THE ELIZABETH SERIES CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE I TOLD YOU SO Part Two By JoLayne RATING: PG CHARACTERS: M, Warren, Robert and Gina de Valicourt, Elizabeth, Claire, Brynn, Antonio, Sofia, Chuck, Dallas, Pierre SUMMARY: Elizabeth meets the de Valicourts as Methos and Amanda go after his sword, while Chuck deals with the early days of his immortality. Part One When Elizabeth and Claire arrived back at the de Valicourt chateau, there was activity inside. She didn't feel an immortal sensation, so she wondered who was there. For a moment, she hoped that Duncan had come to surprise them, but then realized that no one had been able to reach him to tell him where they were. Just as Elizabeth reached for the door knob, the door was opened by Pierre. "Madame Pierson," he said. "Hey, Pierre. I thought you were going back on vacation." "Monsieur de Valicourt called to say they will be in residence by this afternoon. I have called minimal staff back to work. Will you be needing anything?" Claire said, "Ice cream." Pierre smiled. "What kind?" Claire's eyes grew wide. "What kind do you have?" "French Vanilla, Chocolate, Neopolitan, Rocky Road, Peach Sorbet--." "Wow! I'll have them all!" Elizabeth noticed workmen and women scurrying about cleaning the house as they walked toward the kitchen. "We're not in the way here, are we?" "Of course not, Madame. Monsieur and Madame said that they are looking forward to meeting you. I must apologize for the mess. Workers are never to be seen, but since we are working on a tight deadline..." "That is no problem at all, Pierre." Just as Pierre opened the freezer in the kitchen, a bell rang. Pierre slammed the freezer and said, "They have arrived. If you don't mind, I would like to see that everything is perfect for their arrival." "Sure." Pierre was gone in an instant. Claire asked, "So, can I have ice cream?" "Later. Let's meet Robert and Gina de Valicourt, and you address them as Monsieur and Madame de Valicourt unless they tell you otherwise." "I know. Are they the people in the pictures?" "Portraits. Paintings. Those aren't pictures." Elizabeth touched up Claire's long hair and straightened her 'princess pony'. Claire was so much more advanced than other children of her age in some ways, but still had lapses of vocabulary. Claire stomped her foot. "I know that. The portraits, mom. They like to play dress up. Do you think that Gina will let me play with her dresses?" "I have no idea, but don't count on it. They look expensive." Elizabeth took Claire's hand and walked to the foyer. It was amazing how quickly all the workers had disappeared taking all their cleaning supplies and implements with them. Robert and Gina walked in without ceremony and smiled at them both. "You must be Elizabeth Pierson." "Yes," Elizabeth said, glancing at Claire, who was fortunately more interested in Gina's fur coat than what was said. Claire asked, "Is that real?" "Yes," Gina said. "It is ermine." Robert shook Elizabeth's hand and said, "I am Robert de Valicourt, this is my beautiful wife, Angelina. Gina. Welcome to our chateau." "Thank you so much," Elizabeth said. "This is our daughter, Claire. It is a grand house, and we're sorry for barging in on you." "Not at all," Gina said in her thick French accent. "We were worried, of course, when we heard that the house was broken into, but when we heard that it was Amanda... well." Gina laughed. "She does surprise people. Adam and his family are always welcome in our home." Robert took Gina's coat and said, "Adam saved our marriage." "I heard." Elizabeth wanted to get their side of that story, but Claire's ears were too perked. Gina said, "Aren't you a pretty girl, Claire." "You have weird clothes." Gina looked at the outfit she wore, she thought her burgundy wool suit and black Armani ankle boots were rather chic. "I do?" "In the pictures... paintings." "Oh," Gina said, looking at Elizabeth. She knew that Claire was a pre-immortal, but wagered that she hadn't yet been told anything of immortality. "You have seen our portraits? How fun. We do like to dress up. Do you?" "Yes!" "Well, I have closets and closets full of clothes and jewelry. I think we can have a spot of fun." Robert, after draping their coats over the staircase's banister, said, "Amanda was stealing Fitz's Chateau Masburel?" "Yes," Elizabeth said. Robert laughed. "Amanda always did things the hard way. It would have been so much easier if she would have just asked." "She needed it quickly and from what I gather, no one could find you." "Quickly? Whatever for? The bottle was earmarked for..." His eyes fell on Claire. "Fitz's birthday." "It was more for Duncan's benefit. He's been pretty down lately thinking about Fitz and Amanda wanted to cheer him up." Robert asked, "Down? What is wrong?" "I wish I knew. I haven't seen him a lot lately. He's taken on a new student." Gina smiled. "Oh, he excels at that. It's funny, I met him when he was still a barbaric Highlander who could hardly read. He's come so far. So cultured. ~~~~~ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2008 CALIFORNIA FIVE AM Chuck was in a tizzy. For some reason, Antonio and Sofia were living in Elizabeth's house! He couldn't understand what had happened. Because he was supposed to be in Seacouver with Duncan MacLeod, he couldn't show his face to them, but he needed to find her! Even in his current state of mental health, he knew that Antonio wouldn't have taken Elizabeth's head. Chuck drove Duncan's T-bird down the highway back toward Redding and noticed that he needed gas. Chuck got Duncan's wallet out of the glove box and looked to