Chapter 8: Reunion

Morris stood back up to face the woman who had addressed him. "And who might you be?"

Cody felt nothing short of shock that the lieutenant could stare right at her and not want to shrivel into nothing. He couldn't be more terrified, and she wasn't even looking at him. Yet Morris was as fearless and rock-like as ever as he came face to face with Natalia.

The woman seemed to be having a stare down with the Lieutenant as she answered. Both faces were as still and apathetic as stone. "District Attorney, Leah Michaels. The captain called me down here, as this case falls under my jurisdiction."

So she was using a fake name now. He ran the name through his head for a moment—Nata-lia. That made sense, but he couldn't place where in the world she got Michaels from. But it didn't matter to him. All Cody could see was Natalia, the demon sorceress, and as unbelievable as it sounded, a member of The Seven. She had been their ally once, but she had also been responsible for binding his and his brother's powers in their infancy, as well as the mastermind behind a web of lies that had nearly destroyed the relationship between himself and his mother, not to mention all the times she had intentionally arranged for them to be put in harm's way. He hadn't seen her since they vanquished The Source, but seeing her before him now brought back that strange mix of fear, anger, and curiosity at an alarming rate. What was she doing here? Her re-appearance seemed to have awakened even Zack from his state of shock.

"And since when does a kidnapping concern the DA's office?" Morris countered her coolly.

"Since we found evidence to support that he's being targeted." Natalia replied dryly.

Morris didn't seem at all surprised by this declaration. He was probably used to this sort of thing. "By whom?"

Natalia folded her arms casually. "I deal in organized crime Lieutenant. I'm sure you're familiar with what happens to those who reveal too much, or ask questions that shouldn't be asked. But if you must know, the stolen vehicle that was blown to smithereens only hours ago," she indicated what remained of the car Nathan had stolen, "was destroyed by an explosion with no identifiable source. No devices or bombs were found. Not only that, the front tire was seen to have been deflated as though by a bullet. Yet your team didn't find a single shell. This is a classic M.O. for those we believe to be working under one Abigail Tate."

Morris grinned smugly, clearly skeptical of the "D.A.'s" story. "You mean the children's charity benefactor? She's an eighty six year old woman. What makes you think she's in with the mob?"

"You're free to believe what you will Lieutenant. I'm not here to convince you of anything. All that would do is likely get us both killed. I already gathered what I came here for."

"Then why are you still here?"

The sorceress pointed a long slim finger at the boys. Cody nearly gasped as he caught a glimpse of the fire colored birthmark on her palm which she had kept carefully hidden under the sleeve of her coat; a fiery slitted eye with black spiked wings protruding from its sides. "I'm here for them. They're the sons of a friend of mine. I'm taking them back to their dwelling."

Morris' stare hardened. Cody wasn't sure if it was because he was losing his witnesses, or if he was just nervous about letting them go with her. Either way, he couldn't blame the guy. "Can you prove that?"

"Their names are Zackary and Cody Martin. Their mother is Carey Martin, who is the cabaret singer at the Tipton hotel, at which all three of them reside. Carey is divorced from her Husband Kurt Martin, the boys' father who you may recognize as the lead singer of some rock band that I have neither the time nor the patience to remember the name of. I'm well acquainted with Maxine as well from a Big Sister program I used to volunteer for. Their ages are seventeen; they attend Cheevers High School, and the boys just returned from a Semester at Sea program—Seven Seas High aboard the S.S. Tipton. The boys were born September of 92, and Maxine was born a month earlier. Cody is slated as most likely to be Valedictorian for his senior class, while Zackary is applying for a scholarship in sports, namely basketball. Maxine and Cody dated for two years before a rather unexpected break up. Cody's hobbies include baking, chemistry, male-cheerleading, and rocket science, and he aspires to be the first doctor-lawyer-chef-astronaut. Zackary enjoys basketball, baseball, skateboarding, and just about any other sport you can think of, and he wishes to grow up to be a racecar driver/secret agent. Maxine enjoys sports as well as dancing, and has a passion for helping others, as well as a taste for danger which led to her career goal of going into law enforcement. I can tell you their exact height, weight, and blood type as well if you wish."

