Shadow Over Hellmouth Chapter 85: The Thin Dead Line, a buffy: the vampire slayer fanfic

"The Thin Dead Line"

Based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode "Crush" Written by David Fury and the Angel Episode "The Thin Dead Line" Written by Jim Kouf and Shawn Ryan

At the Bronze, at night, Tara and Buffy were dancing. The group Summercamp was on the stage, performing their song, "Play It By Ear". Amy was sitting at a low, round table by herself, pensive.

Buffy looked at Amy. "Poor Amy. Still getting those headaches?"

Amy looked at her. "Fewer and further between, but...yep."

Tara frowned. "Amy, in case you didn't hear me the first six times, no more teleportation spells."

Amy sighed. "Well, it's just we have shit in the way of a Glory-fighting arsenal, and...a run-in with her, and my headaches and nosebleeds are gonna be the least of our problems."

"You know what? How about we go one night without saying the name Glory?" Buffy suggested.

Tara nodded. "I'm down with that. Let's just call 'she who will not be named' another name. Let's just call her-"

"Gloria!" Buffy exclaimed, seeing her sitting on a sofa across the room.

Tara shrugged. "For example."

"She looks lonely." Buffy paused. "I'll be right back."

Buffy walked over to Gloria. Tara and Amy watched her.

Buffy smiled. "Gloria! Hey!"

Gloria smiled. "Buffy, hi."

"I barely recognized you without your hospital scrubs." Buffy sat to her left.

"Oh, you'd be surprised the extent of my wardrobe."

"Really?"

"I actually have entire outfits that aren't blue pajamas."

Buffy laughed. "Wanna join us?"

Gloria smiled. "Sure. Thanks."

At the Hyperion, Wesley was holding the door to the lobby open, looking out. "What I wouldn't give for a roving band of Prekian demons right now."

Cordelia and Gunn, sitting on the couch, gave him a look.

"Without the ritualistic slayings, of course."

Cordelia smiled. "Of course."

Wesley picked up the newspaper and closed the door. "Something to fight. Good to be done. A little action."

Cordelia had an idea. "Maybe we could buy one of those star maps, find out where Steven Seagal lives."

Gunn and Wesley gave her a look.

"You're telling me he got to be a movie star without a little demonic assistance?" Cordelia asked.

Gunn looked at the newspaper. "Look, I say, if things are quiet, let them be quiet."

Wesley went to sit down. "Quiet, maybe; good for mankind; but bad for business." He got back up. "We need to be on the streets, plying our trade. Generating a little word of mouth. We can't expect evil to just walk through the door."

The front door opened, and a woman with short blonde hair ushered in a young girl.

Cordelia got up. "Can we help you?"

"I'm, uh, looking for Wesley Wyndam-Price."

"I'm Wesley."

"Ah. I'm Francine Sharp; my daughter, Stephanie. I'm a friend of Virginia's from the club."

"Oh, right, the country club."

"One of Virginia's rich friends?" Cordelia asked.

Wesley, Stephanie, and Francine gave her a look.

Cordelia forced a smile. "You certainly came to the right place, ha, ha."

"Virginia said you specialize in, uh, strange phenomenon?" Francine asked her.

"The stranger the better as far as we're concerned. Please, have a seat. Tell us what the problem is."

Francine led her daughter over to a chair and sat down.

"Trust me, we specialize in strange. There is nothing we haven't see-" Cordelia trailed off as she saw an eye blinking up at her as Stephanie sat down. She turned to Wesley. "There's an eye in the back of her head!"

Wesley and Gunn came over to take a look. Wesley moved his finger in front of the eye, and the eye tracked it.

"Something grabbed her on the way home from swim practice and bit her. When she woke up this morning, that was there."

Wesley crouched down next to Stephanie's chair. "Did you see who or what did this to you?"

Stephanie looked over at her mom.

"It was dark. She doesn't remember much. She's been in a state of shock since it happened. I'll pay you whatever it takes. Can you make it go away?" Francine asked Wesley.

"Yes, absolutely. Consider us already on the job."

Cordelia smiled. "I knew you came to the right place."

"Who would do this?" Francine asked Wesley.

"We're going to find out, but it-it'll take a little time. You'd be surprised how many nasty things are on the streets these days."

Buffy and Tara entered the foyer of the Summers' home. Tara closed the door. Giles, Joyce, and Dawn were sitting in the living room. Joyce and Giles had books; Dawn was sitting on the floor, watching television.

Joyce looked toward the door. "Buffy? Tara?"

Buffy and Tara entered.

"Did you have a nice time?" Giles asked.

Buffy pondered, sitting down. "You know, I think I did. Much-needed fun - apart from Amy's headaches."

Joyce came forward to sit beside Buffy. "Well, I'm relieved that you're home. Because, to be honest, I wasn't feeling all that safe with you gone."

