Chapter nine One meeting, one delivery

"THIS is their office?" Duncan exclaimed as he and Amanda left the taxi that'd transported them from their hotel. "I thought you said he was no longer a thief, or is he really making enough honest money to pay for a law firm in the big league?"

"I never said that he'd given away the money he made that way. And he made quite a lot of it. He had a lot of talent, and I gave him some pointers. Not that he really needed them, but with me being the older and better thief it seemed like the thing to do."

Amanda looked up at the imposing building in front of them before she continued. "As for honest money, he might be. He is recognized as one of the best in the business, and some of his systems could give me some serious trouble if I were to make a try at them. Which I won't, seeing as how I've given up on my criminal career."

Entering the large, open foyer both immortals noticed that the security of the place was taken very seriously. Uniformed guards were posted at all exits, and they all gave off an air of both knowing how to use their weapons, and being willing to use them at first sign of trouble. Entrance further into the building was through numerous checkpoints set in a semi- circle in front of the elevators.

Stepping up to one of the checkpoints, Amanda briefly explained to the young man behind it that they were there to meet with Lilah Morgan, and yes, they did have an appointment. His eyes glazed slightly as they roamed over Amanda's ample curves, then he smiled brightly and nodded eagerly. "Certainly, miss. Just wait one moment while I see if she's in."

Amanda leaned slightly forward, and would have struggled to keep a straight face as his eyes drifted downwards if she hadn't been so used to that response. Men and the ease with which they could be manipulated never ceased to amaze her.

Finally managing to tear his eyes away from Amanda and back to the screen in front of him, the receptionist typed in the name the gorgeous woman gave him, and frowned slightly at the response he got. They did have an appointment, but despite that he was instructed to alert security after sending them to Lilah. Looking back at Amanda, he really hoped she had a legitimate reason to try to get in touch with her, or he wouldn't give much for her chances of leaving the building alive.

"Well, it seems that everything is ok. She is waiting for you in her office." He proceeded to open the gate and directed them towards the elevators. "You'll find her office on the 13th floor. The receptionist there will guide you the rest of the way. Have a nice day."

Having been informed that Amanda Montrose and Duncan MacLeod were on their way to meet her regarding Samuel McDowell, Lilah spent the next few minutes reading up on him, and browsing through the list of people allowed to contact him through the firm. A rather short list, and it didn't contain 'Duncan MacLeod' anywhere on it. While 'Amanda Montrose' was on the list, along with a detailed description, there were no instructions about her bringing any friends. After Amanda phoned to make the appointment, she'd decided to be safe rather than sorry, and had left orders to put security on alert during the meeting, with at least one team on standby near her office.

The file on Samuel was, to say the least, interesting; and not for the first time Lilah regretted the firms' strict hands-off policy regarding Immortals. People like Samuel would have made excellent employees. Remembering her recent promotion, she resolved to once again try to find out why she'd never been allowed to treat Immortals as anything other than clients, and even then only if they approached the firm on their own. It couldn't be because of fear, none of them were powerful enough to endanger the firm, and they were easy enough to kill when you knew how.

Following the instructions they'd received from the receptionist on the 13th floor, Amanda and Duncan made their way to Lilah's office while discussing whether or not a floor is number 13 even if called 14, both unaware that the building had been quietly locked down behind them.

After her secretary had confirmed that they did have an appointment, Lilah welcomed them into her office with a smile before offering them to have a seat, and maybe some coffee?

"No, thank you. We were hoping to get this done quickly. As I explained on the phone, I'm trying to get in touch with an old friend of mine, Samuel McDowell, and I was informed that your firm would be able to help me with that."

"Certainly, Ms. Montrose." Lilah replied as she sat down behind her desk "We have been instructed by Mr. McDowell to forward any messages from you directly to his current location. We are, however, not able to put you directly in touch with him until specifically instructed to do so by Mr. McDowell."

"I see. How long do you expect it will take you to get the message to him?" Amanda frowned slightly at not being granted direct access to him, but she knew better than to get in an argument with a lawyer over instructions from a client.

"If it is urgent, I can arrange for a courier to take the message to him. In that case, it won't be more than a few hours. Otherwise, he'll have it the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"It is urgent, so the courier would be appreciated." Having expected that Michael had instructed his lawyers to not give out his address to anyone, Amanda reached into her purse and pulled out a letter she'd written earlier in the suite she shared with Duncan.

"Very well, I'll make sure he gets your letter as soon as possible, Ms. Montrose. Was there anything else, then?"

Handing over the letter, Amanda shook her head. "No, that would be all. Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure meeting you."

Shaking her hand, Duncan gave Lilah his most charming smile. "A pleasure indeed. And let me add my sincere gratitude for your help. It's been most appreciated."

Blushing slightly, and with a slightly increased pulse, Lilah reached for the phone as the door closed behind her visitors, and called for a courier to deliver an urgent letter to a client. Then, seeing as the meeting had gone smoothly, she instructed security to stand down.

****

"Excuse me, sir?" Michael looked up from the paperback he'd been trying to read as the well-dressed young man standing in the aisle next to his seat spoke. "My name is Anthony Tenill, sir, and I'm a courier working for Wolfram & Hart. I have an urgent letter for Mr. McDowell. If you would be so kind as to sign here, please?"

Frowning slightly, and wondering how in hell the courier had found 'Samuel McDowell' when he was travelling as 'Michael Madsen', Michael signed the receipt with 'Samuel McDowell' before being handed the letter. "If it is so urgent that you had to board the plane, how come you waited until almost two hours after take-off before giving it to me?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I only received it ten minutes ago. Now, if you'll excuse me?" Without waiting for an answer, the courier walked into the nearest WC, and closed the door behind him. Suddenly suspecting there were rather more to his lawyers than merely an unwillingness to ask bothersome questions, Michael kept close watch as the 'Occupied' sign failed to appear on the door. Twelve minutes later, his suspicions were confirmed when he entered the same cubicle, only to find it empty.

Author's note. Ok, here is the latest chapter in my little story. Reviews are, as always, appreciated. Well, truthfully they are needed, so please, let me know what you think, ok?

Oh, and this chapter have been edited to correct errors with names. I've been informed it is 'MacLeod', not 'McCloud'. Thanks go to XwingAce for pointing this out to me. Errors in verbs have not been fixed as I found myself unable to spot them. But let me point out that English is not my first language, so I figure I've got an excuse.

Further editing: discovered a continuity error, had used the name James McDowell instead of Samuel McDowell. This has now been fixed.