Hello all, thanks for the reviews! A short note for Kyra – yes, I do intend to explain what Valmont was up to but you're going to have to wait for the next chapter! What can I say, I'm afraid I have to accomplish a little search and rescue first!
CHAPTER 8
Joe was waiting for him in the yard when he screeched to a halt in front of the farmhouse. His face darkened when he realised that Methos was alone as he approached the jeep when Methos leaped out.
"Where are they?" he asked, leaning heavily on his cane, as he looked Methos full in the face.
"Not sure," He replied through gritted teeth as he sidestepped Joe and headed into the house.
"What do you mean, you're not sure?" Joe shouted at his disappearing back.
Methos didn't bother to answer, stalking through the kitchen without even glancing around; he headed to his room and pulled out his laptop. Luckily, he had a modem, so getting online wasn't a problem. Deciding that he might as well run up the bill in the enemy's name, he rooted out the mobiles that he had 'liberated' from the bodies the day before. He was about to connect the one that wasn't locked, when it suddenly occurred to him that the mobile's phonebook and text messages might have some handy information.
Cursing at his stupidity for not checking earlier, he rooted through the stored phone numbers, jotting them down on the back page of his journal. He was about to check the text messages when he heard a roar from the bottom of the stairs.
"If you don't get you arse down here, you old fart, I'm going to come up there after you, and let me tell you, me, trying to negotiate these steps, not pretty!"
With a groan, Methos grabbed his things and descended the stairs. "Hey, Joe."
"Don't you 'hey' me! Spit it out!" Joe demanded.
"We split up, we attacked, I made it back to the jeep, they didn't. Satisfied?" snarled Methos, as he opened up his laptop on the kitchen table.
"They have them?" asked a stunned Joe.
"That would be my guess, yes," he said absently, turning his attention to the mobile.
"Then what are you doing here sitting down?"
"Two things; one: trying to find out where they would be hiding, now that both of their camps are smouldering heaps, and two: trying to find a place where I can pick up some heavy duty weaponry so I can blow them to pieces," replied Methos, counting off his fingers as he spoke.
Joe blinked at the visceral edge to his voice, but ploughed on nevertheless. "Won't they still be in the forest, guarding the stone?"
Methos reached into his pockets, and threw the crystals onto the table.
"I see," Joe said slowly, levering himself onto a chair. "What can I do to help?"
Flipping his journal to the back page, he showed Joe the phone numbers he had jotted down. "Feel up to making some phone calls? I got those from one of yesterday's bodies."
With a nod, Joe pulled out his mobile and proceeded to dial the first number while Methos turned his attention to the text messages. There was a reference to a meeting at Drakva St, but little else except short meaningless chitchat. The sound of footsteps from the hall broke his concentration. Looking up, he caught Joe motioning Hira to be silent as she walked into the room. Methos tuned into the conversation Joe was having on the phone.
"Yes… thank you… sorry for wasting your time…" with a grimace, Joe hung up. "You'll never guess who that was!"
"No, I probably wouldn't," replied Methos, rolling his eyes. "Now, spill."
"Interpol!" Joe told him, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Oh great, that's all we need," griped Methos. "I don't suppose you found out which department you were speaking to?"
"Well, he asked if I had a theft to report, so I'm guessing they deal with grand larceny and so on. I mean, somehow I don't think you would call them if you had your clock radio stolen!"
Methos snickered. "I suppose that's one way of trying to track down Amanda!"
For a moment, there was a look of puzzlement on Joe's face before he realised that this was Amanda they were talking about. "I thought she'd given that up of late."
"By and large, yes, but she still likes to do the odd job, especially if she thinks it's challenging," Methos explained. "Also, as you went to such pains to explain to me before, it's a good way to dispose of any errant watchers!"
"Yeah," Joe chuckled. "I'd forgotten that."
"Well, I think that we can conclude that he was ringing them on a fact finding mission, and that we don't have to worry about being suddenly surrounded by special police."
"Here's hoping," Joe sighed as he dialled the next number. He was only on the phone a few seconds before he rung off. "Mother house in Istanbul," he explained as he saw Methos's enquiring look.
"Not the guys we want to chat with," Methos said in understanding.
Joe picked up his phone yet again, then hesitated. "I hate to have to ask this, but why do you think they're still alive?"
"For the same reason they kept Duncan alive last time, Joe. Because we have something they want."
As one, they both looked at the crystals scattered across the table.
"They don't look like much, do they?" Joe observed.
