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Chapter Fifteen
Rollin’ Home
(And Then There Were Four)
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Sue dialed the international number on her cell phone, while wondering what the toll charges would do to her four hundred and fifty remaining minutes.

The phone rang three times before a soft female voice answered with a somewhat aggravated "Wha eis it ye wan nao?"

"Sally?" Sue asked.

"Yea, Who's this?"

"You don't know me. Cassandra just gave me your number. This is Sue Danning."

There was silence for almost thirty seconds. Finally the voice on the other end said "Cassandra?"

"Yeah, you know, tall, dark hair, does strange mystical stuff and fights people on occasion with sharp and pointy pieces of metal. According to her, your family has been watching her for, oh, about eight hundred years."

"Wha? Ye dinna mean she's been knowin abou us the whole time?" Sally's voice responded incredulously.

"Well, I don't know about the whole time. She said the first, she called them 'Observators'," Sue started.

"Observateurs" Cassandra corrected.

"Sorry, Observateurs she knew of in Glenfinnan were Neil and Brian MacGreggor, back in fifteen eighty." Sue said.

"Fifteen eighty five." Cassandra said softly.

"Oh. Make that fifteen eighty five." Sue amended.

"Sue, is Cassandra there, with ye nao?" Sally asked, a note of concern coloring her voice.

"Yes. I told you, she's the one who gave me your number. Now do you want to know where to meet up with us, or not?" Sue asked, starting to tire of her own joke.

"I canna be meetin wi an n'mortal, dunna ye ken ye've broken yer oath, an now ye wan me ta break mine?" Sally answered in an angry burr which Sue could barely decipher.

Covering the mouthpiece she said to Patrick and Cassandra with a malicious grin, "I think she's mad about something." Uncovering the phone she said to Sally, "Ok then. I'll call Joe and tell him you didn't want to cover your subject any more and ask for a new Watcher to be assigned. Talk to you later."

"Wait!" came Sally's frantic voice from the other end. "I dinna say I dinna wan ta cover mai n'mortal, lass, I said I canna meet wi the lass. Twood be a violation o mae oath I canna make. Where are ye takin my n'mortal, please let me know so I can do my job."

"I'm heading to California. Apparently Cassandra is following me there, at least for now. We will be taking the 240 North to the 4 west, through the 70 and the 55 west to the 40 west, and as far as we can get today through Arkansas, and into Oklahoma, Considering the time, I expect we'll stop somewhere in or around Okalahoma City. Do you want to meet us somewhere specific, or do you want me to call you when we get where we are going?" Sue said, looking at the map.

"Arr. Call me when ye get where yer goin, I'll follow the same path an try an' find ye." Sally finally said.

"Ok. I'll call Joe and let him know as well, so he can call off the search around here. I'll talk to you later." Sue said and hung up before Sally could respond.

"You're mean." Patrick said, shaking his head and climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

"And you smell like burnt bacon" Sue responded, getting in her own door and shooting a glance at Cassandra. "You going to drive yourself, or do you want to dump your car and ride with us?"

Cassandra looked speculatively between the two cars, then seemed to come to a decision. "No."

"No?" Sue asked, not understanding Cassandra's answer.

"No. I'm not going to take your car. Nor am I going to take my car. I think we need something bigger. I don't like feeling cramped. You have Caravans, or RVs here, don't you? I'm sure I've seen them on the roads here."

Sue didn't understand the question. "Yes. Why?"

"Then that's what we'll take. I'll return my Rental, and we'll get an RV for the lot of us. More room to stretch out, no need to stop as often for the facilities or food, and more comfortable to ride in as well. I think you can tow your car behind it, so that won't be a problem either."

Sue was still not quite following the older Immortal's reasoning. "But, those things are expensive, and they drink gas like it was water!"

"Look, I'll pay for the RV, Sue. I've saved up more money than I know what to do with over the last few thousand years, and I can easily afford to buy a vehicle if I so chose. If you want, I'll even pay for the petrol so you can use it to finish your trip, compared to the cost of the vehicle, it's nothing, much like the cost of the RV won't even put a dent in my holdings."

"So, rather than ride in the back of the car with Patrick and me, you want to spend half a million dollars for a motor home?" Sue asked, incredulously.

"No, I doubt it will come to that, back home a full sized RV is only about forty to eighty thousand pounds, and somehow I don't think the exchange rate is as bad as all that."

"Can we get lunch before we argue about this?" Patrick asked, leaning out the open passenger door of Sue's car.

"It is lunchtime. It would give me a chance to get the funds moving. To transfer sixty thousand pounds will take more than a few minutes. I'll have to call Colin to get the ball rolling and locate a branch here where he can send the money for me to pick up. What to you want to eat, Patrick?" Cassandra asked.

"I don't care. Burger-Thing would be fine. I think we passed one back that-a-way after we got off the freeway."

"Ok. Patrick, you drive. I'll call Joe again. Let him know what's going on, and let HIM call Sally back and tell her we're not quite leaving town for Oklahoma like I had said we were." Sue agreed, moving around towards the passenger side of her car.

As Patrick got out of the car, she tossed the keys to him, but as he caught them, he said, "Uh, Sue, Cassandra?"

"What?" Sue asked, while at the same time Cassandra turned to him and said "Yes, Youngling?"

"I was just thinking, before you go to a restaurant, a bank, and a car dealership, you both might want to clean up and change. You both have blood on you, as well as various holes, cuts, and tears in your clothes."

