with him. In Angel's office, Angel, Gunn, Ernesto, and the Senator are watching a political ad of her rival, Mike Conley. The Senator asks Wolfram & Hart to brainwash Conley into confessing to being a pedophile so he will lose. Gunn is furious at the Senator's request, but Angel agrees. In Wesley's office, Wesley is researching Boretz demons when a strange circular symbol with eight spurs appears in his book but then disappears. Meanwhile, Spike and Illyria are searching for the Boretz demon. Illyria tells Spike that Angel has become corrupted through power but he refuses to believe her. The Boretz appears, and fights Spike but Illyria ultimately kills it. An injured Drogyn also appears and warns Spike that Angel cannot be trusted. Back at Wolfram & Hart, Wesley walks into Angel's office where he finds Angel talking with Hamilton, and they ask Wesley to come back later. Gunn, Lorne, and Wesley all agree that Angel is not acting like himself at all. Spike calls, and the three gather in Spike's apartment to listen to Drogyn's tale of being attacked by a Sathari demon, an assassin-for-hire, at the Deeper Well. After a long and vicious fight, Drogyn learned that Angel hired it to kill him. Drogyn speculates that Angel wanted to cover up his involvement in helping Illyria's sarcophagus escape from the Deeper Well and that Angel sacrificed Fred on purpose. Lorne and Gunn take the news angrily, but Spike reminds them that Drogyn cannot lie. Wesley shows all of them the mysterious symbol of a black circle with eight spurs on it and believes it to be a connection to Angel's behavior. Gunn, Lorne, Spike, and Wesley leave to confront Angel, while Illyria keeps watch over Drogyn. At the office, Spike interrogates Angel about Drogyn's attack but Angel denies everything. Angel explains that he has lost his sense of morality, and he wants global power, through any means necessary. He then meets with Nina and gives her three plane tickets, urging her to leave him for her own safety. Hurt and confused, Nina agrees. At Spike's apartment, Hamilton breaks in the door and knocks out Drogyn and Illyria. Meanwhile, Gunn and Spike interrogate Lindsey about the symbol. He explains that the symbol represents a small, but powerful, secret society of the elite evil, called the Circle of the Black Thorn who are responsible for the apocalypse. Lindsey explains that