TEASER

SCENE: METHOS'S APARTMENT. Methos enters the kitchen with a shopping bag. He sets it on the counter and begins unpacking the items, checking them as he goes. While unpacking, he turns on a small TV set on the counter. The news comes on.

NEWSCASTER: Following the hearing, Congress called for a complete investigation into the methods and practices of the IRS, citing evidence of widespread misconduct.

METHOS: (mockingly) Government misconduct! How shocking!

NEWSCASTER: On the international front, Chinese-occupied Tibet is once again the focus of concern regarding alleged human-rights abuses by the Chinese forces. Two days ago, a Chinese military unit, part of a government re-education program called "Strike Hard," targeted a monastery outside the remote city of Golmud --

Methos looks up, alarmed.

NEWSCASTER: -- in the northeast province of Qinghai. The soldiers stormed the monastery --

METHOS: Oh, my God --

He grabs the telephone, dialing while listening to the rest of the news report.

NEWSCASTER: -- destroying the relics and carrying off the resident monks to an internment camp.

METHOS: (into the receiver) I need to make an overseas call --

**********

SCENE: ELEGANT CHINESE RESTAURANT. A Chinese maitre d' stands behind a podium in the entrance foyer of the restaurant. Beside him is the doorway leading into the dining area. He looks up as the door opens. Nikita enters, dressed to kill and smiling in anticipation.

MAITRE D': Good evening, madam. Do you have a reservation?

NIKITA: Yes. Under the name Smith.

MAITRE D': (checking his list) Ah,yes, party of two. Will your dinner companion be joining you later?

The outer door opens again.

NIKITA: Yes, he'll be --

She stops and raises her head at the buzz of another immortal. Slowly, she turns to the outer door.

A tall, stone-faced Chinese man is holding the door open for another Chinese man: shorter, well-dressed, obviously a man of distinction. This is Kiem Sun.

On stepping in the door, Kiem Sun looks around. His eyes lock with Nikita's. He smiles, bows slightly, and gestures outside gallantly. He says a word to the bodyguard and then goes outside.

NIKITA: (to the maitre d') Uh -- could I leave a message for my dinner companion?

MAITRE D': Certainly. (He hands her a pad of paper and pen.) Will madame still be joining us for dinner?

NIKITA: (scribbling quickly) I sure hope so.

She hands him the note, and then hurries outside. The maitre d' leaves the note on the podium and then walks into the dining area. The camera pans with him, and we get our first view of the dining room.

Seated at a back table is Section operative Fuller. He is looking around surreptitiously while sipping tea.

FULLER: Still no sign of the target.

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: Hold position. He'll be there.

A waiter steps up to the table, blocking Fuller's view of the dining room entrance. Just at that moment, Michael appears at the entrance, looking inside for Nikita. He checks his watch.

CUT to outside -- the rear of the restaurant. Nikita steps around the corner of the building and stops. In front of her, half lit from the rear windows, is Kiem Sun. Behind him is his bodyguard.

Nikita advances slowly, coming to a stop directly across from Kiem Sun.

KIEM: Good evening.

NIKITA: (warily) Good evening.

KIEM: (with a small bow) My name is Kiem Sun.

NIKITA: Nikita.

KIEM: Just Nikita?

NIKITA: Just Nikita.

CUT to inside restaurant. The maitre d' approaches Michael, standing between him and the restaurant dining room. Fuller's waiter leaves his table and Fuller scans the room again. He looks down as another waiter delivers tea. Across the room, the maitre d' steps toward the foyer. Michael, about to follow the maitre d', glances into the dining room. He sees Fuller.

Quickly, Michael steps out of the line of sight.

CUT to rear of restaurant. Nikita slips her hand inside her coat. Kiem Sun holds up his hand to stop her.

KIEM: Please. There is no need. I do not wish to fight you.

NIKITA: (not removing her hand) Good. Then we can just go our separate ways.

KIEM: There is something --

NIKITA: What?

KIEM: I am seeking an old friend who I believe now lives in this area. Perhaps you know him. His name is Nathaniel Adams.

NIKITA: (shaking her head) Never heard of him.

KIEM: Well, in the event you do meet him, perhaps you could contact me. I will give you my card --

He reaches into his lapel pocket, and a shot rings out. Nikita drops to the ground as Kiem Sun falls back, wounded.

Nikita turns to see the shooter. Michael steps around the corner of the restaurant. He raises his gun again and fires.

Kiem Sun's bodyguard, reaching into his jacket, falls to the ground, dead.

Michael holsters his gun and hurries over to Nikita. She jumps up, furious.

NIKITA: Michael, what the hell are you doing? You're not supposed to interfere --

MICHAEL: (grabbing her arm) We have to get out of here.

NIKITA: (jerking her arm away) He didn't even want to fight me --

MICHAEL: There's a Section One team in the restaurant.

NIKITA: What?

MICHAEL: The perimeter team will have heard the shots. We have to go NOW --

He grabs her hand, and they run.

Just as they are out of sight, Section operatives round the corner, weapons at the ready. The team leader runs over to Kiem Sun's body and kneels down, checking for a pulse.

LEADER: He's dead. (to the other ops) Search the grounds. Find the shooter.

The other operatives take off. The team leader checks the bodyguard and finds him dead as well. He looks up and around, and then he takes off as well.

Kiem Sun awakes. He sits up, coughing a bit, and looks around. He sees his bodyguard dead. He stands up, brushes off his suit, and strolls away.

ROLL CREDITS

(Queen, Mark Snow, both -- take your pick! LOL)

**********

ACT ONE

SCENE: NIKITA'S APARTMENT -- BEDROOM. The room is clearly Nikita's: the decor is her taste, and it is strewn with her attempts at wire sculpture. When the scene opens, Michael is seated at a computer across the room from the bed. He is typing quickly, his expression blank.

Nikita enters, wearing a white robe and towelling her newly washed hair. She stands for a moment in the threshold, watching Michael, and then she crosses to the bed, still drying her hair.

NIKITA: Michael, I'm sorry I got so angry --

MICHAEL: (still typing) It's all right.

NIKITA: (curling up on the bed) It's just I was really looking forward to tonight. We've been so busy -- what with your Watcher training and my classes at the university --

Michael stops typing and begins reading what's on the screen.

NIKITA: Sometimes I think we saw more of each other in the Section.

MICHAEL: (absently) It won't always be like this.

He hits a few keys on the computer. Nikita watches him a moment and then she drops the towel, a smile creeping over her. She slides off the bed and crosses the room deliberately. She drapes herself over his shoulder and rubs her cheek against his.

NIKITA: (murmuring in his ear) So why don't you come to bed so I can really apologize --

Her eyes fall on the computer screen. She straightens up.

NIKITA: What's that?

MICHAEL: Background on the immortal you met tonight. Kiem Sun.

NIKTIA: That's not a Watcher file.

MICHAEL: (with a quick look up at her) No.

NIKITA: That's a Section file.

MICHAEL: I thought he looked familiar. It turns out that five years ago, the Section targeted Kiem Sun for profiling. Although he had no history of terrorist activities, he suddenly began recruiting men --

He turns. Nikita has moved back to the bed and is sitting on it, her arms wrapped around her knees, drawn up to her chin. She is staring at Michael with wide eyes.

MICHAEL: What?

NIKITA: I thought we were through with all that.

MICHAEL: (after a moment) We are.

NIKITA: Then why -- (she stops as her throat closes up, and then starts again) Then why take the risk of hacking into the Section's database?

MICHAEL: (quietly) The more you know about an enemy, the better chance you have in a fight.

NIKITA: He wasn't looking for a fight. That's all I need to know.

Michael turns away and, after a moment's debate, shuts off the computer.

NIKITA: Michael, you're scaring me.

MICHAEL: (turning to her, surprised) Why?

NIKITA: Seeing you there, that look on your face --

He gets up and crosses to her, kneeling beside the bed and running his hands up her legs and over her arms.

NIKITA: It's like the old Michael --

MICHAEL: No --

He slides his hands around her calves and gently unbends her legs.

MICHAEL: The old Michael is dead.

He runs his hands up her thighs and then gently parts her robe at the waist. His hands slip inside the robe.

MICHAEL: This is the new -- improved Michael --

He smiles a distinctly un-Michael smile. Hesitantly, Nikita smiles back. She fingers the hair at his temples.

NIKITA: Are you sure?

MICHAEL: Well, if you need proof --

He raises up and leans over her. She eases back onto the bed as he moves in for a kiss.

DISSOLVE to later. They are curled together in bed, spooning. Nikita is stroking the arm Michael has wrapped around her. He is leaning his cheek against her hair. They are both staring into space, expressionless.

Michael stirs. He raises up, and she turns to look at him. He kisses her softly.

MICHAEL: (whispering) I have to go.

She watches as he stands and begins dressing. When he crosses to the room to get his shirt, she sits up, pulling the sheet up around her.

NIKITA: I took a drive through Rosewood today. Do you know it?

MICHAEL: Yes.

NIKITA: I saw a house for sale. It was beautiful -- lots of trees and flowers. Four bedrooms, and a huge family room --

Michael, buttoning his shirt, turns to her.

MICHAEL: And?

NIKITA: (diffidently) I was thinking we could look at it together this weekend.

MICHAEL: Nikita, you know that's not possible.

NIKITA: (stubbornly) Why not?

