EIGHT

"Are you guys okay?" Paige asked as she, Piper, and Phoebe sat drinking coffee in the cafetorium.

"We're okay," said Piper. "A little shaken up but otherwise we haven't been harmed."

"Did… did they tell you about Leo?" Paige asked hesitantly.

"Yes, they did," said Phoebe in a whisper, looking around the room.

Two armed guards stood at all the exits. There didn't appear to be any video cameras in here so the girls felt it was relatively safe to talk pretty freely.

"You don't seem very upset about it," said Paige.

"Paige, Leo is a White Lighter," said Piper. "The only way to kill him is with the poison from a Dark Lighters' bolt. Even if that collar did what Mr. Wellington claims, it won't harm him permanently."

"Piper," said Paige, "if that collar was a bomb it would have blown his head off."

"Yes," said Piper, "and his natural healing ability would have corrected it almost immediately. He once told me that he could be at ground zero of a nuclear blast and he'd be relatively unharmed. So, no, we aren't really worried about him. Besides, we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"Yeah," said Phoebe, "like how to get out of here."

"Well, my powers are useless," said Paige, "just as I imagine yours are. That little injection has rendered me powerless."

"Me, too," said Phoebe. "Not that my power of premonition would do us much good in this situation."

"Well, being able to freeze time does have its advantages," said Piper. "Just before he injected me I froze him and was able to replace the drug with some water I had in a glass on the table. So my powers are still intact. And I think it's our best bet to get out of here."

"How?" Paige asked. "There are video cameras everywhere. You can't freeze the entire place can you?"

"No," said Piper. "First of all, I have no idea how big it is."

"I suppose you could freeze each section as we moved it," said Phoebe. "That's risky, though. Someone might notice what's going on before we get out and try to stop us."

"True," said Piper. "But I'm pretty sure I could freeze this entire room. Then we call for Leo and he can orb us out. There aren't any cameras in here so the only ones who know what's going on are the guards. With them frozen, there would be no one to stop us."

"What if you're wrong about Leo?" Paige asked. "What if that collar did kill him? Or what if it takes longer for him to reform or whatever than we think. If you freeze the room and the freeze wears off before he answers they'll know your powers aren't subdued."

"That's true," said Piper, thoughtfully. "But I don't see any other options."

"I do," said Phoebe. "Cole is still out there. If we could get a message to him he could shimmer us out. The question is how do we get a message to him?"

"What about a spell?" Paige asked. "Piper could cast a spell that tells him where we are. Then she can freeze the room and he can shimmer us out."

"Except that's an awful lot of information to pass in a spell," said Piper. "I suppose a spell could get his attention but how do I tell him what we're going to do without exposing what I'm doing?"

"You could wait until you go to bed," said Piper. "Once they think you're asleep, you could freeze the video camera in your room. That way when they don't see you moving they'll just think you're asleep. With the camera frozen Cole can shimmer in and you can explain the plan."

"It's risky," said Piper. "But it just might work. Assuming they let us see each other again. I'm not so sure they're going to do that again."

"So," said Phoebe, "what do we tell Wellington? He's going to want an answer from us. And he doesn't strike me as a very patient man."

"We stall," said Piper. "Tell him we need more time to consider our options. Tell him we need to decide how much we can tell him without compromising ourselves. Tell him anything that will give us some more time."

"Okay," said Paige. "The next time we meet here we need to be ready to orb out of here. Any idea where we go? They're probably crawling all over the manor. We can't go there."

"Cole will have some ideas on that," said Phoebe. "Remember, he's hiding from demonic bounty hunters. He's bound to know some places where Wellington and his goons can't find us."

"Okay," said Piper. "I'll try to get hold of Cole tonight. With any luck we'll be out of here soon."

Just then Wellington entered the room. He walked up to the girls and smiled at them.

"I do hope you enjoyed the reunion," said Wellington. "But it's getting late. You need your rest. I suggest you all retire to your rooms and get some sleep. We can continue our discussions in the morning."

Paige was escorted back to her room by the same two armed guards that had escorted her to the cafetorium. As they were walking down the corridor she saw Darryl further up the hall being escorted by two more armed guards. Darryl was handcuffed and shackled.

"Darryl," Paige called out, running up to him.

The guards all moved to block her way.

"What's the matter guys?" Paige asked. "You afraid of me? Didn't they tell you my powers are subdued at the moment? I just want to speak to him for a moment, that's all."

The guards all looked at each other and then decided it would be okay. They warned her not to make physical contact with Darryl and that they could only have a moment.

"Are you okay?" Paige asked. "Why are you shackled?"

"They think I'm working with you," said Darryl. "Paige, I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. I had to tell them everything they wanted to know."

"What?" Paige asked. "You told them what they wanted to know?"

"Paige, they threatened my family," said Darryl. "My wife, my kids. I can't protect myself against these guys so there's no way they can. I couldn't put then in danger. They're my family. I didn't have any other choice."

"It's okay," said Paige, thinking about what Wellington had said about everyone having a price. "I understand. No one could expect you to put them in danger."

"I didn't want to tell them anything, but they're my family, Paige," said Darryl.

"I know," said Paige. "Don't worry about it. You did the right thing. I don't blame you."

"Thanks," said Darryl. "You know I would never betray you like that."

"I know," said Paige. "Just take care of yourself, Darryl. We'll take care of ourselves."

Before Darryl could respond the guards forced them apart. Paige was escorted back to her room where the two guards once again took up their positions outside the door. Paige wondered if Piper would have any luck getting hold of Cole.