That Old Gang of Mine August 1, 2001 (Pink) Written by: Tim Minear Teaser INT. CARITAS - NIGHT We're very close on an uncomfortable ANGEL. He's on the spot, searching for words, his gaze flickering down, can't seem to make eye-contact as he speaks to someone o.s. -- ANGEL That night... still haunts me. I'm ashamed of how I treated you. The way I used you. I took what I needed, then I cast you aside. And that ... that was wrong of me. Very wrong. I see that now. I understand it. I own it. I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry. WIDER - It's after hours. The bar's closed for this private intervention. MERL is seated across from Angel. Hovering around variously are: CORDELIA, WESLEY, THE HOST and GUNN, who stands slightly apart. Dead air. All look to Merl. MERL He's reading! ANGEL (yeah, so?) I made some notes ... We see Angel's got 3x5 cards in his hand -- it wasn't shame that was making his eyes go downcast -- crib notes. MERL I ain't feelin' the sincerity, here. ANGEL (to the ûothers) I told you this was a waste of time. MERL Real friends wouldn't need "notes!" ANGEL We aren't "friends," Merl. I barely even know you! MERL (hurt) Not like you ever made the effort, either. is it? Merl hops up, moves away. Angel rises, throws up his hands. ANGEL Let him go if he wants. Merl is blocked by Cordy; Angel by Wesley. Two cross-cut private conferences ... CORDY AND MERL CORDELIA Merl, you said you'd listen to what Angel had to say -- ANGEL AND WESLEY WESLEY You promised you'd make an attempt. CORDY AND MERL MERL You get a load of that insincere tripe he was readin'? ANGEL AND WESLEY ANGEL He's a snitch, Wesley. You don't apologize for roughing up a snitch. You lose your credibility. (aside to Gunn) Am I right? Gunn would love to agree, but Wes flashes him a warning look. He shrugs, looks to his shoes, as CORDY AND MERL CORDELIA I happen to know those words came straight from the heart. Okay, so maybe he wasn't exactly selling it. But I hardly think it's fÆair to blame the writing. ANGEL AND WESLEY WESLEY He's a source. A valuable source. One that you alienated. You owe it to the business to repair the relationship. ANGEL What does he want from me? Merl heard that, breaks away from Cor, moves forward. MERL What do I want?! I'll tell you what I want! I want back the three months I spent in therapy after being hung upside-down in a sewer is what I want! I still can't hear a toilet flush without breaking into a cold sweat! CORDELIA Angel, read the cards. ANGEL No. He's right. Everytime I went to Merl for information, he came through. But I abused and mistreated him. Words won't make up for that. So I'll tell you what, Merl - (leaning in, exposed) Take a shot. Your best shot. WESLEY Angel, please -- CORDELIA Guys, knock it off-- ANGEL Come on, Merl -- this one's free. MerlMerlMerlMerl! Come on! Take a shot take a shot take a shot take a shot! You know you want to! Merrrlllla-la-la-la-la! ¦MERL He's goading! Look! You all see it! Oh, how he goads! Shameless he is with the goading! Merl's hand grabs a nearby beer bottle. He swings it at Angel and -- ZZZZZAAAAPPP!, the impact is deflected by the magical Caritas C.G.I. force field. Merl's knocked back a little, drops the bottle, shakes the sting off his hand. MERL You did that on purpose! He knew that would happen! You tricked me! The Host helps steady Merl, gives Angel the evil eye ... HOST Why, now, I'm sure Angel just forgot for the moment that demon violence of any kind is impossible in Caritas and that this was the entire point of you two meeting down here after hours. For instance. ANGEL Yeah. I forgot. MERL Whatever. I'm done listening to this bloodsucker. And that goes for the rest of ya! I never wanna see any of you ever again! (then) So who's gonna give me a ride home? It's dark. WESLEY (sighs defeated) Alright, then. Gunn, don't you pÌass near Merl's on your way home? Gunn takes a beat, not happy about this. Finally he grabs his jacket, heading out past Merl with: GUNN Yeah, I'll take him. Come on. MERL (as they go) I appreciate it. Demon ain't safe in this town at night. They exit. Wes and Cor look disappointedly to Angel. The Host sets his gaze on the door through which Gunn and Merl left. HOST Well. I don't believe I've ever seen him quite so very angry, confused or alienated before. CORDELIA (to Angel) Ya just couldn't stick to the cards, could you? HOST (still toward door) Oh. I didn't mean Merl ... The Host takes a cryptic sip of his drink. EXT. MERL'S LAIR - NIGHT - GUNN'S FACE FILLS FRAME as his truck pulls up INTO LENS outside Merl's lair. Merl hops out. MERL Thanks. Hope I didn't take you -- Gunn's Truck peels out, leaving Merl standing there ... MERL (cont'd) --too far out of your way. EXT. HOMELESS SECTION OF TOWN - NIGHT The HOMELESS camping out. äSome in cardboard shelters, others hanging out, some under newspaper blankets. GUNN'S TRUCK pulls up. Gunn gets out of the truck, pulls back the tarp over the truck bed -- and WE SEE everything he owns in the world. He grabs a blanket. Moves back to the cab of the truck, settles in for the night. As he looks to the other homeless around him, the MUSIC swells in that we're about-to-fade-out kinda way, and we do in fact ... FADE OUT: But! CLICK! A HANGING LIGHT BULB snaps on in INT. MERL'S LAIR - NIGHT Merl enters his lair. Reacts with shock to something o.s. MERL What the -- ? Hey! NOOOOOO Something that WE DON'T SEE drives Merl backwards. He knocks the hanging lightbulb, shadows shifting crazily now as he's attacked. SPLAT! Demon blood hits the wall. SPLAT! More gore. And the end for Merl comes quickly and violently as the sequence is cut-fast and Merl's SCREAM is cut-short and we -- BLACK OUT. END OF TEASER Act One EXT. HOMELESS SECTION OF TOWN - DAY Gunn wakes in hiðs truck to his BEEPER going off. He emerges from his blanket, looks at the beeper. Reacts now as the front end of his truck LURCHES UP, rising into the air ... That's because it's been hooked up to the hitch of a TOW TRUCK by a TOW TRUCK DRIVER. Gunn jumps out of the cab -- GUNN Hey! No! What're you doin!?! TOW TRUCK DRIVER Can't leave it here overnight. Gunn notes that the area is now clear of homeless people. They've cleared out. A "No Parking" sign is visible. GUNN But ... I didn't ... Check it out: I didn't leave it, 'cos I was in it. (dead air, then)Come on. Don't do this. Be a pal. TOW TRUCK DRIVER Once it's hooked up, I'm nobody's pal. Come on down to the impound yard, pay the fee. You'll get your truck back. GUNN I can't "come on down," right? You got my ride. TOW TRUCK DRIVER (after a beat) Fine. Get in. GUNN (muttering, crossing) Great. You can take me down to pick up my truck from the place where it isn't now but will be once we get there -- Gunn's