Because It’s Wrong
Season 8/5 (Angel cross over), episode 8.
Angel was having severe misgivings about the whole “evil law firm” gig. For one thing, it had the word “evil” in it and that was never good. Even more disconcerting than the “evil” part was “law” aspect. Angel had come to fear and loath the word “triplicate” above all others. Above death, above torture, above boy bands. He was sitting at his desk, trying to make sense of the documents Gunn had prepared, when a familiar voice made his day just that much worse.
“Hey stupid hair,” Spike said cheerfully as he sauntered into Angel’s office.
“Don’t call me that,” Angel replied without looking up.
“Ok forehead,” Spike replied, plopping down in a chair and stretching out his arms. “Ah, this is the life, feel that sunshine. Course you know you’re sullying your soul every minute you spend here.”
“Fascinating,” Angel said as he reached for a manila folder on his desk. “I need you to investigate a kidnapping.”
“Sure thing boss,” Spike replied, sounding almost, but not quite, respectful.
“Someone’s been taking kids from prominent demon families and collecting the ransom.”
“And then killing the kids?”
“No, they let them go,” Angel replied as he handed over the file.
“So, no harm, no foul.”
“They stole from these families - hundred of thousands of dollars.”
“Yeah but-“
“No buts Spike. It’s wrong,” Angel said condescendingly. “I know you’re new to this whole soul thing but-“
“Ok, right got it. Stealing - bad. I just think there are better ways to utilize my skills.”
“Bleaching, complaining, and penning terrible poetry? Well, I’ll take that under consideration. Take Gunn with you.”
“What? No, dude creeps me out,” Spike objected.
“Ok, soul lesson number 2: Racism is bad Spike.”
“Yes, I caught that after school special, thanks. It’s not that. He’s just so-“
“Black?”
“No, he’s always using those big words and he’s all suave in those fancy suits-“
“Oh, I see what you’re getting at. Ok. Homophobia – also bad.”
“Gunn’s gay?”
“No bleach brain – you are. Classic closet case.”
“Says the man with the designer suit and hundred dollar gel bill.”
Angel resisted the urge to check his hair and glowered at Spike. “Go now.”
“Yes your poofiness.”
“And try not to use any offensive terms. We could get sued.”
“I can’t be sued; I don’t have a legal identity.”
“I’ll get you one. Go.”
Spike insisted on driving. Gunn also insisted on driving. A lengthily threat filled debate ensued and ended with Gunn managing to back down while still coming off as the victor. Spike wasn’t sure how he’d managed that, but he was pissed.
“So, I hear you used to hang with Angel back in his skill for sport days,” Gunn said as they drove along Ventura.
“Yeah, good times.”
“Got any good stories?”
“Yes and I’d tell them to you but I don’t fancy washing piss out of my upholstery,” Spike replied.
“Oh, I know you didn’t just imply-“
Gunn was cut off as Spike suddenly slammed on the brakes.
“What?” Gunn asked, looking around anxiously. Next to him Spike was staring fixedly at a petite blond woman crossing the street.
“What, you think she’s in league with the kidnappers?”
“What?” Spike replied distractedly.
“SPIKE,” Gunn yelled.
“What?” he answered, finally turning to Gunn. “I just-“
“Thought you saw someone you know?”
“How’d you guess?” Spike answered and restarted the car.
“It’s the same excuse Angel uses,” Gunn muttered. “You need to get over her,” he said, turning to look at Spike.
“Never,” Spike stated.
“You’re a vampire. Think about how long that is.”
“Doesn’t matter. Love is forever.”
“So, ok. Love her, but also, love someone else.”
“What? That’s not how eternal love works,” Spike argued.
“No. It’s how living your life works,” Gunn countered.
“I have a great life.”
“You have a pathetic life.”
“’Snot.”
“’Sso.”
“I dare you to date someone,” Gunn said.
“Dare? You think I’m gonna do it cause you dared me?”
“Fine. I bet you can’t.”
“You’re on.”
Spike and Gunn paused at the door of the demon bar, adjusted their coats and strode in. There was no point in subterfuge. Both had a rep that preceded them in the demon world.
“I’ll take the back room, you take the bar,” Spike said and walked toward the back.
“Great, another vamp who thinks he can boss me around,” Gunn said and strode over to the bar. The barflies fluttered away as he approached. It wasn’t just the demon hunter rep they were reacting to. They sensed it – the power of the judiciary system.
