Are You Now or Have You Ever Been

Part 1

(August 7, 2000)

Written by: Tim Minear

Teaser

INT. CORDELIA'S APARTMENT - DAY

An 8x10 black and white photograph of the Hyperion Hotel FILLS THE FRAME. It should for all the world look vacant, run down. An overgrown fence and a rusty property management sign in foreground are featured.

WESLEY (O.S.)
The Hyperion Hotel...
it appears to be abandoned.

WIDER

Wesley and Angel positioned at Cordy's dining room table. Wesley taking in the photo which Angel has presented to him.

ANGEL
Sixty eight rooms,
sixty eight vacancies.

Cordelia enters from the kitchen area with drinks. Wesley continues to study the photograph.

WESLEY
California Spanish. Deco
influence. I'd say built in
the... late 1920's?

ANGEL
That'd be my guess. It's just
west of here. In what used to be
the heart of Hollywood. No
telling how long it's been empty.

WESLEY
From the look of it, I'd say years.

As Cordelia sets out tea cup, coffee cup, glass of blood:

CORDELIA
English Breakfast Tea.
Coffee. "O" Pos.

They each reach for their respective beverages. Settle in.

WESLEY
Do we suspect its current
condition is due to more than just
the tourist trade drying up?

ANGEL
Yes.

Angel brings the glass of blood to his lips but pauses, looks at it. Kind of brown and lumpy on top.

CORDELIA
Something the matter?

ANGEL
(so as not to offend)
I, uh... I think this has gone
bad. It's starting to coagulate --

CORDELIA
Huh? No. That's cinnamon.
(off their looks)
What, I can't try something?

WESLEY
(back to business)
What's our interest?

ANGEL
(setting aside glass)
I need you two to look into the
history. Find out who owns it now
and why they're letting it stand
empty like that.

WESLEY
Who's the client?

CORDELIA
(off photo)
I'm guessing not Conrad Hilton.

ANGEL
(after a beat)
There is no client.

He offers nothing else. Wes and Cordy exchange looks. Angel rises, starts to slip into his coat.

CORDELIA
Cryptic much?

ANGEL
I'll check back with you later,
see what you've found out.

WESLEY
Angel... this is more than a
sudden interest in real estate?

ANGEL
(the indirect answer)
You'll need to access police
files. Focus on cold cases.
Homicides, unsolved missing
persons. Start at the beginning
and take it up to the present day.

WESLEY
(probing)
You believe that whatever made
this place its home... did so for
some time --

ANGEL
(finally a direct answer)
Probably right up until the end.

Angel exits. Wesley and Cordelia are left to ponder that. They turn their attention back to the photo, and so do we...

MOVING IN ON BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO (FX SHOT)...

As it transforms... the vegetation on the perimeter fence fades, becoming a well tended foreground. The BLACK AND WHITE gives way to LURID 1950'S COLOR. And now the entire scene ANIMATES and we are in...

EXT. HOTEL - DAY (1952)

...our establishing shot, having gone from the black and white of today to the color of a time past. PERIOD-COSTUMED PEDESTRIANS walk by. A PERIOD CAR or two drives by frame...

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - DAY (1952)

The now-fading glory of a hotel built in the late 1920's. This isn't a big swoopedy swoop of the lobby. Not yet. We'll get to that later. Right now we're featuring the registration desk. The hotel MANAGER (40's, haggard) and the BELLHOP (20's, slightly seedy) are in conversation. Manager giving Bellhop delivery items.

MANAGER
Returned mail for 315. Mister
Ferris really must stop writing to
his mother "postage due."
(hands whiskey bottle)
Mrs. Miggins' breakfast from Val's
Liquor. Tell her to make this one
last -- they've cut off her credit.

The Manager sets a tray with envelope on the counter.

MANAGER
And the weekly bill for 217.

The Bellhop reacts to that. Doesn't pick up the tray.

BELLHOP
Why me? I did it last time.

The Manager gives him a patented Franklin Pangborn dry look. Okay, so given the outfit he can't make this argument fly.

BELLHOP
Guy gives me the heebie-jeebies.
(an inspiration)
Say, how about instead of this
bill I deliver an eviction notice?

The Manager puts his attention on his paperwork.

MANAGER
We can't evict residents on the
grounds of "heebie-jeebies." We'd
have to shut down.

The Manager is now fully engrossed in his paperwork. This conversation's over. The Bellhop stews for one more second, then snatches up the bill tray, muttering:

BELLHOP
You ever look into his eyes?
There's nothing there.

Bellhop moves off. Once alone, The Manager glances up from his paperwork, disturbed. We can see he has looked into the eyes of the thing in room 217... and it chills him.

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY (1952)

DING! And the elevator doors at the end of the corridor open, revealing the Bellhop.

He lingers in the elevator car for a moment, hesitant to step out. A beat too long and the doors start to shut. This rouses him. He pushes out of the car.

MOVING

In the grand tradition of the Shmuck Bait as the Bellhop moves slowly down the corridor with the bill tray leading. Finally he arrives at room 217. He swallows. Knocks lightly.

BELLHOP
Bellman. Hello? Anybody home?

More anemic knocking. Nothing.

BELLHOP
Okay. Well. Guess you've gone out.

He reacts now to the SOUND of the DOOR CHAIN being removed from the other side of the door. Oh, shit.

BELLHOP
So, uh, I'll just, you know, leave
this outside your door and you can
pick it up when it's more, whaddya
call, convenient.

He sets the tray on the floor in front of the door, is already backing away. He gets to the elevator, hits the "down" button. Really wants that thing to get here as...

WE HEAR the CLICK of a DEADBOLT being turned at room 217...

DING! Bellhop backs into the elevator car. The doors shut before the other dreaded door can open...

LOW ON BILL TRAY

as the door to room 217 opens. A hand reaches down and picks up the tray. We follow it up to a face --

ANGEL

No light in that face. He's 1950's I-don't-get-involved-guy Angel. And frankly, he is kinda creepy. And as he slams the door into frame, shutting out us and the world --

BLACK OUT.

END OF TEASER

Act One

INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY - WIDE

Taking in the space. Angel alone in this abandoned place.

CLOSER - ANGEL

He's just feeling the place, the weight of it. He starts to move through the space. CAMERA MOVES with him. We hear, in a distant, distant way, the SOUNDS of LIFE here. Sounds from fifty years past. Coming to the fore of this, a TELEVISION. Getting more distinct...

MAN'S VOICE (on television)
Order! We will have order!
Answer the question!

ANOTHER MAN'S VOICE (on television)
I assert my Fifth Amendment Right
not to incriminate myself --

CAMERA FLOATS off Angel, finding...

...an old BLACK AND WHITE TELEVISION SET. Televised House Un-American Activities Committee Hearings. We PULL BACK from that... CAMERA now SUBJECTIVE... catching more bits and pieces of...

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT (1952)

...the place comes alive before our eyes. A few RESIDENTS sit in the lobby area watching the TV set. We're Steadi-cam-a-licious as we take in the sweep of the place. People coming and going. An over-rouged and under-dressed SHOWGIRL type bursts at us from around a corner, make-up streaked with tear tracks. She's weeping, fleeing. Coming up behind her, an OLDER MAN, drunk.