MICHAEL: You know the Watcher rules --

NIKITA: We're already breaking the Watcher rules.

MICHAEL: Still, we have to be careful. Living together would be too much of a risk.

He continues dressing. She glumly picks at the bedsheets.

NIKITA: Nothing changes, does it? Before, I couldn't tell people who I was. Now I can't tell them what I am.

He picks up his jacket.

NIKITA: Before, we couldn't be together because of the Section. Now it's the damn Watchers.

He pulls on his jacket slowly. She looks up at him.

NIKITA: This isn't the life I want, Michael.

MICHAEL: Then create a new one. You can do it. You've got time.

They stare at one another across the space of the bedroom. Then, without another word, Michael leaves.

Nikita falls back into the bed and stares at the ceiling. Then, she grabs Michael's pillow and holds it to her, burying her face in it.

A moment later, she pulls back and punches it. She gets out of bed.

**********

SCENE: JOE'S BAR. It is late, so only a few customers remain, one of whom is Methos. Seated at the back of the room, he stares at a cell phone on the table in front of him as if willing it to ring.

Joe is standing at the bar, talking to a woman. Her name is Celia Barrow. She is in her mid 40s, wearing a loose-fitting denim dress and brightly colored Native American earrings. With long dark hair casually pulled back and a warm, husky voice, she is a woman aging gracefully and naturally. Leaned against the bar beside her is a guitar.

JOE: I already told you, Celia. This is a blues bar. That means we play BLUES.

CELIA: Oh, come on, Joe, don't you think a little variety would be good for business?

JOE: Do you ever take no for an answer?

CELIA: (leaning forward) Not when I really, really want something.

Joe smiles. The bar door opens, and he turns reluctantly to see who is coming in.

JOE: We're closing --

Michael enters.

JOE: Oh, Michael, it's you.

He gives Celia a regretful smile, and then ambles to the other end of the bar as Michael steps up to it.

JOE: What can I do you for?

MICHAEL: (glancing at Celia) Uh, nothing really. I was just --

Across the room, the cell phone rings. Methos grabs the receiver.

METHOS: Hello.

A pause.

METHOS: No, you've got the wrong number.

He slams the phone down.

METHOS: Damn!

Michael looks at Joe questioningly.

JOE: (shrugging) Your guess is as good as mine.

Michael looks back at Methos, and then crosses to him. Joe happily returns to Celia.

MICHAEL: (coming up beside Methos) Problem?

METHOS: Life is a problem. EXISTENCE is a problem. And believe me, I know whereof I speak.

MICHAEL: (pulling up a chair) Can I help?

METHOS: Only if you work for the phone company.

Michael doesn't answer, but continues to look at him steadily.

METHOS: Or know a good passport forger.

MICHAEL: (staring at his hands) Well, as a matter of fact --

**********

SCENE: DUNCAN'S DOJO -- DAY. The elevator door slides up, and Duncan steps out. He looks across the room and sees Nikita: she is working out with the punching bag, taking out her frustrations with a vengeance. Duncan walks over to her.

DUNCAN: Nikita.

Nikita punches.

NIKITA: (breathily) Duncan.

She punches again.

DUNCAN: Have you seen Adam?

NIKITA: No. (punch) I have not (punch) seen (punch) Adam.

DUNCAN: Lucky for him.

He watches her a moment longer as she continues to beat away at the poor bag.

DUNCAN: (ironically) Uh, is something bothering you?

She lets loose one final vicious punch, and then grabs the bag as it rebounds.

NIKITA: Not anymore.

She goes over to a gym bag and takes out a towel and a bottle of water.

NIKITA: Why are you looking for Adam?

DUNCAN: He was supposed to meet me here at noon.

NIKITA: You don't think --

DUNCAN: No, I don't think. I DO think he's late, as usual. (He checks his watch and sighs impatiently.) I can't wait anymore. If he comes by, tell him -- no, don't tell him anything. Make him wait for ME for a change.

He heads for the door.

NIKITA: Duncan!

DUNCAN: (stopping) Yeah?

NIKITA: (wiping away sweat) Mind if I use your shower?

He takes his keys from his pocket and tosses them to her.

DUNCAN: No wet towels on the floor.

NIKITA: You're no fun.

Duncan smiles, waves good-bye, and leaves. Nikita grabs her gym bag and heads for the elevator.

**********

SCENE: LOFT, LATER. Nikita's gym bag is on the floor outside the bathroom. From inside the bathroom comes the sound of the shower.

The elevator hums, rising. It clangs into place.

CUT to inside shower. Nikita raises her head as she senses another immortal.

NIKITA: (smiling) Adam.

CUT to the loft. The elevator door slides up. A low angle shot of high-heeled black boots stepping off the elevator, and then tiptoeing across the room.

When the boots reach the bathroom door, the camera pans up. Amanda, smiling, is putting her ear to the bathroom door.

AMANDA: (purring quietly) Hell-o, Duncan --

She grins and tiptoes from the door.

CUT to later. Nikita, freshly showered, steps out of the bathroom. She is wearing Duncan's robe and drying her hair.

Amanda is curled on the bed, wearing nothing but a slinky black teddy. She has her eyes covered with a masquerade mask.

AMANDA: Guess who's back from Mardi Gras?

NIKITA: I beg your pardon?

Amanda drops the mask and sits up.

AMANDA: Who the hell are you?

NIKITA: That's my question.

AMANDA: Where's Duncan?

NIKITA: (her hands on her hips) Who wants to know?

Amanda jumps up, also with her hands on her hips.

AMANDA: I'm a friend of his.

NIKITA: Gee, what a coincidence. So am I.

AMANDA: My name is Amanda.

Nikita raises her eyebrows in a "so?" look.

AMANDA: (loudly) A - MAN - DA. (then, airly) I'm sure Duncan has mentioned me.

NIKITA: (squinting off into space) No-o-o, I don't think so --

AMANDA: Look, Blondie, trust me. Duncan and I are old friends. Very old friends. Very old GOOD friends. You got the picture?

NIKITA: (nodding) You and Duncan are friends. I got it.

Nikita smiles and pads over to the sofa, settling into it comfortably. From the pocket of Duncan's robe she takes a brush and begins untangling her hair.

NIKITA: I'll be sure to tell him you stopped by.

AMANDA: Oh, I don't think so --

She marches to the sofa.

AMANDA: Let's try this again. I'm Amanda. He's Duncan. We're Amanda and Duncan. We've had a thing going for centuries --

NIKITA: Gosh, I don't seem to recall him mentioning that --

AMANDA: Maybe he didn't see the need. Maybe he's just using you for a little quick diversion. A little snack to whet his appetite until the main course comes along.

NIKITA: Or maybe he's culinary tastes have improved. A man can only take so much fast food.

AMANDA: All right. I've tried to be nice. I've tried to explain the situation to you, tried to give you a chance to get your little bleached blond butt outa here before you are terribly embarrassed -- but if you won't listen, I guess I'll just have to do this the hard way.

Pulling up the strap of her teddy, she marches over to her suitcase and pulls out a sword. Nikita watches in amazement as she marches back to the sofa and brandishes the sword.

AMANDA: Let's go --

NIKITA: You have GOT to be joking.

AMANDA: Not in this lifetime.

NIKITA: I don't believe this --

Quickly, Nikita leapfrogs over the back of the sofa and, in just a few steps, reaches her gym bag. She pulls out her sword and turns to find Amanda bearing down on her.

The swords clang. With a mighty push, Nikita shoves Amanda back, and then she does a somersault over the bed, landing on her feet on the opposite side. The two of them face each other over the bed, swords waving.

AMANDA: Give it up, you little Xena wannabe. I've had CENTURIES of practice.

NIKITA: Yeah, well, some of us are quicker studies --

With a yell, Amanda is over the bed, sword whooshing. Nikita backs from the bed, Amanda jumps down, and the two of them duel their way across the room.

The elevator arrives, but they are too busy to pay it any mind.

The door slides up, and Duncan steps off, open-mouthed.

DUNCAN: STOP!!!

They stop, mid-swing, and look at him.

Duncan stares at the two gorgeous, half-dressed, heavily breathing women fighting over him.

He smiles.

DUNCAN: On second thought, please continue.

As one, they lower their swords and point them at each other.

NIKITA/AMANDA: (together) Who the hell is SHE?

Duncan sighs and shoves his hands in his pockets.

DUNCAN: Amanda, Nikita.

AMANDA: Nikita? What the hell kind of name is that? Are you a Russian transvestite or something?

NIKTIA: Oh, you wish --

DUNCAN: Amanda, Nikita is my friend.

AMANDA: Since when do "friends" use your shower and wear your clothes?

DUNCAN: (angry now) Since I have the right to live my own life and have my own friends! You can't expect me to sit home day and night waiting for you to take it into your little head to drop by.

AMANDA: LITTLE?! Well, a truck doesn't have to fall on me. I see where the wind is blowing.

Huffily, she marches to her suitcase. She shoves the sword inside and closes the case.

DUNCAN: Oh, and where is the Queen of the Mixed Metaphor going?

Amanda pulls the strap of her teddy up and, holding the unlatched suitcase under her arm, stalks to the elevator with as much dignity as possible.

AMANDA: I'm going to Joe's, where I'm going to find a beautiful man who will treat me as I deserve to be treated. With RESPECT. And APPRECIATION.