Gunn looked the bartended in the eye. “Lookin for info about a kidnapping.”
The bartender stared back at him like a dear in headlights. Or maybe more like a felon in parole officer lights. Anyway, he was sufficiently frightened and yet he replied, “I d-don’t know. No idea. I um, I have to get some … bear, no beer - right.” The other bar goers made similar protests of ignorance.
“Ok, new tactic,” Gunn said, then jumped up onto a barstool, stepped onto the bar, and announced, “Anyone with info gets to live.”
In the back room Spike cringed. Why was it that those hero types never got subtlety? He rushed out from the back room and pulled Gunn away from the bar.
“Ok,” he whispered, “here’s the thing – very powerful demons are behind this. Anyone who’s known to have talked to us dies anyway.”
“So I guess their only options are now or later,” Gunn said loud enough for everyone to hear. He walked away from Spike and over to a particularly nervous looking Libbert demon.
“I don’t know anything,” the demon protested, holding his tentacles up.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re lying?”
“Look, I talk to you, I’m dead anyway.”
“Yeah,” another one chimed in, “besides the two of you are no match for all of us.”
Gunn smiled and turned to the demon who’d spoken. “That so?” he said.
‘Dear God, we’re gonna die,’ Spike thought as the demons swarmed.
Gunn fought well for a human, and Spike was giving it his all, but after a few moments it was clear that they were seriously outnumbered. Spike finally gave up, grabbed Gunn and ran for the back alley.
“Hey, get your hands off me,” Gunn said, pulling free from Spike’s grip once they were outside.
“Fine, go ahead, go back to your death, see if I care.”
“We were doing fine,” Gunn said, wiping the blood from his lip.
“Right, just peachy,” Spike said and walked away.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“To get some information in a way that’s actually useful.”
“My way may not be as useful, but it’s definitely more fun. You of all people should get that.”
Spike turned around and replied, “And you’d think that Mr. Law and Order would get that violence isn’t always the answer - unless the question is, ‘How can we get ourselves killed?’”
“Well maybe I’m tired of pushing paper and maintaining order. Angel’s got stories too. Way I hear it, you were supposed to be all fits and fangs,” Gunn said with a playful jab.
Spike stood absolutely still. “Things change.”
Gunn could see that Spike wasn’t backing down. “Alright, we can try the boring way.”
An hour later Spike and Gunn pulled up to the mansion of one of the first victims.
“Ok this time try not to beat anyone up, yeah?” Spike said.
“Yeah.”
The house was sparsely decorated and a good deal more subdued than normal demon tastes required. Spike and Gunn admired the décor as a human looking butler led then into the study where Mr. Malpert was waiting.
“Hello. Come in,” he said and gestured for them to sit. “Angel told me you’d be stopping by,” he said, grinning charmingly with both of his mouths.
“Which brings us to a good point,” Spike said. “I’m not too clear on why a law firm is investigating this.”
“I’ve dealt with Wolfram and Hart for years. They’ve become so much more than a law firm to me. They take care of a great many of my – needs. I certainly hope this change in management doesn’t effect the quality of service. It would be so disappointing.”
“Well I’m sure -”Gunn began.
“And I hate to be disappointed,” Mr Malpert concluded, training all eight eyes on Spike and Gunn.
Conner looked so much older than Cordelia remembered him. The adolescent “grudge against the world” air was gone. The boy she remembered had been replaced by a handsome, confident young man.
She followed him around campus for hours. He went to class and had lunch with friends and met up with his girlfriend. And smiled. The strangest part was seeing him smile.
She had tracked him down fully intent on telling him everything and apologizing for what she’d done to him.
But she couldn’t.
She still believed that what Angel did was wrong, but as she watched him smile she realized that destroying this boy’s life would be just as wrong. And deep down she knew that she didn’t want to tell him for his own good so much as to alleviate her guilt.
So, she gazed one last time at the perfect young man who’d taken over her beautiful fucked up child and walked away.
Angel and Spike sat in Angel’s office and went over the facts of the case.
“So, what do you think?” Spike asked.
“Malpert said the kidnappers looked human?” Angel inquired.
“Yeah.”
“Vampires aren’t likely to have the self control to give the kids back unharmed.”
“We did,” Spike reminded him.
Angel sat still for a moment, remembering the month he and Spike had spent kidnapping wealthy children, much to Darla and Drusilla’s delight. “We gave them back, but not exactly as we found them,” Angel finally said, recalling the grotesque faces of the vampire children they created.
