Village Mystic: Just to let you know, this story is complete. It's taking me some time to upload it as I have to edit it before I can post it. As for the story, my friends, who have read it, thought it was just wonderful, but, as for myself, I think it's only so-so. As I told one of them, I have trouble putting it all down on paper. It's not exactly what I had envisioned. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Disclaimer: See Acknowledgements page

CHAPTER SEVEN

By the time Duncan and Methos arrived at the warehouse alley, it was almost 9 o'clock. They were hoping to find some clue as to where Anna/Margaret was headed, but they knew their chances were slim. If she found anything, she was sure to have taken it with her. But maybe, just maybe, they would get lucky. They searched the alley and turned up nothing.
"It's no use, MacLeod," said Methos. "We're not going to find anything. I think we should check in with Joe and see if he came up with anything."
"Well, maybe we should check inside the warehouse and see if there is anything there."
"MacLeod, you're grasping at straws. She's been here and gone, leaving nothing behind. Let's go."
Just then a voice from behind them said, "Whadda ya looking for?" They turned to see a blonde, shaggy-haired boy, about ten years old, sitting on a bike. He was wearing a Seacouver Chiefs T-shirt and cut-offs.
"A friend of ours dropped something here yesterday. We were just trying to help her find it," Duncan replied.
"I think she's already found it," the boy told them.
"What do you mean?" Duncan asked him.
"Well," the boy said, "there was some woman here this morning looking around. Saw her when I was delivering my papers."
Duncan and Methos looked at each other, and then Duncan turned back to the boy. "Really. This woman, what did she look like?"
The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Kinda tall and skinny, I guess. Had long hair, maybe brown. She found something under that dumpster there and looked at it for awhile. Then she just left."
"Did you see which way she went?" Duncan inquired. "We'd like to catch up with her."
"That way," the boy answered, pointing his finger trying to show them which way she went. "Towards Lexington St."
"Thanks, son. You've been really helpful," Duncan said, pulling his money clip out of his pocket and handing the boy twenty dollars, ignoring Methos' incredulous look.
"Thanks, mister," said the astonished boy. Duncan and Methos started to head for the car when the boy added, "but don't you want to know where she is now?" With that, the duo stopped dead in their tracks and turned back to face the boy. He just grinned.
"Yeah, that would be very helpful," Methos said. "So just where is she now?"
"Well, I saw her going up Roberts St. a little bit ago."
"Which way on Roberts?" asked Duncan.
"Uh, she was heading towards Dunkirk," the lad replied.
"Thanks again, kid," Duncan said giving the kid another ten, then headed to the car with Methos. They continued their search for the missing Margaret, determined to find her before her husband arrived. With the information the boy just provided, they just might succeed.

Anna continued her journey to Paradise - she smiled at her little joke. By her calculations, she should reach her destination by late afternoon as it was about 10 miles away. As she turned the corner, she stopped. Across the street, an all too familiar T-bird pulled up to the curb, the occupants exiting to search the area. How in the world did they find me? Must be pure luck on their part. Anna backed up, ducking out of sight. She quickly weighed her options and decided her best course of action would be to backtrack a block, then head up an alley over to the next street. Just as she began to leave, Methos caught sight of her. "MacLeod, over here," he said pointing in the direction of Anna.
Anna took off in a dead run followed by Methos. Duncan jumped into his car to continue his pursuit, stopping long enough to pick up the ancient immortal. This proved to be an excellent idea as there was no way Methos could have kept up with Anna. Both men were amazed at her speed.
She continued up the street past the alley, keeping an eye on the T- Bird. Once it had past the alley, she stopped, turned around, and headed back the other way. Unfortunately for the occupants of the T-Bird, there was a car behind them so they couldn't back up. So Methos hopped out of the car in pursuit of Anna, who had already turned into the alley, while Duncan circled the block to cut her off at the other end.
As Methos turned the corner, a pair of hands grabbed him by his collar and threw him up against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. With one swift movement, Anna kicked his feet out from under him and Methos landed flat on his back. "Sorry, Methos, but I really don't have any other choice." So as he laid there on the ground, Anna landed a blow to his head, rendering him unconscious. Normally, she would not have resorted to such tactics, especially on someone she really liked. But given the fact that he was immortal and would heal shortly, plus her need to continue her journey, she allowed herself this one little lapse in character. She then took off for Paradise again.
A couple of minutes later, Duncan pulled the T-Bird into the alley and saw Methos lying on the ground at the end of the alley. Stopping the car, he jumped out and looked around for Anna who was nowhere to be seen, and then rushed to his friend's side. "Methos. Methos," he said as he knelt down and began gently slapping the older immortal's face trying to bring him around. "Methos, come on. Wake up. Wake up."
The elder immortal's eyes flickered and then opened. "MacLeod," he said as he tried to sit up.
"It's okay. Here, let me help you up," the Scot said as he extended a hand to help his friend to his feet. "What happened?"
"She was lying in wait for me," was the response. "She grabbed me as I came around the corner, threw me against the wall, knocked me to the ground and hit me in the head."
"Margaret did all that?"
"Why does that surprise you? You above all people should know what a woman is capable of."
"That's not what I meant," the Scot replied defensively. "She didn't seem like the type who would do something like this."
"Well, that's not all, MacLeod. She knows my name."
"Of course, she knows your name," Duncan replied.
"No, she knows my real name. She called me Methos."
"Are you sure? After all, you did suffer a blow to the head. Maybe you just thought you heard her say that."
"No, she said it just before she hit me in the head. She said 'Sorry Methos, but I really don't have any other choice.'"
"How in the hell did she find out what your real name is?"
"I don't know, but this is getting more interesting by the minute. And I'm definitely going to hang around for the ending."

