THE ELIZABETH SERIES

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

SHILOH

by JoLayne

EnyaJo@aol.com

RATING: PG-R

CHARACTERS: Methos, Amanda, Duncan, Joe, Amy, Warren, Robert, Gina, Cassandra, OC's Elizabeth, Claire, Nick, Megan, Guy, Liam, Thomas, James, Crusaders

SUMMARY: The Crusaders try to get information about the whereabouts of MacLeod; meanwhile MacLeod, Megan, and Nick try to get to their friends before they're all dead.

DISCLAIMER: All characters and concepts you recognize from Highlander: The Series are owned by Panzer/Davis, and maybe Greg Widen. Just using them for fun, no profit is expected or pursued.

~~~~~

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013
Megan knew that Nick had taken the tire iron out of trunk, and she knew that he was going to subdue Duncan MacLeod in some way, but for him to forcefully beat the immortal over the head a couple of times with it wasn't at all what she had imagined would happen on a New York City street in the wee hours of the morning. Duncan MacLeod was the immortal they wished to save, not kill. What if Nick had given him brain damage? Mercifully it had not been rush hour and so there were not many people out and about to witness the brutality, and those who were either didn't see it or didn't want to get involved and walked away fast.

Nick had lifted Duncan to his feet and almost threw him into the back seat before getting in himself and yelling for her to get the hell out of there. Megan had done what she was told; the cold blast of air from the open door, and the shock of Nick's brutality, kept her eyes on the road she moved them only long enough to turn the heat in the rental car on full blast wishing she had bought a heavier coat. After the van had blown up with all their possessions in it, save her backpack, she and Nick had to get new clothes and supplies. She thankfully had her wallet with her, and had charged up a storm at Target and a pawn shop for their more lethal purchases.

It had appalled her-but at the same time oddly comforted her-that the owner had just sold the guns and bullets to them outright. He had run a background check on her, but it wasn't at all thorough, and they skipped the mandatary waiting period. The thought of all the lowlifes who had such easy access to guns played on her mind as she and Nick loaded up the weapons she purchased and made plans for what they were going to do next. They actually hadn't a clue. Both were too scared to enter a watcher facility, and all that Lyle had told them of the Crusaders' plan seemed thorough at the time. However, thinking about it now after Lyle's death and Duncan's kidnaping made her realize that his information had been sketchy at best.

Nick had crawled into the front seat, that he was able to do that amazed Megan as he was so tall and his arm must still hurt from the bullet extraction just a few days before. The sound that had taken them both by surprise was the tinny sound of a cell phone ring. They looked at each other, knowing that Nick's had been torched, and she had turned hers off in case the watchers were able to trace her through hers. Nick had reached back over the seat to fumble through Duncan's pockets and then clicked the phone on and asked, "Who is this?"

"Duncan?" a woman's voice had asked. "Who is this?"

Nick's face went from trepidation to outright confusion when he yelled, "Hello?" into Duncan's phone. Soon, he clicked it off.

"Who was it?"

"Someone else in trouble, I think. It was a woman, but I heard... just keep driving," Nick said as he spun his head around to scan the area more than likely to see if anyone was following them. His spark of paranoia got to her, and she drove as fast as she could with their prize, out cold, in the back seat. She didn't feel any easier when Nick finally explained, "I think I heard another kidnaping."

~~~~~

Al, sucking oxygen as though afraid he would never again take another breath on his own, sat in a chair, his face bright red his hands clutching onto Tina. She tried her best to make him calm down. When she had told him with pride that she had taken another head to demonstrate just how serious they were, Al hadn't reacted as she had hoped. She hadn't expected the hard slap across the face, in front of their minions. She was going to attack him in outright anger at being treated like an underling, but when he gathered incredible strength to intone, "It's my decision who dies and when!" She had shut up. Al continued as he fell into a chair, "We may have been able to use the Payson slut. Don't ever go against my command again, or I'll strap you into one of those chairs!"

Now that he was calming down with his oxygen mask, she hoped to fend off his bad mood. She had done everything expected of her to date. That she couldn't make her own little statement in front of their merchandise wasn't acceptable, but she allowed her lover peace to get his body back as much as it could be, to normal.

"Another thing," Al said as he pulled the mask away when his normal pallor returned. "She was one of us."

"She was a traitor," Tina remarked defiantly.

"She was human. Yes, she was a traitor, but she wasn't to die before the rats."

"I am sorry." Tina rubbed his hand after he had attached the oxygen tube of his portable tank to his nose, over his ears, and under his chin. "Of course, your wish is my command, as is the case with all of us."

"I need Duncan MacLeod. Now."

"We're still looking for him, sir," Helen replied from where she had been hovering in the corner of the control room. Tina thought she had been awful quiet, and probably enjoyed witnessing the slap she had endured. The pert young thing with long blond hair most likely wanted to be in Tina's position, and Tina would make sure that would never happen.

Tina blustered when Helen walked to Al and said, "I've checked Elizabeth Gordon's cell phone call list, and Duncan MacLeod's number was called just before she was taken. Talking with Tiko, he said that she was on the phone when he took her. I've already taken the liberty to check her cell phone records and hopefully we'll get word on MacLeod's whereabouts from the tower that picked up the call."

Yes, Helen wants my position bad, Tina knew seething at her repeating of the information Tina had received, which was why she had already chosen Elizabeth Gordon for questioning.

"Good, good." Al cast a disparaging look to Tina as he smiled at Helen, who seemed to lap up the attention.

"I've already had the Gordon woman brought into the interrogation room."