BEEPER goes offê again. He silences it. He climbs into the cab, digging through his wallet. GUNN (cont'd) So how much is this "fee" gonna run me, anyway? TOW TRUCK DRIVER Seventy three sixty. GUNN Seventy..! You think if I had that kind of cash I'd be living in my ... He trails off as he finds: GUNN (cont'd) Can you break a hundred? EXT. LOS ANGELES - DAY Flashy cuts transition us to -- INT. MERL'S LAIR - DAY Gunn enters, still annoyed with his morning. Angel is there, examining the area. Violence has happened here. The place is totally trashed. Ugly, messy crime scene. (Among the debris, sits a donut box.) ANGEL You made it. GUNN Yeah. I called the hotel, Cordelia said ya'll were down here at Merl's and what is that? Gunn indicates some globulous material on the wall. ANGEL That's Merl. GUNN Where's the rest of him? Angel points to another, opposite wall. Gunn looks over. Now Angel points to the ceiling. Gunn looks up, makes a face. GUNN (cont'd) Nasty. What happened? ANóGEL Don't know. I stopped by this morning, thought I'd give "sincere" one more shot. This is what I found. So far we've ruled out suicide. Wesley appears with some of Merl's personal items: a shoebox stuffed with papers, a well-worn filofax. WESLEY I found some of his personal papers. An address book... (seeing him) Gunn. You're here. Good. You didn't happen to notice anything odd last night when you dropped Merl off, did you? Gunn watches as Wes and Angel do their detecting thing, letting the scene register for himself, now. GUNN Not really ... WESLEY (to Angel) We'll box these things, catalogue them when we get back to the hotel. GUNN Hey, guys -- ? What are we doin'? Angel and Wes exchange subtle looks at the odd question. WESLEY Examining the crime scene. GUNN Yeah, I see that. But I mean... what's our interest? WESLEY "Our interest?" Someone killed Merl. GUNN Right. No. I get that. It's just ... Look, I didn't have a beef with Merl. I'm even sorry he got dead -- but comøe on, is this really the kind of thing we should be spending our time on? Let's be honest... he was what he was, right? ANGEL What's that supposed to mean? GUNN Nothing. Means what it means. Somebody killed a demon. We do that every day. WESLEY What we do is different. Surely Merl was harmless. GUNN (shrugs) Okay. ANGEL You sure you're not just bent because maybe we interrupted something you'd rather be doing? GUNN (defensive) No. ANGEL Okay. Usually doesn't take you two hours to answer a page, is all. GUNN Excuse me, but did someone put you back in charge again? 'Cause if they did, they forgot to tell me about it. WESLEY Alright. Gunn, if this isn't something you feel you can get behind, we'll understand. For now why don't you just ... go on home. Gunn looks at him. Home. Something he doesn't have. He looks as if he may say something, but before he can -- WESLEY (cont'd) (not unkindly) Go home. GUNN (after a beat) You know what? That's probably a real good idea. Gunn takes üa few steps back, holding that eye contact, then turns and exits. Uncomfortable silence. Wesley turns back toward Angel, who is now going through Merl's papers. ANGEL Little creep ... (off Wes' look) Merl. He was right, you know. I never did bother to get to know who he was. Now I guess I'll have to ... OMITTED INT. STREET GANG'S HIDEOUT - DAY The graffiti in these corridors may say "schmuck bait" as Gunn moves through them. He senses something. Turns fast now as -- A TEENAGER, armed with a sharpened pole comes at him. In a series of fast moves, Gunn not only disarms the boy, but slams him up against the wall, the boy's own weapon to his throat. But now ... A CROSSBOW appears, growing out of the back of Gunn's head. Busted. More GANG KIDS have appeared around Gunn. The one holding the crossbow is GIO, about Gunn's age, with an air of danger. GIO Seems to me this is a situation you just might wanna re-think. Gunn turns and looks down the business end of the crossbow. GUNN (re: crossbow) Nice riùg. GIO Glad you like it -- RONDELL (appearing) He should -- he built it. RONDELL, Gunn's old gang buddy, appears, approaching. RONDELL (cont'd) Gio, you wanna get that thing out of my boy's face? Gio backs off. Rondell and Gunn greet each other. GUNN (re: the kids) I see you still passin' along a little something of what I taught you. RONDELL Word's out, bro. Vamps know better than to even cross Venice Boulevard these days. Crew's as tight as it's ever been. Even back in your day. Gio's been watching this exchange with dawning realization ... GIO Charles Gunn? GUNN That's right. GIO Oh, I know all about you, man. RONDELL See that? Six months gone and you're a legend already. GIO Hell, I heard your name all the way back in Florida. You're one of the reasons I came out here. RONDELL Gio's from Miami. GUNN Coast-to-coast, huh? GIO Could say that. Now what is it about places like L.A. and Miami brings out the teeth, you suppose? You'd think vamps would wanna hang in less sunüny climes, you know what I'm sayin'. Gunn laughs, can't help but like this guy. GUNN Yeah. I think I do. GIO Maybe you can ask your boss why that is ... Gunn stops laughing, darkens. RONDELL Yo, Gio. Man. GIO If you can't beat 'em, right Chuck? GUNN It ain't even like that. GIO No? Okay. You say so. But I heard you was once the bigtime alpha vamp killer -- and now you're workin' with one. What's up with that? RONDELL Gio -- who's supposed to be on point out back? GIO That'd be me. RONDELL So why ain't you back there? Gio starts drifting away, back down the corridor. As he goes.: GIO Yeah. Okay. I'm goin'. You and your boy here can have a nice visit. Might just wanna do it outside, though. In the sunshine. Just be on the safe side. As WE HOLD on Gunn, his jaw set, we PRE-LAP with: CORDELIA (V.0.) Some people just need a little time alone ... INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - LOBBY - DAY Cordy works at her computer. Angel is seated in the lobby. CORDELIA I wouldn't worry about it. ANùGEL She's had time alone. Five years. I think that's the problem. Now WE SEE what Angel's looking at -- FRED is visible outside in the garden, alone. ANGEL (cont'd) She's been back in this world for three months and she still hasn't gone out into it. Cordy moves to the printer as it spits out paper. She staples together sets of something during: CORDELIA Right, and it's not like the last time she was out in the world she was sucked into an interdimensional portal and ended up living like a hunted animal in a hostile demon alterna-world or anything. Oh, wait -- kinda is, huh? ANGEL Which is why I'm asking that you talk to her. Cor crosses to Angel, hands him a set of the papers. CORDELIA I'm not sure that's such a great idea. ANGEL You don't like her? CORDELIA Sure I like