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Part
2
"Well,
one of the conspiracy sites came up trumps," Phoebe announced
as she breezed into the kitchen at lunchtime.
Piper and Leo were
sat at the kitchen table and they looked a little guilty. Phoebe
guessed that it was quite probably they hadn't been working on
the problem at hand since Leo had arrived back. The youngest sister
just grinned at her sibling and sat down with the couple.
"It seems that
Benias has been busy," she continued. "There are similar
cases in fifteen countries. Of course the conspiracy site thinks
it's a big government experiment, code named Benias, and that
the government organisations swarming all over it are cover up
teams, but hey, what else would we expect?"
She spread her hand
full of printouts on the table.
"I also found
references to our demon friend in several of the more obscure
places," she explained. "Seems he gets around. One thing
they all seem to be sure on, though, is that he's almost impossible
to kill."
"Not good for
us unless we can find our half-demon," Piper commented quietly.
"Look on the bright
side, sister mine," Phoebe said and beamed at her sister
in an attempt to lighten the mood. "At least there is some
information out there. We'll beat Benias yet."
The youngest Halliwell
knew her humour could be infectious and she silently cheered to
herself as she drew a smile from her sister.
"So, Leo,"
Phoebe changed her target, "is the news good on our possible
ally?"
"He surprised
them," Leo replied openly, "they didn't know about him.
I'd say the odds have gone up distinctly in our favour. Of course
they wouldn't give me anything more than a few cryptic clues about
how to engage his services."
"One day they'll
give us a straight answer and we won't know what hit us,"
Phoebe said with another grin. She couldn't help herself; she
was actually excited.
Leo grinned back.
"Well," he
said standing up, "those cryptic clues won't solve themselves
and I have some people to see."
"Be careful,"
Piper said and brushed her hand down Leo's shoulder in an intimate
gesture that made Phoebe smile all over again.
"You too,"
Leo replied. "Promise me you won't go after Benias until
I get back."
Phoebe and Piper shared
a knowing glance.
"We promise,"
Piper replied with a smile.
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Sam was sitting on
the edge of the bed having just pulled on his shirt when the door
opened and admitted Chris, Backup and Malone. Without even thinking
the Englishman stood up, but quickly wobbled and then sat back
down again.
"Are you alright,
Mr Curtis?" It was Malone who voiced his concern first. "If
you are still unwell I will call the doctor."
"Thank you, sir,"
Sam replied rapidly, "but it's nothing a good meal wouldn't
cure."
Malone raised his eyebrows
slightly at the explanation, but Sam was counting on the fact
that the hospital had given him a clean bill of health. It hadn't
actually just been a matter of no food, Sam had been in that position
before and it felt different, but the last thing the Englishman
wanted was to be shipped home as unfit for duty. There was something
about the current case that made him want to stay even if he couldn't
remember why. Sam couldn't shake the feeling that if he left he'd
never see Chris or Backup again.
"I hear from Miss
Backus that your memory is as elusive as Mr Keel's," Malone
changed the subject and Sam breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, sir,"
Sam replied, trying to cast his mind back for the hundredth time
and still drawing a blank, "the last thing I remember is
the club."
"Then is would
appear we are dealing with people who have some form of powerful
narcotic at their disposal," Malone commented aloud.
"What I'd like
to know is how they administered it," Chris put in, and Sam
nodded his agreement.
Almost absently the
Englishman's eyes wandered as he thought on the problem. His gaze
meandered over his partner and then on to the floor. Without Sam
taking much notice of it his eyes fixed on Backup's ankles and
very slowly began to move up. The Canadian was wearing a figure
hugging pair of trousers and before Sam realised it he was appreciating
the view. Vague feelings of arousal began in his body and with
a start he snapped back to reality. Chris was still speaking and
Sam latched onto the voice feeling strangely horrified with himself.
"I know I didn't
drink anything after they came to the table, and I didn't feel
anything at all. One minute everything was crystal clear, then
the redhead kissed Sam, he started to act strangely and then nothing,"
the American was saying.
"The last thing
that's clear in my mind is the start of the kiss," Sam agreed,
shutting down the part of his brain that didn't seem to want to
concentrate. "It was like I couldn't stop her at all so the
drug must have been administered before that point. After that
it's a total blank."
"Well at least
now we know how the victims are lured away," Malone decided
calmly. "It's unfortunate that the toxicology reports on
the pair of you did not give any useful results. Whatever they
used is most likely a custom made drug and the sooner we find
the culprits the sooner it will be out of circulation."
"The best place
to start is the club," Sam said calmly.
"The locals have
already been over it," Backup explained with a nod, "but
they really had no clue what they were looking for."
"Anything is worth
a try," Chris agreed and all three agents looked to their
superior for confirmation.
"Alright, gentlemen,"
Malone said evenly, "you head back to the Flamingo. If you
find anything I want to know immediately. Miss Backus, I'd like
to keep you in reserve for now. You are still unknown to the perpetrators
of these crimes which may prove useful later on."
