Chapter 11
Gatwick Airport
Methos had said his goodbyes to Charles and his family over breakfast. Charles had tried to persuade him to stay but he had played the recall to duty card, so the discussion was brief. He was now sat sprawled across 2 chairs in the departure lounge, his flight was due to board in less than an hour, and he wished it were sooner.
He spent the time downloading any information about Jonathan Knight and his family that he didn't already have stored on the computer. He wanted something to do on the flight and the more he could find now, the more he had to look through.
As the PA system announced that the boarding for flight BA56 would start with the first class passengers, Methos shut down his laptop and packed it back into it's bag. It didn't take long for him to find his seat and get settled down to await the boarding of all the other passengers.
The next day at the dojo
Duncan had been to a lot of small hotels that night trying to find Sandi but he had returned to the loft in the small hours of the morning with finding out anything of use. He had tried to sleep but had only managed a couple of hours, finally he had given up trying to go back to sleep and had gone down to the dojo to workout.
As he moved his body through one of his katas his thoughts turned to Sandi. How quickly we all become used to having someone around, their smile, their voice, the touch of their skin and how quickly the emptiness comes when they are no longer there.
He stood in the middle of the dojo his chest heaving from the intensive workout he had just put his body through, his face glistening with perspiration. He looked towards the door as he crossed the dojo to pick up his towel, willing it to open and for Sandi to walk in. He sighed before walking over to the office he picked up the phone book from the filing cabinet as he walked towards the desk.
Duncan sat down wiping the towel over his face as he placed the phone book on the desk and reached across for the phone. He flicked through the book until he came to the hotel listings; maybe phoning around would help to locate her. As he looked through the list of hotels and motels within the city limits Duncan knew he had his work cut out and that it could be made harder if Sandi wasn't using her real name.
Nearly an hour later Duncan stretched he had phoned nearly 25 hotels but there was no one registered with the name Knight. He was coming to the conclusion that he would have no option but to wait for her to make the next move. He was just reaching for the phone when he heard the dojo door open.
Duncan looked through the glass and could see 2 men walking towards the office. It was the 2 men from the other night, Duncan sighed as he got to his feet.
"What can I do for you gentlemen? Another workout perhaps?" Duncan said as he reached the office door.
"We want the woman," the tallest of the 2 men said as he reached under his jacket. Duncan walked out into the dojo his eyes moving from one man to the other as he slowly moved himself closer to where the quarterstaffs that were leant against the wall. "Well as you can see she's not here".
The taller man pulled out a gun pointing it at Duncan's knee "Now if I was you I'd be a bright boy and just tell us where to find her".
Duncan smiled as he put his hands behind his back grasping a quarterstaff in each "Why do you want her?"
Now the smaller of the 2 men spoke "We'll be the one's asking the questions."
The taller man held up his hand "Now I could keep blowing holes in you until you come to your senses but ammo costs money and we've only been paid for the woman. But I will kill you if I have to."
"You can try" Duncan said as he raised his eyebrows. As the taller man raised the gun Duncan threw one of the quarterstaffs at his hand. The force was so great it sent it spinning through the air. Duncan then turned his attention to the smaller man who took a step backwards as he approached but with the staff in his hand Duncan's reach was long enough to hit the man on the side of the head knocking him to the ground.
Duncan then span round to face the taller man, who was on the ground trying to retrieve the gun from under the bench where it had slid. "Now what was it you said you'd do to me? Are yes kill me wasn't it?"
The man looked around the panic obvious in his eyes his hand reaching for the staff that was lying on the floor. He got to his feet twirling the staff in front of him. Duncan smiled "Oh you want to play".
As they moved around the dojo it was obvious to Duncan that this man had trained with a staff as he was putting up quite a fight. The man managed to get a blow through Duncan's defence knocking him sideways. Duncan crouched down as the man walked towards him, his staff held behind him just resting on his shoulder.
With the battle he was having with the taller man Duncan hadn't noticed the smaller man come round and slowly crawl towards where the gun was lying. Suddenly Duncan felt the presences of one of his kind but as the taller man started to charge towards him he didn't have the time to find out who it was. Duncan swung the staff catching the man's legs, without his legs under him the momentum sent the man crashing to the ground. Duncan sprang to his feet bring the staff down inches from the neck.
The sound of a gun hammer being pulled back made Duncan turn around. What he saw was the face of a frightened man with Richie's sword at his neck. "Now, I wouldn't do that. Drop it".
Duncan smiled across at Richie "I'm glad you dropped in".
He then turned his attention back to the man sprawled out on the floor at his feet "Now, your going to tell me why you're after Sandi".
"Go to Hell" the man spat up at Duncan.
"Wrong answer" Duncan said as he brought the staff back and slammed it into the man's chest "Want to try again?"
