THE ELIZABETH SERIES

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN

SUBTLETY

by JoLayne

RATING: ADULT

CHARACTERS: Everyone

SUMMARY: The Crusaders' plan is well underway. Now, if they could only find Duncan MacLeod.

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

What fools these mortals be! The imbecile was actually freeing Methos of the steel bindings because he had to take a leak, and there were no other gun toters with him. Methos had gotten lip from the bald man about there being no toilet left after Brynn's quickening, as if Methos had to be reminded he had recently acquired a new head to his internal collection, he had hoped that he'd be taken out of the room to relieve himself. He stared at the young man as other captives mentioned they needed to go next, which may or may not be true. Just getting out of those chairs was enough reason to claim one did. To have an opportunity to be permanently freed was the motivation behind Methos' scrutiny of his captor, who looked so wet behind the ears it was frightening to think that he had been captured in the first place.

Obviously not wanting to let him linger longer than necessary with no restraints, the bald man yanked Methos out of the chair to get the process over with. Since he had been sitting in one position for so long, Methos' legs went limp under him and he fell to the floor. He found himself on all fours, the needles and pins of sleeping limbs raging through his legs; he rolled to his back to take stock of what he could do to disable that bald kid without making some nameless, faceless asshole pull a switch and behead everyone. In the back of Methos' mind, he toyed with the idea of discounting what would happen to the others. He just needed to save his own head to get back to Claire. Only for an instant did he allow that self-indulgent notion to fester. Before too long, he heard Amanda call out that she was next, and he looked over at her, sitting between Robert DeValicourt and that irritating blond immortal that had just been catching up on old times with Amanda. They were all in the same boat, and he couldn't allow them all pay for his setting himself free. Besides, he chuckled to himself. Where would their quickenings go? Straight to me. They could behead me before I even got to take a breath.

The bald man kicked Methos in the side, and Methos grabbed hold of his foot, and peered up at him with a steely look as if to say, Come on, try it, try anything... I'll squeeze you to a bloody pulp you sorry ingrate who probably didn't get enough love from your mommy and are now fighting back at the world.

Methos noticed the keycard chained to the kid's belt, the switchblade clipped to a belt loop of his jeans, and the shaky semi-automatic trained at his face. "Relax," Methos said with a smile. "No need for rough play. You have the upper hand here. No need to be worried."

Methos slowly rolled over to all fours again and wearily made his way to his feet as the kid chuckled and thrust the gun barrel to Methos' temple. "I'll play any way I want. I'm not the one who's going to die."

Just keep telling yourself that, kid. It gave Methos strength to be on his own two feet. He scanned the room, trying to focus on the two-way mirror without giving himself away. With only a brief look, Methos couldn't determine how many, if any, people were watching them from the other side of it. He was pushed from behind his left shoulder to the corner of the room behind Elizabeth's former seat, where the once functioning toilet had been. Now it was a useless hunk of modern artwork. The quickening had broken it into large pieces that collapsed upon itself.

"I have to use that?"

All Methos got in response was a gun barrel in his shoulder. He shrugged and walked between the chair occupied by James Payson and the empty chair they all gathered awaited the arrival of Duncan to this shindig. He turned his back to the room and his gun toting chaperone and unzipped his pants. Relief swept over him as he urinated all over the broken toilet.

"That's disgusting," Claudia groused. "Can't he at least use a regular toilet? One that flushes. perhaps?"

"Yeah," Thomas said. "Then me next."

Methos stole glances over his shoulder and realized that the young kid with the gun wasn't alone. There was that large Asian standing in the opposite corner, his gun trained at Amy's head. Looking the other way over his shoulder, he saw Joe's pleading look not to do anything stupid. Methos knew how he'd feel if someone used Claire as a pawn. If they had chosen anyone else in that room to display a show of force with other than Amy, he might have gone ahead with his caution-to-the-wind notion of relieving the bald man of his gun and just start shooting whoever got in his way.

Methos finished up with his task, zipped up, and chuckled. They had done their homework and knew some of his weaknesses, that was certain. He turned around, hands up in a 'I give' motion, and the shaking gun in the bald kid's hand went off. Methos felt an unwelcome searing pain in his chest.

Methos was startled, not only by the gunshot and the pain of its impact, but from the loud shouting and screaming that took over the room. He looked down at his body and saw a red spot grow on his brown khaki shirt. For the first time, he realized he wasn't wearing his duster and his mind wandered to where it could be.

"What did you do that for?!" someone shouted as Methos fell back against the wall and slipped to the floor.

The bald man walked to Methos with a grimace. "It looked like he was going to try something. Help me get him back in the chair."

"Fucking loser," the Asian man grumbled as he stalked toward Methos. "This is on your head. You pulled the trigger, not me."

"I know, I know," the bald man whined.

As Methos fell to the side, he saw a red-haired man and a short black-haired woman enter the room, and heard the woman yelling, "God damn it!" and that was the last thing Methos was conscious of before he died.

~~~~~

Elizabeth revived disoriented in a whirl of lingering pain that her abused body couldn't heal. She felt dizzy and wanted to puke, but then was shocked by the sound of a gunshot and screaming on the other side of the two-way mirror. She noticed there were other people in the room, who scurried with instantaneous frenzy, and realization of where she was returned: tied to a steel table, her shirt lifted to her neck, and the cold rush of air on her bare skin. She saw a long-haired woman, a red-haired man, and a short black-haired woman all stammer and stalk to a door above her head. She looked down her body and saw dried blood, unhealed bruises, that her bra had been cut off between the cups and she could feel the hooks under her back. Most amazingly, she realized there was no one else in the room. She struggled to get freed from the ropes at her wrists and jerked her ankles from the ropes that bound each foot to posts at the end of the table. She only succeeded in rubbing her already-bruised skin raw. She grunted out loud in frustration; she was exhausted, sore, and unable to free herself.

She was able to hear a commotion on the other side of the two-way mirror and wondered if the others had found a way to make a break for it or something. She called out, "Don't leave me behind!" She had seen five people in this room before that she knew might come in handy. Elizabeth could even have drawn you a picture of them, what they wore, and what weapons they had on their person, she remembered everything about her tormentors, vividly. "I'm in here!" she shouted again, but her voice echoed.

Suddenly, Elizabeth felt the presence of someone else in the room, not Immortal, but of someone watching her. She focused on the shadows by the walk up to the desk area in front of the two-way mirror, and soon a man moved into the light. She took stock of everything about him. Now there are six. He was short, blond, wore a denim jacket over jeans, but the jacket was buttoned up so she couldn't see if he too had a keycard or, more importantly, a weapon.

The look in his eye clearly indicated that he was not on her side, and Elizabeth was more than a little creeped out when he focused on her exposed chest with a smirk on his face. She tried to move to her side away from him as he approached, but he clamped his hand on her right breast and forced her to her back. She jerked out, but the ropes cut into her flesh, making her stop. "What do you all want from us?"

"Superiority," he said, his hand squeezing her breast. "What else does anyone want?"

She tried to fight him off when she heard a zipper, and screamed again to call attention to anyone, even the ass holes who had kidnaped them, to make him stop. They had stripped her of her dignity in so many ways over the time she'd been there, she didn't need this cretin to rape her as well. When he climbed up to the table, she didn't care about the pain that seared her wrists and ankles. He was soon over her, his hands roughly pinched and squeezed every part of her. His breath was hot and sour, his teeth bit into her cheek as she felt him jerk at her pants.

The door slammed, and she looked above her again to that side of the room. The large Asian man appeared over the blond man's shoulder and pulled him off of her. "What the fuck you think you're doing? You'll get a disease! Are you insane? You can't get their juices!"

"Not to mention you'd be stooping to their level," Elizabeth heard the black-haired woman say, as she appeared and buttoned Elizabeth's jeans and lowered her shirt.

"Our level, huh?" Elizabeth whimpered as a red hot flush of tears fell down her cheeks, something that she tried to hide from them all.

"You're all despicable, and I will not allow anyone working under me to..." she started to say. She didn't have any weapon on her, but she did have a keycard on a thin rope around her neck. If Elizabeth could only get her hands free, she'd snatch it. It was so close.

"To what?" Elizabeth wanted to keep the woman's attention on her so she could figure out how to get out of this situation. She heard slaps and hits, and looked over to the see the blond man getting beat up by the Asian who Elizabeth knew was named Tiko, and a red-haired man rushed over to either assist him or break it up. Elizabeth didn't really care which. She turned back to the woman.

"My patience is at an end, Ms. Gordon. Tell us where Duncan MacLeod is, or I will be forced to kill another one of your friends."

So much for female bonding, one woman saving another from the lowest form of disrespect. Elizabeth wanted to spit at her, but instead took a breath to calm herself and asked, "Like you just did?"

"Where is he?"

"Who did you kill?"

"Your husband."

Blood seemed to drain from Elizabeth as that notion went through her. Not only because Methos had been referred to as her 'husband,' which he hadn't really been since she almost took his... Elizabeth clamped her eyes shut to close off the thought and concentrated on the word, 'kill.' He couldn't have been beheaded, thank Christ, there had been no quickening. He must have just been shot, which meant he had done something he shouldn't have, which wasn't a stretch for him. Or, she could just be lying. They could have shot Methos, or they could have shot one of the mortals. She went through all the mortals who were in that room and only came up with three: Joe, Amy, and Guy. Any one of them dead would be unconscionable. Or, the woman could just be lying, and no one was hurt at all. They did like to play their mind games.

The blond man cried out as Tiko's boot made swift contact with his rib cage, "ALL RIGHT! Sorry. I didn't know you were attached to her. I'll stay away from the princess."

Tiko and the red-haired man took their last swipes at the blond, who climbed the walk up to the desk in what appeared to be pain. Elizabeth hoped he would never heal from his wounds and looked to the men who had come to her 'rescue.' A disease, indeed... how could they possibly put themselves on a higher plane than her or her friends or Methos...

"WHERE IS HE?" the woman demanded as she leaned her arm on the table, looking as if she would stand there all day if need be to get that information.

"Who?" Elizabeth asked, actually not knowing at that moment who the woman was referring to. What she wanted to know was where Methos was.

The woman slapped Elizabeth. "DUNCAN MACLEOD!"

"I. Do. Not. Know."

"Bullshit," the woman said lightly as she smiled sweetly at her.

She noticed that the two men still had guns and some sort of knife on their persons, and the long-haired woman also had a keycard on a thin braided rope around her neck, and was hovering by a computer bank in the corner. It soured Elizabeth's stomach even more when she saw the symbol of the Watchers floating from side to side on what was apparently a screen-saver on the monitor. She had been under the impression that the Watchers had changed. Yeah, right.

There were five people in the room, and there had also been a bald man. Six. Six people, four with guns, two with knives. She looked at the red-haired man's Army green switchblade clipped to his belt and realized that she had handled a similar knife before. The knob was on the side to release the blade. From what she could recall, the blade might be about five inches long. Long enough to inflict damage if need be. She wondered what they had those knives for, not regular pocket knives, but then realized that they must go through a lot of rope. It would be an understatement to say she wanted her ropes cut, and wondered how she could arrange for that to happen.

"Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod! Where is he, or you will die again!" the woman yelled and she didn't seem to be playing games.

"I wish I could tell you. I don't know. I don't even know where I am."

"He just called you."

"Maybe he's in hell... why don't you go find him?"

The woman back handed Elizabeth's face, a ruby ring she wore tore into Elizabeth's cheek. As Elizabeth was flexing her jaw in pain, the woman turned around and motioned for Tiko to walk forward. Oh Christ. Not again. Elizabeth mentally squealed and braced herself for what he might do. He tightened his fist and punched her in the face, making Elizabeth momentarily dazed. She heard a switchblade, and came to know exactly what they were intended for as he cut into her stomach. She watched the blade through her shirt and looked up at him in shocked pain as his face came into focus. He was smiling as he wrenched the knife farther into her. "When you revive, think about being truthful with us," he seethed as he twisted the knife.

