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After a quick trip though a mystic portal to deposit Sekhmet's sarcophagus in the Deeper Well the
group returns to home, hoping for real chance to rest. Across town at the Wolfram & Hart offices, rival lawyers
Travis McCauley and Alexandra Morelli are having a heated argument in Alexandra's office. In the midst of the debate
Andrew Cross enters the room, interrupting the exchange. Cross tells Travis that he is wanted downstairs and proceeds
to lead the lawyer towards the elevators, leaving Alexandra to wonder what is going on. Cross and Travis arrive in the
Research and Development area of Wolfram & Hart where they join the Count and Dr. Maalik, who is examining a large
piece of rock that was apparently retrieved from the wreckage of Sekhmet's mountain sanctuary. Maalik turns and confirms
that the rock contains what they are looking for, at which point the Count reaches out, his hand phasing through the rock,
and promptly pulls a figure out from within it. As the figure stands we see that it is the former Dusk Lord and Sekhmet's
second, Keri Prescott. The Count welcomes Keri to Wolfram & Hart.
The group are having breakfast at the dining room table when Patrick receives a psychic vision. As he is
looking around the table his friends' appearances all change, though they seem to be continuing the same conversation
as if nothing was happening. As Patrick looks around he sees that Ethan now appears as a zombie-like animated corpse,
while Jalen is oozing some kind of thick black liquid from his mouth, nose and eyes. Looking at the girls next Patrick
sees that Dana is wearing a necklace made of fangs and a crown of thorns while Lauren is covered in blood with her throat
torn out. Finally Patrick looks down to see a sword blade protruding through his own chest as blood seeps through his shirt.
The vision ends abruptly and a stunned Patrick smashes the table out of reflex. He tells his shocked friends what he saw
and they try and figure out what the significance of the vision is. Finally Lauren decides to use her powers to get a
reading from Patrick and she gets a vision, apparently of his future. In the vision Lauren sees Patrick in a dark room
battling some kind of creature she can't see, and by the look of him Patrick is losing the fight. Suddenly she spots another
figure in the vision, a white-haired man who turns and seems to look right at her. The man scolds Lauren for "peeking"
and somehow is able to forcibly end Lauren's vision. As a shaken Lauren describes the white-haired man the others
recognize him as the mysterious figure living in the penthouse atop the Wolfram & Hart building.
Hoping to identify their mystery man, Patrick decides to question various demons. Hitting the usual seedy
establishments Patrick learns very little. In fact, the demons seem reluctant to talk at all. Lauren and Dana, meanwhile,
decide to do a little investigating of their own. The pair get dressed up and begin frequently fancier establishments, targeting
some of the young hotshot lawyers working for Wolfram & Hart. The gambit pays off and a lawyer named Thomas Hayes takes the bait.
In his efforts to impress the two lovely ladies Thomas brags how he has been selected to work with one of the senior officers in
the company, a mystery man from the Head Office named the Count, on a major new project. He gets Lauren's number and promises
to call her later so the three of them can have a "special" night out. Afterwards the group meets at the Blue Plate
Diner for pie and to share what they have learned.
In a darkened meeting room at Wolfram & Hart, Travis McCauley arrives with Keri Prescott. Andrew Cross is
also in the room and he shows her to her seat. Once she is seated the Count officially welcomes Keri into the newly re-formed
Circle of the Black Thorn and tells her that the Senior Partners are very pleased to have her with them. The Count then
introduces the other members, first revealing Dr. Maalik, who was also in the meeting room and then indicating a pair of
video monitors. On one monitor is the werewolf Brendan Hughes, representing the Circle's European interests, and on the other
is the leader of the Shadow Walker ninja clan, who represents the Asian interests. There is a knock on the meeting room door and
Travis lets in the newest arrival, Thomas Hayes. The Count thanks Thomas for coming so quickly and tells the young lawyer that
he has a special assignment for him, a reward for some of Thomas' more recent work that the Circle has just become aware of.
The Count tells Thomas to accompany Dr. Maalik and Keri Prescott and that they will let him know what they need him for.
The ever eager Thomas leaves with the pair, and is never seen again.
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