Highlander/NCIS/Dark Angel crossover
Written for the
hl_flashficchallenge Immortality:Dual Roles, this is a crossover between Highlander, Dark Angel and NCIS where Logan Cale is really Tony DiNozzo, an Immortal (Both played by Michael Weatherly). For timelines, for Dark Angel this is end of season 1 (cos that’s all I’ve seen), and early season 1 NCIS. Highlander it’s post-Endgame, but Richie has been resurrected. Read The Light if you want to see how.
Huge thanks to
strangevisitor7for the beta, I owe you big for this one hun. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander, Dark Angel, NCIS or Michael Weatherly (though I wish I did).
When Worlds Collide
Logan’s apartment was dark, due to yet another brown-out, the only light coming from a dozen candles that were casually decorating the centre of his dining table. Max and Logan were sat at the table, Logan having prepared a meal for the two of them.
“You never eat enough, at least not when you’re with me. Good food is too scarce, please eat.” Logan said. Max smiled and deliberately placed a forkful in her mouth. She sat chewing, and enjoying. Logan really was a good cook. Max smiled.
Suddenly, Logan looked, as though he’d heard something, although Max’s sensitive ears had detected nothing. She concentrated and a minute later when she heard footsteps outside and she caught the scent of an expensive pre-Pulse perfume.
“Looks like you got company.” She commented. Logan nodded dismissively and went to the door. Max noted the change in his demeanour; this was a very cautious Logan. If she didn’t know better she’d have thought he’d had military training as she watched him fall into a stance that would make either attack or retreat easy if they became necessary.
“Who’s there?” Logan called out.
“It’s me, Amanda! Can I come in?” came a decidedly feminine voice from the other side. Max didn’t recognise it, but Logan visibly relaxed at the answer and he opened the door. Out in the hall Max could see an attractive and well-dressed female, with short-cropped black hair. The woman sashayed into the apartment, caressing Logan’s chin as she passed. “Darling, I need your help. I…oh, hello.” Amanda drawled, noticing Max.
“Oh, um, Amanda, this is Max, Max this is Amanda, a very old friend.” Logan said, looking from one to the other, clearly uncomfortable. Max got the message loud and clear, and she made to leave. “No, Max, you don’t have to leave.” Logan protested, though half-heartedly.
“No, it’s cool, I gotta blaze. See ya around, Logan.” Max said and left, casually waving to Logan as she went. As she closed the front door, she heard the woman say,
“So, it’s Logan now?”
Max was puzzled. She had always assumed that Logan was his real name, because of all the money and pre-Pulse society links he had. Max’s curiosity was piqued, so instead of heading down to the street, she headed up. Once on the roof she nimbly leapt to the nearest building and from her vantage point she was able to watch Logan and his friend and lip-read their conversation.
“Tony, it’s really big trouble this time.” Amanda said.
“It’s never any different, Amanda. Can’t Duncan help you?” Logan replied.
Tony? Max thought, Funny, he doesn’t look like a Tony.
“Duncan doesn’t have any contacts in law enforcement.” Amanda said.
“Nor do I…anymore. Tony DiNozzo was the cop, not Logan Cale. I left that life behind when the Pulse hit. When the authorities ceased to have any authority.”
What the…? Max couldn’t believe what she was lip reading. Logan was an ex-cop? But he didn’t seem the type. What about all that crap about being rich? Has he lied to me all this time? Max felt so betrayed, Logan was the one person, other than her Manticore family, that she thought she could trust.
Before she could decide what to do, two masked men burst through the door of the apartment and, without hesitation, shot Logan and Amanda. Then one of them lifted Amanda onto his back and carried her from the apartment.
Like the feline that she was, Max leapt back to Logan’s building, dashed down the stairs, and into the apartment. She ran over to his prone form and checked his pulse, but she already knew he was dead. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms.
She sat there for what seemed an age; tears rolling down her cheeks. Partly she was pissed that he had died without giving her answers, but mostly she was grieving for her friend. For the man who might have been her lover if they hadn’t wasted so much time dancing around each other; if she had been able to say how she felt about him.
Suddenly, impossibly, Logan gasped for air, his eyes springing open. Startled, Max dropped Logan, as she jumped to her feet.
“Ow!” Logan said, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, “What’d you do that for?”
“You were dead,” Max stammered, pointing to the blood stain on the floor. “I know you were dead. I watched you get shot, and I checked your pulse. You were dead.” She pulled at his shirt, three bloodstained holes evident in the breast before it gave with a tear. Underneath the skin was whole, pristine, with only a few smears of blood. “Impossible,” she breathed. Logan laughed.
“Says the transgenic,” he said with a chuckle. “Aw hell, I’d hoped we would never have to have this conversation. Oh well,” he said, and pulled off the leg braces that helped him to walk. Then he stood up.
“You can walk?” Max asked redundantly. Logan nodded.
“The braces were for show. I could walk about two hours after I ended up in the wheelchair.” Logan replied. Max slapped him and he fell into a chair, reeling. “Again, ow!” he said.
