Turning the sign around to closed, Duncan sighed deeply as he caught a glimpse of Richie's reflection in the door. As he silently dusted the small figurines on one of the corner shelves, Richie's tense posture and uncharacteristic silence while he worked made it crystal clear to the Immortal that his employee had far from forgotten the earlier events of the day.

Forcing himself to put on a smile, the Scotsman made sure his stride was as casual as humanly possible as he approached the teen, determined to put at least a small chip in the newly formed wall Richie had built around himself. "Time to close up. You about done there?"

"I've got a few more yet." The boy responded flatly.

Far too flatly for his employer's taste. It hadn't even been six hours since the 'incident' that had made the teen shut down, but Duncan had already had more than his fill of the unanimated drone who had taken over the lad's body. He was ready for the real Richie Ryan to return. "Leave them. They'll still be there tomorrow. I'm ready to get out of here."

"I'll finish closing up if you want to take off." Richie offered.

But that was hardly what the Immortal had in mind. He had no intention of leaving the teen to brood all by himself. Perhaps bribery would soften the boy a bit. "I thought we could head downtown. Catch a movie or check out the arcade before dinner."

Richie didn't even look up from what he was doing as he replied. "Why don't you go ahead?"

"Richie…" Duncan was at a total loss as to where to go from here. Richie had a stubborn streak to be reckoned with. Finally, the Immortal just blurted out what was on his mind. "Look, I don't want to leave you here by yourself."

Giving the man a sideways look, the teen stood stone still for a good three seconds. Then he walked abruptly towards the office, tossing his rag on the counter as he passed.

Staring after the teen, MacLeod shook off his momentary shock at the abrupt change of attitude and rapidly racked his brain to try and figure out what on earth had set the boy off.

As he heard the motorcycle fire up, it finally dawned on the Immortal what had happened. Sprinting towards the back door, he threw it open just in time to see the vehicle round the block. Staring at the dust floating through the air in Richie's wake, he cursed himself a fool for being so careless in his language with the boy. He should have known better than to phrase it that way; of course Richie would think the Immortal would mean he didn't trust the lad alone in his store. The lad would never even consider the idea that the man didn't want to leave him alone because he was upset. That idea wouldn't cross his mind, let alone come to it first.

Sighing heavily, Duncan made his way to his car to head after the teen. There was no way he was giving this one time; time and angst were never good in Richie's unchecked hands.


Pulling the car abruptly into the alleyway, Duncan was far from pleased by what he saw. Sure, he was in the neighborhood because he was searching for Richie. And, of course, he was relieved to find the boy. He just was hoping not to find him here, of all places.

As the Immortal climbed out of the car, he wasn't exactly intimidated by the group of hardened young men that surrounded Richie. At least, not for himself; centuries of experience left him with little fear of common thugs. His safety wasn't exactly the issue. Approaching the group with purpose, he walked straight up to the lad he was there for.

He wanted to apologize. He wanted to explain to the boy that he had misunderstood. He wanted the teen to understand how much he was wanted. But, more than that, he wanted to kill him. Gripping the boy's arm firmly, he barked out a simple, clipped order, "Car. Now."

As Richie stared at him, apparently taken quite off guard; only one man in the group responded to the Immortal and his young charge. As Richie's lunch companion stepped towards him, Duncan maintained his grip on the teen's arm. Looking the Immortal over critically, the man told him flatly, "I'm the only one who gives orders around here."

Ignoring the man entirely, Duncan looked straight at Richie and repeated his command, "Now."

The teen didn't protest in the slightest as the Immortal pulled him away from the crowd. He was too stunned. Stunned by the Immortal and stunned by the lack of response from the man the Immortal had ignored. It was hardly like Derrick to allow his authority to be disregarded like that. The criminal's calm and lack of attack on the Immortal greatly surprised the teen. Knowing the lack of response was hardly a good sign, Richie vaguely wondered what was in store for both him and the Scotsman as a result of Richie leaving with the man. He couldn't imagine it was going to be good.

As Duncan pulled him to the car, though, Richie found that concern being quickly overwhelmed by another, more immediate one. Why the Immortal had come to get him and what, exactly, he wanted was far from clear. As the teen allowed himself to be directed, rather firmly, into the passenger seat of the Immortal's car, he was becoming increasingly uneasy about the Immortal's intent. This was definitely not Richie's best day ever.