Spike watched Angel’s face, knowing exactly what Angel was thinking. They’d followed the children back and watched in delight as they returned to their families. He remembered Drusilla’s giggles of anticipation as they moved around the house to watch overjoyed parents grasp their lost children. The grieving mothers caught sight of their little angels and threw their arms out to embrace them. And outside, they laughed.
Spike felt sick.
Wesley watched from the doorway. He knew he probably didn’t want to know what Angel and Spike were reminiscing about but he couldn’t help being curious.
Angel, being more used to this sort of torture recovered more quickly. “Maybe our kidnapper isn’t either.”
“Isn’t what?” Spike said, still lost in self loathing.
“Sending them back the way they found them.”
“You can’t turn a, whatever the hell Mr. Malpert is, demon.”
“Maybe they’re doing something else,” Angel said.
“Or maybe they know that once word gets out that they just kill the kids anyway, their scam is over.” Spike countered.
“I think Angel has a point,” Wesley said, joining them around the table. “After all, there are easier ways to make money and many ways that don’t involve pissing off some of the most powerful creatures on the planet. We should get one of the victims in for testing.”
“Which reminds me,” Angel said. “Any word on when Fred’s coming back?”
“Haven’t heard anything,” Wesley said.
“Alright. Well, I guess you’re off to retrieve some demon sprog,” Angel said to Spike.
“Hey, why do I have to run all the errands?”
“Cause I’m the boss.”
“Which is apparently lawyer-speak for ‘guy who sits on his ass’.”
“It’s also lawyer for ‘guy who signs your paycheck’.”
“Fine, I’ll run your little errands but not for the money, out of deference to your extreme age and decrepit state.”
“Pfft. I don’t look a day over thirty.”
“Keep tellin’ yourself that mate.”
“What’ the verdict Knox?” Wesley asked, looking over his shoulder.
“Well, see this part here,” he said, gesturing toward the DNA results. “– the DNA looks normal.”
“Well at least we’ve got that to be thankful for.”
“No, I mean she’s a Werflo demon but her DNA looks human.”
“How can that be? A change like that would kill her.”
“Female Werflo demons, like humans and several other species, are born with all their ovum, and only the DNA in the ovum has been altered.”
“So she’ll have human children?”
“Yes, or more likely, they won’t survive.”
Wesley didn’t know whether to be impressed or horrified. “Someone’s found a new method of wiping out demons.”
“So the kidnapping’s just a front,” Spike said. He, Gunn, Angel, Wesley, and Lorne were sitting in Angel’s office discussing the latest developments.
“It would seem so,” Wesley replied.
“They send the child back to the demon community, like a Trojan horse,” Angel said.
“But they can’t be planning to kidnap all the demon spawn,” Gunn said.
“They don’t have to,” Wesley replied. “The lower class demons are common thugs. Whoever it is, is choosing their battles wisely.”
“So how do we fix them?” Angel asked.
“I’ll get the lab working on it,” Wesley replied. “Right now I think the rest of us should concentrate on stopping any more kidnappings.”
“Ok. I know this isn’t going to be the popular POV and we’ve been down this road before, but why?” Gunn asked.
“Oh I know this one,” Spike said, raising his hand. “Because it’s wrong.”
“To wipe out demons? Cause if that’s wrong I don’t wanna be right. Present company excluded,” Gunn replied.
“Mr. Clean has a point,” Spike said. “These demons certainly aren’t harmless. It’s possible Mr. Malpert is subsisting on chicken bones, but I doubt it.”
“True,” Wesley said. “There’s probably a reason he kept W+H on a retainer.”
“He’s our client. We have to protect his interests,” Angel said.
“So make him not our client. Fire him,” Spike replied.
“We can’t fire clients,” Angel replied.
“Why not? We can fire hand guns.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Neither do you.”
“Look, if we alienate all our clients and loose the firm we’re right back where we started,” Angel explained.
“And if we play the game the same way Lilah and her crew did – we’re evil,” Gunn retorted.
“We’re not evil,” Angel replied.
“I’m not sure I trust you to tell the difference,” Gunn said, looking Angel in the eye.
“Do you want to start a war with the most powerful demon families in the city?” Angel asked.
“Why not?” Gunn replied.
“Ok, steppin’ in now,” Spike said. “As someone who’s recently died I’d like to vote against the suicide plan.”
“It’s not suicide. We went up against a Power, an older than time, power. Why are we afraid of pissing off our clients?”
