starring
David Boreanaz
J. August Richards
Amy Acker
and
James Marsters
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EXT. THE WAREHOUSE - CONTINUOUS Angel exits out the ground floor double doors. EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE ENTRANCE - MOMENTS LATER Angel walks down the sidewalk, glancing into shadowy doorways and down narrow alleys. A single car speeds by on the otherwise dimly lit, deserted street, barely pausing at a stop sign. Angel comes to a halt beside a SMALL PLAYGROUND. His POV - The doors and windows of the nearby buildings have been BOARDED UP. WOODEN CROSSES are nailed to walls surrounding them. Angel turns and steps down into the street. He glances around and smells the air, then drops to a crouch. CLOSE-UP on his face, which is a mask of concentration. We hear, very faint at first and then gradually growing louder, the sounds of SMALL SPLASHES and ECHOING CLANGS drifting up from the asphalt. Angel stands and walks quietly over to a MANHOLE COVER. He kneels beside it and carefully raises it. More sounds--a MUFFLED SCRAPING. Angel reaches down into the manhole and-- (outraged) Owww! --yanks up a PALE, SKINNY DEMON by the TENTACLES growing out of the top of his head. Hands that taper off into flippers bat ineffectually at Angel. Hey! HEY! Crouching, Angel hauls the demon up onto the street, still clutching him by his tentacles. Calm down, I just want to ask a few questions. I'm looking for someone you might have seen around here. The demon scowls at him. What makes you think I've got answers!? Demons who show their faces above ground have a bad habit of disappearing. (he flails again) And you're hurting my hair! Angel doesn't let go. She's a vampire--tall, English, dark hair. The demon frowns sullenly. I guess...a vamp like that's been hanging around the playground. And a human kid disappeared there last week. Vamp had some scary-looking girls with her, but I haven't seen 'em for a while. But I did see her with an Ano-Movic demon a few days ago. Knock-kneed freak. ANGEL Was he passing for human? What'd he look like? DEMON Will you go away if I tell you? Angel tightens his grip on the demon's tentacles. The demon yelps. Will you live if you don't? DEMON (cringing slightly) Yeah, he looked human. Tall--just under six feet, short brown hair, skinny, young. (and then with an annoyed frown) And noisy! Always humming or whistling. He wouldn't last a day in the sewers. ANGEL Where does he live? DEMON (with a flabbergasted scoff) I don't know! All I know is I sometimes saw the guy walking down Second Street. (he gestures with a thumb) A few blocks that way. Angel glances in that direction reflexively, then turns his steely gaze back on the demon. When does the military patrol make its sweep? The demon chuckles. You think I'd be here if they had military patrols in this neighborhood? Not a chance. (then he shrugs) Used to sweep the area every few days. But now...I'm thinking they must have bigger fish to fry someplace else. Angel shoves the demon back, releasing him. Quickly, the demon scrabbles back down into the manhole. We hear a SPLASH and a faint grunt. Angel replaces the manhole cover. (very faint, but audibly sarcastic) You're welcome! CUT TO - CLOSE-UP SHOT - A street sign - 2ND ST. EXT. SECOND STREET Angel settles into the shadows of a recessed doorway, eyes on the street. EXT. A DARK RESIDENTIAL STREET - EVENING - ESTABLISHING SUPER LEGEND: PRESENT HOUR A FORD TAURUS is parked at the curb, its motor running. INT. TAURUS Michael sits behind the wheel. He punches a number into his cell phone. We hear a faint ringing, then - Hello? MICHAEL This is Michael Barber. I need to speak to Gabriel Santos. MALE VOICE Hang on. A long pause. We hear muffled voices on the other end of the line. Then - Michael. Didn't expect to hear from you. MICHAEL (pointedly) Yeah, you did. Michael gazes out into the darkness of the street thoughtfully. Because you were right. And my instincts were right. Fighting the violence out there with violence... there's no point. Not when we have the tools we do. SANTOS (with a chuckle) So we're all for a magical solution again, are we? Because a few months ago-- Michael sits up. (slightly defensive) That wasn't me giving up. I just went back to the drawing board. The history-altering approach would have worked. (pensive beat) It simply had too many...unfortunate side effects. I decided against it. SANTOS (a skeptical chuckle) Actually, rumor has it Nicholas Trent interfered with it. And that you killed him. Though nobody quite believes that last part. Michael sighs. CLOSE-UP on his expression of controlled anger. Oh, I killed him. He murdered my son and my mother, so yes, when I figured out who that son of a bitch really was, I killed him. Santos chuckles uneasily. Michael exhales. His eyes go back to the street. I want you to call a meeting tonight at Trent's house in Bel Air. It's my house now. SANTOS (exasperated) Michael.... I don't.... There is a long silence on the other end of the line. Finally - Nothing's changed, Michael. The members of the Conjurer's Union still don't take you seriously. If you don't have something solid to back yourself up with for a