Chapter Two
Outskirts of Tucson, AZ, two days later:

The jet cycle slowed as Derrick turned into a rundown shantytown area west of the city. Amber stared about at the thin, ragged residents, her nose wrinkling a bit at the stench of filth and human waste that permeated the air.

"Why are we stopping here?" she asked Derrick.

"To help" was all he said. He stopped the cycle and removed his helmet… shaking his head. He ran one hand over his head… wiping away the accumulated perspiration and sighed.

"It would take an awful lot of money to help these people," Amber grumbled. Since leaving Santa Fe… Derrick had stopped to purchase her a helmet, and last night had pulled off into a desert area where they'd shared a sleeping bag under the stars. As their first night… Derrick had made love to her with a practiced art.

"Have ya known many women then," she'd asked him idly afterwards.

"A few." He'd shrugged and then looked at her in wonder. "Does it matter?"

"No." She'd waited for him to ask her about hers… but he'd lain back and stared at the stars for a while before falling asleep. She'd curled up next to him and this morning… they'd hit the road early. Now… it seemed as if they'd arrived… but this shantytown was not where Amber could have foreseen their road leading.

Derrick climbed off to crouch in front of a small boy. "Can you keep an eye on her for me?" he asked the boy and nodded toward the bike. He tossed a five-dollar coin into the air. The boy grabbed it in wonder and nodded eagerly. "Keep her safe… and there'll be another in it for you… or maybe two." Derrick had risen as the boy scrambled over to sit next to the cycle. He clasped Amber's hand. "Come on… let's see who's about."

Amber followed… hugging close to Derrick. She didn't feel comfortable in this place. Hungry eyes peered from thin hollow faces and watched them pass. An old man sniffed as they walked by and then spat at the ground. A thin woman, with greasy gray locks and a gaping hole where she had once had front teeth, cackled and pointed. Three small, dark-haired, dark-eyed children, filthy, thin, barefoot, walked with them.

Then Amber felt it… an immortal presence. Immediately she raked her eyes over the abandoned cars, and other detritus of civilization. She pulled at Derrick to stop, undoing her coat for easy access to her cutlass.

"It's all right…" Derrick clasped both of her hands. "There's no danger here." He smiled. "Trust me."

Amber gazed around her hesitantly. "Ya know… for a newbie… ya have some strange ideas."

Derrick kissed her forehead, then continued along the twisted path amongst the increasingly higher piles of trash. Finally they stopped.

On a mound before them was a wild-eyed man with long dirty hair and beard, wearing a grease-spotted old coat over… faded long johns that might once have been red. He pointed in their direction. "Demons!" he shouted. "Demons walk the earth! They hunt us… They seek to steal our very souls! Beware!" His voice rang in the late afternoon air. Several of the denizens of the shantytown jeered, and waved hands at him dismissively.

Derrick dropped Amber's hand and slowly climbed the trash heap until he was within a few feet of the madman. He crouched down as the man attempted to scramble back away from him. "Demons! Come to steal our souls!" he cried out more loudly. His hands gripped an awkward length of metal. He began to swing it at Derrick.

Amber stumbled forward with a cry.

Derrick leaned back to avoid the swing of the weapon… and then reached forward and plucked it easily out of the man's hands. He tossed it to Amber.

The man screamed. "They've come for me!"

Derrick grasped the immortal's face in his hands, holding it firmly as he peered intently at him. Then he began speaking to him softly… so softly that Amber caught only part of what he said. "It's all right. No one here will hurt you. I'm your friend."

With a hint of embarrassment, Amber brushed her long hair out of her eyes and looked around… wondering if the mad immortal had a Watcher… and what he must think of all this.

Derrick managed to get the madman calmed down and had assisted him to a makeshift lean-to where the immortal curled up… mumbling and talking to himself. Derrick looked around and sighed. He grabbed Amber's hand.

"Wait here… I'm going for some food."

"Ya will not leave me here… me boyo!"

"I promised him one of us would be here when he woke up. He needs food. A lot of his delusions are from that. We need to eat. You can't drive the cycle. None of these cars work. Have I covered all your objections?" There was nothing accusatory in his voice… just amusement.

Amber glanced around.

