II.
Darkness in the woods, his youth in Glenfinnan, when he was a wee lad and life was simpler. Wolves, spares and swords instead of soldiers, pistols and machineguns. Nothing changed, just the nature of the enemy.
"How are you doing, Carter?" Duncan waited for the lad a little ahead, where the undergrowth was thicker. He had left his thoughts in the past to cast some light on the map in his hand and make sure they were on the right path.
"I'm fine," Carter panted behind Duncan, watching attentively at every move and noise in the bushes.
"You look tired. I'm sorry for the last-minute mission. You must have plenty of work to do already."
"Yeah, sometimes it's bad, but it's okay. I like to help as much as I can, that's why I enlisted for. It's just that we're short one man this week and we have to cover for him. How much longer? We're really far from the usual trails."
"That's the idea exactly. Anyway, the X marks the spot," he pointed at the bushes in front of them. "You can rest while I do this." Duncan folded the map and proceeded to unload the transmitter.
"Can I ask you a question, if it's not too personal?" Carter sat on a fallen branch, putting his things on one side. "Newkirk called you Highlander. What does it mean?"
"That means that I'm from the Northside of Scotland, the highlands. The best place on Earth, ask anyone." He buried a couple of stakes to keep the small post in place. "You should go there someday."
"Oh, sure… Is it far from London? I'm visiting Newkirk after the war. We could go together."
Duncan finished the connections and sent a signal. "Now, we just have to wait for confirmation," he said, picking up his tools. … "Are you good friends, you and Newkirk?"
"He's one of my best friends. He has a great sense of humour, he was an entertainer before the war. A magician, and I think he's a thief although he insists that he's not." Carter drank some water from his canteen. "Now he's going through something, I don't know what because he's not talking much but well, any other day, he would be here with us, I'm sure."
"I see… How long have you two known each other?"
"Not too long, but in this place, friendships feel like ages old. Kinch, LeBeau, Newkirk, even the colonel are my family, if you know what I mean."
"Band of brothers, yes, I know what it feels like." Duncan nodded with a smile. "It doesn't matter how long and how bad it is, or if you're warriors or just wanderers. War brings up the best in the worst of men."
"Right…" Carter stared at him. "That's really deep. Do SOE agents get into many wars?"
"Some of them do, but not all wars are in open battlefields."
"That light is twinkling." Carter pointed at the transmitter.
"That's the confirmation. It's done. We can go back now." Duncan stood up and made sure there was no trace of their presence left behind. "It will work for a couple of months. Then, another agent will come to move it somewhere else."
"Nothing lasts forever," Carter shook his head with a sigh.
Duncan's only answer was a smile.
They walked down the hill, taking a different route before heading for the tunnels. Near the main road, Duncan stopped, looking around. Carter was behind him, with his pistol in hand and getting nervous.
"What is it? Did you hear something?" He whispered as he squinted, trying to see what Duncan was seeing in the darkness.
"Ah, no… All is well but perhaps you should keep going. I'll follow you later."
"You mean, split? Right now? I don't think so. The colonel won't like that." He moved closer. He kept looking but it was too dark. "Let's stay together, okay? If there's anyone here, we should stay together."
A shot in the dark put an end to the conversation. The noise was unexpected and Carter lost his balance. In front of him, he saw a shadow sliding quietly towards them. He held his pistol with both hands and opened fire without aiming at anything in particular. The shadow disappeared quickly but Carter did not move until he realized that Duncan was too quiet. He sprung up and looked for his flashlight.
"Duncan!" His voice got raspy trying not to shout. "Duncan, are you okay?" The dim light showed the Scotsman lying on his back. He was not moving. Carter held his breath as he crawled toward him. "Hey, Duncan," he shook him and checked for wounds. He was about to heave a sigh of relief until he noticed the little hole in Duncan's forehead and the thread of blood flowing from it. "Oh, God, no... " Carter sat on his heels, staring at the body. Pain and frustration overwhelmed him and for a moment he did not know what to do.
He did not want to leave him there. They had never abandoned anyone in the forest before. What would the colonel do? What should he do? Carter took his radio and called the only one who could help him right now.
"Newkirk? Ah, over."
"Knave of Hearts? Easy with the names, I'm The Dormouse, remember? … What is it? Over."
"Duncan's dead… over."
There was a little pause. "No names… are you sure? Over."
"A bullet to his head… He's not breathing… He's dead…" He stared at Duncan, lost in thought. "What the- I mean, Over."
"You were shot? Are you okay? Are you safe? Over," the tension in his voice brought back Carter into reality.
Then, he saw something rolling from Duncan's forehead and the skin just healed before his eyes. "Oh, my God!"
"Carter? Carter! Are you there? Over."
"Ah… What happened with no names?" His hand trembled when he picked up something from the grass. "I'm okay… Over."
"The hell with the names. What's going on? Where are you? Are you safe? Bloody Over!"
Carter was contemplating the object in his hand when Duncan began to moan. He breathed deeply and sat up, looking at Carter, who looked back at him with terror in his eyes. Duncan grabbed his arm before the young sergeant crawled back.
"I'm okay, I can explain," he said, quickly getting on his knees. "Carter, it's okay, please. Let's talk."
"Talk? Do you know what just happened?" Carter gasped, trying to free his arm. "You- you were shot!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down… I know. I felt that!"
"Really, the bullet in your head? Yeah… good. Do you want it back?" He threw it at him. "Are you a ghost?" His voice trembled with fear and disbelief.
"Carter! Carter! Talk to me! Over."
"That's Newkirk." He pointed at the radio.
