Chapter 93

Taranto, Italy, the Watcher Villa

Reagan Cole stared at the row of bodies lying on gurneys open-mouthed. She'd known immortals were here. She knew the Watchers were collecting them. She even knew Katya and a friend had been drugged but had escaped… but this was too much.

Beside her, Micah and Madrigal also stared.

"Hurry," Reagan finally said. "Start pulling out IV's. They should start coming around soon."

"All of them?" asked Madrigal as she started forward.

Reagan paused. None of the immortals should be left like this… but some were likely very, very dangerous. And they would not be happy. "Guard the doors, I'll identify them first," she said grimly… wondering if she would actually know any of them. She approached the first of the six gurneys and peered into the face of a young woman. "This one is okay!" she whispered and moved swiftly on, authorizing the removal of IV's until she reached the final two. Reagan gasped.

On one gurney lay a large man with coal-black hair; on the other lay a thin-faced woman with long red hair. Reagan shook her head. For a moment she considered using her sword, but the need for silence to cover their activities far outweighed her desire for vengeance… at least for the moment.

As Madrigal pulled the IV's of the other four, Reagan stood guard at the interior door while Micah kept an eye on their two prisoners.

"Stand away Madrigal!" Reagan said. "When they come out of it… they'll sense us and each other. They won't be happy."

The girl nodded and backed away.

One by one the immortals gasped and came to their senses. They lashed out their arms fearfully and then sat up… looking around in confusion.

"Where are we?" the young woman said, brushing her dark hair away from her exotic face.

"We're here to rescue you," Madrigal said carefully. "You were kidnapped and drugged."

"By my competitors?"

Just then the bearded man next to her revived. "What the…?" he said as he slowly rose to a sitting position. "I was signing autographs after my bravura debut in La Scala! What happened?"

The next man groaned. He raised one hand to his hawk-like features and rubbed his eyes. "I don't feel well," he finally said. "Does anyone have an aspirin? I have the most atrocious headache!"

The fourth figure… a man with light brown hair sat up quickly and leaped from the gurney in a defensive position. Cautiously he looked around him. Eyeing Madrigal, he smirked, "And you are?"

"Your saviors," Reagan said from her position behind the four. "Short story… mortals kidnapped and drugged you. We're here to get you out."

The four looked around the room and at each other as well as their three rescuers. The young woman saw the IV pole next to the gurney she'd risen from and shuddered as she backed away. "What was in that stuff?"

Reagan stepped forward and removed one set of drug pouches from an IV pole. "I have no idea… but I intend to find out."

"And you are?" the young woman said petulantly.

"That my dear Claudia," began the bearded immortal, "is Reagan Cole."

"And that's supposed to mean something to me?" She tossed her dark curly hair and seemed about ready to stamp a foot.

The bearded man chuckled. "Appreciative and thankful of others, as always, my dear lady." He reached out and kissed the back of her left hand.

"Oh…" she said smiling, evidently charmed by his manners and seemingly oblivious of his sarcasm.

"You're Claudia Jardine," Madrigal said. "MacLeod brought us your CD to listen to once. He said he knew you."

"Duncan? You know Duncan?" Claudia turned with a superior smile, then asked curiously, "Which one?"

Micah snorted, evidently exasperated at the delay. "Does it matter? We have to get out of here, pronto!"

"Can somebody explain to me what's going on?" the immortal with the headache said. "I was in a helicopter crash… The medics said I died… but then I revived and didn't have a scratch on me."

The others looked at one another with a smirk. As one they said… "Newbie!"

"Wha…?"

"Later, my dear young man… do you have a name? I'm Antonio Medici… tenore supremo!"

"Vincent Goins," the new immortal said allowing Medici to pull him up. "Don't you have a headache?"

"All in good time. Now, Reagan… if I recall your name correctly from that time in Milan… what would you have us do?"

Vincent looked around and shrank away from the sight of the last two immortals still drugged. "What about them?"

"When we leave… I want to be gone before they stir," Reagan snapped and pushed the others toward the interior door where they'd left the two orderlies.

"Why?"

"Later Vincent," Medici added with a grin.

