Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 23:53:51 -0500 Reply-To: Mike Breen Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Breen Subject: REVENGE AND REBIRTH III - Cast The First Stone, Part 3 Yet another new address. This is the former mikeb@usa1.com from my new address. You can still reach me at the old one, but I only check it once a week. Note: The character of Kagero appears in the Japanese animated movie "Ninja Scroll." For anyone who hasn't seen it, I strongly suggest you rent it, since Highlander fans can easily get into it. Several events in a future flashback will deal with events in "Ninja Scroll." However, I will explain the events in enough detail that if you haven't seen it you'll know what's going on. Note #2: Violence and Language at the same "R" level as before. BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES - JANUARY, 1996 Rebecca looked up from her painting and smiled. Nancy and Amanda. What a thought. Amanda was the one who showed Rebecca how to use her small frame to her advantage. Before that, Rebecca let Patrick do the fighting, or when they were apart, avoided them as much as she could. Ramirez was a wonderful Teacher, no doubt about that, but he was a big man. He couldn't know the disadvantages a small woman had. Amanda changed that. She showed Rebecca that quickness and agility were sometimes more important than brute strength. And she showed her some other advantages a small woman could have. Some of the capers she involved Rebecca in were both exciting and hilarious. Nancy would be in good hands. Patrick and Joe relaxed after working out. Joe said, "I did not defeat you so easily today. You seem to be more focused." "One of Duncan MacLeod's friends, Adam Pierson, visited yesterday and told me that Nancy's fine. She's with Amanda." "And this doses't bother you?" "Look at what she did for Rebecca." "Well... I never knew Rebecca before she met Amanda. How much of her sarcastic, disrespectful character is a result of Amanda?" "Um... most of it. She was actually rather quiet when I first met her." "Hmph." "Hey... it's not like _that_." "The way she talks to you sometimes... when I was born if a woman talked to her husband like that she'd have her heart cut out." "Yeah, and when I was born I'd be expected to give her a slap, though I can't imagine that I ever would have. But you know as well as I that you don't hurt someone just because of their personality. Not wives, not children, nobody." "I know. And I keep my samurai tendencies in check. I always thought that our mutual Student Kagero would have made a much better mate for you than Rebecca, though." Changing the subject Joe said, "This Pierson... wasn't that the name of the Watcher responsible for the CDRom scare this past spring, the man you wanted to kill?" Patrick inwardly winced. Of all the people, men and women, mortal and Immortal, that Patrick had ever met in his life, only Joe and Ramirez could tell when he was lieing with complete accuracy. Then it came to Patrick. He'd tell Joe the truth. Just not the entire truth. He said, "Funny thing about that. Pierson turned out to be an Immortal. Imagine one of us being a Watcher this time around." Joe looked at Patrick sideways, knowing there was more to tell, yet respecting his Student's privacy. They both turned at the sensation of another Immortal entering the dojo. Patrick stood ready, katana in hand. The Immortal entered the workout room. She was a tall, fair, Japanese woman, dressed in a long open coat, tight slacks, and a loose shirt. Her hair was cropped short, and was held back in a headband. "Kagero?" Joe and Patrick said in unison. "Speak of the devil," Patrick said. She smiled, bowed slightly, and said, "Patrick-san, Ammamoto-san. It is good to see you again." "Kagero," Patrick said, "what are you doing here?" "I've come to assist my old Sensei in his hour of need." Patrick said, "Kagero, you can cut the Ninja formality crap." She smiled slightly and said, "I heard that VonHoffer had returned, and I knew that Yoshihiro had moved here. Besides, it's about time I paid the two of you a visit again, since the last time I saw you," she turned to Patrick, "was 1933." Then she turned to Joe and said, "I haven't seen you in a long time, either." "Well, I can't say I'm not glad to see you, Kagero, but I really don't know what you can do," Patrick said. "I can be here for you. I can seek vengeance if VonHoffer succeeds in his plan..." At that Patrick laughed and said, "You'll have to get in line behind Connor MacLeod, Joe, Rebecca, and my latest Student, Nancy Peters." Kagero looked a little confused and said, "Who's Joe?" Joe said, "It is my Western nickname. Much easier for his kind to say than 'Yoshihiro.'" Kagero raised an eyebrow and said, "If you say so. So what _is_ happening?" Patrick filled her in, from VonHoffer's arrival in Boston to Nancy's leaving a month and a half ago. He finished by saying, "So I really don't see what you can do. The only thing we _can_ do is wait for him to make his move, then fall into his plan again." But Joe shook his head and said, "By coming here, Kagero already has made herself part of his plan. I think she deserves to know _everything_." "What?" she said. "Come to my house tonight and I'll explain. I'm still in the townhouse." VonHoffer looked over the photos of the tall Japanese woman that McKinley had handed to him and said, "This is not good." "My thoughts exactly," McKinley said. "Kagero is the most formidable