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Plans were being discussed, phonecalls made, research carried out,
hybrid computers consulted. And, of course, plenty of beer and pizza being
consumed.
"Ok, so unofficial Watchers notes and reports state the probable death of Mark Daniels a week after the death of Duncan, Richie and Methos. Only, there's no challenge..." Al confirmed.
"And Duncan's death is actually down as being by Mark Daniels, unofficially? And all three as being murdered by Joseph Dawson, in the police reports? Sorry, Joe…" Al nodded.
Joe also nodded. That made sense. What didn't make sense was how he had been blamed and allowed to be executed.
"It just doesn't make sense!" Joe remarked, rubbing his head. However much they went through the information, and discussed provisional plans to take out Mark Daniels, Joe couldn't help but feel that they were missing something. All these reports were unofficial journal entries by the Watchers concerned, his own included. The problem was that although they had the official police reports and a few unofficial reports, they had no official Watcher chronicles. Joe knew how difficult it was to get into the chronicles. They weren't a secret organisation for nothing. But Ziggy was trying her best to access them, with Joe's help. His passwords weren't working, though. Even if they had been changed when he was arrested, surely something was available? What had happened to change the whole Watcher system, and why hadn't they stopped him from being executed? That was what hurt the most; knowing that after all his years of service, they had just let him take the blame. Surely they hadn't believed he had killed them?! Even without compromising their secret, they could have helped him! Should have helped him! It didn't matter that this all hadn't happened yet, to Joe it cut just as deeply as if he was waiting to be taken to his death that day. The Watchers were his life, but now he was beginning to think that maybe there were some things more important. Like friendships. Some time ago, the Watchers had nearly been destroyed by his traitorous brother-in-law, James Horton. But, that was over, he and Mac and Methos had stopped it, and things were back to normal, albeit with a little more security within the Watchers. For a band of Hunters to strike up again, and it looked like they had - or would - meant that something was about to go very wrong!
Joe looked up as he felt Methos' eyes boring into him.
"What is it, Joe?"
"I...I just...This just isn't right, Methos! Why did - do - they do nothing!?"
Methos, as usual, told it like it was:
"Do you think that the hunters would have so integrating the Watchers that they orchestrated this whole thing, to get rid of me and Mac, and Richie...and you?"
Richie looked up sharply, worried for Joe. Sam, still feeling a little felt out of this close dynamic, just looked on sympathetically. He liked these people. They were good men, intelligent and good company, working well together. Well, as well as they could when they encountered dead-ends at every turn. In some ways, they reminded him of himself and Al - and some others, faint faces in the background, long lost, buried in the swiss-cheese - working to get Quantum Leap off the ground and keep their tentative funding.
"Methos-"
"It's ok, Rich. Someone had to say it, but the truth is, I just don't know. I sometimes feel like I'm kinda out of the loop on some things, cos of my friendship with you guys, but, well, maybe it is more than just a feeling..." Joe trailed off, as more morbid thoughts entered his head.
"Is there anyone you can go to about this, Joe. Someone in the Watchers that you trust implacably?" Sam queried gently.
"Maybe. She always keeps herself out of the way. I only really know her through phone calls and e-mails. She's English but lives in France a lot of the time. I think she visits here a bit, too."
"How far can you trust her?" asked Methos, after a minute.
"I don't know her that well, but she did defend me at the tribunal. I can trust her with my life. In fact, I sometime wonder..."
He trailed off again, catching Methos' eye, neither needing to put into words exactly what it was that Joe sometimes wondered about his mysterious contact.
"So, you'll see if she knows anything?" Sam asked.
"Sure", Joe agreed readily, glad that he could actually contribute something concrete, finally. He sat back, rubbing his eyes and suppressing a yawn. This was closely followed by a matching one from Richie.
Methos grinned.
"You youngsters just can't keep the pace, can you?" he remarked.
"Of course we can, it's jus-". A yawn finished Richie's well-meaning sentence, and Sam decided to stop events before everyone fell asleep on him.