The man yelled out in pain "Ok...ok...she's on the list".
Duncan looked over at Richie, who still had his sword to the other man's throat, before looking back down at the man at his feet "What list?"
The man swallowed hard as he thought about his options "For the tournament".
"This is all over a fencing tournament?" Duncan was a little confused as to why someone was trying to kill Sandi just because of a tournament. The man didn't answer at first so Duncan pulled the staff back. The man raised his hands "It's not an ordinary tournament...this is the first round."
"SHUT UP YOU FOOL, SHE'LL KILL US" the man Richie held screamed out. Duncan was just about to ask another question when he felt the presences of an Immortal, as he looked over at Richie he could see that he too had felt it as he moved so he could still keep the sword at the man's throat and watch the door.
The door slowly opened by a raven-haired woman dressed all in black wearing a pair of very dark glasses entered.
"At least you've got something right today" she said her voice was heavily accented as she looked first at the man at Duncan's feet then at the one Richie held. "Now if you Gentlemen would drop your weapons we can be on our way".
"Why would we do that?" Richie scoffed. She smiled first at Richie and then at Duncan. She reached inside the pockets of her long black leather coat "2 reasons mainly".
She now stood with 2 black semi automatic guns in her hands, the red dot from the laser sights were over the hearts of both Richie and Duncan.
"They're good reasons" Duncan said as he stepped back from the man on the floor, he thought he recognised the accent she had as East European. "Mac there's only one of her we could take her".
"Richie, just do as she said, let him go" Duncan said not taking his eyes from the woman in black. Richie shook his head before dropping his sword away. "Both of you go to the car and wait for me".
"But I owe this guy" the man that Richie held turned to face him.
"If you do it will be the last thing you'll ever do" the woman's voice was cold and calm. The man clenched his fist but then turned back to her before following his friend out of the dojo.
"Sorry about that Gentleman but it is so hard to find good help these days" the woman turned to leave. Duncan took a few steps forward causing her to spin around "That's far enough".
"I'm Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod" Duncan said as he stopped. The woman pushed her sunglasses onto the top of her head. Richie took a deep breath in as he starred at her eyes, they were ice blue and it wasn't just their colour that made them cold.
Duncan too couldn't help but notice her eyes and he'd never seen eyes that looked that dead on someone that was still breathing.
"Let's not make this personal, this is just business" she replied as she stared at Duncan "But seeing that you have introduced yourself it would be impolite for me not to do the same. I'm Helena Petrov...well at least in this life. Now just in case you were thinking of following me, let me make something very clear, if I feel you I will kill the first person that crosses my path".
"But that's murder. You won't get away with it" Richie blurted out. Helena smiled "It is what I do and I am very good at it. Now do you understand?"
Duncan nodded "We understand".
Helena said nothing more before turning and leaving the dojo. Richie started to make for the door but Duncan's arm stopped him. "We can't just let them get away, Mac".
Duncan sighed, "We don't have a choice".
"But she can't mean what she said" Richie questioned as he followed Duncan towards the office. Duncan stopped and looked at Richie "Do you know her Mac?"
Duncan wiped his hand over his face "Not personally but I have heard of her and she means exactly what she said."
Richie reached out a hand stopping Duncan as he continued to walk towards the office "So what do we do now?"
"We have to find Sandi before she does".
Joe's Bar the next day
Methos opened the bar door at first it looked deserted until Joe came out of the door that led to his office. "Hi Joe, how's things?"
"Beer?" Joe asked as he reached for a glass. "Yeah".
Methos sat on a bar stool placing his bag on the stool next to him; he tapped his fingers on the bar while he waited for Joe to pour his beer. As Joe handed the glass to him he said, "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"
Methos took a drink of his beer "Arr, yes. I meant to call you but you know how hectic airports can be. I sorry but I had to use your log in and password."
"How the hell did you do that? I never gave you my password." Methos just smirked
"Oh forget it. I've changed it now anyway" Joe said as he put a small brown book onto the bar "I knew you'd used my password when this arrived. Why do you want this particular Chronicle?"
"Because I think he has something to do with Sandi turning up at Mac's door," Methos replied before he took another drink of his beer.
"What has Lopez got to do with Mac's friend" Joe questioned as he poured himself a beer. Methos opened his bag and pulled out some of the papers Charles had found for him handing them to Joe. He let Joe have time to scan the papers while he drank some more of his beer. "I think he killed Sandi's father but I needed his Chronicle to be sure".
Joe pushed Lopez's Chronicle across the bar to Methos; he picked it up and starts to flick through the pages. Joe rubs his hand over his beard "I've read all of Mac's Chronicles there's no mention of a Lopez".
"Arr, here it is" Methos said as he looks up at Joe.
