Revenge - part 5 of 5

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Revenge - Part 5 of 5

For disclaimers, see part 1

*********************************

Tessa headed back to the kitchen and ladled out soup for both of them.
Grabbing some potholders, she removed the foil-wrapped bread from the
oven, and carried everything to the table. Richie joined her a few
minutes later.

"Is this it?" he asked, a look of disappointment on his face.

"Start with this. If you still want more, I'll make you something else.
However, I think you will find that you won't be able to eat as much as
you normally do. The stomach shrinks after going for so long without
anything in it."

Richie took a tentative sip of the soup, then started eating more
enthusiastically. "This is great," he mumbled around a mouthful of
bread.

Tessa didn't bother correcting his table manners. She was too grateful
to have him back home again, safe and almost sound. Manners could come
later.

Richie surprised her by almost making it through a full bowl of soup
before pushing it away. "I guess you were right. I feel stuffed. Do you
want me to go relieve Mac so he can eat?"

"No, no working in the antique store for a few days. I'll trade places
with Duncan as soon as I am done."

"I can do it, you know?"

Tessa smiled and patted his hand. "I know, but you don't have to. You
can clear your dishes from the table, though."

Richie did as instructed, then wandered over to the alcove where he
turned on the television. After flipping through the channels several
times, he decided on a science fiction movie. He settled back in a
chair, and started to watch it.

The next thing he knew, the television was off, and savory smells were
coming from the kitchen. Lights had been turned on, and through the
glass block windows, he could tell that the sun had set. Richie glanced
at his watch, and found it hard to believe it was almost six PM. He'd
slept most of the afternoon!

There was no one around as Richie stood up and stretched. He wandered
into the kitchen, and lifted the lid off of a pot that was on the stove.
The sight and smell of Tessa's home-made spaghetti sauce caused his
stomach to growl. He quickly retrieved a spoon from a nearby drawer and
sampled the sauce. It was wonderful! He could barely wait for dinner.

Richie headed for his bedroom to clean up. He washed his face, then
slipped on a clean shirt. The one he'd been wearing was all wrinkled
from sleeping in it. When he came back out to the living room, Duncan
was in the kitchen filling a large pot with water.

"Hey, Rich, how do you feel?"

"Much better. I think all that sleep was good for me. I can go back to
work tomorrow."

"We'll see." Duncan smiled at the teenager. "Dinner will be ready in
about thirty minutes."

"Great. I can't wait."

Once again, Richie couldn't finish his meal, even though it was one of
his favorites. By the time they'd finished cleaning up the kitchen, he
was tired again. But this time he refused to let himself fall asleep.
Instead, he spent a quiet evening with Duncan and Tessa, listening to
music, and watching the flickering flames in the fireplace.

However, by 9:00, he couldn't stay awake any longer, no matter how often
he tried to tell his body that it was too early to go to bed. With a
final 'good night', he headed for his bedroom, practically falling
asleep as soon as he climbed into bed.

*****

Duncan's sleep was rudely interrupted by a loud scream coming from the
direction of Richie's bedroom. He grabbed his katana and raced down the
hall.

"Noooooo! Mac! Please!"

The terror in Richie's voice added wings to Duncan's feet and he burst
into the teenager's room ready to do battle. However, a quick look
around the room revealed only Richie, tossing and turning in bed.

"Don't leave me!" Richie screamed.

Duncan hurried to the young man's bed. Lightly placing one hand on his
shoulder, he shook Richie awake. The teenager bolted upright in his bed,
and frantically looked around in panic.

"Take it easy, Rich. It was just a nightmare."

Richie's eyes stared at Duncan, then the teenager grabbed his arm with
the strength born of desperation.

"Don't leave me, Mac! Please!" The words just seemed to tumble out, but
the terror in the voice was quite evident.

"I won't leave you," he promised. Duncan saw Tessa enter the bedroom out
of the corner of his eye, but motioned for her to stay back. She must
have turned on the light in the hallway and it lifted some of the
darkness from the room. He could have turned on the bedside light, but
didn't want to blind Richie or himself by doing that.

"I tried to get free by myself," Richie continued. "I really tried.
Don't leave me here to die!"

Duncan finally realized that Richie was still caught up in his nightmare
- one where he had left the young man in the warehouse to die. He didn't
know how the teenager could ever believe he would do such a thing, but
that wasn't the important issue right now. He tried to wrap his arms
around Richie, but the tight grip that the young man still had on his
right arm made it impossible. He settled for wrapping one arm around the
teenager's shoulders, and pulled him in close to his chest.

