========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 18:06:00 PDT Reply-To: Mike Goldman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Goldman Subject: "A Dangerous Game" (8/22) HL Story "The danger's all too crystal clear..." "Stefan Kijewski?" Joe echoed, "Amanda killed you in 1896 when you were part of the Paris Opera." "Amanda?" Stefan/Rory laughed. "Oh no, my dear...mortal, O'Riordan Malone killed me." Joe, Duncan and Richie stood there with stunned looks on their faces as Stefan continued. "She never told you?" he asked, peering closely at their faces with dark brown eyes. "No, I can see she didn't." He/she walked back to the coffee table, picked up the gin glass and took a drink. Swallowing, he held the glass up to the light, peering into its depths. "We were both with the Paris Opera at the same time." He set the glass down. "Rory was with the Paris Opera." Mac repeated slowly. Stefan nodded. "She had quite the voice -- similar to this Cecilia Bartoli I heard today." "Where's Rory?" Joe demanded, his hand gripping his cane so tightly the knuckles were white. Stefan cocked and eyebrow and looked at him, lingering over the legs and cane. "Oh, she's in here," he answered, tapping his temple, "but I don't think she knows what's occurring right now." Richie pulled his sword. "I've had it with this guy!" he said, levelling his sword so that it pointed directly at the stranger's throat. "Bring Rory back now or I'll take your head!" "Richie, no!" Joe yelled as Mac stepped forward to try and pull his impulsive friend away from Stefan. Stefan, however, spread his hands wide. "Go ahead," he taunted, "but if you do, you won't only kill me, you'll kill O'Riordan as well since this is her body." Richie's sword wavered as Joe held his breath, desperately trying to decide that, if Richie did strike, could he stop him in time? After several interminable minutes that seemed like decades, Richie lowered his sword and stalked into the kitchen in disgust, staring out the garden window. Stefan crossed his arms over his chest. "I see what she told me about him is true." "*Told* you?" Joe asked. "Oh, I have access to many of her thoughts and memories -- including what she thinks about you, mortal." "The name is --" Joe started icily. "Joseph Dawson." Stefan finished. "Yes, I know *all* about you." he looked pointedly at Joe's legs. "Interesting choice she made considering all she's had to choose from throughout the years." He turned to the other two. "You are Duncan Macleod of the Clan Macleod--do you really say that all the time? It must be *so* tiring." Before Macleod could answer, he pointed to the young Immortal in the kitchen. "And you are Richie Ryan." he identified in a tone of complete disdain as Richie turned around upon hearing his name mentioned. "You said you know about her." Mac said, "Prove it." "All right." Stefan agreed. "For instance, I know she sings in Mr. Dawson's dingy tavern." "Maybe she *likes* singing in my 'dingy tavern'. " Joe said defensively. Stefan gave Joe a look that said he *hardly* thought so and Macleod could see Joe beginning to steam. Walking around to the other side of his friend, he put a hand on his shoulder to remind him to calm down. "Look," he said to Stefan, "we don't want to fight, we just want Rory back." Behind his back, he waved his hand for Richie to come and join them. "She'll be here." Stefan promised. "I'll just be occupying her body." Duncan cocked his head as if he hadn't quite heard correctly. "Excuse me?" he said as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Richie quietly manuevering himself behind Stefan. "None of you have any idea how talented she was -- until she threw it all away. I had such hopes for her and I and now that I'm alive again..." He shrugged and smiled slightly, "I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm not going to waste this opportunity. O'Riordan will fulfill the destiny I planned for her and I will orchestrate every detail myself." "But you're dead. The body belongs to her." Joe pointed out. Stefan waved his hand negligently to indicate this argument was really of no importance. "O'Riordan was not meant for such lowly surroundings as this nor to associate with such...common folk. My love was meant for a grand career on the operatic stage." "Your *love*?" Joe sputtered. Stefan smiled enigmatically. "There seems to be a wealth of things she forgot to mention. Are you sure you really know her at all?" Duncan thought, "Y'know," he said out loud in a conversational tone of voice, pretending to study a point somewhere above Stefan's head. "She really hates it when you use her full name." Suddenly his whole demeanor changed as he shouted, "Richie, grab him!" and Stefan