Part 6

See part 1 for disclaimer. Warning: Some minor violence.

Carlos loved to fly at night. In the day he had the sun beating in on
him, but at night he could look out and enjoy the sky. To be up in the
sky gave him a sense of power, or at least it used to. Ever since
mortals had designed their first flying machines, the sky had become
crowded. It was only at night, that he could imagine that he was in the
sky alone, instead of sharing it with everyone else.

He knew that the White Knight was in Paris. Carlos also knew that one of
them wouldn't leave alive, and he knew just how to make sure he was the
one alive. They were both Guardians and the Knight will still obey the
rules that bound them together then. The main one being, that no
guardian shall kill another. Then again, Carlos had never obeyed that
one....


************************************************************************

Time: unknown
Place: unknown

Ribous, the second immortal guardian ever born, stood before Carlos
knowing that one of their greatest laws had been broken. Never to kill
another guardian was the one oath that bound the guardians of this Earth
together. Slowly, it was being destroyed by the youngest of their group.

"Why, Carlos? Is the power you gain worth your death?" Ribous asked. His
only hope was to talk Carlos out of his insanity long enough to kill
him, even if it would bring Ribous's own death in the end.

"Ribous, have you ever taken another immortal's head? No, you haven't,
because you still live by those rules that say to not kill one another,
but the power you get from it is incredible. The strength. Soon I'll be
strong enough to take on the White Knight and rid this world of him,
too. Then I will rule," Carlos said, throwing his arms up, as if he was
praising the heavens.

"You're insane. Some day your head will fall, Carlos. The gods know that
as well as I do. The world will be rid of your evilness and selfishness.
Be warned that if you follow through with this, that your death will
follow close behind you. Remember...." Ribous never got the chance to
finish. Carlos swung his sword and removed the Guardian Ribous's head.
As the quickening engulfed him, he had no fear, but afterwards,
something started nagging him in the back of his mind.


*********************************************************************

Present

Carlos still hadn't been able to identify the thought that lingered at
the back of his conscious mind, but it had been steadily getting
stronger. He still remembered Ribous's words with total clarity. They
had haunted Carlos from that day on and now, it was as if Ribous himself
would come down from the heavens to remove Carlos's head.

"Mr. Lapin. Mr. Lapin. We will arrive at the Paris airport in 30
minutes," the steward said, once Carlos opened his eyes. Carlos looked
outside to see the first rays of sunlight poking though the night.
Picking up the cell phone, he gave the order to move in. They were to
take the White Knight and Methos alive, the rest they could kill.


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The helicopter arrived before the first rays of dawn could touch the
ground. Clara, Joe, Amanda, and Aries were loaded on board with strict
orders not to leave holy ground until someone came. None of them liked
leaving their friends behind for what would surely be a battle for their
lives, but that was the way Richie wanted it. The helicopter lifted off
only 15 minutes before Carlos's order was received by his men, carrying
the people inside to safety.

"Connor. Mac. Watch your heads and each other's. I'm not ready to lose
two friends because I didn't take care of Carlos long ago. His men might
cheat, so watch out for guns and knives," Richie said as they prepared
to leave themselves. "Remember, meet at Darius's church. Carlos will
send word there."

"How can you be so sure that he will send it there?" Duncan asked.

"He just will. Take out the two in the car. They're probably mortal, so
killing them is up to you, but they won't go to the police, if you're
worried about that," Richie said, making sure everyone understood that.

"It looks like our friends are getting restless. The order to kill
must've just come in," Methos said, watching both sets of people on a
security camera.

"Let's go," Richie said. He stopped Methos and they both waited until
the two MacLeods had left the property before making their move.

"I take it you're going after Carlos now instead of later," Methos said.

"He was the one that called last night. You'll go to Darius's church to
meet the others. I fear that holy ground won't be enough to protect
them. Carlos has taught his men that if you want someone, get them at
any costs," Richie said, climbing into a blue blazer.

"Be careful," Methos said. He was driving a rental car. He watched
Richie exit the property and turn left, up towards the mountains.
Methos, who had already taken out the two people at the front gate,
turned right, heading for Paris.


