Part 10 Moray's Return
"I've got it," Lexington exclaimed. He muffled his excitement as the lab technicians began to stare. Already a damage control team was beginning to swarm the lab.
"We gotta hurry…" Raychell whispered hoarsely, as she renewed her mental illusion. Two lab technicians vanished, replaced by nothing before the terminal. Excited shouts and bangs sounded from out in the hall.
"I've got the access code…" Lexington whispered. "I can shut this nightmare factory down right now…"
"Hurry… before… I can't… hold this illusion anymore," Raychell gasped. Lex's head snapped up.
"Get away from that terminal!" shouted the lab manager. Raychell groaned, slipping to the floor in exhaustion.
Lexington typed in the last codes to his virus, his finger poised above the enter key. Everyone gasped; glancing right at the small impish figure huddled over the computer terminal.
"A gargoyle!" shouted one. "And we have his mate!"
"He is NOT my mate!" Raychell hissed as she began to squirm. But still she was drained from her power and was not up to full strength.
"Oh crap," Lexington muttered. Raychell squirmed in the grasp of five lab technicians, who pinned her to the floor.
"Let her go!" Lex shouted.
"Get away you little beast!" snapped the lab manager. "And we'll think about it!"
"No way!" Lexington gritted, and his finger descended upon the key.
"Let me GO!" Raychell roared, her eyes flaring crimson. She roared as she hurled them off her.
"What the hell?" asked the lab techs. Lexington moved like lightening, leaping into the midst of the mass of white coated technicians. Eyes blazed like twin stars as a tail swept them off their feet.
"Kiss your nanites goodbye!" Lex shouted. Raychell hissed and slashed her tail, knocking over one of the lab technicians as the others struggled to get up. Grabbing one she hurled him into his friends. While she was adverse to violence, she was furious at what they had done to Keith and MacBeth. They dispersed quickly, as Lexington moved towards the broken window. Raychell rushed after him. Two leaps and he was gone, followed by Raychell
Anxiously the lab manager rushed to the terminal. She saw the words, "System corruption" creeping over the network like a red disease. Suddenly all the lab terminals began to flash wildly, to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy.
"Son of a bitch!" she muttered.
"We know you're in there, Mr. Lennox," came a voice. Through the frosted glass of the door. MacBeth tensed, his ear pressed to it. Lucia stood guard over the open window.
"Come out now, and we'll talk," Dr. Bleuth's muffled voice continued after a tense moment of silence.
Lucia noticed a black silhouetted hood peering over the window ledge. Without another moment's thought she squeezed the trigger on her lightening gun, eyes squeezing shut as she took a deep breath. There came a sizzle, and a scream that raked her eardrums. The sound of another falling body crumpling into pavement followed. Another figure replaced it, slipping down on what appeared to be a rope ladder. Lucia again fired, her shot sizzling into the rope.
The figure aimed, his gun trained on Lucia Domiguez. "Freeze right there, bitch," snarled a woman's voice.
Lucia breathed, lowering the gun. What now? Fear seized her. Just then the woman screamed as a shot crackled into her chest. Lucia turned her head, glancing up at MacBeth standing over her protectively. His gun blazed as he fired towards the security guards.
"Ye tell yer boss we're no surrendering!" he shouted. His other hand rested on Lucia's shoulder, gently stroking it.
"I killed that man," she stammered, feeling very cold. "Two people… I never killed anything in my life before…"
"It's all right lass. We'll get oot of this yet," he pulled her close. Lucia began to convulse, sinking floorwards. Gently MacBeth held her, pulling her towards the door.
"I need ye lass. T' help get oot. Can I count on ye?"
"Yes…" she stammered, glancing up at him. She let him walk her to the main door, her hand still clenching the lightening gun. Reaching into his trenchcoat, he pulled out a pair of goggles, and slid them up on his head. At their appearance, Lucia knew what he was going to do, especially when he handed her a second pair.
MacBeth looked to Lucia, nodding grimly. "On the count of three…" he whispered, black gloved hand poised around the door handle of the lab. She slid her goggles down, as he did, her heart pounding.
"All right, let's do it," she snapped, gun at the ready. The door clicked, and the frantic voices in the hall reached fevered pitch.
"Mr. MacDuff, there is no escape. If you don't relinquish your hostage, we'll be forced to resort to further violence. This serves no purpose!" Dr. Bleuth pleaded.
"Now!" MacBeth snapped, jerking the door open. She saw him throw something down, and still squeezed shut her eyes when she heard the explosion of a smoke cartridge. His gun blazed, ripping past a line of Quarrymen, which had clustered outside their door. Lucia fired instinctively, blue lightening raking across black hooded shapes. Cries and shouts echoed in her ears, a swimming feeling erupting in the pit of her stomach. MacBeth gripped her hand in his, pulling her behind him.
