"Guise Will Be Guise"
Wesley is in the lobby office at the hotel. He walks over to the file cabinet and attempts to pull the drawer open but it's stuck. He gives it a jerk and the drawer comes out of the cabinet, spilling its contents all over the floor. He puts the drawer on top of the desk and bends down to pick up the mess.
Someone approaches the desk, "Hello."
Wes stands up and bangs his head on the end of the file drawer, "I didn't hear you come in." He asks how he might help.
The rough looking guy standing on the other side of the reception desk asks curtly, "Where is he?"
Wes assumes he means Angel and answers, he's out. He asks if he can help, introducing himself as Angel's "associate."
The guy is adamant, "Yeah, you could tell me where the boss is. It's kinda urgent."
Wes says they specialize in urgent, he wonders if it's a matter of life and death.
The guy says things could get rough. He needs someone with Angel's "special abilities."
Wes walks back to get a pad and pen to take notes and tells the guy to give him the details and when Angel gets back, he'll inform him.
The guy wants to know if Wes has any "special abilities."
Wes says he has some.
The guy wants to know if he's a vampire.
Wes answers, with a bit of pride, "No, but I was a rogue demon hunter so I know how to handle myself when things get rough." As he's talking, he's walking back toward the guy at the desk. He slips on the papers that spilled out of the file cabinet and lands on the floor with a grunt. He quickly gets back to his feet.
The guy isn't impressed, "Yeah, you're scary."
Wes tells the guy he's sure Angel will return soon.
The guy takes a parting shot, "You might want to tell the boss, he wants to run a business, he shouldn't be foisting clients off on his secretary." He leaves.
Wes mutters indignantly, "That's associate." He sits down on the floor and starts picking up the papers that are strewn about.
Cordy rushes downstairs and asks what he's doing.
He answer, "Knocking things over, driving away business. You know, the usual."
She tells him she found him, they have to stop him before it's too late. She adds, "We have to change our --" She looks at the article of clothing draped over her arm then back toward Wes, "Do you have any clothes a man would wear?"
At the W&H office building, a security guard exits an elevator, looks up and down the hallway, then departs.
Angel and Gunn enter through a grate in the floor. Angel looks around the corner and sees two people chatting at the end of the hall (it's Wes and Cordy but he doesn't realize it). He tells Gunn not to make eye contact. They keep their heads down, walk over to the elevator and enter.
Just as the doors are about to close, someone sticks a briefcase in between them, causing them to open. Cordelia and Wesley have arrived.
When the doors open, Angel pulls them inside the elevator car and asks what they're doing there as he hits the numbered floor button.
Cordelia hits the "open door" button, "I'm thinking risking our lives to save yours."
Gunn asks how they got into the building.
Wes says they came in the front door.
Gunn is skeptical, "Oh, and they just let you in?"
Cordelia puts on a pair of glasses and strikes a lawyer-like pose with her briefcase, "Hello. Lawyer."
Angel hits the floor number button again, Cordy reaches out and hits the 'door open' button in response. She tells Angel he's not going upstairs.
Angel insists he has to as he hits the floor button again, "No, I need to do this. I .. I have to find her, where they have her."
Cordy hits the 'door open' button again, noting he's still all about Darla.
Wes asks Gunn if he encouraged this.
Gunn says he's just tagging along.
Angel hits the floor button again.
Cordelia hits the 'door open' button and reminds Angel, "Gonna be a pretty short ride. They have vampire detectors!"
Gunn says it's okay, Angel has a plan.
Wes wonders what the plan is.
Angel hits the button again as he reveals his plan, "Yeah, I get to the offices before they stop me."
Gunn is not impressed the plan seemed to consist of walking fast.
Cordelia hits the 'door open' button again, suggesting Angel listen to what he's saying, "You're all insane and angry and ... insane! You need help."
Angel reaches past her and hits the floor button again as he tells her curtly, "I'm not insane and I'm not angry."
Cordy defiantly hits the 'door open' button again.
The doors slide open, revealing a security guard on the other side. He has his baton at the ready, revealing the ejected stake mounted at the end.
Angel grabs it and runs it through the guard's foot.
Gunn reckons that hurt.
As the guard doubles over and moans in pain, Angel leaves the elevator, admitting maybe he's a little angry. The others follow.
Gunn, Cordy and Wes are sitting at a table at the karaoke bar watching as two Japanese gentlemen perform "I've Got You, Babe" on-stage.
Gunn looks around and notices the demon lighting up a cigarette at a nearby table, "Okay, what I want to know is, how I live in L.A. all my life and not even know this weird ass stuff is going on."
Cordelia assures him it gets weirder.
Wes points him out the Host (who is seated at the bar talking to Angel) to Gunn and explains how things work, "He helps demons, reads their souls, senses their futures."
Cordelia adds he can only do that when someone sings though.
At the bar, the Host tells Angel he didn't think he'd be back. He wonders if things are okay.
Angel answers, "Yeah."
The Host isn't buying, "Once more with less feeling."
Angel admits he's a bit on edge.
The Host asks him to talk about it.
A tightly wound Angel stammers, "I just .. I feel like ... I have to do something ... and if I don't let it out I'll explode and then ... when I do something ... it feels .. uh .. I think maybe ... this ... this is it, I ..." He pauses a moment then mutters, "I'll sing if I have to."
At the table, Gunn is wondering if he's going to have to listen to Angel sing.
The Host tells Angel he doesn't have to sing, "Break for you. Break for me. Break for Mr. Manilow." He scribbles on a small notepad.
Angel is relieved, "Okay, if you're sure?"
The Host tears a sheet off of the notepad and hands it to Angel.
Angel looks at the paper and asks what it is.
The Host tells him it's the address of a friend of his. He asks Angel if he's ever heard of T'ish Magev.
The Host accepts a drink from one of the waiters, Ramone, and thanks him.
Angel asks if Magev is like a Swami or something, someone very powerful.
The Host tells him Magev can be of more help to Angel right now than he can. He cheers the guys who have finished singing and leaves the bar.
Angel returns to the table and tells the gang they're leaving, he doesn't have to sing.
Cordelia is extremely pleased by that news, "Oh, thank God!"
Angel just looks at her.
She curbs her enthusiasm and covers, "I mean, for your sake, because I know you don't like to do that."
Angel knows better, "Uh-huh."
A bit later, Angel is in his car, driving out of town.
Cordelia and Wesley are in the back office at the Hyperion. Cordy figures Angel will be back soon, the Swami guy will just work some magic and that will take care of Angel's obsession.
Wes is skeptical, "Intriguing notion. Psychiatry through magic. Instant cures for phobias, compulsions, identity crises --"
Cordy sits in Angel's chair behind the desk and spins around in it, "Hey! Look at me! I'm Angel!"
Wes notes he doesn't usually spin around in the chair.
Cordy agrees, "Right. This is Angel." She picks up a book laying on the desk, opens it and buries her nose in it, "Oh no, I can't do anything fun tonight. I have to count my past sins, then alphabetize them .. Oh, by the way, I'm thinking of snapping on Friday." She smiles broadly, closes the book and looks up at Wes, "You know, I love Angel and everything, but right now I'm so glad he's headed the other way."
Back at the office, a guy grabs Cordelia from behind and asks where Angel is.
She tells him Angel isn't there.
He accuses her of lying, he wants to see Angel.
She pulls away from him, he pulls a gun on her, "My boss needs your boss. So I cannot leave here without Angel so you're gonna get him for me now or I'm gonna blow your head off.".
Wes approaches the office and overhears what's going on inside as Cordy tries to stall for some time. She insists she doesn't know where Angel is.
The guy aims his gun at her face, "That's too bad."
Cordy pleads, "Please! Wait!"
Wes enters the office, "I'm Angel." He slips as he comes in, but manages not to fall. He's wearing Angel's coat and posturing, "You looking for me?"
At the cabin, Swami and Angel are sitting across from each other in the living room in front of a fire burning in the stone fireplace. Swami is relaxed, sitting in front of a tackle box, occupying himself tying flys. He speaks first, "Nice ride."
Angel is sitting forward in the chair, looking uncomfortable, "Sorry?"
Swami clarifies, "The car. Very slick."
Angel offers dryly, "Thanks."
Swami asks what kind of mileage Angel gets with the car.
Angel sits back a bit, his expression saying he doesn't get the purpose of the conversation but he answers anyway, "I don't know, twelve in the city, maybe."
Swami doesn't look up from his fly tying as he notes, "Gas hog. Still, probably a chick magnet, right?"
Angel asks, "What?" After a brief pause he answers the question, "No."
Swami reckons if Angel says so.
There's an awkward pause. Angel finally says he thought they were going to talk about his "problems."
Swami notes, "That car is your problem, pal. It says everything about you."
Angel is skeptical, "The car."
Swami insists, "Yes, the car. You live in L.A. It's all about the car you drive."
Angel starts to challenge that, "I really don't think --"
Swami interrupts him, "Vampire. Living in a city known for its sun, driving a convertible. Why do you hate yourself?"
Angel says he doesn't, he just got a good deal on the car.
Swami isn't buying, "You got a deal. Why not a personalized license plate that says 'Irony'?"
Angel notes the car's top does go up.
Swami thinks appearances are important to Angel.
Angel denies it, "That's not true."
Swami doesn't believe him, "Sure it is. So important that you're willing to put your eternal life at risk every time that you hop into that thing. Top up or not."
A frustrated Angel mutters, "It's just a car."
Swami wonders why he wears so many layers of clothes, and why all black, when the weather's been hot lately.
Angel answers, "No reason. I don't have a body temperature, so --"
Swami offers, "So, it's for the look?"
Angel denies that, "No, it's just this way I don't have to worry about matching. I don't have a reflection, so I --"
Swami suggests Angel does have a reflection, "Sure you do."
Angel doesn't know what he's getting at, "I do?"
Swami continues, "You're reflected in the people around you, the way they see you. What do you think they see?"
In the back office at the Hyperion, the intruder has his gun pointed at Wesley. Wes stammers a bit nervously, "That .. That .. That won't kill me."
The guy shrugs, lowers the gun and directs Wes to follow him as he walks past him and heads out of the office.
Wes isn't following, "You just expect me to follow you." He backs up slightly, "I don't see why I should," then turns his back to the guy and gives Cordy a 'what have I gotten myself into' sort of look. He continues, "Uh, you know the gun won't kill me."
