1953

Oxford, England

Curiosity killed the cat, they say. Well, in this case it might kill Immortals just as dead as felines. Good thing I also have nine lives, Methos thought with a wry grin, or maybe closer to 900. He might just need some of those if he went out to look for vampires.

After two weeks he had finally found himself without a grey clad shadow every minute of every day. They had been more persistent than he had thought but finally they seemed to be convinced that Ben Preston was no danger to their mission. It was a bigger relieve than he had expected to finally be able to at least step out of his Ben Preston persona in his own home.

It also made concentrating on his courses much easier. He had barely passed his anatomy exams and that was saying a lot since anatomy really hadn't changed all that much since he'd last studied medicine. Now the only thing still distracting him was this frustrating lack of information on his long toothed friends.

He needed to draw them out and have a nice little chat with one of them, he thought. But first he needed to acquire protection. Crosses seemed to have been very effective against those vampires who had attacked the men in grey. He did remember that the legends said something about silver and stakes through the heart as well. He bought a nice silver rosary at a jeweller's then went to the nearest Catholic church and asked the priest to bless it in exchange for a sizeable donation.

Armed with that, his sword, a dagger or two and a few sharpened pieces of wood Methos went to the pub. He spent a merry evening with some fellow students, drank a few beers, then set out alone to walk home on the same route he'd taken when he had stumbled upon the men in grey.

He made sure to seem slightly unsteady on his feet, stopping now and then to lean against the wall as if the world were spinning and he needed to catch his balance. There, as good as wearing a big sign that reads 'Easy prey right here', he thought smugly. Now he just had to run into someone who was looking for prey. Tyger, Tyger burning bright…I guess that would make me the goat. He remembered observing a village hunting for a man eating tiger when he had last been in India. Big cats were a fascinating sight but not so very clever sometimes. Hopefully the vampires weren't either and would fall for this bait just as the tiger had.

He was half way home when he realized that he was being followed. He deliberately stepped into the darkest street he could find – he made sure it was not a dead end, of course - and waited for them to catch up with him. He saw two shadows following him, he thought, as he leaned against the wall again while pulling out one of the stakes and hiding it against the folds of his coat. Quicker than he'd expected one of them was upon him and pushed him against the wall with his hands grabbing the lapels of Methos' coat.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Don't I know you", the vampire drawled while pinning him painfully. He was not trying to hide what he was, most likely trying to frighten his prey before killing him. The black eyes and fanged mouth were leering at Methos and the vampires leaned closer.

"I do think we have met, yes, though it's harder to recognise you when you are not cowardly hiding behind me", Methos replied with a smirk of his own.

His confident tone of voice confused the vampire and made him draw back slightly. That and the pressure he should feel from something wooden and pointy right about now. Methos had brought the point of the stake up rest against his attacker's body, just below his ribs on the left side, the pressure just enough to be felt but not yet do any damage. One strong push and he could shove the piece of wood upwards through skin, muscles and diaphragm right into the heart.

The second vampire was drawing closer now, coming to investigate what took his comrade so long, no doubt. The first one's eyes flickered between the way out of the alley and Methos face, trying to decide if he could make a run for it or if there was a way to disarm his prey-turned-attacker.

"Send the other one away and I might not kill you just now", Methos whispered while reinforcing his point with a painful push on the stake. He grabbed the vampire's jacket with his other hand to keep him from running.

"Go ahead, Charles, I'll catch up with you later", the trapped vampire shouted without taking his eyes off Methos.

With a grunt and a wave the second dark figure vanished around the corner.

"Very good. Now, how about you answer some questions for me, my toothy friend?"

Methos smiled wolfishly at his captive as he quickly manoeuvred them around so that the vampire was standing with his back against the wall. It was slightly unnerving to stare into those completely black eyes, he found. No wonder they were thought to be demons without souls with eyes like that.

"I'm not answering any questions, arsehole", the vampire growled. "And you can't make me."

Methos chuckled. "I can't make you? Seems to me like I'm the one who decides if you live to see another night or not, little bat, so do not tempt me." He let go of the vampire's jacket and pulled out a dagger. In one smooth motion he buried the blade in the other man's side, most likely piercing his liver.

The vampire gasped in pain and tried to pull away but stopped as his movement brought the stake closer to piercing his skin. Caught between a stake and a knife, Methos thought with dark amusement.

The relieved smile that suddenly appeared on the vampire's face clued Methos in to the possibility of trouble even before he heard running footsteps approaching their position.

"Reinforcements, I take it?"

The vampire just started laughing as Methos pulled his dagger out of the other's body and stepped back. He was not laughing any longer when he suddenly found the stake shoved up and into the left ventricle of his heart.

Methos nearly forgot about running away as the vampire and his clothes slowly turned to grey dust right in front of his eyes. The shocked expression frozen on the monster's face was nearly comical. Well, he did answer one question at least. Stakes to the heart actually do work. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Just as three dark shapes came around the corner Methos took off at a run. He wagered he should have enough of a head start to be able to lose them in those back alleys unless they could run faster than humans. Seems I'm going to get that question answered as well, then.


Notes: Here you go, my dear readers, another chapter. I'd very much appreciate it if you could tell me if the characters become too ooc at any point, or if the plot gets to ludicrous, or the jokes too bad. ;) any kind of constructive criticism is welcome. And thank you for reading :)