New
Arrivals
Author-Ice Bear
Titles
Live and Late Breaking
by Ice Bear
Summary: AU. A different first meeting between Sentinel and Guide. Jim is a cop, and Blair is a reporter doing an expose on US covert operations.
Disclaimer: All things Sentinel belong to Pet Fly and Paramount.
Tampa, Florida:
“I need a national story, Sam, an expose – something that will move me
up to the national news,” Blair Sandburg, the investigative reporter for
the local affiliate in Tampa said, as he took another gulp of his beer.
“I’ve been looking into the military – covert ops. There’s some interesting
stuff if I can find the right people to talk. You know guys who were there
when the shit hit the fan.”
Two months later, Cascade, Washington:
“Ellison! My office!” Captain Simon Banks bellowed before returning to
his office, knowing his officer would follow. A 6 ft muscular man, just
this side of 40, walked in and assumed a parade rest stance by the desk.
“Park it, Jim.” Simon said with a smile. “I think you’ll take this news
better sitting down.”
“Why do I have the feeling, sir, you’re going to enjoy my misery?” The sky blue eyes sparkled when he smiled, which was not often enough.
“The Mayor called me today. It seems they need their poster boy cop for a TV interview. Some reporter is working on a piece to run nationwide during National Law Enforcement Week. He asked for you, and the Mayor said sure.”
“Simon! Sir!” Ellison was up and pacing.
“Sorry, Jim. You’re up. If you’d stop winning that damn Cop of the Year award, you wouldn’t have this problem.”
“Your compassion is overwhelming, Captain.”
The older man ignored the sarcasm. “He’ll be here tomorrow; name’s Blair Sandburg. He’ll follow you for a couple of days with a cameraman.”
“Captain, exactly how am I supposed to do my job with two civilians following me around?”
“Jim, calm down. In fact, sit down. It’s only for a couple of days. Just be polite, play nice, and they’ll be on their way before you know it. Can the white socks and wear blue – your ex claims it brings out your eyes. And for God sakes, get a hair cut.” Simon smiled as Jim unconsciously ran a hand over his still military short hair.
He was working on a lead in the latest round of violent jewelry store robberies when he was called into the Captain’s office to meet Blair Sandburg. The reporter was in his late 20’s with long chestnut hair, cobalt blue eyes, and an energy that seemed to fill the small office. Jim didn’t pay much attention to the reporter’s blather. He was too busy trying to figure out why his senses had suddenly gone wide open – he could smell the reporter’s shampoo; hear his heartbeat from across the room; and his fingers were twitching with the need to run through the long, silky hair.
He asked for a moment alone with his Captain after asking Rhonda, the Captain’s assistant, to escort the visitors to an interview room. He closed the door behind the two strangers and collapsed against it. “Jim, what’s wrong?” Simon asked softly.
“I can’t do this, Simon. I can’t.”
“What the hell is going on, Ellison?”
“I...my senses – they’re suddenly wide open. It’s the reporter. I can’t be around him, sir.”
“I’m sorry, Jim. If there was a way out of this, you know I’d pull you, but there isn’t.”
Jim was a Sentinel. His senses were enhanced – all five. He’d come on line while stranded in the jungles of Peru for 18 months on a covert ops mission gone wrong. They’d been dormant for years until he was on stake out in the woods for five days alone trying to catch a bomber known as the Switchman. Simon was the only one who knew.
He’d used the controls he’d been taught by the Chopec tribe to survive. Two years ago, things had gotten totally out of hand when another Sentinel had come to Cascade and committed a series of robberies. He’d gone back to the tribe’s Shaman for help after he’d closed that case. The Shaman taught him additional ways to use and control his senses but told him total control would only come when he found his Guide. So Jim had returned to Cascade and his job; part of him waiting and watching for the person who would become his partner.
“I don’t suppose the reporter could be that guide you’re supposed to find?” Simon asked.
“I don’t have a clue, Simon.” Jim looked lost, not a look Banks associated with his lead detective.
“I’m sorry, Jim. Just do the best you can.”