change, they're going to eat you alive. TIGHT SHOT - Michael's free hand slips down into his coat pocket. CLOSE-UP - We see a FAINT RED GLOW through the fabric. CLOSE-UP on Michael's look of grim determination. That won't be a problem. INT. A PARKING GARAGE - EVENING SPIKE walks down a row of cars, passing a Mini Cooper and an enormous Hummer. Too small, too big-- Ah.... Spike elbows the rear window of a new SUV, SMASHING the glass into a spray of pebbles. Just right. CUT TO - EXT. THE HYPERION - EVENING - ESTABLISHING The SUV brakes to a halt at the front curb. INT. LOBBY ANGLE ON the doors leading to the street. Spike enters and walks down the steps. His POV - The lobby is crowded with humans and assorted demons, including a small band of BULKY, YELLOW-SKINNED DEMONS in thick leather armor standing at one end of the room. Everyone is talking amongst themselves in low, urgent voices, creating a tangible web of tension in the room. Among the humans is a group of Slayers. We recognize three of them as the survivors of the Loews State Theater battle--Rona, Susan, and Princess. The others, however, are new. ANNE is there as well, talking with a mixed group of humans and demons. LORNE is giving what appears to be reassurances to the yellow-skinned clan. Spike approaches the Slayers. See Faith has a fresh batch in town. What brings you to Monsters, Inc? A pretty Asian Slayer pivots around to face him. She seems to recognize who he is, and whatever she was about to say gives way to curious, cautious scrutiny. But Rona steps forward, arms crossed. We're here to talk battle plans. (off Spike's confused look) Isn't that why you're here? SPIKE (looking befuddled) What battle? RONA There's some major heat coming soon. (she shrugs) I'm not sure what. We're supposed to hear about it as soon as Gunn gets out of conference. SPIKE Conference in the usual place? Rona jabs a thumb up towards the second floor landing. Yeah. Upstairs. Faith's up there, too. Tell her to hurry up, will you? If I'm gonna die in the next few days, I'm not gonna skimp on the hot water. (she grins) Lorne said that this neighborhood has water, gas, and electricity, and we can all take hot showers. Lorne walks over and joins them. Not to mention shampoo and clean towels. ASIAN SLAYER (to Lorne) Oh, you're a saint! LORNE Not according to my mother. (then, to Spike) They're in the main conference room upstairs. C'mon, I'm headed up there myself. Spike and Lorne walk together to the staircase and climb to the second floor. CUT TO - INT. SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR They head down the hall towards the sound of voices spilling from an open doorway. INT. HYPERION MEETING ROOM The conference table is in the center of the room, the chairs tucked under it. Tacked to the wall is a LARGE MAP OF L.A., divided up into a multitude of small areas and dotted with tiny flags of different colors. GUNN and FAITH stand by the map talking to three more of the armored yellow demons. This offer's not going to help you if you delay. Join us, and I promise we'll protect your people to the best of our ability. HEAD DEMON Not good enough, human. The protections you propose are inadequate. (it glances at Faith) And if any one of those pony-tailed freaks comes near us, her blood will flow like lava from the sacred mountain of Karnac. Faith steps forward. Hey, the Slayers know who their allies are, and who they aren't. GUNN (off the head demon's frown) You're going to need allies like that, and soon. (he turns slightly) Take a good look at this map. CLOSE-UP - The MAP is divided into sections by red, blue, and green lines. Major highways, the northern and eastern edges of the city, and part of downtown are outlined in blue, the rest of downtown and the western part of the city are outlined in green, and the southern part of the city is outlined in red. Red and green flags dot the sections, concentrated near city centers and industrial areas. Gunn stabs the map with his finger. You're being squeezed from all sides. The military control the blue section. The demon power brokers are scattered throughout the city, but a lot of the dangerous demon clans are in the red section. We're in the green. LORNE (O.S.) That was my idea. CUT TO - Spike and Lorne enter the room and walk over to Gunn and the others. With a glance up at them, Gunn picks up a yellow marker and makes a TINY DOT in the CENTER of the city. And that's you. Now, all our intel says there's going to be a major skirmish between the military and the demon warlords from South Central in the next day or two. That's why our forces are stretched so thin at the moment. When that battle starts, you are going to be smack dead center, with nobody calling you an ally. The time to make the decision's now. Are you in or are you out? HEAD DEMON (scowling) We will discuss your offer. But you should know, you're not the only one out there trying to gather allies. EXT. TRENT/SOUTAR'S ESTATE - EVENING - ESTABLISHING The three-story brick-and-stone Bel Air estate surrounded by a high gate, last seen in episodes 11 and 12. INT. LIVING ROOM The room is crowded with a dozen human men and women, mingling and talking animatedly in small groups. Some