Methos shrugged in answer and attached the mobile to his modem. Tapping in a search, he waited for the corresponding pages to come up. Joe continued down the list of numbers, phoning up various countries in the process.
"I'd hate to see this guys phone bill'" he muttered to himself as he rung off yet again. "That was the motherhouse in Russia, in case you were wondering."
"How many does that make it?" asked Methos, looking up from his laptop.
"Eight, in all," Joe replied. "These guys seem to have infiltrated the watchers in every corner in the globe. So – what are you up to?"
"I'm sourcing some 'materials,'" Methos said grimly.
"Hmm," Joe smirked, as he rang the last number on the list. A few moments later, he handed the mobile to Methos. "It's Bulgarian," he whispered.
Taking the phone off Joe, Methos put it to his ear. After mouthing a few platitudes to the person on the other end of the phone, he rung off. "That was a property rental agency for Khaskovo," he told Joe as he handed Joe back his phone. Pausing for a second, he quickly tapped in a new search into the laptop. "And hey, presto," he muttered, looking at the map that downloaded onto the screen.
"What do you have?" Joe asked.
"A map of Khaskovo, the text messages on the mobile mentioned a meeting. They gave a street as the address, Drakva Street to be precise, and here it is, in the eastern quarter of Khaskovo. What are the odds that the rental agency we were just talking to has some property on their books from that street?"
"I don't think I'll take that bet, if it's all the same to you," laughed Joe.
"Anyway," Methos went on. "I think that this is as good a place as anywhere to start our search, don't you?"
"So I'm invited along this time, am I?" Joe retorted.
Methos studied Joe's face a moment before answering. "Yesterday, Duncan said we should leave here and take everyone with us, I refused. Now I'm beginning to think he was right."
"What?" Joe teased. "You're actually admitting you might have been wrong? The world must be ending or something."
"Well… you do have a horseman in the room!"
"Oh man," groaned Joe. "Don't give up the day job, your sense of humour sucks."
"Apocalyptic, is it?"
Joe winced and shook his head. "This is just getting worse and worse…"
"Hey, did you hear about the one when death walked into a bar…"
"Okay, okay, stop already! Can we get back on track, here?"
"You started it!"
"How old are you? Twelve?"
It was Hira's cough that interrupted them; watcher and immortal both turned to look at her.
"Are you alright, Hira?" Methos asked.
"The young lady is a bit restless," she explained. "She wants to get up, I think, but as we don't share a language, it's hard to tell."
"I'll go check on her right now," Methos promised as he stood up.
"What did she say?" Joe enquired.
"Amy has woken up," Methos explained. "I'll go talk with her."
"I'm coming with you," Joe said, getting to his feet. "We probably should all be having this chat together, anyway."
Methos nodded and headed for the living room, Hira and Joe following close behind. Catching Amy trying to get out of bed, he strode across the room and gently pushed her back onto the mattress. "You, m'dear, are not going anywhere."
"But I'm feeling much better," Amy protested.
"That's the drugs talking, believe me," Methos told her. "If I hadn't put enough painkillers in you to down a rhinoceros, you'd be screaming in agony right now."
"Thanks for the pep talk," she grumbled, wriggling uncomfortably in the camp bed.
"I'm just telling it as it is, Amy. You're in no condition to be mobile," Methos sighed as he sat on an armchair.
"I'm going to go out of my mind, just lying here," she pointed out to him.
"Like father, like daughter," Methos grumbled. "You two are the worst patients I've ever had. And coming from me, that's saying a lot!"
"Well, the least you can do is prop me up a bit, maybe then I could read a book or something."
"We'll see. Firstly, though, I think you need to be brought up to date." Quickly, Methos filled her and Joe in on what had happened since she was shot, including the fact that he'd taken Valmont's head.
"Oh my God, do you think they're alright?" Amy asked worriedly.
"For now," Methos reassured her. He then turned to Hira and explained what had transpired. Hira gave him a long hard look and then stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?" Methos asked.
"To pack," Hira replied shortly. "That is what you were going to ask me to do anyway, wasn't it?"
Smiling at Hira's astuteness, Methos nodded.
"I knew I should have shot you," she grumbled as she left the room.
"Trust me, it wouldn't have worked," Methos laughed.
"Maybe not, but it would have felt good, I'd wager," she retorted from the hall.
"What was that about," asked a puzzled Joe.
