The two men fought viciously in one of Cascades numerous dark alleys. Swords flashing with a precision that bespoke centuries of practice. As with all fights between immortals this one would be to the death. The battle ensued for at least thirty minutes as recorded by the watchers standing just out of sight. Finally one made a fatal error and lightning lit up the clear night sky as the quickening was awarded to the champion.
The next morning Captain Simon Banks stood over the decapitated body. He looked up to see his best detective team approach. "Notice anything unusual about this death?" He asked Detective Jim Ellison.
"You mean, other than the fact that he happens to have been decapitated exactly like the victim we found two days ago?" Ellison responded dryly.
Simon frowned. "Yes, other than that."
Jim shook his head. "Even the burn pattern is the same, like the other, about ten feet from the body." He looked closely at the neck of the corpse. "It even looks like the same weapon."
Blair was trying to look anywhere but at the body. His attention was caught by the sun glinting off of an object in a patch of weeds. "Hey guys, check this out." He called out as he carefully picked up the sword with his gloved hands. "If I'm right, this sword has got to be at least 200 years old."
Simon looked at his resident expert on off-the-wall facts. "Alright, Sandburg. Have it checked out. See if it was the murder weapon first and then you can research its age. Although I don't know why the age of the sword would have anything to do with this case."
Blair smiled as he looked at the beautiful weapon in his hand. "I know someone who would be able to tell you a lot about swords. His name is Duncan MacLeod. He lives over in Seacouver. Swords happen to be one of his specialties."
"I don't think it's necessary to go all the way to Seacouver when you can just send it to a lab to verify the date." Simon argued, not wanting to release the pair for a trip to Seacouver in the middle of a case with a possible serial killer on the loose.
"Well, you're in luck because he is going to be in Cascade in two days."
Jim could feel his partner was holding back. "Spill it, Chief."
Blair took a deep breath. "He's coming to Cascade to one of the guest speakers at the International Sword Convention being held at the Cascade Towers."
"Great. A sword convention coming to town in the middle of a series of murders where the murder weapons appear to be swords. How can this day get any worse..." Simon grumbled to himself.
Later that day... Cascade Airport
"Come on, Scully, we need to check in with SAC Whitney. If we don't hurry we won't be able to catch Detective Ellison before he leaves for the day." Special Agent Fox Mulder said impatiently.
Dana Scully finished signing the paperwork and said a grateful thank you as the clerk handed he the keys to the rental car. "Mulder, I'm still at a loss as to why you think this decapitation case qualifies as an X-file."
"Well, it looks like the beheadings are following the same pattern as the ones on New York, Paris and Seacouver. You remember the descriptions of lightning on clear nights and the scorch marks near the bodies?" He gave her a quick grin. "Besides this Ellison guy's record looks too good to be true. I've got the Gunmen researching him."
Scully shook her head. "Why do I even let you talk me into this stuff?"
"Because secretly you love me." Mulder said tongue firmly in cheek.
Scully rolled her eyes and got into their car chuckling.
