Q me?

Chapter 4:  And a Light Went Out

"Aganesthes of Tiryns" I mused "Well that blows one carefully researched theory straight to hell.  I'm glad Don's not here to see his pet theory take it on the chin."

"What theory would that be?"
I stretched, trying to find a comfortable position.  Don't let anyone fool you, getting old sucks, on the other hand the alternative isn't exactly a bed of roses either.  Mac refilled my glass while arching a brow.

"Is that a bribe?"

Duncan made a show of checking the label "If it is then I'd better throw in the rest of the bottle."

"Some friend" I complained "Serving me cheap booze."  I shook my in weary disdain before continuing "After the Academy the Tribunal refused to give me a field position even though I'd placed second in my class."  I tapped my cane against my leg "Apparently they thought I couldn't handle the leg work."  I frowned into my drink a bit surprised at the amount of bitterness in my voice "They stuffed me as far into a dark corner as they could get me and then they tried to forget me.  I was sulking in that corner when Don Salzer asked for my help.  Don loved research.  He loved finding answers that had been under everyone's noses all along, like proving that Rivkah was had been Agamemnon's lover right before the Trojan War.  God, he loved it.  His enthusiasm was infectious.  We were going to find the answer to one of the big ones."  I let the silence run long enough for Amanda to fidget impatiently before continuing "Who did Darius kill at the gate of Paris?  Don even had a man in mind but he said needed help finding the proof.  We never did find enough to convince the Head of Research but it got me out of that damn corner and into a field position.  After you left I became a lecturer at the Academy and I've been using those old notes I made in a couple of my classes."  I took a swallow before grinning wryly at them "which is why I know more than any Watcher alive about Aganesthes of Tiryns."

Mac's eyes lit up like a kid's in a candy store "And that is?"

"Damn little" I replied "We know that he taught some of the best.  Not just the best fighters, Mac, some of them were only indifferent sword's men, but they were all great, artists, poets, musicians, healers, architects, philosophers, the crème de la crème of the Immortals of antiquity.  People who made a difference" I shrugged "but the man himself was a mystery.  He had one hell of a knack for loosing Watchers.  Don's whole argument rested on three snippets of information.  One, the last confirmed sighting of Aganesthes of Tiryns was at Rebecca's home, less than a day's ride from Paris.  Two, Rebecca's Watcher reported that he rode from Rebecca's toward Paris the same day that Darius received the 'light Quickening'.  Three, Darius' Watcher saw the Quickening from a distance.  The only thing we know about the other Immortal is that he was tall and had black hair.  Don was so sure it had to be Aganesthes of Tiryns."

"It wasn't Aganesthes" Amanda offered "it was 'Tep and I wouldn't mention Darius anywhere near Ariel."

"Why not?" Mac asked I just sipped my drink to cover a smirk.  Four hundred years old and it wasn't obvious?  I found myself thanking God for my recorder as Amanda gave me the answer to another Watcher mystery…

853 AD

"I told you, you were more than good enough."

Amanda nodded wearily.

"Come, the servants have drawn you a bath and the cook is preparing you a trencher…"

Amanda relaxed back "Thank you Rebecca.  I needed that."

"You're welcome, now rest."

Amanda made a small sound of protest.

"Even Immortals need rest" Rebecca admonished gently.

"I met another of us" Amanda mumbled sleepily.

"Another battle?  So soon?"

"No.  It was in Paris.  He's a priest, Father Darius."

"Ah, yes, Father Darius" Rebecca's voice was too bland, Amanda shook off her near doze "You don't like him, do you?  That's why you never mentioned him."

Rebecca sighed "He murdered a very good friend."

"But he's a priest" she protested "and he has such gentle eyes."

"He didn't always" Rebecca said sharply.

Amanda straightened quickly and then swayed with fatigue.  Rebecca steadied her gently "Come, I'll help you up the stairs."  She smiled as she slipped an arm around Amanda's shoulders "It wouldn't do for the servants to see you rise from the dead."  The two women moved unsteadily up the stairs.  Rebecca tucked the blankets under Amanda's chin and turned to go.  She rolled her eyes in exasperation as Amanda caught the edge of her gown "What?"

"Tell me about Darius" she tilted her head coquettishly "Please."