"Fine," Al snapped and stood up and rolled his tank with him to the hallway, and into the room where Tiko and Fred were strapping her to one of the steel tables. Tina didn't know just when and where she had lost respect with Al, but figured it must have been the moment Terry Payson's head hit the floor.

Tina reiterated quietly to Al as they entered the room, "I am truly sorry, Sir. I've had the holding room darkened and the two bodies removed. Where would you like them placed?"

"Toss them in the drink, and don't you ever defy me again, Tina."

"I certainly will not." She must have used the right tone of voice, as Al took her hand and smiled at the sight of the Gordon woman totally in their control.

"Break her." Al commanded the men. "Do not take her head, but kill her as many times, in as many painful ways, as you need. Only when MacLeod is found will my crusade be complete."

And he can die a happy man, and I can take over, Tina mused all the while hoping that she didn't reveal the aspiration she had held for so very long to any of them.

~~~~~

Dizziness started to fade and visuals started to clear as Duncan again opened his eyes. From his position, lying on the back seat of some car, all he could see was the black back of a car seat. He looked straight up and back to see the blue, clouded sky. He reached up to feel his aching head and felt the squishiness of thick liquid and brought his hand to his eyes to see them smeared red. He jolted upright. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Shit!" the woman driving gasped. "I'll never get used to it."

Duncan caught sight of himself in the rear view mirror and was jarred by the sight of the blood at the top of his head. He wiped it back as he demanded, "Who are you?"

The blond man in the passenger seat had been looking at him, and looking as if he was on guard. He said, "We mean you no harm; we want to save them all."

"Who? From what?"

Duncan saw that they were on the interstate, probably in Jersey, he remembered the route he and Amanda had taken over ten years ago to check out the car that was used in the shooting of Joe and Elizabeth by Logan. A rush of scorn swept through him when he saw a gun barrel resting beside the shift between the buckle seats; he looked back to see if there were cars nearby. When he saw there were none, he tried the door handle to make a break for it, but soon realized that they must have the child proof lock activated on the doors and windows as he couldn't open them.

"Bad seeds." The man picked up the gun and pointed it at Duncan but said, "We're on your side."

"You have a funny way of showing it." Duncan rubbed his head where he had been attacked and stared the blond man down.

"Sorry," the guy said and put the gun down. "There's a conspiracy in the Watchers to take your head along with the heads of your friends. We think your friends have already been taken. We saw one of them apprehended, one that Megan knows: Elizabeth Gordon. We couldn't get to her in time."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Best start at the beginning," the woman said. She watched him through the rear view mirror as she said, "I'm Megan Willis. Has she mentioned me?"

"Who?"

"Elizabeth."

"No."

"Hm," she uttered with surprise. "I saw her husband die, my mom took care of her kid, and I don't even get a mention?"

"Oh, now I remember. You helped lift her husband off a spike."

"So he could revive. Freaked me out to no end, at the time, let me tell you," she muttered, hands firmly planted around the steering wheel and winding in and out of the five lanes of traffic.

"I'm Nick Hartford." The blond man stopped whatever rapport Duncan could develop with the driver to relate, "We're both Watchers, and this whole thing started with an email."

Duncan listened as they related what little they knew about a list, some faction of the Watchers, dubbed Crusaders, of his friends' names and how they had gotten involved. Soon, Megan got involved with the details-about Nick's shooting, Lyle and Mike's deaths, and just how little they had to go on. As the story continued, the fact that Elizabeth, and probably everyone else on that list, were more than likely already taken, Duncan needed to do something, anything. What he did, that made him feel a bit better immediately, was take a punch at the door of the car. Good thing it was padded, because Duncan thought if it was plain steel he would have smashed every bone in his hand.

Nick's eyes were focused on the dent in the padding that hadn't swollen back to normal then shifted back to Duncan. "The whole plan, according to Lyle, is to take you. Everything was about you. The others were taken because they are your friends and lovers."

"I haven't had anything to do with Watchers for years. I didn't live with them on a boat like the others did. Why me?"

"They believe you will mostly likely survive the gathering and therefore have deemed you the most dangerous."

A dark warmth filled Duncan's soul as he took that in, and grumbled, "I can be. Where are they?"

Megan said with defeat, "We have no idea."

Duncan's mind raced with the bitter remembrance of Horton and his band of Hunters who had so unceremoniously taken the head of his mentor on Holy Ground, an act which lost to all everything Darius knew and was. Fitz had almost been taken by the same maniac who seemed not to play by any kind of code of honor. The thought of his friends, each unique in their own way, in the hands of a new faction of an old sect, provoked Duncan's mind to thoughts of rage and brutal revenge.

Nick had sat in silence for a while, then suddenly said, "We have to get you and us as far away from this as possible." That was not what Duncan wanted to hear at this moment. Nick continued, "We're thinking of Tahiti. Want to come with?"

"It sounds like my life is once again at the mercy of some madmen. Horton! I can't believe the bastard still lives."

"Horton," Megan mused. "James Horton? I heard about him in Watcher U, as a study of how not to let power corrupt your thoughts. He's the one who did something like this a long time ago, right?"

At least she was trying to put some pieces together, for which Duncan felt better. What he didn't like and what just came to mind was the thought that everyone was back in the city, and she appeared to be driving straight south. "Don't drive away from New York, go back. We have to find out where they are!"

"How? Lyle's dead."

"But the others aren't...... yet."

"And I'm not going to be," Nick continued.

"Then you're one of them." Duncan stared him down with the ultimatum which hung in the air. "You're either on the right side or the wrong side. You know about the deal, you have to choose. Both of you."

When they both hesitantly stared at each other, as if trying to think of a way to get out of this mess, Duncan seethed with rage and hiked himself forward in his seat so his head was between theirs. "If you don't care about me, Liz, or any of the others, think of Amy. She's been missing for four days! She helped you out. She changed your life, and you're just going to let her die because you're scared?" He slapped his hand on the back of Nick's bucket seat and yelled, "God damn you! You knew they took her, and you didn't do anything! Why didn't you tell anyone, least of all her husband, or kids!?"

Megan wailed with fright, "We just found out, and things have been happening fast, and I didn't have Guy's number on my speed dial. How the hell were we supposed to find out where he is? As soon as we pegged where you were, we saved you!"

Nick told him in a calm voice, "This plan is bigger than any of us. No one person is going to call a halt to this. They might have killed Amy already for all we know, just because they can. We're completely in the dark, and we saved you!"

