InsaneJournal

The next day, Jim let Blair off to pick up his car, promising to make something decent for dinner. Blair grimaced as he thought of all he had to catch up on that day. “Man, I don’t know if I’ll be able to come in today.”

 

Jim shook his head, “Take your time, Buddy. Drennan and I are most likely going to be working on catching Carasco and the Yakuza. No sense work, I promise.”

 

Blair smiled, “Cool. Hey, if you wouldn’t mind, invite Drennan over tonight? I could use some insight into the ATF in my dissertation.”

                                                      

Jim waved and nodded before heading out and they parted ways with a smile. Blair went to get his car from the shop, knowing it was going to cost a pretty penny. He went to pay his bill, trying not to think about what the bodywork alone was going to set him back. Hopefully he had enough in his savings account to cover it. This was not going to be pleasant.

 

Turned out that it wasn't pleasant, it was mind blowing. Walking in expecting to fork over a large chunk of change he could ill afford to part with and being told it was already all paid – talk about a major gift horse. Of course, him being who he was, he wanted to know how.

 

The mechanic informed him easily enough when he asked.

 

"Jimbo managed to get your Corvair here registered as a casual police vehicle; means 80% of the tab for its repairs were paid for by the city. And Jim paid the remaining 20%..." the mechanic's look was speaking and speculative when he imparted that last bit of information and Blair had to fight back the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He sighed and thought, 'Damn, Jim, what the hell?' He really was going to have to talk to the man about this big-brother slash caretaker role the older man was trying to assume on his ass. He'd been on his own for a long time now; he didn't need anybody looking out for him.                                                                          

 

He put all that aside as he made his way to the University. He couldn't do anything about any of it now; he was better off just refocusing on something he could deal with – what he had to do when he got to the school.     

                           

Upon his arrival on campus, he went straight to Hargrove and his office. Checking his messages once he got there he found Maya had called, she wanted him to know she was sorry but wasn't going to be in today. She was sure he would be able to get somebody to help him finish the last of the sorting. He shrugged his shoulders and carried on with his day. He had the tests to grade, and two classes to get to that day, and he couldn’t afford to skip them today.

 

At lunch, he checked in to see if Maya had been around. He was told by the registrar that Maya had not been to any of her classes that day. This worried him so he figured he’d give her a call. He got no answer from her cell phone. Shrugging, he finished his office hours and sat down behind his desk to get started on the tedious process of grading papers.   

 

It was late when the door to his office opened and she walked in. Blair glanced up and sighed. This was it, time to face the music. Only he had no idea what sort of dance he was about to begin. Maya was going to have to lead, no matter how alien a set up that was to her, and set the tempo. Her first step was cautious, carefully balanced to test the waters, so to speak.

 

“Last night on the news. The Detective Ellison who arrested all those men. That was your Jim?” Her words were soft yet clear. Blair met her eyes squarely.

 

 “Yes.”

 

She walked over to an empty chair and sat on the edge carefully, her eyes staring down at the floor. "The ship, the 'Esmerelda', that they mentioned on the news..."

 

Blair moved out of his chair, kneeling down at her feet. “Maya, do you know about the ship?”

 

Looking down into his eyes with eyes that were liquid with tears she whispered, "No, but my mother's name - it was Esmeralda."

 

Blair nodded, he could see why she would have made the connection she did. Still kneeling at her feet, he placed a warm hand on one of her knees like an anchor and told her, “Maya, the ship was registered out of Chile. It was carrying coffee beans... and illegal weapons.”

 

Maya snapped her gaze to his. “Jim thinks... *you* think my father has something to do with this?”

 

“Maya, I don’t know what to think.” Blair soothed, his fingers rubbing gentle circles on her knee. He sighed as he struggled for the best answers to give her.

 

"It wasn’t a coincidence, was it, that I was assigned to help you sort out your unholy mess at the same time your friend was assigned the case that dealt with my father as his prime suspect?" Maya’s pleading eyes nearly broke Blair’s heart. He shook his head slowly.

 

“Nope. Jim and his Captain, they were the ones who got you assigned to me," Blair chuckled. "Well they were also the ones who wanted me to talk to you. Y'see, if you notice, I am pretty good at getting people to talk about themselves.”

 

“So they asked you to spy on my father, through me?” Maya accused. Blair shook his head again.

 

“No, they wanted to know what you knew. Which was nothing, and I told them so. I only told them what I knew... Including the meeting your father had with his bodyguard, regarding a spy at the docks.” Blair wanted to die from the pained expression in her eyes.

