THREE

"He's been gone a long time," Phoebe said looking at her watch again. "The Strassmore isn't that far away. He should have been back by now."

"Take it easy," said Leo. "He probably just got tied up with business or something. I'm sure everything is fine."

"Leo," said Piper, "can you sense him?"

"No, not really," said Leo. "He's not one of my charges."

"We should go check on him," said Paige.

"I'm sure Leo is right," said Cole. "He probably got back to his hotel room and got a call or something. He'll be here, just give him some time."

"I still think we should check on him," said Paige.

"And what do you think he'll think when one of us shows up at his hotel room?" Leo asked. "He'll think you don't trust him. That you think he's going to run off again."

"We don't think that," Piper insisted.

"No," said Cole, "but it might look that way to him. He's not real secure right now when it comes to you girls. And if the truth be known he does have a reason to feel that way. He's trying to earn your trust back and if you go checking up on him every five minutes it's going to take him longer to feel like he's earning that trust."

"I'd just feel better if we knew he was all right, that's all," said Phoebe.

"Okay, look," said Leo. "I can go check on him if that will make you feel better. I can glamour into a different form and pretend I'm a member of the staff or something. He never needs to know it was me. That way you will feel better and he never has to feel like you don't trust him."

"You'd do that?" Piper asked.

"Sure," said Leo smiling. "It shouldn't be too hard to find a reason to get into his room as a member of the staff. Then I'll come back and tell you that everything is fine."

"Sounds good to me," said Phoebe.

"I won't be gone long," said Leo as he orbed out of the manor.

"You think everything is okay?" Phoebe asked Piper.

"Yeah, probably," said Piper. "It's probably like Leo and Cole said. He probably just got tied up with business or something."

"You'll see," said Cole. "There's absolutely nothing to worry about. People get tied up all the time. He's probably in his hotel room right now chatting away with his company about some business deal or something."

"Well, dinner is almost ready," said Piper. "Come on. You guys can help me finish it. We need the table set and a few other details that shouldn't take very long."

They all went into the kitchen to prepare for dinner.

Leo orbed back in a little while later.

"So, how's he doing?" Paige asked.

"I don't know,' said Leo. "He wasn't there. His bag was still on his bed and it looked like he was packing."

"Where was he?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," said Leo. "But I found this."

He held out the athame the demon had dropped on the floor. The blade had blood on it. Piper took the athame and looked at it. A look of concern crossed her face.

"I don't recognize this athame," she said. "And the blood on it. It's very little."

"I recognize it," said Cole. "It belongs to an upper level demon named Talistar. He's one of the most senior demons. The only demon higher than he is is the Source."

"What does it mean?" Phoebe asked.

"It means Talistar has Victor," said Cole. "The athame is sort of his trademark, you might say. He leaves it with some of the victims' blood on it to announce that he's taken them. He won't hurt him at least for a while. Victor isn't his target."

"We are," said Piper. "He took dad to get to us."

"That's what it looks like," said Cole. "But it doesn't make any sense."

"It makes perfect sense to us," said Phoebe. "Demons have gone after one of us before to get to the rest of us. It only makes sense that one would go after dad to get to us."

"I don't mean that," said Cole. "The Strassmore is a three star hotel. Talistar doesn't usually operate in such high profile areas. He wouldn't have the necessary connections to get to Victor there."

"I don't understand," said Piper. "Wouldn't they just send some lower level demons to grab him."

"It doesn't always work that way," said Cole. "Most of the upper level demons operate in specific areas. LaTarrin operates in the younger kids area. You know, video arcades, comic book stores, that sort of thing. Mephistan confines his dealings with the lower criminal elements. Prostitutes, bookies, that sort of thing. Talistar operates on the docks and warehouse district. To get into the Strassmore and kidnap someone he'd need help."

"What kind of help?" Paige asked.

"Beelzbor," said Cole. "He'd have the resources to get to Victor at the Strassmore. He likes to think he's from the upper crust of the underworld. That he's better than most demons."

"A snob demon?" Phoebe asked. "That's new."

"Yeah, but this would be right up his alley," said Cole. "What I don't understand is why Talistar's athame was left. If Beelzbor took Victor why leave evidence implicating Talistar?"

"Maybe to throw them off the scent," suggested Leo. "To confuse them about just who has Victor."

"That's possible," said Cole. "But why implicate Talistar for something he doesn't have the resources to do? It just doesn't make sense."

"Could they be working together?" Piper asked.

"That's unlikely," said Cole. "They aren't exactly best friends. If they're working together it must be something big. And I can't see Beelzbor letting Talistar take all the credit for it, whatever it is."

"Well, right now we have to find out where dad is," said Phoebe.

"Don't worry," said Cole. "Like I said, if Talistar has him he won't hurt your father for a while. He's after you. He'll have to keep Victor alive long enough to get to you."

"And if this Beelzbor has him instead?" Piper asked.

"Whichever demon has him," said Cole, "they wont hurt him right away. If they wanted to kill him they would have done that in the hotel room."

"Cole's right," said Leo. "If they wanted to hurt Victor they wouldn't have taken him. So I think Cole's right. They won't hurt Victor right away. Not until they get to you."

"So, what's our next move?" Paige asked.

"We wait," said Cole.

"Are you crazy?" Piper nearly shrieked. "We have to find dad now."

"We don't have to," said Cole. "In a situation like this Talistar or even Beelzbor will be contacting you. They'll offer to trade Victor for you. And they aren't going to wait very long. Once we know what their plan is we can formulate a plan for it."

"I don't like it," said Phoebe. "What if you're wrong? What if this isn't go get to us? Dad could be in a lot of danger."

"What other reason could they have for taking Victor?" Cole asked. "No offense, but he's just not important enough to bother with. The only reason to take him would be to get to you three."

"Okay," said Piper. "We'll wait. But not for long. If we don't hear something very soon…."

"We will, trust me," said Cole. "We will."