“You’ve been lying to me all this time! Who are you? What are you?” Max demanded. Logan put up his hands.
“I’m not a transgenic. Or any other form of enhanced human. I’m an Immortal and I can’t die. I’m almost two hundred years old.” Logan explained. Max snorted.
“Immortal? You expect me to believe that?” she asked.
“How else do you explain what just happened?” Logan replied, gently.
“You’ve been lying to me all this time?” Max asked quietly.
“I know it must hurt, that I should hide anything from you when you’ve trusted me, but it was for your safety, not mine.” Logan said, but he knew that Max wasn’t ready to hear any of this. “I’m sorry Max,” he added. Max practically growled when he said that, and turned and left. “Dammit!” Logan muttered. Then the power came back on.
*_*
Logan spent the next four hours hacking every system he could think of to find answers. There was no trace of Amanda’s abductors anywhere. Before he had died, he had caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the shooter’s wrist. Amanda was in very real danger. He had one resource left to him, one he’d sworn he would never use. He picked up the phone and dialled. After several rings the phone was answered by a groggy female voice.
“’lo?”
“Abs! Mi amore!”
“Tony?” Abbey screamed, all sleepiness forgotten.
“The one and only babe.” Tony said with a grin, slipping back into the persona like a comfortable old pair of slippers.
“What’s up?” Abbey asked.
“What, that’s it? No, hey Tony, long time no see? Or how are you?”
“Hey Tony, long time no see, how are you?”
“That’s better.”
“Tony, I haven’t heard from you in like ten years. Suddenly you call at three in morning, so something must be up. What is it?” Abbey said tersely.
“Wow, were you channelling Gibbs then? Scary.”
“Really? Cool.” Abbey replied, and Tony could practically hear her bouncing on the other end of the line. He smiled.
“I’m sorry Abs, but I do need a favour. I know you aren’t my Watcher anymore, but Amanda’s been kidnapped. I think it’s the Hunters.”
“Aw, man. What do you need?”
*-*
Washington DC, 2003
“Tony, Cait, let’s go.” Gibbs said, striding through the office, grabbing his coat and his coffee as he passed his desk. Caitlin and Tony both got to their feet quickly, grabbing their guns and coats and followed Gibbs to the elevator.
“What we got boss?” Tony asked.
“The body of Gunnery Sergeant Thompson was found in a dumpster early hours of this morning. His head was found half a mile away,” Gibbs replied, taking a swig of his coffee. He looked at Tony curiously. “What? No smart-ass remark?”
“I guess the guy was really forgetful?” Tony offered half-heartedly. Cait rolled her eyes and Gibbs smirked, but Tony didn’t notice. He was worried about the victim.
If it was an Immortal, then it meant a head hunter, there in DC, and a sloppy one at that, Tony mused. Rule number one was dispose of the body. Well, rule number one was ‘There can be only One’. Body disposal was more like rule number three if you thought about it. But whichever rule it was, it was careless and risked exposing all Immortals.
When they reached the alley, Tony hung back, volunteering to take statements. He was in no hurry to see the body. Eventually he had no choice but to approach where the body was discovered. Ducky had finished examining the body, and Gerald and an agent were already lifting the body into a bag.
Before it was zipped shut Tony caught a glimpse of the body and shuddered. Even after one hundred and eighty years in the game, headless corpses still gave him the heebie jeebies.
“Yes, it’s quite astonishing Gibbs, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s almost as though the head were severed by a very hot blade, cauterising the wound.” Ducky said to Gibbs.
“Maybe it was a light-sabre.” Tony quipped automatically, though his heart was clearly not in it. Gibbs turned to him and glared. “Uh, the locals didn’t see much boss, none of them report anything except hearing thunder. Most of them admit they didn’t look out their windows last night.”
“Crappy neighbourhood, it’s not a big surprise DiNozzo. Okay, you go back with Ducky, Cait and I will inform the wife. See what you can dig up on Thompson; find out what he was doing in this part of town and why anyone had a reason to do this to him.” Gibbs ordered.
“Yes boss,” Tony replied, heading back to the NCIS truck. “Have you got the head yet Ducky?” he asked.
“Not yet Anthony, it’s being sent to the morgue by the local authorities. They had apparently already removed it from the crime scene before the body was discovered. This reminds me of a case I read about, oh twenty years ago. It seems…” Ducky said, beginning one of his rambling soliloquies. Tony tuned him out and focussed on his own thoughts.
He hadn’t known there were any Immortals currently on active duty in the Marines, let alone one stationed in DC. He was slipping; he normally made it a practice to keep track of anyone he could run in to. He wasn’t a coward, and he was decent enough with a blade, but he avoided fights whenever possible.
He was roused from his thoughts when he felt the presence of another Immortal. He stopped the van and got out, ignoring the protests from Ducky. He pulled out his pistol and indicated that Ducky should remain behind, before ducking into an alley.
Once out of sight, he holstered his gun and drew out the rapier concealed in his coat. He followed the alley around to the back of a warehouse, following the presence of the other Immortal. He didn’t want a confrontation right now, not with Ducky so close, but this guy had killed a Marine, so he knew he had to be prepared for anything.