She grabs the elevator door and pulls it down. The suitcase falls out of her arms and open beside her.

AMANDA: Damn it --

The elevator descends. Duncan turns to Nikita. She looks at him with raised eyebrows.

DUNCAN: That was Amanda.

*********

ACT TWO

SCENE: LOFT, LATER. Nikita, fully dressed, emerges from the bathroom. She looks across and sees Duncan in the kitchen, furiously trying fit a cappuccino cup under the spout.

DUNCAN: Damn it --

NIKITA: Punching bags are better.

He gives the cup one more try and then gives up, dropping it in the sink. Nikita settles on the sofa, and he looks over at her, leaning against the counter.

DUNCAN: You believe her nerve -- coming in here and challenging you like that?

NIKITA: She seemed pretty sure you'd want to see her.

DUNCAN: (snorting) I'm sure she did.

He walks out of the kitchen, gesturing for dramatic effect.

DUNCAN: It's just so typical. She waltzes in here after eight months and thinks we can just pick up where we left off --

With an "oof" he sits on the couch.

DUNCAN: Like nothing has happened.

NIKITA: (carefully) Is there a reason she believes that?

Duncan sits forward and stares at his feet.

DUNCAN: (sullenly) Maybe.

He looks over at Nikita, who smiles sympathetically. With a groan, he stretches out, resting his head in her lap. She strokes his hair.

NIKITA: Tell me about her.

DUNCAN: She's an amoral, self-centered, quick-tempered brat.

NIKITA: And -- ?

DUNCAN: She's the bane of my existence.

NIKITA: (grabbing his hair playfully) AND -- ?

DUNCAN: (reluctantly) And the joy of my life.

Nikita smiles, and goes back to stroking his hair. He looks up at her.

DUNCAN: Nikita, will you marry me?

NIKITA: (with a surprised laugh) What?

DUNCAN: I'm serious. Let's get married and move somewhere like Iowa. We can buy a farm and adopt a couple of kids and --

Nikita puts a finger on his lips.

NIKITA: I've got a better idea.

He captures her hand and kisses her fingers, then holds her palm against his face.

DUNCAN: (smiling serenely) What?

NIKITA: Let's go to Joe's.

**********

SCENE: JOE'S BAR. Joe is happily leaning against the bar and flirting with Celia. The door opens, and Methos enters, looking a bit harried. He glances at Joe and then looks around: in the back of the room sits Michael. Methos hurries over.

METHOS: You got them?

Michael takes an envelope from his jacket and slides it across the table.

MICHAEL: Passport, visa, everything you need.

Methos sits and, glancing around, starts opening the envelope.

METHOS: This is a great help. The guy I usually go to is doing a five-to-ten stretch in --

He stops on seeing what's inside.

METHOS: Two passports? (He looks inside again.) Two visas?

MICHAEL: I'm going with you.

METHOS: Oh, no. I mean, I appreciate the offer, but --

MICHAEL: I still have contacts who can get us in with no problems.

METHOS: It's tempting, but --

MICHAEL: Please. Adam. Let me help.

METHOS: What about Nikita?

Michael sits back, without answering.

METHOS: Trouble in paradise?

The door of the bar opens, and almost before Methos can sense her, Amanda barges in and makes a beeline for Joe.

JOE: (smiling) Amanda --

AMANDA: So who's the blond bimbo that's shacking up with MacLeod?

JOE: Uh, Amanda, I'd like you to meet Celia. A friend of mine.

Joe smiles and indicates Celia. Amanda looks over at her.

CELIA: (holding up a strand of hair) Brunette. Honest.

AMANDA: Sorry. Nice to meet you, Carol. I'm Amanda. (to Joe) So who is she?

JOE: (sighing) Amanda, as far as I know, MacLeod is still a lonely bachelor.

AMANDA: No blond roomie?

JOE: No blond roomie.

Amanda takes a deep breath and steps back. She looks around and spots Methos, who waves at her sourly.

AMANDA: Well, look who's here --

METHOS: (to Michael) Trouble at twelve o'clock.

AMANDA: (arriving at the table) Well, hello, stranger.

METHOS: Amanda. Long time no see.

AMANDA: (leaning over for a kiss) Miss me?

METHOS: (pecking her on the cheek) Like an abscessed tooth.

Amanda smiles at him meanly and then looks over at Michael. Her smile changes, and she pulls up a chair.

AMANDA: So who's your friend with the beautiful eyes?

METHOS: (sighing) Amanda, this is Michael. Michael, Amanda.

AMANDA: (holding out her hand) How doooo you do, Michael?

Michael, with a small smile, takes her hand and kisses it.

MICHAEL: Enchante, mademoiselle.

AMANDA: Oooh, he's French. I LOVE French.

METHOS: Really? I thought --

AMANDA: (interrupting him) So, Michael, you come here often?

Methos gives a short laugh.

MICHAEL: Every now and then.

AMANDA: And what do you do when you're not here?

Michael looks at Methos.

METHOS: He watches, Amanda.

AMANDA: (gazing dreamily at Michael) Watches what?

MICHAEL: (to Methos) She's -- ?

METHOS: (nodding) The Fates of Immortality play some cruel games sometimes.

AMANDA: Wait a minute. You're a --

She grabs Michael's wrist and pulls up his sleeve.

AMANDA: (seeing the tattoo) Oh, shoot.

MICHAEL: Sorry.

Amanda, after a moment, shrugs off her disappointment and smiles at him archly.

AMANDA: Then again, I've always wondered what it would be like to be watched WITH a watcher --

She runs her finger around the tattoo, tracing it lightly with her nail.

AMANDA: If you know what I mean.

METHOS: A waste of innuendo, Amanda. The guy's taken.

AMANDA: (still mooning at Michael) Oh? By whom?

At once, Amanda and Methos sense the approach of another immortal. They turn as the bar door opens, and Nikita and Duncan enter.

METHOS: By her.

*********

SCENE: JOE'S BAR, LATER. Joe still flirts with Celia at the end of the bar, while at the other end Methos talks earnestly into his cell phone.

At a table in the center of the room sit Duncan, Amanda, Nikita, and Michael. They are fingering wine glasses and staring at each other uncomfortably, all except Michael, who is watching Methos.

AMANDA: (to Nikita and Michael) So. You two are an item?

NIKITA: (with poisonous sweetness) Yes, we are. Very much so.

AMANDA: And Michael doesn't mind you taking off your clothes in Duncan's loft?

Michael looks at Nikita.

NIKITA: I borrowed his shower after my workout.

AMANDA: Oh, of course. THAT explains it.

DUNCAN: (trying to change the subject) So, Amanda, you haven't told us where you've been.

AMANDA: Well, I was in New Orleans for awhile, but before that I was in Cannes for the film festival. Oh, Duncan, I wish you'd been there. It was MARVELOUS. Everyone in the industry was there -- and I had a simply awful time trying to put off Oliver. He was determined to cast me in the lead for his new film, but you know that would have been just a DISASTER. (to Nikita, sighing) Immortality can be a terrible burden sometimes. So many things you have to give up -- fame, stardom, the glow of the spotlight --

NIKITA: Pity.

Sourly, she looks over at Michael, but he is still watching Methos. Nikita follows his gaze and sees Methos hang up the phone abruptly and walk out.

MICHAEL: If you'll excuse me --

Quickly, he gets up and follows Methos.

NIKITA: Michael --

AMANDA: Oh, dear. Off he goes. Well, you know what they say about Frenchmen. So fickle --

NIKITA: Amanda. Dear --

She leans forward as if inviting a confidentiality. Amanda, with a pseudo-innocent smile, leans forward as well.

NIKITA: Fickle this.

Nikita picks up Amanda's full wine glass and dumps it in her lap. Then, with a look at Duncan, she shoves back from the table and follows Michael.

Amanda pushes her chair back, staring open-mouthed at her wine-stained dress.

AMANDA: Did you see what she did?

DUNCAN: Sure I did. She did this.

He picks up his own wine glass and adds its contents to the puddle.

DUNCAN: Now, when you're all dried off and ready to act like a grown-up, I'll be at the dojo.

He leaves the table, heading over to Joe to say good-night.

**********

SCENE: OUTSIDE THE BAR. Nikita exits and sees Michael and Methos conferring beside a car. As she walks ahead slowly, pulling on her jacket, Methos nods and gets into his car. The car drives away as Nikita reaches Michael.

NIKITA: What's going on?

MICHAEL: I have to leave town for a few days.

NIKITA: For what?

MICHAEL: I --

He stops as the bar door opens. Duncan exits and strides past them to his car.

DUNCAN: (to Nikita) Iowa is looking better and better.

He gets into his T-bird, starts the engine with a roar, and pulls out, spinning gravel behind him.

MICHAEL: What did he mean by that?

NIKITA: Nothing. I want to know where you're going.

MICHAEL: Adam needs my help.

NIKITA: With what?

He doesn't answer.

NIKITA: Oh, great. More secrets. Well, I'll tell you what, Michael -- you go off on your little secret mission and MAYBE I'll be here when you get back.

She stalks off to her car. Michael stares after her.

Nikita gets into the car and starts the engine. She stares at the dash, her face twisting and tears beginning to well. The tears fall as she looks up into her rear view mirror at Michael, standing alone and expressionless in the middle of the nearly empty lot.

MUSIC rises: Fiona Apple's "Never Is a Promise."

