Lineage

Plot

Wesley and Fred are negotiating the sale of advanced weaponry to an arms dealer. A mysterious being appears and kills the dealer and his guards. Wesley fights him, but is knocked down. Angel bursts in and defeats the being who turns out to be a cyborg. Both men rush to a wounded Fred.

At the office, Angel reprimands Wesley for taking Fred on a dangerous assignment. Eve says Fred is ok and will be up and about soon. Angel tells Wesley that in the future he has to clear the use of any staff with Angel. Wesley leaves and Eve tells Angel he was too hard on him. She suggests he believes Wesley may betray him because of what happened with the infant Connor. Angel says he just wants to be kept informed.

Fred goes to Wesley's office, arm in sling, to tell him she's okay and they are examining the cyborg. He apologies for not protecting her and she says that's patronizing. He says she shouldn't have been there in the first place and she says that's not his call. He insists it is. She says he's being childish. Wesley's father, Roger, walks in. Fred tries to pretend Wesley was just helping her prepare to reprimand an employee. Awkwardly, she leaves. Roger doesn't believe her. He says he has business with Wesley. The former watchers are reforming the council and are considering letting Wesley back in. They consider his tenure as a watcher their greatest embarrassment and Roger has been sent to evaluate Wesley and see if he should be invited back. Wesley says he's not interested, he's happy where he is. Roger says Wolfram & Hart is a haven of evil. Wesley says they are changing that. He says they take their work seriously. Lorne appears talking on the phone about a party. He introduces himself, news is out about Roger being there. Roger is not impressed at the entertainment division as a tool to fight evil. Gunn shows up and introduces himself. He says they want Wesley in the lab. Wesley invites Roger.

Fred is explaining the cyborg and what they've found in it to Angel, Eve, and Spike. Spike wonders whether it was the creation of someone having sex with a robot. Fred explains that there is a memory and if they can decode it, they may get a record of everything the cyborg has done. Spike, concentrating hard, knocks over a beaker. He's proud at first, then apologizes. Wesley and Roger arrive. Spike jokes about thinking Wesley was grown. Roger reveals they've met before. He and some others confronted Spike when he was slaughtering an orphanage. Spike killed two of them. Spike asks how he's been and walks off. Angel goes to shake hands, but Roger refuses to shake with him. Angel leaves, with Eve, asking Fred to keep him posted. Fred says they found what they think might be a selfdestruct device. It has writing on it and they were hoping Wesley could decipher it. Fred says Wesley is a genius with languages. Roger says he was head boy at the academy, but the pickings were slim that year. Wesley thinks the text is Hellenic. While trying to look at the device, Wesley activates it. He shouts that they have to evacuate the building. Spike starts running, then realizes he has nothing to worry about. Wesley grabs Fred and tells her she has to leave. Roger disarms it. He says the symbols were actually an explanation of how to do that.

Angel is asking what happened. Spike says he can explain and tells Angel about Wesley being head boy. Angel already knew. Wesley explains. Angel asks where Roger is and Fred says Lorne is entertaining him. Cut to a hysterical scene of Lorne doing that. Cut back to Fred thinking that's not a good idea and going to get Roger. Spike says he'll go as well, unless Angel wants him to get the head boy report typed up. Angel says no and Spike goes. Wesley admits he can't think straight around his father and Angel says fathers and sons can be torture. He hands Wesley a report from his department about assassin squads that sound like the cyborgs. They are taking out demons and seem to be on the side of good. Wesley says he'll try to research them.

Wesley finds Fred and Roger. He's telling her a story about Wesley as a 6 or 7 year old child trying to use a resurrection spell. Wesley explains a bird had died flying into his window and he wanted to bring it back. Roger says it's a good thing he stopped him or they would have had zombie birds everywhere. Fred is impressed that he could read a resurrection spell. Roger says his mother thought Wesley a prodigy. Wesley asks Roger to help him in his research and they go to his office. Roger starts asking about Fred and their relationship, but Wesley refuses to talk about it. Roger says he wants to know about Wesley's personal life and Wesley tells him about having to chop up Lilah. Roger sees this as sarcasm. He says if Wesley likes Fred, he should tell her. Wesley uses the books which impress Roger, but he feels Wesley is lax in letting them lie out on his desk. Wesley says he keeps dangerous things in the vault and that the building is very secure. Cyborgs land on the roof.

