Lullaby (October 29, 2001) Written & Directed by: Tim Minear Teaser After a big fat re-cap ending with Angel entering the hotel to find dead Wolfram and Hart special ops guys strewn about the place... then Holtz emerging and facing off with Angel -- INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT - ANGEL Standing across from HOLTZ. The carnage of dead Wolfram and Hart special ops guys all around. Face off. ANGEL Holtz... my god. HOLTZ You have no god, demon. Angel looks from Holtz to the destruction around him, back to Holtz, realizing... ANGEL (to himself) The Tro-Clon... the prophecy... raised up from darkness to bring darkness... it's you -- Holtz's eyes narrow at that, clearly not getting the reference. ANGEL Holtz, whatever brought you here... HOLTZ You did -- Holtz makes a gesture and suddenly -- a NECK HARNESS clamps down around Angel's neck. Then each arm is grabbed at the wrist/forearm by similar grabbers. Three long handles being held tightly by THREE GRAPPLERS. (Think of those me÷dieval looking things the Ape jailers used on Charlton Heston in "Planet Of The Apes.") HOLTZ You and your demon bitch. For two hundred years I slept. For two hundred years I dreamt of nothing but this moment. ANGEL Which would explain why you look so well rested -- Holtz smiles. Familiar wisecracks from his old enemy. HOLTZ You haven't changed. ANGEL Actually, I have. While you were sleeping a lot changed. HOLTZ Really? ANGEL Yes. Holtz brings up a vial of HOLY WATER, chucks it in Angel's face, eliciting smoking and ROARING and VAMPING -- but just for an instant... it's a kind of a WOBBLY MORPH as Angel, through sheer force of will, pushes the beast within back inside. HOLTZ Somehow things seem the same to me. Angel can't hide his shame at that revealing, naked moment. ANGEL You're wrong. HOLTZ I will have justice. Angel looks at him, no anger, no defiance -- only sadness. ANGEL No. I don't think you will... There is no justice for the things I did to you. HOLTZ (beat, säimmering) You didn't do them... to me. Angel has no response to that. HOLTZ (adding) And you didn't do them alone... (to minions) Find the female. If he's here, Darla won't be far. (to Angel) Or are you going to tell me that's changed, too? EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT We're in a bird's-eye-view, looking down on Angel's open-topped car where DARLA writhes in the throes of labor pains in the back seat. DARLA ARRGGGHHHH!!! Camera dives down to the car and the commotion going on there. GUNN She's gonna pop right here! Darla arches her back, CRIES OUT in pain. CORDELIA Wesley! He doesn't answer, just looks to his watch. She thwaps him with the back of her hand. CORDELIA Hey! You got some place you gotta be? WESLEY I'm timing the contractions -- They're coming more frequently. CORDELIA Ya think? Wesley scans the alleyway, the building tops, the distance. WESLEY And Angel not back yet with the scrolls -- (attention back to Darla) This isn't going to be a "natural childbòirth" by any means. I'd feel a lot better if we had those ancient prophecies to guide us. CORDELIA (dismissive) Please. Women have been giving birth without ancient prophecies for years. GUNN If you ask me, what we could really use right about now is some Vaseline and a catcher's mitt. FRED I don't think she's ready to deliver. But she's moved into the active stage of her labor. Wesley makes a decision -- WESLEY We have to go. We can't stay here. It's too exposed. FRED We could put up the top... WESLEY (knows what she's doing) We can't wait for him, Fred. FRED (unconvincingly) Wait for who? WESLEY I'm sorry, Fred, but Angel should have been back by now. GUNN He's right. Something must've happened. WESLEY Now it's up to us to protect Angel's unborn child. No one protests that, but nobody much likes the idea, either. Wesley moves to Darla. Leans down to her, tries to comfort her. WESLEY Darla... Darla, we're going to take you out of here. Try to relax. The trick is toè breathe. Like this -- Wesley does that fast, weird heh-heh-heh-ho-ho-ho Lamaze breathing thingy. DARLA I -- don't -- Darla raises up -- in FULL VAMP FACE, ROARS -- DARLA (pissed off) Breathe. -- WHAM!, she flings all four of them in four different directions, two with her arms, two with her legs. They all go sprawling into the alley on their asses. We hold on pissed off vamp-faced Darla for a beat -- then, in full-on evil vampface -- she bursts into tears. Off that -- BLACK OUT. END OF TEASER Act One INT. ENGLISH COTTAGE - NIGHT (FLASHBACK) BANG! Holtz bursts into his house, just like he did in the flashback of episode 8. All's quiet. A bloody streak on the wall. CAROLINE on the floor; her discarded body contorted like a rag doll. Bassinet on its side on the floor. Angel and Darla, long gone. CLOSE - HOLTZ His face twists into a mask of pain. He falls to his knees. Then hears an echo-y voice; distant, as from another world. SARAH (O.S.) Papa... Holtz doesn't reóact to the voice, which seems to be in his head, something remembered. Again, more distinct this time: SARAH Papa -- ? Holtz freezes, seems to be hearing the voice finally. This isn't some remembered voice. He registers that it's real. He turns and sees -- SWEET LITTLE SARAH Appearing in a doorway, stepping out of the shadows. She holds a doll that dangles at her side. She rubs her sleepy eyes with a tiny fist. Waking up. HOLTZ Sarah -- Holtz reacts with a combination of relief and concern as he sees that she's peering past him with sleepy eyes toward her dead mother. Holtz rushes to her side, holds her close, turning her little face away from the scene. SARAH Mummy won't wake up. Holtz tries to keep it together, holds his daughter to him. HOLTZ Shhhh... quiet now. Holtz smooths her hair. He starts to sing to her. HOLTZ (singing, almost a whisper) Sleep my love and peace attend thee All through the night; Guardian angels God will lend thee, All through the night, Soft the ðdrowsy hours are... ...creeping... He trails off as he notices something that we don't yet, as... she continues HUMMING/SINGING the familiar lullaby to herself, unaware of his sudden concern... ...behind Holtz, his two RIDERS appear warily at the door, weapons in hand. RIDER #1 Captain -- ? HOLTZ (without looking at them) Don't come in here -- The men look to the carnage. Rider #1 crosses himself. RIDER #1 Sweet Jesus... HOLTZ GET OUT! They do. He slowly disengages from little Sarah. She still seems oddly in her own world. She