What Fools These Mortals Be
Sixth episode in the Fourth Sister Series
Price sat in P3 enjoying the sounds of Matchbox 20 as Rob Thomas belted out the lyrics to "Mad Season," one of the band's more recent hits. Phoebe was out with Cole, having one of their first normal dates since they separated Cole from Belthazor and vanquished the demon. Piper was still sorting things out after she had switched powers with a darklighter and vanquished him with his own death touch. The experience saved Leo's life, but it also changed Piper's. Price could feel Piper's pain and confusion through their empathic connection.
Price was drawn away from her thoughts and her analysis of Piper's current emotional state when the bartender set a beer in front of her.
"I didn't order this," she said.
"I know," Rachel responded. She pointed to the other end of the bar. "He did."
Price looked in the direction Rachel was pointing and saw a devestatingly handsome man smiling at her. He raised his glass and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Price blushed and smiled. She looked back to Rachel.
"He said to tell you that the beer's on him, whether you go over there or not," Rachel said. Then she went to attend to other customers. Price picked up the beer and headed over to the man who bought it for her.
"Well, this is a good sign," he said when she stood beside him. "If I'm rejected the bartender usually brings it back."
"Usually? Do you do this often?"
"Often enough to limit myself to one a week," he said with a smile.
"My name's Price," she said as she set her beer on the bar and extended her hand. He shook it.
"Puck," he said. Price sat next to him and raised an eyebrow.
"'Either I mistake your shape and making quite or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite called Robin Goodfellow,'" she quoted.
"'Thou speak'st aright. I am that merry wanderer of the night,'" he quoted back. They both smiled broadly. "I'm impressed. Everyone else just says, 'What fools these mortals be.'"
"I like to challenge myself," Price said. "It's actually my favorite play. You probably hate it."
"No, actually, I do like it," he said. "Enough to have performed it for community theater multiple times. I like my namesake."
"Are you like him?" Price asked, sipping her beer.
"I'm not quite as foolish," he replied. "But my friends may tell you otherwise."
"So, we're already up to thinking I'll meet your friends," Price said with a smirk. "Quite confident aren't we?"
Puck just smiled as the crowd erupted into cheers after the song was over. He heard the beginning of "When You're Gone" and took Price by the wrist, pulling her out to the dance floor. He turned to face her, lifted her right wrist up to rest on his shoulder and then placed his left hand on her right hip. Normally, Price would have resisted all of this, especially the hand on the hip. She lifted her left arm to rest on his other shoulder and he placed his right hand on her left hip. They just swayed back and forth, staring at each other while the song continued. Price felt like she had known Puck her whole life.
"Sir, I think I might have picked up something," he said. He was addressing his news toward the back of a black, leather swivel chair at a desk. The chair spun around and a middle-aged man in an expensive pin-stripe suit sat there smoking a cigar and waiting for the information his colleague had for him.
"And what is something?" the man with the cigar asked.
"We picked up her alias again in San Francisco," the first man replied. "Paige Matthews recently got a job as a columnist for 415 Magazine. There also was a U-Haul rental made by one Paige Matthews. She's getting careless and leaving a paper trail."
"Well, then follow the trail," the man with the cigar ordered. "She has information about us, and we need to find out how much before she shares it with someone." The first man nodded his head. The man with the cigar stood and leaned on the desk on both hands. "Quit nodding your head at me and get on a plane to San Francisco. I'm not going to allow everything I've built up to be destroyed because of some over-zealous journalist."
The first man nodded his head and then turned and left the office. The man with the cigar sat back down and turned back to facing his windows. He puffed on the cigar and thought about "Paige Matthews." She could destroy his political career and endanger his life with the information she had somehow gathered. He still didn't know how she even acquired so much information. But he knew that it could never be revealed to the public. In every sense of the expression, his life would be over.
Price entered the kitchen the next morning and happily went about her morning rituals—cup of coffee, bowl of corn flakes and the front page of the newspaper—while Piper and Leo watched her curiously as she whistled about the kitchen.
"Who is he?" Piper asked as Price poured milk on her cereal.
"Who is who?" she asked back.
"You're totally smitten right now. I can feel it," Piper replied with a smirk. "Who is he?"
Price brought her cereal and coffee over to the table and sat down. Piper was still waiting for an answer. So was Leo for that matter.
