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Strasbourg, a middle-class hotel

"So, you have a plan?" Joe asked, while he carefully sat down on one of the comfortable-looking chairs that were grouped around a big wooden table. On it stood a tablet with typical French breakfast. After helping himself to one of the croissants and a cub of coffee, Joe eyed the Ancient who was spread on the sofa next to him a bit closer. His feet were resting in typical Methos-like-manner on the small, narrow table in front of him, in his right hand the unavoidable beer. All in all Methos made a very relaxed impression.

"Yep," Methos responded.

When Joe realized that the Ancient wasn't going to say anything more to the topic without further questioning, he finally asked, "and?"

"I'm going to meet de Monet." Methos took another sip of his beer.

"And?" Joe repeated, a slight undertone of impatience now obvious in his voice.

"And you were right: I'm going to need my suit."

"Damn, Methos! It would be nice if I hadn't to drag all information out of you," Joe complained.

Methos sat up and placed the beer on the table in front of him. "I'm going to attend the exhibition in two days." A smile appeared on his face as he continued, "my name is Adrian Danton. I'm a doctorate who writes a thesis about 'French artists throughout the ages'. That provides me with a good reason to be interested in the exhibition… And, of course, I'm going to meet de Monet there."

Joe spread some jam on his croissant and then took a bite. After he had swallowed it, he once again eyed the Ancient. "And what makes you so sure that de Monet will be there?" He watched the smile on Methos's face turn into a grin.

"Oh, trust me, Joe, de Monet will definitely be there… A quite wealthy, and I'm afraid also unknown art-collector, has lent the gallery a painting by Albrecht Kauw, a relatively well-known French painter who also happened to be a real child of Strasbourg. He is famous for his paintings showing nature. But he also painted – and that is quite of interest for us – the picture "The dance of Death" in 1649. I would be surprised if de Monet hadn't heard of it… I'm convinced that he will find the lent picture quite fascinating because it shows Death riding on a white horse, surrounded by red roses."

"You are the unknown collector," Joe guessed while he once again refilled his cup with the still slightly smoking coffee. Immediately a very mouth-watering aroma began to fill the room.

"Yes, you're right… I knew Albrecht Kauw in person. We both met in 1649 in Bern where he painted the picture 'Dance of Death'. He later also created the second picture which I lent the gallery, giving it to me as a gift for having helped him to become acquainted with his later wife." The grin on his face widened. "Of course he never knew that…" Seeing the sudden interest in Joe's eyes, Methos quickly interrupted himself and instead grabbed his beer, taking a deep sip.

"However," he then continued, "the picture will be presented to the public at the exhibition in two days. De Monet will be there, of that I'm sure." He hesitated for a second before he once again addresses the old watcher, "and Joe, it would be better if we weren't seen together; we don't want to arise any unnecessary suspicion. I mean, if de Monet has any information on Mac - and it wouldn't surprise me much because the man is not an idiot - he probably, too, knows about you. But I really can't imagine that he has anything on me… even less likely because I'm no longer Adam Pierson now.

2 days later, at the exhibition

Two days later, Methos stood, clothed in a dark silken suit, in front of Albrecht Kauw's picture that was hung, hidden behind safety glass, one a prominent place in the centre of the art-gallery. It was late in time, almost midnight, so most of the guest already had left the exhibition. Methos took another sip of the champagne he hold in his right hand, regretting for the at least 100th time that it was not beer instead. Oh yes, MacLeod was definitely going to pay for all of this… and that for a very long time.

"Monsieur Danton," he then suddenly heard the slightly hoarse-sounding voice of Jacques Galliome, the owner of the art-gallery say behind him. As he turned, he found himself face-to-face with the longhaired artist and a good-looking, about 40-year-old man with short blonde hair. The man's features were very fine-shaped and clearly reflected his intelligence. He was a relatively tall man whose very expensive-looking black silken suit underlined his well-built body. But the most remarkable on him were his eyes: they were of such a deep blue that Methos for a second almost meant to look into the depths of a sea.

