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Paris
Kate stepped into the apartment, heaving a sigh when she found someone already there. "If you're going to keep doing this, I'm going to have to booby-trap the place."
"I didn't want to wait outside and risk being seen by the wrong people," Coulson said as Kate joined him in the living room.
"Fair enough. I guess that means an assignment and not a recruitment call?"
"Yes and no; it's not an officially sanctioned op. I'm here because of him," he said, handing something over.
She recognized the photo at once. "Kronos. Who gave you this?"
"The Doctor. He wouldn't come himself, I'm afraid."
"Of course not. There's really only one way of eliminating an Immortal threat, and the Doctor doesn't kill. How do you know him?"
"Pop. Canton Everett Delaware III." Phil gave a proud little smile at her expression. "I guess you know who he is."
"I always wanted to see him again; he was played by one of my favorite actors. And Good Lord, that explains so much. What's he doing, now?"
"He's the Division's Director."
"That's the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division?"
"Yes. He was made AD after a special mission he did for Nixon."
"I just did a thing there, you're not the least bit impressed?"
Coulson hid a smile. "I know what DARPA stands for. It's not that impressive."
Kate gave a wry smile. "I'll just have to try harder, then. So, a special mission for Nixon. I'm guessing that was in '69, after the whole thing with the Silence?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"Canton's episodes were two of the last I saw before coming here, and I have a freaky memory for shit like that. So if Eleven gave you a file on Kronos and brought you here, does that mean Kronos is in Paris?"
"According to the Doctor, yes."
"I'm not surprised, actually. Methos has made sure whispers of his survival has made it back to him."
Coulson frowned. "Why?"
"He figures that between him and Mac, they can take out the other three. He's been waiting for someone for a long time, now."
"He couldn't do it himself? Take them one at a time?"
"Did you know that 'blood is thicker than water' doesn't mean what you think it means? The original saying is…"
"'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,'" Coulson said. "I did know, yes."
She nodded. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. Anyway, for a thousand years they were closer than brothers, bound by blood in a way most families aren't. It can't be easy to kill someone you've shared that kind of bond with." Kate paused as she heard something; a moment later the door opened.
"Kronos is here," Methos said the minute he'd shut the door, "and Cassandra isn't. I have no idea how to draw MacLeod into this."
"Why not just ask?"
When Methos, likely surprised by Coulson's presence, didn't answer, Kate stepped in. "Mac has a rigid moral code that won't allow for what Methos has done. He may eventually come to accept it, but he'll never forgive, and he'll be convinced that if they're to remain friends he'll have to do just that."
"Dare I ask what you're doing here?" Methos said, stepping into the room with a bottle of vodka in hand.
"The Doctor brought me here to help you with the Horsemen."
Methos sat, looking visibly relieved. "Do you think you can manage to introduce yourself to MacLeod?"
"We've already met. He was still with Don when I found him."
"Perfect. My original plan won't work, not without Cassandra, but between the three of us we should be able to come up with something."
"I can't imagine this wasn't a storyline," Coulson said. "Do you know what's going to happen, Kate?"
She shook her head. "No, things are too different. It was four years in the future, Methos didn't have anyone in his life, and Cassandra provided exposition as well as acting as bait to draw Mac to the Horsemen. You and I are going to have to split her role, I'm afraid."
"I'm not sure I can make a convincing damsel in distress."
Methos grinned. "If it's any consolation, I'd come for you."
Coulson batted his eyelashes and the three of them laughed. Trouble was always lighter when you had good friends at your back, Methos thought.
It wasn't until later that Methos realized he'd already come to think of Coulson as a friend.
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Kate picked up the phone, answering in French. "Shakespeare and CO, Kate speaking."
"You've been in Paris for five years and your accent is still that bad?"
The store was empty, so Kate had no problem giving a more untoward response. "Fuck you."
Coulson's voice was dry when he said, "You don't have clearance. MacLeod has my file on Kronos, so you'll probably be seeing him soon."
"He's going to wind up hating you, you know."
"If I cared what people I don't know thought of me, I wouldn't get much done."
Kate chuckled, but the sound held little humor. "Yeah. But you don't know us, either. Not really."
"When the Doctor says jump, Pop jumps. And when Pop says jump, we jump."