He came to a yard between two buildings, where he found the other Immortal waiting for him, his sword drawn. The guy looked young, a teenager maybe, although of course he could be a thousand. Not lowering his guard, Tony addressed the stranger.
“You’ve had a busy night. Do you really want to do this?”
“That wasn’t me. It wasn’t you?” the stranger replied.
“No, I’m part of the team investigating it as a homicide.” Tony answered. Cautiously, they both lowered their blades and took a step forwards. “I’m Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, NCIS.”
“Richie Ryan,” the man replied.
“Duncan MacLeod’s friend?” Tony asked. Richie nodded and smiled. Tony relaxed a little. Any friend of Duncan’s was usually a friend of Tony’s.
“ NCIS? What’s that?” Richie asked.
“Naval Criminal Investigative Services. The dead guy was a Marine,” Tony explained. “Whoever killed him was sloppy, dumped the head in a dumpster a couple of blocks away and just left the body where it lay.”
“Damn! Can you make it go away?” Richie asked. Tony shook his head.
“Not likely. But I’ll do my best to steer the investigation away if it gets too close to the truth. If you didn’t kill him, why are you here?” Tony asked, suspiciously.
“Bad luck I guess. I’m just visiting a friend who lives a block or so from here. I happened to be passing the alley when the light show happened.” Richie replied.
“Could your friend have done it?”
“No, she’s not one of us.” Richie replied with a grin. The two of them heard approaching footsteps and quickly stashed their swords. Tony pulled out his gun again and turned to face the alley.
“Tony?” Ducky called out, “Is everything alright?”
Tony sighed with relief and headed back to the alley, motioning to Richie to leave.
“I’m fine Ducky,” he replied, before rounding the corner to find a very worried Dr. Mallard. Tony smiled. “I saw someone with blood on them so I followed. Turns out he’d just had a nosebleed. My bad. Come on; let’s get Sergeant Thompson to the morgue before he starts to smell.”
*-*
A few hours later Tony and Cait were discussing the finer points of the investigation.
“Nah, that isn’t the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” Tony said.
“Really?” Caitlin asked, eyebrow raised sceptically.
“No. There was this one time when Gibbs…”
“When I what, DiNozzo?” Gibbs said, appearing behind Tony from nowhere, making Tony flinch.
At times like these, Tony thought, I really wish that Gibbs was Immortal. At least then I’d know when he was coming.
“Er, nothing boss, I was just comparing this to an old case…” he said aloud.
“Well don’t. Local PD are bringing us a suspect. They caught him speeding about a mile away from the crime scene.” Gibbs said, heading towards interrogation.
“What makes them think he’s our guy?” Tony asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“Guy was carrying a sword.”
*_*
Tony looked through the observation window to see Richie Ryan sitting opposite Gibbs. This was a tight spot, he knew in his gut that this guy hadn’t killed Thompson, and even if he had, it was the Game. It had nothing to do with mortal law. Before he could come to a decision, Abbey came into the room.
“Tony, I need to talk to Gibbs; something’s hinky,” she said.
“He’s interviewing a suspect Abs, you know we can’t interrupt.”
“I know, but this is really important. That guy’s innocent. Thompson’s blood wasn’t on his sword.” Abbey insisted.
“What’s hinky about that?”
“I did find blood, just not Thomson’s.” Abbey replied. Tony sighed and, checking they were alone, replied,
“He’s Immortal, Abs.”
“Well that explains it. Oh! Was Thompson?” she asked, realisation dawning. Tony nodded.
Among her many tattoos, Abbey had one that was normally obscured by bracelets or her gloves. She was Tony’s Watcher, a fact he had discovered eight months ago, when he had caught her watching his most recent Quickening.
“He didn’t kill Thompson, but Thompson died in a challenge. Just whoever killed him was sloppy getting rid of the corpse. We have to try and make this disappear Abs.” Tony said urgently. Abbey nodded, thoughtful.
“Leave it with me. I’ll think of something, in the meantime you can tell Gibbs that this guy isn’t the killer.”
“Thanks Abs. Release the sword quickly please. If there’s a headhunter about he shouldn’t be defenceless.” Tony added. Abbey smiled and nodded before heading back to her lab.
Tony waited for Gibbs to leave the interrogation room and told him the good news. Gibbs swore a couple of times, and agreed to release Richie. But, as Tony was escorting him from the building, two police officers arrived to arrest Richie for the original traffic violations that had landed him at NCIS.
Tony had no choice but to allow them to take Richie, and Richie calmly allowed them to cuff him. As they did so, Tony noticed a Watcher’s tattoo on the wrist of the officers. Suspicious, he decided to tail them.
His hunch proved correct, as he followed them not to a police station, but instead to an abandoned warehouse near to where Thompson’s body had been found. Duncan had told him about the so-called Hunters, the rogue branch of the Watchers and he had a feeling that he had found Thompson’s killers. That made it murder.