"You'll never see -- the courage I know
Its colors' richness won't appear within your view --"

Nikita puts the car in gear and drives off.

"I'll never glow -- the way that you glow
Your presence dominates the judgments made on you --"

Michael slowly turns and walks to his own car.

DISSOLVE to inside the loft. Duncan enters, tosses his jacket on a chair, and walks directly to the bar, where he pours a stiff drink.

"But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception --"

Duncan tosses down the drink and pours another.

DISSOLVE to hotel bathroom. Amanda is at the sink, washing out her dress and sniffling. She looks up at herself in the mirror -- and then sticks her tongue out at her reflection.

"My feelings swell and stretch, I see from greater heights
I understand what I am still too proud to mention -- to you --"

Amanda gives up on the dress and plops down on the side of the tub.

DISSOLVE to Michael's apartment. He sets a dark sweater neatly into a suitcase and then looks around to see if he's forgotten anything. His eyes fall on a small wire sculpture on his bedside table. He picks it up gently.

"You say you understand but you don't understand
You say you'd never give up seeing eye to eye --"

Michael drops the little sculpture in his suitcase and then closes it.

DISSOLVE to Nikita's apartment. She sits curled on the bed, hugging a pillow and staring at the computer across the room. She puts the pillow aside and then goes over to the terminal, fingering the keyboard.

"But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie --"

She turns the computer on.

DISSOLVE to hotel. A TV set is turned on -- the final scene of "Casablanca" comes on. The camera pans to show Amanda, curled on the bed, polishing off a huge carton of ice cream. She has the remote in her hand.

"You'll never touch -- these things that I hold
The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own --"

Amanda shuts off the TV, puts aside the ice cream, and curls into her pillow.

DISSOLVE to loft. Duncan is curled in bed with a book and a bottle. He tries to read, but then he tosses the book aside and stares glumly ahead. Suddenly, he sees something on the floor: something frilly and lacy. He gets out of bed to get it.

"You'll never feel the heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown -- to you --"

Duncan picks up a piece of lingerie that had fallen out of Amanda's suitcase. He raises it to his lips.

He looks up -- sensing another immortal. He stands as the elevator arrives. The door slides up, and Amanda steps in.

AMANDA: I'm sorry.

"You'll say don't fear your dreams,
it's easier than it seems --"

Duncan opens his arms and she runs into them, into his kiss. He picks her up and carries her to the bed.

DISSOLVE to Nikita's apartment. She hits a key on the keyboard and leans forward. On the screen is Kiem Sun's picture. Nikita reads.

"You'd say you'd never let me fall from hopes so high --"

DISSOLVE to airport boarding gate. Methos stands as Michael enters the gate. The two men look at one another wordlessly, and then turn to board the plane.

Methos goes first. Michael stands back a moment, looking over his shoulder.

"But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie."

He boards the plane.

***********

ACT THREE

SCENE: AIRPLANE. Michael and Methos sit side-by-side in the last row of the darkened first-class compartment. There are only two other passengers in first class: a couple sleeping against each other in the first row.

Methos is leaning back, his eyes closed. Michael is on the airplane's cell phone, speaking quietly.

MICHAEL: Yes, that's correct . . . Yes, I understand. That will do.

He hangs up.

MICHAEL: I've got transport lined up from Xining to Golmud.

METHOS: (without opening his eyes) You are just too efficient for words, Michael.

MICHAEL: It would help to know where we're going from there.

METHOS: No place that's on the map.

Michael puts the phone down and waits. After a momenr, Methos opens his eyes.

METHOS: It's a monastery. A Buddhist monastery hidden in the side of a mountain.

MICHAEL: I don't understand.

METHOS: You saw the news reports about the Chinese renewing their efforts to close down the Tibetan monasteries?

MICHAEL: Yes.

METHOS: Their latest hit was a temple outside Golmud. A little too close for comfort.

MICHAEL: (slowly) So you want to rescue the monks?

MEHOS: No. (then, reconsidering) Well, yes. But mainly I want to save what's inside the monastery.

MICHAEL: What?

Methos doesn't answer at first.

METHOS: It's a long flight. We should get some sleep.

He turns in his seat, away from Michael, and closes his eyes.

Michael sits back, frustrated. He looks out the window and sees, briefly, a reflection of Nikita, turning away from him, angry at his holding out.

**********

SCENE: LOFT, MORNING. Duncan and Amanda are asleep, spooning, amid a mess of bedclothes. The phone rings. They sleep. It rings again. Duncan reaches out and blindly fumbles for the receiver, stretching the cord over Amanda as he pulls it to his ear.

DUNCAN: (mumbling sleepily) `Lo.

NIKITA'S VOICE: Duncan, it's Nikita.

DUNCAN: (still sleepy) Nikita.

Amanda opens her eyes but doesn't move.

NIKITA'S VOICE: Do you know an immortal named Kiem Sun?

DUNCAN: Um hmmm.

Amanda gingerly pretends to use her fingers as scissors to "cut" the phone cord.

DUNCAN: (yawning) What about him?

CUT to Nikita's apartment. She is seated on her bedroom floor, surrounded by pages printed out from her computer. She holds up a picture of Kiem Sun.

NIKITA: I met him the other night.

CUT to loft. Duncan sits up, wide awake.

DUNCAN: Where?

NIKITA'S VOICE: At a local restaurant. He didn't want to fight.

CUT to Nikita's apartment.

NIKITA: (continuing) He just wanted some information about another immortal. Only I can't find that other immortal in the Watcher database.

DUNCAN'S VOICE: Who was it?

NIKITA: Someone named Nathaniel Adams.

CUT to loft. Duncan is getting out of bed, stepping clumsily over Amanda.

DUNCAN: I'll take care of this.

NIKITA'S VOICE: Take care of what?

DUNCAN: Don't worry. This isn't your problem.

NIKITA'S VOICE: Dun--

He hangs up, cutting her off.

AMANDA: What's wrong?

DUNCAN: I've got to go see an old friend.

He grabs jeans and a shirt and goes into the bathroom. Amanda wraps a sheet around her and steps up to the closed bathroom door.

AMANDA: What kind of old friend?

There is no answer.

AMANDA: The kind who carries a sword and a grudge?

Duncan emerges, grim-faced and fully dressed.

DUNCAN: A sword, yes. A grudge, I don't know.

He walks past her, toward the kitchen. Amanda stumbles after him, the sheet trailing behind her.

AMANDA: MacLeod, don't you dare get all male chauvinist on me now --

He stops, and she bumps into him.

DUNCAN: (over his shoulder) Kiem Sun.

AMANDA: Kiem Sun? But I thought you two were really tight.

DUNCAN: We were. We had a -- a difference of opinion a few years ago.

AMANDA: Well, that's cryptic enough.

He heads for the kitchen, where he takes out a jug of orange juice from the refrigerator. He drinks directly from it.

AMANDA: What does all this have to do with Nikita?

DUNCAN: (wiping his mouth) Nothing. They crossed paths.

AMANDA: So you're not going there to "protect" her or anything.

Duncan puts away the orange juice and heads for the elevator, stopping to pick up his "coat."

DUNCAN: He's not after Nikita.

AMANDA: Then who --?

DUNCAN: He's after Methos.

He gets into the elevator and pulls the door down.

**********

SCENE: XINING -- TIBETAN BAZAAR. Methos stands amid the crowd, watching Michael talking to a Tibetan merchant. Michael nods, hands the man a bill, and then returns to Methos.

MICHAEL: This way.

He nods his head, and the two men begin walking down the bazaar. Methos looks over at Michael, who is looking ahead resolutely.

METHOS: You speak Tibetan.

MICHAEL: Yes.

METHOS: Is there anything you CAN'T do, Michael?

MICHAEL: I can't live forever.

Taken aback, Methos pauses in his stride. Then, he collects himself and resumes walking.

METHOS: So, is that what's come between you and Nikita?

MICHAEL: No.

They walk a few more feet in silence.

MICHAEL: (reluctantly) Yes. In part. I sometimes wonder --

METHOS: You wonder if her feelings for you will change as you grow older and she doesn't.

MICHAEL: Something like that.

They walk a little further, up to a break in the bazaar booths. Michael holds out a hand for Methos to stop.

MICHAEL: This is where we meet the driver.

Methos nods and looks around.

METHOS: You know, I've seen a lot of, shall we say, "mixed" marriages in my day. I've even had a few of my own.

Michael doesn't look at him, but he is very still, listening closely. All around them, Tibetan merchants hawk their wares.

METHOS: A couple I knew in Strasbourg -- 1780 something. Erich and Greta. He was immortal, frozen around the age of twenty-five, but she was a rapidly wrinkling fifty.

MICHAEL: And?

METHOS: And one night she caught him in bed with their buxom nineteen-year-old parlour maid.

Michael turns away impatiently, but Methos grabs his arm.

METHOS: And then there was another couple I met in London in the 1840s. Katherine was the immortal -- forever a beautiful twenty-eight-year old. Her husband Charles, on the other hand, was a doddering seventy-year-old, crippled by arthritis and incontinence and other assorted ills of old age. Even so, he was one of the happiest men I've ever known -- all because his beautiful wife was as devoted to him then as she had been fifty years earlier.

Methos drops his grip on Michael's arm, and then shoves his hands in his pockets.