Duncan whipped Nick across the head for that. Sure they saved him, but what was his life without Amanda, Methos, Joe, Elizabeth, or any of the others. "How could you just sit with your thumb up your ass? Better yet, how can you live with yourself if you don't do all that you can?"

It took a long time for Nick to even make a movement as he stared out the windshield, having ignored being hit. He then sighed and sat straight in his seat, probably staring at the passing scenery. Duncan noticed that Nick's eyes focused on a green highway sign which read Mt. Holly.

Megan had put her hand on his. She told him, "We can drop you off here, and I'll do what I can with Mr. MacLeod. I understand. You've been shot once already."

"Go off here." Nick pointed to an oncoming off ramp.

Duncan couldn't believe it when Megan slowed and was going to park on the side of the road. "What kind of man are you?" Duncan felt like throttling the coward and moved to attack him.

"No, take the ramp," Nick told her, then jerked Duncan's hand off his shoulder. "I'm in, I'm in!" Nick wailed. He looked to Megan. "I have to watch your ass if nothing else." Then turning toward Duncan, " Let's just get one thing straight: you never touch me again."

"No problem." Duncan sat back, but continued to fume at Nick as Megan took the off ramp. "Where are we going?"

"Mt. Holly. It's always best for a Watcher with an assignment who likes to travel to know where all the bureaus are in case you need back up or a day replacement or what have you. You know how bureaus are ranked in colors?"

"Yeah," Megan said.

"No," Duncan groused.

"The major headquarters are marked in Green, I suppose to indicate that's where the money is. Blue are the next tier, Red a little lower. Phoenix is Blue."

"This is all very interesting," Duncan commented. "Is this a driving game, in order to make the miles go faster?"

"No, smart ass. I'm telling you where we're going. That is what you wanted, wasn't it? Trenton is Red. But there are even more colors on the map. There's Orange, then Yellow, then White. We're going to the dregs of the Watcher organization, my friends. Good old White Mt. Holly."

"What would be their purpose? Would there be field Watchers working out of there?"

"I wouldn't imagine so, they'd work out of Red Trenton or Blue Philly or even Orange Dover if they worked this area."

Listening to Nick, Duncan was swamped by the thought of just how massive the Watcher organization was. He had always known it was vast, but had never given a thought as to how in depth it was. A bureau in somewhere called Mt. Holly. Christ, there has to be an office for every Immortal on the planet... just how many Immortals are there? Duncan had thought they were getting closer to the time of the Gathering. If that were true, why would the Watchers still need such a vast network, and so many employees?

Nick said, "We need to get onto the Watcher network if we're going to find out more than what we have, namely where they've brought their hostages."

Megan looked at him with dread, then back at the road. "Oh, shit," she murmured. "I suppose that's going to be me."

"No," Nick replied. "It's going to be him." Nick pointed back at Duncan. "If he's shot, he'll heal. We'll be waiting in the car."

"I can't just traipse into a Watcher facility, no matter how small."

"Why not?" Nick turned in his seat again. "There aren't any Immortal detectors at the doors. Just pretend you're me and use my passwords. In a small office, no one will know. I don't even know what they do there, or if anyone's even there at all. It's a White for Christ's sake."

"If it's such a small office, why don't you go?"

"There's a chance we could be found out as soon as you log in. Something got me flagged, and it got Amy flagged. I was shot and an obit was placed in the paper; meanwhile she's in the hands of those maniacs. If something happens, run like hell and don't lose your head."

"Words to live by, if I was a running type of guy."

Megan said, "I've known about you and your personality, Mr. MacLeod. Nick and I are putting ourselves on the line again for you and your friends. You do your best to make sure we're safe too. Promise?"

"Yeah," he finally replied. The thought that even Amy and Joe were captured and in the hands of renegade Watchers didn't make him feel completely trusting to those two, but they were his only options.

"If it gets rough in there, you'll know where we're parked and you just run like hell back to us."

"Yeah, right," Duncan grimaced, as if they could be his savior.

"Look," Nick said with authority as he turned in his seat to stare at Duncan. "If Megan and I have no information, we can't do a thing, and there's no way we're ever again, going into a Watcher establishment," Nick announced. "So, you just get back to us and tell us what you find out, we'll help you sort it out, then you can go be kung fu fighter and leave us out of it."

"All right, all right," Duncan yammered as he tightened his fists ready to fight, and looked at the farmland out the window. Then he looked at Nick. "What do you mean, kung fu fighter?"

"You carry a katana right? Why don't you have it now?"

"Because I was going in and out of a hospi... Oh, God."

Duncan rummaged through his pockets for his cell phone and found it on the floor of the back seat. "Claire," he muttered as he was going to dial. "Do you know anything about Claire?" He didn't know the number to the hospital, and instinctively punched Elizabeth's cell on speed dial. Just when he realized that was stupid, since she had been taken, he was going to end the call and call information for the number to the hospital to check on Claire. But the line was answered. Duncan sat in limbo as he could hear someone breathing on the other end of the line. "Liz?" he asked hesitantly.

"Mr. MacLeod," a man's mean voice called out laced with what Duncan interpreted as surprise.

"Who are you?"

"The question is, where are you?"

"Where's Elizabeth?"

"She's right here. Want to hear?"

All too soon, Duncan heard a woman's scream of agony that sounded very much like the way Elizabeth had sounded after she had taken Pyrius' head all those years ago in Delphi, and it cut right through him. He had hoped he would never hear that sound again and simmering rage bubbled to the surface. "If you harm her or any of the others, I will hunt you down and kill you and everyone you ever met. Tell me where you are, and I'll be there so you can take this up with me."

Duncan was astounded when the call ended. "HELLO! Talk to me, you bastard!"

"What was that?" Megan shouted as Duncan began kicking and punching out at everything in his vicinity.

When Duncan hurriedly called back, there was no answer. After the fifth ring, he threw the phone at the windshield, breaking it. Nick picked up the pieces of the flip phone and held it out. "Good job. That was the only communication devise we had!"

"Settle down, MacLeod," Megan screamed, her hands still clutched the steering wheel so tight, her knuckles were white.

Duncan took a deep breath and settled back into the seat as he envisioned what his friends might be going through. If they wanted him so bad, why didn't that bastard tell him more, tell him their demands; why just hang up? His mind rushed with all the possibilities as Nick told Megan to keep a lookout for any building that would have a Watcher look to it.

Duncan started laughing, softly at first, then quite hard. "A building that looks like a Watcher. Hm, should it have windows resembling beady eyes, gunmetal doors, and have nothing upstairs?"

Megan and Nick both called back, "Hey," clearly offended.

