Wednesday afternoon
Leo orbs in the kitchen and walks straight to the refrigerator: he's starving. Then again, that's old news: it seems to him that lately he's been either starving or throwing up. So, considering the options, starving is good.
Leo whistles happily as he prepares a nice ham sandwich: it's 3 p.m. and he hasn't been sick yet. The whole morning went by with no incidents, and unless there's an emergency call, he now has the afternoon free. He stops the hand holding the sandwich half way from his mouth: something's missing here. Mustard? No. Cheese, mayo, ketchup? None of those. Suddenly, his eyes light up: peanut butter! Leo smiles as he spreads a large amount of it over the ham: it's amazing how peanut butter suddenly became the perfect topping for virtually everything. He sits at the kitchen table and prepares to enjoy his snack.
Just then, Cole enters the kitchen, holding a bunch of papers in one hand and a mug in the other.
"Hey," he says, not giving Leo a second look as he heads to the coffeepot.
"Hey," says Leo, glancing at the concerned look at the other man's face and at the papers he's holding.
While Cole pours himself more coffee, Leo debates with himself about asking him what's wrong. Cole's clearly been working on Sarsour's case, and Leo doesn't feel like spoiling such a pleasant day by meddling with demonic affairs. The Elders have been asking lots of questions lately. No pressure, just questions; still, he finds this lack of directions quite unsettling. In fact, he thinks, frowning slightly, even when Cole was still half demon, the Elders seemed to be more interested in asking questions about him than in expressing their position concerning his presence at the manor and his relationship with Phoebe.
When Cole drops the papers on the kitchen's table and leans against the counter, drinking his coffee with a dejected expression, Leo lowers his eyes to his sandwich, making sure to avoid eye contact.
"He doesn't seem to be in much of a talkative mood, anyway," he thinks, in an attempt to convince himself.
The two men remain silent, oblivious to each other's presence. Leo chews his sandwich, pensively. Last night, Piper told him of how she's been covering for Cole and baby-sitting while he works on the case. Strictly speaking, that's a violation of the terms set by the Elders, even if she hasn't used any magic, but he didn't have the heart to say that. Now, looking at the neatly printed notes resting on the kitchen's table, Leo has no illusions about who did it: Cole couldn't be this organized even if his own life depended on it. Two witches out of three, he thinks, that can't be good.
Cole finishes his coffee and looks from the empty mug to the papers that await him, then back to the mug. When he reaches out for the coffeepot again, Leo sighs and asks:
"All right, what's the matter?"
"This case," says Cole. Leo gives him an interrogative look and he explains: "It's too damn weak."
"Why don't you take a short break?" Leo asks. "If you've hit some kind of lawyer's block..."
"The trial is in less than twenty four hours," says Cole. "I should be reviewing my closing statement by now, not struggling to remember the details of trolls' laws."
He sighs heavily, turns back to the coffeepot but, instead of refilling, places the mug beside it and turns back to Leo.
"You know, if I could go to the village and take a look at some legal compendiums..."
"WHAT?" Leo exclaims, flabbergasted. "I am NOT orbing you there!" he says, standing up.
"Okay, sorry," says Cole, raising his hands defensively. "Forget I said that, I just..."
"No." says Leo, sharply.
"Fine," Cole sighs. "Sorry."
He hesitates, then points at the remains of the sandwich Leo has dropped on the table and says:
"Come on, finish your sandwich."
As Leo sits again, Cole reaches for the coffeepot again. They remain silent for a moment, until Cole says:
"Dismemberment."
"What?" says Leo, confused.
"That's how trolls execute criminals," says Cole, keeping his eyes on his mug. "They dismember them. They tie each of the convict's arms and legs to one horse and..."
"Stop it," says Leo, curtly. He eats the last bite of his sandwich and adds, already standing up: "One, this is not gonna work; and two, it's a robbery, for crying out loud: who would convict someone to death because of a robbery?"
