Title: Perspectives: Methos: Discovery

Author: Endaewen

Series: Perspectives – Characters thoughts on the events of "In The Open"

Fandom: Highlander

Rating: G

Summary: The discovery of immortals by the general public. A series of connected vignettes. Methos' thoughts and perspective on the chapters "Discovery".

Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to Davis/Panzer.

Where? Who? What? Five thousand years of a reflex trained so deep as to be reflex in combination with The Buzz, the sensation of another Immortal's presence washed over him, sending his hand feeling for his sword even before his eyes opened looking for escape routes. He heard someone knocking at the door. Enemies don't knock. A little of the tension eased away with that reassuring thought as the oldest Immortal headed for the door, still carrying the sword, just in case, and running through a list of the Immortals he knew in his head. Amanda? She's the type to do something like this, but last I'd heard, she was in Toronto. Richie? He's playing courier for Duncan to Connor. By now he should be in New York. It can't be Duncan, he's at his mysterious cabin and not expected back until...Methos counted the days up in his head, realizing he'd lost track of them somehow. He'd gotten too involved with picking apart the most recently published translation of Roman and Greek myths. Tonight. But he wouldn't come by in the middle of the night unless something had happened.

By this time, he was at the door. Time to see who it is. It turned out to be Duncan, but a Duncan who had clearly been in a fight of some sort. "MacLeod. What are you doing here at," glancing at his watch, he realized he hadn't even looked at the time yet, "almost four in the morning?" It's a good thing I gave him a key to the outside door last year, he thought, saying "You'd better come in, before a neighbor sees you and calls the police," as he let the younger Immortal enter. Seeing as it was Duncan, and not some hapless stranger or acquaintance unfamiliar with his secrets, Methos didn't bother pulling on his current persona of Adam Pierson, Grad Student and Watcher.

The gurgle of the coffee maker was soon a soothing background sound as the rest of the tension drained away. "You were in a fight." A statement, not a question, and at Duncan's nod, he asked, "one of us?" Although Methos had taken a seat while he questioned his unexpected guest, the younger Immortal remained standing, not even relaxing enough to lean against the table or the counter.

The resulting answer was a single short word: "No" and the eldest Immortal's short patience was rapidly running out.

"So, what are you doing here?"

Duncan's response, showing off the destroyed T-shirt he was wearing both answered Methos' question and brought up new ones, as the wounds were not slashes as he'd halfway expected, although he'd never known the Scotsman to run from a fight, but bullet holes. So, he repeated his question, hoping for more of an answer, and then elaborated on it: "Am I going to find the police knocking down my door next?"

He could hear the worry in Ducan's voice when he answered. "You shouldn't, but I make no guarantees about my place."

Not the answer he was particularly hoping for, and it still didn't explain the four-A.M. wake-up he'd gotten.

The answers, or rather, non-answers the younger Immortal was giving were sending Methos' tension levels back up. If he were mortal, he'd probably have to start worrying about his blood-pressure soon, he though, and some of that must have shown in his voice with his next question. "So you'll be changing identities? That still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

A shake of his companion's head accompanied his answer. "I'm not sure if that will be enough this time." Now Duncan was pacing, showing the severity of the situation. Usually the younger immortal had more self-control than that. Probably from his martial arts studies. The elder of the two found his thoughts flickering to inconsequential assides occasionally despite the possible seriousness of the situation. Things were starting to come together, and it wasn't a picture Methos liked.

Duncan arrives here in the middle of the night, wearing a bloody shirt riddled with gunshot wounds. He's worried about going home, as if something or someone will be waiting for him there. While that could mean an Immortal cheating at the Game, the thought that changing identities won't be enough to solve the problem, suggests it's more. Besides, I've never known the Highlander to run from a fight. Clearly, I'm not going to get back to bed anytime soon. "Should I be turning on the news then?"

"It was an extremely bad case of 'wrong time, wrong place'," Duncan said, rather than answering the question. "I stopped to get gas on the way back from the island. I was in the process of paying when a couple of young punks, about Richie's age came in, brandishing guns."

He sounds as if he expects me to blame him! From what he's said, it's not something he got himself into this time. "You died." The words were all that Methos needed to say to sum up the situation.

"Across the counter," Duncan said, confirming his guess and turning to face the older Immortal. They killed the attendant too. They were gone by the time I came back, and they'd taken my wallet, I think, along with the cigarettes behind the counter. I didn't see it when I revived."

Meaning, it might have been left on the floor. "Did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so, when I left, though I could hear the police sirens in the distance, so I didn't really have time to look around. I'm more worried about closed-circuit T.V. cameras. Most convenience stores and gas stations have them these days for security. He's right, it really was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That was all it took to make the grumpy Immortal turn to the T.V..