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Connor was driving the blazer down the dirt road. Richie had said there
was a turn off on the left that was a gravel road. It led to a clearing
where they could deal with the people following them. Then, off to
Darius's church. Connor knew that there was more going on than Richie
had said.

"There it is," Duncan said, spotting the gravel road. "There is the
clearing. So, do you want the tall guy or the short one?"

"You can take the tall one. I've got the short guy," Connor said.

"Thanks," Duncan said sarcastically.

"Richie's wearing off on you. Anyhow, you're taller then I am by an
inch. You get the tall guy." Connor killed the engine and got out of the
blazer. A rental car that didn't look like it was designed for the
off-road traveling pulled up behind them. Two guys with both guns and
swords got out.

"Connor MacLeod. The name is Riztak," the shorter one said, throwing his
gun away from him and putting up his sword in a defensive position.
"Today is the day you will die."

Connor heard something similar said to his kinsman, but he was too busy
blocking the first blow to really pay attention to the other fight. The
older MacLeod stayed on the defensive as he tried to get a feel for his
opponent's skill and style. He had to admit that Riztak was good, but
Connor knew he was better. Letting Riztak overextend himself in a jab,
Connor kicked out with his right foot and took a slice out of Riztak's
side.

"First blood. No opponent has ever been able to do that," Raztak
commented, looking down to his side. It wasn't a mortal wound, but it
would weaken Riztak. "I much applaud you, but you won't get another
strike."

The blow came so unexpectedly, that Connor just barely got his sword up
in time to deflect the knife. Then Riztak attacked without giving Connor
time to regain his footing, which was the plan. Richie had been right,
they fought dirty. Connor knew he would have to kill the mortal to
survive. He parried the next blow and slipped his sword under Riztak's
guard. He took a severe cut to the chest, which in a fight against an
immortal he wouldn't have taken, but it got him close enough to mortally
wound Riztak.

Riztak fell to the ground in pain and in surprise. He had been studying
Connor MacLeod's style of fighting for the last three years, and not
once had he taken a major wound in order to hurt his opponent. That had
been a major underestimation on Riztak's part, but he didn't live long
enough to dwell on it. The elder MacLeod turned just in time to see
Duncan run his opponent through.

"If the immortals fight this good, we just might lose our heads this
time," Duncan said. He was down on one knee, breathing hard.

"It was like Riztak knew every move I was going to make. Then I tried
something I hadn't done since I was a brand new immortal. It seemed to
surprise him," Connor said helping his friend to his feet.

"Think they've been studying our fighting style?" Duncan asked.

"I believe so. We should warn the others of this. We may need to take on
each other's challenger instead of the one who challenges us. If they
know how we fight, fighting someone else will even the odds," Connor
said. "Let's get to Paris."


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Methos drove around Paris for a bit, giving Duncan and Connor a chance
to reach Darius's church first. He also wanted to give Richie a good
head start before everyone else came charging after him. Hopefully, if
he took long enough to get the church, Richie might actually have dealt
with Carlos by the time they got there. Then again, they could get there
just in time to avenge Richie's death. Methos just couldn't decide if
Richie's life, or the promise that Methos had made to Richie, was more
important.

It was a few minutes later that Methos found himself in front of the
cafe that he and Connor had been to the day before. Methos pulled over
and went inside. Ordering a coffee, he sat down at one of the tables by
the window.

"You look lost, my friend," a man said taking the seat in front of
Methos. "Timothy Smith is the name."

"Adam," Methos answered, without looking at the stranger.

"You okay? You look as if you just lost your best friend," Timothy
answered.

"Might've. I'm just wondering what's more important." Methos looked
towards the man. When he nodded his head to continue, Methos said, "A
promise made or a life."

"You made the promise to your friend and it may cost him his life? Well,
does he want to live?" Timothy asked.

"He does, but he also wants to deal with his own problems."

"Is he older or younger than you?" The stranger asked.

"Older, but he can act younger at times. He is my best friend, but I
don't want to find out in a few hours that he's dead." Methos looked
down, afraid to meet the younger man's eyes and show just how much that
thought hurt.

"Then go!"

