CHAPTER 41
"That was quite a show. Too bad the poor bugger doesn't know it was your final performance." Methos said as he caught up to the young woman's quick steps as she strode toward the warehouse district.
"Angry and arrogant." She replied under her breath, as she turned down the street. Her mind was turning as she tried to decide where she wanted to face him. When Riley Quinn had turned up at her place, soaked to the skin and three large, blood stained tears in his sweater and pants, she didn't have to hear much to know his battle had been vicious. They'd sparred together before and Riley was no pushover. He'd tried to convince her to leave town with him for a few months until this crazed immortal had moved on, but she wouldn't. She had however made him stay long enough to recount everything he could remember about the fight and the way his opponent attacked and moved.
"You don't understand Ellen. This one is as cold as I've ever seen, and he knows how to find your weakness and doesn't hesitate to use it against you." Riley had told her. "He's like a machine."
"He may think he's a machine, all cold and steel." Ellen thought to herself. "but I don't buy it and I'm certainly not going to run from him."
She didn't know how long it would be before Pierson came looking for her, but her instincts told her it wouldn't be long. Ellen knew it would take more than her skill alone to have a chance with this immortal, so she'd approached her watcher Dalton Embray. They'd spoken a few times before. Dalton had only been in the field for three years and his assignments had been young and hadn't lasted long before being transferred to Chicago to watch her. He was shocked when Ellen knew not only who he was, but what he was. "Don't worry, I won't blow your cover as long as you don't annoy me." She'd told him. He kept his distance and she didn't try to give him the slip. It worked for both of them. But this time when she approached him, she pumped him for as much information as he could give her about Adam Pierson, letting him know in no uncertain terms she would make sure he was ruined as a watcher if he didn't give her everything he could. He hadn't disappointed, and tonight as she walked side by side with the most formidable opponent she'd ever faced, she at least felt she had a chance.
"Let's hope this hurts you more than it hurts me." She whispered to herself as she pushed through the door of a warehouse that had been emptied the week before to make ready for new shipments.
She shocked Methos when she threw the switch that illuminated the large, empty main room. It took a second for his eyes to adjust and in that time she slipped out of her coat and turned with not one, but two long blades.
"I see someone's been talking." Methos answered her silent challenge as he removed the two swords hidden in the folds of his own coat.
"It pays to have friends in the business." She replied, rotating her wrists a few times to loosen them up as she circled around him. "You remember what that's like don't you Adam? To have friends? I heard you had several before you snapped and started on this head hunt of yours."
"You're reaching." He retorted. "And wasting more time." Methos lunged forward and jabbed toward her head with one blade before sweeping straight across with the other. His strokes were powerful, but she was quick and managed to fend them off and retaliate with one swift swipe of her own. Methos had to jump back to dodge it. Ellen took the opportunity and attacked blade over blade as she backed him up with blows that were not so much powerful as they were fast.
She smirked when she saw the brief look of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected her to be much of a challenge. Her small build and almost childlike featured were deceptive. She'd had a good teacher and had trained hard to survive. But the revelation didn't leave him off balance for more than a few seconds and she found herself on the receiving end of his own attack.
"I hear you've visited a few friends recently." She managed to say as she defended herself. "That dancer, Sada. Brilliant talent. I had the opportunity to see her perform about a decade ago. I heard she greeted you with a kiss and you slid your sword between her ribs."
"It was her spine I severed actually." He replied. "And it was a fair fight."
"Is that what you tell yourself about the one in Mexico? You remember, the one who literally offered you his head. Something tells me he was more of a friend than you deserved." she pushed forward and managed to nick him under the arm with her blade as she ducked beneath another sweeping blow.
"You mistake me for someone who cares." Methos replied to her attempts at rattling his concentration.
"Oh you care all right." She turned and vaulted onto a large piece of equipment and then to the level above, forcing him to follow her on the narrow metal stairs. "You care plenty about that wife of yours. If you didn't, then what she did to you wouldn't have dredged up so much rage. You can't take it out on her so you use us."
Methos made it to her level and didn't waste any time forcing her to retreat further into the warehouse. "You had quite the little family thing going didn't you? A wife . baby . friends . " she gasped as she fended off the blows as they became more vicious and more determined.
"Shut up and fight." Methos ordered.
"And she just left you." Ellen ignored his demand as she pushed her way through a door and slammed it on his blade before he could follow.
"What happened?" she taunted him through the door as she raced to the other end of the room and down the stairs. "What did you do to screw it all up?" She yelled at him as he followed her, both blades flashing as he prepared to attack again.
Methos felt his blood beginning to boil with every word. But he didn't respond with anything but his weapons. He steeled himself against the memories her words brought to the surface by determining to make her death as painful as possible.
"Did she see this temper of yours?" Ellen accused. "That's it isn't it? You scared her . or maybe you are some perverted sick fuck like my husband was, all gallant and charming on the outside but inside you hide a demon that no woman could endure."