continues to hum to herself. Dotes on her doll much the way Holtz is doting on her. Holtz gently backs away from her. Picks up the song under his breath as he backs away... sits in a chair, watches her... HOLTZ No forebodings should alarm thee, They will let no peril harm thee, All through the night... Tears may be streaming down his face, or maybe he's doing all he can to keep that from happening as he looks to -- HOLTZ'S POV Two bruised and dçistinct VAMPIRE FANG MARKS on her delicate neck. CLOSE HOLTZ Looking downward in the direction of his little girl. She's still HUMMING offscreen. As we hold on Holtz... LILAH (V.O.) We have no idea who he is... INT. WOLFRAM & HART - CORRIDOR - NIGHT LILAH, LINWOOD and GAVIN moving down the corridor. Linwood holds a print-out from the surveillance camera -- a shot of HOLTZ. LILAH We ran everything we pulled from the surveillance tapes through face and voice recognition -- we came up with bupkis. Whoever he is, he's not in the system. LINWOOD New player. GAVIN Or an old one. Linwood looks at Gavin, ready to hear more -- LINWOOD Go. GAVIN Well, sir -- he did address Angel as "Angelus." That might suggest some sort of personal history. LINWOOD An old friend? Lilah snorts derisively at that. They look at her. LILAH Not likely. (clarifying) Angelus didn't have "friends." LINWOOD Yes. I suppose that's true. (then) So not only were we blindsided with the fêact of Darla's impossible pregnancy -- certainly complication enough -- but now it seems we've allowed this... person ...to walk into the middle of a costly and delicate tactical operation and disrupt it utterly. Linwood hands the photo of Holtz back to Lilah. LINWOOD (then, to Gavin) How's surveillance? GAVIN Still down. We're working on it. Linwood continues walking. Just up ahead, his MALE ASSISTANT waits for him, holding his coat. LINWOOD And we've heard nothing back from Commander Burke's team or Doctor Fetvanovich? GAVIN All units were successfully deployed in Angel's hotel -- but that's all we know. LINWOOD Actually, that's all you know. I, on the other hand, know nothing. GAVIN Sir? As Linwood slips into his coat: LINWOOD I think you'll find it's impossible that I could have been involved -- in any way -- with such an ill-conceived and, in the end, botched operation. GAVIN (getting it) Because you were never here... LINWOOD That's correct. GAVIN But weô were... LINWOOD Yes. You were. I'll expect a full report at Thursday's staff meeting. And be advised -- when I hear about all this for the first time... I plan to be both shocked and appalled. (then) Goodnight. Linwood gives a friendly yet ominous smile, exits with his assistant. GAVIN (after a beat) He's going to crucify us. LILAH They don't crucify here. Too Christian. She moves away. Off Gavin, nervous... INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT Angel being held there by the Grapplers, head back, arms outstretched. Still not dead. Holtz pacing before him, fingering items in the hotel, maybe looking over the contents of the weapons cabinet, like that. ANGEL (sensing it) You're still human... How'd you manage this? HOLTZ (ignoring that) So the question becomes... now that I have you, what's the best way to get her? ANGEL Only dark majicks could have brought you this far -- HOLTZ She always was the trick, you know. Not you. Darla was the unpredictable one. Holtz continues to r÷oam the lobby. Angel follows him with his eyes, studying him. ANGEL Was it a demon, or something else? HOLTZ What if I just killed you now -- would she sense it, I wonder? ANGEL Did something come to you? Or did you seek it out? HOLTZ She might show herself in the service of revenge. It can be a powerful motivator. ANGEL Yes, it can. What'd you have to give up for this second chance? Holtz whirls on him, verging on exploding. HOLTZ Give up? I had nothing to give up! You saw to that. ANGEL We took a lot from you, that's true. But we didn't get everything... we couldn't take your soul... HOLTZ What do you know of a soul? ANGEL I know that yours will be destroyed if you allow yourself to be used for something evil. Even unknowingly. Holtz almost seems to be listening now... Angel continues... ANGEL You're a good man, Holtz. A righteous man. And you're being used for some purpose other than justice. Holtz regards him for a beat. Moves to him. Studies him. HOLTZ Could it be yo÷u really have changed? (then) I don't remember you ever pleading so cravenly before. ANGEL (re: the Grappler Demons) And I remember you used to work with men. WHACK! He gives Angel the back of his hand -- CUT TO: EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT GUNN Smack him again -- We're looking up at Cor, Gunn and Fred who are huddled around... WESLEY Lying on the ground, just coming into consciousness. Cordelia gives him a slap in the face. WESLEY (coming around) Ow! That hurts. Wesley sits up, winces, feels the bump on his head. CORDELIA Well you know what they say; birth, painful. WESLEY Yes, but generally for the mother, not bystanders. (getting to his feet) How long have I been out? FRED Not long. But we seem to be between contractions now. Wesley moves past the others, sees Darla weeping and muttering in the back seat. The others are already over it. CORDELIA Yeah, she's been doing that. GUNN Hormones. WESLEY (to the others) Come on, then. As they head back to the car: WESLEY (cont'öd) Darla? Darla, do you feel well enough to travel? She sniffs, nods. WESLEY (cont'd) Good. Each of them start piling into the front seat, leaving Darla alone in the back. DARLA (of the quivering lip) Hey... Doesn't anyone want to sit back here with me? CORDELIA We're fine up here. GUNN Yeah, it's comfy. DARLA I promise I won't throw anyone out of the car. Not while it's... (oh, the tears) ...mooovvving... FRED It's not that we don't trust you. I mean, we don't trust you. But the fact is, your water broke all over the back seat. DARLA Oh. Wesley just sits behind the driver's wheel, doesn't even start the car. Stares -- CORDELIA What? What are you waiting for? WESLEY I presume we have a tire iron in the trunk? GUNN Yeah... why, we got a flat? WESLEY And how about a hurling axe or some sort of heavy mallet? Also a shotgun wouldn't be a terrible thing at this juncture... The look up, see what he's seeing -- -- A GRAPPLER DEMON has appeared at the mouth of the alley --ä A glance to the rearview mirror reveals -- ANOTHER GRAPPLER behind them... And now yet another GRAPPLER appears on