Gunmen Tell No Tales

     They both felt the buzz at the same time, jogging together
through the park. Connor was complaining, not meaning it, just to
needle Duncan.
     "I never made you work like this!"
     Stopping, they looked around. Not nervous, between the two
of them they were secure in the belief that there wasn't an
Immortal alive who would willingly take on one knowing the other
would come after them. The MacLeods had gained a reputation,
separately and now together.
     A shot rang out. Connor swore as Duncan shoved him to the
ground, covering him with his own body, pushing and shoving and
shouting at him to get off.
     "Damn you, Duncan, get the fuck off me!"
     "Danny! Danny Sevito!" Connor was suddenly still and then he
started to laugh maniacally as a good-looking, well-dressed,
heavily muscled black man walked casually over to them, sliding a
handgun into his coat.
     Duncan got up, glaring at him, but Connor remained on the
ground, laughing until tears ran from his eyes.
     "You found a new gun!" he cackled.
     "That's not funny!" Duncan snapped. "Do you want to get us
arrested?!"
     His words sent Connor into a new spasm that left him choking
for air. Concerned, Duncan knelt beside him and patted him
briskly on the back.
     "Bugger off, Duncan." Connor pushed him away and stood.
"I've spent enough time in jail for a while."
     The black man smiled.
     "You've been in jail again? Too bad I wasn't here to break
you out this time."
     Duncan looked from one to the other and then stepped up next
to Connor, establishing his place by his side.
     "Duncan." Connor was smiling. "I'd like you to meet Cole
Parker - it's still Cole Parker, right? - and Cole, this is my
friend and clansman, Duncan MacLeod."
     Cole and Duncan shook hands civilly. Duncan was willing to
be
friends if Connor was.
     "Why don't we take this to my place?"

     Cole rode with them since he'd been out walking. Sitting in
the back he gave the T-bird a once over and a thumbs up.
     "Better than that damn jeep!" he said loudly to Connor, over
the wind as they rushed down the freeway.
     "Much!" Connor started laughing again and Duncan stared at
him, surprised. He almost missed their exit as he stared at
Connor and heat grew in his groin.

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

     "So this hired goon puts his gun in my mouth and I tell her
that I don't swallow!" Connor rolled on the floor laughing. He'd
slid off the couch about an hour ago. Duncan, by drinking
carefully, had managed to remain upright, but only barely, and
Cole was on the floor to the side of the coffee table, leaning
back against it for support as he took another swig of Duncan's
two-hundred-dollar-a-bottle brandy.
     "But ye do swallow, Connor!" Duncan thought that was even
funnier and nearly choked on the gulp he'd just taken, sputtering
expensive liquor into his nose and coughing.
     "Only for you!" Connor sat up, looking indignant, then
stared at Cole before bursting into laughter again.
     "Then I should call you Lisa now?"  Cole lost what little
control he'd had and slid to the floor in a shaking heap of
mirth.
     "Wha'?" Duncan demanded.
     "I pretended to be dreaming about a girlfriend and got him
to put his arms around me, trying to get me to say the name of
the ship in my sleep -"
     "I knew he was faking it." Connor interjected.
     "- and he got so far as almost kissing me before I let him
off the hook!" Cole was howling, trying to pull himself up on the
coffee table.
     "Your loss." Duncan reached both hands to pull Connor to the
couch, up on his knees in front of him. Connor, still chuckling,
rested his head on Duncan's leg while Duncan ran fingers through
his hair. "He's a great kisser." the bigger man leaned over, to
prove the point, and overbalanced himself, falling off the couch
to land with a thud beside Connor, which sent the other two into
fresh bouts of laughter.
     "I would have kissed him!" Cole defended himself. "But he'd
just eaten this bug....!"
     They all shut up and froze as the sensation of another
Immortal penetrated their alcohol-fogged brains. The grinding of
the elevator was filled the room and Duncan shrugged, flopping
back down and searching for his bottle.
     "It's just Richie."