"Aren't you a little old for bed time stories?" Rebecca sighed.  Her breath hung in the chilling night air and she shivered "Oh, all right, make room.  When Rome fell it left a great swirling vacuum of power.  Every petty warlord and minor bureaucrat was squabbling for their piece of the pie while the barbarian hordes poured in from all sides.  Ari-El had scattered his proteges across the continent in an attempt to provide a few islands of sanity and stability.  He sent Belasaruis  to Constantinople, Imhotep to Egypt, Gaicus remained in Rome with Constantine, I came here to Gaul while Ari-El himself went north to Britannia with Ceirdwyn.  It was 589 AD and things were just beginning to settle down.  The kingdoms that had arisen from Rome's ashes were beginning to find some resemblance of stability when Darius assembled his Goths.  Ari-El had left Britain some years before when he finally became disgusted with the bickering of the petty warlords.  They were good years even with the world going to hell in a handbasket around us.  Imhotep and Ashe had both come to visit.  It was almost like the old days but Ashe fell madly in love with some gypsy's daughter and went chasing after her."  She gave Amanda a bittersweet smile "We were so happy and then that" her voice broke on the edge of tears "murdering bastard slaughtered Imhotep.  I'd never seen Ari take a death so hard.  The last thing they did was argue.  Darius had sent a messenger asking us to meet him on Holy Ground.  He claimed that he wanted to negotiate the surrender of the city.  He promised he would spare the city if we met him.  Ari-El was sure it was a trap but Imhotep didn't care…"

"'Tep it is a trap.  'Tep your breeches are on fire" Ari-El caught the reins of Imhotep's golden dun, forcing its head around "It does not matter what I say does it?"

"Of course it matters" Imhotep snapped back as Ari-El calmed the horse absentmindedly "People die 'Tep."

"Because they must?  Or because you let them?"

"It is their nature.  They are born, they live for a season, they die."

"There is nothing natural about war.  I am sorry, Au'Brey, but I can't stand by and watch.  I don't have your patience, your wisdom, and most of all, your indifference.  You can't possibly be surprised I am what you made me."

"I did not make you anything.  I merely showed you the path you were already looking for" Ari pushed the dun's questing lips away from his hair before continuing despondently "Apparently it was the road to your own destruction."  He stroked the horse's velvety muzzle before raising his eyes to meet Imhotep's "What do you expect to gain by this suicide?  Darius has no intention of sparring the city.  He intends to take the head of any Immortal foolish enough to come."

"The meeting is on Holy Ground."

"The way there is not and neither is the way back.  He is already waiting to ambush you.  'Tep" he rested a hand on Imhotep's knee as a pleading note entered his voice "please, do not do this.  Stay.  Live." His voice quivered "Please."

Imhotep was clearly taken aback and momentarily at a loss for words "I can't, I'm sorry but I can't."

Ari-El stepped away, his face hardening "Mine, in life and death, or had you forgotten that?"

"You wouldn't."

"You swore to obey me even if it cost you your life.  Very well I command you not to die but to live.  You shall not go."

Imhotep swallowed before drawing his sword, "There can be only one."

Ari-El gave the sword a disparaging glance "You have never taken a head, do you expect me to believe you intend to start now?"   Ari-El straightened as Imhotep's sword hovered an inch from his throat.  He wretched the sword out of Imhotep's grasp so quickly Imhotep had no time to react before his own sword was leveled at his own throat "Do you really want to die this badly?"
Both men's eyes were clouded with pain as Imhotep asked "What was it that Eastern student of yours said, when he left to make his own way in the world?"

"We both know what he said."

'Humor me."

"His name was Meng-tzu and I understand your point 'Tep.  I just do not agree with him or you.  I know you do not want the sack of Paris on your conscience so be it mine can bear the burden."  He lowered the sword to hang over Imhotep's heart. "If you are dead you can not go."

There were tears on his face and steel in his voice when he answered "If you use that sword on me, I swear that I will hunt you and one of us will die.  That is…" his voice faltered "an oath."

Ari-El backed away from the dun, stunned "You mean that" he formally presented Imhotep his sword.  His eyes and manner had gone as cold and distant as the Arctic tundra "Go then, go and die."