METHOS: I've thought about them a lot. I've thought about the joy she must have brought him in those final years -- how he must have felt rewarded somehow by the fact that, in the twilight of his life, he could look into such bright young eyes and see so much love.

A beat-up truck pulls up to them. The driver waves.

METHOS: Our limo has arrived, I see.

He starts for the truck, but Michael stops him.

MICHAEL: Thank you.

METHOS: Keep that thought. You might not feel that way much longer.

*********

SCENE: LOFT. Amanda paces back and forth. Finally, she plops on the sofa and picks up a magazine. She flips through it, seeing none of it.

Suddenly, she sits up. Another immortal approaches. Dropping the magazine, she stands and faces the elevator as it rises. The door slides up, and Nikita steps out.

AMANDA: Oh. It's you.

NIKITA: Is Duncan here?

AMANDA: No.

She plops down on the sofa again and picks up the magazine.

NIKITA: Where is he?

AMANDA: You should know. You're the reason he ran out of here without so much as a cup of coffee --

NIKITA: (gritting her teeth) Amanda, WHERE DID HE GO?

AMANDA: (reluctantly) He went to see Kiem Sun.

NIKITA: Oh, no --

She turns and hits the elevator button. Amanda jumps up and quickly steps over to her.

AMANDA: Why? What's wrong?

Nikita doesn't answer.

AMANDA: Nikita, if Duncan's in trouble --

Nikita, after a moment, turns to look at her.

NIKITA: Duncan's in trouble.

AMANDA: I'll get my sword.

NIKITA: (grabbing her arm) You won't need a sword.

**********

SCENE: ORIENTAL GARDEN -- DAY. Kiem Sun, dressed in traditional Chinese robes, sits in front of a low table, pouring tea.

His hand pauses, and he looks up.

KIEM: I've been expecting you.

Duncan steps out from the entrance to the garden.

KIEM: Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.

Duncan walks forward to the table slowly. Kiem Sun resumes pouring tea -- in a second cup.

KIEM: Join me.

DUNCAN: (drily) No thanks.

KIEM: Ah, I see you remember our last encounter.

DUNCAN: Let's just say I have good reason not to break bread with you.

KIEM: You refer to my quest for the quandra root, and the formula for distilling its potent abilities.

DUNCAN: I refer to the drug you designed in a vainglorious attempt to create your own personal army.

KIEM: But do you not recall, my old friend, that you yourself disposed of the last remaining sample of the potion.

DUNCAN: I recall everything. Including my promise to kill you if I found you had not given up your -- quest.

KIEM: And I recall an earlier promise you made me. The promise to defend my life, even if it meant your own.

He smiles up at Duncan, who stares back mutely.

KIEM: Please. Sit. (He holds up a cup of tea.) I assure you this is nothing more potent than ginseng.

He sips, as if to prove it. Duncan reluctantly takes a seat on the pillow opposite. He does not drink the tea.

DUNCAN: What do you want with Nathaniel Adams?

KIEM: You know of my attempts to locate Mr. Adams.

DUNCAN: And I know an evasion when I hear one. What do you want with him?

Kiem sets down the tea cup, and then explains slowly and deliberately.

KIEM: After our last -- meeting -- I returned to my homeland. My wish was to retire into a life of quiet study and reflection, but unfortunately I was drawn into the rather unsettled politics of my country. I was forced to play a more active role than I ever intended or wanted.

DUNCAN: Kiem Sun a Communist? I find that very hard to believe.

KIEM: (shrugging) We must adapt to the environment in which we find ourselves. In any case, I assumed a position of some minor importance in the Party, the result of which was the necessity to travel fairly extensively -- sometimes to the remotest provinces of my country.

He rises from his seat and crosses to a small table set beside the door into the house.

KIEM: In the course of my travels, I stumbled across something belonging to Mr. Adams, and I simply wish to return it.

From the table drawer, he pulls out a large, dusty, worn book. He turns and holds it out with both hands.

Duncan rises to his feet, on his guard.

DUNCAN: (suspiciously) What is that?

KIEM: I believe it is one of Mr. Adams's journals.

Duncan's hand slides into his coat, but before he can pull his sword, a man in black combat gear steps out of the door of the house. He points a gun at Kiem Sun.

Duncan hears a click. He turns -- behind him is another man in black, also holding a gun.

SECTION OPERATIVE: Come with us.

**********

SCENE: STREET OUTSIDE KIEM SUN'S HOUSE. Amanda and Nikita sit in a car parked down the street from Kiem's house. They both have binoculars and are looking through them at the house.

AMANDA: Is that them?

A POV through the binoculars: they watch as Duncan and Kiem are loaded into a Section van. Kiem carries the journal.

Back to Amanda and Nikita. Nikita lowers her binoculars.

NIKITA: That's them.

*********

ACT FOUR

SCENE: LOFT. Amanda and Nikita burst in from the elevator.

AMANDA: I don't see what the problem is. We just break in and break Duncan out --

NIKITA: No one just breaks into Section One. It would be easier to break into Fort Knox.

AMANDA: Yeah, well, you'd be surprised how easy it is to break into Fort Knox. Believe me, I know --

Nikita looks at her.

AMANDA: (shaking her head) It's a long story. And we don't have time -- (she stops and looks at Nikita) How much time DO we have?

NIKITA: Well, Kiem Sun was the target, so they'll deal with him first. They probably see Duncan as just collateral.

AMANDA: Collateral?

NIKITA: Their word, not mine. If Madeline runs true to form, it'll probably be seventy-two hours, maybe more, before they cancel him.

AMANDA: You mean kill him.

NIKITA: Yes. (She sighs and drops onto the sofa.) Maybe that's the only way. The Section cancels Duncan, he comes back, sneaks out, and --

AMANDA: (shaking her head) Too risky. If he's discovered, then this Section One will have evidence of the existence of immortals. Imagine what they'll do with THAT --

NIKITA: (sitting forward) You're right. I should have thought of that.

She looks at Amanda with grudging respect.

NIKITA: I guess I do have some things to learn after all.

AMANDA: (sitting beside her) You'll get there, trust me. Now, we need to come up with a plan.

NIKITA: What about the immortal Kiem Sun was looking for? Nathaniel Adams? Maybe we could use him --

AMANDA: He can't help.

NIKITA: Why not?

AMANDA: Nikita, Nathaniel Adams is Adam. Adam Pierson.

**********

SCENE: TIBET. Michael and Methos, alone, drive along a bumpy road leading to the base of a mountain. The terrain is rugged and bare, the sky cold and gray. Michael is at the wheel, looking around as he negotiates the rough road.

METHOS: Charming, isn't it?

MICHAEL: It looks like Siberia.

METHOS: It is, in a way. The Chinese Siberia. This is where they send political dissidents and other criminals to serve out life sentences. The residents say that from here, hell is a local call.

Methos sits up, seeing something. He points ahead and to the left.

METHOS: Over there.

Michael looks but sees nothing except an outcropping of rock jutting from the base of the mountain. He slows the truck and turns toward it, glancing at Methos.

The truck arrives at the outcropping, and Michael brings it to a stop. Methos steps out and looks around. Michael shuts off the engine and also gets out.

METHOS: (smiling) Ah, yes --

He walks over to the rock and begins feeling along it. Michael, standing by the truck, watches curiously.

Methos's hands slide over a crevice in the rock. He runs his fingers back, and then reaches inside the crevice. He jerks something and steps back.

Michael's eyes widen as the rock moves. It's a door.

METHOS: (gesturing for Michael to go inside) Apres vous, monsieur.

Slowly, Michael advances and enters.

**********

SCENE: INSIDE MONASTERY. Michael stands just inside the door, looking around at the entrance foyer. The room is large and dim, lit by candles and gaslight. It is almost bare of artifact -- the only evidence of it as a monastery is a small altar with a shining gold Buddha against the far wall. To the left and right are large, ornately carved, black wooden doors.

Methos enters from behind Michael and walks immediately past him, to the door on the left. As he reaches the door, it opens, and an orange-clad monk appears. He sees Methos and smiles joyfully. He clasps Methos's hand, bending in a bow over it. Methos says something, and the monk answers and gestures to the door behind him. Methos say something else, and the monk nods and crosses to the door on the right, bowing repeatedly on his way out.

Michael walks up to Methos.

METHOS: Come with me.

He exits through the left door. Michael follows.

CUT to hallway. The hall is long and dark, inadequately lit. Along it are more ornately carved wooden doors. Methos heads with assurance to a door on the right. He pushes it open and it creaks. He steps inside. Michael, hesitantly, steps to the threshold and looks inside.

The room is a library. A huge library, with shelf after shelf of old gray books. Hundreds and hundreds of books lined up with meticulous precision.

Michael walks in. Methos is at the far end of the room, talking with a monk. On the floor beside them is a large crate, in which a second monk is setting one of the books. As Michael watches, the second monk then walks to a shelf, where he takes down another book and carries it almost reverently to the crate. He works without hurry, measuring his steps and movements with ceremony.

Michael steps over to a nearby shelf. He leans over to read the spine of a book. The ink is faded, almost unreadable, but he can make out what it says: 1243.

METHOS: (behind him) A very good year, by the way.

MICHAEL: (startled) What is this place?

METHOS: A library, of course.

MICHAEL: A library of what?

METHOS: (after a moment) Of my journals.

MICHAEL: But -- but this says 1243.

