CHAPTER 46
Back at the motel, Methos had finally fallen into a fitful sleep around noon. It had been three days since he'd managed to catch even more than a few minutes rest and his body was mentally and physically exhausted.
In an adjoining room a baby's cry triggered his dreams.
"Daddy's coming princess." He called down the long, dark hallway. Moving as quickly as he could toward the sound, he could never quite reach the doorway where he knew she lay upset and unattended. The light ahead of him began to fade and he shouted out in frustration as the hallway became dark and eerily silent.
Sliding down against the wall, Methos crumbled to the floor. He'd failed her.
He lifted his head when he felt a presence coming toward him. There in the soft glow of an unseen light, Beth seemed to almost float before him. Her hands were outstretched and her arms seemed to beckon him.
"You've come back?" he asked as he used the wall to brace himself and rise to his feet.
"I never left." She replied, looking up at him. She smiled and moved close enough to place her hand flat against his chest where his heart pounded. "I've always been here."
The sight of her almost melted his heart, and when she touched him he could barely breathe, but the lie on her lips kept him from pulling her against him.
"Why won't you hold me Adam? Why won't you let me touch you?" she asked when he seemed to flinch from her fingers reaching for him.
"You know why." He replied, the tears burning his eyes as he pushed her away and drew his sword.
"Did you come to take us home? Are you here to free us?" Beth asked hopefully when she saw the weapon, but then her face fell when she saw the blood dripping from its blade and onto the floor. "Adam? What have you done?"
"Only what you made me do." He responded. "I've done only what I was created to do."
She shook her head sadly. "If that were true, then we would be free." And with her words, she vanished into thin air.
Methos sat up in a cold sweat. His dream had been so real that he could swear he felt her hand on his body.
It unnerved him so much that when he heard the child crying again in the other room he knew he had to get out of there. He couldn't let his sub- conscience sabotage him. He was finally beginning to come to grips with her betrayal and had found a way to survive. However the lack of a Quickening in more than a week frustrated him. There wasn't enough action in this city to suit him, and he could always return when the climate was more agreeable he decided.
Methos quickly packed his clothes and laptop and tossed them into the back of his car and locked it before walking off into the darkness to take care of one last thing.
Crouching on the roof of a nearby building, Methos watched as Ellen approached the warehouse that housed her apartment. He moved away from the edge and was about to start down the stairs to follow her when something told him to look again. He didn't know what prompted him to watch as the lights in her apartment came on, or as she moved to take a bottled water out of the refrigerator, but when he caught a glimmer of movement in the street below he thanked whatever power it was that alerted him. He was too far away to be detected, but took no chances as he ducked lower and shook his head.
"Resourceful girl." He chuckled in mock amusement. "She's called in the cavalry."
He saw Duncan enter the building by a side entrance and knew this was a meeting that he'd rather avoid. Quietly he stole down the stairs and strode back to his hotel for the car. When he arrived at the airport he parked it in the long-term lot and retrieved his belongings.
The line at the ticket counter was unbelievably long and slow. It took forever it seemed before his turn came to be served by the cheery woman with the annoying space between her teeth that made her whistle as she spoke. Methos was so short on patience that he simply asked for a ticket on the next plane leaving.
"Is New York City ok?" she asked.
"That will be perfect." He replied, grateful there had only been one syllable in that sentence that made the annoying sound.
Twenty minutes later he was seated in first class on a row by himself, turning off the overhead light and closing his eyes to dissuade the flight attendants from bothering him. He was in no mood for conversation.
Back at the villa, Garrett wasn't expecting Rick to show up without calling ahead. "Are you crazy?" he asked, pushing his teacher into the study near the entry way.
Rick didn't appreciate being shoved, or second guessed. "What is the problem? Haven't I taken care of everything so far?"
"Of course you have." Garrett's tone was apologetic. "But I let Leandra come to the main dining room for dinner and if you'd stepped in any further she would have seen you."
"That's not a problem. I intend for her to see me, and if the strides you think you are making with her are true then my presence should push her even closer to you." Rick stated. "Fear is a great motivator."
"What do you have in mind?" Garrett asked.
"It's time to implement that plan of ours." Rick replied. "Where did you hide it?"
"It's in the chest at the foot of my bed." He replied, starting upstairs.