The detective left the office, looking for all the world like a man headed for the firing squad. Banks cursed to himself and asked his secretary to send in Detective Brown. Clearly Ellison was going to need some backup, and Brown was just the man for the job.
Jim spent an hour answering questions for the reporter about why he became a cop; his childhood, etc. Blair found his subject somewhat frustrating – wondering if the man was capable of a lengthier discourse then Yes; No; and Off Limits. But he knew he had to gain the cop’s confidence, and he did love a challenge. Besides there was something about this man, something familiar that drew the reporter to him.
They spent the rest of the day interviewing witnesses and revisiting two of the jewelry stores that had been robbed. Blair asking questions while his cameraman shot every move. Jim was more then ready to get rid of his ride along. He felt like a bug under the microscope. But when the reporter suggested dinner, he found himself agreeing, which explained why he was seated in the back booth at a small family Italian restaurant with the bundle of energy that masqueraded as a reporter. They both had a beer and then ordered dinner. Sandburg told him quite a bit about himself; his nomadic childhood; his academic career; and his life in Tampa.
Jim was watching the play of the streetlight off the chestnut hair and lost himself. Blair realized his dinner companion was gone. He put a hand on top of the muscular arm and started talking softly. “Come on Jim, this is really not cool. I’m not sure what the hell is going on here, but I don’t think my stories are that boring.”
A feeling of warmth running from his hand to his shoulder brought Jim back. He pulled back abruptly as he found himself eye to eye with Sandburg. “You alright, Jim?”
“Yeah, just got caught up in something from the jewelry store robberies, sorry about that.” He tried, in vain, to keep his face calm. His heart was hammering – just what he needed, zoning in front of a reporter of all people. This could be a disaster. “So, you said you studied anthropology? Why’d you give it up for reporting?”
Sandburg gave him a strange look, but followed his conversational thread. He didn’t know this man well, but he would bet it was more then following a thought in his head. He’d have sworn the man had left the building. But he needed this man to trust him so he accepted it and moved on. “I was working on my PhD – on people with enhanced senses – I found hundreds of people with one or two enhanced senses, but I was looking for a Sentinel – someone with all five - and I couldn’t find one. My advisor wanted me to change my topic, but I’ve been looking for one since I was about 12 and I just couldn’t let it go.”
Jim felt like he’d stopped breathing. It wasn’t possible that this kid knew he was sitting with one – was it? He needed to get the hell out of here before something else went wrong.
Oblivious to the panicked thinking of his companion, Blair decided it was time to start his questions, as his subject already seemed to be off balance – that was always a good time to get people to say things they normally wouldn’t. “So Jim, you were in the Army before joining the PD?” A stilted nod was his answer. “Does your military training help in your work?”
“Sure.”
“You ever used any of the hundreds of methods the Rangers taught you to kill a man while working for the police?” The stone wall that was Jim Ellison came slamming down, and Sandburg considered stopping, but since he’d started down the path, he knew he couldn’t turn back.
“How did it feel when you found out you were responsible for the Switchman blowing up half the city you’re paid to protect – all because you got her dad killed? Along with the rest of your squad I might add.”
Jim’s face was white, and every muscle in his body was drawn tight. “I don’t know what the hell you’re fishing for, Sandburg, but it’s clear to me that your “cop of the year” piece is a front.” Jim rose and headed for the door. Sandburg followed him, unwilling to let him just walk away.
“Did you get a piece of the drugs you were sent to Peru to ensure got through? Hiding out in the PD until the statute of limitations runs out?”
Jim turned to face the report, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know that there was an increase in the flow of drugs from Peru to the US while you were down there – it happened on your watch, Captain Ellison. Obviously it doesn’t bother you at all.”
“You really need to work on your research, Einstein. For starters, my father is a multimillionaire – Ellison Industries – and I am the beneficiary of not one but two trust funds, so I don’t need anybody’s money. I have my own.”