"On a trolls' court there are only two possible verdicts: non guilty and convicted to death," says Cole.
Leo flinches, but still says, sternly:
"I'm sorry to hear that."
When he leaves the room without another word, Cole sighs, sits at the kitchen table, rests his mug on it and picks up his notes again.
Less than five minutes have passed when Leo enters the kitchen again, heads to the refrigerator and pours himself some water. While he's putting the bottle back inside the refrigerator, he says, without looking at Cole:
"Besides, I may be home, but I'm on call: I couldn't possibly stay out of reach for the rest of the afternoon."
"The Elders could reach you there just as much as they reach you here," Cole assures him, keeping his eyes on the papers so that Leo won't see the glint of hope on them.
Instead of answering, though, Leo starts to leave the room with his glass of water. He stops at the doorway, with his back turned to Cole, hesitates for a few seconds and then turns back to him.
"Considering you did find a way to go there, what exactly would you do?" he finally asks.
"Just go to the library and update my knowledge of the trolls' laws," Cole quickly says. "And maybe stop by at the prison to talk to Sarsour."
Leo brings the glass to his lips, and starts to drink his water ever so slowly, all the time keeping his eyes down. Finally, he puts the empty glass on the table, and asks, out of the blue:
"Where's Ben?"
"Victor called earlier," says Cole, "he wanted to spend some time with Ben, and since Piper had the afternoon free, she took him to Victor's place. She said they'd be home by six."
"I see," says Leo. He remains silent for a while, and Cole watches him tensely. Finally, Leo holds out his hand and says: "You have one hour and not one second more."
Cole jumps to his feet and shakes the hand Leo's offering, and the Whitelighter orbs them to the trolls' village.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Watch out, you two!" grunts a female troll, as Leo and Cole orb in right beside her, almost causing her to drop the basket she's carrying.
The two men quickly move aside as she walks past them. They feel oddly small and uncomfortably fragile, surrounded by trolls, ogres and one or two cyclops. Fortunately, everyone seems to be minding their own business and don't pay much attention to the two newcomers; still, Cole and Leo lose no time to leave the crowded Market Square and head towards the library.
"Not very impressive," says Leo, looking at the small building that's little more than a hut.
"Do any of those guys look like the intellectual type to you?" says Cole, walking past him and opening the door.
Once inside the library, Leo watches the dusty books with some curiosity while Cole talks to the librarian, a wrinkled old female that seems to be able to break any of them in two with her bare hands. After a few minutes, Cole joins him, holding a large book and a few comics that he shoves in his hand, saying:
"Here, to pass time."
Leo gives the pictures on the cover a suspicious look, then shrugs and goes sit in front of Cole at the only available table.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I think those comics are gonna give me nightmares for the next two weeks," says Leo, as they cross the Market Square again forty minutes later, having asked directions to the prison.
"It could've been worse," says Cole. "I could've given you an issue of PlayTroll."
"Is there such a thing?" Leo asks, horrified.
"No," says Cole, chuckling, "but the look on your face when I said that was priceless."
Leo rolls his eyes, but before he can make a smart retort, Cole stops short, looking at a large building on their left.
"What?" says Leo, following his stare.
"That's the granary," says Cole. "Come on, I wanna take a look at the place before I talk to Sarsour," he says, already walking quickly in that direction.
Leo increases his pace to catch up with Cole as the other man approaches the granary. The doors are closed, and there's a big troll sitting in front of them. When he notices their presence, he gives them a dirty look and grunts:
"The granary is closed."
"I see," says Cole. "Listen, I'm the defendant's attorney on the trial concerning the robbery, and I'd like to take a look at the crime scene."
"It's closed."
"Yes, but if you just tell me whose permission I should ask..."
"No visitors!" groans the troll, standing up and looking down at the two men.
"Okay," says Cole, quickly taking a step back and pulling Leo by his arm. "Okay. We're leaving."