Giles, sipping tea, raised his eyebrows in an injured manner. Tara chuckled in amusement. Buffy smiled, trying to hold in her laughter.

"At first. And then I, um, remembered that, um, Rupert was here, and I felt much, much safer."

Giles got up. "Yes, well, thank you for the little backpedal, but, uh, I'm forced to agree that I'm...barely an adequate substitute for a Slayer in the house." He moved toward the door. "Good night."

Joyce smiled. "Good night."

At the East Hills Teen Shelter, Anne handed a stack of blankets to a black girl. "Here you go. Pass these out first. And then get Eva to go to the storage room. I bought a bunch of new sleeping bags last week - just in case we got crowded."

Anne surveyed the packed shelter with a sigh, then went to answer the front door as someone pounded on it.

"Open up! Please, open up."

Anne opened the door. Two teens were standing outside.

"Anne, look, I know it's past curfew, but we got to come in."

"Sorry, Kenny. Ten o'clock. You know the rules."

"I know, I know, but...you can't leave us out here, okay? There's something..." He looked back over his shoulder. "We gotta come in."

"We're already packed to the ceiling! There is no room, even if I did let you in. No more beds."

The girl looked desperate. "Please. We'll sleep on the floor."

"Anne, don't make us go back out there."

Anne stepped aside, and the two teens hurried inside. Anne took a look up and down the street, then pulled the door closed and locked it.

The next day, at UC Sunnydale, Tara, Buffy, and Amy were walking along a hallway.

Amy looked at Tara. "I just don't see why he couldn't end up with Esmerelda. They could have the wedding right there. Beneath the very bell tower where he labored thanklessly for all those years."

Tara shook her head. "No, see, it can't - it can't end like that, 'cause all of Quasimodo's actions were selfishly motivated. He had no moral compass, no understanding of right. Everything he did, he did out of love for a woman who would never be able to love him back. Also, you can tell it's not gonna have a happy ending when the main guy's all bumpy."

They came to a vending machine and stopped walking. Tara dug in her purse. Buffy looked in hers as well.

Buffy took some money out of her purse and handed it to Tara, who smiled and turned to the vending machine.

"What did you think, Buffy?" Amy asked.

"The test isn't 'til tomorrow, right?" Buffy shrugged. "I don't have an opinion 'til then."

"But you read it, right?" Tara asked her, making her selection.

"Kinda not. I rented the movie."

Tara took her bag of Tato Skins out of the machine. "Oh, with, um, with Charles Laughton?"

"I don't know. Was he one of the singing gargoyles?" Buffy asked.

Tara frowned. "Oh, dear."

They all began to walk off.

"What? I-I'm kidding!" Buffy insisted.

That afternoon, at the East Hills Teen Shelter, Anne was talking to a black guy carrying a clipboard and pen. "And make sure you get full names, no tags, no nicknames. I've seen at least a dozen new faces, and I don't want anyone slipping through the cracks." She saw the guy that came in late. "Kenny. Can I talk to you for a sec? How've you been? We haven't seen you in a while."

"Fine. Crashing different places. You know me and shelters, man. Too many rules. I've got to have my freedom."

"Hmmm. So why'd you come in last night?"

"I don't know. It was cold out there. I was getting frostbit."

"It was sixty-five degrees outside."

"So? I'm from Florida. Sixty-five degrees is like the Arctic Circle."

"Kenny...why'd you come in?"

"Cops."

"What?"

"Cops. They've been hassling everybody lately. Which, hey, what else is new, right? But these guys..." Kenny paused. "Last night, me and Les were hanging down on 39th."

"Panhandling?"

"No. Washing my Mercedes. All of a sudden, this cop comes up out of nowhere and just wham! Hit me so hard, I thought my teeth were coming out."

"He hit you? What were you doing?"

"Nothing, I swear to God. And then, after he punched me, he threw Les against the wall, about near broke her arm. Next thing I know, he's reaching for his nightstick, so I just grabbed Les and booked."

"You mean he wasn't trying to arrest you-"

"I'm telling you. He just walked up, said 'No loitering', slugged me in the mouth, and then chased us for a couple blocks before we made it here."

"We got a big problem."

"Yeah. Good luck solving it. I mean..who're you gonna call? The cops?"

"I think I know someone who might help."

In Homosassa, Florida, Eve was sitting in the chair in the living room, playing Pokémon Gold on her Game Boy Color. She was so engrossed in the game that she was startled when the doorbell rang. She looked out the screen door at the front porch. Her mother was standing there - along with a young woman with long brown hair that Eve didn't recognize. Eve paused her game, stood up, walked over, and unlocked the door.

Amanda opened it and walked into the house. "Always be aware of your surroundings, Amanda. I could have been a robber."

Eve didn't say anything, but she felt irritated whenever her mother lectured her. The other woman walked into the house.

