========================================================================= Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 16:09:50 -0500 Reply-To: JJSWBT@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Wendy Tillis Subject: Hidden Potential 21/22 Hidden Potential By: Wendy Tillis March 1996 All standard disclaimers apply. Chapter 21 Duncan stepped into Joe's Place and shook the snow off his shoulders and head. It was March but the weather didn't seem to know that. It had been a cold, hard winter. He hadn't heard from Methos since their meeting in January. Duncan had also been avoiding Joe, as he made his plans to leave town. One advantage to being friends with your Watcher was that he didn't actually watch Duncan very much. As Joe had grown older, and getting around became harder, he relied more and more on Duncan to keep him apprised of what was going on. Duncan suspected that Joe would have been taken off field work years ago if their friendship had not made his assignment easier. Joe was behind the bar, as usual. It was only 3:30 and the place wasn't officially open for business. That never stopped Duncan from stopping by for a cup of coffee. Joe looked up as Duncan approached and from the look on his face, Duncan knew something was wrong. "What is it, Joe, you look worried." "It's Adam. Methos." Duncan felt a shiver of dread run up his spine. Not another dead friend, please God. "What's happened. Is he dead?" Duncan decided to get the bad news over with as fast as possible. "I don't know. Probably." Joe paused and shook his head. " I knew I should have had someone Watching him. Then I would know. But I couldn't figure out how to do it without causing all kinds of trouble - for Methos and myself." " Why don't you just tell me what happened, Joe." Duncan relaxed a bit inwardly. If Joe didn't have proof that Methos was dead, it was more than likely that he had just gone walkabout. " Well, when he left here last summer, he had me assign him to research duty in Moscow. We lost track of a lot of Immortals between the Revolution, the War and Stalin. Adam was going to try and find out what happened to the ones we never spotted again after 1917. Figure out which ones were really dead and which ones just used the unrest to create new identities. Everything was going fine. Then, in January, he wrote saying that he had spotted an old Immortal - someone that had been out of our records for centuries. He was going to try and track him. I wrote back and told him "no" but he didn't listen. For the last two months, he's sent back regular reports of the guy's movements. Two weeks ago we got the last one. Methos thought the guy had sensed him. Methos has been being careful to stay far away from the guy. Then - nothing. No reports. No phone calls. A couple of days ago, I shifted one of our operatives from Prague to Moscow to look for him. His apartment was just the way you'd expect it to be if he was coming back. Clothes in the closet, food in the cupboards, dirty socks on the floor. But no Methos." Joe stopped talking. Duncan tried to digest what he had heard. If Methos *had* found an old Immortal and gotten too close, he could be dead. Methos' skill with a sword was adequate but hardly expert. There had been no doubt in either of their minds' that Duncan could have taken him if he'd wanted to. And Methos' story of his time with Maggie seemed to reinforce the idea that Methos lived by his charm and not by his sword. On the other hand, if Methos wanted to disappear, this was as good a way as any. He had only to walk away from whatever possessions he had left in the apartment. Duncan suspected that Methos had brought little of sentimental value with him to Russia. He had been planning from the start to fade away. "I don't know Joe. I don't think I'd close the book on Methos quite yet. He might turn up. He has survived 5000 years. You'll probably hear from him in a week or two. He might have found some sweet young thing and decided to shack up for a while." " Maybe. But I don't like it." " I don't like it either, but there isn't much either of us can do." "No. Sometimes I hate this job." " So what have you been up to, MacLeod? It's been a month since you've been in here." " Just staying out of the cold, Joe. Nothing special. You heard from Richie?" "Not from him, but I got a report last month, yeah. What happened between you guys, you never did say?" Joe knew that Richie and Duncan had had a falling out over that red haired girl last summer, but Duncan had never gone into details. Of the final fight between them, Joe knew nothing at all. "Where was he?" Duncan ignored Joe's questions as he had in the past. "Rome. He's been active, taking a lot of heads. I . . I can't say I approve of his actions. He . . he seems to start the trouble most of the time. I didn't think Richie would end up that way." Joe shook his head sadly. " Maybe he'll snap out of it, Joe. We all go through bad phases. Who knows that better than I? If he lives, there is time to change." "Maybe." Duncan looked at Joe. He looked bad. No, that wasn't it. He looked old. He wasn't even fifty and he looked old. Duncan hated this part of his mortal friendships. The way he had to stand by and watch them grow older while he stayed the same. What must Joe feel? To see Duncan stay the same year after year - almost 18 years now -- while Joe aged? To know that he was nearing the end of his life while Duncan might go on for another century? It was a wonder that any of them -Watchers or Immortals - stayed sane. The phone rang and Joe turned to answer it. Duncan knew it was time to leave. Time to leave Joe's and time to leave Seattle. He didn't want to sit here and watch Joe grow older and die. It was as simple as that. It might be cowardly but he just couldn't take it any more. Duncan realized that what he really wanted to do was hit the road. Just start moving and keep moving. Stop when the urge hit, move on when he wanted. No fixed address. How long had it been since he'd been free? He couldn't remember, before the First World War? Longer ago? It was definitely time to go. Duncan got up off the stool. Joe, still on the phone, turned and raised a hand as if to say he would be done in a moment. Duncan nodded and indicated that he was going. Joe nodded and went back to talking on the phone. Duncan walked over to the stairs and looked back. Joe had his back turned. Duncan smiled and climbed up the stairs to the door. He looked back once more - remembering all the time he had spent here. Having a drink with Amanda. His first date with Anne. The day the narcotics squad raided the place after Kalas had planted drugs here. Listening to Joe play the blues. He would miss this place. He opened the door and stepped out into the lightly falling snow. He took a deep breath and started to walk.