"When I ran into him in town, he said to meet at three today, the usual battleground."

Susanne shook her head. "Honestly..."

"Do you want to come and watch?" he said with a grin.

Susanne crossed her ams. "Tennis, I'll watch. Baseball, as long as I'm actually on field level, right behind the dugout, I'll watch. Surfing, I'll watch. But golf? You've got to be joking."

Roger shrugged. "Your loss. Hey, it's not like you'd have to carry my bag or anything!"

"Carry your own damn bag," she said with a grin. "I think I'm going to wander around a little. Maybe I'll even get a job of some kind."

"Alright. Be careful."

"Of course. You, too."

With a smile and a wave, Roger left. Susanne started to look around for her purse, planning on checking out a music store she had seen a few blocks away, when she caught sight of her computer sitting on the table. She sat down and turned it on.

She was still reading a few hours later when she felt a familiar feeling. She jumped up and reached for her glaive, then relaxed and tossed it back into HammerSpace as Roger and another man, also in golf clothes, entered.

"Hey, I see you both lived to tell about the battle!" Susanne said with a grin.

"Yeh, well 'e almost didn't," the other man said teasingly. "At least I don't have to cheat, man!"

"What are you complainin' for? Ya still won!" The other man shrugged and smiled, and Roger shook his head. "Well. Susanne, I'd like you to meet Methos. Methos, Susanne."

The two of them shook hands.

"Ah, the great Susanne. I've heard much about you."

"Well, I could be flattered or afraid," Susanne said, glancing at Roger, "but what the heck, I'll just go with flattered for the time being."

"As it should be," Methos answered as he headed for the kitchen. Susanne heard the refridgerator door open, then close, and Methos came back into the front room, eyes wide in shock. "Your fridge... it's ill... no beer..."

Roger laughed and shook his head. "Sorry about that. We could always go out, you know."

"A bar? Got a good one in mind?"

"As a matter of fact, yes... Suze?"

"Hey, I've been here all day. A trip out can't hurt."

"Wonderful." Roger opened a portal and the three of them jumped through.

-----------------

They landed in an alley somewhere, and Roger led them out. Around the corner, up some stairs.

"Joe's?" Susanne said as she read the sign next to the door. "Great, a hole in the wall."

"Hey, it's nicer inside. And hell, everyone goes to Joe's."

"No one's there now, though," Methos quietly commented.

"I'm not complaining."

The three headed inside. Susanne could hear the sound of a guitar, and quickly saw that it was being played by the only person in the room. He quickly set it down and headed over to the bar.

"Hi, Joe," Methos said.

"Nice to see you again, Adam," Joe answered, setting a glass of beer in front of him. "I don't believe I've met your friends, though."

After introductions, the four of them sat down and chatted. After a little while, the three of them all of a sudden looked at the door, and Joe looked worried. When a man with dark, curly hair tied into a ponytail and wearing a trenchcoat entered, Joe relaxed and Methos hailed him over with a smile, which the man returned. More introductions followed.

This other man, MacLeod, seemed very moody and even upset, though since Susanne knew absolutely nothing about him, she decided to pretty much stay out of it. But she did hear Methos lean over and say to him, "It's okay. If he had been following me around for six years, I might've taken his head, too."

Whether or not the statement had any effect was up for grabs, because MacLeod stood quickly as the rest of them patiently watched the door.

When the girl in the trenchcoat entered, the others could almost feel the ripple of hate emanate from Susanne.

"Ah, my beautiful Victoria," Methos said as he stood and moved to greet her.

Susanne sat, shocked. She glanced at Roger, who seemed to be begging her to be calm, not to pick a fight. Joe had moved back behind the bar and seemed prepared to duck out.

"Not in here, you two," MacLeod growled.

Everyone looked at him.

"Does it look like I'm about to pick a fight?" Vic said innocently.

Susanne could feel that her hold on her temper was dangerously loose. She stood quickly and began walking towards the exit.

"That's right, little girl, walk away."

Susanne turned slowly back. Vic stood at the bar, eyes trained on her. Susanne said nothing, and Victoria continued. "Be angry, go ahead. I guess I owe you that. I shot you, didn't I? There's only one person in this room older than me, you know. I know another immortal when I see one."

After a few silent moments, Susanne said, "You... knew I was immortal?"

"And that shooting you would buy you an escape. Now, when you decide to come back to the Game, you'll get to take a few people by surprise. You've got an advantage."

"Except that you've probably told your little friends all about me, right?"

"Friends? What friends?"

"Celly. Remy. Mercy."

"I formed an alliance with Celly. Not with the other two. And when I teamed up with Celly, she was the only one I had met. I think it's obvious now who the stronger one is."

Susanne stood silently, wondering if what she was hearing within the words was correct.

"Yes, think about what I'm saying. There's no sense in the two strongest fighting before the very end. And you and I? We can wait a long time. No hurry."

Victoria was now standing right in front of Susanne and smiling. Susanne brushed past her and walked back to Roger. "Who says I want to rejoin the Game, anyway? The council thinks Roger and I are dead."

"So now you don't have to answer to them."

"And since they think we're dead, we're essentially out of that miserable Game."

"You can't just leave it behind."

"And why not?"

"Why not? Because..." Victoria walked to the bar. "I know. And in the end, I'll find you anyway."

"And because of that, I should jump back into the free-for-all?" Susanne leaned on the bar, eyebrows raised in amusement. "No thanks."

"Hey, think about it. We're the same. You may not like me, but you have to at least admit that. And rules mean to you about what they mean to me. You want to see Celly go down?" When Susanne gave no answer, Victoria smiled. "Let's talk."