see how much money was left. He had already filled the tank three times. Damn gas guzzler. Then, Chuck saw an ATM card. He smiled as he drove to the nearest bank. ~~~~~ Karen was in a deep sleep when the visitor entered her bedroom. She was laying on her side, but not for long. Chuck grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out of the bed. Because she was still half asleep, she didn't understand the words he screamed at her, "Where is that little shit!?" She tried to free herself from his grasp, and then was thrown up against the plank atop concrete blocks that held up her TV set. Chuck yelled, "Where is she?!" "Who?" Karen frightfully asked, her knee was scraped open and she still didn't really know what was happening or who had disturbed her slumber. She rolled off her knee and looked up at the intruder stalking toward her. "Chuck?" He grabbed hold of her hair again and swung her around, placing her back on the bed. His face was right by hers, and he screamed once again, "Where is Elizabeth? Don't tell me you don't know!" Karen hadn't heard from them since they picked up Claire and was under the impression that they were going on an impromptu trip, but beyond that, she was hazy. The only thing she could utter was, "Liz? What?" Chuck picked Karen up by the hair and pushed her back against the wall, leaning his body threateningly against hers. "Chuck! You're scaring me! Stop!" His fist crushed into her cheek. When she grunted and doubled over, she got a kick in the ribs. Suddenly, there was the sound of breaking glass and she was airborne. Not knowing how it happened, or where she was, Karen didn't even have time to react. All she saw was the white of the freshly fallen snow on the ground, coming closer to her. Karen moaned and lay still, her leg was on fire, as it had taken the brunt of the fall. Any movement of her body made her aware that she was laying on shards of glass. In a few minutes, Chuck walked toward her again, making her wonder what else he would do to her. But then, he stepped over her body. "Too bad you won't heal. You'll need that cast after all...." he laughed as he walked over her, and drove off in the T-bird. ~~~~~ PARIS After a lovely dinner at the Chateau, Robert suggested that they take a ride through the city to see the lights. In the back of the de Valicourt's stretch limousine, Claire was flipping all the buttons she saw. Elizabeth asked her to stop many times, but Robert just laughed and pointed out more secrets for her to explore. When he pointed out one switch, Claire giggled when she saw a panel slowly slide down; there were glass bottles of Coca-Cola in there. She felt the odd containers. "Glass?" "It is not a good idea to drink and drive, even if you are not driving," Robert said, putting some ice cubes into a glass. "So we have soft drinks instead of liquor." She was in awe of the fact that he had to use a bottle opener to open it. Elizabeth herself hadn't seen actual Coke bottles in years. Gina pointed out the window and said, "Shall we go shopping tomorrow, Elizabeth?" "Most definitely," Elizabeth said, and looked out on Avenue Matignon and all the shops. "Stop!" One storefront caught her eye, Christie's, it had an announcement under glass by the door. She got out of the limousine to read it closer. The next day, there would be an auction of the estate of the esteemed, late philanthropist, Cameron James. ~~~~~ SEACOUVER Duncan woke up for the hundredth time since he was cold-cocked on the back of the head by Chuck after a disagreement about needing a chaperone. He couldn't move. The shower curtain he was wrapped in made breathing difficult. He knew he couldn't be buried that deep, and needed to move his body before he died again. Being trapped underground, dying and reviving countless times, reminded him of his escapades with Amanda and Corey Raines. Sweat was caked on his skin, matting the plastic shower curtain against his face. He had to move. He had to loosen his prison or he would never be found. Then, all went black again. ~~~~~ CALIFORNIA Warren and Brynn drove up to Tabard Pines and were immediately welcomed by both Antonio and Sofia. Sofia was already crying with happiness at seeing their old friends, who had been so important in her husband's immortal life. Brynn and Sofia went into the house already talking about the plans for Antonio and Sofia's renewing of their vows. Warren looked the set up over and said, "This looks like a peaceful place." "It is," Antonio said. "We are so happy here. When Daniel and Elizabeth return, everything will be back to normal." Warren was going to take the bags out of the backseat but Antonio wanted to show him the stables. As the women disappeared into the house and Antonio and Warren walked up to the stables, Chuck was hiding in the tree line surrounding the property. He was blinded by anger. What did they do to my Elizabeth? Instead of rushing headlong at them, he thought that he should wait. He took the advice that Elizabeth had given him, just after he killed Cole Roberts for her. He wouldn't tell anyone anything, and he would wait for the perfect opportunity. Chuck wasn't stupid. He couldn't attack them if there was another strong immortal around. But even though Chuck had come to like Antonio while he was still mortal, now, just seeing him from the distance made Chuck see red. He had to have done something with Elizabeth to have taken over her home, and Chuck desperately needed to find out what and how. ~~~~~ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2008 BERN ONE AM Methos and Amanda, both dressed in black and wearing ski masks, nimbly made