"And you look slightly singed and still smell like burnt bacon." Sue retorted, looking at the vague reflection of her disheveled appearance in the car's window. "But you have a point. Cassandra, do you suppose you could open the door back up, and we could find a bathroom in there somewhere?" Sue finished, turning towards the trunk of her car.

"I believe so, Child. The Youngling had a good thought." Cassandra answered, opening the trunk of her own car and fishing out a small gym bag before returning to the Skate Place's rear door and again punching in the security code on the doorknob.

She held the door open for Sue, who carried a pair of blue jeans and a powder blue top in her arms, as she entered the building and vanished from sight, followed immediately by Cassandra.

As Patrick sat in the car, trying to comb his own hair back into place, the phone in Sue's purse rang.

Patrick sat there looking at it for a few moments, then coming to a decision, he reached out and answered it. "Hello?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Hello? Anyone there?" he repeated.

"Yes. Sorry. Is Sue there, please?" a voice finally responded.

"I'm sorry, she's a bit busy at the moment." Patrick answered, looking at the closed door leading into the Roller Rink. "Could I take a message and have her call you back?"

"You're Patrick, correct?" the voice questioned.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Pierson. Adam Pierson. Is Sue all right? Last I heard she was going to meet with Cassandra."

"You are one of those Watching people?" Patrick asked.

"Sort of. I am a researcher for the Watchers, but more importantly, I am a friend of Sue's, and I am concerned about her and Cassandra. I just was worried about her."

"Oh, it's ok," Patrick said, "They fought a few minutes ago, and Sue killed her."

"She WHAT!" Adam bellowed so loudly that Patrick had to remove the phone from his ear.

"Cassandra didn't believe Sue could take care of herself or me. So they fought, so Cassandra could see if Sue was any good. She was treating Sue like a little kid. Keeps calling her Child. Anyhow, Sue and Cassandra fought, and Sue killed her. Cassandra seems happier now."

"Wait. I thought you said Sue killed Cassandra. You mean she just killed her, not KILLED her. Sue didn't take her head, right?"

"Of course not. They specifically said the fight was to the death, but no head taking."

"Wait, they both said it was to the death?"

"Yes. Both of them."

"Patrick, I need to know something, and it is important. You know how to sense an Immortal, right?"

"Yes. I know the feeling, like an itch in the back of your brain."

"An apt description. Has Sue died yet, I mean, when you are near her, does your brain itch, even if you are more than a few feet away?"

"Yes, of course it does. She's an Immortal. Not as strong as Cassandra, but still. Didn't you know that?" Patrick asked, suddenly worried he had done something wrong.

"I thought so, but wasn't sure. Has Sue or Cassandra explained to you how an Immortal can tell that an apparent mortal will become Immortal when they first die?"

"Sort of. Not in any detail, but Sue said that was why she knew she had to get me out of the Morgue. What has this to do with anything?"

"I knew Sue would be Immortal. But I couldn't tell anyone. And you can't tell anyone else she has finally become one, ESPECIALLY a Watcher. It could be very bad for Sue if they found out." Adam explained.

"But if you knew, than that means...", Patrick replied.

"Yes, and Sue doesn't know yet. And you can't tell her either. Where are you at, still in Memphis?"

"Yes." Patrick answered.

"Are you leaving again for L.A. or are you staying there another day?" Adam asked.

"I think we are picking up a Motor home for Cassandra, and heading on to Oklahoma by tonight, from what Sue said." Patrick replied.

"Does Cassandra own a Motor home? Or is she renting one or borrowing it?" Adam asked with confusion.

"No, after lunch Cassandra is planning on picking up some money from a bank, and buying one." Patrick answered.

"Good. I need you to do me one last favor, Patrick. I need you to write down my cell number, and call me when you get to the dealership. I probably won't answer, but leave me a message telling me where you are. Ok? This is very important."

"Ok. What's the number?"

"It's 206, 611, 4411, got that?" Adam asked.

Patrick wrote the number down on a scrap of paper from the floor, with a pen he filched from Sue's purse. "Got it."

"Ok, thanks. Remember, not a word to anyone. Not even Sue or Cassandra for now. It could mean Sue's life if this got out at the wrong time, or in the wrong way. It may already be too late, but I'll see what I can do. I have to go, I've got to make some calls and get moving as fast as possible. Bye."

"Ok." Patrick said, as the phone went dead.

Patrick had just put the pen and phone back in Sue's purse when the door to the Rink banged open again, Sue and Cassandra emerging one more into the light, both dressed in new, clean clothes and looking more than presentable.

"So, to Burger-Thing?" Sue asked, sliding into the passenger seat next to Patrick.

"Ok. I'll meet you there." Cassandra replied.

Starting the car, Patrick headed out around Skate Place, and made a left on to Orange, heading back towards Victor, which he took down to Kerr, where he made a right, heading towards the 240. As he recalled, the Burger-Thing was on the other side of the highway, by where they had exited the off-ramp earlier that day.

As he started the car moving, Sue dug her phone out of her purse, and once again called Seacouver, thinking to herself that she really should put the number on Speed Dial, all things considered.

"Joe's Bar" came Mike's voice after the third ring.

"Hey Mike. It's Sue. Is Joe around?"

"Hi there Sue! He's in the back. Let me get him for you."

Sue could hear Mike setting the phone down, and walking away from it. In the background, she could hear the jukebox playing softly and someone shuffling around, probably cleaning the bar and getting it ready to open.

