Episode 14, Season 2 Title: "Thin Dead Line" Written by: Jim Kouf and Shawn Ryan Directed by: Scott McGinnis Original Air Date: February 13, 2001 Teaser There's an eye in the back of her head! It's night when Angel finally returns to his lonesome Hyperion Hotel. He walks to the counter and peruses the books and papers left behind by his previous employees. In anger, he shoves them aside and turns his back on them. Meanwhile at the newly relocated Angel Investigations, Wes is wishing for some action, even perhaps a roving band of Prekian demons. The crew is just standing around waiting for a case to walk through the door and it does – in the form of Francine Sharp and her daughter Stephanie who come recommended by Virginia Bryce. Stephanie was bitten by something on her way home and the next morning an eye appeared in the back of her head. Still in shock, she cannot speak. Wes immediately takes charge and reassures the mother that they will take the case and solve the problem. In the dark streets of L.A. two teenagers, Kenny and Les, are running away from nameless shadows. They hide behind a building, but the approaching evil forces them to run to Anne's teen center. They knock frantically and Anne opens the door to the already packed teen center and Kenny begs for entrance, "Don't make us go back out there." Seeing the fear in their eyes, she finally concedes and they step inside to safety. From the alley beside the teen center the evil that followed them reveals itself as a police officer. Act I In the underground sewers of L.A., Merl, the resident lizard king of snitching, is packing his bags as Angel pays him a surprise visit to find the latest info on the movements of the Wolfram & Hart lawyers. Merl spills, no surprise there. The lawyers are having a powwow the next night at 9:30pm on Diaghilev. Angel is curious about Merl's relocation and Merl explains that he no longer makes any money from his bits of information because ever since Angel starting getting his freebies via fists and water torture, every demon and monster has caught on and started doing the same. Merl strikes hard on Angel when he mentions Wes. Originally, Merl had been Wes's connection to the underground demon world and the Brit understood "working relationships," meaning cash in exchange for info. Merl truly misses Wes and his money, and zeroes in when he asks, "How is old Wesley? Or the other two you fired . . .ahh. Gee! Let me guess-- you never even bothered to check?" Angel's eyes turn to ice and he refuses to answer. Merl assures him the info provided is real. At the teen center, Anne calls Kenny over to ask about the previous night. With Les by his side, Kenny explains that they were panhandling by 39th street when a police officer suddenly punched him and threw Leslie against a wall. Anne is surprised but Kenny assures her that the officer didn't ask anything or try to arrest them--it was a completely unprovoked attack. The officer chased them until the teens finally reached the center. Anne knows she cannot call the police with the story, but she can call on an old friend who may be able to help. Later, Anne walks through the doors of Angel Investigations looking for Gunn. Apparently Gunn and Anne are old friends. She explains what's going on and asks for his help. It's close to sunset and she must return because the cop trouble has resulted in the teen center being packed by early evening. Gunn offers to accompany her but as they step out the door, Cordy chastises Gunn for missing out on the ultra exciting case that requires research through thick books for solving. Cordy mentions the name of their agency and Anne recognizes the name. She describes Angel and tells the gang about his help a few weeks earlier, but she also points out that his motives turned out to be "just this scam to screw this law firm." Everyone is clearly disappointed at this news and they leave. Above them, on a rooftop, Angel spies on Gunn and Anne as they step outside the office and head to the center. Moments later, Gunn and Anne are surround by teens telling their stories of the recent police aggression. Anne is clearly concerned, but Gunn asks her to leave. Gunn is street smart and lays a cool eye to the teens, "You guys trying to play her?" The teens seem offended, but Gunn has reason because not all are as clean as they try to sound. A girl speaks out, "We're not talking about a street sweep the P.D. does every six months to shut up the moms, okay? This is war and everyone's a target!" They are not playing anyone. You have the right to remain silent... Across the street from the teen center, Angel is leaving to spy on the W & H lawyers but a police officer tries to arrest him, even though Angel has done nothing wrong. He has no choice but to fight back. Angel kicks the officer but he doesn't go down until Angel uses his supernatural force to knock him against a nearby car. The cop falls on the ground, and Angel is about to walk off, convinced any normal human would be