NCIS Building
"Lex sum," said Gibbs.
Horatio and Tony answered, "Lex sum." Latin for "I am law.
The motto was spoken solemnly, but they smiled softly in fond remembrance of days past. With the formality over, the trio discussed their situation and decided that first off the other three still living must be contacted. Gibbs would call Amanda, Horatio would call Daniel, and Tony would call Lily.
Gibbs was stuck calling one of his infamous ex's. Granted, he and Amanda never married but they spent fifty of the best years of his life together. He smiled nostalgically as he dialed. (Every few years he updated his phone book to make sure he knew where the others were.)
It was a masculine voice that answered, "MacLeod."
"I was told I could reach Amanda at this number."
"One minute," said the deep voiced Scot.
He could hear voices in the background, they were laughing and flirting. Jealousy welled up inside him at the thought of her with this man.
"Hello?" questioned Amanda breathlessly.
"New boyfriend?" he growled.
"Grandpa! How come you never call?" She said playfully.
"Don't call me 'Grandpa.' You're nearly as old as I am."
"How insulting! I think I might hang up."
He sighed resignedly. "I didn't call to banter, I called to tell you about a threat…."
Horatio placed his call with little hope of anything-constructive coming from it. Daniel had parted from the group with little love lost.
"Yes?" said a distracted but familiar voice.
"Hello, Daniel."
"Is that you, Edward?" asked Daniel calling him by his former alias. "Why are you calling?"
"It's Horatio Caine now. Dalton is dead."
"That's too bad, but how does this concern me? I thought we weren't going to discuss the Seven ever again." Daniel was beginning to get annoyed.
"I received the head in the mail with a note. An unknown element is after us all. I was hoping that for protection and brain power you would come out to D.C."
"Is he still alive? Is he there?"
Of course, Daniel does not want anything to do with Tony. "Yes, and yes."
"Then you know my answer."
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
Daniel sighed as he hung up with his former teacher. He was sorry for being so callous but he did not want to get caught up in the issues of immortality right now.
Dalton was dead. He had already known that. Oddly enough it had been Jack O'Neill who had told him. The general had seemed depressed so he had asked what was the matter. Jack admitted that his friend Jack Dalton, who had gotten him into and, occasionally, out of more scrapes than he could count, had recently passed away. O'Neill had scoffed that it was from a "neck injury."
After that Danny suspected Jack knew about Immortals. No matter; he liked not being known but at the same time knowing someone could handle a situation that might arise.
That was just one more reason to stay away from Washington. He was relatively safe here. The base was impenetrable from the outside. With cameras and government personnel everywhere it was unlikely anyone would risk confrontation within its walls. He could stay here as long as need be, he had only to find something urgent to translate. It was safer here.
And there was no Anthony here. His former watcher, Janet, had once asked him why he and Anthony had become rivals. He had replied vaguely that it was a result of arrogance and favoritism. Of course, he hadn't lied but it was more complicated than that. A man who now went by the name Horatio Caine had taught them both. Anthony was older, wealthier, and more proficient with weapons when he "died." Daniel was the son of a poor man and made his living digging holes. In society's mind Anthony was better than Daniel.
The inequality seemed even to have permeated Horatio's views about them both. Where he treated Tony with politeness and respect, he gave Daniel criticism and looked down on him. Though when Horatio trained Daniel, Tony had been on his own for 150 years, the former student visited often and for long periods. Through out his training, the words Daniel most remembered were "watch Tony do it" and "I know I can't compare you to Tony but…"
And so it went on until Daniel left Horatio's tutelage and struck out after his first quickening. His contacts with them were infrequent and far between, much to his liking. Once upon meeting Tony by chance, the man had charitably offered to have Daniel accompany him and join in his business investments and celebrating. He despised such attempts at civility. He knew that Tony was never sincere, only arrogantly polite, wanting to rub his wealth and happiness in Daniel's face. Their mutual enmity was finally decided in the demise of the Seven.