of all O'Brien's Students. When Immortals speak of formidable warriors, she is mentioned in the same breath as the MacLeod's, Ammamoto, O'Brien, Ceirdwyn, Cullen, myself..." "Among our organization, too, she has quite a reputation. But how a woman, born in fudal Japan, could have such skill is a mystery the Watchers haven't been able to crack." "She was a member of the a team called the Koga Ninja and was a formidable warrior before she even died the first time. When O'Brien found her, all he had to do was hone skills that were already in place. I should know. I was there. Gemma, the Immortal who delivered her first death, was a friend of mine." "So what do we do about her?" "Nothing for now. We will adhere to the plan. If she interferes, I will take her after, and only after, I take Ammamoto's Quickening." Kagero and Patrick had a quiet dinner alone. Rebecca was working on a painting, had gotten inspired, and decided to finish it up before returning home. Patrick finished cleaning the table, refilled his wineglass, and joined Kagero in the living room. He sat next to her on the couch and sighed. Feeling he was betraying Bernard's trust, but knowing that was the only way for Kagero to be completely safe, he said, "Do you know about the Watchers?" "No. Should I?" "Probably not. _I_ only know about them through several accidents." He paused before going on. He said, "There are a group of mortals who observe our goings-on for history's sake. They're our biographers. They observe and record, but _never_ interfere. And knowledge of them is their most kept secret. They've been doing this for thousands of years." Kagero was silent, a whole range of emotions playing across her face. Patrick recalled how _he_ felt when Rebecca had told him what she had found out through digging. Fortunately, Kagero had what neither Patrick nor Rebecca had when they found out. A full explanation. Patrick didn't get the final pieces of the puzzle until Bernard actually _told_ him of the Watchers. He continued. "They feel that since we're such a part of history, our stories deserve to be told after the Gathering. It bothered me when I first heard about them, but now I've accepted the fact that I've got a biographer." "If they're supposed to be such a secret, how did you find out?" "Actually, Rebecca found out most of it. Did you ever hear of Daruis?" "What Immortal hasn't? I also heard he died on Holy Ground." "Darius was killed by mortals. By a Watcher splinter group that used its information to kill us. Rebecca did some digging and..." Patrick took a sip of wine. "Mortals killing us?" Patrick nodded. "They seem to have shut down operations since their leader died. Kagero, not _all_ Watchers are Hunters. Most of them are good people. My own Watcher is a good friend." Kagero shook her head and said, "I don't know what to think. It would have been better if you hadn't told me. _Why_ did you tell me, by the way? If this Watcher of yours is such a good friend, you've compromised his secrecy. You, of _all_ people should know about secrecy." "I know. But VonHoffer found his _own_ Watcher and somehow, probably with money, has bought him off. You arrived in Boston with your own Watcher somewhere behind you. He reported your location to his superiors, and it became common knowledge to the Watchers. VonHoffer's Watcher probably has this information by now and you've undoubtedly become a target. My Watcher has told me that he will give me access to as much information as VonHoffer has. And that includes making sure _you're_ prepared." "I understand," Kagero said. "I'd like to meet this Watcher of yours. See what he looks like." "He's definitely not a threatening guy. He's short, overweight, from New Orleans, and pushing seventy years. He also plays a mean sax." "Anything else I should know?" "Just that our old friend VonHoffer brought another old friend with him. Matthew O'Riley." Kagero stifled a laugh and said, "O'Riley?! He's even still alive?" "Yup." BOSTON MASS, UNITED STATES, APRIL 1927 The band played a Glenn Miller standard, and the large crowd danced enthusiastically. Men in tuxedos and women in tight dresses, gloves, and hats whirled across the dance floor, and over to the bar. Cards flipped, dice rolled, and roulette wheels spun. Busy night for a Wednesday. Patrick O'Brien, proprietor of the "speakeasy" located in the basement of a Back Bay building he had purchased specifically for this purpose, lit a cigarette and picked up his drink. He looked at the face of the two men who entered the establishment, turned to the bartender, and said, "Make him wait exactly three minutes, then send him into my office." He turned to the woman with closely-cropped dark hair at the table by the stage and the tall asian woman towards the rear of the club and signaled them to follow him. After exactly three minutes, the man, an overweight man of about forty, dressed in a brown suit, entered Patrick's office to find the dark-haired woman sitting on the corner of his desk and the asian woman standing behind his chair to the left. He was followed by a well built man in a blue pin-striped suit. Patrick looked at the overweight man and said, "Welcome to Club Cork, Mr. Gienolio." The overweight man indicated the two women and said, "What is _this_, O'Brien?" "This," he indicated the woman on the desk, "is my executive assistant, Rebecca DeJeniere. And this," he indicated the asian woman, "is my head of security, Kagero. I hold no meetings without either of