“Seven good men – my friends - lost their lives on that mission. I watched them die…was there when they took their last breath. I buried them with my bare hands. Who the hell are you to judge me?” Jim released the reporter, who he’d held up against the truck, got in and drove away.
Simon was shocked to see Ellison at his front door so late. “Jim, come in. What’s wrong?”
“That…that reporter made up the story on national law enforcement week. I made some calls. He’s doing an expose on covert operations gone wrong.” Jim was panting for breath and so pale, Simon was afraid he’d pass out.
“Jesus, Jim. Sit down before you fall down.” Simon said, heading for the liquor cabinet. He poured two scotches and handed one to his friend, who remained standing. “I’m sorry, Jim. I never would have let him near you if I’d known.”
“He…he accused me of facilitating the movement of drugs through the pass – accused me of being on the take…he…” The man was shaking so hard that Simon was afraid he’d fall.
“He won’t get near you again. You have my word.” Simon knew that Peru was an emotional battlefield his friend still hadn’t managed to put behind him. And he was angry, so angry that he’d let this reporter near his detective.
The next morning, Sandburg and his cameraman showed up in the Major Crimes bullpen. Simon called the reporter into his office and closed the door. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are,” he started in. “You don’t know Jim Ellison. He’s a good man, and a damn fine cop who’s spent his adult life protecting first his country and then this city. I am not going to sit by and let you or anybody else inflict pain on this man, he’s been hurt enough. I see you anywhere near him, and I’ll arrest you, myself. Do I make myself clear?”
“Look, Captain Banks I didn’t mean to suggest…”
“I don’t care what you meant! Get out of my station, now! And I will throw you in a cell if I see you again. Count on it.”
Blair was waiting for the elevator, trying not to flinch at the dirty looks he was getting from the detectives in the bullpen – all of whom had overheard the rather one-sided discussion. When the elevator opened, he jumped back as Jim Ellison strode out. Blair’s breath caught in his throat as he noticed the pale face and the dark rings around the blue eyes. Ellison moved by him like he didn’t exist.
Three days later, Jim and Brown had a man trapped in an alley. The perp had just robbed a grocery store at gunpoint. The two detectives moved cautiously into the alley, Jim slipping into a doorway and H crouching beside a dumpster. They started talking to the man, hoping to get through this without any shots being fired. The man had no place to hide and was starting to figure out he’d better give it up. He started to lower his gun when there was a noise from the end of the alley as Blair and his cameraman came into view.
“Get down!” Jim yelled pushing himself into the open, so he’d be between the gun and the reporter. Shots were fired, and H took the gunman down. Jim teetered before collapsing to the ground as soon as his partner kicked the gun away from the bad guy.
“Jim!” Blair rushed to the downed officer, using his scarf to try and stop the heavy flow of blood that was pooling on the cop’s chest.
Sandburg found himself in Captain Banks’ office four hours later. “Is Jim going to be okay? I wanted you to know that I was…”
Banks wasn’t interested. “I should arrest you for interfering with a police investigation. You could have gotten Ellison and Brown killed! What the hell were you thinking? Oh that’s right, you were thinking Pulitzer or Emmy or whatever the hell it is you reporters get for screwing up other people’s lives. Happy now?”
“Captain, believe it or not, I was trying to make it up to Detective Ellison. I wanted to show the rest of the country the kind of cop he is. I was way out of line, lying about the piece. I was trying to fix it. I thought if I could, he wouldn’t end up hating me.”
“Sandburg, you take the cake. I can’t believe you have the balls to stand in my office and lie to me again!”
“What? But I…”
Banks hit the TV remote and played a tape of the national news. “Tampa reporter Blair Sandburg works to save local cop shot chasing a robbery suspect” said the anchor as footage of Blair trying to stop the bleeding played on the screen.
“I didn’t, oh my god, I didn’t...”
“Get out of my office, get out of my city! Now!”
“I didn’t know he was going to give that footage to anyone. You have to believe me, Captain. I…”
“You want me to escort you out of this building, Sandburg?” The threat was clear.
“I am truly sorry, sir. I never meant for Jim to get hurt.”