"Okay, have you ever met someone of the opposite sex who has just somehow mesmerized you? All you can think about after meeting that person is seeing them again?"
"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Piper asked. Leo chuckled slightly as the two made eye contact. "Who has mesmerized you?"
"This guy I met at P3 last night. His name is Puck Wolfman. He's drop-dead gorgeous and funny and honest. We started off with some Shakespeare quoting because of his name and then he just took me out onto the dance floor and I was completely in a state of awe. There's just something about him," Price said. "I'm not sure how to describe how I feel."
"You don't have to," Piper said with a smirk. She looked at her watch and rose from the table. "Well, it's almost time for P3's bimonthly inspections."
Price looked up, the word 'bimonthly' triggering something in her mind, the memory of something she forgot to do. She looked at Piper frantically. "What day is it? What's the date?"
"November 4," Leo replied.
"Why?" Piper asked.
"Oh God, I missed it," Price muttered. She stood and went to look in the cupboard with their witchcraft supplies. She noticed that they didn't have barely any of the ingredients she needed. "Crap. I've gotta go." She started to head out of the kitchen, but Piper stood and stopped her.
"What's going on? You're scared of something," Piper asked.
Price hesitated. "It'd be better if you didn't know. I just need to go get some things. Everything will be fine. I just…I need to do this."
"Do what?" Piper asked as she followed Price out of the kitchen. Leo was close behind.
"A potion," Price replied. "It'll be okay. I just need to do this potion."
"Price, tell me what is going on," Piper ordered as Price picked up her coat.
"I'm telling you, you don't want to know," Price said. With that she left the Manor, leaving Piper and Leo very confused.
He watched "Paige Matthews" leave what seemed to be her new home. He was tempted to follow her, but he had an idea. He waited and moments later a man and a woman left the house. They got into a dark green Jeep Cherokee and headed away from the home. He turned the ignition on his car and followed them.
They led him to a club called P3. He watched them enter and then decided on his next course of action. He took the .45 out of his coat and screwed on the silencer. Then he replaced the gun in his coat and headed inside.
"I'm telling you, Cole," Phoebe said as they entered the Manor. "The DA's office doesn't have a case against you. They should let you have your job back."
"And I'm telling you, Phoebe," Cole argued. "Even if they don't have any real case against me, I wasn't doing any real legal work. They've surely disbarred me by now. I can't get a job anywhere."
"Well, there's gotta be something you can do. You're over a century old," Phoebe said. She headed for the kitchen. "And you can't live in that mausoleum forever."
"I'm used to it," he replied with a smirk. Phoebe was about to shoot a remark back at him, but she was surprised by the sight of Price frantically mixing up something on the stove.
"What are you doing?"
"It's just a potion. No big deal," Price said, a little too defensively.
"What's it for?" Phoebe asked.
"Protection," Price replied quickly. She lifted the small pot off the fire and poured the potion into a jar.
"Protection from what?" Cole asked.
Price didn't answer as she turned off the stove and left the kitchen with the potion
"You must be the health inspector," Piper said to the man descending P3's stairs. She outstretched her hand toward him. He shook it, but he did not even crack a smile. "I'm Piper Halliwell, the owner."
"Yes, Miss Halliwell," the man said. He pulled a small notebook out of his breast pocket. He started patting his other pockets for a pen, but he couldn't find one. He looked inquiringly to her. "Do you have a pen I could borrow?"
Piper nodded her head. She went to look by the registers, but there were none. "I'll have to get one from the back." She turned and the man followed her. Leo waited patiently by the bar, his suspicious nature starting to peek through his calm demeanor.
The man followed Piper to her office. She was headed toward the desk when she heard a small click behind her. "Don't turn around. Keep your hands visible." Piper stiffened as she realized that the clicking was the sound of the hammer of a gun being cocked. "What has Paige Matthews told you?"
"What are you talking about?" Piper asked, wondering who Paige Matthews was.
"Don't pretend you don't know her. I saw you leave the same house right after she did," he said. "I need to know what she told you."
"I honestly don't know this person you're talking about," Piper said. "I've never met anyone named Paige Matthews."