This woman never ceased to amaze, and at the same time frighten Cody. He was nearly sick to his stomach at the amount of information she seemed to have on them. What she had said about Max wasn't entirely true, nor was it too far from the truth. She had good reason for lying about that part. But everything she had said about him and his brother was accurate to the syllable.

Morris stared into her ever blank purple eyes, trying to detect a hidden motive. "That's an awful lot of information you have on your friend's kids. And how come I've never heard anything about you from the DA's office?"

"It's a big city Lieutenant. Now unless I'm mistaken," the way she said it made it sound inconceivable that she was even capable of a mistake, "you haven't charged these children, nor do you have anything to charge them with. Their injuries aren't in need of immediate attention, and it's already been determined that they don't need treatment for shock. Given that, I believe I'm cleared to take them home."

Morris looked back at the boys. "Is this alright with you?" he asked resentfully.

They only nodded. As nervous as they were about going with her, given their history it was unlikely that whatever she had planned, she wasn't there to harm them. But what was she here for? Cody heard a slight moan behind him, and it made him remember who else was in the ambulance with him. How were they going to get Nicole out? For the first time his eyes met Natalia's and the look he gave her communed the unvoiced question. Her eyes flickered towards the sleeping girl stretched in the back of the ambulance. As he had expected, Natalia was nothing if not clever had a solution the moment he had presented her the problem.

"The girl in the back, I'm placing her in my custody as well."

"On what grounds?" Morris was past annoyed with her now, and he didn't bother to hide it.

"On the grounds that she has no immediate relatives that we know of, and I know someone who can look after her until we can find out where she has to go. I have a friend who manages the Hotel these boys live at who knows her quite well, as her former caretaker was in his employ. Marion Moseby has the means to look after her until those at the Child Welfare offices can find the most suitable place for her." Her stare was as hard as ice and her tone left no room for argument. "I'll deal with the paperwork. I'm sure you're quite busy with your case. You may have the girl taken to the hospital and treated. I'll be there to pick her up shortly." She decided that she didn't need to waste any more time with the officer and turned her attention to the twins. "Come along boys, Maxine."

She began leading the three of them away. Trevor stood up to follow them, but Morris restrained him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"With Zack and Cody." He answered as though it should be obvious. Morris looked back to Natalia.

"I suppose you know this one too?"

The sorceress turned her amethyst gaze back to the officer and Sykes. "I've never seen him a day in my life. As far as I'm concerned you can take him downtown for questioning."

"What?!" Trevor yelped. He narrowed his eyes as Cody looked back to him smugly and waved.

"Relax Trevor." Max tried to sound sympathetic. "You'll be out in no time."

"Yeah Trevor" Morris put a firm hand around his shoulders. "You and I are going to get reacquainted. How does that sound?"

Trevor grimaced as Cody and his brother were led to Natalia's car. It was a little surprising to him that the demoness even owned a car, but even more surprising was the model. It was a bright silver Volvo that looked like the kind you see in action movies during a chase sequence. Natalia moved gracefully to the driver's side and motioned to them. "Get in. Zackary, you get the front seat." That worried Cody. When they had last met, Natalia had focused a great deal of energy in directing Cody along in her plan so that things worked out in her favor. But to his brother she had rarely shown anything more than indifference. What interest did she have in him now?

Seeing no other alternative, he climbed into the back seat with Max, anxious to find out what the sorceress wanted with them now.

--Inside the Volvo, heading down Bromfield--

"And you're sure it was Rose, Rourke, and Thomas you saw? And Tituba as well?" Natalia mused after Cody had finished explaining to her what had happened. She had made sure he told everything he recalled in exact detail, and reminded him coldly that she had other ways of getting it out of his head. "That's rare. The Tates are a powerful well connected family. They have an entire network of agents with a fair number of witches in their number. But those three are high ranking members of the family. And Tituba is Abigail's personal attendant. This must indeed be quite the event for them to be sent personally."

