Time To Be Reborn by Corb

It was Paris and time for another life as well as another country. He hadn't expected to leave quite so soon but his wife's pregnancy and death and Rose's suspicions had left him no choice. Forcing her to kill him had been some sort of closure though leaving her feeling guilty as well as closing the case for good. This time, and he fully appreciated the irony of this, he had been innocent. Julie's death was down to Linn trying to please his masters by getting the police suspicious of each other and distracted them from the drugs investigation. Hadn't quite worked -- and he had caught up with Linn. He smiled at the memory.

He was sorry for Julie but he'd known they were drifting apart for sometime. He'd never had a lover he felt could trust with his life and her growing consciousness of the ticking of her biological clock drove the wedge deeper between them. She wanted her baby, and in the end, he supposed he'd forced her into the affair to meet her need for motherhood. He wanted Rose for a while and the comfort fuck had been as good a way as any to get what he wanted without too much angst on either side. He'd enjoyed it. Of course if Rose and Julie had been women from the time and America he grew up in then he wouldn't have had to play so many games to enjoy them both. Hell then he took the women he wanted as and when. Until he met...

He stopped briefly before crossing the road to look at the Sanctuary and smiled to himself. She was like the proverbial cat. Always landed on her feet -- though he remembered a few, well quite a lot of, happy times when she landed on her back underneath him and other equally enjoyable occasions when he'd been on his back underneath her.

The tell-tale tingle of another of his kind danced across skin and through nerves as he entered but this was holy ground and safe.

"Johnny!" she said. "Darling, it's been ages."

She embraced him lightly and kissed him on both cheeks.

"Nick. Meet Johnny Ringo. Johnny, Nick Wolf. Nick, give Johnny a whisky."

Johnny spotted the cappuccino machine.

"Can you make that coffee. It's a little early for drinking." Amanda raised an eyebrow in comment. "These days," he added. "Must be getting old."

She laughed. He'd teased her from the start about being the older woman.

The man behind the bar nodded and offered his hand to shake. Close to Johnny realised he was meeting a pre-Immortal. He looked questioningly at Amanda. "Nick knows about me. Now take a seat and tell me everything that's happened since we were last together. When was that? No. Don't go there. I'm sure that's too long ago. Weren't you playing policeman somewhere?"

"I was. Detective Stash Horvak. Killed in the line. Time to get out of Dodge and regroup."

"I can't remember. Were you ever in Dodge?"

"Once or twice. Spent more time in Tombstone."

"Wait a minute," Nick interrupted. "Johnny Ringo is your real name? I mean the Cowboy. The guy Wyatt Earp killed?"

"Not exactly. But yes I'm Ringo."

"Now isn't the time for a history lesson," Amanda warned.

"Oh but I'm sure it is," Nick said. " So how did you two meet?"

"Once a cop..." Amanda said.

Johnny thought for a moment then said," Simple really. She found me when I died the first time. A couple of weeks after I was killed she came to town with the circus. They buried me..."

He tried not to think of those weeks of repeatedly suffocating in the dark but his voice faded.

Amanda picked up the story. "I had an... admirer. We wanted to be alone so we slipped out to the graveyard. We were there as Johnny woke for the I don't know how manyth time, so I suddenly developed a headache and wanted to return to my hotel. Got rid of poor Charles and came back with a shovel."

"She dug me up. Explained the whole Immortal deal, taught me the Rules and helped me brush up my fencing skills. Even got me a job as a sharpshooter in the Circus for a while. Until there was that little misunderstanding over Mrs Rutherford's diamonds in Cincinnati."

"Ah" Nick said. "Left you as prime suspect, did she?"

"Moi?"

"Oui toi," Johnny said affectionately. " After that I tried the right side of the law for a bit. Hell in those days having a badge just made the killing and stealing easier. Since then anything which pays and lets me carry a gun will do."

"So why are you here?" Amanda asked.

"A bit of a holiday. Put together a new identity. Have some fun. Maybe even do a little head-hunting. And I always enjoy seeing my old teacher."

Amanda hit him. "Not so much of the old."

He gathered her up so she couldn't hit him again, and whispered in her ear, "And you have a new pupil so I think I'm very much de trop." Aloud he said, "How about dinner tonight for old times sake? I'm only in Paris for a couple of days. I'm on my way to the Balkans. I heard there were a few old, old acquaintances round there."

He knew she'd say no but she kissed him goodbye on the lips. A long, lingering kiss like they used to share but definitely goodbye, at least until she'd got Nick out of her system. He dined alone and caught the train to Switzerland next morning. There was no hurry. He still had places to go and people to kill.

END