"She's just a little bit cranky, that's all," Methos explained. Looking at Amy, he contemplated having to move her. He'd have preferred to leave her be, but it wasn't an option. Maybe he could jerry rig a stretcher and lie her down in the back of the car. There'd be room if he put down the seats of her S.U.V. He eyed the camp bed, if he took off the legs… another trip into the tool shed, then. He was beginning to really hate that place. "I wonder if Hira can drive," he thought aloud.
Shaking his head, he stood to go. "Be back in a few ticks," he said. "I just have to get some tools."
It took some doing, but an hour later, they were ready to go. It transpired that Hira could drive, so she was put in charge of the S.U.V. and Amy, while he and Joe took the Jeep and the luggage. The drive to Khaskovo was uneventful and they made good time.
Methos contemplated booking a few hotel rooms, but decided against it. Carrying Amy through the Foyer might raise too many questions; they would have to camp out in the cars. It was probably better that way anyhow, considering Amy's condition it made sense to have a fast pair of wheels under her. He doubted she would survive running for cover if they were caught out.
"My, my, this is going to be very comfy," grumbled Joe as they pulled out of sight into a lane.
"I promise, I'll put you up in the swankiest hotel I can find once this is over," Methos said as he turned off the engine.
"So, what do we do now?" Joe asked.
"We wait for dusk," Methos replied. "And then we pay a little visit to an Army barracks at the other side of town."
"Going shopping, are we?" Joe asked astutely.
"Trust me," Methos smirked. "There is going to be no exchange of monies on this little trip."
Dusk fell, and Joe and Methos left Hira with Amy in the lane as they scooted across town to the barracks. Jumping out of the Jeep and grabbing a large sack, Methos did a tour of the perimeter and climbed over the wall. The security wasn't high; it was a sleepy barracks in a sleepy town, not much need for fortification.
Methos found the armoury without much trouble, knocking out the token guard with ease. Rifling through the soldier's pockets, he found the keys and let himself in. Quickly, he filled up the sack and lugged it back to the Jeep. It was a bit awkward getting back over the wall with his booty, but he managed to get back to the jeep before he'd been gone twenty minutes.
"Done this before, have we?" Joe teased, peeking into the large sack while Methos put his foot to the pedal.
Methos didn't even bother to answer as he made his way to the eastern quarter of the city, peering at the street signs as he cruised along. Eventually he found the street he was looking for and pulled to the side. Taking the bag from Joe, he pulled out a few canisters and put them in his pockets.
"What are those?" Joe asked curiously.
"Knockout gas," Methos said shortly as he pulled out two automatic rifles and a half dozen clips. "One for you, one for me," he explained as he pulled out his prize catch.
"You stole a bazooka?" Joe cried disbelievingly, as he stared at the contraption.
"I find that it settles all arguments," was the reply. "Don't worry, Joe, it's a last resort."
Joe looked at Methos suspiciously; he hadn't forgotten that crack he'd made back at the farmhouse about blowing them 'to pieces'.
"Relax Joe, I'm not about to go all Rambo on you. It's not really my style. Besides, I'm going to leave this with you, anyway. I'm not going to use this thing while I'm still in the building, after all."
Lastly, Methos pulled out a few gas masks; hanging one around his neck, he gave Joe one and put the rest in his backpack. "All set then," he pronounced, starting up the jeep and turning onto Drakva St.
They were only half way down the street when Methos felt the presences of other immortals. Looking out the window, he spied a house with all the blinds pulled down. Pulling the jeep to a halt, he jumped out and turned to Joseph. "Listen, Joe, can you manage getting this car to go if you have to?"
"Just about," Joe admitted. "Does this mean I'm the getaway driver?"
"Seems so," Methos grinned as he put a clip into the Automatic. "Well, here goes nothing."
Making his way across the street, he took a canister out of his pocket, pulled the pin and lobbed it into the ground floor window. Hearing shouts, he put the mask on and crawled in through the broken window. With satisfaction, he noted the unconscious bodies as he moved into the rest of the house. Moving to the foot of the stairs, he paused as he heard movement from above. The gas had obviously lost its potency by the time it reached the top of the steps. Gun in hand, he slowly crept up the stairs and stepped onto the landing.
The buzz of other immortals became stronger as he made his way down the hall, and for a moment, Methos thought this was going to be easy. Well, you know what they say about famous last words.
"Freeze, you bastard!"
Pain blossomed as a bullet embedded itself in his shoulder, and with a curse, Methos threw himself back onto the stairs and fumbled in his pocket, his hand curling around another canister of gas as he heard feet running toward him. Pulling the ring, he tugged it out of his coat, letting go as another bullet hit him in the gut. Praying that he'd be the first one to reawaken, he lost consciousness.
