Chapter 21

Paris

Duncan MacLeod finished mopping the deck of his barge and surveyed it with a critical eye. Since returning to Paris... he'd been a little lax getting everything "ship-shape" about his water-borne home once more... He'd been more interested first in learning something about Darius' runestones... and then the puzzle that evidently was Darius' last student had presented itself.

Alisaunne was at least nearly grown... though Duncan realized that she was likely still too young to survive easily if something happened to her anytime soon. He recalled Michelle Webster and what a handful she had been! Even Amanda had finally thrown up her hands and put the girl in college in Switzerland... Amanda! Thoughts of Amanda made him pause. Since she had left Paris several years ago... Duncan had heard nothing from her... not even a postcard... the kind she often sent. "Having a wonderful time... Wish you were here!"

A small gray Citroen pulled onto the quai and stopped near the gangplank.

Even from here... Duncan could feel the slight hum of a pre-immortal so he was not at all surprised to see Alisaunne exit the car. But what did surprise him was her disheveled state... and the expression of stark terror on her pale face.

Duncan dropped the mop as he raced down the gangplank. He noticed an unfamiliar woman get out of the car.

"Alisaunne?" Duncan called even as he reached the teenage girl who was already shaking and unable to get much out. "What is it... slow down..." Duncan glanced at the driver. "Where did you find her?"

The woman said something in French, gestured rudely, and then got back in her car and drove off.

Softly Duncan moved the fallen locks of straight dark hair out of Alisaunne's eyes and then put his arms about her. She was terrified! Even a blind man could see it. "Whatever's happened... you can tell me..."

"He... he... he... he... killed Monsieur Maillot! He cut off his head!" Alisaunne's knees buckled and she would have collapsed if Duncan had not supported her. Her voice was both scream and whisper... filled with terror and disbelief.

"Come inside!" Duncan led her into the barge and sat her down on the sofa. He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her... carefully putting his hands over hers. He made certain he had eye contact with her and then he smiled. "Tell me what happened." he offered softly.

Alisaunne sipped the water and continued to shake. Duncan sat beside her... slowly rubbing her back in sympathy.

"Whatever happened... I'll believe you Alisaunne... but you have to tell me what happened. Who is Monsieur Maillot?"

"My fencing instructor at Sacre' Coeur. We were talking... he's very nice... He's been teaching classes there for several years."

Fencing? Perhaps Maillot was someone meant to keep an eye on the girl. "He was teaching you?"

The girl nodded. "He said I could fence on universite' level... He knew someone and was going to talk to them."

"So what happened..." Duncan prompted.

"A man... broke into the classroom... They fenced... no... they fought... it wasn't like fencing. Then the man killed Monsieur Maillot..." The girl's voice drifted off and she began to shake uncontrollably. Her voice rose once more in terror and disbelief. "He... cut off his head!" She dropped the glass and began to wail... burying her face in Duncan's chest.

He waited... he had to ask... and he hated himself for doing so... "What happened next Alisaunne. What did you see next?"

"I don't know! It doesn't make sense! There was lightning as if a storm had burst out within the classroom! I ran! Monsieur Maillot told me to run... just before he died!"

So... she had witnessed a quickening. Duncan held the sobbing girl, curious as to why she had come to him. What had made her cross Paris to find him and tell him? He had a thousand questions... and no answers were forthcoming... Duncan started.

"Not now!" He could feel the presence of another immortal coming aboard. Methos had finally prepared the papers and a reasonable back-story to interview Alisaunne's avocat' and had left barely an hour ago... Duncan knew he'd be busy for the next few hours. Every instinct told him to grab his katana... but if it wasn't necessary... what further damage might be done to the terrified girl... on the other hand... if someone had followed her.

Duncan swiftly rose and pulled the katana from its display. A strangled gasp came from the girl as she saw what was in his hand.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"It's just me Highlander..." Methos said as he entered the barge. "Something happened..." his voice fell away as he saw Alisaunne. He met Duncan's eyes and said nothing further. Duncan lowered his blade and turned to Alisaunne whose eyes were focused on the katana in terror. She began screaming! When he tried to reassure her she backed away... still screaming.

