These past couple of days had been something else. Ever since one of Harris' games apparently went wrong. But that's what you get when you try to play the guy who taught you everything you knew about being Immortal. Or at least that's what Rob thought any way. He had always had Peter to talk to before when stuff like this popped up. Well he had Peter before he turned out to be one of them. Now he wasn't sure who to talk to. Again he started rubbing stylized W of the Watcher tattoo on the inside of his wrist. Peter had been a long time family friend. Rob never saw him as an Uncle or anything, but he was always there. Like that night he accidently walked in on him when he was watching his assigned Immortal. He wanted to call the police right then and there when she saw a woman's head chopped off. Peter did some fast talking to try and get him not to. Truth be told Rob was stupefied by the Quickening to even understand what he was saying.
He wasn't sure what to think about that. Peter talked to him, helped him understand what was going on. Even going as far as to offer him a position in the organization. It took a couple of days but Rob eventually agreed. They started him off doing research, studying the history of the immortals. Make sure information from one files doesn't contradict anything else. He was surprised at how many watchers reported the same Immortal in like three different places at times because they mistaken somebody else for them. Fortunately surveillance techniques had improved since then, otherwise this job would have been impossible. But Peter always stayed in touch, no matter where he was. After a few months he started asking him question, like what he really thought of Immortals. He didn't think much of it at the time but Rob admitted he had a problem with it. Who wouldn't when you thought about it? What made these guys so special, and what gave the supposed winner the right to rule over everybody else?
He wasn't sure when but those questions stared to change. He started asking, hypothetically of course, if he could kill an immortal if he thought it would help things. Not thinking anything of it, he said yeah. But Peter kept pressing the matter. Asking if he could really kill one of them before one of them won. Before long Rob was demanding to know why he was pressing the issue. "I'm going to e-mail you an address," was his only answer. "Memorize and delete it. Meet me there in two days at eight o'clock." In a matter of moments he got it. He didn't have a reason not to trust Peter so Rob did as he asked. When he got there he found Peter and several other men. "Here he is Trevor," Peter said. The man next to him came forward, gently rubbing the cross around his neck between his thumb and forefinger. He looked him over as he circled him.
"So," he said evenly, "you think you can kill these abominations do you?" Rob wasn't sure how to answer. "They are extremely hard to kill you know. There is only one way." One of them men with them hefted an ax, Rob wanted to back up. "So what department are you in?"
"Records." He said trying hard not to sound scared. This Trevor seemed to appreciate his attempt.
"A scholar, it's been a while since we've had one of them in our little group." Trevor stopped walking around him and headed back to Peter. "But the man was careless, let himself get caught by the others. But I'll give him credit for one thing, he never sold us out. Not even at his execution." Rob started to sweat, who in the hell were these guys.
"The council is watching the record keepers a little closer now," Peter said. "I almost didn't want to bring him in because of it."
"True," Trevor nodded. "Then again, he never was really that helpful, especially these days when you can get the information you want at your fingertips." Looking thoughtful he studied Rob again. "You know Bill was saying they're looking for some new field agents. The good Lord knows we could use the right people in the field. Help grow the ranks a little." It was about then Rob realized who these guys were. He had heard rumors of Watcher who hunted down Immortals. Dear God he was being recruited.
"Peter I do believe you and I have enough strings to pull to fast track him into some field work. Lord knows it's been done before so we shouldn't stand out."
"Maybe it should just be me," Peter said. "After all up till now he never met you officially."
"Quite right Peter, quite right," Trevor said thinking it over. "However I do believe I owe you a favor as well. We could always say you're called that in to help him." Walking back over to him he asked, "What do you say young man, do you want to do the Lords work and send these abominations back to him? If that's where they were supposed to go to begin with."
Rob looked at the group around him then looked over at Peter who just nodded at him, silently urging him to answer. Yes," Rob finally said.
Giving him the warmest smile he had ever seen Trevor told him, "Then Robert welcome to the first day of the rest of your life."
True to their word he was soon put through Watcher boot camp. Learning everything he needed to know about watching, following and recording an Immortal's life. It wasn't long after that he was given his first assignment, Scott Harris. He had to have pissed off somebody to get this character. For a relatively young Immortal his file was almost as thick as the ones a few hundred years old. At least Peter and Trevor understood why he never recruited anybody else to their cause, especially Trevor. They told him to just grin and bear it, that somebody was playing a joke on him and they would try to get him reassigned when the opportunity came up.
But Harris proved to be an interesting challenge, you never knew when he was going to up and move to another state or province, if not a different country altogether. At least once Rob lost track of him, fortunately he quickly popped up on the Watcher database. Fortunately that incident was early in his assignment and he learned from that mistake. Of course that meant maybe sleeping a few hours a night at times. Which was why Rob was thanking his lucky stars when Harris decided to stay in Chicago for more than a couple of days. It wasn't much but at least Rob could stop and catch his breath. Of course he wasn't expecting him to start buying him a drink in bar on more than one occasion. Yeah he had to really talk fast when Trevor found that out. He started yelling that they didn't need another Dawson giving away all of their secrets. And that they would be watching him to make sure he didn't screw up. Times like that he really missed Peter.