their way through the dimly lighted corridors of a more advanced Watcher Headquarters than Methos had expected. Methos looked at his watch, and compared the digital readout with Amanda's. They were completely in sync. Amanda grimaced. "We set these watches eight times, Methos. Why are you so nervous?" "Oh, it's just my way, I guess. Anything could go wrong." "He of little faith. Do you want to call this off? I'd be more than happy to go back to Mac with the wine and Fitz's pipe. And it's Liz's birthday, Methos." "Will you be quiet? Concentrate on the task at hand." "Apologize. Now." "For what?" "I'm tired of taking your grief. I have had it up to here with your attitude," she said as she lined her hand to her neck. "At least you still have your head." He chose a door, that he knew to be the security center, and waited with his hand on the knob. Swiss Francs distributed in the right places could get one tons of information, blueprints even security firm plans. Amanda looked at her watch, waiting for the seconds to click over to 00 again. Just as it did, she pointed in the air. A bell rang out in the distance. Methos listened as chairs were rolled and footsteps led to the other door; Methos knew that whoever was in that room would exit to find out what caused the alarm to go off. After a pause, he quickly went in and Amanda followed. He immediately sat at a security monitor and read the icons and instructions in French and German; Amanda kept a lookout for anyone returning. When the buzzing alarm was silenced, she warned him in a whisper, "We only have a few seconds." "That's all I need. I do hope you didn't forget that video tape."  "He of little faith," Amanda muttered as she pulled it out of her pocket and walked to the wall of monitors that showed every sector of the building. Underneath the monitor of the "Antiquities Room" where Methos' sword was on display, she turned off the VCR and replaced that tape with a blank one, and then pushed the record button again. Methos clicked some icons to turn off the sensors in the museum wing that Amanda didn't have the instruments to conquer. He got up from the computer and grabbed her arm, pulling her back out the door to the hall, and running silently down it and around the corner. They stopped behind a mannequin wearing a suit of armor as they heard footsteps going back to the security room. When there was silence again, Amanda whispered, "Why don't we just go and get it now? We're here. Where is it?" "On the other side of the building." "Let's go get it." "We can't. I got the schedule for it, my sword is to be cleaned between 2 and 4 am. I'd rather no one handles the replica for a while, besides I will enjoy getting my Ivanhoe back in pristine condition. We needed to relax that security door, it's done. We needed to be seen on the tape from that camera," he said, nodding his head down the hall. "When they review the tapes. That's done. Tonight, when they see that someone was in the building, on this side of the building, there will be a window of time when they won't worry as much about the other side of the building. Right? Let's go and come back this evening." "Breaking in twice is pushing your luck, Methos." "It's the only way. I want it by sundown. I trust you, we can do it. Let's get out of here for a while." ~~~~~ CALIFORNIA Snow was the last thing that Warren and Brynn had expected when they came to 'sunny California'. Antonio told them, "That is southern California. We're in the mountains. Isn't it beautiful? I never saw snow until I moved here. It was a pleasant surprise." "I hate the snow. When will it melt?" Warren grumpily asked as he petted the head of a horse who was batting against him from his stall. "It might be gone by tonight," Antonio said. "But then again, it might not. It depends on the temperature." Brynn walked in with a set of cross country skis. "Reading Rent-All had some, and at a reasonable price. It's going to be such a beautiful walk. I can't wait. It will be just like Fyer's Rock back home, honey." "Fyer's Rock isn't covered with snow." Dallas got off the phone in the office and came out to say, "Nugget just got the all clear from the vet, so I'm going to go over and pick him up. Will you folks be around in case anyone wants to ride today?" "Oh," Brynn said, disappointed. "I was hoping we could go skiing. Sofia thought it sounded like fun also. We rented four pairs." "Go ahead." Warren opened Callie's stall door and said, "I think I'm going to ride around the fields. I'll be here in case anyone comes, Dallas." With that, the man of few words picked up his things and went out to hook a horse trailer to the back of his pickup. Antonio said, "I will stay with Warren." Sofia entered the stables, wearing a big sweater, wool pants and mittens. "Are we ready?" Brynn told her, "Warren doesn't want to go. He doesn't like the snow." "You three go," Warren said, not wanting to ruin their fun. "I'll be find here in case anyone comes. Besides, I haven't ridden a horse since Portugal. I'll be fine. Have fun." "How far up the mountain will we be going?" Sofia asked, worried about her stamina with two immortals. "We'll take it as slow as you want," Brynn told her.  