I'm still alive ^^; sorry for the long wait...

FanLass: I replied to you via email, maybe the mail got stuck in your spam folder?

Chapter 21

"So, no one knows you came here?" Caitlyn asked.

They had all eventually settled around the big dining table. Though it had taken a few pointed looks from Caitlyn and Amanda before Methos would stop hovering menacingly and sit with them. He was clearly trying to appear reasonable but in the presence of the bikers shedding his Jude persona even a little was evidently not so easy. It made Amanda wonder just how far removed he already was. The sooner this is over, the better, she thought.

"No, no one knows," Bill confirmed.

"Good," Methos stated coldly, and the implied threat in that one word made Corey flare.

Bill put a hand on the younger biker's arm, to keep him from saying anything they both might regret. "So how do you propose to take Assaro out?" Bill changed the subject.

"The same way I got rid of Tyler," Methos said.

"Then why haven't you already?" Bill asked.

Caitlyn had explained the Game and their nature to the two bikers conveniently leaving out the part where anyone would be able to kill them by removing their heads. She hadn't even lied to leave the impression that they could only be killed by their own kind, just omitted things and let their possible allies fill in the rest. The effect had been Bill seeing that he was in fact not equipped to handle the situation alone (though Caitlyn's soothing voice and his own weariness were probably also behind that decision), while Corey, well, he was not convinced but would probably go with Bill anyway, like a good little soldier.

"Because I need to know if there are any other immortals nearby first," Methos explained, this time pulling off the patient guy quite well. "You see, he likes to make the rules work for him by sending someone else into the fight with you first. If that immortal defeats you, fine, if not he will use the fact that the Quickening weakens you to step in and just take your head while you're regaining your breath. I don't plan on losing my head over this, what kind of revenge would that be?"

That actually elicited a laugh from Bill, "You not losing your head. Now that's grand."

"You don't get to be my age without a level head," Methos replied with a smug grin.

Is he actually pulling the age card? Amanda thought amused.

"Anyway," Methos continued, "Caitlyn here can probably tell me who he used to use for that, but the more recent immortals she won't know. But maybe you do."

At the mention of Caitlyn's name, Bill got serious again. "She doesn't know, does she?" he asked, looking at Methos as if he was going to stare him down.

"Yes, she does," Caitlyn told him, clearly pissed at not being addressed personally.

"You do?" Bill shifted his focus to Caitlyn, eyes wide with surprise. "But why are you helping him then?"

"For the same reason you are going to: I want out and cannot do it alone. I am simply not good enough at fighting to take Assaros head," she fumed, "let alone his," here she indicated Methos with a nod of her chin. Caitlyn took a deep breath to calm herself and Amanda had to admire the woman for her self-restraint. Even though Amanda herself was not prone to violence and in spite of her earlier advice to move on, Amanda did not know if she would have had it in her to do what Caitlyn was doing. But then, I guess I am also used to running, she though. That's not only Methos' prerogative.

"So," Caitlyn went on, "I will take the pact with the devil over a lifetime of running. I want to get back to normal. Or whatever passes as normal when you're immortal." The last part was delivered very softly.

Bill looked her in the eyes, no doubt seeing truth there. Then he focused on Methos who had not shown any reaction to Caitlyn's speech. "Well, if Caitlyn believes you of all people are our only way out, then I'm inclined to believe her. But I will not risk going down with you if it doesn't work."

Methos just shrugged and stated calmly, "No one asked you to."

Methos was tired to the bone. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in his bed - or on the floor, didn't really matter. But he couldn't. Not yet.

"Go grab what you need from the cabin," he instructed Caitlyn and Amanda, "I'll take care of him." Without looking to see if they were moving, he went to the edge of the woods where Tyler's body was still lying, headless.

He grabbed the body and dragged it across the clearing, then pushed it underneath the deck. It would be as good a hiding place as any, Methos had no intention of coming back anyway. He briefly thought about torching the place but thought better of it. The cabin was in the middle of the woods, no one would just stumble across it by accident. But with a fire leading the way someone just might.

"We got everything we need." Amanda's voice startled him but he didn't miss a beat replying. It wouldn't do to show weakness.

"Good, go ahead to the car, I'll be right there."

As he went to retrieve the head, he saw Amanda looking at him. Methos tried to make sense of her expression - thoughtful, scrutinizing and something else - but since it didn't seem hostile, he just filed the image away for later inspection.

After throwing the head next to the body, he quickly went inside to grab his sword.

Outside, Caitlyn was already seated in the back of the rental while Amanda stood besides the passenger door. Before she could say whatever was on her mind - and he was sure she was about to say something - he got into the driver's seat and snapped, "Are you going to get in?"

He stepped on the gas as soon as she did, focusing on navigating the small road leading out of the woods. All the while, he could sense Amanda trying to figure out how to best start a conversation.

After a little while, they were already back on the main roads, Amanda gave up. "So we just let those two go back to Assaro and run?" she fumed.

"What would you have had me do instead, Amanda?" Methos asked, exasperated. "Kill them? Because if you stop to think about this for a bit, that would've been the only alternative. Whether you like it or not." He took a deep breath. In all that time away from his friends he had conveniently forgotten how only those you cared about could rub you the wrong way so efficiently.

