Chapter 13

Paris, the next day

The barge was locked and deserted. But no lock could delay Amanda for long. Quickly she picked the lock and let herself in to the darkened room. She stood within it assessing the evidence she saw and trying to make sense of it. The bed had been slept in… Amanda smiled… the faint odor of sex still permeated the air. Thoughtfully she picked up the sheet from the floor where it had been dropped and placed it in a heap on the bed. They'd been in bed… they'd dressed quickly… Amanda stared at the opened beer bottle on the bar and the soiled clothes discarded on the floor. A damp towel lay nearby… someone had showered, dressed, and then…?

Amanda shook her head. Whoever had been here had left… quickly and with little preparation. They'd not stayed to straighten up. Thoughtfully she crossed to Duncan's safe. She drummed her fingers on the door. She smiled… it might take a few minutes… but she thought she could get it open. Expertly she sanded her fingertips… it had been a while, but like riding a bicycle she was certain she'd have no troubles. Once she heard the tumblers click and she opened the door of the safe… she discovered little there. Duncan had always kept an emergency stash of money and spare passports and documents in there for years. Now there was nothing. At least nothing that told Amanda he'd be back anytime soon.

Pulling out a pad of paper, she wrote him a cryptic note and placed it in the safe. "Call me!" was all it said. He'd recognize her handwriting. Amanda closed and re-locked the safe. Duncan had obviously been here with enough time to plan a departure… but not enough time to clean up the place. It also meant that he likely wouldn't be back here… Not anytime soon. Still… if he was… the note would let him know she had come looking for him.

As she paced about the barge… Amanda noticed a cell phone lying discarded under a chair, as if it had fallen from a pocket unseen and had been left behind. She picked it up. Pulling out her own, she dialed Duncan's number… the found cell phone began to vibrate. Amanda shut her phone off and pocketed both phones. No wonder he hadn't answered… he'd left his cell… Had he even realized that yet? She'd take his with her. Perhaps if someone attempted to call him… she might learn something about what he was up to… or if he called his cell… she could talk to him.

Glancing through the porthole Amanda took notice of the Watcher perched obviously on the wall at street level. He'd been there when she'd arrived. She needed to be certain she lost him… but not yet. It might be better to just let him follow her for a while… that way… when she needed to lose him… she could.

Was there any reason to continue searching here? Amanda shook her head. No… if Duncan had taken his passports… he was gone and she doubted from the looks of the place that he'd gone alone. Perhaps she should check with Joe. Duncan had told her Joe was retired from the Watchers… but Amanda felt he might still know where MacLeod was if anyone did.

Her mind made up… Amanda replaced her sunglasses, locked the barge, and headed for her vehicle. Next stop… Le Blues Bar.

"As I live and breathe," laughed Joe as he looked up at the immortal gracing his bar, "Amanda!" He was open but the place was deserted this time of day. His band would arrive within the hour to practice… and after that the regular crowd would start arriving.

Joe stepped out from behind the bar and gave the slender Amanda a warm hug and a brief kiss. "I've missed you hanging about and causing trouble. All Mac would say was that you were busy."

"I am. I saw him several times. We stayed in touch. He never told you?" Amanda wiped her lipstick from Joe's mouth with a teasing smile. She was genuinely fond of the old Watcher.

"He told me, but he'd never say just where you were or where you two went whenever you got together."

"Oh… here and there… mostly there." Amanda evaded and settled silkily on a barstool. "How about a drink?" she murmured, removing her sunglasses and loosening the scarf she wore over her dark hair.

"The old immortal evasion," Joe laughed as he poured her a drink from behind the bar. "Why does that not surprise me. Still, you look great."

Amanda shrugged. "Thanks. We were supposed to meet up a few days ago and he didn't arrive… I wondered if he'd said anything to you…" She was fishing… and she knew Joe knew it… but it couldn't be helped.

Joe glanced at her, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "In Cannes?" he finally asked.

