Horton's Revenge: Discovery
Nov. 27th, 2018 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
guest_starring posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
immortalstoriesPart One
PART TWO
Part Three
Author's Notes: This takes places about 20 years after "Horton's Revenge: Flashback" and a couple of years after "The New Hire". Links to all stories can be found here. Disclaimer: Joe Dawson, James Horton, and Lynn Horton belong to Davis Panzer Productions, all other characters are original.
Lynn Horton had put off this one final duty as long as she possibly could, but she had to fly back to Atlanta soon or risk losing her job, and there was simply no one else to sort through Joe Dawson’s personal effects. His will named her executor and next-of-kin as he had no living children of his own, just her, his niece, his sister’s daughter with an old family friend, James Horton.
She’d always been close to her uncle, increasingly so when her father sank more and more into his obsession with destroying Immortals. It was that obsession and his actions in the death of the immortal priest, Darius and against the Highlander, Duncan MacLeod that led her mother to an early grave from stress, and Lynn spent more and more time with Joe, finding in him the father figure that James had failed to be. Now she had to clear out the small apartment he’d spent his final years living.
MacLeod had offered to help, but she’d turned him down. She knew they’d been friends for over a quarter century despite Joe having been his Watcher for a long time even before then, and Duncan had never blamed her for the sins of her father. But. But she had grown up around Watchers and this was something that was none of an Immortal’s business.
Several boxes were already packed, most waiting to be picked up by Goodwill. A couple of smaller boxes held personal things, including photos from when Joe and her mom were growing up, before Vietnam where Joe had lost his legs and met his first Immortal. Lynn looked at the time, almost lunchtime and she needed to get some fresh air. She looked at the filing cabinet in front of her with a sigh and rolled her neck to ease the stiffness. One more file, she promised herself, and then she would go get something to eat. It would probably be the same old stuff, old tax returns, receipts, or bank statements, whatever it was could go straight into the trash. She picked up the next file and glanced at the label. “James Horton/Hsu Danmei”. Seeing her father’s name made her frown, and who was the other name? She opened the file, and there were several sheets of paper and USB stick at the bottom. A post-it note in Joe’s writing was attached to the first page. “For Mac to take care of after my death. Joe.”
Lynn hesitated, debating whether or not to pass it onto MacLeod, but then this was about her father. Surely, she had the right to know why Joe had a special file for him. She got up and fetched her laptop from her bag, as it booted up she took a quick look through the papers. There was some sort of contract, signed by Joe, MacLeod, and this Hsu Danmei. The computer was ready, and she slipped in the USB and went back to reading. It was an agreement between the three that the entire Watcher Organization , or what was left of it, would be shut down and that somehow Joe and MacLeod would be held responsible if it wasn’t. How had this man managed to persuade her uncle to do such a thing and why?
She turned to the computer, hoping she would find some answers there. Lunch and fresh air was forgotten as she went through file after file. Soon she discovered that this Hsu guy was an ancient Immortal. She read how a splinter group of Watchers had performed experiments that somehow enabled him to father children. She thought that would have made the man happy, but apparently not. She read how her father had abducted the mother, and she felt sick to see the details of how two babies were ripped from her and then, to her horror and disgust he had killed them both. Even with all the things Horton had done in his crusade to destroy Immortals, that was abhorrent, and Lynn hated her father all the more. She could understand why he’d been killed.
Closing that file, she opened the next, a series of photos. Suddenly, she was glad she hadn’t eaten. It was one thing to understand and even to know Horton deserved to die for all the pain he’d caused. It was another thing entirely to see how he had died. He had not deserved that. No one deserved to suffer such brutality and torture. The photos showed how his skin had been stripped piece by piece, but even more shocking were the parts of him that had been cut from him, and from the amount of blood that could be seen, all were from before he died. Lynn stood up, breathing hard and paced around the room. Looking down at her hands, she saw that they were shaking. From rage. Even with all the terrible things James Horton had done, what that man had done to him was just...barbaric. She took some slow, deep breaths and pulled out her phone. “Hi, Uncle Nigel? This is Lynn. When you get a chance, can you call me back. It’s about Dad and the Watchers. Thanks!”
Calmer, she sat down again and read through some of the other things. Hsu Danmei had demanded Joe completely disband the Watchers, threatening that he would wipe out any who carried on with the organization, and even their families. She saw that Joe had added the condition that she and Horton’s surviving family would not pay the price for simply being related to him. Something that Hsu had seemingly agreed to. But for how long? Some things that her Uncle Nigel had mentioned over the years began to fall into place. He was James’ younger brother, also a Watcher, but he’d never been connected to the Hunters. At the time of James’ death, he was living in New Zealand keeping records on a young Maori Immortal who had just come to the Watchers notice. Everything had continued as usual until a few years later when suddenly his visa was no longer valid and he was deported back to the United Kingdom. After, several business ventures he attempted had all failed, but she hadn’t heard from him for the past couple of years except for the occasional card or call to know that he was still alive and well.
