FOURTEEN
"What the hell happened?" Andy demanded as he watched the building burn.
"We aren't sure, sir," said one of the guards. "Witnesses said that several of the residents got into some kind of altercation. Three of them ran into that building and several moments later the building exploded."
"What kind of altercation?" Andy demanded.
"Three males approached a female," said the guard. "Two other females stepped in and there was a fight. The three women ran into that building just before it exploded."
"We have a full accounting," said a guard walking up to Andy and Barger. "The only ones unaccounted for are the Halliwell sisters, the new girl whose only identity we have right now is Phoebe Halliwell, and a Cole Turner."
"The building that exploded was Turner's home," said the first guard. "He preferred to stay to himself most of the time. He rarely left his house except to get his meals."
"So he was in there when the house exploded?" Andy questioned.
"It appears that way, sir," said the second guard. "Neither he nor the women are anywhere in the camp. They couldn't have gotten out of the camp. They probably died when the building blew up."
"One of the collars was probably damaged in the fight," said Barger. "That would have caused it to detonate. If they were all standing close enough to each other it could have caused the other collars to detonate as well. We'll be lucky to find anything left of them."
"Lock down the camp," Andy ordered. "Get that fire out and I want the entire structure searched thoroughly. I want to know for sure they were in there when that building exploded."
"Sir," said the first guard, "more than likely their bodies were completely destroyed in the explosion. I doubt there will be anything left to find."
"Search it anyway," said Andy, his temper flaring. "Until we find bodies or portions of bodies we'll go under the assumption they are still alive. And don't stop until you have something to report."
"Yes, sir," said the guard.
"Come on," Andy said to Barger. "The commissioner and the secretary will be here soon. And I don't think they're going to be happy with the report I'm going to have for them."
Without another word Andy turned and headed back to his office. Barger followed close behind.
"What is this place?" Phoebe asked as she looked around the cabin they were in.
"It's a place I've had for a while," said Cole. "It used to belong to my father. I use it sometimes when I want to be alone. It's located in the Rocky Mountains far away from any other people."
He opened the door and walked outside. The girls followed him. Just a few yards from the front door was a precipice that dropped off several hundred feet below. The view of the mountains from this vantage point was breathtaking.
"I see why you like it up here," said Piper. "It's beautiful. What about water and electricity?"
"There's a well in the back of the cabin and a generator in a small outbuilding behind the cabin. And there's enough food to last about two months. Longer if you ration it. I like to keep it well stocked since I never know how long I may have to stay here."
"What about the satellites?" Prue asked. "They're supposed to be able to detect supernatural beings anywhere on the planet."
"Their orbits rarely take them over this part of the mountains," said Cole. "This area is largely uninhabited so the authorities don't consider it a high priority. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Now, we need to see about getting those collars off you."
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Prue asked.
Cole didn't say a word. He simply reached up and grabbed the collar around Phoebe's neck. With his demonic strength he easily pulled the collar off her as he had his own in the camp. In one swift motion he yanked the collar off her neck and cast it over the side of the precipice. It sailed over the edge of the cliff and fell several feet below before suddenly exploding. However, it was far enough away that it was no threat to the four. He did the same with Prue and Piper's collars and they all stood there free of the instruments of death they had been wearing.
"It takes a few seconds for the detonator to kick in," said Cole. "Long enough to get the collars far enough away so we didn't have to worry about them. And without the collars you should have your powers back. Although I don't know what good it will do you."
"Why?" Prue asked.
"Why what?" Cole asked.
"Why did you remove the collars for us?"
"We had a deal. We work together to get out of that camp. The collars were part of that camp so until the collars were removed our bargain wasn't complete. You kept your end of the bargain. So I kept mine."
"An honorable demon?" questioned Piper. "Not exactly something we're used to."
"He's not your typical demon," said Phoebe. "He belongs to the Brotherhood of the Thorn. They have a very strict code of honor they live by. I guess that much is still true."
"You shouldn't know about that," said Cole. "No one outside of demonic circles knows about that. How did you get this information?"
"I told you," said Phoebe, "we were married. I know a lot about you."
"You mean what she said is true?" Piper asked.
"Yes, it is," said Cole. "Including the code of honor. We had a deal. As long as you honored your end of it I was honor bound to hold up my end of it. But that doesn't make us friends. Now that we're out of that camp we go our separate ways."
"Wait a minute," said Prue. "You can't just leave us here. We could die before we get out of these mountains. We can't shimmer like you can."
"That wasn't our deal," said Cole. "Our deal was we work together to get out of that camp. We've completed that deal. I'm under no obligation to do anything more."
"So you're just going to leave us here?" Piper asked.
"You'll make it out okay," said Cole. "You're the Charmed Ones. With your power you should find it easy to get out of these mountains. If you don't, it's not my problem."
"So much your so-called 'code of honor'," said Prue.
"Listen, witch," said Cole. "I kept my word. I got us out of that camp. And I got those collars off you. Something you couldn't have done yourself. And it's only my interpretation of 'getting you out of the camp' that had me remove the collars in the first place. Someone else probably wouldn't have done that much. So if you think I'm being unfair just get over it. You've got more of a chance now than you had an hour ago. I'd think you'd be appreciative for that at least."
Suddenly Cole shimmered and was gone leaving the sisters alone on the mountaintop.