In flight over Southeast Asia:
The flight over China and into Hanoi was uneventful. By the time the immortals had landed for re-fueling in the Vietnamese city, Reagan had organized their paperwork. To be on the safe side, no one left the plane except her. Duncan paced up and down the plane's cabin like a caged animal. He had the strangest worry that he would be too late… that he'd never arrive in time… that events were spiraling out of control.
But Reagan was back within twenty minutes and the plane was fueled in another thirty. They'd easily been cleared for immediate takeoff.
"Tell me again why we are flying to Mandalay," Steven Keane asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt after they were in the air. "What is so all-fired important there?"
Duncan glanced at Amanda who shrugged. Your choice, she said mentally. She would support and follow his lead. This was something only he could decide about telling anyone. Just as their bonding was a secret… so too was the child Kate was carrying.
"There's someone I've been looking for… someone I have to find," he finally said hesitantly. "One of us who could be in a lot of trouble."
"So you're not hunting," Keane continued.
"Not at the moment," Duncan replied with a glare.
Reagan rose and paced between the two men. She noted Amanda's tight-lipped expression and Kiem Sun's mysterious smile. "Okay… you said Mandalay… what then?"
Duncan continued to glare at Keane. "Just get me there… then all of you can fly to the moon for all I care."
"Excuse me?" Reagan turned on him. "I bust my chops twice to get you out of messes that normally you'd never have been in. This isn't like you MacLeod. You were never so mysterious around me. You act as if all we've done to help you is nothing. I've gone out on a limb for you by using my contacts not to mention putting the corporate plane at your disposal."
"I didn't ask for the help," Duncan seethed… his eyes glaring at her.
"Stop it both of you!" Amanda suddenly said as she rose and stood between them. "Duncan… Tell her what happened." She winked at Duncan and then turned to Reagan. "Or maybe I will."
"Amanda," he warned.
"He's helping me locate a crystal like Rebecca's. You've heard of the Methuselah Stone? Well I came into possession recently of information about a second one."
"Other than the one he used on Vrej?" Reagan mused suspiciously.
"That one?" Amanda laughed nervously. "No… that one contains the clue about where we go. Now obviously… we don't want too many around as we aren't quite certain what it does." Amanda's lip quivered and a tear formed in one eye. "Rebecca meant the world to me. While finding one won't bring her back… it might be a way that I can honor her memory by doing what she did… divide the crystal and give it to students. Duncan's just being a Boy Scout and helping me with my self-improvement program. I'm desperately trying to stop being the center of my world."
Reagan and Steven looked at her aghast and then rolled their eyes. Kiem Sun grinned and silently chuckled.
"Well it's true… I'm really trying to be a better person," Amanda insisted.
Behind her Duncan undid his seatbelt with a laugh, rose and kissed her brow. "Never mind Amanda. It was an interesting story right up until the end." He turned to the others. "I'm looking for a former lover who has run off with an immortal who may or may not have her best interests at heart." He shrugged at Reagan. "I want to be certain she's all right. I care about her even though we've both moved on with our lives."
Reagan smiled at him warmly. "Now was that so hard? You have always cared about all of us and been there to help. This is no different."
Duncan shrugged. "Well… I don't want to show up on their doorstep with an entourage."
"No," Regan nodded. "That might not look so good. So what's the plan?"
Duncan shook his head. "It depends on what I find." He noticed Sun's wide and knowing smile and looked quickly away from him, refusing to meet the Oriental's gaze. "If she's fine… I go home to Florence with Amanda. If she's not… I may need to stay awhile or take her someplace where she'll be safe. She's not a fighter… not really. Not like you or Amanda."
Steven snorted. "Now let me get this straight… you want to protect one of us who by all accounts is not one who can protect herself?" He chuckled. "I begin to see why you didn't kill Ratavoussian. You don't want anyone to die… do you?"
"Not if I can help it. If too many show up where I think this couple is now… someone might die." Duncan looked again at Reagan. "Maybe the thing to do is after we land… Amanda and I will leave the plane and you can continue on to wherever you like. I apologize for the way I stated that earlier."
Reclaiming her seat, Reagan sighed. Where did she want to go? She glanced at Kiem Sun and Steven. Could she take them to Niebos? Should she? Inwardly she shook her head. No… not without talking to Phillip first. She'd meant to contact him weeks ago but had forgotten. She looked up… "Well we can continue west until we reach Europe. I really need to get the plane back to one of our corporate locations and then explain why I used it. If either of you want to leave beforehand… you can."
