NO PLACE TO HIDE
by
Sandpiper
Chapter 7
The Chapters
Wednesday, April 19th
8:59 pm
“You’ll have to help me out if I get lost,” said Amanda as she steered the pale green VW Beetle. She frowned out the windshield. “Where on earth is Mack going?”
Joe noticed they were getting closer to the docks. Had Duncan known where these two goons had been all this time?
Amanda grunted. “You’re getting that look.”
“What look?” asked Joe, not in any mood to have a conversation.
“Richie used to get that look when he thought Mack was keeping secrets from him – or treating him like a kid.” Amanda sighed and braked to a halt in front of an abandoned building. “Why do they do that? Name a motel something so lame and obvious?”
Joe saw she gesturing to the flickering sign for the Pelican Motel. He’d often wondered the same thing. He waited for her to go on but when she didn’t, he sighed. “Who’s Richie?”
“Richie was a good kid. Got a little sidetracked on a not-so-good path for a little while but Mack straightened him out. I mean, he tried to save Tessa....”
“Duncan said someone shot her just for her purse.”
Amanda nodded. “Killed Richie too. Well, not really, since he was Immortal....”
“How do you know if you’re Immortal?”
“You don’t. According to Duncan, his entire clan thought he was possessed by the devil himself, able to recover from such a deadly wound. Of course that was in the sixteen hundreds, long before modern medicine. He was banished from his clan, forced to wander alone.”
At that moment, the subject of their discussion walked over to the car. “Amanda, what are you doing?”
“Following you?” she suggested, sounding cheerful.
He leaned down and scowled at Joe. “And you?”
“I’m with her.”
Duncan eyed the car for a moment. “This thing sticks out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood.”
“Well, then let’s go.” Amanda didn’t seem cowed by Duncan’s angry look. “Come on, Mack. It’s his brother. You’d do it for Conor in a heartbeat.”
Duncan sighed. “Fine. I found some check stubs with an address on them.” He handed a stub to Joe. “Maybe you know where it is?”
Joe glanced at it. “Yeah, east side of town. A lot of older subdivisions back over there. I know where this one is.”
“Good. There was a phone number scrawled on the back of one. I called it but there was no answer.” He took another look at the Beetle. “Leave it to you to get a sardine can. I guess you’ll have to lead the way then. Caravans are always a nice way to be subtle,” he added, returning to his rental car.
Amanda gave Joe a quick grin. “I just love riling him.” She made a tight U-turn and then waited for Duncan to pull up behind her. “I love riling Methos even more.”
“I thought his name was Adam Pierson.”
Amanda laughed. “Oh, that’s one for the books. He had everybody fooled.” She glanced at him and he told her to follow the same road out of the neighborhood. “Adam Pierson is Methos’ watcher.”
“Watcher?”
“We all have them. I can’t go into too much detail. The Watchers are supposed to keep the Immortals a secret, so no one freaks about knowing that there are people who have lived for centuries living among normal people.”
“Go through this intersection and take a left.”
Amanda nodded and continued, “So Watchers keep us under wraps. Well, Methos, as far as I know, is one of the oldest Immortals. Somehow he played the system and made everyone think he was Adam Pierson, Methos’ watcher.”
Joe arched an eyebrow. “When he really was Methos.”
“Right. It gave him a lot of freedom. He could tell the Watcher’s Council just about anything to cover his rear and do whatever he wanted. Methos was supposed to be this recluse who never wanted to see anyone.”
“Keep going along here for three blocks and then take a right.”
“So about two years ago, there was this major disaster, nearly showed the world there were Immortals existing. And by accident it was revealed who Adam really was. It’s some times easier for him to use Adam when he travels. Methos is kind of an unusual name.”
Joe gave her a look. “Something tells me you have a gift for understatement.”
Amanda laughed. “I try.”
Joe glanced at the address again. “We’re here.”
Amanda looked around with a frown. “Quiet neighborhood.”
A pair of headlights came up behind them and Joe saw Amanda tense. But when Duncan came up to the driver’s side, she relaxed. “You can sense Immortals but not who each person is?” asked Joe.