Gatwick Airport
Methos had said his goodbyes to Charles and his family over breakfast. Charles had tried to persuade him to stay but he had played the recall to duty card, so the discussion was brief. He was now sat sprawled across 2 chairs in the departure lounge, his flight was due to board in less than an hour, and he wished it were sooner.
He spent the time downloading any information about Jonathan Knight and his family that he didn't already have stored on the computer. He wanted something to do on the flight and the more he could find now, the more he had to look through.
As the PA system announced that the boarding for flight BA56 would start with the first class passengers, Methos shut down his laptop and packed it back into it's bag. It didn't take long for him to find his seat and get settled down to await the boarding of all the other passengers.
The next day at the dojo
Duncan had been to a lot of small hotels that night trying to find Sandi but he had returned to the loft in the small hours of the morning with finding out anything of use. He had tried to sleep but had only managed a couple of hours, finally he had given up trying to go back to sleep and had gone down to the dojo to workout.
As he moved his body through one of his katas his thoughts turned to Sandi. How quickly we all become used to having someone around, their smile, their voice, the touch of their skin and how quickly the emptiness comes when they are no longer there.
He stood in the middle of the dojo his chest heaving from the intensive workout he had just put his body through, his face glistening with perspiration. He looked towards the door as he crossed the dojo to pick up his towel, willing it to open and for Sandi to walk in. He sighed before walking over to the office he picked up the phone book from the filing cabinet as he walked towards the desk.
Duncan sat down wiping the towel over his face as he placed the phone book on the desk and reached across for the phone. He flicked through the book until he came to the hotel listings; maybe phoning around would help to locate her. As he looked through the list of hotels and motels within the city limits Duncan knew he had his work cut out and that it could be made harder if Sandi wasn't using her real name.
Nearly an hour later Duncan stretched he had phoned nearly 25 hotels but there was no one registered with the name Knight. He was coming to the conclusion that he would have no option but to wait for her to make the next move. He was just reaching for the phone when he heard the dojo door open.
Duncan looked through the glass and could see 2 men walking towards the office. It was the 2 men from the other night, Duncan sighed as he got to his feet.
"What can I do for you gentlemen? Another workout perhaps?" Duncan said as he reached the office door.
"We want the woman," the tallest of the 2 men said as he reached under his jacket. Duncan walked out into the dojo his eyes moving from one man to the other as he slowly moved himself closer to where the quarterstaffs that were leant against the wall. "Well as you can see she's not here".
The taller man pulled out a gun pointing it at Duncan's knee "Now if I was you I'd be a bright boy and just tell us where to find her".
Duncan smiled as he put his hands behind his back grasping a quarterstaff in each "Why do you want her?"
Now the smaller of the 2 men spoke "We'll be the one's asking the questions."
The taller man held up his hand "Now I could keep blowing holes in you until you come to your senses but ammo costs money and we've only been paid for the woman. But I will kill you if I have to."
"You can try" Duncan said as he raised his eyebrows. As the taller man raised the gun Duncan threw one of the quarterstaffs at his hand. The force was so great it sent it spinning through the air. Duncan then turned his attention to the smaller man who took a step backwards as he approached but with the staff in his hand Duncan's reach was long enough to hit the man on the side of the head knocking him to the ground.
Duncan then span round to face the taller man, who was on the ground trying to retrieve the gun from under the bench where it had slid. "Now what was it you said you'd do to me? Are yes kill me wasn't it?"
The man looked around the panic obvious in his eyes his hand reaching for the staff that was lying on the floor. He got to his feet twirling the staff in front of him. Duncan smiled "Oh you want to play".
As they moved around the dojo it was obvious to Duncan that this man had trained with a staff as he was putting up quite a fight. The man managed to get a blow through Duncan's defence knocking him sideways. Duncan crouched down as the man walked towards him, his staff held behind him just resting on his shoulder.
With the battle he was having with the taller man Duncan hadn't noticed the smaller man come round and slowly crawl towards where the gun was lying. Suddenly Duncan felt the presences of one of his kind but as the taller man started to charge towards him he didn't have the time to find out who it was. Duncan swung the staff catching the man's legs, without his legs under him the momentum sent the man crashing to the ground. Duncan sprang to his feet bring the staff down inches from the neck.
The sound of a gun hammer being pulled back made Duncan turn around. What he saw was the face of a frightened man with Richie's sword at his neck. "Now, I wouldn't do that. Drop it".
Duncan smiled across at Richie "I'm glad you dropped in".
He then turned his attention back to the man sprawled out on the floor at his feet "Now, your going to tell me why you're after Sandi".
"Go to Hell" the man spat up at Duncan.
"Wrong answer" Duncan said as he brought the staff back and slammed it into the man's chest "Want to try again?"
