THE ELIZABETH SERIES                              
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
A TIME TO KILL
By JoLayne
EnyaJo@aol.com

RATING: PG-15 Language
CHARACTERS: M, DM, A, Amy, J, Cassandra, Elizabeth, Caroline,
Walter, Helen, The Decapitating Stranger
SUMMARY: There's an immortal to kill.

~~~~~

MAY 1, 2004
AMY'S BUILDING

Elizabeth waited for the elevator, but it was too slow. The buzzes in
Amy's apartment were running chills down her back and she needed to get
away as fast as possible. While running down the stairs on the way to the
lobby, she fell and cried. She really wanted to go back up there and find
out how it could have happened, but she didn't think she could be tactful
at the moment. Methos always said 'sticks and stones' but she was scared;
this could send her over the edge.

She could bring up that part of his past that she had promised she
wouldn't. Yet even though she was mad as hell, she couldn't find it in her
heart to intentionally hurt him. A door on the floor above her opened, and
she bolted down the stairs, thinking it would be Methos, hoping it was
Methos coming after her, but then she didn't want to even look at him this
soon.

She walked out of the building and immediately felt a new buzz. Elizabeth
fully expected Methos to appear when she stopped on the sidewalk and
hastily whirled around. "Don't think you..." He wasn't there, in fact, no
one was, that she could see. She was at the edge of the alley where Kevin
had been killed when she was pulled inside and found herself with a blade
to her throat. 

A shrill, mad voice cried out, "This should be a nice surprise for that
bastard Methos!" Elizabeth froze with the realization that the immortal
knew his true name. Another Pyrius, who wasn't killed? Or was turned? In
that instant, all the awful stuff went through her mind. "It's about time I
got you alone." Elizabeth took the backpack off her shoulder and swung it
around her, making sure to hold onto the immortal's blade so it wouldn't
hit it's mark. The backpack slammed into the immortal, making her fall
back. The immortal pulled her blade out of Elizabeth's hand, slicing it
open.

Elizabeth ignored the pain and blood. In the time it took her to pull out her
sword the immortal was able to stab her in the leg. As Elizabeth fell, she
blindly swung out with her sword, connecting with the female immortal's
arm. The frightened immortal ran off; Elizabeth couldn't pursue with a
limp leg. The immortal knew where to strike to incapacitate her, why did
she run away? Elizabeth got up and limped down the alley, screaming at
her, "Come back here, you bitch!" She was gone. Elizabeth grunted from
the pain and fell to the pavement and wailed, "God dammit!" While she
waited for her leg and hand to heal. 

~~~~~

Amanda and Duncan were in the middle of finishing the stroganoff that
Elizabeth had started, still trying to figure out what had happened. "I don't
have a clue," Duncan said as he tossed the bag of lettuce in a serving bowl.
"But this is between David and Liz. They'll work it out."

"This isn't like the last time," Amanda said. "Last time, Elizabeth was
anxious about a new relationship and he was less than honest with her.
After everything that they have been through together, what the hell could
have happened?"

Duncan nudged her to be quiet and nodded his head toward Walter and
Helen having wine at the table commiserating about their dead son with
Joe and Caroline. "So what if they can hear?" Amanda said, "Mac, I don't
believe you. They just got back together. Things should be wonderful for
them, what the hell happened? I should have gone after her, Lizzie
shouldn't be out there alone."

"So you'd know what's going on?"

Amanda humpfed and said, "I can help her."

They felt a buzz, only Joe noticed the tightening reaction of Duncan and
Amanda. Elizabeth walked in from the hallway and right up to Joe. "You
have your database with you?"

Joe turned and noticed the slash on her pant leg and the glint of her sword
as she self consciously wrapped her coat around herself before Helen and
Walter saw anything. Joe said, "Yes."

"I saw her," Elizabeth announced.

"Who?"

She looked sadly at Walter and Helen and quietly said, "The one we're
looking for. She was just outside."

Duncan walked around the counter to Elizabeth at the table. "It's a
woman?"

Amanda saw Elizabeth's pant leg and the smudge of blood on her palm.
"Are you all right?"

Methos came out of the bedroom just as Elizabeth said, "Yeah, it's just a
flesh wound," and basically hauled Joe off his chair and into the study so
he could hook up the database. Caroline calmed the Randalls down and
made sure they stayed in the dining room. 

Joe fired up the laptop. Elizabeth noticed that Amanda had entered the
study and told her, "I recognized her from that pack of people crossing the
street remember?"

Amanda shrugged. "I remember a pack of people, but..."

Methos and Duncan entered, with Duncan shutting the door behind them.
Methos grabbed Elizabeth's arm, but she flipped it off and sat next to Joe
at the desk, ignoring him for the moment. As the computer started up, Joe
asked, "You didn't happen to get her name, did you?"

"No, but I saw her up close and personal," Elizabeth grumbled. "She
stinks."

"Of what?"

"B.O."

Joe was ready to start a search and asked, "What does she look like?"

"About my age, in mortal years, blond shoulder length hair, she's tall,
narrow face, long straight nose, eyes were close together."

"What color?"

"What color are her eyes?" Elizabeth's voice rose as she hurriedly said, "I
have no idea, Joe, it was dark."

"Okay, okay," Joe stopped her until he could do a search on a tall, blond,
female immortal in the active file. It came up with 230 hits. He groaned,
"This could take a while."

Elizabeth scanned the first face, "I have the time." When Joe saw her
shake her head, he hit the button for the next one to appear. Elizabeth
shook her head. He went to the third, then the fourth, before Elizabeth
suggested she look through it, as it would go faster. He got up and she
took the seat.

"I think I remember her, too," Amanda said. "Did she wear a long maroon
coat?"

Elizabeth tore her eyes off the screen to nod, "Help me here." Elizabeth
scooted the chair over as Amanda brought another chair over to look
through the options.

Methos incredulously asked, "A woman did this?"

"She's pretty pissed off about something," Elizabeth said, not taking her
eyes off the flipping faces. "Gee, I wonder what that could be..."

Methos tried to ignore her attitude quickly fading back against the wall. As
Amanda watched the women's faces flip by she wondered if she could
even put a face to the hair and build that she vaguely remembered. "She
attacked you?"

"Yeah."

"You're lucky you got away with your head."

"Luck had nothing to do with it. She saw I was better than she was, so she
cut my leg and ran." Elizabeth hurriedly flipped through more and more
faces. She had to go back a couple of times thinking she missed it or had
found her, but then moved on again when she dismissed the face.

Amanda looked through the flurry of faces. She pointed at one. Elizabeth
went back. "No," Amanda said. Elizabeth kept flipping through more.

Finally, Elizabeth stopped at Ludmilla Gentry. She had longer, curlier hair
in the surveillance photo, but Elizabeth instantly recognized those piercing
eyes, long nose and wide clenched mouth. Amanda pointed at the monitor
and declared, "That's her."

"Sure is," Elizabeth commented and even though she didn't really want to
find out who the female actually was, curiosity overcame her and she
scrolled through the information. She read aloud, "Her first death was in
1862, Texas. Married in 1864 to Melvin Koren." She figured that this
Ludmilla was almost exactly the same age that she was. 

