•••

"Bloody hell!"

Xander winced as something fragile shattered against Wil and Wesley's bedroom door. Oz simply raised an eyebrow and backed away from that end of the flat. "Um…who's on the phone?" Xander asked as he joined the werewolf on the far side of the front room.

"Angel," Oz replied. "Bad news, I guess." They both turned as Wesley crept into the flat.

"What on earth was that noise?" Wesley asked as he stepped inside.

"Wil's on the phone with Angel," Xander whispered. "It doesn't sound good."

"No, it certainly doesn't." The three investigators whirled around to see Rupert Giles leaning against the doorframe.

"You followed me!" Wesley hissed at his one-time colleague.

Giles shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood." He stepped into the flat and closed the door. "You've not exactly been invisible."

Wesley winced. "It's difficult to stay out of sight and find out what needs to be known."

"Perhaps," Giles replied. "Why is Spi—er, Wil, breaking objects against his bedroom door?"

"Search me," Xander snorted. "Angel called, Wil closed the door, and then stuff started flying."

Wil chose that moment to throw the phone against the door. Oz knew it was the phone because the low, indecipherable buzzing he knew to be Angel's voice stopped abruptly after the last crash. "He's off the phone now," The werewolf announced. Xander looked over at Oz for a moment before approaching the door.

"Waiting may be a prudent approach at this juncture," Giles remarked. "Your fearless leader doesn't appear to be in a very…positive state of mind."

Xander stopped. "Ok." He turned his attention to Giles. "So, any particular reason why you followed Wesley?"

Giles frowned. "It struck me as unusual to find him in London, when he was formerly a resident of Los Angeles. Rumors that he had been accompanied by American demons piqued my interest."

"That's all?" Wesley murmured. "You got curious?"

"Wouldn't you have been curious if I had just appeared in Los Angeles, asking difficult questions?" Giles shot back.

Xander grinned. "Point. You know, he might know something."

Wesley shook his head. "He's too close to the fold."

"Is he?" Oz inquired. "Are you sure?"

"Too close to the fold?" Giles echoed. "The Watchers' Council? What do they have to do with this?"

Wesley closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. His shoes were killing him, so he kicked them off. Giles' eyes widened briefly at the sight of hooves, before he regained his composure. "Our former employer has everything to do with why we're here."

"How so?" Giles inquired. "They have no real contact with Angel. Actually, they'd much like to see…"

"They're being controlled by our enemy number one," Xander explained. "The Slayer might fight big, apocalyptic evil on the Hellmouth, but in Los Angeles we fight the demonic lawyer mafia—who's expanded to London."

"Actually, the Slayer isn't in Sunnydale anymore," Wil said from the doorway.

"WHAT!" Xander, Wesley and Giles shouted in unison. The blonde vampire slumped against the doorframe, looking haggard and drawn.

"Buffy is in Los Angeles, at the Hyperion."

Suddenly, Wil's tantrum made sense—to everyone. "Um…why?" Xander asked tentatively.

Wil grinned ruefully. "It seems that Mr. Finn and his associates have chosen to return to Sunnydale, to resume patrolling the Hellmouth. No mad scientists, just a hundred or so trained soldiers. They didn't want the Slayer's interference, so she packed up Dawn and Willow and showed up on Angel's doorstep."

"Oh shit," Xander whispered. "So…"

"So now she's learning all about Wolfram & Hart," Wil replied.

"Is that a good idea? I mean, she's not really good at…" Xander began.

"What else are they going to do with her?" Wil asked. "She needs something to fight, and the Watchers aren't watching out for her anymore."

"All she has to do is ask, and they'll help her again," Giles said.

Wil snorted. "Right over a cliff. If the Watchers knew that she was going to be fighting Wolfram & Hart, they'd either recall her or kill her."

"Why?" Giles asked.

"Remember the big evil that is controlling The Council? That's Wolfram & Hart, and their London branch," Xander supplied.

Giles shook his head. "I understand that you don’t have the best relationship with The Council, but this idea of it being infiltrated by evil is simply—" Giles was cut off by Wesley.

"I don't like it either, but it's the truth. We have proof—a lot of it. It goes all the way to the top. Wolfram & Hart were responsible for placing Buffy at the Hellmouth," Wesley replied.

"But her family simply moved there. We had nothing to do with it," Giles protested.