 

“What... what did they say?” she asked. Blair looked away, but her fingers on his chin begged his cooperation. “I think I can trust you, Blair... You have not lied to me since we met.”

 

Blair sighed before he explained about the greenhouse, the screams, the body... “We left before it happened, but the body was found and Jim was told... it was a snitch of his who had been caught at the docks.”

 

“And you believe my father had something to do with the death?” Maya charged him. Blair looked her square in the eyes and told her,

 

“He ordered Vargas to kill the man.”

 

Maya shuddered and looked away. Blair was about to say something else when the phone rang on his desk. He picked it up quickly, “Sandburg.”

 

*#”Hey kid it’s me. I think we have him figured out.”#* Jim sounded so excited. Blair sighed as he turned to look at Maya. *#”We traced Carasco’s billings back.”#*

 

“Jim.”

 

*#”He's been running guns through South American rebels for the C.I.A. and skimming off the top so he can turn around and sell them back in the States.”#*

 

“Jim!”

 

*#”We're inches away from making our case here, Chief.”#*

 

“JIM!” Blair’s voice hit that hard edge he usually only reserved for hard headed jock students who thought they had an easy out class in Anthropology. Jim sputtered to a halt with a squeak,

 

*#”What?”#*

 

Blair sighed, “Man, now might not be a good time. Maya’s here.” There was silence on the other end of the line.

 

*#”Is she all right?”#* asked the cop. Blair met Maya’s gaze before answering.

                                                                                                   

"How 'bout I put you on speaker? That way you can ask her yourself and you can tell us both what to do from here. Okay?" He waited for Jim’s agreement before hitting the button and continuing, "All right man, give us what you got."

 

*#"Well, as I was saying Chief, looks like our case is made - it's all over but for the fat lady singing. Sorry Maya, I know it's your father we are talking about..."#*

 

Maya's smile was tremulous, but her voice was strong when she answered the detective on the open line. "It's alright Detective, I know this isn't personal." She turned to wipe away her tears as Blair looked searchingly in her direction.

 

Giving her the privacy she seemed to want Blair picked up the handset once again and clicked off the speaker before he asked, "Okay, that’s great Jim. Now what about Maya?” His eyes caught Maya's when she turned back to look at him in surprise. Jim’s voice went away for a second, but then came back strong.

 

*#“Chief, I don’t think it’s such a good idea she go home tonight. There’s a possibility that she will warn her father before we are ready. Even if it’s by accident, we don’t need the grief it would cause. I’m not going to be home so why don’t you take her to the loft. Call it Protective Custody... and then tomorrow maybe you two can get some of her things.”#* Jim wound down to a halt and Blair raised a brow and mouthed the words ‘My place tonight?’. Maya nodded once in agreement.

 

“Not a problem Jim. Be careful.” Blair hung up moments before Maya burst into tears. With tissues and a strong shoulder, the Shaman held the heartbroken woman and allowed her to release her pain.

 

o-O-o

 

They were up early the next morning. Blair had given up his room for Maya to have privacy. Jim never came home, but had called to tell Blair to use his bed for the night, he didn’t mind. It wasn’t the first time Blair had slept in the Sentinel’s bed. But the last time he had been sleeping *with* his friend.

 

Instead he slept alone, on the far side, and woke before the alarm the next morning. He had breakfast ready for himself and Maya before she awoke, and let the young woman borrow one of his sweaters to wear as well. Their plan was to wait until Jim called before they went out to get Maya’s things. But after another hour, Blair became worried and called Simon. He was told that the Captain was out and incommunicado.

 

“I really think we should wait for Jim,” he finally said when Maya asked for the third time how much longer the wait would be.

 

“Blair, I am afraid. We don’t even know if my father has left the house. What if he is not going to go?” Maya paced the living room impatiently. She was nervous and Blair didn't know how long he was going to be able to contain her. He glanced at the spirit animals, watched as they muttered and growled. Finally, he came to a decision.                      

 

“Right, let’s go,” he said as he grabbed her leather jacket and handed it to her. She walked out of the loft with him and down to the Corvair. In short order they were on the highway headed to her home.

 

Arriving in front of the house, Blair noticed that the Carasco sedan was not in sight. “He might be gone after all,” he said. Maya nodded and climbed out of the car.