unconscious, but he's clearly surprised when the officer rises to continue the fight and resumes reading him his Miranda rights. Angel now uses all of his strength to keep him down, but it doesn't seem to work. Finally, he gives the officer a powerful swift kick to the head, decapitating him. The head crunches the windshield of a car even still continuing to speak, "Do you understand your rights as I have... " As the words trail off, the body and head shrink and decay as if dead for a long time. Something is definitely not right with the men in blue of L.A. Act II At the teen center, Rondell and George arrive with a camcorder to aid Gunn in his trap. Gunn's plan is to tape the cops attacking them unlawfully, but innocent Anne is skeptical they will fall for it. Gunn assures her they will be an irresistible target as he sarcastically explains, "Cuz, we'll be the ones walking while black." The three leave to find trouble. Across town, Angel is paying a visit to Kate. She seems unruffled by his visit and pulls out a couple of open cases she's been working on: two women murdered in a shop and the murder of thirteen lawyers in a wine cellar. Without warning Angel confesses, "I just killed a cop," and captures Kate's full attention. Angel recounts the sight of the decapitated cop's head still speaking. He wants to know the identity of the dead officer and pulls out his badge. Kate knows better than to doubt Angel's word and she quickly pulls up his record in the LAPD official database. Peter Harkes passed away six months earlier. Angel has an idea of what it could be and asks, "Wanna take a ride?" At the new agency, Cordy is on the phone with Gunn. He's checking in to see if Wes and Cordy can handle their latest case without him. He hangs up before Cordy can argue against his plan. At first Wes and Cordy resign themselves to their research, but in typical fashion they quickly change their minds and rush to save Gunn from himself. And as Cordy points out: "It's not like that third eye is going anywhere." Both fly out the door far away from all those heavy dusty books. Is my father... ? Later that night, Angel has taken Kate to visit Peter Harkes grave. He steps on the ground and senses that the earth has been disturbed. Kate is astonished at his knowledge, but it's one of his handy vamp skills. They move on to the next grave and reach the same conclusion. He reveals his theory: someone is reanimating dead police officers and controlling them. 'Zombie' is the correct term. At this, Kate starts to freak out and runs to a nearby grave, Angel follows. She stands before her father's grave and her tough cop façade breaks down into tears as she asks, "My dad... is he...?" Angel confirms that the earth has not been disturbed, but it's apparent that Kate is still vulnerable when it comes to the death of her father. She only wonders out loud, "Who's doing this?" At the packed teen center, Anne answers the door, revealing a frantic Cordy and Wes. They ask about Gunn's whereabouts and Anne tells them he's down on 45th street. Wes hurridly leaves to find Gunn, while Cordy stays behind to help. Just as Anne is about to shut the door, Jackson, one of the neighborhood's big bads walks through the door and refuses to leave. He barges in past Cordy and Anne lets him stay because she doesn't want any trouble. Jackson spots Ray and bumps into him. There's some history between them and Ray is nervous with Jackson's presence there. In the bad side of town, Gunn, and his friends are on 45th street, an area reputed to be gang ground. But at a time when it should be teeming with activity, the street is as lonesome as Angel feels. Gunn remarks, "Somebody have an apocalypse and forget to invite us?" Suddenly, a tapping sound catches their attention. An officer approaches, tapping his stick against a wall. He comes up to the three and tries to arrest Gunn first as his friend catches the unprovoked arrest on the camcorder hidden in his shirt. Although Gunn presses tha cop for a reason for the arrest, the cop respond only with increasing threats. Behind the officer, Wes quickly runs toward the group proclaiming Gunn's innocence. In the blink of an eye, the cop turns and shoots Wes without flinching. Stunned, Wesley stumbles onto the pavement, blood staining his shirt. Act IV Gunn springs into action and attacks the office, forcing him to drop his gun. George picks it up, but the officer pulls out another from his ankle strap, intent on shooting Gunn next, George has no choice but to fire. The office falls to the ground, dead, and George drops the weapon in shock at the gravity of his actions. But he had no choice, "Look at him he's dead!" All three help Wes up and they turn to look at the officer on the ground. But as they watch, the cop miraculously jolts up, and Gunn replies, "Don't look that dead!" All four run away as the reanimated cop reaches for his radio, "We have a situation. We have witnesses. I need backup." They find a safe place to stop and check on Wes. While