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Chapter 2
"Orson Bailey, returnee number 3710, the last person to see Adam Kensington alive. He replaced Bailey in his own company. Bailey had gone to his office asking for reinstatement, but Kensington denied him. Bailey was seen on security footage just before Kensington was found murdered. All of the windows were shattered, though, no unusual seismic activity was detected."
I snapped out of my trance as Ryland threw Orson Bailey's folder in front of me. I blinked once, as I processed what he had just said. My new partner, Tom, snickered behind me. I guess that was payback for my obvious disapproval of this partnership when Ryland first told us his decision. Tom had went MIA for three years, so whose to say he wouldn't do it again as soon as he found out what had happened to his son and nephew. Which is the exact reason why he went MIA in the first place.
"Stop daydreaming Skouris, we've got a job to do." Ryland said as he began leading Tom and I out of the building.
-0-0-0-
"So how do you suppose we're suppose to find this woman anyways?" Piper asked, pulling a handful of shirts from her suitcase.
"She's not just a woman, Piper." Phoebe said softly, unpacking shoe after shoe. "She's our sister."
"Then I don't understand why we cant scry for her."
Leo took a red blouse from Piper and began placing it neatly on a grey hanger. "You can't scry for her since there's no bond between you."
"It might be possible if we had something of hers." Phoebe interjected.
"But we don't." Leo said, "And we don't even know if she even has any powers yet."
Piper didn't look up from her suitcase as she handed, this time, a dark green dress to her husband to put away. "Then what are we suppose to do? We don't even have a last name to go on. Are we suppose to check every "Diana" in the yellow book and hope we get lucky?"
"Well, no." Phoebe said, looking at her sister. "I mean, the Elders did want us to check in on the 4400, right? Maybe we ought to start with them?"
"There was an article in the newspaper about the returnee's this morning. You should be able to scry with that." Leo suggested, looking down at his wife hopefully.
Glancing quickly at Piper, Phoebe nodded before making her way into the living room space of their hotel room. With both of the sisters at work, it didn't take long for the scrying potion to be done. Holding both the string of the scrying crystal as well as the article, Phoebe began concentrating her magic into what she hoped to accomplish. The crystal began being pulled from one location to another by some unseen force, as if it were a toy two children were fighting over. If began circling back and forth, not being able to decide where to land. After feeling the familiar vibrating sensation, Phoebe felt her arm being jerked towards the map as the crystal threw itself down onto its chosen address. Piper glanced over Phoebe's shoulder and read the location aloud. "I'll drive."
-0-0-0-
"And there's the glass. As you can see, Bailey never got in." Ryland commented as the video surveillance ended.
"And how did you say Kensington died?" I asked.
"He fell due to the blast and was impaled, but that's not what killed him. According to the x-rays, his skull was completely shattered. His bones resembled the fragments a jumper would have."
I yelped as the paper slashed into my skin, a single drop of blood escaping from the cut. I sucked on it as I slammed the folder shut in frustration. I couldn't believe Ryland was about to let the 4400 out of quarantine. They had to have been sent back for a reason, and whose to say it wasn't to spread some kind of illness, or to inflict some other kind of problem. I knew they were still human beings, and didn't deserve to be locked up. I just felt that we should study them more. Hopefully get a better idea of what happened to them. If only to make sure the public was safe.
I grew angrier as I remembered how the people at the office looked at me like a heartless villain after saying that. Well I'm sorry I'm just being cautious!
There was a loud bang behind me, as if something had just fallen off a shelf. I jumped from my couch, my hand immediately reaching for my gun before remembering I had already removed it for the night. "Damn it-" I cursed before hearing another bang from my kitchen.
I rushed into the room before stopping as the lights began flickering. In the center of the room, two chairs from my kitchen table lay on their sides, as if they had been thrown down on the floor. The lights came on again, nothing else was out of place.
"-Skouris!"
I blinked, looking up at my boss's face above me. "This isn't the time to be zoned out, Skouris. I need you and Baldwin down at the Seattle PD to question Bailey, now."
I glared at Tom, who was smiling mischievously at me. Grabbing my coat, I sent one more glare Tom's way before making my way out of the building.
-0-0-0-
"This is ridiculous." Piper continued to rant, "I thought we scryed for one of the 4400, Phoebe. Not some freaking government base! The last thing we need is the government getting even more on our case right now!"
"Well this is where the crystal landed, right? Besides what do we have to lose?"
"What do we have to gain, either?" Piper replied.
"She's our sister, Piper, whether we like it or not. And now she's going to be coming into her powers with no one to guide her."
"We didn't have anyone either!" a few passerby's in tan suits turned to look at them.
"Piper would you keep your voice down, please?" Piper grunted. She looked around the room before spotting the receptionist's desk. "And that's not true."
