SPIKE: In my day, no self-respecting creature of the night went out on All Hallow's Eve. We left that to the posers, the blighters who had to dress up and try to be scary.

(Angel presses a button that causes his interior office windows to fog)

SPIKE: Magic windows. Will the perks never end?

LORNE: (walks into the office talking on his cell phone) Ah, perfetto, Benigni! Perfetto— Ah, si, si, si. Grande. Ciao. (hangs up) What did I miss?

ANGEL: Us. Waiting.

LORNE: Oh, right. Sorry. So, uh, Angel, we just wanted to take a moment and emphasize how important this party really is to us.

GUNN: I gotta say Lorne is right. We gotta show all the big bads that the new regime is here to stay, which, for the most part, boils down to image. And image-wise, if this party doesn't kick ass, we lose face.

LORNE: And believe me, milk dud, speaking as the head of your P.R. Department, we need all the face we can get.

ANGEL: Milk dud?

LORNE: Said with affection.

ANGEL: OK, listen, I understand the whole keeping up appearances concept, but everyone coming to this thing is unrepentant, dyed-in-the-wool evil.

LORNE: Angel, a good host just doesn't make these sort of judgments.

ANGEL: We don't know how many of them are holding grudges against us or against each other. It's a perfect recipe for an out-of-control bloodbath.

LORNE: That's describing every good party I've ever been to. Listen, Angel, don't worry about a thing. This is my forte. And I ran Caritas for years, a nightclub with an open-door policy. The good, the bad, the hideously ugly, they all bellied up to my demon bar, but they all played nicely together while they were there.

EVE: And this is exactly the kind of ethical tightrope you've gotta walk now, Angel. Which brings up another point— your employees.

ANGEL: Also evil.

HARMONY: Here's your blood, bossy. (Angel glares at her) Ahem. Boss.

EVE: Some of them, yes, but all of them work hard for this firm, and Halloween, well, around here it's like Christmas. Simply put, this is a morale thing.

HARMONY: Good luck. The morale around here stinks.

ANGEL: What?

HARMONY: Uh-huh. Everybody thinks you suck. Well, come on, boss. They're all out there, sweating through their matsudas, worried if you're gonna axe them or, you know, axe them.

ANGEL: OK, look, hey, I haven't— OK, look, I may have...killed a couple of them.

LORNE: And several clients...and maybe some potential clients? Why do you think my R.S.V.P. list is only a fifth of the size of last year's?

EVE: It's you, babe.

ANGEL: Come on, what, do they think I'm throwing this thing so I can slaughter them? (affirmative silence) Fine. I surrender. Go ahead, Lorne. Put on your best dog and pony. I won't get in the way.

LORNE: I don't want you to sit back and just let it happen, Angel. I need you to get out there and make it happen.

ANGEL: What does that mean?

• Wolfram & Hart

written by: Ben Edlund; Original transcript by CariCranberry. Edited & formatted by me.. Full transcript at:
http://www.buffyworld.com/angel/season5/transcripts/5x05_tran.php