Chapter 18

It was growing dark as Methos approached the large house; he had parked his car a little way down the road from a pair of oversized, ornate, black, wrought iron gates that appeared to have some kind of crest at the top. When he had driven past he had noticed the security cameras that overlooked the gates and he didn't want anyone inside the house to be aware of his presence until the last possible moment. On either side of the gates was a brick wall it appeared to run the length of the perimeter of the property, Methos positioned his car to allow him only a small leap from the car's roof to make it to the top of the wall.

He sat on top of the wall for a few moments as he scanned the garden below, from where he was sitting he could just make out several other cameras that were mounted around the house. When he was sure that the area directly around the wall was clear he lowered himself, almost silently to the ground. Two of the cameras at the front of the house panned across the drive in a 180-degree arc, the camera on the side of the house didn't appear to move and from looking at its position Methos believed he had spotted a blind spot. Cautiously he moved forward keeping to what cover the garden had to offer but the closer to the house he came the less there was.

Methos could feel his heart pounding as he placed his back against the last large tree before the house. He had noticed that there wasn't a light on that he could see in the house but it was quite a large house, so there could still be people inside on the far side, which he couldn't see from where he was standing. He waited until the front camera had panned back towards the drive before running to a doorway that was recessed into the building. He felt sure that if Lopez were home he would have sensed him by now, so if he wasn't here Methos believed that the answer to where he was lay inside the house.

Taking out a well used small, brown, leather pouch Methos pulled out a set of skeleton keys, he wasn't as good as Amanda with locks but it didn't take him to long before he heard the soft click of the lock opening. Slowly, he pushed the door open, he stopped suddenly as the door started to squeak, the sound seemingly very loud to him in the still evening air. When several minutes had past and no one had arrived to investigate the noise he pushed the door until there was enough room for him to enter. In the dim light he could see that he was in a hallway, it was very plainly finished and had a wooden floor that although appeared clean was obviously well worn. Ahead of him there were three doors, one on either side but about 10 feet apart and one in front of him, carefully he moved up the hallway stopping briefly to listen until he had reached the far door.

Pressing his ear against the door he listened for anything that would give him a clue to what lay beyond, the only thing he could hear was the soft ticking of a clock. As his hand reached for the door handle the clock began to chime, Methos instinctively pulled his hand away at the sudden noise. When the clock had finished chiming the time Methos couldn't help looking at his watch to see if they matched, give or take a few seconds both watch and clock agree it was 8 O'clock. He reached again for the handle and in one fluid movement he had opened the door and had stepped through closing the door behind him. He now stood in another hallway but this one was much larger than the other and had a large white staircase in the centre and the hallway stretched out either side. Methos knew he was looking for a study or office of some kind where Lopez would keep his papers and he decided that it was more likely to be located on the ground floor, so that would be where he would start his search.

Methos's eyes darted back and forward as he made his way down the hallway to the polished wooden doors, the first one lead to the dining room that had a long polished dark wood table and about dozen straight back, wooden chairs arranged around it. The door across the hall lead to a room that looked more promising, inside he could see a desk by the wall, there was a computer terminal sat on the far end with a desk lamp in the middle just behind a pile of paper. Next to the desk was a four-drawer filing cabinet Methos had one last look behind him before he closed the door as quietly as he could behind him.

When he reached the desk he flicked the switch to the lamp with one hand while the other switched on the computer. As he waited it seemed to take an eternity for the computer screen to light up.

"Damn!" he said under his breath as a password window appeared, he pulled the chair out from where it had been pushed under the desk and sat down as he tapped away on the keyboard. He first tried the obvious things from Lopez's past, his birth date, the date of his first death and even a few of Lopez's wives and lovers names that he could remember from his chronicle but nothing worked. Methos rested his head in his hands for a couple of minutes while he thought, suddenly he looked up and smiled, then slowly he typed INQUISITION pressing enter Methos held his breath.

The screen went dark and Methos flopped back in the chair defeated but then the screen came alive again and he moved back to the edge of the seat. He grasped the mouse and opened the file listing, his eyes quickly roaming over the file names. With his attention focused on the files Methos hadn't noticed the small door behind him opening.

Methos wiped his hand over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose but his hand moved slowly away as something in his being started to stir but before he could turn around he felt something hard in his back.

"Stand up slowly" came a voice, Methos slowly stood up "Now turn around".

Methos couldn't believe he hadn't heard this man enter the room but there was something familiar in his voice. Slowly, he turned around.

"Adam!" the man exclaimed.

"Arr Ben, good to see you" Methos replied as he looked into the eyes of a man he had known for nearly 5 years.

"Adam what are you doing here?" Ben asked as he waved his hands around. "Erm do you mind putting that away first?"

Ben's eyes followed Methos's to the gun in his hand "Oh sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone and Lopez has a lot of let's just say they aren't very friendly."

Ben placed his gun back into the holster under his jacket.

"That's not normal Watcher issue," Methos said as he motioned towards Ben's holster.

"No but round here it's healthier to have one. Anyway, that's enough about me. Are you going to tell me what you're doing here?"

Methos looked back at the computer he knew he couldn't tell Ben the truth so his mind went into overdrive.