"Quick lass! Run!" he urged. Lucia Domiguez reset the charge quickly as he'd shown her, firing rapidly behind them as a quarryman's bullet sizzled past her.
"Stop right there!" snarled one hooded figure, his hammer cocked and blazing. MacBeth lashed out in a kick, divesting him of the hammer, and his mask. The man crumpled. Lucia shoved another aside, cracking her lightening gun butt into his jaw. Each move was instinctive, fluid as water, and needed no second thought. Dios, what was she becoming, she wondered. The armor fit like a second skin, affording her the same ease of movement as him.
Dr. Bleuth looked up from the frenzy, rubbing his mouth as he stumbled after his erstwhile patients. "Mr. MacDuff! Stop this insanity! If not for yourself, for the sake of the girl!"
MacBeth pulled Lucia around the corner, her bare feet stumbling to keep up with him. To their right, black hooded figures cocked their hammer. Behind them white smocked orderlies held up tranquilizer dart guns. He pushed Lucia behind him, gun covering either group as his shots blazed wildly. They backed into a hallway, only to reach a dead end. MacBeth swung around, gun raised to fire.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," came an English accented voice. MacBeth stopped, to see a dozen guns trained right on him and Lucia. She clenched his hand, fingers digging into his leather glove.
"Castaway!" Lucia snapped, hearing the voice she hated. Around the corner stalked a tall black figure, a triple scar superimposed upon his quarryman symbol. Eyes gleamed from the slits in the hood that hid his face. He cocked the rod of his hammer, energy whirling into life. Slowly he advanced upon the duo. Lucia was glad for the armor, but guessed it wouldn't protect her from something as nasty as what she'd heard that hammer could do in her PIT rally meetings.
"Have we met… wait…. Ah, Miss Domiguez is it?" he sneered, and she could see the shock on his face. "So nice to see you again… although what ARE we wearing? Rather unfashionable for a lady… isn't it? Someone's been very worried about you…"
"Stay back, ye sasinach," MacBeth snarled, stepping between Lucia and the Quarryman leader.
"I would be advised to drop your weapon if I were you," Castaway said calmly, voice dropping low. "If not for you, for the young lady's sake…"
"I'd sooner trust a snake," MacBeth snapped, his gun still covering Castaway.
"Don't be stupid. There's no way you can escape, Mr. MacDuff. You led us on a merry chase, enough. But it's time for this fiasco to end…"
"Where did you learn those lines, Villains hokey speeches 101?" Lucia couldn't resist quipping.
"Ah, defiant to the last, are we?" Castaway chuckled. "Really, girl, do you think that HE can protect you with his fancy equipment? I see you're wearing HIS armor, and carrying his weaponry. Most unfortunate. You don't seem to understand that you are consorting with a traitor…"
"I'm not the traitor, you are," she whispered.
"Tis not necessary t' waste yer breath on the likes o' him," MacBeth whispered to her.
"So… you really think that this young charge is some sort of… disciple? Is THAT your plan, McDuff, training gargoyle sympathizers to take up arms against us? Really… you ARE corrupting the youth just as we thought! How many more of there are you?"
"Enough to stop you," Lucia said before MacBeth could stop her..
"My my, we are bold. I t hink you need to see that there aren't as many friends as you might claim, young lady. One of them's right here. Why don't you come out…"
"Lucia, it's been a long time…" said a voice that made her blood run cold. "At last we can be together…"
"Oh god no," she gasped. "Cesar… it can't be…"
"Yes, it is…" said Cesar Ramierez, as he walked out in an outfit similar to Castaway's.
"Meet my new second in command," Castaway said with a laugh. "Someone you are very well acquainted with, Aren't you, Miss Dominguez."
"You almost broke my jaw, you son of a bitch," Cesar gestured to MacBeth. "But you won't get away with it. And you won't get away with HER… goddamit it what IS she wearing? You're turning her against me, is that it, Traitor?"
MacBeth's eyes narrowed, his grasp on Lucia behind him tightening. She shivered and held him tightly, tears running down her face. "Oh god, please leave us alone, Cesar… it's over…"
"You are mine, forever," he said. "Not even HE can take you away from me. And Castaway and I will have our revenge…"
"You see, he's the perfect addition to the Quarrymen. Although we are not bound by blood, I think of him as my own son…" said Castaway. "As you have seen fit to embroil this girl in a pointless feud, so I've done the same. The Hunt goes on…"
"So what will ye do now that ye've caught yer quarry," MacBeth asked. His gray eyes bored holes in Castaway's hood. Lucia couldn't help but be impressed at MacBeth's resolve.
