Faded Fragments
part 22
"Come in, old friend, come in," Thomas Rickman invited, gesturing briefly, urging the figure inside the spacious office. A quiet smile formed across his lips, as he calmly shut the door behind him without a moment's hesitation. "I trust you had no trouble finding us?"
"I want him dead," the abrupt response cornered, "and buried. But that last part can come later. Right now, I just want to feel my hands around that neck of his, as I'm choking the Goddamn life from the useless bastard."
"And he will be. Very soon, I assure you. Now, won't you have a seat so we can discuss our terms?"
"My terms," the voice carefully projected. "We discuss this according to my terms, or I'm afraid there's just no deal, Tom."
"I don't think you realize just who it is you're dealing with," Rickman returned slowly, his voice coated with a deliberate malicious intent, as he came around to face his opponent, hands tucked quietly into the pockets of his slacks, calmly rocking back upon his heels. "Oherwise you'd already know that you don't have a single say in how to rectify this."
"Bringing me back, isn't going to change the fact that you've got a big problem on your hands."
"No, it isn't. But like I said, it'll soften the blow. Weakness adds character, my friend, and that's what I expect you to bring to this cause."
"So the rumors are true," the other man continued. "I mean, I'd heard a lot, you know? But I never came to truly suspect that shortly after he vanquished me, he nearly succeeded in vanquishing himself."
Rickman smiled. "Oh, I have it on good authority his little witch took care of that for him."
"No kidding."
"It's not my business to feed you a lie, is it?"
"So what's in it for you? I mean, don't take it personally, but aren't you a little old to still be in the game?"
"My partner wasn't playing fair, and I intend to take my share out of this." He hesitated just a moment, fingers connecting with fingers, as he held them against one another, quietly shutting his eyes. "As I stated before, you shouldn't have a problem with this if my reputation precedes me."
"Your reputation isn't an easy one to track down," he commented, shrugging. "I guess you could say I'm going out on a limb here, Mr. Rickman."
"And the only reason you're here right now, is because the higher powers thought it sufficient enough to give you another chance to prove yourself. Trust me when I say I wasn't exactly rooting for your return, son."
"If Turner knows what's good for him, he'll beg me to kill him this time."
"I've no doubt he will, which goes to show you a little faith certainly goes a long way, doesn't it?"
"I know how he operates, what he fears, what kindles his deepest desires."
"Yes. I know. I have the vaguest recollection of a certain demon emulating another for a shot at fame. Sadly, I think that was where your story came to a close a lot sooner than you would have liked. Tragic ending, but where one tale ends, another is already beginning, taking its place to fight the good fight. And I assure you we'll take this one straight to the finish."
"My sympathies for your loss, old man."
"I beg your pardon?" Rickman questioned, raising a brow.
"Celia?" the voice proclaimed hopefully.
"Ah, yes. Well, truth be told, that bitch was only slowing us down. Seth may have found comfort in her, but I always believed she was entirely useless in every way imagineable. He wasted his life doting on her, and he wasn't any better for it."
"As I understand it, she wanted to turn Cole."
"Yes, and no," he offered nonchalantly.
"Wosret," the other man filled in.
"Exactly. Which obviously brings you to the direct conclusion that she had absolutely no interest of any kind in Seth Kellerman whatsoever, and thus by allowing himself to remain vulnerable to her...charms, shall we say? He in turn lets himself become an unwilling pawn in her little game of what I believe is most undoubtably a shot at clear-cut revenge. Has a nice ring to it in spite of its failures though, don't you think? Woman resurrects lover, woman has extremely high hopes of successfully wiping us all out by resurrecting her lover, lover never actually comes back, and in the end, well....woman wipes herself out in the process. The age of extinction is upon us, my friend, and she gave us a running head start."
"You don't really think Seth had feelings for her."
"Well, that would be absurd now, wouldn't it?"
"Absurd, but not impossible. Matter of fact, I'm more or less still thinking I'd enjoy Turner's woman a lot more if I had her all to myself."