"They must want Nicole really bad." Cody surmised.

"Now are you sure that you've told me everything they said? The slightest scrap of information can be of great importance."

"I promise that's everything. Now what about Nicole? You said you'd help us protect her."

"I did no such thing." The demoness said in a level voice. "You simply pleaded for help, and being in a particularly good mood today, I felt obliged to help. But be careful, that can change in an instant."

Cody sighed. Aside from being an imposing presence in his life, Natalia had also confused him to no end. After all, she was a demon. And yet she had lent a hand to them several times. What did she get out of it? Especially now that the Source had been vanquished? For hundreds of years, that had been her drive. And after befriending and losing Melinda Warren in the battle it had become that much more a personal battle for her. But now that he was gone, what was her purpose here? If there was one thing he knew about her it was that she always had an ulterior motive. What was her hang up on them? But his thoughts were interrupted when she finally turned to Zack. Despite forcing him to sit by her, she had been in no hurry to make him talk, and he had remained as stoic as he had when they had been taken into custody.

"So Zackary, what's your story? When I approached, your brother and your whitelighter's heartbeats quickened, but yours remained as steady as it was when I arrived. In fact it seems to be a little slower than normal."

Zack said nothing and continued to stare blankly out the window.

"We…" Cody stammered, "we lost someone today. A friend who was helping us track Nathan and Nicole." He wasn't sure how Zack would feel about him telling her about Gwen, but at the same time he didn't want Natalia to decide to force the information out of him. Zack didn't react.

"Ah," Natalia replied, and it was here that Cody witnessed a rare moment when she actually sounded sympathetic. "I see." A few moments of silence passed before she spoke again. "In that case, your behavior is understandable—childish, but understandable."

Zack clenched his fists at her words. Cody tensed and Max held his hand tightly.

Natalia either didn't notice or didn't care. "So what are you going to do about it?" Zack said nothing. "Are you just going to let your friend's death be in vain?" Again he said nothing. "Well I can tell you that sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to solve things." Still no reply from Zack, but Cody could see his anger beginning to surface. "That's right. Clam up and hope things go away. That's how children handle things isn't it? Pathetic. Truly pathetic."

Zack could feel the blood rising in his face. Every cruel word the sorceress uttered brought Gwen's face into his mind; Gwen standing at the door to their suite, Gwen talking to him in the hallway while she teased him about his sibling rivalry with Cody, Gwen watching him with admiration when he taught her how to scry with a computer, Gwen putting a comforting arm on his when Nathan had escaped with Nicole… and Gwen fighting both Rose and Thomas because of his stupid idea, fighting with all her strength right up until the car exploded. Then in a dizzying whirl he was pulled back into the present, in the car where Cody and Max's eyes were glued to him in astonishment. He didn't remember throwing a punch at Natalia, but nevertheless his fist remained clenched in her hand after she caught it before it could connect with her cold unfeeling face. The flames that danced over his fist didn't even seem to faze her, and even through the fire Zack could feel that her hand was unnaturally cold. She held it tightly with strength that didn't feel like it could belong to that slender arm.

Zack spoke in a voice that was so angry and full of hate, it couldn't possibly belong to him. But those words were coming out of his mouth as plain as day. "What would a demon know about losing a friend? You people kill day in and day out and feel NOTHING!"

Somehow her expression had remained blank. With her cold hand she lowered his fist away from her. The crimson fire danced across her features eerily. Zack felt her pull the car to a stop. She turned those purple eyes on him and pulled her night black hair back behind her ears. "You really need to ask that question?"

Zack's face softened, though he couldn't quite manage to release the anger that had been so strong only moments ago.

"Let me guess," she drawled, "you feel like the whole thing is your fault. That there was something you could have done to stop it. That if you had just been better prepared, or if you had done one thing different, she'd still be here right now. Am I right?"

