some reason –, the last one seems to be in contention."

Lindsey watched as the Slayer and Vampire looked at each other in shock, clearly communicating. In the next moment, the lawyer found himself sitting up, Angel's hand clamped around his throat, gazing into demonic eyes.

In a low and deadly growl, the souled vampire said, "Who ordered their deaths!"

"Your crazed Childe, and some other woman... I don't know her name!" Lindsey choked out.

"Is that all you can tell us," Buffy asked beside him, her voice sounding even more dangerous than Angel's at that moment.

"Yes!"

"He's telling the truth," Angel snarled angrily, before abruptly letting go of Lindsey and leaving the room.

Lindsey gasped for air as he watched the Slayer beside him warily, as she said – still in that dangerous tone –, "If we learn that you've withheld anything from us, Lindsey McDonald, you will wish you were dead by the time we are done!"

With those words, she left.

Once Lindsey knew that the two Warriors were gone and not coming back, he picked up the phone by his bed, and hit speed dial. A moment later, he said into the phone, "This is Lindsey McDonald. A confrontation just happened here with the Special Project Angel and his chosen mate the Slayer..."

What'd I tell ya? Mostly verbal. Anyway, I think you can see how the parts are going to be written. Oh, and the next part (hopefully) has a few surprises in store! Depends on how my Muses are feeling.