her. What's not to like? She's sweet and adorable and... (glancing to garden) ... seems to be laughing at something that shrub just said ... (then) Look, it's not that I don't like her ... I just don't get her. ANGEðL You don't have to "get" her. Just talk to her. A beat, then a sigh. She looks from poor, lonely Fred out in the garden to her friend. As Cor moves off: CORDELIA Fine. We'll chat. ANGEL Thank you. (off papers) What's this? CORDELIA Enemies Of Merl list. She disappears into Wesley's office. Angel glances down at the list, reacts to something -- ANGEL Hey -- ! INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - WESLEY'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Cordy stands next to Wes at his desk. He's pouring over the multi-paged list which Cordy has just handed to him. Angel enters with his copy. ANGEL Why is my name at the top of this list? CORDELIA Uh ... "A." ANGEL Merl and I were not enemies. CORDELIA Oh. Okay. My mistake. ANGEL I'm the one that found the body, remember? CORDELIA Oh, and that's not suspicious. The one time you pay Merl a social visit and he ends up dead? WESLEY I recognize quite a few of these names, actually. CORDELIA You should. Half of 'em weren't enemies of Merl until we made him snitch o÷n 'em. WESLEY I see ... ANGEL Oh, sure. I went dark and killed Merl. Wesley rises from his desk. WESLEY We'll work backwards, end with the "A's," how's that? But we should start tracking down these names. Wesley moves toward the door, Angel looks back at Cordy, and before he exits: ANGEL Ask yourself this: if I had gone there to kill him -- would I have brought donuts? He leaves. Off Cordy EXT. STREET GANG'S HIDEOUT - DAY Gunn and Rondell have retreated out into the daylight. A private conversation. GUNN So I guess that's the word on me around here nowadays, huh? Traitor. Vamp lover. RONDELL Don't go listenin' to Gio, man. He don't know you. GUNN No. But you do -- (then) So whadda you got to say, Rondell? You think I turned my back on ya'll to hook up with one of them? RONDELL Hell, I dunno. I ain't even seen your back in months, bro. I don't know which way it's facin'. GUNN That's no answer. RONDELL (shrugs) Truth. I ain't heard word one from you. Not since we spread whatæ was left of George in the river. Some of us were even startin' to wonder if you were still in this world. GUNN Yeah ... wonderin' that myself sometimes. RONDELL Look, whatever man. Tell me something -- are you of the opinion you been doin' good with these new friends of yours? GUNN I dunno. We been gettin' it done. RONDELL Alright. Then you keep on doin' what you been doin', and we'll do the same. Gunn ruminates on that for a moment, then ... GUNN I didn't mean to disappear on ya'll. I didn't plan it. I guess after George ... RONDELL (cuts him off) You were gone way before George. (then, gently) It was Alonna, man. Things, they were never the same after Alonna. The emotion churns in Gunn. GUNN I couldn't even keep my own sister safe. What could I do for the rest of you? RONDELL A lot, man. You done a lot. There's people alive today because of something you started. Gunn looks to Rondell, grateful. GUNN Something we started. RONDELL Got that right. Rondelêl smiles, offers his hand. Gunn takes it. Off that -- INT. APARTMENT BUILDING HALLWAY - NIGHT Angel and Wesley, discreetly armed, appear from the stairwell, move down the corridor. They've been at this for some hours now. ANGEL What's this one? WESLEY (checking his notes) Uh ... Samuel Larch. A bookie. Merl owed him quite a lot of money ANGEL Demon or human? WESLEY Not sure. They arrive at a particular door. ANGEL Care to find out? Wesley nods toward the door. They each brandish, again discreetly, their weapons -- BAM!, Angel kicks the door in ... and goes right through. Wesley takes that as his cue -- WESLEY Demon, then! -- and follows into: INT. APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Wesley stops at Angel's side. Both are looking, frozen at -- WESLEY Good Lord ... The place is a wreck. Violence has gone on here. It looks not unlike Merl's place -- pieces of demon gore all over the walls. Furniture torn up and strewn about. A war zone. ANGEL I think when we find whatever's doiíng this... we're gonna need Gunn. WESLEY (staring) Yes... a gun. ANGEL No. Gunnnnn. WESLEY Right. Yes. Him. I agree. From the looks of this, I think it's fair to assume we're up against something quite big, extremely powerful -- ANGEL -- and really pissed off... INT. SEWER SYSTEM - NIGHT We're behind something HUGE AND HORRIBLE as it lurches down the sewer tunnels. A scary, gritty, tubercular RUMBLE in its chest. Suddenly, its hit with HARSH LIGHT. It turns to face us, looking behind itself, squinting. Okay, folks, this guy could be Barney the Purple Dinosaur's cousin. It's got a Big Slurp soft drink in its paw, straw in its mouth. That spooky tubercular rumble? Bottom-of-the-beverage-scrape. Nothing more. The Barney-ish creature reacts with surprise and fear -- HUGE AND HORRIBLE (Barney like voice) Hello? Who's there, please? REVERSE - Out of the hand-held flood lights emerge RONDELL and the CREW, Gio leading the way with Gunn's old cross bow. And they attack, WHOOPING anöd HOLLERING. And it is violent and frenzied and brutal. THE BIG SLURP lands on the ground, spilling, the soft drink mingling with running BLOOD as we -- BLACK OUT. END OF ACT ONE Act Two INT. APARTMENT - DAY CAMERA TRACKS over the rubble, past the coffee table where small, numbered evidence bags are neatly laid out, finding Wesley using a knife to dig something out of the apartment wall. It pops out. An arrowhead. He places it in a plastic evidence bag with number. CAMERA ADJUSTS to reveal Gunn. WESLEY Gunn -- GUNN Got your page. Where's Angel at? WESLEY He's checking on something else. Come in. Gunn enters. Looks to the devastation. WESLEY (cont'd) The victim's name was Samuel Larch. Gunn fingers some globulous goo on the wall. GUNN Guy was a demon. WESLEY Yes. GUNN Wesley -- what're we doin', man? Who're we supposed to be workin' for, anyway? Did The Powers send us here? Cordy get a vision? WESLEY No. GUNN Then what? WESLEY Charles -- things are not always so simple as juùst going out and slaying the big bad ugly. Would that they were. There are, in this world, shades of grey -- GUNN Yeah. And shades of green, and a kind of a sickly lookin' yellow with pink eyes and sometimes a ugly puce with horns, too. I get it. What I don't get is why we suddenly playing clean-up crew to a buncha low-life demons! Wesley just looks at him, doesn't offer any justification. Gunn moves to the couch, plops down in front of all the evidence bags. Randomly fingers one. GUNN (cont'd) I mean, okay, so we bust our butts day and night until we find