I appreciate all of the wonderful reviews. It is very encouraging, and you
have all been more than kind and generous with your support. Sorry that
it's been a while since I posted. Real life got busy and more than a
little stressful. One thing I guess I should mention. I know I am queen
of the comma splice and my punctuation leaves a lot to be desired. The
thing is, this story is a source of relaxation for me and as long as Word
gives me the OK on a sentence I don't sweat it. (and sometimes when it
doesn't and I can't seem to make it right, I lose patience.) I haven't
been in a classroom as a student since 1983 and have forgotten so much, and
I can't remember which box I packed the Harbrace in before it ended up in
the attic. If anyone ever has the inclination to edit . that would be fine
by me. I'm just going to keep plugging away at this story so we can all
find out what happens to Beth, Methos and the others. Still many, many
more twists and a lot of angst to go . LOL. Thanks for overlooking or at
least looking past my faults. Hope you enjoy the rest of the ride.
CHAPTER 69
Before Beth knew that Rick Shafer was coming, she had suggested Cassie have her own room . the one next to Garrett's, instead of being in a room with them.
"I don't want her to get too used to going to sleep with us in the room. It will start a bad habit." She told him. At least with Cassie out of the room, she might be able to endure this part she'd found herself forced to play.
But now with Shafer coming, she wished she hadn't suggested it. With him in the villa she hesitated to let the child out of her sight.
When the car pulled up out front with Rick Shafer in it, Garrett could see Beth's uneasiness as she pulled Cassie's head into the crook of her neck, holding her protectively as she looked out the window of the bedroom nervously at the man below.
"I won't let him hurt her." He said before going downstairs. For that, Beth was thankful. But still, she could sense Shafer's power and hoped that whatever Rosa was going to do to help . she hurried.
"Daddy will be here soon." She whispered into the whisps of Cassie's soft red hair. "I just know it. He has to be."
Back in Munich, Methos paced the length of the suite impatiently.
"We are wasting time." He protested for the eighth time in an hour.
"There is no point going after Shafer. He's going to call us or contact us. He always does." MacLeod told him.
"Then you can call me when he does. I'm going to see what I can find out." He replied, his hand on the door.
"Adam, would you wait?" Duncan was being careful since Rayna was sleeping in the next room. "Your best chance of finding Beth is to wait and help me get Shafer."
"As much as I want nothing more than to go and find her right now, I know you are right." Methos replied. "But there are things I could do to help find the others, and none of them include sitting here waiting."
"What do you have in mind?" Duncan asked.
Methos crossed the room and came to stand near the window with him.
"Well I'm not going to sit and wait like the good little boy Shafer wants you to be, while we have ways to find out what he is planning before he has a chance to put it in motion." Methos told him.
"He's been one step ahead of us from the beginning. What makes you think he hasn't already planned the next test and will be calling any minute to set it into play?" Duncan asked.
"Because the game has changed." Methos told him. "Before yesterday he thought he was facing you and a girl that he severely misjudged. Today he is facing the three of us."
The light began to go on in Duncan's mind as Methos continued.
"The last thing he expected was for me to show up yesterday, and he no doubt didn't take Ellen seriously because he basically allowed her to wander at will and only sent one mortal to contain her." Methos had his full attention. "He's suffered a set back, and the odds have changed. Rick Shafer will have to regroup and rethink his plan, and as much trouble as he's gone to, to extract some kind of revenge on you MacLeod . he's not going to let my presence or hers interfere with his goal. He's going to have to up the task he has planned for you."
"You have a point." Duncan replied. "But ."
"But nothing MacLeod. The man is patient . as patient as you are. He'll take as long as he must to perfect his plan, and in the meantime he is counting on you to sit idly by and have the patience to wait for his next demand." Methos paused. "Joe and the others can't afford for you to be patient."
Duncan saw the truth in what he was saying. "You know I wish you'd had a little more faith in your friends before all this started." He reminded Methos. "There's no way he could have pulled off all of this with both of us working together. He caught us when we were distracted, looking for you and Beth."
