Lost

Chapter 30

Once the men set the plan into motion, things seemed to occur rather quickly. The men Connor had placed outside of Joe’s bar swiftly and silently eliminated all of their shadows, including the long distance men on Methos. The Watchers on Connor and Richie remained ignorant of the deaths occurring around them or the death they themselves had evaded, all their attention being focused on their assignments.

Methos chuckled as both Richie and Connor joined him a short time later after they’d ditched their Watchers. It was ammunition with which to rag on Joe about later. He sat in the back of the car while Ryan drove them out to the estate. His hazel eyes were partially closed as he listened to Connor coordinate with the men watching the estate and the men in the other vehicle. Louisa and her brother should be gone by now. He glanced again at the small screen on his lap. The small blinking light in the bedroom was Duncan and he hadn’t moved in over half an hour.

“Are you sure you trust that woman?” Connor was triple-checking the guns in his chest holster. He looked back at Pierson and saw only the faint luminescence from the screen on his lap interspersed with deep shadow. He could have been talking to a lump of stone for all the emotion present on that big-beaked face.

“That’s all we can do for now. The transmitter is in the master suite as it has been since shortly after I placed the call.”

Even the voice was emotionless which bugged the hell out of Connor. He knew Pierson couldn’t be that detached, but he was unable to discern anything from the man’s body language. He wondered again about Pierson’s age. A quiet beep sounded in his ear. Sean Burns was clear. That left the Lindseys, Amanda and the de Valincourts.

Richie’s voice cut into his thoughts. “We’re almost there. Where do we meet your guys, Connor?”

Connor gave him directions to a dark farm road. Richie doused the lights and they coasted up the road in the dark. The wind was blowing pretty fiercely which worked in their favor to cover any noise of their approach. Despite the cover, the men moved silently as they exited and met with the rest of Connor’s men. They split up into pre-assigned teams and moved quickly into position. All dressed in black, they melted into the stormy night.

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Amanda waited for another minute and finally decided she’d had enough. She could just as easily eliminate her shadow as the thug Methos had hired would but noooo, that wasn’t The Plaaaan. She snorted to herself. She hated being bait, especially when she wasn’t sure when the actual plan would go into motion. That’s it, she decided and moved to her closet to change her clothes.

Juliet 3 watched as the two men watching the target shifted again. Getting tired, boys? Not much longer... The small earpiece suddenly emitted a quiet double beep. It repeated after two seconds. Finally... He readjusted his stance and targeted the man on the left. A muffled whuuuf sounded in the night quickly followed by a second. Both men fell in rapid succession.

Juliet 3 was safing his weapon when he heard a muffled clap. Dropping and spinning he brought his gun up and thumbed the safety off in one smooth movement. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The primary target was sitting on the ledge behind him and clapping her hands.

“Well done, sweetie.” Amanda glided up from her seat and sauntered up to the bemused soldier still kneeling on the ground. “I really appreciate you taking care of little ole’ me. Do you need any help getting rid of them?” Amanda put her fingers on the soldier’s chin and applied slight pressure. He stood as though she’d lifted him.

“Uh,no, Ma’am.” The man was dumbfounded. He wasn’t sure who this target was, but he’d completed his mission and needed to clean up. Unfortunately, he was having trouble thinking about just what that entailed. He suddenly wondered where the secondary target was and he glanced momentarily over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, sugar, my little Watcher still thinks I’m sitting at home knitting.” She glanced back at the two bodies. “What about the day shift guys...did you take care of them, too?” Amanda looked at the soldier boy. Nice body, handsome chiseled features despite those tiny little scars around his left eye and she could overlook the horrible haircut, she supposed.

“Eliminated by my counterpart, Ma’am.” The target moved in a fluid, sort of cat-like way that made him swallow...twice. Wasn’t he supposed to be doing something?

Amanda would have liked to stay and chat just a bit more but she had a plane to catch and a friend to check up on. “Well then, if you’re all set I’ll just be moving along. Thanks again, sweetie.” She spun around and started to walk away but paused for a minute. Looking back at the interesting but slightly confused man standing there, she decided to take a chance. “I’m afraid I have to go and check on my friend, but if you ever come back around this way, look me up. My name is Amanda.” She wiggled her fingers in farewell and disappeared into the dark as swiftly and silently as she’d arrived.

Juliet 3 watched her disappear and let out a whoosh of air. Wow. Then he remembered what he had yet to do, so he transmitted a mission complete signal and moved out.

