TWO

"Who are you?" demanded the Dark Lighter, pointing his crossbow menacingly at the man known as Randy Myers.

"Put that thing away," said Myers. "I'm not here to hurt you. I want to hire you for a job."

The Dark Lighter looked at this unimpressive human. But he knew those looks were deceiving. The power emanating from the human was beyond anything he had ever witnessed before. Slowly, the Dark Lighter lowered his crossbow.

"What kind of job?" the Dark Lighter asked.

"The kind you like," said Myers. "I need you to take out a White Lighter for me. That shouldn't be too difficult for someone like you. You're the best of your kind. It should be an easy matter for you."

"Flattery will get you nothing," said the Dark Lighter. "If you want me to take out a White Lighter, that means there must be a witch nearby."

"Three of them, actually," said Myers. "And a second White Lighter to boot."

"Three witches?" questioned the Dark Lighter. "You're talking about the Charmed Ones. Do you think I'm a total idiot? Their White Lighter is no ordinary White Lighter. He's an Elder. Not to mention the three of them. I wouldn't stand a chance against them. No Dark Lighter would."

"I don't expect you to fight them," said Myers. "I just need you to take care of the Elder. I'll handle the rest of them."

"Just how am I supposed to do that?" demanded the Dark Lighter. "The second I appear in their house they'll know what I am. I'll be vanquished before I can even raise this." He indicated his crossbow.

"Not if their distracted," said Myers. "The plan is very simple. I'll distract them long enough for you to pop in and do your work. As soon as you shoot the Elder, you get out of there. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds. You should be able to get in and back out before they even realize what's going on."

"What good will that do?" the Dark Lighter asked. "You said they had a second White Lighter. He'll just heal the Elder once I've shot him."

"That's not your concern," said Myers. "I'm hiring you to shoot the Elder, nothing else. Once you've done that, you go about your business."

"So all I have to do is get in, shoot the Elder, and then get out?" asked the Dark Lighter. "That's the whole assignment?"

"That's it," said Myers. "Like I said, I'll keep them distracted long enough for you to do that. If you're quick enough, they may not even know you're there until after you've left."

"How do I know you'll be able to distract them long enough for me to do this?" asked the Dark Lighter.

"You know I can do what I say," said Myers.

The Dark Lighter eyed the human. The power he sensed in this human was intense. More intense than even that of the former Source. It had taken the Charmed Ones months to finally vanquish the Source and it had cost them one of the sisters in the bargain. If this stranger said he could distract the witches long enough for the Dark Lighter to do his job, his power testified that he was strong enough to back up his claims.

"And just what do you get out of this?" asked the Dark Lighter.

"What do you care?" asked Myers. "As long as you get paid, it's not your concern. All that concerns you is doing the job right."

"I want payment up front," said the Dark Lighter. "If these were ordinary witches, I wouldn't be so concerned. But they aren't ordinary witches. They're the Charmed Ones. You may be able to do what you claim. But in just in case you can't, I want my payment up front."

"Fair enough," said Myers.

He waved his hand and a small chest appeared next to the Dark Lighter.

"It's all there," said Myers. "You can check it once I've left. Now, we're going to have to time this just right if it's going to work. So here's exactly what you're going to do."

The Dark Lighter listened intently as Myers explained the plan to him.

* * *

"What do you mean there's nothing?" Piper demanded of Leo. "There has to be something. Rumors, innuendo, wild speculation, something."

"Nothing," said Leo. "In fact, none of the Elders even detected any magic use in the manor today."

"Well I wasn't frozen by that character from Batman," insisted Paige. "It was magic. How could they not have detected it?"

"They don't watch the manor all the time," said Leo. "I've told you before, they can't watch every one and every thing all the time."

"Still," said Chris, "they should have sensed something. I mean freezing a Charmed One is not an every day occurrence. That should have gotten someone's attention."

"I know," said Leo. "It's odd that no one noticed anything. It's almost as if the place had been masked so they couldn't detect it."

"What about now?" Paige asked. "Is it masked now?"

"No," said Leo. "While I was up there we checked. All of us could detect all of you down here so whatever masking was used apparently isn't in use now."

"Wouldn't they have detected the masking itself?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know," said Leo. "Normally, I'd say yes. But I think it's quite clear we aren't dealing with anything normal here. They've agreed to keep a constant eye on the manor for the immediate future. If they sense anything out of the ordinary they'll notify either Chris or me."

"Well, that's something at least," said Piper. "Normally I wouldn't ask this. But this is my baby we're talking about. What about some additional help? Maybe Michael could come by and lend us a hand."

"Michael's unavailable at the moment," said Leo. "Besides, I don't think it's anything the three of you can't handle. Once we identify what we're dealing with. The rest of the Elders are checking their sources and will let me know the second they have any leads."

"You think this demon is coming back?" asked Paige.

"I don't think we can afford not to think that way," said Leo. "It was after something. That's why it came here in the first place. Since nothing in the manor seems to have been disturbed I think we have to assume that it didn't get what it came for. Which means it will probably be back to get it. Whatever it is."

"Other than the Nexus and the Book of Shadows," said Phoebe, "what could it possibly want? Obviously it doesn't want Paige. It had the chance to kill her when it was here before. And it couldn't get to Wyatt because of his force field. There's nothing else in the manor that would interest a demon. Just the normal types of things you'd find in any house. Most aren't even magical."

"I wish I could answer that," said Leo. "If we knew what it wanted maybe we would be able to figure out who it was."

"Well," said Piper, "if that demon shows up again, I'm just going to blow it to bits. Then we won't have to worry about it again."

"That wouldn't be very hospitable," said a voice from the entryway. "The front door was open. I hope you don't mind that I let myself in."

The group turned and stared at stunned disbelief as they saw Randy Myers standing in the entryway, smiling at them.