Who was he? Who wanted to watch her? Who might know she was in town?

Wait...

Baka! She thought to herself. Without a second thought, she vaulted out the window and grabbed a tree branch that was a few feet away, then swung down to the ground. It was only when she began jogging in the direction that the man had gone did it enter her mind what she had just done.

She shook her head again and concentrated on finding him. When she reached a corner, she turned right without even pausing. Somehow, it felt like she knew where to go.

Now she began wondering if he had gotten in a car. After all, what the hell would someone be doing walking around Los Angeles at night?

Just as she was considering turning back, she rounded another corner and jumped back behind the bushes. It was him. He was still walking away, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Slowly, she made her way through the yard, keeping low and hoping they didn't have an alarm of some sort. When the man turned another corner, she ran as silently as she could to the corner, then peered cautiously around the wall that surrounded this person's house.

Gone.

Gone? Where'd he go?

She saw a light from inside the wall very briefly, and realized he must have gone inside.

*Just perfect...*

She crossed to the other side of the street and began to walk by nonchalantly, then cursed when she was out of sight once more. All she'd been able to see was that there was a big metal gate, which looked to be locked. She sighed and crossed back to the first side of the street. The wall was pretty high. On tiptoes, she could just put her fingers on the ledge. She backed up. *There's a loophole, there's always a loophole...* The next door neighbor had trees... maybe she could climb one. She just wanted to get a look at the place!

She found the tree nearest the house and prayed that no one in either residence would spot her, then began climbing. There was a limb which looked pretty strong and which would give her a better view, so she began crawling out on it.

The place behind the wall seemed pretty normal. There were lights on in a few windows, but there were curtains, so she couldn't really see anything. She was just about to climb back down when the front door opened, and a man walked out. She knew instantly that this was a different man than the one who had been watching her, for even before the door opened, she knew there was another immortal approaching. She froze, not daring to breathe as he stood in the yard for a few moments, looking around. Then, he shut the door and walked out of the yard, turning away from her as he walked down the sidewalk.

Susanne listened to the sound of his footsteps until they had faded completely away. This place was unnerving, and she wished it wasn't so close to where she was staying. After another eternity, she climbed back down the tree, brushed herself off, and started back toward Jackson's. She was really looking forward to some chips and dips as she caught the last couple innings of the game.

She was still about three blocks from Jackson's when she felt another immortal. *Great, and on a residential street, too,* she thought as she silently removed her glaive from HammerSpace.

Her heart caught in her throat when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she saw a face in the sewer drain across the street.

"Susanne!"

She swung back around, her glaive ready to behead.

"Whoa, whoa, watch it there, love!"

"Roger! What the hell are you doing here?"

"And a fine how d'ya do to you, too. I should ask you that!"

"Later, there's someone--"

"You mean Methos?"

Susanne paused. In retrospect, now that she thought about it, the man who had emerged from the house had reminded her of him... it had been too dark for her to recognize him straight away, of course, but all the same...

As if on cue, Methos stepped out of a bush about ten paces ahead.

"Good thing I remembered you. Well, good thing Roger reminded me, I guess."

By now, Susanne's heart rate was returning to normal. "Well damn! Seems like everyone knows I'm in town, huh?"

"Susanne, why were you... where were you, anyway? I have to admit I didn't see you in the yard."

"I wasn't, I was in the neighbor's tree."

"Oh, well, why were you there?"

"I saw someone outside my window. When he left, I followed him there."

Methos thought for a minute, then muttered, "That careless kid. He's going to get himself killed one of these days if he doesn't learn, you know that?" The last part seemed directed primarily at Roger, who nodded in agreement. "Let's walk," Methos said, with a glance at the surroundings. The trio began to make their way back to Jackson's.

----------

"What's the score?" Roger called as soon as he entered the house.

"Four to three, top of the ninth!" came the answer.

"Ooh!" Roger responded as he dashed into the TV room to watch the last inning.

"I wonder how much they bet on that game," Susanne murmered as she and Methos followed at a more subdued pace.

"Got a beer?" Methos asked.

"Kitchen," Jackson answered, his eyes glued to the screen.

Methos headed excitedly toward the kitchen, and Susanne flopped on the couch. "So Methos," Susanne began as she heard him enter the room. "The person outside the house was my watcher."

"That's right."

"What'd he say on the phone just now?"

"What?"

"Well, I assume you used the kitchen phone to call that place so someone there could yell at him and get him back to his post."

"No, I just wanted them to know that he screwed up again."

"Again?"

"He's lost track of you so many times."

"I don't mind having an incompetent watcher. Wait a couple centuries, I'll write my memoirs myself. Plus, I don't like the idea of someone watching me all the time."

"Oh, just go about your normal routine, they're not bad--"

"You don't have a watcher besides yourself, man! Don't give me that!"

"Hey, keep it down!" Roger said, transfixed by the game.

"Why, so you can hear the roaring of the crowd?"

"Methos, if someone's following me around, then that means that if i enter into a dangerous situation, I also put my watcher in danger."

"There shouldn't be as much danger for the watcher. Of course, if the watcher is careless, then there is a certain amount of danger, but that's not for you to worry about."

"ALRIGHT!" Roger shouted as he jumped out of his chair and did a little victory dance. "Five to four! Five to four! Money," he said as he ended his dance standing in front of Jackson with his hand outstretched. Jackson reluctantly reached into his pocked and pulled out a few bills, and handed them over.

"I should be going," Methos said. "Thanks for the beer, man!"

"Huh?" Jackson responded as Methos walked out. "Who was that?"