~~~~~

"We didn't get a trace!" Helen called out, she was hunkered over the machine with headphones on.

Tina Fallon was ready to spit tacks and flew across the room to backhand Tiko for ending the cell call so soon and she screamed, "You idiot!" The fact that the half-Asian had a good seven inches and 100 pounds over her, it was amazing that he didn't slug her back for having embarrassed him in front of his co-workers.

He only replied with a whine, "I didn't end it. The phone went dead. Her battery must've went dead."

Tina didn't want excuses, even though they may have been the absolute truth. She knew that Al was slipping away fast. Even though she wanted him to waste away to nothing and his Crusade to become hers with an army already gathered, she discovered she had some true feelings for him as she helped him gasp on pure oxygen. It must be horrible to have to concentrate on taking every breath, and she wondered if he was in a lot of pain. Al would never admit if he was.

Turning her attention to the heart of the matter, she stalked over to Elizabeth, who was still strapped to the steel table. It looked as though her minions had already done a job on her as she had traces of dried blood on her face and arms and whip cuts on her clothing, across her stomach and legs. "Just when I thought you were a dead end and was about to put you back with the other wastes of humanity, your lover calls."

Elizabeth, clearly still in pain from the last whipping, stared up at her with a strong glare. It was a wonder to Tina where Immortals got their gall. How dare she stare at me? She cuffed Elizabeth across the face, "WHERE IS HE?"

Since she didn't respond, only turned her stare back at her, Tina motioned for George to re- commence with the whipping. The Immortal must have had time to heal since the last bout, since once again Elizabeth only grunted under her breath as tears fell down her cheeks. After four more lashes, she started to cry out in pain. That was what Tina wanted. She stopped George before he could administer so much pain Elizabeth wouldn't be able to tell them anything, she might be in the mood to talk now.

Tina bent forward to the Immortal, almost so that their cheeks were touching, and whispered, "You only have to tell me and it will all end, Elizabeth."

The immortal appeared not to hear her. Her body was writhing in pain and her steadfast stare was now glazed. "I'll make sure you're not hurt anymore if you just tell us what you know."

Because Elizabeth's eyes were flooded with salty tears and she could only blink them away as her hands were tied above her head. Tina waited. She knew the woman would have to break at some point, and she was willing to wait it out a bit more. Elizabeth wiped her eyes with her arm and then looked to Tina, still blinking.

"Are you ready? Where is Duncan MacLeod?" Tina asked in a comforting voice.

Elizabeth lifted her head a bit and it seemed that she would finally tell her so they could capture him and get on with this first part of the Crusaders' plan. Once Duncan MacLeod and all his cronies were dead, they could move on to others. Tina instantly envisioned a world with no rat-faced Immortals and eagerly waited for Elizabeth's response. The woman had to have been broken by now. After whippings, beatings, cigarette butts put out on her most tender flesh, and one use of a defibrulator on the steel table, yes, the woman had to know she had no alternative but to cave in to her demands.

Keeping her head down to catch any word Elizabeth Gordon uttered, and turning her righteous glare to a soft becking, Tina waited for Elizabeth's response. What she got was a mouthful of spit right in her eye. "Kiss my ass," Elizabeth grumbled and again tried to wiggle free from the ropes that tied her hands and feet.

Tina screamed as she turned away from the table, wiping her face from that foul matter that came from one of them. What she wanted most of all was some disinfectant, and ran to the bathroom, hollering, "Kill her!" to her men.

George announced with pride, "We already did, many times. Or do you mean her head?"

