From: martin@abacus.mc.duke.edu (Michele Martin)
Message-Id: <9503272102.AA13953@abacus.mc.duke.edu>
Subject: XOVER:The Witness pt12
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 15:48:50 -0500 (EST)

scene 14
Payphone, Metro station
10:45pm
  
  "Mac, you know I can't tell you that!  Besides, I know that guy, and 
believe me he's not the kind to go gunning for some kid just because he 
happened to see a beheading!"  Joe was emphatic.
  "Well I don't know who else it could be...what other Watcher would have 
a motive to attack the witness," replied Duncan.  Joe had been more than 
a bit upset to learn that a member of his organization apparantly had 
tried to kill someone who'd been unfortunate enough to witness a 
beheading.  But he'd been even more upset when Duncan asked for the 
identity of Connor's Watcher, whom Duncan thought was the most 
likely suspect.  Well, Duncan couldn't blame him, really.  Joe often bent 
alot of the Watcher's rules in order to help his friend out, but even he 
had to draw the line somewhere.
  "There are renegades, as you very well know..." suggested Joe.
  "Yeah, but I doubt a Hunter would go after a witness--in fact, you'd 
think they'd _want_ one of us to get jailed.  Especially if they can 
figure out a way to go after him."
  "You're right...I was just trying to come up with a reasonable 
alternative.  You're absolutely sure it was a Watcher who attacked this 
Edwards kid?"
  "No, not 100%...but Scott's father claimed that the attacker mentioned 
the Game _and_ he had a tatoo on his wrist..."
  "A Watcher tatoo?"
  "Well I couldn't very well stick around and look over Mr. Edwards 
shoulder while he drew the picture.  Remember, I'm not supposed to know 
anything about this.  But inner wrist tattoos aren't the most common 
thing in the world, either."
  "Look, if you're right, this is pretty serious and there're others in my 
organization who'll want to know about this...and put a stop to it.  Is 
there anyway you can get a description of this guy for me?"
  Duncan thought for a second, then replied, "Maybe I can talk to Mr. 
Edwards--he seems like a pretty friendly guy.  I just have to think of a 
good excuse..."
  "Maybe you can tell him it might have been one of Connor's antique dealer
friends or something.  I really need to know who this guy is if he's one 
of us.  I know of a few Watchers in that area, but none of them are the 
type to pull a stunt like this."
  "Okay, I'll see what I can do.  Thanks for your help...Oh, wait, 
there's something else I wanted to ask you.  Um, this is going to sound 
kind of weird, but I figure since you guys keep alot of records, maybe 
you'll know something about it....I saw this guy today, one of the 
detectives, who I _swear_ I've met before...a _long_ time ago."
  "And how long, exactly, would that be?"
  "Say, 1863?"
  "And he's not one of you, right?"
  "I wouldn't be asking if he was."
  Joe paused.  Then he answered, "I don't know, MacLeod.  We only watch 
your kind of Immortals.  If there are other kinds out there, I don't know 
if I want to know about it."
  "Well could you check on it, please?  Maybe someone's heard rumors or 
something..."
  "Why don't you just ask this detective?"
  "I plan to talk to him, but if he's got something to hide I don't know 
how successful I'll be.  You're my backup, Joe.  Can you help me out?"
  "Okay, I'll see what I can do.  Where can I reach you if I find out 
anything?"
  That was a tough question. Where would he be?  He planned to stick 
around here for a little while...at least to find out what happened to 
Connor as well as to see what he could learn from Paul Edwards and Nick 
Knight.  And he really didn't want Anne wondering why on Earth Joe Dawson 
was trying to reach him.  "I'll be here for a few more hours.   I'll give 
you the number."
  "And what should I tell them if I call for you there."
  "Just say you're my lawyer."
  "Are you planning to get yourself arrested, too?"
  "No, but I have a feeling someone is really trying to make a case for 
it.  Say, you don't happen to have any Watchers in the FBI, do you?  
Because someone there's got an awful lot of information about our 
activities.  You wouldn't believe this guy I've had to talk to...."

scene 15
The Raven
11:00pm
  "You have something to show me?" LaCroix asked as soon as he arrived.  
Janette nodded and led him into the back room where Gregory was still 
unconscious.  LaCroix looked him over for a few minutes, then turned to 
Janette.
  "And Nicholas says a _mortal_ did this?"
  Janette nodded again. "Apparantly Gregory attacked the mans' son, who 
happened to be the only witness to one of these beheadings everyone is so 
concerned about.  Nicholas thinks Gregory knows what is going on, and 
hopes he can get some answers from him."
  "Hmm. Nicholas is not the only one.  Though I'm more interested in 
who..or what could do this to one of us.  Ah, Nicholas, Nicholas. Where 
is your sense of loyalty?  This is not something that can be kept secret 
from the rest of us.  You were right to call me, Janette.  I think it's 
time Gregory answered some questions."