Ari-El pivoted and strolled gracefully away ignoring Imhotep as completely as if he no longer existed…

                She scanned the walkway and the battlements a third time, still not finding the Immortal her senses told her was there.  It wasn't until she'd walked past him that she actually saw him.  Uncharacteristically Ari-El didn't acknowledge her presence, he merely continued staring off into blankly into the forest.

"Where are Maher and Menhet. Not terrorizing my servants again I hope?"

"Not your servants" Ari-El's voice was hollow and vacant "but Darius'.  He has lost twelve of his best marksmen and three squads of crack troops, but I prevailed.  Imhotep rode through every ambush site unscathed.  I lost Shenyah, a pity, she was a fine and loyal hound."

"Twelve archers and three squads" Rebecca echoed "he didn't plan on anyone getting through did he."

It wasn't a question but Ari-El rebutted sarcastically "I do seem to recall saying something to that effect."  His eyes were still vague.  She rested a hand on his shoulder as she joined him on the parapet.

"At least he's safe for now.  Darius wouldn't attack him on Holy Ground."

Ari-El stiffened a bit "Do not be so sure."  When he looked at her it was with his usual sharp intensity "Apparently Darius reserved his best archer in the nave."  He rubbed his own chest "Impressive shot, really, right through the heart.  Instant kill.  The same way he got Shenyah when I sent her to clear the church."

Rebecca was stunned "He attacked Imhotep on Holy Ground."

"No, his men attacked Imhotep on Holy Ground" Ari-El slumped forward and hid his face in his hands "He was a dead man the moment he rode out of the gates but I had to try.  Darius is taking no chances" tears slid between Ari-El's mocha lashes "He knows he is no match for Imhotep.  There was no fight.  Darius had him brought out to the city gates, bound hand and foot, and there in front of his men he will take his head."

"NO" Mac thundered as he grasped Amanda's arm hard enough to elicit a gasp.  "Darius couldn't have done that."

"MacLeod, you are hurting me" was Amanda's clipped reply.

"Sorry" was Mac's immediate and chagrined response.

"Believe it, Mac" I said, reluctantly "Darius took the Quickening of a bound man in front of his whole damned army."

Mac sank back into his pillows with a lost look in his eyes as he stared at me, willing me to tell him I was wrong, that it was a lie.  God, I wanted to, anything to wipe that look off his face, but it was the truth.

"The Darius you knew never would have done it" I offered as a platitude.

"No" Duncan managed a weak smile "He would nay hae doon such a harrid thing."  He drew a fortifying breath before looking at Amanda "You had better finish it."

                They sat together on the wall in strained silence until Ari-El sobbed once softly "He is dead."

"Tears for Imhotep" she whispered "but you had none to shed for Eveshka.  Not a single tear for your own daughter."

"Don't, Riv" Ari-El's calm tone lay in sharp contrast with the tears that ran unchecked down his fine-boned face "Don't push me today.  You will not like the results."

Rebecca collected a single tear.  She let the drop hang from the tip of her forefinger "More precious than gold and diamonds are the tears of the Old Man of the Mountain and far, far rarer.  I didn't even know you knew how to weep.  Always dry eyed and nonchalant, even at the grave of your only child."

Ari-El replied without raising his head "Eveshka died because she was more than ready, Rivkah.  Imhotep died because a power maddened degenerate murdered him."  His voice wavered then steadied "he had so much more to do, so much more to give, so many dreams destroyed, so many changes aborted, so much potential lost.  He could have done so much more if he had only been willing to sacrifice the few."

Her voice was cold and angry "If he had been willing to sacrifice anyone he wouldn't have been the man you mourn.  And Eveshka wasn't ready either."

Ari-El's head snapped up.  There were no more tears glistening in eyes, only rage "Oh, yes she was, woman, and had been for over a century.  She lingered because she didn't want to hurt you.  Her lips smiled while her soul was as hollow as the grave but you did not see.  You were too selfish to see.  You call me heartless but at least I did not force our daughter to be little better than a walking corpse…" 

Whatever else Ari-El might have said was lost in Rebecca's shriek of outrage.  She drew back and tried to slap him but he blocked her.  Several bones in her hand snapped with a sickening crunch.  Her hurt filled glare was lost on Ari-El as his attention shifted to the horizon.  A narrowing of his eyes was the only warning before he launched himself off the parapets.  Rebecca broke into a run, nearly stumbling down the uneven stairs in an effort to overtake Ari-El.  When she reached the courtyard he was already mounted and on his way to the gate.   Ari-El's stallion squealed and reared as he tried to avoid trampling her.  There was a fey and wild light in Ari-El's eyes.  His horse pranced restlessly, tossing his head and pawing at the delay.