The guy aims the gun at Cordy, "Yeah? What's it gonna do to her?"
Cordy gasps and puts her hands up.
Wes turns back to face the guy. He agrees to go along but says he won't be cooperative.
Wes and his escort arrive at an upscale house, guarded by guys in brown, hooded robes. Wes follows the guy inside. The guy has his back to Wes and tells him he's invited in.
Wes remembers the 'no invite, no entry' barrier for vamps and throws himself backward to the doorway as the guy turns to face him and gestures him inside. Wes thanks him for the invitation as he enters.
Magnus Bryce and another man, Paul Lanier, exit another room, engaged in a mutual threat kind of conversation. Wes looks around, noting the robed guards, as the two men talk.
The guy who brought Wesley to the house, Benny, introduces Bryce to "Angel" as Lanier walks past on his way out.
Bryce extends his hand in greeting, apologizing for keeping him waiting, then invites "Angel" inside his office.
Once inside, he tells "Angel" he's pleased to meet him then instructs Benny to get "Angel" a drink.
Wes says he knows who Bryce is, he reads the business section of the newspaper. He doesn't know why he's there but abduction isn't the way to get his cooperation.
Bryce understands he's upset but says he's desperate, he needs help. He wants "Angel" to protect someone close to him. He tells him to relax, he'll explain.
Benny offers Wes a glass of blood, "Cheers."
Wes looks at the glass, "Blood. I don't usually ... drink in front of humans."
Bryce won't take no for an answer, "Don't insult me. Go on. It's fresh."
Wesley takes the glass Benny is offering and steels himself to do it. He puts the glass to his lips and takes three deep gulps from it. He looks at Bryce who is obviously expecting a reaction, "Dear God that's .... nummy." His expression indicates he's struggling mightily to keep it down. He puts his hand up to his mouth.
Bryce explains that his business persona is a front. The family money doesn't come from the software business or its cable investments, it comes from wizardry.
As he's explaining, Wes puts his hand to his stomach, then back to his mouth as he belches, still struggling to keep from throwing up.
Bryce goes on talking, apparently oblivious to Wesley's reaction. He says they do custom spells and such for clients willing to pay the bill. Those in town with looks and talent most likely got one of them through their services.
As he turns his back on Wes briefly, Wes notices Benny has also turned away and hastily dumps what's left of the blood into a clear vase of cut flowers, staining the water red. He notices this and quickly steps in front of the vase as Bryce turns back to face him.
Bryce says the "Goddess Yeska doesn't give with both hands," he has a lot of enemies, "industry rivals."
Wes notes the guy he saw Bryce talking to when he came in.
Bryce says the guy's name is Paul Lanier, "His firm is in wish granting." He's one of Bryce's adversaries, but not the only one.
Wes asks if Lanier is threatening Bryce.
Bryce says someone is threatening his daughter. He doesn't know who, there are several potential suspects. There have been threats and they've caught intruders in the house.
Wes notes that Bryce is a wizard, he must know some protection spells.
Bryce confirms he knows them all but his enemies are in the business as well, they know all the tricks of the trade.
Wes reckons Bryce is asking him to accept the job of acting as the daughter's bodyguard.
Bryce steps up close to Wes, making it clear he isn't offering an option, "No, you don't really get to say anything. I"m gonna pay you a lot of money to protect her. You'll do it and get paid. And we'll both be very happy."
Wes' expression indicates he got the message as he looks from Bryce, to Benny, and back to Bryce.
At the cabin, Swami tells Angel he's two people, the image he's worked hard to create and his true self.
Angel removes his coat and admits, "Maybe my persona is a little affected."
Swami thinks otherwise, "More than a little affected, come on. How many warriors slated for the coming apocalypse do you think are using that hair gel?"
Angel self-consciously runs his hand through his hair.
Swami continues as he moves to the wall and removes a couple of wooden poles from their mountings, "Don't get me wrong. You're out there fighting ultimate evil, you're gonna want something with hold but how do you expect to triumph over the soldiers of darkness when you're still fighting yourself?"
Angel asks, "You think I"m fighting myself?"
Swami suggests they find out as he tosses one of the poles to Angel.
Virginia Bryce is in her bedroom, lying on the bed, reading a book.
Magnus Bryce opens the door to his daughter's bedroom and introduces her to "Angel" as Wes walks past him into the room.
Virginia isn't impressed, "Oh look, the vampire's here."
Wes greets her a bit stiffly.
She sits up on the edge of the bed, "Well, daddy knows how to send out for just about anything."
Bryce tells her to be nice, "Angel's gone out of his way to help us."
Virginia figures he was probably convinced at gunpoint.
Wes scoffs as he walks into the room and notices his reflection in a large wall mirror staring back at him. He yells and jumps back, knocking something off of the wall. He demands they cover the mirror.
Virginia wonders why, it's not like they don't know he's a vampire.
Wes insists, "Do it." She gets up and covers it.
Wes attempts to cover his overreaction by explaining that it's just good strategy, "If the attack were to happen here ... If I were to fight here ... I wouldn't want my opponents to know too soon, what I really am."
Bryce thinks that's smart.
Virginia isn't so sure it's comforting that he's already planning on intruders getting in. She takes a seat in a chair.
Wes asks to speak to Virginia privately.
Bryce agrees and leaves them alone, telling them he'll be "right outside."
Wes admits Virginia was right, he didn't want to be there.
Virginia figured as much, "I knew it. He thinks he owns everyone."
Wes notes the situation is real, "But there are threats. It's dangerous, you need to be protected."
Virginia shrugs, seemingly unconcerned.
Wes notices the full bookshelves, "You have a lot of books. You must spend a lot of time in here."
Virginia notes there have been threats for a long time, "Every time there's a new one, I buy a bookshelf."
Wes suggests that since neither of them seem to have a choice in the matter, they should go along with Bryce's wishes. He'll do his best to keep her safe.
She wonders if he thinks he's the vampire for the job.
Wes says he'll try, he wonders if she intends to fight with him about it.
She considers a moment, then suggests they go shopping instead.
Wes points out that it's the middle of the night, maybe it would be better to wait until morning. He then realizes that he's the vampire and couldn't go out in the morning so agrees that it's a good time to go shopping, they should go now.
They open the bedroom door to leave and find Bryce and Benny standing right outside of it. Benny attempts to appear nonchalant.
Wes tells them they're going shopping as he and Virginia walk past.
In the back office at the Hyperion, Cordelia has told Gunn what happened. He reacts with surprise, "At gunpoint?"
She confirms that as she cleans up some files, "Yes, at the point of a gun. He just walked Wesley right out of here and this whole 'I'm Angel' thing is a very, very bad idea. I mean, if I thought that would work, I could have been Angel, because guess what?" She moves to the lobby reception desk as she continues, "Pretty much a girly name!"
Gunn asks where they went.
Cordy doesn't know. She tried to tail them but she lost them.
Gunn asks what the plan is.
Cordy comes up with something, "The plan is, you go get Angel from the Swami place, I track down Wesley. The guy that took him? Pretty distinctive, maybe I could find a criminal record, known associates ... Ooo! Mug shots!" She turns away from Gunn back to the desk and starts working on the computer.
Gunn reckons he should get started, it's likely going to take awhile to find the Swami's place.
A concerned Cordy calls to him, warning him the guy was dangerous, "I really hate to think where Wesley may be right now."
Wes and Virginia are in a high end gallery, specializing in wizard's supplies. Champagne is on ice, symphonic music plays in the background, people mill about examining the goods offered. Wes is impressed with the merchandise selection but concerned the place is a bit open, wondering if Virginia is safe there.
She thinks he should be the one to make that determination.
He remembers he's supposed to be making things safe for her and assures her he'll do his best.
Virginia looks examines an ornate box on display, seeking a gift for her father's 50th birthday.
As she moves over to another display, Wes notes she's looking at talismans.
Virginia says they're images of the goddess Yeska, it's her father's favorite "creepy deity." She asks what he thinks of the gold one.
Wes removes it from the display and examines it. He notes it looks nice, but it's not real gold, one good spell would ruin it. He places it back in the display tray, telling her he'd choose the "iron one."
Virginia thinks he sounds like her father, "He really gets into this stuff. Loves it all, the rituals, magick." They walk across the gallery to another display.
Wes notices she doesn't seem to share he father's enthusiasm for the subject.
She admits she used to, "When I was little. It's been just him and me for a long time. He used to sit me next to him at his desk and teach me about runic incantations or enchanted armor."
Wes asks if he doesn't do it anymore.
As she fingers some small items on a display tray, she answers wistfully, "No. I mean, he still loves the stuff." After a brief pause she adds, "Guy's gotta love something."
Wes reckons he must love her, he's going to great lengths to ensure her safety. As he's talking, he casually rests his hand on a small cross mounted on top of a medieval helmet without noticing.
Virginia says he insures his car too. She notices his hand on the cross and asks rather urgently, "Doesn't that hurt?"
Wes looks at where his hand is resting, jerks it away pretending to be burned and plunges his hand into a nearby ice bucket. He quickly finds the cold not too pleasant either and jerks his hand out of it.
Before Virginia has a chance to think about the inconsistencies, she's approached by two men who address her by name and try to firmly escort her out of the gallery.
Wes tells them to wait.
Virginia calls him "Angel."
One of the guys asks Wes if he's Angel, the vampire. They let go of Virginia.
Wes steps forward melodramatically and removes his glasses, "Yes. Yes, I'm Angel, the vampire with a soul, fighting for my redemption with ... with ... killing evil demons." The guys appear a bit nervous. Wes notices and gets more confident, "That's right, scourge of the demon world. Don't worry boys, I don't kill humans, unless I'm angry." He steps forward as Virginia moves away from her would be kidnappers and over to standing beside Wes.
One of the guys says they were just doing what they were told.
Wes wonders if Lanier was the one who gave them their orders.
The guy confirms that's true.
Wes tells them to go, "Then you're gonna tell Lanier .." He puts his hand to his forehead and pauses, causing the guys to back up a few steps. He puts his hand down, "Forget about the girl. Now go." The guys take his advice and depart.
Wes puts his glasses back on and tells Virginia they should go, it's not safe there. If their adversaries get another chance, things might get rougher.
Outside the cabin, Swami and Angel are battling with the wooden poles. Swami wants to know why Angel is holding back in the fight, what it is he's afraid of.