~~~~~

"This is the area, it has to be," Nick said. They were driving in the dark trying to find a recently purchased building housing a load of Immortals and Watchers. Shiloh was a small town, there wasn't any reason to think such a building wouldn't stand out as if it had a big, neon sign on it saying, "This is the building you want!" After they had determined that the building wasn't in the 'one horse town,' they had started scouring the countryside for any building that looked suspect. To Duncan, it seemed like they had been driving for hours and seen nothing but farm land in the headlights of the sedan they had rented.

"We need gas soon," Nick said. "Should we head back to town and then go south?"

"Or ask for directions at the station?" Megan offered lazily from the back seat.

Duncan swivelled around to look at her. "Sure. 'Say, do you happen to know where a building might be that was recently bought by a secret organization for the purpose of wiping out some people that live forever as long as they have their heads, and a few others whose job is to 'watch and record' them?'"

"You don't have to be snarky. I'm hungry, too."

"Me, too."

"I would imagine they are too," Duncan growled. "but I have a feeling they haven't been fed."

"We do need gas, though," Nick offered. "And we could pick up a bag of chips or something, right?"

"Yeah." Duncan stared out the side window at the darkness out there, wondering if he still had a circle of friends. To be working with two Watchers didn't make him feel easy, the last time Watchers interfered in Immortal lives, Jacob was sacrificed and he had to wave a gun in Jack Shapiro's face to stop it. Duncan mused with anger, that was seventeen years ago, and it still seemed like yesterday. He wondered how many people he'd have to kill this time. He knew he wouldn't hesitate. Neither Joe or anyone else would be able to talk him out of it. He'd be as brutal as he had been at Cameron James' estate and take out anyone he didn't know.

"Doritoes or Sun Crisps?" Megan asked as she leaned up and put her arms over the front seat.

"Sun Crisps?"

"Low fat chips."

Nick grimaced. "Doesn't even sound edible."

"Whatever, I don't care. Just hurry up."

"Wait," Megan said.

Duncan looked to her and said, "We're in a hurry here. I know it doesn't look like it just driving around, using up yet another tank of gas, but this is serious."

"I know." She pointed to the left. "And that looks like a spotlight, doesn't it?"

Far off in the distance, a small beam of light broke through the surrounding, all-encompassing blackness of the night. Nick slowed the car and Duncan was almost in his lap looking at it. "Have we investigated out that way?"

"Nope." Nick stopped the car and turned it around on the highway. "I think I saw a dirt road back a little ways. Won't hurt to check it out."

"If it turns out to be just another farm yard, I'm going to hit something."

"Control the testosterone, please?" Megan tossed out. "I'm really getting tired of listening to you two."

Duncan faced her. "Have you fired a gun before?"

"Well, I've taken target practice."

"Great."

"Hey, I got best in my class."

"If they stand really still for you to shoot them, then I guess you'll do fine."

"She can wait outside," Nick offered.

"Why? Because I'm a woman? May I remind you that the person who brought me into the Watchers and the woman who gifted my mom and I with my trust fund are in there? I'll be shooting right along side the two of you. How about you, Nick? You were shot in your arm."

"I'm right handed, so no problem."

"Beside that, you might get nervous being around shooting again so soon after being shot yourself."

Duncan had just about had it. "If you want, you can both stay in the car."

Nick immediately stopped the car and stared at Duncan. "Maybe you want to do this yourself? No, we haven't killed people like you have, but we're both as invested in this as you are."

"No, you're not."

"The organization I've devoted my life to, and lost my best friend to, has been infected by slime. I believe in what we do. I believe it should continue. I'm sick and tired of you looking down your nose at us! If it wasn't for Megan and I, you'd be in that building along with the rest of them, if not already headless and dumped in a ditch, which by the way we never even got a simple thank you for!"

The silence was overwhelming as the car sat idling on the highway. "Will you just drive?" Duncan finally asked with the least amount of tension he could manage.

"Not until you say thank you."

"Thank you! While we're bickering, they could be getting killed, if we're even in the right place at all!"

"You're welcome!" Nick shouted in return and then took off, swerving onto a dirt road. Duncan had to hold onto the door to avoid flying across the seat.

With the sound of crunching gravel under them and deep, probably frustrated, breaths coming from both of the Watchers, Duncan finally said, "I am truly thankful. I mean it. I'm just worried about you both being a liability instead of an asset."

"I'll take your back; you can count on it," Megan said as she got one gun out of the bag on the floor of the back seat. "I can fire a gun, and with what they've done, I will fire it accurately."

Duncan nodded his thanks to her and looked to Nick, his hands tightly gripping the wheel. He saw the small light in the distance become bigger, and if he wasn't mistaken, there were black vans and cars parked around a large steel, Quonset building. Duncan immediately got the tickle of anticipation that kicked in whenever he was close to a fight. He needed to get his mind loose. Not think too much about what to expect. If you planned too far ahead, you were never right and usually made a mistake. Not knowing how many guns they'd face, he steeled himself and told himself to never forget. Look at everything, don't miss a beat, react to everything, roll with the punches, don't let them get the upper hand....