"Monsieur de Monet," Galliome nodded to the other, "may I introduce you to Monsieur Danton… he is the young doctorate I told you about." He then looked to Methos, "Monsieur Danton, this is Monsieur de Monet, an art collector and very generous sponsor of our exhibition." He smiled.

Methos watched de Monet examine him for a moment, obviously assessing him very closely. Then the other finally smiled and offered his left, very cared-for-looking hand to Methos. "Bonjour Monsieur Danton, I'm honoured to meet you," Methos heard de Monet's cultivated voice greet him.

The moment they shook hands, Methos noticed a small gold ring sticking on the other man's middle finger. When he looked a bit closer, he saw that it was shaped like a scull.

"I see that you are interested in my ring," de Monet said with the hint of a smile playing around his mouth, his obviously sharp eyes having detected Methos's look. He raised his hand and eyed the ring for a moment, saying, "I've had it made for me by a very talented young designer." He smiled. "You must know I've a weakness for Death since my youth." For a short moment something flickered in his eyes, something Methos wasn't able to interpret.

Then the moment was gone, and the smile appeared once again on de Monet's face, making it look younger than the 40 years, it actually was. De Monet then turned to the painting. "That's also why I'm totally overwhelmed by this… You must know that I'm a big admirer of Albrecht Kauw's other painting "Dance of Death". I was really surprised to hear that another similar work of his had been lent to the gallery – a painting I haven't been aware actually exists. To be honest: at the beginning I thought it be a fake; but experts think that it is original." He looked to Galliome. "What a pity that we don't know the identity of the owner; I really would like to buy this picture from him."

"Yes, what a pity," Galliome confirmed him. "An intermediary from America sent us the picture. He also let us known that his client wanted to lent us the picture for the exhibition, but else wanted to remain unknown." He shrugged, "we are not able to tell who he is…. If you ask me, he…"

Galliome was not able to finish his sentence because he was interrupted by de Monet. "Jacques, bon ami, we really don't want to bore you with a conversation about Albrecht Kauw; so why don't you go, and look after your other guests?" Although his words were spoken in a very friendly way, Methos clearly understood them for the order they were. And Galliome obviously did, too. He smiled, though it looked at the first moment a bit forced to Methos, and then excused himself, saying, "Bien entendu! Of course, you are right Louis. I'm afraid that you have to excuse me… Monsieur Danton." He nodded in Methos direction; then he turned and left with quick steps.

"So, Monsieur Danton, Galliome told me that you are writing a thesis on French artist? Are you going to write something on Kauw, too?" de Monet then again addressed Methos.

"Oh, yes," Methos smiled, too, when he faced the other, "I plan to dedicate him a whole chapter." He stepped closer to the painting until he stood quite in front of it, then turned and once again faced de Monet. "I find his interpretation of Death quite fascinating. His Death is totally different to the other Death-portrayals I've seen so far. It looks more…," Methos hesitated and looked into the eyes of de Monet. He saw fascination gleam there; obviously, he had de Monet's undivided attention now. "…human," he then simply finished, once again turning to the picture.

"Yes," de Monet whispered behind him, the fascination he was feeling clearly obvious in his voice. He stepped closer to Methos until they almost touched each other, and then remained there, starring for a moment at the picture before he finally inhaled very deeply. "Why don't we sit on the couch," he then pointed to the small black leather couch that stood only a few steps away from them, "and talk about Kauw. Apparently you are as interested in his work as I am." He turned his head, searching for one of the hostesses. After he had showed her with a nod to bring them each a new glass of champagne, he followed Methos to the couch.

Only a few meters away from them

Alexandre Lafiette stood only a few meters away from Person and the other man, hidden behind one of the big columns that stabilized the enormous hale of the gallery. Pretending to be lost in thoughts while admiring the sculpture in front of him, he managed to send frequent, quick glances to Pierson and his conversion-partner.

