THE ELIZABETH SERIES
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
BLOOD MONEY
By JoLayne
EnyaJo@aol.com
RATING: PG-13
CHARACTERS: M OC Elizabeth, Claire, Grace, Megan, Gage
SUMMARY: Methos and Elizabeth go to pick up Claire, but there's a
problem.
~~~~~
APRIL 24, 2004
NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS
EVENING
Methos and Elizabeth got out of the taxi and told the driver that they'd be
right back so he should just keep the meter running. Methos told him,
"We're going right to the airport and there will be a big tip in it for you if
you get us there in an hour and a half to make our plane."
Methos saw the middle class neighborhood was quiet. It was a nice place
for Claire to be the last couple of days. His heart almost broke when he
again thought of his daughter left without explanation in the middle of
nowhere. Elizabeth's decision to leave her behind was rash and could have
been devastating if he had never found out where Claire was after the
smoke had cleared.
The outside light above the metal, wood grain painted door of the house
turned on and the door opened before they even had the chance to ring the
bell. A young frantic woman demanded, "Who are you?"
Elizabeth stepped up to the top step of the porch and said, "I'm Angel
Bancroft."
"Angel?" The petite college aged red head, who's face was full of freckles
even in the spring, stepped over the threshold and belted Elizabeth across
the mouth.
Elizabeth tumbled backward down the concrete steps. Methos grabbed the
young woman, his surprise and tension made him shake her. "Grace
Willis?!"
"She's gone!" Megan kicked at Elizabeth when she had gotten to her feet.
"First you get my brother killed! Then you leave a baby with my mom out
of the blue, and then they get kidnaped?!"
Methos pushed Megan inside the house so as not to garner more attention
from neighbors or cab driver than they already had. As soon as they were
in the living room and the door had been kicked closed, he demanded,
"What do you mean kidnaped? Where's my daughter!?"
"Oh, she's your kid? Who the hell are you?"
Methos knew the girl had to be as traumatized as he was but he couldn't
help but man handle the truth out of her once again. Megan's head snapped
back and forth as he grabbed her arms and shook her, "Where is she?!"
Outside, the taxi driver had his door open and was almost out of the cab
when Elizabeth spun around and yelled to him, "Stay there, please!" When
he sat back down on the driver's seat, she went into the house.
Megan glared at them both, pointing her finger in their faces. "If my
mother is hurt in any way, I'll make you pay! I'll make you both pay!"
"You've got to be Megan," Elizabeth said. "Tony mentioned you. Calm
down. What happened?"
"Don't you dare utter my brother's name!"
Methos yelled, "What happened?"
Megan collected her breath and told them, "I came over to help Mom out
with the kid after classes and saw this."
She picked the note off the table. Methos grabbed it and read it aloud,
"'Angel, ta da, like magic. I can live, too. You know what I want. Hammel
Warehouse, Joliet. 10 pm. Five million dollars. She's a cute kid. It would
be a shame to have to...'" Methos voice caught as he continued, "'Cut her
up.'" He glared at Elizabeth, who's legs buckled and she had to sit down,
"What the hell is going on?"
"Oh, my God," Elizabeth moaned as she sat on an ottoman. She rubbed her
hands over her face and shook her head in disbelief. "Gage is alive. I asked
if anyone could have gotten away! Warren said they were all gone!"
"Gage? Who's Gage? How do you know it's him?"
Elizabeth stared up at Methos, hoping she was wrong, but knew it had to
be him. "He says 'ta da' a lot, just before he... Oh God!"
Megan asked, "What the hell are you talking about? What did you get my
mom into? Is it your mission in life to kill off every member of my family?
My dad lives in Los Angeles. Do you need his address!? You bitch! I'm
calling the cops."
Methos yelled, "No!"
"My mother has been kidnaped!"
"So has my daughter!"
Elizabeth hurriedly stood and got between Megan and the phone. "When
did this happen?"
"I just got here." Megan pushed her. "Get out of my way!"
Methos folded his arms around Megan's to hold her back and hopefully
calm her down. They all needed to calm down. They can't be rash. They
have to think. It looked like she was going to take another swipe at
Elizabeth, who's cheek hadn't healed yet from the opening slap. "So, they
might not have been gone long," Methos said, hoping to sound more
convinced that everything would turn out all right than he actually did.
Methos instructed Megan to wait there and they would be right back with
Grace.
"I'm calling the cops," she said.
Methos growled because things were completely out of his control. He
plead with her, "Megan, if you want to see your mother again, the police
are going to complicate things. We know who has her and my daughter,
and we will get them both back alive and soon. You wait here. We will
bring Grace back to you. I promise."
"I don't know you."
"You don't. And you won't. But I my daughter is with your mother and I'm
getting them both out," Methos calmly said to her as he had hold of her
shoulders as if a teacher was instructing a student. "It may not happen if
you tell anyone what happened. We know what he wants. We know where
he is. We will get Claire and Grace. Your mother took care of my daughter
even though Grace didn't know her or the woman who left Claire. I owe
her. I will take care of it. You and cops and flashing lights and roaring
sirens aren't going to help matters."
Elizabeth said, "I'm so sorry, Megan. I didn't know this would happen."
"That comforts me," Megan said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Methos hustled Elizabeth out of the house and made sure to take the note
in case Megan was so didn't remember where the drop off would be. There
wasn't anything more he could do to placate the young woman, so to get to
the business of meeting up with Gage was of the upmost importance.
As soon as the cab drove off, Megan shook and had to hold herself for fear
of falling apart. She didn't understand any of what happened. Her mother
wasn't a rich woman and there shouldn't be any reason why Grace Willis
would be the target of anyone. A ransom? They didn't have extra cash
laying around. No one would ever assume they had. It was Angel. It was
all her fault. Megan knew that she had to make sure her mother was
protected. Who knew who those two were. The only thing she knew for
sure is that her brother was killed just after meeting Angel.
Her mind went back and forth between calling the police or trusting those
strangers to get her mother back safely. She couldn't lose another family
member to that tramp. The man did seem to know what was going on.
Maybe he could get her mother back safely. It was his kid in the midst of it
all. Cops may not be a good idea. After Megan made up her mind to wait,
she couldn't stay inside her own skin. She needed to do something. She
knew where they were going. In case they only had Claire on their minds,
Megan would make sure her mother was saved. As she grabbed her keys
from the kitchen table, she muttered, "I'll bet that isn't even Angel
Bancroft's real name!"
In the cab, Methos finally gathered the strength to confront Elizabeth. "So,
who is this Gage person?"
"Bad news."
He grabbed her arm and demanded, "Talk to me! I'm tired of your quick
answers to my questions that deserve an essay. How did he know about
Claire? I thought you said he wouldn't know anything about her or Grace!"
The driver looked in the rear view mirror at them both. "He didn't. He
couldn't have." Elizabeth slowly shook her head back and forth in utter
confusion. James had only heard about Tony when she asked to go away
for the weekend with him. He couldn't know Grace. Or know that
Elizabeth had dropped Claire off in Chicago. None of them could have.
Then she figured it out. "How many times did you call Grace from Paris?"
"A couple," Methos said, shrugging.
"A couple? I know of at least a couple, and those were while I was awake.
How many times did you call?"
"Okay, a lot. So?"
"Gage got your phone records. He must have followed us to the barge and
to your apartment. He must have found out who you are, your alias as
resident and got the phone records."
Methos' head fell back against the back of the seat. He hated to be used.
He hated to think that his protective nature for Claire may have lead to her
death. A tear slipped out of his eye. Elizabeth already crying, wiped it off.