Amanda gestured. "This is Maxine Westmore. She'll be joining us for dinner."

Maxine smiled. "Hi."

Eve looked at her. "Hey." She looked at her mother. "Coworker?"

"Customer, actually. What are you playing?" Amanda asked.

"Pokémon Gold."

Amanda raised her hand, revealing a Walmart bag. "Here, install this."

Curious, Eve took the bag and took out a box. "The Sims? Ooh, I think I read about this. Thanks."

Amanda smiled. "Enjoy. Dinner will be ready in about a half-hour."

Eve walked down the short hallway and into her bedroom. She set the bag and box on her desk and moved the mouse of her computer. Her monitor turned on. Then she realized she needed a pair of scissors to break the seal on the box, so she left her room and went into the living room. She stopped short when she discovered her mother and Maxine kissing.

She quickly retreated into her bedroom, a bit weirded out, and attempted to peel off the sticker.

That evening, Anne walked into the Hyperion.

Gunn smiled. "Annie! What's up, girl? I haven't seen you in a minute. Come here!"

Anne smiled back. "Oh, Gunn, all this time, and you still remember!"

They hugged.

"All right, all right, I get it. But I've been busy. I've been working. So...what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Gunn asked.

"Well, if you're not too busy, mind if I run something by you?" Anne asked.

Later that evening, Anne was sitting, holding a cup of coffee. "Kenny is not the only one. I've talked to some of the others, and they all say the same thing. No provocation, no reason, the police are just terrorizing them."

Gunn frowned. "Renegade cops. Not exactly my usual."

"Oh, that's right. You used to hunt vampires."

"I still hunt vampires, but, if this job has taught me anything, it's that there's things a lot worse out there than a set of teeth."

"Like a bunch of overzealous cops beating on my kids. Speaking of which...I should really get back." Anne stood up. "The shelter's been getting jammed after sunset, and somebody's got to keep them reined in."

"I'll go with you. I don't think it's safe for you being out there by yourself." Gunn stood up and looked at Cordelia and Wesley. "I'm gonna head over to the teen center. See if I can figure this thing out."

"Oh, gee, and miss out on this exciting case we're working on?" Cordelia asked.

Anne looked at her.

"One of Wesley's wealthy acquaintances got bit by a demon."

"Are they okay?" Anne asked.

Wesley frowned. "Uh, for the most part."

"Except for where she grew another eye in the back of her head."

"Oh, that sounds...handy. What kind of demon does that?" Anne asked.

Wesley flipped a page in a book. "That's what we're trying to figure out. Once we know, we should be able to deoculate her. I mean...just the one in back."

Cordelia forced a smile. "Oh, yes, Angel Investigations, home of the wicked-high creep factor."

Anne sighed. "Angel. He tried to help me out last month."

Gunn looked over at Cordelia and Wesley. The two of them got up behind the counter.

"He did?" Cordelia asked.

"Really?" Wesley asked.

Cordelia walked closer to Anne.

Anne nodded. "But it turned out it was just a scam to fuck this law firm."

Cordelia smiled brightly despite her disappointment. "Well, he hasn't changed a bit." She turned around and went back to the counter.

She and Wesley went back to their books.

Gunn looked at Anne. "Come on."

Gunn opened the door and walked out of the hotel, followed by Anne.

"So tell me more about this situation."

Anne pulled a van up in front of East Hills Teen Shelter. She and Gunn got out.

"Thanks for coming by, Gunn."

"You know I've got your back. I haven't seen this place in forever."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

Anne opened the front door, and they entered the building.

Anne and Gunn were sitting on a sofa, talking to a group of kids sitting on another one across from them.

"Look, the cops are tripping, G."

Gunn frowned at Ray. "Define tripping for me."

A girl looked at him. "Out for blood. Les got her arm busted up."

"The cops stopped me last night. He went for his gun, looking to put a cap in my ass, man!" Ray exclaimed.

Anne looked at Gunn. "It's outrageous. These cops are gonna kill someone. We have to do something about this."

"Anne, you think you could give us a minute?" Gunn asked.

Anne looked at Gunn, then got up. "Yeah. I have some paperwork I could do."

Gunn waited until she was gone. "You guys try to play her?"

"What?" the girl asked.

"No way, G."

"Anne's no fool, but she's got a blind spot. She wants to trust you all. Now, if I find out you're taking advantage of that-"

"This ain't no scam, G. We're the victims, man!" Ray insisted.

"Victims. Right. So what was you doing when this cop pulled his piece on you?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Oh, so I haven't seen you on Normandy and 5th, dealing? You telling me that wasn't you I seen?"

"That's ancient history, man. I gave that up."

"Well, do the cops know that? 'Cause maybe they didn't get your e-mail."

"Hey, we're not talking about some street sweep the PD does to shut up the moms, okay? This is war, and everyone's a target."