 

“Stay here, I will get a bag packed and be back in a moment.” Maya said as she headed for the door. Blair nodded, looking around fearfully. There was no guarantee that Carasco and Vargas were gone already. Jim and Simon didn’t know when the meeting was set to be.

 

Nunie stood to the side, leaning against Blair’s leg. With a yip Blair’s attention was brought down to the spirit wolf and a look passed between them. Blair sighed, “Oh shit... fine let’s do this.”

                                                                    

This vision was not like regular. As he watched the filmstrip of his mind, he could actually *hear* voices being raised inside the house. Instead of what could have been, Nunie had opened Blair’s ‘third eye’, allowing him to *see* what was going on in this very instance.

 

*||Maya flounced in through the front door, yelling loudly. “Papa! Where are you, we need to talk!”||*

 

*||Hector Carasco stepped out of his office his guard Vargas behind him. Blanca came from the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel. Maya stood in the foyer, her hands on her hips and her head held high. “Corazon... Que pasa? Blanca told me you never got home last night. What's the matter?” ||*  

 

*||Hector reached out a hand to his daughter only to be rebuffed violently. Her first attack was at her father. “You lied to me. You said you were not in any of this, yet what do I see on the television? Your ship. Your men!”  Vargas stepped forward with a menacing air about him, but he too was ignored.||*

 

*||“You have been hiding the truth from me for years. How do I know I can trust you?” Maya snapped, her Chilean temper nearing its peak. “How do I know that anything you have told me has been true? My whole life could have been a lie!”||*

 

*||“Enough!” yelled Hector. He snatched out a hand and slapped the girl across her face. “You will not disrespect me ever again!”||*

 

*||Waving a hand to Blanca, he shoved Maya at the woman, “Take her upstairs to her room.”||*

 

*||Maya sputtered as Blanca herded her up the stairs. Hector glared at her, “When I return, you and I will discuss this, do you understand? Perhaps I have been giving you too much freedom here, letting you go to school. I will think on this later.”||*

 

The vision ended abruptly and left Blair swaying gently. “Damn,” he muttered as he looked down at Nunie. “Go find her, I’ll go around and see if I can find her window. We have to get her out of there.”

 

Nunie yipped and sprinted in through the closed door as if it were nothing. Blair walked through the side gate and started looking at the windows upstairs, trying to remember the floor plan of the estate from the last time he had visited. He didn’t notice the shadow behind him and his last feeling was the dull thud to the back of his head as the lights went out.   

 

o-O-o

 

Nunie felt it as soon as it happened, the awareness in the back of his mind told him something was wrong, that his Shaman had been knocked out. This wasn't good. It was also something he hadn't foreseen, but then he wasn't infallible, was he? He was just a spirit animal, a creature that had its own idiosyncrasies of the plus and minus variety.

 

A very big minus was how very little he could do to help his Shaman at the moment. But wait, the girl! If Nunie followed the last instructions the Shaman had given him he might just be able to use enough power to nudge her into doing something to help.  He flashed through the mansion to find the girl in her room packing. She was just looking around a last time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything when Nunie struck.

 

He 'pushed' her, with the leftover energy he had from being connected to a Shaman, into looking out the window overlooking her father's house. It was just in time for her to see Vargas carrying the limp form of Blair over his shoulder into the greenhouse. She paled.

 

"Oh no... Blair." she whispered.

                                  

She dithered for a moment; she obviously didn't know what to do. Then, she headed for the door, only to stop when she heard the old man, her father speaking to the other woman and his man downstairs.

 

“Vargas, I have the information. The army weapons convoy leaves Fort Brickman at 3:00.” Her father’s voice began to fade and Nunie knew that he was headed for the front door. But the other man’s voice halted him.

 

“We got a problem.” Nunie heard no more, but that was not necessary. The girl must have agreed as she went back into her room and shut the door.

 

The girl grabbed her phone and called the police, asking for Detective Ellison. Nunie left the girl, racing for the hot house to keep an eye on his charge. He only hoped that Bagheera’s charge was not too busy to come help. With the Sentinel’s target still at the house, the meeting obviously had not happened yet.

 

Life could be so complicated at times. As the wolf reached his Shaman’s side, he heard the old man speak with his man. He noticed that the Shaman was awake again and looked very upset. But the Shaman could not use his voice, as his mouth was covered. His greatest weapons denied him, the Shaman was helpless only to listen.                                