"I promise you, Methos," she whispered. "I got Claire into this, I'll get her
back safely. I promise."
Methos wrapped his arm around Elizabeth and leaned his head against
hers. "We both will."
"No. Me. Alone. If anyone can handle Gage, it has to be me. He'll shoot
you."
"I'll be back."
"If you're dead, it will just be me and him anyway, so stay out of it."
"He won't shoot you?"
"No."
"Were you lovers too?"
"NO! He's probably never even masturbated in his life. Gage wants
something from me, therefore he will not shoot me until after he gets it. He
wants nothing from you."
They noticed the driver looking back at them with a look that was almost
fear. Their conversation was way out of left field. They felt the cab move
faster, and that was fine with them. The driver wanted the fare over and his
tip and they needed to get to the warehouse.
~~~~~
HAMMEL WAREHOUSE
"Where's my money!"
Elizabeth whirled around on the catwalk of the wrought iron
manufacturing warehouse to see Gage behind her, haphazardly carrying
Claire with one arm. With the other hand, there was a large gun, a Glock,
Gage's favorite, his right arm. To see Claire was a relief for Elizabeth, but
she'd been crying. Elizabeth sensed her preimmortal hum and was glad
that she may not have been harmed. She was scared and confused though.
Elizabeth ignored Gage and focused on the little girl. Her long black wavy
hair was matted with snarls, the pink jumper she wore was dirty, she had
only one shoe on, but she looked like she hadn't been harmed. "Claire?
Honey? Are you okay?"
Gage turned his body, effectively hiding Claire from her sight and
screamed again, "I want my money!"
"It's in the bank, Gage," Elizabeth calmly said, even though her insides
were turning to jello. "I can't get that kind of money so fast. You know
that."
Claire screamed, "Lizbit!" Claire held her hands out to her. Gage
repositioned his grip on her and slapped her across the face to shut her up.
Elizabeth reacted as if she had been slapped herself and yelled, "Stop!
She's just a little girl!" She stopped for forward momentum to grab Claire
when the gun barrel was aimed at her throat.
"Give me the money!"
Claire screamed from the slap, from the voices, from being scared. She
held her hand to her cheek as she wailed. "Papa!"
"You'll get it! Give her to me!" Elizabeth's demands only made Gage
laugh. Elizabeth knew she couldn't argue with him. There was no telling
what would set him off. So far, he hadn't killed Claire, hopefully not
Grace. Grace's absence made Elizabeth worried and hoped she was in the
warehouse somewhere. As soon as Elizabeth and Methos had been
dropped off within sight of the warehouse, they'd decided that Methos
would go in another entrance and search for Claire and Grace while
Elizabeth would seek out Gage. She had found two of them, Methos
hopefully had found Grace's position and she was alive and well.
Elizabeth took a deep breath and said, "Gage, give Claire to me, or you
will never get that money. Never."
Elizabeth felt an immortal presence and saw Methos down on the ground
floor out of the corner of her eye. She didn't react to the buzzing sensation
even though it gave her more strength to know he was close. Claire was
wiggling in Gage's arms and it scared Elizabeth. "Claire, it's okay. Stay
still. You're okay. Gage won't hurt you."
Gage grinned, "You're a smart one, Angel." When he looked at Claire to
say, "Listen to her," Elizabeth took a quick glance below at Methos and
saw pure evil was on his face as he inspected the piece of garbage who
dared hold his daughter. Gage screamed, "I don't have a lot of patience!
Give me my money!"
He stepped forward and placed the end of the barrel of the Glock at
Elizabeth's throat. She stood straight, touching Claire's arm. She rubbed
Claire's arm as she said, "You know you can't kill me with that."
Gage suddenly put the gun to Claire's head and said, "But I can kill her.
Give me the money! I know you have it, you wouldn't dare come here
without it."
Methos' buzz left. Claire was stunned by the turn of events that she didn't
quite understand. Elizabeth hurriedly said, "Gage, I just to Chicago. I just
saw the note. You didn't give me much time, the banks are closed. Give
Claire to me, I will give her to her father. We'll take Grace home. Then
you and I will go wherever you want until the bank opens in the morning.
As soon as they open, you'll have your money. I will not fight that. But
only when Claire and Grace are safe."
"Fuck you, missy. I don't trust you one bit. A bank is closed..." He smiled.
"When did that stop you before? I want that money in front of my face,
now! Or they both die."
"I don't want anything from my life!" Even though Claire started crying
from both of them yelling, Elizabeth kept on, "You can have it all, more
than five fucking million dollars! Just give her to me! Then we'll go break
into the god damned bank!"
The crazed look of excitement on Gage's face was deja vu.
#####
FEBRUARY 2004
#####
In Calgary, Gage, Louis, Jason and Angel were working with another of
James' henchmen, Freddie, break into the home of a rival financier,
Wilson McCamry, who had three years before cheated money out of
James. It was a 'follow up', meaning when the man had least expected that
revenge was still coming, it would. They were assigned to kill McCamry
and anyone in the house before taking all contents of his safe and desk
back to James. They had chosen a weekend when McCamry's family was
out of the country. When they had entered the grounds, they were all
surprised that there weren't any guard dogs and the counter-security
measures that Freddie had with him did the job nicely to not alert the
occupants that they had company.
After they entered the house, they quietly decided to break up and search
for McCamry. They were all dressed in ski masks and Angel happened to
follow Gage instead of Jason, who she had planned on. When she had
realized her mistake, it was too late. He made her nervous, but she knew
that she was on his side and kept following him to complete the job. They
got to the study and Angel was breaking into the safe while Gage shot the
locks out of the desk drawers. She jumped and sneered, "Great way to
keep quiet!"
Gage shrugged and opened the drawer. "Hey, whatever works."
The sounds of alerted henchmen filled the house. Angel glared at Gage.
He said, "The ball's rollin', get that safe." He filled an attache case with
folders from the file drawer.
They heard a multitude of shots fired upstairs and men running down halls
and stairs. The silence was shattered. Angel could no longer concentrate
on the clicks to crack the safe. She motioned for Gage and moved out of
the way. He took aim and fired a round into the lock. "Hurry up," he said
as he went back to the desk to collect what James had demanded.
The door had flung open with the gun fire and she put the case under the
edge of the safe and brushed everything into it, not looking at what any of
it was. There was silence. "I counted four guys," Gage said.
"Huh?"
"Four bodies fell upstairs and down. Did you hear it?"
Angel closed the case and looked at Gage. He was smiling wider than she
had ever seen him smile. "Why is it so quiet?"
"They're all dead." Gage acted like his team had won the Superbowl.
"Mission accomplished. Let's ride."
They ran of the study to the stairs and stopped short. At the end of the hall,
two men came out of a bedroom. Freddie was lead by McCamry, a gun to
his head. As soon as McCamry saw Gage and Angel, he got behind
Freddie, using him as a shield. He was a shorter man than Freddie and
only the top of his head and eyes were visible above Freddie's shoulder.
"Shit!" Angel exclaimed.
Gage whistled, then exclaimed, "Ta da, look who the rats couldn't finish."
"Angel Bancroft," McCamry said. "When did you start doing the grunt
work for Cameron?"
She had been introduced to McCamry just after she was assimilated, at a
social affair. Cameron was acting like McCamry was his best friend to not
let him know that he was on the hit list. Freddie was extremely
uncomfortable, but had started to smile at his life long friend, Gage. He
knew he was safe. McCamry said, "Drop your weapons or this one is
dead."