"I'll find it myself." Rick said. "Now go finish dinner with her and say nothing of my arrival. Keep her downstairs."
Garrett nodded that he understood, almost feeling a little sorry for what he was about to put his friend through. He'd cared about her for almost as long as he'd been alive, and although he knew he was doing the right thing, it didn't make it easier to hurt her so badly. "I'll make sure she gets through it." He promised himself before putting on a smile and returning to the table.
"Who was at the door?" Beth asked.
"A delivery I was expecting." He replied, putting his napkin in his lap and passing a bowl to her.
"Thank you for letting me come downstairs Garrett." Beth said when they were almost done with their meal. "You don't know how good it feels to have a change."
"Well if you aren't in a rush to go back upstairs, maybe we could have coffee in the other room?" Garrett suggested.
The conversation didn't drift far from the weather and a few old times. Beth did the best she could to try and interact with him, but it wasn't easy. When the silence became more than noticeable she thought of a new topic.
"There are a few things I need." She told him. "Even staying inside all the time I only had a few things . when we left and to be honest I could use some variety." Beth picked her words carefully.
"Make a list and I'll take care of it." He replied. "You can give Helen size and style details and we will see about getting you a new wardrobe."
The sound of someone pounding on the outside door caught their attention and Garrett knew the time had come to make the next move.
He opened the door to Rick Shaffer, who greeted him loud enough to be heard by Beth. The two men came into the main room and she couldn't hide her surprise. Not only was she shocked that her sister's boyfriend was here, but that he didn't seem to be curious at all about her presence. She knew immediately he had been a part of the plan. Her eyes met Garrett's briefly before she turned back to their visitor.
"How is my sister?" Beth didn't waste any time getting to the point.
"Your sister is very well. Terribly worried about why she hasn't had any word from you since you left town, but I've managed to comfort her and keep hope alive that you will contact your family soon." Rick replied smugly.
Beth weighed his words. Surely they'd found her second message, but he made it sound like her family believed she left on her own. If they thought that, what must Adam think? Her heart fell at the thought of what that would do to him. What she didn't know was that Duncan had heeded Joe and Amanda's concern enough to compel the Harris family not to confide the fact of the kidnapping to anyone . and although Rayna trusted Rick, when Duncan had insisted, she'd agreed to keep that information private.
Rick didn't give Beth much time to ponder. "I thought you might be more concerned about the well being of your husband." He said in a taunting voice, as he set the long package he carried down on the coffee table.
"I don't need to hear it from you, I'm sure he's looking for us." She replied, as if she wasn't interested in what he might have to say.
"I'm sure you've found it easier to sleep at night thinking that." Rick replied as he moved to unwrap the package. "But I'm afraid your letter was convincing and Pierson left town without even saying goodbye to his friends."
"Rick you don't have to ." Garrett interrupted, giving the appearance that he didn't like the way Shaffer taunted her. In actuality it was a part of the plan to see him as protector.
"I don't have to what? Don't have to tell her that he was devastated by her betrayal? Or that he lost himself in a drunken stupor that began the day he left and never let up?"
Beth felt sick and tried to brush past the two men to go to her room, but Shaffer would have none of it. "Oh no my dear. You can't leave yet, not when I have so much more to share." He steered her back to the sofa where she sat down and slid as far from him as she could.
"You don't need to worry that he is pining away for you still. No, Adam Pierson is out of his misery." Rick continued. "I took care of that when I caught up with him a few days ago."
Beth looked up, her eyes narrowing skeptically. "Don't tell me you told him the truth."
"The truth?" Rick laughed. "Why on earth would I do that?" He pulled the cover off the package, revealing the familiar Ivanhoe sword Beth knew belonged to Methos. She gasped at the sight of it.
"Wh . where did you get that?" she could hardly ask the question and Garrett moved behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She was too focused and distraught to notice anything but the blood stains on the blade.
"To the victor goes the spoils." Rick responded with a laugh as he lifted the sword and swiped twice in the air. "He's out of his misery now."
Beth screamed and tried to run out of the room, but Garrett held her firmly in place. She doubled over and wept bitterly as Rick Shaffer wove the story of his meeting, battle and subsequent taking of Pierson's Quickening.
"You're lying." She repeated over and over into her hands. "Please God let him be lying."
"You keep telling yourself that my dear." Shaffer retorted. "But the blade doesn't lie and you know the blade is his."
