Chapter Seventeen

Beth woke up in the bed of the truck as it moved down the road. Feeling the vibrations, she wondered how far she had traveled. Recalling the earlier challenge and her death, she felt relief thinking. "I'm alive another day."

Peeking out from under the canvas, she could not tell by the scenery passing by where she was. The late hour showed she had been dead a long time. The driver made several stops and yet did not discover her there.

Thinking of her choices to stay in the truck until it stopped or get out while it was moving, Beth planed to roll out the back and take her chances on the road. After the minutes passed, she went into action.

When the truck slowed down to make the turn onto a side road, she strapped her sword tightly to her chest.

Easing over the side, she dropped off and rolled into the bushes on the side of the highway.

Getting up and brushing the dirt off her clothes, she watched the truck disappearing into the distance. Checking the sky and the stars, she turned west and started walking.

Several cars passed her but none stopped to give her a ride. As the hours went by, she kept a cadence of thought in time with her feet. By the time she reached a payphone, her mind was set. Taking out some change and the card with a phone number, she dialed.

MacLeod spent a restless evening going over what McFadden said and what else it could mean for immortals. Why Beth should be there and why did he have to take her still did not make sense. His phone calls and messages to her hotel were never returned.

By the time his phone rang, he thought she was already gone.

"Hello?" he answered.

She started with a nonchalant, "Hi how are you?"

She heard his sigh and then he asked her, "I'm fine so how are you this evening?"

"Oh a little way from town I was just checking the sights." She replied.

He asked her, "Do you want a ride?"

She relented, "That would probably be faster because I have a red-eye that leaves at 2am and I wanted to say good bye."

He checked his watch and said, "Well we can talk about that later. Where are you?"

She told him where they could meet and he said he knew the area. Hanging up the phone Duncan knew of one way he could get her to stay.

Hilton Hotel

Amanda packed up her suitcases and planed on leaving before morning. It was so easy to fix some stock reports and finance portfolios to reflect current and future gains.

Over the centuries, she became more than self-sufficient and she knew her way around the finance world. However, she had only one down fall. It was picking stocks that should do well but would eventually tank. Duncan seemed to consider her talent a curse.

That moment her cell phone indicated a text message from Joe. Opening the screen she read, "Egan voided the agreement. You need to run."

Quickly throwing the last of her clothes into the luggage she fingered through some money taken from Duncan's safe assuming, "He'll never miss it."

As she went to the door, it burst open and two watchers came in with guns on her. "You are not leaving are you Amanda?" asked Hanson.

"No I was just on my way there. I have some important information for Egan." She explained holding out a portfolio.

He took it and looked inside. "It might be what he's looking for." He commented tucking it under his arm.

"We have another assignment for you," said Hopkins taking some papers out of an envelope. "You're flying to Australia. When you arrive there you'll follow these orders." He handed them to her.

"I'm way ahead of you boys," she told them. "I have my own reservations and I don't need you to escort me."

"Read them in the car," he instructed, "Because we are taking you there now."

They took all her bags and escorted Amanda to the front lobby.

"Remember who you're working for," said Hanson keeping his small revolver out of sight.

Once outside they put her in the back of a black Limo and the driver sped off with Amanda as a temporary hostage.

Next, they briefed her on the way to the airport on what Egan wanted her to do for him. She glared at them with the word 'amateurs' seething in her mind.

Le Blues Bar

Some of the e-mail messages Dawson sent out returned with veiled threats. One watcher replied, "I had considered quitting the watchers when this interference began but the money was too good. So reconsider Joe."

Another watcher replied with, "If you send any more messages you will be targeted."

Only one message gave him some hope and it read, "Message received. Don't take any more actions leave the rest to me." It was anonymous.

Joe's mole warned him not to expect too much. His last message read, "They won't follow your lead because they're too scared. Amy works for Egan and does all his computer business."

Still sitting at his laptop computer, he looked for patterns in accounts where Immortals withdrew large amounts of money then disappeared. After an hour, he found an unmistakable pattern.

All the banks were here in Paris. The transactions carried out by her on a traceable computer on weekends.

"If Amy is doing the transactions then it's sloppy of her not to change to other banks to throw off her pattern." He thought as a father reprimanding his daughter.

"The rest could wait for morning," thought Joe. "I can't do anymore right now." Leaving his computer on stand-by Joe took himself past the bar area where a few patrons said "Hi" but did not stop him for any conversation.

In his small back room apartment, Joe allowed himself the release from all the tension. Shedding his clothes and artificial legs Joe pulled himself into bed. In the dark, he lay awake going over in his mind all the possibilities that this Gathering could bring.

.