are dressed in regular street clothes, others are wearing long robes, feathers, talismans, furs, sashes, and other traditional shamanistic trappings. A THIRTY-SOMETHING HISPANIC MAN wanders among them, eyes scanning the group over the mouth of his cocktail glass. He is of medium height, well groomed, and expensively dressed, although his suit coat is wrinkled and his hair is a shade too long for fashion. As he passes through the crowd, we hear scattered voices in conversation - I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the days when Wolfram and Hart was taking a percentage of our business. At least we had work then. MALE WIZARD TWO (chuckling) Well, I don't know if I'd go that far, George, but I had a lot invested in L.A., and now I'm watching it get pissed away because the military is too busy to police the streets! We need law and order returned, and fast. And I don't mean some demon warlord's idea of-- FEMALE WIZARD ONE Or a werewolf clan leader? MALE WIZARD TWO Exactly! It's high time a human being stepped into the power vacuum, and.... MALE WIZARD THREE They've only opened a handful of schools. And Lord Tarfall knows there isn't a decent operating dry cleaner in the city. I still have to bribe city workers to haul away my trash...! MALE WIZARD FOUR Where'd Barber get this Scotch from? Every liquor store's been looted clean, and the idiot military refuses to allow in any alcohol shipments! FEMALE WIZARD TWO (to Male Wizard Four) Have you found a magic supplier that can get the good stuff past the checkpoints? I'm tired of sacrificing stray dogs. MALE WIZARD FOUR (shaking his head) Amen. They're no substitute for goats.... Male Wizard Four looks up as the Hispanic man pauses beside them. He thrusts out a hand. Mr. Santos, a pleasure to see you again. It's been far too long. They shake hands. Thank you for coming, Philippe. How's the family? PHILIPPE (shrugging) As well as can be expected, considering the circumstances. We're all eager for things to return to normal. SANTOS (nodding) Give my best to your wife, will you? PHILIPPE (flattered) Of course, Mr. Santos. Next, Santos nods at Male Wizard Two briefly. Dimitri. Dimitri nods back. Santos peers around the room. Where is Barber? FEMALE WIZARD TWO (gossipy voice) I heard...he's the one that killed Nicholas Trent. (her eyes dance around the room) That's why he's living in this house. PHILIPPE (nodding) It's true. Paul Soutar turned out to be Trent! Barber figured it out and killed him. Mamma's boy has some balls... (he looks up) ...after all. CUT TO - As if on cue, MICHAEL appears in the open doorway leading back into the hall. CUT TO A WIDE SHOT - He takes in the crowd. One by one, their voices taper off and they turn to look at him curiously. Michael smiles awkwardly for a beat, then steps forward into the room with an air of rehearsed authority. His eyes fall on - QUICK-CUT TO SANTOS. Gabriel, glad you could make it. (he looks back at the others) And ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. He clasps his hands together. We're all busy people, so I'll get right to the point. I've spent the last few months studying the chaos around us, discovering its origins and what's perpetuating it. (a dramatic pause) And I sincerely believe...the only way to restore order and justice is through magic. Nods and murmurs of general agreement. I hope this meeting will be the first of many, and that our cooperation will achieve what less dedicated and talented men and women have been unable to do. He looks around at all of them again, then turns back towards the hallway. Please, follow me. STEADICAM SHOT - Michael leads them down the hallway towards the basement door. They file down the stairs after him. CUT TO - INT. BASEMENT ROOM Not the laboratory from episode 11 but the other basement room only glimpsed before. It is a LARGE, OCTAGONAL ROOM lined floor to ceiling with rich oak paneling, cabinets, and drawers. Some of the cabinets are glass and lighted from within, illuminating dozens of CURIOUS AND BIZARRE OBJECTS--exotic animals and alien creatures stuffed and mounted on wood bases; metal and leather talismans; powders, liquids, and herbs in colorful, ornate jars. The cabinet drawers are labeled with the names of still more magic supplies. In the center of the room is a large, octagonal table. Michael walks over to it and stands behind it. The group files into the room, glancing around at these marvels with jaded and blasé expressions. Santos looks directly at Michael. Well, Michael? MICHAEL We all have ideas about how the city and, well, the world, could benefit from magic. And I know you've all been trying what you could. But if we really want to have the world back the way it was, we need to coordinate our efforts. George guffaws skeptically. You think we haven't been? MICHAEL (solemnly) I know you have. But it hasn't changed much, has it, George? Female Wizard One's eyes flash in challenge. And what can you do that'll be any different, Michael? You never even finished your training! (she scoffs) And let's face it, you never had a fraction of your mother's power to begin with-- MICHAEL (pointedly) I know what you all think of me, Francine. Michael's eyes