Angel dropped her gun without a second thought, held up her hands. She
looked over at Gage, still holding his. His left eye twitched, then his
eyebrow rose, then his mouth sneered, finally, his skin grew red. That's
when he struck. Even though Freddie and Gage were childhood friends
and entered Cameron's army at the same time, were peers in the chain of
command, Gage fired at both of them at the end of the hallway.
Angel fell to the floor, protecting herself from the sound of the blasting,
horrified that Gage just shot one of their own. After Gage's gun was
empty, she looked over at the bloody heap of what was once two men and
felt a hand on her arm. She fought him off, but Gage was on a mission,
screaming women were not on the agenda.
Gage lifted Angel and slammed her back against the wall. She meekly
asked, "Why did you do that?"
"Shut up! We had a job to do." He tried to get her gun from her, but she
held on for dear life, tried also to get her finger on the trigger. Before she
knew it, Gage knew they had to get out of there. He pulled her as he ran
down the hallway, stepped over Freddie and the other guy, and ran on
down the other corridor to the others.
"He was your best friend," she wailed as they ran.
"Not anymore," was all Gage said as he pulled her to the others and they
got out of there.
~~~~~
NAPERVILLE
APRIL 2004
That same look started to form on Gage's face as he held Claire and
sneered at Elizabeth. Pure dread filled her soul for what Gage was capable
of doing. She knew if she didn't do something quick, he could get a hold of
her and throw Claire over the side of the catwalk. Claire was no longer
useful to him; Angel came, that's all Gage had wanted. He was very
capable of doing just that.
The smell of molded steel and black paint for the wrought iron was thick
in the warehouse even though no one was working. She looked at their
surroundings. The catwalk was narrow, only around four feet wide, but
was a dangerous thirty feet off the ground. Underneath them were wrought
iron decorations and pieces of fencing stored on racks. The racks were
spikes which rungs were bolted onto, holding the product. Elizabeth would
have wished for better surroundings.
Elizabeth had been moving slowly toward them, Claire was crying,
holding her cheek. When she cried out, "Papa," in a voice that made Gage
know that the girl had seen him. Gage turned to search for him. With
Gage's eyes off her, Elizabeth took the opportunity to rush forward and
grab Claire, then swung around as she expected to be shot, but cover
Claire. They fell to the catwalk. Claire's cries stopped suddenly.
Methos came up from behind Gage, who shot off his gun in the direction
of Elizabeth and Claire. Methos knocked the gun out of his hand and it
clanked heavily onto the metal catwalk. Before Gage could retrieve it,
Methos kicked it over the side. Megan was alerted by the gunfire and
walked out from amidst the boxes and gaped up on the catwalk. Methos
and Gage rolled and each grabbed hold of the other's neck, each trying to
squeeze the life out of the other. Methos' concentration was on Gage, but
he would look over at his quiet child and Elizabeth with a red blood stain
in the middle of her back.
Gage clamped onto Methos' coat lapels when his face was turned toward
his family and pulled his upper body over the edge. Methos grabbed one of
the posts and held on, but didn't cower in fear like Gage expected. No. Not
at all. Methos had been surprised by the turn of events but knew he could
use it to his advantage. Methos grabbed a hold of Gage's hair and pulled
him more on top of his own boy. He smiled up at him, eyes flared, "Let's
go together! I'll walk away from it, you won't!"
When Methos let out a gloriously gleeful laugh, Gage's eyes about popped
out of his head. "You're another one of them?!" Gage tried to reach for
leverage, to save himself, but Methos yanked him and together they fell off
the catwalk. In mid fall, he threw Gage away from him before they hit the
rack posts.
Megan couldn't stop screaming from where she was hiding from the
fracas. She ran up the ladder to the catwalk where Elizabeth and the child
laid. She saw the gunshot wound on Elizabeth's back and turned her over
and saw Claire, who was staring upwards, silent. "Where's Mom?"
Claire moved her head to look at Megan and they both reached for each
other. Megan had her arms under Claire to pick her up when Elizabeth
revived. Megan let go of Claire and shrunk back. Elizabeth had quickly sat
up and saw that Megan was teetering over the railing. She reached out and
grabbed her blouse and pulled her back. "You wouldn't make it if you go
over. Be careful."
Claire sat up and folded herself against Elizabeth who was in massive pain
from the healing. She tried not to make sounds and held onto Claire. She
didn't know what happened, but Megan and Claire were there and seemed
fine. That was good enough for now. She started to feel the pulling of her
mending chest loosen. "You're okay! Oh, Claire, thank God, you're okay.
Are you okay?" She looked her daughter over for wounds and only felt a
slight bump on the back of her head, probably for when they fell onto the
catwalk. "Where's Gage?"
Megan pointed over the edge, then at the both of them. "David.... he's..."
Elizabeth lifted Claire into her lap, "Talk to me, sweetheart. Are you
okay?" She cursed herself for getting her away from Gage and she killed
her. She looked down at herself, the bullet didn't go all the way through.
Claire couldn't have been shot. Claire just stood up on Elizabeth's leg and
hugged her. When her face was mushed against Elizabeth's cheek, she
started crying out loud. Elizabeth held her tight and rocked her back and
forth. "It's okay, honey. Cry it out. That was scary. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Lizbit!" Claire wrapped her little arms around Elizabeth's neck and held
on for dear life.
Megan looked at her like she was from Mars. "You should be dead! I saw
you get shot. You were shot. You were dead."
"It was just a flesh wound," Elizabeth said. "I'll be all right. Claire? Look
at me, honey."
Claire finally did and Elizabeth gently wiped some of the tears from her
red cheeks. "It's all over, Claire. It's all right now. I promise."
When she got herself together, she asked again, "Where's Gage?" Megan
held onto the railing as her eyes were focused on the floor. Elizabeth
looked down and saw Gage's body laying at an impossible angle on the top
rack which had fallen to the next level down with the weight and impact.
Methos was laying on his back, impaled by one of the spokes of the rack.
"That's not going to help," she muttered. Claire whimpered in her arms.
Elizabeth kissed her head. "Should we go see Papa?"
Claire recognized Papa and nodded, still weeping. Elizabeth repeated, "Go
see Papa?"
"Yeah," Claire moaned, so confused. "I want Papa."
As Elizabeth climbed down a ladder with Claire in her arms, she asked,
"Megan, have you seen anyone else? Did Gage have a helper?"
"I haven't seen anyone but you guys," Megan looked about to pass out.
"You don't even seem to be hurting from being shot."
"Go look for your mother. She has to be here somewhere."
Elizabeth walked to rack and looked up to only see Methos' leg over the
edge. She set Claire down on the ground and told her, "I'm going to help
Papa for a minute. You stay here."
"I want Papa!"
"I'm going to get him. Stay here. It will just be a minute."
Claire sat against a box with her legs up to her chin. Elizabeth wanted to
keep holding her and comfort her, but Methos would do a much better job
with her. Elizabeth climbed up the racks to the top one and stepped onto it.
It was unsteady from collapsing by the impact of their two bodies
slamming on it. She carefully walked to where Methos was. The spoke
was peeking out a good 8 inches out of his chest. He wouldn't revive until
he was free from it. She took the time to trudge over to Gage's body and
kicked it to make sure he was history. When he didn't react, she kicked
him harder. Then again. She wanted to rip his face off, but swallowed it.
Instead, she kicked him over the side and heard his body land on the
concrete.
She found solid footing on top of a wrought iron eagle with olive branches
in his talons. Must have been for a governmental agency. She put her
hands under Methos' shoulders and tried to lift him off the spoke, but
couldn't. He was too heavy and the spoke was too long and she was at an
awkward angle. She yanked at the spoke, tried to break it, but it was too
thick and solid.