Angel says he's not.
Swami thinks otherwise, he wants Angel to stop fighting himself and start fighting him.
Angel insists he is fighting.
Swami counters, "Yourself. You're fighting yourself. Fight me!" He lands another blow with the pole. He asks why Angel is holding back, why he can't let it go, then strikes again.
Angel pins him with the pole and answers, "Because, if I let it? It'll kill you."
Swami asks, "It?"
Angel backs off and answers, "The demon."
Swami observes, "Ah, but the demon is you."
Angel denies that, "No."
Swami persists, "Yes! That's the thing you've spent so much energy trying to conceal!"
Angel doesn't want to hear it, "No. I just ... I can't let it control me."
Swami says he understands that then sweeps Angel's legs out from under him with the pole, leaving Angel on the deck, on his back, "You don't think it controls you?" He walks away.
Swami is in the cabin, holding an ice pack to the back of his neck while on the phone with Lanier, "I don't know how long I can keep up this Yoda gag, son of a bitch is strong. Plus, there's something we didn't think about. You know the guy can smell blood."
Lanier asks what he's talking about.
Swami answers, "He's a vampire. It's only a matter of time before he sniffs out where I stashed the real Magev's body. I know you want me to keep him up here for the whole weekend but --"
Lanier interrupts, "Stop, stop, stop. Angel's there?"
Faux Swami says he's right outside, brooding. Angel came up to the cabin after talking to the karaoke host, just as the bartender (Ramone) at the karaoke club said he would. He wonders why Lanier is asking.
Lanier is puzzled, "The vampire's with you? Then who the hell is the English guy?"
At the office, Cordy is cruising through a police database of mug shot photos on the computer, looking for a match to the guy who abducted Wesley.
She gets bored watching the pictures cycle through on the screen and notices a magazine lying next to the computer, the cover of which gets her attention.
She picks up the magazine and searches for the "celeb photos" section. As she's flipping through the pages, she stops when she comes upon a photo of Bryce with his daughter, noticing a familiar face in the background. She recognizes him as the guy who escorted Wes out of the office at gunpoint.
Wes and Virginia arrive back at the house. He hopes she wasn't too frightened by events at the gallery.
Virginia says she's more angry than anything.
Wes notes they were trying to intimidate her.
Virginia clarifies, she's not angry about that specifically, but about all of it. She's tired of living like this.
Wes agrees, "It's a bad situation."
Virginia thinks that's an understatement, "It's a bad situation? It's a waste of a life. I keep waiting for my life to start and it never does."
She turns away from him and continues walking down the hall as she looks around, "There's just more locks, and surveillance cameras and --" She turns the corner and notices two robed figures outside her bedroom door, "Guards? Okay, what is this now? Bedroom guards?"
She storms up to them, angry, "Well, you go back and you tell my dad --"
One of the guys grabs her while another ignites some flash powder and starts to cast a spell on Wes. Wes takes them both on and takes them both out. They run off.
Virginia is impressed as she smiles at Wes, "You were amazing!"
Wes is rather impressed as well, and not a little surprised, "I was, a bit!"
Virginia looks at him, "Your face. You don't go all ... " She scrunches her face up, "... like a regular vampire."
Wes searches for an explanation, "Uh, I suppose I'm .. not like a regular vampire."
At the cabin, Angel and Faux Swami are sitting on the dock, fishing. Angel is in the midst of conversation, "Not a vampire at all, really. They brought her back as human."
Faux Swami isn't convinced, "Really."
Angel clarifies, "Not anymore. They brought her back as human."
Faux Swami wonders, "This Darla girl. Why'd they do that?"
Angel doesn't know, "But seeing her again .. it's just --"
Faux Swami thinks he gets it, "It's triggered the inner struggle."
Angel agrees with that, "Yeah."
Faux Swami continues, "She's not even the one that did this to you."
Angel disagrees, saying she's still Darla, it's just hard to explain.
Faux Swami doesn't think it's that hard, "You're obsessed."
Angel doesn't disagree with that, "I guess I am, a little, yeah."
Faux Swami reckons Angel blames her.
Angel isn't so sure, "I do?"
Faux Swami continues, "You want to punish her."
Angel concedes, "A bit."
Faux Swami goes on, "At the same time you wanna thank her."
Angel isn't sure what he's supposed to be thankful for.
Faux Swami tells him, "For the gift she's given you."
Angel's not convinced, "Gift."
Faux Swami notes Angel is ambivalent.
Angel isn't sure about that either, "Well, I am and I'm not."
Faux Swami offers some advice, "You need to get over her. Okay, what does she look like?"
Angel describes her, "She's beautiful. Small, blonde ..."
Swami has a suggestion, "Right. So here's what you do. You go out and you find yourself some small, blonde thing. Ya bed her. Ya love her. Ya treat her like crap. Ya break her heart. You and your inner demon will thank me, I promise."
Angel's eyes shift uncomfortably as his expression says, 'been there, done that.' All he manages to say is, "Um ..."
Back at Bryce's house, Virginia is sitting on her bed.
Wes walks over and sits next to her as he asks if she's okay after having had two "close calls" that evening.
She's not sure, "I guess so. I don't know. Are we safe now?"
Wes concedes he doesn't know.
She admits sometimes she thinks about running away. She wonders if that sounds a bit silly for a 24 year old woman.
Wes understands, "We all want to escape our lives sometimes."
Virginia muses, "I think about getting my own place. A little apartment, a job, something silly like ... um ... a perfume sprayer? Or, uh, working in a tire store?" She laughs.
Wes laughs and asks "A tire store?"
Virginia realizes it sounds silly.
Wes disagrees, "It sounds wonderful. Rotating tires, inflating ... things." He reckons her father wouldn't allow it.
She concedes that's true, "It's too dangerous. He says they'd grab me in a second and use me to get to him. If you think about it, he's saying that, if I moved out, it would kill him. I'd be responsible."
Wes doesn't quite know what to say as he shakes his head, "That's a huge burden to put on you."
She lays her head on Wesley's shoulder and says she just wants out. She looks up at him.
He looks down at her, she leans up and kisses him.
Wes says her name, they kiss more passionately. As things get more intense, Virginia apologizes as she continues kissing him, "I'm sorry, I know we can't."
Wes wonders why not.
Virginia stops kissing him and answers, "Well, you're a pretty famous guy, Angel. I hear the guards talk sometimes. I know."
Wes asks what she knows.
Virginia continues, "About the curse."
A frustrated Wes realizes this could be a problem, "Ah .. the curse ..." He chuckles, bitterly, as he looks downward.
On the dock, Faux Swami is reacting to what Angel has told him, "Curse?"
Angel didn't realize this was news, "Yeah, I thought you knew."
Faux Swami concedes he doesn't know everything, "So, you really can't ... at all?"
Angel offers feebly, "Well, that's part of what makes me special, right?"
Faux Swami sarcastically notes, "Right. No, that's real special." Off Angel's look he asks, "So it's a sex thing, this curse?"
Angel answers, "No. I mean, not specifically."
Faux Swami wonders, "Well then what, specifically?"
At the Bryce house, Wesley mumbles, "Perfect happiness. Yes. Of course .. um ... Mustn't ..."
Virginia leans in and kisses him. They kiss intensely for a moment, Wes pulls back and mutters, "Mustn't .. let myself .."
Virginia reaches up and removes his glasses then moves in for another kiss.
Wes continues mumbling, "Mustn't let oneself forget ...."
Virginia starts nibbling on his ear as he's getting lost in the passion, "Diabolical .... consequences ... I should ..."
He pulls back a bit, Virginia follows and continues nibbling on his ear. "You know? This whole curse thing's been widely misinterpreted."
Virginia asks, "Really?"
Wes answers, his voice high pitched and breathless, "Oh, yes!" He pulls himself together a bit, "Less ... of a curse .. more of a hex, actually .. barely there!" He grabs her and kisses her.
Virginia stops and asks him if he's sure he's telling the truth.
He says he wants to be honest with her, about everything, "I'm not --"
She kisses him, halting all conversation as they sink down onto the bed.
Gunn pulls his truck to a stop next to Angel's car in front of the Swami's cabin. It's day, the sun is bright. He gets out of the truck, calls out and is greeted by Faux Swami who comes around the side of the cabin. He walks up to Gunn, asking if he's come seeking "enlightenment."
Gunn says he's looking for Angel and asks if he's with Swami.
Faux Swami answers, "Well, he was until the sun came up, then ..." He points behind himself, "See that pile of dust over there?"
Gunn looks toward where Faux Swami was pointing. He laughs, telling Gunn he was just kidding, Angel is inside. He invites Gunn to go in.
Gunn isn't amused by the 'joke'. As he walks past Faux Swami, headed toward the cabin, Swami punches him and knocks him out.
Angel comes out onto the covered porch, "Which lesson was that, exactly?
Faux Swami tries to cover, "He was not your friend. I sensed danger."
Angel isn't buying, "Where's the real T'ish Magev? Did you kill him? Did you put him in the lake?"
Faux Swami chuckles as he stands in the bright sunlight, "Something like that. But ya know what? Somehow I'm not that worried about you right now seeing as you can't get any closer." He opens his arms and looks upward, "Ah, wonderful sunshine." He looks back toward Angel, "Wish you were here." He laughs and turns his back.
Angel picks up a fishing pole and casts the line, catching Faux Swami in the mouth with the hook and spinning him around. Angel reels the guy into the shade of the porch and morphs into game face.
Faux Swami asks what he's doing.
Angel grabs him and pulls him toward the door, "Getting in touch with my inner demon."
At Bryce's, Virginia and Wesley are in bed. She's on her side, her back to him, sleeping. Wes is awake, propped up on his side, watching her.
Virginia's bedroom door opens. Wes cautiously peers out into the hall. He turns and kisses Virginia, who's standing behind him, then sneaks on down the hallway. Virginia closes her bedroom door.
Cordy rushes up to Wes, relieved to have found him.
A surprised Wes asks how she got into the house.
She says she told Bryce's people she worked for Angel and they let her in, he's got everyone scared around there, "It's like they don't even know you're a shemp."
Virginia comes out into the hall.
Cordy recognizes her from the photo in the magazine and address her by name.
Virginia asks who she is.
Wes introduces Cordy and explains that she works for him. He tries to get rid of Virginia, noting he left his coat in the bedroom.
