AN – Sorry for the slow update. I've been ill! Thanks to SC for constructive listening (I've changed it again!). To answer your Q's - Yellow valley, don't worry the Birthday card will reappear! Sweets2 the gang will get theirs soon enough. Lori – I never said Connor was planning on coming – but then I never said he wasn't either (grins) Dani thank you for the lovely review and there is another reason for Connor to be there so its not entirely a wasted journey and Laura I have lots more stories but I can only cope with one at a time!! Neoinean, hope the divider things work this time!

!!!!!!!!!!!

"Connor!" Duncan's relief rapidly gave way to mounting anger as he advanced on his elder kinsman. "Have you taken leave of your senses?"

"Don't you ever just say hello, anymore?" Connor wondered.

"Don't you ever use the dammed door?"

Connor was about to point out that he had used the door, he simply hadn't knocked, when he realized that whereas Tessa merely looked startled, the boy looked scared out of his wits and Duncan was positively furious.

"Expecting trouble?"

"Not you." Duncan said flatly.

"Then .." Connor eyed the still drawn and ready katana warily. "Would you mind?"

"Oh," Duncan realised. He lowered his sword arm. "Sorry."

"One of us?" Connor asked.

"Hope not." Duncan quipped, as he stowed the katana. Instantly regretting his words as a look of shocked terror flashed across Richie's face.

"But he can't be!" the lad blurted. "I mean, I know him. We grew up in the same neighbourhood. Vinnie was only a couple of years above me in school."

"Rich," Duncan really didn't want to be having the conversation about how no one was born Immortal, right here and now. The lad had enough to worry about. Besides, it might give him ideas. Entirely the right ones at that. A distraction was definitely in order. "Go down and fetch Connor's bags will you?"

"What, am I? The bellboy?" Richie shot back, with an edge of sarcasm, that Duncan now recognised as fear driven.

"Rich, c'mon," Duncan refused to be baited. "He's not gonna be Immortal. What are the odds?"

"Well, I dunno, where you're concerned, pretty high."

"Not every new person I meet has to be an Immortal."

"Of course not," Tessa agreed dryly. "It just seems as if they are. That is all."

"You're not helping," Duncan scowled. "Rich, everything will be fine. Trust me." He dropped a quick kiss on lad's forehead, making his eyes widen with surprise. "Now go." He ordered.

"Right. Sure," Richie nodded, blushing a brick red, but completely distracted from his previous line of questioning by the public display of affection. "Bags. OK. I'm on it."

As soon as he was out of earshot, Tessa hissed. "Vinnie? It was this Vinnie you were expecting? Is he an Immortal?"

"Yes. No, I don't know, Tess."

"You don't know if he is Immortal or if he is to come here causing trouble?"

"He threatened Richie," Duncan admitted. "That's why he was sleeping rough in the warehouse. That's why he wanted to come to New York."

"He didn't trust you to protect him?" Connor worried. "Duncan that's .."

"He was afraid that Vinnie might use Tessa to get to him. He didn't want me to have to chose. Look, we've talked about it. He's fine now. He's still here isn't he?" Duncan felt a tad defensive.

"And Vinnie?" Tessa challenged. "Will he be joining us also?"

"He may not follow up on the threat .."

"You don't know this .." Tessa's voice rose.

"Perhaps," Connor put in. "I should put the kettle on."

"I think, I need something stronger." Duncan muttered.

"And I think you need your wits about you, laddie." Connor reproved, reaching for the tea kettle. "We need to come up with a battle plan."

"Why can't we just call the Police?" Tessa asked. "There are laws against threatening people!"

"Won't do any good," Richie told her, overhearing as he brought Connor's two bags into the kitchen. "They haven't actually done anything yet. Not that we can prove."

"When did you graduate law school?" Tessa teased.

"I know which charges will stick." Richie shrugged.

"Care to enlighten us?" Connor murmured.

Richie gave him a sour look. "Murder is always good."

"I don't think we need to do anything that drastic." Duncan rolled his eyes.

"But maybe, we should pay this Vinnie a visit," Connor speculated.

"You want to go looking for him?" Richie gawped. "Are you absolutely insane?"

"Freud didn't think so."

"You've never met Freud." Duncan put in.

"I read the book," Connor dismissed that. "Its an established battle tactic. You take the fight to your enemy, you choose the time, the ground and the weapons, you have the advantage."

"Connor .." Duncan couldn't fault the argument. But he wasn't sure it was a tactic he wanted a lad as impetuous as Richie to learn. Lord knows he was already going to have the devils own time convincing the lad that it was acceptable to walk away from challenges. The last thing he needed was for him to think he had to seize the initiative.

"How long do you want us to wait for them to make their move Duncan? A week? A month? A year? If we draw them out, we can deal with them, here and now, on our own terms."

"Using Richie as the bait?" Duncan shook his head. "I'll not have it, Connor."

"I'll be close by. He'll be perfectly safe."

"You don't know that," Duncan shook his head. "What if something goes wrong?"

"It won't. Because he's going to offer them something they'll want even more than him."

Duncan pressed his lips together. It could work. All Richie would have to do would act a little nervous, offer them the code to the Antique Store alarm, let them think that the proprietor would be away, maybe even suggest that Tessa would be all alone and vulnerable in the apartment above. Vinnie sounded like just the type to expect the lad to sacrifice his friends to save his own skin.

But that still didn't mean that  Richie would be safe.

"I don't like it Connor," Duncan scrubbed at his face.

"Isn't anyone gonna ask me what I think?" Richie spoke up.

