Chapter 25

Geneva, the following evening

Methos had meant to be in Geneva early enough to get into his postal box… but he'd been delayed. He'd driven first to the convent of Ste. Genevieve where he'd been faced with a puzzle. All the inhabitants had vanished. There was no sign of any foul play… just no one there.

He'd spent a few hours creeping about the old convent and decided that the relatively recent paint job indicated the others had left recently… hastily… but not as if in a great panic.

There were some indications that something had happened in the courtyard… but whatever it had been… had been cleaned up. He did note some dried blood on the ground in a few spots.

"Damn it Amanda! And damn you MacLeod… what happened here?" He'd trusted them to stay on top of things… What had gone wrong? Would they have contacted Phillip? Perhaps he needed to contact Phillip himself and see what his friend knew. Fears that Nestor might have gotten loose… or worse… be in the hands of someone else bothered him. His unease evidently was leaching through his wall to Eleanor. He could sense her worry and curiosity. Methos steeled himself and focused instead on searching through each room… but came up empty-handed. Finally… seeing nothing… he'd hit the road trying to reach Geneva before the postal center closed for the day. He'd missed it be less than half an hour.

At that he'd sat in his car and considered his next course of action. He'd have to wait until tomorrow morning. Once he had the letters… and he inwardly cursed himself once more for not having retrieved them years ago… he'd return home. He likely had been gone too long already. Whatever was happening… he needed to get home before something happened there. It was likely time to move. Perhaps Niebos? He'd always intended to take Derrick there eventually… now might be the best time. The boy still wasn't ready… but Methos knew he already knew about… or at least suspected his latent immortality. It was best to get him to Phillip for proper training as soon as possible.

Slumped down in the driver's seat of his rental car… Methos ran one hand over his forehead as he tried to plan. He'd been having trouble thinking things through for some time. The events of recent days had made his focus on future plans more than just a little fuzzy. Methos leaned back… aware there was a slight throb of a headache… With both hands he rubbed his eyes and face… opening the link to Eleanor ever so slightly. Immediately she was with him… and the ache began to fade.

"Come back to me!" he could feel her say.

"Soon, very soon," he thought and slowly rebuilt the wall against her pleas not to. But at least his headache was gone. Likely the stress of keeping it up so long was beginning to tire him. But the letters first. He had to know what was in them before he let them down. He did not want Eleanor exposed to his suspicions before he knew if they were true. Methos started the ignition and drove toward an area of town that had out of the way hostels and good food. He needed a meal and a good night's sleep.

Sitting in the shadows of the common room of the hostel, Keith Boyer was mainly just trying to stay out of everyone's way. He'd had a feeling for the past few years that someone was after him. He'd fled the States and had been attempting to lose himself in Europe. His relative youth let him get by as just another backpacking college kid. The main thing was to stay away from the types of places immortals frequented. From what he'd been able to gather as he'd traveled… the winners of challenges were vanishing. Keith had acquired quite the reputation among younger immortals as a headhunter… but among the older ones of his kind… he knew he was likely little more than a gnat. Still… right now… right this day… he'd decided avoiding challenges was far safer than headhunting… no matter who he found. Thus, Keith Boyer was surprised to look up to see an immortal enter the hostel.

The man glanced with hooded eyes about the room and then saw Keith in his corner. The man nodded and turned to talk to the desk clerk. Keith sat nervously… wondering what would happen. This fellow didn't seem like much… but these days… sometimes it was hard to tell… and he did seem to have a very strong presence.

The man headed to the dining room for a meal.

Keith considered what to do… finally deciding that knowledge was more important than running… followed the man into the dining room. He stood by the man's out-of-the-way table. "Excuse me, have we met?"

The man looked at him darkly, "Not likely." He returned his attention to the menu.

"I'm Keith Boyer… do we have a problem?"

"Not unless you want to make it one."

Keith stood aside when a waitress approached and took the man's order. She glanced at Keith, "Are you eating too?"

Keith shook his head. She left.

"Look…" the man said. "I'm here for a meal and a bed… I don't need trouble right now."

Keith shrugged. "Fine by me." He walked out, already considering that perhaps he might find another bed for the night. As he left the hostel, backpack over his shoulder, he noticed a woman on a cell phone talking quietly and glancing up at him as he left. Keith was nervous about that. He didn't like being noticed by anyone. He hurried into the growing darkness… and then slipped into a nearby alley to see if he was being followed. He wasn't. Sighing with relief… he headed into the night.

Methos ate hurriedly. "Damn!" he hadn't thought another immortal might be in this area. He'd eat… he needed to eat… but then he was out of here. He decided that leaving was more important than staying. If necessary… he'd sleep in his car. That might be best anyway. He could drive back to the postal center and wait for it to open… gather his mail and be gone before the day was much advanced. He finished eating… and left.