George keeps watch, Gunn calls for an ambulance. In a safer part of town, Angel and Kate visit Officer Harker's police precinct. All is quiet as most are out on the street patrolling. An officer comes out and talks to them. Kate starts asking the wrong questions, "This caption of yours, is he running things by the book?" The officer knows what she's insinuating and he doesn't like it one bit. But the captain is out, so they have return at a later time. Back in the alley, Gunn is trying his best to keep Wes from bleeding, but it doesn't seem to be working. Gunn and Rondell know they need to get help now. George runs back to announce the coming of the ambulance. The paramedics load Wes on a gurney, while Gunn agrees to meet Rondell and George back at the teen center. Gunn jumps in to accompany Wes, but before the ambulance can get out of the alley police cars stop in front of the ambulance. The ambulance driver gets down to check things out but as he's explaining he's got an injured man, the officers open fire. Gunn is too late with his warning and can only take the driver's seat. He's got no choice but to break through a fence as the cops continue to shoot at the ambulance. Instead of heading to St. John's Hospital, Gunn arrives at the teen center and they quickly step inside. A stunned Anne opens the door as a bleeding Wes walks through with the help of the other paramedic. Gunn fills her in: "They shot him. The cops-they're not human." She locks the door behind them. Outside, the reanimated officer spots the ambulance and reports to the captain. The captain advises, "Secure the entire section. Clean house." Inside, Cordy is helping the paramedic with Wes. Gunn orders all the doors and windows locked, but Jackson comes up to Wes, "Damn, now that looks nasty!" Gunn doesn't appreciate his callousness and is about to start a fight, but Anne diffuses their anger. There are more important things going on. The paramedic announces that Wes's vitals are declining and Cordy is determined to take him to St. John's Hospital. As the paramedic and Gunn assist a very pale Wes, she opens the door to see if it's clear, but two police units drive up. She softly shuts the door and turns to them with the bad news, "They're here." Act IV With orders to keep it quiet, the reanimated officers pile out of their cars ready to do battle. Inside, the teens are barricading doors and windows with furniture. At the same time, Angel finally pays a visit to the precinct's captain. Angel confronts him about the dead cops and the captain responds by shooting Angel. He turns vamp face, "How do I stop them?" He refuses to give in, and Angel attacks. Back at the teen center, things are dire. The reanimated officers are climbing up through windows and are trying to break down the doors. Cordy tries to call for help on her cell, but all circuits are busy. The teens are scrambling to keep the zombie men in blue out. The captain refuses to betray his fellow officers. He escapes Angel's grasp to run through a secret panel. Angel follows. The officers have broken through windows and doors and are attacking everyone. It's a loosing battle and the teens go to the back, while Gunn, Cordy, and Anne stay to fight them off. Jackson tries to escape through the back but a zombie surprises him. Gunn saves him and then goes to help Cordy. Is it the entrails? Angel has discovered the Captain's secret room filled with photos of the deceased officers, candles and their personal items. The captain with stake in hand is trying to keep Angel from discovering how to stop them, but Angel is knowledgeable and recognizes the Idol of Granath, the zombie god. He grabs it and the captain attacks, but Angel breaks it against the captain's head, knocking him out. Instantly at the teen center, the reanimated corpses fall to the ground and return to their state of decay. Anne runs to check on her kids and Cordy and Gunn go to Wes. Gunn asks Jackson for help, but he refuses because he's returning to the now safer streets. Gunn and Cordy take Wes to the hospital immediately. Later that night, Angel returns to inform Kate that he has solved their problem. Kate has been investigating the crime reports of the zombie precinct. Apparently, the officers were doing a great job of keeping crime down. She seems regretful about the outcome, but Angel has learned to live with certain things. Kate is handed a case file of a shooting. She remarks, "Wydham-Pryce? Isn't that the guy that works for you?" "Do us a favor - stay away." At St. John's Hospital, Wes wakes up grateful to find the morphine drip. Gunn by his side and both are glad to be alive. In the lobby of the hospital, Angel is spying on the scene. He turns to leave but finds Cordy instead. She's still angry about his abandonment, "We don't need you. You walked away. Do us a favor and just stay away." She walks off to check on Wes. Angel does exactly as he is told. Summary by Council member Raciella.

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