Fractured Mirth
part 21
"So you harrassed the tour guide. Didn't I specifically tell you not to harrass the tour guide?" Rachel Burke snapped, a frown plastered across her pretty face, as she stood facing her opponent, hands settled against her slender hips. The spacious stockroom was piled sky high with boxes, some unopened and quite revealing in content, while others remained sealed with thick ropes of tape, a small board tacked to the wall to the right, full of employee instructions and random scatters of notes. "But no. No. Whatever was I thinking? I guess I suddenly forgot I was dealing with Mr. Move-It-Right-Along."
"I don't see how it's any different from you going off to seduce the FBI/allyway civilian," Cole Turner returned smuggly, as he indicated John with a calm tilt of his head, spreading his hands in a rather meek attempt to try and make up with her, while also fully sensing her profound rage and determination. Inching in a bit closer, her gently placed both of his hands on each of her shoulders, giving her a small shake. "Like it or not, your little candlelit moment in the dark already cost us valuable amounts of quality time."
"Quality time between us?" she hissed. "Please. You only want to be productive when you're right. And spying on me isn't going to change the fact that you're too damn arrogant to know the slightest bit of what I feel for him."
"What you feel for him needs to be put aside now."
"We're only just finding our footing in this. There's no simple way to go about it, alright? Which is besides the point, because it's clearly none of your business, anyway."
"You're the one who dragged me into it," he objected. "I would have been absolutely fine not hearing a peep out of you, but you're the one who took it upon yourself to agonize over your feelings for him."
"Yeah, and a little violence here and there hasn't stopped you and Phoebe, has it?"
"We're not talking about what I have with Phoebe."
"The hell we aren't. Look, just let me do my job, okay? And make no mistake that we're going to catch this son of a bitch and make him pay for what he did to those women. It's been my goal from the start, and even if he's wearing Satan's underwear, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference in my book. Are we clear?"
"Yeah, but what I don't get, what I'm still failing to get under all of this...mess you've created for me since-"
"Mess?" she hissed, her eyes growing wider.
"Maybe if you hadn't been so involved and so close to the truth, I could have damn well taken him down without the VCTF's interference."
"Do the words 'violent crime' mean anything to you?"
"If that was an attempt at sarcasm, you're going to have to do a hell of a lot better."
"You think so?"
"And if I'd have to guess what's bothering you right now- what's really the knawing, undying method to all your madness, Miss Burke? I'd have to go with something a lot more complicated than a potential romance with John Grant."
"Doesn't saving lives mean-"
"I care more than life itself about saving lives, which ultimately goes a long way. It's what I do now. It's what I've made myself into since since I met Phoebe, and I don't expect it'll be any different ten years from now. The question is, will you still care, when you obviously know there's a lot more at stake here than some kids and two Charmed Ones? The question is, Rachel, will you be ready to stand for what you believe in, even when the line of fire has stepped up to bat right behind you?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It wasn't exactly the most puzzling of conclusions to draw when you look at the bigger picture."
"What conclusions? You still don't know anything about me."
"Robertson drew you out, but this guy drew you in. It's common knowledge he intended to fixate his obsession on you."
"And what kind of obsession would that be, Cole? Now that I'm suddenly caught in the middle of this....revelation on your part? Hmm?"
"Rachel, just-"
"Don't Rachel me. Just tell me what you meant by that," she stated rather bluntly, her eyes narrowing, as her lips stayed creased in a tight frown.
"King James. 'For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.' In other words, go ahead, it's not gonna hurt. Let temptation take you, and trust me...honest- you'll be better for it. She never knew what hit her until she was down, and she was completely naked to the world around her."
"And that's really rich, you know? Someone like you- a man who's as far from sainthood as humanly possible, and you're quoting the damn Bible to me like it was the next new wave of popularity."
"I'm trying to make you understand what's happening here."
"Like you tried to make her understand she needed the man she's fallen for, and then take it all away like a damn nightmare?"
The tone was deadly familiar, as the equally familiar figure strode into the room, his head tilted with just the slightest amount of arrogance, as he came to an abrupt halt mo more than ten feet away, his lips curved in an unmistakably revealing smile. The blues seemed to have been filled with void masks of nothingness, as they stared right through them, a coldness barely reaching the surface, but still fairly noticeable beneath the faint style of indifference he'd put forth. Folding his arms lightly across his chest in yet another gesture that had decidedly hit home, he calmly shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"What the hell is this?" Rachel stammered blindly, her voice creaking out to no more than a small whisper, her hand immediately resting on her weapon, as her entire being grew tense.
"You should probably ask the man you're talking to," the second Cole Turner brought forth eagerly, amusement seeping through the lines of his laughter. "Think he's probably already deceived you enough for the both of us."
"He's lying," the first one started, his gaze wincing at the replication that still hesitated in moving any closer. "Why would I tell you anything that's not relevant to this case? Why would I-"
"It's a damn good question," she cut in, slowly raising the gun from her belt loop, her focus making sure it was good and ready. "And you still haven't answered mine. Either of you."