The next exchange terrified Piper. She heard Leo say her name and seconds later she heard the sound of gunfire. What confused her was that there was still a gun pressed against the back of her head. The man had two guns. Piper started to turn. She could see Leo lying out in the hallway outside the office door. But the man wouldn't let her turn any further. He pressed the barrel of the gun harder against her head. She flinched and tried to keep her composure while she thought about her husband bleeding outside the office door.
"Sit at the desk and place the palms of your hands on the desktop. Don't move them," the man said. Piper sat and placed her hands on the desktop. She kept glancing out the door. She could see Leo's feet. "We're going to sit here until you tell me what you know."
"I already told you that I don't know anything," Piper said sharply. She looked back to the doorway and she couldn't see Leo's feet anymore. "What do you want me to say?"
"You know Paige Matthews. Maybe she doesn't go by that name with you, but you know her. And I need to know what she's told you," the man said.
"She hasn't told me anything. She moved here from Boston. We had an extra room to rent out," Piper said, lying somewhat.
"What does she pay the rent with?"
"Cash," Piper continued to lie.
"What name does she go by?" he asked.
Piper hesitated slightly, but he didn't seem to notice. "Melinda. Melinda Warren."
He continued the hold the gun on her. "If you tell anyone about me, you won't be able to get a conviction. I have powerful employers. And if you try to get me convicted, we'll come after you."
With that he headed out of the office. But he stopped in the hallway. He saw the trail of blood and followed it. It stopped in the middle of the main club area. He ignored it and ran out of the club, stashing his gun in his coat pocket.
Piper finally was able to calm herself enough to move. She headed out into the club and called Leo's name, paling at the sight of the blood on the floor. "Leo! Leo! Leo, where are you?" she called frantically. "Leo!"
She ran around the club. Looking in dark corners and behind the bar. "Leo!" Leo still hadn't shown up when the phone rang. Piper picked it up, hoping that Leo had orbed to the Manor.
"Hello?" she answered quickly.
"Piper, you're terrified. What's wrong?" Phoebe asked, getting her information from the empathic link they had shared ever since they had brought Phoebe back to the side of good.
"Is Leo at the Manor? Please tell me he's there," Piper said.
"No, he's not. Piper, what's happened?"
"This guy pretending to be the inspector came in here. He pulled a gun on me and then he shot Leo," Piper explained. Her voice was shaking. "Oh God, I can't lose him."
"You won't Piper," Phoebe said. "I'm sure he's just up there recuperating or healing or whatever."
"Leo!" Piper called into the air. "Leo! Please, come down here."
"Piper, come home," Phoebe said. "Leave a note for the inspector and come home."
"I can't cancel the inspection," Piper said, not really caring about the inspection at all.
"Ask the inspector to postpone it till tomorrow. Come home and we'll keep trying to call Leo," Phoebe urged. Piper knew she couldn't endure inspection when she didn't know where Leo was. "Piper?"
"Okay, I'm coming home," Piper said finally. She hung up the phone without another word and wrote a note for the inspector. She taped it to the door of P3, locked up and then drove home, hoping that they could find Leo.
Phoebe went to Price's room and found her sitting in the middle of a circle of candles with a bowl of the potion in front of her. The potion was burning as if it were an oil fire.
"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked, interrupting Price's ritual.
"Don't interrupt," she said urgently.
"Well, Piper and Leo were attacked at P3. This guy pulled a gun and shot Leo, and now Piper's freaking out because she doesn't know where Leo is," Phoebe explained. "Can't you feel her panicking?"
"I've been blocking it out," Price said, now concerned. She put out all the candles and the flame on the potion. "I guess this is too late."
"What is it?"
"It's a protection ritual I came up with to keep myself safe."
"Why did you come up with it?" Phoebe asked.
"I'll explain after we figure out where Leo is," Price said. They both heard the front door close and headed downstairs. Piper was already calling Leo's name.
"Leo! Leo!" she yelled.
"Piper," Phoebe said as she and Price descended the stairs.
"Where is he Phoebe?" Piper asked, her face desperate and filled with worry. "Why isn't he here? He has to know that I'm worried. Where did he go?"
"We'll figure that out, Piper," Phoebe said in a reassuring tone. Piper then turned to Price.
"This has to have something to do with you and whatever you were hiding from me this morning. This guy was looking for someone named Paige Matthews and he said that he saw me leave here after Paige Matthews. I left the Manor after you did this morning."
"It's a really long story," Price said. "Let's concentrate on finding Leo first."