"Sir," all
three agents said together.
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Pru was pouring over
the print outs Phoebe had dug up whilst her sister washed up the
lunch things. Neither of them was paying much attention to the
other and Phoebe was actually quite absorbed by her task. It was
the type of menial duty that meant she could let her mind wander,
and today she was contemplating her dream. Some of her visions
were vague, they left her with more questions than answers, but
this one was better than a neon sign. She was actually contemplating
quite how attractive both men were. These days she had Cole, but
she was still a red blooded female. It was a shame her beau was
out of town, he could have been useful in finding the other half-demon.
Phoebe had always had a good memory, but this premonition was
staying with her far more clearly than usual. She often complained
to the others that it was impossible for her to remember everything
she saw because it always happened so fast. In this case she was
having none of her usual trouble, in fact the details were unusually
clear.
She was recalling the
part where the half demon guy seemed to be enjoying himself, and
she couldn't help smiling, a small mischievous smile. She was
quite enfolded in the memory when Pru suddenly spoke and Phoebe
dropped the knife and fork she was scrubbing.
"Geeze you made
me jump," she complained light heartedly.
"Somewhere nice
were we?" Pru asked and wandered over with one of the printouts
in her hand.
"Actually I was
trying to remember any details from my premonition which might
help us," Phoebe lied indignantly.
Pru just smiled slightly
and Phoebe was left wondering just what her face had been doing
when she had been remembering, and how long Pru had been watching
her.
"In the small
print of this article it mentions a club only a few blocks from
P3," the elder sister pointed out and showed Phoebe the point
on the page.
The other witch wiped
her hands on the dishcloth and took the piece of paper. The moment
her fingers touched it a second premonition hit her. It was the
same two men from her first vision, but this time they were surrounded
by four of the vampire like creatures. Three of them went for
the dark haired, half incubus and the other one went for his companion.
The totally human guy didn't stand a chance even though he moved
faster than Phoebe thought any man had a right to. She recognised
martial arts training, but it couldn't save him. The she-demon
had him by the neck before he had much chance to defend himself
and her claws and teeth made short work of him.
The other one was pushed
against the wall and he could do nothing to help his friend. It
was only as one of his attackers went for his throat that his
other self came out. He gave a high keening scream and then he
threw off two of the she-demons. With one swipe of his hand he
ripped out the throat of the third one. The fourth tried to attack
after she dropped the body of his friend, but she was dealt the
same justice she had given out and died quickly. The other two
began to run and then the vision ended.
"Oh my god,"
Phoebe said as the kitchen came back into focus, "they're
going to kill his friend. We have to find them Pru. We have to
save them."
"But how?"
Pru asked, just as anxious as her sister, but that little bit
more coherent.
Phoebe stared at the
piece of paper in her hand, and then at Pru.
"They're going
to the club," she said firmly, "we'll find them there."
Pru didn't argue, she
just picked up her cell phone, her car keys and dragged Phoebe
towards the door.
"You call Piper,"
she said, "I'll drive."
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Going back to the club
had seemed like a good idea at the time, but the closer they came
to it the more Sam was regretting agreeing to go. There was a
sense of foreboding growing in him the nearer the place they came
and even though Malone had specifically told them the police had
cleaned the place out Sam couldn't quite believe it. By the time
Chris parked the car and they climbed out Sam had decided this
was in fact one of the worst ideas they had ever had.
"Let's check out
the back first," Chris suggested. "If there's anything
the local boys missed it'll be there."
Sam nodded but didn't
say anything; he was not in the mood for conversation. His lack
of comment earned him a long hard look from his partner.
"Are you sure
you're feeling okay?" Chris asked with a concerned frown.
"You've barely said five words the entire way here."
"Just a belated
attack of paranoia," Sam replied as lightly as he could manage,
but he really was worried.
Keel paused, still
on his side of the car.
"Look," he
said, obviously anxious about his friend, "we can do this
later. Let's go back to the hotel and you can get some more rest."
Sam shook himself.
"No," he
decided firmly, "we're here now, let's go find us some bad
guys."
A dubious expression
infused itself onto Chris' features but as Sam began to walk towards
the alleyway at the side of the club he didn't argue.
"We always get
the nicest locations," he commented as they were greeted
by the pleasant smell of rotting garbage.
Sam was busy looking
for anything that might give them a clue when the hairs on the
back of his neck stood on end. He looked up sharply to see two
women at the far end of the alley coming towards them. His instincts
were screaming at him, but his logical mind said two women would
be no match for two highly trained secret agents ready for anything
they might try. As usual his logical mind was having a far greater
say. Even so Sam glanced over his shoulder at which point his
whole body went cold and his instincts began to hammer at the
wall of logic. Two more women were blocking the way from which
they had come.