He failed to notice the woman in the corner talking on a cell phone.

As Methos drove away from the hostel… back the way he'd come… he noted Keith Boyer's presence as the young immortal hiked along the side of the road. Boyer noticed him too. After passing him… Methos tried to consider what to do. He didn't want a fight… he didn't want to chance it… but neither did he want this young man on his tail. He pulled over to the side of the road and got out.

Boyer came closer… his sword already evident in his hand.

"I'm not after you Boyer… we just both happen to be going the same way. After meeting you… I decided not to stay… that's all. If you wish to go back… I won't follow."

"Who are you?"

"Someone who has your best interests at heart. Go back to the hostel. I will not bother you. I have no desire for a confrontation… here… or anywhere." Methos waited… ready to move… ready to defend himself if necessary.

Boyer paused, staring intently at the other immortal. Finally his hand relaxed from his sword hilt. "I'll hold you to that. But I'm certain you won't mind if I don't go back… I think I'll find another safe haven."

Methos nodded as he watched the young man walk away. Turning… he put both hands on the roof of the rental car and breathed slow and evenly. "That was too damned close!" he thought. Once certain Boyer had left… the ancient climbed into the rental and proceeded on his way.

He came to a stop near the postal facility and turned the motor off… slumping down into the seat to catch a nap. He could almost smell honey and hear the soft laughter of Eleanor all about him… teasing him… drawing him back to her. His eyes snapped open as he felt another immortal nearby. "Boyer!" he spat and climbed out once more… his broadsword already in his hand. But it wasn't Boyer.

The small dark-haired woman stared at him hatefully. "Edmund LeGris?" she spat and then smiled as she pulled her rapier out. "Long have I searched for you… and here you are at last. En guarde monsieur."

Methos sighed. This was one fight he did not think he could avoid. "Felice Martin…" he sneered. "Has no one taken that worthless head of yours, yet?"

"Many have tried LeGris… and many have failed. But now at last I shall add you to my collection. I killed her you know… that pretty little thing you were so fond of so long ago… I took great pleasure in it. I ran my dagger across her mortal neck and wiped her blood on the walls for you to find. I am only surprised it took you so long to gather the courage to face me." She swept her rapier back and forth and circled around in the darkness… glaring at him.

"Still playing the old games, Felice? Still killing the mortals our kind care for, so that we are easier for you to kill? One would think after so long… you'd have learned more than that." Methos' voice was as bitter as the bile that rose in his throat. He had not thought of Eloise in centuries… but face to face with her murderer… her death hit him like a raw wound.

"You have been a hard man to draw out!" Felice stood so that the street light at her back made her difficult for Methos to clearly see. "I'd given you up for dead long ago." She lunged forward.

Methos quickly countered her stroke and then lunged toward her with one of his own. She retreated… again managing to keep the streetlight behind her. In the distance… Methos thought he could hear thunder. "Even the heavens approve of this meeting," he said bitterly as he attacked her again…left… right… He backed her up with several strong strokes.

She countered and moved backward… as if drawing him into a secluded alleyway. Methos grinned grimly and backed up, his broadsword swiveling in his hand… the reflections on it from the streetlight… flashing across her eyes. Felice flinched, and shifted position so that she was no longer before the light.

"Playing games… this is so like you LeGris. As I recall… you were quite the gambler once upon a time." She attacked once more as the first raindrops began to fall… heavy droplets… then a sudden downpour.

Methos almost laughed aloud. "I'm not a gambler… Felice… I don't like to lose." He attacked her as lightning crackled in the sky and the thunder boomed around them. The rain made the road slippery… and in the darkness… it was harder to see. The force of his blows surprised her.

Felice… stumbled… pulling a small Derringer as she fell to her knees. She fired both shots directly at LeGris' stomach. The man paused from the force of the blow, glared at her and then came at her again with a snarl… She had one moment to note the glare of the streetlight on the blade before it connected with her neck.

Methos held his hand to his stomach… grimacing at the pain. Already he could see the first signs of the quickening rising from Felice Martin's body. Lightning crashed from the storm as he stumbled backward. But Methos knew there was no escape. Even as he fell to his knees to accept what could not be denied… he let the walls in his mind fall and reached out for Eleanor. "Help me! Be with me!" he thought… and just before both darkness and the quickening took him… he knew she was.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Keith Boyer is a minor canon character who does not appear in the series, but is mentioned in the third season episode They Also Serve. His bio appears on The New Watcher Chronicles cd-rom. This characterization is drawn from the information there.