Return From Darkness 3/7
Terry Odell (tlco777@JUNO.COM)
Mon, 29 Oct 2001 14:04:33 -0500
Return From Darkness
Part 3/7
By T. L. Odell
Disclaimers in Part 0
Duncan scanned the line of cars at the passenger pick-up
lane outside the airport, then looked at his watch for the
tenth time in as many minutes.
"Mac, maybe Richie's stuck in traffic," Tessa said. Or maybe
he had a flat. He knew what flight we were on; he said he'd
be here."
"Well, he's not here, and it's after seven thirty. Considering
the plane landed at six, he's had plenty of time to get here,
even in traffic. We'll take a cab back to the apartment, and if
I find he left us here for any reason other than he was busy
making the biggest sale in the shop's history, he's going to
regret it." Duncan wouldn't allow any other thoughts to
penetrate his consciousness. Richie was late because he
had forgotten or had been unavoidably detained. This was
not a time to think about lost Challenges.
"You're afraid some Immortal came while we were gone,
aren't you?" Tessa put her hand on Duncan's arm. "I'm sure
it was something else. Something you'll be mad about, but
he's fine."
Duncan didn't answer. He pulled Tessa toward the cab line
and gave the driver the shop's address. The shop was
closed, as it should have been at this hour. Duncan paid the
cabbie and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place.
He accounted for both cars as well as Richie's bike. He
unlocked the shop door.
Tessa started to move toward her studio heading for the
apartment. "Wait," said Duncan. "Let me check first.
"Richie?" he called. No response. A quick trip through the
apartment revealed some unemptied trash, Richie's unmade
bed and dirty laundry on the floor in his room. Nothing
unusual. No notes, nothing but some routine messages on
the answering machine. "Damn!" he said.
Tessa moved past him and opened the apartment door.
"Mac. Come here."
"What? Did you find something?"
"The newspapers. They haven't been picked up since..."
She looked through the pile. "Since Friday."
"Friday? It's Wednesday." Duncan rushed back to Richie's
room. His sword was missing.
Tessa followed behind him. "But, Duncan, he'd have taken
his sword no matter where he went. You taught him that.
He could have been running an innocent errand. It isn't
necessarily another Immortal. Remember when you got hit
by that car? We couldn't find you right away, either."
Duncan heard her trying to convince herself that Richie was
all right. That he'd come back through the door with an
embarrassing explanation of where he had been. He
clasped her hands. "We'll find him. One way or another,
we'll find him."
Duncan retrieved Richie's address book from his room and
made a few calls to Richie's small circle of friends. No one
had seen or heard from him. Duncan paced the living room,
pulling his hair loose from its clasp, running his fingers
through it.
"Tessa. I'm going to Joe's. You stay here and wait in case
someone calls."
Tessa nodded. "I'll be here. Please, call as soon as you
know anything." She kissed him and picked up the suitcase
and took it to the bedroom.
Duncan must have hit every red light on the drive to Joe's,
each one pulling the knot in his stomach just a little tighter.
Deep breathing at the intersections didn't help. He burst
through the door at Joe's and looked for the Watcher
bartender.
"Mac," said Joe. "Welcome back. How was New Mexico?"
"Fine," he said automatically. "But I never told you we were
going to New Mexico."
Joe raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Can I get you
something? Where's Tess?"
"Joe, I need to talk to you. In private, if possible."
Joe must have sensed the urgency; he called out to Mike.
"Take over for a few. I'll be in the back." Duncan followed
Joe into his office.
Joe shut the door and turned to face Duncan. "Now, Mac.
What do you need?"
"Where's Richie?"
"Richie? How would I know? Isn't he at home?"
"No, he's not, and from the looks of things he's been missing
since sometime Friday. I thought you guys kept track of us."
"You know that's not how it works, MacLeod. Richie hasn't
been immortal that long; he's not very prominent in the
Game-a few challenges, but he hasn't even taken his first
head yet. Besides, he's usually joined to you at the hip.
Why waste a Watcher?"
"Joe, I've got to find him. I have no idea where he might
have gone. I do know that no matter how young and
impulsive, he wouldn't disappear for five days without a
word."
"You know we're not supposed to interfere."
"This isn't interfering. Interfering is you warning me about
another Immortal. Interfering is you calling me in New
Mexico to tell me Richie's taking a challenge and to rush
back and help. This is helping a friend. Mortal or Immortal,
we have a missing person, and I really don't want to go to
the police. Please." Duncan tried to keep his voice level
and calm. He knew he wasn't succeeding.
Joe hesitated for a moment before he answered. "Okay.
For a friend, I'll make a few calls. But there hasn't been
much Immortal activity around here lately. I do remember
Richie was here last week, late. He left with a very attractive
redhead. I'd never seen her before, but they seemed to hit it
off right away. I'd say she was mortal, though. Richie never
looked up when she came into the place."
Duncan watched as Joe walked around his desk, sat down
and reached for the phone. "Thanks, Joe. I'll be waiting."
He turned toward the door.