"We don't really have a way to find him," Phoebe said. "We just call him and he's here."
"Then we keep calling him," Price said, determined not to let her secret destroy her newly found family.
After his visit with the night club owner he had pretty good faith that "Paige Matthews" had shared her priveleged information with no one. Now all he had to do was get her alone. Then he would find out how smart she really was.
They spent nearly an hour calling Leo's name non-stop, but he didn't make an appearance. They went into the kitchen and Phoebe made tea while Piper and Price sat at the table. Piper closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands.
"Don't give up, Piper," Phoebe encouraged.
Piper lifted her head and exhaled. "I'm not. I'm just…worried."
"I'm sorry," Price said, her voice wrought with guilt. "If I had remembered to do the protection ritual, you wouldn't have a reason to be worried."
"Explain what this ritual is for," Phoebe said. The kettle whistled and she poured the water into three separate cups.
Price sighed, preparing to deliver her story. "My first year out of college I was a beat reporter for the Boston Chronicle. A lot of my assignments were grunt stories like city council meetings and dedications and whatever. But after a couple of months I got an investigative assignment dealing with the rumors of a rise in organized crime. Almost everybody in the city knows who runs the organized crime ring, but there's no proof of their activities. So, I went undercover, getting involved with one of the grunts of the Organization. And I got proof. I have documentation, tape recorded conversations, photographs, everything."
"This is serious, Price," Piper said. "You need to give that information to the authorities."
"The only information I don't have is how far their connections reach," Price replied. "I could give this information to the FBI and fall victim to a car bomb the next day."
"How do they know that you have the information?" Phoebe asked.
"My editor assigned me this story without consulting with his supervisor. I gave a copy of the story over and my editor was dead the next day. Car bomb," Price continued to explain. "After that I became suspicious. My story never went to print, and suspicious things kept happening. My apartment was ransacked. My car was broken into. I started being at various convenience stores as they fell victim to armed robbery. I was shot one of the times, in the shoulder. I was mugged twice. I knew I had to protect myself. Local authorities were out. Half the police in Boston are on the Organization's payroll. I feared they had national connections as well. So I came up with the ritual, legally changed my name to Paige Matthews and moved out of the city."
"But you told me that the doorman let you into P3 on the night we met because your ID said Halliwell," Piper commented.
"I brought the wrong ID. I still have my old one," Price explained. "But legally I'm Paige Matthews. The problem is that they know where I am now. I'm not sure what I should do."
"You can't hide behind the protection ritual forever," Phoebe said.
"And I can't move," Price said. "I have to go to the FBI."
"Hello," Price answered the phone.
"Is this Price?" a familiar male voice asked.
"Yes, it is," she replied. "Who's this?"
"This is Puck," he answered. Price's face immediately lit into a smile. "I was wondering if you might want to have dinner with me tonight. I could get reservations at Spago."
"Oh, as much as I would love to have dinner with you in one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, I can't," Price said. "I have a personal situation. I don't know how long it's going to take to deal with it, but I promise I will call you as soon as it's taken care of."
"I await your call," Puck said. They said their goodbyes just as the doorbell rang. Price joined Piper, Phoebe and Darryl in the parlor.
"All right, I got your three urgent messages," Darryl said. "What's up?"
"Do you have any friends in the FBI?" Phoebe asked.
"A couple. Why?"
"Are they honest?" Price asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Darryl asked in response.
"Do you know them well enough to know for sure that they would never take money to turn a blind eye?" Price elaborated.
"Well, Agent Katz is only an acquaintance, so I couldn't really tell you about him. But Agent Santos went through the police academy with me before she headed to Quantico," Darryl explained. "I would be more likely to expose you three as witches than Becca would be to go on the take."
"We'll assume that means she's trustworthy," Piper said. Darryl nodded his head, noticing how stressed Piper looked. He rested his hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I've been better," she replied. "Price needs to talk to your friend."
"Why?"
"I would prefer not to tell you until I talk to Agent Santos," Price said. "I've already put Piper and Phoebe in danger by telling them. I don't want to add you to that list."
"All right, I'll give her a call," Darryl said. He headed for the door. "Do you want me to bring her here?"
"It would be better if we go to her," Price said. "I'm sure the Manor is being watched as we speak. We can't let on that we're meeting with the FBI."