The ICU waiting room was full of cops, including Captain Banks and Detective Brown. Blair slipped down the stairs and back to the parking lot to wait. Three hours later the last of the officers left. The reporter strode up to the nurses’ desk at ICU and, putting on a brilliant Sandburg smile, started in, “Hey, I’m Jim Ellison’s partner, Lt. Sandburg. I was working undercover when Jim got hurt, and I just got the news. Would it be alright if I saw him, just for a few minutes?”
“He’s not supposed to have any visitors,” the young nurse said, returning the smile.
“I know, but Jim and I, we’re really close – you know how partners are – and I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I see for myself that he’s alright. I won’t wake him up; I just need to reassure myself he’s okay, please.” He knew he’d won when she slipped him her number.
He moved up to the bed and grasped long, slender fingers in his. “Hey Jim, I’m so sorry, man. I never meant for you to get hurt. I’m so sorry.” He tried to rub some warmth back into the cold hand he was holding, hoping for some reaction. He stayed until the nursing supervisor kicked him out. He was back early the next morning, but only stayed ten minutes because he didn’t want to run into any of Jim’s colleagues.
Simon was waiting in Jim’s room when he showed up after visiting hours that night. “I told you I’d arrest you if you came anywhere near him again, and I meant it.” Banks barked, “Impersonating an officer, ‘Lieutenant’ Sandburg, is a criminal offense.”
Blair’s heart was racing. If he was in jail, he wouldn’t be able to help Jim, and somewhere deep inside he knew that was exactly what he was supposed to do. Something was wrong, Jim could feel it, and while he couldn’t remember where he was or why, he knew someone needed him. He could hear the rapid heartbeat and smell the fear. He struggled to open his eyes and gasped as the too bright lights hit them.
“Jim?” Sandburg was at his side immediately, “What’s wrong?” He asked, taking his hand in both of his.
“Too bright, too bright,” he whispered, eyes clenched shut in pain.
“Okay, just take it easy. Captain Banks is turning off the overheads, and I’m going to dim this one by the bed. Give us just a minute – okay, try now, slowly.”
Jim’s blue eyes carefully opened, squinting at the two men. “Thought you quit smoking?” He whispered to his Captain.
“I did!”
“The nose knows, Captain.”
“Busted, Jim…how do you feel?”
“Hurts to breathe.”
“Considering the damage the bullet did, I’m just happy you can breathe,” Simon said with a slight smile. “You’re going to be riding a desk for a while. Do you remember what happened?” He shot a glare at the reporter.
“H? Is he alright?” He tried to rise but the reporter gently pushed him down.
“He’s fine, Jim, calm down and try not to move. Brown is fine.”
The blue eyes tracked to Sandburg. “What are you afraid of, Sandburg?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re heart’s racing – beating way too fast. You’re afraid.”
Simon cringed, what the hell did Ellison think he was doing? “Shut up, Ellison!” Simon ordered, realizing his detective was about to ‘out’ himself and his senses.
“Jim, how do you know my heart is racing?”
“Can hear it.” He replied before his eyes closed, and he was lost to the conscious world.
“Damn…Captain Banks?”
“Out, now.”
“But I think Jim might be…”
“Out, or I will put you in a cell. You stay away from Detective Ellison. Far away – in fact put yourself on a plane to Tampa before dinner or I’ll arrest you. You read me?”
“Yeah. Take it easy, Jim.” And he left.
“Damn it, Jim. What the hell are you trying to do?” Simon asked softly as he settled into the chair by his friend’s bed.
Jim was released five days later and reluctantly allowed back in his loft, after Simon tried loudly and desperately to talk him out of it. The silence was welcome, and he settled himself carefully on the couch, flipping on the TV. He wasn’t sure what woke him, but he found himself at the front door. “Sandburg, what the hell are you doing here?” He asked, although there was not much heat behind his question.
“I just wanted to make sure you were alright, and to apologize.” The heartbeat was steady. “May I come in?”