With a gasp, his eyes flew open, his lungs screaming with pain. Pushing an unconscious body off his legs, he staggered to his feet and looked around. The house was silent and Methos sighed a breath of relief, moving up onto the landing once more, he homed in on the quickenings that he had sensed before.
Spotting the open door that his attackers must have leapt from, he approached cautiously, gingerly pushing the door wide open before he entered. The room was some kind of study; it was also deserted. Methos looked around in puzzlement, where were they? It was then he noticed that one of the bookcases was at an odd angle to the wall. Moving closer, he noticed a space behind it.
Giving the bookcase a nudge, he smiled as the bookcase swung forward on a pair of hinges. Looking into the darkened passageway behind, he rooted around in his backpack and produced a torch. Shining it into the dark, he smirked as he noticed the two sleeping beauties within. Pulling their unresisting bodies out of the passageway, he opened the window and threw them out. He knew they were going to be pissed when they revived and saw the state of their clothing but he really didn't have the time for niceties.
Giving the study one last look, he spotted the laptop on the desk and decided to take it with him. After a moments pause, he pulled the desk drawer out and looked. No such luck, this time he'd have to break the passwords the old- fashioned way.
He ran out of the house, fully aware he was running out of time before the watchers awoke. Wincing as he noticed the state of Amanda's and Duncan's bodies on the pavement, he lifted Amanda into a fireman's lift and sprinted across the street. Throwing Amanda into the backseat, he ran back for Duncan. Cursing and damning, he lugged the Scot's inert form to the jeep and propped him against Amanda. Throwing himself into the drivers seat, he gave Joe a dirty look as he heard him chuckling under his breath.
"Okay, what's so funny then," he demanded.
"You mean, you don't know?" chuckled Joe. "It's not every day I see Amanda thrown out a window!"
Methos smirked. "Yeah, that was funny, wasn't it?" Turning the key in the ignition, he pulled out and drove off at a respectable speed. They had just arrived in the town centre when Methos felt the two immortal quickenings grow stronger. With a splutter, Duncan came alive, his body immediately on the defensive.
"Hey Mac," Methos commented cheerfully. "You're really going to have to cut down on these kidnappings, it's beginning to get old."
Mac opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Amanda's resurrection.
"Damn, I'm never going to get used to that," Joe muttered.
The first comment that came out of Amanda's mouth was predictable. "What in heaven's name happened to my clothes?"
Joe laughed as Methos cringed in the drivers seat. "Sorry about that, unavoidable I'm afraid," Methos explained, keeping his eyes studiously forward so that she couldn't read her face.
"What was unavoidable, exactly?" Amanda asked suspiciously.
"Well… I was rather stuck for time… and… and," Methos replied cagily.
"And what, Methos!" Amanda demanded.
By this stage, Joe was doubled up with laughter in the passenger seat. "Oh man, I can't listen to this."
"I had to throw you out the window, okay?" Methos mumbled.
"You did what?" Amanda screeched.
"I'm guessing that I followed her down," Duncan said sarcastically, taking a look at his own clothes.
"Oh, look," Methos said brightly as he pulled into the lane he'd left Hira and Amy. "We're here already." Jumping out of the jeep before either Amanda or Duncan could say anything more; he tapped on the window of the other car, waking Hira from her doze. Gesturing at her to roll the window down, he leaned against the car door. Refusing to glance at the jeep as he heard his fellow immortals jump out, he smiled at Hira when she got the window down.
"Hell there, everything alright?"
"Just fine," Hira answered. "I see you were successful."
"That remains to be seen," Methos muttered under his breath as he heard footsteps draw near.
"Oh my goodness, Amanda, what happened to you?" Hira exclaimed.
Amanda gave Methos a glowering look before dazzling Hira with a saccharine sweet smile. "Apparently, Adam has never heard of this great new invention called the stairs, so he decided to use gravity instead!"
Wincing at the dire threat inherent in Amanda's words, Methos opened the back door of the SUV and checked on the sleeping Amy; automatically he checked her pulse. Finding that it was satisfactory, he pulled the blanket closer around her ears and shut the door.
"Oh, and another thing Adam," Amanda continued as Methos turned to face her. "Thanks!" With a grin, Amanda threw her arms around him, enveloping him in a surprisingly strong hug.
"You're welcome," uttered a surprised Methos. "I think?"
"Oh, come on," she chided as she pulled back. "You didn't seriously think I'd be that angry with you? The search and rescue was greatly appreciated, honey, believe me. Now, lets see if we can't locate a nice hot shower."