She could hear Claire down below and had the scary thought that Gage
had come back to life. She rushed to the edge to see Gage was still in a
heap and Claire was sitting on the other side of the rack. "Stay there,
Claire. Papa's coming if you stay right there."
Elizabeth saw Megan walking by a doorway and she yelled, "Megan!?"
Megan walked back to the door to see Elizabeth on top of the rack. She
said, "I can't find Mom."
"Help me here."
"Help you with what? Where's mom?!"
"Help me here! We have to lift him off."
"What?"
"Would you just come up here! Please?! I can't do it alone, then we'll find
Grace! Come on!"
Megan was excited, David wasn't actually killed? She made a wide berth
from getting too close to Gage on the floor and climbed up the rack.
Megan looked at David's body and the spoke sticking out of his chest.
"There's no way..."
Elizabeth had her arms under Methos' shoulders and nodded to his feet.
"Come on."
"The coroner will do that, wouldn't he?" Megan just stood where she was.
"Help me here!"
Claire cried out, "Papa!"
"He's here, just a minute, Claire!" Elizabeth motioned again for Megan to
help her. Megan wondered what kind of a sick woman would need to
move his body, but did walk to his body.
"Lift him by the butt," Elizabeth said. "I'll lift here." Megan shook her head
and knelt down. "One, two, three, lift!"
They lifted together and got Methos' body off the spoke. He fell off the
edge to the floor. Elizabeth figured he wouldn't have felt that, so it would
be okay. She hurried down to make sure that Claire hadn't seen it.
Elizabeth laid Methos over her lap and closed his coat to cover the blood
stain on his chest and waited for him to revive. "Claire?" She called out for
Claire to come to them so Methos could see that she was safe when he
came back to life. Claire walked around the rack and saw Methos. She
rushed to him and touched his face. She started bawling again, this time
with happiness. She grabbed him, hugged him, and ordered, "Papa, up!"
Her fingers tried to open his eyes.
Elizabeth collapsed from exhaustion, physical and mental, and pulled
Claire under her arm. Megan wondered just when it was that she had
entered the Twilight Zone. "That isn't going to scar her forever, seeing her
dead father? What is this going to prove?"
Elizabeth told her to go back looking for Grace, she'd be with her in a
minute. Then, Methos revived. Megan screamed, startling them all. "He
was dead! You can't tell me that was a flesh wound! What the hell is going
on?!"
When he was through healing, Methos realized where he was and saw
Claire, crying and hugging him. He held her and saw Gage's broken body
laying just feet away. Breathed a sigh of relief and kissed Elizabeth.
"Welcome back," she said.
"What is going on?!" They turned to see Megan in the midst of a panic
attack.
Elizabeth stood and said, "Megan..."
As Elizabeth got closer to her, Megan screamed, "Stay away from me!
Where's my mother!"
Methos stood and kissed and comforted Claire. Breathed better that she
was safe in his arms again. "We'll find her."
"Come on, Megan," Elizabeth said, taking her arm. "She's around here
somewhere."
Methos touched the bump on Claire's head and she flinched, batted his
hand away, but wrapped her arms around his neck. "Papa?"
"Yes?"
"We go home?"
"Yes," Methos confidently stated. "Do you know where Grace is? You
remember Grace?"
"Nice lady."
"Where is she?"
Claire shrugged and hugged Methos tighter as he followed Elizabeth and
Megan through the warehouse. Methos asked Claire, "Were you and Grace
alone with that man?"
"Bad man!"
"Was there any other bad men?" Claire shook her head no. Methos asked
Elizabeth, "Did Gage have an accomplice?"
"We haven't seen one."
"Does he always work alone?"
"How would I know?"
"You spent time with him."
"As little as possible."
Megan was looking at the blood stains on each of Methos and Elizabeth's
backs. Their clothes had holes on them. She shook her head and calmly
said, "You people are... what the hell are you?"
"Friends," Elizabeth said. "But we can't say more than that. "We're
friends."
"Are you dead?"
"No," Elizabeth said, smiling. "I'm feel more alive now than I have in a
long time."
"But, you both were--."
"Don't focus on that. We have to find Grace."
Methos saw a locker room and entered to look around. There were some
dark green coats the workers used while painting on hooks on the wall. He
set Claire down on a long wooden bench that spanned the entire room and
she didn't want to let him go. "It's all right, Claire. Papa needs to try on
some clothes."
He pulled back the collars on some of the coats until he found one larger
than his size so it would fit over his trench and sword. He took another off
a hook and tossed it to Elizabeth. The coats were paint spattered and dirty,
but they would be more sufficient for public view than their blood soaked
coats.
As they were putting them on, Megan heard a whimper and walked into
the bathroom that was attacked to the locker room. She yelled, "Mom!"
Grace was tied to pipe under one of the sinks, her mouth gagged by her
own red wool scarf. The gag on her mouth was the first thing that Megan
removed after rushing to her. "Mom!"
Elizabeth saw Claire's diaper bag alongside Grace and retrieved it. "Oh,
baby," Grace said before kissing Megan and smiling at Claire in her
father's arms in the doorway. Methos looked at Elizabeth and motioned
with his head to the side. Megan untied her mother and hugged Grace as
soon as she was freed. "What are you doing here?"
"To get you! Are you all right? Did he hurt you?"
"I'm stiff, but I'm fine," Grace said as Megan helped her to her feet. "He
took little Claire from me and I was so worried about her. She's okay?"
She looked to the doorway again. They were alone.
Methos and Elizabeth ran from the warehouse since Grace was fine and
they didn't want to answer more questions. They still didn't know
Elizabeth and Methos' real names, so maybe Grace and Megan would be
quiet about what had happened and who they were. Claire still kept a tight
hold on Methos as they walked.
They got to the intersection they had informed the cab company by cell
and waited for the car to arrive. Methos looked at his indiglo watch to see
that there would be no way to catch that flight to Seacouver. He mentioned
that, then added, "But we'll get on the very next one."
"We go home?"
"Yes, Claire. We go home."
They watched the headlights in the distance get closer and hoped it wasn't
a cop car. Megan and Grace could have called the police after their
absence. The car drove up and when it was parked at the curb, the side
window went down. The driver asked, "Paul Lansing?" That was the name
Methos had given him over the phone.
Methos nodded and opened the back door for Elizabeth to get in. He sat in
the back with Claire on his lap and told the driver, "O'Hare airport."
Elizabeth countered with, "880 Lakeshore Drive."
With that address, the driver raised his eye brows and looked the both of
them over. Their clothes certainly didn't indicate that they lived at the
address. She said, "If you step on it, you'll get a hundred dollar tip."
"Sure thing, lady," he said, pulling out.
Methos said, "We're not sticking around."
"We can't go to the airport like this," she said as she fumbled with the
work coat over her clothes. "I've got clothes there, men's clothes too. I
want my things."
Methos agreed. He didn't want to wear anything that may have been on
Cameron James, but Brook Brothers probably wasn't open that late at
night. He felt the small bump on the back of Claire's head. "How did she
get this?"
"I grabbed her from Gage and we fell."
"On the catwalk?" Methos looked at her mortified, "That was an awful
chance you took."
Elizabeth looked at the driver and whispered, "Gage would have thrown
her over the edge as soon as he would have clamped onto me."
"No, he wouldn't. Who'd do that to a child?"
"You think not? You ever hear the phrase 'asocial behavior'? Gage had it
in spades. He shot people for target practice, just because he could. Claire
didn't mean anything to him. I didn't mean anything to him. He wanted the
money."
"So, we're going to get your money."