There was a click, and Joe's voice spoke into her ear. "Sue?"

"Yeah, Joe. I just wanted to tell you. I found Cassandra. She's with me. Apparently we are going to get a motor home, and she will be joining us for a while. Something to do with Patrick and a curse. By the way, even though I'm not acting as a Watcher anymore, do you want me to start a chronicle for him, or will you have Sally do it?"

"Sue, you can't write a chronicle for Patrick, you know that. You shouldn't even be talking to him, let alone dragging him with you to Los Angeles. What's that about Sally?"

"Cassandra agreed to let me call Sally after we got back together. She gave me the number, and I told her where we were heading. I'm afraid I didn't know we would be shopping for a new motor home at the time, however, so she's probably on her way to Oklahoma City by now. She was mad enough when I called her to tell her where she could find us, I don't want to call her again, if I don't have to, not to mention her cell phone is a Scotland area code, making all calls really long distance."

"You called Sally? How did you get the number?"

"Cassandra had it. Don't ask me how or why. Anyhow, she said that Sally should join us as soon as possible and directly, if, and these are her exact words, 'if she wants to continue with me as an available assignment.' I think she has grown tired of just being spied on for all these years."

"Join you, how?" Joe asked.

"I would assume she meant become one of the party journeying to Los Angeles. She didn't really specify, but she did say she wanted to get a Motor Home so there would be enough room for everyone to ride comfortably."

"Let me get this straight. You're saying that Cassandra, the three thousand five hundred year old witch of Donan Wood wants her Watcher to ride along in a motor home with a new Immortal and yourself all the way to Los Angeles?"

"I don't know if she is planning on going all the way to Los Angeles, but yes. She has INVITED Sally to join us and come along." Sue answered.

Patrick had pulled into the driveway of the Burger-Thing before Joe answered. "Ok Susie-q, I should know better than to argue with a Danning. I'll make some calls. I know I got quite a lot of new information from talking to Duncan, and you seem to have turned up a surprising amount of new information yourself in the last few hours since meeting Cassandra. I will see if I can get permission for Sally to initiate direct contact with her subject, especially since you've made it abundantly clear that Cassandra knew all about us for quite a while. If I get the OK, I'll have Sally call you and find out exactly where to meet you. Ok?"

"Fine. I'll talk to you later Joe."

Shutting off the phone, she put it back in her purse, then she got out of the car and followed Patrick into the restaurant, noting as she did so that Cassandra was still talking to someone via the earpiece of her cell phone.

They had ordered and sat down with drinks in hand before Cassandra even came inside to stand at the counter.

It was some minutes later that she joined them at the table. "Ok, the money is being wired right now to a local bank, which conveniently is across the street from some place called Paxton Motor Coaches. They carry nothing but RVs and Busses. That branch was recommended apparently because someone knew they were so close. It helps to have such nice friends in the banking industry." She said with a sweet smile as she sat down.

Sue and Patrick's orders came up, so Patrick left to retrieve them, as Cassandra went on, "That was a good job you did of fighting. I was both surprised and impressed. You have obviously had some great teachers. I recognized several of the moves though. Tell me, were any of your teachers Immortals?"

Sue thought back, a sudden image of Adam, dressed in a white fencing costume frowning at her through the mask jumping to the front of her mind.

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August 2002, Watcher Academy, Outside Paris, France...

August 2002, Watcher Academy, Outside Paris, France...

Sue held the foil in her hand, looking at Adam as he frowned at her through his mask.

"Sue, this is important. Your life could some day very well depend on your ability with a rapier or sword. Think about your future career, swords are more than just an academic interest to those people."

"Adam, I think you are being a bit extreme. It's not like some Immortal is going to jump out of the woodwork and challenge me. I'm going to be a Watcher. I'm the one who will be hiding in the woodwork. And even if they did challenge me, what could I possibly do? I can't fight them, that would be a total violation of my oath."

"Sue, think a moment. There is nothing in your oath which says you can't defend yourself. Even the Code, which is no more than an interpretive projection of the oath and in no way really binding, doesn't say you can't fight to save your life, it just says that you should give your life before you risk taking the life of any Immortal. Now, that doesn't mean you can't kill them, they are Immortal. Kill them and they WILL get better eventually. Only that you shouldn't cut off their heads."

"So? You want me to use a sword. Isn't that kind of what you would use to cut off their heads?"

"Yes, and you could cut off your thumb with the knife you were using to slice up that steak with last night. Did you cut off your thumb? No. Because you know how to use a knife. If you are ever challenged by an Immortal, and the only way you can defend yourself is with a sword, you need to know how to use it. You need to know what to do, and what not to do, so that you can disable the Immortal and escape if need be, WITHOUT taking off their head by accident."

"Fine. That makes sense in such a twisted way that it almost has to be correct." Sue said, giving up on yet another argument with Adam. She should know by now that even her Father would have lost an argument with this man if he cared about the subject even in the slightest.

"Now, the reason you need to learn, and excel at Fencing, is that it is similar to actually fighting with a rapier. Most female Immortals use rapiers, because they are lighter, and easier to maneuver. Women are better suited to the style supported by a rapier as opposed to a heavy weapon, like a claymore, or a broadsword. Reminds me of a joke I once heard in a tavern, 'He's got a broadsword no broad could ever bear.' But the reality behind it was that women simply aren't as strong as men. Blades that a man can wield single handed will take two hands for a woman. But the rapier is a weapon of speed, delicacy, and accuracy, and believe it or not, women are generally better with all three of those things, jokes about women getting ready aside." Adam lectured, as he started yet another assault.