“Gunn,” Wesley interjected. “I would think that you of all people would understand compromise – this is the deal we made.”
“Well, maybe I’m tired of settling. Ya’all go help the evil demons make more evil demons. I’m going to go do some good.”
After Gunn stormed out the meeting had informally adjourned and Angel was left alone in his office for a few blissful minutes before-
“Angel, there’s a woman here to see you,” Harmony said, poking her head in. “And she’s a total skank.”
“Harmony, what have I told you?” Angel said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Keyboards and chewing gun don’t mix?”
“Yes-“
“Oh, just because a client is rude, doesn’t mean you can rip their throat out.”
“Also-“
“And stop putting blood in the coffee maker.”
“Harmony-“
“And don’t openly insult the clients.”
“Very good. Send her in.”
“Ok, and the coffee maker’s broken again. I think I shorted something. See, I have this new idea-“
“Great, love to hear more about it. Later. Now it’s time to play secretary. You like playing secretary don’t you?”
Harmony scowled in response. “I don’t see why everyone has to be so condescending to be. Here’s your precious client,” she said, opening the door wider and striding out.
If Gwen even noticed Harmony’s foul mood, she didn’t show it. “Hey nice place. Much better than the last one,” she said as she sauntered in. “You know, I recently redecorated as well. I went with paintings, wacky, I know. But the weaponry thing is very – you.”
“Gwen, delighted. We have magical theft protection,” Angel replied.
“Angel, I’m hurt,” she said sinking into a chair. “You think I can’t get around your little spells?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Need a lawyer,” Gwen said.
“You got caught? How embarrassing.”
“Well not yet – but things could get bad,” Gwen said looking just the slightest bit fearful.
“What’d you steal?
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Don’t freak out.”
“Why would I do that?” Angel said hesitantly.
“I stole some kids.”
“Gwen!”
“Demon children,” Gwen added quickly. “It’s practically a good deed.”
“Oh God,” Angel whispered.
“So, you gonna defend me or not? And, technically, it’s not really so much legal defense as physical protection that I’ll need.”
“Give me a minute,” Angel said, bringing his hands up to his suddenly aching head. “Go fix the coffee maker. We’ll call it a retainer.
As soon as Gwen was out the door Angel reached for the intercom, “Get me Lilah Morgan.”
“Oow, a tough one. How will you keep both clients happy?”
“I can’t,” Angel said angrily.
“Well I think you know what I would do,” Lilah replied as she perched on the side of Angel’s desk, smooth legs just centimeters from his hand.
“Screw Wesley?”
“Might help, but no. Screw the human, you can’t afford to piss off the Malperts.”
“But they’re both clients.”
“Yes but one client is fantastically powerful, the other is a two bit thief who can only afford our services because she flagrantly violates the law. It’s a no brainer.”
“The Malperts are undoubtedly murders and who knows what else,” Angel offered.
“I fail to see how that’s relevant. Besides, they’re the wronged party,” Lilah replied.
“You’re not helping.”
“Be honest now, did you really expect that I would?”
“Fine, go back to hell.”
“Yes Sir,” she said sternly and disappeared.
“Why doesn’t anyone sound sincere when they say that?” Angel said as he started to call everyone into his office.
“We’ll just have to defend both clients,” Angel concluded, surveying the faces of his friends and colleagues.
“And how do you propose we do that?” Wesley countered.
“Killing?” Angel said hopefully.
“Hey turn coats,” Gwen said, walking back into the office. “Coffee machine’s good and your assistant is ungodly annoying.”
Angel rolled his eyes. Gunn looked at her coolly.
“Moral superiority from the kidnapper? How funny,” Wesley said.
“Hey, who’s worse the kidnapper or the people defending the kidnapper?”
“I’m gonna go with the kidnapper,” Gunn answered. “Do you honestly expect us to help you?”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Spike asked, raking his eyes over her body. If he had to go on a date to win his bet with Gunn, he could do worse than Little Miss Midriff.
“How bout – known thief-“
“Famous. Famous thief,” Gwen corrected.
Gunn kept right on talking. “-liar, uses everyone, nearly killed me, tried to kill Angel…”
“Impressive. I like you,” Spike said, admiring Gwen’s leather pants.
“Great,” Angel said. “You can be her security detail.”
“We’re helping her?” Gunn asked.
“I thought you were so impressed with the new demon fighting method.”
