TWO
It was nearly noon before Piper came down from her room. Prue was all ready gone to work and Phoebe sat at the kitchen table looking over the classified ads.
"Morning, sleepy head," Phoebe said as Piper came into the kitchen. "There's some fresh coffee if you want some."
"Thanks," Piper said.
"Aviva called this morning," Phoebe said.
"Really? Piper asked. "How is she doing?'
"Not too bad," Phoebe said. "She said she's trying to behave herself but it's not easy. It told her to stick it out. I think she's going to be okay."
"That's good," Piper said. "She's been through enough. She deserves some happiness."
"So, what do you have planned for today?" Phoebe asked.
"Thought I'd pick up something special for dinner," Piper said. "I haven't had much of a chance to fix a proper meal since I started at Quake. I figured since I've got the night off I'd fix a real meal for a change."
"Sounds good," Phoebe said. "Anything I can do to help."
"Just stay out of the kitchen while I'm cooking," Piper said.
"No problem there," Phoebe said. "You want me to run to the store for you?"
"No, I'll do it," Piper said. "I'm kind of picky about the ingredients I use."
"Is that supposed to be news?" Phoebe asked, smiling.
"Very funny," Piper said. "I won't be gone long."
Piper finished her coffee and then to her room and got dressed. She said a quick goodbye to Phoebe and then went out to her car. As she was unlocking the car door, a man approached her from the street.
"Piper Halliwell?" the man questioned.
"Yes," Piper said, turning to face the man.
The man appeared to be in his mid forties. He was dressed casually but the clothes were rumpled and somewhat dirty. He had several days' growth of hair on his face and was badly in need of a haircut. He glanced around furtively. Piper also noticed he was holding a small bag in one hand.
"My name is Watkins," said the man. "Marcus Watkins. I got your name from the manager at Quake. I need your help."
"Okay," Piper said suspiciously. "What kind of help do you think I can give you?"
"I can't talk right now," said the man. "I have to keep moving. It might find me. You're the only one who can help me. I'll come back later tonight. Then I'll explain everything."
"Look, Mr. Watkins," said Piper, "I don't know what you think I can do for you, but…."
"I know you're a witch," Watkins said. "And Like I said, you're the only one who can help me. I don't have anyone else to turn to. No one else can handle this. Please, just let me explain everything before you decide. It's a matter of life and death. I'll be back later."
The man suddenly turned and hurried up the street leaving Piper alone at the car. She looked around the block but didn't' see anything out of the ordinary. She stood wandering what this man had been babbling about.
"He just came out and said you were a witch?" Prue asked when Piper told her sisters what had happened.
"Yeah, just like that," Piper said. "He seemed really nervous. He kept looking around like someone or something was after him. And he said 'it' might find him. You think he might be another warlock?"
"I don't think a warlock would be asking for our help," Phoebe said. "Not from what the Book of Shadows says."
"Well, he said he'd be back later tonight," Piper said. "What do you think we should do?"
"We need to find out what he knows," Prue said. "If he is a warlock, he could be dangerous. We need to find out how much he knows about us."
"What about what he said?" Phoebe asked. "About us helping him?"
"That depends on what kind of help he wants," Prue said. "First, we find out what he wants and what he knows. If he knows Piper's a witch whatever he wants can't be good. We need to be very careful here."
"But if he's an innocent," Phoebe began.
"We don't know that he is," Prue said. "In fact, we don't much of anything about him. I'm not saying we don't help him. I'm just saying we need to be sure first. To make sure this isn't some sort of trap."
"Well, that makes sense," Piper said. "It can't be hurt to be careful."
"Right," Prue said. "Now, all we have to do is wait for our mysterious Mr. Watkins to show up and explain what's going on."