OLDER MAN
Aww, come on, honey! How do you
think Lana Turner got started?

We SWING around on the back of the fleeing girl as she nearly collides with...

ANGEL

as he enters the lobby. He's carrying a package covered in plain brown paper, hugging it tight under his arm.

Now we're MOVING WITH ANGEL through the lobby, coming upon the registration area. The Bellhop appears, startled to see Angel, nearly ducking with:

BELLHOP
No messages for 217!

Not that he asked or cared. Angel keeps moving, CAMERA lets him head off, lingering on The Manager who's speaking to someone we don't yet see...

MANAGER
(getting annoyed)
...yes, I understand what the sign
says. But it's wrong. We really
have no vacancies at the moment.

CAMERA ARCS around onto a BLACK FAMILY at the registration desk, the father looking angry, but containing it. Beyond them, in the b.g., WE SEE Angel standing in the elevator just as the doors are closing... DING!

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT -(1952)

ANGLE FROM INSIDE ELEVATOR

as the doors open onto the hallway revealing A BEEFY GOON, probably an ex-cop, a few feet from the elevator. He looks right at us, suspicious, then moves away.

REVERSE - ANGEL

steps out of the elevator. He glances over at the Goon who has headed off down another intersecting hallway, searching.

Angel continues on. He arrives at room 217. Opens the door with his key. As he does, another door a few rooms down opens. A PRETTY YOUNG MAN steps out of that room, smiling to his host, who now appears at the doorway, a ROCK HUDSON-ISH MATINEE IDOL.

They both feel Angel's eyes on them. The Pretty Young Man hurries off. Angel and Rock meet eyes for a beat, two men with secrets they'd rather not share, then both retreat into their own rooms. Doors closing at the same time.

INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

Angel enters his simple single room. He moves to the table, opens his brown paper wrapped package -- a medical bottle of blood. He reaches for an ice bucket. opens it. Old water.

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS (1952)

Angel exits his room carrying the ice bucket (leaving door open-ish.) We're MOVING WITH HIM as he heads down the hall toward an ICE MACHINE. As he nears it, he hears MUTTERING...

ANGEL'S MOVING POV

of the end of the hall where it intersects with another corridor. Standing in the intersection is a pudgy, forty-something SALESMAN TYPE with pencil moustache. His eyes are fixed on someone we can't see, just out of view.

SALESMAN
Yes. Yes. Yes.

ANGEL

moving closer to the ice machine.

ANGEL'S MOVING POV

and now HE CAN SEE that there's no one standing where the Salesman is looking. Guy's talking to air.

SALESMAN
Yes. I understand.
Of course. I am.

ANGEL

scoops ice into his ice bucket. Not really evidencing any kind of reaction one way or another to the weird guy at the end of the hall, just taking it in. Now his attention is drawn by a POUNDING...

ANGEL'S POV, THE OTHER DIRECTION

where the Goon seems to have found the room he's been looking for. He bangs on it with his fist, trying to gain entrance.

ANGEL

not bothered or really interested. He closes the ice machine, glances casually back toward muttering salesman guy... but he's gone. That end of the hallway is now empty.

Angel hoists his ice bucket, moves back to his room. Just before Angel enters, he and the Goon meet eyes for a beat.

INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

Angel re-enters his room, pulls the door shut, locks it behind him. Takes the ice bucket over to the small table.

He places the bottle of blood in the ice bucket... pauses as he senses something. Now he calmly puts the lid on the ice bucket, as he turns to see --

The door to the bathroom is slightly open. A FIGURE moves within. Angel eyes this, cautious. Now a WOMAN, JUDY, appears at the bathroom door. She has something of a young Natalie Wood about her. She keeps her eyes downcast. Exits
the bathroom and moves past him to the bed --

JUDY
I'll be finished here in
just two shakes, sir --

She starts straightening the bed. Self conscious as Angel watches her. Angel starts to slowly approach her from behind.

ANGEL
You're not the maid.

We might detect a stutter in her movements, but she tries to play it cool. A nervous half laugh.

JUDY
I don't know what you mean --

ANGEL
You're not a maid in this hotel.
There's no cleaning trolley
outside the door... those sheets
are dirty... and you're the wrong color.

She turns, looks at him, fear in her eyes, busted.

JUDY
I'm sorry. The door was open,
I just... I didn't mean...

ANGEL
I've got nothing here to steal.

JUDY
(alarmed at the suggestion)
I wasn't trying to steal from you,
honest. I can explain...

ANGEL
Not interested. Just go.

Her eyes flick to the door. She starts to panic...

JUDY
(blurting it)
I can't --

A beat. Angel looks at her. She can't? Then:

ANGEL
(much with the sarcasm)
I'll help you.

He takes her by the arm. We can still hear the POUNDING outside the door. Angel makes the connection.

JUDY
My boyfriend... he's...
kinda the jealous type.

ANGEL
(tugging at her)
Maybe you shouldn't go wandering
into other men's rooms.

JUDY
Please... he can't find me.
You don't understand --

ANGEL
Probably not.

He keeps moving her toward the door. But the POUNDING has stopped. Angel registers that. So does Judy, but she's still not ready to relax yet. Angel's attention goes to --

CLOSE - DOOR LOCK

turning just slightly. Being picked from outside.

ANGEL

pushes Judy to the side, turns the lock, pulls the door open, revealing The Goon in lock-picking position.

The guy isn't even rattled at being caught in the act. He rises to his full height, cocky as hell.

Judy's on the other side of the door, where the Goon can't see her.

GOON
Where is she?

Angel doesn't offer a response, just looks at the guy.

GOON
Look, pal, this really isn't something
you want to get involved in.

ANGEL
That's true. Which is why you're
going to turn around and go away.

GOON
(a little laugh)
Sorry, can't do that, pard'ner.
I know you're hiding her in there.

ANGEL
I'm not hiding anybody.

GOON
No?
(leans in, sniffs)
That your lilac perfume I'm
smellin'? Didn't think so.
Now... why don't you just send her
out here -- and that way I won't
have to come in there and get 'er.

On the other side of the door, Judy sweats it out.

ANGEL
You're not coming in here.

GOON
(feigned good humor)
Hey, if it's like you say, then
you won't mind if I come in and
just take a look around.

ANGEL
Won't I?

The Goon casually opens his jacket, revealing the edge of a shoulder-holstered gun.

GOON
No. You won't.

A beat. A test of wills. Angel steps aside a touch, opens the door a little wider, crowding Judy whose heart skips a beat. Goon smiles. See? That was easy. He takes a step -- and Angel snaps the door forward, hard, nailing him in the face. Goon staggers back against the wall opposite the door, his nose broken.

ANGEL
Gee. Guess I do mind.

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS (1952)

The Goon clutches his bloody nose. Instinct makes him reach for his gun. But Angel's on him -- lightning quick. He spins him around, grabs him by the hair and runs him down the corridor, banging his head into the elevator call button --

DING! The indicator light blooms. The doors open. The Bellhop is inside the car with a TROLLEY OF LUGGAGE. He blanches at the sight of Angel. Angel tosses the dazed Goon into the car with the Bellhop.

