Chapter 101

Paris, the grove

"One more time."

Eleanor, curled in one of the wooden chairs… hugging her knees to her chest, chuckled. "How many more times?"

Duncan glared at her. "All their lives might depend on this. Again."

Eleanor rose to her feet, closed her eyes and seemed to find what she sought. Duncan suddenly clasped her and twirled her about several times. She wavered a moment and then put her arm straight out, her finger pointing out the window.

Duncan quickly oriented using the compass and the map and chuckled. "Four times and you haven't wavered one iota from the same direction. Not just the same general direction… You're dead on the same direction."

Eleanor shrugged and re-settled into the chair. She'd been quiet since awakening… and impish, Duncan thought, as if she'd just spent the last few hours with Methos rather than here. There was that same smug humor in her eyes that Duncan had often seen in his friend's eyes over the years.

He glanced around the room. Derrick had returned to studying the two laptop screens. Duncan could see no sudden glimmer of understanding on the boy's part, nor had he had a chance to talk to him about his own thoughts regarding the clues he'd found in the game.

Looking tired, Grace sat in the chair next to Eleanor. She'd wanted Duncan to call Amy back… get the latest location for John. Duncan had shaken his head.

"They might be taking him here," Duncan had indicated the line on the map… "or somewhere else. Unlike a bird… I can't fly directly there. I want to be certain of where we are going before we go and what we might be walking into. To that end," he'd held up his PPC.

At one point, noticing a short cryptic email from Phillip, he'd grumbled about the code. Eleanor had reached out and smirked. "He says they liberated six. No names… no locations. He wants to know if you've seen me?"

Duncan snorted. "Tell him yes, and find out where they are."

Eleanor shook her head. "Names and places don't work well in this code. It's too vague. Methos always wanted it vague enough so that no one could crack it,"

Duncan leaned over the table and stared at the map. He'd been entering the coordinates Katya had forwarded on the map… and while nothing was along the line he'd drawn… he was looking at the others. "He must be in Athens. There's something there according to Katya."

"Why Athens?"

"Amanda told me he took the inhabitants of the convent to some island in Greece. He wouldn't leave them unguarded. He wouldn't have gone far."

"Niebos." Ellie chuckled. "It seems all our secret places will be known before this is over."

Duncan pursed his brow and shook his head. "One of these days… you must all come clean and tell me the whole story."

Ellie smiled, laying her cheek on her upraised knees. "Trust… " She smiled. "If we can learn trust… perhaps a future is still possible." Once more, she seemed more with Methos than here.

Duncan nodded thoughtfully, then glanced up as Alisaunne entered.

"We need to go, Duncan."

"We need to know where, first."

"Ste. Genevieve." Alisaunne's face almost seemed to glow. "You must take me there… now. From there we can rescue Ian and the others."

"What's at the convent?" Duncan straightened; his mind focused on anything he might have seen there over the years.

"The key to the game." She pointed at the laptops. "Darius' journal is there. I saw it when I was there all those years ago. I knew it looked familiar… but until now… I didn't realize what it was."

"And now you do?"

Alisaunne nodded tearfully. "I saw Uncle Jacques… Darius… writing in it once. He wrote my name on a page… and told me some day… when I was older… I 'd understand."

"Can't that wait?"

Alisaunne shook her head. "It's on the way. If we leave now… we'll be that much closer when the time comes."

"Transportation would be nice. That stolen Peugeot won't work," grumbled Duncan.

"We have the Land Rover," Ellie added.

"Methos' Land Rover?" Duncan stared at her.

Ellie nodded. "It's near here… Derrick and I used it to come to Paris. It'll hold six… maybe seven." She smiled. "I'm small… I don't take up much room."

Duncan straightened thoughtfully. Gazing at the maps he considered the direction that Ellie kept giving for Methos' location… the general direction he was plotting for John's movements… and the location of Ste. Genevieve. It seemed out of the way… more east than southeast… but was it?

"Amanda said the Watchers were there. They likely went through the place after she and the others left. It might no longer be there."

"I doubt it would have made an impression on them. It was just one more book in the library," Alisaunne insisted.

Duncan stared at her. "The library?"

She nodded. "The only reason I recall it… is that when I saw it there… I thought it seemed familiar… but until now… I never knew why."

"We have to do something, Duncan," Grace insisted. "I don't want to just wait and then arrive too late. If we go… we will be closer."

"We may also be noticed. It might be better to wait until we know exactly where they are being held. Then move swiftly. If we expose ourselves too soon… we may lose the opportunity."

The cell phone rang. Duncan answered, barking an, "Amy?"

There was a long pause. "Monsieur MacLeod? I am Pierre Gautier, a friend of Joseph Dawson."

Duncan started. "How did you get this number?"

"Madame Meyers. She suggested we speak. Since calls might be monitored… may I suggest a location… a public one… one of your choosing."

"Why?"

There was an audible sigh. "Some of us are attempting to wrest control of our organization from the current power base. Unfortunately, attacks on several facilities and the deaths of several of our number are making this difficult."

