Part 4

See Part one for Disclaimer

Connor, Methos, and Aries had been waiting at the airport for 45 minutes
when Amanda's plane finally landed. It was another hour before she
arrived from customs, muttering something about her papers and her
sword. Following close behind her was Joe Dawson, who was shaking his
head, giggling.

"You'd think that after all this time I'd be used to this, but no, it
takes forever to get through when you're carrying a sword. It doesn't
matter if you've got all the papers," Amanda muttered as she walked.

"Next time just ship the sword overnight, Amanda," Methos joked.

"Oh, yes, and let those imbeciles at UPS handle my sword? Have you lost
your mind, Adam? Anyhow, how much good would it do me right now? They're
on strike." Amanda stormed past Methos and right into Connor.

"You must be Amanda," Connor said.

"Another Scot, just what we need. You know, Duncan's told me so much
about you. So, are you just as bad as Duncan or are you worse?" Amanda
asked.

"I don't know, but probably better," Connor said. The response drew a
snort from Methos and Aries both.

"Connor, this is Joe. Joe, this is Connor," Amanda said.

"Joe. Amanda, this is Aries," Connor said.

"Joe, what are you doing here?" Methos asked.

"Thought I'd say hi to Richie or should I say the Knight. Richie and I
were friends before he disappeared 23 years ago. Anyhow, this way I can
make sure that the Watchers community doesn't find out that he's back,"
Joe said in a hushed tone. He didn't know who might be listening.

"Figures. Richie seems to know everyone," Aries said. "So, how long have
you known Richie?"

"I met him during the Vietnam War. He was working in the relief camps.
He wasn't in the army and I didn't even know who he was until I met him
after the war. He's the one that helped me make my decision to join the
Watchers," Joe said.

They were walking throughout the crowded airport heading towards the
baggage claim area. Joe and Methos were walking side by side with
Connor, Aries, and Amanda following closely behind. Amanda was clutching
her sword protectively against her. She had calmed down a little after
her fuss in customs.

"So, Connor, how's Duncan taking the news?" Amanda asked.

"Last time I knew, not too well, but Richie's talking with him. I don't
know what Richie is going to say, but it better be good, or we've lost a
very important element to our group. Richie, Duncan, and Connor are the
best swordsmen out there," Methos said.

"We're suppose to meet Richie at his place. He'll be there with Duncan
as soon as they work things out. If anyone can talk to Duncan and get
him to understand what we did and why, it would be Richie," Connor said.
They were heading out the main doors of the airport and made their way
to their rented car.


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"Tessa was dying of cancer. She found out a few weeks before we left
Paris, but she could never get up the courage to tell you. I found out
accidentally one day. She had not more than a few years to live. She
would've lived five very painful, slow years. That is why I let her
die that night," Richie said.

"Oh, god. She had been trying to tell me something the day she died, but
I had never had the time to listen. Five years, though. Couldn't she
have lived a bit longer? Maybe long enough for us to marry?" Duncan
asked.

"It would've just made it harder. I wish I could tell you in words, what
you would've gone through, but I can't. Just trust me when I tell you,
what happened, happened for the best. I had come to love Tessa as a
friend, but I'm not god. I can only do so many things."

Duncan sat there looking at the one person who could remember Tessa with
him, but had lied to him during the whole time. Then it dawned on him
that one question had been left unasked. "How did you live with Emily
Ryan or go to school with Angie and the rest of the people who knew you
from when you were little? How did you make it appear that you could get
sick, wounded, age, or be a pre-immortal?"

"It started 23 years ago, when I decided for once, that I needed a
break. Now I've been studying the art of illusion for thousands of
years. It wasn't hard to make myself appear as a mortal baby. All I
really did was make myself appear mortal even though I wasn't. To make
sure that the illusion worked, I blocked all memories of who and what I
was, until the day that I met you. Then all I had to do, was keep my
mouth shut and act mortal. During that time I could get wounded and sick
like any other immortal. That is until I died the first time. Even then,
I could've kept up the illusion, but it took me too long to heal, so you
were already out there."

"Can you do it again?" Duncan asked. "Can you make it permanent?"

"Mac, I wasn't mortal, I just made everyone think I was. Yes, I can do
it again, but I sure don't want to. I swear I had a baby headache for
weeks afterwards. If you're wondering if I can make you mortal so you
can die and grow old like one, no. It is an illusion and nothing else,"
Richie said, understanding what Duncan wanted.

"What was it like to be mortal after so long of time?"

"For the first 17 years, it didn't bother me. My memory being blocked
was sort of a safety mechanism against the problem of me trying to do
things I normally would when I was immortal. You don't know how many
things I did after meeting you, because for a split second, I forgot I
was trying to be mortal," Richie said with a smile.

Duncan couldn't help, but realize what type of problems that would
cause. Especially remembering all the trouble Richie had gotten into.
'He had taken chances like he was immortal,' Duncan thought. "Could you
tell when another immortal was around?"

"I could, but it was toned down to the point that I'd get a minor tingle
in the back of my head. Felica!" Richie could see the upcoming question.
"Felica used to be one of us, but something changed her. The thing is, I
didn't know that she had flipped. I never saw the trap until that night
on the beach. I was sure that she was going to tell you who I really
was, but she didn't. I couldn't let you kill her for the reason that I
still saw some good in her. Guess what, I was wrong. Aries took her head
five months ago in an isolated part of the Brazilian Rain Forest."

Duncan could see the hurt that followed Felica's name and wondered just
what Richie hadn't told him. Figuring he had asked enough questions
though, Duncan said, "I've got so many more questions, but I figure you
did this because of Carlos. Where do we need to meet Methos and Connor?"