Of course, if there was anyone who knew how he felt, it would be Natalia. He had written the story of that battle in the grove himself. It had been one of the first entries he had written when he and his brother started their own Book of Shadows. He remembered vividly the first time he heard it, how Natalia had grown close to Melinda Warren, like a sister, and how she had lost her in that fight, and how for centuries she had never forgiven herself for it. It had been her drive since that day to vanquish The Source, not for personal gain, but for her friend. The fire around his hands burned out immediately and he returned his stare to the window. That was when he finally noticed that they had pulled up in front of the Tipton and the sorceress was waiting for them to get out.

Now that Natalia was through questioning them though, Cody had a few questions of his own. "Hold up Nat." he used the nickname that the Charmed Ones had given her, but the icy stare she shot at him through the rearview mirror made him quickly regret it. He swallowed and tried to remember what it was he had been going to say. "What are you doing here? Why are you investigating the Tates? Last I heard you were protecting The Hollow."

Natalia sighed. "Yes that's true. Since word spread that I had a hand in The Source's demise, and that I aided the Charmed Ones, I was decreed by both sides from evil to neutral status. My role in the magical community has changed dramatically. After the Charmed Ones nearly destroyed themselves by using The Hollow, I have been charged with guarding it, but that is only one of my duties. I am one of the head guardians of magic on the Tribunal now. I watch for activity on both sides that could leave it exposed, as well as anything that can shift the balance too greatly. As you can imagine, since the decimation of the Underworld, I've had my hands full. We on the Tribunal believe that Abigail Tate may be planning something that could devastate the community—that they may be guilty of committing a taboo. But we can't prove it, and this neutrality thing is tricky. Without hard evidence, we can't act. The Tates are a powerful family with nearly infinite resources, and they're very good at hiding what they do. Otherwise we would have put an end to them a lot sooner."

Max leaned forward in her seat. "What do you think they're doing?"

"I can't say for sure, but from what you've told me, it has something to do with that girl. She's a fire-starter, and a powerful witch for sure. But if they wanted to simply recruit someone, they have other agents for that. You heard Lieutenant Morris mention that Abigail is a benefactor for children's charity? More specifically, orphans. She has several establishments in her grip, as well as agents in their staff. Should they find a witch, they bring them into the fold. But they've been tracking that girl for years. On top of that, they sent direct relatives, and they're best agents to collect her. Something much bigger is going on and I intend to find out what it is."

"And you're using us to do your dirty work." Max said bitterly.

Natalia's smile was as cold as her eyes. "That's such a nasty way of putting it. I prefer the phrase 'lending a helping hand'. After all, I helped you in the past. I thought you'd be ecstatic to return the favor."

"We'll do it." Zack said abruptly, surprising everyone in the car, save for Natalia. He wondered if anything surprised her. For someone who had been alive as long as she had, it wasn't likely.

"Zack," Cody warned "do you know what you're saying?"

"Cody's right Zack." Max agreed. That wasn't something that happened to often anymore. "You've just been through something horrible, but are you sure you want to get tangled with her again?" Max had more reason than anyone to feel bitter about Natalia. Not only had she worked for the sorceress under the Elder's command, she had been forced to live with her for months on end. "Think about what you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing. We're protecting an innocent. It's what we do. It's what Gwen would want." He couldn't keep his voice from breaking a little at that part. "I'm still not sure about Nathan, but I know those people are way worse than him. Keeping Nicole away from them is our main concern right now. And when Nathan comes for her…" his fists became balled up again. "We'll deal with that when it comes."

Max looked to Cody for an answer. He only nodded. He often complained about his brother not taking their job seriously enough, but secretly he hated it when Zack was this serious. Ever since they had discovered their powers, Zack had been the heart and soul of their team, that ray of sunshine that never seemed to dim. But they had lost innocents before—it was an unavoidable part of their job—and Zack had always taken it the hardest, like each and every one lost was his own personal failure. It shouldn't be Zack. He was the oldest, but Cody was the protector. Prue had charged him; the level headed one with that task specifically. It should be his burden. Now that it wasn't just an innocent, but a fellow witch and a friend, he couldn't imagine what his twin was going through right now. Whatever he needed to do to keep him from focusing on Gwen, Cody was behind him one hundred percent. Even if that meant involving himself with someone he had hoped he'd never see again.