...if you have any idea who these two young men are, the announcer was saying before the screen changed to show a security camera image of two young men with guns in their hands, please contact the police or call the tips line on the screen.

Methos didn't even have to ask the question before the younger Immortal confirmed his fears. "That was the two of them."

To repeat, there has been a murder at the gas station at, and the announcer gave the address. The police are looking for these two men in connection with the case. They are thought to be armed and dangerous. Do not approach them. Instead, if you see them, please call the police at once.

It was too much. Being woken up at four in the morning to deal with one of the Highlander's problems, only to find that somehow the younger Immortal had managed to reveal their secret to the world. He wanted to be furious with the Scottish Immortal, but couldn't. After all, it could just as easily have been him or any other Immortal. Just weeks before, he'd predicted that they only had a few more decades at most before the secret existence of Immortals would be discovered. He began swearing quietly, going through an impressive series of curses in several dead languages, including Hittite, Phoenician and Etruscan before calming down enough to think reasonably again. Given Duncan's expression, he was in no doubt that even though the younger Immortal hadn't understood the actual curses, he had every understanding of their general intent.

He started mentally tracking down all the loose ends which could lead unwanted officials to his door in search of the Highlander. He's already told me about his wallet. Either the robbers have it or the police do. If they don't have it yet, they will soon, once forensics has found it. If those young idiots have it, I'm sure they'll drop it as soon as they hear about his reviving. There's no way they'll want to be connected to him in any way, shape or form. If the police have it, on the other hand, they'll have access to his credit cards and drivers licence. From either one, they can get Duncan's current address, and find his car. I wish it wasn't so distinctive. "Your car?"

"It's about a half hour's walk from here, just in case." The older Immortal just nodded in reply. Closer than I'd like, but given the way he looks, it was probably more of a risk for him to park the car any farther and walk.

"Get yourself cleaned up. You can't do anything about it now." When the other didn't show any sign of moving right away, he gave him a gentle push in the direction of the bathroom. Methos didn't hear the shower turn on, but he assumed that the Scotsman was cleaning up somehow, and left an old T-shirt on the door knob.

I'd better let Joe know about what's happened. Besides, he can put a Watcher on the loft, that way we'll know if the police have identified Duncan, and perhaps find out if it's safe for him to return home.

With that, he reached decisively for the phone, and dialing from memory, was left to wait while the phone rang. One...two...come on...four...pick it up...

Finally the phone was picked up. "Hello?" Joe was obviously still half asleep. Even so, Methos could hear worry in his voice.

"Joe, it's Adam." He waited a minute before speaking again. "Can you get a surveillance team on Duncan's loft yesterday, if not sooner?"

The grumble from the phone sounded something like "Do you know what time it is?" and was quickly followed by a more understandable question.

"What's going on?"

Just then, Duncan came back into view, looking much more normal, and wearing the T-shirt his host had supplied. He looked over at the other Immortal curiously.

"Do you know what time it is?" Joe was definitely not happy.

That's right, as a bar owner, he'd have just gotten to bed a couple of hours ago. Methos tried to put some of an apology in his voice as he answered, although his impatience still showed as well. "Yes, as I already told you, I do know what time it is." He repeated the question.

"Why do you want me to put a surveillance team on the dojo, at four thirty in the morning, no less, and with no notice?" Joe was still clearly not happy.

A reasonable question, but not one I can answer yet. "No, I can't tell you why, at least not yet."

"Where's Duncan, and is he okay?"

And there's the source of the worry. Because of their friendship, Joe usually doesn't have a Watcher on him. Duncan tells him things himself. For me to phone him at this time of night, asking him to check on the loft... "He's here. Woke me up about a half hour ago, too."

"So, what's happened then?" There was some relief in his voice as the Watcher asked the next question.

I can't say anything yet, because I don't know the full situation as it stands right now. Not to mention, I don't know if they've identified him yet, or connected any of his friends. Not likely that they'd have wiretaps going yet, but just in case, I'd better give Joe a clue though. "Remember that conversation we all had a couple of weeks back?" He got an affirmative grunt a minute or so later in return. "It may have come to that just now."

With that statement, Joe seemed to understand, and he promised to have someone on surveillance within the hour. Methos finished off the conversation a minute or so later and turned to his unexpected guest. "Joe will have someone watching the loft within the hour. That way you'll know if the police managed to identify you and find your address."