"Did you require something?" his voice was calm but there was a dark and dangerous undercurrent in it.

"An explanation."

A flicker of emotion crossed his faced and when he spoke sorrow tempered the rage "I think we have done each other enough harm today, don't you?"

 She glanced up into his wild eyes "I've never seen you like this before.  I'm worried.  What if you don't return either?"

Ari-El laughed, a wild, insane sound "Neither Darius nor his army can do me any harm I do not permit."

He gave her a cold, deadly smile "And I am not in a generous mood this day."

"Why now and not before?"

Ari-El's stallion's ears flattened against his head and he bellowed a war cry.

"Darius is preparing his troops to sack the city."

Rivkah leapt back as the stallion snapped viscously.  To Rivkah's surprise Ari-El made no attempt to restrain him.

"That didn't matter to you before."

It was several long moments before Ari-El managed to speak.  His voice when it finally emerged was a low dragging growl "Imhotep died to spare the city.  So be it, Darius will spare the city and hell be damned the consequences and woe to the fool who crosses me."  He next words were carefully enunciated "Get. Out. Of. My. Way. Woman."

As she stood aside she challenged " Hypocrite!  All those years, all those times you insisted you didn't believe in vengeance, it was all a lie.  This isn't about the people, it's about your damn pride!  Go!  Go, kill Darius but don't pretend it's for Imhotep or the Parisians, not to me."

Ari-El laughed and it was the most terrifying sound she had ever heard and the feral gleam in his eyes was worse.  His smile was the slow, lazy look of a stated predator "So many years, so many lifetimes and you understand so little, woman."  She could no longer meet his burning eyes so she concentrated on his deceptively delicate hands. They trembled ever so slightly as did the stallion's silver withers.  "Imhotep's last wish was for the people of Paris.  His last thought that his death was a small price to pay for the city."

The fine tremors increased as the muscles of his arms corded "Paris wasn't worth his notice much less his life."  The stallion tossed his head in protest as Ari-El's hands tightened on the reins but Ari-El paid the animal no notice "The price is paid.  The deal will be kept.  And Darius will pay for breaking my law but not with his head" Rebecca drew back in fear from this stranger that wore Ari-El's face "Oh, no I have something far more… appropriate in mind for the great general."  With a cry that seemed to split the very flagstones the silver stallion shot from the court and into the distance…

"So what happened?" Mac asked when the silence grew long.

Amanda shrugged sheepishly and sipped her wine "I fell asleep."

"You fell asleep?" Mac echoed incredulously.

"I'd been on the run for three days" she snapped back, indignantly "and I'd just taken my first head."

Mac shot her an apologetic look as he thoughtfully sipped his drink "So, was Darius' change the result of Imhotep's Quickening or Ariel's wrath?"

"For his desecration of Holy Ground the Lord sent the archangel Michael to smite the great general.  And behold a horse the color of moonlight on water and…" I let my voice trail off as I ransacked my memory for the rest.

Mac's word jarred me out of my thoughts "That sounded like a quote."

"It is" I rose stiffly and walked slowly over to Mac's computer. "Do you mind?"  I asked before settling heavily into one of the barge's few chairs.

"Be my guest" Mac offered.  I cracked my knuckles and rapidly logged on.  Mac frowned as he settled onto a chest behind me "Are you certain this is secure?"
"Bulletproof" I grinned smugly.

Mac rolled his eyes "Where have I heard that before?"

"Hey" I protested "This is Dice's work.  You remember Dice, don't you?"

"I remember" Mac's replied with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

"Besides" I rationalized "I can only access my own files, remotely, not the entire database."

"That's a comfort" Mac retorted with even less enthusiasm.