Joe moved forward to look at the screen saying, "Let me take a look at
that," as he took Amanda's chair. "This file hasn't been updated; most of
the other immortal's files were about ten years old." He started clicking
links.

For an instant, Elizabeth had been grateful that Cameron James had trained
her so well as Angel. If he hadn't, Elizabeth might have been laying in the
alley without a head right now. "Melvin Koren?" Elizabeth looked at
Methos in the corner, "Is that one of your alias'?"

Duncan boomed, "Kronos!"

"So this does have something to do with the horsemen," Elizabeth bitterly
said. "Yet you were content to let me believe that I could have let out
information about Methos being alive and that seemed to satisfy you."
Elizabeth sat back in the chair seething.

Methos flattened himself against the far wall, an automatic reaction to
seeing Kronos' face appear on the monitor, only he was named Melvin
Koren. Duncan leaned forward to the computer and read aloud more
information on her. "She was found as a child by immortal Melvin Koren
and was turned by him to be his eternal partner. It wasn't until 1992 that
Koren started to train her." Duncan looked at Methos and said, "Right
before Kronos went after Cassandra, and found you." He looked behind
him at Methos, who stood as still as a statue.

Amanda asked, "Why would he turn her and not train her during all those
years?"

Methos lightly said, "So he could control her."

Duncan read the last line on her file aloud, "We fear she may have
developed some of Koren's madness." He looked at Joe and asked, "Don't
the watchers know that Melvin Koren was Kronos?" 

Joe said, "Well, my friend, I only made an entry in your chronicle that you
killed the immortal Kronos. I didn't make any reports on him."

"Why not?" Duncan asked, wondering what else in his file may have been
wrong.

"Kronos, or Koren, was not my case to correct. The less I did to his file the
better. It might have raised suspicion about certain people in the room."
He smiled at Methos.

Methos lightly smiled with gratitude, then caught the look that Elizabeth
gave him. She was boring holes through him. It was all giving him shivers.
Once again, he thought about how much easier his life would be if he
hadn't gone back to Seacouver to be found by Kronos. It would have been
so much easier to have just gone on retreat for a decade. The damn people
in this room made him care! Just the thought that Kronos had once again
intruded in his life filled him with dread. This couldn't end well. As Joe
typed and Amanda and Duncan watched him, Methos looked again at
Elizabeth. She was standing by the bookcase holding a kooshball.

Elizabeth lightly tossed the kooshball; it was the one that Amy had caught
when the two of them went to see the filming of the Rosie O'Donnell
Show back before any of this ever happened. Amy had been dating Kevin
at the time; Elizabeth was married to Eliot. It was a fun, carefree afternoon
for the two of them. No troubles. They were like sisters, except that one
was blissfully unaware that the other was an immortal. Elizabeth tearfully
smiled as she remembered how close she and Amy had been, talking to or
seeing each other at least twice a day, it had been easy living across the
hall from each other. Once again, Elizabeth longed for the return of those
days. She wanted Amy to be carefree, Kevin to still be alive. Then her
thoughts turned. She didn't want to still be married to Eliot, she loved
Methos and Claire more than anything in the world. She tossed the
kooshball back on the shelf. Elizabeth suddenly pictured Methos with
Amy. She had to get out of that room, out of Amy's house, away from
Methos.

Joe noticed something that amazed him. "Gentry doesn't have a watcher."
He read the results of his search aloud. "In 1978, her watcher died of a
heart attack and there was never a replacement assigned." He told the
others, "I suppose since she wasn't in the game and was constantly with
Koren, his watcher took over the both of them. Then, when Koren,
Kronos, was taken, there wasn't a rush to watch her, and somehow she
slipped through the cracks and it was never done."

"Watchers are that thorough, huh," Duncan grimly asked.

"Good Christ," Joe shook his head. "That's how her deeds have gotten by
us. I'll request one for her right away."

Methos quickly said, "No. Then he or she would just have to record who
took her."

Elizabeth chuckled. He was always thinking about his own neck!
Somehow, it's just wasn't cute at the moment. 

Amanda said, "But, Mac, you took Kronos' head. Why is she trailing
Methos?"

They all looked at Methos, who shrugged. "He must have mentioned me to
her."

"Never underestimate a woman scorned... but, Kronos?" Amanda mused.
"Who in the hell could love Kronos?"

Elizabeth headed toward the door. "Well, take care of her." 

She got as far as the hallway before Methos grabbed her hand and directed
her into the living room for some semblance of privacy. "We have to talk.
Should we go for a walk?"

"To draw out that woman? No thanks," Elizabeth evenly said. "Tell Claire
that I love her, even though she may not listen, or care."

"Tell her yourself."

She sadly looked at him, wanting to stay, but needing to get some distance
between her and yet another man in her life that had treated her like she
meant nothing. She had promised herself after Eliot that she wouldn't
allow herself to be put in that position again, damn it! Because she was in
a delicate mental state in the first place, the vision of Methos with Amy in
a compromising position wasn't what she needed right now, especially if
Amy were to make an appearance. The urge to help her friend through this
time didn't even occur to her after what they had both done. "My job here
is done."

