Chapter Ten
Seacouver, WA:

Derrick had angled back towards the coast as they'd made their way through the mountains. They'd continued camping out… sometimes in areas where there were other transients… but had met no other immortals.

Amber watched his easy manner with all he met… the way he listened to their concerns… and the way people opened up to him. He didn't prod and ask questions… he was just there… so focused on whoever said something… that somehow… they just kept talking and seemed to arrive at answers that had always eluded them. She knew that feeling.

When they were alone… the four of them… as Burke and Wingate continued to follow along… the others spoke of their pasts… Well… Burke's didn't make a whole lot of sense … but he was definitely beginning to string thoughts together… and his words were more and more coherent.

The weather… after the storm fronts that had moved through Denver returned to being warm and sunny. The heat continued to rise… and Amber felt cool only when they were moving… when the wind blew against her. She sometimes removed her safety helmet on long open stretches just to feel the wind.

When he'd headed west, toward the coast… he'd given no reason. He'd just shrugged and said he wanted to see the area.

On the southeastern edge of the port city… they'd arrived at a massive depressed area. He'd paused the jet cycle on the boundary and stared at the sheer size of the area and the large numbers of people milling about. He seemed to shudder and then shake his head.

Amber leaned forward whispering. "Ya're not alone. I'm here. We're all here."

He seemed to chuckle. She felt some of the tension drain from his back muscles. He leaned back slightly and turned to her. "I think… though… we need to stay elsewhere." He headed out of the area passing Burke, who braked to a stop. Derrick waved and said something about waiting here for him.

His destination appeared to be a mission situated on the edge of the area. He parked and, clasping Amber's hand tightly, he entered the mission. Inside… a crowd of people ate at metal tables. Amber could feel another immortal present. Derrick's grasp was even tighter as he crossed the crowded open room to the side of a young, dark-haired immortal woman who was taking names and giving meal passes to the people lined up. She looked at them without emotion.

"You don't need my help," she said curtly and turned her attention once more to the people in line.

"But perhaps we can assist you," Derrick said quietly.

The female immortal sat back and stared at him. Finally she laughed. "Can you sweep floors and wash dishes?"

Derrick shrugged. "Of course."

The young woman rose, telling the woman next to her to keep the line moving, and then motioned with her finger for Amber and Derrick to follow her. She led them into a kitchen area where several people were working. "I'm Michelle. I can always use help about this place."

A male immortal approached. Of average height with brown hair, he wiped his hands on his apron and looked at the two newcomers quizzically.

Michelle slipped an arm into the man's. "This is David. We run this place together."

"I remember you," Derrick said.

David shifted and stared. "I'm sorry I don't think so."

Derrick chuckled. "I was a bit younger at the time. About a dozen years ago… Switzerland?"

The faces of both of the new immortals expressed surprise. They looked at one another uneasily. Finally Michelle asked quietly, "You were there?"

Derrick nodded. "I came with your rescuers." He shrugged. "You likely never saw me… but I saw some of you."

Amber stepped back curiously, her eyes shifting between all three of them. "Ya're talkin' about the Watchers and their scheme," she said with surprise. "How is it ya know of it Derrick? Ya musta still been a boy."

"Eighteen," Derrick admitted.

David nodded. "I think I remember you now. You came with MacLeod."

Derrick nodded.

Amber felt lost. She knew what had happened in Switzerland… how a group of Watchers led by Henry Rawlins had kidnapped and drugged immortals to study their dreams… to learn what made them immortal… and to steal their immortality from them. She'd been a part of it too… although not in Switzerland. She'd been rescued from Watcher hands by another immortal, Katya. And with her and some others had worked on this side of the globe to find and rescue other immortals. She'd heard the full story only after everything was over.

She stared at Derrick as if she'd never before seen him. "Ya never said anything," she finally said… her voice breaking a bit.

Derrick shrugged. "I didn't think it was important. I was just a boy. I didn't really do anything. I was just there to help my sister and her husband."

Amber turned away, shaking her head. "Ya still shoulda told me."

Derrick reached for her hand, but she shrugged it loose as she stormed out of the kitchen into the dining hall of the mission. She couldn't breathe… she had to get out of here. She still had flashbacks to that time of her life. Although it had been months since it had last happened, she still woke sometimes startled and feeling the taste of the drugs in her mouth. She'd come so close to dying. She hurried through the hall and out into the sunshine where she gulped in a great lungful of air.

A few minutes late, Derrick joined her quietly. "You have enough fears and nightmares without recalling that time of your life."

She glared at him. "Ya still shoulda told me," she repeated.

Derrick nodded at a couple passing them to enter the mission; then stuck his hands in his pockets. "Perhaps I should have. I'm sorry. It's just something I've never spoken of with anyone since the day it happened."

"Because ya never ran into another immortal until me… after ya died."

Derrick nodded. "It was a long time ago. I didn't really think about it until I saw them. They were there. I just never thought about it with you. As I said, you have enough nightmares and fears without talking about that time of your life."

Amber stared at the horizon and wondered how he knew about her nightmares. She pulled the band from her hair and then pulled her hair back into a fresh ponytail. She turned to face Derrick. "So? We still gonna work here?"