"I've got a place that is about a 30 minute drive from here. Connor,
Methos, Aries, Amanda, and probably Joe, will be there," Richie said. He
got up from the pew. Taking one more glance around the church, he left
with Duncan close behind.

"Joe knew. Figures," Duncan said. Richie expected anger from Mac, but
for once he was glad he was wrong. MacLeod wasn't mad, but happy and
humorous.

"Oh, yes, you think I could get past Joe Dawson without him knowing who
I really was? The Watcher community might've of had troubles following
me, but they still knew I existed, unlike the legend of Methos. Anyhow,
I met Joe long before he became a Watcher. It was 1960 something and..."

Richie, caught up in telling the story, never saw the car that followed
them and neither did Duncan. Carlos had sent his best to watch the White
Knight, and for once, they were able to follow him with no problems.
They followed the two warriors right to Richie's place and waited for
the next order. The order to attack.


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Carlos sat comfortably in his home, letting his men do all the tracking.
>From the reports, Amanda and Joe Dawson had just joined up with Connor.
Also it looked like Richard had finally persuaded the great Duncan
MacLeod to join them. All in all, Carlos felt things were going just
great.

"Master, they've all just met up at some house just outside Paris. Your
men are waiting for your next order," one of Carlos's mortal servants
said.

"Do they understand that I want both the White Knight and Methos brought
to me alive? As for the others, I don't really care what they do,"
Carlos asked.

"Yes, Master, but may I asked why you want those two?" The servant
asked. It was also the last question he asked. In mere seconds of
asking, he felt a sharp sting in his chest and looked to find a knife
there. Death claimed him seconds later.

"I do mind," Carlos said looking down at the corpse. "Servant," he
called. Soon the body was gone and he was left in peace. "Ask me a
question and I shall tell you no lies, for before you can take another
breath you'll be dead on my floor." Carlos erupted into laughter at his
bad joke. He had always loved to kill for sport. "These imbasolos just
can't understand that those two are special. Richard is older than me,
and Methos is a legend. Anyhow, maybe I can get Methos to join me. You'd
think after riding with Kronos, that he would've taken me up on my offer
sooner." Carlos laughed again. He would have his people attack at dawn.


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Richie and Duncan walked back towards the barge where Richie had left
his vehicle. Richie had spent the entire time telling Duncan stories
about mutual friends. The stories helped lighten the mood and gave
Duncan the time to really study the person he had once called student,
but Richie was no student anymore. He walked with the grace and
confidence of a long time warrior. It wasn't until they reached the
barge and Duncan saw what Richie was driving, that he spoke up.

"Since when do you not drive a motorcycle?" Mac asked. The vehicle in
front of him, was a black blazer with cell phone antenna and a bike rack
on top.

"A motorcycle is fun, but a vehicle with four-wheel drive has its
pluses," Richie said. "I bought this two years ago when I came to Paris
for business. Until three years ago my company was mostly ran by Methos
and I decided to get myself reacquainted with the business world. You
just never knew I was there."

"So this company, is it some big thing that I've never heard about or
what?"

"Oh, you've heard about it. Starlight!" Richie looked over to Mac,
wanting to see the reaction on the younger immortal's face.

"Starlight! I can't say I'm really surprised, especially since I knew
you were involved with them," Duncan said. He got into the Blazer with a
small smirk on his face. The look on Richie's face when he said that was
priceless.

"How did you know?" Richie asked starting the car.

"You left a Starlight business card marking a certain page in Darius's
book," Duncan said picking up the book. He opened it to the very middle
where a business card was. "It was the only page I read. I take it that
this is where Darius's accounts of you start."

"Yep. We make an impression on him that lasted. I wish that all the
immortals we met were like him. I wish that all the evil of the world
could actually be wiped away."

"Why can't it?" Duncan asked.

"You can't have good without evil. To take away one would remove the
other," Richie said.

"I don't really understand."

"See, the reason we have good is we have evil to compare to it. Good
is... something... something that... Oh I don't know how to really
explain it," Richie said in frustration. He always had problem
explaining why good and evil must be.

"I think I get what you're saying. Without one, you don't have anything
to gauge the other by. Good vs. evil. Always to be."

"It think you've got it. Next time someone asks me why evil must be,
I'll direct them to you. It seems to be a normal question for both
mortals and immortals to ask."

"Another question then. How did the Four Horsemen come to be and why did
you really let the Four Horsemen live?" Duncan asked.

"That's two, not one," Richie said. He looked over to Duncan wondering
if the humor was enough to detour The Highlander's train of thought. He
could tell by the look in MacLeod's eyes that wasn't enough, though. "I
have not always been the saint that I am now. Some of the things I've
done make the Horsemen look like perfect angels. Now, I'm not proud of
it, but I'm also not ashamed of it, either. It took those things to make
me the person I am today. It was also the reason I haven't been able to
kill Carlos or rid the world of the Horsemen. In each case I was their
teacher and that makes me somewhat responsible for what they do."

"Makes you responsible. How?" Duncan asked.

"It is complicated and we're there. I'll tell you the story when Carlos
is finished," Richie said.

Duncan looked out the windshield at a large metal gate. Richie had
stopped there and was typing in a code for the gates to open. Pulling
inside, Duncan got his first look at what Richie had called a house. It
was a three story mansion with two wings and a central part to it. A
wide porch wrapped around the house, giving cover for anyone who wanted
to be outside, but not in the sun or rain. Two large windows on the
second story gave Duncan a glimpse at a library. Red, white and pink
roses were blooming everywhere on the property that large trees didn't
stand. It wasn't until they were getting out of the car, that they were
hit by the presence of a very old immortal, one that was definitely to a
little too weak to be Methos, but to strong too be anyone else.

TBC...