"Why, retribution of course," Castaway said. "For a naughty little girl… who ran away from her fiancée…"
"What has this young woman done t' ye," MacBeth asked. "Leave her oot of it! If it's me ye want…"
"She belongs to my ally here," said Castaway. "And we take care of our own. Don't we, Ramierez?"
"That is true. Lucia would never leave me without learning the price. But I will forgive her, and then she will be with me, as she always should have been…"
"You bastard I'll never…" Lucia gasped.
"Shh, easy now, he's not worth it," MacBeth whispered to her.
"My my, let's not get melodramatic. I'll give you a choice. Surrender now, and we'll overlook this incident. I'll let you live. You have considerable talents, Mr. MacDuff. I would hate to destroy such a promising warrior. And I might even be easy on the girl too…"
"Oh yeah right, like hell you will," Lucia shot back. "I'll DIE before I go back with you, Cesar!"
"Oh really?" Castaway laughed. He held up a strange device, slowly pressing a key. Lucia Domiguez choked, hands pressed to her head as she crumpled floorwards.
"What are ye doing t' her!" MacBeth shouted, leaning over her. "Stop it now!"
"A little reeducation is in order. She has been a very naughty girl, attacking her poor defenseless friend, refusing help given generously… and playing games to learn to sympathize with gargoyle lovers by taking your weapons, and your training… when she should be with us…"
"She must learn the price of disobedience," Cesar said. "She rejected me…"
"Yer help?" MacBeth growled. "I'd rather die a free man then live one minute in your slavery!"
"Oh god! LENNOX!" Lucia screamed, shuddering as pain ripped into her brain. Dr. Bleuth slowly moved beside Castaway, drawing in his breath sharply.
"Leave her alone!" MacBeth snarled, gripping her as she writhed in his gasp.
"Stop this!" Cesar snapped. "I don't want her dead! What are you doing?"
"Back away from her… now," Castaway urged, a sneer in his voice. MacBeth did as he was told; reluctantly leaving Lucia to lay crumpled on the floor.
"There's no need to kill them," Dr. Bleuth huffed as he rushed up. "Mr. Ramierez is right. That girl is only a teenager…"
"That girl is expendable, she's allyed herself with Moray, let her die as one of HIS clan," Castaway snarled. He turned again to Lucia, flipping the switch again.
"No," said Cesar. "I won't have it… she's mine. You said you could cure her… I swear to God if you hurt her I'll kill you."
"My, aren't we hasty. If you're going to carry on after me you'll have to learn that women can be found easily. Is she so important to you that you'd…"
"Yes," said Cesar. "I love her. And if she is with me, HE will suffer."
"I see. Very wise. Now, will you listen to a piece of advice, young lady? This man has been a bad influence on you… filling your head with all sorts of nonsense about clan feuds, and Hunters… I suggest you move away from him…"
Lucia choked, glancing up at MacBeth with wild eyes. She pushed away his grasp, backing towards Cesar.
"Lucia, no," MacBeth mouthed, seeing the glazed look on her face.
"That's a girl. Come towards me… easy now…"
Lucia moved, as if mechanical motors ruled her motion. MacBeth looked in horror as she smiled at Cesar. "Thank you…" she whispered, reaching out towards him.
"My love," Cesar said as he held out his arms. "I have waited ages for this… it will be all right…"
"Cesar…" she whispered.
"Now we can be together, as we should," he said, pulling her close. She raised her lips up and received the kiss he gave her.
"Stop this at once," MacBeth snarled. "She's not in her right mind… this is madness!"
"Ah, now we are being reasonable," Castaway laughed. "A good little girl gets her reward."
"Lucia, you look tired. I want you to do something for me. Go to your room… it's been a long night, and you need rest… you'd better go and take off that armor first…" Cesar said softly. Castaway nodded.
"I need rest," Lucia repeated. MacBeth couldn't believe this was happening. A foolish grin came over her face as she turned towards MacBeth. Her nose wrinkled discernibly at his aghast stare.
"But there is something she has to do first." Castaway grinned beneath his hood. "Right Ramierez?"
"Yes, that's right, I almost forgot," said Cesar. Dr. Bleuth wiped his forehead in relief. Lucia slowly turned, reaching for something she'd put at her hip, that they'd failed to take into account. Blue lightening crackled through the air, slamming into Dr. Bleuth, Cesar Ramierez, Jon Castaway and every quarryman within a twenty-foot arc of her.
