'I'm in Hell.' Conner thought as he sat in the drab pastel waiting room he'd called home for the last two hours, 'I've died and gone to hell.' Earlier atop the Marriott in New York he'd goaded Duncan into a fight and convinced him to take his head and now he was in hell. A pale yellow Hell, that smelled of disinfectant and cigarettes. Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head was emanating from some unseen speaker causing images of the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to run threw Conner's mind. A few outdated martial arts magazines and old dusty books sat upon a small white coffee table in front of the tan tweed love seat on which Conner sat. A surly looking young woman sat behind a glass window at a desk. She was dressed in black and chain male and looked like she'd stepped out of some punk rock music video from the early 90's. She'd snapped at him to take a seat when he arrived, or appeared or whatever and he'd been too nervous or scared to move an inch.
"I'm in Hell." He said out loud once more and put his head in his hands. He looked up cautiously half an hour later when he'd heard the only door in the room open.
"CONNER!" Ritchie exclaimed when he saw Conner.
"Ritchie?"
"Man am I glad to see you!"
"Ritchie what the hell is going on here? Where am I?"
"You mean Felicia didn't explain?" Ritchie said jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the woman behind the glass.
"No."
"Musta slipped my mind." Felicia said with an attitude as she chomped on her gum
"That's it!" Ritchie barked rounding on Felicia "Your fired! He's been waiting here for God knows how long and you don't even call me! Report to Tommy Sullivan."
"No not Sullivan!" Felicia said panicking "No anything but that."
"You've made your own bed now your gonna live in it." Ritchie said and snapped his fingers. When he did two mid-evil looking chaps came into her cubicle, her protests could be heard down the hall as they carried her away, "She never was right for the job." Ritchie said "But she was here before me so I had to be lenient."
"What are you talking about?" Conner asked again "Where is here and why are you alive?"
"I'm not alive," Ritchie said " and nether are you. We are in Duncan's quickening. This is what happens to Immortals when they die. It's up to the good Immortals to keep the bad ones in check and everyone categorized where they go. I've only been administrator for the last few years. Argus wanted a break; I keep him on as a consultant."
"Argus?" Conner asked
"Yeah, he was the first Immortal Mac ever killed." Ritchie led Conner threw the door and into a large white and blue room where other Immortals where bustling about trying to categorize the new arrivals that had come with Conner's Quickening.
"You mean every Immortal Duncan has ever killed is here?"
"And everyone you have killed and everyone they have killed and so on." Ritchie explained "I'm thinking about using Ramirez in the fighting department."
"Ramirez is here?"
"Yeah, he helped recapture the Kurgan when he escaped." Ritchie said as several large Immortals navigated the Kurgan threw the groups of people, they had him secured around the neck by two long dogcatcher polls on ether side.
"My God." Conner whispered as Ramirez charges up to him
"Ma boy! Took ye longer than ah thought ta get here." Ramirez said gathering Conner into a large bear hug "I was gettin tired of bein' yer administrator. Ya'd been gettin pretty boring in yer old age."
"Thanks?" Conner said as Ramirez let go of him.
"You wouldn't want to crush him now that we've got him back would you Ramirez?" A soothing voice said with a French accent. Conner moved around Ramirez to see
"Darius?" Conner said in amazement "But you . . ."
"I was killed by mortals." Darius replied
"How can you be here?"
"He's Mac's memory of Darius." Ritchie answered
"When I was killed my soul went on to its rightful resting-place." Darius said "I am merely a footprint in Duncan's memory."
"When someone close to us dies his or her memory is imprinted on our Quickening." Ritchie explained "Their presence doesn't bring any added strength to it. They're just sorta . . . "
"Dead weight." Ramirez said punched Darius in the arm with a hearty laugh.
"Thanks Juan." Darius said rubbing his arm
"But we're running out of time." Ritchie said
"Time for what?" Conner asked
"I'd have more time to explain if Felicia hadn't screwed around when you got here but here," Ritchie held up Conner's sword
"What?"
"You've got to fight Kell."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ya see that?" Ritchie pointed to a large video monitor set high over the Immortals heads for everyone to see. They saw Duncan walking threw what looked like an old factory calling out Kell's name. "He's about to get himself killed if you don't do something."
"Like what?"
"You've got to fight him."
"Look if I couldn't kill him when I was alive," Conner said "what makes you think I can now?"
"Because if you don't he will kill Mac and we'll all get to exist in Kell twisted lil quickening and believe me, you do not want to spend the rest of existence in a shit hole like that."
"He's right Conner." Ramirez said "If you don't fight him we're all lost. If he's anything like the Kurgan . . . " Ramirez gave an involuntary shutter "You don't wanna know."
"Why can't someone else do it?" Conner asked
"Because it has to be you." Darius said "That's how it has to be."