METHOS: Yes. This is the thirteenth century room.

MICHAEL: The thir--

Unable to grasp it, he looks around for something else to put his mind to. His eye falls on the monks, both of whom are now packing away the books.

MICHAEL: Why are they packing them?

METHOS: For some time now, I've been arranging to have the library moved to a safer location. I thought I had at least another year, but now I think we're going to have to speed things up.

He sees another monk enter the room -- taller, more dignified than the others, a man who seems the leader of the monastery. Methos starts over to him.

MICHAEL: (stopping him) Why the rush?

METHOS: A man named Kiem Sun.

********

SCENE: SECTION ONE WHITE ROOM. The scene begins with a close-up of Kiem Sun. The camera pulls back as he walks around the room, his hands behind his back, a satisfied smile on his face.

The door creaks open, and Madeline enters.

MADELINE: Mr. Sun?

KIEM: Yes.

MADELINE: My name is Madeline.

KIEM: (bowing) An honor.

MADELINE: (with a smile) I don't often get that greeting.

KIEM: Courtesy is quickly becoming a lost art.

MADELINE: You could be right.

Her own hands behind her back, she begins circling the room toward him.

MADELINE: Mr. Sun, you have been brought here --

He holds up his hand. Surprised, she stops.

KIEM: I apologize for the interruption, but I am curious. What exactly is "here"?

Madeline debates, and after a moment responds.

MADELINE: This place is called Section One. We are an extremely covert anti-terrorist organization.

KIEM: Covert because -- ?

MADELINE: Because we do not always observe the niceties of due process.

KIEM: (nodding and smiling) Excellent. In that case, I believe we can do business.

**********

SCENE: OBSERVATION DECK. Operations looks down at the open journal Madeline has placed in front of him. The script is Chinese.

OPERATIONS: And he claims --

MADELINE: He claims this is a formula for a drug. A drug that will induce a state of fearlessness, obedience, and great strength in those who ingest it.

OPERATIONS: A formula for a perfect soldier.

MADELINE: Yes.

OPERATIONS: (sharply) Do you believe him?

MADELINE: I believe he is telling the truth as he knows it. Whether this drug works -- (she shrugs)

OPERATIONS: If he does have the formula for such a drug, why hasn't he used it?

MADELINE: (indicating the journal) As you can see, the ink has faded considerably. In some places, you can no longer make out what was written.

OPERATIONS: We've got equipment that could show the pattern of a sneeze on a tissue.

MADELINE: Yes, we do.

Operations closes the book and hands it to her.

OPERATIONS: Take it to the lab, and then get someone who can translate it. I'm not about to trust this Kiem Sun's version. Yet.

Madeline nods and leaves with the book.

Operations looks down at the floor below. Two Section operatives lead Kiem Sun across the room. He looks up at Operations and gives a small nod.

Operations nods back.

**********

SCENE: TIBET, MONASTERY. Michael and Methos walk down another hall.

MICHAEL: But how did Kiem Sun find this place?

METHOS: All of the monks here -- there are five of them -- are immortal. When Kiem Sun toured the area, he sensed them. And then he found them.

He stops at another large wooden door.

METHOS: He promised to protect them from the Chinese forces if they allowed him to "browse." Just intellectual curiosity, he said.

MICHAEL: And they believed him.

METHOS: (shrugging) They haven't much experience with the outside world.

He pushes open the door and enters. Michael steps in: the room is almost completely dark. A moment later he hears a match, and then he sees Methos lighting a lamp.

MICHAEL: What exactly did Kiem Sun find here?

Methos peruses the shelves while he answers.

METHOS: For centuries, Kiem Sun has been obsessed with finding the secret formula for a drug that would create the perfect soldier. It was first distilled from the herbs of the quandra root by a Chinese chemist during the Han dynasty.

He stops, his hand resting on a shelf. Michael steps forward and looks: a book is missing from the shelf.

METHOS: Looks like he found it.

Slowly, Michael pulls an adjacent book off the shelf. He opens it: page after page of fading ancient Chinese script.

MICHAEL: This was written during the Han dynasty.

METHOS: Just after the first stone was laid for the Great Wall.

MICHAEL: That would be --

METHOS: Oh, around 200 B.C. Give or take a few decades.

MICHAEL: (stunned) You're the Nathaniel Adams he was looking for.

METHOS: Yes.

Michael looks up, the question burning in his eyes.

METHOS: I'm also called Methos.

*********

ACT FIVE

SCENE: LOFT -- NIGHT. Nikita and Amanda are seated on the floor beside the coffee table. Spread out on the table is a sketch of Section One; on the floor beside them are soda cans, an empty pizza box, and popcorn.

AMANDA: (pointing to the map) What if we enter through this vent, cross this hall, and pass under --

NIKITA: (shaking her head) Even if we could cut the visual surveillance over the vent, there are two back ups (she points) here and here. We could never disable them in time.

AMANDA: (sitting back) Damn.

NIKITA: We might be able to penetrate through Level Seven --

AMANDA: And?

NIKITA: But since I was only there once, I can't say for sure what the layout is. And even if we broke through, finding Duncan will take time --

She stops and sits back with a groan.

AMANDA: We need help. We can't do this alone.

NIKITA: I know.

Abruptly, she stands and begins collecting the remains of their food. Amanda watches her.

AMANDA: (hesitantly) Would Michael know Level Seven?

NIKITA: (sighing) Yes, Michael would know.

She takes the trash into the kitchen and dumps it, and then retrieves sodas for both of them from the refrigerator.

AMANDA: How long have you two been together?

NIKITA: Together? That's a difficult question. We've known each other for -- well, actually Michael has known me for five years. I don't know if I've ever known him.

She returns to the living room, hands Amanda her soda, and then sits back down.

AMANDA: Thanks. (She opens the can.) So he's the mysterious type, huh?

NIKITA: (popping her can) You said it.

AMANDA: And now things are even more difficult, what with you being -- and him being --

NIKITA: Actually, I don't think that bothers him very much.

AMANDA: Don't be so sure. I've known a lot of mortal men in my life -- a LOT -- and there wasn't one who wasn't a little bit threatened by my -- well, my stamina.

NIKITA: Yeah? (She sips.) How did you handle it?

AMANDA: Depended on the guy. Some I knew would never accept it. Others -- well, it took a lot of time. And a lot of talking.

NIKITA: Michael's not big on talking. The silent stare is his primary mode of communication.

Amanda reaches over and squeezes her arm.

AMANDA: Then MAKE him talk.

Nikita, after a moment, nods.

NIKITA: Maybe you're right.

They smile at each other. Renewed, Nikita sits forward.

NIKITA: Now, back to our more immediate problem.

Amanda sits forward eagerly. They stare at the plans and then turn to look at each other.

NIKITA: It's hopeless.

AMANDA: Impossible.

NIKITA: We have to have help.

**********

SCENE: AIRPLANE. The plane is dark, and the compartment empty except for Michael and Methos. Michael sleeps against the seat -- jerking slightly. Methos turns to watch him.

Suddenly, Michael starts awake.

METHOS: So what wasn't all a lie?

MICHAEL: What?

METHOS: You were dreaming. You said, "Nikita -- it wasn't all a lie."

MICHAEL: (shaking his head to clear it) I -- I don't know --

METHOS: Hey, you don't have to tell me. After all, I just entrusted you with the most important secret of my life.

MICHAEL: I was -- I was dreaming about a time when I had to lie to Nikita about a mission.

METHOS: Ah.

MICHAEL: Actually, I had to lie a lot. It became as easy as breathing.

METHOS: (nodding) And now I'm asking you to lie again.

MICHAEL: I understand why. And it won't be so much a lie as --

METHOS: A selective noncommunication.

Michael doesn't answer.

METHOS: Oh, I know them all. All the ways we excuse and explain and rationalize the things we do. I know all the ways we lie to ourselves: we say we're protecting them or we're making things easier for them or we're saving them from things they wouldn't or couldn't or shouldn't understand.

He sighs and folds his arms, leaning back in the seat.

METHOS: But it's all a waste. A lie is a lie, Michael. And guilt does not wash away our sins.

MICHAEL: Then what --

METHOS: What can we do? (He shrugs.) Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day.

He looks over at Michael.

METHOS: We're probably in range now.

Michael looks at the airplane's cell phone. Slowly, he reaches out and unhooks it. He dials a number and waits. Methos, smiling, closes his eyes.

MICHAEL: Nikita, it's me . . . . (He sits forward) When?

Methos opens his eyes at the change in Michael's tone.

MICHAEL: Yes, it'll have to be soon. We'll be there in a few hours. (He hangs up.)

METHOS: What?

MICAHEL: The Section grabbed Kiem Sun. (He looks at Methos.) And MacLeod.

**********

SCENE: SECTION ONE WHITE ROOM. Duncan is strapped to a chair. He is completely still -- his head lolling to the side. The camera moves in closer and closer . . .

Duncan gives a sudden snore. He is asleep.

The door creaks open, and Madeline enters. She looks at Duncan, surprised. Then she steps over and gently shakes his shoulder.

MADELINE: Mr. MacLeod?

Duncan wakes grumpily.

DUNCAN: Hmmm -- what?

MADELINE: (ironically) I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but I do have a few questions for you.

DUNCAN: (yawning) Oh, well, it's about time. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me.