She had expected, or maybe even hoped, that Methos would argue with
her, but he only stepped aside and motioned to the door. He understood
that she needed time. He'd give her just a little more time, then wherever
she was on the planet, he'd find her.

~~~~~

Ludmilla finally stopped running and leaned heavily against the brick wall
of a tenement. Her heart was in her throat from being so close to danger.
She hadn't expected the immortal woman to actually fight back! The
mortals hadn't. For a moment, Ludmilla cursed Melvin for not properly
teaching her how to defend herself during a fight. What little she did know
came from watching Melvin when he fought. She always prided herself of
being a quick study, but after the altercation with Elizabeth Bennett, lover
of Methos, Ludmilla knew that she would have to take the immortals by
surprise and kill before they even knew what hit them. Or, they could kill
her.

"Oh, Melvin, why..." She moaned as she remembered the only man she
had ever loved in her entire life.

#####

1860

#####

Ludmilla dismissed her students for the day and stayed in the schoolhouse
to finish grading the children's test papers. She grinned and shook her
head when she came to George Markey's test. Once again, the boy-man--
who had failed every grade since the third--just barely scored a pass in
spelling. She had to give him credit, he at least hadn't given up, and he had
just celebrated his 13th birthday. She knew that he was being teased
relentlessly by the other kids. She was surprised that his father hadn't
demanded that he give up and just work the ranch with the family.
Tenacity. What a wonderful characteristic for a person to have. Ludmilla
decided to go and talk privately with George to see if he wanted private
lessons. Helping him maybe pass a grade would also help her in return.
She could see what made the young man tick. What makes him keep
trying?

She heard distant screams. Alerted, she moved to the window to see a
group of at least twenty men on horseback ride into their little town. One
of the men had one of the saloon girls by her long hair, dragging her along
with him as his horse trotted through town. She ran to the stoop of the
schoolhouse and looked in fascinated horror at the men lining up citizens
and making them put their belongings into a saddlebag. Others were
grabbing women--mothers with their children nearby--and shoving them
down onto the ground. Children cried and ran, women ran as they gathered
their children, men tried to fight off the pack, only to get shot for their
efforts. It was a gruesome scene that she watched from a distance--
something Ludmilla had never seen before in her life. She had heard the
tales of Indian attacks, but these were white men--hairy men--but they
were white.

As she stood on the landing of the staircase in front of the schoolhouse,
she didn't realize that she was vulnerable to any of the men who came to
rob and kill. She looked at the tragic spectacle with awe. Being the town's
'spinster',and deemed 'ugly', she didn't think she would even capture any
of the men's attention, until one of the men turned and saw her. He started
to walk slowly toward her, but she wasn't scared even though just his stare
should have withered her down to her bones. He had a bushy black beard,
long frizzy hair past his shoulders, and wore a grimy bloodstained long
duster. There was a scar that ran from his forehead over his eye and down
his cheek. She stood rooted to the spot as the man started up the steps.
There was a dazzling twinkle in his eyes as he said, "A school marm...
how interesting."

Taking Ludmilla by absolute surprise, the man grabbed her neck and
pulled her close, then shoved her back against the schoolhouse door. He
smiled then kissed her. She thought she gasped, not from being 'violated',
but from feeling as if a door had opened in her soul. She had never been
kissed, and the force he used thrilled her down to her toes. This man was
the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. She hooked her arm
around his waist and he laughed as she pulled him closer. He broke off the
kiss to grab her face and look deeply into her eyes. "Aren't you the least
bit scared?"

"No," she honestly said.

"Are you stupid," he asked, "or just naive?"

"I'm certainly not stupid, Mister... what was your name?"

He laughed deeper, and playfully tousled her head. When he stepped back
to go down the stairs, she said, "Don't leave me behind!" The man slowly
turned. She whispered, "Please."

"I had no intention of doing such a thing." He studied her. His gaze, from
her long frizzy blond hair to her leather, scruffy ankle boots titillated her.
She had never been looked at by any man, let alone one with so much
strength, power, energy. "I was going to came back for you, after I enjoy
myself a little," he said and cocked his head back to the men attacking the
townspeople. Then he suddenly asked, "Do you know what you are?"

She was taken by surprise... so forward of him. She put up a shield saying,
"Yes. Don't think I haven't been reminded every day of my life that I am
ugly, that no man--."

He stepped up to the landing again to say, "You have no idea what you
will become?"

His wife? No, probably not... His mistress? Somebody somewhere other
than here? He moved closer to her and seemed to sniff her. He said, "You
don't. How very interesting. There are a lot of ones like us who come
through here; has no one ever told you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

His smile grew making the hairs of his beard stand on end. The scar on his
face twisted, but it didn't scare her. She only wondered what bastard had
done that to the man who's exterior was so rough, but who's lips were so
soft. "Then it's up to me. I will prepare you, if you give me what I want."

"What do you want?"

"You."

Ludmilla coyly smiled. "Do you think I'm beautiful?"

"No."

"Oh," she said, for a moment defeated. But he hadn't left. His gaze hadn't
wavered from the one asset she had, her thin waist. The screams of the
townspeople, who had only caused her grief, did nothing to make her lose
eye contact with the man who was there to save her from an existence of
nothingness. "You already have what you want," she whispered as she
wrapped her arms around him and drew him into another kiss.

~~~~~

Ludmilla became Melvin Koren's woman that day. For a couple of weeks,
she rode with his band of men as they made raids on small, unsecured
towns. Ludmilla would wait on the outskirts of each town until the men
came back with the loot, seemingly fully satisfied. She hadn't liked the
idea that after she had given herself to Melvin he still needed female
companionship elsewhere, but in her warped sense of reasoning, she
thought it made him a better lover for her at night. Then they reached what
Melvin had been telling her about, his haven that he called 'Camelot'.
Having visions of a magnificent castle the name conjured in her mind, she
was quite surprised to see that it was only a log cabin on a stretch of flat,
unproductive land. Ludmilla didn't mind. She tended both the house and
the man for everything she was worth.

#####

1862

#####

Over time, the band of men moved on, making Melvin at once angry, then
resolute. He kept saying he was so much more than what he had to work
with now. None of the men he had rounded up were worth their salt, there
were only three other men who could fulfill his destiny... but sadly, they
were no more. One night while laying in bed, he got specific with her. He
confided in her his dream. That dream was to find suitable replacements
for his brothers and ride again. She breathlessly listened as the man she
knew as Melvin Koren revealed his true name to her, Kronos. He told her
of the magnificent raids they had perpetrated on the masses, four brothers
riding side by side. The power of it, the sights and sounds of it. Kronos
was a very good storyteller. He was so specific in detail it was as if she
was riding along with them. He described his brothers: the strong but
light-headed one, Silas; the butchering madman known as Caspian, and the
one that Kronos felt the most brotherly feelings for, the sly, manipulative
one, Methos. He didn't mention the other men as much, but by the way he
described his brother Methos, she had a mental picture of just exactly what
he looked like, right down to his mannerisms.