 

“I knew I could not trust you... teacher... teach my daughter to not trust her father,” said the old man as he glared at the Shaman. “Perhaps it is time for *you* to learn something from me?” He pressed his machete against the Shaman’s throat. Nunie growled in anger when his Shaman could not.

 

The other man leaned close, staying the old man’s hand. “Senor Carasco, wait. I understand your anger. But with the police closing in on us and our operation tonight, we may need a hostage.”

 

Nunie chuffed a sigh of relief. The voice of reason indeed. Even amongst the enemy. The old man looked back at his man and then nodded once. “All right. You stay here. If he is here, then so is Maya. Watch over her. Protect her. If the police come, whatever you do, don't kill him. I reserve that pleasure for myself.”  

 

“Si, senor,” answered the man. Nunie and the Shaman glanced at each other with hope in their eyes. Perhaps the Sentinel would be there in time.

 

o-O-o

                                                                                                                             

Bagheera was uncomfortable. He had not been able to re-connect with Nunie the night before and on top of that, he was sure something bad was about to happen to the Shaman. He just had a feeling. It wasn't new. And then, even more annoying was this new female warrior and his Sentinel's need to 'understand' her.

 

To Bagheera, she was a nuisance. Because of her, the Sentinel had lost a valuable person of information, as well as the element of surprise on the boat at the docks. And now the Sentinel was listening to her explain the loss of her mate. As if that was any excuse. She was trouble, plain and simple. But Bagheera knew that the Shaman would encourage this, so the great cat kept his peace about it. But he wished he knew what was going on with Nunie and the Shaman.

 

The Sentinel walked by his desk as the phone rang. Reaching out to answer it, Bagheera felt the shivering cold of wrongness that meant the Shaman was in danger. Nunie must have his paws full this time.

 

“Ellison.”

                                                            

*”It’s Maya Carasco. I don’t know what to do; Blair and I came to get my things. We had hoped that my father was already gone.”* The voice on the other end of the line sounded frantic. Bagheera began to pace impatiently.  

 

“All right, Maya, slow down. What's going on?” The Sentinel picked up a writing implement and a paper to write on while Bagheera strained to leave quickly. From the phone, the girl’s voice came again, telling the Sentinel everything she knew. He wrote what he needed down before speaking to her again. “All right, listen to me, Maya. Go into your room and lock the door and do not come out until I get there. I'm on my way.”                              

 

Bagheera snorted as the other female arrived quickly. The Sentinel was delusional surely. What female ever did as told? Look at the female warrior, for one.

 

Yet the Sentinel was in a hurry, thankfully, and did not question his thoughts as he glared at the female and called, “Let's go.”

 

Bagheera was already running for the stairs.

 

o-O-o

 

Blair sighed around the gag as he struggled with his hands again. He didn’t know where Maya was, but he was hoping that she would call Jim soon. This being tied up thing was getting old. In his next life, he wanted to be something a bit less stressed... like a sloth.

 

He glanced to his right and saw Nunie sitting next to him. He really would have loved to speak to the wolf right about now, but that was impossible with this rag stuck in his mouth. Nunie stared back at him for a moment, then cocked his wolfy head to the side and yipped. Blair looked the other way and saw Maya come cautiously into the hot house.

 

When she reached him, she removed the gag quickly. “Blair.”

 

Blair looked around quickly, giving her instruction as he did so. “Maya, did you call Jim?”

 

“Yes. He’s on his way,” she replied as she attempted to untie his hands. He leaned forward, looking over her shoulder and sitting forward to expose his hands more.

 

“Get the machete over there.”

 

He kept watch as she quickly found the machete and cut the ropes on his hands. Just as she had sliced through the ropes on his feet, he caught sight of Vargas coming in the house behind her. “Move!”

 

Blair shoved Maya out of the way as Vargas came at her with a gun in his hand. The two men began to struggle. Blair didn’t know if Maya was out of the house or not, but he fought with Vargas and the gun, hoping she was already gone.

 

Even though the other man was bigger, Blair knew a thing or two about fighting, and he used every trick in the book to keep the man off guard. He could hear Nunie in the background, but he had no time to look, his eyes and hands on the gun in Vargas’ hand.

 

Now was a time when Blair wished his partner was here!

 

o-O-o

 

Bagheera was out of the truck before it had stopped in the drive, his powerful legs carrying him to Nunie who was standing over the young woman, guarding her.  The cat looked over his shoulder and watched as the Sentinel and the other female came around the corner, but they became pinned down when a female from the house opened fire on them.