ANGEL
He's going down.

Without a word the Bellhop gladly hits the "down" button. The doors close.

Angel turns and starts walking back to his room. Judy has emerged, is now standing out in the hallway.

JUDY
Gosh. That was...
(what does one say?)
Gosh.
(as he draws closer)
Listen, I know we kinda got off on
the wrong foot. My name's Judy...

But he walks right past her back into his room, slamming the door behind himself and INTO FRAME. BANG!

A beat, then CAMERA ARCS from the closed door to where Judy was standing... but instead of Judy looking forlornly at the door that's been shut in her face, ANGEL IS STANDING THERE...

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY

...in the present day, looking at the shut door to his old room, remembering...

WESLEY (V.0.)
The hotel officially closed its
doors on December 16th, 1979.

INT. CORDELIA'S APARTMENT - DAY

Wesley sits at Cordy's dining room table surrounded by archival material, file boxes, etc. Cordy's at her computer.

WESLEY
On that day the concierge, Roland
Meeks, made morning wake-up calls
with a 12 gauge shotgun. Room to
room. It's been empty ever since.

CORDELIA
According to city records, it's
been declared a protected
historical landmark. The property
management company that owns it
has been trying to unload it for
ten years. No buyers.

WESLEY
No wonder. Even a cursory
inspection of these records
indicates a storied legacy of
murder and mayhem dating back to
the hotel's construction in '28,
when a roofer leapt to his death,
taking two co-workers with him.

CORDELIA
Wow, that's really interesting.
What are we doing?

WESLEY
Doing?

CORDELIA
Yeah. Did you notice that Angel
neglected to tell us the, for
instance, point of all this?

WESLEY
Well. I mean. Clearly. He's got us
compiling incidents. Arranging data.
Organizing information in such a way that...
(oh, fuck it)
...yes I did notice that. The no point thing.

Something catches Cordy's attention, one of the photos.

WESLEY
Frankly, I haven't the slightest
idea what to do with all this. I
suppose we could make a collage.
Or a mobile! Yes, let's do make
an attractive hanging mobile!

CORDELIA
Wesley! Look who was staying
there in '52...

She hands him a tabloid photo. An L.A.P.D. Vice Raid. A few WOMEN, identifiable as prostitutes, are being taken away along with some JOHNS. In the b.g. and along the periphery, RESIDENTS watch. Slightly blurry in the deep b.g., the unmistakable figure of ANGEL skulking through the scene.

WESLEY
Well, now we know one thing for
certain, don't we?

CORDELIA
Yep. It's not that vampires don't
photograph -- it's just that they
don't photograph well.

WESLEY
I mean we know Angel has a
personal connection to the place.

CORDELIA
So why didn't he just tell us?

WESLEY
Perhaps he was ashamed to...

Off Cordelia --

INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT (1952)

Angel in his room fifty years ago. He lights a cigarette. Moves to the table with the ice bucket, grabbing an empty glass. Now he hears MUSIC. Muted. Coming from the room next door. Some late 40's early 50's tune. Nothing morose. Something jaunty. Is it too early for Dean Martin? CAMERA MOVES off Angel, following his gaze to... a common wall with the room next door...

INT. SALESMAN'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

The same room layout as Angel's. The MUSIC is coming from a portable TURNTABLE where a record plays.

The Salesman stands over it, listening... then something else catches his ear... something only he can hear. He cocks his head slightly, the voice is coming from just above somewhere.

SALESMAN
Yes. Yes, I did. Yes, I do.

He moves over to the small table. We look down on it with him and see... A HANDGUN and a BULLET laid out there.

The Salesman picks up the gun, snaps open the chamber, loads in the bullet.

INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

Angel pours himself a cold frosty one...

INT. SALESMAN'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

The Salesman hugs a pillow and the gun as he slides down the side of his bed to a sitting position on the floor. He lifts the pillow to his face... presses gun to pillow...

INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

Angel sits in the armchair. Starts to lift the glass of blood to his lips... but pauses as -- BANG!, a (MUFFLED) GUNSHOT from next-door. A beat... then he continues raising his glass. As he drinks...

INT. SALESMAN'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

TURNTABLE... where the record is now skipping on a groove. A LIMP HAND... on the floor, the gun laying nearby. And now BLOOD POOLING out there, as...

INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

Angel drinks. The record next door continues to skip. Somewhere above, a THUMPING. Someone pounding on the floor.

MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)
Hey! Either fix that thing or
shut it off!

More pounding. More record skipping. Angel reaches over, turns on his own radio, JAZZ. Drowning out the world around him. And as he drinks and listens to music, not caring...

BLACK OUT.

END OF ACT ONE

Act Two

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY

Angel moves down hallway. Steadi-cam swings around to...

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY (1952)

...Manager and Bellhop as they hurry the opposite direction.

BELLHOP
...she'd just starting cleaning the rooms
on this floor when she found him.

MANAGER
Did she touch anything?

BELLHOP
Consuela? Does she ever?

INT. SALESMAN'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS (1952)

Manager and Bellhop enter the room. They react to the smell even before the sight. Manager takes a handkerchief and puts it to his nose. He steps gingerly around the (tastefully depicted) body of the Salesman.

MANAGER
The third one in as many months.
Why can't they ever do it in their
own homes, for godssakes?

BELLHOP
Shoulda seen it coming.
Guy did seem pretty depressed.

MANAGER
(off dead body)
Really? How could you tell?

BELLHOP
(nagging feeling)
Kinda cheap, though. The death
wishers usually tip better. Like
they know they're not gonna take
it with 'em, anyway.

We're moving CLOSER onto the Manager as the Bellhop continues to prattle on in the b.g.

The BELLHOP'S VOICE, drops very low, until finally his mouth is moving but NO WORDS ARE COMING OUT. An eerie TONAL RUMBLING comes up... We're in the Manager's head as now...

DEMONIC VOICE (V.0.)
(whispering)
Three in three months.
They'll shut you down.

MANAGER
Yes. They will...

The other SOUNDS come back up, along with Bellhop's voice.

BELLHOP
...the carpet cleaner or the cops?

MANAGER
What?

The Bellhop thinks they've been having a conversation.

BELLHOP
Who'd you want me to call first?

MANAGER
Don't be mad. No one's calling
anyone. They'll shut us down.

BELLHOP
Huh? What about him?

MANAGER
What about him? He's dead.

BELLHOP
We can't just leave him here

MANAGER
Of course not.
(as he goes)
We'll store him in the meat locker.

BELLHOP
"Store him?" We're going to store him?

Off the Bellhop, bewildered...

INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY (1952)

Angel skulks through the lobby. As we PAN WITH HIM, he becomes the b.g. and we pick up a conversation happening in the foreground, but keeping Angel in frame the entire time...

OVER THE HILL WHORE
You hear about the death of the salesman?

ROCK HUDSON GUY
Hear about it? I was up for the
role of Biff, but the studio went
with this very one note actor...

