"Salute."

"En garde."

The ballet of blades began: Advance – lunge – thrust – parry – riposte – parry – slash. Movements so quick epees and bodies blurred. Josef had speed, skill and 400 years of strategy. His body itself was like a blade: Slim, flexible, tempered steel. Mick's body was denser but graceful, a trifle slower but he had more power and a longer reach.

Josef's centuries of experience would give him the edge in almost any encounter but under his tutelage Mick had learned in a few decades to be a worthy opponent. Mick made Josef work for every point and occasionally surprised the hell out of him besides.

There was no protective gear in sight and they had long ago learned to save their clothes from rips and bloodstains by wearing only gym shorts. They circled barefoot in the room Josef had made into a fencing salon. Minor injuries were ignored, they stopped only if bleeding was severe.

Beth and Sandrina liked to watch sometimes but since they were mostly interested in the possibility of gym short slippage they had been banned from serious practice sessions.

After a couple of hours Mick and Josef showered in the adjoining locker room, dressed, and went to Josef's study for drinks.

"Why do we always fence or golf or ride horses?", Mick asked. "How about basketball or boxing or the shooting range?"

"Because I like to win and you're better at those. But I see your point. No need to get into a rut. How about archery?"

"Archery sounds like something you grew up doing."

"No, I picked it up in the early 19th century."

"But you're good at it?"

"Sandrina is better. It was one of the few sports for women. She also paints watercolors, embroiders and plays the pianoforte."

"She's expert at all that?"

"No, she's pretty bad at everything but archery. But those were a young lady's accomplishments 200 years ago and back then you didn't step too far out of the station you were born to."

"What about you? When your office was bombed and I thought you were dead I realized I only know bits and pieces of your life."

"You know I was born in 1599 and turned before my 25th birthday."

"And you know I was born in 1922 and turned at 30 on my wedding night. You know almost all of my 85 years. Stop being mysterious. Start talking."

"But I'm 409," Josef complained, "It'll take forever."

"Theoretically we have forever. But I don't mean every detail. Hit the high points. What's one important thing from the 1600s?"

"I avoided the Spanish Inquisition."

"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

"I wouldn't have expected you to be a Monty Python fan."

"I love PBS and the BBC. Besides, how did you recognize the quote?"

"Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Continue."

"Europe wasn't very vamp friendly just then and it was time for me to disappear for awhile so I went to Japan."

"Shogun."

Josef stared. "I thought you spent the '70s in your apartment brooding about being a vampire. Now I find you were watching British comedy and American mini-series."

"I'm a product of the TV generation. But I haven't watched much since the late '80s."

"The only entertainment used to be war or religion. And they were pretty much the same what with the Inquisition and the Crusades, which thankfully were before my time."

"How long were you in Japan?"

"Maybe 20 years. Then I went to India. I can't remember why that seemed like a good idea. It's nicer now but I did not see it at its best. No air conditioning or freezers, of course. Hot, dirty, smelly, with insects and disease."

"You can't get sick from human disease."

"But the humans can. Do you think leprosy improves the flavor of lunch? Europe was just as bad with the outbreaks of plague. And the ignorance and superstition. Someone decided cats were evil and brought sickness so they started killing cats. And of course the plague spread because there were fewer cats to kill the rats that carried the plague."

"Okay, touchy subject. Hey, what about your marriage? You went to war to get out of it."

"Ah, yes, Waterloo in 1815."

"You 'died' at the Battle of Waterloo? So you met your Waterloo."

"Original," Josef said scathingly. "I've never heard that before."

"I couldn't resist."

"Try harder."

"Was it the King of England who asked you to make a political marriage?"

"Actually, I was on the other side."

"Napoleon made you get married?"

"Boney was Emperor not King. It was one of his few remaining allies. The country doesn't exist anymore."

"But you met Bonaparte?"

"Of course. But more importantly I met Josephine. She was my only Empress."

"Are you making this up? All these famous people you've known or fed from?"

"It wouldn't be beyond me, but no. Everything really happened."

"That's incredible." Mick was serious. "I told Beth what a loss it was when we thought you were gone. I do not want to lose a friend I've had for 50 years."

Josef was serious too. "I can't count the number of friends I've lost over the centuries, but you're the one I would miss forever."

"Are we having a moment here?"

"It had to be said. Once."

"What if one of us almost dies again?"

"We suck it up and let the women cry."