Rob still didn't know why Harris was doing it. For all he knew the Immortal was growing bored while his game was going so slow. Despite his caution, he was amazed at how open the Immortal was about his life, to a degree, telling him things that happen but with a modern spin so he wouldn't be dated. Rob didn't want to admit it but he was actually enjoying the act Harris was putting on. Then his game backfired, somebody died who wasn't supposed to according to his rules. And Rob was shocked when he figured he wasn't mad the rules were changed. He actually seemed sad, not to the point where he vowed never to play Immortals against each other again, but he could see it in his face.
Although Rob was certain he wasn't sad Matthews died. No he was upset he made Sheldon sad. That surprised Rob slightly to be honest, he never really saw Harris as a person who cared about what somebody else thought. But he was surprised again when following Harris he came across Sheldon on a relatively deserted street and got on his knees. "What are you doing?" he asked stiffly.
"Something I started eventually made you sad," he told her. "I said I never wanted to do that. So I want to set things right. I can still see you have your sword so take my head in the chance it would lighten the load you carry on your shoulders." He held his head up, totally exposing his neck. Rob thought she was going to do when she reached into her jacket. Then she remained empty handed.
"No," she said, "I want you to live with this. I want you to live with the fact Keith is dead because you wanted to play a stupid fucking game."
"As you wish," Harris said. Popping up to his feet he held his hands behind his head but he wasn't moving. "And I am said to see him go. He came to your defense at the hospital and tried to defend your honor at the bar, so he must have been a decent fellow. Much like his mentor I would imagine."
"I'm not too sure about him," she said sadly, "not any more". Harris looked interested about what that comment was about. Sheldon seemed to realize that and went somewhere else. "You're damn lucky Susan is worried about how you're reacting to what happened. If it was me I'd kill you the first chance I saw you."
"In another time I'm sure she would," Harris mused. "I've learned things about her younger days that would make your hair stand out on end."
"I think she's out of her mind but she thinks there something in you worth saving."
"Maybe there is," he said, "or maybe there isn't. Who can really say when you come down to it? But much like Susan I can judge a person character and mood at a glance. And you are uncomfortable right now. No not with this particular moment but the situation in general."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Serenity said and quickly walked away. Hands behind his head Harris followed.
"You're uncomfortable with this city, this life. Part of you wants to get away, start somewhere else." She turned around and started to say something but Harris spoke before she could. "I see it in the mirror every time I hear the wind. I see it on the face of any immortal when it's time for them to move and end their current life."
"I don't think I belong here anymore," she admitted. Although Rob had no idea why. He figured Harris walked the world so much he could basically read people at will and get them to say what he wanted. "I lived here all my life and for the first time it feels foreign, fake."
"Death has a way of doing that," Harris said. "I used to love Paris, I haven't been back since the fifties." Dropping his hands to the side he said, almost nonchalantly, "You need to get away. Leave this town and see the world."
"I can't just up and leave," she said. "I'm not you."
"Ah that's the Sister talking," Harris said with a wag of a finger. "But even she will tell you you'll have to leave eventually. No Immortal is destined to stay in one place for long, no matter how hard they try. I could take you." Again she started to say something, "Ah ah, just something to think over, a thought to mull around your head. I will be here for a little while longer, so you're answer can wait until my business is finished."
"You're still doing your game," Serenity said with some disgust.
"It's already begun, it would rude to leave before it's even finished," he told. To Rob it looked like he was shocked she would even say that. "It is who I am, it is what I do. It is one of the things that makes me… me. I do not change for anybody, nor do I expect anybody, especially you, to change for me. If we lose what makes us who we are than who are we?"
"I'm not leaving," she told him flatly.
"Yes you will," he insisted. "With me or alone I truly cannot say, but leave you will. The thought was already in your head, I simply brought out to the fore front. Until you make your decision my dear," he went to kiss her hand but she pulled it away. Taking it in stride he bowed and walked away. Rob lingered a bit and watched Serenity. She should have stormed off, at least cussed him out. But she stood there a few moments watching him before walking away in the opposite direction. With That Rob decided to call it a night before that scene started to make sense to him.
As much as he missed Peter, he found it slightly ironic people were turning to him to talk to. He'd only knew Bekah a short time, only since she was came to the city, but they formed a quick friendship. She often stopped by his place for coffee to talk things over. And he cringed slightly when he learned she was assigned to watch Dijkhuizen. He remembered reading his file back when he was checking older records, this guys was practically the poster child for Trevor's agenda. Which was why he was so surprised to see Bekah so torn about him. "He reads poetry for God sakes. What kind of monster does that?", she argued when he called him that without thinking. "He went to an art museum the other day and schooled the guide about a particular painting they were standing in front of."
"He's been around for a thousand years," Rob told her. "Anybody bound to pick up something outside of knowing how to kill a person."