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
(cutting him off)
Not "Death Of A Salesman." The
candle salesman in 215. He shot himself.

ROCK HUDSON GUY
Really? Suicide?

OVER THE HILL WHORE
(nods)
Right here in this hotel.
And I heard they're not
even going to report it.

ROCK HUDSON GUY
That's terrible!

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
What's so terrible? Guy punched
his own ticket. Why get outside
parties involved?

ROCK HUDSON GUY
Are all screenwriters this crass?

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
Are all actors this naive? You
want the cops nosing around here
asking questions? Or the press?

ROCK HUDSON GUY
(on reflection)
Well... nothing wrong with
discretion, I suppose...

OVER THE HILL WHORE
It's always been my watchword.

Angel slips out through the boiler room door.... The OLDER MAN, the drunk from act one, sits across from the others. He looks to the others as they prattle on. Their VOICES have DROPPED out... That TONAL RUMBLING comes up again...

DEMONIC VOICE (V.0.)
Maybe this wasn't a suicide.
Are you sure you're safe here?

Off the old guy, his rising paranoia...

INT. BOILER ROOM - DAY (1952)

Angel comes down the steps in the boiler room. There is a RUMBLING down here... part boiler room RUMBLING and part that demonic TONAL thing we heard before. Angel moves to the trap door. Pulls it open, starts to descend, pauses, sensing
something...

... behind Angel, a GHOSTLY TENTACLE lashes out from the shadows, then is gone almost so quick we can't be sure if we saw it. Angel dismisses the feeling, disappears into the bowels of the city. The trap door closes with a TH-THUNK!

FLASHY CUT TO:

INT. CORDELIA'S APARTMENT - DAY

CORDELIA
So what horrible thing do you
suppose he did?

Wesley is using Cordy's dining room table to lay out a flow chart/time line of the incidents at the hotel from the 1930s to the present day. He's got archival material wherever possible: news clippings, photos, etc. He adds a clipping to 1935: "Hothouse Killer Claims Fifth Victim."

WESLEY
Other than using the heads of his
victims as decorative planters?

CORDELIA
What? No, not psycho slasher
1935. Angel. I mean, he woulda
had a soul back then, right? So
he probably wasn't eating people.
So what's with the big guilt? He
forget to tip the doorman?

WESLEY
You must keep in mind that this
was during a period in Angel's
life when he wasn't Angel. At
least not the Angel we know.

CORDELIA
You mean before Buffy.
Before all his trying to atone.

WESLEY
Precisely.

She ponders for a moment, then --

CORDELIA
So what kind of plants you gonna
keep in a human head?

WESLEY
Well, ferns, one assumes.

CORDELIA
(musing)
I bet it was a woman.

Wesley carefully finishes the 1935 slot...

WESLEY
Just because the killer had a
green thumb? I hardly think so.
A man can enjoy botany as much as
any woman. It certainly doesn't
mean he's gay, and you weren't
talking about that, were you?

CORDELIA
The thing Angel's trying to snag
some retroactive atonement for --
I'll bet it was a woman.

EXT. GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY - NIGHT (1952)

The iconic image of the Observatory sits hunched on the hill overlooking Los Feliz. A summer night in 1952. Period cars.

Period clothes. FAMILIES here to take in the sights. People lining up for the show. A sign on an easel reads: "Next Show at 7:45." We find Angel leaning against a rail, by one of the observation platforms, smoking.

JUDY
(on approach)
World ends in ten minutes.

He looks over, sees Judy approaching, friendly but wary.

JUDY
I saw you standing over here.
Hope you don't mind, thought
I'd say hello.
(then)
"Hello." You going in?

ANGEL
No.

JUDY
(holding ticket)
My third time. Have you seen the show?
(shakes his head "no")
Oh, you should. Kinda makes
whatever problems we have seem
insignificant in comparison.
(it's so cool)
The entire universe explodes!

ANGEL
Sounds great.

She shrinks a little, realizing how that may have sounded.

JUDY
Well, it's air-conditioned. And
it's cheaper than going to the
pictures... and I just had to get
out of the hotel. Couldn't stay
there, not after what happened.

ANGEL
He come back?

JUDY
Come back?

ANGEL
Your boyfriend --

She's lost for a second, recovers.

JUDY
Oh, no. I mean the guy in 215.
(with appropriate solemnity)
You know he killed himself.

ANGEL
Yeah. I guess he did.

JUDY
It's so sad. Can you imagine that
wallpaper being the last thing you
see before you... go out?

ANGEL
Maybe it was the wallpaper that
drove him to it.

JUDY
Yeah. I sort of hate it there.
Though it's nicer than some
places, I guess.

ANGEL
(a shrug)
It's a place.

Now with the long pause, then --

JUDY
So you come up to the
Observatory to... observe?

ANGEL
I come up here to be alone.

He doesn't say it to be a creep, it's just a fact.

JUDY
Right. I get it. Me too. It's
nice to be alone when you're...
surrounded by people.
(a beat, what she really wants to say)
Listen, I know you didn't want to
before, but you helped me. You did.
And I needed to say thank you for that.

He studies the ground. Here's his chance to make a connection... finally he looks up:

ANGEL
(indicating)
You'll miss the end of the world.

She sees the last of the line is entering the planetarium.

JUDY
Right. Sure you don't wanna come?
(temptingly)
Annihilation of all known life, my treat.

ANGEL
I'll catch it some other time.

Fair enough. At least he didn't slam anything in her face.

JUDY
Okay. See ya 'round.

ANGEL
Yeah..

He nods, pleasant but not familiar. She moves off to the entrance, hands over her ticket. Off Angel, watching her as she gives one last glance back then disappears inside...

EXT. L.A. SKYLINE - NIGHT - TRANSITION

A flashy cut possibly with a fifties B-movie planet exploding!

INT. HOTEL LOBBY-- NIGHT (1952)

The gossipy residents in conference in the lobby... Rock Hudson Guy being filled in by the others.

OLDER MAN
... so we're sitting there having
a drink, and the guy says to me do
they serve peanuts in this bar --

The others wait for Rock Hudson Guy to grasp the significance.

ROCK HUDSON GUY
So?

OLDER MAN
So. Guy's supposedly suicidal and
he's thinking about peanuts?

ROCK HUDSON GUY
Maybe he was craving something salty -- ?

OVER THE HILL WHORE
(to the others)
He doesn't get it.

We catch Angel in the b.g., and this time we're PANNING with him the opposite way as he moves to the stairs.

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
This wasn't a suicide.

ROCK HUDSON GUY
I thought they found him with the
gun still in his hand and the door locked?

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
Exactly.

OVER THE HILL WHORE
It's too perfect.

They nod in the affirmative, conspirators in the truth. Angel drifts up the stairs, not part of this "community."

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
Locked door mystery.
I've written it a hundred times.

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT (1.952)

Angel moves toward his room but pauses as --

JUDY (O.S.)
Hey...

Angel looks over, sees Judy beckoning to him from her slightly opened doorway. She looks panicked.

JUDY
Can you come in here for a sec?

INT. JUDY'S ROOM - NIGHT (1952)

Angel enters her room. She's smoking, pacing, nervous.