Rickman cringed, his eyes slowly collapsing into tiny slits, as he took a single step forward. "I trust you're wise enough to resist the likes of that bitch."
"She seemed to work for Turner just fine."
"It's when his life took a drastic turn for the worst. Turner's corrupt, my friend. He always has been....and if I were you, I'd steer clear of the woman."
"Yeah, but you're not me, Thomas. And far be it for you to meddle in my personal affairs."
"Oh, I'm afraid this is very personal."
"Your call."
"And you're being incredibly foolish, son. Because, you see...I'm not entirely sure I like the way you're already throwing your life away. On such short notice, I might add. I think we both know demons don't exactly have nine lives. Or did you actually find yourself up at night believing that myth?"
"But you'd hook me up with that plan in case I fail, right? I mean, that's the way-"
"No," he retorted simply. "Because this plan won't consist of a failure. You don't come through this once, you never come through again. Of course, you can still try and convince yourself you're truly worthy of our cause, but by that time you'll no longer be breathing, so I hardly think it's worth looking into."
"But we're never really dead if we stop breathing," the voice returned smuggly. "We just go into retirement and hand it over to the next guy. I've got my baton ready, Tom."
"And I trust you'll keep this between us," he murmured. "I don't care to know who you've got lined up, I just pray they won't expose you for the lying, no good son of a bitch you really are. Which is exactly why I chose you for this job."
"You're not too fond of the lower races, are you? Demonic halfbreeds?"
"I've never been fond of anything in my life, least of all someone who resides below me on the food chain, Sykes."
"I'll do your job for you, old man. But don't expect me to stick around after the fun is over."
"Things to do, people to emulate?" he offered sarcastically, snickering.
"Turner was my prime investment, and he took that away from me," he snarled.
"Whatever you need to tell yourself."
"What's that-"
"I'm not the one in the middle of an identity crisis now, am I?"
"I never lost it," he uttered, his eyes growing dark.
"Of course not," Rickman randomly threw out, grinning. "Of course not, my mistake."
"And I suppose you're still looking to step in now that the big bad wolf's gone, aren't you?"
"I hardly think you qualify for an answer to that question, boy."
"Maybe not, but your firm didn't make you the all powerful wannabe Merlin you are now. You sought that out on your own, and now you'll pay for it."
"Choose your words carefully, son, because I'm in no mood to dispute this."
"Need I remind you that I pushed him to the brink of destruction when I finally took him?"
"You used bait to lure him, Sykes, and that's never smart."
"There's no bait this time, Thomas. Just me, him, and a couple of witches who can't remember what time zone they're in. It won't be difficult, I promise you."
"Because you won't be alone."
"What?"
"Did you really think I'd let you execute this without any supervision on my part?"
"Just what the hell are you trying to pull?" he demanded then.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Because I'm not sure I understand where you're going with this. You hired me for-"
"And it's just as you said, son. I've got reinforcements, too. And I intend to implement them at every vacancy." He smiled cruelly then. "Even yours."
"You're just as much a low-life as we are then. Going against your own kind, Thomas, and trying to surface with the damn prize."
"That offer should have never been made. You know that, as well as I do. We don't do good, Sykes, and we never have. There would have been no place for him here. But Seth just couldn't see that, you understand, because his own vision was tainted by the powers within. He's not supposed to feel or care about anything except himself. Not supposed to let his guard down for mindless thoughts of affection. Unfortunately, his better judgement left him screwed and emotionally scarred because of it."
"So you killed his assistant and left him in an even bigger wave of emotional turmoil. Yeah, I can see how that might rectify the situation at your expense."
"And your sarcasm isn't the least bit impressive."
"That's because Turner hasn't taken anything from you yet. You may have lost your business, Tom, but you haven't surrendered to him for the man you are. Maybe if you thought about-"
"Don't you think I damn well have?! Don't you think I've been over the consequences countless times, and wrestled with all those fine possibilities that don't exactly include me in them? Don't you think I've realized sacrificing my own ass may not even bring that bastard to a lifelong end?"
