Enemy
Title: Daughter of Adam, Part 20
Author: carolhelga
Claim: Duncan
Prompt: Enemy
Rating/Warnings: G
Word count: 529
Disclaimer: I do not own the Highlander universe, although I do own Brunhilde. This writing is all in good fun; I make no profit from it.
Summary: Duncan on the hunt.
The knock at the back door startled them all. Methos recovered first. "It must be Joe. He said he'd be here."
"Better check his back trail." Duncan was entirely serious. "I'll do that part. I know the area." He went toward the door.
"Let's make sure it's Joe, first." Methos opened the back entry a fraction and peered out. "It is." He opened the door the rest of the way, and Duncan slipped out while Joe slipped in.
He paused a moment, letting his night vision return. The lightning storm was passed now, only a few distant flickers reminding all the city of the earlier pyrotechnics. He found a shadow and occupied it, knowing that enemies were about, enemies that wanted him dead.
The smells of the street filled his nostrils--oil, gasoline, exhaust fumes. He breathed it in, focusing on his center, his Ki, and calmed himself with the discipline of all his four hundred and more years. He realized he was grinning in anticipation of the battle. "Come to papa," he whispered into the darkness.
This part of town was relatively quiet, mostly businesses closed for the night, with only a few pedestrians hurrying away to less lonely locales, definitely not staying in the darkened alleys. Duncan sought out the anomaly, the one that didn't fit into the scene.
He found nothing in the alley, so he slowly and silently made his way around to the front of the building, peering around the corner. A lone figure stood in the shadow of the doorway across from the bookstore, all his attention on the place all the Immortals had chosen for a sanctuary. That was more than coincidence!
Duncan trusted Joe, knew he hadn't given away the location. So how had the man found them? What source did he use for his knowledge? He decided to capture rather than harm this Watcher.
Watcher. There was the off chance he was a legitimate Watcher, and that thought gave Duncan a moment's pause. But no, as things stood, he couldn't take any chances. He would assume him Enemy until proven innocent. More lives than just his own were at stake.
He backpedaled a bit, then started out of the alley, whistling Scotland the Brave. The figure in the shadows drew back farther as Duncan rounded the corner and started down the sidewalk in front of the bookstore. He paused as if reading the advertisement in the window, then turned suddenly and bounded across the street before the man could slip away.
"Hello there!" he said cheerfully, one hand grasping a sensitive spot on the man's left shoulder. His captive let out a yell of pain and tried to get away, but by then Duncan had swung him around and held him with a half-nelson. "No, no, you're so interested in that bookstore. I think you need a closer acquaintance."
"I know what you are," the man hissed through his pain. "You're one of the Immortals!"
"I'm a what?" Duncan goosestepped his victim across the street and back into the alley, then tapped on the door. It opened and he propelled the other in ahead of him. "Look what I found."
Author: carolhelga
Claim: Duncan
Prompt: Enemy
Rating/Warnings: G
Word count: 529
Disclaimer: I do not own the Highlander universe, although I do own Brunhilde. This writing is all in good fun; I make no profit from it.
Summary: Duncan on the hunt.
The knock at the back door startled them all. Methos recovered first. "It must be Joe. He said he'd be here."
"Better check his back trail." Duncan was entirely serious. "I'll do that part. I know the area." He went toward the door.
"Let's make sure it's Joe, first." Methos opened the back entry a fraction and peered out. "It is." He opened the door the rest of the way, and Duncan slipped out while Joe slipped in.
He paused a moment, letting his night vision return. The lightning storm was passed now, only a few distant flickers reminding all the city of the earlier pyrotechnics. He found a shadow and occupied it, knowing that enemies were about, enemies that wanted him dead.
The smells of the street filled his nostrils--oil, gasoline, exhaust fumes. He breathed it in, focusing on his center, his Ki, and calmed himself with the discipline of all his four hundred and more years. He realized he was grinning in anticipation of the battle. "Come to papa," he whispered into the darkness.
This part of town was relatively quiet, mostly businesses closed for the night, with only a few pedestrians hurrying away to less lonely locales, definitely not staying in the darkened alleys. Duncan sought out the anomaly, the one that didn't fit into the scene.
He found nothing in the alley, so he slowly and silently made his way around to the front of the building, peering around the corner. A lone figure stood in the shadow of the doorway across from the bookstore, all his attention on the place all the Immortals had chosen for a sanctuary. That was more than coincidence!
Duncan trusted Joe, knew he hadn't given away the location. So how had the man found them? What source did he use for his knowledge? He decided to capture rather than harm this Watcher.
Watcher. There was the off chance he was a legitimate Watcher, and that thought gave Duncan a moment's pause. But no, as things stood, he couldn't take any chances. He would assume him Enemy until proven innocent. More lives than just his own were at stake.
He backpedaled a bit, then started out of the alley, whistling Scotland the Brave. The figure in the shadows drew back farther as Duncan rounded the corner and started down the sidewalk in front of the bookstore. He paused as if reading the advertisement in the window, then turned suddenly and bounded across the street before the man could slip away.
"Hello there!" he said cheerfully, one hand grasping a sensitive spot on the man's left shoulder. His captive let out a yell of pain and tried to get away, but by then Duncan had swung him around and held him with a half-nelson. "No, no, you're so interested in that bookstore. I think you need a closer acquaintance."
"I know what you are," the man hissed through his pain. "You're one of the Immortals!"
"I'm a what?" Duncan goosestepped his victim across the street and back into the alley, then tapped on the door. It opened and he propelled the other in ahead of him. "Look what I found."