"But I don't really want to teach you fencing. I want to teach you fighting. These outfits are just so you won't get hurt." He said, smacking her again and again with his blade, despite her best efforts.

"They will help protect you while I drill some basic defensive moves into you, and show you some basic, and a handful of advanced moves as well."

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"As far as I know, Cassandra, I never fought another Immortal before you today. Why do you ask?" Sue responded to Cassandra's question as Patrick sat down with the tray which bore two burgers and a chicken sandwich for him, and a chicken salad for her.

"As I said, several of the moves reminded me of some Immortals I knew. More than one. I just wondered, but I suppose that after enough time even rare moves will spread from place to place."

"I was taught at the Academy by the physical defense instructors, and by a friend of mine, Adam, who's a researcher." Sue began.

Patrick dropped his cheeseburger, almost knocking his soda over, as Sue continued, "He was probably the one who taught me whatever tricks you are referring to. I know he spent several weeks teaching me one or two 'Trick Moves'. He wanted to be sure I not only could defend myself if I was ever attacked by an Immortal, but had a chance to kill them and run away before they revived." Sue explained.

"That might explain it. What does Adam research?" Cassandra asked.

"Ancient Immortals, mostly. He specializes in Methos."

"Who is Methos?" asked Patrick with sudden interest.

"Methos is the oldest known Immortal. Some people, including Adam think he is over five thousand years old."

"Methos is Death." Cassandra hissed, her face going white as the blood drained from it. "Pray you never meet him, Youngling."

"What?" Sue asked, her heart skipping a beat. She knew Eadgils believed Adam to be Death, the same man who had killed him for the first time forty five hundred years ago. She wasn't so sure. He may of looked similar, but Adam was kind, generous, and thoughtful. Death had been cold, cruel, inhuman. But she also knew part of the reasoning behind Eadgils suspicion was that he thought Death was using the Watchers to hunt Immortals, especially the legendary Methos. Why would Adam want to hunt HIMSELF?

"Methos was the name of the man called Death. He was one of the four horsemen. Their real names were Methos, Kronos, Caspian, and Silas." Cassandra replied. "Kronos and Caspian are dead at the hand of Duncan MacLeod. Silas at the hand of Death himself, Methos. And I spared his life at the request of Duncan. I told you this when we first met this morning, Child. Don't you remember?"

"I remember, but you just called him Death, not Methos." Sue answered, her mind tumbling, trying to integrate this new information.

"And this friend of yours, this Adam, he researches Methos?" Patrick asked Sue.

"Yes." Sue answered distractedly.

"Then he should meet Cassandra. Imagine the questions she could answer." He said.

"Maybe they should." Sue said, thinking that would be one way to see if Adam was indeed Methos, or a Mortal as she still half believed.

Sue ate her salad in silence for a while, before asking Cassandra, "Were there any moves in particular that were familiar?"

"There was one. One I have not seen at all in thousands of years. But perhaps if Adam has researched Methos, that is where it came from. It was the one which you used your sword and your left foot to try and knock me down. If I was not watching your balance shift, and hadn't remembered that move from long ago, it may have caught me, as your extra knife eventually did."

"That was the Scissors, as Adam called it," Sue replied, thinking again of Paris...

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January 2003, Watcher Academy, Outside Paris, France...

Sue was again in the Academy gymnasium, facing Adam, foil in hand, and looking out through the mesh at his face behind its mask. She had just beat him, much to her own astonishment.

"You are doing much better. Which is good, since I hear you will be graduating in two weeks. I think it is time to start teaching you some of what I call trick moves. They won't always work, but if you get an opponent who does the same thing over and over again, they can succeed because they mislead. Some folks, usually those who have lost to them, call them dirty trick moves. Let's start with one of my favorites. I call it the Scissors. If you can get your opponent to focus mostly on your blade, and they are acting defensively, this move can work to literally knock them off their feet. At that point a swift swing, make that stab, and it's all over."

"Do I really need to learn 'dirty tricks'," Sue asked, "After all, it's not like I will be able to beat an Immortal anyhow."

"Sue, you are doing well enough after only two months that you could make one of the older Immortals at least work up a sweat. Trust me." He said, stepping far back and pulling off his mask to wipe actual sweat from his forehead, as if to demonstrate a point, before returning the mask to its place and stepping back into Sue's range.

"Ok, fine. Show me your Scissors move." She said in resignation.

"Ok, how it works is you keep their attention on your blade in your right hand, make sure their eyes are following the blade, and not your body. Shift your weight to your right leg as you bring the blade up in your right hand for a downward right-to-left swing. As you start the downswing, bring your left leg up, and to the right, so that you can catch their legs with the impact of your own at about the same instant as your blade hits theirs." He said, demonstrating the move in slow-motion.

Sue tried it as he showed her. By the end of the day, she had actually knocked him down more often than she had knocked herself down with it. While as he said it wouldn't work against an opponent who knew what to look for, or who was paying proper attention to her entire body, as he had taught her to always do with her own opponents, it would work for those too focused or stupid to be aware of anything other than her blade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I learned the knife trick from someone else, someone with a bit more experience." Sue finished, as she stabbed the last piece of lettuce on her plate with the plastic fork.

