Chapter 4

.

Angel, Spike, and Buffy had to adapt to this new world. It turned out that Gunn was not only a mercenary, so were Fred and Wesley. Gunn might have been unwilling to help the Scourge, but he was still willing to work with Wilkins. Whatever dark magick Wilkins used to become a major political figure he had to make a lot of deals with a lot of powerful demons, and that required tribute. Doyle received a vision, it was of Wesley, Fred, and Gunn sacrificing a young woman. They quickly tracked down where the sacrifice was to take place. While they did this Angel asked Lindsay some questions.

.

Angel: You said that Wesley walked away when I joined Wolfram and Hart? And that Fred was his person on the inside?

Lindsay: Yeah. Why?

Angel: Well if they were moral enough to walk away, why are they suddenly working for Wilkins and trying to sacrifice an innocent girl.

Lindsay: Maybe they just decided to give up. I represented a lot of bad people, most of them tell themselves that the whole world is evil, that everyone is bad at heart. I used the same excuse many times. But you figure if noone is really good, why not be bad and get something for yourself.

Angel: You think that's why they're mercenaries, because they gave up on believing?

Lindsay: Yeah. If you don't believe in good, it's much easier to do evil. I know it's just an excuse, that maybe I was just telling myself what I wanted in order to profit. But I doubt that your friends are above this temptation.

Angel: In the old world we all chose Wolfram and Hart, so none of us are above this temptation.

.

Angel, Spike, Buffy, Doyle and Lindsay tracked down where the sacrifice was supposed to take place. It was a cave in the woods, and several vampires in robes were preparing the sacred space. One vampire, who seemed to be the head priest, was holding what appeared to be a crystal ball, and chanting in a language noone else understood. There was a young woman, 18 or 19 years old, tied and bound in the small circle. It was clear that she was not a willing participant. Buffy and the others weren't certain how many vampires were part of Harmony's Reform Vampirism movement, but these guys still adhered to the old ways of murder and human sacrifice. Wesley, Fred, and even Gunn were part of this group, willing to murder this innocent young woman for their own profit. Angel wanted to try and save his friends, but at the moment he needed to try and save this innocent girl. A number of the vampire priests were killed, Spike was able to get the intended victim out of the circle. Unfortunately the vampire priests had already performed the incantation, and the demon came forth. He was a powerful demon, but apparently could not be controlled. The head priest bowed before the demon, who then ripped his head off. He killed the remaining vampire priests, and attacked Buffy's group. Wesley, Gunn, and Fred looked on while Wesley took the crystal ball from the ground.

.

Gunn: I take it this isn't good.

Wesley: No. Wilkins wanted him placated, but he doesn't want him free. Too much chaos.

Fred: And now, because they broke the circle, the demon is free. This could be bad for his ultimate plan.

Wesley: The sacrifice is already ruined, maybe we should just cut our losses.

.

With that Wesley smashed the crystal ball, and the demon burst into flames. The two groups then went their seperate ways. Wesley and his group reported this to Wilkins.

.

Wilkins: So the demon is destroyed?

Wesley: I'm afraid so sir. Angel and his allies interrupted the ritual and he was released. This was the only way to stop him from causing you further trouble.

Wilkins: Well I supposse some setbacks are inevitable, and you three did make the best of a bad situation. But I can't help but wonder, how they happened to know not only what was going on, but where.

Wesley: Doyle gets visions of people in danger, I doubt he can control when it happens.

Wilkins: Then I guess that's just bad luck on our part. And for all of your sakes, I hope you don't have too much more bad luck.