"Actually, the law firm manipulated Joyce to get her to move to Sunnydale. The Hellmouth was causing them problems, since it was uncontained. The Mayor was a thorn in their sides," Wesley replied calmly.

"I want to see this proof," Giles insisted. Wesley nodded and gestured to Xander to boot up a computer. Meanwhile, Oz went to the kitchen to warm up some blood for Wil. Once it was ready, he waited for the vampire next to Wil's door. The blonde sighed and followed him inside.

"Thanks," Wil said as he sat down on the bed and sipped his meal. Oz nodded and began to pick up the debris on the floor. "He says that nothing's happened."

"You doubt him?" Oz asked as he cleaned.

"Not him, but her? She's…" Wil murmured over his blood. It's just too convenient. We're at half-strength, weak, and all of a sudden the love of his life shows up on his doorstep."

"Did it?" Oz inquired. Wil looked sharply at him, but said nothing. The werewolf remained silent as he finished up cleaning. Wil stared at the floor, grumbling quietly. He knew he was overreacting, but what else could he do? Buffy was there, with Angel. It didn't matter what they'd said to each other in the past; she was there now, available, willing…and she knew that they could get together without any soul-endangering consequences. It sent chills down his spine and made his unbeating heart quiver in fear. He couldn't lose Angel. He just couldn't.

"Remember what you told Angel." Wil frowned at Oz.

"What?"

Oz sighed. "About distractions, trust, and quests for redemption?" He didn't like talking this much to Wil about such things. Actually, the only people he'd ever talked to much were Willow, Devon and Xander. Devon and Xander were the only ones he had ever really opened up to.

Wil nodded. He'd been the one to tell Angel that what they had wasn't a temptation to wander from their quests, but instead a way to make sure they didn't—both of them wanted the same thing, both out of life and out of each other. He had to have a little more faith in his Sire. "What about Giles?" He asked, changing the subject.

Oz shrugged. "Ask Wesley." He wasn't sure about the ex-Watcher. Gunn and Fred had informed them when they'd returned to LA that Giles had gone back to England, again, hopefully for a permanent stay. The older man felt that his presence wasn't good for the Slayer—after all, she'd expressed repeatedly that she wanted to grow up and be treated like an adult. How was that possible when someone was always around to be the responsible one? Now Giles was, if the situation was as Oz saw it, thick into their problems. Maybe that was a good thing—he was the best of his kind, and reliable help was always appreciated.

•••

When Wil returned to the main room, he found Giles staring at a computer screen, which had a scrolling marquee screensaver proclaiming the sexual prowess of Raphe demons. "Well?" He asked Wesley and Xander.

"He took it rather well, all things considered," Wesley replied quietly, sipping a cup of tea. It had only taken the better part of eight hours to run through all the information that Cordelia and her small army of researchers had compiled, along with the new information that the London gang had acquired. He and Xander had also filled Giles in on the general climate of the LA situation and group dynamics—it seemed like a good thing to do if Giles was going to be working with them very much. After they'd finished, the older Watcher had fallen silent, sitting in a chair facing the computer as though pondering all the ills of the universe.

"How long has he been sitting like that?" Wil asked. Giles really didn't look that good; he was a bit pale and a deep worry line had appeared on his forehead.

"Oh, about an hour now. He did start breathing fairly quickly, and we've only had to provide him with one spiked cup of tea," Xander answered. "I'd have thought he would have wanted more than that."

"You have execrable taste in whisky," Giles murmured. "Else I would have just taken the bottle."

"Ah," Wil murmured. Well, Xander did have bad taste in whisky, and the Raphe'd been the one to purchase it. "So…"

"How did this go so long unnoticed?" Giles whispered. "My god, this could span decades, generations. All those Slayers…"

Xander looked confused. "Lost me there, G-man."

"Don't call me that," Giles said absently. "If this law firm has a significant influence on the Council, then they could have been the ones to place several Slayers in…difficult situations. Ones that cost them their lives. Each Slayer that is called must be trained—the more frequently that occurs, the less effective the Slayers are, since they never reach proficiency."

Realization hit Xander. "So they're trying to keep the Slayers on the amateur level, and when Buffy messed up that plan, they kept her isolated on the Hellmouth."

"Habitrail," Oz summarized.

Wesley frowned. "Habitrail?"