The hawk-faced man looked down at his lack of attire. "Clothes?"

Micah grinned. "Want to strip these guys?"

"Swords?" he said next.

Reagan sighed. She looked around and saw nothing. "Sorry… we'll have to equip you later. Now let's go!"

"Well there are not enough clothes for all of us," Claudia pouted.

"Then share!" Reagan said. "Now get dressed! Madrigal… show them the way out. Micah… stay with her." Reagan was uncertain about the fourth man. While she'd known the first two… this one she didn't know. Vincent would evidently be no problem… but this man was likely dangerous.

When the four had managed to strip and pull on some of the clothes the two prisoners had been wearing, Madrigal and Micah led them to the open window where they began crawling out. Once she was certain they were out, Reagan faced the last two. One of the orderlies tried to say something through his gag… he was evidently terrified.

"I'll bet you are. Even I don't want to tangle with Kerwin Morris or Kineta. I'd hate to think how they will react upon regaining consciousness. But then again… no one deserves this!" Spitting the last words, Reagan pulled out the two IV's and rushed out of the room and through the window to the outside. As she raced across the grounds following the departing children and the others… she wondered how Phillip and Keith were doing.

-----

Phillip stood anxiously by the closed door of an office. Glancing behind him at Keith at work on the computer… downloading files onto his hand-held, Phillip mouthed, "How long?"

Keith raised a hand and spread his fingers… then returned to working the keyboard. Of the three offices they'd been through… this one looked like a main executive's office. If anything was here… any records… they would likely be here.

Keith had cracked the password-protected computer and begun a search and now was in the process of getting any files that looked like they might have something the immortals wanted.

In the hall were additional voices and sounds of movement as people apparently were beginning their day. Soon… Phillip knew… someone would enter this office. Phillip kept the trank gun ready. He still hoped to make their escape without anyone knowing they were here until they were gone.

He glanced at his watch. The guards he'd tranked earlier would begin stirring soon. He motioned to Keith to speed things along. Keith nodded. Finally he pulled the connector cable loose from the computer and nodded. Then he grinned and typed something swiftly on the keyboard and saved it… then turned it off as he and Phillip headed for the window and the grounds.

"What?" Phillip whispered.

"Just a virus," Keith said with a shrug. "One I developed years ago. It's fast and it will lock up any computers on this network when this one is booted."

Phillip chuckled lowly. "Good thought!" They hugged the wall until they reached the gate and slipped through it… then raced into the cover of the surrounding brush where they found the others.

"Four of you!" Phillip said. "Good! We need new recruits!"

"Look I want some answers!" one man said.

"In time. First… we need to get out of here before they miss you."

"We won't have long. I imagine Kerwin Morris will be tearing people apart momentarily.

"Morris?" Phillip said and glanced back. "Whew! I see why you left him behind. Anyone else?" he asked Reagan as they brought up the rear of the group.

Reagan hesitated. "Kineta."

Phillip paused. He looked back and his hands clenched. "Now that's a name I've not heard in a few centuries… and an immortal I wouldn't mind challenging."

"Get in line," spat Reagan.

Phillip nodded. "We'll talk later."

When they reached the van… all nine piled in as Phillip drove off. The rescued had many questions… all of which, Phillip assured them, he and Reagan would answer to the best of their ability as soon as they were safe. He didn't dare speed too fast. He didn't want to garner attention. The van had been muddied up and dented… so that it looked old and slow. But beneath the hood… was an engine with a lot of power.

-----

An hour later… Phillip pulled the van into a barn where they climbed out. Micah and Keith pulled the cover from another van… this one white and in mint condition.

"We'll hit the main highway with this," Phillip said as he rummaged in the back for additional pieces of clothing and tossed them to the rescued immortals. "Get dressed. These may or may not fit… the clothes were our spares… but you people need them more. We didn't know if we'd find anyone… nor that they'd need clothes"

"And swords," the thin hawk-faced man who'd introduced himself as Robert Caudill said.

Phillip nodded. "I have some spares."

Caudill smiled grimly. "Good. Being unarmed in the company of immortals I don't know is unnerving."