But one shouldn't be too tense or wound up, so Duncan mused aloud, "Sun Crisps. What a stupid name."

"Yeah, it is kind of silly, but they are good when you're watching your weight and just need something crispy and seemingly fattening," Megan said.

"What does that name mean?"

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"They certainly can't be made out of sun-ripened tomatoes or anything. What do they have to do with the sun?"

"But they are crispy."

Nick stopped the car on the side of the road; his eyes were trained on the building. "Bingo," he said. He looked to the both of them and the lights of the dashboard reflected a serious look on his face that Duncan hadn't seen before. "Better now than later, right?"

"You got it."

Nick turned off the car, shut off the lights. Megan lifted the bag of guns out of the car with her and set it on the trunk. Duncan was pleased to see they were well armed and pulled out a Glock and a Sauger. For good measure, he put a Beretta in his pocket, then made sure he had plenty of ammo clips to go with each gun.

"Ready?" he asked them after Nick and Megan had taken the rest of the artillery and bullets.

"As I'll ever be," Megan said as she started out into the weeds toward the building.

There were vehicles parked around the building: three vans, an SUV, two pickups, and four cars. A van and a pickup were between them and the building and the rest of the vehicles were parked more to the sides of the building. He couldn't tell how many doors there were, but there were only windows on the top floor, and all of them were boarded up.

~~~~~

"Well, I still have my head," Methos commented after he had revived and saw everyone still captive, still strapped to their chairs, staring at him.

Cassandra said, "I don't know why he shot you, anyway."

Robert said, "By this time, do they really need a reason?"

"From what we could hear while you were out, Dan," Thomas said. "They're getting quite carried away in there." He tossed his head to the two-way mirror.

Amanda said, "They're really shouting at Liz for Mac's whereabouts."

Joe said, "They're getting desperate."

"Which only means we could start falling like leaves in October if we don't figure out how to get the hell out of here," Guy spouted and struggled against his steel bindings.

Methos had been able to relieve himself, but he looked down at himself and was pissed to see he was back in the chair with a big red stain in the middle of his new shirt. It never fails, he thought. Buy an expensive shirt, wear it once, and you get a hole in it...

They heard a commotion in the hallway then the rubber-cased steel door to the room was opened. Methos wondered about Amanda and Joe's statements, their desperation beginning to show with Elizabeth stuck in the middle. He didn't know if she truly knew where Duncan was. She was either stronger than he thought or stubborn as a mule for not telling them, or at least lying in a more convincing manner than that Star Wars reference. Was she covering for the man she loved with her own life, and theirs as well? She could have been trying to buy them time while some of those goons were still out on a wild goose chase. He'd put his money on MacLeod over some grunts with a gun any day.

The red-haired man walked in, and someone shut and sealed the door behind him. It wasn't until the man had walked between Warren and Gina's chairs that Methos saw he was dragging something, Elizabeth, by the arm. When the red-haired man jerked her forward, Elizabeth slid to the center of the room and Methos could tell that she was mercifully dead. Mercifully, because he was aghast at the amount of blood and the number of holes and slashes on her clothes. Her long hair, that usually resembled brown silk was frizzy and matted, was covering her face and she was deathly still.

"This is what will happen to you if you don't obey us," the red-haired man said as he slowly whirled to stare at each of them in the silence room. "It would be in your best interest for you to talk her into telling us what we want to know when she comes to."

He kicked Elizabeth in the side, a motion which made her body flop over so she was on her back with her arms outstretched and one leg still twisted over the other. Methos was horrified to see that her cheek had been smashed in and was slashed with dried blood. From the gasps of some of the women in the room, he could tell he wasn't the only one affected. There was a part of him that wanted her to continue to be strong, to make those ass holes wonder in limbo since they obviously needed to know where Mac was, but then again, maybe she should just tell them what she knew so her pain would end. No one should have to go through such abuse, and he tried to block out visions of the sorts of torture that had been used on her. The wounds on her body, sent his mind drifting back to the three days he had been in Pyrius' hands and all he had inflicted upon his body. Pyrius! Damn the Gods, that bastard continues to be a part of my life!

When Methos turned away from the center of the room, which had everyone else's attention, he saw a tear in Claudia's eye. He didn't know if she had given up and accepted the inevitable would happen to them all or if she was affected by the display on the floor. He scanned the rest of the people strapped in chairs and noted how they were reacting. Stephen Keane had his eyes closed, Cassandra was softly crying. Guy had a steely look on his face as he stared at each and every movement of the red-haired man. Gina was looking to her husband. The view to Warren was blocked by the red-haired man, but Methos could just about imagine what he was going through having just lost his wife at the hands of these bastards for no reason.

"You have to stop this. This is madness," Amy blurted out with quite a bit of passion in her voice.

It didn't take long for the rest of them to follow her lead. The decibel level in the room rose as Methos focused on Amanda, then both of their eyes went to the floor. Elizabeth had revived and had turned over on all fours, but seemed too weak and in too much pain to move. She slowly fell to the floor as she groaned. From the look on Amanda's face, Methos could tell that she was identifying with Elizabeth's pain and seemed to be giving her silent moral support. Methos would have given anything he ever had to be able to get free from his bindings and go to his wife to take on some of the pain her body was still reeling with. The blue sparks of healing weren't at all strong and didn't seem to be much help, only flitting around a wound, such as one on her lower right arm, and disappearing as if there wasn't any power to fully heal.

"Get up," the red haired man demanded. It seemed that he only realized Elizabeth had revived from the looks of his captors, not because he had heard or seen it himself.

Elizabeth's response was a spasm and groan as her right hand went under her body as if to hold her stomach as it tried to heal, but all the while, her eyes were focusing on everything in the room.

The man kicked her in the side, making Elizabeth cry out and roll away from him, clutching her stomach now with both hands. "Get up, or I'll just shackle you after you're dead again."

He stooped down to grab hold of Elizabeth's hair. "Do you like being killed? I can do it again! Get up!"

Suddenly, Elizabeth took everyone, most certainly Methos, by surprise when she reached into the red-haired man's jacket and grabbed something that Methos couldn't see. When the redhead's eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open, in a look of complete shock, and Elizabeth lifted to her knees. Methos realized that she had stabbed him.

"Yes!" Methos heard James yell out, and the rest of them encouraged her as the red-haired man fell on top of her.

Methos urgently called out, "Everyone lean forward!" He didn't know if they did because he was concentrating all his force on getting out of the way of the blade he knew was right behind his neck. For her to take such a chance when they were all strapped to those chairs... As he was straining to keep his body forward, neck out of range of the blade, he peered up to see Elizabeth take a gun from the red-haired man's holster and point it straight up as she struggled to wiggle out from under him.

"The two way mirror!" he heard Liam call out, and Elizabeth swung the gun to it and fired as she got to her knees in what could only be called a combat position.

Methos heard Claudia cry out, and hoped she hadn't gotten beheaded. All they needed was another quickening! Then he felt bad for thinking that and looked to her. Her head was down but he could tell she was in pain. "Get down lower, as low as you can!" he yelled to everyone as the glass on the two-way mirror broke and Elizabeth fired again.

~~~~~

The first thing Elizabeth did after reviving was search the room for Methos. He couldn't be dead, she told herself as she wiggled from side to side, in great pain with the healing, looking for any sign of the man she loved more than she had ever loved anyone or anything in her long life. Through the matted straw of her hair, she spotted a pair of legs and boots that had to be Methos'. She was ecstatic when she remembered he was wearing those pants, those boots, when she last saw him, before she was killed and taken into the other room.

Even while Elizabeth's body was reeling in pain from another reviving, her eyes took in everything around her when she realized she was no longer tied to a steel table, splayed open for anyone to see or do with what they will. She felt the warmth of her Immortal companions' buzzes wash over her and felt more strength than fright. She could do this. She could turn the tables on them before anyone could get her strapped into that God forsaken chair. If she got into it again, they might start playing with Amanda or Methos to get Duncan's location from them, and Elizabeth was sure that they didn't know where Duncan was any more than she did. He's free, Elizabeth trumpeted in her mind. They can't get him. That thought made her even stronger. The major part of their sick plan would never happen because Duncan had no idea where they were and was safe and the Crusaders would be frustrated to the point where they made a mistake.

Now's the time. Kill them all. Do not get into that chair. Just kill them all. You can do it! They'll not expect it. Do it right, do it fast, don't think, just do it.