"She speaks true, G. A hundred percent true."

Two black teens walked up to where Anne and Gunn were sitting.

One of them slapped Gunn on the back. "Well, if it isn't Charles Gunn, brother at large."

Anne and Gunn got up.

"Anne, meet Rondell and George."

Anne nodded. "Hi."

"Greetings. Brought the camcorder. What do you need?" George asked Gunn.

"All right, I've got this little neighborhood problem I promised Anne we'd look into."

"This got something to do with the police cracking skulls?" Rondell asked him.

"You know about that?"

"Who doesn't?" George asked.

"I didn't 'til today. Somebody could have filled me in."

Rondell stared at him. "You ain't been around to tell nothing to."

"You've been moving on up, dog, playing demon detective with your new family."

"Deluxe apartment in the sky."

"When I got the call, I figured it must be Christmas or something."

"Maybe I shouldn't have called at all. In fact, you know what? You're all free to go."

"We already made the trip; might as well go all the way."

Gunn looked at George. "Don't do me no favors."

"I'm not. The favor's for these kids. Now, you got a plan, or don't you?"

Gunn hesitated. "All right, look, the plan is simple. I want you to roll the camcorder and wait for the cops to hassle us."

"How do you know they will?" Anne asked him.

"'Cause we'll be the ones walking while black."

George laughed.

"Come on."

Gunn, Rondell, and George left.

At the police station, Kate walked across the room, reading a file, to find Angel sitting on the edge of her desk. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been busy."

"Well, why are you here?"

"I just killed a cop."

"I wouldn't make a joke about that in this building, no matter how immortal you think you are."

"Of course, this is the kind of cop that keeps talking even after he's been decapitated." Angel pulled out the cop's badge and showed it to Kate. "Bet they don't teach you that at the academy. Want to tell me who that badge belongs to?"

Kate took the badge and looked at it. She sat down at her desk and started searching on her computer. She pulled up the file on the badge.

Angel looked at the photo. "That's him."

"Officer Peter Harkes."

"You know him?"

"Well enough to be at his funeral six months ago."

"You want to take a ride?"

At the Hyperion, Cordelia was on the phone with Gunn. "Of course, we can handle this eye thing without you. That's not the point."

"Then what is?" Gunn asked.

"Just that maybe we should back you up on this."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't you have faith in me?" Gunn asked her.

"Of course I do, but-"

Gunn hung up.

"Hello?" Cordelia hung up the phone with a sigh. "Okay, Gunn's about to do a really stupid thing."

Wesley was reading his book. "What did he say?"

"Just that, in order to find out if the police have been brutalizing and killing people in Anne's neighborhood, he's going to videotape the cops trying to brutalize and kill him."

Wesley looked up. "You can't be serious."

"Nothing says 'Ah-ha, I'm on to you' like being on the receiving end of a vicious police beating."

"You couldn't stop him?"

"Hello! Gunn, stubborn: synonyms."

"That can't be his plan, can it? I mean it's...really a dumb plan."

"Hey, Gunn graduated with a major in dumb planning from Angel University. He sat at the feet of the master and learned well how to plan dumbly."

"We'll just gonna have to let him do this."

"Oh. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"He wants our help, he knows where to call us."

"We'll work our gig; Gunn can work his."

Wesley stood up. "Right. Let's get down there and save him from himself."

Cordelia nodded. "It's not like that third eye is really going anywhere."

Kate and Angel walked up to the grave of Peter Harkes.

Kate pointed. "That one. Never saw the guy who shot him."

"Catch the killer?"

"Oh, yeah. Not exactly a criminal genius. He's up for the death penalty."

"You said his funeral was six months ago."

"Around then. Why?"

"This ground's been disturbed in the past few weeks. Someone's done some digging."

"How do you know?"

Angel just looked at her. "A lot of cops buried here?"

"Yeah."

Angel walked over to another grave. "How about him?"

"Kevin worked vice."

Angel nodded to himself.

"What is going on here?" Kate asked him.

"I think someone is unearthing dead cops and putting them back on the streets."

"What? How is that?"

"Zombies. Magically reanimated corpses. They walk, they talk, but somebody else is pulling their strings."

Kate looked down at the grave, then ran off to another one, Angel following.

"Is it...?" Kate paused. "My dad, is he-"

"No. His ground's undisturbed."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Kate put a hand over her mouth and did her best not to break down crying.

"You okay?"

"Who's doing this?" Kate asked.

Anne walked down the crowded steps at the shelter, carrying a stack of blankets. She looked at a teen. "Could you give Emma a hand in the kitchen?"

There was a pounding on the front door, and Anne went to answer it.

Anne unlocked and opened the door. "Sorry, no more-" She saw it was Cordelia and Wesley. "Hi, what-"

"Is Gunn still here?" Cordelia asked.