"You had good teachers." Cassandra said, "I have never seen someone enter the Game so well prepared."

"I'll be sure to let them know you said so," Sue replied, picturing Adam and Eadgils meeting in a dojo to discuss techniques.

Patrick had finished his sandwiches, and was sitting there watching Cassandra finish her own Chicken Sandwich.

"So, Cassandra, who is Duncan MacLeod? Sue won't tell me anything about specific Immortals, says it would be too close to a violation of her Oath. Is he one of those Headhunters I have heard about?"

"No, Youngling, Duncan is not a Headhunter. But if he were so inclined, perhaps only Connor MacLeod could stop him."

"Hey! Tell me about Duncan first. Then you can tell me about Connor. How many MacLeods are there?"

"Just the two. Duncan is the younger. I knew both MacLeods as children. Duncan and I met when he was twelve. But I actually knew of him long before. When I first moved to Glenfinnan, it was because I was drawn there by visions. Visions of a great evil, and a great hero who could defeat it. Duncan was that hero."

"What evil?" Patrick asked.

"A Demon. It goes by the name of Ahri," Cassandra started, but at that moment her phone started chirping from her purse. "Ah, excuse me," she interrupted herself, and pulled out the phone.

"Hello?" she answered it. After a short pause, she said "Ok, thank you. We'll head right over."

Returning the phone to her purse, she looked at Sue, and said, "That was my Banker. The funds have been transferred, and he urges me to go collect them before the branch manager leaves at two. Apparently the manager won't return, and I may have more difficulty accessing the funds with a lesser functionary, as I don't have an account with that bank, anyone else may be reluctant to release almost a hundred thousand dollars in cash to someone with just a foreign passport."

"Then let's get going," Sue replied, collecting both trays, and carrying them to the waste bin by the door.

Patrick and Cassandra followed her out into the afternoon sunshine.

This time, Cassandra took the lead, and with Sue and Patrick following, headed towards the outskirts of Memphis, and the Winchester office of the First Practical Bank of Memphis, about fifteen miles away. While in-route, Sue called Joe and told him where Paxton Motor Coaches was.

Once there, Sue and Patrick headed on over to the RV dealership, Paxton Motors, to start looking around while Cassandra went into the bank it's self to arrange for the funds.

Sue walked along the rows of motor homes, feeling a bit overwhelmed. There were at least as many models of RVs as there were cars at a regular Auto dealership. There were huge ones, small ones, ones who's sides popped out, ones who's tops opened up, and so on.

"Can I help you Miss?" Came a voice from over her shoulder, as she stepped up to peer into the interior of a particularly large Winnebago.

"Um, just looking for the moment." She replied, turning to look at the gentleman who stood behind her, melting in a full suit and tie under the afternoon Memphis sun.

"Well, what are you looking for? Perhaps I can help you find it. My name's Jack. Jack Summers."

"Hi Jack. Sue. And I suppose you can help us, if you can be a bit patient. We are actually here I believe to get a new RV of some sort. I have one friend running around here somewhere, and the second, who will actually be buying it, should be along shortly, she's at the bank across the street getting the funds."

"Ah. A joint project. Very well, have you ever had or used a Motor Home before? This one is an Itasca Sunflier, built by Winnebago. It features two separate slide-outs, one in front, which expands the lounge/galley, and a second one in the rear, which expands the bedroom, and moves out the wardrobe, giving the interior more space. How many people total are you planning on sleeping, do you know?"

"I don't know. There are three of us, possibly four. Mostly we are looking for transportation, I believe not sleeping accommodations though."

"Well, this particular model has three sleeping positions, each of which can accommodate up to two people. There's the main bedroom, of course, then there is the kitchen table, which folds down into a bed, and finally, the couch here opens up into a third bed as well."

"That's nice. I don't think the expandable parts will work well for us though while we are driving. I'm not positive, because this really isn't my show, but it seems to me what we would want is something which we can all be comfortable in while we drive to California. We'll probably continue to stay in hotels when we stop for the night, I would assume."

"Ok. What price range are you looking for?"

"What's the Entry Level?"

"Oh, we could probably set you up with an older 2003 Fiesta or Tioga for around sixty."

"That's all?"

"Yes, but those really are entry level. Only two sleeping areas, and one is the table, which is your second seating area as well. If you plan on spending a long time in it, you might really want to consider something larger."

At that moment, Patrick came rushing up the isle between the various parked RVs, looking concerned. When he spotted Sue, he suddenly looked a whole lot better. He headed over, with a glance over his shoulder.

"Sue! Is Cassandra here yet, perhaps in the office?"

"I don't think so," Sue said, looking across the street, and seeing Sue's car still at the bank. "Why?"

"SOMEONE is in the office." he said, with excessive stress on the word someone.

"Someone you know?"

"No, someone you might have kept an eye on. And I think they may have noticed me. I was hoping it was Cassandra."

"No luck." Sue said, casually reaching under her coat, and loosening the handle of her Katana, just in case.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, confused.

"Oh, Jack, this is Patrick, the friend I told you was wandering around."

"What's this about watching someone in the office," Jack asked, reaching up and casually running his left hand through his hair, and not necessarily accidentally exposing a faint blue tattoo on his wrist.

Sue's heart leapt in her throat for a moment, then she steadied herself. "I don't watch people any more. It would be too much of a conflict of interest."