the roof of the building near them -- Off our gang, surrounded -- INT. ANGEL'S HOTEL - LOBBY - NIGHT Angel's head snaps back into frame. He's being worked over. Holtz leans in -- HOLTZ Are you still concerned for my soul, Angelus? My vampire priest -- A FOURTH GRAPPLER appears, entering. Holtz moves away from Angel, over to the Grappler. They speak. We can't hear what they're saying, but Holtz looks pleased. HOLTZ (to Grappler, but looking at Angel) You've got her. Good. Bring her in. Holtz turns toward the door -- Angel looks up. It opens and the Grappler enters strong-arming... ANGEL Darlll... ilah? Lilah. She looks pissed, clearly she was busted lurking outside. Holtz reacts... HOLTZ This isn't her -- Holtz has his vial of Holy Water out -- splashes some in Lilah's face. She just blinks it back. HOLTZ She's not even a vampire. LILAH (stñill a bit drippy) No, I'm an attorney. ANGEL (getting it) Lilah, what are you...? Ahhh. Let me guess... (re: the dead bodies) Friends of yours? LILAH (ignoring Angel, to Holtz) Look, if I'd known you were torturing him I wouldn't have interrupted. Please, continue. I can wait until you're finished. HOLTZ When I'm finished -- he'll be dead. Lilah does a take, interested. LILAH Really? HOLTZ You say you're an attorney. You deal in man's laws -- I deal in God's. LILAH Ah. Right. A good guy. HOLTZ Do you know what he is? LILAH Pffft. Yeah I know. Vampire, cursed by gypsies who restored his soul, destined to atone for centuries of evil, wacky side-kicks, yadda yadda. (then) I'da had him killed myself, except the people I work for have this "policy." Holtz takes a beat, looks to Angel... HOLTZ What does she mean? Cursed by gypsies? ANGEL Long story, Holtz. I doubt it would interest you much. LILAH (trying to back away) How 'bout if I go wait in my car for like, I don't knÝow, twenty seconds? That should give you enough time. Then I really gotta call in some people and have this mess cleaned up. Early staff meeting in the morning. HOLTZ I can't allow you to leave. LILAH What do you mean? Of course you can. HOLTZ No. You said you work for the law. LILAH No I didn't. I said I'm a lawyer. I don't care about the law. During this... CLOSE - ANGEL'S FOOT Gently hooking one of the grenades off the body of a dead special ops guy. ANGEL Lilah? LILAH What? ANGEL Duck -- Angel kicks the grenade up -- catches the pin in his teeth -- SLOW MOTION -- as the grenade comes free of the pin, drops to the ground. An utterly silent moment, then -- KER-BOOM! Big explosion. Flash. Light. Bang. The figure of Angel being SHOT BACKWARDS by the BLAST, impacting at the elevator doors. Holtz and Lilah are sent reeling from the force. Grappler demons go flying, their long grabber handles just burnt and twisted nubs. The smoke clears and we seÔe the elevator doors behind where Angel was standing are all twisted and bent and open. Angel's gone. Holtz runs to the elevator, looks into the shaft -- nothing. HOLTZ (barks to minions) Search the grounds! Holtz turns to Lilah -- HOLTZ These men you sent to kill Angelus... they were each of them brave. LILAH Oh, good. HOLTZ They fought to the last. LILAH (off dead bodies) Yeah, I get that. HOLTZ But send more, and I'll do the same. No one will have him but me. He turns to go, pauses as: LILAH Hey, not a problem. But we didn't send them here to kill Angel -- like I said, we have this "policy." This was just supposed to be a party for his girlfriend. Holtz turns back to her, registering: HOLTZ You know of Darla? LILAH Sure. HOLTZ Tell me -- these gypsies, did they curse her as well? Has she too been re-ensouled? LILAH Darla? No. She's free-range evil. Holtz considers that, nods, starts to go but: LILAH (then, a thought) Hey -- if Ïyou do manage to catch up with her, I think maybe we can do some business. HOLTZ The only business I have with Darla is to send her back to the hell that made her. Lilah opens her mouth to protest, then figures... LILAH Yeeeeaah, okay. Whatever. And Holtz stalks out of there. Lilah looks to the debris and devastation around her, moves to the phone, dials a number. As she waits she absently fingers the mail and other items that don't belong to her. LILAH (into phone) Harvey? It's Lilah. I've got a job for you. Angel Investigations. Yeah. Full cleaner service. Thanks. During this she's absently looking at something on the desk. She hangs up the phone, picks up the thing she was looking at -- THE NYAZIAN PROPHECY SCROLL Off Lilah, interested... CUT TO: EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT We come in hard into the midst of a battle royale. Wes, Cor, Gunn and even Fred have encircled the car with the pregnant Darla. They battle off Grapplers as they come at them. ä Gunn trades blows with a big Grappler -- Grappler using its meaty paw, Gunn with the advantage of an ax. Fred, not exactly a trained warrior, nearly gets clobbered, Gunn jumps in, makes sure that doesn't happen. FRED Thanks. A Grappler behind Gunn -- Fred returns the favor with a bash of a tire iron -- DARLA Oh, god -- here comes another one... CORDELIA Where?! Darla arches her back, YELPS as a contraction hits. CORDELIA Oh. Another one of those. Grappler comes at Cor -- Wesley intervenes. Cor back in the game helps repel it. WESLEY We've got to keep them away from the car -- As a team, Wes, Cor, Gunn and Fred drive the Grapplers forward, away from the car, back down toward the mouth of the alley. As they do... THE CAR Darla manages to get behind the wheel of the car, guns the engine. All the while muttering, swinging back and forth between sadness and rage. Her foot revs the gas -- she throws it into drive, burns rubber toward -- THE GANG Hears the cìar coming at them, scatters, leaving the group of Grapplers exposed. Darla plows into them with the car. Thud, bump, squish. Path clear. DARLA'S POV - SIDEVIEW MIRROR A Grappler on the ground raises its ringing head up. DARLA Throws the car in reverse, hits the gas, backs up over the thing. A slight BUMP to the car, a CRUNCHING SOUND. The car idles there for a beat. The Gang cheers. Wesley rushes up to the car, thinks she's backed up so they can jump in the car and all be rescued. Wesley reaches out for the passenger door, calling to the others -- WESLEY Let's go! They run to the car just as -- Darla floors it, tears out of there. SCRREEEECH! The Gang is left hanging where the car used to be. They fall INTO FRAME, lining up, just blinking at Darla's dust. PANNING the gang, exhausted