Brynn snapped her skis on the boots and asked him one more time, "You sure you don't want to go, Warren? We can all wait until Dallas comes back; I rented skis for you." Warren smiled. "No thank you, luv." Antonio and Sofia went to the car to get their skis as Brynn skied over to Warren and murmured in his ear, "Come with us." He laughed. "Yeah, so I carry you back." "That's one reason." She kissed him as he slapped her on the butt. "Get back before dark." "You just can't resist bossing me around..." she said playfully as she picked up her poles and started towards the door out to the trails. "Well, I love you," Warren simply said. Brynn turned around and gave him the winning smile that he was so fond of seeing. She hiked her shoulder and said, "See you later, babe." ~~~~~ BERN Amanda asked Methos again, "The tape loop is complete, right? The entire tape is recorded with the room? There aren't any seams in the dubbing?" Methos groaned. "Amanda. Please. That was my part of the job. I assume since you know how important this is to me that you know I would have taken great pains to make sure it was--." "All right, all right," she said, and took off across the grounds to the back of Watcher Headquarters. "Touchy thing aren't you," she told him when he crouched right behind her in the bushes. "We have to wait for another hour here, Amanda. Don't make me regret it."  ~~~~~ PARIS Gina and Elizabeth sat in the third row back in Christie's Auction House, as one of Cameron James' armoires went up for bid. Robert and Claire had gone to ride up the Eiffel Tower; Claire had gotten restless after sitting there for over two hours. They had arrived at the auction early; Elizabeth wanted a seat and didn't want to miss a certain lot from the catalog. Actually there wasn't anything that James had possessed that she wanted, or really ever cared to see again, with one exception. One item that was so important to Amanda, that by trying to steal it back, she had brought Elizabeth to his attention. The catalog had priced the "Scarlet Star" ruby at fourteen million francs, which was around two million in US dollars. Elizabeth had come prepared to spend Methos' entire fortune if necessary. That bastard had stolen it from Amanda, it had been a gift from her beloved teacher, Rebecca. If it was the last thing Elizabeth did, she would return it to the rightful owner once and for all. After the armoire sold, the stage was turned to reveal a Renoir. Elizabeth gasped and cringed. Gina asked if she was all right, holding her hand. "Yes, I'm fine," Elizabeth weakly said. That Renoir was the one that she and Jason had stolen from Cole Roberts' office during one of his parties. Gina said, "You haven't bid on anything yet, and you look peaked. Would you like to leave?" "No. I need to stay for one lot. According to the catalog, it should be up soon." "Which item?" Elizabeth opened her catalog and pointed at the Scarlet Star ruby. Gina whistled. "Very nice," she said. "Will you have it mounted? A necklace? It's much too big for a ring. How about a brooch?" "It won't be up to me. I'm going to give it to Amanda." Gina sat back in surprise. "Wow! You're a good friend." Elizabeth laughed and said, "I know."  Gina fanned herself and said, "Why don't we go get a refreshment. It's stifling hot in here. We'll make sure we're back for the ruby's bidding." "Great idea." They walked through their row to the side and out the doors, taking their paddles with them. Out in the lobby area there were tables set up with wine and bottled water. Gina grabbed two glasses and handed one to Elizabeth. "Thank you for coming with me tonight," Elizabeth said. "Oh, I love auctions!" Gina said, then sipped her wine. "I thought with how pompous Cameron James acted, he would at least have owned something worth bidding on." "You knew him?" "Yes. I wonder who took him," she mused as she sipped her wine. "Whoever it was, we're grateful. What an ass. Robert and I ran into him at a Duke's party in London." Gina noted Elizabeth's reaction and asked, "Do you?" "Yes," Elizabeth said, and then leaned closer to whisper, "Duncan took his head." "Duncan?" Elizabeth smiled and nodded. Gina laughed and clicked her glass against Elizabeth's. "Here's to our good friend, Duncan MacLeod... wherever he may be." "I've been meaning to ask you something, Gina." "Of course, anything." "How did Adam save your marriage?" Gina chuckled and said, "He didn't tell you?" "Oh, he didn't get into specifics. I'd like to hear it from your side." "Robert and I were going through a dark time," Gina said, as her mood darkened. "I called off the renewing of our vows, something that we do every 100 years. Then, Duncan came to me to tell me that Robert had run into an immortal, a young immortal, who collected heads, and that Robert seemed to have given up." "Adam was the young immortal who collected heads?" Elizabeth smiled, wondering how Duncan could have actually told Gina that with a straight face. "Yes. So I thought. I arrived at their rendevous just as Adam stabbed Robert, and then he was going to take his head. When I came with my sword drawn, he ran away." That sounded more like the Methos she knew and loved. But, did Robert and Gina know him as Methos? A bell rang, signaling the start of a new lot for bidding, and as they returned Elizabeth told Gina, "Thank you for telling me. Now all you have to tell me about is how you had your sword to his neck." "Oh that. I can't wait to hear how Adam explained that," Gina said, laughing. "But I needed to protect my husband. You understand." "Oh yes. I second that emotion." ~~~~~ BERN Methos' heart pounded harder than it had in centuries as he slowly made his way from the door to the unlit display case that held his beloved Ivanhoe sword. The room was large, high teak wood ceilings; teak paneling covering the walls; rich, red carpeting; gold lighting fixtures that were now unlit; and which gave off an eerie glow from the security bulbs that illuminated the rooms' upper corners. There was a crisscross pattern of red lasers intersecting