"You know, I actually had a call a short time ago, about you and your party specifically. I hadn't realized it was you though. They didn't send any pictures, and you didn't give me your full name."

"Sue. Sue Danning," she said with a smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Sue. I may not agree with your choices, but Joe filled me in on some of the circumstances, and while the one I have is a waste of protein, I could understand how Hunters can mess with your choices, and from what I was told, things have sort of snowballed from there. I was told not to give you any information, but when they heard where you were heading to be as helpful as I could. That said, I think it may be wise if both your friends stay far away from our finance office, but I can't say why."

"Jack, please don't take this the wrong way, but Joe is more subtle than that!" Sue said, with an honest laugh, her tension suddenly draining away, to be replaced by a sudden chill, as she realized SOMEONE was going to have to go into the Finance Office to pay for the motor home, unless they went to a different dealership. "Um, Jack, not to blow your sale or anything, but is there a different dealership you could recommend?"

Jack looked relieved for a moment, then got a sad expression, and shook his head, "No, I'm afraid we are the only dealership here in Memphis. If you went on, passing through Oklahoma?" he asked, and at Sue's nod continued, "There's a dealership in Oklahoma City. That would be the only alternative I can recommend, unless you come in to sign everything yourself. Anything else, could be, well, it might have bad consequences."

"I understand." Sue said. "As soon as Cassandra gets here, we'll see what she wants to do."

Patrick's sudden tensing gave Sue the brief moment's warning she needed NOT to react when she felt the edge of a Quickening brush against her mind. Looking across the street, she was relieved to see Cassandra's car was gone. Leaning out the door over Patrick who was looking behind him now, she saw Cassandra's form walking their way amongst the other RVs. "Cassandra!" she called, waving from the doorway.

Cassandra let out a brief wave to acknowledge she had heard Sue, and continued their way, more swiftly now.

Stopping before Patrick, Sue and Jack, she looked at Patrick, and said softly, "What troubles you, Patrick?"

Patrick looked at Sue, and Sue looked at Jack, and said "Cassandra, I have a reason to think this may not be a healthy place to buy a RV from. There could be unwanted problems from some of the staff."

Cassandra looked at Sue and Patrick, then again at Jack, and nodded her head as if concluding something. She reached out and softly grasped Jack's left arm, and slowly turned his wrist over, exposing his Tattoo. "I am not surprised. I will not ask the identity of the one you Watch, Chronicler, I know of your oath, and would not make you break it."

A sudden tingling caused Patrick, Sue, Cassandra, and at their movement, even Jack to jump, and Patrick looked wildly around until he spotted a figure standing a bit away, watching them. "Um, it may be too late."

Jack looked out the door, and added, "Might be. Sorry."

"Oh well, in that case, let us conduct our business, then if there is any more business to be conducted, we can handle it while the paperwork is prepared." Cassandra said, loudly enough that the other party could hear her as well.

Jack shook his head, and said "I suppose so."

The other figure moved off again in the direction from which it had come, never having come into clear view, nor having said a word.

"So, it is the three of you, and possibly the fourth if the authorities grant permission from what I was told, is that right?"

"Yes."

"And price range?"

"Lower mid-range. I was thinking something like my Caravan at home. It's about 200 feet inside, about 30 feet long."

"Ok, we have several models in that general size. I was just telling Sue about the Fiesta and Tioga models, but those are more entry level units, A good '03 I could recommend would be a Fleetwood Bounder I have, 31 feet long, 12 feet high, and 8 1/2 feet wide. Sleeps seven, in four areas. It has a regular queen bed in the rear bedroom, then the couch and the kitchenette convert into doubles, and on this particular unit, there is a drop down bed over the driver and passenger seats, as well. Fully equipped, with microwave, television, surround sound audio system, even has a mobile video & data satellite system which hooks up through Direct TV, but service would be extra. It was a custom build, but the person who ordered it had to back out at the last minute, and forfeited the deposit. I could make you a good deal at eighty five. Want to see it?"

Cassandra nodded, and stepped aside. Jack exited the RV, Sue following him, and all four of them made their way deeper into the lot, until they stopped before a large, white and tan RV. Opening the side door, Jack motioned them all in, then followed them inside.

The interior was slightly cramped with all four of them standing in the lounge area. The inside walls were basically white with light wood grain fixtures and cabinets. The stove, oven, and microwave in the kitchen across from the door were white, as was the large refrigerator to the door's left.

Looking past the fridge, Sue could see a large bed in the room in the back. To the front, there was a couch, with a booth type table opposite it, and the driver's and passenger's seats, both of which were currently turned facing the interior. The passenger's seat was also reclined, with a footrest extended.

A television was mounted in the overhead compartment above the table, where it would be easily viewed from both the couch, and the recliner/passenger seat.

"Looks a lot better than the back seat of my Geo, I'll give you that Cassandra." Sue said.

"I'm glad you approve. After all, it will be yours, and registered in your name, Child." Cassandra answered, nodding.

"What?" Sue asked?

"Well, I can't very well ship it back home with me when I leave, besides I already have a Caravan at home. This will be my gift to you, an amends for doubting you earlier."

"I, I can't take this." Sue complained.

"Can, and will, unless you wish to offer me an insult." Cassandra said, suddenly looking stern.

"Uh, Ms. Danning?" Jack offered softly.

"Yes?" Sue said, still a bit upset by being forced to accept Cassandra's gift.

"Take it. I don't think it will get you in any more trouble than you are anyhow."