Daniel's position in the Seven was established before he learned of Horatio's and Tony's involvement. He'd never been quite sure why he stuck around after he did find out. Perhaps it was an effort to prove himself more worthy than Tony; but if so he had failed miserably. It seemed the first three had a conspiracy of their own. After the ordeal with Covington that ended the little concern, it was discovered that the three were slowly slipping their fingers into the other's pockets.
Feeling the need to prove himself to himself, he had gone looking for a fight. There was a saloon in which Immortals were often seen. He went there seeking a challenge and he found one…and another and another. Pretty soon none but the stoutest and the most foolish were willing to frequent that establishment. One such challenger had a mortal wife and the couple was friends with Tony. Tony had tried to stop the fight but neither party would back down. In the end all Tony could do was take the woman away to wait.
Several weeks later Daniel received a letter from Anthony stating the wife had died from a broken spirit. Her last request was the head of her husband's killer. Tony could not refuse her. The next time the two of them met would be the last.
NCIS Building
Tony went to his desk to use his phone. He dug out a sheet of paper out of a small crevice in the back of a desk drawer. His eyes settled on the sixth name written there: Lilah Morgan. Her phone number was listed next to it. He took a deep breath and dialed.
The voice that answered was familiar but not the one he was hoping for, "Hello. This is Wesley."
Tony asked irritated, "Where's Lily?"
"Anthony, is that you?"
He managed to stay calm somehow. "Wes, I don't have time for this! Where's Lily? It's a matter of life and death."
On the other end Wesley sighed, "You're too late. She's been dead for almost a two years now."
Tony just about fell out of his chair stricken with grief. Quickly he was overcome with anger. "Who!"
Wes sighed again, "I did it."
"What!"
"She was fed on by a vampire. You remember Peter. I couldn't let it happen again. No matter what you think, I did love her."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too."
Tony hung up and went to the bathroom to clear his head. He splashed cold water on his face and stared at his reflection. In all his sixteen hundred years he had been with many women but only a few had left an impression; Lily was one of those. When he first met her she was still a pre-Immortal going through life with normal cares. She was innocent, pure, and sweet; not yet beset by the horrors of 'kill or be killed.'
Liliana was about to be kidnapped when Tony first saw her. The kidnappers thought. They would be able to get a large ransomed for the governor's daughter. Without hesitation Tony had leapt to the rescue, earning him Lily's admiration and the gratitude of Governor Benet. After that a century went by before they met again at the formation of the Seven. Their romance during those few years was passionate, but he left at the end, something he always regretted.
Flashback to 1885 A.D.
The group of Immortals known as the Seven was sitting around the table to confer for the last time. The room was in the upper story of a Salt Lake City saloon. Utah was Anthony's territory.
They all knew what they were doing there. Rumors had been spreading throughout the West that Bruce Barkow (Gibbs), the crime boss from Wyoming, was dead. A strange hero and his woman for trying to steal land had killed him.
"What now?" asked Dalton voicing the question on everyone's minds. "Do we reorganize? Keep going without your active participation? Relocate?"
Gibbs cleared his throat as he stood to his feet. "I suggest the four of you discuss all your options. We three," he indicated himself, Tony, and Horatio, "are leaving in the morning. Good luck with whatever you decide." He nodded and Tony and Horatio followed him out.
Gibbs and Tony lingered in the bar after bidding Horatio goodbye. The elder Immortal was off to visit an old friend in Ireland. Gibbs would be going to South America to find his fortune. Anthony's plans were uncertain but he might return to his Roman home to refocus.
After an hour or so the other four emerged from their confinement. Daniel and Dalton left at once, but Amanda and Lily took seats at the bar next to their men. Amanda soon persuaded Gibbs to go someplace more private. Now alone with Tony, Lily attempted to discover why he was leaving.
"It's just time for me to go."
"But I don't understand. You're not the one who died. Nothing is forcing you to go. We need your leadership. We need you."
"I think you mean you need me," Tony replied with a smirk. His smile faded when he saw the hurt in her eyes. "Lily…"
She was on the verge of tears when she choked out, "Anthony, please, I do need you. I love you!"
"Lily, I care for you very much but I can't… I have to go." And just like that he got up and left. She never saw him again.