whatever it was did Merl and this Larch guy -- WESLEY And six other victims that we believe we've linked to it so far GUNN Fine. And six others. And twenty others. Whatever. So we find this Demon Killin' Machine. What then? We gonna stop it -- or thank it? WESLEY I don't know. This stops Gunn cold. He scrutinizes Wesley. WESLEY (cont'd) From everything I can determine, this victim was fully assimilated. No history of violence. No threáat to anyone. However... of the other six, at least two of the victims would have to be classified as irredeemably evil. GUNN So what are you saying, then? WESLEY I'm saying that whatever's responsible for these attacks, isn't making any distinctions. It's just ... killing. Randomly. We don't really know what it's capable of. And I think it's our duty to find out ... don't you? Gunn just looks at him for a beat, then looks away, back to the evidence bag he's holding. Musing on the question. But now something about the evidence bag takes his attention. He registers recognition ... ANGEL (O.S.) You were right -- Angel stands in the doorway. ANGEL It's happened again. WESLEY When? ANGEL Last night. Gunn turns over the baggy -- the one with the arrowhead. ANGEL (cont'd) A Yarbnie was eviscerated in the sewer near Century City. Gunn surreptitiously slips the evidence bag into his pocket as he stands, covering with: GUNN Yarbie? What's that? WESLEY Yarbnie. AÔ balancing entity. They tend to nest in urban areas, under roadways. Utterly non-violent. Gunn, feeling guilty, steps forward. GUNN Hey, you know what? Maybe I should hit the streets, see if I can shake anything loose -- I mean, if you want. WESLEY (preoccupied in thought) Yes. That's probably a good idea. GUNN Cool. I'm on it. (passes Angel, no eyecontact) Hey. ANGEL Hey ... Gunn exits. Angel looks from him to Wesley ANGEL (cont'd) He back? A beat. Wesley isn't quick to answer. And when he does, it's as he turns away and is wholly unconvincing: WESLEY Yes. Wesley returns to his evidence gathering. Angel looks back the way Gunn went, something not quite sitting right with him. OMITTED INT. STREET GANG'S HIDEOUT - DAY Gunn walks with Rondell down the dark corridors. Rondell holds the arrowhead that Wes dug out of the apartment wall. GUNN It was dug out of the wall of an apartment over on the Miracle Mile. RONDELL Yeah, so? GUNN So I knowè where it's from, Rondell. It came out of my old rig -- the one your pal Gio's been using. RONDELL Okay. GUNN Look, I just come by here to give you a heads up -- I think you got a rogue on your crew. Your boy Gio's been out there killin' anything that moves. Somebody -- meanin' you -has got to have a sit-down with him. Get him in line. Let him know this is not how we do things out here. RONDELL Wait a minute, wait a minute -- you say you dug this out of an apartment up on The Mile? GUNN That's right -- RONDELL Tall white towers? Gunn's silence is his affirmation. RONDELL (cont'd) (laughs) This is funny. Gio ain't no rogue! Yeah, he found the place, but we was all there. The whole crew. GUNN You -- ? RONDELL Sure. Bro, the thing living in that apartment -- it wasn't human. We took care of it. GUNN Well ... did it -- attack anybody? RONDELL No, we got away clean. GUNN No, I mean -- before you... broke in. RONDELL Naw, man. We didn't give it a chance to. What's t¿he matter? GUNN Nothin'. A SLIDING DOOR opens at the end of the corridor and A GANG KID appears. Beyond, WE CAN SEE a dozen or more GANG KIDS milling, gearing up for something. GANG KID Yo, Rondell. Everyone's here man. RONDELL (to Gunn) I gotta go. Hey, you wanna come out with us tonight? Gio says he found a nest or somethin'. Primo hunting. GUNN No. No man. I got something. RONDELL Be good. Gunn watches Rondell go. Turns and there's -- GIO You know, he still thinks you're some big hero. But you and me-- we know better, don't we? A beat, then Gio shoves past. Gunn watches him enter the weapons room. Now WE SEE a Gang Kid pry open a crate with a crow bar. He reaches in -- and starts pulling out AUTOMATIC WEAPONS. Real guns. Hands them out. Gunn watches as the kids heft the gear, getting ready for war. Gio admires his SHOTGUN, meets Gunn's gaze, then slams the sliding door closed -- shutting out Gunn. Off that -- INT. ANGEL'S ÚHOTEL - LOBBY - DAY Angel, Wesley and Cordelia in research mode. All the collected evidence neatly laid out before them. Along with Wesley's notes and the requisite demon tomes. WESLEY I haven't the slightest idea what this might be ... it doesn't fit any of the data I have available to me. (then) Something's missing ... ANGEL Maybe it's something that's never been recorded here before ... CORDELIA Just please don't tell me another portal's opened up. We've got enough monsters in Los Angeles already. Now Fred appears, coming down the stairs with a book. Trying to be invisible. WESLEY (rearranging evidence) No, I mean something's missing. The evidence bags ... Fred slips into the garden with her book. Angel nudges Cor. She sighs. Fine. Cor follows into the garden. WESLEY (cont'd) ... here's ten and twelve ... but where's eleven? (looking to his notes) What was eleven? INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - GARDEN - CONTINUOUS Fred sits reading. Cordelia quietly appears. CìORDELIA Hi. FRED BWWAAAK! You startled me. CORDELIA I'm sorry. FRED No, no. It's my fault. I'm sorry. Okay. (trying to squeeze past) Well, I'll just get out of your way. CORDELIA No, Fred -- stay. I want you to stay. I was hoping we could, you know, talk. FRED Well yes, of course. Fred closes her book. Fixes her glasses. Settles a little. Cordy smiles. An awkward beat. FRED (cont'd) Did you mean now? CORDELIA Yes! Yes. Sorry. This is just a little awkward for me. You're exactly the sort of girl who would have hated me in high school. FRED Oh, I'm sure that's not true. CORDELIA No, no it is. I pretty much saw to it. I was a cheerleader, had power, popularity. You didn't know me then. FRED No I didn't. I knew you when you were a princess. CORDELIA (beat) Uh right. Anyway, Angel wants you to get out. FRED (leaving again) Oh, I see. Okay. No, I understand completely. I only have a few things to pack. Won't take long. Maybe Cordelia lets her get three steps as she rÇaises an eyebrow, considering for just a split second how simple that would be, but her better self makes her -- CORDELIA Fred, no. That's not what I meant. (Fred stops) Out into the world. You know, just for an evening or something. FRED Oh! Oh? Oh. CORDELIA Well, not by yourself or anything. What if I, what if we went out together? FRED Well ... I suppose if I was with you it'd be okay. Right? CORDELIA Of course it would! FRED I mean, that'd be safe, right? CORDELIA Sure! FRED No one'd even bother to look at