He didn't like the insinuation and he didn't like the fact she thought she knew his relationship with Beth well enough to even draw a conclusion. "You should save your breath." He advised, his own breath coming heavy as he moved to attack again.
"Save it for what? The long life I'm going to have?" she replied sarcastically. "Wouldn't that be a waste?"
Methos spat out a laugh at her reply. Finally she was getting it.
"I bet you wonder." She continued as she fended off the blade that threatened her head.
"Wonder what?" Methos took the bait.
"When you're alone . at night . you wonder what it would feel like to hold her again." She replied, slashing up but meeting the flat of his sword. "You wonder whose arms she's in . and how they make her feel." For a long second their eyes locked only inches apart as their blades held overhead.
"You're a fool." He gritted, shoving her back as he rained down a blow that cut into Ellen's shoulder and sent her reeling backwards.
"And you're not?" she had to drop one blade, but held the other up to deflect the attack she knew was coming. "You don't even realize ." she gasped, the pain starting to affect her vision. Ellen knew there was no escaping. "God it's funny." She began to laugh, finding it hard to defend herself now.
"You find this amusing?" Methos couldn't believe the child-woman who had fought him so courageously as she tried to goad him, was now laughing at her own demise. "Is this how you greet death?" he held his sword still for a few seconds, waiting for the fear she appeared to be ignoring to take hold. But it didn't.
Her laughter increased. "I find you amusing." She winced as she deflected one last blow, and then surprised him by delivering a powerful kick to his ribs when he moved too close.
"And the thing is . you don't even know why. You're really pathetic." Her voice was little more than a whisper when she finished, reserving as much of her strength as she could while she tried to distract him.
"The only thing pathetic is the time I've let you waste." Methos dropped one of his swords and came at her, holding the one blade in both hands. "And as amusing as you find this, I'm afraid I'm growing bored."
Ellen knew time was running out and all she had left to use was the last thing she'd learned about Adam Pierson when she talked to her Watcher that morning. He'd told her that when the Watchers began to question Pierson's friend, Joe Dawson, they'd tapped his phones. It hadn't taken long for them to realize what had really happened to Pierson's wife.
"You think I'm wasting your time? Try looking in the mirror." She replied, backing her way up the stairs. "While you spend your time destroying everything and everyone you come in contact with, your 'friends' are busy trying to save what you think you lost." she gasped for breath as she tried to use the added height of her blows to her advantage while he followed her up the stairs.
"I didn't ask them to follow her, and it is their time wasted, not mine." He didn't know why he was even responding. "I accepted her choice and now I accept my destiny, as will you."
"To be the only one?" Ellen laughed. "You might win the prize, but one day you will realize what you sacrificed needlessly to get it. And I wish I could see your face when you learn what it really cost. Pathetic quitter!" She had reached the top of the stairs and used the rail to give herself leverage, bracing against it as she drove the heel of her boot into his chest. But this time he was ready and as he doubled forward from the impact, Methos held onto her leg and ended up landing on top of her, knocking the wind out of both of them.
Ellen tried to push him off of her, but she lacked the strength. She felt him shift and looked up, her eyes wide as he brought the blade of his sword to her neck. His breathing was labored as it hit her in the face with every word. "I gave her my heart and now you will find I am glad to be rid of it for all the good it's done me." he responded, digging the edge against her skin. "Quitter? What do you think you know, because I'm dying with curiosity to hear your version of something you know nothing about. I gave her everything I had and she is the one who betrayed me. I won't make that mistake again."
His eyes were cold and angry, and Ellen realized that she had probably overplayed her hand. Even if she did tell him, he would probably not believe her and kill her anyway. "You'll have to let me up to find out." She replied, grasping the edge of the blade with both hands and ignoring the way it dug into her palms as she tried to force it away. "And I can guarantee what I have to say will be worth the trouble."
Distracted by her absurd bargain, Methos was unprepared for the well-placed knee that landed between his thighs. Ellen took advantage long enough to roll him partially off of her, and thought she might actually be able to get to her knees when the sound of the night watchman's voice called from the landing below. "What's going on in here?" the man pulled his revolver and demanded. "Hey you!"
Adam scrambled to his feet, grabbed both of their swords and gave Ellen one last look that said this wasn't over before he disappeared into the back of the warehouse.
"Are you all right ma'am?" the man was horrified as he saw the deep cuts in her hands and her shoulder.
"I'll be fine, thank you." She said as she somehow managed to stand.
The night watchman pulled a handkerchief from his pocket so she could wrap the worst of the wounds before going into an adjoining office to call for an ambulance. But Ellen didn't wait. She struggled down the stairs, found the sword she'd dropped as well as Methos' discarded sword and her coat before stepping out into the night, knowing the last place she should go was home.