Eve is in an elevator. Spike materializes there. He says Eve has been watching him. He thinks she's scared that he will corporealize. He thinks she's part of his problem. That the amulet was sent by Wolfram & Hart for Angel to use and he used it instead. He wonders why they keep him around. She says what makes him think the amulet was meant for Angel. The power goes out. Spike shouts at Pavayne, but that's not what's causing it. Angel and Gunn are in the lobby wondering what's happened. Spike materializes saying something is wrong with the elevator. Cyborgs attack from all directions. A cyborg enters Wesley's office and attacks. After a brief fight, they disable it. Roger points out the cyborg went straight for the books. Wesley tells him to grab them and opens the vault. He starts putting the books away. Roger hits him from behind and knocks him out. He then removes a strange sort of stick from the vault. He uses some kind of concealed communications device to say phase one is complete and to begin phase two.

Angel and Gunn are fighting cyborgs. Wesley comes to and goes back into his office where he sees the disabled cyborg. Roger bumps into Fred and tells her Wesley's department has noted a spatial disturbance on the roof and he's gone to investigate sending Roger to tell Angel. Wesley starts torturing the cyborg for information on Roger's plan. Gunn is being strangled by a cyborg. Spike comes to his aid, but he has to pause and really concentrate before he can corporealize enough to hit the cyborg and knock it down. Angel is being attack and Roger knocks down the cyborg from behind. Fred rushes in and tells Angel Wesley is on the roof. Angel has her look after the wounded, sends Gunn to security, and goes with Roger to the roof. Spike starts talking about Eve in the elevator, but doesn't care and goes.

On the roof, Roger tells Angel this was never about Wesley. He pulls out the mystical object, utters a magic word, and Angel falls to the ground. Roger uses his communication device again and says he's ready for extraction. The stick is grabbed out of his hand by Wesley and the two men face each with guns drawn. Roger tells him to walk away. Wesley reveals the staff steals Angel's will, making him a slave. Roger says Angel is dangerous and was always a puppet. To the powers, to Wolfram & Hart, and now to them. Wesley says he went to a lot of trouble, why didn't he just talk to Wesley. Roger says he would never do that, Wesley has failed him enough for one lifetime. Fred runs up and rushes to the fallen Angel. Roger tries to convince Wesley to side with him, Wesley refuses. We hear a helicopter and see its light. Roger says he'll shoot. Wesley says he's sure he will. But then he'll drop the crystal and it will shatter freeing Angel. So whether Wesley lives or dies, the plan fails. Roger grabs Fred and starts talking about someone you care about. Wesley shoots him. Several times. Roger drops. Wesley drops his weapons. The helicopter leaves. Wesley vomits. Fred stares at him. When he turns back there's an electrical discharge around Roger. We discover he was a disguised cyborg.

In Angel's office, Angel tells Wesley losing his free will made him nauseous. They don't know who sent the cyborgs. Angel says the perception is that they are weak. Wesley says the perception is that he is weak. Angel says that's wrong, that Wesley makes all the hard decisions. That he does what he knows is right to protect those around him. That he never understood that before. He says Wesley didn't really shoot his father, just a cyborg with a glamour. He says they probably had the council files with all the information they needed about Wesley. He then says he killed his father right after becoming a vampire. Wesley says it's not the same and Angel admits he didn't think it through. They leave to get some sleep. Spike comes to Wesley and says he killed his mother. Wesley says he's comforted and goes to his office. Fred comes in and says that part of him knew it wasn't his father. He says he was sure it was. That she was there and he killed his father. He says he pointed a gun at Fred, so he shot him. She tries to reply, but before she can Knox shows up saying he thought he was taking her home. Wesley tells her she should go. They leave. Wesley calls home and speaks with his mother and father. It's an awkward conversation and the real Roger clearly is treating him just like cyborg Roger did.