"I won't leave you," he said again. "You're safe now."

Tessa joined them at that point, walking around the bed to sit on the
other side. She lightly rubbed Richie's back. "You are safe, Richie,"
she added. "Nothing can hurt you here."

It took several long minutes of soothing before Richie started to relax.
He finally gave a sigh and went limp, releasing his hold on Duncan. The
Scot took advantage of that to wrap his other arm around Richie, and
hold him tightly.

"I would never leave you alone to die," he firmly promised. "No matter
what."

"I know." Richie's reply was muffled by Duncan's chest, but the Scot
still heard it. He closed his eyes in silent thanks for a moment, but a
touch on his arm brought them back open again. It was Tessa this time,
obviously realizing that her lover needed to be soothed, too.

Finally, he slowly released Richie. Even in the low light he could see
the tears on the young man's face. He didn't make any comment on them,
somehow knowing that it would embarrass the teenager. "Feeling better?"
he asked.

Richie nodded. "Sorry about waking you up."

"That's all right."

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" Tessa asked, still lightly
rubbing Richie's back. "Maybe it will help make it go away."

Richie shuddered. "I was back in that warehouse, and Mac found me, but
he was so disgusted with me about not getting free by myself that he
walked away and left me."

"I would never do that!" Mac promised again.

"I know, Mac. I don't know why I had that kind of nightmare. You would
never do that."

"Nightmares don't always make sense," Tessa replied. "That is why they
can be so frightening. Would you like some hot chocolate? Maybe it will
help you fall asleep again."

Richie nodded, and Tessa hurried from the room. Duncan helped the
teenager get settled back into bed, leaning up against pillows piled
against the headboard.

"Do you want to talk about what happened to you in the warehouse?" the
Scot asked, trying to keep his tone casual. He hadn't questioned the
teenager at all about what he'd gone through, thinking it would be
easier to forget that way. Maybe he'd been wrong.

It seemed to take forever before Richie began to talk. Maybe the
darkness helped, because Duncan almost couldn't believe what the
teenager said next.

"I was so scared, Mac. Scared that I was going to die alone. I knew you
would be looking for me, but I knew there wasn't much chance of you
finding me there. I tried to get free by rubbing the ropes along the
pole I was tied to, but it didn't help."

"That's not true," Duncan pointed out. "When I cut the ropes free, I
could see where they had been frayed. I don't think it would have taken
much more to free yourself."

Richie sighed. "I was also scared that you'd find me, and the guy would
get you, too, and then we'd both die there. Except you would come back."

Duncan knew that Richie would have come back, too. At least he thought
he would have - was starvation considered a violent death? For that
matter, was the violent death part of immortality really the truth. It
didn't really matter, he wasn't about to tell the young man that someday
he'd be just like Duncan.

"And Tessa would have been all alone. I guess that was what I was most
afraid of."

Duncan couldn't help it. He pulled Richie in for another strong hug. It
seemed almost impossible to believe that the street-wise teenage thief
who he'd taken in only a few short months ago, would care the most about
Tessa being left alone. Now, he knew that no matter what happened to
him, Richie would be there for Tessa.

He heard Tessa approaching the bedroom, and released Richie. A few
moments later, she was there, carrying a tray filled with three mugs.
Duncan took two of them, handing one over to Richie. Tessa set the tray
down, and with her own mug, went to sit on the other side of the bed.

They didn't say much as they drank their hot chocolate. By the time his
mug was empty, it was obvious that Richie could barely keep his eyes
open. After Duncan took his mug, he slid down into the bed, and drifted
off to sleep.

Duncan motioned to Tessa, and they both quietly got up, and headed back
to their own bedroom.

*****

When Richie woke the next morning, he glanced at his clock, then jumped
out of bed. He couldn't believe it was already 10:00. "This is
ridiculous," he muttered. "I slept all day yesterday."

He quickly showered, then hurried out to the living area. Duncan and
Tessa were nowhere in sight - probably out in the antique store. While
they'd both told him he didn't need to work today, he felt guilty about
it. There wasn't anything really wrong with him.

He made himself some breakfast - nothing fancy - just cereal, orange
juice and toast. The newspaper was sitting on the table, still neatly
stacked together. Duncan must not have had time to read it this morning.
Another surge of guilt swept through Richie. His nightmare in the wee
hours of the morning had probably caused the Scot to sleep in.
Therefore, he hadn't had a chance to read the paper.