"Fine. Put it in my name." Sue said in exasperation.

"Very well. Now that that is settled, Sue, is your car front, or rear wheel drive, and is it an automatic or a stick shift?" Cassandra asked.

"What? Why do you ask? I can drive all of them, if that's what you are wondering." Sue answered.

"No, for the trailer." Cassandra explained.

"Front wheel, automatic." Sue answered.

"A Two wheel nose trailer would probably work well. We have those in stock even, so no delay waiting to get one shipped here. That way, assuming we can get Service to work right away on check-out and detailing, you can be out of here tomorrow."

"What?" Sue, Patrick, and Cassandra all said at once.

"I don't understand. I thought you knew you can't just pick out a motor home and drive it home. It's not like a car, there are a lot of complicated parts that make up a motor home. The orientation usually takes an hour or two to walk a new owner through the basics, like dumping and filling the tanks, hook ups, maintaining the generator, auxiliary batteries, how to run the air conditioners, changing the refrigerator from AC to DC or Gas, lighting pilots, filing the propane tank, setting up the beds, couches, and such. The list goes on and on. And some mistakes you can make can kill people." He said, then looking between Patrick and Cassandra, he amended, "Well could kill Sue at least."

Cassandra muttered something about all Patrick needed was more ways to get killed, but Sue couldn't quite make out what she said. Neither Patrick or Jack heard a thing.

"Well, is there any way we could accelerate it? Cassandra already has a motor home, so she should know most of that stuff, and I don't care as much about double checking that everything works as I do about getting moving again. If anything comes up, we can have it fixed later in L.A., if we can only get there." Sue said, looking at Jack imperatively.

"Let's start the paperwork, and I'll see what I can do. It may take 'till tomorrow to move it out of here. You know they have to move all the other vehicles in this row to get it out, don't you?"

"We do now." Patrick grumbled.

They filed out of the RV, and made their way into the office building. As they walked down the hall to the Finance Department, Sue felt the telltale tingle of the other Immortal shortly before they passed what she assumed was his office. As Patrick and she filed by, she noticed his eyes widen, and a sudden gleeful expression come over his face. An almost evil expression.

Cassandra and Jack talked to the Sales Manager, while she and Patrick were left to look over the office. Growing bored, Patrick turned and headed back to the lobby in the front of the office. Sue had to stay, however because they needed information from her, such as her driver's license, her birth date, her home address in Los Angeles, her insurance company, and other details like that.

Once she had finished, Cassandra had handed them a cashier's check from First Practical Bank, made out for eighty thousand dollars, and added another five thousand in cash. When the Sales Manager mentioned taxes, Cassandra said something about them covering any additional costs themselves, since she was paying cash, and something about her voice made both men agree without argument.

Sue and Cassandra headed back to the lobby to find Patrick, while Jack and his manager went about getting the RV moved and prepped for immediate release. Sue made a mental note to bring Cassandra along if she ever faced an important negotiation in the future.

In the Lobby, they found Patrick staring at a water cooler with a hurt expression, a paper cup in his hand, and a puddle of water at his feet, along with the circular bottom of the paper cup.

Before they could say anything, a cold voice spoke from the hallway behind them, "I believe it is time for our, business."

Cassandra turned, and looked at him. "And you are?"

"I am Douglas Walters, and there can be only one, me. I challenge you" He said, looking Cassandra over with vague interest.

"I really doubt it." Cassandra said, sounding bored, "Here, in the lobby? Isn't that a bit, public?"

"No, bitch. Don't be stupid, you're not a blonde, don't act like one. In the maintenance yard, behind the building. Now."

He led the way for the three other Immortals back outside the building, and behind a fence to a somewhat open asphalt area, closing the gate behind himself.

"I will kill you first, then your two students. I'll have you know I've already taken six other heads before. Three more should be a snap." He said looking at Cassandra, and pulling a roman short sword out from under his sports coat, which he hung carefully on the fence, right over the "No Smoking" sign.

Cassandra frowned, and pulled out her own rapier, handing her coat and purse to Sue. "Try to keep it clear of the fireworks, please. I have quite a bit of cash in there still, and would hate to see it burnt."

"Ok", Sue said, then froze, as she suddenly felt the touch of ANOTHER Quickening.

Douglas looked around, and said, "What is this, a Gathering?"

Cassandra looked around as well, then turned to Sue. "Do you know anyone else who should be here?"

"No. Not that I'm expecting, other than Sally, and somehow I really doubt she brought an Immortal with her." Sue replied.

The gate creaked open, and Adam was revealed standing in the opening. "Sue?" he asked, peeking his head around and taking in the scene.

Sue turned at the familiar voice and said "Adam?"

Cassandra went white upon seeing Adam, the blood draining from her face and her sword tip dropping to the ground, but her eyes narrowed in what appeared rage, as she whispered one word, "Death."

Patrick went white as well, looking back and forth between the new arrival and the two women, and just repeated them, "Adam, death?"

Adam looked at Cassandra and said flatly, "Hello Cassandra."

"Methos." Cassandra said, her voice now devoid of all emotion, but the color coming back into her face, and her rapier lifting back up into a more usable position. "What are you doing here?"

"Methos?" asked Douglas.

"Methos." Said the still pale Patrick, edging away for a moment towards Douglas, then apparently rethinking his actions, and instead standing where is was.

"Checking up on Sue." Adam said. "What are you up to, and I don't mean in general, we can get to that later, I mean right now, here?"

