========================================================================= Date: Sat, 6 Apr 1996 20:32:08 -0500 Reply-To: LC Krakowka Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: LC Krakowka Subject: Twists of Fate 4/5 Twists of Fate LC Krakowka-copyright 1996 hck1@cornell.edu part 4 Sarah awoke with a buzzing in her head and a stiff neck. She blinked up at the ceiling, wondering where she was. "Well, good morning Sleeping Beauty," Amanda said from nearby. She groaned and sat up, looking around the small room they were in. It was poorly lit and smelled like a basement. There was a small kitchenette set up in one corner that looked like it hadn't been used for decades. No windows. No air. Too small. She gulped and forced back a wave of panic. "Don't bother to try the door. It's Oak or something, solid as a rock." Sarah stood and stretched, looking down at Amanda, who was sprawled on a moderately filthy mattress, thumbing through an issue of Cosmopolitan that looked like it dated back to the late seventies. How could she be so relaxed when the room was obviously getting smaller by the minute? "How long was I out?" Amanda looked up. "About an hour. Don't worry," she said cheerfully. "The boys will be here soon to rescue us from that psycho bitch upstairs." "Allie is not a psycho, and the *boys* don't even know where we are," Sarah frowned. "Why was she after your head anyway?" Amanda closed the magazine and rolled to a sitting position. "She thinks I killed her husband and daughter on purpose." "And it was an accident? You killed two people by *accident*?" Amanda sighed. "Yes. Someone screwed with the brakes on my car. I lost control of it and slammed into them head first on a curve," she lowered her head. "It was awful." It was Sarah's turn to sigh. Allie was only seventy five years old. This was very likely the first lover she had lost. And the girl had always been a bit emotionally fragile. "Who screwed with your brakes?" Amanda shrugged. "The wife of some mortal I was involved with. She was mad because he gave me her emeralds." Sarah rolled her eyes. She supposed that men were forever giving Amanda their wife's jewelry. The woman had a raw sexuality about her that Sarah was sure no man could resist. "How do you know her?" Amanda asked, jerking a thumb at the ceiling. Sarah sat down, cross-legged, on the floor. "I met her in New York in 1941. She had just died her first death, drowned. She was my student for about fifteen years. That was probably her first lover that you killed." "No wonder she's a bit whacko." *** "This is not good," Adam mumbled as they wandered through the park, looking for the clearing Roger Miller had told him about. Duncan was taking long strides and frowning furiously. "I knew it would come to this. We should have kept them apart." "Sarie gave me her word that she wouldn't start a fight with Amanda." "What's that supposed to mean?" Duncan glared up at him. "It *means* Amanda left your loft with her sword and Sarie went roller blading *without* hers. You do the math." "Miller said he heard swords clashing," Duncan grunted. "Well then, at least Amanda gave her a fair shot." Adam quipped back. Duncan stopped suddenly. "Look, Amanda isn't perfect, but she wouldn't set a trap for Sarah. She doesn't start fights." "I *told you*, MacLeod, Sarie promised she wouldn't start anything with Amanda." "And I told you, Methos, Amanda doesn't start fights, not like that anyway. Maybe you don't know Sarah as well as you think." What he really wanted to do was nail MacLeod in the jaw for that comment, but Adam sighed instead. "Look, we can argue about this all night, but it's not going to help matters any. Miller said there wasn't a quickening. That means that they were both still alive at 7pm." Duncan nodded, Methos was right. They could take it to swords, but it wouldn't change the situation. He looked around the spot that they were standing on. Behind Adam's shoulder and to the left there looked to be a break in the trees. Closer examination showed the bushes to have several snapped branches. Duncan forced his way through and came into a small clearing of packed dirt. Adam followed and squatted down, examining the ground with his flashlight. "Bare feet," he pointed to a set of footprints. "Sarie must have been standing here." Duncan moved around the clearing, calling on the tracking skills he had learned so long ago. "There are four sets of footprints here," he said, circling back to stand next to Adam. "It looks like Sarah walked in on a fight between two other women." "Who's are the fourth set of prints?" "A man's. See the scuff marks next to the blood?" Mac pointed to a spot near Adam's left foot. "I would say the guy shot her and carried her off. The same thing with one of the two other women. The third walked away of her own accord." *** "The only two female immortals that are in town, as far as I know, are Sarah and Amanda." Joe said. "There must be someone else," Adam leaned forward and looked over Joe's shoulder at the notebook. "Look again." "I'm telling you, that's all I know. Here, look for yourself." He handed Adam the notebook and sighed. "What about Amanda's Watcher? Have you heard anything from him?" Duncan