Kiem Sun sat back in his seat. "I own some property in Burma. I had thought to go there. I can get off with MacLeod and Amanda and then head south to Rangoon on my own." He noticed Duncan shoot him a suspicious glance… but he replied with a bow of his head. "It would save going on and then coming back."
Steven sat up straighter. "Hey… I thought we were in this together. Where you go… I go."
"You have business interests in several places Steven. Where I need to go you might not. I didn't want to force you into just going along for the ride."
Steven smiled at the term 'ride'. "Ah… but what a ride."
Reagan blushed, nervously pushing a lock of hair behind one ear. If Sun left the plane at Mandalay with MacLeod and Amanda… the two of them could talk this out. Already Reagan feared that Steven wanted more from this assignation than she did. "We'll see," she murmured without commitment.
The five immortals were all sitting again by this time… and looking or not looking at one another. For a while, the only sounds were those of the plane's engines.
-----
Duncan and Amanda watched from the edge of the tarmac as Reagan Cole's private plane rose into the wind and vanished into the skies.
"I felt badly for lying to them," Amanda said softly.
Duncan smiled. "No you didn't. You just feel badly that they saw through your lies."
"I wasn't lying!" she hmmphed.
Behind them Kiem Sun chuckled. Duncan turned to glare at him. "All right… we're alone now. So why are you here?"
Sun shrugged, his grin still wide. "I will stay out of your way MacLeod… but I am curious about what you saw in the crystal and what it is you hope to find. Besides… you might have need of me whether you know it or not."
"Just don't get in my way," Duncan growled as he pushed past him.
"Burma is a good size country," Kiem Sun said. "I have been here many times. Perhaps I can help narrow your search."
Duncan paused. "Do you know where Craille might have property here?"
"He said something to me about this being the land of a million Buddhas. Perhaps his home is near the Po Win Daung caves in the Lake Inlay region near Mandalay. It is, at least, a place to start."
Duncan drew in a deep breath and held it. "I need a map."
"Well let's find one at the local Triple A," Amanda suggested as she breezily passed between the two.
"I doubt they have Triple A here," Duncan said with a smile as he followed her. As always… she made him smile.
I heard that, she thought back at him.
Duncan chuckled.
-----
Niebos:
Having spent several days inside recuperating, J.D. had been looking forward to getting out on his own. Now he found himself cooped up with Chou, Denis and Kenny… all three of whom had small swords and looked entirely too serious. Unlike yesterday when they'd laughed so at him and his response to seeing the naked biker immortal, they looked positively glum and whispered to one another in languages that J.D. didn't know. Sometimes they glanced at him and they looked worried.
"So what is going on?" J.D. asked them.
Denis finally, after glancing at the other two who gave curt nods, began to explain. "There was a really bad immortal. He killed several people we cared about. Phillip had him locked up somewhere so he couldn't hurt anyone ever again. Your mom thinks he's loose again."
J.D. shrugged. "Why doesn't someone just take his head? Isn't that what Phillip did last fall to that bad one who came to the island?"
"This one is worse. No one dares to kill him… or they lose who they are."
J.D. shook his head. "I don't understand."
Just then Micah and the girls arrived. "Grace thought it best if we were all in here together," the older boy explained. Hope was in Madrigal's arms, cooing and laughing.
"Must be serious if Grace even wants the baby in here," J.D. replied sullenly.
"What have you told him?" Micah shot the question to Denis.
"Just that a bad one might be about."
Micah regarded J.D. carefully. "How much do you really know?"
"I know that sometimes there are bad immortals that challenge the others to combat." J.D. glanced at Marianna who seemed much more interested in baby Hope. She kept holding up her crystal ball and trying to get Hope to look into it. He gestured toward her with his head. Likely his mother would not want there to be too much conversation about this in front of Marianna. Even though he wanted to know more… he also wanted to protect his little sister.
The boys withdrew to near the window and closed ranks, eyeing the girls. Denara and Madrigal looked over at them several times as if they too wanted in on the conversation.
Micah cleared his throat as he spoke quietly. "You know that immortals fight and kill one another."
"Well not usually," J.D. protested. "Only the really bad ones."
Micah glanced at the others. "Well… sometimes there are some who just try to kill the weak… like us."