"Yeah well . " Methos didn't want to discuss it. He really wanted to just get to the task at hand and forget about the rest. MacLeod didn't know this, but after they made sure the others were safe and Beth was home with her family, he probably wouldn't see him again for a very long time . possibly centuries.
"Tell me about Shafer." Methos leaned back into the cushions of the sofa to get comfortable while Duncan began to tell him all he knew. Since Shafer had shown up right after the wedding and Methos had disappeared the next morning, he really knew very little about Duncan's connection to the man.
"Have you ever heard of the Castle Reichenstein?" MacLeod asked, sitting on the table in front of the sofa. He kept his voice low so Rayna would not overhear if she woke up. Ellen was just coming in the door with some food and a few things they needed to tend to Rayna's wound.
"The castle in Trechtingshausen? On the Rhine?" Methos replied. "I know it well, why?"
"That is where he grew up in the early 13th century. He was found by the sister of Knight Philippe von Bolanden and raised as a member of their most powerful family." Duncan told him. "If you are familiar with the region or the family, then you know it was a place where all tradesmen feared robbery. Fridrich was raised to believe that if his cousin, Werner, died without an heir, the castle would be his."
"I take it from your tone that it didn't happen as he thought." Ellen added her own thoughts.
"No, it didn't. In fact that is when he had his first death experience. In the aftermath of his cousin's death, a knight by the name of Philipp von Hohenfels raided the castle and killed not only Fridrich, but the woman who had been his mother since he was a baby. Rick showed up back at the castle a few weeks after being buried in the family crypt. He'd literally dug himself out. The villagers thought he was the devil and he had to leave the area."
The story sounded familiar to both Methos and Ellen. Many immortals who did not know what they were, made the mistake of being seen after dying. Many ended up being tortured, burned or stoned multiple times before finally escaping and taking on another identity.
"He was taken in by a merchant, who knew he was special and kept his secret. And it was that relationship that forged his belief that loyalty was the foremost quality a man could possess." Duncan continued. "His friend literally gave up his life rather than to betray his trust. It formed the fabric of Shafer's being."
"Well that all sounds well and good, but obviously something has changed because didn't you say he was your friend?" Methos reminded him, spotting the six pack of beer in the refrigerator when Ellen opened it to put away the rest of the food.
"It doesn't make any sense. We were close. We worked together with an organization called the White Roses against the Third Reich. We were like brothers" Duncan told him, before repeating the story of their dissidence.
"Well that's it then." Methos said when Duncan had finished the story of how their friends had been executed for their beliefs.
"I know it's the key, but I still don't understand why." Duncan replied.
"That's easy. You denied him his ultimate opportunity to prove himself to be beyond loyal. He admired their conviction and cursed his own immortality because anything he did paled in comparison since his risk was minimal before that final day." Methos told him. "He saw the guillotines the same as you, but instead of a threat, he saw them as a way to prove himself to be as worthy as those he admired. If he failed to save them then he would have made the ultimate sacrifice . his quickening."
"I did what I thought was best at the time." Duncan replied in a low, flat tone as he shook his head. "I did what a friend would do. I protected him from himself."
"He's not saying you didn't." Ellen came to sit beside Duncan on the table. "How could you know your friend was unstable?"
"I never saw it. Fridrich was enthusiastic and brave and above all he was loyal. I had no idea that loyalty had him teetering on the brink of sanity." Duncan replied. "And now because I thought I was saving him over fifty years ago, he's not threatening me .. He's targeting my friends, my family."
Adam didn't reply and neither did Ellen. MacLeod needed to come to terms with this on his own.
"472" MacLeod said out loud after he walked over to the window and stared out.
"472?" Methos repeated.
"The tag on one of the cars next to the chopper field ended in 472." He turned. "It was a black sedan, a Passat."
Methos wasted no time. He walked over to the laptop that he'd been carrying in his bag since he left Chicago and started to search. "The first letters would help." He commented, and MacLeod closed his eyes to focus, but it was no good.