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Anne Lindsay finished reading the story and looked at her daughter. Mary was finally down for her afternoon nap. Anne put the book away and tucked her daughter in just a little more. It was a quiet day and she decided to do a bit of her own reading. She had just settled in with a summary report of testing on a new medical procedure when she thought she heard a thump coming from somewhere outside. It didn’t repeat, but it had been an odd sound so she decided to take a look anyway. She made her way down the stairs of the large custom home Duncan had given them. Looking out all of the windows she thought again of the muscular fighter she’d given her heart to and, truth be told, never really got back. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she decided the noise was nothing to worry about so she double-checked the locks and headed back upstairs. Duncan. Just being who he was had brought so much danger into her life. It was still hard to imagine what being an immortal truly encompassed. But at the time she was pregnant and she had to make a decision. So she made the only one she felt she could. She chose safety for Mary...which meant Duncan couldn’t be a part of their lives. But she had to admit that she still missed him and thought of him often. Deciding she was tired and that a nap sounded like a really good idea, she set her papers aside and laid down already knowing she’d dream of dark brown eyes and long dark hair.

Alpha 2 and 3 dragged the bodies back to the van. One of the men had fallen over onto a child’s toy that had been partially hidden by a bush. The resulting thump made them freeze for several minutes while they watched the target survey her area. Minute amounts of tension slid out of them but they never relaxed their guard as they watched the target return to her bedroom. Alpha 2 slid behind the wheel as Alpha 1 appeared from around the corner of the garage dragging yet another body. These two targets had been high on the priority list and therefore had the largest number of men to be eliminated. There had been two men and one woman on the night shift, but they had already been eliminated. Having to handle this during daylight hours wouldn’t have been their first choice, but they were following a time schedule driven by what was happening in France. Sometimes you just didn’t have an option. Alpha 2 and 3 left to dispose of the bodies. Although they were positive there weren’t any others watching, their orders were to remain in place until the all-clear was given. Alpha 1 sent a short message to signal that their task was complete and settled in for the duration.

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Andre rubbed a tired hand through his hair sending it into disarray. Normally he would have sent a hand immediately through again to straighten the mess, but he just didn’t care anymore. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Sarah was slipping away from him in a manner he hadn’t anticipated. This wasn’t supposed to happen. That fucking doctor had assured him the methods he’d used wouldn’t damage Sarah’s thought processes to this extent. And now there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He’d had Dieter killed after his last failure and there was no mention of something like this happening in any of Dieter’s notes and no one else who knew his procedures. Damn it all!

So here he was dying, nearly broke and his grand plan was upstairs so damaged that he wondered if she would ever recover in her immortal lifetime. How could everything have gone so drastically, cosmically wrong? And the greatest joke of all? He’d fallen in love with Sarah. He didn’t know when it had happened or how he had even realized it...love wasn’t something he’d had any experience with. But he knew without a doubt that he could never let her go. Not in the way he thought he could by arranging for Pierson to be there after he died. No, he couldn’t do it. She was his and would be his forever. So that left him only one option. What did a few weeks or months matter anymore? Yes. Everything was in place...he didn’t need to keep up the charade anymore. A great weight lifted and even the pain seemed to fade. It was time. A wondrous smile crossed his face as everything suddenly seemed so clear. He made a quick call to the stables and then stood to gather a few things, a specific destination in mind for this last final act. He was at peace as he left the library to go upstairs. Seeing Henri he told him to retire for the night because he wanted to be alone. If Henri thought this a strange request, he didn’t voice it. He merely nodded and said goodnight and began the final sweep of the house.

As Andre expected he found Sarah sitting in the bedroom rocking and humming quietly. Dismissing the guards, he walked into the closet to get them some coats and then took her by the hand and led her downstairs and out the back.

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Connor paused as he scuttled from behind a bush. He’d just heard another confirmation signal in his headset despite the whistling of the wind. It was the final team on Robert and Gina de Valincourt. Moving quietly up to Pierson he gave him the signal that all was a go. Methos pointed and the teams moved forward.

Richie followed Connor as their team came in from the west. Crawling through the open field they made their way to the wind-whipped garden at the back of the estate, unknowingly coming in along the same route Duncan used when he tried to escape. Their goal was the solarium. They only encountered two guards en route. Rich watched as the guards were efficiently silenced and again wondered how Methos hired these guys. They were real professionals and followed Connor’s orders without question. But they also seemed to recognize ‘Adam’ as the one in charge, although he’d never say that out loud in front of Connor. How did Methos know these guys? What kind of history did they have together? It was just another one of those things that made a lie of Methos being “just a guy”.

Methos said not to kill these guards if it could be avoided. Richie wondered at that since he knew the guys watching all of them had been killed so he’d asked. Methos’ only response was that Mac probably knew some of the guards but that he wouldn’t know the hired killers. As if that made any sense, but then he thought about it. To Richie’s way of thinking, they were all still bad guys but he also knew Mac. If any of them had treated him okay, Mac wouldn’t want them killed. The fact that Methos knew that and figured it into his plan was just another indicator of how much Methos cared. Yeah, he got that and thought about it, surprisingly finding that it was okay. So maybe he was getting used to the idea of them together. And if Methos cared that much, then Mac would definitely need him once they got him out.

Once they got into the garden they found several more guards. Once again, Richie was glad the men Methos had hired knew what they were doing, and doubly glad that Mac had spent so much time training him. He looked down at the guard he’d knocked out with a full-around kick to the head. He probably wouldn’t be a happy camper when he woke up. Foxtrot 4 stepped in to tie him up. Once he was done they pulled the guy behind some bushes and then dropped down to continue their move into the house. The place was huge, so house wasn’t exactly the right word but they knew the layout. What hadn’t Methos thought of?

