CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

Darin Tanner was taken to the office of Abigail and he had a meeting with her. His brother was nowhere to be seen and Darin made a mental note on that. After learning that Bailey was in love with Abigail, their father sent Darin to keep an eye on his younger brother. Being in love can make you do reckless things, his father had told him. Make sure Bailey does not give us away.

So Darin had made an appointment to see Abigail about a web site. It was all a ploy of course.

" Thanks for that." Darin said once their meeting was over. Abigail showed him out and he ran into his brother.

" Darin?" Bailey grabbed his arm, " What the hell are you doing here? No, don't tell me. The old man sent you to keep tabs on me right?"

" Well, someone has to little brother. Everything has go smoothly, the time is coming you know."

" I know that. And I've kept her from harm haven't I?" Bailey countered.

" This job was supposed to be mine," Darin said mildly.

" You've done your share. It was time for me to take over." Bailey said as he lead his brother down the stairs and passed Harmony. Darin's eyes went wide at the sight of the pretty blonde, " Wow. Who's that?"

" Nobody. Just a secretary."

Bailey noticed then everyone was running around, and the phones were ringing constantly. He frowned and went back to Harmony, " What's wrong?" he asked her.

" The phones are going nuts, and my computer is freakin'," Harmony complained. Bailey looked over at Angel, Gunn and Spike. He had just seen Spike drink a mug of blood. Wait a minute. Something was off.

" Gunn?" Bailey grabbed the lawyer on his way through, " What's going on with Spike?"

" He's corporal again," Gunn told him before leaving. Bailey stared at the platinum blonde who was flirting with Harmony. The two left and Bailey went to check on Abigail. His brother had vanished.

Abigail had just fired another employee who had been caught stealing. She had dismissed him but he refused to leave. Instead he hit her, making her lip bleed. He came for her again but someone ran inside and tackled him.

" Get out now," Bailey ordered the disgruntled employee. He shoved him out of the office and closed the door. " You okay?" he asked as Abigail grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her cut. " Yeah. That was weird. He's usually so…calm and collected!"

" People are acting weird out there." Bailey said.

" Listen, do you mind holding the fort here? I have to go and see what's happening." Abigail said and he nodded. She quickly went over to Angel's office and bumped into Spike-literally.

She didn't go through him.

" What…" she trailed of and touched his chest to make sure she wasn't imagining things, " You're…real?"

" I've always been real love," Spike said grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly.

She took it away, " But how can this be?"

" I don't know, but its bloody great!" Spike said and headed for Angel's office.

Harmony ran up to Abigail," Lorne's been hurt." She said to her urgently.

" Where is he?"

" In the copier room."

Abigail found Lorne and Angel in the copier room. An employee was being strapped to a trolley as Lorne leaned against the copier, holding a napkin to his forehead.

" Yeah, well, then I see Mr. Considerate here, covered in blood, making mashed potatoes out of this fella. And before I could get to, "What's wrong with this picture?" He clocks me right in the coconut.

" Sir, we have 2 more attacks. One fatality." A security guard told Angel.

" OK, seal off the building. Nobody in or out till we know what we got here. Spell, virus, mass hysteria."

" Hey, say, fearless leader, uh, if you don't mind, what do you say I, uh, nurse this bump with an ice pack while Abikins and I barricade ourselves in my office, huh?" he took Abigail's hand.

" Your call. Hey, Lorne, do me a favour first. Stop by the lab and tell Fred I need to know the second she figures out what's causing this."

" Yeah." Lorne left with Abigail.

~~**~~

They locked themselves in Abigail's office, it was the closest. They barricaded the door with a bookshelf just to be safe. Things were getting crazier every minute and Fred kept them updated by cell phone. Apparently Gunn and Harmony were both effected and were strapped down until Angel figured out what to do about it.

" I still can't get over the fact Spike is a real vamp again." Abigail said as she poured herself a stiff drink from her bar.

" I know. It's even weirder to have two vampires with souls." Lorne agreed, " Things are only going to get…messier."

" Have you picked up on something?" Abigail asked him.

" Maybe." Lorne said as he reached for his phone, " I need to call Angel."