Chapter 77

Northern California

Matt, Katya and Amber walked silently through the deserted mountain cabin. Matt leaned over and righted a fallen chair.

"I'd say they have them," Katya murmured as she stood with her hands on her hips, looking around. "Wasted trip," she added pointedly.

Amber stirred some food lying on the floor with fork. "Can'ta been long. Coupla' days."

"They held the two of you for several days. Maybe Jade and Jeremy are being held nearby."

Katya pulled the map out. "You think this facility north of San Francisco might need to be searched… even with only the three of us."

"I'd say we can't wait," Matt said grimly as he left.

"Ya heard the man. It appears that this one is personal."

Katya laughed, shaking her head. "And here I thought that everything was business with him." The two immortals quietly followed Matt to the car and climbed in as he pulled out.

"Don't we need to be makin' a plan?" Amber suggested from the back seat.

"Go in guns blazin'," Matt said darkly. "Kill them all."

"Is that the FBI way?" Katya asked.

Matt glanced in her direction and shook his head. "No… that's the immortal way. They have no right to mess in our lives this way. They don't deserve to live."

"Old girlfriend?" Katya asked.

Matt said nothing. It wasn't that. His relationship with Jade had been over with for centuries. His anger had more to do with the idea that anyone was messing with their lives. Immortals had a rough enough time watching the world age and change around them… watching people they came to care for grow old and die. They either changed with the times… or they became lost in the passing of the centuries. Matt had focused much of his touchstone of reality to the law. The law was exact. The law was precise. With the law… a man knew where he was. These Watchers operated outside the law… and he would deal with them… outside of the law. He floored the accelerator when he hit the highway, thankful that neither woman had anything to say.

-----

An hour later they pulled to a stop in a rocky mountainous area overlooking an isolated ranch. Matt scrambled down into the shrubs by the side of the road and peered through his binoculars getting the feel of the comings and goings. This facility was occupied… unlike the last one.

Amber crawled up beside him.

"What?" he snorted.

"We can't go in guns blazin' and ya know it," she said softly.

He smiled noting how much thicker her Irish brogue became at times. "Oh… then you have a better idea?"

"We canna kill them. If we do… then we're no better than they think we are."

Matt rolled over to one side and stared at her. "You have another idea?" Slowly he smiled at her discomfort.

"No…" Amber slowly shook her head. "But we need to think about this a bit. We don't know for certain these are Watchers… nor do we know yar friends are being held here. We need to be certain."

"Sounds to me like you're volunteerin' again."

Amber nodded. "I'm the youngest and you two are the better fighters"

"Are you certain about that?"

Amber blushed. "I'm good Matt, but I'm no' that good. I'd rather find another way. Surely with all yar years in law enforcement… ya can come up with somet'in' better than going in with guns blazin'."

Matt nodded. "Actually… I have a few ideas." He winked. "And they do involve a volunteer."

"Then I'm yar volunteer."

-----

Paris

Joe unlocked his front door and turned on the light. In the shadows to one side he saw Ellie curled into a chair.

"I was worried," she said. "You were so late. Have you learned anything?"

Joe shook his head and through the bolt on the door and tossed his keys into the dish on the table. "I forgot this was the night you'd be stopping by. I got side-tracked."

"Anything about Methos?" He could hear the urgency in her voice. As she moved into the light he noted how bad she looked… as if she were being drained of life.

"Are you sleeping?"

Ellie shook her head as she rubbed her arms. "When I sleep I dream… and they're not my dreams."

"When was the last time you ate?"

She threw her hands up and began to pace. "Who can eat? Joe… I have to find him. If you can't help… say so… I'll try something else."

"Like slicing up a Watcher?" he snapped far more sharply than he intended.

"What?"

"You heard me. One of our people was sliced up at St. Julien's. They've been watching the place. Evidently someone spotted you near there and they've been watching for you."

"You think I… oh… that." Ellie sat down suddenly.

Ellie bit her lip and shook her head as she ran one hand through it, her fingers tangling in the braid. With a sigh she pulled it loose. "I can't explain, Joe. Just please… I didn't do it."

"You forget… I've seen what you are capable of."

Ellie smiled weakly. "Actually… you haven't. You've seen only the barest glimmer of what I'm capable of. Could I have sliced your friend up? Yes. Given the provocation I would have and not even thought twice about it. Did I?" She paused shaking her head. "Not this time. That wasn't me. I stopped her."

"Who?" Joe wanted to know, leaning over her.

"She's young… and confused."

Joe straightened with a sigh. "Well I hope you dealt with her. I know this situation is bad… but if you guys go around killing us… things are gonna get ugly again. I'm tryin' to keep the lid on things. You've got to let me… and my friends… deal with our own kind. We make mistakes… we clean up the mess."

Ellie flashed him a brief smile. "I appreciate your help Joe… I really do. But you have to understand… we immortals have the right to fight for survival. It's what we do… and while we usually fight against one another… if mortals know how to kill us… then we have the right to strike back."

"Yeah… well…" Joe rubbed a hand through his white hair and shook his head. "We're making progress. I managed to get two of your people into protective custody today."

"Who?"

"Kage… and Grace Chandel… Why are you smiling?" Joe sat in the chair across from her.