went down amidst a flurry of arms, legs and trenchcoats. However, he wasn't going down without a fight. One of his feet lashed out and caught Richie square in the stomach, sending him flying as he lost his grip. "Joe, help!" Duncan shouted. Not sure exactly how this was going to work, Joe dove in, getting a lock on the ankles and wincing as Stefan then jerked his legs back, causing Joe to crash to the ground. "Shit!" he yelled, still managing to keep hold as he, Duncan and Stefan rolled on the ground. They were beginning to worry about how they were going to subdue Stefan when one of his attempts to break free caused Rory's head to crack solidly against the fireplace. Her body sagged briefly and then began struggling as a new face entered the fray. "What the *hell* are ye doin'?" shouted a voice with a strong Irish accent. Both men looked at each other and then at Rory, not loosening their hold. Richie crawled over to them, still holding his stomach. "Rory?" Joe asked, from down by her ankles. She lifted her head up slightly and Joe and Duncan sagged in relief as they saw blue eyes. "You were expectin' someone else, maybe?" She tilted her head around, taking in Joe's death grip on her ankles, Richie's face as he held his tender stomach and Duncan's face as he held her arms behind her. "Well, are we tryin' out for the World Wrestling Federation, then?" she asked mockingly. Duncan was breathing hard. "You don't remember how you got here?" he asked. "Should I?" Rory looked again at the faces around her. "Would someone *please* tell me what's going on?" Joe looked at Macleod and vice versa. Macleod shrugged the universal "Hey-*I'm*-not-the-significant-other" shrug. Joe looked back at him with the universal "we'll-be-talking-later" look. "Have you heard of an Immortal named Stefan Kijewski?" he asked her. Rory sucked in her breath. "Stefan? I--Amanda killed him in Paris in 1896." "No, he just told us you did." Joe said gently. "What are you talking about? *He's dead*." Panic crept into her voice. "But his Quickening is in you." Then Joe, with Duncan's help, explained to Rory the recent events since their escapade at the psych hospital. "What happened in 1896?" he asked, ending the recitation. Rory opened her mouth, but as she did, Mac noticed her eyes begin to change color. "Grab her!" he yelled as she arched her back to try and throw them off. "You'll never know!" came Stefan's voice again. "She won't be able to tell you! This is *my* body now!" Not if *I* can help it." Joe shouted. He wrapped the ankles in his right arm and felt around with his left. Grabbing his cane, he threw it at Richie. "Do something!" he yelled. Richie crawled over the heap of bodies and, praying he wouldn't hurt Rory too badly, brought the cane down on the back of her head. As she sagged against them, Duncan and Joe relaxed in relief. "Oh boy," Joe breathed as he rested his head against Rory's shins, then he let go and rolled over. Richie reached over and helped him up the rest of the way and all of the stood there, panting. "You OK?" Duncan gasped out. Joe nodded. "Is she alive?" he asked between gulps of air. Mac looked over and nodded. "She's strong." he noted. "Or he is." Richie put in. "What are we gonna do when he...she...he...it wakes up?" Joe debated taking issue with "it", but decided now would not be the best time. "Is there somewhere we could put her?" Mac asked. Joe thought a moment. "The basement." he said, "It's pretty much empty and there's only one entrance. Plus, there's a type of kennel down there the former owner built to house his dog. I don't use it." "Great. Why don't you lead the way?" He motioned to the body. "Richie can help me carry her." This said, he picked Rory up by the shoulders and Richie grabbed her feet and they followed Joe to the basement door and down the steps. Once down the steps, Joe grabbed a key off a nail and walked towards the back of the room where they could see a kennel that was made out of chain link and stretched from the floor to the ceiling. He opened the lock and held the door open while Duncan and Richie deposited Rory inside along with some old quilts from a pile that Joe tossed to them. They exited the kennel and Joe locked it. "Now what?" Richie asked. Everyone looked at each other. "Call Anne?" Joe suggested, "She might have some ideas on how to 'treat' this until we can figure out what to do." Duncan nodded. "Good. Once we do that, let's find those diaries." Agreeing, they turned and went up the stairs, Joe taking a last look at the still form lying on the quilts before he shut out the lights. Lori mgoldman@cts.com Bass Player/Musical Director for the SJD Kick-Ass House Band CFW/WAR Chief for Smokin' Joe Dawson in the first HL WAR