"But . . ." Conner began but was interrupted
"Please Conner." A soft feminine voice said and Darius stepped aside to reveal Tessa "You have to win."
"Tessa?"
"Please . . . do it for me." Tessa pleaded
"I . . ." Conner began
"I can't loose him Conner, please." Tessa offered once more.
The look in her eyes was too heard to bear. Conner lowered his gaze to the floor then to Ritchie "Give me the damn sword." He said "What do I do?"
"Just don't give up." Ritchie said
Suddenly Conner found himself on his knees. He was tired, sore and bleeding. Threw the grated floor beneath him he saw a hundred feet below a pool of murky water. He looked like he was atop some sort of oilrig or something. He heard threw the pounding of his heart Kell goading him. He knew what he had to do. He had to force himself to work threw Duncan's physical pain and take Kell down. He stood with the words "Kell . . . Jacob Kell." When Kell turned he seemed surprised. Conner waited no time, he knew if Kell had a chance to get ready he was done for. He engaged Kell only for a moment before he somehow instinctively flipped over his head and decapitated him.
As he landed he found himself back in the administration room. Tessa tackled him to the ground. When Darius and Ritchie pulled her away Conner stood to reveal his face printed with pale pink lipstick smudges. "He did it!" Tessa exclaimed as she bounced happily in Darius' arms. Electricity began to reverberate off the roof of the administration room
"I'm sorry to break up this happy party." Ritchie said "But I've got work to do. Kell and his quickenings have to be categorized and we're still not done with your's yet dude."
"Go, it's ok." Conner said
"Ramirez why don't you show him that thing that arrived earlier?" Ritchie offered
"What thing?" Ramirez asked
"Remember the thing . . ." Ritchie tried "That Scottish thing he'll really like to see."
"Me? Your not suggesting--"
"NO not you! The THING!" And Ritchie made the international symbol for a sexy woman in the air with his hands.
"OH that thing! I see."
"Yeah," Ritchie said and turned to leave.
"What in bloody hell is he talking about?" Conner asked
"You'll see." Tessa said and took Conner's hand and began to follow Ramirez.
Ramirez led Conner to a small dark room, lit by candles. Sheer blue drapes hung about the room, a delicate pile of pillows and covers lay strew in a pile in the floor and the scent of heather wafted threw the air. Ramirez and Tessa left, closing the door behind them. Conner began to protest but he thought better. This defiantly was not a bad situation as a matter of fact he was curious as to what or . . . who was waiting for him. He could only imagine what memory or quickening of a young fine woman Duncan had held captive in his mind. Then just as Conner began to settle in he saw a pair of boots on the floor. They where made of fur and leather . . . stag fur he noticed. "My god." He whispered as she emerged from the dark depths of the room.
"Conner." Her soft voice whispered
"Are you real?" He asked, his hand hovering an inch away from her perfect cheek. Her face was as young and as fresh as it had been the day he married her.
"As real as I can ever be husband."
"Heather . . ." Conner could not squelch the tears streaming down his face. As she approached him she wiped away his tears. She felt real; she was warm and smelled sweet, like the air after a hard rain. She wrapped her arms around her.
"Take me Conner." She whispered in his ear
He wrapped his arms around her, crushing her gently into his chest he kissed her with all the passion of 500 years of separation. Her hands found their way inside his shirt as he lowered her onto the pillows. She pulled his shirt off and he gently began untying the strings of her corset to reveal her soft perfect milk white flesh. She moaned gently as he moved away the sides of the corset with his nose and wrapped his lips around her nipple, he tugged slightly and she breathed heavily. She moved to undo his belt and slid his jeans and briefs off of his hips, caressing his firm buttocks as she did so. As with Scottish custom there was little to navigate beneath her skirts. Her toes curled in delight as he entered her slowly. Her body seemed to pulsate with the sheer size of him. She arched her back and moaned as he pushed further inside her, he seemed to go on forever. Her breaths became shorter and heavier as his hips repeated the rhythmic motion. He buried his head in her hair taking in her scent. He could feel her all around him, each breath she took, each quiver of her body. He groaned as she gently scratched his back with her nails, a sign he knew well even after all these years. He quickened his pace slightly and her moans became louder. They felt it at the same time, the far away tingle, the flooding threw the hips then the all out pulsation that drew their bodies together faster and faster. She was forced to grab the pillows to brace herself when it came completely, she cried out, arching her back nearly so that her forehead touched the floor. The explosion of colors that invaded both of their minds at the same time where beyond description. He was still inside her when he finally gave into the momentary exhaustion. Breathless she wrapped her arms around him, not wanting him to move, welcoming him to simply stay inside her. "I don't want us to ever be apart again." She whispered in his ear
"We won't, love . . . " He said "We won't."