"We didn't kill anyone this morning."

"We really need to speak in private."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Joseph and I are old friends. We went through the Academy together. You have no reason to trust me… and with his unfortunate situation… he cannot vouch for me. Madame Meyers knows me. She's stressed by what has happened to Joseph, as well as by the threats to her family. She suggested I speak with you."

"Then talk," Duncan said darkly.

"Not on the phone. I will meet you when and where you say. I will come alone."

Duncan stared out the window at the damaged form of St. Julien Le Pauvre. Fire personnel were still milling over the grounds… as if the answers to the sudden explosion in the old church might be found in bits of debris. "Not holy ground… I want to be able to fight back."

"Exactement! Of course."

Duncan gave him a time and place and shut the phone off. He met Ellie's quizzical expression. "You said trust a while ago. Maybe this is the first test of that." He faced Grace. "If we can trust them… if they work with us… we'll have a better chance of rescuing John." He looked at Alisaunne. "We'll go to Ste. Genevieve. But not yet." He glanced at Derrick, still sitting on the floor. "The journal will wait. The game will wait. We have to focus on our lost friends… or not even the answers in that thing will save any of us."

As Amanda and Cory walked through the door, Duncan smiled at Amanda warmly. "Everyone gather around… I think I have an idea as to how we can work this."

-----

Southeastern France

Phillip's face broke into a smile and he chuckled.

"What?" asked Keith. He was still accelerating the van along the highway toward Paris.

"Ease up lad, things are not quite as earnest as I feared. Evidently Eleanor is fine and with the Highlander." He tapped Keith's hand-held computer. "I need to get one of these. This is far better than my old PPC."

Reagan piped up from the rear of the van. "The Highlander? Duncan? Where is he?"

"Paris at the moment. He wants us to meet him if we can. He has an idea of where the others are being held… of where their final destination might be." Then Phillip's brow knotted with worry. "Odd… he seems concerned about Nick."

"Nick? Who's Nick?" Keith asked.

Phillip shook his head. Had something happened on Niebos? Urgently Phillip fired off an urgent email to the island's constable. He suddenly felt like he'd made a major mistake. "I need to make a phone call. This thing wouldn't let me do that would it?"

Keith grinned. "I told Reagan it has all the latest upgrades." He pulled off to the side of the road, reaching for the computer. Swiftly he enabled a program and handed it back with a shrug. "Try it now."

Phillip punched in a number and waited for some time for an answer. There was none. "Damn!" he snapped. He rubbed one hand across his mouth, stroking his chin and beard.

"What's wrong?" Micah asked as he leaned between the seats.

"There's no answer at the house in Athens and there should be." He met the boy's worried gaze. "Something's happened to Denara and Ursa."

Phillip stared into the distance. Paris was closer… but he was likely needed elsewhere. Absently he tapped the computer with a slow thoughtful beat.

MacLeod wanted his assistance in rescuing Methos. But if something had happened to Valeraine and Nick… then any good they might do here would be negated if Nestor found his freedom. "Turn around," he finally told Keith.

"Aren't we joining MacLeod?" Reagan asked.

Phillip stared at the immortals in the back. "If you want to take them onto the rendezvous with MacLeod, Reagan… that's fine. But I have something else I have to do." He looked meaningfully at Micah.

The boy's face paled and he sat back. "You left them to rescue us." He looked at the other three children who likewise understood Phillip's sudden unease. They nodded at Micah, each of them reaching out hands to one another. "We are with you, Swordmaster. We started this together… we will finish it together."

"Same here," Keith said as he shifted into drive to head back onto the highway… his plan was to cross onto the median to make his way to the southern lanes.

"Wait…" Claudia asked in confusion. "Does this mean we're going back there? What about Duncan?"

Phillip lay one hand on Keith's arm. "Anyone who wants out… anyone who wants to go elsewhere is free to do so. If you want to join MacLeod, I'll give you the information and let him know. I, however, need the computer and the van. Time is of the essence."

"I'll take my chances on my own," Robert said. He opened the side door to climb out. "Sword?"

Reagan opened a box and tossed him one. "Hope that'll do."

Robert caught it expertly and lunged in a few practice moves. Then he hid the sword within his coat. "It'll do." He saluted Reagan with fingers to his brow. "My thanks. Until we meet again." He slammed the van door.

"Anyone else for getting out?" Phillip asked.

"I don't want to be alone…"Claudia said, "But I do want to see Duncan."

"I won't lie to you Claudia. You might be better off getting out. We're probably headed into more danger than you can imagine."

Claudia looked at the others who seemed intent on remaining where they were. She rubbed her arms and sniffed. "Well if all of you are remaining, then I suppose I shall as well."

"Then that's that. Head south Keith… toward Marseilles. I need to check into renting a plane."

"Where are we headed?"

Phillip shook his head. "I'd say home… but I have a feeling… it's into the mouth of hell."

Keith smirked, "That's comforting."

Phillip glanced back at the children with a wink, "By Jove I think he's got it!"