"Put it away MacLeod" Methos said sharply as he positioned himself between Duncan and the girl. She closed her eyes and wavered... Methos caught her as she passed out... picked her up and carried her to MacLeod's bed. "Get some damp cloths... "

He took her pulse and listened to her breathing while Duncan replaced his katana in the display and ran warm water over some towels.

"She all right?"

"Shock!" Methos wiped her face and laid a towel across her forehead... then pulled a blanket up around Alisaunne to keep her warm. Even unconscious she was shivering.

"She saw a... beheading... at the school. " Duuncan murmured to Methos' nod. "When I... heard... you... I thought the... killer... had followed her" Duncan emphasized his choice of words... in case the girl was aware enough of what he might say. "Why are you back so soon?"

Methos motioned Duncan to the far side of the room. "When I arrived for my appointment at the avocat's... the police were there," he whispered.

Duncan nodded in understanding, "How bad?"

"The lawyer... his secretary... and two law clerks... Sliced and diced. His records had been ransacked. I got out of there before anyone got too curious about me and began to ask who I was and why I was there."

"Mortal?" Duncan asked.

Methos nodded. "No heads... no aftermath. I'd guess he was attempting to locate the girl. Who did he get at the school?"

"A fencing teacher... Maillot."

Methos let out a ragged breath, "That would be David Maillot. I never met him... but from Watcher records... he was good... very good." Methos crossed his arms over his chest and considered the unconscious girl. "What brought her here... did she say?"

Duncan shook his head... "She wasn't making a great deal of sense." He picked up the phone and checked the directory for the school's number. "Keep an eye on her," he said as he climbed up onto the deck to talk to someone at the school.

Methos sat once more on the edge of the bed and again took Alisaunne's pulse. It was steady... already she seemed to be calming down some. He removed the damp towel from her forehead and laid it to one side. Carefully he felt her face and smiled... Her body temperature was slowly returning to normal... The shivering had lessened. Even her labored breathing was now deep and even.

Duncan came storming back in and paced the floor a moment... glancing at the girl. "I couldn't talk to anyone there. Whoever I was talking to took my name and I got the feeling they weren't going to give Mother Magdelena the message that I'd called."

"Your name?... Did you tell them about the girl?"

"No... " Duncan froze. "I got the feeling it may have been police..." he strode across the room, flinging open the cabinet where he kept the small television. Turning it on he flicked through stations until one with a news bulletin came up.

"... Once again... there appears to have been some sort of electrical storm at the Academie de Sacre Coeur here in Paris. While police have not yet released a statement... we believe that there has been at least one murder and perhaps more."

'Louise..." said the anchor as the camera split the screen, "Is it true that a sword was involved?"

The reporter continued. "Nothing has been confirmed beyond the sighting of the storm... the calling of the police... and the general word that there were bodies... I repeat bodies... plural... in the building."

"We were curious if the events here have anything to do with the ones at the office of Guillame Clermont this morning? We understand a sword or other sharp weapon may have been used on the four people apparently killed there."

"Speculation is running rampant... but so far..." Duncan switched off the television as Alisaunne moaned in the background. The last thing the girl needed to hear about was more than the one killing she had apparently witnessed. His eyes met Methos'. They needed to get the girl out of here and to safety.

The elder immortal gathered the girl, still wrapped in the blanket, into his arms and followed Duncan to his car. Quickly Methos put the girl into the front seat and buckled her in as Duncan got into the driver's side. "Aren't you coming?" Duncan asked.

"I'll keep an eye on things here. Drive east... toward Switzerland. Call me when you get out of Paris. I may know of a place to take her... one safe from our kind." He slammed the door and watched as MacLeod drove off. Methos pointedly looked around... seeking a Watcher... Finding one he crossed to the wall to tell the man that MacLeod was headed to the nearest hospital with the girl and why. They likely knew where she had come from... no sense in misleading them about that. After the Watcher made a call and headed off... Methos smiled. He'd need to vanish, too... at least for a while. Thoughtfully he returned to the barge and gathered his laptop, the runestones, as well as any documents or other items that might lead anyone to know what they had been working on. Things were getting a little more complicated than even he had anticipated. He stared through the porthole until he located the Watcher still on him... Nodding to himself, Methos realized he knew the man. The world's oldest living immortal smiled and planned his disappearance.