"No!" Tina whipped around to say. Al was so angry at her for having beheaded one without his authority, she couldn't imagine how he would react if they took out another Immortal. "Just inflict as much pain as possible before she dies."

~~~~~

She knew she shouldn't have done it, but she couldn't help it. Elizabeth had no idea where her defiant strength had come from to spit at the woman, but figured it was probably because if she was put back in that other room, she would be dead like Brynn and Terry. At least the woman was out of her face, and the knowledge that Duncan had called her gave her strength. She knew he was out there and would find them all and get them the hell out of there. She again repeated her mantra 'be conscious of everything, be aware!" She saw the red head with the whip amble toward her with a grin on his face. The bastard seemed to love his job.

Once again, that large Asian man lifted her shirt, which only meant they were going to use the defibrulator on her again. She steadied herself for what was to come. Her stomach flopped, knowing how much it was going to hurt. Not only where the paddles were placed but all along the back of her body touching the steel table.

Dr. Bradford's soothing voice stating 'be calm, take things as they come,' flowed through her mind as the paddles were placed on her chest by the rubber gloved hands of the red haired man. She took note of everything around her again in case it was the last time she would see everyone and everything focused on killing them all. There was a cardboard box in the corner filled with coats, purses, wallets, and duffle bags. There was something like an umbrella stand with four swords in it, probably swords that the Immortals had carried with them when they were taken. She wondered if Methos' prized Ivanhoe was in there, and if the Watchers recognized it for what it was. Even in this predicament, and everything that had happened between her and Methos since Christmas, hiding Methos' secret was still forefront in her mind.

Elizabeth felt cold with just a cotton shirt and jeans on. She couldn't see, but knew that there had to be slashes on her jeans, and her shirt was hiked up to her neck, but she could feel she still wore her bra. At least they hadn't stripped her of all dignity. The cold of the steel table made her aware that she was still alive and could feel something. With the predicament she was in, she assumed she would be filled with anxiety or something but she wasn't.

In her line of vision there was the red-haired man, a bald young man, the Asian man, a long-haired woman who hadn't been able to trace the call. They all had red, white, and blue keycards on chains on their person. To her right, there was a walk-up to a blond man sitting in front of a long desk filled with machinery, and there was a large shaded window in front of him. The two-way mirror! She was just on the other side of the room where everyone was held. She did still feel Immortal presences, so they weren't all dead. At least she hoped not. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the rubber gloved, red haired man took his time to stretch out what he knew was going to be painful for her. Sick bastard. Five people in this room. One more with the irritating woman she spit at, now wiping off the spit, the thought of which made Elizabeth smile.

She could tell the man with the paddles was confused by her smile, so she widened it, which knocked him more off balance. Six people. Six keycards. She stretched to look above her to see if there were anymore people between her and all of their freedom but didn't see anyone.

A wave of emotion washed over her with thoughts of her daughter, all alone in the hospital, and Methos in the other room with a blade at the ready aimed at his neck. "No," she moaned. She could be as defiant as she wanted if it was only herself at stake, but she had to get back to Claire! She couldn't allow Methos to lose his head after she had almost taken it herself.

"Please, no, I'm sorry, don't," she pleaded to the red haired man, who only got a satisfied smirk on his face and call out, "Clear!"

Her body collapsed, then convulsed with electric spasms, much like a quickening, as the paddles had come to life, zapping her with more overwhelming electrical force than any Immortal essence ever had. This time was worse than before, they must have turned up the juice. As her body rocketed up with the force of the paddles, she screamed out again for it to end.

~~~~~

The room was filled with an eerie glow from what had to be a generator's blue spot light back in the corner behind him. Everyone still alive in the room looked deformed from the glow and for a moment, Methos wondered if he had been drugged again or if his eyesight was just whacked by the unnatural lighting. The steel bindings were especially cold after receiving Brynn's quickening, and being forced to watch an innocent mortal come to her end. Testing the bindings once more, they didn't move. Big surprise. He couldn't just sit there! He had to get out of there!

Through the weird mood lighting, he heard a scream that he knew to be from Elizabeth. She sounded close, but he had no idea where she could be. Her scream was more powerful and longer than any of her others, and he could see his companions fidgeting and lowering their heads as if that would block out the sound. What they had to be doing to Elizabeth, Methos could only guess. His heart went out to her and he mentally told her to hold on, or just allow death to overtake her so she wouldn't be in anymore pain. He wanted to call out for him to take the brunt of the punishment she was taking, but then didn't know why they had focused on her in the first place. Then he thought, this had to do with the Highlander, he was sure of it. Being friends with such an overt Immortal... he had always known it would bite him on the ass. At the time of Kronos' return, having to take care of the horsemen with him, it had seemed likely the only time it would affect Methos to the depths of his soul, so Methos had continued their friendship as he had no forewarning that there could be more on the horizon.

The memory of watching the blades shoot out of back of the chair to cut Brynn's and then Terry's head off made his neck prickle. He lowered his head as far as he could, then his shoulders. He was so far forward in the chair that his wrists were about to snap from the bindings that didn't give an inch. He noticed Claudia staring at him.

"Did I clear the blade?" he asked her as he straightened up in his chair, and thereby falling back against the back cushion as the chair had a backward incline.

"You did. I wonder if I could do that," Claudia said with hope.

"Do that. Everyone do that," Methos told the room.

They all leaned forward in their chairs. He could hear some grumble that it hurt, and heard Robert declare, "It will be painless to lose your head. Just do it!"

Methos took stock of everyone's positions. Most were below the point where the blades come out, but Gina, Cassandra, Thomas, Stephen, and Joe weren't low enough. "Down more. Go as low as you can go."