She made a decision, and in a few minutes she collected all the files she had found and the USB stick together and put them in her bag. She got on her laptop and went straight to a travel site and booked herself a flight to London. It would need a detour back to Atlanta so she could get her passport as well as more clothes and a quick meeting with her boss to request some extended leave, but this was more important. She had to show Nigel everything she’d learnt and then they would figure out what they could do together. Packing her laptop, she took one last look around Joe’s apartment. So much for clearing it out. Oh well, she would just call in one of those house clearing companies to finish it.
PART TWO
Part Three
Author's Notes: This takes places about 20 years after "Horton's Revenge: Flashback" and a couple of years after "The New Hire". Links to all stories can be found here. Disclaimer: Joe Dawson, James Horton, and Lynn Horton belong to Davis Panzer Productions, all other characters are original.
Lynn Horton had put off this one final duty as long as she possibly could, but she had to fly back to Atlanta soon or risk losing her job, and there was simply no one else to sort through Joe Dawson’s personal effects. His will named her executor and next-of-kin as he had no living children of his own, just her, his niece, his sister’s daughter with an old family friend, James Horton.
She’d always been close to her uncle, increasingly so when her father sank more and more into his obsession with destroying Immortals. It was that obsession and his actions in the death of the immortal priest, Darius and against the Highlander, Duncan MacLeod that led her mother to an early grave from stress, and Lynn spent more and more time with Joe, finding in him the father figure that James had failed to be. Now she had to clear out the small apartment he’d spent his final years living.
MacLeod had offered to help, but she’d turned him down. She knew they’d been friends for over a quarter century despite Joe having been his Watcher for a long time even before then, and Duncan had never blamed her for the sins of her father. But. But she had grown up around Watchers and this was something that was none of an Immortal’s business.
Several boxes were already packed, most waiting to be picked up by Goodwill. A couple of smaller boxes held personal things, including photos from when Joe and her mom were growing up, before Vietnam where Joe had lost his legs and met his first Immortal. Lynn looked at the time, almost lunchtime and she needed to get some fresh air. She looked at the filing cabinet in front of her with a sigh and rolled her neck to ease the stiffness. One more file, she promised herself, and then she would go get something to eat. It would probably be the same old stuff, old tax returns, receipts, or bank statements, whatever it was could go straight into the trash. She picked up the next file and glanced at the label. “James Horton/Hsu Danmei”. Seeing her father’s name made her frown, and who was the other name? She opened the file, and there were several sheets of paper and USB stick at the bottom. A post-it note in Joe’s writing was attached to the first page. “For Mac to take care of after my death. Joe.”
Lynn hesitated, debating whether or not to pass it onto MacLeod, but then this was about her father. Surely, she had the right to know why Joe had a special file for him. She got up and fetched her laptop from her bag, as it booted up she took a quick look through the papers. There was some sort of contract, signed by Joe, MacLeod, and this Hsu Danmei. The computer was ready, and she slipped in the USB and went back to reading. It was an agreement between the three that the entire Watcher Organization , or what was left of it, would be shut down and that somehow Joe and MacLeod would be held responsible if it wasn’t. How had this man managed to persuade her uncle to do such a thing and why?
She turned to the computer, hoping she would find some answers there. Lunch and fresh air was forgotten as she went through file after file. Soon she discovered that this Hsu guy was an ancient Immortal. She read how a splinter group of Watchers had performed experiments that somehow enabled him to father children. She thought that would have made the man happy, but apparently not. She read how her father had abducted the mother, and she felt sick to see the details of how two babies were ripped from her and then, to her horror and disgust he had killed them both. Even with all the things Horton had done in his crusade to destroy Immortals, that was abhorrent, and Lynn hated her father all the more. She could understand why he’d been killed.
Closing that file, she opened the next, a series of photos. Suddenly, she was glad she hadn’t eaten. It was one thing to understand and even to know Horton deserved to die for all the pain he’d caused. It was another thing entirely to see how he had died. He had not deserved that. No one deserved to suffer such brutality and torture. The photos showed how his skin had been stripped piece by piece, but even more shocking were the parts of him that had been cut from him, and from the amount of blood that could be seen, all were from before he died. Lynn stood up, breathing hard and paced around the room. Looking down at her hands, she saw that they were shaking. From rage. Even with all the terrible things James Horton had done, what that man had done to him was just...barbaric. She took some slow, deep breaths and pulled out her phone. “Hi, Uncle Nigel? This is Lynn. When you get a chance, can you call me back. It’s about Dad and the Watchers. Thanks!”