"You, too, have a nice day." he grunts as they are at a safe distant.
"Why did you want to see the granary?" Leo asks, as they walk away.
"Just a hunch," says Cole. "But God knows I need one."
"Are things that bad?"
"You'll bet," Cole sighs.
Leo walks by his side without a word for a while, immerse in his own thoughts. Then he sighs heavily and says:
"Oh, what the hell!..."
Before Cole can react, he grabs his shoulder and orbs them both to the interior of the granary. Once Cole understands what Leo has just done, he looks at him in shocked surprise and whispers:
"Have you lost your mind?"
"What?" Leo retorts in the same tone. "We have already broken the rules big time: my situation can't get any worse."
"Well, mine can! This is not just breaking the rules; this is trespassing! If they catch us here they won't even bother to judge us, you maniac!"
"Should I orb us out?" Leo asks, impatient.
Cole looks nervously around, and says:
"No. As long we're here, I might as well take a look around."
He starts to walk cautiously around the granary, with Leo on his heels. The two men walk in silence to the counter that separates the stock area from the visitors area, and back to the stock area. They turn corners and cross doorways, coming in and out of the mostly empty rooms, rooms that at this time of the year should be filled with bags of all kinds of grains. After some time, Leo starts to get bored with what would seem like mere wandering around if it wasn't for Cole's serious expression.
"One thing I don't understand," he says, watching as Cole goes on tiptoes to see what's on a shelf, "is why Sarsour tried to run away from the guards, instead of simply shimmering out."
"They'd have tracked his shimmer," says Cole, checking the lock of a door that seems to lead outside.
"How do they..."
"Just a second," says Cole, holding his hand up.
Leo shrugs and starts to walk in the opposite direction, to examine the contents of a big box in the corner of the room. He looks at the roots inside the box without much interest, and is about to go back to where Cole is when he hears something that makes his heart miss a beat: a door has been opened with a slam, and heavy steps indicate that at least two trolls have entered the granary. Leo takes one step towards Cole, intending to orb them out of here, but Cole stares intensely at him and waves his head. Although Leo has never heard of tracking orbs, he chooses to trust Cole's judgement and stay where he is, feeling his heart pounding furiously inside his chest, strong enough for him to wonder if the trolls won't be able to hear his heartbeats easier than they'd hear the chiming of his orb.
They hear the trolls -- dear God, there must be at least four of them! -- talking to each other as they walk around the granary. It's hard to tell, but Leo has the sinking feeling that they're coming right in their direction. His mind works frantically, trying to figure a way out of this. I shouldn't be here in the first place, none of us should. Damn it, Cole, why did I listen to you? Phoebe's gonna freak out when she learns I brought you here. And what in the name of God could trolls do to a Whitelighter? They can't kill me. Unless, of course, the Elders choose this particular moment to clip my wings, as a punishment for having broken the rules in spades. Even if they don't, if the trolls can follow my orb, how can I go back to the manor, with them on my heels? Or to anywhere else, for all that matters?
He looks at Cole again, and this one holds up his hand and places one finger on his lips, silently urging him to stay quiet. The only light comes from the cracks on the walls, but even at the half-light Leo can see the apprehension spread all over Cole's face. Leo feels a drop of cold sweat running down his back as the voices become closer, close enough for him to understand some of the words: somewhere here... when I put my hands on... closer... I'm sure it's... None of this does much to reassure him, and he jumps in surprise and almost shrieks when the doors are opened again and someone else shouts from outside:
"I found it! It had fallen behind those fruit boxes!"
The voices start to go away then, and when the doors are closed behind them Leo leans against the wall, feeling dizzy with relief. His heartbeats haven't come back to normal yet when he feels Cole's hand grab his arm forcefully, and the other man grunts:
"Get me the hell out of here."
Leo wastes no time, and seconds later they're sitting on a stone bank across the Market Square. He tries to say something, but from his mouth only comes out a hoarse croak.