Darryl opened the door. "I'll call you when I get a hold of her." Price shut the door behind him. She turned to her sisters.
"Let's hope this works," Price said.
"I have to go back to the club," Piper said. "I need to clean Leo's blood off the floor before employees start to show up."
"Piper, I'll go," Phoebe said. "You don't have to do that."
Piper hesitated and then shook her head. "I'll go," she said. Her voice was shaking, and her sisters could feel her fear and worry. "I just…need to go."
"We'll call you when Darryl gets back to us," Price said. Piper nodded her head and left the Manor.
"Should we have let her go?" Price asked.
"I don't know," Phoebe replied, watching Piper through the window as she pulled out of the driveway.
He watched the night club owner leave the house and he had a feeling she had lied to him. There was more to her relationship with "Paige Matthews," and he hated when people lied to him. He had to respond to that lie.
He was still wondering about the man he had shot in the night club. He had seemingly disappeared. He had a feeling the owner didn't know where the man was either.
Price looked out the window, surveying the street for anyone who could be watching the house. She couldn't see anyone.
"Why do I have this gut feeling that it was a mistake to let Piper go to the club alone?" Price asked.
"I was just asking myself the same question," Phoebe replied. Then the phone rang. Phoebe answered.
"It's Darryl. Becca will meet you three, and she said you can choose the location," he said quickly.
"P3," Phoebe replied. "Piper's already there and it's fairly neutral if someone is watching Price."
"All right, we'll meet you there," Darryl said, and they hung up.
"We're going to P3. I don't like the idea of Piper being alone," Phoebe said and the two of them left the house.
While she was in the club, he quickly rigged the owner's car. He set it with a remote trigger and parked down the street in order to see but not be seen.
Piper had finished the horrible task of cleaning up her husband's blood. Afterward she had a complete breakdown while she had the benefit of being alone.
Now she had composed herself somewhat and was heading out to her car to go home.
Phoebe nearly swerved into oncoming traffic when Leo orbed into the car.
"Good lord, Leo! Don't do that!" Phoebe exclaimed, relieved that she hadn't caused an accident. Then she calmed herself and concentrated on his welfare. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, a little weak, but I'll be okay," he replied. "I couldn't orb until now and I still can't track accurately. I had sensed that all three of you were in the car. Where's Piper?"
"At P3," Price said. "Actually, something's going on and she might be in danger. Could you go wait with her until we get there?"
"Yeah," Leo said, orbing out without explanation. He knew he would get one later.
He was parked with a view of the passenger side of the Jeep, but he could still see her approaching the vehicle. He allowed his thumb to hover above the trigger. He was about to press the trigger when the door to the club opened and she turned. She started to walk away from the Jeep. He pressed the trigger, watched the explosion and then drove away.
The explosion could be seen a block away. Darryl and Agent Santos were coming from one direction; Phoebe and Price were coming from the other. Both drivers accelerated, judging the distance and realizing it was at P3.
The force of the explosion caused the door of P3 to shut forcing Leo back inside. It threw Piper forward through the air. She landed hard on the pavement, tumbled a bit and then came to a stop face down.
Leo shoved the door open and rushed over to his wife, noticing the burns on her back. Two cars screeched to a halt across the parking lot. Leo began to heal Piper, but due to his weakened state it took longer. He had to stop before he was finished when he noticed a stranger running over with Phoebe, Price and Darryl.
Darryl was already on his cell phone. Leo looked down when he heard Piper groan. The healing had caused her to regain consciousness.
"Lie still, Piper," he said soothingly. "Lie still."
"Leo?"
"Yes, I'm here. It's okay."
Phoebe and Price knelt by Piper. Agent Santos was standing back a little while Darryl relayed information to the emergency operator. Phoebe made eye contact with Leo.
"I didn't have time," he said, answering the unasked question.
"What happened?" Piper asked. She was slipping in and out of consciousness.
"There was an explosion," Phoebe answered. "We're here, honey. You're going to be okay."
"Darryl's calling an ambulance," Price added with a shaky voice, reeling with guilt.
"It hurts," Piper said in a pained whisper.
"I know, sweetie. Hang in there," Leo said. He rested his hand on her arm. They all waited quietly for the ambulance to arrive.
In the emergency room everyone waited. Price approached Agent Santos.
"I want to talk to you," she said.