Movement caught Kate's eye and she looked out to see Duncan approaching. "And he's here. I'd better get going, it wouldn't look good if he caught me talking to you."
Coulson's voice had remained dry during their conversation, but there had still been a note of playfulness to it. That was gone when he said, "No, it wouldn't. Let me know how it goes."
"Will do." She hung up then, looking up with a warm smile as Duncan stepped into the store.
"Hey, Mac."
"Kate. I need some information."
Fifteen minutes later he was gone and Kate was left with doubts. It was so easy to say that they couldn't just ask Duncan for help, but was that really the case, or were they just afraid? In the end, she decided, it didn't matter. The lie had begun and, if there was any hope of getting Duncan's help in getting rid of the Horsemen, it had to continue until the bitter end.
"And the end may be very bitter, indeed," she said with a sigh as she picked up the phone.
The other end was answered on the first ring. "Coulson."
"Well, he's taking the bait."
"Good." He paused for a moment then said, "Are you okay?"
"I'm worried. There's so much that can go wrong."
"If it helps, that's no different than any other op I've run."
Kate huffed laughter. "How successful are your ops?"
"Closest to a hundred percent in the Division."
Kate wasn't surprised to hear no pride or smugness in his voice; Coulson was stating fact and nothing more. "With as much input as you've had in the plans for this one, it does help."
"I'm glad. I should go; Adam's here."
"Yeah. I should be getting home, myself," she said, then hung up.
Coulson did the same as he closed the door behind Methos. "That was Kate," he told the Immortal. "MacLeod's taken the bait."
Methos nodded. "There wasn't much chance he wouldn't. What've you got?" he said, throwing himself into a chair.
Coulson indicated a photo he had out on the table. "Surveillance cameras; I was able to get a photo of your meeting Kronos to show MacLeod. I thought I could take it to him tomorrow, tell him that Kronos has fallen back off our radar."
"Good man."
"I'm hurt, though. You didn't tell me you were engaged."
Methos felt bad, but it had gotten lost in the crisis that was Kronos' arrival. "Sorry, we got distracted. The plan's always been to send you an invitation, though there's no obligation to bring a gift." Methos narrowed his eyes. "In fact, please don't. I shudder to think what you might get us."
"Matching pistols. Pink."
Methos snorted. "Pink is grounds for justifiable homicide, according to my fiancée."
"You do know it used to be the preferred color for boys."
"Of course I do, I was there. However, her vehement dislike has nothing to do with the femininity of the color, perceived or actual. The truth is, she just hates pink. Yellow, too. And… Well, best to stay away from pastels altogether."
Coulson smirked. "I'll make a note of it. It's too bad, really. I found a very nice pistol with a Hello Kitty design…"
Methos laughed. "You are a sick, sick man, my friend." Then, sobering, "I should get home, Kate's going to need some reassuring. So will I, for that matter." He made it to the door then paused, not quite looking over his shoulder. "Take care of her for me?"
"She'd never forgive me for it."
"I thought you didn't care," Methos said as he left.
Coulson dropped his head back against the chair with a sigh. "Not about MacLeod."
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Methos grabbed the phone. "Yeah."
"MacLeod just left the barge, and he was hot," Coulson said.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. Well, guess I'd better make like I'm running. Does Kate know?"
"No. I'll have more time to call her than I did you."
"Okay. If the worst happens…"
"I'll make sure Kate's alright."
"Thanks," Methos said, then hung up.
And if the worst happened to Kate, Coulson thought, he'd do his best to make sure Methos was alright.
"Shakespeare and Co, Joe speaking."
Coulson couldn't entirely hide a smile; he'd always liked Joe. "Joe, it's Phil Coulson. I need to talk to Kate Brown."
Joe gave a little "humph." "Getting awfully close to fraternization."
"Pot, kettle. I promise, Joe, this has nothing to do with Watcher business."
Joe sighed. "Fine. I'll hold you to that."
Coulson winced as he waited for Kate to come to the phone. He hadn't lied—the current mission had nothing to do with Watcher business—but he knew how Joe had interpreted it and he didn't think the other man would appreciate the deception.
Then Kate was on the line. "Coulson. What's up?"
"MacLeod has the picture of them together. He was on his way to see Adam when I last saw him."
"Okay," she said, voice tight. "What's the next step?"
