Chapter 33
Paris
Methos woke at dawn and glanced at Eleanor on the far side of the bed. He smiled. Between them, lay Derrick still holding tightly to the lapel of her terry robe... as if still terrified she would vanish before his eyes.
As he reached toward her fully content, Methos brushed Eleanor's dark hair away from her face. His fingers briefly touched the time symbol below her left ear. Within her sleep she smiled and her own hand lifted from Derrick's shoulder toward Methos' own neck where her fingers brushed softly across his neck... soft as velvet... soft as silk. A tingle of togetherness sparked through him. Her eyes opened.
From the main room Methos could hear voices... Phillip and likely room service.... and the television. He nodded toward the door and mouthed that he was going to check on things.
Eleanor nodded and lay her head back down... but her eyes followed him to the door. He turned and looked at her... curled into a ball on her right side... guardian of the sleeping boy, as he was guardian of her. For a moment another of the visions of the far past brushed over his mind and he seemed to understand something about Aja... but it passed and was gone.
The two of them needed to remain in close proximity with one another in the next few days to finish letting everything set correctly. So many memories... not only his and hers... but the old memories as well... the ones Aja had evidently buried in both their minds. Already Derrick's presence was coming between them. Yet... somehow it was needed... last night had proven that. It had taken both of them to calm her down... both of them to re-assure her that all was as it needed to be.
Eleanor's awareness of Cassius' death... and Methos had no reason not to accept her awareness of the event... Cassius did live nearby... it made sense... but her increased sensitivity worried him. Was this a by-product of the bonding? If so... why had he felt only her despair, a despair that the boy had also evidently felt, a despair so great it had broken through the terror that had earlier claimed Derrick's mind, allowing him to reach out to both of them.
The boy had come out of his terror at what he'd inadvertently seen earlier and his suspicion of "Adam" long enough to offer comfort to his "sister". But he had refused to be separated from her... even for the night. So the three of them... with Derrick in the center... acting as both guardian and chaperone between them had slept.
For Methos it had been strange to have her near him... to be able to touch her... and to not simply be able to take her in his arms and hold her or make love to her. Yet... there had been something so right about it... that he'd found himself oddly content. Although... he smiled... he did not ever want to share a bed that way again. But Derrick was a part of Eleanor's life... and his too. If there was something of Darius in the boy... he owed it to her to be certain the boy survived. Indeed... he owed it to himself as well. Darius had died on his watch... and the priest's death had cost him the last ten years... ten years in which Eleanor had refused to see him... talk to him... be with him.
Yet that absence had opened up his life in ways he could never have imagined. He'd met Joe through the Watchers... and then MacLeod... and then Alexa. For a moment Methos stood silent as thoughts of his all too brief time with Alexa played over his mind. Once more... as yesterday... he seemed to sense Eleanor there as well now... behind him... supporting him... mourning with him. Methos smiled... she was with him now... that was what mattered.
In the main room, Phillip was just closing the door. On the television set... a news anchor was discussing world events. Methos pulled up a dome from the laden breakfast cart and smiled at the omelets. Under other domes there were platters of crisp bacon, sausages, waffles, and fried potatoes. Elsewhere was a pot of coffee... some juice, a bowl of fruit and some milk and cereal. Swiftly Methos piled one of the plates with his choices and settled before the television. Phillip did the same.
"Wasn't certain what you might like today so I tried to get a varied selection."
"It's fine." Methos was hungry. Only now was it dawning on him that he had not eaten at all yesterday, so focused had the two of them been on finishing the ritual.
"Wait... wait..." Phillip clicked the remote to raise the volume. "Here's something."
"...on the Rue St. Dominique. A statement by police indicates one body was found inside... and that body was decapitated. This is the third major incident of this nature in three days. Paris police seem to think there is a serial killer on the loose... but how he is choosing his victims remains unknown..."
Eleanor quietly entered to stand for a moment behind Methos. She threw Phillip a whispered "Good morning!" brushed her fingers along one side of Methos' neck... caressing it... Then she pulled away and glanced at the breakfast cart... filling a plate with her choices.
Phillip turned the sound down once more and nodded at the closed bedroom door. "How is the boy this morning?"
"Still sleeping." Eleanor settled on the sofa curled up beside Methos and stared at the television while she pushed food around on her plate. Finally she began to eat.
The news anchors continued to discuss the story. When an interview with a specialist came on... Phillip once more raised the volume. "... was perhaps something to do with a gas main. The scene is still being researched and as to what may have ignited and set the explosion off... we still have no idea. But at this time... terrorism and explosives do not appear to have been the cause..."
As the anchors moved on to something else... Phillip lowered the volume. "So... with this going on... what do we do now?"
"Paris certainly isn't safe at the moment... for any of us," Methos agreed. "I wonder what this immortal was hoping to learn from Cassius?"
"Who were the others?" Eleanor was evidently full as she slipped the half-eaten plate of food onto the table and rose to pour some coffee. She offered some to the men who both shook their heads.