them." "Head of..." Gienolio said. "_She_ is head of your security? This'll be easier than I thought." "Kagero..." Patrick said. In a blindingly fast move, Kagero leaped in front of Gienolio's man and spin-kicked him in the head, chest, and groin. The man collapsed in a heap of blue pin-stripes. Kagero searched his pockets and tossed two guns and a knife onto Patrick's desk. "Goddamn," Gienolio said. "Now," Patrick said as Kagero resumed her place behind his chair, "do we talk, or should Kagero demonstrate her _full_ prowess to you?" "You and your fucking Irish mob, I have no choice now, do I?" "Not really, no." Gienolio wiped the sweat off of his brow and said, "What do you need, O'Brien?" "As you can see, my place is very profitable. My customers come here for a good time. I employ many people in my organization, and their job is to keep the customers happy by whatever means necessary. Recently, my supplier was arrested in a sting operation in New Hampshire while he was bringing Canadian liquor over the border. I need a new man. You come with a high recommendation. Here's the deal, I get 100% of your business, you get your going rate _plus_ 5% of my liquor profits." "Huh? Before you were ready to kill me. Now you're making me your partner." "Actually, not partners. You're just getting a piece of the pie. You'll have no control over what goes on here. I deal a clean business in liquor and gambling. You know as well as I do that ten years ago you and I would be considered outstanding citizens, but because of the most stupid amendments the Constitution has ever seen, we're forced to operate outside the law." "What the hell are you getting at, O'Brien?" Patrick rose from his seat and said, "I want you to know where I'm coming from. An ancestor of mine acted outside the law a hundred and fifty years ago. The results were favorable, and Colonel Patrick O'Brien is considered a hero of the American Revolution. I'm fighting the same battle as he did, except most of my colleagues aren't interested in changing the government. Do you think someone like Capone _wants_ Prohibition to end? Of course not, 'cause that'll mean his hold over Chicago will end. Me? I think the amendments unfair and will do everything within my power to fight it. And if that means playing by gangland rules to operate my business the way I want, then so be it." "Whatever," Gienolio said. "I just want my money." "Just remember that if you give anyone else your business, Kagero will demonstrate her full prowess on _you_." "Do you _have_ to give them the 'I'm the new revolutionary' speech _every_ time?" Rebecca said as she sat down on the couch next to Kagero after Gienolio had left. "I just want them to know where I'm coming from," Patrick said. "You're a gangster," Rebecca said. "Whatever disguise you put on it, you're _still_ a gangster." "But with a conscious." "Fine, with a conscious. You're not a _complete_ badass, but you're close to it." Patrick chuckled, sat back, and sipped at his drink. So what if he was a gangster. He had been a lot worse in the past seven and three quarter centuries. He looked at Rebecca and Kagero and said, "Opinions, ladies." Rebecca said, "He's greedy enough that he'll take the offer no questions asked. And Kagero's demonstration scared him enough that he's yours for the duration. He's smart but not intelligent. He may ask for use of the organization in the future to assist in smuggling." "And he'll have it. We have manpower but no Canadian connections. That's why we need a smuggler in the first place." "And he knows it, but he also knows he's one of many in Boston, and if we have to, we'll go to New York to get someone." "Kagero?" Patrick said. "I don't have anything to say that Rebecca didn't already." "Anything to report on the security front?" "Everything's quiet tonight. I had to throw out a couple of trouble makers, and two men came to the door tonight who had the cop-look, so I didn't let them in. One guy couldn't pay a loan at the gambling table, so my people are circulating his name and discription around the circut. The other mobs in the city are quiet as well. I think we've finally hit a balance, which is unfortunate." "Unfortunate? Why?" "Because a new casino is scheduled to open this week-end. It's gonna be called the Cardinal Club, and the proprietor's name is Kurt Hoffman. He's a fairly violent character, coming from New York's underworld. He's got several clubs in New York City and is planning on expanding his operations here. He'll probably attempt to get a piece of everyone's pie." "Kagero, do you know his address?" She nodded. "Rebecca, take a memo." Rebecca opened a pad of paper and took a pen from Patrick's desk. "To Mister Kurt Hoffman, the Cardinal Club, etcetera. Dear Mister Hoffman, please come to Club Cork this Friday, April 23d, nineteen hundred and twenty seven. I wish to meet with you under mutual trust and admiration so that we can avoid any violent entanglements. Please send your reply back with this messenger. Sincerely, blah ba-blah ba-blah." Then he turned to Kagero and said, "I want you to deliver this personally." Kagero waited in the empty casino of the as-yet unopened Cardinal Club. Very faintly, she could feel the presence of another Immortal nearby. One of Hoffman's men was an Immortal, obviously. She'd report this to Patrick. He laughed. "Patrick O'Brien," he said to the aide who had handed him the note. "Did his messenger stay to wait for a reply?" he asked, knowing the answer by