"Voila" I turned the laptop toward MacLeod "An updated translation of Darius' Watcher's field report for June 20 and 21st 589 AD."

June 20th

"I could not believe even Darius would be so bold.  Bad enough to lure another Immortal onto Holy Ground and then break truce but to then take the Quickening before the entire host.  What folly is this?

I wonder as I stand with my squad what the men's final reaction will be to this blatant display of Immortality?  Unfortunately, it is my watch.  When I am relived in two candlemarks I will try to view the body so that I can give a more complete description of the 'loser'.  It should not be difficult since Darius has had the head raised on a pike in the midst of camp.  I

June 21st

"My God, my God, my God it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.  As the wise men say pride goes before a fall.  For his desecration of Holy Ground the Lord sent an archangel to smite the haughty general.  We were preparing to sack the city yesterday when the earth and sky betrayed us.  First the animals panicked and bolted.  The horses trampled three of my dearest comrades and nearly myself in their madness.  No sooner had the horses and hounds vanished than the ground heaved like an unbroken stallion and the wind shrieked like a lost soul in torment.  The wind died as abruptly as it had began and an inky blackness suddenly swallowed every glint of light.  Some of the men cursed, others wept, some cried out to their gods.  The entire army was in panicked disarray.  I was hard put to keep my footing and many men were trampled by their fellows.  By memory I found a boulder and clambered onto it to preserve my life and to have a vantage point.  By touch I found a bit of bark and tried to light it with my tinder box but each spark I struck was in its turn devoured by the unrelenting darkness.    I dropped the bark as my fingers began to burn.  I shivered then my terror nearly unmanning me.  If it had not been for the cries of my fellow men I would have believed myself stuck blind.  I leapt from my boulder with a cry as I realized that those sounds were rapidly fading away.  Even my own voice was consumed by the unnatural silence.  I flailed my arms and creamed until my throat was raw but my fingers found neither stone nor flesh and my voice was stilled.   I can not tell the Tribune how long this uncanny night lasted.  It seemed longer than all the days of my life.  Just as I feared my sanity could bear no more a light appeared brighter than the sun on Mid-Summer's Day and behold out of the light came a horse the color of moonlight on water.  And on his back rode a man who was brighter than the brightest star.  The brilliance was piercing and I threw my arm before my eyes but it had no effect I could see him just as clearly.  He was blue.  His clothing was the deep velvet blue of the sky just after sunset.  His flesh was the pale blue-white of the Quickening.  Even thought the air was as still as the tomb his hair and cloak rippled as if in their own private wind.   His radiance cast no real light though, his light illuminated nothing else.  He was the most beautiful being that I had ever seen.  The horse began to float through the air in a graceful extended trot.  Horse and rider crossed the breadth of the field in ghostly silence.  They came to an abrupt halt.   The glow crept slowly outward from the rider gradually revealing each blade of grass to illuminate Darius as he stood in proud defiance.   They stared at one another in silence until Darius could bear it no longer.

"Who are you and what do want?" he snapped

The rider did not answer.

Darius raised his sword to smite the rider.  The rider still did not flinch but as Darius swung lightings encircled the blade and melted it to slag.

"Who are you?"

The rider's voice was as pleasing as his form and though he did not speak loudly his voice rang across the field "I am the Keeper of the Law.  I am your judge and if I so choose your executioner."

Darius sneered at the Horseman "Who are you to judge me."

The Horseman bared his teeth in a parody of a smile "I was the anointed one who covered.  I ride the White Horse.  I am the First Horseman.  I am he who goes forth conquering and to Conquer.  I am the Lord of Air and Fire.  I am the Prince of this World.  I am the Commander of the Host.  I am the Protector of the Chosen.   I am the Blade."  He paused and I wondered frantically if this being had been the last sight of the people of Pompeii and Herculanium.  A beam of light blazed across the camp and cradled the headless body lifting it tenderly from where it had been discarded in the midden heap.   The body hung before Darius in silent accusation.  Darius' jaw hardened in defiance and he raised his eyes to meet the Horseman's "You have no grounds for complaint.  He did not die on Holy Ground."