Amanda nodded. “It can be exhilarating. Suddenly sensing one, not knowing if they’re friend or foe....”
Joe got out of the car and a moment later, Amanda came around the back. He noticed she had a gleaming sword in her hands now. He glanced at Duncan and noticed he was carrying his sword. “My sword’s back at the salle.”
“I told you to keep it with you.”
“It would have been a bit hard to explain to Mom why I suddenly wanted to be a swashbuckler...or Zorro.”
Amanda’s lips twitched. “I like Zorro. Especially the new one.” She focused on the house. “They know we’re here now.”
“It would help if you stayed in the car,” said Duncan, glancing at Joe.
Joe just shook his head. “Oh no. My brother’s in there.”
“So do we have a plan or are we just barging in?” asked Amanda, sounding like she was enjoying herself.
Duncan looked over at her. “Your choice.”
“I always did like barging in.”
Joe groaned. “This isn’t a game.”
Duncan nodded. “You’re right. Why don’t you go around back. We’ll distract them, you get your brother out and we’ll handle the rest of it.”
Joe agreed, more to keep them from insisting he stay out of it. He didn’t like knowing Sven and Sergei had his brother. He ran alongside the house, finding a low wooden fence circling the back yard. He scaled the fence and dropped down on the grass. He took a moment to study his surroundings.
There was a small gazebo near an in-ground swimming pool. The patio boasted a portable grill and a table with chairs. Facing the patio was a pair of double French doors. Joe made his way to the patio and realized he had a very good view of the large open area, obviously the living room or den that was open to the foyer, dining and kitchen areas. He could see a curving staircase as well.
He knelt down and easily picked the lock on the French door. He slipped inside just as the front door burst open and Amanda and Duncan stepped inside.
“I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod,” announced Duncan, brandishing his sword.
Joe wanted to watch the sword-fight but decided to head upstairs instead. He moved to skirt the far wall of the living room, when he felt something cold touch his skin.
“So you’re the brother,” whispered a feminine voice by his ear. “It must be my lucky day. Turn around.”
Joe turned around slowly to find a slender blond woman, holding a sword. She was attractive, almost reminding him of Charity. But then he noticed the woman’s eyes were colorless. He’d never seen that before. “Who are you?”
“Oh, what is it with the questions? Everyone wants to know who I am.” She moved closer. “Come out of the shadows. I want to look at you.”
Joe did so and she looked startled. “Oh my....” A slow grin spread across her face. “It really is my lucky day. Tell me, are you attached?”
Joe blinked. “Attached? Like married? No, I’m only seventeen. I have a girlfriend.”
Her expression hardened. “Your name is Joe, right? Short for Joseph?” She cocked her head to one side. “And you look like...him.”
Joe frowned. “Who?” A moment later, he remembered the last time someone had reacted to his resemblance to someone. “MacKensey?”
“Yes. My name is Lilith Raven.” She smiled. “And now I have you.”
***
His head was pounding in rhythm with his heartbeat that sounded very loud in his ears. Frank opened his eyes and groaned. He gingerly touched the back of his head and felt something sticky among the matted hair. “What’d he hit me with?”
He rolled over and nearly fell off the bed. He managed to stop himself in time but the jarring motion made his vision blur and his stomach lurch. He slowly pushed himself to a sitting position and saw he was back in the bedroom he’d been in earlier.
He heard strange metallic noises, like swords clashing. Frank went pale, wondering if it was Joe out there, fighting. He took a deep breath and got to his feet. But when he tried to take a step, the room spun around.
The door swung open and the overhead light flashed on, making him wince. He saw Lilith standing there, with his brother. Joe rushed to his side. “Frank, are you okay?”
“Shh. Not so loud. My head is killing me.”
Joe turned to Lilith. “What did you do?”
Lilith shrugged. “I think Sven was a little too intense about knocking him out. Sven is a little bloodthirsty, you know.” She glanced over her shoulder. “You two might enjoy the show.” She held a sword in one hand and a gun in the other, a different one this time.
Lilith tossed the sword on the dresser and then grabbed Frank by the arm, making him stumble. She pulled him over to the railing of the balcony and handcuffed him to the railing. “This is a good spot to see it all unfold.” She pointed the gun at Joe. “Why don’t you join your brother?”