JUDY
Did you hear?

ANGEL
Hear what?

JUDY
The guy in 215. It wasn't a
suicide. He was murdered.

Angel reacts to that, knows better.

ANGEL
I don't think so...

JUDY
It's true. Which means now
there'll be police and questions
and... I thought you might want to
know... in case, maybe... I'm not
implying you got something to hide.

ANGEL
Everyone here's got something to hide.

JUDY
Yeah. Anyway, I figured I owed
you a heads up, on account of
what you did for me before.

He looks at her, measuring her weirdness.

ANGEL
Thanks... but I wouldn't worry about it.

But she is worried... very worried.

JUDY
I guess if we left now it would
look... I don't know, bad, huh?

ANGEL
All depends. This have anything
to do with that private investigator
I tossed out of here?

JUDY
You knew he wasn't my boyfriend --

ANGEL
I had a hunch.

JUDY
(after a beat)
I'm pretty sure he works for my
former employers... City Trust
Bank Of Salina Kansas. I was a
teller there. I think maybe they
want this back --

She pulls a case out from under her bed, opens it, revealing stacks of cash. Angel just looks at it, in a way impressed.

JUDY
I haven't spent any of it. Not a
dime. I can't even bring myself to touch it.

ANGEL
Then why take it?

JUDY
I don't know. I was angry. I
guess I panicked. Things were
going so well... I loved this
job... and I loved this guy. And
we were going to get married. But
then they found out about me at
the bank. And so they fired me.
And when Peter found out why... he
broke it off. I couldn't go back
to where I came from. I couldn't.
So I took this. And I ran.

A long beat as Angel considers the money.

JUDY
(daring him)
Aren't you gonna ask me
why they fired me?

He really wasn't.

ANGEL
Why'd they fire you?

JUDY
(hardening)
Because I'm not what I say I am.
I've been passing since I was
fifteen years old.

ANGEL
Passing?

JUDY
For white. My mother was colored.
My father, I didn't even know him.
My blood's not pure. It's tainted.

A long beat as Angel even tries to fathom this notion. Humans can be so stupid... and so sad. He smiles to himself. Might laugh. Manages not to. Because he knows:

ANGEL
It's just blood, Judy.
It's all just... blood.

JUDY
Nobody believes that. Not even my
mother's family. I'm not one
thing or the other... I'm nothing.

ANGEL
I know what that's like.

Judy has drifted a little, gazes at the money...

JUDY
Yes... Yes, I am...

But she's not in that trance, she's realizing:

JUDY
I am something... I'm a thief.
I've never stolen anything before
in my life. I swear it. It's
just... the things they called me.

ANGEL
Fear makes people do stupid things.

JUDY
It was stupid. I wish I'd never done it.

ANGEL
You don't get big points for
smart. But I meant your former
employers. They were afraid.
That's why they fired you.

JUDY
What am I going to do? I'm trapped.

ANGEL
You're not trapped.

JUDY
I am. If I leave now, it'll look
too suspicious... but if I stay
and the cops find this...

ANGEL
They're not going to find it.
(she looks at him)
I'm going to help you.

INT. CORDELIA'S APARTMENT - DAY

A NEWS CLIPPING with a photo of the Bellhop in handcuffs, a blank look of horror on his face, flanked by period cops.

WESLEY (O.S.)
Frank Gilnitz. He worked as a
bellman the year Angel was in
residence... we'll put him in '52.

Wesley and Cordy hover over the flow chart which is now chock full of gruesome detail. Wesley moves to place the clipping.

CORDELIA
But he wasn't executed until '54.
Shouldn't he go in there?

WESLEY
He wasn't executed until '54, but
the crime he committed, the murder
of the salesman and the storing of
the body in the hotel meat locker,
that occurred in '52.

CORDELIA
It's kind of like a puzzle... the
"Who Died Horribly Because Angel
Screwed Up Fifty Years Ago" game.
(off new clipping)
Okay, so where do we put her?

WESLEY
When did she die?

CORDELIA
Mmmm... doesn't say. Just that
she was being tracked by federal
authorities for bank robbery, she
checked into the Hyperion in '52
and was never heard from again.

WESLEY
'52.

CORDELIA
'52.

Cordy positions the clipping... a photo featuring Judy: "Fugitive Woman Believed Dead." And as we push in on that...

BLACK OUT.

END OF ACT TWO

Continue on to Part Two

 


 

Are You Now or Have You Ever Been

Part 2

(August 7, 2000)

Written by: Tim Minear

Act Three

INT. BOILER ROOM - NIGHT (1952)

The RUMBLING of the living boiler room. We find Angel and Judy as they appear at the top of the stairs. He's got the case with the money, she follows carefully as they descend.

JUDY
I guess it'll be okay down here.
It's only gonna be for a few days,
just until the cops are gone.

He's preoccupied, searching for an appropriate hiding spot.

ANGEL
Judy, there are no cops.

JUDY
(confused)
Well... not yet.

As he climbs up storage items looking for a hiding place, he senses that weird TONAL RUMBLING again. He's not dismissing it this time...

JUDY
God. I can't go to prison...
I just can't...

Angel works the hiding place, his attention split between it, the thing he's sensing, and Judy. He slides the case in.

JUDY
The thought of being confined...
It'd be like death.

...that GHOSTLY TENTACLE lashes out of the shadows again, nearly grazing Judy's foot. She's oblivious, rambling...

JUDY
No, no it'd be worse -
like being buried alive.

Angel climbs down, his attention on what he's sensing...

ANGEL
I want you to go back
to your room. Stay there.

JUDY
Why?

ANGEL
I'm going out for awhile. There's
something in this hotel, something
that's making people crazy...

JUDY
(half hearing him)
A place can do that... I know.
(then)
Hey... do you think if somehow the
money ended up on the bank's
doorstep... if they saw I didn't
spend any of it... you think then
they'd call off that detective?
Maybe I could be free of this whole thing.

Angel hasn't the faith in human nature she's reaching for...

ANGEL
(unconvincing)
Maybe.

JUDY
I mean, there is such a thing
as forgiveness, right?

CLOSE ON ANGEL. He literally has no answer. Now we POP WIDE TO SEE... ANGEL standing alone in the boiler room in --

INT. BOILER ROOM - DAY

-- the present day. No rumbling here. The room is as dead as the rest of the building. Angel moves to the old hiding place, climbs up. Different junk has taken the place of what was there fifty years ago. He clears it away... pries at the piece of old wall... he reaches in. Feels around. He pulls cut the dusty old case. Pops it open -- full of money. She never came back for it.

Angel is lost in the implications of this until... Suddenly the familiar TONAL RUMBLING... Off Angel's reaction to that...

INT. CORDELIA'S APARTMENT - (LATE) DAY

Wesley studies the time line. His frustration growing. Cordelia steps up beside him, glances at the chart.

WESLEY
I know there's a pattern here...
some force was residing in the
Hyperion over the last decades,
affecting staff and residents.
I just fear there's no real way to...

CORDELIA
(quite simply)
A Thesulac. Paranoia demon.
Whispers to its victims, feeds on
their innate insecurities.