Then let's put on our little costumes and get down to some real business. Come as you are, right?"
**********
"Okay, so what does this do?" Paige Matthews questioned, her dark eyebrows rising intently, as she curiously examined the object seated directly in front of her on the table, her lips pursed in deep concentration.
"Cutting off fingers in your usual run of the mill torture scenario," Cole filled her in, grinning lightly, as he proceeded to sharpen the athame he held within his grasp. "Of course, given the facts, sometimes you need more than one."
"Oh," she breathed, quietly shifting her gaze to the next contraption. "How about this one?"
"Entrails," he replied calmly, shrugging. "Heard it's really effective these days."
She only shot him a look, her mouth nearly dropping open.
"But of course I'd never consider experimenting on anything even remotely human these days, because I've revised my ways, and now consider myself a promising American citizen with a shady past."
"Redemption," she muttered, "hmm."
"Hmm, as in a bad hmm?"
"No, just hmm, as in...I'm thinking this wouldn't be a bad one to use on Kellerman in an area that doesn't exactly consider his entrails as an option."
"So whose the real demon here?" he cornered, raising a brow.
"Hey, don't look at me. I wasn't the one scaring little kids on Halloween with all my little grimlock buddies in tow."
"Who told you about that?"
"Sisters tell each other everything," she muttered. "Kind of common practice by now."
"And I guess that's what I get for trying to have a past and tell it at the same time," he quipped.
"So what's this one do?"
"That one is for taking the tongue of a witch's sister, preferably one whose name begins with a P, and tying it into one hell of a knot, so she can't get a word out edgewise. Keeps her from screaming when you're trying to kill her, too, so all in all, I'd say it's a pretty good bet right about now."
"You're kidding, right?"
"I can demonstrate," he offered, another smile creeping up over his scruffy countenance, as his blue eyes widened with hope. "But then I'd have to give you a running head start, because this thing's got a mind all its own."
"So in other words, you're trying to tell me I'm not taking this whole thing seriously."
"That pretty much sums it up, which just goes to show you that you could've found it in the cliff note version a hell of a lot easier."
"And when you're going to take down a mega huge law firm, you want to show your partners in crime how to handle all the accessories."
"You won't be handling any of these," he added. "But thanks for the encouragement just the same."
"Okay, so why is it that your wife and daughter haven't spoken a word to each other?"
"What?" he returned, finally looking up.
"Alex and Phoebe haven't said two words between them, Cole. Don't you think that's a little odd?"
"Given the circumstances of what we're about to get into, I haven't exactly had them properly introduced again yet."
"You're joking, right?"
"Do I look like I'm joking, Paige? Do I have my joking cap on today, when I have a feeling two very angry men are going to try to kill us any second now, and we might actually have to run for our lives?"
"Either way, at this point, I'd say it almost demands priority. These guys probably even spent the dark ages killing for sport."
"She lost half her life overnight, Paige."
"And might I tell you again how you didn't have to sleep with her to pull a complete reversal on that?"
"Oh, and I'm sure you and Nick are the poster children for Captain America."
"Nick and I have absolutely nothing to do with this, and you know it," she hissed. "I'm talking about the bond those two are supposed to have formed already, which obviously doesn't seem to be there. If Phoebe loses Alex in this, she isn't going to forgive y-"
"My daughter isn't going anywhere," he snapped. "And I don't think it's your place to say so."
"I was just-"
"Ally already thinks her mother doesn't give a damn about her, Paige. Imagine feeling like that and then trying to see what it would really be like without her there."
"But Phoebe remembered her, didn't she? You said so yourself. Even if it was just for a little bit, bringing them together isn't going to hurt anything. We all need each other right now. It's important that we stick together."
"So why do I suddenly feel so inclined to use this?" he murmured, his finger tapping mindlessly across the weapon she'd previously asked about, his mouth setting itself in a tight line.
"You have to do something," she urged.