Joe hesitated only a moment until she put the barrel up against Frank’s head, just hard enough to make him wince. He walked over to her and she grabbed his wrist. “I’m so tempted to take you with me. But I have other plans. And a plane waiting at the airport for me.”
“So you’re going to leave us here?” asked Joe.
Lilith smiled. “Don’t fret. Sven and Sergei will deal with those two and then...they’ll deal with you.” She glanced down to the first floor. “Yes, it won’t be long now.”
Down below, Sven lunged but Duncan parried the thrust, making both swords clank together. Sven yanked his sword free and tried a wild slicing move that would have taken off Duncan’s head but the man bent his back and the sword blade whistled an inch above his nose.
Duncan straightened up and lunged but this time Sven dodged, letting the sword sweep past his shoulder harmlessly. Sven spun around, trying another swinging, slicing move that would have caught Duncan’s neck but Duncan danced clear of the blade, bringing his own blade down in a sharp motion. The swords clashed again, sounding overloud in the quiet.
As everyone watched the fight between Duncan and Sven, Amanda kicked Sergei hard in the shin and when the bigger man groaned, she laughed and said something that sounded Russian.
Sergei looked ready to explode and when he lunged for her, she dodged him easily. She said something else in Russian, as if she were baiting him. Each time he got more angry and off balance.
Amanda ducked the next lunge and brought her sword up, catching Sergei under the chin. Surprised, Sergei started to drop his sword but suddenly Sven slammed into Amanda’s back, knocking her sideways.
“Sven!” shouted Duncan but Sergei moved forward to deal with him.
Frank went pale. “No.”
Sven brought his sword up and across, slashing a gaping hole in Amanda’s blouse and leaving a thin red welt across her stomach.
She looked down at the blouse and then charged Sven. “Do you know how much this cost me?”
Joe tugged hard on the handcuffs. “Think we could break the railing, Frank?”
Lilith pointed the gun at Joe. “You know, it might be even simpler to take care of this myself. You both have proven to be more than mere children. Yes, that would work out nicely.”
Frank used the railing for balance and kicked her legs. Lilith’s arm jerked upwards and she pulled the trigger out of reflex. The bullet bit into the ceiling, showering the swordfighters below with plaster dust.
Angry, Lilith rounded on Frank, aiming the gun at his head. Joe used his free hand in a chopping motion, knocking the gun out of her hand. Lilith gave him a shocked look. “How dare you?”
“You mess with my brother, you mess with me.”
She muttered something under her breath and backed up. “Fine. Sven, stop playing with her and kill them. It should be easy, they have nowhere to go.”
Sven kicked out, knocking Amanda into a glass case full of ceramic angels. The glass shattered and she fell through the wood and glass, wincing as shards of glass shredded more of her blouse and her skin. She cursed under her breath as she worked to get herself out.
Sven ignored her and took the stairs two at a time. He walked up to Joe and in a sudden move, sliced through the short chain between the cuffs. “I told you we’d fight one last time. Sergei, your sword.”
“You fool,” snapped Lilith.
“I’ll do it my way.” He spun around, touching her shoulder with his sword blade. “Best you go now any way.”
Lilith bristled for a moment but when Sven raised the point of his sword to her throat, she backed away. “I will not let this go lightly, Jenssen. When you least expect it...I will return the...favor.”
“You do not scare me, woman.” He dismissed her with a shrug. “Now go.”
Lilith looked angry but straightened her shoulders and headed down the stairs. She dodged Duncan and Sergei, only to snatch Amanda’s sword and toss it up to Sven.
Amanda scowled at her. “Hey, that’s my sword.”
“That’s the least of your worries, I’m sure,” said Lilith as she darted out of the house.
Amanda debated for all of one second before taking off after the woman.
Frank tugged on his handcuff, hoping he could break the railing. Sven focused on Joe and handed him Amanda’s sword. “Now, our last battle before I take your head.”
Joe shook his head. “Not if I take yours first.”
Frank swallowed hard. “Joe, no.”
Sven just smiled and lunged....
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.