"And I gather you are more than capable of defending yourself against anyone here… even him," Derrick added gently. He kissed the top of her head. "I shouldn't be long. We passed a grocery store about two miles back. I'll go there." He was off like a shot. He tossed two coins to the boy watching the cycle… climbed on, adjusted his helmet, started the ignition, and drove off before Amber could think of a single retort.

Nervously she smiled at the denizens of this place who eyed her suspiciously… slowly gathering around. Amber backed up. "I'll just keep an eye on this one until ma friend returns."

The people laughed and then went on about their business… such as it was. The old man spat. The woman cackled. Another man leered at her… but did not approach. The children wandered aimlessly through the trash.

Amber crouched down beside the rocking immortal… she refused to actually sit on anything here… listening to his mumbling. "Queen for a day! Come on down! What's behind… door number 2?" She shook her head. Evidently this fellow's mind was trapped somewhere in game-show dreamland.

Less than half an hour later… Derrick returned. He had a box of groceries strapped to the rear of the cycle. Amber sighed with relief. As he approached… Derrick tossed some apples to the children… spoke with the toothless woman and saluted the old man.

He set the box down next to Amber. "How's our friend?" he asked.

She gave him one of her patented smirks. He laughed and began unpacking food supplies.

"What do ya plan on makin'?" Amber asked as she stared at his purchases.

"Soup!" Derrick said with a grin.

Amber looked about. "We need a pot?"

"Aye… and here's one now!" Derrick gratefully accepted a dented tin pot from the toothless woman. Opening a jug of bottled water… he poured a little in… and then cleaned the interior of the pot out thoroughly. Setting it to one side… he stirred up the embers of the dying fire… added fuel, put the grate on top… then the pot… and began filling it with juice… chopped vegetables… a bone… some seasoning.

Soon… Amber noted the arrival of the others… salivating as they gathered around laughing.

"Will we be feedin' all o' them?"

Derrick nodded with a smile. "They're all hungry. It wouldn't be right to make some and not share."

The mad immortal sat up with a wild look in his eye. "Bam!" he said as he pretended he was tossing something into the soup.

Derrick settled beside him with a smile. "That's right! You have to season the soup!" He chuckled at some private memory. Then Amber heard him ask the immortal his name.

"Burke! Tyler Burke!" the man said. He cackled gleefully.

Amber eyed the blue sky and wondered just how it was she'd ended up in this madhouse. The toothless woman elbowed Amber's side about then and laughed. The old man spat in the dirt and glared at her with rheumy eyes. And more were on their way.

All in all… they likely fed close to twenty… although the children ate little. Big-eyed… they drank the broth and munched on the day old rolls Derrick had bought. He spoke with all of them… listening to their hopes and fears… offering what to Amber sounded like platitudes and common sense. But his words seemed to go over with them. The people nodded and seemed satisfied.

As darkness fell, and the sparks of the fire rose in the air… they gradually wandered back to their own shelters. Amber spread their sleeping bag out and crawled into it… not quite as fearful as she'd been earlier. Burke rolled into his lean-to and was soon snoring away. Derrick continued to sit by the fire… staring about. Amber turned her back on the fire… and tried to sleep. Her cutlass was beside her… within reach of her hand.

It was still dark when she awoke… not certain what had awakened her. Rolling over she saw Derrick still by the fire. Behind him she could still hear Burke's snores. Curling one hand under her head… she watched Derrick and wondered again what it was he saw and what madness had driven him to feed this group of people.

Over the fire… as if he knew she was watching him… thinking about him… he turned his face to stare at her. He stirred the fire… causing it the flames to leap high in the air… then he rose and settled on the ground next to her.

"Why did ya do this today?"

"They were hungry," he said as he leaned back against a rusted refrigerator.

Amber shook her head. "Ya canna keep doin' this. It isna safe." Her Boston Irish brogue had never seemed thicker.

"When I was a boy… my sister and I lived on the streets for a time. An immortal was after us and she thought that if we vanished onto the streets, he wouldn't find us. This is what we did." Derrick gestured about. "We watched the people around us… people who were hurt and in need… and we tried to help."

"This immortal… was he the one she had to kill?"

Derrick shook his head. "No… another immortal killed him."

Amber sat up and leaned against Derrick's side. "Her husband?"