and stranded, REVEALING... Now a battered, a bit-burnt, post-grenade and slightly out of breath Angel joins them, shoulder to shoulder. ANGEL What're we looking at? They react, realize he's õjoined them. He peers off in the direction they were looking. Off that -- BLACK OUT. END OF ACT ONE Act Two EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT The Gang follows Angel. During the following, Angel's taking in the alleyway with all his senses. Tracker mode. CORDELIA Holtz? ANGEL Yes. WESLEY The vampire hunter that tracked you and Darla through -- ANGEL -- the late 1700s, yeah. GUNN Sure it wasn't maybe his great, great, great grandson? ANGEL No. It was him. FRED Well, then maybe he's part of what's supposed to rain down ruination upon mankind. The Nyazian Prophecy did say the Tro-Clon was going to be a confluence of events... CORDELIA And the sudden appearance of an 18th century vampire hunter in the 21st century does seem pretty con-flewey. GUNN You think he's here for the baby? ANGEL I don't think he even knows about it. FRED Well, he wouldn't have to. That's the tragic beauty of a cosmic convergence. I mean, he just plays his own small part. He comes here looking for Angel and Dùarla, but in the process ends up finding Angel's unborn child, who, as it turns out, wasn't evil at all like we feared, but was in fact meant to be some sort of messianic figure! But Holtz kills it before it can even be born! And his vengeance somehow triggers the end of the world! They all look at her. FRED Or not. Could go either way. (to Angel) Have you thought of a name yet? WESLEY We have to find Darla before Holtz does. ANGEL (indicating) She went this way -- GUNN You can smell her? ANGEL Tire tracks. GUNN Right. I saw those. ANGEL I'll be able to find her faster on my own. WESLEY Of course. Angel looks back to his friends. ANGEL If you guys could just... find some place safe for her to have this baby. We'll come to you. GUNN We can do that. CORDELIA Hey -- be careful. Angel nods. They start to part, Wesley makes Angel pause with: WESLEY Angel? The prophecies... ANGEL I can't worry about prophecies right now, Wes. I know what they said... WESLEY No, I juúst meant... the scrolls themselves... You, uh, didn't manage to get them, did you? ANGEL Oh. No. WESLEY Well. I'm sure we'll be fine. I've no doubt we've gleaned whatever pertinent information we could from them already -- A beat. Angel goes. Off Wesley, worried. INT. WOLFRAM & HART - LILAH'S OFFICE - NIGHT CLOSE - THE NYAZIAN SCROLLS As seen through a magnifying loop. TRANSLATOR Nyazian. Exquisite. I recognize the Ga-Shundi cross-text. WIDER A BOOKISH TRANSLATOR sits at Lilah's desk, the stolen scroll remnants before him. Lilah paces. TRANSLATOR Quite a find. Have you any idea what this is worth? LILAH Hopefully enough to cover my ass. Lilah indicates notepads with Wesley's scribbles on them. LILAH (cont'd) Here -- these notes might help speed things up a little. TRANSLATOR Oh... you had another translator working on this, I see... (off notes) I don't recognize the handwriting... though the idiom would indicate an Englishman... (then) It wasn't that worm Forsch in Ancient üSymbols and Icons, was it? He's had his eye on my cubicle. LILAH No. Someone else. You don't know them. TRANSLATOR He's only got the one eye, you know. LILAH It wasn't Forsch. Don't worry about it. Outside contractor. (points to scroll) I've hi-lited the section they seemed to be concentrating on. TRANSLATOR (does a take) You hi-lited an ancient Nyazian scroll? LILAH In yellow. (then) So can you translate it? TRANSLATOR Well, when it comes to sacred prophecies it's always going to be \more an interpretation than a strict translation. And it's a remnant, so some context may be missing. LILAH Context schmontext. I'm looking for the gist, here. What's it say? The Translator studies the scroll. TRANSLATOR Uh... well. Let's see. Bring forth... appear... born. Something about a birth. LILAH What? What about the birth? TRANSLATOR It's unclear... LILAH Make it clear. He goes from the scroll to Wesley's notes, back to the scroll. TRANSLATOR ...this noun/verb combination seems to þbe what's stumped your last iconographer. (then, cheerfully) Well! It's a puzzle! This should be fun. LILAH No. It shouldn't be "fun." What it should be is done before morning or I'll have your family killed. She exits. Off the Translator, getting down to work... INT. UNDERGROUND CHAMBER - NIGHT Holtz and SAHJHAN. Holtz dogging SahJhan, SahJhan trying to avoid the in-your-faceness of it all. SAHJHAN Don't get all bent out of shape. HOLTZ You knew. You knew and you didn't tell me. SAHJHAN Okay, so I left out one teeny, tiny detail. Didn't seem all that important. HOLTZ Not important? Angelus, with a soul? SAHJHAN It doesn't mean anything. HOLTZ It means everything. SAHJHAN See? This is why I didn't mention it. You Don Quioxte types are so predictable. So Angel has a soul. Big whoop. So did Atilla The Hun -- not to mention a heart as big as all outdoors when it came to gift-giving. (then) He's still a vampire! (adding) Angel. Not Atilla. HOLTZ He's not the same vampire. SAHJHýAN Of course he is. Hair's a little shorter, a little spikier. He's using product. But it's the same guy. HOLTZ No. He's changed. He's different. SAHJHAN Look, I don't know what kind of moral mind games you've been torturing yourself with, but you can't let this soul thing get in the way of what you swore to do -- HOLTZ Get in the way? SAHJHAN Yeah... that's what this is about, right? You find out Angel has a soul, so now you're thinking maybe things are a little murkier, ethically speaking... HOLTZ Things have never been clearer. Releasing his soul to suffer for all eternity only makes his destruction more just, more fitting -- SAHJHAN (surprised) Oh. So then what are we doin' here? HOLTZ By keeping information from me, vital information, you've had me hunting the wrong prey. SAHJHAN (getting it) Ahh! Right. Because an Angel with a soul is gonna be a slightly different challenge than an Angel- without-a-soul would be... HOLTZ Had I known, I wouldn't have lost him. SAHJHAN Wellû, don't worry. I've spread bribe money all over the streets. We'll find him again. HOLTZ Yes -- but once he's found, then what? I didn't just promise to find and kill him... I swore to show no mercy. And if I'm to do that, then I must know everything. SAHJHAN Right. No. Gotcha. My mistake. HOLTZ You've kept nothing else from me, then? SAHJHAN (hedging) Anything else about Angel... Uh... no. Nothing I can think of... CUT TO: EXT. BUILDING ROOFTOP - NIGHT CLOSE - Darla's hands gently caressing her pregnant belly. DARLA Sits on the edge of a high-rise, the L.A. skyline rising up beyond her. Sounds of SIRENS and distant CHAOS below. ANGEL (O.S.) You'd only bounce. Darla doesn't seem too surprised at the sound of that voice. Angel appears, stepping up behind her. She doesn't even look at him, continues to gaze down on the city. DARLA Look at it. Listen to it. (with distaste) Can you smell it? (then) This world. This horrible world. Why would anyone want to bring a baby into it? ANGEûL I don't know... to make it better, maybe? DARLA (darkly) Or to destroy it finally. ANGEL Why is it everyone insists on planning my son's future before he's even born? DARLA Alright, then how's this -- he doesn't have a future. Not with me. She gets up. Pushes past him. He follows her. ANGEL Darla... She turns, looks at him -- real concern on her face. DARLA Angel, I can't have this baby -- ANGEL What? DARLA I can't let it come out. I can't. ANGEL Not sure you've got a lot of choice in the matter... She's confused, conflicted. Knows she's not making a lot of sense. DARLA I know. It wants to come out. I can feel it. It's ready. It's just... I can't let it. I can't let it because... She can't finish the thought, so he does it for her -- ANGEL Because you love it. She looks at him. This is not a realization for either one of them -- it's something they've both known. DARLA Completely. I love it completely. I don't think I've ever loved anything so much as this life that'øs inside of me -- ANGEL (not an accusation) You've never "loved" anything, Darla. DARLA That's true. Four hundred years, and I never did... until now. (then) And I don't know what to do. ANGEL You'll do the only thing you can do -- you'll have it. You'll have it, and then... He trails off, afraid to make the thought complete. DARLA What? We'll raise it? ANGEL Why not? DARLA It's impossible. ANGEL All of this is impossible. But it's happening anyway. DARLA What the hell have I got to offer a child? A human child? Besides ugly death. ANGEL Darla -- DARLA You know it's true. ANGEL No. What I do know -- is that you love this baby. Our baby. You've bonded with it. Nine months of carrying it, of nourishing it -- DARLA (cuts him off) No! I haven't been nourishing it! I haven't given this baby a thing! I'm dead! It's been nourishing me! These feelings I'm having aren't mine -- they're coming from it. ANGEL You don't know that. DARLA Of course I do. We both do. Angel, üI don't have a soul. It does. And right now that soul is inside of me. But soon... it won't be anymore, and then... ANGEL Darla... DARLA I won't be able to love it. I won't even be able to remember that I loved it... I want to remember... She breaks down. He moves to her. Gathers her in his arms. Holds her. INT. CARITAS - NIGHT Much activity here. The HOST is putting the finishing touches on Caritas for its grand re-opening. Workers still all over the place. A couple of them hanging decorations, including a "Grand Re-Opening" banner. HOST Here? She wants to have it here? This is just a terrible idea! Can't you see I'm working my tush off trying to get ready for a grand re- opening? (to passing worker) Gorch entrails behind the bar next to the marachinos. (then) I can't have a baby here. I just had the booths Simonized! Host reacts now as he senses something. He moves to ARNEY, the demon handyman, who works as he hums to himself at the security box. He's got an instruction manual in his hand. ù CORDELIA Lorne, what do you want us to do? Tell Angel and Darla they're not welcome here? HOST No, of course not. Caritas is and will always be a sanctuary. That is, if some people ever finish the work they promised to have done three days ago! (then, knowingly) How's the job coming, Arney? ARNEY Oh, I think we'll have 'er up on her feet by the time you open tomorrow night. HOST Mmmm-hmmm. GUNN New security system? HOST Routes the new sanctuary spells together to prevent both human and demon violence, creating a totally carnage free Caritas! ARNEY But balancing the inter-species flux is a little trickier than I expected -- HOST Yeah, that's not all that's "tricky." Host yanks the manual out of Arney's hand. HOST You hum while you work! ARNEY Yeah, so? HOST So! I just read you, buster! Which connection are you leaving un- connected so you can milk this job? ARNEY Are you questioning my work ethic? HOST No. I'm firing you! Get out! Out! I'll finish this myself! Host shoosü Arney out with the instruction manual. Host looks to the manual, then to the gang -- HOST How hard could it be? Off that -- EXT. BUILDING ROOFTOP - NIGHT Angel continues to hold Darla. She's stopped crying now. They're still. DARLA You won't let me hurt it, will you? They disengage. She looks up at him. DARLA You'll protect it, right? From me, I mean? Before he can promise one way or the other, his CELL PHONE rings. He answers it. ANGEL Yeah -- INTERCUT WITH: INT. CARITAS - NIGHT Wesley on his cell phone. WESLEY We've found a place. ANGEL Is it safe? WESLEY I'm sure by the time you get here it'll be as safe as houses... WESLEY'S POV The Host on his back, fiddling with the security box while Cordelia holds the manual for him. HOST Okay, try it again -- Fred and Gunn nearby, Gunn bracing himself -- Fred hauls off and slaps him in the face. FRED Nope. Still not working. Host squints at the manual, fiddles some more. HOST How's that? Crack, across Gunn's face. FREDö No. EXT. BUILDING ROOFTOP - NIGHT ANGEL (into cell phone) Okay. We'll see you there. Angel clicks off his cell phone, moves to Darla whose back is to him. She's leaning forward slightly... ANGEL Hey... She doesn't answer. He approaches her. ANGEL (cont'd) Darla? Still no response. He looks up into the night sky. ANGEL (cont'd) We should go. I feel a storm coming. (beat) You okay? She winces, leans forward more. ANGEL Another contraction -- She looks over her shoulder at him, something more than just pain on her face -- fear. DARLA No. This is something else... CUT TO: INT. WOLFRAM & HART - LILAH'S OFFICE - NIGHT Lilah enters her office -- the Translator rubs his tired eyes. LILAH You've got something? TRANSLATOR Yes. I believe I do. I have to say, whoever you had working on this before was very close. These notes were enormously helpful. LILAH That's great. What does it say? TRANSLATOR I can see they ran into