MADELINE: (with a smile and a small shake of her head) You're a most unusual man, Mr. MacLeod.

DUNCAN: Oh, I don't know. I think I'm pretty nor--

MADELINE: You carry a sword.

DUNCAN: (shrugging) I'm an antiques dealer. I was hoping to sell it to Mr. Sun.

She nods and begins walking around him in classic Madeline form.

MADELINE: You are remarkably composed for an antiques dealer.

DUNCAN: Yes, well, you have to know how to keep your head in my line of work. (He smiles as she reaches the front of him again.) Sales, that is.

MADELINE: (abruptly) What do you know about Kiem Sun?

DUNCAN: Um -- I know he's Chinese.

MADELINE: (coldly) You are charming, Mr. MacLeod, but my patience is running thin.

DUNCAN: Lady, I bet when you have the patience of a saint. When it suits your purpose.

MADELINE: Would it suit my purpose on this occasion?

DUNCAN: Maybe. Maybe not. (He likewise drops the note of false courtesy.) Maybe I don't give a damn about your purpose.

MADELINE: That's too bad.

She goes to the door and opens it. The Torture Twins enter.

***********

SCENE: MUSIC STORE. A pan of the store reveals the usual clientele: teenagers browsing the CDs and posters. Finally the camera stops on a different sort of customer: an older man with a long, gray ponytail and bright red bandana. He smiles and pulls a CD from the rack: Jimi Hendrix.

WALTER: My man.

A voice from behind him startles him.

NIKITA: They did make music after 1968, Walter.

Walter drops the CD and whirls around.

WALTER: Oh, my God -- Nikita!

She smiles and puts a finger to his lips, glancing around the store. Walter reaches out to touch her shoulder.

WALTER: You're really here -- I can't believe it -- you're not dead --

NIKITA: (laughing slightly) No, I'm not dead. It's good to see you, Walter.

WALTER: Oh, sugar --

He pulls her into a huge bear hug. Nikita hugs him back, and then pulls away.

NIKITA: Walter, I need your help.

**********

SCENE: PARKING GARAGE -- NIGHT. Michael and Methos move past a line of vans and head for a stairwell door.

MUSIC starts: the Sneaker Pimps' "Six Underground."

CUT to inside stairwell. Methos stands at the foot of the stairwell while Michael goes underneath it. He takes out a drill and begins removing the bolts to a panel under the stairwell.

"What's up -- what's up --"

CUT to city street. Amanda and Nikita stand in the middle of the deserted street. While Amanda looks around and takes out climbing equipment, Nikita pulls the cover off a manhole. Amanda hands her the end of a long rope. Nikita wraps it around her waist and tightens it. Amanda braces herself -- and then Nikita, with Amanda as leverage, lowers herself down into the manhole.

"Take me down, 6 underground
The ground beneath your feet --"

CUT to garage stairwell. Michael removes the panel and shines a flashlight into the opening. He pockets the flashlight and eases in, feet first, holding onto the edge. He lets go -- and then he slides down. Methos looks down after him.

METHOS: Maybe next we can try the jungle gym.

Sighing, he follows Michael, sliding down the long shaft.

"Laid out low, nothing to go
Nowhere a way to meet--"

CUT to inside sewer. Nikita is kneeling and opening a black bag. She looks up as Amanda drops from above. Amanda unhooks the rope from around her waist while Nikita takes out a short, dark wig. Quickly, she pulls the wig on, stuffing her hair into it. Amanda takes two white lab coats from the bag and shakes them out.

NIKITA: (standing) What do you think?

AMANDA: (holding out a lab coat) Definitely better as a blond.

Nikita smiles and they don the lab coats.

NIKITA: Let's go, girl.

The two women, looking remarkably alike, stow the bag and move down the sewer.

"I've got a head full of drought down here
So far off losing out, round here--"

CUT to Section One hallway. Walter stands by the wall, looking around nervously. Suddenly he looks up: a ceiling panel is removed. Walter takes a small electronic device from his pocket and plants it on the wall. He pushes a button on the device, and a red light appears.

Walter moves underneath the ceiling panel.

WALTER: All clear, sugar.

Amanda drops down. She smiles.

AMANDA: I'm not your sugar, but I think you're a sweetie anyway.

Nikita drops down.

WALTER: They've got your friend in Room Twelve.

NIKITA: Good. What about Kiem Sun?

"Overground, watch this space
I'm open to falling from grace --"

CUT to vent. Michael and Methos are crouched next to another panel. Michael holds his hand to his ear.

WALTER'S VOICE: Kiem Sun is on the Residence Level. Room 61B.

NIKITA'S VOICE: Thanks, Walter.

MICHAEL: We got it, Nikita. Proceed.

"What's up -- what's up --"

CUT to Section One hallway. Amanda and Nikita walk with deliberate speed down the hall. Nikita keeps her head down and, when another operative passes, averts it. They reach a corner.

NIKITA: This way.

They turn the corner, and Nikita moves to a white room door. She tries the knob, but it's locked.

AMANDA: (almost preening) Oh, let me --

Amanda pulls a digital analyzer out of her pocket and sets it on the electronic key pad of the door.

"Calm me down, bring it round,
Too way high off your street --"

CUT to inside white room. An already unconscious Duncan is hooked to an IV. The Torture Twins stand on either side of him.

The door opens, and Amanda enters. She puts her hands on her hips.

AMANDA: Oh, look. Twins.

The Girl Torture Twin steps up to her.

GIRL TWIN: This is a restricted area.

AMANDA: (turning) Gosh, you know, I didn't see a sign --

She whirls back and punches the Girl Twin out. The Boy Twin comes around the side of Duncan.

BOY TWIN: Hey --

Nikita steps in the room and zaps him with a stun gun. He falls.

NIKTIA: (looking down) ALWAYS wanted to do that.

"Don't think `cuz I understand, I care
Don't think `cuz I'm talking, we're friends --"

AMANDA: (looking at Duncan) Oh, Duncan, my poor baby --

She hurriedly pulls out his IV and then slips onto his lap, kissing him all over his face.

AMANDA: Poor, poor baby --

Duncan's eyes flutter open.

DUNCAN: Amanda? (He smiles.) Amanda --

His arms wrap around her and they smooch.

"Overground, watch this space
I'm open to falling from grace --"

Nikita steps forward.

NIKITA: I hate to break this up, Mandy --

AMANDA: (breaking from Duncan) Oh, sorry, Nikki.

She hops off Duncan's lap and helps him to his feet. He holds onto her shoulders and stares at the two of them.

DUNCAN: Nikki? MANDY?

AMANDA: Lead the way, girlfriend.

DUNCAN: (as they leave) Kiem Sun --

AMANDA: We got it covered.

"Talk me down, safe and sound,
Too strung up to sleep --"

CUT to inside residence hall room. Kiem Sun, asleep on a bed, opens his eyes to find Michael standing beside him.

MICHAEL: Come with me, please.

KIEM: (sighing and sitting up) More questions?

MICHAEL: (pulling a gun) No questions.

"Wear me out, scream and shout
Swear my time's never cheap --"

CUT to Section One hallway. Michael holds the gun on Kiem Sun as they move down the hall. When they reach a corner, Michael grabs Kiem by the neck to stop him. Then, Michael retrieves a small electronic device from the wall. He pockets it, and pushes the gun into Kiem Sun's back again.

They turn the corner, and come face to face with Birkoff.

BIRKOFF: (mouth agape) My God -- MICHAEL?!

Michael grabs Kiem's neck to hold him in place, and then he points the gun at Birkoff.

MICHAEL: You never saw me.

Birkoff, swallowing hard, fumbles off his glasses.

BIRKOFF: Can't see a thing without them.

He stands, stunned, as Michael pushes Kiem Sun ahead.

MICHAEL: (as he passes Birkoff) I'm sorry.

"I fake my life like I've lived too much
I take whatever you're given, not enough --"

Birkoff watches as Michael and Kiem reach the end of the hall. He sees Michael retrieve another electronic device, and then round the corner.

CUT to another Section Hall. Michael and Kiem approach another corner. Michael stops for the last electronic device. He pushes Kiem around the corner, and Kiem stiffens -- sensing another immortal.

KIEM: Wait -- where are you taking me?

Michael, his gun square in Kiem's back, shoots him. Kiem falls, and Michael catches him, swinging the body over his shoulder.

"Overground, watch this space
I'm open to falling from grace --"

He continues down the hall to one last corner. When he rounds it, he sees Methos: he is sitting half in and half out of a vent near the floor, looking around as if he's in the park on a bench.

METHOS: (nodding) So this is Section One.

MICHAEL: (shifting Kiem's body) Do you mind --

METHOS: Oh. Sorry.

He steps out of the vent. Michael shoves Kiem's body inside and pushes it up.

METHOS: (still looking around) It sure is great to see our tax dollars at work.

MICAHEL: (breathing hard) And what work would that be?

He ducks into the vent, pushing the body ahead of him.

METHOS: Grouch.

He follows Michael into the vent.

"I fake my life like I've lived, too much
I take whatever you're given, not enough --"

Methos's hand appears and grabs the panel, pulling it back into place.

"Overground, watch this space
I'm open to falling from grace."

**********

SCENE: PARKING GARAGE. Music stops. Michael, carrying Kiem's body, hurries up to a van. He dumps the body on the ground beside the van's side door, and then he goes over to the driver's side and breaks in.