"I'm with you there," chimed in Duncan, examining his clothes in disgust. "And the thanks comes from me as well, though I think I'll skip on the hug if it's all the same to you."
Methos rolled his eyes and pulled a map out of Hira's glove compartment. "It's the middle of the night, Amanda, it's a little late to be booking a room. It looks like we're in for a night under the stars – want to pick out a spot?"
Amanda glared at him as he held out the map. "There must be somewhere we can go, Adam," she insisted. "Maybe Hira knows somewhere." Switching to Turkish, she poked her head into the car and asked her.
"Well… my daughter lives about thirty miles due east of here," she said doubtfully.
"Well, that's where we're going then," Amanda declared brightly as she crawled into the car with her. "Off we go!"
"Eh, Amanda, I don't think this is a good idea. Remember what happened to Hira's house when we stayed," Duncan pointed out.
"Oh, don't be silly," dismissed Amanda. "That was different, this time they have no way of tracking us. Come on, Duncan, hot water awaits."
Duncan looked at Methos, his face full of misgivings, but the elder immortal just shrugged in response and climbed back into the jeep. "I still don't like this…" he muttered as he squeezed in beside Amanda.
Once again, they were on the move, Hira leading the way through the Bulgarian countryside until, eventually, they pulled into the driveway of Hira's daughter's home.
"Give me a few moments to speak with my daughter," Hira asked, getting out of the car as the porch light came on. "I don't want all of us to descend on her at once." The door opened as Hira approached the house, revealing a petite woman who had more than a passing resemblance to her mother. A short heated conversation took place on the doorstep before Hira turned and nodded.
Duncan helped Methos carry the sleeping Amy in through the door as Amanda smiled and made her hellos. Hira's daughter watched anxiously as, gently, they rested the makeshift stretcher in the living room, Duncan tucking the cover around her. A movement behind her skirts caught Methos's eye, and his heart sank as he spotted the little eyes of a child peep into the room.
"Oh shit, I never thought of that…"
Methos prayed that Amanda was right and that they wouldn't be having any visitors. He didn't think he'd be able to look Hira in the eye if anything happened to her grandchildren. Averting his gaze, he sat down on the couch. "We have to talk, this has to stop."
"They've already got my piece of the crystal, Adam," Amanda said with a sigh as she sat down beside him. "I know that it was stupid to keep on wearing it, but I've always done so…"
"It's not going to do them much good, Amanda," Methos replied with a grin. "Because they don't have the rest of it anymore – I do!"
"Let me guess – a secret antechamber to the secret underground temple!" said Duncan with a grin.
"What can I say, when I'm right, I'm right," agreed Methos.
"So what is the plan?" asked a sleepy Amy.
"Oh, you've joined us, have you?" said Methos teasingly.
"Sort of," Amy replied. "I'm still a bit groggy."
"It was a good question, though," added Joe. "What are we going to do?"
"Well, I was thinking that we'd go to Sofia tomorrow and pick up a few things, I managed to liberate a laptop while I was rescuing Duncan and Amanda but I'm going to need a few things to decrypt it." said Methos. "Also, I think we should rent a property, hotels are out of bounds from now on. Plus I think that Hira should go on a long holiday out of the country, all expenses paid - and bring her daughter and grandchildren along with her."
"The sooner, the better," Duncan muttered.
Amanda explained to Hira what Methos had proposed, it took some convincing but she eventually reluctantly agreed.
"Splendid, so, where do you want to go?" Methos asked.
"Well… I always wanted to go to Venice," replied Hira with a small smile.
"Venice it is then," Methos said. "We'll arrange a passport for you at Sofia as well as a new wardrobe, I don't think it is a good idea to go back to your house."
Hira nodded in agreement and went to join her daughter who had already disappeared into her kitchen.
"Well, then, maybe we should bunk down for a few hours," Joe suggested.
"Not before I get that shower," Amanda said as she made for the bathroom. "See you in a few."
"You know, I was thinking that we should call in a few favours from some of our 'older' friends." Duncan said, looking at Methos questioningly.
"I think you mean some of your 'older friends, Mac," said Methos archly. "I have exactly one Boy Scout in my telephone book and that's you!"
"Okay then, I'll take out my phone book and make a few phone calls tomorrow." Duncan said as he made himself comfortable in an armchair. "In the meantime, I'm going to catch a couple of winks sleep."
"Now that sounds like a plan," Methos agreed as he stretched out on the couch and closed his eyes. "See you at first light."
TBC…