  With that, LaCroix bent down next to Gregory and whispered in his ear, 
"Gregory...oh, Gregory..."  The vampire began to stir and mumble.  
Suddenly, LaCroix grabbed him by his neck and heaved him against the wall.
"WAKE UP, YOU FOOL!" LaCroix's eyes glowed yellow and his teeth were 
bared at the younger vampire, who was now fully awake.
  "LaCroix?!  I...I..."
  "_You_ have put us _all_ in danger by your ill-conceived, foolish 
attack! What were you thinking?"
  "But it should've worked!  They were alone, I didn't know...he wasn't 
_human_.  There was a blue light...."
  "Not human?  Then what was he, hmm?  What light?"  LaCroix slowly eased 
Gregory back down into a sitting position on the couch and relaxed the 
pressure on his neck.  But he didn't release him..not just yet.  And he 
never relaxed his gaze.  Gregory licked his lips nervously, his eyes 
darting back and forth between Janette and LaCroix.
  "I..I don't know.  I knocked the older man out of my way, and I had the 
boy.  Then, just as I was preparing to feed, I was...slammed..against the 
wall by this...force.  I was surrounded by this blue light.  I swear, it 
came from the older man. It was so strong...I couldn't move.  Then it got 
very strong and I couldn't bear it anymore.  That's it, that's all I 
remember...."
  LaCroix considered this for a second. He released Gregory's neck  as he 
rose and strode across the room.  Then he suddenly turned and looked 
at Gregory again.  "And _why_ did you attack the boy in the first place, 
hmm?"
  Gregory hesitated.  Janette could tell he didn't want to tell LaCroix 
his closely guarded secret. Foolish.  He was no match for LaCroix.
  "He witnessed a murder.  One of the beheadings."
  "And why does this concern you?"
  "They provide...entertainment.  You know how dull things can get at 
times?  I find watching these foolish mortals destroy each other to be 
amusing.  And if there's a little blood missing from the victim, well, it 
just adds to the mystery for the police.  No one associates beheadings 
with vampires..."
  "So you risked exposing all of us for your own entertainment.  Foolish, 
Gregory, very foolish.  Because now there's something out there that not only 
is able to incapacitate at least _some_ of us..." It was obvious 
LaCroix didn't believe whatever it was could harm _him_, "...but also 
knows we exist.  And we can't have that, now can we?"  As he said this, 
LaCroix opened the door to the room.  Outside stood the Enforcers.  Gregory 
quailed.
  "No, LaCroix!!  I can identify him...I can lead you to him...he can't 
defeat several of us if we gang up on him.  It's not my fault, 
please...."  Gregory backed into the corner, pleading and whimpering as 
the Enforcers advanced upon him.  One of them held a stake in his hand.  
LaCroix turned his back and motioned for Janette to follow him as he left 
the room.  The heavy door cut off the sound of Gregory's pleas (and 
subsequent screams) as it shut behind them.   Just as well, since Janette 
didn't want anything to disturb her patrons.
  "LaCroix, do you believe Gregory's story?  About the beheadings?"  
Janette asked.  She had the feeling Gregory was still hiding something, 
though _why_ he would do so was really beyond her.
  "There was some truth to what he said, I feel.  He was mostly motivated 
by the need for...entertainment.  But no, he didn't tell us the whole story."
  "Then I'm surprised you let the Enforcers take him before you found 
out what he knew."
  LaCroix smiled as he replied, "Even though I don't approve of 
Nicholas's interest in 'repaying society for his crimes', I trust that he 
will be able to find the answers to this case himself.  After all, he 
does have a suspect who Gregory was trying to protect.  And it's so much 
more amusing to extract information from Nicholas.  Gregory disgusted me."
  "You also hope Nicholah will lead you to this...thing...that defeated 
Gregory."
  "My dear, I'm _counting_ on it."

scene 16
Metro Police Station
11:30pm
  Scott rubbed his eyes wearily as he sat down in front of the window 
that opened into the room where the lineup would be.  He hoped that this 
would be the last thing they wanted out of him tonight because he was 
really beat.  Fortunately, Detective Knight had been able to take care of 
the vampire who attacked him, so that was one less thing to worry about.  
Of course, the idea that one of these detectives sitting next to him was 
a vampire was hardly a comforting thought.  But Paul was sure he was a 
"nice" vampire, so Scott tried to relax.  *Okay, so Detective Knight is a 
good vampire, Detective 'Schanke' is a time-traveling physicist from the 
near future, and I'm here to identify some wacko who runs around cutting 
off people's heads...people who then emit some sort of weird electrical 
field when they're dead. Great.*  Of course, that wasn't all, oh no.  