Derrick laughed. "No… most definitely not her husband. He came later." His arm encircled her shoulders and held her, his voice taking on an odd quality. "Adam showed up later… and you could see by the way Ellie looked at him… that he was the man she loved. That he'd always been the man she loved." His voice trailed away sadly. His hand moved slowly up and down hers in a soft caress.

"So what happens tomorrow?" Amber finally asked.

"We move on."

"And why am I here?"

Derrick chuckled. "Because you wanted to come? I can't do this alone. But if you want… I'll drop you at the bus station and you can go where you want."

Amber thought about it. Then she laughed. "I canna leave ya alone out here. Not all o' us are like me or Burke there. Sooner or later ya're gonna meet up with a bad'n… and then ya'll really need ma 'elp."

She snuggled into his side… wishing they were alone. He squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head. She raised her face to his and kissed him back.

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It was singing that awakened her. Old Sal… the toothless woman… was wandering about singing to the sunshine. Children raced by… laughing. Derrick and Burke were working under the hood of a rusted old car. Derrick nodded at her with a grin.

Amber sighed… shook her head and got up… shaking the sleeping bag out carefully before folding it up and stowing it with their other things on the jet cycle. She grinned at the cycle's young guardian who flashed her a broad smile.

Sauntering back toward Derrick she stretched and thought about getting him to stop somewhere so she could get a shower. She'd been three days without one now… and she definitely needed one.

The engine of the old clunker suddenly roared to life. Burke slapped his hands together and jumped gleefully. Derrick met Amber's gaze and winked. Then he gathered his tools and stowed them in the small bag. He slung if over his shoulder as he sauntered toward her. "Ready?"

"More than ready," she said.

He nodded, slung an arm about her shoulders as they walked toward the bike. After tossing the boy some coins… he climbed on. Amber tucked her hair under her helmet and climbed on behind him. Derrick waved to the old man and headed off.

Moments later… Amber realized that the old clunker… with Burke at the wheel… was following them.

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Santa Fe:

Lisa Blackfoot tied her apron around her waist and glanced curiously about the bar. "Slim?" she asked, a bit puzzled.

Slim… re-washing some glasses glanced up. "Yeah?"

"Where's Connie tonight? Isn't she on?"

Slim shrugged. "She left here Friday night after closing… right friendly with a customer. I think she invited him up. Anyways... I found a note on the door when I came in on Saturday. She'd quit. Left me short-handed with you at your brother's wedding for the weekend."

Lisa bit her lip. "Are you sure it was her handwriting?"

Slim nodded.

"Did you check upstairs?"

Slim shrugged. "She left me the key… but I haven't had a chance." He obviously had his mind on other things.

Lisa tapped her fingers on the bar. "Humor me, Big Guy."

When he looked at her puzzled she smiled. "I might be interested in the rooms. Key?" She held her hand out and snapped her fingers before gesturing for the key.

Slim shrugged and handed it over. "Don't be long," he drawled.

"Won't take but a sec!" Lisa tossed him a teasing grin as she exited the cool dark bar and blinked momentarily in the late afternoon sunlight. Turning the door key in her hands thoughtfully… she sighed and shook her head.

Lisa climbed the stairs, used the key and entered the hot rooms… aware that they smelled a bit musty. She wandered through the two rooms and the bath… opening cabinets and checking drawers. She found nothing of interest.

Pulling a small PDA from her rear jeans pocket, Lisa entered a report and then read it over.

Sunday--Returned from wedding. Learned subject had vanished... possibly with another immortal. Will attempt to gather additional info. No signs of a struggle.

Lisa kicked at some bedding heaped on the floor. She made a further entry.

In fact... looks like they connected on a basic level.

Lisa grinned. If Amber Kathleen Conroy had become intimately involved with someone… it couldn't be an immortal. That was one hard fact in her chronicle over the centuries. Conroy carefully avoided close relationships with others of her kind. Lisa edited her entry removing the phrase about the man being an immortal. Satisfied for the moment… and knowing she'd have a report to make later to her supervisor that Conroy had moved on suddenly… Lisa closed and locked the door… descending the steps to do her six hours at the bar. Watcher or not… she couldn't leave Slim in a lurch. She'd file her report… tomorrow.

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