Amanda didn't reply and Methos took that as acknowledgement of the truth in his words, swallowing a snarky remark. Instead he added more calmly, "Besides, I do not think they will go rat us out. What about you, Caitlyn?"

In the rear view mirror, he could see Caitlyn's eyes going wide for a second, obviously surprised to be asked for her opinion. "Bill can be a hothead at times," she said carefully, "but the club is his life and I do believe him that he wants to go back to a more uncomplicated life. One where they do not get mixed up in the big stuff and don't have to constantly look over their shoulders." She paused thoughtfully, "I don't think that getting rid of Assaro will solve all those problems for him, but it's a start." She shrugged.

"He would need to take a few of his guys and settle down elsewhere," Amanda mused. "For that he would need money."

It was Methos turn to shrug. "I think you're thinking too much of what you would need to resettle," he told Amanda unable to keep a grin off his face. "They wouldn't need a lot of money, but they would need a way to break those existing contracts and walk away without the other parties going after them. And that is probably near impossible."

"What about witness protection?" Amanda asked, eliciting an unladylike snort from Caitlyn.

"That would mean ratting on other club members or their business partners and that is just about the biggest no-go for anyone in the club I could imagine," Caitlyn explained.

"Their only option is to get rid of Assaro and take back the reins of the club," Methos stated.

"And yet, here we are, running," Amanda added sarcastically, with special emphasis on the last word.

Methos couldn't help but roll his eyes. "If we are wrong - and that's a big IF but still - if we are, I don't want them to be able to find you just like that. So you are relocating to another safehouse."

"Where?" Amanda asked sceptically.

"You'll see," Methos replied cryptically. Before Amanda could keep pestering him, he pulled into the parking lot where he had stashed his bike, thankful for the fortunate timing. As he came to a stop next to the bike, he gave her a folded piece of paper and said, "Here is the address, I'm sure you'll like it."

Once she read the note, Amanda couldn't help but grin, "Oh yeah, you think? That's a nice neighborhood all right."

"The code for the gate and front door is on there, too," Methos said, moving to get out of the car. If he kept sitting there he feared his tiredness might show. "I will come find you tomorrow."

"The gate?" Caitlyn asked. "Where is that safehouse?"

"In a neighborhood where any bikers or other shady people will stick out like a sore thumb and you two should be able to blend in just fine." Methos said from the door, hoping Amanda would just for once do as she was told. "It would be a good idea to change the rental before you go there, just drop it off at any office within the city limits, okay?"

Amanda looked at him with that same look he hadn't been able to place earlier. "And what about you?" was all she asked.

"I will go home, get some sleep, and then take it from there," he said running a hand over his face and hair before he could stop himself. "I need to be where the club ca find me for now - and far from you. As I said, I'll come by as soon as I can."

After a pause he added, "No running this time." Though he didn't dare make it a promise.

Rick's night out had gone on longer than usual and contained more alcohol and some more cocaine than usual. His entrance into his parent's house was therefore louder, too. If he had been sober, he would probably have made more of an effort to sneak into his room this late at night, but tonight, he found he just couldn't be bothered.

Inevitably, the light in the hallway was switched on when he hadn't even managed to get his shoes off, blinding him. He didn't need to see who it was, though. His mom never confronted him about anything, so it had to be his dad.

Sure enough, his dad's loud voice bore into his consciousness, "You're back."

Rick knew what was coming next, it always was the same anyway, so he tried to get up and move past his dad to his room to avoid the lecture. It didn't quite work because his foot got caught in the not quite removed shoe and he stumbled, catching himself ungracefully at the bottom of the stairs. Rick could feel his face heat up even before he looked up to see the disapproving look his dad was giving him.

"You need to be more considerate of your mother," his dad scolded him from the top of the stairs.

Rick carefully set his shoes on the rack and started up the stairs. He didn't say anything, hoping to discourage his dad. But of course that didn't work.

"You do know that she needs her sleep," his dad went on, "and if you were half the son you should be you would see that without me having to tell you. You'd find a job and make her proud instead of dropping out of college and partying all night."

Rick took a sharp breath to avoid saying something he would later regret as he drew level with his dad and moved past him to open the door to his room.

"Are you not even going to say anything, Rick?" his father demanded, arms crossed over his chest, clearly surprised.

"No, dad, it doesn't change anything anyway," Rick sighed, "let's just go to bed and not wake mum up, okay?" Rick didn't wait for an answer before closing the door carefully behind him and sinking onto his bed.

Rick knew his dad would not come into his room to pursue this further, he never did. No matter if he let him goad him into a reaction or not. Rick's theory was that these nightly lectures were only for his mother's benefit. When she wasn't around, his father didn't talk to him at all. He immersed himself in his work and everything else be damned. Well, not everything, Rick had to admit. When it came to his mother, his dad would do anything to keep her happy. Including talking to his failure of a son.

He (not his mother) had been the one to insist that Rick should go to college so he could go to law school and take over his father's firm at some point. That Rick had never shown any interest in becoming a lawyer had not deterred his dad in the least. As if law was an acquired taste, something you could learn to like or at least tolerate.

Rick sighed deeply. Dwelling on it wouldn't make it go away. The only chance he had was to make enough money to rent his own place and get out from under his father's thumb. The faster the better.