me twice with you around. CORDELIA Exactly! No! Now that's just not true. People will notice you. FRED They will? Cordy's getting an idea, now ... CORDELIA Yes! And you know why? (before Fred can respond) Because you'll be standing on a stage in a white-hot spotlight! FRED (very worried) I will? CORDELIA After five long, terrifying years trapped in a demon dimension, I know exactly the place to take you! We'll ease you bÕack into the real world! Off Fred, a little dizzy. Er, dizzier. EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHT Flashy cuts take us to: EXT. CITY STREETS - GUNN'S TRUCK - NIGHT Gunn sits alone in his truck. Alone in his world. He looks at the stolen piece of evidence in his hand. He makes a choice, starts the truck. INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT Gunn enters the place. It's quiet as a tomb. Footsteps, and now Angel appears, coming around a corner, he's carrying some research material, moves to the work space. ANGEL (casually) Hey. GUNN Hey. You the only one here? ANGEL Yeah. GUNN You makin' any progress? ANGEL I dunno. Maybe. Wesley thinks these killings have been random. I'm starting to think otherwise. GUNN Oh? ANGEL Yeah. It's just that the way it's happening ... it reminds me of ... things I've seen before. That hangs there for a moment. GUNN How so? ANGEL I know the pattern. The seeming randomness of it ... the chaos. There's a larger purpose behind evµery move. And I think I know what it is. GUNN What? ANGEL To have fun. Never has "fun" sounded so distasteful. Gunn just looks at him for a beat. Angel looks up, senses the tension. ANGEL (cont'd) Something wrong? GUNN Naw. Just ... just need to see the boss. You know where he's at? INT. CARITAS - STAGE - NIGHT - FRED is on stage singing Patsy Cline's ... FRED Craaaazzzzzeeee ... Crazy for feelin' so lonely ... She sings nervously, tentatively, looking for support to Wesley and Cordelia, who sit at a ring-side table. Cordy nods and smiles back at her, giving her the thumbs up. CORDELIA I swear to god she picked that song herself. BAR/ENTRANCE - Gunn enters, looking uncertain. Sees Fred up on stage singing. Moves down the bar, finding a spot as DEMON #1 takes his drink and moves back on the floor. Gunn leans against the bar, looks from Fred singing to Wesley and Cordy sitting together in the distance. They don't seÊe him. THE HOST appears, takes the spot next to Gunn, who doesn't look at him. Host stares at Gunn. Sips his drink. Stares. Gunn would like to ignore this, but it's getting increasingly difficult. At first with side-glances only: GUNN I know what you're doing, and don't. Stop it. Do not ... Hey. (looking right at him) Do not go readin' me! HOST I wouldn't, but sweetie, you're a billboard. Gunn looks with some dread back to Wesley in the distance. HOST (cont'd) Yeah. He came in here tonight with some questions... looks to me like you've got the answers. GUNN Really don't feature goin' over there. HOST I know. (then) So -- you wanna talk about it? We can see he really does. Gunn glances back toward Fred, making her way through "Crazy." GUNN Do I gotta sing? Fred on stage. To the right of the Stage, Demon #1 chats to another demon (COWERING DEMON) at a table crosses past the stage -- and RATATATAT!L his chest explodes with a burst of AUTOMAáTIC GUNFIRE. Demon blood and guts splash all over Fred. Cordy and Wes react to the sudden confusion as BULLET HITS chew through the wall behind them. Wesley pulls Cor back, tips their table forward as a temporary shield as -- BANG! A smoke bomb is hurled into the room. Flash grenades going off. Gunn pulls the Host down behind the bar as BULLETS tear through the shelf of bar glasses behind them. THE STREET GANG Led by Rondell and Gio bursts into the club. GIO Par-teee! DEMONS at a center table rise, try to scatter, but too late. Gio blows them away with his SHOTGUN. Their bodies fall, upturning the table. Off Gio's bloodlust -- BLACK OUT. END OF ACT TWO Act Three INT. CARITAS - NIGHT SCREAMS. PANDEMONIUM. The hanging lights over the bar EXPLODE as they're strafed with GUNFIRE. Huddled behind the bar, Gunn restrains the Host. HOST My club, my beautiful club! GUNN Just stay put -- Cor and Wes, crouched behind the upturned table. Wesley looks up, sees Fred frozeìn with fear on the stage, unmoving as the battle rages around her. Wes jumps up, pulls her down and back behind the table with him and Cordy. Fred mutters and just-this-side-of-hyperventilates. Cordy instinctively puts her arms around her. Tries to shield her. CORDELIA What's happening?! I thought demon violence was impossible in here! WESLEY Those aren't demons. THUD -- DYING DEMON falls right next to them, as A VAMPFACED VAMPIRE slides from a booth -- a GANG KID's there with his stake-shooter -- THWAAPP! Nails the vamp who DUSTS. MOVING - past bodies falling, guns firing, swords slashing, to Rondell as he hacks down a demon. The ALARM on his watch BEEPS. He backs up to the door, flushed with the excitement. RONDELL That's time! Let's truck! He turns -- and Gio is there, calmly blocking his path. GIO Don't be in such a rush, now. You in too big a hurry, you're liable to miss out on some of the more interesting things in life. (calling out) Yo! Charlie Gunn! Rondell reacts îto that with confusion. He's about to speak, but Gio puts a hand to shush him. Eyeballs the smoking rubble of a room. GIO (cont'd) Come on, now. I know you're in here -- where you at? Now Gunn appears, rising up a few paces behind Gio. GUNN I'm right here. Gio turns, grins. There he is. Rondell steps forward, regards Gunn, confused -- RONDELL G-Man ... what ... what're you doin here? GIO Go on, now. You tell him. Tell him how you been rollin' on up in here for months, tossin' back drinks with your demon buddies. Rondell reacts to that, looks from the smug Gio back to Gunn. Gunn makes no attempt to deny this, stares at Rondell. RONDELL What he's sayin' -- that ain't true ... GIO Why not? His best friend's a vampire, right? Whaddya expect? Gunn looks to Rondell, steady gaze. GUNN Rondell -- go. Just take your crew and leave. RONDELL No. Not until I get some answers. GIO That's right! Answers! The man wants some answers! WESLEY (rising) Yes. I think we all would. CO÷RDELIA (under her breath) Wesley! GUNN Stay out of this, Wes. But Wesley steps forward. The SOUNDS of hammers and triggers et al being cocked as the Gang Kids draw down on him. WESLEY As much as I'd like to -- it appears I'm in it. We all are. COMMOTION as a Gang Kid drags the Host from behind the bar HOST Stop it! Get your hands off of me! Gang Kid-- shoves him against the wall, brings up his gun GUNN Hey, hey, hey! Gunn gets in between the Kid's gun and the Host. GUNN (cont'd) That's enough! Enough. Rondell's