asked, pacing around the small, cluttered office. "Her. And no. Nothing since the phone call about Amanda leaving your dojo." "What do we do now?" Richie asked from his seat on the couch. He had been relieved to hear about the third set of female footprints, knowing that Mac and Adam would have eventually come to swords if Sarah and Amanda had fought and only one came home. Adam threw the notebook down onto the desk and heaved a sigh. "We wait. There is nothing else *to* do." *** "So," Amanda said. "What's with you and Adam Pierson?" Sarah glanced over at the other woman, wishing she could knock her out, if only to shut her up. But that was likely to start a fight. "Petey and I are old friends." "How old?" Sarah looked at her again, but made no response. The size of the room was beginning to get to her and Amanda was sucking up valuable oxygen. "Come on," Amanda prodded. "It's not like we are going anywhere. Tell me." Sarah heaved a sigh of capitulation. "Okay, fine. We met in 1068, in Scotland." "And how long were you lovers?" Sarah was taken aback by Amanda's boldness. She was so startled, in fact, that she could respond with nothing but the truth. "We were never lovers." Amanda narrowed her eyes at the Scot. "You might as well tell me the truth, I'll get it out of Duncan eventually." "That is the truth. We were never lovers." "Well, why not? You have to admit, he's not so bad to look at. And I bet he knows a thing or two about the female body, having lived so long." Sarah scowled at her. "He is my best friend, thank you very much." Amanda shook her head. She paced slowly around the room, coming back to stand in front of Sarah. "So?" "So, what?" "So, just because you are friends doesn't mean you can't be lovers too." Sarah closed her eyes and fought back her temper. The walls were closing in. But she had to think of something else, or she'd dive into panic attack. This was annoying. Amanda was annoying. How did Duncan ever put up with her? "So...what...you two hung out together for how long?" "Oh hell," Sarah muttered. "Three hundred some odd years." "And in all that time, not once were you ever thinking about crawling into bed with him?" "Do you enjoy this?" Sarah asked suddenly. "What?" "Making other people uncomfortable." "I'm just making conversation." Sarah scrambled to her feet and paced around the room, examining every corner, opening the drawers, feeling in the recesses of each cabinet. "What are you doing?" Amanda asked. "Looking for something...anything...anything sharp enough to take your head off with. A corkscrew would do at this point." Amanda huffed. "If you kill me, Duncan will hunt you." "It would be worth it just to get you to shut up." "Why don't you like me?" Amanda asked. "You're annoying" "Fine," Amanda sat down on the floor. "I won't say another word. We could be trapped here until lord knows when, but I won't open my mouth again. Not even if that psychotic loony comes down here with a sword." "Allie is *not* a loony." Sarah jumped up onto the counter and tucked her legs underneath her. Sooner or later, Allison would make the move that she had brought them there for. Until then, she'd just relish the silence and try not to think about how cramped it was. Her peace lasted all of thirty minutes. "What would you say if I told you that Adam and I were lovers?" Amanda asked suddenly. Sarah opened one eye and rolled her head so she could see the other woman. "I'd say it was none of my business." "But admit it, the thought of it is killing you, isn't it?" Amanda got up and walked over to her, leaning on the counter by Sarah's right knee. "No," she lied. "Petey does what he wants." "And what's with that Petey thing anyway? Why don't you just call him Adam?" Sarah closed her eyes again, praying for death to come. Suffocation. Starvation. A sword even. It didn't matter, just as long as it brought a respite from this woman. "I call him that because it was his name when we first met." "And what does he call you again? Surly?" Sarah bristled. "Sarie." Amanda smiled, pleased that she had gotten a rise out of her. "Pet names and everything. You sure you two aren't lovers?" "Look, I *told* you. We're not, we never were." "Maybe you should be." Sarah waved a hand at Amanda, dismissing her. "Look, all I'm saying is that you two seem to have a great relationship. Why not take advantage of it? I'm sure he'd enjoy it." "What is that supposed to mean?" "It means," Amanda leaned forward, "that you're an attractive woman. I would bet that Adam has thought about sleeping with you many times." Sarah cocked an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. A moment of precious silence fell. "Boy, are you stupid." Amanda said, breaking it. "Excuse me?" If she could get her hands around Amanda's throat, maybe she could just yank her head off. "You really don't see it, do you?" "See what?" "Hello! He's in love with you. Probably has been for centuries." Sarah cocked an incredulous eyebrow Amanda's way. "Why do people keep telling me that?" "Because it's true. It's so obvious. I can't believe you don't see it. He practically melts when you walk in the room." "He does?" Amanda nodded. "You're just too stubborn to see it. And I bet you love him