"Thank you," he replied. There was relief visible on his face when he continued. "I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I came here this morning, but-"

I can probably guess. "Probably for me to cut all ties to you once this came out," the older immortal interrupted him. "This wasn't something you got yourself into by jumping in," as it usually is, "or being stupid. It was something that was going to end up happening sooner or later. You just happened to be the one with the bad luck." There will be some who'll react as you thought I might, and will cut their ties with you, or worse, turn Hunter. "Some of your other friends won't agree though."

"I know." There was sadness and resignation in the Scotsman's voice.

"You can't figure out what to do next, without knowing what's going to happen." There seemed to be nothing left to say, so Methos refilled the coffee pot and the two spent the rest of the night drinking the new pot while watching the news channels for updates until dawn, waiting for updates to the story.

For the next couple of hours there was nothing new, but the oldest Immortal wasn't prepared to become too hopeful yet. By the time of the morning news shows, his pessimism was borne out. Nothing certain yet, but rumors of the true events were leaking out, and had made the top headline status for the morning.

Concerning the gas station murder that occurred earlier this morning, there are some possible new developments, the camera cut to an outside shot of the station, while the announcer kept speaking. There has been a suggestion that there was not the one murder reported earlier, but a second one as well. There is some mystery about this possible second victim, about which the police are not speaking. The identity of the confirmed victim has not yet been released. However, the police have identified the suspects in the case. A press conference has been arranged for eleven this morning where more information will be revealed...

There was no other information given in the news segment, and the announcer turned to other stories. Almost right away, though the phone rang. Probably the first of many calls today, Methos thought as he answered it. "Yes, Adam here?"

"Was that-?" Joe had ignored most of the normal courtesies, not even identifying himself as the caller, instead jumping straight into a question he didn't seem to know how to articulate. Not that it matters, I can easily guess what he's asking, given my earlier call.

"Yes, it was MacLeod the rumors on the news were referring to."

"I'm guessing from your earlier call that Duncan's with you, and thats how you knew about it before even rumors had hit the presses." Methos's confirmation hadn't relieved any of the tension he could hear in his friend's voice.

"He's right here." Without waiting to hear anything else, he turned to the younger Immortal, saying, "it's Joe. Would you mind telling him what happened, while I get the morning's paper?. At the nod, he handed the phone over, commenting at the same time, "at least this won't be in there yet. It still takes more than a few hours for the news to make it to the presses, even with all the technological advances of the last couple of decades."

The older Immortal had another reason for wanting to leave the apartment besides getting the paper. He also wanted to see if there was anyone new lurking around. It's been almost six hours. The Highlander's car definitely stands out. By this point, someone should have noticed it wherever he left it. His Drivers Licence is one of the quickest ways for them to identify him. All they have to do is run the licence to get his picture, them compare it with the stills from the camera. The only question is if they'll be able to connect him with me. Or, perhaps not "if" but "when".

Regardless of his worries, Methos didn't see anyone suspicious on his short trip. On his return to the apartment, he found Duncan finishing off his tale of the night before. Once done, the younger Immortal handed the phone back to him, enabling him to talk briefly with the Watcher.

Within the hour, as Methos had asked, Joe arrived, first buzzing to be let into the block, then knocking at the door. As with the earlier phone call, he completely bypassed the formalities, handing over the satchel of papers he had been carrying. Something must have happened. Methos' thought was confirmed as soon as Joe spoke.

"The report from the Watcher I placed on the dojo at your suggestion, Adam, MacLeod, it was a good thing you didn't go home after it happened. "Less than an hour after the surveillance team got there, the police arrived. They broke in the doors, with their guns drawn and spent the next hour or so in the building. From what the Watcher I assigned could see, they were searching for something. He couldn't tell if they took anything with them when they left." By this time the three were in the kitchen and Joe and Methos were occupied in spreading out the report. Included with it was a cassette tape of the other Watcher's observations and the report in audio format.

The three of them settled around the table to listen to the audio of the report. Methos had grabbed one of the notebooks he'd kept from his days not so long ago as a student in order to take down his notes and questions for later discussion. All three were mostly quiet as they listened to the tape, although there was a sound of muffled protest the first time their host rewound it for a minute to listen to a detail a second time.

It was only after they'd read through the printed report as well that he spoke. "Interesting. Here, here and here," the oldest Immortal pointed out the three places in the report that he'd marked out, "they didn't follow proper police procedure. From the report, it seems as though they were acting more in the manner of a military team. Certainly, they had no legal cause for their actions. I think they were looking for you, or at least for something to explain why you revived like that. It's definitely a good thing that you didn't go back to the loft afterwards last night." Somehow, I think you might have ended up in a lab somewhere as they tried to figure out your secrets.