Tessa was waiting for him when he got back to the
apartment. She wore her long silk Japanese robe and had a
fire going in the fireplace. She handed him a snifter of
brandy and looked at him expectantly.
"Joe doesn't know anything. He knew we were in New
Mexico, but nothing other than Richie apparently left the bar
with a redhead the night we celebrated our anniversary. He
promised to look into it. But if it's not related to Immortals, I
don't know what good he can do."
"Come. Sit. There's nothing we can do tonight. You're
tired. We had a long day. Tomorrow will be a fresh start."
"You're probably right."
"But you're still going to try something, aren't you?"
"Tessa, I can't sit here. Five days. He could be anywhere,
but he could be nearby. If he's alive, I'll sense him. I'm
going to drive around for a while." He handed her his snifter
and kissed her gently. "You try to get some sleep."
She nodded. He knew she'd be right there when he got
back.
Duncan returned hours later. Tessa looked up from the
couch. He shook his head. "Did Joe call?" he asked.
"Nothing. Mac, it's nearly one AM. Let's try to get a few
hours sleep."
Duncan poured himself a brandy and swallowed it in one
gulp. He poured another and took a small sip. "You're right.
I'll be right in."
"Bring your drink into the bedroom. I need you to hold me."
They got into bed. Duncan finished his drink, Tessa
snuggled on his chest. He set the glass down and wrapped
his arms around her, nuzzling her hair. They spent the night
in fitful sleep, taking comfort in each other's presence. The
sound of the phone brought them both to instant
consciousness.
"Hello," Duncan almost shouted into the handset. He felt
Tessa getting out of bed.
"It's Joe. I don't have much yet, but I thought you'd want to
know we may have found a connection."
"Go on."
"A gorgeous redhead appears in a number of Watcher
reports. Some clerk noticed a similar description in a couple
of places and started looking to see if she showed up again.
She did. She might be some kind of Immortal groupie, but
most of the Immortals she hooks up with disappear."
A ball of ice formed in Duncan's stomach. "What do you
mean, disappear?"
"I mean, I have at least six different Watchers whose
assignments were seen dating this woman over the last year
or so. Since she's not an Immortal, no one paid much
attention. Then, they just sort of lost track of their Immortals.
It happens. We're not on twenty-four hour surveillance, you
know. We put out the word, and usually the Immortal shows
up somewhere else."
"But not these six, right."
"Not yet, anyway."
"And Richie's likely to be number seven."
"Mac, I don't know what to say. I'm afraid you're right. But
I've already got one of our top researchers trying to trace this
woman. If anyone can dig her out, Pierson can. She's
become tied to Immortals, so I've made it a priority project."
"Thanks, Joe. Please keep us informed."
Tessa came back into the room. "I listened in on the
extension. Why don't I believe that this woman is kidnapping
Immortals and taking them to some sort of island paradise?"
Her voice started to crack, and she sat on the edge of the
bed. "Richie is part of us. I didn't like it when you brought
him in, but now he's family, and-"
Duncan sat beside her and pulled her into his chest. "Shhh.
We have a lead now. We'll get him back." He stroked her
hair and let her cry.
***
Richie sat nestled in his corner, clutching a corner of his
blanket to his cheek. He hated the dark. Had hated it since
one of his foster fathers used to lock him in the closet
whenever something Richie did made him mad. And it
seemed that no matter what Richie did, it made him mad.
He heard the footsteps approaching the door again, then the
blinding light. He automatically turned and extended his
hands so they could cuff him, then stumbled up the stairs
toward his chair. He was vaguely aware that his audience
changed from time to time. He tried to remember faces,
voices, but they had become a blur. In addition to the three
he remembered from his first session, there had been at
least two more.
"I think this one's almost used up. There's hardly any fight
left in him. Maybe we should just get rid of the abomination."
"I think we can get a few more days out of him." Richie
recognized Cowboy's voice. "We don't have anyone else
lined up to take his place yet."
Richie knew that when he reacted, they hurt him more. But
now, it seemed that if he didn't fight back somehow, they'd
just kill him. He couldn't bear any more pain, but he just
wasn't ready to die. Not like this. He wanted to die in the
Game. With honor, like Duncan always talked about.
Overtaken by fury, Richie squirmed away from the grasp of
his tormentors. He lowered his head and butted Brutus in
the stomach. The satisfaction of hearing the air forced from
his captor's lungs was short lived as four hands forced him
back and secured him in his chair.
"That's better. Looks like there's a bit more life in him after
all. I believe it's my turn today." Brutus displayed a
malevolent grin as he hoisted himself up off the floor. As he
slowly approached the chair, Richie closed his eyes and
tried not to think.
Richie felt himself coming back to life and being dragged
across the room. "I can walk, you know," he said. "You
don't have to throw me down the stairs every--" He felt the
shove to his back along with the freeing of his hands, and he
tumbled down once again. He thought his arm was broken
this time. Gritting his teeth, he made his way back to what
he considered his room and tried to align the bones as best
he could so they would knit faster. Hot tears welled in his
eyes. "Mac. I need you." Weeping with pain and despair,
he finally slept.
End of Part 3