Back at the motel, Methos had finally fallen into a fitful sleep around noon. It had been three days since he'd managed to catch even more than a few minutes rest and his body was mentally and physically exhausted.
In an adjoining room a baby's cry triggered his dreams.
"Daddy's coming princess." He called down the long, dark hallway. Moving as quickly as he could toward the sound, he could never quite reach the doorway where he knew she lay upset and unattended. The light ahead of him began to fade and he shouted out in frustration as the hallway became dark and eerily silent.
Sliding down against the wall, Methos crumbled to the floor. He'd failed her.
He lifted his head when he felt a presence coming toward him. There in the soft glow of an unseen light, Beth seemed to almost float before him. Her hands were outstretched and her arms seemed to beckon him.
"You've come back?" he asked as he used the wall to brace himself and rise to his feet.
"I never left." She replied, looking up at him. She smiled and moved close enough to place her hand flat against his chest where his heart pounded. "I've always been here."
The sight of her almost melted his heart, and when she touched him he could barely breathe, but the lie on her lips kept him from pulling her against him.
"Why won't you hold me Adam? Why won't you let me touch you?" she asked when he seemed to flinch from her fingers reaching for him.
"You know why." He replied, the tears burning his eyes as he pushed her away and drew his sword.
"Did you come to take us home? Are you here to free us?" Beth asked hopefully when she saw the weapon, but then her face fell when she saw the blood dripping from its blade and onto the floor. "Adam? What have you done?"
"Only what you made me do." He responded. "I've done only what I was created to do."
She shook her head sadly. "If that were true, then we would be free." And with her words, she vanished into thin air.
Methos sat up in a cold sweat. His dream had been so real that he could swear he felt her hand on his body.
It unnerved him so much that when he heard the child crying again in the other room he knew he had to get out of there. He couldn't let his sub- conscience sabotage him. He was finally beginning to come to grips with her betrayal and had found a way to survive. However the lack of a Quickening in more than a week frustrated him. There wasn't enough action in this city to suit him, and he could always return when the climate was more agreeable he decided.
Methos quickly packed his clothes and laptop and tossed them into the back of his car and locked it before walking off into the darkness to take care of one last thing.
Crouching on the roof of a nearby building, Methos watched as Ellen approached the warehouse that housed her apartment. He moved away from the edge and was about to start down the stairs to follow her when something told him to look again. He didn't know what prompted him to watch as the lights in her apartment came on, or as she moved to take a bottled water out of the refrigerator, but when he caught a glimmer of movement in the street below he thanked whatever power it was that alerted him. He was too far away to be detected, but took no chances as he ducked lower and shook his head.
"Resourceful girl." He chuckled in mock amusement. "She's called in the cavalry."
He saw Duncan enter the building by a side entrance and knew this was a meeting that he'd rather avoid. Quietly he stole down the stairs and strode back to his hotel for the car. When he arrived at the airport he parked it in the long-term lot and retrieved his belongings.
The line at the ticket counter was unbelievably long and slow. It took forever it seemed before his turn came to be served by the cheery woman with the annoying space between her teeth that made her whistle as she spoke. Methos was so short on patience that he simply asked for a ticket on the next plane leaving.
"Is New York City ok?" she asked.
"That will be perfect." He replied, grateful there had only been one syllable in that sentence that made the annoying sound.
Twenty minutes later he was seated in first class on a row by himself, turning off the overhead light and closing his eyes to dissuade the flight attendants from bothering him. He was in no mood for conversation.
Back at the villa, Garrett wasn't expecting Rick to show up without calling ahead. "Are you crazy?" he asked, pushing his teacher into the study near the entry way.
Rick didn't appreciate being shoved, or second guessed. "What is the problem? Haven't I taken care of everything so far?"
"Of course you have." Garrett's tone was apologetic. "But I let Leandra come to the main dining room for dinner and if you'd stepped in any further she would have seen you."
"That's not a problem. I intend for her to see me, and if the strides you think you are making with her are true then my presence should push her even closer to you." Rick stated. "Fear is a great motivator."
"What do you have in mind?" Garrett asked.
"It's time to implement that plan of ours." Rick replied. "Where did you hide it?"
"It's in the chest at the foot of my bed." He replied, starting upstairs.
"I'll find it myself." Rick said. "Now go finish dinner with her and say nothing of my arrival. Keep her downstairs."
