wesleynotponcy | Cordelia's Apartment And Beyond | Los Angeles, CA

As it turned out, the news that the excruciatingly painful and physically-manifested visions currently plaguing Cordelia were not, in fact, coming from the Powers That Be, but rather from the malevolent forces at Lilah Morgan's disposal at Wolfram and Hart was... both a relief and an additional problem. It was a comfort to Cordelia, who no longer had to worry that the Powers were punishing her somehow or using the physical manifestations to express the urgency of a problem she was failing to solve. But it was also problematic in that they now appeared to be well and truly trapped in working for their decidedly evil mortal enemies.

Angel	The door to Cordy's apartment slammed open and Angel stepped inside -- still holding the key and the coin he'd presumably meant to return to Lilah. Wesley wasn't at all surprised that he still had them. "You found anything about how these things are supposed to be used?"
Wesley	"I think so," Wesley said, briefly setting aside his book. While Angel had stormed off to confront Counselor Morgan, under the impression that the key and the coin were all she was looking for in order to cease holding these torturous visions over Cordelia's head, Wesley had been looking into the artifacts, presuming preemptively that Lilah was looking for a bit more than just the items themselves. It appeared he was correct. "Something you probably won't like to hear is that both artifacts are considered objects of good."
Angel	Wes was right; Angel really didn't like hearing that. "Oh," he said. "So the guys I beat up to get each of them were..."
Wesley	"Also aligned with the forces of good," Wesley confirmed.
Angel	"Damn it," Angel muttered. "So hard to tell these days. They should wear lapel pins or something."
Wesley	Wes, for once, was not in the mood to snark about this. "Well," he said. "In the meantime: the inscriptions on the key and the coin match. They actually work together to transport you in and out of another dimension."
Angel	"That would be where Lilah's sending me," Angel confirmed. "She wants me to pick up a prisoner." The contempt in his voice was pretty intense. "I don't suppose we know anything about what this dimension is like," he said. "Besides fortressy and demony."
Wesley	"Well, based on the burn scars Cordelia received from her last vision," Wesley said, "I'd imagine fire is not out of the question. And if this person is imprisoned, I imagine there may be guards."
Angel	"Fire and guards," Angel repeated, and he turned to leave the room.
Wesley	Wesley, however, had other ideas, and he got up to follow Angel. "I don't need to explain to you that if Wolfram and Hart are behind this mission it can't be good." Angel turned to look at Wes, processed that, and then continued right on out of the room. "Just because Lilah tells you that this man is wrongly imprisoned doesn't make it so. Nor do I have to explain to you that helping them violates everything you stand for."
Angel	"Right," Angel confirmed, looking thoroughly undaunted.
Wesley	"Good," said Wesley, because this was the part where he steeled his shoulders and said what he'd been thinking about ever since he'd realized this was the situation. "Then I shouldn't have to convince you to let me go with you."
Angel	"Right," Angel said-- before abruptly realizing what he'd just authorized and quickly backtracking. "No! Wesley, I need you to stay here in case anything goes wrong." And he might not have been the boss anymore, but there was no arguing with the expression on his face. "Now." He held up the key and the coin. "Show me how it works."
Wesley	Wesley was surprisingly fine with Angel not allowing him to go along. It wasn't as though there was ever anything appealing about visiting a demon dimension, and Angel was right: it was important to have someone on this end who knew about solving these things. "I believe it's fairly straightforward," he said, getting up from Cordelia's couch and taking the artifacts from Angel. The gesture felt, well, extraordinarily silly, but all he had to do was insert the key into the hole of the coin, and a portal began to form in the floor below it. Wesley tossed the tools onto the ground at Angel's feet. "This should take you there and bring you back," he said loudly over the whirring of the portal. "You're certain I can't come with you?"
Angel	Angel shook his head. "Take care of Cordy," he said, and with one last look at Wes, and a haul of his weapons bag over his shoulder, he took a step closer to the spinning key on the ground and was promptly sucked up into the portal.
Wesley	Wesley just looked at the spot from which the portal had disappeared for a moment. Then he set his jaw and headed back into Cordelia's bedroom, where he could speak to Fred and Gunn about the arrangements for phase two.

After Angel set off to help the evil lawfirm release a dangerous prisoner back onto Earth, it was only a short while before Wesley's phone rang to alert him to the fact that Angel was back, had the prisoner with him, and needed a meeting set up with Lilah. Wesley took care of the arrangements very quickly, which was how he found himself in Angel's car along with Angel, Gunn and a convicted evildoer in the middle of the highway, parked opposite two Wolfram and Hart limousines as they prepared to make a trade.

Angel	"You know what to do if anything goes wrong?" Angel checked with Gunn before he got out of the car.
Gunn	Gunn held up his gun to the ex-prisoner's head and nodded. "Pop goes the weasel," he said.
Angel and Lilah	With that, Angel got out of the car and walked toward Lilah, who had since left her own car and was now standing among a herd of bodyguards, looking smug. "To be honest?" Lilah said. "Nobody at the firm thought that you could do it -- except me. You're a remarkable man, Angel."
Angel	"Yeah," Angel growled, "and you're an evil bitch. Let's finish this. Take care of Cordelia -- you get your guy."
Lilah	Eyebrows raised, Lilah stepped toward one of the limos -- the opposite one as the one she'd come from -- and conferred briefly with someone seated in there. "This should only take a moment," she said, the pointed into the car and mouthed, "Private contractor."
Wesley	Only once Lilah nodded at them did Wesley pick up his phone and call Fred, who was waiting with Cordelia to ensure the transaction was completed. "Is it done?" he asked, in lieu of a greeting.
Fred	It took Fred a moment to go into Cordy's room and get a good look at her previously-scarred face, but eventually she gave a sigh of relief. "It worked," Fred confirmed. "Wesley, she's all right."
Wesley	Wesley let out a little breath of relief as well, but now wasn't the time to dwell. "Thank you," he told Fred before clicking his phone shut; with that, he stood up and nodded to Angel and then to Gunn, giving the final signal for them to give Lilah back her prisoner.
Gunn	With a weapon trained on Lilah the entire time, Gunn stepped out of the car and then led the prisoner, whose hands were tied in front of him, over to Lilah. He didn't say anything, but he thought the contempt in his expression was sufficient to at least maybe bother her a little.
Lilah	"It's just business," said Lilah, evidently pleased with herself.
Angel	With that, Angel stopped in his tracks, seized a piece of rebar from a trash pile on the ground, and flung it through the back window of the limo containing Lilah's "private contractor." The window shattered, and seconds later a bloodied head landed against the windowsill with a thump -- Angel had aimed perfectly. "Yeah," he said. "Business." With that, he did return to his car, where Gunn was now in the passenger's seat and Wesley in the back. "By the way, Lilah?" he called. "You play that card again -- you try to get at me through Cordelia -- and I'll kill you." And with that, he sped away.