Richie opened the paper, glancing through the news articles on the front
page very quickly. Most of them held little interest for him. He
couldn't get into all the political news, or the discussions over new
tax rates, or the new landfill. He knew Duncan read every line of the
paper, but he couldn't understand why.

Turning to the second page, his attention was drawn to a headline about
a murder, and police shoot-out at a Buddhist monastery. A man, by the
name of Chang Lin had broken into the monastery, killed one of the
monks, Kiem Sun, then been killed by the police.

The Highlander had lied to him! He must have let the guy go. Richie was
sure that Duncan had shown up while Chu Lin's brother had been there. He
had vague memories of them fighting with swords. Why would Duncan have
let the guy go? After all, he'd kidnapped Richie and tortured him.

It didn't matter that his torturer was dead, and couldn't come after him
anymore. What did matter was that Duncan had let him walk away -
possibly to come after Richie again.

He grabbed the paper and stalked out to the antique store. He looked
around quickly, pleased to see that no there were no customers in the
shop. Tessa was nowhere in sight, but he spotted the Scot and hurried
over to confront him, practically shoving the newspaper into his face.

"Why did you let him go after what he did to me?" he practically
screamed. "What if he'd come after me again?"

Duncan calmly took the paper from Richie's hand, and quickly scanned the
article. "I explained to him that it was Kiem Sun who had orchestrated
the whole thing. I knew he wouldn't come back after you once he
understood that. He was just a puppet of Kiem Sun's."

"It wasn't Kiem Sun who knocked me out, tied me up, and then tortured me
with water that he wouldn't let me drink, and food that he wouldn't let
me eat. He was going to let me die!"

"The only reason he did that was because Kiem Sun told him you'd killed
his brother. If Kiem Sun hadn't lied, the guy would never have come
after you. What he did was wrong, but he didn't deserve to die because
of it. Revenge is never a good motive to go after someone. He should
have gone to the police in search of justice, but he didn't. And if I'd
killed him, that's all it would have been - revenge - it wouldn't have
been justice."

"And if I'd been..." Richie had to struggle to get the word out, "dead
when you found me? Would you have still let him go?"

Duncan dropped the paper and approached Richie. He put one hand on each
of the young man's shoulders, and looked at him squarely. "If you had
been dead, I would have turned him over to the police. As much as I
would have liked to take my own revenge, there is a legal system in this
country that would have seen that justice prevailed."

Richie couldn't miss the sincerity in Duncan's eyes. He gave a little
sigh. While still unhappy over the Scot's decision, he had to admit to
himself that it fit Duncan's personality and sense of honor.

"I understand," he finally said.

Duncan pulled him in for a quick hug. "I'm glad. And this guy has done
me a big favor, too."

"What?"

"By killing Kiem Sun - even if it was only temporarily - he got him off
of holy ground. If I get there soon enough, he should still be in the
morgue. I can make sure he doesn't come after you or Tessa again. He
will pay for what he has done."

"Uh... Mac... that sure sounds like you're out for revenge," Richie
pointed out.

"No, I'm after justice," Duncan explained as he headed for the back
door.

"Sorry, but I can't see the difference," Richie continued as he followed
Duncan. "You want to make him pay for what he's done - that's revenge."

The Scot turned to face Richie. "No, I want to make sure he doesn't come
after you and Tessa again. And he's stepped over the line. Since he is
an Immortal, I will make sure that justice is served. If he wasn't an
Immortal, then I would have let the law handle it." He started for the
back door again. "Tessa is at the market and will be back soon. Go ahead
and close the shop." Without another word he left.

Richie stared at the door for several long moments, then muttered,
"still sounds like revenge." He headed back into the antique store,
deciding to go ahead and work. It would give him something to do.

*****

It had only taken a small bribe to get the attendant at the morgue to
take a long break. Once the young man was gone, Duncan quickly searched
the room, looking for the drawer that would contain Kiem Sun's body. It
didn't take long to find.

The Scot yanked it open and was pleased to note that the other Immortal
was still inside. There had always been the chance that the other man
had recovered and escaped already.

A few moments later, Kiem Sun jerked back to life with an agonizing
breath. It gave a small sense of satisfaction to Duncan to watch the
other Immortal in agony, even for such a brief moment. It didn't match
all the pain that Richie had been in, but it was a start.