just wide eyed at this. RONDELL I don't believe this ... GUNN Look, man. He's okay -- Gio laughs, amused. GIO Niiiiice. RONDELL He ain't "okay"! Look at him! GUNN Rondell, man, you don't know what you're doin'. WESLEY (putting it together) It was them, wasn't it? They killed Merl ... and the others. Gunn says nothing, but his silence says it all. WESLEY (cont'd) You knew ... GUNN I shoulda said something. I was going to ... I was just... I was tryin' toû work it out... figure how to deal. Wesley reacts to that, swallows his rage at the moment. HOST And so now that you've let them come in here and destroy everything I've spent my life building -- have you worked it out yet? GUNN I'm sorry. This enrages Rondell. RONDELL You gonna apologize to that thing? (brings up gun) Move. GIO You might want to. GUNN Can't do that. Can't let you. (then) You lost the mission, bro. RONDELL What? GUNN What you been doin' -- it ain't right. None of this is right. It's not what we're about. RONDELL The hell you say! I dunno what you're about, but we been doin' what we always done. Protecting our own! WESLEY And is it "protecting your own" to break into other people's homes? Rondell whirls on Wesley, furious, bringing up his shotgun. RONDELL (exploding) They ain't people! Are you? CORDELIA (jumping up) Stop! WESLEY If you don't mind, I'd prefer a clean kill shot. The last time I was merely wounded it took months to heal. Wounded, if I recall, inû an attempt to help you. GUNN Hey -- hey, look at me. At me. Rondell looks back to Gunn. GUNN (cont'd) This's got nothing to do with them. It's between us. Us. Let them go. GIO Yeah, we could do that. After all we ain't monsters. Gunn doesn't take his eyes off Rondell as he speaks ... GUNN Take my truck. It's just outside. They won't stop you. He gingerly takes his keys out of his pocket. Tosses them to Wes. Rondell's still digging into Gunn with his eyes. RONDELL How can you be sittin' up in here with these ... things, and tell me I'm the one's lost the mission? Wes glances at Cor, nods. Cordy moves forward, gingerly takes the truck keys, gathers Fred. Starts moving forward. GUNN Because ... it's true. We used to face death because we had to. Now you go chasing it down. Doing it for the fun of it. It ain't right. Without looking away from Gunn, Rondell swings his weapon toward the exiting group. RONDELL One. Just one. (indicating Cordy) Her. She can go. The others stay. GUNN Roµndell, man -- come on. CORDELIA (re: Fred) I'm not leaving here without her. No way. Rondell nods to a couple of his boys who go in and literally pry Fred from Cordy. Cordy fights it, but to no avail. Fred lets out a CRY. Wesley gathers her to himself. Cordy is left standing alone. RONDELL The rest'll be able to leave - after she brings back the vampire. (then, to Gunn) Then we'll see who's lost the mission. Cordelia looks to Wesley, who looks back -- what to do? Wes nods to Cor. Finally she turns and goes. ANGLE ON - COWERING DEMON and TOUGH GUY DEMON. COWERING DEMON Oh god, oh god, oh god... TOUGH GUY DEMON Shut up. He ain't listening. EXT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - NIGHT Flashy cuts end up on an establisher of the hotel, as -- INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT Angel and Cordy. Angel moving through the hotel, pulling on his coat. Cordy dogging him. CORDELIA We have to think of a better plan. This is a bad plan, and I'll te¨ll you why -- it's their plan! They want you to walk in there where you can't fight so they can kill you! ANGEL I don't have a choice. CORDELIA It'd be suicide. ANGEL It'll be okay. CORDELIA No. It won't. Angel, you didn't see these guys. They're all (Islamic war cry) La-la-la-la-la-la! Doing the total Holy War thing. He's paused at the counter, is writing on a notepad. ANGEL Go to this address. CORDELIA What is it? ANGEL Transuding Furies. CORDELIA Gesundheit -- ANGEL Three sisters. Lorne hires them monthly to cast a sanctorium spell on Caritas. Ask them to lift the spell. Then I'll be able to fight back. CORDELIA Yes! They'll lift the spell, then you'll fight -- all twenty of them and still get killed! Great idea! ANGEL Cordy, just do it, please? CORDELIA What if they won't lift the spell? ANGEL They'll lift the spell. Just ... tell them it's ... for me. CORDELIA For you? You know them? ANÔGEL I did. CORDELIA And they're going to remember you? ANGEL They should. CORDELIA They better! (then, urgently) Angel! He turns, looks at her. CORDELIA (cont'd) I told her she'd be safe with me ... ANGEL I know. They hold the look for a beat, then he's gone. INT. CARITAS - NIGHT Fred cowering, wide-eyed, in shock, sitting with the other hostages amongst the rubble as she watches some Gang Kids (holding handkerchiefs over their noses) carry out the last of the dead demon bodies. Rondell paces in the distance. Gunn eyes him. Rondell's Gang positioned variously about the bar. It's all very sweaty and Dog Day Afternoony. Gio is on the stage, screwing around with the karaoke machine. FEEDBACK. He gets it to work. Starts SINGING some inappropriate tune (TBD). The Host doesn't take his eyes off of him, concentrating all his powers there. Wesley speaks low to Gunn. WESLEY We've got to do something. If Angel walks in here -- they'll kill him. GUNN No. Tæhey won't. (then) They're gonna make me do it. More FEEDBACK from the karaoke machine. Gio gets fed up with it, throws the mic at the box, then swings up his shotgun and BLOWS the machine to shit. Those nearby wince. He steps down off the stage, getting bored. GIO You know, I'm startin' to think this "good" vamp ain't never gonna show. HOST Miami ... Gio looks over -- The Host is staring at him. GIO You say something to me, green boy? HOST Was two thousand miles really far enough, I wonder? Gio is drawn into the Host's gaze as the Host focuses all his power on him... HOST (cont'd) I know why you left. Why you ran. You couldn't stay there after that, could you? After what you did. She wasn't a demon, was she? No. She wasn't a demon at all. She was just a sweet, human girl... practically a child... And she trusted you ... GIO (low) Shut up ... HOST Right up until the end -- she trusted you. Did you know that? GIO I said shut up! BASH! Gio smashes the Host in thëe face with the butt of his shotgun. The Host's head snaps back. He slowly turns to look back at Gio, fresh red blood splashed on his mouth -which is smiling. And it is chilling. GANG KID (O.S.) Yo! Hey! TOUGH GUY DEMON - is making a break for it. The Cowering Demon cowers, terrified at the attention of it. GANG KID That one's tryin' to run! COWERING DEMON Oh god ... they'll kill us all ... GIO (turning) Watch the door, man! Gio has turned his back on our boys. There is a scuffle as Gang members move in to block Tough Guy Demon's escape. Gunn doesn't hesitate -- he leaps up, takes Gio down in the confusion that follows. He disarms Gio and comes up with the shotgun at the same time as -- the Gang Kids pin Tough Guy Demon up against a wall, crossbow to his throat. His eyes wide and bugging -- Suddenly, half the Gang is drawing down on Gunn, the other half has Tough Guy Demon pinned. A bit of a stand off -- GIO (cont'd) There! See that! This guy's trying to save this low-life!