“Man In The Box”

“I'm the man in the box
Buried in my shit
Won't you come and save me, save me

Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut?
Jesus Christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted
Feed my eyes now you've sewn them shut

I'm the dog who gets beat
Shove my nose in shit
Won't you come and save me, save me

Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut?
Jesus Christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted
Feed my eyes now you've sewn them shut” Alice In Chains (“Man In The Box” Facelift 1990)


Buffy stared silently into the murky depths of her coffee. She had barely touched it and the drink had long since grown cold. Her mind raced with all of the new information that the newly returned Cordelia had imparted. A part of Buffy wanted to discount everything the former cheerleader had said. The Cordelia that Buffy remembered was shallow, vapid, and thought of no one but herself. Here, in L.A. however, Cordelia was the heart of the group. It was amazing to watch how they all interacted with each other. There was a sense of respect and maturity that seemed to be lacking in her own group of friends. These people relied on each other and they helped each other. Sure there were times when things fell apart, but they somehow managed to come together and actually work through their problems. It was a dynamic that Buffy envied. If she had had that connection with her friends then she could have easily told them her true feelings regarding Spike. With the way things were now, if Buffy had told her friend’s about Spike, they would have staged an intervention and tried to get her to come to her senses. They knew what was best for her after all.

Snorting at her thoughts, Buffy sat her cold coffee down on the table before her. Looking around her small hotel room, Buffy could see the shock that she was feeling clearly mirrored in the faces of the others. Wesley, Charles, and Giles all had rather large helpings of Scotch, while Lorne sipped at his fifth Sea breeze. Cordelia had a smaller glass of Scotch in her hands and Willow and Dawn both had coffee as well. Unlike Buffy and Willow, Dawn’s coffee was not laced with any alcohol despite her rather vocal request.

“I can’t believe it.” Buffy muttered. “Angel would never….I mean…”

“Well believe it.” Cordelia snapped. “Angel has a habit of thinking he knows what is best. This time, he went way to far.”

“But Angel’s always tried to help people.” Willow said trying to wrap her head around the unsettling story she had been told.

“Well, it is rather uncharacteristic of him.” Giles began, while idly cleaning his glasses. A rude disgusted snort came from were Dawn was sitting.

“Oh please!” Dawn protested. “Captain Forehead is forever and always taking the easy way out.”

“That’s not true!” Buffy denied. She quickly shrank back from the glares the L.A group and Dawn sent her way. Willow and Giles merely looked puzzled.

“He so takes the easy way out!” Cordelia seconded. “The bastard had his friend’s and his son’s minds wiped clean! Without their permission! Then there’s what he is doing to Spike! I honestly do not know how you can sit there and defend him.”

“Well, he did leave so that Buffy could have a normal life.” Dawn said. “Oh wait, that was his decision. He never once discussed that with you.”

“Of course! Angel’s a Champion for the Powers. He can do no wrong.” Came Cordelia’s response. Sarcasm dripped from her words, matching the disdain easily prominent in Dawn’s.

“I’m sure there was a good reason.” Buffy stated. She refused to believe that Angel was the egotistical monster his supposed friends believed him to be. It simply could not be possible. The Angel she knew always had everyone’s best interest at heart. Buffy truly believed that there was something else going on with Angel. He would never hurt someone out of malice. Even if that someone was Spike.

“Right. It was for our own good.” Wesley sated flatly. The bitter tone and hostile look in his eyes stopped Buffy, Willow, and Giles cold. They had seen glimpses of this new Wesley from time to time but never fully directed towards them.

“I’m positive that was the reason why someone I considered to be my best friend tried to kill me after I had had my throat slit trying to do what I thought was right. Of course him having my memories stolen from me was simply his way of working through our issues.”

Slamming his glass down onto the table, Wesley quickly stood and headed for the door. Turning back, he directed his chilly gaze towards Buffy.

“Of course if you want to keep on defending a man who would not only do such a thing but would also nearly kill one of the Power’s new Champions simply because he’s jealous, then by all means, continue.”

The soft click of the door echoed through out the silent room. Buffy, Willow and Giles seemed stunned while the rest of the group, including Dawn, seemed to take that as confirmation of their beliefs. One by one the L.A crew quietly set their glasses down and followed Wesley’s example. With one last disgusted glance Dawn stood as well and quietly followed the others from the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You called boss?”

Looking up at the unfamiliar voice, Angel was presented with a rather large man. He had close cropped light brown hair and wore an expensive tailored suit. He gave off an air of arrogance and superiority even though it was Angel he was calling boss.

“Who are you? Where’s Eve?” Angel asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. He had never like surprises and this was certainly not what he had expected.

“I’m Hamilton, your new liaison to the Senior Partners. Eve is indisposed at the moment.” Came his casual reply.

“Do you have what I asked for?”

“Of course sir.” Stepping forward, Hamilton set a small hypodermic needle on Angel’s desk. It was filled with an innocent looking clear liquid. Angel was very careful to not actually touch the needle.

“That’s all I need. You can leave now.”

Nodding, Hamilton turned and left the office without another word. Once the door was closed, he quickly pulled out a cell phone and dialed.

“It’s been delivered.” Smiling, Hamilton hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket. The arrogant vampire had no idea what sort of game he was playing.