The Horseman's reply was no louder than a whisper and yet it carried clearly in the still air "This is no trial.  I am not here to judge but to pass sentence."  The Horseman held out one blue hand.  Darius gave one mighty heave, thrashing like a fish on a hook but it did him no good.  He was drawn inexorably toward the Horseman's waiting hand.  The Horseman seized Darius' chin and the general sagged bonelessly in the other's relentless grip.  The general swayed blankly to his knees as the Horseman released him abruptly.

"Darius" the Horseman began but even at a distance I could see there was nothing in the general's eyes.

"Darius" the Horseman snapped the first tendrils of anger and impatience marring the smooth beauty of his voice "Darius" the Horseman command more sharply still.  The general blinked up at him like a man more asleep than awake.  "Hear me, fool.  You have robbed my world of this man's Gifts and this man's Light so be it, you will bear the burden of both but without the favor in which this man walked.  You will long to heal the wounds of this world but you will fail, always."  The Horseman smiled "It is said that as a man sows so shall he reap.  You have violated the one sanctuary that is granted the Quickened and so you shall have no sanctuary.  Holy Ground will be no protection."  The smile widened "A bit of benevolence, I will grant you a new gift, foresight.  May it bring you no peace and less joy."   The Horseman's eyes traveled to Darius' gory trophy "I wonder, when the time comes for you to choose between life and death which choice you will make."  The Horseman's smile was pure malice "Pleasant dreams, general."

                I groped my way back to the rock as the light cast by the Horseman vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.  I sat quietly on my rock with the thunder of my own heart as my only companion until Grayson's voice shattered the silence.  The darkness vanished as swiftly as it had appeared leaving me blinking foolishly into the twilight. 

"Darius" he snapped again as his gelding tossed head nervously.  Darius lay exactly as he had fallen and his eyes were fixed and unblinking.  Grayson's tone changed from impatient anger to worry and he quickly dismounted and knelt by his mentor.  His horse tried to bolt but he caught the reins deftly. 

"You" he snapped the ends of the reins across one of Darius' guards' face raising welts.  The man blinked out of his stupor and promptly fled in terror.  Greyson shook another man out of his daze only to have him collapse in hysterics.  Grayson began to curse vehemently when he failed to rouse any response from a third man.  His gaze locked with mine and he summoned me with a glare.  It was with great trepidation that I approached my assignment.  I nearly fell when my numb legs faltered but I pushed on knowing Grayson killed men for minor infractions.  I accepted the reins of his dapple gray gelding while noting the deep gashes across his near flank.  The saddle was dark with blood and I wondered what had become of the three squads that had ridden out with Grayson.  When all of Grayson's cajoling failed to elicit any response from Darius' still form he rounded on me "What happened here or have you been struck mute?"

"No, Lord Claudianus" I began but the look in his eye caused me to relate events as quickly as possible while taking great care to remain ignorant of all things Immortal. 

Grayson rose and took back the reins "Go.  Find some men who still have their wits about them and set up His Lordship's tent."

I fled from Grayson.  I experienced a moment's pity as I watched him trying to rouse Darius but it passed swiftly as I recalled the horrors these men had inflicted on others.

June 23rd

The Immortal Darius remains unconscious in his tent.  Grayson's temper grows shorter by the candlemark.  The men are restless and frightened.  There have been many desertions during the night.  The men sent to recover the lost beasts had no success nor did any of the hunting parties.  No beast domestic or wild is to be found within three leagues of camp.  The silence is eerie, no birds overhead, no hounds baying, no jingling of tack just the men's voices, quiet and subdued.

June 24th

                I am torn.  Darius emerged from his tent long enough to disband the army.  Rumor has it that he has requested entrance to the monastery.  Grayson is desperately trying to revive moral.  The task is hopeless.  The men are already scattering into the countryside.  Technically, Grayson is my assignment and if I do not follow him God alone knows when we will find him again.  But with Rynard's and Hrothgar's deaths there is no one to Watch Darius at this critical time.

I turned back to Mac "He stayed with Darius and we lost Grayson for over a century."

"And you just happen to keep this in your personal files?"

I shrugged "I use this in some of my lectures."

Mac was about to comment when there was a sharp rap on the door.  I threw Amanda a questioning glance but she merely looked innocent as Mac went to the door.