They all straightened up when the door opened and a bald man entered the room with a ladder. Methos realized that they didn't hear Elizabeth anymore. He hoped she was resting in peace and her trauma was to end soon. She had been emitting screams for a while, probably most of a day. There were no windows so Methos couldn't even tell how long he had been there. All he knew was that he had to piss really bad. He saw the toilet in the corner behind Elizabeth's vacant chair. He called over the catcalls of the room to the bald guy, "When can we use the facilities?"

"When I'm done here," he said, climbing the ladder in the center of the room. He reached up, past the broken glass of the fixture, and unscrewed what was left of the three light bulbs. He replaced them with new ones he had in his coat pocket. Methos noticed a keycard chained to his belt and wanted that card more than life itself, since getting it just might allow him to live. There was also a gun in a holster, and an army knife also clipped to his belt.

"Any time, or I'll leak all over your nice, new chair here."

"Hold on," the bald man said irritated. He screwed in the last bulb, then motioned to the two-way mirror.

When the lights came on, Brynn's and Terry's chairs were empty. With the taking of the quickening, he hadn't noticed anyone taking their bodies away. But that shouldn't be... he was always aware of everything, even while taking a quickening.

"What did you do to her, you bastard!" Warren yelled out.

Obviously, no one else saw the bodies being taken away either. Methos suddenly knew how it happened. He carefully moved his wrists inside the bindings and felt a little prick under the right strap. It had to be a needle. They were drugging them!

The bald guy got off the ladder and folded it, leaning it against one wall and said with sick amusement, "They're fish food. At least her body is. Her poison is in you now," the man said focusing on Methos.

As the lights were turned on, by someone who was watching through the mirror Methos assumed, Warren growled and struggled against the shackles, which provoked others to do the same, and a blond man appearing at the door just laughed at their hopeless endeavor. The bald man said, "The bitch is tough to break. Hope she breaks soon, or you'll all be here for a very long time."

The mention of Elizabeth, and the realization that they hadn't heard from her for a while, made Methos seethe. He hoped she was dead and not going through anymore torture as he realized that she had probably gone through more than any one person could handle. Not just since they got there, but probably since last year. If she needed a shrink before this, she would certainly need one now.

"About the latrine?" Methos asked with as much innocence as he could muster. His soul focus was on that keycard, gun, and knife on the bald guy's belt. Either weapon would suffice. He had to get one of those keycards.

~~~~~

Megan and Nick sat in silence Duncan was inside the only building in town which they deemed likely to be a Watcher office. The sun was bright, and Megan opened her window to find that there was no longer a cold breeze. She got out to take in some fresh air and looked at her watch. There had been no action down the street at the building with the sign, "McDougall Industries," out front. Nick, ever the computer geek, knew that one of the first modern day Watchers was named McDougall, so it was an obvious choice for a Watcher office. Duncan had thought it was the right place because something called Worldwide Industries would have to have a bigger building than the one they had focused on down the block. It was a one story, red brick building with only four windows that they could see. Nick had given Duncan his password information and a quick how-to of getting on the network, then let him go do what he needed to do.

Nick soon joined Megan outside the car and he looked up at the sun. "A fine day like this, one wouldn't know that the world was ending for some."

"Or may have already."

"Yeah... Don't think that way."

"Do you think he knows what to look for?"

"I told him everything I know."

"Which isn't much."

Nick shot a look at her. "No, I mean with this case. We don't have much to go on. How do we know he'll find what we need?"

"He's like 500 years old. He's been around a few blocks."

Nick seemed confident about letting Duncan do the dirty work, and Megan was fine with it. Then, Nick sighed and started to walk in the direction of the building. "Where are you going?"

"I gotta do what I can."

Megan smiled and pushed the lock button on the car's remote and scurried to catch up with him. "That's the spirit. I don't mind him going in there alone, but what if he really doesn't know what he's looking for?"

"He can keep a lookout for guns, I'll look for what's needed."

"Let's hope you find it. For their sake."

"And ours. I couldn't live with myself if those people die. I just couldn't."

Megan took hold of his hand and smiled. "I couldn't either."

"Mike had to have died for something."

~~~~~

Tina patted Al's shoulder and told him softly, "Why don't you go back to the hotel. As soon as we have MacLeod, I'll send a car for you."

Tina and Al looked into the torture room to see Elizabeth Gordon dead on the table, the skin of her stomach and chest were still smoldering from the electricity. "That's enough for you for one night," she told Al. "I promise nothing more will happen outside of your presence. We'll just keep trying to get that bitch to talk."

"I think a short nap will do me a world of good," Al relented, and then faced her with a raised finger. "No more deaths until I can witness them."

"Yes, sir."

"Keep up the good work. I'll be at the hotel if there's any news."

To Tina's surprise, Al kissed her cheek in front of everyone. She caressed his cheek and smiled. "I'll take care of things here."

"I know you will." He told his crusaders, "I want to be in constant touch for anything that happens, and everyone will obey Ms. Fallon. Correct?"

"Yes, sir," they all answered in unison.

