========================================================================= Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 20:36:00 PDT Reply-To: Mike Goldman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Goldman Subject: "A Dangerous Game" (18/22) HL Story A brief note: The last 2 journal entries in part 17 should be dated 189*5*. Never try to edit your posts and program your VCR at the same time...you end up with mistakes in your post and, instead of the intelligent and thoughtful program you were *trying* to tape (never mind what it was ), you end up with something like: "The Lost Episodes of Barney" (may they never be found!)... "Now all my dreams are just memories fated never to be..." Joe levered himself out of the couch and began to pace back and forth. Richie watched him for a few minutes, then thought he'd test out his observations. "You seem pretty upset, Joe." he said. Joe stopped pacing. "Upset? I'm not upset." "Oh." "I'm furious!" was the response. Richie curled back into his seat. Furious was worse than upset. Much worse. Joe resumed his pacing. "That son-of-a-bitch!" he yelled. Hearing his voice echo down the hall, he realized what a fragile hold he had on his own anger. Too many conflicting emotions were at war inside him--his anger, his desire to protect Rory, his need to know about the past relationship and, he privately admitted to himself, his anger at Rory for not trusting him enough to tell him about this chapter of her life. He continued to pace, feeling his anger building, and was at the point of needing to break something when Richie intervened again. "Joe?" said the young man, looking over the back of the chair cautiously. Richie had seen Joe mad several times, but never like this. "Why don't you go for a drive or a walk or something for a little while? You look like you need some time." The older man stared at the younger for a moment. "I can watch Rory." Richie offered. Joe looked skeptical. "Really." said Richie firmly, giving Joe his most winsome smile. Joe made his decision. "Alright." he said, grabbing his keys. Maybe a chance to drive and yell into the wind would do him some good. "I'll be back shortly." He walked out and slammed the door behind him. Richie sighed in relief as he heard the Forerunner rev up and pull out of the driveway. He flipped idly through a few more pages, then decided to check and see how Rory was doing. He jogged over to the basement door and grabbed the key. Loping down the steps, he was surprised to see Rory standing there as though she was waiting for him. "How you doin'?" he asked. "I'm myself at the moment if that's what you're trying not to ask." >she replied. "Can I get you anything?" "Yeah." she responded. "You can let me out of here to go clean >up just a bit." "I don't know..." Richie responded thoughtfully. "C'mon, " Rory pleaded. "Look at me--I'm filthy. I just want to wash up and put on a clean shirt at least. And in case you haven't noticed--there's no bathroom in here." "Well, let me see your eyes first." he asked. She walked up to the door of the enclosure and stared him directly in the face. "Satisfied?" she asked, stepping back. They were clear blue. Richie took the key and inserted it in the lock, popping it open. "Thanks." Rory said in response to his actions. She walked over to the stairs. "Y'know, Richie," she said conversationally, "I've always liked you." "You have? That's good, that's good." "Almost makes me sorry that I've gotta do this to you." The words hung in the air just long enough for Richie to realize that something very bad was about to happen. As the realization began to sink in, Rory spun around and punched him in the stomach. As he doubled over, she grabbed the item nearest to her, an old clock, and brought it crashing down on his head. Richie's last thought as he sank to the floor was that Joe was going to be extremely upset with him. The next thing he felt was himself being dragged across the cool concrete floor and then dropped. As his vision cleared and the dwarfs stopped pounding on his brain with sledgehammers, he saw that he was definitely on the *wrong* side of the kennel door as Rory shut and locked it. She looked up from the lock and saw him staring at her. "Sorry." she offered, almost sounding as if she meant it. "But I need to get going and you would most assuredly be a hindrance." She gave him a half-smile, turned and headed for the stairs. "Rory! Wait!" he yelled. She turned around. "Don't do this--we can help you!" She gave him another small smile. "That's a nice thought, Richie, but nothing can help me." Then she ran up the stairs and was gone. A few minutes later, Richie dimly heard his motorcycle start up and then roar out of the driveway. However many hours later it was, the next sound he heard was the basement door being opened and footsteps pounding closer and closer. The footsteps stopped dead as Duncan, Anne and Joe saw Richie smiling weakly at them from inside the kennel. "Richie? What are *you* doing in there?" Duncan asked. "It's a long story, Mac." was the response. "Can you just get me out of here, please?" Duncan looked at Joe, who handed him the extra key he had in his pocket and Duncan walked over and let Richie out. "I'm sorry, Mac." were the first words out of his mouth. "I don't think it's me you should be apologizing to." said Mac, >cocking his head at Joe. Richie opened his mouth but Joe cut him off. "What happened?" he demanded. "She wanted to clean up a bit." Richie explained, "I checked her eyes and they were completely blue so I thought it would be OK. On the way to the stairs, she sucker-punched me and then put me in there." he finished, pointing to the kennel. "Did she say anything about where she was going?" Joe demanded. Richie opened his mouth, then stopped. "Well, not really." "What does *that* mean?" Richie wondered if he looked as miserable as he felt. "I told her not to go because we could help her. She said that was a nice thought, but that nothing could help her now." He looked at the expression on Mac's face and an unpleasant idea began to dawn. "You don't think go try and find an Immortal to pick a fight with and let them take her head, do you?" "Where would she go?" Duncan quickly asked Joe. "There's several places--she wouldn't go to the bar, but she's got several favorite spots she likes." "Let's get upstairs and make a list. Then, we'll split up into teams of two and check them out as fast as we can." Lori mgoldman@cts.com Bass Player/Musical Director for the SJD Kick-Ass House Band CFW/WAR Chief for Smokin' Joe Dawson in the first HL WAR