Derrick smiled. "I'd like to. I was a boy in this town. I wanted to see it again. Visit some old graves… walk some of the streets and see how much it had changed."

"Ya grew up here?"

Derrick shook his head. "No… but I nearly died here a couple of times. Instead, others died. I need to pay my respects. And… at the same time…" he pulled her into his arms and teasingly kissed her. "I thought we could help out and give something back."

Amber snorted. "Even Burke and Wingate?"

Derrick looked around. "Sure. Burke can sweep the floors. Wingate can wash the dishes. You can serve soup."

Amber looked at him thoughtfully. "And what would you do?"

He looked at her soberly; his blue eyes focused on her. "Whatever is called for. Whatever people need."

Amber nodded and leaned into his chest to rest her head against him and close her eyes. For a moment, she swore she could hear Connor MacLeod's staccato laugh. "Ahh… Katie-girl… you're in for it now!"

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Chicago, IL:

As it turned out… Methos felt it safer to head north rather than continue west. He felt Sarah Manning was still watching him… and he needed to lose her. What better place than Chicago!

"Sorry, my love," he whispered to Eleanor's presence. "It may take longer than I originally thought."

He felt her sadness… but she seemed to nod and agree. He had to lose his little shadow.

Now… among the busy highways surrounding this major mid-western city he drove… shifting from lane to lane, changing directions… aware that while he neither sensed nor saw any sign of being followed… he likely was.

Finally he pulled off the highway and located a hotel.

"We stopping so soon?" Jayne asked.

"I need to make it look like we've arrived at our destination."

"You really think she's following us somehow?" Jayne shook her head.

Methos nodded as he parked the Centaur. "I'd count on it. I haven't remained alive so long without being cautious and considering all the possibilities."

Jayne smirked. "So the secret of your longevity is paranoia."

Methos eyed her carefully and then nodded. "Wait here… I'll see about rooms."

Once they were checked-in, he left Jayne at the hotel while he drove the car to a service station and had it put on a rack for diagnostics.

He stood in the waiting area… drinking bitter vending machine coffee and smelling gas, oil, and cigarette smoke. Through the glass observation window he watched the technician run the diagnostics on the car's computer and do a once over. After thirty minutes, the tech scratched his head and glanced in Methos' direction.

The immortal smiled. Obviously he'd found something. Methos waited for the tech to join him in the waiting room.

"Your GPS is operating strangely," the man said.

Methos nodded. "Can you disengage it?"

"Well… yeah… but would you want to? It is a safety feature."

"Humor me,"

The tech insisted that Methos sign a waiver and then returned to the pit.

Methos tossed the coffee into the trash. She accessed the GPS! he thought. That conniving little bitch! He slammed one fist into a wall, instantly regretting the action when the momentary pain of broken bones assaulted his senses. Still… it helped him focus. He shook his hand and made a fist… already feeling his healing power restore it.

Without the GPS… Sarah would have to find another way to track him. It was inevitable that she would. What confused him was why… other than just a physical attraction and a desire to revisit a former relationship. Perhaps he needed another car. Or perhaps he should change his mind and take a flight out west. Either option meant losing the convenience and speed of the Centaur. No… he'd remain with the car for now. If Sarah could hack into his GPS… then she'd be able to know if he bought an airline ticket or rented a car. Methos had a feeling her act of the evening before was exactly that… an act.

Idly he wondered if Cassandra had ever mentioned him to Sarah. When he'd studied Sarah's file in the nineties… there was no mention of her crossing paths with the psychic in decades and Cassandra had not known he was alive until later. He'd have to check with Jayne about any further meetings… or perhaps he'd just contact Cassandra herself.

After settling onto a chair, he pulled his PPC out and tapped out a message with the stylus… firing off an email to her… and bcc: to MacLeod. He wanted the Highlander aware of things. After all, Methos smiled, Duncan MacLeod was the titular clan leader of the immortals these days. His friendships with other immortals crossed all lines, and his noble character was attempting to forge an immortal community of sorts from the remains of Henry Rawlins' experiments.

Once done, Methos settled back and closed his eyes, to watch his children at play… through Eleanor's green eyes.

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Sarah snarled as the locator information blinked out on her car computer. "He found it!" Angrily she tapped her long nails against the steering wheel. Thank goodness… she still had the back-up plan.

Swiftly she accessed the satellite surveillance program and painted the Centaur as a target. Sarah had worked in a government think tank for a few decades and had been hands on for many of the new covert surveillance projects. She used them to find her targets and to avoid challenges.

Since running into Benjamin Adams… or whoever the hell he really was… last night… quite by accident… and being rejected by him… she'd been busy backtracking his movements and studying data concerning "Adam Pierson", the name he'd used at the hotel. Yesterday, he'd also purchased three tickets on the high altitude flight to Athens, Greece for Ellen Pierson, and two children.

Sarah studied the security photos of the woman and the two children as they'd checked in at the airport. "Children?" she said aloud. "Are they hers? Are you two playing at a family? If so… why is she leaving? Why are you traveling with a female friend?" Sarah was presented with a mystery. And she loved mysteries. She always had.

The Centaur pulled out of the service station and returned to the hotel.

Sarah noted it… and then began to check through her data files for just who was in the greater Chicago area that she could use.

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