Immortal History Lessons 20
Protecting Secrets
@copyright 2009 Heather Amaral & Jean Hontz
--------------------------------
Janie got her one bag out of the rental car and followed Sydney into
the lobby, where Methos had already arranged a room for her. Sadly, it was at
the opposite wing of the hotel.
Syd, talking a mile a minute, mainly in hopes of not letting Janie ask a lot of
questions she couldn't, or wouldn't, or possibly shouldn't answer, was doing her
best impression of love-struck city girl falling for mysterious stranger. Which,
when you think about it, was possibly not the best approach to quelling Janie's
detective instincts. Still, Syd was improvising and she was not nearly as good
at it as Methos was, Sydney, sadly, being a non-suspicious and mostly
tell-it-like-it-is sort of person.
So, despite the questions Janie wanted to ask, listening to how happy Sydney
was, and the cumulative effects of jet lag, it really wasn't long before Sydney
was able to convince Janie to take a nap, get some rest and then they'd all meet
up for dinner later.
With a sigh of relief, Sydney closed Janie's door softly and hurried off toward
her own room where, she hoped, Methos would still be. If he wasn't ... Well,
she'd worry about that later.
She slipped her key card into the door and slid inside. "Coast is clear," she
called toward the patio, the door to it being open.
"Is she always like this?" was Methos' astonished question upon re-entering the
room, beer already half drained in hand.
"Always like what?" Sydney asked, checking out the mini bar for a beer for
herself.
"Pummel first, make sure you have the right man after?" he asked, looking in the
mirror where there was no longer a trace of Janie's violent calling card on his
jaw.
"She's gonna wonder about that. I should use my makeup and make it look like it
still hurts. And yeah, she's a cop. What can I say? I think you'll live."
"Don't make any promises you can't keep, Sydney," he taunted, leaning into her.
"She's still armed."
"Yeah, but she shoots at kneecaps not necks. Seriously, she's just kind of
protective. It's her nature. I'm sorry. And she is too. She'll apologize at
dinner."
Methos snorted. "I'm sure she will," he said, downing the rest of his beer.
"I've met women like her before, more than a few, so I know what I'm talking
about. Your friend's not going to apologize, not in a way she'd mean it, until
she's searched my luggage, quizzed me about my childhood and school records and
had me run through a drug test or two."
She walked over to kiss his jaw. "All better. I'll, I'll find a way to reassure
her. If she knows I'm happy she won't be too much of a pain. I promise. But we
should be careful around her. She goes into cop mode on autopilot."
Methos sighed. He hadn't meant to take his frustration out on her. But things
had been going so well. Now not only did he have to worry about his life
ruining things, now her life was rearing it's head to make objections.
"Back to Adam Pierson then, mild mannered researcher," he said lightly, a smile
tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I don't know how I'm going to explain my
'human' comment away, though."
"Oh," Sydney said going a bit pale. "Well, she doesn't have any reason to think
it was anything special does she?" Sydney was worrying her lower lip. "I'm so
sorry..." she said sinking down to slump in a chair.
Methos sometimes wished he wasn't such a push over for her damsel in distress
moments as he crouched down next to her.
"How deep will Janie dig to make sure I'm telling the truth?" he asked.
She met his eyes, her blue ones now wide with worry. "I don't know. If you can
seem, I don't know, non-threatening, I think she'll back off, particularly if I
make sure she realizes I really care about you." She paused. "She just knows
that I .. well, I haven't always made the wisest choices in regards to men, so..
she worries about me."
'Brad'. The name in Sydney's letter leapt out in his mind.
"You never told me anything like that," he said with soft concern, rubbing her
the back of her calf soothingly. Her tone gave away that those weren't pleasant
memories.
"Well, we haven't had a lot of time to talk. Mostly I remember running," she
added with a lopsided grin. "But really. When she realizes you're a nice guy,
well, she'll be fine. So we just need to like, you know, not seem too
secretive."
Methos grinned broadly at her. "One harmless romantic sot at your service. And
if she does get suspicious about what I said earlier, I can always chalk it up
to adrenaline and creative thinking due to utter devotion to you and your
safety. Not all of which is a lie."