"Oh… I kinda introduced them to one another in Africa years ago. There was spark then… I just wondered if there still were."

Joe nodded with a chuckle. "They've been together since 1995. Did you know him before?"

Ellie shook her head. "Not really. I'd heard of him, of course. But I seldom had dealings with too many immortals. Grace I'd met centuries ago as we were both working as midwives in Paris. But Kage I didn't meet until after the killing field in Cambodia."

"That was bad… in more ways than one."

Ellie nodded. "I saved a Watcher back then. Kage's Watcher." She met Joe's gaze. "Do you know how that made me feel in later years to know I'd saved the life of James Horton… the man who killed Darius?"

Joe nodded. "He was my brother-in-law. Do you know how that has weighed on my soul? I thought I knew him… and I missed all the signs."

"And all our sins come back to plague us." Ellie finished re-braiding her hair and rose. "I need to go."

"There's still someone outside watching. He may be there for a while. I wasn't exactly subtle in losing my tail earlier and I think they know it. They're probably gonna watch me closely for a while."

Ellie sighed. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and Joe noticed again how very tired she seemed. Once again he had the impression that life was draining out of her.

"Have a seat… Let me fix you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"A bath? I mean you and those clothes you're in look as though they've seen better days."

Ellie looked down at her flannel shirt, T-shirt, and jeans. "Seems I've been down this road before." She faced him bravely. "I've been using the sewer to travel. Cleaning up just means I'll get dirty again. I'm fine Joseph… I really am. I just need to find Methos… as soon as possible." She headed into his kitchen to the back door that led onto a small fenced patch of yard.

"Wait," Joe handed her a cell phone. "Please… take it. That way when I hear from MacLeod… you can talk to him."

Ellie shook her head. "I'll be in touch." She smiled. "Everything's fine. No one will see me at the church. I'm not there anyway… not really. I just know the area really well. If you need me… if you learn anything… stop by. Then leave. I'll know… and I'll make contact… either here or at the bar." She slipped through the backdoor and out into the darkness.

By the time Joe made it to the door to close and lock it… there was no sign that she'd even been there.

-----

After they'd eaten Duncan lay out a map of Paris and checked coordinates from his PPC. "My friends in America say they've seen a map that had a spot marked… here." He punched his finger down on the location and tapped it thoughtfully.

"How accurate could a pinhole in a map be?" Amanda smirked. Duncan's finger was tapping the River Seine. Quickly he picked up a marker and circled the area.

"So we search in that area for a likely holding. They generally like old estates… with large grounds for security."

Alisaunne cleared her throat. "You think they have Ian in this place?"

He met her gaze and nodded. "And we're going to get him back."

She leaned close to the map and stared at what was there. Then she pulled out another map… of tourist sites. She began coordinating the two maps, slowly marking "X's" over areas they could safely ignore. There were three good size areas left within Duncan's circle. She smiled. "One for each of us."

Duncan nodded with a wicked smile. "But we stay in touch… and out of sight. No moves until we find them." He raised a finger at Alisaunne. "Promise me!"

She nodded. The main thing was to get Ian back. "Maybe Eleanor could help."

Duncan and Amanda both stared at her.

"You've seen Eleanor?" the Highlander asked.

Alisaunne nodded. "At St. Julien's… she…" Alisaunne rubbed one hand over her brow in confusion. "She stopped me from killing a Watcher."

"What?" Both Amanda and Duncan stared at her. Duncan grabbed her arms. "Killing a Watcher? What did you do? What happened?"

Alisaunne shook her head. "I'm not certain. It's like a dream. There was this Watcher grabbing me… and I began knifing him… and then Eleanor came and took me away." Alisaunne looked at them both; the tears began to run from her eyes. "It was before I knew about Ian… but she was there. And then I wanted to get back to the hotel… and I was back on the street again." She ran a hand through her hair. "It was like going to sleep and ending up in some other world… like passing through darkness and coming up in a fairy-land where time does not flow. I felt at home…" She met Duncan's gaze. "As if I'd been there before… with Uncle Jacques… with Darius."

"Do you know how to get back?"

Alisaunne shook her head. "Until just now… I thought it was a dream." She backed away and sat down on the sofa thoughtfully… as if trying to make sense of her thoughts. "It had to be a dream. Eleanor and that boy… He didn't like me very much."

"Derrick? You saw Derrick?"

Alisaunne nodded. "Is that his name? I didn't remember. He was very uneasy around me." She laughed suddenly. "He hated being there… he hated my being there."

Amanda looked at Duncan and whispered, "Could they have been in Paris all this time? Without anyone knowing it?"

Duncan shook his head. "I don't know… I don't think so. Joe said Ellie came looking for Methos a few weeks ago. I saw her at St. Julien's as well the other evening… albeit briefly." He pulled out the cell phone and dialed Joe's number.

"Joe… it's me. We need to talk."

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Author's Note: Immortals Jeremy Dexter and Jade are canon characters from Highlander: The Raven and their characterizations are based on the episodes they appeared in.

Jade was a competitor of Amanda as a thief. Jeremy was a friend and had worked with her. In the show... they were in different episodes. Their relationship with one another and with Matt McCormick is my creation based on what little information I have about them.