"No. We're going to get my things. Then we're going to get the hell out of
here and never look back."
Methos hugged Claire and she demanded, "Where were you papa? No
more leave me."
"No more, Claire," he promised, as he wrapped his two coats around her.
"No more."
~~~~~
880 LAKESHORE DRIVE
Elizabeth walked into the lobby ahead of Methos carrying Claire.
Elizabeth had to stop at the front desk to get a key for her apartment. Lord
only knew where her purse and key ring were. As she pushed the elevator
button, she tried to speak to Claire, who wouldn't do anything but hug her
papa. A man walked to them. "Angel! It's been so long since I saw you.
What's up?"
"Oh, same old, same old, Mike."
"That's quite an outfit," he jovially said, looking the three of them over.
"Who's this?" He nodded to Methos and Claire.
Elizabeth said off the top of her head, "Trevor and Lisa." There was no
need to get chummy or speak the truth. They were leaving and they'd never
see him again anyway.
Methos looked Mike up and down. He was a middle aged man, carrying a
briefcase, looked like a stock broker or something. Starched suit, no
wedding ring, perfect hair with graying temples that waved at the neck.
Mike shook 'Trevor's' hand, smiled at 'Lisa' in his arms. When the elevator
came, they stepped on.
Before the doors closed, both Methos and Elizabeth felt an immortal. They
took a quick look in the lobby, but didn't see anyone at all. "Who could
that have been?" Methos asked Elizabeth.
"I don't know. Duncan?"
"No."
"I don't know."
Mike asked, "Cute kid. Yours?"
Methos nodded.
Mike said, "She looks like you."
Methos was pleased by that, but it was impossible. Claire looked at Mike,
feeling better now that they weren't in the scary warehouse and she had her
father with her. She rubbed the back of her head and told him, "I fell. Got
bump."
"Oh?" Mike smiled to her. "What happened?"
"We shot."
All adults were stunned for a second. Elizabeth weakly grinned to Mike,
"Kids... TV, you know?"
Mike asked, "Are you going to the tenant's meeting tomorrow night,
Angel?"
"No."
"You're not? We're having the final vote on getting that other swimming
pool. You have to. You said you wanted it last month."
Methos didn't like it, they must know each other well. Here he was,
thinking it was all a horrible nightmare for her, and she had been talking
swimming pools with her stock broker neighbor. Claire's words also
stunned him, and how much she comprehended about what happened to
her. Shot? She knows about shots? When Jason came in the window of the
cabin was the first time she ever experienced it, and never would again.
He'd have to have a long talk with her.
Elizabeth told Mike, "I won't be here tomorrow night. Can't. Sorry."
"Well, can I get your quorum vote?"
"Sure."
"Excellent." He looked at her shoes. "You still haven't taken me up on my
offer for top of the line Reebok's yet. My treat. For all of you."
"That would be nice, sometime...." Elizabeth said. They got out of the
elevator and Methos noticed that Mike lived right next door. Convenient.
Mike get her a pen and paper from his briefcase and asked her to sign a
note of consent for him to vote in her absence. She did, and almost signed
Elizabeth, but caught it and signed Angel Bancroft.
As Mike unlocked the door to his apartment, he winked and said, "For
this, give me your sizes and I'll get them delivered to you by the end of the
day tomorrow."
"We won't be here," Methos said.
"Oh, well. Let me know."
"Thanks Mike."
"You three have fun now."
Elizabeth unlocked the door to the apartment and walked in, comfortable.
She was in her territory. Methos looked at her apartment and was in awe. It
was finer than anything he'd seen since spending time with Byron. It was
too overt to live in such surroundings. New money... Claire got down and
waddled to the floor to ceiling windows, threw her hands and nose against
the glass and yelled, "Papa! Tall!"
Methos hurried to her, didn't want her to break the glass, fall, anything to
happen to her now that he had her back. "We're not staying, Claire. Don't
get too used to it." Although he had to look out at the city of Chicago all lit
up.
Elizabeth joined them at the window to take in the view one last time. "It
seems a shame. This is my place."
"Angel's place."
Elizabeth looked at the chair that James sat in when she returned looking
for Amanda. That did it, she was ready to get the hell out of there too. She
went into the bedroom and started packing her clothes into Louis Bataan
luggage and saw her bank books in the safe. "We have to go to the bank
tomorrow."
"We're going right to the airport."
"I have beds here, nice sheets. We've had a long day," she groaned. "Why
don't we stay the night?"
"No."
Elizabeth relented. She was exhausted, but it would be nice to get back to
their reality. In Seacouver. Or Sintra. Home. It was almost like a mirage.
She couldn't believe it was all over. She put the bank books in her suitcase
in case she ever needed it. Methos looked at them and picked up one.
When he opened it, he let out a whistle. "What all did you steal for this?"
Elizabeth saw a picture of Tony in her underwear drawer that she kept
hidden from James. It was of her and Tony at a game at Soldier Field,
taken by the family sitting in front of them. Their first date. That day was
the only glimmer of normalcy in the entire time she was with James. She
debated on putting it in her suitcase or not. Claire walked into the
bedroom. Elizabeth was going to pick her up, but Claire ran from her, then
stumbled, then ran for Methos. "She doesn't want anything to do with me,"
Elizabeth said.
Methos ignored the trauma she did inflict on Claire, but knew that was the
past. "She's not used to you yet. She will be. You've been gone over half
her life."
Elizabeth decided that because of her, Claire would need years of therapy.
She went back to her closet and rummaged through for something
comfortable to wear for the flight. She told Methos, "Pick something for
yourself. The men's clothes are on that end."
Methos looked at her wardrobe, a lot of it consisting of dresses both micro
short and long ball gowns. "Nice duds."
"They're going to be too small for me in a matter of weeks when I start
eating again. I'm going to fat, I just want to let you know."
Methos smiled. "That's what I'm hoping."
"You're not going to give my any grief about it?"
"No."
"Why don't I believe that. You haven't been dreaming?"
He chuckled, liked that she seemed to remember everything about them,
but there was a difference. Maybe it was stress or exhaustion. They had to
get out of there. He looked at the men's clothes and it was all suits. He
picked out a silk shirt and pair of dress pants and changed while she put on
a sweatshirt and jeans. "I think there's a long coat in there that you can
wear."
"Okay." Methos thought he was being very mature and dignified by not
giving her the third degree about who's clothes they were, but could
imagine. "I'm going to have to buy another sword."
"You don't have one?"
"No. James never gave me one. Only a gun."
"You still have swords," he told her. "You have everything you had before.
I didn't throw anything out."
Elizabeth warmly smiled. "Really?" After his nod as he tucked the shirt
into the pants, she said, "Well, that's a change. After the Pyrius escapade,
you threw everything of mine out."
Methos glared at her. She didn't have to remember everything, he cringed.
That was a different time, and she was still alive, he thought. It was all too
confusing. There would be time to talk about it all later. Not now. Now
they had to get her things and get out of there. He motioned for her to
continue packing and saw the picture of Angel and Tony in the top drawer.
"Nice looking guy."
"He was. A very nice looking man. Very nice man. Too nice. Too
trusting."
"Tony, I presume?"
Methos was intently looking at the picture. She took the picture from his
hands and ripped it up, threw it in the garbage. She zipped up the suitcase
and Methos stopped her. "I changed my mind. I think he have time. I'd like
to know about what you did during the past year."
"Why?"
"Are there any other immortals after you?"
"There aren't any."
"There was one downstairs."
"It's a big city."
"Have any other immortals come to this building?"
"You and Duncan."
"Any others?"
"James."
