She's Cast a Spell On You
Chapter 3
"So…this is where they live." Chuck said as he got out of Sarah's Porsche.
"Yep this is it." Sarah replied, pointing to where Tabitha's white Corvette was parked next to a red convertible 1969 Ferrari Daytona Spyder with S'RNA 1 vanity plates.
"They sure don't believe in keeping a low profile." Chuck whistled as his eyes took in the clean lines of the Italian sports car.
"You can admire the cars later." Casey said as he joined the couple.
"In a hurry to meet your girlfriends?" Chuck quipped, earning in return a low growl from Casey as a slight smile crossed Sarah's face.
After an elevator ride up to the penthouse, the trio were admitted into their new teammates' apartment, their eyes widening in astonishment at the luxurious—really sybaritic—furnishings and décor. "You like?" Tabitha grinned as she and her cousin entered from a side room.
"Wow…" Chuck whistled in admiration as his eyes fell on what seemed to be an original movie poster of "Forbidden Planet". "Is that…"
"Yep." Tabitha grinned, "Sure is. I saw it and couldn't resist. I like to collect stuff like this."
"You should see her toy collection." Serena laughed, "She still keeps the ones she had as a child."
"That's so cool!" Chuck exclaimed, feeling a kind of connection with the other blonde in the room. "Isn't it, Sarah?" His eyes then fell on a picture of a lovely blonde woman wearing a pale-blue dress seated beside a ruggedly handsome dark-haired man in a business suit with a little blonde-haired girl about two years old wearing a creamy-white dress with pink trim seated between them. As he gazed at the picture, he flashed. TWA Flight 83…bomb…no one claims credit…an obituary page for Darrin Stephens, a senior account executive for McMann and Tate, married to Samantha and father of two children, Tabitha, age 6 and Adam age 3. A missing person's report for one Samantha Stephens dated December 1972, one month after the death of her husband. Legal documents from Social Services: Custody of Tabitha Stephens granted to Serena Stephens, cousin; custody of Adam Stephens granted to Maurice Dobson, London, United Kingdom.
"Did you just flash, Chuck?" Sarah asked in a whisper.
Nodding his head, Chuck gazed into Tabitha's eyes, "You're her." He said in a hushed voice, pointing to the toddler seated between the two adults. You're the little girl. And those are your parents. I'm so sorry."
"Chuck…" Sarah interjected, "Do you realize what you're saying? That's impossible. If she were that little girl in the photo, she'd be over forty years old. Look at her…she's about my age."
"Actually…" Tabitha interrupted as she wiped a tear from her eyes, "He's right. That little girl is me. And yeah, I'll be forty-two years old this coming January."
"Impossible." Casey responded, shaking his head, "I'm thirty-eight…no way you're older than me."
"Sorry, Stud Muffin." Tabitha answered back, her lips turned up in a grin, "But I am. And my cousin is…"
"Older." Serena interrupted with a smirk. "A lot older."
"That was you in the Gainsborough painting and in those pictures I flashed. The flapper outfit and being led away from that protest in the sixties…that was you too." A bemused Chuck concluded and then inquired, "But how?"
"You saw that?" Serena exclaimed, "I didn't know that ol' thing was still around! Tommy painted that on a lark. We ran into each other at one of the Duke of Somerset's parties and…"
"Wwwwww…wait a minute!" Chuck stammered, "Are you telling us that you knew Thomas Gainsborough? The eighteenth century English painter?"
"This is getting ridiculous." Casey growled, "You're telling us you two are what…immortal or something."
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Tabitha announced, "We're witches. Card carrying, cauldron brewing, spell casting, witches."
"Yeah…right." Casey chuckled and then, his smile disappearing to be replaced by a menacing growl, "Now tell us the truth."
Sighing, Tabitha replied, "Okay…you want proof." She twitched her nose, levitating an apple from a fruit basket on the kitchen table to Casey's lap. "Thought you might like a snack, Stud Muffin." The blonde witch grinned.
"Nice trick." Chuck responded, still not believing the bombshell that had just been dropped on them. "I couldn't even see the wires."