"No, he left with his friends a little while ago. Why?"

"Did he say where he was going?" Wesley asked.

"45th Street, I think."

Wesley turned to go. "I'll start there. I'm on my cell phone, if you hear from him."

Cordelia looked at him. "Check in with me."

"Right."

Cordelia looked inside the shelter. "Huh, looks like you could use some help."

"All of my regular staffers are too scared to come in tonight."

"Where do you want me to start?" Cordelia asked her.

Anne handed her the blankets. "How are your laundry-folding skills?"

"I'm an actress. I can...fake it."

Anne turned to shut the door, but a black guy wearing a black leather jacket jumped up the steps from the street, blocking the door.

"I'm sorry, I'm all out of beds."

"Oh, come on now, sweet thing. You know it's not safe for man or beast out here."

Anne tried to shut the door again. "I'm very sorry, but I really don't have any free beds."

The guy stepped in. "Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I'm sure I can find someone willing to share." He watched two girls walking up the steps. "Oh, yes. Plenty of candidates."

Cordelia threw the stack of blankets to the side and took a step closer to the guy.

Anne stared at him. "I really think it would be best if you left."

Cordelia nodded. "You should probably go."

"This is a shelter, right? Well, it just so happens...I'm in need of a little shelter tonight." He pushed Cordelia out of the way and walked deeper into the shelter.

"Hey! Hey." Cordelia was about to go after the guy.

Anne stopped her. "Let him go. I don't want any trouble."

The guy bumped into Ray.

"Ow, watch out, man...Jackson."

"Lookee here. You been ducking me lately, Ray? Hmm?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"You don't still think I'm pissed at you, do you?"

"I don't know."

"Why're you shaking, Ray? What you got to be nervous about? You don't think I'm gonna kill you or something, do you? Huh?"

"No."

Jackson laughed and clapped Ray on the shoulder. "I'd never kill you here, Ray. Not in front of all the pretty ladies. You know I'd never kill you here, hmm?" He laughed and walked away.

Anne and Cordelia stared after him.

Gunn and his two buddies were walking down a dark street.

George looked at Gunn. "All right, look, all I'm saying is you got to let me set up, so they don't see me with this. Cops see me with this, ain't no way we can Rodney King them."

"Yeah, that's if we ever find any. I never had to look so hard to find trouble before."

George pointed at a street sign. "Hey, check it. 45th Street, man."

"So?" Gunn asked.

Rondell stared at him. "You're kidding me. This is gang ground. They catch us rolling up in here, they'll take us out."

"That's why we ain't seen no cops. They don't even come around here."

"I said you was free to go."

"Hey, man, I say I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it."

Gunn looked at the deserted street. "Damn. Someone having an apocalypse and forget to invite us?"

The three heard a sound and turned to face a cop walking up the street, behind them, tapping his nightstick against the wall of the building.

"What are you doing?" the cop asked.

"Doing?" Gunn shrugged. "Nothing, man, just taking a walk."

"Put your hands on the wall, step back, and spread your feet apart."

"You arresting us?" Gunn looked back to make sure that George was getting it all with the camcorder peeking from his coat.

"Do as you're instructed."

"Officer, I'd just like to know if we're being arrested."

"Turn around and face the wall. Now."

"Hey, I'm not trying to argue with you, but...I'd like to know what we did wrong. You know, what law we broke? Because if we broke one, I think we should know what it was, so we don't make the same mistake twice."

The cop lifted his stick. "I'm not gonna say it again."

Wesley came running up the street, behind the cop. "Wait! Officer, wait! This man is a friend of mine, a very good friend. I'm sure he hasn't committed any-"

The cop spun around and shot Wesley in the belly. Wesley staggered from the impact, looked at the cop in disbelief, then sunk down against the wall of the building.

"Wesley!" Gunn tackled the cop, knocking the gun from his hand.

Rondell darted in and picked up the gun. The cop hit Gunn and reached down to his ankle.

"He's got another gun!" George yelled.

The cop pulled out his hideout gun, and Rondell shot him twice, dropping him to the ground.

"Oh, man! Oh, man!" Rondell exclaimed.

George looked at him. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

"Help me get Wesley." Gunn hurried over to Wesley.

Rondell dropped the gun, staring at it.

"Is anyone else cold?" Wesley asked Gunn.

"It's okay now. We're gonna take you someplace warm. Help me pick him up! Come on! Come on!" Gunn yelled.

Gunn and George picked Wesley up.

Rondell stared at the dead cop. "I shot him! I shot a cop!"

Gunn looked at him. "Not a lot of choice."

"We got to move."

"I killed a police officer. Look at him. He's dead!"

The police officer sat back up.

Gunn stared at him. "Don't look that dead."

"Let's go!" George yelled.

The four of them ran as best as they could with Wesley supported between Gunn and George. Gunn and the others hurried down a street.