She offers to retrieve it and goes back to her room.
Cordy grabs Wes by the hand, she wants to beat a hasty retreat.
Wes tells her he's not going with her.
Cordelia spells it out for him, she came to rescue him. She tries again to drag him out.
Wes still refuses to go, telling her he has a job to do.
Cordy can't believe this, "What is wrong with you? You've got, like, delusions of Angel! You're not him. You can't do stuff on your own."
Cordy looks over Wesley's shoulder and notices Bryce, Benny and one of the robed guards coming toward them, "Oh, God."
She smiles as she effusively greets Bryce and shakes his hand, "Oh, hey! Mr. Bryce! I've seen your picture!" She looks toward Benny and keeps smiling, "And I remember you from the armed abduction."
Wes says he had Cordy test the security and wonders if Bryce knows that the guards just let her in.
Bryce says he told them to, "I wanted my daughter to hear someone call you by your real name."
Virginia has come back out into the hall and takes up a position next to Wes. She wants to know what her father is talking about.
Bryce says he got a call from an anonymous friend who provided some information, "This guy isn't Angel."
Wes continues to insist he is as Benny drags him into the sunlight streaming through the window at the end of the hall. Wes plays it out for a bit, "I am so Angel! Not the sun! For I am a vampire! Oh! Oh! Ohhhh! It burns!" He throws his hands up over his face to protect himself from the sun.
Cordy's expression indicates he should give it up.
Virginia is confused, "You're not Angel."
Wes quietly admits it, "My name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."
She's angry, "I talked to you. I trusted you. You lied to me." She pauses a moment as Wes looks dejected. She continues, "Come to think of it, you actually put my life in danger. I was walking around thinking I had vampire protection. Here's the funny part, I thought I had a friend." She hands him his coat and walks away.
Cordy walks up to Wes, "Wow. You kinda screwed her over, huh?"
Bryce tells Wes to leave his house and "take the piece with you."
As one of the robed guards pushes them toward the door, Cordy loudly objects to being referred to as "the piece."
Benny tells Bryce he should have let him kill Wes if he was just going to let him go.
Bryce isn't happy with that opinion. He slams Benny into the wall, "Never tell me what to do! Never! You brought me the wrong guy. You risked the whole sacrifice, you understand?" He slaps Benny upside the head and walks away from him, "But I'm not gonna kill you 'cause I need you now, Benny."
He walks over to a stone altar in the center of the room, adorned with candles and skulls carved into it, "It's only a few hours till the sacrifice. You understand the need for security in this. This is the party of my life." He picks up a set of chains which are cemented into the floor of the altar on one end and attached to manacles at the other. He looks at Benny, "Obviously Virginia's too."
Wes is sitting on the steps of the lobby at the Hyperion. Cordy joins him, lamenting their recent humiliation.
Angel and Gunn come in. Angel is assisting Gunn whose a bit unsteady on his feet.
Cordy asks what happened as Angel helps Gunn to the poof couch then sits next to him.
Angel tells her Gunn got hit.
Cordelia checks Gunn and asks if it was the Swami who hit him, noting Swamis aren't supposed to hit.
Angel notices Wes and asks why he's wearing his coat.
Wes asks if the T'ish Magev was the one who hit Gunn.
Angel explains what happened at the cabin about the fake killing the real Swami and taking his place.
Wes asks if Angel found out who hired the guy.
Angel says he couldn't get it out of him.
Wes gets to his feet, putting it all together.
Angel looks at Wes, then the others, "That is my coat, right?"
Wes paces as he sums it up, "It has to be Paul Lanier. He thought that would keep Virginia unprotected, then when his men couldn't take me out, he tipped off Bryce that I wasn't Angel. He hoped Bryce would get me out of the way."
Angel is confused, "What's going on? Were you in Virginia?" (He's thinking state of here).
Wes answers curtly, "That's beside the point."
Cordy explains to Angel, "He was posing as you, protecting a girl named Virginia. This guy, Lanier, is trying to kill her, or abduct her, or something."
Wes continues pacing, noting Virginia is at the party, she could be in danger.
Gunn wonders what party Wes is talking about.
Wes says it's her father's birthday, "A big wizard event. Cake, ice cream, tributes to the goddess Yeska."
Angel is familiar with Yeska, he says she's not a goddess.
Cordy asks what he means.
Angel answers, she's a Davrik demon.
Wes notes that Davriks don't serve humans unless they offer a sacrifice.
Gunn asks about that.
Wes explains Davrik demons eat live sacrifices, usually a girl offered on the 50th birthday of the one seeking the power. As he's explaining it to Gunn, it dawns on him that Virginia is to be that sacrifice.
Cordy wonders why Lanier is trying to abduct her.
Angel notes Bryce will gain a lot of power from the sacrifice.
Wes takes charge, saying they need to go. He tells Angel to go to the back of the house with Gunn, he and Cordelia will go in the front.
Angel reaches out and touches his arm, "Wesley?"
Wes acknowledges that Angel is the boss, he should make the plan. He asks Angel what he wants to do.
Angel considers it a moment, then says he and Gunn could take the back.
Wes heads out, the others follow. As they leave, Angel tentatively asks Wes if he could get his coat back.
At the Bryce house, the party is in full swing. Virginia stops in front of the candlelit altar and asks Benny, "What is this horrible thing? I hope a girl isn't going to jump out of it or something."
Benny offers a not particularly helpful, "Not really."
Bryce taps a spoon on an empty champagne glass, calling everyone's attention. He thanks them for coming on this special occasion, "My feelings .. my feelings run almost too deep for words, but I'll try to do this, and do it right."
Virginia asks Benny what her father is talking about as Bryce lights a candle set amongst several skulls, glasses and wine bottles on a table beneath a "Happy 50th" banner. The lights dim as he begins the incantation, "Yeska, of the razor eyes and stone heart. Take this offering. I cast my most precious emerald into the ocean on the moment of my birth plus fifty years."
Virginia asks what he's doing.
Benny and one of the robed guards grab her wrists and chain her to the altar as she tells her father to stop them. Bryce ignores her protestations, continuing the incantation, "Let her death return, tenfold, unto me my power."
Virginia demands her father make his employees stop what they're doing.
Bryce suggests she be a good girl, this is already difficult enough.
As Benny tightens her bonds, he tells her Bryce is "really torn about it."
She screams for somebody to help her, but nobody makes a move to do so.
Bryce walks up to her, dips his thumb into a bowl of clear liquid then marks Virginia's forehead with it. He steps back from her as she glares at him.
Angel and the gang enter the house, led by Wesley. Wes orders Bryce to release Virginia "or die."
Angel asks, "Don't I say that?"
Bryce calls to the guards. Fight ensues between the robed security guys and the gang as the guests run for the exit.
Wes manages to beat down the robed guy he's fighting, then punches Benny out and frees Virginia.
Bryce crouches behind the table and finishes the incantation, summoning Yeska, as the fighting continues.
A strong wind blows through the house, preceding a bright flash of light, an electrical discharge and the appearance of Yeska, floating above Virginia. Yeska reaches toward her, "The sacrifice ..." Virginia pulls away. Yeska draws her arms back inward, angry, "... is impure!" She screams and disappears in a blinding flash of light.
Gunn wants to know what's going on.
Wes tells Virginia they should go.
She asks why he returned.
Wes reminds her he'd said he'd protect her as he helps her to her feet.
Bryce realizes something, "She's impure? She's not a virgin?" He looks at Wes accusingly then walks toward him, "You!"
It then dawns on Gunn what's just happened as he looks at Cordy, "Whoa! That's what impure meant?"
Cordy looks at Virginia, "She slept with him?"
Bryce blames Wes, "You were supposed to be Angel. This wouldn't have happened. That's why I hired him. He's a eunuch."
That gets Angel's attention, "Eunuch?"
Cordelia is still stuck on the fact Wes got lucky, "You slept with her?"
Wes tries to explain to Bryce that sometimes things just happen.
Virginia asks what he's talking about.
Bryce tells Wes his daughter was a virgin before he got there.
Virginia sets him straight, "I was not a virgin!"
Wes is relieved to hear it, muttering, "Oh, thank goodness."
Gunn says he could have told them that.
Angel's still stuck on the "eunuch" thing, "Not a eunuch."
Cordy's still processing Wes getting lucky, "One day. One day as Angel and he's getting some."
Bryce wonders how it could be Virginia wasn't a virgin since he kept her away from men.
Angel is muttering, "I mean, the curse isn't even all that clear."
Virginia fills him in, "Daddy, you remember that chauffeur, from when I was 16? And the one at 18?" She gets in his face, "I haven't been a virgin for a very long time." She glances over Bryce's shoulder, "I even dated Rick."
Everyone turns to the sound of the floor squeaking as one of the robed guys skulks out of the room.
Bryce suggests Virginia not make him mad.
She doesn't see what more he can do to her. He was planning to kill her a little while ago. She punches him and knocks him to the floor, tells him he's no longer her father and storms out of the room.
Angel looks down at Bryce, "I'm not a eunuch."
Angel is sitting behind his desk in the back office at the Hyperion. Cordy comes in and shoves an article at him containing an accompanying photograph of Wes and Virginia, out on the town.
Angel looks it over and reads the photo caption, "Virginia Bryce, squired by Mr. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, private detective and bodyguard to the stars." Angel scoffs, "Squired. Who says 'squired'?" He sets the clipping down on the desk.
Cordy isn't liking it, "Look at him, all over her!"
Angel picks the clipping up and looks at it again. He reckons Cordy is just unhappy because Wes is getting some attention.
Cordy doesn't deny it, "Damn skippy! He's getting famous off this. Reflected glory, that's my thing!"
Angel suggests she get a little perspective. Cordelia leaves.
Angel looks at the article and scoffs at the caption describing Wesley as "bodyguard to the stars." He expresses a bit of irritation himself, "Yeah, right." He reads a bit more then adds, "There's no "Wyndam-Pryce Agency."
| Written by: Jane Espenson | Original Air Date: November 7, 2000 |
Wesley is in the lobby office at the hotel. He walks over to the file cabinet and attempts to pull the drawer open but it's stuck. He gives it a jerk and the drawer comes out of the cabinet, spilling its contents all over the floor. He puts the drawer on top of the desk and bends down to pick up the mess.