"Run!" Lucia shouted, throwing herself at MacBeth. He tumbled, griping his gun to bear seconds later.
A hand gripped him, clamping down. "So much for your little strategy," came the English accented voice. He glanced into the face of their leader, a man with triple scratches superimposed on his hammer symbol.
"Get them! Don't let them escape alive! Moray will NOT win this battle! They were gargoyles lovers then, and they are now!" Castaway shouted. Quarrymen raced after the two, hammers crackling like Thor's mallet.
"Lucia!" shouted Cesar. "Damn you!"
"Sonofbitch," Elisa muttered as they pulled up to the Sanitarium. Helicopters whirred over the place, sweeping it with their searchlights. Broken windows gaped onto the parking lot, glittering with shattered glass. Quarrymen raced to and fro, from their vans in a frantic panic.
She glimpsed the shape of Lexington, passing over the moon. Several other shapes circled about; their membranous wings silently conveying them in ever climbing arcs.
"Goliath, what are you doing here?" she asked herself.
"Elisa!" came his voice over the intercom. "Lexington called us… we cannot hold them for long…"
"Stay put, I'm calling for backup," Elisa said. She glanced towards the front entrance, pulling the Fairlane to bear as she slammed the breaks.
"Get ready to move Matt…" she whispered.
"Look, right there!" Matt shouted, pointing to the sliding glass doors. Two figures, a man in a long black coat tugging a woman beside him in gleaming black armor similar to his, rushed out into the midst of quarrymen.
"That's Lucia Domiguez!" Elisa suddenly realized. "She was there all along! Jalapena! Move Matt, move!"
Elisa and Matt tumbled out, their guns blazing to cover the retreating MacBeth and Lucia. Shots crackled into a nearby knot of hooded figures, hiding behind a van. MacBeth fired, blue lightening arcing towards the van in a sizzling stroke. A blaze of sparks consumed the van, the stench of burning steel and melting plastic scattering the Quarrymen about the asphalt lot. Lucia sprayed the area to the left with her own lightening gun, her eyes dark with anger. Elisa shook her head in disbelief at the sight of her boss's niece using weapons of MacBeth's design.
Overhead, Goliath's party swooped and soared around the helicopters. Broadway leapt into the cockpit, claws tearing the door away seconds before. Angela was at his back, plucking away the pilot. Brooklyn settled upon the snipers aiming from the helicopter's belly.
Goliath and Hudson descended upon the second chopper, eyes blazing. Hudson's sword landed neatly into the tail blades. Slowly the chopper began to rotate out of stability. It sank towards the asphalt; Goliath and Hudson jumping clear.
MacBeth and Lucia reached the safety of Elisa's Fairlaine. Both were panting up a storm. Lucia held her chest, sinking towards the pavement as she crouched near Elisa.
"What took you guys so long?" she asked casually.
"You took one hell of a risk," Elisa sighed, as she confronted MacBeth. Already Chavez and reinforcements had shown up, ushering a knot of Quarrymen into the police wagon. Nearby, Dr. Bleuth gave his testimony to Monroe and Chavez.
"This man used terrorism to force us to misuse the chip," Bleuth nodded.
"You lying scum…" snarled Castaway, as they hauled him off. Caesar was nowhere to be found, as were most of the other quarrymen.
"Save it for the judge," Chavez snapped, waving the policemen flanking their prisoner on. In another section of the parking lot, Elisa and Matt stood with an exhausted Lucia and MacBeth.
"There are some times that a man must take justice into his own hands..."
"That's no excuse, mister!" Elisa snapped back. "Captain Chavez is going to hand my ass to me when she finds out I let you get away with this! And you're dragging HER into it!"
"You almost sound like ya wanted me to stay in the nuthouse," Lucia Domiguez grinned mischievously at his side. They made a very odd couple indeed, Lucia close at the powerful warrior's side. His long black coat billowed in the evening air.
"Keep this up and she might take ye up on it," he warned her.
"Good luck for you that vigilante thing paid off," Elisa shoved her hands in her pockets. "Or else I wouldn't think twice about hauling you in with the rest of them. What were you thinking?"
"Do ye really have t' ask?" MacBeth shook his head.
"Aw come on, he did save my life," Lucia glanced up at him. A powerful hand rested on her shoulder.
"You could be charged for kidnapping, not to mention providing illegal arms to a minor without a license!" Elisa folded her arms across the front of her red leather jacket.
"I have my reasons, Detective. As ye have yuirs. And a gentleman does not leave a lady in peril when he can raise a hand to help. Has that changed so much in the last thousand years?"