"Hold up. Hold up. I got to try and stop this bleeding." Gunn pointed to a hole in a chain-link fence.

They slipped through it, then ran around the corner of the building.

"Around here. Put him down. Easy! Take it easy!" Gunn yelled.

Wesley looked at them. "911. You've got to call 911."

"Fuck the cops! They're the ones that did this to you!" Rondell yelled.

Gunn looked at him. "An ambulance."

"Oh."

Wesley pulled out his cell phone.

"All right." Gunn looked at Rondell. "Go down and keep watch."

Rondell hurried back to the hole in the fence while Gunn dialed the phone number.

George looked at him. "Tell them no siren."

"911. What is your emergency?"

Kate and Angel entered the office of a police precinct.

Kate looked around. "It's pretty quiet in here."

The office was deserted. Angel hit the bell on the counter, and a door in the back opened, and an officer came out.

"Can I help you folks?" the officer asked.

Kate showed her badge. "Yeah. I'm investigating some complaints about the way some officers are handling things in this precinct."

"Isn't that more a job for Internal Affairs?"

"Well, I'm taking a personal interest. Where is everyone?" Kate asked.

"Oh, only a few of us riding the desk tonight."

"Not a lot going on?" Angel asked.

"Crime is way down in this precinct. We're doing things right."

"Who takes credit for that?" Angel asked.

"It's a team effort. But the captain's the one who really got the ball rolling."

"Can we talk to him?" Angel asked.

"He's not here. But you're free to try again later though."

"This captain of yours, he's running things by the book?" Kate asked.

The officer looked from Angel to Kate. "I don't have to tell you who used to rule these streets, detective. The scumbags did. Hell, I-I was afraid to drive to work myself."

"Oh, really?"

"We got a tougher policy now."

Gunn was pressing a rag to Wesley's wound.

Rondell came running back. "Ambulance ain't gonna come down here."

George looked at him. "Shut up before they hear you."

Rondell hurried back to his post as Gunn took off his coat to cover Wesley.

"I don't think I'm doing very well."

"Hey, you're gonna be fine, man, all right? Getting shot like this..." Gunn paused. "Yeah, I've seen a lot of people, been shot worse than this, never even slowed them down."

Rondell came hurrying back. "It's here!"

"Come on, hurry, move!" Gunn yelled.

Wesley was being loaded into the ambulance by a white paramedic and a black paramedic.

Gunn looked at George and Rondell. "Meet me back at the shelter, all right? Watch your backs!"

George and Rondell ran off. The white paramedic was about to close the back doors.

"Hey, hey! I'm with him." Gunn got into the back of the ambulance.

The doors were closed, and they were soon on their way.

"It's all right, Wesley, hang on. We're almost there, okay?"

As the ambulance neared the end of the alley, two cop cars with flashing lights blocked its exit.

"Something is going on up here. I'll go see what it is."

Gunn got up to look out through the front windshield to see the driver talking to the cops.

"Hey, you guys, you got to let us through. We got-"

"No! Don't!" Gunn yelled.

"-a wounded man in the back. We got to get him-"

Gunn darted out the back and into the driver's seat as the cops opened fire on the driver, riddling him with bullets.

"Hang on!" Gunn yelled.

Gunn backed up the ambulance until his way was blocked by another cop car. He turned the ambulance and rammed it through the fence that they slipped through earlier. Three cops ran after them, firing their guns at the back of the ambulance. Gunn made it out of the alley and started to speed down the road.

The ambulance pulled up outside the shelter. Gunn opened the back doors and started to unstrap Wesley.

"We're stopping? What are you doing?" the black paramedic asked him.

"Trying to survive. Help me get him inside. Come on, Wes. Come on, man." Gunn got Wesley up.

The paramedic grabbed the IV bag off the hook and handed it to Gunn. "Here, take this."

Gunn held out his arms to Wesley as he teetered at the doors of the ambulance. "Come on, man. I got you."

Anne went to answer the pounding on the front door of the shelter.

"Annie! Open up. It's G. Open up! Hurry!"

Anne unlocked and opened the door. "Oh, my God! What happened?"

They walked inside.

"They shot him."

"Who did?"

"The cops. They're not human."

Anne stared for a moment, then went to close the door. The paramedic took Wesley's blood pressure.

Wesley clung to one of Gunn's hands. "He had no right."

"I know, man, shh."

Cordelia hurried up to the sofa. "Wesley, I..." She looked at the paramedic. "What can I do?"

The paramedic handed her a pad. "Apply pressure to the wound."

Cordelia looked at Wesley. "Okay. I got it. Hang in there. It's okay."

Gunn went to look out a window.

"Are we safe here?" Anne asked him.

"Safer than out there. But we need to lock all the doors, all right? And keep everyone away from the windows!"