"Immortals? What's he talking about and do you have anything for this godawful headache?" Vincent added.

Phillip raised his eyebrows and nodded as Reagan, Micah and Madrigal mouthed, "Newbie!" silently. "Perhaps you might take him in hand Antonio? You know… explain things."

The tenor sniffed diffidently, but nodded with a smile. He settled next to Vincent on the floor in the back of the van and was soon waxing poetic about life as an immortal.

Caudill snorted during the recitation. He still didn't have a sword… and he wanted one very badly. In fact… he wanted to kill someone… and he didn't care whom.

Keith was in the passenger seat next to Phillip. Reagan had remained in the cargo area to keep an eye on the others. She'd never been around this many immortals at one time… and she was growing increasingly apprehensive. Claudia and Antonio she either knew or knew by reputation… as both were musicians in the public eye… Vincent was too new to be a threat… but Caudill… him she was not certain about.

Even the children were keeping their distance. The four of them huddled together and watched everyone with cautious eyes.

Keith yelped. "I think I've got this one open. Operation Immortal!"

"What's it say?" Phillip asked as he pulled onto the highway entrance ramp and sped up.

Let's see… It's a study of the physical nature of immortals. According to autopsy and biopsy reports… they…" he grinned, "we… are one hundred percent human. The conclusion of the report indicates that whatever makes us immortal… does not lie in the physical… and…" His voice trailed off and he was silent.

"What?" Phillip insisted.

Keith looked at him. "And that physically there is no reason mortals cannot become immortal."

Phillip shook his head. "That makes no sense. Mortals are different!"

"Evidently not physically. There are even DNA results here."

"I have a really bad feeling about all of this. When we stop… I want to contact MacLeod and Katya and the others. They need to know what is going on."

"Phillip," Keith added. "They want to kill us and take our place." He tapped the hand-held. "These Watchers want to be immortal."

"I don't think there is a way for that to happen… but it explains so much as to why our people are being killed and kidnapped."

"Yeah… that must have been what I saw in Geneva."

"What?"

"One of us… he took a quickening and then before he could revive… they shot him. His friends showed up in Geneva sometime later looking for him. An immortal woman and a guy a little bit younger than me," Keith shrugged. "He wasn't immortal."

Phillip nodded. "Were they captured, too?"

"Naw… I rode with Ellie and Derrick for a while, then left them and went back to Geneva for my stuff. That's where the Watchers almost got me."

Phillip nearly slammed on the brakes. His face paled. "Ellie? Derrick? You've seen them?"

"Yeah… friends of yours?"

Phillip nodded. He appeared shaken. "Were they all right?"

"Ahh… the kid had a bandage on one arm and looked like he was running a fever… Ellie…" Keith shook his head. "There was something going on with her. She felt like a thunderstorm on a summer day. I feared for my life. That's why I left them."

"Did they say where they were headed?"

"Paris, I think… at least that was the general direction they were headed."

Phillip gripped the wheel tightly. MacLeod had mentioned something in a recent email about Methos being missing and that he was concerned. Phillip had not been. After all… Methos, Eleanor, and the boy had been missing for eight years.

Now, Phillip realized that Methos was likely a prisoner of the Watchers. Not only that… but Eleanor might have reclaimed her darkness in her fury. And Derrick? Phillip bit his lip. Not immortal… hurt… fever? Was it his time? He couldn't be more than eighteen! It was too soon! Phillip glanced in the rear view mirror at the child immortals. Again he thought… It's too soon! Derrick still needs to grow older. Eighteen… while physically sufficient… could be a problem for an immortal. Derrick needed at least another decade if not more before he'd be strong enough to survive on his own.

When he passed a roadsign indicating how many kilometers to Paris, and which of the highways to take… Phillip took that one.

"I thought we were going to Rome?" Reagan said, thinking about Walter Green.

"Paris," Phillip spat. "We have to go to Paris."

"Why?"

Phillip glared at the road ahead. "This is bigger and far more dangerous than I thought."

Reagan sat back… still curious… but she'd wait. She could tell the Swordmaster was in no mood to talk. What's more, the expressions on the children's faces told her the same thing.