"Wait, that's not the car they tried to push me into." Ellen realized that she too had seen a second car. "Since Shafer was the only one left alive, he couldn't have driven off in both."
"You're right." Duncan replied as he grabbed his coat.
"Where are you going?" Methos asked, remembering that only a few short minutes ago he had been the one rushing off.
"To see if I can get a look at the military police report on yesterday's events." MacLeod replied before shutting the door behind him.
CHAPTER 69
Before Beth knew that Rick Shafer was coming, she had suggested Cassie have her own room . the one next to Garrett's, instead of being in a room with them.
"I don't want her to get too used to going to sleep with us in the room. It will start a bad habit." She told him. At least with Cassie out of the room, she might be able to endure this part she'd found herself forced to play.
But now with Shafer coming, she wished she hadn't suggested it. With him in the villa she hesitated to let the child out of her sight.
When the car pulled up out front with Rick Shafer in it, Garrett could see Beth's uneasiness as she pulled Cassie's head into the crook of her neck, holding her protectively as she looked out the window of the bedroom nervously at the man below.
"I won't let him hurt her." He said before going downstairs. For that, Beth was thankful. But still, she could sense Shafer's power and hoped that whatever Rosa was going to do to help . she hurried.
"Daddy will be here soon." She whispered into the whisps of Cassie's soft red hair. "I just know it. He has to be."
Back in Munich, Methos paced the length of the suite impatiently.
"We are wasting time." He protested for the eighth time in an hour.
"There is no point going after Shafer. He's going to call us or contact us. He always does." MacLeod told him.
"Then you can call me when he does. I'm going to see what I can find out." He replied, his hand on the door.
"Adam, would you wait?" Duncan was being careful since Rayna was sleeping in the next room. "Your best chance of finding Beth is to wait and help me get Shafer."
"As much as I want nothing more than to go and find her right now, I know you are right." Methos replied. "But there are things I could do to help find the others, and none of them include sitting here waiting."
"What do you have in mind?" Duncan asked.
Methos crossed the room and came to stand near the window with him.
"Well I'm not going to sit and wait like the good little boy Shafer wants you to be, while we have ways to find out what he is planning before he has a chance to put it in motion." Methos told him.
"He's been one step ahead of us from the beginning. What makes you think he hasn't already planned the next test and will be calling any minute to set it into play?" Duncan asked.
"Because the game has changed." Methos told him. "Before yesterday he thought he was facing you and a girl that he severely misjudged. Today he is facing the three of us."
The light began to go on in Duncan's mind as Methos continued.
"The last thing he expected was for me to show up yesterday, and he no doubt didn't take Ellen seriously because he basically allowed her to wander at will and only sent one mortal to contain her." Methos had his full attention. "He's suffered a set back, and the odds have changed. Rick Shafer will have to regroup and rethink his plan, and as much trouble as he's gone to, to extract some kind of revenge on you MacLeod . he's not going to let my presence or hers interfere with his goal. He's going to have to up the task he has planned for you."
"You have a point." Duncan replied. "But ."
"But nothing MacLeod. The man is patient . as patient as you are. He'll take as long as he must to perfect his plan, and in the meantime he is counting on you to sit idly by and have the patience to wait for his next demand." Methos paused. "Joe and the others can't afford for you to be patient."
Duncan saw the truth in what he was saying. "You know I wish you'd had a little more faith in your friends before all this started." He reminded Methos. "There's no way he could have pulled off all of this with both of us working together. He caught us when we were distracted, looking for you and Beth."
"Yeah well . " Methos didn't want to discuss it. He really wanted to just get to the task at hand and forget about the rest. MacLeod didn't know this, but after they made sure the others were safe and Beth was home with her family, he probably wouldn't see him again for a very long time . possibly centuries.
"Tell me about Shafer." Methos leaned back into the cushions of the sofa to get comfortable while Duncan began to tell him all he knew. Since Shafer had shown up right after the wedding and Methos had disappeared the next morning, he really knew very little about Duncan's connection to the man.
