Chapter 2 of 12

(Bladelover)

Duncan stepped onto the barge and tried to negotiate opening the door with the two parcels still in his arms. Suddenly detecting the presence of another immortal, he spun around, catching one of the bags on the doorknob and spilling its contents at his feet.

The other bag soon joined the first as Duncan reached for his sword; a motion quickly aborted once he saw that the other immortal was Methos. The older immortal's eyes were lit with mischief at the sight before him.

"Boo," he said matter-of-factly.

Duncan was already gathering up the fallen groceries to put back into the bags. "You could give me a hand, you know."

Moving closer but making no effort to help, Methos kept his hands in his pockets and said, "It just amuses me to watch Duncan MacLeod, champion of all that is good and righteous, struggling to cope with the mundane challenges of everyday life."

Now upright with the groceries re-bagged, Duncan gestured for Methos to open the door.

"You must be easily amused," he said, enter the barge. Methos opened his mouth to reply, frowned briefly, then followed.

As Duncan began surveying the groceries, Methos sprawled with ostentatious abandon on the sofa. "I must say, you looked as nervous as a new bride just now. I'd give it a 9.6 on the over-reaction portion of the free-style program."

"You could announce yourself." Duncan sighed at a carton of shattered eggs and tossed them into the garbage.

"You usually handle my approach with less...collateral damage."

"Not on days when I've already met someone new."

Methos raised his eyebrows. "Really? Well, since we're making eye contact, I assume that this other person – "

"Still has his head, too," Duncan finished, putting items in cabinets. "I convinced him that an alley near a busy street was a poor venue for a challenge neither of us wanted."

"You missed your calling, MacLeod. A born diplomat, that's you." Methos reclined further on the sofa, putting his booted feet up on the arm.

"Well, he was a little nervous himself. Seems he's detected his watcher and thinks some immortal is having him followed."

"Really? They must have a real greenhorn on this guy. Who is he, do you know?"

"Said his name was Kendall Crane."

"Oh, bloody hell!" groaned Methos, sitting up and looking as though he'd just tasted something vile.

"What? You know him?"

"Oh, god, yes. I made the grievous error of taking him on as a student centuries ago. One of the biggest annoyances of my life."

"What do you mean?"

"The guy's a total pain in the arse. Clingy, never any ideas of his own, wants to hang out all the time. Once I finally got him trained, I couldn't get rid of the bugger. Had to use a convenient earthquake to assist my disappearance."

It was Duncan's turn to look amused. He liked the thought of someone getting under the old guy's skin immensely. "When did you last see him?"

"Oh, he manages to turn up every 70, 80 years or so, but he's early this time. I had to cut short a trip to Tibet a few years ago because he showed up. Difficult to meditate with an adoring audience."

Coming around from behind the counter, Duncan perched on the edge of the sofa, now that there was room for someone else to sit. "Well, I'm sure it won't be long before he locates you this time."

"Oh, no. If Crane is here, I shall take myself elsewhere."

"You aren't going anywhere. If he's on to his watcher, he's likely to hurt somebody."

"An eventuality that will have nothing whatever to do with yours truly."

"He's your student."

"He's my albatross, and I'm severing the cord around my neck as we speak."

Duncan leaned toward his friend, his expression becoming more serious. "If he goes after his watcher, he might compromise the whole organization. From what you've said about Crane, he's not the kind of guy who should be walking around with knowledge of the Watchers. Someone needs to nip this in the bud, and he trusts you."

Methos met Duncan's earnest gaze with one of disgust. "You're trying to appeal to my noble side."

"Hope springs eternal in the immortal breast."

Flopping back into a disheartened heap, Methos groaned again. "Fine. I'll try to find the silly twit before he skewers his incompetent watcher."

"You're a beacon of altruism."

Methos merely sneered.