"You know what I mean!"
"I don't know. I lost the sense, remember?"
"How?" When Elizabeth weakly looked at him not wanting to repeat that
she didn't know one more time. He accepted that and guessed who the
immortal could have been. "Cole Roberts? Would he be after you?"
"He doesn't have a clue about Elizabeth Bennett."
"Liz Sommers."
"Her, either."
"I just want us to be safe."
"Do you feel an immortal now?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "You."
They both jumped from the sudden noise of a TV show. Methos ran back
out to the living room. Claire was crying on the sofa with the remote
control in her hand. The sudden noise scared her too. Elizabeth said from
the doorway, "She must have figured out how to turn the mute button off. I
usually had the TV on mute."
Methos turned the volume down and switched channels until he found the
Cartoon Network. He excitedly said to Claire, "Wily Coyote!"
Claire pointed, "Boom!" She hunkered down on her knees and focused on
the TV.
Since she was taken care of for the moment, Methos went back into the
bedroom and found Elizabeth crouched down in the closet, pulling out
shoes. "They always fit, right?"
He sat on the bed and asked, "Tony?" Elizabeth pulled her eyes away from
the collection of sneakers and looked at him. "Who is he?"
"Was he," she corrected him.
"Okay." That was better in Methos' estimation.
"He was a good man who got involved with me and died."
She was going to walk past him to the suitcase, but he stopped her and
insisted, "Tell me."
"What if I don't want to?"
"Is it too close to you? Was he that important? I'd like to know what
happened. What Cole Roberts has to do with it, if Claire is in danger. How
little Tony Willis got in with the big boys. He couldn't have been all that
clean."
That made her mad, "'Little' Tony Willis was a security guard at the Field
Museum. He was clean. But he trusted people, was a little naive... he was
really naive. James had me talk to him while on duty. I got the password
for the alarms in under 10 minutes. He asked me out for a date, didn't
know I was anything other than a cute gal in a short dress."
"What does that have to do with Roberts?"
She didn't want to tell him, didn't want to remember it all, but knew she'd
have to eventually. "Nick and I..."
"Who's Nick?" He tightened again. How many 'conquests' did she have?
"We worked for Roberts. We stole a Rembrandt from Roberts' house on
our own. Roberts figured it out and went to his really good buddy,
Cameron, about their bad help. When Tony wanted to take me away for a
quiet weekend, I was surprised James let me go, but ... he knew I'd come
back. I was sufficiently obedient... needed the shots, he only gave me one
to make sure I wouldn't be gone long. And, he knew what was in store for
me. It was all a setup. To teach me a lesson, I guess."
#####
NOVEMBER 2003
RENO
#####
His touch was light, thoughtful, not intruding, definitely arousing. It was
hard to believe that this man, who had told her was relatively new one in
the world of sex--Tony had spent his teens and twenties thinking about the
priesthood and had little dating experience in his thirties--could be so
satisfying. When Angel looked at Tony's neck as he laid atop her, she
couldn't imagine it being covered by a white collar. That wasn't where
Tony Willis belonged at all.
As he gracefully, slowly, slid in and out, Angel was thinking she could be
very comfortable in that man's arms for the rest of her days. She didn't
remember being so free and appreciated in that last centuries since James
found her after her death by carriage accident--as he had told her. Tony
was a blessing. Every movement of his was slow, as if he was asking
permission first. To touch her breast, to kiss her neck, to massage her
crotch, to enter her. What a difference! She almost didn't know how to
react to him. But by looking at Tony's face, they were both doing okay.
The door burst open and Tony jerked around to see two men come in.
Angel yelled, "No!"
Tony was beaten off the bed and one of the men edged near her. She
wondered if he was immortal or know how to kill one. She grabbed the
sheets to cover herself and jumped off the bed. She was hit on the back of
the head and fell.
When she woke up, she was on her back, chained tightly to a metal bed. It
was a different room from she had last remembered being in. She had no
idea where she was and damn, she was cold. She lifted her head to see that
she was naked, and that Tony was chained to the far wall. His head was
down and he was bleeding profusely. "Tony?" He didn't move. "Oh,
God..." She yanked at the chains, making her wrists and ankles minced
meat and screamed. "Tony!"
A man came in, followed by another, Roberts. He was smiling. "So nice of
you to join the land of the living, Angel." He stood at the end of the bed
and looked at her, "My, my, my... what a smorgasbord we have here."
"You can have your damn painting back! Leave him out of this! He didn't
have anything to do with it!"
"Now, now, Angel. Keep your head." Cole Roberts laughed.
His laugh had a way to get under her skin, but this time she tightened. "For
how long?"
Tony stirred. Roberts spun around to look at him. "Oh, he isn't dead. Mr.
Tabor, I thought I said I wanted him dead."
The man with a gold tooth smiled, "You said you wanted him to die
slowly."
Roberts laughed. "Ah, that's right." He looked at Elizabeth and said, "It's
so nice to have good men working for you, Miss Bancroft. I trust Mr.
Tabor with my life. It's too bad Cameron James can't say the same thing
about you."
"Cameron can trust his life to me, you can't!"
"You actually seem to think you're going to escape me with your head,"
Roberts enjoyed her struggle to free herself immensely. "Mr. Tabor?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Put Angel's friend here out of his misery..." Roberts unbuckled his pants.
"Tomorrow."
Tabor whipped Tony as he weakly moaned. Roberts climbed on top of her.
She couldn't get free from the wrist and ankle straps as he raped her and
heard Tony's screams in her ears. By the time Roberts was done, he took
out his sword. She wanted him to take her head, it was too much, she was
defeated. Roberts pulled himself to his knees and straddled her. He put the
tip of his blade to her breasts.
When she flinched and tried to wriggle free, she said, "Just go ahead and
take it!"
Roberts smiled. "When you least expect it, Ms. Bancroft," he lightly
slashed her chest. He didn't know if he enjoyed the ribbon of blood that
appeared or Angel's pain more, but he laughed again, a deep laugh that
seemed to come from his toes. "You'll lose more than your head." He
slashed again, just superficial wounds so he could enjoy her agony. His
finger traced the scar on the right side of her neck that Methos had branded
her with, but that Angel had no idea how she obtained. "I see you have a
history of pissing people off, Angel. Understand me well. I'll start with
each and every finger," he dragged the blade across her stomach as she
screamed. "Then, your nose," he slashed her face. "Then your tits. Then I
will take your head."
When Roberts stabbed her forcefully in the heart, thankfully her grief
stopped. The lights went out. She was at peace.
But when she revived, she started screaming again. Tony was lying on top
of her. The blood was still running from his body onto her. Only when she
realized he was dead and no longer in pain, did she stop screaming for
him. From then on, she only screamed for help.
~~~~~
LAKESHORE DRIVE
Elizabeth finished the tale for Methos. "It took another night and half a day
for someone to find us. A passing hiker. That's when I found out I was in
Colorado. The hiker gave me his jacket and was going to call the police. I
left before he even got an answer on the phone. I walked barefoot for a
while and felt myself going through something I didn't understand at the
time. Withdrawals from the shots. I got to a convenience store and called
Cameron collect and asked him to come and get me."
"Why did you go back to James?"
"Where else would I go? Who else did I know? I would have loved to have
you find me, but you didn't. I was dead, remember? I wished I was."
Elizabeth, sitting next to Methos on the end of the bed, leaned over and
rubbed her hands over her face roughly.
He put his hand on her back and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for you and
what you went through and I'm sorry for Tony."
"Sure. Of course you're sorry for Tony. I am too. I should have known.
