Chapter 12

Joe knew when he seen Methos again, he would have a thousand and one questions. He just hoped that nothing would happen in a week or two till he got to see Methos again. He called MacLeod to let him know when his plane was getting in on Friday and to see if he would pick him up. While he had him on the phone, he started to ask him if he had seen Amanda, but decided to wait till he was in Paris to let him know what was going on and decided not to say anything about the shape shifting thing; if that was what it was called. He remembered Methos saying he didn't know he could do it and decided that if anyone told MacLeod about it, it should be Amanda or Methos. He then called Headquarters and asked if they had any more information on who was after him. No one knew anything and he was really getting very frustrated. He made sure Amy didn't come in to see him since he didn't want anything to happen to her. 

Then he sat down and started writing down the questions he wanted to ask Methos when he saw him.

1. How old do you have to be to start shifting your features?
2. Does an older Immortal teach the younger ones?
3. If not, do they automatically know what to do?
4. Is it painful?
5. Can you change into a woman?
6. Can you change into an animal?

Joe was busy writing when Mike came to the office door and said he had a package for him. Joe looked up and saw that Mike looked really stressed. He backed his chair up not wanting the package, but with a sigh of acceptance, he took it from Mike.

Joe sat looking at it for a while and Mike stood in the doorway watching him. Joe slowly undid the package. When he got the paper off, there was a note taped to the top of the box. 

Now we are up to three. I know you don't know her well, but she is a very good friend of Duncan MacLeod's. I know you are close friends with him.

Joe looked inside the box and saw a sheet of music and knew someone had killed Claudia Jardine. But did they know she was Immortal or not? He knew he had to call Mac now and let him know about someone being after him. He looked at the post date and saw it was from California.

He checked the time and realized that Mac should be home. He picked up the phone and dialed. It rang and rang and the answering machine didn't pick up. Joe just knew something was wrong then. He was thankful that his plane took off tomorrow night at 7:00 pm. He turned and saw that Mike was still standing at the door. Joe said, "This one was Claudia Jardine, so whoever it is, is still going after Immortal. They got her because she's close to Mac and the person knows I love him like a son."

"Check the records and see what's going on Joe. I know you are stressed, but you usually do that before anything else." Mike staid in the doorway to give Joe some emotional support. 

Joe returned to his computer and started typing in passwords. He finally got to what he was looking for and saw that Claudia had been shot down during a performance so she had to go into hiding. Then he checked on Mac. He had been challenged and the other watcher hadn't made his final report yet. Joe turned to Mike, 

"Claudia is in hiding since she was shot on stage and Mac is out on a challenge.." Joe took a deep breath and was struggling not to let the tears fall that were behind his eyes. "What is going on? I feel like my whole world is falling apart. I need to get to Paris, but I'm afraid to for fear they'll follow and get Mac next. What if Mac comes back and they realize about Immortals?"

Mike walked over to Joe, "Don't panic Joe.. You know they can take care of themselves and with you around, MacLeod is always more alert because he's so protective of you. This is Wednesday and you'll be in Paris by Friday. You can try MacLeod later. I'm sure he was just out with one of the many French ladies that he likes so much." 

"You're right, Mike. Just so much has happened in such a short time, I just feel like the glue that's holding me together is just about ready to give." replied Joe. "Maybe I can send Adam an email to let him know the new developments."

Mike watched Joe for a bit and saw he was calming down, so he said, "It's time to open, so I'll take care of it for you. You just relax and get things set here for your vacation. Then if you want you can take over so I can have the rest of the day off since I'll be boss while you are gone."

"Thanks Mike. I really appreciate this and I'm glad Eric worked out. At first I wasn't sure, but once he got the hang of things, he was the man we needed to take up the slack."

Joe got busy and got all the paperwork caught up and done as far as he could to make things easier on Mike. He also made out a copy of the weekly invoice he does so Mike wouldn't have a problem. It took almost 2 hours for him to finish everything. Then he check the Chronicles again to see if there was anything on MacLeod's challenge. Finishing with the computer, he walked out to see Mike.

"MacLeod won his challenge so I feel better. I'll try calling him later to let him know what's going on with Claudia. You go on now and I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good day."

With that Mike left the bar and Joe got set for the afternoon crowd. 

"Friday - 7:24 pm in Paris"

Joe was standing at the luggage retrieval wondering where MacLeod was. When he tried to get a hold of him on the phone last night and this morning, the phone rang and rang. He was getting really worried. He knew he won the challenge, but was beginning to think something else happened. After waiting another half hour, he tried calling him again and when he got no answer, he called a cab. First he went to his place in Paris to check on things there. He asked if they had seen Mac and they all said no. That didn't surprise him much though because Mac didn't show up here when he wasn't here. Since he has a place here as well in Seacouver, he had a vehicle for him to use here as well. He got it and drove to the barge to see if some answer on what was going on with Mac. It wasn't like Mac to just disappear like this. 

He pulled up to the barge and from the outside everything looked normal. He was almost afraid to look inside. Slowly he got out of his vehicle and walked to the plank to cross over onto the barge. He stood for a minute listening to see if he could hear anything, but there was nothing. He walked the plank and went to the door. He knocked then listened very closely. He could hear whining and so decided to try the door. It was unlocked so he went in. Standing at the top of the stairs before going down into the barge, he looked around trying to locate the whining sounds. He finally spied a huge black wolf laying on the bed at the other end of the barge. As he stood there wondering what was going on, the wolf looked at him and came charging across the barge at him.

To Chapter 13