"Have you ever heard of the Castle Reichenstein?" MacLeod asked, sitting on the table in front of the sofa. He kept his voice low so Rayna would not overhear if she woke up. Ellen was just coming in the door with some food and a few things they needed to tend to Rayna's wound.
"The castle in Trechtingshausen? On the Rhine?" Methos replied. "I know it well, why?"
"That is where he grew up in the early 13th century. He was found by the sister of Knight Philippe von Bolanden and raised as a member of their most powerful family." Duncan told him. "If you are familiar with the region or the family, then you know it was a place where all tradesmen feared robbery. Fridrich was raised to believe that if his cousin, Werner, died without an heir, the castle would be his."
"I take it from your tone that it didn't happen as he thought." Ellen added her own thoughts.
"No, it didn't. In fact that is when he had his first death experience. In the aftermath of his cousin's death, a knight by the name of Philipp von Hohenfels raided the castle and killed not only Fridrich, but the woman who had been his mother since he was a baby. Rick showed up back at the castle a few weeks after being buried in the family crypt. He'd literally dug himself out. The villagers thought he was the devil and he had to leave the area."
The story sounded familiar to both Methos and Ellen. Many immortals who did not know what they were, made the mistake of being seen after dying. Many ended up being tortured, burned or stoned multiple times before finally escaping and taking on another identity.
"He was taken in by a merchant, who knew he was special and kept his secret. And it was that relationship that forged his belief that loyalty was the foremost quality a man could possess." Duncan continued. "His friend literally gave up his life rather than to betray his trust. It formed the fabric of Shafer's being."
"Well that all sounds well and good, but obviously something has changed because didn't you say he was your friend?" Methos reminded him, spotting the six pack of beer in the refrigerator when Ellen opened it to put away the rest of the food.
"It doesn't make any sense. We were close. We worked together with an organization called the White Roses against the Third Reich. We were like brothers" Duncan told him, before repeating the story of their dissidence.
"Well that's it then." Methos said when Duncan had finished the story of how their friends had been executed for their beliefs.
"I know it's the key, but I still don't understand why." Duncan replied.
"That's easy. You denied him his ultimate opportunity to prove himself to be beyond loyal. He admired their conviction and cursed his own immortality because anything he did paled in comparison since his risk was minimal before that final day." Methos told him. "He saw the guillotines the same as you, but instead of a threat, he saw them as a way to prove himself to be as worthy as those he admired. If he failed to save them then he would have made the ultimate sacrifice . his quickening."
"I did what I thought was best at the time." Duncan replied in a low, flat tone as he shook his head. "I did what a friend would do. I protected him from himself."
"He's not saying you didn't." Ellen came to sit beside Duncan on the table. "How could you know your friend was unstable?"
"I never saw it. Fridrich was enthusiastic and brave and above all he was loyal. I had no idea that loyalty had him teetering on the brink of sanity." Duncan replied. "And now because I thought I was saving him over fifty years ago, he's not threatening me .. He's targeting my friends, my family."
Adam didn't reply and neither did Ellen. MacLeod needed to come to terms with this on his own.
"472" MacLeod said out loud after he walked over to the window and stared out.
"472?" Methos repeated.
"The tag on one of the cars next to the chopper field ended in 472." He turned. "It was a black sedan, a Passat."
Methos wasted no time. He walked over to the laptop that he'd been carrying in his bag since he left Chicago and started to search. "The first letters would help." He commented, and MacLeod closed his eyes to focus, but it was no good.
"Wait, that's not the car they tried to push me into." Ellen realized that she too had seen a second car. "Since Shafer was the only one left alive, he couldn't have driven off in both."
"You're right." Duncan replied as he grabbed his coat.
"Where are you going?" Methos asked, remembering that only a few short minutes ago he had been the one rushing off.
"To see if I can get a look at the military police report on yesterday's events." MacLeod replied before shutting the door behind him.