"Oh? Tell me more about the part that's true," she suggested leaning forward to
plant a kiss on his lips.
He hummed a little before pressing her further back in the chair to deepen the
kiss, tongue darting out across her lips before pulling away, teasing her. "But
that takes all the fun out of guessing."
Her lips twitched then broke into a smile. "Brat. So, tell me how I can help you
manage Janie."
"You're not doing a bad job on your own actually. Just don't slip up on the
name, talk about our trip, edit a little bit here and there to omit the more
exciting pieces that might get me shot at without warning, and...whatever else
you know she wants to hear, I suppose," he said with a casual shrug. "You know
her better then I do, so humor her."
"Okay, well, the first thing she's going to want to see is if I'm free to go off
without you, so I think maybe she and I need to spend some time off on our own.
She worries a lot about guys trying to isolate women from their families and
friends. So if we do that I think it will help a lot. Otherwise, just be your
charming self when we're together and I think we'll be alright. I'll work on the
name thing."
An idea suddenly clicked into the old man's head and he smiled.
"We could go back to Paris tomorrow," he suggested. "You two can go out for the
day, see all the little tourist sights we stayed away from, then we can all have
dinner on the barge before heading back to New York."
"Okay. Any additional reasons we're going back to Paris?"
"Two birds, one stone," Methos answered with a wicked glint in his eyes. "While
you distract the best friend, I'm going to secure some paperwork that will get
me a job back in NYC. I doubt they'll accept my having actually lived in Egypt
longer then any of their scholars have been alive as credible credentials."
"Very true. In fact it would probably get you a room in a locked ward at the
hospital. Can you? I mean, come up with credible papers that quickly?"
"I've managed more on even less time. And I have an old colleague who owes me a
favor." Methos assured.
"Oh good. Listen, I'm really sorry about Janie. I should have guessed me writing
her and telling her I was fine wasn't going to be enough. Gods, hindsight..."
she sighed.
"Hindsight doesn't always alert you to the bulldozer behind you," Methos said
wisely.
She groaned. "Well, if you do teach you'll entertain your students. I hope all
the Brut wearers sign up."
"And still you claim to love me," he said in disbelief.
"I do. But then I know how much you enjoy a challenge. You can take them under
your wing and explain the facts of life to the little dears."
"Drink beer and avoid pointy objects at all cost?" he asked quizzically.
"Now that sounds like a plan. One I'm delighted to sign up for myself."
"Well let's see if we get out of Europe first, then we can make it our personal
motto," he said.
-------------------
Janie, whose colleagues would find themselves kneecapped if they dared to call
her that, was still in shock, not to mention jet lagged. Again. They were
disembarking in Paris. Paris. She'd never really spent any time in Europe.
She'd managed vacations to Bermuda, Jamaica and to Mexico, but Europe had seemed
a bit beyond her reach. So the whole idea of her gallivanting around Europe
first, then Cyprus and Turkey and the New Zealand (!) and now just as suddenly
back to Paris, was a bit overwhelming.
But Paris! She'd actually get to see something of Paris. She did want to call
Yvonne, but other than that, she had little in the way of worries, since Syd had
promised to show her around herself. With Adam out of the way, she'd be able to
get a better gauge on Syd's mental state. Around him Syd seemed way too
dreamily romantic for Janie's tastes. But then Syd always had been a dreamer; no
where near as practical and hard-nosed as she ought to be, considering she was a
Manhattanite.
"Wow," Janie said as they disembarked to hear the lispy sounds of quickly spoken
French on the airport's sound system.
"Oh, we're gonna have a great time. I want to show you all the sights before we
have to go back to New York," Sydney said, squeezing her arm.
"Adam can go entertain himself. Maybe, if he's really, really good, we'll let
him join us for dinner."
"That's kind of you," Methos quipped beside her. "I suppose that means you want
the keys, so there's an option on locking me out?"
"Absolutely," Sydney replied. "It's a barge Jane. Wait 'til you see it. It's
gorgeous. So romantic." Sydney sighed.
Jane looked from Sydney to Adam and back again. "So, you're going back to New
York too?" she asked Methos.
Methos laughed, giving off a slightly embarrassed Adam Pierson smile. "I didn't
exactly plan on staying here without my girlfriend."
