Retrieval
By Donna and Abs

They hurried Sarah Jo back to Esperanza. On the way Cherry, who had been with the shifters, told Doc Adams about the new Esperanza clinic. Lillian and Julia Hoffman had set it up, and she worked there as a nurse. Doc thanked her for the information, and Jason was sent ahead to notify the two lady doctors while he was in attendance.

The two doctors met them at the edge of town, and directed them to the clinic. By this time, Doc was beginning to worry. Sarah Jo was still doubled over in pain as she clung to Duncan, and the bleeding seemed to be heavier than it should have been for a normal period. They pulled up the cart outside of the clinic, and then Duncan carried her inside, placing her on the bed that Cherry had prepared for her. 

Doc shot a look at his more modern self. "Listen, MacLeod," said Duncan, "Why don't we go wait over at the Penguin. We could get a drink, and they can tend to her unhampered." 

The Highlander's jaw was tight as he left the room. "Grisham is going to pay for this," he fumed. "When I get my hands on him..." Methos stopped him with a shake of the head, telling him that Sarah Jo needed him there for now. Vengeance could come later. 

Across the way, at the Fuzzy Penguin, the wolves had updated Jean-Claude and Asher, who had recently awoken. Faia and Kim had not been permitted to follow of course, and now were under strict rules to stay inside the Penguin, lest Grisham harm them as well.

A stout drink was placed in front of MacLeod, who downed it in one gulp. It was replaced immediately. As they worked on getting him good and drunk, everyone
gathered around was throwing out ideas to make Grisham's punishment fit his crime.

Jean-Claude held up a thin hand to stop all discussion. "I know exactly what should be done with him," he announced. "When I was first crossed over, I was made to . . . service . . . anyone who wished it of me. I think we should make Grisham do the same,
since he is so fond of his own prowess. We should show him that sex could be a curse if it is done forcibly on you.”

Duncan grumbled into his scotch that he still wouldn't mind drawing and quartering the bastard. Methos put an understanding hand on his shoulder, and told him that killing Grisham would be too good for him. It had to be a continuous punishment. 

"Look what we know to be true," said the Immortal reasonably. "We know that the Immortals you killed here came back again. What if we killed Grisham, and a day later he came back into town as if he were arriving for the first time?"

"Then he would have no memory of the rape," Jean-Claude said, "but your little nurse would carry the memory forever."

"I don't think that's a fair trade off for your revenge," Methos concluded.

"No, it isn't," Duncan admitted with an unhappy sigh. 

Methos looked at Jean-Claude. "Can you do this?"

"Oui," he said. "Quite easily."

"So we raid Sadaam?"

The vampire looked thoughtful. "I have another way to do it. We just need to get this Grisham to Esperanza." He turned to Stephen, and said, "Go to the Raven and find the one they call Kagan. I think I have a way of luring the fly into our web."

***

Meanwhile, at the clinic, Doc was holding Sarah Jo's hand while one of the woman doctors gently checked her out. He had his suspicions about the bleeding, but waited until they were confirmed.

She wouldn't look at him, just continued to weep softly. Lilian's touch was gentle, and she wasn't fighting it, but even so, she couldn’t stop crying. After she was done, Sarah Jo finally spoke. "I lost it, didn't I?"

"As far as I can tell. It was very early. Probably a few days late with your period, weren't you?"

As this was said, Doc squeezed her hand and absorbed the meaning of the words. That one could have been his, too.

"Yes," she sobbed. "I've always been rock steady. I was almost a week late. I wanted to be sure before I told anyone." 

Doc looked away. He could not speak, but he wanted to kill. And that, for Doc was something. "Was it mine, or Duncan's?" he said at last.

"I don't know," she said. "I think I conceived right after the flu epidemic eased. It could have been either one of you then." 

He smiled darkly. "I wonder what it is like to know a child is definitely yours," he said softly. "No wonder Methos likes to come up here to see Faia." He sighed, shaking it off, and said, "Shepherd was telling me that we need to be more careful about our
conceptions. Too many will have the same genetic make up - or unconfirmed paternity - and this will be a problem later on, when the children grow and mate with their siblings."

Sarah Jo didn't answer, just turned her head to the pillow and doubled up into a fetal position again, from the combination of both loss and continuous cramping making her cry softly. Dr. Hoffman approached with a hypodermic needle, filled with a powerful
sedative, waiting for Adams' approval. 

He nodded, numb from his own emotional overload. Since there was no longer any risk to the baby, there was no reason Sarah could not have some peace.

Julia administered the medication, and then a few moments later, Sarah Jo's body started to relax as the sedative took effect. "By the time she wakes up from this, it should be over," Lilian told Doc Adams. 

"It'll never be over," he said, and got up to leave. "I'll be back." And he went over to see what was being done to bring that monster to justice.

He found a large crowd in the Fuzzy Penguin, all gathered around, discussing a plan to do just that. From the glazed look on MacLeod's face, he had managed to dull a little of his pain with all the alcohol he had consumed. As he sat down next to MacLeod, Methos pressed a large glass of some potent brew into his own hand without a word. 

Looking up, he realized that Methos had already deduced the cause for the heavy bleeding. The two pair of identical eyes locked for a moment; Doc realized he had not had a chance to tell him about Prudence yet. Maybe later. It was inappropriate now.

He took a long gulp of the fiery liquid, then tried to pay attention to what was being said. It did not make sense until Lucas Kagan arrived, and then it started to form into a plan.