"Inspector LeBrun" the shock in Mac's voice was evident.   I was more than a bit surprised to see the man at Mac's door myself though for a very different reason.

"May I?"  Mac stepped aside.  LeBrun cast me a disapproving glance before greeting me with a less than warm "Dawson."

Mac obviously drew the correct assumption from the exchange and steeled himself "What's happened to Adam?"
LeBrun looked momentarily confused before replying "If you are referring to Methos, nothing, that I am aware of."  LeBrun drew a fortifying breath before continuing "I have been assigned as the senior officer on the Gonzalas case."

"I gave my statement to Inspector Dubois yesterday."

"Yes, well, given the volatile and highly public nature of the case it was felt that a more, seasoned, officer should take charge."

It was our turn to be confused.  He frowned as he took in Mac's Spartan décor seeking in vain for a chair.  Mac offered LeBrun a small snifter and gestured toward one of the tall stools at the kitchen island.  LeBrun settled onto the stool with a heartfelt sigh "Damn but I'm not as young as I use to be."  He gave Mac a wry grin "but I see you still are.  I'm never quite sure wether I should be horribly jealous or profoundly sorry for you."   He made a small sound of appreciation as he sipped the brandy.  He set the glass down with a look of grim resignation "There was a great deal more to Carlos Gonzalas than was readily apparent."  LeBrun spread a selection of full color glossies across the island.  I moved in closer as Amanda's eyes widened and Mac's eyes turned grim.  I felt my own stomach clench "Am I looking at what I think I am?"

The haunted look in LeBrun's eyes was answer enough.

"Did you find anyone left alive?"

"A few" LeBrun replied "We wouldn't have found any of them if the killer hadn't tipped us off."

"Gonzalas' killer called you?"

"Oh yes" LeBrun's look held an equal mix of chagrin and sardonic humor "A clever bastard with a sharp wit, he had several rather scathing opinions of the… competence of the Parisian police force in general and Inspector Dubois in particular."  LeBrun frowned "What I don't understand is why the man chose to preempt our press report."

Mac tore his eyes away from the full color horror on the table to stare at LeBrun as the man continued, apparently oblivious to Mac's surprise "We were trying to keep things quiet for a few more days.  Obviously, we couldn't have kept the press away from something this" LeBrun paused clearly at loss for an appropriate term "gruesome indefinitely but we had hoped to have a few more days before…"  He hissed in frustration "Why was it so important to the killer that this appear in today's news?"

I shot Mac a glance as he slammed his fist against the bar while swearing under his breath.

"So" LeBrun observed dryly "the shooter was an Immortal.  And you spoke after the murder and you failed to mention it in your statement.  How typical."

"I take it you don't approve?" Amanda asked in her blandest tone.

"Of vigilante justice?  No."

"You're a Watcher" Mac snapped "Do you really think that people like Kyler can be dealt with by mortal law?"

The two men glared at each other until LeBrun looked away.  As his eyes fell on one of the more graphic

8 x 10's he caught Mac's eye "But did the man who destroyed this monster deserve to die for it?  It must be very hard being judge, jury, and executioner."

The two men were silent again for several strained minutes.  Mac picked up another of the glossies.  He placed it mournfully back on the table before topping off everyone's drinks.  He toyed with his own glass while looking disgusted with himself "I have no excuse, Joe.  He gave me every chance to walk away."

Seeing another wave off Scottish brooding about to break I sighed a bit before attempting to divert him

"He murdered the man in front of you and in cold blood.  What were you supposed to do?  How could you have known?"

Mac was silent.

"Did he tell you why?"

"Would I have been willing to listen?"  Mac shot back

"Why right then?  Why not wait until he was alone?  He had to know you might Challenge him."

LeBrun shot me an apologetic look before speaking "Gonzalas kept a journal, if he had made it home, there wouldn't have been anyone left alive.  Gonzalas was well connected.  He was in the information business."  LeBrun paused as the words caught like fish-bones in his throat.  "If someone had discovered his activities and tipped the police, Gonzalas would have been long gone, all we would have been left with was the mess while Gonzalas set up shop somewhere else."

"Are you approving of vigilante justice?" Amanda purred.

"No, merely accepting the necessity" LeBrun sounded a hundred years old as he muttered the words.