every 16 inches, about a foot off the floor. The unit holding the Ivanhoe itself looked like a glass coffin, its blade and jewel encrusted hilt glimmered, nestled perfectly upon a velvety cloud like pillow. Suddenly, after months of dreaming of this moment, Methos took a deep, confident breath. Then he jumped when Amanda came to his side. She looked down upon his treasure and said, "Well, aren't you going to get it?" "A moment like this is to be savored, Amanda." She held up her wrist which was adorned by her liquid crystal display watch. "Ticktock, ticktock." Methos knelt down to the sword case which held the replica Ivanhoe, upon entering the room, since Amanda hadn't seen any traps or weight triggers in the carpeting, he had slid it to the stand in the center of the room. In its place of honor... Even with the dim lighting in the room, the replica sword shone as if it were the real deal when Methos opened the case. He looked over the side of the display case to find it's hinges, to open it. What he found was not only a key hole, but a digital display. "Amanda," he whispered. "I need you." Amanda had stepped over the cross-hairs of the red lasers to close a drape that was slightly open on one of the large floor to ceiling windows that covered one wall. With such a secured room, Amanda knew that the windows had to be bullet-proof. The gap in the curtain could also conceal some sort of recording devise that would have to be disposed of. Stepping one last time over the last laser beam, she softly set her instrument case on the carpeting. "Just a minute." She carefully inspected every molecule of the drape, and anything that could be attached to it, with a flashlight and steel wand. She concentrated the light beam on the gap in the curtain, so as not to move the curtain, she slowly lifted the wand to see if she could see the reflection of piano wire or something as thin that could trigger an alarm. She lifted it very slowly so as not to trigger it, rather to find it, Methos whispered again, louder, "Amanda." "Gimme a minute here." She found the wire. Piano wire. Cheapskates, she thought. Except for the laser beams and a security pad on the door they entered the room by, she hadn't seen anything interesting to disarm and had been let down. Knowing how much Methos had loved that sword, the Watchers sure didn't expect anyone to steal it. She flashed the beam on the wire and followed it down the length of the wall of glass, and found a door frame and knob. It was only a trip wire for anyone entering from the outside. Nothing interesting. "Damn," she said as she carefully stood up. "I was expecting something more stimulating." "Get over here," Methos whispered again, standing up staring at his sword, so close, but yet, on the other side of glass. He wanted it so badly, he had to hold himself back from just breaking the damn glass, taking it and running away, which would be extremely stupid. As Amanda reached him, she asked what was so funny. Methos just shrugged and carefully stepped out of the way, keeping an eye on the laser pattern a foot off the floor. Amanda crouched down in front of the lock and set her elbow on her knee, her hand on her chin, and tried to decide the best approach. Methos took his place in the center of one of the grids holding his hands together to his chin as if in prayer. Amanda glanced at him, and confidently nodded. That security pad would be the first obstacle. Something that would actually challenge her. She pulled out her LCD decoder and hooked it onto the display, and waited. The digits flashed on the decoder as it went through all the possibilities to figure out the password. She looked at her watch, knowing that they had a ten minute window, and saw the flashing numbers start to display. One, two, three, four. Hell, if I was to just take a guess I could have come up with that code. She took off the decoder and put it away and took a quick look at the key lock. She took out a large ring of keys of all shapes and sizes, from skeleton to airport locker keys, and flipped through them to see if she had a master for that size lock. Methos started to cross over the intersections of the laser grid to urge her on. "Ticktock, the saying goes." She handed Methos the key ring and said, "Hold that." She took off her ski mask and pulled a hairpin from her chignon and went to work on the lock. "A hairpin? You're using a hairpin?" The lock clicked, and she pushed 1, 2, 3, 4 into the pad and the cover of the display case slowly lifted up. She stood up quickly and held the cover down and waited for any alarms that may have been triggered, but heard nothing. She announced proudly, "You use what works." Because there could have been a silent alarm, she quickly looked for any sensors that might have been disrupted, and again, to her amazement, there weren't any. She lifted the lid of the case as Methos walked to it, and crouched down. He pulled the replica sword up through the grid pattern of laser beams, and then stood. Methos closed his eyes and for the first time in almost four years, his hand touched the hilt of his Ivanhoe. He could almost smell it, it was so much a part of him. Amanda nudged him to urge him to get on with it. He wrapped his hand around the hilt and lifted the Ivanhoe straight into the air. He handed the replica to Amanda and walked over the laser beams away from the case, savoring the sword's feel in his hand. Amanda placed the replica sword into the case exactly how the real one had laid, fluffing the velvet around it. Methos rubbed the blade along the back of his hand, looked at his reflection in it, swung it