The man yelled out in pain "Ok...ok...she's on the list".
Duncan looked over at Richie, who still had his sword to the other man's throat, before looking back down at the man at his feet "What list?"
The man swallowed hard as he thought about his options "For the tournament".
"This is all over a fencing tournament?" Duncan was a little confused as to why someone was trying to kill Sandi just because of a tournament. The man didn't answer at first so Duncan pulled the staff back. The man raised his hands "It's not an ordinary tournament...this is the first round."
"SHUT UP YOU FOOL, SHE'LL KILL US" the man Richie held screamed out. Duncan was just about to ask another question when he felt the presences of an Immortal, as he looked over at Richie he could see that he too had felt it as he moved so he could still keep the sword at the man's throat and watch the door.
The door slowly opened by a raven-haired woman dressed all in black wearing a pair of very dark glasses entered.
"At least you've got something right today" she said her voice was heavily accented as she looked first at the man at Duncan's feet then at the one Richie held. "Now if you Gentlemen would drop your weapons we can be on our way".
"Why would we do that?" Richie scoffed. She smiled first at Richie and then at Duncan. She reached inside the pockets of her long black leather coat "2 reasons mainly".
She now stood with 2 black semi automatic guns in her hands, the red dot from the laser sights were over the hearts of both Richie and Duncan.
"They're good reasons" Duncan said as he stepped back from the man on the floor, he thought he recognised the accent she had as East European. "Mac there's only one of her we could take her".
"Richie, just do as she said, let him go" Duncan said not taking his eyes from the woman in black. Richie shook his head before dropping his sword away. "Both of you go to the car and wait for me".
"But I owe this guy" the man that Richie held turned to face him.
"If you do it will be the last thing you'll ever do" the woman's voice was cold and calm. The man clenched his fist but then turned back to her before following his friend out of the dojo.
"Sorry about that Gentleman but it is so hard to find good help these days" the woman turned to leave. Duncan took a few steps forward causing her to spin around "That's far enough".
"I'm Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod" Duncan said as he stopped. The woman pushed her sunglasses onto the top of her head. Richie took a deep breath in as he starred at her eyes, they were ice blue and it wasn't just their colour that made them cold.
Duncan too couldn't help but notice her eyes and he'd never seen eyes that looked that dead on someone that was still breathing.
"Let's not make this personal, this is just business" she replied as she stared at Duncan "But seeing that you have introduced yourself it would be impolite for me not to do the same. I'm Helena Petrov...well at least in this life. Now just in case you were thinking of following me, let me make something very clear, if I feel you I will kill the first person that crosses my path".
"But that's murder. You won't get away with it" Richie blurted out. Helena smiled "It is what I do and I am very good at it. Now do you understand?"
Duncan nodded "We understand".
Helena said nothing more before turning and leaving the dojo. Richie started to make for the door but Duncan's arm stopped him. "We can't just let them get away, Mac".
Duncan sighed, "We don't have a choice".
"But she can't mean what she said" Richie questioned as he followed Duncan towards the office. Duncan stopped and looked at Richie "Do you know her Mac?"
Duncan wiped his hand over his face "Not personally but I have heard of her and she means exactly what she said."
Richie reached out a hand stopping Duncan as he continued to walk towards the office "So what do we do now?"
"We have to find Sandi before she does".
Joe's Bar the next day
Methos opened the bar door at first it looked deserted until Joe came out of the door that led to his office. "Hi Joe, how's things?"
"Beer?" Joe asked as he reached for a glass. "Yeah".
Methos sat on a bar stool placing his bag on the stool next to him; he tapped his fingers on the bar while he waited for Joe to pour his beer. As Joe handed the glass to him he said, "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"
Methos took a drink of his beer "Arr, yes. I meant to call you but you know how hectic airports can be. I sorry but I had to use your log in and password."
"How the hell did you do that? I never gave you my password." Methos just smirked
"Oh forget it. I've changed it now anyway" Joe said as he put a small brown book onto the bar "I knew you'd used my password when this arrived. Why do you want this particular Chronicle?"
"Because I think he has something to do with Sandi turning up at Mac's door," Methos replied before he took another drink of his beer.
"What has Lopez got to do with Mac's friend" Joe questioned as he poured himself a beer. Methos opened his bag and pulled out some of the papers Charles had found for him handing them to Joe. He let Joe have time to scan the papers while he drank some more of his beer. "I think he killed Sandi's father but I needed his Chronicle to be sure".
Joe pushed Lopez's Chronicle across the bar to Methos; he picked it up and starts to flick through the pages. Joe rubs his hand over his beard "I've read all of Mac's Chronicles there's no mention of a Lopez".
"Arr, here it is" Methos said as he looks up at Joe.