“Make yourself at home,” Jim growled sarcastically, as the reporter walked by him settled on the couch. He moved slowly to a chair. “What, you expected to see naked, underage girls; piles of cocaine; a meth lab in the kitchen?”
Blair shook himself. He had been taking in the sparse open room. Somehow the space with its’ high ceilings, view of the bay and raised bedroom fit the man sitting across from him. “I’m sorry, Jim, I…I shouldn’t have lied. I forgot what was important about the story – the people. And I was trying to do the original story I told you about and that’s why I was following you. I am so sorry about what happened. And I did the rest of my research, like you suggested, and I was way out of line. I don’t know how you survived everything that happened to you in Peru, but I’m glad you did.”
Two sets of blue eyes stared at each other. Jim’s senses were carefully profiling the man sitting on the couch. He startled himself when he realized it, and moved to the balcony window, his back to the room. He knew now he could now find Sandburg in a room of 500 people without a problem, but he didn’t want to know why.
“Jim, are you a Sentinel? I know you’re imprinting me. And that’s what Sentinels do when they find their Guides.” The declaration was met with silence. “Jim, I know you’re a Sentinel. You zoned on me during dinner and in the hospital, you could hear my heartbeat. We need to talk about this.”
“I doubt seriously that my Guide would set me up to get shot and then show the footage on national TV.”
“Jim, man, you have got to believe me. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you. I…I want to protect you. Burton said that the Guide protected the Sentinel so the Sentinel could protect the tribe. You had a Guide in the jungle didn’t you?”
“Yes.” No point in denying it now that the cat was out of the bag.
“When you were rescued, why didn’t he come with you?”
“He wasn’t my true Guide – he just helped me while I was with the tribe. He said I would find my real Guide in my city. He said I’d know him when I found him.”
“And do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Do you know your real Guide?”
“Chief, you are full of crap.”
“I am your Guide, Sentinel. You can deny it, you can avoid it, hell you can have me arrested, but none of that changes that fact that I am your Guide and you are my Sentinel.”
“Sorry, Sandburg, but I don’t want a Guide.”
“You don’t have a choice, Ellison, that decision was made by someone higher up a long time ago, and now you’re stuck with me.”
“I can’t deal with this, not tonight. Please leave.” He made his way slowly up the stairs to his room, ignoring the younger man, who was headed toward the door.
Blair opened and closed the door, but remained in the loft. He stood silently for 15 minutes before moving back to the couch. “Sleep well, Jim,” Blair whispered as he wrapped himself in a blanket and stretched out. He woke shortly after 3 a.m. and lay in the dark loft trying to figure out what it was that brought him out of his slumber. He got up and moved up the stairs.
Jim was twisting uneasily in his bed, sweat glistening on his face and upper body. His hands were clenching and unclenching the blanket. His mouth was moving but no sound was emitted.
“Hey Jim, I think it would be a good idea if you opened your eyes and woke up. Whatever’s going on doesn’t look like it could be much fun. So what do you say you just wake up? I’ll get you some water and you can tell me – or not – what’s running through your head.” He spoke calmly while perched on the edge of the bed. He reached a hand out to offer comfort, and Jim moved into the touch, his body slowly stilling. “That’s it, Big Guy, it’s alright. You are safe, and I promise I won’t let anything hurt you. Open those baby blues of yours, Jim, so I know you’re with me.”
It took a few more minutes of talking and rubbing comforting circles on the muscular shoulder during which time Jim curled around his body. When the blue eyes opened, Blair stopped talking but continued his touch. “You with me, Big Guy?”
“Chief, were you serious?” It was half plea, half question.
“We were meant to be, Jim. The black jaguar - he came to me the night before I met you.”
“My spirit animal.”
“Yeah. He came looking for me, and led me to you. I can help you with your senses, make you a better cop. Together we’ll be a hell of a team, don’t you think?” Blair smiled warmly at his charge.
“I don’t know if I can, Chief. My track record with relationships is pretty poor…It won’t be easy, Chief.”
“The most important things in life never are, Jim.”
~end~