"Must be nice to be rich enough to jet all over the world and just pick and
choose where you want to live," Janie commented.
"Janie!" Syd protested. "Not nice. I met him in New York. Of course he's going
back with us."
"Yet he has a barge here in Paris." Janie pointed out.
"Not his, his friend's," Syd replied. "Would you stop, please?"
"Sorry," Janie said, looking out the taxi window at Paris as it went past them.
"It is beautiful."
"It's why I stayed here for so long," Methos said wistfully, following Janie's
gaze. "There's blood running through the foundations of Paris, but it's still
beautiful."
"Oh?" Janie asked, picking up on that.
Syd sighed. "He's a scholar, Janie. He studied classics. History. He knows Paris
history. The history is written in blood. Despite the beauty of it," Sydney
added sadly.
Janie looked from Syd to Methos and back again.
"Tomorrow first thing, we're going to hit all the highlights. Okay, not the
Louvre. You'd do nothing but complain," Sydney added with a sigh.
Methos' mouth twitched a little at mention of the Louvre, but he managed to keep
it under control.
"The Eiffel Tower?" Janie asked.
"Yup. And we'll take a bateau and you can see Lady Liberty." She paused, "Ah,
here's the barge. Look at that view!"
"My god. That's Notre Dame isn't it?" Janie asked awed.
"If we eat on the deck tonight you'll see it lit in all it's glory." Methos
said.
"Oh yes, please," Jane said, finally giving up on the scowls and questions. They
piled out of the taxi and Janie was too busy looking at the barge. "Too bad it
isn't yours," was her conclusion.
Methos let out a dramatic sigh. "Which reminds me that I have to clean it before
we leave or MacLeod will never let me hear the end of it," he said dismally,
wrapping an arm around Sydney's waist as they went inside.
"I'm not helping," Sydney replied. "I'm on vacation. Surely we can hire
someone."
"That's not exactly a very Adam Pierson thing to do," he said in a low voice.
"But all things considering, MacLeod won't notice the dirt swept under the rug
unless he lifts it."
"So you're cooking dinner?" she asked him. "I suppose we have to go shopping?"
-----------
Several hours later, a group effort had dinner served on the deck with the sun
sinking behind them. The last of the sunlight lit up Notre Dame, the windows
glistening in the dying light as the brilliance of a Paris summer night began to
turn the evening into a fairy tale.
Janie, swirling good wine in her glass, sighed as she looked out over it all.
"Thank you, that was brilliant."
"Which you have equal thanks in," Methos said after swallowing a mouthful of
creme brulee. "I'm not sure what would have happened without your quick thinking
over the blowtorch part of the cooking process."
Sydney giggled. "Mac would not have been happy with you," she hesitated, "Adam."
"Mac?" Janie asked.
Sydney kicked herself.
"Duncan MacLeod, he's the friend who loaned me use of the barge," Methos said
without missing a beat, though he didn't think Duncan's personal record was
going to help him at all in Janie's eyes. "He's an antique dealer, but he also
owns a martial arts dojo in New York. I was staying with him when I met Sydney."
"Ah. So you were in New York visiting him?" Janie asked.
Sydney kicked Janie.
"Yes and no," he said. "We have a mutual friend, she was going through some hard
times so I came out for support."
"Ah, sorry about that. You staying in New York?" Janie asked him. Sydney
sighed. Kicking obviously hadn't worked.
"Well, I hadn't planned on it. But I met Sydney and then I found out they had an
opening for an Egyptologist at NYU, so I thought, why not?" Methos said with a
wide grin.
Janie's eyebrow rose. "Oh?"
"Janie, so, how are the guys?"
"Same as always, Syd. Mike sends his love."
"You're a cop, aren't you?" Methos suddenly asked, turning the tables. "When we
were checking out, the woman at the desk said an international force had called
in to look for Sydney. Are you just a local New York cop or what?"
Janie glared at Sydney. Sydney just shrugged. "You've been asking questions. His
turn?" she suggested.
Janie frowned. "I'm NYPD. I'm dating a guy who works security for the UN. He
knows Syd." She shrugged. "We were worried about her."