"Do you have any suspects?"

"For the shooter? None.  Whoever he was he was very competent.  We found nothing, not a broken twig, not a footprint, not so much a leaf out of place. As for the money behind it" LeBrun just shook his head "the list of people who wanted Gonzalas dead would stretch from here to the moon.  The real question is who was willing face the consequences of his death."  He wearily tossed Mac a folder "Take a look."

I hadn't thought it possible for Mac's face to get any grimmer "How did I miss this?  How did Baptista miss this?"

"If it's any consolation, he was a pro.  Deception was his life's work.  This mess is a politician's worst nightmare.  The press is going to have a field day."

Mac's brows were suddenly in severe danger of joining his hairline "Michael Montrose is your prime suspect as the money man?"

LeBrun nodded wearily "He has a motive.  He has the money.  And I find it very suspicious that he accelerated his timetable by almost a year.  If his security didn't have an iron clad alibi I might even suspect one of them of being the shooter.  Which reminds me" he tossed another picture on the table "I found someone you've been looking for."

Amanda snatched the photo with relived glee "Nick!"

I was pleased for Amanda's sake, even we hadn't been able to find Nick after his first death & Liam had adamantly refused to tell her anything other than he'd found Nick a mentor.

LeBrun smiled "I assume he's being mentored by Richard Sharpe."  Another glossy joined the pile.

"Apparently he saved young Montrose from the Choque cartel after they murdered his mother and kept him alive across the Amazon.  "

"I don't remember reading that in the papers" I protested.

"It has never appeared in the press, in spite of all the coverage Dr. Montrose has received.  I spoke with Inspector Gonclaves in Rio de Janeiro" LeBrun paused to rub his eyes "Apparently Gonzalas' activities were not unknown in Brazil but so long as he confined his victims to the city's homeless population he was protected and even encouraged by most of Rio's powerful families."

"Most, but not all" I observed.

Evangeline Montrose Montoya has long been a powerful humanitarian force in South America in general and Rio in particular.  And while her methods have been called into question she has also been the recipient of a great deal of praise.  Gonzalas made the mistake of taking victims from one of Mistress Montoya's Homes.  She attempted to have him dealt with under official channels.  She wielded too much power in Rio to be denied outright but not enough to buck the kind of blackmail and blood money that Gonzalas was tied into.  The best she could manage was to force him out of her sphere of influence."

"Montrose is a common name" I protested "that can not possibly be the extent of the connection."

"Hardly" LeBrun replied "Mistress Montoya is Dr. Montrose's great-aunt and it was to her that he fled after the Choques murdered his mother."

"What were they doing in Peru?"
"Dr. Adeline Montrose was an archaeologist.  How she ran afoul of the Cartel is unclear.  When her body was finally found they had to use dental records to identify her.  The boy's body was never recovered and he was presumed dead until he resurfaced in Rio over a year later.  Both his education and Ariel Aviation's start-up was financed by the Montoya family fortune.  Finally, Dr. Montrose didn't fly here from the States. He followed Gonzalas' trail from Rio like a hound on a scent."  LeBrun swallowed the last of his drink.

"But I can't prove it without the shooter.  And Dr. Montrose knows it.  I could see the amusement in his eyes when I spoke to him this afternoon."  As LeBrun rose Mac returned the folder "Now that the shooter is dead we'll never know for sure."

I held my tongue as Mac asked "What time was that, Inspector?"

LeBrun frowned before replying "Between four-thirty and five.  Why?"

Mac shook his head "Just curious. Good night, Inspector."

The inspector paused again and turned back toward us "Why would a physicist need three Immortal body guards?"

Amanda shot me a wide-eyed glance before calling "Inspector, what was Dr. Montrose's alibi?"

LeBrun searched all three of our faces before replying suspiciously "He was demonstrating one of his newest inventions at the Musee de Pompadour, in front of almost three thousand people.  He was there."

LeBrun took a step back into the room "You can't be implying that Michael Montrose is an Immortal?"  He came down another step "He can't be.  The resemblance between he and Evangeline is too great, they are blood."

"Of course they are" Amanda replied looking confused "Whatever made you think he might be an Immortal?"

He cast me glance that clearly said 'later' before he nodded and walked out into the night.