"I've got a license," Lucia said quickly.
"Dammit, you should know better! I should be committed for letting you two walk away from this," Elisa muttered. "But since you helped us solve this case I'll look the other way..."
"Thanks Elisa," Lucia laughed. "And maybe we can help you out the next time the Q-men try to..."
"Don't make a habit of it okay?" Elisa sighed. "I've got enough to try and explain to Captain Chavez already, without telling her that you've become a gun toting vigilante!"
"I canna promise that, Detective," MacBeth shook his head.
"Jalapeno," Elisa muttered. "Why is it I have such weird friends?"
"Elisa, we've got a problem," Matt Bluestone suddenly interrupted.
"Speaking of weird," Lucia began, before hiding her grin behind her hand. She felt a poke in the ribs from MacBeth.
"Okay what now?" Elisa asked, turning to him.
"Castaway escaped. We thought we'd spotted him in one of the intensive case wards but he just well... vanished into thin air."
"Great, that's all we need..."
"As long as he's oot there, ye'll need all the help ye can get protecting your friends..."
"All right all right," Elisa held up her hands. "You win. Matt, I guess we have enough to book the shrinks anyway with fraud and conspiracy to commit murder. But it's not gonna get Castaway in jail where he belongs!"
"Bill Yale thinks that his mother… Margot was in on this thing too," Lucia said.
"Won't have an easy time proving that either," Elisa said. "So far she's kept her nose clean, damn her."
"Maybe she slipped up this time?" Matt Bluestone suggested. "I've got a feeling..."
"As do I," MacBeth nodded. He had a new respect for Elisa's partner, as Matt had for him. Both men's eyes met as silence passed between them.
"But there's one thing… Castaway's new partner…" she said softly.
"I ken. He must have gotten away…"
"Excuse me?" asked Elisa.
"Cesar Ramierez," Lucia said coldly. "He was with Castaway. He tried to kill me. I took this armor and weaponry to defend myself. So he'll never abuse anyone else again…"
"Oh god," Elisa closed her eyes. "Matt… Morgan…"
"Sorry, no sign of anyone by that name in the van," said Bluestone with a sigh.
"Don't worry, we'll get him," said Elisa. "That's a promise."
"I'll hold ye to it then," said MacBeth, placing a hand on her hip as he drew her to his side.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Elisa said. "You'll have to stop breaking laws though…"
"I protect what is mine," MacBeth said meaningfully as he looked at Lucia.
"So, you two ARE involved?" Elisa said quietly. "In more ways than showing her how to use your damn toys…"
MacBeth looked at her disapproving look, and said, "My intentions are honorable. Ye may inform yer captain Chavez that I have nothing but gentlemanly and proper plans regarding her niece…"
"Dammit, she's only 20… she's too young!" said Elisa. "You can't be dragging her into your little war with Castaway! She's got NO business doing this…"
"And what is your point, with all due respect Detective?" asked Lucia. "I am old enough to make my own decisions."
"You'd better make DAMN sure she doesn't get mixed up in your private feuds and get killed because of it…" Elisa said quickly.
"I want to be with him, it will be all right," said Lucia. "I promise."
"If she's cut down because of you…" Elisa threatened.
" I will protect her wi' ma life," MacBeth said. "Ye have my word… and ye know what weight it carries."
"You'd better," Elisa said.
Matt saw Elisa's pained look as they watched the couple together. "Hate to interrupt guys, but I think you'd better split while the splitting's good. Here comes Captain Chavez..."
"Oh great," Elisa muttered. "You won't get away with not speaking to your aunt…"
"I can't face her," she sighed. "Look Elisa, do I get sent back or something? I didn't really do anything except let myself get rescued., and fought back in self defense. If you look up in my file you'll see that I have all the permits to use this stuff! Is that a crime, defending myself?"
"No, I don't think so," Matt grinned at Elisa. "And the computer DOES show that there were some licenses issued in her name for the same weaponry he has… not to mention an active membership in the NRA..."
"He is my hero," Lucia laughed as she seized his bearded face and planted a smacking kiss right on MacBeth for the entire world to see. He promptly blushed and coughed, straightening up in her embrace. To her delight he didn't push away, but merely distanced himself from her a bit. Still he kept his arms around her waist.
"You're always so damn melodramatic," Elisa shook her head.
"She's got you there," Matt gestured with his number two pencil. "You can't argue with that. If he did rescue her it's hardly kidnapping..."
"Okay you win!" Elisa threw up her hands. As she turned she noticed MacBeth and Lucia had vanished into the mist and smoke of morning. Chavez's voice of query came quickly and Elisa was very sure she didn't want to face her captain's questions about her niece's whereabouts.