     The scene that greeted the redhead wasn't one he'd ever
expected. Duncan and Connor dead drunk with a third Immortal he
didn't know, all three of them sprawled on the floor in various
stages of hilarity.
     "Hey, guys." he came close, but no too close. "This is a
good way to lose your heads."
     "He almost took mine." Connor gestured at Cole. "When he
finally led me to the real boat and showed me the money, the next
thing he did was pullout this machete -- it was a machete, right?
-- and threaten to take my head."
     Duncan gave Cole an angry look but the black man shrugged
and took another drink.
     "He shot me in the leg."
     "You didn't." Duncan felt like he was watching a tennis
match as he looked from one to the other.
     "I didn't want him to follow me." Connor shrugged and the
movement almost knocked him over. "He did the same to me later.
And then he blew up the boat!"
     "You weren't on it!"
     "Only because I tried to rescue you!"
     "I didn't need rescuing!"
     "I knew that!"
     Richie was becoming increasingly worried as they shouted at
each other, but then they both broke into grins and started
laughing again. All three of them drank some more.
     "So this is where all that money came from." Duncan was
trying to think and it hurt his head, so he drank some more. He
was rapidly catching up with them.
     "This guy I was hanging out with, Carl, he looked like
me...so I told him I was his long-lost brother Danny. He was
working for this drug cartel..." Connor stopped and let Cole pick
up the story.
     "Carl stole a shipment of cash he was supposed to move to a
safer bank, and got caught, so they killed him. I knew what the
name of the ship was and he'd told Danny - Connor  - the name of
the ship, so we teamed up to find it and get the money before
Lumis, the drug lord got it."
     "After he broke me out of that fly-infested hellhole of a
prison and arrested me again."
     Duncan snorted more brandy at that.
     "What were you in prison for?" he managed to gasp, eyes
stinging.
     "Wait!" Richie sat down and reached for an unopened bottle.
Without even looking to see what it was he opened it and took a
deep swallow, then gasped for air as the fiery scotch burned its
way down his throat. "Okay, I'm ready." he sat back on the couch
and took another drink.
     "I was framed." Connor said stoutly, but Cole was trying to
argue but laughing too hard to get the words out. "They said I
was running an investment scheme, but I had the money to back it
up...they just wouldn't let me go get it!"
     "You - you were - stealing coffee and selling it for cutrate
prices..." Cole snickered. "All the guys who worked for you came
away broker than when they'd started."
     "Just doing my piece to topple their economy and defacto
government." Connor tried for dignity but lost it when he took a
drink and liquor dribbled out either side of his mouth and down
his face. "The war on drugs and all, you know." he gave Duncan a
beseeching look.
     That did it for Duncan. He rolled, catching Connor's arms
above his head, and straddled him, leaning for a kiss that tasted
of sweet brandy and basic needs.
     Richie, who had been drinking steadily, determined to catch
up, glanced at Cole.
     "Uh, they're probably going to be busy for a while." he
stood, shakily as the alcohol hit his system, and held out a
hand. "I'm Richard Ryan, I was Duncan's student."
     Cole took his hand and let himself be pulled to his feet,
looking wary.
     "Don't worry, I'm not after your head. Duncan taught me
better than that. We should go downstairs for a while and finish
this off. We can come back up when they're done." he looked at
the men on the floor, now with their bodies close together,
Connor already had Duncan's shirt hanging off his shoulders, his
hands spread on Duncan's chest, and Duncan was grinding his
pelvis into Connor's, their breathing harsh and loud. "We should
probably leave *soon*." Richie added.
     "Absolutely." Cole agreed solemnly. They walked to the
elevator together and the Cole stopped. "Hey, Rich. Grab a couple
more bottles."
     "You got it." Richie stepped carefully around the half-naked
pair on the floor, shaking his head, and picked two at random
from the group on the table.
     As the elevator went down Cole asked, curiously.
     "There's just one thing I don't understand. When I met him
Connor couldn't read...I thought he was pretty old not to have
learned, even if he'd been born before it was invented..."
     "I think I can explain that..." they settled onto a mat and
drank some more while he did. "Connor went through a rough time
for a few decades, from what I've seen and Duncan's told me...he
took too many strong Quickening too close together and his
personality got a little mixed up..."
     "So he forgot how to read?"
     "He forgot he *knew* how." Richie set his empty bottle down
with exaggerated care and reached for another. There was a loud
thump from almost directly above them and Richie grinned at
Cole's discomfort.
     "They're never what you expect." he took a long swallow -
after the lining of your throat burned off it stopped hurting -
and waggled his unsteady head in Cole's direction. "We better go
for a walk, unless you brought earplugs..."
     Cole looked obstinate.
     "Are you nuts? In thi - hic - this condition? We'll be
walking targets!"
     "Staggering." Richie said, pulling himself up on a free
weight bench and doing just that as he held ut a hand to Cole.
"Trust me, you wanna get out of here pretty quick...."
     "Uhhhhhh...."
     The low moan sank through the floor, followed by another,
louder one. Cole stared up at the ceiling as if trying to see
through it.
     "See? It's Mac. He only gets louder..." Richie tugged at his
hand. "C'mon...we'll go sit in the T-bird and drink in the
sun..."
     Cole allowed himself to be pulled up, almost knocking Richie
back down, and together they managed to get to the back door.
     "I never woo haft beliefed it..." Cole slurred.
     "Oh, those two belong together, man." Richie was still sober
enough to get them both into the backseat of the car. "Trust me."
    