Someone approaches the desk, "Hello."
Wes stands up and bangs his head on the end of the file drawer, "I didn't hear you come in." He asks how he might help.
The rough looking guy standing on the other side of the reception desk asks curtly, "Where is he?"
Wes assumes he means Angel and answers, he's out. He asks if he can help, introducing himself as Angel's "associate."
The guy is adamant, "Yeah, you could tell me where the boss is. It's kinda urgent."
Wes says they specialize in urgent, he wonders if it's a matter of life and death.
The guy says things could get rough. He needs someone with Angel's "special abilities."
Wes walks back to get a pad and pen to take notes and tells the guy to give him the details and when Angel gets back, he'll inform him.
The guy wants to know if Wes has any "special abilities."
Wes says he has some.
The guy wants to know if he's a vampire.
Wes answers, with a bit of pride, "No, but I was a rogue demon hunter so I know how to handle myself when things get rough." As he's talking, he's walking back toward the guy at the desk. He slips on the papers that spilled out of the file cabinet and lands on the floor with a grunt. He quickly gets back to his feet.
The guy isn't impressed, "Yeah, you're scary."
Wes tells the guy he's sure Angel will return soon.
The guy takes a parting shot, "You might want to tell the boss, he wants to run a business, he shouldn't be foisting clients off on his secretary." He leaves.
Wes mutters indignantly, "That's associate." He sits down on the floor and starts picking up the papers that are strewn about.
Cordy rushes downstairs and asks what he's doing.
He answer, "Knocking things over, driving away business. You know, the usual."
She tells him she found him, they have to stop him before it's too late. She adds, "We have to change our --" She looks at the article of clothing draped over her arm then back toward Wes, "Do you have any clothes a man would wear?"
At the W&H office building, a security guard exits an elevator, looks up and down the hallway, then departs.
Angel and Gunn enter through a grate in the floor. Angel looks around the corner and sees two people chatting at the end of the hall (it's Wes and Cordy but he doesn't realize it). He tells Gunn not to make eye contact. They keep their heads down, walk over to the elevator and enter.
Just as the doors are about to close, someone sticks a briefcase in between them, causing them to open. Cordelia and Wesley have arrived.
When the doors open, Angel pulls them inside the elevator car and asks what they're doing there as he hits the numbered floor button.
Cordelia hits the "open door" button, "I'm thinking risking our lives to save yours."
Gunn asks how they got into the building.
Wes says they came in the front door.
Gunn is skeptical, "Oh, and they just let you in?"
Cordelia puts on a pair of glasses and strikes a lawyer-like pose with her briefcase, "Hello. Lawyer."
Angel hits the floor number button again, Cordy reaches out and hits the 'door open' button in response. She tells Angel he's not going upstairs.
Angel insists he has to as he hits the floor button again, "No, I need to do this. I .. I have to find her, where they have her."
Cordy hits the 'door open' button again, noting he's still all about Darla.
Wes asks Gunn if he encouraged this.
Gunn says he's just tagging along.
Angel hits the floor button again.
Cordelia hits the 'door open' button and reminds Angel, "Gonna be a pretty short ride. They have vampire detectors!"
Gunn says it's okay, Angel has a plan.
Wes wonders what the plan is.
Angel hits the button again as he reveals his plan, "Yeah, I get to the offices before they stop me."
Gunn is not impressed the plan seemed to consist of walking fast.
Cordelia hits the 'door open' button again, suggesting Angel listen to what he's saying, "You're all insane and angry and ... insane! You need help."
Angel reaches past her and hits the floor button again as he tells her curtly, "I'm not insane and I'm not angry."
Cordy defiantly hits the 'door open' button again.
The doors slide open, revealing a security guard on the other side. He has his baton at the ready, revealing the ejected stake mounted at the end.
Angel grabs it and runs it through the guard's foot.
Gunn reckons that hurt.
As the guard doubles over and moans in pain, Angel leaves the elevator, admitting maybe he's a little angry. The others follow.
Gunn, Cordy and Wes are sitting at a table at the karaoke bar watching as two Japanese gentlemen perform "I've Got You, Babe" on-stage.
Gunn looks around and notices the demon lighting up a cigarette at a nearby table, "Okay, what I want to know is, how I live in L.A. all my life and not even know this weird ass stuff is going on."
Cordelia assures him it gets weirder.
Wes points him out the Host (who is seated at the bar talking to Angel) to Gunn and explains how things work, "He helps demons, reads their souls, senses their futures."
Cordelia adds he can only do that when someone sings though.
At the bar, the Host tells Angel he didn't think he'd be back. He wonders if things are okay.
Angel answers, "Yeah."
The Host isn't buying, "Once more with less feeling."
Angel admits he's a bit on edge.
The Host asks him to talk about it.
A tightly wound Angel stammers, "I just .. I feel like ... I have to do something ... and if I don't let it out I'll explode and then ... when I do something ... it feels .. uh .. I think maybe ... this ... this is it, I ..." He pauses a moment then mutters, "I'll sing if I have to."
At the table, Gunn is wondering if he's going to have to listen to Angel sing.
The Host tells Angel he doesn't have to sing, "Break for you. Break for me. Break for Mr. Manilow." He scribbles on a small notepad.
Angel is relieved, "Okay, if you're sure?"
The Host tears a sheet off of the notepad and hands it to Angel.
Angel looks at the paper and asks what it is.
The Host tells him it's the address of a friend of his. He asks Angel if he's ever heard of T'ish Magev.
The Host accepts a drink from one of the waiters, Ramone, and thanks him.
Angel asks if Magev is like a Swami or something, someone very powerful.
The Host tells him Magev can be of more help to Angel right now than he can. He cheers the guys who have finished singing and leaves the bar.
Angel returns to the table and tells the gang they're leaving, he doesn't have to sing.
Cordelia is extremely pleased by that news, "Oh, thank God!"
Angel just looks at her.
She curbs her enthusiasm and covers, "I mean, for your sake, because I know you don't like to do that."
Angel knows better, "Uh-huh."
A bit later, Angel is in his car, driving out of town.
Cordelia and Wesley are in the back office at the Hyperion. Cordy figures Angel will be back soon, the Swami guy will just work some magic and that will take care of Angel's obsession.
Wes is skeptical, "Intriguing notion. Psychiatry through magic. Instant cures for phobias, compulsions, identity crises --"
Cordy sits in Angel's chair behind the desk and spins around in it, "Hey! Look at me! I'm Angel!"
Wes notes he doesn't usually spin around in the chair.
Cordy agrees, "Right. This is Angel." She picks up a book laying on the desk, opens it and buries her nose in it, "Oh no, I can't do anything fun tonight. I have to count my past sins, then alphabetize them .. Oh, by the way, I'm thinking of snapping on Friday." She smiles broadly, closes the book and looks up at Wes, "You know, I love Angel and everything, but right now I'm so glad he's headed the other way."
Angel arrives at a cabin nestled in the woods and knocks on the door
frame. Crickets chirp, smoke curls from the cabin chimney.
A large, burly guy answers the door. He tosses a dish towel over his
shoulder and greets his visitor, "Yeah?"
Angel is briefly taken aback, the man not being exactly what he was
expecting, "I'm looking for the T'ish Magev?"
The guy answers, "Well, you found 'em."
Angel isn't sure, "Really. You're the Swami?"
Swami asks if Angel is the vampire with a soul.
Angel confirms that.
Swami walks away from the open door, "Well, in or out, you're
lettin' in the bugs."
Angel pauses a moment before entering, uncertain.
Back at the office, a guy grabs Cordelia from behind and asks where Angel is.
She tells him Angel isn't there.
He accuses her of lying, he wants to see Angel.
She pulls away from him, he pulls a gun on her, "My boss needs your boss. So I cannot leave here without Angel so you're gonna get him for me now or I'm gonna blow your head off.".
Wes approaches the office and overhears what's going on inside as Cordy tries to stall for some time. She insists she doesn't know where Angel is.
The guy aims his gun at her face, "That's too bad."
Cordy pleads, "Please! Wait!"
Wes enters the office, "I'm Angel." He slips as he comes in, but manages not to fall. He's wearing Angel's coat and posturing, "You looking for me?"
At the cabin, Swami and Angel are sitting across from each other in the living room in front of a fire burning in the stone fireplace. Swami is relaxed, sitting in front of a tackle box, occupying himself tying flys. He speaks first, "Nice ride."
Angel is sitting forward in the chair, looking uncomfortable, "Sorry?"
Swami clarifies, "The car. Very slick."
Angel offers dryly, "Thanks."
Swami asks what kind of mileage Angel gets with the car.
Angel sits back a bit, his expression saying he doesn't get the purpose of the conversation but he answers anyway, "I don't know, twelve in the city, maybe."
Swami doesn't look up from his fly tying as he notes, "Gas hog. Still, probably a chick magnet, right?"
Angel asks, "What?" After a brief pause he answers the question, "No."
Swami reckons if Angel says so.
There's an awkward pause. Angel finally says he thought they were going to talk about his "problems."
Swami notes, "That car is your problem, pal. It says everything about you."
Angel is skeptical, "The car."
Swami insists, "Yes, the car. You live in L.A. It's all about the car you drive."
Angel starts to challenge that, "I really don't think --"
Swami interrupts him, "Vampire. Living in a city known for its sun, driving a convertible. Why do you hate yourself?"
Angel says he doesn't, he just got a good deal on the car.
Swami isn't buying, "You got a deal. Why not a personalized license plate that says 'Irony'?"
Angel notes the car's top does go up.
Swami thinks appearances are important to Angel.
Angel denies it, "That's not true."
Swami doesn't believe him, "Sure it is. So important that you're willing to put your eternal life at risk every time that you hop into that thing. Top up or not."
A frustrated Angel mutters, "It's just a car."
Swami wonders why he wears so many layers of clothes, and why all black, when the weather's been hot lately.
Angel answers, "No reason. I don't have a body temperature, so --"
Swami offers, "So, it's for the look?"
Angel denies that, "No, it's just this way I don't have to worry about matching. I don't have a reflection, so I --"
Swami suggests Angel does have a reflection, "Sure you do."
Angel doesn't know what he's getting at, "I do?"
Swami continues, "You're reflected in the people around you, the way they see you. What do you think they see?"
In the back office at the Hyperion, the intruder has his gun pointed at Wesley. Wes stammers a bit nervously, "That .. That .. That won't kill me."