A slight proud smile spread on Lafiette's face as he remembered how he had gotten himself a suit and an invitation to the exhibition… and that within the shortness of time! Other watchers very likely wouldn't have made it, but for a watcher of his quality it had – of course – not been a big problem. If the bookworm was able to get himself invited, than he was able to do the same, too. His smile deepened as he once again glanced at Pierson: even if the bookworm had discovered him on the plane - what of course was not very likely - he never would be able to recognize Lafiette now, because he not only wore a suit, but also had equipped himself with a blonde wig and a pair of eyeglasses that made him look several years older.

A slight frown replaced the smile as he remembered that he was not able to observe Dawson at the moment; though he was relatively sure that the watcher was lying in his hotel bed, hopefully deeply asleep by now. He knew that Dr.Zoll would send him another watcher to observe both Pierson and Dawson if he asked her for one… the problem was only that he then also would have to share the honour of finding the Ancient with the other, and that wasn't something he was very eager to: Methos belonged to him, and only to him!

Which brought him back to his greatest problem: he had been observing Dawson – and now also Pierson – for several weeks now, and there still hadn't been the slightest evidence of the Ancient. Maybe it was really only rumour that MacLeod was in contact with him. Lafiette immediately shook his head, forcing the unwelcome thought away. He only had to look a bit closer, somewhere in this whole affair had to be a trace to the Ancient, he reassured himself.

Lafiette sighed and then focussed his attention back on the pair in front of him. "Why don't we sit on the couch," he heard the blonde man say while he simultaneously pointed to the small black sofa that stood next to them, "and talk about Kauw. Apparently you are as interested in his work as I am." The words brought Lafiette to sigh even deeper. How very interesting… I always wanted to hear something about Kauw, he thought mockingly to himself while his left hand clenched around his half-empty glass. At least the champagne is excellent, he then tried to find something positive in the situation. And if I drink much more of it, I even may find the art-conversation interesting… or maybe not.

Next day, 10 o'clock

"So you are saying that you actually like de Monet." Joe, sitting on the sofa in Methos's hotel-room, asked the Immortal in slight disbelieve.

Methos stopped for a moment the search for his shirt and looked at the watcher. "I only said that I found him interesting. He is a very cultivated man," he then answered while he stroke with his right hand over his hair, which was still sticking in all directions away from his head because he had climbed out of bed just recently.

"Damn, he has kidnapped Mac, Methos! Who to hell knows what he has done to him."

Sighing inwardly, Methos raised several old clothes from one of the chairs, hoping that somewhere under them, he would find his shirt – but his hope was in vain. He put the clothes back before he then once again eyed the watcher instead. "As I said before: I found him interesting; that doesn't mean that I like him, ok?"

"Hmm," he heard Joe snort.

"By the way, Joe, do you know where Amanda is at the moment?"

This caught Joe's attention. "What do you want from the little thief?"

Methos's only answer was a smile.

After a few seconds of eyeing the Ancient, Joe's eyes narrowed, apparently having come to the right conclusion. "No," he finally shook his head, "you don't want her to pinch something for you." Joe stared at the Ancient who continued to smile. "Methos!"

"Joe, if we want to rescue Mac, we have to grasp to drastic measures… We need to get into de Monet's house to search for evidence on Mac's whereabouts. The problem is that de Monet will not let us in so easily. According to the information my informant sent to me, his house is secured by not only dogs, but also a ultra-new alarm system that is only to be switched off from the inside of the house. I want Amanda to brake in and search for any information on MacLeod while I, after disabling the system, distract de Monet. The only problem is that we have to give de Monet a good reason to let me in. You know from the watcher report that he normally doesn't have any visitors invited into his house.

A frown appeared on Joe's face as he over-thought Methos's words. "So what do you suggest?"

The smile on Methos's face deepened. "Oh, you will see in time, Joe. Now better call Amanda and tell her to get her little arse here - and that as fast as possible."

Note: The French painter Albrecht Kauw really existed; he really is famous for his pictures showing nature, but he also painted 'Dance of Death', though he copied it from another painter.