Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 20:27:32 -0700 Reply-To: Selma McCrory <94smccro@ultrix.uor.edu> Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Selma McCrory <94smccro@ULTRIX.UOR.EDU> Subject: These Daughters, 5/5 I've discovered that I'll be a little lacking in spare time tommorrow morning, so I'm sending this early. (I still hope that everyone is seeing my posts faster than I am lately...) ------------------------------------------------ These Daughters and These Sisters by Selma McCrory copyright 1994 part 5 (conclusion) "Unnh..." Greer groaned. She opened her eyes into an empty white room, empty except for the man sitting on the chair with her trenchcoat next to him. He was the same dark-haired man she had met on the street. He wore dark pants with a light blue shirt and a navy blue tie. She was on a mattress that sagged, with a pillow behind her head. There was a slight pain in the middle of her torso. She looked there and saw a great deal of dried blood on her shirt, with a hole in it over her heart. "Hello," the man said personably. "Sorry about your shirt, but I wanted to make sure you'd stay out." "Who are you?" Greer asked. She had a bad feeling that she really knew. "Aaron Morris, at your service," he said, affecting a bow from his chair. "Apologies for the accommodations, but you won't be here long." "What do you want?" "I think you know. You've been on my trail, after all." "Well, since I'm the only one that thinks you're active. You hide very well. I can't get any evidence on you" "Thanks, I'll remember that. Next time, however, I'll wipe the records. I don't want anyone to get as close as you have, even if you haven't gotten very close." "You killed Arthur Collier and Bert Royce," she said flatly. He nodded. "And no one had guessed until you brought it up. Who would think to associate a routine part of the Game, and an auto accident?" "And you tried to kill Joe Dawson. Were you going to try for Duncan next?" "Yes, I tried. One of my people missed. Fortunately the gang cover worked. I figured that since you weren't going to stay, I might want to continue my original plan and get rid of him, MacLeod, and Ryan." "And I was a fortunate circumstance." "Yes, I figured that it would be good to get rid of you." She pressed on. "So you're going to get rid of us, or what?" "I'll do what I have to. You can't imagine how much of a danger you've become." She lay down again on the mattress, trying to think of a way to delay him while she thought of a plan to escape, maybe even a way to persuade him that he was wrong. "Do you really know what it means to be in the Game? I know we can report it, but I couldn't even guess until I became a part of it." He raised an eyebrow at the "we." "I'll defer to your judgement," he said. He got up and settled onto the floor next to her. "Are you happy, being what you are?" "What?" "I mean, do you want to go on like this?" "I think I have very little choice in the matter." "I think that you have a choice," he said quietly. "I can help you be free." "By dying?" "Well, that seems to be the only way to get rid of the curse you've acquired." "I don't see it as a curse," she said. _How did he know?_ He shrugged. "How will you feel about it in 20 years? In 50? You will not age, but everyone else will. You'll watch people die, your loved ones and others." "It's my choice to live, and I'll take it as I can." "Oh, and can you take forming a new identity, moving on? I know you like to travel, but someday you will settle down and form close relationships." "Or maybe not." He folded his hands together, touching them to his chin, like someone contemplating a move in chess. "And can you stand all those years, whether you travel, or stay in one place, with people forever following you, forever watching you?" "I think I can handle that," Greer said, trying not to shift. _I must not give him an inch,_ she thought, close to despair. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? My colleague, Robert, said that you were rather discomfited by seeing one of us observe you." She lost her carefully-held composure. "Robert?" she asked. He smiled. "You scared him quite a bit." "I thought he had more strength than that," she retorted. "Oh, he has quite a bit of strength in all the right places." "And a lack of brain in all the wrong ones." "He's loyal. And mortal." She raised an eyebrow in return. He smiled, like a fox when it sees an available rabbit. "You're more alone than any Immortal and you know it. You're no longer a Watcher, and your own kind can't accept you." "I know that's something I didn't tell Robert. How'd you know?" "Oh, I have a tap on Dawson's phone, courtesy of Jasper." She slumped. _This is what I get for discussing my fears,_ she thought sadly. "Don't worry, as I said, I have a way out," Aaron said. He got up, went to her trenchcoat, and removed her sword and scabbard. He also got a bottle out of his jacket. "This stuff will knock out an elephant, so it should work on you. I don't want you to see the blade coming." She nodded dumbly as he came up to her. He unscrewed the cap and offered her the bottle. She reached for it, wondering if she should take his offer, then changed direction to grab her sword. He was startled enough to let it go. She whipped the sword out of the scabbard and hit him across the legs, making him lose his balance. The blood flowed, and Greer paused for a second. She aimed her sword for his heart, but stopped and finally hit him so that he'd be unconscious. He lay there where he fell. She moved him to the mattress, and smiled a small, bitter smile. "Yes, you're right, I don't know what I am, or how I am going to stand this life of mine. But I guess I have to keep on trying." Tears formed in her eyes as she walked to the one door to the room. It was unlocked. _He was so sure of his victory,_ she thought as she opened the door. Stairs lead up to the rest of the house, and she walked up, found an address, and looked for her way home. * * * She decided to stop at the bookstore. Joe could be there, and she needed to warn him about what was going on. Of course, Jasper could be there too. When she walked into the store, Jasper was there, alone. He was apparently surprised to see her alive. She smiled a nasty smile. "Hello. Surprised to see me? Where's Joe?" "I don't know," he said. "I think you do." The telephone's ring interrupted the argument. They both jumped, and Greer picked it up. "Hello?" "Greer, is that you?" Joe asked on the other end, his voice full of relief. "It's me. Joe, I need to talk to you ASAP. Urgently. You get the picture?" "Yes, I've got it," Joe responded. "Hold on, I'll be right there." "Ok, see you later." "Bye." * * * Joe was very fast. He was going fast enough that Duncan, following behind him, had trouble catching up. "Greer, are you all right? I was told you'd been kidnapped!" "I was. Please stop panicking and listen to me for a moment. You didn't think there was something wrong with our group? Boy, have I got a tale to tell you..." she said, explaining what happened to her. Joe turned towards Jasper. "Out," he said firmly. Jasper spared no time in leaving. "Seems you have another personnel problem," Duncan said to Joe. Joe shrugged. "So, I guess I'll be leaving now. I'll be definitely safer that way," Greer said. "By the way, how did you know I'd been kidnapped?" "Charlie saw someone being kidnapped, and I recognized his description of you. I then called Joe," Duncan said. "Who's Charlie?" Joe answered. "Charlie DeSalvo, who runs DeSalvo's Martial Arts for Duncan." "You missed him because he had the flu," Duncan added. "Well, thank him for me," she said. "I will," Duncan replied. "As I said, I need to leave. It's probably for the best. I don't want Aaron Morris or any of his flunkies catching me." "I think it's a good idea," Duncan said. Joe looked at him. "I have to agree. Come back in a few months, we'll have this all sorted out," he said to Greer. "No, thanks, Joe. It's time I got away from all this," she said, looking at Joe and Duncan alike. "I can't be in either society. I wouldn't feel safe in either society. I've got to find my own way." Joe looked at her sadly. "If you ever change your mind, come back to us," he said. "I doubt it, but I'll try," she said. She headed over towards the door, then turned and beckoned Duncan over. When he got there, she said, "Could you lend me some money? I'm rather low on funds." "Sure," he said, quickly fishing some money out of his wallet. "Good luck, Greer." "Thanks," she said. "Oh, and could you keep Joe occupied for a while, so I can get out of town?" "Yes." "Goodbye," she said to him, then waved to Joe, who was looking at her with a wistful expression. She then walked out of the store, and away from the block. She was lucky enough to catch the bus. She relaxed on it, leaving her past behind and preparing for the future ahead of her. It would be a long road, she thought, but a good one. --The End! All comments, requests, etc. to: Selma McCrory "Maybe what the world needs 94smccro@ultrix.uor.edu are more Selmas." selmamc@aol.com -Time Trax =========================================================================