"What are you talking about Phoebe?" Piper asked, exasperated.
"What you said..." the youngest Halliwell answered, the click of her heels was buried beneath the chatter of field agents and other government officials coming and going through the building. "We had each other...not to mention the Book of Shadows, she doesn't. She probably doesn't even know what a witch is."
"All the more reason to get this mess over with-Hi." Piper smiled widely as she placed her palms on the reception desk.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist, a small, perky blonde woman dressed in a sheik business suit, asked.
"No-"
"Are you looking to speak with one of the employee's?" she asked, already bringing out a clipboard and accessing the computers data files.
Piper smiled wider, a sign her sister had come to learn was frustration, "We're actually looking for someone-"
"If you would just give me a name I can let them know your here." she cut in once again.
"Well that's the problem." Piper paused, expecting another interruption. When the woman only looked at her curiously, Piper continued. "We don't have a last name-"
This time it was Phoebe who interrupted the older brunette, "We're looking for our sister. She was adopted, we don't know her name from that family."
"I'm sorry, I can't help you." the receptionist said, as if reading the line straight from her rule book.
"You don't understand, this is the only thing we have to go off of. No name. No address. No phone number. No nothing! We need to find our-" Piper froze mid sentence, taking a deep breath. "Isn't there something you can do?"
The blonde clucked her tongue between her teeth. "I'm sorry, ma'am, that's simply not possible."
Turning, the middle sister began heading for the exit. "Well that's just great. How are we suppose to find her now? We can't scry for her, we can't summon her, we can't call for her, how can you find someone you know absolutely nothing about?" Phoebe was contemplating her response to her sisters ranting, a habit she tends to exercise even more lately.
"Prue would've known what to do..." Phoebe smiled at her sisters words, though they were filled with hopelessness.
"She would." the youngest Halliwell replied, "But so can we. Just give it time, Piper. We'll figure this out."
Phoebe was lost in thought for a moment. Short memories of the Power of Three, and how Prue was always the strong headed one. She had always knew what to do, and what to say, in any situation. She knew she wanted to find her new sister, but now, she wasn't so sure of the reason why. Was it for her mother? To give her peace of mind? Was she only doing this to reconstitute the Charmed Ones, that, she knew was the Elder's intentions upon telling the remaining sisters. Or...was it to replace Prue? To try and fill a void that, truly, could never be filled. Maybe she just hoped for another Prue. Another head strong oldest sister. One that could take away any burden, and lessen any pain...just like Prue.
When the sisters had reached the door, Phoebe was so submerged in her thoughts that she never noticed the door in front of her opening, nor the woman walking through it. Two short steps later Phoebe felt a small collision, and the familiar loss of control that meant she was being pulled into a premonition.
A gun was thrown onto the ground, skidding far away from its owner. A tall man, no shirt, long hair, cold, pasty skin, a sickening features looked upon the helpless woman in pleasure. Her face was pale, though her skin was already fair. Her eyes, a familiar bluish green, were wide open in shock and fear. Her mouth hung open slightly, a light trickle of blood flowing from her split lip. Her forehead had been grazed as if she had slid down a wall, or was tossed across concrete. Her hands were stained red with her own blood, and her limp clearly indicated a broken leg. Her hands clutched the wound as she sat, unable to move, on the cold, hard ground.
"What do you want from me?" her voice was weak, but held strength as well. As if she wasn't willing to go down without more of a fight.
The demon smiled wickedly, his face contorting into an ugly sneer. "Your life." his voice mocked her.
A ball of wind and energy manifested in his palm, the woman braced herself, aware of her fate. His arm shot towards her, and her hands moved on their own accord to shield herself. Light from the world began seeping into the vision, washing it away, leaving only the memory and echoing screams in its wake.
"Are you alright?" A womans concerned voice pierced its way through the fading screams.
Phoebe looked up, still shaken, "I'm fine."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." the woman said, Phoebe nodded.
"No, it's my fault, sorry." she said, stopping when she saw the womans face.
Her black hair was pulled up into a curly bun above the collar of her turtle neck sweater and long coat. She looked so much different than Phoebe had expected her to. Both the look of fear and blood were cleared from her face, and no injuries were evident.
"Are you sure your alright?" a man, taller than the woman, asked. He looked skeptically down at her.
Phoebe nodded mutely before the woman reluctantly began to turn away. "Well, um, have a nice day..." she said, unsure of how to respond to her actions during the premonition.
"What the Hell was that, Phoebe?" Piper asked once the two were out of earshot.
"Piper..." Phoebe began, "I just had a premonition."
"Yea, I got that part. What did you see?"
Phoebe glanced at her sister once before looking back at that woman who was now boarding an elevator. "I just saw that woman being killed by Shax."
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