September 8th, 2004

Subject: 008 :: Business Acumen Time: 10:20 pm

Called Forbes back up today, see if they might want to do an interview without a fame spell. I mean, I was still the CEO of a major corporate stronghold. But no. They barely registered my name. Asked if I wanted to buy some advertising maybe. No thanks. Have you seen those prices? Craig's List was free.

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August 23rd, 2004

Subject: Ow. Time: 08:55 am Current Mood: chipper

Hand's healing up, but I can still fit a pencil through without any problems. Not that I tested that theory. Ever. You figure that if you're holding a stake, the guy at the other end isn't going to just ram it through your hand. This is why morons shouldn't be allowed weaponry. They never use it correctly. If I was a vampire fighting me, I would've aimed it for, oh, let's say the heart. And then I'd have a move to counter and whip my ass. But through the hand? I mean, who puts a stake through a hand anymore? As for Illyria, I wonder if the word "sprightly" is right. I mean, she's an ancient GodKing, she doesn't get sprightly or bubbly or anything. But that night... Maybe there's more Fred in her than we thought. Why does that make her more disturbing?

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August 8th, 2004

Subject: 006 :: Fresh Beginnings Time: 07:42 pm Current Mood: discontent

Didn't save the day yesterday. I'm not fine with that. I'm not even okay with it. But I can deal. I've lost battles before. Dawn, on the other hand... I don't really know how much she experienced in Sunnydale, but I don't think it prepared her for this. I'm sorry that it had to turn out like this, especially after all of hard work she turned in. I just hope she can work past it. There's still a case to be solved here and evil to defeat. Julia's murderers are still out there, and I intend to find them and make them pay. To do that, though, I need my team - small as it is - aware and ready for anything. We might not have saved the girl, but we can save others. There's always somebody else to save. And we'll be there for the next one. Trust me on that.

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July 15th, 2004

Current Music: Gunn's playing his rapp too loud. Subject: 005 :: Issues Time: 10:57 pm Current Mood: pleased

Hired on a new office manager. I'd prefer not to say who until they inform other certain parties themselves. No need to create new tension with old, uh, associates. Still, she should keep things in tip-top shape around here. I could never really do that - too focused on the dramatic saving of the day to bother with what office machinery to order. I won't be getting one of those new-fangled PDAs, though. Whatever happened to paper. Take a pen, write a little note, stick it on your fridge... I don't know about this digital crap. ...says the vampire henpecking his entry on the keyboard. I'm gonna run over to the grocery store, get some more coffee. Wonder if Gunn would try to stake me if I brought him back a deli sandwich.

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July 9th, 2004

Subject: 004 :: Moving In Time: 12:46 am Current Mood: broody

Cordy once brought up that I'd lived 200 years and I'd never really developed anything like an investment portfolio. At the time, I ignored it. I ignored a lot of what she said at first, which was, in retrospect, something of a mistake. Spent a lot of that time as the Scourge of Europe. My idea of capital gains back then was taking fancy baubles off of the rich people I slaughtered. Then there was the alley years. Didn't really have anything to invest, not unless Wall Street was taking rats as collateral. I've always had a good eye for real estate, though. The place on Crawford Street. The Hyperion. Sure, I basically stole the mansion and the hotel was a financial sinkhole, but they were good locations with lots of room and great architecture. I appreciate good design. Working at Wolfram & Hart, I learned how to manage investments. The company owned a lot of buildings, both on and off the record, and I liked to keep an eye on them - see what was worth having, what needed selling off, and what we could purchase next. I think I actually enjoyed that a little. So when I rolled out my crusade to take down the Senior Partners, I used what I learned. The money laundering to get the right dollars to the right unsuspecting foils. Insider trading to earn those dollars. But most importantly, I learned how to utilized off-shore, untraceable accounts and junk real estate acquisitions to keep the money stored if I needed it. I knew the Senior Partners would freeze whatever assets they thought I had at the first hint of my plans. It was just a matter of having a lot more than they saw. And it worked. I'm not a rich man by any means - they shut down a lot more than I thought they would - but there was enough for this building and to keep my business running for a while. Now, I just need to get out there and start saving some helpless souls. To do that, I'm gonna need a team. Muscle, tactics, research, management. Buffy won't go for it, and I wouldn't want her. She's still oblivious to the complexity of the situation; she doesn't understand the first thing about how these operations work. No Buffy means no Willow, which means I'm down a pretty powerful magick user, but I'll deal. Xander is out of the question - he's in over his head as it is. Same for Andrew. Gunn's a definite once he works out whatever issues he's got. Don't know how useful he's going to be in a fight, but I can definitely use the extra brain power. Illyria might be tricky, but I think a little coaxing could bring her in. Spike's a pain in my ass, but he's useful in a fight and, on occasion, he's not entirely stupid. He'd tell me to "sod off" if I asked him to join, though. If he wants in, he'll come to me. And as for Dawn, I think Buffy would kill me. But it would be interesting...

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June 30th, 2004

Subject: 003 :: Surprises Time: 02:40 pm Current Mood: annoyed

Didn't really get a chance to talk to Willow last time I saw her, so this is... kind of new for me. The confident, take-charge wiccan with the, uh, "mad" computer skills. Figures that she'd make me feel completely useless on a mission like that. Not that I didn't like my plan before I heard it was a bomb. What kind of seer sends us after a bomb, anyway? Isn't that the kind of thing the San Diego PD should be dealing with? Not that I'm against saving the world from mundane threats like that, too, but I have a jurisdiction.

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June 22nd, 2004

Subject: 002: Waiting Time: 07:01 pm Current Mood: annoyed

The Senior Partners want to play some kind of waiting game? Fine. They're trying to get me to make a mistake, jump ahead. They won't get the satisfaction. I can bide my time just as well as they can. Eternal here, people! Comes with infinite patience. I can wait all day, so bring it already. We're all patient warriors here, so let's just do it! Hmph. Whatever. I can handle this. I'll just sit right down here, and go to Willow's meeting, and I'll handle it. I used to run a pretty big corporation, I think I can handle a little Scooby meeting. Base objective: lead the team into a devestating victory over the Senior Partners. Secondary objective: die trying. It'd help if the demon army would show up already...

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June 15th, 2004

Current Music: Hospital intercom Subject: 001 :: San Diego Time: 11:56 pm Current Mood: numb

Well, that was uncomfortable. At the hospital with Gunn right now. He's doing better. He'll make it through this fine. The doctors got on my case about moving him, but sometimes the hordes of hell are on your tail and you have to go to San Diego. I had to make that call. Buffy looked... good. Still smelled a little like The Immortal, but I hear that doesn't come off for a while. Guy's even got unmatched aromic potency. I can't win. That's not the issue. We've got the apocalypse to worry about. Surprised it hasn't turned up yet, but they're tricky like that. When it does show up, we'll be ready. I just hope that we can get Buffy and her team briefed and prepped in time. I'm out of aces up the sleeve.

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