"There's more to him than that," she said, looking odd to him. "I know there is. But there's nothing about this in his file anywhere. The only thing his previous Watchers wrote about was all the death and destruction. There's nothing good about him anywhere. If there's nothing good… than why did he save me?", she ended softly.
"Bekah, I'm going to tell you this as a friend, but I think you're trying too hard to find something that isn't there." Rob sat next to her at the table. She wouldn't or couldn't look at him. "I don't know what he was thinking. Hell I don't even know how he knew your name. But more than likely he saw a challenge and decided to act on it. You know I'm right."
"I don't know," she said.
"Go home and sleep on it," he told her. "Get a clear head. You're not doing yourself any favors trying to turn this guy into something he's not in your head."
"You're right," she eventually admitted. "I'm letting one incident cloud my judgment. Thanks Rob," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later."
He walked her to the door and dropped his head when he was alone. Literally a second before she got there Trevor sent him an e-mail. They were in the mood to go hunting again and they wanted him to pick the next target. Luckily he closed the e-mail before he answered the door. And Rob didn't think he could explain that one away easily. Harris maybe but not him. Ever since Peter was killed he had nobody to talk to about his doubts about all of this. But knowing what Peter would say he logged into the Watcher database and went hunting for a target. The first thing he did was eliminated anybody they were assigned too. He still couldn't believe they agreed with him when he first suggested that. Which also made Malcolm McAllister a very lucky man otherwise he would have been on top of the list.
The next thing he did was check for updates for any Immortal who recently died. Then he did his best to cross off any one who left the city or was planning on leaving anytime soon. If they were lucky enough to get out of town now who was he to mark them for death. He did the same with any Immortal just entering the city too. It just seemed rude for some reason. So his list was narrowed greatly, and he arranged it order of age. Some of the names that popped out at him were Susan Jones, Michel Dijkhuizen and Owen McAllister. There were more but those names stood out. Rob highlighted Jones's name and deleted it from the list. She already faced death once, there was no point in putting her through any more this soon. Yeah Peter would tell him he was crazy for thinking that.
He went up and down the list several times but his eyes kept going back to McAllister and Dijkhuizen. Dijkhuizen he could see, the man was a maniac. McAllister was usually a decent guy according to his file. But after he lost his student he was apparently cutting himself off from everybody he knew and training like crazy when he wasn't looking for his Uncle. Rob didn't want to think it but it was possible he was going to tip over the edge and become something dangerous. It might be better to put him out of his misery now. Continue to study both files Rob made his decision. He shot an e-mail to Trevor and arranged a meeting. He always wanted this done face to face with the others. He claimed there was a lesser chance of the message being intercepted or something.
Hours later at a parking garage nobody hardly used Rob pulled up and found Trevor and the others waiting for him. Grunting a few greetings to those who welcomed him he set his lap top on the top of the hood of his car. Without a word he pulled up the file and turned it around. The image of Michel Dijkhuizen stared them in the face. Trevor walked away as Marcus whistled, "Damn man you don't think small do you."
"I'm not sure about this one," Trevor said in a real small voice. All of them looked at him, he usually saying things like "A perfect target" or "The abomination days are numbered". Nobody, as far as Rob knew, saw him unsure about anything. He saw them looking at him and quickly tried to backtrack, "I mean this man is a monster…"
"Which is why we should take him down now," Rob asserted. "You keep calling these thing abominations. Well this is the goddamned poster child. Some record keepers I used to work with put him right up there with the Kurgan. Not all of them but a few have. This guy does nothing but take heads, and he's getting stronger with each one he takes. If we want to make sure none of them can win the Prize we have to start with him before we can't."
"What if we're already too late?", Trevor asked.
"Then we should stop hunting these freaks right now," Rob told him plainly.
"The kid's right," Marcus spoke up. "Enough of these small fry, if we really want to protect humanity we need to start taking out the stronger ones. This maniac is the perfect target." The others started to quickly agree with them, all except for Trevor.
Grabbing at his cross he thought long and hard. Before long he brought it to his lips and kissed it. "Your right of course," he finally said. "I let the myth around the man get to me for a second. How… human of me." A few of them laughed at his joke, Rob didn't find it funny. "Robert I know you want to join in on the fun but I'm going to ask you to stay back for this one. Some of the other Watchers are getting suspicious of us. As far as I know they don't know about you yet it would be better in the long run if they didn't. It's hard enough to do what is necessary without the others breathing down your neck."
"I understand," Rob said, trying hard to hide the relief he was feeling at the moment.
"Will kick him extra hard for you kid," Marcus said as he past him and the group started to disburse. Surprised his shaking knees didn't give him away he slowly turned around and packed up his laptop. He was going to try to find a way out of it anyway, saying he didn't know when Harris was going to move and he already lost him once.
But as he started to get back into his car he heard Trevor say one thing. He muttered, "It's going to be hell explaining this one to McAllister." Now what did he mean by that?