Calmer, she sat down again and read through some of the other things. Hsu Danmei had demanded Joe completely disband the Watchers, threatening that he would wipe out any who carried on with the organization, and even their families. She saw that Joe had added the condition that she and Horton’s surviving family would not pay the price for simply being related to him. Something that Hsu had seemingly agreed to. But for how long? Some things that her Uncle Nigel had mentioned over the years began to fall into place. He was James’ younger brother, also a Watcher, but he’d never been connected to the Hunters. At the time of James’ death, he was living in New Zealand keeping records on a young Maori Immortal who had just come to the Watchers notice. Everything had continued as usual until a few years later when suddenly his visa was no longer valid and he was deported back to the United Kingdom. After, several business ventures he attempted had all failed, but she hadn’t heard from him for the past couple of years except for the occasional card or call to know that he was still alive and well.
She made a decision, and in a few minutes she collected all the files she had found and the USB stick together and put them in her bag. She got on her laptop and went straight to a travel site and booked herself a flight to London. It would need a detour back to Atlanta so she could get her passport as well as more clothes and a quick meeting with her boss to request some extended leave, but this was more important. She had to show Nigel everything she’d learnt and then they would figure out what they could do together. Packing her laptop, she took one last look around Joe’s apartment. So much for clearing it out. Oh well, she would just call in one of those house clearing companies to finish it.
Horton's Revege: Discovery
Date: 2018-11-28 02:20 am (UTC)“Be right there, Lizzie!” Came a deep, cultured voice. Nigel Horton was in his mid-sixties and was still a very handsome man despite the lines on his face and his salt and pepper hair. His blue eyes held a mischievous sparkle that hinted he was probably quite the charmer back in his younger days and even now his smile could still be utterly devastating for older ladies looking for companionship. He had just read a text his niece Lynn had left. All she had managed to say was that she was just about to catch a flight to London, with the details, and that she had to see him. He was never able to return her earlier call, and she had piqued his curiosity.
He texted her: I’ll be delighted to see you again, Lynn. I’m in Nottingham. I can come meet you at the airport if you don’t mind waiting or catch a train, and I’ll meet you here. I’m intrigued to hear why you had to come and not just call.
“Nigel!” Lizzie called him again, and he wrapped his dark blue silk robe around him and went downstairs and to the kitchen where Lizzie had breakfast already laid out on the small table. A cafetiere was already brewing coffee, a small pitcher of orange juice, and a small vase with a single, yellow chrysanthemum. Her whole face lit up as Nigel walked in. While he had just got up, it was clear she had been up for some time. She was neatly dressed in a nice yellow blouse and matching skirt with an apron covering it from any wayward splashes. Her grey hair was neatly coiffed with not a strand out of place.“There you are! Come sit down, darling. Help yourself to coffee or juice and I’ll serve up.” She held a chair for him and kissed him as he sat. “Did you sleep well?” She smiled coyly. “I did.”
“Mhmm hmmm.” He wasn’t really listening as he sat and pour himself a little bit of juice. His mind was on what Lynn could possibly want. He realized she had asked him something and as getting into her bank account was more important than getting into her bed. His blue eyes looked up at her and he smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, Lizzie, I was miles away. Yes, I slept very well, after everything we did before that.” He flashed a devlish grin, which after a couple of moments prompted her to smile back at him as she served up a smaller version of a full English breakfast.
“Yes, especially that.” LIzzie finally sat across from him, her light giggle making her sound almost like a teenager. “What were you thinking about?”
Nigel helped out by pressing the cafetiere and poured both of them coffee. “I got a message from my niece, Lynn. She’s my late brother’s daughter, lives in the States. She’s flying out.” He looked at his watch. “Correction, she should have already landed. It’s all very sudden, I don’t know why she needs to speak to me other than she says it’s important.”
“She couldn’t just phone you?”
Nigel shrugged at the question. “Clearly not. And I have no idea what it might be.” Actually, he did have a small inkling. If Lynn only felt comfortable talking in person it probably had to do with the Watchers, and he knew Joe Dawson had recently died. He rubbed absently at the round scar on the inside of his wrist, where his Watcher tattoo used to be. “Anyway, she’s catching a train up here, and I’ll meet her at the station,”
Three hours later, he met Lynn off the train, and after leaving her luggage in one of the station’s lockers, they walked the few hundred yards down Carrington Street to a Caffé Nero. They filled the time with small talk. How was her flight and train trip? How nice the weather was? How had Nigel been? They got their coffees, a cappuccino for him and a caramelatte for her, and Lynn also bought a pain au chocolat as she hadn’t had anything to eat since she landed. They found a table for two, as far from the other customers as possible. There were a few, but at mid-afternoon, it was fairly quiet.
Lynn picked at the flaky pastry. “I am glad to see you again, Uncle Nigel. So, are you still fleecing grandmas out of their life savings?”