He wondered how many guards there would have been if Methos hadn’t hit Andre so hard in his bank account. He was sure that there would probably be a lot more dead guys. Connor raised a hand so they all dropped down. Two more guards had come around the corner and were taken down. Watching them go down was weird. The fierce wind hid the sounds of men fighting, so it was almost like watching a movie with the sound off. It was over really fast. They were almost to the solarium.

Methos was leading his team as they broached the side entrance to the drawing room. His men had been quick and efficient as they neutralized their opposition and approached the house. Everything had gone smoothly so far, but Methos was too disciplined to become complacent. He watched as a member of his team climbed the steps to the glass doors. Within seconds he had the door open and then gave a quick clear signal. They slipped inside. Kneeling next to a chair in the darkened room he surveyed the area. Suddenly he heard a slight sound in the hallway and motioned with a flat hand in a downward move. All the men melted into the shadows of furniture, one man behind the door. The door opened letting in a shaft of light and without a sound, the man behind the door slipped forward and hit the guard, catching him before he fell to the floor. The door was quietly closed. With no other sound from the hallway, they tied up the hapless guard and prepared to move out of the room.

Rich slipped down the hallway, his eyes on Connor and Foxtrot 1. All the soldiers had military handles which he thought was pretty cool. He’d probably never learn their real names, but that was okay. He really hoped to never meet these guys again, except maybe in a bar when he could buy them a beer. Up ahead was one of the guys on Methos team. He was moving to check out a little alcove under the stairs when a guard suddenly stepped out. And man, was he fast. He grabbed Methos’ guy and seemed about to yell when Methos stepped up behind him and put a hand on his mouth. Richie couldn’t see what he did, but the guard dropped like a ton of bricks and then Methos and the soldier dragged him back into the alcove. It all happened in seconds.

They all froze but no one seemed to notice the short struggle and Rich let out a quiet breath of relief. Richie knew that the alcove led to the guard’s watch room. It was also where they had their communication equipment to contact everyone. It was this room that Methos said was critical. They had to neutralize this room before any alarms got sent out. Even though all of the hired killers had supposedly been taken care of, there was always a chance that someone might have fallen through the cracks. No collateral damage...

The men moved forward and Richie saw them tying up the guard. Methos hadn’t killed him, but he’d done something that knocked the man out cold. He’d have to ask later just what he’d done...and then maybe Methos could teach him. Yeah.

The teams broke up, one to take the communications down and the other to sweep the area to find Lacasse and then Duncan. Methos knelt down to check his screen to verify where Duncan was. Damn! At some point between their arrival on the estate and now Duncan had left the master suite but he couldn’t immediately tell where he’d gone. He started to punch buttons to change the resolution. Where would Duncan have gone in the last twenty minutes? And where was Lacasse?

Connor noticed Pierson drop to one knee and frantically start to punch buttons on his screen. That had to mean Duncan had been moved. He men had spread out to scan the house. The communications room had been successfully neutralized, the guard rendered unconscious before he was able to send out any messages. He dropped to his knee beside Methos.

“Where the hell is he, Pierson?”

“Just a moment...there. He seems to be headed out to the northeastern part of the estate. I don’t know why. Has Lacasse been found?” Northeastern part...rough ground, some woods. Shit, he probably took a horse...no way he’d have traveled that far on foot. Why? Another escape attempt? Gods above, what lousy timing, Duncan!

Foxtrot 1 stepped up and reported that the house was clear. No sign of Lacasse.

They’re probably together. How did Lacasse know we were here? He was positive the guards hadn’t been alerted, which means that Lacasse shouldn’t have known. Damn, did Lacasse follow Duncan? But then why not take any guards with him? The estate had been quiet, no sign of an alert. That might mean that Lacasse had taken Duncan out on his own...

Connor watched as Pierson’s eyes narrowed. He seemed deep in thought but only for a few seconds. Suddenly he turned and started giving orders and for once Connor didn’t resent his tone or argue.

“Connor, we need horses...you and I are going out there.” He appreciated how fast Connor turned to go to the stables. Turning to Foxtrot 1 he continued his orders as he trotted outside. “Secure the area and gather all the guards together. Hold them here and wait here for us. Keep Ryan with you.” Foxtrot 1 nodded and ran back. He wasn’t sure how adept Richie was at riding and he wasn’t about to hold back for a novice rider. He didn’t worry about Connor.

By the time he got to the stables Connor had two horses out and was saddling the first. Methos jumped in and began to saddle the second one.

“I talked to the stable master. Lacasse took a single horse out with Duncan riding in front of him. They left about an hour ago. He said it was strange, neither of them were dressed for riding and Duncan seemed to be in a ‘state” he called it.” Methos nodded and both men mounted their horses and headed out.