Coulson had told them both more than once, but he understood that going over it again could be comforting. It was something he did for the baby agents, he could do it for Kate. "Adam told me where Caspian is and gave me a photo. You tell MacLeod that you've found something and sent the information to me, and when you get here I'll claim that facial recognition software has found Caspian. Once we're in Bucharest, I'll send you two in to get what info you can and I'll call Adam to find out where they're going."
"Right," she said, and her voice sounded more steady. "Okay, I'd better get back to work. Thanks for the call, Phil."
"You're welcome. See you soon."
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Bucharest
Methos picked up on the first ring. "Yeah."
"There's quite the uproar, here. It's bedlam."
Methos let out a bark of laughter. "Funny. Give me a minute." Sounds were muffled and Coulson couldn't hear what was being said, then Methos was back. "Seacouver," he said, voice quiet. Then, with a bit more volume, "Where's MacLeod?"
"They just went into the asylum to find out about Caspian. How are you explaining this to Kronos?"
"You don't think I keep an eye on my enemies?"
Coulson shook his head in amazement. "And I thought Nick was a contriving bastard."
Methos chuckled. "Who do you think taught him?"
"I should have known, I suppose. This is just the sort of dangerous game he likes to play."
"Those are the most fun." Methos' voice sounded light, but Coulson thought he could hear the tension underneath. "Besides, I'm tired of having this hanging over my head. Be careful, and don't be seen."
"Watch your head."
Coulson heard Methos chuckle as he hung up, but the sound held no humor. Only a darkness that served to remind Coulson what he was dealing with.
"I am so screwed."
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Seacouver
Coulson dialed then waited for the other end to be picked up.
"Yeah."
"We're here."
"That was quick."
Coulson almost smiled. "This may not be an official op, but the Director does know about it. He let me borrow one of the jets, so we didn't have to wait for a flight."
"I'm just glad he didn't send Nick with you."
Coulson shuddered. "I wouldn't want Nick getting anywhere near the Doctor. Don't get me wrong, I like Nick, but…"
"But you don't trust him. Wise man. Where are you staying?"
"Adam's Mark, Suite 402."
"Nice place. As much as I enjoy our talks, I need to hurry. I've had to move the timetable up; Kronos is farther along in his plans than I expected. He's also getting suspicious, so I'm going to have to throw him a bone, much as it kills me."
Coulson frowned. "I don't like the sounds of that. What are you planning?"
But all he heard was, "MacLeod's here. I've got someone…" before the line was disconnected.
When he heard Kate being kidnapped by the other Horsemen, he knew he'd been right to worry.
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Coulson watched for a moment as Kate and Methos comforted each other then got into the taxi and pulled out his phone. It was, as always, answered on the first ring.
"Delaware."
"It's me. The threat has been neutralized."
"Good. Any collateral damage?"
"Just a friendship." Coulson knew he shouldn't feel guilty, that the deception would have happened without him. But Kate had said that the incident had happened later on the show and Methos had said he didn't want the Horsemen hanging over his head, and Coulson couldn't help but think maybe his job offer was the cause of the change.
"Phil?"
He sighed. "Sorry, Pop. I have it on good authority that things didn't happen the way they should have…"
"The Doctor sent you, Son. Trust me, if he thought you belonged there, then you set things to rights." When Coulson didn't answer, Canton went on. "What's different about this one?"
"I didn't like seeing them hurt."
"Better hurt than dead." Canton chuckled. "I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; you're always bringing home strays. Finnegan, Strider, Barton…"
"You sent me after an archer and that's what I got."
"I sent you after Chisholm, not Barton."
"Chisholm wouldn't have lasted two months in the Division. Between Nick and I, one of us would have shot him."
"Yeah, yeah," Canton said with another chuckle. "Your newest strays coming in?"
Coulson frowned a little. "Not yet; they're going to have to get past this, first. They will though."
"You sound pretty sure of that."
"Kate listens to the Doctor, too."
If Canton thought anything of Phil using her first name, he didn't say. "Smart woman. Alright, come on home. We'll find something for you and your hawk to do. And Phil? Good job."
Coulson felt the sense of pride he always did when he lived up to his pop's expectations. "Thanks, Pop." He hung up and spent the rest of the trip trying not to think about why he hated seeing Methos and Kate get hurt.