Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 12:30:48 -0500 Reply-To: shannara@TWAVE.NET Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Kim Sefcik Subject: "'Til Death Do Us Part" (Part 06/13) CHAPTER 6 Joe's Bar 10:32am Richie's motorcycle squealed to a stop in front of Joe's. The area outside the bar was a circus of activity. Richie began running up the cement steps and into the bar. "Hey! Kid, you can't go in there!" some EMT yelled. Ignoring him, Richie slipped into the bar and stopped dead in his tracks. The place was a shambles. Tables and chairs and been smashed, there were tinted bottles of alcohol strewn about, and the track lighting that Joe was so proud of had been shattered. Except for the lack of a headless body, it looked like a Quickening had occurred. Just then, Richie spied who he had been looking for. "Mike," Richie called, jogging over toward the balding Watcher, "Mike, what the hell happened here... is Joe okay?" "Don't worry, Joe'll be fine." said Mike, walking away from a police officer, "As to what happened, I'm not entirely sure... I was in the back making some calls when it happened. I heard Joe get slammed against the bar and I called 911. I grabbed a gun and fired a shot off... I suppose it scared away whoever it was." "If it was an Immortal, they wouldn't have left just because you fired off a gun," Richie pointed out, remembering what Mike had mentioned in their brief phone conversation. "Not necessarily, it would be rather awkward if I killed him, and then he "woke up" while the police where here." Richie had to admit that he had a point, "So let's say it was an Immortal... why would they want to kill Joe?" "After you left last night, Joe had me make some phone calls. Richie, you know all those beheadings that you were worried about? About three quarters of the people that have been killed along the Coast by beheading in the last few months were *Watchers*, not Immortals." "Watchers? But why would an Immortal want to kill a Watcher?" Mike shrugged, "I dunno... maybe it's like the Hunters, only in reverse. And beheading is just as easy a way to kill someone as shooting. But that's not all... when we had some of our guys go to retrieve the Chronicles, they were missing... probably stolen." "But how can you even be sure that it's one of us?" Richie protested. He knew that if an Immortal was out killing Watchers and stealing the Watcher's Chronicles then that meant that something *big* was happening... what a time for Mac to be out of town. Mike sighed, "Joe was attacked with a sword. I saw what it did to the bar... not to mention Joe. Now that's either one of you guys or some sort of psycho killer." "There's no reason why it couldn't be the latter," Richie pressed. "Or maybe it's someone who's really deranged and *thinks* that he's an Immortal. Besides I haven't sensed anyone else..." Richie knew that was a little white lie, but he was confident that Michelle wasn't responsible, and there was no need to worry Mike. "Mike, if it's an Immortal, and they have the Watcher's Chronicles..." Richie didn't even want to continue along that train of thought. Mike's expression turned even graver, "And it get's worse, Richie. Joe was writing in some of his Chronicles when he was attacked, and now they're missing -- all of them." 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" =========================================================================