TWELVE
You think it was a good idea to let them go?" Paige asked as they left the storage room. "They might try it again somewhere else."
"Oh, that's not going to happen," said Cole. "Assuming Malevant doesn't vanquish them outright he'll impress upon them the importance of obeying their instructions. Trust me, it's going to be a very long time before they try anything like this again."
"So, I guess this whole cooking contest was just a scam from the beginning," said Piper.
"I'm afraid so," said Cole. "Not even the backers were aware of what was going on. With Gildarren vanquished they'll all quickly forget about this. I'm sorry, Piper. I know how much this must have meant to you."
"Well, we did get to vanquish a demon," said Piper. "And I'm glad to see Wesley wasn't part of it. I've always liked him."
"More than likely," said Cole, "Gildarren used his blood to control everyone involved with it. With Gildarren vanquished everyone will eventually forget about this competition. They'll go back to whatever they were doing."
"How long will that take?" Phoebe asked.
"That will depend on the person," said Cole. "They'll all return to normal by morning."
"Hey, Halliwell," said one of the contestants walking up to the group. "Have you seen Gui? He said he had something to take care of and that he'd be right back. Everyone's eager to get on with taping today's show. I've got a good feeling about today."
"Leslie Bishop," said Piper. "Sorry, Les, I'm afraid the show's over."
"What are you talking about? Bishop asked.
"She means," said Cole, "That we know about your little deal with Smiley. About you being the winner of this little competition. That's not going to happen. I'm afraid Elvis has left the building."
"Who are you?" Bishop asked.
"You might say I'm Smiley's superior," said Cole. "And your contact with his has been cancelled. What I'd like to know is just how you happened to make the deal with him in the first place?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bishop said.
"Drop the act, Les," said Piper. "Smiley gave you up. He told us all about your deal with him."
"Hey, he contacted me," said Bishop. "He said he could guarantee I'd win. All I had to do was show up, prepare my meals, and leave everything else to him. He said I'd always be in the top five and when the competition was over I'd be the winner."
"He never told you how he'd make sure you were the winner?" Piper asked.
"He didn't say and I didn't ask," said Bishop. "Part of the deal was that I was to take my Souse chef with me to my new restaurant. I didn't see it made a whole lot of difference so I said okay. I just figured he had some kind of deal with the judges. Hey, I didn't go anything wrong."
"Really?" questioned Cole. "How about conspiracy? How about fraud? How about collusion? Just to name three. All felonies in the state of California. And each of them carry some pretty stiff penalties."
"You some kind of lawyer?" Bishop asked.
"I'm a former district attorney for San Francisco," said Cole. "And I've seen people sent to prison on a lot less evidence than this."
"Hey, I didn't mean for anything to happen," said Bishop nervously. "I just figured this was a good way to get my own restaurant. You have to believe me. I don't want to go to prison. Isn't there something we can do? Some deal we can make?'
"Well," said Cole, looking at the others, "if you go home right now and never mention this to anyone ever again, then I might consider forgetting about it."
"Yeah, sure, no problem," said Bishop. "Forget about it. Forget about what? There's nothing to forget. I, uh, I need to get going."
Cole just smiled as Bishop hurried away.
"You think he'll tell anyone?" Piper asked. "He didn't seem to be under the demons' control."
"He probably wasn't," said Cole. "He's the one they had the deal with. But I don't think he'll tell anyone. It's ironic, though. With Gildarren vanquished and the others gone back to the underworld he could say whatever he wanted. There's no way to prove conspiracy or fraud."
"I don't think that's exactly the kind of case we want to take into a courtroom anyway," said Paige.
"And you don't have to worry about anyone else saying anything either," said Cole. "Once the Souse demons' blood is out of their systems they won't remember anything. All we have to do is tell them the show is cancelled for today and to come back tomorrow. In the morning they'll go on with their lives as if none of this ever happened."
"Well, I suppose we should be getting home," said Phoebe. "No sense hanging round here any longer. Thanks for the help, Cole."
"My pleasure," Cole said, smiling. "But I would suggest you walk out the front door before you orb back to the manor. A lot of people saw you come in here. That may not be erased once Gildarren's blood wears off. It could cause problems later."
"Okay, thanks," said Piper.
"Well, Pepper," said Harry, as the group moved to leave the building, ""I understand you've had to drop out. Shame really. But I guess it was to be expected. Some people just aren't cut out for the big time."
"Looks like the mesmerizing affect is beginning to wear off all ready," said Phoebe.
"Don't worry yourself about it, Harry," said Piper. "I'm not exactly dropping out. The competition is over. It's been cancelled."
"Cancelled?" questioned Harry. "What do you mean cancelled?"
"Just that, cancelled," said Phoebe. "Fini, kaput, hasta la bye bye, arriverderci, that's all she wrote."
"That can't be," gasped Harry. "This was my chance to prove I'm the best. They can't do this to me."
"Well, it's done," said Piper. "Get over your bad self all ready."
"You," Harry snapped at her. "It's all your fault. You did this. You've always been jealous of my ability. That's it."
"Harry, don't be ridiculous," said Piper.
"I don't know how," said Harry, "but you did this. You couldn't stand that I was going to beat you. I knew you'd do something to mess this up."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Piper. "Sorry, Harry, I'd love to stay and spar with you. But I really need to get home. Toodles."
Harry just stared at them as the group headed out of the building.
The End
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