"And does your boyfriend know you broke international jurisdiction by pulling a
gun on an unarmed man?" Methos asked casually, keeping anything that sounded
like accusation out of his voice so her hackles wouldn't raise.
"Unarmed! I saw that sword. What the hell are you running around with a sword
for?" Janie wanted to know.
Right, he hadn't noticed that. His coat must have fallen open when she'd tossed
him to the ground.
"It's a family heirloom, and since I'm making the transition from Paris to New
York I've had to keep it with me. I have all the paperwork for it if you'd like
to see it," he offered.
"You don't tell on me, I won't tell on you," Janie offered reluctantly.
Syd sat back to enjoy the negotiations, excellent wine and the sights. All of
them.
Methos smiled, taking the time to finish his desert slowly, in a teasingly
un-Adam way before speaking. "I think that'll work, though I
haven't legally done anything wrong," he pointed out.
Janie replied, "Nope. Not that I know of."
Methos just grinned.
---
Sherlock Collins was the computer wiz kid of Watchers before the Watchers were
even comfortable with the idea of technology. If a Watcher needed a plane ticket
to Tokyo in an hour to follow his immortal, a job lined up to support him or new
identification, then Sherlock was the one you had on speed dial. He liked Paris,
it was where all the action was and most of the immortals.
A knock on the door pulled Sherlock from the latest gaming production he'd
hacked into. He cursed and made sure it was gone before he answered it, Dawson
would never let him hear the end of illegal uses of his powers.
That's why it was a relief to find the hacking master himself on the other side
of the door.
"Adam!"
"Hey," Methos greeted the young man as he was bustled inside, he knew that gleam
in Sherlock's eyes, the boy had been up to no good it seemed. Made Methos proud.
"Dude, you have to see all the new stuff I've got. Movie trailers, games, the
government is actually chasing some guy up in the Himalayas right now who they
think's immortal. They don't know it's a decoy we sent out yet. It's like
playing life size Risk, man."
"Maybe later, Sherlock," Methos said with an amused chuckle. "Right now I need a
favor."
------------
Back at the barge Janie and Syd had cleaned up after breakfast and were heading
out to see the sights.
"So, this isn't just a fling with a cute guy with a great accent?" Janie asked
as they walked arm in arm toward Notre Dame.
"Not for me," Sydney confessed. "So, please. Leave off the grill work. He's told
me enough about himself that I'm content."
"Syd, you said that with Brad."
"Yeah, I did. But then I was lying through my teeth. Now I'm not. Look, I was
young and foolish when I met Brad and he was glamorous and rich and fun."
"Uhm..." Janie replied.
Sydney blushed. "Well, maybe they're similar there, but Brad wanted to isolate
me. Methos doesn't. He wants to meet my father and see my mother. He's also okay
with you here, when you aren't clobbering him."
"Well, he doesn't like it when I ask questions," Janie pointed out.
"I don't like it when you ask questions, Janie!" Syd replied.
"Yeah, I know. Wow, this place is fabulous!" Janie said, turning her attention
to the church.
"Yeah it is!" Syd replied, grateful for the intermission.
---
"You seriously spotted Methos?!"
Methos nodded. "Hard to believe, isn't it? But the Old Man finally showed up in
America, and I've got to follow before he disappears again," he said, letting
Adam's eager excitement trickle into his voice. "Can you imagine after all these
years, I finally get to see him in the flesh."
Sherlock grinned. "Dude, you bring me back a souvenir from old New York and I'll
set you up with whatever you want."
Methos smiled. "How about we start with a degree in Egyptology?"
----
Three hours later, Janie was pleading exhaustion, as they sat at a sidewalk cafe
near the Louvre.
"So how's your love life, Janie."
"Still seeing Roger. He's not nearly as intriguing as your Adam, I must say."
Syd shook her head. "He's nothing special, Janie. Just sort of bookishly odd, if
you know what I mean."
"Uh huh," Janie replied, sipping her Parisian coffee.
"It's been awfully sudden for me," Syd lamented. "But I hope now you won't worry
about me so much."
"I'll worry," Janie said. "But you do glow when he's around so I guess I'll back
off."
Sydney let out the breath she'd been holding.