"You can't tell me you like this, Rich."

"Well, I sure don't want to be looking over my shoulder for who knows how long. I can do this, Mac."

Duncan looked at the teen's serious expression. He had a point.  "You know, its dangerous?"

"No more dangerous than plenty of other things I've done. C'mon Mac. Trust me. How am I ever gonna get to show you I can act responsible if you're always trying to protect me?"

Alright," he capitulated. "But if we're doing this, I'm coming with you." He looked at Connor. "You can stay with Tessa. And, we're going to take a few precautions."

!!!!

Following Richie's directions Duncan steered the T-Bird over to a playground on the other side of town, where Vinnie and his gang held rule. At this time in the early evening it was just beginning to get dark, the shadows from the surrounding buildings reaching their tendrils across the concrete. Duncan parked in an alleyway, from which they could watch the playground, but remain out of sight. Despite his earlier assurances the jiggling of his left leg, betrayed his nervousness.

"They're not here."

"Give them a minute." Duncan said calmly.

Richie gave them all of about 20 seconds.

"I guess they're not coming. Maybe, we should just leave."

"We only just got here."

"If we leave now there's still time to meet Connor and Tess at the Restaurant .."

"Rich .."

"They all probably went off to a movie or something, ..Vinne likes Rambo .." Richie was rambling.

"Alright," Duncan reached towards the ignition, only to have Richie's hand clamp over his wrist.

"No, Its Ok, I'm OK. It'll be fine. Its just .. the waiting, its hard, you know?"

Duncan did.

"They'll be here." He soothed.

Subsiding, for the moment, Richie slumped back into his seat. Catching sight of his reflection, he fiddled with the wing mirror. Then he rummaged in the glove box, but finding nothing of interest, he picked up the pencil that was lying on the dash and started to beat a one handed rhythm.

 "You're pretty good at that." Duncan noted, hoping to distract him.

"Not good enough." Richie dropped the pencil back down on the dash.

"Good enough for what?"

"To get out of here. Well, not here and now, you know, like with you guys. But Seacouver, here."

"You mean like a band?" Duncan couldn't help but be surprised.

"Yeah, ain't that a joke. Richie Ryan international pop star," Richie shook his head. "It was Cass's idea .. she said we'd be like those bands on MTV." he trailed off.

"Cass?" Duncan nudged him gently. "Anyone I know? Anyone you know?"

"Old friend," Richie sucked in his cheeks. "She's dead now."

"I'm sorry," Duncan said sincerely. "I know how hard it is to loose a good friend."

"Yeah," Richie gave him a sideways look. "I guess you would. Its OK. It doesn't hurt as much as it used to."

"But it still hurts."

"Yeah," Richie agreed. "Sometimes, like today when you wonder .. if just maybe things could have been different."

"Maybe they will be .. one day." Duncan offered.

"Yeah, and maybe I'll grow up to be Immortal." Richie joked.

"Rich, nothing in the future is set in stone. You can't write yourself off at your age. If you really want to be the next Phil Collins, let's get you signed up for a few lessons."

"Phil Collins is a singer, not a drummer." Richie protested.

"Shows what you know." Duncan grinned.

!!!

"They're here." Duncan's voice startled Richie out of a light doze. Abruptly, he sat up and scrubbed at his face, glancing guilty over at the Immortal to see if he had noticed his lapse. "They are? Where?"

If he had seen that the lad had dozed off, Duncan gave no sign of it.

"To your right. Just coming around the corner."

Richie sat forward and craned his neck, letting his eyes adjust to the shadows and light cast by the streetlamps.

"That's Vinnie. In the middle with the blue sweat top on."

"C'mon."

Duncan slipped silently out of the T-Bird and walked to the back of the car. He turned his gaze to the anxious teen standing beside him. In the streetlamps, Richie's eyes looked very young and blue in his pale face.

"You know what to do?"

"Mac, we've been over this about a thousand times. I can do this."

"I know you can, Rich. Its just, I worry, that's all."

"You and Tess both," Richie rolled his eyes. "She wanted me to wear some bit of armour from the middles ages. It weighed like a tonne."

"I know. Who do you think talked her out of it. In an emergency you'd never be able to move fast enough in a thing like that."

"Well, thanks for that vote of confidence, Mac."

"Rich, I have every confidence in you," Duncan popped open the trunk. "Its them, I worry about. Take off your shirt."

Richie looked in astonishment at the super thin top of the range black Teflon coated vest.

"You bought me a bullet proof vest?"

"It stops knifes too." Duncan informed him. "You didn't think I was just going to let you walk out there, did you?"

"Well, yeah," Richie said, removing his shirt. "Usually, I just duck and run."

"Usually?" Duncan frowned as he fitted the jacket snugly. "Have you been stabbed before?"

"No, I've just had a lot of practise at ducking."

"OK, you're all set," Duncan allowed, as he slipped the teen's shirt back around his shoulders and started to do up the buttons, talking as he did so.

"Stick to what we planned. Don't improvise."

"Yes sir." Richie tried a sloppy salute.

 "I mean it, Rich. I'll be close by. Any problems. Anything at all. You give me the signal and you're outta there. OK?"

"Yeah," Richie nodded, all business now. "C'mon Mac, can we just do this? Please?

"Alright, but for God's sake, be careful."

"Always am."

With a final squeeze of his shoulder, Duncan forced himself to let the teen go. Richie turned away, consciously adding a cocky swagger to his gait as he made his way across the playground. And all Duncan could do was watch as he approached the small knot of gang members squared up as they noticed his approach.