Duncan threw Kiem Sun some clothes - he'd made a quick stop at the
monastery to pick them up for the other Immortal. "You're not on Holy
Ground anymore, Kiem Sun. And I warned you the last time, that if you
crossed the line again, that all past promises would be null and void."

Kiem Sun shrugged, but grabbed the clothes and started to dress. "I had
no idea he'd go after your young protege. I thought he'd go to the
police, but they wouldn't have enough evidence to do anything about it."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "Is that why you embellished the story so much?
Told Chang Lin, that Richie had left his brother to die slowly and all
alone? You knew he would go after Richie, but you didn't care."

"He would have come back to life again," Kiem Sun burst out. "I don't
see what the problem is."

"The problem is that you had no right to deflect your enemies on to
someone else. You had no right to play god with Richie's immortality. He
deserves the right to grow up first, before he's got to face the harsh
reality that is our lives." Duncan looked his adversary over, trying to
keep his anger at bay. Anger could make him careless.

"We're going for a little walk, and only one of us is going to return,"
Duncan promised, as he pointed toward the door.

"You're going to take my head? Without giving me a chance to defend
myself? It hardly seems like your style," Kiem Sun pointed out.

"You'll have your chance. I picked up your sword while I was getting
your clothes. You'll have more of a chance than you gave Richie."

Duncan followed Kiem Sun out of the building, then pointed the other
Immortal to a back alley several blocks away. Hopefully, their fight
would come to its conclusion before anyone spotted them. Normally, he'd
prefer waiting until dark, but he wasn't going to give Kiem Sun a chance
to get back to Holy Ground.

*****

"Richie, what are you doing out here in the store?" Tessa exclaimed as
she spotted the young man sitting on the stairs leading up to the
catwalk. She'd already searched the apartment when she got home, and had
been surprised when she hadn't found the teenager there. "And where is
Duncan?"

"He's off," Richie made slashing motions in the air to simulate sword-
fighting, "with Kiem Sun. I didn't have anything better to do, so I'm
taking care of the store."

"You're supposed to be resting."

"I am resting. Whenever there weren't any customers, I'd sit down. It
hasn't been a problem, Tessa."

Tessa frowned, but let it go. "All right, but you should go lie down for
a while."

"I'll do that after Mac comes home. I want to make sure-"

Tessa could fill in the missing words. They'd been through this before,
waiting together for Duncan to return from a clash with another
Immortal. She sat down next to Richie, and clasped his hand tightly for
a moment. "He'll be fine," she promised, while wishing she had a
guarantee of that.

"Sure he will." The bluster in Richie's voice made it obvious that he
wasn't so certain. "He beat the guy before, so he can beat him again."

"Of course he can." Tessa tried to keep her misgivings to herself.
Richie had been through enough already. He didn't need her falling apart
to add to his stress. "So, how did you sleep? Any more nightmares?"

Richie shook his head. "Just the one. I'm sorry I woke you and Mac up."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Tessa tried to assure him. "You
have been through something very awful. If it had been me, I'd probably
still be in the hospital begging for sedation. You are entitled to a few
nightmares."

Richie looked down at the floor, studying his feet. "I'm glad it was me,
instead of you," he finally mumbled.

Tessa wrapped her arms around the young man and hugged him tightly. She
kissed his cheek before releasing him.

"Am I missing something?"

The sound of Duncan's voice drew their attention to the office doorway.
The Highlander was leaning against the doorjamb, watching them with a
smile on his face. Tessa jumped up and ran over to her lover, almost
throwing herself into his arms.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Richie approaching them, and
pulled back from Duncan.

"Hey, big guy," Richie said with a grin, reaching out with a mock punch
to tap Duncan's arm. "Did you take care of the bad guy?"

Duncan nodded. "He won't be bothering us again."

Tessa had been around Duncan for twelve years, and could read him very
well. She didn't miss the sadness in his eyes. Emotionally, he had to be
torn. He'd been friends with Kiem Sun for centuries, and now he'd had to
take the other Immortal's head to keep the two mortals in his life safe.

It just didn't seem right. No one should have to kill one of their
friends. And yet it was one of the prices that Immortals had to pay if
they wanted to live forever. She hugged Duncan again, not knowing any
words that would make it any better.

Life had taken another little piece of revenge against her lover's soul.

The end.


Well, folks. This will be the last Highlander story for a while. I've
been sucked into the Farscape realm, and will be trying to write some
stories in that universe. And no matter how hard I've tried, so far I
haven't figured out how to get Richie into that universe... <G>

Of course, I might be back...

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