But it was all for naught, she thought. There wasn't any way that Melvin
could have been alive before the birth of Christ! She encouraged his
storytelling anyway, thinking that he had a gifted imagination. Until the
moment that Kronos realized that she was pandering to him and in a rage,
pulled out his sword and embedded it into her gut. She fell to the floor
gasping for breath, pleading for a reason why he was killing her. He went
to the floor with her, softly patted her hair and said, "Just a moment, Milla.
You'll be back. Only then will you believe me. You'll be back. I'll be
waiting."

~~~~~

Ludmilla did come back to life, and from that moment on, believed
everything that Kronos had told her. He had taken her as his wife as well
as his student. Only he didn't teach her how to properly use a sword, how
to defend herself in fights. He told her that he would always be there, so
why did she need to know ?

In 1996, Kronos and Ludmilla had traveled to Spain. There they found out,
from an immortal passing through, who Kronos kidnaped and tortured for
immortal information, that his nemesis, Cassandra was alive. Suddenly,
after a hundred years of idle living, he had a mission. He would find her
and kill her. The only thing he needed to figure out was how... and how
long it would take for Cassandra to die.

As he packed, Ludmilla begged him, "Take me with you."

"No."

"What will I do without you?"

"Wait for me to return."

She did wait. And wait. All she had were the drawings that Melvin had
made of his 'brothers' and the sketchy details of what Cassandra looked
like to satisfy her. She wrote down everything she could remember that
Melvin had ever told her. Each time he called would be a breath of fresh
air for her. He told her on the last call made to her in Spain that he had
found his brother, Methos. She looked at the Methos sketches as he talked
about how his dream was all going to be a reality. She was so happy for
him! Methos had told Kronos that the other two were still alive! Melvin's
dream was going to come true! 

Ludmilla again asked to come to be with him. "No," he told her roughly.
Then softly added, "I don't want you to get in the way. We're traveling to
get the others, Methos and I. Then we're going to capture Cassandra, kill
her, and we will ride as the Four Horsemen again!" His voice rose in
volume with each word he said. She was thrilled, because then he would
come back for her. He told her, "Just stay there so I know where you are.
I'll come and get you after that bitch is dead."

"I'll be waiting, darling," she said. Then she waited some more. Melvin
never came back. 

It had to be that sly one, Methos', fault. For years, after she accepted that
Melvin wasn't coming back to her, and the only possible reason for that
was he had lost his head, she didn't know where to turn or even how to
begin looking for who dared take the best thing that ever happened to her
away.

The last call Melvin had made was from Paris, so that's where she started
her search after selling everything they had in Spain. As she landed in
Paris, she said the names Duncan MacLeod, Methos and Cassandra over
and over as a mantra of who she needed to kill. Hopefully, they would
have gone down with Melvin, but one of those bastards had to have taken
his head. Once more, she bemoaned the fact that she wasn't trained, but
thought that sheer determination would help her.

For months, she walked through Paris, casually asking people if they knew
of a Duncan MacLeod, looking everywhere and at everyone for a face that
she recognized. One day, in a small caf‚, she asked the proprietor, Maurice
if he had heard of a Duncan MacLeod, and happily, he said that he knew
him, and that he lived in a nice barge on the Seine. Before the little man
could ask her why she wanted to know, she quickly paid for her half-eaten
meal and got out of there.

Ludmilla had no idea how long the Seine was as the river wound its way
through Paris. There were many barges that were moored, and she had to
be careful because any one of them could be the house of the man she had
hunted for so long. The year was 2002, six years after her last contact with
Melvin by phone. She knew that MacLeod was an immortal so made sure
that she was far enough back from the barge to be able to see who came
and went, hoping that Methos was a friend of his, but still remain
undetected. Ludmilla wanted to confront Duncan MacLeod, but was too
scared. What would she say to him? She did find out that he was a
Highlander, and one day while shopping, she found a Highland tartan. She
couldn't resist the impulse to buy it planning to use it in some creative
way.

One day, she was bold enough to follow Duncan MacLeod to the plaza of
the Louvre. One man walked up to him and Duncan MacLeod shook his
hand. They talked for a while, seemingly friendly. Another friend of
Duncan MacLeod's... she decided to follow the blond man as he walked
away. She found the nerve to get closer and closer, discovering that he
wasn't an immortal. Just before he could walk into a hotel, she called out,
"Oh! Help!" and fell down.

She looked both ways to make sure there was no one else around as the
blond haired man walked back to her.

"Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so," she whimpered, then with all the strength she could
muster, she punched him in the face. He went down in a second. Ludmilla
was pleased with herself, she still had it. She didn't know exactly how to
use a sword, except for the little practice she did on her own, but she knew
how to drop a man in seconds. She quickly went through his pockets to see
who he was; since he was staying at a hotel, there was no telling where he
actually lived. If he was a friend of Duncan MacLeod's, and maybe,
hopefully, Methos or Cassandra, she would once again be on the right
track. 

She found his wallet and got up and hurriedly walked away before anyone
could see her or the man came too. Around the corner, she looked through
the wallet, his name was Fred Turner from Seacouver. There were pictures
of a woman and some children, a VISA card, about 5000 francs, and a
business card... Charlie DeSalvo's Workout Gym in Seacouver, WA. What
she found so interesting about the card was that it also read "Duncan
MacLeod - Proprietor". 

Since she knew where Duncan MacLeod lived in Paris, she decided to
check out his workplace in Seacouver. If Methos or Cassandra were
friends with the man, Seacouver could be where they lived. That's when
she saw him! That had to be Methos! Who could mistake that nose, or his
mannerisms that Melvin had so clearly related to her? His hair was short,
but that was cosmetic. That was him, she was sure of it. One of those
bastards took her Melvin from her and they would all surely pay! Just how
to do it? He was with a woman and a child, seemingly happy. How dare he
be happy! She watched as Methos and the woman left the child with
Duncan MacLeod and another woman, who Ludmilla ruled out
immediately as Cassandra. Her hair was short, which was a possibility, but
her eyes were nothing like how Melvin had described Cassandra's to be.
She followed Methos and the woman to Puget Sound.

She had no idea of what to do if she did get a hold of Methos, although the
options seemed amazingly abundant; she was too scared to make a move,
in fact to do anything but watch him. She found out which room they were
in and decided to see if he would be as nervous of her as she was of him.
He could very well be the one who turned on his brother and took
Melvin's head. She stood in the hallway of the hotel, feeling their buzzes,
and waited. Methos stuck his head out of their doorway, then suddenly
slammed the door. That was all she needed to know. She gleefully smiled
as she ran out of the hotel, knowing that the way to fool with Methos for a
while was to scare him. She would play a game with him, it was just a
matter of deciding what game...

Then Methos' woman was taken. Ludmilla didn't care, except for the fact
that it hurt Methos down to his bones. She was at Freeman Park when his
woman was taken, they were all killed, and the cleanup by the victor's
men began. She didn't quite know why they needed to take her body, but
she didn't care. She hadn't been around for a quickening and Melvin
didn't tell her how it was done. She couldn't believe that Melvin had
cleaned up after himself after taking a head, and thought it was just
something that some immortals did. Hearing Methos moan from the loss
of his woman satisfied her to no end, and gave her an idea. She would
make Methos know all about loss, as she felt it. So, when he finally went
home with another woman, Ludmilla made her move. It was so easy to kill
that woman in London. All she did after Methos left her was walk to the
door, not feel a buzz, walk in. The whore was still naked on the bed,
sleepy, or stoned, Ludmilla couldn't tell which. The woman put up a little
bit of resistance to dying, but when Ludmilla blindly swung her sword, and
felt her blade make contact with the woman's neck, it was thrilling. She
used the sheet that Methos had sullied to wipe the woman's blood off her
blade. Then thought of the tartan that she always had in her shirt in case
something came to her, some way to use it properly. She saw her blade,
the dead woman and the tartan. She cut off a little square and dropped it on
the woman's detached head.

Killing her was only the beginning. She had thoughts of taking Methos'
child, but for many reasons, she hadn't, yet. The two best reasons were
that she was scared to be too close to Methos so was unable to get to her,
and she didn't want to shoot her wad all at once. She wanted to play with
Methos a little more before killing the child, Duncan MacLeod, Cassandra
and Methos himself. Just how to do it. They would certainly fight back.

Then Methos went to Ireland. Ludmilla was thrilled to hear that Duncan
MacLeod had been killed in a plane crash. She wouldn't have to do it
herself. But they were all mistaken... he was alive. Methos and another
man had fished him out of the ocean. Why would Methos help Duncan
MacLeod, but not his brother, Kronos, her Melvin, her life? In a rage, she
killed the bartender who Methos had talked with for hours one night in
Ireland, because he couldn't give her any information about him. All they
talked about was 'stuff' the man said after she had surprised him in his
apartment at the crack of dawn. To let Methos know that it was she who
had done the deed, she left another square of tartan.

Following Methos and child to Spain, her stomping grounds, where they
seemed so comfortable, she went a little crazy and took two people who
had contact with him, the saleswoman who had sold him a sentimental
trinket and a clown who had played with the child as Methos happily
watched. He didn't deserve any happiness!

While killing the tour guide in Pisa, Ludmilla lost track of Methos and the
child. They were gone; and since it seemed that their habit of traveling
involved no particular direction, she feared that she had lost him for good.
So, she went back to Seacouver to wait for his return. As she waited, she
got more courage thinking that she'd just kill him, if she had to shoot him
first to do it. Then the most amazing thing happened, Methos' woman
wasn't dead! She had followed them to Chicago and saw the mortal get
into the elevator with them; he seemed to be friendly with the woman as
the elevator doors closed. She waited outside and saw the same man catch
a cab. She followed him to the underground parking garage and it was so
easy to take him. She was pleased with herself; she had done it so easily.
Immortals couldn't be that much harder.

Methos, the woman and the child had arrived back in Seacouver in the
early morning hours. She waited those two weeks, just watching them,
getting her courage up to actually kill Methos. It was different now that
she could see and watch him instead of dream of it night after night, day
after day. She cursed herself for being so cowardly. Melvin wouldn't be
pleased with her. Not at all. She was about to strike when they left for the
airport. She saw them get on a plane for New York City and took the next
flight. She would kill them all, one by one, first the mortals. They
wouldn't put up a fuss. They would just die like the others had, then she
would have confidence enough to take them all.

The first mortal was almost too easy. Even though it was New York City,
no one was out in the blinding rainstorm and she was able to take a victim
with Methos so close by. Kevin Randall was the first victim that Ludmilla
had taken while Methos was still around. 

The other one, though, Methos' woman, was a reflex action. Ludmilla just
couldn't stand the idea that the immortal was with Methos, the bastard.
When she fought back, it frightened Ludmilla to her core and she ran. She
was still catching her breath from running all those blocks away, still
thinking that they would be after her. That's not the way it was supposed
to happen. She would attack them, they wouldn't know anything about her
except that someone was watching them while they were wondering who
would be next.

Ludmilla leaned her head back against the building and moaned again,
"Melvin, why didn't you train me? I can't fail you my love."