"Wanna get coffee?" Matt asked. "Looks like you could use it partner."
"Sure... it'll go great with the reports we're gonna have to fill out..." she mumbled as he dragged her away from Captain Chavez.
Lucia felt the early morning chill wafting against her face as MacBeth led her away. Strange how a simple gas cartridge could mask their escape. Her hand was clutched in his gloved one, and she felt the substantial weight of the armor at last that clothed her. Soberly she glanced back over her shoulder, and felt as if she was leaving something behind. A pattern had been set in motion by using his weapons, and entering his protection. Now she was tied to Moray, in a centuries long feud against Canmore, and a knot tightened in her throat at this.
They approached the space where his black Jaguar was parked. MacBeth aimed his remote and they entered the doors that automatically unlocked. "I'm surprised you didn't have the hovercraft warmed up," she joked sadly.
"Tis in the shop, after the last run in, as ye know," he said matter of factly. She seemed so much older as she slid into the passenger seat of the car, and they both shut the doors. Lucia felt her heart slowly pulsing as she inhaled deep breaths, and MacBeth gunned the car out of the lot. Glancing through the window she saw flickering lights painting red strobes on the side of the large box of glass and concrete.
MacBeth glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as he drove along back roads that were less known. A shred of guilt crossed his mind, and he realized that hundreds of years ago, the very notion of women fighting alongside men was considered daft. Or was it? In more ancient tribes, the women took up arms. In his times running from pirates as a privateer shipping indentured servants and even earlier, he saw some had taken the guise of male dress to live lives that were far more fascinating than the traditional roles of women.
Not that he was opposed to women fighting by any means. Fleance had been a well-trained woman, albeit a thug, and hardly a lady. Then there were the lessons where he had trained Marianne in the use of the sword. Till she had left to go to England with her lover. Now this young woman had joined the ranks of a thin line that stretched to the present.
"Ye fought well, lass," MacBeth said softly as he squeezed her hand.
"Did I?" she asked, choking. Lucia glanced at him, and then wiped at her eyes, turning away. Everything she'd held back bubbled up, and she started to sniffle, then release sobs that made her shake.
"I cuildna have done better myself, considering the circumstances, but…" he said, and then stopped.
"I feel… numb…" she sobbed. "I can't… I can't…"
"I'd expect ye would," he said as he pulled the car over for a moment, and stopped the engine. Reaching over the seat, he took her in his arms, and Lucia whimpered, shaking against him.
"I've never killed anyone before," she said after ten minutes of him rocking and shushing her. "But you know what's worse… they deserved it…"
"I know," MacBeth said softly, patting her back. "It doesnae make it better. And if ye feel regret, tis showing ye have a heart. I never meant ye t' have to face this… and I regret that I dragged ye into this…"
"I wanted to be with you, at your side," she choked. "And dammit, I'll fight if I must. Don't think that I won't. As far as he's concerned, I'm with Moray, right?"
"Strange he should openly speak of such things," MacBeth muttered, stroking her hair as he glanced at her.
"I've made my choice, and Cesar made his long ago. But at least I can fight back… I only wish…"
"Let's go home lass," MacBeth said as he pressed a finger over her lips.
"Any luck?" Fox asked Lexington as they pounded keys in cyberspace.
"Almost all the nanites have been ejected," Lexington nodded.
"Some technology. If only I had marketed this patent with the batch Cyberbiotics developed," Fox muttered, glancing over a set of schematics. "But it's not a total loss…"
"What do you mean?" Lexington asked her.
"David just bought the rights to the Crystal Springs sanitarium, and the nanotechnology," said Fox. "That nanotechnology is going to corner the market on surgical devices… and David and I will make a cool million alone in the revenues…"
"You mean you're going to use that, after all the trouble it's caused?" Lexington asked.
"Come on, you can understand how powerful it is!" Fox laughed. "And this time it won't be used to scramble people's brains…"
"I don't like it…"
"Plus the Sanitarium itself is going to continue its research into treating mental ailments. With alternative therapies," Fox said. "Nanite free. The amount of patients each year that turn to alternative massages, herbal remedies and meditation will turn that place into a goldmine…"
"Only you and Xanatos could see that," Lex grumbled.
"David never throws anything away," Fox laughed.
"I hope for your sake it pays off, and nobody else gets hurt," Lexington muttered under his breath.
