HL100 Challenge
#35 Joe: Secrets
He dealt in secrets. Some were whispered, drunken confessions made as he tended bar…an affair, a plan to humiliate the boss, illicit attractions, secret debts. Others belonged to the Game, to the cycle of violence and death that most mortals lived in ignorance of.
He knew many secrets, but revealed none. They were held in the trust by which he earned them, and he held the knowledge close.
So perhaps he was more a collector than a dealer, accepting whatever trade was offered.
But sometimes…just sometimes, he wishes he could say no. Sometimes, he wishes he didn’t know the truth.
*****
#35 Joe: In the End…
He’d long known what Methos believed. Cries of “Highland brat”, “impudent whelp”, and “petulant child” notwithstanding, Joe could see in Methos’ eyes that when he looked at Duncan MacLeod he saw the One.
But Mac’s hushed narration that evening -- long, intent, and sober -- had caught him…not unsuspecting, but rather…just caught him.
For now he knew that both his friends saw the One, though that one was two. Each looking out for the other, Joe had no doubt that they would be the two. But when it came to one…?
That secret he desired and feared most of all.
He dealt in secrets. Some were whispered, drunken confessions made as he tended bar…an affair, a plan to humiliate the boss, illicit attractions, secret debts. Others belonged to the Game, to the cycle of violence and death that most mortals lived in ignorance of.
He knew many secrets, but revealed none. They were held in the trust by which he earned them, and he held the knowledge close.
So perhaps he was more a collector than a dealer, accepting whatever trade was offered.
But sometimes…just sometimes, he wishes he could say no. Sometimes, he wishes he didn’t know the truth.
*****
#35 Joe: In the End…
He’d long known what Methos believed. Cries of “Highland brat”, “impudent whelp”, and “petulant child” notwithstanding, Joe could see in Methos’ eyes that when he looked at Duncan MacLeod he saw the One.
But Mac’s hushed narration that evening -- long, intent, and sober -- had caught him…not unsuspecting, but rather…just caught him.
For now he knew that both his friends saw the One, though that one was two. Each looking out for the other, Joe had no doubt that they would be the two. But when it came to one…?
That secret he desired and feared most of all.