He looked around, dipped his head, and smiled at her. “It’s a living, and it’s been quite a fruitful one, I’ll have you know. Only recently, I moved in with a darling widow, nice little bungalow and an even nicer nest egg her late husband left her. And what a shame no children to interfere either. It makes things simple.” He tipped some sugar into his cappuccino and stirred. “But you haven’t come three thousand odd miles to hear about my little scams.”
“Well, it’s more like six thousand. I started out in Seacouver. You heard Uncle Joe died?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I know you were close. He was a good man.” Nigel had not known Joe Dawson well, and then only from them both having been Watchers more than as a brother-in-law. “But that still doesn’t answer why you’ve flown all this way.”
“I’m getting there. I was sorting through Uncle Joe’s things, and I found some things, about Dad, the end of the Watchers, who’s behind all of it, including how all those businesses you tried failed.” Lynn dug out her laptop from her bag and plugged in the USB drive as she turned it on. She pulled up a photo of Hsu first. “Do you know him?”
Puzzled and curious, Nigel nodded. “Dieter Haag. He was one of the Immortals James targeted, and the one who managed to kill him.” As with Lynn, James’ demise was a long time ago and not something to be grieved over much. “You know he and I weren’t close at the end, not after I rejected his invitations to join his gang of renegades. It’s why I chose to stay in New Zealand back then.”
“I felt the same, especially when I found out he killed my fiancé.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t bother me that someone killed Dad, and if an Immortal hadn’t done it, I’m sure the Watchers would have eventually. But what this guy did to him. Uncle Nigel, was barbaric torture. I can’t even look at the photos again.” She pointed to the file, letting him know he could open it if he wanted to see what that murdering bastard had done to his brother, her father. He didn’t, yet. Instead, he signalled for her to continue. Lynn had his complete attention. “I get why this Hsu Danmei-- Haag’s real name -- was so angry. Uncle Joe details how Dad killed his children. Yeah, children, but I’ll come back to that piece of news later. Suffice to say it happened. Anyway, you know what happened next, that Hsu went to war on the Watchers until Uncle Joe was pretty much the only senior one left. Then Joe signed a truce with him a few years later.” She handed him the original paper copy Joe had signed. “Twenty years ago, Joe pretty much shut down all the Watchers at this guy’s demand.”
“He promised Joe that you would be safe, at least.” NIgel looked up from reading the agreement.
“BIg whoop. And what happens now Joe is dead? But that’s not the point. Hsu knows you’re Dad’s brother, and while he agreed to graciously not to kill you just for being his brother.” Lynn couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She opened another file. “He’s been behind every piece of bad luck you’ve had since then. Look, someone interfered with withdrawing your visa for New Zealand, paid people off or whatever, And what about those restaurants and other businesses? If Hsu had agreed not to kill you, what’s the next best thing, make sure you’re forever ruined?” Nigel said nothing, but Lynn could see she had made her point. “How long are we going to be punished for being associated with the Watchers? For what Dad did? Look at those photos, surely he had more than enough revenge.” Lynn shuddered at just the thought of how her father must have suffered.
Nigel was still looking through the evidence from the truce Joe had signed, along with the Immortal Duncan MacLeod basically co-signing for him as well as all the notes the recently deceased Watcher had kept whenever misfortune had fallen on him. Paper and money trails that always seemed to lead back to HSU Financial Corporation in Zurich.
“I don’t want him to get away with all this. He thinks that just because he’s Immortal and richer than Croesus, he can dictate and control our lives.” Lynn had spent those long hours on her flights to think about what she wanted, and what she could do, to pay back Hsu. “I feel bad what happened to him, but what he did was horrific, and not just to Dad, but all the Watchers he killed or like you, ruining you out of some petty need for revenge on a man he already murdered.”
The passion in her voice surprised NIgel. “What do you want to do?”
“I have a couple of ideas, but they need some work to work into actual plans. What about you, are you in?” Lynn could do something on her own, but it would be better with help. And of course, she would need money.
“Maybe. I have to think about this, Lynn. Digest it all. Where are you staying?”
“What? You mean I can’t stay with you?” Lynn grinned. “Just joking, Uncle. I know you’re still trying to work your magic on the blue rinse set. Some place called Premier Inn?”
“I’m doing more than trying.” There was definitely a twinkle in his eyes. “But yes, dear Lizzie won’t be thrilled if I have relatives turn up on her doorstep. Okay, I’ll drop you off, and then call you in the morning and we can meet again and decide what to do.”
“So, we will do something?”
Nigel’s answering smile was far from that easy charm, instead it showed his sly determination. “Oh, I rather think so, don’t you? Between now and tomorrow, do as much research on Hsu as you can. You have all Joe’s files?”
She nodded and also handed him another USB drive. “Here’s a copy of everything I have for you to look through more.”
“Good. Thank you, and meanwhile, I'll move up my timetable on darling Lizzie.”
===============
TBC...