Garrett nodded that he understood, almost feeling a little sorry for what he was about to put his friend through. He'd cared about her for almost as long as he'd been alive, and although he knew he was doing the right thing, it didn't make it easier to hurt her so badly. "I'll make sure she gets through it." He promised himself before putting on a smile and returning to the table.
"Who was at the door?" Beth asked.
"A delivery I was expecting." He replied, putting his napkin in his lap and passing a bowl to her.
"Thank you for letting me come downstairs Garrett." Beth said when they were almost done with their meal. "You don't know how good it feels to have a change."
"Well if you aren't in a rush to go back upstairs, maybe we could have coffee in the other room?" Garrett suggested.
The conversation didn't drift far from the weather and a few old times. Beth did the best she could to try and interact with him, but it wasn't easy. When the silence became more than noticeable she thought of a new topic.
"There are a few things I need." She told him. "Even staying inside all the time I only had a few things . when we left and to be honest I could use some variety." Beth picked her words carefully.
"Make a list and I'll take care of it." He replied. "You can give Helen size and style details and we will see about getting you a new wardrobe."
The sound of someone pounding on the outside door caught their attention and Garrett knew the time had come to make the next move.
He opened the door to Rick Shaffer, who greeted him loud enough to be heard by Beth. The two men came into the main room and she couldn't hide her surprise. Not only was she shocked that her sister's boyfriend was here, but that he didn't seem to be curious at all about her presence. She knew immediately he had been a part of the plan. Her eyes met Garrett's briefly before she turned back to their visitor.
"How is my sister?" Beth didn't waste any time getting to the point.
"Your sister is very well. Terribly worried about why she hasn't had any word from you since you left town, but I've managed to comfort her and keep hope alive that you will contact your family soon." Rick replied smugly.
Beth weighed his words. Surely they'd found her second message, but he made it sound like her family believed she left on her own. If they thought that, what must Adam think? Her heart fell at the thought of what that would do to him. What she didn't know was that Duncan had heeded Joe and Amanda's concern enough to compel the Harris family not to confide the fact of the kidnapping to anyone . and although Rayna trusted Rick, when Duncan had insisted, she'd agreed to keep that information private.
Rick didn't give Beth much time to ponder. "I thought you might be more concerned about the well being of your husband." He said in a taunting voice, as he set the long package he carried down on the coffee table.
"I don't need to hear it from you, I'm sure he's looking for us." She replied, as if she wasn't interested in what he might have to say.
"I'm sure you've found it easier to sleep at night thinking that." Rick replied as he moved to unwrap the package. "But I'm afraid your letter was convincing and Pierson left town without even saying goodbye to his friends."
"Rick you don't have to ." Garrett interrupted, giving the appearance that he didn't like the way Shaffer taunted her. In actuality it was a part of the plan to see him as protector.
"I don't have to what? Don't have to tell her that he was devastated by her betrayal? Or that he lost himself in a drunken stupor that began the day he left and never let up?"
Beth felt sick and tried to brush past the two men to go to her room, but Shaffer would have none of it. "Oh no my dear. You can't leave yet, not when I have so much more to share." He steered her back to the sofa where she sat down and slid as far from him as she could.
"You don't need to worry that he is pining away for you still. No, Adam Pierson is out of his misery." Rick continued. "I took care of that when I caught up with him a few days ago."
Beth looked up, her eyes narrowing skeptically. "Don't tell me you told him the truth."
"The truth?" Rick laughed. "Why on earth would I do that?" He pulled the cover off the package, revealing the familiar Ivanhoe sword Beth knew belonged to Methos. She gasped at the sight of it.
"Wh . where did you get that?" she could hardly ask the question and Garrett moved behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She was too focused and distraught to notice anything but the blood stains on the blade.
"To the victor goes the spoils." Rick responded with a laugh as he lifted the sword and swiped twice in the air. "He's out of his misery now."
Beth screamed and tried to run out of the room, but Garrett held her firmly in place. She doubled over and wept bitterly as Rick Shaffer wove the story of his meeting, battle and subsequent taking of Pierson's Quickening.
"You're lying." She repeated over and over into her hands. "Please God let him be lying."
"You keep telling yourself that my dear." Shaffer retorted. "But the blade doesn't lie and you know the blade is his."