It was a good plan, and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

***

Lucas Kagan rode into Sadaam, his stomach in knots. It was a good plan, and he certainly was not afraid of Marcus Grisham, but he hated going into the city. The
problem was, the vampire was right! He had to go anyway. Two whores was not nearly enough, and Grayson had been furious when he'd returned from Edan to find
Bambi gone!

As Kagan entered the palace, Kronos was fuming. He was not pleased with the mortal who had just come into town. If the unlikely tale that he told was true, the others might be plotting another raid. The last one had been devastating enough, and he didn't want to take the chance of losing any of the women that seemed to be content to serve them all.

Not only that, but he was trying to take liberties with them. Strange as this sounded, Kronos was not encouraging his men to misuse the women; Kalana had been pretty clear about what she would do to anyone who displeased any of them, and Kronos was still concerned that the Old One would just take them away. He was not so concerned with the Witch, or the Immortal women, who were not so well protected, but of course Grisham was not bothering with *them*. No, he had to run after the special girls! 

Kronos growled at Methos to find out what Kagan wanted this time, and to take care of it. Stalking out, he went in search of his woman.

Nodding obediently, Methos went to see what the man wanted. He had no new women with him, so he had no reason for being there. Methos was even more upset with Grisham than Kronos - Kronos could care less if the men got a little wild. He was only concerned with losing the special women. It would be annoying to Kronos, but if Methos lost Beatrice, he'd lose his whole world.

He found Kagan talking to one of the chained Immortal women. Only two of them, Kristen and Felice, could be trusted enough to wander around unrestrained. The
Egyptian, for instance, had actually managed to kill a couple of the men that had tried to take her by force. He paused, listening to Kagan attempt to sell being a willing whore in a wonderful city called Esperanza as a better life than what she had now as a slave in Sadaam. 

Kagan went on, blissfully unaware of Methos' presence; after all, there were enough Immortal buzzes around to confuse things, and Methos was staying out of range
anyway- while he enjoyed the reaction he was getting. All of the chained ones - Angelique, Ingrid and Nefertiri - said they would rather be whores than slaves!

He waited until Kagan had left the women. What he wanted to say to him was best not overheard by anyone else. As Kagan walked by, whistling happily, Methos grabbed him, and then pulled him into an empty room. 

"Where is this Esperanza?" he asked menacingly.

Kagan sputtered, gasping for breath as he tried to loosen Methos' iron grip around his throat. "North!" he croaked. "North of the ford!" 

"Who lives there? Is it like Edan?"

"No! The vamps live there. And their weres! I help run a brothel there. We just lost one of our whores, and I was sent here to try to get a replacement!" 

Methos seemed thoughtful. Actually, he had been wanting to take Beatrice and flee, but he knew they would not be accepted in Edan. "Tell me where it is, and I will let you take the slaves."

Kagan was elated. He gave Methos a detailed description of how to get there. Who could they hurt there anyways? The vamps had already proved themselves more than a match for the Sadaam horde.

"One other condition," said the Blue-faced one ominously.

"Anything!" Kagan gushed. "Just name it!" 

"Take the New One with you. Pretend you need help getting the women out of town, though I will make sure you are not followed."

"New guy?" Kagan asked innocently. Surely he didn't mean the mortal! He couldn't believe his luck! 

Methos turned and pointed him out. "I do not like him, and neither does Kronos. And if you can find a way of killing him along the route, so much the better." Then Methos handed him the key to the women's chains!

Kagan chuckled as he palmed the key. Leaving Methos, he snuck up to Grisham, who was pawing one of the beautiful women that seemed happy to be there in Sadaam. "I just heard something interesting," he whispered into his ear. "It appears the folks in
charge here are wanting to impale you on a spike at the entrance to the city. I detest bloody messes like that. If you can help me with a little heist of mine, I can promise you safe passage to another place friendlier than this one." 

Grisham looked at the girl. They had a lot of pussy in this place, and it was all free. "How can anything be friendlier than this?" he asked, squeezing Ula's breast. Her smile turned to a frown instantly, and she tried to walk off. Grisham grabbed her arm, but Kagan intervened.

He pointed over to Silas, who was nonchalantly sharpening a large spiked spear that was at least ten foot long. "I'm not joking. Do you want that shoved up yer ass?" 

"Not really," admitted the mortal. "What are you planning to steal? Gold?"

"Women!" Kagan's eyes lit up with glee. "I need some more whores for the brothel."

"Now you're talking my language! This one?" he asked, still holding a squirming Ula.

"Nah," Kagan said, pulling him away. "These three." He looked around and, seeing no one nearby, he started unlocking them from their shackles. 

Grisham looked them over with glee. No one had complained when he took liberties with these! They'd kept them chained and of course, he'd had his fun with them. He'd just wanted to try 'em all. Given a choice between sampling every woman and having a pole
up his ass, he'd take these three. Besides, ownership was a thrill. "All for us, then?" he asked Kagan.

"Sure! Plus two more back at the house. Let’s go! I have horses hidden just outside of town!" He took Ingrid by the hand and motioned for the other two to follow. "You take up the rear since you have the gun." 

Grisham nodded. He wanted Angelique. Nefertiri went proudly; she may be becoming a whore, but she did so under her own terms.

The five of them made it out of town without any problems and they all broke out in a run towards the wooded area where Kagan said he had left the horses. But as soon as they entered the woods, a net was dropped out of a tree on top of Grisham, trapping him. As he struggled to get free, a hand reached in and took his gun away.

Jamil climbed down. "We'll take it from here," the African American werewolf said gruffly. "You take your women and go."

Grinning from ear to ear, he helped two of the girls up onto horses, then mounted up, pulling Ingrid up behind him. "Let's go ladies! Your new home awaits!"