Her lips turning up in a mischievous grin, Tabitha remarked, "I see this is a tough room. All right…time for a road trip. Where to, Cuz? Paris? Sydney?"
"Nah." Serena answered back with a wicked grin, "Let's keep it closer to home. We don't want them getting sick." She then offered a suggestion, "How about that dingy old store we were in?"
"Sounds good to me." Tabitha grinned as she turned her gaze on her guests, "Ready?" Then, she and Serena both snapped their fingers and then everyone in the room disappeared only to reappear moments later in the Buy More right in front of Jeff.
"Whoah!" Jeff gasped, "No more formaldehyde for me today."
"Oopsie! Didn't mean to pop in in front of you. Go on to whatever it is your doing. Nothing to see here." Tabitha exclaimed with an embarrassed laugh as she and Serena once again snapped their fingers, bringing everyone back to their living room. "All right." She let out a breath. "Believe us now?"
Shaking her head, Sarah murmured, "What…were we just…"
"Yeah." A subdued Chuck nodded his head, "We were here…then we were in the Buy More…and now we're back here again." As the implications of what happened sunk in, his expression changed to one of amazement as he exclaimed, "Fantastic! You really are witches! Or are you really aliens?"
Laughing, Serena answered back, "We're witches. Although aliens do exist…"
"They do?" An astonished Chuck responded, "Really?"
"Yeah." Tabitha grinned, "But let's talk about that at another time, okay? So…" She took a deep breath, "Do you have any questions?"
"Yeah." Sarah nodded her head as she spoke to Serena, "How old are you really? If you knew Gainsborough, then that would make you over three hundred years old…"
"Normally…a girl doesn't like to talk about her age." The dark-haired witch grinned and then whispered in a conspiratorial voice, "Don't tell anyone else this, it's closer to five hundred years."
"Are you a branch of humanity or another species all together?" Chuck asked as his inner nerd came out.
Chuckling, Tabitha replied, "You know…that's an interesting question that Serena and I have been looking into for quite some time."
"Yeah." Serena interjected, "We did some digging back in the nineties and we think that we started off as normal humans but diverged a little after the Toba supervolcano blew up."
"That'd make sense." Chuck nodded his head and then filled in his companions, "The Toba supervolcano caused a mass extinction. They think the number of humans on earth dropped down to less than twenty thousand. Homo sapiens almost went extinct. A small isolated population…maybe affected by radiation…"
"While you're probably right about Toba." Tabitha agreed, "I don't think the answer for why we are what we are lies in the natural world."
"Yeah." Serena agreed, "Something else happened…something more magical."
"Are you immortal?" Sarah then asked.
"Oh no…" Serena shook her head as both she and Tabitha took on more serious demeanors, "We are very mortal…we die just like you. A bullet through the head will kill one of us just like it would one of you."
"Good to know." Casey replied with a grim expression on his face.
"Yeah…it is." Tabitha agreed, adding in a grave voice, "Using a gun has saved both our lives a time or two when we found ourselves powerless." She then advised both of the agents, "If you find yourself taking on a witch or warlock, best way to take him or her out is with a sniper rifle at one kilometer range. Hit them before they even know you're there. Otherwise…if you don't have a defensive enchantment, it's jackass city—as in you getting turned into one."
"Thanks for the inside info." John responded, realizing that his blonde lover had just given him and his partners very important information. "Anything else we should know?"
"A lot." Serena responded, but we don't have time for everything right now, so I'll give you a quick run through and then we can talk some more about it later if you want." She then flashed the big man a flirtatious wink, "Maybe later…"
"Okay." Chuck interrupted, blushing slightly as he attempted to return the conversation to the subject, "You were talking about not being immortal. How long do you live?"
"Assuming we reach old age, we can live for a long time—thousands of years, in fact." Serena, now with a serious look on her face, explained. We're not immune from diseases like dementia and arthritis and there are a few ailments that are exclusive to us, and we are affected by old age." She then gestured with her head at a photograph of an elderly woman with a kindly face. "Aunt Clara." The raven-haired beauty said with a rare smile of genuine warmth on her face. "She passed on from natural causes a few years ago—she had been dealing with dementia since the early twentieth century or so—I think the first symptoms hit after Queen Victoria died."