"Chris, we have
company," he said quietly and very slowly edged his hand
under his jacket for his gun.
Drawing a weapon on
an unarmed civilian without provocation could get a person into
a great deal of trouble, but Sam had to hold onto the urge to
do just that. He felt like he was surrounded by masked assassins
and he couldn't work out why.
"Afternoon, Ladies,"
Chris said lightly as he too looked both ways, "is there
anything we can do for you?"
"Nothing special,"
one of them said, "we were just wondering what you're doing
out here. Most people loitering in this neighbourhood are up to
no good."
"We're with the
police," Chris told them, and Sam was quite happy to let
him do all the talking.
The women were getting
continually closer and he was quite alarmed by the fact that he
was having to clamp down on the instinct to just shoot at them
wildly. Something about them just wasn't right, something that
made him want them dead.
"There have been
cops all over the club today," another of the four spoke,
"we didn't see you there."
"We're a special
unit," Chris replied. "They called us in because they
didn't find enough through the usual methods."
"Can we see some
ID?" a third one asked in what was a very reasonable tone.
By now Sam just couldn't
contain himself any longer.
"Don't go near
them," he said very firmly and put a hand on Chris shoulder.
No matter what his logical mind was now saying, the other part
of him that was usually reserved for combat missions, had full
control.
Keel for his part looked
at him with a question in his eyes, but he did as he was told.
Sam's eyes opened wide in shock at the effect his statement had
on the women.
"You won't escape
this time," one of them hissed, and they no longer looked
like real women at all.
Sam tried not to believe
what he was seeing. He really tried to stay routed in his normal
sceptical little world, but it wasn't working. The eyes, the fangs,
the claws, it all shocked Sam to the bone, and yet he had known.
He didn't know how and he sure as hell couldn't explain any of
it, but he had known. He was pulling his gun from his holster
when three of them went for him and one went for Chris.
"No!" there
was a shout from the end of the alley, and Sam had just enough
time before three bodies collided with him to see the fourth creature
fly through the air away from Chris.
Sam pushed at his assailants
but they were so strong. Claws ripped through his shirt and he
was very angry, but before he could do anything about it two of
the three went sailing backwards just like their compatriot. Chris
came charging to help and grabbed the third one from behind. Together
he and Sam threw her towards her friends. Three much more normal
looking women came running down the alley.
"Freeze them,
Piper," one of them yelled as they came to a halt beside
Sam and Chris.
One of the three threw
up her hands, and much to Sam's surprise the four she-demons stopped
dead where they had been scrabbling to their feet.
"Well, don't just
stand there," the young woman who had shouted about the freezing
said to Sam as if he should understand exactly what was going
on. "Let's get out of here. They'll unfreeze in a little
while."
One of the young women
grabbed Chris by the hand and the one speaking to Sam grabbed
him and they dragged them off down the alley. Sam was having real
trouble with the whole sequence of events so he went with the
flow. When the she-demons unfroze just as they reached the end
of the alley all five runners charged towards the two parked cars.
Somehow Sam ended up in the driving seat of the rental car, Chris
was in the back and one of the women was in the front. As he put
his foot down and headed straight for the main road, he finally
had a chance to take a proper look at one of his rescuers. It
took him about half a second to assess his new companion. She
was in her early twenties, she had bobbed mid brown hair, and
sparkling blue eyes. She actually looked excited and cheerful.
"Hi," she
said as he turned his eyes back towards the road, "I'm Phoebe
Halliwell."
Sam was a little too
confused to form a cohesive sentence so he settled for names instead.
"Sam and Chris," he said and concentrated on driving.
"Would somebody
tell me what just happened?" Chris sounded somewhat stunned,
although not as stunned as Sam felt.
"Those women weren't
women," their passenger said helpfully. "They were a
nasty mix of vampire and demon." Sam's mind decided reality
has taken a trip south and he was in a horrible dream. This, however,
didn't stop Phoebe from going on. "They used to be witches
but they've been enslaved by a really nasty guy called Benias.
He uses them to kill men for their souls."
There was a deathly
silence in the car and Sam just kept his eyes on the street ahead.
"And you fit into
this, how?" Chris didn't sound exactly friendly.
"Oh, I'm a witch,"
Phoebe told them both, "and so are my sisters. We're basically
the good guys in a supernatural war."
Okay, so the nice looking
young women had to be insane, and this all had to be a set up,
but Sam decided to play along.
"Is that what
happened to us last night?" he finally found a voice. "Things
like that tried to kill us?"
"Basically, yes,"
their guest replied. "If you take a left at the end of this
block we're only a few blocks from our house. You guys look like
you could do with a stiff drink, and it's much easier to get into
an explanation when the world's not going by at fifty miles an
hour."
Sam wasn't in the mood
to argue and followed her directions without complaint. All his
training was screaming trap, but the rest of him was trying to
convince him the world was a much stranger place than he'd realised.
End of Part
2
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