trouble here with the tense. Ga-Shundi tenses are trickóy little buggers. LILAH I'm riveted. The birth. What's it say about the birth? TRANSLATOR Well, actually, it's kinda funny. (then) It doesn't. LILAH What do you mean "it doesn't?" I thought you said it did? TRANSLATOR I did say it did. LILAH But it doesn't? TRANSLATOR In a way. LILAH I have a gun. TRANSLATOR You see it's the tense used here in describing the event. That pesky Ga- Shundi tense again! It talks about the actual birth in a triple negative! He looks at her as if that meant something. She stares. LILAH Hunh? TRANSLATOR Well. This prophecy... it's not so much a birth announcement as it is an obituary, really. LILAH Obituary? TRANSLATOR Yes. The prophet is telling us that there will be no birth. LILAH No birth... Are you sure? TRANSLATOR Oh, quite sure. The child, the result of an unnatural coupling, is destined never to be born... (reading/translating) "...for surely in that time, when the sky opens and the city weeps, there will be no birth. Only ódeath." LILAH Only death? TRANSLATOR Just death. And as Lilah considers that... BLACK OUT. END OF ACT TWO Act Three INT. ENGLISH COTTAGE - DAY (FLASHBACK) Holtz sits bleary-eyed in the same chair that we left him in. Staring. Sunlight kisses his face from a nearby window. Sun creeping up outside. The door opens and Holtz's men tentatively enter. They hover there for a moment, concerned for their leader. Finally: RIDER #1 Captain... No response from Holtz. He appears to be a zombie for the moment. RIDER #1 Captain we beg you... let us take you out of this place. Holtz doesn't respond, continues to stare. Rider #1 looks with fear and trembling to the carnage. RIDER #1 It's the devil's work... HOLTZ (flat) Not the devil. Just a demon. RIDER #1 What are we going to do? Now we see what Holtz has been staring at -- Sarah's doll lies alone in a shaft of morning light. Little Sarah is now pressed into the shadows. Holtz rises. Resolute. HOLTZ Whatever we have to. ÷ Holtz moves to Sarah, looming... SARAH Papa? He reaches down, drags her from her corner. She starts to thrash and cry. SARAH Papa! Papa, no! Holtz drags her kicking and screaming past his confused men, to the door -- EXT. ENGLISH COTTAGE - DAY - CONTINUOUS Holtz shoves his daughter out the door, pushing her into the morning sunlight -- SARAH Stumbles outside, turns back -- VAMPFACED. She reaches out toward him even as she BURSTS INTO FLAMES -- Holtz stands at the door, not a trace of emotion on his face. His astounded men beyond, as -- -- Vamp Sarah GOES TO DUST. VERY CLOSE - HOLTZ The REFLECTION OF FIRE in his eyes. Still no emotion, just hardened features. And we are: INT. UNDERGROUND CHAMBER - NIGHT Holtz sits thinking. The flames that we saw in reflection come from one of the many torches burning in this underground lair. SahJhan appears behind him. SAHJHAN It's time to go to work. HOLTZ You've found him, then? SAHJHAN (to unseen person) Tell him -- We reveûal the freshly-fired Arney there. Arney looks to SahJhan -- ARNEY Don't forget what we discussed -- SAHJHAN You'll get your money. ARNEY Yeah, I've heard that before. You know, I got mouths to feed. Plus a family. And they got mouths, too. SAHJHAN Just tell him what you heard. Arney looks to Holtz -- ARNEY (Cordelia's voice dubbed in) Lorne, what do you want us to do? Tell Angel and Darla they're not welcome here? (Host's voice dubbed in) No, of course not. Caritas is and will always be a sanctuary. Off a new fire in Holtz's eyes -- EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHT LIGHTNING FLASHES, rain beats down, flashy-flash-moisty-flash cuts and we are -- EXT. CARITAS - NIGHT ANGEL'S CAR Top up, obviously, pulls up on this city street amid a torrential downpour. Angel gets out of the driver's side, moves to the passenger side, helps Darla out. Her hair wet and hanging in her face. She's moving with some difficulty. He escorts her to -- EXT. CARITAS - FRONT BREEZEWAY - NIGHT Angel and DaÔrla coming down the short breezeway that leads to Caritas's unmarked front door. INT. CARITAS - NIGHT The other workers are gone. Place is empty except for our people. Cordy, bored, sits at the bar reading a magazine. Gunn sits nearby playing his Gameboy. Wes paces. Now Fred is next to the Host, holding the security system manual. The Host is still on his back, working on the security box junction. One last touch. HOST Okay -- I'm convinced I got it that time! Without looking up from her magazine, Cor reaches out, slaps Gunn in the face. Without looking up from his Gameboy: GUNN (no pain anymore) Ow. The Host frowns, snatches the security manual from Fred. HOST Let me see that -- He's about to go back to work, but everyone reacts to the sound of the door, move to see -- ANGEL AND DARLA Coming down the interior stairs, Angel steadying her. ANGEL Just a few more steps... that's it. As they enter into Caritas proper, everyone stands, moves tão them. ANGEL Guys -- a chair? Everyone makes way as Gunn gets a chair for Darla, Cordy helps lower her into it. DARLA Thanks. Cordelia's a little taken aback by that simple word from Darla. Glances to Gunn as: CORDELIA You're welcome... FRED You gave us quite a scare. But then, I guess you're probably used to that, what with being a scary thing and all. DARLA Yeah. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what got into me... She laughs at her own joke. The others share a bit of a worried look. Angel nods to Wesley, indicating a private moment is needed. ANGEL AND WESLEY Move away from the others. ANGEL She's in a lot of pain. WESLEY How frequent are the contractions? ANGEL It's been, I don't know... maybe an hour? Wesley reacts to that. WESLEY An hour? She was well into the active stage of her labor... I don't understand -- ANGEL I don't either. She just... stopped having them. WESLEY But the pain she's experiencing? ANGEL She says it's Ésomething else... WESLEY That's worrying. CORDELIA (O.S.) Angel! They turn to see -- DARLA Doubled, as much as she can be, in pain. Angel rockets to her side. ANGEL Darla? Darla? She looks up at him, white as a sheet -- DARLA Angel -- ? HOST Let's get her into my bedroom. Come on. The men help Darla up, move her off. Fred looks at the chair Darla was in, reacts as she sees -- FRED'S POV Blood there. It drips off the chair and onto the floor. Off that -- OMITTED INT. CARITAS - HOST'S BEDROOM - NIGHT We're in Angel's POV, near the doorway looking into the bedroom. Darla is on