"Are you sure you want to talk now?" Agent Santos asked.
"Yes, now," she replied, looking over at Leo and Phoebe. "Before anyone else I care about gets hurt."
Agent Santos nodded her head and directed Price to someplace private.
Price explained her situation to Agent Santos and tried to gauge how trustworthy she really was. She seemed as straight as Darryl had described.
"You have proof of all this?" Santos asked.
"I made five copies of my story along with all my evidence," Price explained. "Each set is in a different safety deposit box in a different bank in a different part of the city. I wanted some insurance."
"That was a smart move. Now here's the next step," Santos began. "I take you to my friend in the District Attorney's office. You tell him what you know and you cut a deal for your safety. You and your family will enter witness protection…"
"No," Price interrupted. "No witness protection. We'll take our safety into our own hands. I just want this information to get to the right people."
"I've never heard of anyone rejecting witness protection," Santos said in disbelief. "To be perfectly honest, I don't think the DA will agree with it. If something happened to you, he would lose his case and then his life would also be in danger."
"I can protect myself," Price said. "My family has obligations and we can't go into hiding."
"You'll have to explain that to the DA," Santos said.
"So, we can do this?" Price asked.
"As long as we keep calling on friends," Santos replied. She stood. "I'll make a call to my friend. I'll get back to you when he's ready to meet."
The two of them went back out to the waiting room, and Santos talked with Darryl briefly before she left.
"Halliwell," a young doctor in green scrubs said. Phoebe and Leo stood.
"Yes, is Piper okay?" Phoebe asked.
"Piper has second degree burns on her back and shoulders," the doctor said. "There won't be any scarring, but it will take a week or two to heal completely."
"When can she come home?" Price asked.
"Tonight if she'd like," he replied. "Mr. Wyatt, if you'd come with me I'll tell you about her medication and changing the bandages."
Leo and the doctor went back to see Piper, leaving Phoebe, Price and Darryl behind.
"Well, I'm used to being in the dark about you three," Darryl said. "So I think I'm going to go. Call me later with an update on Piper."
Phoebe nodded her head and watched Darryl leave. Then she turned to Price. "So, what did Agent Santos say?"
"She's calling a friend in the DA's office," Price explained. "Hopefully he can get this to court before anything else happens."
"Hello?" he answered, wondering who was calling him.
"Hi, it's Price," she said. "You know, my little situation isn't exactly resolved, but it's at a standstill. I know Spago isn't an option anymore, but if you'd still like to grab dinner…"
Puck smiled. "Sure, I'd love to. How about I pick you up at your place and we can both think about where we want to eat."
Price gave him her address and he hung up the phone. Casually he walked over to his desk, opened the top drawer and pulled out his .45. He chambered a round and then put it in his inner coat pocket.
"You're going out?" Phoebe asked, thinking Price was out of her mind after all that happened. "After everything that's happened today, you're actually going out with a guy you just met last night?"
"Look, I promised myself a long time ago that with or without the protection ritual, I wouldn't go into hiding because of the Organization," Price argued. "If none of this had happened, no guns and no bombs, I would still be going out with Puck tonight. And we'd be eating at Spago, instead of wherever we end up going."
"But still…" Phoebe began. Piper interrupted.
"She's right, Phoebe. With everything we've faced, have we ever gone into hiding?"
Phoebe paused. "Well, you've suggested it a lot."
Piper smiled. "Doesn't count." She turned to Price. "Go out, have fun, and be careful."
"Always," Price said with a smile. She left the room.
"Piper…" Phoebe began.
"Phoebe stop," she interrupted. "You're turning into me."
"Well, I am the middle sister now," Phoebe said with a smirk.
"Yeah, whatever," Piper said. She stood carefully, wincing from the pain in her back. "I'm going to try to sleep. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Phoebe said. She watched Piper leave the room and then shook her head. She could feel that Piper was just as worried as she was.
"So, all your life you've lived on the east coast, and you never knew you had sisters?" Puck asked before he took a sip of wine.
"Yeah," Price replied. She ate the last bite of her tiramisu. "It's like all my life I thought I was an only child and that the woman who raised me was my grandmother, but in reality she wasn't."
"How did you figure out that Piper and Phoebe were your sisters?" he asked.
