Chapter 8

When Mary finally regained consciousness, she was mad.

"Bugger and blast!" she snarled, sitting up and holding her head, despite Dr. Franklin's attempts to stop her. "That dickhead must've used a bunch of gormless prats to try and grab Delenn while he kept me occupied, except Delenn yelled and I went running! Cor bloody blimey! When I catch up with him, I swear on the blood of our Lord Jesus I am personally going to separate his pug-ugly head from his fat miserable neck!"

"Are you done?" Franklin asked, mildly amused by her rant.

"I could always continue if you'd like!" she shot back.

"No thank you. I may not have understood some of your insults, but I got the idea," Franklin said. He quickly examined her eyes and head, then said, "For someone who was unconscious for nearly five minutes, you're doing pretty good."

"Yeah? Then why is there a bloke using a jackhammer in my head?"

"Because you got hit there?"

Mary glared at him. "You got anything to take the edge off or are you going to contribute to the discomfort, Doc?"

Franklin smiled and held up a medicine bottle. "Two low-dosage painkillers should do the trick."

Mary was on the deck, where Franklin had been examining her, when she had come to. Now Sheridan came in to view.

"She going to be okay, Doctor?" he asked.

"Well, considering she had a knot the size of a Starfury on the back of her head, I'd say she's going to be just fine. It doesn't seem to have affected her language skills any," Franklin said.

Mary flipped a two-fingered gesture at him that had Sheridan raising an eyebrow and Franklin chuckling.

"We've got a problem," Sheridan said. "The group that attacked Delenn, they took Lennier."

As Mary carefully stood up, wincing, she asked, "What about Delenn?"

"Safe. She got in to her quarters and called for help," Sheridan said.

"Good," Mary said, accepting her pike back from a nearby Narn. "Daimler wants Delenn, not Lennier. We'll be hearing from him, wanting a trade; Lennier's life for Delenn."

"You seem sure of that," Sheridan said.

"Daimler is a GROPOS, a Marine boy. He will have no regrets about killing Lennier if he has to, but Delenn is his real target. I'd have to check his military file but I'm betting he's got a temper and a habit of holding grudges, which means disciplinary action or reprimands," Mary said.

"That's a bet I'm not willing to take," Sheridan said.

"Then get me that file," Mary said. She told him Daimler's full name, before accepting the capsules Franklin handed her and going to find Delenn.

Delenn, understandably, was upset.

"Why would they take Lennier?" she demanded.

"Because they couldn't get you, love. As long as you're out of their reach, they'll do whatever they think they have to do to get you," Mary said, getting some water to swallow her pills. "Sheridan will get me Daimler's military record, which will give me a chance to figure him out more and get the jump on the bugger. I have no doubt he'll call for a trade and we'll do it but on my terms and with my rules." She put her hands firmly on Delenn's shoulders. "We'll get him back, love, I promise."

Delenn nodded.

Sheridan arrived a few minutes later and handed Mary a data crystal.

"Daimler's military file. You were right; shortly before he was declared MIA, he had received a disciplinary action for aggressive behavior and a number of reprimands for the same thing, which is probably why he never made it past Private First Class," Sheridan said.

"Bet he was grouchy about that. Was he in the Earth-Minbari War?"

Mary asked.

"Yeah, he was. He was stationed at one of the bases that was hit near the end. He was last seen going at it with a Minbari warrior, and then he vanished. That must've been when he died the first time."

"Sounds about right. Fighting style?"

"Aggressive and prefers the use of brute strength rather than finesse. He's trained in guns, wrestling, and knife use, but his records suggest he prefers to beat his opponent to death rather than use surgical precision strikes."

"Which is where I have the advantage," Mary said thoughtfully. "Is he as young as I thought?"

"His records say he went missing when he was twenty-five in 2247," Sheridan confirmed.

"Not even 40 years old, the barmy bastard," Mary muttered. "And probably no teacher, either."

"And no teacher means?" Sheridan asked.

"He doesn't know the Rules or the fact that he can die when his head gets separated from his neck."

Before Sheridan could say anything, the Babcom went off. It was Ivanova, calling to let them know someone was calling about Lennier.

"Patch it through, Commander, please," Delenn said.

"Yes Ambassador. We'll try and trace it while we're at it."

Daimler appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Ambassador," he said coldly.

"Hello. I assume you are the one called Daimler?" Delenn asked politely.

"You got that right. Listen closely, 'cause I ain't repeatin' myself," Daimler said coldly. "I got your Minbari assistant, but he's just another dead Minbari as far as I'm concerned."

"What do you want?" Delenn asked.

"You, freako. I want your life in my hands and I want it within the next half hour." He named a location before continuing. "Show up alone, without those knucklehead Security guards or that looser, Garibaldi, or Lennier dies. Frankly, I really don't care if he lives or dies, but the longer you take, the more of your people I kill."

"Hey, Daimler," Mary called, attempting to stall the call. "Don't forget, I've challenged you, and by the Rules of the Immortals, which you might or might not know, you can't refuse a challenge."

"Oh, I'll challenge you, all right, little girl, but on my terms and my way," Daimler sneered.

"We'll see," Mary said. "And then we'll find out just who's the little girl."

Daimler glared at her. "Half an hour, Ambassador, or your assistant dies, and so will every other Minbari the longer you take." And the screen went dark.

Ivanova popped back on and had a grin on her face. "We got him," she said. "He was calling from a public terminal in the Zocalo area."

"Get eyes on him, fast," said Sheridan, who had joined them. "Watch him and follow him, but don't let any of our people be seen by him."

"I know just the people," Ivanova said, signing off.

Then Mary froze, her hand going to her sword; there was another Immortal nearby, possibly more than one, judging by the headache she was getting.

"What is it?" Sheridan asked, seeing the change in Mary's behavior.

"I don't know. There's another Immortal nearby but it can't be Daimler; he's too far away," Mary said, withdrawing her sword and carefully moving towards the door.

When the door hissed open to reveal no one, she cautiously stepped out.

"I am Mary Clarke of Bristol, England. Who goes there?" she called.

"How about two old friends?" came a male voice, one Mary knew well.

As they rounded the corner, Mary was delighted to see Duncan MacLeod and Methos, Immortals older than she but friends nether-the-less.

Sheathing her sword, she laughingly accepted their hugs.

"Am I glad to see you two," she said.

"I hate it when you say that. It usually means you've gotten yourself in to something, again, that no sane Immortal would get involved in. Oh, wait, this is you we're talking about. I still say that bomb blast must have rattled something," Methos teased. "Yeouch!"

Mary had just kicked him in the shins.

"Yes, I got myself in to something, but you two are going to help me, right?" she asked sweetly.

"Does it involve swords? Because if it does, no can do," said Duncan. "Station security is pretty tight."

"It involves my sword and your fists and a short explanation, which you will get if you come with me," Mary said.

"I'm gonna need a drink," Methos muttered.

"Settle for fruit juice; alcohol is toxic to Minbari," Mary said, guiding her friends back to Delenn's quarters.

"Minbari?" Duncan repeated, confused. "What do they have to do with this?"

"It's a long story," Mary muttered.