"That was quite a show. Too bad the poor bugger doesn't know it was your final performance." Methos said as he caught up to the young woman's quick steps as she strode toward the warehouse district.
"Angry and arrogant." She replied under her breath, as she turned down the street. Her mind was turning as she tried to decide where she wanted to face him. When Riley Quinn had turned up at her place, soaked to the skin and three large, blood stained tears in his sweater and pants, she didn't have to hear much to know his battle had been vicious. They'd sparred together before and Riley was no pushover. He'd tried to convince her to leave town with him for a few months until this crazed immortal had moved on, but she wouldn't. She had however made him stay long enough to recount everything he could remember about the fight and the way his opponent attacked and moved.
"You don't understand Ellen. This one is as cold as I've ever seen, and he knows how to find your weakness and doesn't hesitate to use it against you." Riley had told her. "He's like a machine."
"He may think he's a machine, all cold and steel." Ellen thought to herself. "but I don't buy it and I'm certainly not going to run from him."
She didn't know how long it would be before Pierson came looking for her, but her instincts told her it wouldn't be long. Ellen knew it would take more than her skill alone to have a chance with this immortal, so she'd approached her watcher Dalton Embray. They'd spoken a few times before. Dalton had only been in the field for three years and his assignments had been young and hadn't lasted long before being transferred to Chicago to watch her. He was shocked when Ellen knew not only who he was, but what he was. "Don't worry, I won't blow your cover as long as you don't annoy me." She'd told him. He kept his distance and she didn't try to give him the slip. It worked for both of them. But this time when she approached him, she pumped him for as much information as he could give her about Adam Pierson, letting him know in no uncertain terms she would make sure he was ruined as a watcher if he didn't give her everything he could. He hadn't disappointed, and tonight as she walked side by side with the most formidable opponent she'd ever faced, she at least felt she had a chance.
"Let's hope this hurts you more than it hurts me." She whispered to herself as she pushed through the door of a warehouse that had been emptied the week before to make ready for new shipments.
She shocked Methos when she threw the switch that illuminated the large, empty main room. It took a second for his eyes to adjust and in that time she slipped out of her coat and turned with not one, but two long blades.
"I see someone's been talking." Methos answered her silent challenge as he removed the two swords hidden in the folds of his own coat.
"It pays to have friends in the business." She replied, rotating her wrists a few times to loosen them up as she circled around him. "You remember what that's like don't you Adam? To have friends? I heard you had several before you snapped and started on this head hunt of yours."
"You're reaching." He retorted. "And wasting more time." Methos lunged forward and jabbed toward her head with one blade before sweeping straight across with the other. His strokes were powerful, but she was quick and managed to fend them off and retaliate with one swift swipe of her own. Methos had to jump back to dodge it. Ellen took the opportunity and attacked blade over blade as she backed him up with blows that were not so much powerful as they were fast.
She smirked when she saw the brief look of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected her to be much of a challenge. Her small build and almost childlike featured were deceptive. She'd had a good teacher and had trained hard to survive. But the revelation didn't leave him off balance for more than a few seconds and she found herself on the receiving end of his own attack.
"I hear you've visited a few friends recently." She managed to say as she defended herself. "That dancer, Sada. Brilliant talent. I had the opportunity to see her perform about a decade ago. I heard she greeted you with a kiss and you slid your sword between her ribs."
"It was her spine I severed actually." He replied. "And it was a fair fight."
"Is that what you tell yourself about the one in Mexico? You remember, the one who literally offered you his head. Something tells me he was more of a friend than you deserved." she pushed forward and managed to nick him under the arm with her blade as she ducked beneath another sweeping blow.
"You mistake me for someone who cares." Methos replied to her attempts at rattling his concentration.
"Oh you care all right." She turned and vaulted onto a large piece of equipment and then to the level above, forcing him to follow her on the narrow metal stairs. "You care plenty about that wife of yours. If you didn't, then what she did to you wouldn't have dredged up so much rage. You can't take it out on her so you use us."
Methos made it to her level and didn't waste any time forcing her to retreat further into the warehouse. "You had quite the little family thing going didn't you? A wife . baby . friends . " she gasped as she fended off the blows as they became more vicious and more determined.
"Shut up and fight." Methos ordered.
"And she just left you." Ellen ignored his demand as she pushed her way through a door and slammed it on his blade before he could follow.
"What happened?" she taunted him through the door as she raced to the other end of the room and down the stairs. "What did you do to screw it all up?" She yelled at him as he followed her, both blades flashing as he prepared to attack again.
Methos felt his blood beginning to boil with every word. But he didn't respond with anything but his weapons. He steeled himself against the memories her words brought to the surface by determining to make her death as painful as possible.
"Did she see this temper of yours?" Ellen accused. "That's it isn't it? You scared her . or maybe you are some perverted sick fuck like my husband was, all gallant and charming on the outside but inside you hide a demon that no woman could endure."