The guy shrugs, lowers the gun and directs Wes to follow him as he walks past him and heads out of the office.
Wes isn't following, "You just expect me to follow you." He backs up slightly, "I don't see why I should," then turns his back to the guy and gives Cordy a 'what have I gotten myself into' sort of look. He continues, "Uh, you know the gun won't kill me."
The guy aims the gun at Cordy, "Yeah? What's it gonna do to her?"
Cordy gasps and puts her hands up.
Wes turns back to face the guy. He agrees to go along but says he won't be cooperative.
Wes and his escort arrive at an upscale house, guarded by guys in brown, hooded robes. Wes follows the guy inside. The guy has his back to Wes and tells him he's invited in.
Wes remembers the 'no invite, no entry' barrier for vamps and throws himself backward to the doorway as the guy turns to face him and gestures him inside. Wes thanks him for the invitation as he enters.
Magnus Bryce and another man, Paul Lanier, exit another room, engaged in a mutual threat kind of conversation. Wes looks around, noting the robed guards, as the two men talk.
The guy who brought Wesley to the house, Benny, introduces Bryce to "Angel" as Lanier walks past on his way out.
Bryce extends his hand in greeting, apologizing for keeping him waiting, then invites "Angel" inside his office.
Once inside, he tells "Angel" he's pleased to meet him then instructs Benny to get "Angel" a drink.
Wes says he knows who Bryce is, he reads the business section of the newspaper. He doesn't know why he's there but abduction isn't the way to get his cooperation.
Bryce understands he's upset but says he's desperate, he needs help. He wants "Angel" to protect someone close to him. He tells him to relax, he'll explain.
Benny offers Wes a glass of blood, "Cheers."
Wes looks at the glass, "Blood. I don't usually ... drink in front of humans."
Bryce won't take no for an answer, "Don't insult me. Go on. It's fresh."
Wesley takes the glass Benny is offering and steels himself to do it. He puts the glass to his lips and takes three deep gulps from it. He looks at Bryce who is obviously expecting a reaction, "Dear God that's .... nummy." His expression indicates he's struggling mightily to keep it down. He puts his hand up to his mouth.
Bryce explains that his business persona is a front. The family money doesn't come from the software business or its cable investments, it comes from wizardry.
As he's explaining, Wes puts his hand to his stomach, then back to his mouth as he belches, still struggling to keep from throwing up.
Bryce goes on talking, apparently oblivious to Wesley's reaction. He says they do custom spells and such for clients willing to pay the bill. Those in town with looks and talent most likely got one of them through their services.
As he turns his back on Wes briefly, Wes notices Benny has also turned away and hastily dumps what's left of the blood into a clear vase of cut flowers, staining the water red. He notices this and quickly steps in front of the vase as Bryce turns back to face him.
Bryce says the "Goddess Yeska doesn't give with both hands," he has a lot of enemies, "industry rivals."
Wes notes the guy he saw Bryce talking to when he came in.
Bryce says the guy's name is Paul Lanier, "His firm is in wish granting." He's one of Bryce's adversaries, but not the only one.
Wes asks if Lanier is threatening Bryce.
Bryce says someone is threatening his daughter. He doesn't know who, there are several potential suspects. There have been threats and they've caught intruders in the house.
Wes notes that Bryce is a wizard, he must know some protection spells.
Bryce confirms he knows them all but his enemies are in the business as well, they know all the tricks of the trade.
Wes reckons Bryce is asking him to accept the job of acting as the daughter's bodyguard.
Bryce steps up close to Wes, making it clear he isn't offering an option, "No, you don't really get to say anything. I"m gonna pay you a lot of money to protect her. You'll do it and get paid. And we'll both be very happy."
Wes' expression indicates he got the message as he looks from Bryce, to Benny, and back to Bryce.
At the cabin, Swami tells Angel he's two people, the image he's worked hard to create and his true self.
Angel removes his coat and admits, "Maybe my persona is a little affected."
Swami thinks otherwise, "More than a little affected, come on. How many warriors slated for the coming apocalypse do you think are using that hair gel?"
Angel self-consciously runs his hand through his hair.
Swami continues as he moves to the wall and removes a couple of wooden poles from their mountings, "Don't get me wrong. You're out there fighting ultimate evil, you're gonna want something with hold but how do you expect to triumph over the soldiers of darkness when you're still fighting yourself?"
Angel asks, "You think I"m fighting myself?"
Swami suggests they find out as he tosses one of the poles to Angel.
Virginia Bryce is in her bedroom, lying on the bed, reading a book.
Magnus Bryce opens the door to his daughter's bedroom and introduces her to "Angel" as Wes walks past him into the room.
Virginia isn't impressed, "Oh look, the vampire's here."
Wes greets her a bit stiffly.
She sits up on the edge of the bed, "Well, daddy knows how to send out for just about anything."
Bryce tells her to be nice, "Angel's gone out of his way to help us."
Virginia figures he was probably convinced at gunpoint.
Wes scoffs as he walks into the room and notices his reflection in a large wall mirror staring back at him. He yells and jumps back, knocking something off of the wall. He demands they cover the mirror.
Virginia wonders why, it's not like they don't know he's a vampire.
Wes insists, "Do it." She gets up and covers it.
Wes attempts to cover his overreaction by explaining that it's just good strategy, "If the attack were to happen here ... If I were to fight here ... I wouldn't want my opponents to know too soon, what I really am."
Bryce thinks that's smart.
Virginia isn't so sure it's comforting that he's already planning on intruders getting in. She takes a seat in a chair.
Wes asks to speak to Virginia privately.
Bryce agrees and leaves them alone, telling them he'll be "right outside."
Wes admits Virginia was right, he didn't want to be there.
Virginia figured as much, "I knew it. He thinks he owns everyone."
Wes notes the situation is real, "But there are threats. It's dangerous, you need to be protected."
Virginia shrugs, seemingly unconcerned.
Wes notices the full bookshelves, "You have a lot of books. You must spend a lot of time in here."
Virginia notes there have been threats for a long time, "Every time there's a new one, I buy a bookshelf."
Wes suggests that since neither of them seem to have a choice in the matter, they should go along with Bryce's wishes. He'll do his best to keep her safe.
She wonders if he thinks he's the vampire for the job.
Wes says he'll try, he wonders if she intends to fight with him about it.
She considers a moment, then suggests they go shopping instead.
Wes points out that it's the middle of the night, maybe it would be better to wait until morning. He then realizes that he's the vampire and couldn't go out in the morning so agrees that it's a good time to go shopping, they should go now.
They open the bedroom door to leave and find Bryce and Benny standing right outside of it. Benny attempts to appear nonchalant.
Wes tells them they're going shopping as he and Virginia walk past.
In the back office at the Hyperion, Cordelia has told Gunn what happened. He reacts with surprise, "At gunpoint?"
She confirms that as she cleans up some files, "Yes, at the point of a gun. He just walked Wesley right out of here and this whole 'I'm Angel' thing is a very, very bad idea. I mean, if I thought that would work, I could have been Angel, because guess what?" She moves to the lobby reception desk as she continues, "Pretty much a girly name!"
Gunn asks where they went.
Cordy doesn't know. She tried to tail them but she lost them.
Gunn asks what the plan is.
Cordy comes up with something, "The plan is, you go get Angel from the Swami place, I track down Wesley. The guy that took him? Pretty distinctive, maybe I could find a criminal record, known associates ... Ooo! Mug shots!" She turns away from Gunn back to the desk and starts working on the computer.
Gunn reckons he should get started, it's likely going to take awhile to find the Swami's place.
A concerned Cordy calls to him, warning him the guy was dangerous, "I really hate to think where Wesley may be right now."
Wes and Virginia are in a high end gallery, specializing in wizard's supplies. Champagne is on ice, symphonic music plays in the background, people mill about examining the goods offered. Wes is impressed with the merchandise selection but concerned the place is a bit open, wondering if Virginia is safe there.
She thinks he should be the one to make that determination.
He remembers he's supposed to be making things safe for her and assures her he'll do his best.
Virginia looks examines an ornate box on display, seeking a gift for her father's 50th birthday.
As she moves over to another display, Wes notes she's looking at talismans.
Virginia says they're images of the goddess Yeska, it's her father's favorite "creepy deity." She asks what he thinks of the gold one.
Wes removes it from the display and examines it. He notes it looks nice, but it's not real gold, one good spell would ruin it. He places it back in the display tray, telling her he'd choose the "iron one."
Virginia thinks he sounds like her father, "He really gets into this stuff. Loves it all, the rituals, magick." They walk across the gallery to another display.
Wes notices she doesn't seem to share he father's enthusiasm for the subject.
She admits she used to, "When I was little. It's been just him and me for a long time. He used to sit me next to him at his desk and teach me about runic incantations or enchanted armor."
Wes asks if he doesn't do it anymore.
As she fingers some small items on a display tray, she answers wistfully, "No. I mean, he still loves the stuff." After a brief pause she adds, "Guy's gotta love something."
Wes reckons he must love her, he's going to great lengths to ensure her safety. As he's talking, he casually rests his hand on a small cross mounted on top of a medieval helmet without noticing.
Virginia says he insures his car too. She notices his hand on the cross and asks rather urgently, "Doesn't that hurt?"
Wes looks at where his hand is resting, jerks it away pretending to be burned and plunges his hand into a nearby ice bucket. He quickly finds the cold not too pleasant either and jerks his hand out of it.
Before Virginia has a chance to think about the inconsistencies, she's approached by two men who address her by name and try to firmly escort her out of the gallery.
Wes tells them to wait.
Virginia calls him "Angel."
One of the guys asks Wes if he's Angel, the vampire. They let go of Virginia.
Wes steps forward melodramatically and removes his glasses, "Yes. Yes, I'm Angel, the vampire with a soul, fighting for my redemption with ... with ... killing evil demons." The guys appear a bit nervous. Wes notices and gets more confident, "That's right, scourge of the demon world. Don't worry boys, I don't kill humans, unless I'm angry." He steps forward as Virginia moves away from her would be kidnappers and over to standing beside Wes.
One of the guys says they were just doing what they were told.
Wes wonders if Lanier was the one who gave them their orders.
The guy confirms that's true.
