Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 21:54:00 PST Reply-To: Mike Goldman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Goldman Subject: Counterfeit Friends (16/22)--HL Story "Rory, *what* can't be?" he asked again. She turned and faced him. "Someone knows I'm alive." "Who?" She made a face. "Well, if I knew *that*, I'd be halfway there now, wouldn't I?" "Well, let's start at the beginning--obviously those "gifts" meant something to you." She nodded, sinking down onto the floor and putting her face in her hands. After a moment, she raised her head. "They were from when I was in the IRA." "What did they mean?" Duncan pressed. Rory exhaled slowly. "The postcard is easy. I was there when we assassinated Michael Collins." She stopped short at his look. "It had to happen, Macleod! He came back with our country divided up into two parts!" Catching herself, she concentrated on relaxing her hands in order to calm down. "Anyway, I never said it was *me* that was there, but it was awfully handy in some circles to mention that my ancestor had been there." "The photo of the department store?" "It was bombed in 1967 - I helped set it up." Duncan pursed his lips, but kept quiet. He and Rory were always going to have some major ideological differences, but this was neither the time nor the place to thrash *those* out. "And the coin?" "I was glad to have that back." she said softly, looking at her hands again. "Darius gave it to me on my 400th birthday-said someone should always have something to remind them of a birthday of that kind of importance. I'd bored a small hole in it and wore it as an "heirloom" around my neck. The day Kieran's pub was bombed, I was taking it to have it melted down for my wedding ring." "I'm sorry." Duncan said. Rory shrugged. "Twenty years ago. It's over." Macleod knew from experience that the loss never really left you, but he let Rory's statement stand. "Think!" he urged her. "Who could know you're alive?" "I don't know!" she nearly wailed. "I've been thinking and thinking about it since the coin showed up and there's *no one* who should have been able to figure it out." "What happened that day?" "I'd just left the pub when it was bombed and the force of the explosion threw me. When I came to, it must have been just a few seconds later because there were no emergency teams yet. I crawled back and saw Kieran's body and the pub going up in flames. I didn't even really think about what I was doing--I just took some personal effects of mine and threw them into the rubble. Kieran was dead so I let them think I died with him. Afterwards, I gathered up some things and left." Her look suggested there was just a bit more to the story. "And you 'just left'"? "You are just not going to let this go, are you?" Rory demanded. "You want to keep on living?" Duncan shot back. She looked daggers at him, but answered the question. "Bein' as I was fairly highly placed before I left, I had access to certain information and could...place certain people in key positions. I used that power to place a friend of mine-Samuel Reilly-in a key...monetary position." Duncan was dreading the next question he was going to ask. "Monetary position?" "He kept track of all the contributions we received. I knew exactly where he had decided to keep the money and took some for traveling purposes." "How much?" Duncan ground out. She flinched, but looked directly at him. "Two million dollars." "TWO MILLION DOLLARS!" he yelled incredulously. "And you didn't think anyone was going to come after you?!" "What did they know? I was dead!" she yelled back. "It's not like they didn't deserve it! I told them I was leaving but that I wouldn't ever go against them. How do they repay me? They kill Kieran and try to kill me!" Duncan brought his temper down with an effort. They would talk about the money itself at a later date. "Did you ever tell anyone you were Immortal?" he asked in order to get the conversation back on course. She shook her head and gave a short bark of laughter. "Doin' that would have been like volunteering for every suicide mission we ever thought up. I believed in what I was doin', Duncan, but I wanted to live my life just the same." A nagging feeling in the back of Duncan's mind told him he was forgetting something very important. Thinking back over the last two weeks, it suddenly came to him. "Rory." he said slowly. "Yeah?" "Were there many Immortals in the IRA?" "Some," she answered. "but pretty few and far between." "Are any still alive?" Rory thought for a moment. "No, Samuel was the last one that I knew and he was killed several years after I left the country. I heard about it while I was in St. Anselm's." "You're sure?" "Well, I didn't see the deed, Macleod, but I'm reasonably certain. Why?" Duncan explained about the Immortal presence he had felt last night after the bomb had gone off at Joe's. "You're not tryin' to tell me that ye think it's Samuel, are ye?" she asked. "Even if he was alive, he'd have no reason to, he'd think I was dead and I made sure the money couldn't be traced." "Oh, I think he'd have two million reasons." Duncan contradicted her. "There is one way we can find out if he *is* dead." "How?" Slowly, a look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh no, Macleod, I am *not* asking Joe." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her. "You want me to walk in there and say, 'Joe, you didn't know this but I was a ranking member of the IRA for centuries. Could you check and see if one of my comrades is still alive?' I don't think so!" "What makes you so certain that, if he can't get you, he won't come after Joe?" A look of dread crossed Rory's face. "Oh my God, no." she whispered. "Alright, Macleod, you win," she snapped at him, "let's go." She grabbed a jacket and they walked to the door. When they were in the car, she put a hand on his arm before he could start the engine. He looked over at her. "Help me tell him?" she whispered. Duncan nodded and started the car. I want to believe that the wind would know where to take me I want to believe that a dream could get me by But I'm just waiting here Waiting for the sky to fall "Waiting for the Sky to Fall" (Matraca Berg) =========================================================================