around, high in the air, so as not to accidently hit a laser beam. Amanda closed the cover of the display stand and looked around for the key ring. "Where are my keys?" "In my pocket," Methos said, still gracefully swinging his sword with a big smile on his face. She closed her bag and carefully pulled the case for the replica sword up between the laser grid and waited for Methos' mind to snap back to matters at hand. "Would you care to be alone with that thing or shall we vamoose?" Methos actually chuckled at her quip and took the sword case from her to stow his Ivanhoe. He held both the case and the sword in his hands and asked, "Help?" Amanda walked over to him, over the laser beams and set her bag down between them and then held the case open for him. Methos laid his sword inside and snapped the lid closed. Suddenly, an alarm rang loudly, making them both jump, hitting more of the beams. "What did you do?" Methos demanded as he grabbed the case and headed for the door. "Me?! I didn't do anything! I'm sure it was you." She grabbed her bag and followed him out the door. Then she grabbed his arm in the hallway and said, "I forgot my ski mask." "So?" He said, still moving down the hall. "You never leave anything behind!" "Then go get it, I'm out of here. I'm not taking any bullets for a stupid ski mask, or you, this time!" Before she knew it, he was gone. She just kept running, the alarms ringing throughout the building. ~~~~~  CALIFORNIA Half way up the mountain, Sofia was getting tired, but Antonio and Brynn had kept going so she had also. Antonio was in excellent physical shape and Brynn had told them that she and Warren go hiking every weekend back in Australia. Sofia's only form of activity was walking to the car and into a mall. Finally, Sofia gave voice to her situation. "Stop! I can't go any farther." She sat down on a tree stump. Antonio stopped and called for Brynn to come back. He straightened Sofia's skis on each side of the stump and asked, "Are you all right? I said we could take a rest earlier." Sofia pointed at Brynn, making her way back to them. "Brynn wanted to keep going." "If you lose your pace, you get more tired." Brynn took a swig of water from the bottle in her pocket and handed it to Sofia. Sofia took a drink and said, "Sorry to hold you up. You can go on ahead up the mountain. I'll be waiting here when you come back." Brynn confessed, "I'm spent, too. This is harder work than it looks. There's nothing up there that's any different than what's down here anyway. Let's go back and see to those steaks and sit in front of a nice, warm fire." The sun was setting and it was getting chillier. Sofia said, "This has been good... fresh air... exercise... But I'm ready to go back." Brynn and Antonio tightened when they both felt a buzz. Brynn looked behind her down the trail, fully expecting Warren to have come to see what was holding them up. It had taken longer to get up the wide trails with the deceptive gentle incline than they had thought. Brynn said, "It's probably Warren." Sofia looked at Antonio, and said, "I don't hear anything." Antonio whispered, still feeling the buzz, "Neither did we." Brynn was nervous and called out, "Hello?" They didn't know the area, and it was going to be dark soon. Elizabeth had told them that there were no other immortals around, but they had felt the buzz long enough to know that it was strange. It hung around, didn't get closer, just hovered. Brynn and Antonio both wished they had brought their swords. The two Immortals were making Sofia nervous. "Let's go back," she said, standing up, unsteady on her weak legs still fastened to the cross country skis. "Good idea," Antonio said. Antonio helped Sofia get on solid footing. Brynn took Sofia's poles from where she had stabbed them into the ground and held them out to her. She heard a shuffle in the snow behind her in the woods. As Brynn turned on her skis, a sword came out of nowhere. Using Sofia's poles as a defense against it, she spun out of the way. One pole snapped in half from the quick slice through it. She fell back, kitty wompus on her skis, still not seeing the perpetrator's face. All she could hear was the immortal's panting and Sofia's screaming. Antonio ran up behind the immortal dressed in a hooded parka and grabbed at the sword, but his hand slipped down the blade. Chuck snarled as he turned around and kicked Antonio, who fell back. Chuck directed his intent back to Brynn, who had gotten upright, on her left foot, but her right leg was hiked up, the tip of the ski was poked in the snow and she was stuck. She held the other pole up and screamed, "NO!" Chuck swung his sword at her. She was off kilter from the skis and couldn't defend against it. The blade seared through her shoulder toward her neck. As the blade hooked on her parka, she rolled with the thrust and slid down the hill, landing by a tree, skies askew. Dead. Chuck spun around to see Antonio coming back at him. He chuckled and made a 'come on' motion with his fingers. Antonio asked, "Chuck? What are you doing?" when he recognized the young man, whose eyes blazed with hatred. Before anyone knew what happened, Chuck swung his sword. Antonio fell, his head rolled down the trail to rest beside Brynn's dead body. Sofia screamed again, and frantically asked, "Chuck please! Why?!" "What have you done with her?!," he screamed back as he slashed out at her with his sword. Sofia doubled over and groaned. "Where's my Elizabeth?!" As the full force of Antonio's quickening hit Chuck , Sofia fell to the ground, clutching her stomach. When she fell, she looked down at her torso, which she saw was