"The potion should be just about ready," said Piper. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
"I'm going to practice with this," said Phoebe. "I've never fired a crossbow before."
"There's a target range down the hall," said Amy. "I'll show you where it is."
Piper finished preparing her potion. Amy had provided several dozen vial-sized bottled for Piper to put the potion into. And there was a bag with a shoulder strap for each of the sisters to carry the vials in.
When Piper returned to the conference room, Leo and Marcus were still talking. Phoebe was back in the room and she and Amy and Paige sat talking. Piper put the case with the potion vials in it on the table.
"You up to speed?" she asked Leo.
"Pretty much," said Leo. "No wonder you were so secretive."
"Pheebs," said Piper, "how's the target practice coming?"
"I'm an expert," beamed Phoebe. "Actually, it's not that hard. There's no recoil to it. Leo was right. Just point and shoot."
"Okay," said Piper, handing each of the sisters a bag. "The potion is ready. I used one I created when we lost our powers. It duplicates my explosive ability. It should be strong enough to take out any demons we come across.
"I made enough for each of us to have a dozen vials. Amy, I also made a dozen for you. Just in case any of those things get past us."
"Good thinking," said Amy.
"Maintenance is ready to restore power to the lower levels," said Marcus. "They've already disconnected the sensors on those levels so the alarms won't go off when the power comes back on."
"Where is this container?" asked Paige.
Marcus tuned on the television screen and the floor plan of a building appeared.
"It's here," he indicated on the floor plan. "The elevator is here." He indicated a different section. "The elevator is the only way between levels."
"Okay," said Piper. "We should destroy that container first. Once it's out of the way, we can see about cleaning up the demons it's created. Phoebe, have you finished the Power of Three spell? Just in case?"
Phoebe didn't say a word. She just handed a piece of paper to Piper and Paige. The two sisters looked the spell over, and then put the paper into their pockets."
"Good plan," said Marcus. "As you know, the elevator is remotely controlled. The surveillance camera has been knocked out. But the audio equipment is still working. We can't afford to let one of those things get up here. So unless you tell us it's you in the elevator, we won't bring it above the fourth level."
"Understood," said Piper. "This shouldn't take long. Once we smash that container, it should kill whatever's inside."
"Be ready when the elevator doors open," said Amy. "Three of the men who first went down there were attacked the second it opened."
"We'll be ready," said Phoebe.
"I wish I could send some men with you," said Marcus.
"It's too dangerous," said Piper. "They may know what we're facing but they don't have any experience fighting demons. This is our turf. We can handle it."
"Be careful," said Leo, kissing his wife. "All of you. We want you back in one piece."
"We will be," said Paige. "We vanquished the Source, remember? These lower level demons should be a piece of cake."
"Be careful all the same," said Leo. "Even lower level demons can be dangerous. Especially when they're cornered."
Leo waited in the conference room while Marcus and Amy escorted the sisters to the elevator.
"Good luck," said Amy.
"Thanks," said Piper.
The elevator doors closed and the elevator began its descent to the lower levels.