He didn't like the insinuation and he didn't like the fact she thought she knew his relationship with Beth well enough to even draw a conclusion. "You should save your breath." He advised, his own breath coming heavy as he moved to attack again.
"Save it for what? The long life I'm going to have?" she replied sarcastically. "Wouldn't that be a waste?"
Methos spat out a laugh at her reply. Finally she was getting it.
"I bet you wonder." She continued as she fended off the blade that threatened her head.
"Wonder what?" Methos took the bait.
"When you're alone . at night . you wonder what it would feel like to hold her again." She replied, slashing up but meeting the flat of his sword. "You wonder whose arms she's in . and how they make her feel." For a long second their eyes locked only inches apart as their blades held overhead.
"You're a fool." He gritted, shoving her back as he rained down a blow that cut into Ellen's shoulder and sent her reeling backwards.
"And you're not?" she had to drop one blade, but held the other up to deflect the attack she knew was coming. "You don't even realize ." she gasped, the pain starting to affect her vision. Ellen knew there was no escaping. "God it's funny." She began to laugh, finding it hard to defend herself now.
"You find this amusing?" Methos couldn't believe the child-woman who had fought him so courageously as she tried to goad him, was now laughing at her own demise. "Is this how you greet death?" he held his sword still for a few seconds, waiting for the fear she appeared to be ignoring to take hold. But it didn't.
Her laughter increased. "I find you amusing." She winced as she deflected one last blow, and then surprised him by delivering a powerful kick to his ribs when he moved too close.
"And the thing is . you don't even know why. You're really pathetic." Her voice was little more than a whisper when she finished, reserving as much of her strength as she could while she tried to distract him.
"The only thing pathetic is the time I've let you waste." Methos dropped one of his swords and came at her, holding the one blade in both hands. "And as amusing as you find this, I'm afraid I'm growing bored."
Ellen knew time was running out and all she had left to use was the last thing she'd learned about Adam Pierson when she talked to her Watcher that morning. He'd told her that when the Watchers began to question Pierson's friend, Joe Dawson, they'd tapped his phones. It hadn't taken long for them to realize what had really happened to Pierson's wife.
"You think I'm wasting your time? Try looking in the mirror." She replied, backing her way up the stairs. "While you spend your time destroying everything and everyone you come in contact with, your 'friends' are busy trying to save what you think you lost." she gasped for breath as she tried to use the added height of her blows to her advantage while he followed her up the stairs.
"I didn't ask them to follow her, and it is their time wasted, not mine." He didn't know why he was even responding. "I accepted her choice and now I accept my destiny, as will you."
"To be the only one?" Ellen laughed. "You might win the prize, but one day you will realize what you sacrificed needlessly to get it. And I wish I could see your face when you learn what it really cost. Pathetic quitter!" She had reached the top of the stairs and used the rail to give herself leverage, bracing against it as she drove the heel of her boot into his chest. But this time he was ready and as he doubled forward from the impact, Methos held onto her leg and ended up landing on top of her, knocking the wind out of both of them.
Ellen tried to push him off of her, but she lacked the strength. She felt him shift and looked up, her eyes wide as he brought the blade of his sword to her neck. His breathing was labored as it hit her in the face with every word. "I gave her my heart and now you will find I am glad to be rid of it for all the good it's done me." he responded, digging the edge against her skin. "Quitter? What do you think you know, because I'm dying with curiosity to hear your version of something you know nothing about. I gave her everything I had and she is the one who betrayed me. I won't make that mistake again."
His eyes were cold and angry, and Ellen realized that she had probably overplayed her hand. Even if she did tell him, he would probably not believe her and kill her anyway. "You'll have to let me up to find out." She replied, grasping the edge of the blade with both hands and ignoring the way it dug into her palms as she tried to force it away. "And I can guarantee what I have to say will be worth the trouble."
Distracted by her absurd bargain, Methos was unprepared for the well-placed knee that landed between his thighs. Ellen took advantage long enough to roll him partially off of her, and thought she might actually be able to get to her knees when the sound of the night watchman's voice called from the landing below. "What's going on in here?" the man pulled his revolver and demanded. "Hey you!"
Adam scrambled to his feet, grabbed both of their swords and gave Ellen one last look that said this wasn't over before he disappeared into the back of the warehouse.
"Are you all right ma'am?" the man was horrified as he saw the deep cuts in her hands and her shoulder.
"I'll be fine, thank you." She said as she somehow managed to stand.
The night watchman pulled a handkerchief from his pocket so she could wrap the worst of the wounds before going into an adjoining office to call for an ambulance. But Ellen didn't wait. She struggled down the stairs, found the sword she'd dropped as well as Methos' discarded sword and her coat before stepping out into the night, knowing the last place she should go was home.