     Inside the dojo, a hissed scream echoed in the emptiness.

     "Connor....*Connor*..." Duncan couldn't find the air for
words, his throat was closing down, nothing was working, there
wasn't enough air in the room..."God, Connor, just kill me, will
ye?" he managed to pant between gasps.
     Between his propped knees Connor's head came up, lifting off
his arms, braced of Duncan's twisting hips.
     "Heh, heh. What's the matter, Duncan?"
     His hands gripped the sheet so tight he knew he was ripping
them. But Duncan didn't care.
     "You - ye have to let me come, Connor. I canna take it
anymore!"
     "You're ready then, brother?" Connor's voice was silkyrough,
making Duncan think of sword edges and silken cords around his
neck.
     "Aye, Connor, *please*." he heard himself begging and it
added another log to the fire in his veins. "I need ye..."
     "And I come to you." Connor's voice was still dark but the
danger was gone. He slid himself up Duncan's body as the larger
man tucked his feet up and reached for him.
     "Let me hold you." Duncan said.
     "Let me watch you." Connor lay against him, chest-to-chest,
hearts beating in time, one hand sliding between them, liberally
slicked with lubricant, spreading it in a cool path down their
bodies and to Duncan's ass. He inserted one finger and Duncan
arched beneath him with an inarticulate cry.
     "Now, Connor!" he gasped, feeling the tide rising in him,
knowing he wouldn't be able to stop it, not wanting to. "Now!"
     "Aye, Duncan." Connor whispered as he pushed himself home,
deep within Duncan's waiting body, watching his clansman's eyes
as he did. The dark brown pools dilated until they were almost
completely black and he sighed to see the reasoning leave them,
only desire and hunger left as Connor began to move.
     The position wasn't given to comfort for him, but Duncan's
arms around him held so strong he was afraid breaking it would
disrupt the rhythm, so he held to him and used his knees to rock
over him, full-body caresses that soon had him moaning with his
partner. Duncan used his powerful leg and stomach muscles to push
down onto Connor and pull back again only to shove down to meet
him again, a give-and-take that would drive them both mad in
minutes.
     The only warning Connor had was the sudden clenching of
Duncan's arms, practically cutting off his air, and then Duncan
was coming, his dick hard between their stomachs, tremendous
spasms of pleasure so powerful he couldn't scream.
     Moved beyond words by the sight of him, hair wild and
tangled, eyes wide and farseeing, rolling shoulders glistening
with sweat as his mouth opened silently, those wonderful lips
stretched over his teeth, the tip of his tongue at the
side...Connor leaned to capture that mouth as Duncan's muscles
grabbed him and yanked him to orgasm.
     They lay, Duncan sobbing his relief wordlessly, Connor
stroking and soothing him, gentling his body with hands and voice
until sanity returned to his eyes. When he was sure Duncan was
looking at him and not through him he leaned for another kiss,
less brutal, tender and deep and bonding.
     A whisper of sound, too soft to be called a word.
     "...connor.."
     "Aye, Duncan." he slid from Duncan's body, aware that he
didn't wince, and lay on top of him as Duncan's legs fell, thighs
quivering from the strain, and his arms relaxed around him.
     After a long while he heard the same voice, louder now,
aware.
     "So ye would noh' kiss him, Connor." he was teasing gently,