"You're a freaking psycho," says Cole, glaring at him. Then, without a warning, he starts to laugh, and Leo soon joins him. They sit here for a good ten minutes, laughing hysterically, while the passers-by cast them suspicious looks. Finally, Cole says, wiping the tears away from his eyes:
"You're more of a menace as an ally than you're as an enemy."
"Shut up," says Leo, in between chuckles. "Come on," he says, slapping Cole's shoulder and standing up, "you wanted to see Sarsour before we went back, didn't you?"
"Sure," says Cole, standing up, too.
As they walk towards the prison, he says:
"Despite of all the mess, I think I actually found something I can use there." Leo gives him an inquisitive look, but he waves his head: "I don't wanna jinx it."
When they're at the prison's door, Leo stops short as a thought strikes him.
"Now, wait a minute!" he says, grabbing Cole's shoulder and forcing him to stop, too. "If you knew you hadn't the means to come here by yourself today, how did you intend to come for the trial?"
"I didn't plan on asking you to orb me here for the trial, if that's what you're thinking," says Cole, "The prosecutor will bring me here tomorrow."
"Ugh!" says Leo, grimacing at the idea of hitchhiking with a troll.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," says Cole, walking through the door.
Leo follows him, and they soon find themselves standing before a troll sitting behind a desk and holding a huge cudgel. When Cole cautiously explains why they're here, never taking his eyes of the cudgel, the troll says, curtly:
"Only three visitors at a time."
Cole and Leo exchange a confused look. They know trolls aren't famous by their math skills, but how hard it is to count up to two? Or to know that two is less than three? Before they can figure out what to say, though, the door behind the guard is opened and two elves come from the next room.
"Now you enter," grunts the troll, barely glancing at the elves.
The elves watch Cole and Leo with great curiosity. They talk to each other in a strange, musical language, and then one of them takes one step forward and asks:
"Is one of you Sarsour's attorney?"
"I am," says Cole.
"I'm Tadrien," says the elf, smiling and holding out his hand. "I'll be testifying at my cousin's trial, tomorrow."
"I'm glad to hear that," says Cole, shaking Tadrien's hand and smiling back at him.
The other elf, a beautiful female whose blond hair goes down to her waist, approaches them and says something that Cole and Leo can't understand.
"My sister," -- Tadrien puts one arm around her shoulders -- "and I really appreciate what you're doing for our cousin." He becomes very serious when he adds: "Elves don't forget. And we pay our dues."
"There's no due here," says Cole. "Sarsour is a friend of mine, and I'm glad to help."
"Elves don't forget," Tadrien repeats. Then he adds: "You must be here to talk to Sarsour. We shall not delay you."
After they've shaken hands and said good-bye, the two elves leave the prison, and Cole and Leo walk through the door and go see Sarsour.
[Author's note: I'm sorry, guys, but I won't let you watch this conversation; I have to save some surprises for the trial.]
It's almost 5 p.m. when Cole and Leo finally orb back home. Leo lets go of Cole's arm, and the two men look at each other, smiling.
"Thank you," says Cole.
"You're welcome. It was quite an enlightening experience," says Leo, smirking.
Then he looks up, listening, and his smile vanishes.
"What?" says Cole, apprehensively.
"They're calling."
The two men exchange a nervous look, then Leo says, trying to sound nonchalant:
"It can be just a coincidence."
"Should I tell Piper you'll be late for dinner?" Cole asks.
Leo glances at the grandfather's clock and says:
"It won't be necessary... I guess." -- he shudders as the Elders call again -- "I'd better go see what they want before they get impatient."
"Okay," says Cole. He watches as Leo orbs out with a sinking feeling. For a few moments he just stands in the middle of the sunroom, pensive. Then he sighs and goes work at the information he brought from the trolls' village, hoping Leo will come back before Piper comes back from her father's apartment.