Wes tells them to go, "Then you're gonna tell Lanier .." He puts his hand to his forehead and pauses, causing the guys to back up a few steps. He puts his hand down, "Forget about the girl. Now go." The guys take his advice and depart.
Wes puts his glasses back on and tells Virginia they should go, it's not safe there. If their adversaries get another chance, things might get rougher.
Outside the cabin, Swami and Angel are battling with the wooden poles. Swami wants to know why Angel is holding back in the fight, what it is he's afraid of.
Angel says he's not.
Swami thinks otherwise, he wants Angel to stop fighting himself and start fighting him.
Angel insists he is fighting.
Swami counters, "Yourself. You're fighting yourself. Fight me!" He lands another blow with the pole. He asks why Angel is holding back, why he can't let it go, then strikes again.
Angel pins him with the pole and answers, "Because, if I let it? It'll kill you."
Swami asks, "It?"
Angel backs off and answers, "The demon."
Swami observes, "Ah, but the demon is you."
Angel denies that, "No."
Swami persists, "Yes! That's the thing you've spent so much energy trying to conceal!"
Angel doesn't want to hear it, "No. I just ... I can't let it control me."
Swami says he understands that then sweeps Angel's legs out from under him with the pole, leaving Angel on the deck, on his back, "You don't think it controls you?" He walks away.
Swami is in the cabin, holding an ice pack to the back of his neck while on the phone with Lanier, "I don't know how long I can keep up this Yoda gag, son of a bitch is strong. Plus, there's something we didn't think about. You know the guy can smell blood."
Lanier asks what he's talking about.
Swami answers, "He's a vampire. It's only a matter of time before he sniffs out where I stashed the real Magev's body. I know you want me to keep him up here for the whole weekend but --"
Lanier interrupts, "Stop, stop, stop. Angel's there?"
Faux Swami says he's right outside, brooding. Angel came up to the cabin after talking to the karaoke host, just as the bartender (Ramone) at the karaoke club said he would. He wonders why Lanier is asking.
Lanier is puzzled, "The vampire's with you? Then who the hell is the English guy?"
At the office, Cordy is cruising through a police database of mug shot photos on the computer, looking for a match to the guy who abducted Wesley.
She gets bored watching the pictures cycle through on the screen and notices a magazine lying next to the computer, the cover of which gets her attention.
She picks up the magazine and searches for the "celeb photos" section. As she's flipping through the pages, she stops when she comes upon a photo of Bryce with his daughter, noticing a familiar face in the background. She recognizes him as the guy who escorted Wes out of the office at gunpoint.
Wes and Virginia arrive back at the house. He hopes she wasn't too frightened by events at the gallery.
Virginia says she's more angry than anything.
Wes notes they were trying to intimidate her.
Virginia clarifies, she's not angry about that specifically, but about all of it. She's tired of living like this.
Wes agrees, "It's a bad situation."
Virginia thinks that's an understatement, "It's a bad situation? It's a waste of a life. I keep waiting for my life to start and it never does."
She turns away from him and continues walking down the hall as she looks around, "There's just more locks, and surveillance cameras and --" She turns the corner and notices two robed figures outside her bedroom door, "Guards? Okay, what is this now? Bedroom guards?"
She storms up to them, angry, "Well, you go back and you tell my dad --"
One of the guys grabs her while another ignites some flash powder and starts to cast a spell on Wes. Wes takes them both on and takes them both out. They run off.
Virginia is impressed as she smiles at Wes, "You were amazing!"
Wes is rather impressed as well, and not a little surprised, "I was, a bit!"
Virginia looks at him, "Your face. You don't go all ... " She scrunches her face up, "... like a regular vampire."
Wes searches for an explanation, "Uh, I suppose I'm .. not like a regular vampire."
At the cabin, Angel and Faux Swami are sitting on the dock, fishing. Angel is in the midst of conversation, "Not a vampire at all, really. They brought her back as human."
Faux Swami isn't convinced, "Really."
Angel clarifies, "Not anymore. They brought her back as human."
Faux Swami wonders, "This Darla girl. Why'd they do that?"
Angel doesn't know, "But seeing her again .. it's just --"
Faux Swami thinks he gets it, "It's triggered the inner struggle."
Angel agrees with that, "Yeah."
Faux Swami continues, "She's not even the one that did this to you."
Angel disagrees, saying she's still Darla, it's just hard to explain.
Faux Swami doesn't think it's that hard, "You're obsessed."
Angel doesn't disagree with that, "I guess I am, a little, yeah."
Faux Swami reckons Angel blames her.
Angel isn't so sure, "I do?"
Faux Swami continues, "You want to punish her."
Angel concedes, "A bit."
Faux Swami goes on, "At the same time you wanna thank her."
Angel isn't sure what he's supposed to be thankful for.
Faux Swami tells him, "For the gift she's given you."
Angel's not convinced, "Gift."
Faux Swami notes Angel is ambivalent.
Angel isn't sure about that either, "Well, I am and I'm not."
Faux Swami offers some advice, "You need to get over her. Okay, what does she look like?"
Angel describes her, "She's beautiful. Small, blonde ..."
Swami has a suggestion, "Right. So here's what you do. You go out and you find yourself some small, blonde thing. Ya bed her. Ya love her. Ya treat her like crap. Ya break her heart. You and your inner demon will thank me, I promise."
Angel's eyes shift uncomfortably as his expression says, 'been there, done that.' All he manages to say is, "Um ..."
Back at Bryce's house, Virginia is sitting on her bed.
Wes walks over and sits next to her as he asks if she's okay after having had two "close calls" that evening.
She's not sure, "I guess so. I don't know. Are we safe now?"
Wes concedes he doesn't know.
She admits sometimes she thinks about running away. She wonders if that sounds a bit silly for a 24 year old woman.
Wes understands, "We all want to escape our lives sometimes."
Virginia muses, "I think about getting my own place. A little apartment, a job, something silly like ... um ... a perfume sprayer? Or, uh, working in a tire store?" She laughs.
Wes laughs and asks "A tire store?"
Virginia realizes it sounds silly.
Wes disagrees, "It sounds wonderful. Rotating tires, inflating ... things." He reckons her father wouldn't allow it.
She concedes that's true, "It's too dangerous. He says they'd grab me in a second and use me to get to him. If you think about it, he's saying that, if I moved out, it would kill him. I'd be responsible."
Wes doesn't quite know what to say as he shakes his head, "That's a huge burden to put on you."
She lays her head on Wesley's shoulder and says she just wants out. She looks up at him.
He looks down at her, she leans up and kisses him.
Wes says her name, they kiss more passionately. As things get more intense, Virginia apologizes as she continues kissing him, "I'm sorry, I know we can't."
Wes wonders why not.
Virginia stops kissing him and answers, "Well, you're a pretty famous guy, Angel. I hear the guards talk sometimes. I know."
Wes asks what she knows.
Virginia continues, "About the curse."
A frustrated Wes realizes this could be a problem, "Ah .. the curse ..." He chuckles, bitterly, as he looks downward.
On the dock, Faux Swami is reacting to what Angel has told him, "Curse?"
Angel didn't realize this was news, "Yeah, I thought you knew."
Faux Swami concedes he doesn't know everything, "So, you really can't ... at all?"
Angel offers feebly, "Well, that's part of what makes me special, right?"
Faux Swami sarcastically notes, "Right. No, that's real special." Off Angel's look he asks, "So it's a sex thing, this curse?"
Angel answers, "No. I mean, not specifically."
Faux Swami wonders, "Well then what, specifically?"
At the Bryce house, Wesley mumbles, "Perfect happiness. Yes. Of course .. um ... Mustn't ..."
Virginia leans in and kisses him. They kiss intensely for a moment, Wes pulls back and mutters, "Mustn't .. let myself .."
Virginia reaches up and removes his glasses then moves in for another kiss.
Wes continues mumbling, "Mustn't let oneself forget ...."
Virginia starts nibbling on his ear as he's getting lost in the passion, "Diabolical .... consequences ... I should ..."
He pulls back a bit, Virginia follows and continues nibbling on his ear. "You know? This whole curse thing's been widely misinterpreted."
Virginia asks, "Really?"
Wes answers, his voice high pitched and breathless, "Oh, yes!" He pulls himself together a bit, "Less ... of a curse .. more of a hex, actually .. barely there!" He grabs her and kisses her.
Virginia stops and asks him if he's sure he's telling the truth.
He says he wants to be honest with her, about everything, "I'm not --"
She kisses him, halting all conversation as they sink down onto the bed.
Gunn pulls his truck to a stop next to Angel's car in front of the Swami's cabin. It's day, the sun is bright. He gets out of the truck, calls out and is greeted by Faux Swami who comes around the side of the cabin. He walks up to Gunn, asking if he's come seeking "enlightenment."
Gunn says he's looking for Angel and asks if he's with Swami.
Faux Swami answers, "Well, he was until the sun came up, then ..." He points behind himself, "See that pile of dust over there?"
Gunn looks toward where Faux Swami was pointing. He laughs, telling Gunn he was just kidding, Angel is inside. He invites Gunn to go in.
Gunn isn't amused by the 'joke'. As he walks past Faux Swami, headed toward the cabin, Swami punches him and knocks him out.
Angel comes out onto the covered porch, "Which lesson was that, exactly?
Faux Swami tries to cover, "He was not your friend. I sensed danger."
Angel isn't buying, "Where's the real T'ish Magev? Did you kill him? Did you put him in the lake?"
Faux Swami chuckles as he stands in the bright sunlight, "Something like that. But ya know what? Somehow I'm not that worried about you right now seeing as you can't get any closer." He opens his arms and looks upward, "Ah, wonderful sunshine." He looks back toward Angel, "Wish you were here." He laughs and turns his back.
Angel picks up a fishing pole and casts the line, catching Faux Swami in the mouth with the hook and spinning him around. Angel reels the guy into the shade of the porch and morphs into game face.
Faux Swami asks what he's doing.
Angel grabs him and pulls him toward the door, "Getting in touch with my inner demon."
At Bryce's, Virginia and Wesley are in bed. She's on her side, her back to him, sleeping. Wes is awake, propped up on his side, watching her.
Virginia's bedroom door opens. Wes cautiously peers out into the hall. He turns and kisses Virginia, who's standing behind him, then sneaks on down the hallway. Virginia closes her bedroom door.
Cordy rushes up to Wes, relieved to have found him.