Realising that Richie was in danger, he called for backup, but he knew he couldn’t wait for them to arrive. He made his way around to the side of the building, and he sensed another Immortal as he neared. That was a good sign, it meant Richie was still alive, but Tony hoped that Richie would have the sense to not alert the Hunters to his presence.
Looking through a window, he saw three men plus Richie, still handcuffed, sitting on a chair. One of the men had just picked up a sword, and was now approaching Richie. Tony burst through the nearest door, hoping the Hunter’s didn’t have guns or they’d be claiming two heads. He flourished his badge and proclaimed,
“NCIS! Nobody move!”
For a moment, nobody did move. Then Richie jumped up, taking the opportunity to deliver an impressive kick to the chest of his would-be assassin. That provoked the others to action and they reached inside their jackets for the guns concealed there. Tony swore, then opened fire, dropping the two Hunters before they’d even cleared their own weapons from their holsters. He turned to find the third grappling with Richie and the sword.
He walked up behind the Hunter and pointed his gun at him.
“Drop the weapon now.” Tony said, pushing the muzzle into the Hunter’s neck.
“You have no idea what he is. He is an abomination,” the Hunter sneered in response.
“Well, now that just hurts,” Richie said and grinned. Tony sighed, and hit the Hunter on the head with the butt of his gun, causing the Hunter to drop to the floor. “Ooh, that’s gonna leave a mark.” Richie said.
Tony found the key to the cuffs, removed them from Richie and placed them on the unconscious Hunter. Rubbing his wrists, Richie surveyed the mess around them.
“I don’t know how I’m gonna explain this,” Tony said with a sigh.
“Simple, they were the lunatics who killed Thompson, they abducted me from NCIS and were about to kill me when you saved me.”
“You mean, tell the truth?” Tony said with a grin.
“More or less. The blood evidence will prove this sword killed Thompson, and when laughing boy wakes up, he’ll be quite happy to tell the world what he did and why. They’ll dismiss him as insane, case closed.” Richie replied with an even bigger grin.
“That’s just crazy enough it might work. You’ve done this before.” Tony said as the cavalry burst through the door.
*-*
Seattle 2019
Abbey had been able to use the resources at her command to pinpoint any large numbers of Immortals that had gone missing recently. Even with the Pulse, the Watchers continued to Watch. She had then been able to track down the Hunters to a warehouse.
The warehouse was currently surrounded by NCIS agents, ready to storm in and rescue Amanda. It hadn’t been difficult to convince the Director to help once Tony explained they were the same militant group who had been responsible for the Thompson murder all those years ago.
Tony had applied white dye to his hair, and a little makeup around the eyes to appear older as it had been nearly twelve years since he last saw any NCIS agents. So far it seemed to be working, the lack of light helping his disguise.
He stood with McGee, ready to enter, despite McGee’s protests that Tony was now a civilian. A young agent approached them.
“We’re ready to go Director,” the agent said. McGee nodded. Tony shook his head, chuckling softly.
“Director McGee. Now I know the world’s gone to hell, probie.” Tony said, smiling. McGee looked at him, returning the smile.
“Long time since anyone called me that,” he replied before signalling his team to move in.
They approached the building quickly, and Tony was relieved to feel the presence of an Immortal inside. He let out a sigh of relief and fingered the pistol in his hand. McGee misinterpreted the sigh and looked at Tony,
“Are you sure you want to go in Tony?” he asked, concerned. Tony shushed him and nodded. They reached the door and burst through it, agents calling out as one,
“NCIS! Drop your weapons, and put your hands in the air!”
Confused, the Hunters did exactly as they were told. Clearly they had never expected law enforcement to hamper them. Without any violence, the agents were able to take them all into custody.
Tony found Amanda tied to a chair, badly beaten. Even with her Immortal healing, she was badly bruised and one arm was clearly broken. He rushed to her and began to untie her. She whimpered and he made comforting noises, stroking her hair.
“They wanted me to give them names of others,” she told Tony in a whisper.
“Be grateful they did, or you’d already be dead. I’d hate for anything to happen to that pretty head of yours.” Tony replied, with a cheesy grin on his face. Despite the pain from her healing injuries, Amanda chuckled at that. “Besides, Duncan would have my head if anything happened to you on my watch,” he added, helping her to her feet.
He escorted her to his car, waving away offers of help and medical treatment. He placed her gently in the passenger seat before finding McGee.
“We’ll hand them over to the FBI in the morning. We really have no jurisdiction here, but things are different since the Pulse.” McGee said. Tony nodded and then indicated the car.
“I’m gonna take her home. If anyone needs to ask questions they can contact her there,” he said firmly. McGee nodded. “See you around probie.”
Tony drove Amanda back to his apartment and carried her up, placing her carefully on his bed. As he did so she stirred.
“Your friend, isn’t she going to be jealous?” she asked.
“Max? I don’t think I’ll be seeing her again. She knows.”
“Oh. You never know, she might accept it eventually.” Amanda said, placing a hand on his arm.
