Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 17:00:55 -0500 Reply-To: shannara@TWAVE.NET Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Kim Sefcik Subject: "'Til Death Do Us Part" (Part 03/13) CHAPTER 3 Seattle (Seacouver, whatever...) Police Station 10:03pm The sergeant leaned back in his desk chair, which emitted a loud squeal in protest. Taking a steaming black mug of coffee off the table beside him, he took a long swallow and sat contemplating the vapors that were rising off the top of the black liquid. /Finally, a slow night,/ he thought, taking another gulp /it's about time./ Unfortunately, his contemplation was broken when a redheaded kid of about twenty waltzed in. "Hey there kid, what can I do you for?" asked the sergeant amicably as he sat up straight and turned to face Richie. "It's a long story," Richie began, "but I believe that you have a sword in custody -- it was taken from a motorcycle wreck earlier today." "Hmm, let me check," the sergeant rolled his chair over to a computer terminal, and pounded on the keyboard for a few moments. "Yea, there's a sword in custody, says here that it's a Don Quixote rapier or somethin'," he said, still facing the computer. "Yea, that's it..." /It's a Columbus 500th Anniversary rapier, people... why can't anyone get it right?/ Richie lamented mentally. "Are you a relative of the guy who crashed or something?" the officer asked, turning around to face Richie and jabbing a finger back at the monitor. /I *am* the guy,/ thought Richie, suppressing a smile. He took a deep breath and began the "story" that he had prepared on the *long* walk to the station. "No, actually, I'm the manager of a martial arts dojo, and the owner has a passion for antique weapons. Anyway, a sword was stolen from the dojo, and I found out from a friend at the hospital that a guy who crashed had been found with a sword on him. So, I figured that it might be the one that was stolen." The sergeant looked unconvinced. "Why didn't you report it missing earlier?" That caught Richie a little off guard. He cursed himself, after all he'd been in and out of police stations most of his life, he should have anticipated a question like that. The sergeant was looking at him, so Richie had to say something... "I've, uh, been out of town lately. I got back from overseas a month ago, stopped in at the dojo, and then went on a...vacation... out East for awhile. I just got back in again this morning." The sergeant gave Richie an appraising look, "What's your name kid?" "Richie -- *Richard* Ryan. And I have a permit for it if that's your problem." Richie was beginning to get *really* annoyed. /It's bad enough that the guy called me a *kid*, now he's acting like I'm a murderer... well I suppose I am,/ Richie thought remembering Mako and Christov, /but that's not something that I can help./ "No, that's not the problem," the officer hesitated, and then leaned toward Richie conspiratorially, "look, to be frank with you, there have been numerous decapitations all along the West coast in the last month... even more so than usual, weird as that may sound. The murder weapon is thought to be a sword, and that rapier has been put into custody for testing as a potential murder weapon... I mean, c'mon, normal people just don't carry swords around for no reason at all, right? " the officer shrugged, "Sorry." Richie's head was spinning, /Beheadings! Now? But Mac's still in Paris. Another Immortal? Connor perhaps? No... Damn, it's probably the Immortal that I 'ran into' this morning -- now is *not* a good time to not have my sword./ Richie jerked from this thoughts as he realized that the sergeant was still talking to him. "Hey, kid -- Mr. Ryan -- you okay?" "Hmm? Oh, yea, I'm fine. Look, here's my card, if anything turns up give me a call okay?" "Yea, sure, no problem," the officer said, glancing over the card. Richie turned and was about to walk out to his bike when he remembered another important reason that he had come to the station. An embarrassed grin spread across Richie's face, "Um, about that bike that crashed..." he began. "Wait, don't tell me," the officer sighed, "it's yours too." Richie grimaced. "Yea." The officer sighed again, "Okay, you show me some proof of ownership and I'll get her out...but I should make you do all the paperwork." he added under his breath, as he heaved out a stack of forms. Kim Sefcik Watcher-in-training Internet: shannara@twave.net shannara@ravenwood.com | "I am Richie Ryan of the clan . . . wait, /~\ can we try that again?" @xxxxx| (|===============================- \____/\_/ "Being blind, you would wish all others blind | as well." -- Cleante, "Tartuffe" =========================================================================