"Dammit, Rachel, you've gotta trust me. If I came here to hurt you- if I was even as remotely dangerous as that son of a bitch standing right in front of you, nobody would have come close to finding your body. Given my-"
"Oh. Well, that's comforting. Anything else I should know before I blow one of you the hell to pieces?" She seemed to stare right threw him, her gaze penetrating and trailing him to the bone.
"I may not be innocent, but I'm not going to walk away from helping one," the other continued. "I want you to walk over to me, Rachel. I want you to-"
"And if this is a joke, John, I swear to God-"
"John?" the second one threw back his head, chuckling at the prospect, as he gently clasped his hands behind his back. "He may be a good cop, but he's not even close to being this clever."
"So prove it," she added, her voice surprisingly low. "I want you prove to me you are who you say you are, or I'm going to pull back, and someone's going to end up with loss of breath and severe trauma in less than five minutes."
"Why don't you show yourself for what you really are?" the first taunted. "This way, it'll make it a hell of a lot easier to kick your ass."
"You first," the other responded with just as much wrath, as his eyes widened rather briefly, the humor in them searching the match his opponent's with a startling exactness.
"If one of us is really John, you'll be killing an innocent man," the second continued, carrying on like nothing had happened. "If you can't trust in one of us, doesn't that include punishing you as a part of the guilty party, and reading you your rights? After all, you'll be killing the innocent your job strives to protect. You know how much that would mean to you if you fire on the wrong guy."
"Give me the gun, Rachel," the first one pleaded, his eyes searching hers with a trace of warmth, setting his teeth, as he held out a single hand.
"It's not you....is it?" she whispered again. "It's not really you. All this time I thought...."
"Don't do this. Just listen to-"
"She's through listening to a monster," the second challenged. "And just for the record, I believe we've both run out of time. Don't you think you better come clean before I rip you to shreds myself?"
"He's right," she sided. "If you think you can pull this on me, and expect me to walk into a trap, you're seriously out of your league. I'm apparently not as stupid as I look."
"And how's that?" the first one added. "How do you even know what the hell you're doing if you're going to take one of us down without so much as a second thought? You're a hard, determined woman who knows what she's been doing since this whole thing started. She's fought, she's fallen, and she's not going to fail me now and take herself away from that goal. She's too good for that."
"But she's also known to falter when she leasts expects it," the other countered just as quickly, his blues crinkling rather softly.
"Give me the gun."
She shivered, feeling it travel all the way down her spine and fail to subside, as she aimed it directly at the man standing right next to her, her eyes narrowing, as she quietly pursed her lips. Her hands fought to keep a steady grip, even as they nearly shook with every single ounce of fear that was coursing through her veins at that very moment, her head beginning to ache.
"Rachel?"
"I think you should step back," she whispered.
"Look, you said you wanted proof, let me give it to you. Let me show you who the hell you're pointing that thing at, and then we can-"
"He's bluffing," the second Cole quipped. "He's just trying to gain your trust. It's been his answer to winning this thing all along. He's going to take you, tempt you, and he's going to get what he needs for himself, before he ever considers letting you go. He'll kill you before you take your first breath."
"We met under rather unpleasant circumstances," the first one tried. "You were doing nothing but getting on my damn nerves, and I thought the only way to get around it, was to be a complete bastard in your presence. I'm sorry for that. If anything, you didn't deserve it, because you had every right to take me in with what you thought I was capable of."
"I still have no idea what you're capable of."
"No?"
"No."
"Then maybe I should finally give you a demonstration."
"You give into him, and we're both dead," the other told her, hands dropping to his sides.
"If I give in to you, how do I know I won't get the same thing?" she hissed.
"You never should have left yourself alone with him," the second offered. "You put yourself into a real bind there."
"What was next?" she demanded, her finger still sitting on the trigger, as she blew out a single breath, her gaze travelling to both of them, as she carefully eyed up their identical complexions.
"The son of a bitch is standing there emulating me, and you're going to ask me-"
"Answer the question!" she shouted.
"You're a smart woman. Figure it out," the second almost chanted.
"And if you're going to fall for that so easily, you sure as hell don't stand a chance to free those little girls," the first stepped in. "You're no better than the Eve he wants to ruin."
"What's next?"
"Alright. Fine. 'And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.' Moral of the story? They both perished, because neither one was willing to see past the deception. Didn't you understand a thing I told you, or are you really that dense?"
"Godammit, Cole."
"What?" they both said in unison, as the blues once again drifted towards her.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"It's not why," the second one volunteered. "It's how you're letting yourself be manipulated by someone who hasn't had a heart in over a thousand years, much less a Goddamn brain."
"Alright. I've had enough. You wanna see a real monster? You really wanna see what's below my surface. Fine. Here it is-"
"Don't." She lunged forward, grabbed the first's hand then, latching on, as she rapidly shook her head. "You turn into him, and he could go along right with you. I wouldn't know- if you fought him, I wouldn't know who was who. You can't make me take that-"
"You believe me," he whispered.
