AN: Behold, an update. I am sorry it took so long but my muses seem to have taken a vacation...again. I swear, they take so much time off work I really should fire them. Good help is so hard to get these days...

I do hope someone is still reading this ^^''

Present day

Since Adam without so much as a "by your leave" had commandeered Joe's office and shooed Rook inside the bar owner grabbed a bottle of whiskey and three glasses then followed them. At least Adam hadn't stolen his chair as well. Joe sat down behind his desk with a sigh. He had been on his feet too long and sitting down felt heavenly.

"Any particular reason you're inviting my patrons into my office, Adam?"

Joe lifted an eyebrow. Adam merely shrugged and slouched farther down in his chair.

"I merely thought covert business should better be talked about in the back room. Isn't that usually how those things are handled? They do it on TV all the time."

He grinned at the Watcher and pushed the third chair closer towards Rook, who still hadn't sat down.

Rook looked around the room for a moment, most likely looking for surveillance equipment, and only sat down when he seemed to have satisfied himself that they weren't being recorded in any way.

"And what type of covert business in particular did you wish to discuss, Adam? Mine or yours?"

Adam merely grinned in answer to Rook's question. Then he gave Rook his best I'm-just-a-mild-mannered-grad-student-look and said: "Mine? What kind of covert business could I have? I'm not a Watcher anymore, remember?"

Neither Joe nor Rook were fool for even a second.

"Adam, your ulterior motives have ulterior motives and you never just volunteer to help."

He shot Joe a hurt look.

"Joe, how many times have I saved your arse? And lets not forget about Amy's shapely behind which I also saved. I do occasionally help, if I can't get out of it."

He smirked as Joe shot him a stern look, the type only a father can manage while warning a man off his daughter.

"Exactly, if you can't get out of it. So clearly you must think that helping Rook will help you in some way."

Adam pushed a pen around on the table.

"Well, I might be hoping that I could take a peek at that archive of his…if I help him keep it."

He looked up at Rook through his lashes. "How about it, Mr. Rook?"

Rook seemed not the slightest bit impressed.

"Completely out of the question. No one outside of the department has access to those records. And most of them have been carted off to storage anyway."

Adam nodded. "But if I can help you to make them give you back your job they'd return all the files. Hey, you could even hire me, then I'd officially be allowed to look through your archive."

He looked very happy about this particular idea.

"Grey isn't your colour, buddy", Joe said with a smirk. "It would make you look old."

Adam exaggeratedly looked down at his clothes.

"You think? Hey, that might be a good thing. People at university keep telling me that I am much too young to work there. I think one student actually said, and I quote, 'You look about 12'."

Rook lifted a pale eyebrow and took a closer look at Adam. He did see their point. It was hard to tell the man's age from looking at him since depending on facial expression and the way he held himself he could be anything from 18 to 30 years of age.

Rook did not trust him in the slightest. Adam clearly was a man who was very aware of the way his outward image influenced people and he was using it to his advantage. He did not seem above implementing puppy dog eyes to get what he wanted. Or threatened someone with a gun, if the need arose.

"As you could perhaps figure out for yourself my department is not currently hiring. Mostly because of the tiny issue of it being dissolved."

The sarcasm was not lost on either of his companions.

"I did mean you should hire me after I helped you save your department. Do try to keep up, Rook."

Joe opened the whiskey and poured himself a glass. He didn't really need a drink but he'd rather his fingers were busy with the bottle than with hitting a certain annoying immortal over the head with his cane. Ha, now wouldn't that be something for his chronicle? Irritated Watcher gave Methos a concussion with his cane. Joe hid his grin behind his glass while he amused himself by coming up with some very embarrassing scenarios he could threaten to put in Methos' chronicle the next time the old guy misbehaved.

Rook seemed to be contemplating whether to take Adam up on his offer or shoot him. Going by the sour look on his face he did seem in favour of shooting him.

"I know nothing about you, Adam, apart from being a friend of Joe's and an Ex-Watcher, which in itself makes you hardly seem like the most reliable person. If they did not want to keep you why should I believe you have the ability to help me?"

"Mostly because of the reason they did not want to keep me. They couldn't really have an Immortal working at their little headquarters, now could they? And they might have been slightly mad at me for making them look like fools by recruiting me in the first place."

Adam looked much too happy about that. And about the look of disbelieve on Rook's face. The man in grey turned towards Joe.

"He's an immortal? And the Watchers hired him? That would be like me hiring a Type 2."

Joe merely shrugged. "He's very good at blending in and his background held up. Short of cutting him they had no way of knowing he was an immortal. Oh, that reminds me, new recruits will all be slightly mad at you, Adam, because now they do cut them before they are allowed to join."

Adam merely chuckled.

"Somehow I don't quite believe you there, Joe. Not even the Watchers would go that far."

"Wouldn't they? It's a very efficient way of making sure no other immortals sneak in. Or that you don't sneak in again. I might have been the one who suggested that little safety measure."

The immortal lifted an imaginary hat off his head. "Touché, Joe, I must admit that I hoped no one would ever consider that idea."

Rook watched their interaction curiously. How could those two be friends when their friendship was based on a lie? Curious, very curious.

Notes: I was wondering why the Watchers never even thought of the possibility that an Immortal might know of them and sneak in with the new recruits. But surely after the whole Adam Pierson fiasco they'd make sure it couldn't happen again? Just my little piece of head canon ;)