~~~~~

MAY 2, 2004
NEW YORK CITY

Duncan and Methos realized that there would never be a great time to
draw Ludmilla out into the open, so they decided to do so the next
morning, hoping that she was still in the city and that Elizabeth hadn't
frightened her off. Making sure that Amanda and Joe were armed and
would stay with Caroline, Amy and the kids, the men walked for what
seemed like miles. They stopped at Columbus Circle, before deciding that
maybe they should separate. Duncan said that he'd go through the park
while Methos walked through the West Side. They stood just across the
street from Central Park when they felt an immortal. They saw the back
side of a young man who turned just as they stared at him, but he didn't
want trouble, obviously. Duncan bopped Methos on the arm and said,
"The kid reminds me of you."

"I'm nothing like him. I don't run."

Duncan snickered and shook his head. Methos said, "Don't knock it,
Highlander. Knowing when to walk away has saved my head."

"There's a very good chance that either one of us could lose our head, and
you're not runn... oh, excuse me, you're not walking."

"I never walk when it's personal," Methos stated in a serious tone that
made his voice rumble. They felt another immortal and zeroed in on a
seemingly middle aged (in mortal years) immortal with a balding head
wearing glasses who looked at them, tipped his hat and walked in the other
direction, swinging his cane. 

Methos and Duncan looked at each other. "You know him?" Duncan
asked.

"Nope. Gods, there's a lot of immortals in this city," Methos said as he
thrust his hands into his pocket to warm them. "I wonder how Liz handled
living here with them all for all those years."

"Well," Duncan said. "We're in the tourist area of the city." They stood
and looked up at the sky and wondered if it was going to rain or not. Then
Duncan said, "David... there's something I've been meaning to ask you;
now is as good a time as any."

"I'm not telling you why Liz left."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that too."

"There's something else?" Duncan was searching for words, and Methos
grinned. "This doesn't sound like I'm going to be pleased by the question."

Duncan faced Methos to ask, "Had you seen Kronos since you were a
horseman? I mean before Paris?"

Methos could only stare back, thinking that even if one muscle on his face
would move, he'd actually be standing there gape mouthed in complete
surprise. "Have you been wondering that for a while?"

"Just since last night."

"You think that over the years, Kronos and I got together for old times'
sake? Do a little killing here, a little raping there."

"It's curious why this Ludmilla woman would have focused on you."

Methos started to walk away, muttering, "I can't believe you would even
ask that question, Mac." Then he turned around and said, "She hasn't been
leaving pieces of togas or leather breast plates or painting her victims'
faces half blue. No. She's been leaving pieces of tartan, MacLeod. I
wonder why." Methos stood right in Duncan's face and peered into his
eyes. "Is Kronos in there? Can you hear me, brother?"

Duncan pushed Methos back forcefully. "Let's not start this."

"You already did!"

"I'm sorry."

"She's a nut. I didn't do anything in the last 2 mill..." Methos was
speaking loudly, until he realized that anyone walking the streets could
hear him. He walked back to Duncan and aggressively whispered, "The
only thing I did with Kronos in the last 2500 years is steer you to him."

"So I'd take his head," Duncan whispered back with matching force.

Methos stepped back and hiked his shoulders. "Better you than me."

Just then, they felt the buzz of an immortal. In the back seat of a cab that
just went past, all they caught sight of was the head of a woman. Her head
turned as the car passed, obviously feeling them. The cab stopped on
Eighth Avenue so they quickly walked, but stayed back, to get a glimpse
of who might emerge. The woman that stepped out of the cab turned
Methos' blood cold, her appearance coming immediately after that gem of
a conversation was eerie. Duncan greeted her with a smile and open arms.
"Cassandra," he said, gathering her into a hug. "It's been too long. How
are you doing?"

Methos stood rooted to the sidewalk. People would jostle him as they
walked to and fro. He had the thought of just walking down Central Park
South and meeting up with Duncan later, but then stopped to see what her
reaction would be to seeing him.

What Cassandra said as she locked eyes with his was, "You again. Are you
two the bobsy twins?"

"Cassandra," Duncan said, gently taking her arm and walking her to where
Methos stood, with his hand in his coat, protectively on his sword hilt. He
knew she wouldn't do anything, and neither would he, but it made him
feel better. Duncan said, "This is David."

"You can call yourself what you want," Cassandra spat out. "But you're
still a monster." She sneered at Methos, "Why don't you leave? Duncan
and I can catch up."

"Duncan has a woman at home."

"I have a husband at home. What are you implying?"

Duncan held up his hands and said, "Give. I should be grateful the two of
you don't break out the swords, but the past is the past."

Cassandra nodded. "Yes. It is." She looked straight at Methos when she
said, "I don't think about you anymore, but to see you..."

"We do have to go," Duncan told Cassandra. "We're in the middle of
something. Maybe we can get together later. I'd like to meet your husband
and introduce you to Amanda."

Methos didn't get into the small talk chuckling as he walked away, looking
at absolutely everyone. He had the fleeting thought that if Ludmilla Gentry
was in the vicinity and saw them talking to Cassandra, she could be the
next target... That would mean that he wouldn't have to run into her
again... Then he didn't like that thought, or the fact that it sort of pleased
him. His stomach was still doing flips just from the sight of her. After
everything that he had done to Cassandra... if she were to be a victim of
Gentry just because she knew him, that could be his breaking point. That
could be the thing that would make him finally judge himself. 