"So…both your parents were witches?" Sarah asked Tabitha.
"No." Tabitha shook her head, "My father was normal. He worked for an ad agency. Their marriage was a bit of a scandal amongst most of my Mom's family. Kind of think of it getting the same reaction that an interracial marriage would have gotten in the 1950s and 60s and you wouldn't be too far off the mark over how he was treated. At one time or another, he was disintegrated, turned into an old man, turned into an ape…a dog…a donkey…I can go on. It's a pretty sore subject for me. So…if it's okay with you, I'd rather change the subject."
"Understood." Casey responded with a note of sympathy in his voice. Getting back to business, he then asked, "So…why are you telling us this?"
"Because if we're going to work together, we need to trust each other and part of that is knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses and playing straight with each other. We know Chuck's the Intersect. It's only fair that you know about us." Tabitha flatly replied. As their three guests nodded their heads in approval at Tabitha's answer, she continued, "Many of the threats you'll be dealing with now are supernatural: witches and warlocks…ghosts and ghasts…imps…the odd demon…all sorts of things that go bump in the night. You'll need our help with those and we'll need your help with human threats. Also…we might be helpful in dealing with some of your situations."
"Hmmm…" Casey nodded his head as he considered the blonde witch's suggestion, "Gotta admit, it has potential. Think about it…" He said to his CIA partner, "While one of us draws the fire of a potential target, the other one pops in the rear and takes them out."
"Extraction operations too." Sarah noted, agreeing with her partner. Then, addressing their hosts, the blonde CIA agent asked, "Okay…what's the mission you need our help with."
"We're going after a magic tome and the son of a bitch who's got it now." Serena responded. "A warlock by the name of Phillipe who's also an arms trafficker is currently in possession of it. He's got tight security—both magic and conventional. We've got to get that book while at the same time get as much intelligence on the arms deals as possible and hopefully take out the warlock."
"Two teams would work best." Casey proposed as he outlined his plan. "Tabitha and I will go after the trafficker while Sarah and Serena grab the book."
"Good plan." Tabitha nodded her head in agreement, "Our strengths and weaknesses compliment each other this way."
"What about me?" Chuck asked and then answered his question, "I know…wait in the car."
"Very good, Bartkowski." Casey responded.
"You'll need offensive and defensive enchantments." Serena declared with a smirk, "You don't want to get turned into frogs or worse. They'll only be temporary, so we'll do it just before we go on our mission."
"After the mission, we'll set you up with permanent enchantments and wards." Tabitha announced, "The wards will protect you and anyone in your homes from magical attack."
"Wait a minute!" Chuck held up his hand, "Are my family and friends in any danger?"
"That's why we're putting in the wards, Chuck." The blonde witch said in a kind voice, "They'll keep everyone safe."
"So…what do we know about the layout?" John inquired.
"That's where you guys come in." Tabitha answered back, explaining, "He owns a villa on Malibu Beach. We can't get near him…his witchdar will go off the moment he spots us."
"I guess it's time for Charles Carmichael to make his appearance again." Chuck surmised, his upper lip turning up in a slight grin at the anticipation of once again posing as his handler's boyfriend.
"Right." Serena concurred, fulfilling Chuck's wish. "Phillipe is holding a little party tomorrow afternoon. You three need to go in and take a looksee. Don't draw attention to yourselves or you might end up as his new room decorations or something worse. We can't give you any enchantments for this because it'll tip him off. Go in…get what you can, but don't push it and then get your asses out."
"Anything else you can tell us about him?" Sarah inquired.
"Yeah." Serena responded, "Me and him have history. That's one of the reasons why I can't be in the area until we actually go for the tome. I dumped him back in the thirties and he's still pissed."
"Dumped him?" Casey grunted.
"Yeah." Serena laughed and then shuddered as she lowered her voice, "He was too clingy." She then focused her attention on Sarah, "Whatever you do, my dear, don't let him get too interested in you. Don't even flirt with him. If you let him set his sights on you…well…let's just say that things could get pretty bad. He's not opposed to using love charms to get what he wants. Believe me…I know."