--------------
"Egyptology?" Sherlock asked quizzically. "Adam, don't you think Methos will
notice you in that kind of field? I mean, the guy's pretty arrogant, and a lot
more recently then before. You've caught sight of him six times in the last ten
years. Don't you think he's gonna come and check out the nearest specialist on
where he's from, just to be an ass?"
Methos chuckled. "I'm counting on it."
"He'll blow your cover, Adam."
"And if I keep him interested in the way I tell his history, I might be able to
find out more about him," Methos added. "Now, can we please get on with this so
I can catch my flight? There's a brand new operating system in it for you the
better that degree looks."
--------------
They were walking back to the barge when Janie, to Sydney's astonishment, pulled
out a Blackberry.
"Wow," I didn't realize NYPD is such technically savvy, Syd offered laughing.
"They aren't. But Roger is. I need to check in with him."
"Hah! And you give me a hard time about boyfriends."
Janie made a face at her, then concentrated. Then she frowned.
"What?" Syd asked, as they climbed the gangway to the barge.
"Nothing. Maybe I just hit the wrong key. I guess I need to concentrate on
this."
"Hey, go for it," Sydney said with a laugh. "I'll get a shower and change and
meet you back here on the deck."
Janie waited until Sydney was gone and pulled up the database again. She was
reading a page on one Adam Pierson when the screen froze. she cursed. Second
time. She refreshed the page and gaped.
----------
"Oh shit!"
"What, what's wrong?" Methos asked suddenly as Sherlock started typing
frantically at the keyboard.
"Someone's in your official records snooping around." Sherlock said, a smirk
appearing on the young mans face. "But I can head them off at the pass."
Methos scowled. "And I know exactly who it is."
Sherlock smiled. "One, two, three, you can't see me," he said and pressed enter.
---------
Janie was cursing a blue streak when Syd rejoined her on the deck, carrying a
bottle of wine and two glasses. "What's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing really. I just hate technology," Janie replied.
"Ah. I think it's pretty cool myself," Syd said, pouring them each a glass.
"We'll have to come back to Paris so you can see more of the sights."
"Hmmm?" Janie asked, distracted. "I should call Yvonne."
Syd almost choked on her wine. When she could trust her voice again, she said,
"Oh, I talked to her yesterday. She's on vacation on the Cote D'Azure. We don't
want to disturb her. She has a hot lover."
-----
"Well, you're all set Adam. Give me a call when you reach New York and let me
know what Methos is like," Sherlock said, still riding the high of a hacker job
done well.
"I'll tell you all about it," Methos promised, clasping the younger man's hand.
"Now stay out of trouble."
Sherlock was about to protest when Methos added, "The kind you get caught at."
"Take care, Adam."
"You too, Sherlock," Methos said as he ducked outside into the cool Parisian air
and walked down the street with hunched shoulders and a satisfied feline swagger
to his step.
The women were sitting on the deck of the barge when he walked up the gangway.
Sydney's smile was all for him. "Get everything straightened out?" she asked.
"All set and done." Methos said as he slid into a chair beside Sydney. "We leave
tomorrow morning for New York."
"Mmmm," Sydney said. "Too bad. Janie hardly had a chance to see a thing. She
wanted to see Yvonne. Who, I'm sorry to say, is on vacation on the Cote
d"Azure."
"Oh, is she?" Methos asked sadly, not meaning it for a minute. "I guess we'll
just have to visit her next time we come through. Which you are welcome to join
us on, Janie."
"Oh, well, aren't you kind," Janie said, not meaning it for a minute. "So, you
have a job waiting for you in New York?"
Syd put her head in her hands. "Oh, do stop, please."
"Excuse me?" Methos asked, brow raised.
Janie eyed Syd. "Honey, I was just being friendly. Honest." Janie looked over
at Methos and added, "We get together most Thursday nights at a small bar in the
village. You two going to be making it on Thursdays?"
"If they have descent beer I'm not going to complain." Methos shrugged.
"Sydney?"
"Sure. I suppose I'll have to subject poor Adam to everybody's scrutiny."
"Of course," Janie said with satisfaction. "So, how about I treat you guys to
dinner?"
"I knew there was a reason I was starting to like you," Methos said, leaning
farther back in the chair.