Tina was proud as she walked Al out to the waiting driver and black sedan. She realized that it was a nice afternoon as the wind had died down. The threatened snow hadn't happened. God must be pleased with their doings, Tina thought as she walked back to the warehouse after the car drove off. Yes, we're doing your work, and soon the world will be rid of a few pieces of scum.

~~~~~

Duncan had no idea if he was even in the right place. The only Watcher establishments he had been in were much more elaborate than this... shit hole was the only word he could come up with for it. There were places on the walls where sheet rock was clearly visible, wallpaper was peeling away at the seams, the desks looked wobbly, and there wasn't any privacy at all. The building looked to be one big room with a reception desk at the front with a bored looking woman sitting at it doing her fingernails. The rest of the room was filled with desks, each looking more ready for a dumpster than the next. The only two doors seemed to go to a unisex bathroom and some other room that wasn't marked, but a guy walked out of it. Duncan could see several filled bookshelves inside and wondered if that was the entire contents of the office's library. The only thing that signaled that he could be in the right place was that each of the desks held an expensive looking laptop. Most of the lids were closed, but a couple were up. On one in the far corner, he spotted a screen saver that consisted of the tell tale tattoo mark the Watchers wore, a W within a circle.

Duncan smiled at the receptionist and held out Nick's Watcher ID badge, which to Duncan looked more like a library card with the top of it only reading IDENTIFICATION. He didn't allow the receptionist to see Nick's picture, and moved with confidence. Duncan knew that you could get into any building in the world if you carried the right card and demonstrated an air of belonging.

He settled into a desk chair in the far corner, across the room from the one open laptop, which he assumed someone else was already using. Probably that guy that kept walking into and out of the 'library.' Except for the receptionist, there wasn't anyone else inside. Duncan didn't know if he should be relieved or concerned. It seemed to him in the past that Watchers were always lurking in the corners, so he'd better not get too comfortable thinking there were only two Watchers to watch out for.

It didn't take long to get into the network using Nick's name and password. After hearing about what had happened to Nick in the past week and recognizing the panic and fright in their voices, Duncan expected this to be much harder to accomplish. When he seemed to have been logged in, he waited for a moment to see if anything would happen by way of Nick's name getting flagged in the system, or even some big "BUSTED" notice on the screen. Neither came to pass. Duncan smiled again at the receptionist, who had taken her attention off her stubby fingers as she waved them in the air to dry the polish, he assumed, as he had seen Amanda do much the same. The thought of Amanda's long fingers only made him turn his attention back to the laptop to get information on where she was being held.

He tried to remember a name he had heard in the rush of information about what all had happened on the drive and came up with Lyle Giavini. Punching his name into the search box, Duncan sat back and waited for something to pop up as he scanned the one room building once again. There was still nothing happening around him, which was something of a let down. With how angry he was at his friends' and wife's predicament, he really wanted to fight someone.

The screen went black, then produced what seemed to be a full-page resume of Lyle the Watcher. Duncan could see everything, including his home address and phone number, but it was of little use as the man was dead.

He tried another name, Al Cartwright, then waited and watched once again. The receptionist had turned away from Duncan, finally, he was getting quite annoyed at being looked over so thoroughly, not because of what danger he might afflict but probably because of his looks. The front door swung open, and Duncan got to his feet, ready to take out whoever wanted to stop him from finding out more information.

To his dismay, Megan and Nick entered the building. He waited until they were close enough to whisper and said, "I thought you were going to wait in the car."

"Too nice a day to stay inside," Megan said. "How's it coming?"

"Not much going on here, huh?" Nick said, with what Duncan assumed was relief.

"The computers are slow," Duncan mentioned as he again took his seat. The screen went black, but it wasn't coming back up. Duncan clicked his finger against the screen, and it left an imprint.

"No real need for security in this much of an outpost, I gather," Nick said, looking at the screen for it to come up with something as well. "What were you searching?"

"Mr. Cartwright."

"Go right for the big guns, huh?" Nick shook his head tightly. "It might have been better to start with the smaller fish, MacLeod."

The screen displayed another resume looking screen again, only this time, it had a scroll down bar to the right. The picture of the older man made him look very Presidential, and Duncan wondered if he had aspirations of such a thing. Mostly, all Duncan saw was evil. Shades of James Horton. Nick and Megan had leaned forward after Nick mused, "It's not encrypted."

"It's just his bio," Duncan said, wondering if this was going to be a dead end. If they did see anything important on the network, chances are it would be encrypted and they'd have no way of breaking the code.

This screen was different than the one with Lyle's information in that there were a lot of links highlighted. Nick had slowly but surely edged his way to the middle of the desk and grabbed hold of the attached mouse provided so a Watcher wouldn't have to use the insignificant ones that came with laptops. Duncan stood up to get out of his way as Nick would know better than he how to maneuver through the network.

Duncan turned to Megan, who was focused on the screen. "What made you come in here?"

"We thought you'd need backup. Obviously that's not the case."

The guy stepped out of the library again and only nodded to them as he went back to the desk he had been using. Megan asked, "Anyone else here?"

Duncan only shook his head no as he watched the screens Nick was clicking to, then leaving in a hurry. Megan said, "I'm going to take a look around, and maybe use the restroom."

"I'll cover you," Duncan said snarkily as this was getting them no where. He racked his brain for where they should go to get definite information on the Crusaders, not some bio information about where they call home and a picture. As he passed the 'library,' he let Megan go on ahead and looked to the other Watcher, who was as immersed in his laptop as Nick was. He slipped into the door and closed it behind him. The room was quite small and he could touch each bookcase covering each wall if he stretched his arms out wide. He looked at the books lining the shelves, some small paperbacks, some text book sized, and some the size of plat books. Most were dusty, a few looked like they had not been opened in the last decade, and one, one of the largest books, was just set on its back on the shelf straight ahead of him.