“Well-“
“You were impressed?” Gwen asked.
“It’s not like it was even your idea – you were just the muscle,” Gunn said taking a step closer to Gwen.
“Muscle? Do you have any idea how much work went into those break-ins?” Gwen answered stepping closer to Gunn.
“Ok, ok,” Angel said stepping in between them. “Gwen is our client. We’re protecting her. End of yelling match.”
“Great,” Spike said rubbing his hands together. “So, your place or mine?”
Gwen looked Spike up and down and said, ”Mine,” with no small amount of distain.
“Nice pad,” Spike said as he walked into Gwen’s apartment.
“Thanks.”
“So what’s between you and Gunn?”
Gwen turned to face Spike, a little taken aback by his abruptness. “The usual.”
“Seduction and betrayal?”
“More complex.”
“The betrayal or the sex?”
“The whole thing,” Gwen said stripping off her gloves and laying them on the sofa. “Let’s see, I killed him, brought him back to life, abandoned him during an apocalypse, lied and nearly got him killed again, then seduced him, and if you look at it a certain way – abandoned him.”
“In what certain way?” Spike asked.
“In the way where I wasn’t there the next morning.”
“So you guys go way back.”
“No, just a few months, a year maybe,” Gwen replied.
“Impressive.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I mean it.”
“I don’t think you do. I think you mean cruel,” Gwen said, gazing out the window.
“Well, it sounds like my kind of relationship.”
“I wouldn’t call it a relationship.”
“Why not?” Spike said, making himself comfortable in an arm chair.
“Just wouldn’t,” she said absently. “I have to uh, shower. Make yourself at home,” she said and turned toward the hallway.
“Will do pet,” Spike said, putting his feet up.
“Second thought, make yourself at a museum,” Gwen said. She started off down the hall but stopped abruptly as bullets began ricocheting off the walls.
Spike jumped up and pushed Gwen down the hall, toward the bathroom. They both dove in and scrambled over each other to push the door closed.
Door safely shut, they sat with their backs against it and struggled to catch their breath, at least Gwen did. Spike just sat there getting increasingly pissed.
“State of the art security?” he said, turning to her.
“Highly paid security guard?” she replied.
“Fair point. Weapons?”
Gwen was already pulling up floor boards and hauling out a small arsenal.
“You’re prepared for a full on assault in every room aren’t you?”
“I was a girl scout,” she said handing him a semi-automatic.
“Really? I would have thought the freaky electro thing would have gotten in the way of that.”
“You got me. But snatching their cookies and reselling them at a cut rate was my first heist.”
“Naughty.”
“Yeah, flirt later, shoot now.”
“Right,” Spike replied and climbed into the bathtub.
“Where are you going?”
“Always fancy a bubble bath before battle, don’t you?” he said while reaching over the tub and pulling the window open. “I’m going to climb round and get a jump on them from behind.”
“We’re eighteen stories up,” Gwen hissed.
“Wish me luck then,” Spike replied and slithered out the window.
“Great, he’s a puddle on the sidewalk and I’m out ten grand,” she muttered as she opened the bathroom door and let off several shots at the figures crouching in her hallway.
Outside, Spike was seriously beginning to regret climbing out the window. The fall wouldn’t kill him but it’d hurt like falling off an eighteen story building. And the ledge wasn’t as wide as one usually liked for such excursions. Taking care of Gwen was looking more and more like a suicide mission and Spike knew just who to call.
“Gunn, get down to Gwen’s immediately,” Spike said, turned off his cell phone and shoved it back in his pocket, not wanting to take his hand off the wall for a second more than was necessarily.
Gunn was beginning to seriously regret picking up the phone. “Get to Gwen’s?” Gunn said. “What? Like I’m gonna just drop everything and go rescue that haughty little bitch?”
Granted, the everything he was doing included driving around her neighborhood and counting the trash cans in a desperate attempt to distract himself from the urge to go confront her. Still, Gunn felt his indignation was indeed righteous. Not like Spike couldn’t handle things. He was a vampire, not a lot of things could hurt him. Of course, lots of things could hurt Gwen, not that Gunn cared.
Still, Spike had saved his life earlier that week; it hardly seemed brotherly to just abandon his compatriot now.
Gwen was starting to seriously regret having gotten involved in the whole kidnapping scheme. She was crouched under the sink, looking up at the bathroom door. It was beginning to look more like holes with wood around them than a door with bullet holes. She wasn’t going to have cover much longer and the bleach brigade hadn’t come to her rescue.
