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After the fall of Los Angeles was reversed Lorne felt blessed. He made many new friends in Silverlake and when he had briefly been mayor of Hell A. He initially thought that both he and Angel were fully redeemed because they saved so many lives. Lorne did many gigs in Las Vegas in celebration of this new period of his life. It was only when he was alone such as now after his show with only a drink for company that he felt differently.Lorne slowly sipped his sea breeze nostalgically remembering his time at Caritas. Lindsey’s first song had been a thing of beauty. His lyrics accurately predicted what Wolfram and Hart would do to this city and revealed Lindsey’s ambivalence toward it all. The vision that Lorne had seen had shown Lindsey getting elaborate tattoos from a red-headed sorcerer in an open-necked shirt. The whole scene appeared to throb with meaning and importance. Lorne had been pleased that he could tell the troubled lawyer that he was going to be an important player in future events.How would he know that the sorcerer was evil and Lindsey was getting those signs on his body to mask himself from the Senior Partners so he could have a vendetta against Angel? It was an honest mistake, or so he thought. Truth was that his gift had gradually become more and more unreliable particularly since he joined Wolfram and Hart. He shouldn’t have used it in the case of Lindsey. Angel had wanted Lorne to kill Lindsey as an act of contempt. This made Lorne depressed that Angel thought of both of them like that. He had felt so guilty that the act had made everything grey inside of him. Only Lorne saving Silverlake from Hell had returned the light within him. He forgave Angel and the latter had sworn never to put him in that position again. Yet, he didn’t reveal to Angel the additional reason he had shot the morally ambiguous lawyer. It was his damnable gift that had caused it. **********************************While they did their parts in Angel’s daring plan against the Circle of the Black Thorn Lorne had kept a careful eye on Lindsey. He was going to defy Angel by keeping the human alive.However, Lindsey began humming a song as he fought the demons. It was a country song so Lorne barely remembered the lyrics. What would become the man’s last song opened a vision to him.Instead of something ambiguous, Lorne saw a Lindsey in a chamber fit for a king full of voluptuous silk cushions and hangings. The human even sat on a throne and wore a crown. A Hispanic woman with curly dark hair waited on him while having an adoring look on her face. Lorne would later realize that the woman was Spike’s lover Spider. Lindsey, in the vision, had a ragged bum dragged in front of him. He talked to one of the guards who removed him from sight. Then he pulled the woman into a heated embrace. The vision ended.Lorne realized that Angel was right. They couldn’t trust Lindsey for he was too power hungry. They were in the former Sahrvin lair. The bodies of the demons littered the floor. He held his body feeling sick. Lindsey washed his hands in the sink and casually said, “Those guys were chumps.”Lorne replied, “Now they're chunks. Demon strength or no, you're quite the master swordsman.”“Well, I couldn't have done it without that high note in MacArthur Park.”The Pylean shrugged. “Slays 'em every time.”Lindsey asked, “Any word on the rest of the team?”He felt cold as he struggled to force himself to follow Angel’s plan for Lindsey. “For all I know, we are the rest of the team. I haven't heard squat.”“That's weird.” The human said as he turned off the water.“They'll call.”Lindsey dried off his hands and said “No, I mean me saying ‘team’ and meaning it. I kind of like the feeling.”“Yeah, today,” he muttered.“You really done with them?” asked Lindsey.“It isn't my kind of work anymore. It's unsavory.”The human smirked. “Gee, I think it’s just getting interesting.”“Yeah, I bet you do,” Lorne said bitterly with the vision fresh in his mind.The man realized something in the Pylean’s tone. “You don't trust me. You don't think a man can change?”“It's not about what I think. This was Angel's plan.” Then he sighed.“Come on,” the former lawyer smiled, “I could sing for you.”Lorne said flatly, “I've heard you sing.” He took out the gun with the silencer that Angel had given him and shot the doomed human in the chest twice.******************** Lorne hummed sadly in the empty room. Bitterness and loneliness cloaked him like a bad margarita. He pondered again on the vision that had come from Lindsey’s last song. Spider wasn’t a bad demon just a morally ambiguous one full of ambition and grandiose tales. It made her a good storyteller but a mediocre villain not unlike Harmony in some ways. Spike had pretended to be a corrupt demon lord so he could save innocent people on the sly. Spider and other sensual demonesses had agreed to help him. Lindsey could have been playing a similar role. If that was true, Lorne had made a hideous mistake and committed a great crime.Lorne staggered up out of his seat. He had another number in half an hour. He would drown and bury his guilt with music for there was nothing he could do about the past.Boy, he needed another drink.