<div class="floatright">(http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb117/hopefox17/Cuckoo.jpg)</div>Cuckoo slumped over in the back seat of her new friend Duncan's car, breathing heavily and grinning broadly. Duncan sat less than a foot away in the cramped quarters of the car, his naked body gleaming with a sheen of sweat.<br/><br/>"That was so good!" she exclaimed, resting her hand on her lover's thigh. "I haven't been fucked like that in months. Well, weeks... err, what day is it today? Anyway. Thank you. It's been a lousy week and you made it a whole lot better."<br/><br/>"It was my pleasure, milady, really," replied Duncan, stroking her muscular body tenderly. "I've never met anyone quite like you before."<br/><br/>"I should hope not," she laughed. "Ireland couldn't handle more than one of me. And I want to thank you for the ride, too. I mean for driving me. I mean... you know what I mean. I couldn't have gotten here without you." She gestured at Dublin International Airport outside of the car, while she laboriously draped her cloak around her body in the close confines of the back seat.<br/><br/>"It's the least I could do for a lady. I could see how important this trip was for you, and I had to help." He paused as he fumbled into his pants and fastened his belt. "I dinnae suppose I'll be seeing you again?"<br/><br/>Cuckoo leaned over and kissed Duncan's cheek. "If I find myself in Galway again, I'll look you up, I promise. Take care of yourself, Duncan."<br/><br/>She climbed out of the car, strapped her spear to her back and set off for the airport. Near the front doors, she met Banwell, her lady's maid, attending a pile of luggage. The middle-aged woman embraced her as she arrived. "I've got everything here, milady. A week's worth of clothes and accessories, your laptop, your ticket, passport and papers, and plenty of American money. Just... do be careful, milady. Lord Carrick worries about you so, and I do too."<br/><br/>Cuckoo laid her spear into the long, padded case she used to transport it, promised her maid that she would do her best to come through her quest alive, and made her way into the airport. She waited to watch her luggage be loaded onto the correct plane before she boarded, and by midday she was high above the Atlantic, en route to the City of Meadows.<br/><br/>She took advantage of a flight change at Heathrow to do some Internet research. Kurtis Freison didn't show up on any of her searches, but Jack O'Neill's handsome face stared out at her in many pictures of the band Imbas. She let out a pleased chuckle at the name as she sent him a text message. "Ahoy there, cousin! A friend of your father told me you were heading into trouble in Las Vegas. I'll be there tomorrow - we should talk before anything terrible happens. - Cuckoo Laine nic Morrigu"<br/><br/>A few hours later, she was curled up in a British Airways business class seat on a direct flight to Las Vegas, catching up on the sleep she'd missed over the past few days. She had a feeling she was going to need her strength and her wits in the days to come, and there may be precious few chances for rest.