Buffy left the demon bar she had just caused a riot in, and headed up the main street, so as to avoid a confrontation with those who might have decided it was a good idea to pursue her. She was quickly making a name for herself within the demon circles of LA. While this was a good thing in some respects, as having your reputation known the minute you walked in the door helped speed up the intimidation part, a lot of demons were beginning to skip town entirely as whoever she was after had a reputation that apparently dwarfed hers by quite a bit. This not only irritated her, but made her extremely nervous as well.

Footsteps on the pavement behind her took her away from her thoughts and brought her back to reality. She tensed momentarily, before realizing the footfalls were more familiar than her own heartbeat.

"You should know better than to sneak up on me." She told Angel, before she turned to face him. "You remember the last time you attempted to follow me into a dark ally? You ended up on your ass."

"With you on top of me." Angel acknowledged. She was now looking at him directly and was mildly annoyed to see a teasing smirk adorn his usually serious face. "I'm starting to like this idea."

Thrown off guard by the familiarity and affection in his tone, she avoided his eyes and attempted to change the subject.

"I've come up completely empty so far with the bars. If these demons know anything about the guy who hired the Brillcrall they are far too afraid of him to tell me."

"The guy's name is James Adamson." Angel informed her, the smirk gone and his tone suddenly all business. "He's a candidate for Governor and beyond that an incredibly large figure in occult circles. He's got connections we can't even begin to fathom Buffy. We are going to have to tread softly on this one."

"I don't really think laying low is an option anymore," she informed him grimly. "Angel what the hell is going on here? How did you find out who was behind the Brillcrall when every beast I've met has run screaming at the mention of it?"

"It's so simple it's funny Buffy," Angel told her without smiling even the tiniest bit. "I asked the guy's lawyer."

Buffy gave him a look of incredulity which suggested she either didn't believe him, or thought he had gone completely off his rocker. Instead, Angel shrugged and pointed up at a sign advertising the services of Wolfram and Hart.

"You see that right there?" She nodded.

"It's the demon law firm you mentioned. The one after your son." She shot him a look of confusion.

"It is," Angel confirmed. "They only handle high profile cases and generally only have demons for clients. If something big is happening chances are they are legally protecting whoever is behind it...among other kinds of protection."

"And you haven't taken them out yet?" She asked him, surprised that Angel would have let an institution of this caliber survive in his city, especially when their very presence was a threat to those he had sworn to protect. She watched as he frowned at her, his expression slightly angered at her suggestion.

"These lawyers are human Buffy." Angel told her. "I can't just go in there and take them out. Besides, their organization is bigger than just LA. It's inter-dimensional. I've been trying to take it down ever since I got here. I may have won a battle or two, but the war will go on indefinitely. Besides...every now and again they come in handy."

"So Adamson is Wolfram and Hart's client then?" Buffy mused, more to herself than anyone else. She didn't verbalize what she was really thinking, namely that she was worried Angel may have gotten his hands full fighting a force as big as the one he had just described, but Wolfram and Hart were ultimately his problem. Buffy had come to destroy the Brillcrall and decidedly now the man who had hired him and stop whatever it was he was trying to do through the slaughter of all those children.

"A very powerful one." Angel confirmed, sensing her thoughts and straying from the topic of Wolfram and Hart's power for the moment.

"We need to find out everything we can on this guy and we need to do it fast." Buffy turned on her heel and began to walk brusquely towards the hotel. Angel had to hurry to catch up to her, then proceeded to match her stride.

"I called the hotel before I found you." He informed her. "Fred, Cordelia and Lorne are already there. Gunn is still on patrol. Since it's nightfall now, the Brillcrall will have gone back to his hideout to regroup and it just so happens that I know where that hideout is."

Buffy's head snapped around to face him at that statement and she stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"Why didn't you say so already?" She demanded. "Give me the address so I can take this thing out and be done with it!"

"No." Angel replied firmly. "I think we should capture it, not kill it."

"Have you lost your mind Angel?" She exclaimed, unable to contemplate what Angel was suggesting. "This thing murdered children! And you want to capture it and bring it back to the hotel like it's some sort of demon petting zoo?"

"We want to find the master, we need to question the minion." Angel reasoned. "We'll lock it up, see whatever information we can torture out of it and then kill it once we have what we need. It's the closest way to get to Adamson Buffy and you know it."

"A kill mission is easy." She finally conceded. "We're going to need more muscle for a bag and tag."

"Well, there's the two of us." Angel reminded her. "Gunn's got the skills we need. And so does Connor."

"Connor?" Buffy echoed. "No way. Too unpredictable. Your son is a wildcard."

"My son grew up in one of the most dangerous hell dimensions there are." Angel replied, indignation and hurt lacing his words. "He's every bit as capable and competent as I am. He's trained and he's strong and he can do what needs to be done."

"Even though he verbally wishes you dead?" Buffy asked him, her voice softer now, more apologetic. "Look Angel I didn't mean to imply Connor was a loose cannon. If I trusted him to care for Dawn, clearly I don't think he's a danger to her. But he is a danger to you. He threw you into the bottom of the Pacific and never intended to retrieve you! All I'm saying is that I don't think it's a good idea to place the both of you in a mortal fight. One slip and..."

"And what?" Angel questioned, noticing that she was once more avoiding his gaze.

"I didn't want to involve you in this in the first place." She whispered, barely able to keep the tremor from her voice. "I certainly didn't want your help fighting my battles and while I am grateful for your assistance, I don't want to be responsible for your death...especially at the hands of your own son."

"I'm not afraid of this thing Buffy." Angel told her gently. "And I'm not afraid of my son. He's come a long way since he put me in that coffin and while I don't deny that he's not exactly crazy about me....I trust him. He's a part of me and I trust him. That's all there is to it."

"Let's just get everyone to the hotel and we'll go from there OK?" Buffy finally said with a sigh. "I'll go find Connor and Dawn. They should be at my hotel by now. You go and get Gunn and we'll meet you back there and then decide how best to capture this thing."

"Why..." Angel started to speak, then hesitated. Buffy looked at him quizzically. Angel tried again. "Why don't you and Dawn stay at my hotel? There's plenty of room and it's free. We don't know how long you'll be here and..."

"OK," she replied, her tone business-like and quiet. "We'll meet up later then."