broad hands idly stroking Connor's back and butt and thighs,
fingertips dragging tingles across over-heated skin.
     "He was noh' you, Duncan." Connor replied with a kiss to his
shoulder, too content to reach anything else.
     They lay, drugged with drink and sex, until both nearly fell
asleep.
     The sound of the elevator and the Buzz of another pulled
them from their repose. Richie's voice called before it came into
sight.
     "I hope you guys are done, 'cause I've got to get my stuff
and go!"
     Duncan sat and gave Connor a quick kiss that rapidly became
passionate. Connor pushed him away this time.
     "Later, brother. *Later*." Connor rolled away from him to
his side of the bed, his feet hitting the floor while he leaned
over and searched for his jockeys and jeans. Duncan, more
practical, grabbed his heavy silk robe, hanging near the bed, and
shrugged it on as the elevator came into sight.
     Richie raised the door with a grin.
     "You finished? 'Cause I can leave again."
     Cole was grinning as well, and Duncan could smell both of
them from across the room.
     "How much o'my liquor did ye drink?" he heard himself
slurring and laughed suddenly.
     "Not as much as you did." Richie retorted. "Why don't you
two lovebirds get dressed and we'll hit Joe's for something to
eat."
     "Not another cheeseburger." Connor had found the articles of
clothing he was searching for and stood to pull them on,
completely unconcerned that he had an audience. Cole looked away
politely, but Richie gave him a once-over and snickered at
Duncan.
     "You go ahead and we'll catch up." Duncan caught the look
and had to bite back a warning. Richie was just teasing him as
he'd often teased the younger Immortal.
     "Sure you will..."
     Connor got his pants on and looked at Cole.
     "You aren't with the DEA anymore, are you?"
     "Nah. I've been working as a reporter for the LA Times. I
just came into town on a story. Didn't expect to find anyone I
knew."
     "I owned a newspaper once." Duncan said, getting clothes out
of the drawer and heading for the bathroom. "You'll have to tell
me what you're working on."
     Connor pulled on a t-shirt filched from Duncan's drawer,
black with tiny metallic silver pinstripes. Then he looked at it
and decided it wasn't right, and dug out a dark green polo shirt
instead, dropping the t-shirt on the floor.
     Richie came over and picked it up, tossing it into the
hamper with a grin.
     "Don't want you to get yelled at."
     "I've *been* yelled at." Connor smiled his ironic best.
     "We heard." Cole grinned too and now he felt at ease with
them.
     Duncan came out, hair tamed back and dressed to make
Connor's mouth water and women attack, and they left together.
The healing quickly erasing the affects of the alcohol in their
systems.
     "That's one thing about Immortality I don't like." Richie
whined as they drove. "To stay drunk you have to keep drinking."
     All three older Immortals spared him a disbelieving look,
and then Duncan spoke to Connor.
     "So, are there any other bizarre adventures you've been
keeping from me?"
     Connor considered it.
     "Well...once when you were hiding on that island of yours I
decided to become a chess Grandmaster...I met this woman..."
     "I knew there had to be a woman." Duncan snorted.
     "Hush. It's a great story." Connor shushed him with a hand
in his lap as a warning. "Of course, I had to go to jail
again....

The End

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