There were fingerprints on the front of the large black leather bound book, which called Duncan's attention. He opened it to see that it did indeed look like a plat book, but it had a ring binder. The pages were white with maps drawn out on them, looking much like property sheets would look like at a county recorder's office. He flipped through them and saw that they were of New Jersey. From what he could tell, there were a lot of Watcher properties in New Jersey. There was one page that looked newer than the others, and Duncan flipped the book open to that page. It was the southern tip of New Jersey, and a small town named Shiloh was highlighted. There were smaller marks which he couldn't understand, but thought they might be Latin.

"If only Methos were here," Duncan mused as he lifted the book up closer to the light bulb in the center of the room.

The door opened, which made Duncan drop the book, right on his foot. He glowered at Nick and Megan, who entered the room, making Duncan move back, and shut the door behind them. "What? Lonely?" he asked as he stooped over to pick up the book.

"There's been a new purchase," Nick said. "A warehouse."

"In a place called Shiloh. We're thinking Tennessee," Methos eagerly added.

"Shiloh?" Duncan lifted the plat book and showed them the page that had gotten his attention before he was so rudely interrupted. "No, New Jersey."

"There's a Shiloh, New Jersey?" Nick asked as he craned his neck to look at the book.

"Right here." Duncan fingered the marking, and asked, "Can any of you read Latin?"

"That's not Latin," Nick said. "I can read Latin. It might be Aramaic."

"I heard some Watchers do use Aramaic, or even hieroglyphics, if they want something to stay secret, even in plain sight," Megan said as she indicated the book with a tilt of her head.

"Who specifically bought this warehouse?" Duncan asked.

He got a grin from Nick in response. "Two guesses would be one too many."

"Cartwright actually bought a warehouse through the Watchers? The Watchers bought that warehouse? I thought you were convinced the Watchers had nothing to do with this, that it was a cult offshoot."

Duncan grabbed Nick's collar, and the blond man whined, "He had to write it off as a business expense. Calm down, Highlander."

Nick wrenched free from Duncan and stared him down. "You really think a guy who thinks like Cartwright is going to buy a whole Goddamn warehouse with his own money?"

"But it's catalogued like every other Watcher property, in this hell hole. What's it doing here?"

"It's probably in a hundred 'hell holes'. We Watchers do like our Chronicles, even if they aren't really by the book, so to speak," Nick said.

"Where's Shiloh, New Jersey?"

Not being able to tell by the plat book, Duncan thought it was a great idea to find out and get there before they were too late. He dropped the book on the ground and moved Nick and Megan out of his way out of the room.

"We need a New Jersey map," Megan said, almost running to catch up with Duncan. "I'll go into a gas station for one, since I know how men don't like to ask for directions."

Duncan stopped and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Think not?" He smiled as he walked to the receptionist. "Hi there. Nice polish. I couldn't help noticing before."

She blushed and said, "Why thank you."

"You wouldn't happen to have a map of New Jersey, would you?"

"Why, yes. There should be one around here somewhere," she said fumbling around her desk area. "Oh!" she held up one of her freshly purple polished fingernails. "In the drawer over there, allow me."

She walked out from behind her desk to a large lateral file cabinet by the door. "New Jersey? Is there any other state or city you'd like?"

"No, Jersey will be fine."

She handed the map to Duncan, but Megan snapped it up and walked to the door. Just as Nick opened it for her, an older man in a double breasted suit was on the other side of it. He seemed surprised to have the door open for him and stared at the three of them. "Who are you? What is your business here?" he demanded, looking them all over from top to bottom.

Nick nodded to him respectfully. "Lyle Giavini, I just lost track of my assignment. I got on the web and found out her travel arrangements. Gotta go before I lose her again."

As Nick scrambled out the door, Megan following closely, the man grabbed Duncan's arm. "And you are?"

"His chauffeur. Later." Duncan thought it took great will power not to just slug him for being a Watcher. He did memorize his face though, and if it came back to Duncan that he was part of this Crusade, he'd come back. It was when Duncan made it to the street that they heard the man shouting from the door of the building. Ah, a fight, perhaps? Duncan turned around to see if he had by chance called out the hounds, but to his disappointment, the man had gone inside and shut the door. He heard Megan call out, "Come on, MacLeod!" so he ran to the car. He feared he had plenty of fights ahead of him at the warehouse, if they got there before everyone was dead.

With Nick now behind the wheel, Duncan motioned for Megan to take the back seat and jumped into the passenger seat in the front. He took the map from Megan and opened it to scan where Shiloh was. "Shiloh, Shiloh, Shiloh," he muttered as his finger drifted over the state of New Jersey.

"Use the index," Megan suggested as she hiked herself up in the back seat to be able to see the map. "Hm. You know, Shiloh is a Hebrew word meaning place of peace."

"For the second time in modern times, that is quite ironic," Nick said, then looked to Duncan. "You didn't happen to be at the Civil War battle, were you?"

"No, but I was inside Andersonville if that means anything."

From the stony silent stares Nick and Megan cast in his direction, Duncan knew that they were one, informed on the Civil War, and two, probably wondering how many times he had died within those fortress walls. He didn't want to concentrate on the past, wanted only to think about the present and what his allies were going through at that very moment. He hoped none of them had been killed to wrest information from them, and hoped to God that everyone still had their heads. He told Nick, "Get back on I-95, then take 49 south or east, whichever it'll be called."

Nick turned on the radio and Duncan heard a laugh in his ear. He turned to Megan, who looked as if a laugh was the furthest thing from her mind. Duncan sat back in his seat and looked out the window at the setting sun and again heard the laugh. It was a soft, inviting laugh that warmed him. It took him five miles to realize that the laugh belonged to Amanda. He smiled as he felt himself tear up. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if the last time he was with Amanda they argued. All the love and laughter they had shared, he prayed that a stupid argument wasn't what Amanda had to bring to her grave.

Continued