too, you just won't admit it." Sarah sighed, at least the conversation distracted her from thoughts of claustrophobia. "Of course I love him." "Now we're getting somewhere!" Amanda hopped up next to her. "Tell me all about it. Just between us girls." "You and I are *not* girls. Not by a long shot." Amanda shrugged. "It's all relevant. Compared to Adam, we're both babies." "Just how old are you, anyway?" Sarah hoped to change the subject. Amanda shifted uncomfortably. "Nine hundred and fifty." Sarah smirked at her. "That's not what I heard." "A girl has a right to fudge about her age. Don't you think?" "I never lie about mine." "That's your damned Highland honor. Besides," she knocked her shoulder against Sarah's. "You're just a sweet young thing in old Petey's eyes." Sarah rolled her eyes. "How did you possibly make it through all these years? I'm surprised someone hasn't taken your head just because you pissed them off." "I'm not that easy to kill, I assure you. But you're avoiding the subject at hand." "Which is?" "You love Adam. Why haven't you told him?" Sarah shook her head. This whole situation was ridiculous. She couldn't believe that she was having this conversation, with Amanda of all people. They should be thinking about how to get out of there, not talking about her love life. She got up and paced over to the end of the counter, then turned back and sighed. "Come on, you can tell me." "Why would I want to?" "Because you need a woman to talk to. You spend all your time hanging out with Mac and the boys...when was the last time you had a heart to heart with a girlfriend?" She did have a bit of a point, Sarah thought, but she'd be damned before she admitted it. "We are not girlfriends." "We could be, I mean...you're not so bad really. I..." Amanda shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, truth is, I could use a female friend too. Let's call a truce, at least until they get us out of here." Sarah sighed. It could be hours until they were found. Days maybe. One or both of them would be dead soon. And the boys weren't going to come riding to the rescue. "They don't even know where we are, Amanda. They don't know we're together. They're not coming." "Damn, you're stubborn. Mac will find me. I was supposed to have dinner with him last night. He'll come looking and he'll find us." "You go right on believing that. I'm not holding my breath for the cavalry." "You just can't let anyone take care of you, can you?" "It's not Mac's job to take care of me. Nor is it Petey's. It's mine." "You should let them do it, it makes them feel important." Sarah looked at her and laughed suddenly. "What?" "I had you all wrong. I thought you were the typical female. But you're not. You just know how to play Mac like a fiddle." Amanda grinned. "He has a weakness for women. Why not exploit that? It keeps me from worrying about people after my head and it makes him feel good." "Okay," Sarah stuck out her hand. Maybe Amanda wasn't so bad after all. "Truce." Amanda shook it and smiled. "Now, let's get back to you and Adam. Why haven't you told him how you feel?" Sarah hopped back up on the counter and sighed. "Simple really. What if he doesn't feel the same way? Petey and I have a really great bond, I don't want to mess it up." "Of course he feels the same way. You should tell him. You guys are perfect for each other." *** "I don't like this. I have to do something," Mac turned from the window suddenly and paced across the loft. Adam looked up from the book he was trying to read, but said nothing. He returned his gaze to the same sentence he had been staring at for the past twenty minutes. An open, but full, bottle of beer sat near his elbow. >From behind the desk, Richie chuckled. "What's so funny?" Duncan growled. "This is an ironic twist, don't you think? I mean, usually it's the women who sit at home, waiting and wondering if and when the hero will return. And here you two are, climbing the walls like a couple of hens." Duncan glared at him, but Adam snickered quietly. That was Sarie's sense of irony shining through. And it was Richie's youthful zeal that had brought her--and him by default-- to that awful club the week before. Interesting. He wondered how much else the kid had in him that had once belonged to Sarie, before their quickenings had mixed in Glenstrae. Maybe Richie could give him some insight on how she felt about him. Argh. Like he was really going to ask for romantic advise from a child. "Maybe it's Hunters," Duncan said, continuing to pace. "I don't think so," Adam offered. "There wouldn't have been a sword fight if there were Hunters involved." "Look at it this way guys," Richie said. "If they are together, there is no way in the world they're not going to get out of there. Between the two of them they could probably take over a small country without too much effort." "He's right you know," Adam added. "If they are together and collaborating, the bad guy doesn't stand a chance." *** "You, blondie, Mrs. Benton wants to see you." Sarah glared at the man waving a pistol in her face. "Call me that again and I'll break every bone in your body." She glanced at Amanda, then followed him out and up a rickety flight of stairs. Allison was