“Maybe. But I’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” he replied, and gently tucked Amanda into bed.
hl_flashficchallenge Immortality:Dual Roles, this is a crossover between Highlander, Dark Angel and NCIS where Logan Cale is really Tony DiNozzo, an Immortal (Both played by Michael Weatherly). For timelines, for Dark Angel this is end of season 1 (cos that’s all I’ve seen), and early season 1 NCIS. Highlander it’s post-Endgame, but Richie has been resurrected. Read The Light if you want to see how.
Huge thanks to
strangevisitor7for the beta, I owe you big for this one hun. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander, Dark Angel, NCIS or Michael Weatherly (though I wish I did).
When Worlds Collide
Logan’s apartment was dark, due to yet another brown-out, the only light coming from a dozen candles that were casually decorating the centre of his dining table. Max and Logan were sat at the table, Logan having prepared a meal for the two of them.
“You never eat enough, at least not when you’re with me. Good food is too scarce, please eat.” Logan said. Max smiled and deliberately placed a forkful in her mouth. She sat chewing, and enjoying. Logan really was a good cook. Max smiled.
Suddenly, Logan looked, as though he’d heard something, although Max’s sensitive ears had detected nothing. She concentrated and a minute later when she heard footsteps outside and she caught the scent of an expensive pre-Pulse perfume.
“Looks like you got company.” She commented. Logan nodded dismissively and went to the door. Max noted the change in his demeanour; this was a very cautious Logan. If she didn’t know better she’d have thought he’d had military training as she watched him fall into a stance that would make either attack or retreat easy if they became necessary.
“Who’s there?” Logan called out.
“It’s me, Amanda! Can I come in?” came a decidedly feminine voice from the other side. Max didn’t recognise it, but Logan visibly relaxed at the answer and he opened the door. Out in the hall Max could see an attractive and well-dressed female, with short-cropped black hair. The woman sashayed into the apartment, caressing Logan’s chin as she passed. “Darling, I need your help. I…oh, hello.” Amanda drawled, noticing Max.
“Oh, um, Amanda, this is Max, Max this is Amanda, a very old friend.” Logan said, looking from one to the other, clearly uncomfortable. Max got the message loud and clear, and she made to leave. “No, Max, you don’t have to leave.” Logan protested, though half-heartedly.
“No, it’s cool, I gotta blaze. See ya around, Logan.” Max said and left, casually waving to Logan as she went. As she closed the front door, she heard the woman say,
“So, it’s Logan now?”
Max was puzzled. She had always assumed that Logan was his real name, because of all the money and pre-Pulse society links he had. Max’s curiosity was piqued, so instead of heading down to the street, she headed up. Once on the roof she nimbly leapt to the nearest building and from her vantage point she was able to watch Logan and his friend and lip-read their conversation.
“Tony, it’s really big trouble this time.” Amanda said.
“It’s never any different, Amanda. Can’t Duncan help you?” Logan replied.
Tony? Max thought, Funny, he doesn’t look like a Tony.
“Duncan doesn’t have any contacts in law enforcement.” Amanda said.
“Nor do I…anymore. Tony DiNozzo was the cop, not Logan Cale. I left that life behind when the Pulse hit. When the authorities ceased to have any authority.”
What the…? Max couldn’t believe what she was lip reading. Logan was an ex-cop? But he didn’t seem the type. What about all that crap about being rich? Has he lied to me all this time? Max felt so betrayed, Logan was the one person, other than her Manticore family, that she thought she could trust.
Before she could decide what to do, two masked men burst through the door of the apartment and, without hesitation, shot Logan and Amanda. Then one of them lifted Amanda onto his back and carried her from the apartment.
Like the feline that she was, Max leapt back to Logan’s building, dashed down the stairs, and into the apartment. She ran over to his prone form and checked his pulse, but she already knew he was dead. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms.
She sat there for what seemed an age; tears rolling down her cheeks. Partly she was pissed that he had died without giving her answers, but mostly she was grieving for her friend. For the man who might have been her lover if they hadn’t wasted so much time dancing around each other; if she had been able to say how she felt about him.
Suddenly, impossibly, Logan gasped for air, his eyes springing open. Startled, Max dropped Logan, as she jumped to her feet.
“Ow!” Logan said, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, “What’d you do that for?”
“You were dead,” Max stammered, pointing to the blood stain on the floor. “I know you were dead. I watched you get shot, and I checked your pulse. You were dead.” She pulled at his shirt, three bloodstained holes evident in the breast before it gave with a tear. Underneath the skin was whole, pristine, with only a few smears of blood. “Impossible,” she breathed. Logan laughed.
“Says the transgenic,” he said with a chuckle. “Aw hell, I’d hoped we would never have to have this conversation. Oh well,” he said, and pulled off the leg braces that helped him to walk. Then he stood up.
“You can walk?” Max asked redundantly. Logan nodded.
“The braces were for show. I could walk about two hours after I ended up in the wheelchair.” Logan replied. Max slapped him and he fell into a chair, reeling. “Again, ow!” he said.