way of feeling the other Immortal in the casino. "Yes, she did." "Hmm..." he took out a piece of paper and wrote, "Dear Mr. O'Brien. I understand that everyone has reached a balance, and I planned to propose a summit meeting of all the proprietors to discuss my place in this city. However, since you wish to meet me privately first, I will come to Club Cork next Friday, as I will be Busy with the opening of the Cardinal Club. I'm sure you understand. I look forward to meeting you. Kurt Hoffman." He handed the note to his aide who turned to leave. Then he laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to be in _this_ business, O'Brien." The week went without incident. Friday came, and Patrick entered the gambling floor, waiting for Kurt Hoffman. He looked up, feeling the presence of at least one, maybe two, Immortals and looked at Rebecca and Kagero. They had both felt it too. The bouncer opened the door and let the two men in. Patrick's fist immediately clenched. Kurt Hoffman, the Cardinal Club. It was obvious now. Kurdt VonHoffer, the man who had been instrumental in his wife Yi's death, the man who had been after Patrick nearly all of his Immortal life, and who Patrick had been after for the last four centuries, now stood in his club. Kagero and Rebecca saw him too. And they were all unarmed. None of them had ever faced another Immortal in the club. And duels _did_ seem to be a rather rare thing these days. Sucking up his pride, Patrick walked over to VonHoffer, extended his hand and said, "Welcome to Club Cork, Mr Hoffman." VonHoffer took it, released it, and said, "Been a long time, O'Brien. A _long_ time. So, Irelander," and the man next to him inhaled sharply, "why call me here? Did you see through my disguise?" He ushered VonHoffer over to a private booth while Kagero and Rebecca made their own way over to the booth. "I called you here to make sure you don't intend in tipping the balance. All the casino owners..." "You mean gangsters. Call us what we are." "...have worked hard to reach this compromise. None of us want any kind of war to explode across the city." VonHoffer looked at Kagero and Rebecca and said, "Still surrounding yourself with women, O'Brien?" "I've known Rebecca and Kagero for centuries. You know that better than anyone." "I just think it's odd that I always seem to find you in the company of women." "Are you insinuating something, VonHoffer?" "Obviously not, since you and Rebecca have slept together without benefit of marriage for centuries. Then again, maybe I am." "If you want to fight, VonHoffer, we can take this outside. I think we're both adult enough not to stoop to name-calling." He turned to the other Immortal and said, "at least _my_ assistants are quite a bit prettier than _your_ goon." "Ah yes," VonHoffer said, "permit me to introduce Matthew O'Riley, the _other_ Irelander." "_Other_ Irelander?" "That's right!" O'Riley said in a thick Irish brogue. "And once I take your head, I'll be _the_ Irelander!" "How old are you?" Patrick said. "Old enough." "He is still young, yet, O'Brien," VonHoffer said. "He's not for you." O'Riley's fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. He tensed his shoulders and snorted. Patrick looked at him and said, "Perhaps some day you may be able to face me, but I don't slaughter children." O'Riley stood and said, "How _dare_ you! I'll make you pay!" "Matthew," VonHoffer said. "Our day will come." "Do you know he's using you, O'Riley?" Patrick said. "Every young Immortal he's taken in has been used up in some scheme and is now dead." "No.. NO!" O'Riley said. "Kurdt found me in Ireland two years ago, and has told me he intends on making me into a legend. The legend of the Irelander. Then he told me that _you_ already had taken that name. Once I take your head..." "That's _enough_ Matthew," VonHoffer said. "You _are_ too young, but your time _will_ come, rest assured." Then he turned to Patrick and said, "So, O'Brien, what happened to you? You're acting more like me each time I see you." "What do you mean what _happened_?" "I mean this," VonHoffer waved his hand to take in the club. "Each and every time we've met, since that first time the Inquisition I headed found you, you have been quick to condemn me as an evil man bent only on destruction. Now look at you. You're living _completely_ outside of the law. You and I aren't as unalike as you like to think." "If you're talking about my illegal activities, remember that I did fight in the Revolution. I was an outlaw then, and look at the result. We won our Independence, and the United States Constitution has become a model for the rest of the world. I fought against unjust laws then, and I'm fighting against unjust laws now. There is no difference." "Except for the fact that now you're making a profit from it." "The rules are written by the gangsters. To play their game you have to play by their rules. And to play by their rules you must become one of them." "Don't give me that shit, O'Brien. You cannot condemn me because _your_ soul isn't clean. Remember what the Bible said? What Christ Himself said? 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.' There will be no compromise between the two of us." He turned and left. Patrick watched his retreating back and said, "Rebecca, contact the other casino owners and call an emergency meeting." <<>> (c) 1996 Mabnesswords The entire Irelander saga can be found at: http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~copelasa/irelander