She didn't know who had accompanied her into the room, but knew one of the Crusaders had to have; she wasn't alone. She had studied them all long enough in the other room to know which ones had which instruments she could use for an attack. She hoped it would be the bald one because he had a dagger. She wouldn't have to use the switchblade mechanism; she'd have a blade ready for her use as soon as she got her hand on the hilt.

When she was kicked just under the ribs, she saw it was the red-haired man who had brought her back to the others. Army knife! I know how to open those fast.

Elizabeth cried out and rolled away from him. Her stomach did hurt like hell, but she needed a cover so he would not know she was thinking about revenge. To play it up, she clutched her stomach with both hands.

From behind her, the red-haired man called out, "Get up, or I'll just shackle you after you're dead again."

She was just about ready. She peered up and found she was at Amy's feet. Amy... those bastards. To take Amy away from her kids for so long... When the red-haired man grabbed hold of Elizabeth's hair and ordered, "Do you like being killed? I can do it again! Get up!" Elizabeth pounced.

Go! Do it! Do it!

While the redhead had a hold of her hair with one hand, using his strength to hold her head and shoulders off the ground, with the other hand clenched in a tight fist seemingly ready to pummel her face, Elizabeth twisted around and grabbed the army knife from inside his jacket. With a flip of the lever, she knew the blade was open as she stabbed it into his stomach, just as Tiko had seemed to relish doing to her not so very long ago. Elizabeth took great pride in watching the cocky man's face turn to one filled with pain, horror and surprise.

Elizabeth got to her knees as she now held the power over him. She used the knife as a handle to move him where she wanted him. He had to be between her and the door, where she was certain the others would come from. They could probably plainly see what she had just done through the two-way mirror.

"Yes!" a man yelled, and soon the dim of the room rose as Elizabeth twisted the knife in the red-haired man's stomach. To her surprise, he fell on top of her.

She was sure it was Methos who yelled, "Everyone lean forward!"

It was then she thought she and the others might be in deep trouble. She hadn't given a thought to the blades on the chairs. She had to work quickly now. She couldn't think about anyone being beheaded because of her desperate act.

Elizabeth felt the hilt of the knife against her own stomach as he had fallen on her, as well as his hot blood transferring to her. She felt for his holster, and soon had his gun in her hand. Please don't be out of bullets! Then she wiggled out from under his dead weight.

She had focused the gun at the door, waiting for anyone who came in so that she could take them out, knowing that in this time of need her aim would be sure. She always had been a good shot, but her time with Cameron James had made her a crack shot. Whenever there was a carnival or fair, she had always tried the shooting or dart games on the midways and always won some large stuffed animal for Claire...

Claire! I have to get back to Claire!

"The two way mirror!"

She wasn't sure who had said that, but now she knew she had two targets. She heard the mechanics of the door being opened and knew she only had a few seconds to do this. Everyone in the room was bent low in their chairs, and suddenly the blades on all the chairs started whirling. The screams and curses filling the room gave even more strength and accuracy to her aim as she got to a crouched position on her feet and shot at the two-way mirror.

The glass of the two way mirror shattered, and Elizabeth saw the face of the blond man at the controls cower from the mirror breaking right in front of him. He was the one who was going to rape her. He was the one who had flipped the switch to make the blades go. Elizabeth fired the gun, and was pleased to see she hit the mark, right in the forehead. He fell back in his chair dead. The black-haired woman had been standing next to him and she hollered for them to enter the room.

One of the women cried out in the room and then Methos yelled,"Get down lower, as low as you can!"

The door burst open and Elizabeth changed her stance to shoot from between Warren's chair and the chair once occupied by Brynn at the Asian man. He fell as Elizabeth got to her feet with the gun at the ready, pleased it was an automatic so she wouldn't have to worry about cocking it.

She moved the gun's aim back to the two-way mirror and took at shot at the woman, who ducked and jumped down from the control area. Voices and the pounding of her heart echoed in Elizabeth's head as she stalked to the door. The bald man appeared in the hall. Elizabeth fired, and he fell. Three... there are more. There are six. At least six.

"Come on!" she demanded to them. Don't make me come look for you.

She heard heavy footsteps above them and for the first time realized there was a second floor and people were running around and coming down distant steps. There were clicks of guns but no one came into the room. She'd have to go to them. With the gun trained in front of her, eyes flitting from the door to the control area, the blades still whirling on the chairs and everyone's heads at their knees, straining their shackled arms, which Elizabeth was sure hurt, she walked guardedly to the door.

A black haired man she hadn't seen before appeared in the hall and she shot him. He fell. She was on a roll and wanted more and more to come. It was as if she was playing one of Kevin's computer shoot-'em-up games, and her body was pumping with the excitement of racking up a hell of a lot of points.

Just keep shooting anything that moves and get to the switch to stop the blades, Elizabeth told herself as she entered the hallway, which for the moment was clear.

~~~~~

As they approached the Quonset, Duncan was horrified to hear a series of gunshots. He started running full out and heard the rustling of the weeds which told him that Nick and Megan were right behind him.

"Did they see us?" Megan cried out. "What's going on?"

"Let's find out!" Duncan was far ahead of them as the door opened and a man ran to one of the black vans to the right side of the building. Duncan slowed, raised the Glock and took him out cleanly. From the open door, he saw people in a frenzy of activity, but it didn't look like any of them were armed. He didn't recognize them either, so they were the enemy. Armed or not, they were going down.

"Good shot!" Nick called as he overtook Duncan's stride to the building.

From what had seemed like a group of unarmed men and women, shots started firing out the building at them. Duncan ran full out to hide behind the black van in front of him. His breath was heaving as he looked to see where his companions were. He saw Megan's red hair behind the pickup and heard Nick behind him.

"Let's go!" Nick said and Duncan looked at him, wondering if he was ready. From the look in Nick's eye, he was.

"Okay." Duncan raised both guns in his hands and kept aim at the door and the windows upstairs where one was no longer boarded up, hoping to cover anyone who came from around the building. "Shoot anything that moves."

Megan unloaded a string of shots at the open window, which Duncan assumed was for cover, and nodded to her as he moved around the van and closer to the building. A bullet hit the windshield of the van he had been hiding behind, and he blindly sent a round of shots at the building hoping to hit whoever fired at him.

~~~~~

She was taking a hell of a chance, but Methos was excited the dam had broken and something was being done. As he squeezed his body forward his arms were about ready to break, since they were solidly strapped to the arms of the blasted chair, and the blade was whirling over his head, he started screaming with the rest of them just to get his adrenaline pumping and gather more strength to keep crouched. He hoped Elizabeth would figure out a way to get those blades stopped, and not be overtaken by the gunmen.

Elizabeth had disappeared into the hallway and he could tell that everyone was identifying with her to do well. "Where did she go?" Warren roared. "Kill those motherfuckers dead, Liz!"

Over the constant whirr of the blades on the chairs, he could hear shots fired outside, above them, and out in the hallway. He saw out the corner of his raised eye that no one was in the control booth yet. Methos figured they assumed they'd all be killed by the blades so there was no reason to watch them. He strained to hear what was going on in the hallway and also glance up as far as he could with his head down to where the two-way mirror had been to see if Elizabeth had made it there to shut off the chairs.

He heard a shot in the hallway, followed closely by another, then a body falling. Don't be Liz, he thought. Right now she was their only hope.

Another shot. Another shot in response. A body fell.

Keep going, Liz.

A shot. Another two shots. A body fell.

Methos looked up at the control area again when there was no sound from the hallway, just far off shooting that he didn't know what to think of. To Methos' dread, he didn't see Elizabeth appear at the control area, he saw that short black-haired woman, who laid a gun down on the desk and began smiling.

No! She shot her. Liz was our only hope!

Methos looked to the hallway for any sign of Elizabeth, then to the control booth, where the woman was standing proudly with her arms folded casually under her breasts watching them all strain forward to avoid being beheaded.

Curses in every language ever devised on earth flooded out of Methos' mouth as he closed his eyes and lowered his head, and then cried. This was going to be the end. 5,000 years. At least half of it minding my own business. This is what it comes down to after befriending an Immortal who wasn't afraid to fight; having a wife who had gone off her rocker in the most dangerous way possible; and add to the mix a bunch of Watchers who sought more power than they were allowed by the natural order of things. As tears stung his cheeks, Methos thought of his beloved Claire, all alone in another city, in a hospital, hurt, lonely, sad. I'm sorry, Claire, he moaned as Methos came to accept that this was going to be the end.