Methos, following, stops to look down at Kiem. The body stirs, awakening. Methos pulls his sword.

METHOS: Oh, no --

DUNCAN: DON'T!

Methos turns. Duncan runs up, followed by Amanda and Nikita.

DUNCAN: Don't. Please.

METHOS: You know what he is, MacLeod.

DUNCAN: And I know I promised to defend him -- with my own life -- unless he found a way to distill the quandra root.

METHOS: He tried.

DUNCAN: He failed.

The two men stare at one another.

METHOS: (sighing) Oh, all right. You and your Boy Scout rules. I won't challenge him.

He puts away his sword. Duncan gives him a look.

METHOS: You have my word.

The van's engine starts. Methos opens the side door, and Duncan helps the awakening Kiem inside. Amanda and Methos follow.

Nikita gets into the front passenger door. Michael looks over at her.

MICHAEL: Ready.

NIKITA: (with a smile) Ready.

The van drives away.

*********

EPILOGUE

SCENE: LOFT -- NIGHT. The elevator door slides up, and Duncan, Amanda, Michael, Nikita, and Methos exit. A jubilant Duncan has his arm draped around Amanda, who smiles up at him adoringly. The others are smiling, but quiet.

DUNCAN: I know I've got some champagne here somewhere --

AMANDA: You always have champagne.

They head for the kitchen, while the others filter into the loft, standing around. Duncan goes to the refrigerator, bending over to examine its contents. Amanda spots a brown package on the counter.

AMANDA: What's this?

DUNCAN: (looking back) Richie must have left it. Ah, I knew it --

Triumphantly, he pulls out a bottle of champagne.

AMANDA: (reading the address on the package) It's for Methos. From that cutie pie Walter.

METHOS: Who's Walter?

NIKITA: Who's Methos?

Everyone is suddenly very quiet. They all look around, Amanda covering her mouth with her hand. Methos stares at his feet and then crosses to the package. He tears the paper open in the silence.

Nikita looks from one to the other, finally stopping at Michael.

NIKITA: Michael?

He sighs and looks at the ground.

NIKITA: Fine.

She heads for the elevator, hitting the button hard.

DUNCAN/AMANDA: Nikita, don't go --

METHOS: Yes. Don't go.

They turn,and he steps out of the kitchen. In his hands he holds his journal. He walks over to Nikita.

METHOS: Walter is apparently a very good friend. As are you.

He looks at Michael.

METHOS: Tell her.

**********

SCENE: NIKITA'S APARTMENT. She is standing at the bedroom window, looking out. Michael is on the other side of the room, watching her.

NIKITA: It's incredible.

MICHAEL: I know.

NIKITA: Five thousand years -- (She shudders.) Just the idea scares me.

MICHAEL: (stepping forward, curiously) It frightens you?

NIKITA: Immortality? You bet it does.

She turns to face him.

NIKITA: What about you? How do you really feel about this?

He doesn't answer at first. He looks at the ground, and then, finally, he comes forward to take her hands and lead her to the bed. He sits her down and kneels in front of her.

MICHAEL: There's more I have to tell you.

Nikita braces herself.

MICHAEL: Methos is moving the library to a remote spot in Canada. Once it is all in place, he wants to start work restoring some of the older chronicles, and then he wants them all put on computer disk.

NIKITA: (eyes widening) That'll be a job.

MICHAEL: He offered it to me.

NIKITA: To you?

MICHAEL: I have the technical skills the monks lack. And I know their language. I can train them --

NIKITA: What about the Watchers?

MICHAEL: I would have to leave the Watchers.

NIKITA: (with a small smile dawning) Michael -- Keeper of the Chronicles. I like that.

MICHAEL: It would entail more than that.

He rises and sits beside her, taking her hand.

MICHAEL: In packing up the library, they realized that the journal Kiem Sun stole was not the only one missing. Quite a few are gone.

NIKITA: (frowning) Did Kiem Sun --

MICHAEL: No. He saw only the Han Dynasty journals.

NIKITA: One of the monks?

MICHAEL: Perhaps. Methos wants me to find out, and then he wants me to find the journals. Many of them contain information that could be -- well --

NIKITA: (finishing for him) -- that could be dangerous if in the wrong hands.

MICHAEL: It would mean going back to the kind of work we did before.

Nikita, after a moment, smiles.

NIKITA: Michael, I've learned a few things lately. Mainly, what we were is very much a part of what we are. I can't close my eyes to my responsibilities any more.

He grips her hand tightly.

MICHAEL: (whispering) Nikita, one more thing --

NIKITA: (laughing breathily) I don't know how much more I can take.

He gently brushes a strand of her hair back.

NIKITA: Oh, all right. What is it?

MICHAEL: Just a question --

***********

SCENE: JOE'S BAR. Joe, holding a glass of champagne, stands on the stage. Beside him, sitting on a stool with her guitar, is Celia.

JOE: (lifting the champagne glass) And now, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, may I present --

The camera pans to show the room. The bar is empty, except for Michael, Nikita, Amanda, Duncan and Methos.

Nikita is wearing a white suit with flowers on the lapel. Michael is in a dark suit and tie.

JOE: (continuing) The bride and groom.

Nikita and Michael smile at one another. The others hold up their glasses and cry, "Hear, hear!" Everyone drinks. Michael kisses Nikita softly.

JOE: And in honor of the bride and groom, I present to you, appearing live and on stage in this establishment for the first time, my lovely friend Celia Bonner.

He turns to Celia.

JOE: Hit it.

Celia smiles, strums her guitar, and begins to sing: Sister Seven's "Know What You Mean."

"Hey man come on over here
Let me play some of nothing' for your ears
I sat down and listened to him say
Love keeps getting in the way
How many times will I fall in love
With a girl that was my friend
You see, love is a hole in the middle of my hall
Like a well that has no end --"

Ducnan leans across the table toward Michael.

DUNCAN: Mind if I steal the bride for a dance?

MICHAEL: Be my guest.

Duncan smiles at Nikita and holds out his hand. Nikita takes it, and they swing their hands over Amanda's head. Amanda watches, smiling, as they move to the dance floor, dipping together gracefully into a dance.

"Oh yeah, I know what you mean
Cause a friend in love is a friend in need
There's a soul out there that yours wants to find
Set your spirit free and I said
Oh, yeah I know what you mean
Cause a friend in love is a friend in need --"

Amanda slips into Nikita's chair and leans over to Michael.

AMANDA: Now I know if there's one thing a man from Marseilles can do, it's dance.

Michael smiles and takes her hand. As they reach the dance floor, he gives her a little twirl into his arms.

AMANDA: Ooh, when I'm right, I'm right.

MICHAEL: I'm a little out of practice.

AMANDA: Never know it by me.

"She said hey man, come on, let's go
Let me tell you about something you don't know
Well I paced the floor and I listened to her say
Love keeps gettin' in the way
How many times will I fall in love
With a boy that was my friend you see
Love is a pole that blocks the door with a key
With a key the boy can't lend and I said --"

Michael turns Amanda again, and she squeals in delight.

Across the dance floor, Duncan and Nikita are dancing more sedately.

DUNCAN: So I guess you'd rather have a snowdrift in Canada than a farm in Iowa.

NIKITA: And I guess you'd rather have an ex-jewel thief than an ex-secret agent.

Duncan laughs.

DUNCAN: Scary, isn't it? When we all get what we want --

"Oh, yeah, I know what you mean
`Cause a friend in love is a friend in need --"

The two couples meet in the middle of the floor and, in sync, switch partners.

"There's a soul out there that yours wants to find
Set your spirit free and I said --"

Methos, sitting alone at the table, smiles and then lowers his feet from the stool on which they were perched. He rises to his feet and starts to amble toward the exit. At the door, he stops and looks back.

"Oh, yeah, I know what you mean
Cause a friend in love is a friend in need."

A close up, slow motion: Nikita, laughing, in the arms of a smiling Michael.

Methos leaves.

**********

SCENE: BEDROOM. Kiem Sun awakens and sits up. He is greeted by a sword at his throat. He looks over: Methos stands beside his bed.

KIEM: You gave MacLeod your word that you wouldn't challenge me.

METHOS: This isn't a challenge. It's an execution.

He raises the sword and slices it down.

**********

SCENE: MADELINE'S OFFICE. Madeline's door slides open, and Birkoff steps in, carrying a PDA. Madeline looks up from her computer monitor.

BIRKOFF: I've got the figures from the Corwell misison.

MADELINE: Fine. Leave them on my desk.

She turns her attention to her computer. Birkoff, stepping up to the desk, glances at the monitor.

BIRKOFF: What's that?

MADELINE: Surveillance footage from the restaurant where Kiem Sun was attacked.

BIRKOFF: Why are you reviewing that?

MADELINE: We never found the shooter. But I have a feeling if we do, it will turn out to be the same person or persons who helped him escape.

She smiles at Birkoff.

MADELINE: That will be all.

Uncomfortably, Birkoff leaves. Madeline turns her attention to the screen. Suddenly she sees something, and she hits a key to pause the picture.

MADELINE: What is this --

A shot of the screen: the picture clearly shows Nikita entering the restaurant.

THE END

ROLL CREDITS

PASS THE TWIZZLERS

**********

Send suggestions and comments to ranma.
OR
If you would like to send a comment to Mln click HERE.