"David Maillot and some mortals." Methos answered as he finished up his own plate of food.
"Maillot?" remarked Phillip thoughtfully. "Don't think I ever met him. Either of you?" Neither of the others had.
"I think Cassius had booby-trapped his house in case someone came for him there," Methos continued. "A way to be certain that the records he had would not fall into anyone else's hands."
"Then why go to all the trouble of collecting stories if he was going to destroy everything." Phillip's sarcasm was evident.
"I hadn't seen him in a few years but I had planned to visit him soon. " Methos thought about Valeraine's recent visit to Cassius and whether or not there was any connection there. Had someone hoped to find him... his current identity... the way Valeraine had so easily found him. Had Cassius known it? Or was he simply doing what Valeraine had asked and given her the name of a relatively new immortal he'd heard of. Although he knew Methos... the Roman had never known exactly who he was. Indeed, the only reason Cassius knew that Methos was older, was because as a young Roman soldier Cassius had once met "Antoninus", physician to the legion. But Methos had never shared his distant past with the man.
Even now... too many people knew who he was. He'd told Eleanor and Phillip by his own choice. MacLeod had figured it out on his own and then had told Amanda... and Joe. Cassandra knew... as did the Watchers Council... the Watchers assigned to him... including Amy Brennan-Thomas... but in general... who else? Methos shook his head he had no way of knowing.
If some immortal had tortured a Watcher had the truth come out? Or was this about him at all? Eleanor curled up beside him once more... sipping her hot coffee.
"Perhaps Cassius made a copy of things," she murmured. "Something we could find."
Methos sat up... a single thought now in his mind. "Phillip... what was his legion... his cohort?"
"The sixth legion, I think... I'm not certain of the cohort."
Methos rose and crossed to their bags... withdrawing his laptop. After setting it on the table and pulling up a chair, he opened it and booted up the "game" of documents left for them by Darius. Swiftly he moved through several sections until he came to one page that appeared to have some sort of encryption over it. Methos had puzzled over that page... figuring it might contain a clue... if he could ever de-crypt it. Not knowing where to start... he'd by-passed working on it. He paused. Finally he smiled, "The ninth cohort." Swiftly he typed the numbers onto the password bar and watched as the contents of that one page began to clear... a photo of a building. Methos nodded and dug in his pockets for the brass key. Even as he watched... the photo dissolved on the program. He tried pulling it up once more... but it was gone... erased completely. He couldn't even locate it in the reserve backup memory.
Behind him Eleanor had come to stand. "That explains that."
"What?"
"How Darius knew to get things onto a disc... He really didn't know anything about computers. He must have taken everything to Cassius. Of course... if it was still there..." she paused, "it's all gone now."
Methos thoughtfully turned the key over in his hands once more. "Maybe... maybe not."
Phillip had walked over as well. His voice was quiet and thoughtful. "You think there may be something at that bank?"
"One way to find out." Methos tossed Phillip the key.
"Me?"
"I need to stay out of sight a few days..." he glanced at Eleanor, the corners of his mouth turned up briefly in a smile. "Just be very careful... We'll move to another location to be on the safe side. We can stay in touch."
Phillip laughed. "If there is a madman out there hunting us publicly... what makes you think anywhere in Paris is safe?"
"It likely isn't. But we won't be in Paris. Besides... as you reminded me so eloquently last night... you are the better swordsman if it came to a challenge. Check out the box... it's likely under the name Jacques de Pres."
"Darius' old alias?" asked Eleanor. "Why that one?"
"Just an educated guess. Phillip... check it out... gather what you can and call me. I'll give you instructions then dependent on what you find."
"And where will you be?" Phillip asked.
"Better not to know. Bank opens in an hour."
Grumbling.... Phillip gathered some items for a shower. As he was pulling things out of his bag... Derrick, still looking pale-faced entered the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
The boy raced across the room to throw his arms about Eleanor, "I missed you!" His voice trembled as he buried his face into her robe.
Eleanor kissed the top of his head and gave him a hug. Methos saw once more a strangely sad look in her eyes. She shook her head... as if vanishing whatever it was. Then she held Derrick away from her. "Breakfast?" she asked brightly.
Derrick nodded. Suddenly he realized what was displayed on the computer screen. His eyes glazed suddenly and he pulled a chair up next to "Adam". "Can we play?" he asked.
"Sure," Methos shrugged. "Any suggestions what we do now?"
Derrick nodded and pointed out a move. Before long the two of them were engrossed in it once more, as they had been in Seacouver when they had first seen it. Eleanor laughed... the sound of tinkling bells filled the room.
As he headed to the shower Phillip chuckled, "Now might be a good time for you to clean up and get dressed, too Little Sister. I think you've lost them both for the time being."
Soon the sound of running water emanated from both bathrooms. Methos and Derrick were oblivious to anything... but the shifting patterns of the pages on the computer... as shifting as the sands upon which the boy Methos had once written ancient patterns. Whatever the answers hidden in these pages... it apparently took both of them to find the answers.