"You heard him! Let's go! Come on!" Anne yelled at the kids.

Everyone cleared out to do as told.

Jackson saw Wesley's wound. "Oh! Damn. Now, that looks nasty."

"Jackson? What the hell are you doing here?" Gunn asked.

"How are we gonna keep the cops out?" Anne asked.

"I say let 'em come, bro. I know how to handle cops." Jackson pulled up his shirt to reveal a gun stuck in the waist of his pants.

"That lifestyle working out for you?" Gunn asked him.

"Don't get all high and mighty with me, player. I know where you come from."

"Where I come from, you don't bring down a community. You try and make it better."

"I'm just doing my thing, man. Why - Why don't you go on and get out of my face?"

"Your thing hurts everybody! Why do you think nobody cares they're clamping down on this neighborhood?"

"'Cause they're a bunch of racist pigs."

"There is that. And there's people like you - tch! A thug with a gun, keeping the cycle going."

"Not my problem."

"No! See, it's my problem, all right? 'Cause they shot my friend over there."

"Oh. Yeah. White man dying. Not exactly losing sleep on it."

Gunn pushed Jackson up against the wall.

Anne hurried up to them. "Hey. We can't afford this. Not now."

"He's going south."

Cordelia didn't take her eyes off Wesley. "No. Come on."

Gunn was still holding Jackson up against the wall but turned his head to look at the paramedic. "What?"

"I think there's internal bleeding, but we can't help him here. We've got to get him to the hospital - fast."

Gunn let go of Jackson and went over to the sofa. "Look, we can't go back out there, all right? You saw what they did to him."

"He's going to die. We're taking him to a hospital - now. I don't fucking care who's out there!" Cordelia yelled.

"All right. Get the door."

Cordelia hurried off.

Gunn draped one of Wesley's arms over his shoulder, trying to get him up. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To the hospital."

"That sounds sensible to me."

Cordelia opened the door just as two cop cars pulled up. She closed it again and hurried over to Gunn. "They're here."

"Barricade the windows and doors!" Gunn yelled. "Cordy, call for help!"

The kids sprung into action. Cordelia took out her cell phone.

Gunn picked up a baseball bat and offered it to Anne. "Take this bat. I want you to use it, all right?"

Anne nodded.

"Come on. Everything against the windows! Move! Move. Do this quick."

Anne and a guy slipped a bar in place over a door.

"Okay. Nail this shut." Anne moved off, then saw another kid. "Check the kitchen door."

Gunn looked all around. "Move, people, move."

Four cops were trying to open the front door.

"All circuits are busy. Please hang up and try your call again."

"This is no time for circuits busy! So don't tell me circuits are busy. If the circuits are busy, get some new circuits now!" Cordelia yelled.

The cops were pulling off the bars across the lower parts of the windows.

Gunn motioned to the kids moving the furniture. "Come on, push them up there."

Cops were battering against the front door, climbing up on the windowsills, and battering against the back door. The kids were pushing bookshelves up against the windows. The cops were breaking the glass, and one of them reached in and pulled one of the kids, moving the shelf out through the window.

Gunn looked at Anne. "All right. Get the kids in the back."

Anne looked at some kids. "Get them upstairs."

The cops were trying to come in through the windows, and the kids were beating them back with their baseball bats. Anne went to check another door, and one of the cops reached in through the bottom of the window beside her and grabbed her foot, trying to drag her outside. Screaming, Anne laid into him with her bat. Cordelia, carrying a hammer, ran over and hammered the hand holding Anne, getting it to let go. Anne scrambled up, and they pulled a chair in front of the window - only to have the cop stick his arm through the window above it. Cordelia gave it a couple good whacks before they ran.

Jackson was heading for one of the side doors; pulling out his gun, he opened it - only to be clubbed down by a cop laying in wait on the other side of the door. Gunn ran over and hit the cop a couple of times with his bat, knocking him back out the door, then slammed the door shut and locked it again. Gunn held out a hand towards Jackson, who took it and pulled himself up.

"Gunn! Gunn! Help!" Cordelia yelled.

She and Anne were trying to hold the front door shut. Gunn and Jackson hurried over to help. Two of the kids freaked and abandoned the back door, and the cops broke through. Other doors (including the front door) broke open, and cops came in through the windows. One cop pushed Gunn up against the wall; another grabbed Cordelia.

Suddenly, the zombie cops dropped to the floor, turning into decaying corpses.

Anne hurried towards the stairs. "The kids."

"Wesley!" Cordelia ran over to the sofa.

Gunn and Jackson followed.

Gunn looked at the paramedic. "Get the ambulance ready." He looked at Jackson. "Help me pick him up."

"Hm-mm. Sorry. Looks like the streets just got a lot safer for me. Time to go to work." Jackson left.

Cordelia moved to help Gunn pick Wesley up. "Let's go. Come on, sweetie."

