"Of course there's also Mr. Giles to consider. While I find his choice to allow Miss Summers to engage in the very odd relationship with the vampire calling himself Angel to be reprehensible on so many levels, I had to also consider the fact that both he and Mr. Wyndham-Price, who replaced him, work for the Watchers Council, the world's largest demon hunting organization. I certainly didn't want to call their attention to my activities. I've gone to a great deal of trouble to keep Sunnydale isolated and docile so the demons I made deals with could have free rein. What the Watchers Council could do to me, let alone Sunnydale, is a very good reason not to try to openly attack your group. Still, given my contacts in law enforcement and civil government, I'm certain I could have found ways to do that and not alert them that I was targeting a group they're nominally attached too. If I wanted to, that is."
Wesley paused the tape. "He's implying, almost openly stating actually, that he didn't want to attack our group, openly or discretely. Again, if he considered us a threat, why didn't he want to attack our group? Avoiding calling attention to himself from the Watchers Council only explains why he didn't openly attack, given the resources he says he has and I believe him on that, after all he's run Sunnydale for a century, he could have done so in ways that never link to him. And yet he seems to have attempted none of them. He must have a very good reason as why that is, but for the life of me, I can't think what it could possibly be. Until we learned about his Ascension none of us knew he was even involved with any of the supernatural doings of Sunnydale, we had no idea he was a threat and no idea if our activities were affecting him in any way. And if he wasn't trying to attack us, than it stands to reason that we really weren't much of a threat to him directly. I grow more curious with everything he's saying to know what his reasons for any of it is."
"Then start it up again." Cordelia said impatiently. "This starting and stopping is just prolonging getting answers."
Wesley nodded and pressed play again.
"This isn't to say I haven't had a great deal of fun matching wits with your group over the last two and a half years. I had a number of sacrifices my agreements with various demons necessitated and well I couldn't have you plucky little do-gooders stopping me from fulfilling my campaign promises, now could I? And you managed to stop each of those distractions as well. Little Billy let loose from his nightmare world and bringing the nightmare with him. Halloween, the band candy, a few others. Bravo! You're worthy opponents! You managed to figure things out each time and learned so many valuable lessons along the way. How to question and find answers, how to shift through evidence. If I'd hire you lot to run the Police Department instead of the very nasty Chief Monroe, both human and supernatural crimes would be solved in record time, instead of swept under the rug, as the expression goes. Which is why I amused myself with creating a trail of breadcrumbs for you to find regarding my Ascension. As soon as I knew you'd realized Miss Chase's unfortunate situation was linked to her threat to Willy and really Miss Chase, scaring such a valuable member of our community, is unbecoming of a lady of your upbringing."
Cordelia snorted. The two men remained wisely silent, better not to draw her attention at the moment...
"But I knew when I made the anonymous call to the I.R.S hinting that Daddy Chase had been misbehaving with his taxes that you'd go straight to Willy, to find out if he or one of his clients was responsible for your current situation. Indirectly, yes, one of his clients is responsible since I had first my Deputy Mayor, Allen Finch and later Mr. Trick, keeping an eye on both you and Sunnydale for me. Did you really think pictures, three of them, highlighting Richard Wilkins the First, Junior and of course, me, were just forgotten about in the Archives? Of course, if you'd all had proper training, you'd have noticed there was no dust on the files either or taken fingerprints since I didn't bother to wear gloves. Which meant I had to thoroughly scrub the germs from my hands, so disturbing knowing germs exist. If I could eradicate them, I would."
Cordelia carefully paused the tape, walked outside and screamed, long and loud. The two men continued to remain silent, each terrified that the Wrath of Cordelia might be directed their way, if they so much as breathed wrong...
Cordelia came back in and silently pushed play.
"So that brings me to telling you just why I wanted to be the embodiment of Olivican and made the deals I did, perhaps you've already figured it out, put the clues together as I have given you some. But simply put, I became disallusioned with the world after far too many losses of people who mattered to me. Of seeing the outrages man visited upon man and decided I could do better. I could make the world a better place, under my guidance of course. I could bring peace to the world by subjugating it to my will. And a hundred years ago it was entirely possible I could have done it too. Before planes with bombs and nuclear weapons that could crack the world I wanted to rule open. But there's an entirely different reason why I gave you a shot at stopping me. Her name was Edna Mae and I loved her and she loved me, until she grew old and I stayed young and I realized the deals I'd made didn't include her and she hated me for it. We were supposed to be together for always and in my rush to make the deals I did, deals I was then trapped in, she was left behind and didn't want to make those deals on her own behalf. I loved her and I lost her and I had no choice but to go through with the deals I'd made or spend centuries being tortured myself. Having become quite good at torture myself over the decades, I knew just how bad it could be and came to dread being tortured myself. I had only one way of escaping, finish Ascending, at which point all deals would be concluded to the satisfaction of all interested parties and either you or the Watcher Council or the United States with their war machines would succeed in destroying me and set me free. Here's one more question for you intrepid Scoobies, did I escape to be reborn or did I succeed in transferring my soul into a new body? Am I in a womb somewhere waiting to be born or am I opening eyes that once belonged to someone else, but now belong to me? Will you ever know which one it is?"
The tape stopped as the Mayor finished speaking leaving three people to ponder the Mayor's words.