Then, to his amazement, all Methos heard was the distant firing of machine guns and pistols. He didn't hear, nor did he feel, the vibration from the chair or the blade. His eyes snapped open and he raised them up to see the black-haired woman, who was at some panel of switches and lights on the end of the control area, pause and look out to them. Why did she turn the blades off? What was she going to do? What was that control panel for? Methos wondered what other horror they had prepared for them that they had yet to witness.

Then, like a light at the end of the tunnel, Elizabeth's head appear as she climbed up to the control area. The woman wasn't looking behind her, so she didn't see Elizabeth. From his position Methos saw that he wasn't the only one who noticed what was happening and hoped no one would give away Elizabeth sneaking up on her with the gun aimed at her head.

Elizabeth was clutching her chest, and from the blood on her hand, he saw that she had in fact been shot, but not killed. At least not yet. She didn't look as if she could live through that wound, but Methos hoped she lived long enough to take out that bitch who seemed to be the source of power.

~~~~~

Elizabeth had fired at each person as he or she entered the hallway, the last one being the long-haired woman who she knew was called Helen, and was actually enjoying herself. As soon as they would see her, Elizabeth would fire, then they would fall dead. She peered into the torture room, but didn't see anyone, so she was going to join the shooting frenzy that was happening further down the hall and to the left. She heard something behind her in the hall, and saw that the woman in command had entered the hall from the torture room and had a gun. It was only when she fired at Elizabeth that she returned to reality, this wasn't a game, but real life, and she had blown it. The pain in her chest let her know, as she fell to her knees and reflectively fired her gun in the woman's direction, that she had blown it. They were all dead.

As Elizabeth fell on her back, filled with pain in her heart, both physically and emotionally, the woman simply stepped over her into the control area. I can't die. Don't die. Not yet. Elizabeth ordered herself not to give into the yearning to die and allow her body to rest.

She rolled to all fours and cried out as her chest was on fire. She lifted herself up and fell back against the wall. Using it for help, she pulled herself up to her feet holding her chest, pushing down as hard as she could to stop the bleeding and also ease the pain since it felt better to have pressure on the wound. She walked into the torture room. The woman was up in the control area, not looking at her, then walked behind the half wall so she couldn't get a clean shot at her. Being as quiet as she could, Elizabeth started up the ramp to join her up there.

When Elizabeth used the blond man's chair, with his dead body still in it, as leverage to pull herself the last two steps, she saw the woman at a control panel to the right. She still didn't see Elizabeth. She got renewed strength to stand straight, raise the gun and move to the woman, who Elizabeth saw was unarmed. She tapped the woman on the shoulder with the gun, and she whipped around with her mouth open in surprise. Elizabeth wanted the woman to see her, with a gun, in power, for a moment. Just a moment. She wanted the woman to truly know the worm had turned. The woman's expression seemed to beg for mercy, which made Elizabeth, smile through her pain. She got what she wanted. Elizabeth put the end of the gun barrel to the woman's forehead and pulled the trigger. A spray of blood on the control panel held Elizabeth's attention as the woman fell in front of her.

There was a roar of delight and whoops of life sprang from the room of chairs, and Elizabeth wondered how long she had to live. The firing in the other part of the building was still going on. Who was firing at whom, she didn't know, and didn't care. She just knew she had to get to Methos to free him. When she tried to walk down to the torture room, Elizabeth fell. Her chest ignited in renewed pain. Don't die! At least, not yet... he's not free yet...

She didn't know how she got to her feet, but she did, and stumbled to the door. The woman named Helen was laying just outside the door in the hallway, and Elizabeth dropped her gun to lean against the door jamb and reach down to get the keycard from the rope around her neck.

When Elizabeth entered the ring of chairs room, she was greeted with "good going!" and "get us free," from everyone. She wove to the middle of the room, her head starting to spin and tried to find Methos while she held her chest with one hand and the keycard in the other. She was losing it, and her chest was tightening even more. She didn't have much time. Where is he?!

She saw Liam, who urged her, "Unlock us!" but his voice just echoed as the edges of her vision started to blacken. She whirled around the room looking for Methos. Amy, Robert, Amanda, Thomas, empty chair, Warren, Gina, Guy, Cassandra, the one who saved Claire... Claire! Where the fuck is Methos?! There was that black woman Elizabeth hadn't known before, and now, then she saw Methos, whose expression and very existence called to her. She stumbled forward with the keycard outstretched, gasping for air and clutching her chest. The blackness was growing out from the edges of her vision, but she fought against death. Just a few more seconds. Don't die! She told herself. She could still hear the firing from the other part of the building.

She reached Methos and almost fell into his lap. "Come on, Lizzie," she heard him say softly. For him to call her that, his term of endearment, what he called her when he was showing her love, almost made her heart break after all the crap that had been between them for so long. She had almost taken his head once, she wasn't going to die until she knew he could save his own now. Not having to hold her own weight felt good as she was leaning against Methos' legs, but she had to get him free. She put the keycard into the slot for one of his arms, she knew she needed to give him the card as she wouldn't be able to swipe all four slots. She slipped to her knees as his arm came free and he grabbed the keycard from her hand, she had held on as long as she could.

As soon as his fingers brushed hers on the keycard, Elizabeth fell to the floor and the blackness filled her vision. For an instant, she didn't feel the raging pain in her chest, she died peacefully knowing that Methos could get himself out of that chair. Victory. The last thing she heard was someone yelling, "Good Christ!"

~~~~~

Methos had deemed Elizabeth many things during the past three months, but savior had certainly never been one of them. Yet she had taken out seemingly everyone and had entered the room with the keycard and although she could free anyone she wanted, she had come to him. Even holding her chest in pain, she walked past everyone to find him and free one of his hands. He wanted to tell her so much, encourage her, thank her, tell her he didn't think her a monster, but all he could come up with was "Come on, Lizzie," to give her the needed strength to continue. He knew she was close to death. If she didn't get him free, they were probably going to be toast.

He had grabbed the keycard after she freed one wrist and held it out to him as she fell. Her fingers seemed cold; he was able to touch her for only an instant. After she fell from his view, he swiped the keycard through the slot on his other wrist, then his legs. He jumped off the chair, careful to not step on Elizabeth, and went to Claudia's chair. He swept the keycard through all four slots; her face shawn with excitement. He handed her the card, and she accepted it gratefully. "Unlock the others," he said as he knelt down to Elizabeth.

One by one, Methos could hear the others regaining their freedom, each calling out in turn that they'd find another keycard to help free the rest or grab a gun. The gunfire in the other part of the building stopped, but one never knew if some sneaky bastard was going to make an appearance. Elizabeth's body was completely limp and still as she had died, curled in a ball at the foot of his chair. He moved her head to look at her, and he saw a look of peace on her face. He kneeled down closer to her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Lizzie. Gods above, thank you," he said as he sat on the floor and lifted her body into his lap.

The last time he had held her, waiting for her to revive, was when she had stupidly almost cut off her left hand in his stables at Bethany Stone Manor. He had no idea why she had done such a stupid thing, and then later, after the dust settled, told him that she was glad Claire was gone. The needling anger over what she had done in Kent started to bubble to the surface, Methos hoped to push the feelings aside as she had now saved his head. One good turn deserves another. He knew he was willing to talk things out with his wife once and for all to see if there was a marriage to salvage. He would see if she was willing to admit all that she had done; not only almost taking his head but admitting to the seed of bitterness that had been brewing inside her for over a decade that she never mentioned, pretending that it was not forefront in her mind. But, considering her actions in Kent, it had always been there, just under the surface waiting to come to a head.

But if you hadn't woken up, you would be dead. Doesn't matter that she saved your head now, you could have been dead three months ago! Methos steeled himself as the needling reminder caused him to loosen his hug, and Elizabeth's body fell even limper in his arms. He looked around him to see that everyone was free of their chairs and became conscious of the small gathering around him and Elizabeth.

"God, what all did they do to her?" Amy asked as she held onto Guy like she'd never let him go again.

Methos settled Elizabeth's body to the floor and wondered how long it would take for her to revive and heal all the wounds that covered her body. Her face was black and blue with a terrible scratch along her right cheek. The dried blood surrounding it matched the stains on her chest, leg, and both arms. From the low neckline of her shirt, Methos could see red splotches. He didn't know where they came from, but they looked like electrical burns. There were cigarette and cigar burns on her arms and a slash on her pants with a deep slit in her leg.

