Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 20:18:16 -0500 Reply-To: NSumsion@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Nathan R. Sumsion" Subject: The Value of Friends (8/10) This story contains violence and profanity. I think. The Value of Friends part eight of ten by Nathan R Sumsion SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. 1996 Russell Carthage sat in his Geo Metro, occasionally glancing across the street to Jacob Hamilton's home. The Immortal hadn't come out for two days. Two days since receiving his last Quickening. Russell occupied his time by describing the monster of a fire the Quickening had caused amidst the stacks of paper. The place was roaring almost before Jacob made it out. He glanced at his watch. Almost 3:30. He needed to go soon, he wanted to go to the hospital to check... "Do you have a minute?" "Jesus!" Russell yelped, dumping the book off his lap and ramming his knees into his steering wheel. Jacob had approached the car from his house. Russell had never even seen him walk over, despite the fact that Jacob obviously hadn't tried to sneak up on him. Jacob smiled, bashfully. "Sorry." "Look, I'm not doing anything to bug you now..." Russell started, but Jacob held up a hand to stall him. He was squatting down by the open passenger window. "Carthage, it's okay." The Watcher paused. "Huh?" "I didn't come out here to harass you, or yell at you." "You didn't?" Carthage still wasn't buying it. "I didn't even mean to sneak up on you." Carthage laughed at himself. "Well, I guess it doesn't do much for my reputation as a Watcher, does it?" Jacob laughed too. Carthage asked, "So what do you want?" Jacob looked uncomfortable. "It's just... I heard... about Monica. Is she..?" Russell answered. "Yeah. She'll be okay. She wasn't hurt too badly. Hospital said they'd let her out tomorrow if nothing else went wrong." Jacob wasn't looking at the other man, he was staring down at his feet. "It was the Magyar, wasn't it?" Russell looked at the Immortal curiously. "Yeah." He wondered where Jacob was going with this. "I didn't mean for her to get hurt." "There wasn't anything you..." Jacob glanced up at the Watcher. "The Magyar's here after me." Russell shrugged. "I know." This startled Jacob, but then he quickly understood. "Oh yes. Of course. You would know that. Then you know about the last time I fought him?" "Know about it?" Russell grinned. "Hell, I was there." SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. 1985. Jacob flew through the plate glass window, falling over the counter and knocking over a rack of clothing. Since he wore no coat, his arms and face were lacerated several times, and glass particles were stuck in the tangle of hair that fell around his face. Despite the pain, he quickly got to his feet. The Magyar was right behind him, jumping over the sill of the broken window into the empty store. They were in some strip mall, up on the second level. Jacob had briefly tried to fight this European monster and had nearly been beheaded twice down below. He had fled up here to try to get away. He figured he could at least outrun the giant. The Magyar brought his sword down and Jacob dived out of the way. He swore the man's Claymore _whistled_ it was coming so fast. He had his own Rapier, but was sure it would have shattered had he tried blocking that blow. "Come now, youngster," the Magyar taunted, stalking after Jacob as he ran around racks of new wave clothing. Surely his being tossed through the window had set off _some_ kind of alarm. "Why are you running away? I would have thought you would delight in your chance at revenge." "I haven't forgotten Ryoshei, you bastard," Jacob snarled. He ducked around another rack. The Magyar momentarily lost sight of him, so he began backing towards the window, blocking off Jacob's escape. Jacob waited until the man glanced the other way, then threw himself at him. He was hoping to tackle the Magyar over the broken glass, if not injuring him, at least getting him down long enough to run away. Jacob hit him and barely felt the other man move. Whereas all the wind inside Jacob was quickly knocked out of him. "Oof..." The Magyar grabbed him by the shoulders and tossed. Jacob felt himself at the mercy of gravity for all of a second before slamming into the railing overlooking the courtyard a story below. His back screamed in pain and, he almost laughed at this one, he swore that there were stars circling his head. He thought that only happened in cartoons. Suddenly the Magyar's grinning face filled his vision and he realized the man was running at him, bringing his sword down. Jacob dropped his sword over the side in his last effort to stop the Claymore from its intended beheading. He gripped the Magyar's wrists and, instead of trying to overpower him, twisted them forward in their momentum. At the same time, he kicked up towards his opponent's crotch and _lifted_. "Wha..?" the Magyar stammered before both of them went tumbling over the side of the railing. Jacob landed hard on his shoulder. He was sure it was broken. His left arm was totally without feeling, but he couldn't figure out how to get off from on top of it. And worst of all, he couldn't figure out where the Magyar had gone. Until he heard the laughing. It chilled him, it was so cold. "Mother of God," the man was chuckling. "Hamilton, you broke my leg." The laughing became louder, voicing true mirth. "I can't remember the last time this happened. Rest assured, I will tell others of your worth..." Jacob still couldn't figure out which way was even up. The world was tilted at such a weird angle. All he could see was the concrete right beneath his face. He heard the Magyar picking up his sword. "Your teacher taught you well, Hamilton. You were truly a worthy adversary..." The sirens were what saved him. Their crash into the store had tripped a silent alarm. He heard the other man start to hobble off. "Ah, Hamilton, Fate is on your side tonight. Who am I to argue with that? We will meet again." SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. 1996. "I think I had a witty comeback to that, but I never remembered. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital." Both men paused, neither one of them knowing what to say. Then Jacob stood up and stretched. "Give my best to Monica... when you see her." Russell got out of the car. He stood with the door open and looked at Jacob. "Why did he spare her? The Magyar's been killing Watchers like they're going out of style. Why let her go?" Jacob scratched his chin thoughtfully, looking off somewhere else, beyond the Watcher. "I don't know," he said. "But you let Monica know that, one way or another, he won't be coming back to hurt her again." ******************** Jacob went back to the cathedral. This was the most he'd ever been here in such a short time. He nodded at a priest as he walked in. There was only one other person in the chapel, a lone man seated at one of the pews. He was looking at Jacob as the Immortal entered, but turned back to his own contemplations. Jacob sat down, but before he could even lose himself in his thoughts, he felt the presence of another Immortal. He braced himself, expecting to see the Magyar, but was surprised to see another man. This man was dressed in a grey business suit. He had red hair and a trimmed beard. Jacob had never seen him before. August Wilmont nodded to Conrad, and the other man left the church, standing by the door to ensure the two Immortals were not disturbed. "August Wilmont," the man introduced, placing a package down next to Jacob. Wilmont didn't sit down, but stood in the aisle beside Jacob. "Got something for you." Jacob looked dubiously at the box and then back at the smug man. He didn't have to look in it to know who's head it contained. "You fucking bastard." "Tsk, tsk. This is a church, man," Wilmont reproved, ignoring the ominous parcel he himself had brought into the place of God. "There is a time and an address to a pier. Tomorrow night. Of course, you'll have to open the box to get it." "Oh, I'll be there," Jacob promised through clenched teeth. "That's good. Because if you're not, I'll make sure you take the fall for her death. Until tomorrow." He walked out of the church, as if he hadn't a care in the world, leaving Jacob alone. ******************************* End part eight. Please send any comments to me at NSumsion@aol.com =========================================================================