“Desperate times,” she whispered to herself as she reached back, detached Lucy and stashed her away in the wall.
She stood up, carefully keeping out of the way of the decrepit door. She summoned all her fear and rage and quickly opened the door and shot her hands out in front of her.
It had been months since she’d felt the pain coursing through her but it was still familiar, like the return of an old friend. An old friend who’d nearly destroyed your life, but still, the power surging through her body was almost comforting.
And for a moment it was effective. The demons in the hall fell back momentarily, but in an instant they regrouped and one of them stepped forward and chanted something indecipherable.
Gwen didn’t have time to wonder what he was saying before she felt the electricity constrict around her, ripping through her body more painful than ever before. It felt like every individual molecule was on fire.
At the end of the hallway Gunn watched as Gwen collapsed in agony. It only took a second for his fear to turn to rage. He pulled out a sword and charged forward, slicing through the attackers. As he neared the spell caster, the demon turned to face him and began another chant but Gunn swung the sword clean through his torso before he could finish.
Gunn looked down at the severed body and said, “You do not mess with my girl. I mean, not my - whatever.” Gunn gave up explaining himself to the corpse and rushed over to Gwen.
She looked up at the dark figure rushing toward her and braced for the death blow. But instead she found herself gathered up in strong, soft arms and pulled close to a familiar chest.
Gunn reached out to stroke her face. “No, no,” she muttered feebly. “Lucy.”
“Right. Where is she?”
“Bthrm.”
Spike finally got through the window on the opposite side of the apartment and made his way toward the bathroom. Before he reached it he was waylaid by the sound of cooing coming from the bedroom.
“It’s ok baby. You’re safe. Just breath,” Gunn murmured as he stroked Gwen’s hair.
“She ok?” Spike asked.
Gunn looked up and replied, “I don’t know.”
Knox set Gwen up in a state of the art monitoring room where the medical team could watch her recovery. Gunn never left her side.
When Angel was done questioning Spike about the attack, he took a seat next to Gunn..
“I didn’t know,” Angel said softly.
“Yeah, guess I didn’t either.”
“I promise we’ll do whatever it takes. The Malperts want to make war over this, then they’ll get a war, but we won’t let them hurt her.”
Gunn remained silent for a moment. “You sure we can beat them? I mean, you’ve been going on about how invincible they are and how we shouldn’t piss them off.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before it was personal.”
Angel walked out of Gwen’s room and straight into Cordelia. “Jesus, what are you doing here?” he asked, clutching his heart.
“Oh, like you can have a heart attack,” Cordelia replied.
“True,” he said and took his hand away from his heart. “Hey, long time,” he continued, trying to approach some level normalcy, but failing.
“Yeah, I had some stuff to take care of,” Cordelia replied with a shrug. “I heard what you said.”
Angel looked at her for a minute. “And?”
Listening to Angel talk to Gunn had been like, like thinking for years that your best friend was dead, only to have him show up on your front stoop one day. She didn’t know how to express what his simple statement had meant so she smiled and replied with equal simplicity. “I liked it.”
Later that evening Spike sauntered into Angel’s office.
“Bad news,” he announced.
“Wonderful,” Angel said quickly putting the photo of Connor back in his desk drawer.
Spike noted the movement and filed it away under, “Things to torture Angel about later.”
“Not only are the Malperts gathering forces from their own kind, they’ve also hired mercenaries.”
“What? Over a few kidnappings? Overreacting much?”
“I’ll let that one go,” Spike said looking disapprovingly at Angel. “It’s not just the kidnapping or the DNA switch. They’re pissed that we’re protecting Gwen. They think by taking W+H we’re shifting the balance and they want it shifted back.”
“How many do they have?”
“Thousands, and not those wussy Turok Hans either. We’re gonna need more than cunning accessories for this.”
Angel sat back in his chair, trying not to show how completely overwhelmed he felt and whispered, “We’re gonna need an army.”
LAX was chaos. People in suits, people with children, reunions, and partings. It was impossible to pick one person out of the din of voices and faces. But if someone had taken the time to watch carefully they might have been struck by a brunette confidently walking off her plane, or a red head lifting a bag off the carousel for an old woman before grabbing her own, or a black woman striding across the concourse to join the other two and several others, none of them more than twenty years old. And of course this observant viewer could not help but be struck by the petite blond walking out in front of the girls to take point and lead them out of the airport into sun drenched LA.