"Holy mother of God," Stephen groaned when he joined the huddle of Amy, Guy, Cassandra, Amanda, and Thomas. He nudged Methos. "She shouldn't be alone when she revives, don't you think?"

"Never tell me what to do, Keane," Methos told him and didn't move to take Elizabeth back into his arms. He felt bad for Elizabeth and all the pain she had gone through, he was grateful to her, she had atoned for almost taking his head in November, he felt the tickling of love he once held for her, nevertheless, self-preservation kept him at a distance from Liz. In fact, all the immortals surrounding him started to make Methos feel smothered. If not for his lapse of the past twenty years, befriending and reestablishing friendships with Immortals, he never would have been in this mess to begin with. Back when he was a Watcher, the meek Adam Pierson, who outwardly never had an elaborate thought, Methos was safe, not only from Immortals, but Watchers as well. He realized his breathing was becoming more and more labored, Methos acknowledged his need to get away from all this. All of them. He had put his head into too much danger as of late. After 5,000 years, he wasn't going to lose it to a female immortal who pretended to love him or a pack of insects with a 'noble cause' that was so ass backward it would have made Methos laugh if he hadn't been caught in the middle. He had to do something about it. He would do something about it!

Just then, the mortality cop of the Immortal world, Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod, gallantly waltzed into the room packing heat. It was now clear that the shooting in the distance had been him. Sure, be the big hero, Methos thought. Meanwhile, most everyone in the room started to hug and congratulate Duncan for saving them. It was because Methos had befriended Duncan that he was in this mess. Yes, I have to get away from this!

~~~~~

Duncan had entered the Quonset when the first opportunity presented itself and immediately had second thoughts when four men came charging down the stairs. He fired from the gun he held in his right hand until the clip was empty, then as he took to the floor, fired from the gun in his left hand, and knew that none of the bullets hit their mark. He had only taken one of them out. He knew all it would take was for one of them to fire in his direction, with only a flimsy wooden desk as his cover, and he would be dead. One swing of a sword while he was dead was all it would take to make this nightmare end for him. As Duncan hurriedly reloaded a clip, he heard three fast pulls of a gun and jerked, wondering where the bullets had impacted his body. The area above him was full of smoke and he heard footsteps. He couldn't move, fully expecting one of the three men still alive to appear with a gun.

To his relief, Megan's red hair appeared. As the smoke cleared a bit, he saw a smile on her face as she held out a hand to help him to his feet. More shots were fired behind them, and Megan fell on top of Duncan. He checked her for wounds, but couldn't see any blood.

Nick called out, "I'm going in!"

He had obviously taken out someone, and Duncan lifted his head to see Nick go past them and through a door to a hallway. There was shooting farther inside the building and Duncan knew Nick would need cover. Megan sat up and shrugged. "Sorry. Reflex to hit the deck."

"Better safe than shot," Duncan said as they helped each other to their feet.

There was a single gunshot fired farther in the building, and he could hear Nick yell, "Good Christ!"

Duncan and Megan ran to where Nick was in the hallway where five bodies lay. He walked past a doorway to a room on the left which held a steel table and had a walk up to an observation deck. Broken glass, blood, and two more bodies were found in there. Duncan kept moving on down the hall, stepping over bodies, his rearmed gun trained in front of him. He couldn't believe the sight that presented itself in the next room to the left. There was a ring of what looked like barber chairs. He had no idea what their purpose was, but happily the first face he saw was Warren's. Then he saw Claudia. Claudia! "What are you doing here?" he asked her as he walked in.

Warren clapped Duncan on the shoulder as Claudia fell into his arms. "Duncan, I'm here only because I know you. At least that's what we've figured out. It's all over. Thank God, it's all over now."

He held the petite pianist as his eyes drifted over the rest of the people in the room. Cassandra, her husband Liam, some mortal he didn't know, Joe, one of the chairs with weird steel strappings holding his prosthetic legs to the barber chair. Amy and Guy, that Thomas kid he and Elizabeth has seen in Paris, Robert and Gina, then his eyes fell on Amanda. She seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel.

Claudia released the hug and stepped away as Nick and Megan walked into the room from behind him. Amanda started to cry as she looked at Duncan, and he held his arms out to her. They met after two long strides, and Duncan thought he'd hold her til the end of time as she shook in his arms. He had no idea what had happened here, and decided he would spend as much time as needed to make things up to Amanda. Even though she had probably been held for a while, she still smelled good, as he remembered, with a sweet aroma of Chanel No. 5. Leave it to her to wear perfume to a kidnaping. Duncan grabbed hold of Amanda's head and held her so close he thought their cheeks would meld together as he laughed in relief at her being alive.

~~~~~

Megan scanned the room with Nick as Duncan held someone she assumed was Amanda. Nick told her he was going upstairs to make sure there weren't any others around that would surprise them. She saw Amy and Guy Barstow huddled with a couple of other people she didn't know, and wondered if Terry and James Payson were there. She stepped farther into the room, past Duncan and Amanda talking softly to each other to look for them. She saw James and walked to him, studying his demeanor. He didn't look as relieved and excited as everyone else. When he looked at her as she neared him, she wondered if he even knew who she was. Granted, she had never told him or Terry that she was assigned to make sure Terry was making correct Chronicle entries, but he may have seen her at some point as she and his wife were in the same profession.

"Are you all right?" she asked him since it looked as if he would cry.

"No. Terry..." he said, his voice choking.

"What about her?"

A red haired man turned to them, and shook his head with sorrow. "She didn't make it," he said.

At those words, James started crying and turned away from them. The red haired man stuck out his hand and introduced himself. "Stephen Keane, and you are?"

She shook his head. "Megan Willis. I was assigned to James and Terry."

"A Watcher needs a Watcher?"

"When they're married to an Immortal, yeah." Megan tried to take in James' bearing and what Keane had told her. "They killed a Watcher?"

"And Brynn Cochrane."

"Who's that?"

Keane pointed out a man who was walking towards them. "His wife."

Megan watched the wavy haired man walk to James and then put his hand on James' shoulder. "I know what you're going through, mate. I'm going after them. How about you?"

"Going after who?" Megan asked.

"Those ass holes. With something this massive, there have to be others involved that weren't here."

A man with prosthetic legs, still sitting in one of the chairs, said, "Cochrane, you get me out of this chair, and I'll go with you. I know of at least one other that's involved." There was a sparkle in the man's eyes as he smiled and said, "I can't wait until Alyce pays for this."

There was a commotion, and Megan stretched her neck to see over a tall blond man, who had his arm around a long haired woman, who were watching what was happening in the corner.

She turned back to James, newly filled with anger and revenge by Warren. She told him, "I'm sorry about Terry's death. I liked her."

"That makes me feel so much better." James moved to join Warren, but Megan pulled him back. "You can't go with them. You have to come with me."

"The time of being watched is over, don't you think?"

"No. Those weren't watchers," Megan said. "They were maniacs who had a little bit of power and it corrupted them."

"Isn't that the truth with you all?"

"No. Think of Terry. She wasn't at all like them. I'm not either. Neither is Nick, or Amy, or Guy."

"I get the point!" James folded his arms in defiance.

"You have to go with me back to Phoenix."

"Why? There's nothing for me there now."

"Yes, there is."

When he stared at her, trying, she supposed, to figure out what she was getting at, she told him, "Your sister-in-law is immortal."

"Pre-immortal."

Megan sadly said, "Not anymore."

He looked at her with horror, and then slumped back on the arm of the closest chair. "She was there that night. That night we were taken."

"She was shot in the bathroom."

"Oh, God. Where is she?"

"I left her with a fellow Watcher."

"What?!"

"I trust him. Leon. We work with him, Nick and I. He's all right. She's all right."

"She needs me," James burst out saying, as if the thought had been a totally new idea.

Gently, knowing that he had gone through a lot as of late, Megan told him, "Yes, she does."

"I never told Terry or Jan, and it was hard not to... but I never did. It was the only secret between me and Terry. You know where she is?"

"Yes, she's in Phoenix. I'll go with you."

James looked at one of the chairs and started to tear up. "I won't even be able to bury my wife. They killed her and then took her away."