waiting for her in a mercifully large room. Plenty of air. Sarah squinted against the light streaming in through the windows and sat where Rick told her to, filling her lungs repeatedly. "Is this really necessary?" She asked Allison, as the man shackled her left ankle to the nearby radiator. "I can't take any chances. You might escape and bring MacLeod to my door." Sarah sighed as Rick left them alone. "Allie, what happened to you?" "She did. She killed Matthew and Mandy and then had the gall to show up at the funeral." "Killing her won't bring them back. It was an accident. A cruel twist of fate. Someone tampered with her brakes. Accidents happen, Allie." There was no point in telling her about the wife who had fixed Amanda's brakes. It was likely that Allison had the same opinion of Amanda as she had when they first met: reckless, pretentious, campy. No sense in compounding that. The younger woman shook her head. "I've been following her for months. I can't tell you how many mortals she's almost killed with her recklessness. She needs to be killed before another innocent person dies. Besides, like you taught me, Sarah, there can be only one." "So you're going to kill me too then?" "No, I could never kill you. You're the only reason I'm still alive." Allison sank down in a chair and clutched her hair. "And what about Rick? He obviously knows about us. What are you going to do with him? Kill him when this is all over?" Allison looked over at her, an expression of horror evident on her young face. "I...I...hadn't really thought about that." "Well, you'd better. And then you had better start worrying about MacLeod, because he will come after you if you kill Amanda." "I was counting on you to take care of him for me." Sarah shook her head and held up her hands, as if warding off the very thought. "Not my fight. And if you are going to take blood for blood, then Mac has the right to as well." "MacLeod won't kill me. He can't kill a woman, he's already proven that." "He might." Allison tried to push that thought out of her head, but failed. Maybe it would be okay if MacLeod killed her. At least then the pain would stop. "Who's the tall guy, with the nose?" She changed the subject. "Adam Pierson." "You two know each other." Maybe now she'd get some answers about the man. None of her connections had brought up even a trace of information about him. "From another lifetime, yes." Allison searched her memory, looking for a man that Sarah had told her about that fit Pierson's description. Suddenly it came to her. "*Petey*?" Sarah nodded. "Petey." The younger woman giggled, she had heard all kinds of Petey stories while traveling with Sarah. And she knew, despite the fact that they had never discussed it openly, how the older immortal felt about him. "This is not the high school cafeteria, Allie. You had better make your decision and act on it. Soon." Sarah was right. She was losing her resolve. And Amanda was better with a sword than she had planned on. She wished she had taken her head when she had the chance. Now, in the light of day, Allison was beginning to realize that kidnapping and murder were just not her style. She wanted to confide in Sarah, but the look on the other woman's face told her that she had crossed a line when she ordered Rick to shoot. Sarah wouldn't come after her head, but she wasn't very happy about being locked in a basement. "I'll do it later tonight, when it's dark. Then you can go home. Are you okay down there? I know how you feel about enclosed areas." Sarah frowned. "If you're so sympathetic, then let me go now." "No way, you'd go straight to MacLeod," Allison got up and crossed to the doorway, motioning for Rick to come back in. Sarah sighed as the man unlocked her ankle, then got to her feet, shoving the gun he was waving aside. "Don't do this, Allie. It won't solve anything." "Take her back downstairs," Allison responded. "And Sarah?" The older woman turned. "Hold on to your Petey. It'll rip your heart in two if you lose him." Sarah set her jaw for a moment, then turned back around and let Rick shove her toward the door. She sighed as he drew the bolt on the Oak door. Allison was right. She'd likely go just as nuts if someone killed her Petey, accident or not. "Well?" Amanda asked as Sarah was shoved through the door. Sarah took a moment to try to stop the walls from collapsing in on her. "You're sweating. Are you okay?" She shook her head and sank to the floor, barely keeping herself from hysterics. "I'm claustrophobic." "Okay, just don't panic. You'll be fine. Mac and Adam will be here soon," Amanda knelt next to her and rubbed her shoulder supportively. "They're *not* coming Amanda, get that through your head," Sarah snapped. "And Allie is going to kill you tonight." "What about you?" "I get to go home." "Well, that's hardly fair." Sarah glanced over at her. "I'm not the one who killed her husband and daughter." "It was an accident!" "Accidents follow you wherever you go, Amanda. I thought you left Mac to get your head on straight." "You're gonna start hyperventilating if you don't calm down. Just relax." Sarah took a deep breath and heaved it out. She just wanted this to be over. [end pt4] -- LC Krakowka/hck1@cornell.edu