It was almost noon when the pair returned to the loft. They had searched the area for any sign of Anna/Margaret, but came up empty. Since they had nothing else to go on, they decided it was better to return home to see if Joe or Richie had any luck. As Duncan lifted the gate on the elevator, the phone began to ring. Duncan answered it before it went to the machine, "Hello."
"Mac, how did it go?" It was Joe. "Were you able to find her?"
"Joe. Oh, we found her alright, but then we lost her." Duncan quickly filled Joe in on their little chase.
"She knows he's Methos? But how?" the voice on the other end of the phone asked.
"That's what we'd like to know. This whole thing is getting stranger by the minute."
"Well, I'm on my way to the airport now to pick up Nelson Grey. I'm not looking forward to telling him that his wife is missing again."
"Don't tell him much more than that. I think our best course of action would be to wait until you get here. It's possible that Margaret knows about us, but he may not. We can question him about her, see if he can shed any light onto what's really going on here. I mean, she certainly doesn't act like a beautician.....she's more like a commando."
"Okay, Mac. By the way, there's no news on Corrigan yet. Sorry."
"Not your fault, Joe. See you later," Duncan said as he hung up the phone. "Guess I'll fix us some lunch. Wonder if Richie has had any luck." As if on cue, the pair felt the approach of the younger immortal. As the gate opened and the lad appeared, Duncan said, "Hey Richie. What did you find out?"
"Nothing yet, but I have a few people checking on it," Richie responded. "Said they'd call me if they found anything for me."
Duncan sighed and began to prepare a light lunch, mainly in an effort to keep himself busy. He hated just sitting around and not being able to do anything. If Corrigan got to Margaret first, he would never forgive himself. Methos knew exactly what his friend was thinking and decided to do something about it.
"You know, MacLeod, you weren't put on this earth to be everybody's savior. You aren't Superman."
"I know what you're trying to do, Methos, but it won't work. If I had dealt with Corrigan all those years ago, Anna.....Margaret wouldn't be in this situation."

Flashback -- Boston, 1932 (One week later)

Duncan, dressed in a tuxedo, escorted Katie down the street as they headed towards her apartment. She was a vision of loveliness in a burgundy silk charmeuse evening gown with a lace shawl draped over her shoulders. It had been a wonderful evening with dinner at one of Boston's finest restaurants, followed by an evening at the ballet.
"I really enjoyed myself tonight, Duncan. I hate to see it end," she said.
"It doesn't have to," he said with a wicked glint in his eye and a sly smile on his face.
"Oooh, I do like the way you think," she purred and cuddled closer to him. Just then, Duncan once again felt the buzz and looked around. He didn't see anyone, but he knew there was an immortal nearby. "Duncan, what's wrong?" Katie was worried.
"Thought I heard something, but it must have been my imagination. Don't worry," he said as he pulled her tighter, "I won't let anything happen to you. A couple of more blocks and we'll be back at your place." As they passed the alley, they heard a noise. Katie looked at Duncan anxiously. "Wait here while I check it out," he said. As he turned to leave, she grabbed his arm. "It's alright. I'll be right back." He smiled and stroked her face reassuringly.
Duncan walked into the alley, a light over a doorway shone at the other end. The presence of the other immortal grew stronger as he continued down the alley, so he drew his sword. "Hello, MacLeod," a familiar voice said. A figure emerged from the shadows, stepping into the light.
"Corrigan. What are you doing here?" Duncan asked.
"Oh, just following up a lead on my story. That's all." the other immortal replied nonchalantly. It was then Duncan saw in the doorway light a bloody arm on the ground. He eyed Corrigan suspiciously. "Too bad you had to come along and ruin it," Corrigan added as he pulled out his sword and began wiping off the fresh blood. Duncan saw the glint of a silver cross hanging from a chain in the other immortal's hand.
"You're the Crucifix Killer? " Duncan asked, visibly disgusted by this revelation.
"Surprise."
"Duncan," a voice called out from behind him. Katie was coming up the alley towards him.
"Stay away," Duncan yelled at her. Unfortunately, she was close enough that she saw the arm and screamed. Duncan looked back at her, hiding his sword at the same time. With Duncan distracted, Corrigan took this opportunity to make his escape. Duncan was tempted to go after him, but decided to stay with Katie instead. She needed him. He could always track Corrigan down later and deal with him then.

Back to the present.....

"So you never caught up with the man," Richie asked.
"Not until yesterday. I'd looked for him, but he vanished," Duncan told him.
"It wasn't your responsibility," Methos reiterated.
"He was a vicious, cold-blooded killer," Duncan said vehemently, throwing the cloth he had in his hand down on the counter and walking towards the kitchen window. As he leaned against the wall, he added, "I should have gone after him then, when I had the chance."
"But you didn't. You made what you believed to be the right choice at the time. You'll just have to live with it," the ancient one told him, then with a grin on his face asked, "Who says you would have caught him anyway?"
Duncan looked at Methos and smiled. His friend always knew just what to say, which wasn't surprising considering how old he was. He walked back over to the counter and continued fixing lunch. The three sat down to eat and await the arrival of Nelson Grey.