He walked back to Duncan and Cassandra and said, "I know you don't
want to listen to me, but I'm telling you this for your own good. Watch
your head for the next couple of days. I don't want to be responsible for
it." He turned to Duncan. "Mac, I'll meet you at the place where we did
that thing that time."

"Okay," Duncan said. "In about an hour?"

Methos slowly nodded and walked away again. She was a big girl, if she
listened, fine. If she didn't, that was her choice.

After Methos left, Cassandra sneered at Duncan. "What? Are you two
talking in code now?"

"We're friends, Cassandra," Duncan told her with great emotion. He
didn't like being caught between them, but he cared for them both as
friends. Each had saved his life and he wanted them both to figure out a
way to deal with each other, or just stay away from each other. Just not
mention anything about each other to him. He reached into his pocket for a
pen and asked if she had a piece of paper. When she produced one, he
wrote his cell phone and Amy's apartment phone numbers on it for her.
"Call me. I really would like to hear what you've been up to before
I leave town."

"Not if you're going to bring him with," Cassandra said, tossing her head
in the direction that Methos had taken.

"I don't bring him anywhere, Cassandra. No. Just you and your husband
and Amanda and I. But Cassandra, David is a very different man from
when you last saw him."

"You mean when I had Silas' axe to his neck?"

"He's very happy." Duncan paused... except for the immortal who had to
be taken care of... "He's making others happy. I'm not asking you to be
friends, but can you drop the anger?"

"Not in this life." She walked down the street.

Duncan called after her, "Cassandra!"

She turned but didn't move back toward him. He said, "Listen to what he
said. It's serious. Watch your head."

"I always do, Duncan," she said and walked on.

~~~~~

Cassandra emerged from a cab after her meeting with the Convention
Bureau about supplying them with gift bags for visitors and walked to her
building. The night was clear and there were no people out on the street,
even though there was a bar a couple of doors down. She had told Liam
that she didn't like the neighborhood; it was old yet clean, but didn't have
any outdoor life, there was nothing homey about it. The apartment was the
greatest though, they were able to sublet from a woman who moved to live
with her daughter, and had rent control. At that moment in the darkness
after the cab left, Cassandra wondered if cheap rent was worth the willies
she always got being alone outside. With her key already in her hand, she
rushed to the door of the building, but froze when she felt a buzz. The
clicking of footsteps came from behind her and she turned in time to see a
sword in the air. Her first thought was that it was Methos and she ducked
out of the way, pulled out her sword and defended against the swing.
When she saw an oddly dressed woman in cowboy gear and long braids,
Cassandra asked, "Who are you?"

Ludmilla sprayed mace in her face and when Cassandra doubled over, her
eyes stinging she hit her on the back of the head with the hilt of her sword.
She fell, knocked out. Ludmilla felt victorious. Both Duncan MacLeod and
Methos knew this woman. She took a look at her as she lay on the
sidewalk, having to pull her long dark hair back to see her face. It was
Cassandra! It had to be! Even though her eyes were watered and red, there
was no mistaking them from Melvin's description. "Oh, Mel," she smiled
with a tear in her own eye. "I have her! I can really avenge you. How
should I proceed?"

She could take her head while she was out and couldn't fight back... but
then there would be a quickening right there in the middle of New York
City... or, she could bring her somewhere else, somewhere private.
Ludmilla picked Cassandra up and put her over her shoulder. When she
walked down the street, hoping for a cab, two men came out of the bar and
started laughing at the sight of one woman carrying another in such a
neanderthal way. Ludmilla smirked at them and said, "She really should
learn to hold her liquor."

One guy laughed and said, "Lesbos."

The other one said, "I think I know who's on top in that relationship."

~~~~~

Cassandra awoke with an aching head. She could have sworn she had been
drugged. She could hardly make out the decaying wood of the walls or the
outline of the stained bare mattress that she was laying upon. She heard the
roaring sounds of ocean waves and seagulls. She lifted up to look out a
filthy window to see what kind of building she was in but there wasn't
much to look out through. She could tell, though, that the building was
probably on stilts above the shore. The room she was in was expansive and
looked to be close to demolition. There were broken windows along the
opposite wall, exposed beams that supported just barely- the floor above
her. It was either an old abandoned apartment building that had been torn
apart inside or an unused warehouse, Cassandra couldn't tell which. She
also couldn't move far from where she sat on the steel framed twin bed
with the mattress; her wrist was chained to the bedframe. After making
sure that that strange woman wasn't around, Cassandra got off the bed,
yanked at the chain and started pulling at the bed, but it didn't budge. It
was bolted to the floor. She was still wearing her coat but couldn't feel her
sword, she didn't have her purse so couldn't get to her steel nail file to use
as a screwdriver. She fumbled in her pockets and found her cell phone.
She hurriedly called the apartment, but there was no answer. It gave her
strength to hear Liam's voice on the machine. She called his cell, and
hoped that he had it with him as he always forgot to bring it along, or keep
it charged. No answer. She figured that she had been gone all night; why
wasn't he at home worried!? Or, could he be in trouble too... Fear gripped
her heart when she wondered if he had also, been taken and may be dead.

The battery on her phone was low on power, so she couldn't make too
many calls looking for Liam, then she remembered the paper that Duncan
had written his numbers on. It was still in her pocket.

~~~~~

Duncan and Amanda stood in Amy's living room to see off Methos and
Amy with Kevin's parents, just as Joe and Caroline came out of their
bedroom. Amy told him, "Dad, we didn't want to wake you. You were up
pretty late with me last night."

"I'm an early riser, don't worry about me," he said as he ambled over to
her with his cane. He said, "Walter, Helen, good morning." He hugged
Amy and kissed her forehead. "How is everyone this morning?"

Amy had so many thoughts rushing through her head, but she smiled
bravely and said, "I'm doing a little better this morning. Thanks for staying
up with me."

Helen said, "We're going to Kevin's office. It could probably wait, but I
want to be around as many of Kevin's things as I can." She softly started
to cry and fell against her husband. Caroline and Amanda rushed to
comfort her.

"You're going where?" Joe asked in surprise.

Methos told him, "I'm taking them down to Kevin's office so they can
clean it out. We'll be fine."

Duncan's cell phone rang and he excused himself to go into the bedroom
and answer it. He didn't even have a chance to say hello when he heard,
"Duncan! Thank God! I've been kidnaped."

"What? Cassandra?"

"I don't know where I am, but there was a woman who sprayed something,
I think it was mace in my face and knocked me out. She was immortal. I
just woke up and don't know quite where I am. I can't find my husband--."

"Did the woman have long blond hair?" Duncan turned to see that Methos
and Amanda had come to the door to listen.

"Yes. Do you know who she is? I'm chained to a bed!"

"Yes," Duncan said, with great dread. "You have to figure out where you
are and we'll come and get you."

Cassandra rubbed at the dirty windows with her coat sleeve to get a better
look at her surroundings, but it didn't do any good. She figured she'd heal,
so she rammed her elbow through the pane and cleared out the glass. "I'm
on the water's edge."

"What water?"

"I don't know, but I think it's the Atlantic. On the other side of the
building are just other buildings. I think I'm at the wharf, unless I'm no
longer in New York City. I don't know. I've never been to Lower
Manhattan. I'm in an old building on stilts. I can hear the water underneath
me, also." Cassandra stopped when she heard a foghorn. She stuck her
head out the window as best she could from the position of the window to
the bedframe where she was chained. "There's a red lighthouse out on a
reef or island. I can see it from here." She looked down and exclaimed,
"Oh! There's writing on the side of this building."

"What does it say?"

"I don't know! If I could read it, I'd tell you! All I can see is that it's faded
yellow. There's a number... a phone number? Which is probably not in
service any longer..." She could hear Duncan talking, but couldn't make
out what he was saying. "Duncan?!"

"Just hold on. I'm talking to... just hold on."

Duncan turned to Methos and Amanda and brought them up to date,
"Where's a red lighthouse?"

Methos went to the door and called out, "Joe?"

Joe appeared and Methos gently pulled him into the room and told the
others, "We'll be just a moment longer. Hold on."

Duncan told Cassandra, "I'm asking Joe if he knows what you could be
talking about, hold on." He asked Joe, "Do you know where a red
lighthouse is?"

"What's going on?"

"Cassandra's been kidnaped, probably by Ludmilla Gentry. She's on a
wharf of some kind."

Joe grimaced looking as though a weight was on his chest. Methos put a
hand on his shoulder for support, knowing that all of this was hard on the
old man. Suddenly, Joe thought of a place. He and his band had performed
a couple of nights on Staten Island and he remembered seeing a red
lighthouse. Suddenly Duncan called into the phone, "Cassandra!
Cassandra!" The phone was dead. Duncan turned to Joe and asked,
"Where?"