A surprised Wes asks how she got into the house.
She says she told Bryce's people she worked for Angel and they let her in, he's got everyone scared around there, "It's like they don't even know you're a shemp."
Virginia comes out into the hall.
Cordy recognizes her from the photo in the magazine and address her by name.
Virginia asks who she is.
Wes introduces Cordy and explains that she works for him. He tries to get rid of Virginia, noting he left his coat in the bedroom.
She offers to retrieve it and goes back to her room.
Cordy grabs Wes by the hand, she wants to beat a hasty retreat.
Wes tells her he's not going with her.
Cordelia spells it out for him, she came to rescue him. She tries again to drag him out.
Wes still refuses to go, telling her he has a job to do.
Cordy can't believe this, "What is wrong with you? You've got, like, delusions of Angel! You're not him. You can't do stuff on your own."
Cordy looks over Wesley's shoulder and notices Bryce, Benny and one of the robed guards coming toward them, "Oh, God."
She smiles as she effusively greets Bryce and shakes his hand, "Oh, hey! Mr. Bryce! I've seen your picture!" She looks toward Benny and keeps smiling, "And I remember you from the armed abduction."
Wes says he had Cordy test the security and wonders if Bryce knows that the guards just let her in.
Bryce says he told them to, "I wanted my daughter to hear someone call you by your real name."
Virginia has come back out into the hall and takes up a position next to Wes. She wants to know what her father is talking about.
Bryce says he got a call from an anonymous friend who provided some information, "This guy isn't Angel."
Wes continues to insist he is as Benny drags him into the sunlight streaming through the window at the end of the hall. Wes plays it out for a bit, "I am so Angel! Not the sun! For I am a vampire! Oh! Oh! Ohhhh! It burns!" He throws his hands up over his face to protect himself from the sun.
Cordy's expression indicates he should give it up.
Virginia is confused, "You're not Angel."
Wes quietly admits it, "My name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."
She's angry, "I talked to you. I trusted you. You lied to me." She pauses a moment as Wes looks dejected. She continues, "Come to think of it, you actually put my life in danger. I was walking around thinking I had vampire protection. Here's the funny part, I thought I had a friend." She hands him his coat and walks away.
Cordy walks up to Wes, "Wow. You kinda screwed her over, huh?"
Bryce tells Wes to leave his house and "take the piece with you."
As one of the robed guards pushes them toward the door, Cordy loudly objects to being referred to as "the piece."
Benny tells Bryce he should have let him kill Wes if he was just going to let him go.
Bryce isn't happy with that opinion. He slams Benny into the wall, "Never tell me what to do! Never! You brought me the wrong guy. You risked the whole sacrifice, you understand?" He slaps Benny upside the head and walks away from him, "But I'm not gonna kill you 'cause I need you now, Benny."
He walks over to a stone altar in the center of the room, adorned with candles and skulls carved into it, "It's only a few hours till the sacrifice. You understand the need for security in this. This is the party of my life." He picks up a set of chains which are cemented into the floor of the altar on one end and attached to manacles at the other. He looks at Benny, "Obviously Virginia's too."
Wes is sitting on the steps of the lobby at the Hyperion. Cordy joins him, lamenting their recent humiliation.
Angel and Gunn come in. Angel is assisting Gunn whose a bit unsteady on his feet.
Cordy asks what happened as Angel helps Gunn to the poof couch then sits next to him.
Angel tells her Gunn got hit.
Cordelia checks Gunn and asks if it was the Swami who hit him, noting Swamis aren't supposed to hit.
Angel notices Wes and asks why he's wearing his coat.
Wes asks if the T'ish Magev was the one who hit Gunn.
Angel explains what happened at the cabin about the fake killing the real Swami and taking his place.
Wes asks if Angel found out who hired the guy.
Angel says he couldn't get it out of him.
Wes gets to his feet, putting it all together.
Angel looks at Wes, then the others, "That is my coat, right?"
Wes paces as he sums it up, "It has to be Paul Lanier. He thought that would keep Virginia unprotected, then when his men couldn't take me out, he tipped off Bryce that I wasn't Angel. He hoped Bryce would get me out of the way."
Angel is confused, "What's going on? Were you in Virginia?" (He's thinking state of here).
Wes answers curtly, "That's beside the point."
Cordy explains to Angel, "He was posing as you, protecting a girl named Virginia. This guy, Lanier, is trying to kill her, or abduct her, or something."
Wes continues pacing, noting Virginia is at the party, she could be in danger.
Gunn wonders what party Wes is talking about.
Wes says it's her father's birthday, "A big wizard event. Cake, ice cream, tributes to the goddess Yeska."
Angel is familiar with Yeska, he says she's not a goddess.
Cordy asks what he means.
Angel answers, she's a Davrik demon.
Wes notes that Davriks don't serve humans unless they offer a sacrifice.
Gunn asks about that.
Wes explains Davrik demons eat live sacrifices, usually a girl offered on the 50th birthday of the one seeking the power. As he's explaining it to Gunn, it dawns on him that Virginia is to be that sacrifice.
Cordy wonders why Lanier is trying to abduct her.
Angel notes Bryce will gain a lot of power from the sacrifice.
Wes takes charge, saying they need to go. He tells Angel to go to the back of the house with Gunn, he and Cordelia will go in the front.
Angel reaches out and touches his arm, "Wesley?"
Wes acknowledges that Angel is the boss, he should make the plan. He asks Angel what he wants to do.
Angel considers it a moment, then says he and Gunn could take the back.
Wes heads out, the others follow. As they leave, Angel tentatively asks Wes if he could get his coat back.
At the Bryce house, the party is in full swing. Virginia stops in front of the candlelit altar and asks Benny, "What is this horrible thing? I hope a girl isn't going to jump out of it or something."
Benny offers a not particularly helpful, "Not really."
Bryce taps a spoon on an empty champagne glass, calling everyone's attention. He thanks them for coming on this special occasion, "My feelings .. my feelings run almost too deep for words, but I'll try to do this, and do it right."
Virginia asks Benny what her father is talking about as Bryce lights a candle set amongst several skulls, glasses and wine bottles on a table beneath a "Happy 50th" banner. The lights dim as he begins the incantation, "Yeska, of the razor eyes and stone heart. Take this offering. I cast my most precious emerald into the ocean on the moment of my birth plus fifty years."
Virginia asks what he's doing.
Benny and one of the robed guards grab her wrists and chain her to the altar as she tells her father to stop them. Bryce ignores her protestations, continuing the incantation, "Let her death return, tenfold, unto me my power."
Virginia demands her father make his employees stop what they're doing.
Bryce suggests she be a good girl, this is already difficult enough.
As Benny tightens her bonds, he tells her Bryce is "really torn about it."
She screams for somebody to help her, but nobody makes a move to do so.
Bryce walks up to her, dips his thumb into a bowl of clear liquid then marks Virginia's forehead with it. He steps back from her as she glares at him.
Angel and the gang enter the house, led by Wesley. Wes orders Bryce to release Virginia "or die."
Angel asks, "Don't I say that?"
Bryce calls to the guards. Fight ensues between the robed security guys and the gang as the guests run for the exit.
Wes manages to beat down the robed guy he's fighting, then punches Benny out and frees Virginia.
Bryce crouches behind the table and finishes the incantation, summoning Yeska, as the fighting continues.
A strong wind blows through the house, preceding a bright flash of light, an electrical discharge and the appearance of Yeska, floating above Virginia. Yeska reaches toward her, "The sacrifice ..." Virginia pulls away. Yeska draws her arms back inward, angry, "... is impure!" She screams and disappears in a blinding flash of light.
Gunn wants to know what's going on.
Wes tells Virginia they should go.
She asks why he returned.
Wes reminds her he'd said he'd protect her as he helps her to her feet.
Bryce realizes something, "She's impure? She's not a virgin?" He looks at Wes accusingly then walks toward him, "You!"
It then dawns on Gunn what's just happened as he looks at Cordy, "Whoa! That's what impure meant?"
Cordy looks at Virginia, "She slept with him?"
Bryce blames Wes, "You were supposed to be Angel. This wouldn't have happened. That's why I hired him. He's a eunuch."
That gets Angel's attention, "Eunuch?"
Cordelia is still stuck on the fact Wes got lucky, "You slept with her?"
Wes tries to explain to Bryce that sometimes things just happen.
Virginia asks what he's talking about.
Bryce tells Wes his daughter was a virgin before he got there.
Virginia sets him straight, "I was not a virgin!"
Wes is relieved to hear it, muttering, "Oh, thank goodness."
Gunn says he could have told them that.
Angel's still stuck on the "eunuch" thing, "Not a eunuch."
Cordy's still processing Wes getting lucky, "One day. One day as Angel and he's getting some."
Bryce wonders how it could be Virginia wasn't a virgin since he kept her away from men.
Angel is muttering, "I mean, the curse isn't even all that clear."
Virginia fills him in, "Daddy, you remember that chauffeur, from when I was 16? And the one at 18?" She gets in his face, "I haven't been a virgin for a very long time." She glances over Bryce's shoulder, "I even dated Rick."
Everyone turns to the sound of the floor squeaking as one of the robed guys skulks out of the room.
Bryce suggests Virginia not make him mad.
She doesn't see what more he can do to her. He was planning to kill her a little while ago. She punches him and knocks him to the floor, tells him he's no longer her father and storms out of the room.
Angel looks down at Bryce, "I'm not a eunuch."
Angel is sitting behind his desk in the back office at the Hyperion. Cordy comes in and shoves an article at him containing an accompanying photograph of Wes and Virginia, out on the town.
Angel looks it over and reads the photo caption, "Virginia Bryce, squired by Mr. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, private detective and bodyguard to the stars." Angel scoffs, "Squired. Who says 'squired'?" He sets the clipping down on the desk.
Cordy isn't liking it, "Look at him, all over her!"
Angel picks the clipping up and looks at it again. He reckons Cordy is just unhappy because Wes is getting some attention.
Cordy doesn't deny it, "Damn skippy! He's getting famous off this. Reflected glory, that's my thing!"
Angel suggests she get a little perspective. Cordelia leaves.
Angel looks at the article and scoffs at the caption describing Wesley as "bodyguard to the stars." He expresses a bit of irritation himself, "Yeah, right." He reads a bit more then adds, "There's no "Wyndam-Pryce Agency."
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