 

“Jim! Look out!” the female officer yelled. The Sentinel ducked down and fired on the woman in the house. The female with the Sentinel also fired. Together they shot the woman, killing her dead. Nunie nudged Bagheera and looked back over his shoulder to the hot house.

 

o-O-o

 

Blair ducked another swing from Vargas and snatched at the gun one more time. The force of his charge sent them both through the wall and on the ground, rolling over each other and struggling with the gun. Suddenly the gun went off.  

 

With a shove, Blair rolled Vargas off of him and onto his back. A gulp and a sigh and Blair climbed to his feet, looked down at the man, shrugged, and walked away. He had heard more shooting towards the front of the house. Hopefully that was Jim. Hopefully, Maya was safe. Hopefully this case was over.

 

o-O-o

 

 

Blair typed up his latest notes in his room while Jim and Drennan worked on noodles out in the kitchen. He smiled as he listened to the easy camaraderie between the two law enforcement officers. It was a far cry from the beginning of the case and Blair figured that the two must have come to some sort of understanding.

 

As had he and Maya Carasco. The young woman had been upset with her father’s duplicity, but she was determined not to let it stop her from seeing a dream finished. Blair had suggested to Simon that Carasco’s business associates might try to use Maya against her father while he was in prison. So for her protection, she might benefit from the FBI’s witness protection program. Simon was only too pleased to help.

 

Drennan was also pleased to help Blair with some insight into partners and the feelings that one will have when losing another. He was adding these notes now when he heard a knock on the door. A moment of silence in the front room and the curtain covering his door was held to the side as Maya stepped in. “I hope you don’t mind.”   

 

Blair jumped to his feet and walked the short distance to hug the young woman. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

 

Maya nodded sharply. “I am on my way out now. Your Captain Banks spoke with the FBI and they are taking me away this afternoon.”

 

Blair nodded. “They found a place so you can finish your schooling?”

 

“Yes... thank you.” Maya tried to smile, but Blair could see that it was hard for her.

 

“Maya... if I could have changed things for you...” he trailed off. Maya raised her eyes and smiled sadly, shaking her head.

 

“You could not have. You were a good friend, Blair. Thank you.” She let him hug her, silent tears falling down her cheeks. “I will not forget you.”

 

Blair smiled for them both as he squeezed her gently. “You know where to find me if you ever need me.”

 

She nodded as she released him and turned for the door. She left without a goodbye and Blair did not press for one. This was not goodbye. They would meet again someday. 

                       

When the door clicked shut Blair went back to his room in silence. A moment or two later and the door opened and shut again. Blair wasn’t surprised when Jim came to the doorway. “You okay, Chief?”

 

Blair looked back at him, “Never better man. I’m almost done here, then we can have those noodles. Is Drennan still here?”

 

“She left.” Jim sighed. Blair sighed in commiseration.

 

“Sorry man. I know I’m probably a damper to your relationships here.”

 

Jim shook his head and came in to sit on the bed next to Blair. “Nah, kid. It ain’t you. She’s just not my type. I learned a long time ago that dating a co-worker, or someone in the same field, is a hassle.”

 

Blair grinned in understanding. The two sat in silence for a moment before Jim made a move.

 

“Give me a direction to look, Sandburg. You shy away from weapons, yet you know how to use them well. Without hesitation, you defend yourself against Carasco’s man, with his own weapon. And you don’t even blink.” Jim sighed as he leaned forward and dropped his head in his hands. “Help me understand.”

 

Blair gazed up at the ceiling, he had been afraid of this. He met Jim’s gaze squarely... time for truth. “Had I been able to find your backup weapon that night with David Lash here in the loft... it would have gone down a lot differently man.”   

 

Jim held Blair’s gaze steadily for a moment. “Bottom drawer, right side of my dresser... it’s a combination lock. My Birthday.”

 

Blair nodded. “Got it man. Thanks.”

 

Jim returned the nod. “Hungry? Still some noodles left.”

 

Blair jumped up and headed out of the room, “Sounds good Jim. I’m starved!” He smiled back at Jim, then noticed Nunie and Bagheera sitting on his bed and stopped, spinning around and letting Jim go first. “I forgot something man, be right there.”

 

Jim smiled as he went out, letting the curtain drop into place. Blair walked over to the bed, reaching out a hand and stroking each great head reverently. No words were passed between them, none were needed. They all three knew that this was yet another case down, another step on the path of destiny.