========================================================================= Date: Sun, 21 Apr 1996 23:51:22 -0400 Reply-To: Jill Marie Spetoskey Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Jill Marie Spetoskey Subject: Mortals 11/14 (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: k s gritten Subject: Mortals 11/14 Mortals 11/14 "You can't be serious. She wants to become a vampire so she can kill Immortals?" Richie stared at Nick in astonishment. "You aren't going to do it, are you?" He looked at Nick's face, seeing the indecision written there. "You aren't, are you?" "I don't know," Nick snapped, repressing the vampiric taint to his frustration and worry. "I have to meet her." "You're a vampire. Can't you hypnotize her, or something? Can't you force her to tell you where Joe and Natalie are?" Richie paced the length of Natalie's living room, and Nick saw the anger in him. There was nothing the Immortal could do, however. This was up to Nick. "I can try to hypnotize her, but it might not work. Some people are resistors--they can't be hypnotized." "So what are you going to do?" he demanded again. Nick looked to the window, preparing to take to the sky. He needed time to think. "I don't know yet." ****** "It's a bit of a cliche, isn't it?" Nat whispered, trying to save her voice. "What's that?" Joe asked. "The girl being kidnapped, held hostage. I feel like the bit player on some campy tv show." She tried to make it a joke, but was afraid that her fears were evident in her voice. In the first few hours, sitting in the dark had reminded her of nights spent with Richard in one or the other's bedroom, talking long into the night, or simply taking comfort in the presence of the other. What if Lisa did not come back, though? What if Nick did not find them? How long would they survive? "What about me?" Joe demanded softly, jokingly, pulling her back to the here and now. "You're the innocent bystander. If you were on Star Trek you'd be wearing a red shirt." As he laughed, his arm tightened around her shoulder. It was not cold in the room, but the human contact was comforting. "I've lived a long time without getting eaten by some alien hiding behind a rock," he said. "It's lonely though, isn't it?" She had not meant to say it aloud, not intending to break his cheerful demeanor. For some reason, though, she needed to hear him admit that he felt the same way that she sometimes did. He had told her about Charlie DeSalvo, and Lauren. They were innocent bystanders. They had not known what they were getting into. "Yes," he agreed. "It is lonely. But I made choices." "We all do. That doesn't mean that you have to live with them for the rest of your life." She could tell that he was surprised by her words. To be honest, she was as well. ****** 'Consent freely given.' LaCroix's sardonic tone echoed in his mind, as it often did. Nick could certainly argue that Lisa McKenzie had given her consent, freely and unequivocally. He sat on the rooftop his building, trying to think of a way out of this mess. Could he let somebody blackmail him into making them a vampire? Maybe, if he really wanted to. But what about the consequences? McKenzie's goal was to live forever, to become strong so that she could fight Richie's kind, and kill them. Nick did not know any other Immortals. At least, he did not think so. Would they be able to deal with a homicidal vampire? "It is a lovely night for hunting, Nicholas," Lucien LaCroix spoke with a whisper into his ear by way of greeting. He had appeared so suddenly that Nick was afraid that he had conjured him up from memory somehow, but--for better or worse--it was the real man. "What do you want, LaCroix," he asked tiredly. His master always managed to batter Nick when his defenses were at their lowest. LaCroix cocked his pale head to one side, his dark eyes shining with amusement. "I thought you might need someone to talk to. I understand that you have a bit of a...quandary." Nick could hear the elder vampire rolling the word around his tongue, relishing its implications. "How do you know?" "My dear Nicholas, I know everything, naturally." When Nicholas snorted at the comment, LaCroix continued off- handedly, "Carmen is not known for her discreetness. I'm sure that half of the patrons of the Raven--at least those with good ears, if you understand my meaning--know of the predicament." He rested his hand on his chin as he sat next to Nick. "She did, by the way, apologize for the disturbance at the Raven. I gave her a bottle of our best for a job well done." Nick sighed. "Go away LaCroix. I don't need your 'help'." "Even if your Natalie's life is at stake?" he asked with feigned innocence. "Especially if Natalie's life is at stake," Nick shouted, knowing that LaCroix was trying to goad him, and regretting his response immediately. It did not matter--LaCroix was already gone. His voice still echoed in Nick's head, though. 'Consent freely given.' What would Nat say? That was ludicrous--he knew what Nat would say. Or did he? She had remained withdrawn since Janette had left town again. They both acknowledged what Nick had done. Nick thought it just as well that Janette had left--both women had been mad at him. Imagine what a formidable team they would have made together against him! The vision brought a smile to his face, but it faded quickly. What would Nat say? Would she see a refusal as merely a sign of callousness, of his disregard for her? Is that what a refusal would mean? He realized abruptly that it was time to meet Lisa McKenzie. Time to make a choice.