A/N I have no idea where I am going with this fic…so if anyone has any suggestions please email me out_foxed@yahoo.com Otherwise we'll just see what happens. I know this chapter is not as long as the first but it was the best place to stop. As for my reviewers :) thanks for the positive feedback…..and blackblade……I'm using the term quickening for both the event and her 'buzz'/energy…hope that clears everything up a little better

Chapter 2

A Few Weeks Later - Joe's Bar

Methos sat at the end of the bar watching as Mac and Joe closed up the place for the night. Mac was just escorting the last person out while Joe was talking on the phone.

"The council finally got back to me about your kid," Joe stated as he hung up. Methos just raised an eyebrow. "She's 20 by the way. Her parents died in a car accident when she was a just few weeks shy of 18. No other relatives."

"So where is she getting the money to go to school?" asked Mac.

"School is covered through scholarships, and her parents left her enough that she can live comfortably until she's about 30. "

Methos nodded, he had already known this from when he checked her out himself.

"There is a slight problem though," Joe said nervously. "She tripped some alarms when she went digging into the Paris and Seacouver police files and now Falkin and Gavin are looking for her."

Methos frowned. Brandon Falkin and Curtis Gavin were notorious for hunting mortals who learned about their kind. The fact that she was pre-immortal wouldn't stop them either. They were able to pick these people off pretty easily with their connections in the FBI and CIA.

"Will the Watchers pick her up?" asked Mac.

"They're trying, except Falkin and Gavin are already here looking for her. They've been here for a few days and the council is just getting back to me now," responded Joe angrily.

"Well they are going to have a little trouble finding her," said Methos. "With it being reading week who knows where she'll be. I'm just glad they can't sense her."

Joe and Mac looked at him questioningly. Methos just sighed. "She's a pre-immortal. But you can't sense her unless you are standing right next to her for a few minutes. That's why the Highlander here didn't feel her when she walked by him in the hall."

"I've never heard of anything like that before," said Mac.

"Neither have I," Adam replied.

"Sounds like you want to keep an eye on her," Joe smiled.

"With two head hunters on the way, you've got to be joking."

Suddenly Joe saw Mac and Methos stiffen at the feeling of another immortal. MacLeod began to reach inside his jacket and pull out his sword when the door burst open. Joe watched in horror as a girl stumbled towards them clutching her head. Her clothes were shredded and practically dripping with blood, yet beneath it all, he could still see gashes healing all over her body. She looked up and froze at the sight of MacLeod's katana.

"Kira?" Methos said in shock when he finally saw the girl's face.

She didn't respond. Behind her the door opened and revealed Curtis Gavin. Seeing herself cornered, Kira collapsed into a foetal position and screamed. At the end of the bar, Methos felt her quickening fold in on itself. Without thinking he jumped over the bar and knocked Joe to the ground just as Kira's power exploded. He covered Joe's body with his own as the world around him shattered. Glass and alcohol rained down on them as a powerful wave shook the foundation. From beneath Methos, Joe saw Mac flung across the bar and pinned against the wall. He watched on in fear as Mac screamed in pain, his chest slowly caving as his rib cage broke under the pressure. Suddenly the storm stopped and Mac fell to the floor dead. The silence was deafening.

"Don't move," Methos said as he crawled off of Joe. He glanced out from behind the bar. "Looks like she passed out. Come on Joe. We have to get them out of here."

After helping Joe to his feet, Adam grabbed MacLeod and carried him outside. Joe just looked at his bar. The tables were in splinters and the windows were completely blown out. Looking to the door he almost threw up. Hanging about four feet off the ground with a chair leg through the stomach was Gavin.

//That could have been me. To think that one kid could cause so much damage.//

"Joe we have to go before the cops get here," said Methos quietly as he walked back into the bar. He knelt and began to look over Kira's form. Lightly brushing his fingertips across her temple he nodded satisfied. "Come on Joe," Methos repeated as he picked up Kira and carried her out of the bar. Joe numbly followed.

"What are we going to do, Methos?"

"Just head to Mac's. I'll think of something."

A/N to be continued…….