Wesley looks at her, stunned. She hands him the phone.

CORDELIA
Angel wants to talk to you.

He takes the phone as she moves to her computer --

WESLEY
Hello?

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. HOTEL LOBBY - (LATE) DAY

It's noticeably darker now. Night coming on. Angel on his cell phone, is behind the lobby reception area. During the following he's tinkering with a fuse box. Some SPARKAGE.

ANGEL
A Thesulac Demon claimed this
place even before they started
building it. I thought if I had
you trace the events we could
track it, find out where it
went... but it's still here.

Cordy has brought up something on her computer

CORDELIA
Tell him his instinct was right.
Two months ago a city worker
attacked some homeless squatters
who were using the hotel for shelter.

WESLEY
It never occurred to me to check
beyond the hotel's closure...

BIG SPARKS at the fuse box. Angel gets the power up - the LIGHTS FLICKER and COME ON.

ANGEL
I want you and Cordy down here,
ASAP. And page Gunn. We're going
to need all the muscle we can get
when we raise this thing --

WESLEY
Raise it?

ANGEL
We have to force it to become
corporeal in order to kill it.

WESLEY
Right. Thesulac. You'll want me
to research the raising ritual --

ANGEL
Already done it --

Off Wesley's surprise...

INT. RARE BOOKSHOP - NIGHT (1952)

The PROPRIETOR, DENVER, a 30ish, 1950's beatniky type, sits behind the counter, watching TV. We HEAR familiar fifties sitcom canned laughter... He doesn't look up as the DARK FIGURE of Angel appears at the counter.

DENVER
They keep calling her a zany
redhead. Could be a brunette for
all I can tell. Guess we'll just
have to take their word for it.

ANGEL
You Denver?

We might note that he's giving Angel a very close once over...

DENVER
No other cat but me.
What can I do you for?

ANGEL
I need information on demons.

DENVER
Do you, now, daddy?

ANGEL
Everything you have on possessing
entities. Demonic suggestion...

Denver has risen, moved to a shelf, grabbed a book --

DENVER
Try this one --

He tosses it to Angel -- Angel catches it and it SMOKES in his hand. He drops it on the counter -- HOLY BIBLE. WE TILT up from that... to Angel's VAMPED FACE.

Denver reacts to that, dives for the counter, comes up with a cross and stake, poised -- but Angel's gone. Denver moves to the open door, calls out --

DENVER
That's right! Run, Coward Of The
Night! And tell your buddies I am
thinking very seriously of putting
my bed roll down right here and
losing the "welcome" sign so you
bastards can't just walk in here
uninvited -- you got any idea who
you're dealing with?

WHAM! He's taken from behind with heart stopping speed. Angel, still vamped, has him in a choke hold.

ANGEL
I know you've got a reputation --
that's why I'm here. Now -- it's
been a long time since I opened a
vein, but I'll do it, you pull
anymore of that Van Helsing Junior
crap with me. Are we clear?

Denver nods, scared now. Angel releases him. They face off.

ANGEL
I want the books in the back.

INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT (1952)

Bellhop approaches Manager, wiping his hands with a dish towel. Manager's looking out toward the lobby with concern where storm clouds are gathering... quarreling residents --

MANAGER
What took you so long?

BELLHOP
He wouldn't fit.

MANAGER
What? What'd you do with him?

BELLHOP
Oh, he's in there. I just sort of
had to, whaddya call, make him fit.
(not too worried)
There's no chance I could get in
trouble for that, is there?

MANAGER
Don't be paranoid --

Manager moves toward the hub-bub, Bellhop follows. Our rogue's gallery in heated debate...

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
You had more reason to murder him
than any one else here!

ROCK HUDSON GUY
What? I didn't even know the man!

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
That's what you say, but maybe he
saw you with one of your little
trysts -- maybe he threatened to
tell the studio! Expose, perhaps,
your peccadillos to the press!

ROCK HUDSON GUY
Don't you dare use alliteration
with me, you hack! You're just
mad because the studio won't take
your calls -- comrade!

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
Pansy!

ROCK HUDSON GUY
Red!

MANAGER
What seems to be the trouble?

OVER THE HILL WHORE
There's a murderer in this hotel!

OLDER MAN
And we're going to find out who!

INT. JUDY'S ROOM - NIGHT (1952)

Judy alone in her room. Reading. The TONAL RUMBLING comes up... she's trying to ignore it... But finally:

DEMONIC VOICE (V.0.)
They know about you. They'll turn
you in. You'll go to prison. How
long do you think someone like you
will last in prison?

Judy abandons her book, tries to shake off the paranoia. Moves to the window, opens it, drinks in the night air. Not giving in to it.

INT. RARE BOOKSHOP - NIGHT (1952)

Angel sits studying the ancient tomes. Denver eyeballs him.

DENVER
So you were, what, about
my age when you were made?

ANGEL
(eyes on books)
Dunno. How old are you?

DENVER
Just north of 30.

ANGEL
(offended)
No.
(then)
This Thesulac... how do I kill it?

DENVER
You don't. You run from it.

ANGEL
There's got to be a way to kill it.

DENVER
Well, first you gotta make it fat.
Corporeal. That only happens
after it's had a nice big feed.
Or if you raise it. But that's
tricky, and dangerous.

ANGEL
How?

DENVER
Incantation's there in the book.
But you're gonna need an Orb of Ramjarin.
I got one I can let you have cheap.

ANGEL
For free.

DENVER
Or free. You'll also need sacred
herbs, divining powder -- and
something really big to hit it with.

ANGEL
And that'll kill it?

DENVER
(shrugs)
Might. Wouldn't hurt to have a
lightning strike. You know,
finger'a heaven kinda thing. But
short of that, I'd go with
something big and heavy --

ANGEL
Pack it up.

Denver stares at him for a beat, a new species...

DENVER
A vampire wanting to slay a demon
in order to help some grubby
humans... I just don't get it --

ANGEL
To be honest, not so sure I do either.

DENVER
(moving off)
L.A., man. This is one crazy town

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT (1952)

Crazy freaking paranoid hotel. Manager turning on the Whore:

MANAGER
That's right! You once asked me
where you could purchase a gun!

OVER THE HILL WHORE
That was for protection!

ROCK HUDSON GUY
Protection, perhaps, from a
salesman who was ready to turn
you in for solicitation?!

BELLHOP
(aside to Manager)
He shot himself, remember?

MANAGER
(turning on him)
Did he? Were you there?!

BELLHOP
(on-a-dime)
It was Consuela!
She's the one that found him!

It's all building to a CACOPHONY of ACCUSATION, until

GOON (0. S.)
Hey!

The yelling stops. They all turn to see the Goon, his nose bandaged. With one hand he holds up his P.I. identification --

GOON
Name's C. Mulvihill. P.I. --

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
(aside to others)
He looks suspicious --

-- with the other hand the Goon displays a photograph of Judy.

GOON
I'm looking for this woman...

And off this pregnant moment...

INT. BOILER ROOM - NIGHT (1952)

The trap door opens and CLUNK!, a hand pushes out a lethal looking medieval weapon. Then the rest of the supplies for demon slaying... Angel emerges. He gathers up the stuff. Notes a price tag still dangling from the medieval weapon.
He snaps it off, moves toward...