~~~~~

STATEN ISLAND

Cassandra hung up as soon as she heard footsteps on the steps outside the
building and a key turn in the lock. She put the phone back in her pocket
and laid on the bed, pretending to still be out. As she felt the immortal
walk into the building, she started chanting to herself, throwing a spell in
the direction of the immortal woman. The only way she could hold the
woman off until Duncan miraculously found her was to take the woman by
surprise or play with her mind. She heard a weighted paper bag being
dropped to the floor and the woman sat down on the floor. There was a
shuffle of feet, so Cassandra assumed that she had crossed her legs. If she
was close enough, she could jump off the bed and kick her in the face, but
she might not be close enough... Instead, she concentrated on sending
thoughts to the immortal. She could feel such torment and anger
emanating from the woman that it almost made Cassandra sad. But her
own anger at being taken was enough to forego any sympathy she may
have had for the woman.

~~~~~

Methos and Duncan got off the ferry and wondered what their next plan of
attack would be. They grabbed a cab and told the driver just to drive along
the shore. "Which way?" the driver asked in broken English.

"First one way, and then the other, until we got to where we want to go,"
Methos said in a clipped manner.

Duncan looked at him, he was affected by all this. He was glad when
Methos offered to go with him while Amanda escorted Amy and Kevin's
parents to his office and Joe and Caroline stayed with the kids, with a
loaded revolver. Cassandra's kidnaping could just be a ruse to separate
them. That possibility had been discussed, but dismissed. There was a
reason Cassandra was still alive, why she had not been killed as soon as
she was taken, Ludmilla Gentry must still be with her, waiting for them to
come. Duncan and Methos both instinctively felt the hilts of their swords
at the same time, probably having the same thoughts. 

Methos told the cab driver as he flipped the meter, "Go west and south. Do
you by any chance know where a red lighthouse would be?"

"Huh?"

Methos asked, "Where are you from?"

"Libya."

Methos spoke in his native language, "Do you know of a red lighthouse
somewhere on this island?"

"There is one out on the point."

"Well," Methos chuckled. "That's where we're going." He looked at
Duncan and said, "That was easy."

"If it's the same lighthouse." Duncan told the cab driver, "Tell him to
bring us to warehouses or any old buildings that would be on stilts."

Methos did and the cab driver spoke in his native tongue, "You have to
mean the old fish market. What do you want to go there for? You are not
drug addicts, are you?"

"No," Methos placated him. "We're just meeting an old friend and lost the
address. We're thinking of buying property down there, rejuvenate the
area."

"It could sure use it," the driver said as he turned back to the steering
wheel and peeled out.

~~~~~

"You don't need to hurt anyone," Cassandra said in a low and slow voice. 

Ludmilla had realized that Cassandra was faking sleep when she came
close enough to her to poke her and say, "Anytime, Cassandra."

Cassandra, who has been facing the wall, flipped over and swung out with
her clenched fist, connecting with Ludmilla's mouth. The immortal flew
back and then angrily got back up and pulled her sword out of her coat.
Cassandra got off the bed and stood as far from it as she could to protect
herself. "Who are you?" Cassandra hurriedly asked, then calmed her
nerves and said in a more controlled tone, "I should at least know the
name of the one before me."

"What does it matter?" Ludmilla charged her with her sword. "You're
dead!" Cassandra ducked down to the floor and then kicked out her leg
from the crouching position, connecting with Ludmilla's knees.

Cassandra again tested the strength of the chain and waited for anything
the immortal would do. Again, she tried to clear her mind and calmly said,
"I'm not a threat to you. You don't want to fight me. You have no quarrel
with me, or anyone." Ludmilla stood and slowly leaned her head to the
side, listening. Cassandra continued, since she had her attention, "You
have a lot of pain, don't let it take over your soul. Just relax. You're so
tired. You're safe. You can sit down."

Ludmilla said, "But I need to kill you, as well as the rest of them."

"Why? I don't know you, you don't know me," Cassandra said slowly,
softly, so as not to break the lullaby she had created that Ludmilla was
responding to.

"I know as much as I need to know. My husband hated you. You are
Cassandra."

Cassandra was a little more than surprised that she knew her name,
because she didn't know this immortal woman from a hole in the ground.
She was about to say, "You have me at a disadvantage..." but decided
against it for fear of driving home the situation to them both. Instead, she
asked, "What is your husband's name?"

"Melvin Koren," Ludmilla said, once again predatorily walking toward
Cassandra.

Cassandra was stricken by the name, it had been burned into her memory
after meeting up with Kronos once again in Seacouver; that was the name
that Duncan MacLeod knew Kronos by. Husband? Impossible. That
monster could never have allowed a woman into his heart. He didn't have
one. Then she felt sorry for the woman. That explained the pain in her soul
that Cassandra had felt. Because she was walking forward, too close to her
with a sword in her hand, Cassandra moved behind the head of the cot that
she was chained to by her left wrist. 

"You are Cassandra! You will die!" Ludmilla swung her sword.

Cassandra ducked then lifted her body up to catch the hilt in her hand.
They were both holding it, struggling to take control of the sword. As they
wrestled for it, Cassandra was pulled out from the head of the bed and to
the side. The sword was down, the end of the blade slipped under the side
of the mattress and was caught between some springs. Cassandra, utilizing
the spike heel of her boot, slammed it down onto Ludmilla's foot and
forced her body against Ludmilla's, knocking her back and she fell to the
floor. Ludmilla growled with anger, rolled over and got to her feet in a
flash. They now both realized that Cassandra was holding the sword.
Cassandra swung it out, the tip of the blade slitting Ludmilla's chin.
Ludmilla hadn't even moved out of the way of the blade. When the blood
poured down her chin and onto her chest, she just growled harder and put
her hands in her pockets.