"Here we go."

"Okay."

At the police station, Angel walked up to Kate's desk and sat down. "Hi. I thought you might want to know I took care of our little cop problem."

Kate handed Angel a file. "Crime reports from that precinct. Up until three months ago, there was a murder every two weeks, a rape every two days, a robbery every hour and a half. And that's what we just gave back to the people of that community."

"I can live with that."

"You learn to live with a lot of things, don't you?" Kate asked him.

Angel handed the file back to her. "Yeah."

"This job is making me crazy."

"I know the feeling."

A woman handed Kate a file. "For you, detective."

"Thanks." Kate looked at the file. "Wyndam-Price, isn't that the guy that works for you?"

Wesley was laying on a hospital bed with Gunn sitting in a chair beside him. Slowly, Wesley's eyes opened.

Gunn leaned in closer. "Hey."

Wesley slowly looked over at him. "Hey."

"How're you doing?"

"Oh, I feel I should be in a great deal of pain."

"Getting gut-shot will do that to you."

"And yet..." Wesley looked at the IV on his left hand. "Is this morphine?"

Gunn nodded.

"Well, it's bloody lovely!" Wesley giggled.

Gunn smiled and grabbed a hold of Wesley's hand for a moment before sitting back in his chair with a sigh.

Outside Wesley's room, in the corridor, Cordelia discovered Angel standing by the nurses' desk, watching. Angel turned to leave - only to find Cordelia standing right behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Cordelia asked him.

"I heard about Wesley."

"Well, that's great. Too bad it takes a gunshot wound to make you give a shit." Cordelia paused. "Wesley doesn't need you right now. Do us a favor and just stay away."

After a moment, Cordelia walked past Angel, opened the door, and walked into Wesley's room. She handed a cup of coffee to Gunn, then leaned down to brush Wesley's hair.

The next night, at the Bronze, the group Devics was onstage, performing their song, "Key". People were dancing - including Sandy and Julie. The band went into an instrumental interlude. Sandy and Julie gazed into each other's eyes. The singer resumed singing. Sandy looked up and noticed a couple kissing on the balcony above. She nodded at them. Julie looked.

Sandy smiled. "Looks like they're having a good time. Wanna join them?"

Julie smiled. "Sure."

While the couple was still kissing on the balcony, Sandy and Julie climbed the stairs, hand in hand. They walked in step as the music continued.

When they were near the couple, Sandy and Julie started making out.

Julie turned around and leaned back against Sandy's chest. "Bite me."

"You sure?" Sandy asked.

Julie laid her head back on Sandy's left shoulder. "Yeah."

Sandy bared her fangs and sunk them into Julie's neck. Julie gasped. Sandy drank from her lover, relishing the taste of her blood, while holding her in her arms.

The woman, who had long black hair done up in a bun and was wearing black pants and a sleeveless shirt, stopped making out with her boyfriend and looked at Sandy and Julie. "That looks like fun."

Sandy looked at her.

"I'd like to feel what that's like." The woman walked over to Sandy. "Want a taste?"

Sandy pulled out of Julie. "Do you mind, sweetie?"

"Mmm, no, go ahead."

Julie stood up straight, and they french-kissed for a while. Julie tasted her own blood in Sandy's mouth and consumed some of it. Sandy let go of her.

Sandy smiled. "I'm Sandy, and this is Julie."

The woman smiled. "I'm Jennifer, and this is Asher."

Asher smiled. "Hey. So, uh, are both of you vampires?"

Julie shook her head. "I'm not."

"Aw, too bad."

"Well, uh, I can bite both of you." Sandy looked from the couple to Julie. "Julie, you wanna make out with them?"

Julie smiled. "Sure." She stepped aside.

Jennifer walked over to Sandy. They hugged each other and started making out. Then Jennifer turned around and leaned back. She laid her head back on Sandy's left shoulder. Sandy bared her fangs and sunk them into Jennifer's neck. Jennifer moaned in pain. Julie walked over to Asher and started making out with him.

Jennifer moved her right hand back and put it on Sandy's ass. "Harder..."

Sandy complied. Jennifer moaned. Julie stopped making out with Asher, walked over to stand to Jennifer's left, and started making out with Jennifer.

Jennifer broke the kiss. "Okay, that's enough for now."

Sandy stopped drinking from Jennifer. Jennifer immediately started making out with Sandy, tasting her own blood in Sandy's mouth. Eventually, Jennifer broke the kiss. Sandy and Julie looked at each other. Sandy smiled and raised her eyebrows. Julie nodded.

"You two wanna get outta here?" Sandy asked Jennifer and Asher. "We...could go somewhere else. Someplace more...private."

Asher gave them a dopey grin. "Okay!"

Jennifer grinned at her boyfriend. "We're about to have the best fucking night of our lives."