"Well, I went to P3—Piper owns it by the way—and the doorman let me in for free because he saw my last name and thought I was family," Price explained. "I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so I went in, I met Piper and I just sort of put the puzzle together."
"What I don't understand is why your mother would give you up for adoption and keep Phoebe," Puck said. "She's your fraternal twin, right? It doesn't make sense."
"That's what we've been saying, but there's no way for us to find out the truth," Price responded. "Our mother is dead, our father wasn't around when we were born, and anyone else that could possibly know has died."
"Your family belongs in a soap opera," he joked.
"Yeah," she said with a chuckle. "But enough about me. Tell me about you. What about your family?"
"My family. Well, my mom and dad have both passed on. I have a sister in Toledo that I haven't spoken to in ten years, and I have a brother that's in prison. Maybe our families should be neighbors on the soap opera," he joked after his explanation. Price laughed.
"So, what do you do for a living?"
"Nothing too out of the ordinary," he replied. "Stock broker, and sometimes I moonlight and do people's taxes. I've got a great rate."
Price smiled at the implied suggestion Puck made. "Actually, Piper's got a business degree. I might ask her to do my taxes this year."
"Damn, thought I had a new client," he said with a smile. "But you've got an interesting line of work."
Price hesitated for a moment, confusing witchcraft and journalism as her line of work. "Oh, right, the journalism. Well, I've had some exciting moments. Although 415 is pretty tame compared to some of the stuff I've done in the past."
"No Pulitzer material?" he asked.
"Yeah, right, maybe in the future," Price said. She had in fact thought about how her story on the Organization could pull in a Pulitzer, but her safety came before the recognition. "You know, I feel like I could talk to you forever. I'm having a great time."
"Me too," Puck said with a smile. They just stared at each other for a moment. Then he looked at his watch. "But as much as I hate for this evening to end. We both have to work tomorrow."
"Sick days are perfect for nights like this," Price suggested.
"I wish, but I've got a meeting that I can't skip out of or reschedule," Puck said with a smile. He lifted his hand toward the waiter to get the check. "We could do a sequel to tonight."
"Friday?"
"Sounds great," he replied. He paid the check and they left the restaurant hand-in-hand.
As they walked to the car, someone suddenly clubbed Puck from behind, knocking him unconscious. Before Price could turn around and use her power to defend herself the person wrapped his arms around her, grabbed her wrists and handcuffed them behind her back. She tried to scream, but the attacker covered her mouth with his hand.
"No screaming, Paige," he whispered in her ear. "Or whatever your name really is."
Price stopped struggling when she recognized the voice of the man that had been influential in her investigation of the Organization. He was the grunt that she had been involved with while undercover. His name was Bruce Malton. She could remember him quite clearly, more than she would have liked.
He dragged her to a nearby van and threw her in the back. He slammed the doors shut and then got into the driver's seat. He turned the ignition and squealed out of the parking lot, leaving Puck unconscious on the pavement.
Piper and Phoebe met on the stairs, Phoebe heading up to get Piper and Piper heading down to get Phoebe.
"You feel it, too," Phoebe said.
"Definitely," Piper replied. "She's scared of something."
"She's worried, too," Phoebe added. "Okay, so it's all well and good that we can tell that she's in trouble, but we don't have a clue where she is."
"What restaurant were she and Puck going to?"
"She didn't say," Phoebe replied. "I think they were going to decide in the car."
"Okay, I'll scry. You try her things for a premonition," Phoebe nodded her head and the two of them went off to their separate tasks.
He pulled her out of the van and led her to the edge of the cliff. He forced her to her knees. She made the mistake of looking down and saw the waves crashing on the rocks. She lifted her head up and just stared fearfully toward the full moon.
"You know, I didn't want to do this job, but if I didn't it would be me having the hit put out on me instead of you," Bruce said. He pressed the barrel of the gun against the back of her head. "You had to be a damned reporter. Didn't you even realize what kind of trouble you were causing for both of us? I hate the media."
"I was doing my job," Price said. "I think you can understand that."
"Yeah, I can. I'm doing my job right now," he said. He cocked the hammer. "Any last words before I kill you?"
"There's no point in killing me," she said hastily. "The FBI knows what's going on. I told them everything, and all of the evidence is secure. My will specifies that it be released to the FBI if anything should happen to me. Why kill me?"
"Because it'll give closure to our relationship," he replied, preparing to fire.