“You’ve been lying to me all this time! Who are you? What are you?” Max demanded. Logan put up his hands.
“I’m not a transgenic. Or any other form of enhanced human. I’m an Immortal and I can’t die. I’m almost two hundred years old.” Logan explained. Max snorted.
“Immortal? You expect me to believe that?” she asked.
“How else do you explain what just happened?” Logan replied, gently.
“You’ve been lying to me all this time?” Max asked quietly.
“I know it must hurt, that I should hide anything from you when you’ve trusted me, but it was for your safety, not mine.” Logan said, but he knew that Max wasn’t ready to hear any of this. “I’m sorry Max,” he added. Max practically growled when he said that, and turned and left. “Dammit!” Logan muttered. Then the power came back on.
*_*
Logan spent the next four hours hacking every system he could think of to find answers. There was no trace of Amanda’s abductors anywhere. Before he had died, he had caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the shooter’s wrist. Amanda was in very real danger. He had one resource left to him, one he’d sworn he would never use. He picked up the phone and dialled. After several rings the phone was answered by a groggy female voice.
“’lo?”
“Abs! Mi amore!”
“Tony?” Abbey screamed, all sleepiness forgotten.
“The one and only babe.” Tony said with a grin, slipping back into the persona like a comfortable old pair of slippers.
“What’s up?” Abbey asked.
“What, that’s it? No, hey Tony, long time no see? Or how are you?”
“Hey Tony, long time no see, how are you?”
“That’s better.”
“Tony, I haven’t heard from you in like ten years. Suddenly you call at three in morning, so something must be up. What is it?” Abbey said tersely.
“Wow, were you channelling Gibbs then? Scary.”
“Really? Cool.” Abbey replied, and Tony could practically hear her bouncing on the other end of the line. He smiled.
“I’m sorry Abs, but I do need a favour. I know you aren’t my Watcher anymore, but Amanda’s been kidnapped. I think it’s the Hunters.”
“Aw, man. What do you need?”
*-*
Washington DC, 2003
“Tony, Cait, let’s go.” Gibbs said, striding through the office, grabbing his coat and his coffee as he passed his desk. Caitlin and Tony both got to their feet quickly, grabbing their guns and coats and followed Gibbs to the elevator.
“What we got boss?” Tony asked.
“The body of Gunnery Sergeant Thompson was found in a dumpster early hours of this morning. His head was found half a mile away,” Gibbs replied, taking a swig of his coffee. He looked at Tony curiously. “What? No smart-ass remark?”
“I guess the guy was really forgetful?” Tony offered half-heartedly. Cait rolled her eyes and Gibbs smirked, but Tony didn’t notice. He was worried about the victim.
If it was an Immortal, then it meant a head hunter, there in DC, and a sloppy one at that, Tony mused. Rule number one was dispose of the body. Well, rule number one was ‘There can be only One’. Body disposal was more like rule number three if you thought about it. But whichever rule it was, it was careless and risked exposing all Immortals.
When they reached the alley, Tony hung back, volunteering to take statements. He was in no hurry to see the body. Eventually he had no choice but to approach where the body was discovered. Ducky had finished examining the body, and Gerald and an agent were already lifting the body into a bag.
Before it was zipped shut Tony caught a glimpse of the body and shuddered. Even after one hundred and eighty years in the game, headless corpses still gave him the heebie jeebies.
“Yes, it’s quite astonishing Gibbs, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s almost as though the head were severed by a very hot blade, cauterising the wound.” Ducky said to Gibbs.
“Maybe it was a light-sabre.” Tony quipped automatically, though his heart was clearly not in it. Gibbs turned to him and glared. “Uh, the locals didn’t see much boss, none of them report anything except hearing thunder. Most of them admit they didn’t look out their windows last night.”
“Crappy neighbourhood, it’s not a big surprise DiNozzo. Okay, you go back with Ducky, Cait and I will inform the wife. See what you can dig up on Thompson; find out what he was doing in this part of town and why anyone had a reason to do this to him.” Gibbs ordered.
“Yes boss,” Tony replied, heading back to the NCIS truck. “Have you got the head yet Ducky?” he asked.
“Not yet Anthony, it’s being sent to the morgue by the local authorities. They had apparently already removed it from the crime scene before the body was discovered. This reminds me of a case I read about, oh twenty years ago. It seems…” Ducky said, beginning one of his rambling soliloquies. Tony tuned him out and focussed on his own thoughts.
He hadn’t known there were any Immortals currently on active duty in the Marines, let alone one stationed in DC. He was slipping; he normally made it a practice to keep track of anyone he could run in to. He wasn’t a coward, and he was decent enough with a blade, but he avoided fights whenever possible.
He was roused from his thoughts when he felt the presence of another Immortal. He stopped the van and got out, ignoring the protests from Ducky. He pulled out his pistol and indicated that Ducky should remain behind, before ducking into an alley.
Once out of sight, he holstered his gun and drew out the rapier concealed in his coat. He followed the alley around to the back of a warehouse, following the presence of the other Immortal. He didn’t want a confrontation right now, not with Ducky so close, but this guy had killed a Marine, so he knew he had to be prepared for anything.