"Meeting this fool's challenge", Cassandra said, motioning at Douglas with her rapier.

"You challenged Cassandra?" Methos asked Douglas.

"I challenged her, and her two students." Douglas said.

"We're not her students." Patrick said, trying to correct Douglas for some reason, "I'm Sue's Student."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter, soon you'll be dead." Douglas said, returning his attention to Adam and raising his Gladius, "Unless you are planning to interfere in my challenges"

"Oh, I won't interfere in your challenge, you can kill yourself however you chose, but I do have to warn you, if you should somehow win, your head will roll right after my Student's. You'll never get near the Younglings." Adam said, looking at Douglas meaningfully.

"I'm NOT your student." Cassandra hissed at Adam.

"If you don't want to claim me, that is your choice, Cassandra. We can talk about it later, after you take care of this idiot."

"Fine. I'll kill the bitch, then I'll kill you, then I'll kill your students." Douglas said.

"We're not his students" Sue said.

"Whatever!" Douglas shouted, finally losing his temper and charging at Cassandra. "I don't care who's students you are," he said swinging wildly, Cassandra merely stepping to his left and out of range of his first attempt, "I will kill you all." He said, swinging again at Cassandra, and again missing as she stepped to her right this time, "And there can be only one!" he said, taking a third swing at Cassandra, which she again avoided, this time by taking a step backwards.

"Well, it won't be you," Cassandra said, bringing her sword around in a single swipe, and slicing neatly through Douglas's neck.

As Douglas collapsed, and the energy of the Quickening started leaking out of the body, Patrick stared in awe.

Bolts of blue white energy shot out of Douglas's body and into the ground, into the fence, into the lights, and mostly into Cassandra. Lights exploded, glass rained down, and the gate opened as Sally stuck her head in to see what was happening.

Sally watched as powerful currents arced from the headless body on the ground into Cassandra. She watched other bolts arc into the wooden slats woven through the wire mesh of the fence, setting them and the jacket hanging off them on fire, and into the light pole with its bulb which overhung the small enclosed space. Raining down glass on Patrick who stood beneath it. Finally, she watched as a final bolt shot out and hit the base of the light pole, and it toppled, crushing Patrick beneath it as it fell.

Looking around at the devastation, she simply said, "Ach, an I missed the fight!"

Adam moved to help Sue pull Patrick's dead body from under the collapsed pole, while Cassandra collected Douglas's pitiful sword and carried it back towards Adam and Sue, a blade now in each hand. Seeing Sally however, she hissed at him, "We will deal with this later," and walked on past Sally and out of the yard, leaving the fire to burn behind her.

Sue and Adam pulled Patrick out from under the wreckage, and managed to carry him through the gate, which Sally continued to hold open for them.

Once through the gate, Adam looked around, and said, "Let me carry him."

Sue set down Patrick's feet, and Adam draped Patrick's right arm over his shoulder and supported him as though he was drunk, dragging him through the lot towards where the cars were parked, Sue and Sally following along behind.

"Sue, go open your car, and we'll put him in the back seat, 'till he revives."

Sally looked at Adam, and said, "You know he is Immortal. Don't you see this as a violation of your Oath?"

"I don't see how," Adam replied, "The oath said I would not interfere with their lives. It didn't say I couldn't interact or even help on occasion."

"It also said ye would nae let them ken yer existence."

"No, it said that I would observe and record without interfering or letting them know I was there, if you want to be specific. Since I obviously can't be invisible, that is impossible, therefore it doesn't count. But the letter is not the important part of the oath, it is the intent behind it. Watchers should watch, and record. Not participate. That was the intent. Remember, three thousand years ago when the oath was first formulated, it wasn't even in English or French, neither language existed. I have read and retranslated the actual oath, sworn by the first Watchers, and supposedly handed down to their successors. It was quite a bit longer than the three liner used by the Society today. Roughly translated, it would go more like this: 'I am a Watcher. I swear to observe and record the interactions between Immortals without judgment, and without taking any action or providing any information which could alter the outcomes of their battles. To this I swear my life.' Granted, that's how I translated it, but the key difference is that the original oath is FOLLOWABLE, the current one is more LAUGHABLE. How many Immortals do you think have no idea we are out there? They're a paranoid lot, do you really think they wouldn't notice someone actually spying on them? Read the chronicles, and look specifically for Immortals who have confronted their Watchers, telling them to back off, or interrogating them. Look at the Watchers who have disappeared, supposedly killed by their subjects when they were discovered."

"But," Sally said, "That means that they all know?"

"No. I bet the idiot Cassandra just dealt with had no clue. But I'm equally sure Cassandra has told all her students, and probably this one here as well." Adam said, laying Patrick down in the back seat of Sue's car.

"And what makes you such an expert in ancient Watchers?" Sally challenged.

"I don't believe I introduced myself," Adam said, "Adam Pierson, researcher, historian, and linguist, currently assigned to the Methos project."

"Methos?" Sally asked, "Is he real?"

"I just heard Elvis is alive, so why not Methos. Cassandra is over thirty five hundred years old, Sue's Immortal was almost four thousand, so that means he could still be around. Plus, from what Sue said, Cassandra and Duncan, who I know personally, apparently ran into him in Bordeaux a few years ago."

As they turned back towards the Office building, the propane tank behind the burning fence finally exploded, throwing a huge fireball into the late afternoon Memphis sky.

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