"I hate to sound callous, but," Megan said. "She's got to be around here somewhere." After that news wasn't taken as badly as she had expected, she told him, "How about we get Jan and come back? We can keep in touch with Nick, I'm sure he'll want to see this through here. He can find... Terry... then we can all bury Terry back home."

~~~~~

Nick stepped cautiously over bodies on the stairs, gun ready to blast anyone left standing. He arrived at an office area with cots, he supposed for the Crusaders on call 24-7. The windows were all shot out, and glass had settled on two desks that held computers and a printer. Seeing that the area was clear, he went straight to the computer which was still on, and was pleased to see that it was logged onto the Watcher network. As he clicked through some screens, the extent of the Crusaders reach became clear. "Wow," was all he could manage to say as he kept making his way through screens, pausing only long enough to scan the page and click a link or back up to the previous page. When he saw anything that might be useful to identify each and every person involved in this evil plot, he would click control P to print the page. He was pleased that the computer he was working on was fast and had a cable modem. There wasn't any delay when he started a new search or printed out the evidence he found.

The Crusaders' plan wasn't actually written out anywhere, but Nick couldn't have been happier when he actually found a Word file with names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and cell phone numbers of everyone he assumed was part of this plot. He shifted in his chair with glee; there was nothing encrypted anywhere. When he went back to the Watcher database, he plugged in each and every name. With each search, he received a short Watcher bio and a picture. He printed each one. One of the pictures of a Crusader matched one of the dead men on the stairs. Nick kept printing out the information and pictures of each and every member on that list.

~~~~~

Elizabeth's body shook as she revived and took air into her dormant lungs. Her instinctive reaction as her body healed was to get away from the people around her. She knew they would inflict more pain, pushing her to tell them where Duncan was. She scrambled to the corner and held her legs protectively in front of her as she folded herself together while her body continued to heal. It hurt like hell, but she wouldn't show it to anyone.

Since her head was tucked to her knees, when she felt a hand on her head she jerked out her hand to bat it away, but then saw a face she never expected. Amy told her, "You're safe, Liz. It's all right. You got them, and you got us free."

At the welcoming smile on Amy's face, Elizabeth wanted to relax her tense muscles, but she couldn't trust her instinct. She shook violently as her body sealed all of her wounds and her lungs gasped for air. She saw Cassandra and Liam, Robert and Gina, Thomas, and Methos all surrounding her. She couldn't comprehend all that was said, but she saw their mouths move. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears as she tried to accept the idea that it was all over.

She took Amy's hand and she was lifted to her feet. Amy immediately hugged her, and Elizabeth started to cry from relief that it was all over, and also because her friend had accepted her after how horribly she had treated her last time they saw each other. Ashamed about shouting at Amy and throwing away her wedding ring after the first altercation at Methos' Paris apartment, Elizabeth mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Amy asked with good cheer.

Elizabeth looked at her, and ran her hand against Amy's cheek. "For taking it out on you."

"Taking what? You're not making sense."

"Well, just... I'm sorry. I have a lot to be sorry for." Elizabeth guardedly looked to Methos, and turned away from the stoic look on his face. "Are you all right?" she asked Amy as she hugged her again.

"I'm fine. I'm great. I'm free, and I can get back to my kids."

During the commotion of people coming to her and thanking her for saving them, she lost all train of thought, saw only Methos clutching an arm of one of the chairs; he looked to be in deep thought. She wanted so much to go to him, to have him forgive her for all she had done to him, but someone else had come to hug and thank her. She accepted the gratitude of the people, but she kept looking over her shoulder to Methos, who was still off by himself.

"Claire!" Elizabeth cried out, coming to full attention at the sudden realization that her little girl was all alone in New York City, in the hospital no less. She looked to Methos, who now looked at her with wide eyes, as if he too had just remembered what their life had entailed before they were kidnaped. He seemed to be going through mental calculations, and didn't appear to want anything to do with her, so Elizabeth looked at who was holding her. When she saw it was Guy, she said, "I need to get back to New York."

"We do," Methos said. "There has to be a vehicle somewhere around here."

"I want to get back to Brazil," Gina said. "And our cruise."

"I'm taking the first plane back to London," Claudia said.

Thomas grinned at her. "If it wasn't for some Watchers who need serious ass kicking, I'd fly you over myself."

"You're a pilot?" Claudia asked him, as if looking at the young, pale, blond man for the first time.

"Have my own fleet of planes," Thomas announced proudly.

"You?" Claudia asked with a chuckle. "You look like you're... like twelve."

Thomas' smile faded as Amanda told Claudia, "He has you beat by about three centuries, honey."

Claudia rose an eyebrow and asked Thomas, "You know who you remind me of?"

"I'm waiting with baited breath to find out."

"Leonardo DeCaprio."

That answer seemed off the wall for Thomas, who was going to reply, but Claudia said, "You know, in that movie. The one with Tom Hanks after him?"

"Ah, a kid impersonating pilots. Well, hon, I'm the real deal. I have licenses in five different countries, and as Amanda so wisely pointed out, I'm old enough to be your great great great grandfather."

When Thomas spun around from her, she barked, "Well, that's quite an attitude. I was complimenting you. Which I admit doesn't happen often. You could at least say thank you."

"Thanks so much for making me out to be a swindler."

"I meant you're cute, you thick-headed cretin."

"Oh," Thomas said lightly. "Well, in that case..." He walked back to Claudia to give the woman another chance.

Joe groused from his chair, "Will someone do me the favor of getting me out of this Goddamn chair so I can get my legs and call for clean up?"

Guy and Methos went to him. Methos looked around, then asked, "Who's got a keycard, and why the hell didn't anyone free him before now?"

"I freed his arms," James said, and walked to hand his keycard to Methos.

"Bloody good that does if he doesn't have his legs," Methos said, then Elizabeth could hear him continue under his breath, "you moron."

Joe hollered, "Don't look," as Methos slipped the keycard into the slots of the steel straps holding Joe's legs.

Elizabeth walked to James and said, "I know you. Where's Terry?"

"She was murdered after they took you."

Horrified, Elizabeth didn't know what to say, but then she saw Megan Willis standing there. After a glance to Amy and Guy, who had refused her access to Megan in the past, she said, "I really would like to talk to you, see how you are, all that... but I have to go to my daughter."

"Your... Claire?" Megan asked. "Wow, I'll bet she's grown up. I probably wouldn't even recognize her."

"She's in the hospital, last I knew. Before they took... Daniel!" Elizabeth shouted to get Methos' attention. After freeing Joe's legs he turned to her as Guy helped Joe get into them, she said, "Claire needs us."

"Just what I was thinking."

"Our things are in the next room. I saw a box. There were swords, a purse, coats." When she turned, she saw Duncan standing there with a smile on his face. His free and easy smile faded when he looked at the condition of her clothes. She wished she had a coat to cover their condition, embarrassed by them, but he took her into his arms. It felt good to be held, knowing that he was safe, and that he was there with them.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Amanda rubbing her shoulder and smiling. "How are you, honey?"

"I need to see Claire."

"We're going to New York," Methos said as he walked by them.

"Can I get a lift, too?" Amy asked, as she looked at Guy.

Guy said, "Kiss the kids for me, I'm going with them." He pointed at Warren, James, and Thomas, who were in the middle of making plans, Elizabeth assumed. She heard Warren say they should take all the guns so they'd be well armed.

Elizabeth looked up to Duncan and kissed his cheek. "The man of the hour came at the right time. It was you making all that fuss outside, huh?"

"I'm only sorry I didn't get here earlier."

"Don't be sorry for something outside of your control. I learned that from Dr. Stone. I have a feeling I'll be seeing if she has any time to see me once Claire's back on her feet."

Duncan rubbed her arm as Amanda put her arms around his waist. "You're back together?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.

They looked at each other, Amanda hesitantly, then warmed with renewal as Duncan smiled and nodded. "I'm not letting her get away again."

Amanda whooped. "Nothing like a good old fashioned kidnaping and near beheading to get the big guy's attention."

Duncan smiled at her. "Amanda?"

"Yes, darling?" she asked as she held him tighter and matched his smile.

"Don't speak," he said, then kissed her forehead.

Liam appeared at the window where the two-way mirror had been and said, "Everyone find their possessions," as he tossed a large box into the room. "Who had swords beside me when you were taken? Looks like they're all here."

A blond man Elizabeth didn't know rushed into the room with a bunch of printer pages. "I have names, addresses, and pictures of everyone involved in this!" he announced proudly, then showed the papers to everyone near him.

Joe, with the help of Guy, walked past Elizabeth to the man and asked, "Where's Alyce's residence?"

"Who?"

"Al Cartwright."

"Ah, the Big Kahuna." Nick flipped through the pages. He held one up to read it. "Boston."

"Hell, I knew him when he was just an apprentice Field Watcher in Skokie, Illinois." Joe ripped the page out of Nick's hands and focused his attention on Al Cartwright's face. "He was born in Tupelo."