"Aren't you going to answer?" Duncan let Carter go. "I'm not going to hurt you… we're still on the same side."
Carter picked up the radio and pressed the button. "Yes, I'm okay… I was wrong, he's not dead… Never mind. Over and out." He put the device away and looked at Duncan suspiciously. "Why aren't you panicking? You just came back from the dead."
Duncan smirked, playing with the little bullet in his hand. "Yes, I know... This has happened to me before… I was 30 when I died the first time… in 1622."
"1622! That's ah- a long time ago!" Carter felt sick as this conversation progressed. "Wait. Did you say the first time?"
"320 years. Have some water."
"You're 320 years old!" Carter jumped to his feet.
"350, I was born in 1592." He got up too, looking around. "Don't panic, please, just keep your voice down. I know it looks weird."
"Weird? Sure, you can say that." Carter paced around with his hands over his head. "How? Why?... You're not human, are you? You have special powers?"
"I am human... and immortal. Drink some water, please." Duncan knew this was the kind of conversation that could get him in trouble. "How or why are questions I can't answer. You've got to trust me. I'm not evil, no special powers either." Duncan smirked, looking over his shoulder. "Carter? What happened after I was shot? Did you see anyone?"
"Yeah… I guess. A shadow, no… a man. I shot him… well, I aimed at him but he ran away. So I think I missed." Carter stopped on the spot to squint at him. "You heard him before he shot, didn't you? I didn't see anything but you knew he was there, right? Right?"
"Yes! Don't shout, please." Duncan came closer, keeping his voice down. "I'm not the only immortal, I felt his presence and he knows I'm immortal too."
Carter choked and shook his head. "How- how many of you are there? Why did he shoot you?"
"That's a long story and I shouldn't be telling you anything about it."
"Oh, sure, don't do it. Leave me here, going crazy. I saw you die, damn it!"
"Fine!" Duncan raised his voice, gesticulating widely. "There's a lot of us out there. Normal people until we die and come back. Not all are bad, not all are good. Not all want to kill me, and he shot me because he's a bloody bastard." He picked up his duffle bag and started walking.
"Wait, he wanted to kill you? You're immortal, you can't die."
"It's a way of talking. Carter, the less you know about me and people like me the better for you, and everybody else."
"Geez," Carter let out a deep sigh and ran behind him. He was quiet for a while, but Duncan was sure that more questions would come up soon. "Who is immortal?… Can I be immortal too?" He finally broke the silence.
"No, you're not immortal."
"How do you know?" He stopped with his eyes wide open. "You can't know, I have to die to become immortal, right? I haven't died yet."
The Highlander hesitated to answer. "I know you're not because… I know."
"Okay... What about the boys in the stalag? Can any of them be pre-immortal?"
"Pre-immortals," Duncan chuckled. "Carter, I can't tell you that."
"Why not?"
"Because the wizard threatened to turn me into a frog if I keep revealing our secrets."
"There's a wizard?" His eyes opened wide.
"That's a joke. There are no wizards… well, this is not a spell."
"Oh, c'mon, what if I say the names of my friends and you just blink when I mention the one that's going to be immortal?"
Duncan rolled his eyes and laughed. "I won't tell you. I won't blink."
"Damn… I will never see the guys the same way again. Boy, this is crazy."
"Crazy is a good way to put it. This has to be our secret, no one must know." Duncan stopped, put his hands on Carter's shoulders and looked at him eye to eye. "Do you understand? You have to promise never to tell anyone about what happened here or me."
"Okay, I promise," he smirked. "Who would believe me anyway?" He walked by Duncan's side, with his eyes on the ground. "It must be hard being immortal. All your friends die before you…"
"Carter..."
"I know, I know… I'm sorry. I won't talk about that anymore. I promise."
Hogan was not sure of the route Carter and Duncan had taken, so hearing Carter's voice coming his way was rather a relief. Of course, he would not tell him that, he should not be hearing Carter's voice at all.
"Sergeant, remind me to remind you of the directives about walking at night in hostile territory. I could hear you for miles." He turned his attention to Duncan, adopting a less formal tone. "Duncan, could you finish your mission?"
"It's done, Colonel, thank you for your cooperation." He looked at Carter and smiled. "The sergeant was very useful."
"Is everything okay, sir? I wasn't expecting to meet you on the road."
"Well, I heard shots a while ago and then, Newkirk radioed me about a confusing call… Do you know what he was talking about?"
"Oh, we engaged in some shooting but Carter responded to the fire very efficiently. I'm sorry if we were a little noisy, we were talking about the highlands and I was carried away."
Carter smiled and nodded. "I'm planning to visit Duncan in Scotland after I visit Newkirk in England... after the war, I mean."
"That's really moving." Hogan had a feeling that the conversation had gone beyond tourist destinations but this was not the best place for an inquiry. "We'd better keep going. The night has eyes."
"Oh, you betcha… sir," Carter corrected himself.
"Just keep your eyes open." Hogan led the way to their special route. "Duncan, you'll be our guest for the night."
"That sounds like a good plan, sir. Thank you."
The rest of the road was uneventful, with the occasional sound of branches cracking in the undergrowth. For Carter and Hogan, it could be some wild animal. For Duncan, it was just a reminder that his stalker was following them and for obvious reasons, he was not presenting himself right away. Lurking like a predator, he had now the advantage in the Game, he had found Duncan, he knew where he was and as a bonus prize, he had just uncovered one of the top-secret operations of the allies. Sometimes, being an immortal was way too complicated.
TBC
SOE: Special Operations Executive, a British organisation formed during World War II to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in territories occupied by the Axis forces.