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT (1952)

Angel enters the lobby. Stark contrast to the maniac mob we saw here moments ago. It's eerily empty. He moves deeper into the place, getting a bad feeling now... We're CLOSE with him as he senses a presence, wheels around to see --

WESLEY, CORDELIA AND GUNN

Standing there loaded for bear, because now we are...

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT

...back in the present day. Angel standing in the lobby in the same spot he was standing in the flashback.

ANGEL
Let's do this.

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - (LATER THAT) NIGHT

The Raising Ritual in progress. Wesley reads from the sacred text. Cordelia cheerfully sprinkles the place with conjuring powder. Gunn stands ready with an assist for Wesley, also holding a smaller prayer-like book. Angel just stands ready (not far from the fuse juncture box, near reception.)

WESLEY
We call thee forth, Thuselac of
the netherworld. We command you
to leave our minds and join us on
this, the physical plane...
(thrusts hand to Gunn)
Orb of Ramjarin.

GUNN
"Orb Of Ramjarin please" makes it happen.

Wesley does a take, at the moment not loving Gunn --

WESLEY
Please. And do be careful.
Ancient conjuring orbs are
notoriously fragile.

GUNN
Now do I look like the kind of guy
who doesn't know how to handle an
ancient conjuring orb to you?

Gunn, not liking the nit-picky of it, tosses the Orb to Wesley. Wesley catches it, nearly has a heart attack.

WESLEY
Angel!

ANGEL
Guys! Don't listen to it.
Whatever it's whispering
to you, just ignore it.

Cordy moves to Angel, shakes her head...

CORDELIA
They were like this all the way
over here in the car.

ANGEL
Oh.

CORDELIA
So you can tell me...
it was a woman, wasn't it?
(re: his uncomfortable look)
Thought so.

Wesley continues the incantation --

WESLEY
We invoke thee by the power of all
the Priests of Ramjarin. What was
once in our thoughts, be now in our midst --

The air before them begins shifting. Something dangerous forming... building, building... Our people brace for what's coming... And we PRE-LAP with... DING!

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT (1952)

The elevator door opens, revealing Angel with his supplies. He reacts as he sees -- THE MOB dragging Judy from her room. Rising above the SHOUTING and GOADING...

OLDER MAN
What gives you the right
to hide out up here?!

JUDY
Please! Stop it! You're hurting me!

OVER THE HILL WHORE
We'll do more than that if you
don't start telling us everything!

ROCK HUDSON GUY
We know about you, missy!

MANAGER
The name you registered under,
it's a fake! We have proof!

OVER THE HILL WHORE
Who knows what else she's lied
about, the little slut!

JUDY
I didn't mean anything!
Please! I'm sorry!

Judy is being jostled from all sides. Angel drops his supplies, starts fast walking toward the commotion --

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
Sorry for what?
What do you have to be sorry for?!

JUDY
Nothing! It wasn't me!

BLACKLISTED SCREENWRITER
(a-ha!)
What wasn't you?

They're all screaming at her, overwhelming her.

JUDY
It wasn't me! It wasn't me!

Judy, desperate, terrified, now sees Angel approaching... salvation footsteps away. Her only hope. They meet eyes...

JUDY
It was him!

And now she's pointing at him. Angel is thunderstruck... stops where he is. The mob is turning to look at him now.

JUDY
Look in his room! Go ahead, look!
He's got blood! He's a monster!

Angel can't believe what he's hearing. The mob turns on him, more of them appearing, filing in behind him, The Goon among those. A few of the mob find the paranormal supplies he left behind. The Goon hefts the medieval weapon, fascinated...

GOON
What kind of maniac are you?!

And they're swarming.

VARIOUS
Get him! Grab him!
Don't let him get away!

WHAM! The medieval weapon comes down on the back of his head. And the last thing he sees before he hits the ground is Judy, her eyes full of horror at what she's done...

BLACK OUT.

END OF ACT THREE

Act Four

INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT (1952)

BAM! The door to Angel's room is kicked open. The mob hustles him in. He's still woozy from the blow to the head. The ice bucket is knocked over... the medical bottle breaks -- blood everywhere.

GOON
It's true! It's blood!

MANAGER
He's a fiend!

BELLHOP
(vindicated)
I knew it! I knew there was a
reason he gave me the heebie-jeebies!
(in Angel's face)
You are gonna pay now, you freak!

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT (1952)

THE MOB pushes out onto the balcony, Angel in the middle.

VARIOUS
He's the reason! It's him! He's
to blame! Lock the doors!

Judy is the last out, dazed, horrified. The ROAR of the CROWD becomes surreal. A constant RUMBLE. Mouths foaming, moving, screaming, just one big fat creepy sound and picture design. In other words, let's make this so stylized we can't
screw it up.

A ROPE is slung over a beam in the lobby... A NOOSE is pulled down over Angel's neck. Judy looks to Angel, meets his eyes. He looks back... just simply nothing in his gaze, not anger, not sadness, not fear -- only resignation. Judy looks away.

The ROAR BUILDS. The mob pushes him off the top of the high lobby landing. His body drops... suspended in mid air for one unendurable moment... then --

-- CRACK!, Angel jerks hard on the rope, punctuating the moment. The ROAR stops. Nothing but deadly, hideous silence... and the CREAK of the weight of a body on the end of a rope. Well, nothing but that and the Bellhop, his a lone voice --

BELLHOP
Yeah! Swing you freak!
That's right! You had it coming!

The Mob stares at the swinging body. Cannot believe it. Realization settling over them now...

MANAGER
Oh lord... oh my lord...
what have we done?

One by one they each start to back away... retreating...

BELLHOP
What? What's wrong?
I don't get it...

The lobby thins out... doors slamming... people fleeing.

BELLHOP
Where's everybody going?
This is just, whaddya call...

He looks to the lynched body swinging there, makes with the big "oh, shit" look... and bails. Now it's just Angel's -- apparently -- dead body creaking on the end of the rope...

ANGEL

lifts his head. He's annoyed. He reaches up, forces the noose from his neck and drops to the floor. Starts to dust himself off. Something behind him... he turns --

THE THESULAC

Forming at the exact point we left him in his manifestation in the present day. The air shifts, gets thicker... and POP! THESULAC appears from the mist. A robed and hooded death-like creature. He "floats" on snaky, slimy black tentacles which slither from the hem of his robe.

THESULAC
Well, I don't know about you, but
I am stuffed! God, I love people,
don't you? They feed me their
worst, and I serve it right back
to them. And the fear and the
prejudice turn to certainty and
hate -- and I take another bite!
What a beautiful, beautiful dance!

The thing skitters around buglike on its tentacles, laughing. Angel shoots it a backward glare. Starts to walk away.

THESULAC
Where're you going? You know
you're paid up through the end of
the week. Oh, you got your
feelings hurt, didn't you? See
now what happens when you stick
your neck out for 'em? They throw
a rope around it!

Angel keeps walking...