"Yeah—the hamster tube and box system. Keep the Slayer entertained on the Hellmouth while you watch and laugh at her. Like a fishbowl or a cage at the zoo," Xander said disgustedly.

"So what do we do about it?" Wil inquired.

"I have no idea," Giles said softly. "None at all."

The five men sat in the main room, staring at the walls, for another hour or so. Each of them could think of several alternatives, none of them the least bit pleasant. They could try an all-out assault, but that wouldn't do much but get them killed. They could just drop the whole thing, but then they wouldn't be able to live with themselves. The options continued on and on.

"Perhaps that whisky wasn't so bad after all," Giles commented eventually. He poured himself a teacup full and swallowed it in two gulps, not even bothering to grimace.

"We need the others," Wil said firmly. He had the beginnings of an idea that might work, but it was going to take more than the five of them to carry out.

Wil dialed Angel's cell phone and hoped that he had the blasted thing turned on. After a few rings, he heard the curt tones of his lover. "Angel?" He waited for the dark vampire to respond. "We need to talk."

•••

"They're going to see what they can do," Wil said as he hung up the phone. "There are some logistical things to work out."

"Like who's going to take care of any LA-based visions Cordelia has while she's over here?" Xander inquired.

"Buffy could do that," Wesley murmured. "Although it would be difficult for her."

"Angel said that Lorne was quite taken with the Slayer," Wil said in reply. "He's organizing Willow's treatment, and is watching Dawn when she's not in school."

"I suppose he could find her some backup muscle," Xander stated. "And he's not bad in a fight himself. When are they going to get back to us?"

"Whenever Angel's discussed it with Cordelia, Gunn, Fred, Buffy and the others," Wil answered. "It will probably be a few days."

"So, what's your idea?" Xander asked. "I know you have one."

Wil smirked. "Coup."

Giles' eyebrows rose into his hairline. "Care to explain?"

"We can't fight this battle—a bunch of demons and an ex-Watcher? The Council would have a field day. What we need to do is 'foment a rebellion.' Specifically, we need to cause an upheaval in the Council, so that the loyalists run out the established, but morally weaker, leaders," Wil explained.

"Ah. And how are we supposed to accomplish that?" Wesley inquired.

"Information," Wil snapped lightly. "Which is, if the media can be believed, power. Feed the young bucks information—good, solid information. Niggling doubts, if you will. Things that expose their superiors as compromised. Things that show how Easton, Ginnis & Ralls are manipulating them. Stuff that causes revolution."

"That's going to take some serious work," Xander commented.

"Thus the need for reinforcements," Giles said. "Actually, I may have a colleague or two who would be willing to help," He added quietly.

"Didn't Ethan Rayne escape from that military prison?" Xander asked with a shudder. "That guy is seriously…well, you weren't talking about him, were you?"

Giles just smirked. Oz shuddered.

"Are you sure getting him involved is a good idea?" Wesley inquired. "He's dangerous and can't be trusted."

"I'm well aware of that," Giles replied smoothly. "And I do not recall mentioning any newfound trust in Mr. Rayne."

"Ah," Wil murmured. "We will need to find a larger flat. Either that or start sharing beds."

"I'll go get a paper," Xander responded, running for the door. There was no way he was sharing his bed with anyone but Oz. Ever.

"Do you think this plan could really work?" Wesley asked Wil once the door had closed behind Xander.

"It's going to take a lot of work," Wil replied seriously, looking over at Giles and Oz. "Giles, you and Wesley are going to have to work on your contacts. No one can know that it's us feeding the information. Oz, you'll be working with the others at gathering info and moving it around."

"What about you and Angel?" Wesley asked.

Wil grimaced. "We won't be out much at all—we're too easily recognized. Don't worry, though, we'll stay busy with this project too—Xander will probably start having visions again, and who knows? Cordelia may begin to see things in London instead of LA."

"That would be far too simple," Giles replied softly. "Besides, that would leave Buffy with nothing to do in Los Angeles, and nothing is more dangerous than a bored Slayer."

The very thought of a bored Buffy made everyone quiver in fear. She could destroy all they'd managed to accomplish with a few well-placed kicks. "Actually, I think that Angel has managed to impress upon her the importance of staying out of Wolfram & Hart's way—he told her about how they could take away Dawn, frame her for murder, and commit Willow, all in one afternoon."

"That would certainly keep her in line," Giles said.

"I hope so," Wil whispered.