Slowly she shook off sleep. Lucia Domiguez blinked against the assault of morning sunbeams spilling across the vast expanse of bed. It must have been king sized. Lifting her arm she blocked the offending rays, and stretched from toes to fingertips. Overhead, the canopy of the grand box bed obscured her view of the ceiling. Unused brocade curtains were tied back with crimson rope. She gasped as she felt a strong hand slipping around her hip beneath the warm sheets. It cupped around her waist, tracing between her warm body and the soft resilient mattress to pull her close.
"Mmn, good morning," she muttered, turning over to face its owner. On the pillow next to hers rested a silver cloud of hair. Her arm landed alongside his head, her other hand reaching out to caress the silver softness upon his cheeks. For a moment her eyes dropped to the ornate lace beneath her cheek, the soft embroidery marking out the symbol of Moray there. How old were these bed sheets anyway, she wondered. They felt crisp and cool around her shapely body.
"I was just thinking," she said, thoughtful look in her brown eyes.
"Yes?" he asked.
"What made them put you in a rubber room?" she asked, tracing a finger over his well-muscled chest.
He laughed deeply. "I simply told them the truth. That committed me for certain."
"You didn't," she began to giggle, and put her hand before her mouth as her whole body erupted into a shaking mass. For five minutes they shared the mirth, till she had to take a deep breath to calm down.
"Oh yeah, they probably thought you were crazy when you admitted you were a Shakespearean character..."
"I thank ye not to mention that damnable play..." he pretended to be stern. "Considering yer thespian friends regard it as bad luck to mention its name?"
"Oh yeah," she laughed. "We call it the Scottish play."
"More like the Scottish travesty," MacBeth put in.
"Hey watch it! Some of my best friends are in a production of it now..." She straightened up in bed, as if to get up. A powerful hand clasped gently around her wrist, restraining her. Strange how such a gentle grip could literally crush a man's bones to dust.
"Yer no thinking of leaving so soon are ye?" resonated that voice she loved so well. Steely blue eyes blinked towards hers. They had not the hardness of a warrior now, but the softness of affection.
"No way," she laughed. "This is one place I don't want to check out of anytime soon... considering that you asked me so nicely to stay…"
"Good," he laughed, slipping well-muscled legs around hers. She laughed as well, rolling herself under his solid muscled frame as her own body melded to his. Height did not matter when two people were horizontal, at least Lucia thought for the most part. As it was he towered a full head and shoulders over her. Gentle soft kisses pressed to her cheeks, and nose. Eagerly she wrapped arms about his neck, pressing her own lips firmly to his. Working her tongue into his mouth she parted breath moist lips and shared a deep kiss. Sometimes it didn't hurt to speed things along, she reflected internally. Shivers shot up her spine as she felt his resulting hum of delight between their merged mouths. He may be a thousand years old, but there were some things that improved in the twentieth century.
"Mmmm!" she purred as they withdrew for breath. "Sweet!"
"I must agree," he laughed.
"There's just one thing that's been bothering me, other than what I'm going to tell my aunt…" Lucia Dominguez sighed as she snuggled into his embrace.
"That being," he fingered the lock of hair just above her forehead.
"Cesar," she said as she sighed.
"I'll never let him lay a hand on ye again," MacBeth said darkly. "Ye have my word on that."
"He used those those nanites. He turned me inside out… Dios I hate him!"
"He won't be able to use them again. And he won't get past me to ever bother you," MacBeth said sharply. "I've taught ye how t' defend yerself, and he has seen that you'll not let him hurt you again… and get away with it."
"I know Lex and Raychell… somehow hacked in and shut them down. But they never took them outta any of us guinea pigs. I still have that thing in my brain. What if those Q-men got control of us… of me again?"
"Little worry of that," MacBeth stroked her cheek. "Fer the adrenaline coursing through yer system in the last two days is more than enau t' block it. "
"So, are you like saying we should do more of this?" she asked as he gripped her hips, and rolled over to position her so she was laying astride him. As he shifted, she felt their bodies merging again and let out a moan of anticipation.
"It would be prudent to make certain," he look up at her with a twinkling in his eyes. One hand slipped around her breast, gently caressing it. Strong fingers danced their way down to her belly. The resulting jolts of pleasure shot through her like a cold chilling winter's wind. Refreshing and bracing as each stroke of his tongue glided over her navel.
"Madre de Dios..." she breathed through clenched teeth as his hands passed their way over her form. Slipping up and down her body in a movement that sent all control from her body. It was like feeling the tremors of an oncoming quake. Sometimes you had to dive under the table and grit your teeth, or else hang on and hope something didn't fall on your head when you felt the awesome vibrations of a planet's crustal slip. She couldn't help but squawk with surprise and delight as he gently coaxed her thighs apart with well-practiced movements. Her own hands knew tricks of their own as they responded to that hidden urge. Those caramel legs clasped as he entered in one decisive thrust eliciting a whoop of surprise from her. Well practiced she angled to meet him halfway as she had done thus before.