She brought her face close to his, as she edged the weapon just close enough to his chest to make her threat appear more profound, her eyes meeting his dead on. "You told me he can appear anywhere, anytime, as anyone. You really think I'd lower myself to such a worthless cause?"
"Rachel-"
"John," she heard herself stutter, her heart immediately catching in her chest, as she held back a smile.
"I beg your pardon?" he whispered back.
"Forget it." She aimed the gun toward the second man, her frame of vision never failing to leave his face now. "I know you think you're clever. I know you think you're some hot shot of the next coming who thinks he's the biggest, baddest evil the world has yet to know. But if this is the worst you can do-"
"Now, now, Miss Burke, is that any way to treat your one true love?" he scolded, lips peeled back in a chilling grin.
"If I pull this, if I-"
"You can't hit, what you can't see. It's logical to assume you don't even have a target."
"You bastard."
"Women are such precious commodities. You'd be wise to discontinue interfering with my plans for those commodities. You'd be wise to remember The Charmed Ones' lives hang in your balance, Rachel. Are you ready to sacrifice yourself for their own well being? Or would you let them die at your own cost?" He pondered that a moment. "Better yet....could you really expect to live with such a burden on your shoulders? I mean, after all, what's life without a few surprises?"
"I don't live it as much on the edge as you do, apparently."
"No, but you're still mysterious. You seek a thrill, and I just happen to have one to suit your fancy."
"We're onto you."
"You're onto something," he corrected.
"What's the difference?"
"While your friends are out there getting ready to discover what wasn't meant for their eyes, they're pursuing something that hasn't even come close to existing. What years have destroyed with age, youth can consume with its beauty. It isn't a question of taking innocents. It's a question of-"
"You really do think you're-"
"Oh, I know I am."
"So what is this? A little slap on the wrist to keep me from hunting and tracking you down?"
"If you continue tracking me, Miss Burke, I won't hesitate in failing to believe those Charmed Ones aren't of any importance to me. I might not consider them useful anymore. I might instead consider taking them apart, piece by piece, and displaying those pieces in various corners of the earth, for the entire world to see and learn from. The three little witches will have themselves an epic that made history famous in past endeavors. They will cease to exist."
"And what am I to you?"
"If you surrender yourself willingly, you'll be my queen," he whispered.
"And yet I haven't even seen your true face."
"I'm everyone and every thing," he mused quietly. "Every dark, every light, every little speck of shadow you thought to ignore when you believed no one was watching. I've always watched you, Rachel. I've known you before you knew yourself. You might say my respect could measure up to your wisdom and strength, if you should let it. And you will surrender. Sooner or later."
"Surrendering is submitting yourself as a torn soldier in battle. I haven't even begun to surrender. And you can document that. Because when I kill you, I'm still going to be left with something. You depend on youth, which means nothing. Youth is as intangible as love for you. I've seen what's in you. Nothing but fear. Fear and cold."
"Until we meet again," he whispered. "I know I'll have your word."
As she fired at him, he merely disappated right in front of her very eyes, becoming nothing more than a transparent mass that crumbled into the air from which it strode in on, a chilling bout of laughter floating through the vacant space, hitting her right to the core. Her hands shook violently now, as a strong hand came down to lower her grip, forcing her to lower her weapon toward the ground, as the other reached around to cradle the small of her back. "Me," she hissed. "Those women....for me." Her breath was echoing in choked gasps, as she fought with herself to keep her composure, her entire body threatening to throw itself to the floor. There were tears in her eyes, as she reached up to try and wipe them clean, a sigh escaping her in a muffled sob now.
"Hey. Hey, look at me. Rachel, look at me."
"Cole."
He forced a small smile. "Sure it's not John?"
"I'm not sure what I'm sure of anymore."
"Now that's a statement, if I ever heard one."
"You knew about this all along, didn't you?"
He shook his head. "It's a simple deduction though. You can't kill for nothing. No matter how heartless you are inside, there's always a reason why. His reason is you. Without question, you're part of the world he wants to step out into again. You'll make it complete."
"So why now? Why did he wait so long? He used Robertson, because he didn't want to get to me himself."
"Not didn't, couldn't. He wanted me here, because he knows I'm the only other thing that's able to defeat him."
"But you're just a lower level-"
"Thank you," he noted sarcastically, taking a deep breath. "Look, in any case, we have to find the others. I agreed to separate for a reason, and I could sense him coming. Demons also do," he noted. "Matter of fact, there's little we miss."
"So you kept me here. You kept me here, because you wanted him to get to me."
"You can't get to someone with a heart as big as yours. I wanted you to know. John doesn't, and I don't think he's ready to take it all in just yet."
"Cole-"
"Have you ever asked yourself what you want, Rachel?"
She sniffled briefly, wiping a hand across her cheek. "What do you mean?"
He gazed at her through strong blues for a full minute, as if struggling to mask his emotion for what he continued to convince himself was the greater good, calmly shaking his head, as if noting something only to himself, his hands placing themselves into the pockets of his jeans, as he rose to his feet. "Nothing," he murmured, giving it one final shake. "Some things can wait when the world needs saving."