slashed open. ~~~~~ BERN Methos ran out of the door they had entered by and found that Amanda wasn't behind him. "Damn it!" He debated on going back for her, but then saw a dark figure about her size and shape running across the grounds toward the stone fence that ran the perimeter. He ran after her. She threw her bag over the fence and saw Methos arrive. She pushed him to the ground and climbed on his back and hiked up to the top of the fence. She swung her legs over the side and reached her hand down for him to grab. There were sounds in the distance; human shouts and dogs barking. Methos handed the sword case to her and she threw it over the fence behind her. "Amanda!" Methos shouted, mortified that she could have destroyed his sword after going through so much to retrieve it. She held her hand down. "Do you want a lift or not? I'm out of here in seconds." He clamped onto her hand and used the stones as footholds to climb up. They jumped down onto the sidewalk, grabbed the case and bag and ran in the direction of their getaway car parked a half mile down the street. As Methos ran, fast, he was inspecting the damage to the case and envisioning the many ways he would kill Amanda if there was one nick on it. "I can't believe you threw my sword!" "I can't believe you took off without me!" she countered, running as fast as she could. "You're here, aren't you?" "No thanks to you!" They reached the car and looked back. There were distant sirens blaring. "Cops?" Amanda asked. "They called the cops?" "No. They don't need cops, they have their own." Methos reached into his pockets and came up with only Amanda's key ring. "Where are the car keys?" "I don't know." She felt her own pockets, then said, "You had them last." He threw her key ring at her and checked all his pockets. Amanda flipped through her keys for a master for the car. Methos found the rental keys in his back pocket and walked to the driver's side. "I got them." She reached out her hand. "Give them to me." "I'm driving." "I'll drive, I'm here already. They're coming!" "I'll drive!" "Give me the damn keys!" Methos sighed and asked, "Do you know the streets of Bern like the back of your hand?" Amanda walked around the car as Methos unlocked the door and reached over the driver's seat to put the case into the back. She yanked on the door handle. "Unlock it, please?" Methos got in and started the car. He saw red flashing lights down the street. Amanda yelled, "Open the damn door!" He did and she jumped in just as he did a quick U-turn, from the standing position with the car, before her door was shut. As he drove down the street, and then took a quick right, she said, "Thanks a lot." "Oh, relax," Methos said, holding tightly onto the steering wheel. "I bet you're used to this." "Police, I can handle. Watchers, I tend to steer clear of." "Good philosophy," Methos said as he took another quick turn and sped down the street. ~~~~~  CALIFORNIA Warren put the last of the feed from the sack into the feedbag and pet the horse as it ate. He heard a crackling sound and looked out toward the woods. Bolts of lightening flew up and around the trees on the hill. "What the hell..." he asked no one in particular. Then it dawned on him. It was a quickening! As he blindly ran out of the stables, across the pasture and over the corral fence into the woods, he tried to figure out what the hell happened. "Brynn!?" He was unaware of the horses at his disposal, he just blindly ran to the fray, through the trees, off the trails, directly to the lightening that was still lighting up the trees. As he got closer, above the sound of the quickening, he heard a male howl. Did Antonio take Brynn? Why? Did she have to take him? What the hell happened? Running faster was the soul purpose of his being. Through the trees, he spied legs lying prone on the snow. Blue snow pants. Skis laid in impossible directions. Brynn had been wearing blue snow pants! "NOT HER! NO!" He ran faster; branches of fir trees snapped at his face, stinging him but Warren kept on charging ahead. He sank into a mound of snow that had fallen from the disturbed trees. His sole focus was to get to the pants. He couldn't see Brynn's head. The top of her body was obscured by a tree. Her legs were crisscrossed, the right leg, backward, her entire body still. "NO! Brynn! Not you!" He tried to make out the immortal still receiving the quickening. All Warren could tell from his angle was that the immortal was a man. "NO! PLEASE!" As he got closer, he saw Brynn's blond braided hair lying on her back. Then the shape of her head. He fell to his knees beside her. The snow was colored red under her neck. Warren howled as he lifted her head, fully expecting it to come loose within his grip. To his relief, her head was still firmly attached to her body. Warren sat down from his kneeling position and tried to remember how to breath. When he turned Brynn over, he saw a red slash across her shoulder and collarbone, ending at her neck at a downward angle. Warren straightened her head, closed the flap of skin back onto her shoulder. He stared at the blood on his hand. His wife's blood. He had to get it off! He wiped his hand off on the snow and saw that the front and shoulder of her parka were also encrusted with her blood. Warren brushed at the moisture dripping from his eyes, tried to quiet the shiver that kept tracking up and down his spine. The quickening was over and the immortal went down. Warren still couldn't figure out who it was, and who's quickening he got. Then he saw Antonio's head staring up at him. Warren jerked back, with a scream. His student! Another one of