¿ Gio puffs his chest out. Saunters over to Tough Guy Demon, who is hissing and spitting. GIO (cont'd) (re: Tough Guy Demon) You know what this kinda thing does? Baby killer is what that is. I saw plenty of it in Florida. (in demon's face) Like to eat babies, don'tcha? TOUGH GUY DEMON (muttering) Yeah, go ahead. I don't care. Think I care? Go ahead and do it. Cowards. Cowards... Gio struts forward, unafraid of the business end of the shotgun Gunn is leveling at him. GIO And who does he go after? Who does he draw down on? Baby killin' monster? Nope. Me. That's right. What does that tell you? GUNN Tells me there's a whole lot of monsters in this room to choose from. GIO Maybe he is one of 'em after all - are you, G-Man? You one of 'em? They turn you already? Huh? You one of 'em? GUNN (lethal) Come at me and find out. GIO Yeah, I think he's one of 'em. Or maybe he just wants to be. Yeah, that's more like it. Maybe even they won't Þlet him into their little club. Maybe ol' Chucky Gunn's not even good enough for the vamps and the demons and the baby eatin' monsters. TOUGH GUY DEMON I'll taste your children. Eat them slowly. Listen to them scream. Tear off a piece, have me a meal. GIO Yeah, that's my guess. Buy 'em drinks, wine 'em, and dine 'em -- stick up for 'em. "This one's okay." Sure. And still they wont put out for ol' Charlie Gunn TOUGH GUY DEMON (muttering) I live in the playgrounds, in your neighborhoods. Your children will come to me. And I'll take them. Rip the beating hearts out of their tiny, tender bodies. Leave it a husk -- GUNN Shut up --- GIO Maybe too what we all heard about Charlie's sister ain't quite right. I mean, nobody but him around to see it, know what I'm sayin'? TOUGH GUY DEMON (muttering) Better kill me now. Won't get another chance. I'll visit generations of your children. There'll be nothing left to bury-- GUNN Shut up -- GIO He's the one what let her get vamèped in the first place, right, Chuck? I know I wouldn't never let some vamp get that close to my sister. Gunn's hand trembles with the firearm, but just slightly... GIO (cont'd) And why? Were you maybe thinkin' little sister would finally give it up to you? Was that the plan? Gunn flexes his jaw muscles. Eyes narrowing ... The Host senses what's coming, rises to his feet ... GIO (cont'd) And so you let her get bit. And here she was, all vamped and hungry. And he so wanted her to give him that eternal kiss. But when she said no, that's when he stuck it to her. That's what I'm thinkin', anyway. HOST (quietly, building) No ... not in here ... no ... GIO That when you stuck it to her, Chucky? That why now you truckin' with vamps and demons? Still thinking you might get yourself a little piece of that action? Hmmm? TOUGH GUY DEMON Eat them while they're alive. Heart beating. Swallowing their fear. Their blood. Tasting them -- GUNN I SAID SHUT -- HOST NO! Gunn swings his óshotgun around, fires -- KABOOM! Blowing apart Tough Guy Demon. Demon blood spatters on the Gang Kids who were holding him. GUNN -- UP! Stunned shock in the room. No one more stunned than Gunn. HOST (in despair) This is a sanctuary ... GIO Not anymore, it ain't. ANGEL (O.S.) Nice shot. They all turn to see -- ANGEL Am I next? ANGEL has entered the building. As he steps forward, now facing off with Gunn BLACK OUT. END OF ACT THREE Act Four INT. CARITAS - NIGHT As we were. Everyone reacting to Angel's entrance. Rondell steps up to Gunn, flips a stake up into his face. RONDELL Now's your chance, G. Prove to everyone here this thing ain't no friend to you. Rondell reaches out for the firearm. Gunn exchanges it for the stake, poker-face. Wesley can't contain himself. WESLEY This is madness! Angel has a soul! GIO He's a vampire! WESLEY With a soul! GIO Whatever. You think that makes him the same as us? WESLEY No. It makes him better. Better than you, anyway. When Angel dóid his pleasure killing he had no soul -- you can make no such claims. RONDELL (to Gunn, ignoring Wesley) What's it gonna be? Gunn looks from the stake in his hand to Angel. ANGEL Here, Charles -- let me make it simple for you. He MORPHS to VAMPFACE. ANGEL (cont'd) Take a good look. This is what I am. Deal with it, or don't. (then) But make a damn choice. Gunn says nothing. The moment is pregnant with possibility. Gunn, still looking at Angel, slowly shakes his head "no." GUNN It's not gonna happen. Gunn drops the stake. It clatters to the floor. Angel DEMORPHS, perhaps only aurally o.s., I dunno. GIO (sneering) I knew it! GUNN You don't know nothin'. You think I won't kill him because he's my friend... that ain't why. Gunn looks right at Angel, addresses this right to him: GUNN (cont'd) Truth is ... he could never be my friend. And that's on account of what he is. Not his fault, really. Just the way things worked out. RONDELL He ain't your friend -- well I am. And you'róe gonna choose that over me? GUNN Looks like. (beat) It's about the mission, bro. He's got that. And you don't. GIO Oh, you think because you willin' to let some monster live you "got the mission," huh? Well, far as I can see, monster lover's no better'n a monster. And I kill monsters - that's what I do. Gio steps back, bringing his gun up from his hip, looks to the assembled hostages. Even Rondell is looking nervous. GIO (cont'd) (to the hostages) So if you wanna walk out of here tonight, you gotta show me. He produces his crossbow, holds it up. GIO (cont'd) Step on up and do what your friend here wouldn't -- kill the vampire, and you get to leave this place. Otherwise, stay and burn with the rest of 'em. Now who wants to live? No one accepts the offer, of course. Oh, wait. Wrong. Fred rises, shakily. Wide eyed looks from the others. She looks to Angel, those big beautiful eyes holding fear and regret. FRED I'm sorry. I just ... I don't wanna die. Off that ... INT. PENTHOUSE Ô- NIGHT Sitting in the opulent penthouse suite, beverage in her hand. CORDELIA So Angel says you and he go way back? THE FURIES. THREE GORGEOUS WOMEN. Classy, ethereal beauties. All floaty and chiffony. When they speak, they all do pieces of the same sentence, fluidly. FURIES Mmmmmm. Angel ... Cordy makes a face. Ewww. CORDELIA Yeah. So about this sanctorium mojo you got working at Caritas. Any chance you could pull