"Thanks for the warning." Sarah replied in a hushed tone.
"Okay then…if there's nothing else…how's about some dinner?" Serena offered as she twitched up a fine dinner on the table, complete with wine. "Then after…" She gave Casey a wink, "We can find other things to keep ourselves busy with."
"We can stay for dinner." Sarah responded as she took Chuck by the hand, "But after that, I think we should head back."
"Yeah." Chuck quickly agreed, "Tomorrow's a big day at work and then there's the party."
"What about you Stud Muffin…" Tabitha grinned as she sat on Casey's lap and whispered in his ear, "Stick around…Please…and not just fun and games…it's important."
After his teammates had left, Casey turned his attention to the two witches, "Okay…what's so important that you couldn't tell me in front of the others?"
Tabitha took out a small crystal. "This is. I guess you could call it an 'In Case of Emergency Break Glass' charm. It's dormant now, so it shouldn't trigger any of Philippe's defenses and because you'll be just a bartender, he won't be paying attention to you."
"If Philippe does what I think he's going to do…" Serena interjected, picking up the narrative from her cousin, "Then he's going to cast a spell on Sarah." She further explained, "He gets off on stealing other men's women—it's a power trip for him."
Nodding his head, Casey replied, "I've known men like that. But why do you think he'll target Agent Walker and not some other girl?"
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed her, Stud Muffin." Serena quipped with a wicked leer, "You're not blind. Besides her being a looker, Philippe will see Chuck as absolutely no competition."
"That's because the moron isn't." Casey snarked.
"To him, it'll be like taking candy from a baby." The dark-haired witch declared with a scowl. "Besides tricking me with a love spell when I wasn't looking, he tried the same thing with my cousin, Sammie before she met Darrin. Lucky for her, Uncle Arthur was there too and zapped him with one of his joy buzzer pranks. Gave her enough time to pop out."
"Okay…so how does this work?" John asked as he held the green crystal up and carefully appraised it.
"Set it down and then say the following words…" Tabitha instructed, reciting an incantation in Latin and making Casey repeat it over and over until she was sure that he had mastered it. "Under most circumstances, normal humans can't cast magic." The blonde witch explained, "But Serena and I have imbued the crystal with some of our magic."
"Once you've said the incantation, a doppelganger of me will appear." Serena smirked, "I made sure that I was at my most obnoxious when Tabby and I imbued the enchantment. I guarantee you, he will be so pissed off that you'll be able to get your friends and get the hell out. Do it right, and he won't even suspect that you did it. Then, once you make your getaway, come straight to us and we'll see what we can do about removing any spell he might have cast on Sarah and/or Charles."
"Thanks." Casey replied with a smile and a grunt.
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way…" Tabitha grinned as she resumed her position on Casey's lap while Serena circled about and began to massage his shoulders, "Time to fool around."
"Okay…" Casey explained, his words addressed primarily to Chuck, as he gave the curly-haired young man and his CIA handler their earpieces. "I'll be working at the bar. You know what you're supposed to do, Bartkowski?"
"Yeah." Chuck responded as he placed his earpiece in his ear. "Me and Sarah are supposed to mingle and see if I flash on anything."
"Right." Casey nodded his head, "And what did Tabitha and Serena say?"
"Remember what Serena said…" Chuck reminded the lovely blonde standing next to him, "He uses love magic.
"We're not supposed to engage with Phillipe." Sarah interjected, shaking her head. "But I'm not sure I buy all this magic stuff."
"How can you explain appearing at the Buy More and then back at their apartment?" Chuck countered.
"I don't know." Sarah shook her head, "Maybe they drugged us and planted false memories."
"Normally…I'd agree with you." Chuck replied, "But…I just have a feeling that they're telling the truth. In any event, the less attention we attract—the better—right?"
"Yeah." Sarah responded with a nod of her head.
"Glad that's settled." Casey grumbled, further cautioning as he nodded his head in the direction of the villa, "Just stick to the plan. Now…let's get to work."
Next part: Chuck vs. the Warlock