Amanda's mouth turned up slightly. "Cannes? Oh yes… Cannes." She sipped at her drink, then licked her lips thoughtfully trying to remember what Duncan had been saying during that phone call. She'd been so upset about Nestor… but he'd said something about getting back to Paris hadn't he. He'd come back… but then… what?

Joe continued to watch Amanda, deciding she obviously had not known just where Mac had been going. "So… he's due back in about a week, I think."

Amanda smiled. "A week… That sounds about right. I need to go," Amanda said suddenly, replacing her sunglasses and adjusting her scarf. She blew Joe a kiss as she headed for the door.

"You can trust me Amanda… If you need help with something… you can trust me."

Amanda paused and turned back. Her voice was level in sincerity. "I know that Joe. If I needed some help… I'd ask. Ciao!" She turned and vanished into the afternoon sunlight of the outside street.

Watching her go, Joe felt that he was on the outside looking in once more. They were immortal. Whatever they had going on might take years to unfold… years he no longer had. Joe settled onto the barstool and gently picked up Amanda's unfinished drink. "I'm here if you need me," he said to no one in particular. "I'm here if you need me." He finished her drink and then threw the glass at the far wall.

Amanda carefully led the Watcher on her tail on a wild goose chase about Paris… seeming to shop and shop and shop… but without really buying anything. Finally, confident he was alone, and that she could safely vanish without his being aware of it for a few minutes, she slipped out of one store through a side door and reclaimed the SUV. Making certain no one was on her tail, she eventually headed east. There was nothing in Paris for her. Whatever had happened to Duncan… wherever he'd gone in such a hurry, he'd told no one… not even Joe. She'd have to wait until he contacted her… it was all she could do. That and keep an eye on Nick for all of them… making certain he was safe.

"Whatdaya mean … ya lost her!" the voice on the phone exploded.

"I'm sorry, sir. I only picked her up by accident when she showed up at MacLeod's. She went to see Dawson… was only there a few minutes… then an afternoon of shopping. I lost her in the crowd."

"Ya shoulda called for backup!" The voice was growing increasingly short-tempered.

"I did sir… but we didn't make connections in time. By the time Gary was in position… she'd vanished."

"Where are you now?"

"Back at MacLeod's. He must have come here straight from Cannes… but he was gone by the time I got here. I can search his place…"

"No… stay out of there. We wait. We've waited this long… We can wait some more." There was a click and the connection was broken.

Atlanta

The Watcher, claiming his name was John Franklin, whimpered in the chair, his hands bound behind him. "Honestly… I don't know what you mean."

Carl Robinson leaned in very close. Sweat poured from his face and dripped onto Franklin's face, mingling with his own sick-smelling sweat. "I think you know exactly what I mean. You and your friends Watch me and my friends. Now… one more time… one of us was at Mt. Hope/ Greenlawn Cemetery yesterday, and was attacked. I want to know by whom and I want to know why."

"I don't know who you mean. I Watch you… no one else. Please Mr. Robinson… I have a wife… children."

"All the more reason to do as I ask." Carl held out a cell phone. "What number should I dial… You can talk to your superiors… find out who the immortal was… and what happened to him… now."

Behind him, Derek Worth looked on uncomfortably. Carl was one of the good guys, but he did have a heavy hand sometimes. This was not quite the way Derek would have gone about this.

A sound outside made the young immortal look around suspiciously. "Carl I thought I heard…"

Glass shattered as something was tossed through the window and exploded. Noxious gas filled the room. Derek, Carl and John Franklin coughed and gasped for breath, their eyes watering. Carl attempted to draw his saber, but dropped it as his lungs strained in the attempt to breathe. Derek slipped silently to the floor. John Franklin gasped and heaved as he struggled helplessly in the chair. Eventually, all three slumped unconscious.

Four men entered the room wearing gas masks. They gathered the bodies of the immortals and left. John Franklin's body they left behind. He was truly dead… and was of no use to them.