When I got back to Chicago and rested, had a few more shots, James told
me that Nick was killed, butchered, much the same way Tony was. After I
told James what happened and what Roberts said, he..."
Elizabeth was drained and sad for the remembrance, and sorry for what
she said and with how she may have said it, for how it had affected
Methos. She didn't want to hurt him. If he was to tell her about loving
someone while she was away, she wouldn't be able to take it. Tony had
been important to her for those two weeks.
Methos didn't like the tale at all, felt anger for what she went through, held
her as she cried. Elizabeth said, "James laughed. He didn't care about me.
He was the one who had the pleasure of killing Nick. Or probably Gage
got the honors. I wondered why Nick was killed and I wasn't. James told
me that I deserved to have been, but that I was a good girl for coming back
to him. He said that I deserved it, and the next time, he would take my
head personally. It was just business. Well, I saw the writing on the wall.
There wasn't anyone to turn to. I took off the next day. I actually thought I
was going to make it. I went to O'Hare and I was going to go to
somewhere he couldn't find me. A flight to Miami was leaving next, so
that's the ticket I bought. I was just going to get on the plane when it felt
like my insides were on fire. I fell on the floor in pain just as Jason came
up to me. Then, I was fine, they had turned it off. I healed, was brought to
James' private plane and we left for London. That's when I found out about
the homing beacon and the electrode." She looked at Methos with hatred
that he made her relive it.
They were both silent, the cartoons could be audible in the background.
The strap holding her wedding ring that Methos wore was visible on his
neck. That morning, she would have given anything to put it back on, but
now, she felt miles away from it. "There's a lot about me you have no idea
about. I've done a lot of things I can't be forgiven for."
"What happened to Tony wasn't your fault."
"Some things were. Like shooting you and Duncan. That was my choice. I
killed others. I like to think I just wounded them, but I probably didn't."
She took her bank books from the suitcase and looked at them. "I've got
over 8 million dollars here, in five different accounts. None of it is my
money. It's all dirty."
She didn't like the look of pity on Methos' face and decided to turn the
tables on him. "But yours could be considered that too, right? What did
you do with all the horsemen's loot? How do you live with that? How can I
live with what I've done?"
Methos felt bad for her, but she could have just asked politely. He might
have told her something that would help her, but didn't like her tone of
voice at all. It was accusing. She had brought up the horsemen so easily.
"You live with it, that's what you do. Hurry up and pack."
Methos walked back to the living room. Scooby Doo was on, but Claire
was crashed on the couch. He picked her up and sat down, putting her on
his chest and just held her. Elizabeth came out of the bedroom and Methos
was glad, thinking they could leave, finally. But, she had no suitcases. Her
face was beet red from crying and asked, "What if I can't? How did you
return to living after the horsemen, after what you did?"
"I lived. That was a long time ago, I'm not that same person."
"That's a good excuse. I'm still the same person, though."
Claire woke up with the voices and smiled at Methos, contented, she fell
back to sleep. Elizabeth asked, "What if I can't? I can't live with it." She
looked around the living room at the 'stuff' she'd collected. The gifts she
received from criminals. The things she bought with stolen and blood
stained money.
Methos knew they weren't coming here just for a change of clothes. He
demanded the truth, "Why did you insist on coming here?"
"I thought I wanted it. Seeing it is different than thinking about it. Much
like the horsemen. The difference between when you told me, and when I
saw it."
"Would you quit talking like that in front of Claire?"
She looked at her bank books in her hands. "It's all blood money, Methos.
How can I spend it, knowing where it came from?"
"Give it away."
"To who?"
"Whom."
"I can't touch it."
"The money didn't come from nuns and saints. It came from drug dealers
and arms dealers."
"That's not all together true."
Methos grunted and shook his head. "Well, I don't want to hear it." Methos
shut off the TV set, picked up Claire and her backpack and steered
Elizabeth to the door. "We're going home."
~~~~~
AIRPLANE
Elizabeth wasn't talkative on the way, only slammed back little airline
whiskey bottle after whiskey bottle. Claire slept peacefully on Methos'
chest, only waking once in the while. The overhead lights were off and the
cabin was mostly dark except for various personal lights that shone down
on people reading or knitting. He looked at Elizabeth who's gaze was
focused on the black outside the window, but who wasn't actually focused
on anything. He took her hand and said, "Maybe you want to call Amy
when we get home." She shook her head no. "It will make you feel better."
"She deserves better than me. She deserves to live a normal, happy life
that I can't mess up. You all do."
He didn't want to get into it with her with ears all over the place. He held
Claire tighter and looked at her look out the black window, drinking that
small bottle of whiskey, and then another.
~~~~~
APRIL 26, 2004
SEACOUVER
BROWNSTONE
Elizabeth stood on the curb at 4:30 in the morning. Methos got Claire out
of the back seat of the rental and her backpack and walked up the stairs.
He asked Elizabeth, "Are you coming?"
"How can you live here when Pyrius lived just across the street? Isn't that a
reminder?"
He hadn't actually given it a thought. "I have to get Claire to bed. Are you
coming or not?"
Methos walked up the steps and opened the door with his security key. As
he protected Claire from the cold wind with his coat, he looked back at
Elizabeth, holding the door open with his body. "Come on!"
Elizabeth stopped staring at window of the brownstone across the street
and mechanically walked up the steps. Methos asked her, "Are you
drunk?"
"No. I wish I was."
As soon as Methos entered the apartment, he changed Claire into her
pajamas and made a bed for her on the couch. Usually she slept with him,
but now he knew he'd have to get another larger apartment with Elizabeth
back home. The thought of his wife being back finally hit him. He
remembered sitting on that couch just a week ago and finding the note to
Adam Pierson on the floor. He had accomplished it. They all had. James
was dead. Elizabeth was back. Claire was home. Safe. They could now get
on with their lives. They lost some good people along the way, but he
couldn't think about the watchers. They knew what they were there to do.
He pushed Claire's long, matted hair back from her face and knew that the
first thing when she woke up that they'd do is give her a good scrubbing.
Methos kissed her cheek and whispered, "Good night, pretty one."
Methos walked by the kitchen on the way to the bedroom and was
surprised to see Elizabeth sitting at the table in the dark. He flipped on the
light and she slammed her eyes shut from the sudden brightness and
groaned. He saw that she had found a beer in the fridge and was half way
through it already. "Aren't you tired?"
No." She sipped the beer. "Can you turn the light off again, please?"
"I'm going to turn in."
"Good night. Or good morning, whatever."
Methos didn't like she was sitting with the weight of the world on her
shoulders. He walked behind her and massaged her shoulders. She didn't
even act like he was there. "What are you thinking about?"
"Now I know what Teddy looked like."
Another man! Methos never once felt jealous about anything, but it was
suddenly creeping him out. It wasn't jealousy of men per say, but jealousy
of her freewheeling life without him while he was mourning her and
having a hard time doing anything besides raising Claire. He was almost
sorry to ask, but did, "Who's Teddy?" He didn't want to know, it was too
early and there seemed to be too many men in her last year on the planet.
"Teddy was my first husband," Elizabeth said. "Have you forgotten? I told
you about him a long time ago. Theodore Tennison was his name." Her
words were slurring and were in a monotone from the ebbing away of her
emotions. "He was killed in Fredericksburg during the Civil War. I was
informed that he had been shot in the face. I always wondered what that
looked like because I wasn't able to see him. He was buried in a mass
Union grave on the battlefield. I tried to visualize it all these years."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "Something to do I guess. I missed him. I don't have try to
visualize it anymore. I've seen it."