But one thing is clear. It wasn't a random break-in, so either it had no connection with last night's events, or somehow they've identified you, but aren't admitting it publicly yet. For the latter, three hours is an awfully short time span. Not only did they need to identify him, but gather together a team and transport them to the dojo. Admittedly, there is a base nearby, but... The oldest Immortal's thoughts trailed off as he tried to sort out what was going on with very little information.

After the three of them had gone through everything closely once, the clock was ticking towards nine and they discussed what they'd read over a fresh pot of coffee and a quick breakfast. Finally, Joe said he had to go, although he made it very clear that he was going to be watching the press conference.

Now they were waiting for the press conference to start, about an hour away. Methos was still going over the report in the kitchen area, and Duncan had grabbed some paper and pens as well and was doing something, Methos wasn't quite sure what in the living room, and glancing at the now muted T.V. every so often. Right now, the news channel was more or less just repeating the story they had had earlier in the day. The oldest Immortal had more or less tuned it out by now.

Then, about fifteen minutes before the news conference Duncan turned the volume back up, catching the other Immortal's attemtion.

We are interrupting this program to bring you the latest breaking news. There have been some new developments in last night's murder case. The rumors of the second victim were correct. The contents of the closed circuit T.V. cameras at the gas station were leaked to reporters mere minutes ago. There was another man in at the counter. He was in the process of paying when the two murderers entered. They shot him first, then the gas station attendant. According to the reporter's source, there is no question that he was killed.

This is truly unbelievable. If the cameras are correct, and I have been assured that the footage was unedited, although I have not yet seen it, then apparently, about five minutes later, the body started moving, and got up and walked out of the station.

The mystery person is described as tall, around six feet, with shoulder length dark hair. When last seen, he was wearing a light coloured t-shirt, marked with bullet holes, and here the announcer gave a nervous little laugh, and a dark trench-coat. Please call the police if you have any information about this person.

"Well, that puts a new wrinkle into the picture," Methos said. He had come into the room almost as soon as the update to the news had begun. "The press conference should be interesting to watch." And now it begins. Hopefully the world is going to be more open to 'minorities' than it ever has been before, and there will be no way to hide now. This can't be covered up, and sooner or later, every one of us will be discovered.

The news update took up the time until the press conference was due to start, at which time the oldest Immortal started the VCR recording so he could play things over again later, getting a better handle on the audience's moods from the wording of their questions. This is how I've survived so long. Not necessarily by being a better fighter, but by being able to predict upcoming problems and issues. It's a combination of past experience and paying attention both to what people are saying and how they are saying it. It's something that the Highlander should have learned by now. Methos said as much to the younger Immortal, when he caught his surprised look.

Within five minutes of the press conference, Methos knew putting the tape in had been a good idea, and not for the reason he'd planned on, when the phone rang.

"Adam here," he answered.

"Do you know where Mac is?" With the first question, Methos recognized the voice of his house-guest's most recent student, but couldn't get a word in edgewise. "He's not answering at the loft, and his picture's all over the news, and now this press conference? What's going on-"

Finally, he simply interrupted the flow of questions. "He's right here, Richie." With that, he offered the phone to Duncan and more or less tuned him out, focussing again on the conference on the T.V.

By the time Duncan finished his explanations and conversation with his former student, the press conference had gotten very interesting. On the screen, the two were watching a T.V. that had been brought into the room and was displaying the security footage from the gas station. From what I can see here, there is no way that the Highlander can explain any of this away as a prank. The evidence against that is just too convincing. The footage displayed showed both Duncan's death and then a couple of minutes later, his revival. Both parts of the tape were replayed by the speaker, as was a clear still of Duncan's face, also taken from the security footage.

Just then, the conference was interrupted by another phone call. This time it was Amanda calling for information. As he had with Richie's call, and Joe's earlier in the day, Methos handed the phone over to the other man and went back to focussing on the screen.

The conference lasted for about forty-five minutes, and most of the rest of the content was unanswered questions combined with pleas for more information from the authorities. Immediately after the conference ended, the broadcaster replayed the two segments of the security footage and reiterated the police plea for information.

Clearly someone knows who Duncan is, and where he lives. It's highly unlikely that the break-in would be completely unconnected, especially as they seem only to have been looking for information. On the other hand, Duncan hasn't been back, so we don't know for sure that something wasn't taken. The question is, "why are the police asking for information, instead of giving it out?". At the moment, these were all questions that couldn't be answered, so the oldest Immortal simply listed them down along with his thoughts to wait for more information. Information that would come along with the public reaction to the discovery.

Whatever happens, Duncan's not going to be able to make everyone happy. For the moment, there's too much unknown to start to make any plans, but it looks like we're going to have to get used to living in the open instead of hiding what we are.