dip briefly, sadly. Then he raises his chin and looks at all of them with determination. And I did stop using magic after my mother's death... and my son's, because it was this life that killed them. But my period of mourning is over, and I'm ready to-- FRANCINE (skeptically) To what, "save humanity" or whatever it is you're supposed to do? Prophecies are a dime a dozen, Michael. We need results. Michael gazes at her unblinking. And you'll get results. (his eyes scan the others) Through a series of powerful, coordinated spells designed to restore this city to what it was before the violence started-- Infrastructure, people, civic spirit, commerce.... (pause) Minus Wolfram and Hart, of course. Dimitri crosses his arms with a scoff. (grumbling) Big talk. Nods of agreement. Michael raises arms, gesturing at the room. I killed Nicholas Trent, one of the most powerful wizards in the world! (he takes in their skeptical expressions) Paul Soutar was just Trent's alias. I have legal documents to prove it. (another look at Dimitri) As I recall, Dimitri, you tried to do find Trent to kill him... oh, half a dozen times? DIMITRI (angrily) How do we know you are the one who killed him? You've been slumming the last few months with that renegade vampire...what's his name, the one who was CEO of Wolfram and Hart. Santos steps forward. He holds a hand out to Dimitri. Enough. He turns to Michael, arms crossed. Michael, before we make any commitment of our resources, we want to hear specifics. So lay it out for us. And then we'll require a tangible demonstration. One that's just as impressive as killing Trent. Michael nods. I'm prepared to give you just such a demonstration later this evening. But right now, let's start with what caused all this in the first place.... INT. HYPERION MEETING ROOM - EVENING Spike is standing beside the map with Lorne, Gunn, and Faith, his hands on his hips. The demons have moved to the other side of the room and are having a hushed but heated discussion among themselves. (voice urgent) I tell you, he's gone off his rocker again and God only knows what stupidity he'll commit before he's done! You've got to help me stop him. Lorne's eyes turn away wearily. Gunn crosses his arms and glances down at the carpet. When he looks up at Spike again, his brows are raised. Spike, we're in the middle of a critical situation right now. I can't just drop everything because-- Spike scoffs at him, flabbergasted. Faith looks from Gunn to Spike, her expression conflicted. That's it? This is Angel we're talking about! (he frowns grudgingly) Which, granted-- GUNN (interrupting) Tell me if any of this sounds familiar. Angel gets obsessed with something. Namely, a woman. FAITH (nodding) Buffy. LORNE Darla. GUNN (with a clear-eyed stare) And now Drusilla. He neglects everyone around him, including the folks he's supposedly helping. (beat) Then people die--sometimes lots of them. Finally, Angel comes to his senses, apologizes to everyone, and everything goes back to what passes for normal around here. (beat) Until the next time he works himself into a frenzy. Faith shakes her head. (to Gunn) Whoa. Maybe. But it's still Angel. (she turns to Spike, who looks at her hopefully) You're right, we shouldn't give up on him. He never gave up on me. But right now, my Slayers and I have a whole lot of other people to worry about. (then, defensively, cutting off Spike's protest) Plus, Spike, Drusilla is a killer. So Angel dusts her. So what? SPIKE (adamantly) I'm more worried that he won't dust her. He thinks she's in cahoots with the Senior Partners, which... (he scoffs again) ...even if she were, trying to get answers out of Dru is like trying to scoop water with a sieve. If he gets frustrated enough, he'll break her down into bitty bits, and... (a beat; his expression grows troubled) Well, it's not just her you should be worried about if that happens. Gunn squares his shoulders and gestures the demons back over to him. Spike, there's not a lot we can do for Angel until he decides to stop himself. The demons notice him and turn. Except stay out of the line of fire, before another one of us gets killed. SPIKE So we let him walk off a cliff!? LORNE Unless we want to go over with him. Faith sighs and nods grimly. Spike eyes them all with a disgruntled expression. Look, I know Angel better than the lot of you, which means... (his eyes grow shifty) ...I hate him quite a bit. But somebody's gotta stop 'im, and I reckon it's gonna have to be me. The demons walk back over to Gunn. (to Spike) Spike...if you think you can get through to him, then go for it. But he's never listened to me when he got like this, and I can't drop everything right now to try. He turns to the demons, who gather around the map. So what have you decided? CUT TO - EXT. HYPERION Spike climbs into the driver's seat of the SUV and SLAMS the door shut. CUT TO - He drives off, tires squealing. INT. SPIKE'S SUV His hands grip the steering wheel. Right, then. I'll just get help from.... (a frustrated sigh) Bloody hell. Who's left? Neither kith nor.... His eyes dip thoughtfully. Suddenly, he SWERVES THE STEERING WHEEL to the right - EXT. STREET - and speeds away into the night. BLACK OUT. |