Cole studied his wife in the far corner of the attic, where she say thumbing through the Book of Shadows, her pretty face shrouded in darkness, she continued to toss about the various pages of spells, her eyes carefully skimming the words before her. Her saw her breathe a tiny sigh of disappointment, as she let her gaze linger on one part in particular, her fingers calmly falling over the slightly crinkled material.
"There's only one problem with that," he whispered.
"Which is what, exactly?"
"There could be no tomorrow, and she'd just go on living her life without us. This is their world now, Paige. And as much control as we think we might have over changing it, maybe it's better to work toward avoiding the consequences while we still can. The fact that she's- her and Piper are able to co-exist with us in the same physical space, in the same frame of time..."
"And there might be another one of them out there, after all."
"It's a slim possibility," he reasoned. "But what scares me the most, is that I've watched her fall in love with me all over again, and she's still willing to accept me for who I am. I know she's real, Paige, and yet I can't grasp the fact that I might lose her again."
"So you...thought this through and suddenly decided this was the manly thing to do about it?"
"Nothing will have changed when we finally get back home," he argued. "I mean, in the sense that she forgot me, you know? She'll be Phoebe again without a moment's hesitation."
"If we ever get back home," she reminded him. "The keyword is if, Cole, which is why we have make the most of it."
"Ally, honey, can you come here a second?"
The little girl glanced up from her coloring book, carefully setting a blue crayon aside, as she sat in an upright position, giving him a big smile. "What is it, Daddy?"
"Just come here a second, would you?"
Cole watched out of the corner of his eye, as Phoebe quickly lifted her head to watch the child with a brief fascination, trying not to become the slightest bit obvious in her curiosity, as she continued to turn a page now oblivious to her. Her lips were slightly parted, a thin eyebrow raising itself for a moment, her eyes almost twinkling with a small hint of recognition. His heart caught in his chest, as he couldn't help but turn his head a bit more towards her, his blues suddenly full and alive, as he took in the happiness she felt at seeing something they'd created together. Someone who was theirs.
"Did you find a way to get us home?" Ally whispered.
"Could you do something for me?" Cole asked her gently, slowly holding out his hand to her.
She took it in both of her small ones, carefully toying with his fingers, as she tilted her head. "Like a spell? Because Aunt Prue and I seem to be having bad luck with spells."
"No, not a spell," he explained. "I...I wanted to know-"
"We can't go home, can we?" the petite girl mumbled, her expression already starting to fall as she continued to look at him. "See, I have to go home, Daddy, because I miss it. I miss Abby and Ben, and I miss grandpa and Andy, too."
"We're working on that, I promise," he assured her. "But in the meantime, I need you to do me a favor, okay?"
"What kind of favor?"
"Your mom says she-"
"Mommy doesn't know who I am," Alex retorted, crossing her arms over her chest, as she calmly took a single step back. "She doesn't know I'm hers, so it doesn't matter anymore."
"Sure she does. In fact, she told me she does."
"You're lying," she insisted.
"Cross my heart," he whispered, quickly gesturing the motion across his sweater.
Her face lit up, as she quietly snuck a glance at Phoebe, a grin covering her tiny face. "Really? She said that?"
"She did," he added, nodding.
"But not before," she countered, as the grin began to fade away.
"Listen, I know this is hard, and I know that you probably want more than anything to pretend like this never happened, but it did, and I need you to be strong for me, alright? I need you to get through this, Ally. You haven't- she never went away, and you need to know that she still loves you....very much."
"I can do that."
"Good. I'm sure it would mean the world to her if you went and said hi. You've gotta miss her too, right?"
"Can you come with me?" she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I think this is something you're going to have to do all by yourself," Paige interjected, propping a hand beneath her chin, as she shot a brief glance at Cole.
"All by myself?" she repeated. "But what if she says she doesn't again?"
"We'll be right here, sweetie. We're not going anywhere," Cole sided, giving her hands a small squeeze.
"O...okay. Then I guess I better go meet her then, huh?"
"I think she'd like that."
"Be brave," Paige added, "and that means no crying, young lady."
Alex only smiled.