"Well, I don't think we can so much more tonight. It's getting late. Why don't we meet tomorrow evening at Joe's bar and see how far we've got. Joe, you want to contact your, er, contact?" he announced.
"Sure, Mac..." Joe replied, absently, forgetting the situation.
Richie just stared.
"What?" asked Joe.
"Joe, it's not Mac, remember?"
"What, oh, God, yeah, sorry Sam. You just..."
"Sounded so like him", Richie finished.
Sam frowned, unsure that he wanted to be so like MacLeod. As much as he liked these people, he wasn't sure if he was entirely comfortable with the idea of Immortals, and the Game.
"Don't worry, I'm used to being called by the name of the person I leap into. Being myself, kind of, is a bit of a novelty", he replied, forcing a grin. It was a novelty, and a nice one too. It would just make it harder to move on afterwards though. Not that he had a choice, and he could always hope, as he always did, that on his next leap he would find himself at home.
Joe went to bed that night with his mind spinning. As if Immortals and Watchers weren’t enough to deal with, he how had time-travellers. He couldn’t really explain it, but ever since he had joined the Watchers he had become more open to things. Well, you had to really. Once you admitted the existence of immortal beings, reality was never quite the same again. Still, meeting Sam was definitely an experience. It did help that he had come across Sam and Al when he was younger. In some ways, it was relief to find that he hadn’t just imagined those events of many years ago. He now resolved to do whatever he could to help the scientist, especially as it involved saving his own life and that of his best friends.
The next morning, he awoke early, not terribly rested but still resolved. He put out an e-mail to Sara to keep an eye out for any unusual Immortal going-ons. Although, Joe thought with a wry grin, nearly all Immortal going-ons were unusual. He knew it might take a while to hear from her, but she’d come through for him the past, and although he was about to tell her about Sam and Al, he was sure she would help if all possible. Finishing, he went to grab a fresh cup of coffee, sighing to himself. He wished he could figure out what it was about all this that was particularly bugging him about this. Something he was missing… Not that there wasn’t enough to be getting on with; what with possible murder accusations, time-travellers, the very possible murder of three of his closest friends – no, his family, really. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his beard, a habit he often increased when distracted. Finally deciding that he couldn’t do anything else here he made his way downstairs to catch up on some book-keeping for the bar. At least it was mundane enough to take his mind off things for a few hours.
It was only the sound of the telephone which woke him from his half-sleep state the book-work had put him into.
"Joe’s. Joe Dawson speaking".
"Hey, Joe, it’s Steven. Listen, have you heard about this meeting this afternoon? At Headquarters? I-I only found out about a half-hour ago, from Maggie. She said she got an e-mail yesterday morning, but I didn’t. But she said I should go. But, the thing is, I promised Claire I’d go out with her… And, I really didn’t know… It’s really important to Claire that I go with her. Her parents are gonna be there…" The younger Watcher, directly under Joe’s supervision, finally stopped for breath. Joe smiled, picturing Steven’s fluster. He was a nice kid, only about Richie’s age, and could shape up to be a good Watcher. He just needed to learn to be a little more confident and controlled. Joe thought about this meeting. He hadn’t heard anything about it, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Maybe it as stuff for new Watchers. Help them get to know each other, that sort of thing. Although, as Steven’s direct supervisor, he should have known about that. And it wasn’t just him who was invited, it was Steven. Someone who, as just demonstrated, would have gone straight to Joe with details of the meeting. The feeling that he was being left out of the loop returned. Maybe he should try and get into the meeting?
"It’s alright, Steven. You go and meet Claire’s parents. Anything important’s said, I’ll let you know. Anyone ask, say you cleared it with me, and, especially as they forgot to inform you in time, your prior engagement took priority".
"Thanks a million, Joe. I’ll check in with you tomorrow".
Joe smiled grimly and put the phone down. If he wasn’t invited, he couldn’t really attend this convert meeting. He was too high-profile, too recognisable. However, there was nothing to say a certain researcher couldn’t go, even uninvited. Few people in the field knew the researchers, and besides, Adam Pierson could fade into the background as well as anyone. He picked up the phone again, and dialled Methos’ number.