the Host's bed. Wesley and Fred attend her. Wesley looks to Fred, they quietly rise, move to Angel at the doorway. WESLEY The bleeding's stopped. ANGEL She gonna be okay? WESLEY She's tough as nails. FRED And immortal. So that's, you know, in her favor. Health-wise. ANGEL What about the baby? Wesley takes a beat. Not sure how to proceÚed with this... Fred looks at her shoes. Wesley glances back toward Darla, then indicates to Angel with a look and a nod that they should take this out of here. They exit to... INT. CARITAS - NIGHT Host, Gunn and Cordelia watch but don't intrude as Wes, Angel and Fred emerge into the main bar from the Host's bedroom. ANGEL What? What is it? WESLEY Angel, I think you need to prepare yourself for the worst. ANGEL No. WESLEY The baby's heartbeat is faint. Very faint. ANGEL What do we do? WESLEY I don't know that there's anything we can do. Darla's body... it's not a life-giving vessel. I don't think it's equipped to do what it needs to do in order to bring a baby to term. ANGEL So what are you saying? We just let it die? Cordelia steps forward. CORDELIA What about a c-section? Angel look with hope to Wes and Fred. FRED Normally that's exactly what you'd do in an instance like this... but the mystical force that's been protecting the pregnancyå... ANGEL ...is going to end up killing it. They don't deny the probability of that. ANGEL This doesn't make any sense. I mean... This whole thing has been a miracle, right? You don't just get half a miracle, do you? No one has an answer for that. ANGEL The Powers brought her this far... protected the baby all this time... GUNN We don't know that. They all turn, look at Gunn. He steps forward. GUNN We don't know that it's the Powers that have been protecting it. I mean, I'm sorry, Angel, but what if what Darla's carrying is the thing in the prophecies? That scourge of mankind that's supposed to plunge the world into ultimate darkness? What if what's happening to Darla now... what if that's the Powers? Finally steppin' up to the plate and doin' something for once. ANGEL How? By killing my kid? He and Gunn hold the look for a beat, then Angel retreats, back toward the Host's bedroom. CORDELIA (whirling on Gunn) You always have to be so damn honest?! Sàhe goes to slug him -- but ZAAAP!, the mystical forcefield prevents it. Everyone reacts to that. The Host looks to the instruction manual still in his hand. HOST What? Hey! It worked! I fixed it! (nothing) Yay me? No one makes any attempt to congratulate him. Just silence. Everyone worried about Angel. INT. CARITAS - HOST'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Darla lies on the Host's bed. Angel enters. Looks at her for a beat, then moves to her side. ANGEL Hi. How do you feel? DARLA He finally stopped kicking. ANGEL Did he? Angel forces a smile, puts a hand on her belly. She looks at him looking at her belly. ANGEL Well, I guess he figured he finally had your attention. (then, realizing) Hey -- you called him a "he." I think that's the first time you've done that. DARLA He's dying, isn't he? ANGEL What? No. DARLA You lied a lot better when you didn't have a soul. (then) I can feel the life slipping away from me. Angel takes a beat. ANGEL Then don't let it. îShe looks at him. She's already given up. ANGEL Please, Darla. You have to fight for this. DARLA I don't know how. (then) I told you I didn't have anything to offer this kid... some mother. I can't even offer it life. He just looks at her, nothing he can do for either one of them at the moment... INT. CARITAS - NIGHT Worried silence in here. All attention toward the door leading to Host's bedroom. GUNN Maybe I should go in there -- apologize. WESLEY Best to just stay here. Wait this out. CORDELIA Yeah. I think both Angel and Darla just need a little time alone. FRED This isn't gonna end well, is it? HOST Alright. Who wants a drink? I'm buyin'. Every hand in the place goes up. The Host rises, turns toward the bar and finds himself facing -- HOLTZ HOST -- oh. Hello. Holtz stands at the bottom of the interior stairs of the bar. HOLTZ Hello. Holtz taking in the place, Host taking in Holtz. HOST We're not open at the moment -- But come back tomorrow nigöht. Grand re-opening. Here, have a flyer. Host picks a flyer off a stack by the door, hands one to Holtz. HOLTZ Thanks. Host moves behind the bar, starts pouring drinks. Holtz takes a beat, then casually starts going back up the stairs. Under his breath, just barely audible... he's SINGING "All Through The Night," the lullaby he sang to his daughter. PUSH IN On Host as he absently listens to Holtz singing, disappearing up the stairs -- he looks up, having registered something: HOST Run -- He comes flying around the bar. The others look to him. What's going on? ANGLE - THE STAIRS Where a large drum of accelerant comes tumbling down, thump, thump, thump -- CORDELIA What's going on? HOST I think I just spotted a flaw in the no-violence in Caritas theory -- Now something lighter comes bouncing down the stairs -- a grenade. It lands next to the drum. HOST Just RUN! They all do, heading for the corridor leading to the bedroom as -- KER-BLAMMM! A gigantic EXPLOSION with adùjacent FIREBALL rocks the bar. Off that -- BLACK OUT. END OF ACT THREE Act Four EXT. CARITAS - NIGHT Holtz and his Grappler minions in the entrance way to Caritas. Rain coming down beyond the mouth of the breezeway. Holtz hefts a crossbow. Rolls a cigarette. Seals it by licking it. Lobs another grenade through the door and down the stairs. Waits... INT. CARITAS - HOST'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Angel rises from Darla's bedside, moves to the bedroom door as everyone comes racing in. The place is ROCKED by another explosion. Fire is creeping into the hallway and into the room. ANGEL What's going on? WESLEY We're being attacked. ANGEL Attacked? (to Host) I thought you had double-protection sanctorium spells? HOST I do! And they work. It's a thing with the door and the stairs and the world and a thing! Nevermind. CORDELIA What he means is, the spells work if you're in the building. GUNN Apparently you can be outside and chuck stuff in. FRED So that's a flaw. What with this place bein' a döeath trap and all. HOST And thanks for not rubbing it in, by the way. Another OFFSCREEN EXPLOSION. Angel looks up, realizing... ANGEL It's Holtz... Darla reacts to that name. DARLA What?! How is that possible?! ANGEL He's here. I would have mentioned it, but it didn't seem like the right time. She just absorbs that information, the implications. DARLA (to herself) No... it's the perfect time. HOST We have to move the bed. FRED Why? I think it looks good there. HOST I'm not redecorating, sweetie, we have to get out of here. GUNN What's behind the bed? HOST An old loading dock door. I had this whole place converted. Angel helps Darla off the bed, the others shove it out of the way. The room is quickly filling with smoke and flame. Gunn feels the wall -- GUNN It's here? HOST Yes. Wesley looks around, finds a heavy statue bust, hands it to Gunn. Gunn starts pounding on the wall. Wes kicking at it. ANGEL AND DARLA DARLA Holtz... Angel, what we did to him.