J.D.'s brow wrinkled as he tried to think that through. "That doesn't make sense. Why?"
"They just don't think we should be allowed to exist."
J.D. leaned against the wall and looked at his friends and then over at the girls. He didn't like this thought one bit! If his parents had taught him anything it was to accept the right of others to live. He had never really considered that immortals might die until that business last fall between Phillip and that other immortal. He sighed as he recalled how upset and worried everyone was when Phillip left to meet the other one with his sword. "It's just something we do," Denis had whispered at the time. Sure… grown-ups… protecting the others from someone bad… that's what this was about too… but there seemed to be something else going on. J.D. wished that his dad were here. But he wasn't. He was always gone when important things happened and J.D. had questions.
Glancing at Kenny who seemed oddly satisfied to have a small sword in his hands, J.D. further worried. He kept looking at it and at the others. J.D. had a bad feeling about the way Kenny looked at the others, but he made no hostile moves and seemed to be satisfied to just polish and oil the sword they'd given him. But J.D. didn't like the almost predatory grin on Kenny's face. There was something about it that made his skin crawl.
On the far side of the room, Madrigal grinned as she held baby Hope. This child was something special… as were Marianna and J.D., and she'd been entrusted with caring for the baby in the face of danger. She would fight and die to protect this little one from Nestor if he truly was back. Madrigal hoped he wasn't… that it was just the others being careful. Besides… how bad could it be?
-----
John finished checking the house and securing the heavy shutters over the windows. He wanted to be certain that if there was an attack… that it wouldn't be easy.
Neither Katherine or Grace were all that adept with a sword, though both knew how to use them. Katherine hadn't really handled one since she'd come out of the coma, and Grace had never really been interested in that part of the game. He smiled, recalling her insistence at one time that she would protect him.
John hadn't located Sarah Manning in the house, but Sarah often got up early and walked the island. He wasn't certain anyone had ever mentioned Nestor to her. The only other immortals on the island were the threesome that had remained behind when the ship had moved on. But they would all be together. No… Sarah was the one he worried about… she would be alone.
"Penny for your thoughts," Katherine said behind him. He turned. She was armed and dressed for battle.
"Just trying to think who's out there and who's at risk."
"From what Grace tells me… this Nestor was a truly twisted immortal… sadistic, cannibalistic, a thoroughly unpleasant fellow. But he's just an immortal… right?"
"His quickening is so strong it overwhelms the victor," John explained.
"But if he's free… he's in the body of an eight-year-old girl… right? Shouldn't be too difficult to handle."
"Handle… yes. Phillip had his hands full containing the child. He would never say too much about it."
Katherine tossed her hair over her shoulder and secured it with a band. "What about the hospital? Shouldn't some of us be there?"
John nodded. "I'm certain once Phillip has checked on Nestor, Greg and Eleanor will guard the hospital. For now… we keep a close eye on the children. The children are the ones most at risk."
Katherine nodded and headed into Phillip's study. There were three entrances into the villa on the ground floor. Each of the three was keeping an eye on one of them.
-----
Ascending a small hill, he stared down at the three immortals dozing in the afternoon sunshine. Naked, their arms and legs entangled with one another, they were the perfect prey. He hefted the trident and shifted the net so that he could throw it effectively.
"Time to winnow the herd a bit," he chuckled softly and then raced down the hill. He threw the net so that the female and one of the males was caught in that while he dashed the sharpened trident into the other male's neck and sliced to one side and then the other. His head rolled free.
Backing up… he watched with interest as the quickening leaped into the female who bucked up and down within the net as if in the throes of ecstasy. He pulled the net tighter to keep them both trapped within its web. The force of the quickening kept trying to separate the two. Both were screaming as they fought to be free of the net and each other.
As the quickening faded and settled, he pulled the net free and quickly sliced off the head of the other male. Once again the quickening leaped into the female. This time… freed of all restraints… her body levitated as she was tossed back and forth like a screaming rag doll.
He licked his teeth as he watched her. When she fell to the earth, he leaned over, picked her up and pulled her to him, aware of the throbbing between his legs.
"Who are you? What are you? You're not an immortal!" she wept in confusion.
He laughed. "No… I am eternal. I was when your kind were nothing and my time has most unexpectantly come again." He bit her neck and tasted the hot blood even as he bore her to the ground and entered her. He thrust into her, intoxicated by her fight and her screams. It was good to be back.
-----