He came to a yard between two buildings, where he found the other Immortal waiting for him, his sword drawn. The guy looked young, a teenager maybe, although of course he could be a thousand. Not lowering his guard, Tony addressed the stranger.
“You’ve had a busy night. Do you really want to do this?”
“That wasn’t me. It wasn’t you?” the stranger replied.
“No, I’m part of the team investigating it as a homicide.” Tony answered. Cautiously, they both lowered their blades and took a step forwards. “I’m Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, NCIS.”
“Richie Ryan,” the man replied.
“Duncan MacLeod’s friend?” Tony asked. Richie nodded and smiled. Tony relaxed a little. Any friend of Duncan’s was usually a friend of Tony’s.
“ NCIS? What’s that?” Richie asked.
“Naval Criminal Investigative Services. The dead guy was a Marine,” Tony explained. “Whoever killed him was sloppy, dumped the head in a dumpster a couple of blocks away and just left the body where it lay.”
“Damn! Can you make it go away?” Richie asked. Tony shook his head.
“Not likely. But I’ll do my best to steer the investigation away if it gets too close to the truth. If you didn’t kill him, why are you here?” Tony asked, suspiciously.
“Bad luck I guess. I’m just visiting a friend who lives a block or so from here. I happened to be passing the alley when the light show happened.” Richie replied.
“Could your friend have done it?”
“No, she’s not one of us.” Richie replied with a grin. The two of them heard approaching footsteps and quickly stashed their swords. Tony pulled out his gun again and turned to face the alley.
“Tony?” Ducky called out, “Is everything alright?”
Tony sighed with relief and headed back to the alley, motioning to Richie to leave.
“I’m fine Ducky,” he replied, before rounding the corner to find a very worried Dr. Mallard. Tony smiled. “I saw someone with blood on them so I followed. Turns out he’d just had a nosebleed. My bad. Come on; let’s get Sergeant Thompson to the morgue before he starts to smell.”
*-*
A few hours later Tony and Cait were discussing the finer points of the investigation.
“Nah, that isn’t the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” Tony said.
“Really?” Caitlin asked, eyebrow raised sceptically.
“No. There was this one time when Gibbs…”
“When I what, DiNozzo?” Gibbs said, appearing behind Tony from nowhere, making Tony flinch.
At times like these, Tony thought, I really wish that Gibbs was Immortal. At least then I’d know when he was coming.
“Er, nothing boss, I was just comparing this to an old case…” he said aloud.
“Well don’t. Local PD are bringing us a suspect. They caught him speeding about a mile away from the crime scene.” Gibbs said, heading towards interrogation.
“What makes them think he’s our guy?” Tony asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“Guy was carrying a sword.”
*_*
Tony looked through the observation window to see Richie Ryan sitting opposite Gibbs. This was a tight spot, he knew in his gut that this guy hadn’t killed Thompson, and even if he had, it was the Game. It had nothing to do with mortal law. Before he could come to a decision, Abbey came into the room.
“Tony, I need to talk to Gibbs; something’s hinky,” she said.
“He’s interviewing a suspect Abs, you know we can’t interrupt.”
“I know, but this is really important. That guy’s innocent. Thompson’s blood wasn’t on his sword.” Abbey insisted.
“What’s hinky about that?”
“I did find blood, just not Thomson’s.” Abbey replied. Tony sighed and, checking they were alone, replied,
“He’s Immortal, Abs.”
“Well that explains it. Oh! Was Thompson?” she asked, realisation dawning. Tony nodded.
Among her many tattoos, Abbey had one that was normally obscured by bracelets or her gloves. She was Tony’s Watcher, a fact he had discovered eight months ago, when he had caught her watching his most recent Quickening.
“He didn’t kill Thompson, but Thompson died in a challenge. Just whoever killed him was sloppy getting rid of the corpse. We have to try and make this disappear Abs.” Tony said urgently. Abbey nodded, thoughtful.
“Leave it with me. I’ll think of something, in the meantime you can tell Gibbs that this guy isn’t the killer.”
“Thanks Abs. Release the sword quickly please. If there’s a headhunter about he shouldn’t be defenceless.” Tony added. Abbey smiled and nodded before heading back to her lab.
Tony waited for Gibbs to leave the interrogation room and told him the good news. Gibbs swore a couple of times, and agreed to release Richie. But, as Tony was escorting him from the building, two police officers arrived to arrest Richie for the original traffic violations that had landed him at NCIS.
Tony had no choice but to allow them to take Richie, and Richie calmly allowed them to cuff him. As they did so, Tony noticed a Watcher’s tattoo on the wrist of the officers. Suspicious, he decided to tail them.
His hunch proved correct, as he followed them not to a police station, but instead to an abandoned warehouse near to where Thompson’s body had been found. Duncan had told him about the so-called Hunters, the rogue branch of the Watchers and he had a feeling that he had found Thompson’s killers. That made it murder.