ç.. ANGEL I know. DARLA That's why this is happening... ANGEL What? DARLA My god... his family. His children... what that must have been like for him... She looks down at her own condition. DARLA Doesn't seem so funny now, does it? Angel shakes his head... ANGEL Darla... WESLEY Angel! He looks over. Gunn and Wesley not making a whole lot of progress on the smashing of the wall. WESLEY I think we could use a little vampire strength here! He glances at Darla, who's still in that dark place from their past, then: ANGEL Cordelia, Fred -- They take over the Darla duties as Angel moves in and really starts smashing the wall, plaster and wood splintering now, as... EXT. CARITAS - FRONT BREEZEWAY - NIGHT Holtz lights the cigarette. Patient. INT. CARITAS - HOST'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Angel continues pounding. The wall starts to give a bit. A BURNING WOOD BEAM comes crashing down behind the gang. Angel smashing at the wall all the harder. EXT. CARITAS - FñRONT BREEZEWAY - NIGHT Holtz snuffs out his smoke. Hefts his crossbow. HOLTZ It's time. He moves to the entrance. EXT. ALLEY BEHIND CARITAS - NIGHT Raining. Pieces of old wooden loading dock door splinter out into the wet alley as Angel breaks through from the other side. He keeps smashing until there's a good door-sized hole. The flames are growing beyond. He starts helping the gang out of the burning room into the alleyway. Angel brings out Darla, who doubles over in pain. She tries to wave him off. DARLA No. Go ahead. I can't. It doesn't matter. ANGEL I'm not leaving you. Angel steadies her, digs in his pocket, finds his car keys, tosses them to Gunn. ANGEL Go get my car, it's in front. Everyone just sort of stands there for a second. ANGEL Go! All of you! They all head off. Angel starts to help lower Darla to a prone position, pulling off his coat in the process. Suddenly Fred is there, helping him raise it as a shelter against the rain. ANGEL Fred -- go with çthem. FRED It's okay. They'll be back for us. He looks at her. No time to argue. ANGEL (to Darla) You're going to be okay. DARLA No... I don't think so. Once he's gone... I won't be okay. I won't be okay at all. I don't know what I'll be. (beat) Angel, our baby's going to die right here in this alley... He just looks at her. ANGEL I know. DARLA You died in an alley. Remember? ANGEL Yeah. I remember. She reaches up, strokes his cheek. DARLA I want to say I'm sorry... I want to say it -- and mean it. But I can't. I wanted you, Angel. I wanted you so much. So how can I be sorry? (a beat) Aren't you gonna tell me it's okay? He shakes his head, can barely choke out the word: ANGEL No. She smiles at that. She's still Darla. DARLA No. It's really not, is it? We did so many terrible things. So much destruction. So much... She winces, feeling her own... DARLA ...pain. Angel watches, helpless to do anything for her, as... INT. CARITAS - NIGHT SÝLOW MOTION Holtz, his duster flowing behind him as he glides down the stairs into the smoky, smoldering, destroyed bar that used to be Caritas. He moves past The "Grand Re-Opening" sign which now is a charred remnant, trailing to the floor. Holtz looks around, raises his crossbow, moves forward... OMITTED EXT. ALLEY BEHIND CARITAS - NIGHT Fred is starting to lose it, tears mixing with rain, holding Angel's coat over Darla. The light from the fire at the hole throws a red glow on them. DARLA We can't make up for any of it, you know that don't you? ANGEL I know. DARLA This child... Angel... She reaches out with her left hand. He takes it in both of his hands. DARLA He's the one good thing we ever did together... Fred's crying silently. DARLA The only good thing... Darla's right hand comes up out of the rubble in the alley with a piece of the splintered wood that used to be the loading dock door -- DARLA (tough) You make sure he knows that -- â-- and plunges it into her own heart. PUSH IN -- ONTO ANGEL Astonished, as -- DARLA Goes TO DUST. And now lying there, where Darla just was... CRYING in the rain... a PERFECT BABY BOY. A suspended, SLOW MOTION moment. The baby lying there, Fred weeping, holding the coat, shielding the infant from the rain that comes down around them. Angel reaches down, picks up the babe. Gathers it in his arms. Still shocked and stunned by it all. BEHIND ANGEL Through the FLAMES... the dark figure of Holtz appears... raising his crossbow... Angel stands with the child. Senses the presence behind him, turns and looks over his shoulder at -- HOLTZ Coming into full relief as he steps from the burning building, crossbow aimed at Angel. Grappler Demons emerge from the shadows in the alleyway, blocking exits. HOLTZ Continues to aim his crossbow. But registering what it is Angel's holding. Not firing... BEYOND HOLTZ At the mouth of the alleyway, Angel's car pulls up, Gunn behind the whâeel. ANGEL AND HOLTZ Angel holding the baby in his arms, Holtz staring him down. SAHJHAN (O.S.) Do it... CAMERA ARCS revealing SahJhan now standing there, whispering in Holtz's ear. SAHJHAN Now's your chance. Do it! Finish this! While you still can! Angel and Holtz. Still eyeballing each other. A beat. Holtz looks from Angel's eyes to the baby in his arms, back to Angel. Finally he lowers his crossbow, steps aside, indicating that he will allow Angel room to pass. SAHJHAN What are you doing?! No! Angel passes close by Holtz, holding the baby, shielding it from the rain, from Holtz, from everything. Holtz turns and watches Angel and Fred as they quickstep down the alley to the waiting car. SAHJHAN You can't just let him walk away! Not now! Not after what you swore to me -- HOLTZ I swore I would show no mercy. Angel and Fred get into the car. HOLTZ Watching as the car pulls away. HOLTZ And I won't. Off Holtz, just staring -- BLACK OUT. THE END