Simultaneously, Piper found Price on the map. She called Darryl, sure that Price's fear had nothing to do with demons and everything to do with the Organization. After sending Darryl and the cavalry to where Price was, Piper went down to get Phoebe before the left to help Price.
"Piper, you shouldn't go. Your back," Phoebe said.
"Is not a problem," Piper said. "I'm going. End of discussion. You drive."
"You're going to go to prison, Bruce," Price said. "If you kill me, the evidence will be released. Don't do this."
"It'll be released if you're dead or not," he said. "I've got nothing to lose."
"Why add murder to your sheet?"
"You know how many people I've killed," he said. "You've read the evidence. One more isn't going to hurt anything."
When he heard the sirens, he turned, allowing the gun to point away from Price's head. She noticed this out of the corner of her eye and took the opportunity. She stood quickly and rammed her shoulder into Bruce's chest. He stumbled, firing his gun but not hitting her. The gun fell from his hand as he fell to the ground and she ran, her hands still cuffed behind her back. She ran toward the approaching lights. The cars came to a stop and she saw the occupants of all the cars emerge. The one car that she recognized as a detective's car was Darryl's. He hurried forward and guided Price back behind the cars. Then he joined the rest of the cavalry.
Bruce stood with his gun and pointed it toward the police. He was trapped. It was a lose-lose situation.
"Drop the gun!" Darryl shouted. Bruce didn't comply. "Drop it now!"
In the glare of all the lights in the dark, Bruce couldn't aim properly, but he chanced it anyway. He pointed in the direction of Darryl's voice and fired. He hit no one and he soon fell to the ground after multiple gunshots from the large group of police officers.
Piper and Phoebe pulled up behind all the police cars and saw Price leaning against one of them. The coroner's van was further ahead of the police cars, and the eldest Halliwells were certain that Price's attack was indeed human. They got out and hurried over to Price.
"Are you okay?" Piper asked. "We felt your fear and sent Darryl after you."
"Yeah, he said you called him," she said. "How did you find me?"
"Scrying," Piper replied.
"You saved my life," she said. "You have no idea how close this was."
"I think we have a small idea," Phoebe said with a smirk. She and Piper had felt Price's fear intensify at one point, and then they felt relief. They knew what had happened before they had even arrived.
Darryl approached them. He looked to Price. "So, this guy is involved with whatever you told Agent Santos today?"
"Yeah, he was sent out on a hit," she replied. "They could send more guys like him, but hopefully soon I won't have to worry about it."
"I think I can wait to find out who 'they' is until later," Darryl said. "You're free to go home."
"Thanks, Darryl," Price said. She was about to leave with Piper and Phoebe when she rememebered something. "Puck!"
"What?" Darryl asked.
"I was with Puck when I was attacked. He was knocked unconscious in the parking lot," she explained.
"Oh, yeah, he's at Bay General," Darryl replied. "Just a concussion. They'll probably release him tomorrow morning."
"Thank God," Price said. "I would hate for anything to happen to him because of me."
Price turned to leave with Piper and Phoebe, but they were standing there smiling at her. She looked at them confused.
"What?" she asked. They didn't say anything. She realized that they could feel what she was feeling. "Okay, get out of my emotions already! I know what you two are thinking."
Puck went to retrieve his gun where he had hidden it the night before. He had regained consciousness before anyone had come out of the restaurant so he knew he had to hide his gun, in fear of being exposed. It was risky, considering someone might find it, but he knew it had to be done.
He pulled it out of the small hole underneath the brick wall surrounding the restaurant's parking lot and breathed a sigh of relief. He put it in his jacket pocket just as his cell phone rang.
"Hello," he answered.
"Hi, Puck, it's Price."
"Oh, thank goodness you're alright," he said. "I was actually about to call your house to find out what happened."
"So we were worried about each other at the same time," she said. "My friend in the police department assured me that you'd be okay, though."
"Well, I'm glad to hear you're safe," he said. "I just got out of the hospital, and I'm about to head to that meeting I told you about. I'll call you after work and we can talk about Friday."
"That'd be great," she said. They both hung up, and Puck stared at his phone thoughtfully. He really liked Price. He hoped that his business involving her and her family would turn out positive. He didn't want to have to do anything to her. He shook away the thought then and headed back to his car.
THE END