A sincere feeling shot through her at his gentle thrusts. As if there was a solemnity and sincerity that sent a choking sensation into her throat. The intensity swept over her as a wave, leaving her gasping and breathless in its wake. Firmly his mouth covered her with a warm gentle kiss that seemed an odd contrast to his ever-increasing vigorousness. Till she felt the crescendo climax and her loud cry was muffled at its source. It took forever, an eternity as she soared on the massive orgasm before she returned to a normal threshold of sensation again.
When the thundering fireworks display had ended, she found herself resting against him, as she was wont to do. Purring in the back of her throat as he continued to hold her close. An odd new undercurrent unsettled her, frightening and yet extremely exciting about this last coupling. All they could do was glance at each other in a sort of silent understanding, lost in the overall pleasure of physical closeness. The depth of experience in those blue eyes didn't unsettle her, merely served to fascinate her as to what the heck he'd seen all those centuries.
"I'd forgotten to mention… Mrs. Xanatos has been working on a way fer the nanites t' disengage from all their hosts. So in a matter of hours… ye'll have nowt t' worry…"
"Ugh, so I'll be passing them?" she asked.
"T' put it inelegantly, yes," he chuckled.
"Dios... I feel like I'm in some bizarre X-Files," Lucia sighed against him.
"Ye are a bit of a mystery yerself lass," he joked. "As in how ye managed t' imitate that man's voice…"
"A woman has to have some secrets…" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Speaking of mysteries, there is an auld Scottish custom I had fergotten t' share wi ye…" he laughed mischievously.
"Ohh, I can hardly wait… But there's one other little thing…" she whispered to him.
"Are you still worrying about Cesar?" MacBeth said softly, leaning on his elbow as he hovered over her. One leg pinned hers under it beneath the covers.
"Yes," she said softly. "Castaway… he said Cesar was like his own son. And from what you've told me about the Hunters… saying 'there will always be a Hunter'…"
"Aye," MacBeth shivered as he glanced at her, and she glanced up at him. "One way or another it passes from father t' son. Tis the first time I've known that it not be a blood tie… but considering that he's had no biological child… tis not uncommon. And ye, what ye said about allying yerself wi' Moray…"
"I mean it. I'm with you… you gave me THIS didn't you?" she said, holding up the crest that hung around her neck. "If Canmore can last for 10 centuries and bring hatred and fear, why can't Moray mean hope and love? You ruled a kingdom with the alliance of gargoyles for 40 years… that means something… and maybe people now should remember that part of history…"
"Few would remember," MacBeth said softly as he looked at her with a deep respect. Every day he saw more of his Gruoch in her. The lady who was able to command as well as be at his side. A woman who had commanded in his absence, and tutored her son when he was gone to war in the ways of being a King. There was a hint of truth to Shakespeare's play, for his Lady did have a commanding presence, albeit far more quiet and composed than the shrewish Lady of the Scottish Play.
"Maybe I'm just being silly," she blushed.
"Not at all. Perhaps we shuild do something about making this arrangement more permanent then," said MacBeth.
"What do you mean…" she asked as he reached under his pillow and pulled out a box. She gasped.
"I had been meaning to ask ye something. I am an honorable man, and I am cross wi my self fer not asking sooner…"
"You want to… oh god…" she said as her voice cracked with emotion, and she laughed despite herself.
"Lucia Dominguez, I have come to love ye as much as any man loved a woman. Will ye do me the honor of consenting t' be my wife?"
She gasped as he opened the box, and she saw the antique ring glistening there. Wiping away tears she looked at him, and her hands shook. There was a deep silence, as he awaited her answer. "I cannot promise there won't be danger, and the possibility that we'd be ridiculed for our difference in age, but I shall protect ye, and take care of ye as long as ye live…"
"God, I don't know what to say… do you know what this means?" she giggled, and couldn't help it. "That damn play… the role I was gonna be… this is like so ironic!"
"I'd understand if ye'd say no," MacBeth said softly.
"I have never loved anyone like you, and I don't want you to be alone anymore. I know I'll grow old, while you stay the same age, but I want to be with you as long as I can…" she said softly.
"I'll always love ye, no mistake," he said.
"Then yes, I'll marry you, and be your Lady MacBeth," she said as she hugged him. He embraced her back, and then held her at arm's length. Her finger shook as he removed the ring and slid it on her finger. Caesar might still be out there, but she knew that he'd never have her now.
The End? Or just the Beginning?