Ludmilla pulled a silver gun out of her pocket and raised it. Cassandra
dropped the sword and cowered back in surprise. 'That's how you've
survived without training!'

Ludmilla snarled, "If you won't die alert, you'll die while dead!" 

Cassandra yanked at the chain, trying to overturn the bed, but was only
able to pull up the corner of the mattress. Ludmilla cried out to the ceiling,
"Melvin! I will avenge your death!" with a full smile, making blood seep
faster out of her chin. 

Cassandra dropped the mattress and dove under the bed. Just as Ludmilla
aimed the gun at her the door burst open and Duncan and Methos ran in.
"Stop right there!" Duncan announced as they ran closer, then they both
stopped short when they saw Ludmilla turn to face them, the gun
wavering, but held by the barrel with both of her hands. 

Since Duncan was closer to Ludmilla, he was her target. She fired and he
fell forward, probably dead before he hit the floor. Methos already had his
sword out of his coat and deftly moved to the side, away from Duncan's
body. Ludmilla cocked the gun again taking aim at Methos, but he kept
bobbing and weaving to the side around her. As he did, he saw Cassandra
under the bed but kept his focus on the gun. 

"Methos!" Ludmilla cried out. For an instant, she couldn't believe her luck
she had them all there in one room. Then she was angry that the sneaky
little rat wouldn't keep still. He was harder to fire upon than the
jackrabbits in Texas. She planted her feet and held the gun steady while
Methos continued to move around her. She focused her sight down the
barrel to a point just a little to the right from where he was at present, like
a quarterback would throw a ball in front of a running wide receiver.
When she fired, Methos didn't keep moving in the direction she had
assumed. Instead, he dropped to the floor and rolled. 

After she fired she needed to cock the gun again, but Methos stood in front
of her and grabbed the barrel of the gun with his left hand. "No!" Ludmilla
screamed as she saw the blade behind his head, her face frozen in terror.
She couldn't move, Methos had a hold of the gun and she had no intention
of letting go of her only means of defense. She clicked the trigger, but it
didn't fire.

"Yes," Methos said, as he swung his Ivanhoe sword with his right hand;
his blade sliced through her neck. Her wide eyes focused on him as her
head fell to the floor, the eyes that had looked upon Kronos with love... the
eyes that killed mortals just to send a message to him...

The quickening of Ludmilla hit Methos quickly, Cassandra crawled out
from under the bed to watch it. She couldn't believe that one, Methos had
come along with Duncan, and two, he had so easily taken care of her. She
looked over at Duncan's body, then back at Methos, who was watching
her as Ludmilla's weak quickening flowed into him. 

After her short quickening was over, he glared at Cassandra, sitting on the
floor, leaning against the head of the bed. "Didn't I tell you to watch your
head? How was she able to kidnap you?"

"With a can of mace," Cassandra said shortly, but looked at Methos, who
had just saved her life.

He walked to her and held out his hand. She just looked at it, wondering
what he wanted, sitting back a little in case he tried anything. When he
grimaced and looked away, annoyed, she took his hand with her right
hand. "No," he said. "The other one."

She held out her left wrist and he grabbed it, pulling the chain taut and
then slashed his sword through it. He dropped her hand immediately after
she was freed and stepped over Ludmilla's corpse to walk to Duncan's
body. He gently patted his foot against Duncan's arm as he sheathed his
sword. Since Duncan wasn't reviving, Methos turned him over. The shot
went right in his chest, the blood pooled on the dusty floor. 

Cassandra stood and hooked her arms together under her chest. She
cleared her throat and said, "I suppose--."

"Never suppose anything," Methos interrupted her.

"I should thank you."

Methos turned to her and ironically smiled. "Nah. I wouldn't want the seas
to part or anything. I'm just glad you're okay. You are okay, aren't you?"

"Yes. Thanks to--."

Methos interrupted her again. "Tell Mac when he revives that I headed
back to Amy's."

"Who's Amy?"

"Joe Dawson's daughter. Her husband was killed by her," Methos said as
he pointed at Ludmilla's corpse. 

"Why?"

"The deeds of a lunatic never make sense." There was silence as they both
mentally went over their shared history. There were so many things
Methos would have liked to tell Cassandra at that moment, but she
wouldn't believe him. She had meant a lot to him, was a catalyst for his
leaving the horsemen; he was grateful that she hadn't taken his head when
she had the chance as he recovered from Silas' quickening and was
appalled by what he had done, and most of all, that he had once deeply
loved her as much as he could have during that moment in his life.

Cassandra reviewed her encounters with Methos also. When she had first
met him, he was a demon, he and his brothers had killed her tribe, he had
taken her for his own personal slave, had beaten her, raped her, killed her
when she hadn't behaved, hadn't told her all that she was or could ever
be... but for the first time in her life she accepted that he had also saved her
life three times. The first was when he let her escape the horsemen, the
second was when he knocked her out and got her out of the abandoned
base and tossed her in the river after the short sword fight with Kronos,
and now. Cassandra and Duncan had had a long talk after Methos got up
and quietly left the base after the other horsemen were dead. Duncan had
tried to explain all that had happened and make sense of it. There was no
sense to be made. She wasn't listening to Duncan at the time when he
desperately tried to make her see that his friend wasn't the same beast that
had made the early days of her immortality a living hell. She remembered
Duncan's words, 'Don't judge him for the kind of man he was 2500 years
ago. Judge him for what he is now.' At the time, she still only saw the
beast. She had only stopped herself from taking his head because for a
brief instant, she wondered if Duncan would take hers if she did. And
because Duncan wanted her to spare him. Duncan had never suffered fools
or evil lightly, so she put the axe down. Then watched Methos collect
himself and stand. That definitive moment at the abandoned base in
France, she vividly remembered Methos straightening his sweatshirt over
his jeans, picking up his sword and walking away. 

Duncan revived, breaking the silence, with a great intake of air and then
coughing as his hand was clamped to his chest. Methos helped him to his
feet and told him, "Make sure she gets home. I'll catch you later." Methos
was out the door before Duncan had fully understood where he was and
what had happened.

He looked at Ludmilla's severed head and Cassandra sitting on the bed,
the few links of the chain still hooked around her wrist. He sat beside her.
"That bastard," she said as she shook her head.

"Methos? What did he do?"

"He changed everything."

Duncan looked at Ludmilla and nodded. "Yes. We're all safe now."

Cassandra bitterly laughed. "Methos a savior. Doesn't that knock you for a
loop?"

"No." 

When Cassandra looked at him, tears flowing down her cheeks, he pulled
her closer to lean against him. "You've had quite a day."

She hugged him and said, "Thank you. And thanks for answering the
phone."   

"I didn't have to talk Methos into coming here, either."

"Oh, stop," Cassandra said as she stood up and wiped the tears away. She
couldn't think about it all right now. All she wanted to do was find out
where Liam was and hold him, then take a long, hot bath, putting this
whole mess behind her. "I want to go home."

CONTINUED in Chapter 35 I'm Gone

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