There were also two FBI agents here, who'd been giving him odd glances 
ever since they'd called him over to look at the lineup.  Almost like 
they _knew_.  Wonderful.  _And_, to top it off, Paul had informed him 
that the guy Mulder had been talking to, what was his name...MacLeod, 
also seemed to be a bit on the odd side.  Paul had gotten some sort of 
feeling from him as well...not quite like the feeling he got from 
vampires, but definitely NOT what he normally felt when he shook 
someone's hand.  Scott was seriously beginning to wonder if there was one 
normal person in this entire station.
  "Are you ready, Scott?" Detective Knight asked. Scott wished he'd had 
more time to talk with him when Knight had returned, but he'd been 
cornered by that MacLeod guy, then by Mulder and Sam.
  "Yeah, I guess so," Scott replied.
  "Okay, send them in," Nick spoke into the microphone behind him.  Scott 
felt his father's hand on his shoulder.  For some reason, no one had 
objected when Paul insisted on coming into the room with them.  Which was 
good, because Scott really felt the need for some familiar strangeness in 
the midst of all this new strangeness he'd encountered that evening.  He 
watched now as the men entered the room.  He identified the man he saw 
instantly.  
  "Do you recognize any?" asked Sam, who was seated on Scott's other side.
  "Yeah. He's number three."
  "Are you sure?" asked Mulder from where he and Scully stood in the back 
of the room.  Scott turned to face him.
  "Yes, I'm sure."
  The detectives and the agents exchanged glances and nods.  
  "Okay, that confirms it," Nick said.  He got up and opened the door, 
speaking to the officer outside.
  Scott climbed wearily to his feet.  His father looked at Agent Mulder 
and asked, "Is that all you need?  I really think Scott should go home 
and get some rest."
  Mulder shot a glance over to Scully before replying, "I think so.  I 
don't see why Scott can't go home...though I'd really like to ask you 
some more questions about the assailant you described to Detective Knight."
  "I told you everything that happened.  And Detective Knight said he's 
taken care of it."
  "I know, but maybe you can look at some pictures I have...see if anyone 
looks familiar."
  "Well...Scott, are you okay to drive home?  Or should I call Jenny..."
  Was his father actually planning to _stay_ here?  This fed sure acted 
like he knew something was going on, and Scott wasn't too sure he liked 
the idea of Paul staying here on his own.  He looked uncertainly at his 
father and saw the familiar 'trust me' look.  He nodded, "Um, I think I 
can make it home without falling asleep at the wheel.  Mom's probably 
worried sick right now, even if you did call her."
  "I'll walk you out to the car.  Detective Knight told me where he 
parked it.  Then, Agent Mulder, I'll come back inside and look at your 
pictures."
  Mulder seemed unsure about this answer, but he obviously couldn't come 
up with a reasonable objection.  Paul and Scott took there leave of Sam, 
Scully, Detective Knight and Dr. Lambert, who was in the hall talking 
with MacLeod, who for some reason was still hanging around.  Scott 
wondered what he was up to...and what he knew.
  As they made there way out to the car, Scott voiced his concerns, 
"Dad, are you sure it's such a good idea staying here and talking to 
Mulder?  I get the feeling he's suspicious..."
  "Yes, Scott.  I agree--I think he knows.  But I don't think he's like 
George Fox...I sense that we may be able to trust him if I can convince 
him that I mean no harm to anyone here.  If he really does know, that 
is.  But just in case, I want you to tell  Jenny to start packing.  If 
all else fails, I might be able to delay him a bit.  I want to make sure 
you and your mother are safe..."
  "But what about you?"
  Paul smiled. "Hey, I can take care of myself.  Besides, what can he do 
with everyone else around?  I don't think they're going to let him 
jeopardize this case to go on a wild duck hunt..."
  "That's 'wild goose chase'"
  "..wild goose chase...I knew that...hunting aliens.  I get the 
impression Agent Scully isn't quite as convinced as he is."
  They reached the car.  Paul handed Scott the keys.  "Are you _sure_ 
you're awake enough to drive.  You were yawning pretty hard back there."
  "I'll be fine, trust me. Hmm, wait a second...you're not staying just 
to talk to Agent Mulder, are you?  You want to find out more about 
vampires, time-traveling physicists, and whatever else is going on in 
there, don't you?  That's the real reason you're staying."
  Paul shut the door and grinned as Scott gunned the engine.  Scott 
rolled down the window, waiting for a reply.  Paul shrugged and answered, 
"You know me, Scott.  I always like to learn knew things."  Scott just 
shook his head and laughed as he pulled away.  He waved at his father as 
he headed for home, watching in the rear view mirror as Paul headed back 
into the station.  He then turned his attention back to his driving.  
Therefore, he didn't see the dark van that slowly pulled out of the 
station behind him and began to follow.