Realising that Richie was in danger, he called for backup, but he knew he couldn’t wait for them to arrive. He made his way around to the side of the building, and he sensed another Immortal as he neared. That was a good sign, it meant Richie was still alive, but Tony hoped that Richie would have the sense to not alert the Hunters to his presence.
Looking through a window, he saw three men plus Richie, still handcuffed, sitting on a chair. One of the men had just picked up a sword, and was now approaching Richie. Tony burst through the nearest door, hoping the Hunter’s didn’t have guns or they’d be claiming two heads. He flourished his badge and proclaimed,
“NCIS! Nobody move!”
For a moment, nobody did move. Then Richie jumped up, taking the opportunity to deliver an impressive kick to the chest of his would-be assassin. That provoked the others to action and they reached inside their jackets for the guns concealed there. Tony swore, then opened fire, dropping the two Hunters before they’d even cleared their own weapons from their holsters. He turned to find the third grappling with Richie and the sword.
He walked up behind the Hunter and pointed his gun at him.
“Drop the weapon now.” Tony said, pushing the muzzle into the Hunter’s neck.
“You have no idea what he is. He is an abomination,” the Hunter sneered in response.
“Well, now that just hurts,” Richie said and grinned. Tony sighed, and hit the Hunter on the head with the butt of his gun, causing the Hunter to drop to the floor. “Ooh, that’s gonna leave a mark.” Richie said.
Tony found the key to the cuffs, removed them from Richie and placed them on the unconscious Hunter. Rubbing his wrists, Richie surveyed the mess around them.
“I don’t know how I’m gonna explain this,” Tony said with a sigh.
“Simple, they were the lunatics who killed Thompson, they abducted me from NCIS and were about to kill me when you saved me.”
“You mean, tell the truth?” Tony said with a grin.
“More or less. The blood evidence will prove this sword killed Thompson, and when laughing boy wakes up, he’ll be quite happy to tell the world what he did and why. They’ll dismiss him as insane, case closed.” Richie replied with an even bigger grin.
“That’s just crazy enough it might work. You’ve done this before.” Tony said as the cavalry burst through the door.
*-*
Seattle 2019
Abbey had been able to use the resources at her command to pinpoint any large numbers of Immortals that had gone missing recently. Even with the Pulse, the Watchers continued to Watch. She had then been able to track down the Hunters to a warehouse.
The warehouse was currently surrounded by NCIS agents, ready to storm in and rescue Amanda. It hadn’t been difficult to convince the Director to help once Tony explained they were the same militant group who had been responsible for the Thompson murder all those years ago.
Tony had applied white dye to his hair, and a little makeup around the eyes to appear older as it had been nearly twelve years since he last saw any NCIS agents. So far it seemed to be working, the lack of light helping his disguise.
He stood with McGee, ready to enter, despite McGee’s protests that Tony was now a civilian. A young agent approached them.
“We’re ready to go Director,” the agent said. McGee nodded. Tony shook his head, chuckling softly.
“Director McGee. Now I know the world’s gone to hell, probie.” Tony said, smiling. McGee looked at him, returning the smile.
“Long time since anyone called me that,” he replied before signalling his team to move in.
They approached the building quickly, and Tony was relieved to feel the presence of an Immortal inside. He let out a sigh of relief and fingered the pistol in his hand. McGee misinterpreted the sigh and looked at Tony,
“Are you sure you want to go in Tony?” he asked, concerned. Tony shushed him and nodded. They reached the door and burst through it, agents calling out as one,
“NCIS! Drop your weapons, and put your hands in the air!”
Confused, the Hunters did exactly as they were told. Clearly they had never expected law enforcement to hamper them. Without any violence, the agents were able to take them all into custody.
Tony found Amanda tied to a chair, badly beaten. Even with her Immortal healing, she was badly bruised and one arm was clearly broken. He rushed to her and began to untie her. She whimpered and he made comforting noises, stroking her hair.
“They wanted me to give them names of others,” she told Tony in a whisper.
“Be grateful they did, or you’d already be dead. I’d hate for anything to happen to that pretty head of yours.” Tony replied, with a cheesy grin on his face. Despite the pain from her healing injuries, Amanda chuckled at that. “Besides, Duncan would have my head if anything happened to you on my watch,” he added, helping her to her feet.
He escorted her to his car, waving away offers of help and medical treatment. He placed her gently in the passenger seat before finding McGee.
“We’ll hand them over to the FBI in the morning. We really have no jurisdiction here, but things are different since the Pulse.” McGee said. Tony nodded and then indicated the car.
“I’m gonna take her home. If anyone needs to ask questions they can contact her there,” he said firmly. McGee nodded. “See you around probie.”
Tony drove Amanda back to his apartment and carried her up, placing her carefully on his bed. As he did so she stirred.
“Your friend, isn’t she going to be jealous?” she asked.
“Max? I don’t think I’ll be seeing her again. She knows.”
“Oh. You never know, she might accept it eventually.” Amanda said, placing a hand on his arm.
“Maybe. But I’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” he replied, and gently tucked Amanda into bed.