Those two words grabbed at Methos and he sprang up. Richie made him
promise not to follow him. That didn't mean Duncan couldn't go and drag
him along. Methos was so intent on leaving that he forgot to thank the
gentleman that had talked to him, but turning back, he saw that the
stranger was gone.

Not one to just stand there and waste time, Methos jumped into the car
and was off. He made it to Darius's church in wonderful time. He felt
the presence of another immortal as soon as he entered the building, but
he continued on without even flinching.

"We need to go now," Methos said, not even trying to keep his voice
down. "Joe. Clara stay. The rest, let's go." Methos turned on his heel
and ran from the building. The rest of the immortals were close behind.

"Where's Richie? What's going on? What happened?" Methos heard all of
their questions as they got into the vehicles. Telling them that Richie
had gone after Carlos on his own was enough to get them moving without
another word. They were running out of time.


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Richie saw Carlos's chateau from the beginning of its half mile long
driveway. From here, he could already sense the five immortals inside
the house, but that was nothing new. When he wanted to, he could sense
an immortal from about five miles away, but he couldn't tell how many
were there at that distance. He knew that Carlos always kept at least
twenty mortal guards with him at all times, too.

No one tried to stop him as he pulled up in front of the chateau or when
he entered it. As he walked through the halls, he drew his sword and
took off his jacket. Inside, he headed straight for the center of the
chateau. Carlos always kept a large fighting area there and that would
be where everyone was waiting.

"Nice clothes," Carlos said as Richie entered the large room.

Richie had picked clothes that wouldn't restrict his movement when he
fought, so he was wearing a pair of black leather hiking boots, black
slacks, a black silk shirt, and black leather gloves.

"I wasn't looking to please you," Richie commented.

"You come here alone. This is going to be so much easier than I thought
it would. Especially since you won't kill me. Or better, you can't kill
me," Carlos said with a hideous laugh.

"And why can't I kill you?" Richie asked.

"You can't kill me because of the law. The Guardian law to be exact. It
says that you should not kill one another. Punishable by death if you
do," Carlos said. "See, I don't believe in the laws anymore. I never
did. You believe in them and it will be that, that is your downfall."

"Correct, it is punishable by death and I would never break our laws,
but you broke them first. I'm the leader of the guardians, the first, so
it is my job to rid us of any who break the laws. You killed at least
Ribous, if not Timothy, too. You also ordered the deaths of the other,
innocent people we were sworn to protect. This is between you and me."

Richie stood in the center of the room and waited for Carlos to join
him. Carlos pulled his own sword from its cover and joined Richie. His
men already had orders to take the White Knight down if Carlos was about
to lose his head. The battle was decided in Carlos's eyes. There was no
way he could lose.

Carlos attacked first, bringing his sword in for a jab to the right
which Richie blocked. The jab to the right was followed with a swing at
the legs that was easily jumped by Richie. Landing back on his feet,
Richie didn't waste any time taking a swing at Carlos's shoulder. It was
also blocked, but Richie followed that with a kick to the stomach that
connected. Carlos doubled over as Richie brought his knee into Carlos's
nose. A slice from Carlos that cut open Richie's knee, stopped Richie
from pounding into Carlos for a minute.

Both backed off to regain their footing. Carlos charged, pushing Richie
back. Each thrust was just barely blocked. Then two strong arms went
about Richie's chest, pining the knight's arms to his sides. A knee to
the stomach and a blow from the hilt of Carlos's sword to the head
dropped Richie to his knees. He looked up to see Carlos's sword
descending towards his unprotected neck. Richie's sword lay too far to
his right to reach, and people to both sides of him, kept him from
rolling out of the way.

Richie didn't see a way to block his oncoming doom. The sword was
heading for his neck and he wasn't sure if he could bring his arm up in
time to block it. There was also no guarantee that his arm would be
enough to stop the broadsword. His only comfort was that the MacLeods
were strong enough to beat Carlos and avenge his death.


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Amanda, Aries, Connor, Duncan, Methos broke every speed law there was in
France, just to get to Carlos's chateau. They pulled into the driveway,
up to the front of the chateau. They were just getting out of their
vehicles when a very powerful quickening shattered the windows of the
chateau. Dread filled them at the possibility that Richie might've lost
his head and Carlos had just taken his quickening.

TBC...