THESULAC
And you thought you'd made a
friend. Newsflash: You had!
That's what made her the yummiest
morsel of all! You'd reached her,
buddy! Restored her faith in
people! Without you, she would've
been just another appetizer. But
you plumped her up good. Stuffed
her with hope, filled her with
gratitude. When she betrayed you,
she betrayed everything! She's a
meal that's going to last me a lifetime!
(then, seriously)
You know, there's an entire hotel
here just full of tortured souls
who could really use your help.
(brightly)
Whaddaya say?

Angel slows... stops... half looks back... a beat...

ANGEL
Take 'em all.

Angel exits. Thesulac ROARS with LAUGHTER... which becomes a ROAR OF ANGER and WE ARE --

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT

-- in the present day and the creature writhes and pitches, unhappy about being dragged out into the open like this. We're hard into the action now.

ANGEL
Watch his tentacles!

CORDELIA
(offended)
Excuse me?

WESLEY
(ugh)
Tentacles!

But he's turned to say that and gets one right in the head. He goes down.

ANGEL
Don't let it get behind you!

Gunn helps Wesley up. The four of them fan out, the Thesulac skittering around the lobby in the middle, taking in the odds.

THESULAC
I don't remember ordering take
out... but I like what you've
brought me -- not as delectable as
the last one, perhaps, but full of
tasty paranoia just the same.
(indicating Wesley)
Especially that one --

WESLEY
What did he mean by that?

CORDELIA
Relax, Wesley.

SNAP! A deadly tentacle lashes out right at Cordy's face. She squeals and jumps back. Thesulac laughs.

ANGEL
You had your last meal here long
ago. You should have gotten out
when you had the chance --

THESULAC
Get out? Now why would I want to
do that? The quality of the
clientele may have dipped a notch
or two in the last few decades...
but the room service is still
excellent. Has been for fifty
years... I give it five stars.

Thesulac smiles... real big.

THESULAC
The paranoia here is like fine wine...

PUSHING IN ON ANGEL... realizing as he says it:

ANGEL
It gets better with age.
(then)
You're still feeding.

Angel looks to Gunn, nods. Gunn brings up a CROSSBOW - lets one go -- THWAP!, nailing one of the creature's tentacles to the wall. Thesulac SCREAMS! Another tentacle snaps at Gunn, coils around his arm and tugs him off his feet, sending him across the room crashing into a wall.

Angel dives into a shoulder roll, coming up with another tentacle in his hand. Thesulac whips his head toward Angel, HISSING. Angel jams the end of the tentacle into the electrical box. As he does --

ANGEL
Kitchen's closed --

Angel dives out of the way as -- SPARKAGE! ZAP! The current races up the moist appendage, reaching the thing's body. Lots of snap, crackle and popping. Thesulac disintegrates in a FLASH of electricity and SCREAMING. Once the smoke clears:

WESLEY
What did it mean "especially that
one?" How am I paranoid?

But no one's answering --- Cordy and Gunn have picked up on Angel's sixth-sensing something. Angel turns now... knowing... he moves off, fueled with grim resolve.

Wesley sees Angel moving away from them.

WESLEY
Where's he going?

He takes a step. Cordy and Gunn reach out and stop him, sensing Angel has business yet to finish here...

INT. HOTEL - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT

Angel moves down the hallway, dreamlike. He steps up to Judy's old door... reaches out and just gives it the slightest push... it opens, revealing...

INT. JUDY'S ROOM - NIGHT

The one room in the hotel that hasn't changed a bit. The same ugly fifties wallpaper... the same furniture. A FIGURE sits in the overstuffed chair, facing away from us. WE MOVE with Angel as he approaches, comes around to face...

ANGEL
Judy...

She's an old woman, past seventy years now, but something about the eyes... it's her.

OLD JUDY
I don't hear them anymore...
I don't hear them... are they gone?

ANGEL
Yes.

He kneels in front of her. She tries to focus on him, not sure if what she's seeing is real...

OLD JUDY
It's you...

ANGEL
Yes, Judy. It's me.

She shuts her eyes. Tears leak out.

OLD JUDY
You came back...

She reaches out her hand, strokes his cheek lightly --

OLD JUDY
You look... the same.

ANGEL
I'm not.

OLD JUDY
They killed you. Because of me.
I killed you -- You're here to
haunt me, to punish me.

ANGEL
No.

OLD JUDY
They were after me. All of them.
They wanted to send me to prison.
I just... I couldn't be locked up.

ANGEL
I know.

OLD JUDY
He kept them away from the door.
He took care of me. He said I'd be safe.

She looks to him, worried.

OLD JUDY
Am I safe?

ANGEL
You're safe.

She tries to fathom that, then...

OLD JUDY
Can I go out now?

ANGEL
Yes. You can go out.

She smiles at him. Starts to rise. It's difficult for her.

ANGEL
Let me help you.

She looks to him, grateful. He helps her up. That was a lot of work for her.

OLD JUDY
I just... I need to take a little
rest first... just a little rest.

He helps her over to the bed. He helps her lie down. She's fighting to stay conscious...

OLD JUDY
I'm sorry I killed you...
I'm so sorry... for everything...

She closes her eyes... her breathing shallow. He puts his hand over hers.

OLD JUDY
Can you forgive me?

Angel gazes down on her, the thought of granting this, being allowed to grant it, overwhelming to him. He swallows. His mouth dry...

ANGEL
Of course.

She doesn't open her eyes. But she smiles.

JUDY
(just a whisper)
I'll just rest. Just for a
minute. Then I'll... go out.

And she dies.

INT. HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT

Angel appears, lost in thought, moving slowly down the stairs.

Cordelia and Gunn are sitting on the covered furniture, getting a bit of a headache from:

WESLEY
I've been accused of a great many
things in my time, but "paranoid"
has never been one of them.
(suddenly worried)
Unless people have been saying it
behind my back -- ?

Cordy and Gunn see Angel, rise to their feet.

GUNN
You okay, man?

Angel nods.

ANGEL
Yeah.

CORDELIA
We finished?

ANGEL
(nods)
I think so.

CORDELIA
Good, because I for one will be
glad to see the last of this
place. Gives me the heebie-jeebies.

GUNN
No lie. Plus it's got kind of an
odor to it, you notice that?

CORDELIA
I think that's charred demon
you're smelling. But seventy
years of violence, mayhem and
paranoia. Bad vibes.

ANGEL
We're moving in.

CORDELIA
I mean a few throw pillows,
what's not to love?

They all turn. Angel stands in the middle of the lobby, taking the place in. Wesley looks at him --

WESLEY
Angel, surely you more than anyone
must appreciate how, for the
better part of the last century,
this place has been host not only
to a , malevolent demonic presence,
but the very worst faces of humanity.
(then)
This is a house of evil.

Angel sweeps the place with his glance, looks contented.

ANGEL
Not anymore.

The others look around, trying to see what he's seeing. And we're... PULLING BACK, taking in the view of our people in this new space... higher and wider, higher and wider...

WESLEY
(distant)
Angel? You don't find me
especially paranoid, do you?

ANGEL
(distant)
Not especially.

WESLEY
(distant)
Oh, thank god. I was worried.

THE END