his students was dead! But how? Why? Warren tried to get to his feet, but fell being too wobbly. But he was determined. He made his way up the path to where he now noticed two other bodies lay on the ground where the immortal was still gasping on his hands and knees. Warren walked to Chuck's head and grabbed it. He yanked the sword out of the kid's hand and sneered, "I don't know who you are, but you're history!" Warren sliced Chuck's head clean off. He heard Brynn take a deep intake of air. Even though he was receiving a quickening, and seeing flashes of Duncan and Elizabeth, Warren made his way toward his wife. She shouldn't be alone when she realizes what happened. He made his way toward her, and slipped, and slid down the path, still holding onto both Chuck's sword and head. When the quickening stopped, Warren hurried back up the trail to his wife. Brynn had sat up and wiped her hand on the blood, confused. "What happened? Why am I so damn bloody?" she tried to verbalize, but could only grunt as Warren knelt in front of her. Brynn shakily felt her neck, where she felt searing pain. It was slashed, she could tell that. "Am I dead?" she croaked. Then her throat constricted and she felt like she was going to choke to death. Warren pulled her into his lap and held her. "No, thank God above. No." He reached down and flipped the hooks that held the skis on her boots to free her legs from their awkward angle. Brynn couldn't make a sound, and silently gasped for air and cried. She pulled away from Warren, crouched on her knees, trying to put her right foot straight, her head spinning. Warren crouched next to her, "What hurts, Brynn. How can I help you?" Brynn got a look at Antonio's head and fell back in shock, sliding down a snowy embankment. Suddenly she knew what happened. A shiver of death overtook her body as she tried to scream, tried to make a sound. Warren grabbed her arm before she slid over a drop off and pulled her back into his arms. She let her head drop into Warren' lap as she clutched her neck. When the healing sparks finally started to close her neck wound, her hand was shocked by them. Warren grabbed her hands to get them out of the way of the healing. After they subsided, Brynn rolled over and groaned, then hunched up. Warren huddled by her and said, "Let me see." He pulled her up, but she was still clenching her throat. She could not form words. Pulling her hand away, Warren examined the damage. The skin had reattached itself, but there was still the trace of the slash from her shoulder, across the collarbone that ended at the center of her neck. Only when he looked at her face did he know she was crying hysterically, but couldn't make a sound. She stared at Antonio's head, but Warren turned her away from it. He held her and whispered, "You're all right. Thank God, Brynn, you are all right." "So.. So..." she tried to ask, but couldn't form the words. Warren shook his head and said, "No. Sofia's gone too." Brynn motioned that she wanted to see Sofia, and Warren reluctantly helped her to her feet. She tried to talk, tried to say she was sorry she couldn't protect them, to ask who the hell that was, curse his soul, tried to make any sound other than the high pitched, soft squeak. Poles lay severed, pieces strewn around the area. Brynn realized she was still in Warren' arms as they slowly walked up the trail to Sofia and Antonio's bodies. She held on to her husband for dear life. Her throat was on fire, she couldn't really move her shoulder, and it throbbed. Something wasn't right. Brynn motioned to it and Warren realized what the matter was after pulling her coat back to see the joint out of its socket. Warren laid her down and popped it back into place for her. She violently screamed, but only a whimper escaped her throat. Brynn turned over and coughed blood out from the back of her throat. He told her, "I'll get you home. Come on." Brynn shook her head, no. She wanted to stay with Antonio and Sofia. Sofia... Why Sofia? Why did he have to kill Sofia? Antonio's head was lying by the roots of a tree yards away from his body. Brynn crawled to his head, picked it up and crawled to place it back by his shoulders where it was supposed to be, like a macabre jigsaw puzzle. She crawled to Sofia and touched her cheek. Sofia didn't deserve to be the victim of her stupidity, her lapse in concentration. Sofia wasn't in the game. Brynn's husband had been Antonio's teacher. I should have protected them! They had depended on her, she was older... but she had failed them both. She should have brought her sword. She should always be on guard. She should have known better. Brynn finally looked up at Warren, dreading his reaction to what she believed to be her fault. Warren had let her grieve, touch the bodies, make it real for herself as he went through much the same thought process while sitting helpless in the snow. When she looked up at him, like a little girl who had just broken a precious vase, he couldn't stay back any longer. He lifted her to her feet, then took her in his arms. Brynn tried to talk, but could only whisper, "Family." Warren tried to lip read the rest of what she said. She had to repeat it a couple of times for Warren to hear her. It hurt like hell to talk. "Tell his family." Warren caressed her head as he held her close. "Of course we will. Let's get back." "Who?" "I don't know." "Can't leave..." "The watchers will take care of them. They'll tell Antonio's family. I want to get you back and safe. When Dan and Liz get back, we'll figure out who that was, and why it happened." CONTINUED in Chapter Fifty-Two - Tomorrow Is Another Day