"Elvis' birthplace?"

"Yeah," Joe muttered. "The place will never hold the same attraction for me, that's for sure."

If Elizabeth could have given Joe any more encouragement to kill that bastard slowly and painfully, she would have. Instead she brushed his arm and smiled at him when he looked at her. Joe locked eyes with her, and Elizabeth didn't see any disappointment reflected there as she had seen so often for what seemed like so long. He held out his arm and Elizabeth tucked herself under it and held him. "I'm glad you're all right. You be careful."

"I'm always careful."

"Yeah, right," Methos tossed out as he was putting on his coat and then bent down the sift through the box. "It's not here."

"What?" Cassandra asked.

Only then did Methos realize that Cassandra was so close to him and he got to his feet and moved back from her as if she were a snake. God, Elizabeth thought. If he hadn't been able to put the past between them to rest, what he must still think of me...

Joe looked to Amy and held her, then kissed her cheek. "You kiss Joey and Katie for me. Tell them Gramps is going to visit as soon as his work is done. Hopefully it won't take too long."

Nick said as he handed out papers to Warren, Thomas, Duncan, and James, "Match the dead to the pictures so we know who's left to go after."

Warren grabbed a bunch. "With pleasure," he said as he walked into the hallway, sifting through the pages of pictures, then looking down at each body he came across. As Elizabeth walked to the box and stood by Cassandra, she saw Warren toss one of the pages on a corpse and walk to the next. She looked at the eyes of the man who laid dead. She had shot him. It was because of her that he was dead. She didn't want to think about how many people she had killed. Shivers overtook her and she knew she would burn in hell for what she had done that day. Before her thoughts could overwhelm her, Cassandra put her arm around her and said, "I'm sorry to hear about Claire. We have to get together once this is all straightened out. Promise?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth uttered still looking at the dead man's face.

"We said that last time."

"Huh?"

"In London. When we saw each other last time. We said we'd get together and we never did."

"You really want to?" Elizabeth asked, truly wanting to know if Cassandra really wanted anything to do with her, a serial killer. Another one... she thought as she spotted Methos walking into the hallway, he stepped over the dead body and disappeared down the hall. If he was leaving, she wanted to go with him, but then again, he probably wanted nothing more to do with her after she almost took his head and the murderous rampage she just went on.

"Of course. We were good friends back in the day, and now I have to show you a really good time to make up for the fact that I'm still living."

Cassandra's smile made Elizabeth hug her with gratefulness at being accepted. "You're on. I'm at the St. Regis in New York for the time being."

"I'll call you as soon as we get back to London."

"As soon as you get back to London," Liam told her. "I'm staying in the states for a while. There's work to do."

As Claudia was sifting through the remnants of the box, Elizabeth saw her purse. She knelt down to get it when Claudia said, "If you're going to London, Cassandra, do you want company?"

"Go with her," Liam told Cassandra with a kiss on the cheek. "Call my cell when you get there."

With mention of a cell phone, Elizabeth grabbed her coat and wondered where hers was. It was the only link Claire had to them, and for all she knew it could have been crushed from frustration by the Crusaders. She didn't see it in the box, her purse, or any of her coat's pockets, so she rushed to the other room to find it, since that was where she last saw it.

When she got to the door of the room where so much had been done to her, Elizabeth paused. She could still smell her burning flesh from the defibrulator and her spilled blood. Robert, Gina, Cassandra, and Claudia all walked into the hallway, and Gina put her arm on Elizabeth's shoulder. "Thank you again, Liz. We'll keep in touch."

"We're getting back on board ship ASAP. Maybe you, Daniel, and Claire want to join us for old time's sake."

Life on the ship once again with the DeValicourts, the kids, and Methos, with no worries and a lot of love sounded like paradise to her. If only you could turn back time. "If only it were that easy."

When Gina looked with horror into the room, Robert escorted her down the hall out of there, Cassandra and Claudia close behind. She saw Methos jump down from the observation area of the room and saw the hand of the blond man that she had shot in the head. She wondered what he had been doing up there.

Her cell phone was in the corner where she remembered it had been thrown. She ran to retrieve it, rushing right past Methos. He told her as he held out a ring with two keys, a silver one and a black coated one. "Mercedes. I figured she'd drive a nice car."

She looked to the dead woman she had shot at point blank range and couldn't help but notice that Methos didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she had killed her. Her and so many others.

"Nothing like going back to Claire in style," he said lightly.

"You want me to go with you?"

"Do you have alternate transport back to New York?"

There were a lot of ways, but going with him sounded the best. "None, I guess." She checked her phone and saw that it was dead. "I have to charge this."

"We're going straight to the hospital, so you can charge it later."

Elizabeth wanted to get out of that room, away from the dead, away from it all, and to her daughter fast, so she didn't dawdle after Methos made his suggestion, mostly for fear he would change his mind.

By the time they left the room, went down the hallway, to another room she didn't remembered being in, but must have been brought through to the chair room, and reached the fresh air of night outside the door, she noticed that only those who were going to go after the Crusaders remained. Everyone else seemed to have scattered to the four winds to resume their lives. The night air felt good as it washed over her, and she reflectively followed Methos, since he seemed to know where he was going.

"Damn it! Damn it all to bloody hell," he shouted as he came to a stop.

"What?"

"Look!" He pointed to a black Mercedes that was covered in bullet holes. "Can't really get into New York stealth-like if you're driving a shot-up car!"

"Why do we have to do it stealth-like?" she asked him as he stalked back into the building and she followed.

"Everything I do is going to be quiet from now on."

Not wanting to go back inside, she huddled next to the door with her arms folded around her and tried to think about anything but what they had all just been through, the tiredness that was creeping up on her, her growling stomach, and Claire, probably scared to death all alone in a hospital with no idea of where her parents were. She tried her cell phone again, just in case she had tried to turn it on incorrectly the first time. No dice. It was still dead. She shoved it in her pocket as Methos came out of the building again. "I'm not driving a PT Cruiser," he mumbled.

James and Megan walked out after him. "Why not? It's transportation," Megan told him.

"Then you drive it."

"Fine. I will."

She opened the driver door to it and James got into the passenger side. Without delay, Megan started the car and backed out. She stopped and waved to Elizabeth, then gave a thumbs up, before driving off into the black of night. "Chicks don't seem to have problems with those cars," Methos said.

"I still think they're cute."

"They haven't produced them for years, doesn't that tell you anything?" He stopped in what looked like a search to tell her.

"They don't make Bizzarrinis anymore either. Didn't stop you from loving it."

"So help you from the Gods if you ever mention a Bizzarrini and a PT Cruiser in the same breath again. It's sacrilege. Like equating Pollack to Matisse."

Elizabeth walked after him. "Well, aren't they both modern artists?"

"Aren't they both cars?" Methos stopped, and she could tell he was frustrated beyond belief and hoped it wasn't because of her. "Where's the Mazda?" he asked with outstretched arms. "I got keys but no bloody car!"

"Well, let's look for it."

He looked at her as if he was going snap, but then they heard Amy call from the side of the building. "Are you two coming or what? I've been waiting."

Methos walked to her and Elizabeth followed, then they went toward where Amy pointed when he asked, "You found it?"

"Right over there."

Methos shrugged. "Well, it's not a Bizzarrini, but it will do." He opened the driver's door and got in as Amy and Elizabeth looked at each other.

"No use asking to drive, huh?" Amy asked with a light laugh.

"I wouldn't push it. He might drive off without us."

"He'd have me to answer to if he tried." Amy walked to the passenger door, then crawled into the back as Methos reeved the engine.

Elizabeth paused and wrapped her coat tight around herself taking one last breath before getting into the small car, and hoping she wouldn't say anything wrong on the way back to New York. Then she got in after Methos tooted the horn, and she asked, "Do you even know where we are?"

Amy leaned forward with a piece of paper. "That Nick Hartford printed us out a map."

Methos switched on the map light as Amy scanned it and told him, "Get onto the highway and take a right."

"Where's the highway?" Methos asked as he was driving them down a bumpy dirt road, which Elizabeth hoped wasn't just a farmer's route to his fields and they'd never find pavement.

Amy pointed straight ahead of them. "That's where Duncan said to go." She gasped when she held the paper closer to the light. "Good God."

"What?"

"The nearest town is called, get this, Shiloh," Amy said bitterly.

There was silence in the car as all three took in the irony. "Never let it be said that Watchers weren't subtle," Methos said as he turned onto the highway and turned on the radio.

Continued