Methos continued to massage her neck and shoulders. "That kid startled
us. He came out of nowhere." She stopped talking to finish off the beer.
She turned the beer bottle upside down and her hand fell to the table. The
bottle rolled. Elizabeth rocked it back and forth with her finger, the sound
of it and what she had just said annoyed Methos. He put his hand on top of
hers to stop it. She continued, "He was just walking home from school,
taking a short cut through an alley."
"Where was this?"
"Minneapolis."
She whispered, "Nick and I shot at him. I didn't know he was a kid. I
thought he was a guard we had to take out. Nick and I both shot at him.
One bullet hit the brick wall, the other one..." Elizabeth cleared her throat.
"The other one got him right in the face. We aimed for a man's heart. He
got it right in the face. I don't know if it was my bullet or not, but I'm just
guilty even if it wasn't." Her head collapsed back on Methos' chest.
"What where you doing?"
"Helping Roberts and his men do a job. Cleaning out the back room of a
business owner that owed him money."
"By cleaning, I don't assume it was with a mop and broom."
She shook her head, angrily slapped her legs for not being able to think of
anything else. She went to the fridge and was sorry all the beer was gone.
She could still feel the pain. "I was lookout, in back, in case the owner
came to the store. It all happened so fast. I've prayed to God that my bullet
was the one that hit the wall, but that doesn't change anything. I'll still burn
in hell. He's still dead. A little boy is dead. His murder was in the paper.
James and Roberts were happy because we didn't leave witnesses, that I
did what I was trained for. Alex Mahoney. That was the boy's name. He
was only twelve years old." Elizabeth started shivering and it wasn't
because she was still standing in front of an open fridge. She slammed the
door shut and asked, "How do I live without knowing what he might have
become? What he might have accomplished? He would have been a better
person than I could ever be, or ever was."
Elizabeth sunk to the floor holding herself and Methos went to her, sat
next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She cried as he kissed her
forehead and just held her. Let her cry it out. At that moment, he wished
he had been the one to have taken Cameron James' head and had the
thought of going after Cole Roberts himself. She tried to fight him off, but
he wouldn't loosen his hold on her. He told her, "Elizabeth would never
have done that. That's what you have to hold onto. You live. The pain
fades after you accept it."
"I accept it and everything's better?" He nodded. "So, except for Pyrius,
you haven't paid for what you did. You didn't pay until two years ago.
That's pretty good."
He bitterly retorted, "You don't know what I've done in my life." How dare
she bring up his sorted past! "What would you have me do? What would
have been the proper penalty? Death?" That was his name. "You have to
live with the evil and the good inside of you and not repeat the mistakes."
She whimpered, "I can't."
"Yes! You can!" He shook her to make sure she was listening. "You have
responsibilities. You're a mother to Claire. You're my wife. You're a friend
to Amy, Amanda, Duncan, Joe. You have a life to live."
Those names all sounded foreign to her at the moment, then she thought of
Cassandra. Did he even know they had been friends at one time? Then she
replied to herself, some friend. She hadn't even thought of Cassandra for
over a year, and that was because Pyrius saw her. He said, "We're not
going to get anything accomplished right this minute. Claire's going to be
up in a few hours, we need sleep. We'll talk later. I promise it will get
easier. We'll get through it together."
When she got to the bedroom and Methos opened the boxes in the closet
full of her clothes, she didn't seem to be happy even though that's all she
thought about since the cabin. She had just wanted to get home and touch
her own things and live her own life again, with a husband and child that
she loved more than everything else in life. Methos tossed her Canucks
hockey jersey at her that she had always wore as pajamas. Her voice
sounded dead as she looked at the jersey and asked, "You did keep all of
my things?"
"Yes." Methos was short with her and didn't think anymore conversation
would do ever of them good that early morning. She methodically got out
of her clothes and pulled it over her head. She laid on the bed and pulled
the covers up to her chin. She didn't look at Methos as he undressed and
got in beside her. His wife was finally home and it was just the exhaustion
talking.
In a matter of minutes, Methos was asleep but Elizabeth stared at the
window, reliving the scene in the alleyway over and over in her mind. As
she had on certain still, silent nights when she couldn't sleep. Alex
Mahoney turning the corner and Nick and Angel shooting on reflex and
Roberts' deep, hearty laughter rang in her ears. Methos turned over in his
sleep and she saw the slight scar on the back of his shoulder that she had
asked him about the first time they were together. The scar that he didn't
remember getting. That she took his non-answer as a slam. It felt good to
remember something other than the year with James. She searched her
memory bank for good times. Times when there wasn't any trauma in her
life. Times with Methos.
Black. She remembered giving Methos Black for the birthday she had
decided he was celebrate from then on. She wondered how Black was
doing, or if Methos even had him yet. If he still celebrated his birthday on
April 13. What had he been doing just two weeks ago on his birthday. She
teared up that she missed it, by mere days. The last gift she gave him was
the classic car. Did he still have it? Claire's birthday, May 21. She missed
one of Claire's but would have to make sure she had a great one next
month. She looked at Methos. Would he have celebrated Claire's birthday?
Maybe those days weren't important to him. He went over 5000 years
seemingly not caring. She turned on her side and traced the scar on his
shoulder and remembered their night at the St. Regis, Hawaii, those early
carefree days in Sintra before he started dreaming. She wondered what he
was dreaming now.
With the rising sun of dawn, Methos felt the bed move. He looked over
and saw Elizabeth sitting on the edge, facing away from him. "Is Claire
up? I didn't hear anything."
"No."
He could tell by her demeanor, sunken shoulders and bowed head that she
was still in the dumps. "It will be all right, Liz. Don't think about it now.
Get some sleep." Methos turned over and punched his pillow with his fist.
She sniffed and told him, "I'm sorry."
Methos looked back over his shoulder at her, "What?"
"I'm sorry."
When she turned to face him, he could tell that she had been crying. "For
what?" He rubbed his hand on her back. She hadn't slept a wink. Elizabeth
curled up alongside him and slammed her eyes shut. Methos wiped at the
tears and caressed her cheek. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I didn't have to take it out on you. I'm sorry. It's all too much. I didn't have
to bring up Death. I'm sorry."
Methos pulled her closer to him and said, "I'm a big boy. Sticks and
stones..."
She guardedly said, "I may have done something else you aren't going to
like."
Methos cringed. "Can't this wait until after a couple of cups of coffee?"
She looked up at him without bitterness or sorrow, but with the emotion
that she had before Cameron James had entered our lives. He looked into
her eyes and they weren't guarded, a stranger's. He smiled as he laid on top
of her and continued to study her face. Methos kissed her cheek and
whispered, "There's my Lizzie."
She lifted up to kiss him, but then pulled back. Methos felt her whole body
stiffen. "What's the matter?"
"I don't."
"What? Want to? That's all right."
"No. I do. But I don't want to... I don't remember what to... I don't want to
disappoint you."
"You can't." Methos kissed her again. "Just show me how you feel."
"At the cabin it was me and a guy and you were with a stranger. Now it's
just me and you. I don't want--."
"Don't worry about it."
She let him take the lead and responded. They moved slowly and
cautiously, then their reacquainting explorations of each other turned into
once again familiar movements. After they had both come to climax,
Elizabeth started crying and couldn't stop. Methos couldn't comfort her. He
nudged her face toward him and asked, "Did I hurt you?"
She quickly shook her head and gulped back another crying jag, wrapped
her arms and legs around him. "I just forgot. I forgot what it was like to be
with someone that I wanted to be with. Who I love. I forgot what it could
be like."
CONTINUED in Chapter Thirty - Two - The Decapitating Stranger
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