the plug on that? Like, now, for instance? Kind of an emergency. FURIES You would have us lift what has been put in place by mutual consent and contract. CORDELIA If you don't, Angel will die. FURIES Mmmmm. Angel ... CORDELIA (to herself) You're gonna do that everytime ...okay. (then) Look, this is really urgent. I know Lorne pays you to cast the spell - what would it take for you to lift it? FURIES This is not a debt you can pay. CORDELIA You don't know that. My credit's been very strong this last year. FURIES Only Angel is equip·ped to make good on this debt. CORDELIA Angel? I don't know. For a guy who's a couple'a centuries old, not big with the wise investing and when you say "equipped," that's not what you mean, is it? FURIES Mmmmm. Angel. CORDELIA Got it. And ewww. INT. CARITAS - NIGHT The Gang restrains the others as Gio hands the crossbow to a shaky Fred. She looks at Angel. He looks back. No malice in his gaze. Or fear. FRED I'm sorry. I can't die in here. ANGEL It's okay. I understand. GIO You gotta get the heart, or it's no good. Got it? She nods. He backs away. She whirls on Gio, terrified as she goes off as politely as possible given the sitch - FRED Although I thought maybe I'd just shoot you in the throat instead. Now if I pierce one of your carotid arteries, considering the temperature in here, 'cause I think somebody shot the thermostat, the blood loss is gonna be heavy and there's a better than fair chance I'll puncture your vÑocal chords so you won't even be able to scream but you'll want to when the blood loss to your brain results in a cerebrovascular event. That's a stroke. I wasn't tryin' to sound snooty. During this, every gang member in the place has aimed their weapons at Fred. She's surrounded by the full firepower of the group. She knows it. She's scared. ANGEL Fred... Fred, it's okay. Point it at me. At me, Fred. She sure as shit doesn't want to. Breathing heavy. FRED No. I can't. ANGEL Yes you can. It's okay. Really. She half-glances at Angel -- Gio takes the opportunity to rush her, knocking her back and grabbing the crossbow. She falls into Wesley's arms, as -- ZZZZAP, WHOOSH -- C.G.I. suckage of the magical antiviolence shield. ANGEL (cont'd) (to the air) Thank you, ladies -- I owe ya one. Angel charges Gio, disarms him. Confused Gang Members stutter into action, a few jumping on Angel. He bats them off, letting Gio go for the moment, who steps backward ä GIO That is it! I am done with you people! The COWERING DEMON behind Gio MORPHS into a hideous Starship Troopers kinda thing. Or a guy in a rubber suit. Whichever. GIO (cont'd) Every stinking monster lover in this place dies tonight! The scary version RISES UP behind Gio ... HOST (to himself, without emotion) Oh, no. Gosh. Look behind you. GIO Then screw L.A., I'm going back to -- ... and the thing instantly bites off Gio's head while he's in mid sentence. His headless body drops to the floor. The Morphed Demon SNARLS and ROARS at the room, moving toward the stage and knocking three or four Gang Members on their asses as he goes. ANGEL Guys. WESLEY Yeah -- GUNN See that-- Rondell, terrified, FIRES his gun into the thing. Wesley shoves the gun down toward the floor. WESLEY No! That's a Nurbtach! Lead only makes it stronger! ANGEL How fast do you think we can get that sanctorium spell back up? HOST Not fast enough -- It attacks. But so do our guys. Angelî rushes in, pulling a machete (or something cool) off a dazed Gang Kid as he goes. Hacking away now, as -- Gunn grabs up the crossbow off Gio's fallen body, Wes finds a sword. They join in the fray. The MORPHED COWERING DEMON ragdolls them around the bar. Rondell watches, pulls an ax, joins in. Gunn and he share-a look, continue fighting. And side by side, shoulder to shoulder, our boys and Rondell kick some demon butt. All four of the boys: Angel, Gunn, Wesley and Rondell, surround the thing and in a fast-cut one-two-three-four, each one brings down their weapon! The demon goes down, death rattle on the floor. The guys all take a step back. The guys look to each other, allowing a moment of mutual satisfaction. Angel notes the frightened Fred. ANGEL (asks Wesley) Take her out of here? Wesley nods. Now Angel notes the Host sitting forlornly on the edge of a booth seat. Angel looks back to everyone else. ANGEL (cont'd) Wes? (he looks at him) Get everyone out. Wesley nods. Moves to do that as Angel approaches the Host. ANGEL (cont'd) Hey -- you okay? HOST Gone. All gone. My beautiful Caritas. Just ashes ... and I never saw it coming. Angel has no words of comfort at the moment. HOST (cont'd) You know, I'm always so damned clever when it comes to reading what's going on with other creatures... but when it comes to me ... nothin'. Zip. Zilch. Bupkis. Just a blind spot. ANGEL Yeah. WIDER Angel and the Host alone now in the bar -- rubble. EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHT Flashy flash zap, bang, wow -- and we are in: OMITTED EXT. CARITAS - BACK ALLEY ENTRANCE - NIGHT Wesley puts Fred into a TAXI as he watches Gunn talk to Rondell with his gang in the distance. Finally they part. No handshakes. No sign of friendship. Gunn (still with0 the too-cool crossbow) leaves them and crosses to Wesley. GUNN Don't guess Rondell or his crew is gonna be crossing Venice Boulevard again any time soon. WESLEY It's never easy. The pull of divided loyalties. Any choice we do end up making, we feel as though we've betrayed someone. GUNN Yeah... WESLEY (after a beat) If you ever withhold information or attempt to subvert me again -- I will fire you. I can't allow any one member of this team to compromise the safety of the group. No matter who it is. If you do it again, you will be dismissed -- bag and baggage -out of a job and on to the streets. Wesley climbs into the cab. The taxi pulls away, leaving Gunn standing alone. He turns and sees Angel standing there. GUNN So I suppose now you're gonna get on me about those things I said to you in the/re -- ANGEL No. GUNN You understand I had to stall. I hadda keep it goin'. ANGEL Yeah. I get that. GUNN Doesn't mean I meant any of it. ANGEL You meant all of it. And that's okay. Gunn looks at him. Fuck the pretense. GUNN Can't help how I feel. Just the way it is ... Doesn't mean I don't wanna work with you. Doesn't even mean I don't like you. Maybe some day ... I dunno ... ANGEL I don't either. But I've got time. A beat, then Angel turns, starts walking away. GUNN Hey -- Angel pauses, turns back. GUNN (cont'd) No matter what else, I think I proved you could trust me when I could've killed you -- and I didn't. ANGEL No. You'll prove I can trust you when the day comes that you have to kill me -- and you do. Angel turns and walks off into the night. Off Gunn, alone THE END