He took a deep breath and let it all come out at once. "So what do you want us to do?"

Natalia grinned her usual knowing grin. "Just keep your innocent safe for now. You'll know what to do when the time is right." A second car heading towards them came to a stop across the street. Two men in suits that were hard to see in the darkness stepped out and moved to open the back. "Good. She's here. You three go inside. I need to have a word with dear old Marion."

--Tipton Hotel, Main Lobby--

"Ah, there you two are." Moseby, the manager of the hotel called as Zack and Cody, followed closely by Max, came in through the double doors of the hotel. "Your mother has called me several times. She said she couldn't reach you on your cell phones. Where have you been?"

"Sorry." Cody said automatically.

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to your mother. She's the one who's been worried sick about you." Moseby said flatly, although they could feel a hint of relief from him at seeing them again. He was one of the few people outside the family who knew about what they did, although for the most part he liked to pretend it wasn't real and that they were sneaking out to the arcade like normal teenagers. Some people just couldn't handle the magical world and it was much easier for them to just ignore it. But that didn't prevent him from becoming a bundle of nerves whenever the boys had a "job" to do.

"That would be my fault Marion." Came that familiar voice. Natalia came through the doors with—Zack was relieved to see— a tired but virtually unharmed Nicole. "I needed their assistance escorting this young lady here." Nicole kept her blue eyes trained on the floor. The loud white streak in her dark hair hung over her ear in her face now. She looked frightened as well as exhausted, but that could have been from the demoness' touch.

Natalia nudged her along to speak with Moseby directly. "Long time no see Marion."

"Indeed Madame." Moseby answered, sounding slightly more nervous. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing for me, but you can help the twins if it's not too much trouble."

Moseby rolled his eyes. "I've been doing it for six years. Why should it bother me now?"

"Marion, I'm sure you're well aware by now what sort of work these boys do." Natalia dropped her voice as though she was worried someone might overhear them. Moseby's jaw dropped as before his very eyes, the woman's ears changed and came to fine points that poked out from her hair. "This is such a circumstance. One that requires discretion. The police may be coming by later to ask questions about this girl. As far as they're concerned, she's staying with you. The boys will be looking after her for now. That's all you need to know, and all you wish to know I assume."

Moseby nodded. "If you insist. Will Nathan be…"

"That's all you need to know." Natalia repeated. Her ears shrunk again, taking on the human disguise once more. "Now if you would be so kind as to escort Nicole to where she will be staying? I need to speak to these three alone."

Moseby reached into the front pocket of his suit for his handkerchief with the big golden T for Tipton embroidered on its corner. "Of course." He took Nicole by the hand, who still had said nothing, and didn't resist. It was then that Zack noticed the way the demoness had her hand on Nicole's shoulder. It looked almost protective, but that didn't sound like the right word. Then he found the term to describe the sorceress' action and it was possessive. Perhaps the Tates weren't the only thing to keep Nicole away from he thought.

When they were alone again in the lobby which was vacant due to the late hour, Natalia gave them their last instructions. "I've placed a temporary bind on her powers. She shouldn't prove difficult from here on. At least she won't destroy the hotel in a tantrum. But it will wear off in a few day's time. You have until then to get her to cooperate or find another way to keep her powers from getting out of control and attracting the Tates."

"Any ideas how we do that?" Cody asked sourly.

"Zackary, from what I remember you are quite the ladies man. Work some of your 'god-given magic' if you will. I'm sure you can make her see things your way." She stepped past them lightly, running her fingers through Zack's hair in a very unsettling way before she made her exit without another word.

Zack turned back to Cody and Max. "What do we do now?"

Cody shrugged and had to stifle a yawn. "This was your idea. I don't know about you, but I'm catching some Z's. Max, Nicole might have to stay on the pull-out couch. Do you think you can stay with her?" He didn't wait for an answer before he headed for the elevator.

Zack turned to max to see if she had anything to offer. She only smiled. "You heard her. Work your magic on her, Romeo."